January 7th 2334
The boat rocks back and forth on the water. This cruise ship was turned into an arc of sorts, a final hope for the Japanese people. As much of their culture and people as they could manage have been placed on these 10 cruise ships. They've of course been modified with weapons and armour but in the end they're still cruise ships. Hardly made for this kind of voyage. Why am I here? I look into the distance and get a last look at the country of Japan. Fire everywhere, white buildings being bombarded by projectiles of various properties until finally being disintegrated, the island itself has being fractured by the S rank (is that what they call them?) kaiju gold digger. It's slowly flipping a third of the island
like a table. If it wasn't for Hatsumi I may have been left there by these people. She's the reason gold digger hasn't followed us. She's the best of them. I step away from the edge of the boat and walk past all the gawking spectators. I can hardly blame them. It's as if lord star fall himself had done the deed. Walking past all these people really highlights how I don't belong here. My purple hair and elegant black dress is 1 thing, my pale skin compared to everyone here is a little more noticeable.
"M!" A summer song calls out to me. I look and quickly see Hatsumi walking towards me, still in her golden red ranger uniform, modelled like the samurai of long ago. It's amazing to think that she's the top of japans ranger force even while pregnant. What a beautiful woman.
"Good day Hatsumi." I respond with a curtsy. As I do I see she's also holding young Satoshi's right hand, a squishy sword toy in his other. His slicked back hair has just a tad too much gel in it but the last time I commented on it Hatsumi scolded me. 'He's only 6!' She insisted while trying not to appear adorable. She failed.
"There you are." The bespectacled oath says. wrapping an arm around Hatsumis shoulder, the ring on his finger being quite noticeable. Don't kill him don't kill him don't kill him.
"Kaito, shouldn't you be at the wheel?" She asks while giving him a kiss on the cheek. I do my best not to hurl.
"I was told by the crew to take a break. Something about 'Combating fatigue'. So I thought I'd take the time to see you all." As unpleasant as I find his mere existence, I can't deny that his efforts on this project have been admirable. Constructing them, trying to get as many on board as he could, he even shot a rich man cutting the line If I remember correctly. May be the only time I've ever liked him. But he also married Hatsumi even though he knew how I felt towards her so maybe I will still turn him into a frog.
"When can I fight them daddy?" Satoshi asks while pointing his toy sword at what used to be Japan. His father pats his son on the head.
"Well champ, you can fight the kaiju when I'm dead and buried." The boy pouts at this. He also understands that his father is the worst. He will be spared from the frogification.
"Oh hey M. Good to see you." He reaches his hand out for a handshake. He will get nothing. I stare at him dead in the eyes. He loses our
staring contest like the last 209 times.
"M…" Hatsumi says while giving me the look. I shake his hand reluctantly. Don't replace his blood with poison yet.
"We should catch up at some point, maybe on slightly less tragic circumstances." He says and the smile slips for a moment. I guess even an oath can be affected by tragedy. Even if maybe he could have done a bit more to help.
"I just wish I could have stayed longer to help. So many people died and I couldn't help them." Hatsumi looks at the ground and my heart breaks.
"There was nothing else you could have done Hatsumi. Everyone here is only alive because of you." I take her hands in my own.
"M is right. Plus, you saved the life of our baby." He says while placing a hand on her belly. Hm.
"Mommy saved my baby brother!" Satoshi says happily.
"Thank you." Hatsumi tries to bow in appreciation but almost falls over. I catch her before Kaito can. I give him a look of superiority but like every other times he doesn't pick up on it.
"Thank you M. Are you ok?" He asks Hatsumi.
"Yes, just a little light headed. Gold diggers drills are much stronger than they seem." That thing hit her?! Full force?! Next time I see it I'm going to dissolve its skeleton! I can accept harm to anyone else but not her! "I thought I felt him kick for a second.".
"Have you chosen a name yet?" I ask.
