45 Chapter 45 Face to face with the enemy

Meanwhile in front of the convenience store...

"I forgot to ask what Kurokami-kun, what wanted to eat...but I think that these sandwiches and juice are a good choice!" Miyubi said with a happy tone as she stepped outside the convenience store, holding a plastic bag with cans of juices and sandwiches for her, Tatsurou, and Naoki, on her left hand.

"Well then, off I go...!" As Miyubi said this, she bumped against someone.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Miyubi said as she looked at the person she bumped against, that was a boy in a white gakuran that had an equal white student cap on his head, that smiled when he saw Miyubi.

"Oh, there's no need to apologize like that!" The boy in the white gakuran said as he made a slight bow towards Miyubi.

"Wait, are you with the Soteria, by any chance? That's so cool!" The boy in the white gakuran asked as he pointed at Miyubi's Soteria armband.

"Yes, I am..." Miyubi said as she took a step away from the boy.

"I don't know why...but this boy...he looks dangerous..." Miyubi thought as she took another step back with all of her instincts telling her to run away, the boy, of course, took notice of that.

"Are you feeling, ok? You look kind of...scared..." The boy said in a worried tone as he smiled at Miyubi.

"Y-Yes, I'm ok, now if you would excuse me, I have friends waiting for me..." Miyubi said as she turned her back to this boy and began walking away.

"Are you, running away? Quite unbecoming of a Soteria member..." The boy said as he adjusted his hat, while he glanced at Miyubi, that ignored him.

"This boy is weird..." Miyubi said as she kept walking without looking back.

"I have to get back to Nao-chan and Kurokami-kun...quick!" Miyubi thought as she began to walk faster, but...

"Your quite the smart girl...you don't react to praise, you don't react to mockery, but...I do believe that we all have something that makes us react..." As the boy said this, Miyubi stooped and as she looked at the boy she saw him pointing his finger at a group of people, that were waiting, to cross the street.

"Looks like I found, what makes you react..." The boy said as he kept pointing at the group of people and his finger began to shoot out small bolts of electricity.

"N-No way...is he the "Magician Hunter"?" Miyubi thought as she looked at the boy and remembered that the person she, Naoki, and Tatsurou were after, used electric attacks.

"Just...what do you want?" Miyubi asked as she kept her distance and moved her right hand behind her back, drawing a magic circle, that created an invisible wall to protect all those people that the boy was pointing at, from harm.

"Nothing to out of the ordinary, I just want to talk...please follow me..." The boy said as he looked at the group of people then at Miyubi, as he began walking towards an alley between the convenience store and a small apartment...

"This boy, I'm sure that he has to be the "Magician hunter" and even if he isn't, he is trouble..." Miyubi thought as she followed this boy inside the alley, which had few trash cans spread around it.

"I can't use my protection magic anymore since I used it to keep all those people safe from him, I have to find a way out of this...think Miyubi, think..." Miyubi thought again, as she was now halfway inside the alley, she then looked at her left hand...

"Well then, now that we are alone...!" As the boy said this and turned towards Miyubi, he was hit with the plastic bag she was holding, making him fall on the ground, and as soon as this hit landed, Miyubi started running away from the alley.

"Damn you..." The boy said as he placed his left hand on his face and threw a small bolt of lightning towards Miyubi with his right hand, and when it hit Miyubi she fell on the ground.

"I can't move my body...and everything hurts..." Miyubi thought as she jolted, with the pain of the electric shock she received.

"I don't believe it! Not a single damn idiot, was able to land a hit on me for these past 3 months, your the first one to achieve that, a magic-user without using any magic of all things!" The boy said as he got up from the ground with his hand still placed on his face.

"You don't have to worry, that little shock was like getting hit with a taser...you're not going to die..." The boy said in an angry tone, as he began to slowly walk towards Miyubi.

"I'm so pissed right now! Getting hit by one of you...filthy Magic users...time to send the real message now..." The boy said as he kept walking towards Miyubi, and his hand began to shoot out electricity, but as he was getting close...

"Get away from her! You bastard!!!" A voice was heard from the entrance of the alley, that when the boy looked forward, to see who it was, he got hit with a flying dropkick, that sent him crashing against the trash cans that were inside the alley.

