Reunion for One

Tanaka

"Seeing is believing." I had to repeat that under my breath, for I could never have believed something like that, were it not for my own eyes serving as witnesses.

Back in the apartment, the girl with green hair struggled to stand her ground against three—no, there were now five—monsters who could neither see nor hear, yet knew exactly where she was.

Her hair flew in every direction, bending, growing, and shortening as if it had its own will. No, it certainly had its own will, for every move was well calculated to keep the struggling lady without a scratch.

At her feet, more and more dead monos piled up. She made way to step between the fading bodies by pulling them aside with yet another power. She used roots and branches to change the battlefield around, and her hair made sharp cuts that took down enemies with little effort. In comparison, her limbs seemed mostly useless.

"Never before has Japan seen such power..." I whispered.

"And never again shall it be seen!"

However I looked at it, this girl was an anomaly. Anomalies were dangerous to people, and I had to protect the people.

"So then why... Why am I helping them?" I asked myself.

All I had to do was leave things as they were, and my dear creations would have taken care of that dangerous lady, yet I acted on a whim and gave that man, who kept his name secret, a means to save her—a means to keep her safe.

What's more, I felt no regret for doing it. If anything, I felt relieved when I saw a motorcycle enter through the broken window.

The girl had been fighting for a while, but for every enemy killed, all she got in return was a stronger one.

"And that's still not enough. Tsk!"

I clicked my tongue because my creations were still incomplete. They were not fading as quickly as I had hoped. If their bodies stood intact, the power transfer couldn't be completed. The slower they faded, the weaker the alive ones remained.

"Chigira!" I heard a scream from the room.

"Chigira?..." I repeated it myself. I pondered upon it for a bit by rolling her name around with my tongue, and then I felt the irony of it, making me laugh uncontrollably.

"Is that really her name? Really? Chigira? Ahahahahah!"

I laughed loudly, but not loud enough for those two to hear me.

"He's given her a name! Wait... Has he really given her a name?"

One second I was busy laughing; the next I realized what giving her a name implied.

"You... how far have you taken things? How far did you get with her?"

Amusement faded in favor of anger. I was angry at how well they were getting along—well enough for him to give her a name.

"Still... Chigira..."

At the very least, I wasn't mad at the name itself. It was a good name. It fit with what she was.

But it was exactly because of what she was that she couldn't be let to roam this Earth.

"Ah... we can't have that... I let my guard down."

I took a deep breath. I had to focus on what was at hand. I couldn't let down my king.

With both of them in the room, I commanded my dear semono to jump in there. "Two birds, one stone," as they say.

"Let's just hope she gets out alive..."

Once again, my mouth spoke without my consent. That confirmed it; I wasn't in the right mental space.

"You've done what you wanted. Isn't it better if you back down?"

Out of nowhere, another voice spoke to me. It was a familiar, pleasant voice. What it said, on the other hand, was the unpleasant part.

"Ah, my dear all-viewing friend! Tell me... To be all-viewing, is it to be all-knowing?" I greeted him, turning around to pat him on the back. When I lifted my hand, he twitched, as if he thought I was about to hit him.

"Hm~. I guess that's not the case," I answered to my own question.

For the most part, this co-worker of mine looked exactly like me. The only difference between us was that his eyes were uncomfortably big, big enough to see all the evil so that nobody else would have to.

"Haven't you heard me?"

For all of his anxious twitches, his gaze was still fixed on me, and he was watching me with determined eyes. I had no choice but to follow his advice and step away from the action.

"Ah..." I sighed, pained my melancholy.

"I leave it to you then. Use my bike if you need to," I continued, trying to place my hand on his shoulder. Once again, he dodged. It didn't matter. I continued walking.

"That Mizaru guy... What a weird one..."

At that moment, as I was walking down the road, I saw her. Better said, what I saw were her eyes as she looked at me with both wonder and something between disdain and affection.

The moment she glanced at me, my heart melted. I stared back with wide eyes, trying to calm myself down. Fortunately, they quickly drove away.

"That's so stupid," I said to myself. "I've never asked for such a frail heart..."

*****

Shino

I jumped in the fray without thinking about the consequences. If I let my rationality win for even a second, I would have driven away.

In what was left of my apartment, I saw a girl with short hair fighting relentlessly. Well, the trees and her hair were the ones doing the fighting, as her thin arms and legs served mostly for dodging.

"Chigira!" I shouted her name without thinking. It didn't matter too much. Those monos couldn't hear it.

When she saw me, Chigira's gaze lit up. It felt like she had been waiting for me, but at the same time it felt like she was pleasantly surprised that I had made the decision to come back.

Regardless of what her smile tried to say, I had to make sure that my stupid decision wouldn't have unwanted consequences.

The curse was already roaring within me. Although, for some reason, my visual powers weren't at their peak.

With the sword in my hand and the handle in the other, I swiped at every moving white creature. using my back wheel to send some of them flying.

"Come!" I shouted towards her, but by then she was already running my way with her arms open.

"Shino! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she said as she jumped to hug me. Of course, she had no idea how to ride on my bike, so she hugged me from the front.

I had no time to fix our position, so I moved swiftly and drove off the balcony. Looking over her shoulder, I was somehow able to drive away from the crowd. The monos kept running after us, but they were far from quick enough.

On our way to the main street, I drove past that man again. He had come with a bike, but was leaving on foot. I had no time to stop, so I quickly drove past.

It was then that Chigira told me something that made me regret my decision.

"Shino..." she called to me.

"That's him."