Chapter 39
My Ojoh-chan; Death's Nephew
June 23, 2021; Sunday
Mirror Dimension; Niflheim: Floor 60
(Afternoon)
"'Sup, fellas! The name's Sho, Sho Minazuki!", the red-haired man said to everybody with a wide smile on his face.
Everyone just stared at Sho with a look of confusion on their faces. Finally, Johei broke the silence.
"Uh, so, what are you doing here?"
"Sho" just sighed and shook his head.
"Why do I always get that reaction?"
"Probably because of your excellent timing, kid", a deep voice suddenly spoke to Sho.
Mikan jumped when she realised that the voice was right behind her.
"Oh, sorry about that. I'm Tsukuyomi, this kid's Persona."
Tsukuyomi was dressed in a large black overcoat with some streaks of red at the collar and opening; Black flames were protruding into two horn-like shapes on his head; At his side was a sword made of the same black flames and his face was covered by a golden mask. Sho looked annoyed.
"Hey, will ya stop calling me a kid? I'm older than twenty, ya know."
"Yes, but you still act like a child; always rushing in without thinking and itching for a fight, it's a miracle I'm able to protect you sometimes"
Sho brushed him off and faced the SPT.
"Oh yeah, speaking of fighting, you guys wanna go at it right now?"
Tsukuyomi face-palmed himself as he shook his head.
"And there he goes again."
Sho drew his swords and pointed them at Kaz. Kaz, quickly took a step back.
"W-wait, hold on just a seco-"
"Here I come!"
Sho crossed his arms and dashed towards Kaz with a speed much faster than the average human. Instinctively, Kaz drew his sword and blocked the oncoming attack. Unfortunately, the impact caused him to lose his grip on it; Sho was above him with his swords ready to strike until
*SMACK*
Tsukuyomi gave Sho a hard slap on the back of the head, sending him flying to the side.
"Honestly, kids these days", he murmured to himself.
After Sho recovered from the swift punishment of his Persona, he sheathed his swords and got down to business.
"I just happen to be passing through, got a couple of things I gotta take care of; things I have no intention of sharing."
Kazuhiko nodded.
"Seems fair enough". Sho continues.
"As for helping you guys out, this guy promised me a good match. I expect to be paid in full", he said as he jerked his thumb at Daichi.
Johei shot a glare at his red-headed friend.
"Dude!", he whispered
"Why the hell did you do that?!"
Daichi glared right back at him.
"Well what was I supposed to do? I couldn't fight because of my arm and he was willing to help!"
"Do not underestimate Master Daichi's kindness!", Hugin retorted.
"Feel free to be honored by his aid!", Munin continued.
"Will you two just shut up already?", an annoyed Loki asked.
Sho then took out a knife and started to clean his fingernails with it.
"So, come on already! I'm tired of waiting!"
Tsukuyomi sighed again and turned to the SPT.
"I'm sorry to force this on you all, but Sho never backs down from a fight. If you could hold your ground against him for a little while-"
"Say no more, we will be glad to partake in this crossing of swords", Tyr quickly answered.
Everyone then turned to Kaz's Persona with a surprised look while Tyr just stared back with confusion.
"What? This'll be a good chance to train!"
"Right after we fought for our lives earlier?! Kaz, you gotta stop being so headstrong!", Johei said to his friend.
"Hey, that's him talking, not me!"
"An answers an answer! Here I go!", Sho shouted once again.
He drew his swords and charged.
"Guess we got no choice. Tyr!", Kazuhiko said as he broke his chains.
"Masukukaja!"
Kaz side stepped quickly and dodged Sho's attack as he charged up his sword for an attack.
"Raikouzan!"
With a strike as fast as a bolt of lightning, he swung his sword at Sho's exposed back only to blocked by Tsukuyomi.
"Sorry about this", he replied as he drew his sword.
"Vorpal Blade!"
He used the flat of his sword, but it didn't do much less in terms of damage. Kazuhiko was sent flying into the air where Sho quickly followed up.
