Chereads / Urasaria Academy / Chapter 178 - Before My Fog Is Dry

Chapter 178 - Before My Fog Is Dry

It was next morning when Yuruko Ichibangase remade her stingray again in dream, and yet again had swept herself up in her hermetic and disparate versions of same. In one, there had been no stingray. In her next it had been her father gently tugging her forward, and another where Tammy's face seemed to merge with a girl she had known in highschool.

But were any of them true? Had she made up the stingray because it seemed like Tammy to disturb such a creature, to have a wickedry to her detectable even by an eye other than human? Perhaps if there was something supernatural to her, then she would not feel anger towards Tammy for the way she was: no one could feel vengeful towards a hurricane.

Yet the seashell had been in all versions of her dream, and so she had never wondered if this improbable event was false. It possessed permanence in her mind, gabbed at external attempts to dislodge it.

Yuruko woke up, and saw that Serena was in the kitchen, making her breakfast in bed without using Blackburn. They shared no words until they finished eating, and placed their trays aside. She looked at Serena. They touched each other, rather cautiously, feeling if the other was still as they remembered. All outside moments in her existence seemed to glow and fade. There was no bitterness between them for the night prior, but rest of a home, not here, but there, acalling, as they reached for each other as they had once ago.

Afterwards, she laid nude against Serena in bed.

"…when you went to bed last night, I actually went to go talk to Mia." mumbled Yuruko. "I guess I didn't really talk. I thought that maybe if I was snippy enough with her, then she would send me back to Urasaria. I was angry when I went down to hall to their room, and Samuel answered the door. I told him I wanted to speak to Mia. Um, he left the door open, and I saw Mia and Matoi in there with the brightness tester. It looked like it had gotten damaged earlier, when they were fighting a Revenant. There were a few cracks in it, and Matoi seemed to be using her lasers to try to get it to work again. Her and Mia both see me. Matoi tries to hand it to Mia. Mia refuses, and she pushes it back into Matoi's hands, before coming over to talk to me in private. And all of that made my obsession with her seem very strange."

Yuruko felt that her anger towards Mia was because she did not know her well enough: without it she had been left to withdraw into her most habitual of recriminations and prejudices. For four years she had made herself a stranger to Mia and Mia a stranger to herself, and she felt guilty for having harmed her relationship by that misunderstanding.

They rented a 6-seat Jeep that afternoon and left the country on a savanna road, and with no radio to fill the drive, Mia had asked about Yuruko's presentation all morning. "Would it help to interview me for your final draft?"

"Uh, honestly, the most helpful thing you could do would be giving samples, but I know you're not gonna do that, so. An actual interview would help."

Mia shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, I just... I don't feel comfortable giving out samples of Worldwide. I just feel distrustful with what they could do with it." She glanced back at Yuruko and smiled a bit. "I would trust it with you, but not to any government doctor. And since you were going off of my Japan interview, you should know that I lied through half of it."

Yuruko shrugged. "I guess I could figure out why it goes out of control. I mean, you're the only one who has a professional Revenant without Xenocyclin used on it, right?"

"The only other one would be Meteorology, but I specifically told them to check it over twice."

"Akira might not have used it on his, either." said Samuel. "Mizuchi."

Mia paused as she remembered Akira's warning in Japan against using Xenocyclin, and Worldwide's temperature measurements. "…possibly. Er, Yuruko, you mentioned you had another project coming up, after your midterms. What will that be on?"

"I figured I was going to do it on Revenants healing themselves after their hosts die."

Matoi closed her eyes in the backseat beside Serena, who was normally the only one listening to Yuruko ramble. Yuruko felt some friendship with Mia, though it still confounded her in some way, and she felt uneasy not knowing why. It was not a way she was used to being treated like by women aside from Serena.

Streams of fog drew a heart on her arm, and in the next instant -

- the five groaned as a wave of nausea passed over them, and Samuel clutched his seat tight beside Mia -

" - the - gravity feels different." he grunted.

"I … what?" said Mia, drowsiness pulling her eyelids down for a second; her head shook rapidly. "I don't feel … any different."

"Does everything seem way blurrier?" frowned Yuruko.

"I -" - Samuel groaned as he gripped tighter - " - feels like my arm is lighter. Rest of my body is fine."

