*Note: sorry for yesterday, I was playing Digimon Time Stranger and I was so focus that when I realized, it was very late and I had to go to bed, sorry :(
I tried to generate images for this chapter but It was a completely disaster so I'll bring you two more pictures, showing the slice of life of the Sato family.
Have a good day :)
...
When she finished drinking what looked like an isotonic beverage, something incredible happened. Her muscles began to swell to twice their previous size. Veins bulged all over her body, and even her height increased further.
"Be proud of having forced me to use my final form!" – said the old woman.
What is this, Dragon Ball? Goku vs. Frieza? She just drank a steroid-filled energy drink with instant effect.
"Round two begins, and this time you won't stand a chance!" – said the old woman.
I simply sighed.
"Go ahead," I said.
I don't have time for this manga-like nonsense. If she wants to attack, let her, but she should stop spouting clichés.
Upon hearing that, The Annihilator grew furious and charged at Akira with incredible speed, landing a punch to his chest that forced him back.
The blow she delivered was quite powerful, enough to push me several meters back. Though I didn't yet know the full extent of her strength, I could tell we were on roughly the same level.
That said, she only forced me to retreat a few meters and caused a bit of pain in my stomach—nothing that wouldn't fade quickly—so, using my speed, I began counterattacking, landing a solid punch on her face that made her stagger backward.
"Is that the best you can do?" – asked the old woman as she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
The punch had made her bleed slightly.
After that, both of us began a fight that would remind anyone of a Dragon Ball-style battle, though our power levels were nothing compared to those beings.
We exchanged blows one after another. Akira struck The Annihilator several times in the stomach and face, making her bleed, while The Annihilator hit Akira with all her strength. She punched his face, his chest, kicked him—she used everything she had to bring him down.
"Take this!" – shouted the old woman.
It was a punch I didn't have time to dodge, sending me flying several meters away. However, the damage was minimal.
"How about that?" – she said with a mocking grin.
The Annihilator was exhausted and covered in numerous wounds bleeding all over her muscular body. She was panting heavily. Both seemed evenly matched in strength, so this had turned into a battle of endurance.
"If that's all you've got, then I'm disappointed," I said as I got up from the ground.
I stood up practically unscathed, with only a few light wounds that barely bled. I wasn't even tired, unlike my opponent, who was on her last legs.
"Impossible! How can you still be fine?" – said the old woman in disbelief.
She had used all her strength, yet she hadn't been able to seriously injure him! Only minor wounds!
"You're strong, but that's all. Besides, your large muscles give you plenty of strength—perhaps you're even stronger than me—but that drug you took comes with consequences. Your agility has been reduced, and your punches are getting weaker. That's why I'm not as hurt as you are. Moreover, because of your body's heavy build, your stamina drains at an abnormal rate. In a battle of endurance, I would be the clear winner." – I said calmly.
The Annihilator was stunned, for Akira was right. He had pointed out every one of her weaknesses with just a few hits! Those were indeed the side effects of the drug she had just taken.
"Damn it," – muttered the old woman.
"And if that's all, then it's time to end this fight," – I said with a grin.
"No, I can't lose here… I'm destined to become the strongest assassin of all! How could I die here?!" – screamed the old woman.
"Blame the one who hired you. You never should've come after me," – I said as I walked slowly toward her.
But suddenly…
"What's going on here?" – asked a voice.
Alarmed, we both turned around only to see that it was Mikan. Mikan was just a few meters away!
"Mikan! What are you doing here?" – I asked, startled.
Scared and trembling, Mikan looked at Akira in shock.
"Is that… you, Akira?" – asked Mikan unconsciously.
"Hehe, looks like you know that human. Seems like the gods haven't abandoned me yet," – smiled the old woman.
"What are you planning to do?" – I asked suspiciously.
But the old woman didn't let me finish my sentence and darted toward Mikan at a speed I didn't think she could still muster.
"Haha! I'll die, but at least I'll take someone close to you with me! I'll drag her down to the grave!" – shouted the old woman.
Quickly, I transformed into XLR8 and sprinted at full speed toward Mikan, but soon realized a problem: the old woman's punch was about to hit Mikan, and if I tried to grab her, the blow would hit me instead, likely breaking several of my bones—since XLR8's body isn't as durable as some of my other alien forms.
That said, the only thing I could do was transform back into Four Arms right at the moment of impact and take the full force of the blow, which hurt a lot.
Because Akira was focused on protecting Mikan, he didn't notice that The Annihilator had taken the drug again, becoming even stronger than before. But there was a problem—once the effects wore off, she would be gravely injured or even die.
But then, why did she do it? I mean, she already had the strength to kill Mikan, so why take the drug again knowing what would happen? The answer is simpler than you think. The truth was, she wanted to crush Mikan—turn her into a pile of bloody meat in front of Akira and watch him fall into despair as his friend became a lifeless mass of organs.
