"Bang!"
The eagle Mlortha flew backward, smashing through the wall of the jewelry store before crashing hard into a car. Divine slowly emerged through the hole in the wall.
"It's about time we finished this." Divine took a card from the Card Box on the right side of his belt. It was orange-yellow, with a fist smashing into a rock.
At Divine's words, panic flashed in the eyes of the badly wounded eagle Mlortha. Divine inserted the card into the armor on his left fist, and it immediately emitted three synthesized mechanical voices.
Kill Weapon
Energy Storage
Heavy Fist Smash
But just as Divine was about to bring his orange-yellow-glowing left fist down on the eagle Mlortha, a pitch-black blade of light suddenly slashed in from his left. Divine redirected his glowing fist to meet it, but less than a second later, he was overpowered and sent flying.
"Boom!"
"Aaagh!"
"Thud!"
Divine crashed hard into a nearby building and was forced out of his transformation. At the same time, Senba Gari struggled to his feet, spat out a mouthful of blood, then looked toward the direction the black blade of light had come from.
A figure in a loose, pitch-black samurai outfit stood there, a crimson katana hanging at his waist. His head was a fearsome demon's, with sharp, jutting teeth and a pair of great horns that curved upward from his forehead. His crimson eyes promised terror. Then the monster spoke.
[Heh. What a pathetic sight, my nemesis, Divine!]
"You're the monster that came out of that stone statue the other day!" Senba Gari looked weakly at the monster before him, which reminded him of Hagoromo Gitsune.
[Oh? So you haven't forgotten me after all. Hahaha! In that case, I'll tell you my name. I am Muramasa, the Ghost Samurai, one of the Seven-HBrute! Remember that name, my nemesis. You and I will fight again someday! Come on, you useless waste of space!]
With that, Muramasa took the eagle Mlortha with him and vanished into a cloud of black mist before Senba Gari.
Staring at the spot where Muramasa and the eagle Mlortha had disappeared, Senba Gari's vision suddenly went dark, and he collapsed.
Master! Silver Phantom, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, saw Senba Gari fall to the ground.
Let's Become Idols! (Part 1)
"Whoosh."
"Whoosh."
"Whoosh."
On a white cloud in a sky swept by fierce winds, Senba Gari held a jade-green bow in his left hand and placed an arrow against the string with his right. He drew it back, then let go. The arrow flew straight toward the eye-of-the-storm symbol ahead of him, but the surrounding wind blew it off course. Just as Senba Gari was about to nock another arrow, Unicorn's voice reached his ears.
[Kid, I don't think you should keep going. It's no use.]
Hearing Unicorn's words, Senba Gari silently lowered his bow and turned to face him.
"Hey, Unicorn, you know, I knew the Seven-HBrute were strong, but I never thought they'd be so strong I couldn't fight back at all. Twice. I've lost twice, completely and utterly! After my fight with Hagoromo Gitsune, I thought I could at least hold my own against the Seven-HBrute for a while. But then that Ghost Samurai Muramasa showed up, and he beat me with just one move. My left hand's still trembling."
As he spoke, Senba Gari looked at his slightly trembling left hand. It was a lingering effect from confronting the blade of light Muramasa had unleashed. Whenever he thought of that clash, his left hand would tremble a little.
Unicorn had listened quietly to Senba Gari's confession, but now he spoke up.
"Tch, you really are—Forget it. There's no point in carrying on like this. So, leave."
As soon as Unicorn finished speaking, he gently flapped his wings at Senba Gari, and Senba Gari disappeared. Unicorn then turned around and spoke to the empty space before him.
[Garuda, it seems the person you chose is feeling a little down.]
Suddenly, a ball of fire as tall as Unicorn appeared before him. The flames dispersed, revealing Garuda, a Phantom Beast with a human body, a bird's face, fiery red feathers, and a pair of enormous scarlet wings. Garuda spoke.
[Don't worry. No matter what, this kid is someone that fellow and I chose together. So let's try believing in him. After all, he's our last hope.] With that, Garuda disappeared before Unicorn.
