"GET OUT THE WA-"
Gasper grabbed the boy by the shirt and leapt backward, landing lightly on a tree branch. Back where the boy had been standing, a huge hand descended toward the spot.
BAM!
"AW! Looks like I missed!"
The stray stepped out from the same foliage the boy had leapt from, revealing its full form. It was a hideous creature. Its head resembled that of a bull's, while its body despite being MASSIVE reeked of a nauseating smell. The stray's upper and lower body were sculpted as if it had been a bodybuilder in its past life. Its arms and legs were voluminous in size and weight whilst its stature towered at over twenty feet tall (609.6 cm).
With a deep and eerie tone, the stray uttered,
"HMMM! Where did my toy go?"
The stray began scanning the area, sniffing and shifting its massive head. Then its gaze landed on Gasper, perched on a tree branch. One arm rested casually on his thigh, supporting his head, while the other gripped the dangling blonde-haired teen.
"TSK!" the bull-headed man clicked his tongue, glaring at the sight. Then he started walking toward them, bellowing, "HEY! I think you've got something of MINE there, YOU BASTARD!" The stray rumbled.
'This one has more intelligence than the last one.', Gasper thought.
"Is that so? Then, take him."
The blonde, struggling futilely in Gasper's grasp, froze at the words.
"Wait, what di-"
Before he could finish, Gasper tossed him toward the massive devil.
"YOU BAS-"
The boy froze midair, and it wasn't just him. Anything in the path of Gasper's gaze seemed to halt as well.
Gasper felt his demonic energy drain far faster than it had when he'd used it earlier on ordinary people.
Not wasting a second, he leapt into the air, positioning his legs to come down on the stray's head. Spinning midair, one of his legs ignited with the golden light of Hamon.
Just as he was about to make contact, Gasper deactivated his gear and shouted,
"TORNADO OVERDRIVE!"
The devil didn't even have time to react.
BAAM!
The stray's massive body slammed into the ground, and the blonde boy, still airborne, had momentum carry him, making him land on something firm.
"AH! What the hell is that guy's problem?!" he shouted, pushing himself up with his hands, only to grab nothing but… skin.
"Huh?!"
He looked down at what he was holding and froze. A chest larger than his entire body loomed beneath his hands.
His face immediately went pale.
"Oh boy…"
Then he felt a massive hand wrap around his body. The devil sat up slowly, hoisting him into the air, its jaws opening wide, ready to swallow him whole.
"I'M SO DEAD!"
But before he could become lunch…
FEUUUM!
Something slammed into his back.
He looked back, only to see a green steel ball rotating against the fabric of his shirt.
'A… spinning ball?'
As the steel ball continued to spin, the fabric on his back twisted violently.
"HUH?!"
The shirt split straight down his spine, the torn fabric snapping forward and latching onto the stray's titanic hand. The cloth stretched and coiled, forcing the fingers apart one by one, thumb, then index, then the rest, prying them wide as the spiral tightened.
A sickening pull followed as the fabric cinched back, wrenching the fingers past their limit.
The boy landed on his back.
And from above him a sharp crack rang out.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!"
He looked up, only to see the stray's hand completely limp, his palm facing a direction it was never meant to face. And worst of all…
'His fingers… THEY'RE ALL THE WAY BACK!'
The boy started sweating, his chest heaving. He whipped his head back, expecting to see the steel ball…
But the only thing there was a leg, kicking him to the side.
He went flying, twisting midair as he tried to see who had kicked him.
All he saw was the stray's titanic fist about to smash down right where he had been.
And the same masked guy from before… casually tossing the steel ball he'd been searching for, like he was throwing up a layup in a pickup game of ball.
Before the fist could fully descend on the masked man, it stopped, just a finger's length away.
The stray, realizing his arm had stopped advancing, let out a confused, "What!"
Then he felt it. Something small on his shoulder. He looked, and saw the steel ball spinning.
The moment he recognized it, the same fist that had been about to crush Gasper moved as if it had a mind of its own.
WHOOSH!!
Faster than the boy had ever seen anything living move, the fist swung back, striking the stray's lower jaw with devastating force.
CRAAACK!!
The impact obliterated it completely!
Gasper, watching, thought, 'Wow… okay. Never mind. He's way dumber than the last one. He didn't even try to dodge, and that punch wasn't even that fast.'
He stood his ground, arms relaxed, eyes locked on the stray, waiting for it to get back up.
He waited.
And waited some more.
Eventually growing tired of waiting, he walked up slowly, never lowering his guard, Hamon ready to unleash a barrage at a moment's notice.
Then, he finally dropped his guard when he saw the stray's eyes.
