PART II–THE ENCOUNTER
-Saturday, 9.10 p.m., Yozora's house-
It was a clear night. My parents were in the living room, absorbed in some old film, its blue glow spilling into the hallway. The familiar, heavy silence of the house settled around me, the kind that made my own thoughts too loud. I grabbed my bag—phone, money, and some other equipment- This was it. My one stupid, glorious rebellion.
I locked my door, killed the lights, and slid the window open. The night air was cool, a shock against my skin. It didn't smell like quiet disapproval and floor polish. It smelled like freedom and distant rain. Moonlight, sharp and bright, washed over me. Below, the neighborhood was a tapestry of warm, ordinary lights. Crickets chirped a steady rhythm. For a moment, I just breathed it in. This was the opposite of my room. This was alive.
I crawled out from the window, walking on top of the walls as the wind breezed me.
I walked down the path, as I jumped off the wall, I glanced at the pathway down to HoshiRamen, street lights shining on the pathway. I walked through the streets, as I checked my time- 9.15 p.m. I saw it, the silent neighbourhood. "Soon." I whispered into my mind. There were food stalls everywhere, buildings with bright light and crowded restaurants.
"Buy one free one"
"Come taste our delicious ramen"
I heard marketers promoting their stalls and restaurants everywhere. The streets were noisy and crowded.
I eventually arrived at HoshiRamen.
I pushed through the front door, as I saw my friends at the table in the corner.
They greeted me with a wave.
"Finally!" Kaito's pulse quickened.
"We waited so long for you!" Hayato stood up, and walked towards me.
November 10th,2014
Saturday,9.30p.m.
-HoshiRamen-
"I'm glad everybody's here!" Kaito clapped his hands with excitement.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Akira's eyes lit up.
"I'm having an unsafe feeling about this one…" Renjiro glanced outside from the window of the pizzeria.
"Nah it'll be fine." Hayato gave a thumbs up with a grin.
"It's better to be safe than sorry-" Renjiro glanced at the unrepaired street lights.
"IT'S ALRIGHT, WE GOT IT!" I grinned with confidence.
"Did you guys come prepared?" Kaito took out a bag full of tools.
"Who cares? We got five people. How could one stop us when they are clearly outnumbered!" Akira mocked Kaito's words.
"Well you never know what's lurking in the rift…" Renjiro's lips went dry.
"It could be something stronger than what we expected, but it's fine, I mean you guys have me on your team. The greatest footballer in Hoshizora!" Hayato pointed to himself with confidence.
"Enough chit-chatting! We have no time to waste!" I covered Hayato's mouth with my palm.
"Let's go!" Akira gestured to get out of the pizzeria.
"It's okay if you didn't come prepared, me and Akira had prepared. Come on, I'll be the guide to the area." Kaito pushed Akira aside and gestured to the team to follow him.
"I can't wait to see what's inside the rift!" Akira simpered.
"This is gonna be the discovery of the century!" I licked my lips.
"I hope we don't die in there…" Renjiro stared far into the dark neighbourhood while having trembling hands.
"Don't worry Ren. Like I said, we are an unstoppable team!" Hayato patted Renjiro's shoulder with his warm hand.
Renjiro tilted his head to the ground, a strong breeze chilled the entire squad.
"Oh come on, Ren! Aren't you thrilled for our bizarre adventure?" I lowered my head and glanced at Renjiro's pale face.
"..." Renjiro was stunned, his heart thumped like thunder.
I took a deep breath and looked up into the dark sky overcast by dark clouds.
(I can't wait to write my adventure in my diary after this!)
-Yozora's Diary-
Date:November 9th,2014
Hello! I'm Yozora Kurosaki. I'm currently 14 years old! I decided to start writing my very own diary from now on. I can write my unforgettable memories into this diary! I can't wait for tomorrow because I'm going on a bizarre adventure with my best friends. This is Yozora signing off.
As we walked through the neighbourhood,it was all empty and quiet,everyone had left for a temporary distance from the rift.The neighbourhood was built since the 1900's.It reminds me of something…,my grandfather's house.
-Yozora's mind-
I'm Yozora Kurosaki. I lost my grandfather at the age of 8. He was extremely kind and he always treated kids like a valuable treasure to him. Everyone in my neighbourhood loved him. To me, he was the greatest man I could ask for in my life.
