And now for the second part of the Yasogami Investigation. Those who are here for Akame and Jaune, don't worry. They'll have their time after this. But with something as important as this, you wouldn't want to miss this. The key to the mysteries of Dimension W is gonna be unveiled here. So I hope you enjoy.
"My name is Shiro Kamiki." He is a man with messy short hair, and a brown jacket with a black shirt and jeans. "I believe in your world, I was called Shijuro Sakaki..." Mira realizes it. His face looks just like Shijuro but younger. Shiro Kamiki is the one leading the ghosts to kill his counterpart with no remorse.
Mira gasps in shock. This was completely not what she expected or could have predicted. "You're Shijuro Sakaki from twenty one years ago?!" Her weak voice still expressed her shock from this revelation.
Shiro continues his interrogation. "Now answer my question. You came here from a different place. A different world. What do your eyes see?" Fog appears through this desolate warehouse they are in. "Is this world alive or dead to you? The past or present?"
The robot girl lowers her head, unable to wrap her head around this. "I really don't know..."
They are all cursing and raging out. "KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" Echoing through Mira's ears.
"Such hate..." Mira was overwhelmed by this. Emotions having this much power in an entire world.
"It's started...the nightmare begins again through her." Shiro explained, being aware of Marisa sleeping, and thus giving them access to the real world. "It binds between the real world and this world of shadows. "This false world that's shackled to the past." Realizing his words, Mira figures out that he and these people killed Sakaki through a bridge of some sort. Someone in the hotel has to be that bridge.
Mira looks up to Shiro. "I don't understand..."
"Real or not, I will protect them." Shooting down Mira's comment and continues his declaration. Doing whatever it takes, I'll eliminate anyone in my way. I'll spare nobody." He turns to leave Mira prisoner. Until he stops and looks over to Mira one more time. As the innocent robot girl looks on in fear. "Nobody...not even myself..."
This confirms it now. "Kamiki..." She still has questions to ask. Like who is this bridge, and what led to this to happen. Then a thought occurred. Was it...her...?
Before she could think of that person though, something hits Mira's face. A blunt object with sharp edges. "You...don't you DARE say my darling's name like that! He's mine!" Mira looks up with a half open eye as she sees Kamiki walk into the mist. Her right cheek receiving a scar from that strike. "You were trying to seduce him weren't you?!" The crazed woman in red hair would shout in anger. One of the dead students from the incident Yoshiko Moringa expressed outrage to the confused and defenseless Mira. "Like her..." Her voice is now more venomous as she raises her bare wired golf club. "I'll...rip out your pretty little face off..." Mira looks up to see the psycho about to torture her. But despite the pain she's in, she is still thinking about going to Minato and warn him. She has to somehow.
Elizabeth found the unconscious maid. "Get a hold of yourself!" As she helps her up.
She groans in pain, feeling her neck stiff from being chopped by Emerald. She then gasps. "M-Milady!" She panics once she realizes Marisa is kidnapped.
"Calm down! We have other problems!" As she looks outside to see the fog beginning to grow thicker on its way on the house.
Back outside, Minato separates from Albert and reaches the house first, as he is currently calling the police to bring in their attacker. He notices the fog is everywhere. He sighs, noticing something immediately ominous about this. Doesn't help that this whole ghost story might be proven to be actually dangerous. Just then he notices what looks like a glowing white bat with red eyes flies next to him, with him noticing with slight startlement. "What the?"
"Minato, ghosts are appearing along with the fog! I removed everyone in the hotel!" Minato was gonna comment on how fast he was on handling it, but is more focused on his voice coming out of this artificial bat.
"And what is this?" He asks.
"It's a transmission device, provided by Ellie." Albert explains.
The blunette tilts his head. "Ellie? You mean that blonde girl in the Halloween get up?"
"Yeah! And you better not break it!" Her voice is now coming out of it. "Also what do you mean by 'Halloween get up' huh?!"
Arisato shakes his head. "Look, I don't have time for this! I have to reach Mira! Something tells me the ghosts have her..." Just then he notices shapes of water forming bodies.
He sneers at the sight of them. "What do you plan to do?" Elizabeth asks.
Minato thinks on it quickly while the ghosts are from a safe distance off of him. "Only an idiot would try and catch those things. Assuming they know how to talk..." He mutters.
Somewhere, an undefined form angerly sneers at that comment.
The Collector would then bring out his sword for defense. "Those ghosts has been around for awhile and they kill anyone who comes near...Sakaki must have something to fend them off..." He then brings out his grappling gun towards the entrance, blocked off by the water ghosts. He slashes his way past them. He notices that the beasts immediately regenerated from the wounds. Virtually unkillable. He finds himself deeper into the hotel. He turns to see the ghosts slowly entering through the door. One of them moving past the walls. But then he notices the fog. They are moving slowly for bloodlusted monsters. But he took notice that they are following where the fog goes and nowhere else. Then it all made sense to him. "I got it!"
Somewhere else in the hotel, Elizabeth, the Maid and her bat rush through the hotel. "What is he doing?"
"Hear me out. The ghosts can only move around when the fog is at its thickest. That's its bridge to our world. It can't be touched, but it can touch us through the water from the lake. Since mist is water in a gas form. I think I figured out how to take them on."
The blonde was impressed. "Wow. I guess you're not just another dumb Collector..."
"Think you can tell me where Marisa is?"
Elizabeth responds. "She's been captured by that green haired girl."
She can hear Minato sneer hard, remembering that grey guy that intercepted him. "Tch! I'm guessing those two were in cahoots in someway...should have know they were up to no good...I'll try to look for another way. Just don't die out there."
The blond Collector would scoff. "Who do you think you're talking to? Huh?" Then she notices one of the chefs of the hotel and was running his way out of the fog. He was out of breath.
"Chef Muroi!" The Maid recognizes him.
The chef in grey hair notices the girls. Elizabeth then saw the fog approaching him. "Get over here! Hurry up!" She warned him. But it was too late. The ghosts grabs his face, drowning him with its body of water.