"…wait." muttered Mia. "It's obviously a Revenant, but you're the only one affected by it?"

"My gravity feels fine." shrugged Yuruko, dipping one finger near her eye and disintegrating her contacts - " - uh, what the fuck? I - I can see without my contacts -"

" - I know what this is." winced Mia - " - everyone has a different - in their dreams, a dream sign, something that only happens in their dreams -"

" - how do you know that?"

" - er - Aimee tells me about her dreams."

Last week she'd had one involving a cloning Revenant, Mia, and Aimee being a good student -

" - Mia, does your ring usually have a diamond?" said Samuel and Mia frowned.

"…no."

"I - wait, your scar is gone -" said Yuruko, pointing to Matoi in the backright beside Serena -

" - and Serena is -"

- and the four frowned at Serena's normal appearance, punk humming in the backseat with eyes unblinking.

"Serena, what's wrong?" said Yuruko, glancing back.

No response.

"Is she humming something?" said Mia.

"…sounds familiar." muttered Yuruko. "I dunno what, though."

"Might be a song she hears in her dreams." said Samuel and Yuruko started - " - she -"

" - Serena only listens to videogame and anime music." winced Mia. "Let me know if you recognize it, Yuruko."

"Wedding is full strength again." muttered Matoi. "I can feel it."

"Guessing your dreams haven't caught up yet." said Samuel and she sighed.

"I'll keep driving." said Mia, scarabs readied as she drove. "The host must be around here or following us."

"I don't see anything." frowned Yuruko, newly-sighted peering over the savanna, trees at irregular intervals.

Samuel glanced down as he adjusted in his seat, and in the next instant -

- four blades of sand burst out of the ground and shot towards their tires -

- but ghastly hands threw them away and sent them spinning slowly in to the sky; Samuel sighed to find his gravity had carried in to Outcast, and in the next instant -

- the blades shot towards Serena & Matoi; two lasers disintegrated two, but Serena shrieked in Japanese as the other two slashed through her face -

- just in time for another flash of lasers to disintegrate the blades, Matoi checking if she was alright by her side -

" - Serena, do you not have Blackburn?" winced Mia - " - Matoi, can you make sure she -"

"( - T-THAT'S ME!)" shouted Serena in Japanese, shoving Matoi off - "( - who the hell is the head bitch around here?!)"

"(... I - what?)" said Matoi -

- and Serena's eyes filled with rage as she glared back at her. "(You…)"

"(Why are you looking at me like that?)"

"(Kh-Kh-K-Kiryuin...)" grunted Serena and Matoi groaned.

"(Stop it. We're in the middle of fighting a Revenant.)"

"(I saw ya', you bitch! After you were done burnin' my house down, ya' thought you could make off with the other half of -)"

"( - I'm warning you.)" groaned Matoi -

"( - HONNŌJI ACADEMY PRESIDENT, I CHALLENGE Y-)"

"( - STOP JOKING ABOUT IT!)" shouted Matoi -

" - what, what is it?" said Mia & Matoi sighed -

" - she keeps fucking - I didn't even know she spoke Japanese -"

" - uh, she doesn't." winced Yuruko. "She gave up after I told she couldn't learn it in a week. Gotta be the Revenant."

"What's she saying?" said Samuel and Matoi gave Yuruko a glare that went to the bone -

"- I - what the hell are you looking at me f-"

" - stop it." groaned Mia - " - focus!"

Matoi grunted as her lasers disintegrated another set of sand-blades, annoyed her Revenant depended on two otaku.

"Senketsu…" muttered Serena, relevantly.

"Anything important?" said Samuel.

"No." said Matoi. "She's speaking gibberish."

"(What's with the eyebrow, eh?!)"

"(Eat shit.)"

Serena muttered something to her jacket. "(…need more uniforms, too… could start a damn club...)"

Matoi kept her eyes stoic as they kept driving, and in the next instant -

- a sandworm burst out of the center of the Jeep & right next to Yuruko's laptop; she shrieked -

- something forced the five's eyes shut as the world shook around them, and in the next instant -

- they opened their eyes to a normal scene, no wounds or sandworm with Mia still driving forward.

"I - w-what the hell was that?" said Yuruko, glancing behind.

