Nightmare  

A churning in his gut, ragged breathing. "Don't mess with me..."

A heavy air hung over them all. Everyone seemed consumed by despair.

"It's been an hour and a half! Time's up! Hey Kuroishi, transfer us out of here, quickly."

Muroya's arm had been torn off from the shoulder. A gel-like liquid seeped out of the dent in his suit. His bleeding was severe - it didn't seem he had much time left before the limit. Not just his arm, his ear and one foot had also been torn off.

Uncovering the view he had shielded, a hellish scene was spread out before them. Kuwabara had just had his neck crushed from above by an invisible force so powerful that not only did it destroy his flesh, but it also created a large dent in the solid ground.

"It's being used against us! Damn it, we're no match for inhuman things..."

George was flung towards the river. Togekiss, trying to go rescue him, was caught by an extending hand. He heard his own high-pitched scream as the white feathers were ripped away.

"Sis, please!" Anzu supported Shirona's shoulder. Teardrops traced down her bloodied cheek.

"Is you score 100 points, we'll stop you. You have to get out of here. You need to go back home, right?"

But those words rang hollow. Roserade, Mikaruge, Gastrodon and Milotic had already stopped moving over on that side. After her entire family had been killed, how could she return to her homeland? How could she keep living?

The monster approached. Muroya's head was torn off.

Anzu, trying to push Shirona away, had her chest ripped open. Darkness closed in on his consciousness. Her mind too sank into the shadows.

"GASP!"

Shirona woke up later than usual. After washing her face and fixing her bedhead, she found Anzu sitting in the living room, mouth agape.

"You look awful. Were you having nightmares? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

In truth, she was not quite fine. She had had the most terrible dream. It felt unnervingly realistic, leaving her with a sense of nausea as if she had swallowed mud even after waking up.

Calling out Togekiss, she tightly embraced its entire body. It let out a confused cry, but Shirona paid no mind, planting kisses onto its feathers. Even when it squirmed as if tickled, she continued.

"Sis, are you really okay?"

Anzu settled down beside her, and Shirona pulled her into the embrace as well. At first she seemed bewildered, but seeing Shirona's expression, she relaxed.

Recently, she had been having dreams almost every night. Terrible nightmares, filled with nothing but death. At first she thought it stemmed from anxiety. Most dreams tend to be formed from one's own psyche, after all.

On the other hand, there was an ominous feeling about them. While they were essentially close to mere delusions, there was one odd point. The corpses strewn about included Lucario and Garchomp as well. It was possible they were just normal dreams. And yet, she couldn't shake a different notion.

After eating a meal and finally calming down somewhat, Anzu made a suggestion. "I'm off work today. How about we go to the bank and then see a movie with Kakeru?" 

"I see..."

She did actually have a part-time job scheduled for the night, but intended to take it off. She had enough savings to cover it. She felt she needed to get out and change her mood.

Anzu had grumbled about having to go someplace rather far out of their way.

Tax-related matters required going to the teller window. However, the nearest bank branch had that service closed. For Shirona's part, the longer travel distance would give her more time to change her mindset, so she didn't particularly mind.

It seemed Anzu had also never been to this branch before. After entering, she glanced around for a bit before heading to the teller counter. Shirona followed, hand-in-hand with Kakeru.

"Excuse me, I'd like to inquire about something." 

"We're calling numbers in order, so please wait a moment."

A man with narrow eyes and a side-parted hairstyle politely explained the process. His usually sharp gaze was skillfully softened by his expression. Coupled with his dark complexion, it gave off a rather mild impression.

He seemed quite adept at concealing his emotions. Even meeting Shirona's gaze, he maintained his courteous demeanor as a staff member.

"Oka?"

She could scarcely believe it. While the impression she received was quite different, the skin tone and shape of the eyes were unmistakable. Shirona felt the corners of her mouth twisting, but reined it in at the last moment, as there were still other customers waiting.

The person in question took a memo pad from the side and began writing with a pen.

"Huh, you know him?" 

