I Didn't Hear No Bell

Hoshino let out a puff of breath. He wasn’t dead. Good. He wobbled to his feet and pressed his back to the nearest wall he could find. Nothing was broken. He could breathe. His limbs were intact. A part of him wanted to look outside to check if the girl was alive, but the rain of bolts sinking deep into the ground and the glass-like sound it made, paired with Ishigami’s grunts and laughs as it crashed against a shield… Hoshino shook his head. He wouldn’t dare.

First things first. Hoshino scanned the area and kept his head down, ignoring the sound outside—which now seemed more like a kaiju battle.

Glossy, bone-white tiles lined the floor. The detail didn’t matter, but he felt that he should think that out loud because it would explain his next course of action. He took off his shoes. He was not comfortable with the idea of being on his bare feet, but it could at least make his approach much, much quieter.

There might be other Butterflies in this place. Right now, he was near the entrance of the main building that led to the central wing of the first floor. Moving past the plastic tables and chairs filling the central wing, and tracing the area’s grey painted walls, Hoshino’s eyes landed on the building’s fire escape plan. Great. Now he had the layout of the building.

The area was composed of three floors.

The first floor had the left wing, right wing, and central wing. The right wing had two large rooms and a dedicated comfort room. The left wing had three rooms and also a comfort room—the farthest room, which was nearest to the bathroom, was the nurse’s office. The central wing, which now looked like an abandoned food party after Thanos snapped half of humanity, led to the stairs going to the second floor.

The second floor was… interesting. Its right wing had two rooms and a comfort room. The left wing had an audio-visual room and a comfort room. The building abandoned the idea of having a central wing on the second floor, opting for something of a balcony so that people upstairs could eavesdrop and see the cleavages of those eating on the first floor. Hoshino could go to the third floor by taking either of the stairs at the end of both wings.

The third floor was far simpler. There were three large rooms in the area. The first one on the right was the office of the vice principal. The middle, the largest, was for the principal. The one on the left was for the security department. On the side of the security department was a bathroom and a ladder leading to the rooftop.

Hoshino tore the hem of his skirt upward to create a slit. His gaze fell over to the central wing again. There were clear signs of struggle. But it was minimal. Not a lot of tables and chairs were out of place. That or the Butterflies themselves put them back after threatening their hostages-to-be. And so far… no one was there. They must’ve been moved, most likely to the audio-visual room or packed into one of the rooms on the third floor.

The building sat on a wide, flat land. The decorative trees were minimal. If someone were to escape through the fire exits on the ends of both wings on the first floor, they would be shot down by the Butterflies or by Satoru himself.

And just like that… Hoshino found himself having a deeper level of appreciation for Ishigami.

Hoshino checked the right wing first, keeping his head low and hugging the walls as much as possible. The comfort room was clear. Well… the men’s room was. God forbid a Butterfly hid in the women’s room. It was a risk he was willing to take.

Next, he opened the fire exit door after determining that it wouldn’t trigger an alarm; there were no traces that someone had escaped outside. He had to retreat back into the building when the sounds of Satoru and Ishigami fighting became dangerously close.

Then, he checked both rooms with his wand in front and a shield over his face. They were safe. They also had signs of struggle… a bit more compared to the central wing—there was a hole in the ceiling, probably a warning shot. No stragglers or dead hostages either. Nice.

Something prickled his skin. He decided not to mind it. Hoshino grinned as he became more aware of his own breathing. Thinking about the Butterflies hiding, waiting in the shadows of this god-forsaken building, bothered him more than it should. They were smart, organized. Something he picked up when Satoru said they had a group chat.

That being said, the hostages being in the audio-visual room would be the most obvious bait… probably. He might be overthinking things, but his enemies—if there were any—were probably expecting him to go there with reckless abandon. Ishigami probably did, but he’s Ishigami, so it didn’t count. So… if there was a fight waiting for him on the second floor… then he should cover his bases first and make sure he wouldn’t get fucked in the ass.

