Gate Guardian - Song Of The Frozen Soul

It was already dark when I finally reached my condo unit in Dradecim City. The whole building is enveloped with an eerie silence. I can only hear my own footsteps as I walked in the corridors until I reach the door of my home.

It was pitch black. I turned the lights on the living room and I was about to go to my bedroom but then I noticed a faint shadow sitting on my bed.

It was the shadow of a teenage boy. Somehow, his silhouette looked familiar to me.

"Tiara…"

It was Rikkun"s voice! How come!?

"R-R-Rikkun!?" I shrieked. "How did you get in here? How did you arrive before me?"

"I teleported," Rikkun answered coldly. "Now strip."

"E-Eeeeeh!?"

"Strip!" Rikkun shouted. It sounded more like a command!

"I-I-I can"t! What"s wrong with you!?" I yelled with a blus.h.i.+ng face.

"Did you not hear me!? STRIP!!!" Rikkun"s tone is full of anger. "IF YOU DON"T STRIP RIGHT NOW, I"LL DATE ANOTHER GIRL!"

"Whoa! Wait! Wait! I"ll strip! I"ll do what you wis.h.!.+" I cried. I removed my blazer and my skirt.

I don"t know what went to Rikkun"s head, but he didn"t have to force me to this extent!

When I was already on my undies, Rikkun said: "Stop right there." And then he issued another command. "Turn around for three times and then bark."

"R-Rikkun!?" I cried embarra.s.singly.

"SPIN THREE TIMES AND BARK!!!"

He should have told me that he wanted to play Master and Dog again! He didn"t have to be so pushy and shout at me! I"ll obey each and every command he gives if he just asks properly!

I really wanted to complain but I don"t want to fight him. His tone is quite angry. Besides… I would kill myself if he courted a girl other than me...

So I did as he pleases. I turned around naked and on the third spin, I gently raised my paw and barked with my blus.h.i.+ng cheeks.

"Woof!"

"Oh my gosh, that"s so cute!" A familiar feminine voice said.

Suddenly, the light on my room brightened and it revealed a woman dressed up as a gentleman. It was the president of the Drama Club Harie, wearing a short blonde wig! She really imitated Rikkun"s posture and body shape!

"Tadaaaa~"

Revealing themselves from hiding behind my bed are my most precious seniors. It was the leader of the Idol Club; Miss Awane, and the other woman is in shrine maiden dress, my guardian Asumi-nee.

And under the bed is Key-chan lying on her stomach. She seems to be tinkering something on her robotic-morphed throat.

"E-E-Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!?" My face became full red.

"You fell for it! It"s just a prank!" The three cheered.

"P-P-Prank!?" I was dumbstruck. I can"t believe I acted like a slave dog in front of these four. I"m such an idiot! Now I want to kill myself! My whole life is over!

The four pranksters made a hi-five to each other, commending their good work. I seriously fell for their trap, and I really thought I"m talking to Rikkun.

"I can"t believe you can copy Alaric"s voice, Key!" Miss Awane praised our homunculus girl with a head pat.

"I practiced a lot," Key said in a monotone. I"m sure she used her ability to transform her vocal cords identical to Rikkun"s.

"Miss Awane… Miss Harie… Asumi-nee… Key-chan... WhWhy are you all here?" I asked in a soft voice.

"Isn"t this obvious?" The four said in sync in a jolly manner (but Key is still in a monotone). "We are here to help you confess to your dear "Rikkun"!!!"

"What?" I tilted my head.

Miss Awane spoke first. "The Idol Club promised that we will help you make the Grand Confession Serenade, right? Well, guess what? We have collaborated with other people who can greatly help!"

Miss Harie followed. "That"s right! Even if the Idol Club and Drama Club are natural enemies, we will set that aside for the best of our interests. Since Alaric is a pseudo-member of my club and you are the best idol of Dradecim, we formulated the most ambitious club crossover in history!"

Now it"s Asumi-nee"s turn to speak. "We will make sure that your confession will be extrmagical! There will be a lot of magic tricks (Gate Guardian spells) involved!"

"Uhm, Asumi-nee…" I went close to my shrine maiden leader and whispered to her left ear. "Are you sure about this? There will be a lot of normal people who will be seeing extraordinary magic, you know?"

"Don"t worry!" Asumi-nee happily made a thumbs-up. "Humans won"t be able to distinguish fake from real spells! Trust your fellow shrine maiden a bit, will you?"

Those words… Those are the things she said back when we"re looking for Eliseo, and everyone knows that it didn"t end up well for her. But I have no way to stop her. She"s one of those people who"s madly s.h.i.+pping me with Rikkun.

"U-Uhm… how about you, Key-chan?" I asked.

"I wanted to help you out too." Key made a serious expression. "You"re p.i.s.sing me off with that awkward att.i.tude of yours. You always chicken out when it"s the perfect time to confess. It"s irritating to the eyes, so I"ll help you."

"...Auuu…" I cried. "T-Thanks, Key-chan…"

"Anywho, let"s get to the real main reason why we came here," Asumi-nee said as she held her hips.

"We three have brainstormed for quite a while now, and we have come up to this!" Miss Awane jollily said as she presented a colorful pink pamphlet.

It has me on the front cover of it, and I"m wearing a cute magical girl outfit holding a wand that looks like a mic. My innocent smile is combined with my pinkish blus.h.i.+ng cheeks. I really look like an adorable babe here, and it makes my heart flutter with amazement…

But I"m quite embarra.s.sed. This picture was taken on one of our photoshoots last year.

It has the t.i.tle of "Magical Popstar Tiarchan!"

I opened the pamphlet and read the synopsis.

"My name is Tiara Hikari, and I"m the impossible. When I was a child, my mother was burned to a stake for being a witch. Then I became the witch. With this power, I fight crimes and phantoms from another dimension. But one day, I"ll find who killed my mother and rescue the love of my life. I am a Magical Girl."

All of the girls had their eyes sparkling as they wait for my reaction (But Key stayed on her poker face as if she doesn"t really give a p.o.o.p about it).

"What...What is this!?" I shrieked. "Asumi-nee! This… This is too realistic! What if they found out!?"

"Too realistic?" Miss Awane and Miss Harie tilted their head. Obviously, they don"t know what we"re discussing here! It"s my secret as a Gate Guardian which is at stake after all!

"I told you, it will be "magical", right!?" Asumi-nee continued to laugh. "n.o.body would learn the truth if they mistake it as a fake!... Besides… What good this notebook is if you"re not going to use it!?"

That notebook she"s holding… It"s my diary! Waaaaaah!

"I never thought that you have the blood of an author within you, Tiara!" Miss Awane said. "This story is good! Especially that repeating the seven million timelines part and Jeannette giving you a part of her soul! That was epically heartbreaking!"

She… She really considered the real happenings as fake ones… I"m just glad that it all falls down to Asumi-nee"s plan.

"Soooo…" Miss Harie crossed her arms. "We will be doing this as a musical play, featuring the Idol Club and the Drama Club. What do you think about it?"

I held my throbbing chest as I stared at the pamphlet. This is the combined efforts of my seniors and the best persons in my life. I don"t really have a bad feeling about this plan. If it all goes well, it will be a happy ending for me.

"T-Thank you, everyone! I"ll do it!" I pumped my fists.

Finally, I"m going to confess to Rikkun in the grandest way!