Chapter 8: Aim the spotlight, Akira is coming. The new Magical Girl?

- "Without a doubt, this is one of the worst terrorist attacks on national soil since that fateful March 20, 1995. According to the government spokesperson, several lines of investigation have already been drawn up to clarify the motive and find those responsible. of this atrocious event" – The television in the living room was tuned to the news channel, while I took a hot bath to calm my nerves.

As for little Ren, as soon as I regained my strength I went to take him to the Ishikawa family home, where his parents were already waiting for us.

Without realizing the number of missed calls that were registered on my cell phone, as soon as I arrived at the gate of the home, Ren was snatched from my arms by his mother. At the same time he forcefully let go of a slap on my face while he yelled at me with tears in his eyes. Due to the shock of the moment, Mr. Ishikawa had to intervene by holding his wife so we could separate.

- "It's late Haruka -chan, my wife is very tired and can't control her emotions. I beg your pardon, we are sincerely grateful to you for taking care of Ren. But with so many missed calls and our Natsume in the hospital, it's just too much burden for her."

- "I'm sorry Mr. Ishikawa, I really didn't realize that my cell phone had discharged. I have no excuse for my carelessness, don't worry, I really deserve your wife to take it out on me."

- "No, Haruka . You don't have to blame yourself, you don't deserve to be slapped. It's just that…" – Holding my arms with his trembling hands, Mr. Ishikawa could barely maintain the firmness of his voice that was already about to break from crying.

With the discouraging prognosis that the doctors had given them regarding Natsume's clinical condition, that couple could barely stay in one piece in the face of the possibility that their eldest daughter would remain in a vegetative state.

Without going into more details, I decided to leave the place and walked under a sky bathed in reddish hues that gave way to twilight, in the middle of the clouds that the rain had left when it stopped. With a lot of clumsiness on my legs, I walked for an hour until I reached the convenience store, where Akiko -san greeted me with a worried expression on her face when she saw me with my eyes red and my eyelids swollen from crying.

Just as she always did, Akiko -san comforted me in her arms silently in the employee room. Without saying a single word, just with her hands caressing my head like a mother would do with her daughter.

I really needed that, my soul desired it, even if it was a mere illusion. I wanted my mind to be stunned by that warm, gentle display of love after all the suffering I had had to go through. Yes, I knew I was being selfish and taking advantage of his good will; but who could judge me harshly, if only they were in my shoes.

After an hour of surrendering in the arms of my boss, I began to work at the cash register, sighing at times, feeling my throat itch in such a way that it seemed like I was about to have a cold.

- "Hey ugly, you really look like a mess. Are you sure you want to be at the register? You still have an hour left, if you want I can cover you in the box while you do part of my inventory" – With that casual tone so typical in his voice, the boy who covered the night shift arrived with his headphones on and his head covered by the hood of your sweatshirt. Generally I had never paid attention to his face, but a detail caught my attention on his eyelids, making me click my tongue lightly.

- "What's that clicking sound about? Does it bother you that much that I give you a hand? "I also know what it's like to have a shitty day and how much I wish someone would support me."

- "I'm really not interested in your life or what you have to say to me, just focus on your damn job and leave me alone, you fucking effeminate idiot."

- "Effeminate? What the hell are you talking about?"

- "Are you serious? What would you think of a boy who has shadows on his eyelids? Unless you are a VK in a rock group, the only thing I can think of is that you bat the other way" – Completely stunned by my response, the boy turned his face to where the soda refrigerator was and stared at his reflection in the glass holding the sleeves of the sweatshirt against his eyelids.

- "Shit! I walked the entire way with this on! "Damn!" – With his face flushed, that boy could barely look at me as he quickly went to the staff room to wash his face in the bathroom.

Laughing at that unfortunate event for him, I felt the fatigue on my shoulders lighten a little with that sudden change of scenery. A few seconds later, she fell again into the pile of mud in which she was up to her neck.

Ending my shift at the same time as always, I said goodbye to Akiko -san and she gave me a bag with the groceries she was preparing for me just as she had been doing for months. I knew that that food was going to be wasted if I took it, but I couldn't snub that woman who always looked out for me.

When I got to the building where my apartment was located, I hung the bag of groceries on the door handle of the apartment next to mine. A few months ago, long before he started working at the convenience store, a young man in his twenties had moved from the countryside looking for work in Tokyo; With a provincial accent, that boy was kind to me, greeting me in the mornings when he left for work when we met to take out the trash.

