Chosen Path

A dream, a scene from the past.

The two were having breakfast. The two? Who was the other person?

"I know you can do it! You are strong!"

Ayumu couldn't identify the girl who was talking with him.

"I'm strong? No, I can't even make a move.”

“Ayumu, you just need to change your attitude. When someone talks to you, you always answer normally, right? So, be more proactive! I'm sure you'll have some good friends soon!”

"I’ll try…"

Someone was trying to support him. Has there been anyone like that in the past? Someone who really wanted him to create good memories in the high school he had just started.

Cherry blossoms were falling.

Ayumu entered the room where the girl was sleeping to make sure everything was okay.

“I'm going now.”

Ayumu said before leaving the room and repeated it again as he left the house. The girl was the only other person there, but he still felt obligated to say that as he left the house.

Outside, two men using black suits were changing a car tire.

It was just another normal day, but someone was missing.

“I see that Akemi is absent again. I hope her family issues are resolved soon.”

It’s been two weeks since the last time Ayumu spoke with Akemi. Without knowing where she lived, it was impossible to make contact with the girl who stopped going to school.

If we ignore the fact that there was a girl in an “eternal sleep” in his house, Ayumu's life had returned to normal. No demons, no unexplained events, no girls who transferred into his class.

“I hope you’ll find happiness this time.”

Everything seemed perfect for that wish to be fulfilled.

Ayumu was no longer the boy who closed himself to the world.

“Ayumu, Ryou wants to stop by a bookstore after class. Want to go with us?"

He now had friends.

“Can anyone answer this question?”

The teacher looked around the classroom and saw an arm raised.

“Ayumu, please give us the answer.”

He tried to be a good student.

Even though he didn't join a club like he planned to do, it was all as he'd always wished. He would certainly be able to create happy memories for the future.

But despite all that, he felt an endless emptiness inside his heart. Something was missing in his life. Someone was missing. A girl who was always by his side.

Always? It hasn't been that long since they met, but how did her presence become something so big in his life?

There were those strange memories that popped in his mind for a moment. Was he forgetting something? How could he forget such important events?

That’s right. That apparent normality was a farce.

The world was strange.

At first, everyone missed Akemi and many questioned Ayumu about her. But as the days went by, apart from the teacher mentioning her absence, no one spoke about the girl anymore.

It was as if she was slowly being forgotten by everyone.

The only one who didn't forget was Ayumu who wanted to find her again at any cost.

Another day of school was over and that day, Ayumu was in charge of cleaning up the classroom alongside another classmate.

As he erased the blackboard, he glanced out the window and then returned his gaze to the blackboard. But immediately he turned to the window, but who he thought he saw wasn’t there.

I'm sure it wasn't my imagination! Akemi was outside, looking this way!

"Did something happen?"

The boy who was cleaning the classroom with him made that question.

"It’s nothing. I thought I saw someone, but it was just my imagination.”

Ayumu preferred not to mention Akemi. And believing that he really saw her, he hurried to finish cleaning.

"Thank you for your help. See you tomorrow."

Ayumu quickly said goodbye as he finished his duty and strode down the corridor. He wanted to run, but chose not to draw attention to himself.

First, he checked the school gate, but Akemi wasn't there. After that, he walked around the whole schoolyard, but couldn't find her.

I thought she might be wanting to talk with me…

Ayumu's little hope was destroyed and disappointed by that, he left.

The steps that until now had been fast and full of energy, slowed down. Ayumu's mind was filled with memories of Akemi.

Nobody knows where she lives… How can I talk with her if she doesn't come to school anymore?

A pleasant breeze blew across the strangely empty street.

In the end, what does Akemi mean to me? I don't really know anything about her.

Ayumu's path was blocked by two men wearing black suits. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice when they approached.

“Huh? Can I help you?”

He had barely finished that question when two other men appeared behind him, and one more approached from the side of the street, surrounding him.

What's happening?

Nobody had to say anything for Ayumu to know that the situation was abnormal and alarms went off in his mind.

“Ayumu Saito, correct?”

One man asked him.

"Yes. And who are you?”

"Come with us."

