The Bounty Hunter

August 31st, 2089

Reiji’s POV

I was running down a dark corridor, desperately trying to get away from my pursuer.  I was gasping for breath as I felt that evil and oppressive aura once more.  I tripped, sprawling to the ground.  I saw Akemi’s cold corpse lying there, eyes open and looking right at me.  Accusing me.  A faint whisper of “Why did you kill me?” resounded in my head.  I’m sorry.  It’s my fault. 

I scrambled to my feet, but it was too late.  Out of the darkness emerged a cylindrical head with far too many eyes.  Its mouth/neck twisted into a vicious sneer, revealing its blocky teeth.  It stretched out one of its hands with talons around my neck and squeezed.  “AHHHHHH!!!!!!”  I woke up gasping, my body drenched in sweat.  I can’t breathe.  It’s okay, it’s okay.  I am in my room at home.  That demon is not here.  I am safe.  I am safe.

Once my panic attack subsided, I couldn’t find the initiative to get up.  I chose instead to just stare at my ceiling and think about what happened yesterday.  After calling the police, Koji and I stayed with Aito, Kiyoshi, and the two people we saved.  It was calm and peaceful outside the stadium, with no sign of the horrific slaughter that was going on inside.  Shortly before the emergency services arrived, there was a large explosion on the roof of the stadium.  I only caught a glimpse, but I swear that I saw something big and furry on the roof right before the blast.

A few minutes after that, and the doors opened and people started pouring out.  They were all high as kites, and ended up causing a massive amount of chaos before the disaster response team could corral them.  Apparently, Pandemonium had flooded the building with a hallucinogenic gas.  I was tempted to delude myself into thinking that everything I saw was due to the hallucinogen, but the wristband weighing heavily on my arm was a constant reminder of the truth.  During the medical assessment, it was shown that our group had not been drugged, causing the police to interview us extensively to find out what had happened.  Koji’s chunnibyou delusions immediately disqualified everything he said and the others were still unconscious, so the investigators interrogated me instead for 3 straight hours. 

Had my parents not threatened to get a lawyer, I’d likely still be there.  Instead, I came home and simply sat in a daze in my room.  Hikari stopped by and helped get my mind off it for a little while.  I think the magic on my wristband also had healed some of my emotional and mental wounds.  Instead of completely detaching from reality to cope, I was recovered enough to stay sane.  I can still feel the pain though.  I tried not thinking about what happened, but the internet was blowing up about it, and I heard from the news that Rin Yamamoto was among the missing and presumed dead.  For some inexplicable reason that was the final straw.  The delicate equilibrium in my mind that was made by the wristband was destroyed as I broke down into hysterics alone in my room, before exhaustion caused me to fall asleep.

I managed to finally gather enough energy to sit up on my bed, blearily rubbing my eyes as I noted the clock in my room.  Huh, it’s 2:45 pm.  Wow, I really slept in.  My heart was a mess of emotions, but somehow I was still managing.  I could feel the wristband activating, its magic continually trying to soothe my heartbreak.  My holophone rang, and I reached out to turn it off, but then I saw that it was Minato’s number.  I picked it up and answered “Hey, Minato.”  “Reiji, do you mind if I stop by?”  “No, feel free to come over and head up to my room.”  “Ok.”  Minato ended the call.  If he’s coming over, I should get out of bed and get dressed.  But before I could even get up, Minato appeared in my room.  And by appeared, I mean out of nowhere in an instant.  He just teleported into my room.

“Ack!”  I let out a rather comical sound as I fell off my bed in surprise.  “Yo.”  Minato said nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just broken who knows how many laws of physics.  “Don’t ‘yo’ me!  What the hell was that?!”  I exclaimed.  “Magic.”  Minato replied casually.  I know I just saw magic yesterday and there were actual demons trying to kill me, but hearing Minato say that sounded so unreal.  “We have a lot to talk about, so let’s do it somewhere a little more private.”  He placed a hand on my shoulder, I blinked, and then we were on a white sandy beach with palm trees facing a salty ocean breeze.  I was still in my pajamas.

“Wait a moment, I’ll find something more suitable to wear.”  Minato then reached into some kind of distortion in the air and pulled out two pairs of swim trunks.  A quick change later, and we were sitting on the beach and staring at the ocean.  We were both silent, Minato because he was a naturally quiet person, and me because I had a lot to process.   The silence was a comfortable one, and I took the opportunity to enjoy the scenery.  Eventually though, I broke the silence.  “So, magic, huh?”  “Yeah.”  “My wristband?”  “A defensive magic artifact.  It protects the wearer by deflecting incoming danger.”  “It didn’t do that. It made a barrier of light that healed me and teleported me to safety.”  “It only does that in response to a magical attack or to grave injury.  Usually it’s like an invisible force field.  There’s a reason why you weren’t hit by any gunfire yesterday.”

