Underneath the Red Trees

CHAPTER 27: REBIRTH

The blast moved through the halls of the auditorium like a silent monster, devouring everything it touched. It ate half the theatre, and tens of lives.

It looked as if a bite had been taken out of the building. Fire and heat burned together like an inferno, like a recipe for pure chaos.

ERIS arrived at the scene just minutes too late. Many musicians had been wounded and even more were dead.

Tachibana looked at the people being carried away on stretchers and loaded into ambulances. She had never personally seen it. This was her first time.

The birth of a Break was horrifying.

Just by looking at the inside of the ruined auditorium one could tell.

The remaining walls were dripping with a liquid like black ink.

"What the fuck was that?" The guy was one of the few people who had gone mostly unscathed.

Tachibana shook her head. She was not allowed to say a thing to civilians. "That is classified."

He narrowed his eyes on her. "Yeah, right. You don't look like the police. Or any government authority, really. What was that?"

"That was the birth of a Break." Tachibana's eyes shot wide. She turned her head just as someone gripped her shoulders. "Ms Nakamura," she said, hushed.

Ai Nakamura leaned on Tachibana's shoulders. "Calm down. I'm recruiting here."

She stepped up to Masaki. "You look like a strong young man. D'you want to be a monster hunter?"

Masaki huffed. "Yeah, right. Monster hunter." His tone was sarcastic.

Nakamura giggled. She held out a business card. "Call me if you change your mind, cutie."

Masaki walked away from them. He could not believe the gall of that woman. She had made him uncomfortable. She was a woman of close to thirty, at least ten years his senior.

Once more, he could not find Mitsu. Had she died in the explosion?

It was probably an accident, a gas leak, or a fire. He had gone outside for fresh air when it had happened. His stomach turned. What if it wasn't an accident?

"Hey, kid."

Masaki raised his head. There were two men standing three paces away from him. They were wearing black. The older one had short spiky hair, the younger's hair was a bit longer, he had a bump in his nose bridge.

"What?"

"You mind giving us that card."

Shaking his head, he reached into his jacket pocket for the card. He stretched out his hand. The younger took it from him. Masaki turned to leave. "Hold on, kid." The two men were talking amongst themselves now. 

"What do you want?"

"What did she say to you?"

Masaki rolled his eyes. "She asked me if I wanted to be a monster hunter. Then she told me to call her." The men shared a glance. Masaki turned his body to them. "What? You believe her?"

The older studied him for a moment. Then he stretched out an arm. Masaki frowned. There was a bright light that originated from his fingertips. A glaive came to be in the elder's hand.

Masaki's eyes widened. "What the fuck?"

"Believe her now?"

Masaki was in disbelief. He could not wrap his mind around it. "Listen," the younger now, "We need your help."