Chapter Ten: A Long Line of Screw-ups

The two pink-haired girls helped the bodies of their friends up, taking them back to their cabin. They also dragged the body of the man who planned their demise, the man with the red helmet and armor, inside the cabin to discuss him. They set his lifeless corpse on the ground, while they set the injured bodies of Nene, Polka, Lamy, Botan, Rikka, and Izuru on the bed, the couch, and various chairs they found in the cabin.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Aloe," Calliope made conversation, "I guess not even retired members are safe."

"Hah, I guess not," Aloe laughed, "I would've thought those in Heaven or the Underworld would be safe from being transported to a place like this.

"Speaking of, you feel it too, right?" Calliope asked, "Since you're a succubus-in-training, do you feel Death-sensei's presence?"

"I can't say I do," Aloe shook her head, "But it's odd. People can definitely die here, but there's no Death to retrieve their souls, or at least not a Death we can feel."

"It's possible that red guy was a reaper from this world," Calliope suggested, "It would explain why he went after me. Residents of the Underworld like their territory, after all."

"No, I'm not sensing any Miasma on him," Aloe sniffed the man's corpse, "If he really was a resident, he'd at least have some."

"You're right," Calliope sighed, before looking at their friends, "You think they'll recover?"

"Nene and Botan seem like they won't take long before they heal," Aloe looked over as well, "Lamy, Polka, and Izuru might take a while longer to recover, considering their wounds were bloody. And as for Rikka, he's going to be inactive until we find a technician or something of the sort."

"I understand," Calliope nodded, looking back at the man's corpse. She thought back to the last thing he said.

'Hypnos, huh…?' she mused as she wryly smiled, 'I should've figured this curse would come back to haunt me…'

She got up to get a better look at the man's body. With a fierce expression, she took off his helmet.

And what she found was a black haired teenager wearing glasses, with a tattoo on his neck displaying the number 005.

...

"WAKE UP, MAN!" Tamashi woke Nozomi up gleefully, "Today's the day!"

'Day for what…?' Nozomi rolled over groggily in his bed.

"Come on, man! Today's my date with Ayame-chan!" Tamashi sounded like a kid on Christmas morning.

Forcing himself to get up, Nozomi put on his black framed glasses and green kimono and started for the Cover Corporation offices.

'God, man, we're not gonna be able to go into the other world because of this,' Nozomi shook his head, quite angry about the turn of events.

"Ugh, loosen up a bit, will ya?" Tamashi groaned, "Everyone should take a break every once in a while. You should ask Roboco out today."

'I-I couldn't…' Nozomi blushed, looking down, 'Maybe eventually, when I know she likes me back.'

"Oh, come on, my guy," Nozomi could feel Tamashi's eyes rolling, "She hugged you and she held your hand? She totally likes you back!"

'B-but the hug was out of concern, I'm sure she'd do that for any of her friends,' Nozomi reasoned, flustered, 'And she held my hand because she needed someone, she was just really sad about Anemachi…'

"Sure, sure…" Tamashi emptily agreed, "Seriously though, you guys would look cute together."

'You think so…?' Nozomi perked up, still somewhat red.

...

He opened the door to the meeting room, only to find a familiar oni girl wearing a beautiful red kimono with flower-prints. She had her white hair tied into a long ponytail, extending all the way down to her waist. The red flower in her hair matched her sparkling eyes. Blushing, Nozomi went up to the girl.

"You ready?" Nozomi asked.

"Yeah, let's see what you're Echo is made of," Ayame smiled.

'What am I supposed to do…?' Nozomi asked Tamashi.

"I don't know, go around town, play a video game, make out with Roboco, you're a pretty popular guy now, you can probably hang out with one of the girls you've saved," Tamashi suggested.

'No, I mean what do I do to transfer her consciousness into my mindscape?' Nozomi corrected, 'And don't think I missed that Roboco remark.'

"Oh, that, just shake her hand and I'll take care of the rest," Tamashi informed.

'Alright,' Nozomi complied, looking at Ayame.

"Uh…" Nozomi stammered, holding out his hand, "He says I'm supposed to shake hands with you…?"

"Sounds good," she nodded, firmly taking the boy's hand. Suddenly, the girl put her hand to her head, and passed out, unconscious. Nozomi panicked, unsure of what to do with her body. He eventually decided to set her on a nearby chair. He then glanced at YAGOO, who was watching the whole thing at his usual chair.

"I won't tell," YAGOO grinned. Nozomi cracked a smile and bowed, leaving the building at once.

...

Ayame woke up in a pitch-black room, with the only colors being from her own red kimono. She stumbled to her feet, looking at a nearby light. Confused, she ran towards it, finding a white-haired boy with a green kimono. His face seemed to be very similar to Nozomi's, but Nozomi was somewhat shorter, whereas this boy was a bit more tall. He was sitting at a reclining chair, with a coffee table with a teapot and twin teacups resting upon it in front of him.

"You're Tamashi, I take it?" Ayame said, taking a seat on an adjacent chair, "Did you really have to give me that headache?"

"Haha, I'm sorry about that," Tamashi smiled warmly, "What did you think ripping your consciousness into someone else's mindscape would feel like, though?"

"I guess you're right," Ayame sighed, looking down and pouring herself a cup of tea, "So, tell me about yourself, Tamashi."

"Me? I'm much more interested in hearing about you," Tamashi said, watching the liquid leave the teapot and enter the cup, "But alright. I guess you could say I'm the first in a long line of screw-ups. I was born with innate skill with the sword, I was manipulated for a couple of years, then I found out the truth of Malice and the nature of the Mirror, so I began to wield my sword for what I believe is justice."

