So I know that this is WAY overdue! And even my lovely editor-san has been asking me to finish~! XD So I finally have and I hope you all like it! I've made it longer just for you guys, and you'll NEVER GUESS who pops up in this chapter! I might even make a story for themxMC~ So I hope you'll bear with me as I get it done! :3 Please don't forget to review~!
My head was blank, and the only thing I could hear in the darkness was a familiar voice that called out to me... I felt saddened by the voice, as if it was calling in despair... I try to listen to the voice, so I can try to make out what it's saying... But it sounded so far away...
"Hibiki." The voice called out. "Kuze Hibiki! Wake up! That's an order...!" The voice demanded in a tense, but pained tone.
Suddenly I remembered the image that reflected through my mirror... The boy with cold, cyan eyes and short, black, curly hair... He looked exactly like me, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew him from somewhere... But where...?
"Kuze Hibiki! Are you deaf? Wake up this instant!" The voice commanded again, and my eyes shot open... I was in one of the rooms at JP's headquarters, the simple yet roomy quarters that each of us had slept in during the crisis with the demons and Polaris... I froze as I instantly recognized the voice that called to me...
"Y-Yamato..." An unfamiliar voice had said... I was sure that I had said his name, but it wasn't my voice that called out to him... Whose was it...? Hibiki...? I felt, deep within my hear, that something wasn't right... Something felt completely off... But I couldn't remember what...
"Who else did you think it was? A rat?" He said in a cold tone. I looked up to see that he was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. "Come! We have work to do." He said immediately as he walked out of the room.
"Right." I said and walked behind him... But when I opened the door I found myself staring at the ceiling of my room in my aunt's apartment...
'Was that... A dream...?' I laid there in my bed, pondering the dream and the events of today... Usually by now I would have gotten a daily summary from Tico... But with Nicaea gone, there was nothing but silence... My mind traveled to the demon that attacked me earlier today... The demons should have been banished back to where they came from... So how did it find its was into our world...? That was one of the reasons Alcor had shut down Nicaea... So why...? Maybe he'll know...
"What should I know... Shining One?" Alcor suddenly appeared, sitting on the edge of my bed. I was shocked by his sudden appearance that I immediately sat up and clenched the covers on my bed.
"What... So you can read minds now, Alcor...?" I said as I calmed down. He smiled and stroked his chin with his fingers.
"Who know..." He said with his eyes averted, and his grin was as mysterious as ever. He crossed his legs and looked at me in wonder. "So may I ask what it is you wanted to know...?" He begins to tap his foot against his leg and waited patiently for my response.
"You shut down Nicaea, right...?"
"Yes." He said immediately.
"So, how did that demon arrive in our world...?"
"..." He paused as if he was trying to figure out what to say... His eyes showed that he was trying to hide something, as they were in deep thought... "A survivor from the attack on Polaris, perhaps...?" He stroked his chin as the smile that was once on his face had turned into a slight frown...
"But... Polaris used his own demons to fight us... His... Guardians..." I shuddered at the thought of his guardians... They continued to come back after we had defeated them... It seemed endless... We were surrounded... Helpless... Especially since Alcor was stuck in the ground, no thanks to Polaris...
"Even though that was the case... Some demons may have escaped as the world was being reconstructed... Or the summoning program is becoming active once again... However the latter is impossible, as I am still its administrator..." He put he hand over his mouth, and he became expressionless as he was once again in deep thought. "Could it be...? Could he have... Survived?" He said in a slight whisper, as a small amount of fear was present in his eyes...
"Who...? Alcor, does this person have something to do with the demons?" I pressed him for answers, but to no avail... Alcor wouldn't respond, which only seemed to increase my anxiety... Just who was he talking about...? The one who was supposed to succeed the throne after Polaris...?
After a moment Alcor stood up and looked back at me with his usual mysterious smile. "I'm sorry, Shining One. I've interrupted your sleep. I will be taking my leave now. Sleep well." He said abruptly as he disappeared in a flash of soft, blue light.
"Wait, Alcor!" He had departed before I could say anything... Then I remembered that he left a copy of himself to remain on Earth, and I slowly walked outside to see he was on the couch. He laid there and looked up at the ceiling in deep thought. His silver hair and lavender eyes glowed softly against the moonlight, adding to the sense of mystery about him.
'I guess... He doesn't want to talk about it..." I quietly walked back into my room, and sat at the edge of my bed. The cool feel of the sheets felt nice after everything that has happened... I laid back on the mattress and I began to sink into it, as I had before... Compared to the beds at JP's Tokyo Headquarters, it felt like I could sleep for ages without waking up... For once in my life, it felt good to be home...