With a tired countenance due to the exhaustive hours imposed on him in the company where he worked as a sales agent, that man maintained his smile despite how haggard he looked.

I remember that when my mother died, he discreetly gave me his condolences through a letter and a box of vegetables that his parents had sent him from their hometown. As simple as that gesture seemed, I really appreciated that someone besides the Ishikawas cared about me.

- "I hope you can eat well and get healthy, my dear neighbor." – Turning around to enter my apartment, I collided with the chest of a man who was behind me. With that subtle aroma of cologne mixed with the penetrating essence of tobacco, that peculiar smell made me realize that it was my next-door neighbor.

- "Good night Yoshino -san. Sorry for surprising you like this, I'm really exhausted and my eyes were closing due to fatigue, making me not see you. You got hurt?"

- "I'm fine, don't worry Wataru-san. "I am the one who should apologize to you, since I came to your door without even telling you."

- "No no! On the contrary, you shouldn't apologize to an old man like me. But with how good you have been to me by sharing what you get in your part-time job."

- "So you knew that I was the one who put those bags at your door?" – With my face flushed with shame, I lowered my gaze trying to control my sadness while Wataru-san rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, also diverting his gaze.

- "Yes, I saw you one night when I was coming back from work. I wanted to thank you as soon as I saw you, but I was too sorry to see you face to face. For an old man like me, having a young girl like you care about him is something…"

- "No! Honestly, this is something I do with great pleasure and in gratitude for that time he gave me the box of vegetables. They were really very good, seriously" – Waving my hands with the expression on my face almost bordering on stupid, I felt dizzy for a moment being held by Wataru-san, who prevented me from falling to the ground.

- "Are you okay Yoshino -san?"

- "Yes I'm fine. It's just that I feel like I haven't gotten enough sleep because of my part-time job and schoolwork. But I just need to rest a little, you don't need to worry"

- "Don't say that, the duty of us adults is to take care of the children" – With a serious expression on his face, the young office worker made me see my reality. Although at almost 16 years old I had to fend for myself, in the eyes of society I was nothing more than a brat at the expense of the good will of the people.

- "Wataru-san is right, please. Please continue to take care of me, I am very grateful to you" – Biting my lip a little, I pushed my neighbor aside and walked to the door of my apartment. Slamming the door as I dropped to my knees on the floor, bringing my hands to my face. Releasing a bitter sigh while cursing with all my might the life I was leading.

- "If only I were stronger, if only I had more courage." – Laughing sarcastically as I looked at the funeral urn with my mother's remains, I shook my head, getting up to go to the bathroom and turn on the water heater.

Leaving the television on with the news, I immersed myself in the bathtub and began to carve my body, bringing my knees up to chest height.

- "It must definitely be an ultra-nationalist extremist group. Only those types of individuals are capable of carrying out such barbaric acts against the civilian population" – Listening to the voice of the news anchor, I buried my head in the water, wishing for moments that the night and the cold rain that fell suddenly outside will finish.

By the next morning, the weather outside was somewhat cool. With the arrival of autumn and that casual rain, the air that blew strongly was loaded with a light cold touch on the skin.

Grabbing a sweater from the closet, I put on my uniform and grabbed my backpack to head to school. Walking with headphones on while playing some music on my cell phone to distract myself on the journey.

Taking my steps on the sidewalk under the canopies of the ginkgo trees, the leaves fell in the sway of the wind like a light shower of yellow petals. Since my childhood I had always been attracted to those trees, since they gave me the impression of being made of pure gold when the season came when they had to shed their leaves. I really enjoyed extending my arms and raising my face to the sky when that happened, closing my eyes imagining that I was a princess in her palace.

- "If you don't pay attention to your path, it is very likely that you will get hurt when you fall." – Taking off one of my headphones in a surprising way, Kotaro -san put his lips close to my ear when saying that phrase, startling me to the point that I jumped in shock.

- "Ha ha ha ha . You really look like a scared little rabbit whenever I do this to you Haruka -san."

- "Seriously, you keep behaving like a child Yamamoto-san"

- "Please don't be so distant with me. I know you can't be my girlfriend, but at least call me by my name as a gesture of friendship" – Holding the straps of my backpack, I looked away for a moment trying to avoid the eyes of Kotaro, who continued holding me that pitiful look making me feel guilty

- "Okay, just because we are good friends I will call you by your name. But only when the two of us are alone; "I really don't want misunderstandings at school, it wouldn't be fair to you or me."

