For a man like me who grew up near a lake, nor had any good physical abilities, these forearms are sure doing better than expected.
The street ahead didn't seem to be affected by the fish's voodoo magic thing and so the fish swam in circles as it avoiding the attacks of the cat that barely struck my waist each time the fish evaded.
My body swerved like being rammed and dragged against an F-1 race track.
Sight looped from up to down, which almost made me vomit sour puke. It alternated from absolute darkness to the the black sky that was littered by faint stars.
And I discovered a new one!
I'll call it—Cat on a fucking motorcycle!
Threatened the cat looked as his eyes stared to the fish, ignoring me that was being dragged like a ragdoll.
The momentum of his small motorcycle collided with the street like ocean. And the fact that we didn't sink. Resulted in the cat finding itself like how that pink and purple haired dou would find themselves in. Like a shooting star but reversed.
"You know I'll find you, Shikuko!"
Flew to join his buddies in the stars.
Sweet relief washed over me for a minor second as the next second found me in quite peace. Closed eyes and solem expression.
The street had spat us out, and intentional or not, the trees were approaching my face at an unprecedented rate.
I'll be meeting God now!
"Ahhhh!"
The Insides of my throat exploded as a screech came out of me.
"Stop screaming like a bitch!"
The air around us suddenly materialized into a water like state. Creating a safety cushion for us to land on.
Still, it may have stopped me from dying an unnecessarily embarrassing death. It didn't stop my bladder from letting it rip in my pants.
My head whiplashed from the sudden halt in action. For a magic cushion thing, it sure wasn't soft. And so I got the living daylight beat out of me as my chest slammed against it and consciousness decided to take it's leave.
The next moment I found myself in wasn't the welcoming home of my faceless wife, cooking up a delicious meal with a savory aroma, and maybe even two kids with a dog, that sounds nice.
But I awoke in a place where leaves rested on my shoulders, one shoulder being dislocated.
Where branches poked my skin as my body decided to take a nap on a thick root which turned my posture into an acute angle.
A single tear traced down my cheek.
I didn't feel any pain in my body though. Probably tired of feeling pain now, well except on my face it seems. The fin that kept slapping me started to make my cheeks sting.
"Wake," slap! "The fuck," slap! "Up!"
I held the fish's fin.
"Finally, your stable"
"Just a couple more minutes..."
"... Or at least alive"
My eyes crossed which almost made me puke again. But with my quik thinking, I decided to shake my head awake. An incredibly stupid idea as it resulted in me feeling even more fucked up and lost.
The weight of the confusion made my head almost drop which I caught with my hand. I got the chance to look at the seductive crocodile that hugged my wrist. And staring at it, listening to the ticking mechanism of the clock, I took a breath.
My heart started to calm down as the adrenaline took it's leave. Finally, gaining some sense in me, I asked the golden question, "What the hell are you...?"
I might actually be just insane.
I might have actually been running around with a dead fish in my pants while some guy on a motorcycle was just actually chasing me. Haha, that would surely make headlines. Well, I did say I wanted to be remembered for something great.
"Make a contract with me"
"Wha-"
I'm not sure that answers my question, buddy.
"What the hell is a contract?! And where are we?"
"Near Raijo Shrine. It's just a couple miles from here. Your already too deep into this so you have to accept the offer or you'll be staying at a very nice place called the forever box"
I don't want that!
But, I need to understand more.
A bad decision can become good if it was thought through enough. But a not thought out decision will get you killed!
"Hey-hey, I won't be accepting anything until you explain shit to me!"
The fish curled it's fin in an annoyed manner while gritting it's creepily human teeth.
"Alright, alright... Fucker, listen up since I'll only say this once... I'm a Daiko"
A what...?
"I don't expect you to understand what I am but... I'm a spirit that aids shit heads like you from dangerous situations and from Baikos. I'm like a spirit guide companion thing to you humans and they are evil spirits that kill and harm humans. All of us have supernatural powers! And in Shijo Shrine, you will understand everthing!"
The fish's mouth seemed to move at double speed that I could even see make out an after image after each word. In a single breath he explained it all and so my face looked more lost than it did before.
Daiko? Baiko? Excuse me?
"What- what? what?!"
The air slowly started to weight around me with the sound of my blood thumping being more vivid in my ears. Nope, no fucking use!
Is this fish purposely stuffing information in my head?!
"Slow ass, forget that for now. Just know you'll die if you don't accept the offer!"
Rustle...
Between the leaves that were lightly touched by the light of the moon, shone a green light in the darkness, and that darkness had a sadistic purr.
"Say you accept—fast!"
Without a chance to actually comprehend, I screamed internally at myself to get my head into the game. I might have went along with it before, but now I'm rational! Rationally insane!
I'd die either way, right?
"I accept!"
A swirling spark appeared in front of me. It continued to spark until two scrolls materialized themselves into reality.
"Whooaa!!!" A childlike sound made it's way out of my voice.
The fish had a smirk on its face.
"Quickly," with a twist of it's fin, one of the contract flipped. "This contract let's you have Daiko abilities, but fucking kills you right after!"
And without letting me read the contract myself, he flipped it back and then did the same for the next.
"That contract let's you temporarily turn into a Daiko and can cancel anytime you want at a cost of 1/4 of your life reduced!"
"If that's the case, then why the hell does the first contract exist?!"
"Shut up and just pick the second one, you buffoon!"
Who the hell would choose that contract!
And so obviously... I hesitated.
Under the darkness weight, the twigs snapped closer and closer. And each snap stripped the fish of the color on its scales.
"Hell are you hesitating for?!"
Blood rushed its way into my brain at a rate of an heart attack, thumping fra
ntically. Next fragments of memories turned into dots as they interconnected into each other.
Wait a minute—it clicked!