1.4.4

I was heading back quickly towards the city. I didn't know how long Kazeka would last. The words she told me rang into the back of my head. "Think about it for a while, okay?"She said with a smirk. After all, she did mention that beating that thing could unlock new potentials of mine. I never really thought it through that well, I seemed to care more about to safety of the people I trust. So maybe...Just maybe, Idid the right thing.

***

Kazeka continued to stand there, her blue eye glowing brightly as the clock hands on them turned at such a quick speed still that it looked like a running desk fan.

"You're a hard egg to crack huh? Well that doesn't matter."

I was already headed straight back to the area.I managed to trace the sounds of her magic while I was a carrying and knew where she was. I headed straight towards the ocean but there was so much seawater that I couldn't get through. Suddenly a sharp singing voice was heard as my body began to get dragged into the water.

"Gah! What the hell?!" I saw in the distance a heavily damaged rock and three sirens perched upon it singing majestically but commonly known, dangerously.

One of them were singing while I continued to get dragged through the water, as if my body was moving on its own. The other two were also perched beside her.

"Tsk...do we have a prey yet?" She asked annoyed. After all, everyone was scared off earlier so not many people were out on the dock looking out towards the ocean.

"Be patient, Kari" The other one spoke up. "Someone will arrive soon. Just hold on for a bit."

All of a sudden they all shrieked as I zoomed by twirling then around making them dizzy. I caught a glimpse of them earlier and managed to speed up fast enough to catch them off guard and head towards the chamber. A strange sound that sounded similar to that of a running engine continued to run inside the strange unbreakable marble. She was trapped in there with that monster.

It could be dangerous but...I was going to have to break through. "Alright! Let's do this again!" I quickly prepared myself as my Hyper activated once more. After using it so many times, I've gained better control of it.

"3...2...1!" All of a sudden my vision blurred and it was as if I entered a whole new dimension. Colours flashed by everywhere temporarily putting me unconscious. All of a sudden her gentle hands grabbed me and put me down.

"You alright?" She asked. My mind was still overwhelmed with all the colours but I looked up weakly at her and nodded. I never took my time to notice how pretty she looked, along with all these colours, something straight out of a fever dream.

"Let's put an end to this shitty spirit shall we?" She said with a grin. Those hands spinning at a speed unrecognizable was mesmerizing. I looked towards the monster who seemed to be on his knees, his skin fading away, his regeneration slowly failing.

"What is this?" I asked nervously. "You're in my stasis chamber of course..." She said, her eyes looking towards Kosho. "I did tell you that we would hunt this thing together last time and that the reward would be heveanly. I left you and wanted to fight this thing on my own and I realize that...and I'm sorry." She said with her eyes closed.

She was definitely one of the most useful people so far on my journey.

"Alright then, Wanderer-Kun." She held out her hand to me. "Let's pound this dumb spirit."

I smiled and grabbed her hand. This was a feeling I've usually felt around Masami back in my world. The light they both emit will always be recognizable by my soul and my heart.

"Let's do this!" I yelled out. My fist coated in a blue flame. This was something I've learned previously. Another soulflow enchantment, Fumanzoku.

Thanks to Boro's power, I managed to punch a hole onto its face, breaking its mask and showing its head, the head of a skeleton. This creature looked familiar. It was a youkai, one imbued with a time spirit.

Our fists both shot down towards his head attempting to break him completely, the focus of having to regenerate from the time acceleration and the power of Fumanzoku was enough for it to meet its end. The stasis chamber collapsed as Kazeka fell into the water, exhaling deeply. It looked like she went overboard with her attack and I managed to grab her in my arms.

I couldn't help but blush at holding her like this, I managed to float with the buoyancy that Boro automatically had activated. He was still asleep but somehow useful at the same time. It seems like I prefer for him to be asleep than awake most of the time.

Kazeka slowly opened her eyes and looked at me. "Did we win?" She asked.

I nodded weakly. The flashing lights made me dizzy. It also seemed like the acceleration didn't affect me, must've meant that me being close enough to her must've protected me from its torment. I looked out back towards the city. It was quite far. I was drained out after that attack.

"I did mention a while ago that you would get an award after beating that thing didn't I?" She asked nervously while scratching her cheek and looking at me with an innocent look.

"Don't tell me it was just a lie so you could motivate to train me more." I asked nonchalantly.

She giggles and sighed. "Well you saw right through me then. Just think this gift as a... way that you improved your skills."

I gave her an unsatisfied look but just sighed and smiled. "Alright whatever you say then. But, I need to get back quick. Kenji could be having trouble handling Tsugaki over there."

As I began to swim quickly, she stayed motionless in the water and I could hear a along bell tingle sound before she spoke up.

"No." I turned around abrumptly to see her stay there, shake her head with her eyes closed. She's already put her eye patch back on too.

"What?" I was confused. Why didn't she want to help?

"The rest is your problem. I came here to help beat the time spirit. Not to help you clear everything else up."

I looked at her shocked and angry as my fist clenched.

"And besides, if I helped you with everything, you'd only depend on me. If you wish to improve you skills, you'll have to deal with everything...

Yourself."

And with that, she teleports away.

"She just...left? Like that?"

Suddenly, Boro wakes up. "Oh hey, Wandie. What're we doin the middle of the ocean?" He asked as he peeked out of my pocket and looked around.

"Eh...Its a long story. I'll probably explain to you whe- Gah! " I watched as he floated towards the singing voices of the sirens that started up again. "Damn it!" I swam back towards him as fast as I could.