Episode 9: "Escaping with Friends"

Kazuki and Q led the way.
Tsuki and Sui tailed right behind them.
And Yo stayed in the back.

The group continued to run through the sterile space.
No matter how far they went, the scenery refused to change around them.
Despite everything looking the same, Kazuki, who was leading everyone, had memorized exactly where to go.
He kept running with no hesitation.

Occasionally they'd bump into the 24 City mask-wearing enforcers on the path.

Q
"You better stay out of the way if you don't want to get hurt..."

Q made such short work of them that it'd be hard to call it a fight.
Perhaps the real misfortune wasn't his raw power but rather how quiet he was, as his warning never reached the ears of the assailants.

But despite his best efforts, sometimes they'd slip through his fingers and attack the backline.

Sui Yakumo
"Get out of our way!"

Sui counterattacked and made sure the enforcer couldn't reach Yo.

Sui Yakumo
"Remember what I said? We got your back, Yo."

Tsuki Iroha
"That's right! You may not be at your best yet, so we'll watch over you!"

Just by their mere presence, Yo felt comfort. But at the same time, he felt incredibly frustrated he couldn't recall a single thing about them.

Kazuki Aoyama
"Down this way!"

The group followed Kazuki down the stairs as he led the way.
And when the door at the bottom of the stairs was opened...

It was like stepping out into a vast, open space, almost like a domed stadium.
And within that immense space, there were multiple suspension bridges which overlapped one another.

The group emerged onto the uppermost bridge.

Kazuki Aoyama
"Ah, there they are!"

Kazuki yelled out.
He pointed down to a suspension bridge several levels below where they stood.
It was connected to a wide landing where several people were engaged in a brawl.

Enoki Yukigaya
"Hiya!"

Roku Saigo
"Hmph!"

Among the group fighting were two people Yo recognized.
They were the eccentrically dressed pair who had been walking on air back then.
Although now he's no longer in the 'village,' so while their clothes are still eccentric, they don't feel quite as outlandish anymore.
They were wearing army jackets.
However, both of theirs were rather tattered.

Yo Kuronaka
"Oh, so those two are also with Kazuki..."

As Yo mumbled to himself, Sui called out to him.

Sui Yakumo
"Earth to Yo! What are you doing?! We gotta keep moving!"

Kazuki and Q began moving down toward where the brawl was taking place.

Sui Yakumo
"Get yourself together!"

Yo Kuronaka
"I'm trying!"

Yo then also started heading down.

By the time Kazuki's group reached the landing...

The brawl was already over.
Various 24 City enforcers were sprawled out across the landing, some stacked on top of each other.
And in the center...

Eight men and women stood.
Unlike the enforcers, each were dressed in a way that accentuated their personalities, lacking any real sense of cohesion.

Jio Takinogawa
"Ah, you're finally here!
I was a bit beside myself. I thought you had perhaps gotten lost."

Miu Jujo
"Y'know, if you were gonna take a bit of extra time, you could've at least given us a heads up."

The tall man and woman possessed striking facial features and wore bomber jackets.
Their personalities contrasted though, the man was friendly while the woman was a bit brusque. She stared off into the distance and pulled her cap low over her eyes.

Kazuki Aoyama
"Sorry. So, what's the status of the satellite?"

In response to Kazuki's question, a girl in an old-fashioned school uniform leaned forward to answer.

Tsuruko Semba
"We managed to shut it down and then blew the master controls sky high.
Reckon that should make it useless for a while."

She had a young, adorable face which made her plain school uniform all the more odd.

Eiji Todoroki
"Hmph. What a waste.
If we had instead analyzed the tech, we could've made a killing."

Next to speak was a man dressed in gaudy gold clothing.
His rotund body was adorned with glittering accessories everywhere and his long, wavy hair was tied back.
Just by looking at him you could feel an air of utter arrogance.

Q
"Something like that should not exist in Neo Tokyo."

Q mumbled in his usual low voice.

Yo had absolutely no clue what they were going on about.
Last he heard, they were inside an airborne fortress.
So just what the heck is this satellite they're talking about?

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"So, you two! You manage to track down that childhood friend of yours?"

Next to speak up was a small statured boy.
His face made him look innocent, but he was dressed head-to-toe in black biker gear which made him appear more tough and hard-edged.

Tsuki Iroha
"You bet! We finally found him!"

Kazuki Aoyama
"Ah, right. Let me introduce you to
the legendary hero: Yo Kuronaka!"

Kazuki thumbed back at Yo who was still standing around behind him. Everyone's gaze immediately turned toward him.

Koishi Kohinata
"Wait, what? A legendary hero?!"

A boy with slender, feminine features and striking green hair spoke out in surprise.
He had a bag slung around his shoulder that bore a mark indicating that he was a medical professional.

