In just a short span of time.
Toshiki Gin's apartment
March 29, 2050
Hiroshima, Japan
(Present Day)
I'm caressing Gintoki's hair. I felt the softness of his short black air with my hands, and no matter how many times I repeat it without him knowing...I just couldn't get enough of it at all, it somehow makes me feel at ease.
He was already asleep before I could start talking about how we first met about a year ago.
I shouldn't have forced him. I could've kept my hunger in check and didn't proceed any further than his fingers. It really bothered me this way, realizing that I almost lost him because I got greedy and forced him to let me continue eating.
We cannot do this every time, that I knew. I already knew that, from the moment my first period came when I was living with him.
Just like what that abyssal princess said to me a year ago.
"Abyssals and Humans aren't meant to be living together."
Thinking about it now, we really aren't meant to be living with each other. I cannot hurt Gintoki for much longer. I don't want him to suffer like this….
Slowly, I stood up from the toilet and approached the bathroom door.
Something has been buggering me for a while now. I've felt this irritating feeling right before I entered Gintoki's apartment room. That was after I raided the Yokosuka Naval Base for the much needed Repair Buckets.
I walked out and faced the direction where this irritating feeling originated. Using my enhanced senses I scanned the perimeter of the building but there aren't any oddities. So I crouched down and pressed my hand on the floor sensing the telekinetic waves around me.
Then like a modern radar, I got a ping on my west. It was close, like 200 meters close. The target was located on the second floor and is currently armed with a sniper rifle.
I hurriedly rotated my head to the left and saw a bright green laser aligning itself on the sliding door.
"Tsk."
I vaulted down and summoned my saber. Like a javelin thrower, I threw the saber on a horizontal manner towards the unknown assailant at the opposite building.
With an enormous force the saber entered sub-sonic speed, breaking the sliding door as well as the furniture inside the apartment room.
The time suddenly slowed down.
I followed its trajectory and displaced myself on top of my saber. The unknown assailant was shocked when he saw me in close proximity.
Before he could do anything however, I already had him by my hands. I jumped off from my saber and slammed him into the concrete floor. The ground shook violently as cracks rippled into the concrete floor.
When the time finally regained its normal speed the unknown assailant was already dealt with. However, he was not dead yet. That is fortunate enough.
I leaned closer and stared at him on the eyes. I then opened my lips and asked his name.
"Hajima Honda." He answered to me with a groan.
I then pulled him out of the crater and raised him into the air. The man groaned heavily as blood started dripping into the concrete below me.
"So, why were you following me? Were you perhaps observing?" I asked him.
The man didn't answer. Irritated, I tightened my grip on his collar and started heating them up. This is a special talent of mine where I can basically heat up my hands to the point that I could melt hardened steel.
The man must've felt the burning sensation since he was screaming badly. Smoke was starting to come out of his brown parka.
"Speak…." I yelled at him.
Still he insisted to keep his mouth shut.
Then there is nothing I can do for him. Instantaneously, I flex my right hand preparing to end his suffering my slamming him flat into the ground once more. I might break through the concrete floor but that doesn't matter.
In paper thin distance, before his body met the ground, my arm was suddenly severed.
The sharp pain screamed throughout my body as I try to figure out what the hell happened. Using my left hand I covered my wound and rotated my body clockwise.
Then a katana blade pierced through my body. I lowered my head and saw the katana's blade sticking out on my stomach. In swift motion I immediately threw a counterattack by folding my left hand close to my chin and thrusting my elbow backward.
I hit something solid, and judging by the sound of the pained grunt, I must've hit something vital.
I then grabbed the katana blade and melted it using my left hand. I then turned around and saw the person who attacked me from behind.
Wearing a black long sleeve top and a purple skirt, this shipgirl had a short purple hair and an eye patch on her left eye. Blood flowed out of her mouth as her head was facing the ground. Her left hand was placed on her stomach and the wall behind her was basically destroyed.
At that moment I really thought she was dead. But then she stood up with a staggering posture. She summons another Kanata and pointed its edge towards me.
In the same manner I summoned my own saber and prepared myself using a single hand. I did not expect to meet a shipgirl. Especially a shipgirl that does not have her battle riggings summoned.
"Tsk, I guess killing you instantly from the shadows was a really bad idea." The unknown shipgirl said to me.
"It was indeed a bad idea. Did the instructors back on your comfy naval base not orient you about my background? Maybe perhaps you are a newly summoned shipgirl?" I asked to her with a sneer.
The shipgirl shook her head as she steadied her poise. She gave an intimidating look and said, "Nah, I know who and what you are but I really don't care. Lastly, I'm actually a seasoned shipgirl who has killed many of your kind…" She said with a confidant tone.
Well-well, that's a pretty confidant statement for a shipgirl who has not summoned her battle riggings. I wonder where she gets her imaginary confidence from?
"A veteran shipgirl huh? I see…" I said to her with a wide smile on my face. "Then you wouldn't mind if I go all out then? I've been fighting weaklings for almost a year now. I guess sinking those pesky destroyers was a good exercise." I mocked her.
It's best to piss her off early to make her do reckless things. In terms of odds, I might have the edge than that shipgirl over there since a shipgirl that does not have her battle riggings summoned is basically just a normal human being. I might just throw a single strong punch and this should end quick.
"Is that so? I've been told that those pesky destroyers actually forced you to retreat…" She said to me.
"Heh, I'm interested in you." I said to her, "I wonder what your insides look like?"
