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The Perfect Immortal
By SSB Vegito
Rated: M
Rated: M
They were all gone. My friends, my comrades from UQ Holder, even Kitty. I was the only one left. Thanks to a one second miracle, Negi broke free from the Eternal Empathetic and used a prototype time machine to send me back in time to fix everything. Now I am ready. Now I am worthy of Evangeline McDowell. Now I am ready. Now I am ready to free my ancestors from their prisons!
Chapter 2
(Touta POV)
There was no way to describe the way I have been treated the last one thousand years with words alone. The only thing I can say as that I really, really want to go to hell for some rest and relaxation. Dana held true to her word. I had no rest, no sleep, in the entire time I was training.
Whenever I got hungry I was denied food. Only when it began to hinder my training was when Dana would conjure something for me to eat. I was not expected to like what she gave me, even the type of food I was given was training. It would always be some sort of grey or black slob that reeked of squid. She said she wiped up something that had all of the nutrients I would need to continue fighting. Worst of all, it didn't even have a name! I gave it one as soon as first tasted it thought, crap!
And continue fighting I did, even while I was eating we were training, never stopping our fight even once in these last one thousand years. My regeneration was forced to go into overdrive as it was required to heal all of the wounds my body took as well as repair the damage my muscles took as the training progressed. Basically, whilst healing myself, my regeneration ability was forced to act as the 'rest' required by my muscles in order to grow and tighten. As a result, my muscles were continuously changing as I fought, leaving me with no choice but to adapt whenever I noticed it. That probably would not have happened as much as it did if it wasn't for all that nutritious…crap I had to eat in order to keep hunger away and my body functioning at a vampire's level.
Not only was I not allowed rest and had to eat while fighting, I was verbally taught magic whilst trying to keep Dana from decapitating me, which was about once a minute in the first few decades then became once every week or so after a few centuries. According to her, teaching me magic in the middle of combat was to train each and every muscle in my body to act independently, without my having to think about it, not to mention the pros of learning magic in combat.
My body was not allowed to get taller or age since I was an immortal stuck in a ten-year-old's body, but it did change. I was now very muscular for my height, not enough to be considered a body builder by a long shot, thank god, but buff enough for it to tell if I ever wore tight enough clothing. My entire body was toned to the point where even I considered myself to be chiseled out of stone and I am the most ignorant person alive! In addition, Dana taught me a similar spell to the one Yukihime uses to change into her adult form. However, the spell Dana taught me was more complex than Kitty's version. Whereas she just uses it as a disguise, my version gives me all of the strength I would have in my prime as well as giving me an adult form. The majority of the time was spent training this new form of mine and understand how to maneuver my original form as well as my adult one, on top of how to control my energy in both of them. Can't afford to kill or injure someone if I can help it after all.
I had not been the only one who had changed, however. Dana, as…heavy…as she was, was now the same size I was. Hell, she even had the same build I did, with a matching six pack to boot. After a few centuries of training me, I got to a point where I started to come up with tricks to beat her, such as using her previously huge body to hide myself, taking advantage of the blind spots it provided. In order to stop that, she began to retrain herself in the basics, resulting in my ass once again being handed to me as well as granting the Time Witch a smaller, more compact, and skinner version of her previous self. All of her physical and magical capabilities also received a boost as a bonus.
After nine hundred and ninty-nine years of continuous fighting did we finally stop. The both of us took the remaining year to allow our bodies to rest and adjust. I slept for about seven months straight whilst Dana slept for eight. The last few months were spent doing some lightweight exercises to keep our bodies in shape. A few hundred pushups here, a few hundred mile run, nothing major. Dana had gotten quite accustomed to training so much she decided not to let herself go back to her previous self and was currently sitting beside me, meditating.
I was floating about ten feet off the ground, balancing the black and white magics within me and enjoying the silence the separated space offered. Today…today is the day I go out into the real world once more. I was both overjoyed and reluctant to leave this place. This void had so many memories of the hard times I endured. I was glad I wouldn't have to go through it again... but I also began to miss it, holding back the urge to ask Dana for one more fight.
"…Dana?" I spoke for the first time in a week, glancing over at her now slim figure.
"Child…no…Touta. You have no reason to hesitate." She began. "You have fought the equivalent of a Demon Lord for an eon and have managed to keep your wits about you for that entire span of time. I have long since had nothing left to teach you." She looked over at me a smiled. "You are ready."
That was the only thing I needed to hear. I uncrossed my legs and floated down, the Void Witch doing the same. "You owe it to me to save creation. I won't allow you to lose to any mortal or immortal other than me." She walked over to me and placed a hand on my cheek, the same hand that killed me 1,760, 582,195, 453 times. I couldn't help letting my face rub against her hand. "Come back to me alive, with everyone else in tow behind you." She got on her tip toes and whispered in my ear. "I expect to see an immortal such as yourself with, at the very least, one hundred women at your beck and call."
"Pfft. One hundred?" I pushed her hand away with a large smile, scoffing. "Really?"
"I'm just saying not to tie yourself down to just a few. We live for so long and we get bored quite easily. Just looking out for ya." She winked. I reached out and patted her head, something she has come to enjoy over the centuries.
"I'm heading out, Dana." I turned around so see a portal opening, the other side full of trees and wildlife. I began to walk towards it. Then Dana said something unexpected.
(Insert Last Stardust By Aimer)
"Hey." I turned back around at her, seeing her with a face of uncertainty. I have never seen that face even once in our eon of training. "You realize that is hell you are walking into?"
I instantly knew what she meant. She had come to care for me after all. And I her. There was no doubt in my mind. I knew what she was saying. She was not asking about the world. She was not asking about what may come. She simply wanted to know. 'Is she worth it?'
"You know," I began, turning to face the portal again, "I have learned a lot of things in my time here, and most of them I will probably forget in a few millennia. But this, this is the one thing I will never forget." I saw trees begin to billow. I watched the birds chirping and see flowers bending under the weight of the breeze. "At first, it was just admiration…but…it was admiration built of a dream. A dream that her hell could be undone. The unfulfilled dream of a woman who was incapable of seeing the blue sky. No matter how hard she tried…and it cost her everything." I saw the suns rise and the moons fall, the stars glistening as bright as the green meadow was beautiful. Then I saw her face as it was centuries ago, or should I say an eon and centuries ago? Ice cold, lost, wondering when something would change, the piles of bodies that lay at her feet.
"Is that the life you want? A hollow life of second best?"
I answered without hesitation. "Yeah, I do. Even if it is a life dripping with being nothing but second best," I looked down at my hand and clenched it with determination, a flame burning bright in my fist for just a few seconds, "I will do my best…to make her see the blue sky." I looked back into the door to the real world, the beautiful scenery replaced by flashing images of dead bodies, burning buildings, and them standing atop it all. "And the only way that is going to happen…" I stretched my arm out, summoning an orange energy blade, the Sword of Conviction, to my side. "…is to save him. Only then will her clock begin to tick again." That was the only belief I held up over all others. This, I was going to see through to the end, no matter the cost.
"You really are…one hell of a man." I heard her sigh, not admitting she was moved by my speech. "Come back safe." She said, using the word 'back' instead of 'home', knowing full well I didn't have a home left to come back to.
I smiled…then dashed through the portal before me, setting off on my journey.
Wait for me Kitty. I thought. I am coming for you.
(End OST)
There was no way to describe the way I have been treated the last one thousand years with words alone. The only thing I can say as that I really, really want to go to hell for some rest and relaxation. Dana held true to her word. I had no rest, no sleep, in the entire time I was training.
Whenever I got hungry I was denied food. Only when it began to hinder my training was when Dana would conjure something for me to eat. I was not expected to like what she gave me, even the type of food I was given was training. It would always be some sort of grey or black slob that reeked of squid. She said she wiped up something that had all of the nutrients I would need to continue fighting. Worst of all, it didn't even have a name! I gave it one as soon as first tasted it thought, crap!
And continue fighting I did, even while I was eating we were training, never stopping our fight even once in these last one thousand years. My regeneration was forced to go into overdrive as it was required to heal all of the wounds my body took as well as repair the damage my muscles took as the training progressed. Basically, whilst healing myself, my regeneration ability was forced to act as the 'rest' required by my muscles in order to grow and tighten. As a result, my muscles were continuously changing as I fought, leaving me with no choice but to adapt whenever I noticed it. That probably would not have happened as much as it did if it wasn't for all that nutritious…crap I had to eat in order to keep hunger away and my body functioning at a vampire's level.
