Disclaimer: I do not own Taimanin series.
Five Days Break - 08
Kotaro made a horizontal strike at another one and gasped for air after his katana did a clean cut over the creature's neck.
There was no end to them. They kept coming from the forest, they climbed up the cracks on the ground, they rose from under the debris of the collapsed buildings. Those things came from everywhere in sight. Were they here, hidden inside the houses and buildings this entire time!?
"This makes sixty two."
He's been counting. Those things moved in group and appeared in waves. At this rate, their numbers alone could overwhelm him if he didn't do something. His advantages were their slow speed and weak strength. Proven facts. Punches and kicks were actually enough to neutralize their movements. A single push of his shoulder would make them fall flat on the ground.
The wood creatures are similar to the ordinary zombies, the only difference here is they lacks the feral animal instincts. From his observation, they used grab and numbers to capture their target. Underneath that ashen, tree-liked appearance was nothing. They don't have internal organs. They could be made to simply be an exchangeable container for that old man to swap a new body whenever his current one broke down.
Slash!
Seventy!
Cut!
Ninety five!
Slash!
"Seriously, these things also make no sense the more you try to find out about it!"
Kotaro yelled as he was about to reach the three digit numbers. This huge amount of enemies demanded a change of plan!
Shooting a quick glance at Ingrid's direction, Kotaro could see dozen of bodies' parts scattered under her feet. Some places were even piling up. Her sword dance made quick work of the enemies. However, it didn't seem like her speed match with the old man's body swapping ability.
Before, there would usually be a short delay every time she successfully cut down the container. Slowly, the timing between each swap shortened. Another crack would appear at another container as soon as her strike connected him.
But now, he would make it and pop out from another vessel before Ingrid's attacks even lands at the old body. That man was steadily getting used to his new ability.
How did he do it? What was the mechanism behind that ability? Was it a technique or actually a function of that man's ashen body? He said he's finally casted away the mortal body and became himself, what did those words mean? What was the connection between the flower and the tree and that man's transformation?
Too many info are missing.
Kotaro quickly dodged a gust of fire spreading from the other side of the battle. Ingrid called forth her flame and applied it for a large scale attack. All the wood creatures she cut down were burned to a shred, groups of enemies not far from where she stood were wiped out effortlessly in a short time.
Crack!
Within the vicinity of that intense heat, a chill still grazed the back of Kotaro's neck. A crack appeared on the nearest humanoid creature, which was a few steps away from him.
Left eye widened and a pulse in his right. His mind rang an alarm and held up his katana as quickly as the man's arm shot out and tried to snatch the pouch containing the flower on his belt. The impact of Kotaro's blade pushed the arm backward. No cut visible on the hardened skin. Kotaro jumped back, guarding his belt. The old man fully climbed out the vessel.
"My flower. Give it back."
"And what next?" Kotaro retorted. "World domination?"
"Well, my birthright and the great tree deserve such as a self-aware achievement after waiting for a very, very long time."
He actually had that goal in the list!?
"You think we'll let that happen?"
"Do I look like I should concern about your opinion, young man?"
"Owner-san, what are you?"
"We? For a thousan-"
The man was cut off by a swipe of Ingrid's sword. Using her insane speed, she closed the distance in seconds and pierced the man through the brain. Well, Kotaro hoped she actually struck the spot.
"Appreciate for the distraction." Ingrid said.
Yes, that little conversation wasn't just a meaningless chit-chat mid fight.
"Is it over?" Kotaro carefully approached.
Ingrid withdrew the sword and the man slumped against the ground. The tremors stopped, and the rest of the wood creatures stood motionless on their tracks.
"It does looks like it." Ingrid concluded.
Exhausted, Kotaro sat down. Both shoulders loosened as he let out a heavy sigh.
"I'd never thought my vacation will turn out like this."
"You ought to use that time to improve yourself more."
"Hey, I worked hard to earn this."
"I supposed you did."
"…"
"…"
"No but?" Kotaro squinted his eye in suspicion.
"No. You managed to hold up well on your own against the enemies this time. Compared to Igawa Asagi, you still have a long way though."
Kotaro stared at her with a half-opened eye.
"Oh? So that's the next bar you established for my evaluation? Honestly Ingrid, I'm a hundred years too soon to even reach one percent of Asagi-sensei's strength. You'll be thoroughly disappointed if you keep expecting me to reach that high."
"That was a joke."
"….."
"….."
"Thought you were serious for a moment there."
