MITAKIHARA UNIVERSITY
Early November, 05:41 AM
A dim-lit winter morning
Hirosuke wakes up early and checks his clock. “What... It's not even 6 yet?”, he stands up and heads to the bathroom then after a while, heads back to his bunk, however, had seemed to accidentally wake up Sayaka due to flushing the toilet earlier.
Sayaka: “Nnhhn... What are you doing...?”
Hirosuke: “I went to the restroom. Apologies for waking you up, it wasn't my intention.”
Sayaka: “No problem...”, she yawns, “What time is it...?”
Hirosuke: “About 5:44 am.”
Sayaka: “Shit... Nnnhhhnn...”
Hirosuke steps back into the bottom bunk and goes to check some Social Media on his smartphone.
Meanwhile, Kyouko wakes up as well. She scratches her head and grumbles. “Argh... Hirosuke, thanks for waking up the neighborhood again. I swear you're like a-”, she abruptly yawned, “-lumbering bear when you get out of bed... How are you even up so early...?
“Sorry, I didn't intend to wake you all up. I must indeed be the clumsy one when it's early.”, Hirosuke scratches the back of his head, “I guess I just couldn't sleep anymore… Sometimes that just happens.”
By this point, Saburo had also woken up and slides down the bunk before heading for the bathroom.
A minute later, the splashing of water came through beyond the locked toilet door.
Kyouko: “GODDAMNIT! Saburo, you better make sure you hurry your ass if you don't want to get the bad side of me!”
Hirosuke: “Calm, calm... Keep it down. The entire building is still asleep.”
Sayaka laughs, “Who did you just call a lumbering bear, Kyouko?”
Kyouko: “Damnit you two... I'll get you guys one day!”, she reaches out to her salty coffee sticks and takes a hand full before munching them about while lying down against her pillow.
6:15 am
They walked down the corridors of the school, only a few other students were in the hallways.
Mainly those early-morning try hard types, but they were probably up for various reasons.
Kyouko: “Maa... Sayaka, c'mon... Let's go to the cafeteria! I'm staaarrrving!”, she moans while clinging to Sayaka's shoulder as if she could pass out any minute.
Hirosuke: “You know what... As I was the one to disturb you guys in your sleep, the breakfast is on me.”
Kyouko: “Yeeeaaah! Can we order anything?”
Hirosuke: “Anything.”
Kyouko: “Oh yes! Hmm... What shall I take... Tomato soup with footlong beef steak or…? Shall I try that one weird pancake thing they usually serve? Sayaka, help me out here will ya-!?”
Sayaka: “Easy on it, you're going to overdo yourself!”, she laughs.
Hirosuke: “Let's go then.”
Saburo: “You guys go. I've got my own.”
Kyouko: “Wai-wai-wait... What?! Did you just say… No!? No to free food?! What are you, a faggot?!”
Saburo: “Well, yea… I just don't want to… Y’know… And that's none of your business.”
Kyouko: “What did you say you little-”
Hirosuke: “Behave.”
Both Sayaka and Kyouko seemed shocked as Hirosuke never usually appears strict.
Hirosuke: “Look, if the guy doesn't want to? Then he doesn't want to! That ain't any of our business!”
Kyouko: “Ah well, more for us then, right?”
They then walk on to the cafeteria, separating from Saburo.
The three of them sat down at an empty table, while Saburo was seen sitting at the next table over. Kyouko was already munching on a footlong with a large bowl of tomato soup right next to it. Sayaka sat with a plate of eggs and toast, glancing disapprovingly at Kyouko as if all the ravenous eating soured her appetite.
Sayaka: “Make sure to chew.”, she taps Kyouko’s shoulder.
Kyouko began to cough, seemingly choking, “Oi! Don't startle me like that! I nearly got deepthroated to death by that!”
Hirosuke, on the other hand, was having a bowl of ramen with a footlong grilled cheesesteak.
Hirosuke: “Damn, Kyouko. How can a human make such a sound even?”
Kyouko: “Hey, a girl's gotta eat. At least you can eat a healthy portion unlike miss toothpick over here!” She glanced disapprovingly at Sayaka's plate before sneering at her.
Sayaka: “Hey! Now that was unnecessary. After all, you eat a mountain of food but you've barely grown past a stick figure! Not that you'd want to be weighed down by all those burgers anyway. Of course, referring to the other day when Kyouko downed two triple cheeseburgers with a large bowl of rice.”