Not only was I not allowed rest and had to eat while fighting, I was verbally taught magic whilst trying to keep Dana from decapitating me, which was about once a minute in the first few decades then became once every week or so after a few centuries. According to her, teaching me magic in the middle of combat was to train each and every muscle in my body to act independently, without my having to think about it, not to mention the pros of learning magic in combat.
My body was not allowed to get taller or age since I was an immortal stuck in a ten-year-old's body, but it did change. I was now very muscular for my height, not enough to be considered a body builder by a long shot, thank god, but buff enough for it to tell if I ever wore tight enough clothing. My entire body was toned to the point where even I considered myself to be chiseled out of stone and I am the most ignorant person alive! In addition, Dana taught me a similar spell to the one Yukihime uses to change into her adult form. However, the spell Dana taught me was more complex than Kitty's version. Whereas she just uses it as a disguise, my version gives me all of the strength I would have in my prime as well as giving me an adult form. The majority of the time was spent training this new form of mine and understand how to maneuver my original form as well as my adult one, on top of how to control my energy in both of them. Can't afford to kill or injure someone if I can help it after all.
I had not been the only one who had changed, however. Dana, as…heavy…as she was, was now the same size I was. Hell, she even had the same build I did, with a matching six pack to boot. After a few centuries of training me, I got to a point where I started to come up with tricks to beat her, such as using her previously huge body to hide myself, taking advantage of the blind spots it provided. In order to stop that, she began to retrain herself in the basics, resulting in my ass once again being handed to me as well as granting the Time Witch a smaller, more compact, and skinner version of her previous self. All of her physical and magical capabilities also received a boost as a bonus.
After nine hundred and ninty-nine years of continuous fighting did we finally stop. The both of us took the remaining year to allow our bodies to rest and adjust. I slept for about seven months straight whilst Dana slept for eight. The last few months were spent doing some lightweight exercises to keep our bodies in shape. A few hundred pushups here, a few hundred mile run, nothing major. Dana had gotten quite accustomed to training so much she decided not to let herself go back to her previous self and was currently sitting beside me, meditating.
I was floating about ten feet off the ground, balancing the black and white magics within me and enjoying the silence the separated space offered. Today…today is the day I go out into the real world once more. I was both overjoyed and reluctant to leave this place. This void had so many memories of the hard times I endured. I was glad I wouldn't have to go through it again... but I also began to miss it, holding back the urge to ask Dana for one more fight.
"…Dana?" I spoke for the first time in a week, glancing over at her now slim figure.
"Child…no…Touta. You have no reason to hesitate." She began. "You have fought the equivalent of a Demon Lord for an eon and have managed to keep your wits about you for that entire span of time. I have long since had nothing left to teach you." She looked over at me a smiled. "You are ready."
That was the only thing I needed to hear. I uncrossed my legs and floated down, the Void Witch doing the same. "You owe it to me to save creation. I won't allow you to lose to any mortal or immortal other than me." She walked over to me and placed a hand on my cheek, the same hand that killed me 1,760, 582,195, 453 times. I couldn't help letting my face rub against her hand. "Come back to me alive, with everyone else in tow behind you." She got on her tip toes and whispered in my ear. "I expect to see an immortal such as yourself with, at the very least, one hundred women at your beck and call."
"Pfft. One hundred?" I pushed her hand away with a large smile, scoffing. "Really?"
"I'm just saying not to tie yourself down to just a few. We live for so long and we get bored quite easily. Just looking out for ya." She winked. I reached out and patted her head, something she has come to enjoy over the centuries.
"I'm heading out, Dana." I turned around so see a portal opening, the other side full of trees and wildlife. I began to walk towards it. Then Dana said something unexpected.
(Insert Last Stardust By Aimer)
"Hey." I turned back around at her, seeing her with a face of uncertainty. I have never seen that face even once in our eon of training. "You realize that is hell you are walking into?"
I instantly knew what she meant. She had come to care for me after all. And I her. There was no doubt in my mind. I knew what she was saying. She was not asking about the world. She was not asking about what may come. She simply wanted to know. 'Is she worth it?'
"You know," I began, turning to face the portal again, "I have learned a lot of things in my time here, and most of them I will probably forget in a few millennia. But this, this is the one thing I will never forget." I saw trees begin to billow. I watched the birds chirping and see flowers bending under the weight of the breeze. "At first, it was just admiration…but…it was admiration built of a dream. A dream that her hell could be undone. The unfulfilled dream of a woman who was incapable of seeing the blue sky. No matter how hard she tried…and it cost her everything." I saw the suns rise and the moons fall, the stars glistening as bright as the green meadow was beautiful. Then I saw her face as it was centuries ago, or should I say an eon and centuries ago? Ice cold, lost, wondering when something would change, the piles of bodies that lay at her feet.
"Is that the life you want? A hollow life of second best?"
I answered without hesitation. "Yeah, I do. Even if it is a life dripping with being nothing but second best," I looked down at my hand and clenched it with determination, a flame burning bright in my fist for just a few seconds, "I will do my best…to make her see the blue sky." I looked back into the door to the real world, the beautiful scenery replaced by flashing images of dead bodies, burning buildings, and them standing atop it all. "And the only way that is going to happen…" I stretched my arm out, summoning an orange energy blade, the Sword of Conviction, to my side. "…is to save him. Only then will her clock begin to tick again." That was the only belief I held up over all others. This, I was going to see through to the end, no matter the cost.
"You really are…one hell of a man." I heard her sigh, not admitting she was moved by my speech. "Come back safe." She said, using the word 'back' instead of 'home', knowing full well I didn't have a home left to come back to.
I smiled…then dashed through the portal before me, setting off on my journey.
Wait for me Kitty. I thought. I am coming for you.
(End OST)
When I landed, I took a look at my surroundings. I was in a woodsy area with a bit a grassland. They sky was blue as a lake and the clouds were like cotton hanging in the air. Before I could take in any more details, I heard a voice all of a sudden, followed by feeling multiple presences nearby. They felt like they were in the closest tree to me. I took cover under said tree, careful to use enough speed to be unnoticed but not enough to make any kind of gust.
"Aah, I know. You mean the immortal jellyfish, right? That's nice…I would love being a jellyfish." I looked up to see that the sources of energy I felt were only kids hanging out in this tree. Thankfully, I didn't draw any attention to myself just yet. All I needed to do was either sneak away or wait them out. I decided to sneak away as it was much quicker and much easier than hiding was. Just as I was about to shunpo away, a small bit a familiarity entered my mind. Where do I recognize this scenery? And why does this immortal jellyfish sound familiar? Going against my better judgement, I decided to stay and listen to the kids' conversation.
"That is different!" Said a different kid this time. "Their lifespan may be unlimited but they still die like normal." Are these kids immortals? If they are, what type of immortality are they talking about? Unlimited life but can still be killed? Can't say I've met anyone with that kind of immortality before. I could hear the leaves shaking as the kids shifted their weight.
"Wha…," another kid spoke, "totally got worked up over nothing?"
"Oh, I just remembered something!" yet another kid exclaimed. "Tardigrades are known for their invincibility. They can live for up to one hundred and twenty years without eating anything and can even survive in outer space." I could hear the other kids getting psyched over this new type of immortality. It was honestly starting to sound quite interesting to me as well. "Oh," he continued, "but if you step on it, it dies."
THEY WHAT IS THE POINT? I wanted to shout, biting my tongue to stop the temptation to do just that. The other children also expressed their disappointment through sighing and complaining.
All of a sudden, I felt a presence nearby. I instantly looked over in its general direction. What? A presence so close by? How!? Even if they were hiding it, I should have been able to sense it! Dana said no one would be able to sneak up on me except for a few select individuals!
"Oh, she is here." One of the treetop youngsters told the others. They all began to giggle in a very…non-boyish manner that started to creep me out a little. They must have saw her since they were higher up and had a better vantage point. I was currently hiding behind a tree and this person who ducked under my radar was currently climbing up the closest hill so I couldn't see their face yet.
When I finally could, my heart stopped.
The person who was coming up the hill was, as well as being one of the very few individuals I would have a hard time detecting, a girl with platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a beige, button up shirt and a black skirt with matching leggings and high heels; the very definition of strict business attire.
It…it was Kitty. No. Yukihime in that getup.
Of course it was her, I sighed as I scratched my head. Yeah, she is indeed one of the very few people who can make it under my radar. Then again, if she wasn't trying I would have sensed her in no time. Guess she has to try since who knows how many immortal hunters have been on her tail over the course of her lifetime.
