Chapter 2 - Micha and Ange (5/?)

"Oh, right. That you're the chosen one. Anyway, destined people like that are often targeted by dangerous enemies, right?"

She let go of the handlebar with the hand not accelerating.

She drove with one hand while easily exceeding 100 kph. Mutsuki had gone pale, but she pointed back with her thumb. When he looked that way…

"Eh?"

"The Serpent's Eye is this world's one and only perfect power. If you gouged it out and encased it in glass, it would become the most valuable jewel imaginable. Everyone who knows about it wants to get their hands on it. Whether they're a demon…or a human."

When Mutsuki saw the rightmost police car she pointed at, he grew even paler.

"There are two main groups after you. One is the demons I mentioned before. And…"

There was no one inside it.

The driver's seat and passenger seat were both empty and the steering wheel was moving on its own.

"These are the bigger problem. They're called the Springloaded. They're the servants of a human group who want the Serpent's Eye. That group is named FeTUS."

"Micha-san!"

The freezing boy screamed as the motorcycle accelerated even further.

He was afraid of their pursuers, but he was even more afraid of the red light at the intersection they would reach in another three seconds at this speed. Even if they were trying to escape, this was far too fast for a public road.

"~~!"

However…

"That's lucky. I think we can get away now."

The woman charged right into the intersection at 130 kph even as people used the crosswalk.

She swerved left and right so sharply her knees nearly scraped the ground and just barely avoided hitting any of the pedestrians or cars. She kept it up all the way to the other side of the intersection.

Mutsuki had seen videos of people slipping through the paper-thin gaps between the bullets filling the screen on a shooting game, but he had never imagined he would experience it in person. He was still trembling even after they made it through.

He heard screeching brakes and then an especially loud collision.

The police cars with actual policemen in them had of course stopped, but the unmanned one known as a Springloaded had been destroyed when a truck T-boned it from the side.

However, they did not have time to relax. In fact, it was only after that destruction that the boy realized how frightening his pursuers were.

As if removing a disguise, the police car writhed and transformed. The frame shrank down, abandoning any space for passengers and creating a longer form. Claws burst out to form legs.

Just like the Porsche had with his cellphone, the police car swallowed up the parts of the damaged truck.

"Their Lithography sure has gotten fast," complained Micha. "Honestly, they get more dangerous by the day."

If the Porsche had been an inchworm, then this was a giant metal grasshopper with the large vehicle's cylinders as the back legs. After eating another machine to grow and complete its transformation, it jumped over the chaotic intersection.

It was still pursuing the trembling boy.

"Not to worry. We're here to protect you."

Micha calmly turned around despite their speed.

"We're angels."

She winked at him.

They were approaching the entrance to a vehicles-only road, so she turned that way at the last second. With a snap, the end of the accelerator grip seemed to break off. It turned out to be cover and some kind of button was revealed below.

Mutsuki wanted to complain that this was not a manga, but he still gathered all of his strength in the arms around her waist because he had a good guess what was coming next.

And a moment later…

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"

They were moving too fast for him to hear his own scream, so how fast was that converted to kph?

At any rate, after being attacked by a mysterious boy, being pursued by machine monsters, and all the other strange events, this was the most frightening moment of the day. Still, they did manage to escape their pursuers.

"Anyway."

Despite all the running away, Micha brought him to an apartment building in the same town.

It was about a half hour walk from his home. He had been forced to hold on for dear life for over an hour, but it seemed that was mostly because she had wanted to go touring. While trying to hide the few tears he had shed, he followed Micha inside.

"It's pretty messy since I've only just moved in, but try to ignore it, okay?"

"Okay…"

Mutsuki lived in a house, so entering a high-rise apartment building made him nervous. He was taken to the top floor and then to one of the rooms overlooking the town at a frightening height.

"You were right about it being messy."

That was his first impression.

He removed his shoes in the entranceway which was filled with so many boots and sandals it would have been difficult to find a matching set. He was impressed by the automatic lights and automatically locking door, but he was more focused on finding anywhere to step in a hallway filled with laundry and flyers. Luckily, Micha paved the way by kicking stuff out of the way.

"Are you good at housework, Mutsuki-kun? Y'know, like cleaning."

"Cleaning? I do it a lot, if that's what you mean."

"Great♪"

"?"

They moved further inside.

Needless to say, the rest was a disaster too. The dining and living rooms were almost fifty square meters in all, but there was still nowhere to step.

Cardboard boxes waiting to be unpacked were piled up, yet beer cans were stacked in a pyramid on the table like building blocks. There were far too many empty cans for her to have really just moved in, but there were far too many boxes still needing unpacking for her to have actually lived here longer.

"…"

He had not even known her for two whole hours, but he felt he had a pretty good grasp on her character.

And…

"Hm?"

He noticed something on the couch.

They were clothes far too small for Micha to wear. They looked like they might be for a child, but they had caught his eye because they were neatly folded up amid the otherwise messy room.

He naturally approached them and found a shirt and spats he had seen somewhere before.

"Where did she get off to? Hey, are you back!?"

Micha kicked more things out of her way and searched for someone by opening all the doors leading from the living room.

And…

"Ange! Are you here nor not?"

"Yes, yes. I'm here. Just a second!"

Someone replied from the door in the dining room next to the one leading to the kitchen.

-------------------------------

hope you like it see ya