Kyouko: “Huh!? What was that!? And there she goes again...”
After a short while, Saburo stands up to tidy his food tray before heading out of the cafeteria.
Kyouko: “What's that guy's problem? He’s been behaving all antisocial lately!”
Sayaka: “Yeah, he does kinda start to creep me out as well… Can we boot him out of our dorm?”
Kyouko: “Do you know anything about him, Hirosuke?”, she asks before taking another bite on her footlong.
Hirosuke: “All I know is that he's from Osaka, a son from some industrial magnet.”
Kyouko: “Oh, so he's rich like you…?”
Hirosuke: “I mean, he doesn't look like he is… And even if he is, his parents must've been insanely strict on him.”
Sayaka: “Either way, he's creepy so why don’t we just force him to leave our dorm, like said?”
Kyouko: “I’m down with that idea, what about you? Hirosuke?”
Sayaka: “Slow down for a bit… I still want to know what his problem is… Should we find out?”
Hirosuke: “I wouldn't be a fan of diving into someone's life story, but I mean, he is a weird pal.”
8:09 am
Male Student 1: “Hey, it's Katasuke. Man, what's that guy up to? He's the guy who skipped class yesterday.”
Female Student 1: “Isn’t he the guy who recently aced the midterm exams earlier this year?”
Male Student 2: “I hear he's quite sporadic when it comes to showing up. And most of the time when he is here, he's snoozing out. I remember that got him oof’d by the pranksters a couple of times.”
Male Student 3: “Damn, let's keep away from him lest he brings down my flow.”
Katasuke walks into the classroom before being halted by the teacher, Tanaka-sensei.
Tanaka-sensei: “Katasuke-kun, I need to have a word with you.”
Katasuke scratches his eye before looking up at her, “Sure… You can have a bunch if you’d like.”
12:03pm
Katasuke sits down at a lunch table, resting on his elbow while slouching over his food, a bowl of hot ramen. He eats while glancing down at his phone, which showed text messages of his sister, texting away at how she was upset seeing him get scolded by the teacher. A second later, she appears through the cafeteria’s main entrance and comes running up to sit down by the table, her face filled with disappointment.
Katasuke: “Oh hey, Kazuna.”
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Suddenly, back at the college… A loud yelling is heard!
Hirosuke instantly stands up and runs towards the source.
Sayaka: “What the hell are you doing?!”
Saburo has a large cut present on his arm.
“Argh-!? Well, I was making my food until you came around to jump scare me!”
Hirosuke comes running around the corner, “Saburo, what are you doing?!”
Sayaka looks at Hirosuke with shocked eyes. “He tried to throw a knife at me!”
Hirosuke: “Wait what?!”
Saburo: “No! I tried to make my food, cut the tomatoes, but then she came in, and startled me! So I cut myself in the process, holding the knife up!”
Sayaka: “Don't try to hide it now! When I came in as I heard rummaging noises, he threatened to "remove" me from the room if I didn't ‘get lost’.”
Hirosuke: “Saburo, are you out of your mind?!”
Saburo: “No! Believe me, please Hirosuke! She's the one lying, not me!”
Hirosuke: “Well, if she is the one that’s lying then what are you doing in the cooking classroom when you’re not in their club or authorized to be here, to begin with?!”
Saburo: “Uhh…”, he pauses while clutching onto his wounded arm, “They aren't allowed here either!”
Hirosuke: “Listen… Because she seemed to have heard you, she came to look... So, drop that knife.”
Saburo: “NO! SHE'S LYING!”
Hirosuke steps up and grabs Saburo's wrist with fierce strength.
“Aaahh! What are you-”
Hirosuke: “Don’t make me repeat myself, drop that knife… NOW.”
Saburo drops the knife, but it heads for Hirosuke's right foot in which he merely reflexively kicks it away.
Hirosuke: “Come with me. We’re all going to the principal.”
Meanwhile, a small crowd gathered at the door to the cooking classroom, including the senior class mentor, Mrs. Hikari.
Mrs. Hikari: “What is going on here?!”
Hirosuke: “We can explain this at the principal’s office. Follow us if you’d like… It’s a long story it seems.”
As Hirosuke is one of the school's moral committee wardens, his side-job is to make sure students behave during their time off on campus property so he has the full authority to drag Saburo to the principal’s office himself. However, as Mrs. Hikari is his mentor, she wants to hear the story as well.