"Is that the dream ending?" said Samuel and Matoi's head shook, Serena still talking to her jacket beside.

"T-Take this." said Yuruko, handing her laptop to Samuel; he nodded as he shoved it in Outcast's armor, and in the next instant -

- a sandworm burst out of the center of the Jeep & right next to Yuruko -

" - Worldwide!" shouted Mia; a pillar of purple flame claimed the worm -

- and melted it in to molten glass, superheated liquid starting to drip; Yuruko kicked frantically at it and Medicinal turned it to air, five still driving forward as it disappeared without a single glass left.

" - sorry." winced Mia -

" - it's - coolio." nodded Yuruko, one kick to the Jeep repairing the hole. Ahead, the savanna road started to warp and shift, but a road of ice replaced it as they drove for another few seconds -

- but one sandfist burst out of the ice ahead and sent a dozen frozen shards flying towards the five; two sand hands shot out of the ground and gripped the Jeep's sides, sandfingers starting to curl & tear -

" - Outcast!" shouted Samuel; ghastly hands grabbed the frozen shards -

- and sliced right through the hands, sandfist still swaying threateningly only a few seconds ahead. Shouting for Worldwide, Mia's sword formed in her hand as it came within range -

- and a sweep of purple disintegrated it without a single ash left, swift steering to readjust as she turned in to another frozen lane. Yuruko winced behind as she kicked the sandfingers off of the vehicle - " - Mia - don't turn or change speed, okay -"

- Mia nodding, Yuruko dipped her leg through the vehicle, tapping the frozen road a few times.

'Can stop them from coming behind us, at least... Shouldn't trigger except when they hit it.'

She pulled her leg back once she was done, and in the next instant -

- she laughed as the acid trap exploded a few seconds behind, glancing back just in time to see one sandfist melt -

- but sighed as another hundred sandhands sprouted up all around & out of the savanna, ripping trees up from their roots and readying to throw. Samuel braced himself as the first volley flew toward them -

- and ghastly hands threw half of them slowly away in to the sky - " - I can't -"

- and the next smashed his chest in & nearly threw him in to Mia's lap; Matoi laughed as her missiles met with the rest -

- and the explosions blasted the bark missiles with the strength of a thousand away, Samuel grunting as he threw his new tree-friend to the side of the road.

"Still expecting me to do everything." said Matoi, head shaking. "I shouldn't have ever stopped calling you pig."

The pig groaning, Yuruko formed a pipe on the side of the vehicle, letting her concoction drip out the other end to keep the roadside sand from rising again.

"Everything looks the fucking same here." sighed Mia, relevantly. "How the hell do we find the host?"

She heard Yuruko shouting Medicinal and glanced behind -

- to find the chemist shaking her head, sighing with her finger in the pipe. "It - just wasn't working for some reason."

"You know when you keep having a nightmare where your punches don't do anything?" sighed Samuel, relevantly.

"…Samuel, why do your dreams involve you being weak?" winced Mia.

Matoi shook her head. "Probably a fetish."

- and Mia & Yuruko burst in to laughter as a sandfist burst up two seconds ahead; sudden construction too quick, the five slammed right through it -

- and in to a cloud of sand it burst, gripping the hood of the car and starting to form spikes as another sandfist burst up ahead -

" - Worldwide!" shouted Mia, sword forming as she leaned over the wheel, and a sweep of purple disintegrated it without a single ash left -

- just in time for another sandfist to bash her hand off the wheel in a crunch of blood. Five starting to veer, a set of ice scarabs tried to keep them steady as a fourth sandfist burst up beside Samuel -

- for the next instant scene.

"Worldwide!" "Outcast!" "Wedding!"

A swarm of ice scarabs froze the sandfists solid, and two Outcast-punches shattered them in to frozen shards -

- a dozen lasers hit them & refracted back to the sand on the hood -

- disintegrating every speck of dust without a single ash left - but they had no time to rest. Serena shot up -

"( - Life Fiber Transformation - Senketsu!)" shouted Serena, grabbing the back of her own pants and starting to pull down -

- and Matoi gripped her wrists hard enough to leave a mark - "( - someone -) - Yuruko! Handcuff your fucking girlfriend!"

"Got it." winced Yuruko, grabbing her girlfriend's wrists and forming handcuffs over them.

