Chapter 2
My name is جادن سائبوون-... never mind.
Yuuta P.O.V
"Generate aquatic element"
I tried to open one eye, but sleep still laid heavily on my body.
"Discharge"
Suddenly a shot of ice-cold water hit me in the face, causing me to bolt right up in my bed.
"AYAYH!" I exclaimed as my eyes dashed around my room to find my hidden assailant.
I heard a snort and saw my window was strangely open, even though I swore I locked it last night.
When I turned around, my eyes nearly bugged out of my skull. It was the dark-haired guy!
"Hmm" He gave an amused chuckle while casually sitting on the railing of my balcony.
"What are you doing here?!" I nearly yelled at this strange, possible stalker.
"Just testing something out. By the way, your family is really nice, they let me wait out here."
"They did WHAT?!"
"What did you think I climbed up here from my balcony? That's a bit weird."
"So is you being on my BALCONY HITTING ME WITH WATER!" I exclaimed as I lunged at him, but he easily sidestepped my assault and grabbed the back of my shirt to keep me from falling over the railing.
"You need to chill. Would you prefer Rikka breaking into your house and showing your little sister how to blast you in the face with magic?"
I froze at the mention. "Are you one of those...N-Nemeh?"
"You mean Nemah? Not exactly."
"Are you able to do magic too? I don't remember the generate thing you were doing."
"Well yes. It's not a spell but it is magic in a sense"
"Wait a second...Isn't that from Sword Art Online?"
"Uh, not a good cross over now, so back to bed with you"
"What?"
Suddenly he shoved a fist in front of my face, opened it, and blew against his palm. Causing a cloud of weird purple dust to blow into my face.
"Wha-" I said, then everything added to black.
Before everything sleeper completely, I heard him groaning. "Man this is so basic, your even stealing from Isekai."
.
"Create water!"
I jolted up feeling a strange sense of déjà vu and of course the water. "What's happening?!"
"And there you have it, Yumeha, the basics of magic, how to cast it, practice, incorporate it into everyday life, and lastly to make things a tad more exciting. Now you try to use some on your own." Rikka explained to the little girl waiting at the door.
Now that I recall, last night I did magic. Like real magic! Oh wow. How many of my fake memories are real?
She did say my youngest sister, Yumeha, had an unnaturally high Magic Reading and could be a natural mage. So it makes sense that she-
What she had just done hit me like the water that was dripping from my face.
While Rikka was kneeling on the floor in front of Yumeha, with a magic circle one drawn on a piece of paper between them. Yumeha gave a small nod and started tracing the outer ring.
"Ah, Dark Flame Master, you have awoken. I hope you slept well and GAH!"
She was cut off by me grabbing her head between my fists and balling them there.
"Why would you wake me up like that?!" I growled
"Ah! Please stop!" He cried out. "It was necessary for the correct timing of the Arcane Cycles- AH! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! "
I released her when I figured I should get cracking with the questions.
"...So...you can really use magic?" I asked. "It wasn't a dream of any kind?"
Rikka simply raised an open palm into the air.
"Dark Matter Blaze" A ball of swirling red and yellow, what I guess is magic.
I stared at it, trying to see if there was any way for this ball to make sense but clearly defied more natural/scientific laws than I could count.
"Incredible..." I breathed, awestruck. "Before we take this any steps further, I want answers! No vague riddles like yesterday. I want clean, cold facts!"
"If you so desire Dark Flame Master, then I shall deliver."
"Dark Flame Master?" Asked my sister
"Don't call me that!" I told her. "And Rikka, don't use that name around others or we will be treated like weirdos.
"Come, let us speak where no one will hear us," Rikka said as she extinguished her ball of magic and lead me to the balcony.
The balcony? Why do I feel like something happened here?
As I followed her, I noticed my arm, which was still wrapped up, didn't hurt. It didn't feel normal, it kinda felt numb.
Hey...am I really the Dark Flame Master? I know you've said it a bunch but you kept on going on about something I don't even know what is. So what exactly do you-"
"You are the Dark Flame Master-" Rikka started but she was cut off by a strangely familiar laugh.
"Yuuta, It isn't polite to make a girl repeat herself" I turned around seeing the guy from the train, and instantly Rikka took a fighter's stance. "Where are my manners? Sorry for cutting you off."
"State your business" Rikka replied coldly.
"Hey, hey, no need to get your eye patch in a bunch. I'm just your everyday friendly downstairs neighbor" He said, making the 'I surrender' gesture with his hands.
"State your business," Rikka replied colder.
Why is she so on guard? She would have said something about him earlier if something was off about him
"I just wanted to join your chat."
"Rikka, he is in our class, why are you acting like this?" I asked her trying to pull her hand down.
"He isn't normal, his race says human but his aura is that of a demon"
My eye flicked over to him.
"Oh is that the problem? I could fix that if you want"
"Dark Flame Master, this isn't your average foe, his aura returned to that of a human but his magic reading is unreadable and his race is encrypted" Rikka stated.
"It's what?!"
I took a good look at the...(person?) in front of me.
With the strange knowing gleam in his eyes, I couldn't help but wonder what he wanted.
I racked my brain for the facts that might be correct, but all shapeshifting monsters/demons that I knew couldn't actively hide their aura. At least assuming what I knew was true.
"Hmm, it's inconvenient, but if I have to, I will." He said dismissively as a green glow emitted from his palm, "Infinity's Passing". Black chains erupted from the floor underneath Rikka, trapping her and a lock shot out of his palm.
A loud click noise rang out when the lock latched itself to the front of the wrapped Rikka. He jumped forward off of the railing and pulled out some duct tape. He place two pieces over her mouth in an X shape then turned back to me.
"I only wanted to say hi and explain a few things, but now I got to use my curse on you."
I instantly backed up as far as I could. Use his curse? Last time I check you cant 'use' a curse on someone unless you're putting it on someone!
"Relax, I'm not going to curse you. I just have a special curse." He said.
"Yuuta Togashi, you are the one and the only Dark Flame Master. No, ifs, and or buts about it" He explained and patted me on the back to say 'congrats!'. "The problem here is that all of your precious memories of being the Dark Flame Master have been changed. That is thanks to going through Chuunirization. So anything you 'made up' was true but everything that happened is an illusion. Do you get it?"
