The Lone Vigilante Issei – High School DxD
Hey everyone, it's me Hide Shinyama.
Sorry, for taking this long. I was ill, so I couldn't do much last weekend, but now it's done.
So, last time Issei, Matsuda and Motohama had eaten a good hearty meal and were taking an afternoon nap.
However, an angry, but mysterious golden boar appeared. As a result, Issei fought it, but is knocked out.
Our heroes manage to escape, but the huge boar has other tricks up its sleeves.
What will happen? Will our heroes survive?
Find out in…
Chapter 19 – Gullinbursti Arc, Part 3
15th September, Saturday, 4:43 pm – somewhere in the forest
Issei's eyes fluttered for a few seconds, before they slowly opened up.
The first thing that Issei saw was that he was lying on the ground. Matsuda and Motohama were looking at him anxiously until they saw his eyes open. Both of them sighed in relief.
"Issei! Thank goodness, man. You're awake," Matsuda said, relieved that Issei was alright.
"Yeah. After what that pig did to you, we thought you were a goner. But we weren't sure, since you had survived worse. I'm glad we were wrong," Motohama continued with a smile on his face.
"Wh-what… What…?" Issei spoke groggily, as he propped himself up against a nearby tree, "…Guys… What happened…? Where are we…?"
"You don't remember?" Motohama asked, lifting his eyebrows.
"Well, I do remember the part when that huge golden pig hit me, right while I was boosting my power, but I don't remember anything else," Issei answered honestly.
Matsuda and Motohama nodded in understanding.
"Well… that's because you were knocked out," Motohama continued, as his face then took on a look of pride. "Thankfully, I managed to halt that pig in its tracks with my… um… glue gloves!"
"Glue gloves? Really?" Matsuda questioned his friend's usage of terms.
"Yeah," Motohama answered Matsuda, before turning his attention back to Issei. "Thanks to the glue gloves, I hit that pig's face with my black glue cubes. It ended up getting its tusks stuck in a tree. You should have seen it. If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't be here to hear the tale," Motohama's face beamed with pride.
Issei was impressed. His first day with his gloves and he could already take down a supernatural creature like that. That really was something worthy of praise – more so, if his actions saved everybody's lives.
"Thanks, man," Issei told Motohama gratefully. "Never thought you'd be the heroic type."
"Pfff… heroic…" Matsuda scoffed. "He used me as pig-bait for goodness' sakes! I was running around, while he was standing there biding his sweet time until the last moment. What's so heroic about that?"
Motohama frowned upon Matsuda's snarky response.
Issei, on the other hand, dropped a sweat. 'Oh, so that's how it is… Well, he still saved our lives didn't he?' Issei reasoned.
"Hey! I still saved your lives, didn't I?" Motohama retorted angrily, unwittingly repeating Issei's thoughts.
Matsuda scoffed again. "Maybe. But you could have done something sooner, right?"
"That coming from the guy who said my gloves were lame, only to change his mind. I bet you're just being jealous because I have a cool gift and you don't," Motohama sneered, making Matsuda livid.
"A helicopter is ten times better you…" Matsuda wanted to throw an insult at Motohama. But Issei got up and stood between them.
"Guys! Now is not the time to fight!" Issei said, holding his arms out at the both of them. He then looked at Motohama. "And? What happened next?" Issei asked.
Motohama looked confused for a moment, but then remembered that he was supposed to recount what had happened while Issei was unconscious. Motohama cleared his throat, before resuming.
"Well, after that we picked you up and high-tailed out of there. While making our escape, we could hear that golden freak of nature cry out loudly. It scared the living crap out of us, so we ran as fast as we could. I just hope I'll never have to see that thing again…"
Issei felt unsettled at what Motohama just said. Even though he was glad that they were out of danger, it was only a matter of time before that golden pig got out of its predicament.
Then all bets would be off.
Seeing, Issei's face reflecting in silent worry, Matsuda continued.
"After that, we walked… ran… for about half an hour just to get as far away from that XXL-sized porker until we decided to take a break here until you woke up again."
"Yeah, we needed to," Motohama said, as he stretched his arms. "Honestly, it was a miracle that we managed to carry you for this long because… boy… You were quite heavy…"
Issei twitched upon hearing this remark. "Uhuh… I see…" Issei simply said, as he tried his best not to retort. He had a lot to say to his Motohama, but right now, there were more pressing concerns to worry about.
Issei summoned the Boosted Gear and the red gauntlet appeared in a flash.
"Ddraig? Are you there?" Issei said to Ddraig in the Boosted Gear.
[I'm here, Partner. I'm glad you're all right] Ddraig responded.
Issei nodded. "Good. Now that we're all together now… What do we do now?"
Matsuda and Motohama looked at Issei, as if he were an idiot.
"What do we do? Run of course!" Motohama retorted. "All I could do was slow down that golden piece of bacon and barely did it in a nick of time!"
"Yeah!" Matsuda added. "I mean, even you barely managed to survive its first attack, so what makes you so sure you can beat it!?"
Unfortunately, Matsuda and Motohama were right. Right now, they weren't in a good position. They were stuck in a forest weak and tired with Matsuda and Motohama barely able to survive a direct fight with a supernatural being. Issei, on the other hand, could step up to the challenge, but even then, it was a risky move, given that this golden boar may have some other abilities up its sleeve. Perhaps, it could shoot out solar beams, fire, or something like that. One couldn't just walk up to something like that and just expect that strength alone can do the trick, even if he had the Boosted Gear.
Logically, that meant getting out of this place was the best option, but as far as Issei was concerned…
Issei looked at his watch. 4:48 pm.
No good.
The helicopter would need about four hours to be functional, so using it right now was out of the question. What are they going to do now?