"Here we go!"
Sho's scar started to glow blue, but instead of using his power on Kaz, he directed the pressure on his swords. In a downward strike, he sent Kaz all the way to the ground, causing a slight crater to form in the floor. As Sho landed on the ground, he felt an arrow graze past his face.
"Hgh!"
He quickly dodged another arrow that came from Mikan's bow before running towards her.
"Not so fast, pal!"
Johei, after bulking himself up with multiple Sukukajas from Yoichi, blinked into existence right in front of Sho and rammed the butt of his spear into his stomach. However, the effect was not so expected.
"Gotta try harder than that to hurt me, lightweight!"
*BONK*
Sho gave Johei a powerful head-butt and rammed him with his shoulder before making his way to Mikan, who continued to fire more arrows and casting more Bufulas at him. Finally, he reached her.
"Shit!", she exclaimed as she reached back in her quiver for another arrow, only to find that she was fresh out.
"I don't think… *huff* *wheeze* I can do anymore", Skadi said as she held herself up on the ground with her bow.
Sho chuckled evilly.
"So, whatcha gonna do now?"
*BAP*
He turned around to see Yoichi holding a thin stick in his hands.
"Uh, I'm sorry?"
Sho struck him at the neck with his hand and sent him on the ground like a sack of potatoes. Everyone looked tired and hurt, either from the previous battle, Sho's onslaught, or a mixture of both; they were all in no shape to fight.
"Geez, you guys were really a bunch of pushovers. I don't know why I bothered with this", he said as he sheathed his swords once again.
"You're all a bunch of weaklings! You guys say you're all about saving people, but you can't even beat me for once in your lives!"
Then he turned to Yuriko who was just watching everything unfold.
"And you, you're the worst of the bunch"
Yuriko jumped back a bit, letting a little "Eep!"
"Yeah, that's right. I know all about you, Yuriko Ikebukoro. You caused your friend's death, you made a disgrace out of another, hell, you're even pulling the entire group down just by being here. And to top it all off, you still think you deserve to live after all that. If you ask me, you're better off dead."
Yuriko looked defeated, based off the expression in her eyes. Sho turned to everyone.
"That goes the same for all of you as well. You're all ungrateful for those lives that you hold. Why do you all deserve to live when so much better people died?"
He then turned to the doorway and proceeded to exit.
"Welp, I'm outta here. My advice? Quit while you're ahead; you guys can't save anyone for real"
"You're wrong", Kaz said.
Sho turned around and raised an eyebrow.
"Sure, we might not be the best candidates for a second chance, but we're the ones who are willing to face our mistakes"
Johei stood up from the ground.
"Don't let him fool you; we want to live out our lives because of those that have died"
"I can't lose now, not when onii-chan gave his life for me", mikan said as she propped herself up with her bow.
"Rika probably won't forgive me if I up and died now. Besides, I've got more things I want to do first."
Iselin brandished her knife at Sho. Then, a familiar face walked next to Yuriko.
"Whatever you're feeling right now, I get it", her reflection said to her.
"I may not seem like I care at all, but feeling guilty is all that I am all the time. It's the act of holding onto that guilt is what you need to stop doing. You can put on a smile anytime, but making that change in you is what really matters."
After what seemed like an eternity, Yuriko nodded her head in understanding.
"I know now"
Kaz poised his sword at Sho.
"Tyr, give me a boost"
"Right away. Tarukaja"
"And a little extra from me"
Suddenly, a green light enveloped Kaz, making him feel more soothed. He turned around to look at Mikan or Yoichi. Both shook their heads. Sho chuckled.
"Well now things just got interesting"
Sho tilted his head a bit and Tsukuyomi immediately advanced onto Kazuhiko.
"Tyr! Cover me!", Kaz yelled.
Just as Tsukuyomi's strike was about to land, Tyr caught the blade in his robotic hand and clenched his other.
"Lightning Strike!"