"I..think so?" I blinked.
"Good, cuz I'm 90% sure what I thought it meant was wrong."
"Who are you?" I asked, fed up with not knowing this stranger's name.
"Took you long enough to ask, My name is جادن سائبوون-" The second the words came out of his mouth, the air distorted around his mouth and it came out sounding like gibberish. His previous confident demeanor deflated and he muttered, "...Nevermind"
"What?"
"Damn it! Curse bites me once again. It's Arabic this time, just great."
After a few solid seconds of silence(besides the sound of Rikka struggling) I thought to get back to the questions. "So I didn't make anything up? Then why did I make all these notebooks?"
I handed the strange person one of my 'fake' diary entries I'd created under the name Dark Flame Master.
"Well, Your friend Rikka doesn't have a clue." The guy stated, making a pointed look at the chained girl struggling to get out.
"And my only ideas are theories. Anyone who had gone through the Chuunirization process always has these books. I think one of three things, they feel as though they are being hunted so they write them, or the Dark Organization, the people doing all the things Rikka wants to fight against, creates them to give them an extra reason to never come back to their real magic roots. You cant hide the overwhelming embarrassment that tags along with all of your memories."
"Ok" I nodded, feeling as both of those were solid options. "What about the third one?"
"Godly magic at work."
"What do you mean by that? God?"
"Noooo, God, the singular is a very different thing. Plural. Gods. You see, back before the Dark Organization, there was a sort of magic hierarchy of sorts. God/goddess was a title blessed to those who have proven themselves to be worthy of such a thing. Through things such as birthrights or feats, to even holding special abilities."
I nodded, as crazy as it sounds at first, it made sense. "Once given the rank/title of god, you gained a massive power boost. There was a rumor that one of the gods foretold that the Dark Organization was coming, so all the Gods but one joined together to make a precaution method to hopefully gain their lost soldiers back."
"So you think, it's the notebooks? Because they are a sure-fire way of telling if someone was a mage or magic user"
"Exactly!"
He looked ready to leave, but I had one more question. "Why didn't one god show up? Was he evil?"
He paused as he got up on the railing. "...No," He said with a tone that suggested he was trying to convince himself. "He wasn't evil. He was forgotten"
With that, he jumped off the railing, straight down and a puff of orange smoke wafted up to us, as Rikka's chains disappeared.
A bright green flash happened and we were right back where we were before the guy showed up.
"You are the Dark Flame Master-" Rikka stopped. "What an odd feeling. I feel like you already know most of what I'm about to say."
Strangely I felt the same way. I felt like I remembered someone telling me things but I can't exactly place my finger on the face.
"Maybe your eye is telling you that I got some of my memories back?" I tried to offer helpfully.
"That isn't how it works but I shall take it as a good to go."
"If you wanted to convince me magic was real, why didn't you just show me a spell or two?"
"Oh, I was using quite a large deal of magic yesterday," Rikka said. "The problem was the Invisible Boundary Lines. The source of evil that we fight, is an elaborate system of magical seals that prevent humans from seeing magic, instead, they perceive it as what is known as Chuunibybou. But because you have accepted the powers you possess, you have rejected your humanity and became like me"
"I'm not human anymore? What?!"
"Correct, you are a Nemah, such as me, or Yumeha. The Nemah is a lost-lost race of magic users who were later turned into humans. All except the first holder of the Eye of the Wicked Lord. My direct ancestor." Rikka explained.
"Okay, I get it...What is that about the Invisible Boundary Lines? You mentioned that yesterday. If they are everywhere, why do you want to find them?"
Rikka glanced off to the side. "It's far too dangerous for you to know anymore as you currently stand. You must regain control over your powers and the Black Flame Dragon."
"How do I do that?"
"I would suggest trying to use magic as often as possible, practice reciting spells every chance you get. Using magic will increase your strength and thus keep the Dragon at bay. I'd love to stay, but I have urgent business to attend to. I wish you luck and good fortune with your training."
"Thanks?" I said.
"I'll see you at school"
I quickly started digging through my old notebooks for more details on The Dark Flame Master's- I mean my abilities, in case I had forgotten anything. As I was doing that, Rikka had walked back over to Yumeh, whose hand motions seemed to be making sparks of light coming from the circle.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Yumeha. Until then, try and cast these four spells" Rikka said as she handed the smaller girl another sheet of paper.
"Ok, Rikka-san." She replied as Rikka nodded and leaped out the window, grabbing the rope she had climbed down on.
I looked at my arm one more good time. My eyes scanned the outside by the balcony. I took a deep breath and struck another pose.
"Infernal Shotgun!"
Several bursts of a darkly color fire exploded from my extended arm. I sat there, dumbfounded that it worked. The magic slowly added into the air like smoke and a bit of heat washed over my body, akin to that of being near a campfire.
"Woah, that's amazing!" Yume clapped for me.
"I guess it is," I chuckled a little bit when another realization hit me like a truck. "Wait, don't tell Mom or Kuzeha about any of this! I'll never hear the end of it!"
The small girl tilted her head, highlighting her confusion.
"Ah..what the heck? You're my baby sister. They most likely wouldn't believe you if you told them anything about this. You're free to say whatever you want."
"Okay, Big brother Dark Flame!"
"Not that though!"
Later, I opted to walk to school. As I was walking I recalled what Rikka had said to Yumeha. Everyday life getting easier. What could be the harm of doing it?
"Incarnate Wings!" I said out loud, after checking thoroughly that no one was nearby. "Wait GGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
I went from not going anywhere, to be running at a speed faster than my eyes could process my surroundings. I felt like my legs were taken by a speed demon that forced me to run at such speeds, I could barely keep up.
I braced myself, hopped upwards, and skidded to a halt. After shaking off all of the aftereffects of not being used to traveling like that, I found myself right outside the school.
"Holy moly... it worked!"
"Togashi?"
I turned around and felt my jaw drop when I noticed Nibutani standing barely a few feet away.
"Um...nice to see you early in the day. You certainly have an interesting way of...running."
Black Flame dragon VS Yuuta, 3-0
"Uh... I was...trying to work in some extra exercise. Yeah, that's what I was doing. I was slacking off a lot in the summer so I'm trying to catch up now." I tried to lie, thankful we were the only ones here. She also seemed rather...normal for the speed I was running at.
