

TAKE ME WITH YOU

By Asiko Ogunje

PROLOGUE

She was always weary of the rain.

It was coming down hard, creating puddles that appeared shallow but was clever with its deception. A hurried foot came down hard on it, sending large drops scattering in every direction, becoming lost in the chaos of the downpour. Despite the rain she ran.

Dashing across the busy district formerly known as Akihabara, Hatsuo Seiya's panic made her oblivious to life's clutter; the pedestrians ignoring the rain as they calmly made their way to their destinations; cars humming as they roamed the streets. All she could hear was her ragged breathing – dangerously painful to hear and to feel; she had been running for far too long and soon she would collapse.

That moment stuck in Seiya's mind, a moment where her body felt so raw that it was hard not to believe that she was alive yet, the moment had faded and her body numbed. She didn't feel alive anymore. Perhaps that was why she was in the position she was in now; stood on a dive-board set up what felt like to her, impossibly high above the swimming pool. At her height the pool was as large as a playing card and it frightened her. She gazed down worriedly as the water swayed gently, glistening under the strong lights while the crowds' eyes were on her, encouraging her to make the leap of faith.

Seiya imagined what it would be like. With enough confidence she would be able to soar like an angel and be admired by everyone as she fell gracefully before disappearing under the shimmering surface.

Yet, hesitation continued to fill her stomach, stopping her from making her move. Seiya couldn't do it, she was a coward. She knew it and so did the spectators. Deep down in her heart however, she knew that that was a lie; she wasn't a coward, she was was strong. Unexpectedly, her face lit up when she decided that indeed she _was_ strong, she had the resolve to launch off the dive-board, break the surface of the water and enter another world. She would swim and forget her worries, her studies, and the people around her.

Her arms spread out either side of her and she continued to stare down. Tears slid down her cold cheeks, feeling more real than they ever had. Motivated now, Seiya found the courage to tip her weight forward and let gravity take hold, falling off the dive-board to gracefully fall into the water below.

GHOSTS

In his mind he could hear her ragged breathing...

She looked up at him with dead eyes, her body weak and depleted, unmoving under the thick covers that sheltered her but did nothing to warm her shivering body. Her hair was soaked with sweat, was breaking apart and clung to her skin – grey and dying, overrun with black blood vessels.

' _I will always love you...'_

She had said to him.

Never before had he felt so scared, but what scared him even more was that this grim creature gazing longing and lovingly at him was his own mother. 'Kioshi...' An arm rose from under the covers. 'I'm sorry... I'm sorry that I can't be there to protect you from the monsters you'll meet, from the dangers and horrors in the world...' Tears like diluted ink spilled from her eyes and the sight frightened her son who clung on to his father tightly.

'No matter what darkness you meet, Kioshi, you mustn't become lost in it like I did. You'll think that it will cure you of your pain, but it won't. You must fight it. You can't–!' His mother stopped short, writhing around, startling him as moans of pain escaped her. Whatever illness that tortured her was one she never had a hope of beating. 'I'll be there! Whenever you're lost and you need me most! I'll be there!' She held out a desperate, shaking hand. 'Don't lose hope, Kioshi.'

Then her arm dropped like a stone and she was still.

His father beside him tucked her fully under the cover and together they stared at the woman who hadn't really been alive for years but had struggled to keep not only her sanity but her humanity.

' _Don't be afraid Kioshi...'_

Kioshi gasped, the sound of the world flooding into his ears, sending a shock through body, reminding him that he was alive. Sweat slid down his left temple, cooling him down in addition to the gentle wind. Kioshi placed a hand on his forehead and stared as the world passed him by.

Everyday for the years that followed his mother's passing, Kioshi lived his life in fear and anxiety, mindful that at any time he too may become plagued by the same illness that had driven his mother insane and destroyed her body. Not a day went by when the image of his mother's sick face forced its way to the front of his mind where he confronted it and then wrestled the dread that followed.

Tamashii Kioshi waited for his time to come – which it would, he was sure of it.

' _Don't be afraid Kioshi...'_

Kioshi slowly lifted his head, peering through tired and worn eyes. Despite being eighteen years-old he still hadn't gotten used to the sight of the unforgiving grey sky that enforced melancholy on every citizen in Japan. The sun could barely be seen hidden behind the wall of grey and so the world was for ever dark. Under the dark sky were the black the Black Towers as many referred to them as – the buildings, filled the people with doom with its architecture; plain black structures with black windows that could be looked into but not out of. The combined elements made Japan a very unpleasant place to grow up in.