"Not yet. We'll figure 1 out eventually." A shadow falls over us all as the third of Japan rises as high as it will go and has begun to sink. Luckily the boats should be able to survive the oncoming waves. I'm surprised by the awe on everyone's faces for a second before I remember that these people probably didn't know this level of power was possible. I'm more focused on the boat that's closest to us. It seems the Japanese boat wishes to follow in the footsteps of its homeland. Others soon notice and rescue efforts are made. Many don't survive. I feel a pain in my chest, I don't know where it came from or why I'm feeling it, but I'll have to endeavour to purge it at some point.
February 17th 2334
8 boats remain now. Food has been plentiful. While we have faced attacks from a flock of D class Kaiju, I have made sure to keep the aquatic Kaiju at bay without anyone seeing them. I'm not quite sure why but Hatsumi has been volunteering at the kitchen. Of course this means that I have been as well. I use my powers to improve the quality of the vegetables and even the meat, although that has proven less effective. Having to hide it has been frustrating but I've grown used to it these past few years. I've tried to convince her to rest, especially with her pregnancy but she won't listen. I could make her. It wouldn't be too difficult. There's something strange about the baby, it hurts her in ways the doctors don't understand. But I do. The baby has horns. Tiny, sharp blue horns. They scrape against her insides, cutting things that shouldn't be cut. I could help her, make the baby go away. Remove the danger to her life. But I can't. If I did I doubt I'd ever see her smile again. Even if she never knew it was me. Plus, I'd rather not kill a baby myself.
"Is mommy going to be ok?" Satoshi surprises me and I jump. I look down and he's tugging at my dress. This fills me with a near
uncontrollable rage but I suppress it for the child. I crouch down and try to give a comforting smile. I don't think I do a good job.
"Maybe. It's just that your brother is causing some complications. You see I would recommend an abortion but-" I stop when it dawns on me how inappropriate it is to say that to him. Talking to humans is so difficult! Luckily he doesn't seem to know what that means and no one else heard.
"If I fight my brother, will mommy be ok?" That sounds quite amusing but I likely shouldn't encourage it.
"Probably not. I'm not even sure how that would work." I give him a slight pat on the head and then go back to help Hatsumi.
"What was Satoshi asking about?" Hatsumi asks while cutting the carrots expertly.
"He wishes to know if you will be ok. He sees that the baby is hurting you." I respond while cutting at a much slower rate.
"Did he ask to fight his unborn brother by any chance?".
"Perhaps.".
"Keeping him company is so helpful. Thank you M. You're an amazing friend." Yes. Friend. That is all.
"It's no problem. My apologies, but would you mind if I took a break? I'll be gone for only a few minutes I swear." I say as I sense an A
class Kaiju swimming beneath us.
"You don't have to appease me M. You can do what you like." I give her a slight bow in appreciation before walking away. I ignore Kaito attempting to greet me and make it to my cabin. These boats are truly impressive with how much room they possess. But what is happening with that baby? It's different from a normal mutation, it's like he was always meant to be born like that. And what human is born with blue horns? Is he somehow similar to the red knight? No, that can't be. These cases are too different. There's no way anyone would use something like that on an infant. As I sit on the bed I let go of the minor illusion I was using and allow my eyes to return to their natural cat like appearance. Don't need anyone knowing I'm a witch after all.
"Here we go." I stand up and open the window. I close my eyes and raise my hand out to better sense the creatures location. It's a mile underwater, right beneath us. The creature appears to be a 200 metres long crocodile of sorts. It's charging up some sort of energy in its mouth and likely intends to use it on this vessel. This shouldn't be too difficult, just need to make sure I don't miss. Obviously I won't but it's good to air on the side of caution. I create a small drop of purple liquid and have it float in my hand for a moment. I adjust my aim by following the creatures pink flame. Then I release the drop, launching it into the water at hundreds of times the speed of sound. It travels down quickly, resistance from the water doing little to slow it down, especially when I keep the water out of the way. It soon pierces the kaiju and goes right past it, so I turn the droplet around and have it go through the kaiju a few more times. Eventually I stop and walk back into my room to grab a book. The creature should be regenerating by now. After all, with its size those holes are barely perceptible to it. But the poison is now in its systems. The beast will be dead in less than a minute. Same goes with the people on that boat if they don't deal with that mutiny. Should I do
something about it?