"Except my last statement, yes."
Damn, her poker face got him good! And he was almost feeling honored for it, too! Temporary ally or not, demon or not, it wasn't like every day he got complimented by a Hell Knight!
"My gratitude! GIVE IT BACK!"
Kotaro dishearten screamed echoed to the night sky while Ingrid turned away to hide her chuckle.
In the end, they didn't know the full story of the lifeless old man who became delusional to the great tree's existence.
Half an hour had past since then and the body showed no sign of activity.
Kotaro had been trying to contact Gosha but the zero reception was starting to become another hurdle to cross. The only trail that led to the bus stop in the forest was blocked by the giant branch. And yeah, climbing it would be a hassle and trying to get pass the wall of ashen trees surrounding the forest won't be easy. Using Ingrid's flame to burn it down should be the last resort.
"Kiryu-san will have a field day if the Research Department decides to bring these creatures' corpses back to the lab for examination."
Gosha database didn't have any information about these wood creatures. The man and the great tree's true identity remained a mystery.
"Well, it's a good thing the inn didn't collapse during the earthquake. Ingrid, I'm going to head in there and grab my other gears. I brought a fly cam with me. We'll use it to search for a way out of here."
"Very well."
Ingrid decided to stay outside and keep her eyes on the lifeless body of the old man as Kotaro made his way inside the building, sword readied in case of unexpected developments. The interior looked even worst compared to before, parts of the ceiling had collapsed, desks and cabinet broke off the wall, the floor had a couple dents. The staircase led to the upper floor was ruined as one side of the wall leaned out, leaving only a narrowed hole to crouch over.
On the upper floor, aside from the cracked walls, the corridor was left untouched. Cobwebs falling all over the ground and it filled with dirt were nothing new. It was a clear path leading straight to his room. Kotaro shot a glance into one of the rooms which the door left detached from the wall. Familiar bodies of the wood creatures lied motionless just like the rest outside. There were four of them in different sizes. Were they originally the guests who used to live here? And through some unknown methods, they became like the way they are? Kotaro still have so many questions about this town.
In a hurry to grab his luggage, footsteps echoed in the hallway. As Kotaro was moving past a closing room, the doorknob made a click.
Pulse!
A jolt in Kotaro's right eye raised the alarm bell in his happened without a hint or sound or anything else that could help him prepare for the next worst case scenario in time. The door flew right off its frame by an insanely strong kick and smashed him straight to the wall, caused a small rift.
Kotaro couldn't hear anything at one side of his head while the ground came closer in his view. His mind went blank, his head felt numb. As his body finally hit the floor, something warm was dripping on the cheek and gradually gave the carpet a darkened color.
"I have to say. You and the lady sure gave me a heart attack back there. By the Great Ashen Tree, I was lucky enough that my consciousness transferred to another place a split second before her sword pierced the brain."
The old man's voice rang in his other ear. He grabbed Kotaro by the hair and lifted his head up.
"Oh! Your left eardrum is ruptured." The man nonchalantly commented.
"H….How…..?" Kotaro weakly glanced inside the room he just casually walked out, the blurry image in his vision soon became clear. "Another…..vessel…."
"Exactly, young man. That body which I chose to blossom myself belonged to a wretched rat who couldn't help himself by sniffing about our sacred deity. As soon as I found out the danger he posed to the Great Tree through the disgraceful acts, I persuaded him to become whole with us. But he rejected the offer. Out of pity, I forced my hands. But the Great Ashen Tree is very forgiving. His flesh, his blood and even his soul eventually became whole with our deity."
Those words sunk deeply. Kotaro couldn't bring himself to believe it. The wood creatures were formerly human!?
"I realized this body is such a fine addition to the Great Tree that I decided to keep it here and use in time of need. Turns out I was right in doing so. Now, take a good look at the bodysuit I'm wearing."
It wasn't just any body suit. It was an old standard design of a Taima bodysuit. That vessel he traded place used to be a Taimanin. Based on what he said, they were here for an intel gathering mission.
Ah. So that's why….
A town devoid of population. The envelope and the old postcard found in the box. The advertisement and the guide that told the location of this place.
Kotaro finally understood the reason why there was a letter mentioning a town that didn't exist anywhere on the world map in Fuuma Danjou's belonging. At one point, this was a mission assigned to the bastard old man, and he ditched it.
"How….many?" Gritting his teeth, Kotaro glared at the old man's smiling face. "How many became like this because of you?"