"K-Kurokami-kun..." Miyubi said as she heard this voice that belonged to Tatsurou, that after hitting the boy in the white gakuran, he turned to Miyubi and got on his knees as he gently lifted her from the ground.

"Shimaki-san! Are you ok? " Tatsurou asked in a worried tone, as he held Miyubi in his arms.

"I-I'm ok...thank you...Kurokami-kun..." As Miyubi said this, she smiled a bit, before closing her eyes and fainting.

"Shimaki-san, oi, talk to me, Shimaki-san!" Tatsurou said as he kept holding Miyubi and gently slapped her cheek.

"Just my luck, now there's two of these clowns..." The boy said as he slowly got up from the middle of the trash cans.

"What...did you do to her!?" Tatsurou asked with a tone that was filled with anger as he kept holding Miyubi and looked at the boy.

"It's just like I told her, it's a simple shock, that feels like a getting hit by a taser, it's not that bad..." The boy said as he sighed and shrugged towards Tatsurou's question.

"It's "Not that bad"...!" Tatsurou said as he clenched his teeth hard.

"Calm down Tatsurou, don't let this guy get to you...before I do anything else..." Tatsurou thought as he looked at Miyubi then at the boy.

"Just who are you?" Tatsurou asked as he looked at the boy.

"Me? Well, if I have to really answer, I'm the one that everybody calls the "Magician Hunter" I suppose..." The boy said as he shrugged again and smiled towards Tatsurou.

"No way...this guy, is the "Magician hunter"...but he's a high-schooler..." Tatsurou thought as he looked at the boy's school uniform.

"But that's not important right now...I have to do something about him...but..." Tatsurou thought again as he looked at the boy then at Miyubi.

"Quite the predicament your in, isn't it?" The boy asked as he pointed at Tatsurou that looked at him a bit surprised.

"Right now, you are holding that girl and there are also people behind you...there's no way you can protect them all and yourself, right?" The boy asked as he tilted his head and pointed at Miyubi, then at the crowd walking behind them, outside of the alley, Tatsurou couldn't hide his anger and disgust towards this boy.

"Attacking and threatening innocent people...your just a damn lowlife... " Tatsurou said as he glared at the boy, that kept smiling.

"I wouldn't call myself that, I think I'm more of a revolutionary if anything, but be free to call me whatever after I'm done with...?" As the boy said this he stooped and looked at Tatsurou for a bit.

"Wait! Those eyes and that school uniform, it's from a public Esper school!" The boy said as he opened his eyes wide and pointed at Tatsurou's black gakuran.

"Oh dear, I almost hurt a fellow Esper, just what's wrong with me!" The boy said with a surprised tone, as he adjust his hat and looked at Tatsurou again.

"What the hell, are you talking about?" Tatsurou asked with an angry and confused tone.

"Hihihi...well, I would love to talk to you some more, but unfortunately, that isn't going to be possible right now..." The boy said as he pointed behind Tatsurou, and when he looked he saw Naoki looking at him with a worried and scared expression.

"Miyu...Miyu..." Naoki could only say Miyubi's name as she placed her hands in front of her mouth and trembled.

"Izumi-san! Quick catch that...!" As Tatsurou was about to tell Naoki to catch the boy in the white gakuran, he stooped as he looked forward again and the boy was now nowhere to be seen.

"No! That coward ran way..." Tatsurou said as he looked to where the boy once stood "We don't have time for this now, we have to take care of Shimaki-san..." Tatsurou said as he looked at Miyubi.

"Izumi-san, call an ambulance, quick!" Tatsurou said as he now looked at Naoki that still had her hands in front of her mouth as she kept repeating Miyubi's name.

"Izumi-san! Snap out of it!" Tatsurou said this with a firm tone that made Naoki come back to reality.

"R-Right, an ambulance, an ambulance..." Naoki said in a worried tone as she fumbled around the pockets of her skirt, to find her phone...

A few hours later, around 17:04 pm, in District 4's public hospital, in a hallway on the second floor, Tatsurou and Naoki were sitting on a chair next to each other but ever since they had left the alley they didn't share a single word with each other and it looked like that was going to change, any time soon.

