by Unknown
"Forget the plan!" I cried back. I made it before I knew what we were dealing with, and it wouldn't possibly work with so many monsters in our way.
The raccoon monster who I kicked into a tree was out for revenge. Thanks to me he had a limp and found it difficult to run, but he still easily dodged Itsuki's latest attack and dashed towards me.
I raised my wooden pole to defend myself, but he caught it in his mouth and snapped the wood in two using his teeth. I stood there staring at the two pieces with no idea what to do until Kiyori through his hammer at the monster's head and the beast fell to the ground dead.
"Great going super exorcist!" Kiyori said as he picked up his hammer and raced off to attack another monster. I growled in frustration and punched the next monster who dashed towards me in the face. It wasn't enough to destroy it, but it fell to the ground from the impact. It was nice to know that my monster abilities were actually useful for something.
"We should try and get out of here as soon as possible," I said while nervously looking up at the Raccoon King who was still watching us. If what Akito and the East Branch exorcists had told us was true, then there was no way that we could stand a chance against him.
“Really? I haven’t noticed,” said Kiyori sarcastically.
“We just have to get these guys out of our way and then maybe we can make a break for it,” said Nina.
I began to feel a small glimmer of hope, but at that moment the Raccoon King stirred on his tree branch. He confidently lept from the tree and descended to the ground without any regard for the distance. He landed in the center of the clearing with a thud, and the last of the raccoon monsters backed away and cleared a path for their master.
"Oh shit," swore Kiyori.
Mana screamed and covered her head.
“We have to get her out of here now,” said Nina. “I don’t think we can defend her and fight him.”
"Snap out of it Mana," said Kiyori as he grabbed her shoulders and began shaking her.
"You can't do that," said Nina. "She's clearly in shock."
"You're just soft," said Kiyori.
"I’ll move her," said Itsuki. He grabbed Mana's arm, threw it over his shoulder, and helped her walk away from the middle of the clearing.
“I’ll cover you!” Said Nina and she followed after them.
"This guy's all yours super exorcist," said Kiyori as he dashed away to help Nina cover Itsuki.
"You can't do this to me!" I cried as the Raccoon King crept closer towards me.
"Just distract him while we get Mana to safety!" Yelled Itsuki.
“Are you insane!” I yelled back. Unfortunately for me, even if I wanted their help the remaining raccoon monsters quickly ran after them. Nina and Kiyori had to fight them off as Itsuki led Mana away behind the trees.
They'd abandoned me with the Raccoon King. I watched him slowly walk in my direction, and my terror increased with his every step.
I backed away in fear and tripped over a tree branch before I quickly pulled myself to my feet.
I hoped that my repressed monster memories would come up with a great way to save the day, but my mind was blank. All I could hear was Itsuki yelling at Mana from behind the trees as he tried to get her back to her senses.
"Listen to me Mana!" Said Itsuki. "You need to run and get help."
"I can't, they'll catch me!" She cried back. "I'll never get away."
"Don't worry we'll cover you!" Itsuki yelled. "Please Mana," he said a little more gently. "Please just run. I need you to help me."
There was silence from behind the trees until it was interrupted by the sound of someone running away through the foliage. I was relieved that Mana would be safe, but that didn't help my situation. Kiyori, Nina and Itsuki were still preoccupied with the remaining raccoon monsters who weren't pleased about Mana escaping.
I turned back to my encroaching death. Maybe it was fate that we met again like this after so many years. I lived through a confrontation with him once so I prayed that I could do it again.
My only weapon was in pieces so I pulled one of Akito's charms out from my pocket. I had no idea what any of them did, but most simple charms could be activated with the same basic chant, so I decided to channel my spiritual power into the paper and give it ago. I was expecting some sort of super awesome attack, but instead the paper just caught fire and then sparkled like a children’s firework. It was completely useless.
“What the hell are you doing!” Yelled Kiyori as he knocked a monster away with his hammar. “This isn’t the time for one of Akito’s party tricks!”
