63RD GEAR - THE POWER OF GOD AND ANIME BY MY SIDE!

“W-Wooow. You have lots of anime merchandise!” I said in amazement.

“Tahahaha!” Flu embarrassingly laughed as she scratched the back of her head. “My father would often give me an anime present whenever he comes back from overseas. And sometimes, I would spend my saved money on cute plushies back in high school.”

There was a short tea table on the floor which can accommodate people if they are sitting on their knees. So I sat on the ground Indian style and put the two glasses of iced sencha tea on the table for us to enjoy.

“A-Anyway!”

Flu immediately shouted out loud which made me astounded. She vigorously bowed down over and over like a slug who just crawled on grans of salt.

“I’m so sorry that I did not inform you that I will skip classes today! I was kind of under the weather when I woke up in the morning, and I was so dizzy that I decided not to go to school! I’m sorry if I did not appear in the practice! I’m sorry if I worried you!”

“Okay, okay, chill.” I faked a laugh. “Why won’t you calm down and sit first?”

Flu had these wide round eyes before she slowly sat down in a stiff posture. She’s even sweating non-stop. What is her deal?

“A-Are you not angry, Coach?” Flu asked.

“Of course not. Why would I?” I said. I turned to the side before saying something that would definitely make me blush. “I-I’m just worried about how you’re doing, that’s all.”

Flu immediately gave a bright smile with a blushing face.

“I’m fine now, Coach! I will definitely go to class tomorrow and attend our practice!”

“Don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

“Roger!” Flu energetically saluted.

My eyes wandered around Flu’s room, and there was finally something that piqued my interest. They are displayed on the wall are various sword replicas from different animes. I kind of recognize most of it, and it shows how much of an otaku I am too.

“Wait, are those demon-slaying swords?” I pointed at the Eastern-style katana replicas.

“A-Ah, yes! My father bought this for me five years ago!” Flu happily said as she stood up and removed one from the display rack and then handed it to me.

These swords are definitely for cosplayers as they are lightweight, hollow, and made of cheap plastic.

“Demon-slaying swords are great, but my favorite sword is… this!” Flu proudly presented another sword replica from a well-known anime back when I was a kid. It was a Western-style longsword with a winged hilt.

“Is that the sword of Flame Wing Man!?” I asked.

Flu jollily nodded and pumped her fists. “Yes, yes! So you watch that anime back then too!?”

“Of course! That was my favorite anime back when I was five years old! I would often switch our Magic TV every five in the afternoon and never miss an episode!” I excitedly said.

“Woaaaah! Same, same!” Flu hopped jollily. “I always cheer in front of my Magic TV whenever Flame Wing Man reveals this winged fire sword!”

I immediately stood up and went into full chuunibyou mode in front of the pink-haired idiot. I made a stance with my demon-slaying sword like a samurai, giving out a cringe line from a cringe-old anime.

“You cannot defeat me, Flame Wing Man! I can do time-space warp with the demon-slaying sword!”

Flu also made a centered sword stance using her winged fire sword as she went with the flow and said a cringe line.

“Let’s see, villain! I have the power of god and anime on my side! Yaaaaaaaah!”

Flu swung the sword ready to hit my head, but I immediately blocked it with my toy sword! Shit just got real! Even though we’re both college students of legal age, we’re doing a sword fight like we are kids! And we both enjoy it!

“I-It can’t be! My winged flame sword was blocked!?” Flu said in a makeshift manly voice. She’s really getting the hang of our roleplay.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Haaah! You cannot defeat me, Flame Wing Man! Now behold as I unleash my full power! Ban…kai!” I said as I reversed the blade of the katana, and now the flat edge part of the blade is revealed. “This is my Battousai form!”

“Heh! Since you are now serious, I will be serious too!” Flu said again with a pretend deep voice as she enchanted her sword with flame magic! Wait, she is really using fire magic to coat the sword! “Gomu Gomu no Red Hawk!”

“W-Wait, Flu!” I cried.

“Yaaaaaaaah!” Flu swung the burning toy sword toward me!

I tried to block the flaming toy sword with my toy sword, and what happened was catastrophic! Flu’s Winged flame sword was transformed to ashes except for the winged arm guards, while the demon-slaying replica sword was broken into two burnt pieces!

“W-Waaaaaaah!” Flu cried. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Jon!”

This pink-haired idiot! She got so carried away that she used real magic for our roleplay!

Well anyway, I will not get angry at her. It’s 50% my fault anyway, and she destroyed her toys due to her stupidity. I’ll just laugh and give her a forced smile.

"Hahaha. You overdid it."

