1.2

One way ticket

In Eden, electric appliances simply couldn’t function since Mana dissolved most electrical interactions vital their operation. This became a problem when the need arise to transport huge quantity of resources throughout the country. The resolution was simple, train, or more like steam powered train. Its aesthetic inspired by the Divine Silas’s portrayal of similar machine in the frontier. The trains of Eden could seem rather out of place, more suitable on the backdrop of the desert than the greenery of the country.

Nevertheless, the trains served their purpose well and became an attraction to the mundane citizens. Readers of the Divine Silas’s story could experience a part of his fiction, a popular fantasy of the wild wild West.

On that sunny day, a group arrived at the Saragarhi’s train station, preparing to leave the town for good. Having several carriages already reserved, their luggage all packed. They were only waiting for a certain member to recover.

Sitting with Suiren in a table seat, Hiro Hanazawa looked out of the window to see the one he had heard so much about, Eikichi Kira. Along with him was Jim Cross.

Momo-chan: [Where is that Doraemon girl?]

Hiro: {Why are you asking me…}

This second group was certainly colourful. A girl from the future who could turn invisible, a teenager who could harden his skin like diamond and many more to come. Meanwhile, Hiro turned to the table next to him. Conrad and Malcolm were cutting paper to make flowers for some reasons. The man in armour seemed to be pouring his heart and soul into this. Then there was him, Hiro Hanazawa…

Hiro: {Talk about a let down}

Momo-chan: [What with the sudden self-deprecation!]

Along the walkway came Willow who waved at him. She was ushered to continue by her brother, Johann von Brandt. Ever since Cassian was sent away to deliver a message, he hadn’t been nice. The young warrior glared at Hiro intensely. The young man waved back weekly which Willow believed to be aimed at her. She seemed happy at least. Her brother clicked his tongue.

It didn’t take Hiro long to learn that Willow’s sibling didn’t consider her to amount to much. And she really believed in him, the young man didn’t know what to think.

Eikichi entered the carriage and greeted his companions. Then to everyone surprise, the bald man chose to sit in front of Hiro. Yes, the Hiro Hanazawa, instead of the man many companions. The teenager called Jim questioned this curious decision, sitting next to Eikichi.

The bald man was deep in thought. He turned to Jim to give an answer.

“Racism” Eikichi said with a straight face.

“Fair enough, you want me to call Haruka here” Jim answered with face equally straight.

A smile appeared on Eikichi’s face as he put around the teenager’s shoulder. Jim was surprised by this sudden gesture of friendliness toward him.

“Just kidding” The bald man said “I wanted to sit with THE Hiro Hanazawa, that’s all”

“Eh?”

That came from both Hiro and Momo-chan and Jim simultaneously. During Eikichi’s absent, Willow had certainly tried to hype him up to the group here. She talked about how he slew a beast, faced with the Centurion (just a little bit). To made matter worse, Malcolm also joined in along with her. It was the youth style, to diverted attention elsewhere.

Of course, none of the Saragarhi group bought that. That included Willow’s brother, who had been glaring at Hiro every time they met.

Momo-chan: [Did that guy think it was a funny joke or not]

Hiro: {Umm… why don’t you look around first}

The young man turned his face around for Momo-chan. Around them, the whole Saragarhi group was staring at Hiro. Even the little girl Haruka, lifted her head from all the food to look at him curiously. This Eikichi’s words carried a lot of weight among them.

“What kind of joke is that”

A hand appeared resting on his seat, Doraemon appeared, asking. The girl had been tormenting Hiro. Tripping him while walking, hitting him in the stomach, eating his food after hearing all of Willow’s hype. It was like school all over again.

“Um, do we know each other” Hiro asked, scratching his head.

“Well, not yet, for you at least” Eikichi answered immediately “I met you all the way back in high school, on a school trip to Tokyo. I saw you with my own two eyes, Hiro Hanazawa, an office worker, taking on a gunman by himself. You were one badass. I thought to myself, ‘maybe one day I could be as cool as this guy’ even”

The bald man said all that without any hint of irony.

Momo-chan: {You did what!}

Hiro: [I have no idea what he is talking about!]

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The young man turned around to find Doraemon glaring at him. “Huhhhh” The girl mused. Pushing him further in, she sat right next to Hiro. Despite this being a two-people seat, the three on it were all of smaller stature than the people of Eden. Crossing her leg, the girl looked at him, her razor-sharp nail running along her cheek.

Hiro didn’t like this development at all. There was always something off putting about this girl to him. Perhaps because of all the neon red which shone unnaturally.

Willow arrived, disappointed that all the seats around Hiro was taken. The girl sat with Conrad and Malcolm instead, both still immerse in their craft. Soon, the ‘Eikichi effect’ happened. All the people of Saragarhi, scattered throughout the carriage, started to converge around this area. They must really like this Eikichi fellow.

“So, what happened while I was out” The bald man asked.

Doraemon answered “Apparently there was another summoned in our group. We somehow missed her”

“Who is she?” Eikichi looked around.

“Nah, the chick isn’t here. She was injured quite badly, a doctor guy is looking after her in the back carriage” Doraemon said “Apparently it is another Japanese, how many of you guys are there”

Victor did comment that nationality wasn’t considered in the summoning process. So theoretically, there could be this many Japanese by chance. But there seemed to be another explanation, one that Victor wasn’t willing to share. ‘It was just a hunch, I don’t want to mislead anyone’ That was his excuse.

The girl in red, meanwhile, had another story to tell.

