NOVEL FROG 96. Slash Dog Part 1.
Omniscient POV
Two years later (Kouske is 14, Lavinia 17),
"Oho? So you seem to be interested in that incident too, huh?" asks Azazel as he sips his drink.
"Hmm. I don't see any reason to let them continue doing whatever they want after the Heavenly Aloha Incident. They've gone too far for it to be just a dispute between the Five Principal Clans," replies Akatsuki.
"Yeah, you're right. Kidnapping 233 people from Ryokuu High School will easily put a target on them from any of the supernatural factions. It's a large-scale incident," says Azazel, pondering how their stupidity had gotten so out of hand.
The Heavenly Aloha Incident refers to the disappearance of 233 people, including students and teachers, from Ryokuu High School who went on a cruise ship excursion two months ago.
Publicly it was declared that the cruise ship broke in half in the middle of the ocean, caught fire and everyone died. There was even a large funeral ceremony for all the people. But there are still many who claim that the students are all alive.
The surviving students, who were fortunate enough not to go on that trip, had to transfer schools due to the constant threat of reporters asking about their feelings and whatnot.
"Yeah. I will be searching for their base while some people from my side will be taking care of the kids with the Four Fiends' Sacred Gears. You'll also send someone because of HIM, right?" Akatsuki asked, looking at his friend.
*sigh*
"I guess it's karma. I knew HE had problems with me from the start. But I didn't think he would go rogue like this. He even stole some of my Sacred Gear research data, even though he must have hated doing so. This time's incident won't let him get away lightly. He also took his class and they are a bunch of problematic kids with problematic Sacred Gears," says Azazel with some hidden emotion.
"Let me know if you need help. I'll let you know where they can rendezvous. It's better to be safe," says Akatsuki as he leaves.
"That one's also going to be a problem, isn't she?" Azazel mutters to himself as he keeps sipping his drink. A certain girl might get too invested in this!
"Man, this is strong! For how long did he age this?"
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Ikuse Tobio, 17 years old, is your typical second-year high schooler. He has black hair and pale gray colored eyes. His life was going well, despite its share of tragedies.
He lost both his parents before he could remember them, and his grandmother, who was his last remaining family, passed away when he was 12.
Even so, his life continued normally thanks to his best friend Sae Toujou, and her parents, who were his neighbors and took care of him since then.
But two months ago, his everyday life was turned upside down. He had fallen ill with a fever and missed the school trip. Four days later, he saw on the news that all his friends were missing, including Sae.
Since then, he has been desperately searching for her, consoling Sae's parents.
One evening, Tobio was coming back from meeting a friend from his new school when he suddenly saw silhouettes that oddly resembled Sae's.
"Sae?!" Tobio yelled as he went after her.
"It's really Sae! She is alive!" Tobio couldn't be any happier after seeing her again.
Everyone was saying she was dead. There was even a large funeral and all. But he knew that she was alive, somewhere.
Tobio tried to go after her, but after the next intersection, he completely lost her. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
Tobio stood there, contemplating whether it was just an illusion or a trick of his mind. Despite his dejection, his belief in her being alive remained strong. Then he suddenly saw his friend Sasaki Kouta behind him.
"Kouta? Kouta! Wait!" Tobio ran after him, panting heavily.
But his friend was unusually fast. He didn't know why even one of his closest friends was running from him.
Kouta was also among the students who went missing that day. After a while, Tobio caught up to him.
"Kouta! Where have you been?!" he shook Kouta's shoulders as he looked at him, surprised.
Kouta's eyes were devoid of all emotions. Tobio saw Kouta trying to move his mouth, but he couldn't make out the proper words. In this strange situation, Kouta finally spoke, oddly, "D-di-e."
Just then, Tobio saw something even stranger. A lizard-like monster was hanging from Kouta's back like an appendage. It was eating a dog and the dog's remains were still in its mouth. It struck toward Tobio.
"What!?"
Tobio, in fright, pushed Kouta back as he, himself, fell backward, making the lizard miss him. His mind was in total disarray.
He didn't know what that monster was, nor did he know why one of his closest friends would try to kill him. Many things were rushing through his mind at that moment. But one thing was clear. He had to run! Now!
He ran and ran, narrowly escaping death. The lizard kept trying to attack him. But after a while, he was panting heavily, completely exhausting himself.
"Kouta! Stop! Why are you doing this?!" he asked in surprise.
But he didn't receive any answers. All he received was the incoming attack aimed at ending his life.
Desperately searching for a way out, suddenly the lizard's attack halted as a small creature resembling a griffon intervened. The lizard was easily dissected by the griffon's wind attack.
Tobio was now even more confused. What was even happening? What were those monsters? It felt like creatures from legends coming alive right before his eyes.
As Tobio approached his unconscious friend, Kouta's body suddenly illuminated and vanished, taking the lizard-like monster's remains with it.
