Kibishi's POV

  Flower Shop

  So I ended up finding David in the flower shop, where he and Riley were working.

  I had to admit, it was a good thing the girls snatched my knife away.

  I would've caused more chaos....

  And I simply wanted to get back at David for corrupting Tao's mind.

  .... Which was how I thought it would go down at first. Well, what I wanted to think...

  We were currently sitting at a table full of red roses. The supernaturals, I mean. The flower shop had all sorts of flowers in here. I heard that Kuma, Jir, and Yosei also worked here from time to time as well.

  They also mentioned a guy named Jake, who had a son around my age, as well as Tao's.

  It seemed like the guy named Jake had a day off, and his son wouldn't return until ter on.

  But more importantly...

  "...Damn it." I cursed myself.

  Damn it, so it WAS the other option. Tao was the curious one and did research with the girls. That's why they knew so much about guys and their wood....

  After Kuma expined that to me, I felt bad AND ashamed...

  "So much for trying to keep Tao as pure as possible..." I whispered in defeat.

  I hung my head in shame. I didn't want Tao to learn anything that wasn't reted to her daily life. And now, she knew everything. I didn't think I could ever sleep with her again since my best friend might be too cautious around me...

  I slowly gnced up and saw David with his arms folded. He was sitting next to Riley, who had her hair down today.

  "I see. So that's how it is, huh?" David slowly closed his eyes.

  "I'm sorry for accusing you like that, David. I just didn't predict Tao's curiosity reaching its peak so soon. I thought my heart was ready for the day that she'd find out, but still...!" I sniffed as I held my head.

  "What are you, her mom?" I heard Jir across the table.

  "Aw! Don't feel bad, Ki! Tao was just a little curious, is all! It's not like she went into detail about it or anything!" Yosei said to me. I looked up as I could see her forming a fist with a bright smile.

  "Yeah, don't feel bad, man! Tao is the same as ever! Right?" Kuma turned her head at Tao, who nodded afterwards.

  "R-right! I only looked up out of pure curiosity! So please don't be sad, Kishi!"

  Tao pulled her chair closer and patted my back to try to make me feel better.

  "Really?" I looked up at Tao.

  "Really!" Tao beamed a smile at me.

  "Ah! Tao!" I felt my spirit brighten up once more!

  Right! I could still protect Tao's purity!

  "Talk about being bipor..." Jir sweated as she gnced at me in shock.

  "What can I say? Kibishi is a bit protective when it comes to the person he deeply cares about!~" Riley said cheerfully as she pumped both of her fists.

  "I find that so cute!~" Yosei giggled and then pced her hands on her face.

  "Hell yeah, Kibi! Show the world that no one can touch your special someone! Whoo! Grab them like you're grabbing a big juicy pile of meat!" Kuma said excitedly, as I could practically see drool appearing at the edge of her mouth.

  "What the hell are you talking about?" I sweated intensely as I lowered my brows due to Kuma's excitement.

  "Grab their ass already!~" Kuma shouted louder.

  "Kuma, I think you should calm down now..." Jir deeply sighed.

  "Agreed..." I shook my head.

  I then turned my attention back to David, who was surprisingly quiet.

  "Anyway, I'm sorry, David. I hope you can forgive me."

  "Nah, don't sweat it. It's Tao, after all. I completely understand your actions, Kibishi." David shrugged and then leaned on his chair a bit. "But you let me off easy. I would've come running after me with a knife in my hand as I forced me to confess on the reasoning why I corrupted my friend if I was you."

  Well, I technically did. The girls took it away before I even gotten the chance to...

  "Won't you be worried if he did that, though?" Jir asked in a nervous way as she scratched the side of her face.

  "Why would I? Seems to make perfect sense to me." David blinked at Jir.

  "Maybe because---I don't know---your life would be in danger?" Jir gestured her right hand at David with her left brow raised.

  "Eh. Must've meant that I did something wrong with or without knowing it. I do like to mess with Kibishi sometimes, heh." David chuckled. David then raised his left hand at me. "Isn't that right, dude?!"

  "Right..." I sweated and simply nodded.

  "What? Come on, now. That's ridiculous!" Jir shook her head and then looked at Riley. "Come on, Riley! Back me up here! Don't you think those two idiots are being silly with that mindset of theirs?"

  "Uh, make that three, Jir..." Riley raised her hand with a small smile.