"Yeah. Anzu wouldn't know him though. That guy from the same team as me. A bad one."

"Next customer, please come to the counter."

Without dropping his vague smile, Oka swiftly handed Shirona a slip of paper. Glancing around, she opened it to find a time and the bank's parking lot noted down. Understanding, she took a seat with Anzu.

"Weird, huh? I didn't expect there'd be diligent people among them. With hair like that, he fought aliens?" She nearly burst out laughing despite the public setting.

***

The time was quite late. After watching a movie with Anzu, Shirona had leisurely examined the suit and the weapons that were also stored in the case, but she still had some spare time remaining.

She walked through the night streets and arrived at the designated parking lot, looking around. One car flashed its lights at her. As she approached the side, the window rolled down.

"Get in."

Oka was still wearing his work suit, his hairstyle slightly disheveled. It seemed he had used a considerable amount of hair gel, and its lingering scent wafted through the car's interior.

"What do you want?"

"That's my line. How did you find out? Are you trying to threaten me?"

"It was just a coincidence. I only came to accompany Anzu. Did you really call me out just to confirm that?"

"Nah, that ain't it."

Oka stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. Shirona didn't particularly like smoke, so she wished he wouldn't, but she endured it to keep the conversation flowing smoothly.

Leaning his hand out the window without turning his face, he continued speaking, "I just thought I'd let you know beforehand. I'm not a bad guy, you know?"

"You really are..."

"It's only natural to value one's own life. If you use your pets, it increases safety."

"They're family."

"But before that, there's something you should know. About your circumstances."

"I see."

He carelessly pushed the ashtray aside with one hand. "What exactly are you? An alien? I've never seen an alien using aliens before."

"I'm human. And those children are Pokémon - beings that have coexisted with humans for a long time."

"I've never seen anything like that before."

"I didn't know about this world either. Before I knew it, I had been transferred by that Gantz."

"So what you're trying to say is?" Oka turned his body towards her, resting his hands on the backrest and snorting a laugh through his nose. "You came from some other world you don't understand, and you're in trouble? And by sheer coincidence, you happen to speak the same language, so you're managing somehow?"

"Then how do you explain the existence of the Pokémon? That assumption of me being delusional can't account for those facts, can it?"

"From our side, the only way to connect it is to Gantz. Don't you remember what happened right before? How did you die right before being transferred to that room?"

"That's because I didn't die. I don't have any memory of that."

A stretch of time passed as her counterpart seemed deep in thought. During that interval, Shirona observed the cars whizzing by outside the glass. It was difficult to judge which world was more technologically advanced. Still, the presence or absence of Pokémon made a significant difference.

"...Let's proceed under the assumption that what you say is factual." He lit another cigarette. "Either way, the weapons you possess are powerful. It's a waste for you to monopolize them."

"I told you, they're family."

"Do you really think you're qualified for that?" Oka strengthened his smile slightly. "I can clearly see the future. Sooner or later, you'll end up involving your family in your death. Because you're too soft, you'll endanger other lives as well. Don't you think it's a waste to let such a treasure rot away?"

"No, that won't happen."

"How can you be so sure? Look at yourself now. You're alone in a secluded space with a man you once fought to the death with, without any preparation. Didn't you think I might take the same action?"

Oka reached into a bag beside him. Shirona gazed at his profile without any sign of agitation.

"Are you serious?"

"Huh?"

"Do you really think I came here completely unprepared? If so, that would make you a typical working-class person incapable of considering multiple scenarios."

There was a tapping sound on the window glass, like someone knocking with their knuckles. As Oka turned his face, Togekiss was glaring at him from outside the glass. It had been perched on the car's roof the whole time, but Oka seemed to have been unaware.

"You're not wearing your suit, are you? Are you really going to do it?"

A flower suddenly emerged from the opening of Shirona's bag, and at its tip, a green light sphere began to form - an Energy Ball. She had never actually fired one at a human body before, but she could envision the potential outcome.

Shirona lifted her jacket, revealing the black part of her suit. After confirming this, Oka closed his bag and put both hands behind his head.