Perspective : Nobiyuki Susumu
Location : Ibuki's Base
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Hnn~
Ibuki rests Ai's head on a futon. I reach for a blanket and hand it to him.
"Thanks."
"No. I should be thanking you. You had to let her sleep here...and I made you get involved with all that earlier.."
He pats my back with a smile.
"It's fine! You guys are welcome here all the time. It gets lonely here anyway."
As he covers Ai with a blanket, something on his waist begins to glow blue.
An Armament?
In a flash, something humanoid takes shape. Could it be...His angel?
"Ah. What happened?"
"I'm back."
Where did he go?
"I see."
He was a tall man, with short and spiky black hair. He seemed to be wearing a white robe.
"So? What news could you get?"
"It seems to be bad news. Lately, the demons have been talking of a new 'Demon Princess'."
Ibuki turns in surprise.
"Demon Princess?"
"Yes. And, they plan to pull this off in 6 days."
He rubs his forehead, looking desperate.
"This isn't good..."
"What do you mean?"
"Susumu. Your mother's power is also inside your sister...They plan to use that power inside her by reigning her the Demon Princess against her own will."
"But, can't the Special Forces do something...?"
"They can, but..."
But...?
"The situation has become drastic....I didn't think it would get to this...The Special Forces are doing everything they can. But, it's going to be hard as hell to get through the Imperial Fractions."
"What?"
"Forces. Large forces of Lieutenant's fractions, specially trained to kill all outside forces on command."
...Is it hopeless...
He reaches into his pocket.
"We'll have to accelerate your growth...I need you to drink this."
He hands me a small white pill.
"Your body has already bonded with Ai's soul. Because of that, your body is massively strong now. But, if we're going to train you enough in less than 6 days, I need that strength enhanced."
"Eh? But, what does this pill do?"
"It's a special pill imbued with Reiki enhancing sigils. If you take it, your strength will permanently increase several times over."
I place the pill in my pocket.
"But, when am I supposed to take it..?"
He nods to his Angel.
"The pill takes no effect until you are in a weakened state. In this case, it's preferable that you take it when you sleep tonight. By then, you'll be ready for training tomorrow."
"I see.."
He laughs softly.
"That's right. I never introduced him to you."
His Angel waves towards me.
"I'm Ilberd. Pleasure to meet you."
I wave back to him.
"Nice to meet you."
I look at the clock. It's past noon.
"Ahhh. I forgot! Alice invited me to the amusement park today!"
I put on my black coat.
No way! I won't let Ren have it!
"Ah! She's awake!"
"Eh?"
I turn around. There was Ai, wide awake.
"Sorry. But, could you take care of her a bit?"
Ibuki examines Ai. He rubs his chin, as if lost in great thought.
"Hm."
Ai backed away nervously, glancing at me.
"Yeah. She's a demon, alright. But, she looks so innocent..."
He pats her head.
"I think we can trust her though!"
He gives a smile and holds out a hand to her.
"Hello! Nice to meet you! I'm Ibuki! Call me Sensei!"
She shakes his hand.
"Oji-chan."
"Eh!? Oji-chan? Hey! We definitely can't trust her!"
Ilberd coughs.
"But, you're thirty---"
"Shut up! I'm still not that old!"
Ai stares in confusion.
"Well....I think it's something to feel honored about, Ibuki-san."
I nod.
"That's right, Sensei."
He looks away from Ai in embarrassment.
"Shut up, both of you. You know, you should really....Um.."
Ai tugs on his shirt.
"Oji-chan?"
"No no. It's Sensei. Sensei. I'm Susumu's Sensei too, remember?"
Ilberd coughs.
"But, Ibuki-san...You look fairly handsome for your age."
I nod.
"That's right. You're a very handsome Oji-chan."
"Shut up! Just...Just don't say anything. You know... You're making me look really bad."
Ai hugs Ibuki, like a child.
"Oji-chan!"
He covers his face with his palm.
"She really is a demon.."
Ai runs to me and hugs me.
As I blush, Ibuki exhales.
"Well, we should get going if we plan to get any information."
Ilberd nods in agreement.
"You're right. With such drastic situations, there's no telling what the Demons will try next."
Ibuki and Ilberd begin walking out the door.
"Come back tomorrow."
"Wh-Where are you going?"
Ilberd responds.
"To Enix."
"Enix?"
"Oh. Sorry, sorry. I guess you could say what Earth calls heaven?"
They extend out their hands together, and unanimously speak.
"Open."
As their palms glow white, a large white door appears and opens.
They continue walking inside.
Ibuki waves back at me.
"See you later."
The door closes behind them.
I let out a sigh. Ai looks at me curiously.
"I guess we should go then."
She nods.
I look at my hand, searching for Ren's Reiki.
It's not there...
"It looks like being too far from him weakens the Reiki I get from him."