"All right," I heard one of the kids say. When I listened to this guy speak, I began to feel like I have heard that voice before today. "We might win if all five of us attack simultaneously. Today marks that demon teacher's final day for sure!"
Wait a minute, I squinted my eyes in confusion. Then I realized what they were planning. Are they really going to jump their teacher!? I should have cut them down when I felt their energy! Just as I was about to jump out of my hiding place and put myself between the woman and the children, I took a quick glance at the kids currently jumping out of the tree. I saw five faces of young boys. Four of their faces I didn't know. One, however, I recognized instantly.
The face I was looking at…was mine. Hesitating, I relaxed my muscles, watching as the kids jumped to the ground and charged the blonde, shouting her to 'brace herself'. I almost laughed when they ran straight into her magic shield and at how soundly they were beaten.
Oh yeah. How could I forget? Perhaps I took a few million hits to the head too many. This is the day where my friends tried to beat our teacher who, as stated by the village head, had to be beaten in order to go to the capital. Looking back on it, it was so silly, thinking we could manage to go toe to toe against one of the few people who trained Negi a few decades ago. I watched as my friends, myself included, get punished and sent out to the fields to work three times the normal labor, smiling as the memories kept coming back to me. I decided to trail the other me and Yukihime for the rest of the day for old times' sake.
Speaking of memories…there is a certain little someone who I need to take care of. Thankfully, I can take care of these two birds with one stone. But in order to do that, I need to wait for a few days. He should be making his move relatively soon.
But what should I do to pass the next few days. I thought at the end of the day. I had hid in the trees and went invisible at times to avoid being seen and now I trailed a few meters behind the student and teacher pair. I could do some mundane training…naw, can't do that. I looked down at my hands, and feet. On each wrist and on each ankle, there was a skin tight jagged black marking. There was also a mark that went around my throat. In addition, there was an image of a black phoenix inside a magic circle depicted on my back. Each marking on my arms and legs, as well as each mark that made up the phoenix and magic circle was a limiter, each one reducing the amount of magical energy I can put out. I can still use my full arsenal of magic easily, however; it would greatly reduce the power of most of the spells I cast. I wore a ring in the middle finger of my left hand that had the ability to prevent any aura from permeating through my skin and I had learned a great many techniques to hide my presence. Not even Evangeline would be able to sense me. Her seeing me, however, would be greatly problematic. Any of the seals breaking and releasing my locked up magical energy would also overload the ring and destroy it, lighting me up like a Christmas tree on moonless night. That, obviously, was also not okay. Taking off the ring is an easy enough fix for that problem...but then any potential opponents would be able to sense me, despite how much I put out. I could only take the ring off when I am fighting someone worthy or removing a seal, or when I want to end a fight quickly.
We had reached the building that I once called home. I watched as they entered house and quickly jumped on top of it before one of them turned around to close the door. Making sure I placed no weight on the roof, I silently strode to the center of the roof and soundlessly sat down at a spot where I was sure I would not be seen.
"I think I will continue meditating." I told myself. "Can't afford to try to sleep otherwise I might miss my chance." I calmed my mind and folded my legs as I began to float in the air. Still hovering, I maneuvered myself towards a blind spot I saw not too far from my current position. Now, no one will see me, guaranteeing myself some stress-free days of meditation. As I closed my eyes, I thought to myself.
The next time I open these eyes, it will be to kill.
"Aah, I know. You mean the immortal jellyfish, right? That's nice…I would love being a jellyfish." I looked up to see that the sources of energy I felt were only kids hanging out in this tree. Thankfully, I didn't draw any attention to myself just yet. All I needed to do was either sneak away or wait them out. I decided to sneak away as it was much quicker and much easier than hiding was. Just as I was about to shunpo away, a small bit a familiarity entered my mind. Where do I recognize this scenery? And why does this immortal jellyfish sound familiar? Going against my better judgement, I decided to stay and listen to the kids' conversation.
"That is different!" Said a different kid this time. "Their lifespan may be unlimited but they still die like normal." Are these kids immortals? If they are, what type of immortality are they talking about? Unlimited life but can still be killed? Can't say I've met anyone with that kind of immortality before. I could hear the leaves shaking as the kids shifted their weight.
"Wha…," another kid spoke, "totally got worked up over nothing?"
"Oh, I just remembered something!" yet another kid exclaimed. "Tardigrades are known for their invincibility. They can live for up to one hundred and twenty years without eating anything and can even survive in outer space." I could hear the other kids getting psyched over this new type of immortality. It was honestly starting to sound quite interesting to me as well. "Oh," he continued, "but if you step on it, it dies."
THEY WHAT IS THE POINT? I wanted to shout, biting my tongue to stop the temptation to do just that. The other children also expressed their disappointment through sighing and complaining.
All of a sudden, I felt a presence nearby. I instantly looked over in its general direction. What? A presence so close by? How!? Even if they were hiding it, I should have been able to sense it! Dana said no one would be able to sneak up on me except for a few select individuals!
"Oh, she is here." One of the treetop youngsters told the others. They all began to giggle in a very…non-boyish manner that started to creep me out a little. They must have saw her since they were higher up and had a better vantage point. I was currently hiding behind a tree and this person who ducked under my radar was currently climbing up the closest hill so I couldn't see their face yet.
When I finally could, my heart stopped.
The person who was coming up the hill was, as well as being one of the very few individuals I would have a hard time detecting, a girl with platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a beige, button up shirt and a black skirt with matching leggings and high heels; the very definition of strict business attire.
It…it was Kitty. No. Yukihime in that getup.
Of course it was her, I sighed as I scratched my head. Yeah, she is indeed one of the very few people who can make it under my radar. Then again, if she wasn't trying I would have sensed her in no time. Guess she has to try since who knows how many immortal hunters have been on her tail over the course of her lifetime.
"All right," I heard one of the kids say. When I listened to this guy speak, I began to feel like I have heard that voice before today. "We might win if all five of us attack simultaneously. Today marks that demon teacher's final day for sure!"
Wait a minute, I squinted my eyes in confusion. Then I realized what they were planning. Are they really going to jump their teacher!? I should have cut them down when I felt their energy! Just as I was about to jump out of my hiding place and put myself between the woman and the children, I took a quick glance at the kids currently jumping out of the tree. I saw five faces of young boys. Four of their faces I didn't know. One, however, I recognized instantly.
The face I was looking at…was mine. Hesitating, I relaxed my muscles, watching as the kids jumped to the ground and charged the blonde, shouting her to 'brace herself'. I almost laughed when they ran straight into her magic shield and at how soundly they were beaten.
Oh yeah. How could I forget? Perhaps I took a few million hits to the head too many. This is the day where my friends tried to beat our teacher who, as stated by the village head, had to be beaten in order to go to the capital. Looking back on it, it was so silly, thinking we could manage to go toe to toe against one of the few people who trained Negi a few decades ago. I watched as my friends, myself included, get punished and sent out to the fields to work three times the normal labor, smiling as the memories kept coming back to me. I decided to trail the other me and Yukihime for the rest of the day for old times' sake.
Speaking of memories…there is a certain little someone who I need to take care of. Thankfully, I can take care of these two birds with one stone. But in order to do that, I need to wait for a few days. He should be making his move relatively soon.
But what should I do to pass the next few days. I thought at the end of the day. I had hid in the trees and went invisible at times to avoid being seen and now I trailed a few meters behind the student and teacher pair. I could do some mundane training…naw, can't do that. I looked down at my hands, and feet. On each wrist and on each ankle, there was a skin tight jagged black marking. There was also a mark that went around my throat. In addition, there was an image of a black phoenix inside a magic circle depicted on my back. Each marking on my arms and legs, as well as each mark that made up the phoenix and magic circle was a limiter, each one reducing the amount of magical energy I can put out. I can still use my full arsenal of magic easily, however; it would greatly reduce the power of most of the spells I cast. I wore a ring in the middle finger of my left hand that had the ability to prevent any aura from permeating through my skin and I had learned a great many techniques to hide my presence. Not even Evangeline would be able to sense me. Her seeing me, however, would be greatly problematic. Any of the seals breaking and releasing my locked up magical energy would also overload the ring and destroy it, lighting me up like a Christmas tree on moonless night. That, obviously, was also not okay. Taking off the ring is an easy enough fix for that problem...but then any potential opponents would be able to sense me, despite how much I put out. I could only take the ring off when I am fighting someone worthy or removing a seal, or when I want to end a fight quickly.