Before I could move a muscle the shipgirl in front of me disappeared. Then a glint appeared on my left, I turned my eyes there and saw a blade moving horizontally towards me. Instantly, I raised my saber towards the blade, stopping it from its tracks.
"Then why don't we find out? After I kill you here that is." She says as she threw a hook on my right cheek.
I wasn't able to block it. The sheer force of that punch alone actually wounded me and threw me to the opposite wall. I did not expect that one. Was the intel about the shipgirls becoming useless when their battle riggings are not summoned false?!
"Sorry to break it to you." The shipgirl says as she rested the back portion of her blade to her shoulder, "We have these things called ship characteristics which basically means that things like horsepower and such are still there even though we don't have our battle riggings summoned."
The shipgirl propelled forward burrowing her blade into the wall that I was just resting on.
"Interesting…..Your name?" I asked her.
A wide smile emerged out of the shipgirl's face. It was a crooked smile, a smile that gives me excitement, a smile that tells me that she is here for revenge.
"Nameship of the Tenryuu-class light cruisers, Tenryuu….Nice to meet you Abyssal Empress Marianna's." She said as she made a horizontal stroke with her blade but I was able to parry it.
"Good, now that I have known your name. Tenryuu, this very roof will be your grave!" I shouted.
~o~
March 30, 2049
Hiroshima, Japan
Gintoki's Apartment
(One Year Ago)
"Since you already have a good night's rest, when will you prepare breakfast?" She asks as she leans forward and asked me with a rather cold tone.
My jaw fell from its sockets as I heard her question. Breakfast?
"W-what are you talking about? Breakfast? This isn't even your home. No, that's not the point, how come you can speak Japanese fluently when yesterday you were like a foreigner who couldn't say anything?!" I asked to her.
The abyssal gave me scorn hearing my words. She leaned away and suddenly grabbed my collars, raising me into the air.
"Oi….How rude of you. Are you saying that my language is garbage? Huh?" She asked, her eyes glowing brighter and brighter.
"Wait-wait! It's not like that at all!" I corrected myself.
The abyssal closed one eye and pulled me closer that her forehead was already touching mine.
"Then go to the kitchen and cook something…I am still mad at you for what you did last night. I mean you didn't give me anything to eat…"
She then released my collar and I fell to the ground, face first. The abyssal claps her hands twice as if to remove the dust on her hands. She then fell on the couch face first and immediately dozed off.
"Ordering me to me cook breakfast but you—you fell asleep before I could even cook anything." I said as I turned my eyes towards her.
She must've been awake this whole time. I hope she was not awake because she was waiting for me to cook something for her.
When you think about it, I should've given her my share of the spicy hot cup noodle. Ugh, this is irritating.
I eventually arrived at the kitchen and realized that I didn't buy anything yesterday because Mother arrived late. Well, it looks like I will be going to the convenience store for now.
Slowly I turned my head towards the sleeping abyssal on my couch. She was fast asleep and who knows when she'll be getting up. With a sigh I shook my head and grabbed my wallet that was placed on top of the fridge.
I walked towards the exit and wore my walking shoes.
~o~
"Brother it's almost time." A man says as he lowered his watch from his view.
"Is that so? Has Templar's men arrived on their specified position?" Another man asked.
"Roger. They are now awaiting your go, Hanabi." The man answered.
Hanabi faced the convenience store once more. He let out a couple of deep breaths as he stared at the armed men waiting inside the van.
A moment later the front entrance of the convenience store opened, revealing a young man holding his groceries.
"Go." Hanabi says to his radio.
In quick succession the side doors opened the men inside the van ran out and hastily approached the convenience store entrance.
~o~
"That'll be 2000 yen."
I dropped my shoulders and let out a groan as I inserted my hand inside one of my pockets.
Mother was kind enough to deposit 50,000 yen on my bank account. With that kind of money, I think I'll last for about a year if I don't waste it on useless things. Now that an unwanted freeloader arrived on my apartment room, I doubted that the two of us would last six months.
I handed over the payment and returned my wallet inside my right pocket. The person behind the counter then started packing the meat, vegetables, and cooking spices inside the plastic bag. After that she then gave me the stuffed plastic bag and I immediately headed into the exit.
I then waved my hand on the sexy security guard that was standing in attention near the exit. She waved back and gave me a smile.
So far my day has been stable.
That is until the two automatic sliding doors opened, revealing a woman wearing a gray long sleeve blouse and a green high waist skirt. She appears to be wearing a red high heel shoe and her legs was covered with a pair of black thigh high socks.
She had her phone placed on her right ear and appears to be walking hastily towards the convenience store entrance. I turned both of my eyes towards her as she walked pass me. She had an elegant hair and a prominent figure.
It was as if the time between us slowed down as her green eyes slowly turned towards me. As her eyes blinked so does my vision—
At that moment I didn't really know what happened.
It was as if, my world was suddenly shrouded with an endless abyss.
But really in reality, I was just unfortunately placed in between an ongoing religious hostage situation.
~o~
Ever since the creation of the JSDF or Japanese Self Defense Force, the cities all over Japan have been peaceful for a very long time. Riots have been minimal, crime rates almost nonexistent, even things like public order was maintained.
That is until an ultrareligious group called the Unitology emerged. It was a foreign religious group that was founded right after the Second World War, four months prior to the Third World War. It has been said that it's because of this group that the Third World War even started.