Eyes widened, the man looked at Kotaro like he just grew a second head.
"You must be insane asking that question, young man. How could I possibly remember the amount of lives devoted themselves to the Great Ashen Tree over a thousand year? Not only that, this world is foreign to me and our deity. We are not yet clear about the worshipping custom of this place. Thus, we applied ours."
The lifespan of that tree dated back to the ancient period!?
That explained everything. Why would Danjou keep an advertising envelope that served no purpose? The mission, the giant tree and this freaking menace of a monster before him are the reasons for it. Without knowing anything, Fuuma Kotaro walked right into that danger zone.
"Oh, why are you trembling? Are you afraid of the truth I've spoken?"
This is really bad.
That giant tree was an otherworldly existence on pair with the ancient demon tribes and the Old Gods. Gosha Village has to know about this. Asagi-sensei and the team need to know about this.
"Ingri-!" The man gripped Kotaro's mouth, stopped his scream for help. "HMM! HMM!"
In one push, he forced him to sit up right and pinned his head to the wall. Flower taken from the belt.
Kotaro didn't give in. The katana was right next to him, he swung at the old man's leg. The counterattack was in vain. The blade struck but couldn't cut through the hardened skin.
"You know it's futile. It's best you stop fighting back and offer yourself to the Great Tree. I'll be having this."
He plucked the remaining petals using his teeth and swallowed them all.
His feature took a drastic change. Wrinkles on the forehead were gone, muscles expanded, eyelids shifted wider. His appearance filled with youth as if his age had been reset. Now, smiling back at a struggling Kotaro was a man in his prime.
Kotaro kept kicking, throwing his fists everywhere in the face, chest, stomach and leg. Yet, it did nothing. The monster in human skin barely budged.
With a sigh, the man caught the wrist of the hand holding the katana and gave a tight squeeze. Kotaro whined a soundless voice, his hand let go of the sword.
"I admire your spirit, young man. Now that I pay attention, you have a similar smell to this body. One of a kind perhaps. Still, as far as I can see, you are pretty weak in comparison."
The man picked up the sword and raised it to their faces' level, staring at his reflection while Kotaro smashed his fist and feet against the floor many time over.
"Hm. I'm not a blacksmith but I can tell this is a good sword. Must be forged by an expert."
"Hm….In..hm."
"What? You're trying to say something? Do not scream now, dealing with that lady's flame is troublesome."
The grip around Kotaro's mouth loosened. Left eye stared straight into the man's, shaking hand pointed at the ears.
"Ingrid…..has good hearing."
"?"
Immediately, Dark Flame rose from the lower floor and rushed up the staircase.
"I see. This is what all that nonsensical kicks and punches to the floor are about."
During the struggle, Kotaro constantly created sounds to get Ingrid's attention. All that big noises would make her suspect She would recognize that as a sign.
A series of movements occurred above the ceiling. Using her longsword, Ingrid hacked open the roof and glared down at the two figures.
"This is where you are next, huh. I see you've undergone some physical changes."
"I had what I needed. The next thing to do is asserting our existences in this world and make everyone join us." Still gripping Kotaro tightly by the head, the man tossed him to the side like a child passed over a toy to make places for the new one. "I'll convince you later, young man. Just spend some time to think about what I said."
"Fuuma, take cover."
Trying! Kotaro gathered himself and dashed into the room before another wave of Ingrid's flame engulfed the hallway. No time to spare, he threw opened the luggage and poured everything to the floor. He got the fly cam, the batteries, the tape and the controller.
Fire began spreading into the room. Kotaro hurriedly took out his phone, turned on video recording. Then, he switched out the batteries, turned on the auto-pilot mode and wrapped the controller with his phone attached to the body of the fly cam. Propellers began spinning, all set!
Blending in the bright light from the flame, a bloody red circle appeared high above the sky. Ingrid was about to use her magic. That wasn't a good sign. This meant her opponent managed to make her fight seriously.
Kotaro climbed up the roof through a big hole and released the fly cam. While ascending, the camera on his phone captured a battle at another side of the building. The man was guarding himself against the many barrages of Ingrid's piercing attack. The Taima bodysuit torn at various places with cuts and wounds. However, the expression on the man's face didn't change in the slightest.
Ingrid noticed the assault didn't work, she jumped back. One arm raised over her head, she started the last chanting spell for the magic circle.
"Ingrid, keep at it and don't turn back!"
Kotaro pulled the safety pin of a stun grenade and threw it to the air.
Bang!
