THE NIGHTMARE II
recap (dragonball soundtrack)
last time Nijito in his endless quest to make money went to investigate about Kori Yukinoshita and then disgused as a girl infiltrated in a swimming lesson to snap some scandalistic photos. Accomplishing valid feats in only the latter quest the boy found himself going through a mental breakdown as the weight of surviving through other people's disgraces was slowly crushing his coscience and to add more fuel to the fire a punk named Bakkin messenger of the Yukinoshita patriarch stumble on Nijito and everything ends up in a brawl. severly injured the boy sacrfices his current self to create a version of himself strong enought to overcome the obstacle, in this way he defeats the punk... and now the after match.
"what a hell of a day"
I muttered crashing on the sofa.
Wow I barely managed to reach it. Gosh I was all sore and tired and well... I guess it was a miracle itself I managed to open my house's door.
In my hand I was holding a letter like my life depended on it drunk of mixture of joy and hate.
"Okay from now on there's no going back"
that... That was the only thought running through mind as my tiny child hand caressed the orange paper of the letter I stole from Bakkin after choking him.
*thum thum
My heart was still resounding loud as a thunder from this afternoon:
thum thum
hell it was so annoying I even tried to suppress the noise under a tower of pillows of the sofa, but no matter how many pillows I used that drumming sound was still there. With each beat I couldn't help but revive again, again and again the events that came right after my birth.
My body healing on its own
myself slashing through Bakking thigh
and...
my hands clinging around his throat while he kept punching and kicking until he faded out.
It was weird I never thought I could...could explode so violently; snap in that cold fighting frenzy, it felt like I had a glacial flame burning inside my chest...while...everything except obtaining that letter had become meaningless, right: when I was attacking Bakkin I didn't bother to avoid his punches I nearly welcomed them, as if all the pain I suffered just made my inner flame shine brighter.
I still remembered an elational shock running through my spine as I started to payback Bakkin with his same coin, as I made him scream inpain
...dammit.
it felt good"
with just a few slashes and cuts I managed to reverse on that teenage drug dealer all the anger, all the shame and the disgust I felt towards that damn orange letter that turned my life in a mess and towards myself: Sure it wasn't fair or nice, after all I had arbitrary turned someone in my personal punching bag
yet I could tell
...
not Approval (Nijito)
...
nor the Original (Nijito)
...
had ever felt so light.
"mouuuu uh! I can't let this become an habit,I'd better bottle up this side of me before it gets out of controll again; I took to many risks at once, it's a wonder I won *fuuu, No. More. Thoughtless. Decisions. For. Me. like ever again"
I muttered finding the strength to get up and go in the kitchen.
Lethargic like a bear in winter I lazily left the letter orange on the kitchen table and went to take the chocolate bar I kept in the fridge for special occasions (after all I wouldn't dare to spend precious money for something petty as sweets...too much bills to pay).
Proper victories deserved proper rewards. Am I right?
"*mnom *mnom chestnuts mnom mnom*"
I hummed pleased wondering what to do next.
As I was dirty of chocolate, still dressed like a girl, bruised, tired, sweaty and a bit bloodied, I decided upon refreshing myself before starting to study that orange nightmare I went through so much troubles to obtain.
I mean the last time I acted recklessly (an hour ago) things went south scarily quickly: so playing my cards with the better safe than sorry strategy didn't sound too bad...
Probably taking bath was the best thing.
While I was slowly walking towards the bathroom to live up to my project, I felt my eyes unconsciously linger on my right hand; at first I didn't understand why but after thinking for a second I realized that was the hand Bakkin pierced: my pupils were like searching for a proof it got stabbed yet...there wasn't even a scar.
"If I didn't know for sure it happened, I wouldn't even imagine I got injured"
I whispered holding the pommel of the bathroom while an uncomfortable emptiness grew in my stomach.
"Incredible healing speed and that electric feeling...there was definitely Mana dwelling inside all my wounds... Did I healed myself? no, there's no way, I don't even know how to cast a spell forget obtaining a result so clean"
I thought trembling slightly.
Just what the hell was going on within me? It was like as I replaced Approval (Nijito), my body tried to keep up... to reset as well.
"UHG LIKE I NEED MORE QUESTIONS NOW!"
I grunted finally opening that door.
"Nijito com'on relax, first thing first right? Right"
I managed calm down and started to undress myself.
I only wanted to focus on removing a piece of cloth at the time, unfortunately as I was stripping a terrible realization ended up in my hands: my girly clothes were all ruined...
*inhale,
*exhale
"And there goes my invetiment... all those precious yen...1,2,3, 4,5, tears and a bit of blood, not all mine by the way, uuummmmm definitely beyond repair, I'd better get rid of this things"
I thought opening the water to fill the bathtub.
I really needed a bath, I still smelled of chlorine from the swimming lesson with the Seyuus and all my various scratches were itched, they really had to be cleaned up.
I really wanted a bath... just to sink under hot water for a long time and forget about everything, it didn't matter if it was only a for a single moment... I wanted to live an instant in a world were there were no bills, no photos, no letters, no parents, no sister, no Nijito.
Only my shapeless existence floating in the water until the tomorrow came to claim me...
"Right, tomorrow"
I muttered while my warm shining utopia was obscured by a dark cold cloud named reality.
"I've to deal the voice actresses photos"
If my calculations were correct the pay of the work would have been enough to give me the financial securty to spend some time dealing about the letter issue. I still felt slightly bad for profiting from those voice actresses kind-...no naivety.
"mais c'est la vie, everybody win sometimes, everybody lose sometimes and who I need to use as a tool will win or lose second of what's more advantageous for the undersigned."
I said clutching my girl's clothes until something hard inside them obtained my attention.
"right...speaking of tools"
I searched inside the clothes' pockets
"I must decide what to do with these things"
I grunted drawing other three objects I stole from the unconscious Bakkin.
Per se they weren't nothing much: just Bakkin's wallet (don't give me that look money always come handy), one of the many balls of nylon and marijuana the teenage drug dealer was carrying and the knife he and I used to stab one another...and it covered in strawberry marmalade...who was I kidding it was still dirty of blood.
"wow, thank God Bakkin never stopped with drugs "
I thought hiding the illegal weed in the medicine's shelf, now if I ever found myself lacking of scoops could create one.
"otherwise the cops I called phone booth wouldn't have held him for more than a day, but with all the grass he had with him... I won't have to worry about him for a while"
I checked the content of the wallet...only 1000 yen, the business card of a chinese restaurant and oho! Yeah jackpot! a point card of ice cream parlor with almost all the stamps.