Sending a shocking uppercut right into the other Persona's gut, Tyr forced back Tsukuyomi and thus made an opening for Kazuhiko. Readying his sword, Kaz prepared to strike until.
"Mikan! Give me some ice!"
"At once! Bufula!"
The ground froze in a path towards Sho, allowing Kaz to slide underneath him, narrowly missing his dual katanas and sweeping his feet.
"Loki, let's get in on this!"
"Aw hell yeah! Jinpugeki!"
Out of nowhere, Johei and Loki attacked Sho in midair; Loki sending a wind charged punch and Johei kicking him by using his spear as a vaulting pole. As a result, Sho was sent flying.
"Ugh! Hey, a little help here?"
"*sigh* can it, kid"
Tsukuyomi caught his user in the air by his scarlet red hair and set him down.
"OW! Geez! Watch the hair, man!"
"Stop making reckless moves in battle. That, and clench your legs together."
"What?"
"HA!"
*POW*
Iselin propelled herself upward by her legs and sent a crushing flying uppercut to Sho's… nads.
"Shoryuken, bitch!"
As Sho looked up, he could see Kaz's figure slowly rising to him.
"It's over, Minazuki-san!", he shouted.
"I'm putting my all into this last attack, Kazuhiko!"
"Raikouzan!"
*CLANK*
"Tch"
Minazuki sighed as he brushed off the attack with one of his swords.
"You call that a finishing strike? I'll teach you a real attack! Tsukuyomi!"
Tsukuyomi shook his head impatiently.
"Always something to prove, huh?"
He flew up to Sho and drew his sword.
"Forgive me. Brave Blade!"
Suddenly, Yuriko appeared in between the two of them and shoved Kaz back.
"I won't let… I won't let you hurt my senpai!"
"Mirror Edge!"
When Sho's attack collided with Yuriko, the attack had been straight reflected back at him, hitting the redhead square in the chest.
"HAGH!"
"Yuriko-san!"
Yuriko, who had just shielded Kaz, passed out momentarily and was falling down, headfirst. Quickly, Kaz caught her and checked to see if she was okay. Sho, however, fell down on the ground, sprawled out on his back.
"Another happy landing", Tsukuyomi said without any enthusiasm whatsoever.
"Yuriko-san? Are you okay?", Kaz asked her as he slightly shook her.
"Hm… huh?"
Her eyes opened to see Kaz staring back at her.
"Uh, yeah. Just tired."
"That's to be expected. Whatever you did must have taken a lot of effort", Tyr told her.
Then, she realized that Kaz was holding her bridal style.
"Um, senpai, could you put me down?"
"Huh? Oh sure."
Yuriko struggled to stand on her own two feet, but seemed fine. She did, however, looked red-faced.
"Wow, you're already red! Do you have a fever?", Kaz asked as he put his hand to her head.
"Eep!", Yuriko shouted.
She jumped back when Kazuhiko touched her. Loki sighed at the sight.
"Geez, why can't you be like that?", Loki asked Johei.
"Like what?"
"Never mind."
"Welp, looks like my job here is done", Sho said as he got up, as if he was unscathed.
*SMACK*
"Ow! What was that for?!", Sho asked his Persona.
"Aren't you forgetting something?", Tsukuyomi asked him.
Sho looked at everyone and sighed.
"Alright, well I guess I owe you guys an apology… and a little explanation."
"Indeed", Hildr agreed.
"I would like to know why you helped us and attacked us."
Sho took his swords out and stabbed them into the ground. Then he leaned on them as if they were the back of a chair.
"Alright, well where to start? I'm currently on the run from an organization, but a special division decided to keep me around as a rogue support member. I just came here to investigate, then I found a little something on the ground."
He flashed them a small card with a QR code on it.
"That's-!", Daichi started.
"Yeah, the key to get in here", Sho cut him off.
"I followed you guys to make sure everything went okay with the rescue, but she didn't awaken her Persona in the fight yet."
