.....
It had been a fine morning on the day of the incident.
My mood had been made optimistic by certain omens, like Masato barreling into breakfast with one of Rin's cats dangling off his ear, and the impromptu battle which transformed into a three-way tag-team battle royal between Rin, Masato, Kengo, Riki, Kudo and Haruka that became so intense it actually summoned half the school and eventually the disciplinary committee.
There was a permanent grin plastered to my face. I felt that nothing could go wrong.
I'd sidestepped my duties at school, perhaps to my own detriment in this world. But I decided that it didn't matter – as long as I was able to solve the issue and put everything back the way they were, I would be fine.
Everything had been peaceful in the city.
Until everything wasn't.
It was a...
I recognized it now. It seemed that fear at its sudden arrival, or more perhaps the shock of a Wanderer actually materializing in front of me, had paralyzed my brain for a moment.
But, as I dashed to the safety of a nearby shop, pushing my way past frantic people running to and fro or standing numbly in awe, I remembered myself.
When I looked back out under the awning, something clicked in my brain.
Ah, it's The Immortal.
It was a hero straight from the pages of a mecha-lover's mind.
Part-human, part iron.
A slender figure wrapped in a sleek, unpretentious metal frame.
No weapons were said to visibly bristle from its figure, but the threat of total annihilation for the "enemies of injustice" was all the same supremely palpable.
It was the only Wanderer said to be able to accomplish flight.
(Which was odd, since in my opinion the most important superhero power I'd want would be flight).
Like all Wanderers, it hid its real identity behind a mask, and the secrecy was afforded by the plain grey visor set into its face, with a small narrow horizontal slit in the middle allowing it to see.
A constant, low thrum accompanied its movements, and my ears throbbed unpleasantly at the constant sound as The Immortal descended further and further down on the street.
Couldn't that stupid handler given me a more low-level Wanderer to encounter? This was like a foolish "hopeles, unwinnable beginning" scenario!
Not long after touching down on the asphalt with the grace of a dancer, Immortal spoke.
"Natsume Kyousuke. Identify and present yourself," it said in a low, bass monotone. My heart stilled for a second before adrenaline started to pour blood into every part of my body. "Repeating: Natsume Kyousuke. Identify and present yourself..."
Some foul plot no doubt, from the manipulator of this world. For why would they seek me from the start? At least I knew now they were aware of me, and knew of my role to some extent. But what did were they plotting?
The automaton-like Wanderer continued to repeat its message, even as the remaining crowd began backing away and scattering. I began considering my options. Go or abstain, there was a risk either way.
Unfortunately, the latter was decided for me quickly.
A student, someone who'd apparently become a truant like me, pointed at me from outside in the street. "Hey, Natsume-senpai. Are you the one Immortal's looking for?"
What the? Every eye in earshot swiveled to me, and I stood as an animal frozen in the headlights for a quick moment, before instincts kicked in and I began to dash into a side-door, and out onto a crowded side-street. Convenient.
That student back there had also been convenient for the mastermind, if it wasn't just coincidence.
My hope that the Immortal hadn't heard that big-mouthed student was dashed when I heard the tell-tale whoosh and hum of its suit from behind me. I dodged and dived past amazed pedestrians as I set off on a frantic pace, unsure if flight was really the best option.
"Identifying individual as Natsume Kyousuke... 75.99% bio-scan match. Logging Hunter routine. Immortal in pursuit."
What the hell was with this scenario? Was the new handler making me up to be some kind of criminal? And to top it off, the first thing they send after me isn't just some random Wanderer, but a Hero arguably considered to be the best.
Most fans agreed it was THE best.
Perfect day my ass!
The sense of incompatibility assailed me again as I ran, but this time I was quick on the uptake. After turning the corner, I saw that everyone on the street had disappeared. Damn it. It was slightly unnerving to be on the receiving end of these kinds of tricks.