"Even so, I could have definitely played my cards better, like following him and knocking him out with a stone when he didn't expect it"
I concluded entering in the bathtub.
Calmly immersing myself in hot water I began to add soap into the water until a myriad of bubbles invaded the surface (YESSS BUBBLEES I LOVED BUBBLESSSSSSSS). Then as I was soaking to my heart content I started to also wash Bakkin's..no my knife to erase all the DNA remains.
The water was coloured of disturbing pink, yet an extra dose of bubbles helped to hide the problem.
"Perfect all clean and shiny, mmmm maybe I should start carrying it around, if I conceal it properly probably nobody will notice"
I told myself diving in the depths of the bathtub.
That knife was cheap, truly an object of poor quality, even I realized it and I was no expert, yet it was sharp and as my hand could confirm was able to penetrate smoothly into flesh.
"A tool with no name that anyone can get rid of in any moment... hey knife are you sure it isn't fate that brought us together" (A/N NO IT'S NOT! TAKE LOOK AT THE TITLE OF THIS DAMN FANFICTION!)
I let out some bubbles under water imagining potential scenarios.
If I ever found myself in a situation with no way out I could take a hit or two then start crying and wait for an opening to stab my aggressor to cause mayor blood loss.
"well...I'd better re-read an anatomy book or two so I avoid to screw up"
I grunted emerging and staring at my reflection in the blade.
"..."
"...must. Suppres. The. Temptation"
I grunted slowly pushing the knife under water
Oh well F*** it!
"BRRRR this is the super duper submarine, Captain Nijito on the bridge!"
(acute) "aaaaa there are terrible teenage sharks with chainsaws as teeth attacking what do we do captain!?"
"TO THE BATTLE!"
Once I was all clean and wasn't covered in blood...of someone else, I came out from the bathtub grunting during every movement, multiple parts of my body were aching. Apparentely the adrenaline flowing in my veins had run out and all the pain that I kept in a corner of my brain now was invading every part of my body, I never thought wearing my bathrobe could be so hard
"Even this is getting tight"
I muttered walking before the bathrooms' mirror
"Bakkin really kept struggling till the end, luckily he was too scared to do anything useful... Uhmu what's this?"
I muttered noticing a purple spot on my cheek big as a mandarin.
With childish curiosity I got closer to the mirror and touched my cheek, (Ouch) Oh it was a post fight bruise... and wait, there were more; ehm 4,5, ah! With these many bruises I was really easy to notice... mph everybody in city would notice a face like this
...
"FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKHHHHHHH Oh no, oh nononono this is really bad, why they're so visible! Anybody with functioning eyes will see them! What if someone makes questions?What do I say?"
I began to freak-out while breathing heavily
"I fell from the stair? NO IT'S TOO OBVIOUS OF AN EXCUSE! AAAAAAHHHHH, and Oh God there are scratches on my neck! That means... double OH God MY DNA IS UNDER BAKKIN'S NAILS *Pant * pant I left a trace behind me I should have never left a trace behind me... I made a mess I wanted that letter too much I let my feelings go and and...THAT'S WHAT HAPPEN WHEN I FOLLOW EMOTIONS, I DO SOMETHING STUPID STUPID STUPID... "
I muttered, trembled, screamed towards my reflection.
Why was I in this situation?
Right because of myself... because of my stupid self that didn't know how to control or wink with the left eye, YEAH YOU HEARD ME ME!
"you (I) had to screw up, didn't you (I)"
I hissed against the me in the mirror letting all my frustration build up in my left hand.
I wanted to crush that stupid face in the mirror, I wanted to erase it, I wanted to begone begone BEGONE!.
wait no I wanted to make it begone, yeah the reflection not myself
not
Myself
I couldn't just stand the imagine of me on that mirror, the image of Nijito
...really I felt annoyed, enraged by his sole existence
What he (I) had been was a reminder of the disgusting weakness that brought forth to my birth.
The struggles he couldn't overcome
The wishes he would never accomplish
Those things were my backbone.
Basic componets of my person.
I didn't ask for them yet
The despair after seeing Nijito's hopes shatter
The hope Nijito needed to escape from despair
were two opposites that kept dwelling inside my soul.
Apparently until I was myself things will never become easy
I guess that's the truth
"the truth... "
I whispered stopping my fist a second before it went crushing against the mirror.
"aaaaaffff what am I even doing? Com'on it's unlikely someone will check under Bakkin's nails and he is way too dumb to think about it... again Nijito, you must never act under the effect of emotions"
I said massaging my temples thinking what I could have done better
"Bakkin was knocked out for good right, if I had immediately noticed he scratched me I could have spent a minute of my time cleaning his nails, maybe with a napkin and some alcohol...yeah alcohol like I had the habit of always carrying some with me. Given the fact I had a knife the best solution would have been cut off his fingers and fed them to a stray dog" (A/N dark!)
I conveyed putting in order all the options I had available at the time
"...mmm nope I don't think I'd have the resolve to do something as efficent as that."
Immaging to really cut off someone's finger, no not my style too ruthless
"Com'on Nijito my buddy let bygones be bygones and start searching mother's trousse, inside it there is that eyeliner... fard uh, whatever useful to cover bruises"
I told myself slapping my own cheeks.
OUCH
right still injured better disinfect everything
After I managed to polish and clean that a riot of purple and red which was my face, I found myself to face my greatest challenge yet: Applying makeup... yes, I'm serious. I'd never imagined using those...things...could be so difficult, just to find the fard with the same colour of my skin I went half mad and God save me I spent an entire hour trying to obtain a homogeneous result. What had started as an experiment to see if covering my injuries with makeup actually worked, turned out to be a merciless battle between me and that damn palette that wouldn't make me prettier! I mean...ehm make me look more anonymous.
"Okay...I guess nobody will notice anything tomorrow if I put on the same make up...still everybody who saw me even once will notice all my skin turned magically darker"
I muttered studying my face in the mirror.
My eyebags were gone under layers and layers of make up, my long black hair all sorted and far from the eyes... I seemed a normal kid who needed an haircut, to be fair I barely recognized myself, I looked so quiet so relaxed. This boy in the reflection wasn't me, it was just another mask that covered my face instead of my mind.
If I had added a few touches of color here and there, a fake beauty spot under the eye and maybe a tiny scar on the chin
puff
Not even I could have recognized myself
"mmmm well at least out of this shitty situation I learned something new!"
I mumbled slightly smirking towards the result of my first make up session
True, I needed to improve and I could have done better, yet...I could have done worse, so it counts like a victory right?