“Party tricks!” I yelled while staring at the paper in shock. “Why does he have party tricks?”
“When his fake exorcism work is slow he does children’s parties,” said Nina as she took aim and fired her last arrow at a raccoon. She then resorted to using her bow as a shield against the next monster.
The Raccoon King laughed. “Foolish mortal, how deluded you are to think that you can fight the Raccoon King with such petty tricks."
As annoying as he was in the past, I think I liked him better when he was begging to be my friend.
“Hey,” I said as I dropped the charm and slowly backed away from the Raccoon King. “I've got a great idea. How about we stop all this senseless fighting and just be friends?”
I thought it might have worked from what I saw in my dream (maybe he only ripped exorcists to pieces because they weren’t friendly enough) but the Raccoon King ignored my pathetic attempt to reach out to him and continued walking towards me. His claws were extended outwards and he was grinning like he enjoyed watching me suffer.
"Your pathetic attempts to beg for your life are useless exorcist," he said with a laugh. "I will enjoy slaughtering you as I did with your countless comrades."
All my charms were useless so I had no choice but to retreat. I ran and dived behind a tree while frantically searching for something useful among the pieces of paper I pulled off Akito’s desk.
“Come on Akito, you have to at least have something I can use,” I said as I scanned every charm. I hadn’t noticed before, but Akito had even written notes at the bottom of the charms in pencil. I could see fireworks, fake snow, and little Tommy’s 5th birthday written in his handwriting.
“Nooooo! Akito why are you doing this to me!” I screamed and threw them up into the air. Even when Akito was gone he still managed to ruin my chances against an insane monster. I almost wished that he was there to undo the seals on my back and unleash my powers, but there was no guarantee that it would improve our chances.
I grabbed one discarded charm from the ground and raced out to face the Raccoon King. He may have looked cold and bloodthirsty, but maybe he was secretly a big fan of magic tricks. I hoped I could impress him into letting us all live.
“Raccoon King!” I yelled and held a charm up in the air. “Watch and behold the awe inspiring power and magic of Amy’s magical princess part-”
“Daisuke catch!” Yelled Nina as she tossed me Mana’s discarded metal pole. I didn’t expect to see it coming so it hit me in the side of my head and almost knocked me over. The Raccoon King thought it was hilarious, and his laughing was the only thing that gave me enough time to pick Mana’s weapon up and arm myself. I decided to make the first move instead of just standing around waiting for him to kill me.
I dashed towards the Raccoon King and raised the pole to slam it over his head. I hoped for a lucky shot, but he quickly dodged my pathetic attempt to attack him.
He pulled his fist back and all of a sudden I was reminded of my dream in the forest. I screamed and desperately pulled the pole up to shield my face and vital organs. He punched me in the shoulder and I went flying backwards towards Kurumi’s barrier. I was also an Obake so it would surely electrocute me on impact, but Itsuki dashed out and tried to catch me before I hit it. I knocked into him and we both fell over backward and landed only inches away from Kurumi’s shield.
“What do you think you're doing!” I yelled
as I quickly pulled myself to my feet. “I don't need your help!”
"What do you mean you don't need my help!" Itsuki yelled back and he picked himself off the ground. "Without me you would be twitching in the dirt with these guys!"
"No I wouldn't, I had everything under control!" I yelled back, but I knew he was right. I just couldn't stand the humiliation of being helped by my nemesis.
Itsuki sighed. "You and me together up against a powerful monster,” he said as he watched the Raccoon King slowly walk towards us. “It's probably just what an exorcist wannabe like you has always wanted.”
"Shut up!" I snapped.
"Okay, enough with the jokes," said Itsuki. He pulled a charm from his pocket and held it between two fingers. "I can't let you die now. I need you to grab the others and make a run for it. I'll hold him off here.”
“What are you talking about!” I said. “You can't possibly beat this guy alone!"
"I'm not saying that I can beat him alone," said Itsuki. "But I might be able to distract him long enough for you to all get away.”
“But he’ll kill you!”
