Wizard 6

“Another Haruto, huh…”

After finishing my explanation of what happened, Nitou let out a sigh with a face that said “This is getting complicated”. 

We were the only ones there in that park, where the rain had just let up. 

 

After the other Haruto disappeared, Nitou showed up. Shunpei ended up calling him out of worry. 

When Nitou ran in and saw Haruto kneeling in a puddle, he asked me, “Is that the fake Shunpei found?” 

With my head completely blank, it took all I had to even just shake my head. 

Haruto had his head hung down the whole time, and he wouldn’t raise his face until Nitou called out to him multiple times. After slowly rising to his feet, he let out a mutter. 

“Take care of Rinko…” 

And then he turned around from us and walked off. 

His back seemed to be saying that he didn’t want anyone to bother him right now. Nitou must have picked up on that, as he watched Haruto walk away without saying a word. I couldn’t do anything but silently see him off as well. 

After Haruto left, Nitou asked me “What happened?” 

I wasn’t able to answer him right away. Too many sudden things had happened, and there were things I didn’t want to talk about. But there were some things I had to say, and I wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.  

I told Nitou that I wanted to go somewhere I could settle down before talking. We then left the car and entered a park, sitting on a bench that was protected from the rain. 

 

“But man, what happened with Haruto? It’s not like he got beaten up badly enough to warrant getting depressed, right?” 

Nitou opened his mouth again. 

I had already told him about how the other Haruto really did exist, how he said that he was the shadow within Haruto’s heart, how he was able to transform into a magician, and how he was just as strong as Haruto, but I still hadn’t mentioned anything about the conversation they had to each other. Or rather, I just didn’t want to talk about it. 

“I don’t know…” 

I avoided the question. 

It was most likely that remark the other Haruto said that got Haruto acting strange. 

“I know everything there is to know about you. And everything I’ve done has been what you wanted to do deep down inside. In other words… I’m your instincts.” 

But if I were to mention that, then that would be the same as me accepting what the other Haruto said. And that would end up hurting Haruto as a result… That’s the one thing I don’t want to do. I tried to get those words out of my head with everything I had. 

Nitou continued to question me. 

“Why was the other Haruto even targeting you in the first place…?” 

My heart began pounding loudly. Afraid that Nitou might hear that, I squeezed my hand against my chest. 

I knew Nitou meant no harm, but that question was just way too hard on me. Answering him would require me to explain that scene that would make me blush uncontrollably, and it would risk me losing Haruto’s trust as well. 

“What’s wrong? Your face is beet red.” 

“Huh…?” 

Nitou was peering into my face. 

Even though I tried to hide my heartbeat, I still failed to hide my face’s emotions. I cursed how honest to a fault I was. 

“I get it now!” 

Nitou suddenly raised his voice while staring at my face. 

“Wait, hold on! It’s not what you think…!” 

“Lemme stop you right there.” 

Nitou interrupted me, who was getting caught up in confusion. 

“The other Haruto’s been targeting everyone related to the real Haruto… That’s got to be it, right?!” 

“…Huh?” 

“I ended up getting the wrong idea at first since he was only targeting magicians. But if we assume he’s targeting people Haruto’s close with, then it all makes sense.” 

Never before had I been so thankful for Nitou’s tendency to jump to conclusions. 

After vaguely responding with “you might be right”, I looked up at the night sky to hide my blushing face. 

A full moon floated in the now clear sky. 

The clear sky should’ve felt comforting considering the annoying rain from earlier, but it instead felt like the shining moon was exposing my defenselessness. 

“That means all of us can’t afford to let our guards down.” 

Nitou threw a punch at his palm. 

“Yuzuru and the rest aren’t the only ones in trouble. We’re gonna have to protect you, Shunpei, and even Wajima. Things are gonna get pretty busy.” 

I felt bad seeing Nitou getting pumped over that, but it was more convenient for me to let him think that way. I continued to listen to him silently. 

“Anyway, I’ll see you home for now.” 

Nitou looked at me with eyes full of energy. 

“No, that’s fine. I’ll be okay on my own.” 

I quickly turned him down. 

