Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Awaken,Shiny Constellation Guardian Taurus ! (9)

Nozomi and Seiza keeped staring at Yoshino in silence. With Yoshino also doing the same with them. The silence lasted for a few seconds until Nozomi decided to try not make this more awkward than it needed to be.

"Oh...I see that you're awakened, good, good, er...no need to worry citizen !" Nozomi puts her left hand to her hip while pointing at herself with her right thumb.

"Because I, Guardian Taurus, saved you from that monster !" Nozomi then tries to give Yoshino a reassuring smile...but it ends up as a nervous one.

'Ahhhh, this is so embarrassing ! At this point I am gonna die out of pure shame !'

Yoshino, who had just stayed silent this whole time. Now bursts out laughing, calming down a little after a few seconds. "Seriously, Nozomi ? You really thought I wouldn't recognize you like that, on top of this dog calling you by your name ? The only thing you did was make me laugh." She shakes her head while smiling.

"Which i guess, it's what i needed after...that." She says now with her smile turning for a second into a somber one, before forcing back to the one before. Trying to look like she's alright.

But, it's not fast enough for Nozomi to miss it. Quickly putting two-and-two together, she facepalms inside of the confines of her mind. 'Of course ! Urgh, what a good friend you are, Nozomi, you didn't even account for the possibility that even after saving her from that monster, she would still need your help ! What could I do to make her feel better ? Wait...I know !'

She then puts her right hand on Yoshino's left shoulder. As an attempt to comfort her friend. "Hey, you don't need to hide it, heh, I already let it all out while probably forcing you to listen through it all, so , it would only be fair if I gave you the same privilege, if you up to it, of course."

Yoshino was taken aback for a moment by the fact that her friend saw through her own act. Hesitating for a moment, she then slowly begins to give a more sincere smile to Nozomi. "No take backs, right ?" She said, her unease smile slowly turning into a genuine one.

"No take backs. Let out as much steam as you can,I'll listen." Nozomi then takes off her hand from Yoshino's shoulders, giving her a gentle smile.

Nozomi then sits right by her side in the bench, and then signals Yoshino to get up with her left hand. "The stage is free for you now !" Still keeping her playful smile.

Yoshino then complies by getting up from the bench with her schoolbag in hand. Freeing space for Seiza to climb up and sit right beside Nozomi while having a calm smile on his face.

Yoshino then, at the imaginary stage. Closes her eyes and begins to breathe in and out for a few seconds. Until she finally feels that she's ready. "Ok, now, where do I begin ? Oh yeah, how about..."

Yoshino then went on to make a rant that although it wasn't on the same level of scope as hers. It was still, somehow, longer than Nozomi's. Probably because it was a rant that involved other days besides this one. Nozomi didn't seem to mind it all that much, more focused on the fact that her friend was slowly becoming more relaxed by the second. Sometimes petting Seiza's head...when he allowed, of course.

"And finally, there's this human-cat abomination, that piece of shit straight up tried to mug me ! I pulled a pepper spray to its ugly face, and ran like crazy. But the bastard didn't give up and almost killed me !" After saying this last one, she decided to finally breathe, not having done so since she started her rant. With beads of sweat falling from her face. Looking at the ground. Her smile was now a tired, but happy one.

"So...do you feel better now ?" Asked Nozomi, still maintaining her gentle smile.

"Yeah...i...think i am better now...phew" She then looked away from the ground and glanced at the vending machine nearby. "But you, i would feel better if i had a drink"

When she said that, Nozomi's reaction was immediately to go get a drink for her, but before she could get up and do it, Yoshino stopped her by raising her left hand and signaling her to stop. "Wait, no,  you just saved my life, let me get drinks for the both of us."

She then leaves before giving Nozomi the chance to say anything against it. Walking closer to the vending machine she sees the options presented for a few seconds. She then looks away from the vending machine and glances at Nozomi who's sitting patiently at the bench with Seiza. "I just have enough money with me right now for 2 water bottles , is that alright ?"

Nozomi slightly nods at Yoshino "Yeah, water is fine." She waits for a few more seconds before Yoshino comes with 2 water bottles. Seiza gets down from the bench so she can sit. Both felt refreshed after drinking a little of it.

Eventually a couple of questions creep up Yoshino's mind "By the way...Who's this talking dog ?" She points at Seiza while raising an eyebrow.

Nozomi’s eyes then widened in surprise "Oh yeah...i completely forgot to properly introduce you guys to each other"

Nozomi then gets up from the bench, standing now alongside Seiza. "This little guy right here Yoshino is the one who healed your wounds and gave me the power to defeat that monster, Seiza. And this girl that's sitting on the bench right now Seiza is my best friend Yoshino Kettei !"

Seiza bows his head a little to Yoshino. "A pleasure to meet you."

Her friend responds in kind, bowing a little her head to the dog with a star-shaped birthmark on its head. "L-likewise, I hope Nozomi didn't give you too much trouble." Yoshino said while Nozomi became a little flustered in the background.