Immortal hadn't disappeared. I slowed to a halt, turning around to see its frame coast majestically to a stop in midair, and then glide down with the reserved finesse of a... of a...
An angel?
If that was so, then is Kyousuke a devil?, asked a little voice in my mind.
It alighted again a few feet in front of me. The whole street was utterly desolate save for the two of us, the bustle that I'd just speared my way through seemed like a dream half-forgotten upon waking.
All the figurines and gripper sets that I'd seen didn't do justice to the real thing that stood in front of me. Up close, I was able to see the Immortal with much greater detail.
When I read those superhero types of mangas, I'm always amazed at how obtuse some of the people in there are. How can they not tell that the person with a.) almost the same body figure, b.) almost the same voice, c.) almost the same hairstyle and haircolor, couldn't possibly be a person they know most? Perhaps that is a part of the story's appeal. I mean, it did appeal to me.
From what I could see of the Immortal, it looked to be a girl. No, not just because it had a slender figure, but also because it had those metallic breastpads flanking a heart-shaped red, jewel-like object. Now tell me those "elevations" weren't hiding breasts. I know breasts – it's something of a specialty of mine.
It is the lack of it which activates-
-The LoliLoli Sensor!
Let me explain! The Sensor is a secret forbidden technique that was passed down to each firstborn son of the Natsume line, to be used for the tracking and/or locating of possible spies/ninjas who knew how to disguise themselves as small, innocent Lol-
Stop getting sidetracked on useless things!
Ahem. Returning to the present.
So, Immortal's alter-ego was definitely a girl. I hoped that information would help in the future.
Immortal had, by the way, been talking all this time. I'd been listening with half an ear, mainly understanding that she was talking about "unwanted presence" and "exterminating hostiles"-
Wait, exterminating?
Uh-oh.
The Immortal had raised both its arms, palms facing me.
I heard the whirring of an engine and the scratching of static.
A sky-blue glow began to emit from those hands.
I think I could guess what would come out of those.
...the Immortal also has a secondary attack using its arms. It's a laser beam straight out of sci-fi, but it carries the traditional trademark of the Immortal's, namely...
My hands shook as the glow focused into twin, sphere-shaped energies-
...it never leaves a single trace of the victim. No body parts nor hair nor clothing nor even dust...
I'm dead.
So ends the ballad of Natsume Kyousuke, he who was hunted by the strongest, The Immortal.
(Well, I would have died, in any case. )
But I just didn't know what awaits "death" in this world.
I've always been touchy about that sort of thing.
Would I respawn at the closest spawn point like Saya?
Would this Immortal have reason to spawn camp me on orders of her sinister Master?
Or would I simply disappear, forgotten by all and remembered by none, not even Riki, or Rin.
Just like Saya.
At the thought of those two, a traitorous tear began to fall, in the milliseconds before laser death would obliterate my bodily existence.
I'd just realized, near the end of my world, how much I'd failed them.
The light was so strong now, so bright if engulfed my vision.
At the very least, it wouldn't hurt-
"Duck, you useless man!"
I'd barely heard the command in my ear before I was literally yanked down by the back of my uniform, and a gust of air whizzed past, each part of my body feeling its every whisper as it travelled.
Not soon after, there was a explosion.
It was loud and deafening, and I would've been worried about being close to it, but for the fact that I was currently being dragged backward unceremoniously on the ground. It hurt like hell, especially since my scalp and skin were scraping up a campfire against the concrete.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" I shouted, saying what was the most appropriate in this situation. "I can still walk!"
"Hush. This way is faster. You'd be killed if you just stood and ran. Better to let high-flying objects fly past while you're low on the ground, as I'm sure you know well." As it spoke, a rocketed projectile zoomed past my vision, making me cross-eyed. Soon came another explosion.
"Hey, I recognize that voice. It's Shigeki, isn't it?" My field of vision had transformed from the deceptively peaceful sky to the marble ceiling of some building.