[Our last hope, huh? In that case, I'll try believing in him.] Unicorn gazed thoughtfully at the eye-of-the-storm symbol before him.
"Mm."
When Senba Gari's consciousness returned to the real world, he slowly opened his eyes. As he started to sit up, Silver Phantom, who had been keeping watch by his side, saw him wake and looked at him excitedly.
Master! Thank goodness! You're finally awake! (≧▽≦)/
"Mm, Phantom. How long was I asleep?" Senba Gari asked Silver Phantom.
Actually, Master, you slept through the night after I brought you back. Your left hand was dislocated, so I set it for you, but you won't have much strength in it for a while.
Hearing Silver Phantom's words, Senba Gari raised his left hand and clenched it. Sure enough, it still felt weak. The scene of his clash with Muramasa's black blade of light flashed through his mind, and he unconsciously clenched both hands. Then he shook his head, put the thought aside, got out of bed, and spoke to Silver Phantom.
"Phantom, get ready. We're going to Otonokizaka."
Master, shouldn't you stay home and get some more rest?
"No. This injury is nothing. All right, get out of here!" Senba Gari pushed Silver Phantom out the door, then leaned against it and looked up at the ceiling, muttering to himself.
"Honestly, I can't believe I was scared just now. Scared of fighting those guys. What's gotten into me lately?"
Down in front of the UTX Academy building, Honoka Kosaka stood among the crowd, looking at a UTX Academy brochure in her hands. But then the huge LCD screen on the building caught her attention.
Welcome to UTX Academy.
On the enormous LCD screen, three girls dressed in gorgeous outfits waved to the people below. Honoka Kosaka looked at the three girls on the screen, then glanced through her brochure again. The people below began shrieking, and Honoka Kosaka was startled by the noise. When she turned around, she was startled again by a petite girl with black twin tails, bundled up in a thick coat from head to toe and wearing sunglasses and a mask.
Nervously, Honoka Kosaka looked at the suspicious girl and asked,
"Um..."
"What is it? I'm very busy!" The petite girl pulled down her mask and looked at Honoka Kosaka, seeming annoyed.
"Um... I wanted to ask, are those people performers or something?"
"Huh?!" The girl looked at Honoka Kosaka in disbelief, then leaned forward and peered at her through her sunglasses. "You seriously don't know something like that?! Doesn't it say so in the brochure you're holding? What have you been looking at?"
"I-I'm sorry!" Apparently intimidated by the girl, Honoka Kosaka apologized.
Perhaps because of Honoka Kosaka's apologetic attitude, the girl turned aside and crossed her arms.
"They're called A-ries."
"A-ries?" Honoka Kosaka asked, confused.
"They're school idols."
"Idols..."
"Exactly. And they're idols formed at the school. You've never heard of them?"
"Hanayo, we're going to be late, meow~"
"W-Wait for me!"
Honoka Kosaka turned at the sound of the voices and saw two short-haired girls running toward them.
Honoka Kosaka turned back to look at the three idols on the huge LCD screen. She found herself captivated by their singing and dancing.
Then Honoka Kosaka staggered over to a nearby railing and bowed her head. Suddenly, Senba Gari's voice came from behind her.
"Hey, Honoka, are you okay?"
But Honoka Kosaka didn't respond. She just kept muttering,
"This is it..."
"Huh?" Senba Gari asked, confused.
"This is it... I found it!"
Let's Become Idols! (Part 2)
"Hm? Is that Honoka?"
A few minutes earlier, Senba Gari had ridden Silver Phantom past the UTX Academy building and spotted Honoka Kosaka talking to a black-haired girl with twin tails who was bundled up from head to toe. Nearby, Rin Hoshizora had arrived with Hanayo Koizumi.
Then Honoka Kosaka looked up at the three girls on the enormous LCD screen atop the UTX building. She seemed to lose focus and stumbled backward before weaving over to one side and gripping the railing.
"What's gotten into that girl now? No, I'd better go check on her."