His stare returned to the road where the cars zipped back and forth – much like the people around him, with an energy that he didn't possess and didn't think he ever _would_ possess. All over Japan from what Kioshi gathered, everyone moved in the same mesmerising, loathsome unity that added to his bothersome opinion that the adults literally had no souls. The teenagers who still retained their sentience all dreaded the time when they would lose theirs too and fade away into the society that many of them quietly opposed.

Much like his peers, Kioshi wasn't prepared to assimilate to the world.

His mother's kind, gentle face appear at the front of his mind, smiling at him. She used to read him stories as a child during times when she was lucid, stories of boys and girls who went on adventures exploring other worlds, worlds with strong, vibrant colours that inspired joy – a feeling that the people in Japan seldom felt – if ever. The colours under Japan's vast, grey sky were bleak and pale as if they were afraid to show their true splendour.

The worlds he read of were vastly different to the one he lived in where the skies were such a rich blue that they were intoxicating and awe-inspiring just to look at; a blue so deep and luxurious that just imagining it made Kioshi lose all sense of where he was.

' _This is Paradise Kioshi.'_

His mother laid beside Kioshi as he fought to stay awake, his infant eyes trying to focus on the story. 'Paradise?' His hand reached out to stroke the watercolour drawing of children playing in a field. 'What's that?'

Kioshi's mother smiled and then spoke in a calm voice; 'Paradise is a beautiful world where dreams come true. It is a world where you can be free and follow your heart.'

Such books were a luxury when he was younger. Now, those sort of books; books about hope, dreams, fantasy, they didn't exist.

*

The classroom was filled with students by the time Kioshi entered and of course no-one took notice of him as he shimmied between desks to his seat. Matsugane Aki watched him with interest, her chin perched delicately on her hand. She was alone without a trace of human contact to sustain her just like Kioshi, she could only assume. However, such was the way of High School; an arena that also served as a prison to the students – a fact that Aki was well aware of and if anyone had a hope of surviving they had to be both strong and resilient. In a world where many of the people rarely felt the warmth of happiness, things frequently went bad; students would get hurt and the teachers would do nothing as if instructed to do so by a higher authority. The order: let them fight it out until only the strong survived.

Society worked based on people knowing and understanding their roles while having the competency to follow instructions. The adults seemed to work in synchronisation and required no training. Teenagers however were innocent and impressionable. This was the time to weed out the weak and allow society's nature to crush them. People like Aki and Kioshi were two of the many who struggled in this environment. Her free hand curled tightly into a shaky fist beneath the desk.

The students were talking in low voices around the room and Aki was listening to their conversations. She would never be a part of their talks unless she was invited to partake – which she never was. _People..._ Aki thought. _Morons..._

'Did you hear?' Seito asked.

'About the suicide? Yeah...' Said Hido.

'How sad. She was so young.' Miyako commented.

'Look at us... More and more of us and killing ourselves because we just can't take it anymore.' Hido's eyes narrowed.

'This can't go on.'

'But... What can we do? What can any of us do?'

Kioshi placed a hand to his mouth as he pondered what they had said.

'"Eighteen year-old Hatsuo Seiya was found dead outside a department store in Zone Three after she jumped off the roof three stories high where on impact she suffered a fatal head injury. Her death makes her the third High School student to do so in this week alone. When questioned, students at her school failed to even acknowledge that the young girl even studied there at all.

"Records revealed however, that Seiya had been a student at the school for three years but a the lack of knowledge from her peers has lead many to assume she was one of the "Ghosts" as labelled by her age group."'

'Put the newspaper away, Seito.' Miyako begged, grabbing the top roughly and dragging it down onto the desk.

'I wouldn't have thought that you'd be used to it by now Miyako.'

'I am. It's just...'

'No-one gets used to death.' Kioshi said thoughtlessly, his back to the group of students. He closed his eyes angrily in disbelief that he had spoken his mind.

Seito turned his head, 'Mind your own business, Kioshi.'

'Don't be rude, Seito.' Miyako nudged.

'Who does he think he is coming into our conversation?'

'But you can't deny the truth. It's getting too much.' Hido said. 'This is now the second to last week of High School.'

'And everyone knows that after this week their lives are nearly over. No-one wants to end up like those _machines_ walking the streets. We all want to retain whatever personality we have.'

'But Japan will never change. Things are the way they are because the government wants it that way. They don't want us to make a fuss, just get on with our lives.' Miyako claimed. 'I just don't understand though, _how_ does it happen? How will we end up simply... losing ourselves?'

'I don't know. It makes you think why they would make the world the way they have. I mean, doesn't it make them miserable too?'

'Look at all the adults, Hido,' Seito pointed out. 'All of them have been programmed to go about the tasks they've been given without any complaints. The only people who notices that anything is wrong are us. Teenagers. How does that work?'

