Purotekuta

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

It's been a few months since I've been at Mamoru High school, but as soon as I walk through the front gates I feel like I've finally returned home. We decided to have everyone meet in the cafeteria since it is the biggest room in the school, and there won't be any students there at this time of day. Akio and I walk through the doors to the cafeteria and are faced with all the pro-protectors in the city who will be helping us save Amai. Everyone is looking at us since we are the only ones here who are still students at Mamoru high. Mr. Kaze appears on the stand that was quickly set up for this occasion and clears his throat, turning everyone's attention towards him.
          "Now, you all may be wondering why you were called here on such short notice." There are whispers throughout the crowd, but they disappear as Mr. Kaze starts talking again. "There is a young boy who has been missing for two years and presumed dead. Hajime ran into him before the entrance exam, and again while at his father's agency on patrol. We have some information that will be handed out to you." A clerk comes out with a stack of papers, and hands one to each protector. "Hajime managed to put a tracker on Amai, and we found out that there is going to be some kind of deal three hours from now at the location Amai is at currently. I am asking you all to follow us blindly into this without much information at all, so that is why if you would like to leave, you may." The crowd stirs, but nobody makes a move to leave the room. Everyone here is proud to be a protector, and would never give in to any kind of fear. Good. Those are exactly the kind of people we need for this. "We need to get moving as soon as possible, so you will have five minutes to memorize everything on that sheet of paper. After that, we're moving out. Tero is going to lead the way, the rest of you will follow him. Got that?" All the protectors in the room respond at the same time.
          "Yes, sir!" Everyone bustles around the room, memorizing what's on that sheet of paper. Now, the real battle has begun.

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The building we are standing in front of is small and compact, but I can tell that there is more to it than there seems. There are tunnels running below the building made completely of stone. There is a protector in our group that has the ability to see through any physical object, so that won't be a problem for us. Mr. Kaze looks behind him from the front of the group next to my father and faces all of us.
          "Okay, you all have memorized the plan, right?" Mr. Kaze can read the silence coming from the protectors, and smiles. "Okay then, let's get this started!" As soon as we walk through the front gates of the small building, we are greeted with about thirty villains, all of which seem to be pretty strong. They're not as strong as Kirai, but they are strong enough to be an issue. We all rush in and pick a villain to fight. I can feel that Akio is scared out of his mind, but he still stays by my side. A villain comes up to us, his pure white wings spreading so he can take off at any moment. I smile and look at Akio. He looks back at me and nods. I jump up into the air and hover there, Akio closing his eyes and concentrating on his affinity. He has been getting so much better at using it, and now is the chance for him to use it in action. I can't hear anything, but I can tell that the piercing screech has appeared in the villain's head. I dive down as fast as I can and slam him with a flaming fist. The villain is knocked out, but we don't have any time to celebrate our victory. We can't let these villains disrupt our plan. The pro protectors that were assigned to this part of the plan have these villains covered, and we need to get to Amai. There is a group just a bit smaller than the group on the outside that is assigned to protect the main group that will save Amai from any other villains that come with us underground. This includes the protector who can see through any object. He is the leader and the one who is going to lead us directly to Amai. My heart is pounding in my chest as we run down the hall. Shiryoku pauses and puts his hand on a bare wall.
          "Kinzoku!" A protector from the back of our group comes forward and places his hand on the wall as well. Before our very eyes, the wall opens like a door and leads to the stone hallways I've been feeling. The darkness coming from the other side of the door looms, and Father lights up his hand to produce some light for us all. We start walking, cautious of any booby traps or villains. Shiryoku is still leading the way, keeping an eye out for Amai and any villains, but the room starts to spin after we turn down the first hallway. Manipulation affinity. I stand closer to Akio, keeping him close to me. It's hard to believe that the scared boy I found at the entrance exam is here fighting alongside me; I am so proud of him. The room spinning is bound to make at least some of us sick, but we all soon realize that this is no illusion. The room is actually shifting and moving, getting us off balance. God this is such a bother. Can't we just get to Karito already? Father's fists grow brighter, fire coating his arms. The hall lights up like the sun is in the room. I activate my wolf strength and hearing, listening for any villain in the area. This is a long-ranged attack, so he's probably not even in the general vicinity. Either that or he's literally in the walls.
          "Where is he!?" I look at Shiryoku, and he looks around.
          "He's in the walls!" I grin and look toward Akio. Akio nods, trying to connect to the villain's mind to find a pinpoint location on where he is. He opens his eyes, and connects to my mind, whispering into my head. Turn to the right two steps, and look up about three inches from where the wall meets the ceiling. He is about a foot behind the wall from there.
          "Thanks, Akio. That's all I need to know." I grin widely and activate my wolf strength. I channel all of it into my legs and shoot towards where Akio pointed me towards. As I launch forward, I channel the strength into my fist, lighting it on fire as I roar and punch the ceiling. I punch far enough through the ceiling to grab ahold of some part of the villain and pull him out, using my momentum to launch him at the ground as I hover in the air for a split second, landing on the ground not long afterward. The room starts spinning, and I smile. I can feel Akio's presence in my mind, and I look up at him. Thank you, Akio. He nods and smiles back at me. His presence leaves my mind, and I turn to look at the villain. Mr. Kaze steps towards the villain, checking his pulse.
          "He's still alive, just unconscious." He looks up at a protector close behind him. "Hokaku, chain him up."
          "Yes, sir!" The protector named Hokaku goes up to the villain, and shoots chains out of his palms, wrapping them around him. He then connects the chains to a hook in the wall that he created, leaving him there. "That should hold him for now, but we should still get out of here quickly. We've wasted enough time already." We all start walking once more, but it's faster this time. We don't run into any more trouble as we make our way toward Amai. Strange. We come across a large door at the end of the corridor, but before my father can push it open, I hear something click. My eyes widen as I realize we're not alone.
          "Stop." My father hears me and doesn't touch the door. "We're not alone." Everyone starts looking around frantically, but nobody can see anything. The only ones here that can tell that there's someone here are Shiryoku, Akio, and I.
          "What are you talking about, Hajime? There's nobody here." I look at my father, annoyed at his cluelessness. How in the world did he become the number one protector?
          "Use your ears, you idiot. Don't tell me you didn't hear that click along with the extra pair of footsteps." Father's wolf ears twitch, and I know he's listening intently. His eyes narrow, and he growls softly.
          "He's right." I look at Akio, needing him to point out where he is to me once more. He nods and closes his eyes. After about thirty seconds, he opens them again. I feel his consciousness entering my mind, and hear him whisper in my mind. There are three, probably triplets who all inherited the same affinity. They have fox features, so we should be cautious. I can't get into all their minds at once, and if we attack one, the others will attack. The only way is for us to be able to see them somehow. I nod and feel his presence leave my mind. I look at Shiryoku, and he nods.
          "Tero," my father looks at Mr. Kaze, rage in his eyes. "You, Hajime, and Akio go through the door. Save Amai and get out of here! We will hold these villains back. Father nods and looks at Akio and me. We quickly follow him through the door. I take one last look at everyone fighting for us and smile. My smile quickly disappears and becomes serious. Let's hope these people don't die for nothing. Let's hope nobody dies at all, really. I turn away and hear the door slam closed behind me as the three of us stand in an empty stone room with a single table in the middle. At that table stands Karito, and next to him stands Amai.