Liminal Catastrophe {CFB//HNK}

Chapter 2

Riki fidgeted with his fingers, his magenta eyes scanning the room for a way out. The windows were nailed shut with wood, and breaking them would only alert the monsters outside.

He never imagined he'd end up in a situation like this.

"Dracyan... What should we do? If we break the window, the monsters will know we're here," the boy asked, his teeth grinding in frustration.

The dragon B-Daman remained silent, unable to provide an answer. Riki sighed, the weight of uncertainty pressing on him.

"Should I call someone...? But who? Even the marbles can't pierce those things. There's no way anyone can beat them..." he muttered, pacing in circles as his thoughts spiraled.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire outside of the  building disrupted his concentration.

"What the-" he quickly covers his ears,eyes widened. He slowly moves to the door and takes a peek through the hole.

His eyes widened at the sight ahead.

   A girl with flowing, jellyfish styled hairstyle stood in the middle of the road,wearing a light pink sweater and brown shorts. Her hair swayed freely as she shoots down monsters with precision and a grin plastered on her face.

    Her movements are fluid,as if she is a trained dual-weilder.

"Perria,behind you!"

Her amethyst eyes flickered sharply, catching the monster's movement as it lunged toward her from behind.
"Oops,too slow!" she said before shooting it down.

Perria turned her head towards Kuro. "Two points! Thanks,Kuro!" she twirls her shotgun before it morphs to light purple bracelets.

A long black haired girl with black jumper walks towards her,dusting her sword. There's no blood on the sword,only white dust.

"General Song never told us about these.."Kuro mumbled as her sword morphed into a blue coloured bracelet."Or are those homunculus had just arrived?"she continues as her blue eyes trailed around the surroundings, searching for the remaining homunculus.

'Homunculus...? That's..first time I heard that-- Also is that sword and guns just-- Mystery...' Riki thinks before he accidentally steps on a splinter.

Creaking noises from the splinter alerted the two mysterious individuals. 'Oh no-!'

Perria looks towards the door,at where Riki is hiding. "You heard that,Kuro?" she asks,her eyes keep darting towards the door to her companion.

Before Kuro could answer,a small sphere shaped thing flew out from her pocket. It let out a 'Pip' noise and shows a hologram of a woman with short bob red hair. The woman is smiling at them.

"Oh,my two little and cute sisters -- I mean,Hunter Ichikawa and Hunter Perria have arrived! Welcome to Ciel 3... or should I call it Earth,whatever." The woman greeted them with a similar grin Perria had.

"Sister Hye,can we just-- uh -- drop the formality? Its not like we are still in HQ." Perria pounted.

Jin Hye chuckled, amused by one of her little sister's requests. Unlike Kuro, Perria doesn't like formalities. ''Fine, fine, not like others would know,I suppose...'' she replied, both arms behind her head, sitting with her legs crossed.

"Anyway." she pauses and grabs her tablet. She seems to be writing and tapping something on her tablet. Both Kuro's and Perria's assistant bot let a 'pip' sound again after she's done.

"There! I sent you both the coordinate of a hotel. You can stay in Room 204,beside mine--Room 203. I already booked it,so just ask the key from the worker. It would be easier if our room was nearby, am I right?"she grinned and put her tablet back to the table.

"Thanks Sister Hye! At least we don't need to sleep in a tent." Perria exclaimed.

   "Thank you...Sis-- I mean...Hunter Song." Kuro replied with a soft awkward smile. Perria snickered because of her awkward tone,gaining a glare from the black haired girl.

    Jin Hye chuckled. "C'mon,Kuro..drop the formality. Not like Sister Hwa would know!" She grinned,waving her hand casually.

       "Thus, it's rare for us to meet nowadays. So chill a bit,will ya?" She continues. Kuro only sighed and nod, slightly amused with her words.

     "Heard that,Kuro?" Perria elbowed Kuro gently. "Oh,oh! Maybe we can hang out together later on?"Perria asked,smiling wide with both hands on her hips. "This place looks so unique than ours,I  remembered seeing a cat that exactly looks like in the Old Index : Legend of Ar Ciel's diagram!"

      "Perria,we aren't on vacation right now. Remember that we need to investigate this place!"Kuro said firmly with both arms on her chest. "Also..I have no right to say this but -- the author can just named it as Old Index,no need to be so complicated.."

     "C'mon,that name is cool!" Perria pounted.

      "But it's an official file. The official file should have a short and understandable name."

      Jin Hye only laughed after seeing the two young girls arguing over simply a name. She takes a deep breath to control her laugh "Enough,both of you. The name of the file doesn't matter as long as we can use the data. I'll be waiting at the hotel."

    Perria nod,grinned. "Okay,we'll on our way now!"

     Kuro meanwhile only nods with a small smile, before the hologram gone from their sight.

 
     "Let's go now,Perria." She said sharply before walk away from the abandoned road. Perria nod but then remember something.

   "Wait,we should check the abandoned building first!" Perria said. She rushes to her side.

   "Just leave it be,it  might be a stray cat or a dog. There's no more homunculus around this area, and Sister Jin Hye is waiting for us." Kuro replied without looking at her.

    "Fine."Perria said with both her shoulders slumped.

       

      -Meanwhile,Riki's Pov-

   
     After looking around,the boy exhaled deeply and slowly walk out from his hiding spot. He scanned the area for a second time, making sure it's completely safe. The monsters and the girls are nowhere to be found.

   There's some white mysterious dust on the ground-- which he is curious about  but decided not to touch it.

    "What is that....?" he mumbled,his legs trembling slightly. Thoughts about the girls and monsters called Homunculus lingered in his mind.

    "Riki,we better move now. That black haired girl said that the homunculus are gone,but its still unsafe here."Dracyan said, alerting him. A thought crossed across his mind.

     
  'Those guys are mysterious...I want to follow them but--its too dangerous.'

  He sighed in disappointment. He looks at the groceries he is holding  and remembered that her mother is waiting for him at home. With a heavy heart,he walk away from that place without looking back.