"It's… dead? Man… How did it die from that weak-ass punch?!"
'The other stray could've taken at least four of those punches before actually showing any reaction… this guy is just...sad.'
Seeing the stray dead, his excitement died down, and he sighed. 'MAN… where the hell am I supposed to get combat experience from now?'
Clicking his tongue, Gasper walked up fully to the fallen devil. "It couldn't even give me a good warm-up… well, at least I got to try out the spin in combat." he muttered.
He took a deep breath, and his right hand began to glow a bright, burning red. With a swift motion, he struck the corpse.
"SCARLET OVERDRIVE!"
The body shuddered violently, as if it were a dry sponge absorbing every last ounce of his energy. Then, with a sudden flare, it erupted into flames.
Gasper turned his head toward the blonde boy and thought, 'Well… at least it wasn't a total waste of time. If I hadn't been here, he most likely would've died.'
Then he started walking toward the boy. "Hey, Shirou, where'd you go?"
The inside of his raincoat shifted slightly. From the opening near his collar, Shirou's head popped out.
"Oh…"
Gasper stopped right in front of the blonde boy, who was sitting under a tree with a dazed look and a bump on his head.
Seeing the bump on the blonde boy's head, Gasper said, "Soooo… how many fingers am I holding up?"
He put his hand forward, and held up… no fingers.
The boy blinked, completely dumbfounded.
"You're not holding up any…"
"HHMMM!" Gasper said, studying his hand.
"It would seem… you are correct."
Gasper squatted down, getting to eye level with him, and rested his arms on his knees, letting them dangle.
"So…you hurt anywhere?"
The boy snapped out of his stupor, and began to wave his arms wildly. "No, sir! I'm perfectly fi-ne!", His voice cracking sharply on the last word.
A spark of pride lit Gasper's eyes. "Sir, huh…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his head with a small grin.
Rising to his full height, he extended a hand. The boy grasped it, and Gasper pulled him up.
Gasper then spoke."Well… that's good…"
Then his posture changed. Behind the mask, his eyes sharpened as they swept over the small cuts on the boy's body.
He took a slow, steady breath, and in a single, fluid motion, drove his pinky straight into the boy's gut.
"GAA-!!"
The boy dropped to his knees as the air was knocked out of his lungs.
When he finally got a breath back, he started coughing hard.
"WHA-*cough*-what was that for?!"
He staggered back to his feet, only to freeze as he noticed something was off.
The pain from his cuts was gone, and the aching in his muscles had also vanished.
"Huh?"
He looked down just in time to see a faint glow fade from his body as the golden energy dissipated.
"Don't worry," Gasper said calmly. "I just transferred some of my energy to patch you up."
He then pulled out a notepad and started scribbling on it. "By the way, for receiving such an amazing service of being saved and healed… let's just say it's going to cost you."
He ripped the page out and handed it over, and somehow the paper did not get wet under the rain.
The blonde took it, eyes widening.
"It's going to cost me?" he asked, glancing at the note.
He looked at the note, and his face went as white as a sheet of paper, as he went down the list of what he was being charged for. "why are there so many zeros!"
Seeing his reaction, Gasper put a hand under his chin. "What… can't pay?"
He stepped closer to the blonde, threw an arm around his shoulders, and said, "WELL, don't worry, valued customer. No need to pay it right now. In fact…"
Gasper reached into his raincoat pocket and pulled out an even bigger piece of paper that, again, somehow stayed completely dry.
"If you sign right here, and here, and here, all debt shall be paid," he said normally…
Then, leaning in, his voice dropping to a low, rapid whisper, he added, "and you… may-or-may-not… lose your soul~"
Hearing that last part, the blonde scrambled backward as if his life depended on it. "LOSE MY WHAT?!"
Gasper stepped forward, shoved the "contract" into his hands, and said, "Just read it. After all… what's life without its gambles?"
And, for some reason the blonde, he listened. He looked down at the page… only to find three bold letters written across it,
MADE YA LOOK!
"Pffft!" Gasper tried his hardest not to laugh. But he couldn't stop himself and let it out.
Shirou, seeing this, also burst into laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!…"
Hearing Shirou laugh, Gasper stopped his own and just stared down at the cat head poking out of his collar in disbelief.
Gasper's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Yeah… I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that."
Gasper looked at the blonde and said,
"Well, blondie, you're a funny dude, but me and my buddy," he pointed at Shirou, "got to go get a bite to eat, so…"
He turned around and, without looking back, gave a one-handed wave goodbye. "Get home safe and all that. And don't run into abandoned places, they're dangerous, ya know."
The blonde's eyes stayed locked on Gasper's retreating figure. 'wiat is he really leaving, just like that?'
