Hey guys,
Soooooo, it's been a pretty long time. But, you know how it is. Sadly I've been pretty busy but hey, here I am with another chapter of DBR where I introduce the final new character before the second arc really hits. So we have that to get through before everything really hits. I'm going on vacation in a few days, so we will see what comes within the next two weeks. I'm hoping I will get a lot of work done.
Sadly though, I have to go back and fix a ton of chapters because I got something wrong. I usually do my research about Japan, being things like Otaru being a real place in Hokkaido and the island Xenolith is on is a more or less empty island in Japan. So sadly, I was mortified to realize that I had gotten the school years wrong. It turns out that Japanese students change their school years in late March, early April. So yeah, I am going to go change things from back when I was writing about Setsuko and Yusuke to the chapter before this. Don't mind me if it says there were edits in previous chapters, it's just me changing words around so I can make the chapters a bit more accurate towards how the school years genuinely work.
Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapters. See you all soon,
xKiha
"I just can't help but worry…" Kimiko sighed as she and Michael walked down the street, Tsumi and Shura being right behind them both. These past few days had been hectic with worry and it felt like everything was just getting worse. "Ever since Setsuna called, I've just been on edge more than ever."
"You would think that somebody would have told us about the whole health can take a toll on how powerful your spells are thing." Michael mused. "It's hard enough to believe that somebody would go into a hospital to attack Kenja, but the fact that the reader can limit the power of the spellbook… it's scary, isn't it?"
"Yeah." The poison bookreader sighed, glancing back over to look at Tsumi. "It makes you wonder if you're really the perfect fit for your partner, even though they never chose you in the first place."
"We shouldn't worry about it though," Michael said quickly, Kimiko looking to him to see the potentially forced smile upon his face. "It's fate, you know? If we spent all this time worried about it, what would even be the point?"
"I guess you're right." Kimiko said nervously, looking around. "But, where is that cake shop that you've been bragging on anyways?"
"Just right up ahead," Michael said. "Trust me, we will make Kenja's week if we bring him a strawberry cake from Tea Roll. It's the kind of place where if you buy a slice from here once, all other cakes suddenly taste like sawdust."
"Well, I guess that'll be enough." Kimiko shrugged, both of the demon children practically drooling in anticipation of just how good these cakes must have been for Michael to make such a bold statement.
Michael nodded, smiling widely as they turned the corner. The streets of Hokkaido were a bit more alive now that late July was creeping up on them. The realization that their summer break was soon upon them, a month and a week of relaxation and homework before she had to return to the sophomore year of her education. It was nerve racking, especially at the idea that the Alliance might spend their time at war with the stone demon instead of just enjoying one another's company. She would have preferred the easy route, but there was nothing she could guarantee at this point.
"And here we are."
Kimiko returned to the world, looking around at the unfamiliar area to see the glass windows painted with the words 'Tea Roll' on it, a green awning overhead.
"Come on, then, let's go in." He smiled, opening the door for Kimiko and the demon children to enter.
Immediately, the three of them were surrounded by the smell of cake baking in the oven, something that caused Tsumi to grunt in satisfaction. It was intoxicating, Michael entering after and inhaling deeply immediately.
"Oh, uh… welcome to Tea Roll, can I help you?" Kimiko turned her attention to the girl behind the counter. She had long blond hair reaching her chest, pink highlights dancing through the long locks and complementing her fair skin, along with a beauty spot near her left nose. Her green eyes focused on them as she tugged at her pink shirt, worn under an open denim jacket along with navy knee length blue jeans and blue sneakers.
"Yeah, just uh, give a second, okay?" Michael asked, the girl sighing slightly but nodding all the same.
"That's Lamia." Michael said. "She's been here every time I've come in, but I know she doesn't own the place. She's a bit hard around the edges, but she's overall pretty nice."
Kimiko nodded slowly, peering over at Lamia who was staring at the four of them like they had committed theft before her eyes. But she didn't know this girl, so nothing could really be wrong… right?
Michael lead the three of them to the counter, pointing out a sponge cake covered in white frosting with strawberries decorating the top. "This one is just to die for, trust me he is going to love it." Then looking to Lamia. "Can we get one of the strawberry cakes please? Pre-sliced?"
Shura and Tsumi exchanged looks, knowing that getting a whole cake meant that they would both get a slice once they reached the hospital. Oh god, they couldn't wait!
"Yeah, sure." Lamia said, looking over to Shura and Tsumi. "But can you calm your demon children down? I know how much they can eat if they put their mind to it."
For a moment, everything quieted, Kimiko swallowing and hearing her ears crack. "Uh, demon children…? Whatever do you mean…?"
"I'm not dumb, so you'd be smart not to put on some act for me." Lamia said. "They're not exactly normal looking, ergo they're probably two of the thousand demon children." Taking one of the strawberry cakes out of the refrigerated display.
"But you're not going to fight us?" Shura asked cautiously.
