Chapter – 40 Minagawa Natsume

"No, silly… you are still alive!"

It was the voice of a boy, a voice she was completely unfamiliar with. Doubtful as to whose voice it was, Natsume opened her eyes and found a green-haired boy younger than her – in his early teens – with European features looking at her with a smile.

Looking at the boy, the first thought that came to Natsume's mind was, 'Is he a foreigner… someone from Europe perhaps? But how come he is able to speak in Japanese?'

The earlier words, 'No, silly… you are still alive!' the boy had spoken in Natsume's native tongue, and it was spoken in flawless Japanese without any sign of a European accent, much to her surprise. Natsume doesn't know too many foreigners; however, from what she has seen in TV shows and Anime, even if Europeans and Americans are able to speak Japanese, they can't let go of their native accents.

Actually, Natsume's doubts are not unreasonable; however, this is because Devils, being a Magical Race, are capable of communicating in every language without any problem. Therefore, when Nova spoke to Natsume, it came out in flawless Japanese without any sign of a European accent.

Anyway, putting that aside, Natsume's thoughts were soon broken as she recalled the horns of the menacing giant cow that were about to impale her a few moments ago and the white liquid ejected by the giant frog on her. Realizing that she really was alive, and neither the horns impaled her nor the white liquid had melted her, she looked past the boy and noticed that the menacing cow seemed to have stopped in its tracks. Natsume couldn't find the right word to describe the state of the menacing cow and turned around to check the state of the giant frog, the white stuff it had shot at her, as well as the state of her two former classmates from her former school and found that they too seemed to have stopped suddenly.

The Giant Frog and her two former classmates' state were still within an acceptable (not really) range; however, the white liquid ejected by the frog had garnered Natsume's attention as it had stopped in mid-air. This state reminded Natsume of a similar situation. If you pause a video clip suddenly, then whatever is on the screen will be 'STOP.' Of course, something like that can only happen on Television, but something within her told Natsume that the state of her current surroundings is awfully similar to that situation.

They were all frozen as if… as if someone had paused the 'Clip,' aka 'Time,' or perhaps 'Space(?)'. Natsume couldn't be sure which it was, but she was certain that she was fairly close.

Noting her confusion as well as the shock on her face, Nova spoke, "You needn't worry… these people won't be harming you while I am around."

Natsume didn't know how true the words of the European boy were, but given that he had protected her a few moments ago, she couldn't help but want to believe him and nodded, "Th… thanks!" and breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally realizing that she was safe (Is she?), Natsume took a deep breath as tears once again started to stream down her eyes, "I… I thought I was going to die! I did nothing… I was just happy to see them and find out what happened to them, but… but… hic hic…" Her words did not lie; the fact that she really was afraid could be confirmed by the puddle of yellow liquid underneath her skirt. In fear of death, Natsume had peed her panties.

"I see, even if she is the host of the [Qióngqí] – one of the [Four Fiends] – she is still only a normal high school girl, huh?" muttered Nova with a troubled expression as he looked at Natsume's sorry state. Then he turned to Iris as if asking for help, 'Do something about her!'

He is not very good at comforting others, especially a simple high-school girl; therefore, he asked for Iris' help, hoping that she would know a thing or two about how to comfort Natsume.

In response to Nova's silent request, the ashen-grey-haired girl sighed lightly, and after parking her motorbike at the entrance of the alley, she walked towards the crying Natsume and pulled her head into her bosom. While patting the crying Natsume's back, she spoke in a soothing, sisterly tone, "It's alright… everything is fine. You are safe; nobody is going to harm you while the two of us are with you."

Looking at the two girls – Iris comforting Minagawa Natsume despite being younger than her – Nova felt an elder sister vibe from her and wondered, 'By any chance, did she have a younger sibling or something?'

