Unknown POV
Sitting at the back near the window, I was bored out of my mind, trapped in the classroom while our teacher droned on about how some X was supposed to magically turn into a number or something along those lines.
I distinctly remembered math being nothing but numbers back in elementary school. Who invited the alphabets to the party?
"So, do any of you have questions?" our teacher asked, scanning the room after covering the board with symbols that might as well have been ancient runes for me.
I could have asked something if I had the slightest clue what I was supposed to ask. My classmates sat there just as silent, mouths sealed shut like mine. I was certain they were as lost as I was, probably wondering what would happen if this ridiculous equation were twisted this way or that.
Then our teacher's eyes landed on me.
Realizing this far too late, I immediately pretended to scribble furiously in my notebook, avoiding eye contact while silently begging Lady Luck not to have me chosen.
"You, Wakura. Do you understand how I solved this?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he called my name.
I visibly flinched.
Great. My worst expectation had just manifested.
"Uhmm… Parabola? Domain?"
I scratched my head, forcing a wry smile, not even thinking about what I had just blurted out.
He sighed, disappointment written all over his face.
"Do you all even listen to my lecture?" my teacher asked, one hand on his waist before he shook his head and decided not to press further.
He turned back to the board and began writing another example. I released a wave of relief, the tension finally lifting from my shoulders.
I truly hated being called on in class, especially when I had no idea how to answer the question aimed straight at me.
I would probably still manage to pass the mathematics final exam somehow. At least there was that small comfort.
Staring out the window, I began to contemplate what I was going to do with my life.
I was not exactly the brightest student, and college felt like a distant dream that I would never enter. Like most people here in my class, I would head straight into the workforce after graduating high school. Now that I was in my third year, the clock was no longer patient with me.
"Maybe I should try considering eating a peach," I murmured quietly to myself.
Despite being a girl, I had never eaten one.
To be honest, it was because my grandmother never trusted them, convinced those fruits were somehow suspicious despite their benefits for girls. Growing up around that belief, I had absorbed the same hesitation, along with my older sister.
"...."
The thought of my sister darkened my mood instantly.
She was still missing.
A victim of a Mato mishap. The authorities had already warned me that the chances of her being alive were slim.
Slim, perhaps.
But there was no world in which I would allow myself to give up hope of finding Aoba-nee.
As the bell signaled the end of the day, I let out a small groan and stretched my shoulders while our teacher exited the room. After a brief exchange with my friends, I slipped out of campus, already planning to unwind at the arcade before heading home.
"Oh yeah… I still haven't played the new GTA 6," I yawned, hands tucked into my pockets as I walked along the street.
Tomorrow was finally weekend, my golden window. Studying could wait until Sunday. It might come back to haunt me, sure, but I had long since mastered the art of last minute reading.
Final exams? No thanks.
Late night Ranked Matches? Now thats more like it.
Even though I had the latest console at home, I still preferred playing fighting games at the arcade. The atmosphere there carried something my bedroom could never replicate.
Right on cue, I arrived and stepped through the automatic doors.
Inside, the place buzzed with life. Students in the same uniform as mine filled the space, mixed with a handful of middle schoolers. Nearby, children clustered around the crane machines, their excitement glowing brightly enough to be contagious.
I watched them with quiet pity.
Sorry, little guys. Those claws were the most cruel scam ever engineered by mankind.
Walking past rows of blinking machines, I smirked as my gaze landed on the most glorious sight in the entire arcade. The one thing that never failed to lift my mood, no matter how many times I had already played it.
Street Fighter
"Your mama's home, baby!" I said excitedly, sliding into the seat and inserting my coins.
I might have been playing a lot of Tekken lately, but Street Fighter was a childhood companion I could never grow tired of. The memory of that absurd parry I once saw as a kid at the EVO tournament finals during that legendary Ken versus Chun-Li match, still lived rent-free in my head.