The day he died, I isolated myself in my room for a few days. When I finally moved on, I realised. Life wasn't as good as before when my grandfather was still alive. I was always lonely at home since I was a single child. I even skipped school for a few days trying to move on, but it kept getting worse. The silence in the house is drastically destroying my mood everyday. I lost my appetite and even my own pride...My grandfather would always accompany me when I was lonely. I had no friends at school. Until after the day my grandfather died, it was a cold December and my family was celebrating Christmas. He left the last Christmas present for me.
It was a bracelet. It had my favourite charm on it and it must've cost a lot. Turns out,my grandfather was working harder than he ever did just to afford this bracelet for me.My family weren't wealthy, we were just slightly lower than the middle class. After that day, I wore the bracelet everyday,it ''mirrors'' my life with my grandfather in it. Everytime I look at it, it will always remind me of my grandfather. He even spent more time to work than resting. Tears flowed down to my cheeks. I promised to never lose it or break it. I decided to change the person I am.
In the next year, I became 10. I would try to make myself better everyday in order to regain my pride and joy, to never lose a core memory ever again. I met 5 new friends at school, which are Akira, Hayato, Renjiro and Kaito. We would hang out everyday. We even promised that our bond will never be broken. Until today, we are all in the same high school. Everytime my crush came closer, they would always say my name out loud. They are the only people who are keeping me mentally stable till this day.We would go on adventures such as vandalizing our most hated teacher's car,breaking into a farmer's farm and stealing their crops,prank calling our seniors and many more… They were the best friends I've ever met ever since I was young. I wish to not lose them even after we are living our own lives in the future...
"Yozora? Yozora?! Hello? Can you hear me?" Hayato waved his hand in front of my sight.
I shook my head and snapped back into reality.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something else." I swallowed hard.
"What were you thinking about? We have already arrived in the area." Hayato frowned.
"Oh! That was quick!" I glanced at the gate of the sealed area.
"Shh! There are mages patrolling the area, we must act quickly and keep the noises as low as possible." Kaito slapped his hand on my mouth.
"Alright, got it." As I murmured to Kaito.
Hayato peeked at the patrol.
"There are only two mages patrolling." Hayato quickly returned back to the squad.
"Let's get in quick!" Akira didn't hesitate to charge into the gate.
"Akira don't-! Are you insane?! Do you want the mages to hear us?!" Hayato pulled the collar of Akira's shirt.
"Who cares?! It's not like we've got enough time anyways! Stop acting like you're the leader of the squad! Idiot!" Akira broke free of Hayato's hand and turned around, as he said in a fierce tone.
"YOU-" Kaito laid his fingers on Hayato's lips.
"Shh! We've got no time to argue and we must keep our sounds as quiet as possible." Kaito muttered to the squad.
"Kaito, didn't you prepare equipment for our breach? Where is it at?!" Renjiro furrowed his eyebrows onto Kaito.
"Calm down, Ren. Here, catch them!" Kaito handed out ornaments to the squad.
"What are even these cursed ornaments? Woah!" I caught the ornament mid-air.
I glanced at the cold, ominous ornament in my cold palm.
"Do you see this barrier?" Kaito pointed at the barrier.
"Uhm, yes?" I responded.
"I'll keep this short for you, mage barrier, normal people like us can't get past it." Kaito touched the barrier, his hand wasn't able to phase through the barrier.
"What does this gotta do with these strange ornaments?" I walked closer to Kaito.
"Well you see, these ornaments grant us access to enter the barrier without any problems." The ornament burned cold in Kaito's palm, just like the night he got it, reminding him of an unpleasant memory.
"How does it work?" I responded.
"I'm not sure either...our goal ain't researching about this anyways!" Kaito avoided eye contact.
"How did you even get these?" Renjiro raised his suspicion in Kaito.
"I'll explain later-quick! Get inside! They are coming!" Kaito gestured to get in.
"Hey you kids! What are you all doing here?!" A mage looked in their way and noticed them sneaking.
"QUICK! HIDE!" Kaito looked back.
The squad managed to find a large bush and dived right into it.
"Shh!" Kaito put his fingers on his lips.
The mage failed to keep their eyes intact on the squad.
"Ken! Have you seen kids wandering around here?" The mage shouted.
"No, I have not seen any, there are kids who got in?" Ken hurried towards the mage.
"Yep, they are definitely hiding somewhere around here, keep searching!" The mage circled the sealed area with his fingers.
