[Fanfic] Remember [Chapter 5]
Title: Remember [Chapter 5]
Rating: T
Fandom: Eyeshield 21/CLAMP (Crossover)
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely Riichiro Inagaki and Yuusuke Murata for Eyeshield 21 and CLAMP.
Summary: Anezaki Mamori wakes up to realize that she has been thrown into a different world with no memory of who she is or was. With the help of a familiar blonde demon and a mysterious woman, she goes on a journey to discover the truth behind this predicament and regain what she had lost. AU. Crossover. HiruMamo.
Notes: I was inspired enough to work on this chapter so this came out a lot faster than I initially planned. As usual, I'm worrying a lot about my writing and whether or not I'm presenting this as interestingly as possible. I'll do my best! I'll explain a little more on my notes after this chapter. So enjoy this chapter, edited once more by the awesome moodylollipop!
~*~
Upon seeing the shadows, Mamori surveyed her surroundings once more and realized that the once orange sky was turning a hazy dark blue. The light breeze that passed through ever so softly earlier had now disappeared, and the air was still. Then just like before, a strong feeling of dread began to grow within her.
Hiruma began his march into the school as the wailing grew distant, moving deeper into one of the buildings. “Wait!” cried Mamori. “Isn’t it getting too dark?”
Hiruma turned to her. “Our last fight was at night, too, wasn’t it?” he pointed out.
“I know, but…” Mamori continued to look around. She wasn’t sure why, but as the light rapidly faded, and the shadows around the building begun to grow, she couldn’t help but fear what lay ahead. “I just can’t help but feel that this is going to become a huge disadvantage for us.”
“Stop fucking worrying,” Hiruma assured her. He pulled out one of his guns, releasing the safety latch on it. “Your being awake at this point means we have to face them at this hour. We can’t turn back.”
Mamori swallowed hard. She took one step forward, the sword still clutched tightly in her right hand. Back then, when she wasn’t entirely sure what she had to face, she could walk towards the darkness without fear. But now that she knew exactly what she had to fight, fear held her tightly in its grip.
“I’ll repeat, you have nothing to fucking worry about,” Hiruma said out loud, his back facing her. “We’ll fucking kill whoever is in the way.”
Though Mamori could not see the expression on Hiruma’s face as he said this, the words calmed her just enough to keep her feet moving. For a fraction of a second, Mamori wondered if this boy was more than just something she had created to save herself… Then his earlier cautions on how the world reacted to her fears resounded sharply amidst her jumble of thoughts and she pushed it all out of her mind to focus on the task at hand.
Hiruma led the way for a moment as they tried to find the source of the wailing. They walked up to one of the school buildings and past the locker area. Mamori looked around, wondering if she could regain some part of her memories by walking past places she was sure she’d been in before. But nothing came to mind.
The wailing grew louder as they took the stairs. They paused at one of the floors, before Hiruma and Mamori shared a glance and took one more flight of steps. It was then that they knew they were getting closer. They strode down one of the hallways, passing by a long row of classrooms.
Hiruma surged forward but as Mamori moved to follow, she felt strangely drawn to a door they were passing and stopped before it. Though the wailing still felt as though it came from quite a distance away, she had a strange urge to open this particular door.
“Hiruma…” she whispered, as though afraid that whatever they were facing could hear them.
Attention caught, Hiruma instantly stopped to look in her direction. He silently nodded and stood beside her. They didn’t say a word, but Mamori knew she had to be the one to open the door. Taking in a deep, shaky breath, she put her right hand on the knob and slid it to the side.
The wailing stopped the moment the door opened. Mamori quickly readied her sword, as Hiruma raised his gun but nothing appeared, and the room was pitch black. Mamori could feel her heart beating faster now, as everything became still. There was no sign of any strange creature… had her instincts been wrong and had she opened the wrong door? After all, she had made a mistake back at her own house…
Mamori was about to step away when a light whisper caught her ear. She wasn’t sure what that whisper was, or who was saying it. But she was sure now… That it came from that room.
She glanced at Hiruma, who was looking into the room grimly as well. But when he realized Mamori was looking at him, he turned towards her and gave her a grin. Mamori could only reply with a weak smile. His grin still bothered her, but his presence was all she needed to take that step forward.
And with that, she took a step into the room. Nothing happened for a moment, and she took another step, the darkness inviting her in. Mamori swallowed again, as the fear within her grew. The darkness seemed to surround her, thickly encircling her the further she went. The whispering grew louder, and Mamori soon began to feel sick.
BANG!
Mamori screamed a little at the sound of Hiruma’s gun, covering her ears. She turned to scold him for surprising her, when she realized that she was now completely engulfed in darkness. “Hiruma?” she called out, but there was no reply.