"This is all my fault...if my stomach hadn't growled...Miyubi wouldn't have gone to the convenience store and this wouldn't have happened..." Tatsurou thought as he placed his hands in front of his face for a bit, he then looked to his right side and saw Naoki looking down as the bangs of her hair covered her eyes.

"Izumi-san..." As Tatsurou was about to talk with Naoki, the swinging doors of the hallway opened, and out of it came Emma, wearing her usual fancy clothes with a lab coat over them and the bangs of her greyish blond hair pinned back.

"E-Emma-san!" Tatsurou said as he got up from the chair.

"Don't worry you two, she's fine!" Emma said as she got close to Tatsurou and Naoki "Really? She is?" Tatsurou asked with a happy, but still, worried tone, as he got a bit close to Emma.

"She is! She was hit with something around the same voltage of a taser, it's painful, but not deadly, we gave her some analgesics and I also did all of the necessary tests, I can safely say that she isn't going to have any drawbacks, whatsoever...so you two can rest assured!" Emma said in a reassuring tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.

"Thank god, she's ok..." As Tatsurou said this he looked at Naoki that didn't react to this news.

"Izumi-san..." As Tatsurou was about to try to talk to Naoki, he was interrupted again by the swinging doors, on the other side of the hallway opening, and out of it came Emiko this time.

"Naoki-chan! Tatsurou-chan! I came as fast as I could!" Emiko, that was wearing her usual blue wool sweater, high-waist skirt, and a shawl that draped around her shoulders, said as she got close to Tatsurou and Naoki.

"Munesuki-sensei..." Naoki said with a monotonous yet sad tone, as she slowly got up from the chair she was sitting.

"Naoki-chan, don't worry, everything's ok now..." Emiko said as she patted Naoki's head.

"Are you, Miyubi-san's supervisor?" Emma asked as she got close to Emiko.

"Yes, I am...how is she?" Emiko asked with a worried tone, as she looked at Emma.

"Like I was telling them, she is ok, it wasn't anything life-threatening, she is sleeping as of now, but you can see her if you want..." Emma said as she moved her right hand a bit.

"I see, I have to go call her parents, but I think that Naoki-chan could see her first, as I do that..." As Emiko said this, she looked in Naoki's direction, but to her surprise, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh? Where is she?" Emiko asked with a surprised tone as she looked in every direction.

"Tatsurou-chan, did you see where..." As Emiko was about to ask if Tatsurou knew where Naoki went, he was also, nowhere to be seen.

"Just, where did those two run off to?" Emiko asked with a curious but worried tone, as she looked to all sides...

Meanwhile, on the first floor of the hospital, close to the front desk, Naoki was slowly walking in the direction of the main door, as she looked down, but she suddenly stooped.

"What do you think you're doing?" Naoki asked in a monotonous tone as she lifted her head and saw Tatsurou, standing in front of the main door.

"That's my line..." Tatsurou said as he placed his hands in his hoodie's pocket and looked at Naoki.

"Kurokami...step aside..." Naoki said as she looked down again.

"No, I won't move unless you tell me, where you're going..." Tatsurou said in a calm tone as he looked at Naoki.

"Kurokami...I won't ask this again, step...aside!" Naoki said with an angry tone as she lifted her head and glared at Tatsurou.

"My answer won't change, no matter how much you ask, Izumi-san..." Tatsurou said as he too glared at Naoki and took his hands out of his hoodie's pocket, it was also at this time that Emiko and Emma got to the first floor and saw Tatsurou and Naoki facing each other.

"What are they doing?" Emma asked with a curious tone as she stopped and looked at them.

"I said...STEP ASIDE!" As Naoki screamed this to Tatsurou, she drew a magic circle with her right hand, and out of it, she took a gun that looked like an M1911 covered in blue neon and pointed it at Tatsurou.

"Naoki-chan! What do you think you're doing?!" Emiko asked with a worried tone as she saw Naoki doing this, Emma just placed her hands on her mouth as she gasped, as for Tatsurou he didn't react to this, he just looked at Naoki in silence.

"Why? Why don't you step aside, you idiot!? " Naoki said still with her angry tone.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt..." Tatsurou said as he began to slowly walk towards Naoki.