He pointed at Yuriko.
"That threw a wrench in my plans, so I had to fight you guys a little more to cause a trigger in her. So, you're welcome, I guess."
*SMACK*
"Alright alright, I'm sorry!" Sho said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, that's all I owe you guys. Later!"
"Wait, how did you know about our rescue?", Kazuhiko asked him.
Sho froze for a moment, but then continued to make his way to the door; this time with a much faster speed.
"Hey!", Iselin yelled at him.
"Well, are we gonna go after him?"
Daichi shook his head.
"I doubt we'd catch him. Besides, I think that's something best left unspoken."
"Yeah, and we need to get Yuriko out of here too", Mikan added.
Somewhere in the Real World
"Alright, I did what you asked. You happy?", Sho asked.
"Happy? Is that the emotion where one is enveloped in a positive cloud of feelings so much that they could die?", the woman in blue asked.
"I still don't know why you asked us, though", Tsukuyomi asked her.
"Why us when there are many more capable?"
"Hey! Are you underestimating me?!"
The woman shook her head.
"Oh goodness no, although I could defeat you with just the flick of my wrist."
"Why you!"
*CLONK*
The woman hit Sho in the head with the spine of a heavy book, which sent him stepping a few steps back.
"I chose you because you had nothing else better to do. Besides, aren't you glad you found a new hole of shadows to exterminate?"
Sho rubbed his head and grunted.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Now then, there is another reason why I called you here. That boy, the one with the black hair is the key to something very important."
"Huh? What, the new Wildcard? 'Course he's important, I'm not stupid or something."
"Your actions speak otherwise."
Sho glared at Tsukuyomi before turning back.
"I'm sure you're familiar with the arcana that other young man had correct? The power of the World Arcana?"
Sho nodded.
"Yeah, Narukami-senpai was pretty tough. What about it?"
"Well, what if I told you there was another level beyond that?"
Sho's eyes widened.
"Wait, you're not telling me that kid is gonna be even stronger than Yu, are you?"
The woman chuckled.
"Not just stronger than him, but stronger than even my former guest. The potential to be stronger, anyways."
Sho took a newfound interest in the boy now. The women hardly ever talked about her "guest", but from the stories, he was incredibly powerful.
"Well, if that's all you came here to tell me, then I'm outta here. I got another assignment on the way."
The women lightly chuckled.
"And that is specifically why I brought you here."
Sho raised an eyebrow and looked further into the alley. There stood two figures that he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before; One was about the same height as him, the other was much taller.
"Now, for your grand entrance!"
The girl stepped out of the shadows and smiled.
"Thanks Elizabeth-san. As for you", she said as she faced Sho.
"Long time no see, Sho-kun!"
Sho just smiled back and replied.
"Yeah, guess it has been a while, you clanky old robot."
June 24, 2021; Monday
Yuriko's House
(After School)
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
Mikan stepped back from the door after knocking on it, waiting for a response.
"Should we really trouble her just the day after we rescued her?", Hildr asked.
"Yeah, why are we even here, Kaz?", Iselin asked their leader.
"Shouldn't we have given her a few days to rest?"
Kazuhiko shook his head.
"We're here because she asked us to. After I dropped her off with Mika-senpai, she told me that she wanted to get informed today. Besides", he said.
Kaz took an envelope out of his pocket.
"There is something we need to discuss"
"Where'd you get that?", Johei asked.
"I don't remember those two Harbingers dropping anything."
"And I don't blame you. I found it on the ground when we were about to leave. Those two were nowhere to be found, though."
"Wait wait wait", Hugin said.
"The enemy had just mysteriously disappeared and you didn't seem concerned"
Kaz smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I just thought that since we beat them, they wouldn't want to mess with us-"
"And you weren't concerned for Master Daichi's safety?!", Munin shouted.
"What would have happened if we were to lose our strongest fighter?!"
"Please ignore them", Daichi said as the door opened.
"Oh hey guys! Right on time!"
