[Outside the cinema hall, Dotonbori]
[May 4, 2010]
[Arashi Ushimoto - POV]
"Ahhh! How much time has passed?" Arashi said to himself.
BOOM!
Arashi removed the ruins of the destroyed building in which he was crushed beneath.
"Are you awake already? Then we should continue our fight," the voice of Kaijun echoed in the dead silent Dotonbori.
"I am confused. Even a monster like you didn't kill me while I was unconscious," Arashi mocked Kaijun.
"Say to me whatever you want. I don't really care," Kaijun said with annoyance on his face.
"By seeing your kindness, my suspicion has been confirmed," Arashi said with a smirk.
"What suspicion?" Kaijun asked.
"TATARI MIND MANIPULATION," Arashi said while gripping his katana.
"No, no, no," Kaijun roared. "You shouldn't know this, how do you even—" Kaijun took a pause.
"I didn't plan to kill you, but you have left me with no choice," Kaijun shouted and lunged forward.
"So then, for the last time," Arashi paused and drew his katana. "Bring it on, Tatari."
CLANG!
Arashi tried to cut Kaijun for the third time, but with the same technique which he used the first time, but nothing happened. Arashi's katana failed to cut Kaijun. It failed to even lay a scratch on Kaijun.
"It won't work twice," Kaijun shouted.
GRAB!
Kaijun's arm moved faster than before and again, the same attack.
"Ash Ring," Kaijun roared.
BOOOOOM!
The effect came as before, even to the environment and to Arashi. From the impact of Kaijun's Ash Ring, a building fell on Arashi, and he was buried under the heavy loads of the building.
SLING!
Arashi cut the heavy load of ruins, the building beneath which he was crushed in.
"How many times are you going to do the same attack?" Arashi said to Kaijun.
"Till the moment you stop healing your limbs and when I send you back to your dead friend you cried over a few hours ago," Kaijun shouted again.
[Arashi's thought]
Hours? That means that my healing technique has taken its toll, and as I used that again just now, it won't be long for me to become unconscious again.
Whooosh!
Kaijun appeared in a split second in front of Arashi at an uncomfortable range.
Arashi stopped thinking, and his eyes shifted to the core present inside the rib cage which was protecting it. Neither was the core attacked before, nor was it covered to be protected as of now.
SKRRK!
Without a single doubt in his mind, Arashi twisted his body so Kaijun missed his attack, and then he pierced his core in a single swing.
"Nooooo," Kaijun shouted, the loudest ever in this fight.
CRACKLE-KSHHH!
Kaijun's body burned for the 3rd time into nothing but ashes.
"So are you finally dead—" Arashi couldn't complete his sentence.
Grrnk... Grrnnk...
The faint rotation became so loud that hearing other things became impossible.
The reassembling started again, but much, much faster.
THUD! THUD!
Arashi jumped far from where the reassembling was happening. As he jumped, his vision started becoming blurry.
"No, no, no, I can't become unconscious now, else he will not let me live this time," Arashi shouted.
SNAP!
Arashi broke his left hand's pinky finger to regain consciousness, and it worked.
Fwooom!
Kaijun was reassembled for the fourth time, now denser bones, complete armour, flesh, and skin on the body, but still not complete.
"Just how many times do I have to kill you now?" Arashi shouted.
"The child's play is over now. I won't be suggesting you to talk, as now my mood has changed," Kaijun said. His voice different, tone calmer.
Vrrn!
Before Arashi could even prepare. Much faster, Kaijun arrived just a cm away from his face.
BAM! KRRK! THUD! CRACK!
Kaijun's blows rained down on Arashi's every body part without a pause.
Krrk! Krrk! Krrk!
With each strike landing on Arashi, his bones cracking, muscles tearing, and life force decreasing.
BOOOM!
Kaijun blasted Arashi through 5 buildings.
"No, no, Arashi, not here, you can't die here for June. No, why did I say her name. Leave it, you can do it—" Arashi was interrupted again.
THUDDD!