I noticed a dark figure on top of a nearby building. With a flash of motion, Rikka(At least I think it's her. 85% sure of it being her) leaped off the edge and opened her umbrella. I watched amazed, as she descended to the ground like she was holding a parachute, floating just enough so she landed right next to me and Nibutani.
"Good morning"
"Good moring, Takanashi-san!" Nibutani said, seemingly not noticing anything was off.
And then, a poof of smoke shot out of the ground next to her. Emerging from the smoke, was the dark-haired guy. I had a strange feeling like I had seen him earlier.
"Morning everyone," He said as he stifled a yawn like he hadn't just defied several basic laws of how the world works.
"Ah...good morning...Kasai-san? Is that right?" Nibutani seemed to be straining to remember. I'm honestly impressed, I could barely recall where this guy sat in our classroom.
The guy didn't like that but he didn't make it too obvious. "Actually no. It's not Kasai. It will come back to you." But I faintly heard him mutter. 'When you're dead'
"Anyway, what did you think of my magic trick?" He asked with a far more normal tone of voice.
"It was amazing! See you later Kanashii-san!" Nibutani said as she walked away.
"Still wrong..." He muttered. "God I hate her guts."
Before I could question it, he vanished in another puff of smoke.
Rikka leaned to whisper in my ear. "That's the power of the Invisible Boundary Lines, they disguise anything magical as mundane actions to humans. To her, I just walked in like a normal student. Of course, that doesn't work on you anymore."
"Huh, well, that's convenient," I remarked.
My day went on normally, during class, I was almost jokingly endorsed by Isshiki to become the next class vice president. Whatever happened, I ended up actually winning and joined the student council with Nibutani.
Maybe this is fate...
Even better, Rikka kept her word and didn't mention my past to any other student, some strange feeling told me that it wasn't to respect my wishes.
"The human mind cannot handle such levels of magic, we may end up causing a rift in the social continuum should word of our powers spread out." is all she said.
I was left completely confused by what she was saying. Was she referring to gossip and us being the cause of the problem or a literal plane of existence that could be ruptured and cause damage to our own world? Better to be safe than sorry, noted never let anyone know.
But on the plus side, having magic powers/abilities had quite a few perks.
Like, if I asked anyone if they wanted something on the other side of the school, immediately after telling me, boom I already got it.
Gym class, not even a thought in my mind. It became far too easy to keep up...or leave them in the dust.
It did take me a few moments to realize that, I shouldn't show off too much. Some of the attention I could get might not be positive.
That's how my life became for a while at least. I even managed to keep Rikka fairly managed, with a quick chop and managing to do some extreme strategic exploits to keep Rikka away from Nibutani.
Sadly, it was just the calm before the storm. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, getting normal leads to abnormal.
For example, it is currently one week after school started. On the dot.
"Create water!"
Guess what I woke up to that morning. "What's going on?"
Yumeha had her hand pointed at me, her eyes shining with deep pride.
"Excellent work, Yumeha," Rika said, clapping. "Ah, good morning, Dark Flame Master. It would seem that your sister is a more proficient mage than I thought-"
"Don't teach her to use magic for things like this!" I scolded her and grabbed her shoulders.
"AH! Stop, please don't shake me!"
After her shake was done, he got up and dusted herself off.
"Why do you have to wake me up in the most ridiculous way possible. On another note-"
I gave her a good look over. Under her bangs, smack dab in the middle of them was a large bandage. Imagine where the eye of a cyclops would be, it's right there.
"What happened to your forehead?" I asked
"Huh?" Rikka put touched her forehead, recalled the bandage's existence, and became pale. "Oh, this? You see, last night, I was locked in a perilous battle with-"
She made another sideways glance. "No, it's too soon for you to know about that"
"Jeeze, why can't you speak like a person for three minutes?" I sighed. Regardless of whether magic is real or not, there is no end to her chunni and her magical parts. I heard Yumeha walk into the hallway to get ready for school.
"The reason I have come to your base today was this" Rikka reached down and picked up something from the floor. At first glance, it looked like a regular grey and white cat with yellow eyes. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a bit more than that. It had two pink wings sprouting from its back, like a bird. And the tail was longer than a normal cat, it was scally and bright green. I blinked, realizing it wasn't just scally, it was a snake.
"What in the world is that?"
"This is Chimera," Rikka explained. "Sometimes, weak monsters can slip into our world, in which case the Invisablibe Boundary Lines disguises them as animals. Chimera is one such creature. I was searching for said Boundary Lines when I came across this creature in its ultimate form"
I slowly pieced together what she said in normal person speak. "...You found a stay and want to keep it?"
"Indeed, she will become my loyal familiar." As she spoke, Rikka started to stroke the cat's fur. "Being a hunter of other interdimensional entities, Chimera has the power to locate and even cross the Invisible Boundary Lines. She will be incredibly beneficial to my search. However, this is where the problem arises, being that Chimera's beast-type magic causes a dangerous autoimmune reaction in the priestess. "
Processing...loading... "Ah- she's allergic?" I asked the rhetorical question as I looked at her soon to be familiar.
"Therefore, I must rely on my most powerful companion, Dark Flame Master to-"
"No"
"Such a strong answer so quickly!"
I reapplied my dragon sealing bandage as I summoned a magic circle.
"Quick Change: School Uniform"
A quick flash of magic light later, and I was standing in my uniform, nicely groomed and feeling pretty energized.
"I have to admit, life has been pretty normal with you recall I have a bunch of new supernatural powers. Things have been 75% easier for me now"
"Oh yeah? You try taking on an archdemon someday." Rikka said with a pout
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
Just then, Yumeha stepped back into the room ready for school.
"Goodbye, big brother, goodbye Rikka-SAAHHHH!"
The second she stepped into the room, there was a magic circle on the floor. Unlike normally stepping on it, her foot phased through it, causing her to slip. She let out a yelp as she fell into the glowing drawing on the floor as if it was just a large hole in the ground.
"Yumeha!" I called
"Don't worry, I'll get her out!" Rikka dived into the circle calling that out. Before I could join her, however, her head poked back out.