Yuriko looked as if she had slept for three whole days straight; her complexion had definitely improved and she seemed to be quite chipper. Everyone looked surprised.
"Um, hey Yuriko-san", Kazuhiko started
"You look well-"
"You wouldn't believe the half of it!", she interrupted Kaz.
"I can't even believe it myself! I was just laying in bed then ZING! I was just already rested! And that was all in just an hour!"
Everyone looked at each other.
"Persona?", Tyr asked.
"Persona", Kazuhiko confirmed.
"Um, Yuriko so we came her to help you get your grou-"
"Oh, you guys have those things too, huh?"
She pointed to the Persona, who looked surprised.
"Wait, you can see us?", Mimir asked.
Yuriko nodded and Mimir started to space out.
"Fascinating; she already developed the ability to see us in such a short time. The only thing I'm not understanding is how she's not surprised."
"Oh yeah, I should probably introduce my friend."
Yuriko then turned around and went into the house.
"Sorry, what did you say your name was?"
She came back with a moderately sized Persona. The Persona was a lean women dressed in two different clothes; on the right side side, a white bridal gown, on the left, tattered rags that were gray. Atop her head was a crown made of branches and flowers, although the left side was wilted.
"Ah, I believe you are all the ones who saved my dear Ojoh-chan. You have my sincerest gratitude."
Then, the Persona deeply bowed at them with the gracefulness of a noblewoman. Kaz scratched the back of his head.
"Oh no, it was no trouble at all. It is our duty to save those in that world", Tyr replied.
"Oh but there must be some way we can repay you", the woman said seductively.
"Well, you can start with a few plans I had in mind! Please address your attention to the screen that is my fa-!"
*WHACK*
"AH! Okay, maybe I should talk about this later, somewhere secluded, away from the scary ice queen."
Loki then uploaded a winking Tom Hiddleston GIF on his monitor before being hit by Hildr with the blunt end of her axe. Tyr, however, remained oblivious as to what was going on.
"Oh not at all, madame. It really was our pleasure to help!"
Kazuhiko turned to Yuriko.
"Well, I guess you're already situated with your Persona. We'd love to introduce ourselves, but I think that you have questions for us."
Yuriko quickly nodded several times.
"Well then, let's get going to HQ. Hope you like coffee"
Nuzoko Shopping Mall; Cafe
"Another friend?", the waiter asked.
Yoichi nodded.
"Yes sir, Mr. Amada. Can we get a regular round of drinks plus a new order for the newcomer?"
The waiter nodded his head.
"Sure, although you can't stop calling me Mr. Amada; I'm not that old."
After taking their orders, the waiter left them to their conversation. They talked over the details and their past excursions until their drinks arrived.
"Well then Yuriko-san", Johei started
"Anything else you need clarification for?"
Yuriko looked down at the table for a moment, then spoke.
"Yeah, just one thing. What did Soratsu say when you confronted him? That version of him in the other world?"
Kazuhiko sighed knowing that she would ask about this eventually.
"Soratsu was a pretty troubled guy. He still cared for you as one of his best friends, but he's still sore about Amano-san."
Yuriko nodded.
"I had a feeling he was like that. But to see how far he's gone, I thought he would have been worse."
The group stayed in silence for a moment before Yoichi decided to change the subject.
"So, uh, who's your Persona? She seems pretty familiar."
The woman smiled and held her hands together.
"My name is Sieglinde, daughter to King Volsung, sister to Sigmund. I am honored to make your acquaintance."
"You are a princess? That would explain your refined behavior", Skadi pointed out.
"For a Persona to help her user recover from extreme fatigue in that world in one night, that is quite impressive. You have our greatest respect, unlike some people."
The two women turned to Loki, who looked back at them.
"What?"
Sieglinde then turned to Tyr.
"Well then, would you mind telling me your name, handsome?"
Hildr and Skadi sweat-dropped.
"And that respect is swiftly taken away", Hildr responded.