Their roots have already been burrowed deep into the society that it was very difficult to track them down to hinder their undercover activities. The JSDF was founded not only to protect its people from foreign anomalies but as well as protecting its citizens from these Ultrareligious people.
However—
"What's the situation?" A man wearing a gray uniform entered the tent that was erected facing the hunkered out convenience store.
"We lost ten men trying to storm the front. According to the drone team there are 80 civilians inside the convenience store and 64 armed personnel. Around eight of the armed men were killed by our sniper team. Lastly, a five kilometer lock down has been ordered so that civilians won't be included in the fry if things go south." A man sitting in front of a small laptop answered.
The man standing behind the one who answered his question shook his head after hearing the answer. He had his hand placed on his face as he tried thinking of a way to solve this problem.
"What's the matter, Oni?!"
"Fukugara-san!"
The man standing behind the compiler turned around and faced the man named Fukugara.
"I was told that there's a hostage situation near my apartment building so I hurriedly came down and check what's happening. But based on the looks of your faces..." Fukugara voice trailed as he stared at the monitors erected inside the tent.
Fukugara, one of the revered agents of the JSDF walked towards the countless monitors that are placed inside the tent. It had a 360 view around the convenience store including the security cameras inside the store itself.
"Takahama, have you tried sending in the 3rd Division for this kind of problem?" Fukugara asked.
"I can't. The ISP had them relocated to Hokkaido for an urgent mission." The guy named Takahama also known as Oni by his subordinates answered with a downcast look.
Fukugara had his arms crossed in front of his chest as he moved his eyes from left to right, up and bottom, looking for ways to breach the stalemate.
"What are their demands?" Fukugara asked.
"Same as the other ones that did this before, but on a smaller scale…They wanted to be accepted to the society and wanted to open a church for their religion's followers." Takahama answered.
Fukugara scoffed after hearing that. A determined look emerged out of his face and a wide smile seeps out.
"Might as well drop a MOAB on their position and bury them to the ground if the civilians were out of the picture." Fukugara says.
Fukugara remembers the atrocious crimes that the Unitologist group did during the December Fallout. How innocent civilians were forced out of their apartments so that they can be turned into sacrificial tools for the god that they call the Queen.
The unitologist call their god The All Knowing Queen or sometimes referred to just The Queen. Not much is known about this so called Queen of theirs other than the fact that the members that were interrogated explained that their queen was the first being that was born in this planet and that she will be responsible for making everything whole again.
"Well, we do have two of them currently on standby until the civilians are pulled out of the building. Though, I'd rather not touch their filthy bodies if we are to clean this mess. They might contaminate me with their scatological practices." Takahama says.
Fukugara eyeballed the sewer entrance that is connected to the targeted building. It was a small sewer that is only five and a half feet tall and six feet wide. Then an idea appeared on his head.
"Assemble a six man squad and get them on that sewer!" Fukugara pointed his finger at the sewer manhole located a few meters from the adjacent building of the convenience store.
~o~
Deep inside a room that was filled with frozen meat that was formerly known as pig and cattle is a man kneeling upright on the ground with an oblique object placed on a small knitted towel.
The man was uttering words that were incomprehensible for a human since it does not resemble any language that are written down in books.
"We've pushed them back. What now?" A man wrapping a tourniquet around his wounded arm entered the cold room and asked that question.
The man kneeling on the floor slowly stood up. He then swung the rifle that was placed on his back by a strap and faced the newly arrived man.
"Good. Take Dinno and Tusk with you. Pick a hostage and bring it to the front window. Warn them about doing another risky move like that again, and we'll start killing the civilians one by one."
"What about the cockroaches on the sewer, Templar?" The man asked.
"Did you put the claymores there, Tuna?" The man named Templar asked.
The man named Tuna nodded in affirmation. A smile formed on his face as he heard an audible explosion just below their feet.
"They should be retreating back now." Tuna confidently said.
Templar, the supposed leader of the terrorist group walked pass Tuna and gave him a tap on his shoulder. He then headed out of the room and Tuna was left there on his own inside the cold room.
Tuna turned his vision to the object that was placed on the floor. A small oblique object that was around eight inches long and three inches wide, it was painted in black and a large circular figure could be seen at the middle resembling an eye.
This object is called the Queen's Eye. This object represents their holy object. The same could be said for the cross of the Catholics or the Koran for the Muslims.
The man named Tuna bowed his head towards the Queen's Eye. After that he turns around and exited the cold room, meeting his fellow followers who are on high alert.
"Where's Templar?" Tuna asked the guy standing near him.
"He's on the ground floor talking to the hostages." The man near him replied.
"I see, so he's telling them about the plan huh?" Another man asked.
"I believe so. There's only one problem though." Tuna says, "Our code states that we mustn't harm women for it is basically means that we are opposing our Queen's grace. For we to make an example we need as sacrifice. And we can only sacrifice men….however—"
"There's only one male hostage among the 80 that we have."
~o~
It's been a while, like, it's already evening. It was still broad daylight I was suddenly knocked out into the dark abyss. When I open my eyes again, I was facing the convenience store ceiling with both of my hands tied behind my back.
According to the sales lady beside me, armed men stormed the entrance and have taken everyone inside the convenience store hostage. They warned the people left inside not do anything stupid or else every single one of us are to be shot dead.
The sales lady urged me not to do anything hasty since I am the only male hostage amongst them. She told me that the terrorist are not too keen with males, and would just immediately execute them just like the men working in the storage room. I was the only sole exception since I was knocked out.
