Chapter #21 – A Girl Awakens

The following events take place between 11 AM and 12 PM.

“Hey, is that for real?”

“Wow, what’s up with that?”

“Are they on crack or what?”

“Jesus, don’t they have anything better to do with their time?”

In the school grounds, a group of student in the middle of physical education looked up at the roof of the school, where four of their own – that is, students – stood waving a gigantic banner enthusiastically. Well, at least one of them was enthusiastic. The other three were a mixture of reluctance, annoyance and fear. The banner fluttered in the wind akin to the manner a limp corpse floated on a river, except that it was a banner, not a corpse, and that it was in the air, not on the water. So, in a way, it wasn’t really akin. Perhaps a more suitable way of putting it would have been totally unlike the manner a limp corpse floated on a river.

Chapter #20 – Mind Fuck to the Extreme

“So, tell me about your problems.”

An old and wise-looking man sat on the edge of his chair, looking at the young girl in front of him. The young girl might have been beautiful, but years of neglect had taken their turn on her. Her long blue hair covered up her entire face, writhing and moving about as if alive. Indeed, rather than hair, they seemed to be tendrils or tentacles. It was as if an alien had landed on the girl’s head and taken over her mind.

Yet, none of this unnerved the physician. He was old, and old people generally had loads and loads of experience in dealing with stuff. Hell, the old man was married, for God’s sake, and married people go through virtually hell. Dealing with a troubled young girl – weird living hair or not – was nothing compared to dealing with his bitch of a wife. The man fondly put a hand on his copy of Dr. Phil’s Therapy For Idiots and smiled. Ah, the book that had allowed him to get up to this point in life. He had read the book over and over, up to the point where he could pull out any line from the book at any time.

Chapter #19 – A Yaoi Fangirl’s Dream Come True

“Ugh…” A young man lay on a bed – or what might have passed for a bed, had it not been a fucking hammock – with a hand over his face. His face was wracked with pain, and a groan made its way through his lips. His other hand swung slightly back and forth from the side of the hammock, devoid of life. “I… I don’t think… I’m going to… make… it…”

“No! You have to get better!” Tears streaming from his eyes, a young man who knelt beside the hammock grabbed his tormented friend’s hand and clung onto it as if his life depended on it. The young man’s long silver hair shook as the young man trembled in sorrow, and he leaned over his friend. Looking at his friend’s face, he drew nearer and…

Chapter 18 – Never Gonna, Never Gonna

“So… the girl and her friends got away…” mused the Mysterious Unknown, drinking his cup of coffee as usual.

“Sorry, bossman. The dude, Q, got away, too.” Despite his words, Gambol did not seem very sorry. Indeed, his eyes were half-closed. It seemed as if he wasn’t even paying attention to his employer’s words. He had just returned from the abandoned warehouse, and marks from his fight with Q were evident. His clothes were tattered, there was a black spot under his eyes, a small amount of blood dyed his shoes and his hair…  his hair was fabulous.

“Ah, no matter. This Q, he does not matter in the long run. An insignificant pest. We shall be rid of him sooner or later, I suppose. If the girl was to be captured that easily, then there would be no fun in this business.” The Mysterious Unknown smiled in his mysteriously unknown way, though the dark lighting of the room kept Gambol from seeing said smile. “Besides, I’ve had my bit of fun. I truly wonder how those children will react to the small… ‘clue’ I given them…”

Gambol tilted his head to the side, mildly confused. However, this confusion was momentary – the man soon returned to his nonchalant, wearied and sleepy state.

The Mysterious Unknown continued to sip at his coffee.

Chapter 17 – You Got Trolled

“How could it be? How could Q have lost to these… whelps?” Rick stared at Q’s body with wide eyes, trembling in what might have been fear. It could have been rage, too. Or even a heart attack or a bouts of the trembling trembles. “After I came this far… I was nearly there!”

“Fortenra! That was awesome!” yelled Ismaru, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. “What was it?”

“T… that’s…” stammered Fortenra, a shocked expression on his face. Was the young man horrified by the extent of his true power? Or had he just murdered someone he knew? Or…

“What’s the matter, Fortenra?” Sensing something wrong, Aine (having reverted back from Opal) asked Fortenra, concern in her eyes.