July 19th 2334
With 7 ships remaining we continue on our voyage to new London, 1 of the only places that may take these people in. Hatsumi, being 1 of the only Ranger force members on the boat and definitely the strongest, has been putting in a lot of work to keep attacking Kaiju at bay. The flames from her attacks filled the sky like a scorching rainbow, heat and power more intense than any volcano. But as amazing as she is, there's still clearly a problem. She can only go so fast without using her dilation drive, and she won't use it because of the risk to the baby. I help when I can of course, when no one's looking. Satoshi is constantly picking fights with the other children, I was asked not to let him go too far but it's also quite entertaining so I'm very conflicted. Kaito has grown out a beard that makes him look as disheveled as his personality. I also turned him into a frog a few nights ago but talked myself out of doing anything else for some reason. I turned him back soon after. All in all, things could be going much worse. Until today. With the pregnancy reaching its final stages, it became harder and harder to hide the fact that there was something very strange. Namely, again, that it HAD HORNS! So a meeting on the deck was set up where Hatsumi and Kaito explained everything to the passengers. I insisted on pushing her wheelchair for her. Reactions were obviously mixed.
"So your telling me her baby has horns?!" A fisherman named Ryuji was the most vocal about it.
"Yes sir, our baby has developed some sort of mutation. We're holding this meeting to make sure everyone is aware and take any suggestions on how to move forward." Kaito said calmly.
"So if I understand this correctly, the little psycho over there is normal." He indicates to Satoshi who is busy playing with his toy sword. "But now this 1 has bloody horns?!".
"That is correct.".
"That's not a mutation. That's a demon!" Many cheer for the man who doesn't know how mutations work. I tighten my grip on the wheelchairs handles.
"Mr Ryuji! My son is not a demon!" Hatsumi suddenly stands up. Both I and Kaito know that we should do something, but neither of us actually do it.
"Then why does he have horns?! Why is he killing you?! And why won't you just kill the thing?!" He stops his ranting when a small object hits him. It's a toy sword as thrown by the impressively accurate Satoshi.
"Leave my brother alone!" He yells with tears in his eyes. The realisation that his words caused a child to cry seems to have taken some of the wind out of their sails. If there's 1 thing I can appreciate about humanity it's how many phrases they have. But a child crying is no match for the power of mob mentality. Even if 1 of them think they might be wrong, they can just look around and see that these people probably agree with them, so how
could they ever be wrong? As the shouting starts again, even more vicious than before, I make a mistake. In my anger at them threatening the person I love, I release a small amount of my magic. Not much, just a wave of energy that won't affect them, but they feel it. The feeling of being stuck at the bottom of the ocean, light always there but just out of reach. The knowledge that you'll die but always with the option to swim uselessly. I gift it to them for a brief moment before I calm myself down. But it's enough. For everyone. I know that much when I see the look of shock on Hatsumi's face. That shock is mixed with a fear I can't stand. When Kaito gently tries to take the wheelchair from me, I walk away quickly. This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come on board. Getting attached was the wrong decision.
"M wait!" Hatsumi yells as she follows my in her wheelchair.
"Go away." I tell her in what I will admit was a petulant way. I continue to walk until she grabs my wrist. I grip the arm she's holding tightly. It's the only way I can deal with the stress.
"What was that?" Even now she remains patient with me.
"Not a clue." I shall dig deeper until there is no deeper to go.
"I've felt pressure from opponents before. It felt similar but different. Like…".