We had reached the building that I once called home. I watched as they entered house and quickly jumped on top of it before one of them turned around to close the door. Making sure I placed no weight on the roof, I silently strode to the center of the roof and soundlessly sat down at a spot where I was sure I would not be seen.
"I think I will continue meditating." I told myself. "Can't afford to try to sleep otherwise I might miss my chance." I calmed my mind and folded my legs as I began to float in the air. Still hovering, I maneuvered myself towards a blind spot I saw not too far from my current position. Now, no one will see me, guaranteeing myself some stress-free days of meditation. As I closed my eyes, I thought to myself.
The next time I open these eyes, it will be to kill.
It has been several days since I first started meditating. While I was balancing the white and dark magicks within my body, I extended my senses every single day to listen and remember the days I spent with Evangeline, not once breaking concentration. Sometimes I wanted to laugh, sometimes I wanted to cry, but I didn't do either of those, not even once. To do so would be to let the two magicks mix and render me unable to use magic. Can I balance them without meditating? Of course. But I happen to enjoy holding the two magicks evenly as I took in the events around me. It was peaceful, something I don't get to enjoy often.
Finally, the time came. I could hear that bounty hunter talking to me and my friends some time ago, I could feel their magic energy working to cast the spells that were taught to them by him. Finally, I could feel them readying their attack.
There was nothing I have ever wanted more than to jump into the fray and kill that upstart bounty hunter right now before things got too out of hand. But first, some requirements had to be met. Requirement number one was Kitty to distract the bounty hunter enough for me to get there without either of them noticing me. The second requirement is for the me of this timeline to 'die'. I could do that myself or let the bounty hunter do it. No, only I could take my own life. I won't let Kitty watch the me of this time die. The third requirement is to use a certain spell that will merge my soul with the me of this time. That way, he won't really die, he will just become a part of me. Thankfully, I can do this in roughly a one hundredth of a second. Once the two are distracted, it should only take me about half a second to cross the distance between my house and the school. I just need to be patient.
Patience.
Patience.
Patience…NOW!
I opened my eyes for the first time in little under a week. My eyes adjusted to the light in a thousandth of a second and not soon after that, I pumped my muscles and shunpoed my way to the schoolyard. Everything was a blur as I ran. I didn't bother paying attention to my surroundings either way. All I was focused on was the trio before me, two standing and one on the ground. The two standing was Kitty and the bounty hunter, the miserable low life who attempted to kill Evangeline for 600,000,000 yen. The third was me. I quickly rushed over to him, careful not to draw the attention of the other two. It was not long, by my standards, until I was kneeled behind my younger self. I placed my finger on his back and drew a magic circle as fast as I could and chanted, "Ric Rac La Lac Maltac." Skipping the incantation, I watched as my other self, before he could even react, become nothing but a mass of light that was then absorbed by the circle I drew. The other two didn't seem to notice, the both of them had the complete focus of the other.
Alright, I thought, now that the me of this timeline is taken care of, I can finally have my revenge. Now what point are we at in this fight? I listened.
"The power of overcoming my special sealing spell…is love, isn't it?" I watched as the nameless bounty hunter donned an ugly grin. I realized that we were at the point where he was about to cut Kitty into five different pieces.
"Not this time, shit face." I watched as he withdrew his sword out of my teacher's arm. With that wicked grin still on his face, I could see his sword…slowly descend on Yukihime.
So slow. I thought I was walked up to intercept the sword. I have enough time to block this a hundred different ways and still have enough time to do a few dozen push-ups.Brushing aside the quite tempting desire to mock this man in all sorts of ways, I settled for simply blocking the sword with my pinky.
Clang! A metallic sound echoed off the school building and the nearby trees as his sword met my finger. The nameless man looked as if was about to say something but instantly shut his trap only for it to open so wide I could fit my head in it. Evangeline was slightly better off, only going slack jawed and looking at this seemingly impossible scene with wide eyes while falling on her butt with an "Oof!"
"You messed with the wrong person, boy." I told him, with my face like a storm and a voice of thunder.
"W-wh-how-w-wh-when-where-w-wh-why!?" He stuttered, so shocked he was unable to form a single sentence.
"How? Quite simply really. I'm just stronger than you. When…as in when did I get this strong? I haven't been like this long so you'll have to forgive me if I can't control my own strength. Where would be right here. As for why…" I glared at him and grasped his sword in my hand. Seeing this, he panicked and frantically tried to free his sword from my grasp; tried being the operative word in that sentence. "You just tried to cut her into five different pieces, didn't you? That is the only 'why' I need." I watched as he began to sweat buckets at my declaration. Once I finished, he let go of the sword and attempted to run away from me. I didn't give him he honor of my chasing them. Instead I held the sword up like a javelin.
"W-wait! Touta!" Too late. I had already thrown it. The sword sunk its blade into that person's neck, slicing clean right through him and thoroughly removing his head. That damned bounty hunter that started it all was dead. It was my very first kill. Surprisingly, I didn't feel that shaken up over it. I had thought that I would be puking my guts out.
"To-Touta." I looked behind me to see Yukihime brushing off the few traces of magic left on her and giving me one hell of a look that I couldn't really describe. She stood to her full height and looked down at me. "What was that?"
Oh, crap now to feign innocence. Not my strongest forte. I looked all across the area for something that could explain my 'sudden' power up. Not seeing anything that could explain what just happened I decided to do a partial truth.
"I…I remembered something…about my past." I started.
"Oh?" She asked, clearly interested.
"A long time ago, before my parents sent me to be with you, I was bitten by something." I saw her eyes shoot up once she heard that. "I have been like this ever since then. I never told anyone about this, not even my own parents. I didn't think anyone would believe me." I kept one eye on how Kitty was reacting to my story, searching for signs of disbelief. So far, I haven't found any so I continued with my story. "I always had to hold back when I was around my friends. I didn't want them to think I was some kind of freak. And worst of all, I didn't want you to think I was some kind of freak either. But when I saw what he did to you and saw how fast he moved and how strong he was…I figured it would be okay if I just…let go."
I waited to hear her response. If she didn't believe me I would have to come up with another plan and I honestly didn't know how long it would take. She brought her hand up to mouth and slightly bit on her finger. After a few seconds, she seemed to come up to a decision as she released her finger from her mouth. Then she did something that I have never seen her do.
She got on her knees and prostrated herself before me.
"Please forgive me, Touta. That thing that bit you a long time ago…that was me." I already knew that but I pretended to be shocked.
"Wh-what?" I asked. She raised her head but remained on her knees.
"Two years ago, according to your late parents wish, I turned you into a vampire. I lied to myself and said that it was for your safety. I didn't know what you would think of it. Despite your innocence, I dragged you into my eternal curse. I am sorry."
I looked down at her, continuing the act. "By eternal curse…you mean immortality? Isn't that what everyone wants?" I asked.
"There are a lot of people who think that," she said, finally getting back on her feet. Thank Christ for that, I don't think I could have handled her kneeling in front of me for much longer. Then she looked at me with those eyes, instantly making me wish she was back on her knees. Her eyes held pity. The one thing her eyes should not hold. "But once you do become immortal, you will find that it is not as good as everyone thinks it is."
Yeah, I know. Everyone you loved as a mortal will age and wither away while you have to stand and watch, while enduring all of your own troubles. I have been put through so much because of my immortality, there have been plenty of times I wished I was mortal again. But I didn't regret it. Because of it, I was able to meet this wonderful woman in front of me. I couldn't help but smile.
This action confused Evangeline. Ignoring her confusion, I raised my hand and flicked her in the nose, something she definitely didn't expect. She raised her hand to her nose in surprise and looked at me, questioning why I did that.
"Why are you apologizing with such a sweet face?" I asked. I raised my hand and rested it on her shoulder, pushing down. Seeing what I wanted her to do, she got back on her knees, making it easier for me to look into her eyes. I found it kind of funny that I was only a little bit taller than she was on her knees but I brushed that aside. I removed my hand and guided it up onto her cheek, massaging it with my thumb, successfully drawing a blush out of the leader of the immortal organization. "You should just stand there and preach at me like you always do. Besides, I am glad you are an immortal."
"What?" she asked, still blushing.
"It really hurt when I thought you were going to die. I'm glad I intervened when I did. I couldn't bear the thought of you dying. You are the only one I can call family after all." I saw my friends waking up in the corner of my eye. I excused myself and went over to see if they were all right. I went over so quickly that I almost missed Kitty whispering something.