Watching from a distance, Senba Gari took off his helmet, dismounted Silver Phantom, and hurried over behind Honoka Kosaka.
"Hey, Honoka, are you okay?"
But Honoka Kosaka didn't respond. She just kept muttering,
"This is it..."
"Huh?" Senba Gari asked, confused.
"This is it... I found it!"
At the same time, Honoka Kosaka turned to face Senba Gari and grabbed both his arms tightly. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him and said excitedly,
"Damn, how is this girl so strong?!" Senba Gari tried to pull free of Honoka Kosaka's grasp, but he didn't dare use too much force. So he raised his right hand to her forehead and gave it a gentle flick.
"Ow! That hurt! Teacher Senba, what was that for? My forehead hurts!" Honoka Kosaka covered her slightly reddened forehead and looked at Senba Gari aggrievedly.
"Don't try to act cute. You're seriously strong! You squeezed my arms so hard they hurt." Senba Gari rubbed his sore arms.
"Oh, did I? Sorry." Honoka Kosaka awkwardly scratched the back of her head.
Senba Gari looked at Honoka Kosaka helplessly. Then he glanced at his watch and suddenly shouted in alarm,
"Damn! I'm going to be late!"
"What?! We're going to be late! Ahhh, it's over! There's no way I'll make it now!" Honoka Kosaka panicked when she heard him.
Senba Gari walked over to Silver Phantom, then looked back at Honoka Kosaka, who was still fretting behind him, and called out,
"Hey, Honoka! What are you standing around for? Come on, I'll give you a ride."
"Huh? Oh! That's great! Thanks, Teacher Senba!" Honoka Kosaka climbed onto the back of Silver Phantom, then wrapped both arms around Senba Gari's waist without a second thought.
"..."
Feeling the two soft mounds against his back, Senba Gari's face flushed beneath his helmet. He thought,
Doesn't this girl know anything about keeping her distance from boys?! And do all high school girls have figures this good? Wait! What am I even thinking?!
"Teacher, are you not going? We'll be late if we don't hurry." Honoka Kosaka didn't think there was anything wrong with what she was doing. She just looked at Senba Gari, puzzled.
"Ah, right. N-nothing. Hold on tight. I'm starting up." A little flustered, Senba Gari replied to Honoka Kosaka, then started Silver Phantom and rode toward Otonokizaka.
"Creeeak—"
At the corner across the road from Otonokizaka, Senba Gari spoke to Honoka Kosaka, who had already gotten off.
"To avoid any misunderstandings, I'll drop you off here. There's still a little time before class, so don't worry. I'll go park. See you in a bit."
"See you later, Teacher Senba," Honoka Kosaka said to Senba Gari as he prepared to leave.
Master, your face was a little red just now~ <(￣︶￣)/
Under a streetlamp, Senba Gari had just parked Silver Phantom when its voice came through his earpiece.
"You talk too much! You'd better not cause any trouble again today, or else... Hmph!" Senba Gari looked back at Silver Phantom threateningly.
When Silver Phantom didn't say anything else, Senba Gari walked toward Otonokizaka with an easy smile.
"Look!"
In Class 2-B, Honoka Kosaka placed a pile of books and magazines about idols in front of Minami Kotori and Umi Sonoda.
"Kotori, what's all this?" Minami Kotori looked at the books and magazines before her, puzzled.
"This is the idea I came up with! We're going to become school idols!" Seeing that Umi Sonoda and Minami Kotori still seemed confused, Honoka Kosaka continued, "There seem to be more and more school idols these days. The schools attended by the most popular ones get more applicants, so I thought—"
As Honoka Kosaka said this, Umi Sonoda suddenly had a bad feeling. She tried to sneak out, but just as she reached the classroom door, Honoka Kosaka called out to her.
"Umi, I haven't finished talking!"
"Um, I just remembered I have something to do..."
"I came up with a great idea. Just listen to me."
At that, Umi Sonoda sighed and said,
"You're going to say that you want us to become school idols together, right?"
Before you continue