Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 105: Arc 3, - 15: A Second Chance
’Blast!’ That gunshot rang in her head again. Jotou inhaled and faced away from the brunette, "Not this time..." she muttered a promise.
’Why...? I’ve had family members die before. I’ve seen death at my own hands... Then why does this faze me more than anyone I know who’s died? Did I not care for anyone else who died as much as I care about her? I guess so... Hell, how screwed up am I?’
"Hey paranoiac, you thinking of something?" Fumeko called.
Jotou’s arms hugged herself before she broke out of thought, "Sorry, making up existential crises for myself again."
Hotaru placed fists to her hips, "Please don’t do that."
"Easier said than done," the blonde smirked and turned the other direction.
"BLARGH!"
"Dah-! Dammit Sobi!" Jotou huffed.
"Did I scare you out of your crazy thoughts?" Asobi’s words slithered and hissed—spider-like dark eyes and snake-like tongue lolled out of the elf’s usual face.
"That’s not how it works- What was I thinking about?" Jotou narrowed her eyes, recalling some portion of her inner monologue. "It kinda worked?"
"You should stay like that, it’s prettier," Fumeko snarked.
"Are you... lying?"
"Not in the slightest."
"Okay!"
"Don’t listen to her Sobi," Hotaru’s ears spiked.
"Then who do I listen to?"
"Why don’t you listen to yourself? You’ve been a free bird for a while now and I think you know a lot more than before. I’m sure you can make your own decisions," Jotou peered to the eldritch horror.
Asobi scanned the wand over her face, returning to her elven features—little to no different to human features really. "Hm... Not even listen to the other performers?"
"Are you trying to give her an existential crisis now?" Fumeko glared.
"Am not," Jotou scoffed, "I’m just encouraging her to think."
"And not be influenced by you all the time," Hotaru’s fangs glistened to the brunette.
"I do not influence her!"
"Well," Asobi stared into the distance, cupping her head in between her palms. Four different black and white illusions of clocks spun over her head, ticking unsynchronized, before they all burst into butterflies at the strokes of twelve, "My own decisions..."
"Thundering Blade! Move out!" the lieutenant waved his arm, other hand holding a transceiver.
Jotou unsheathed the armite blade in one swift motion. Asobi followed after. Their little moment was broken by the thoughts of their plan, all of it flooding back into their minds.
The sounds of gunfire and grenades were not too far away. "Remember, we move together and Fumeko sticks close to us, so no blinking way ahead.
Hotaru follows us to keep her shielding aura on everyone and since she can’t fight, Asobi makes both herself and Hotaru invisible.
Help anyone you want, but please, keeping ourselves safe is priority number one. I can’t lose any of you," Jotou spoke.
"You’re all very important to me too," Hotaru added with a smile.
"You won’t lose any of us! Now, onto Operation Midnight Battalion!" Asobi threw her wand in the air as a reinforcement troop and whirlwinds of illusion picked up.
Around ten soldiers escorted the four out to the first artificial cover, with about seven or so covers ahead of them. The plan was set into motion—illusions filled the skies, explosives went invisible.
The upper hand was taken so easily away from the rogue battalion. "Shlick! Slash!" Was it the same life she took before? ’Keep them safe.’ Who cared, the blonde fought on with a sinking heart filled with hope.
Her friends were safe, their conversations again—were they better than the last? Either way, she remembered both going forward, "Spark," the lightning encased her blade and fists.
They glowed much, much brighter and with every step forward, it left a footstep of flickering sparks behind. "Hah! Hya!" she cared not for silence, hiding behind illusion and cover—a blue aura hummed around her alongside the sound of bullets.
The same cover, the one from before. The illusions blew up into beautiful gigantic fireworks in the sky—the walls and dust devils had more texture.
"Huh, no one stepped in," Jotou shifted her eyes about and saw dark purple shadows take over the view.
The girl in a purple headband panted, holding a dagger dripping with blood with widened eyes, "I got two of them."
"Are you okay? With killing? You can retreat if you’re too shocked."
"If you can, so can I," Fumeko took a breather.
"That’s my detective. Keep safe, don’t get distracted till this is all over."
"I will," they both got ready to move forward. No covers left, this should be the last left lingering about.
The lightning arced off her zaps, using the illusion as advantage and—"Blast!"—the only bullet that hit the blonde went against her shoulder; with her enchanted gear and a spell on top—it was barely a bee sting.
"Fumeko!" Jotou furrowed her brows to the shadows disappearing in and out. Two bodies fell, alongside two guns that were aimed at Jotou.
The brunette appeared next to her, "What? I’m still here, being careful, aren’t I?" That was the last of them. Jotou surveyed the bodies to make sure nobody was playing dead again.
"Did we do it!?" the squeaky voice of an elf came from the front.
"It’s not over yet, stay on your guard." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
The bluish aura surrounded the two of them whilst Asobi had covered the spell’s blue aura as well. "Jotou, you’re... glowing," a smile in the redhead’s voice could be heard around Jotou.