He also considered the possibility of Iris gaining such a vibe from her relationship with Vali. However, knowing Vali, he doesn't seem to be the kind of boy who would come crying to Iris for anything. Moreover, the two of them seem to share a friendly bond rather than a sibling bond, so Iris couldn't have gained such a vibe from taking care of Vali. It must have been from a younger sibling that she might have had before joining Grigori.

Well, this was just a guess, and Nova did not bother to question it. That's her personal life; he had no right to butt into her personal life.

Anyway, as Natsume stopped crying and calmed down, Nova decided to put the matter at the back of his mind. With Natsume relieved, the two girls separated, and Natsume immediately had the urge to ask a lot of questions, "What's happening?" "What happened to my former classmates?" "Why were they 'Dead?' but are clearly 'Alive!'" "What in the world are these Menacing Cow and Giant Frog?" "Why were they trying to kill her?" "Who are you two?" "How did you stop these?" "Why are they frozen?" "What should we do now?" "Should we report everything to the Police?" "How can the two of you speak Japanese so flawlessly?" And so on.

In response to Natsume's questions, Iris simply said, "We will try to clear all your doubts, but not now, not here. More of them might show up, and that can be dangerous. Before doing anything, let's change places; this place is not safe!"

Natsume nodded, "I… I see!" She couldn't agree more. If not for the fact that these two showed up when they did, she would have definitely died in the alley. Therefore, she couldn't wait to leave this place! Be that as it may, Natsume couldn't help but get worried about her two former classmates, "What about Miyajima Sakura-san… and Masafumi Kase-san?"

The two of them might have tried to kill her, but they can't just leave these two here in an unknown alley. What if they try to do something to other innocent civilians? Natsume couldn't allow such a thing to happen.

Nova instructed Iris, "While you help her get up, I will take care of these two as well as their ugly pets." Then, without waiting for her reply, he turned to the two former second-year students of Ryōkū High School. Using a Teleportation Magic Circle, he made them disappear from the alley and transferred them to a previously designated location.

Based on the information Nova has from the Slash/Dog Canon, as well as the information Azazel had given him, Nova knows that once a Utsusemi is defeated or killed, they will be summoned away using a Magic Circle. Such a method of retreat was programmed into them by the Utsusemi Agency when those people created Utsusemi. In a normal situation, it was practically impossible to disrupt the Magic Circle and prevent these Utsusemi from escaping/retreating the members of the Slash/Dog team. However, that's not the case for Nova.

Since he had frozen them in time using 'Chronostasis,' a spell of his [Time] trait, technically, Nova neither killed them nor defeated them. Hence, they were not summoned away, and since they were not summoned away as they were frozen in time, Nova decided to send these two Utsusemi to Azazel because, knowing that guy, he would definitely want to analyze this attempt to create an Artificial Sacred Gear. This is both for his research as well as to turn them back into normal human beings.

Looking at her former classmates disappearing into the light right before her eyes, Natsume pinched herself, "This… this isn't real, right?" However, the pain once again reminded her that everything she was witnessing was indeed real. Once again, she wanted to question; however, she curbed her curiosity and restrained herself.

Soon, the glow of the Magic Circle increased to the brightest, and that's when the two High Schoolers along with their pets disappeared into particles of light. With that taken care of, Nova said to Iris, "Alright, now we can go to a safe house and discuss the things that we should discuss."

"Yes," nodded Iris as she helped Natsume stand up. As the brunette got on her feet, she finally realized that earlier she had peed her panties! Looking at the puddle of yellow liquid on top of which she was standing, as well as feeling the cold wind brush against her wet and dirty legs, that too in the presence of two foreigners, one of which was a boy, Natsume felt like death would have been better than this. Natsume was feeling the shame and humiliation that likes of which she had never endured before; her entire face had become red because of embarrassment, and she wanted to bury herself in the ground. Heck, she didn't even have the courage to lift her face and look into the eyes of the two people because she felt like they would judge her for peeing her panties!

