Aiko's POV:
I had just finished processing all the information that flooded into my head. It had only taken a moment or two, but it felt like years had passed me by.
'So, that fatso you're sitting on who wants to kill me and take our stuff is my father, who forced himself on my mother, is that right?' I asked.
'…! Aiko, I know it's not …! He isn't …! You don't have to…!' Grandpa tried to reply, seemingly not sure how to console me as he kept cutting himself short.
'It's okay! I'm fine!'
'…!'
'If this was a few years ago, I might have cared. If it had been back when I first lost you, I think it would have driven me mad, thinking I should have never been born, but I just know it doesn't really matter now.'
'Aiko.'
'If there is anything I learned from my friends, it's that I am not defined by where or who I am from. Just look at Kenji and Shinji, compared to them I'd say I'm pretty lucky actually! Kenji was an orphan who got abandoned twice, and Shinji's family situation isn't too different from mine, but at least I had a grandpa who loved me growing up, and I'd rather have that, than two parents I never knew in the first place. I'm actually glad I ended up in Shiro academy now, because if I hadn't, I never would have made the friends I have, nor would have learned just how blessed I really am, so thank you!'
'…'
He said nothing, but I could feel the overwhelming emotions coming from grandpa as I finished speaking my mind. It was a mix of different things, joy, melancholy, but most of all, pride.
'Hehe! You have grown so much! When did my quiet little Aiko become so well spoken? You used to be so timid you hardly spoke a word?'
'I usually keep my thoughts to myself, so it might be because we are communicating through our thoughts, or the psychic network shook something loose again!'
'That is bad! If the network is affecting your personality, it means you're reaching your limit! We need to hurry and get you away from here before it causes any permanent damage!'
'Okay, but can I ask something first? Why has time stopped?'
'Oh right! It is not stopped! It just appears that way because you are in distress right now!'
'What do you mean?'
'You know when you are in danger, and time seems to slow to a crawl? That is what this is, but it has been amplified significantly! We are not entirely certain why this happens, but we know it has something to do with the communication network we utilize!'
'Oh, okay!'
'Damn it! We shouldn't have chatted for so long! The longer you stay in this state, the worse the backlash is going to be when you exit! Sorry, grandpa is such a klutz! Just bear with the pain for now, and grandpa will hurry as fast as he can!'
'Uhm, okay, but how do I exit exact-!'
Before I could finish that thought, time started moving again, and just as I had been warned, there was a sharp pain in my brain the moment it did. It felt like there was a needle stuck inside my head, though, it was nothing compared to the pain stick, I still struggled not to lose consciousness. For a moment, I struggled to just perceive my surroundings, but eventually I managed to pull myself together. However, I struggled to process what I saw.
"So-*Cough*-ul *Cough* Shattering *Cough* Fi- *cough* -st!"
*Muffled scream*
"Hey there! Sorry to bother you, but I'm lookin for my kids! You wouldn't happen to have-?"
*BOOM*
Looking for grandpa, I saw two figures through a hole in the wall for a split second, then a flash of light, and then something that shouldn't have happened, happened. I felt grandpa's connection to me was severed. He should have still been nearby, but I couldn't feel his presence. His soul wasn't stored inside me either, so where did he go?
"So that is the soul shattering fist? I heard the stories but never had I imagined it would be so marvelous! I can still feel the shockwaves in my bones!"
Soul … Shattering
As the words of that fat guy from the side ran through my head, I began to understand. If grandpa's body was destroyed.
"Oh no! My clothes are all dirty now!"
And he isn't stored inside my head.
"Hideyoshi! Kiko! Stop ogling the sick dog! Your father needs us!"
Then his soul. Grandpa, his soul…
*Shatter*
"Shattered!" I said, after my gag burned to dust after I broke out of my chains to grab the arm of the woman about to stab me in the gut.
Soon after, the woman I grabbed, began to shrivel up into a dried up husk of her former self, before dropping to the floor dead, as I could feel something welling up inside me. I turned to look at the rest of the room, the twisted joy nowhere to be seen as fear filled their eyes. I could feel something shooting out of my head, and soon the three fatsos were turned into empty husks. My head felt like it was on fire, but I didn't care. I just lost my grandpa again. They took him away from me again. They want to take everything away from me again. So, the only thing I care about right now, is to give them a taste of their own medicine.
"You took everything from me once before! So, I'm going to take everything from you!" I said as I turned to the coughing man on the floor.
That superior attitude was gone, along with his composure as he tried to fly away from me with three purple threads sticking into his body. I saw his body slowly wither into a husk before dropping like a stone somewhere in the distance. I then walked outside as if possessed, as I suddenly felt completely different. I was in control, but I felt compelled to do something that I didn't quite understand. I open my mouth to speak. I don't know why, I didn't even know what I was about to say, but I just did, because it felt like I should.
"To make the world fair!"
After hearing those words leave my own mouth, suddenly my whole body and soul felt like it was on fire as my vision faded away. The last I remember before losing consciousness was a flash of purple, and a million screams echoing inside my skull.