Humanity's Weakest Shield

“Point.”

Hazama moved Ishigami to the side and dashed toward the broken door. She popped a large shield mid-flight, covering her body to intercept a barrage of bolts aimed at Hoshino and Shiba Kakeru. She fired a scan spell as soon as the enemy attack ended, which was followed by a click of her tongue—then a snort.

There was another attack. Instead of telling Hoshino to get away or moving them herself, Hazama stood her ground and blocked the next barrage, summoning a small shield to shatter every single bolt that came her way. This earned her the extra room she needed to retake her stance and point the tip of her staff forward.

“Exploding Bolt.”

Mana gathered at the tip of Hazama’s staff and blasted forward, slamming somewhere inside the building, tearing apart the concrete and making the earth scream in its wake. Hazama… was mad. No. Wait. It felt worse.

Hazama seemed like she was willing to bomb everyone inside the building—which included Shiba Kakeru’s mom. The boy didn’t have to know that. Hoshino also lacked the courage to tell Hazama to calm down. But what the fuck? Was this part of the negotiations? Was this their little game? What the fuck was happening?

But even so… Hoshino grit his teeth. Something was wrong. Satoru. That fucker was inside the building. Hazama’s attack hit its mark way too early. If anyone had the balls to meet an exploding bolt head-on, it would be the one who went toe-to-toe with the Afro Fucker himself.

And speaking of the devil… Satoru. There he was. He walked out of the building, glaring at the men Hazama had put to the ground before scowling at Hazama herself. Calling him disappointed or pissed would not be accurate. It seemed like… he was inconvenienced. Greatly.

Hazama was still. Her guard was up, but her smile leaned more to the confident side. And Ishigami. Ishigami was gone. Hoshino would’ve looked for him, BUT… if there was one thing he learned from getting shot in the head, it was that he could get jumped by anyone, from anywhere, and at any angle. He could not afford to look away from the fucker in front of them, especially now that he had another life in his hands.

“What the fuck are you doing, Hazama? Ishigami?” Satoru laughed, keeping his voice low as he walked forward with a wand in hand. “You could’ve killed the kid’s mom.”

“I could say the same with the kid,” Hazama replied, stepping back to keep the distance between her and Satoru the same. “Thank you for letting us know that Shiba Miyako is inside.”

“And you dogs call us the bad guys.” Satoru shook his head. “Adorable.”

Hazama tilted her head. “The law says otherwise.”

“Well, the law can suck my dick.” Satoru clicked his tongue. “You know you could’ve asked nicely. My men would’ve let you inside. I specifically told them to let you know that she’s alive, well, and waiting. Why the fuck did you beat them?”

It looked like Hazama would need another second to throw back a more clever reply, so Hoshino consulted the wolves inside him. His intrusive thoughts ended up winning, again. And so, he raised his hand.

“Sir, they were unfriendly—”

“Shut the fuck up, Frenchie.” Satoru stared down at Hazama. “How would you react if Hazama here asked you to meet Yoshiya and be friendly with him for a while?”

Hoshino’s face crumpled like—and he despaired at the thought—a handful of fresh lemon slices had been shoved into his mouth. He found himself looking away, cringing at the thought of that particular fucker who made his legs not work like they used to. He spent no effort trying to hide the disgust on his face when he glared back at Satoru.

“Now you see what I mean, Frenchie?” Satoru continued, glancing back at his men inside the building. “And someone, please… Moriko, please get these five back on their feet. Start with Taka all the way over there to the left. We’ll need all the help we can get later.”

Black (so her name was Moriko, which was cute) went out of the building with two other Butterflies. All of them nodded at Ishigami, who was suddenly by the door and nudging his eyebrows at Hazama, and then at Satoru as they passed by. Moriko was as adorable as he could remember, especially when she stared at him like she was about to pounce on him and peel his skin with a rusty spoon.