"You're…more mature than I thought you were."
Oh, I am so not letting her live that one down.
It has been a few days since we left the countryside on our journey towards the capital. We were currently traveling through a forest. We stopped by a village a few miles back to replenish our supplies and to rest for a bit. I met this young girl named Shinobu in that village who also wants to go to the top of the tower. This world is really a small world, isn't it? I will have to stop by her village again once we reach the capital, hopefully before Negi and Nagi take their move.
That reminds me that my friends back home made up this song that we liked to sing every now and then. To liven up the silence, I figured I would whistle it for a bit. After about five minutes of whistling I decided to stop since the tune was getting old to me.
"Hey," Kitty said, a little disappointed, "I was enjoying that." She complained.
"Ha ha," I laughed, a little nervous, "got to let my mouth rest before I start whistling again." I told her. Obviously, I could have kept going if I chose to but I needed to act like the old Touta as much as possible or else my cover might get blown.
"Please," she laughed, "your mouth needs to rest? Oh please. That big mouth of yours never needs rest."
"Oh?" I looked back at her, a small tic mark forming on my head. "And you would know, wouldn't you? After all, you taught me everything to know about big mouths. Isn't that right, Yuki-Big-Mouth?"
Now a tic mark was forming on her head. "Seems like someone managed to grow a pair in the last few days. Maybe someone needs to be taught a lesson."
I laughed again, taunting her, "Oh please, if I have to sit through another one of your lessons I just might fall asleep!" Seeing as I probably know more about fighting and magic then she does.
"Oh…" I turned around to see what the noise was. I could see that Yukihime's eyes were glowing sky blue, her aura seemed to take the shape of an ice storm, not to mention I could actually feel the temperature dropping. "I seem to have forgotten something." She said, making me somewhat nervous. "I forgot that you are an immortal now. That means I can ramp up then punishments now does it not!?" The temperature began to fall faster, the ice storm grew more violent and I could tell she was about to unleash some big magic.
"Malleus Aquilonis!" Once the name of the spell was uttered, I felt a massive amount of magic energy above me. I looked up…and saw a massive chunk of ice the size of a large hill coming right at me.
(Flashback)
Dana and I were fighting, I was being pushed back for a while now. She had killed me so many times that I was getting afraid of what might happen if she kept killing me. Would my healing factor wear out? Would I finally die? Before having done anything?
"Where do you think you are going!?" A voice from behind me asked. I spun on my heel to look up at the massive bodied woman. Seeing something from above, I saw a massive fist crashing down on me!
I'm not going to make it!
(Flashback End)
When I looked up at the mass of ice above, I didn't see the ice…I saw Dana's fist. I was afraid what might happen if that fist actually hit me.
I have to do something!
"Ric Rac La Lac Maltac!" I crouched down into a stance, balancing the magics within me as I did so. "Forma Fulgur!" Lightning began to coat my skin, crackling in the air around me. I was in danger. I didn't have the time to dodge, the attack was falling to fast. Therefore, there was only one thing left to do.
Destroy it.
The lightning began to grow even more fierce as I channeled it into my legs. With no sound whatsoever, I jumped to meet the block of ice head on. As we raced towards the other, I pulled my right hand back and threw it forward. The ice met my thunder charged fist, breaking into pieces under my destructive power, the sound echoing like a boom of thunder.
With the threat of being crushed by ice evaded, I searched the ground for the source of the spell. It did not even take half a second to locate the girl. Using the larger pieces of ice as momentum, I ran down them and jumped off the last one, landing at the feet of the Dark Evangel, throwing a punch without her being able to respond. Lightning from my entire body crawled along my skin at amazing speeds to join the fist in its attempt to reck the shit of the being who dared incurred the wrath of its wielder, kicking up smoke and dust whenever a bolt missed. When the sediment finally did settle, however; Yukihimi was leaning back in shock and disbelief. My fist was hovering just a millimeter away from the area of her chest where her heart was located.
…I did it, it would seem.
"Touta…" Yukihime said in awe, all former anger gone in an instant, "you can use magic? Without an app?"
"Don't talk to me." I said without any discussion, turning my back to her and I began walking in the same path that we were initially taking.
"Bu..! But Touta!" Yukihime called out to me, trying to get an explanation out of me.
"This conversation is over!" I shouted at her, convincing her to stop. She looked like she had so many things to say and ask right now, but decided to honor my demand.
After all, my face was not one that said 'ask away'. It said 'shut the fuck up'. And she was not used to seeing me with that kind of face. It must have thrown her off balance.
How could she just use such a powerful spell on me just because I will live through it?
…this calls for payback. But if I try to physically attack her she can just split into lots of bats and avoid any physical means of harm because of her being a Shinzo vampire.
I spent the last half an hour thinking intensely on what spell I should use as payback, subconsciously leading us through the familiar leafy terrain
"Um…Tou…ugg…can I at least…nevermind." Kitty was still trying to apologize for earlier. I was still not happy with her in the slightest but I had calmed down enough to listen to her apology.
"What do you want Yukihime?" I stopped and turned to face her. "We are almost out of the forest."
"I…I just wanted to apologize. I knew you were just exchanging word play just as I was. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I am sorry." I looked at her and sighed. Again with the regretful face. I pulled my hands out of my pockets and walked over to her holding one out.
"I don't mind you using magic, but magic for means it is time to get serious. I don't use it unless I am in absolute danger like with that little prank you pulled earlier. Don't throw something that big at me again and we are cool. Deal?"
"Deal." She took my hand. Heh.
When she wrapped her fingers around my own, I discharged some of the electricity that remained after into her hand, causing her to jump back as she was literally shocked and looked back at her smoking hand.
"I'll call it even with that." I winked at her and started walking again. I could hear her chuckle and she rubbed her hand.
"Cocky brat."
"What was that?" I hollered.
"Nothing." She innocently replied. After a few moments we both started laughing at the absurdity of what transpired. We were still laughing when we finally came out of the forest.
"Oh hey, a building." I noticed. "Geh, it's just an abandoned gas station."
"Still, we have not stopped to actually rest in a while so might as well take a break." She said. Actually, now that I think about it...it was around here that I first met Kurormaru. Gotta make sure that still happens, he will be quite important later on.
"Hey, I'm going to go take a shower in that waterfall over there," I told her, indicating the general direction.
"Ok, just be careful of bounty hunters!"
"Yeah yeah!" I shouted back, taking off on a light job, hoping he was still bathing since me and Kitty and a bit of a dispute on our way here.
After a few minutes of light jogging I tossed off my clothes mid run and jumped right in. The water actually felt great. It has been so long since I have felt actual water on my back. I took a shower before I left Dana's place but the cold water has its perks.
I surfaced and just let myself float on the surface, just relaxing, waiting. Of course, just like last time, I hit something that wasn't quite hard but it wasn't soft either.
"Whoops." I said as I straightened myself and looked back to see, as expected, Kuromaru Tokisaki standing alert as he looked behind his shoulder to see who just bumped into his butt. "Sorry about that," I apologized, "I had my eyes closed and wasn't paying attention to where I was floating. My bad." He took this a lot better than the last time, removing his hand from the sword he had on the nearby rock and covering himself with his towel.
"Oh no, it is my fault for not paying attention. I was just getting out and didn't think of looking behind me. My name is Kuromaru Tokisaki." he said, extending his hand.
"Mine is Touta Konoe. Nice to meet you." I pretended to notice his sword on the rock he just had his hand on. "Is that a sword up there by chance?" I pointed. He looked back to see where I was pointing.
"Actually, it is." He looked back over at me. "Do you also know the ways of the sword?"
I nodded. "I do actually. However, my sword was just a simple bamboo one and it recently got smashed." I rubbed the back of my head in a sheepish manner to go along with my story.
"Really?" He asked, a glint in his eye. "Would you mind if I see your swordsmanship? I have a spare sword on me if you are interested."
Bullseye. "Sure, sounds like fun. Just let me run over and grab my clothes and I will be right back!" I turned the other way and started swimming back to where I dropped my clothes at. Not in any real hurry now that I found him, I took my time drying off and getting dressed. Once everything was back where it should be I leisurely strolled back to where I first saw Kuromaru. I found him leaning against a tree a few yards away from the waterfall.
"It is about time," he called, " I was beginning to think you chickened out!"
"Heh, it will take more than a few taunts and some bravado to scare me off." I grinned back, accepting his challenge with much eagerness.