  "Eh?" Jir blinked and straightened herself up on her chair. "W-why's that?" Jir asked as she leaned in a bit.

  "Well, uh, I kinda... understand where they're coming from. If Tao did the same and told David about something that was very secretive, then I would've run after her with a knife!" Riley admitted with a big smile.

  "Are you sick in the head?" Jir narrowed her eyes at Riley.

  Jir then looked at Tao.

  "Well, I know you're not like that, right, Tao?"

  "..." Tao looked away and whistled with a small blush.

  "T-Tao? No way, right? Tao?!" Jir sweated intensely.

  "..." Tao looked at the floor as she fiddled with her thumbs and ughed nervously. "Well, uh, you see, um---a-ahem, here's the thing, Jir. I, uh.... ahem, I kinda... kinda agree with my friends here, so, uh..."

  "ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME RIGHT NOW?! YOU WERE JUST CHASING KIB WITH US, TAO!" Jir held her head in a panic.

  "Yeah, but I only did that so that their friendship wouldn't fall apart. Also, the knife was out in the open, so I was scared that Kishi would've been kicked out..." Tao held her left arm as she smiled at Jir while sweating a bit.

  "Wha-!" Jir froze in pce with her hands held up high.

  Thump!

  Jir suddenly fell on the floor on all fours as her whole body shook.

  "How can I be so stupid. They're not normal people at all. They would rather die than live another day if they saw each other hurt. Of course, they would have such a dark mindset at a time like this. This doesn't make any sense. This doesn't make any sense. These people are crazy. These people are insane. These people need to be in a hospital for daily check-ups. These people aren't well. Their logic doesn't make any sense. Their logic doesn't make any sense. Their logic doesn't make sense. Their logic--"

  "J-Jir?" Tao slowly stood up and raised her hands over Jir's shaking body.

  "Uh oh...." Kuma sweated.

  "I think Jir is traumatized by those four logics...." Yosei scratched the side of her face.

  Ah. We broke Jir..., I thought to myself.

  "Um, I think we should bring her back to rest for a while. She seems... a bit stressed out." Kuma stood up and walked towards Jir's side.

  Yosei followed suit and lent a hand, as did Tao.

  The girls helped her up, and then Kuma looked my direction. "Hey, Kibi! Mind helping us with the door?"

  "Oh, right. Be right there!" I nodded.

  I got up from my chair and looked back at Riley and David, who still had to work.

  "Anyway, I'll see you guys ter!"

  "No worries, man!" David raised his hand at me.

  "See you ter, Kibishi!" Riley waved her hand at me.

  I waved back and headed towards the door.

  ***

  In the middle of the city

  After carrying Jir away from the flower shop, she ended up feeling a bit better and started to walk on her own.

  Thank goodness.

  At least we could all walk together.

  I slowly looked around the city. It looked livelier than ever.

  I could see kids pying on the sidewalk. I could see adults walking up and down. I thought some adults were wearing suits or dresses for their workpce. I could also see the different buildings, I could see shops, pnts, and even bikes.

  It was strange to see such a functional pce seven feet underground.

  Normally, having a functional feat like this was close to none. But I supposed it was thanks to the advanced tech and maybe a bit of magic, too. I knew the technology wasn't too futuristic or even that high tech, but it was better than nothing if a whole city and its system could function underground. I had to hand it to The Founder; he might be a jerk, but he knew how to run a city.

  Even the water system seemed fine here as well.

  There was so much we didn't know about this world, and its magic.

  Heck, I didn't even fully understand my powers or myself entirely. I gnced at my friends, chatting away as I thought about the next step.

  Kuma and Yosei were looking after Jir, who seemed a little out of it, but still well enough to talk back to them. It seemed like they were enjoying themselves as well. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of them. Laughing, enjoying their time together, that's what I wanted to keep happening.

  I didn't want any of them to worry about anything else anymore.

  Of course, things wouldn't be that way without any hard work.

  But still, it couldn't hurt to dream, right?

  I had so many questions about this world. I had so many questions about myself as well. And recently, I had questions about the things I admittedly didn't want an answer to.

  I gnced at Tao, who was facing forward with a smile.

  Oh, how that smile brightened my day. I wished that Tao would smile at me like that all the time. I wanted her smooth lips to curl into that smile whenever we were together every day. I wanted to continue to feel the warmth of her skin. I wanted to see that shine in her eyes. I wanted to continue to be by her side.