And of course, Hoshino had to reply in the best way he knew how, which was to tilt his head, smile wide, and wave back like a sad, dumb puppy. Moriko replied with a glare that made it seem like Hoshino was some kind of porcine abomination. That was sweet of her. But the most important part was that Hoshino didn’t back down.

But wait. Right. Negotiations were back on the table.

Hoshino had to get serious. “And you think that we’ll just go along?”

“Of course.” Satoru smiled at Hazama and then at him. “We’ll betray you too.”

Hoshino crossed his arms. “Then—”

“Once Nagamori Arisa is moved from the boy’s body to the medium we prepared—” Satoru glanced at Hazama again. This time, he tried not to laugh. “Frenchie here is really new, huh?”

Hoshino kept his smile polite. “I know that—”

“There are three ways you can weaponize malevolent spirits,” Satoru continued, cutting Hoshino off. His face didn’t hide the fact that he was asking why he was even there. “Out of those three, the third is the most reliable. To do that, we will have to beat Nagamori Arisa while she’s at her strongest. When she’s dying and desperate to survive, we’ll offer her a weapon to possess and demand her absolute obedience, or else she perishes. That’s what’s going to happen.”

Hoshino furrowed his brows. Okay, he didn’t know that part.

“The game is not whether you can rescue Shiba Miyako, safely reunite her with her son, and then take them to safety. The game is not whether you can defeat us to stop the ritual.” Satoru pressed his wand into the middle of Hoshino’s chest, grinning as if he were talking to an illiterate. “The game—once Nagamori Arisa manifests as a full-fledged malevolent spirit—is about seeing if you get to exorcise her first, if we can bend her to our will first, or if both our parties get defeated by Nagamori Arisa herself.”

Hoshino couldn’t bring himself to smile. Not anymore. But if there was something he refused to do, it was look away, especially when this fucker was looking down on him.

Then, Satoru just shook his head and walked inside the building, specifically calling for Hazama and screaming for Ishigami to follow him. They obliged. But why weren’t they saying anything? What the fuck was happening? Why were they playing along?

From the looks of it, Satoru was practically isolated from the rest of his crew. Hazama could’ve shot him. Hell, Ishigami could’ve dashed and broken his neck with a karate chop. Hoshino could’ve—no, he couldn't. Hoshino had no real choice but to follow Ishigami and Hazama.

As expected, the four of them reached the edge of a magic circle etched in chalk in the middle of the building. No trouble at all. The floors were basically dust and dirt-stained tiles; some were cracked or outright missing. The walls were fractured (thanks, Ishigami) and were occasionally lined with moss and growth. And nice—their group was now surrounded by a dozen or so Butterflies in this little garden of bullshit. And as advertised, there was a straw doll in the middle of the circle, its body propped up by wooden stakes running through it and into the ground.

Shiba Miyako… who was also cute, by the way… was on the other side of the building. If Hoshino were to break into a run toward her, about seven Butterflies would get in his way. Counting them, Satoru, and the fuckers outside, their group were going to face about two dozen enemies.

Most of the reason Hoshino wasn’t pissing his pants right now was that he had to look cool in front of Shiba Kakeru, and because Hazama and Ishigami were there. However, his resolve was tested upon the realization that he and Hazama would have to hold their own against all of them while Ishigami escorted the hostages to safety.

Hoshino swallowed, barely escaping the thought of how Satoru had looked at him earlier. Pissed. Yeah, he was pissed. And it was not because Satoru was wrong. The reality was that in a battle of this scale—AND WITHOUT COVER—the only thing he was capable of right now was being a shield. Literally. If this was a fistfight, he could just aim for their balls and eyes. But he could not expect himself to be able to dodge bolts and knock out people in a single punch, at least not with just the power of imagination and pure, unadulterated hype.

“Kid…” Satoru walked in front of Shiba Kakeru. “I assume Hazama here has explained what you need to do?”

