"So, now that we're on the same page, we should talk about what we're going to do."
"You mean how to survive against giant metal centipedes, right? Well, I wish we had some BIG guns to fight them, but they'll probably take it like BB pellets."
Chihiri's Meaningless wish fulfillment was meaningless. However the latter part of what Chihiri said, was sadly close to the truth.
Chihiri finally got over her fear, but our situation didn't get any better. In fact, nothing has changed besides morale. We still had a huge problem of surviving and escaping the swarm of Tail joes.
Luckily, for the time being the Tail joes weren't around for quite a while. It would make sense if they were searching the whole Akihabara, which meant we had a fair amount of time on our hands. We needed a good plan before this whole thing get's worse.
"First, let's talk about the current problems. Which there's... a bunch of them. I hate to say this, but running away from them looks impossible. They're machines and we're just normal humans, the physical gap between us is too high. They'll move for days and probably won't be tired at all. And solely hoping that another 'malfunction' to happen to them is just suicide."
While leaning against the wall, Chihiri nodded her head in agreement.
"I agree. Plus they attack with their tails, and that's another disaster. Even if you use your visions, Itou. I guess it'll be hard to avoid them all, right?"
"Yup. Like I said, impossible."
At first, I was too busy running for my life, that I didn't think much about the Tail joes and just thought we were lucky. But when hiding in the alleyway and seeing the Tail joes swarming past us, I then realized that we weren't simply lucky. Our lives were actually dangling by a thread, and one wrong move would have doomed us both.
We were extremely lucky, almost to the point of using up a lifetime worth of luck. If we wanted to live, it was necessary to figure out things as soon as possible. We couldn't afford another wrong move when our life was on the line.
"Another one is that, there's no people around. We can't call for help, and since there's only two of us here, it'll be much easier for them to find us than inside a crowd."
Although personally, I was glad that there was no people. It would've been a bloodbath if there were crowds of people on the streets. Of course it was bad for us, but at least we didn't have to see any innocent people die. Me and Chihiri would lose our minds, if we saw hundreds of dead corpses lying cold on the streets.
While I was thinking, suddenly a question came up to my mind.
"Why did people disappear in the first place?... When I was giving you a headlock, there was over a hundred people around us, There's no way that many people could just vanish instantly..."
"...Maybe it has something to do with the Tail joes."
"This, with them?"
Suddenly, Chihiri looked directly at me and came up with an unusual opinion. I blinked in silence as I thought about it for a second. It was odd to me. I didn't think the Tail joes were capable of such a thing, but it looked like Chihiri was thinking quite differently.
Hearing her opinion, I got curious and asked her right away.
"Why's that?"
"Well, you did say that people suddenly disappeared when you headlocked me. And right after that the Tail joes appeared. Don't you think the timing's a little too perfect? Oh, and about the headlock? That REALLY freakin hurt! What, were you trying to blow up my head? If you were, then DAMN! You've got some muscles!"
"...Is this really the time to discuss that?"
"Hey, you know how I roll. I forget my studies, but I never forget grudges."
Without a single thought, Chihiri admitted that she sucks at studying, saying it with no regret whatsoever. Chihiri was already back to her 100 percent normal self. If I knew she'd be back this fast, I would've helped her a minute later. I didn't know if I should feel sad or be worried, when an idiot admits itself that it's an idiot.
"Ugh... I'm sorry I gave you a headlock, like I was going to pop your head. O' forgive me great Chihiri sama."
"Uhum! That's better! Apology excepted!"
Posing like an arrogant king, Chihiri nodded her head in satisfaction, looking at me like I was her proud servant. It didn't mind. Since I didn't feel sorry, and the sincerity of my apology was below ten percent. Chihiri also knew that, but she was satisfied that I said it in a flattering tone.
The best way to shut up an idiot, was to throw it a bone.
"As I was saying. The people disappearing and the Tail joes appearing after that, I think the bugs are using some kind of barrier to draw away people except us."
"A... barrier? The Tail joes? I don't know, Chihiri..."
I gave Chihiri a doubtful look, while I crossed my arms and tilted my head in confusion. The Tail joes were no doubt strong, but they didn't look like the 'sophisticated' type to make barriers(In other words, they looked dumb). Moreover, there was no evidence to prove that there's a barrier at all.
"Hear me out. With all the people gone, it's the perfect hunting ground for the Tail joes. Who would do this, unless the guys that are hunting us right now? Also, how are you so sure that they CAN'T make barriers? We don't know anything about them, besides they're strong as an elephant, and hunting us down like the world's most dangerous yandere fangirl(If only they were hot girls...). For all we know, they have a lot of surprises other than brute strength."
I placed my hand on my chin, and carefully thought about what Chihiri just said. Taking out Chihiri's delusion, with no proof it was all just assumptions. Still, for an assumption Chihiri made some good points. It was a long shot, but Chihiri's theories was worth thinking about.
At least it was better than my guess, which was nothing.
"For someone who was just powerless to do anything, you think quite fast, Chihiri. Were you thinking about the Tail joes the from the start?"
"Well... not exactly. Let's just say I had an 'inspiration'."
"An inspiration? From where?"
"Why, my favorite anime of all time, of course! You know, where they use barriers to make a completely separate dimension, and people are excluded because of that? What was it called? Right! A reality..."
"Yeah, Yeah... I get it..."
I placed my hand on my face, wishing that she was just joking. I wanted to believe that Chihiri thought of it all by herself. But at the same time, I half expected that when I saw Chihiri's eyes glitter, when she mentioned the word 'barrier'. I guess her way of coping fear, was to think that she was inside an anime.
