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Day 99.
It was only Tsubasa, Gaku, Shouma, Takemaru, and Kurara left of the Last Defense Academy students.
Under unknown circumstances, the rest of their classmates have sprung from the dead and returned as zombies. All except for Takumi and Kyoshika. Chances were very slim that they were still alive… maybe they became zombies too? Nevertheless, without some of their strongest teammates, the remaining survivors were forced to fight the Supreme Commander V’ehxness alone.
It was a tough battle, alright. Especially without their team leader, who, along with another one of their greatest teammates, had gone missing after they had to separate when the zombies had last attacked them back on day 73. They were sure that the final battle was a lost cause from the get-go. But maybe that battle was needed to escape the horrifying reality they were living in… and all the motivation needed to defeat her.
After all, if it weren’t for Kurara, they would have all been dead.
The final five closed the door of the entrance hall, shot, taking a breath of much-needed relief.
“Phew… we managed to pull through somehow… I was so sure we weren’t gonna make it!” Shouma sighed, slumping against the Entrance Hall’s door.
“And it’s all thanks to Kurara’s Specialist Skill! Seriously, that was all sorts of awesome!” Gaku smiled excitedly. Kurara puffed up in importance at the compliment. “But of course! And now that you’ve seen the power of the Oosuzuki family, be sure to grovel before us until the end of time!” No one paid any mind to her quips - they were all so exhausted to even do so.
“Still though… thanks for helping us even though we quarantined you for so long… we seriously would’ve been wiped out without you.” Tsubasa apologized. The small girl with the tomato-head mask was about to rant longer, until Takemaru spoke up with a solemn look. “Us five are the only ones left, huh… will the zombies be burned up by the missiles along with the invaders?”
The moment he said that, it really began to sink in.
All of their other teammates were gone… and they will die again. They know that there’s no chance the people on the Artificial Satellite would want them to tag along, given the awful state they were in… so would that mean they’d need to leave them behind?
No… they have to. With humanity being on the verge of being wiped out, they can’t risk the idea of man-eating zombies coming back. Plus, if they did, would the final five even still be alive if they were to take them along on the ship home?
As they pondered, their minds went back to what Takumi said near the beginning of the 100 days.
“I came back here to make sure we don’t lose anyone again. Whatever happens, I will be sure we all make it. Together.”
And he was among the ones not with them… would have this really been the ending he wanted?
…tap… tap… tap…
“Huh?”
…tap… tap… tap…
The five looked around the room, trying to figure out where that strange noise was coming from.
“What…? What’s that sound…?” Tsubasa asked.
…tap… tap… tap…
“It sounds like... footsteps…?” Kurara wondered. Their hearts stopped. Surely they couldn’t have…
The five all turned to the door that led into the hallways of the school, bracing themselves for a potential unwanted visitor… and entered…
…tap… tap… tap…
…Takumi.
“Gh…”
His head hung low, body somewhat slumped over. However, he seemed to be in one peace.
“Takumi?! You’re okay!” Tsubasa tearfully exclaimed, wanting to run over to him. “We were so worried about you…! Where’s Kyoshika? Is she with y-”
“Gahhh…”
A groan broke out, stopping her before she could take the first step. The survivors’ hearts all stopped.
No… no… it couldn’t be.
“Woah… what…?!” Gaku shouted, falling back onto his butt, sweat dripping down.
“No… it can’t be…!” Shouma whispered, covering his mouth in fear.
The redhead looked up in what felt like slow motion to meet their eyes, and confirmed the worst possible scenario the group could’ve imagined.
Takumi Sumino, the boy who had supposedly returned to the future after completing the full 100 days. The boy who returned to the past to complete them all over again to fix his mistakes that were made in the future. The boy who had to murder one of their own, even if it meant to save them from a worse fate than his future.
Has become one of them.
His face was a ghostly pale as if the blood had been drained straight from him. The way he craned his neck gave the others a better view of the bite that had been inflicted on his neck. His bright sapphire eyes have dulled into a glassy, muted shade of blue.