“Hiruma? Where are you?” Mamori called out louder this time. But neither sound nor sight of him reached her. Mamori began to shiver in fear. The darkness was not doing her any good. She felt sure that it was about to engulf her once more, take her back in and take away everything she had finally regained at this point.
Just give up… This was a complete waste of time… It’s not worth the effort…
Mamori shook her head as she closed her eyes. “No… please no!”
Let it all go… It’s not worth it…
Mamori felt her feet go completely cold and frozen. The darkness had finally got her… She knew she shouldn’t have come here when it was dark… Now it’s all over…
“Please come back!”
Mamori gasped. The memory of her mother calling out to her began to play in her mind. That’s right, someone wanted her to come back! Her mother wants her to return! She can’t let go just yet!
Mamori tightened her grip around her sword, certain that it was still within her grasp. Before the darkness could claim her completely, she slashed forward and saw a short glimpse of the classroom door and the sound of Hiruma’s gunshots echoed through.
“I’m here! So focus on getting the fucking job done!”
Hiruma’s words now echoed through her mind. That’s right… He was there. She wasn’t alone.
There’s nothing to fear. Everything will be all right.
Raising the sword one more time, she slashed through the darkness before her once more, widening the gap before her. “Hiruma!” she cried out.
She heard a couple more shots before Hiruma appeared before her. He grinned at the sight of her then proceeded to shoot around her legs as Mamori began to cut whatever darkness that was holding her in place. The moment the darkness released her, Mamori sprung forward and rushed to Hiruma’s side. They were now back to back, and Mamori could clearly see as the moonlight shone through the windows that they were in a classroom, tables and chairs strewn everywhere.
“Good to see you fighting your way out of that,” he said, unable to hide the smirk in his voice.
Mamori couldn’t help but grin in return as she recalled what kept her from being taken in. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to take me down…” she said. “Now what are we up against?”
“I don’t know,” Hiruma replied, raising both his arms that now held both of his guns.
“Eh?” went Mamori, but she soon discovered what Hiruma meant. Although the moonlight illuminated enough to show them where they were, tables flew seemingly by their own accord and threw itself at the two of them. Hiruma quickly shot the table, hitting it back. A chair from the other side of the room rose into the air and threw itself at Hiruma too. Hiruma shot back with ease.
“We can’t… see them?” said Mamori, shocked. “How do we defeat them then?”
“Again with the pointless questions!” Hiruma cackled. Mamori groaned a little as she scanned her surroundings. Not being able to see the enemy was going to be tricky. And she still wasn’t sure how the source to stop these attacks looked like.
As she continued to look around, she noticed a chair heading straight towards her. She readied her sword and slashed the chair from right to left. In that brief moment, she thought she saw a figure of the being that had thrown the chair, but it quickly faded away.
Soon the chairs and desks nearby were being thrown. Whatever it was that was attacking them, it was getting closer.
“I think there are two of them,” said Hiruma as he shot another desk. “Listen, the moment you find the source, I want you to go straight to it. Don’t worry about these things; I’ll take care of it.”
Mamori nodded, trying her best to look for the source. Come on… it’s got to be around here somewhere…
One of the desks near her shifted and she heard a cluttered sound coming from it. Mamori stared at it for a moment, before realizing that the source must be inside that desk. “Hiruma!”
“Go!” he cried, keeping his eye out for anymore attacks.
Mamori nodded and ran towards the desk, sliding to the ground as she reached towards the desk. Putting the sword down temporarily, she rummaged and pulled out whatever that was in the desk. There were books, some stationary, a bentou set and…
A pink cell phone? But a strange aura emitted from the phone.
“This is it…” she whispered to herself as she held on to the cell phone. She was about to reach for her sword when she felt a strange shift in the air. Mamori looked behind her to see a desk flying straight towards her. She moved to the side to grab her sword but knew it was too late…
Then she heard a loud crash. She turned to find Hiruma had taken the impact of the flying desk, and had fallen on his knees. “Hiruma!” she screamed.
“Fuck,” he cursed. Mamori could not tell if he was bleeding as he cradled his head for a moment. “Just hurry it up!” he cried out, raising his guns once more.
Mamori nodded. She tossed the cell phone up, sword in hand. And just as she was about to slash the phone, a loud wailing filled her ears and the air shifted once more as whatever it was that attacked them was now heading straight towards her.
But Mamori quickly sliced the phone in two, and in the silence that reigned, it seemed as if time had stopped for a moment.
Mamori blinked. The classroom was now orderly, and the sky was bright orange once more. A girl in uniform sat at one of the desks. Mamori didn’t recognize her, but she slowly approached her anyway, noting the girl’s braids and glasses. She was typing on the pink cell phone Mamori had seen earlier, and as she examined the girl’s expression, she noticed it was filled with sadness and pain.