And how fitting, as someone who watched the show,(Or should I say, 'persuaded' to watch by you know who) it was pretty dangerous for the characters.
As much as I wanted to scold Chihiri until she begged me to stop, I said nothing to her. Despite the ridiculous reason, at least it helped Chihiri to come up with something useful. Even though it came from something that wasn't even real.
"Still... I guess our reality isn't so 'real' anymore, is it? I still can't believe Vanguard units are coming to life..."
"Tell me about it..."
I had to agree on Chihiri. We had a lot to take in. Knowing that a far away planet called Cray exists, and the hundreds of units drawn on the cards are also real. And they can come to life, which they're extremely powerful when they do.
I had a lot of questions inside my head. For instance, if Vanguard was real, did that make the company behind it connected to Cray? Is the person who thought of the story, actually from Cray? Is everyone in the company an alien? Will I get beaten up if I do an E.T impression in front of them?
You know, some minor things.
'Hang on a second...'
When our ideas weren't going anywhere, a sudden realization came to me, like a flash of light. Me and Chihiri were trying to figure out this tangled up mess all by ourselves. Chihiri's theories were decent, but that was about it. Our situation wasn't going to change with theories alone.
We racked our brains, even though there was an expert on these things, right inside my pocket. If there was anyone here who knew full well about Cray and it's units, it was Amateratsu. If I asked her, I was almost certain that we would hear some crucial information, that could help us survive.
"Psst... Amateratsu. I need to ask you something..."
After taking a deep breath in case of stuttering, I slightly tapped my pocket with my index finger and quietly called out to Amateratsu. But for some reason, Amateratsu wasn't responding to my call.
"Amateratsu?"
I asked her a second time, but there was still no answer from her. I was getting nervous. I worried if the phenomenon that caused the people around us to disappear, also gave some bad effects on Amateratsu.
I couldn't wait for her to respond anymore, and quickly pulled Amateratsu out of my pocket, so I could check if she's okay. When Amateratsu was in my hand, I hastily turned my eyes to see the front side of the card. Thankfully, Amateratsu was rolling her eyes and moving just fine.
It was worrying when she was still quiet, even when I was looking right in front of her. Amateratsu was moving her head left and right. Her mouth was slightly open, and Amateratsu's widely open eyes were shaking, like she was trying not to blink. She seemed a little too tense. But besides that, Amateratsu didn't look like she was affected by anything.
This time, I pulled Amateratsu's card close to my face and called her again.
"Amateratsu? Hey, are you listening?"
[Huh? Wha, master?! W, When did you pull me out of your pocket? A, And putting me close to your face is... so sudden!]
When our eyes connected, Amateratsu almost screamed and jumped back like she really just noticed me. Unlike her serious look a moment ago, Amataeratsu's cheeks blushed and was unable to focus her eyes on one place. She stuttered her words and asked me dozens of questions in a single breath like an experienced rapper.
"That's because you weren't listening. I called you three times already!"
[O, Oh... I'm truly sorry master. I guess I was concentrating on the Tail joes too much, that I couldn't pay attention to anything... P, Please forgive me!]
"You don't have to apologize. I just want to ask you something."
Amateratsu kept apologizing to me like she committed some kind of crime. If I didn't tell her to stop, she would have lowered her head until the her sun ornament fell down. Seeing her sincerely apologizing on a small thing, made me look like I was the bad guy.
I already knew one person who was hard to deal because of this. I didn't need another one to unintentionally guilt my soul.
[Of course! If it's anything in my knowledge, I will happily answer your question, master! What do you want to ask me?]
"Okay, um... Can the Tail joes set up some kind of barrier? Like, barriers that can exclude people maybe?"
[Yes. More specifically, it excludes humans with weak spiritual energy. Unless it's a Psyqualia user who can use spiritual energy properly, or has an above average spiritual energy pool, every living being who sets foot inside the barrier gets excluded from this dimension.]
"Whoa. Then what happens to the people who gets excluded?"
[You don't have to worry, master. The excluded people are sent to an alternate dimension, that is completely identical to the inside of the barrier. The people act and think like they normally would with no harm. If they step outside the boundaries of the barrier, they would teleport back to their own dimension and go along their way.]
"Well, that's handy. I was worried if people might get hurt because of all this."
With Amateratsu's answer, I placed my hand on my chest and sighed in relief. We were still in trouble, but I felt ten kilograms lighter, now knowing that other people were out of harms away. It would have been absolute chaos if there were people around. With the barrier up, at least it meant innocent people were safe.
"So does everything come back if the barrier's gone?"
I was hoping that Amaterastsu would say yes. But Amateratsu answered my question by shaking her head. Seeing her say no, was starting to get me worried.
[I'm afraid, no. Anything except living things are a different story inside the barrier. If a non living object, such as cars get damaged inside the barrier, it will stay damaged. However, the other dimension doesn't get affected by this while the barrier is intact. Once the barrier is gone, the people inside the barrier would come out unharmed. But you need to put everything where it was if you don't want to cause complete chaos. Such as seeing an unscathed building, being in rubble the very next second.]
"So what you're saying is. Inside the barrier, people will be okay, but damages caused on non living objects will stay, even when the barrier is down. Am I getting it right?"
[Yes. That's right.]
"Okay, I guess property damage is going to be quite a thing."
I slightly nodded, while I pieced everything what Amateratsu just told me inside my head. Strangely enough, I wasn't that worried on the downsides of the barrier. The property damage caused by the Tail joes were massive, and people could die if they return, and they're inside a building that's on fire. But to be honest. Besides the latter, I really didn't give a shit in someone else's stuff being broken. My mental capacity had better stuff to worry about.