But what was most unsettling was his smile. It wasn’t a huge one, but there was an eerie presence about it. As if he were staring at his next prey and was about ready to toy with his meal before indulging.
…tap… tap… tap… tap… tap… tap…
…tap… tap… tap… tap… tap… tap…
…tap… tap… tap… tap… tap… tap…
More footsteps could be heard.
And then they came down barreling through the hallway door.
Eito Aotsuki… Moko Mojiro… Kako Tsukomo… Hiruko Shizuhara… Ima Tsukomo… Nozomi Kirifuji… and even Kyoshika Magadori…
Everyone who had perished and were now back from the dead came flowing in like a wave on a beach, eyes sunken and bodies in various states of decomposition. The bodies that used to be their comrades slowly came closer to the survivors with snarls and growls. They found their final targets.
“S-Speak of the zombies, and they show up right away!” Kurara cursed.
“Well, not like we can unsee them now they were here…! RUN!” Takemaru shouts, leading the way. However, Moko blocks them from running through the hallway door, with the Tsukomo twins on either side.
“Groooaaahhh…” Moko groaned deeply, with the twins hissing and soughing in unison.
“The hallway! Run for the hallway!” Gaku shouts, but the rest of the group were faster and blocked them from zipping through.
The vacant gazes of what used to be their friends pierced through the five survivors’ very souls, slowly closing in on them in a circle formation - Takumi in particular was growing quicker in his steps, the same empty smile plastered on his lips as his arms began to reach out for them.
“Gah… they’re all blocking the path… now what do we do?!” The survivors stood frozen, unsure if they could find a way to escape or if they should just accept their fate, when Takemaru stood in front of them, cracking his knuckles.
“Damn it all… You guys go. I’ll hold them back.” The others stared in astonishment.
“You can’t be serious…! You’re asking to be killed at this point, dude!” Gaku warned. But before he could object more, the zombified Nozomi broke into a sprint and zipped towards them.
“GAAAAAAAH!!!!” A sea of screams fell into an unsettling harmony as Eito, Hiruko, and Kyoshika followed close behind her. Takemaru locked hands with Nozomi as they pushed against each other, as the trio began making their way towards the other four - notably, Kurara.
“NOOO! GET AWAY!” Kurara screamed, dodging the stampede as she did a side step to do so. However, in the process, she tripped on her foot and fell to the floor. “Eek!” She let out a yelp as she hit the cold marble, her mask slipping over her head, and rolled to the floor.
“M-My mask!”
She reached out to grab it, but one of the zombies rushing towards the outnumbered Takemaru crushed it in the process.
“You ain’t gettin’ your way… You hear?! Not if Takemaru Yakushiji has anything to say about it!” the gangster shouted with purpose, using his strength to push Nozomi down.
“Gyaaah!” Nozomi let out a groan as she toppled back and brought Hiruko and Kyoshika down with her.
“Hah! How ya like that, you undead fr- GOH!”
A sudden pain in his lower chest bloomed. He looked down to see that a fist had gone through his body.
“Huk… hrkk…”
Once the former wrestler-turned-zombie pulled her arm back, Takemaru crumbled over, falling to his knees, blood spewing from his wound. Eito then took the opportunity to charge and bite down hard on his neck, tackling Takemaru to the ground as the victim let out a gurgled scream.
“TAKEMARUUU!” Tsubasa screamed painfully, covering her mouth as bile slowly began to form in her throat.
“Aaah… aaahhhh…!!!” Shouma whimpered, watching his mentor being devoured alive.
“Urk… you four… gh-go… get the h-hell out of here… and stay alive… understand me…?”
Those were the last words they’d ever hear from him before their classmates converged on Takemaru and began unleashing themselves like a pack of hungry wolves.
Takumi noticeably paused before going towards the violated corpse, before he turned his head to the others, who were trembling.