Mamori heard the door behind her slide open in a hurry. “Ako!”
And in rushed in a younger looking Mamori, her hair cut short and wearing the same uniform as the girl named Ako. “Mamo..ri?” the girl named Ako said in surprise as she quickly hid her phone.
“Sara called me just now and told me everything! She’s on her way right now!” said Mamori as she rushed to hug Ako. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Then the girl named Sara, with shoulder length hair, rushed into the classroom as well. “There you are Ako! Thank goodness you found her, Mamo-kaa-san!”
“Sara?” Ako pulled away from Mamori’s embrace. “Why are you both here?”
“Ako, why didn’t you tell us what Suzuki-sensei said to you during your career counseling?” Sara began to scold as the younger Mamori wore a worried expression on her face as the real Mamori watched on curiously.
“H-how did you find out about that?” asked Ako, shrinking back to her seat a little.
“While I was in the Teachers Lounge to hand in some documents, I overheard one of the teachers talking about your wish to enter Sakura Girls High School,” explained Mamori. “They said your marks were way below average and so I suspected something might be wrong and called Sara…”
“So I went and asked some of the students who went for the counseling after you, and found out that that stupid teacher told you to give up on ever going to any prestigious schools!” cried Sara. “I’ve always hated that teacher! I knew you would be crushed, so I quickly called Mamo-kaa-san and…”
Sara stopped as she and Mamori watch Ako break into tears. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Ako weeped as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands.
“Ako…” Mamori said softly.
“I wanted to go with all of you to Sakura Girls High School…” cried Ako. “We made a promise that we’ll go to the same High School together… Now because my marks aren’t up to par… I can’t be with you girls anymore.”
“What are you talking about?!” cried Sara. “My marks are pretty average too! I think it’s pretty obvious I won’t be accepted in Sakura Girls High School as well!”
“But your marks can still get you to better schools… And Mamo-kaa-san’s marks are excellent!” Ako cried harder. “She can get into any prestigious High School easily! But now I can’t follow you to any of those schools! The teachers said the only school that would accept me is Deimon…I studied so hard and I still couldn’t… I’m sorry…”
Mamori and Sara shared worried looks at each other. Then Mamori walked up to Ako and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Ako…” said Mamori, smiling a little. “I know a lot of people keep telling me that I should go and apply to all these many prestigious High Schools. Our classmates, our teachers… but that doesn’t mean I want to go there too.”
“But you should go there, Mamo-kaa-san!” cried Ako, looking at Mamori with tearful eyes. “You’re so wonderful and so smart and…”
Mamori shook her head. “Being wonderful and smart doesn’t mean I must go to a prestigious high school, Ako,” explained Mamori. “Good grades and being highly looked upon mean nothing to me. What’s important to me is as long as I’m surrounded by amazing people like you and Sara. That’s all I need.”
“But…” Ako protested, tears still streaming down her face. “Your future… Wouldn’t it be better if you went to a prestigious high school?”
“I don’t care about things like that,” said Mamori, shrugging a little. “It’s not like I’m aiming to be a scholar or something grand like that. I’m not sure who I want to be really… So for now, I’d rather just be with you and Sara.”
“No…” Ako shook her head. “That’s not right…”
“Ako!” cried Sara. “You shouldn’t put yourself down like that! We’re your friends!”
“And besides,” Mamori added. “There’s more to life than worrying about what we put on our resume!”
“Yeah!” Sara nodded eagerly. “And don’t forget, Mamo-kaa-san is smart! No matter what, she’ll find a way to rise to the top!”
“But Sara…” Ako spoke up again. “How about you?”
“Me?” Sara laughed a little. “Don’t worry about it. With Mamo-kaa-san and you with me, I’ll definitely pull through!”
“So don’t cry, Ako!” Mamori assured her. “If you’re going to Deimon, we’ll go with you too!”
“That’s right!” Sara smiled. “I’m sure Deimon won’t be so bad. Maybe we’ll finally find boyfriends there! Especially you, Mamo-kaa-san!”
“Sara!” cried Mamori, clearly embarrassed. “That’s not a reason to look forward to Deimon!”
Sara poked Mamori’s red cheeks. “Admit it, Mamo-kaa-san! I’m sure you would love to finally find a guy who doesn’t find you intimidating!”
“I am NOT intimidating!” Mamori protested.
“The boys from the other schools who tried to ask you out don’t quite think so… They always come to me and Ako, asking us why is Mamo-kaa-san so scary!” Sara teased.
“If that’s what they think, fine then!” Mamori huffed as she crossed her arms. “But just because we’re going to a co-ed school, doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on the boys too.”
“That’s our Mamo-kaa-san!” Sara playfully hugged Mamori. Mamori protested and tried to push Sara away but they froze as they heard Ako giggle.
