"Abspiritual Virus" (053)

"Ayuka! Please! You gotta stop raging! We wouldn't have been able to do anything even if we tried!" Elliot screamed, attempting to stop her.

"You're dumb, right, like dumb and stupid? Dumb and stupid... you're so dumb... stupid... foolish... We still have a chance to save him! There's no way our friend... with whom we've spent so much time... is someone completely different! No, I'm not going to believe that... I'm not going to believe it!"

Her body was already agitated, and her heart ratio was swiftly growing.

"There isn't much we can do about it! We can only do one thing: stop the Spiritual Hoaxers! It's up to us to do it with him! Like, Ayuka, none of us actually believe it! Please!" Elliot screamed, attempting to stop her.

"Stop attempting to calm me down! If it kills me, I'm going to get him back! You should know that we all have a future!" She screamed angrily while being restrained by Codey, Elliot, Kiyoshi, and even Yumi.

"Ayuka! Please! Stop! With the amount of pressure you're using, you're destroying our bones!" Kiyoshi grumbled and couldn't keep her still.

"Then don't bother with me! I'm going after them whatever! I'll do it if it means shattering some rusted bones, so let me go before I do it!"

However, no progress has been made. "You're crazier than I anticipated..." When Codey said something, she jerked forward, sweating and doing her best. "How can one girl make three boys and a girl find it difficult to move her, we're struggling like babies!?" Yumi, who was equally stressed, inquired, and both of them were sweating.

"Let me go! I've got to get him back, I've got to! We can still save him even though he's trapped!"

"So!"

"Let!"

"Me!

"Go!"

Elliot, on the other hand, suddenly raised his voice. "Ayuka! Tim has passed away! Do you hear what I'm saying? He's dead! He's dead, and there's no way he'll return back to life! Just accept the fact that he is no longer alive!" And those... precise words made our Heroine freeze in place, fearful eyes, pupilless, and fully worried.

Her body yielded to despair as she grew weaker, and her knees rested, splayed on the floor.

"... d-dead ... n-no... he can't be dead... he... he wouldn't die... he wouldn't leave us... ag-again...? th-there's no way... it can't be real... it's all... a-a lie..."

But, as she was being lowered to the ground, everyone gave up and turned away, disappointed. "I-I know... it's difficult for any of us to believe... Who could just accept that a long-time friend of ours died... in such a heartbreaking catastrophe..." Elliot pondered, trying to maintain a calm and educated demeanor.

"And to think, once Rez had murdered him, he never came back to life? He was... the last Soul, enhanced into another human's body, assuming our friend's look... it's so... cruel."

"... I can't stomach what you're going through, even because I've only known him for a short time... yet it's still dreadful... look, even Alpha's confessed to hopelessness..."

Alpha's body was motionless, her eyes were wide open, and she had been staring at her hand the entire time. "... an f-fake... it's as if we've never met the real him..."

"With apologies for bothering you... There's still a chance he's alive... after all, did you hear what Genpaku said?" Shigeru is the focus of everyone's attention.

"W-What exactly do you mean by that? His entire abdomen was hollowed out, as could be seen..." Yumi exclaimed, worried about the added pressure.

"Are you sure you don't remember..." Shigeru closed his eyes and flooded them with memories.

~ "Yujiro Sagayama, it's time for you to join our ranks... Our Ultimate Weapon will be you... the 'Hollow' itself." ~

"Oh... r-right... he mentioned his entering the ranks... after he was hollowed out..." Elliot pondered, his head down.

"So... m-maybe there's a chance he is still alive. That guy is tough and powerful, but something like that... there's no way he could have lived..." When Shigeru turned to the side, Yumi had a thought.

"There's a chance... only his abdomen and lungs were penetrated, not his heart... Ayuka could quickly heal it... and if they had someone like Genpaku, wounds are almost unimportant..." Shigeru explained, piqued the interest of the others.

"Then we can go help him!"