"What's she doing?" said Mia.

"Nothing." stated Matoi. "She was ... trying to grab me."

Serena grunted against her restraints. "(The hell kinda doujin is this?!)"

Yuruko burst in to laughter as Matoi didn't - " - what the hell is she -"

" - nothing." grunted Matoi.

"- I know what a f-fucking doujin is -" cackled Yuruko - " - does she think she's -"

" - nothing!"

"Please stop arguing." winced Mia. Even she didn't know why Matoi hated Japanese cartoons so much.

Mia saw Samuel looking back at Serena, hoping to find whatever set Matoi off so he could throw it back at her later. More sandwinds were sprouting out of the savanna air beside, sand devils swirling & sand gusts slicing at their vehicle, and one strong gust set their vehicle rocking -

- but one missile blasted it back to normal, and as another set of explosions blasted the sandwinds back -

- a wall of sand burst up just in time to explode in a cloud of sand, throwing it back in Matoi's eyes. She grunted as she wiped her vision clean, then felt the grains forming sharp edges and slicing her hands, more gusts blasting sand in the four's faces & ears -

" - Solar Flare!" shouted Mia, and in the next instant -

- a blast of blue claimed their vehicle, disintegrating the foreign intruders without a single ash left, Mia speaking - " - we need a better counter for - the next time it happens -"

- and all around them, the savanna started sinking with the five still driving on a frozen road, sands shifting to form walls at their left & right -

" - Worldwide!" shouted Mia; a song of ice & fire flew in to the walls -

- and heated them in to solid glass, keeping them safe for another second as she drove past the sandy enclosure -

- just in time for another gust of sand to blast in to her eyes. She grunted as she gripped the wheel tight, water rushing out of her ears and taking the sand with it. Yuruko shouted for her behind, and handed her & Samuel a set of earmuffs, the others already wearing their's.

"What are these?" said Mia as she put them on, sound dulling slightly.

"They have charc - uh, sediment filters." said Yuruko, stifling her ramble.

Mia glanced back and saw the entire savanna collapsing behind, sand converging all on to one spot behind. "Yuruko, can I speed up?"

Yuruko nodded and she sped up over another dozen seconds of frozen road, more sandhands trying to grab their wheels but unable to catch them yet; ahead, the sands started shifting again, sandhands forming to try to rip through the road of ice -

" - SATSUKI KIRYUIN!" shouted Serena, and in the next instant -

- a swift shot of nitrogen buckshot froze the sandhands right in their tracks, Yuruko reloading her shotgun as they barreled through the frozen wastes - " - they've gotta be around here, fu-"

- red & black claws burst out of Serena's hands & through her handcuffs, then sliced a gash on Matoi's back, and in a second sweep on the return -

- Matoi gripped her tight and threw her upside-down next to Yuruko - " - I - hey!-"

" - handle her. She keeps trying to attack me." said Matoi. She would've yelled if Mia wasn't there.

Serena groaned as she sat up, claws disappearing as she touched Yuruko's face. "…Mako…?"

"…oh my god." muttered Yuruko. "Ryuko-chan, Ryuko-chan."

Ahead, more sand was pooling on to the road of ice, but another frozen layer formed over it; beside Yuruko, the ground started to rumble -

- and the sandworm bursting out of it hit her so hard she fell out of the vehicle, hanging to the side by one glove; a dozen sandsnakes formed and gripped her legs, trying to drag her out -

- but ghastly hands gripped her labcoat & tried to yank her back, tug-of-sand with the chemist stuck in the middle; she winced as her thumb dipped in to the Jeep -

- and fused with the metal as Mia started to slow down; at Yuruko's left, a wall of sand burst up -

- but the next scene was instant. Ripping her labcoat off, she threw it over the wall of sand -

- and the magnets within pulled it with the strength of a thousand up; in through the sudden hole she rode, vehicle rocking slightly as she crawled back in with one thumb missing, wincing as she sat up. She formed a metal & red replacement and flicked it back to show the lighter inside to Serena, then sighed as she remembered, no one else around to get her references, anime-girlfriend staring at her with eyes unblinking.

She formed a new labcoat and put it on. She usually wore the same outfit every day for routine.