Jotou peered down—up till her elbows and a little more and some strands of her bangs were glowing with sparks. So did her feet, till her knees and some of her blonde locks drifting behind.
"Looks like your spark spell is no longer intermediate," Hotaru judged.
"Yay! Congratulations Jotou!"
The blonde looked up with a smile. One direction in particular she kept her view on... From afar she could see a rifle being, aimed, "WATCH OUT!"
"Blast!" Eli Frye fired the shot as Jotou ducked immediately and searched for the brunette. Her heart stopped for a second as the rifle bullet shot across the desert sand...
’Where is she!?’ To her thought, her eyes jolted open. She stood up, twirling around, "Meko...?" quivering, her eyes, her voice...
The shadows reappeared next to her, scanning the ground in a gulp, "I’m... good," Fumeko glanced up.
Her heartbeat steadied, sighing, knowing a second gunshot was not coming, "Thank hell. Asobi, why are-"
Why wasn’t Asobi invisible? All the illusions of walls and fireworks faded, one by one, light particle by light particle... It’s only then the two noticed their bluish auras were missing.
Rainbows. Forming at the corners of her eyes, gazing down. Of course Fumeko or Jotou couldn’t get shot—when there were two invisible people ahead of them...
A body lied, with a wound leaking out crimson to trail along the reds of her hair. The dust still had not settled from the fall of her corpse.
Her shining blue garments could not be dirtied by the sand, but her tail went still; the hairs that spiked, rested down into the dust. The light in her eyes faded, much like the spell fading in her palms.
The healing spell she conjured on a reflex, watered the sand as her ears twitched one last time. The brilliant blue saw no longer, as her fate caught up to her; how many times could she escape death?
"HOTARU!!!!" two yells, so soft to the deafening ears. Knowing there, she had someone to care... the corners of Hotaru’s lips curled—a final tear for her final view.
A dome of invisibility could only expand so far and with too many dynamic movements from Jotou and Fumeko, not to mention the dozens of other illusions that required her concentration...
She could only make her other companion invisible and make the plan work... And now, none of the illusions, worked; staring blankly at the body, rainbows masked her sorrow.
"No, no, no," Jotou sobbed, picking up the red mane with delicate fingers, with nails she had cut so perfectly, her knees fell into the sand. With her heart torn asunder like paper, the glow of her sparks dimmed.
"Hotaru," the brunette sobbed, picking her hand up, "Wake up wolfy, please," perhaps the sound of the girl crying in squeaks was worse.
Jotou whimpered, hands shaking, "Again? Again!?" she petted Hotaru’s ears that went limp. She could see the smile on her corpse, the bullet to the side of her head, through her red strands.
’I.’ Staying up late, listening to her cries and encouragements alike. Teasing Jotou for so many things; and the scent of sea dandelions fluttering. ’Didn’t even...’
Her fanged smile, her giggles, her teaching, her kindness, her blushes as her tail would give her away so easily. One by one memories blended in Jotou’s mind as she closed the soft eyelashes of her brilliant blue.
Death after death she had faced. "She just wanted an adventure..." gritting her teeth, the scent of adrenaline overwhelmed—her lips dry, her eyes puffed.
No sound rang in her ears—the blade in her hand was gripped so tight as her master’s cords hung off of the hilt. Fumeko sobbed, muttering her own mourning before looking up to the blonde that got up.
In her gushing vision, Fumeko followed the direction Jotou stared at; a rifle shot, that could shoot no more as the man afar struggled to fix it on the spot.
Fumeko blinked forward, dagger in hand, whilst Jotou dashed past the still elf; colourful tears entered her mouth, standing in attire she had bought in Hartamat and a wand held tight.
"GAH!!!!" Fumeko faltered, tumbling into the sand before shadows wrapped around and threw her forward slightly, then more shadows took her form.
Fumeko panted as a heavy headache struck her and her nose bled out; tears mixed with blood out of her enraged eyes. Jotou ran past her failing blink spells.
"Meko!"
The brunette wiped the blood from her face, spreading it across her cheek, "I’LL BE FINE ONCE HE’S DEAD!!!"
No argument to her sentiment from the blonde, not halting as Fumeko injured herself again and again trying to keep up. Jotou made it first as Eli Frye, "GODDAMMIT!" threw the gun aside in a huff.
He reached for his combat knife- "TING!" He blocking the sword that sparked. He took multiple steps back, nearly tripping into the sand from the force of her blade.
Jotou spun—"CLANG!" "ZAP!" his knife conducted as a drop of crimson leaked from her eye.
Lieutenant Frye gasped, letting the knife go as his hand nearly got electrocuted. He immediately reached for his belt in a grunt, "Kah!" a dagger cut the back of his neck from shadows, "GRUH!" before a sparking blade pierced through his sternum.
Jotou in a daze of rage could see Frye’s hand touch something that gave a golden gleam. "Beep!"
That sound... familiar, "It’s you!?"
A flash of bright white light washed past.