Minato let out a sigh before continuing “But that’s not why I stopped by.  How are you doing?”  That’s a good question to ask.  I wish I knew the answer.  I allowed myself to fall back onto the sand, staring up at the carefree blue sky as I answered.  “I don’t know.  It just all seems so unreal at the moment.”  “Are you talking about the magic or yesterday’s events?” “Both.  People died, I nearly died, and I even had to kill.  Akemi died, Minato!  I tried to save her and yet she died!  It’s all my fault!  How can I just go back to school tomorrow like nothing’s wrong?!?”  I was shouting by the end of my answer as I recalled the myriad of emotions that I experienced.  Am still experiencing. 

Minato was unperturbed at my outburst.  He gave me a moment to compose myself before he spoke “I don’t have anything I can say that can make what you’re going through any better.  I know what it’s like to kill and to nearly be killed.  I even know what it’s like to see people close to you die.”  Minato gave off a very somber vibe as he spoke, as if his experience with death was just that extensive.  “I just want you to know that I understand what you’re going through.  It sucks, it’ll continue to suck for a long while, and even after that it’ll suck when you reminisce on it.  But that’s not the point.”  He placed his hand on my shoulder as he concluded “What I’m really trying to say is, you’re my friend, and I want you to know I’m here for you.”

…I think that’s been the longest I’ve heard Minato ever speak at one time.  Heck, I think it is the first time I’ve ever heard him talk about feelings.  He bumbled through it, but it’s… nice to know that he cares.  The mess of emotions knotted in my chest was still there, but the knot felt a little looser now.  I could feel my wristband deactivate, as if his talk had helped enough that it no longer needed to try and calm me.  “Thanks, Minato.”  The silence resumed between us as we continued to enjoy the sunshine and ocean breeze.  I don’t know how much time passed as we listened to the waves.  I decided to ignore my emotions for now and instead distract myself by trying to figure out how to grill Minato about his magic.

It was Minato who broke the silence first.  “Ask your damn questions already, I know that you’re barely holding it in.”  Well, since he gave permission…  “Wheredidyoulearntousemagic, canIlearnittoo, arecatgirlsreal, ifsocanImeetone?”  Minato gave out a drawn-out sigh at my barrage of questions.  “One question at a time, or I swear that I’ll strand you here.”  I had a sheepish smile as I tried again “Are cat girls real?  If so, where can I meet one?”  “That’s your first question!?”  “Yes.”  Minato sighed again, but answered.  “Yes, cat-kin are real.  And yes, that is the proper term for humanoid creatures with cat-like appendages.”

I couldn’t help myself, I let out a squeal of excitement.  “CAN I MEET ONE?”  Minato just looked at me and said “You already have.”  What does he mean by that?  I never met a cat-girl… wait just a moment.  No way, no way, no way!  “KIRA IS AN ACTUAL CAT-GIRL!?!?!  DO YOU THINK SHE’LL LET ME TOUCH HER EARS AND TAIL?!?!”  I was going to say more, but Minato cut me off with a roar.  “THE PROPER TERM IS CAT-KIN!  AND SINCE A CAT-KIN’S EARS AND TAIL ARE EROGENOUS ZONES, NO SHE WILL NOT LET YOU TOUCH THEM!!  NOR WOULD I LET YOU TOUCH THEM!!!!  WOULD YOU LET SOMEONE TOUCH YOUR GIRLFRIEND’S ASS?!?!?” 

Your girlfriend.  Those words made me waver momentarily (much to Minato’s dismay, I could almost hear him scolding himself mentally for the slip), but I collected my emotions by fixating on the implication behind what he said.  “Girlfriend?  I thought you were engaged to Hikari?  Wait, do you have a harem?!?”  Minato nodded once to my question “Yeah, Hikari, Kira and Veronica.  Veronica was the dark elf back at the anime expo.”  Damn, so that’s why he laughed his ass off during the inaugural meeting of the Yamamoto Rin Fan Club.  Aito really would try to kill him if he knew the truth.  Speaking of which…  “Sorry about Rin.  I know you two were dating.”  “We didn’t date for long.  Also, she’s not dead.”  “What!?”  Minato snorted at me “It’s safer to be thought of as dead, Pandemonium won’t try to finish the job.”

I don’t know how many more surprises I can take today.  And I haven’t yet started asking about magic.  “That’s a relief to hear.  Ok!  Now it’s story time!  You have to tell me all about your magic, and how you met Kira and Veronica!”  Minato gave a small smile and started his story by asking me a question that blew my mind: “Do you believe in other worlds?”