"Muroi!" The Maid runs to save him only to he pulled by Elizabeth so she wouldn't suffer the same fate. "NOOOO!" The girls runs on the opposite direction, as the poor man drowns.
Albert rushes through the hallways with one of Ellies bats. He then notices someone there. "Is that you Makita?" He sees the butler. And he turns to see the super soldier, only glancing at him with no fear or emotion. Albert felt something off about him and goes to him only for the water ghosts to jump in front of him.
Suddenly, a flash of red gets in the way, slicing them into tiny pieces, revealing a girl in a black hood and what look like a large scythe. "Are you okay?"
The blonde super soldier was startled by her. "Wha? How did yo-"
Just then the girl notices the water beasts are regenerated back. "Whoops! Forgot they can do that!" She would transform her mechanical scythe into a sniper gun that blasts chunks off the beast.
Albert has so much questions, but would focus more on where he is looking for. Once the there is less water on them, he quickly grabs her arm. "Come on!"
Hood was startled. "Huh?!" As they move past the beasts. "Oh...uh...thanks?" Once he knows he's safe he notices Makita just vanished. He wondered what was that about. "Um, guy?" She warns the blonde as they have more water beasts in their way.
Albert thinks fast and points to the room behind them. "There!"
He runs off, with Hood follows. "Hey!" She sees him running head first to the ghosts. In instinct, she slices them into even more pieces with him not slowing down. Albert smirks, seeing this coming. He knew she would help him like before. Before the ghosts would come back, he and Hood enter a room he pointed to. "Okay, I'm in Sakaki's study. There's no sign of Mira in here. Do you have any luck on Arisato's room?"
"Not yet!" Ellie responds.
"Ellie! You're okay!" Hood almost cheered.
"Of course I am! Focus will you?"
Albert thinks this through. What Minato said made sense. Sakaki must have something to protect himself from the ghosts. But what is it? There must be something they are missing in his room. Just then he opens a drawer and finds a lighter. Then he thought of something. A lighter.
Hood muses to what he has found. "We're going to beat ghosts with a lighter?" She asked in confusion.
With Elizabeth she tries to hack into a locked door, trying to get inside the bathroom. As she opens it though, a liquid hand reaches for her. "Oh no! Auh-!" She gets grabbed in the mouth and then slammed down as the Maid screams in terror.
Chains move up tightly as Mira's limbs are now being pulled violently. A part of Yoshiko's final part of her torture, she plans to tear Mira apart slowly and painfully. Mira grits hard, trying not to scream. Its all she can do. But more over, she tries to keep her mental state together. "I'm a robot...Right now I exist in this strange shadowy world because it perceives me, but that's just data..." She hears her tormentors laugh. "Everything here, the chains I'm wrapped in, the violence I seen, everything is a false image. It's not real..."
The chains wrap even tighter, and Mira feels her skin being pulled more. "Oh look at all that metal digging into you...Ah Ha ha ha ha!"
Mira's eye tears up a bit. Despite what she said, she is reaching her limit. "What if I die like this...? What will happen? Will I be trapped in this world forever like the victims are...?"
The red head grins even wider, getting closer to the torment. "I can't wait to see you get ripped apart! Limb from perfect little limb! By the time its done you'll be more torn up than me!"
Mira shook this thought off the best she can. "I am a robot! I won't change if I'm restarted..." She feels her end coming. "I'll still clean. Still do laundry. Still have awkward conversations with Minato. Collect coils for Mary. Still do my best to follow Fathers instructions..." She sees it. How it would be if her body was somehow repaired but not her mind. Its just like before. She does the same things as she mentioned. Being Minato's partner and nothing more. But this got her thinking...would it though? Her experiences that makes her being. The same Mira who followed her Father and Minato. Her fun experiences with the children she met. Would it really be in tact? Would Minato be alright with it? She knows he isn't perfect, but there is a hint of him caring for her like Father. "Even so...will it really be me? Or will it be a different me than I am now...?" She thinks about how Minato will think if anything happened to her. Will he be just satisfied with just a copy of her?
"Rip and tear...Rip and Tear!" Yoshiko shouts out like a song. She anticipates the full breakdown of her victim. Mira's body begins to make cracking sounds. "RIP AND TEAR!"
...
...
...
...
...
...
"That's not what I want!" Mira's eyes open wide open before they close permanently. "I am ME!" Said with determination and anger. "I don't want there to be any others!" Mira then grits hard and pulls back to the chains, struggling to break free. Just then her body begins to glow, reacting to her new found resolve. And then she finally breaks free on her own, shattering not just the chains, but this worlds hold on her.
The red head gasps in shock, unable to believe what is happening in front of her. Mira then safely lands on her feet, towel still in tact. "H-How..?!"
Mira looks at the broken chain in her hands and realizes what is going on. "Perception is the key...my logic was stronger...so it overwrote the logic of this world...and rewrote it." Even she was amazed of her feat.
Yoshiko Moringa stood still baffled of what she saw. "No way that's impossible...no one can do that..." Just then, the girl in white reappears behind her. The girl in blue turns around and jolts in shock. "What are you doing here?! After all this time?!" This girl. The girl that took her crush away from her.
Back in the hotel, Minato rushes inside to avoid the ghosts. But the fog is getting thicker and thicker inside. To slow it as much as he throws furniture around to get in their way, in vain as they just move past it. Just then he notices something. A box of water bottles actually hits one of them. Minato's eyes widen. "Wait...that's..." Spring water...the water in the ghosts are from Lake Yasogami. But Sakaki ordered the spring water to counter the ghosts. "That's how?!"
Suddenly the fire alarm activates. And the water sprinklers rain down. In a matter of seconds, the ghosts wail until they melt away, unable to be contain the mixing of two different waters. Minato notices this and came the the conclusion very fast. "What a crafty guy..." Mentioning the former novelist.
Back with Elizabeth, she was struggling to break free from the beast drowning. "G-Get oooff..." She feels her life slipping, until the water sprinklers hit and the beast melts away. The blonde dropped in the maids arms as she coughed the water on her lungs out.
The alarms finish as Albert closes the lighter he used to start the fire alarm. "They can only take form in the Lake Yasogami. To disperse them, you have to use water from a different source. That is why there is sprinklers installed all over the building." He was rather surprised in this revelation.