Hoshino closed his eyes. He focused. Speed. Hoshino should become speed. There was one of him and countless losers in this building. He ate losers for breakfast. Breakfast? He had Deez Bunz from the Matcha Man. He gave some to Hazama. But no, no, no. Focus. Speed. He needed to go faster than fast, quicker than quickest. He should be lightning. White. Sharp. Grating. Deadly. Speed. He should be speed. He needed to become speed itself…

Hoshino dashed toward the left wing, ignoring the sounds and flashes of bolts outside, and kicked open the door of the first room. The ceiling. Fine. The floor. No stragglers. No dead people. Fine. The tables. In shambles. There had been a fight. Otherwise, all good. Now onto the second room—

Two hooded figures jumped out of the second room and fired at him. Too slow. Hoshino was speed itself. And slowly—no, speedily—he was becoming even more like lightning. Hoshino flicked his wand and summoned a shield to block the attacks. Just one bolt per swing. So, two at most. Hoshino widened his grin, entertaining the two wolves in his heart begging him to go full savage. Nope. Too edgy. He was just excited he finally met someone at his level.

One of the hooded figures who sported a nose ring—Hoshino would call them Nose from this point on—jumped back and prepared to cast a bolt spell. He could think of a much cleverer name, but he would die if he tried to pull that shit now.

The other hooded figure, the poor, smaller man who seemed like he wanted to grow facial hair but only managed a few awkward strands at the upper corners of his mouth—which now made Hoshino call him Shifu—summoned a shield in front of them.

It was a good tactic. Basic. Efficient. Shield spells were faster than bolt spells, after all. Shifu intended to block Hoshino’s bolt, leaving him open so that Nose could send him to that farm where all of his pets were very, very far away.

But they made a terrible, terrible miscalculation. Hoshino had been training his mind and body… he had also been shadowing two of the best fucking exorcists in Kanzakicho since earlier this morning. Hoshino had also become speed itself. He could see it. What they were going to do… how Hoshino would react… what would happen next. Hoshino could see it all.

Hoshino didn’t make an attack. But when Nose was about to swing down to blow a hole through his opponent’s head, Hoshino put a shield under his elbow, killing his momentum and making him misfire into the ceiling. Git gud, motherfucker.

Nose would need a few more seconds before he could fire another bolt. Shifu dropped his shield and poised himself to attack. Expected. But too fucking slow for the SPEED himself.

Hoshino lunged and kicked Shifu in the face. In the same moment, he summoned a shield big enough to separate Nose from both of them. And with that, the first bolt that Nose actually fired in Hoshino’s direction proved to be useless. Hoshino actually studied the art of becoming an exorcist for half a year. Of course he was way better. But—oh, fuck…

Shifu actually tanked the kick Hoshino gave him. Pretty well. Shifu got on his knees and punched Hoshino in the gut, making Hoshino’s vision spin as the air was evicted from his lungs. Barely… he kept his concentration going so the shield wouldn’t break. And thanks to Shifu, Hoshino gained some newfound confidence in his shield. He could tell that it was strong because when Shifu grabbed his shoulder and broke his ribs with just three punches, he then grabbed him by the neck and smashed his face there. Hoshino broke his nose, but damn… his shield was really durable.

Hoshino was going to lose… He widened his grin, tasting both tears and blood on his lips. Fortunately, this fight wasn’t a sport. And of course, even if it was, he hadn’t heard no bell yet.

Falling onto one knee, Hoshino summoned whatever strength he had left to punch Shifu in the dick. The man screamed and held his balls. Only for a little bit. That bought Hoshino enough time to grab and rip out the delicate strands of facial hair Shifu had on his face. Hoshino laughed—almost a scream—before he jabbed his thumb deep into his left eye.

As expected, Shifu didn’t fall. Hoshino was convinced he could not beat this guy in a straight-up fight. Thankfully, magic was involved. Hoshino’s shield was already in shambles. Nose knew that too. But when he was about to fire another bolt to dismantle the barrier, Hoshino dispelled it himself—and Nose buckled at the possibility of shooting his teammate.

