Chapter 94 – Tokimasa’s trap

The crowd clapped and shouted her name, and the music started.
Tomoe put her soul into every song, making sure that it would be her best concert to date. Sakamo found himself singing along because, despite his constant teasing of Tomoe about her high-pitched voice, he always enjoyed hearing her sing, and she knew it.

In the middle of her concert, she sang together with Hangaku Mae, who ran to meet her at the front of the stage, and they both made another amazing duet with the lyrics of her second most famous song, ‘Friends for Life’.

Sakamo couldn’t stop a tear from falling with the memories that the lyrics brought, of a crying girl that was being bullied by four mean kids, and an unknown kid rushing to her help, with long loose hair floating in the wind, and with so much anger in his eyes that for her, it looked like a knight running to face a huge army.
When the music ended, the crowd was clapping, and Tomoe was crying with happiness and sweet memories. She signalled to someone at her left, and from that side of the stage came two boys and two girls, dressed in the dark uniforms of the security people of the Festival.

They stood at her side as Tomoe faced the wondering crowd ahead, saying, “These are the four mean kids that used to bully me when I was little because I was always writing songs or singing. Over the years, we became the best of friends, and despite my busy career, we always find time to be together.”

She then faced back and signalled Sakamo to join them, and even with him refusing, Takechi Hito pushed him, making sure he joined them at the front.

Tomoe pointed the microphone at Takechi, and he said, “Sorry everyone, but this guy is rather shy for someone so good-looking! If I was like him, I would always make sure that everyone looked at me with passionate eyes! But not this guy; he is too shy for such a beauty!”

The crowd laughed at Takechi’s crazy joke, and as he was returning to the back of the stage, Tomoe-chan grabbed Sakamo’s left arm and Hangaku grabbed the other.

Tomoe faced him with a big smile and spoke to the microphone, “This is my best friend, Sakamo Ryu, the knight with long loose hair who rushed to my rescue some years ago when I came to this Festival and got lost from my parents. I was crying near the lake when my four bullies arrived to mock me once again. He came, took care of them and helped me look for my parents, and we became friends. When I was nervous before a big show or when I overworked myself to the point of almost fainting from exhaustion, he was always ready to save me every time I called for him. Thanks for always being there, Ryu-kun!”

The crowd clapped and cheered as Tomoe hugged Sakamo with her tears running loose.
When she let him go, Hangaku Mae caressed his cheek and kissed him.

She then smiled at the crowd and explained, while holding his hand, “This is my boyfriend, the man I love and who I will marry when I get older! I am sorry if any of you had a dream of conquering me, but I am already taken!”

Sakamo awkwardly waved at the crowd, trying his best not to look straight at the cameras that were pointed at them, and he spoke in a low voice, “You know my bodyguard will get angry with this, don’t you?”

Hangaku gave him a quick kiss and gently pushed him to the back of the stage again. “Shut up! I wanted to show you off! Now be a good boy and wait for me. I will be right back!”

While the crowd was clapping, Hangaku waved at them and went to the choir girls again. Tomoe’s childhood friends hugged her in turns and ran off-stage. The music started, and the crowd sang, joining Tomoe in her song.
…

When the concert ended and the crowd was dispersing to either go home or take one last tour over the stalls and several entertainments, Hangaku Mae was walking along the path to the lake, holding hands with Sakamo Ryu.
They had some trouble escaping the reporters and the fans that were waiting for her, but the security guys of the Festival, together with their classmates, made a safety line to stop them and gave Hangaku and Sakamo enough time to flee.
They were peacefully talking about the concert while the fireworks were exploding in the sky, and Hangaku’s eyes were shining as she was remembering the rush of emotions she felt when everyone was clapping her songs, even without hearing them before that night.

When they stopped near the lake, and when Hangaku was placing her arms over Sakamo to kiss him under the moonlight, a familiar voice made her blood boil. “So, I finally caught you. I was about to quit and wait for you to go to that peculiar Shrine of yours so that I could catch you at the doors.”

Hangaku Mae looked back and faced her father, who had a weird grin on his face. “What do you want, father? Annoy us again?”

Sakamo gently pushed her to the side and disguisedly put his left hand in his pocket, grabbing a small Magical Orb that he had stashed in there when he noticed that Hangaku Tokimasa was not alone.
Around them were a dozen of his men in dark suits, staring at them in silence.

Hangaku saw them as well and asked, “What are they here for, father? Do you want to take me with you by force? Like if that would do you any good! You know very well that if you force me to do something I don’t want to, I will make you regret it!”

Hangaku Tokimasa slowly took his hand from his pocket and, without saying a word, he shot his gun straight at Sakamo’s chest with the fireworks illuminating his gruesome grin.
With a scream, Hangaku stood in front of Sakamo, and before he could use his Magic, two bullets were fired in Hangaku’s direction. Sakamo stared dumbfounded at Hangaku Mae’s back when he saw her glowing, surrounded by Magic.