“Something else also happened, why don’t you ask Jimmy boy here” Doraemon rested her legs on the table, annoyed. Eikichi looked at Jim, who had his head down. The girl continued “We managed to take Six’s accomplice, a Korean chick into custody. Then while Jimmy boy and Johann were on guard duty, a blind guy came in and knocked them out, breaking our prisoner out”

Jim Cross had nothing to say, it was his failure through and through. Johann was caught by surprise, the man with blindfold was as quiet as the night. The young warrior got knocked out instantly. Jim, meanwhile, was faced with the blind intruder.

Tensing up, he activated his power, using too much mana. His body hardened to an unnecessary level, locking his joints in place. Jim could only watch as the blind man took the prisoner away, he didn’t harm Johann at least. When Doraemon found Jim, he was still frozen in place, fully aware of his surrounding and in shame.

“It wasn’t his fault” Hiro chimed in “That guy was identified by Victor to be Sparrow, an elite operative. There was no way Jim could stop him”

Doraemon glared at him but Hiro just gazed back. He was glared at plenty by his bosses, his father, the yakuza and many more. The young man stood his ground. Meanwhile, Doraemon’s eyes were filled with killing intent, as if she was going to shiv him then and there.

“Oh my, isn’t this romantic” Commented Eikichi and the girl immediately broke eyes contact. Hiro had won this staring contest.

“Why did every time I mentioned this, you defended that guy like no tomorrow” Doraemon asked “Are you into Western guys or something”

“No” Hiro answer was resolute “I just don’t like how you push him, acting like a third-rate bully. Anyway, I am going to see how the doctor is doing”

“Tch” Doraemon clicked her tongue, retreating her legs for Hiro and Suiren.

Eikichi decided to stay here, he would meet this woman when she woke up. Although the man did wonder why she was treated on the train while him at Saragarhi. Wasn’t the reason that the group couldn’t move was to wait for him to recover. Jim would relay what Victor said. Apparently, Eikichi took in too many mana from this area. After leaving, they would leave his body to return, damaging his mana channels.

Hiro looked at Jim, there was another reason why he defended the youth. The young man made his way to the back carriage. Willow wanted to follow him but she would rather not meet with Victor, the girl hung out with Alva instead.

The door slid open and Hiro entered the darkened carriage, repurposed to be a medical station. The young man was greeted by Victor. On the bed was the woman, impossibly tall with a metallic jaw. Hiro was still iffy about this, in truth, she wasn’t a summoned at all. In fact, this woman worked for Eden’s enemy, under the False Shephard.

Hiro remembered Jim and Johann, and how they were set up.

___

The encounter with the Killer Queen was disastrous. Victor looked upon Mi-young, ‘such cruelty, that man’. The biker was driven away by Conrad. The vagabond admitted it was an one-off, however, he had the element of surprise. The thing would return no doubt, and no one could stand up to it.

Technically Victor could, but as a native of Eden, he was bound, his power limited.

Then, the doctor was contacted by someone unexpected, a blast from the past. It was a secret meeting with an old enemy, Sparrow. Victor was shocked when he met the man, the Divine Silas had taken away the sniper remaining eyes, his power could no longer function.

“It had been a long time” Sparrow said “Last time we met, you were still a cleaning boy”

“I was good at it” Victor still cleaned his giant lab with a mob.

“You were the best” The sniper laughed “Those were the day, Victor, how time changed”

Even now, the doctor still looked at everyone shoes, trying to hold back the urge to scrub them. From a cleaner to the Heretic, he had come a long way.

“Why are you here, Sparrow, what business do you have with me”

The sniper told Victor about his encounter with the Divine Silas the Peacekeeper. The gunslinger didn’t only spare Sparrow’s life. No, his superior Four, while heavily injured, was still alive. The woman was left in a critical state, however, her equipment was taken away.

“I have taken Four here, I need you to heal her” Sparrow said.

“You do know we are enemy now right” Victor answered “And did you return to One”

“I have contacted him, yes, this is his idea in fact”

The doctor was surprised by that revelation. It wasn’t like the number elites couldn’t heal gunshots. They were experts about it in fact and they should all thawed out by now. No, Four must be too injured to be moved a long distance. With Silas still lurking around, they couldn’t send in reinforcement. That would explain this arrangement. Sparrow continued.

“Are you familiar with a biker called Killer Queen”

___

Victor only disclosed this plan with Hiro (and Momo-chan). The deal was that they took care of Four and gave Sparrow the prisoner, Mi-Young. The numbered elites would also stop targeting the group. One of them, Six died protecting a summoned and they wanted to honour him. But that wasn’t all, apparently, this Killer Queen was a menace which proportion Hiro still hadn’t grasp.

In a direct fight, only two of their members, Six and Four could face the thing. That was another part of the deal, Four would deal with their Killer Queen problem, avenging their fallen comrade.

Now came the purpose for Hiro in this plan, Four had been unconscious all this time. Of course, the woman wasn’t aware of this plan at all. Victor also didn’t want her to contact her superior. So, it would be up to Hiro to relay this to the supersoldier who could snap him in half.

‘I am not good with people and she had quite a temper’ Victor said.

Hiro prayed that he could get out of this in one piece.

The train conductor announced through the speakers, it was time for departure. Hiro looked out of the window to see steam shooting up. This was the first time he saw a steam train, this was quite exciting. The young man could see many more heads poking out of the windows. The train started to move, their ultimate destination wasn’t the Capital, no it was to Vaswani Academy.

On the bed, Four turned slightly.