"Then, Amateratsu. I understand why I'M here. Why on earth is Chihiri here too?"
[I was afraid you would ask me that, master. To be honest, I don't understand why Chihiri sama's here with us as well. The only explanation is that she's a Psyqualia user, or that she has a high spiritual energy pool. But I don't feel any strong or above average level of spiritual energy from her. You also said that she's not a Psyqualia user. Didn't you, master?]
"Yeah. I've known Chihiri for seven years, and I never seen her use any kind of ability like I do."
I was dead certain. For seven years, not one time have I seen Chihiri having, or using an abnormal ability like mine. Sure, she did a lot of weird stuff, but it was only for her enjoyment, and nothing was beyond human limits. I was the only one being called a monster. She did get called names like that, but it was because she was hanging out with me, and calling her names calmed down eventually. To my knowledge, there was no way that Chihiri was a Psyqualia user. But if I WAS certain. Chihiri wouldn't be here with me. It was hard to deny something that was right in front of me.
'IS she?... Maybe she's here, because she was in contact with me. Or is it because she's not a Psyqualia user, and just have a lot of spiritual energy? Then she would be able to do something that everybody can't, if she did have that lot...'
A bunch of questions entered my head. I looked to my right, and saw Chihiri pouting her lips while looking around for stuff that would be useful. I was afraid to even ask her. If Chihiri was really a Psyqualia user, then everything I knew about her would change forever. It meant she was hiding it from me, when I told her about who I am.
"Let's... not talk about that now, okay?"
[Are you sure, master?]
"Yeah."
Deep down, some part of me wanted to ask Chihiri in person. It wasn't like I didn't believe in Chihiri. But I just couldn't risk my best friend's image, whom I known for seven years, to change into someone completely different.
[Do you have any other questions?]
Following my request, Amateratsu dropped her questions about Chihiri. I was thankful that she did, but my next question was a sensitive one. My fingers kept fidgeting, while I looked at Amataratsu and the outside of the alleyway back and forth. Thinking over and over again if I should ask her this question.
'There is no way I can ask her, 'Is your clan all dangerous?'.'
[Not all clans are noble and just, master. There are some clans and units who would treat human lives like nothing. But I assure you. There are many other clans who would fight for the right thing. Including the safety of the people of Earth.]
"Wh, What? H, How did you know what I was thinking?"
I was startled and loss of words, when Amateratsu answered me as if she read my mind. I quickly checked every sides of her card, to see if there's anything that allowed her to read minds. If she read my mind from the start, I'd jump outside the alleyway right now, so that the Tail joes can end my miserable life.
[Fufu. Your face was just so easy to read, master. Unable to look at me straight. It was almost like seeing my little brother, Susanoo.]
"S, Stop laughing. It's not funny, you know..."
I turned my head away from Amateratsu, but she giggled on how hard I was trying to hide my embarrassed face from her. After the Tail joes, I was doubting if the other clans were just dangerous as they were. Hearing it from Amateratsu, that there are other clans who stop clans like megacolony, made me somewhat comfortable. There was a chance that she might be wrong. But seeing Amateratsu smiling with confidence, made me want to believe her.
"Okay, next questio..."
"Itou, what the hell are you doing?"
"Gah?!"
Not even realizing that she was next to me, Chihiri was squinting her eyes and looking at me very suspiciously. My eyes shot open and I jumped back, almost dropping Amateratsu on the drain, before I barely caught her. It took all my might to hold down my screams. My heart was pounding so hard, that it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.
"Jeez, Chihiri! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Hey, all I did was just ask. You're the one who overreacted, like I was gonna shoot you or something."
Still gulping in air to catch a breath, I knew Chihiri was right.
Just realizing it now, In Chihiri's hands were two big trash bins, that she probably found them while searching the alleyway, and dragged it here all by herself. The bins had dark smudges that I didn't want to know where it came from. But it was big enough to hide our bodies, in case the Tail joes happened to come here again.
It was good to see Chihiri trying to do something. I was glad that she still had hope, despite the whole odds being way against us.
"You've been talking to yourself a LOT today, Itou. Even when we were going to the card shop, I saw you talking to thin air three times already. You're not... going crazy, are you?"
Chihiri looked at me, while asking with a worrying tone. I had no idea that she was this worried about me. When I was going to say that she had nothing to worry about, Chihiri's tone suddenly spiked up.
"Cause if you are, I'm gonna be pissed! When you were the one who told ME to calm down! You don't have the right to go crazy in front of me, got it?!"
Being called crazy from Chihiri was something that I didn't expect when waking up today. It was quite insulting, like listening to a homeless guy who haven't washed in years, complaining to me that I smell.
One of the many things that Chihiri was excelled at, was to always find new methods to fascinate me in so, so many bad ways.
"Hey! Between the two of us, I'm the last person to go crazy! A sane person wouldn't hold someone's favorite magazine hostage, just because they said something bad about your favorite voice actor! And! Asking your 'best friend' to help, making 'HIM' look like an accomplice to the whole class!"
"Okay first off, mentioning that is a low blow. Second, anyone who talks shit about my goddess AYANA, deserves everything coming their way. And third, shut up! You're the one who's talking to yourself!"
"I am not CRAZY!"
"Says the one who talks to himself!"
Chihiri dropped the bins to the ground and kept pointing me with her finger. Nudging the air like she was trying poke me without even touching me. Now I really wished that I'd notice Chihiri, when she was watching me talk to Amateratsu.