Flu sobbed as she gathered the ashes and the broken toys and put them in the trash can. The last parts she picked up are the winged arm guards of the destroyed winged flame sword replica. I suddenly thought that those wing-shaped arm guards looked like something I’d seen before.

“Uwuuuu. Now I have two pairs of these.” Flu wept.

“W-Wait, Flu.”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t those wing-like parts of the sword a little bit identical to the hairpins you used to wear? That thing you said to be the most precious thing to you?”

“Yes!” Flu shifted to a jolly tone. “They are exactly the same!”

Flu immediately stood up and opened her cabinet, and then showed me the pair of winged hairpins that she used to wear. She displayed it on the tea table next to the “new-but-burnt” pair of plastic wings. They are definitely identical, except that the hairpin one was more polished.

“So you’ve been wearing a part of a toy sword this whole time?” I asked.

“Tahahaha! That is correct, Jon! I know it sounds absurd, but the sentimental value of this pair of wings is what made me turn it into hairpins.” Flu scratched her head.

“You said that an old magicless friend of yours gave you that hairpin, right?” I asked.

“Yes.” Flu’s energetic expression slowly faded as she looked down at the hairpins. “There was this one kid who saved me from a werewolf back when I was five. He used this sword to defend me from the monster, but the toy sword was shattered to pieces. He was a brave kid.”

There was a strong jolt inside my skull. It was short and painful, but after that, I felt that my thought process became clearer.

“Um, Jon?” Flu tilted her head.

“Don’t mind me.” I held my forehead. “Anyway, what happened to the kid?”

Flu shook her head. “I don’t know. The last time I saw him was when he was confined in a hospital. And he kept holding on to the remains of the winged flame sword before he gave it to me as a memento.”

There was a sudden jolt inside my head once again, and this time, I saw some images that became a lot clearer. I remember being in the middle of a dark forest with moonlight only the source of brightness. I remember a pink-haired girl crying. I remember the gnarling sounds of a werewolf ready to kill us both.

I remember holding the plastic wings that are the remains of a toy sword- the hairpin Fluonessia held dearly up to this day.

My chest ached. The old scar has long since healed, but I felt it just opened up. My breathing became ragged. I looked at my hand and saw blood. I blinked and then realized that the blood was just a delusion.

I looked at the girl in front of me who was crying. I blinked and then realized that the girl was Flu all along.

Medical amnesia must have worn off after decades of being active. All the memories I had when I was five returned to me like a painful sting. It was like my head is being injected with plasma-state medicine. I can now clearly remember what happened that night.

<>

It was summer vacation thirteen years ago.

My father, Flint Wardenorth, attended a Magus Seminar at the Western Forest Plateau with several mages from the Saint Crusade Academy. He brought me because my mother was pregnant in the Healer’s Hospital at that time, and she would not be able to tend to my needs.

And it is also upon my childish request that I join with them. Back then, my father was the coach for the World Speedmage Tournament, and he was tasked to train one of the most legendary Speedmages of all time: Comette Azure.

During a week of a seminar, I often find myself alone in the children’s park. I brought toys with me, including the awesome winged flame sword from the old anime Flame Wing Man. It was my favorite aside from Speedmage toys, and I often swing it to the posts, the trees, and sometimes on the sandboxes.

There are other kids like me during that seminar, but all of them avoided me. Apparently, they have heard that I was a magicless person, and some kids gossiped that being magicless is contagious, so kids of my age avoid me like plaque. Kids either eject me from the park or sometimes, they just relocate their playing field to another place to stay away from me.

Sometimes, I would just cry out of pure loneliness. With my father attending the seminar and kids not wanting to play with me, I spent my time alone with my toys.

However, everything changed when a girl with pink hair approached me.

“Hey, hey, kid! Why are you playing alone?” The pink-haired girl asked with a smile on her face.

“Because nobody wanted to play with me.”

“And why is that?”

“I’m magicless. Aren’t you afraid of me too? You might get infected with my disease.”

“No way! Are you an idiot?” The pink-haired girl chuckled as she sat down and pressed her face forward. The pink-haired girl smiled wide and offered her hand. “Come, let’s play! It would be a waste to play all alone with these toys you have!”

“O-Okay.”

“What’s your name?” The pink-haired girl asked.

“Jonathan.”

“Nice to meet you, Jonathan!” The pink-haired girl shook my hand vigorously, and my shoulder felt dislocated. “My name is Fluonessia! I’m glad to be your friend!”

And that was the moment I first met the pink-haired girl. We played for hours and hours until sunset. We even played with my toys the next day, and then the next.

But then…

There was one specific night that spelled the disaster for us… especially for me.