“Ako?” went Mamori.
Ako looked up at Mamori and Sara with a smile. “I, too, want to see Mamo-kaa-san get a boyfriend!”
“Ako! Not you, too!” cried Mamori as Sara cheered and held on to Ako.
“Akoooo! I knew I could count on you!” cried Sara happily. Mamori flustered and tried to tell them off, but seeing Ako and Sara laughing and smiling together, she ended up laughing with them.
The real Mamori watched the trio laugh together and couldn’t help but close her eyes and smile as well. Ah yes… She had two special friends who supported her and were there for her. And they in turn called her Mamo-kaa-san for her motherly affections towards them. She had friends, and together they went to a High School named Deimon…
“Mamori?”
Mamori’s eyes snapped open and she saw Sara and Ako, looking a little older than she’d seen earlier, standing before her, translucent just like her mother was back then. “Sara… Ako…”
“Mamori! Come back!” Ako cried out.
“Ako…?” Mamori whispered.
“Please, Mamori!” cried Sara tearfully. “We miss you so much!”
“Sara!” Mamori reached out towards them, but they began to fade away.
“Come back!!” were their last words before Mamori finally returned to the dark classroom. Mamori drew out a long breath before falling to the ground, Hiruma readily grabbing her.
Everything was getting fuzzy before her now, and she could barely see Hiruma’s face. A dark liquid was on the side of Hiruma’s temple… was that blood? She reached out to touch it, but she couldn’t lift her arms any higher, and she felt it fall flat on the ground.
“Hiruma… I saw my best friends… Two girls…” Mamori smiled a little.
“Ah…” Hiruma merely replied.
“They reminded me about how important friendships can be, and why it’s okay to trust each other even if we’re afraid… We went to the same High School together… Deimon…”
She felt Hiruma stiffen a little. “Hiruma…?” went Mamori, feeling her eyelids become heavier.
“Just go to sleep now,” he replied. “We can talk about it when you wake up.”
Mamori nodded. “I know… you’ll be there…” she said before finally succumbing to her exhaustion.
Hiruma sighed a little, resisting the urge to touch Mamori’s face. His surroundings had now disappeared once more, and soon a woman in a blue Chinese outfit approached him.
“You’re wounded,” the woman named Sakura said, looking rather worried. She bent down and touched Hiruma’s temple where it bled.
“Yeah,” he replied nonchalantly.
“You know being wounded is bad for you,” Sakura warned as she touched the source of the bleeding. The wound soon began to close.
“I know,” said Hiruma. “You told me many, many times Fucking Magician.”
Sakura frowned. “If you keep this up, you won’t be able to stay in this world much longer. And who knows what will happen to you back…”
“I said I know!” Hiruma barked at Sakura. She jumped a little as Hiruma blinked in surprise and looked away guiltily. “I didn’t mean…”
“It’s all right…” Sakura smiled. She looked at Mamori who was fast asleep. “She must have been very hard to handle this round. Especially since a lot of her doubts and fears have surfaced. It’s amazing you could come up with such a lie about who you are…”
“Hey, it fit in pretty well with the way things are now…” replied Hiruma, looking back at Mamori. “She doesn’t need to know the whole truth.”
Sakura gazed at Hiruma sadly. “Continuously being in this world will definitely put a strain on you. Are you sure…?”
“Yes,” Hiruma answered, looking at Sakura seriously. “It’s working so far, hasn’t it?”
“Even if it comes with a high price?”
Hiruma grinned at Sakura. “No matter the fucking price.”
Sakura smiled sadly at Hiruma. “Just a reminder to keep yourself from harming yourself further…” she pointed towards Hiruma’s temple. “Simple wounds like that I can heal… but any worst than that…”
“I won’t be taken down that easily…,” said Hiruma seriously. “Not until I’m sure she’ll return…”
Sakura nodded. “All right…” And with a smile, she disappeared as she uttered, “Good luck.”
~*~
Extra Notes: I'm sorry if I described Sara and Ako wrongly. I didn't get any info to tell me who's who even though we do catch glimpses of them twice throughout the manga. So I'm basing their personality and their names solely on what I think they might be. If I get anything wrong, feel free to point it out.
The idea behind Mamori following Sara and Ako to Deimon was roughly mentioned in one of the pages explaining why Mamori chose Deimon. I can't really pull out that particular page right now, but it mentions that Mamori chose to go to Deimon just to follow her friends. She didn't really care which High School it is, and that she chose Deimon because her friends suggested it. So with a few tweaks, I incorporated it into this chapter. If I get this wrong, feel free to point it out too! But I'm pretty sure that's how it goes.
And yes, Hiruma IS lying about who he really is. This will get explained later on, but not soon. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the next few chapters interesting as Mamori continues to regain more of her memories. Till then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and do look out for the next one!