Her voice was heard, so full of Magic that the pressure made everyone around her cover their ears. “You fool! A worm like you, trying to kill my beloved? Here, I will return these to you!”

The bullets that were stopped inside a Water Bubble in front of Hangaku’s chest were pushed by a powerful and unstoppable Water Slash against Hangaku Tokimasa, and he was hit on his left shoulder and his stomach, making him fall on his knees, holding his wounds in pain. A second Water Slash cut the gun in half, making it unusable ever again. Fast as lightning, Hangaku raised her right arm and created a ball of water. The ball exploded, and a thin line of concentrated water went all around, decapitating Tokimasa’s goons.
As the headless bodies were falling with a thump, Hangaku fell on her knees, and she was panting, trying to recover her breath.
As Sakamo was kneeling near her, he noticed that her blonde hair was changing colours, turning light blue and then returning to her usual blonde colour again, as if her hair was having trouble deciding.
Hangaku grabbed the crystal on her neck, the one that Sakamo gave her and that was now glowing in dark blue. She put the crystal in her mouth and gulped the Magic.
Sakamo widened his eyes. He saw Shinatobe eating Magic on more than one occasion, so he knew what was happening. But seeing Hangaku Mae, her classmate who became his girlfriend, doing the same, was so unbelievable that he was speechless.

She faced him with pained eyes and said, “I am sorry, but I can’t explain it now. We must get out of here because I need to go to my room and grab a Magical Orb. I spent more Magic than I was counting, and if I don’t eat some more, I might die.”

Sakamo took his hand from his pocket and gave her the small Magical Orb while looking at her with a serious face. “Eat this. And don’t make any sudden movements. If you try anything, I will kill you in a heartbeat.”

Hangaku widened her eyes at the sudden sight, and she made a sad face as she was holding the Magical Orb. “I understand. You are one of them. I killed so many Dark Mages that I knew one of you guys would get me someday. I would never guess that it would be you.”

Sakamo blinked a few times and spoke as she was gulping down the Magic and her hair was turning blond once again. “One of them? Are you nuts? You have some explaining to do, but we need to go somewhere else.”

He got up and while holding another Magical Orb, he shot a line of Fire Magic so powerful and intense that it completely vaporised the bodies and severed heads around him. A gush of Wind took the ashes away, getting rid of all the evidence.
Hangaku Mae couldn’t believe her eyes. Before her, the once peaceful and normal Sakamo Ryu was shooting Magic as if he had been doing it all his life.

Sakamo went to Hangaku Tokimasa and examined his wounds. “The bullets exited on the other side. Good, because you can’t die so soon. I know someone that will be very glad to meet you.”

Sakamo then poured some Healing Magic on Tokimasa’s stomach and his back but left the wound on his shoulder.

He then pulled him up and went past Hangaku Mae while calling for her, “Follow me in silence and don’t you try to flee. You are no match for me, Mae, if that is really your name.”

They walked between the shadows, avoiding the lights of the several light poles, with Tokimasa biting his lower lip in pain while trying to remain silent, because every time he tried to say something to threaten Sakamo, he would get a strong pinch in his shoulder wound that would make him scream in pain, with his mouth muffled by Sakamo’s strong grip.
When the public toilets were in sight, Sakamo looked around, trying to see if there was someone near them. He signalled to Hangaku with his head for her to enter first into the men’s bathroom, and he went right after her, stopping at the entrance.

He pointed at the stalls and spoke in a low voice, “See if they are all empty.”

While Hangaku was quickly opening the doors of the several stalls, Sakamo took a last look outside and closed the door behind him.
When she shook her head, announcing that they were completely alone, Sakamo grabbed his pendant and mumbled a few command words, the ones that he would use every time he wanted to travel to Azurath using the same time on Earth, meaning that at that moment, it would have been two weeks later than the last time he was with Shinatobe.
Sakamo grabbed the first doorknob, and when he opened the door, a powerful light was in front of them. Tokimasa had his eyes wide open, unable to stutter a single word.

Hangaku Mae reached out with her hand to the light and asked, “Ryu… what is this…”

Sakamo pushed her to the light and followed her, dragging the injured Tokimasa with him.
When Sakamo opened the door that appeared in front of them, his room at the Guild in Azurath waited for them.

Hangaku stumbled through the open door when Sakamo pushed her again, and when he closed the door behind him, he noticed Shinatobe was at the table with a bunch of papers and maps in front of her, frowning at the visitors while glowing with her increased Magic. “What did I say about bringing people from Earth here, Alex? That annoying Shubuyaky Tomoe is enough with her constant attempts to pick me up while calling me a cute little thing!”

Sakamo threw Tokimasa at her feet and said, “I brought a present for you, Shinatobe. The Leader of the Dark Mages. And she is my supposed girlfriend, Hangaku Mae, but she is also his daughter, and she can use Water Magic. It was she that wounded him and killed the guys that he brought to kill me. I don’t know why, but she could be working with them and got a change of heart recently. I am not sure.”