I had died. And now, I was here. I focused on the only truth: my body was intact, when in my last moment, I remember having been shot after placing second in a clandestine tournament. This wasn't the purgatory painted in books. It looked like an apartment.
I, Sei Sakuraoka, arrived at an unknown room with a black sphere...
'A new morning has arrived, a morning full of hope♫... A morning of happiness♪'
I stand next to the wall, eyes narrowed, evaluating the space: the black sphere, the doors, the balcony. Then, just as the tall guy in the pajamas had said, the sphere starts playing the radio song, the aerobics tune. A message emerges on its surface 'Your lives have ended. What your new lives will be like depends only on me. Well, that's the theory...' Curious, I move to read it with everyone else in the room. What kind of mystery is this?.
"What's that?" Says the man with the military haircut.
"Their lives have ended...?" (Kiyoshi) He knelt down in front of the sphere to read the message
"What will they be like...? That's the theory...? What is all this?" (Priest Musou). This seems to have taken him by surprise.
Afterward, the message changed, as if it were a kind of computer dialogue chat. The previous one disappeared, and a new one emerged: 'Now, motherfuckers, you must go out and face this,' appending a red statue face, 'Tough Alien,' and a green statue face, 'Grumpy Alien,' along with their characteristics, likes, and favorite phrase 'NNN.' Seeing the word 'alien,' I think my intuition about believing the other one was good.
"What is it trying to say?" (Random Man) A man in a business suit spoke near me, smelling of alcohol, the scent was permeated on him.
"It doesn't make sense. It's true about the aliens" (1) The speaker is the tanned adolescent.
"It happened exactly as you said...? Tell me, who are you really?" (Kiyoshi) The guy with glasses turned towards the tall boy in pajamas.
"My name is Masaru Kato, and I've been here before... confronting aliens...careful, the sphere will open soon, very soon." (Kato). He spoke while pointing at the sphere, warning us. Immediately after, with a deafening rumble, the sphere revealed shelves of weapons. Simultaneously, I heard a muffled woman's cry; I instinctively looked toward the hallway where the couple had gone. Had it been my imagination?.
While everyone else grabs a weapon, I find a briefcase on the back shelf with the striking label, 'Kickboxer Sei.' I take it, open it, and inside, there's a black suit of the same type I see the otaku couple wearing. At first glance, it looks like it's made exactly to my measure. Good, I'll put it on.
When the room falls back into a discussion between that tall guy named Kato and the Priest, I leave for the hallway to change. As I turn, I run into a shocking sight. It's not that sex surprises me, but seeing it so abruptly causes a shock in me. They seem so immersed that they don't even notice my presence. They are both sitting, facing each other and intertwined, kissing, embracing, and fucking each other.
In this situation, their bodies seem to tremble in synchronicity. As he grows rougher with her, she clings to him more tightly, reaching that culminating point that lasts for just an instant, a sensation that seems to course through them both. They reach their climax right in front of me. Then, and only then, the boy turns toward me with a predatory and dangerous gaze. The girl turns to me in silence, as if she is only just recovering her consciousness; gradually, her face fills with shame, making the moment awkward for all three. What am I supposed to do now?!.
"Oopsy.." I just say what comes out.
"Nah... it's fine...." "He says casually, while his girlfriend separates from him, looking for her clothes. Now, I turn away, I finally recover from the shock and turn my back on these perverts. That guy has no shame! It's fine? What the hell is "fine" about this?!.
"K-Kei! get dressed..!" she says behind me, filled with tension.
I could hear the rustle of clothing as they dressed. Seeing them had made me feel as if I was the one who was exposed, that predatory eye I had noticed making me feel like the invader who trespasses into their territory. I heard a final zip and a click and then they told me we could finally talk.
"Yeah, uh... I'm sorry. Yeah. That. Things... got a little... you know. Stuff happens. I'm genuinely sorry for what you saw. My name is Kei Kurono..." The boy pauses, struggling to find the right words, yet he doesn't try to trivialize the situation and takes responsibility.