With every word coming from her mouth, Chihiri was really tearing my sanity piece by piece. Despite her... exquisite choice of words, I could feel that Chihiri was really concerned about me. I wanted to tell her about Amateratsu, but it wasn't something that I could easily do. The constant stress coming from this was really eating inside me, that I felt like I would actually go insane because of this.
By the looks of it, Chihiri's suspicion wasn't going to end. No matter what excuse I make, it was useless against Chihiri. She makes up stories and excuses all the time, that she was like a sniffer dog when it comes to lies. If I didn't show Chihiri any proof, she would really think that I'm going crazy.
I looked down at Amateratsu. She was listening to our conversation in my hand. Our eyes met one another. Without having to ask her myself, Amateratsu answered by nodding her head, and I nodded back in agreement.
"You ready, Amateratsu?'
"Huh? What do you mean Amateratsu?"
[Yes.]
"Ok, Chihiri? I want you to NOT freak out what I'm about to show you."
"Freak out on what? You even sound crazy, Itou!"
"Hah... Let's just get this over with..."
After sighing, I walked right in front of Chihiri. Then I opened her hand, and placed Amateratsu's card on her palm. Unlike her insane attempts to get Amateratsu, Chihiri was clueless when she first got the card, that she so wanted to see back at the card shop.
"Huh? This is the CEO Amateratsu card that you kept hiding it from me, right?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"...And you're giving me this now, because?~"
Not knowing what to do with it, Chihiri flipped the card several times while looking at me more suspicious then ever. She even took a step back, like I was going to do something weird to her.
With that, I took back everything what I just said. Now I hoped that Chihiri would give a freak out reaction of a lifetime. And speaking of reaction, my wish was starting to come true.
[Hello? Chihiri sama?]
"Wha?... W, Who said that?"
[There's no need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you.]
"Wh, Who is this?! Where are you?!"
Chihiri's body shivered when she heard Amateratsu's voice, which was very unknown to her. Now knowing that there's someone here other than the two of us. Chihiri quickly moved her head at all directions like she was panicking, until finally looking down where the voice came from.
[It's an honor to meet master's close friend, face to face.]
"Ah...Ah...Ah..."
"What's the matter? Seeing something 'weird', Chihiri?"
I walked right next to Chihiri and gave her a pat on the shoulder to help her absorb the irony more faster. Amateratsu waving her hand to greet Chihiri, and seeing her responding by freezing in place like she was turned to stone, while muttering the same thing over and over like a broken radio, was totally worth all the looks and stress I got from Chihiri.
"Ah...Ah...Ah..."
[Allow me to introduce myself. I am CEO Amataratsu, who leads the Oracle Think Tank clan. I understand that this form may be shocking to you, but I hope we could get to know each other better from now on, Chihiri sama.]
"Ah...Ah...Ah..."
Amateratsu politely bowed down to Chihiri and ended her introduction. But Chihiri just stood there and kept on reacting the same way when she met Amateratsu. At first, seeing Chihiri's shocked reaction was entertaining. But now it was starting to get worrying, when the last time Chihiri took a breath, was when she saw Amateratsu.
"Uh... Chihiri?"
I backed my hand away from Chihiri and carefully called out to her. The same Chihiri who didn't show any other reaction, besides a muttering rock, swiftly turned her head and looked at me like she was about to eat me or something.
"Uh!..."
As I took a step back, my whole body shivered like I had a tiger in front of me. I couldn't help but be a little scared, when I saw her staring at me with eyes wide open as humanly possible. It felt like Chihiri was trying to look directly into my soul.
"Itou?... Master?... What?..."
Chihiri mumbled to herself in confusion as she extended her hand to me. For a second, I thought she was giving me something out of this world, but there was nothing in Chihiri's hand, besides Amateratsu's card between her fingers. Without haste, I quickly, but carefully took Amateratsu's card from Chihiri, before she could do something.
[Master, did we break Chihiri sama?...]
"I don't know, Amaateratsu. I don't know..."
Judging by her not trying to rip my arm off, it looked like Chihiri was just giving Amateratsu back to me. But to be honest, I had no freaking idea what was going on inside Chihiri's head. Or what she will do next. Me and Amateratsu held on to each other, while we mustered our courage to witness the unknown being that was Chihiri. Before I could ask Chihiri again, she turned her body and finally moved her feet off the ground.
[Master! She's coming!]
"S, Stay back, Chihiri!"
When I thought I was going to have to stop Chihiri physically, she just walked towards the wall next to me and leaned against it. Then Chihiri lifted her head to the sky, and sighed heavily like her soul was escaping through her mouth.
[Is... Chihiri sama going to be okay?]
"I... think so?"
Me and Amateratsu quietly whispered to each other. In case Chihiri might jump at us, we made no sudden movements, while carefully observing her like she was a deadly animal, trapped in the same cage with us.
'I wonder how long will it take her to get over THIS?...'
Chihiri's reaction was different than what I expected by a mile. Now I really regretted that I chose to show Chihiri the truth. But what already happened, happened. To be honest, I was somewhat glad that Chihiri didn't scream the moment she saw Amateratsu. Or immediately rip her in half when she had the chance.
Seeing Chihiri being quiet, meant that she was taking it quite well. This was nothing compared the Tail joes. And if I knew anything about Chihiri, it was that she always gets right back up on her feet.
"AHAHAHAHA! I discovered the missing link! We came from Vanguard cards all along! Screw all of you, Vanguard haters!"
