She was on the ground, her body hardening with every second. Cute Cat advanced with an animalistic smile and plunged his sharp claws into Nobaru's abdomen.
"Grr! You piece of crap! Oh, the pain!" Nobaru let out a muffled scream, but the pain hit her like thunder.
Her right arm stopped moving. The paralysis climbed fast. Even so, she used her other arm, the last functional one she had left.
"SEAL BREAK!"
Her dimension opened. She tried to flee, tried to disappear, but Minuki intercepted her with a side blow before the portal could be completed.
"Grr!" She let out another scream, a sound of metal scraping, and fell again, this time further away, her limbs shaking.
Nobaru was in darkness. The poison was winning.
"I'm going to die. Is this it? Does my story end like this? I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO FIGHT! I couldn't even react, I didn't save a single soul! How pathetic I am. How did this happen? This is the end of Nobaru Minuki, daughter of an Osmo and a human. I am 80% blind..."
She clenched her teeth. Tears of frustration, not fear, streamed down her face, thinking of Yagato.
"You said you were going to marry me... You said you were going to make me happy... No... you won't be able to keep your promise. But I free you from that promise. I am no longer the girl you knew."
Flashback: 13 Years Old
"Hey, girl, my name is Yagato Matsuki. Do you want to date me?" Yagato asked, with his direct way and that ridiculous conviction.
"I don't, boy," Nobaru replied, annoyed.
"One day I'm going to make you my girlfriend," Yagato declared, the promise sealed.
Nobaru passed out. Her body was just dead weight.
"Ah, she passed out. Too bad we're going to have to kill her," Shiba said, uninterested.
At that moment, Nobaru's Osmo Spirit emerged from Nobaru's dimension. The Osmo hovered, silent, but observed the three henchmen with an intensity that set the air on fire.
Suddenly, it let out a SCREAM. It was not human; it was a NOISE OF FALLING SKIES, a sound that ripped the dimension, made of pure savagery.
The Osmo Spirit ATTACKED.
It was lightning. With surgical and lethal precision, it pierced Minuki. Then, it IMPLODED Shiba with brutal force, a blow that seemed to carry the gravity of a planet. Both fell, silenced. Dead instantly.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Cute Cat shouted, his voice failing. He backed away.
"Who are you, you trash?!"
Terrified, Cute Cat didn't think twice: he ran away, sprinting like a coward.
The Osmo Spirit stopped, the air around it still crackling with the energy of the slaughter. It looked at Nobaru's unconscious body.
Nobaru is a spirit controller. She can control several spirits.
Yagato's Wait
5:00 PM.
Yagato was at the door of the hallway where the rooms were located, a wide and empty corridor, except for some decorative plants. He was wearing pajamas: a fluffy teddy bear shirt, bear slippers, and blue pants with ducks. The outfit was ridiculous, but his gaze was one of absolute concern.
"She's never this late," Yagato said to himself, his voice low, but his fear loud.
10:00 PM.
"Where are you..." He murmured, already pacing back and forth.
11:58 PM.
Fukuoka was walking down the hallway and saw Yagato. Concern was plastered on Yagato's face. He twitched his foot uncontrollably, overcome by anxiety.
"Hey, Sensei, what are you doing?" Fukuoka asked, drinking a glass of milk as he walked past Yagato.
"I'm waiting for Nobaru. She should have been back hours ago."
Dawn. The silence was torture.
Yagato walked back and forth, murmuring non-stop.
"Where are you? Did she get mad at me? No. She wouldn't do that.
Nobaru... where have you gone?"
He was losing himself in his own mind, anxiety dominating his head.
The fear that something had happened was starting to turn into pure panic. His promise seemed empty. If she didn't come back, he wouldn't be able to keep it.