Further perplexed, Tobio heard footsteps behind him and remembered the griffon. He remained unsure whether it was friend or foe.
He turned around defensively but saw a beautiful young woman with light brown hair that was tied up. She had a slim and voluptuous figure, with her rather large breasts being concealed by her clothes.
"Oh, don't worry. Griffon won't hurt you," says the girl, looking at the griffon on her shoulder. She sees Tobio's tense expression and tries to calm him down.
"Griffon? Is it really a griffin? But who are you?" asked Tobio, surprised.
"Hmm. His name is Griffon too. I am Natsume Minagawa, one of the surviving students from the school trip, just like you. And we just saved your life. The least you can do is be thankful," says Natsume, pouting a bit.
"Uh! Thank you very much. You really saved my life! But what was that lizard thing? Why was it attached to Kouta? Why was he after my life? What... just what is going on?!" asked Tobio frantically after bowing to show his gratitude.
"Hey, hey, hey! Stop! Too many questions at once. Come with me for now. I will tell you everything," said Natsume.
Before Tobio could object or do anything, Natsume took him by the hand and led him to a nearby family restaurant to talk. Tobio was too embarrassed by the sudden hand-holding and the closeness that he couldn't register anything until they were sitting in a corner of the restaurant.
Their ordered food arrived, and Natsume started eating cutely. Tobio was greatly confused by the situation. Just why was he suddenly having dinner with a girl he had never met before? And one so beautiful at that! His mind was overworking.
"Why aren't you eating? Don't you like the food?" asked Natsume, tilting her head cutely to the side.
She had been starving for a while, and fighting something so... supernatural had made her extra hungry.
"No, the food's alright. Wait! That's not the problem here. Tell me what's going on? How can you eat so peacefully like this? I almost got killed!" Tobio said loudly, drawing the attention of the others.
Noticing the gazes, he mouthed "sorry" and both of them waited for the atmosphere to go back to normal.
"I know you've been through a lot. But what I am going to tell you isn't going to be pleasant either. So eat first. We can discuss it slowly," said Natsume, making Tobio agree after a bit.
Then, over the course of the meal, Natsume calmly explained the details to Tobio about the ongoing situation. She told him that all of their old classmates were taken by a group called the Utsusemi and paired each of them with a creature like Sasaki.
"Why? Why would someone even do this?" asked Tobio, flabbergasted.
"I don't know. I cannot understand the minds of such freaks," said Natsume, angry by the situation.
"Hmm. But how do you know all this information? Even the media was covering this up with other news. Who are you actually?" asked Tobio with some doubt.
"Hey. I am also like you. Suddenly plunged into this situation," said Natsume, but the look on Tobio's face said he didn't buy it.
"Look, I was also informed about all this by someone, just two days ago. I don't know much about this situation myself," said Natsume, but from the tone of her voice, it could be easily deduced that she was annoyed at something or rather someone.
"Who told you about all this?" asked Tobio.
"It was someone named Kouske. He seemed to be from a supernatural organization called Akatsuki," replied Natsume, a bit annoyed.
Although she didn't seem fond of the guy, there were still hints of red visible on her face for some reason, making Tobio even more confused. Did she hate the guy or not?
"Did he say anything else?" asked Tobio.
Natsume brought out an egg with visible veins on it and gave it to Tobio. "He told me to give this to you. It's supposed to help."
"What's this... thing?" asked Tobio, a bit overwhelmed. He had never seen something like this before.
"Take this egg and protect it with your life! Did you see Griffon earlier? He also came out of an egg like this. So no matter what, do not lose it!" said Natsume, looking serious.
"It came from an egg? Where did you get such a thing?" asked Tobio.
"It was also given to me by that brat... I mean, Kouske. He said it was made by another supernatural faction called Grigori to help people like us," replied Natsume.
"There's another organization involved? And what did he mean by people like us?" asked Tobio, but Natsume could only avert her eyes for lack of information.
How could she explain that she got so annoyed by the guy who, despite looking older, was actually younger than her but kept teasing her constantly?
In her frustration, she had rushed out of the place. Well, it gave Kouske another lesson about not being always so straightforward. Some girls may look outspoken and bold but are still maidens at heart.
The egg was actually a prototype made by Grigori to stimulate Sacred Gear holders to artificially awaken their Sacred Gears quickly.
After talking more on the topic, Tobio found a newfound determination to save all his friends, especially Sae. They left the restaurant and headed their separate ways.
As Tobio was about to leave, to go back to his room, Natsume suddenly came closer and whispered in his ear about meeting him at midnight at his house.
She told him to get all his stuff ready as they would be changing locations for safety. Her proximity and the whisper made Tobio blush visibly, which Natsume noticed with a smirk, amused by the reaction of the innocent boy.
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[A/N: This chapter and the next one feature Tobio. You will see Kouske on chapter 98. Chapter 98 is the R-18 chapter that I posted for free on Patreon previously.]