CHAPTER 9

The coast is clear…

I double check that no one was in the area and proceed towards my objective. The empty building was quiet, with its silence broken by the subtle periodic ringing of Felix’s collar. I’m close to Felix’s cage, and notice that there was an ash tray placed nearby; the scent of smoked cigarettes was pungent.

They must have left recently…

I look into the cage to confirm that it was Felix. He was rather cramped, and was anxiously awaiting my next move. I could see the tubby cat was squirming around in the tiny cage, eyes wide open.

Let me just open the door and…

Felix jumps out of the cage and runs off in the opposite direction!

Dumb cat! I’m supposed to be rescuing you!

Based on how fat Felix was, he probably didn’t run too far off. I could only assume that the out-of-shape cat was still in the building. As I run out to catch up to the troublesome feline, I hear voices in the distance.

“Boss, I’m sure the kitty cat is fine. The thing must’ve weighed a ton!”

Oh crap!

I take cover behind a large wooden box and peek my head towards the entrance. There was no mistake – it was the three thugs from earlier! I could feel my pulse rising rapidly. There was only one way in and out of this building. My other option was a hole above me, but there was no way I could reach it without attracting the attention of the thugs. And the three thugs just entered with a huge bag of organic cat food.

“W-Wait a minute! Where’s the cat?!?” as the burly man drops the bag of cat food.

“Looks like someone let the cat out of the bag.” snickered the small man.

The man in the white tiger suit was furious. He slaps the small man’s head from behind. Clearly he did not appreciate the ill attempt at humor from his henchman.

“Someone must’ve let him out…find him!” he commands his two henchmen.

The two underlings nod at each other and I hear their fists cracking. The man in the white tiger suit turns on the flashlight of his cell phone and pulls out a butterfly knife. I can see the three of them move closer and closer to my position. If I didn’t move soon, I’d rather not imagine what would happen to me.

Oh crap!

I feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, as I notice that my hairs were standing up. My breathing became rushed, and I cover my mouth with my hand in an attempt to silence myself. I’m totally screwed. There was no way I could fight off three of these guys on my own!

S-Someone! Anyone! Help!

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. If I calmed myself down, then maybe I could figure something out. I peek outside to notice that the man in the white tiger suit had his back turned to me. I don’t know where the other two were, but if I managed to slip past him, I would have a clear path to the exit!

I’ll just have to go for it!

I lightly slap my face and take one step out of my cover. Suddenly, I hear a distinct ringing sound close by.

I know this ringing sound!

I turn my attention towards the hole above my head.

Felix! And Yuki-san!

Felix found Yuki-san somehow! What remained of her cat/maid was covered in dirt and grime, probably from running around all day. She gives me a quaint smile of relief, and then goes back to her usual stoic self. Felix jumps down the hole and I can feel him rubbing his back on my leg. He then walks away from me, presumably to act as a distraction. I look back at Yuki-san, who was making various hand motions to me, signaling that it was my cue to run.

Alright here I go!

I dash out of my cover and rush towards the exit!

“H-Hey! Stop him!”

I ignore the shouts and continue running towards the exit. I run faster than I’ve ever before, and I could see the exit was only a few meters away from me.

“Freeze kid!”

Suddenly, the exit is blocked by the big burly man. He stands in front of it, and I decide to look for another way somewhere, only to find myself surrounded by the three thugs. They circle me, slowly walking closer and closer to close the gaps. I’m trapped and there was no way out.

I’ll have to fight my way out.

I put up my fists and try to remember all the martial arts I knew from watching the Masked Avenger. I’ve never been in a fight before, but I wasn’t going to go down like this.

“Hey would you look at that! It’s that kid from the café, Akane-chan’s knight in shining armor!” teases the man in the white tiger suit.

The man in the white tiger suit begins to flip open his butterfly knife. I could see the blade shine from the moonlight. It was definitely a real knife, and I could feel his killing intent.

“Once we’re done with you kid, your girlfriend is next! It’s time for her to pay up!” as the three thugs started to laugh viciously.

