LIGHTNOVELONLINE Introduction Chapter: Makoto Yatagarasu
8:54 PM
A 5'7" teenager had just crawled into her bed wearing her iconic tiger pajamies.
After a hard day of shooting bubbles, pestering her friends, and doing math problems, she didn't find it necessary to stay up late so she decided to go to bed.
8:55 PM
A tall, handsome, slender man in his mid 20s wearing a Hawaiian shirt and pitch black aviators practically stapled onto his face barged through the student's door.
"I'm hungry.
I'm here.
This counts as our 'meeting time'
Let's go get dinner."
"..."
The student looked at her watch as she contemplated.
Knowing that she'll be denied a normal night of rest, she relinquished.
"Fine."
She put on some dark jeans, a white tank top, and a crop jacket, all on top of her onesie of course because, fuck if its cold. Soon after, they left.
Half an hour later, they were at a nearby city strolling through the night. It was perfect weather for a summer night. The heat was warm but clashed well with the slight breeze; peak sweater weather. It wasn't too humid, so there was no gross feeling. There were no clouds, letting the starry sky show itself in its indigo glory. The mood just felt right.
"You know, upon recent meditation, I think you've really grown up to be a capable woman" started Taberu, the adult of the two.
"EWWWWW- after all these years, you're actually hitting on me?" replied Makoto with a disgusted squint.
"Bitch- in your dreams" replied Taberu as he smacked his student upside the head.
"I phrased that wrong," he continued.
"But, let me explain it to you this way. I'm assuming you already know how the sponsorship program works by now right? A few students who get handpicked by a couple staff members get trained by them on a personal level for one reason or another. Whether its because the sponsor sees something special in a student so they take them under their wing, or its situations like us where I picked you because you suck and you needed a lot of help and-"
"DUDE-" blurted out Makoto whilst snickering.
"kidding- but you get the gist right?"
"...yeah...?" replied Makoto in a confused tone since... she already knew this.
"Well, I've been thinking lately. I really do think we struck gold. I'm not like Naota who has to babysit his student everyday, and I'm not like that creep Mishima who only visits Akemi like once a month, probably for like... 5 minutes and then fucks off to the abyss known as his office until next time. I mean look, we have a good schedule-"
"Totally" she replied whilst rolling her eyes.
"You pick up on the lessons quickly, I teach you the bare basics and let you learn for yourself for the most part, bada-bing-bada-boom, you're a straight A student. Speaking of which, how did you do on that recent exam?"
"You already know the answer to that."
"Aced it?"
"Yup."
"Without trying?"
"When would I try?"
"That's what I like to hear"
They both initiated a firm masculine handshake ala Hulk Hogan and Macho Man, gritting their teeth in cartoony fashion.
.
.
.
They eventually wandered off to one of those cramped streetside noodle shops as a celebration. Taberu knew that they had to go to those comfy vendors, the ones where the space could only fit four people (including the cook). Those were always the best in terms of vibe and taste.
"This place is great-" started Taberu as they sat down.
"This guy here is Mr. Iwata. I trust this man with my life more than I do with anyone at school... er, anyone really. Say hi you two."
"Good evening, miss." bowed the saintly chef.
"Sup." replied Makoto
"Since its your first time, I'll order for you" cut Taberu in.
Makoto didn't flinch since she's practically used to it.
"Aight"
"She'll have the Seafood Udon and I'll have the North Star Ramen."
"Understood sir." replied Mr. Iwata
"By the way Makoto, would you like some beer with your Udon?" asked Taberu nonchalantly.
"Nah; alcohol's for pussies"
"Nice! You passed the-"
Taberu realized what she just said
"test."
"I'll take coke please."
"But of course," responded the chef.
The teacher turned to Makoto.
"By any chance, after all these years in the academy and you knowing that there's spirits and such roaming around, would you consider yourself religious?"
Makoto paused for a sec then answered.
"I think I could get why you would think that but in all honesty, not really. Yeah knowing that all these gods exist is pretty damn terrifying but in all honesty, having my life bound by these fears and spirits is too... fucked. So instead of worrying all my life about the consequences of worshiping the 'right religion' and fearing it all, I personally just stick to the real world. I've only got one life after all so why spend it bitching and moaning, ya know?"
