Chapter 6: Oka Hachiro
George smirked to himself. Looked like Muroya drew the short straw here. One of those stubborn alien types that bought time. Appreciated if it let him focus. With this, one contender dropped out of the hundred-point race.
The plant was extremely agile. It quickly grasped the nature of their weapons, continually repositioning itself as it closed in. X-guns had the shortcoming of some lag-time before hitting a target. Not very effective against this kind of foe.
In that case, his hand went to his waist. Since the opponent wanted it too, they may as well go into close-quarters combat. He pressed a button on the black grip he pulled out. A blade instantly extended and the sword took shape. George had confidence in wielding this. Its power wasn't lacking either - it might be his most cherished weapon.
He swung the blade at the oncoming plant.
His first strike was avoided. Before diverting it sideways, he spotted the approaching green.
Enveloped in light, leaves floated around it, each sharpened like needles and shot toward him. Several struck his arm and harmlessly fell away. He cut down all the rest with his sword.
"Some trick."
The plant nimbly leapt clear of his sweeping stroke. Clicking his tongue, George thought that at least its movement surpassed his own. Then he just had to fight cleverly. Gradually limit its space to dodge and bury it in one decisive stroke. Vary the sword's trajectory.
The plant held up its flowers. What was it leisurely doing when his blade was right upon it? Then bullets suddenly fired from there. Black shadows swirled around them, imparting an eerie impression.
Barely evading those, George lunged to counterattack.
"Tch!"
But somehow his opponent had already acted one step quicker. It seemed to have circled around to his side. Before he could turn his face back, his vision was obscured by red flowers.
Thrusting through them, the thorns inside brushed his cheek. At that moment an even stronger fragrance assailed him - cloyingly sweet just shy of sickening. He had thought they were a rose variant but this smell was slightly different. It also pressed a blue flower against his chest, which did nothing in particular.
He grabbed onto the extended chrysanthemum section that served as its arm.
The plant's eyes markedly widened in apparent astonishment, as if it hadn't predicted that at all.
"The hell is this?"
Somehow altering the sword's angle, he smashed the bottom grip into it. The blown-back plant collided with the wall yet still nimbly braced itself. Clutching its cheek with one hand while spitting blood sideways, it glared sharply up at George.
He felt further irritated by its insolent eyes.
"Disgusting. Why does a plant have eyes and move without roots? Weird. Your owner's crazy. Keeping something like you as a pet."
In the air, Kyō struggled vainly. The purple smoke laughed mirthfully while moving its mouth. Kyō's body was then blasted powerfully sideways, blowing open the wall and disappearing from sight of the others.
"Ah, screw it."
The sea slug unleashed something again that directly struck Muroya's hand. Ice instantly spread from there, encasing his hand together with the X-gun. Realizing he couldn't pull the trigger anymore, he finally shouted instructions at a revived Nakayama.
"Playtime's over. Hurry up and do it. Lend that here."
"Ehh, gross. But it's kinda cute, y'know?"
"Hurry it up!"
Kuwabara had also switched weapons. His previously wielded X-gun was frozen like Muroya's. Looked like the snake used some similar ice power.
What he held now was a premium bonus weapon. A bizarre rifle with two differently-sized barrels connected by a grip. He didn't know who named it, but it was called the Z-gun.
The half-naked pervert removed the cigarette from his mouth.
"Ahh, what a waste. Oh well."
Muroya and Kuwabara took aim.
George sneered contemptuously at the plant that had regained its stance.
Looks like his taunting worked considerably well. It seemed quite pissed off at his remarks toward its owner. Its once confident eyes narrowed sharply now, body leaning forward aggressively.
At this point, George's mind raced with nothing but thoughts of time. Gotta finish this quick. The other battles seemed about to conclude too. He had to hurry or he'd lose.
Bracing his katana, George kicked off the ground.
***
Oka entered a room.
Inside, Shirona finally sat down, leaning against the wall. Her unease stemmed not just from worrying about Togekiss and the others.
She also remembered this place. She couldn't forget it. Just earlier, she had sat in almost the same spot, desperately fleeing from deep sorrow.
In front of her, the black spherical object had opened on both sides. A single suitcase remained inside - Shirona's. Right now she couldn't bring herself to pick it up.
"This is Gantz."
"It has a name?"
"Not officially. Guys from the Kanto area seem to have named it."
Shirona understood. The Kanto he referred to wasn't the region she knew.
"So? The circumstances..."
"Yeah."
Oka also sat down. Staring straight at Shirona, he leaned his arms back against the shelf that had emerged from Gantz.
"This kind of thing has happened repeatedly. There are various theories, but it looks like Gantz wants us to do something."
"Defeat those aliens, right?"
"That's right." He held up a palm. "You get points for defeating aliens. Clear by collecting a hundred. That's the basics."
"Are those people experienced?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, if they've been doing this for a long time, they'd certainly get stronger, right?"
"Ah, you're worried."
Although she had thought it rather obvious, having Oka see through her still made her uncomfortable. She adjusted her seating somewhat before nodding frankly.