"Who said, I'm going to get hurt? You don't know what I'm going to do! You don't know anything about me!" Naoki said as she kept pointing her gun at Tatsurou.

"I know...that you're going to run around until you find the guy that did this to Shimaki-san..." Tatsurou said as he kept walking towards Naoki.

"If you know that, why don't you step aside and let me go after him?" Naoki asked with an angry tone as she clenched her left fist.

"You don't know where he is, and running around aimlessly won't help you find him either..." Tatsurou said as he kept getting closer to Naoki.

"I don't care! I won't stay still and let asshole run free! Even If I have to turn this whole island upside down...I'll find him, and I won't let an idiot like you or anyone stop me!" Naoki said as she glared at Tatsurou that kept shortening the distance between them.

"You're an idiot, just like everyone else, you don't understand anything, Miyu might be any girl to you, but she...she is the only friend I have and I couldn't do anything to protect her, you can't even understand how I fell! You don't understand anything!" Naoki said with an angry tone as she looked at Tatsurou that stooped as he was now, right in front of her.

"I understand, I know, that it is painful, not being able to protect the people we like, I know that the only thing you want to do is to make the person who did this pay, but pushing aside everyone that is trying to help you, and treating them with weapons is never the right answer, isn't it?" Tatsurou said as he gently grabbed Naoki's right wrist that was trembling.

"Tell me Izumi-san! Is this what Shimaki-san, wants you to do? To shove everyone away? To threaten everyone with a weapon? Is that what she wants you to do?" Tatsurou asked with a calm tone as he kept holding Naoki's wrist.

"I...I..." Naoki could only say this as she looked at Tatsurou and trembled.

"You know the answer, Izumi! You know that no one here is your enemy! You know that we want to help you catch that guy! So, stop pointing this gun at me and let me help you, damn it!!!" Tatsurou said with a firm tone as he looked at Naoki in the eyes, and a sudden silence filled the entrance of the hospital, that only ended with the sound of Naoki's gun falling on the floor that was followed by the sound of Naoki sobbing, as tears began to fall from her eyes, like a waterfall.

"This...This is all my fault...Kurokami...Miyu...Miyu got hurt because of me!" Naoki said as tried to clean the tears that kept falling from her eyes with her sleeves to no avail.

"This wasn't your fault, none of this was your fault, Izumi-san..." Tatsurou said as he hugged Naoki, that gripped Tatsurou's hoodie as buried her face in his chest as she kept crying, Emiko and Emma meanwhile sighed as they got close to Tatsurou and Naoki, happy that this was finally over, without anyone getting hurt...

A bit later on the hospital's waiting room on the first floor...

"Here you go, Kurokami-kun..." Emma said this as she handed Tatsurou a plastic cup with water.

"Thanks, Emma-san..." Tatsurou, that was sitting in a chair, said as he grabbed the cup, and started drinking.

"I have to say, that I'm really impressed Kurokami-kun..." As Emma said this she took a pack of cigarettes out of her lab coat.

"About what?" Tatsurou asked as he stooped drinking and looked at Emma "I mean, that girl just pointed a gun at you, and you didn't even flinch, weren't you scared?" Emma asked with a curious tone to Tatsurou, as she put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it up.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Emma-san, I was really scared..." Tatsurou said with an honest tone as he looked at Emma.

"Just the thought that she could pull on the trigger by accident was enough to make me scared...I don't even know how I was able to keep a calm and straight face for so long..." Tatsurou said with a scared tone as he trembled a bit.

"I swear, the way you were acting didn't look like you were that scared...honestly, you have to teach me that poker face..." Emma said in an impressed tone as she sighed and laughed a bit.

"Speaking of the devil, where is she now?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone towards Emma.

"Well, after that scene in the entrance, I let her supervisor use the staff room to talk to her in private...and let's just say that she didn't have the happiest of expressions on..." Emma said with a worried tone, as she took a puff from her cigarette and sighed a bit.

"I see..." Tatsurou said as he got up and began walking out of the waiting room.

"Don't cause any trouble, Kurokami-kun! Things are already hard as it is for her..." Emma said as she sighed.

"I won't Emma-san..." Tatsurou said as he threw the plastic cup into a trash can, and made his way to the hospital's staff room...