The girl with the pretty face, still red and mortified, bowed her head. "Please forgive us. I... I'm Kei Kishimoto". Her voice was rapid, urgent, filled with genuine shame.
Introductions? Seriously?
"I am Sei Sakuraoka..." I respond instinctively, forcing the formality.
"Look, I'm open-minded and I'll act like I didn't see anything, but in exchange, you could talk to me..." I decide to ask the otaku couple for help; my intuition tells me they could give me guidance on what to do next. When I can't face the situation myself, the logical thing is to ask others for help.
"What's this supposed to be? It looks like... it was made just for my use... The sky is different from what I thought..."
"No, we're not dead..." (Kurono).
"It's not fair that we have to be here. But since you are here, don't waste this 'life'. That's what I tell myself..." (Kishimoto)
I change outfits at the couple's suggestion. Following a brief conversation, Kurono explains how the black suit works. As a demonstration, he lifts his girlfriend, Kishimoto, above his head with his hands. It's madness. So, I put on the black suit. Afterward, we return to the room, where a different scenario was playing out, the tall boy Kato lifts the two adolescents by the collar of their clothes. They resist and simultaneously strike him with their knees, but he remains unperturbed before letting them drop to the floor. That's the suit's toughness!,
"Ouch..." "Like steel..." (1) (2). I barely hear their faint cries.
"This is the power of the suits..." (Kato). He tells them, looking down at them. Immediately afterward, the Yankee karateka challenges him, attacks him, delivering a high kick aimed at his neck. "Do me a favor and put on the suits or at least keep them handy" He tells everyone, completely ignoring the kick he just received, who also follows up with a barrage of punches to the abdomen. Kishimoto dresses the dog in its suit, and Kurono hands me an X-Gun.
Next, a timer counting down from 01:30:52 displays onto the surface of the jet-black sphere in the room's center. Kei begins to disappear, piece by piece, progressively from the head.
"I go first," (Kurono). He tells us.
The next to leave is Kato. I also see the adolescents grab their respective suits and one of the weapons from the shelves. Then, I myself leave the apartment.
Rateiin Temple
00:31:02 hours, January 31.
We stand outside, beneath a night sky. But there are no stars; the cloudy sky conceals them, leaving only the yellowish, intermittent glow of the streetlights. The traffic is indifferent to our presence, the cars pass, never stopping. In front of me stands the temple entrance, its imposing portal made of thick, ancient wood. Above it is a sign: 'RATEIIN'. On either side, behind wooden bars, loom two gigantic figures, the guardians of the precinct. I stand on the asphalt, at the edge of some steps, contemplating this. My heart pounds...
"We're outside; does that mean I can go home now?"(2) The adolescent with the quite slender says.
"Let's just go. What's the point of all this if we're outside?"(1) The other adolescent replies, shrugging dismissively.
"What's the nearest station...?"(Random Man). He stands at the edge of the asphalt, flagging down a taxi, but no car stops.
"This is the Rateiin Temple... What is this? Then, I am alive? Huh...?" (Priest Musou). He speaks with a certain shocked reaction, coming to that conclusion.
"Don't go! Stay here, please..." (Kato). He speaks to them, who are leaving the place.
"These statues were on the sphere's monitor... are these the aliens?" (Kiyoshi). He interrupts, shouting a sharp question that tears the group's focus away, forcing Kishimoto and Kato to look at the gigantic statues behind the wooden bars. The three of them are standing in front of the red Guardian on the left. Standing at the edge of the steps, right beside me, Kei strokes the head of the dog, which reacts enthusiastically by bounding up the steps until he reaches the side of those three.
Kei and I ascend the steps, at the same time, a group from among us—the adolescents, Priest Musou, and the Random Man—starts walking down the asphalt, ignoring the guardians and the portal, leaving. Kato notices too late and then runs toward them to stop them. Despite his urgent shouts, he is ignored until they suddenly stop because the Random Man, who was ahead, suddenly has his head explode, and his dead body falls to the ground.