"Hm.
I uh..."
Taberu pondered for a sec before finally answering.
"I feel like I had a bouncing point but uh... yeah no, I know what you're saying and I completely agree. That's kinda that."
"I will say, however," continued Makoto.
"Having a balance between religion and a normal life is perfectly fine and probably the best way to go about things. If a person isn't bound by religion and to an extent- morality- that's how creeps and bad guys start popping up. On top of that, I think it’s good to sense that sort of 'spiritual’ side of one’s self. It’s normal for us, but for the typical everyday citizen, I would think it’s a bit of that soul searching phase everyone goes through, ya know?
On the other hand, if you're too into religion, I'm sorry but- you're just a freak!" snorted Makoto as she laughed.
"There should be a balance to everything. Extremism is never cool and yeah that's common sense and you'd think people already knew that but- damn; humanity just seems to get stupider and stupider the more you give it the benefit of the doubt."
Taberu chuckled before responding.
"I completely get what you're saying, trust me, I do. But,
I think your opinion is really fucking stupid and I disrespectfully disagree."
😐
"...
okay, go off I guess" responded Makoto.
"Now here's the thing:
People worry too much about the religious aspects and the morality! But more often than not,
A. they end up being hypocrites, knowingly or unknowingly
B. It's like you said, these people get bound by their own virtues, cultures, and mindsets that they end up devolving into mentally stunted idiots. They have their own heads up their asses! Its stupid!, it's- thank you" he cut off as he and Makoto received their food.
"-And it's all so silly. All of it. So I stopped giving a fuck, and that's why I suggest you should too. In life, the only person that matters is yourself. Sure you can have friends, but they always come and go; backstab or pass away."
He takes a large swig out of his beer.
"And I'm not trying to sound like a sappy bitch, no- not at all, that's just how it is, its- its the truth; it sucks and its harsh and you just gotta take it up the ass and live with it. And I think you already knew that but... hang on, I think I feel the buzz already... sorry- anyway, but really, worrying about other people is just juvenile. Everyone has problems, nobody is special, and that's not a bad thing, its just... grow the fuck up. Stop being a pussy. It's really that simple. Everyone has their responsibility to take care of themselves."
Makoto briefly interrupted.
"But what about those in need like the disabled."
Taberu scratched his head.
"In today's society, that's the exception. And granted, it sucks to suck and being born like that is bad luck of the draw but that's why I suggest we just end their misery and kill them all" he shrugged.
Makoto almost spat out her drink as she had to do a visible double take.
"I'm kidding" he responded with a teasing tongue.
"Ah, okay."
"-forthemostpart" he said under his breath.
Makoto rolled her eyes.
"And like you said, we only have one chance in life.
I'd rather do the shit I want to do before I pass away. All this talk about an afterlife just doesn't interest me. Worrying about Heaven or Hell is just so petty. As long as I'm happy with my life, I won't come back as a spirit and that's kind of the end of that."
Makoto propped up.
"But like I said earlier, taking your way only enables the cruelty of the world. I know its impossible to have a peaceful world and whatever but, I don't know, thinking about it that way just kinda leaves a sour taste-"
"Just don't get caught."
Makoto glanced at her mentor.
He shrugged and smiled as those cold sunglasses reflected her dumbfound expression.
"Don't get caught!
Either hide your tracks or just join a powerful organization. That, or pay the price and try to survive. Simple as."
Makoto furrowed her brow.
"But what if let's say, you get caught doing something despicable."
"I have authority. Depending on what I did, I'll either get a slap on the wrist or defend myself to varying degrees."
They both stood quiet.
Taberu continued.
"Aw c'mon don't gimme that look- you think every figure of authority is free of corruption? It's their job to uphold the care for their people, and it's their life to do whatever they please- moral or not. You think its easy to just separate both?"
"Yes.
Just don't be a piece of shit. I know I may sound naïve and it's a lot easier said than done, I know that. But is it really that hard for those in power to not be corrupt creeps and keep their… 'preferences' in their pants? Shit dude. Are the vices of hurting others and favoring exploitation really that strong, and worth it? I know I sound like I'm a paragon of virtue- and I'm not- I'm the farthest thing from it! But its just- don’t be a piece of shit. It really is that simple." she continued.