But surprisingly, neither Nova nor Iris touched the matter, which, although it improved her impression of the two, still did not relieve the shame and embarrassment she was feeling. With that settled, Nova, Iris, and an embarrassed brunette left the alley and made their way to Natsume's apartment.

…

Minagawa Natsume's Apartment

The first thing Natsume did after Nova and the two girls arrived at her apartment was to take a bath as well as wash her school uniform. She was too embarrassed to ask anything or learn anything in her current state and knew that she needed to freshen up herself before anything.

Hearing her request, Nova and Iris shrugged; they had no problem with her wanting to take a bath. So, Natsume excused herself for a short while during which Nova contacted Lavinia and Vali to check up on their progress.

While Nova and Iris had teamed up to bring in Minagawa Natsume, Lavinia and Vali were tasked with bringing Samejima Kouki, another survivor of the 'Heavenly of Aloha Incident.' Lavinia's report was quite short. By the time the two of them had found Samejima Kouki, he was already surrounded by quite a few Utsusemi and would have definitely died if not for the timely arrival of Lavinia and Vali.

Hearing Lavinia's report, Iris' eyes widened, and she muttered, "We need to speed things up… For now, the Black Dog should be safe because of the extra protection Azazel had provided him; however, the other two… Nanadaru Shigune and Koga Hyousuke… they might have been attacked as well."

Nova nodded, "Very likely." He wasn't much surprised as he had expected this situation. In fact, Nova knows that Grigori will fail to bring Nanadaru Shigune and Koga Hyousuke to their side at the start, as it happened in the Slash/Dog Canon. They fail to make contact with these two and assume that both of them have refused Grigori's offer of providing them protection. The truth is both of them are kidnapped by the members of a group called Chaos! But he did not bother with these small details, as they are irrelevant for now. Even if those two are indeed kidnapped by Chaos, it wouldn't matter too much in the long run. So instead of worrying, he looked forward to his interaction with the Black Dog.

After instructing Lavinia to be careful of the Utsusemi and the unexpected intervention of people behind Utsusemi, Nova cut off the communication magic circle. By then, Minagawa Natsume also finished with her bath and arrived in the room with three cups of green tea and a pack of crackers. She placed them on the square tea table and said with a sheepish smile, "I am really sorry, since I wasn't expecting guests to arrive, so there is not much to eat… I hope this will help."

Iris shook her head with a smile, "Don't worry about it… our arrival was unexpected and sudden."

Natsume said gratefully, "Though I am really glad that the two of you arrived when you did, otherwise, I wouldn't even be alive right now."

Taking a bite of the cracker, Nova shook his head, "Nah… they wouldn't have killed you, so you needn't be concerned about dying."

Natsume was confused, "Their purpose was not to kill me?" and asked, "Then what did the two of them want from me? Moreover, why did Miyajima Sakura-san and Masafumi Kase-san try to harm me? I am sure I did nothing to offend them, and in the first place, why are they alive when they were considered dead!?" She had too many questions, and as she posed the first question, the second and third quickly followed!

Nova and Iris looked at each other as Nova said, "Let's begin from the start… Everything is related to the 'Heavenly of Aloha Incident.' Originally, you along with four other second-year students from your former high school were not supposed to survive that incident. The reason is that all five of you were the actual targets of an Organization called Utsusemi Agency."

"Utsusemi Agency?" Natsume muttered in confusion.

Iris explained, "Think of it like a terrorist organization that is willing to do anything to accomplish their goals."

"But what does that have to do with me? Or with any of us second years from Ryōkū High School?" asked Natsume.

