Chapter 17

"So, what about the babel tower?" Takae asks as we ride Bikey towards Tokyo.

"I don't know in this reality, but in mine, it existed. I believe it existed here. I have noticed something weird about history though. The history is exactly the same as the history in my world, and I didn't exist here. The things I did in my past, other people did it. It's weird." I hum.

"Anyways, yeah, it existed. Babel actually means Babylonia in ancient Hebrew, so, yep. The Tower of Babylonia." I smile in remembrance.

"Hm... And why did it disappear?" Takae asks, curiosity laced in her words.

"Well, according to the legends the tower was so tall that the gods got angry and destroyed it, right? Well... That's not entirely wrong though." I grin.

"Huh? The Gods truly destroyed it?"

"No, no, the ones who got offended weren't gods, but Martians! Apparently, they researched earth, and on top of the Tower of Babel, we constructed a telescope, big and grand enough to observe other planets." I pause to build the moment.

Takae leans forward, her eyes sparkling.

"Aliens!?" She whisper-shouts.

"And we saw them! But they saw us see them, and we saw them see us seeing them! So they came on a spaceship, floated above the tower, and shot it down. Now, THAT angered the gods. And they slaughtered them, struck an accord with their gods, and put a barrier across the world to protect the earth for a few thousand years until humanity could defend itself!" I wave my arms around as I explain.

"Oooh! That's so cool! Did you see them? The aliens? Are they different from us?" She asks fast and almost stumbling on her words.

"I did! I was actually in the tower when the aliens struck, I don't know if they remain consistent, but Martians in my universe looked mostly like humans but blue-skinned, they had no hair but little spikes, like seashells, and their legs looked like horse legs."

"Huh? That's weird. Oh, Tokyo, finally!" She exclaims as we pass a sign Welcome To Tokyo.

"Hm, give me a second," I mutter as Bikey goes to hide in some bushes. Closing my eyes, I wave my hand above Takae and my head.

"Good, let's keep going," I say confidently.

"What was that?" Takae asks as we ride Bikey once again.

"An illusion. The bike and we, for that matter, do not look normal at all, so this will make us ignorable." I grin as I kiss her on the cheek before Bikey neighs, transforming on a horse, and started going towards Taki Tachibana's house.

"It still annoys me that Bikey in horse form knows how to read maps, but as a bike, it can't read anything," I mutter angrily.

"Hmm... I wonder, have you thought that maybe, it does that on purpose to annoy you? Bikey is part of your soul after all." She smiles.

"That makes sense." I hum. "Regardless, I can't test anything now, we're on a timetable after all."

Tokyo is a buzzing metropolis, it's a city where the bold merges with chaos and tradition. A love hotel next to an ancient tea shop, a game arcade beside it, and in front of them a bar for massages.

There's no order to the lights or the crazy amount of buildings or the crazy amount of crosswalks everywhere.

It is absolutely clean though, even the alleys sparkle and smells freshly cleaned.

Hundreds of convenience stores, bars, thousands of people walking around, this city is not as chaotic as it would seem at first glance, too much order for me, yet it's also pleasant how everyone respects the cleanliness.

Japanese people are way too polite though. Too much for me.

We talked while we ride through the city, even away from the skyscrapers and the office buildings, Tokyo is still weird, the living neighborhoods are weird.

First of all, most houses look alike, and sometimes between houses there's a big house or an apartment building. There are even sideways apartment buildings, what is wrong with Japanese people?

"Ah, that's the building!" Takae exclaims as she points to a white building, probably three floors.

Bikey dissipating, we walk towards the front of the house, Takae is suddenly nervous, I can see her hand trembling and her body starting to perspire.

"Calm down," I say as I take her hand.

Calming herself, she nods towards me as her finger presses the bell.

-ding dong-

"Coming!" The voice of a young teen greets us from inside the house.

As the door opens, Taki Tachibana blushes a little bit as he looks at us. He bows twice, ugh, Japanese people are too formal.

"Uh, good morning, I am Taki Tachibana may I know what are you doing here?" Seriously, who teaches their people to be so damn polite. I would have asked Watchu want bruh!? I was eating!.

