1 Year Later...
Kodak's eye then burst open as he sprang from his bed, breathing heavily. The same traumatic scene echoed in his mind.
"Fuck," He cursed under his breath. "Why am I still having nightmares of that horrible day?!"
He looks across the bed, seeing the golden glow of the sun trying to bleed through the curtains. But he turned his head forward and looked down at the floor. It was almost like he was trying to ignore the sun.
His thoughts ran rampant, almost like a thunderstorm. Unpredictable and chaotic. "It's been 1 year and 6 months since dad was taken captive by those bastards," Kodak said to himself angrily. His teeth gritted as his mind flashed back, seeing that look on his father's face. Along with the words he left him with.
Blackened flames and azure lightning spread across the arena. Kodak tried to rush forward, but he couldn't even feel his revenant activate. It was like the presence was nullified completely. But regardless of that, Kodak pushed forward through the torrent of flames and lightning.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck his back, sending him into the blackened flames. His body burned with an intensity like nothing he had faced before. And the lightning that struck him felt far superior to even Azar's. But Kodak was then lifted from the flames, as a young woman in her 30s reeled him in.
He couldn't see her face very well, but the one thing he could remember was her snow white hair that had a purple hue to it.
His body then began to feel warm and safe. Almost like a gentle flame was slowly burning away the pain. Kodak then felt the woman lay his body onto the ground gently. She was very careful and kind, unlike most people he met. His vision then became clear, and his body was no longer in pain. He then stood up slowly as the woman supported him with some kind of re,d pink flower petals.
His eyes then peered at the woman, seeing her dark blue eyes. Kodak then muttered, "Y-You're Fumiko's mother, So-Yoon Haruka."
But before he could say anything else, he heard her soothing yet stern voice. "Shh, you might be in good physical shape now. But you're powers are sealed. I suggest we retreat and leave your father to take care of it."
Kodak then looked up, seeing his father crash into the ground. Horror entered Kodak's mind as he looked at Shiro's battered and mangled body. So-Yoon rushed to Shiro as red pink petals appeared around him, almost like they were pushing him back onto his feet.
Shiro stood tall as he looked towards his son with a broken nose, arm, and leg. His face was covered in bruises, cuts, and even burn marks.
Kodak called to Shiro, "DAD!" He tried to run, but upon trying to move, he fell right back down. His back was then seared in pain as he felt the strike from before coming back. He groaned and tensed in pain, but he tried to ignore the pain. Cause all he cared about was getting to his father safely and thoroughly.
But as he looked towards his father, he tried to move. He saw steam emanating from Shiro. All those injuries then began to slowly dissipate. His broken nose snapped back into place with a low crunching sound, and his broken limbs shifted back into place as well. And those bruises, cuts, and burn marks just seemingly faded into his skin.
His father then walked up to Kodak and placed his large palm on his son's head. His body felt renewed, almost like he had been reborn. The teal light then dissipated, and Kodak stood up, facing his father.
Shiro then placed his large calloused hands on Kodak's shoulders, "Listen to me, son. I am so damn proud of you. From the hardships you faced from being powerless, and the relationship you forged with Fumiko. And overall, the connection you have with the Haruka family."
Shiro's face then turned soft, and tears dripped down his face. "You alone ignited a repaired relationship between both the Kawanari family and the Haruka family. And I thank you with a heavy heart. So let me just help you with this."
Shiro's hand then moves from Kodak's shoulder to his sternum. A small blue light then brightly glowed, lighting up his skeleton. But as his bones glowed brighter and brighter, a man then appeared behind Shiro.
A dark fox mask covered his face as he spoke. His outfit was a black on black suit, and he wielded a dark red katana. "So that's the son of the self-proclaimed strongest. I have to say, your son disappoints me!" The fox mask man yelled.
The crimson blade then swung down towards Shiro's neck, but all Kodak could see was a cocky smirk across his father's face. "So-Yoon, gut him."
So-Yoon strikes the man's bicep tendon, causing the strange man to lose his weapon. The katana flies through the air and stops once it lands on the ground. Lodged deeply into the ground.