- "I agree, if that's okay with you Haruka -san." – As we approached the main gate of the school, I told him everything that happened with Natsume and his family. At least the parts that could be said, I let flow from my heart in order to find some solace in Kotaro . Who remained silent, listening to me carefully, only putting his hand on my back as a friendly gesture trying to comfort me.

- "I really can't believe it. We are only a few months away from finishing high school and Natsume won't be able to be with us for the closing ceremony. And what's worse, she may not even wake up." – With a gloomy expression on his face, Kotaro put his hand to his mouth while narrowing his eyes in distress. Both he and I had been friends with Natsume since elementary school and knew her as well as if she were a relative to us.

Seeing him succumb to that pain, I couldn't help the impulse to give him a hug while I tried to control the tears that flowed from my eyes. Natsume would no longer be with us, we had to learn to live with that grief even though his body remained alive in a hospital room.

After the bell rang to start the school day, I said goodbye to Kotaro to head to my classroom. Where my classmates were already waiting for me to ask me about what happened to Natsume and his family.

Trying to get to my seat, I was approached by a sea of faces whose fake expressions of concern made my stomach turn. During the three years that we lived together as classmates, all of them had always left the weight of the responsibility of being the class representative on Natsume. Taking advantage of her almost submissive nature, whenever the vote took place, they imposed it on her knowing that she was incapable of saying no.

- " Yoshino -san Why didn't you come to school yesterday? Teacher Sakura was very upset with you and said she would talk seriously about it."

- "Oh really? Okay, I'll see you in the staff room when classes end then."

- "By the way, do you know what happened with Ishikawa-san? There is a lot of uproar in the school about it and they say that the principal has instructed the teachers to set up surveillance so that we follow a curfew."

- "I don't think I can do the curfew thing, I need to work to cover my personal expenses. The scholarship only covers what corresponds to the tuition and class materials" – Even though I was responding with a sharp tone, that classmate did not stop throwing out all that verbiage that made me dizzy with her shrill tone of voice.

Putting my fingertips to my forehead while frowning a little, I asked him to allow me to sit down since I still felt a little dizzy from lack of sleep.

- "Alright, enough talking! "Everyone take a seat and open your history books to page 124" – For the first time in my life as a student, I was grateful for the arrival of Teacher Sakura. Who always had that bad habit of not even saying hello when he entered the classroom, ignoring his students unless one made a mistake.

After that, everything continued relatively normally until break time. While most of my classmates hurried to the cafeteria so as not to miss the best dishes on the day's menu, many others like me stayed in the classroom to eat our lunches.

In order to maintain my facade, I prepared some simple dishes with vegetables every day, leaving out meat completely. Unlike cooked or fried meat that made me repulsive when I put it in my mouth, sautéed vegetables lightly bathed in soy sauce mixed with fresh blood was more bearable, although I still felt that slight taste of wet cardboard on my tongue.

"Hey Yoshino -san, do you only eat that during lunch?" – Surprisingly sitting in the unoccupied seat in front of me, the same girl who approached me during the morning assaulted me again with her casual attitude as if she wanted to be friendly.

Her name was Saotome Chiaki, a girl who always got in trouble with the school's disciplinary committee because of the way she wore her uniform.

With her long socks slightly pulled up to her ankles to look puffy, her hair dyed red, and her ears pierced, she certainly gave the impression of being a troublesome student. But unlike her appearance, she used to rank third in the group's ratings. Barely reaching me or Natsume-san on average.

Being branded as a fake gal, she didn't usually fit in with any group within the classroom. Being completely marginalized, although that did not seem to worry her in the least.

- "Oh, are you on a diet? But you have a nice body, I don't think you should punish yourself like that. You should eat as much as you want; Just look at me, mom gave me a double helping of tamagoyaki dipped in chicken curry. Do you want a little?" – Extending his chopsticks to me with that piece of egg roll overflowing with curry sauce, Saotome -san had a mischievous expression as if he was playing with me like he would with a cat.

- "I appreciate it Saotome -san, but I really can't eat that. The thing is, my doctor told me that my cholesterol was somewhat high and he recommended that I eat a green diet." – Searching through a thousand lies to avoid confronting her, I tried by all means to prevent that appetizing morsel from entering my mouth, because I knew well that as soon as it touched my tongue I would end up vomiting it out.

- "Well, if it is on the recommendation of your doctor, I will not continue with it. Instead, you have to do me a small favor."