Principal Yamamoto's Office.
Mr. Yamamoto: “So, you're saying he tried to throw a knife at you...?”
Sayaka: “Yes sir.”
Mr. Yamamoto: “Hmm... So, what about that wound of yours, Michishio-kun?”
Saburo: “I already told you the story, sir! I tried to cut the tomatoes and Miki-san jump scared me, sir!”
Mr. Yamamoto: “Right... Do you have anything to fill it in, Akashi-kun?”
Hirosuke: “All I have is that Miki-san's scream alerted me… She never screams like that in public so I went in to check and found the entire situation like that, sir… I have nothing else to say.”
Mr. Yamamoto: “Okay. First of all, Michishio-kun, you shall be suspended three days for violating the school's regulations of trespassing classrooms and disturbing of public order after you've finished getting your medical check from the infirmary, of course… Also, your homework will be issued by Mrs. Hikari shortly! We don't want to see this kind of behavior again! Lastly, Miki-kun, for trespassing classrooms you shall also be expelled for one day, however, as Akashi-kun was explaining the situation, your punishment ends there! And as for Akashi-kun of the moral committee, excellent work, as always!”
Hirosuke bows, “Thank you, sir… If it wasn't for Miki-san's scream, I wouldn’t’ve found out… Please, allow me to share a part of her punishment and reduce the time by half!”
Mr. Yamamoto: “Always the forgiving type, aren't you, Akashi-kun... As all of you are roommates, I will have to beg to differ to that request…”
Hirosuke: “Understood... Again, my sincerest apologies for the trouble.”
They all then stand up, bow, and walk out of the office to head back to the auditorium.
Sayaka: “Thanks for... y' know... Trying taking the heat off of me...”
Hirosuke: “Don’t expect the next time though.”
Sayaka: “Mmh...? What do you mean?”
Hirosuke: “I could've ended up getting a scolding for arguing with principal Yamamoto.”
Sayaka: “I'm sorry... But I told you Saburo was up to something-”
Hirosuke: “You did... And now I see why... It seems we got a lot more trouble coming up the shitter…”
Sayaka: “What about your foot though? Isn't it bleeding?”
Hirosuke: “What do you mean...?”
Sayaka: “The knife, didn't it fall on your right foot?”
Hirosuke: “Oh, yeah... Well, I don't feel it so must've just grazed my shoe.”
Sayaka: “Hmm... I'd still have that checked though... Just to be… Sure...?”
Hirosuke: “We'll be done at 15:00 anyway… I might stop by the infirmary if it’s something serious when we’re heading back towards the dorm. Hey, it can't be anything too bad.”
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Kazuna: “Hey Katasuke! I can't believe you'd just not show up at class again like that, don't you care about your education-!?”, she hits him on the head with a rolled-up newspaper.
Katasuke: “Hey, hey! Knock it off! I still aced the test! I don't need to sit through that crap anyway!”, he then takes the newspaper away from her hand and holds it from her.
Kazuna: “That's good, but everyone is starting to think badly of you! Haven't you listened to anyone? If you keep this up who knows what will happen!? What if you become a target of social harassment?!”
Katasuke: “It doesn't matter! What people think and what the reality of the situation is are two completely different things… Anyway, how goes?”
Kazuna made a disapproving face but decided to let go of it, “Nothing out of the ordinary, which isn't a good thing in your case…”, she takes out a bento box from her bag and sets it down next to him before starting to eat without hesitation.
Katasuke: “Yeah... But it's not like I'm failing.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Kazuna: “It's that kind of attitude that I don't like about you, brother… You should always aim for the top!”, she stuffs her face with a bite of rice.
Katasuke: “Aim for the top, huh…?”, he says while looking out the window at the tallest skyscraper, “I suppose some people get a kick out of that… But not me!”, he then proceeds to slurp his ramen.
Kazuna: “But you wanted to become an engineer, right? Those who slack off make oversights that can be dangerous! That's why you should be more aware of your studies!”
Katasuke nods slightly, “You're entirely right, Kazuna… I'd be up to no good without a sister like you!”
Kazuna: “Then… If I'm right… Why do you keep snoozing in class-!?”
Katasuke: “It's my prone-to-sleep condition, I can't help it…”
???: “Prone-to-sleep, huh? Why don't you take another nap while we send you to a hospital’s bed?”