'But _why_? Why is it that the adults are mindless drones while we're fine.' Hido lightly drummed the desk he was sitting on.

'Maybe it's something that happens as we age?' Miyako pitched.

'In that case, why do the children seem so lost?' Kioshi asked to himself but was overheard by the group who was silent for some time. Around them the class continued to have their own discussions.

'Mind-Control.' Hido speculated.

'Don't be an idiot, Hido.' Seito scolded.

'You have a better idea, Seito? What if people were being controlled be an evil force and well, the force is stretched to its limit? Adults would be the priority because they can work, children next because they're the next generation and we're just... in the middle.'

'Idiot...'

'I don't want anyone else to die.' Confided Miyako, her hands tightening on the hem of her skirt.

'No-one does.' Seito said with a sombre visage.

The door slide open and Ikuhara Kouji entered baring an expression that hinted at tiredness and frustration.

'Hey, Kouji,' Hido sighed, pulling out a chair. 'You look tired.'

Kouji shot Hido a stern expression that said it all: "Ya think?" 'Stuff's been going on at the company and it's been keeping me up that's all. What are you all talking about?'

'Hatuso Seiya.' Miyako said.

'Who?'

'A girl jumped to her death in Zone Three.'

Kouji made a dismissive sound. 'All these suicides have become too common for me to care.' He shrugged.

'You can't mean that?' Hido raised an eyebrow in outrage.

'It's a sad inevitability. If everyday you open up the newspaper or turn on the television only to read or hear about people killing themselves then it starts to become irrelevant. Be thankful that by the time you have to get a job you'll have more of a chance.' He stood up.

'What if I were to die?'

The group continued on as if Aki hadn't spoken. Aki didn't let the silence deter though. 'What if I went onto the roof and jumped off?'

Kouji pretended that the question hadn't been asked, moving to his assigned seat.

'What a jerk.' Hido folded his arms in disgust. 'Can you believe him?'

'I don't blame him for acting like he does, he has the mind of a business man.'

Kioshi turned back around so that he was facing the front of the class. 'I can hear you.' He turned his head so that he met Aki's eyes. 'I can hear you...'

'It's sad, isn't it, Kioshi.' Aki claimed. 'Not just Hatsuo Seiya but... everything. It's not a way to live.' She smiled a small, fake smile.

'No...' Dreamily, Kioshi looked away from her to stare at his desk. 'It's not.'

Kioshi didn't know what caused it but, he found himself attracted to the eerie girl beside him; short with pale skin and a head of untamed, chocolate-brown hair complementing a child-like face that looked scared with age. Her hair was short though it appeared that its length was more due to the breakage rather than cutting. In truth, Aki looked worn-out, rough and ill. Kioshi wondered if that's what attracted her to him; she looked real – human. Whatever demons she had she allowed it to show. Aki was a petite girl as if she didn't eat well however, Kioshi noticed that she had a set of large, perky breasts that jutted out, giving her a strange profile.

Kioshi was thrown out of his thoughts when his teacher Mr Tetsuo strode through the open door, a noticeably frustrated man who dressed formally with a pale-blue, long-sleeved shirt rolled up with the top two buttons left undone and tucked into well-ironed trousers with polished shoes. He was obviously tired as his lids were venturing on grey and stubble plagued his chin and around his mouth. Furthermore, creases on his face revealed a man who constantly had something on his mind – made apparent from his frequently grumbleing.'Alright!' He announced, slamming a hand on his desk making all the students jump. Quickly, the ones out of their seats corrected themselves. 'I've been instructed to have a group discussion over the death of this girl Hatsuo Seiya. If any of your cared to pay attention to the news, you might have heard that she killed herself in Zone Three.'

'Why do we need to talk about her? A girl named Aika spat.

'Because,' Mr Tetsu snapped, 'The headteacher believes that these reoccurring events are having a negative effect on you the students.'

'I don't really want to talk about it; it's just so terrible. But,' Miyako began, standing up. 'We all have our problems but, surely it isn't worth killing ourselves over? Right?'

'We don't know what bothers one another. It's not our place to judge.' Claimed Hido, resting the side of his head on his fist.

'Seiya was a Ghost. Sadly... she was doomed. We all know that if you're a Ghost then no-one cares for your presence. No-one cares if you're dead or alive. That was Hatsuo Seiya – a girl with no worth to those around her.' Seito explained.

'You can't all believe that!? Anyone?' Miyako examined the room desperately but no-one looked her in the eye so downhearted, she sat down.

'You guys actually care?' Mr Tetsuo asked, astonished, folding his arms with interest. 'Well I'll be damned.'

