After getting rid of the enemies that came from the tear in space we went to get closer to the immense being together but as we got closer to them an extraordinary force was hindering us from getting closer to them.
The air around us turns into shockwaves that assault us whenever the colossus moves, even slightly. Resisting against the force from the being we gradually made our way closer to them making sure not to get blown away.
“Ugh! The closer we get. . . Wh-What is this?!” As Shiro shouts out I realize that as we got near the void-like orbs, the wind itself seems to be sucked in the direction of the colossus. The tentacles from the being writhe by its side, as large as buildings themselves. Each swipe of a tentacle destroys skyscrapers, while the vacuums of the orbs swallow everything in sight.
What waits at the center of the madness is the pure and unadulterated fear of death itself. If we continue then we will die. Either the tentacles will crush us, or we will be sucked into an unknown void. I could feel a deep fear at this knowledge but I knew I had to keep going. As I was going to keep pushing forward I could see from the corner of my eye that Shiro was frozen in place with an expression of fear on his face.
“I’m so scared. . .! My knees are sh-shaking! What human could possibly have any hope against a colossus like this?! What if that thing is a god, here to bring judgement down upon the world?! What if we’re just foolishly defying a god? If that’s the case, I, I. . .!” Shiro was just rambling to himself and his legs were shaking really badly. I was worried he was going to collapse on the spot.
Shiro kept shouting questions into the wind like it was to talk himself into giving up on going against the being. I just walked toward Shiro, put both my hands on his face and forced him to look at me. “You’re not alone, Shiro. I am right here with you. I won’t leave your side.” Shiro's eyes connected with mine and the crazy look that was in his eyes disappeared as he started to calm down.
I let go of Shiro's face and back away from him. I could see that his legs were no longer shaking and he had a determined look in his eyes now which made me smile at him. “Masato. . .As long as I’m with you, I. . . I think I can be brave! I feel as though I could go to the ends of the earth. You gave a hopeless guy like me the courage to fight by your side! Masato, let’s do this! Let’s restore Shinjuku back to the way it should be!”
Nodding my head at Shiro I summoned my sword again as he summoned all of his demons' familiars to help us defeat the being who just stared indifferently into the distance as we went to fight it. I wonder if they even understood what was happening right now? It would be sad if they didn’t know.
***
After I slice my sword at the being who remain indifferent from the beginning to the end of our battle. From the moment it appeared it did nothing but stared at the sky. It didn’t even notice me and Shiro fighting against it.
While me and Shiro fought against the being there was a moment where we felt a moment of discouragement. There were times where we longed to give up fighting against them. Yet we continue to fight against them until we reach the wall of the being.
I could see flowing blood vessels. . . capillaries. . . the booming beat of a pulse. . . It seems as though the wall was alive just like a human being. “This. . . is the skin of that immense being! We. . .We did it! We made it all the way here!”
The colossal wall of skin looms before us, but the moment we try to touch it. . . As if the being was activating their defensive instinct, a brief but powerful vibration rushes through the air. One of the tentacles enveloping the colossus swings toward us. It curls and writhes as it descends, as large as a building.
“We came this far! No! Our city, our friends, our future. . .! We will get them back!” Shiro grabbed my hand and held it tightly and I held on tightly as well as the tentacle came toward us. “Role of the Gatekeeper! Rule of Resurrection!” Shiro's book begins to shine brightly as he gets ready to summon his attack.
“Role of the Wanderer! Rule of Rending!” The sword in my hand that wasn’t being held by Shiro began to shine brightly as well as I got my attack ready. I could feel Shiro's hand shaking slightly but I squeezed it to comfort him.
“Engrave mine name unto thee! Manifest thy might! Cosmic Terror!”
“Engrave mine name unto thee! Come forth! Boundless Tail!”
A powerful burst of energy from our combined attacks flings the gigantic tentacle back. But the impact of the attack is as negligible as the brush of a feather for the colossus who remains indifferent as always.
The being just stares in the sky as it just ignores everything that is happening around them. I could feel Shiro tug at my hand which caused me to stop looking at the being who still was indifferent to everything.
“Masato.” I could see a blush appearing on Shiro's face and I could feel my face growing hot as I realized what we had to do next to fix this. I just turned my body around to fully face Shiro. I sent my sword away as I put my hand on the being. I was still holding Shiro's hand with my hand that wasn’t touching the being.
I could feel myself shaking a bit as I closed my eyes trying to ignore my heart that was beating loudly. I could feel Shiro put his hand on the skin as well as he started to lean closer to my face. I felt air on my face for a second before lips finally connected with mine.
As our lips slowly meld together, the world surrounding us just falls away around us. It was subtle but I could feel Shiro leading the kiss which caused my face to grow hotter as my heart beat loudly in my ears. ‘His lips are so soft. . . ‘
I could feel the being disappear from under our hands and light shined brightly from outside of my close eyes. After the kiss between us stopped I couldn’t open my eyes so I decided to just go to sleep. ‘Ahh. . . I’m so tired but I got a kiss from a cute boy. . . A point for Masato. . .!’