"mmmmmmmmmm"
I made a few grimaces: puffing cheeks, crossing eyes, sticking out my tongue, that kind of stuff.
... why I kept wasting my TTTTTTIIIIIIIMMMMEEE
"World's calling Nijito. World's calling Nijito. World's calling Nijito, time to play is over. Reality wants you back"
I whispered like a sad meowing
And so gulping down my hesitation I wore my pajama and went in the kitchen to face my orange enemy made of paper.
Now it was only me and that letter.
Breathing deeply I grabbed that orange curse, my heart was beating fest as if I was holding a poisonous snake. how was it possible that I,I could fear so much a piece of crumpled paper and a weirdly untouched red seal of wax.
This had to be the least dangerous thing I did today, but God I had suffered so much to obtain this damn letter and while I wanted to know the truth behind it so badly it hurt doubts such as: "what if I made a mistake, what if I just directed the attention of dangerous people towards me!" were springing in my mind like flowers
*sssssssiiiiiiigggghhhhhhh
Calm down I had to CALM down.
Nothing good would happen if I approached this matter without having freaking calmed down first... OOOHHHHHMMMMMMM peace of mind OOOHHHHHMMMMMMM peace of mind, peace of mind peace of mind peace of mind, peace of mind peace of mind peace of mind peace of mind peace of mind peace of mind, peaceofmindpeaceofmindpeaceofmindpeaceofmindpeaceofmindpeaceofmindpeaceofmindpeaceofmindpeaceofmindpeaceofmind
"Calm, so now what can I do to use my Homo sapiens brain to stop the Murphy's law from striking"
I said staring upon the orange piece of paper doing my best Buddha-like face.
To be honest I wasn't sure about what to do: opening the letter was out of question, since that action deleted the option of delivering the letter myself.
Why would you deliver the letter yourself Nijito might ask someone.
well logically thinking, it was improbable that all the answers I was seeking could be inside this letter, and most importantly it was IMPOSSIBLE that a man careful as Kori Yukinoshita would use Bakkin to deliver messages above a certain level of sensibility, let alone magical matters...So to me the contains of the letter mattered little in comparison to the traffic of information the letter could give me access to if I used it properly.
Bakkin must have been one of the rats Yukinoshita used to spread information among other rats: a pawn that he could discard at any moment, while the piece of paper in my hand: nothing more than ordinary orders.
"Still let's see how many secrets can I reveal out of you"
I muttered searching for a torch.
It took me a couple of minutes, then without rest I turned it on behind the orange paper; the artificial light penetrated through the letter delineating in transparence a single page with just a handful of characters on.
"Regards..sec-sectio-section chief, I want the v-the veeeeeeeeee, ehm the verbal ready for...next monday"
I slowly read narrowing my eyes
"and that's it?"
I asked myself biting my lower lip confused.
That couldn't be it! I mean the message was just sentence a totally unsuspicious sentence, just a simple request to an employee. Why would anyone even bother to use a messenger for something like this! Couldn't Yukinoshita use telephones, faxes or e-mails to send messages like this!
"Employing a highly paid messenger to deliver 11 stupid words...very suspicious"
I groaned while my guts kept troubling, there was something more I had yet to find.
"If I was a rich, influential (most likely) Magus.. I wouldn't have any problem in my life...bad thoughts Nijito, bad thoughts"
"Again. If I was a rich, influential Magus why would I use delivery boys? To keep the level of secretiveness as high as possible? No first rule of scandalistic news, more people know something more chances there are that someone speaks too much.
mmmm I'd use delivery boys to send messages in places I can't reach through any safer mean... so continuing this line of thoughts Yukinoshita must be working with ordinary men that stay in places where there is no field, like sewers, tunnels or other places far from the center. Or he's simply a paranoid that uses street childs who won't refuse easy money and are easy to make disappear, to deal trivial messages... that must encrypted to avoid any leak of information with a invisible ink or any other technique! "
I said holding my nose bridge
I was an idiot
How could I have not thought about encoded messages immediately! I had stalked at least a dozens of illicit couples that used meaningless words or lines to decide rendezvous point or to pass any kind of messages: Saying everything while saying nothing... hell I wasn't even sure the message Bakkin was carrying wasn't just a part of a bigger one.
Yukinoshita Kori was meticulous and probably wouldn't really trust anybody, if he decided to use street kids as delivery men he must have had for sure a perfectly logical reason, balanced in risks and benefits
Sewers
Tunnels
Street kids
encoded messages
It was obvious
Yukinoshita was making moves on a very large scale, probably the whole city.
He was using as pawns (messengers) kids he could easily dispose off, to arrive in places he couldn't reach alone
all the pawns must have been habitual goers of the various areas so none would bother to notice them near the delivery points.
And even if one of those pawns was caught no important information would leak from carefully encoded messages.
this was game across all Chiba
with all its parts hidden in plain sight.
It seemed I was going to get involved in something much bigger than me
how troublesome
That night I went to sleep not out of will but out of necessity, I barely had the strength to clean my face from the make up.
"Need. More. Canned. Coffee. In. Fridge. Have. To. Increase. Waking. Hours"
I muttered sinking on my bed's pillow.
I was too tired, I could feel conscience being dragged deeper and deeper down in a sea of slumber by all the fatigue...
The last thing I remembered before drifting away from this world was the omnipresent scent of the books scattered around my room
I really hoped that at least in my dreams I could find some peace and quiet...but unfortunately reality hated me more than I imagined.
"etto...Where am I?"
I asked
"standing on a road silly"
responded a sweet voice behind my back
"Thanks mom I can see that, but why am I standing on a road?"
I asked once more as the defined silhouette of my mother appeared besides my left side
"because we are taking a walk, why are making so many stupid questions son? I thought you were the smart one this house"
Retorted another silhouette popping out from my right
"waa Dad don't appear from behind me like that! you scared me! Besides we never take walks so my insecurities and questions are perfectly explainable"
I puffed my cheeks startled and embarrassed
"Dear don't be such a tease Nijito is just excited to spend some time with us, right Niji-chan?"
laughed a bit Mama
"...yes"
"Is that so? Well I guess it's fine, why don't we start to walk again"
said my father gently pushing my back
"Sure"
I smiled harder than I ever did before
"ahah Oni-cwaan hooowlld me"
A tiny hand tugged my clothes
"mmm as you wish imotou-chan"
I grinned lifting up my little sister
"Now you two start walking or we will leave you behind"
my parents said at the unison extending their hands towards me
"yes"
I roared trembling like an autumn leaf
I-I-I was going to be with mom dad and my sister, I could really obtain the only thing I really wanted, I just had to step forward, take a single step and I was going to be together with them.
