For the first time I managed to sleep without any visions. I woke up in cold sweat again in a random room and looking at the ceiling. It was already sunset and I was looking at a wooden ceiling shined with orange light. I sat up and started to stretch as Mr. Williams was watching the windows while Rebecca's was at the front door. Tyrell on the other hand was at a corner sleeping with a modified slingbow. That itself was something that I didn't expect from him. Tyrell comes to and noticed me awake. "Guys! Rin's up!" Tyrell alerts everybody. All turn to me and come to my aid. "What happened?" Mr. Williams asked. "I got worn out after using that spell. What happened when I was out?" I asked.
"We had to get you out of there when the riot came. That magic caused quite a stir. Looks like nobody knew where the barrier came from, even to say that maybe even Izanagi himself did a miracle." Mr. Williams told me.
"I even went back to the scene and most of the people arrested were part of UTU. But it looks like that Randy guy isn't one of them." Rebecca added.
"You didn't need to do that, you know." Tyrell put out.
"If I didn't I wouldn't be able to get my things from the storage. We needed to put Rin under the radar, remember?" Rebecca defended herself.
It looked like my time being frozen affected the amount of incantation seen to use the barrier charm. I would get the spell would be incomprehensible for a spell like this to exist but for it to be a miracle sounded like nonsense. But if the only part seen was the spell being activated did make a lot of sense. I would wanna say something but I would just wanna leave it to like that. Control of time and space is beyond my understanding. I like the time travel aspect as much as the next guy but I'm no physicist. Just like that somebody knocks at the door. Outside was Gram, Richard, and Magna. "Bout time you guys showed up." Rebecca ranted. "How's it going?" Gram asked.
"Nothing, all of us just assembled for the meeting." Magna said.
"So...we're not meeting up at Hanami?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Well not this time. It looks like we're on full alert with that new bill UTU wanted and the guildmasters meeting. We figured it might be best to keep you at another secluded location for now." Richard said.
"So this bill...is it gonna happen?" Tyrell asked.
"It's highly unlikely but not impossible." Richard says, "But with that fight you stopped, I doubt it."
"What fight?" Gram asked.
"Rin put a large scale barrier out of nowhere without delay. I'm kinda surprised." Richard said.
"Really? And how high is this barrier?" Magna asked.
"Around thirty-two feet, give or take...." Richard guessed.
Gram, and Magna reacted out of surprise. They thought Richard was joking but can tell the guy was serious. "A mass scale barrier spell without incantation? That is odd." Gram agreed.
"Paper charms do have their glyphs written on them already. All they need is chi to activate them." I denied.
"But I didn't see you throw a charm like that. How did you manage to throw it without detection?" Richard asked.
"Yeah. It just appeared like a shining light." Rebecca agreed.
"...I don't know...even I can't explain it." I answered.
Magna then goes up to me and summons a crystal ball. He looks at my face through the object. The orc looked satisfied after seeing her findings. "It looks like Rin's magic skill increased. Even if I cannot see neither his chi and Mana flow, it looks like he managed to gain the Magus Eye." Magna told them.
"The magus eye? But that's a rare skill for even skilled magi to gain." Gram told him.
"I know it sounds impossible but it looks like we can barely call him mortal now. Look through the orb." Magna insisted.
Gram and Magna look closely through the other near my face. With a little deliberation outside they managed to reach a verdict. "Yes… it is Magus eyes. And a high level one to boot." Gram confirmed.
"What is a magus eye? Some of us are mortal here." Rebecca asked.
"It's a rare ability that allows to see the energy in the world. It allows a person to see the ley lines and mana flowing within the earth. But since Rin's is far advanced that it can see the chi being stored within individuals." Gram explained.
"It's true. Some magic users have a magus eye but I can only see mana. I'm kinda surprised that Rin managed to get a hold of a rare ability." Magna admitted.
"Normally those with the magus eye can do spells that require lack of incantation and use spells that become twice as powerful." Gram said.
"Then why is it that even if he became stronger, Rin fainted once he managed to execute it?" Mr. Williams asked.
"Well remember, Rin was Terran so he doesn't have the endurance like most magic users like those of Aria." Richard reminded us.
"But this does bring up another issue." Magna put out.
"What would that be?" Richard asked.
"The fact that how is Rin not dead yet if he managed to use a mass range spell as a newbie Terran magic user." Magna put out.
It looked like Gram and Magna were at the same page. It did make sense since Magna and Gram came from Aria. But they were the magic experts here so I didn't really mind. "So...What do you mean nobody knows why Rin isn't dead?" Mr. Williams asked.