'What's there to not believe?' Miyako asked.

Mr Tetsu continued to have his arms folded. 'I assumed all of you kids were the same; not caring about your friends, not caring if they were to suddenly disappear. But it seems that some of you have a conscious.'

'That's because it's our fault.' Kioshi said. He figured that while talking to the teacher the class would have no choice but to listen to him.

'How is this _our_ fault?' A boy, Makado asked accusingly.

Kioshi inhaled slowly and then exhaled, placing a finger to his lips in a pondering manner. From the corner of his eye he glanced at Aki who was giving him the most attention out of everyone. 'I can imagine what Seiya felt everyday; the pain caused by living. She would wake up every morning to the sound of her alarm clock but would lie in bed for a little while longer as she built up the courage to go in. Eventually she would get out of bed but, she had spent so much time suspended in her dread that by the time she would get into class she'd arrive exactly on time if not late. Seiya could have spent the whole day at home and no-one would have noticed however, like all students who are bullied at school but say nothing, she wanted to keep up appearances.

'On particularly bad days she would vomit because the anxiety of heading into school would nauseate her so greatly and even if Seiya shared this anxiety with her parents they would insist that she was fine and more than capable of going in to school. She would obey like a good child and a good student.

'The day is already off to a bad start for her. Seiya would be the sort of girl who would over-compensate during class and social situations for the sake of seeming normal and wanting to be accepted but this would cause her pain. In the end all of her struggles would be for nothing.' Kioshi smiled a pitying smile. 'She was a Ghost and we made her one. No-one looked at her, no-one asked about her. She came to school alone, endured alone and left alone. Yet now people only know of her because she jumped off the roof of her school and killed herself. And now sitting here you're outraged when I say that it is our fault. You all think that this is a lie – that our peers can't hurt this much but they do.'

A shiver ran down Miyako's spine.

'No, it _was_ her fault.' Accused Aika. 'She shouldn't have been the kind of girl she was, the kind of girl that people didn't want to be friends with. If she was suffering so much then she should have changed. That's how you survive in this world. But no, the girl killed herself. Selfish bitch!'

'And what kind of girl would that be?' Kioshi's eye narrowed and he folded his arms. 'A girl like you? A girl whose attitude would turn someone else into a Ghost?'

Mr Tetsuo eyed Kioshi with interest.

'You say she's a coward. Why.'

'Because she wasn't strong enough to keep up with the world, because she only thought about herself when she killed herself. What about her family?' Aika argued, glaring at Kioshi with her one visible eye, the other covered by shoulder-length black hair.

'Cowardice and bravery isn't so clear-cut.' Aki added.

'Who asked you, freak?' Aika spat.

Aki gave Aika a venomous face but continued. 'From the parents' side it is cowardly and selfish. If Seiya had continued to live she would have been in pain but at least her parents wouldn't be effected. However, aren't the parents being selfish for wanting their daughter to live when she doesn't want to? Isn't take control and making such a choice – coming face to face with her problem, brave?'

'She wasn't a saint, just a very sad girl.' Aika mocked. 'Society is messed up as it is. It would be worse if we'd have to acknowledge those who stir up some sort of negativity! To acknowledge those who make us feel bad. Wouldn't that be selfish on _her_ part?' Aika stood, slamming her desk with her hands.

Aki closed her eyes and sighed, feeling exhausted. She had exerted herself more than she wanted.

'What does that bullshit mean?' Kouji didn't respect Aika to even look at her. 'She was probably just a girl that people didn't like just because of the way she looked or the way she spoke. You say that people don't want to acknowledge her when everyday people these people are being acknowledged by being beaten half to death.'

Kioshi's eyes narrowed.

'You're a grown up,' said Miyako. 'Why is the world like this? It's not right, it's not...' She didn't know the right combination of words to do her thoughts justice.

'Ghost or not, what do we have to live for?' Makado asked. 'Here we are coming here day in and day out, learning things _only_ so we can go out and be like _him_.' He pointed at Mr Tetsuo.

'What's wrong with me?' Mr Tetsuo returned.

'You're one of them even if you don't know it.'

Mr Tetsuo raised an eyebrow.

'If only we could end this madness with Ghosts and bullying; it's getting out of control. We've all experienced it at some point and we're all sick of it.' Miyako held herself close.

'The bullying has nothing to do with it.' Makado looked away, trying to look cool.

'Maybe it's because you're a bully yourself?'

The class began to talk quietly in agreement with Kouji. 'There doesn't have to be anything wrong with a person to for them to be bullied. People are bullying other people just so they can feel better about themselves even if it's a short-lived high.'