The other Haruto didn’t seem like he’d be showing up again tonight, and I still felt guilty over not telling Nitou everything. 

“It’s no big deal, really. I’ll protect you tonight. Oh, I won’t go into your house, so don’t worry about that. I’ll just pitch a tent outside.” 

That’d be bad. 

Since his efforts as an archaeologist-in-training often have him traveling around a lot, he’s really used to outdoor living. It doesn’t matter where he is in town, he can just set up a tent anywhere and make it his home. I admit it does take some level of talent to be capable of that, but I don’t think the landlord would appreciate some guy camping outside my apartment.  

“You should go back to the hospital and protect Yuzuru and the rest. I’ll contact Haruto about Omokagedou later, and I’ll head over there tonight as well.” 

“Oh, okay. That should work, then.” 

Nitou believed me without any hesitation and left the park.” 

I saw him off with guilt in my heart. 

I had no intention of calling Haruto or heading to Omokagedou. All I wanted was to just be alone as soon as I could. 

I returned to my car and let out a big sigh. 

Upon glancing down, I saw a wet towel at my feet. It was the towel I lent to the other Haruto so he could dry his hair. 

The image of him handing the towel back to me floated up in my head. 

My heart immediately stirred and my body heated up. 

I rolled the towel into a ball and tossed it into the backseat. 

 

Even after getting back home, the heat in my body wouldn’t go away. 

I haphazardly stripped off my clothes and got into the shower. 

Cold water immediately stabbed into my skin. As I surrendered myself to that coldness, the heat finally went away. 

After calming down a bit, I began thoroughly washing myself as if I was wiping off the misfortune that had befallen me. 

Upon stretching my arm out, I noticed that my wrist was a little red. 

It was a bruise I didn’t have during the afternoon. It likely formed from when the other Haruto grabbed me. As I looked at my wrist, memories of that moment resurfaced. 

I was completely convinced that he really was Haruto until the real Haruto showed up. I was surprised when he pushed me down, but to be completely honest, I didn’t actually mind. Maybe he was right. Maybe deep down, that’s the kind of Haruto I want… 

The other Haruto called himself Haruto’s shadow. That he was his instincts. If that’s true, then… 

I gently placed my fingers on my lips. 

When the other Haruto laid his lips on mine, my heart couldn’t help but start racing, and my mind blanked out. Even though the real Haruto was right in front of me… 

That’s not all. When he spoke those words to me after releasing his lips, my heart was stolen. 

“My feelings are the real thing… Don’t forget that.” 

That Haruto was the same Haruto I had always known… no, maybe he was even kinder and more serious than that. I had never seen Haruto make such an expression. 

If the other Haruto really is Haruto’s true self, then… 

After thinking back upon that, I suddenly grew incredibly embarrassed. 

I can’t believe I’m such a loose woman. Even though I want to help Haruto who’s confused over his other self, there’s a part of me that wants the other Haruto’s feelings to be the real Haruto’s feelings.  

As if to revitalize myself from the slovenly emotions muddling my mind, I violently turned the shower faucet. 

The increased flow of the cold water relentlessly poured over my body that had once again started heating up… 

 

“Achoo!” 

My coworkers at Section 0 chuckled when they saw me make my huge sneeze. 

“What’s wrong? Did you catch a cold from the rain yesterday?” 

Kizaki asked me in a calm tone. 

“Maybe… Hahaha.” 

I smoothed over the question with a laugh and pressed a handkerchief against my nose. 

That cold shower yesterday probably wasn’t a good idea. My body got really chilly after spending so much time in there. I wasn’t able to sleep well either, so my morning ended up being really rough. 

Today we were going to investigate Fueki’s underground chamber again, but Kizaki, who had stopped by to take a look, ended up taking command instead of me. 

After seeing how many items were stuffed in the cellar, he said “there’s no way I could put you in charge of investigating all of this” and shooed me away. But knowing him, he was probably just being considerate because he noticed I wasn’t feeling well. 

I silently thanked him for that. 

And so, I was relegated to just doing odd jobs here and there, but that didn’t mean it was easy. 