"I would be disappointed otherwise." He grabbed two swords off the ground by his feet and threw one of them at me. I caught it with my left arm and appraised it. "I figured you should use a sword that you are better accustomed to." He told me as I inspected the bamboo sword he tossed me. It was a little too light for my taste but it will probably be the heaviest I will get so I accepted it gladly.
"Sounds like you really want an all-out fight." I asked the indirect question, doing a few test swings to adjust to the unusual sword.
"I figured we would fight till one of us yields. Seeing as you can swing that sword around like it is nothing, surely you don't mind, do you?" He grinned. I grinned back. Was he always this much of a sword fanatic? Maybe I earned his respect by not groping his ass like last time. Then again, my shirt was off and I did have an impressive build.
Suddenly, my body started moving on its own, directing the sword to block an overhead strike from my opponent. "You must have a lot of confidence in your skills if you are dozing off like that." Kuromaru grunted, putting actual effort behind his stroke.
"Hey, hey. What would you have done if that actually hit me?" I asked him as I pushed him back a little bit and went in for the engage.
"I would have done nothing since you must not amount to much if a simple strike like that was all it took to defeat you." He parried three of my four strikes, dodging the last and lashing out at my exposed stomach.
"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or be insulted by that." I told him, side stepping the blow and began pressuring him. We continued to exchange blows as well as our verbal jousts. He told me that he was from space and that his family trained him in the ways of the sword and that he was not allowed to return until he found the person that he was told to find. At this point, we had concluded our sparing session with Kuromaru being completely out of breath while I was breathing just as easily as before we began.
"But still…your swordsmanship…is amazing…I couldn't even get a single blow in…" he wheezed. He was lying on his butt on the concrete, getting his breath back.
"I was surprised too." I told him, "You were a lot stronger than I thought you were." Those were honest to goodness words of praise that just left my mouth. Back in my timeline, I never got to fought Kuromaru at his full strength because he would always go easy on me. Now I could see the huge gap that had stood between him and the old me, and I was grateful that he deemed me worthy of going all out.
I smiled down at him. "Hey Yukihime!" I called. "We just finished up. Could you bring us something to drink?" I heard no answer but I knew that she heard me. I could tell she was eavesdropping on me. Vampiric hearing had its perks, such as being able to hear anything going on for miles.
"Who did you call out to?" Kuromaru asked, seemingly haven gotten his breath back. I offered my hand and he took it with gratitude.
"I'm traveling with a friend. She was watching us fight and I was getting a little thirsty. So, I asked her to bring us something to drink. Let's wait against that glass until she shows up." I pointed to our right and started walking over to it, Kuromaru in tow. We both leaned against the glass and waited. While we waited Kuromaru thought it would be a little funny to start asking weird questions.
"Earlier, you said 'she' right?" Oh no, I know where this is going.
"Yeah. Why?" I saw him smirk.
"Oh come on, we just got done having a very intense sword fight and you get all defensive once I ask you about a girl? You must really care about her don't you?"
…God dammit. "And what would you do I said yes?" I rolled my eyes but I couldn't stop the grin on my face.
"Well, I would ask for a name. Then maybe I can get to know her as well." He said.
"I'm going to ask this now," I told him, totally serious right now. "You aren't interesting in trying to take her from me, are you?" It took him a while to understand what I meant. When did, however, he instantly lightened up in his teasing and gave me a reassuring smile.
"Oh, sorry about that." Were his words. "It is just I haven't ever met someone like you before so I didn't really know how to act. No, I am not trying to take her away from you, I apologize if that is what it seemed like."
I breathed a little sigh of relief. I was wondering why he was acting so differently than what I knew. So he was only trying to find out what I liked in a friend. I gave him a good clap in the shoulder and told him, "That is fine. Just act like yourself and be honest with me and you can expect us to be good friends." I saw the uncertainty in his eyes as I informed him of this. That uncertainty didn't last for long as I soon saw a fire burn bright in his eyes. He mimicked my shoulder clap.
"I will hold that to you as well," he informed me, "don't you say one thing and start doing something else."
"Deal."
"Deal."
With that out of our systems we both relaxed, our nerves finally settled down. We enjoyed a few minutes of silence before Kuromaru spoke. "I still want to know the name of that girl."
I glanced over at him and saw a flash of yellow nearby. "Just in time then. She is right over there." I nodded in the general direction she was in. The swordsman turned his head to see who was approached. As soon as he recognized the face he was instantly on his feet.
"Th…that is you friend?" He asked hesitantly. I could see him swallow his saliva in nervousness and anticipation.
"Yup," I said, keeping an eye on him in case he tried to dash her like in my time line, "she likes to be called Yukihime but her real name is Evangeline A.K. McDowell. And judging by your reaction, you know what she is." He looked back at me in shock. "Let me reintroduce myself. I am Touta Konoe and before you even ask, yes, I am a vampire as well."
Finally, the time came. I could hear that bounty hunter talking to me and my friends some time ago, I could feel their magic energy working to cast the spells that were taught to them by him. Finally, I could feel them readying their attack.
There was nothing I have ever wanted more than to jump into the fray and kill that upstart bounty hunter right now before things got too out of hand. But first, some requirements had to be met. Requirement number one was Kitty to distract the bounty hunter enough for me to get there without either of them noticing me. The second requirement is for the me of this timeline to 'die'. I could do that myself or let the bounty hunter do it. No, only I could take my own life. I won't let Kitty watch the me of this time die. The third requirement is to use a certain spell that will merge my soul with the me of this time. That way, he won't really die, he will just become a part of me. Thankfully, I can do this in roughly a one hundredth of a second. Once the two are distracted, it should only take me about half a second to cross the distance between my house and the school. I just need to be patient.
Patience.
Patience.
Patience…NOW!
I opened my eyes for the first time in little under a week. My eyes adjusted to the light in a thousandth of a second and not soon after that, I pumped my muscles and shunpoed my way to the schoolyard. Everything was a blur as I ran. I didn't bother paying attention to my surroundings either way. All I was focused on was the trio before me, two standing and one on the ground. The two standing was Kitty and the bounty hunter, the miserable low life who attempted to kill Evangeline for 600,000,000 yen. The third was me. I quickly rushed over to him, careful not to draw the attention of the other two. It was not long, by my standards, until I was kneeled behind my younger self. I placed my finger on his back and drew a magic circle as fast as I could and chanted, "Ric Rac La Lac Maltac." Skipping the incantation, I watched as my other self, before he could even react, become nothing but a mass of light that was then absorbed by the circle I drew. The other two didn't seem to notice, the both of them had the complete focus of the other.
Alright, I thought, now that the me of this timeline is taken care of, I can finally have my revenge. Now what point are we at in this fight? I listened.
"The power of overcoming my special sealing spell…is love, isn't it?" I watched as the nameless bounty hunter donned an ugly grin. I realized that we were at the point where he was about to cut Kitty into five different pieces.
"Not this time, shit face." I watched as he withdrew his sword out of my teacher's arm. With that wicked grin still on his face, I could see his sword…slowly descend on Yukihime.
So slow. I thought I was walked up to intercept the sword. I have enough time to block this a hundred different ways and still have enough time to do a few dozen push-ups.Brushing aside the quite tempting desire to mock this man in all sorts of ways, I settled for simply blocking the sword with my pinky.
Clang! A metallic sound echoed off the school building and the nearby trees as his sword met my finger. The nameless man looked as if was about to say something but instantly shut his trap only for it to open so wide I could fit my head in it. Evangeline was slightly better off, only going slack jawed and looking at this seemingly impossible scene with wide eyes while falling on her butt with an "Oof!"
"You messed with the wrong person, boy." I told him, with my face like a storm and a voice of thunder.
"W-wh-how-w-wh-when-where-w-wh-why!?" He stuttered, so shocked he was unable to form a single sentence.
"How? Quite simply really. I'm just stronger than you. When…as in when did I get this strong? I haven't been like this long so you'll have to forgive me if I can't control my own strength. Where would be right here. As for why…" I glared at him and grasped his sword in my hand. Seeing this, he panicked and frantically tried to free his sword from my grasp; tried being the operative word in that sentence. "You just tried to cut her into five different pieces, didn't you? That is the only 'why' I need." I watched as he began to sweat buckets at my declaration. Once I finished, he let go of the sword and attempted to run away from me. I didn't give him he honor of my chasing them. Instead I held the sword up like a javelin.