“What if I refuse?”

"That wasn't an invitation."

The man drew a pistol and aimed it at Ayumu's forehead.

A gun?! Who are these guys?!

The situation became tense. Ayumu, turned his face slightly to confirm that there were still other men behind him.

“Raise your hands and come with us, fast!”

The man with the gun pressured him.

“Of course… I’m not going to do that!”

Ayumu threw himself between the men in front of him with a speed far above of what a normal human being could do, escaping the encirclement and running away.

“Get him! The heir cannot escape!”

Heir?

Ayumu had heard that word some time ago.

“O heir of the last miracle...”

How could these guys know that?

Questions popped into his mind, but there was no time to think about it. Three men appeared around a corner, shooting at him. Surprised by that, Ayumu tried to dodge without much success, a shot grazed his right ribs and another hit his right shoulder and he had to stop himself from screaming in pain.

Ayumu started to run as fast as he could, crossing to the other side of the street and running towards the train station.

If I blend in with the crowd…!

He was betting those guys wouldn't open fire in the crowd. A risky plan, but it came to nothing, after all, the train station was deserted.

Just like happened back then!

Soon two men caught up with him and opened fire without delay. Ayumu managed to dodge and attacked, hitting one of them with a kick to the head and punching the other in the face with his left hand. The two hit the floor, both of them unconscious.

Ayumu didn't even have time to catch his breath and already saw several other men running towards him.

Give me a break!

He stretched out his left arm and the sword appeared in his hand. But then Ayumu shook his head and the sword disappeared.

I don't want to kill a person!

Soon Ayumu would be under attack again and this time there would be too many enemies. They were approaching, some of them already pointing their weapons.

Ayumu was grinding his teeth in frustration. The shooting was about to start, but then, the train arrived.

Without thinking twice, Ayumu ran towards the train as gunfire started. Upon reaching the door, he jumped to the floor of the train. The shooting continued until the train finally departed.

Making an effort, Ayumu got up and sat on one of the seats. Still panting heavily, he looked around and confirmed that he was alone.

First a demon and now a bunch of armed men… The world has gone mad!

The adrenaline level in Ayumu's blood started to reduce, his breathing started to normalize and then he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.

“Why am I not healing?”

The wound seemed to burn and was very ugly. Ayumu couldn't even move his right arm.

“Not only I’m not healing, but it won't stop bleeding...”

Ayumu placed his left hand on his right shoulder.

I need to relax and focus on recovery.

Ayumu closed his eyes and began to reflect on the situation.

Those guys certainly know about this power I've awakened. But do they want to kill or capture me? Maybe they just want the sword. But how did they know about it?

The only ones who should know about Ayumu's power are Akemi and the sleeping girl, and only Akemi knows about the sword.

And I still have to fight that demon again... That’s right, it all started with that girl in black. As soon as she appeared the demon attacked and it awakened my power.

“Ayumu, do you want to know the truth?”

The truth…?

“But whoever has that answer is that strange girl.”

A faint smile appeared on Ayumu's face.

Well, I wanted to save that girl anyway. So I'm going to find that demon so I can kill it once and for all and I'll find out what the "truth" is. And if those men show up again, I'll have to deal with them too.

His breathing started to get heavy again. Ayumu took his hand off his shoulder and saw that it was covered in blood.

This way, I'll die before I can do anything.

After a few minutes, Ayumu got off at the station near his house. He continued walking slowly, holding his right shoulder with his left hand.

As he imagined, that station was also empty. And the streets too.

Ayumu continued walking towards his house. His breathing was very heavy, his vision was blurry and it looked like he would lose consciousness at any moment.

"Ah... I think it's the end for me…"

And what a miserable end that would be. Someone who had mysterious superhuman strength would die from a shot in the shoulder.

Ayumu kept walking. And on that street that should’ve been empty, he saw a girl in the distance. He blinked a few times trying to identify that person who was running towards him.

“Akemi…?”

Even if his vision was blurry, he would never fail to recognize the girl who had been by his side for so long.

“Ayumu! What happened?! What a horrible wound!”

Ayumu knelt down, and she crouched down and held him.