There was a huge pile of items in front of me, and it all needed to get transferred back to Section 0. Even though we had a lot of people on the scene, it was really unlikely that we’d be able to get all the work done in one day.  

But I was actually thankful for that. By keeping myself busy with physical work, I’d be able to take my mind off of the two Harutos. I took the initiative and went straight to work. 

I then started to hear people arguing in the back. 

“Hey, get back here! Let me take a better look at that! Stop, I said don’t take it back yet! Whoa, lemme stop you right there. From what I can see, this copperware dates back to the 18th century, and…” 

…It was Nitou. 

I had sent him a message about what I’d be doing, and he apparently came over out of worry for me. 

But this was the worst place for him to come to. After all, it was filled with all kinds of historical artifacts from all over the world. To an archaeologist in the making like Nitou, it might as well have been a mountain of treasure. He ended up completely ignoring me, focusing entirely on the treasure in front of him. 

“Don’t get in the way.” 

Unable to watch any longer, Kizaki stepped in between Nitou and the investigator he was arguing with. 

Unlike Mana and the rest who’s been cooperating with Section 0, Nitou rarely ever talks with Kizaki because of how he operates on his own. Of course, they know of each other, but Nitou’s never really thought much of Kizaki, and Kizaki has mostly taken a position of not involving himself with Nitou, probably because of how he’s heard about how troublesome he can be. 

Nitou shouted back at Kizaki who had pulled his hand away from the artifacts. 

“You’re the one getting in the way!” 

“This room is being investigated by Section 0 right now.” 

“I’m the one investigating this place right now.” 

“I don’t recall ever giving you permission to-” 

“Lemme stop you right there.” 

Nitou rudely interrupted Kizaki. 

Kizaki then turned away from Nitou’s archeological rambling and glared at me. 

“Rinko Daimon.” 

“Yes!” 

Instantly recognizing what he wanted, I dragged Nitou outside while he still continued to ramble. 

 

After taking him outside, I brought him out of the forest all the way to the roadside. 

The forest surrounding the abandoned warehouse that contained Fueki’s cellar was dense enough to blot out the daylight, but the forest itself wasn’t actually that big, so it didn’t take us long to reach the roadside under the bright sun.  

“All right, you can head back now.” 

I pointed in the direction of the city as I said that to NItou. 

“But I’m still worried about you.”

“Yeah, right. You just want to check out Fueki’s treasure.” 

“Huh?! How’d you know?!” 

“It’s obvious!” 

I shooed Nitou away annoyingly. 

“I finally managed to get into Section 0, but I’m just going to get fired if you keep getting on Kizaki’s bad side. If you don’t intend on helping out, then just go home.” 

My glaring eyes must’ve worked since Nitou finally gave up. 

“Fine then. I already got my hands on some nice stuff, so I guess I’ll make do.” 

“You got your hands on what now…?”

As I tilted my head, Nitou put his hand over his mouth as if he had blurted something he wasn’t meant to. 

Upon taking a closer look, Nitou’s sleeveless down jacket was unnaturally puffy. After capturing Nitou before he could run, I undid the fully-closed zipper of his jacket in one stroke. Inside were several items from Fueki’s cellar. 

He was a thief. I was too exasperated for words. 

“I know what you’re gonna say, but don’t worry. I’ll make sure to return them once I finish studying them.” 

“That’s not the problem here!” 

“Now, now. You’ve already got a whole bunch of them, don’t be stingy.” 

As he said that, he began rubbing his pilfered items belovedly. 

“Wait, that’s…” 

Among Nitou’s items was something familiar. 

It was the ancient mirror that had saved Haruto and me. The mirror fitted inside the golden relief glinted from reflecting the sun’s rays. 

“What about it?” asked Nitou. 

“It’s something that saved Haruto and me.” 

I told him about the incident where it helped us out against the homunculus that attacked us the other day. 

“Sounds interesting. It’s stories like those that end up creating legends. I bet this thing’s part of some kind of legend too. “ 

Nitou turned the mirror over with fascination, and his eyes stopped at the ancient text written on the back.  