“Darn it all…! Let’s get out of here before we’re his next meal!” Gaku tearfully shouts, sprinting his way towards the exit with Tsubasa and Kurara behind. Shouma paused briefly before turning towards Takemaru.
“But what about-?!”
“It’s too late to save him now! He’s as good as dead…! Now COME ON!” Gaku shouts as he grabs Shouma by the wrist and runs for it.
“GRAAAAH!!!” Takumi’s loud shriek echoed through the halls as the four sprinted as fast as they physically could.
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DING DONG! BING BONG!
What the… is it morning already…?!
No, no no… what do I do now…
“Troops, congratulations! This is your 100th morning at the academy! At long last, the time has come! On this auspicious day, the long-held wish of humanity will finally be realized!”
Forget the morning announcements… it can’t undo what I just saw…
He… he ate him! I saw it happen with my two eyes…!
Takumi ate Shouma…! No, stop it Kurara…! That’s not Takumi anymore…
“The most important battle of all will be upon us momentarily. Please follow the orders provided by the announcement system quickly and without delay. Get yourselves in order before then! I’ll see you-”
“SHUT UP!”
Without thinking, I threw my infuser at the speaker. It buzzed on until it glitched, sparked, and fell silent. Well... there goes my weapon to protect myself. Whatever. Anything to shut his fake-happy-go-lucky voice out… It's not like his presence would’ve been comforting at all anyway…
Day 100… long-head wish of humanity… important battle… why should any of it matter at all now?! Everyone… all of my allies are gone… they've turned into awful monsters…
I’m… all alone…
I crumbled to the floor and just let the tears flow as my throat finally freed some sobs.
“I’m… going to die… by myself… and with no one around to help me…”
Should I just accept my fate…? Am I doomed from the start… It’s only me now… there’s no way I can fend off the zombies by myself…
…
…
…
No.
An Oosuzuki never freezes or cowers in fear when in danger.
“Get up, Kurara Oosuzuki.”
My legs felt numb from all of the running I did… but I need to push through it… I need to get home! Even if it’s only me! I can live…
Takumi said that there’s an escape pod that appears at noon when we reach day 100, right…? If the announcement rang just now… It should only be 8:00 then.
Four hours. I can work with that. If I just sneak my way out of the building with no one seeing me, I just close the entrance off by setting my famous traps!
Then they can’t get me! Easy peasy-
“Found… you…”
Eh…
“Ku…ra…ra…”
No… no no no no no…
Not now…
Anytime but now…!
“Ku…ra…ra…!”
I recognize that voice…
Gulping, I slowly turned around…
My worst fear was standing just a few feet behind me… no. My worst fears.
Takemaru… Tsubasa… Gaku… Shouma… they're all…!
“No…! NO! NOOO! STAY AWAY FROM MEEEE!”
My body moved on its own. Don’t think… just run…
Don’t think… just run…
Run…
Run.
Run.
RunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN
RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN
RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN
“Why… run… away…?”
“Don’t… run…!”
“Stay… here… stay…”
“Join… us… Ku… ra… ra…”
“Ku… ra… ra…”
The voices behind me were broken and monotone… they kept calling for me. But I didn’t listen. In fact, it fueled the adrenaline flowing in my body even more.
They didn’t seem to talk like that when it was the others… is it because they’re deaths were recent and the decomposition didn’t melt their minds or something?
Whatever the reason… I won’t live long without my infuser. That’s when I passed the Bio Lab.
Should I…?
It was a gamble, but maybe if I find a weapon in there…
“Ku… ra… ra…”
Shoot - they’re close by…! Are they around the corner?!
Ugh… what do I do?!
“Ku… ra… ra…”
Screw it. I have no time to make a choice. I ran inside and locked the door behind me. I ran pretty far… so maybe I escaped them for the time being. Now… what can I use…?
It’ll take me a bit of going through everything in this room… I seldom come in here… It’s as unnerving as I was told it was, especially with all of the fluorescent glowing lights… and with my very little knowledge on “zombie” biology, I doubt I could make a trap that would do anything.