"What's going on?"
"It's nothing to worry about. Just go on with your day as normal, my Wicked Eye tells me that no harm will come to Yume-AHH"
Rikka was seemingly yanked back inside the circle by something.
Everything was silent for a few moments as I debated if I should go in there after them.
Suddenly a puff of smoke shot out from the ground and there stood my dark-haired classmate.
He looked around, noticed the circle, quickly said "Don't worry I got this!" and jumped into the circle with a backflip, flashing me a peace sign on his way down. After he had gone through the circle, it vanished.
Why is he always involved when something magic is happening? I feel gaps in my memory and a gut feeling was telling me he was connected somehow. Rikka never mentions him with anything magic so it's confusing.
For some reason, with both of them in there, I don't feel very reassured.
Having a cat wouldn't be bad. It just wouldn't be ideal. A cat could alter this almost perfect normal I have managed to achieve. Ignoring that fact, Rikka shouldn't be asking me for favors after she turned my baby sister into a 4 by 4 infinite water source.
Later at school, it went on as normal. Until Isshiki told me a little something that could be bad.
"Hey dude, the guys are making a ranking list of the hottest girls in school! Who is your vote?" he asked me in a stage whisper.
"Making something like that is like wearing all red to a bulls family reunion, you're asking to get a giant mob to run you through, basically suicide" I deadpanned
"Don't worry, your man Issiki got it under control"
Poor, naive Isshiki. He doesn't realize how sexist this world really is. Double standards and expectations apply to all genders. It's been that way since the beginning and will most likely stay that way long after we are gone.
I noticed then, my dark-haired classmate from before, had walked into the room, looking slightly sloppier than normal but all in one piece. What was concerning is that Rikka didn't show up. when our eyes met, he had this wild look in his eyes, it seemed barely held back.
Back to the topic of girls, Nibutani interrupted the conversation Isshiki and I were having. Thankfully without hearing what we had been discussing.
"Hey, Togashi? Can I expect to see you in the school kitchen during lunchtime? The cooking teacher asked us to count and inspect the utensils!" She said after walking up to my desk.
Throwing the fact I had a strange morning, the day was fairly good. Until lunchtime had come.
"...three by four...yep twelve in total," I said as I checked the last box of beakers.
I let out a relieved sigh as we put away the utensils.
"Great! Now the boring part is over," Nibutani said with a warm smile as she put her clipboard down. Then she walked past me to put the list in her binder, and as she strolled by I got a small hint of her perfume. Definitely feminine but not overpowering. She was quite literally, picture-perfect. Add in the image of her standing near the bright sunny window, she looked 5 times better than normal.
"Say, how are you liking the student council work so far?" She asked, snapping me out of my staring(What? I wasn't staring, you were staring). "Just ask if you don't understand anything at all! I can be pretty scatterbrained, so I probably forgot to tell you something."
"Really?" I felt my eyes widen. "You never struck me as the type who forgets things easily."
"Aren't I a good actor?" Nibutani winked with that. "Something you notice, especially when it comes to leadership, is that people don't care one bit about how you actually perform, but how you present yourself to others! As long as you hide with a cute smile and use the right words, you could be an absolute imbecile and still be treated as a model citizen. Oh, but of course, I try to do my best in my position. Being class president isn't a simple responsibility, I'll tell you that much. "
I couldn't help but feel like an idiot, being explained something too great for me to understand. But that was crazy, it's not like she's Rikka spewing riddles all day long.
I heard a scoff by the door, and a familiar voice(One that lacks a proper name) mutter, "Oh tell me about it. You slay queen"
Ignoring that, because maybe if I reject his existence, he won't bring anything abnormal.
Keep the ball rolling idiot!
"Really? I never would have guessed," I said. "Hey, maybe you should join the drama club!"
Are you kidding me?! Drama club?! Almost anything could have been better than that!
"Well, I don't plan on joining the cheerleading club," She said. "The perfect balance or fitness, performance, and intellect"
"The cheerleading club?" I asked, feeling some blood rush to my face. "Well, I don't much about that, but I think you'd be great at it!"
Oh god, keep the image of how AMAZING she would look in a cheerleading outfit out of my head!
"You think so?" She asked with a giggle. "What about you? I bet you are thinking of joining a really cool club as well"
"A club?" I brought a finger to my chin. "No, I can't really say that any of them interest me. I mean, at the end of the day, I'm just a completely normal guy without any niche interests."
"Are you sure?" Nibutani closed in on me a little. "I get the odd feeling you're not telling me something"
Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it! I clued her in like an idiot! I was making some ground but it will all be out the window if she hears one word about my past!
"Besides, you seemed like a really nifty guy when we first met that day," She said as I could stop myself from doing a double-take as she went on to describe it. "Remember how we bumped into each other in cliche romance manga fashion? On the first day of school, no less"
"You remember that?" I asked with wide eyes. After clearing my throat, I rephased. "I mean, I'd never think you'd remember a random guy at the train station"
"You're exactly right! But can you imagine how excited I was to find out we were in the same class? It's total manga logic no doubt about it!"
PaNiC mOdE eNgAgEd... Deep breaths play it, cool man, play it cool.
Let's do a quick review.
Fact 1: She had voted for me to become the vice president and seemed happy when I got the job.
Fact 2: She remembered our first meeting in detail.
Fact 3: She said she was excited when she learned we were in the same class
Conclusion: This could be the perfect end to my Chuuni days, a fresh high school romance!
Before I ask her out, even if this could be the perfect time to do it, I should think of what could happen.
I tried to imagine a good outcome, but the one I asked her if she wanted to walk home together, she held that same smile, and said "Not in a million years loser!"
"Uh...is something wrong?" She asked as she closed in on me a bit more.
Screw it! I wouldn't be able to handle it if I got turned down like that!
"It's nothing," I said with a chuckle. Suddenly a small humming sound drew my attention to the wall. Magic humming! A magic circle was now drawn, like the one in my room. A small female voice yelped as an equally small figure fell out.
"Yumeha?" I asked with eyes that were widening for the umpteenth time.
Right after my sister, Rikka came sliding out of the circle as it vanished, looking dazed.
"T-Takanashi?" Nibutani asked.