“That’s fucking impossible! I didn’t do anything! The wire floated out of my hands, and I hadn’t even infused it with Decay or something! The fucker couldn’t have died from being TOUCHED by a strand of wire!” roared Fortenra, in disbelief and anger. “This is fucking bullshit!”

Chapter 16 – Cue, Q!

“Haaaa~h, how annoying.” A figure stood in front of the abandoned warehouse that was not truly abandoned, shaking his head in disbelief. The warehouse was surrounded by a great deal of corpses, a memento of Fortenra’s rage. The figure walked over the corpses with an expression of exasperation and exhaustion on his face, his eyes half-closed. Scratching his head, he stood in front of the door, apparently too lazy to open it with his hands. With a sigh, the man lifted his right leg a bit, and…

BLAM!

The door flew off his hinges, landing with a crash ten meters away. The man then stood there, just… standing. Perhaps he was thinking of the possible attacks that might come his way and was attempting to calculate the most efficient path. Perhaps he was analyzing the room in front of him and trying to find out what had happened inside. Or perhaps he was just too lazy to start walking forward.

The man’s vision blurred as he thought back to the incredibly complex series of events that had lead up to him being here…

Chapter 15 – Speed of Sound, Speed of Wind

“Aaaaahhhhh… how good it feels to be able to exist in this realm once more. The right to exist is a beautiful thing, is it not?” A being covered entirely in darkness, in shadows. A figure who, only a few minutes ago, had been known as Ismaru Windsoul. It looked down at the young man crumpled in front of it, battered, bruised and barely breathing, and chuckled menacingly. “Don’t tell me that you’ve already given up, my friend?”

“Uuuuuggggghhhhh….” Hirun struggled to bring himself up, but the weight of his wounds – whatever that meant – weighed too heavily on him. Plus, there was a foot on his back. A foot on the back often keeps a man from being able to get up, especially if it is applying pressure. Trying to expect someone with a foot applying pressure on his back to get up is very much like expecting an angry woman to stop being angry. Angry women are always angry. No one knows why. It is nature. It is a fact. It is a truth. It is as natural, factual and truthful as an angry woman.

Chapter 14 – My Love For You is Like a Truck

“TOOOAASSSTTTIIIIEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“FOOORRRTTEEENNNRRRRAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!”

“TTTTOOOOAAAASSSSTTTTTIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!”

“FFFFOOOOORRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTEEEEENNNNRRRRAAAA!!!!!!”

“TTTTOOOOO-”

“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SHUT UP YOU GOD DAMN BRATS!” Toastie and Fortenra were rudely jolted from their shouting by an annoyed Q, who had grown tired of their constant screaming. His eyes narrowed – though not that anyone noticed, due to the mask over his face and his hair over the mask – and man picked up a chair and threw it at Fortenra with force.

Chapter 13 – That’s Not What I Heard

Gasping for breath, Aine and Fortenra ran through a long hallway at top speed. Their faces flushed like two teenagers who had just finished a hot and steamy makeout session – not that they had finished a makeout session or even started one, for that matter – the two of them continued to run.

“Hah… hah… Fortenra… are you sure… this is the right thing… to do?”

Unlike Aine, Fortenra did not show any signs of being tired. Smiling slightly, he attempted to ease Aine’s concerns. “Don’t worry, Aine. Just keep going forward. I’m sure Ismaru would have wanted this.”

Chapter 12 – Burn! The Blazing Will of the Shinobi!

“Cause I’m going to show you the first of the Windsoul Shadow Style Ninjutsu… Yatagarasu!” With those words, Fortenra lifted his arms up the air and waved them wildly. “Kapow! Bam! BOOM!”

“…”

“Show me the first of the Windsoul Shadow Style Ninjutsu, my ass. All you’re doing is getting the crap beaten out of you. Like the last time.” His face twisted in a sneer of sorts, Fortenra watched his best friend fly across the room with a bloody nose, his arms across his chest. The young man sighed. “Ooh, look at me. I’m Ismaru. I’m a ninja. I’m going to reveal my super special awesome move. But, oh no, I can’t even lay a hand on my enemy. I was just posing. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Getting my hopes up like that, and then crushing it. You’re a terrible friend, Ismaru. A terrible, terrible friend. I was a fool for ever trusting in you. They told me you were no good! I’m too soft! I trust too easily!”

‘I think you’re the one who’s a terrible friend,’ thought Aine, but the timid girl did not dare voice her opinion. Because she was timid.. or something like that.