That is until a man named Templar arrived and started lecturing us about their ideology.
Unitology was what the man said is their cause. They wanted to bring everyone under the guiding grace of their prophet they called The Queen. He says that the queen accepts everyone and he promised that the queen will bring an ever lasting peace in this world.
I say fuck them and their ideology.
I may not be a faithful person when it comes to divine bullshittery but seeing how they basically forced their beliefs on us like a person being fed with maggots, that just made me mad.
The more I listen to the man the more my anger rises. Seeing how his eyes were dilated all the time, how his mouth is forcing a smile to the people that they threatened to kill if one of us do something stupid.
If only I could just break free from this cable tie that was wrapped around my arms.
"For the queen needs sacrifice…." The man says and stopped in front of me, "Would you kindly die for the people inside this building?" The man asked.
He was looking at me straight on the eyes. I could see the red veins stretching across the sclera and into his brown iris. The man was Japanese that is for sure hearing how fluent he was during his lecture.
My mouth slowly opened then Templar placed his hand on my shoulder. He leans closer into my ear and says, "Think about the consequences of your actions…If you refuse, then we will be forced to kill the women here…..You wouldn't want that to happen right?" Truth be told I already knew the answer—
I turned my eyes to the side and saw the sales lady that I was talking with not too long ago. I only know her name, her name is Hatasa Hie. She's a sales lady around counter 39 and was the sales lady that packed my groceries.
She's actually pretty young, a tall woman that is to say the least. She's kind and polite…maybe the store wants them to act that way…either way seeing her this perturbed is making me hesitate.
Hatasa-san tried opening her mouth but she didn't utter a word. She could only lower her head knowing that the words won't eventually escape her mouth.
I turned my eyes again to the man in front of me. I gritted my teeth, picking the right words inside my head.
"F—"
—bang.
And just like that, a loud crackle entered both of my left and right eardrums. It was a familiar crackle, a crackle that I myself knew very well.
The smell of cordite in the air, the smile of blood…the fear—
I slowly turned my head to the side where the sales lady named Hatasa Hie was sitting. Lying on the ground with a large three inch hole on her head that my three fingers could easily fit is the corpse of the former sales lady named Hatasa Hie.
"A-Ah—"
"Hmm, do you really think I wasn't observing the two of you talk few moments ago?" The man named Templar lowered his Five-seven model sidearm and holstered it.
"W-wha—"
"The queen knows everything you fool. I can hear her whispering to my ear—to dispose this woman as soon as possible. I did not dare question her order since she is the supreme being..." He softly said.
I do not know what I was feeling right there. Was it fear, anger, angst, bewilderment, shock, or any other word that is used to identify a human emotion?
"So does your queen say anything about you dying right now?" A female's voice came to my ears.
It was a deep female's voice. A voice that I personally knew, I mean, how can I even forget that voice?
It was a soothing, deep, and yet a chilly voice that one would suspect that a cold dagger has been placed behind their back.
Startled the man named Templar hurriedly turned around only to realize that his head was already on the ground. Blood spurted out of his dismembered neck as if it was a water fountain that you usually see on parks.
Templar's body limply fell on the ground, twitching. Some of his blood was painted on my face, his deep red yet cold blood.
I slowly raised my head towards the newcomer. It was like a scene copied from a horror film.
The woman had a very white hair and pale skin. She wore a blouse that had a black ribbon on her collar and a black high waist skirt. She appears to be wearing nothing on her feet but her legs was covered with black thigh high socks.
She was looking at me with her bright gold eyes. I recognize those eyes, I only knew one person who has that kind of eyes.
"When I said cook breakfast, that doesn't mean you can just run away and get yourself in this situation. Did you know how long I was waiting for you to arrive?" The woman yelled as she crouched down illuminating her face with the moonlight.
A single word escaped my mouth. Rather, it was not a word but a name—
"Hatsu…"
The abyssal that I named Hatsu sighed and dropped her shoulders. She then stood up from her crouching position and grabbed the corpse's severed head.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Hatsu says as she aligns the severed head to her mouth, "My name is Abyssal Empress Marianna…" She then devoured a part of the severed head that was formerly owned by a person named Templar.
The hairs of my stood up as I saw her devour the head. I counted. Yes, I did count how many times she bit on the head's skin until the skeleton was the only one left
I couldn't get my eyes off of her. And the other hostages as well couldn't.
After all, this would be the first time they have ever encountered an abyssal this close to them.
Her presence alone was too much for me to handle. It was like as if the gravity suddenly became stronger and it was pulling me to the ground.
"Say, Gintoki." Hatsu licked the blood that was painted at the corner of her lips, "What are you doing here anyway?" She asked.
I hesitated to answer her question, wondering the right words that should be used in this situation. Where can you see a human casually talking to an abyssal in this situation?
"I was shopping for some ingredients to make breakfast." I answered as calmly as I could, "More over…How did you find me?" I added.
Hatsu then dropped the head to the ground as she leaned closer towards my face. She then stared sniffing me like an animal.
"Well that is because you have this distinctive smell." She answered, "Every single one of you humans have your own distinctive smell. When I say smell that doesn't mean you are surrounded by foul odor, what I meant is that I can tell which is which based via the smell…Seriously it's really hard to explain it using your language. However there are some advantages like for example—"
I saw it, I saw it since she was standing close to me. I saw a red dot aligning on her forehead but I wasn't able to tell her about it until it was already too late.