“I got shot...”

"Got shot?! Who would shoot you?”, Akemi shook her head, “Forget it! Let's talk later. First we have to get the bullet out of your shoulder.”

Akemi took a good look at the wound. It looked really horrible, blood coming down nonstop.

“Ayumu, do me a favor and close your eyes.”

"Close... my eyes? Alright."

He didn't know why she asked that, but Ayumu obeyed anyway.

One of Akemi's hands touched his wound that ached as if it were burning and he struggled to hold back a cry of pain. For a few seconds the pain continued, but it got fainter and soon he began to feel a nice warmth in his shoulder.

"Don't open your eyes yet."

"Alright."

The pain disappeared. He felt that his strength was returning. And then, Akemi's hand left his shoulder.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

His eyes opened, his vision that until now was blurry returned to normal. Akemi stood before him with a faint smile on her face. But his eyes went to his shoulder which was completely healed and there was no trace of blood anywhere.

“H-How did you do that?”

He was really surprised. That terrible wound now just felt like a bad dream.

“I only took out the bullet. You healed yourself.”

Akemi showed the bullet in her hand.

“Thank you, Akemi. You saved me."A

Ayumu was now examining the bullet that had caused it.

“Who shot you?”

"I was attacked by a bunch of men in black suits."

"A bunch of men in black suits?"

Akemi started to think about that situation.

“They had asked me to accompany them, but when I refused, they attacked me.”

"Whoever they are, they know about your power and have used cursed bullets."

“Cursed bullets? Curses shouldn't exist…"

Akemi sighed.

“You've faced a demon and now you're questioning the existence of curses? Anyway, let's go to your house fast. We don't know if those men are still after you."

"You are right."

The two quickly went to Ayumu's house. And arriving there, Ayumu confirmed that the sleeping girl was fine and returned to the living room where Akemi was sitting on the sofa.

“Ayumu, I—”

“Akemi, I'm sorry I acted like that. I was an idiot.”

Ayumu bowed before her.

“Huh? You don’t have to apologize! Please raise your head!”

He obeyed her and then sat down on the sofa, a little way away from her.

"I shouldn't have just disappeared... You were full of doubts and I was a bit too forceful trying to stop you from making questions."

The two stared at the floor for a moment.

“Akemi, I have made my decision.”

“Huh?”

"I'm going to save that girl and I'll listen to what she has to say."

"Oh, I understand…"

Her voice was weak.

"And I know why you don't want to answer my questions."

Surprised, she looked at him.

“It's not that you don't want to, it’s just that you can't. Am I right? I don't know exactly why, but it has something to do with the demon. I don't know how I didn't realize it faster, but the demon appeared as soon as that girl came to talk with me."

Akemi stayed silent. Ayumu took a deep breath and looked into her eyes.

“I won't ask any more questions, I have to find the truth by myself. I will fight all the demons and people that come to attack us. Akemi, I swear I will protect you, so… Stay by my side.”

"Well…"

“You said I couldn't be happy with you by my side, but it's the contrary. I understand that I don't really know anything about you, but that doesn't affect our bond of friendship. Let's continue together and little by little, I will learn more about you.”

"With you saying like this... There's no way I can refuse."

Her voice was cheerful once again.

“Thank you, Akemi.”

"Don't thank me, after all, I'm useless…"

An idea seemed to pop into her mind.

“Ayumu, can we go outside for just a moment?”

“Huh? Sure."

The two left the house, staying close to the street. And Akemi confirmed that they were alone.

"Ayumu, you can scold me later, but I'll make a bet."

"What do you mean by that?"

She hugged him, not wrapping her arms around his.

“Akemi?”

"The demon has…"

Ayumu felt something and then the violent sound of two things being hit against one another cut through the air. The demon's claw collided with Ayumu's sword, Ayumu who had pushed Akemi away from him.

“I managed to react in time!”

"… seven lives!"

The sound of something being pierced. Akemi looked at her belly and saw a tail piencing her.

“Akemi!!!”

The demon's claw was still pushing against the sword. The monster, which now had a single wing on the opposite side of the claw arm, stretched out its tail and struck the girl.

