“Well, it’s not great to see you, you pile of dust.”

Rai pointed at Tamashi as he spoke.

“I’m currently spending my precious time plotting in Tamayo’s cozy mind space, so I’d appreciate it if you left me-“

“STOP CALLING ME TAMAYO!”

Tamashi jumped to his feet and marched towards Rai and the old man.

“Listen, I’ve had enough of your shit. I was just trying to stop someone from getting run over, and then you show up, and everything goes to hell, then WORST OF ALL-“

Tamashi planted himself in front of Rai and grabbed his shirt.

“-YOU WON’T STOP CALLING ME TAMAYO- Wait, this shirt… HOW ARE YOU WEARING THE SAME SHIRT AS ME?”

“Oh, the shirt? I’m simply mimicking what you’re wearing. I’m not really a physical being, so part of my shape and appearance is determined by you. So, can you let go of-“

“No. Answer this: WHY ARE YOU INVADING MY MIND?!”

Rai let out a breath of exasperation.

“Look, are you gonna let me go or am I gonna have to beat the ever-living-“

“That’s enough, both of you. Separate at once!”

Tamashi and Rai both directed their respective gazes to the old man, each featuring a look of annoyance.

“Did Jiji just try to order us around?”

“Pardon me?”

“Actually, Tamayo, I like that name you came up with for him. It beats bone bag.”

“Yeah, I know, right? Japanese words are fun to use as nicknames.”

“I just like being able to mock this geez-“

“My name is Sensei. Call me Sensei.”

After a long, awkward moment, Tamashi released his grip on Rai, and the two began to break down in laughter.

“Call you SENSEI?! All you’ve done so far ask for help in carrying groceries! HA!”

“That’s the name you’re giving yourself now? Man, you really are living in your own world nowadays.”

Sensei proceeded to obnoxiously clear his throat.

“Why don’t both of you take me on at once?”

Tamashi and Rai once again directed their respective gazes to the old man, each featuring a look of annoyance.

Rai was the first to break the silence.

“Huh? No way, zombie. I can’t fight with Tamayo. He hasn’t even beaten me in a fight yet. I mopped the floor with him in the Void last time.”

“Wait, since when did we fight? I only met you once, during the truck incident.”

“That’s because I erased your memory of the fight.”

“Huh?”

Rai turned to face Tamashi, locking their equally blue eyes together.

“You were no where near ready to merge with me and use my powers, so I decided to erase that memory and pretended like the fight never happened.”

Rai narrowed his eyes.

“You don’t have the guts to work with a being like me.”

Tamashi formed a grin and moved his body into a fighting stance.

“So you want me to fight you and beat you? Is that it? Piece of cake.”

Rai mirrored back Tamashi’s grin while placing his hands in his pockets.

“Go on. Just try to land something on me. I dare you, Tamaa-yo.”

As the Seishin and his human host faced off, Sensei buried himself deep into thought.

‘The first step to Tamashi becoming a Riyosha is to conquer the Seishin that he wishes to unite with. That’s a tall task for anyone to do. But for Tamashi, it’s especially unfortunate for him, considering…’

Rai’s smile grew larger, and his eyes began to emanate a soft glow.

Suddenly, the room was engulfed in electricity.

Tamashi collapsed to his knees, his face twitching with agony.

As the scene unfolded, Sensei stood his ground, watching with a look of growing concern in his eyes.

‘…he has to battle the strongest of the five.’

——

Savior: Original Story by OneSevenEight

Episode: Framed Perspective - Part 16

——

The door to the balcony swung open, revealing Bri sitting at her table.

“Ah, Max, have a seat. Want some tea?”

“No.”

Bri presented Max with a look of curiosity as he took his seat.

“I see you still have no respect.”

“Why would I respect some-“

A gust of wind engulfed the balcony area, and Bri was leaning over the table, holding Max by his shirt collar.

“If I were you, I would be careful about what I said next.”

Bri glared furiously into Max’s blood red eyes.

“Look, I don’t really care about you or most of the people here. I only really care about my brother. So stop sending him on so damn many missions.”

After a brief pause, Bri released her grip and leaned back into her seat.

“I don’t think that’s true. You seem to care an awful lot about attention. I mean, those sparring matches you-“

“Whatever. Just get to the point. Why did you drag me up here?”

“Wow, you don’t want to catch up? We haven’t talked one-on-one in such a long time.”

“This isn’t a date, Bri.”

“I see you’re still as anti-charming as ever with women, Max.”

“I’m just not that receptive to sl-“

A blast of wind with the force of a brick wall slammed into Max, sending him and his chair flying backwards.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you over the wind.”

After recovering for some time on the ground, Max hoisted himself back up onto his feet.

“If all you’re gonna do is shove me around like some whiny little girl, then I’m outta here.”

“I brought you here to give you your new orders. It would be wise for you not to leave right now.”

Max directed his gaze to Bri with a look of indifference.

“Alright, what are you gonna make me do?”

“You should be more excited than that. This mission involves you playing the role of the bad guy. You personality seems perfect for this role.”

Max continued to silently gaze at Bri prior to forming his response.

“So, what’s the mission? Something stupid like stealing candy from a kid?”

Bri allowed her lips to form a slight smirk.

“I need you to kidnap a small group of people.”

Max reacted with a grin formed out of interest.

“Alright. Tell me more, Madam.”