I Would Rather Die Than Kiss You – Part 05
“Tomonori?”
What?
“Why are you crying?”
“Ai… kawa… help.”
“Abnormality in host detected. Lifting spell restriction.”
Fireballs whirled around Tomonori. Three, four, five of them. Judging by the earlier blast, that was enough to destroy the whole room.
“Secret Art: Swallow Reversal!”
Clink. Sera’s green blade cleaved one of the fireballs in two. Each half flared up and vanished. So those things could be cut.
“Ayumu, why aren’t you fighting?!”
Clutching the wound at her chest with her left hand, Sera swung again. Unfazed, Tomonori hurled a fireball at her. Sera danced away, but she couldn’t fully evade the fireball’s irregular trajectory.
A blast went off, and her long, beautiful leg was painted red.
Damn it. No choice now.
I closed the gap and drove my fist into the phantom man. Two hundred percent! He didn’t even try to dodge. This time, my blow connected, solid as striking a steel plate.
Life returned to Tomonori’s eyes.
“Aikawa. What is happening to me?! What… What the hell is this?! Stop! Don’t come inside me!”
Had she come to? She clearly didn’t understand what was happening to her own body. The flame-like man behind her was piercing straight through her back.
One of the fireballs slipped right into my guard. I got too close.
Boom.
The blast ripped me off my feet, hard enough to split me in two. Once I was away from Tomonori, the light vanished from her eyes again.
“Unseal the frozen heart.”
“First incantation confirmed. Spell unlocked.”
What? Was she about to do the same thing again?
“That which would turn even the breath of the gods into a blizzard.”
“Second incantation confirmed. Cooling sequence complete.”
I put myself back together and forced myself upright. “Sera, we have to get out of here!” I shouted.
“Surge, Absolute Fenrir.”
“Final incantation confirmed. Initiating freeze.”
The entire room froze solid in an instant. It was the same phenomenon that happened while we were on our way home from the arcade.
When Kyouko saw it back then, she’d said, “Aha, I knew it. You do have Miss Ariel’s Magiclad Weapon with you.”
And Big Teach’s words: “Where are they? I don’t see them anywhere. Gosh, Ayumu, you silly thing.”
Why would she use the word they to refer to whatever I was holding on to for her? Could it be that Tomonori herself, a Vampire Ninja, was what Big Teach had entrusted to me?
And it wasn’t just that. That other girl had been scheming something insane about turning all humans into Vampire Ninjas. Which meant she had no intention of destroying the device.
“Destruction of target successful. Commencing elimination of remaining hostiles.”
Was Tomonori the agent trying to destroy the device? Or more precisely, the weapon inside Tomonori. Was that right‑half man the so‑called Magiclad Weapon?
Ice crept up my legs. The walls and corridors were already sealed under frost. Sera wasn’t able to escape either. Only Tomonori—only her body—was untouched by the freeze.
It was the same as back then. I’d seen her collapsed on the ground, already surrounded by a layer of frost.
Surrounded. I couldn’t move my legs then, but Tomonori had been perfectly fine.
She turned toward me and stepped forward. The ice cracked sharply underfoot as she drew closer.
“Bear blue flame to your right.”
“First incantation confirmed. Spell unlocked.”
Again? She was really going to keep going? I kicked off my frozen shoes and planted myself on the ice.
“Carry red flame in your left.”
“Second incantation confirmed. Flame burst, primed and ready.”
I closed the gap again. A fireball came my way, but Sera hurled a maple‑shaped leaf at Tomonori’s arm, knocking it off course. The fireball struck the wall and exploded.
How do I stop this? What do I do?
I didn’t know. Was killing Tomonori the only option?
Like hell I can do that. She’s my friend!
I pulled Tomonori into my arms. Not to hit her, or anything else.
“Stop! Please, stop! Tomonori!”
Suddenly, light returned to her eyes.
“D‑Don’t call me Tomonori!” she yelled, then blacked out.
Blown away by the force of Tomonori’s outburst, the man who flickered like flames and the exploding fireballs dissolved into the air.
I didn’t know what that thing inside Tomonori had been. The ice melted away almost immediately, and I slumped down in the room, now filled with the stench of pork bone broth. Whatever had been inside the tank must have all spilled out through the broken wall.