"You got to remember mana and chi are different in many ways." Gram says, "Mana is based on the world's energy, chi is a living organism's energy. And for Rin to use his own life force… it kinda brings a lot of questions on how is Rin still alive."
"Well demonfolk have longer lifespans so it kinda makes sense." Richard said.
"And there is the fact that I was studying his magic when he first used it. Maybe all those spells have him a bit practice." Mr. Williams added.
"Still. Being reliant to those onmyoudou spells may cost you a lot of chi. And those herbs Richard gave you last time can't really suffice. We might as well come up with a solution for that." Magna said.
"My guess is that we might as well need to figure out a way for Rin to regain his chi and make him get used to magic." Richard said.
"Is there really a way to regain a person's life force?" Mr. Williams asked.
"There is, just by eating but think of the body as a paper cup. Even if you fill it up, the more you try to reuse it, the weaker the cup gets. So our best guess is to also refortify Rin's body as well." Gram said.
"Yeah but we're dealing with a different case altogether, Gram. We should have a professional to take care of this." Magna disagreed.
"But we're all he's got. It's gonna be harder to keep this secret closed since he's becoming the glitch of the game." Richard said.
"But how is this a big deal? Surely Rin just gained a new ability but why hide it even more?" Rebecca asked.
"It's because the Magus eye can also be used to detect magic crystals and ore. Since those stones absorb mana like batteries, they're highly sought for. Worst case scenario is that if people found out that Rin has a high level ability, he's gonna put against his will and make him become a bloodhound for magic crystals." Gram told them.
Gram saying that was kinda morbid, but then again that's the reason why I'm still alive. I let it sink in for a moment but eventually I became terrified. My face was white as a sheet and I didn't know what to do. "Rin can be read like book sometimes..." Tyrell mumbled. "Can't be helped either way...looks like his god gave him the princess role." Rebecca said.
"Yeah...I really had my doubts when Ebisu and the Norms insight Rin would need extra protection with him becoming more powerful. But looks like the gods made me wrong yet again." Richard put out.
The three of them started to laugh. But it then sunk in with Rebecca and Tyrell once they realized what just passed their ears. They then got a grip on Richard's clothes and started shaking him. "What the hell Richard?! Why did you leave out that one important detail?!" Tyrell exclaimed.
"Stop shaking me like that! How was I supposed to know that was a big deal?!" Richard stuttered.
"Knowing your friend is the ultimate get rich quick scheme to the point it might kill him IS AN EXTREMELY BIG DEAL! DOES IT LOOK LIKE WE WANT RIN TO BECOME THE NEXT MADEA FOR THE NEXT GENERATIONS OF JASON!!!" Rebecca over exaggerated.
"Give me a break! I didn't think it was going to be that much of bit deal!" Richard said.
"OF COURSE IT'S A BIG DEAL! HE'S NOW MIDAS ON STEROIDS!" The both of them shouted.
"Alright! Alright! Let go of me before I started puking! I just ate!" The man shouted.
While Richard was arguing with the two girls it looks like Gram and Magna were having a conversation of their own. "So...this is gonna be our usual from here on huh?" Gram asked Magna.
"I'm pretty used to it. At least I don't have to do anything about it." Magna replied.
"Eeehhh? Why the nonchalant reply?"
"Richard's a bigger hassle alone."
"All this magic stuff is gonna increase my blood pressure. But I'm not worrying about Rin and women." Mr. Williams said.
"Ehh...? Why not? Isn't he your friend?" Gram asked the man.
"I don't wanna mention it but it's there at the lines." He replied.
Hearing this with my demon senses felt embarrassing. A bland doubtful stare fit my face. "You know I can hear the three of you, right?" I told them. The three of them were in shock and started to whistle. My stomach started to growled. I guess that's what happens if I miss lunch. I remembered that I had some chips in my bag. There was no point in asking anybody. Tyrell and Rebecca were still giving a talking to Richard. Then Gram, Magna, and Mr. Williams went back to talking. But before I can even eat there was the issue of what to do now. So I clapped my hands to get some attention. "There's still the other issue I wanna point out. How am I supposed to get stronger now?" I ask frantic, "I can't just practice 'my' form of magic anywhere! Like you guys said, I'm practically a walking goldmine now!"
"Relax, as long as you don't use it in public I think you're fine. We just need to use it outside. I train at the afternoon with magic outside the walls, you're free to join if you like." Richard offered.
