Fractal Plane: Awakener's Pact

Chapter 6 - I'll Protect You!

1

"H-hey, what is the meaning of this?"

It was not an easy thing to digest. Just when he thought things couldn't get any crazier today, Kazuki was greeted by the presence of the mysterious transfer student, holding a katana in front of him.

He was not sure what his first reaction ought to be. After all, this was his first direct interaction with the transfer student.

"Where are you looking at?"

Thanks to the girl's stern voice, he realized that all this time, he had been spending the past few seconds flat on his butt and staring on the girl's shapely legs, made all the more prominent by the high socks she wore. 

"O-oh, sorry!" he apologized without a second thought while he fought the urge to admire the girl's features some more.

He had no plans to experience firsthand one of those many scenarios he had read about in his novels and watched in his anime.

A look up and he found himself once again facing the tip of the katana pointed at him.

A katana just like his shield, maybe? With that in mind, Kazuki gave another look at the shield that was attached to his left arm.

He felt tension fill the air as the two of them stared each other down, with the girl barely uttering any words.

"So you really were here, Arata," said Uehara nonchalantly. "I had a feeling."

For Kazuki, the tense air eased off a bit when his classmate finally spoke despite not having his question answered. His classmate's appearance here, on the contrary, sparked more questions on his mind, and he did not know where to start as he slowly got up.

"Uehara, right? Y-you know Amagi right? Miki Amagi, our classmate! Have you seen her?"

"Is she the victim this time around?"

Sayaka Uehara looked at the ceiling as if acting out some hints on where Amagi could be.

"I sensed two more people in the vicinity. She should be somewhere in this building."

"Then let's hurry!"

"The look on your face says that you have a lot more to ask," she paused and stared at the stairwell. "However, we do not have much time, and I'll tell you what you need to know as we go."

She began her walk to the stairwell, and before proceeding, looked back a bit.

"What are you waiting for, Arata?" asked her. "If you want to live, stick close to me and don't lag behind."

Seeing as this was his best choice for the moment, Kazuki followed her.

The two ascended the flight of stairs and eventually found their way to the second floor. With ruined rocks blocking the way to the third level, they were left with finding another way up.

An empty hallway stood in front of them, with several doors lining up the other side just like they did on the first floor. At the end of the long, L-shaped hallway was a room, and hopefully, another set of stairs headed up.

Kazuki looked at the long railing all the way to the end of the hallway, used to serve as a way to prevent falling off. Not that it mattered because the thing looked shabby and rusty right now.

The second floor felt just as eerily quiet as the previous one. The place was just as worn down as the previous level, and so should the next ones be, if the pattern sticks.

"This place is called a Fragment, a part of Mu, the dimension that co-exists with where we live in, and it is connected through those portals that only we can see. Did I get it right?" asked Kazuki, hoping to confirm the answers to what he just asked as the two of them made their way up.