*arf arf
my breathing was heavy I could feel my heart pound loud as a firework explosion
"com'on I have just to move my foot"
I whispered while imotou-chan's weight seemed to disappear from my arms.
suddenly the world around me started to blur
What was happening?
*thwon
An ominous sound started to echo from every possible corner of the world distorting all the images I could see.
I was starting to lose my parents sight.
I couldn't see my parents clearly anymore.
nononononononononononononono
don't leave me behind
don't leave me behind
"DAMMIT ONE STEP, one step one step"
I tried to rise my foot, yet I seemed made of stone.
I couldn't move
I couldn't m-*thwon
*SSPPPLLAAAAAAASSSHHHHHHHH
"awwlalwalw ehwm ehme heme graaahh A POOL!? Where am I"
I coughed and screamed emerging from chloris water.
why was I in a pool?
Why was I again in my Nishina swimsuit?
Where were Mom, Dad, imotou-ch...uh?
what was I talking about?
where were who?
"Nishina-chan wow you can hold your breath for really long!"
a cheerful girl called "my" name
"eh Chitose-san why are you here?, no actually where am I"
I asked to the voice actress I yesterday totally lost.
what the hell was going in on here?
"Uhm... learn to swim with your favorite Seyuus?"
she responded sounding confused.
wait it was a question or an affirmation?
"Is that a question of an affirmation?"
I voiced my thoughts
"what? An affirmation of course"
Chitose responded flustered
"you sounded weird"
I rebuked aggravating the embarrassment of the voice actress
"just because you're acting weird"
she said annoying my ears
what did she say! I wasn't weird AT ALL
"OI I am not acting weird, it's the swimming lesson that should have ended hours ago!"
I puffed my cheeks reddening at frightening speed,
I wasn't weird was I?
"UH Are you Okay Nishina, you have become all red, did you stay under water too much?"
muttered Chitose moving in front of me and bending froward
"NO, and don't touch my forehead I do not have a fever"
I shook trying to escape from the tiny cured hands of the girl
"if you say so..."
the girl pouted before trapping me in a surprise hug
unwanted physical contact unwanted physical contact unwanted physical contact MAYDAY
"Chitose-san let me go"
I struggled to free myself , or at least pretended to struggle..I liked this warm
maybe this physical contact wasn't so unwanted, maybe I liked being hugged
"oh I know what can make you return normal"
the voice actress thought in loud voice
"again I am perfectly normal no-"
I protested, but
"want to go play with me and the others"
Chitose striked a soft spot
suddenly I felt shyness pervade my heart and squeaked a
"...can I?"
in low voice
"sure just one thing "
responded the Seyuu sounding a bit strange
no she didn't sound strange just a lot colder than normal, practically emotionless.
"..yes?"
I asked vaguely troubled by her change of timber.
something felt wrong, terribly wrong.
incredibly anxious I tried to calm my worries searching for Chitose Karasuma's kind eyes,
yet as I rose my eyes to stare directly in the voice actress face I found no iris, pupil or horny just two dark holes in her skull
" Nijito why did you take those pictures?"
whispered the eyesless woman before exploding in a storm of photographs.
mom dad where are you ?
Chitose...what did I do to you?
Why did they leave me behind ?
Have I to always hurt people?
Nijito
(first one)
Nijito
(second one)
...
get out from my dreams
remain in that desert
you're already dead
TRY REST IN PEACE
YOU HAVE ALREADY SUFFFERED ENOUGH
as you wish
as you wish
"...Fuck rest not even in my dreams..."
I said waking up all sweaty
everything around me was dark, yeah there was close to no light in my room, what time was it?
5:27
... pff I didn't even let my alarm ring.
"really I didn't even sleep five hours. *fuuu. Okay it isn't so bad, today I have a bunch of things to do, better waking up before than after..."
I muttered still a little stunned.
crap I went to sleep yet I remained very tired talk about injustice
"Definitely need some coffee"
I complained slipping out from my bed.
geez five hours and ten minutes weren't enough to recover all my energies and as if it was not enough my hair were a mess: really I resembled an annoyed hedgehog and so repeatedly brushing my long hair with my hands I tried to calm down that ferocious mane on my head...with no results.
"okay I give up"
I grunted losing against my hair-locks and leaving the room.
first thing to do was breakfast so I rapidly made my way towards the kitchen throwing quick stares at the bedrooms of my parents and sister: they were empty of course. Damn I didn't even know why I dared to hope something would have been different today.
scratching my back I opened the fridge and gulped down my usual morning can of coffee, conspicuous amount of sugar and caffeine began to flow in my bloodstream reactivating the parts of my brain left on the pillow.
"Okay better now I'm definitely better, neuroreceptors activate activate activate yourself and OKAY I'M DEFINITELY UP"
I crumpled up the can and tossed it in the trash bin
After that I cooked the breakfast for my family in my usual 68 seconds put it in the secret elevator behind the basket of fruit picture, Uh I barely needed to stay on my tip-toes, I had grown up! Yeah, oh wait I had grown up I needed to spend money to buy new clothes...dammit.
"I will buy something this evening if I have time left"
I said going to dress up.
Today I had to move quite a bit and was going to stay in centre, so among all the clothes in my "wide" wardrobe I chose the most anonymous t-shirt and trousers in my possession, then went to prepare my back pack for the day.
"So usual equipment aside I need to have my new knife, my emergency cash, extra batteries for the camera and maybe a map of Chiba"
I thought putting everything I was going to need inside my cool PreCure backpack.
subsequently I reached the bathroom and (God why you forsaken me) wore my make up, fortunately given that this time I already knew how I wanted to look like it took me less time to cover all the bruises, sure the overall work could still be improved, but I was pretty delighted by the result: I nearly looked like a person who gets eight hours of sleep every night.
"I'm heading outside"
I said to no one in particular before well...heading outside.
it was still pretty early, the sun had just started to peak above the horizon and there wasn't a soul around the street, Lucky! I hated crowds or being in a place with many people in general, yet today I needed to hide this weakness why? Well because after I'd delivered the Seyuus photo's to AnimeHEY! (still an horrible name in my opinion), I was going to talk with very shady individuals.
why? someone might ask again
and again I'd say, well because on the letter I stole there was no address so I didn't know where it was going to be delivered and I had no idea where Yukinoshita gave all his letters to the various minions: in a few words I didn't have a single clue about where to start my investigations. Sure I'd eventually came out with something, but more time passed and less meaningful the letter in my possession become: for that reason I had to move as quickly as possible and that meant...I definetly needed some help.