"My name is Rikka," she turned to face me. "Huh, Dark Flame Master, how did you get here so fast?"
"Dark Flame-"
"It's nothing! Nothing at all" I nearly yelped as I scrambled to block Nibutani's view of Rikka, while Rikka looked at the clock at letting out a gasp.
"Uh, Yumeha, I think you've summed us five hours into the future at Yuuta's school"
"Huh?" The small girl asked. Rikka let out a small sigh. "Don't worry about it, it's not the first time I've time traveled. Hang on, let me tell Yuuta from the past not to worry."
With those words, she stuck her head back into the circle and remained still for several seconds. Eventually, I got tired of waiting and yanked her out by her shoulders.
Wait a second, if they vanished 5 hours ago doesn't that mean...
"AH!" Rikka exclaimed. "What did I do wrong?"
"Ruin the moment that's what!" I said and then let go of her.
Suddenly, the portal from the wall opened again, and falling through was the dark-haired classmate from earlier. He tumbled out, slammed against the floor like he had jumped in from the window.
He groaned and got up. "Man, it was just you being a jerk! No monster. I guess I'll go fight something since you got me excited." He said before a poof of smoke shrouded him and he was gone.
Rikka created another magic circle under Yumeha and she vanished. Rikka glanced over at Nibutani. "Sorry, you had to see that."
"Oh, it's no problem!" Nibutani said with a chuckle. "If you don't mind me asking, where have you been all day?"
The Invisible Boundary Lines puts in some work.
"Well...I suppose you could say I did not exist from the time I entered the portal and exited. The same goes for Yuuta's litter sister, who I just teleported to her school"
"That was your little sis?" Nibutani turned to me. "She was really cute!"
Ok, this is much better!
"Uh, yeah, her name is Yumeha, if you didnt already notice," I commented. While I was doing that, Rikka was examining the lock on the medicine cabinet.
"Hmph. Basic human technology. Knock" She chanted, lightly tapping the glass. What seemed to be a small boom of energy, purely sound, made me cover my ears. The cabinet proceed to open, unlocked, even though it was locked a few moments ago.
"Oh my, the teacher must've forgotten to lock it," Nibutani said as Rikka started to pull out a few different medications.
"I was going to get this on my way to school, but there's no time now. Chimera requires more magic to sustain itself in this realm than I first presumed, so I must rely on some of the bureau's carefully hidden manna options-GGGGAAAHHH!" She was cut off by me grabbing her ear.
"Can't you be normal for five seconds?" I asked sternly.
"Chimera?" Nibutani asked with a raised eyebrow. "You mean, that thing from Greek Mythology?"
"It's just a cat she found," I explained. "It's got grey fur and a diamond shape on its forehead. But enough about that, what's all this about time travel?"
"It would seem Yumeha's attempt at a teleportation spell was poorly focused through her mental image and thus incorporated the fourth dimension-"
"Did you say grey cat with a mark on its forehead?" Nibutani asked cutting Rikka off. "I heard someone else lost a cat with that exact description."
"Huh?"
.
"Hmm, yes, that does sound a lot like Dodoman," the short red-eyed, brown-haired girl nodded. "Oh excuse my manners, my name is Kumin Tsuyuri."
"I mean, I could be wrong, but it does seem pretty accurate," I said. We had sought out our upperclassmen here due to Nibutani telling us we may have found Kumin's lost cat.
"She also has large great pink wings and a scally green tail with the head of a snake on the end-OOF!"
"Don't listen to her. Anyways why don't you come back home with us, and you can have a look at it."
"Really? Thank you very much, um..."
"Ah yes, I forgot," Rikka said. "I am the 95th holder of the Eye of the Wicked Lord, and this is Dark Flame Mas-OUCH!" I pulled her hair.
"I'm Yuuta Togashi and this is Rikka Takanashi."
Out of nowhere Rikka struck a pose and said "I'm getting a magic reading of three times that of normal human level. Who are you really, Kumin Tsuyuri-OWWW!"
After school, The three of us headed back to Rikka's apartment. At first, I thought about using a good ole special wings spell, but I don't exactly understand how the Invisible Boundary Lines work. Even if Kumin didnt notice me running at the speed of sound, she is more than likely to notice me picking her up and putting her down. Even then, I don't want rumors like that flying around. My chances with Nibutani would sink fast.
Before you entered Rikka's current dwelling, you can feel something different. Or see. She had a calculator was taped to the door. Like you must know how to divide these numbers or YOU SHALL NOT PASS!
"This is the room just above mine," I told, Kumin. "Takanashi climbs down a rope every day to visit, even when she could very easily use the stairs and come in through the front door."
"Wow, sounds exciting!" Kumin said.
"Its Rikka" Rikka comented
Kumin just smiled. Even though she was missing a cat, she was a very happy person.
"Are you two childhood friends or something?" Kumin asked
I just chuckled before replying. "That's hardly the case. She only moved in a week ago"
"Shush!" Rikka demanded. "Deactivating level 3 barrier now, inputting passcode..."
She started putting numbers into the calculator when she suddenly grasped at her eye.
"Another vision...She is closing in on our position" Rikka muttered
"Who?" Kumin asked.
"It's nothing. Hurry up and open the door already" I said after a small sigh and a wave of my hand
"We need to hurry," Rikka pulled out her key and put it in her mouth.
"What are you do-"
Suddenly my classmate appeared, placed his hand on the door, and it swung open without a sound.
Before I could ask, he looked at me, winked, and said. "Your sister left the door unlocked for you. She asked me to watch the door for you guys and tell you it was unlocked."
Something about his tone of voice, and how random it was, made me feel like he was lying.
He reached forward and pulled Rikka's key out of her mouth, whipped it clean with a tissue, and handed it back to her.
"Hey, if this isn't your cat, I think I might know where you can find it." He said to Kumin then walked off.
"Who was that?" Kumin asked
"He's...a classmate of ours. I don't know what his name is"
"Oh. I see"
We were quickly pushed in by Rikka, who had an abnormal room as well.
It looked like fragments of other worlds were taken and stuck together in a nice dark-ish way, Which is pretty possible knowing Rikka.
Several clocks set to a bunch of different times were hung on the leftmost wall, each was a different style as well. The decorations went back to the middle ages straight to fantasy and Sci-fi. There were the ghosts of a normal girl's room, a bed, a computer on a desk, and a bookshelf full of manga and books that looked ancient.