I slowly started to fall asleep as the sound of the summer cicadas shrieked throughout the night. The darkness of my mind was unsettling, as a familiar figure stood in front of me with friendly, cyan eyes. He took a step towards me and reached his hand out for a handshake. I looked at his hand, and then I looked back up at his face... He seemed friendly enough... But who was he...?
"You don't have to be afraid. I won't bite." He joked. I laughed and shook his hand. At that moment, I felt like I knew him personally and I called his name...
"... Hibiki...?" I struggled to say. The boy smiled and nodded.
"Good. At least you know my name, Hiro-chan." He said in a soft tone. When he said my name... It felt wrong... I felt that when he called my name, it was foreign...
"Until next time then... Okay...?" He said with a smile as he let go of my hand and waved.
I woke up and stared at the ceiling again... I was able to recall the dream without fail... I looked at my hand and then looked back to the ceiling... I'm so confused... Just who is Hibiki...? And why... Why do I see him wherever I go...?
Small beams of sunlight shined through my curtains which let me know it was morning... And suddenly there was a loud thud, which made me sit up in my bed. Low groans and the sound of furniture being moved followed soon after... I stood up, walked over to my dresser, and changed my clothes. I changed into a black t-shirt, a light blue skirt, and my white jacket with bunny ears on the ends. I walked outside to see Alcor had fallen off the couch and onto the floor. He had moved the small coffee table to give him space to roll onto his back and sit up. He held his hand on his lower back as he sat there, recovering.
"A-Are you... Alright, Alcor...?" I said as I tried to hold back my laughter while I walked over to where he was sitting on the floor. He looked up at me with a slightly pained expression and nodded slightly.
"Ah, Shining One... I apologize for disturbing you again while you were asleep." He said as he tried to stand up. "I didn't wake you did I...?" He pats off any dust on his butt, and legs, and looked at me with his usual, slight smile. He appeared to have slept in his clothes from the day before which caused them to wrinkle. He silver hair was messy, and greasy from going days without care...
"Alcor... Have you even bathed since we defeated Polaris...? Or at all?" I held my nose, hoping not to smell the foul odor that could come from him... Alcor had a shocked, yet confused expression as he looked at his clothes. He ran his fingers through his greasy hair and it seemed to stick in place...
"Ah... I'm a Septentrione, so I never had to think about personal hygiene. Perhaps because this is a copy of myself, it is more human than expected...?" He said as he looked at his arms and hands. Not being able to stand his sloppy appearance, I immediately grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the bathroom.
"Here! Take a shower! Leave your clothes outside the bathroom, and you can use the shampoo and body wash Daichi uses when his parents are out of town." I threw a towel at Alcor and immediately closed the door behind me. I really hope he at least knows how to take a shower... If not, couldn't he just try to find out how from the records in the Heavenly Throne...? I walked off into the living room and stared at the mess Alcor had made while trying to keep my mind off Alcor's ability to use a shower...
The couch itself was crooked, along with the coffee table, and there were sheets spread across the floor. I sighed at the sight of the mess and immediately began picking up after him. I picked up the sheets and threw them over my arm, set them onto the couch, and tried to straighten the furniture to the way it was before. I felt like I was cleaning up after a child, and I began to laugh at the thought.
In the middle of my laughter, my phone began to ring and when I flipped open the screen, I was surprised by the name that appeared on the screen. I answered the phone and waited for the familiar, commanding voice.
"Kuze-... No, Hiro?" Yamato's voice was as stern as usual, but he sounded a little more emotional than usual. When he said my first name, it reminded me of his death when we were heading to the Heavenly Throne... He had called my name before his last breath, saying it in a way which was almost sorrowful, and full of regret...
"A-Ah... Yamato..." I said in nostalgia. I was on the verge of tears from the memory of his death, yet... He'll never know... Which is good...
"I have something I want you to investigate. Meet me at Tokyo Tower at 14:00. Being Shijima, Nitta, and... Alcor with you." He said bluntly.
"Tokyo Tower at 14:00. Understood." I said robotically. How many times had I just gone along with what Yamato has said...? Why wasn't I fazed by the whole demon situation...? And why was I just continue to act like none of it had ever happened...?
"I knew I could count on you, Hiro." He said my name softly, and had immediately hung up.