“When the two dragons rise to the heavens… darkness will be torn apart… and the light of hope will shine once again.” 

“You can read it?” 

“I am an archaeologist in the making, after all.” 

Apparently Nitou had recited the ancient text that was written on the mirror. 

(The two dragons…) 

It reminded me of the two Harutos. 

Inside Haruto is a Phantom called Dragon. Phantoms are masses of magical energy. That dragon inside him may as well be considered the source of his power as a magician. 

So the words “two dragons” almost sounded like they were talking about the two Harutos. 

“When the two dragons rise to the heavens, darkness will be torn apart! And the light of hope will shine once again!” 

Nitou had the mirror thrust into the sky in an exaggerated pose while shouting that. 

“Wh-What?” 

“Since it has a magic circle engraved on it, it’s gotta be a magic item of some sort. I was just thinking that maybe chanting that text would activate the magic or something.” 

“Why would you do that?! You have no idea what could’ve happened!” 

“I mean, it says the ‘light of hope’ on it. Of course it’d be something good.” 

I would’ve loved to take a page from Nitou’s positive thinking, but at the same time, there’ve been numerous occasions where that same kind of thinking led us to some really out-of-control situations. It would’ve been really bad if something like that happened again this time around. 

However, the mirror seemed the same as always, and it didn’t look like anything had happened. I put my hand on my chest in relief. 

“Speaking of dragons, what’s Haruto up to?” 

It seemed that Nitou was reminded of Haruto as well. 

“I tried calling him multiple times since then, but I haven’t been able to get in touch at all. You were with him at Omokagedou, right? How’s he doing?” 

I panicked. 

I never went back to Omokagedou last night, and I never bothered to contact Haruto either. I can’t believe lying to Nitou would come back to bite me like this… I struggled to find an answer. 

“Rinko…?” 

Nitou peered into my face as I cast my head down thinking for an answer. 

“Huh? Oh, Haruto, right. Um, well, he’s…” 

I can’t think of a good answer, and there’s no point in lying even more. I finally gave up and decided to tell the truth. 

But right when I opened my mouth, a voice came out from behind saying “What’s this about me?” 

Upon turning around, standing there was Haruto with a donut in hand. 

“Haruto!” 

I ran to Haruto as if sucked in by his smile. However, I quickly froze to a halt. 

(I don’t know if this Haruto is the other Haruto or not…” 

Anxiety ran through my body. 

Nitou must’ve thought the same thing, as he began speaking cautiously. 

“Which Haruto are you…?” 

Haruto let out a sigh with a wry smile. 

“Geez, you’re telling me my rival can’t even tell who’s the real deal? I’m the real Haruto.” 

The cynical remark he made to Nitou definitely was something Haruto would say. 

But Nitou wasn’t convinced. 

“You were pretty depressed last night, but it looks like you’re all better now, huh?” 

“Yeah, the other me really did a number on me, but as you can see, I’m doing just fine now.” 

Haruto took another bite of his donut with delight and smiled. 

I tried to look for the Hope ring that would prove whether or not he was the other Haruto. 

There wasn’t a ring on the hand holding his donut, and his other hand was in his pocket. It was too hard to tell if he was the fake. 

“Where’ve you been since then…?” I ended up blurting out.

Nitou, who had been glaring at Haruto, gave me a curious look. 

“I was alone the whole time after that, I never met up with Haruto.” 

“Huh?” 

“I’m sorry for lying to you. I’ll explain the details to you later.” 

I briefly apologized to Nitou and returned my gaze to Haruto. 

“I haven’t been back to Omokagedou. I’ve been alone the whole time too.” 

Haruto said those words while staring straight into my eyes. 

I had called Omokagedou this morning just in case. According to Wajima, Haruto never came back since last night, which is consistent with what this Haruto said. However, there’s always the chance that the other Haruto found out that information from somewhere. 

Pushing down the rising nervousness within me, I continued my questioning. 

“What were you doing alone…?” 

“I was thinking of a way to defeat the other me.” 

As Haruto said that, he began slowly walking in my direction. 

“Wait!” 

Unable to hold back my nervousness any longer, I ended up shouting out. 

