KYOTO SEEKER, CHAPTER 4
“Come now, take a shower or something, it’ll help,” Yukitarou said, leading Chuuni inside his castle. Chuuni didn’t have a house in this reality, so he often took residence in the library. However, he had just recently woken up in this reality, so it wasn’t like his OR self had any control over what he did before then.
Chuuni’s mind at the moment was too full of thoughts for him to do or say much. He had just witnessed a brutal murder, and there was absolutely nothing he could have done to save that one innocent person.
“You’re feeling guilty right now, huh?” Yukitarou asked, grabbing Chuuni’s attention. “Don’t. I’m the one who did it. I know you know there wasn’t anything you could’ve done, but he trapped you on purpose to save you from potentially getting hurt, knowing I’d pop out of the corner.”
“…What do you mean?” Chuuni finally said. “He didn’t trap me to bring me somewhere or do something to me? It was just to protect me from…you?”
“Correct.”
“Ughh, I feel sick to my stomach.. Knowing that just made me feel even worse,” Chuuni groaned.
“Chuuni, before you start getting all sad again… Note how he knew I would attack him.” Yukitarou picked up a delicate, fancy-looking envelope that was lying on the ground outside of the castle door. “I won’t say any more. Read this letter.”
Chuuni looked confused at Yukitarou for a moment before taking the letter and opening it up to read it. His eyes widened.
“It’s an invitation letter for you to have some tea with the Seeker. I’ll allow it, because one… You could get valuable information from him, and two..” Yukitarou’s eyes narrowed. “This is your opportunity to get close to him. Apparently, Mangan’s mission was to collect information from you, and then lead you to Hanamaru’s castle to chat. This shows that they know you’re a Psychic, and thus their enemy, but they seem friendly enough towards you that you just might have a chance.”
“But… I don’t really want to kill anyone, not after seeing that,” Chuuni’s eyes glistened.
“Fine. But you should take the opportunity, in case you change your mind,” Yukitarou suggested.
Walking out of the room, Chuuni referred often to the directions in the letter in order to get to his destination. Even though the DR was made up entirely of the people in Chuuni’s class, which wasn’t a lot, the reality itself was fairly large. Since he was literally going to the other side of this world, he had no choice but to find some mode of transportation. And that was when he spotted a car with a boy inside that had strawberry blonde hair.
His eyes were familiar… too familiar.
“Chu-“ He tried to ask before getting interrupted.
“Mangan??” Chuuni asked, eyes wide.
“Ahah, good to see you too, Chuuni,” Mangan smiled. “I know you’re confused. Get in, I’ll explain everything.”
While they drove to Hanamaru’s castle, Chuuni decided to get some answers.
“How are you alive? I watched him… brutally murder you,” Chuuni couldn’t even bear to look at Mangan through the small mirror used for looking at any cars behind them. Mangan, however, looked right at him.
“Well, it’s simple. I’m not dumb enough to think I could’ve escaped so easily with information like that, so I had someone swap me out for an illusion,” he explained.
“Who? Wait, more importantly- aren’t we on opposite sides?? Is it even okay for me to be talking to you right now?” Chuuni panicked slightly.
“Hehe, don’t look so stiff, Chuuni! I’m not here to hurt you. Hanamaru just asked me to bring you to his castle, is all,” Mangan said.
“So he knew I would accept the offer…” Chuuni mumbled. “Tell me about this ‘someone.’ What’s his name? Or more importantly, his ability?”
Mangan smiled gently and paused for a moment before replying, “Do you care to simply ask him in person?”
“I can do that?!”
“Well, yes, we are headed to the Seeker’s castle, after all. It would be wise to assume other Oculi will be there, as well.”
Chuuni clenched his fists. “Mangan.” He said, making him look at him through the mirror. “Even though we’re on opposite sides, I… I’m glad you’re alive. I don’t think I could’ve lived knowing you went down like that, without even finishing the page you were on..”
“Oh, about that! I honestly could have cared less about that page, I was about to set the book down regardless of whether you came in or not. That’s just a random lie that I told the illusion user to use in order to make my ‘death’ seem more realistic. Thank you for worrying, though!” He had just said something so infuriating to know, and he did it with a bright smile on his face, as usual… It probably wasn’t too big of an exaggeration to say a vein popped on Chuuni’s forehead.
“Ah yeah, yeah,” Chuuni said through clenched teeth, gritting them when he ceased talking. “I swear, this guy is going to be the death of me.”
“Ok, we’re here!” Mangan said excitedly. “I can’t wait for you to meet the others. I’m willing to bet that only the illusion user and Hanamaru will be there to discuss recent matters, but still.”
The two walked inside the castle, Mangan leading Chuuni up royal stairs to a tea room.
“My greetings to you, Kazan,” an unfamiliar voice said.
“Uh, hey…random dude. Also, why does everyone keep calling me Kazan?! It’s just Chuuni!” Chuuni exploded.
“Apologies then, Chuuni. My name is Hanamaru, the Seeker,” he said with closed eyes. “Might I interest you in a cup of tea?”
“This is what the Seeker’s like?!? And he didn’t even introduce himself as the Kyoto Seeker! I’ve been doing this all wrong!!” Chuuni somehow just realized.
“Wow…” Chuuni sweatdropped. “I mean!! Your place looks really fancy! And nice! And uhh… I would love a cup of tea! Thank you!”
Mangan patted his shoulder from behind. “No need to be polite, Chuuni. He prefers that you stay casual with him to make it feel more like you’re friends. Besides, weren’t you calling him ‘dude’ just a moment ago?” He reasoned, a seemingly never-ending smile on his face.
“I guess so… Um, so tell me about yourself, or just anything at all.. Hanamaru.” Chuuni said.
“Hm, anywhere I should begin?” He asked in reply.