So-Yoon's eyes then become violent and bloodlusted. Her body then glows with a red aura, encasing her entire arm. Kodak then watches in shock as the strange man is impaled and torn in half by So-Yoon. Blood, guts, and flesh scatter across the ground.
"Holy shit," Kodak quietly muttered in shock upon seeing the gruesome sight unfold before him. So-Yoon then walks towards Shiro and Kodak, seeing the seal on Kodak's powerswase being removed. So-Yoon yells at Shiro, appalled by his decision. "THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, SHIRO!?"
Shiro then stopped the process with Kodak and stood in So-Yoon's face, menacingly. Regardless of whether he's unsure of his control, Kodak needs to fight in this cold world. Plus, it's only a tenth of his current strength. The seals will get weaker with time as he improves. He's full uncontrolled power was at A-Rank; right now, he's barely as strong as Azar. If you ask me, that's more than enough!"
The memory then ends as Kodak's eyes shift towards the door, seeing a familiar person, he holds closely to himself. "He,y Akuma," He spoke softly.
Akuma Kawanari was Kodak's sister, a 17-year-old girl who had ginger brown hair. While she had awakened her I.R.T. 5 years sooner than Kodak, her body couldn't handle it. Thus, making her very sickly.
Kodak then stands from the side of his bed and hugs his sister tightly. "Akuma?" He asked curiously.
Akuma slightly groaned from the tight hug, but answered regardless. "Y-Yes, Kodak?"
"Do you and your mother ever wish to become well again?"
Akuma's eyes then looked up at Kodak with a serious look. "What's gotten into you?" She said in a tone that showed she was deeply offended.
Kodak then released Akuma of the hug, quickly realizing what he had just done. "Shit, I didn't mean it like that!"
"Then what did you mean by it, like, may I ask?!" Akuma's tone was now coarse and aggressive. Not the type of situation Kodak wanted.
Akuma then glared at Kodak as she saw his deadpan stare. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT-"
Her voice then stops short as she glows a ginger light and coughs up blood. Kodak rushes in and strikes her sternum, lightly. "If I didn't learn revenant pressure points, then Akuma would've been in a lot of pain."
Her body then limp, falling towards Kodak as he extends his arms out to catch her. His footsteps gently tapped on the wooden floorboards of the house.
Kodak then turns to his left after taking a couple of steps, revealing a door that says: "Akuma's Room. Knock first!"
He lightly chuckled as he looked back at his sister sleeping in his arms. "Sorry, sis, can't knock this time," He said in a joking tone.
He then gently lays Akuma in her bed and tucks her into the large amounts of soft blankets and pillows.
Kodak starts walking down the opposite end of the hallway in his home and finds his mother, Dal-Hee Kawanari. A woman with long, black, and silky hair. Her face was soft, but very pale. Anytime Kodak entered the room, it was like he had seen a ghost.
But he didn't care what his mother looked like much, and only did what his father did before. Taking care of his dear sweet mother and sister.
A soft, yet sickly voice then called out from his mother. "Kodak dear, is that you?" She said that before a rough and coarse cough followed up.
His coughing echoed roughly in the room, causing Kodak to rush to her aid. His hands softly held his mother as he gently laid her body back down on the bed. A face of sorrow and pity washed over Kodak's face. Tears then fell his face as they dripped onto the soft blanket.
"Mom... p-please don't push yourself so much," Kodak said while tears rolled down his sorrow-filled face. "I couldn't bear the mere thought of losing you, Mom!"
Dal-Hee softly smiled through her pain, trying not to "burden" her son any further. "Don't think then, Kodak. " She said in that same motherly tone of hers. "Act. If you don't act now, then what was the point of it all? Take action to do the things you deserve in life. Like school."
Kodak shook his head in denial at his mother's words. "I can't, you and Akuma are all I have left. Dad is probably dead. And nothing feels the same anymore. I just wanna disappear already!"
A light, yet firm slap then struck Kodak's face, leaving a bright red mark. He then looked down, seeing that his mother was the one to smack him out of it.
"Is that what a Kawanari would do, Kodak?" She asked in a soft but stern tone. "Would your father give up so easily?"