"Manipulated?" Ayame asked.

"Hah, yeah," Tamashi snickered, "Ikuma was a real bitch, I'll tell you that much."

"I get the feeling you don't want to get into it," Ayame noted, taking a sip from her teacup.

"I guess you could say that," Tamashi nodded, "But how about you?"

"Oh, I was born in the Underworld as a half-oni," Ayame claimed.

"Half-oni?" Tamashi questioned.

"Yeah, half-human, half-oni," Ayame nodded, "Half breeds are usually frowned upon in the Underworld, so I was beat up a lot."

"Ouch," Tamashi winced, "That's rough."

"You're telling me," Ayame sighed, taking a second sip from her teacup, "So yeah, I began to study the art of the katana in efforts to defend myself. I was a natural, and I definitely showed those bullies. Before long though, I became power drunk. I felt like I could do anything. So I did. I lied, I stole, I killed."

"I see…" Tamashi listened intently.

"Until I killed the leader of an Underworld gang just for sport…" Ayame looked down, "And the remnants killed my mother in revenge."

"That's…" Tamashi looked down, "Kind of your fault."

"Damn right," Ayame agreed, "So I've decided to wield my blades for what I believe in since then."

Ayame began to look into the distance of the black void, taking a sip from her tea.

"You know, every time I've told someone this story, they've consoled me," Ayame thought for a moment, "But that's never wanted to hear. I've never met someone who said exactly what I've thought before. It was my fault. And now I'm trying to atone."

"I know how you feel. We aren't too different, Ayame," Tamashi said, taking a sip from his own teacup, "In of the fact that we're both attempting to atone for our past sins by wielding our sword for good, I mean."

"Alright, now that I've got a good handle of who you are, let's get straight to the point," Ayame's posterior changed, "Why'd you fall for me, Tamashi?"

"I'm not one to lie, Ayame-chan," Tamashi smirked, "It was mainly your looks at first."

"At first, hm?" Ayame repeated.

"It was during your battle with Mio," Tamashi recalled, "'I won't let you hurt anyone,' I believe it was what you said? You weren't worrying about your own hide. You were worrying about the safety of Nozomi and your friends. I realized you were a really kind person then. Until then, feelings have only grown."

Ayame gasped, quite surprised. She never even realized it herself, but she really did care about her friends' well-being more than her own. She looked at him for quite a while, before smiling and looking down, her cheeks somewhat rosy.

"You're a fun guy, Tamashi," Ayame smiled, rising to her feet, "I'll be back sometime."

"Until then, Ayame-chan," Tamashi smiled, as Ayame's vision got blurry and the black room around her began to fade away.

...

Jeez, what am I supposed to do now? Nozomi thought to himself, My schedule practically revolved around that other world…

He began walking through a small shopping district, with many shops surrounding him. Suddenly, he caught the scent of a heavenly smell.

'Holy shit, those smell delicious,' he said, motioning towards a small doughnut cart. He reached for his wallet, and…

'Oh yeah, I'm broke,' Nozomi suddenly remembered, looking somewhat disappointed. Just then, a familiar hand placed a 500 yen coin on the cart.

"Two, please," Gura said, looking at the black-haired boy. The vendor grabbed two piping hot doughnuts, giving them to the girl. She then gave one to Nozomi, biting into the other in her spare hand.

"Thanks, Gura," Nozomi smiled, "What brings you here?"

"See that place over there?" she said, pointing towards a small tailor shop run by an old woman, "I'm getting black tuxes made, as per your suggestion."

"Why's that?" Nozomi asked.

"Come on Nozomi, you've noticed the ring, right?" Gura said, holding out her right hand and showing off her sparkling ring, "Ame proposed to me, so we're getting married soon."

"C-congratulations!" Nozomi said, shocked by the news, "I'm happy for you!"

"Yeah, it's whatever," she said nonchalantly, although her wide grin hinted that it definitely wasn't "whatever".

"So, you prefer tuxedos over dresses?" Nozomi asked, taking another bite from his doughnut.

"Well, there's that, but I'm also getting a tux made for you," Gura said, chomping down the rest of her doughnut.

"Hm? Why?" Nozomi asked, confused.

"Cuz you're gonna be my best man," Gura answered.

"Wh-what?!" Nozomi nearly choked on his doughnut, "Why me?! I barely know you!"

"To be honest, if there were more options at the moment, I probably would have chosen Ina or Calli," Gura explained, "But for one, they're still stuck in that other world, and for two, I'm really grateful to you."

"Grateful?" Nozomi questioned.

"Well, if it wasn't for you and Tamashi, we'd be dead meat," Gura elaborated, looking up, "Meaning there would be no wedding. So thanks, Nozomi."

"I-it's nothing, but if you're sure…" Nozomi stammered. The best man at a wedding? It's certainly not what he's used to…

...

"Please, J-chad, we should turn back," Kiara followed the girl worriedly, "Are you sure, you're fully healed?"

"Positive," J-chad mumbled. This did nothing to shake Kiara's concerns, however. As they walked through the frozen wasteland they found themselves in, however, they came across a mysterious figure. He seemed to be wearing entirely white armor, with an accompanying white helmet. He took off the helmet, revealing a teenager with black hair and accompanying black-framed glasses. He had a tattoo on the left side of his neck with the number 003.

"Hi there, Thanatos, Amaterasu," the man addressed the two with a sly grin, pulling out a massive sword you'd expect to find in an RPG, "My name is Nozomi, codename 003, and I'll be your liberator today. How about we play for a little while?"