"Sigh, intruders are so hard to deal with." Ken sighed.
The mages continued their patrol.
"Guys! The coast is clear!" Akira whispered to the squad.
The squad got out from the bush when the mages went back to patrolling.
"So, care to explain now?" Renjiro crossed his arms while whispering softly to Kaito.
"From what I could remember...a stranger handed these out to me. It was like…" A chill went down to Kaito's spine.
-Flashback-
While Kaito was walking his way back to his home on Friday,he stumbled across a stranger following him, wearing a thick jacket and a mask to cover his face.
"Um, do I know you in any way?" Kaito slowly backs up, creating distance from him and the stranger.
"Oh no...I heard you and your friends were chit-chatting about breaking into the sealed area." As the stranger said in a deep voice, and leaned forward eagerly.
"How...How did you know that we were on this topic?" Kaito glanced away to find an escape route around the open area.
"Calm down...don't panic, I'm not here to hurt you." The stranger snickered.
"I'll admit it...I am an anomaly. Run if you want, it won't matter anyways." The stranger giggled.
"What do you want from me...?" Kaito's heart pounded heavily.
"I am here to help you. The sealed area has a barrier that prevents ordinary humans like you from entering." The stranger reached his palm onto Kaito.
"You're gonna help me...enter the barrier?" Kaito slowly backed up while his whole body trembled.
"Precisely. Here, take these ornaments." The stranger handed out cursed ornaments.
"Why should I trust you...?" Kaito swallowed hard.
"Don't you want to explore the rift? This is your only chance, Kaito Takahashi. If you don't accept this opportunity, you won't be entering the barrier with your friends." The stranger responded aggressively, the sharp voice of his piercing through Kaito's ears.
"That's true...you've got a point." Kaito's heart raced.
"Come on, take them." The stranger took out the ornaments.
"Alright...I've got no choice anyway…" Kaito grabbed the ornaments and ran swiftly into the direction of his home.
"That's all I can remember." Kaito tilted his head downwards.
"Why would an anomaly help us break into the rift? I don't understand." Renjiro glanced directly at the ornament.
"Hey guys! This is the warehouse that has the rift in it!" I ran to the sealed gate of the warehouse to the squad.
"It's blocked by the gate though. How are we getting in?" Hayato cracked his knuckles.
"This gate...It is made of a special material. It's extremely tough." Renjiro knocked on the gate.
"Fear not! I brought dynamites to blow this up since it is not resistant against blast power." Kaito pulled dynamites out from his bag.
"Wow Kaito, you're such a lifesaver!" I wiped off my sweat.
"My father keeps these in his basement to defend against armed robberies or massive attacks." Kaito responded.
"There are still security patrols around the area though…" Renjiro peeked around the warehouse and saw mages patrolling.
"Lucky for us we are one step ahead!" Kaito pulled out another stick of dynamite.
"Don't tell me…" Renjiro backed up with trembling legs.
"That's right, we have to create a distraction or else we can't get in there." Kaito grinned.
"We could end up in serious trouble though…" Hayato blocked the way of Kaito.
"I know...but we've got no choice and all of this will go to waste…" Kaito's grip began to loosen.
"Are you absolutely sure about this, Kaito?" I grabbed Kaito's arm with the dynamite while my hands shook.
"It is the best choice we've got. At least we could face the consequences together..., right?" Akira stared at Kaito.
"Aha! Found you guys! Stand still!" The mage cried at us.
"RUN! I'll deal with him!" Kaito shouted, his grip on the dynamite tightened.
"How are you gonna stop me, small fry!" The mage crossed his arms.
"Well…" Kaito pulls out a lighter, threatening to light up the dynamite while the rest of the squad runs away.
"Woah chill out kid...You don't have to do this…" Kaito panicked, but then he remembered something from the flashback.
-Flashback-
As Kaito was running away, the stranger stopped him.
"Hey kid. Wait!" The stranger shouted at Kaito.
"Yes...?" Kaito stopped running, he turned his head back.
"You may call me Zan. If you kids are ever caught by the mages, call me. I'll handle it." The stranger slowly approaches Kaito.
"But…" Kaito frowned.
"Do you want your breach to be successful?" Zan's eyes widened.
"Yes…" Kaito responded softly.
"Well then, call me if you need help, okay?" Zan patted Kaito's head.
"Alright…" Kaito trembled.