I've never really been one to use this type of stuff like…
…Yugamu.
That torture-loving bastard… why did he have to go and kill Moko…?! He must’ve done something to start this whole zombie thing, right…?
I’m still angry at that traitor… but damn it, if he was alive we probably could’ve come up with a killer trap right now… but alas, he’s not. Enough stalling and thinking about that one-eyed freak, Kurara… I need to find something that would-
BANG!
“AH-!”
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
There was a hole through the door… how…?! I know they gain super-human strength, but bursting through doors now?!
IS THERE ANYTHING THESE MONSTERS CAN’T DO?!
“Ku…ra… ra… Ku… ra… ra…!”
A slim arm reaches through the door… it was Takumi. I need to find something… quick… aha! The weird model!
I grabbed it quickly and began batting his arm away.
“Grah…! Gah…!!!”
“GET! AWAY! FOUL! BEAST!!!”
Go away, Takumi… please! Just leave me be…!!!
CRASH!!!!
“KYAAAH!”
The door fell open with a loud bang… Did Takumi use his strength to break it down… AGH! My leg… It's as if five needles were piercing through it…!
Gah, it’s Takumi…! His hand was clawing deep into my skin… it hurts… Takumi…!
“Ku…ra…ra… Kurara…”
Takumi’s smile from before was long gone, now replaced with an empty frown… why did that feel much scarier to me… but those thoughts dissipated as he started to crawl over my body.
At this rate… he’s gonna eat me alive…!
“Graaahhhh…”
“No… No!!! Listen, T-Takumi…! I’m sorry for always being so snippy and mean… okay?! I-I’m sorry for calling you a weird pervert all the time!! I’m sorry, I’m sorry…! Please let me live…!!!”
“Why… so… scared…?”
“Please… Takumi…! I WANNA LIVE!!! PLEASE LET ME GOOO!!!”
Words just spewed out of my mouth mindlessly as I apologized endlessly, and his grip on my wrists grew firmer.
“I can stop!! I can be nicer to you… and t-to Kyoshika… t-to everyone! JUST LET ME LIVE!!!”
My endless begging just seemed to bounce off of him ineffectively. Would atoning to him do anything…? Is he already too far gone…? Takumi tilted his head innocently, that vacant look in his eyes not changing at all.
“Kurara… Kurara… You’ve got it all… wrong… All I want… All I want is… is to…”
Takumi… please no… don’t give in… please…
“Kill… you…”
“TAKUMI! TAKUMI NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!”
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…huh…?
I braced for the incoming bite… but it never came…
What… why…? Why isn’t he…
“Ghh… uuuhhh…”
Is that… sobbing…?
I opened my eyes slowly… and it was coming from him. Tears streamed from Takumi’s eyes, his grip loosening from my wrists as he rose on his knees… staring at me. No, was he staring through me? It was a thousand-yard one, that's for sure.
“Kgh… Ku… ra… ra…”
“Uhh… Eek!”
I had no time to say anything to him. He could probably break out of it and come for me again. Without looking back, I made a break for it and stumbled outside the Bio Lab. With my leg injured thanks to how deep Takumi dug his nails into it, the wound is no doubt gonna slow me down… Forget about finding something to protect myself… I just need to run out of this school. And then wait for the pod. Then I can finally go home and free myself from this nightmare…
“There… Kurara…!” A feminine voice groaned. Tsubasa…! I turned to see the newer group of zombies at the end of the hallway.
“Ku… ra… ra… join us… Ku… rara…” Gaku mumbled as he made a sprint for me.
“EEK!”
I have to run…! The stairs are just ahead. If I make it down and really sprint, I could make it just in time! However, when I made my way down the stairs…
“Groaaaahhh…” A slightly higher-pitched masculine voice… was that… Eito?
“Roooaaaaaahhhhh….!!!!” A powerful yet feminine groan… Moko!