Seiza leans his head and puts a paw to his chin, giving an sassy smile. "I mean, a little, but things worked out in the end and we managed to save you before you bleed out."

Yoshino chuckles a little. “Heh,yeah, really glad that things turned out for the better…” Her face then begins to turn slightly into a somber one. Her grip on the half-empty plastic water bottle getting stronger

“What’s wrong ?” Asked Nozomi, who noticed her friend's growing frustration. Hoping that she could help with it.

After a few seconds, Yoshino sighed and stayed silent for a few seconds and then answered. “It's just…why ? Why did that thing attack me in the first place ? I don’t remember doing anything that would make me a target specifically, what if it happens again !?”

"Hum, I think I might know the reason for why you were targeted." Said Seiza, now making both Nozomi and Yoshino look at the puppy, who was now sitting in front of them while he was in thought with its eyes closed.

“You do ?!” Both Nozomi and Yoshino said at the same time. Startling Seiza for a second, as his eyes opened wide in surprise. He then proceeded to fake a cough with one of its paws.

“Y-yes, but before that i must ask you one thing Yoshino, did the monster talk about wanting something from you ? Or something similar ?”

Yoshino closed her eyes, trying to remember what that monster said to her while she was still awake. “Hum…wanting something…yes, that monster did say that it wanted something from me.”

Seiza then takes a serious expression “I see, would you have something that looks like a black rock with you ?”

Yoshino perks up in realization. “Wait…” She then grabs her school bag and puts her hand inside of it, searching through her things for a few seconds. “Found it !” She takes from the bag a small black rock and shows it to Seiza. “Is this what that thing wanted ?”

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Seiza stares at the black rock for a few seconds before shaking his head. “Nope, that’s just a regular rock, most likely painted to be black. If I had to guess, that monster probably mistook it for what it really wanted.”

Raising an eyebrow at Seiza, Yoshino asks “What exactly did that thing want in the first place ? I think I kind of deserve to know because I got attacked for it.”

Seiza becomes conflicted with Yoshino's demand for information, if he should share it with her. “Well, you see…” He glances at Nozomi, looking for confirmation. Noticing her friend’s internal conflict in his voice, she gives him a small nod and smiles at him. He then looks back at Yoshino, now with confidence in his words. “Normally, I shouldn’t talk about this with normal people. But, since Nozomi seems to trust you and you almost got killed because of this incident, I guess giving you an explanation that you may find satisfactory should be ok, as long, of course, you don’t reveal this information to anyone, is that alright with you ?”

Yoshino nods and Seiza seems to think on what to say for a few seconds ‘I REALLY hope that this doesn't bite me in the ass.’ He sighs and continues. “That monster both of you just saw was a darkspawn, beings summoned with dark magic, magic made out of the negative emotions of living beings. What that monster was looking for and almost got yourself killed, is the [Crystal of Darkness], a mineral made out of pure concentrated negative energy. That monster probably mistook this rock that you have on your hand for the real deal.”

Yoshino then slowly raises her hand, with a curious look on her face. “Yes, Yoshino ?” Seiza signals with one of its paws for her to ask her question.

“Ok,that answers…most of my questions, but, where does Nozomi come in this whole [Crystal of Darkness] business ? ” Yoshino asks as she and Seiza now look at Nozomi who had a face that was clearly showing that she wasn’t keeping up with the conversation.

She then notices both of their looks and quickly becomes flustered. “Ah, er…yes, that’s right ! Seiza, what does that have anything to do with me ?” She says as she tries to calm herself down.

Both Seiza and Yoshino raise a eyebrow at Nozomi for a few seconds, but then the dog just sighs and continues. “You see, in order to find and protect the [Crystal of Darkness] from the wrong people, I need to find the right people for the job, Nozomi being one of them.”

Nozomi then becomes wide-eyed and gets up from the bench. excitement clear on her face. Surprising both Seiza and Yoshino with the sudden movement. “Wait a minute, are you saying that I am a superhero ?! That’s so cool !” She asked with excitement clear on her face. You could even see stars in her eyes, clearly daydreaming. With both Yoshino and Seiza sighing at the same time at her friend's way of thinking, although naive, it wasn’t stubborn…sometimes.

Yoshino then asked. “Wait, but why do you need her help ? Can’t you fight and protect this crystal yourself ?” She said, while continuing to ignore Nozomi who was still fantasizing.

Seiza then looks down with his face having a somber look. “Well, you see, my abilities are all focused on support, and even then, I need to concentrate by closing my eyes to use any of them at peak efficiency, so sadly, no, even if I wanted to.”

Yoshino, noticing how she just soured the mood, tries to comfort Seiza. “Hey, come on, don’t be like that. Sure, Nozomi might have been the one to defeat the monster. But you were just in time to make sure that I wouldn’t bleed out, that for me, deserves credit in my book.”

Seiza then looks at Yoshino and his somber look turns into a confident one. “Heh, I guess you’re right, thanks kid.”