"I'm sure the informers are going to make me spend all my money in a way or another"
"e-e-xcuse me miss"
"..."
"excuse me miss"
"..."
"EXCUSE ME MISS!"
"Uh, who? what? when? where? why?"
"Excuse me miss, No, no not up there, yeah! I'm down here, hello ...fucking finally"
"oh a little boy? uhm what can I do for you?"
"I've an... an appointment with Shuwa-san"
"Really? are you his niece or something?"
Me? that fat Otaku? related? Hell no!
"N-no actually, etto I'm here to deliver a few pictures"
"a few pict- pardon my impudence you must be Nikuji, the delivery boy of Two-san"
"y-yes it's...it is me"
fantastic the fat pervert not only is fat and a pervert, but has a wide mouth too!
"wow I thought it was a joke but you really are a delivery boy who's six yea-"
"nearly eight! I mean I-I...I'm not six I'm almost eight years old."
"Oh sorry I'm not really good with children"
"N-nothing"
"please go in the third room on the left, that's Shuwa-san's studio he's waiting for you"
"thank you"
"This is going to be very taxing on my patience"
I thought walking through the corridor of the AnimHey building
again what a terrible name.
I was placing step after step with surgical precision, trying to incorporate my body language with the indecisive and innocent facade of Nikuji, one of my many alias. Playing the part of a dumb child first in the morning uh! What a pain! Fortunately I just had to leave a few photographs take my money and flee, I didn't think I'd be able to hold up my mask for too long in this smelling, moldy building.
I mean this was for sure the most unprofessional newspaper headquarters I ever seen: it was way past 8:30 and half of the staff had yet to arrive, the coffee machine was out of coffee, judging by all the tense faces everybody was behind their schedule and various poster with the name of the magazine were lying on the ground. Out of curiosity I looked at those poster and dammit who the hell designed them: seven anime girl with disproportionate assets and flashy hairs that wouldn't attain those colors not even after experiencing radioactive fallout, lifting up the writing "AnimHey"... okay for the last time really who even came up with something so stupid, God if I were the one in charge of this place I'd have already fired him.
"Okay Nikuji-kun it's your time to shine, remember be shy, unconsciously sharp, indecisive and show immediately the only spicy polaroid picture you have: more Otaku-san's distracted by boobs less attempts to trick you he'll do"
I told myself crossing the door of the smellyest and most full of figure office I ever had the displeasure of be in
"I'm doing it for money I'm doing it for all those precious useful money... G-Good morning Shuwa-san"
I announced myself
"Uh *sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrppppp Nitami, nitari ehm Nikuji-kun you already here, sorry if I'm in this state I thought you were going to arrive later"
said Shuwa-san, a. k a. Otaku-san literally slurping down an entire mug of coffee.
Oh now I knew why the coffee machine was out of coffee this pig took it all for himself, and this scent? Ah just perfect! From his breath Otaku-san had definitely been drinking... getting drunk on the night before a working day, talk about sadness. Oh well if he was still a little uninhibited this sale was going to be easier than I expected.
"I bro-brought the pictures you asked for, Two-san took 18 pictures 9 of them requires an M rating, here is a s...sample"
I said keeping up my facade and throwing on the table my trademark Polaroid photo.
it was a simple close-up of Chitose Karasuma turned at three quarters while taking off her bra, leaving aside the lewd context aside I was pretty proud of that photo because I had caught the young voice actress completely immersed in a faint light that outlined her delicate frame.
"ohhhh Two-san knows his stuff, this sample is... is"
"beautiful, amazing, a piece of art, com'on Otaku-san praise my superlative job"
"fapping material of first class"
"yes I kno-WHAT!? Fa-? WHAT!?"
"a no nothing little boy I said Fantastic material of first class...yeah first class"
"...sure, so we have a deal the memory card with all the pictures for the agreed price"
I muttered resisting the urge to scream against the...eh sweaty and red Otaku...Oh God he was aroused
"yeah yeah, take the money, take them, here now sorry I've to use the bathroom"
said the man giving me a envelope full of yen before running away from the studio
I doubted I ever felt so disgusted in my life
"I swear if he tried to trick me I'll set This place on fire"
I thought already studying the first step in my pyrotechnics career
Fortunately (for him) all my money were in their place
"gross gross gross gross, I'll never accept another job from these people, sure the pay was awesome in comparion to how easy he job was, but still I had a bit of pride in my craft, I don't pretend approval on moral level, but com'on my skills are a real deal. "
I told myself coming out from the AnimHey building
Gosh I really just wanted to put more distance possible between myself and this place.
"can't belive people actually buy the garbage that comes out from this Dumbster, ah dumb ster nice one Nijito"
I mentally high-fived reaching a bus-stop, standing to my Pockemon watch I had just to wait five minutes before my ride
So I took out from my back-pack my usual black notebook plus pen and draw a line above the writing "Deal Photos". Well well the first thing on my list of chores had been completed, now I had only other seven million things left to do...yeeeeee... why did my life suck so much?
"okay let's see I have thirty four contacts to check half of them are homeless that usually stay in places near Yukinoshita's building, the other are half are professionists and are more scattered around the city...I guess that before lunch I can at least talk with ten or twelve"
I thought reading all the notes I had at my disposal.
Ever since I started working with the alias of Two I realized that unless I found a way to gather as much information as possible in a short time, my photographer career was going to be short lived. Newspapers and TV news could only give me information that were old or close to useless , so one day I took the map of Chiba encircled the places where people that wanted to hide were more likely to go and searched for homeless that frequented those zones; then I just had to use a bit of money, medicines or other stuff and managed to obtain new sets of eyes and ears.
Locally in order to mantain active all my contacts every two weeks I went to meet all of them and delivered various goods; plus I daily passed in front of innocent places such as convenience stores or a bus stops to check if there were any squares drawn with dirt in precise points, Why? Because that was the signal that indicated something interesting had been noticed by one of my homeless spies. Let me explain, it's a rudimental yet effective method: each of my additional set of hears and eyes has his own spot to mark if they want to contact me, when I found such a mark (the square to be clear) in said spot I reached a predetermined rendevouz point at a predeterminated hour and using adequate exchange goods I bought information. Simple and practical.
Sometimes if I searched for precise information or had to follow determinate people I did the same thing, went in a precise spot draw a triangle with dirt, moved to the rendevouz spot at noon of the day after and then made requests.
Sure the news I obtained in this way weren't always useful, in fact sometimes they were utterly useless, but in every case they helped me to "be" everywhere in the city.