- "A favor? If it is within my means I can help you, but it depends on what kind of favor we are talking about" – Suspicious of Saotome -san's attitude, I felt nervous while that girl searched her backpack desperately until she finally pulled out something that seemed to be a magazine.

- " Yoshino -san, as you well know, we are close to celebrating our school's school festival. And as you also know, our group decided to set up a Halloween -themed cafe ; so, you know... it's kind of awkward for me to say it out loud..." – With the expression in his eyes a little fearful like that of a scared squirrel, Saotome -san brought his face close to my ear and whispered lightly with a trembling voice.

- "Teacher Sakura had assigned the task of going to buy the fabrics for the costumes to Mako -chi, Yura-chi and me. But after we were assigned that task, none of them contacted me even though I reminded them that the deadline was close. And I am very sorry to go to Akihabara alone. So could you come with me?" – Looking out of the corner of my eye at where the girls with whom Saotome -san was assigned were sitting, I could see that the expression in their eyes when observing her was mocking and with a certain contempt.

Being from the group of popular girls in the class, they were leaving the entire burden of work on Saotome -san, who if she failed would be blamed for everything regardless of whether it was her fault.

- "Please" – Clasping her hands as if begging, with a nervous smile on her childish face, I couldn't refuse that girl. Who barely heard me accept his request, jumped slightly, exclaiming with joy.

- "Brilliant! Then I'll see you after school Haru-chi."

- "Haru-chi?"

- "Sorry, I usually shorten names like this when I feel happy. I really don't want to make you uncomfortable with my attitude Yoshino -san" – With the expression on her face like that of a scolded child, it was impossible for me to get angry with Saotome -san.

- "Okay, you can call me by my name. But without the chi, please"

- " Hey , thanks Haruka -san" – Leaving that magazine on my desk so that I could review the stores where we would go shopping, I began to leaf through the pages, finding interesting those publications that I passed by when I saw them at my work in the store of convenience.

- " Mmmm , this is interesting. They have all kinds of nice things in these stores, I think I should buy some when I accompany Saotome -san." – Turning the pages immersed in a certain fascination with what I saw, my eyes were quickly captured by a photograph on the center page.

A beautiful looking girl modeling casual punk style clothing, with her blonde hair styled in an eighties trend. Her face was so captivating that I stopped turning the pages while I concentrated on admiring her entire silhouette as if I were hypnotized.

- "Reveal yourself and follow your impulses! "Ten fashion tips with Akari -chan!" – The title of the report was too subversive, recalling the trend followed by punk rock such as that of the Sex Pistols. With that hook to the reader, I began to carefully read the writer's narrative while continuing to see the photos of that model as if I were scanning her completely.

What caught my attention the most about her was her deep look as if she were disenchanted with life. A melancholic look that contrasted with the smile he forced on his lips with each photo of the session.

For a brief moment when I was lost in the depth of the expression in his eyes, the image of the convenience store boy who covered the night shift came to my mind.

- "He he hey , no. There's no way that bastard is this beautiful girl. I definitely need to sleep more, my mind is playing tricks on me" – Closing the magazine nervously, I laid my head on the desk trying to assimilate that that crazy thought could not be even remotely possible.

When it was time to leave, Saotome -san was completely excited as she pulled my arm, smiling while humming a popular idol group tune. underground .

Carried away by that girl's euphoric attitude, I let myself be carried away by her pleasant character while we traveled in the subway car talking about countless things about songs and some television programs.

Feeling sad at times remembering how I got along with Natsume-san, I was comforted by Chiaki-san. Who took his cell phone to play videos of kittens or funny things to make me smile.

Unlike the concept he had of her, Saotome -san was a girl with a happy and pure heart, capable of making her way into people by winning their affection. So she couldn't understand the nefarious attitude that Masako-san and Yura-san had against her.

As soon as we got off the train at Akihabara station, we ran up the stairs looking at our watches to make the most of the time we had. Although it was true that we had a permit signed by our class advisor, the heartless one had given us just two hours to make all the purchases on the list.

Sailing through the sea of people that gathered on the esplanade of the commercial district, we ventured among the stores looking for fabrics and accessories in the cosplay stores. According to Chiaki-san herself, it was better to buy the materials in bulk in those stores due to the quality of their products, instead of buying pre-made cosplays.

- " Saotome -san. "Is it really okay for us to buy supplies instead of ready-made suits?"

- "Of course! It is very different to wear something custom made with good quality materials. Just look at this costume! The fabric is of low quality, in addition to the seam finishes. This would only serve as a service in love hotels!" – Realizing that she said that last phrase out loud before the astonished gazes of the store's customers, Chiaki-san crouched down completely embarrassed, hiding her face.