Ai places her hand on my chest.
"It's okay."
"Hm?"
"I can.. give you my strength.."
I smile lightly.
"But, it isn't like we'll really need any today."
"Oh."
I head towards the outside, and open the door.
"We should get going soon."
She wraps her hand around mine.
Blushing intensely, I stare down at her.
She notices my gaze.
"What's wrong?"
"N-No. We can't really go like this."
"Why?"
"W-Well...If people see this, they'll think we're dating."
"Dating?"
I look around myself, too embarrassed to look directly at her.
That's right. I think this is her first day in this world.
"Well...Dating is when two people really like each other, and decide they should be together in a loving way."
She seems confused at my response. A frown suddenly appears on her small face.
"You don't love me?"
"I-I do!"
"Then there's no problem, right?"
"No, I mean..."
She smiles.
"Let's go then."
I didn't have time to really explain alot to her. Hopelessly, I let her keep holding it.
We begin walking towards the train station to depart for the theme park.
------------------------------------------------
At The Amusement Park
Still holding onto my hand, we walk towards the entrances.
"Luckily it isn't too crowded today."
"But, who are we looking for?"
"Just Ren and Alice."
We search around for the two.
"I don't see the---"
"Hey! Susumu!"
I see Ren approaching me.
"There's Ren."
"I haven't seen you all day. School felt empty without you."
"You mean that?"
He rubs through his hair.
"Really! Angels feel exhaustion if they're away from their wielders too long! We're practically synchronized!"
"Really? I don't feel any exhaustion.."
"Oh. Well, that's..."
He glances at Ai. Ai hides behind me, as if he were a scary man.
"... probably because she's the same with you."
"I see."
We stop exchanging words for a moment.
"Um, Susumu.."
"Yes?"
"About her.."
"Y-You forgot? She's Ai."
"No. I know that."
"What about her then?"
"Well.."
He points at my hand.
"You two are... dating already?"
To my embarrassment, I remembered my hand was still being held by Ai. I pull it away.
"N-No. This isn't what you think.."
"Not what I think?"
I really didn't feel like explaining everything...
"J-Just look at my memories in Soul Link later!"
"Fine~"
He looks towards Ai again.
"You don't have to be scared of me. I'm his Angel."
He reaches his hand out.
"Wakahisa Ren. Nice to meet you."
She looks at his hand, and shakes it.
"We're both his strengths, so let's get along."
She nods.
We look around, searching to see if Alice was arriving anywhere.
Ren turns to me.
"You do know only one of us can go, right?"
"I know."
"So.."
He stares at me.
"Wait. What are we going to do then?"
I look at him straight in the eyes, then look back at Ai.
"Hm.."
Annoyed, he looks away.
"You... didn't think this through, did you?"
"I-I was in a rush to get here!"
Ai tugs on Ren's shirt.
"It was my fault. He missed school because of me too. Please don't blame him."
His face blushes in delight.
"So cute."
As he pets her head, he gives me a thumbs up.
"You're excused this time."
"You weren't going to forgive me?"
As his hand moves away from her head, he looks around.
"I wonder how much longer she'll take."
I immediately notice her in the distance, and point towards her.
"She's there."
"Eh? You can see that far? That's amazing."
When did my vision become so vivid?
Ren grabs me by the shoulders, interrogating me.
"H-Hey. What are we supposed to do? There's only one ticket, and she'll be confused if she sees Ai."
Thinking quickly, I remember a perfect solution.
"Don't worry. I have an idea."
"What idea?"
I look at both of them once more.
"Eye Shift."
Ren looks at his hands.
"H-Hey! What kind of idea is this?"
"She won't see you two, and you can get in easily like that without paying."
Ai grabs me by the hand.
"Well, she can't be seen either, but you can take her with you and meet me inside. We can regroup there."
I notice Alice waving towards me. Cheerful as usual, she runs towards me.
"Nobiyuki-kun!"
As she approaches, Ren notices Ai still holding my hand.
"Say, we should head inside now."
Ai turns away, her grip getting noticeably tighter.
Ren backs away confused.
"Ai?"
Alice finally arrives to me.
"Hii! Nobiyuki-kun! Eh? So Ren couldn't make it after all?"
"No. He'll be inside. He got an extra ticket for himself."
Ren sighs in acceptance.
"I see."
Alice smiles.
"Then, let's get inside!"
Blushing, I nod and follow her as she walks to the entrance gates.
Just then, Ai tightens her grip, almost angrily. I stop my footsteps.
"A-Ai?"
I look into her eyes. Those eyes are full of anger...
She looked ready to attack almost anyone...
But, she didn't even look at me.
"Ai? What's wrong?"
Ren taps her shoulder.
"Ai?"
She continues to stare in the distance. I begin to notice she is staring intently at Alice.