The class devolved into a depressed silence.

'I had no idea... Mr Tetsuo bore the face of a man who had had a revelation then reached into his pocket and withdrew a pack of cigarettes, plucking one tiredly and placing it between his lips to light it. 'You kids won't know.'

'Mr Tetsuo! Should you really be smoking in here?' Miyako asked, surprised.

Mr Tetsuo blew a long trail of smoke, it's colour matching the sky that he couldn't see, blocked by the black windows. 'My smoking, is a choice.'

Kioshi leaned in, intrigued. 'You're not like them... Are you?'

'Don't insult me.' Mr Tetsuo folded his free arm under his other raised arm. 'All of this nonsense, it's about beliefs.'

'What do you mean?' Seito asked.

'You kids have shown me something today... I didn't know that there were people out there who cared. I thought the power of sentience was lost long ago... when Japan wasn't as it is now. A time where the sky was blue, where this district was a glorious metropolis named Shibuya – a name taboo now in case the name sparks memories for the people. Shibuya was known as the "shopping district" once upon-a-time, it brought inspiration and awe. And Zone Three was once known as Akihabara – Electric Town and a haven for people with strong interests in anime and manga.

Deep lines formed on Mr Tetsuo's face as he recalled the past. 'Friends meant something and people made time for other people. You'd find groups on the streets talking, eating, making a fuss but you just _don't_ see that now. The diversity on the streets was something that every kid aspired to – the different fashions, it was something to behold. And the _colours_! The colours you saw! They would fill more than just your eyes, they filled your heart.' His pack of cigarettes crumpled as his fist clenched and shook.

'We as people harbour a long forgotten gift and that is being "Keys" to the world. Some of you here have a power dormant power inside you – however small, to access the power of the world and do remarkable things. Maybe some of you here are Keys but have been hiding it.

'Come one, that's far-fetched, Mr Tetsuo' Said Aika.

Though making a disapproving sound, Mr Tetsuo smiled. 'There's no use explaining this to you kids. You somehow see sense in black buildings and permanently grey skies.'

'How is this relevant to the present, Mr Tetsuo?' Seito asked.

'Because, in nineteen eighty eight one man changed everything; a Key with such unbelievable power that he single-handedly re-wrote Japan's social conventions. His name was Yamamoto Akira; a corrupt politician. Everything here today is a reflection of his eternal desire: an efficient society with no room for emotions, only a focus on work to sustain the economy.' Smoke shot harshly from his lips.

'Why take our emotions?' Miyako asks.

'He didn't take our emotions, he suppressed them. He did what he thought was necessary to keep our society moving in a productive direction. However, his suppression of ourselves brought Japan into a depression never seen before but one that was, in his eyes, needed to stop us destroying ourselves with trivialities. The minds of those _"Deprived"_ are sustained by Yamamoto Akira yet I know that deep within them some trace of their humanity remains. In the end they lead their lives with this great sadness that they can't put our finger on, never knowing the cause and as a result many who retain enough will kill themselves.'

'If what you're saying is true then how do you know?'

'I was part of a group of youths who rebelled against Akira back in the day. Maybe that's it. I don't question it. We couldn't stand by and let Akira destroy our way of life but in return, Akira wouldn't stand by and let us destroy his vision. He thought he was making the perfect world – the world everyone needed but, what he failed to realize was that happiness is purely down to peoples' interpretation. Akira suppression took our will and our power to make choices. As a result, we became easily manipulable and we also forgot how to use our abilities as Keys. No more wars, no more greed or chaos, only peace. "Paradise".'

_There's that word again, Paradise._ Kioshi thought. _Could my mother's illness have been something to do with another world? She tried so hard to teach me of values and things that I could never see. What if these things actually existed long ago? What if there is hope for us?_

'What about the rest of the world?' Asked a student.

'They don't care.' Mr Tetsuo said bitterly. 'Sure what's going on here is wrong but in the eyes of the world our economy is stable and we're contributing to the rest of the world in a positive way. In the eyes of many Akira was a hero – a visionary and saviour. But nothing was wrong with our society in the first place. There are people who care or cared elsewhere but, protesters hardly make a splash in the grand scheme of things. All our news, our entertainment – everything is altered for us for the sake of our... _artificial_ society.' Mr Tetsuo spat at the word "artificial".

'I can't accept this.' Kioshi spoke. He looked around the room to find all eyes on him, a sight and feeling that he was unaccustomed to and if he were honest with himself, didn't enjoy. There were too many stares, too many opinions and potential hatred aimed at him. Still, he continued. 'I won't accept this. Don't we all have a right to be happy and live in a world that we _want_ to live in? Don't we have the right to feel the things we want to feel. Japan needs to rise and take back its freedom.'