Taberu scoffed.
"Easy for you to say. Once you have that power, try to keep that same mentality. We’re only human after all.
But whatever. To each their own.
However I will say this as a fair warning: don't lose yourself."
Makoto visibly cringed.
"Ugh, and I thought I was cringy with that whole schpeel..."
"I'm serious. Especially in this field. They'll use you, wrangle you up and do their dirty work. I know you know this but, it's a lot harder for you kids since you're born into this and they have a chained leash on you. I promised myself that the only act of selflessness I will ever do is willingly continue this job. Otherwise, I would've disappeared a loooong time ago.
But don't worry about it too hard. Just a heads up, ya know?"
"Yeah, yeah." Makoto smiled as she waved it off.
"Alright well, I'm finished here. And thanks for the food too."
Taberu gave a confused look.
"I only recommended the food...? Why are you thanking me you're weirding me out."
"Wha- dude, you're the one who invited me over. I thought you would handle the bill."
"Shiet, you have your own money right?"
"...Yeah..."
He looked around in a confused manner at an imaginary audience to see if they could see the problem.
"So what's the issue????"
"Well... since I thought you were paying I didn't bring my wallet..."
Taberu leaned over and gave a grossed out furrowed expression.
"I'll pay, but when I come back you'll pay for my dish as well."
"Dude- what? That's bullshit"
"Yeah well, maybe it'll teach you to not forget your wallet next time."
She groaned.
"Fine...Wait are you coming back to the school or-"
"Nah I'm gonna find a club to get hammered. I'll see you tomorrow... or not."
"Alright well, see ya."
"G'night" he shouted, waving behind himself without looking.
Alone, she wandered off into the abyss; the edge of the cityscape where danger arose.
Not only for the hooligans hanging around at night, but for the undetected presence of spirits as well...
.
.
.
"Man... its so damn cold tonight" thought Makoto to herself, shivering as she walked by the lake.
Little did she know, she had eyes staring at her this entire time.
Noticing this faint scent and feeling the presence of another, she turned to the right and stared into an alley.
"ugh..."
Making a finger gun towards that direction. She sighed to herself.
"Show yourself creep. 3 seconds to respond or else you'll be deather than dithco. I mean deader than disco* (bit my tongue)."
Out of nowhere, a pale, gray figure wearing late 90s club apparel manifested out of thin air, leaning with one hand on a wall while the other rested on their hip like the bad bitch they are. Er, were. Nae, are.
"Hi there."
A remnant psyche appeared!
Makoto lowered her finger
"Ah, just a remnant psyche. Cool."
"You need something?" asked the ghost.
"Nah. I just felt a presence. Seeing as how its the dead of night and I'm a girl, you can kinda connect the dots."
"Figures."
"Say uh... what are ya... what are ya doing here?"
"Chilling. Looking at the beautiful lake reflecting the gaze of the moon.
You?"
"Going back to my headquarters. My bitch ass teacher stood back to get wasted so I'm all out here by myself...
...
Say, you don't need to answer if you don't want to, nor does it have to be a long answer but uh... wouldn't you want to like... go to the other side?"
The ghost chuckled under their breath before responding.
"Nah man. Even after death, my life is out here. Can never get tired of it. Even after 40 years of fishing, this lake will always be spectacular. Caught my first fish out there. Rode my first boat out here. Made love for the first time out here. I'm still enjoying the view."
"Huh... gotcha..."
They both stood quiet. The cold gust only cemented the feeling. Spending a brief moment with a stranger that showed no malice. Even if she couldn't find the nostalgia of the scenery, the figure radiated their contagious sentiments. And it felt nice.
The ghost started.
"Say, since you can see me, and I sensed you were able to use sorcery earlier, you're not gonna kill me, are you?"
Makoto waved it off.
"Nah man, I'm not so uptight about that like the others. And it doesn't seem like you bear any ill will so for the most part, you can do whatever you please."
"Cool.
Can I ask you a simple favor?"