"Like magic?" I cut her off. I believe that's the first time I've ever done that. "To be clear, it's not in the way you may imagine it. It's technically not actual magic." I
pull my hand away from her. "I just couldn't handle them talking to you like that." Now's the time! Tell her how you feel!
"Thank you. Truth be told I was about to go off on them myself. They want me to kill my baby. Can you believe that?" I keep silent. I've lied to her enough. "Oh M. Really?".
"It would be the logical thing to do. As much as I hate them they weren't wrong about that part. I could… get rid of it for you.".
"Are you offering me a magic abortion?! No! Don't call him it!".
"Why are you being like this?!" I yell at her. This is the first time I've been mad at her since we met.
"Because it's my choice! And he didn't get to choose to have horns!".
"Just let me help you! I honestly don't know why you won't let me!".
"Because your honesty clearly meant so much!" She grips at her hair and cries despite the sarcastic comment.
"What does it even matter. Why risk you for a single baby?! What would he even grow up to be?! What could he become that would make losing you worth it?!".
"He doesn't need to do anything to deserve to live!" After that she stops, like something more important catches her attention. Do I really mean that little to her? "I think he's coming.".
"What?".
"The baby. I think it's time." She says through pained groans. Now?! Without saying another word I wheel her to the ship infirmary. I call for Kaito, as much as I hate him, he should know about this. It's then that it strikes me how ridiculous Hatsumi actually is. She was fighting A ranks and even took a direct hit from gold digger while pregnant. All the way until the very end. It makes me wonder if S could beat her. Probably yes but it would be closer than I initially thought. I'm cut off from my slightly childish thoughts by her screaming. The baby's horns are dragging against her insides. The doctors can't get it out without killing her. That's it. I'm going in. It has to go. I step into the infirmary and subconsciously sanitise myself with my powers. The doctors know to stay out of my way. I ignore Kaitos concerned yells as I prepare for the 'operation'. It's simple really, I can't get rid of the horns by themselves, but a few drops of my poison will dissolve the baby and save her. I summon 3 drops and prepare to insert them. But then I see a bump. A tiny point where 1 of the horns likely is. That's a baby. An actual living baby. A baby Hatsumi loves. What am I doing? She doesn't even want it. Without thinking I absorb the poison and move onto plan b. Or really plan z given that I never thought about it. I use my powers and connect with her cells. As carefully as I
can, as slowly as I can, I reorganise the cells in the way and gently pull the baby out. Biology manipulation is absolutely not my specialty, I haven't used it with such focus since Louhi was shot. But if it can save Hatsumi and her happiness then I'll do it. Once I've safely removed the baby, I seal up as many of Hatsumi's wounds as I can. She will live, but I can't guarantee her condition beyond that. I cut the tube in what may be the cleanest method seen in history, given that the cells are literally separating themselves instead of being cut. I hold the baby in my arms as he starts crying, his blue horns almost glowing in the light. With Hatsumi unconscious and Kaito outside, I
start to rock him in my blood soaked arms.
"It's ok Haruo. It's ok." I don't know why I called him that. It's incredibly unfair to Hatsumi and Kaito to name him. With the baby still crying I start to sing to him. "Hush little baby don't say a word…".
August 2nd
5 ships remain. The baby has been mostly pleasant, excluding all the typical baby behaviour of course. Although many of the ship's passengers have been doing their best to stay away from him. Ryuji even tried to get a different ship to take him. That discussion went out the proverbial window when I cut in. Satoshi has taken up carrying his brother in a make shift backpack which seems safe but I am also no expert on babies so who knows. He refers to it as 'strength training' but I can't imagine that a baby is that heavy. Hatsumi has been distant lately, with her health on a slow decline she hasn't been able to protect the ships as well as before. The other rangers have tried to pick up the slack but there's only so much they can do. It's clearly taking a toll on her mental health and I'm not sure what to do. I even took the time to seek out Kaito in private, I used to shudder at the Mere thought. I slam my hand into the wall next to his head, leaving a few cracks.
