As Ryota’s crying died down, Asahi let go of the hug a bit. “Are you feeling better?”

Ryota nodded. “Sorry, I… it made me remember some bad things.”

Asahi displayed a sympathetic smile. “It’s my fault that this happened, you don’t need to apologize.” He then made a personal cleaning device appear in his hand. “Here, hold it and press the button. It’ll clean you up.”

Despite not really understanding, for some reason, Ryota trusted Asahi’s words, and did what he asked. Feeling the refreshing sensation, he started to calm down just by his mind getting distracted.

Asahi gently took back the device. “Are you okay enough to go home? Don’t worry, you’ll be safe. I’ll be stopping by as soon as I’m done here, because I know you don’t wanna hide anything from Setsuko, and I wouldn’t make you do it either way.”

Ryota nodded. “Thank you for helping me.”

He patted Ryota’s shoulder. “I’ll be there as soon as possible to explain some things to you and Setsuko.”

Ryota left without looking at the two paralyzed men.

He never looked behind, not realizing that there was a spell in effect around them, making so that people would think that the alley was empty, and no sound would come out of it.

That, combined with the streets being fairly empty due to being so late at night, there was no way that any normal person could have noticed anything.

Seeing Ryota turn around the corner, Asahi looked at the two men, without saying anything.

You could feel the fear and desperation in their eyes, but there was nothing that they could do.

Suddenly, crunching sounds could be heard coming from their crotches, arms and legs.

Aside from the crotch part, none of the other injuries were permanent, they were just for the sake of them feeling more pain.

The pain got so intense, that they both fainted, and their bodies fell on the ground like ragdolls.

Frowning, Asahi spoke. “Someone from the TS, acting alongside someone from the Consortium tried to touch my friends. The guy from the TS heard from Ikeda Daiki, while Ikeda was drunk, that I had enchanted items. The two of them thought that it was a genius idea to get my friend to wear a wire and make me talk. When I got here, the guy from the Consortium was about to threaten to rape my friend’s girlfriend. I’m waiting for both of you.”

He then sent the video of his speech to Igarashi Kazuya and Nagamine Kagome.

Putting away the black rod, he made two of what looked like futuristic EpiPens appear floating above each of the two men, then plunged the object into them with his Psychokinesis, releasing a silvery liquid.

The black beams were to temporarily disable their powers, and while they were under that state, the silvery liquid made it permanent.

Both things weren’t expensive, but he would need a much more expensive version for it to work on the more powerful people.

Making the two objects disappear, he sighed, and called Mayumi.

Her concerned voice came from the other side of the call. “Hey, are you and Ryota okay?”

“We’re fine. I just need to finish up here, and go talk to Ryota and Setsuko. I’ll tell you guys everything when I come home. Since I’m on speaker, Trish can you wait there until I come back? Just so you hear what happened too.”

“I already was going to wait. Be careful out there.” Said Trish.

“I will.” He said, before hanging up.

He then waited.

It took less then fifteen minutes for Kagome to land on top of the building and jump down. She was wearing what looked like dark blue padded sportswear, seeming to be a modern version of light armor.

She looked at the two men with indifference, then at Asahi. “Did they hurt your friend?”

Asahi shook his head, then looked at an empty space, and a second later, Igarashi Kazuya appeared there, wearing an expensive suit.

Kazuya looked at the two men, seeming to be quite displeased when looking at the man from the Consortium. It was subtle, like going from looking stern, to slightly sterner.

Asahi closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know that It’s not your job to babysit my friends, so let me just say some things. I’m trying my best not to kill anyone, but I won’t hesitate to make them completely useless, like I did with those two. They won’t be able to use their powers ever again, and I’ll do the same to anyone who even thinks about harming the people I care about. You two are actually fairly good people, all things considered, and I by no means want any quarrel with either of you or your organizations, so please, don’t even try to enforce your laws onto me when I defend myself or those close to me, because it won’t end well for anyone of us. I sent videos of all of the evil deeds that these two and Ikeda Daiki have ever committed to your secured computers.”

After speaking, he just looked at Kagome and Kazuya. Both of them were looking at Asahi like they were trying to dissect his existence.

Kazuya looked at Kagome. “Do you concur that the possibility of Kinoshita-san using those means for nefarious purposes is below infinitesimal?”

She nodded. “Yes, as long as the both of us do our part to make sure that our people understand that he is not to be trifled with.”

“I agree.” Said Kazuya, before shifting his gaze to Asahi. “Are they okay with this Kinoshita-san?”

[ They are buying you another four months with this course of action. This is the best that you can get here. ]

“Yeah, they are.” He then scratched his head, looking at Kazuya. “Oh, the phone belonging to the Consortium guy is gone, they needed it for something.”