"ZAN! HELP ME!" Kaito screamed.
"Zan? Who are you talking about?!" The mage mocked Kaito.
"Well well well, what have we got here?" Zan walked behind the mage.
"Woah, back up, stranger." The mage clenched his glowing fists.
"Run, kid. I'll deal with this." Zan sharpened his nails.
"Tsk, you're a supporter of the kids?" The mage pulled out his sword.
"Temporary." Zan responded.
"I'll finish you off first, then the kids." The mage leaped forward with his sword.
"I'd like to see you try your best, Rio Aoi." Zan flashed beside the mage.
"How did you figure out my name…" Rio's face turned pale, his knitted eyebrows frowned.
"Don't worry about that..., what matters now is who wins." Zan grinned.
"Hah! I'm clearly stronger than you! Zan!" Rio extended his sword.
"You're being overconfident." Zan patted Rio's shoulder as he dashed forward.
"Where'd you go-" Rio slashed the air with his sword.
"Sigh, what a weakling." Zan swiftly flashed behind Rio and knocked him out.
"(Zan defeated him in just one blow?! This guy's strong!)" Kaito frowned.
"Kaito! I'm glad you made it back in one piece!" I waved at Kaito.
"Are you injured? Please tell me you're okay!" Akira touched Kaito's cheeks.
"Thanks for the concern, I'm alright." Kaito giggled.
"Hey Kaito, wh-who is Zan that y-you called out earlier...?" Renjiro stuttered.
"He is the stranger I've told you guys about. Something's wrong with him, he feels extremely dangerous, his skin is pale and dry...his hands are freezing and he has an extremely deep voice…" Kaito added quietly.
"Is that all of them? Only one mage?" Zan spoke loudly while he stepped on the collapsed Rio.
Ken swiftly ambushed Zan when he let his guard down.
Zan flashed behind Ken and sliced up Ken with his bare hands.
Blood splashed everywhere, while Zan was staring menacingly at the corpse of Ken as blood splattered on his face.
"Sigh, it's been years since I've used my full power." Zan wiped blood away from his face using a handkerchief.
"We can't just keep idling here and waste time! Let's get going while the mages are out cold!" Kaito grabbed the dynamite and rushed to the gate of the warehouse.
"Kaito, I'll light it. I'm stronger." Hayato stopped Kaito when he was about to light it.
"Fine-take this and light it up." Kaito passed the lighter to Hayato.
"Alright! Back up guys!" Hayato stretched his hands and lit up the dynamite.
"Hayato-move! It's gonna explode in three-" Akira covered his ears with his fingers.
"Two-" Hayato swiftly backed up.
"One-" Renjiro shouted.
The gate erupted, metal shards fling as fire spread around the area after the explosion tore through the gate.
"Luckily the neighbourhood had moved out, so no one could've heard the explosion." Kaito exhaled out of relief.
"What are we waiting for-Let's get in!" Akira gestured to the squad to get into the warehouse.
"The rift should be around the center of the warehouse. Stick together guys." Kaito gestured to the squad to stick together.
"I can't wait to see the rift!" I raised my fist.
It's time, this is what life is supposed to be! Happiness!
We sprinted towards the rift, as we saw it, the infamous rift. Akira sprinted ahead, drawn to the swirling blue light like a moth to flame.
"Finally! I get to see what's-" Akira pulled his hand, as he reached for the rift.
Kaito yanked him back by the collar. Akira stumbled, nearly falling.
"What the hell, Kaito?!" Akira broke free.
"Look down." Kaito stared at the ground.
Akira followed his gaze. The ground directly in front of the rift was scorched black, warped and twisted like melted plastic.
Akira snapped back into reality and looked at his trembling hands.
"So...are we going inside the rift or nah?" I pointed towards the rift.
"We have the cursed ornaments, we should be safe to get inside and outside but wait…" Kaito noticed a strange object in front of the rift.
"I feel a strange and uncomfortable feeling in me…" Akira's face turned pale as his voice cracked.
"Wait a minute..., is this from those mysterious cursed relics that I have read from the book?!" Kaito took a step forward to the strange object, as the object ringed his ears while putting pressure towards Kaito's energy.
"Relic...?" I tried to stop Kaito from getting too close to the rift by blocking his way.
"Yozora! You're in my way, please move." Kaito pushed me away.
"W-What's in your mind?! You realize that you may potentially die if you get too close to the rift!" Kaito ignored my warning and kept going.