Hood overhears this and it went over her head. "Huh...so water beats water ghosts? Being honest I wouldn't think of that..." As she scratches her head. Just then she remembered something. "Oh no Ellie!" She makes a mad dash out of the room as Albert sees her entire being became a blur with her hood only seen as she sped off.
Albert just stood there a little baffled. "Uh...how did she do that?" He didn't recall coils can give you super speed, but I suppose he didn't think coils can make ghosts either.
Back with Minato, he would observe the area now that the ghosts are gone. He then notices the same water dispenser that the robot used to kill Sakaki. "...so the water was switched to the lake water...that explains how the ghosts got to him...but who did it? And why?" But before he can think of an answer he quickly remembers. "Oh no Mira!" He rushes out. He wasted too much time playing around with ghosts that he forgot why he came back.
Outside, Emerald rides the flying platform with Marisa still unconscious. She i currently calling someone in her communicator. "Mercury? Mercury come in!" No response. "Damn it, don't tell me you got captured...ugh..." She counted on Mercury to protect her while she tried to figure out the Numbered coil. But that's not possible now. She then finds the dam close by. She goes in, knowing her prize is there. After taking a look at the blue book again, she can't help but find it a bit confusing. "Tch...this is more Watts department...sure hope the mistress knows what she is doing..." As the platform lowers she sees what everyone was looking for. "Whoa..." A huge hole where the water is streaming down towards. There is only one light in the darkness, looking like a black hole. Although if it really was, everything would be gone. It looked aethereal in Emerald's eyes. An odd looking whirlpool that leads to god knows where. Making this far, she decides to go inside, much to her inner mind saying don't do it.
As she goes down, she can't help but recall how she found this book. She was told to snatch it from a bunch of mercenaries looking for the Numbers as well. One man in the glasses, a lady in long red hair, and some bald guy in a beard. It was easy to trick them with her powers of illusions and dispose of them. Also have some interesting toys on them that she and Mercury managed to decipher. It will prove most useful once those fools managed to escape the Hotel. Still, she didn't think ghosts would actually be real in this world. But with what she and her partner got away with, this should be a piece of cake.
Elizabeth coughed a bit until she fully recovers. "Are you okay?" The Maid asked.
The blonde would shake off a hand. "I'm fine..." Although she notices something happening to her hair. Suddenly a burst of wind comes out, with Hood stopping in front of them. "AH!"
"YAAAAH!" The Maid screams.
"Ellie! Are you alright? Are you alright?!" Hood wants to make sure her partner is alright.
The 'blond' grits. "Of course I am! Don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry. I just got pretty worried there..." She scratches her head. "You found that robot girl?"
"I was about to check..." Ellie responds.
The innocent eyed Hood looks inside and finds a standing still Mira in the shower. Still naked. "I found her! And...uuuuuuuuuuuuh..."
Ellie moves past her. "Let me see!" She then sees it herself. "Why would she be in the shower though?"
The hooded speedster shrugs to her answer. "Maybe she felt sweaty?"
"How can she? She's a robot." Elizabeth said bluntly.
"Well you never know!" Hood bites back.
Both girls checks on the paused Mira. Ellie checking her face. "It looks like she froze...the coil seems normal though." Seeing the open chest revealing the coil. She uses her tablet to hack into Mira's systems, only for it to be denied immediately. "I can't get in?! No way!" She ponders more. "I guess I just have to restart her."
The Maid would then ask. "Hey, are you sure that's okay to do that?"
"Yeah, doesn't that like...I don't know...mess with her memory banks or whatever?" Hood also shares her concern.\
Ellie responds. "It's better than leaving her here. Anyways, we have no choice." Ellie would slowly place her finger on her coil. "I just have to press the coil down for five seconds an-"
Just then Mira's eyes have their light again after a single blink. She realizes she's back in the bathroom. But looks down to see Ellie about to restart her. "DYAAAAAH!" She smacks Ellie's hand off of her in a fright.
Ellie holds onto her hand as it stung. "Hey! Why is everyone trying to scare me?!
She quickly ignores her presence and realizes she is back in reality. "I'm back?!" Mira would immediately run out of the room. "I have to hurry and find Minato!"
The 'blond' then shouts. "H-Hey! Slow down!" Hood beginning to blush super hard seeing this streaking robot girl running. "Shouldn't you at least put a coat on?!" But as soon as she said that, Mira was already putting on her white and pink coat she first came in, almost out of instinctively. As Ellie and Hood has to admit, for a robot, she has her priorities straight.
Just as she dashes out of the room, she bumps into someone. "Damn it! Watch where yo-Mira?!" It was Minato.
Mira was just as surprised to see her partner. "Minato! Look I-"
"Are you alright?!" He suddenly interrupts.
"Hey liste-"
"Are you hurt?!"
"Minato let m-"
"Did the ghosts get to you?!"
"Minat-"
"I'll fucking kill them all over ag-"
"MINATO! I know where the Numbers are!" Mira shouts out, having enough of Minato's interruptions.
After an awkward silence, Arisato finally calms down. "...oh." They got a job to do, and they have to complete it.
Emerald keeps floating in her platform as she goes deeper she notices a hole on the ceiling. She goes up there and notices a floor to walk on. She cautiously walks on a straight line, hugging her arms as her mouth breaths out an icy mist. "Damn its cold..." She regrets her revealing attire. It was Summer yet this feels like it turned into Winter. Just then she sees something. Something very out of this world. "Wait...this is it?" Little did she know, the mechanical bats were following her.
Ellie smirks at seeing what the bats are seeing on her tablet. "Heh heh...I see it too..." Her hair beginning to change. She turns to the Maid and Hood. "So how's outside looking?"
"Its not just inside. The fog is disappearing outside too." The Maid explains.
"Looks like the ghosts are all gone." Hood said with relief. She then notices something off about Ellie. "Wait...Ellie..."
"What?" The younger but determined girl raises her brow.
"You're uh...hair...its turning black..." Hood just said it.
