Eternal Saṃsāra: The Wanderer of Worlds

Chapter 21: A Full Moon on Twelve O'clock

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Classes began, and I was half expecting one of the Devils to come to look for me anytime. Sona, the Student Council President, should want to deal with me after seeing the state I left her Queen in. To my surprise, classes ended soon, and no devil ever came to look for me. 

Perhaps Tsubaki Shinra took it to heart when I pointed out this was a simple trifle between just the two of us. I'm glad she has at least that level of honor.

After the bell rang, I left to meet the girls at the school gate. I only found Ruby there, though.

"Tsubasa isn't here yet?" I asked her as I approached, watching her shake her head.

"She was here, she left. Apparently, she has some work outside, I don't know, she won't share the details." She said as I frowned.

Tsubasa didn't have any friends outside us. She has many acquaintances who might call them her friends, but her honor student vibe didn't make her any real friends besides us. This work of hers couldn't be related to the Agency either; otherwise, I was sure Uncle Ichigo would have asked me to accompany her. 

"How long will it take?" I asked and only received another shake of Ruby's head, she didn't know.

Then, another voice called us from back. We turned to find Kana Arima running at us while waving at us.

"Ruby! Hi!" She called and approached us, though strangely she didn't even glance at me, let alone address to greet me. "Are you leaving for home? Let's go together, I take the same train too."

I heard that Ruby took Kana to Tsubasa's house a few days ago, so they must know that they take the same train. I didn't bother greeting her since I had a possible guess why she was acting this way, and that was just ridiculous.

We walked for a while and then reached the train station. We got into the train, and it was one of those bad days where it was packed with people. Japan was disgusting for its train situation, so I stood over the two girls to keep them away from any creeps.

The three of us were excited when our station came and we walked for a bit more until we came to a crossroad. Kana paused and then looked at me.

"You're doing good," she said. "I watched both of the episodes, they were… fun. I wish you a good time with your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," I decided to end the misunderstanding since I told Rias about it anyway. It wouldn't hurt if others knew. "It was just a mistake in the heat of the moment, we aren't dating."

"Oh… oh?!" Kana's first exclamation was dry before she flinched and exclaimed once more. She blushed, sweat covering her face as she scoffed. "N-not that it matters to me. Whatever, b-bye!"

She turned around and fled the scene like a guilty puppy. She's cute, honestly. Too short for my type, though. Why is she 4"11?

In the meantime, Ruby was staring at me with a shocked expression. "Wait, you and Mem-Cho aren't dating?!"

"No, I told mom already last night," I told her. "I thought she'd tell you? Damn, you're clueless."

"Shut up! Why didn't you tell Tsubasa the truth, then? Don't tell me you didn't notice how she's been acting. Even I understood her situation, how did you miss it? It's a special day for her tomorrow, you know…"

Huh? What special day? When I opened my mouth to ask, I stopped. If I say that I forgot, it'll only backfire. And hmm, could it be the truth when she said she had some work? 

"...You are right, I should tell her about it when she comes back."

I was hoping this would break her feelings for me, but I don't like seeing her sad. So, I planned to tell her when she'll return.

Unfortunately… Tsubasa didn't return.

* * *

It was midnight. Tsubasa didn't come back yet, and everyone was gathered in the living room to wait there. Miyako, Ichigo, Ai, and our two siblings were all here.

"Honey, it's past 12 AM. She's not back yet. C-can't you call the police already?" Miyako was breaking down with tears in the corner of her eyes. Ai hugged her as they sat on the couch, with Ruby by their side.

I and Ichigo were standing; the older man was walking back and forth while I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed. I try not to get worried about every little thing since I myself have spent a few nights out and the family grew hectic every time, but it was true that Tsubasa wasn't the type to spend so long outside with her phone turned off.

"Let's wait a bit more," Ichigo said. "There isn't any reason for the authorities to get involved just yet." Then, he paused and sighed. "You know… today is her birthday. Maybe she just wants some alone time?"

Ah. Today's her birthday. Everyone else seemed to know other than me, I felt a bit awkward. But luckily nobody seemed to have noticed. If it was her birthday, she must be 17 now. I could get behind Ichigo's reason, honestly, but it didn't seem the others thought the same. 

Miyako still looked subdued. It made me smile a little seeing her care so much for her adopted daughter, she was a good mother. My smile seemed to attract her attention, and her eyes locked with mine. For the first time in a few months, she looked into my eyes. For the first time, she built up the courage to meet them after that little accident between us when the others were in America. Her eyes had a pleading look in them.

In this family, Miyako was the only person outside Ruby who knew about my magical background. Ai still thought the scene she saw back then was not entirely me, but due to an accident, Miyako had seen me actively use my powers, after which a little incident occurred between us. She was still guilty about it to this day, but it did remind her that I was more capable than I looked.

Her eyes were asking me for help, to go find her daughter. I sighed and nodded.

"Uncle, I have a few guesses about where she might be. Should I go and check them out? Even if she wants to be alone for this day, it's still dangerous to be out at this time." I proposed the idea to Ichigo, who opened his mouth without a thought to deny it outright but then thought my words over for a moment.

"If it's you… then maybe it's all right." He looked at Ai. "Will you allow him to go?"

To my relief, Ai agreed right away. "He is old enough now, I guess. He can go."

"Mama, can I go too?" Ruby asked, and for once I wasn't annoyed at her clingy nature. She might be useful with her search spells.

Ai looked at Ruby, and then at me. "Take your sister with you, but remember to keep her safe."