Tomonori was beside me, breathing softly in her sleep. In the corner, Sera and the girl were leaning against the wall.
Sera had drained the blood pack the girl carried, but it wasn’t enough to heal her wounds. Holding her alluring chest, she walked over.
I got up and asked, “Are you good?”
She shook her head. “I need fresh blood.”
“Then take mine.”
“Absolutely not.”
Yeah, thought so. No need to glare at me with those red eyes.
“So, what exactly happened to Tomonori… to Maelstrom?” I asked.
“I don’t know. She never had that kind of power before.”
“Is she really a Vampire Ninja?”
“Yes. She’s been on missions for years. She’s a skilled Vampire Ninja.”
Magiclad Girls could alter memories. What if the very existence of Tomonori had been implanted in her mind?
I sighed. Sera watched me with a furrowed brow, but not like she wanted to throw the usual insults.
“You look like you’re in pain,” I said. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yes. I should make it home, but I’ll need Haruna’s blood as soon as possible.”
Only Sera would have beautiful-looking pained breaths.
“Being a Vampire Ninja sounds like a rough deal.”
“I’m proud I became one.”
“Became? You weren’t born a Vampire Ninja?”
“Vampire Ninjas don’t age. If we didn’t age from birth, we’d still look like infants.”
“Fair point.”
“Vampire Ninjas refer to those given Miss Hellscythe’s blood, which stops aging.”
“So Eu really did create you guys. So to turn humanity into Vampire Ninjas, all you have to do is share your blood?”
“Yes. Most likely, they planned to mix Vampire Ninja blood into drinking water.”
“It still works diluted?”
“They probably didn’t intend to make them as strong as we are.”
“Still, raining blood down on people is nightmare fuel.”
“Vampire Ninjas have a hard time producing their own blood. Using our abilities also consumes it. That’s why we need regular transfusions. Non-ninja vampires would just attack people.”
“Then why won’t you drink mine?”
“When we feed, we give the target a drug from our fangs so there are no side effects.”
“And that’s why you always kiss the person.”
“And I would rather die than kiss you.”
“You hate me that much, huh. Need a shoulder?”
“I prefer not to waste soap, so don’t touch me.”
Yeah. She’d be fine.
Just then, my phone rang.
“Hold on a second,” I told Sera.
I walked over to the side where an entire wall was gone, looking out over the city lights as I flipped the phone open. An unfamiliar number.
“Hello?”
“Ayumu! You gotta come too!”
It was Haruna’s voice.
“Haruna? Where are you calling from?”
“I borrowed a phone at the arcade.”
“I see. You’re not… causing trouble… right?”
My voice started breaking up. I found myself staring blankly up at the sky, almost dropping the phone.
“It’s so much fun! Just hurry up and get here, ‘kay?”
“As much… as I want to…”
The heavy flap of wings grated in my ears.
In front of me stood a monster with a lizard’s face, a bat’s wings, and red skin. There was only one word I could think of for a creature like this. Dragon.
Throwing a super-famous monster like this at me in my current state was beyond cruel.
The dragon, wearing a school uniform, was heading toward me. Four or five meters tall, the massive creature squeezed through the opening and entered the building.
It pointed one of its three thick fingers at Tomonori. Was it after her?
Right. Kyouko must have realized it too. How back then, Tomonori alone hadn’t been harmed. It wasn’t me who had the weapon. It was Tomonori. In fact, she herself was the weapon. Kyouko had probably figured she was connected to it.
This dragon must be a fake Megalo sent by Kyouko. But something was off.
Why wasn’t Kyouko here? Wasn’t she the one who wanted the weapon?
“Ayumu! Are you listening? Don’t ignore me!”
“Sorry, Haruna. This might take—”
“Ah!” Haruna yelped.
“What’s wrong? Did you… do something?”
“Ayumu! They’re—help!”
“Haruna, run!”
“Hey, Haruna! Damn it.”
No answer.
The dragon hunched as it edged toward Tomonori, so I kicked its lizard face with 300% power.
Ignoring the glare it shot me, I kept shouting into the phone. “Haruna! Hey, Haruna!”