Kaijun dropped from the sky, and the whole area changed as if it was his technique.
"Ashen Prison Field," Kaijun said.
The moment Kaijun named his technique, the surrounding area turned into nothing but a suffocating ash terrain with low visibility, burning air, and restricted movement.
"No, no, no, just stand up, try one more time as always for June, no, for Fukō, for... for... no, just one more time," Arashi cried.
BAM!
In the very moment Kaijun prepared his final blow to Arashi's spine to kill him.
[Inside Arashi's mind]
"Senpai... Senpai, you are tired, but I believe only you could. Only you could do that," the sweet voice of June came to Arashi's ears.
[In the battlefield]
BLAM!
Kaijun's fist hit nothing, just the ground of Dotonbori.
"Still have the will to fight for yourself," Kaijun mocked Arashi.
"You're wrong, not for myself, but for my friends," Arashi said calmly.
Fwip!
Kaijun's speed had increased drastically and his strength even more, but...
"I haven't used this technique since I was 10," Arashi said very slowly so only he and Kaijun could hear it.
"STORMCALLER ART: ABYSSAL REND: SOVEREIGN DIVIDE," Arashi said with the calmness of a dead boy.
SLING!
The slash of Arashi's katana was not a simple slash that he had used before to cut the body of Kaijun; rather, it splits authority itself.
Kaijun was again on fire. The surroundings returned to normal as Arashi canceled the technique contract of Kaijun from the universe.
"This is the most beautiful thing I saw since I was born, rather the fact I was born a few hours ago," Kaijun said with a genuine smile.
"But you didn't die, did you?" Arashi asked without turning back.
"No. But my powers of remaining life are transferred into my next life, meaning this will be my last life," Kaijun said while his half body was vanishing.
"My last question to you, how many lives you had, and what exactly was your technique," Arashi asked, finally turning back.
"As you have canceled my technique, I could tell you. I had 7 lives, and my technique was that I cannot be damaged by the technique I was previously killed with," Kaijun said in a very low voice.
"Now everything is clear to me," Arashi said while looking up in the sky.
"Before our final battle starts, I want to ask you, what was the cost of your healing technique?" Kaijun asked, his lower body turning into ashes.
"The whole flux present in your body at that time," Arashi said, lowering his head.
"Then why are you still standing?" Kaijun asked.
"Cause this time I paid it by 1 year of my lifespan as a cost," Arashi completed.
"I see," Kaijun said his last words after turning into ashes.
Fwooom!
Kaijun started reassembling his body for the fifth time and the last time.
Clash!
A very small hand grabbed Arashi's hand and distracted him from seeing Kaijun reassemble.
"Big brother, my mother has been crushed under that ruin; she also has my 6-month-old sister, please help me get them out, I can't lift the weight, please," the voice which carried immense pain of a boy not more than 4 years old drifted to Arashi's ears.
"Don't worry, I would—" Arashi stopped.
[Arashi's thought]
Wait, he could see me in the Parallax Dominion, meaning he has flux. I must help another fellow of my kind.
"Take me to your mother," Arashi said in a calm and soft tone.
"Here big brother, see," the boy lifted his arm to point at the direction.
The ruins the boy had been talking about was the cinema hall Arashi was in. The boy's mother and 6-month-old sister were no more. They were crushed and dead.
"Look, boy—" Arashi paused as he wanted to see the boy who wasn't there.
Chomp!
The sound drew Arashi's attention as it was coming from behind him.
As he turned, Arashi's MIND REFUSED TO PROCESS WHAT HE WAS SEEING.
"Sorry, Arashi, me and my brothers love eating the head of children of his age, so fresh blood and meat," Kaijun's delighted voice reached Arashi's ears.
--KRAK!
Before Arashi could even process his words and the movement, Kaijun's fist connected to his skull.
BAM--!
The impact echoed through the city as Arashi's skull broke into nothing but particles and he dropped instantly.
[Inside Arashi's Mind]
Plip.... Plip....