That was when Ddraig spoke up. [Partner. I know, you're having a hard time figuring out what to do. But right now, I say that we keep on moving. It's the only sensible thing we can do right now, given the circumstances… even if I don't like it.]
Issei paid attention to the latter part of what Ddraig said and decided to ask him something. "Tell me something… What would you have liked to do instead?" Issei asked curiously.
[If the circumstances were different, I would fight this oversized boar and show him what it means to mess around with me – Ddraig the Red Dragon Emperor. For no oversized pig can get away with humiliating me. Supernatural or not, nobody does!] Ddraig said with pride and confidence.
Issei just smiled and shook his head. That was just so like him…
"Uh… Issei?" Matsuda spoke up, getting Issei's and Ddraig's attention. "If you don't mind, Issei… Could you use your glasses again so we can keep track on that pig? That would be great."
Issei nodded and activated his watch. The glasses appeared on the bridge of his nose and Issei started working on finding the right settings through the buttons on the temples. Heat vision, electrical tension vision, toxicity level vision, humidity vision… whoops skipped it! But what's this? Camera mode? Photo mode? WiFi-detection vision!? Seriously, there were such cool functions on this thing? Issei really wanted to try out some of these functions, but then shook his head, knowing that he needed to get his head back in the game.
Anyway, back to heat vision... There we go!
Issei looked around him, but frowned, as he discovered one big problem. Issei could see a lot of heat level detections… just not of the desired target. Instead, all Issei got were the heat detections of the trees in the forest.
Issei couldn't help but murmur at that, something everybody else noticed.
"Issei? What's wrong?" Motohama asked.
Issei turned around with a face filled with annoyance. "It's the trees. I can't see the pig because the trees are blocking my way."
Matsuda and Motohama looked at Issei with surprise. Trees blocking Issei's vision? That was going to be troublesome… How were they going to deal with that? It was after a few seconds that Matsuda had an idea. A simplistic one, but still one that made sense logically.
"Guys, how about we climb a tree and use the glasses from there," Matsuda suggested.
Motohama and Issei looked at him in confusion, before taking an uncertain expression. Nobody said a word for a while until Issei just looked at Motohama and shrugged his shoulders.
"Eh… Why not?" Issei reasoned. "It's not like I've got anything better to suggest."
"Yeah… I think so, too…" Motohama said, before taking a look around him. "So… which tree should we climb?"
Issei and Matsuda looked around them. Motohama pointed at a tree just near them. "Hey, this one looks easy to climb. I mean, look! Its branches are low enough to climb!" he said.
Matsuda frowned upon seeing the tree in question. "No way! That's way too small. I mean, look around you. There are trees much taller than this one. If we were to climb up that three, we'll never be able to see far."
Motohama glared at his friend. "OK. Do you have any better ideas, smarty-pants?"
Matsuda gave Motohama an angry glance, but decided to focus his attention on finding a taller tree. He laid his eyes on one a little farther away from them. Seeing it, he pointed towards it.
"This one, guys! It's much taller than Motohama's tree and is easily one of the tallest trees around this place!" Matsuda said eagerly.
Issei and Motohama looked at the tree in question and found it. When they saw it, they frowned.
"Matsuda, that tree doesn't seem to have any lower branches to climb on," Issei told Matsuda.
Matsuda looked and widened his eyes upon seeing that the lowest branch stood at about 3 meters above the ground. Matsuda dropped a nervous sweat drop upon seeing his idea also going down the drain.
[People. As much as your attempts to find the right tree are appreciated, I have an even better suggestion] Ddraig said to the three of them.
"You do?" Issei asked. What could Ddraig have in mind?
[Partner. That hill there in the distance] Ddraig pointed out to Issei.
Issei squinted his eyes. Hill? What hill?
[Over there. Straight up ahead] Ddraig pointed out.
Issei looked in a certain direction and saw a small hill in the distance. This caused Issei to be confused.
"Why that hill? Surely, the trees are much taller than any hill, right?" Issei asked Ddraig skeptically.
Ddraig sighed, but explained nonetheless. [Do you see those trees on the hill? Those are the highest points in the vicinity. That is where you get the best view.]
"""Huh?""" all three of them interjected confused. Ddraig explained further.
[On average, the big trees you see around here are about the same height. There might be some trees bigger than others might. However, not by much. A hill on the other hand gives trees a much higher elevation. Hence, if we were to presume that the trees on the hill are average height, then those trees must be the highest points in the area. Do you understand?] Ddraig asked for clarification.
"""Ohhh…""" Issei, Matsuda and Motohama said in unison. Now they understood it. Nevertheless, there still was one problem.
"But Ddraig," Issei began in protest. "It's so far away. Do we really have to go this far? I mean, we have to climb a tree later, so don't you think…?"
[Partner! You are made of much sterner stuff than anything else on earth! Another walk for a few minutes won't kill you. Besides, you've faced harder ordeals, so this one should be a piece of cake! Now, move it!] Ddraig demanded.
Now, Issei, Matsuda and Motohama were the ones sighing.
"""Yes, sir…""" they all said visibly deflated, as they made their way towards the hill. Trudging as they went.
15th September, Saturday, 5:04 pm – at the small hill
""Hrgh!"" Matsuda and Motohama grunted, as they pushed Issei up the tree by his back.
"Good! I'm up! I'm up! You can let me go!" Issei called, as he clung his arms around the branch and wrapped his legs around it, too.
Matsuda and Motohama let go of Issei and were panting heavily. Boy, was he heavy… and they had to carry him twice now! Just how often were they going to do this?
Moreover, a thought hit both Matsuda and Motohama at the same time. If either one of them were to get up the tree branch right after Issei… how would the last guy get up?
Matsuda and Motohama looked at each other. They chuckled nervously, as they tried to get the other one to boost them up.