Seeing him get further and further away, the blonde thought to himself, 'Come on, Saji… you can't just let him leave! This might be my only chance to break free from my boring day-to-day life!'
He thought back to the spinning steel ball and the golden energy that had surrounded his body just moments ago, and without a second thought, he broke off into a sprint, hoping to catch up to Gasper.
As he got closer, he overheard Gasper talking once more. "Hey, Shirou, you know any good sushi places near-"
But before Gasper could finish, a desperate voice rang out from behind him. "WAITTT!!"
Gasper turned around and said, "Hey, blondie, didn't I tell you to go home? I didn't say follow me to mine, so shoo."
He made a motion with his hand, shooing him away, and Shirou just did the same.
Saji, seeing that, just ignored them and said, "Can you answer some of my questions before you leave, please?"
Gasper faltered for a moment, thinking, 'Can't really blame the guy. He literally just got chased by a bull-man. If I were in his shoes, I'd probably want answers too…'
"Look, blondie, if I'm being honest, it's just better if you stay away. It's safer that way. Just pretend this day never happened, like it was a bad dream. Trust me, it's for the better. And ahhh… here."
Gasper gripped at the air, and the shirt of Mount Tim appeared. He tossed it at Saji. "For the shirt I destroyed."
And then Gasper started turning again to leave.
"Hold it," Saji said, slipping on the shirt. He stepped closer, eyes locked on Gasper."Thanks for the shirt, really. You didn't have to… I mean, you saved my life and all. So how about this, you want to go eat, right? And I want answers only you can give me. So, how about we make a deal?"
Gasper just deadpanned, 'Man… this is getting a bit annoying. There's gotta be a spell for something like this, right? Maybe I should just stop time on him and go.'
"So how about this? We go to a restaurant get some food, my treat of course."
Gasper locked in, eyes narrowing slightly.
He intertwined his fingers and said, "When you say 'my treat,' do you… mean it?"
Saji, feeling he might regret this, said it anyway, "Yeah… I even know a good barbecue joint. All-you-can-eat."
Gasper, hearing this, took in a sharp breath, thinking of all the meat… then he said, "I'll need to talk this over with my partner."
Shirou, still sticking his head out from Gasper's collar, began nodding up and down, as if agreeing that this needed serious thought.
Gasper then turned away, facing away from Saji.
"Okay, I know I said sushi, but come on, man, free barbecue? Everyone knows food tastes better when it's free."
"Meow, Merrrow."
"Yeah, I know I promised this month's cheat meal would be your favorite, but… FREE."
"Hiss."
*sigh*"Yeah, okay, fine, the next two cheat meals will be your choice."
"Purrr."
Finishing his conversation, Gasper turned back around. Both he and Shirou put up a thumbs-up. "Alright, blondie! You got yourself a deal, but just saying, no takesies-backsies!"
"Alright!" Seeing him take the deal, Saji's eyes sparkled.
He started walking and stopped next to Gasper. "Just follow me! Oh, and by the way, stop calling me 'Blondie' like it's some sort of insult, man. You're blonde too!"
Hearing that, Gasper took several steps back. "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!"
Then he pointed at Saji, preparing for battle.
"ARE YOU… AN ENEMY STAND USER?!"
Saji, hearing that, said, "A what now?...Did you just call me a slur?"
"HMMMMMM!, Don't worry about it, explain yourself, deceiver!"
"Deceiver? Dude, don't you know? your hair is literally poking out from that raincoat like a ponytail! I thought it was some new style I didn't know about or something, so I didn't say anything." Saji said, pointing at the top of Gasper's head.
Gasper, hearing that, said, "A likely story! IF YOU WEREN'T LYING! like I would forget such a thing!"
He reached up toward his head to prove his point, only to grab his own hair, which was, in fact, sticking out like a ponytail.
Letting his hair go and putting his hand down, they stayed quiet for a moment, the rain breaking the silence as it fell around them.
Saji finally broke the silence, "I… see."
Gasper cleared his throat, a blush of embarrassment burning deep under his mask."I seem to have made a mistake, and would like to… apologize."
Trying to change the subject, Gasper said, "So… what should I call you?"
Saji smiled."Genshirou, Saji is my name its short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."
"mhm, sure whatever you say man, but man, who the hell gives their kid the name Genshirou? What are your parents, chunibyo or something?" Gasper said, feeling bad for him.
Saji, wearing an exasperated expression, said, "Yeah… they kinda are."
Gasper reached into his coat, and one… no, two umbrellas appeared. He passed one to Saji, "Welp, lead the way."
Saji nodded, opened his umbrella, and started walking, with Gasper following close behind.
←–TO BE CONTINUED—