"M! What the heck?!" He slides his glasses up his nose.
"First of all, I'm going to tell you something I've done my best to keep from you. I don't like you." I give him a minute to process this
revelation.
"Is that right?" He asks with a confused smile.
"But I do like Hatsumi, and she likes you, so I tolerate you." Another crack appears as I apply more force into the wall.
"Well thank you." He says like he's in a hurry.
"And now your going to pay me back for the trouble. I'd like to go speak to Hatsumi. Is that understood?" I lock eyes with him and show off my true eyes.
"Ok. Hatsumi can talk to whoever she wants. She's her own person." My opinion of him has improved by a near imperceptible amount.
"And to be clear, your going to stay out of it ok?" I pull my hand away and feel slightly bad for damaging the wall. It was made by people
other than Kaito and he's 1 of only 2 people I dislike.
"Ok, I kind of need to get back to work so if you don't mind." He scoots past me and heads off to captain the ship. I wait there for a
moment because I feel like he wasn't taking me seriously enough before I remember to pick my battles. I navigate through the crowded halls of the vessel, living space has been a bit more tight since there are less ships now. Not exactly a problem for me, nobody wants to room with a witch. Humans arestrange. But that's ok. I'll still save the world for them. If I don't then they may not recover. I pass by the cafeteria and catch a glimpse of Satoshi going over to Ryuji, who's discussing something with his fishing friends. I keep going but keep close tabs on them. The flames aren't too distinct from each other but it's still a simple enough task, especially with Haruo there, the horns make his flame pretty distinct. I'm just not too keen on those 2 being near 1 of the 2 people I dislike. For now though it just seems like Satoshi is pestering them for something. I soon make it to Hatsumi's quarters and knock. I already know she's in there but I feel like she needs to know that I'll ask. She doesn't get out of bed, she can hear the knocks but she won't respond.
"Hatsumi, could we please talk? I have something of utmost importance I'd like to discuss with you." She hears but just continues to read the book she has. I can't tell what it is though. I should train a bit more, this is embarrassing. As I get more frustrated rain starts to pour intensely from the sky but I hardly notice. "I understand that your likely upset with me and feeling quite low with everything that's happened. But I want you to know that I'm truly sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it." She actually sits up!
Progress has occurred!
"Why not just force the door open?" A very good question. Would hardly be that difficult.
"Because I care about your wishes.".
"Funny.".
"Please don't say that! I know I lied about what I was, but I didn't lie about caring about you!" A single tear falls from my face. I hate this! I should have never gone to Japan! I'm too busy wallowing in my own misery to realise that the door has open. Hatsumi is standing there, pale as a sheet with bags under her eyes, she's clearly not been sleeping enough. She's using her IV stand to
help her keep standing. I quickly realise how wrong it was of me to do this.
"M I under-" she doesn't finish as she almost falls over. I quickly catch her in a princess carry, showing off the most physical strength I've shown since we met. I hastily carry her back to bed. I wish I'd gotten to do this in less depressing circumstances.
"I'm sorry for this. This was unfair of me." I place her back down on her bed, another thing I've always wanted to do.
"M your fine." She sternly places a hand on mine. "I'm just glad you're here. I've been wanting to spend some time with you." I wanna marry her!
"Yes of course. It's just that you've been avoiding me is all. I assumed you wanted some space after all that's happened." Was I being considerate or inconsiderate?
"Thank you for being considerate of my feelings." That answers that then. "But would you like to play chess with me? Satoshi has
taught me a new move." Even in her current state, her smile is truly radiant.
"But your both horrible at chess. I think the baby could do better."she starts to weakly beat me with her fists like a child. OH MY GOSH SHES SO CUTE!!!