Then Chihiri waved her hands in the air, while laughing maniacally like a mad scientist. Her eyes were full of mad joy, that I was pretty sure that Chihiri was seeing things that me and Amateratsu can't even imagine.
[Master! I believe Chihiri sama is NOW broken!]
"Well, it's kinda obvious when you look at it!"
Chihiri acted so wild with almost to no control. That it seemed like learning about Amateratsu seemed to have more impact on Chihiri, than the Tail joes when she saw them for the first time.
Honestly, I couldn't care less about Chihiri's thoughts. But what I DID have to care about, was Chihiri seemed to also forget that we needed to draw as less attention as possible. And Chihiri's actions were basically like ringing a dinner bell.
Me. Or in this case, 'we' had to calm down Chihiri again, for a completely different reason. If we didn't stop her, than...
Tat- Tat-
Suddenly, several rough metallic sounds rang loudly through the alleyway. Like instinct, me and Amateratsu reacted immediately and turned our heads to the front exit, where the chilling sounds came from. Our ears shook in pure terror, as so did our bodies. It was like hearing the footsteps of the grim reaper, getting closer and closer.
"W, When did they?!"
[We have to hide before they see us!]
"Shit! Chihiri! Get inside the trash... W, Where is she? Chihiri!"
When I turned my head, Chihiri was nowhere to be seen. Shivers crawled up to my spine. Chihiri was just next to me a second ago. I couldn't see them, but if the Tail joes were already here, we were good as dead.
There was no time to search for her. In a panic, I urgently looked at every direction I could possibly see to find Chihiri. Praying to god that she wasn't taken by them.
"Hey! What the hell are you two doing, standing in plain sight?! Are you trying to get yourselves killed?!"
I didn't even have to worry about her, one single bit. Chihiri's body was already half inside the big trash bin, like a rabbit in a hole. Chihiri must have moved the moment she heard the sound. She acted so fast, as if she was a professional athlete.
With no time to waste, I also ran to the other trash bin to hide, before the Tail joes could get closer. I swiftly opened the lid and jumped into the bin without hesitation. Luckily the trash bin was full of used-up paper with no waste nor smell inside. Thank god.
Right before I tried to close the bin, I saw the lid of the bin slightly floating from the opening. The bin wasn't completely closed, as if her head was in the way. It could be my own thoughts, but it looked like her lid was slightly shaking.
"Come on, Chihiri!"
I stood up, then leaned towards Chihiri and I pushed her lid with my hand, completely closing it.
Now it was my time to hide before...
[Umm, master? I believe there's no reason to hide...]
"Huh? What're you talking about?"
[The sound we're hearing isn't getting louder or closer. If you listen to it, it's just repeating in a rhythm. And if you can see there...]
Amateratsu pointed her finger to the other side of the road. I turned my head to the direction that she was pointing and saw what she was talking about.
Tat- Tat- Tat
The other side of the road was devastated by the Tail joes. Cars, buildings, everything in that direction was smashed beyond repair and almost in complete ruins. And in that wreck, were several broken neon signs. The smashed metal parts of the signs were tied to thick electric wires. Due to the strong wind, it kept bumping into the barely leftover wall, making the sounds that we were hearing the whole time.
My face was hot like it was on fire. It felt really pathetic, when I figured out that I was afraid for my life for absolutely nothing. All of my body's cells were tensed up. My skin crawled up so much it was like being poked with needles. But at the same time, I was still alive and was pretty happy about it.
"Oh man... If this keeps up, I'm going to die of heart failure before I'm thirty..."
[I'm sorry, master... I should've realized it sooner.]
"Next time, Amateratsu. Next time. Chihiri. It's a false alarm. Come on out."
After sighing/catching my breath, I walked out of the trash bin and slightly knocked on the one where Chihiri was hiding. But for some reason, there was absolutely no respond from her. Her bin stayed dead silent.
"Chihiri? What're you doing? It's safe to come out."
I knocked on her bin one more time. But the response was the same. If Chihiri was planning to play tricks on me, she was going to have to try harder. Since I never saw her come out, she was definitely still in the bin. I beat Chihiri to the punch and quickly opened the lid before she could have the chance.
"Urgh! W, What the?!"
The second I opened the lid, a foul stench came pouring out of the bin and sucker punched my nose. I held my breath but I was too late. The stench came right up my nose, that smelling it made my head feel dizzy. If I had my mouth open I would've definitely threw up. The smell was so bad I almost wanted to rip my own nose.
I held my nose with all my might and looked inside the now open trash bin. When I saw what I saw, my disgusted face quickly turned modest. I should have noticed there was some kind of reason WHY Chihiri wouldn't close the lid. And I had to just close it without a second thought.
Chihiri was in the bin, alright. My bin and Chihiri's bin looked the same, but was for completely different purposes. Mine was for recycled paper, and Chihiri's was for... food waste.
"Uh... Uh... K, Kill me..."
"Out of all the bins, you had to pick this one, huh..."
I shook my head in pity as I saw Chihiri twitching inside a mixed pool of god knows what.
"O, Oh g, god... this i, is hell..."
After fiercely throwing away the blackened banana peel off her head, Chihiri crawled up into a ball and shuddered. Trying to deny reality that her clothes and hair was caked in ungodly waste soup. But the smell coming from her kept reminding Chihiri the truth, and Chihiri looked like she was about to burst into tears at any second now.
"Jesus christ! What the hell are people throwing away to make this smell?!"
The smell was bad enough to be a bio weapon. I had some distance between Chihiri. I even held my nose, but I could smell the stench so clear I wanted to burst into tears myself.
