(NARRATOR)
Shinryu looks at him and asks, "Who are you? What do you want?"
The man replies, "Oh, nothing. I was just ordered to retrieve that girl you've got on your back there."
"Why do you need her?" Shinryu asked.
"Can't say," the man replied. He followed with, "Kid, just make things easy for yourself and hand her over. I'm kind of on a time crunch here, and I don't have time to play with you," he said in a playful, goofy tone.
Shinryu thought to himself, I could just let him take her and guarantee I live. After all, saving her doesn't align with any of my goals.
But something inside me is begging me to try and protect her. My gut tells me that if he gets her, something bad will happen. I don't know why he wants her, but it must mean she's important—to him, or to whoever sent him here.
Shinryu spoke, "Let's make a deal." He put Yuzuki down and pulled out his daggers.
He continued, "You let us go, and I won't kill you. How does that sound?"
The man began to laugh frantically. Then he answered, "Man, kid, you're funny. If that's what you want… although I did try to give you a chance."
The man pulled out some claws. Shinryu thought, Not good — he has a Chronicle and it probably has attacks. I'm in a tough situation. If I did leave her here, would I benefit more from it?
Flashback —
A delicate, calm voice spoke, "Hey Shinryu, come over here."
A younger version of Shinryu walked toward the voice of a woman with blonde hair, red eyes, and an expression filled with softness and reassurance.
"Yes?" said Shinryu in a high-pitched voice.
The woman spoke, "What do you think about that?"
She pointed outside the window — three kids were throwing stones at a poor girl who was with another boy. The three boys shouted, "Hey, help us throw stones at her! If not, you'll get stoned too!"
He looked at her as she begged him not to, but he said, "Sorry… but if I do, they won't hurt me. If it's me over you, I choose myself."
The woman asked, "What does that make you feel?"
Little Shinryu replied, "I… I'm not sure. I feel an ache in my chest — something awful. I feel like I would do the same as him, but at the same time, something inside me tells me I'd help her."
She smiled softly and said, "So, what do you want to do? Right now, in this moment — what is the thing your heart desires the most?"
He hesitated, then replied, "I think… my heart wants to help her. I feel like if I don't, I'll regret it. I don't know why."
She replied, "Son, always keep that same thought in mind. Whenever you feel like there's something you should do — and it feels unbearable, and your gut tells you — trust in it. That is God guiding you and giving you a mission. Whether you face it in fear, with strength, or without, the fact that you try to listen is more than enough. It will help you and make you a better person."
She stood up, and together they stepped outside. With a stick, little Shinryu started swinging frantically while his mom helped the girl up, chasing the boys out of their property.
— End of Flashback —
Shinryu felt that same feeling he had back when he was a kid. He always thought of himself as someone who only cared about his own goals — someone selfish and detached. Yet, his actions and decisions so far didn't reflect that at all. Deep down, he knew it — despite what he told himself, he wasn't the kind of person who could just stand by and do nothing.
Shinryu got into a fighting stance, ready to face off against the foe.
"I promise you I won't let you take her. I will defeat you," Shinryu said, his motivation as high as ever. He now started to understand himself a little more. Although he still wondered, in some way, why he had acted the way he did, in that moment he decided not to think — he would protect her.
We shift to Kiba, who was being dragged across the forest. He grabs the cloaked man by the collar and smashes him down. Kiba creates some distance between himself and the man.
"What do you want?" asked Kiba.
The man did not reply — he pulled out two kunai and got into a stance. Kiba thought, I'm pretty sure there were two of them. I have to deal with this one fast and head back to help Shinryu and Yuzuki.
Kiba got ready to fight, his stance showing years of practice and honed skill.
From one moment to the next, the cloaked man lunged at Kiba.
He blocked.
He counterattacked with a palm strike.
The cloaked man barely dodged, but Kiba still drew blood from his cheek. The man stepped back.
Kiba was calm and relaxed — he was in full control.
The man used an ability. He threw the kunai at high speed, using nexus to increase the impact.
Kiba shouted, "PYRO PALM!"
The kunai disintegrated.
Then Kiba disappeared — the man didn't know where he went. Kiba appeared behind him and kicked him into the air.
He jumped after him with a reversed Pyro Palm.
Kiba hovered over the man and, with one strike, shouted, "BLAZING KNUCKLE!"
He hit the cloaked man dead in the lungs, sending him crashing down. The man's body twitched a little, burning marks covering him, before going completely immobile.
(SHINRYU)
Clashing with this guy is no joke. Without my own power, I can't do much—since I have no moves, what will I do against him? He seems to have me cornered in every way. I can't find an opening point.
(NARRATOR)
Shinryu dashed toward the man and tried to slice his arm off, but was quickly parried.
The cloaked man slashed Shinryu's face. Although he moved just in time to save his eye, he still got hit. The claws had poison—it spread fast through his body, making him cough violently.
Shinryu wiped the blood off his mouth. His body ached, his vision blurred, and every muscle in his body began to contract. He struggled to breathe.
"Oh, come on. One attack is enough to leave you like this? What a joke," said the cloaked man.
Shinryu started barraging him with nexus slashes that created bursts of water, but his injured body couldn't handle it. His strength drained quickly.
The man appeared behind Shinryu and stabbed him, injecting him with a stronger dose of poison. Shinryu fell to the ground.
The man sighed and picked Yuzuki up from the ground. "You should've just run away, kid," said the man as he started walking off, carrying Yuzuki with him.
Shinryu thought, Damn it… If I had only brought my Wind Chronicle instead of trying to hide myself, I could've easily defeated him. It's all my damn fault… Why was I so stupid? Sure, maybe the monsters were easy, but of course something like this was going to happen. It's just like back then… I was powerless to stop it. Da…m…n… i…t…
Shinryu's vision dimmed slowly as his heartbeat began to slow.
The man was about to leave with Yuzuki, but someone appeared in front of him—a familiar face. The cloaked man took a good look at him and started to sweat. He thought, If this is who I think it is, I might have to surrender the girl.
He followed with, "A former member of the 12 Avengelion... Takuma Hoshigami."
TO BE CONTINUED...