Katasuke immediately looked back, seeing a group of three boys walking up behind him.
A few hours later, back in the main college lecture hall.
Mrs. Hikari: “...So that's the summary of this chapter! Any questions? No? Good. The assignment has to be delivered by next week… You all already know where to leave them.”
The bell then rings, signaling the end of the long study period.
“Alright, 15:00! Have a nice weekend! See all of you on Monday!
Hirosuke grabs his stuff and politely waits until most of the students left the classroom.
Kyouko: “Yosh, Hirosuke! You got plans for the weekend?”
Hirosuke: “Plans? Not really… You know me, I'll just end up where ever the wind takes me.”
Kyouko: “Always the mysterious type, huh... What about you come over to my apartment with me and Sayaka? We can hang around, chill… Uhh, play games, or somethin’.”
Hirosuke: “Sure, sounds like fun… Why not.”
Kyouko: “Yeah! I always thought you'd be the awkward silent type, but after we got to know you, you're pretty chill!”
Sayaka: “That aside… How did your foot look?”
Hirosuke: “Ah, it wasn't much of note. Just a graze.”
Sayaka looks worried, but can't make anything out of his facial expression that indicates he's lying.
Sayaka thinks, “A graze? That can't be. The knife was stuck in his shoe when he kicked it out... Unless he was wearing boots, which he wasn't so that knife must've gone through... What's up with him…?”
After a short while, they head back to the dorm to grab their stuff for the weekend, lock the door, and head towards the exit.
Kyouko: “It sure is cold today... Damn!”
Sayaka looks worried at Kyouko, in which she acknowledges the expression.
Kyouko: “You guys go ahead, I've forgotten something… I'll meet you guys at the station.”
She runs off back into the main hall.
Hirosuke: “Oh well...”
“She's chaotic like always...”, Sayaka laughs faintly... A hint of concern in her voice.
Kazuna sheepishly walked out of school, nervously shifting around her bag with her hands.
Katasuke: Thanks for keeping it undercover, and sorry you had to go through that.
Kazuna sniffled a bit before hugging him, “I was scared but…! What if you get expelled-!? Those guys are probably going to spread this all over the place, you know!”
Katasuke headpats Kazuna, “It'll be fine… As long as they know what's good for them!” he winks before they both walk down the stairs and out of the school.
They then eventually left the school grounds and began walking down the street.
Kazuna: “But are you? I somehow doubt that.”
Katasuke: “If there's one thing I won't do, it's leaving you alone at school while I get kicked out to roam the streets and dumpster dive. And if there's one thing I know, it's how to find my way through tough situations.”
They walk along in silence a bit more.
Kazuna: “Are you trying, Katasuke?”
Katasuke: “Yeah, of course, I am… Just maybe not taking it too seriously as of yet.”
Kazuna: “Oh… Then I guess I'm just worrying too much.”
Katasuke: “Yeah… It'll all be fine, don’t trouble yourself.”
Kazuna: “You say that, but- Huh…?”
Katasuke: “Hm? What's wrong?”
Kazuna: “This… Everything is... Changing...!?”
In Kazuna's eyes, they weren't walking down the street from Mitakihara High anymore.
The path had twisted and mangled as if the buildings were made of some kind of stretchable material.
Katasuke: “...What do you mean?” He said tensely while holding her back as if to protect her.
Kazuna: “O-Over there…”, she pointed down the empty street, much to Katasuke’s wonder as her voice trembles, “Wh-What… What are those things…”
-----------------------------------------
Along the route, Sayaka seems to look around with a face of worry.
Hirosuke: “What's up?”
Sayaka: “Hm? Oh, uh… Nothing, really...”, she smiles while scratching the back of her head.
Hirosuke: “You better be honest to me... I'm not retarded.”
Sayaka: “Ehh... I mean... It's a very long story...”
Hirosuke looks back and senses that something isn't in order.
“Do what you want, but I'm headed back to look for Kyouko!”, he suddenly turns around and runs off.
Sayaka: “Hirosuke! Wait...! Damnit!”, she then begins running after him as well.
--------------------------------
Katasuke: “Kazuna, what do you see-!?”
Kazuna shakingly steps back behind him as she points over.
Katasuke looks where Kazuna is looking but still sees nothing.
“Come on, let’s get out of here then!”, he grabs Kazuna’s hand and runs with her down an alleyway.