I turned to my right to see them and Hiruko down the hallway… they were running faster than lightning could strike. Crap…! What should I do…
Ah… the gym! I can just run through there and then make it through the entrance hall there… there are no zombies up ahead, so it could work…!
With another push, I took my chances and sprinted as much as I could down the hallway, and when reaching the center, opened the doors of the gym and ran inside…
…only to be greeted by the remaining zombies. Kako, Ima, and Kyoshika.
“Graaahhhh…”
“Giiieee….”
“Groowaaaarrr…!”
No… NOOO!
After all this time staying alive… and this is how I’m rewarded…?!
BAM!!!
“Kyah-?!”
I whipped my head around to see Moko breaking down the door, almost stumbling off-balance as she did, with the others who had followed behind not entering without a second of hesitation.
“E-Everybody…”
Several soulless eyes seared into my body, as they all slowly circled and closed in on me, as they groaned and moaned.
“Giieeee…”
“Vroooh… groooooh…”
“Guys… please… spare me…! Stop it already…!” My pleas fell on deaf ears as they inched closer and closer.
“NOOO!!! LEAVE ME ALOOONE!”
As I stepped back, my injured foot eventually gave out. And it caused me to fall back and slip on my foot.
“GYAH!”
CLANG!
Ow… ow ow…
…wait… was that… metal…? I looked to where the noise came from… huh?
“This… this is…?”
It was a bloodied circular saw… didn’t… Takumi have this when searching for Nozomi earlier…?
“Grah… GRAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
A scream… then a chorus of them ripped and echoed through the gym halls as the group dashed towards me…
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…
“That’s it…”
I gripped the circular saw…
I’m done running away. If I’m going down… I’m not going down without a fight.
“I’ll… kill you…”
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTT!!!
The saw whirred to life as I lifted it with my last bit of strength…
…This is the Kurara Oosuzuki Final Stand.
“I’ll kill all of you…! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!”
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…
…
“GIYAAAAH!”
“GREEEEEHH!
“HYAAH! I’ll kill you! And you! And you! AND EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!”
“GRWOOOOOOOOR!”
“GYAAAAGHH!”
“GWAAAAH!”
“Just die…! JUST DIE! DIE DIE DIIIIEEE!!!!”
“GIIIEEEE!!!!!”
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…
“Haaahh… haaah… haaah…”
It all happened in what felt like an instant.
One minute I was surrounded by the undead… people that used to be my fellow “troops…” classmates…
No. My friends.
One minute, I was surrounded by my undead friends… and then I was surrounded by their butchered bodies in the next. I was completely covered in blood. I took a second to catch my breath and looked around at the massacre in front of me… it was like I painted the whole gym in crimson…
And speaking of crimson…
…tap… tap… tap… tap… tap… tap…
Footsteps. I tensed up and prepared the circular saw for another round… only to see Takumi.
Right… he wasn’t there when I had killed the others…
He slowly staggered over, letting out soft groans before falling on his knees. His gaze was just as blank as the rest… but… There was a small voice in my head to not kill him…
Maybe…
Taking my chances, wiping the tears from my eyes and still gripping the circular saw in my hand, I carefully approached the last zombie standing, my shoes making wet noises and squelching from the carnage below me.
“Hey.. Takumi… You can hear me, right…?” I asked. It was a whisper, so maybe he didn’t… but he looked up and met my eyes… so I guess he did…
“Y-You… hesitated back there… in the Bio Lab…when you tried to attack me. I would be dead… and probably one of you guys if you had bit me again… but you didn’t. You… you’re still in there, right, Takumi…?”
“I… gh… giee…” Takumi whined. Was that… a response? It’ll probably be the best I’ll get from him in this state… I kneeled to his level, but kept the circular saw tight in my grip as I cupped his cheek.
“Hey. If you can still hear my voice… then listen up. This bad ending can’t have been what you came back for… right?”
“Bad… ending…” He repeated. It’s getting to him…! Maybe he can do it after all…! I gripped his hand with my spare one as I let myself weep.