Kazuya just gave him a small nod.

Asahi was about to leave when he remembered something. “Oh, the dude’s illusion spell will last for another 20min or so, if you don’t dispel it.”

He then vanished.

Obviously, Asahi didn’t need the System to know that his potential trades with them, heavily weighed in their decision.

 

Ryota entered his apartment, which was on the same block as the alley where the incident occurred, closing the door with three different locks. He then looked at the grocery bag, and seeing that nothing was damaged, he made his way to the kitchen.

They lived in a three-bedroom apartment, neatly decorated with modern, but non-expensive furniture. There were also plushies and all kinds of paraphernalia related to video games and anime.

After putting the ice cream in the freezer, he went to their bedroom, where Setsuko was taking a nap on their queen-sized bed. She was partially under the covers, wearing a night gown.

He carefully sat on the bed, and gently shook her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, speaking with a sleepy tone. “Did something happen babe?”

He caressed her face. “Before I say anything, I’m okay, and nothing really bad happened to me.”

Seeing the remnants of fear in his eyes, almost completely woke her up.

She raised her torso, and sat on the bed, looking concerned. “What happened?”

He held her hand. “I went out to buy ice cream, and two men in suits grabbed me, and took me to an alley. They wanted me to wear a wire in order to get Asahi to tell me where he got some enchanted items. I suppose that it’s that matching jewelry that Mayumi and Fumiko also wear. My power for some reason didn’t work on them, and it was like the few people on the streets didn’t even notice what was going on. When one of them was about to suggest that they would do something to you, their bodies became paralyzed, a couple of black beams were shot from near me onto them, then Asahi appeared out of nowhere, from where the beams were shot. I started to breakdown, but he comforted me, asked me to use a device to clean myself from all the tears and snot, then asked me to come home. He said he would come here after he was done, to explain things.”

Ryota started tearing up again, as he spoke, but didn’t outright cry.

She hugged him. “It’s okay babe, everything is fine now. Let’s wait and see what Asahi has to say about all of this.”

As she caressed the back of his head, he started to feel much better, until he completely calmed down.

Then, the intercom rang.

She let go of the hug, and caressed his face. “Babe, can you get that while I change?”

He nodded.

She gave him a light kiss before he left the bedroom.

Looking at the intercom he saw Asahi, then pressed a button. “It’s open.”

Asahi entered the building, and soon, was at their door, ringing the doorbell.

The one who opened the door was Setsuko, looking quite calm, wearing booty shorts and a t-shirt. “Come in.”

As Asahi entered, she continued speaking. “Look, I’m not gonna blow up at you, as long as you explain properly.”

He nodded. “I will.”

She guided him to the living room, gesturing towards the couch chair as she sat on the couch. “Ryota is making tea.”

He sat down. “Alright. I’m sure you noticed that I changed a lot from what you saw on my TS files to what I am now. The thing is, I got a backer, and it’s not an entity that you know about, or could possibly know of at all. The same goes for everyone out there. They gave me certain capabilities and their support, and it was up to me to use it or not. There were no strings attached, and I can say that with full confidence, so of course I used it. You read my files, so you know why I did.”

He pulled up his sleeve, showing her the bracelet. “You also noticed the jewelry that the girls and I wear. Someone from the TS that started to investigate me after a stunt that I pulled on a yakuza family, without any actual violence or anything illegal might I add. He works for the TS’s Justice Department, and at a high position. He decided to send a dude to test my capabilities, which backfired, and got him chewed up by the Minister, after I traded a bracelet with her for a house. He then blabbered about the enchanted items to some guy from the TS, and that guy had a friend in the Consortium. And here we are. Questions?”

As he finished saying that, Ryota entered, carrying a tray with the tea. “I didn’t know if you would want sugar or sweetener, so I brought both.” Putting the tray on the center table, he asked. “Which one do you prefer?”

Asahi smiled. “Two spoons of sugar, thank you.”

After mixing the sugar, and handing Asahi his tea cup, he did the same for Setsuko and himself.

Setsuko took a sip of the tea before speaking. “Is this going to keep happening?”

Asahi sighed. “I can’t promise you that it won’t, but from tonight onwards, I have the Minister of the Japanese branch of the TS, and the Magus Magister of the Japanese branch of the consortium serving as sort of a deterrent, which will hopefully block most of the dumb assholes.”

Ryota’s mouth went slightly agape.

Setsuko took another sip of tea. “What about the ones who get through.”

Asahi looked at the center table for a couple of seconds, then at them again. “Due to one of my capabilities, I will always know where the two of you are, if I want to, for the rest of my life. I’ll also know instantly if you are in trouble, and I’ll immediately come to help. It took me less than a minute to get here from my house, and that time will only shorten with time.”