"Your so mean M. I'll beat you this time for sure!" I then proceeded to beat her another 7 times before she gave up. I soon afterwards
stopped the rain when I realised that Ryuji was teaching the boys about fishing. He can stay as a human for a little longer then.
August 15th 2334
A single ship remains. The storm has raged for a week. As many people have been stuffed on this single vessel as possible. That's mostly fine, we've almost completed this difficult voyage. But with thunder and winds and waves of gargantuan proportions, it's still an uphill battle. Hatsumi and the few other rangers have taken it upon themselves to defend the ships as best they can, smashing flying debris, cutting open waves which assumed only happens in fiction and tearing through the flock of D ranks. There must be thousands of them. The rivers of fire she creates in the air with her red blade are truly impressive. As the city becomes visible on the horizon it becomes clear to me at least that things may not go according to plan. The waves are crashing into the underdeveloped beaches and continuing on from there. There are hundreds of C and B ranks along with at least a dozen A ranks. Blasts of molten lava, sonic screams, hypnotic glances, viruses, high pressure water cutters, just hitting things very hard. Theres a frankly obscene amount of abilities on display. The ranger force of this country is putting in a decent fight as well but both sides are suffering heavy casualties, the big problem is that those losses mean much more to the humans. That's why they're always at such a disadvantage in these attacks, and the big guns haven't even taken to the stage yet. I can see their silhouette in the sky behind the clouds, lighting illuminating the avian form. I create many chains from my poison to keep the ship together, crystallising the liquid to minimise the threat to biological life.this whole thing feels a little awkward to me. I meditate in my bed to better control my abilities when I realise something slightly concerning. The waves are getting more intense. Even with all the effort everyone is putting into this, it's not enough. This becomes apparent to more than just me when a strange feeling of vertigo washed over all of us. I can sense Kaito and his crew doing everything they can to keep the ship stable but there's only so much they can do. We quickly make it to the city but not in the way any of these people wanted. The ship rides the tidal waves like one of those 'surfer dudes' Hatsumi tried to introduce me to back then. In a split second decision I spread my senses across the ship as sensitive as I can. I then use my powers to generate large floating orbs of water next to everyone who wasn't secured so they can crash into them and not die. Hatsumi uses her dilation drive to move throughout the ship and save those that I couldn't get. Was that the right thing to do? I hate how conflicted I feel!
"Brace for impact!" Kaito tells his crew as the ship crashes into the cliff on the beach we were heading to, the front end digging very deep inside, practically creating a cave. Thanks to our efforts though, no one has died. On this specific instance. Before anyone can even gain their bearings, a bear like Kaiju starts tearing the crashed vessel apart. Each person does what they can, from the mundane like Ryuji leading Satoshi and Haruo off the ship to the extraordinary like the rangers slicing through the hoard of attacking Kaiju. Even without their mechs they are still formidable.
"Doing this today seems pointless." I say as I jump down to the beach. Hatsumi has already moved further into the city to deal with Kaiju and help with the flood. I don't think she's thought this through. She's still dealing with not being able to save everyone. This trip started with 50000 passengers and ended with 500. I decide to go after the boys to keep them out of trouble. Powerful I may be, it would be quite difficult to keep up with her like this. As for Kaito… good luck. With the perimeter somewhat secured these people will most likely be fine. Several more bear Kaiju attack me for some reason, my chains tear them apart without me looking. Ryuji and the boys are being chased by an E rank canine Kaiju. Even with it being so week there's not much they can do but run up a hill and let the trees slow it down. Conveniently the tip of this hill is right over the new cave so it's a simple matter of me boosting myself up the cliff with some bursts of water. I reach the top at the same time they did, the Kaiju just behind them. I send a poison droplet straight into its heart and it dies immediately. I'm very good at this.
"Thanks lady. Where'd you get moves like that?" He asks while holding both boys in his arms.
