"You think he's over here?" Liz asked the group. Olivia, Liz, Evan, Ritsuka and Jiro moved down the empty roads. Remnants of a panicked city were left with crashed cars, broken windows, and looted buildings. The toughest city in the US was now a shell of its former glory.
"Are you sure it was this way?" Ritsuka asked Jiro. Jiro was slightly ahead of the entire group. His eyes scanned the sky with a tired expression. Ritsuka crept over to his brother and followed his stare into the sky. "Was it over there?"
"You couldn't feel it?" Jiro asked his brother. Ritsuka shook his head. He hadn't felt anything.
"No. It's been quiet for some time. We felt that large burst of energy earlier and followed it, but it only led us to a destroyed area. W-why are we trying to follow that? They're probably long gone by now."
Jiro looked at Ritsuka and sighed. His brother didn't feel the immense energy earlier. He and his friends are still young, so it was probably just a matter of inexperience. Jiro's mind reeled with theories of how he was able to feel these things better than others. He shook off his thoughts and continued to move forward.
"C'mon." Jiro motioned. Ritsuka followed his brother like a little duckling. It was an odd thing for Liz and Olivia to see and Evan almost mimicked Ritsuka. Ritsuka and Evan were really childhood friends. Evan looked the most comfortable with Jiro. It was something that made Liz almost worry.
"What's wrong? Are you going?" Olivia tugged on Liz's arm.
"Hm?" Liz snapped out of thought. She had gotten herself lost in thought again. She couldn't help it. The others seemed fine. They left the Academy district quickly with a car, only to abandon it half-way because of stragglers. Even through all of that, Liz's mind was still thinking of Manny.
"C'mon." Olivia gently pulled Liz. They walked in silence for a bit. Liz grew in deep thought again. Her puzzled expression was mixed with conflicted feelings. "Are you worried about Manny?"
"Huh?" Liz stuttered. She looked at Olivia. Her face immediately grew red. "N-no… Well…" Olivia wrapped her arm around Liz's and gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's fine to worry about him. He is our friend after all… and the one you have a crush on."
"I-I don't! I already told you a million times!" Liz pulled away. The three men stopped and looked behind them. "S-sorry!" Liz moved back to Olivia's side, moving her hands to her cheeks. She was embarrassed Olivia had brought that up.
"I may not look like it, but I'm worried about someone, too." Olivia looked ahead. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of vulnerability, before she pushed it back down into its box. "I know what its like to have conflicting feelings. You want to show your support for him, but you also can't help but wonder about Lee Seng, too."
"W-what are you saying…?" Liz looked down. "I… I don't really understand what happened back there, but… T-there must be a reason, right?" The two women grew quiet as they grew closer to the men. A large burst of energy snapped all of them out of it. They turned right, only to feel a cold air fly at them.
"Why is it so cold?!?" Evan's teeth chattered. Jiro's expression grew serious. The energy he had felt earlier had finally returned.
"Lee Seng and Keng." Ritsuka whispered. Jiro glanced over at Ritsuka. They had physically felt the energy Jiro had felt, but Ritsuka could sense their friends? "They're over there." Ritsuka glanced around and found a car down the road.
"Ritsuka!" Jiro ran after his brother. Ritsuka moved to the door and pulled the handle. He threw the door open and looked around. "What're you doing?"
"Found it!" Ritsuka slid into the driver's seat with the large key fob in his hand. He pressed the brake and ignited the engine with a click of a button. "Get in!"
"What're we doing? Are we going towards that energy?!?" Evan asked, rushing over with Liz and Olivia. The three piled into the backseat, leaving Jiro standing next to Ritsuka.
"Yeah. Lee Seng and Keng are there." Ritsuka answered.
"They are?" Liz asked. Ritsuka nodded and looked at his older brother.
"Niisan, you gettin' in or not?" Ritsuka asked. Jiro sighed and rounded over to the other side and opened the door, sliding into his seat. Ritsuka and Jiro slammed their doors shut and Ritsuka put the car in reverse and spun the car around quickly.
"Be careful!" Jiro shouted. Ritsuka put the car into drive and pressed the gas pedal. The car jerked forward, speeding up as Ritsuka turned right. Jiro yelped, gripping the handle to his right as his brother picked up speed.
