V.Vizard! 6

The objects around me are floating...

What is this light-weighted, metallic feeling? Am I... A rod of metal? Am I a magnet?

... But the things floating... Aren't metallic at all... ?

In fact, they're mainly unrelated junk. I see a crushed bottle of murky water, and a fan blade that's broken in one wing, a broken feather duster with a plastic handle, a map of some place called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, some unknown broken instrument with snake skin at the drum area or something, a finished packet of tissue paper, to name a few, there's a lot of things I'm seeing right now that are floating around me.

"Forget me."

A voice calls out to my four'o'clock, and I spin around, to see a little girl with Han purple hair waving at me.

... Is that waving for salutations or departure? 'Forget me'? Why does she want to say goodbye?

I feel something protrude from my straight, magnetic body. It feels like an arm, but my skin colour isn't that black.

It's so hard to move the arm, that halfway stretching my arm out to her, she walked away.

The objects around me start to flutter, quiver, vibrate out of control.

And from that point on, the dream fell right into a nightmare.

The objects that have been levitating around me, could have counts up to hundreds.

They start to move around me, or, more accurately, rotate in orbit around me.

The objects at first merely bump against each other lightly, but the further the girl walked from me, the more brutal and savage the collisions became.

What started as slightly over a hundred items floating around me passively quickly turned into an unsuppressed hurricane of glass, metal bits, wood, plastic shards, shrapnel-sized debris and basically anything that composed of the more-than-a-hundred items, cutting anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its wake.

I don't want to seperate from the girl. I'm confused. Why does she want to walk away from me? What have I done? Why must I forget her? What did she mean?!

My feet feel heavy as I tried to lift them - My entire body feels ridiculously dense and movement is hard to execute itself.

She walked away at a normal speed, but with this mobility-restricting body, I couldn't even take a single step without great effort, and the distance between us just seemed to grow further, and further...

The hurricane seemed to have grown even bigger than before. The bridge nearby has been riveted with so many tiny, finely-ground parts that the stone pebbles and metal that composed it came off only to join the hurricane itself, strengthening it even further.

It's... too strong!!!

I can't get to the girl, I can't escape the hurricane, I can't even take a single step! This is ridiculous!

I feel glad that the hurricane does not appear to hurt me, but I feel horribly guilty at the same time.

It's as if I was at the center of all this destruction - I destroyed everything. Did I take pride in the obliteration of everything around me? Was that why I felt so light, yet so heavy at the same time?

*** ***

Geh!

It was a dream... ?

... What was with that light-weighted, yet dense feeling at the same time? Standing completely still was definitely in my comfort zone, but the more I struggled, the tougher it was to move about...

... Why haven't I changed out of my undershirt and boxers yet? They stink of grease, rust and grime...

More importantly, what time is it now? I have to get to work!

... Ahh, it's 6:13am. I didn't need to wake so early to get to work, but it helps to wake this early for some preparations.

Let's see... I remember that the floor has been cleaned, thanks to Homei stepping in with her shoes, the dishes are done, the windows are wiped, my bedroom's cleared out, the kitchen tiles and the spaces between them have been purged, so the only thing left is to take out the clutter, I guess.

... I feel really thirsty, and my face hurts...

Oh yeah, Homei clobbered my face in because I called her a tsundere, so at least that mystery's solved. Well, it was the truth, after all, but it's tolerable if she really is a tsundere, since that action would befit her then.

That was really awkward of me though. I predicted that she was going to say 'Please swear upon me everlasting love then.', but to think my bad habit kicked in at such a convenient time was just unbelievable.

Sometimes, I feel as though there's a powerful entity out there controlling my every unconscious movement, making me do these crazy, embarrassing things probably for his own amusement...

... Well, best not to brood over it. I may have woken up early, but time still ticks.

Gotta make the best out of it! Life's limited, after all!

*** ***

It's been four days since I had that weird dream.

I still wonder why I dreamt of something that scary. It's been a long while since I've had a nightmare on this scale.

Could it possibly be a foreshadowing of something bad about to happen?

For a long time now, I've been bugged not just by that dream alone, but by other dreams as well.

I have had cases where my dreams become reality, and it becomes a déjà vu moment. It's certainly happened before.

Could this be another one?... Probably not. I can't even begin to think that Homei would just walk away from me without giving a proper explanation.

As much as she's a nut when it comes to getting my favour, Homei's actually a pretty rational person. When she's playing any form of games with Rwanda and Eito, and sometimes Butch, she's often the winner even when they played against her seriously. The only times she's lost was when Rwanda cheated with Eito, or when it was something that she could not reach, like climbing up the small wall at the playground near Grandfather's home.

I can't imagine her just... Leaving things uncleared, as they are, and being satisfied with that. That would defy her personality completely.

... Ah, my key's not in my pocket?

Oh, it's on the other side of the train track. I would get it right now if the barricades were raised, but here comes a train.

... Wait, here's a perfect chance to practice!

Okay, here goes. Imagine a whole row of air being expelled... A solid column of vacuum in the air...

And now, to break up the column into many segments, and to suction them in sequence.

Vacuum... Pull!

The key at the other end of the train track is being pulled by the column!... while dragging on the floor?

... The key stopped?! ON THE TRACK RAIL!?

WHAT!? How is that possible!? The Vacuum Pull worked perfectly fine at Butch's place, so why did it fail me now!?

I want to get the key, but if I go out and get it now, there's a very big possibility of being run over by the train. Also, I do have a spare key with me, but that main key's been with me long enough for me to develop a relationship with it! I don't want to see the key I've consistently used for 11 years to be destroyed like this!

... I guess I can only wait until the train passes.

The train approaches the crossing at a fearsome speed. You can hear its roaring engine from 400 meters away. It's getting closer, closer... Just hurry up and pass so I can get my key...