Kazuna: “W-Wait! Don't run that way-”
All of a sudden, a piercing heat shot along Katasuke's left arm, sending a horrible, sharp pain through it. When he looked down, all he could see was his bloody arm without any indication of where the attack came from.
“Shit, hold on!”, he grips Kazuna's hand tighter and pulls her through the alleyway, dashing in between dumpsters and the stairway entrances of the crammed together townhouse buildings.
Out of nowhere, the stone and concrete of the surrounding buildings fly out with clouds of dust and debris as if they were being hit by high-caliber rounds or semi-explosives.
“What the hell is going on-!?”, he ducks down with Kazuna to avoid an explosion as they run on.
“T-There's some strange tall people following us… They’re shooting lasers at us!”
Katasuke looks back again but sees nothing except flying pebbles and dust clouds where those lasers had probably impacted, “What do you mean-!? There's nothing there, I can’t see anyone there!”
They then find themselves trapped with walls of concrete on all sides.
It was finally a dead end, with nowhere left to hide.
“K-Katasuke, they’re coming closer!!”, Kazuna screamed in terror as Katasuke stepped up to shield her, preparing for the worst with his partially burnt left arm.
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In the meantime, Kyouko has found the monster’s manifestation and started taking her on.
These manifestations were called ‘Wraiths’ and are the embodiment of negative emotions.
Kyouko: “Well damn, aren't you an ugly one... HYAAA!”
She starts her attack, just when Hirosuke comes running in.
Hirosuke: “Kyouko...?! What the hell-”
She looks over her shoulder.
“Hirosuke, why are you back here-”
Due to not paying attention, the monster smacks her left waist which in return flings her form into a building before rebound it back to the ground… She screams in pain while trying to get back up.
Hirosuke: “What... Are you...?! And… What is that?!”
Kyouko: “Ahh… Just shut up and move your ass out of here, I can’t guarantee your safety right now!”
Hirosuke: “And then?! Let you get torn apart by that thing?!”
Kyouko finally gets back up as she heals some of her injuries before being able to stand straight again.
“It's what we Magical Girls do... I'll explain later... Just don't get your ass in the way of my fight!”
Hirosuke looks on as the fight resumes while trying to find something that he can utilize as a weapon.
--------------------------------
Standing around them all are giant, cloaked figures with glitching faces, bearing down on them with laser beams from their fingers. Although the only one who couldn't see it all was Katasuke.
The wall in the background collapses out of an alleyway as Hirosuke notices Katasuke and Kazuna.
“You two, get out of that alleyway, now! Go! Go!”
Katasuke quickly dashes out of the alleyway with an unconscious Kazuna in his arms.
Meanwhile, Kyouko gets slammed into the ground again after missing a thrust with her spear.
Kyouko: “Damn...it... Hirosuke... Why are you... still here...?!”
Hirosuke: “Kyouko! You alright?!”
Kyouko: “Do I look like... I'm alright...?!”
Hirosuke quickly grabs a chunk of debris from the collapsed wall before running over, “Can you fight?”
Kyouko: “What are you… Planning... This time…?”
Hirosuke: “Yes or no?! Can you still fight?! Answer me!”
Kyouko: “Yes...! But what about it-!?”
Hirosuke grabs Kyouko's arm and lifts her back up on her feet.
“I got a plan… I'll distract that thing while you take it on.”
Kyouko: “You're crazy...!”
Hirosuke: “Crazy, but not retarded... Go!”
He then begins running to the other side of the street.
Hirosuke: “Hey! Dollface! I know it's a bit early for Christmas presents, but you're on the list!”
He throws the piece of debris at the Wraith’s face which draws its attention.
Hirosuke then grabs a metal pipe hanging off a broken chain-link fence and swings it around wildly.
Despite the metal fence pipe still being stuck to the ground and about 2 meters in length, Hirosuke was surprised that he was able to hold such a heavy and unwieldy object but decided not to question it.
“Come on then! Here I am!”
Kyouko looks in awe for a moment then comes back to realize what she came here for.
She gets back up and continues to prepare for fighting again.
Katasuke rested Kazuna now on the other side of the street, “Oi, Kazuna, are you okay? Kazuna! Stay with me now, I'm not going to lose you here-”
At that moment, without his realization, one of the wraiths raises its hand to fire off a laser at them but was intercepted when its hand was suddenly cut off and sent flying into the air.