Yoshino then seemed to remember something. “Wait, time…” She pulled her silver watch on the wrist of her left arm to look at the time, her eyes widening in shock after a few seconds, she then, to the surprise of the once daydreaming Nozomi, gets up from the bench. Grabbing her school bag. "Sorry, i completely forgot the time, my mom is gonna kill me if i take even longer to get home ! Sorry but, can we continue this whole talk tomorrow ?"

Nozomi quickly nods at the nervous Yoshino. "Y-yeah, we can talk tomorrow, no worries."

Yoshino then sprints away, leaving now just Nozomi and Seiza at the playground. "So...how about we call it a night ? I think we both deserve a rest." Asks Seiza with a tired smile. Nozomi nods and they both go back to Nozomi's house. This time, both enter Nozomi's open window to her room.

Inside her room, she immediately lays on her bed. Now feeling the contact between the soft fabric of the bed on her body. Breathing a sigh of relief. 'Oh, how I missed you, I just want to stay here forever !'

But, before she could fall asleep. She heard a sound. More specifically, the rumbling of her stomach. She then realizes that she hasn't eaten dinner yet. 'Urgh, damn you stomach ! Why can't you wait until tomorrow ?!' Her stomach then seems to respond by rumbling again. Begrudgingly, she decides to get out of bed and go eat her dinner at the kitchen downstairs.

But before she grabbed the handle of her room's door, she realized something. And then proceeded to look at the person-size mirror of her room. She sees herself with white hair, her white school clothes that were once black and her silver eyes which also were of another color. "Seiza...can I ask you something ?"

Seiza, who was about to fall asleep on the room’s carpet, perks up at the question, exchanging glances at Nozomi and the mirror for a few seconds in silence. Until he realizes what she could want and waves it off. "Just take off your tiara, you will return back to normal."

Nozomi then did just that. In an instant, without any fanfare, her appearance turned back to what it was before, with all the white in her clothes, eyes and hair turning back to their original colors. Nozomi blinked a few times at the mirror, processing the sudden change.

She then looks at her hands where she was holding the tiara and see's that it has turned into the star-shaped, bronze pendant from before, with the same bull sign inscribed on to it. She then puts the pendant at the top of the dresser drawer in her room. And then proceeds to go now to the kitchen downstairs to eat now that there's, hopefully, nothing important that she forgot.

Far away from Nozomi's house, Yoshino could be seen entering a regular 2 store house. She could see from outside light coming from the first and second floor windows, more specifically one at the living room and another at her brother's room. 'Phew, okay I might not be too late !'

When inside she could hear the sound of many voices coming from the living room, her mother most likely listening to one of her old movies from her collection. 'She always was kind of an old school movie otaku about them, never really bothered to ask what she saw in them. Yes, some of the male actors are charming, but the corny lines make it a pass for me.'

"I'm home ! Sorry for being late, me and Nozomi lost track of time." She said while putting her shoes alongside her brother's. She walked up the stairs to her room. When she climbed the first steps to her room she could see the back of her mother's long black hair, sitting in the middle of the house's couch and indeed, she was watching one of the movies from her collection.

When she was about to continue climbing up the stairs a voice interrupted her. "Hey, come here." Without needing to look at her. mother raised her left arm and made a gesture with her left hand for Yoshino to come to her.

Feeling that there would be no point in resisting, she complied. "Ok mom." She walked up to where her mother was, dragging up her feet on the ground. When she walked around the couch she was now in front of her mother, Kurai Kettei.

Even though she was in her late 30s, her appearance would make any random bystander think she’s in her early 20s, with light-purple eyes staring at her daughter. Wearing her usual clothes that made her look like some sort of neet. Wearing circular glasses.

After a few seconds without saying anything to Yoshino, she then sighs "I'm not gonna reprimand you too hard for getting late, because, admittedly, unlike me from back when i was your age, you actually have a good head on your shoulders, so i trust, to a point, that you know what you’re doing, or at least, again, more than me at your age."

Yoshino internally breathes a sigh of relief at her mother's mercy to not scold her. Her mother seemed to notice this, but chose to ignore it, then continuing "But, still...just try to come home on time. As your mother, you know I can't help but to feel worried for you if you come back late, understand ?"

"Yes, mom." Said Yoshino with a small smile on her face as she walked away from her mother's field of vision to go to her room upstairs as her mother returned her attention to the movie that she was watching, sighing a little. 

‘They grow up so fast, to the point that I might not be able to keep up with them. In any case, I should probably check if that summon found anything...' She thinks as she keeps watching, as one of her personal favorite movies gets to her favorite part, her smile growing to a playful one "After this part, of course."

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A.N: Phew, this one was a longer one, but i hope this satisfies you guys for now, this time ending with the introduction of the third and final, main character of the story, the story finally ends the introductary arc. Before continuing to the second arc, i am gonna make an intermission chapter to wrap things up nicely. I also want to know what you guys are thinking of the story, i would like to know, so i can improve the quality of it.

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