I suddenly grew a overwhelming hatred towards people who leave leftovers. It was making mother earth suffer and more importantly, WE were sufferING!
[I wish I could say 'are you okay', master. But It looks like you and Chihiri sama are clearly not...]
Amateratsu couldn't even smell. But her voice was filled with fear, while she saw me and Chihiri suffering at the stench covered hell, that was called current reality. I never thought about it, but I couldn't be more envious of Amateratsu not being able to smell.
Meanwhile. Chihiri, the one who was experiencing the dirtiest time of her life, tightly clutched her fists as goosebumps crawled up her arms, shaking uncontrollably in disgust.
"I, I'm going to have to... p, play a shitload of games to forget this... If it's possible to even get this out of my head..."
"Hah... Do what you have to do, Chihiri..."
"Appreciate it... When I get home, I'm going to wash my hair with all the perfume I can get. Then I'll bathe in it, gargle my mouth with it, and brush my teeth with it until my nose can't smell anything but perfume for a week."
I was getting a certain feeling that Chihiri would never go near a trash bin ever again. On the plus side, my sense of smell was so damaged I couldn't smell the horrible stench coming from Chihiri. Including my own and every other smell. Maybe forever! Yay!
"Now I get why you made such a fuss back at the card shop."
As if she finally got over it, Chihiri's voice that sounded like a cat trying to cough out a hairball, got pretty calm despite she was still a mess. Both literally and figuratively. Just for that, my respects towards Chihiri grew higher. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get over it if I was in her shoes.
"Well, now you know. Wow. Talking to this to somebody else is surprisingly comfortable."
At first, I thought I would have to keep everything about Amateratsu and Cray a secret for the rest of my life. This kind of knowledge getting out was almost certain that it'll bring nothing but trouble. I wasn't someone that couldn't keep a secret, but keeping secrets of this magnitude all to myself was more stressful than I thought. It's been only one day and I was already mentally exhausted.
Getting permission from Amateratsu and telling this to Chihiri of all people made it much easier. Since Chihiri was one of the few people that I could really trust. Chihiri's lips moved at the speed of light almost 24/7. However, she wasn't the kind who would tell someone else's secrets. For once, I guess I have to thank her gifted talent of lying and manipulation.
Still, I would be lying if I wasn't feeling a bit of regret. It wasn't that I didn't believe in Chihiri. But there was a possibility that she could be a target just for knowing about this. I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to tell Chihiri. It felt like I was leading Chihiri to a world that's too dangerous for her. There could be dangers like the Tail joes. or something worse that we couldn't even imagine.
"So, umm... How long did you know about Amateratsu? Like, was it way before you even met me?"
While I was thinking, Chihiri asked me a question in a rather careful manner. I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows in surprise. It was odd, since I thought Chihiri would be too busy asking tens of questions to Amateratsu in under a minute.
She always talked about how it would be cool if the Vanguard cards would come to life. But after facing the Tail joes, I guess her expectations were not so positive. I didn't blame her, since everybody would react like that if this kind of thing happened to them.
"No. Actually we met today, around the fourth period."
[To be precise, it's been 6 hours and 32 minutes since I met master.]
"Seriously?! Today? You gotta be kidding me! And here I thought you were hiding a beauty like Amateratsu from me, all this time! I'm telling you Itou. It's a sin hiding a beauty from a bro!"
"Yeah, Yeah, whatever you say. 'Bro."
I gave a half-heart answer to Chihiri while folding my fingers. It was wise to ignore half of what this delusional predator was saying. If I could make a book out of Chihiri, it'll be the weirdest thing any human would read.
[Beauty?... I, I don't really see myself as one, but thank you, Chihiri sama. I truly appreciate it.]
Amateratsu scratched her blushed cheeks and showed gratitude towards Chihiri. While seeing her, I quietly shook my head. From the moment Amateratsu showed kindness, I knew that it was a bad move from her.
"Oh, it's nothing. You know, your treasure like beauty would really shine in my bed. With me right next to you, of course!"
[...Uh... What?...]
"Don't worry! The roses and the wine are all on me! What say you!"
[S, Say what?!]
Throwing her careful approach out the window, Chihiri breathed heavily while looking like she was going to eat Amateratsu up. Like little red riding hood and the big bad wolf, Amateratsu was scared out of her mind and backing her body, trying to get far away from Chihiri as she could possibly can.
Like I said. Wise.
"Hey, Chihiri. Focus. We still have a very big pest problem, remember?"
I backed my hand and pulled Amateratsu away from Chihiri's reach.
"Yeah, but can't I do that while I'm hugging Amateratsu?"
[Master, please, please, please...]
"Nuh uh. Concentrate, or Mr. right fist will personally want to meet you."
"Oh fine. I'll play by the rules."
Chihiri stepped back and leaned next to me at the same wall as I was. Amateratsu looked at me like I was some kind of savior. She put her hands together and said thank you to me multiple times, even crying tears of relief. After seeing this, I really shouldn't leave Amateratsu around. Especially with Chihiri.
"So, Itou. You look like you have something to say. Maybe some kind of plan? I hate to say this, but I got nothing. Sorry..."
"It's okay. You still gave some good ideas. And also good guess, cause you're right."
"You have a plan?! Well what is it?"
"Amateratsu. You want to say it?"
[No, after you master. I insist!]
Amateratsu's reaction was a little jumpy. It's like she was instinctively trying to avoid Chihiri. It seemed like I was the one who was saying the plan. After some small coughs, I laid it out to Chihiri.
"We both said that it was near impossible to run away from the Tail joes, right?"
"I know. That's why we're still here."