"Welcome to the other side," Rikka smiled as she almost seductively lounged on the desk chair, reminding me of a manga I had once read. "The barrier blocks out the Invisible Boundary Lines, meaning there is no masking the darkness here."
"Yeah, whatever," I said as I scanned the room more. "This is worse than my old room..." My gaze fell on a golden pharaoh's head next to her bed.
"Aw, what a cute stuffed turtle!" Kumin said as she leaned down to pet the plush on the floor. "What's his name?"
She was seemingly unaffected by the gothic vibes I was getting from this room.
"That's Genbu, guardian of the Wicked Eye. Should the current holder of the eye be killed or worse, chuunirized, then it is his duty to find the next one" Rikka explained. Just then I let out a gasp.
I had noticed something very cool on her wall.
"Is that...a Mauser c96?" I asked pointing at the decorative(At least I assume it is) gun on the wall.
"It is a sacred pistol that possesses a power strong enough to penetrate adamantine"
"Amazing! I didnt think there'd be anything actually cool in here" I said, awe-struck. "Can I touch it?"
I took the gun down from the wall and didnt bother to hide my squeal.
"Wow, this is so cool!" Without thinking about anything but the weapon in my hands, I mimicked shooting the weapon in an arc before doing a pose I had recalled. "Bang! Don't move!"
Then Kumin let out a giggle. I realized I was starting to regress. Bad Yutta. Chuunni bad. Normal good.
"Gah! I mean, it's a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced in Germany from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20th century, which is probably how Tatnkashi managed to get it. I've always liked military history, you know?"
"Wow, Yuuta, you know a whole bunch of weird facts!" Kumin smiled. She still looked oddly cute in this situation.
DAMN IT YUUTA! You just had to nerd out right in front of her! I pray she doesn't tell anyone about this...
As that was happening, Rikka was watering a strange series of plants using magic.
"The arrangement of this room allows a strong arcane flow, meaning I can use magic without calling upon my mana reserves. That said, moving a secret few objects would result in our death. Also, it is Rikka."
"Whatever you say," I said. "Back to the topic, where is the cat?"
Rikka gave a confident grin. "I've placed a minor illusion over it to conceal it among this room. No one would be able to find it unless they possessed a great magical power rivaling my me and-"
"Oh, here it is!" Kumin exclaimed as she lifted the cat off a nearby shelf.
"Eh? Who told you?!" Rikka panicked and drew her umbrella.
"Good grief," I said. "Anyways, is this Dodoman?"
Kumin narrowed her eyes at the cat, who meowed back at her.
"Sorry, I'm afraid this isn't my cat," Kumin set it back down. "The whiskers are too long and Dodoman doesn't have wings or a snake tail."
"So you can see them! What kind of magic-OWCH" I smacked her as she tried to say something weird.
"For goodness sakes, she's not a Nemah, Takanashi!"
"Of course not, her heart is too pure," Rikka said. "I'm saying she's an Exalt, the other magic-using race that resembles humans"
I rolled my eyes. "Sorry we couldn't help you, Tsuyuri-san"
"It's okay! You tried your best! Maybe your friend knows a thing or two!" Kumin said with a smile. Suddenly a figure appeared at the door.
"Who the heck brought that cat in?" They asked. Rikka gasped.
The newcomer was a young woman, who looked to be around her early twenties, pricing red eyes that could cut metal, long black hair, a kinda creepy expression, and a thin, but no doubt athletic figure.
"How could I have been so blind!" Rikka exclaimed. "My vision is 63 minutes closer than I thought! Engaging lockdown!"
Rikka yanked a nearby cord, which upon further inspection was connected to a series of pulleys that heaved the doot to block the woman. In a quick sliver flash, a shiny object made contact with the door, forcing it open like it was a crowbar.
"All hands, prepare to evacuate!" Rikka yelled as she threw herself out the window.
"Hey, wait a minute-" I said before the woman surprisingly leaped after her. The two of them scurried down the rope Rikka uses to get to my Appartement. I had a fairly decent idea of where they were going.
I hurried down the stairs to my apartment, still holding the cat, and I found them squaring off on opposite ends of my bed like two warriors giving each other the respect of an honorable fight.
"Hey! Why the heck are you on my bed?"
"Sorry, I'll end this quickly," the woman said.
"Wow, I've never seen a real battle before," Kumin said with her eyes lighting up.
"Then be prepared to be disappointed"
"I knew this day would come, but not on this one particularly!" Rikka whipped out her umbrella. "Scharkz Shield!"
It glowed a bright yellow as Rikka opened it and thrust forward like it was a spear. The stranger smacked away the projectile, but RIkka jumped off the bed and sprinted towards the wall, where she started to run up the side of the bookshelf.
"Don't wreak my stuff!"
"You're going to backflip arent you?" Kumin asked excitedly.
"Avalon Smash!" Rikka shouted as her umbrella now shone with red light and she jumped off the wall, fully ready to land this amazing attack-
that was until she hit the lamp fixture...with her entire body. So after she hit the lamp fixture hanging from the ceiling, she landed with a slightly muffled thump on the bed in front of who she was going to attack.
"Sorry you had to see that," she said. "My name is Touka Takanashi. This thing here is my little sister."
Soon enough all three of us were sitting down in Touka's living room. And all of them were talking.
"As I'm sure you are well aware of, she is a bit of a handful," She said.
"Yeah, no kidding," I said. "Didn't she call you the high priestess of-"
"The Invisible Boundary Line Bureau?" She asked. "Yeah, that's my job. Though, it's mostly just to pay my tuition fees for culinary school. I'll spare you the boring parts and just get straight to what I need. Meaning, that cat out of here."
"Excuse me?" I asked
"I want you to get that cat out of here anyway necessary," Touka said. "I can't touch the damn thing and I don't care about what happens to it. Kick it out, sell it, give it away, whatever. Just do it quickly."
"Wait you want me to..." I slowly processed what she was saying.
"What, you cant do it?" She asked me.