“But it’ll be worth it if it means that the rest of you can live!”
“Itsuki,” I said. It was just like when the fox monster attacked and he asked me to take Mana and run. I spent months despising him, but there was no denying that Itsuki cared so deeply for his friends that he was willing to sacrifice his life for them again and again. I couldn't help but resent him for it. Compared to him I always felt shallow, selfish, and powerless. As much as I hated the guy, I still kept longing to be more like him. Maybe if I was more like Itsuki I could face the Raccoon King without panicking. Maybe if I was still a real monster then I would have the strength to defeat him on my own.
A memory from my life as an Obake began to surface in my mind. I could vaguely remember a time when I felt this afraid before. There were five blurry men before me. They were dressed in white robes and carrying light swords. One screamed out a battle cry and they split up and surrounded me in a circle. I felt outnumbered and terrified, but I didn’t let my panic or fear show. I met them head on and calmly tried my best to stay alive and win. Maybe that was the only way to deal with my current situation as well.
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. All I needed to do was focus and figure out a way to save us all.
“Itsuki,” I said. “As much as you moan about your life, you’re still the organization’s prize exorcist so it would be a shame if you died now. And besides,” I said with a smile. “Even if I let you take care of this guy, you wouldn't last long enough for us to all escape.”
“So what?” said Itsuki. “You’re just going to sacrifice yourself instead? You’ll die straight away.”
“Die? I never said anything about dying. Nina! Kiyori! The plan!” I yelled out to my friends behind me.
“The plan?" Said Nina. “But that was before we were fighting the Raccoon King.”
“Nothing’s changed!” I snapped. “Make the formation now!”
Nina hesitated and looked over at Kiyori.
“Just do what he says!” Kiyori yelled back.
“You can stand back and take a rest,” I said to Itsuki. “You should get a nice view from here.”
I didn’t stick around to see Itsuki’s reaction because I had already picked up Mana’s steel pole and rushed towards the Raccoon King. There was no time to be afraid. It wasn't the time for sympathy or apologies, if I didn't act my friends were all going to die.
I ran towards the monster and swung the pole towards him. The Raccoon King quickly blocked my attack with his arm, but I wasn’t concerned. I only had to distract him long enough for the plan to work.
Behind me Kiyori and Nina quickly dashed around the field sticking Akito’s barrier charms on all the trees surrounding the Raccoon King and I. It seemed like a great idea earlier, but I could suddenly spot my plan's flaws. In order for it to work I couldn’t allow any of my friends to be trapped within the barrier, so the circumference wasn’t very large. If the Raccoon King stepped outside the zone then my plan would inevitably fail as well.
The Raccoon King roared and tried to take a slash at my throat, but I quickly blocked and kicked him in the knee. The Raccoon King faltered for a moment, but he quickly regained his balance and tried to punch me in the stomach. I jumped back and dodged, but his attacks were relentless.
“How long do you need?” I yelled out to Kiyori and Nina. Kiyori stuck the last charm on a tree and Nina finally began to chant a mantra.
“A minute!” Yelled Kiyori.
“What!” I said as I blocked another attack from the Raccoon King. It was a lot easier to predict his moves and counter them when I wasn’t having a panic attack, but the Raccoon King was still clearly stronger than I, and there was only so long that I could hold him back. He took a swipe at my neck. I tried to dodge quickly but his claws scratched my cheek. The cut began to bleed and blood dripped down my face.
I could hear Nina chanting behind me and the charms on the trees around us began to glow. We almost had him in our trap, but at that moment my worst fear became reality.
The Raccoon King jumped back to prepare for another attack, but he stepped outside our barrier zone.
It was over.
The Raccoon King would certainly discover my plan as soon as the barrier appeared, destroying our only chance at survival. I didn’t have any other ideas, and the Raccoon King would surely wear us down before killing us off one by one.
Luckily Kiyori noticed that the Raccoon King was out of the zone, and he quickly shoved Nina to stop her from chanting. Nina shut her mouth and ceased channelling her spiritual power into the charms. They turned back into regular paper.