Chapter 4 | Chapter 6
Rating: T
Fandom: Eyeshield 21/CLAMP (Crossover)
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely Riichiro Inagaki and Yuusuke Murata for Eyeshield 21 and CLAMP.
Summary: Anezaki Mamori wakes up to realize that she has been thrown into a different world with no memory of who she is or was. With the help of a familiar blonde demon and a mysterious woman, she goes on a journey to discover the truth behind this predicament and regain what she had lost. AU. Crossover. HiruMamo.
Notes: I was inspired enough to work on this chapter so this came out a lot faster than I initially planned. As usual, I'm worrying a lot about my writing and whether or not I'm presenting this as interestingly as possible. I'll do my best! I'll explain a little more on my notes after this chapter. So enjoy this chapter, edited once more by the awesome moodylollipop!
~*~
Upon seeing the shadows, Mamori surveyed her surroundings once more and realized that the once orange sky was turning a hazy dark blue. The light breeze that passed through ever so softly earlier had now disappeared, and the air was still. Then just like before, a strong feeling of dread began to grow within her.
Hiruma began his march into the school as the wailing grew distant, moving deeper into one of the buildings. “Wait!” cried Mamori. “Isn’t it getting too dark?”
Hiruma turned to her. “Our last fight was at night, too, wasn’t it?” he pointed out.
“I know, but…” Mamori continued to look around. She wasn’t sure why, but as the light rapidly faded, and the shadows around the building begun to grow, she couldn’t help but fear what lay ahead. “I just can’t help but feel that this is going to become a huge disadvantage for us.”
“Stop fucking worrying,” Hiruma assured her. He pulled out one of his guns, releasing the safety latch on it. “Your being awake at this point means we have to face them at this hour. We can’t turn back.”
Mamori swallowed hard. She took one step forward, the sword still clutched tightly in her right hand. Back then, when she wasn’t entirely sure what she had to face, she could walk towards the darkness without fear. But now that she knew exactly what she had to fight, fear held her tightly in its grip.
“I’ll repeat, you have nothing to fucking worry about,” Hiruma said out loud, his back facing her. “We’ll fucking kill whoever is in the way.”
Though Mamori could not see the expression on Hiruma’s face as he said this, the words calmed her just enough to keep her feet moving. For a fraction of a second, Mamori wondered if this boy was more than just something she had created to save herself… Then his earlier cautions on how the world reacted to her fears resounded sharply amidst her jumble of thoughts and she pushed it all out of her mind to focus on the task at hand.
Hiruma led the way for a moment as they tried to find the source of the wailing. They walked up to one of the school buildings and past the locker area. Mamori looked around, wondering if she could regain some part of her memories by walking past places she was sure she’d been in before. But nothing came to mind.
The wailing grew louder as they took the stairs. They paused at one of the floors, before Hiruma and Mamori shared a glance and took one more flight of steps. It was then that they knew they were getting closer. They strode down one of the hallways, passing by a long row of classrooms.
Hiruma surged forward but as Mamori moved to follow, she felt strangely drawn to a door they were passing and stopped before it. Though the wailing still felt as though it came from quite a distance away, she had a strange urge to open this particular door.
“Hiruma…” she whispered, as though afraid that whatever they were facing could hear them.
Attention caught, Hiruma instantly stopped to look in her direction. He silently nodded and stood beside her. They didn’t say a word, but Mamori knew she had to be the one to open the door. Taking in a deep, shaky breath, she put her right hand on the knob and slid it to the side.
The wailing stopped the moment the door opened. Mamori quickly readied her sword, as Hiruma raised his gun but nothing appeared, and the room was pitch black. Mamori could feel her heart beating faster now, as everything became still. There was no sign of any strange creature… had her instincts been wrong and had she opened the wrong door? After all, she had made a mistake back at her own house…
Mamori was about to step away when a light whisper caught her ear. She wasn’t sure what that whisper was, or who was saying it. But she was sure now… That it came from that room.
She glanced at Hiruma, who was looking into the room grimly as well. But when he realized Mamori was looking at him, he turned towards her and gave her a grin. Mamori could only reply with a weak smile. His grin still bothered her, but his presence was all she needed to take that step forward.
And with that, she took a step into the room. Nothing happened for a moment, and she took another step, the darkness inviting her in. Mamori swallowed again, as the fear within her grew. The darkness seemed to surround her, thickly encircling her the further she went. The whispering grew louder, and Mamori soon began to feel sick.
BANG!
Mamori screamed a little at the sound of Hiruma’s gun, covering her ears. She turned to scold him for surprising her, when she realized that she was now completely engulfed in darkness. “Hiruma?” she called out, but there was no reply.