Anyway, time to turn my brain off and spam the hell out of Hadouken while maining Ryu. You call it zoning; I call it blasting the shit out of every enemy in sight for fun.
We are not the same.
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It was a bustling night outside after I finished and felt satisfied with my play. I had even beaten the guy who had offered me a friendly match. God, he was terrible with Dhalsim, but I kept that to myself and didn't say it out loud.
Forgetting to bring my earphones, I walked with no music in my ears.
Exhaling, I took a deep breath and gazed at the city lights around me, sinking into my own thoughts as the sounds of people gradually faded from my perception.
I realized now, as graduation approached, that I had no real ambition of my own. I had spent every day wasting my life on random things just to keep myself entertained.
Other than wanting to find my older sister and reunite with her, I was, honestly, a rather boring person.
At one point in the past, I had even considered joining the Defense Force in the near future if I decided to change my view on peaches, hoping at least to be useful—and, at the same time, to have a chance to search for my sister in Mato.
"I swear, I will find you, Aoba-nee," I said in a serious tone, my gaze fixed on the ground below, resolve burning in my eyes.
Feeling an itch in my eyes, I scratched both of them, trying to calm myself.
"Now, that's better," I muttered, opening my eyes—only to be struck by sheer disbelief at what greeted me.
Dear people,
Could someone explain this to me? Why had the buildings and people around me suddenly vanished? Why… why is this happening?
"Wow… what a wonderful place," I said with an almost innocent smile, though fog swirled around me under a bleak, oppressive sky. The ground showed no trace of green; only huge spikes and distant towers pierced the horizon.
I know.
I know it.
I am denying it.
I am being absolutely played by Destiny itself. If this is its way of telling me to find my sister… then… fuck this shit.
I'm actually in Mato.
I panicked immediately, snatching up my phone, relieved that there was a signal. I frantically searched Gogolo for what to do if I ended up in Mato.
"This is real, not some hypothetical scenario!" I shouted at the AI, slamming my frustration at its useless responses—endless platitudes that meant nothing.
I could only hope the Defense Force would actually come to my aid, unlike this worthless piece of garbage.
"Huh?"
Confused, I glanced down at the ground near me. It was cracking, splitting at an alarming pace, before something burst out.
A muscular figure emerged, its body veined and tense, wearing a mask twisted with rage. I froze, shaking my head in disbelief.
It was a Shuuki, its gaze locked onto me as it advanced.
"HAAAAAA!"
I screamed, launching my legs with everything I had. Adrenaline surged, pushing me beyond my limits as I fought to escape this nightmare.
𝕁𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕡𝕙 𝕁𝕠𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣'𝕤 𝕊𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥 𝕄𝕠𝕧𝕖!!!
"FUCKING RUN!!!"
I ran without minding the direction, without strategy, driven by a single, desperate instinct: get the hell out, escape whatever horrors were chasing me.
Staying physically active was proving to be a blessing in my current predicament. I had stamina to spare, yes, but I knew it was a resource that would not last forever.
I did not know when it happened, but the Shuuki pursuing me began to multiply.
"Being caught in a Mato mishap was definitely not on my bingo list." I scowled, grinding my teeth in pure desperation as I struggled to catch my breath.
I had complained that my life was boring. This, however, was never the kind of ordeal I had wished for. There was no universe in which I wanted my story to end here.
I look back for a moment to see the ones horde behind me. The Shuukis on my tail were closing the distance at an alarming rate.
Damn it! I should have eaten a Peach. At least then I would have had something, anything, to defend myself with in this life-or-death situation. As they say, regret always arrives at the end, never at the beginning.
As if answering my pitiful prayer, a Shuuki suddenly lunged at me, aiming to tear me apart. Even as I kept running, curses spilled from my mouth, my mind clinging desperately to the hope that someone, anyone, would come to save me.
Then, just before its claws could reach me, another Shuuki crashed into it from the side. In an instant, the attacking creature was sliced into pieces, as though an invisible blade had passed through it.