'You want us to go to war?' Makado snorted. 'Idiot.'

'No, of course not. But, we can still fight to take back our future. Or are we all content with what we're doomed to?'

The class felt differently, many of them shaking their heads with disapproval.

'Surely Akira can't still be alive?' Aki asked, quietly.

'It's true, none of us have heard of him. He must be dead.' Hido said.

'No... If he were dead then the world he made would have gone with him.' Seito explained.

'So I was right. Mind-Control.'

'Unbelievably...'

'He must not be in the spotlight then. The government must be a face for the real person in charge.' Miyako speculated.

The class fell silent.

'You can't all believe this!?' Kouji added, standing.

All eyes turn to him.

'Supernatural abilities? Society-shifting _war –_ that we haven't heard of? C'mon. All we have are the facts in front of us.'

'Even if what Mr Tetsu said is false, Kioshi-san is right. We have to take the future into our hands. If Seiya's death has told us _anything_ it's that enough is enough.' Said Aki. 'We can either wait and lose our independence or fight.'

Some of the class chuckled mockingly.

Mr Tetsu chuckled too though for a different reason. 'I don't know why I said any of this when there's nothing you can do. You're all alone and far too few. There's no way you can restore Japan to what it was before. People before you fought to stop Akira, and all fell. But,' He stubbed out his cigarette on his desk, creating a small spot on the worn wood. 'You all have surprised me today. If you want me to teach you to realize your potential as Keys then I will. You may as well learn something actually useful instead of learning how to file taxes.' He moved off of the desk, placing his hands on his hips. 'So, who–'

The room filled with the sound of shattering glass and in the same moment the class gasped and Mr Tetsuo was thrown off his feet, crumpling onto the floor. Silence followed.

Just as the idea of a revolution developed in the hearts of the students, in an instant that dream took a bullet to the head.

LOVE

Kioshi traversed the streets, backpack over one shoulder and head lowered as he pondered about the days events; particularly how the school was seemingly unaffected by the sudden and unexpected death of his teacher. He himself couldn't believe yet but, somehow the event was expected for him because from the way Mr Tetso was talking about the past, it was forbidden.

The expression on his headteacher, Mr Yurikawa's face when he saw what had happened came back to him; the lack of emotion and the coldness in his eyes was more sinister when replayed, Kioshi could focus more on the hardness of his features and the calamity of his posture. He had come into the class more so to see how difficult the mess would be to clear up rather than in shock that someone had actually died, so it seemed. _What if what Mr Tetsuo said was true? If everyone is being controlled by this Yamamoto Akira then the rest of the teachers must be too._

This new direction of thinking made Kioshi stop in the middle of the street, disturbed by his thoughts. _No police, no questioning and it turns even though Mr Yurikawa hadn't even instructed teachers to talk about Seiya's death. What if all the adults share a single mind..._

Kioshi found his idle body on the street to be nothing more than a rock in the stream that was the crowd as everyone moved around him with ease without a single shoulder bumping into him. _Are these "Deprived" really people crying for freedom? They must be. If not then what are these peoples' purpose? Is it only to be part of society's great machine? The don't seem like they have a place here, and are wondering around in search of their former selves. Maybe even their souls... Perhaps that's how Akira suppressed them. Perhaps the Deprived truly have no souls._ His eyes narrowed as he dove deeper into thought. _We are merely dummys in this world; we serve no great purpose, no-one cares if we live or die. But what? What are we standing in place for – if anything? Our former selves? What is it!?_ 'What is it!?'

A gasp left his lips and all sound left the world. The eyes of everyone was suddenly on him; rows of crowds and even those on the other side of the streets, cars paused with the drivers staring out of the windows. Even pedestrian was giving Kioshi their full attention.

Though unnerved by the strange occurrence, his mind still felt the need to go one. _What are our places in the great machine? What is my purpose in this world? Or am I only here to die like Hatsuo Seiya or fade away as if I never existed in the first place? I need to find the answer._

*

The only place where he felt any sense of location was in his bedroom; an environment molded to his liking and the only place in the world where he felt like he had any control. However, when he returned to its familiarity and safety, it didn't settle his mind but only prompted deeper thinking.

His bag dropped heavily on the carpet and then he covered his eyes with the palms of his hands, exhaled then tried to get his thoughts in order. Kioshi's fingers spread apart, opening his eyes to the bright, white walls surrounding him. He wanted these walls to purify his mind and help him to find the answers that he sought but no matter how hard Kioshi drank in the plainness, the answers wouldn't come.