If I didn’t stop them here right now, Yuki-san would be in danger. My sense of determination was burning up in a passion. Nothing mattered to me more than protecting her smile. Although I know it would be a miracle for me to single-handily take down all three of them, I had to try. I strengthen my resolve and get into a make-shift fighting stance. To my surprise, the three thugs cautiously take a step back. I raise my fist, and charge towards the smallest man, whom I hoped I could take out quickly. I shout my battle cry:

“AHHHHH!”

“-HHHHHHHHHH!”

Where…am…I?

I open my eyes to find myself in an unfamiliar setting. My vision is blurry, and I hear a loud ringing in my ears. I’m lying on the ground, staring through the various holes of this building into the starry night. I quickly look around and realize that I’m in the same abandoned building where I was fighting the three thugs. The only problem was where did they go? And why did it feel different?

“Kazuki…?” I hear coming above me.

My vision becomes clearer and I see Yuki-san staring down on me! Her face was flushed red, with tears forming from her eyes.

Wait.

I notice that a red ribbon was tied in her hair.

Oh.

I’m in World A(kane) right now. I quickly sit up and touch the back of my head.

Ow! It stings!

I scratch my head in confusion. Why was I in World A(kane)? From what I could recall, I was just about to fight the three thugs and save Yuki-san once and for all. I drop onto my back, and stare into the ceiling. Akane kneels down too, and she makes me rest my head on her lap.

“This doesn’t make any sense.”

Because of this headache I had, I assume I was knocked out in one hit.

Some here of justice I was.

I could feel that tears were beginning to form in my eyes. I wanted to move my arms to quickly wipe them away, but I had no energy left. It felt like I was trying to lift weights off the ground.

“I’m sorry Akane…I’m sorry I couldn’t save you in the other world.” I apologized to her.

Akane smiles at me. Her emotionless expression speaks volumes to me, as she was probably disappointed at my pathetic effort.

“It is fine Kazuki. I am sure Yuki-san thought you were quite the idiot.” she jokes. She lets out a small chuckle.

I still had one problem. If Akane’s theory was true, then time was still moving forward in my world. I needed to wake up in World B as soon as possible; Yuki-san could still be in danger.

“I need to wake up Akane!”

The only problem was I had no idea how exactly my world hopping power even worked. Although we had some ideas about how it functioned, clearly my being here contradicted our theory.

I need to go back.

I’m resting my head on Akane’s soft lap whilst Yuki-san was probably in trouble. I curl my fists in frustration.

Think. Think. Think. How can I come back into the other world?

I still wasn’t sure exactly how I even got here. If I asked Akane to hit me on the back of the head, it was not a guarantee that I would wake up in World B. This is the moment where only a miracle could save everything.

I need to get back. I need to figure something out-

“Kazuki…” I hear Akane whisper softly.

She interrupts my train of thought. Her voice was comforting to hear, and suddenly my heart feels at ease.

“You are our hero of justice. You will save her. You just need to believe.” she says enigmatically.

It was strange. I wasn’t sure exactly what she was talking about. Something was different in the tone of her voice from usual.

Believe? Believe in what…? I got it!

Why couldn’t I figure it out sooner? The answer was obvious from the start. I just needed to fall asleep again! I close my eyes.

“Ngh! This isn’t working…”

Akane lets out a hearty laugh. “That was one of the theories we thought of right?” she says.

I’m too excited to sleep at this point. I’m too fired up to fall asleep somehow. I look to Akane and see in a trance. She was concentrated in thought. Her stare turns into a wry grin.

“Remember how I mentioned I do not remember my mom that well?” she asks.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“The only thing I remember from her was a lullaby that she would sing for me when I was a little girl.” Akane looks off the distance. “It would always help me go to sleep.”

Despite how unlikely it was going to work, I was running out of options.

“It doesn’t hurt to try…” I chuckle to her.

Akane warms up her voice. I prepare my ears since Akane’s only real fault was her tone-deafness. Instead, I only hear a soothing lullaby flow into my ears.

“Go to sleep,

Go to sleep,

Little Kazuki can’t go to sleep,

What to do…?

What to do…?

Mama’s going to help you…

Close your eyes, don’t start to cry…

Close your eyes, until the sunrise…

Sleep soundly, and good night.”