Why did her eyes say she only allowed Ruby to come along because she feared I might do something weird to Tsubasa who was vulnerable tonight? Wow.

"I will," I nodded and quickly left.

….

Ruby followed and after we walked for a minute, taking turns in the street that hid us from any window of our home, I stopped.

"Ruby," 

I approached her and lifted her up into my arms. She yelped in surprise but I was in the air already.

"Hold still, I'm going fast."

She screamed with her arms around my neck as I kicked the ground and began to shoot through the air as if moving into the full moon. Earlier, I lied when I told Ichigo I had an idea where she was, so I had to look at a lot of places.

After half an hour of mindless searching, I and Ruby revised to search separately. It was stupid to use my [Jade Perception] and her [Scan] in the same place.

* * *

[Third Person Point of View]

Tsubasa sat in front of a graveyard as the full moon hung overhead. 

It strangely calmed her nerves every time she went under the moon like this, but today that calmness felt grim. Sitting in front of her mother's grave, her mood wasn't so bright and for once she didn't bother smiling.

She was an orphan, but the story was more complicated than that. Like Ai, Tsubasa's birth mother too had given birth at a young age. That woman was 17 years old when she got pregnant, and she knew almost nothing about her biological father because she apparently had many lovers.

She knew her original last name was Hanekawa, but it wasn't her father's last name, it was her mother's first name – she didn't give Tsubasa her family name. So really, nobody could ever be sure who the father was. Because right after giving birth, her biological mother committed suicide.

One reason she managed to get so close to Aqua and Ruby was because of how similar their stories were… Similar, but they met a happy ending, while hers were the bad one. At the beginning, when she was first adopted, she felt extreme jealousy for the two kids. Why did fate give them the best while she received the short stick?

Then, all of that jealousy vanished in thin air in no time. Aqua and Ruby were sweet, and even though her adoptive parents were not their blood-related uncle and aunt, which put herself – their adopted cousin – further from the two of them, they treated everyone as if they were family. For the first time since she was born, she felt the warmth of family because of them.

Sadly, her teenage hormone warfare chose that time to strike. With Aqua's good looks, coupled with the emotional attachment, she began to build a crush. It's a natural process that she only recognized after growing a bit older, but she didn't stop the feeling even then. 

So, it would be a lie to say that she didn't feel… more than a bit hurt when she saw him kiss another woman. She knew about reality dramas enough to know that what he did was out of his own obligation. It was devastating to know that the boy she's been signaling for years, who she always thought was too young to get any of her signals, was actually a playboy of that category. Why did he ignore all of her approaches if he always understood them? At least, he could have said "no" to her face so that she could move on. Instead of suddenly showing her a new side of himself like this.

Tsubasa sighed, her attention returning to the tombstone in front of her. It'd usually creep her out a little if she was out this late at night in the graveyard, but she didn't feel that way today. Maybe because it was a full moon, so the world was bright.

"I'll soon be older than you, mother."

She suddenly said to the gravestone. It was funny how that worked, she was the same age as her mother now, and in a while that'd change. Although she knew when this woman died, she knew nothing of much else. The orphanage she grew up in didn't know much, so she just went with what was there.

She went to check her phone, bringing out a picture of her mother. She died in 2015, so she had a lot of photos. Mostly with guys, though, Tsubasa had a hard time finding and saving a good picture of her mother, and she had kept it on her phone since then.

She looked at the photo, a woman who was much different than herself. Same hair color and eyes, but the hairstyle and the glint in her eyes were entirely different. Two people with entirely different personality types…

While checking the picture, Tsubasa's eyes fell on the clock. The time was 11:58 PM.

"Ah, it's almost 12. I should go back soon."

She felt a little sentimental, so she came here to check on her mother. She didn't plan to make her current family, her true family now, worry about her. It was a mistake that she lost the sense of time, but since it was this late anyway, she decided to spend it here until the clock would hit 12.

Soon, the clock did. Her phone rang with a gentle vibration, as Tsubasa looked down at the time. It was 12. She smiled and turned the screen off. She flinched at the reflection she saw on the black screen.

"W-what?"

Tsubasa looked down at her graying hair and the two cat ears that began to spout out of her head. On top of that, a white energy leaped out of the grave of her mother, slipping inside her.

"What's going o-"

She began to say, but a growl, her own, interrupted her. A growl that grew.

Before her appearance could have changed entirely, her mind shifted first. Her skin was almost glowing under the moon, her black hair was fully white as it danced in the air, and her violet eyes were golden as they emitted a light.

Tsubasa sat on her fours and howled at the sky, a tiger-like roar came out of her mouth and spread around.

"___!"

With a soul-shattering howl, the legendary Black Hanekawa arose.

* * *

[First Person Point of View]

Okay, what the fuck.

What kind of disaster is that? I snapped my head in the direction from where I felt an odd mixture of aura. It was really strange, and believe me when I "really", I mean one of the strangest auras I have sensed in my entire lifetime. That was something.

First was a Cat Yokai, then the aura of one of the four heavenly beasts, the White Tiger, and lastly, that of a Vampire. All in one.

I was in search of Tsubasa, but that was too curious to ignore. I was a White Tiger in my 6th life, so this interested me greatly. I turned my flight around and dashed toward the direction I felt it come from. 

…I wonder what sort of apocalyptic beast that one is.

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Author's Note: Sad, we got less vote than last time. 550/700. Oh well, I will lower the goal again, this time it's 650. So if we reach 3270 powerstones, then I post two chapters tommorow! Enjoy!