Setsuko frowned. “I’m sorry, but we’re talking about our lives here, so I can’t just take your word for it. Can you prove that you have the capability to know when we’re in trouble?”

He nodded. “Nor should you. However, before I show you what I’m about to show you, I need you to know that I never used it to peer into your life. Everything I know about you, is what you told me, and what I felt regarding your body. Okay?”

She nodded.

Asahi took a deep breath. “Think about a memory from your past, one that you whished you had recorded.”

She raised her right eyebrow. “I did, now what?”

Suddenly, her phone that was on the center table vibrated. She picked it up, and saw that a video had appeared on her phone. Gulping, she picked up her wireless earbuds, that were beside the phone, and hit play.

As it played, her mouth went agape, and so did Ryota’s who was sitting next to her on the couch.

Asahi spoke once more. “I have no idea what that video contains, because like I said, I don’t use it like that. I rather not taint my relationships. I won’t explain how that works, I just wanted to prove to you that I do indeed have the capabilities to be informed immediately if you are in trouble.”

Both Ryota and Setsuko were still looking at the phone, flabbergasted.

Setsuko took a long and deep breath, and spoke with a concerned tone. “What do you intend to do with all of this in the future?”

Asahi sighed. “As little as I possibly can. Look, I’m not good enough of a person to dedicate my life to helping people, nor am I a bad person to go around fucking people over for no reason. I wanna enjoy my life with my friends, make games, write novels, and be happy. I’m okay with being a selfish asshole, because I’m entitled to at the very minimum fifty years of not giving a shit. I don’t need abilities to know that the two of you also went through fucked up shit growing up, so I hope you understand where I’m coming from.”

They both nodded.

Ryota looked at Asahi a little disheartened. “Why did my powers not work on them?”

“Because they were under a spell that raises their resistance against that type of power. By that, I mean powers that don’t require proper aiming. Since their natural resistances were already high, it made your power have no effect.”

Ryota lowered his head.

Asahi drank a sip of tea. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you get stronger in the future, both of you for that matter.”

Ryota looked at him with intensity. “Really?”

Asahi nodded. “I will. And before you guys get any notions that I’m an all-powerful being, I’m ridiculously far from it. The two people that are acting as deterrent, either of them can erase me from existence with a thought. I have plans to get stronger myself, and to make those around me stronger, but those are gradual things. Are you guys somewhat fine now?

They both nodded.

Asahi smiled, getting up. “I need to go now. I’ll be telling Amaya the same thing tomorrow, because it’s only fair.”

They both got up as well. Setsuko walked in front of him, while Ryota followed him from behind.

Setsuko spoke as she opened the door. “Text me when you get home, so I know you’re okay.”

Asahi nodded, and as he was about to cross the threshold of the door, he looked at Setsuko. “For what it’s worth, I’m really, really sorry that I got you two involved.”

She could clearly see how much it genuinely weighed on him, so she pulled him in for a hug. “It’s okay, shit happens. Both of us know how desperate someone can get for a lifeline, and we can’t really blame you for taking it. There will always be greedy people wanting take the things that belong to the ones who succeed, so that is not really your fault either. It would be like if a basketball star was harassed by some crazy fan, and say that it’s their fault for playing basketball professionally in the first place.”

Asahi chuckled. “You got a point.”

As they let go of the hug, Ryota immediately hugged him. “Thank you for helping me.”

Hugging him with one arm, Asahi patted his head. “You’re welcome.”

After saying goodbye, Asahi left.

Outside of the building, when he knew he wasn’t being watched, he vanished.

On his way home, he asked something of Aurora.

‘Aurora, if someone from the TS or the Consortium, aside from Nagamine Kagome and Igarashi Kazuya, search for me or my friends outside of their inner networks, please fry their systems.’

< Will do. >

 

Asahi’s apartment, living room.

The three girls were waiting with bated breath for him to show up.

Suddenly, he appeared between the kitchen and the living room, startling Trish who could see him.

He explained to them everything that happened, and showed them the video of what happened in the alley.

At that point, they were somewhat used to it, so they were a bit less tense.

After that, Trish left.

The three of them lied in bed together, without the proper mood to do anything besides cuddle.

Mayumi caressed his chest. “So, ten months, huh?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I need to get much, much stronger until then. Hopefully I can get the points to get you two started after the semester is over.”

Fumiko sighed. “I would like to say that there is no need for it, but we know that it’s not true.” She then chuckled. “I would also be lying if I said that I don’t want to be able to do some cool anime bullshit.”

Mayumi laughed. “Who doesn’t wanna be able to do cool anime bullshit?”