I feel like my head was turning inside out. My heart was pulsing rapidly, I could feel my body was burning up inside. I wanted to cry but no tears were flowing; the lullaby was so moving. I couldn’t help but imagine that Akane would make a great mother one day. My eyes begin to feel heavy, and they automatically close.

“You just have to believe. Believe in your sense of justice.”

My breathing pauses and I feel a sudden rush of energy into my body.

I’m feeling light-headed…

I inhale deeply, grasping for air like I was underwater for an eternity. I slowly open my eyes, and my vision is blurry. I could sense something was dripping on my face, feeling like drops of water.

Am I back in World B?

In my sight I can see silhouettes, until my vision clears, revealing Akane looking down on me! She smiles slightly, relieved to see me here. Upon closer inspection, I notice she wasn’t wearing a red string. To my side I also see Kaneko-san, whose face was swollen from tears.

I’m back somehow.

“Kazuki! Y-You idiot!” as Kaneko-san cries even harder.

It feels like my world was turned upside-down. A stinging sensation still resonated from the back of my head, presumably from my earlier fight. I sit up with the help of my two friends at my side, and I see Daisuke facing away from me, perched on top of a single thug. The other two were lying on the floor, unconscious next to him. Daisuke was landing punches on the man in the white tiger suit, and they sounded like bullets.

“You…You killed Kazuki! You killed-“

Daisuke pauses and enters a trance-like state. He slowly turns his head around towards me. In his eyes were a hate-filled rage, bloodshot from tears and anger. He immediately lets go of the pummeled thug and runs over to me.

“K-Kazuki!” as Daisuke gives me a bear hug.

He almost sucks the life out of me! I try to embrace my friend, but he was holding me so tight that I couldn’t wrap my arms around him. I hear his quiet sobbing besides my ear.

“I-I…c-can’t…b-breathe!” I whimper.

Daisuke lets me go and starts to wipe away his tears. Looking at Kaneko-san, she was also still crying her heart out. I feel this warm feeling in my chest, since despite everything, the two were caring idiots. Yuki-san stood up from her bruised knees and brushes the dirt off her skirt. She seemed tired from running around all day. I can see her eyes slowly drift, and it looked like she was about to pass out any second.

“Y-Yuki-san!” I rush over and catch her fall.

Her eyes were sleepy, but she was still awake. She gives me a smile, reminiscent to Akane’s. Suddenly, I felt like all my troubles had melted away.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

“Yes…I am sorry. I just needed a moment.”

She stands back up, but stumbles a bit. I place her arm over my shoulder to support her. Still, I had a pressing issue:

“What happened?”

“As soon as I heard you shout, I ran in here and found the three cowardly thugs in disarray as they thought they had actually murdered someone.” as she gives a wry chuckle. “At that point they ended up being relatively simple to take care of with the blunt objects scattered around us. Akatsuka-san and Kaneko-san finally caught up to find the three thugs begging for mercy. We are still waiting for the police to round them up.” she explains.

So it’s all over then.

Well, I suppose with someone like Yuki-san, she knew how to take care of herself. After all, I know she had been living alone for quite some time. But, one thing was still unaccounted for:

“So…how did you find out where I was?”

Yuki-san gives me a confused look.

“I have no idea Kaneshiro-san. I was just following the road after checking all the abandoned buildings until I found this one. Once I reached the split where the street went off-road, I felt something was calling me here. I do not know how to explain it, but my mind just kept thinking “I need to go there…” I soon found Felix-chan and he led me to you.”

Well I guess that fat cat isn’t so bad after all.

Yuki-san suddenly gives me a hug! I can feel her body heat animating throughout my being. Even though Akane was the same person technically, Yuki-san’s hug felt different from hers – in a good way. If I could describe it, Akane was the fire that enveloped your body to motivate you, while Yuki-san was the freezing cold that strengthened your resolve. I couldn’t believe that this was the same Yuki-san that only wanted to kill me a few days ago.

“D-Don’t be stupid again Kazuki…” she whispers into my ear. She lets go of my support and stands straight. For a brief moment, I could see her face turning slightly pink, but she quickly turns back to her normal stoic self.