"I am Tyr, God of Courage, or at least I am based off of him."
Sieglinde chuckled and placed her hand on one of her cheeks.
"I see, a brave warrior, are you? I kind of like that in a man."
Loki jumped into the conversation.
"You like bravery? Don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty courageous myself! I once fought and defeated a dragon single-handedly!"
Daichi raised an eyebrow.
"The dragon was pretty small and was already weakened by our other attacks. You just finished it off with a simple Bash."
"But I still killed it."
Sieghilde stepped a few steps away from the trickster.
"My, that sounds quite… bold indeed."
"Yeah, I know, right? And there was also this one time that I protected everyone from a head-on attack!"
"You just happened to get in the way of my arrow and the shadow's Bufu spell", Mikan commented.
"I still protected you and Elsa."
"Don't call me that", Skadi said as she brandished her bow for another clobbering.
Sieglinde continued to scoot away. Johei sighed and tapped Loki on the elbow.
"Dude, just please stop talking."
"Because I might get the other girls interested?"
"Because this is getting too depressing to watch."
"Alright! Here's your orders!"
The waiter brought back a tray of everyone's drinks. He bowed and went back. For some strange reason, Yuriko didn't get a drink.
"Hm? Oh, did he forget yours, Yuriko-san? I could call him for you", Johei offered.
Yuriko shook her head.
"Oh no, he just said that my order would be brought out a little later because of its weight."
"And here we are!"
The waiter brought back a large cake adorned with strawberries.
"One Strawberry Yggdrasil parfait! Enjoy!"
Everybody stared at the mountain-sized dessert that was presented before Yuriko whose eyes were glazed over with wonder.
"It's even more beautiful in person!"
Then she turned to the rest of the team.
"Well, you guys want in on this?"
Everyone just looked at each other until Mikan replied.
"Well, it looks like you'll need help with that anyways, so why not?"
30 minutes later…
"*gulp* ugh, that was a lot", Johei exclaimed as he held himself up by the table.
Mikan looked as if she were on her last legs while Kazuhiko struggled with his next bites. Daichi made the smart decision to stay out of the meal, and was wise to do so. Even Iselin, who could usually eat a ton was down for the count, while Yuriko was still chipper as always until she finished the last bite.
"Whew! That really hit the spot!", she exclaimed as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.
Mimir looked at her with awe.
"Incredible! She downed the majority of that dessert yet has not shown any signs of gaining weight!"
Yoichi was also one of the few that stood by and was shocked at the readings.
"Where did all of those calories go?! I couldn't even dream of losing weight that quickly!"
Then, the waiter came back with the check. One look at it and Johei's eyes turned to the size of pie plates.
"Te… te… ten… "
Mikan stole a glance at the check and did a spit take with her coffee.
"You're… you're kidding me, right?"
"Huh, what's up guys?"
He took a look at the receipt and shrugged.
"Oh well, I guess we could take ten thousand five hundred yen from our spoils."
Later…
"So, what is this thing supposed to be?"
Kazuhiko had shown Yuriko the envelope that was supposedly dropped by the previous to Harbingers that they had challenged.
"With luck", Johei started
"The next clue to finding out who these people are."
Yuriko nodded. Then, Kaz peeled open the envelope to show…
"It's another picture", he said.
"Okay, so the first one was a picture of your old school. I'm seeing a recurring theme here."
He showed everyone else the photo. It showed a class picture in front of the school. Johei and Kaz were shown to one side. Yoshimitsu was on the other side, looking as brash as ever; clearly before Johei tried making friends with him. All the classmates were accounted for, including the teacher. Nothing seemed to be out of place in the photo however, there was someone else that seemed out of place.
"Wait, Kaz, who's that lady behind you?", Yoichi asked him.
There was a young woman who was standing behind Kaz and had her hands placed on his shoulders. She looked no older than twenty years and had a smile that didn't look like it would grow old any time soon. Her face was clearly circled on the photo, as to direct attention to it. Johei looked at the woman and furrowed his brow.