Sayaka leaps in front of the two and covers herself in her cloak, before bursting out of it with a flurry of flying sabers which slashed through any wraith brave enough to not run away, “Pick on somebody your size, glitch face!”
Katasuke looks at her with awe, but he seems to have a bit of doubt, “Who… What are you!?”
Sayaka looks back in surprise of her own "Wait, you were still awake? U-uh...well, don't worry… I'm just here to-”, she abruptly cut off her sentence to deflect one of the wraiths’ lasers with her blades, “-protect innocent people from evil…!"
Katasuke looks over to see Hirosuke and Kyouko, “Hey, they're fighting something over there too…”
“Sayaka! To your right!”, Hirosuke throws another rock towards a Wraith standing on a ledge which topples its balance and causes it to fall, “Take that, big ugly fat fuck!”, before proceeding to taunt the wraiths.
Kyouko leaps over and slashes down another to Hirosuke's left.
Kyouko: “Not bad at all, for a rookie!”, she grins while leaning on Hirosuke's shoulder before patting his back with the shaft of her spear. She then goes on to leap upwards and kill an entire row on the rooftop.
Hirosuke then looks over at Katasuke, Kazuna’s, and Sayaka’s direction, “Hey! You guys alright?!”
Katasuke: “Yeah, for the most part!”, his arm is still obviously burned, “But what's going on here?”
Hirosuke: “I barely know myself... Those two girls have some explaining to do later… What about that wound though?”, he points to Katasuke’s arm.
Katasuke: “I'm fine, I just want to get my sister out of here.” He hints towards Kazuna on his lap.
Hirosuke runs over and crouches down to take a closer look, “Did she get hurt? What happened?”
Katasuke: “She's fine, just lost consciousness.”
Hirosuke glances over his shoulder towards Sayaka and Kyouko who had formed up to fight.
“It seems those two can handle it... Let us just stay out of harm’s way for the time being…”
The moment he said that, as if it was a jinx, Sayaka came flying backward, almost crashing into them.
She screams in pain as she slams against a building wall.
Her spine would've surely been broken if she wasn't a magical girl.
Kyouko: “What the-!”
“Sayaka! You alright?!”, Hirosuke runs towards her without any hesitation in the face of danger.
A wraith with a mass of spinning polygons rotating in a circle with a monstrous-looking face on the front and three triangles enclosed by a ring that spun around at different velocities began to accelerate itself towards them as it launched seemingly invisible gusts of air with enough force to send a car flying.
Kyouko: “What the hell!? I've never seen a wraith that looks like this, what's going on!? Argh!”
She quickly put up a barrier of lattices to shield herself from the attack before leaping away.
“Well shit... Come on, get you back on your feet now... You hurt bad?”, Hirosuke helps Sayaka up.
Sayaka: “A bit, but it's not too bad... I can still fight.”
Hirosuke turns around and looks shocked upon seeing the Wraith slowly advancing towards them.
“What in the world is that...?!”
Sayaka: “I have no idea… It’s some sort of abnormal wraith… But it needs to go down fast!”
Katasuke: “Wait… Wraiths? Is this some kind of evil spirit? What is this...!?
Kyouko: “Sayaka!”, she warns out before beginning to channel magic.
“Gotcha!”, in return, Sayaka rushes forward and pulls out more swords from her cloak to throw them.
Hirosuke quickly scuttles over towards the Katasuke who was still dumbfounded.
“We can’t go too far in case a wraith appears so let’s find a place to hide you and your sister for now…”
Katasuke: “Yeah, but what about you…?”
Hirosuke: “At least I can see them… I’ll do something to help… Probably…”
They then all see that the smaller Wraiths’ lasers were all nullified by Kyouko's barrier.
Hirosuke then stops to think for a second... Before facing Katasuke once again.
“I've got a plan…”, he grabs tight onto the metal pipe he was holding and stands back up.
“What...?”
“You see that elevated crossing platform over there?”, he points to about 500m down the street.
“Got it… I’ll try my best to get there.”
Hirosuke: “Okay, but we have to go fast, at least you have to get your sister over there… Can you keep up a sprint of that length with her on your shoulder?”, Hirosuke seems hesitant, “Just making sure… Since if we're too slow, those wraiths will notice us.”
Katasuke: “Don't worry, I can make it.”