"Don't go..."
"Eh?"
Alice waves towards me.
"Hey! Nobiyuki-kun! Hurry Hurry!"
I glance back at her.
"C-Coming!"
Ren notices her staring at Alice as well.
"Y-You know, she's a friend. What's wrong?"
I stare back into her eyes.
"Ai..."
She looks back into my eyes with a deadly serious glare.
"Don't go..."
I look at her once more, and slip my hand away.
"I don't understand. But, don't worry."
I walk towards Alice at the entrance gates.
Entering slowly, the people around me begin to fade...
-------------------------------------------------
Perspective : Wakahisa Ren
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Walking to the entrances, Ai violently grabs my arm.
"Ai?"
She's been acting strangely.
"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
She points at the entrance to the theme park.
"You don't see it?"
I search the area, but don't see anything. Slightly annoyed, I continue walking to the entrance.
"I-I don't understand what you're afraid of."
I take a step forward near the entrance. Before I could react, I sense something burn my foot.
"Wh-What?"
I back away quickly. As I look up, I finally realize what Ai meant.
How stupid I was to not see it earlier...
"A Dimension Sigil?"
"What's that?"
"A large scale sigil that surrounds a set area. It locks anyone who steps in the area. The area is completely non-existent to those without Reiki."
I scratch my head. But, why would there be such a sigil here? Was this a trap?
Ai drops to the ground, looking like she was about to cry.
"Susumu..."
Damn it. We can't enter.
I try punching the barrier, only to jump back from the force of it.
What's going on in there?
What can I do..?
"Ai! Can you focus your demon energy to destroy this sigil?"
She shakes her head, tears rushing down her face.
"I can't. It's too strong."
Anxiety overcomes me.
That's right. She may have black reiki, but they're just barely developing...
Just then, I had an idea.
"If I can find a sigil that can counter this one..."
She looks at me frightened, and points behind me.
I turn around, and see a familiar face.
"Hey.... Isn't that...?"
Black hair swirling in the wind.
A fox tail and ears...
The same person Susumu said he wanted to save...
Kotome..
"Why is she here..?"
She approaches closer, and suddenly speaks.
"Nobiyuki Susumu."
Damn. I have to do something...
I look down at my hands.
But, I can't exactly do anything as an Angel..
"Where is Nobiyuki Susumu?"
She approaches closer.
No way. I can't simply stand around and do nothing...
Ai is probably still too weak to defend against her.
I'm the only one who can do something...
I step forward, mustering whatever courage I could.
"He's not here."
She looks at me angrily.
"Not here? Don't tell me my information was wrong..."
Ai gets behind me.
I stand up straight.
"What are you here for?"
"What am I here for?"
She summons her armament. A dagger...
"Jin-sama told me he would plan to kill Nobiyuki Susumu. He was going to do it, but..."
Her dagger energizes with electricity.
"I didn't want anyone else to lay a finger on him. So I accepted it."
I chuckle.
"So you love him?"
"Love?"
Her chest glows a blue color. Her soul.
I was right. When Susumu tried to save her that day, not all of Jin's color was removed.
But, it saved a part of her inside somewhere..
"Nobiyuki Susumu!"
Ai hides closer behind me, frightened.
It might be too late...
Both her real soul and Jin's color are merging too closely. Her whole being is going out of control.
"Shut up! I'll kill you all! I'll kill you all!!"
Forgive me, Susumu...
But, it has to be done..
I place my palms on the ground, focusing some of my Reiki.
Lightning surrounds her body. Screaming in anger, her feet burst with lightning, her dagger ready to kill.
"Binding Sigil : Acyndinus Cage"
Light seeps from the ground, and stops her in her tracks. A giant cage, taller than any of us combined, forms around her. She is trapped inside.
"Don't screw with me!!!"
She punches the walls violently, but is unable to do anything.
Exhausted, I fall to one knee.
"No matter how strong one is, this cage can never be broken through."
I pant for breath.
I never liked using sigils so much. Too many uses exhausts one's whole being...
Ai tugs my shirt.
"Are you okay?"
I regain my energy, and stand back up.
"Yeah. I got really lucky there. She was so fast. If I used it even one second later, I would be in trouble."
Ai knocks on the cage.
"What do we do now?"
I look around, thinking.
What more can I do?
I feel my hand. I can't sense Susumu's Reiki anymore.
But, the biggest problem is that he isn't carrying any of my Reiki...
We need to get in there.
"Ren?"
Hm..
I pat Ai's shoulder.
"I have an idea."
I point to the Dimensional Sigil.
"Dimensional sigils are pretty notorious for keeping lower rank demons out since it erases any color in their soul."
I point to Kotome.
"And since she's a fragment with Jin's color..."
"I don't understand..."
That's right...She doesn't know Kotome was human...
"Well, in any case..."