_What did Seiya believe? What crossed her mind? Did she struggle with the same thoughts I have?_ Kioshi walked up to his window tinted black that he was able to look through unlike the buildings in his school.

Seiya... You must never have found the answers to the questions that tormented you. Or... Was death your answer? You could have had any sort of mind: questioning like mine, thoughtful or maybe confused. Maybe you were a more intelligent person than me and concluded that death was the only logical answer to your problem. Should I follow your lead? Or were you simply scared, nonchalant or a coward?

Kioshi then remembered the disapproving resolve of his peers, how they didn't have the same enthusiasm as him to want to take their future in their hands. He realized that he was more alone than he had thought which felt impossible. It was one thing to be alone physically but, being alone emotionally was even greater torture.

Feeling weak all of a sudden, Kioshi sat at his desk, holding his head, feeling a headache coming. In addition to this feeling, he felt a wave of agitation and anger rising to the surface – the result of the day coming together. The mixture of feelings disgusted him as it made him feel less than human – it wasn't good to hold onto such raw feelings of hatred.

What Kioshi hated the most wasn't the way the world worked but himself; how he lived to search for answers and to figure out how the world worked. The answers he found were often ugly ones and it only made his hate stronger. In the end he hated himself because he couldn't stand this curious mind and he simply couldn't live with the answers and truths that he found; they only inspired more hate.

Kioshi's tired eyes were glazed over as he sat, hand partially covering his lips as he thought. He knew that he shouldn't be angry because being angry would only serve to make him feel terrible. Without thinking he left his room, his socked feet crossing the corridor softly but stopped for a moment to listen to the silence.

In the kitchen now, he opened the fridge, plucking from the door a half-filled bottle of milk, Kioshi drank from it thoughtlessly, his mind focused on the quiet. When Kioshi lowered the bottle he sighed.

It was the right amount of quite now; his mind had ceased it's rioting and was now calm but without his thoughts prompting emotions, Kioshi didn't feel anything in his mind but his body felt numb. He looked at his free hand and clenched it. It didn't feel real to him – _he_ didn't feel real. The bottle in his hand didn't feel like it was there either and the feeling of _not_ feeling was on his mind when he replaced the bottle back into the fridge and then tentatively wiped milk from his face.

Keys turned in the front door and then it opened, accompanied by intense rustling from a bundle of plastic bags. 'Father?' Kioshi walked out into the corridor.

'Give me hand will you?' His father handed Kioshi a set of bags.

Kioshi returned to the kitchen. Behind him his father lowered his own bags and Kioshi picked up the clanging of tins and glass bottles.

'Put the seasonings on the table and put the fish in a bowl then leave it in the sink.' Kioshi's father ordered softly.

'And the vegetables?'

'Get to work.'

'Alright...'

Curiously Kioshi rummaged inside a bag, picking out the ingredients that his father had requested but before heading to the counter he discovered a few other items including sweets, chocolate, a book entitled "A Daily Temptation" and some premium beer in luxurious, brown bottles.

Items gathered, Kioshi placed them on the table then withdrew a wooden chopping board from a cupboard under him, next moving over to the sink to wash dirt from carrots.

Just as he had placed the washed vegetable down on the chopping board, Kioshi heard footsteps as his father re-entered the kitchen. 'Did you wash your hands?' He asked.

'I was just about to...'

'Kioshi...'

Kioshi returned to the sink to wash his hands while his father went about his own duties. Though his father was in the kitchen with him, Kioshi couldn't help but feel that silence still had too strong a presence in the room.

*

A feast laid before them on the long, polished, wooden table; an assortment of rice dishes; some filled with vegetables such as peas, carrots, bean sprouts and onions; some with chicken and some with beef. Also on the table was smoked fish from the store which was grilled, soups made from the broth from the chicken and beef plus some home-made _onigiri_ and _sushi._ In the centre of the table was a seafood platter surrounded by beer, cola and other fruit-flavoured canned drinks that weren't necessarily fizzy.

However, the events of the day had taken their toll on Kioshi's appetite. His father too was reluctant to eat, instead flicking the cap of his metallic lighter as he sat casually on the floor with a leg raised, filling the air with a clanging sound. After a while he grew impatient with himself and lit a cigarette. Kioshi watched as the end burned redder as his father's inhaling intensified, the ash tail growing longer. From the length of his draw Kioshi knew that his father must have been feeling tense.

'Father? Have you heard about the girl? Hatsuo Seiya?'

'You know that I don't listen to the news, Kioshi.' His father didn't look in his direction.