"W-wait! Touta!" Too late. I had already thrown it. The sword sunk its blade into that person's neck, slicing clean right through him and thoroughly removing his head. That damned bounty hunter that started it all was dead. It was my very first kill. Surprisingly, I didn't feel that shaken up over it. I had thought that I would be puking my guts out.
"To-Touta." I looked behind me to see Yukihime brushing off the few traces of magic left on her and giving me one hell of a look that I couldn't really describe. She stood to her full height and looked down at me. "What was that?"
Oh, crap now to feign innocence. Not my strongest forte. I looked all across the area for something that could explain my 'sudden' power up. Not seeing anything that could explain what just happened I decided to do a partial truth.
"I…I remembered something…about my past." I started.
"Oh?" She asked, clearly interested.
"A long time ago, before my parents sent me to be with you, I was bitten by something." I saw her eyes shoot up once she heard that. "I have been like this ever since then. I never told anyone about this, not even my own parents. I didn't think anyone would believe me." I kept one eye on how Kitty was reacting to my story, searching for signs of disbelief. So far, I haven't found any so I continued with my story. "I always had to hold back when I was around my friends. I didn't want them to think I was some kind of freak. And worst of all, I didn't want you to think I was some kind of freak either. But when I saw what he did to you and saw how fast he moved and how strong he was…I figured it would be okay if I just…let go."
I waited to hear her response. If she didn't believe me I would have to come up with another plan and I honestly didn't know how long it would take. She brought her hand up to mouth and slightly bit on her finger. After a few seconds, she seemed to come up to a decision as she released her finger from her mouth. Then she did something that I have never seen her do.
She got on her knees and prostrated herself before me.
"Please forgive me, Touta. That thing that bit you a long time ago…that was me." I already knew that but I pretended to be shocked.
"Wh-what?" I asked. She raised her head but remained on her knees.
"Two years ago, according to your late parents wish, I turned you into a vampire. I lied to myself and said that it was for your safety. I didn't know what you would think of it. Despite your innocence, I dragged you into my eternal curse. I am sorry."
I looked down at her, continuing the act. "By eternal curse…you mean immortality? Isn't that what everyone wants?" I asked.
"There are a lot of people who think that," she said, finally getting back on her feet. Thank Christ for that, I don't think I could have handled her kneeling in front of me for much longer. Then she looked at me with those eyes, instantly making me wish she was back on her knees. Her eyes held pity. The one thing her eyes should not hold. "But once you do become immortal, you will find that it is not as good as everyone thinks it is."
Yeah, I know. Everyone you loved as a mortal will age and wither away while you have to stand and watch, while enduring all of your own troubles. I have been put through so much because of my immortality, there have been plenty of times I wished I was mortal again. But I didn't regret it. Because of it, I was able to meet this wonderful woman in front of me. I couldn't help but smile.
This action confused Evangeline. Ignoring her confusion, I raised my hand and flicked her in the nose, something she definitely didn't expect. She raised her hand to her nose in surprise and looked at me, questioning why I did that.
"Why are you apologizing with such a sweet face?" I asked. I raised my hand and rested it on her shoulder, pushing down. Seeing what I wanted her to do, she got back on her knees, making it easier for me to look into her eyes. I found it kind of funny that I was only a little bit taller than she was on her knees but I brushed that aside. I removed my hand and guided it up onto her cheek, massaging it with my thumb, successfully drawing a blush out of the leader of the immortal organization. "You should just stand there and preach at me like you always do. Besides, I am glad you are an immortal."
"What?" she asked, still blushing.
"It really hurt when I thought you were going to die. I'm glad I intervened when I did. I couldn't bear the thought of you dying. You are the only one I can call family after all." I saw my friends waking up in the corner of my eye. I excused myself and went over to see if they were all right. I went over so quickly that I almost missed Kitty whispering something.
"You're…more mature than I thought you were."
Oh, I am so not letting her live that one down.
It has been a few days since we left the countryside on our journey towards the capital. We were currently traveling through a forest. We stopped by a village a few miles back to replenish our supplies and to rest for a bit. I met this young girl named Shinobu in that village who also wants to go to the top of the tower. This world is really a small world, isn't it? I will have to stop by her village again once we reach the capital, hopefully before Negi and Nagi take their move.
That reminds me that my friends back home made up this song that we liked to sing every now and then. To liven up the silence, I figured I would whistle it for a bit. After about five minutes of whistling I decided to stop since the tune was getting old to me.
"Hey," Kitty said, a little disappointed, "I was enjoying that." She complained.
"Ha ha," I laughed, a little nervous, "got to let my mouth rest before I start whistling again." I told her. Obviously, I could have kept going if I chose to but I needed to act like the old Touta as much as possible or else my cover might get blown.
"Please," she laughed, "your mouth needs to rest? Oh please. That big mouth of yours never needs rest."
"Oh?" I looked back at her, a small tic mark forming on my head. "And you would know, wouldn't you? After all, you taught me everything to know about big mouths. Isn't that right, Yuki-Big-Mouth?"
Now a tic mark was forming on her head. "Seems like someone managed to grow a pair in the last few days. Maybe someone needs to be taught a lesson."
I laughed again, taunting her, "Oh please, if I have to sit through another one of your lessons I just might fall asleep!" Seeing as I probably know more about fighting and magic then she does.
"Oh…" I turned around to see what the noise was. I could see that Yukihime's eyes were glowing sky blue, her aura seemed to take the shape of an ice storm, not to mention I could actually feel the temperature dropping. "I seem to have forgotten something." She said, making me somewhat nervous. "I forgot that you are an immortal now. That means I can ramp up then punishments now does it not!?" The temperature began to fall faster, the ice storm grew more violent and I could tell she was about to unleash some big magic.
"Malleus Aquilonis!" Once the name of the spell was uttered, I felt a massive amount of magic energy above me. I looked up…and saw a massive chunk of ice the size of a large hill coming right at me.
(Flashback)
Dana and I were fighting, I was being pushed back for a while now. She had killed me so many times that I was getting afraid of what might happen if she kept killing me. Would my healing factor wear out? Would I finally die? Before having done anything?
"Where do you think you are going!?" A voice from behind me asked. I spun on my heel to look up at the massive bodied woman. Seeing something from above, I saw a massive fist crashing down on me!
I'm not going to make it!
(Flashback End)
When I looked up at the mass of ice above, I didn't see the ice…I saw Dana's fist. I was afraid what might happen if that fist actually hit me.
I have to do something!
"Ric Rac La Lac Maltac!" I crouched down into a stance, balancing the magics within me as I did so. "Forma Fulgur!" Lightning began to coat my skin, crackling in the air around me. I was in danger. I didn't have the time to dodge, the attack was falling to fast. Therefore, there was only one thing left to do.
Destroy it.
The lightning began to grow even more fierce as I channeled it into my legs. With no sound whatsoever, I jumped to meet the block of ice head on. As we raced towards the other, I pulled my right hand back and threw it forward. The ice met my thunder charged fist, breaking into pieces under my destructive power, the sound echoing like a boom of thunder.
With the threat of being crushed by ice evaded, I searched the ground for the source of the spell. It did not even take half a second to locate the girl. Using the larger pieces of ice as momentum, I ran down them and jumped off the last one, landing at the feet of the Dark Evangel, throwing a punch without her being able to respond. Lightning from my entire body crawled along my skin at amazing speeds to join the fist in its attempt to reck the shit of the being who dared incurred the wrath of its wielder, kicking up smoke and dust whenever a bolt missed. When the sediment finally did settle, however; Yukihimi was leaning back in shock and disbelief. My fist was hovering just a millimeter away from the area of her chest where her heart was located.
…I did it, it would seem.
"Touta…" Yukihime said in awe, all former anger gone in an instant, "you can use magic? Without an app?"
"Don't talk to me." I said without any discussion, turning my back to her and I began walking in the same path that we were initially taking.
"Bu..! But Touta!" Yukihime called out to me, trying to get an explanation out of me.
"This conversation is over!" I shouted at her, convincing her to stop. She looked like she had so many things to say and ask right now, but decided to honor my demand.
After all, my face was not one that said 'ask away'. It said 'shut the fuck up'. And she was not used to seeing me with that kind of face. It must have thrown her off balance.
How could she just use such a powerful spell on me just because I will live through it?
…this calls for payback. But if I try to physically attack her she can just split into lots of bats and avoid any physical means of harm because of her being a Shinzo vampire.