"These relics...they support a massive amount of energy…" Kaito moved his fingers closer to the relic.
"HEY KAITO! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO! THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!" Hayto rushed towards Kaito, attempting to stop Kaito.
"Oi Kaito! These relics might be dangerous! It's like picking up a poisonous mushroom!" Akira shouted at Kaito.
Akira took a step towards Kaito.
"No way...wait a minute...this relic,the material...IT IS MADE FROM THE DARK MATTER OF THE COSMOS!!! IT'S THE RAREST MATERIAL!" Kaito's gaze was locked onto the relic.
"Are you out of your mind?! Throw that thing away or you might die painfully! Give it to me!" Akira ran towards Kaito.
"No...We must keep this relic away from the anomalies! We gotta leave!" Kaito pulled both his hands onto the relic.
"What's the deal with this?! Don't tell me you're planning to betray us! I'll dispose of it now!" Akira grabbed Kaito's back.
"NO! THIS IS POWER! WE CAN'T JUST SIMPLY LITTER IT AND LEAK IT TO THE ANOMALIES, THAT'LL END THE WORLD!!!" Kaito shouted aggressively towards Akira.
"I'M DOING THIS FOR THE SAKE OF OUR SAFETY, WHO KNOWS THIS RELIC MIGHT BE SOME SORT OF SECRET BOMB THAT KILL US ALL?!" Akira tried to grab the relic away from Kaito.
"NO! DON'T SNATCH IT AWAY FROM ME! STOP IT!" Kaito resisted, he kept pushing Akira away.
"GUYS!!! STOP FIGHTING! YOU'RE ONLY MAKING THIS WORSE, AKIRA. WE SHOULD HEAR AN EXPLANATION FROM KAITO BEFORE ACTING." I shouted at both of them, my voice echoing through the warehouse.
I tried to convince Akira and Kaito to stop fighting…but then it was too late. While Akira was snatching the relic away from Kaito, his hand slipped. The relic fell to the ground, shattering into pieces of material shimmering like fragments of the cosmos. The warehouse was instantly filled with silence.
"No…NO!!! WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!" Kaito kneeled on the shattered pieces.
"Calm down, Kaito. We shouldn't alert the anomalies." I pulled Kaito up by his collar.
"No...You don't understand...This was a huge opportunity...but it's all wasted." Kaito glanced at the ground and bit his lips.
"We should leave the area containing the pieces of the shattered relic, it leaves an unpleasant energy that overdrives your body." Kaito sighed heavily.
"It's alright guys, as long as we are all safe. Let's keep going." I glanced at Kaito as he moved ahead.
"Hey! Yozora- Watch your steps!" Hayato pointed towards the shattered pieces of the relic.
"Huh-"
At this moment,I didn't notice there was a piece of the shattered relic right on the floor in front of me, I slipped and fell onto the jagged pieces.
"YOZORA!" Hayato rushed towards me.
My vision faded, the last person I saw was Josh.
"NO Don't-This will only trap you in it too!" Kaito pushed Hayato away from me.
"I don't care! I'm supposed to save my best friend's life, not watch him suffer!" Hayato ignored Kaito, he stood back up and kept rushing.
An overwhelming energy surged through my body. It felt like I was exploding inside out. The force was so intense that it made me pass out instantly.
"Yozora...Can you hear me?! Hello-" Hayato slapped my face.
Suddenly, an evil laugh is heard from a distance. An ominous energy surged through the warehouse.
"Hello young explorers, how's it going in here?" An unknown entity arrived in the warehouse and stumbled across the squad.
"Oi! Who the hell do you think you are?!" Akira took a step back.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Akugoka. An anomaly that has survived for over 150 years!!!" The entity laughed ominously, the entire squad was chilled.
"It's one of the strongest anomalies...We're so done for." Kaito's face was full of sweat.
"You're pretty smart, kid. Since I'm in a good mood tonight, I'll share our Ultimate Plan." Akugoka leaped onto the ground, shattering it.
Akugoka slowly emerged towards the squad.
"What are even you anomalies and what are your goals?" Renjiro spoke aggressively.
"We are from a different dimension, this dimension has been attracting our attention since the existence of The mages since this dimension has a worthy amount of power we could collect and fight for." Akugoka smiled.
"It's all my fault...I shouldn't have led you guys to come to this area...I'm sorry...IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!!" Kaito clenched his fists.
