Atashi screamed and fired a blast of flames at the wall in front of him. The smoke dispersed leaving a huge crack on the wall and rubble. Images of the lavish auditorium and his friends' gaze piercing into his tormented the teen. Anxiety overwhelmed him the feeling of being watched in this abandoned building added on to his deep fear.
"Where are those two?"
"Let's see they should have already left Tokyo by now." A sinister voice answered. This thing had been accompanying Atashi for a while, giving him suggestions on what to do.
Waiting for what his invisible friend was about to do, Atashi walked back to the campfire and sat down. Reminiscing about past events including the recent fight.
The flames in front of him started swaying back and forth aggressively indicating that the entity was working on something.
In the middle of the forest there was a house with an active furnace right beside the spot both Douma and Shinobu were standing. The fire grew larger than its original size and sent specks of ashes towards the window.
One of the burning particles of ash got out and flew towards where the duo was. It landed on the ground a few meters from them, the small flame on the ash particle remained for a while. Atashi's friend saw right through it and could hear his friend's conversation about two people watching them and the aftermath of Douma's devastating attack that got rid of them.
"They just left Atami."
"Alright that's still far away from here but we have to hurry that flying pest has a ton of tricks up his sleeve."
"You seem pretty agitated Atashi." The entity sneered with a few laughs.
"They're getting in my way I'm sick and tired of it."
"Going somewhere Atashi?" An unknown voice said.
Atashi spun around and saw a dark figure emerging from the corner of the hallway.
Those things followed me here. Its distinct features came to view leaving Atashi in annoyance just by seeing it again. He needed some time on his own to reflect and think about his next plan: to get away from Douma and Shinobu.
What caught him off guard the most was the fact that the monster could talk. Things just weren't that surprising anymore but it was weird to see these animalistic opponents of his being able to express their thoughts blatantly.
As the fish monster got closer, Atashi got into a fighting stance. It then lunged at him with its claws unsheathed causing him to fall back and drop his spear.
"Still fumbling with that weapon I see." The monster grabbed Atashi's weapon and looked at him with malice.
"What do you want?" Atashi raised his voice at the creature who stepped back and gave the boy his weapon back.
"If you want to be Mr Moikawa's subordinate than act like it." The creature crossed its arms watching Atashi's reaction to his words intently. "Thinking about the past isn't going to get you anywhere in his organization."
"And what makes you think you're worthy of this position too? Your comrades have failed, the world is going back to normal soon like nothing happened. That shows how much of a mere failure you guys are." Atashi got up and pointed his spear directly at the monstrous sight in front of him.
"Like you've impressed him either, that battle with Douma the leader of Paradise Shrine was an absolute disappointment. You lost miserably Mr Moikawa probably regrets giving you the artifact now."
"I'm going to prove him wrong and when I do you'll be sorry because I'm sure my friends will finish you off by then! Tough talk for a guy who can't even control his own army of goons they're still dying out there I bet." Atashi yelled the whole building could probably hear them there was an echo every time.
The aquatic creature gave Atashi a sly smile indicating that what he just said was fairly remarkable given his current situation; lost and no side to convey to. "It seems you're still siding with your friends, the enemy."
"Whatever." Atashi sat down on the campfire, maybe he still had a soft spot for his friends after all. They still care about his well-being despite what he's done.
"You can change sides now but I have to warn you, Mr Moikawa doesn't give any chances so if he finds out you betrayed him-
"Yeah yeah yeah I'm doomed and he'll come for my friends got it."
The creature smiled again and laughed. "It seems you don't seem to understand the consequences of your actions Atashi. Your decisions determine the fate of everyone around you including Eiko."
Atashi immediately raised his spear in defense. "Don't you dare mention anything about my sister." He warned.
"It's the truth Atashi your cousin's house and the shrine are at risk of being turned to nothing but rubble if you don't get your act together."
"Listen fish face, I'm fine everything's been going smoothly so far I don't need you to tell me what I should be wary about when it comes to Mr Moikawa I don't even know the guy nor have I heard from him yet. So stop with the false alarm and get your act together instead."
The monster hissed at him so much for trying to help Atashi before he gets into trouble. "Have it your way kiddo but remember this is not a game you only have one life so think twice before doing anything." That static voice of his was eerily disturbing.
Sitting back comfortably, Atashi closed his eyes while the alien creature slithered away and thought about how Eiko would feel about his decision to leave home and fix their problems including the ones from the past. Would she be happy about it? Probably not because of what he's doing but would she understand his decision? Most likely since it was the only option and there was nothing else he could do without the help of that man. The shrine leader overreacted for nothing he made it sound like the man was going to harm him, of course not why would he waste his time unlocking the potential Atashi had? It gave him a role in swordsmanship something he always wanted.