Takae suddenly grips my hand harder as she releases my hand and bows back. "Uh... I am Takae Tachibana, your sister." She says looking Taki directly into his eyes.

Eight hours later.

"Your brother is stupid," I say, we have been riding in silence for the past hour, directly towards Kawakami.

-sigh- "That's just how people are raised here. Still, he has grown to be a nice person, you can't debate that." She mutters back, defending her brother.

"Hmpf. That doesn't mean I have to like it. But yeah, despite his... Misgivings, he is a good person. Shame that I would have liked to punch him or something." I say still slightly angry.

"Aw, relax my love. Besides, I think you already annoyed him to no end." She mutters hugging me closer.

"Fine, fine, I hope that Mitsuha girl thanks us later at the very least," I say, giving Bikey half of my energy, making it shine and tremble.

"Ah!? Nat? What's going on?" Takae screams through the wind.

"Haha, close your eyes!" I grin as the surrounding area suddenly darkens and we appeared behind the shadow of the Kuki Corporation building of Kawakami.

"Huh, what?" Takae, visibly confused looks around. "Are we in Kawakami?"

"Yup, Bikey can travel through shadows we have been before. Let's visit the Kuki, I want to see if they have something about the Feather of Ishmallah, and I also need to prepare for the fight. More than that, you need to relax for a few days. You have the phone of the girl and your brother." I say as we hold hands and walk towards the Kuki Building.

"Uh... I don't want to see Hume." She mutters.

"And why is that, little baby?" A smooth baritone voice asks behind us. I, of course, knew he was there, but Takae is not that good at sensing yet.

"Kya!" Takae screams and suddenly, where she was only a whisp of lightning remains.

"You should have waited until we were inside the building, she wouldn't have run away," I smirk towards Mr. Hellsing.

"Ah, youth sure gets faster." He tells me as he fixes his bowtie.

"Well, she did get faster. The curse of bad luck is gone, her powers are augmented now that they don't have to hold back the curse to kill her." I say seriously as we keep walking towards the building.

"You're lucky you got me, a few months more and she would have died. Her energy was so close to giving up." I mutter.

"Giving up? But energy is linked to our emo... Oh." It seems it never crossed his mind that she would just give up.

"She lived a lonely life, humans are made for interaction. You would know about it, Vampire." I smirk towards his flashing eye.

"Ah, little babies and their misunderstandings, I am not a vampire." He serenely smiles back.

"Ah, what an amazing butler you are, Hume." I smile back.

As we chat, we could hear the voices of Takae and Ageha inside, there's also the voice of a man, a young man. Hideo, probably.

"Hm, I do not want to bother them, can you take me to a gymnasium or something only I can access? I don't wanna hurt anyone as I practice." I politely ask.

"Very well, you have proven to be trustworthy at the very least. Follow me." We enter an elevator, that goes down towards floor -42.

"There will be people, from time to time, but are strong enough and smart enough to not disturb or get near you if you practice hard. Besides, it is quite a big place." He explains as the elevator moves.

"Well, if you say so. Say, how did you come into the service of the Kuki? Don't think I haven't noticed that Kuki means 'Nine Demons'." I grin at him.

"Hm. Mikado Kuki, he's a man favored by the heavens." He states slowly as if trying to understand it himself. "That man was born to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted and always win. No matter what. He's strong, but I can defeat him, and yet he will win. His luck, his passion, his charisma. It was enough to win me over. And anyone, he's the emperor of the world for a reason."

"Huh. Emperor huh?" Certainly, Mikado meant emperor... His full name, emperor of the nine demons? Powerful, but it's just a name. "What do you mean favored by the heavens?" I ask.

"It is said that when he was born everyone closed their eyes in the same instant, a will of the gods, so no one would see his birth, and would ignore forevermore his misgivings. We're lucky he is a good person and his only wish is to make every single habitant of this world happy. Animals and virtual intelligence included." He chews on his words for a minute.

"I believe he was blessed by the gods, as a project to lead this world to a new age." He finally says.

"Hmm... How curious. Can I meet this Mikado anytime soon?" I ask.

"I wonder about that, he's always running around. Only his first wife knows his whereabouts, he doesn't even tell the concubines." He grumbles about not being told himself.