In the dark where Arashi couldn't even see his next step, he was standing on water with a mysterious key in his hand.
"What am I supposed to do?" Arashi asked to himself, his voice echoing.
CREEEAAK...
Before Arashi could say anything else, an old wooden door opened in front of him.
Crunch... Crunch...
His first two steps out of the door were on dry leaves.
Dooom... Dooom...
As Arashi started moving, he came across a pond which had a beautifully made wooden house in its front.
"Ha Ha," a voice of a woman laughing came.
"Ohhh... June, June, see my beautiful boy has returned..." the woman said when her face turned to the side and she saw Arashi.
"M-m-mom..." Arashi failed to hold back his tears.
The woman rushed to grab Arashi and grabbed him in a very delicate manner like Arashi is made of glass.
"What happened?! I didn't remember my baby crying for a long time now," Arashi's mother said.
"I think he missed me, Mom," June's voice drifted into Arashi's and his mom's ears.
"Ohh really? Is that so..." Arashi's mom was interrupted.
"UGHHH... AAAAAHHH... AAAAAHHH... I love you, Mom, the most. I can't imagine - imagine anything without you. Don't leave me, please, I beg you," Arashi sobbed incoherently.
POOF!
Everything, including Arashi's mom he was embracing, turned into nothing but black smoke, and he was again back to the place called:
THE STARLESS EXPANSE.
"Just accept it, Ushimoto, how soft, fragile, and weak are you," a voice echoed in the expanse.
"No, that's not true. I am a mass murderer, stone-hearted person with the most corrupt soul," Arashi shouted.
"Words don't mean anything if you don't feel them. Saying you are corrupt and not accepting it don't make you corrupt, in your eyes. But yes, they do make you corrupt in other eyes," the voice echoed again, louder and ruder.
"Why do you even care, what do you even want from me?" Arashi cried.
"I want you to accept the truth. The truth of who you really are," the voice stopped suddenly echoing.
SNAP!
The remnant appeared in front of Arashi; it was just like him, like a part of his soul, and snapped its finger. The same door appeared again in front of Arashi.
"Here, your dream world, go inside it, live in dreams, but never accept who you truly are," the remnant said.
"This is torture," Arashi said without lifting his head.
"This is power. Ushimoto, don't misunderstand me from you, because I am you only," the remnant said while lifting Arashi's head.
"What will I get accepting you?" Arashi asked.
"The technique," the remnant said.
"Is it so important that it is the cost to return to my world?" Arashi cried.
"No, you can return without it and I will never disturb you again," the remnant took a pause.
[Arashi's thought]
Why, I did everything for her. I was holding her, and she is gone, and so do my dreams of a happy life with my family. Living my old age with June... ahhhh, why her name again in my mind? There were so many things I had to do; I could play with Zorian, I could live without the guilt of killing, I was just one step away from the people that made me live my life, but fools who didn't tell how to live without them.
"If I return without learning it, ahhhhhhhhhhhh, will I get to live it, my dream?" Arashi cried.
"As per your situation, you won't return to your dream world but to the real world, and without the technique and me, the condition is," the remnant took a pause.
"What's the condition? I will die, right? Enough, if I won't live my dream life, I will continue living that life. I accept you. Teach me," Arashi said while standing up and wiping his tears.
"But—" the remnant was interrupted before he could speak.
"There is no if and but, no drama, just tell me how much time," Arashi shouted.
"Don't worry, it would take only 15 years here, meaning two minutes in the real world," the remnant completed.
[Cut]
Wet crunch!
When Arashi opened his safe eye, the first thing he saw was Kaijun eating his dominant arm in a distance, near the boy's body he had eaten just before his arm.
"Are you still alive... hahaha," Kaijun mocked Arashi.
Arashi held the scabbard of his katana under his armpit of his dominant hand and drew his sword, ignoring Kaijun.
"SHŪKYOKU KENGEN - EISHOKU SHIN'IKI
(Ultimate Manifestation - Devouring Dominion of the living Shadow)" Arashi has just started.