"Weapons," answered Nova, as he pointed at Natsume, and explained, "You, my dear… along with the other four survivors of that incident, possess weapons… well, not actually weapons, but superpowers called 'Sacred Gear' that they wanted to use to achieve their purpose." He paused, allowing Natsume to process his words, then added, "I know my words sound crazy; however, it is true… this world that appears 'normal' on the surface is far from being normal. All kinds of supernatural things walk this earth, and hidden beneath the façade of 'normal' is the supernatural world that 'normal' people would never learn of or interact with unless they get involved with the supernatural by some accident like those dead 233-second-year students from your previous high school, or are born with something supernatural within them like you as well as the other four survivors of the 'Heavenly of Aloha Incident.'"

"This… this is really hard to believe. Things like these aren't supposed to happen in reality; these are typical plotlines of Manga and Anime!" said Natsume, still finding it hard to believe in the existence of the supernatural world. If not for the fact that she had come so close to death today, Natsume would have looked at Nova and Iris as if they were still kids suffering from Eighth Grade Syndrome. But that near-death experience was so real that she had to believe in their words.

"While that may be true, this is indeed reality, and if it wasn't, how would you explain what you experienced today?" asked Iris.

"That is…" murmured Natsume, trying to find a logical explanation, and suddenly said, "Maybe some kind of mutation because of an illegal science experiment? Perhaps that frog and cow came into contact with nuclear radiation and mutated in this way?"

Nova chuckled, "Although that reasoning is more believable than the supernatural, and truth be told, it is something that those missing/dead students of your former High School have gone through, however, the Supernatural World does exist… Science, while a wonder in itself, is nothing in comparison to the Magic and other supernatural phenomena that are comprehended with basic logical reasoning."

Then he paused and said, "How about a demonstration?"

Without waiting for Natsume's reply, Nova suddenly picked up the teacup and threw the boiling hot tea at Natsume, "Here!"

"Kyayaaa!" Natsume was too preoccupied with Nova's words to be able to protect herself from the boiling tea. She tried to cover her face with her hand; however, it wasn't enough. If that thing touches her skin, it will definitely leave a permanent burn mark. Afraid, she closed her eyes; however, the expected pain never came.

"Don't be afraid; open your eyes." She heard a voice. Although afraid, she opened her eyes and saw the tea frozen in mid-air at a fair distance from her face and spoke in surprise, "This is… it's the same thing that happened earlier with that Cow and the Frog!"

With his eyes focused on the frozen tea, Nova nodded, "Exactly, and this is not something Science can do or explain, as far as my knowledge of science is concerned." Then he chanted a spell, [Dalet], as the tea flew back the trajectory it had taken earlier and returned to the cup.

Natsume's eyes widened, "This… this is!"

Nova smiled, "Control over [Time]."

Getting the expected response, Natsume questioned, "So does that mean you too have that thing? That thing… um…"

"A Sacred Gear?" questioned Iris, and nodded, "Indeed, both of us possess Sacred Gears, although mine is a little different." Then she took out a hand knife from her pocket and cut her arm. A wound appeared on Iris' arm as blood flowed down; however, there wasn't a trace of panic in her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes shone, and the cut started to heal itself, "Unlike Nova's that grant him control over [Time], mine is based on healing… I can heal and regenerate myself."

"I see," muttered Natsume with a shocked expression. Having witnessed two miraculous incidents one after another, and taking into account the strange encounter she had today, Natsume could no longer deny the existence of the Paranormal World. Though she was a bit skeptical of one thing, "Let's say that the Supernatural world does indeed exist, but what does that have to do with me? Even if you say that I too possess a Sacred Gear, are you really sure about it because I don't really think I do… I can't control [Time], nor can I [Regenerate]… I am just a normal high-school girl in her second year. I… I don't think I have that within me!"

From what she has been told, very few people are born with a Sacred Gear, which means having one makes you special. Natsume doesn't think she is special in that regard. Heck, if there is anything special about her, then it's got to be her large rack that boys like to stare at quite often; other than that, nothing... maybe her appearance as well which is better than most girls in her class, but… a lot of girls have these physical traits. Heck, even Iris, who is sitting in front of her, has a rack larger than hers and an appearance more beautiful than hers. If not for the fact that she is sitting in front of her and if Natsume had encountered her on the streets, she would have definitely mistaken Iris for a Hollywood Actress or a famous Model!