While I looked in all directions with a nervous smile and my eyes with an expression that wanted the earth to swallow me.

Saotome -san 's face looked like he was about to cry.

- "Chiaki-san, I think we should go to the cash register to pay for all these things, don't you think?" – Taking her by the shoulders, helping her stand while she snuggled her face against my chest, we began to walk quickly while people couldn't stop watching us.

When we left the store, I quickly took Chiaki-san to the benches and went to buy her a drink to calm her down. Crying like a little girl, she kept apologizing to me for putting me through that embarrassing episode.

- "Haru-chi, Haru-chi! Chi-chan has never been to one of those places, I swear. I heard that from some girls who were leaving a movie theater and I just repeated it. Chi-chan is a good girl, I'm not vulgar, do you believe me?" – With the mascara from her eyelashes dripping down her face, I couldn't help but let out a light laugh when I saw her cute face like that of a raccoon.

- "Don't laugh , Haru-chi! Chi-chan is serious"

- "No, I'm not laughing about that Chiaki-san. Just look at your face" – Bringing the mirror that I carried in my backpack closer to him, Chiaki-san screamed in horror when she saw how her makeup had completely smeared due to her whimpering.

- "It just can't be! Did I come all the way looking like that?" – While searching in her bag for some wet wipes, that phrase that Saotome -san said and the attitude she took made me remember the boy at the convenience store again. Making me unable to control myself and start laughing out loud, while Chiaki-san lightly tapped me on the hip a little angrily.

After calming down and letting the makeup fix, we took the bags with the materials and returned to the subway station. Saying goodbye to Saotome -san, who looked at me through the train window with an expression mixed between happy and a little angry. Giving me a sign with her hand, reminding me to call her on the phone when I got to work.

Happy with that pleasant afternoon with Chiaki-san, I began to walk to the ticket office to buy a pass to transfer between stations. While I was looking for the money in my bag, I suddenly collided with a beautiful girl, falling on top of her on the floor of the station.

- "Very sorry! I'm really so sorry! If you give me your number I promise to pay for your dry cleaning!

- " Ahh ! Do you think that with your sad salary as a cashier you can pay for these designer clothes? – With a slightly effeminate, but perceptibly masculine voice, that girl's claim made me react by looking for her face, which was hidden by sunglasses and a mask.

- "Wait a moment! How do you know that I work as a cashier? Have we met anywhere before?" – Realizing his mistake, that person got up from the ground completely nervous, trying to walk quickly to get away from me. Making me chase her down the station platform until we were near the public toilets.

- "Hey, I'm not done talking to you!" – Taking her arm tightly, I made that person lose their balance and fall back to the ground. But this time, the wig she was wearing had come loose from her head and the glasses that covered her eyes fell to the ground.

- "Oh, holy heavens! You are Akari -chan, the magazine model!"

- " Shhhhh , shut up ugly." – Grabbing me forcefully to drag me to the men's bathroom, that person put his hand over my mouth while pressing my body tightly against the wall.

- "Curse! Why, of all days, did I have to meet you today!" – Stopping hiding his tone of voice, he put under the mask that covered his mouth and thanks to that I was able to see his appearance completely.

- "Let me go you damn degenerate! "Let go of me or I'm going to kick you in the balls!"

- "No no no. Quiet, calmly. Let's talk please, I know I shouldn't have acted like that, but you really haven't made things easy for me."

- "Oh, my God! Are you going to abuse me?"

- "That? Of course not, idiot! I mean, thanks to you, ugly girl. "I was almost discovered by a reporter who has been following me for several days." – With slightly labored breathing, the boy from the convenience store loosened his pashmina looking in the mirror, while adjusting again the wig that had fallen off a few moments ago.

- " Akari -chan?"

- "Oh please! Stop this nonsense and just call me by my name. Akari is my stage name chosen by the modeling agency."

- "And then what the hell is your name?"

- "Is seriously? We've been working together at that convenience store for almost five months and you can't remember my damn name? – Completely embarrassed by the fact that I had always ignored every detail of my coworker, I shook my head while he sighed, lowering his face, putting his hand to his face.

- " Ufff , my name is Akira. Nakamura Akira, I am your damn co-worker and as you can see, I am also a transvestite model" – Tilting his back, bowing sarcastically, Akira kept looking at me with an expression as if he wanted to stab me with his gaze.