To be honest I spent a lot time and energies to select the right people for the job: first I had to list all the homeless that staied in places of relevance, second eliminate from the candidates subjects who made regulary use of drugs, weren't smart enough or just didn't take me seriously (dumb choice), third individualize the most perceptive, elusive and sad ones, fourth discover what could control them: sigarettes, medicine, food, a person...
If I found a single string that could turn them in my puppets
they were what I needed for the job
"Oh perfect the bus is here, today I will do everything on time"
"And now the Local news
Yesterday Aikasa Baki a young drug dealer 17 years old was found unconscious in the residential area of the city, apparently he had been stabbed in his leg with a small knife and then choked, probably a fight between small criminals. He is currently being hold by local police for illegal possession of cannabis.
Another scandal widespread on the web and scandalistic newspaper this morning, the Paparazzo Two strikes once more this time to damage eight voice actress of age between 18 and 21.
Continues the investigation of the traffic lights failure in the west part of the city that yesterday caused over two dozen of injured.
to you the line Yuikiji-san"
"Already on the news? I didn't expect that trashy magazine to work so fast"
I said stopping in front of an domestic appliances shop that had a window filled with televisions tune in on the news.
"Well Two-san has gained quite the popularity in the past few months, he has many eyes on himself, he's practically a local news himself it doesn't really matter what he does, what's important is that he did it"
Told me a man in his mid-thirties dressed with greasy clothes and with a thick scarf despite the warm weather
"..Omoi, I was searching for you"
I muttered without making eye contact and peering for short at the oxygen bottle he carried with him
"I know little boy"
The homeless responded
"Spying on me?"
I asked activating the facade number 15 named, I'm tiny but mess with me and I will do a "loves me not loves me" with your fingers, or how I liked to call it Tsun-Tsun
Basically I just acted like myself but exalted my tough guy nature and hid how much rotten I was inside
"I wouldn't dare... I just saw Haruka begging two blocks from here, she had a new asthma inhaler, I imagined you were around"
he said inhaling a little air from his can.
Omoi Satou, the fourth homeless of my net I met today, he was a "particular" guy who usually lived around the centre of Chiba that always kept his eyes on the news; he was one of my most active informers and I often used him as an example for all the other homeless of the net: I sometimes gave him more flashy rewards to push the other informers to imitate his productiveness. To be fair I genuinely liked him: he was smart enough to be useful, laughed at my horrible jokes and, thanks to his belief that the Government poisoned the air of the cities to manipulate its citizens, he was extremely easy to control
"Here your insulin"
I said drawing from my back-pack a refrigerated plastic box
"Oh perfect I'll ask the owners of the restaurant on the corner to keep it fresh in the fridge for these two weeks, sorry I don't have with me your other box I didn't expected to meet you today"
Muttered the man carefully taking the box from my hands.
"You know if you just stopped to waste your money on all those useless cans of oxygen you wouldn't need me to bring you a life saving medicine every two weeks"
I said faking a concerned expression.
I mean sure I was holding someone's life in my hand and it was quite a responsibility, Bbbbuuuttttt hell I had a ever fatithful puppet in exchange. Put in simple terms Omoi was crazy and would have never changed his mind: he actually ended up on the street because he wasted all his money on oxygen and it wasn't my problem he made his choise.
And speaking of choises he decided to entrust his safety to me, reckless, but it benefitted me so again: it wasn't my problem. I asked sporadically why he would continue to waste money just to keep appearances and see if his loyalty was beginning to waver
"Ah my sweet ignorant boy, how can you say such foolishness. wasting money au contraire I'm making an investment, when all of you shall become mindless puppets of this society after the venomous influx of the gas they're spreading I'll be the only one who'll remain himself"
Omoi said with wide gestures.
well his loyalty was definitely intact
...smart, laughed at my jokes, but definitely a freak
" yeah yeah, try to survive your diabetes before the poisonous gas, would ya? Two-san can't make any use out of a death man"
I eyed the man with a sharp gaze.
" As our kind pathron Two desires...so little boy what brings you here today?"
said the man indicating a secondary alley where to speak.
"A letter"
"Oh which letter? A, B, C, D, F"
"Not that kind of letters! You skipped the E by the way"
"To confuse the Government!"
"What? It doesn't make sens-okay you know what? I give up, ugh! When I said letter I meant a paper one"
"Oh? I see a letter letter"
"Yes a letter letter for the past few months many orange letters sealed with red wax, such as this one"
I whispered taking out from my awesome back pack the orange curse
"Have been circulating around the city, Omoi do you know something about this precise topic"
I handed to him the letter
"Let me think...I might have heard a rumor or two, something about easy money, and I think I have seen the symbol on the wax seal before"
Omoi muttered studying the letter and the seal which represented a hand holding a gear.
...Now that I thought about it I realized never studied the symbol on the seal...was I dumb or something?
"Does it remind you of anywhere in particular?"
I asked trying to hide the visceral thirst I had for information
"Mmmm no...right now no"
he gave back the letter
"...I see, for now I need you to keep an eye open around every Yukinoshita building in your area: letters carryer are likely to be pretty young, pass close to those buildings and direct towards the industrial area. Also keep your hears open for any rumor regarding orange letters"
"Peculiar it's the first time Two-san bothered to send you to directly contact me just do deliver such vague orders"
CRAP! He has realized that something was wrong
"ehm eh...rrrrr Two-san... Knows something big it's happening, yet there are still too little information"
I spitted trying to come out with something credible
"Oooooohhhh this sounds promising"
Wait it actually worked?
"I suppose the conditions are the usual: observe don't interact and report"
"Yes... but this time you have to be extra careful and any valuable information will be rewarded more than normal"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah also the day after tomorrow there'll be a meeting in the usual place and...please share all the information you recover with the others,faces of letter carries, hot locations, Two-san wants all the pieces of this puzzle"
"Mmmm it think it's the first time Two-san acts so... frantically"
AH! Another sharp comment! Have to play along, have to play along
"...You're right...Two never moved on such wide scale without some signs before"
I commented trying to reabsorbs the cold sweat dropping on my back
"Is it possible that Two-san is personally involved in this case?"
Said Omoi unknowingly stabbing my soul with his cold words
"...Maybe"
"I'd say it's not my business than... it's just...in comparison to the detailed instructions Two-san usually gives. Ehm right now there's practically nothing to work on"
"Well not my fault, see you the day after tomorrow"
I waved off,
Really, today Omoi seemed more perceptive than usual, I'd better move out before I let something ungraceful slip through my lips
"Leaving already little boy?"
asked the homeless breathing a bit of his oxigen
"I need to deliver the news to the others around here"
I began to rush away
"I see No wait! Little boy don't bother searching for Nanase and Kyota, none saw them in a week"
Omoi jumped to block my shoulder
"NANI!"