“Show me your hand… The one in your pocket.” 

Haruto jolted to a halt. 

Since Nitou had seen that the other Haruto had the Hope ring as well during that previous battle, he knew what I was getting at.  

“Yeah, show us your hand! Let’s see it!” he shouted to Haruto. 

Haruto made a wry smile as he looked at us. 

But he then pulled his hand out of his pocket without any sign of hesitation. Glinting in the sunlight on his finger was the usual ring he used to summon his belt.  

I could feel the tension instantly leave my body. 

“Oh, so you are the real one. Sorry, sorry. Geez, it’s such a pain in the ass to have two Harutos walking around.” 

Nitou spoke with relief.  

Haruto must’ve felt relieved from us dropping our caution as well, since he let out a small sigh and stuffed his mouth with the rest of his donut. 

“So, have you figured out a way to defeat the other you?” 

This time Nitou approached Haruto. 

“Yeah.” 

When Haruto said that, he suddenly kicked Nitou out of nowhere. 

Taking the full brunt of the surprise attack, Nitou flew a great distance backward, and all the items he was carrying scattered across the ground. 

“No way…!” 

A malicious look appeared on Haruto’s face as he looked at my furrowed expression. 

“Real one my ass… You tricked us!” 

Nitou’s eyes were filled with anger as he struggled to get back up.” 

“I wasn’t tricking you. I am the real one… The real Haruto Souma.” 

His ring let out an eerie light, transforming into the Hope ring.

“You can change the ring’s appearance?! I never heard anything about that!” 

Nitou raised a voice of surprise. 

I was surprised as well, but more than anything, I was annoyed at how short-sighted I was. 

The other Haruto must’ve already known I would use that ring to tell the two apart. That’s why he purposely got us cautious, just so that he could put us at ease. Unable to predict that at all, I had completely fallen for his trap. 

As if he could tell what I was thinking, he gave me a wink. 

My face felt like it was about to set on fire from the overwhelming embarrassment and frustration, but I converted those feelings into anger and shoved them all onto him. 

“I can’t understand you!” 

I stopped thinking and let my mouth soften into an unpleasant shape. 

“Haruto’s not gonna let you keep doing whatever you want!” 

“You sure about that…?” 

The smile in his eyes disappeared. 

“Remember what I said? I’ve been thinking of a way to defeat the other me…” 

He turned to me. 

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re thinking of using Rinko as bait!” 

Nitou ran up from behind and stood in front of me as if to protect me from him. 

The other Haruto proceeded to speak provocatively. 

“You’re sorely mistaken if you think I’m the same as the Haruto you know so well.” 

“What? So you’re weaker than him?” 

“It’s the opposite.” 

“That’s perfect, then. If I beat you, then that’ll mean I’m stronger than him.” 

Nitou flourished his ring and summoned the ancient belt on his buckle. 

In response, the other Haruto summoned his magic belt as well. 

“Heeeeenshin!” 

“Henshin!” 

Magic circles engulfed the two of them as they shouted at the same time. 

Once those magic circles dissipated, the magician Beast and the pitch-black Wizard appeared. 

“What’s with that look? It’s like you got squid ink all over you or something.” 

Nitou, as Beast, poked fun at him. 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

As he said that, the pitch-black Wizard took the same stance Haruto always took. 

“Now then, it’s showtime.” 

“I’m still not sure if I’m gonna eat you yet, but for now, it’s lunchtime!” 

The two of them ran at the same time. 

Switching his rings midrun, Beast summoned a new mantle on his shoulder. Using Falco, a mantle with the power of the falcon, he jumped high in the air before rapidly descending with his drawn sword aiming for the pitch-black Wizard. 

The pitch-black Wizard switched his sword into its gun form and released a violent burst of bullets. Beast deflected those bullets with his shoulder mantle as he thrust out his sword. 

The pitch-black Wizard proceeded to dodge that attack while quickly switching his gun back into sword mode and slashing at Beast with it. Beast evaded the blade while shooting out bullets of light with his weapon. The pitch-black Wizard blocked those bullets of light with a flip of the cloak at his waist. 