"Matsuda," Motohama smiled with feigned politeness. "You've always been athletic and strong. I on the other hand am not as strong as you are. So… please take responsibility as the stronger one and push me up…"
Matsuda chuckled back, as he waived dismissively. "Oh, please… You flatter me," he said, also feigning politeness with a smile. "Besides, I'm quite tired from walking, so… right now I'm not so strong. You on the other hand, have plenty of strength, since you slacked off from carrying Issei on the way, while I had to bear the whole weight of him…"
Motohama's right eye twitched upon hearing it, but maintained the smiling façade of politeness. "Well… that only goes to show that what I said was correct. I am too weak to do anything, so please boost me up. After all, I did save your life from that golden piece of bacon with my glue gloves earlier, so consider this as means to call it even."
Matsuda's left eye twitched as well, but he too continued his polite smiling façade. "Well, that goes to show that I was actually the one who was correct and that you are the stronger one for the moment. So, why don't you go ahead? Or were you perhaps lying… weakling?"
Nobody said a word after Matsuda's insult, with both of them smiling and looking at each other in harmonious peace… but not for long.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU (Censored)!?" Motohama screamed, after he had tackled Matsuda to the ground.
"YOU HEARD ME, (Censored)!" Matsuda roared back, as he and Motohama wrestled on the ground.
The two of them were trying so to beat each other up that Issei (who was now halfway up the tree) had to hold his climbing for a while and look down at his raging buddies.
"HEY, GUYS! KEEP IT DOWN! FOCUS ON GETTING YOUR BUTTS UP HERE!" Issei called out from above to no avail, since Matsuda and Motohama were too busy fighting and cursing each other.
Issei sighed to himself. "I wonder what all that was about?" Issei asked himself, which Ddraig decided to answer.
[I'm not sure. But whatever the case, if they don't want to climb up this tree, then you would have to do for now. As long as somebody is up there keeping watch that's all that matters] Ddraig said to Issei.
Issei simply nodded, as he resumed his climb, while ignoring the shouts from below.
While Issei climbed up higher, Ddraig spoke up once again. [Partner, you know what would be better than climbing a tree?]
"What?" Issei asked, while focused on moving up the next branch carefully.
[Flying on the wings of a dragon] Ddraig replied, causing Issei to lose focus for a second.
"WHOA!" Issei yelped, as his foot missed the branch by a few centimeters. Issei would have fallen, had he not been hanging on to the branch right above the one he tried to set foot on.
[Partner! Be careful!] Ddraig warned him.
Issei managed to find his desired footing below him, and then proceeded to recover from his shock.
"Sorry… You surprised me there just now… with what you said…" Issei said, as he calmed down.
After a few seconds of relaxation, Issei began to speak.
"You said something about flying on dragon wings, right?" Issei asked curiously.
[That's right, Partner] Ddraig affirmed.
"Then… does that mean that just like the dragonizing of my nose, ears and eyes, I can dragonize my back or something?" Issei asked with interest.
[That is correct] Ddraig affirmed again. [However…]
Issei raised his eyebrows at the 'However'. "However what?" Issei wanted to know.
[However, dragonizing is not something you do lightly. As I have mentioned it before, dragonizing your body is a long and painful process] Ddraig reminded Issei.
"Yeah, I think you said something like that back at the facility," Issei nodded. "And?"
[And… there's a good reason for that] Ddraig continued. [Dragons are strong and powerful creatures. Transforming your body into that of a dragon's requires a lot of effort. The pain can be reduced though…]
"And how can I do that?" Issei asked on.
[It is easy. By becoming stronger. By training your body, so it can tolerate the pain. Right now, however, you are too weak. Which is why, I recommend not dragonizing anything for the moment until we have rectified that] Ddraig answered.
"Oh…" Issei's mood deflated. He was hoping to do get some wings and soar into the skies above, instead of climbing trees.
[I'm sorry, Partner, but doing something like that now is too dangerous. Any hasty decision and it can kill you] Ddraig said.
"Yeah, but it didn't hurt when we dragonized my eyes, ears and organs…" Issei tried to argue.
[Those body parts don't require a lot of effort to transform, since they don't have that much body mass. An arm or a leg has muscles, tendons, fat, etc... and thus needs more effort to transform] Ddraig explained.
"I see…" Issei let out disappointed.
Nobody said a word after that and so, Issei went up higher into the crown of the tree. Once he reached
What Issei noticed was just how windy it was up on that tree. The wind blew through his hair, making Issei shut his eyes for a while, before getting used to it. Upon opening his eyes, Issei looked out into the distance and goodness gracious… the sight was lovely!
Issei could see the whole expanse of the forest, bathed in glorious sunshine. Perhaps it wasn't as grand as it was on top of hill, but it was a nice view nonetheless. Issei breathed in the fresh forest air… and breathed out. Man! That felt good!
[Partner. I hate to disturb you, but shouldn't you be focused on looking out for that golden boar?] Ddraig reminded Issei.
Issei blinked for a bit, before enjoying the sight once more.
"Yeah, I know," Issei replied. "But I can't help it."
Issei took in not only the air, but the sunrays as well. It felt cool, yet the sunrays had a warming effect on his skin. Overall, it felt pleasant.
"You know Ddraig, I was wondering," Issei said to Ddraig.
[Wondering about what?] Ddraig asked.
"Well… about flying. How does it feel like to fly?" Issei asked Ddraig.
Ddraig was taken by surprise by Issei's question.
So, he was still thinking about getting his wings? Typical, though perhaps natural. Every human has always had some desire to fly for thousands of years. Yet, despite all the attempts and progress they have made, humankind has never truly been able to fly. Sure, they could lift off the ground using vehicles, like Matsuda's helicopter. But that did not truly count for him as flying, thus his argument stands.