Hirosuke: “Perfect. Okay, I'll count down, and then we'll run as fast as we can on my mark… Alright... Three, two, one... GO! GO! GO!”
The two then start sprinting while holding Kazuna in their arms… After a few long seconds of running, they make their way up towards the broken stairway leading up to the elevated road-crossing platform.
Hirosuke lowers Kazuna down alongside Katasuke before running back down.
“Let’s leave and hide her up here for now!”
“What am I supposed to do then? Hide here with her?”, Katasuke shouts from the elevated platform as he watches Hirosuke run back towards the fight Kyouko and Sayaka were still having.
“Amikomi Kekkai!” The red lattices Kyouko used before appears again in a circle before the wraith, but this time with Sayaka's sabers passing through them and gaining lattice chains attached to the back of them… The chained swords all fly forward to tangle around the wraith and restrict its movements.
“Bingo-dayo!”, she and Kyouko clasp hands for a moment then Kyouko's spear ignites with a fiery flame.
"This is the end! HAAAHHHH!!", Kyouko trusts forth with her flaming spear and launched into the air at high speed before crashing down to piercing through the wraith from directly above.
In all ended with an extremely large and fiery explosion that swallowed the street.
Katasuke who was ways off, 500m away and safe upon the elevated crossing looks at them in awe.
Hirosuke who ran up to the edge of the fire flinched, “Damn... Is the battle over...?!”
Sayaka: “Nice one Kyouko…! Wait, It's still alive-!?”
The wraith broke free from the chains, and repelled Kyouko back, although it did appear to be damaged by her earlier attack with some of the triangles ceasing to spin.
It launches forth a barrage of air blasts which forces Sayaka and Kyouko to take evasive maneuvers.
Kyouko: "Damn-!?", she extends her spear to launch herself off the wall to avoid the blast
Sayaka: "Also, where did those two go off to, Hirosuke-?!"
Hirosuke: “They’re safe on the elevated crossing down the street!”
Sayaka: “Wait, then why are you here…!?”
Hirosuke looks a bit unsure as he watches he dodge another wind attack “Well, I thought I could help…”
The wraith eventually began backing off, slowing fading back into the collapsed alleyway.
A wraith crept up to Hirosuke and shot its lasers, barely missing him as it instead scrapes the road.
“How dare you, creeping up on me like that... The manners...!” he jabs the Wraith in its foot with the metal pipe, which then caused it to fall over and make a growling noise of pain.
“There are only a few things I genuinely hate in this world…. One of them being "individuals" who break someone else’s privacy…!”
He jumps up and leaps onto the Wraith to impale it straight through the chest.
The Wraith then growls its last before disintegrating on the spot.
Kyouko: “Wait... did he just...?!”
After Hirosuke defeated the wraith, all the other weaker wraiths cowardly fucked off.
Upon losing the big wraith's back up, the others seemed to have given up the fight.
And along with it, the labyrinth they were all caught in began to fade away.
The buildings and streets around them returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
Sayaka: “Tsk. It ran away.”
Kyouko: “Wanna go after it?”
Sayaka: “No, we'd better go check on Hirosuke. He probably got himself messed up pulling that stunt.”
“What was that right now…? What did you just do?”, Katasuke looked at Hirosuke as if he was crazy… Talking to himself before swinging around the metal pipe to stab the ground and all…
Hirosuke sighs and looks around him to check for any more wraiths before dropping the 2m metal pipe.
“My apologies... I haven't even been able to introduce myself... The name's Hirosuke Akashi, a moral committee warden at Mitakihara University… I'm used to dealing with tough situations, however, this one required a far-fetched piece of my instinct and physical ability...”
He then abruptly flinches and falls on his back.
Hirosuke then quickly unties his shoe only to see his entire sock covered in dark red blood.
“Shit... The wound must've opened up again after I did that leap attack...”
As the tough-guy he strives to be, Hirosuke tries to get up but fails.
Katasuke: “You'd better take it easy. I think those wraith things have left already. Also, the name's Katasuke Nakamori. And that’s my sister Kazuna we saved. Nice meeting you.”
He then rushes down the elevated crossing and reaches out with a hand to help him back up.
Hirosuke takes his hand and stands upon his left foot while Kyouko appears to takes his other shoulder.
“Now what the Hell was that? We could've easily handled it ourselves...”
She looks away with a moderate pout.