Mia glanced behind and groaned as she saw a wall of sand fast approaching them from behind, only a few seconds away - " - Yuruko, we need more gas -"

" - got it!" shouted Yuruko, dipping her finger in to the tank and starting a steady drip, sandwall gaining pace on them by the second; Mia shouted for Matoi -

" - Wedding!" shouted Matoi, stifling her pride in Mia as one megamissile flew back -

- and blasted them with the strength of a thousand forward and in to the air, Yuruko clutching Serena tight as they flew -

- and shrieking as her girlfriend-turned-waifu fell out -

" - Senketsu!" shouted Serena, red glove forming as she aimed her left hand -

- and a single strand yanked her back to Yuruko. She grunted something in Japanese. Another megamissile blasted them forward -

- and another, and another, and another, shockwave throwing them up in to the sky -

" - can you see the host from here?!" shouted Matoi. Thousands of sandworms were sprouting out of the savanna below. Mia heard the ground rumble as something enormous burst out of the sand, and in the next instant -

- one megamissile blasted them right just in time to avoid its gargantuan maw as it shot up past them like a wyvern, and as it hit its arc & started to descend -

" - Worldwide!" shouted Mia; a globe of ice formed over the five -

- and in to the frozen barrier went the beast's sandteeth, already cracking as it started to gnaw and tear, another swarm of scarabs reinforcing it and setting it teething. Mia aimed one palm up as she looked down, five safe in the Jeep a thousand feet off the ground and glancing down, more sandworms trying to drill in from above. "Can you see anything?"

"There?" said Yuruko, pointing to a tree on the ground, two specks that might've been human sitting in it. No time to waste, a flash of purple disintegrated the frozen floor; in to the sudden hole fell the five, Samuel clutching tight to keep his gravity as they started to drop, and as the sandwyvern broke through the barrier above -

" - Solar Beam!" shouted Mia, sweeping her palms towards it; a blue beam erupted from her palms -

- and heated the beast in to liquid glass as the five kept their drop going, only 500ft separating them from the ground now; another missile blasted them right -

- and four nauseous groans filled the Jeep as another missile blasted them left, just in time to avoid another sandwyvern flying past them -

" - just like Marisa." groaned Samuel, relevantly. Matoi laughed in the backseat and another missile blasted them through the air -

" - t-there." groaned Yuruko, cheeks tinting as she pointed down, anime-girlfriend attached to her by another four set of handcuffs, and as the five hit the ground -

- a swarm of scarabs froze the Jeep to keep it from rolling, but the next scene was instant. Ground rumbling all around them, a wall of sand burst up 200ft ahead -

- and behind -

- and right, and left; a tornado of sand started to form, gaining height & speed by the second as it started to close in. Mia hit the accelerator, and Samuel shouted for Outcast as ghastly hands tried to peel a sandy exit ahead -

- but another wall stitched up the wound before they could take their vacation from the beach, tornado spinning faster & faster as Mia slowed down -

" - tuning fork?" winced Yuruko to Serena oblivious in the middle seat - " - c'mon, fuck, you always had some fucking bullshit counter -"

" - Wedding!" shouted Matoi, constant line of missiles bursting out of her shoulders, explosions blasting the sand away but unable to keep them back for long. Inch by inch, the tornado of sand crept in, blades of sand forming and starting to slice their skin -

" - I - I can't blast all of this fucking sand away!" she grunted, another hundred explosions&lasers erupting all around them, smoke mixing with the sand as the tornado spun quicker and quicker -

" - Samuel - keep us steady!" shouted Mia, sweeping her palms over the wheel - " - Worldwide - Hydro Jet!"

- an orange beam erupted from her left palm; a frozen ray erupted from her right, one enormous jet of water forming as they combined, thousands & thousands of gallons flooding the tornado of sand -

- which started to clump & combine, sandy winds slowing & sandy weapons crumbling -

" - Matoi - be ready! Solar Flare!"

- and a blast of blue filled their prison of sand, heating the entire tornado in to liquid glass; a swarm of ice scarabs chilled it and set it solid -

- for the next instant scene. A megamissile flew up and Wedding's lasers curved to meet it, reflecting off the casing and shooting in to the glass -

- and the five clenched their eyes as the enormous laser refracted & claimed every tree & animal & African videogame for a mile outside, melting barrier showing the distortion of the disintegrating savanna, rounding the decay, boundless and bare, as the level sands stretched far away.