I approach the Dimensional sigil.
Ai looks at me with great confusion.
"What are you doing?"
"Just trust me."
I reach my hand out to the ominous looking barrier.
Without hesitation, I lightly punch it.
As I expected, I'm knocked back quickly from the incredible force.
My hand is left with a slight smoke.
Ai runs up to me.
"Why?"
I shake off the smoke from my hand.
"It's like I thought."
Ai continues to look confused.
"When anything hits that thing, a small opening appears in the barrier."
"But, it knocks you away if you try to touch it."
My hand glows white.
"There's a way to counter that knockback."
"How?"
I glance at Kotome.
"It's extremely risky..."
Ai grabs my arm.
"I don't care."
"Eh?"
"I'll do anything..."
She seems really worried...
"Anything to make sure he's okay.."
Admittedly, I felt worried too. What was going on in there..? It's nerve wrecking to imagine something might have happened to him..
I look back towards Kotome.
"If we release her from that cage, I might just be able to get in from the small opening she creates if she hits it."
"But...that would mean..."
"Yeah... I'll need to stay behind since someone needs to force her against it somehow."
Black flames crawl from her arms.
"But...I can help..."
"No."
She stays silent.
"If anything, it's you Susumu needs the most right now. I just get the feeling."
She looks down.
"But, can Angels fight without a Divine Senshi?"
I spread out my wings.
"Don't worry.."
I extend my hand.
"I'm confident in my defensive abilities."
My palm glows with Reiki.
"Stilus."
Ai looks in surprise. Kotome continues to violently punch the cage walls.
"Angels are to protect their Divine Senshi, and so we're allowed an armament of our own."
My wings disappear, pouring all the remaining Reiki into the orb in my hand.
A glowing blue orb of energy.
I look down at it.
"Ah...I haven't used this...since I was with Misaki.."
Ai stares at them, slightly laughing.
"Wh-What?"
She covers her smile.
"No... I just thought maybe you would have had something cooler looking."
"Sh-Shut up! It took me years to develop this ability!"
She chuckles.
As embarrassing as it was, it was really a nice change to see her smile for once, even in a situation like this.
"So this is what we'll do."
She nods.
"I'll keep her busy as long as I can, but you need to stay far away enough so she doesn't hurt you."
I point to the Dimensional sigil.
"If I can manage to force her against that thing, you'll need to get in through the small opening as quick as possible."
She nods, glancing at the still rampaging Kotome.
I walk up to Kotome, placing my hand on the cage.
"Okay. I'm going to release it now."
She runs away, keeping her distance from us.
"Just what were you talking about over there!? Planning something?"
I smirk.
"Who knows."
I release the cage. It shatters instantly, like glass.
To my surprise, Kotome didn't attack immediately.
She stares at me.
"Heh? Releasing me even after i tried to kill you? What are you planning?"
"Planning?"
I hold out my fist to her.
"What planning? Come over here and fight me."
Silence surrounds us.
She doesn't say or do anything.
I smile.
"What's wrong? Are you scared you'll lose?"
She laughs maniacally.
"You? Fight me? You're kidding me, little Angel! And with that ridiculous armament? Hahahaha!"
I take a step back, keeping my stance.
"Oh well."
Her dagger electrifies.
"You asked for it!"
In a flash of lightning, she leaps toward me.
Slam!
"Gahhh!!!"
She flips herself before falling to the ground, staring in confusion.
"What the hell was that?"
I bounce the orb in my hand, like a ball.
"The moment you got close to me, I threw it at you."
I grasp the orb.
"Simple as that actually."
She touches her chest, seeming to still feel the impact.
Her hands crack in anger. She readies her dagger, running towards me.
"It won't happen a second time!"
As she approaches, I throw the orb towards her.
Her head dodges, as she continues running towards me.
"You're dea--"
Slam!
She is knocked back with great force, nearly landing on the Dimensional sigil.
So close!...
She staggers to her feet.
"What the hell....?"
I smirk, holding my hand to my hip.
"Did I mention I could throw more than one?"
She breathes heavily with frustration.
"Now..."
I tighten my grip on the orb.
"I know that isn't you, Makise Kotome. And I know all those memories and feelings Susumu had of you never existed, because you never existed to begin with."
"What?"
"Because that's a dead body and soul. And you demons wanted to kill the child of Misaki, didn't you?"
She lets out a chuckle.
I chuckle back.
"I may be pretty dumb."
The orb in my hand glows brighter.
"But, don't underestimate me."
She smiles.
"Amusing. How amusing! How did that tiny mind know all of that? Hahaha!"
More electricity trickles around her body violently.
"Too bad. I'm the only thing giving this soul and body any life."
"Then I'll destroy you with it."
I aim the orb at her.
Electricity continues to trickle around her.
"Bring it on, Angel!"
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To Be Continued