Nobu's POV
I always considered myself an ordinary girl. Except for my fascination with the history of my ancestor, I was no different from those around me. I played with dolls, read romantic manga, and was interested in handsome boys. Although I had few friends due to my quirks about Oda Nobunaga, everything was within the bounds of an ordinary teenager. At least, I believed in it, but it turned out to be different. The tragedy that happened at the beginning of this summer crossed out my entire normal life.
I had a good relationship with my parents. We often went on family trips to different places together. This time, the choice fell on the cinema. Returning from an evening screening of a new film, we stopped by the beach. Watching the sun disappearing into the sea, I cheerfully discussed the moments of the blockbuster that I liked. My father and mother supported my enthusiasm, sharing their own emotions.
When the last rays of the setting sun completely dissolved, we went home. As we moved along the coast, the few passers-by disappeared completely. Not right away, but it alerted not only me, especially considering a similar moment in the film we watched. The last straw was the fog that rose out of nowhere.
Dad ordered to run to the nearest house to try to ask for help, but halfway there a shadow jumped out at us. The unknown was aimed at me, but Mom held my hand, so she managed to pull me out from under the attack. Unfortunately, this maneuver exposed her.
Knocked to the ground, I did not immediately realize what had happened. When I managed to get up, my legs gave way, and I fell again. Right before my eyes, literally four meters ahead, a humanoid creature was hanging over my mother's body. The most terrible thing was that she did not move, and blood was dripping from the muzzle of the creature that raised its head.
My voice was drowned out by my father's scream. The monster turned its attention to him. When my dad's and my eyes met, he mouthed "run," and then began yelling at the monster again. Dodging the thrown phone, the monster attacked its attacker.
Dad's sacrifice was in vain. Yokai's quick dash caught up with its prey a few moments later. Even if I hadn't been paralyzed with fear, I wouldn't have been able to hide far. At that moment, despair gripped me. Right before my eyes, the living monster from legend killed and was now eating the most important and closest people in my life.
As soon as the monster turned its attention to the last remaining prey, the crying and sobbing intensified. Shaking my head in denial, I smeared my face with even more snot and tears. My body was trembling violently. No matter how hard I tried to move, my limbs did not respond to commands. Ëkai slowly moved his paws, pressing himself to the ground, looking more like a wild animal than a rational being. Having reached me, the monster lazily swung his paw. I frowned before the inevitable, my whole short life flashed through my head. Too many regrets had accumulated during this short period of my conscious existence. I especially wanted strength, so that, like my ancestor, I could act without looking back, without fear - straight ahead.
A metallic clang brought me out of my thoughts. Opening my eyes wide, I could see an ancient gun, very similar to a house heirloom, which blocked the sharp claws. At that moment, I felt a connection with the weapon, instinctively understanding how to use it and more...
"Revenge!" - that was the word that filled my consciousness.
Two more muskets appeared right above me, instantly shooting into ëkai's hands. The wounds he received made him recoil. It took the beast a few seconds to come to its senses and prepare to lunge with a growl. However, this was enough time for me to change the guns. New shots thundered, hitting the monster's legs. The bullets were powerful enough to break the target's bones. With a wild roar, the yokai fell on its back.
Grabbing the weapon that protected me in my hands, I slowly approached the monster. As I approached, it tried to jump up and grab me, but a sweeping kick right to the muzzle threw it back. To prevent further attempts, I summoned two muskets, which pinned the monster to the ground, squeezing its neck crosswise.
Looking at the yokai kicking like a wild animal, I was filled with negative feelings. Obeying anger, I jumped on his chest, trying to cause as much pain as possible. The beast tried to throw me off, but in response I stomped on his torso.
Now I could only use three muskets, and not more than two meters away from me. However, this would be more than enough for my revenge. Slowly, shot after shot, I shot first his hands, then his feet; forearms and shins, thighs and shoulders. The creature turned out to be tenacious, continuing to snap and break free despite all the wounds. Three bullets stuck in the stomach turned out to be fatal. The yokai's movements became more and more sluggish, and the pool of blood under him grew larger. While he was still conscious, I decided to finish him off. Having thrust the muzzle of the musket right into his forehead, I decided to take one last look at the face of my parents' killer, but I could only see a wild, rabid animal.
I thought that I would get satisfaction from taking revenge on the monster, but this is not so. Standing in front of the corpses of my mother and father, I felt only emptiness. They were already dead, and nothing would change that.
I was brought out of my stupor by the noise that appeared again. With the death of yokai, the fog he had created, which had previously blocked the outside world, also disappeared. Looking around, I realized what situation I was in, and I became scared. If monsters and people with superpowers exist, then surely there are government organizations too. I don't want to end up in a cage and be experimented on!