Ddraig sunk into thought on how to answer that question. Finding the right answer wasn't an easy one. Sure, he could talk about the feeling of freedom, the wind blowing in the wind, the desire to do whatever you wanted… but somehow… that didn't feel adequate. Ddraig felt like, he needed to tell Issei more. Show him the downsides and responsibilities of flying. But how?
Issei looked at Ddraig with expectation. He really was curious. Finally, Ddraig came up with an answer.
[Well, flying doesn't come easy at first. You have to learn how to use your wings and lift up from the ground. You run, you jump, you fall, you hit the ground… nothing pleasant at first. Learning to lift off the ground takes a lot of practice, but after a while, you can succeed. After you learn how to lift off the ground, the challenge is not over yet. For then you learn how to stay up there for as long as possible. It might take you ten seconds, twenty, thirty, a minute or even ten minutes, but eventually you, too, can succeed. But after that, even after you have mastered the ability to stay above the ground for longer periods of time, you are still not done. You need to learn how to fight against wind and weather, obstacles like trees and rocks and other flying creatures like birds, insects and dragons. All these things will try to bring you to the ground, but you must never let them hinder you. Only, after overcoming all these challenges… only then… can you soar above the clouds, braving through the skies with no one to stop you. That… is when you truly are flying. That is when you truly can feel the delight and joy of flying that can never be put into words. I could try to describe it to you as well as I can, but even then, it would do the word 'flying' no justice. The only way, your question can be answered… is if you reach that stage on your own.]
Issei was stunned at what Ddraig had said. He… never thought about it this way. Who knew Ddraig could say such tough, but beautifully motivational words? Issei smiled, as he looked at the Boosted Gear. He truly was glad to have met Ddraig.
"Thanks, Ddraig. I won't let you down. I'll definitely get my wings. You'll see," Issei told the Red Dragon Emperor.
[You're welcome, Partner. I'd be disappointed if you didn't] Ddraig replied.
Issei nodded. Indeed, to get to that goal, he knew that he had to work hard. But in the meantime, there were other things to worry about.
He turned his attention to his wristwatch. He still had a mission to do after all.
Issei pressed the two buttons necessary to activate the special glasses and with a flash, they appeared on his face (he had dismissed his glasses, before climbing the tree out of concern that they might fall off). Issei went straight to work, looking for the heat vision function and then found it.
He looked all around him, especially towards the hill where they had last encountered their mysterious enemy. Issei squinted his eyes. He couldn't see anything from here, despite the heat detection. That was when he remembered something.
If he remembered correctly, glasses like these had a variety of functions, so… an enhanced vision function had to be among them, too (or at least some means to magnify or minimize objects in the distance).
Issei fumbled with the buttons on the temples of his glasses… not the right functions. He tried everything, but to no avail. He would have almost given up, but then he felt something at the right hinge. Another button! Issei pressed it and… aha! That magnified his sight! Issei felt another button on the other side... and that made minimized his sight!
Good, good… Issei was starting to get the hang of it… Now, all he had to do was look…
What Issei saw was most noteworthy.
In the distance near the tall hill where they had escaped from, he saw herds of boars, moving down the hill, around it and away from it, as if on patrol. Each herd numbered up to twenty, perhaps even fifty boars each – young and old. Even though they were going separate ways, it seemed like it had previously been a great gathering of some kind, numbering in the hundreds.
"Wow…" Issei voiced his admiration at the sight. "Ddraig, can you believe that this many boars could be gathered in one place at the same time?"
Ddraig on the other hand was wary. [Yes… right at the place where we encountered the golden boar, too…] he said cautiously.
Issei looked at the Boosted Gear confused.
[Partner] Ddraig explained. [Gatherings like these don't happen naturally. I feel like this is the golden boar's doing.]
"That thing again? You really think so?" Issei asked Ddraig concerned. Issei looked out in the distance once again. "No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to see it anywhere."
[Think about it] Ddraig said to Issei. [It's too coincidental. A huge gathering of boars on top of a hill, all of which just so happen to descend right after you three left the area? There's no reason for boars to go up on such a hill in such great numbers unless something brought them here. And if that is true, then it is obvious as to who is the culprit. And seeing that the big boar is supernatural, it wouldn't be strange if it had the ability to make boars like them do its every bidding. Besides, it could be staying put on the hill until its minions alert it about your whereabouts. It wouldn't be illogical.]
After hearing Ddraig's explanation, Issei connected the dots. Oh friggin' damn it! Now, there's a whole army of pigs coming after them! What's more, it would only be a matter of time until they reached this place. They needed to get out of here – and fast!
"Well, no time to lose," Issei said, as he tried to climb down the tree as fast as he could. "If we don't hurry, then our hides are going to be- WAAAH!" Issei cried out, as his foot slipped on the branch he was on, causing him to fall.
[Partner!] Ddraig cried out, but to no avail.
"WAAAHHH! OUCH! AGH! WAAAH! OW! YAAAHHHHH!" Issei cried in pain and helplessness, as he alternated between free-falling and being buffeted by the branches. He flailed his arms helplessly, as he could do nothing but fall towards the ground.
Meanwhile, Matsuda and Motohama were still duking it out just below.
"I'm the one going up, you…" Matsuda scowled, as he had Motohama in a chokehold.
"No way… I'm not letting you…" Motohama struggled, as he tried to free himself from Matsuda's chokehold. "Wait until I get out and then I'll…"
"WAAAAHHH!" It was then that Issei's screams could be heard by the two brawlers, both of which stopped to look upward… which was a big mistake.
"OOF!" "AARGH!" Motohama and Matsuda yelped, as Issei fell on them like an albatross.
All three of them were groaning in pain, as they hit the ground, none of them saying a word until Matsuda tried to glare at Issei.
"Dude… What's the big deal? Ooh..." Matsuda spoke through the pain.