Shiba Kakeru glanced at Hazama and got a calm nod in reply. He looked at Hoshino too before setting his eyes upon the bastard who probably had his mom kidnapped.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then, please—”

Satoru stepped to the side and encouraged Shiba Kakeru to go. In response, the Butterflies readied their wands. Shiba Miyako was released and was allowed to walk toward the circle. Hazama repositioned her staff as she moved closer to Satoru. Ishigami slowly stepped back toward the door. Hoshino firmed his grasp on his weapon as well, winking at some of the Butterflies that caught his eye, pretending that he got all their plans figured out.

The air changed the moment Shiba Kakeru entered the circle. It was as if the building was plunged into another dimension, the moonlight peeking through its cracks shifting to the brighter, warmer color of candlelight. On their tongues was the taste of sweat and another person’s spit, occasionally broken—but not made better—by the scent of cheap perfume and air freshener. This scent… this sensation forced Hoshino to relive distant, blotted memories that weren't his, but in his heart, he knew they were happy, so happy, in fact, that he could…

Hoshino covered his mouth and punched his gut to kill the urge to puke. It seemed some of the Butterflies failed and retched until they lost their breath and passed out.

The only ones who didn’t seem to be affected were Shiba Kakeru, Shiba Miyako… and Ishigami, who was now by the door, scratching the back of his head. Hazama had to force herself to stand straight. The same applied to Satoru, who was cursing the fact that Nagamori Arisa had some pretty shitty theatrics.

Shiba Kakeru reunited with his mom moments later. They hugged each other… and when it went on too long, Satoru cleared his throat to remind them of what they were supposed to do. And shiba Kakeru was a good sport. A brave kid. Without another word, he nodded at Satoru and approached the doll with the intent to touch it.

Hoshino widened his eyes. For a mere moment, he saw the shape of Nagamori Arisa’s spirit peel itself away from Shiba Kakeru’s body. Within the same frame where time seemed to have been frozen, where he expected Nagamori Arisa to look at the child, his mother, to Hazama, Hoshino, even Ishigami, and the Butterflies with such evil and malevolence, there was a look of gentleness—love, perhaps—or an apology. Nagamori Arisa held Shiba Kakeru’s face, staring into his eyes like he was her entire world… the same look that had pissed Hoshino off when he first saw it on her friend’s phone.

This… Was this really a malevolent spirit? Hoshino’s heart twisted, even more so when Shiba Kakeru’s hand touched the doll, and Nagamori Arisa was sucked into the medium.

“Ishigami!”

Hazama screamed. Point. She catapulted Shiba Kakeru and his mom out of the building and into Ishigami’s arms. In the same movement, she twisted her body and turned to fire a few bolts toward Nagamori Arisa—attacks that Satoru had to step in and block. The rest of the Butterflies who had managed to survive the malevolent spirit’s theatrics lifted their wands and fired bolts at Hazama.

Just Hazama? Hoshino raised his wand, his smile about to break. He was here, too. But it didn't matter. Hoshino lowered his head. If he wasn't going to be noticed, then fine. He could make them notice. He could use this to his advantage.

Right now, Hazama was taking attacks from about a dozen Butterflies. She was returning fire, picking them off one by one without moving from her spot. It was amazing in its own right, especially with Satoru standing between Hazama and Nagamori Arisa. AND if Hoshino was some kind of mustachioed fucker with an unbeatable cutie in front of him and a dream, there was only one plausible move he would do.

And bingo. Satoru, gaining confidence that Hazama had nothing better to do but take out his subordinates first, dashed to the side and readied a spread of bolts to carpet-bomb everything in Ishigami’s direction.

The man was, of course, unstoppable, even when he had a kid strapped to his shoulder while he was princess-carrying a mom. Black and his crew by the door seemed… utterly punched.

Satoru fired the bolts aimed at Ishigami, smiling wide and expecting Hazama to abandon her position and block the attacks herself. But even before she could move, Hoshino reminded everyone that he existed by summoning a gigantic shield that took the brunt of Satoru’s attacks and ensured Ishigami’s path to safety.

Hoshino, with all eyes on him, flipped the bird. “YOUUUU SHALL NOT PAAASS!”