Chapter 2 - Sword Powered Anime

Feeling confident I had no one following me, I made it to a beaten-up apartment complex. Residents sat around outside not caring to be stuck inside.

Happy to be home, I immediately went inside, throwing my haul onto a table. I lit a candle, making it the only light in the room. The apartment was gross. Years of neglect were immediately noticeable with mold and garbage everywhere.

Throwing my cloak onto a mattress on the floor, my brown hair flowed freely. With a sense of my hair pin coming loose, I adjusted it in the mirror. The small caricature of a centipede had faded colors. Soon only its silhouette would remain.

Unwrapping the haul, there was a sheathed sword. Purple in hue with a blade that was dangerously sharp. Magic emitted from it, telling me it was powerful.

“Yes! This should last me a while!” With a cheerful smile, I walked over to a television in the corner of the room. In the Tv’s stand, I pulled a small, boxed device.

The tv cable and a dvd player were directly connected to the device. The front had a bulb-like object, with a purple glass casing and a red crystal within. I pulled it out, bringing it to the table.

Feeling the swords magic, I cradled the golden glow. It felt like clay, solid yet malleable.

“Oh! This is a nice concentration. I feel like I could make a sculpture out of this.” Committing to my original goal, I siphoned the magic directly into the bulb, giving the red crystal an immediate glow.

My smile grew wide.

“I never had such a promising tool, now-!” I put the bulb back into the boxed device and turned on the tv.

“I love you, Kanzaki-Senpai!” A cute high school boy confessed to a beautiful girl, her face red from the confession.

“Ah! This is where we left off!” I desperately grabbed the remote, pausing it before I could see more. “I haven’t had power in weeks, I don’t remember how we even got to this point! Rewind! Rewind!”

Returning to the start of the episode, the recap was playing, reminding me of the stories' current plot.

“Ah, okay, now I remember. I’ll let the intro play for now as it is pretty good.” Cleaning off space while enjoying the music played in the background, I found a handheld gaming console with a charger. “Hmm...”

I looked at the sword.

“Well, I’m pretty sure it had a lot of magic... Ah, screw it. I deserve some relaxation time after today.” I plugged in my handheld to the box, charging my device and opening it to the RPG I was playing.

Leaving the show on in the background, I lounged into an old beat-up bean bag chair. A bag of chips sat to its side with a two-liter. Chugging away and enjoying the salty snacks, I was in total bliss.

“Ah... I’m so glad to be alive...” I smiled. The chip's fragile structure dirtied my clothes. I tried to kick my feet up onto the table but instead bumped the sword. “Go away, you served your purpose.”

I grabbed the sword and threw it into the pile of junk behind me. Various objects were bundled in a corner. From children's toys to tools, all used up and the sword now joining them in useless identity.

“I am thankful, sword. Your great magic will power my lazy lifestyle for hopefully a month. Maybe two? I remember that magic power drill gave me two weeks, it was a third as concentrated... Maybe less than that?”

I questioned my memory as I sipped my water while watching the show. I caught up to the confession scene. The boys' heart filled confession resonated with me.

“Don’t accept his love, Kanzaki! He’s too... Too... Huh... I don’t actually remember much about him, or even his name.” Bored by the guy, I let my mind wander as the scene unfolded. My mind was more interested on what the twist will be.

“Stop right there.” A hot man made his way from behind Kanzaki, getting both their attentions. “Kanzaki has no time for boring men like yourself. Come, I’ll show you how fun the world can be.”

The man reached out his hand, Kanzaki blushed a deep red. “Satou-Kun.”

“Ah! Satou! I love his outgoing nature! Why couldn't he be real!” I buried my face in the bean bag, wailing my cries of reality. “Wait a minute.”

I stared down at my hands, letting my imagination take over. “If I can control magic, maybe I can bring him out from the Tv. I... I may be the smartest person alive.”

“Or you might the dumbest.” A sudden voice scared me.

“Ah! Discordia!?” I yelped, watching as a pair of sadistic eyes glared from the floor.

A section of the floor was opened, acting as a trap door which a woman made her way through. Closing the trap door, I could see the magic outline traced from its seams.

“Stop coming through the floor! It’s an invasion of privacy!” I cried.

“Cool it, Mallory. You’re only saying that because I once caught you watching-”

“Stop right there!” I demanded, cutting off her words.

“Ah! You're watching Anime and you didn’t tell me! Hey! You watched the confession scene without me!?” She was hurt emotionally. “Ah! She rejected the quiet nerd!?”

“The nerd was boring! And you didn’t join me in stealing today, I had to loot all by myself!” I argued, letting my brows burrow.

“Huh!? I waited for you at the Blacksmith’s shop like we agreed! You never showed up!” She countered.

“That's a lie! You never showed up to the blacksmiths! You’re lucky he had a piece laying around that was easy to take!”

“Easy to take? His shop was flooded today. How did you take it without being stopped.”

“Busy? No one was there when I showed up.”

“Huh...?”

“Eh...?”

We froze, letting our minds ponder.

“Mallory... Did you go to his place of business?” Discordia asked cautiously.

“Yeah... Where he makes the swords.... right? Why would we rob a crowded store...? Was my thought process...” I admitted.

“...”

“...”

Oh... We might be screwed...

“I’m home!”

The sudden newcomer scared me and Discordia white.

“Oh, Discordia is here too. That saves me some time.” The woman’s voice was calm, which scared us even more. “So, mind telling me what you both were up to today.”

“Ah... Layla...” We both paused, terrified of any punishment while the Tv played in the background.

“You two seem to be getting ahead of yourselves.” A new person joined the confession scene. His demeanor was cold and handsome. His eyes could freeze any woman to her core and his aura was prince-like.

“Ah! You two are watching this without me!” Layla crossed her arms. “Not only did you to steal again, but you used the spoils to watch “My harem of Men hate one another.” Without me!” Layla walked over and stole the remote. “I wanted to watch the nerd get rejected.”

“Huh?” Discordia was offended. “The nerd is the only interesting man in the show! Your ships are generic and fan service, while mine has deep levels of character development.”

“Huh? You only say that because the nerd is crafty, setting up a confession to purposely get one over the other boys. It wasn’t even a good plan as everyone find them immediately.” I argued.

“Heh. You girls don’t know class or etiquette. Mallory, your ship is too hot-headed and crude, and the nerd is manipulative. Mine is the pinnacle of manhood, he even gave the nerd a chance despite knowing of his plans.” Layla gave us a smug look of superiority.

While I was distracted by her words, she took the bag of chips.

“Hey! Those are mine! Don’t you dare eat them all!” I demanded.

“Oh? Don’t eat them all? That’s weak in comparison to what I plan to do later.”

“Uh-oh.” I was scared by her sharp gaze.

“What did you do this time?” Discordia asked me, her eyes reflecting amusement.

“Uh... Nothing...” I defended.

“Hm-hm.” Layla went along. “We’ll talk later, for now...”

With the swipe of my beanbag chair and tv remote, Layla rewound the episode to the start. “Let’s relax.”

The audacity of this woman! I wanted to say or do something as she took my comfort from me, but hopefully this will weaken any punishment later.

“Oh, can we skip the intro? It sucks.” Discordia’s request pissed me off.