"Uh- sure"
"Can you leave now? You're blocking my view."
"💀
ok."
"Oh and one last thing-
I overheard some creep talking to himself about killing a woman near this area. For all I know, it could be any dumb bitch that's stupid enough to walk alone in the middle of the night but hey, just thought I should let you know."
"Ah....
ah....
Well, thank you. Have a goodnight."
"Don't tell me what to do"
"Dude 💀"
Makoto walked away, sighing and rolling her eyes, acknowledging the fact that there's a high chance she's going to fight someone tonight.
"Goddamnit..."
.
.
.
Not too far away, atop an old, grease covered building rooftop, a shaggy 5'7" cheeto dust covered creep holding binoculars, stared intently at his target. The leftover wisps of hair on his head flaunted in the cold breeze. Despite him being far from homeless, his fashion still consisted of grimy overalls, worn boots, fingerless gloves, and a crusty jacket.
"3 million yen... for this?
Easiest money I've made all month." he snickered to himself.
"Welp-" he grunted as he held his suppressed hunting rifle in one hand, readying his position while imbuing his bullet with his ability.
"As they say..." he continued, loading the bullet in its chamber; finally set in his position and aiming his sights straight towards the back of Makoto's heart.
"Goodnight girl~"
TWUMPFF- hissed the rifle.
PANG
A distant explosion erupted upon Makoto's back.
-only for her to be unscathed.
At that time, both the predator and the prey thought the same thing:
"(What the fuck?)"
Makoto jetted towards an empty factory near the docks.
Meanwhile, the sniper questioned himself as he frantically lowered his rifle and got ready to chase after Makoto.
”HOW???” he muttered.
“In the past 13 years I’ve never missed a shot… not only that, but why did it explode? There’s no way I charged the bullet so hard it exploded, otherwise the gun would’ve discharged in my face… DAMN. And now the bitCH IS RUNNING AWAY!”
He gritted his teeth and holstered his revolver.
”Guess I’m gonna have to go chase after her” he muttered.
The rooftop crumbled. His leg muscles tightened. He breathed in.
Then out.
”Fine by me-“
In just 4 leaps, he managed to hop from rooftop to rooftop, eventually crashing down in front of the factory’s entrance in a matter of seconds.
There, they both stood face to face, glaring at each other.
Makoto stood near the center of the factory. She wore a stern, tight lipped expression on her face. She wiped the sweat off her forehead.
The assasssin walked in, sporting a smug grin, sucking his left hand's fingers while the right hand unholstered his revolver.
As he walked in, he felt the air change.
"(...Is it humid here? Is it because of the water? Is that how that works?... Eh, who cares)" he thought to himself.
He started off
"So.
Here we are.
You already know how it is and how it's going to go down. But since you managed to survive a bullet or... whatever that was, I'll allow you to spit your last words."
Makoto had a hard time keeping her composure before blurting out.
"I was going to say something cool but... fuck you're not easy on the eyes dude."
"Heheheh... yeah su-"
The guy did a double take
"...what?"
Makoto inevitably couldn't hold it in and blurted out a snicker.
"I can't it's just-....WOW"
The assassin looked even more confused.
"What? What is it? Do I have something on my face?"
"Typically in these scenarios, someone like me would be stalling or some shit but uh... fuck even I can't concentrate, like... dude you should just shave off your hair. Those little greasy tufts of hair just make you look sad!"
His eye twitched.
"It's not sad. I look perfectly fine and-"
"PFWAHHJAHHAHAHAHAHAHA"
The assassin pointed his revolver at Makoto.
Yet his aim quivered.
"S-stop it.
Stop laughing-"
Makoto proceeded to laugh harder.
"I said stop laughing AT ME"
She in turn, laughed even harder.
He huffed and hissed for a good moment before he forcibly calmed himself. He breathed in, then out.
"Alright-" he said aloud.
"How about this!" he continued with a smile.
"Let's make a proposition. We'll do this one on one, hand to hand combat. Easy enough right?"
He proceeded to empty all the bullets out of the revolver's chamber and dropped the gun completely.
"Whadya say?"
Makoto snickered, and assumed a fighting stance.
