"Irasshaimase!"
"Uh…"
It was supposed to be just a quick, twenty second stop at the nearby convenience store on the way to Ayano's house.
After that encounter with the Kuchisake-Onna, Taro felt himself in need of some refreshments. Even if it's just a small bag of chips and an energy drink.
The thought that often repeats itself in his mind has done so again. Everybody is most likely dead. Who is going to care that he went inside a store, grab things, and not pay for them?
With that question in his mind, he enters the store expecting nobody working there.
Only… there is.
"Ho… Ly… Shit!" He hears Kiseki speak in an excited tone. "I never thought I'd see a Nekomata in person!"
Sitting right on the counter is a white cat wearing what Taro could only describe as a traditional shopkeeper's attire. Like the kind he'd be seeing if he was in the Edo Period.
He would have found it cute if he wasn't feeling so disturbed by the fact that it's able to communicate with him through telepathy.
From what he could remember about the spiritual creatures known as the Nekomata was that they were formerly ordinary cats during their life on Earth. They'd all have lived long lives mostly close to stores, especially busy ones. Often, they'd get friendly with the owners, which would result in a transcendent state of mind carried along with them into the spirit world.
But that's all just folktale. A work of fiction. Not a shred of it is supposed to be real.
Taro scratches his head. At this point, the line between fiction and reality is pretty much gone. Damn Jack Lieber.
He then hears the Nekomata speak to him again.
"Look, bud. If you're not gonna buy anything, I suggest you go on your way!"
"Wait, now hold on!" He starts to argue back. "So YOU'RE the owner of this store now!? Is that what's going on here!?"
"Ah, I see what you're saying." The Nekomata yawned for a second before levitating in the air; making Taro take a step back in awe.
"You think just because everyone you know and love is dead means that you can just barge into any store and just take everything! NO! That's not how spiritual capitalism works! As long as me and my buddies continue to run the shops, you still have to pay for everything!"
"Spiritual… Capitalism…" Repeated Taro. Apparently that's now a thing. He began to argue back.
"Okay… Okay… Have you or any of your… buddies actually seen any other human beings running around town? You know, people who claim to survive that damn fog! And if so, can you tell me where they went?"
"NO! SORRY!" The Nekomata shook his head. "You're the FIRST… and ONLY customer any of us had encountered! Which means… you get the first customer ever award!"
"First customer ever award?"
Taro then sees the Nekomata's eyes begin to glow for a few seconds before he sees an object appear from thin air. It lands on the counter before rolling off it and towards the direction of where he's standing.
An arrow.
"First one's free." Said the Nekomata as it licks its arm.
"Yeah… I see the bow strapped to your back, buddy. Listen, if you find yourself in need of more arrows. Just come to any shop in town. Anytime you got money, we'll be more than happy to grab some from the spirit world. Shipping and handling is also free. So you'd be a real clown to NOT buy from us!
And it isn't just arrows either. We have a wide variety of food and drinks as well. Most of these I guarantee you've never even heard of! Now… if there isn't anything else…"
Placing the arrow in his quiver, Taro nods at the Nekomata. "I get it. I'll be back soon with money."
"I think that went quite well."
"What do you mean? I still have to pay for stuff."
Taro did not expect the rain to slow down when he walked out of the store. So he wasn't surprised to find out it didn't.
Kiseki argues back. "Hey, I know this goes without saying, but the Rain Slasher and the Kuchisake-Onna were only just the tip of the iceberg. We need to prepare for anything Jack Lieber has to throw at us; and if that means collecting money to spend at the shops to purchase arrows, that might be the best course of action. Because I can't think of any better ideas."
"Yeah… you're right." Taro began to look around. "I'll keep my eyes open as we head towards…
Is that who I think it is!?"
This confuses Kiseki. Other than a bird chirping, he hadn't been hearing anybody else.
"Huh? You see somebody, Taro?" "No. It's not a person."
Right on a lower branch at a nearby tree, Taro recognizes the bird that's calling out to him.
"It's Taka! Osoro Shidesu's bird! It survived the fog!"
Taka then flew off the tree branch and onto Taro's shoulder. He only faced him for a second before facing another direction. Without warning, he began to fly off. Only stopping to look back at Taro.
"I think it wants to show us something." Taro tells Kiseki as he starts to follow Taka.
"I'm curious, Taro." Said Kiseki. "You knew somebody named Osoro and… this is HER bird?"
"Yeah, it's crazy. I never thought I'd actually SEE it again. Even after all this."
Taka landed underneath some bushes near the street corner, and that was when Taro saw it.
Floating in midair is what looks to be a golden cooking pot.
"An ether crystal…" He hears Kiseki speak. "Another thing from the spirit world. Open it."
"Open it?"
"Why not?"
As soon as Taro lifts the lid off the pot. It immediately vanishes. Five gold colored coins fall to the ground.
"Is that what I think it is?" Thinking he's found real gold, Taro picks up one of the coins. Despite the yellow color, it looks exactly like a newly minted 500 yen coin.
There's five of them, so that technically means he now has 2,500 yen. "Something's… off about these coins." Said Taro as he pocketed the money. "But it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
He looks over at Taka. "And it's all thanks to you, buddy! I'll be sure to avenge Osoro for your sake."
Taka again flew off the ground and onto Taro's shoulder. Taro takes a moment to pet him before he flies away. Hopefully towards a safer place.
"This Osoro girl sounds like an interesting person." Said Kiseki.
"She's the best." Taro agrees. "Food can wait. Let's see how many arrows this gets us."
Having fully restocked on arrows, Taro wastes no time heading over to Ayano's house. He parks his bike right in front.
As he gets off, he realizes something that he thought he wouldn't be seeing.