I roared suppressing the visceral instinct to punch him, I hated being touched!
"Yes they disappeared like this puff, just last Wednesday"
"Dammit and now who will cover their areas?"
I widen my eyes as my perfect net had been suddenly holed
(A/N for those who never realized when you hole a net there are less holes than before... SHOCKING TRUTH!)
Shaking my head I began to madly repeat
"Oh this's bad, now what do I do, this is very very very very ba-"
"You might ask to Amakura"
Interrupted me the oxigen freak
"Amakura, like Amakura the cat obsessed Amakura, the one with that shiny ring Amakura?"
I asked rising an eyebrow while the face of a juvenile drunkard popped in my mind
"Him and he prefers to be reffered as Neko nya-nya lover"
Confirmed my thesis Omoi
"Sure... but he doesn't stay in this area, he handles the west one"
I said skeptically
"Didn't you heard the news young boy? Yesterday there was an incident that caused many injured"
Snapped his finger the homeless
"Wasn't just a traffic light failure?"
I rose even more my eyebrow
"Not standing to Amakura..."
what was that supposed to mean?
"..."
"I don't know the details but apparently something blocked everything that was electronic and then bunch of people fainted together"
sounded like something magical
"Really?! I mean it's Amakura we are talking about so he might have been lying"
I tried to get away from the speech.
I didn't want to believe another problem was crossing my path
"Possible yet..."
I didn't want to believe it
"Something definitely scared him enough to make him change area"
but how could I reject the truth
After parting away with Omoi I walked in search of Amakura for a while metabolizing the information at my disposal:
1-There were rumors of the orange letter going around
2-Amakura unknown surname age twenty-one gray hair additction to vodka had been scared by a magical fenomena
3-Nanase unknown surname and Kyota unknown surname disappeared
For the first two points there wasn't really something I could add without further investigations yet with the third I could make some assumptions: Nanase and Kyota were two women around their fifties, incessant smokers and didn't like to change their routine, they were far from attractive and their life had close to zero relevance in the world so it was improbable they were abducted of something...
"I guess those two got involved in letter trafficking, so I can imagine that someone got rid off them after they discovered something or (less likely) they ammassed enough money to leave the street"
I said walking near to a shady alley full of trash bags.
In both cases they must have left behind some evidences so there was a chance this so called "tragedy" could turn out to be a good news... for me of course
"Dammit now I have to: check those two usual hide-outs, figure out what the hell happened, search for Amakura and complete my other errands. As if my schedule wasn't already full enough. If another thing dared to pop in my way I swear I'm going to explode"
I thought while a sudden head-ache split my brain in two parts SO MANY THINGS TO DO!
please nothing extra today universe no more problems
"Oi oi oi look who we got here"
*internal screaming I hate this world so much
I recongnized that voice, it was K the leader of my teppists "friends".
"Shit the situation is going to become annoying"
I thought preparing my facade and my mind to intact with that petty criminal
God why the hell was he around these parts? Leaving aside the idea he should have been at school, but seriously why the fuck was he here? Now I had to wait for him, talk to him, get away from him and dleay further my oversatured schedule!
"Besides why is he taking so long, his voice sounded close"
I turned myself realizing K was nowhere to be found
Ara? Well that was weird, I guess I was just imagining things... I should've probably slept more this morning
I was just ready to go on my way but
"K who's this guy I have never seen him here before?"
Another familiar voice spoke and this time I was sure it came from thew shady alley full of trash I just passed
Oh good news I wasn't going crazy.
Bad news K and his right hand Mochi were near by
"Why these two are in this part of Chiba?"
I thought flattering myself against the alley's wall to check what they were doing.
Okay there were Mochi, K standing and a man around his twenty against a wall, he looked vaguely drunk, he seemed familiar.
"Mmmmmm I'd say those two intimidating someone before rob him, well not my business, bye bye stranger sucks to be you"
I told myself before turning my back and adieu
"He is that freak that lives surrounded by cats and do card tricks near that disgusting Chinese resturnat Bakkin likes so much"
grunted K
Freak, Cats...(swearing suitable for no rating)
"Oh Goddamit Amakura!"
I dranw from my back-pack Bakkin's knife and hid it in my sleeve
"Ah now I rember him, OH. MY. GOD. WHAT. IS. THAT? K look at this freacking homless neck?"
Said Mochi while I was thinking about what to do
"If it's some strange pimple I don't wanna see it"
"Naaa those things are only on the back of ya granma, look at that freaking ring he got there"
"No shit that things must worth a fortune, did you stole it mr Cat freak?"
"...Nwo twat's mwine...I cowuold Go for some wine!"
"No? This prick said no Mochi"
"How shameless, he thinks he can fool us"
"Do you think you can fool us?"
"...nwo?"
"What?"
"Nwoooooooooooooo"
*punch
"AARR"
"Have you heard Mochi he wanted to fool us again"
"How stupid and now look! He's crawling like a worm, he wants to escape what shall we do K?"
Asked Mochi pointing at Amakura crawling on the ground and bleeding from the nose
"teach him a lesson?"
proposed K raising his foot
"What a kick-ass idea"
responded Mochi
wait was that a pun?
*kick
"Aaaahhhh"
"ouch! that must have hurt, sure not as much as the a pun still... *kick ouch"
I thought while those two psychopaths were ruining my employe
Sooooo was it better wait oooorrrr come on stage, mmmm well if I waited I'd leave unscarred and without corrupting my connection with the teppists gang, but paying up with Amakura's proficiency with his work
*kick kick kick
"Aaaaaaahhhh my liver that's already destroyed on his own!"
On the other hand if I were to step in the alley the situation would become terribly annoying, I would have to use diplomacy, see diplomacy fail, use violence and if it didn't work use more violence just to save Amakura... was it worthy?
"please don't touch my ring it was from my family"
Oh fuck everything!
"K, Mochi stop"
I stepped in the alley standing proud and fierce with my PreCure backpack
"Uh Ni?"
"Oh look who's there Ni-cchi, wanna join us teaching this piece of trash a lesson?"
Greeted me in their own way the two teppists
"No thanks K, he works for my same boss, just leave him be"
I said closing the distance between me and the dirty man lying on the ground... A. k. a Amakura
"Well we'd like Ni, we'd really like, but this guy here disrespected us right Mochi?"
"Right K"
"Oh please, at least try to be believable, I heard everything and I'm sure you two assholes were already aiming for his ring, so stop this act"
I rose my arms theatrical
my plan was simple: I wanted to take the attention upon myself, distract them as long as I could, give Amakura get precious time to escape,and then run myself easy
"Oh hi there kiddo did you bring me some Tuna, also I'm bleeding do you have any tissue?"