"…g-god." groaned Mia, one last scarab crawling in her hair. "G-Give me a minute."

She set her head on the wheel -

- and shrieked as it honked. The three laughed, her cheeks filling as she sat up. "…y-you didn't see that."

"Didn't see anything." nodded Samuel, then frowned. "…your ring still has a diamond, though."

Mia sighed. "…Worldwide."

A spray of purple disintegrated the exit, and out drove the five -

- to a disintegrated scene, two women laying against a melted tree ahead, one with her head gone and the other with her legs gone -

- and a green scar glowing on her hand.

'…y-you're fucking kidding me. T-Them?' thought the woman, hand waving surrender as she started vomiting. "E-E-English!"

Matoi & Mia rushed out & rushed up, swords burning blue & blue.

"Deactivate your Revenant - n-now." grunted Mia.

"S-S-Satsuki…" grunted Serena, slithering like a sandworm out of the Jeep towards her.

Yuruko frowned as her vision returned to normal, wishing she had taken video of Ryuko Kunst first.

"T-Tell u-us everything you know ab-about -" - Matoi started hacking and coughing, pulling her uberheated blade away and gesturing to Mia as she staggered away.

"What do you know about Sharp?" said Mia. "You have the scar."

"I-I-I tried to kill him." she grunted. "T-T-Three other women a-and me. I-I-I don't know how the f-f-fuck he broke out of Lucidity."

"Your Revenant?"

The woman stared at her, thinking about how if the points that made up her life were any different, she might've ended up as a student too. She probably deserved to die by now.

"…y-y-yes. H-H-He fucking found me and in - in - infected me with this shit and told me to kill a-a-any students who came near here this month."

"Then your Revenant is weakening." muttered Mia. "How long does it give you?"

"F-F-Four weeks."

"…two weeks left. Do you know where he is?"

"…I-I-I don't. T-T-This fucking scar hurts my eyes so much. I-I-I don't think anyone can kill him. F-Four f-fucking hosts against him and I've never seen a-anyone die so quickly."

"I've fought seven at once before. I can handle one. What does his Revenant do?"

"…t-the light on his hand was so bright, these automatons he could summon…f-felt like he c-could fucking do anything."

Mia glanced right and saw Samuel holding Matoi's hair back as her bile painted the desert. She might have to send her back when they found Sharp - she doubted Matoi would ever ask for it herself. The last time she sobbed in front of Mia & Samuel was last March, though she denied it even now.

"Do you know anything else that would be useful?"

"…I-I-I know you're going to kill me. Do it."

"Fine." said Mia, and in the next instant -

- a flash of purple disintegrated the woman without a single ash left. The five discussed what they'd learned and went back to the Jeep. Matoi's scar began glowing through the Vantablack once they came back to the road.

"…um, did I say anything weird during that?" winced Serena, fog dissolving her handcuffs. "I could barely hear anything over the music."

"No." said Matoi.

"Coolio."

"…what country is this?" muttered Mia, glancing to Samuel with the map.

"Zesotho."

Mia kept her eyes sharp. Serena helped Matoi put on another pair, green light barely dulled.

"Barely going to be able to see at this rate." said Samuel, handing Yuruko's laptop back to her.

Mia saw a rhino off in the distance eyeing Matoi's green light, then frowned as it started charging towards them.

"Doesn't seem to like the scar." said Samuel, 200ft separating them and approaching fast.

"Got it!" shouted Yuruko, tranquilizer gun forming as it came within range -

- and streams of fog filled the rhino's throat with knives in a dozen geysers of blood - Yuruko burst in to laughter as it groaned, falling dead to the ground - " - Serena, what the fuck-"

"-I-I thought it was going to hit your laptop!-"

" - you just -" - Matoi cackled hoarsely - " - you just f-fuf-fucking murdered it -"

" - that was the last one of its species -" laughed Yuruko - " - dead to a fucking throat full of knives -"

" - Worldwide." winced Mia, disintegrating the evidence as she kept driving -

" - goodbye, shithead!" shouted Samuel and the five burst in to laughter, even if they shouldn't've.