"Since you care about her so much, let's see how much you can endure!" – said The Annihilator.
She didn't know how Akira had managed to arrive in time, but it didn't matter, because with her power, she could kill Akira and then Mikan. Yes, she'd probably die afterward, but at least she would complete her mission.
However, before seeing what happened next, you might be wondering what Mikan was doing in this park at this hour of the night—especially since her house was in the opposite direction, meaning that even if she had gone out to buy something, she wouldn't have taken this route. Let me explain why Mikan suddenly appeared…
…
A few minutes earlier.
After Akira and the others left, Mikan lay down on the couch to watch her favorite TV show. Actually, her favorite show was an anime about a magical girl that she got hooked on thanks to the free time she now had because of Akira and the others.
Meanwhile, Rito was doing his homework—the homework he hadn't done earlier.
But today, Mikan was a bit distracted, thinking about everything that had happened over the past few weeks.
Because of Rito and his insecurities, Mikan had gone to talk to Akira about Haruna, but instead, she ended up gaining a great friend—a friend she never thought she'd have. That friend helped her with her household chores, giving her free time to do whatever she wanted.
And not only that, but his fiancée also helped her, and later Yami joined in—one of her best friends—and finally, Lala's sisters, Momo and Nana, the twins.
A few weeks ago, Mikan never could've imagined having free time, never could've imagined sitting on the couch watching TV, because just weeks before, Mikan would still have been cleaning the house or doing chores—and all of this, all this free time, was thanks to Akira. It all started with him.
At first, Mikan was a little wary of Akira, but it only took a few days for her to fully trust him.
As the days went by and they got to know each other better, Mikan began to feel something inside her—something she had never felt for anyone before—a feeling known as love.
Akira was kind, honest, handsome—a model person her brother could learn from.
Every day, Akira and the girls came to help her, allowing her to live a much more normal life. At first, her feelings were of admiration and gratitude for everything he had done, but soon, those feelings began to change and turned into love.
Normally, love at that age was just a childish game, since most kids didn't know the true meaning of being in love, but Mikan, a girl with maturity beyond her years, understood this feeling perfectly.
And not only that—day by day, as she talked more with Akira and the girls, she fell deeper in love with him. But there was one problem: Akira already had a harem.
Apparently, his harem consisted of Lala, Yami, and Lala's sisters, Momo and Nana. Of course, he hadn't told anyone about this except her, so she had to keep it secret—especially from her brother—but obviously, Mikan wouldn't tell anyone.
However, let's get back to the point. The harem was something Mikan didn't know if she could accept. Seeing your boyfriend in the arms of another woman while they flirted, and you couldn't do anything about it... she wasn't sure she could contain her jealousy. But if she didn't, she'd never have a chance with Akira.
In fact, she even considered making Akira take the first step, and these days she had gotten closer to him than usual, hoping he'd notice her feelings. But Mikan hadn't considered one very important thing—something that would ensure Akira would never make the first move: her age.
Mikan was much younger than Akira. If they were adults, the age gap wouldn't matter, but as minors, for Akira—a high school student—to have a girlfriend who still attended elementary school... people would look down on him. In fact, she didn't even know if that would be illegal.
When Mikan realized this, she grew depressed, but she didn't give up. If Akira wasn't going to take the first step, she would. She wasn't like her brother—a coward who needed others to help him confess his feelings! She was the opposite. When she set her mind on something, she went for it. She worked hard and didn't stop until she got what she wanted! That was who she was!
"That's it! I won't hold back, otherwise in the future I'll regret thinking about what could've been but never was because of my indecision! I know it sounds cruel coming from me, but… I won't end up like my brother! Never!" – said Mikan to herself.
If she hesitated now, in the future Akira would forget about her. After all, why would he help her when he had several women to care for? Who was she to him? Just a friend! In the future, Akira would have many girlfriends, and soon, he'd stop having time to help her and focus on his relationships.
"No, I can't end up full of regret!" – she told herself.
Rito, who had come downstairs for a drink, overheard Mikan saying that and was puzzled.
"Is something wrong, Mikan?" – asked Rito curiously.
"Yes! I'll be right back!" – said Mikan.
Rito was surprised but couldn't say anything, as Mikan ran out of the living room before he could even ask her what was going on.
Determined to take the first step as soon as possible, Mikan got dressed and left her house, heading toward Akira's place. Sure, she could've waited until tomorrow, but tomorrow Lala and the others would be there again—they were always with him—so she'd never find a moment alone with him. What difference was there between waiting until tomorrow or doing it today? Nighttime? It was still early, and Akira's house was just a few minutes away! What could possibly happen?
What Mikan didn't know was that something would indeed happen—but it wouldn't be anything involving a pervert or anything like that. It would be something else entirely…