Hitting the heel of his boots against the bathroom floor and putting his hands on his hips, Nakamura couldn't stop exhaling hard, trying to control his temper, spinning around like a beast in that bathroom.

- "And I had to go into the damn men's bathroom! Damn! If we go out now and that bastard is out there, it will all be over for me."

- "Calm down for a moment, he may not have even seen us come in here."

- "Oh really? You believe it? That damned bastard has been following me like a dog for a week! "I've been sneaking out of the sets through the back door all these days and I don't know how, but the poor guy manages to find me."

- "OK, let me peek. He's not following me, he's chasing you. If I see it I will tell you"

- " Aaaahhh ? Seriously damn genius? Do you even know what it looks like?" – Realizing very reluctantly that the boy was right, I felt ashamed of myself as I stuck my head out of the bathroom entrance.

- "Hey Akari -chan"

- "Damn, my name is Akira!"

- "Whatever transvestite boy! But you must come quickly to see that!" – Surprised by my somewhat relaxed attitude, Akira-san came to stand behind me and stuck his face out to observe the hallway of the station platform.

- "Ugly girl, isn't this supposed to be full of people?"

- "My name is Haruka , you damn pervert! And yes, you are right. "It's supposed to be rush hour and I can't see a single soul on the platform."

Starting to walk down the hallway of the subway station, the deathly silence of that place barely allowed us to hear the echo of our footsteps while the ceiling lights began to flicker.

Where the access to the station stairs was supposed to be, a wall of moldy wooden planks prevented the passage while little by little the lights went off until the emergency lamps came on.

- " Tak , tak , tak ." – A sound like nails hitting the floor of the station was approaching us from the back of the dark hallway. Making a sound like the crash of sharp metal being forcefully carved into rocks.

- "This is definitely not good, it really is not good!" – Pushing Akira behind me, the shadowy silhouette that had been crawling from the other end of the hallway launched itself violently against me, while materializing my combat suit and one of my katanas .

- "Oh, it can't be! So you too?" – Feeling slightly surprised by Akira's words, while maintaining my defensive posture against the yokai in front of me, that boy extended his right arm in front of me and cast the transformation chant.

- "Blue of the night sky, transform me" – Bathed in the glow of magical power, Nakamura's masculine silhouette shrank a little, acquiring a more feminine contour while his voice became somewhat high-pitched.

- "Blue Topaz Magical Girl, take action!" – With an unmanly pose, putting his left hand on his hip and with his right pointing at the enemy, Akira had an embarrassed expression on his face when he saw that mine could barely contain himself from bursting into laughter.

- "What makes you laugh, stupid? "I don't say that phrase because I like it, I need it to transform myself."

- " Emmm , actually, Akari -chan… you don't need to say that when you're going to transform. You just need to think in your mind that you want to transform and that's it."

- "But, but, but Luxfera told me it was necessary!"

- " Ufff . Believe me, she also made the same joke on me" – While we were having that heated discussion, the Yokai seemed confused by the fact that we didn't show him even the slightest hint of attention. Making him scream loudly, which echoed through the thick walls of the subway tunnel.

- " Tekeeeeeee " – With a voracious instinct, the yokai jumped on top of me and charged at Akira, who was thrown through the air until his body collided with the train tracks.

- " Akari -chan! Are you OK?"

- "I'm telling you, my damn name is Akira!" – Materializing in his hands a pair of guns similar in appearance to those found in arcade machines, Nakamura-san opened fire on the Teke-Teke who had already jumped on him.

- "Swallow that, damn specter! – Getting up from the ground looking at the remains of the specter that were burning in blue flames, Akira-san spat into the flames. While trying to get onto the platform with great difficulty.

- "Hey, slug! Could you give me a hand?" – Without being able to separate the appearance of the stubborn boy from the convenience store from that of that little brat who was in front of me, I laughed out loud while extending my hand to lift her up.

- "Stop laughing at me!"

- "I'm sorry, I promise I will stop laughing at you Akira-san" – Wiping away the tears that remained from the attack of laughter, I looked around and the subway station was still the same as it was before defeating the yokai .

- "It's strange, we were supposed to have returned to our plane as soon as we finished this garbage" – Wiping the sweat from her chin with the sleeve of her dress, Akira looked askance at the end of the hallway, where a series of small red lights They began to glimpse each other in pairs.

- " Akari -chan, I think this is not over yet" – Passing some saliva with difficulty down my throat, my eyes could not look away from that dark painting that threatened us in the distance.