14thxnoah is on a mission...
Erika could not decide if she was fascinated or horrified by the recent events. Whether this was all tied back to one of her actions or if it was all a huge coincidence she did not know. But... there was no such thing as coincidence. There was only Hitsuzen. Everything that happened happened for a reason.
When she stepped into the manga shop she expected to peruse the shelves as she always did, perhaps read a few chapters and choose which of the various titles she wanted to buy. However, as she passed the counter she paused, turning with a sad smile to the clerk. The daughter of the late owner of the shop – who had been coming in recently to pick up affairs after her mother's death.
“I'm really sorry,” she said, tilting her head casually to the side, “Your mom was a really great lady. I've been coming to this store for years and she always had the best suggestions. I'm glad you're not going under, though! I'll definitely continue to support you!”
She looked... odd. The expression on her face. The way she spoke; her voice sounded so hollow... But Erika assumed that anyone who had lost a loved one might not want to talk about it, and so she waved, disappearing around the corner to find the Shounen section.
What an odd sound. Erika blinked, lifting her head away from the book that she'd been reading. After a moment of silence she decided to ignore it.
Again? Erika held the book open between her fingertips, slowly starting to close it, “Uh – are you okay?” she called, craning her neck around the corner of the shelf to peek at the clerk.
“... Are you okay?” She suddenly looked horrible. Sick. Two hands clutching at the edge of the counter, her mouth dropped open. Her neck twitched, cracking to the side. It was a sickening sound, but hardly compared to the horror that immediately proceeded... when her entire body exploded into a mass of black smoke, and from the scraps of her remains came forth a massive structure with tubules and a horrible face.
“HUWA! WAAAAAAAAAAAA! AHHH! AH!” Erika shouted, clutching the book she was holding against her chest. The monster above her burst through the ceiling, raining debris down onto her head. She ducked away from it and grabbed for her bag, which... was glowing.
It had been doing that lately... glowing at her, and she had tried this only once but as if acting on divine guestimation, Erika reached into the bag, grabbed a bookmark and slipped it into the book in her hands. Bleach: Volume 17.
She held the book out in front of her face, up towards the monster; a pale glow enveloped her hands, vibrating her fingertips and releasing a fine mist into the air. The mist materialized into a hundred Japanese swords, forming a chain-link barrier between the monster and herself.
… Erika had no idea what that thing was, why this bookmark sought her out, or what any of it meant, but she wouldn't complain about the temporary protection.
But how did she get out of there!
