Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 1

by Takehaya

  As earthenware and bronzeware typical of the Yayoi period were also found, these ruins had the potential to revolutionize the field of archeology. The budget was quickly increased to fund a large-scale excavation. As the scale of the project increased, so did the amount of labor required. Recruitment posters were printed and distributed wholesale. Koutarou and Kenji, who were looking for work at the time, had jumped at the offer. Its close proximity to school made it an obvious pick.

  Squatting while slowly scraping away at the soil was rather tiring work. But having spent his middle school years as a catcher, it wasn’t too demanding for Koutarou. While he had struggled at first, now that he was over a month into the job, he was completely used to it.

  “All I find is dirt, no matter how much I dig...”

  According to the archeologists, a building used for religious ceremonies was buried somewhere in the area Koutarou was in charge of. But even with a dozen or so workers digging there, they hadn’t found anything that fit the bill.

  “Are we the only group that’s digging somewhere so extraneous?”

  Koutarou had found nothing but dirt since the day he started.

  “Mackenzie’s area seems more fun. They find stuff all the time.”

  Koutarou was getting bored with the tedious, monotonous labor.

  “Koutarou...”

  “Hmm?”

  It was just then that Koutarou felt like he heard a voice.

  “I thought I just heard someone... Was it the old lady?”

  Koutarou paused and stood up to look around, but didn’t see anyone who looked like they had called out to him. He was the only one in the immediate area, and the elderly lady from before had her back turned to him.

  “Was I just imagining it?”

  Koutarou cocked his head to the side in confusion. As he did, however, he could hear the voice once again.

  “Koutarou...”

  “That isn’t that old lady’s voice. It sounds much younger. And it sounds so familiar... No, surely this is the first time I’ve heard it, right?”

  “This way...”

  “That way?”

  Hearing the voice for the third time, Koutarou thought he could identify the source. It sounded like it was coming from a grove a few dozen meters away.

  “All right, fine.”

  Koutarou put down his excavation tool and approached the trees.

  “Is this one of Mackenzie’s pranks, or is it someone else?”

  Koutarou was pretty sure it had to be Kenji trying to pull one over on him, so he didn’t feel any danger whatsoever. However, he decided to go take a look just in case that it wasn’t him.

  “Really? We’re about to be high school students, and he’s wasting time playing pranks... When I catch him, I’ll make him fess up whose voice he recorded.”

  Koutarou couldn’t place the voice, so he assumed that it was the voice of yet another girl Kenji had hooked up with.

  “Hmm, it’s pretty thick...”

  Koutarou pushed the brush aside and entered the grove. The tall trees and overgrown weeds left him with a terrible view of the area. Even worse, the weeds were prickling his skin, making the entire area a pain to traverse.

  “Hey, Mackenzie, I know you’re here! Come out and show yourself!”

  Koutarou wanted to find Kenji quickly so he could get out of here.

  “Get out here and tell me about this new girl.”

  That was when the sensation of solid ground suddenly vanished from underneath Koutarou’s feet.

  “Huh?”

  Oh crap, a hole in the ground?!

  By the time Koutarou caught on, he had already been swallowed up by the earth.

  “Ow!”

  Slamming into the ground below knocked the wind out of Koutarou. An acute pain shot through the back of his head.

  Having fallen into a hole, there was good and bad news. The good news was that the hole wasn’t all that deep. The bad news was that Koutarou had hit his head on a rock when he fell.

  “Owowow, that hurts... This is all Mackenzie’s fault.”

  Koutarou put his hand on his aching head and sat up. Fortunately, Koutarou was born tough. Apart from the bump on his head, he hadn’t sustained any real injuries.

  “Huh? Where am I?”

  Once he sat upright, Koutarou finally got a view of his surroundings. It should have been pitch black considering he was at the bottom of a hole, but the area was strangely illuminated. While there was sunlight coming down from where he’d fallen in, the ambient light was too bright for it to be just from that. It was similar to an emergency exit sign in a dark hallway.

  “There’s something here. Some sort of stand and several pillars... Even the floor is paved.”

  It was a mysterious space, spreading roughly ten meters in every direction. The area was lined with flat slabs, forming a sturdy floor. Standing on that floor were several pillars about the height of a person, and on top of each pillar was a glowing sphere. The glow from these spheres was what lit up the room. In the middle of everything, surrounded by the pillars, was a single stand. And on top of that stand was a human statue, looking down on Koutarou still sitting there.

  “Could these be the ruins of that religious building?”

  The statue on the stand looked like some kind of god. Moreover, it was being illuminated by the surrounding pillars. Had someone told Koutarou this was a temple, he would have believed them without a second thought.

  “Koutarou...”

  The voice that had been calling out to Koutarou all this time could be heard once more.

  “That voice... Hey, is someone there?! Why are you calling my name?!”

  Surprised, Koutarou looked around. But the only thing moving in the room was him.

  “Koutarou, I’ve been waiting for you all this time...”

  “What? Waiting? Where are you?! Who are you?!”