After some hesitation, I still ran away from there. I had to choose a path home far from any crowded places or security cameras. As soon as I crossed the threshold, all my things went into the washing machine with a lot of powder and fabric softener. I also went into the bathroom to erase any possible traces left by the monster. It was at that moment that the thought occurred to me that there might be people with the ability to track me down.
Fear and paranoia gripped me. My mind was spinning with many scenarios seen in manga and anime. Any solution I came up with was shattered by the harsh reality. I can't just run away now — it would be too suspicious. Besides, where should I go and what should I do? I have no money or special skills, and I need to live on something. Although I'm not ordinary, I'm still a schoolgirl. I won't be able to get a job anywhere except for part-time jobs that require documents.
Remembering one of the plots, I rushed to my phone to call my parents' number. For a legend, I need to pretend to be excited. After the cinema, we split up. I went home, and my parents wanted to spend time together. When they did not return for a long time, as a loving daughter, I became worried and started calling them. I think five or six calls should be enough. Unfortunately, things did not go quite as planned. On the third call, the investigator picked up the phone. After asking leading questions about the identity of the phone owners, he told me about the terrible fate of my parents. According to the policeman, they were attacked by a wild animal that came down from the mountains. There was no hint of any monster whose corpse lay next to the bodies of my parents. Just a rabid bear.
I could no longer hold back and burst into tears into the phone. The entire dam that had been protecting my emotions collapsed overnight. Bitterness, resentment and helplessness took over my useless body. My parents had left this world forever. Shared meals during which we discussed plans for the day or interesting events; family walks every week; the warmth of simply being nearby - all this will now be gone. They are no longer there.
My fears were unfounded. No one came for me the next day or week. Either I had managed to avoid suspicion, or secret organizations simply do not exist.
My aunt became my guardian. My father's younger brother was also on the list of candidates, but he had severed all ties with the family after high school, "getting away from those crazy people," as he put it in a farewell note. The adult woman happily accepted the care of her beloved niece. However, after the funeral, she was unable to provide me with much attention. A two-year-old son and six months of pregnancy limited her options. Since I refused to move in with her, then, having made sure that I could take care of myself, my aunt allowed me to live alone. However, she continued to visit me when the opportunity arose and contacted me daily by phone.
The first few weeks of solitude were the worst. Having received a release from school for the remaining two weeks of the term, I locked myself in the house. Only the need to eat forced me to go to the store for groceries. This situation forced my young mind to dive into itself and think about a lot. At some point, I even had the thought of suicide, but I quickly abandoned it. Such a thing would have too much of an impact on my aunt. And my dad and mom would not be happy with my decision. In the end, I just decided to go with the flow.
Having a superpower, I, like most people, was very interested in it. Through practice and experimentation, I managed to understand the principle of its operation a little. Summoning and controlling muskets near me slowly developed with more practice. It was only necessary to understand the essence of my ability to easily find a suitable training method from hundreds of options, read novels. At the beginning of July, I already had seven guns at my disposal, and the range of control expanded to five meters.
Of course, I conducted all my combat training away from possible witnesses, but this led to a completely different problem than a random onlooker. Returning from another practice, I met a new monster. This time it looked like a huge boar. Perhaps I entered its territory, because I had to go to the mountains, but this in no way justifies its attempt to kill me. Taking advantage of the situation, I tested the tactics I had previously come up with in practice. Considering that my opponent was a large and stupid yokai, the hunt went without any complications.
I really enjoyed the adrenaline and excitement of fighting a monster. So I added patrolling and searching for new yokai to my routine. In addition to practice, this would help reduce the number of casualties among ordinary people. I soon realized that it was not that easy to meet a yokai. Most likely, I was "lucky" to stumble upon two of them at once in a short time.
Only with the onset of the third month of summer did I manage to stumble upon a new monster. However, this yokai was very different from the others. He wore traditional Japanese clothes, and he could also speak. Judging by his words, he belonged to some group of strong yokai ruling this territory. Unfortunately, my opponent's intelligence did not change his attitude towards people as if they were food. Killing the yokai this time turned out to be much more difficult. Unlike his predecessors, he was not a brainless animal, and he could also use unusual magic.
Despite my victory, this encounter scared me a lot. It turns out that my home is located on the territory of a bunch of powerful monsters for whom humans are just food. I had a choice: either stop using my sacred gear, as the monster called it, or look for allies who fight against such evil spirits. It's not for nothing that there are so many stories about onmyoji clans in history. If youkai are real, then these sorcerers are too.
Before I managed to formulate a plan to find the onmyoji, a strange guy contacted me. Approaching me in a cafe, the stranger introduced himself as a descendant of the hero and offered to meet me on the beach in the evening to tell me everything about the supernatural world and my new powers. After much deliberation, I finally agreed to the meeting, choosing the place that would be most advantageous for me in case of a fight.