Elizabeth blinks. Only to see her hair is all wait thanks to the ghost attack and the sprinklers. "Wait what?!" She notices that its come to the point where half of her hair is completely black and the other a little blonde.
The Maid would muse a bit. "Wait...so you dye your hair?"
In the vain attempt to sound cool, she simply smirked. "Oh wouldn't you like to know?"
Hood however is not registering it. "Um...I think its plain to see that you do..."
"Oh shut up dolt and follow me! I found where the Numbers are!" Elizabeth declares.
This brings Hood's mood up. "That's great! Come on! Lets get out of here!" She then carries her partner.
"Wait! No-!" Just then Hood transforms into a swirling blur as she uses her super speed to dash out of the room, leaving the Maid flabbergasted on what she just saw. But also glad she was alive.
The black blue goes through all the stairs downward and through the entrance in a matter of a second. Ellie would be dizzy from the experience. "Ugh...kuff! NEVER...do that...again..."
"Oh...sorry. heehee..." Hood would giggle a bit.
Just then they hear Minato and Mira going into their motorcycle. "Come on lets go!" Minato shouts.
"Okay I'm here!" She hops onto the seat with him and without hesitation, hugs onto his waist and rests her chin on his shoulder. This time Minato didn't mind at all. He revs his ride as they speed out towards the dam.
Elizabeth sees this and grits. "We can't fall behind! Lets go!"
"Right!" Hood nods as the two girls follows.
Back to Mira and Minato, they go through the dam, looking into their destination. Just then they see flying drones in their way. They look like they were hacked police drones. "What do we do?" Mira asked.
"Its fine." Minato bluntly said.
"Huh? But..." Mira shows worry on the danger in front of them, only for them to be easily shot down. "Wha?! A plasma rifle?!"
The blunette sneers. "Tch...didn't need your help..." He mutters.
Back at the hotel, Albert was on the roof, carrying said plasma rifle in hand as he sniped the drones from afar. "I know you like to go solo, but let me have this just once. After this its up to you." He said with a smile.
Downward, Elizabeth and Hood jump in their own car. "Its just as I thought! She had Kurodo's Notes!" One of the scientists that worked on the Numbers when it was new. "Are you ready Hood?" Being this close to their prize, she can't help but be excited.
"Always!" Hood replies with the same enthusiasm.
Ellie then calls Loser for the update. "Good news Papa, I know where it is!"
"It doesn't matter, I'm calling it off. We're retreating."
This confused the so called blonde. "Why?! It's almost ours!"
"Because of the Beast of Grendel. He has you on his sights..."
Ellie gasped, looking up to see Albert glaring at her with a smirk. Loser figured it out that he was here to find him all along. After seeing this, she just frowns in disappointment. "Tch...how boring...who cares about that guy..."
Outside the hotel, Makita watches. "I'm sure it'd be difficult to fight one of them. They are infamous for a reason..." But Makita has the eyes of Loser, revealing to be a holographic disguise.
With that, Ellie drives away, with Hood looking around. "Wait...we're leaving? But we didn't do anything yet!" She shouts in disappointment.
Albert watches them go. "Hm...looks like I've been caught. How unpleasant that I would team with Loser's little sidekick..."
Emerald looks to see this giant ice cube like solid shape standing in one corner. This defies all kinds of logic for her. "You have got to be kidding..." Looking closely to it, it looks like a girl in white and long blue hair holding onto the Numbered Coil on a device. The coil itself having the numbers 189. "Is that the coil?!" She wonders to herself. "Now how the hell am I going to get that out?" She thinks. "Damn...looks I need the Mistress after all...I can call her and..." She then felt a shiver in her spine, and its not the cold. She turns around to notice a ghostly man all in white, red blades coming out of his arms. He swings his blade towards her and she nearly dodges. "What the?!" She walks back in a panic.
Emerald aims her gun and starts shooting. But the bullets go through him. "Huh?! What are you?!" He dashes for another slash, but she quickly jumps out of the way and uses a grappling hook on her guns to dash towards a hiding spot. The man named Shiro Kamiki floats around all ghost like to find her. "Huh?! Where...am I?!" Kamiki notices Marisa has woken up. "Wh-Who are you...?! A ghost?! Are you...?!"
But Shiro looks unimpressed. He attacks with his blood blades as Marisa blocks, revealing Emerald was disguised as her. "How did you...?!"
"Did you really think you are the only one who knows how to do illusions?" He then raises his blade up. Emerald gasps, then he cuts her shoulder as blood sprays out. The force of the attack, sends Emerald through a wall. The killer ghost moves towards the broken wall and sees nothing but blood left behind. But no corpse. There was an edge of a huge fall to an abyss. He assumed she fell to her death. "Nothing will stand in my way of protecting my world..."
As he leaves though, Emerald was hanging onto the ledge, then goes back up. She felt her wound on her shoulder as she breathed heavily. There is no way she is going back there. She stood no chance. She would have been dead if it wasn't for her aura protecting her. Her life force that shields her. Despite that this world has people with no aura, she couldn't believe something like this can exist. She calls on her scroll and whispers silently. "...mistress...I need help...we need help..." She knows Mercury could be in danger and hopes they can get out of this unexpectedly dire situation.
Just outside, Minato and Mira approaches the whirlpool. "So let me get this straight, Shijuro Sakaki was killed by his young version which was his old name Shiro Kamiki?"
"Yes. He told me so himself..." Mira confirms. "He only exists now in the world that was stored in Dimension W by the Numbers."
The blunette growls. "...this ghost think he can mess with us...but I got his number...I'll make him pay..."
Mira never seen Minato this angry before. It is rather concerning. "Minato...there is something you should know. What was stored isn't just an event in the past. Its a possibility. The one where Kamiki's friends didn't die. Cause in that world, he managed to save them..." She makes the distinction, trying to make Minato understand what is really going on. It doesn't temper his silent rage though. He then jumps to the whirlpool, Mira braces herself as the two dive down, and once find water below, Minato thinks carefully and uses his grappling hook to shoot towards the ceiling and swings their way towards a wall and smashes their way there. Two of them get off the cycle that reached its limit. "Well...looks like we made it..." Both him and Mira inspect the area. Its cold.