I woke up after a while on the ground with my hand still grabbing Shiro. I looked around a bit dazed and confused not understanding where we were.
“Where are we?” I realized that we weren’t in a destroyed city of Shinjuku anymore before I could do anything else. My phone shined brightly and Salomon appeared in front of me with tears in his eyes.
“Master! I’m so glad you’re safe!” Salomon quickly hugged me crying into my uniform jacket. I let go of Shiro's hand to just pat his head comfortably with confusion in my eyes. “Where were you all this time Lil’ Salomon? I was so worried about you!”
“Well. . . I actually have no idea. I got locked out all of a sudden. . . Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe! Later, you’ll have to tell me what happened. Looks like your friend is waking up. Don’t mind me, I’ll just go into hiding. You two have fun now. See ya!” As quickly as he came Salomon disappeared no longer with tears in his eyes smiling at me happily. I just shook my head at that and looked over at Shiro who was waking up.
Shiro's eyes were open and blink slowly for a while before he quickly sat up looking confused. “Is everything back to normal? What happened to everyone? The people who died. . .?” I got off the ground and held out my hand to Shiro to help him up. He took it, still having a confused expression on his face.
“My phone’s vibrating. . . Video chat? I didn’t know the App had a feature like this.” Shiro took out his phone and I got closer to him to see who wanted to chat with him. I could see Ryota appear with a concerned expression.
“I finally got through! What’ve you been up to all night? It’s already morning!” I could see Mr. Triton with an angry expression and Mr. Jinn with a smile on his behind Ryota and I just awkwardly avoided eye contact with them both.
“Mr. Motoori! Masato! Staying out overnight is an inexcusable offense!” Mr. Triton looked like he was going to grab us by our ears but Mr. Jinn just laughed at us like what we did wasn’t that bad.
“Oh, to be young again! I’m glad you’re okay. Now hurry on back!” Mr. Jinn was just relaxed toward us which caused Mr.Triton to glare at him looking ready to start scolding him too. I just back away from the phone screen trying to make myself disappear from getting in too much trouble.
“Ahaha. . . Seems we’ve caused quite the commotion. Sure. . . Hey, someone wants to talk to you.” Shiro handed his phone over to me and I felt myself start to sweat nervously when I saw it was Mr. Mononobe with a calm expression.
“Hey there. Did you do what you set out to do. . .?” I nodded my head stiffly at him which he chuckled at. “”Very good. In that case, hurry home. . . and be prepared for a little scolding.” With that he ended the call and I just sigh at that realizing I wasn’t going to escape the scolding.
“What did Mr. Mononobe say? Was he mad? Who am I kidding? Of course he was. . . I can’t believe you and I broke the school rules! But. . . I’m so glad. It all worked out.” Shiro smiled at me happily and I smiled back at him relieved to see he was better now. I could hear footsteps coming towards us and I saw Toji with his still attractive stern face appear in front of us.
“I thought you were just some irresponsible brats. . . but you managed to right your own wrongs.” Toji crossed his arms across his chest as he stared us down but I just smiled and waved at him which caused him to glare at me.
Shiro called out his name in surprise but Toji just continued to look at us silently for a while before looking away. He then uncrossed his arms and held an arm out in front of him waiting.
“Now then. Hand over the devices your Apps are registered to.” When he said that I held onto my phone tightly looking at him in surprise. Shiro called out in surprise at what Toji just said, not understanding what was happening.
“I think you know why it’s necessary. You two put the lives of millions of people in danger. It’d be like giving the keys to weapons of mass destruction to a pair of infants. Even those who didn’t participate in the battle probably won’t even remember it. . . You dragged so many innocent people into your mess. It only makes sense to confiscate your Apps.” I knew what Toji said was true but I remember what Salomon said and I just held tighter onto my only hope of figuring out who I am.
“Well. . . That’s true. . .” Shiro looked like he was about to hand over his phone and he looked at me wondering if I would do the same but I just kept holding onto my phone not willing to give it up.
“I’m sorry but I can’t accept that. I can’t hand the App over to you. I just can’t” I could see Toji glaring at me looking like he wanted to cut me down but I couldn’t back down no matter what. ‘The App is the only way to help me get my memories back so I have to be selfish about this one thing.’
“Masato? Why not? Is there. . . Is there something you’re not telling me, Masato?” Shiro tried to make eye contact with me but I just avoided looking at him and kept staring out Toji who had a cold look in his eyes.
“Oh? You would rather I take it by force? Very well. If you won’t let go of the phone, I’ll cut your hand off along with it!” Toji summoned one of his katana with a killing intent in his eyes but I didn’t flinch at it. Shiro quickly got in front of me holding his hands up toward Toji.