This night became a new turning point in my life. I decided to maintain my mask of a fearless badass, which I used when talking to Perseus during the day, although I am far from that. Having met on the beach, the guy began to tell me about the existence of a mythical side of the world, hidden from ordinary people. Gods, devils, magic and sacred mechanisms in the hands of people. You can easily notice how he presents everything in a favorable light, advertising "heroes" - the only defenders of humanity. When asked leading and tricky questions, Perseus deftly changed the topic or got by with general words.
The whole situation was too suspicious. These heroes reeked of a setup, so I decided to get rid of the threat. His attempt to manipulate me with the help of my parents was the last straw. I need to remove the witness and leave Okinawa. Unfortunately, Perseus managed to avoid my attack and summon his artifact to counterattack, turning part of his body into stone. This convinced me even more that I had made the right choice, pushing morality and fear aside.
The sudden appearance of the strange couple scared me at first, but their actions made me focus on the hero's descendant first. The desperate guy took some kind of drug to strengthen himself and the sacred mechanism. At that moment, I had already said goodbye to life, but the action of the newcomer saved me. His inhuman appearance was a little disconcerting, but perhaps these two could help me.
After a long search, I finally found them. The couple was in the company of a group of teenagers and a young woman. As I approached them, I felt my power blocked. The concentrated look of the pink-haired girl hiding her hand proved the existence of people similar to me.
Walking and talking with Silence and Ophis proved that the supernatural world is much more dangerous than I initially thought. It turns out that I unknowingly walked on the very edge, starting a conversation with them without watching my words. Information about the persecution of the hero faction deprived me of any alternative, so after a long persuasion, I was able to join them. Although I am not very confident in my position as a bodyguard when both of them are much stronger than me.
Packing turned out to be very chaotic for me. In a few hours, I had to collect all the necessary things, give perishable food to neighbors or throw them away. Turn off the lights, water, and gas in the house, and write a huge note to my aunt and a promise to call every day. I had to lie that I met and became friends with a vacationing couple of entrepreneurs from Tokyo, who offered me a good position in their company. Of course, this can be very alarming for a pregnant woman, which is why I promised to visit her periodically and call her via video link every day. It is better to let her worry a little than to become an accidental victim because of me.
I felt the benefits of joining the Ouroboros couple almost immediately. I was given an entire penthouse in a multi-story building. I spent the second day walking around the city, listening to full information about the new world where I stepped on my own. Another shock was the identity of my employers - legendary dragons. The same ones that live with a lot of gold and kidnap princesses. Against this background, the meeting with a crazy killer on the street flew by somehow unnoticed.
It wasn't until the second day that I was able to witness the power of dragons with my own eyes. Silence and his teacher Crom Cruach had a mock battle, which I witnessed. Too destructive! If something like that were to happen in the city, all that would remain would be ruins. The worst part is that the pretty girl next to me is much stronger than both of them. According to Sai, she can destroy entire worlds with gods in them at will. Although Ophis doesn't look scary, I have no reason not to believe his words.
Soon, I was able to meet that pink-haired girl. Hitori Goto and her family also fell victim to the stray monster, but, unlike me, the dragons who met her a little earlier came to her aid. Seeing how much they treat Hitori with trepidation, some doubts arose in me. There is too much difference in attitude between us. No, I am not jealous, but I am very wary of the possible actions of Sai and Ophis. What if I am just a toy for them? A new toy that you can brush aside when you get tired of it? That's why I try to look and act bold and aggressive, just the way they like it.
My theory was confirmed by an incident in Romania. I was almost killed, and these two watched everything from the sidelines with amusement and interest. Like insects fussing. A lousy feeling. From that moment on, I tried to reduce interactions with this couple as much as possible in my situation.
A good outlet was evening motorcycle rides through Ikibukuro - the best entertainment district of Tokyo. It was as if I was in my own separate world, in no way connected with external problems. That made the cases I discovered here even more surprising. Real wars of colored gangs, an unusual bartender throwing huge vending machines at a cunning and sly information dealer. The Headless Horseman, with whom I eventually became real friends.
Even without the ability to speak, Celty could listen to my crazy story and support me. While typing messages on her phone, the dulahan told me about her past. She was very surprised when she learned about the existence of other supernatural beings besides herself, especially several dragons in the same city with her. Hanging out together, I even got to participate in small adventures and meet Anri Sonahara, a schoolgirl and the owner of the cursed sword Saika.
After another evening of traveling together through the night streets of Tokyo, where Celty was doing the delivery and I was just keeping her company, an event happened that completely changed my attitude towards Silence, Ophis, and any dragon in general. Everyone else is just a nuisance to them, pathetic bugs that can be crushed at any moment. From that day on, fear settled deep in my heart.