"Alright, sure-"
As she agreed, the hunter blitzed past and hammered his fist right into her stomach. Her body ragdolled and rolled about 15 feet outwards, gagging hard as a liter of saliva expelled out of her mouth. As she attempted to get up, the guy quickly followed up and soccer kicked her right in the ribs.
"HOW'S THAT FOR PATHETIC HUH? DIDN'T EXPECT TO GET MOGGED BY A GIGACHAD OR SO CALLED 'UGLY MAAAAAAAAAN' HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH????"
He frothed at the mouth as each kick progressively got harder and harder. After thirty seconds of molly whopping strikes to the ribs, he proceeded to speak in a tangent.
"I'm assuming you're a sorcerer considering you're not dead yet, and the fact that someone hired me specifically to kill you. I'm also assuming you're aware of trade-offs, contracts, and sacrifices right? So by sacrificing the secret of my technique, it thus makes it stronger because... magic. The gods are avid gamblers, entertained by the sacrifices we give. Knowledge, flesh, it all feeds this twisted system. I wonder how much you sacrificed today, only for none of it to work in your favor."
He quit kicking and grabbed Makoto by the hair as he barked in her ear.
"You see, the harder I concentrate, the more powerful my magic gets- as anyone does. I was specifically born with the talent of making things hotter. The more I concentrate on smaller surface areas, the hotter it results. I could make this entire factory melt, but that would take a good 15 minutes and well- its not like you're going to stand still, so I often imbue it into smaller things. Like earlier, I imbued it into the tip of the bullet. Only the tip, since if I did it in the body of the bullet, it would explode. Also, as it passes through the target, not only does it have an easier time to pass through (in the off chance they're wearing armor or they're indoors), but it also cauterizes the wound....Wait does that hurt or help them more?...Either way, it passes through easier, and its easy fuckin money. Or in this case, I'm imbuing my limbs in that special energy, causing each strike and mark to reeeeeaaaaally bruise deep and burn you, causing more harm to occur and-"
Makoto, despite being a rather top tier student, is a specialist.
Instead of balancing between Ki, PsychoPower and Sorcery, she mainly utilizes sorcery. This was mainly taught by her teacher Taberu with the logic of "instead of worrying about the other two, why not just overwhelm them with magic? And play from a distance? Duh???" (dramatized)
That being said, despite her Ki not being as strong as other students, it is mandatory by the school's curriculum to practice all three of these arts no matter what.
Even with her Ki not being the best, she is still leagues above the strongest of athletes all over the world.
Ki is control over the physical body; this in turn enables the physical limitations to become child's play.
From her stooped down state, Makoto's left hand reached towards the hunter's crotch.
Utilizing Ki, for a split second, she commanded all of her body's muscles and physical power to shift and be concentrated towards her left hand.
She interrupted him.
"Heat generation.
Just say-
Heat generation."
She squeezed.
An ear piercing shriek echoed all throughout the factory. A scream so guttural his throat began to bleed. The wind carried the excruciate sound of pain, all throughout the nearby city. For a short moment, the people walking through the city heard the noise of a banshee.
Makoto shot up and headbutted the man square in the nose, as he tumbled down with tears gushing out of his eyes and drops of blood coming out of his facial orifices.
In his panicked state, he tried to lunge outwards and tackle Makoto. As he did, Makoto proceeded to jump to the left, bounce midair as if there were an invisible wall or shelf that she used as a platform, and twisted her core, delivering a meaty roundhouse kick to the guy's temple.
The exaggerated force twisted the guy so hard, if it weren't for his own ki, his head would've twisted off from the kick itself.
Desperate, the hunter pointed at Makoto. The effects were instant. As she landed, she started sweating. Sure, pulling off those moves would naturally make anyone sweat, but seeing as these students are built to study and train for a majority of the day, such a move would be easy as breathing.
By the second, her sweating got worse.
He grunted and drool with a pissed off ugly grin. Seeing Makoto fester distracted him from the pain of being childless.
"GYEHEHEH- how do you FEEL HUH?" he cackled.