"You do realize this guy is a citizen, right?" Gram pointed out.
"Okay...things just got even more complicated then...I can't believe no forgot about that…" Richard took back his statement.
"Well… that isn't even the biggest issues I have to point out today." I interrupted them.
I then go to talk about my recent past life, Kenshin. There I discuss about what I knew about him so far and why it is important to gain him memories. It being, the source of my headaches happen to be the recalling of past memories and there being a purpose of which they should be obtained. After a few world war two stories, we were able to come up with a solution. "So what you're trying to say is that you need to know this Furukizu guy and you need Kenshin's help for it.?" Gram tried to confirm.
"Yeah. It looks like my recent past life had memories of his previous reincarnations. It is really the reason why I was able to use my Magus eye." I tell them, "Yet I'm wondering the use of them. But he only comes when I'm recalling memories... It really is a mixed bunch."
"Hmm… this past life...you said you were a Japanese soldier at world war two right?" Richard asked.
"That's what I'm not sure of… I've seen him wear both an American and Japanese world war two uniforms. It's hard to point out which side he is but I'm sure he's Japanese." I replied.
"Reincarnations often recall their memories by the focus of which their memories come from. So all we have to do is focus on exposing him to experiences related to his memories." Gram pointed out.
"Then that means we need to drag him into war." Mr. Williams points out.
"Where are we even supposed to point a war? Unless you haven't noticed, it's hard to find a war in a middle of an apocalyptic dystopia." Rebecca asked.
"Either way. It's a warzone even outside the area. Like remember when we came here? That on its own felt like an invasion." Tyrell added.
But just by hearing that Richard twitched his ears. His eyebrows raised as became up with an idea. I do know that silly look at his face when he was Sakamoto. "Magna, let's roll. I got an idea." He told his orc companion. "What's the plan?" Magna asked. Richard then yanks his arm and insisted Magna to get on his feet. "I'll explain on the way. For now let's talk about it while we order dinner." Richard told Magna.
"What about the meeting?" Tyrell asked.
"Just keep guard for now." Richard says, "I'll pay for the bill for overnight. Make sure Rin gets some well deserved sleep. We'll meet at Hanami at noon. I'll get into details by noon."
With a slam of the door I was left alone with the rest of the group. My stomach started to growl. It was only there that I realized that I haven't eaten since breakfast. "You need to keep up your strength if you wanna still use chi magic." Magna instructs me, "Meaning no forms of magic until you get some rest."
"You do realize me sleeping is almost the same thing as being awake, right?" I muttered.
"Quit complaining! At least be happy you got the day off!" The orc ranted.
"Alright...how about Richard and Magna will get you guys food. The rest of you just remain guards, my treat." Gram offered.
"Is it alright? I can pay for my meal." I politely decline.
"Consider it a reward for a while ago. We may not know how you pulled it off but thanks for letting your arm out." The lizard appreciated.
Those last words made me feel awkward. I didn't know what to feel. I was left speechless. If I were honest here I wasn't one to get a favor. All I did was just follow the instructions of Kenshin. But remembering him ticks me off a little. To get myself off of the thought, I decided to get out of my bed and go for the water at the table. But as I got out of my bed, I tripped and fell on the floor. Everybody then attended towards me and help you up. They then lay me on my bed and tuck me in. "Your body isn't up to speed yet with all that magic you used." Gram tells me, "Chi affects the flow of your body so most likely your body is still disarray."
"For now just take it easy. Your new demon genes would take care of the rest. Right, Gram?" Mr. Williams directs to Gram.
"Yeah. Demonfolk have regenerative abilities. All we need to feed him is food either way." Gram agreed.
"Ehhh? It must be nice to be half something." Rebecca commented.
"I hear you. The dwarves have it good with their heat resistance and bulky appearance. I wouldn't mind being half of those if I didn't get burnt every time I'm working at the forge." Tyrell agreed.
"I think I rather prefer be human if I'm going to be weak like this all the time. Plus even if I can regenerate my health it doesn't mean that whatever injury doesn't affect me. It hurts to be shot, you know!" I complained.
"That's also a problem, since your body heals itself then your body is also using your stamina to regenerate. So no magic." Gram told me.
"Either way I don't really need to get up." I replied.
I then used my telekinesis to pour me some water with the jug in front of me. The glass then levitates towards me then in my hand. Everybody's jaws drop. It was only there I realized that I haven't told then about that part. "I forgot to tell you that most of my memories of magic and other paranormal stuff is done by the first incarnation of myself." I tell them, "It looks like he'll only make me remember now if I start recalling my World War Two life."