"Huh, she seems really familiar. My best bet's a teacher's aid from college or something."
Loki looked at the woman and let out a low whistle.
"Woo! She looks smoking hot! Say, why don't you hit her up or something?"
"Because she looked this young when I was five. Seriously, why are women always a constant topic for you?"
"Because the scary ice queen is into BDSM"
*WHAM*
"The artist is all about getting married to Daichi"
"WHAT?!"
"Don't deny it Iselin, and the new girl is trying to cling onto my bro's arm."
"Hm?"
Tyr looked at his right side and noticed Sieglinde retreat immediately.
"So close"
Hildr nudged Skadi in the arm to get her attention.
"Should we do something about this?", she asked.
"I'm not really sure. I mean, it's not so different from what Iselin tries to do with Daichi."
"What?"
Daichi turned to his right side to notice Iselin retreat back into a regular position on her seat.
"So close"
"Anyways", Kaz said
"This is as far as we go with the photo and the lady. Let's try some other lead and see if it'll bring us somewhere."
Kaz stood up and left a tip for their waiter.
"So, where you off to now?", Johei asked.
"I got a prior engagement that I need to go to."
(Evening)
"I can't believe I'm still helping you with this thing", Kaz said to Shirou as he tuned a Shamisen.
Shirou donned his usual attire and grabbed an old lantern.
"Hey, if some kid tipped over an urn holding your great grandma's ashes, you'd be doing this too."
"Is that what some kid did!?", Tyr asked, horrified.
"No, they just trampled some flowers at a grave. Still pretty bad, but not even close to spilling ashes."
Shirou snapped his fingers to get Kaz's attention.
"Hey, hey, no spacing out on me. Just another hour of patrolling and you're done."
They continued on to another one of their vantage points near a grave and set up a small fog machine. A little distance away from it, they put a projector and pointed it at the fog. Kaz was standing out to the side holding the Shamisen in his arms and a Bachi in his right hand.
"So what's the plan again?", Tyr asked Kazuhiko.
"*sigh* when Shirou-san sees the kids coming, he'll signal me to start playing and set up the projector to film him in his costume."
"I see. But why the banjo?"
"Some culture reference or something. Probably to add to the effect."
Off in the distance, Kazuhiko could see Shirou flashing hs lantern in the signal pattern. Sighing, Kaz put the instrument in the correct playing position and prepared to pluck the strings.
At the grave…
"Come on, scaredy cat! Go and do it!"
A young boy was shoved forward to a grave with a pot of flowers on it. He hesitated for a while until the group leader scoffed at him.
"Well, looks like you are just a little coward, huh?"
"I-I'm not! Stop calling me a scaredy cat, Shinya!"
The bespectacled boy was clearly shaking in fear, despite his retorts. Kaz couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Hey, Tyr, maybe you could do something about that?"
Tyr nodded in understanding.
"Got it."
Tyr floated over to where the boys were and sounded the chimes.
"WH-What was that?!", one of the cronies shrieked.
"Nothing! It was just the wind chimes!", Shinya retorted.
He nodded his head to spectacles to keep onto the deed.
"Nnn… okay… "
The boy walked over to the vase and was about to tip it over when…
*SHOOM*
"My… my flowers… "
"And there he his", Kaz mumbled to himself.
Shirou was dressed in his old torn kimono and white geisha makeup.
"My flowers… "
He started to stream tears of blood down his face.
"WHO HARMED MY FLOWEEEEEEEEERS?!"
"AAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Shinya and his group ran off towards the gates, screaming all the way. Only the spectacled boy was left behind, astonished with his back to a tree.
"Was it you?... Was it you tha- wait, is that you Toru?"
Kaz stopped playing for a second and looked at Shirou's projected image.
"What's going on?"
The child, who's name was apparently Toru, looked up at Shirou with a less frightened face.
"U… uncle Shirou?"