As if all at once, the symptoms hit: a pulsating, head splitting migraine, an intense need to vomit, aches all over her body, muscle fatigue that made her otherworldly physique morph into a slog of shit. All of these symptoms could conclude to one thing:
"(Motherfucker- A FEVER!)" she thought to herself.
"ANY MOVE YOU MAKE IS GOING TO BE A LIVING HELL, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU BITCH?" he yelled through seething pain.
Her muscles spasmed to the point of malfunction.
Shaking violently she knew it was coming.
Fevers are typically on the lower scale of illnesses. Cancer, AIDS, even smaller scale viruses like the flu are immensely worse compared to a dinky ass fever.
However, there is one specific symptom that is extremely rare, and more prevalent in children, though it may still happen to adults:
Febrile seizures.
Any sudden spike of temperature within a human not only causes fever, but enables the act of a seizure.
There are two outcomes to this fight.
Either she succumbs to a seizure, and dies on the spot.
Or the guy can beat her mercilessly as her body becomes too weak to do anything.
She took the third option.
Practically yelling at her ki to MOVE HER ASS, she commanded her body to limp over towards the guy. Resisting, the guy contemplated on whether or not to disrupt his heat wave and backpedal, or keep on microwaving her. He did the latter.
Each step carrying the weight of a train behind her, and nearing the brink of seeing that epileptic apocalyptical vision of demise, the zombie finally lifted her 2000 pound arms and latched onto the hunter.
She then proceeded to vomit all over him.
"Ouh-
OOOOOuuuAAAHHHGGG
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaa
ah- aaaAAHHHHAaaaa
DUH-
DUDE
WHAT THE- HHAGGKKK-" yelled the assassin, right before having his throat hit by Makoto's elbow.
In desperate rage, he latched onto Makoto's head and transmitted the maximum amount of heat possible directly towards her brain.
"YOU DAMN LITTLE FUCK" he grunted through gritted teeth.
Three seconds afterwards, that same tiny explosion from earlier occurred between the two.
The flesh of his hands were mangled, as were the bones that were sticking out of his now retired hands. The weakened Makoto spartan kicked him down before staring him right in the eyes. This last act was used to distract the hunter. Him freaking out over the vomit made it so that the increase in temperature stopped. With quick thinking, she utilized internal ice magic to cool her body at a heightened speed. It wouldn't be enough to cure her, however, every second of his distraction would increase the odds of survival and victory.
Through her weakened muscles, she managed to say one last thing before clapping her hands together.
This entire time, she was handicapping herself. This entire time, she was using her main ability in the background, and was forced to confront the enemy in her weakest area of expertise. She may have used her Ice magic for a fraction of the fight, but that was not her main ability. This entire time, she was utilizing the abandoned factory as a canvas, and used all of the air in its space to its maximum potential. Ever since she entered the building, she was building up pressure in the background, prolonging the fight so as to form a "bubble". She paused the bubble whenever she needed to desperately use her ability- whether to shield herself from the brain melting, or to make an air construct to bounce off of.
In the end, it resulted in a giant factory sized balloon.
She clapped her hands.
She smiled.
"Get fucked."
And the balloon popped.
The weight of hundreds of elephants blasted all around Yatagarasu, crushing and shredding everything in sight. Instantly blowing out the walls and the roof of the entire factory, all the debris scattered. The explosion was so loud, it made several cars within the city emit their emergency alarm function. Civilians were frightened and panicked briefly over such a loud noise popping out of nowhere. Two car accidents occurred from the scare of such an event. Was it a bomb? An accident down by the harbor? What was it? As police started entering their vehicles, they wouldn't be able to explain what would happen once they eventually got there later. All that remained was dust... and a red blotch.
Thus, is the power of pressure manipulation.
.
.
.
Before the police arrived however, a small scene occurred.
By some sheer fucking blessing (or curse, however one wants to interpret it), the assassin was still alive.
His hopes weren't up, however; all of his limbs were bent and twisted with bones turned into dust and only ribbons of flesh left. For a better picture, his arms and legs looked like completely used up rolls of toothpaste. His face (or whatever remained) was unrecognizable. There's barely any skin or flesh left. The front of his body was flayed off, exposing all his ribs and organs.