Once it exploded right behind Ingrid, blazing light stole visions of those who looked. The man did just that, he covered his face in panic.
Finally, Ingrid brought down her arm. Red shockwaves with a burning aura shot out from within the magic circle and struck the enemy.
After the first hit, he was still standing in the middle of a big dent. Arms raised up in the nick of time to protect his head. The Taima body suit completely reduced to nothing, yet that body he swapped to endured the powerful strike.
But Ingrid wasn't done yet.
Another hot shockwave torn the air, longer and stronger. Parts of the roof crashed, brought down the enemy along with it. The loud roar of such magic echoed non-stop in Kotaro's other ear. It continued to break down a side of the building structure until a hollow crater was made deep beneath the earth.
Though, Kotaro doubted it would be enough to stop him. The man was persistent to the point it's utterly terrifying.
"That should keep him busy for a while." Even Ingrid was aware of that.
She turned to Kotaro, frowning a bit.
"That previous distraction was not needed. He was already within the range of my magic. You could have saved the flashbang for later opportunities."
"I still have some other equipment used for distraction. Anyway, winning this battle is not possible, Ingrid. We have to retreat."
"Hm." She smirked. Her confidence was showing. "Not possible? It doesn't matter how many time he could swap bodies or gain back a youthful look. His strength is no match to me."
"That thing!" Kotaro exclaimed. "That thing is sneaky and malevolent to the bone. Both him and that tree are not from this world, Ingrid. There's no way you can expect to keep the upper hand in a fight against those beings. If you haven't gone all out, then so does he. This whole town, no, the entire forest around the tree is his territory and we haven't seen everything about his ability."
"I believe it's simply an elaborate trick to intimidate us. You seem to have fell for it."
Sigh.
Her boast strength rarely fought an equal opponent. That was why she underestimated their enemy this time.
"The wounds and fatigues are taking a toll on your emotion, Fuuma. It would be best that you go on ahead."
"You're telling me to leave you behind?"
"What's the matter? Knowing who I am, you're still concerned about me?"
Kotaro was speechless. Should he be prepared to take on another one of her witty jokes right after saying yes? Get off the high horse, you dark-skinned demonic woman!
"Fine…..fine. Either way, I set up the flycam to record the situation. After three minutes, it will fly off to the south. The bus station should be in that direction, batteries will last six hours top before it stops working. By that time, somebody should be able to come across it. I left a note in my phone, that'll help others to pick up the situation quickly."
"I see. You thought this through. However, that would be unnecessary once I end this battle."
"I hope you're right."
Pulse!
An itch emerged in his mind. A jolt in the closing right eye made Kotaro keep his guard up, sword out and ready to counter an expected comeback. Ingrid also noticed something and shifted her focus to the darkness inside the crevice below.
And then…
The second coming of tremors hit them. After a calming silence, it came back, stronger than the last. More giant branches rose from the earth. Small houses and buildings lifted to the air and destroyed by the drop. The inn was no exception.
"Uwak!"
Kotaro slipped off as the roof under his feet collapsed.
The rush of adrenaline reached its peak in his head. Maybe it was due to that, the left eye perceived everything in slow motion. As Kotaro's head was halfway turning over his shoulder, he saw Ingrid trying to reach out her hand. She would be able to catch him by the collar within a few inches.
But like a cruel twist of fate, something else also happened.
From the crevice, projectiles launched towards them at great speed. They were sharp pieces of wood log. Ingrid's reflex responded faster than her rational thought, the arm reaching out momentarily flinched for a second as she fenced off the ambush.
She was a split second from catching him. Her hand gripped the empty air as Kotaro was falling, facing the darkness of the big hole. Two dots from a pair of eyes lit up and stared back at him, the man continued to show that menacingly happy smile on his face.
Kotaro planted a firm grip on his katana the moment that monster showed his forming fists. He was about to attack. By no mean the weight of gravity would outclass the monstrous power the man placed in his jump, Kotaro would take the change to parry his fist. If he couldn't dodge midair then this was the only option. Body did a semi spin and sword raised above the head just as a straight jab was thrown, Kotaro swung the blade with everything he got.
And…..
And…..
And…..
Crack!
He failed.
That one straight punch, with the kind of power went beyond Kotaro's limit, snapped the katana in half. Its path continued on without a definite stop. It won't stop, the man had no intention of doing so.