Hirosuke: “Yes, I know that. Thank you, nonetheless... Both of you.”, he then smiles faintly.
Kyouko: “Hmph... So, ya really should get that foot of yours checked. I've got some bandages at my place. What even happened? Did it hit you...?”
Hirosuke: “No... Heh, long story... Sayaka and I will explain it along the way.”, he then looks back at the elevated crossing, “How's your sister doing though?”
Katasuke: “Ah wait! I’ll bring her over here…”
A few seconds later, Katasuke comes running down the elevated walkway with Kazuna sleeping in his arms. They all smile while looking down to hear her snoozing away... She's sleeping just like a baby.
Sayaka: “I guess that's case closed then. Why don't we head to Kyouko's place and talk this over? I'm sure you're all shocked about it…”
Hirosuke: “Yeah... You two got some explaining to do...”
Katasuke: “Count me in… I at least should know how to avoid those wraiths or whatever again”
Kyouko looks down to check her box of pocky only to find it empty.
“Shit, empty. Jaa, then let's stop for food at the convenience store along the way!”
Katasuke: “You guys sure seem carefree for some superhero types…”
Hirosuke sighs and rubs the back of his head. “Let’s just get something to snack at the train station.”
--------------------------------------
The perspective shifts to a lecture hall somewhere in Mitakihara.
"I would like to thank Mr. Kurozawa for his enlightening speech on thermodynamics. Next, is a speaker coming from America? The writer of the best-selling novel, "The Green Men Underground". Today he's come to give a speech on the existence of extraterrestrial phenomena in his home country's rural south. If you all would give a warm welcome to Mr. Graham Beckham!"
He stepped onto the stage to receive short applause from the vast audience.
Graham Beckham: "Yes, thank you, thank you. It's a pleasure to hold this presentation for you all in this beautiful oriental country. I just went to see the Mitakihara Shrine, and I was enamored by its exotic beauty. I must say, it's a fascinating place with great significance in its spiritual history. It's places like these that convinced me to venture towards Japan to find out what spirits had taken residence here and what their differences are to those in my country back overseas."
Interviewer: “Mr. Beckham, you’ve specialized in ghost hunting? Could you tell me more about yourself?”
Graham Beckham: “Well, I wouldn't call it 'Ghost Hunting' per se, but connecting with spirits on the astral plane… Yes… I've been investigating paranormal phenomena for over ten full years now.”
"Juu-nenkan? Sugoii..." (Ten Years? Amazing…)
The crowd murmurs.
Interviewer: “Connecting with spirits? Can you tell us about some of your encounters, Mr. Beckham?”
Graham Beckham: Gladly! So, one of my oldest encounters with spirits was when I was a child… There used to be lots of paranormal activity in my childhood home… These ‘spirits’, so to say, would feast on the human life essence and drained people of it which causes all kinds of negative things like depression, possession, and suicidal thoughts… I experienced many of these things firsthand and what it has solidified my belief in the supernatural... I believe these things exist here as well...”
Interviewer: “Have you ever considered going further with investigating this anomaly you mentioned?”
Graham Beckham: “Actually, I already have.”, he takes out a USB-stick looking device and points it at the presentation screen behind him. The screen then switches to what appears to be a video presentation, “The reason I came here to make this speech wasn't only to talk about my own experiences with the supernatural but to also present everyone my findings of supernatural activity in this country as well... I believe this would be a much better way to connect our understandings of these so-called ‘anomalies’ because it is hard to find words suitable to describe them… So, Instead… Please take a look at this video and decide what you believe with your own eyes!”
The presentation begins.
It begins with an eerie black screen with ominous wind noises in the background.
A Ghost Crusaders Production
The text blipped on screen.
"The scenes you are about to witness are what we have experienced with our very own eyes."
The uneasy air of the film immediately put the audience on edge, nervous murmuring filling the air.
The film reeled through the beginning sequence, filled with imagery of spiritual and religious objects. Flicking between scenes of crosses and statues, setting the tone for what was about to be shown.
"There are things in this world beyond human comprehension… Things that exist outside of our five senses… Smell, taste, touch, hearing, and seeing… Some things can't be experienced through those feelings… They can be felt only by something other than our skin... Something deep within us…”
…
…
…
"My name is Graham Beckham and these are the spiritual anomalies that I have witnessed in Japan."
The film then ends as it abruptly cuts out to black.