Her front door is open.
While this does save him the trouble of having to unlock a door, he couldn't help but feel the urge to go inside anyway. Dry himself off because the rain had been pouring on him nonstop.
He had been to her house before. Weirdly enough, her parents weren't even in the country. Something about her mother having to 'hunt somebody down.'
Whatever that means, he wants no part of it. Although, he does sometimes hear a voice in the back of his head to not just let it go.
"Ayano! Ayano! Are you in here!?" He shouted as he let himself in. "I know you can recognize the sound of my voice!"
She had left. There was no other way to put it. Why would the front door be open? Was he really thinking that it would have been open if the fog did claim her life. Earlier, the Nekomata told him that nobody else had entered the shops.
"It doesn't make any sense." Taro started to feel like a broken record as he scratches his head. "Just where exactly did she run off to?"
"Taro…" He could hear Kiseki say. "Look over there… On the coffee table."
"Huh?"
On the coffee table, he could see a Saikou brand tape recorder. Did Ayano take the time to leave a message before heading out?
After taking a moment to make sure the tape is re-round. He pressed the play button.
The recorder did its thing as Taro heard Ayano's voice for the first time since their phone call this morning.
'Okay… Okay… Okay… Just calm down…
I have just seen what might have been the most craziest thing I've ever seen in my life.
Those people… they just… vanished! One moment, they were there and suddenly… they weren't.
There was… there was also this woman. Before all of it. I walked into the kitchen and there she was. No idea how she got in. She told me everything that was going to happen beforehand! Then she vanished…
I don't know why I survived. I should be dead. Just like everyone else… Even… Even…
Oh…
No… No… No… Senpai.
He can't be dead… TARO-SENPAI CAN'T BE DEAD!
I'm going out there. I'm going to find him. I don't care if I have to tear open every building in Buraza! I WILL find him!
I don't know what's waiting for me outside my door, but I don't care. If ANYTHING stands between me and Senpai, I'm not going down without a fight!
And if I die before I see him again… So be it.'
Taro just sat there with his mouth hanging open. He had heard Ayano talk in this way before, but not to this extent.
His girlfriend is alive. Although it's uncertain for how long considering all the monsters out there. Survival is near impossible if she doesn't have somebody like Kiseki.
That's when he reminded himself. Ayano mentioned a woman. Exactly who is she?
"Man…" He hears Kiseki. "You really do live rent free inside of her head, don't you Taro? So what's the plan here? How are we going to bring Jack Lieber to his knees?"
"Kiseki…" A question forms in Taro's head. "Are you… aware of anybody else who have been sent here by this… goddess?"
"Hmm… No. I can't say that I am." Answers Kiseki.
"Although… Now that I think about it. She… sounded uneasy. Like… she sounded frightened… or something. So there may be others drawn into this universe. It's just that…"
Kiseki pauses, making Taro feel a little uneasy himself. "It's just what, man? Tell me!"
"Jack Lieber." He continues. "Either he sent that woman, someone else entirely did… or… she came here of her own free will to warn Ayano of what's coming."
Taro sighs as he puts his feet up on the table.
"Well… I'm sure the answer will come to us in due time. We're safe now. We can relax. Maybe in a few moments I can reunite with Ayano if she decides to come back here. She returns home and…"
"Heh heh… Hahahahahaha."
He knew he did not just imagine it. A man just entered Ayano's house.
And he's laughing?
Taro stood up to face the mysterious man and was surprised at what he's seeing.
He's dressed in full, 17th century samurai armor that's colored a dark purple. A purple helmet and mask covering his eyes along with a katana blade strapped to his waist. It was like looking at a time traveler.
"No way…" He hears Kiseki say. "It… can't… be…"
Seeing Kiseki afraid, Taro shouts out. "Who the hell are you!?"
"My… such manners." The man said in a comedic tone. "The first human being in this universe, too. Way to make a first impression!"
"He's… just like me…" Said Kiseki. "But… He's… DIFFERENT somehow! I can't… I can't put it into words!"
"Relax." Taro thought. He then speaks again.
"Hey, were you sent here by Jack Lieber!? Because if you are, you really have no idea who you're dealing with!"
"Hmm… You're right!" Said the man. "I don't really know who I'm speaking with here. And I can say the same thing about this Jack Lieber fellow…
Allow me to introduce myself! You may address me ONLY as…
Samurai Carnival!"
"Samurai… Carnival…" Said Taro.
"It's very hard to explain, good sir. I am just a man who travels through the parts of the multiverse that look the most interesting to me! I go over to those places and… I start trouble…
Okay, so maybe it isn't that hard to explain."
"You can… travel through the multiverse? So a goddess didn't send you."
"Gods and goddesses… I believe in no such deities! I am my own god! I've been telling myself that even BEFORE I woke up with the ability to enter the multiverse!"
"One day, you just woke up and suddenly you can enter the multiverse. Okay." Said Taro. "So, what? You wanna fight me? Is that what you want to do?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Samurai Carnival laughed. "I've fought some… wicked spirits… on my way here. I'm happy to have somebody who'll give me a REAL challenge!"
"Kiseki, you there?" Taro thought. "I'm gonna need you at a hundred percent if we're going to take this guy out!"
"Yeah, I'm with you!" Said Kiseki. "I know I've said this before, but you need to be really careful.
Samurai Carnival! He's… Oh my god! I wanna talk, but I just… can't."
Taro follows Samurai Carnival outside as he gets ready for what he can guess to be the toughest fight of his life.
Seeing his opponent ready to unsheathe his katana, Taro focuses his energy at his fingertips. They start to glow green like they've been doing.
"You want a challenge!? You got one!"