"Are you okay?!"
A voice rang out, sharp with concern. I turned toward the source and saw her.
A silver-haired woman rode atop the Shuuki's back, her black uniform and cap immaculate despite the mess happening. A katana rested firmly in her hand, its edge gleaming with quiet menace.
Too stunned to speak, I nodded vigorously.
"Get on. Stay close to me!"
She extended her hand. I did not hesitate. Grabbing it, I pulled myself up behind her as the Shuuki surged forward.
"We don't have time for chatter, but let me at least tell you this…"
The woman smiled, glancing back at me over her shoulder.
"My name is Uzen Kyouka, Chief of the 7th Squad of the Anti-Demon Force. Though, you can just call me Kyouka." She said in a confident tone "Rest assured, I will save you."
Her smile carried an unshakable will. In the same breath, her blade flashed, cleanly beheading a Shuuki that dared approach.
In that moment, I nearly felt the urge to worship the goddess who had descended from the heavens to shield me with her divine protection.
This woman possessed a killer presence, both literally and metaphorically. Without question, she ranked among the three most beautiful women I had ever seen in my entire life.
Looking ahead, I saw a swarm of Shuukis rushing straight toward us.
"Dodge!" Kyouka shouted to the Shuuki she was riding, but the warning came a heartbeat too late. A hostile Shuuki collided with it, killing it instantly.
I felt my body jolt as Kyouka leapt from the collapsing creature, dragging me with her. We landed hard on the ground, surrounded, right in the middle of the enemy horde.
"That one was far too weak," Kyouka muttered with a frown, gently setting me down.
Shuukis closed in from every direction. Panic clawed at my throat. I was about to say something, anything, but Kyouka calmly pulled a slip of paper from her pocket.
"A talisman?" I asked, startled, my eyes fixed on it.
I only know them from playing way too many RPG games.
"Yes," she replied casually, unfazed by the encroaching Shuukis.
She flicked the talisman downward. The moment it touched the ground, a barrier shimmered into existence around us. The Shuukis slammed against it, snarling and clawing, yet none could penetrate the wall, no matter how violently they tried.
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Kyouka POV
I stared at my hand and slowly curled it into a fist, my gaze shifting to the girl standing beside me.
"What's your name?" I asked
She blinked, then pointed at herself.
"Me? My name is Yuko. Wakura Yuko."
"Do you have any abilities, Yuko?"
At my question, she shook her head without hesitation. That made things significantly worse—for her and, by extension, for me.
The barrier surrounding us was beginning to crack under the relentless assault of those annoying bastards outside. Fine fractures spread like spiderwebs across its surface. Himari and Shushu were occupied with the gate that had opened ahead, which meant we were on our own.
I could cut down the Shuuki here without much trouble. Protecting a civilian at the same time, however, would complicate things in this already precarious situation due to the absurd amount of enemies waiting to pounce on us.
"That idiot is late," I muttered under my breath, then quickly shook my head as if to physically rid myself of the thought.
Why am I even expecting him to show up? Don't be ridiculous, Kyouka. He's just an outsider.
"It's that Kamen Rider's fault," I groaned, scratching my head.
Yuko stared at me, clearly bewildered by my self-directed ranting. This was going to sound strange—insane, even—but I didn't have the luxury of options.
"Yuko," I said, turning to her, "do you want to help me fight off these Shuuki?"
Her eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly.
"Of course! But there's no way I can! I'm just an average girl!"
I chuckled softly.
"Don't worry. I have something that might help you."
I had never tried it on a human before—only on Shuuki. This would be the first time. My ability allowed me to enhance the strength of those I formed a contract with. It was risky, but it might work.
"What is it?" she asked.
I gave her a small smile and placed my hands gently on her shoulders.
"Become my slave."
"…Eh?"
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Author's Note:
Yes, this is final. I made Yuuki female, and I shamelessly admit that I don't regret it in the slightest.