Shirou sighed, took off his disguise, and walked out of the brush.
"Toru, what are you doing here?"
He turned to Kaz and tilted his head.
"Come on out, kid."
Kaz cleared through the brush and got a better look at Toru. He was about 10 years old, if Kaz had to guess, and had light brown hair in a bowl cut.
"I told you so many times before, Toru. Don't come here at night. Geez, what am I going to tell Aniki?"
Toru looked down at his shoes with guilt and let his head hang.
"I'm… I'm sorry uncle… "
Shirou sighed once again and patted the boy's head. He turned to Kaz and beckoned to the projector equipment.
"I think this'll be it for now. Help me with the stuff and you can call it a night."
Kaz nodded and picked up the projector.
A few minutes later…
Kaz put the Shamisen back in its case and closed the lid. During this time, Shirou had given his niece a cup of tea and was about to send him home. Before he did, however, he turned to Kaz.
"Hey, if anyone asks about him, just deny it, alright?"
Kaz nodded. Shirou gave him a slight smile and went towards the front door with Toru.
"It's strange", Tyr said
"I didn't think that he could have a soft side. Perhaps you should look into this more"
Kaz shook his head.
"Not tonight. I don't want to push anything further than I have to. Still, though, I feel like he trusts me a bit more."
Death Arcana Rank Up!
Level 3!
Aaaaaaand we are BACK! Whew! I had a tough few first weeks of school; Already having a tough time juggling all of my activities for them all to go splat on the ground. Made this chapter because I couldn't just drop this for you guys. Okay! Here we go! Special shout-out to Psychorex for following this story! Also, the next chapter will have the long awaited interview with Yuriko! Yay! Leave your questions in the reviews and I'll see you next time! P.S. Sho and Labrys is the third best pairing only to Yosuke x Chie and Kanji x Naoto. Nobody can tell me otherwise!
Kazumi Sukima; The Day to Day life of a "Regular" High School Girl Pt. 2
"Okay, I'm in the body of a girl that I have no idea about. Everyone except for my friends know what's going or notice the change. I should be able to get through this without worrying."
He, rather SHE, plopped down in her seat with Tyr behind her.
"I'll have you know that this feels extremely awkward for me", he said.
"Multiply that by a hundred times and you have my predicament."
"Hey, um, Sukima-chan, can I talk to you?", a timid boy asked.
He fidgeted for a second before bowing deeply to her.
"Will you please go out with me?!"
Kaz slightly panics on the inside.
"Holy crap! What do I do?! I should probably let him down easy… "
A moment of silence, then…
"Who are you?"
*The speech bubble stabs him in the back*
"Uh, I mean, I'm not really interested!"
*That speech bubble stabs him in the neck*
"Ah! I'm sorry! I meant I was… already seeing somebody?"
*The last one nails him in the head*
Dangstaboy: Fatality!
Later…
"This is getting really annoying, and why am I feeling angsty all of a sudden?!"
"Hey, Kazumi-chan! Can I borrow your notes for last night?", a boy asked.
"Stay away from me", Kaz replied with a lighter tone.
The boy just stepped back and rolled his eyes.
"Geez, somebody's on their period."
"WHAT?!"
*POW*
Even later…
"Hm? Did Iselin just leave something behind?"
Kaz picks up a book that was left on Iselin's desk and notices a piece of paper sticking out.
"What's this? … wait… HUH?!"
After that…
"Oh, Kaz, did you find my book?"
Kaz came into the rooftop with his/her face as red as a tomato. Iselin made a confused face.
"Say, are you coming down with a fever or something?"
"WHY DID I FIND THAT ATTRACTIVE?!"
"*gasp* Holy shit! What was that?!"
"Hm? Oh, you're awake."
"What happened?"
"I had this weird dream about switching bodies with someone."
"These dreams seem to be recurring. Should I be worried?"
"No, no you shouldn't. I'm just the same old Kazumi Sukima I've always been."
"Wait, what?"