"Well... it's just it seems a bit strange"
"Thought so," She drew her silver weapon, which I can now see is a ladle, "Let me be clearer. You don't have a choice"
"I...think she's threatening us" Kumin commented
"Of course, I don't want it to have to end like that. That's why I also brought this" Touka said as she placed a small digital recorder on the small table between us.
"This is a recording of a certain individual on a certain balcony a couple of years ago. I think this should help make my point."
She pressed the button and the sound of crazy laughter was heard. But something about it just made me want to curl up on the floor and beg for it to be shut off.
"This is not a performance, nor is it a dream. A Mayan prophecy dictates that this world shall be drawn into the dark realm in ten years' time, permanently erasing all life as we know it."
Wait...No..It couldn't be...
"Eh? What are you talking about?
But they shall fear no more for I am-"
My jaw effectively hit the floor. It was an event that had happened two years ago when I was in my phase. I may have done some things, but this is the most embarrassing.
"Using the power of the Black Flame Dragon, I shall-"
I shrieked and lunged for it, but Touka moved faster than me, snatching the small torture device. As it continued to play, I writhed on the ground, feeling my emotional pain quickly shifting into physical pain as my voice continued to spew a volcano of cringe. Meanwhile, Kumin was listening, looking very interested.
"Oh, wow, were you an actor Yuuta?"
"AH! PLEASE! YOU WIN! I'LL GET THE CAT OUT! PLEASE JUST MAKE IT STOP!" I wailed on the ground
She turned it off. "My hobbies include cooking, martial arts, and posting embarrassing things on the internet. You know what to do."
"*Sniff* Yes...ma'am" I said with some tears still in my eyes.
All three of us went to Rikka's room, where the cat was being held. But when they got in the room, both Rikka, Chimera were gone, and the window was open.
"Oh boy..." I said, feeling Touka's gaze tearing into my very soul.
We all quickly hurried out of the building, Kumin and I quickly started our pursuit of Rikka, who made it pretty easy with how loud her footsteps were in the quiet night.
Silently cursing myself for not being able to erase every speck of what caused my family a great dishonor, I swore to use my new powers to delete every speck of what happened back then off the face of the earth and any other world that might be there.
I quickly picked up Kumin into my arms.
"Huh? Oh my Yuuta, this is so sudden!" She said
"Don't get the wrong idea!" I said quickly. "Incarnate Wings!"
Instantly I shot forward in Rikka's direction, with the street becoming a blur around me. I started to try and zero in on her location.
"Togashi let's run together to the ends of the earth!" Kumin exclaimed, once again sounding a bit too happy and cute for the current situation.
"I don't understand what you're saying or if Rikka's actually right about you!"
Just then, Rikka suddenly appeared running next to me. She looked like she was going faster before and was just slowing down to keep pace with us.
"Run to the ends of the earth, my comrades, for freedom awaits!"
"What the heck are you doing? Why are you running off?" I questioned her
"You truly have no idea who we're dealing with. One of the most powerful priestesses of the Dark Organization is after us. Not only is her magic reading a grand total of 750, but her intelligence, charisma, and persistence make her a truly formidable foe!"
I couldn't help but wonder. "Why does it make her sound like a boss in a video game?"
"It's how it works," A new voice said, I turned and saw my dark-haired...acquaintance. "You didn't realize that the majority of our abilities come from or resemble something from somewhere else right? Like AP, or how summoning works"
"I see," I said.
I looked at him and he was perfectly keeping pace with us, but he didn't look like he was running like Rikka and me.
"I guess I should finally become a friend with you guys." He said with a shrug. "I feel like the time is right"
"Yeah, that reminds me, is she right about you?" I asked. But everyone ignored me.
"Her power extends beyond even my imagination. One time, I attempted to seal her with unbreakable chains, but she replaced herself with a duplicate in advance!"
"Are you sure, she didn't really seem very priestess-like?" Kumin asked.
"That is her greatest strength, deception. She sews lies on those foolish enough to even consider trusting her, and then she robs them of their power and erases their memories, just like what was done to, Dark Flame Master!"
"Wait, is Yuuta the Dark Flame Master?" Kumin scratched her chin. "Sorry, I'm kind of losing the plot here."
"Never mind! Everyone stop!" Rikka yelled. Causing all of us to dive behind a bush.
Now we were all in a park for small children. "I can sense her arrival, she's coming. Running is futile if she knows where we are."
Kumin raised her head above the bush. A bright spinning of silver shot at her head but a metal hand had blocked it from hitting her cheek and the other yanked her down.
"Are you insane woman?!" The dark-haired one whispered. "She was only going to cut your cheek but where are your survival instincts?"
The sliver made a wide arch before he stuck his hand back out, catching it.
"Crap, the Lethal Dipper. Not a bad weapon" He muttered. Suddenly his body started to glow green. "Oh, man. I'm out of time."
"Sorry Yuuta, cant help you with this one. Man, I wanted to fight today, and I could have taken her. See me tomorrow. FU-" He was cut off by his body vanishing in a flash of green.
I blinked. I felt the holes in my memory slowly filling themselves. I thought for a moment, what in the world is this guy?
"Her weapon is the lethal Dipper, a weapon designed for the killing of nonhumans," Rikka explained. "You see now what we're dealing with, right?"
So she was evil the whole time!
"What do we do? Should we fight her two on one?"
"No, my Magic reading is only 500, and your training has yet to be complete meaning yours is only 25...no, 50 at the moment. Even together, we stand no chance of success."
"So, then what do we do? We can't keep running or we might lose our heads!"
Rikka was silent for a few moments before she spoke again. "I will slow her down in the Overlap you take Chimera and Kumin and get out of here as fast as you possibly can. It won't be much, but I will sacrifice myself so you three may live on."
"What? Nobody is getting sacrificed-"
"Stop. Nothing will ever get in the way of my search, not even my sister."
"Takanashi..." I said, feeling speechless. I've only known her for a week but she was willing to be the buffer between him and her killer ladle-wielding sister. I felt something bubble up in my chest. But I didn't have time to figure out what it was as she jumped out of the bush with her umbrella.
"Oh my, this is amazing!" Kumin commented
"Go now! Take them both and get out of here! I'm entering the Overlap!"
"Wait-"
"Comeforth, Schwarzech Prototype Mark II!" She twirled it around like a baton without much effort. "Reality rejected; synapses shattered!"