A distant crackle came and with it Hatsu's head jerked backward like how an unexpected boxer suddenly received a strong—quick jab.
"Hatsu!" I shouted her name.
Limply, her body fell into the ground without much resistance. I hurried crawled pass Templar's head and towards Hatsu's body. A small quarter-inch hole could be seen at the very center of her forehead.
"Hold your fire! We got the bastard!" A man screamed near me.
"Dammit now Templar's dead! What do we do now?!" Another came.
"Shit. Looks like we don't have much choice…Kill every one!"
Just as a random man declared, the ground floor was suddenly engulfed in chaos. The loud sounds of rifles firing, the buzzing sound of a bullet overpassing over my head. The disgusting sound of bullets penetrating flesh—
And there I sat on the floor holding the abyssal's arm that I forcibly named Hatsu. Despite the dire situation, I just couldn't get my eyes off of her. It was as if—
"Now-now, there's no need to be staring at me like that."
Her voice was calm. The corpse on my hand suddenly said those words to me.
"A mere bullet ain't enough to kill an Abyssal Empress like me." She proudly announced as she slowly raised her body upward.
"Oi—!"
"Stay put. Find cover if you have to." Hat—no, Abyssal Empress Marianna stood by her own two feet. She turned her gold eyes towards me and say, "Just don't get caught in the confusion."
~o~
With Templar's death, the man named Tuna was left on his own to command the 56 followers that are inside the convenience store that they raided.
Not too second ago, Templar was talking to the 80 hostages on the ground floor when suddenly an unknown woman that had a white hair arrived and killed him. He saw how the woman grabbed Templar's head from the ground and started devouring it.
Out of fear he immediately aligned the barrel of his rifle at the woman's forehead and fired, dropping her to the ground immediately.
But—
"Tuna! Run!"
Tuna was pushed to the side by Ajax out of concern. His head immediately collided with the metal floor, giving him a nasty headache.
It was not just him though who got his head collided with the metallic floor. The man who pushed him to the side named Ajax had his head pinned on the floor as well, unfortunately for him his head was squashed by the sheer strength of the woman that had her hand placed behind Ajax's squashed head.
"Ara-ara, I did not expect this much blood to be staining my blouse." The woman in front of Tuna says.
With her bright gold eyes, the woman turned her attention towards Tuna who was crouching on the metallic floor. A wide sneer surfaced out of the woman's face as she saw Tuna lowering his gun barrel.
"You—you aren't getting away from me." The woman says.
Hastily, Tuna rolled to the side evading the woman's frontal jab in paper thin distance. The wall behind him crumbled like it was made of paper.
Tuna then fired a short burst to the woman but his bullets did nothing to her unlike his first shot that penetrated her forehead.
"Uh-uh, it won't work again~" The woman says with a cheery tone.
"Adaptive Skin?!" Tuna shouted in his head before running along a corridor leading towards the storage room.
He knew that this woman is not human. How could a human get up from an accurate headshot? How could a human break a concrete wall using its bare hands?
The woman attacked him from behind once more, this time a short saber could be seen on her hand. It was stained in blood, and a bit of it was sprayed towards him. He successfully dodged it by ducking down from the blade's direction.
Tuna then kicked the woman's shinbone, bending it on an awkward manner. He then tried disarming the woman by grabbing her arm and rotating it counterclockwise to the point that the joints on her elbow just popped.
He successfully removed the saber from the woman's hand however. He didn't hear the woman grunt, wail, or scream in pain. Confused, Tuna turned his head towards the woman's face only to see the woman still smiling towards him, this time in close proximity.
"Hehehehe—" Suddenly the woman headbutted him at the center of his forehead.
His body flew into the air and crashed on the large storage racks that had perishables stashed inside cardboard boxes. A total of four storage racks fell down until his body halted and the momentum dispersed.
"Hmm, you last for about 20 seconds…That's good considering your 56 comrades on the ground floor couldn't even last 3.2 seconds before dying." The woman casually walked towards the area where the man named Tuna crashed his body.
Tune could clearly see the shinbone that he just broke not a second ago, not it was miraculously healed like nothing happened at all.
With his half-closed eyes and blood drench upperbody, Tuna slowly raised the barrel of his rifle and fired it at the woman. The woman in return only caught the bullet using her right index and middle fingers.
"Heh, you don't learn do you?" The woman asked.
Out of thin air the woman suddenly closed the distance between her and the man in front of her. She grabbed the man by the neck and raised him into the air.
"I'll reward you for surviving this long…" She says as the vision of the man disappears into the abyss.
~o~
She came out through a large hole embedded on the wall. Her blouse was crimson red, painted by the blood of her enemies that she has killed inside this large convenience store. On her hand is a dismembered arm, bite marks could be seen all over it and the bone was already visible. I do not know who that arm belongs to but I sure know that whoever he might be he is probably a corpse by now.
The woman—no, the abyssal properly named Abyssal Empress Marianna turned her gold bright eyes towards me, she waved her right hand that was holding the dismembered arm.
She was walking cheerfully towards me, and I stood there unable to move a muscle as the distance between the two of us decreased by the second.
After she has killed the armed men inside this convenience store in just a short span of time without me even noticing that none of them were breathing, I already knew what's gonna happen next.
"Sorry for the wait~ I can't believe my blouse was stained that much." Abyssal Marianna says.