They then find the square structure. "There! Inside the ice!" Mira points to it. And also there, the Killer Ghost Shiro Kamiki.
"Well if it isn't Mr. Ghost himself." Minato mutters. "Or should I say...Shijuro's memories given life." He coldly called him.
"You got that from her, didn't you?" Shiro turns to Mira. "Being able to travel between two worlds so easily...no one else could do that without losing themselves. You are quite the special one..." He compliments Mira.
She lets out a small smile, a little prideful of her accomplishment. "I had to give it my all to do it..."
Just then, Minato would startle her once he brings out his sword and block Mira's way, protecting her. "This secret place seems to have been used for generators for a later date. But once everything went down, it would be perfect to hide that." He explains. "Am I right?"
Shiro hummed. "You know your stuff. There is some things you weren't aware of."
Arisato squints, knowing he is right. "What was the relationship with your real self?"
"We were worried for the coil being targeted by anyone with ill intentions. We easily took his proposal to stay in this safe room. But we didn't know it was a trap, as he had no intention to help us..." He remembered the betrayal of Shijuro. "We can't freely appear in this world. And he took advantage of our weakness. Using cement to seal the entrance. Using the sound of the flowing water, we spent a long time slowly chipping away at the cement. It was ten days ago where we finally opened the tunnel toward the ground." That explains the hole that led to this location. "That was where I swore that I will take revenge on this world..."
Minato's grip on his hilt tightens. "Hmph...so you decided to take your frustrations on literally everyone not involve in your pain? Good grief..." He rolls his eyes on this guy's exaggeration. "That is if you can, being stuck in this one place."
"I discovered that this ice in particular can not only freeze people it also freezes the time of anyone who touches it." This shocks both Minato and Mira. Is such a thing possible? "And the more time we take from people of this world...the more our world expands...And we shall be free from our eternal prison."
The Collector grits, and points his sword towards the Killer Ghost. "Tch...you're not gonna hurt anyone else you murderous psychopath! You won't get away with this!"
His partner holds his arm before he jumps on him. "Minato wait! Look!" He turns to her with an angry look, only to soften once he notices a ghost materializes in front of them.
And focuses on Shiro in particular. It's Yoshiko. "Moringa?" He notices everyone is here too behind her. Mira continues to block Minato with her hand, as both look into this. She hopes this would solve the problem before things get worse. "And everyone...what is it?"
The psycho girl Mira met earlier seems rather more shy and timid now. Something in her mind that's making her this way, trying her best not to cry. "I-I heard...y-you were the one who opened the floodgates of the dam back then..."
Minato raises his brow. "Opened the floodgates?"
Mira explains. "It was said that the flood that killed everyone was due to bad weather and someone opening the dam up, allowing the water to drown everyone." That little detail was miss by both Minato and Albert. Mostly focused on the ghosts part, but not on how they became ghosts. They assumed the Numbered coil had something to do with it."
Yoshiko begins to tear up, despite being a ghost. "T-That was a lie...right? Please tell me...you'd never do that...would you?! Right?!" She shakes the unmoving Shiro, looking unemotional in her crying. That was enough to confirm their fears. The ghosts gather around him, asking for answers, as to why he would cause them their deaths.
Mira then walks up closer to him, undeterred and unafraid. "Please tell us Shiro. Tell us everything. Only then everyone will accept the truth. This is also for your own good." Minato watches, very much worried for Mira's safety.
Shiro watches all of his fellow ghosts and Mira's serious look. They all want answers. He also notices Minato really holding himself back from picking a fight with him. He then sighs. "Very well...I will tell you exactly what happened...that day..." He begins to relive that fateful day twenty years ago. The day everything changed.
Back then, two decades and a year ago. It was bright and sunny. The dam looked new and fresh. Everyone was working hard on this brand new dam, with Yoshiko very bright and youthful. She would hug Shiro as soon as he came in with his motorcycle. She always had feelings for him, although work would get in the way of her time with him. He would be told that his close friend Enamori was working on the Numbered coil. As soon as he entered the room engine room, he sees her already placing it. The truth is, Shiro had doubts this could work, but kept quiet, knowing how much this means to her. What this means for her village. "Well...looks like you started without me."
"Oh Shiro!" The girl in dark blue hair would wave to her friend. "You could have called!"
"And distract you on your important day? I couldn't." Shiro say, in a cool and calm manner with a bit of snark. He then notices her let arm is bandaged. "What happened? Why is your arm bandaged?"
She holds onto her bandaged arm. "Oh this? I just got a little cut." Trying to assure him.
"You should be more careful. You've always been such a klutz, ever since we were little." He would state his opinions.
Enamori decides to snark back. "And you always been a cry baby ever since we were little."
"Oh shut up..." Shiro didn't like that.
She didn't like that either. "You know, we have to work on your sense of humor!"
"Well you two are getting along well like a married couple." There was a plump but also thick man carrying a hand held camera looking at them through the lenses.
Enamori sighs to this. "Stop that Mr. Mizuni. You're supposed to be covering the coils, not us." She scolds him on peeping on her and her friend. He would just merely laugh it off as he leaves.
Shiro has a bad feeling about this guy. "Who's that guy?"
"Just some journalist. He says he's filming a report on the coil or something." Enamori responds positively. "I figured a little publicity can't hurt." Just as one of the staff asks Enamori to check on the power supply, Shiro was beginning to have all kinds of bad vibes in his mind. "What's wrong? Concerned about interference?
"I'm more worried about what the weather is going to do. I'm going to take a look." Kamaki walks off, slightly worrying Enamori but lets it go.
Shiro looked around the whole dam, trying to look for anything wrong. Then as he was observing, he notices two men walking by. He hides to hear what they are saying. "You think this is okay? Just charging the dam?"
"We're just letting a little water out, that's all. They'll run away, quick enough."
"And the siren will go off right? Who's on duty again?"
"Uh...Kato. Poor sap, wouldn't want to be him."