Ayuka's depression dissipated as she gained confidence. "W-What? A-Ayuka... but there's no way of knowing if he'd-"

"I don't give a damn... I'm not going to hand him over to them... Only I will be able to have him! Only I! I-I'm not going to hand him up to some masked devils!"

Others were made uncomfortable by the terms she used. "Why are you staring at me so intently? Is it possible that I got something on my face?!"

"Well... didn't you hear what you said... you said a bunch of strange stuff."

Ayuka was astonished and embarrassed when she remembered the few words.

"Wait! No, no, no, no, no! That's not what I was implying! That was not my intention! I realize I appear suspicious, but it has nothing to do with *that*! Please pay attention to what I'm saying!"

"... no, I know... but it was unusual..." - "... well, if we plan on rescuing *him* of ALL people... we'll have to come up with a strategy once more..." Codey stared at the ground with his finger on his jaw.

"A-And what are we supposed to do?" Nobuhiko's eyes were ablaze with wrath, and he attempted to conceal his misery.

"... maybe I can help ..."

Someone immediately turned to the side, astonished to see a shorter girl. "W-Who are you?" By gulping and causing everyone to be confused.

"... you'd like to know my name, right? Okay, alright..." The girl appeared to be eerily serene, almost emotionless. "My name is Tomomi Nagaoka, but you can call me Tomomi..." The girl's shorter hair, the shorter physique were surprising and fingers were close to her lips.

"Tomomi Nagaoka? You, uh... you a Spiritual Duelist?" Tomomi, on the other hand, denied it. "... no, I'm a Spiritual Exorcist... " she said Everyone's gaze was drawn to her the instant she said her name.

"Aren't you meant to stay in a Duelist's Spiritual Blade, S-Spiritual Exorcist?" Nina inquired, her face plain.

"That's correct... and that's why I came..."

"Oh, you're so cute... With your gorgeous eyes and little bodies, you're just adorable. Tell me how old you are." Kiyoshi poked her and laughed.

She gave him a sidelong glance. "... thank you..."

"N-No... problem?" Kiyoshi took a step back, scratching his hair, embarrassed.

"Y-You haven't responded in total yet..." Kiyoshi returned her stare by sighing.

"Oh...? I didn't do it... I'm sorry... could you just restate the question?" Kiyoshi was covered with a crimson mark in amusement after Tomomi inquired.

"I requested your age..."

"I'm 17, yet some people mistakenly think I'm 18..." Our Heroes froze in position for a minute.

"Eighteen?! You have the appearance of a ten-year-old!" Elliot, who was staring at her, was the loudest. "17... did I not say?"

Elliot, who was staring at her, was the loudest. "D-Does that imply I'm allowed to touch you?"

Tomomi, on the other hand, continued to gaze at him sideways. "I'd love it if you didn't do that... touching another person's body is quite wrong, correct? As a result, it's preferable to keep your acts to yourself."

"You shittin' me, man? Why are you speaking as if you were an AI or a robot...?" Yumi sighed, her expression angry. "Such grammatical usage is likewise incorrect... but do as you choose."

Tomomi smiled politely. "So, why are you here in the first place? You stated that you could assist us, but how?" Codey inquired, his gaze falling all the way to the ground.

"... I can assist you... If I can talk to your friend's soul body, I'm able to inject myself into his weapon will unblock the infection. Of course, that may be impossible if he is deceased." Tomomi, a peculiar yet endearing girl, might be the one to save Tim, but how is that possible?

"What makes you think that's possible? You appear to be far too sweet and innocent for it." Nina exclaimed, smiling at her. "...Please if you do not call me innocent... I wouldn't want to betray you..." Tomomi reached out with her palm as soon as she said it.

"Whoa! E-Excuse me, I'm sorry! Can you, however, truly defeat Tim's virus? He's close to death, if not already dead..." Despite this, Tomomi grinned.