Kodak's eyes then widened in shock. "No way, Dad never gave up, he was so damn stubborn and unyielding. Even when he was fighting in that arena 18 months ago!"
Dal-Hee then smiled at her son, holding his face with her small, pale hands. "Then don't give up. Stay a true Kawanari. Remember what your father is trying and what he knows you can do. Remember that you are capable now. Cause you have a great ability. Now let me go."
Kodak then looks at the heart rate monitor; the deafening sound of his mother flatlining echoes in his home. Tears ran profusely down his face as he clutched the sheets of his mother's bed tightly.
Several minutes then passed as Kodak lay by his mother's bedside. His tears have soaked the small spot where he had his head, crying into it.
His head then lifted off the blanket., Kodak didn't know what to think. Should he be angry, sad, or feel regret? Regardless, he didn't even know how he should feel.
The only thing he could do was pick up his phone and dial the doctors, so he could get a proper burial for his mother.
---
Akuma and Kodak stood over a grave that reads: Dal-Hee Kawanari. Born in 1973. Deceased in 2017.
His sister hugged the stone, crying her heart out. "Why'd she have to go... why did dad get kidnapped?!"
Kodak wanted to reach out to his sister, but he hesitated. Maybe it was the fact that his sister and he argued. Or maybe it was the hallucinations of blood being stained on his hands that lingered still.
Either way, he felt conflicted. He then saw a screen from the system appear, trying to tell him something.
[Innate Technique needs to be trained!]
[Continuous slacking off from training will lower your rank from C-Rank to D-Rank!]
"Get the hell out of my face," He thought to himself angrily. His fists clenched tightly as his mind cursed at him and the powers he had. "I hate this power. I hate the warmth of blood staining these hands. I hate my incompetence!"
Kodak then watched as the system's interface disappeared after a brief message.
[Rank has been lowered to D-Rank!]
But he didn't even look at the message. He only just stood there watching his sobbing sister cling tightly to his mother's grave. Kodak hated it. He hated seeing his sister in such distress. He hated that his family was reduced to just him and his sister. But most of all, he hated how powerless he felt.
Kodak just wished he'd disappear already. But that thought of him disappearing was quickly shut down as a voice echoed in the graveyard. "Akuma, Kodak. We need to talk."
The siblings' heads turn swiftly as they see an old man with silver hair dressed in black boots, dark blue jeans, and a white shirt underneath the leather jacket he wore.
Kodak's face then wore a shocked look as he looked at the old man. "Uncle Kenzo." His tone was appalled to see his uncle, but even more so after what he and his father had fought over.
"But dad said you were not to even come near us?!" Kodak said in the same shocked tone once more. "Ever since that scuffle you two had, you were told to never come near us."
Kenzo softly chuckled at Kodak's words. "Well, here I am. For my cherished nephew and niece."
Akuma's face turned bright with joy as she ran across the graveyard, only to make it a couple of feet before her body gave out. She then started coughing violently as Kenzo and Kodak rushed immediately to her aid.
"Akuma!"
Kodak's knees slide and grind against the ground as he rushes to his sister. His arms pull his sister into his embrace. His face builds with panic as he feels Akuma's chest rising up and down rapidly. She was hyperventilating, but what scared him was the increased sound of her heartbeat.
"No. No, no, no, no. Please stay with me, Akuma!" Kodak's face fills with further with his worrisome look, and tears swell up in his black eyes.
But as his tears swelled up further, Kodak sees Kenzo placing his hand on Akuma's sternum. And her rapid breathing starts to slow down. Relief washes over Kodak as Kenzo removes his hand from Akuma's sternum.
"Guess it hasn't been easy for you both since Shiro got snatched?" Kenzo said in a considerate and reassuring voice.
Kodak looked up as he felt Kenzo's arm pulling him in for a warm hug. "Yeah, it hasn't been. Even more so after mom's passing."
Kenzo then smiled gently as he saw Kodak's eyes starting to tear up again. "Keep your head up kid. Cause I have an offer for you."
Kodak then lifted up his head, showing an expression full of hope. "An offer?"