[The Tail joe's barrier are also a nuisance. Considering the circumstances, hiding or fleeing isn't a valid option for us. Hiding like this is only a matter of time before they find us. And if we run, the Tail joes will catch us even before we could find an exit.]
"Just like what she said."
"So running and hiding is out of the question, huh..."
Chihiri placed her palm on her forehead and sighed heavily. Chihiri's head sank down like an invisible hand was pressing her neck. Knowing that we had little to no options, the air around Chihiri was covered with helplessness. While she was taking it in, Chihiri's shoulders suddenly shook for a second, and then she raised her head looking towards me.
"Wait a second. Those two options were the only things we had left! I thought you said you had a plan. This is just saying that we can't do anything! If we can't run or hide, what else can we d..."
Chihiri's words came to a halt. Her mouth was wide open but no words came out of it, like a cat just got her tongue. Judging by Chihiri's expressions, she quickly figured out the third option. Thinking it over, it was quite easy to find out. Since we already had almost to no options left.
"Don't tell me you're..."
"Yup. We're going to go face to face."
"I hope you have a good explanation, other than a suicide wish?!"
Chihiri was completely baffled as she stood up and angrily rushed towards me, like she was going for a punch. I quickly raised my guard, but instead Chihiri stepped back, even when she was still angry. Like I wasn't worth her energy. Which was fine by me.
"IN CASE you didn't understand your own words. You're suggesting to face, giant mother flipping bugs! That can throw and destroy cars like it was a toy, and tough enough that they can eat bullets for breakfast, without any milk! Sure, what could go wrong, other than dying the second they find us! Amateratsu! Please help me knock some sense into him!"
[Um... Actually it's...]
"Chihiri, Chihiri. Listen. I didn't say that we're going to 'face' the Tail joes."
"Then who? Their long lost mother bug? Their hopes and dreams?"
"..."
I tried to explain, but it just made Chihiri more confused. If I go with her flow, this conversation was never going to end. I stopped talking and quietly stared at Chihiri. When she was the only one talking, Chihiri stopped when she realized I was going to be a brick wall to her, unless she calmed down.
Crossing her arms, Chihiri breathed in some air and looked at me. This time without yelling.
"Fine. Explain."
"Thanks. The one we have to face, is the 'man' the Tail joes were covering."
"Man? What ma... Oh, yeah. There was another guy before we got attacked..."
I was dumbfounded when Chihiri nodded her head, as if she really forgot until I mentioned it. It was hard to believe, since it was the second weirdest thing we saw. And the first being the Tail joes!
"Chihiri. We escaped thanks to the 'guy' having a seizure!"
"Hey! Seeing Amateratsu just made me think of 'things', okay?! But what ABOUT the guy? You said so yourself, that we shouldn't bet on him having another seizure. And waiting for it is just reckless."
Chihiri said in a tone like she was lecturing me. True, I was the one who said we shouldn't wait and hope for a miracle. And I was getting to that, if she just let me finish. It felt like Chihiri was taking revenge at me, being dumbfounded about her forgetting the man. I wanted to headlock her so hard, but I endured my urge to do it and continued talking.
"When the man had the seizure, the Tail joes reacted in pain 'just like' the man. Even when the Tail joes were chasing us, some of them stayed at the back. Like they were trying to protect him. There's no reason to do that, unless he's important to them. I'm almost sure that man is a weak point to the Tail joes."
"Huh, I was too busy running, that I didn't see that..."
The reason I saw it was because of my visions. When the Tail joes attacked me, visions came at me constantly. In the visions, I saw bits of how the man and the Tail joe's react to each other. Thanks to that and the information from Amateratsu, I was able to piece everything together.
"So if we attack the guy."
"The Tail joes are going to drop down as well."
[It's not only that.]
Amateratsu suddenly jumped in the conversation, as if she had something important to add.
"What is it?"
[The man you're talking about is probably a human caught by the Tail joes, to extract the spiritual energy from him, and use it so that they can materialize themselves.]
"Wow. That sounds really unpleasant."
[Yes it is. However, the man wasn't a Psyqualia user like master. The spiritual energy that they can use will be quite short, so the target will be quite weak if you try to fight it.]
"Hold on. If their energy is low, isn't waiting actually a valid option?"
If there was a choice that didn't involve risking any lives, I would take it in a heartbeat.
[No. Like I said back at the school, normal human's bodies are locked to 'store' spiritual energy, not release it. Because they store it almost all their lifetime, the amount of spiritual energy inside is quite a lot. Of course, it's not much compared to a Psyqualia user's. Judging by the man and the Tail joe's state. I believe it'll take at least three hours before it completely depletes.]
"Shit... That long?"
Then there was no choice but to confront them after all.
[H, However!...]
When seeing me get disappointed, Amateratsu stuttered her words, and quickly changed topics like she was trying to cheer me up.
[If the Tail joe's are forcibly extracting spiritual energy, the materialize process will be unstable. Worse, since the man wasn't a Psyqualia user. So if the man takes any damage, it's possible that the Tail joes would vanish also.]
That explained why the Tail joes were desperate to find a Psyqualia user like me. I couldn't imagine the things that they would've done to me if I was caught. Just trying to think about it made my body shake in fear.
Thanks to Amateratsu, attacking the man became more like an actual plan. I wanted to jump in joy, as things were finally turning to our favors.
"Really? You hear that, Chihiri? There's always a way!"
"Yeah... About that, Itou."
I gleely turned to Chihiri if she was glad as I was. But unlike me, Chihiri wasn't looking very happy. She raised her hand while looking at me with a worrying face. Like she didn't want to say what was on her mind, but was bugging her mind or was too important not to say it.