  At this point, not even Koutarou would think this was one of Kenji’s pranks. He shouted out his doubts to the mysterious speaker. But he didn’t get an answer in words.

  “Uwah! Wh-What?!”

  All of a sudden, the statue on the stand began glowing. But it wasn’t because of the light from the pillars. The light was coming from the statue itself. While it was only a dim glow at first, by the time Koutarou had taken a few breaths, the statue was shining brightly.

  “Just how many times have I dreamed of this moment during the countless days and nights that have passed...?”

  “The statue...? Are you the one talking?”

  The light emitted from the statue seemed like normal light at first, but as the light began shining brighter, it slowly began taking shape.

  “I am not a statue. This statue is but one of the prayers offered to me. Because of its purity, it allows me to unleash my powers, but I am not the statue itself.”

  Eventually the mysterious light formed into the shape of a human. It was as if the very statue had transformed into a person.

  “...Koutarou, we finally meet...”

  “A girl...?”

  The figure of light overlapped with the statue, revealing what looked like a young girl with calm and gentle eyes.

  Commence Invasion

  Sunday, April 5th

  White light rained down. But it was only an artificial light that was easy on the eyes.

  “...H-Huh?”

  Coming to, Koutarou found himself lying down and staring up at the fluorescent light in the ceiling.

  “Why am I lying down? And where am I...?”

  “So you’re finally awake now.”

  Koutarou blinked a couple of times, unable to understand the situation. Kenji standing there was the next thing he saw.

  “Mackenzie?”

  “Don’t give me that. You gave me quite the shock when you just collapsed at the worksite like that.”

  “Collapsed? I did?”

  “Yeah. In the middle of your shift, too. It looked like you slipped and fell. Supposedly that’s how you got that
bump on the back of your head.”

  “Ouch, there really is a bump...”

  Koutarou sat up as he rubbed his head. Looking around, he finally realized that he was on a bed in a hospital room.

  “Umm... First there was a big rock where the old lady was digging...”

  Koutarou began recalling what had happened.

  “Yeah, she was worried about you too.”

  “I’ll be sure to let her know that I’m fine later... But I moved that rock for her and went back to my station.” Then Koutarou went silent. “...What happened after that?”

  “Why are you asking me? Wouldn’t that be when you slipped and fell? They found you in the middle of your assigned area, after all.”

  “Hmm...”

  Koutarou tilted his head in thought.

  “What?”

  “It’s just... I feel like something else happened too.”

  Something didn’t sound right to Koutarou. There was a bump on the back of his head and he had been found in the middle of his assigned area, sure, so what Kenji was saying made a certain amount of sense. But it still felt off to Koutarou.

  “Don’t be stupid. Maybe you were just dreaming?”

  “Hmm...”

  Koutarou crossed his arms and continued pondering as the nurse on duty entered the room, pushing a cart ahead of her.

  “I see you’re awake now.”

  “Oh, yes.”

  Kenji, who had met with the nurse before, gave her a slight bow.

  “Heehee. You should be grateful for your partner here.”

  The nurse flashed Koutarou a smile.

  “Grateful?”

  “Yes. Kenji-kun stayed by your side the entire time. He looked so worried too. It was kind of cool.”

  “M-Miss!”

  “There’s no need to be embarrassed, Kenji-kun. You have a cute side to you too... Or could it be that the two of you swing that way?”

  “Not at all!”

  Kenji flat out denied it.

  “Actually, we do.”

  But Koutarou grinned and played along.

  “Aha, I thought so! So which one of you is the bottom?”

  “Well...”

  “You idiot!”

  Kenji threw a sharp hook at Koutarou to shut him up.

  “Ouch!”

  “Hey, you can’t just punch your lover in the head like that, Kenji-kun!”

  “Please stop saying such horrifying things.”

  Satisfied with Kenji’s reaction, the nurse pointed to the bandages wrapped around Koutarou’s head.

  “Heehee. I know, and I’m sorry. But as you can see, Satomi-kun is injured, so don’t be too rough with him.”

  “...I-I’m sorry. My bad, Kou.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Now that that’s settled, here you go, Satomi-kun.”

  The nurse smiled again, then pulled a thermometer from the cart and handed it to Koutarou.

  “Could you take your temperature for me? Head injuries often come with complications, so this is just to be safe.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Once you’re done with that, you can go home for today. But if you notice anything strange, you should come straight back here. Got it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Then I’ll leave the rest to you, Kenji-kun. Please hand this file over to the cashier on your way out.”

  “Got it. Thank you very much.”

  “Goodbye then, you two.”

  The nurse smiled and waved to the boys before heading off to her next patient.

  “Hey, Mackenzie.”

  “Hmm?”

  As Koutarou called his name, Kenji looked up from flipping through the file.

  “Are you aiming for that nurse this time?”

  “You idiot!”

  Kenji raised his fist to hit Koutarou again, but remembering the nurse’s words made him hold back.

  “Seriously, you really are...”

  Kenji just sighed instead.

  “Sorry, sorry.”

  Koutarou grinned and put the thermometer under his arm.