It's either she disposes of me here by killing me on the spot or devouring me that not a single tissue of my very being is left on the white tiles.
"Now that was a feast." She says.
The abyssal tilted her head to the side seemingly confused.
I moved a single step backward. A sweat bud slowly traced along my temple, reaching my chin. It slowly converges and eventually fell to the ground due to gravity.
And just like that, like any other normal human being meeting a monster face to face—I ran towards the exit where the JSDF forces are waiting.
I didn't look back—I couldn't even hear her yells. All that mattered to me the most was getting the hell away from her as far as possible.
My left foot arrived at the sensor that automatically opens the glass sliding door that was covered in newspaper by the unitologist to prevent any information from leaking out to the JSDF.
A spotlight immediately shone above me, they must've seen my exit. It was already night before I knew it. How I felt glad that I am now freed from that hell.
I ran passed a body of a woman wearing a blue shirt and black trousers. She was facing the ground and a large hole could be seen behind her head that was faintly covered by her long black hair.
Then I ran passed another that was missing its arm, then another that was missing its leg, and another, and another, and—
I halted right behind the woman that was sitting upright on the asphalt. She had a dyed hair which is brown and was wearing a white shirt. Multiple red dots could be seen on her back, if you count them one by one there are twelve of them.
"Do not move!" Screamed a man from the horizon using a megaphone.
I raised my head towards the origin of the voice. I couldn't see him due to the amount of light that was blocking my view.
"Seems like they don't want any witnesses huh?"
I heard a distant explosion. A shadow suddenly came, and with it a female's figure blocked my view.
With her still stained crimson blouse and blood drenched hands, the abyssal that killed the armed men inside the convenience store came and raised her hand forward.
A following sharp chime came to my ears as a black object fell into the ground, smoke still seeping out of it.
"The abyssal!" Shouted the man behind the megaphone once more.
"What are you waiting for?! Fire! Fire!"
I never thought that on that day, I was able to feel what it's like to be fired upon. Mother talked about it in the past when I was still young. How nerve wracking it was, how scary it is when a buzzing sound suddenly pass over your head. How disgusting the sound it makes when it hits a human flesh, how nauseating it is when the tissues are ripped, twisted, and mushed all together as the bullet penetrated the muscles.
I was behind the abyssal with all of those things that I monologue happen. Standing still with a single hand covering her face, she didn't falter nor cowered by the hail of bullets that was coming towards her.
In fact, she let the bullets hit her.
By the time the hail of bullets ceased, multiple crushed objects could be seen surrounding the feet of the abyssal in front of me.
"How ironic" The abyssal says, "I was born to devour, destroy, and eradicate you humans for the sole purpose of scoring a position in the grand hierarchy." The abyssal then slowly turns her head to the side and stared at me with her right gold eye. "So tell me. Why am I defending a frail human being against the weapons of its fellow human beings?" She asked.
I couldn't answer her. To tell you the truth I really do not know the answer of her question.
A few months ago I ended my college life by dropping out so that I could join the Army. I passed my recruitment form and waited for the JSDF recruitment center to finalize it.
Yesterday morning, I left my part time job at Boss Coffee so that if ever my recruitment form is eventually finalized I wouldn't have to do it after I received my enlistment form.
Yesterday afternoon, I decided to waste my time at the spot located near my new apartment that Karen found near the now public beach. I had a folding chair and can of cold coffee with me.
As the sun sets, I saw a large bundle of seaweed washed ashore on the public beach. Out of curiosity I walked towards it and examined it. I did not expect on that day that I would find a woman inside that bundle of seaweed. I helped her in my own way. I stitched her wound, dried her, dressed her with my own clothes and gave her medicine.
Yesterday evening, I learned that the woman that was wrapped inside the bundle of seaweed was an abyssal. The creatures that endangered my race to extinction. I gave her a name based around the words that she said to me on that evening.
Today, I learned her real name…her real abyssal name. I also learned how vicious she is on combat and how grotesque she was on her enemies. How she ate the flesh of her fallen enemies like it was normal for her.
Today, I learned a lot. How she turned her bright gold eyes towards me with pity and sorrow.
They were the same back then—the very same eyes that stared at me when I was barely conscious, how I managed to survive a confrontation with a large abyssal.
But I knew that the abyssal that I saw that day was not her...No, she was a different humanoid abyssal.
"I guess you have no choice now, huh?" She slowly says.
"W-hat do you mean?" I asked.
"You are now hunted by your own race. I guess you have no place to return to now." She elaborated.
Suddenly the abyssal turns her body around and grabbed me by the left arm. Simultaneously, she then jumped vertically into the air. I could feel my cheeks moving as the height increased in a short span of time.
"P-put me down!" I yelled as we reached a certain height where buildings were at the same size as my pingky.
Hearing my demand the abyssal landed on top of a high rise building and released me on the concrete floor.
Slowly the abyssal started unpinning the buttons on her blood stained blouse. She finally reached the last button, she first lowers her shoulders to the left and then tugged the crimson stained long sleeves using her right hand. After her left hand was freed she then removed the opposite side.
I could see her bare chest. I've seen it thrice already in just a short span of time . But she didn't mind, she just looked at me and averted her eyes as she used the unstained part of her blouse to wipe off the blood on her hands and face.
"Why are you…why did you save me?" I asked her as I slowly stood up from the ground.
The abyssal crossed her arms across her chest and didn't dare turning her face towards me.