Shiro sneers, now having every right to be suspicious. He checks on his phone so he can warn everyone. But there's no service. "Tch!" He quickly goes to his motorcycle. "I gotta let them know." He speeds off to find Enamori. She has to know this. As he thought, a storm is coming. Both literal and metaphorical.
In one of the tool rooms of the village, Enamori is in danger. Her shoulder piece of her dress gets ripped out as Mizuni grins deviously. "I can't believe you'd think we'd broadcast a report on coils. It's a damn good thing you're pretty sweetheart!"
"Please just leave me alone..." The young lady begs.
The man continues. "Don't you get it? An infinite energy supply would cause a lot of people a lot of problems." She tries to escape, but he blocks her exit. "You can't just go solving the energy crisis over night. That's not the way things work!" He then grabs her neck and slams her on the ground, chocking her. He grins even wider, enjoying tormenting and overpowering her. With a very unsavory grin on his face, enjoying taking his time on taking her life. "This report is never going to be seen! That was decided before I even got here! Now give up already!"
She tries to shake her way out of his grip, but he's too strong. She frantically moves her free hand to grab whatever she can reach. She felt a handle. She didn't care what it was she grabbed, she instinctively swung it. "Let...GO!" PLURK!
Eventually Shiro makes it to the tool house, only to see Enamori crawling her way out of it. "No!" He checks on her. "Are you okay?! Tell me what happened!"
He notices her completely drained, devoid of emotion after the traumatizing event that just happened minutes ago. "It's...too horrible...I can't take it..." She then lets it out. "Kamiki...I KILLED SOMEONE!" It was at that moment where the storm finally approached with thunder, rain, and heavy wind.
Inside the tool house, Shiro looks at the corpse of Mizuni. She grabbed a sickle, and stabbed it through his eye, killing him then and there. Kamiki deduced from what he seen in Enamori and how he tried to undress her, he deserved this. He goes to the crying Enamori with his hands gently on her arms. "You didn't do anything wrong. It was self-defense."
"But...he's dead!" She argues, feeling she commit an unforgivable sin.
As much as he would rather comfort his closest friend, they don't have time for this. "Listen to me! They plan to disrupt the dam upstream to drive everyone away!"
"Wha?!" She was caught off guard with that news.
Shiro continues, telling her to what to do. "You go and warn everyone to go to the hotel."
He helps her back on her feet. "Aren't you coming too?"
"First I have to deal with that." Glaring at the corpse. "Don't tell anyone what happened here."
She still doesn't feel comfortable leaving him like this when there is a dangerous storm out, and possible danger. "Kamiki!"
"There's no time for this!" Shiro shouts.
Understanding him loud and clear, she reluctantly runs away quickly. But not before stopping to see him one last time. "You have to escape quickly, okay...?" She runs off to help the people.
Shiro stood there. "I will..." With what little he said, there is so much in his mind. He figured out that those guys sabotaging was only meant to bring out a little water to scare them. But looking at the assaulter, he decides to change plans. He would drag him and throw him off a well, including his damn camera he keeps on carrying around. He figured to let the flood wash away the body so Enamori wouldn't be accused of murder. He would find a strong enough branch and pull it out of one of the forests trees, determined to protect her. At all cost.
Back with Enamori, she runs through hill. She tries to reach the others. "Once I warn everybody, I need to retrieve the coil!" Despite everything that happened to her, she knows what is at stake here. However, a slip up from her heel of her sandals and the wet ground, it all ends. "YAH!" She trips off the hill, rolling downward. "POWNK!" Her head hits a rock with a loud sound. Her body lies motionless, with her eyes completely void of light.
Shiro enters the control room of the dam. He slowly enters, with the man named Kato doing the dirty work. As he drinks his coffee, he sighs in regret, not enjoying this task. Although once he figured someone was in the same room with him, Shiro doesn't give him a chance to react as he swings the branch as hard as he can. Blood spraying the windows as Kato was killed instantly from the blow.
He then checks the controls. Kato didn't seem to finish the process of opening up the dam. So he finishes the process. As the alarms sound out, he would throw the branch away to the water, getting rid of the evidence. The flood begins, with the storm actually making it bigger than he thought. But he thinks its fine. The hotel up top the hills was created in case of floods like these happen. So as long as everyone was there, they will be safe. However...while he was driving towards the hotel, he notices noise. They were coming from one of the roofs of the buildings. They were cries for help. The people of the village, trapped in the roofs.
"Look! Is that Kamiki?!" "Go find help and get us out of here!" "Help Shiro! We're going to drown!" One of them was Yoshiko, fearing for her life.
Shiro's eyes widen in shock. "Why are they still down there?!" The people wasn't evacuated like he told Enamori. Then a horrible realization sets in. "Wears Enamori?!" He looks to the raging waters to where the engine room is. There he sees something floating there. It was her. Enamori...next to the Numbered Coil. Her body completely not moving and her eyes dead..."UHH!" He stood there in shock. Seeing her tearful eye one last time before her body completely submerges into the water...
At that moment...Shiro's whole time was frozen, and he was deep in his thoughts. Despite the feeling of time stuck in one moment, around him time is moving too fast. The water is reaching the peoples feet. "Should I try and save them, knowing I'll die too?! Should I run away and live?!" After seconds, he still stood still, in chaos of what he should do next. "What would she do...?"
Enamori's body submerge down to the cold dirty water along with the Numbered Coil, with the device on it, wrapping its wires on her body. They both sink together as one. Her sad eyes devoid of light. But somehow...someway...the Numbered Coil light would shine bright. Shining over the house it was in, the water rising up, and even the whole area and Shiro watches.
"It was hard to describe what happened next. There was no sound. Just a bright light. And the passage of time warped somehow. Then next thing I remembered, I thought I saved everyone..." Shiro would remember the memory of him reaching out for everyone. Including Yoshiko, who had barbwire stuck on her right arm and in pain. That agonizing time, fighting tooth and nail to make sure everyone made it out, while having Enamori's death fresh in his mind. "But that happened in a world that isn't real..."