I caught a faint voice on the other end. So soft I could barely hear it without straining my ears. It was Big Teach, calling Kyouko’s name.
But why would she go after Big Teach? Kyouko was supposed to be after Big Teach’s Magiclad Weapon.
Of course! Big Teach could make them. Kyouko must be planning to force her to create one. But how would she manage to handle someone of Big Teach’s caliber?
That man. If he was as powerful as Eu, there was a good chance Big Teach would fall.
A bad feeling twisted in my gut. Haruna rarely asked for help. I had to finish this thing fast and get to her.
I put away the phone and readied my fists. “Sera! Take Tomonori and get out of here!”
Sera was already striking from the dragon’s flank.
Well, of course. Vampire Ninjas did not cower before any foe.
Its long tail slammed into her, swatting her away in a full swing that would’ve made Ogasawara[1] proud.
Sera crashed into the wall with a cry of pain.
I threw caution aside and lunged in with my strongest blow, 600% power.
The lizard’s mouth gaped wide, rows of sharp teeth bared. Purple fire spewed from its throat.
I crossed my arms in front of me, cancelling my attack.
Fuck! I needed to take this thing down fast and get to Haruna. Hot. Too damn hot.
Zombies were weak against fire and light. I knew from experience that once burned, my regeneration slowed significantly.
A six-hundred-percent strike risked blowing off my own limbs from the recoil. If that happened now, it would take a while to reattach them.
Damn it. I had to beat it with three hundred percent or less if I wanted to help them.
“Here I come! Secret Art: Swallow Reversal!”
Twin green blades in hand, Sera struck from behind. Even after seeing that fire breath, she didn’t falter. Classic Sera. I’d have frozen up.
Her swords carved into its hide, but the dragon didn’t seem to care.
Sera backed away for a moment. The dragon swung a three-fingered fist toward her with a speed no one would expect from its size.
Perfect. It had turned its back to me. I closed in and drove a full-force punch into its back.
Even a dragon howled under a three-hundred-percent hit. Its tail lashed out, swatting me aside. I crashed hard into the wall.
The impact was brutal. So that’s what Sera had taken head-on? Not good. Not good at all.
“Ugh! Gaaah!”
The dragon wrung Sera’s body like a wet rag.
How much time had passed? I had to get to Haruna as soon as possible.
But this thing was pretty damn strong. What now? The two of us would take too long. The two of us…
“Aikawa!”
The voice snapped me back just in time to see the tail swinging for me. I ducked, and the wall behind me crumbled. Then a fireball slammed into the tail.
“Tomonori?”
She was standing with a fireball glowing in her left hand. But she still seemed fully conscious, her sharp eyes locked onto the dragon. That fireball didn’t look like part of the weapon’s abilities.
“Aikawa, Seraphim! Let’s do this!”
Grinning like she was having fun, she grabbed the blazing end of the fireball and spun it like a hammer thrower.
So that’s how she normally used it. She cast it like a fishing line, and though it didn’t explode, the impact made the dragon stagger and release Sera.
Before her ponytail even brushed the floor, Sera’s blade tore across the dragon’s throat. The dragon opened its jaws wide toward her.
I stomped on its tail with 600% strength. Just stomping didn’t blow my body apart, thankfully.
The dragon’s head whipped toward me. Tomonori’s fireball flew straight into its mouth, then exploded. Those fireball bombs were no joke.
The dragon disintegrated into glittering particles. I didn’t have time to watch it fade. I had no idea how long this fight had taken.
“Sera, I’m heading to Haruna.”
“As much as I would like to join you, I can’t.” She couldn’t even get to her feet.
“It’s the thought that counts. Tomonori, watch over her.”
“A-All right.”
I stood where the wall had been. The cool night breeze felt good against my overheated skin.
“Oh, Tomonori. I want Hamburg steak tomorrow.”
She gave me a firm thumbs-up, and I returned it.
Then I hurled myself into the dark sky.
1. Michihiro Ogasawara is a Japanese former professional baseball player who had an illustrious career spanning 18 years with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Yomiuri Giants, and the Chunichi Dragons where he won two Japan Series, two MVP awards in both the Pacific and Central leagues.
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