I heard a sigh. "Since I just saved you, you should be calling me 'Shi-sama' from now on."
"You've gotta be kidding me! What- ow!" My head had bumped onto something.
"-the hell is- ow!" I then realized my head had bumped onto stairs of some sort. And it kept on bumping onto thbe steps as I was dragged upward.
"ow! -going- ow! -on? -ow! Ow! Tell me!"
"Hush, I said." I felt the sensation of the invisible hand on my back disappear as the dragging motion ceased. Shigeki's face suddenly filled my vision. "Better to be at the ringside seat than at the ring itself, am I right? Less chance of your losing a head. And now we go and seek a better view."
"Ringside...?" Since there was nothing holding me back anymore, I rose to my feet. I saw that the two of us were inside an elevator, and I could just see the entrance outside where concrete literally exploded upward for a moment before the elevator door closed.
A silence filled the closed space. The adrenaline hadn't left, but I was still tense.
I frowned back at the masked visage of "Shi-chan".
"I know you've got answers."
"Didn't I just mention in my first meeting that the wise man knows when to realize he doesn't have answers?"
"Are you the mastermind?"
"I am -a- mastermind of sorts, yes, but I'm guessing that's not the specific meaning you wanted."
The car's movement stopped. The elevator door dinged open, and I flinched at the sound of another explosion. It was like war had broken loose within the city, right outside on the street.
Shigeki strode past me, stepping out onto the floor landing and heading for the wide glass windows on the far end. Her cloak seemed longer, or perhaps it was the effect of the long shadow the sunlight cast.
My feet urged me to follow, and I did.
Presently I heard a voice echo from down below. I squinted through the glass, seeing a lone figure (which was not Immortal anymore) standing before a scene of destruction.
A crumpled-looking car lay to the side, both halves torn cleanly apart as if by a blade. Smoke drifted up from numerous craters, small and big, that had been dug up from the street. Fire had broken out, inexplicably, on one side of the street. And if I guessed correctly, it was right at the entrance of that building.
I realized that the figure down there had been the one speaking.
"...Maiden of Earth, Daughter of the Cosmos! Order, justice and truth for all! Galaxy Buster One: Redshift!"
"Galaxy Buster?" I mouthed the words. That was a well-known Wanderer. They were like a super-team of sorts. A group of two...or had that been three?
"Oh, you know of them already? That one's always useful, compared to- well I won't mention it right now," said Shigeki.
Guessing further, it seemed that Galaxy Buster had just attacked the Immortal, who was nowhere in sight. And that meant some sort of Wanderer showdown, virtually unheard of even in the most perverse of fansites, was happening.
And I would be the first to see it.
So the question now was-
"What's... going on...?" I asked, and looked to Shigeki.
I didn't know what kind of expression she was making, which was part of the reason I didn't like her from the start. And the lack of emotion in her voice lent to the impassivity of her character, which didn't tell me jack shit about her.
"That's a very good question, Natsume Kyousuke. They say the best questions are the ones left unanswered, but as of the moment you met The Immortal, I am confident in saying that right now-"
I heard a loud whirr, like the shearing of steel against steel, and from out of the corner of my eye I saw movement.
At the end of the street, on the bottom of a building were gathered pieces of junk and rubble.
The pile moved, and in a burst of light, was blown away.
The Immortal, relatively unscathed, emerged with an eerie robotic grace. It approached the Galaxy Buster purposefully.
The telltale hum assaulted my ears once more. I hadn't realized it had stopped.
The two faced each other down from both ends of the street, and even I, the bystander, could tell they were each poised to strike.
"Deactivating Hunter routine," said the Immortal in a quiet monotone. "Logging Killer routine: version one. Adjusting Overdrive parameter to 15%. Attenuation complete. No errors found. All systems clear. Beginning combat maneuvers, ten, nine-"
Next to me, without mirth nor malice nor even a hint of disinterest, Shigeki proclaimed: "-right now, you're about to see a battle of the titans."