Another opening.

Hoshino pulled his thumb out of Shifu’s face, not minding the flesh clinging to his nail, and aimed his wand at Nose’s right kneecap. He fired a bolt that tore the leg apart, splattering blood on the floor and walls in a wide arc—similar to how Hazama blew up that malevolent spirit’s leg.

Nose passed out from the shock. Oh. Hoshino chuckled in surrender. He forgot to control the spell’s power. But he was tired and hurt. Like Hazama, he was bound to forget certain things. That was why Shifu got to punch him in the face first, reminding him that he still existed, before Hoshino knocked him out by busting his left kneecap.

With both Butterflies out of commission, Hoshino picked himself up and staggered to the second room. Good lord. Hoshino sighed in relief. It was empty. He didn’t have to fight anymore. And as a bonus… It had a spool of red-colored plastic rope. Very convenient. Now Hoshino didn’t have to take both their pants off so he could restrain their arms and legs.

There could be another enemy in the third room or the comfort room. However, he had no choice but to take that risk. Nose and Shifu here could die.

With the rope in hand, he walked back to his enemies and knelt in front of Shifu first. Hoshino apologized, ignoring the pain burning through his body, and pointed his wand at Shifu.

“Heal…”

A ball of green light glowed at the tip of Hoshino’s wand. The ball stretched into countless strings, each one sinking its gentle tip into different parts of Shifu’s body… which glowed a moment later. Shifu’s body twitched as his bones—covered by a green light—regrew… followed by muscle, fat… tissues… blood vessels and nerves, until everything was sealed once more under newly formed, baby-smooth skin.

The government was willing to teach their weakest exorcists healing magic to limit casualties. At this level… and at its only level… it was able to repair massive damage and regrow limbs, as long as the target was still alive. Hoshino was thankful for that.

He did the same to Nose, and it made him want to vomit… his head feeling weightless as he tied their arms and legs with the plastic rope.

One room left.

Hoshino was no longer speed. He was slow. He was tired. With the might of an old man in a nursing home, he opened the door. Right, it was the nurse’s office. And there was a man there. On the floor. His face was swollen, beaten. His name: Larry Hajime. Ishigami’s friend. Oh fuck, he looked like an uncooked steak atop a dirty chopping board. There was also an unnatural amount of blood on the floor. Hoshino clicked his tongue.

It seemed that the bastards outside beat him, healed him, and then beat him up again for information. But for what? The mystery regarding this case was getting more and more complicated—something Hoshino didn’t have the brain cells right now to comprehend.

Hoshino looked around the room. Nothing unusual. Safe. Larry was safe. He was safe too, probably. But his priorities had changed.

The situation itself was getting dangerous. He might as well hide Nose and Shifu’s bodies first. He’d have to heal Larry later as soon as he stopped feeling the headache as well as tasting the unholy amount of buns he ate, as well as the coffee he drank earlier this morning, back up his throat.

But then he heard a mechanical twitch.

Hoshino’s eyes widened. He shifted his gaze to the upper-left corner of the hall. It was a CCTV camera. Shit. Hoshino blasted it to pieces before he could process another thought. The moment he broke it, he felt a pulse of energy pass through his body on its way to cover the entire building. It prickled his skin. Judging from its speed and direction… it probably came from the third floor. It was a scan spell.

Panic rushing through his blood, Hoshino flicked his wand and summoned a shield around Larry’s head. If he was hit by a bolt coming through layers of concrete anywhere else, Hoshino could still heal him—

There was a pop. Something punched a hole through the concrete above him. Then everything he could see on his right disappeared. It was followed by a crippling, burning pain… which was replaced by the chilling embrace of nothingness. Suddenly, he forgot how to move his body. He was pushed to the ground.

Right.

They couldn’t have known that Larry was there. He was unconscious. They were tracking mana signatures in the building. If anything… Hoshino confirmed his own position by blasting the camera. To think… The Butterflies… They didn’t aim for Larry.

Hoshino smiled.