"Don't be concerned. I'm going to do everything I can to break that seal... Isn't his soul connected to Yujiro Sagayama? Then nothing should go wrong... However, because I am unable to fight, I am simply known as the strengthening Spiritual Exorcist, as this is my responsibility... I intended to flee from my master's blade once I saw how horrible his death was. He was far too cruel for my tastes, so if you point me in the direction of your friend, I can save him."

Others' eyes lit up as they heard that. "Y-You're so sure of yourself? Y-You think you can save him?" With sweat dripping down her side of the face, Ayuka wondered.

"Yes... I can issue a Spiritual Command to the sword to deactivate the composure stopping his ongoing virus... His soul is still alive, but his body is in bad shape... Because the Spiritual Blade and the Spiritual Duelist are one if something occurs to the holder of the blade, the virus that we name 'Abspiritual Virus' will affect both of them."

Everyone in Tomomi's direct proximity was perplexed by her words. "Q-quite... That's a statement... C -Can you tell me how smart you are? Are you a machine?" Nobuhiko inquired, equating her to a machine.

"I am not a machine... I can certify, but please keep in mind that I am only a Spiritual Duelist..."

"But... where did you gather this data? And who was it that sent you?" Until someone stood in front of Tomomi, Ayuka wondered.

"She's one of my most ardent supporters... I-I know she seems to despise me... but it's only because of my personality, ehehe... despite the fact that I'm sure she'll be a fantastic match for your friend."

Shion was the one who was laughing inconveniently.

"It's not just a matter of your personality... I despise you for a variety of reasons... Your mannerisms do not make me feel welcome... You're too pretty for my tastes, and seeing you act like some type of sexually interactive woman is too stressful for me."

Tomomi blushed as her cheeks swelled to the side. "You can see why she doesn't like me..." Shion added, gazing to the side. "Captain Shion is a favorite of many. Look at her, she's stunning... She's a complete package! Having a sexy body, a sexy mind, and-" But Codey had already slammed Elliot to the ground before he could continue.

"S-Sorry, please continue." He laughed.

"So, Tomomi is your Spiritual Exorcist?" Nina looked at Shion, puzzled.

"Please don't refer to her as MY Spiritual Exorcist... she's a buddy who has the ability to make her own decisions." Shion laughed.

"Tomomi is quite adorable, I must say... and she's completely innocent, so don't be concerned... She's also one of the most experienced Spiritual Exorcists you'll ever meet... Advanced, to be sure... She's just incredibly astute when it comes to how she employs her strength... She doesn't have to stay within a Spiritual Blade and simply needs to be near her ally... she can transfer her aura into the blade while keeping her body and consciousness on the outside..."

"Wow... that is truly advanced!" Elliot said this while clenching his jaws and drooling.

"I'm not a robot... So, if you could maybe refrain from referring to me as a machine..." She was emotionless as she said. "But... you're so lifeless and so short.. you know... machines don't have proper life... and maybe, Ayuka grew a little."

"I can grow... can't I?" Annoyed and disturbed Ayuka question.

"You grew for like 7 centimeters!" Everyone laughed at Ayuka.

"At least I'm over 160 now... 165, to be exact..."

"No, she's a real person... Anyway, I believed she'd make an excellent partner for Tim, and she'd be able to neutralize the 'Abspiritual Virus'... Please accept her as your travel buddy for the remainder of the journey... I was privy to everything that had transpired to Tim, including his true identity-"

Shion, on the other hand, promptly shut her mouth. "He's not Yujiro at all! Timoshi Miyazaki, he is and always will be! Please don't make me accept him as someone else... Simply agree with me and say it with me... he's Tim, and no one can change that!" Others agreed after hearing Ayuka's determined remarks.

"Yes, you are correct... It's Tim, and he'll always be the one who saved you from execution, Ayuka, by interrupting himself. He is, without a doubt, himself."

"Anyway... I can help you make a plan if that's what you require... I'll do my best." Others smiled as Tomomi explained.

"You got it..." Codey, Elliot, and Kiyoshi smiled as they called in the sync.

To be continued...