“I am glad you are safe Kaneshiro-san.” as she turns her embarrassed face away from me.

I hear sirens coming closer and closer and decide to wait for the police to arrive. The four of us sit and take a moment to finally relax. I look into the starry night from the exposed roof. From what I could recall from the astronomy guide I read as a kid, tonight was a near perfect night to look at the stars.

“You can see the Big Dipper. See?” as I point out to Yuki-san with my finger towards the sky.

She smiles.

Cold!

I hold an ice pack to swell the bruise on my head. I was sitting at the lobby area of the empty police station, waiting for my mother to come pick me up. I was technically injured, so the police had no choice but to call my parents. Kaneko-san and Daisuke were cleared to go because they had no visible signs of injury. Although they wanted to stay, I insisted they go home since I was feeling okay. Needless to say, I did not want them to witness my mother’s wrath either. Manager-san even stopped by to pick up Felix-chan. Apparently the four of us (or rather Yuki-san) managed to apprehend some notorious criminals that even private investigators could not pin down. We managed to help the police slowly gain an edge on the White Tiger gang, a group that was quickly gaining power in various territories.

I hope I never deal with them every again.

I feel tired, but I there was no way I felt like sleeping right now. Yuki-san is still with me, since she felt guilty that my injury was her fault. I insisted her I was fine, but she would not take no for an answer. I’m glad she did, since she fell asleep on my shoulder.

Just resting her eyes she says.

“You had me worried Kazuki!”

I see my mother barge into the police station! I could see tissues in her hand as she approaches me with a bone-crushing hug like Daisuke.

“I-I’m fine mother! R-Really!” as she lets go to relieve me.

Yuki-san wakes up from the commotion and composes herself. She stands up from her chair and faces my mother.

“I am sorry for putting Kaneshiro-san at risk!” as she bows her head. “Please forgive me.”

“I-It’s my fault Yuki-san! I was trying to be a hero like an idiot…” as I rub the back of my head.

My mother had a blank expression on her face, devoid of any emotion. Her arms were crossed, staring down on Yuki-san, who was still waiting for some sort of response. My mother sighs deeply.

“What you did today was irresponsible. Please make it up to me by making sure my son is not being an idiot next time.”

“Y-Yes ma’am!” as Yuki-san brings her head up.

My mother’s eyes go up and down, inspecting Yuki-san’s tired and raggedy clothes from all the action today. Although Yuki-san was still wearing her cat/maid uniform, she had a blanket draped over.

“Do you have a place to stay tonight miss? Where are your parents?” my mother asks with concern.

“I-I live in an apartment by myself.” as a nervous Yuki-san kept her head low. “My mother passed away and my father is in the hospital.” she explains.

My mother’s attitude changes from frustration to parental concern.

“Then stay with us tonight. We have an extra futon Kazuki can use.”

W-What?!?

Yuki-san bites her lip, but then reluctantly accepts my mother’s offer.

“Since you’re a maid, you’ll have to help me cook breakfast in the morning. Bright and early! You’ll be taking Kazuki’s place.” my mother teases.

“T-Thank you very much!” as Yuki-san bows her head once more.

The three of us headed back to my house.

I’m exhausted mentally and physically. I was on the floor, trying my best to sleep in this uncomfortable futon. I could hear shallow breathing from Yuki-san, as she must have passed out the moment she got in my bed.

It’s all over. Yuki-san’s debt is paid.

I managed to somehow get back to World B. Was it a miracle? Or just my luck? Although I tried to save Yuki-san, it turns out she saved me instead. At least I would be able to get a home cooked meal tomorrow from Yuki-san from all the trouble. I wondered if she was a good chef as Akane was.

Oh wait!

I remembered that one of the rules was that every time I went to sleep, I would wake up in the other world. So that meant in the morning I would be in World A(kane).

That sucks…

I really wanted to taste Yuki-san’s real cooking! It was a real shame that I would miss that opportunity, but what mattered was that she was safe. I’ll have to tell Akane in the morning that I at least took a first step towards getting closer to Yuki-san. My eyes start to feel heavy, as I slowly drift off to sleep, looking forward to seeing the girlfriend of my dreams again…