Hikaru was resting; his body had been pushed to its limits in that fight, he had trained his body for four whole years just to face the strongest, to survive the storm that the world was about to unleash.
But while resting, he learned something interesting: a certain Satoru Gojo was going to arrive to introduce a boy his age named Fushiguro Megumi, Hikaru's curiosity was piqued, and when he went to see, he saw a silver-haired (almost white) man smiling with amusement, looking at a grumpy Naobito, he was quite angry that the Gojo clan member was there; it was noticeable from miles away.
When the conversation ended, Gojo and Fushiguro were about to leave, they had seen Maki and Mai, but especially Hikaru, who tilted his head, his curiosity evident in his eyes, Satoru saw an enigma in that boy with messy black hair; it seemed he was searching for something more, to see beyond them, perhaps... to see the outside world.
Hikaru saw Naobito, who was looking resentfully at Satoru, when the albino and the younger fushiguro disappeared, Hikaru saw Naobito again, his eyes full of curiosity.
- Isn't the name "megumi" for a girl?-
Naobito looked at Hikaru, slightly surprised by what he said, then began to laugh, taking another sip of his alcohol, the old man turned around and disappeared, his bad mood having withered away because of Hikaru's comment about the name megumi.
Hikaru turned around and went to rest, he arrived at his room and lay down on the futon, having to deal with the stress of witnessing Gojo Satoru and the other Ten Shadow user was too much for his mind, when Hikaru closed his eyes, he felt his mind sink; Morpheus was claiming him.
Quickly the minutes turned into hours, but that meant nothing compared to the dream Hikaru was having at that moment: "throughout the heaven and earth, I alone am the HONORED ONE" that voice hit him too hard, the figure of a man floating in the sky was what flooded Hikaru's vision, a feeling of dread flooded him and the boy woke up.
Hikaru stirred; he no longer felt well, sleeping alone now felt like a nightmare, all because of one man, Satoru Gojo, when Hikaru exchanged glances with him, he felt it, something that even frightened Radiance, even himself, behind those bandages, something powerful was hidden, Hikaru went to the person he trusted most so far, moving through the shadows, Hikaru arrived at the secluded place where Mai and Maki were, entering in complete stealth, Hikaru reached where Mai slept.
Hikaru raised his hand, about to wake Mai, but stopped, what if Mai got upset? Pushing those thoughts away, Hikaru hesitated, what should he do now? That internal question had made him doubt himself, and he didn't know how to act.
Mai slowly opened her eyes, her cheek being pinched by something, or someone, making her eyes adjust to the darkness, Mai saw Hikaru, beside her bed, giving her a shy look, something that couldn't happen with the normally calm and indifferent Hikaru Zenin.
- Hikaru...? What are you doing here? Why aren't you on your futon?-
Mai gave Hikaru a sleepy look, Hikaru explained the strange dream he had and that he no longer wanted to sleep alone that night, exhausted, Mai agreed, letting Hikaru into her bed, the two quickly fell asleep, but unbeknownst to Hikaru, he had prevented Mai from suffering that night at Naoya's hands.
The night was still young, but for our protagonist, it wasn't, he had woken up to a noise, and when he went to investigate, Maki's room door was ajar, peering through the small opening, he saw Naoya trying to do something unpleasant to Maki, Hikaru opened his eyes and became angry, quickly placing his hands on two swift figures, the great snake and the stampede of rabbits appeared, Orochi took care of Naoya, and the Hornet clones got Maki out of there.
Hikaru grabbed Maki and pulled her out of there, not only Maki but Mai as well, as he ran, his heart was filled with doubt, why would Naoya do that? Why would he try to take advantage of Maki, who was family? Doubt plagued Hikaru's mind, and he knew he couldn't keep pretending nothing was wrong.
He quickly reached his room. Maki was breathing heavily; Orochi had already dissipated, Mai was dazed; the Hornet clones had done their job, moving swiftly, Hikaru grabbed what he could, he had money Naobito gave him; it wasn't much, but it was enough to live comfortably for a while, leaving the Zenin estate, Hikaru knew there was no turning back now, leaving the Zenin clan was dangerous, especially without knowing the reason, but Hikaru was confident the world would be on his side.
Hikaru, tired and exhausted from the adrenaline his body provided, felt his mind go blank, Hikaru fell to the ground, almost asleep, feeling his eyes heavy, sleep, effort, summoning his shikigami, running—it all took its toll on Hikaru, leaving him exhausted, he was still too young to do all that; he needed more time to evolve.
- I'm so sorry, Mai, Maki, I'll have to leave you for now... But I promise you... That when I'm stronger, I'll destroy the Zenin clan.-
Satoru watched curiously as Hikaru fell to the ground, his eyes closing, Maki and Mai's voices sounded distant to the young man, Satoru sighed, he'd have gray hair before he turned 30, wait... would the gray hairs even be noticeable?
- Don't worry, he's just tired, give him time, he'll recover, but tell me, why did you run away from the Zenin clan? Did something bad happen? Or did you simply not want to stand those arrogant idiots?-
Satoru gave Maki and Mai a carefree smile, grabbing the three of them and slinging Hikaru over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Satoru carried them to the waiting car, Mai and Maki were nearby, could they trust Satoru? Hell yes, of course they could, he's the strongest, If he wants to, he can conquer the whole world.
Hikaru was in a desolate wasteland, the fire danced like deadly ballerinas, an almost demonic laugh echoed throughout the place: "You can see it, Mahoraga, you can see my cursed technique" the laugh seemed to intensify, chaos, buildings falling and two figures on high, one, a guy with pale pink hair, with tattoos, and an extra pair of eyes, the other, even Hikaru didn't know how to describe him, but he had a terrifying presence.
Hikaru felt dizzy, his eyes suddenly caught sight of that same figure in front of him, this time with a hand position he didn't recognize, after all, Hikaru knew nothing about Buddhism, the posture was the enma-tenin, and along with it came the words: "Let me show you the pinnacle of sorcery... Domain Extension." The place changed in a way that confused Hikaru even more, he didn't understand what was happening or what it was; it seemed like a demonic place: "malevolent shrine" The voice finished naming his Domain Extensión.
- open...-
Hikaru opened his eyes, the fire arrow filled Hikaru's entire vision, the orange fire was all he saw, until he opened his eyes, agitated and sweating deeply, breathing with difficulty, Hikaru saw that he was in a place he did not know, besides, it is night.
- W-where am I? - Hikaru looked around, confused, his breathing was ragged, he needed some air, he saw a window and opened it, breathing in the fresh night air, Hikaru was able to relax, but not for long.
Hikaru sat breathing heavily, until someone spoke to him.
- From what I can see... You're already awake. Tell me, how are you feeling?-
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