"What?! DJZ was one of them!" Kyabe exclaimed after I told her of my latest fight.
"Yeah. Yoko and Akino drove him back to whatever dark hole he came from."
"Shouldn't they start to realize that fighting you is futile? I mean, you've beaten them like five times already!"
"Technically six if you count the Hedoro."
"Exactly! When are they going to give up and leave my king and planet alone?!"
"How am I supposed to know. We don't even know how many of them there are! This fight could go on forever at this rate!" I shouted, exasperated by the seemingly never-ending struggle.
"Oh well! At least you haven't died yet! That's always a plus!" Kyabe exclaimed, back to her normal positive self.
I sighed. Why me?
The rest of the night went normally enough. Mom also seemed distraught that DJZ went missing. Why do people care so much? He was a lunatic! I finally got to bed and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Bright light streamed through my window. Morning already? I looked at my clock. It read 3:15. What the heck is going on? I got out of bed and looked outside. I couldn't see anything except blindingly bright light.
"Hey, Kyabe? What's going on? How come it's super bright outside right now?"
"Huh? Maybe… it's… a… new… day." Kyabe said, still not totally awake.
"It doesn't get this bright at 3:15 in the morning, Kyabe. Something's up," I declared.
"Hmm… yeah… sounds good. I'll... be… here," Kyabe yawned. "...if… you… need… me."
I grunted. She's a lot of help.
I put on some shoes, grabbed the Pocket, and walked outside. Suddenly, the light got even brighter. I had to close my eyes for fear of being blinded.
"Heeheehee! She's here! It took her long enough!" a shrill voice shrieked.
I tried to find the source of the voice, but it was impossible with my eyes closed.
"Nice to meet you, Hana Kojo! I'm Kogai! Are you ready to meet your maker?"
"Could you please stop talking already? Your voice is annoying!" I complained.
"Eeeh! How impudent! I'll have you know that I have the voice of an angel!"
"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. Why don't you show yourself already? I'm dying to meet you," I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster.
I reached into the Pocket behind my back and slowly pulled out a seed, hoping Kogai wouldn't notice.
"Heeheehee! Eager to die, are we? I'll make it as painful as possible!" Kogai screeched.
I threw the small seed up in the air and hoped for the best. Once again, I had no idea who I had just summoned, but I couldn't wait for this maniac to come and get me.
Suddenly, it got darker. I opened my eyes and saw that the girl I had summoned had a dark aura around her, darkening the area.
"Thanks," I said to her.
She turned and stared at me with scary eyes. I jumped, not expecting her to look so menacing. The girl started to cry.
"What's wrong?" I asked, confused by her crying.
The girl mumbled something that I couldn't quite hear. I walked over to her so I could hear her better.
"You're scared of me, aren't you? Everybody is!" she cried softly.
"N-no! I was just surprised, is all!"
"Everybody says that, right before they run away!"
"Tell you what, I'll be your friend. Can you please take care of Kogai first,... uh… what's your name?"
"Kosai," the girl said, no longer crying.
"Ok, Kosai! Can you beat Kogai for me?"
"I'll try, friend!"
Suddenly, a big bright blob appeared before us.
"Heeheehee! What do we have here?! A vow of friendship?! How ridiculous!" the blob shrieked.
That could only mean this thing was Kogai. Kosai charged at the monster, but he swatted her away with a huge clawed hand.
"Is that all?! How pathetic!"
I had to do something. I reached into the Pocket and pulled out another seed. This one was brown. I threw it up and hoped for the best.
A dirty looking girl with glasses appeared.
���I am Touwa. Do you need assistance, Hana-sama?" the girl asked professionally.
"Uh… yeah. Can you help Kosai over there?" I asked, pointing at the fallen girl.
"Of course! I will do what I can to help, Hana-sama!"
Touwa walked over to Kosai and whispered something in her ear. It must've been shocking because Kosai's eyes widened. She got up, ready to fight again. Touwa walked back, pleased with herself.
"What did you do?" I asked, perplexed.
"Though I cannot fight, I am a master tactician. I told her that Kogai is not actually that huge monster you see there. He's actually that little black shape at the bottom of the monster. Apparently, his power is the ability to manipulate light so he can make himself appear huge," Touwa explained, pushing up her glasses.
"That's incredible! How'd you figure that out?"
"It's obvious if you think about it. Didn't you find it strange that there was a black shape at the bottom of the monster? The only possible explanation for that is that it's the light source."
"O-oh. I didn't even notice that."
"No matter. Let's see how well Kosai will do, shall we?"
We turned to watch as Kosai started walking toward the monster of light.
"Heeheehee! Not finished, are we? I love a good fight!" Kogai exclaimed as his light monster swept its big clawed hands at Kosai.
She dodged and kept walking toward the monster. As she got close, the monster's attacks got more and more desperate. I noticed that when Kosai's aura hit the monster, it seemed to get a little dimmer.
"Get away! Get away! Are you insane?! I can kill you!" Kogai screeched.
The monster started to get dimmer and dimmer the closer Kosai got to it. When she finally was right next to it, the monster disappeared completely, leaving a little black creature that looked an awful lot like the monster.
"That is Kogai. He is extremely tiny so he creates a giant monster of light so his enemies think he's a lot bigger," Touwa explained.
Kosai stopped and looked down at the pathetic creature. She started to raise her foot as if she was going to stomp on it.
"NO! NO! PLEASE! I BEG YOU!" Kogai shrieked pitifully.
Kosai paid him no heed and stomped on him, repeatedly. When she finally finished, she looked down at Kogai with disgust. After looking at him for a minute, she ran back to us, flushed from the effort.
"I did it, friend! I actually did it!" she exclaimed softly.
"Good job, Kosai! I knew you could do it!" I congratulated her.
"Not… so… fast! I'm… not… finished… yet!" Kogai shrieked as he got up slowly.
We paid him no heed and started walking away.
"Hey! Wait!"
We continued to ignore him. I figured he would just run back home. After shouting at us for a little longer and realizing we weren't going to pay any attention to him, he fled, saying, "I'll be back! Don't think I'll be beaten that easily next time!"
I shook my head and sighed. When will they learn not to mess with me?
. . .
"So it seems Kogai has failed as well, right Kagaku?" the light growled at the frantic scientist.
"Y-yes, sire! It seems he was no match for the girl!"
"Hmm… who should I send next? How about I send them? Apart, they are weak, but together, they are strong! Wouldn't you agree, Kagaku?" the light said, growing more intense.
"Y-yes, sire! I'll contact them immediately!"