“Hiruma? Where are you?” Mamori called out louder this time. But neither sound nor sight of him reached her. Mamori began to shiver in fear. The darkness was not doing her any good. She felt sure that it was about to engulf her once more, take her back in and take away everything she had finally regained at this point.
Just give up… This was a complete waste of time… It’s not worth the effort…
Mamori shook her head as she closed her eyes. “No… please no!”
Let it all go… It’s not worth it…
Mamori felt her feet go completely cold and frozen. The darkness had finally got her… She knew she shouldn’t have come here when it was dark… Now it’s all over…
“Please come back!”
Mamori gasped. The memory of her mother calling out to her began to play in her mind. That’s right, someone wanted her to come back! Her mother wants her to return! She can’t let go just yet!
Mamori tightened her grip around her sword, certain that it was still within her grasp. Before the darkness could claim her completely, she slashed forward and saw a short glimpse of the classroom door and the sound of Hiruma’s gunshots echoed through.
“I’m here! So focus on getting the fucking job done!”
Hiruma’s words now echoed through her mind. That’s right… He was there. She wasn’t alone.
There’s nothing to fear. Everything will be all right.
Raising the sword one more time, she slashed through the darkness before her once more, widening the gap before her. “Hiruma!” she cried out.
She heard a couple more shots before Hiruma appeared before her. He grinned at the sight of her then proceeded to shoot around her legs as Mamori began to cut whatever darkness that was holding her in place. The moment the darkness released her, Mamori sprung forward and rushed to Hiruma’s side. They were now back to back, and Mamori could clearly see as the moonlight shone through the windows that they were in a classroom, tables and chairs strewn everywhere.
“Good to see you fighting your way out of that,” he said, unable to hide the smirk in his voice.
Mamori couldn’t help but grin in return as she recalled what kept her from being taken in. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to take me down…” she said. “Now what are we up against?”
“I don’t know,” Hiruma replied, raising both his arms that now held both of his guns.
“Eh?” went Mamori, but she soon discovered what Hiruma meant. Although the moonlight illuminated enough to show them where they were, tables flew seemingly by their own accord and threw itself at the two of them. Hiruma quickly shot the table, hitting it back. A chair from the other side of the room rose into the air and threw itself at Hiruma too. Hiruma shot back with ease.
“We can’t… see them?” said Mamori, shocked. “How do we defeat them then?”
“Again with the pointless questions!” Hiruma cackled. Mamori groaned a little as she scanned her surroundings. Not being able to see the enemy was going to be tricky. And she still wasn’t sure how the source to stop these attacks looked like.
As she continued to look around, she noticed a chair heading straight towards her. She readied her sword and slashed the chair from right to left. In that brief moment, she thought she saw a figure of the being that had thrown the chair, but it quickly faded away.
Soon the chairs and desks nearby were being thrown. Whatever it was that was attacking them, it was getting closer.
“I think there are two of them,” said Hiruma as he shot another desk. “Listen, the moment you find the source, I want you to go straight to it. Don’t worry about these things; I’ll take care of it.”
Mamori nodded, trying her best to look for the source. Come on… it’s got to be around here somewhere…
One of the desks near her shifted and she heard a cluttered sound coming from it. Mamori stared at it for a moment, before realizing that the source must be inside that desk. “Hiruma!”
“Go!” he cried, keeping his eye out for anymore attacks.
Mamori nodded and ran towards the desk, sliding to the ground as she reached towards the desk. Putting the sword down temporarily, she rummaged and pulled out whatever that was in the desk. There were books, some stationary, a bentou set and…
A pink cell phone? But a strange aura emitted from the phone.
“This is it…” she whispered to herself as she held on to the cell phone. She was about to reach for her sword when she felt a strange shift in the air. Mamori looked behind her to see a desk flying straight towards her. She moved to the side to grab her sword but knew it was too late…
Then she heard a loud crash. She turned to find Hiruma had taken the impact of the flying desk, and had fallen on his knees. “Hiruma!” she screamed.
“Fuck,” he cursed. Mamori could not tell if he was bleeding as he cradled his head for a moment. “Just hurry it up!” he cried out, raising his guns once more.
Mamori nodded. She tossed the cell phone up, sword in hand. And just as she was about to slash the phone, a loud wailing filled her ears and the air shifted once more as whatever it was that attacked them was now heading straight towards her.
But Mamori quickly sliced the phone in two, and in the silence that reigned, it seemed as if time had stopped for a moment.
Mamori blinked. The classroom was now orderly, and the sky was bright orange once more. A girl in uniform sat at one of the desks. Mamori didn’t recognize her, but she slowly approached her anyway, noting the girl’s braids and glasses. She was typing on the pink cell phone Mamori had seen earlier, and as she examined the girl’s expression, she noticed it was filled with sadness and pain.
Mamori heard the door behind her slide open in a hurry. “Ako!”