I closed my phone and examined it, as if I was looking for an answer hidden somewhere in the blue casing... I shoved it back into my pocket and quickly went back to the bathroom to find Alcor's clothes in front of the door. I picked them up and immediately walked over to the washing machine. I put them in along with some detergent, and started the machine. While I waited I dialed Daichi's number to inform him of the situation.
"Hey, Hiro! What's up?" Daichi answered, casually.
"Daichi. Sorry to say, but it looks like we're not done just yet." I said with a slight grin.
"Whaddya mean?" His voice sounded hoarse... He must be afraid of what I have to say...
"Yamato just called me... He wants us to meet him at Tokyo Tower at 14:00..."
"W-What?! Yamato?! And here I thought we would actually have our lives back..."
"I know Daichi... Just... Meet me at my house."
"... Alright..." He sighed and hung up.
"Now... I just have to call Io..." I looked at my phone again, but hesitated when I clicked on her number in my contacts list... Did I really want to drag her back into this mess...? She just got her life back, and everyone she loves is alive...
'She's probably with her family... So maybe it's best that I don't interrupt her...' I thought as I closed my phone and shoved it back into my pocket. She deserves some happiness after all that she's been through... It was really hard on her when she saw her mother die before her eyes, and heard of her father's death... She doesn't need to be dragged into this after all of that...
The buzz of the washing machine filled the empty apartment, and I walked over, opened the door, took out Alcor's clothes, and put them into the dryer.
"Ah, Shining One... Is it not done yet...?" Alcor said out of the blue...
I almost jumped out of my skin when he suddenly spoke. I turned around to see he had wrapped a towel around his waist, and his once fluffy, silver hair was now drenched and flat. It took a few seconds for me to process that other than the towel, he was completely naked. Beads of water fell down his pale skin, and he actually seemed human...
"A-Alcor! Don't scare me like that!" I quickly looked away embarrassed. I could feel him looking over my shoulder in curiosity as the water from his hair dripped down onto my shoulder. He seemed to frown as he stared at the dryer as it dried his clothes.
"What is this machine, Shining One...?" Alcor pointed to the dryer.
"It's a dryer. It dries clothes at a faster rate then if we put it out in the sun..." Alcor seemed amazed that something could exist at this point in human development. He suddenly covered his mouth and sneezed, which caused me to laugh. "Why aren't you using your 'almighty powers' to make your clone dry?" I mocked.
Alcor wiped his hand on the towel and answered me bluntly. "Ah... Because I want to experience being human..." He looked like he was about to sneeze, so I started walking towards the bathroom.
"Come on, Alcor. Let me dry your hair while we wait for your clothes. We wouldn't want you to catch a cold... besides we have to go meet Yamato at Tokyo Tower at 14:00, so we have plenty of time." He nodded and followed closely behind me. As I entered the bathroom, I pulled out a small stool and a hair dryer. "Here, Alcor. Sit down." I motioned for him to sit in front of me on the stool. He floated over and sat down with grace.
I plugged the hair dryer into the wall, and when I turned it on Alcor jumped and stared at it.
"It's okay Alcor. I'm just using this to dry your hair." I said with a slight smile.
Alcor relaxed and turned away, waiting for the blast of air. I pointed the hair dryer towards his head and started to ruffle his wet hair, as it dried. It was soft to the tought, and it seemed to return to the way it always stood before he had gotten it wet.
It felt odd to have my life back... Yet... Alcor was still here, which reminded me that everything that happened those seven days wasn't a dream... Io, Daichi and I survived the train wreck in the subway... Eventually just to help JP's save the world... The battles with the Septentriones... Watching my friends die before my very eyes... It was all so horrible... Looking down at their mangled, bloody bodies... Their lifeless expressions... Just the memory of it sent chills down my spine...
I regained my train of thought and had finished drying Alcor's hair... I motions for him to follow me again as I went to retrieve his clothes. I quickly walked out of the bathroom, over to the dryer, and pulled out his clothes. The stains that covered his red, black, and white blouse were no longer visible, and the creases and wrings on both the blouse and pants were gone.
"Here. Good as new." I said as I handed them to him.
"Thank you, Shining One... You have my gratitude." He said with a slight bow. He immediately floated down the hall and went back into the bathroom only to come out moments later, fully dressed. I laughed at how quickly he returned to my side, just like a puppy. I looked up at him and finally realized how tall he is compared to me... Perhaps by a few inches... But I always remember looking at him to see that we were the same height... At that moment, my head started to hurt and I lightly clutched some of the strands of my long, curly hair.