Oka gazed at the ceiling. "Well, some of them are decently skilled. First, you saw that black guy, yeah?"
"Yes."
"He's called George. Real name's Shimaki, I think. Three stage clears. Pretty level-headed. Makes good judgments."
He held up a finger. "Then there's that punk-like guy with the crew cut. Nobuo Muroya. Nominally he leads everyone. Strong type who likes to boss people around since he's loud. Four clears."
He bent a second finger. "The pervert flashing his nasty nipples is Kuwabara. Kazuo Kuwabara. Two clears. He'll probably hit three soon. Guy has a sex addiction. Even with aliens, once he gets horny he'll go at it without hesitation. I find that aspect of him rather intriguing as a fellow man."
"..."
Shirona adjusted her seating again. She understood reacting rashly would be unwise, yet she couldn't meet Oka's gaze straight on.
Smirking through his nose, Oka folded down his middle finger. "The one on the bike is Kyō. Hanaki Kyō. Total junkie. Good-for-nothing trash. Two clears. The rest are the three guys with sunglasses. They should all have one clear each."
"What about you?" When Shirona asked, he straightened his posture. He had apparently given the lengthy preamble anticipating this question. Holding up both hands, he showed a number.
"Last time, I got my seventh hundred-pointer. In other words, I'm the ace of this team."
"I see."
Taking a disinterested attitude made Oka's expression go blank. Idly fiddling with the black grip,
"So why help me?"
Shirona didn't think his previous account related to answering this, but it turned out Oka hadn't been rambling pointlessly. She would understand the connection as he continued.
"I've taken statistics. Just my own intuition though. Well, it's not constant. There's ups and downs."
"What are you talking about?"
"The aliens' strength. In my opinion, this Gantz has a clear intent. In other words, it won't make unreasonable demands. It matches us against beatable aliens according to our capabilities. Get it?"
He didn't seem to particularly expect a reply.
"Lately the core members haven't decreased. But the trend is upward. Little by little, the target aliens grow stronger. Whether it's Gantz or whatever's running this, the policy definitely doesn't change. I figure it's about time."
Sirona's doubts were immediately conveyed.
"Even a guy like me almost died before."
"Oh?"
Recalling something, Okas' expression hardened.
"The second and sixth time I cleared. Both were rough. Barely made it. Those aliens I faced both times had something in common."
However he might act, the man did seem smart. Shirona sensed a trace of intellect from him. She frequently communicated with scholarly peers, so she could recognize his systematic analysis.
"Namely, they were both worth a hundred points."
"So defeating one..."
"Yeah. Instant full clear. But it's not that simple. Could still go either way of course. Doesn't change that it was still a struggle both times. Most of the members got wiped out then too. Well, that's irrelevant."
Oka didn't seem to have any team spirit. Or rather, he discarded such things. Conversing revealed glimpses of his personality.
"It's probably about time again. Likely another hundred pointer incoming. And an insanely tough one this time. Just me alone might be too hard. Someone not as good as me is fine, but I need another strong piece."
Oka pointed at Shirona.
"When I thought about that, you guys showed up. Get it? Huge battle power increase. Plus I can zero out Muroya's score this round. They can serve as decoys to keep Gantz leashed longer too."
"But the same goes for you, doesn't it?"
Blinking as if she had made an unexpected point, Oka then smiled wryly. Waving a hand in annoyance by his face:
"Well, yeah. But it's fine. Gotta think ahead rather than what's in front of you. That's the key."
"At least I can agree on that."
"I'm thankful you finally concur."
After a brief pause, Oka turned to face the sphere. "Look. Quite some time has passed."
The elapsed time showed fifteen minutes left on the black surface. Shirona felt mildly relieved. The flow of time was faster than she expected. Owing in part to receiving Oka's explanation here. While listening, her tension had loosened a little.
"So I can stay here for now, right?"
"Yeah. Hopefully your pets can hold out a bit longer."
"They're not pets." Shirona folded her arms. "Those children are my family. Don't dismiss them so lightly."
"Whatever." He seemed totally indifferent, so Shirona was about to continue. She intended to tell this man just how amazing her Pokemon were.
But she was interrupted. By movement from the sphere. Then an unmistakable audio transmission:
"If you kill Shirona,
I'll give 60 points."
Deafening silence drifted between them. The ticking of time sounded strangely loud. She could hear her own breathing growing increasingly erratic. Unable to look at the other person. She tried moving her body but her legs had gone numb. Her mind blanked from this completely unexpected situation.
Suddenly Oka burst out laughing. Seeing his shaking shoulders, she felt relief that he seemed to deride the notion.
He elbowed the sphere lightly then shrugged. "Geez, Gantz has crap judgment as usual. That part never improves. It thinks I'd consider killing you now."
"Oka..." As she started to thank him, a tremendous impact slammed into her.
Belatedly realizing her body had collapsed, Oka who had grabbed and pushed her down wore an expression like he was yawning. He took out the grip.
"I intended to do this from the start, yeah?" Pressing the button to release his sword, he continued, "Best to seize every advantage now and later, right?"
The blade was placed against Shirona's neck.
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