Shiro would stand before everyone, revealed everything. The ghosts were shocked to hear the whole truth. That the flood was started because of him. "I'm...sorry..." He begins to cry red tears coming out of his eyes. "It was all my fault..." Just then, the icy fog begins to circle around him, scaring the ghosts. His arms then bursts out red blades coming out of his arms. "That is why...I will protect you and this world...No matter what it takes!" He then turns to a startled Mira and Minato. "This world maybe fake, but it doesn't matter! It's the only world we have, and I will protect it!"
Minato then watches as he leaps upward, raising his blade. "Blood...? No...its...rust?!" "The color red is too off to be blood. He seems to have not just absorbed the lakes water, but the rust in the dam itself?!" Realizing him coming towards him, Minato dodges in time, and rolls out of the way. He then parries with his broadsword, as both rust and metal clash. His rust was stronger than regular rust due to his aethereal form. But it was fine as he elbows the Killer Ghost's face, then kicks him on the chest. "Take that!" Shiro gets sent sliding. He then brings out a water bottle and pops it open. Dousing his whole body and sword with spring water. "Not so tough now that you can be touched! You're little psychotic episode ends!"
Shiro would recover fast and dashes towards his opponent. "That won't be enough...even if you break this body, I will come back brand new! You can't hurt my real body!"
Minato and Shiro continue to clash blades as they battle. Yoshiko watches this, feeling her bloodlust and insanity beginning to slip away, back to her normal self, now that she knew her pain and misery was due to Shiro's error. "Shiro! Please stop fighting! Don't cause more pain because of us!"
They clash again. Minato and Shiro face to face. "Can't you see your friends are telling you to stop?!" He tries to show that he is going too far. It's not just Yoshiko. The other victims are shouting at Shiro to stop.
"Shut up...you know nothing!"
"I know that your world is falling apart because of what you done!" Minato pushes back.
"Our world is stronger than you think!" Then Shiro pushes even harder as he disarms Minato. "They are made of Enamori's memories!" He takes a swing with Minato jumping back, then dodging another slash. "Her thoughts sustain us! Give form and life! We are immortal!" He summons two more blades on his right arm, and even throwing them towards the surprised Collector as he barely dodged those. He has Minato on the ropes, as he begins to get close to actually hitting him.
"That is incorrect!" Both stop fighting, hearing Mira's voice. They turn to see her standing on top of the cube holding the girl in white Enamori. Shiro was confused on how she can even touch the cube without it freezing her like it did so many before her. "Your world is not what you think!" She declares. "It is not made up by Enamori's thoughts or memories!" She then raises her fist up, charging her strongest punch.
"DON'T DO IT!" It was done. Mira punches the ice cube that froze that time and instant of Enamori, and in seconds, it completely cracks and shatters. But the only thing left was the device holding the Numbered Coil, and the image of Enamori holding it was shattered along with the cube. Mira quickly grabs the device and lands on her feet safely.
Minato watched in awe of his partner. "...Mira..."
Shiro on the other hand was in absolute shock of this sudden development. The coil was there but the girl he swore to protect was not? Even though he could see her clearly. "What the hell is going on?! Where is she?!"
Before she answers, Mira places her tail on the outlet of the device, now connected to it and the whole world Shiro belonged to. "The world you live in is another possibility Kamiki."
"My other...possibility?" He said in confusion.
"That's right. An alternate world where you saved your friends and grieved Enamori's death. A world that could have been."
"What are you...?"
"You believe she was dead. But Enamori is actually still alive." Mira would reveal the truth.
"You're lying..." He said in disbelief.
Mira continues. "You don't see it do you? What you saw on that cube was just an empty shell. The real Enamori is right behind you."
Shiro panickily turns around to see what she means. To his surprised, it was the young woman Emerald brought in. "No...that's Marisa!" Trying to keep up this fabrication he believed, shocked to even process what is going on. "That's my sister! It has to be!"
"No it isn't." Mira responds. "You spent so long believing Enamori was dead that you can't see what is right before your eyes."
"No! I defiantly saw her die!" He shouts out, remembering her lifeless body submerged to the water.
"At that point, she was very much close to death, but she was lucky to have been saved afterwards. Time might have stopped in your view, but in reality time moved on." The robot girl continues explaining. "On that day, the real Shiro decided to escape the scene. Coincidently, Professor Kuroda came to visit his student. He and Shiro came back to save as many lives Shiro left. Enamori just so happen to drift to their side, and Shiro saved her. Due to the fear of coils still on the peoples minds, they decided to make sure the public believed both Shiro Kamiki and Enamori Haruka also perished in the flooding to protect them from anyone else.
"It...can't be..." He felt everything he believed was spinning out of control.
"After everything died down, you visited her in the hospital. But she lost all her memories by then. The mole on her forehead and hair change was to make sure the secret was preserved."
"H-How did you know all this...?!"
Mira looks at Shiro with a serious look in her eyes. "I heard it from the other Enamori..."
"A-Another Enamori?!" He gasped.
"Due to your belief of her death in your world, it became your reality. As a result, the old memories Enamori lost became her own consciousness and would wonder in between your world and ours, watching everything that happened...until now." Shiro was shocked to hear more of this. He then turns around finally see the lady in white herself.
"I don't get it...why would Shij-why would the real me just destroy the coil then? Why trick us?! Its why we killed him!"
Minato finally speaks up. "He was you, you know. You would do anything to protect your friends didn't you? And even you have to admit that you were very flawed in that part."
Shiro was speechless. Unable to say anything in response. Mira would then talk softly now. "Look Kamiki, you should be able to see Enamori now." He turns back to see the lady more clearly now. "You're perception of her death had to be changed. That's why you couldn't see her before."
With that, Shiro walks closer to finally see her less ghost like and more familiar. Its like she hasn't changed a bit. Her light giving Kamiki back his original colors too. "Enamori..."
She smiles at the sight of him. "I can't believe it...I waited for so long...and now here you are..." She bursts out crying as she runs into his arms for a long waited hug.
"So its true...you really survived..." He would hold back his own tears, not wanting to go back to his cry baby phase when he was young.
"Yes I did! I couldn't do anything! I just watched while everyone suffered! I...I couldn't help anyone...!" Crying out her feelings.