"Your first? Then how can you do that with other magic?" Mr. Williams asked.
"The world war two soldier past life is the wild card of the five. He pretty much does whatever he wants from here on." I replied.
"At least he made things kinda easier. Maybe you'll get some kind of powerful spell from him." Tyrell said optimistically.
"I rather not. Recalling the First is like getting hit with a sledgehammer. So I'm better off getting what I can from Kenshin before recalling that guy." I replied.
"Still... there's still the Ninja past life, remember?" Mr. Williams pointed out.
"Yeah...I was only able to recall Hijikata and Chiron easily because I already knew about them in history and mythology. But the other three including Kenshin might as well be people who weren't mentioned at all in history. In fact they're a mystery all together." I answered.
"It can't be helped. Not everything recorded was mentioned in history." Tyrell uttered.
"Still, it would be nice if we had a clue of what was happening at that time. Too bad we don't have the internet." Rebecca said.
"It's not like all the soldiers of the military have a record of all the soldiers died at that war. All the more with a guy who played both sides. Let's just take what we have with my memories and see what we can do." I suggested.
"Are you sure? Those memories are taking a toll at your body. Plus you're not exactly top-notch when it comes to memory syncing now." Tyrell told me.
"It's not like I have a choice here. Getting tapped into even the personas of your previous past lives may give memories that might make it beneficial. Sometimes even seeing your former selves is a blessing all together." I implied.
"But if you were even able to meet your past selves face to face... wouldn't that mean your body is taking a toll on its own?" Rebecca asked.
"I don't know." I bluntly answer, "All I could say is magic is all about cause and effect. In order to obtain something, you must pay the price as collateral...well that's what the guildmaster of Hunter's Fangs said."
"Really? I thought of him more of a hunter rather than a magician. Yet I wonder why it doesn't say his class in his trading card." Tyrell added.
"Well Oliver is a powerful underground Freelancer. It's no surprise there that he doesn't want to reveal his class to the public." I answered.
"It goes the same for my guildmates at my guild. Even if some of them can't use magic, some of them have trade secrets that can take down a ten elephants. Heck some of us aren't even hunters. In fact, some of them are under gods that exist in other pantheons." Mr. Williams added.
"All the more Oliver wouldn't even share about himself. He's allied to Loki and the god gave him a boatload of spells for kicks." I said.
"Eh…? What do you mean 'for kicks'?" Rebecca asked.
"Loki is the god of mischief so screwing with people must be his forte." Mr. Williams points out.
"Yep. That's a god of mischief for you. Probably he gave Oliver his power to screw with his daily life within the capital." I implied.
"So...that means UTU is always after him." Tyrell added.
"Hm. He's really no different than me other than the reason why his power was given." I said.
"But he is still Terran. I'd say you have the upper hand if you use all your abilities." Mr. Williams said.
"I'm not so sure about that. Oliver Sage might be a freelancer but he's already a rank four. Of all the people in the guild association, he's the most mysterious. Some even call him 'Wild Joker' for his random set of skills. Heck, it's pointless for UTU to even try since he's that powerful." Gram disagreed.
"Yet how do you know about that, Gram? I thought people barely knew about it." I asked.
"I stumbled upon him a couple of times whenever Oak Cinders needed hunters for high ranking monsters and rare variants. He's taken out a few S-rank monsters at his bingo book." Gram replied.
"Bingo book? What is he? A Hitman?" Tyrell asked out of curiosity.
"He plans strategically whenever he goes on hunts. Trust me, you don't wanna be at the other side of his sights." Gram warned.
"Either way I wouldn't even want to mess with someone who was able to put a knife through my arm." I agreed.
It took a moment for it to sink in. Eventually they gave me an awkward stare out of fear. I then signed. "I had to spar with him so he can give me permission to learn skills from Hunter's Fangs. Like it can be helped." I told them.
"But would that mean your cover's blown?" Tyrell asked.
"Not to worry. Lots of Terrans have acquired a healing factor once they came here. They're uncommon but not a big deal so he's fine." Gram assured.
"The bright side though is that now I can tear my barrier seal charms with telekinesis. Now I don't need to worry about leaving the barrier." I added.
"Yeah good thing. You would be another sty in UTU again." Rebecca agreed with a bit of sarcasm.
"Even if Rin was, I don't think any of his magic would benefit them; but then again I wouldn't be surprised if Rin was capable of doing so." Gram put out.