But when the train reached the intersection, that's when I realised the biggest problem.

The key is lying on the rail that the train's travelling on, with its handle on the gravel ground and the jagged teeth lying on the track.

NOOOOOOOOOO~!!!

The train just chipped off the jagged teeth section. Mercilessly. The process was like looking at an ant being crushed by a tank, and weeping for the ant.

... The key I've been with for so long... Broken off just like that...

Why did Vacuum Pull not work?

"Bahahahahahahahahah!!!"

Someone's... mocking me? Someone's rejoicing in my misery? WHO COULD BE THAT HEARTLESS TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!

IT'S... IT'S...!!! IT'S A STRANGER THAT I-... don't know.

I've never met this guy before. A stranger wearing a blue cap and street clothes, has a rather thick beard, and looks to be of a muscular build. Seriously, who is this guy?

"That was priceless! I've never seen an amateur screw up this badly before!"

... A hipster like him is sneering at me. Suddenly I feel like my existence is really worthless...

"Hey, was that Southenise or Vacuum Pull you did there?"

... ! Wait, he knows the term Vacuum Pull?

To know that term, and to laugh at me for failing it... It's almost as if he's a v.vizard as well! And an experienced one at that! If I can talk to him, maybe... Just maybe... !

"Uhm... Could you be a v.vizard by any chance?"

"No need to be coy, you ought to recognise a fellow v.vizard when you see one."

!!! He IS a v.vizard!

"That was a recordbreakingly weak technique, though. What theory did you use? Gravitation? Magnetism? Concentration? Or was that an unrecognized theory?"

Theory... Theory? What was he talking about, how is a theory related to this? Why do I feel like he's using some form of alien language or jargon to talk to me?

"What... What do you mean theory?"

His eyebrows twitched upwards, and he looks surprised.

"Wait... You've been using magic, without even establishing a theory or knowing what it is?"

Well, I roughly know a theory's a thoughtful and rational logic construct, but what did he mean? How are you supposed to use a logic construct in magic?

"Wow. You look just as confused as I am. I can't believe you actually picked up magic without the aid of another v.vizard! How did you do it?"

"Uhm... There's this extensive magic guide at my house that teaches the basic types of magic and whatnot."

He looks bewildered by this point.

"You learnt magic without the aid from another v.vizard, but rather from a mere book? This... This is groundbreaking news."

... Hah? Was I SUPPOSED to get a v.vizard mentor or something? Why do I feel so... vexed and left out all of a sudden?

"What kind of book is that? Take me to your house!"

*** ***

"Ahh, that makes sense now. This is one of the older guides."

He seems pretty knowledgeable about the v.vizard world and all the things in it...

"The v.vizards in the past weren't guided as finely as they are now in this modern era of cellphones and such. In the past, magic had to be learnt all by yourself, so the older guides are a lot more elaborate than the current guides they sell on Airmazon, and all of those crazy Internet websites."

So, getting this guide was the right idea to begin with, or I could have potentially been scammed on Airmazon?

"Well, the theories in here aren't made for actual utility usage. These theories are all incompatible with the type of magic used, and so the effects are a lot less potent than the theories that are actually compatible."

"Excuse me, but what is a theory?"

He seems to say it in a certain manner I don't understand, almost as if it really is jargon. I'd like to know exactly what he meant by theory.

"Ahh, well, it's a bit too long-winded to be explaining it here. Tell you what, hop by tomorrow to our biweekly arena, and then I'd be able to show you."

Saying that, he hands me a small card. It's a handout to a certain fight club or something not too far from here, and it's just opposite of my uncle's and Homei's house. It's also right next to my work place as well, so that's a bonus.

"? Won't telling me now be better?"

"Nope. It's much easier for you to remember if we just showed you directly."

Showed me... directly?

"I never did get your name, newcomer. Mind telling me?"

"Oh, I'm Vance. And you are?"

"Me? I'm Dekon. Dekon Strüger. You can call me DeSt if you find it hard to remember. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, newbie!"

And so ends my first encounter with a v.vizard other than my Dad.

*** ***

Haa... Today was a bit nasty at the start, but it turned out alright, I guess.

Since the air bomb incident, I have discovered the dark truth about my workplace's cafeteria reusing the gases from the toilet as air for their air conditioners. Knowing that, I dared not approach the cafeteria at all. Even walking past the entrance has me covering my nose despite the air fresheners inside masking the stench.

There wasn't much problems at work, but my main key broke into two.

Still, that resulted in a chance encounter with another v.vizard, who explained a bit of the v.vizard world to me, though I haven't learnt anything truly solid from him yet.

... Visit the fight club tomorrow, huh...

What could possibly be there, besides people infighting in an underground area where nobody can see them?

... ? There's a message for me?

" Was that Sue you walked home with today? - Homei "

... WHA- HOW DID SHE KNOW I WALKED HOME WITH A PERSON!?

How, did, you, even, know, that, question mark! Send.

...

She replied.

" I can see you every morning and every evening from my house. <3 - Homei "

That... is creepy on a new level. It's not just the heart shape in the message that makes it freaky. The entire message... The existence of such coincidental events and logic is just absurd.

... To think that her convenient home is actually a tactical vantage point all the long.

I had another nightmare that night, being trapped in a forest with blue leaves and purple vines everywhere. The mushrooms in the forest can grow to Homei's size with her hairstyle and chase after me. They would then repeatedly press their cold, unfeeling bodies on me, shake their caps a bit and soak me with their spores. Finally, they step on me and the feet take root in my skin, along with the spores growing new mushrooms, but I couldn't even feel anything so it wasn't that spooky at all.

That was nowhere half as scary as the nightmare I dreamed of on Sunday night, but it was definitely the strangest nightmare I have ever had.