Shiro would realize his errors and softly humbles himself. "...I'm so sorry...its all my fault...I thought I was doing it for your sake...but I only hurt you..."
"No that isn't not true! I mean...I not hurting now...I'm happy...because I'm finally with you again..."
"I caused so much pain...its time...to end this..." Shiro knows what must be done, as he, Enamori, and the other ghosts accept their fate.
Suddenly a humming sound can be heard, like an entire world is about to burst. "What's going on?" Minato asks, hearing this strange sound.
"The alternate world of Dimension W is converging with reality. When the Numbers go wild, they create cracks in Dimension W. Each crack in turn creates a copy of reality. And every world created holds their own possibility." Mira explains.
Minato would listen in carefully. Most saps in his mind would be very confused and lost on this. But to him, it sounded familiar. "Like a multiverse?"
"Not exactly. Copies usually disappear almost as soon as they are made. But in this case, the coil continued to function. So this world was able to remain." As soon as Mira said that, this gets Minato thinking about how worlds can be easily made and destroyed just like that. How easy it is by just a simple accident. Truly unfathomable power no human can really control.
The sound reaches its breaking point. But instead of an explosion, there was a bright heavenly light. Almost inviting the ghosts to their long rest they desired. "It looks like our time is up. This is goodbye." Shiro softly said to his love.
"Yes." Enamori said with a smile as well, feeling more complete now that she has closure. "I have to go back too."
The man known as Shiro Kamiki and Shijuro Sakaki would turn to Minato, his enemy minutes ago. "Can I ask you something?"
This was something he didn't expect. "Hm? What is it?"
"If I told you I seen heaven, would you believe me?" He said with a smirk.
Minato raises his brow. "I don't think so. Then again, I'm not the best person to have a say in the afterlife." He would give his honest opinion while Shiro is still in this realm.
"Is that so huh?" He would then close his eyes, readying the end. "I guess we'll see..." And like that, he disappears into the light. Possibly the most peaceful way to go out. If most people were so lucky Minato thought.
Outside, a huge beam of light could be seen outside the city, reaching the sky. A warm light. Mira smiles in the sight of this warm display. Minato looks up to see the light beaming the sky. "These people accepted the end a lot better than I expected..."
"Don't you know Minato?" Mira asks with a smile with in her face. "All of Shijuro's novels have one theme in common. It's 'decision and death.' One of his books has the main character was given a choice. But the protagonist never got to answer so the whole world moved on without his input. And in the end he regretted that moment. Its like how Shijuro kept the coil and his dead friends online, cause he regretted his choice to not save them..."
Minato thinks about her words. He wonders to himself if he can reach his own answers when his end comes. But then his deep thoughts would be interrupted once he takes a peak at Mira's tail still on the device. "So...that also works like that..."
"Huh?" Mira realizes what he is talking about quickly. "Wait...You're talking about my tail aren't you?! You know its important that I make sure there aren't consequences once the convergence is complete! And to prevent that I have to control it through my tail! Its embarrassing you know!" Mira said with her face blushing. "Stop looking!"
Arisato would nervously rub his head, looking away. "Tch...give me a break..." He would then notice 'Marisa' still there. Or the real Enamori posing as her. He slowly walks up to her and the book Emerald brought. He would take it in hopes to give it back to its owner. Hopefully to get some pay in compensation. But then he notices the sleeping Enamoari with tears in her eyes, and smiling. As cold as Minato can be, he can't help but whisper something to her. "...you're nightmare is over..."
Dawn breaks as Enamori waves goodbye to the two Collectors that helped her find peace. With Kuroda's book in hand. Ultimately Minato would give the book to her. It did belong to her technically. So it wouldn't feel right. "There was no sign of Albert or Ellie. Guess they both must have left already." Mira muses.
Minato sighs as he gets on the motorcycle. "That's good..." Not wanting anything to do with a potential rival or his annoying stalker.
"I still don't get why we're leaving when the case isn't completely solved."
"Its pretty closed to me." Minato brings out the smashed Numbered Coil.
Mira jolts. "EEEEEH?! You destroyed it?! After all the trouble collecting it?!"
"Yep. Crushed it under my boot. Something like this is far too dangerous to be left unchecked." He knows Loser will be annoyed by it.
"Oh...I guess so..." Mira would drop the topic.
But eventually, he decides to let this out. "Don't worry...I'll repay your pay somehow..."
"Huh?" Mira was unsure what he said completely. "What did you say?"
"I said hang on." Minato revs up the wheels and starts riding.
"Whoa!" Mira felt the speed almost pulled her off the cycle as the two head back to the hustle and bustle of Central 41. The police would drive past them, seemingly to ask some questions on the incident last night. Seemingly to get answers on who switched the water dispenser. As they drive back home, Mira would think to herself. "Hm. He's starting to be more nice to me." She would smile at that, remembering how worried he was once they reunited. But then frowned. "Still though...he's rather a mystery. Just who is he? How did he get so skilled for someone so young? And why work a job about coils if he is going to be so indifferent to them?" The duo ride back home.
Two detectives was interrogating the Maid who tagged with Elizabeth and Hood. She would reveal something that flew off everyone's consciousness. "Yes. I did what the voices told me to. I undid the water dispenser and replaced it with water from lake Yasogami." She looked down with squinting eyes with hints of anger. "I had to...for my Father...he was on duty in the dam control room twenty one years ago when it happened...all this time...he's been out there..." Revealing there was plenty of ghosts still linger from the past.
As she finishes, one of the detectives would walk off the room, saying he is taking a coffee break. But as soon as he walks out of the building, he goes to an alley where no one would find him. After looking around to see no one seeing him, he lets out a breath as smoke comes out of the detective. Eventually though, the detective turned out to be the woman in Auburn long hair and crimson eyes, Chelsea. "Hm...so in the end this incident started for the sake of revenge...these Numbered Coils...they're not joke..." She places her fingers on her chin, pondering about her boss and if searching for these Numbers are truly a good idea. Power is one thing. But this power...no human should have it. She can clearly seen that herself...
To be continued...
Well that's finally done. Hope you enjoyed this super early Halloween chapter! Share this if you really like this! And thanks for reading!