I breathed a sigh of relief, but there wasn’t enough time to rearrange the charms. If I ordered Nina and Kiyori to move them again, then the Raccoon King would surely notice what we were doing. I needed him back in the middle of the charms and there wasn’t any time to waste.
“Hey!” I called out to get the monster's attention, but he turned his head and noticed Kiyori and Nina. Nina screamed and the Raccoon King spun on his feet and turned to attack them. Kiyori raised his hammer and threw it at the monster, but the hammer missed the Raccoon King’s vital areas and only managed to shatter the right corner of his mask. The skull mask cracked and fell to the ground to unveil the pale and sickly face of Ratmuncher.
I wasn't surprised. All it did was confirm what I already knew.
“That’s the guy from the book,” said Nina. “The Raccoon King is Ra-” She tried to say before I cut her off.
“Stop staring and get ready to start chanting!” I ordered. I needed her to begin chanting again from the moment Ratmuncher stepped back within the zone. I was terrified that we’d never get another chance.
Ratmuncher took one look at me before his face twisted into a morbid grin and he turned back towards Kiyori and Nina. He knew something was up and he was aiming for my friends. I had to do something, anything, to keep him from killing them.
“Hey you!” I yelled nervously while trying to think up some way to distract him. “You stink!”
I thought it was a great insult, but he took one puzzled look at me before he turned back to Kiyori and Nina. It obviously wasn’t enough. If only there was something I could say that would make him forget about them entirely.
“Hey, Ratmuncher!” I tried calling out. He instantly spun his head and looked at me with his eyes wide in horror.
I had finally gained some power over my enemy, and as creepy as it sounds I loved the feeling. “That’s your real name, isn’t it Ratmuncher?” I said with a smirk. I nervously watched Nina and Kiyori behind him, but it was obvious that they needed more time. I struggled to think up some more material to keep him distracted.
“You act like some mighty monster king, but you’re not even a real monster are you?” I said. “You’re just a human who died with a strong grudge. You can never be a true monster like the rest of them can you?
They will always be looking down on you and calling you names like dead human and walking corpse. Every time you try to prove to them that you’re more than that, they just shove you in the mud and beat you," I said while thinking of the dream where he came begging to be my friend. "And none of them will ever respect or follow you, and who can blame them, you’re pathetic,” I said with a laugh that surprised even myself. I was suddenly on a roll and I couldn't stop. “You’re a waste of spiritual energy that should have never become a monster. Someone like you should just dig your own grave and lie in it! You already look like a walking corpse!"
“You!” He roared and dashed towards me. “You’re just like that shitty bastard!”
He raised his claws and attempted to slice off my head, but I used the metal pole to block his attack.
“You’re dead stupid human!” He roared and began to push against Taisei’s pole. Instead of using his head and trying a different approach, he was attempting to overpower me with strength alone.
"You can never be like us, so just give it up already!" I said through gritted teeth. I meant to say them instead of us but it just rolled off my tongue so naturally.
"I will rip that mouth from your face," he growled back.
“Just you try!” I hissed.
I looked over my shoulder to see Nina chanting once more, and the charm paper on the trees began to glow and crackle with energy. A faint barrier began to materialize from the charms and quickly exploded outwards around the trees. I jumped back away from Ratmuncher and a blue barrier suddenly appeared before my eyes. If I had been a second slower I would have surely been electrocuted or trapped inside.
I wanted to cry out in joy, but we hadn’t won yet. I could see him through the blue electric wall. I thought he would have gotten more upset over losing to a bunch of teenagers, but he appeared completely calm and stared at the wall like he was calculating the best way to break through.
He reached out and hesitantly touched the barrier with one hand, but energy crackled around his fingers and shocked it instantly.
He began to laugh.
"Stupid exorcists," said Ratmuncher. "Do you honestly think your pathetic barrier will be enough to contain me? The moment you let this down I will destroy you all," he said with an angry growl.