"No Kaito-! We will get out of this and survive! We were the ones who agreed to come anyway." Hayato patted Kaito's shoulder with his numb hand.
"Get out? Survive? Me? Brats, look at you. Pathetic." Akugoka pulled out his axe, his eyes glowed with flames.
"Hah, try me then! You brat!" Akira mocked Akugoka's words.
"You asked for it…" Akugoka flashed, slashing Akira in the stomach.
"Akira! Are you okay? You guys! Get out as soon as possible, I'll distract Akugoka. Carry Akira and Yozora out of here! Quick!!" Kaito rushed to save Akira.
Akugoka flashed around the warehouse, too fast for the squad to follow. Blood poured onto the floor. Akira collapsed.
"What about you?!" Hayato carried Akira and prepared to sprint.
In that instant, the squad had no idea what to do. This was a checkmate for them.
"It's all my fault... If I don't redeem myself right here, I'm a murderer. Now, take Akira and Yozora with you guys and RUN!" Kaito gestured to the squad to run away.
"But Kaito-" Renjiro walked forward.
"There's no time LEFT, Ren. QUICK!" Hayato shouted at Renjiro.
"(Kaito...you sacrificed to save us all...but why... I'm sorry...Kaito Takahashi.)" Renjiro carried Yozora and sprinted away along with Hayato, his eyes full of tears.
"(You were the most energetic person in the squad.)" Hayato ran away with Renjiro into a nearby forest, he wiped off his tears, but it kept flowing out.
"I'm sorry, Renjiro, Hayato, Yozora and Akira." Kaito charged forward to Akugoka, tears flowed through his eyes.
As Renjiro and Hayato ran, their eyes were flooded with memories and tears.
-Flashback-
"When I grow up, my dream is to become an astronaut. I wanna see the beauty of outer space!" Kaito spoke loudly to the squad as they were sharing their dreams.
"Good choice, Kai." Hayato responded.
"I wanna earn money for my family, so we could go to space together! Unfortunately, my family is quite poor…"
"Don't worry, bud. I believe in you." Hayato nodded at Kaito.
-Kaito's backstory-
As we were in the back of our class, we shared our stories.
I am Kaito Takahashi, I was raised by my mother and father, only the two of them.
At the age of 8, we lived near a forest.
I would always watch the television whenever the space channel showed up. I loved how outer space looked.
"It looks so amazing! Mom!"
"I wish I could go to explore outer space one day, with you and dad!"
My family supported me, they even bought lots of space related books for me.
"Look! Mom and Dad! I drew outer space!"
I showed my drawing of outer space to my parents.
"That looks incredible!" Mom patted my head.
"Can I be like those astronauts who explored outer space one day…?"
"I believe you could, Kaito." Mom hugged me.
Unfortunately, at the age of 11. My father was caught in a car crash on the way home, he… did not survive…
My mother cried all day and all night. I tried to cheer her mood up, but nothing worked.
At that moment, I decided to work hard and earn money, to achieve my dream and make my mother happy.
"So Kaito. You call this survival? This is mercy!" Akugoka took a step forward.
"(Oh god, I'm cornered. What should I do?! I have no choice but to...)" Kaito backed up.
"I'm sorry, Zan, but I need your help!" Kaito shouted.
"Well, what have we got here- Oh long time no see, Akugoka." Zan leaped into the warehouse.
"Nice to see you again, Zan Hakashima, also known as The Infamous Soul Cleaver." Akugoka grinned.
"It's been so long, Akugoka. Have you gotten stronger?" Zan crossed his arms.
"Well, yes but it was only a little compared to the last time we fought." Akugoka responded.
"Glad to see you still alive." Zan's smile widened.
"What are you doing, Zan?! Help me please!" Kaito pointed at Akugoka, signaling Zan.
"It's obvious who's stronger here, Zan. Take another step closer and you'll feel the hellflame." Akugoka drew out flames on his arms.
"Fair enough. I'll leave him to you." Zan turned around.
"Zan...Don't tell me you're…" Kaito shivered.
"It was a plan all along, we wanted to attract more victims like you to gain more power!" Zan laughed.
"Zan...you betrayed me! Bastard!" Kaito shouted at Zan, Kaito's eyes turned red, tears flowed down to his neck.
"I never mentioned that I'll be your savior forever, Kaito Takahashi." Zan slashed deep into Kaito's neck.