But that frigging idiot was distracted by my actions tooooooo!
What was the deal with that guy for crying out loud! They were beating him into a pulp at least he could act accordingly GODDAMIT!
"Shut up you" *kick
K silenced Amakura
"ahaha the tiny man is talking big K, he wants a lesson too"
laughed Mochi snapping the knuckles...did he think it was cool?
"Calm down Mochi maybe our little friend here, let his tongue run a bit loose"
"urrggghhh please you two, he did nothing wrong,plus I'm sure that ring is even fake"
I said discarding all diplomacy and directly taunting them...it was time to switch to plan B
"okay okay I understand"
Smiled K advancing towards me
Jesus that was the least convincing act of "I'm a good boy" I ever saw
"GoooOOooooOOoosh, Brat you, have really grown since I taught you how to pick-pocket. Right Mochi?"
"Wait are you seriously givin-"
"RIGHT Mochi?"
"Y-yes"
"Now you even speak back to me, unbelievable. Right Mochi?"
Smiled even more K stepping closer and closer to me
"Yes.. "
"Okay maybe this plan sounded better in my head"
I thought tensing all my muscles
"but you know what Nitami"
whispered K lowering his face to my level
" IT DEFINITELY SOUNDED BETTER IN MY HEAD NOW HE IS GOING TO PUNCH ME! HAVE TO DODGE AND STAB, DODGE AND STAB"
I thought while a storm of doubts was raging in my head
Why did I step in this alley?
"know what K?"
I prepared my hidden blade
"I never gave a shit about what people say"
He said punching my right cheek
And.
Here.
We.
Go.
Suddenly it was like time slowed down and that cold flame I felt against Bakkin returned to burn in my chest. I could feel the adrenaline flow in my veins as I kept staring K's fist.
"Not yet. Not yet. Now"
I thought moving my neck fast enough to let that K's punch only graze me then slip away on the greased makeup all over my face.
Phase 1 surprise check
"Uh?"
Stuttered the boy leaving me an opening
"you're mine"
Without any kind of hesitation I traced a silver arc with my knife leaving a long cut on K's face from the centre of his left cheek to under the ear.
Phase 2 scare check
"Waaaahhhhhh!"
Screamed the boy while a crimson gush splashed from his face
Caught by an instinctive fear K backed away holding his wound
"Waaahhh the fucker has a knife!"
He was surprised, and scared I could see it in his eyes. Never understimate me! Abandoning whatever emotion similar to pity or mercy I dashed towards K and grabbed his head.
Phase 3 secure check
He tried to free himself but before he could I smashed his face on my knee 1, 2, 3, 4 times making two scarlet rivers pour out from his nose
Phase 4 stun check K's down
Plan ssss complete!
Okay the tough one was down
"K!"
Screamed Mochi charging at me
Now I there was only one asshole left
"yeah come get your girlfriend"
I mocked Mochi (lol!) tossing aside the half stoned K while doing the "com'on" gesture
"The Fuck you said brat?"
"Ah retarded and deaf sucks to be you Mochi, God had only to give you a small dick and... oh wait he did"
"I'll fucking kill you!"
"perfect now he's in my range"
I grabbed the closest trash bag and throwing it against Mochi
"throwing things like a monkey now!"
Grunted Mochi blocking with both his hands the trash bag I sent flying straight towards his face.
"No, like someone that kick your ass"
I roared dashing straight and Mochi's guard hidden by my garbage decoy.
"Thank God for giving me such a tiny target"
I sent my elbow crashing on his crouch
"Ugh"
grunted Mochi before I went behind him and slammed the hilt of my knife on his collar bone
and two down
"Holy shwwwwwiiiiit you actually won! That's a surprise I didn't even thought you'd come out to help me"
Clapped his hands the bloody Amakura switching from a drunken speech to a sharp one
"You saw me? Wait are you sober? No not the time Forget it and run. If these two stand up and take me seriously we're dead"
I brought the man back on his feet
"can you walk?"
"Aye sir!"
Responded Amakura smiling overly cheerful give his face covered in crimson
"Good"
I said intimating him to move
"Wait Kitties we're moving out! Nya nya"
The Homeless screamed calling out from trash bin at least eleven cats
"Okay now we can go kiddo"
"I hope all this mess was worthy"
(ten minutes later)
"Mochi... Mochi, Mochiiiiiiii my head hurts"
(Mikey mouse voice)
"K...Fuck you"
"Not after that hit"
"..."
"Mochi...why Nisami had Bakkin's knife"
AND THAT WAS THE END OF THE NIGHTMARE II
TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH! SORRY IF I FELT A BIT RUSH TOWARDS THE END, BUT IT WAS RUSHED...
WELL AGAIN THE STORY PROGRESSES WITH TINY STEPS AND I GUESS FOR THE MENTAL SANITY OF EVERYBODY I SHOULD REALLY SPEED UP EVERYTHING.
THIS CHAPTER WANTS TO ADD A BIT INTROSPECTION ABOUT NIJITO'S MIND AFTER HIS SECOND "DEATH", OUTLINING HOW HE GREW COLDER AND VIOLENT, WHILE STILL REMAINING CHILDLISH.
PUZZLE PIECES OF A MYSTERY START TO POP UP, WHAT'S KORI YUKINOSHITA PLAN? WHY THE HELL THIS SIDE STORY EVEN EXISTS? WILL NIJITO EXISTENCE AFFECT 8MAN OR ANY CHARACTER ANYONE REALLY CARES ABOUT?
I'LL JUST SAY THAT NOW NIJITO WILL NEED AN UPGRADE AND THAT AMAKURA IS GOING TO BE A CHARACTER FROM OREGAIRU EVERYBODY HAS SEEN, BUT NOBODY WOULD EXPECT (JK IN A CHAPTER IT WILL BE OBVIOUS)
THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO KEEP READING THIS CRAZY STORY OF MINE LET ME NOW EVENTUAL OPINIONS IN YOUR REVIEWS AND SPECIAL THANKS TO SEVENTH MOON FOR THE PROLOGUE SUMMARY (LOL)
NEXT TIME...I ACTUALLY DON'T NOW IF START WITH THE HOMUNCULUS OR THE SWORD... THERE'S GOING TO BE JOJO'S REFERENCES AND A RAGING BERSERKER FOR SURE, JUST TO DECIDE WHENEVER IT'S BETTER START WITH THE SERIOUS OR STUPID CHAPTER