"Why would I?" Lamia asked. "You don't look like you're going to whip out your books at attack me or anything, so I don't really have a reason to pull out my own book and try to kill ya." She set down a cake box, placing the chilled pastry inside of it. "Besides, my partner isn't even here. It would be quite a stretch for me to drag him out here just cause you entered where I work."
Kimiko shrugged, finding no fault in this. "I guess you have a point." Seeing Lamia nod as she sealed the box up before walking it back over to the register and beginning to type information in.
"I know I do." Lamia smirked with reassurance. "I'm the kind of person to break noses and ask questions later, but I'm at least going to do it after hours instead of right away."
"But you two are strong…?" Kimiko asked.
Michael felt himself frown as he reached into his wallet to pull out a few yen towards the hospital cake fund, hearing the tone in the poison bookreader's voice and shaking his head. She was going to ask it, this much he knew.
"Yeah, of course we are." Kimiko took the yen from Michael, combining it with the amount that she had herself and handing all of it to Lamia, who took it without another word.
"But, you two work alone?" Kimiko pried further, Lamia looking up from her cash register with a look of confusion in her eyes.
"Of course we do… What else were we going to do? Make friends with anybody that we saw?"
"It's not like allying with other groups isn't helpful." Kimiko mumbled, drawing in a breath. "It's been really helpful for my team so far, at least."
"Helpful, huh? You do know that only one demon can win this whole thing… right?"
"Well, of course." The brunette stammered. "But by working as a team, we can guarantee that a demon with good ideals and a good heart will win. And it keeps us from being destroyed by a huge demon who only wants to win, safety in numbers and all that."
Lamia seemed more amused by this than anything, nodding slowly. "Oh? So staying glued to other teams that could betray you whenever, that's the best course of action?"
"They're not backstabbers." Kimiko said. "Trust me on that, it's really beneficial to work on a team with others."
"And you're really asking me if I wanna join, like right now?"
"Yeah… I guess I am."
Lamia looked to Kimiko with a smirk on her face and a snicker in her throat, shaking her head. "Sorry, but it's going to take a bit more than a stranger asking me to help their side fight to convince me to stay with your team. You would need to prove to me that you're strong enough for me not to be wasting my time sheltering your group from powerful demons." Handing Kimiko her receipt along with the cake box, which the sophomore nervously accepted.
"So you need us to what before you're willing to consider it?"
"Fight us." Lamia snickered. "What else could I need? Fight my partner and I and prove to us that you're strong enough for us to take on."
"You want us?" Kimiko motioned to Tsumi and herself. "To fight you?"
"You and him, or them," Lamia pointed to Michael and Shura. "I really don't care who does it, but one of you two has to if I'm even going to consider it."
Kimiko moved over, looking at Michael in a bit of surprise, her hazel eyes brimming with uncertainty. They needed this, having another ally was always a welcomed change, but which one of them should do. Tsumi swallowing as all eyes fell onto Michael.
"I'll do it." The American born student stated quickly, surprising the other three as his eyes fell onto Kimiko's. "You brought in Yumi and Roku not that long ago, let me handle it this time."
"You sure?" Kimiko asked, not wanting him to feel like he was required to do this,
"Yeah, I've got it." Michael chuckled. "You trust me, don't you?"
"Of course I do." The poison bookreader said. "I just know it's going to be hard and everything, we don't know how strong she is or even the type of spells her partner can use."
"But I'll work around that." Michael shrugged, both bookreaders knowing that he never really slacked while in battle and usually knew his limits. "Trust me, alright? I've got this, I'll take her out and then we can bring another member into the alliance before the statue demon shows her face here."
Well, that did sound reassuring, Kimiko nodding to him slowly. "Well, I guess you do know what you're doing."
"Of course." He said, glancing over to Shura who seemed to have the same determined look upon his face. "Alright, I'll show you just what being part of our group can do to ya."
"Perfect." Lamia snickered. "Otaru's local park isn't too far away, so I don't see why we couldn't meet up there around nine after my shift."
"Sounds like a plan." Michael said, feeling the weight of his spellbook in his backpack. He was sure that he was going to enjoy this.
.
.
.
"Oh god, it's just good to see you again."
After being isolated for quite a while, the influx of visitors thanks to the alliance really did bring Kenja a striking feeling of joy. To feel the warmth of a person who came just to make sure he was alright, that left him feeling valued and cared about, something that he almost wanted to melt about. When he was a child that was all he wanted, others to show up in his room and just speak with him. Others that weren't blood related, that would feel no obligation to come, they just would on their own accord.
That's why the feeling of being hugged by Kimiko in that moment was enough to make Kenja sniffle a bit, hearing her whisper just how happy she was to see him again. His thin arms held her tightly to his body, forgetting about the IV drip in his arm and the math behind when he could go home, and just hugging a dear friend.
"I missed you too." Kenja said, letting her go only to see Michael take a step closer, a pastry box in hand. "Michael, it's good to see you again."
"Good to see you again too." The brunette smiled. "Hope we caught you with an appetite, because what I have right here in the single best cake in Otaru."