"I'm an anomaly, you're a human. Our goal is to take your species down. Why would I work with you?" Zan furrowed his eyebrows.
"Y-you promised...!" Kaito tried to speak.
"(Why?! WHY?! Why do I always get the pain on me? I've had enough! I couldn't achieve my desires...I'm a failure.)" Kaito's world ended in his eyes.
"This is goodbye for us, Kaito." Zan gave Kaito his last gaze, before leaping away.
Kaito kneeled down, tears couldn't stop dripping on the ground.
Akugoka and Zan grinned at each other.
"Please...someone...help-" Kaito suffocated as blood dripped onto the ground from his sliced neck.
Kaito coughed out blood, his vision began to fade away. He tried to reach anything sharp, but his body had no energy left.
Kaito tried crawling away, but he couldn't move. His yellow eyes shrunk as he was desperately trying to escape.
The pain surged through his body. The moonlight shined at his hopeless face, he looked up to the sky full of stars, accepting his fate.
"I'll make this quick, Kaito." Akugoka walked forward.
At that moment, Kaito was helpless. He was unable to speak.
"(I'm sorry, mother. I've failed you.)" Kaito's tears mixed with the blood.
(It's all my fault, I deserved it. I was useless, I only brought harm instead of help.)
(If my life's gonna end miserable, then I'll take it as a punishment.)
(All of the time I've cared about my mother, when she was sick, I would always sit beside her.)
(It's all over for me. My world has ended.)
Kaito turned around and glanced at Akugoka.
"Then do it quickly, fool." Kaito spoke his last words before Akugoka knocked him out.
(Goodbye, cruel world.)
"Sigh, poor kid." Akugoka dragged Kaito's body.
"Where am I?" Kaito woke up in an empty void full of darkness.
The pain was gone, my sliced neck returned to original.
"You were brave, son. I'm proud of you." A silhouette walked towards Kaito.
(That voice…it's my father's voice!)
"D-Dad?!"
"It's me, Kaito." The silhouette faded, and Kaito's father appeared.
"Dad! I'm sorry!" Kaito stood up, tears flooded his eyes and ran towards his father.
"Me too! I'm sorry I couldn't get home" Kaito's father ran towards Kaito as well.
They both hugged each other.
"You saved multiple lives because of your sacrifice! I'm proud of you!" Kaito's father sobbed.
A ray of sunlight pierced through the empty void.
"Damn it! We barely made it out alive... Now we lost Kaito. What are we gonna do now?! Akira might just bleed and die out here! Yozora might be even dead by now! What have we done?!" Renjiro shook Hayato aggressively, the tears of his dripped on Hayato's shirt.
"It's okay Ren...we have to find a way to get to safety for now." Hayato looked around the forest for an escape route.
"WHAT?! You are telling me to calm down?! After that tragedy?! Now we're lost in a random forest. How are we gonna get out?! Akira and Yozora will consume our energy twice!" Renjiro shouted at Hayato.
"Renjiro, shut up. You will only lose energy if you keep yelling like that. We...have to find a way out as soon as possible. This is no joke." Hayato covered Renjiro's mouth.
"We are already in the middle of the forest. Enma should not find us, we're safe...for now." Renjiro sat down onto a nearby rock, placing Yozora next to him and exhaled out of exhaustion.
"Our only choice...is to keep marching forward...towards the light." Hayato sighed.
"How do we even know if we are going the right way?" Renjiro asked.
"Exactly, we take a gamble." Hayato snapped his fingers.
"Sounds pretty logical. We ain't got a compass or something. Carrying him is so exhausting!" Renjiro glanced at the sky, he was relieved after a long carry.
"We have no choice, we can't let another one die!" Hayato looked at Akira.
"He is bleeding intensely though...I guess I'll use my clothes to wrap up the wound." Renjiro took his jacket and covered Akira's wound.
"If you ever feel tired, we'll stop by an area and rest. Don't force yourself, it'll only exacerbate the situation we're in." Hayato gasped for air.
"I should probably calm down. You're right, Hayato. I'm sorry." Renjiro pointed towards the direction his instincts told him.
"Let's get going!" Hayato gestured to Renjiro to follow him.
Renjiro carried Yozoru and continued down the path with Hayato.