Without a moment’s delay, Beast switched rings, granting him a new mantle as he charged toward the pitch-black Wizard. The mantle harnessed the power of the buffalo, multiplying his strength by several times. 

The pitch-black Wizard dodged Beast’s powerful body tackle at the last second and slashed at him in the process. But Beast must have had predicted that movement, as he deflected the blade with his mantle. 

It appeared that there was at least some credit to how often Nitou claimed himself to be Haruto’s eternal rival, as he continued to read the pitch-black Wizard’s attack patterns and countered them appropriately with his own moves. But at the same time, as if boasting that he truly was the real Haruto, the pitch-black Wizard seemed to know Nitou quite well, demonstrated by how easily he dodged his attacks while counterattacking relentlessly. 

Their fierce battle was truly a duel between two rivals. 

“You’re as tough as ever,” said the pitch-black Wizard as he backed away. 

“It doesn’t feel right to hear the words ‘as ever’ coming out of your mouth.” 

In contrast, Nitou, as Beast, quickly moved to close the distance. 

“But getting ahead of yourself and throwing out those attacks so recklessly is only going to eat up at your magic supply.” 

“Don’t worry. I’m planning on settling this soon.” 

As Beast said that, he switched rings and inserted a new one into his ancient belt. 

After getting enveloped by an incredibly strong light, his gold-adorned black body had transformed into one with a striking blue color. 

That blue and gold magician was none other than Beast’s strongest form, Beast Hyper. 

“Time to end this!” 

Beast Hyper dashed toward the pitch-black Wizard. 

Having grown even more energetic, Beast Hyper’s attacks began pushing the pitch-black Wizard back. Unlike before, the pitch-black Wizard was now entirely on the defensive, eventually even dropping his sword and getting his arm grabbed. 

“What’s wrong? You’re free to transform into your strongest form too, you know?” 

“I’m trying to conserve my magic, you see.” 

The pitch-black Wizard easily broke free from Beast’s grip, and this time Beast was the one to get his arms grabbed.  

“Wait, you let me do that on purpose…?!” 

Beast Hyper struggled as he tried to break free of that iron grip.  

The pitch-black Wizard’s Hope ring let out an eerie light as it changed form once again. It was a ring I had never seen before. 

“Time for the finale.” 

After putting that ring onto Beast Hyper’s finger, he violently pulled that hand over to his belt. 

“Urgh… Uwaaah!!” 

Beast Hyper began screaming with pain. 

Paying no mind to that whatsoever, the pitch-black Wizard then pressed the ringed hand even harder against his belt.  

The trembling Beast Hyper fell to his knees before turning back into his form as Nitou, collapsing onto the floor unconscious on the spot. 

“Nitou!” 

I tried to rush to Nitou’s side, but the pitch-black Wizard stopped me. After taking the ring off Nitou’s finger, he returned it to his own hand. 

“Just what is that ring…?” 

“I guess you could say… it’s a ring that sucks out people’s magic,” he replied pretentiously. 

“He kinda scared me for a second there with how recklessly he was using up his magic.” 

He got me again. He had been after Nitou’s magic from the very start. 

“What are you planning on doing with gathering up all that magic…?” 

“I’m going to defeat the other me… Pretty sure I said that already.” 

The pitch-black Wizard tightly gripped his ringed hand as if relishing in his reinforced magic. 

After the ring turned back into the Hope ring and let out an intense light, black flames engulfed his body. 

When the flames disappeared, standing there was a magician with a mask adorned with red gemstones and a black body with silver lining… It was the Wizard we were all very familiar with. 

“This time I’ll be able to put an end to him for good…” 

As he whispered those words with pleasure, he turned from me and began walking away. 

“Wait!” 

When he turned around in response to my voice, he had undone his transformation and taken on the form of Haruto again. 

“I’d absolutely love to go on a date with you, but there’s something I gotta take care of right now.” 

“…Are you planning on fighting Haruto?” 

“Nah, I need to do something else first…” 

As he said that, he looked at me with eyes filled with a strong will. 

“I will correct my wrongdoings… and start my life over.” 

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