It found the gap between the broken sword and a shell-shocked face driven by the awful revelation. Kotaro didn't manage to grit his teeth to endure or twist his neck to absorb the impact in time. Steel-like knuckles connected his right cheek and pushed forward.
The pain came in full-force. Hot and intense, it felt like a little bit of the skin on his swollen cheek was torn off. His head violently recoiled backward. Bone crushed and the brain took a massive jolt of a momentum. He caught a clear view of Ingrid's baffled look before the vision turned blurry, moonlight's bright color mixed with red. Drops of blood littered the air. Did they leak from his nose? Was it the mouth? Kotaro did feel a rusty taste at the tip of his tongue.
"FUUMA!"
Half of the hearing sense already crippled, Kotaro picked up her shout with his other ear. What should he do? He was far from her reach. That punch literally knocked the air out of his lung, and his strength was gone in resignation.
Kotaro began to register the pitch-black darkness behind him as he kept falling deep to the bottom of the world. Ingrid's voice has been muted by the unavoidable clash between her and the ashen monster.
Oyakata-sama, here is today's lunch box.
Huh. Why did Tokiko's voice pop up in his head now of all the timing?
Fuuma-kun, can I ask your help for another paperwork?
Baka Fuuma! Stop spamming the same skill! Pick a different character!
Fuuma, when will you finally man up and hold a maiden's hand!?
Kotaro, wanna….eat together?
I expect you to hit the gym at six. Don't be late.
Fuuma-chan, come eat ice cream with me!
Kotaro felt he reached the end of the line with others' voices echoing in his consciousness.
…..
…...
Damn it.
…
….
"I'm sorry everyone, I might not be able to come back for real this time."
….
…..
Closing his eye, a heavy drowsiness drifted Kotaro to sleep.
/
[?]
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Hey...
...
You probably won't recall this unless it's absolutely necessary.
...
I seriously hope it won't come to the day this suggestion activates from the depth of your mind.
…..
But if you can hear this voice, I guess something really bad happened on your side.
…..
Thanks to you, I received the closure I've never thought possible. I was able to learn many things about everyone and our Gosha Village.
…..
So, in time of need, when you're weighted down by the most dreadful feelings. Our conversation on that day will repeat again as a reminder.
…..
To be able to do that, planting a suggestion to the deepest part of your mind is the best way to go.
…
This is something like your consciousness opens the cabinet that contains the memory when the conditions are meet instead of your own thoughts.
….
You'll realize this part of the memory was locked away, not erased. Because of our messy circumstance, your natural path of learning was disrupted.
…..
You occasionally felt that jolt behind your right eyelid, right? That's proof of the abnormal gap of accumulated experience inserting itself into your ability. By that, I meant real experience. But it wasn't suppose to happen to you. It should have never existed in the first place, I'm sorry.
…..
I chose the former because I couldn't afford to take it away from you and act like nothing happened. Even though there is the risk of it affecting your latent potential, it's still a value experience you and I shared.
…...
You have the motivation to move forward and prove yourself as a capable Taimanin. I understand that feeling too well. So I don't think there will be any negative effect on your part if you keep that up.
….
Also, striving to become stronger without the need of an Evil Eye is a difficult thing to do. I realized that when you told me.
…..
In case you've already stopped clinging to the hope that something would change about your right eye, totally understandable. Winning a battle using only your wit is a really cool feat to pull!
…
But hey, if you are the Captain of a team, you gotta have to use everything available in your arsenal to help everyone get back safely and not just completing the mission, right? Asagi-sensei and the others won't be around every single mission.
…
Getting a head start one or two times to get the feel won't make a big different compared to awaken the Art on your own and use it. It feels like I'm helping you cheating fate. Hope you won't feel letdown because this may not be your ideal way of reaching a milestone.
….
Still, it's okay if this can help you get out of the worst case scenario. The suggestion only activates once. After that, it's up to you.
….
You'll be hearing our last conversation before things turn back to normal.
…
It appears as a short chit-chat between friends and makes no sense due to your locked memory. Regardless, these are my piece of advice and words of encouragement to you.
...
Good luck, Kotaro.
/
Author's Note: Feel like the story is leading up to a big reveal of something while it's getting more action with Ingrid and Kotaro working together. Compared to the events from the game, I think I've made the situation exceptionally cruel to Kotaro in this story. I was struggling with a writer block for a pretty long time due to the direction of the plot. But now that it's sorted out, I think I can continue this story with more updates.
Let me know what you think of the chemistry between Kotaro and Ingrid in this story.
Thank you for reading. Take care!