Hayato and Renjiro went through the path, it was all silent. The wildlife had hit the hay. Crunches of leaves and huffs for air echoed throughout the forest. Hayato and Renjiro stumbled across an open area after a few hours of walking.
"(It has been a few hours of walking, all of our energy has been drained down to the ground. We are still stuck in the forest but I believe we are getting warmer...and warmer...to the light...)" Hayato thought.
"It has been a few exhausting hours of agony. Can we just stop here and rest?" Renjiro sat by the rock.
"This place seems to be very safe for our temporary stay." Hayato nodded at Renjiro.
"Hayato! There's a waterfall right there! We could use that as our source of water and it's also an open area.This is the perfect area to stay!" Renjiro pointed at the waterfall.
Moonlight glimmered through the cascading water, while fireflies hover among the bushes and massive rocks.
"Excellent choice, Ren." Hayato placed Akira on the wet grass.
They decided to stay near the waterfall since it is easy to spot nearby predators easily.
"Get some rest you deserve, Ren." Hayato grabbed a wooden branch.
"Ah finally some rest, I'm probably gonna get intense back pain tomorrow. Ugh...What about you, Hayato? What are you up to?" Renjiro couldn't resist but lay onto the grass with dry leaves on top, staring at the twinkling stars in the sky.
"Don't worry about me, I'll keep watch of the area to avoid predator attacks." Hayato crossed his arms.
"Are you sure?" Renjiro asked, his eyelids were halfway closed.
"Yep, I am strong." Hayato responded.
Hayato stared up into the sky and glanced at the moon. Suddenly, a memory stirred in his mind.
-Hayato's mind-
Just like that, I've lost one of my best friends, Kaito Takahashi, and possibly even Yozora…if he couldn't bear with the pain…I can't lose any more valuable treasure like them…I must keep protecting them as the toughest in this group…
-Hayato Backstory Flashback-
I am Hayato Mamoru. I have an elder brother, Haruto Mamoru. He rarely speaks to me and left our family at the age of 12. Our family was poor. It was only my parents, Haruto and me. My parents could barely afford school for me. I was always made fun of for having a poor family. No one at school talked to me, the girls were disgusted by me.
At the age of 10, my mom was diagnosed with a rare disease that reduces her lifespan down to 1 year left to live. My father and Haruto had to work for 17 hours per day in the market just to afford food for a few days. The villagers often make fun of our family as "The Cursed Family". Our shirts were torn apart and we couldn't even afford to take a shower. I've always had a passion for helping others when in need, whenever anyone is struggling, I would not hesitate, my body moves before I have the time to think. Even though I had helped tons of people in my village, they still hated and threw their anger at me. Due to our mother's disease,our burden has increased significantly, father and Haruto had to work extra hours and sacrifice meals to afford medical treatment for our mother. As time passed, her disease got worse and worse, our hopes were destroyed.
Haruto had to commit robbery just to get enough money for a treatment. We've tried everything up to the point that she eventually died at the end of the year. Since Haruto had committed robberies in the past, the judge of the village punished him by execution.
Our family tried to convince the judge to not punish Haruto by executing him but no matter how hard we try, nothing works. We've lost everything to the point where we give up on living and accept our fate. Haruto told me one last sentence that had changed my entire life.
"Hayato, you're a strong person, protect and help others around you…" Haruto spoke softly.
I didn't cry. I couldn't. It felt like my chest had been hollowed out. After Haruto's execution, my father decided to send me to the orphanage and give up on me.
"I'm sorry, Hayato. Move on with your life, show the world that you're a strong person. Forget about me…" My father cried, he turned back and walked away.
I couldn't do anything.
"Wait- Dad!" I reached out my hand, I ran towards my father.
"Don't call me Dad, I'm just a stranger walking by." My father took the last glance at me.
My father disappeared in the snow, as I exhaled cold mist. His silhouette slowly faded. My tears froze. I walked back into the orphanage, the food was cold and I was alone the entire time.
A miracle happened when a family decided to adopt me as the youngest child. My new family was extremely nice to me and sent me to the school I'm currently in. I was extremely grateful that I have a second chance in life for a different path. The sentence my brother told me had always been stuck in my mind. I helped tons of people and they were thankful for me and sent me tons of gifts. My best friends are the only people in school that could brighten up my day. Losing them is like losing a treasure sunk into the abyss…God gave me a second chance at life…and now I'm gonna cherish it!
END OF PART II–THE ENCOUNTER