"Even I know I don't have the knowledge for that kind of stuff." I agreed.
Someone then goes knocking on our door. Gram opens the door and the two girls came in. Richard and Magna were bringing food in flat boxes. It can't be what I think it is, can it? "Sorry to keep you waiting guys. Luckily the kitchen downstairs wasn't closed." Magna apologized. "It's fine, it's a good thing that you joined us." Mr. Williams told her. Rebecca's nose then reacts funny. With a whiff of her nose she smelt something familiar. "Is that...melted cheese?" Rebecca asked. "Yep, flatbread pizzas, fresh from the oven." Richard said as she opened the box.
The smell was overwhelming as it swarmed throughout the room. It was intoxicating to get a whiff of a nostalgic aroma. All of us were salivating out of hunger. "How is this even possible? Pizza in front of us?" Tyrell asked out of confusion. "Lots of things are possible if you know where to find them." Richard told him.
"At first I didn't know that they even make this stuff here. Surprisingly lots of people started making their own thing." Magna agreed.
Me, Mr. Williams, Rebecca, and Tyrell were lost for words. It's been so long since we had some pizza. The one thing that we took for granted looked like the Holy Grail on top of the arc of the covenant. We were kinda hesitant at first but eventually my friends took the first slice. They were all in a sense of bliss as the taste danced in their mouths. Richard then gave me a slice with a napkin. At least I'm able to move my arms, or so I thought. As my body would put it, my arms became jittery and barely managed to get a grip. It felt like I was lifting twenty kilos. Oddly enough Rebecca noticed this. "How about I feed you for now?" Rebecca suggested. "I'm alright...I'm able to do it myself." I replied as I looked away. She then gets the pizza slice from me and puts it an inch near my mouth. "It's just for today, I'm okay with it either way." Rebecca egged me on. I was stubborn at first but eventually my stomach growled. I looked away and pouted but soon I took the first bite. I chewed slowly as my mouth was filled with ecstasy. "So how is it?" She asked. I looked away embarrassed as I was. All I can mumble with a nervous mouth was, "It's good." Rebecca smiled as I could be barely honest with myself. "You want some more?" She asked. I nodded my head and complied. Rebecca started to feed me little by little. As embarrassing as it was, it wasn't that bad. But as I was just gonna take the sixth bite, a flash of light shines at my face. It turns out to be Richard with her smartphone taking a photo of me and Rebecca. A candid shot of me being fed… who would have thought?
There it was again...that cheeky smile that I've known Richard for. Yet this was the same smile I've known Richard for when he was still Sakamoto Ryoma. That cannot be good. And as luck had to put it, I was kinda right. "I'm gonna send this to the guildmaster." Richard laughed. My face turns flustering red as almost everybody was clustering towards Richard's phone. "Delete that!" I shouted as red as a tomato. "Ehh? Why should I? You guys look cute with each other." Richard teased.
"Come on! Don't do this to me while I'm weak here!" I pleaded.
"I don't know, it does look like a good picture." Tyrell joined in the joke.
"Oh come on, Tyrell!" I moaned.
The scene ended with laughter. There was eating and drinking to go around that very room. However we ended the party a bit early as I needed the sleep. The red wine made me sleep better but I ended up waking at midnight. It was another vision again. This time I was at Pearl Harbor. I was there to get groceries at some public market. I was probably at my early twenties at a public market. I thought I was at peace at the moment until a whistling sound could be heard from above. I looked above and started running for my life. The object hit the stall nearest to me. As I thought this was a bomb. It didn't explode and I thought it was a dud. But there was a spinning and ticking sound coming from it. Soon I added the two together and I knew it was way worse. I ran my ass off but nine strides wasn't enough to avoid the explosion. The shockwave sent me flying but somehow I was able to survive. However another bomb dropped a few feet away from me. It was another delay bomb. I ran into the shop next to me and value over and under the counter. The next thing I knew the bomb exploded and debris started flying to the shop. A stall flew from outside the window and hit the wall behind me. The next thing I knew the stall then dropped on me after it hit the wall. And just like that the vision stops to show another setting.
I was in that bloody hallway again. The vision looked clearer now. It was full of dead students torn apart and still in their school uniforms. But walking towards me was Furukizu. With a touch of his finger at my forehead I screamed in pain as clusters of vague memories flowed. My head felt it was between a vice. I couldn't take it anymore. But eventually it stops with a snap. In a brief moment I awaken.