CALAMITY CORE : FREE THE WORLD

CH.29 'RECONVENE'

That night, the Nowhere Generation slept in the streets under the stars, on sacks of rice and grain, or on boxes and sheets of stray fabrics. Alpha sat alone quietly, sat with her bare feet touching one another and her sword hovering just behind her. Hirano had closed his eyes and hung from the largest of the roofed wagons, his long black hair reflecting moonlight as he slept lightly. As most slept, Shimoda rolled off of his sack and found himself awake.

The power he had seen... It was different from magic. He had seen plenty of magic, that though, the aura, everything about it. There was a certain pull to it that he felt, something that wasn't the same as magic. Something that might have even been possible for him. "Maybe those guys are still awake." He said to himself, they seemed like a police force... they had to have a night watch!

He found his things and donned his leather coat, slid his sword into place at his side, then as he was buckling one of the green-detailed buckles on his jacket, he set off into the night. Unbeknownst to him, someone had followed him.

Alpha sat up, her hair clearing itself from her face as she looked up to the merchant's caravan. The carts were barren, and Hirano was absent. Returning to her idle state, she closed her eyes, even if she had no need to, for the first time in a very long time, and simply wondered what it was that drove these people to do the strange things they did.

Once he was at the foot of a well-lit building bearing the same symbol as the man with the armor, Shimoda took a deep breath and looked up to the moon for guidance. Maybe he was just thinking of his old teacher, Hirano, he thought. Shaking himself, he put a small smile and rested his hand on his sword as he approached the guard headquarters, only for a hand with sharp nails and pale fingers to stop him. "Wha- Agh!"

Shimoda had nearly jumped out of his skin, but he was able to manage his breathing, and by the time he had steadied himself a bit, the boy turned to see the man he had willed into existence behind him. "Quiet. We're still outsiders here, no need to make a scene this late." Hirano hissed, before quickly softening up on the boy.

Hirano seemed in his element under the night light, his pale skin reflecting moonlight, and his long black hair shining. Shimoda was glad to see him looking so well. Before he could say anything, Hirano walked ahead of him, starting towards the guard headquarters as well. With a raised brow, he didn't think that the man needed any new strength to protect himself... then he remembered how poorly he had fared against his own old friend, back in Tokyo. "Hirano, you... did you come too? To get stronger so we can stop stuff like what happened with that rat-Chimera?

The vampire closed his eyes, and the breeze caught his hair as he rested his hands on the belt of his leathers under his robe. Dipping his head a slight bit, he shook his head, then turned back so that one of his bright red eyes met with Shimoda's gaze, the two stares clashing. As his teacher, he would go beyond his own strength to educate the boy. To better himself for the future before him. "I'm not here to stop all things from happening. I came to help redirect the currents of history, even if that means taking you under my wing again."

Shimoda seemed taken aback. Of course, Hirano had been his mentor for most of his life, just as Ban had been for Saionji. But to be brought back? Was there something that Hirano knew about this power that he didn't maybe? "What... you mean you know something, don't you? Tell me, I gotta' know what that power was! What do these guys know that I don't?"

The vampire lowered his head again and shook it, a thin grin spreading across his face. Shimoda had always been such a go-getter that he forgot all subtlety and maturity in the process. His fangs poking from under his top lip, he cleared his throat. "That Big-Hat, the one who leads the Merchant Company. He told me about this power, the power of Ch'i. It's something distinct for its availability to all, even if it is far harder to master than magic. A manifestation of one's will, that's what he called it."