"Shining One...? Are you alright...?" Alcor said as he leaned over slightly and put one of his hands on my shoulders.
I wanted to reply, but the words wouldn't leave my lips... The pain grew stronger to the point that I had to lean against a wall to stay on my feet... Why was my head hurting from such a thought...? Could it be the work of a demon...? Or worse...?
"I... I'm fine." I was finally able to say in a hoarse voice. The pain had subsided and coincidentally, the door bell rang. There was only person it could be, and I slowly walked over to the door. I looked through the peephole to see Daichi impatiently tapping his foot, behind the door.
"Daichi...? You're already prepared? What a surprise!" I mocked. He looked at me, flustered, and scratched his head.
"W-What...? Nooooo... I just want to get this over with...!" He retaliated. I laughed at his childish reaction, and shortly after, Daichi realized that Alcor had floated behind me. "A-Alcor...? Is it really something that bad...?" He said as he started to turn pale.
Alcor laughed and shook his head as he brought a finger to his chin. "No, no. I'm just here to be with my friends." He said.
"Ah... I... I see..." Daichi relaxed and his expression softened. "So are we going or what...? Wait... What about Io...? When you said us, didn't you mean her as well...?" He seemd a little upset that she wasn't present, and i looked down at my phone...
"She's probably with her family right now... It'd be a shame to taker her away from that..." I looked up at Daichi while gripping my phone.
"Y-Yeah... I guess you're right... Especially after what happened... Io seeing her parents die and all..." Daichi said as he scratched his head again. I slowly walked out and looked at Daichi as I gave him a pat on the back.
"Come one. We shouldn't be late." I said as I walked down the hall and out of the apartment building. Thankfully, my apartment was on the first floor, and the door locked automatically... Which means if I had to leave in a hurry I didn't have to worry about any delays...
I could hear Daichi's footsteps behind me as he changed his pace constantly. I can understand his concern for Io though... She saw her family die before her eyes... Just as I had seen all of my friends die... It's heart-breaking... The feeling is excruciating... You feel completely hopeless... Empty... Any courage you had would have been shattered... You ask yourself why it had to happen to them, and why you were the one to survive... It's as if you lost everything you loved in this world, and you were forced to sit and stare at the horrifyingly disgusting scene... Just to have it back like none of the events ever happened... You're overwhelmed with emotions that the sensations is... Indescribable...
"An indescribable feeling... Shining One...?" Alcor said suddenly.
"Ah! Alcor! How many times do I have to say not to do that!" I put my hand over my heart. Alcor's sudden appearance had almost given me a heart attack. "It's... It's indescribable... This feeling..."
Alcor looked at me and pondered for a bit while Daichi looked at him, shocked. He scratched his head and glanced at me with a curious expression. I laughed, nodded, and tapped my forehead, letting Daichi know that Alcor could read minds. His mouth opened wide as he almost shouted, "What?!", before he stopped himself.
"I... Can't imagine such a feeling... Do humans feel it often...?" Alcor looked at both of us in curiosity.
"I... Hmm... I guess you'll just have to wait and see for yourself..." I said in a distant tone. It seemed I had beat Daichi to the punch, as we were thinking the exact same thing. He nodded in agreement and continued to walk.
We reached the subway station and patiently waited for the train to arrive. Other pedestrians stood around us, chattering in loud voices. Some of them looked in our directions, and started to whisper about Alcor's appearance.
"He looks so weird... Is he a cosplayer...?" A girl said with curiosity.
"Couldn't be...! His hair looks so natural... But isn't he super cute?!" One of the girls squealed.
Suddenly they were interrupted by the announcer on the intercom.
"The train heading for Tokyo Tower, is now arriving. Please stand back and wait for the doors to open. Thank you." The announcer said in a deep tone. Alcor looked around to see where the voice was coming from, but could not find a physical person to connect the voice to.
"Intriguing... I don't see the man who just spoke... Is that an intercom...?" Alcor looked down at me and I nodded. His expression was full of wonder, until he heard the train rush by.
-Flashback-
As the train trolled by, it send chills down my spine as it reminded me of the day that everything began... Daichi, Io, and I had seen our death clips moments before the train crashed, almost killing us... But thanks to Nicaea, we survive the wreck, but only to face demons the moments after we had been saved.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you ladies!" Daichi said, trying to show off and impress us. However his small amount of courage was shattered once one of the demons started getting closer. He immediately backed off and hid behind me as we noticed that we were surrounded... I still can't believe how calm I was throughout that battle...
