novelAoba / Preparedness and Loss
| ← Ch.181 | Ch.183 → |
Translator: Ranzan
Electronic lights intersected.
Crack! The sight of fireworks and sharp sounds of explosion.
Hera slapped away the short sword and flew of toward the direction of tomorrow.
「...it...was hit. 」
「Why?」
「Because there's something physically in the way of the knife?」
「Ah. 」
Taiyou realized, as he reacted to Aoba's words.
Hera could only be seen or touched by Taiyou and those that he had kissed. Nothing from his experience had ever seen different, and there was no way that there were exceptions.
Except this time, with this broken short sword.
This was a real thing, Tsubaki had ordered it, and the girl in the hospital gown had held it.
Of course, the girl in white could see it, touch it...and attack with it.
Taiyou then asked her,
「What did that look like to you?」
「A brok-en sword, flew. 」
「I see...」
「Hey, Shiro...」
「No-t...my name. 」
She said with a shake of her head and a wavering voice.
She still had the pro wrestling mask on her head. With her knee length black gothic Lotita dress and her long white hair, the mask on her face stood out in total incongruity.
Still, she had all those things on.
「Mask...the Third. 」
「Yes. 」
She responded with a nod. Taiyou continued with,
「...please, stop that crap with the Mask. 」
「But hourly pay...」
「I'll pay whatever you want to stop!」
They continued on with their familiar banter.
Before, Taiyou had repaid 10 million yen, but he still had the money he owed her.
Even so, Taiyou had made the quick decision.
「I under...stand. 」
She nodded and turned towards Hera.
She placed her hand on the plain-wood sheathed national treasure 「Gyakuten」.
Hera flew towards them, as the red flash ignored her and flew towards Taiyou.
「Jizai. 」
She whispered to herself, but it was pronounced clearly unlike her usual halting speech.
「Hakutei-hachirin. 」
With a calm spirit, she took the large sword and the broken magical sword and flung them at Hera.
Crack, came a sound. Both swords were flung to the ground. Like skipping stones, they bounced along the ground and flew.
Attack...and pursuit.
They seemed to disappear, but after the bound the went in pursuit of Hera, appearing on the other side. At an unreal speed they flew, and in the same way attempted to slash at Hera, who then blocked them away. They took the same position again, and Hera slapped them away the same.
Clank! Clink! Clank! They made sounds reminiscent of a metronome.
The white girl continued with it.
A solitary rally.
A scene where she was the player, and Hera, it seemed, was the tennis ball.
「Hah!」
A shrieking attack cry with a slashing cut.
If almost to do a finishing move Hera took the sword and slapped it quickly to the ground.
The fairy-obsessed swords now moved differently, this time instead of bouncing simply sinking into the ground.
「How was...that?」
Mask the Third asked while walking slowly back to them.
She asked in her characteristically halting way of speaking.
「Wow! ...was that your shadow attack?」
「N...no...」
「Just admit it! It definitely was your shadow attack!」
Taiyou thought it was slightly different than the shadow attack she had used before, but he thought it was pointless to talk about.
He thought about what they should do about Hera. The main culprit in this had to be the sword.
「Maybe we should pick up the broken sword. 」
「I'll...try...」
「Please. 」
「Ah...」
She calmly walked towards Hera, but then stopped.
The red fairy slowly flew up from the place where the sword was stuck in the ground.
She stopped in the sky, and then a strange transformation occurred.
The sword rose slowly and seemed to melt while being absorbed into her body.
「Unification...」
The words suddenly were clear to a gamer like Taiyou.
A magical sword that tried to destroy one's fate, an unhuman fairy, and the scene that just unfolded in front of them.
Unification was the word appropriate in this situation.
「Hera-chan...」
「What did you see?」
「No-thing...it dis-appeared...」
She then ground her teeth.
The one joker card of a sword had now filled Taiyou's joker card completely.
「I...am...Taiyou-chan's...I am...」
The red fairy seemed to meander in the air like a lost ghost.
Then the white girl flew from the side.
「May-be...here?」
A flash of light.
The opposite of her words occurred, as she went right through the body of Hera combined with the sword.
It was an attack of unparalleled accuracy, as like before, she had estimated Hera's location from where Taiyou was gazing at.
She tried to grab Hera, but she wasn't able to grasp this fairy that broke the laws of physics.
With nothing in hand, the white girl jumped from the ground and landed next to Taiyou.
Hera simple approached them as if nothing had happened.
「Couldn't...do it. 」
「I saw. 」
He clenched his teeth.
「Now...what?」
「Natsuno-kun, if you stay that close, she'll get you. 」
「...」
He ground his molars in vexation.
Instantly several things filled him mind...or rather...images.
When both Mask the Third or Shirokiyami arrived, after thinking of all the possibilities, meant that no other reinforcements would come.
There was no other opponent that would face him in his life. At least not in his consciousness.
On the other hand, Hera was fluttering nearer to him. She emitted a strange red light and she had broken wings and a look of exhaustion about her.
Shirokiyami wasn't able to damage her with 「Hakutei-hachirin」, but the exchange had tired the fairy.
It seemed he could defeat Hera in one full powered punch, if he wanted.
If he made the decision, it would be over in a punch.
However, that would mean her would lose her.
In exchange for a very, very important person, he could end it all right now.
If there was no way Shirokiyami could do this...then Taiyou, would make the decision.
Means...for goals.
His goal was to protect the women that had become his wives.
Hera wasn't one of those wives. She was important, but she wasn't one of them.
Now that he was faced with an ultimate choice, he would have to sacrifice Hera.
He understood the logic...and suppressed his emotions.
(Sorry. )
He looked at Hera and said a silent apology.
Looking around, he felt his own blood chill.
He had made the ultimate decision already.
He squeezed his hand into a fist, and took a step.
Suddenly, he heard the sound Shlink.
The sound of the white girl sheathing her sword, as Taiyou made his decision, and her sword was sheathed.
He turned sideways and their eyes met.
At that moment, another possibility filled his mind.
He hesitated once more in thought.
Means...for goals.
As the thought came to him, he quickly again made his decision.
What he would lose would be just as big, but he would have to take it.
He decided, opened his fist, and turned sideways.
「What is...it?」
The girl turned her head in puzzlement.
Her special way of speaking, and wondrous beauty.
Taiyou simply looked straight ahead.
He took a deep breath, and extended his arms.
Almost like a scene from a silent movie.
Like something already decided, he touched the girl's mask, and softly peeled it off.
Shirokiyami's confusion led to her reaction being a second too slow.
He then...kissed her.
Just like pushing replay, he kissed her once again.
She was completely lost. Her look that this was impossible covered her face.
He felt his chest throb painfully. A forceful kiss, stolen lips.
(I wonder if she hates me...she has to hate me for this. )
He silently laughed to himself, and closed his eyes.
The first kiss of his beloved girl was tantalizing and yet heartrending.
| ← Ch. 181 | Ch. 183 → |