Rikke did several consecutive somersaults in the air as she made her way over to her sister.
"Banishment!" She stopped and took her eye patch in her hand. "From this world!"
With one large motion, she tore off the patch, showing her golden eye for the first time in days. A blast of red magic surged forward, surrounding the area around the sisters. The red soon faded into a pale blue, glowing like the moon. I stared at the new arena that had formed from nowhere.
"In accordance with the covenant of blood, I summon thee, Konigin der Nacht," she pricked her thumb on her teeth, letting a drop of blood land upon her umbrella. In a fantastic show of lights and shifting components, like an anime transformation, it was now a large hooked weapon, that looked like an axe but it was dual-bladed on one side.
Touka wordlessly twirled her ladle and it shifted into a larger mechanical version as she slowly approached her sister.
They locked eyes as they held their weapons.
"Oh my, this could be an amazing fight!" Kumin exclaimed
Rikka started the fight by jumping 30 feet into the air and pulling her weapon back for a swing.
"Dark Matter Blaze!" She shouted, launching a blast of energy with her swing. But her sister simply swatted it to the side with the round end of her ladle and flipped it as a yellow orb began growing in the empty part.
Rikka jumped back as a laser beam cut into the ground she was previously standing on, sending dirt flying at her. As she landed, Rikka charged forwards and their weapons met with a loud unmistakable metallic clang.
"Nergal Blast!" She planted the hilt of her ax into the ground, conjuring a similarly colored magic circle from which a series of blasts shot out aimed towards Touka, who gracefully maneuvered around each before moving in for a direct strike. The sister proceeded to exchange and parry blow after blow while I watched.
This...this is what she meant battle...I got myself stuck into this? Oh god, it's already almost too intense for me and I don't even have a clue what's going on!
Suddenly Touka's image disappeared and materialized behind Rikka. The smaller girl was unable to defend herself as her sister slammed the edge of her weapon into Rikka's forehead, knocking her out.
She scoffed at her sister's limp body on the grass. "When will you learn that fantasy should remain exactly that, a fantasy?"
SMACK!
"Don't bring any more cats home, understand?" Touka asked us three teenagers sternly. Waving her sore forehead maker AKA Ladle.
"Yes ma'am"
"I'll let it go this time but don't do it again," She said. She pulled out a box of adhesive bandages from her pocket and threw them to us. "I imagine you have questions. You get three."
"Three?" I asked
"First question. Because that is all I have the time for and that's all you need. Next one?"
"Huh?" I slapped myself. I just wasted a question. "Okay, who are you really?"
She paused before responding.
"Second Question. My name is Touka Takanashi. I'm stuffing to become a chef, I look after my little sister, and I have a part-time job as the High Priestess of the Invisible Boundary Lines. Last one?"
"Why are you two fighting?"
"Third Question. Rikka doesn't understand how dangerous the forces she's playing with are. What's more, she refuses to acknowledge the fact that the days of magic are long gone, and her stubbornness is what causes all of these problems"
With that, she turned on her heel and walked away.
"Hey..uh..." I turned to face Rikka. "We aren't going to be doing this...often, are we?"
"If we are to find and destroy the Invisible Boundary Lines, then we must fight as often as possible," Rikka said the second her sister was out of earshot.
"And, why, exactly?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Cause the way I see it, those lines are the only thing that maintains my normal high school life despite you and my powers"
"Because that normal life is built on lies!" Rikka exclaimed. "Humans were never meant to exist in the first place, you know?"
"Oh really do tell!" Kumin said once again excited. "By the way, guys look what I learned to do"
She clapped her hands together and when she pulled her palms away, a green glow came from them. Then white magic circles appeared on her palms and she placed her right hand on the ground with her left hand on top.
"Kumin.. it is amazing you figured that out on your-" Rikka was cut off by another puff of smoke. One that was very familiar.
Out of the smoke came our companion. He looked around a few times confused. "What the-"
"Oh my! I made him show up again!" Kumin squealed.
Rikka looked just as confused as I was.
I gave him a questioning look and he shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not even too sure myself. Must be got to do with that prophecy around me."
I raised a questioning eyebrow and he held his fingers to his lips. "So, Kumin, considering you summoned me, you must have something I can help you with."
"Rikka was about to tell us about how humans weren't supposed to exist"
He sighed. "Sorry to steal your thunder Rikka but do you mind if I take the reins on this?"
"Of course."
"There were once two main races that used magic in this world, both of which were very dominant. They are the Exalt and the Nemah. Both were humanoid in appearance, at the end of the day the only difference was the type of magic they could use. They differed in appearance before crossbreeding. Anyway, long story short, a group called the Dark Organization made the Invisible Boundary Lines and took away their magic. They also kinda rule over everything with all the stolen magic to rule the world."
"So...is that a bad thing?" Kumin asked.
"Yeah, in a nutshell, we are just going to get worse and worse. And this could possibly lead to things from other cosmos or something coming to eat the last of us that remain something. Rikka wants to free the magic of the Exalut and Nemah so humans can be changed back and a life worthy of peace and yadda yadda."
Kumin looked confused and so was I. "You make it sound like you have a different objective," I said, feeling my guard rise just slightly.
"I do. I want a chance to see my old friends again. I'm here for your cause because I've lost friends, not just to chuunirazation but the organization themselves" He said, his eyes becoming stormy. "Well, I have one more thing that would be best to tell you much later on, when the team is assembled"
"The team?" I asked.
"A little squad like this isn't going to cut it, not when one of us is still training, one of us can use their full power until later, and another just started to show her colors as magic like a couple of hours ago"
Suddenly more green smoke showed up around him. "Damn I'm out of time. Yuuta, hang on, I'll be back soon as I could!"
After he vanished, Kumin tried to do the palm thing, but all she could do was glow, nothing else happened.
Later when I was home, Yumeha showed me how she learned how to make shaved ice with her magic. I thought about Rikka.
She could die, but she fights without hesitation. Maybe I should give her some more credit.
I watched Yumeha happily find Chimera and start talking about how cute it is.
Or I might just be a bigger coward than most
Kumin's cat was found at her house with a note and a flower. It was a forget me not. All the green piece of paper said was
Not lost, just forgotten.