"W-whoa!" Olivia and the others gasped.
"Speed demon Ritsuka is back!" Evan shouted. The car flew through the city roads, dodging cars as the energy grew larger. The closer they got to the large amount of energy, the colder it got. Ice gathered onto the car's windshield. Ritsuka cranked the heat up and turned the air on, pushing the button for the windshield to defrost.
"There's so much ice!" Liz yelped as Ritsuka barely dodged a pile of cars in the middle of the road.
"C-can't you go slower!" Jiro asked his younger brother. Ritsuka ignored him and focused on getting towards the energy. The large city buildings and roads quickly became encased in ice. Clouds formed, growing dark as the energy beam faded.
Ritsuka eventually slowed. The roads were horrible to navigate and the car was becoming entirely iced. He could barely see what was in front of him. He quietly muttered under his breath as he occasionally shifted in his seat, trying to see through the spots free from frost and ice.
"You see that?" Evan asked.
"What?" Liz glanced around. Evan pointed ahead of them.
"The ice! It's starting to disappear!" It was hard to see at first, but the group saw it. The ice on the car faded in after a few moments, leaving the cold air. Ritsuka slowly picked up speed, driving as far as he could. The large wall appeared in no time and the destruction of the city reappeared. The roads became uneven and broken. Parts of the wall were crumbling with huge skyscraper buildings hanging by a thread.
Ritsuka parked the car and shut it off. He opened the door, feeling the absolute cold air greet him. He pushed forward with the others following him, wondering what had done all of this.
"Lee?!? Keng?!?" Ritsuka carefully watched his steps, making sure he didn't' accidentally fall into one of the holes in the road. He pulled out behind a building and glanced to the right. Someone was sitting on the ground in the middle of all the destruction. They looked over and waved at him. They stopped waving and fiddled with something.
"Do you see anyone?" Jiro asked , standing next to his brother.
"Hey guys!" Keng's voice broke through the comms.
"Keng!" Evan exclaimed. The rest of the group gathered around the Yamada brothers and watched someone wave at them.
"Over here!" Keng shouted. The group rushed through the destroyed street towards their friend. Jiro followed behind, checking their surroundings. Keng grew closer and closer in their vision. Ritsuka, Liz, Olivia and Evan noticed someone was resting on Keng's legs.
"Whoa, what the hell happened here?" Liz asked.
"Is that… Lee Seng?" Olivia asked, rounding over to Keng's feet.
"Is he alright?" Ritsuka asked. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine." Keng winced. He grabbed his stomach and sighed. "I've been better."
"Why's he out? Did he get hurt or something?" Liz asked. Evan moved past the group and spotted ashes near Lee Seng's legs.
"What's this?" Evan pointed at the ash. He noticed something shining within it. He reached down and freezing air greeted him. A sword was sitting in ashes. Evan grabbed it and =pulled it, only to feel the frostbite. He yelped and dropped it, listening to the sword clatter onto the ground.
"I wouldn't touch that." Keng warned Evan a little too late. "That's the Deimon's."
"D-Deimon? You fought a Deimon?" Olivia asked.
"Two, actually. Well, Lee Seng did all the work. I just helped."
"Is he hurt?" Olivia squatted down and scanned Lee Seng. It was hard to tell if he was hurt due to his aura.
"I healed him as best as I could. He's resting." Keng told them. "We're taking a rest." Liz's eyes moved past Lee Seng and to Keng. She noticed tails swaying in the air. She casually counted them. Her eyes widened. She moved over to Keng and knelt down next to him.
"Keng, you have nine tails?!?" Liz asked in shock.
"Wait, you guys got nine tails? When?" Ritsuka asked. The rest of the group began to count Keng's tails.
"Nine. That's nine." Evan pointed.
"You guys did it." Olivia looked at Keng.
"And so fast?" Ritsuka added. Keng smiled while Lee Seng stirred from his slumber. The group's eyes went to Lee Seng, who smacked his lips. His eyes fluttered open as he lifted his arm and rubbed his eyes.
"You're awake?" Keng bent over in front of Lee Seng.
"Mmm. Why is it so loud?" Lee Seng asked, half-asleep.
"Lee!" The group tackled Lee Seng in hugs. Jiro stepped over, longsword out as his eyes focused on the Creator's son and strange Fox brother.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