“Please wait, Toji! It’s true without your help, we wouldn’t have been able to take back the damage we cause. I understand what you’re saying. It’s only natural to try to prevent dangerous situations. But that’s exactly why we need you to give us a chance! We will take this lesson to heart! We’ll ensure that. . . history doesn’t repeat itself.” Shiro was looking at Toji seriously, not backing down even though he had his katana pointed at him.
“Your crimes are not so minor that I can simply trust your word. However. . .” Toji grew silent as his phone started to ring which caused him to lower his katana and to take out his phone to look at it. He had a sheepish expression as he made his katana disappear.
“As I was saying, there are too many prying eyes here in Shinjuku at dawn. . . Besides, it seems that another incident has occurred. Very well. I’m not thrilled about it, but I’ll return another day. But first, let this be a warning to you cretins. . . If you dare use your power for the wrong means. . . I will put an end to you without hesitation. Don’t forget it.” Toji gave us one last glare ignoring me, giving him a wink as I waved goodbye to him happily. As he left our sight I could feel Shiro collapse onto me. I hold onto him with a concern expression looking at his pale face.
“That was so scary! I’ve never felt like someone legitimately wanted to murder me before. But I guess that wraps this whole debacle up for now.” Shiro got off of me and turned to face me fully with a smile on his face.
Like the sun knew that he was smiling it peeks over the horizon, fanning it rays across Shinjuku. “The sun rises. . . and Shinjuku sees another dawn. People are going about their business. The first train of the day is running, as if nothing ever happened. . . Everyone is alive. Alive and starting their day, just like any other.” Shiro's eyes started to grow misty as he looked around him.
“How strange. It’s no different from the Shinjuku I see almost every day. So. . . why am I crying? I feel like I’ve never seen anything this beautiful in my life. Thank you so much, Masato. Truly. You have my heartfelt gratitude.” Shiro smiled at me brightly even though he was crying at the moment and I didn’t know if I should comfort him so I just smiled at him while nodding my head feeling my eyes getting warm.
“You know, it was a first for me. . . breaking curfew.” I chuckle at that shaking my head at how serious he was as a student. I went and grabbed his hand, slipping my hand into his while smiling at him.
“We almost died, and that’s what you’re worried about? You really are a model student aren’t?” I swung our hands between us as I smiled at Shiro who, stopped crying, avoided looking at me with a blush on his face.
“Yeah, well, I’ve always been a role model for other students. Breaking curfew is a whole new experience for me. Forget curfew. . . I stayed out until morning! I’m really going to be in for it when I get back.” Shiro hand squeezed mine as he started to pull me along towards the school still allowing me to swing our hands between us.
“Shall we head home? Back to the school where we belong.” With those words Shiro beams at me with the most brilliant smile I’ve ever seen him wear. I just smile back at him feeling my face grow warm. We continue back to the school with our hands still together.
Somewhere else in Tokyo. . .
In a place that seemed like a fighting arena there were two male talking to each other. There was the knife wielding male and a big sturdy male that had a keychain of little stuffed animals hanging on his side.
“Apologies for keeping you waiting, Oniwaka. I’ve come to make my report.” The knife wielding male looked at the man who was called Oniwaka who had a bored look on his face as he looked at him.
“Well, Kirito? Have you got something for me?” Oniwaka waited for Kirito to show him what he had for him. Kirito threw two pictures at Oniwaka who picked it up with a smile on his face.
“Of course. Here’s a picture of the two Summoners.” Oniwaka looked at the pictures while nodding his head satisfied with what he saw in the pictures.
“So this is them.” He put the pictures down back in front of him and looked at Kirito who had his arms crossed in front of him with his usual scowling face.
“Do you recognize them?” Kirito motions to both of the pictures and Oniwaka points at one of the pictures that was in front of him.
“Not the one, but I’ve seen the other around. He’s a friend of that scumbag going around Ikebukuro like he owns the place.” Oniwaka slips the picture with the summoner he doesn’t know off to the side and picks up the picture of the familiar summoner.
“If you know them, you should have told me. . .” When Kirito said that Oniwaka slammed his fist in front of him with a glare on his face and Kirito was indifferent to his outburst.
“Know them? You think I know those disgusting twerps?” Kirito held his hands in front of him in a relaxed way with a calm expression on his face as Oniwaka glared at him.
“Forgive me. I misspoke.” Oniwaka glared for a bit longer at Kirito before relaxing and looking away from Kirito who still had a calm expression on his face.
“Don’t let it happen again. Anyway, that makes things simple. If we bait that idiot, we can reel them both in at once. You know what to do don’t you?” Oniwaka smirks at Kirito who smirks back at him nodding his head.
“Of course. No one can lead the Ikebukuro Guild as you do, Oniwaka. We’ll take care of that kid to make sure it stays that way. . .” Kirito's expression grew hard as he looked at Oniwaka who nodded his head at him.
“Perfect. Go bait the trap for Takabushi Kengo.” Kirito nodded his head at Oniwaka before walking off and disappearing. Oniwaka looked at the two pictures again in front of him that showed both Masato and Shiro.