"Yeah… ouch… what are you an elephant? Couldn't you just have… climbed your way down, instead of jumping down? Oww…" Motohama complained as well.
Issei recovered from the fall and after a few seconds got up and massaged himself.
"I wasn't trying to jump, I fell," Issei explained, as he rubbed his sore back. "But that's not important now. We need to get out of here. Now."
"Huh? Why? Did you see the gold pig? Is it coming towards us?" Motohama asked urgently, forgetting his previous squabbles with him and Matsuda.
"In a way…" Issei answered vaguely. Matsuda and Motohama gestured him to tell more, which led Issei to tell them what he saw.
Upon hearing Issei's explanations (and Ddraig's comments about it) both Matsuda and Motohama were clearly shocked.
"I think it's pretty clear what we need to do…" Motohama said, as he turned his face towards Matsuda with fear.
"Yeah, it's pretty obvious… In fact, that's pretty much what we've been doing this whole time…" Matsuda said, reciprocating Motohama's actions, both nodding as they thought about the same thing.
""RUN AWAY! THE PIGS ARE TRYING TO KILL US! WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"" they screamed, as they ran for their lives.
Issei, although not as frightened as they were, didn't like the idea of being left behind. He quickly followed after them.
"WAIT, GUYS! WAIT FOR ME!" Issei cried out after them, as he gave chase.
15th September, Saturday, 5:39 pm – somewhere else in the forest
"Haa… haa… haa… I think… we're… good… haa… haa…" Matsuda panted, as he stumbled exhausted through the forest, his legs feeling like lead.
"Yeah… haa… haa… we should be… far away… haa… haa… from those… boars now… haa… haa…" Motohama panted, as he too felt exhausted from running.
Not too far away, they could hear Issei calling out for them. "Guys… haa… haa… please wait… *cough* *cough* Please… wait up…" Issei called out, panting and coughing, as he stumbled towards their direction.
The trio had been running for nearly half an hour now, almost non-stop. And all that because of the sheer frenzy and fear that Matsuda and Motohama had upon hearing the terrifying news about potentially murderous forest omnivores with tusks (numbering in the hundreds no less).
In Issei's case it was more a matter of catching up than running from fear. But boy! Fear truly was a powerful motivator to keep them going.
[Hmm… perhaps I should consider this when putting my host through my new training regimen] Ddraig reasoned, something Issei partially overheard by the way.
"Huh? What… did you say…?" Issei asked, his mind and body exhausted, thus making it hard for him to comprehend anything for the moment.
[Umm… nothing, Partner…] Ddraig covered up his loudly spoken thoughts hastily. [For now, I suggest that you take a break. You're going to need your strength.]
Issei nodded, deciding to put it off for now until he reached Matsuda and Motohama. Fortunately, the two of them had just taken a rest near a riverbank and were on their knees, drinking and splashing water over their faces. By the time, Issei got to the riverbank to do the same, Matsuda and Motohama were already lying down on their backs in exhaustion.
After a minute or so, Issei had joined them and was chilling out with his back on the ground. He was dirty and sweaty, so Issei didn't care much about hygiene right now (Issei and the others had put their clothes on again just before he climbed that tree not too long ago). Seeing Matsuda and Motohama, however, he couldn't help but envy them for their fur coats on which they were lying upon.
Nevertheless, Issei decided to… just let it be and relax…
He looked into the sky. Issei noticed that the sun was starting to set. He checked the time on his watch…
5:43 pm. It was already evening.
Sigh… this really was a tiresome day, but Issei has had enough for today. He and his buddies were exhausted from fighting and running. Couldn't they just take a break?
Yes, if only… but the only way they could do that, was if they could wait for at least two hours or so… and then get Matsuda's helicopter up and running…
But what should they do in the meantime? Keep running? They could only run so far and for so long, so that wasn't really much of an option.
No, rather it's best to hide. Wait, till the storm blows away so to speak, then summon the helicopter and then fly away.
The only question is: Where should they hide?
Issei looked around. Obviously, the trees are a good place to hide. In fact, the sooner they get up there the better.
Issei sat up and was just about to suggest Matsuda and Motohama about his plan, when the sound of rustling caught everyone's attention. Matsuda and Motohama lifted their heads and looked, along with Issei, towards the source of the sound, in the thickets just a few meters away…
They saw two pairs of eyes staring at them with hostility from the bushes. Their possessors came out from there and revealed themselves to be two adult male boars. Both boars moved closer to the three boys slowly, ready to rush at them, if they did anything.
Issei, Matsuda and Motohama slowly stood up, keeping their eyes wearily and uneasily on the beasts before their eyes. It wasn't hard to see that the boars were hostile to them, which is why they were cautious to begin with, ready for a fight. That is why Issei summoned the Boosted Gear on his arm and Motohama summoned his glue gloves.
Matsuda, on the other hand, backed away because of his lack of weaponry. He nonverbally asked Motohama and Issei on what he should do by looking at them uneasily. Picking up at what he was trying to say, Issei answered him.
"Keep your distance," Issei whispered to Matsuda. "Make sure to be on the lookout for any pigs coming from around us, OK?"
Matsuda nodded. While Matsuda backed away, Issei looked Motohama in the eyes.
"You ready?" Issei asked seriously.
"Yeah," Motohama replied likewise, his hands having formed dark cubes, ready to be thrown.
Despite taking the initiative, the two boars didn't attack right away. No, rather they circled around them slowly so that they ended up on the other side each.
Not quite what anybody had expected, but not the worst situation of them all either.
Because of that, Matsuda, who had at first tried to back away, ended up going back to where Issei and Motohama were.
Issei and Motohama were facing each other back to back, staring down their respective opponents with Matsuda watching their backs.
To put it in simple terms, it was going to be a one-on-one fight with Matsuda being protected in the center.
Matsuda looked around him nervously. He just hoped the pigs wouldn't come after him and that his buddies could take care of them.