And in rushed in a younger looking Mamori, her hair cut short and wearing the same uniform as the girl named Ako. “Mamo..ri?” the girl named Ako said in surprise as she quickly hid her phone.
“Sara called me just now and told me everything! She’s on her way right now!” said Mamori as she rushed to hug Ako. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Then the girl named Sara, with shoulder length hair, rushed into the classroom as well. “There you are Ako! Thank goodness you found her, Mamo-kaa-san!”
“Sara?” Ako pulled away from Mamori’s embrace. “Why are you both here?”
“Ako, why didn’t you tell us what Suzuki-sensei said to you during your career counseling?” Sara began to scold as the younger Mamori wore a worried expression on her face as the real Mamori watched on curiously.
“H-how did you find out about that?” asked Ako, shrinking back to her seat a little.
“While I was in the Teachers Lounge to hand in some documents, I overheard one of the teachers talking about your wish to enter Sakura Girls High School,” explained Mamori. “They said your marks were way below average and so I suspected something might be wrong and called Sara…”
“So I went and asked some of the students who went for the counseling after you, and found out that that stupid teacher told you to give up on ever going to any prestigious schools!” cried Sara. “I’ve always hated that teacher! I knew you would be crushed, so I quickly called Mamo-kaa-san and…”
Sara stopped as she and Mamori watch Ako break into tears. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Ako weeped as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands.
“Ako…” Mamori said softly.
“I wanted to go with all of you to Sakura Girls High School…” cried Ako. “We made a promise that we’ll go to the same High School together… Now because my marks aren’t up to par… I can’t be with you girls anymore.”
“What are you talking about?!” cried Sara. “My marks are pretty average too! I think it’s pretty obvious I won’t be accepted in Sakura Girls High School as well!”
“But your marks can still get you to better schools… And Mamo-kaa-san’s marks are excellent!” Ako cried harder. “She can get into any prestigious High School easily! But now I can’t follow you to any of those schools! The teachers said the only school that would accept me is Deimon…I studied so hard and I still couldn’t… I’m sorry…”
Mamori and Sara shared worried looks at each other. Then Mamori walked up to Ako and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, Ako…” said Mamori, smiling a little. “I know a lot of people keep telling me that I should go and apply to all these many prestigious High Schools. Our classmates, our teachers… but that doesn’t mean I want to go there too.”
“But you should go there, Mamo-kaa-san!” cried Ako, looking at Mamori with tearful eyes. “You’re so wonderful and so smart and…”
Mamori shook her head. “Being wonderful and smart doesn’t mean I must go to a prestigious high school, Ako,” explained Mamori. “Good grades and being highly looked upon mean nothing to me. What’s important to me is as long as I’m surrounded by amazing people like you and Sara. That’s all I need.”
“But…” Ako protested, tears still streaming down her face. “Your future… Wouldn’t it be better if you went to a prestigious high school?”
“I don’t care about things like that,” said Mamori, shrugging a little. “It’s not like I’m aiming to be a scholar or something grand like that. I’m not sure who I want to be really… So for now, I’d rather just be with you and Sara.”
“No…” Ako shook her head. “That’s not right…”
“Ako!” cried Sara. “You shouldn’t put yourself down like that! We’re your friends!”
“And besides,” Mamori added. “There’s more to life than worrying about what we put on our resume!”
“Yeah!” Sara nodded eagerly. “And don’t forget, Mamo-kaa-san is smart! No matter what, she’ll find a way to rise to the top!”
“But Sara…” Ako spoke up again. “How about you?”
“Me?” Sara laughed a little. “Don’t worry about it. With Mamo-kaa-san and you with me, I’ll definitely pull through!”
“So don’t cry, Ako!” Mamori assured her. “If you’re going to Deimon, we’ll go with you too!”
“That’s right!” Sara smiled. “I’m sure Deimon won’t be so bad. Maybe we’ll finally find boyfriends there! Especially you, Mamo-kaa-san!”
“Sara!” cried Mamori, clearly embarrassed. “That’s not a reason to look forward to Deimon!”
Sara poked Mamori’s red cheeks. “Admit it, Mamo-kaa-san! I’m sure you would love to finally find a guy who doesn’t find you intimidating!”
“I am NOT intimidating!” Mamori protested.
“The boys from the other schools who tried to ask you out don’t quite think so… They always come to me and Ako, asking us why is Mamo-kaa-san so scary!” Sara teased.
“If that’s what they think, fine then!” Mamori huffed as she crossed her arms. “But just because we’re going to a co-ed school, doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on the boys too.”
“That’s our Mamo-kaa-san!” Sara playfully hugged Mamori. Mamori protested and tried to push Sara away but they froze as they heard Ako giggle.
“Ako?” went Mamori.