"I think this is a good plan and all, but wouldn't the guy be guarded by those bugs, if he's so damn important? They'll be guarding him to the teeth. Can we actually get past them?"
"Uh..."
I was too fixated by the man, I forgot the obvious fact that he would be guarded. By the Tail joes I wanted to avoid, no less. I quickly tried to fix the plan in my head. But no matter how many times I thought about it. The one big flaw that I missed completely destroyed any approaches that I could think of.
The once perfect looking plan was now unclear like a thick gray smog.
"You didn't think all the way, did you?"
"...Yeah..."
"Crap..."
I had a mouth, but I wasn't able to say anything to Chihiri. Chihiri slapped her own forehead with her handpalm while letting out a heavy sigh. If she didn't tell me that, I would've blindly believed that my plan will work. Not knowing that I'd be walking straight into a death trap.
I shouldn't be calling Chihiri stupid. Since I wasn't very far from it.
"Damn it! The one and only plan we got, and the Tail joes HAD to make it go to shit!"
[Ummm... I might be able to solve that problem...]
""Say wha?!""
Amateratsu came to us like a shining messiah. To save the bloody idiot who came up with a flawed plan, which was busy banging his head on the wall. Her voice was so pleasent and calming like a church bell. Especially when she used the word 'solve'.
We closed our lips and waited for her to say it. I couldn't imagine what kind of brilliant plan Amateratsu would come up with.
[I'm able to materialize, master.]
"...What?..."
"...Ha?..."
I was right. I wasn't able to imagine her answer. Me and Chihiri froze in place at Amateratsu's words. The 'M' word took over our minds like a giant wave. Hitting our heads like a sledgehammer, until slowly sinking in to completely process it.
'M, Materialize? As in... Having a real body... And be able to fight like the Tail joes?...'
""Seriously?!""
[W, Well yes. I kept trying to explain it to you several times. But it always was a bad time.]
"No, No, No! This is the perfect time to explain! Ten out of ten! Perfect!"
I wanted to hear it right this second. I hastily asked her again and again, while pulling her close to my face, as if I was trying to go inside the card. Amateratsu withdrew her body but still tried to explain. But I was so excited that I didn't know that I was pushing her.
"Hey! You're making Amateratsu uncomfortable!"
As if she couldn't watch anymore, Chihiri snatched Amateratsu away from my hand. At first I was mad and confused towards Chihiri. But before I could say anything, I realized how bad I was treating Amatertasu.
"Oh, right... Sorry, Amateratsu."
[N, No need to apologize, master! You were just curious, that's all...]
Now that I cleared my head, I was ready to ask Amateratsu the right way. I reached my hand to Chihiri to get back Amateratsu. Then suddenly I heard some weird sounds.
Hah... Hah...
I might be hearing things, but it was definitely heavy breathing. With some... impure intentions sprinkled on top...
"H, Hey Amateratsu. If you can materialize. T, then does that mean the other clan units like... A, Angel Feathers can also materialize?"
[Y, Yes... If you're worthy enough?... W, Why are you drooling, Chihiri sama?!]
"Ah, yeah! Now, I REALLY want to get 'close' to you, Amateratsu."
[Oh me, Oh me, Oh me!]
It was the drooling and panting of my dear best friend, that I so wanted to turn her to the police. Before she could scar Amateratsu for life, I swooped over to Chihiri and snatched Amateratsu back. Freeing her from Chihiri's sinful grasp.
"I'M the one making her uncomfortable?! YOU'RE the one giving her nightmares!"
"Hey, I was just politely asking her if my dreams could come true. No other intentions, whatsoever!"
"Say that AFTER you wash the drool off your mouth, you creep!"
"Ack!"
Without any hesitation, I gave her the noogie of justice on her head. When I got back to Amateratsu, she was shivering and sweating all over, like a little girl who just saw a big monster.
No. Worse than a monster. Because any monster would run away from Chihiri, when her mania switch is flipped. Just seeing her like that made me want to give Chihiri a second noogie.
"You all right, Amatertasu? I'm sorry I gave Chihiri the chance."
[I,It's okay... I'll get over it... Eventually...]
"Yeah... I know this isn't a good time, but can you tell me more about the materialize thi-"
Hah... Hah...
"Damn it, Chihiri! Can't you lay off just for a second?!"
"What? I didn't do anything!"
"Huh?"
Chihiri was still tending the place where I gave her the noggie. She didn't make any uncomfortable sounds. In fact, she was too far from me to hear her breathing so clearly. It didn't come from her. Then where did it?...
Splat-
Several water drops fell down like it was raining. But when I saw the outside of the alleyway, it was still sunny, with no hints of rain anywhere. The drops that fell to the ground wasn't clear water. It was black like oil. Not only that, the grey concrete ground was now completely black like it was night. Like it was covered in shadow...
Or, 'shadows'...
Me and Chihiri looked at each other. Gulping what could be our final breath, then finally looking up.
Only to see a legion of Tail joes crawling. Covering every spot of sunlight at the top of the alleyway.
"Shit..."
We were so careless...
""""F-F-Found Y-Y-Y-You...""""
Hey, guys! Really sorry for being this late. I planned to make it early, but... one word, Exams. I'll try to make it early next.
Jesus it's hard to write a vanguard fan fic this long, without cardfights... Battle scenes is... Oh boy, looking forward to it... RIP.
(P.S: It really helps if any of you write a review. I kinda want to know what you guys want to say. Wow, is this begging or what;;)