Akemi gave a small laugh.

"I couldn't escape as I imagined, but I managed to say what I wanted, so the victory is mine…"

The demon retracted its tail and Akemi fell.

“Akemi!!! You bastard!!!"

Ayumu put even more strength into his arms and pushed the claw back. Then he tried to strike, but the demon had recovered and the sword collided with the claw again. Ayumu wasted no time and tried to strike once more, only to be blocked again. Sword and claw kept colliding for a while.

Damn it! I can't waste time with this thing! I have to save Akemi!

He glanced quickly at her as he still continued to attack. Akemi lay motionless on the floor and there was a lot of blood.

And I just swore I would protect her!

The demon screamed and struck with even more strenght, the attack coming from above. Ayumu blocked the attack with his sword, using both hands to contain the claw. The impact was so great that the ground beneath him cracked.

It’s much stronger than last time.

The claw kept trying to descend, the ground beneath Ayumu breaking even more. And meanwhile, the demon's tail stretched out, but his target was not Ayumu but the girl lying on the ground. Ayumu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Damn you!"

Ayumu put all the strength he had in his arms.

“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!”

Akemi would be hit at any moment.

“I will protect her!!!”

The claw broke. The demon didn't seem to believe it. And at an absurd speed, Ayumu turned around and the divine sword in his hands did not forgive the monster that failed to recover from that situation. The tail stopped almost touching Akemi and the demon's head dropped to the ground.

"Akemi!"

Ayumu didn't even waste time seeing the demon disappear and ran to the girl. Crouching down beside her, he placed Akemi in his arms.

"Stay with me!"

“Ayumu… I wanted to be useful… to you… but I think I messed up…”

"Don’t say anything! Focus on recovering.”

“There’s no way… I’ll be able to recover… from this…”

"You’ll get better! If I can heal myself, I should be able to heal you!”

Ayumu placed his hand over her wound.

Please heal! Save Akemi!

Nothing seemed to be happening and blood kept coming out.

Heal! Heal! Being able to stay with Akemi… is my greatest wish!

A glow appeared on Ayumu's hand and the wound began to close.

Heal! Heal! Heal!

The blood disappeared along the wound and a smile of relief appeared on Ayumu's face. Akemi sat on the floor and looked in surprise at her belly that was completely healed.

"How? Is the power of your wish that great?”

"Akemi!"

Ayumu hugged her.

“Huh?! Ayumu?!”

"Don't ever do something stupid like that again!"

Akemi smiled and hugged him too.

"Okay, I won't do something like that again."

The two released each other and stood up. Ayumu seemed to only now understand what he had just done and his face turned red. Still embarrassed, he scratched his cheek with his right hand.

“The demon has seven lives, right? So there are only three left.”

Akemi stayed silent, but the smile on her face confirmed that.

“I’ll defeat that thing and find out the truth about everything that is happening. I’ll find out who those men are too.”

"If that's what you want, I'm sure you can do it."

The two continued to look at each other with an expression of satisfaction. The girl and the boy would walk together. It looked like everything would be fine, but then, something caught Akemi's attention, something that was on the roof of a house across the street. Her eyes widened in despair.

"It can’t be…"

“What happened, Akemi?”

She pointed to the roof, Ayumu turned around and also despaired.

"What does that mean?!"

"I don't know! Only one should exist!”

On top of a house’s roof, three different girls were looking at them. Three girls with skin as dark as the night, a claw for the right hand, eyes that looked like the eyes of a beast, long black hair and a small pair of horns on their head.

And as if three weren’t enough, others began to appear on the other houses.

“Is it impossible to escape from here…?”

Akemi's voice was shaky.

"It doesn't matter if it's one or a hundred!"

Ayumu's sword appeared in his hand once more.

“I’ll kill all of them as many times as necessary!”

The demons watched for a moment and then, retreated.

There should only be one guardian! Is the anomaly that is Ayumu's power affecting the world around him?

Akemi was trying to find a logical explanation for that sight.

Or is it the wish itself that got twisted?

Meanwhile, in the dream world, a girl was saying something.

“I hope you’ll find happiness this time.”