And yet-
He was still breathing.
Unaffected by the chaos, Makoto healed herself to a manageable degree, taking her sweet time since healing magic is pretty hard, even for her. Once finished, she sensed he was still alive.
"Christ, are you serious?" she scoffed to herself.
"Well, whatever, I'll have my fun with this one" she said as she dusted herself off.
She sauntered over to her victim.
With a cocky smirk, she looked down upon the barely living husk.
"Hey~
Still alive, huh?"
Silence.
She continued.
"Hm.
Alright, well I'll give you your last rites."
She charged up her fist with an incredible amount of pressure. A menacing bubble that mirrored her ferocious mood made itself clear.
"So-
ANY LAST WORDS???" she taunted.
The only thing that came out of the living corpse's mouth was the faint and hollow breathing that any dying animal would whimper out. A grotesque yet quiet rasping wheeze.
"Hm. Thought as much.
Welp."
Her left hand grasped the hunted's neck; the right did the rest of the talking.
BUH BYE
With the weight of a truck behind that punch, the assassin's life was finally left to rest... in piece.
"...
that works... right? Pieces? Piece? Eh yeah- yeah? Yeaaahhhhh."
She took a deep breath in...
And felt another presence.
"You motherfucker...
It was you wasn't it.
You hired him to take me down."
Taberu emerged from an alley, holding a grocery bag. He clapped.
"Yup!"
Makoto scoffed.
"You're a god damn sociopath"
Taberu shrugged with a nonchalant neutral face.
"Yeah."
He continued.
"-buuuuut- hey, at least I knew you would win. Without a doubt!"
"So were you just watching the fight the entire time? Did you even go to a bar afterwards?"
"Oh yeah I totally did. Not sure if you can tell but I'm a bit buzzed right now. That being said, unfortunately I didn't get to see your fight. It wasn't until that obnoxious explosion occurred where I said to myself 'alright I should probably check on her'. But alas, you proved me right. You completed your test and that's kinda that."
Makoto held a sour expression.
Taberu walked over to her.
"Come on now. I know its a bit of a shitty thing to do, but you know me. I only expect the best from you, and I know my ways are a little... unorthodox, but you gotta shock the body ya know? Do you wanna get left behind like those other schmucks?"
"...Not... really" she replied
"-Also, I'm over here."
Taberu heard her voice and relocated
"Sorry, you know my condition.
But again, I think you agree with me right. It's like you told me once before, who are you doing this for again?"
"....myself" she replied.
"Exactly.
Now, for the third time, I know it's a shitty thing to do, but you forgive me right?"
She made a semi wry face.
"I am mad at you but not as mad as I should be.
Hiring an assassin on your student is pretty low but honestly, as long as I win, and I tried out a tactic I've been meaning to use for a while, I guess its not the worst thing in the world."
"There ya go!-"
"I'm still pissed but again, not as much as I should be. You're going to have to compensate for this miserable fever I have right now."
"Alright alright."
They started walking towards the academy.
"How about this: Instead of paying for my meal completely, you only have to pay for half of it."
"Wha- dude no!"
"Quarter of it."
"None of it and you pay for both."
"Well then how are you going to learn to pay for yourself?"
"I think you're really downplaying the fact that you almost got me killed."
"Oh come on, A. You won, and B. He was some low tier shitter from those sketchy ass websites."
"Like on the dark web?"
"You'd think that but no, it's one of those schizo websites where its located in the backlogs of the search engine, and even then, 90% of the people who claim to be 'real sorcerers' are sad losers or genuine schizophrenics."
"So how did you know that he was a real assassin?"
"I didn't."
"Ah....
....
Wait- what?"
"Yeah, just bad luck in general. I saw he had 5 stars on his repertoire and I was like 'alright yeah sure seems convincing lol. In all honesty I was expecting him to be some fraud who you'd be able to smack with no difficulty but turns out... he was an actual sorcerer the entire time! What are the odds, huh?"
....
"You're a dumbass." she said as she did that walking ass kick to the side ala Dumb and Dumber.
To most, this was a toxic mentor-student relationship.
To the initiated, it was called tough love.
To them, it was just another Friday.