“Then please… use your power! Use it and redo it again! The 100 days…! Come back and save me… no. Not just me! Kyoshika… Nozomi… Moko… everybody…! Save us all! One more time…!”
He didn’t respond. Just stared at nothing in particular. I gripped his shoulders and shook him violently.
“Please, Takumi! You’re our only chance! TAKUMI!” I screamed.
...
Nothing… he didn’t even make a noise.
It’s no use… nothing is getting through to him… all I could do was weep in his lap one more time… and grabbed the circular saw and stood up.
“Alright then… goodbye, Takumi.”
I raised the buzzing tool over my head and prepped myself for one more body to send back to the depths of hell…
…until Takumi pulled out an infuser.
“Huh-?!” I stopped. I took a look at it… the blade had my name engraved… and as if he was waiting for me to see it, he feebly turned the blade around so the handle was towards me.
“Is… that… an infuser…?”
No, not just any infuser… it was my infuser. I dropped the circular saw in shock, taking the blade and inspecting it… when did he…
“Ku… Ku… ra… ra…”
He spoke!
“T-Takumi…? Why?”
“K… kill…”
Wha...? 'Kill…?' What could he…
“...kill… me…”
Huh… kill him…?
“My… my… power…” he mumbled, pointing to me with a weak finger as he sputtered more words. “Use… my… power…”
“Use… your power… how could I-”
And then it clicked.
Of course… we were able to absorb the hemoanima of the other commanders whenever we defeated them in battle to get stronger. And according to Takumi, in his timeline… Eito had absorbed all of the power of the weapon in the Defense Room and then used it to wipe out humanity. That is, until Takumi had killed Eito himself and absorbed his hemoanima… and then that power transferred to us when he came back…
Could… he be asking me to use his power to go back in time and save them myself…
“Takumi…”
It was a gamble, alright… after all… when Takumi returned this time around… it had ended up like this… who knows what could happen if we tamper with time a second time…?
But… was this really the ending we would want…?
…
“...okay… I’ll do it…”
Takumi, taking in my acceptance, laid down on the ground, letting out rugged breaths as if on the verge of death… and in many ways… he was. I crawled over his cold body, raising my infuser in the air, taking in an inhale out of preparation.
“Takumi… I promise… I’ll help save you… and everyone else… okay…? And we will all make it out together this time…!” I tearfully announced, giving him one more smile… although, I don’t know how I’m fairing with how much I was on the verge of breaking down to tears… Heh. If only I had my mask to hide away into.
But… I think I’m fine with having it off this time…
…because Takumi returned a small smile in return. And not like the one I saw before… it felt more genuine. As if the real Takumi had returned for just a moment.
“Ghh… gthhck…"
"...th-thank… you…”
With his last words reaffirming me… and giving him one small parting grin, I plunged the infuser down into his chest and prepared to drain him completely of his hemoanima.
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“Gh… ghack… impossible…! H-how could you be… so much stronger than me…?!” Eito spouted blood from his mouth badly injured from how much damage he sustained during his fight with Takumi - the ladder who was staring daggers into his former friend. The lead commander, Sirei, also stared agape.
“I must say, I’m just as impressed as Mr. Aotsuki here, Sumino! I mean, you had done relatively okay in yesterday’s battle, but you’re on a whole other level now! What training did you do in such a short timespan?”
Eito pondered on how his adversary had grown so much stronger. “I don’t… gkh… understand… It’s only been a day since we’ve first met, and you’ve used hemoanima for the first time… what… what happened to you…?” he attempted to bark accusingly, but he couldn’t shout well enough as he coughed more blood. Takumi stood firm, his sword drawn and pointed towards his opponent.
“It may seem like that way to you… But me? I’ve already gone through the 100 days with you, Eito… and you played me a fool for so long. Everything we did together as a team… everything we sacrificed… the people we’ve lost along the way… it was all for nothing thanks to you!” Takumi accused angrily. Eito sat silently. He even began to feel tears streaming from his face… not out of guilt or anything of the sort, maybe the injuries were really getting to him. Sirei was about to speak up again, until a mysterious voice rang out in the gym.