I feel a fright run through me, as if my own body is sending an alert: You are in danger!.
The next reaction, the group that was leaving screams in horror. Kato himself warns them with such violence, losing the calmness he transmitted. This time, the group listens to him; somehow, he ends up taking on the role of leader.Beside me, the otaku couple embraces, with Kishimoto finding consolation in him. Kei has a sharp, dangerous look, but for some reason, I note that he is secure and emanates composure, and that, attracts me to them. Finally, all of us position ourselves in front of the entrance portal. Kei was shooting the X-Rifle by reason to force the door to enter in the temple. Meanwhile, Kato confronts the crowd, transforming the force and interruption of his voice into a roar of command, compelling the group to set aside their panic and collaborate together as a team.
"Now listen to me, everyone! We are about to... risk our lives! To hunt some unidentified creatures; this is not a game, this is real! The suits will give you special powers... the weapons will not fire unless you pull both triggers... We have to hunt them in less than an hour; think of it as a war, many people have died here!" (Kato). He stands rigid before the group, roars his leadership, his words cutting the air and compelling us to concentrate on survival. We have a rapid conversation.
"A war..."(fat military maniac).
"..."(Soldier).
"You know, I was wondering... the aliens aren't these?" (Kiyoshi).
"Are you sure? I don't think these could move" (Kishimoto).
"We haven't faced anything this big before" (Kato).
"If you guys say so... is there any way to prove it?" (Kiyoshi).
"What about the X-gun?" (Kishimoto).
"What is that?" (Kiyoshi)
"When you aim, through the scope you can see things like bones, like an X-Ray machine. That's why Kato named it the X-gun. The name isn't official, but if it's alive, something will be visible. Sei, can you take a look?"" (Kurono).
"All right" I say affirmatively.
I press my eye against the X-Gun's scope, aiming the muzzle at the red Guardian on the left. Through the lens, the world shifts to a spectral negative, exposing a skeletal horror beneath the statue's skin. I manage to keep my calm; I was prepared once I'd come to terms with the idea. Even so, I gasp at the sheer magnitude of the creature inside, needing to verify what I see before speaking.
It's alive... it's alive... here's the alien...!!!
Since we arrived, the colossal statues—around fifteen meters high, like four-story buildings—stand silent and immobile, flanking the portal. I recall my mother once saying that their mission is to repel evil spirits and all evil from the sacred ground dedicated to Senju Kannon, the deity of mercy. It's ironic to think about that now...
"What?" (Kishimoto) She asks after my delayed answer.
"This... this is... the alien... what should we do?" I say, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
"I will try to capture it, using the capturing weapon..." (Kato). He steps forward, placing himself in front of the red Guardian, pointing another weapon, different from the one I hold in the hands and raising it to his waist, ready to fire.
CRUNCH!
At the same time, the green Guardian on the right smashes through the wooden bars, grabbing everyone's attention and instilling fear. Chunks of wood fly off violently. As it steps, it ruins the concrete floor, which also generates an imbalance in my legs from the shockwave. It stares at us with those eyes that suddenly moved with life—it's huge! It's utterly enormous! I have to flee!!! In that distraction, the red Guardian on the left also moves, smashing its wooden bars and throwing Kato and Kiyoshi violently to the sides with the sheer inertia, causing another seismic shockwave in the floor. Each of them held a Vajra, the weapon of a guardian. In my stupor, someone tugs my hand, Kei pulls me out of my paralysis and forces me to run, now!
"AAAAAH!"
"WHAT IS THAT SHIT?!"
"WATCH OUT!"
"AAAAAH!"
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
"AHHHH! INSIDE THE TEMPLE NOW!! OPEN THE DOOR!!!"
"HURRY, OPEN IT!"
Amidst the desperate screams, I push the door open into the temple along with Kei and Kishimoto. I don't know what awaits me there...