Ako looked up at Mamori and Sara with a smile. “I, too, want to see Mamo-kaa-san get a boyfriend!”
“Ako! Not you, too!” cried Mamori as Sara cheered and held on to Ako.
“Akoooo! I knew I could count on you!” cried Sara happily. Mamori flustered and tried to tell them off, but seeing Ako and Sara laughing and smiling together, she ended up laughing with them.
The real Mamori watched the trio laugh together and couldn’t help but close her eyes and smile as well. Ah yes… She had two special friends who supported her and were there for her. And they in turn called her Mamo-kaa-san for her motherly affections towards them. She had friends, and together they went to a High School named Deimon…
“Mamori?”
Mamori’s eyes snapped open and she saw Sara and Ako, looking a little older than she’d seen earlier, standing before her, translucent just like her mother was back then. “Sara… Ako…”
“Mamori! Come back!” Ako cried out.
“Ako…?” Mamori whispered.
“Please, Mamori!” cried Sara tearfully. “We miss you so much!”
“Sara!” Mamori reached out towards them, but they began to fade away.
“Come back!!” were their last words before Mamori finally returned to the dark classroom. Mamori drew out a long breath before falling to the ground, Hiruma readily grabbing her.
Everything was getting fuzzy before her now, and she could barely see Hiruma’s face. A dark liquid was on the side of Hiruma’s temple… was that blood? She reached out to touch it, but she couldn’t lift her arms any higher, and she felt it fall flat on the ground.
“Hiruma… I saw my best friends… Two girls…” Mamori smiled a little.
“Ah…” Hiruma merely replied.
“They reminded me about how important friendships can be, and why it’s okay to trust each other even if we’re afraid… We went to the same High School together… Deimon…”
She felt Hiruma stiffen a little. “Hiruma…?” went Mamori, feeling her eyelids become heavier.
“Just go to sleep now,” he replied. “We can talk about it when you wake up.”
Mamori nodded. “I know… you’ll be there…” she said before finally succumbing to her exhaustion.
Hiruma sighed a little, resisting the urge to touch Mamori’s face. His surroundings had now disappeared once more, and soon a woman in a blue Chinese outfit approached him.
“You’re wounded,” the woman named Sakura said, looking rather worried. She bent down and touched Hiruma’s temple where it bled.
“Yeah,” he replied nonchalantly.
“You know being wounded is bad for you,” Sakura warned as she touched the source of the bleeding. The wound soon began to close.
“I know,” said Hiruma. “You told me many, many times Fucking Magician.”
Sakura frowned. “If you keep this up, you won’t be able to stay in this world much longer. And who knows what will happen to you back…”
“I said I know!” Hiruma barked at Sakura. She jumped a little as Hiruma blinked in surprise and looked away guiltily. “I didn’t mean…”
“It’s all right…” Sakura smiled. She looked at Mamori who was fast asleep. “She must have been very hard to handle this round. Especially since a lot of her doubts and fears have surfaced. It’s amazing you could come up with such a lie about who you are…”
“Hey, it fit in pretty well with the way things are now…” replied Hiruma, looking back at Mamori. “She doesn’t need to know the whole truth.”
Sakura gazed at Hiruma sadly. “Continuously being in this world will definitely put a strain on you. Are you sure…?”
“Yes,” Hiruma answered, looking at Sakura seriously. “It’s working so far, hasn’t it?”
“Even if it comes with a high price?”
Hiruma grinned at Sakura. “No matter the fucking price.”
Sakura smiled sadly at Hiruma. “Just a reminder to keep yourself from harming yourself further…” she pointed towards Hiruma’s temple. “Simple wounds like that I can heal… but any worst than that…”
“I won’t be taken down that easily…,” said Hiruma seriously. “Not until I’m sure she’ll return…”
Sakura nodded. “All right…” And with a smile, she disappeared as she uttered, “Good luck.”
~*~
Extra Notes: I'm sorry if I described Sara and Ako wrongly. I didn't get any info to tell me who's who even though we do catch glimpses of them twice throughout the manga. So I'm basing their personality and their names solely on what I think they might be. If I get anything wrong, feel free to point it out.
The idea behind Mamori following Sara and Ako to Deimon was roughly mentioned in one of the pages explaining why Mamori chose Deimon. I can't really pull out that particular page right now, but it mentions that Mamori chose to go to Deimon just to follow her friends. She didn't really care which High School it is, and that she chose Deimon because her friends suggested it. So with a few tweaks, I incorporated it into this chapter. If I get this wrong, feel free to point it out too! But I'm pretty sure that's how it goes.
And yes, Hiruma IS lying about who he really is. This will get explained later on, but not soon. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the next few chapters interesting as Mamori continues to regain more of her memories. Till then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and do look out for the next one!
Chapter 4 | Chapter 6