Ddraig, on the other hand, was completely confident.
[Partner. Listen to me. I've got an idea…] Ddraig said, confiding with Issei on what to do, something Issei understood and told Motohama.
"Motohama. Don't attack first. Let them make their move and then attack. Got it?" Issei said to Motohama.
"Got it," Motohama replied, as he readied himself.
Issei also prepared himself, preparing himself for battle. He looked his opponent straight in the eyes and bared his teeth, as if he were provoking or threatening the boar (something some animals do, by the way).
The boar Issei faced grunted, crouched… and attacked! It charged at him, ready to ram Issei with its tusks. The other boar did the same and ran towards Motohama.
Matsuda almost felt the temptation to bolt and almost would have, had he not maintained some self-control. Yet, he still felt panicky because of the uncertainty of the fight.
How would this turn out?
Well, for one… Issei was prepared…
[Boost!] The Boosted Gear powered up, giving Issei double the strength. The boar impacted… and hit Issei's gauntlet! He got pushed back a bit, but he stood his ground.
It also went well with Motohama.
"Take this!" Motohama yelled, as he tossed a dark energy glue cube at his rushing opponent… and it hit!
The boar ran, yet had a hard time seeing where it was going because of the black glue covering practically half its body, including its face.
Seeing the boar still running full speed ahead, Motohama turned around for a split second and tackled Matsuda, shouting: "MOVE, MAN!"
Matsuda and Motohama both fell to the ground out of the boar's path, which happened to lead towards Issei's vulnerable back!
"ISSEI, BEHIND YOU!" Matsuda shouted, warning him of the incoming danger.
Issei was still wrestling with his boar when looked over his shoulder and widened his eyes at the rushing boar coming from behind him.
[Partner, move it!] Ddraig called out to him to get out of the way.
What happened then, happened at a split decision. How Issei came up with the idea to do it, he himself didn't know.
[Boost!]
But what Issei did was this. He used his boosted strength to pick up the boar he had his hands on by its tusks, turned around his own axis and swung it… impact!
[WHAM!]
Issei's boar hit the other one like a baseball bat, causing it to fly and land right at the edge of the water. It didn't move, though Matsuda could see that it was breathing, which meant it was unconscious.
The boar that Issei swung flew a great distance away and landed into the river with a big splash. Issei and the others saw the boar splashing and struggling to get out of the water, which it did.
[Reset!] The Boosted Gear reset itself, returning Issei's base strength to its original state.
Issei, Matsuda and Motohama observed the boar going unto the dry ground on the other side of the river and shaking the water off its fur. The boys were expecting the boar to give up and walk away… but they were wrong…
The boar turned to look at them and furrow its back in hostility and then… it squealed loudly.
The three boys looked at what was happening in confusion and wariness. Just what was that pig up to? Whatever it was doing it wasn't good…
[People, I have a bad feeling about this…] Ddraig spoke up.
Issei looked at the Boosted Gear and nodded, while Matsuda and Motohama gulped.
"RUN!" Issei yelled, as he and the others broke into a sprint, despite their fatigue. But they knew they had to because the nature of the boar's cry. In this regard they were all of the same mind.
It was calling for help. And if the other boars heard they would come after them in no time.
Issei, Matsuda and Motohama ran along the banks of the river, passing by rocks, trees and thickets just hoping they wouldn't encounter any boars. They didn't care in what direction they ran, they just… ran, just to get away from the rampaging boars as far as possible.
After at least fifteen seconds of running, Matsuda (being a former school sports star back in junior high school) was ahead of the others. Issei was second, just trailing behind him and last of all… was Motohama, who was trying his best not to fall behind.
"Please… no more… hah… hah…" Motohama panted in agony at the perpetual running. Never in his life had he run or walked or done anything similar to the amount of exercise he was doing today. If this went on, he might become a professional sprinter (if he survived that is).
Then suddenly, the heard the sounds of galloping coming from behind them. It was the galloping of many hooves and with them, the ominous sounds of…
"SQUEEAAAAL!" "GRUNT!" "OOOINK!" "BWEEE!" "SNORT!"
...coming from behind them as well.
All of them looked behind them and were terrified. There had to be like… twenty of them, coming after them and most certainly they didn't have friendly looks on their faces. In fact, they screamed bloody murder!
"They're here! Hah… hah…" Matsuda shouted to the others in despair. "What should we do?"
Issei and Ddraig tried to look for an answer, but Motohama then snapped his fingers.
"Wait! I know!" Motohama called out, he formed black cubes in his hands… and threw them at their pursuers.
Both cubes hit two of them square in the face, causing them to stumble and fall, causing a few others behind them to fall over each other as well.
Yet, there still were more than a dozen left, still giving chase and getting closer to Motohama by the second.
"Motohama, throw some more!" Issei yelled.
"Just what I was going to do!" Motohama yelled back, as he threw cube after cube.
He threw the cubes at the closest boars just a meter behind him, causing them to stumble and fall. Motohama had to admit, being at the rear wasn't a place he wanted to be. But if that meant seeing his pursuers to stumble and fall like that, well… totally worth it!
"Motohama!" Matsuda screamed, as if in despair.
Motohama looked at the front and saw why that was the case. There were boars charging right behind Matsuda from the side. It was moving closer to Matsuda by the second.
Motohama readied to throw the next cube, but then hesitated. He wasn't sure, whether throwing it forward wouldn't cause the cube to hit his own face instead.
Issei was getting worried. Motohama was hesitating, he could see that. There was only so much he could do with his glue gloves. If only, Issei could do something similar… He could use Dragon Shot, but there were three things holding him back.
One, it would be overkill and might end up obliterating Matsuda. Two, even if that was not so, Issei could not use it very often and decided to use it at a more ideal situation. Three, he had the feeling that with the Boosted Gear and its endless potential, he could be doing something else with it than fire Dragon Shots. Only what…?