“The fact that he’s talking so formally is making me feel like I need to talk formally too..! But he won’t like it if I do that :(“ Chuuni thought. Yes, he thinks in emoticons sometimes. “Yeah. Why am I here?”
“I just wanted for us, Mangan, and Romeoto talk about what has happened recently. However, Romeo hasn’t arrived ye-“
“Hanamaru!! Sorry I’m late!” A voice said. He had dark grey hair with lighter grey streaks in it, and quite the outfit to go with it.
“Ah, Romeo-san. We were just talking about you,” said Hanamaru.
“Y-you were? I’m flattered,” Romeo replied. “Oh, this must be Kaza-“
“For the last time, it’s just Chuuni!!!” Chuuni yelled, getting fed up. Then he looked around the room and quietly said, “sorry.”
“I-I-It-It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Romeo stuttered, now slightly scared of Chuuni.
“Aw, Romeo, Chuuni doesn’t bite,” Mangan grinned comfortingly. “From what I can tell, it’s normal for him to be just a tad angry.”
It was in that moment that Chuuni wanted to yell at him about how he’s not USUALLY angry, just really pissed off at the moment. But he decided against it, since he wanted to make a first good impression on the Seeker.
“O-oh, in that case…” Romeo looked down.
“All of that is besides the point. Let us begin our discussion,” Hanamaru said, gentle but powerful. “Chuuni, let me explain to you what we did to save Mangan.”
“Right!”
“First and foremost, Mangan is technically a Looker now, but he is not actually solidly on either side. He’s willing to save or help both the Oculi and the Psi. Romeo’s case is similar, but he’s a Psycho who decided to help out Mangan as well as the Oculi just this one time. Now, Mangan was smart enough to know Yukitarou would kill him if he attempted to escape, so we swapped him out for Romeo’s illusion. Romeo’s ability allows him to use any nearby smoke or fog to create an illusion of the exact type of person that the viewer, or victim, would care about most. That’s why he sees Juliet when using his skill on himself.” Romeo shifted his stance uncomfortably. “It was a risky plan, but we assumed that Mangan is the exact kind of person you’d care about, Chuuni.”
“Wh-what?!” Chuuni stuttered. “I mean,, I do care about him, but…”
Mangan laughed, “Hahaha, I mean, it was kind of obvious from the way he looked at me-“ He tried to say before Hanamaru karate chopped him on the head.
Hanamaru exhaled and continued, “Additionally, Mangan gave three valuable pieces of information to you because he trusts you and hoped that you would do good with them. One said where he lived, one was simply to be friendly and know him better, and one revealed that he was a spy. However, he also got valuable information in the process— everything he listed to you earlier. Technically, this information would lead to punishment for you. I am well aware that your motive is to kill me.”
Chuuni’s eyes widened at this. “You are? Then why aren’t I being killed right now or something? I’m a potential threat to one of the highest ranks in this entire reality.”
“Because us Oculi have less… cruel ways of dealing with people. That sort of punishment sounds exactly like what a Psi would do. The Oculi, on the other hand, would simply put you in captivity,” Hanamaru explained.
“And why am I not in captivity right now?” Chuuni asked.
“Because I want to give you a chance.” Hanamaru’s eyes held a certain sort of confidence to them that felt almost…reassuring? “You should join the Oculi. You wouldn’t be a high rank, as you would be a Glancer due to previously being a Psi, but you could get promoted. The only downside is that… you may be targeted by the Psi. But, you would be a hero.”
Chuuni’s eyes widened dramatically. He was being given a chance to be a hero, without killing anyone. He wanted to accept the offer so badly, but wouldn’t Yukitarou get upset and kill him? And not to mention he wanted to be THE Seeker, not just some low-level Glancer. But above all, he needed to be a hero, even if he wasn’t a high-
Suddenly the roof was destroyed, and a familiar figure with jet black hair came crashing through. It was obvious to Chuuni who it was.
“I hope it isn’t rude that I’ve been eavesdropping this whole time. I’ve come with orders, though. Romeo, go back to our half of the world. Mangan, get out of my sight permanently. And Chuuni…” Hearing the way he said his name nearly froze him to the bone with anxiety. “Come with me. I want to teach you something.” The way his voice suddenly became cheery rather than the strictness of his previous statements, scared Chuuni so badly that he tried to run out of the room as fast as he could. That was when something grabbed the edge of his shoulder firmly.
“Don’t leave, Chuuni. He wants you to be scared of him.” Mangan suddenly had determination in his eyes.
“I-I-“ Chuuni was close to tears.
“It’s okay.” Mangan smiled in an attempt to comfort him. “Just stay here. If you leave, there’ll be no one to protect you, but if you stay then you’ve got three people on your side.”
“But I don’t want to be protected,” Chuuni began to cry. “I want t-to protect others, and be a he-hero…” His voice broke.
“Yet heroes don’t cry!” said Mangan. He knew it was a bit cringe, but maybe it would help Chuuni feel better. “Especially not when faced with challenges like this one! Stand tall and-“
“Mangan. What did I say about getting out of my sight permanently?” Yukitarou slowly drew his sword and then quickly tried to stab him with it. But it was no use, as Hanamaru grabbed and stopped the blade just as quickly.
“I will deal with him. You three, escape quickly,” Hanamaru ordered. “Chuuni, until you make your decision about my offer, I will take you under my wing. Go quickly!”
“No! I want to stay and help-“ Chuuni reached out his hand before being dragged away by Mangan.
“This isn’t some stereotypical superhero/supervillain comic book, Chuuni! You aren’t going to stay and fight heroically, and we aren’t going to help you do so! We’re leaving NOW!”
So the three escaped the castle as fast as they could, Chuuni still crying and eventually running on his own rather than being dragged.
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