  Why was that?

  It was because we were friends, of course.

  Or, was it something more?

  .

  ..

  ...

  .....

  .......... No, the answer was simple. It was always so simple.

  I just needed her by my side, and that was it. I didn't need anything else. I didn't have to have her warmth or-

  "Kishi...." I heard Tao's sweet voice.

  "What is it?" I answered softly.

  I saw Tao closing in and then grabbing hold of my hand. The sensation of her hand holding mine made my whole body warm up. My head got fuzzy, my heart beat fast.

  If I tried to speak, it would be in jumbles.

  But I was gd that she decided to hold on to me. It reminded me of the old times back in prison.

  "I'm sorry for making you worry about me. I'm sorry for doing something that you didn't like. I was just curious, is all." Tao apologized.

  Tao looked sad when she said that to me, let alone gripping my hand tightly.

  "I hope that you can forgive me, Kishi. I don't want this experience to separate us..." Tao whispered.

  "Tao..." I whispered to her.

  I looked forward and blinked.

  I mean, I was surprised at first when I found out about the girls and their research, but that was fine. I mean, it wasn't like Tao was a kid anymore. She was a growing teenager and would be curious about things she didn't really understand. Maybe her trying to figure things out on her own might be a good thing.

  After all-

  "...I'm curious about stuff, too," I answered.

  "Huh?" Tao raised her brows.

  "There's a lot of stuff I don't understand. But there's stuff that I do as well. And there's stuff I'm not sure about. It makes me question a lot, too. But still..."

  ... But still, it was fine, right?

  "... Yeah," I nodded. "It's fine as long as you're not hurting yourself or others around you. As long as you're careful, then it's fine to be a little curious."

  "You think so?" Tao asked.

  "I know so." I nodded.

  Tao's eyes shone. She slowly blushed and then rested her head on my shoulder.

  I chuckled.

  I found it sweet that-

  "Ahem!" I heard three voices.

  I turned and saw the three girls grinning at us. This made Tao let go of me and pce her hands behind her back. I scratched the back of my neck and ughed nervously.

  I kinda forgot about them for a moment. That was kinda bad and rude...

  "Seems like you two were getting comfortable!" Yosei teased.

  "Did you forget where you were?" Kuma ughed.

  "Or did you two not simply care?" Jir raised her brows twice.

  "U-um, I can assure you that this is perfectly normal best friend behavior!" Tao cimed while her face turned red.

  "T-that's right! Totally normal!" I nodded in agreement.

  "Uh-huh. Sure." Jir, Yosei, and Kuma said at the same time and nodded their heads.

  "They don't believe us, do they?" I whispered.

  Tao nodded and looked at the ground.

  Oh man, that was just great! Now they'd tease us for the rest of the trip!

  "....Oh man." I groaned and hung my head.

  Well, at least things seemed fine now.

  Despite the teasing and such, everything seemed to be going our way for once. We'd had bumpy roads, and the challenges of the six remaining yers would be tough.

  I wasn't expecting the journey to be an easy one either.

  I was sure the next monster would make things a whole lot tougher as well. Not to mention, the second yer would be new territory for not only us, but for our organization as well.

  So we couldn't take it lightly either.

  But, even still. Despite all the worries I had about it, I knew we'd manage somehow.

  We were the supernatural beings. People who somehow had supernatural powers. While our origin wasn't really revealed, I was sure our powers would reveal the truth about the events years ago and bring justice to the people who caused that major event in human history and caused us to be underground.

  With my friends by my side, there was nothing we couldn't do.

  Indeed.

  We would somehow overcome all.

  That, I could promise.

  Or, at least, I hoped.

  At any rate, I could worry about that stuff some other time...

  Narrator's POV

  Meanwhile...

  In the darkness of the second yer, a giant serpent-like body slowly went through the grass. The serpent growled as its body crushed the pile of dead bones and even some fresh bodies.

  It slowly lifted up its head and saw the pool of water from a distance.

  It stuck out its tongue and then slowly slid away and headed towards the pool of water.

  The serpent-like entity broke everything that was in its path with ease as blood stains were left everywhere it went.

  In the water, there were a couple of body parts floating about. Most of them had their flesh melted and only had bones. The color of the water was red.

  Signs showing that the water was not safe.

  The serpent stuck its tongue out one st time before dipping itself into the red sea...

  To Be Continued In Volume 2...