As the elevator doors open, the gym is indeed big, a few kilometers large, with machines and weird things around.

"You guys have too much weird technology," I mutter as I see a laser turret shot towards a blindfolded girl, as she parries each shot with her katana.

"Wait, I know that energy signature... Yoshitsune Miyamoto? Moreover he, or she now I guess, looks like a petite girl, what the hell?" I exclaim in surprise.

Apparently, it was a surprise for us all.

Hyume Hellsing almost choked on his gum when I said I recognized the energy signature, the girl, Miyamoto; staggered and got hit by a few lasers when I shouted her name, and I was so confused I keep walking and bonked the cristal wall.

"Ouch. What are these cristal walls made? It's strong!" I wonder as I keep knocking harder and harder on the wall.

"Just how old--

"You recognize m-!

-Bang- -Bang-!

I was punching the walls now with a big smile on my face.

Suddenly we all stopped as the glass started breaking.

"Ehem. So, yeah, it's quite strong huh." I smile embarrassedly.

"Don't go breaking everything here on purpose, Belatsunat." Hyume stares at me. "Now, let's go back, you said you recognized her energy? Did you meet the first Yoshitsune Minamoto?" He asks.

"Ah, hahaha. I... Maybe?" I scratch the back of my neck.

"Can you tell me about him?" A voice cuts our conversation. Timid and shy, her eyes dart around my face but never meet my eyes. "I have read a lot about him, but I don't have his memories." She speaks sadly.

"Memories? Well now, who exactly are you? I may help you if you are honest." I smile towards her.

"Ah, I don't know..." She looks at Hyume for a second, as he nods at her. "Umm, I am a clone of Yoshitsune Minamoto, only... Female, because apparently, it was easier to make females. I am quite strong. Uh, I am not the only clone, we lived on an island, but the Kuki saw fit to bring us to Kawakami now. Is... Is that enough?" She fidgets with her fingers as I look at her.

And I keep looking at her, as she fidgets more. Looks like she's getting smaller and smaller, as her index fingers meet in nervous anticipation.

"Hehe, you are like a cute hamster." I laugh out loud at her actions. "You are so similar to Yoshi-chan, hahaha!" I laugh, grateful to see something familiar, I miss my old world.

"Yup, I meet him, and his brother. And his retainers, he was just as shy as you are, his servants barely listened to his orders when not in war, and they always teased him and played around. He was always pouting, but he was happy to be so loved." I smile.

"I taught him how to wield a sword," I say as their eyes widen. "He was a bad student though." Ah, there it is, she's pouting, adorable.

"How old are you Master? Can I call you master?" She asks with stars in her eyes.

"Hm. Very well, you may. And I lost count at the eight thousand mark. So, who knows, really." I smirk.

"Ah, this is why you wanted to know Mr. Mikado." Hellsing whispers to himself.

"As I was saying, you may train however you wish, wherever you wish. Yoshitsune here nows how to activate the machines if you require them. Have a good day." He smiles that fake serene smile of his as he bows and leaves.

"He's quite a grumpy old man, huh," I state as he leaves promptly.

"So, master, can you teach me things?" She is bouncing with excitement.

Hmmm. Not what I came here for, but whatever.

"Fine, but let me do something first." Waving my hand, a ceramic pot, almost broken appears on the floor.

"Woooow!" If her eyes shine more I could just shut off the lights.

Opening the lid, I rest my face in the quasi-solid liquid, leaving something very similar to my face imprinted on it.

A few seconds later, the pot breaks, and from the smoke of the ceramic, a copy of me appears, her colors are slightly muted, but she's me.

"She's gonna train you, I need to train too; my energies are quite weird right now. Don't look like that, my consciousness is on her as well. You might as well say I am living in both bodies at the same time." I finish half the phrase using the mouth of my clone.

"Ooooooh! Amazing! You're so amazing Master!" She claps.

"Hahaha, let's go my disciple!" I say from my clone as they go towards another sealed room.

I go towards the biggest room and kneel in the middle of it, I extend both of my arms to my sides, close my fists except for my thumbs, and with a fast movement, I suddenly stab myself as I close my arms.

I stabbed myself in my clavicles, grunting I take my fingers off my wounds, from them, my blood slowly drips to the ground, moving around me, forming intricate patterns on the floor.