"We aren't friends. Don't pretend to care." I say as I realise that someone is walking up the hill. You wouldn't be able to hear them if you weren't a witch. Maybe 'hear' is the wrong word. I can certainly sense them though. They become visible with a flash of lightning, the dark clouds and bellowing winds adding quite well to the intimidating effect. They are covered head to toe in grey rags, tanned skin and a gold eye peeking through. Why now? "Not these ones!" I yell at them as they get closer. I know they hear me but no response is given aside from another step. Is it because I'm here, or something
else?
"Who is that?" Satoshi asks. That seems to trigger them somewhat as they leap faster than the others can perceive. Their arm turns into a sharp claw that nearly digs into Ryujis non existent heart. I push him hard enough to break his arm, launching him into a tree. At
least he still has his heart. So he better thank me after this.
"Did you not hear me? Not them. I need at least the children alive!" The glare they give is telling, as is what they say.
"Are you sure?" It's a simple question but also very sobering. I step back as conflicting feelings flood my body. As Satoshi stumbles back his carrier for his brother loosens, causing him to fall to the ground and cry even harder. Satoshi himself has also started crying, all around it's a very annoying situation. A claw rushes past me but is blocked by a red blade.
"Get away from my sons!" Her emotions clear through the visor. They both separate and Satoshi runs to hug her leg.
"Mommy!" She places her hand on his head to comfort him.
"Take care of them M." She looks at me, surprising me. I almost forgot I'm here. We could win if I help. But I can't move. Is this the right thing to do? They both clash at lightning speed. Hatsumi crashes through multiple trees. As the person I love is on the back foot, the colossal avian kaiju from before finally descends. With a flap of its wings dozens of buildings are practically atomised to create a flat surface to stand on. Almost like the world itself was making room. It's huge blue eyes focus on our location, even miles away. At this point Satoshi has passed out, I won't blame him. I feel a bit bad that he doesn't see what's next though. My heart skips a beat as Hatsumi gets up again and charges, using the dilation drive to speed up. That may have made things worse, as the armoured hand crashes into her and doesn't give way, flinging her back where she started with a few more cracked ribs. WHY WONT I DO ANYTHING?! She's even getting up again and I still won't help!
"I won't let you hurt them." She utters through a quivering voice. "They need to grow up. You can't take that from them, or anyone." Hatsumi's entire body ignites before all the flame condense into her sword. The now golden blade looks impressive, but her opponent has adapted by now. That doesn't
seem to deter my love as she charges in again at speeds I can barely follow. How much pressure is the dilation drive putting on her? As she charges though she tosses the blade into the air. Her opponents gaze follows it for just a moment, but enough. Hatsumi lands a solid punch to the face, knocking them to the ground. Afterwards she catches the sword again, all the rain turning to steam as she brings it down before being blocked by claws. They struggle for a good 15 seconds, screaming all the while before the blade finally cuts through both arms. Why won't I say her name? Even when she's dismembered I don't. Did that really just happen? How? No human should be able to do that! The opponent simply sits on the muddy ground and looks at the stumps that used to be their arms. I feel bad for them if only slightly. How long will that take to heal?
Maybe I don't think about her name because it lets me separate from all of this. I'm about to run over and congratulate Hatsumi when I sense it. Her heart has stopped. It stopped 2 minutes ago. I step away as she cradles her sons. I cry along with Ryuji as Hatsumi whispers her final words into the ears of boys who can't hear them. I don't allow emotion to show on my face even as I continue to cry. I walk away as I realise too late how horrible this all is. Why did any of this need to happen? How could this possibly be worth it?! What did I do wrong?!
November 3rd 2355
Why am I thinking about that now? I was so naïve. It was obvious what I did wrong in the end. The idea that you can love a single human if you want to save them is ridiculous. I opened my heart and I payed the price in pain. That was my lesson to learn. Aside from that lesson there was nothing else gained in those years. But even so, we have granted Hatsumi's last wish. With that her memory
can finally be left alone. No one needs to think about her anymore. Least of all me.