"Oh really?" Michael jerked to see the ears of Kesai perking up at the mention of cake, his green eyes focused and curious. "The best cake in Otaru?"
"You better believe it." Michael said, setting the box down on Kenja's bedside table. "You both are going to love this. Especially after all of the hospital food you've had to deal with."
"It's not that bad…" Kenja mumbled, although he did grow increasingly interested when Michael removed a strawberry cream cake from the box. Not as hyper focused as the three demons of course, the children looking at the pastry like they had never seen anything of the sort before.
"But, do they have a release date for you yet?" Michael asked.
"It's looking like if my cell count stays consistent for another week, I may be out then."
"So you're going to miss the week before summer?" Kimiko sighed.
"Yes, but Mister Kincad stopped by earlier and presented me with all of my summer homework." Kenja said softly, looking down at a filled book bag beside his bed. "So even if I have to stay here for longer than expected, I have everything I need for this summer."
"But still, poor Setsuna." Shura teased, Kenja looking away as Kesai snickered. "Surely you want to get back out there, so you two can do stuff."
"Very funny…" The blond huffed, Michael then handing him a slice of the cake atop a napkin. Kenja's azure eyes narrowed slightly with thought before he took a bit, said eyes immediately shooting open.
"Wow…" Kenja whispered, blinking slightly rapidly before taking another bite. "It's exactly as good as you said it was!"
This only made the children all the more ravenous, three of them all focused on Michael as he handed out pieces to each of them. The cake passed out to all before long as Kimiko turned to Michael, nibbling on her own slice but focused on him with concern. "Are you sure you're up to… fighting Lamia and all? I mean, we barely know her or what she and her partner can do."
"Shura and I are up to it." Michael reassured. "You have no reason to worry about us when we are going to be perfectly fine. I promise you, there is nothing to worry about."
"I know… but I'm the one that wanted to ask her. This should be my burden to bear, not yours." The poison bookreader sighed.
"Well, we are all part of the alliance, so it's everybody's problem." Michael returned. "Now quit your worrying, I'm going to be fine and soon enough we are going to have another person joining our ranks. Alright?" The junior taking a bite of his cake.
"Alright." Kimiko sighed, looking up at him again before shaking her head. He was right, they were going to be okay, she had no reason to worry.
This was just how it was when you were amongst the ranks of their alliance. There was nothing she could do but watch it happen and help if needed.
.
.
.
"You think she's here already?" Shura asked as he and Michael walked through the darkening streets of Otaru, looking around the buildings with only slight recognition.
"No idea." Michael said. "I didn't even know she was a bookreader until today, so we're both in the dark here."
"Think she will treat us like an enemy? That she'll try and destroy our book?"
"I hope not." Michael sighed, looking around before catching glimpse of the park sign. "I mean, we're trying to recruit her, so we're not burning any books. So hopefully she'll give us the same treatment. But… if she does try to burn our book, it's not like we aren't going to do anything we can to stop her."
Shura nodded to his partner, feeling newly invigorated as they entered the park. It was likely past any child's curfew, hence the park was completely abandoned.
Well, with the exception of two figures sitting together on a park bench.
"Lamia!" Michael called, tucking his spellbook under one of his arms. "Is that you?"
He didn't exactly get an answer, only the sight of movement from the bench as the two figures began to walk closer to the both of them.
"Get ready, okay?" Michael said.
"Got it."
Stepping under the lit circle of a park light, the two boys caught glimpse of Lamia and a demon child, or rather one that seemed about Amera's age.
He was taller than Lamia, with short silvery blond hair and pale skin. He had black eyes with lines going from his lower eyelid and down his cheeks. He smiled with sharp, pointed teeth, clicking long and sharp fingernails together. He was wearing a somewhat baggy long sleeved silver shirt atop a black turtle neck, black pants and matching black shoes.
"…" Shura was silent, looking to the demon in surprise. "Y… I didn't know you were fighting!"
"Huh?" Michael turned to his partner. "You know this kid?"
"Yeah!" Shura announced. "Everybody does! That's the Prince's cousin, that's Azura Bell!"
"Tch, you're not the first to recognize me." He smirked, cracking his knuckles. "I guess nobody forgets what it's like to see royalty. But, not many get the honor of being able to fight me. So, you better savor it."
"Was he always this smug?" Michael whispered.
"You haven't met his father." Shura returned. "Trust me, he could be way worse."
"So, are we going to fight or not?" Lamia called, hands on her hips, one of those hands holding a spellbook. "I'm not waiting here all day." Her silver book giving off a powerful light as Azura's lips curled into a sinister looking smile that practically gave Shura the chills.
"Are we really ready for this?" Mumbled Shura, only to see Michael nod.
"Of course we are." He nodded, holding out his own book. "Let's show them who's boss!"
"Shakir!"
"Zakeru!"
And it was in that moment, when both children watched a bolt of lighting leave the palm of their opponent that something became a bit clearer.
This was going to be an all out lightning battling, and they were going to need more than just electricity to win this thing.