I spent the last half an hour thinking intensely on what spell I should use as payback, subconsciously leading us through the familiar leafy terrain
"Um…Tou…ugg…can I at least…nevermind." Kitty was still trying to apologize for earlier. I was still not happy with her in the slightest but I had calmed down enough to listen to her apology.
"What do you want Yukihime?" I stopped and turned to face her. "We are almost out of the forest."
"I…I just wanted to apologize. I knew you were just exchanging word play just as I was. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I am sorry." I looked at her and sighed. Again with the regretful face. I pulled my hands out of my pockets and walked over to her holding one out.
"I don't mind you using magic, but magic for means it is time to get serious. I don't use it unless I am in absolute danger like with that little prank you pulled earlier. Don't throw something that big at me again and we are cool. Deal?"
"Deal." She took my hand. Heh.
When she wrapped her fingers around my own, I discharged some of the electricity that remained after into her hand, causing her to jump back as she was literally shocked and looked back at her smoking hand.
"I'll call it even with that." I winked at her and started walking again. I could hear her chuckle and she rubbed her hand.
"Cocky brat."
"What was that?" I hollered.
"Nothing." She innocently replied. After a few moments we both started laughing at the absurdity of what transpired. We were still laughing when we finally came out of the forest.
"Oh hey, a building." I noticed. "Geh, it's just an abandoned gas station."
"Still, we have not stopped to actually rest in a while so might as well take a break." She said. Actually, now that I think about it...it was around here that I first met Kurormaru. Gotta make sure that still happens, he will be quite important later on.
"Hey, I'm going to go take a shower in that waterfall over there," I told her, indicating the general direction.
"Ok, just be careful of bounty hunters!"
"Yeah yeah!" I shouted back, taking off on a light job, hoping he was still bathing since me and Kitty and a bit of a dispute on our way here.
After a few minutes of light jogging I tossed off my clothes mid run and jumped right in. The water actually felt great. It has been so long since I have felt actual water on my back. I took a shower before I left Dana's place but the cold water has its perks.
I surfaced and just let myself float on the surface, just relaxing, waiting. Of course, just like last time, I hit something that wasn't quite hard but it wasn't soft either.
"Whoops." I said as I straightened myself and looked back to see, as expected, Kuromaru Tokisaki standing alert as he looked behind his shoulder to see who just bumped into his butt. "Sorry about that," I apologized, "I had my eyes closed and wasn't paying attention to where I was floating. My bad." He took this a lot better than the last time, removing his hand from the sword he had on the nearby rock and covering himself with his towel.
"Oh no, it is my fault for not paying attention. I was just getting out and didn't think of looking behind me. My name is Kuromaru Tokisaki." he said, extending his hand.
"Mine is Touta Konoe. Nice to meet you." I pretended to notice his sword on the rock he just had his hand on. "Is that a sword up there by chance?" I pointed. He looked back to see where I was pointing.
"Actually, it is." He looked back over at me. "Do you also know the ways of the sword?"
I nodded. "I do actually. However, my sword was just a simple bamboo one and it recently got smashed." I rubbed the back of my head in a sheepish manner to go along with my story.
"Really?" He asked, a glint in his eye. "Would you mind if I see your swordsmanship? I have a spare sword on me if you are interested."
Bullseye. "Sure, sounds like fun. Just let me run over and grab my clothes and I will be right back!" I turned the other way and started swimming back to where I dropped my clothes at. Not in any real hurry now that I found him, I took my time drying off and getting dressed. Once everything was back where it should be I leisurely strolled back to where I first saw Kuromaru. I found him leaning against a tree a few yards away from the waterfall.
"It is about time," he called, " I was beginning to think you chickened out!"
"Heh, it will take more than a few taunts and some bravado to scare me off." I grinned back, accepting his challenge with much eagerness.
"I would be disappointed otherwise." He grabbed two swords off the ground by his feet and threw one of them at me. I caught it with my left arm and appraised it. "I figured you should use a sword that you are better accustomed to." He told me as I inspected the bamboo sword he tossed me. It was a little too light for my taste but it will probably be the heaviest I will get so I accepted it gladly.
"Sounds like you really want an all-out fight." I asked the indirect question, doing a few test swings to adjust to the unusual sword.
"I figured we would fight till one of us yields. Seeing as you can swing that sword around like it is nothing, surely you don't mind, do you?" He grinned. I grinned back. Was he always this much of a sword fanatic? Maybe I earned his respect by not groping his ass like last time. Then again, my shirt was off and I did have an impressive build.
Suddenly, my body started moving on its own, directing the sword to block an overhead strike from my opponent. "You must have a lot of confidence in your skills if you are dozing off like that." Kuromaru grunted, putting actual effort behind his stroke.
"Hey, hey. What would you have done if that actually hit me?" I asked him as I pushed him back a little bit and went in for the engage.
"I would have done nothing since you must not amount to much if a simple strike like that was all it took to defeat you." He parried three of my four strikes, dodging the last and lashing out at my exposed stomach.
"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or be insulted by that." I told him, side stepping the blow and began pressuring him. We continued to exchange blows as well as our verbal jousts. He told me that he was from space and that his family trained him in the ways of the sword and that he was not allowed to return until he found the person that he was told to find. At this point, we had concluded our sparing session with Kuromaru being completely out of breath while I was breathing just as easily as before we began.
"But still…your swordsmanship…is amazing…I couldn't even get a single blow in…" he wheezed. He was lying on his butt on the concrete, getting his breath back.
"I was surprised too." I told him, "You were a lot stronger than I thought you were." Those were honest to goodness words of praise that just left my mouth. Back in my timeline, I never got to fought Kuromaru at his full strength because he would always go easy on me. Now I could see the huge gap that had stood between him and the old me, and I was grateful that he deemed me worthy of going all out.
I smiled down at him. "Hey Yukihime!" I called. "We just finished up. Could you bring us something to drink?" I heard no answer but I knew that she heard me. I could tell she was eavesdropping on me. Vampiric hearing had its perks, such as being able to hear anything going on for miles.
"Who did you call out to?" Kuromaru asked, seemingly haven gotten his breath back. I offered my hand and he took it with gratitude.
"I'm traveling with a friend. She was watching us fight and I was getting a little thirsty. So, I asked her to bring us something to drink. Let's wait against that glass until she shows up." I pointed to our right and started walking over to it, Kuromaru in tow. We both leaned against the glass and waited. While we waited Kuromaru thought it would be a little funny to start asking weird questions.
"Earlier, you said 'she' right?" Oh no, I know where this is going.
"Yeah. Why?" I saw him smirk.
"Oh come on, we just got done having a very intense sword fight and you get all defensive once I ask you about a girl? You must really care about her don't you?"
…God dammit. "And what would you do I said yes?" I rolled my eyes but I couldn't stop the grin on my face.
"Well, I would ask for a name. Then maybe I can get to know her as well." He said.
"I'm going to ask this now," I told him, totally serious right now. "You aren't interesting in trying to take her from me, are you?" It took him a while to understand what I meant. When did, however, he instantly lightened up in his teasing and gave me a reassuring smile.
"Oh, sorry about that." Were his words. "It is just I haven't ever met someone like you before so I didn't really know how to act. No, I am not trying to take her away from you, I apologize if that is what it seemed like."
I breathed a little sigh of relief. I was wondering why he was acting so differently than what I knew. So he was only trying to find out what I liked in a friend. I gave him a good clap in the shoulder and told him, "That is fine. Just act like yourself and be honest with me and you can expect us to be good friends." I saw the uncertainty in his eyes as I informed him of this. That uncertainty didn't last for long as I soon saw a fire burn bright in his eyes. He mimicked my shoulder clap.
"I will hold that to you as well," he informed me, "don't you say one thing and start doing something else."
"Deal."
"Deal."
With that out of our systems we both relaxed, our nerves finally settled down. We enjoyed a few minutes of silence before Kuromaru spoke. "I still want to know the name of that girl."
I glanced over at him and saw a flash of yellow nearby. "Just in time then. She is right over there." I nodded in the general direction she was in. The swordsman turned his head to see who was approached. As soon as he recognized the face he was instantly on his feet.
"Th…that is you friend?" He asked hesitantly. I could see him swallow his saliva in nervousness and anticipation.
"Yup," I said, keeping an eye on him in case he tried to dash her like in my time line, "she likes to be called Yukihime but her real name is Evangeline A.K. McDowell. And judging by your reaction, you know what she is." He looked back at me in shock. "Let me reintroduce myself. I am Touta Konoe and before you even ask, yes, I am a vampire as well."