"Why you might ask…?" Her tone was fleeting, as if she doesn't know what the next words she wanted to say.
The abyssal lowered her head to the ground as she released her stained blouse into the ground. I could see holes on her back slowly disappearing into nothing. It bothered me for a moment, for me to be seeing it happen in a slow manner.
"I don't really know…I guess." She says.
With a diagonal wave of her hand a new white blouse suddenly formed around her upperbody. Black and red particles gathered until her upperbody was now basically covered in cloth.
She then turns around, placing her left hand on her waist and an eyebrow raised upward.
"What about you, human? Why did you dare bringing me to your home and tend my wound? I don't want to repeat myself…but, I am born to kill you…no, I am born to eradicate your race from this planet. Still—"
"I do not know as well." I say to her.
The abyssal swallowed the words that she was about to say to me. She could only gently close both of her eyes and shrugged.
"It seems neither of us knew the answer." She softly says.
I lowered my gaze from her eyes and faced the concrete on my feet. I could see the blood that's sticking out at the rims of my leather shoes. In front of those said shoes is another pair of shoes but these ones are colored with black and seems to be made of thick material meticulously formed into an expensive looking boots.
With faint movements I could see the boots moving away from me. Hastily, I raised my head and saw her fixing her hair into a pony tail using a black scrunchie.
"Wait—" I unconsciously say.
While her back was facing towards me, the abyssal still halted and rotated her attention towards me.
"What?" She asked.
I was having trouble on what to say to her. I didn't even realize that I called her. Confused, my eyes were moving all over the place trying to find an excuse for stopping her.
I gulped once more, finally formulating a reason for stopping her inside my head.
"W-what are you gonna do now?"
The abyssal had a confused look on her face when she heard my question. Slowly the abyssal raised her head into the dark starry sky.
I could see her bright gold eyes illuminating in the dark hue of the night. Despite being a monster that is capable of killing 56 armed men in just a short span of time, I found it odd…
I found it odd that this monster in front of me allures me.
"To the sea" She softly says, "I do not belong here after all. I am a being that was born from the sea and not from the ground, I belong to the vast ocean and not on the earth." She continued.
"I-Is that so?" I said under my breath
"Furthermore, I have a job. Menacing as it sounds, I still have to kill the defenders of man. That is my sole purpose. What about you….Gintoki? What are you gonna do now?" She turns her eyes towards me.
What am I gonna do now?
I placed my right hand on my neck and rubbed it. When you think about it, what am I gonna do now after experiencing all of that?
"I guess…I'm going back to my apartment." I said in a joking manner.
The abyssal could only close her eyes once more as she slowly starts laughing at my answer. With her right hand she clenches it, and then the abyssal placed it on her mouth as if to cover it.
"You are…an abnormal human being." She says, "You don't fear me do you?" The abyssal scoffs as she noticed my silent answer, "What's the matter, Gintoki? Cat got your tongue?" She asked.
"It's not that I fear you or anything…How should I say this—"
"Gintoki…" The abyssal interjected with a serious tone, "Gintoki, I do not know what your intentions are but…thank you for trying to help me." Before she swiftly turns around and started walking towards the edge of the high rise building's roof.
"Hatsu!" I called once more.
The abyssal didn't stop, she continued as she says: "How many times do I have to tell you? My name is Abyssal Empress Marianna."
"If you have the time—you can visit my apartment anytime!" I yelled before her body fell from the edge.
I hastily ran to the edge myself but I couldn't see her anymore. She just disappeared. With a sigh, I moved away from the edge and sat on the concrete roof and stared at the sea in front of my view.
I then placed both of my hands behind me and leaned back. I could still feel my left hand shaking after remembering all the things that happened to me today.
In just a short span of time I experience what a soldier is supposed to experience in the front line. If my memory serves me right, Hatsu says that she was born in the sea and for the sea only. If it was on the other way around, I found myself confronting her not as a guy named Toshiki Gin but a soldier named Toshiki Gin. I wonder how long I wouldn't even last a second if I fought her.
~o~
Six black vans arrived at the killing zone. Shortly after the vans halted the sliding doors opened revealing a man wearing a black uniform and a menacing look on his face.
He swiftly turned his head to the left and saw the amount of casualties that could be seen lined up on the ground.
He gritted his teeth as he hastily walked towards the tent where most of the JSDF field officers are located.
"Stand down, sir!" A soldier wearing a field gray uniform raised his hand towards the man persuading him to stand down.
The man in black uniform just shoved the hand away and entered the tent anyway, interrupting the meeting of the six field officers.
"Commander Ozawa Ukei, what are you doing here?" One of the field officers asked in bafflement
"So who the fuck gave the order?" Commander Ozawa Ukei asked with a grim look.
A man that goes with a name of Captain Tayama Rokuo raised his hand confirming that it was his call to shot down the civilians that were coming out of the convenience store.
Out of anger, Commander Ozawa Ukei unholstered his pistol and fired a round at Captain Tayama's forehead, dropping him instantly.
The men inside the tent were shocked at the sudden turn of events. One of the younger field officers inside the tent Lieutenant Fukouda Honda ran beside Captain Tayama only to realize that the captain was no longer alive.
"The JSDF do not kill civilians. We protect them. That is our sole purpose. That is our job while the Imperial Army does the killing. I mobilized you people here to diminish the situation but six hours later I received a report that 76 civilians were killed as per belief that they were infected by the Abyssal that suddenly arrived and stormed the convenience store… Are you out of your goddamn minds?!" Commander Ozawa yelled as he holstered his pistol.