"Snap out of it, Daichi! We have to fight!" I had yelled.
"How a-are you so calm?! There are demons trying to kill us!" Daichi screamed back with a terrified expression.
"And?! What matters right now is that we get out of here alive! The only way to do that is to fight!"
"H-Hiro... Alright..." Io had said as she stood up and prepared to fight.
"Y-You've got to be kidding me...! Damnit...! I... I don't want to die here...!" Daichi said as he got next to me and reluctantly prepared himself for a fight.
I remembered the determination I had... We had to keep on living... Or else our lives would seem meaningless, but little did we know what kind of mess we were getting involved in... We were stupid kids... Stupid kids with the will to live... We kept getting stronger as the 7th day approached... The day we would face Polaris... And make a new world... I'm still surprised the our new world turned out almost exactly like our old one... Except everyone had the will to live, and there was barely any selfishness...
I moved some of my hair out of my face as I noticed Daichi was shooting glares at Alcor, who was beside me. I rolled by eyes and scoffed at Daichi's immature behavior, which he noticed. He grew agitated and immediately looked out the window. There was a perfect view of Tokyo, and Tokyo Tower grew larger as we arrived at the station...
Daichi, Alcor and I departed the train and headed for the exit, where we saw a familiar looking boy standing at the door. His gray hair hovered about his shoulders while some of his bangs laid over his right eye. A little tuff of hair casually sat on the back of his head, and two lavender orbs stared at us with a sharp, cold gaze.
"Yamato." I said to get his attention. Yamato straightened his back slightly, crossed his arms, and gave me a slight smile as we approached him. His eyes seemed to light up as I got closer to him, until he remembered the reason he was at the door.
"Ah... Hiro. I see you didn't bring Nitto..." He said as he looked at our group with a slightly disappointed gaze.
"She was spending time with-..." Daichi tried to say before he was interrupted.
"No matter. I will gladly take her place." He said with a grin. I looked at him, surprised. Yamato was joining us on a mission?! What for...?
"Yamato." I said, and he immediately turned to face me.
"Hmm?"
"Why did you call us here...?"
"Ah. We detected the presence of demons and... Something unknown with a high power signature... We have no further information on the unknown entity, however..." He said sternly.
"W-Wait, demons?! I thought there weren't any left!" Daichi said, as the color drained from his face.
"That's what we thought as well, until we got a report that Hiro's home was attacked by them." Yamato shook his head with a pained expression that he hid underneath his cool composure.
"Whoa, wait. Hiro's apartment was attacked by demons?! But Alcor said-"
"Yes, but I informed you that you had nothing to worry about, Shijima Daichi." Alcor had interrupted. As he spoke, Yamato gave him a cold glare, revealing his animosity towards Alcor...
"That is why I've decided to move Hiro back into the JP's headquarters until further notice. Now, back to the task at hand. We believe the demons here are identical to the ones that attacked you, Hiro." Yamato said with a stern, yet cautious tone, as if he was waiting for my response...
"What about that unknown entity...?" I said, completely ignoring the fact that I was being forced to stay at JP's again... I somehow knew that the peace we had wasn't going to last long... But I wasn't expecting it to be so short...
"As I've said, it is unknown. We've never seen an energy signature like that before." Yamato said with an annoyed tone.
"Wait a minute! Hiro, back up! Yamato's forcing you to live in JP's Tokyo Headquarters until who-knows-when?! How can you be cool with that!?" Daichi said, infuriated.
"Ah... I don't mind that... It's not like I have anyone keeping me in my apartment... Especially since demons are involved..." I said calmly... But when I said this, Daichi had a pained expression on his face as I finished...
"Ah... I-Is that s-so..." He said in a soft voice.
"Anyway... This unknown entity... If we don't know anything about it we'll have to be careful..." I said keeping my composure... I couldn't let everyone know...
I couldn't let them know that... I can't use my demons anymore...
WHEW! That was fast! I'm so sorry that this is so late! XD I tried to rush it so it might be a little bad... But my dear editor-san , lunamoonvenus, will catch my mistakes hopefully~ Which I really appreciate XD! I also appreciate you guys for reading, and supporting me as I try to give you new chapters... But of course high school is getting in the way... Boo hoo... ANYWAY! I hope you all enjoyed this especially long chapter~
Male Tico: HaVe a NIce DaY~
Female Tico: DoNt FOrgEt To REvIeW WhEeEee~!
(Get it? I'm copying their dialogue from the game~ /shot)