  “Pharmacy, pharmacy...”

  After getting out of bed, Koutarou left the cashier to Kenji and headed for the hospital’s pharmacy. His injuries were minor apart from his bump, but he decided to get medicine he might need just in case.

  “So it’s this way...”

  Following the directional signs hung on the wall, Koutarou turned the next corner. The pharmacy was just ahead now, but Koutarou stopped short for some reason. He could see a familiar face on the other side of the window.

  “That’s Sakuraba-senpai. What is she doing here?”

  Koutarou had spotted the figure of the knitting society’s club president. She was sitting down on a bench in the hospital’s courtyard.

  “Hmm...”

  As Harumi caught his interest, Koutarou decided to leave the pharmacy for later and went through the glass door leading outside.

  The early spring sun shone down on the courtyard, lighting it up. Enclosed by hospital walls, there was next to no wind either. Thanks to that, it felt much more comfortable than the hospital hallways, making it the perfect place for the hospitalized children to play.

  However, when Koutarou walked up, the children were all completely silent, sitting in the grass and listening intently to the person on the bench.

  Sitting on the bench was a young girl with long hair, wearing a cardigan over her hospital pajamas. She was one year older than Koutarou, but her pale skin and delicate figure made her look younger. Her name was Sakuraba Harumi. She was the club president of the knitting society that Koutarou would be joining.

  “Then the North Wind said, ‘With my power, I’ll blow the clothes right off that traveler. I’ll teach the Sun that I’m stronger!’”

  Harumi was in the middle of reading out loud to the children around her. With the open book in her lap, she continued reading with a calm and gentle expression.

  “‘However, the Sun wasn’t about to give up. It said to the North Wind’— Oh? Goodness, who was it that scribbled on this page?”

  “Hiromi, wasn’t it you?”

  “It wasn’t me!”

  “It was Saya-chan. I saw her!”

  “Is that true, Saya-chan?”

  “...Y-Yes...”

  “I see... You shouldn’t have done that, Saya-chan. This book belongs to everyone.”

  “I know... I’m sorry.”

  “As long as you understand. I won’t get mad if you know what you did was wrong.”

  Harumi and the children all seemed cheerful. Koutarou found the sight of the quiet Harumi smiling and talking to the children to be quite refreshing.

  I shouldn’t disturb her. All right...

  Koutarou decided not to interrupt, and took a seat behind the rows of children. Fortunately, Harumi didn’t notice him.

  “Onee-chan, keep reading!”

  “Okay, I will.”

  “I’m sure this is where the Sun fights back!”

  “What was it they said on the TV the other day?”

  “Beat him to a pulp!”

  “That’s it!”

  “Everyone, you shouldn’t be watching that kind of channel yet. Wait until you’re older.”

  “Huh? Why not? They’re all strange and funny.”

  “There aren’t any adults like that around anymore.”

  “Goodness... Listen, everyone. Don’t become adults like that, okay?”

  “Okaaay.”

  Ha, I’ve never seen Sakuraba-senpai make that face before...

  Watching Harumi happily play with the children, Koutarou thought back to when he first met her.

  Koutarou and Harumi first met about a month ago on March 1st. Koutarou was visiting the school as the results of the exam were announced. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy, cold day for March, and bad weather had made it even colder.

  “The soccer club is recruiting! We’re looking for fresh meat!”

 
“The choral club is recruiting! We placed second in the tournament last year, and we’re aiming for first this year! Come help us out!”

  “We’re not just fat people; we’re fat people that can really move! If you’re concerned about your weight, we want you! Welcome to the sumo club! Feel free to visit!”

  “Back off! The karate club is the only club for real men! Get lost and take your bellies with you!”

  “What was that?! Just try saying that again!”

  However, even in early spring, things were heating up in the Kisshouharukaze High schoolyard because of hot-blooded club members engaged in a recruiting battle over the newly accepted students. At Kisshouharukaze, club activities were an active part of high school life. And with plenty of club events at such a large school, the club life was far more prevalent here than most others. As a result, the more members a club had, the more power they held within the school.

  That’s why every club wanted as many members as they could get their hands on. Consequently, the recruiting started earlier and earlier each year. It wasn’t long before the recruiting battles began on the day the entrance exam results were announced. They wouldn’t be able to secure any members if they just casually waited until the entrance ceremony.

  And so the schoolyard was filled with recruiters from every club looking to snatch up the newly accepted students that day.

  “Th-The knitting society is recruiting, um... Would you like to join the knitting society?”

  Harumi was one of those recruiters.

  “Um... Please, at least just listen...! I, u-um...”

  However, her recruiting wasn’t going well.

  The knitting society wasn’t very popular, and the shy, timid Harumi was acting as the face of the club. Because her voice was so quiet, it was easily drowned out by the surrounding commotion.

  “Hey, if I join the knitting society, will you go out with me?”

  “I, um... I’m sorry. Y-You’re making me uncomfortable...”

  The only people that approached her were good-for-nothing boys that were attracted by her looks. She was at a loss trying to find the kind of club members she was hoping for.