"Commander, the order was forced upon Captain Tayama since he was the only high ranking field officer at that time!" A lieutenant says.
"Forced upon? What do you mean forced upon?!" Commander Ozawa shouted.
"I issued the order, Commander Ozawa…" Came a deep male's voice.
Commander Ozawa rotated clockwise and saw a man wearing a peculiar uniform inside the tent. He had a black hair and a lean figure. He wore glasses and a uniform that had a brown and red camouflage pattern.
"Commander Matsuo…Why is a high ranking officer of the Imperial Guards doing in Hiroshima?" Commander Ozawa asked with utter disgust.
"Heh, I was just by chance walking by the street when suddenly a hostage situation appeared." Commander Matsuo calmly answered.
"You inhumane bastard! Why must those civilians die?!" Commander Ozawa angrily walked towards Commander Matsuo and grabbed him by the collars.
"Think about the consequences, Ozawa…What do you think would've happened if the people find a disturbing title in their T.V's like: Abyssals sighted on the Japanese Mainland?!" Commander Matsuo says with a cold tone.
"But sacrificing 76 innocent civilians…furthermore there are 80 of them sighted inside the convenience store! What happened to the other four?!"
Commander Matsuo shoved Commander Ozawa's hand to the side. He then fixes his tie as he walked towards the exit.
"I believe you already knew what must be done, Ozawa. I have already gathered the pesky news casters and sent them to the special place for memory cleaning. I'll leave the clean up here to you." Commander Matsuo says with a mocking tone as he exits the tent.
Left inside the field tent, Commander Ozawa grunted and slams his hand on the table behind him, denting it in the process.
"Commander…"
"Scramble the men. Not a single trace will be left." Commander Ozawa barked his orders.
"B—but…" A man standing near him tried reasoning with his commanding officer.
"Just do what you were told and ask later…" Commander Ozawa interjected.
On that simple night, a news report was aired into the public. How an armed ultrareligious group assaulted a convenience store in Hiroshima. JSDF forces were mobilized and the armed men were dealt with. All 80 hostages were saved, and a total of 56 armed Unitologist Followers were killed in the firefight.
~o~
"Bullcrap, I say."
"I know what you mean, Admiral. I've already asked one of the shipgirls that were re-enlisted into the Imperial Guard and they said that the order came from the Emperor's Research Development and Assessment Department." A girl wearing a serafuku on top of a long-sleeved zippered shirt and a blue pleated skirt with hakama-like hip vents said.
The admiral changed the channel of his television placed inside his office only to discover that the same story is being broadcast. Even the Truth Channel has been broadcasting the same bullcrap.
"What else did our informants say?" The admiral asked.
"Dr. Matsuharu Akira has...stolen a copy of Asahi and Akashi's research proposal about a quick repair fluid that easily regenerates wounds inflected on us shipgirls." The said shipgirl says.
"So was it recovered?"
The shipgirl adjusted her glasses using her right hand and read the report placed on her notepad.
"Yes, Yura and her strike group has disposed Dr. Matsuharu and has deleted every material that involves about Asahi and Akashi's repair fluid research."
The admiral nodded his head once more and he pressed a button on his remote, simultaneously turning off the flat screen T.V in front of him.
"Anything else you wanted to add, Ooyodo?"
The shipgirl named Ooyodo focus her gaze to her admiral. She then averted her gaze and focused her attention on the other report on her notepad.
"Fleets 12 and 18 have returned, no damage. Fleets 4 and 8 has departed. Fleets 10 and 12 have returned with major damage, they seem to have encountered a new type of abyssal on the northern sea region. Lastly, about the Abyssal Empress that you were talking about—"
"Yes, what about it?"
"She was spotted on Hiroshima by Suzutsuki who was having her vacation there at that time."
The admiral had this dumbfounded look on his face as he heard the shipgirl's words. Slowly he placed the remote on his table and took a tablet from underneath his desk.
"Admiral?"
"Notify the fairies that we need scouting planes ASAP. I've sortied Fleets 5 and 15 to Hiroshima right now...We need to find that Abyssal Empress before things get out of hand!"
~o~
March 31, 2049
Morning came together with an annoying sound of my alarm going off. With a bad headache, I raised my head upward and turned my attention towards my smartphone placed on the floor. Using my left hand, I stretched it towards my phone and pressed the stop button.
After letting out a groan, I raised my body upright and faced the rising sun. I rubbed the back of my head as I let out a yawn.
Then the sound of my fridge opening came to my ears.
I lethargically turned my head to the left and saw an unknown person standing there. It was a woman. She had a pure white hair and a pale skin. She wore my black jacket and was eating a canned food without cooking it.
It immediately came to my attention that a burglar has infiltrated my apartment room.
"Uwa, that was the best." The woman announced throwing away the emptied can to the side where a large pile of emptied canned goods can be seen.
"Ha-Hatsu?!"
The woman named Abyssal Empress Marianna turned her head towards me. Large amounts of meat fillings could be seen at the rims of her mouth and cheeks, and an eyebrow was raised.
"Hmm, look who finally decided to wake up?" She says with a bright smile on her face.
Author's Notes
Winter 2018 has started everyone. Watch yourselves and don't do anything hasty.
Also, HAIR DOWN ZUIKAKU IS BAE!
Updated 1/25/2019 - FIXED SOME ERRORS