“It is as Takumi said… Eito would betray us, and in turn, would destroy me near the end of the 100 days…”
A swirl of purple fire spawned and danced, until a figure appeared in the center - a boy who looked around the same age as Eito and Takumi. Sirei and Eito stared in shock, while Takumi stared expectantly, as if he were aware of this mysterious boy.
“Wha… who… who are…?”
“You… you made some kind of an avatar using the Undying Flames…? I was not aware you had that ability…!” Sirei exclaimed. The flame boy looked away, speaking in a detached tone of voice.
“When you never came to the Defense Room, I grew worried that something had happened… but there was something else…” The flame boy spoke earnestly, holding a hand to his heart as he spoke, “...I wanted to see the people who were protecting me… at least once.”
Sirei fell silent, unsure of what to say. That’s when Takumi spoke up. “So… you can see and speak to him too… right, Sirei…?”
“Correct. He is only able to communicate via something called ‘hemoanima telepathy.’ Which means he can communicate only to you. However, I have equipment built into me to also receive those signals and talk with him as well… now… you,” Sirei turned to the flame boy, “you said Takumi was telling the truth…?”
“That's right… You being dismantled by Eito… him killing Hiruko Shizuhara right afterwards… being a part of the reason Ima Tsukomo and Nozomi Kirifuji would be killed… and deceiving the group to the end to destroy humanity… all of it. And with the power of his hemoanima after killing Eito… he was able to travel back through time to now,” he concluded. Sirei pulled a small book out of thin air, seemingly reading through something.
“Well, I’ll be… I didn’t think it could have such power… using hemoanima to travel through time itself…?! Maybe that contributed to what Aotsuki said about having a power surge just before…”
Takumi thought about it for a second, too… because there was something that didn’t add up.
He’s right… Eito did feel stronger just now… but not just him… it felt like I had a power surge back there… as if I had gotten even stronger after traveling back… but I didn’t feel anything change or happen to me when I came back… so how could that be the case…?
BANG!
“HONORABLE SIREI, SIR!”
The door suddenly burst open, and out in the dark scurried another small creature that seemed to resemble Sirei a large amount, only it had a red hat and seemed to have a more wobbly shape to it. “Oh, thank the heavens! We arrived just in time!”
“Ah… Nigou?! What are you doing here?! Aren’t you supposed to be at Second-To-Last Defense Academy with your troops?!” Sirei scolded, causing the other creature, Nigou, to tear up.
“F-forgive me… but one of my students was insistent on bringing us all over, pronto… she was covered in so much blood… a-and claims to have come back in time, and that one of your students has done the same! And she insisted - no, scratch that - she DEMANDED to have us all drive over immediately…!”
Takumi’s heart stopped.
Huh…? Someone from Second-To-Last-Defense Academy… traveled back too…?! But how...?!
“Woah, woah woah! PAUSE! I can get behind Takumi having the possibility given there’s some evidence to it… But now YOU claim someone at your school can do that too?!” The two blobs started to bicker with each other as Eito and the flame boy stared in confusion, before the injured traitorous adversary scowled at Takumi.
“I don’t… understand… Takumi… what have you done in this ‘future’ you speak of…? How can suddenly… You and our… classmates control the future… and what is this “Second-To-Last-Defense-Academy they keep talking about-?”
“...hah… hah… don’t you worry your pretty little head… I can… explain what happened… back in my timeline…”
A voice rang out after the gym’s door banged open. It was high-pitched, out of breath, and ragged… she sounded like she had been through hell. The five turned to face the noise… and this time, it was everyone in the room who stood shocked. Takumi’s eyes widened.
“Huh… guess you don’t recognize me without my mask… huh…?” She chuckled, stepping into the moonlight that lit up the gym. And Takumi’s eyes widened… as he had seen that face a few times before.
“Kurara…?!”
“The one and only.”