Yo Kuronaka
"Kazuki, please stop joking around..."

Yo couldn't help but voice his criticism.

Kazuki Aoyama
"Haha. But you gotta admit, it does sound cool, doesn't it?"

Yo Kuronaka
"I mean, yeah, but..."

Just as Yo started to say something, he suddenly gasped in shock.
A girl with bold makeup was suddenly right by his side sniffing.

Enoki Yukigaya
"You got the smell of food all over ya!
Do you have any to spare? Well, do you?!"

Yo Kuronaka
"Wait, you're asking for food now?"

Yo suddenly remembers the herb he bought while on an errand for the goddess statue.

Yo Kuronaka
"I mean... I do have some herbs, but I have no idea what kind they are."

The moment Yo pulled it out from his pocket, the girl snatched it away like a thief in the night.

Enoki Yukigaya
"Don't really care what kind they are! Just glad to eat something!"

And she then proceeded to shove the entire herb into her mouth.

Yo Kuronaka
"Whoa, hey!"

Sui Yakumo
"A-Are you sure it's even okay to eat something weird like that?"

Enoki Yukigaya
"Hey, thanks for the snack!"

Sui Yakumo
"Holy crap! She devoured the whole thing in one gulp!"

As everyone was engaged in a nice relaxed conversation...

A massive new set of 24 City enforcers poured in from all directions of the landing.

24 City Enforcer
"There they are!"

24 City Enforcer
"Don't give them a chance to escape! Surround them!"

In an instant, Kazuki and the others were surrounded on all sides.
More and more enforcers kept showing up.
Until eventually...

There were well over a hundred of them.

Koishi Kohinata
"T-This looks bad! What's the plan?!"

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Whaddya mean? It's simple.
We punch 'em, throw 'em around a bit, just generally beat the everloving crap outta 'em!"

Kazuki Aoyama
"Nice to see you all have some energy to spare.
Well, I'll just leave them to you."

Roku Saigo
"Don't be ridiculous. You're helping too."

Kazuki Aoyama
"C'mon, give a guy a break. I've been running non-stop.
But I suppose I got no other choice, huh."

Kazuki was still wisecracking despite the situation.

Roku Saigo
"You lot can fight too, right?"

The burly man in the army jacket shot a glance over to Yo, Sui, and Tsuki through his thin sunglasses.

Tsuki Iroha
"Yeah, of course! As long as we're together, nothing can stop us!
Let's do it, Yo, Sui!"

Sui Yakumo
"Hell yeah!
Been ages since the three of us had a chance to team up!"

Yo Kuronaka
"..."

Hearing Sui's words made Yo feel a warmth deep inside his chest.
Fighting side by side with friends wasn't something he had trained for.

Yo Kuronaka
"...This feels nice."

Those words slipped out as natural as breathing.

Tsuki Iroha
"Huh? What was that, Yo?"

Yo Kuronaka
"Don't worry about it. It was nothing.
Anyway, let's work together and break through their ranks!"

(From then on, a chaotic battle ensued.)

(The pair wearing bomber jackets, Jio Takinogawa and Miu Jujo, utilized swift elegant movements mixed with aerial techniques to quickly dispatch their opponents.
It was pretty scary how both of them would periodically shoot a cold piercing stare. Even just looking over at it gave me chills.)

(The girl in the old-fashioned school uniform, Tsuruko Semba, didn't seem much like a fighter, yet she tried all the same. She swung a book around bonking as many enforcers as she could.)

(The two in the tattered army jackets, Enoki Yukigaya and Roku Saigo, were clearly incredibly skilled.
Enoki blasted enforcers away with a bazooka she had procured from somewhere, while Roku charged forth and mowed them down one after another with his fists.)

(The petite, biker-styled Hyakuichitaro wasn't what you'd expect. He had a rather combative fighting style that sent his opponents flying.)

(The flashy, rich Eiji Todoroki wielded an attaché case that transformed itself into a multi-purpose self-defense gadget. He used its various forms to fight off the onslaught.
Though he seemed more interested in staying clean than he did about the fight itself.)

(Koishi Kohinata, who looked pretty frail, was running around and trying to avoid the enemy. He didn't seem to be fighting much at all.
A shadow that looked like some type of creature would burst out of the medical bag he was clutching and lunge at the enemy.)
I don't even want to ask what that is...)

And then there's Yo, Tsuki, and Sui...
Moving in perfect unison, they took out enforcer after enforcer.
They watched each other's backs. If one of them lost their footing, another would rush to assist. If an enemy was about to attack one of their blind spots, another would swiftly kick them away.

It was a strange sensation for Yo.
He couldn't remember a single thing about Tsuki and Sui.
Yet, the more they fought...
The more he began to understand each of their movements and thoughts, not as memories but instinctually.

It was as if they'd been doing this for most of their lives.