I close my eyes as my blood starts shining, a blood dome surrounding me.

While the wound could close on its own, I am actively preventing it, so the blood wants to enter me again to fix itself. Since I infused the blood with my energy, it tries to rush towards me on its own, all I have to do is to reject it.

This is a control exercise, infuse your blood with energy with a command to "come with me and fix me" before getting hurt, and the blood will use all its remaining energy to try and heal you, all you have to do is stop it without breaking the enchantment on the blood, which is flimsy as hell. So, the key lies in control, moreover I plan to do this while I meditate.

Closing my eyes I enter my mindscape as at the same time I try to keep the control outside of my body.

It's hard to control such a low amount of energy so precisely, control a second body, train another person and meditate at the same time. Hopefully, this will help me with my control. I am wasting too much energy on little things.

"That's right, keep the equilibrium," I say from the clone's mouth as Yoshitsune balances from the sheat of her katana with one tow. The other feet, extended are balancing her katana.

Also, she's blindfolded, and has to catch the little sweets I throw at her with her mouth.

This is an unreasonable exercise that amuses me, I am also telling her stories.

"So what happened then, Master?" -Nom!- She asks as she suddenly bites a sweet from the air.

"Well, Benkei said that he wouldn't touch sake ever again, however, we all followed him in the middle of the night, and saw him drinking Chinese liqueur. It was not sake though. But once he was drunk enough he drank all the sake in the state." I say as I throw her another sweet, this time I aim for her legs. Spinning on the scabbard she noms it through the air.

"Ah! And you got that liqueur for the war, right? To burn it?" She asks already knowing the answer.

I laugh. "Yeah! In the end, his body felt so bad that he went to defecate in the front lines, and the battle stopped for two weeks as both armies waited for the smell to go away."

"Oh. My. God." She breaks her concentration as a sweet hit her in her face, her toe twitches and the katana falls edge first towards her hand. I throw a sweet to divert it and it stabs through the ground.

"Now, now, don't break your concentration because of that. What if you were to fight someone naked? You would turn away." I smirk as I help her up.

"We're doing it again, and I am going to tell you about my recent travels, with all the spicy details," I smirk.

A few hours later

I suddenly open my eyes, someone is touching the blood dome of my main body.

"Takae?" I grunt as my wounds suddenly heal and I stand up. "What's up, did you catch up with your family?" I smile as she kisses my head.

"Yeah, thanks for giving us privacy. We even played dice, and I won once!" She smiles like a child in a candy store.

"Hahaha, good job." I laugh as I hug her.

"Let's talk." She mutters as she sits down, holding my hands.

Sitting in front of her, I smile. "Alright, what do you want to talk about?"

"You're not of this world, only a visitor." She says slowly as if afraid I would get upset about that.

"I am, yes." I nod placidly.

"And once you get Ishmallah's feather you will leave to gather other feathers in other worlds, won't you?" She smiles sadly.

"Yeah." I concur, it's the truth.

"Then... What about me? About us?" She asks, almost fearing the answer.

"Well, you can do whatever you want. If you want to come with me I will make sure you will be able to. If you want to stay here I will understand. If there's something I learned across my entire life, is that you have to ignore the monsters on your head. You're your own master." I mull over my words. "Time might separate us someday. But, even still, until then, let's stay together." I smile brightly.

"I do love you, Takae, but a separation, be it temporary or forever is not something I am scared of. Besides, even if you want to stay here, and say goodbye to me forever, I would still be happy about it. You're no longer bound by the curse, you're free! You got it all, there's so much more about this world that you haven't seen. At the end of the day, I do not belong here." I state.

"There's no logic in my sadness then?" She asks sadly as if it was something someone told her.

"Hm, you don't gain a single thing from misery. You know that already, don't you? You lived in misery for most of your life. And emotions... They are not logical. Don't worry too much about logic, if you feel, you feel. Just enjoy your life." I press my forehead against her and close my eyes.

"Whatever you choose, I will be happy for you." I kiss her on the lips one last time.

Standing up, I stretch. "Now, don't think so much about it. Let's have dinner and after that, I'll come back to train a little bit more." I grin at her.