That was when something hit Issei. He had an idea…
"Motohama! Let me take care of this!" Issei called out, as he readied the Boosted Gear.
[Boost!] The Boosted Gear rang, as Issei's power doubled.
"You worry about those boars from behind!" Issei told Motohama, as he suddenly picked up speed. Motohama was surprised by this, but decided to ask Issei about this later.
"Understood!" Motohama replied, as he took aim at the next boar in pursuit from behind.
While Motohama was dealing with the hostile pursuers coming from behind, Issei smirked.
"I knew it! I can even double my running speed…" Issei said to himself triumphantly, something Ddraig complimented him on.
[Indeed, Partner. That, too, is part of my Boost ability. Now go!]
Issei nodded and picked up speed. He caught up to the boar and got between it and Matsuda in the nick of time and backhanded the first. The boar squealed and tumbled to the ground, causing it to hit another incoming boar.
"Man, thanks!" Matsuda sighed in relief.
"Don't mention it!" Issei saluted him in return.
That was when two more boars approached from the side and were trying to ram Issei.
Issei didn't remain idle, though. He waited for one of them to come closer and then… he jump-kicked it in its side! The boar flew to the side, hitting its companion.
Issei ended up almost tripping, as he landed back on the ground, trying to resume running.
In the meantime, he could see Motohama was thinning out the ranks of the pursuing boars with his glue gloves. Right now, there were five… but that would go down to zero soon.
He smirked. He could do this. He knew he could do so.
As Motohama took out his third opponent, Issei could see that he was exhausted and probably couldn't run much longer. Thus, he ran up to him, which surprised Motohama once again.
"Motohama, catch up to Matsuda. I'll do the rest!" Issei told Motohama.
"OK… thanks man…" Motohama breathed out, as he ran ahead. Issei, on the other hand, decided to focus on the remaining enemies.
[Boost!] The Boosted Gear boosted again, giving Issei even more speed and strength.
He deliberately fell behind and took a hold of one of the boars and punched it in the face and knocking it out.
He did the same to the next, which tried to ram Issei with its tusks, but to no avail. Issei was too fast and dodged it by moving behind them. Then, its tusks were grabbed and Issei swung it into the river with a splash.
Another boar came for the kill, but Issei approached it first, before it could ready an attack. He seized its head, lifted it up with the Boosted Gear arm and punched its throat, causing it to collapse to the ground with a choking sound.
Right behind him, another boar reacted quickly by jumping over its fallen comrade. It hoped to skewer Issei from behind, but Issei moved to the left, causing the boar to miss him. It tried to tackle the brunette, but Issei used his superior strength and shoved it into the river with a mighty push, causing a huge splash.
That splash blinded him for a moment, which another boar tried to use to its advantage. It tried to run him down with its tusks, which Issei didn't notice because he trying to regain his vision from that huge splash of water that had hit his face.
[Partner! Behind you!] Ddraig called out.
Issei looked behind him and saw the last boar trying to kill him with feral rage. Moreover, it was just about one and a half feet from skewering Issei, so moving backwards in any way was dangerous.
Issei decided to run faster, getting ahead of the boar, but the boar also picked up its speed and was closing in on him again. He tried to slalom through the trees, but even then, it could keep up with Issei.
"Persistent one, I have to give it that…" Issei muttered to himself, as he clicked his tongue. And that was what got Issei so worried. If he couldn't escape forward or backward or through evasion maneuvers, then how?
As the boar pursued Issei, its tusks closed the distance between him by a few centimeters! If Issei didn't do anything he could get seriously injured!
That was when it hit him. There was a tactic. It was a risky one, but he had to try it. There was no other choice!
Issei dropped to the ground… giving way right under its tusks by a margin and caused the boar to painfully trip over its back, sending it flying with a somersault… so that it landed on its front legs awkwardly and fall to the ground.
Issei groaned, as he rubbed his back in pain. Man, that hurt!
Nevertheless, he slowly stood up again and looked at his defeated opponent. He could see that it was grunting and writhing in pain on the ground. Upon closer look, Issei could see that the reason for it was because its legs were broken. It could no longer use its front legs properly.
Issei winced upon realization. That wasn't a pretty sight. He looked away and was ready to bolt, but… something caused Issei to remain.
He looked upon the boar and tried to decide on what to do with it.
Issei decided on something. He went up to its prone body, standing right his fallen enemy. He held out his arm… but then decided against pulling through.
He looked away and decided to run, intending to catch up on the others, while leaving the injured boar behind. The others still needed him, after all.
[It's still hard, isn't it?] Ddraig asked Issei.
Issei said nothing, as he continued running. Only a nod came from him, as he ran without stopping, running alongside a river that has seen many deaths today. Alas, such was nature, for in the wild you had to be strong and ruthless to survive and Issei… although exposed to the wild… still lacks the latter…
15th September, Saturday, 5:48 pm – in a clearing not too far away
"Guys?" Issei came up to a grassy clearing with the river nearby and his friends there, too.
By then, they had finally collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, their bodies having finally taken their toll.
Issei sighed in relief, as he came up to them.
The two boys just looked up into Issei's face with Motohama speaking to him.
"Just… hah… hope… hah… that… no pigs… come… hah…" Motohama panted heavily, speaking rather incoherently. Nevertheless, Issei understood what he wanted to say.
"M-me… hah… too…" Matsuda agreed. For even a former school sports star like him, running for his life on a repeated basis was clearly too much.
Issei nodded, as he smiled in relief, but then he heard…
"BWWEEEEE!" "BWWEEEE!" "BWWWEEEEE!"
…the grunting of more boars… in even greater numbers than before, coming up to them from behind them!