But other than these few physical traits, Natsume doubts she is special. She doesn't have anything good, and she isn't very athletic either. To be something special, to be something like the protagonist or the heroine, you have to have something special about yourself. In her seventeen years of a simple life, she never felt anything like that.

"Nova shook his head. 'That's not the case... you do possess a Sacred Gear. I can sense it; it's so obvious.'

'Do I really have one… a Sacred Gear?' asked Natsume with an expectant expression.

In response to Natsume's expectations, Nova shrugged and signaled Iris to give her that thing. Iris nodded and took out a white ball-like object from out of nowhere, then passed it to the brunette while instructing her, 'Hold this close to your chest as if you are holding your favorite stuffed toy. Then, try to imagine the energy from your body flowing inside this white ball. You may not feel anything immediately, but just try it.'

Natsume followed Iris' instructions and held the ball as tightly as possible, even going as far as to squeeze her chest with it. That sight looked quite lewd, and Nova grinned looking at that. Of course, Iris noted Nova's grin, but she didn't care about it and continued to instruct Natsume."

The brunette continued to follow Iris' instructions, and soon, a crack resounded in the room, followed by more cracking sounds. These sounds emanated from the white ball-like object that Natsume had held tightly. Several cracks appeared on it as they expanded and covered it entirely, finally breaking and resulting in a hawk-like creature emerging from it, much to Natsume's surprise.

Pointing at the hawk-like creature, Nova said, "That, my dear, is your Sacred Gear. It's a special type of Sacred Gear that has a consciousness of its own and is fully capable of independent actions. It takes the form of a creature that is one of the 'Four Fiends' and is known as Qióngqí. It's something like a Griffin from Greek myths and takes that form when its true form is released."

Holding the hawk-like creature that isn't in its true form, Natsume couldn't help but marvel, "A-Amazing!"

Noting the brunette's wonder, Nova and Iris smiled.

After the hawk had recognized Minagawa Natsume as its master and settled itself on her shoulder, Nova asked the most important question, "Now that your Sacred Gear is awakened, let's discuss your future course of action… what do you plan to do?"

"What do you mean?" asked Natsume, a little confused and nervous.

Iris explained, "While activating your Sacred Gear creates an opportunity for you to become strong and protect yourself, it also makes you vulnerable as you are more prone to encountering the supernatural side of the world. Believe me when I say this, the supernatural side of the world is not so simple; alone, you would perish in a matter of minutes, especially when those people of the Utsusemi Agency are targeting you!"

"What? You mean there will be more of those guys?" asked Natsume in panic.

Nova nodded, "Indeed, there were 233 students, as well as several teachers, not to mention the people responsible for the entire incident. So, if you think that your life is going to be easy any time soon, then I would have to disappoint you. Those people will attack you all the time and use any opportunity they can to get their hands on you and that guy. Trust me when I say this, the people behind the Utsusemi Agency are far stronger and more troublesome than you can ever hope to handle on your own."

He took a pause and then suggested, "Therefore, we are offering you a chance to come with us. We have a safe house, a place that is protected and safe from these people. In addition to a safe house, we will also provide you with training so that you can master that guy's power."

Natsume became silent, thinking about what to do. Although she pondered, she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. For someone like her who is suddenly told that the world is not as she had known for the past seventeen years, and all kinds of scary people want to harm her, being alone is definitely the last choice. Moreover, she has to uncover the truth of the 'Heavenly Aloha Incident' and help her former classmates if there is a way to assist them. With these thoughts in mind, Natsume nodded, "'Alright… I will come with the two of you."

"Smart choice!" praised Nova as Iris too nodded with a smile.

And so, the trio started the preparation of changing Natsume's residence to the Apartment Complex owned by Grigori.