"Oh, for the love of…" Issei groaned, as he readied himself. This was not good!
It seems like fighting them head-on won't be a good idea. There were too many of them! And also, he had to protect his friends who were too weak to do anything. Heck, they couldn't even react to their surroundings. That's how exhausted they were.
[Partner. I think you know what you must do] Ddraig said.
"Yes… I do…" Issei answered, as he got ready to boost.
[Boost!] The Boosted Gear rang, as he charged for a Dragon Shot.
The boars grunted and cried out, as they all rushed at Issei & co.
"I don't want to do this…" Issei mumbled to himself, as he charged.
[Boost!]
"…but I have to…" Issei continued, as he clenched his teeth. He hated killing, the feeling of blood spattering his clothes, the look of lifelessness haunting his mind, the traumas assaulting him… he just hated it!
"BWEEE!" "GRUNT!" "OINK!" the boars grunted in unison, as they got closer.
"…right now, my friends…" Issei looked around him with determination, holding out his arm, ready to fire.
[Boost!]
"""BWWWWWWEEEEEEEE!""" the boars were but a relatively short distance from the perverted quartet.
"…need me!" Issei cried out, as he fired right into the pathway…
"BWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
A loud squeal suddenly hit Issei's ears. Issei widened his eyes, as a streak of gold jumped to the forefront and took the Dragon Shot head on! Wait, that golden blur… that was…
[BOOM!] A blast and a shockwave shook the air and dust flew up everywhere.
Issei covered his eyes and braced himself, as did Matsuda and Motohama, but the latter two were thrown away by the blast. All the boars that had taken part in the charge were blown away as well.
The dust slowly settled and one could see the results of the explosion. All around the place were boars lying all over the place. Some were unconscious and others were injured, but all in all, no deaths. Matsuda and Motohama were thrown back a good distance and were now coughing and wheezing. They brushed off the dust of their bodies and clothes, as they got up.
"Issei…?" Motohama called out to his friend, who he couldn't see because of the dust flying around. He was getting worried. Was he alright?
It wasn't long, before that question would be answered. For there was Issei, standing firm using the Boosted Gear gauntlet as a shield to protect his face. He, too, was covered in dirt, but thankfully with no injuries.
"Oh, thank goodness…" Motohama sighed out in relief. He was about to approach him, but Matsuda held him back with an outstretched arm.
"Wait! Don't move…" Matsuda said not looking back, yet moving back at the same time.
Had Motohama been able to see his face, he could have seen that Matsuda's face was not one of relief, but of seriousness. And why? The reason for that being that not only did he see Issei, but the silhouette of a large boar staring at Issei from the receding cloud of dust.
"Oh, crap…" Motohama cursed, as he stepped back as well.
As the dust finally cleared, he could see the huge golden boar from before, covered in some kind of shield, which disappeared after a little while.
Issei didn't move, yet his body trembled, not because of exhaustion, but because of fear.
He was not expecting that golden porker to find them so soon. This was bad. With it here and all those boars here as well. Their chances of survival… was actually nil!
However, then the golden boar did something unexpected. It looked at the boars behind him that were still unconscious. Issei managed to catch a glimpse of one of the boar's eyes gleaming red. The boars that were unconscious woke up and together with the others walked away.
"Wait. What was that?" Issei queried, as he watched the boars leave.
[It used its powers to give back strength to the boars, Partner. No doubt about it. This boar is definitely of supernatural origin] Ddraig answered.
"I see… But then why won't it order those pigs to gang up on me then?" Issei asked again, as the boars disappeared into the forest.
[I'm sure it's because of the Dragon Shot. It knows that you can obliterate them with ease, which also means that this boar is sentient. Be careful, Partner. This opponent won't be like the other boars we encountered. Be on your guard, Partner] Ddraig warned Issei.
Issei gulped, as he tried to stop himself from shaking. "Understood…"
He readied himself for battle. The golden boar, as if trying to give Issei a sporting chance, waited for Issei to make prepare himself.
[Reset!] All of Issei's strength left him, after the reset. He used this opportunity to relax, took a deep breath.
"What's Issei doing?" Motohama asked Matsuda, as he observed the spectacle.
"I'm not sure. Warm-ups, I guess…? But whatever it is… I have the feeling that what we're seeing right now…" Matsuda said calmly, as he gazed at the duel before him with equal calmness.
Issei started boosting again.
[Boost!] Issei's strength doubled, as power flowed through him for the big fight.
"…is like the boss fight of this level…"
There. Another chapter done.
I apologize once again for the delay. I was ill and I really felt bad. I later found out that a lot of people were suffering colds, as the weather got warmer. I wonder if that had anything to with it.
Anyway, about the chapter… in addition to more survival adventure, the I wanted to talk about two things: The subject of flying and the fight scenes.
I have to say, I never thought I would be able to write such words. I'm kind of impressed at what I can think of. And before you ask, yes, it will play a role in the future. I'm not sure how big, just that it will definitely play a role.
As for the fight scenes... I also wanted to improve on writing fight scenes and so far, I guess I did well. Granted, there's always the issues regarding the technicalities of a fight scene, but thankfully as Issei (and Matsuda and Motohama, too) develops in fighting, so will I in in writing skills.
As for this arc, I plan on throwing in two more chapters, before our heroes finally reach their destination in Nerima. Again, no Ranma ½, perhaps some references but no Ranma ½.
And thank you TranslatorPS for correcting me about the location Sophia University. My bad, I kind of saw the name and image on my Google search results for some reason and I acknowledge my mistake. Though, speaking of which, this mistake will be referenced in my story soon once Issei, Matsuda and Motohama reach Tokyo.
In the meantime, I'd like to ask for your opinions.
Are there any special places in Tokyo you would like featured in this story? I'd love to hear them.
Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time.
Until then.
Hide Shinyama