'Right...' Kioshi looked to the side. 'She was a girl in Zone Three who jumped off her school the other day and it got a whole bunch of us thinking...' Kioshi paused with uncertainty, listening deeply to the silence. He continued to sit as he did, leaning back on his arms with one leg folded but the other extended. 'A lot of us are worried about the future; you've seen the people out there. What can we do?'

'You choose: fight or die. What else _can_ you do? Well... Besides sitting on your ass and complaining.'

Kioshi's gaze returned to his father. 'We fight?'

'You fight. You fight with everything you have.' His father looked at the photograph of his long since deceased wife, smiling at him like she was there in the room. 'You mother fought in more ways than one.'

' _Kioshi...'_

Kiioshi's heart stuttered. Had he just heard that – the sound of his mother calling his name? It was true that one particular memory haunted him however, he couldn't remember his mother very well, just a few scattered memories several years apart. 'But, how can you fight when things are so much bigger than you are? How can you fight that feeling of being overwhelmed or fight a battle that you'll clearly lose?'

'You fight smart, Kioshi. Like I taught you.'

'Like you taught me?'

Smoke snaked out of Kioshi's father's mouth, drifting above his head and slowly filling the room with fog. He put out the cigarette on an ashtray by his side. 'Did I ever tell you the story of how I lost my eye?'

'No, you haven't.'

The black, leather eye-patch Kioshi's father wore was his most distinguishing feature and he wore it with pride. However, Kioshi didn't know where this pride came from. 'I lost it fighting for what I believed in. When you fight for such a cause you will often have to make sacrifices.' He leaned forward to sit more formally, looking over the food to stare his son straight in the eye.

'So you said to me once... You fought for your belief?' Kioshi chose his next words carefully. 'You fought for... Shibuya?'

The two stared at each other intensely, a mutual understanding developing.

'My teacher died today because he had fought for what he believed in.' Kioshi said cryptically.

'I see, so it's still not safe to talk about it.'

'But father, you're telling me to fight but you lost, didn't you?'

'Yeah. We did.' He rubbed the back of his head apologetically before grabbing a set of chopsticks and plucked a piece of fish of the plate onto his own. 'I lost a lot during that time. It was probably because of what was going on that your mother ended up as she did...' He smiled weakly, looking at all of his late-wife's favourite things. 'She sure could eat. Thank you for the meal.' He grinned, taking a bite of fish. 'Yet, she understood the value of her health and the importance of life. Did she ever tell you that she wanted to train to be a nurse? Before everything went to hell.'

'No, I don't think so.' _There's so much about my mother that I don't know._

From his side his father held up the book Kioshi saw in the shopping bag. 'The new book in a long-running' series. I've bought every one for her.'

'The writer must be old now.'

'She died quiet a time ago actually.'

'Then how are new books still being written?'

His father gazed tenderly at the pale, rose-coloured cover with a white silhouette of a flower printed on it. 'Her daughter took the responsibility from her. It's not quite the same what with today's circumstances but the heart is still there. And that's what counts. Sometimes parents leave behind traces or clues for the future; a small path for them to start their own journey or maybe something greater. Sometimes parents themselves start a journey but become too weak to finish it and so the offspring continues it for them in a labour of love.

'This original writer's daughter understood her mother's struggles, her hopes and dreams, the passion that her mother held in her heart and even now tries to share it with those who can listen. Books like these are forbidden so people like me struggle to procure them; voices of hope. To spend your life fighting your belief in this world, it isn't suicide. Should you choose to fight or not, the result is the same. The question is: when you look back on your life, will you be able to say if you're proud of yourself? Whether you win or lose isn't what's important in the grand scheme of things; in the end, we all die. What's important however, is that you die with warmth in your heart. Your mother did.'

The room grew silent again, but Kioshi resisted diving into thought. 'I want to fight, father, but the one person who could have helped was murdered.'

'He was a fool if he spoke so openly about the past. He must have wanted to die, the poor bastard. Still, you can't accept that his death marked the end of your dream.' His father opened a bottle of beer, taking a satisfied sip.

'I have to do this... I don't think I can take watching all of these people act so miserably, all those people who walk around without their souls, living their lives in eternal misery and compliance. I don't want to grow up in that world anymore. I believe that if you have a problem then you should try your best to solve it.'

'If you want to start a revolution Kioshi, all you have to do is believe.'

'I believe...'

'Then tell me this Kioshi, what is stopping you?

Kioshi's eyes fell to the table where he returned to his thoughts. He knew fully well what the problem was. Half-heartedly, he placed some well-seasoned meat into his mouth, giving it a thorough chewing. It tasted like clay.

INSTABILITY

He didn't know what he was thinking.

'I'm telling you, we can do it!' Kioshi cried.

'IDIOT!' Makado howled, bringing a heavy fist down on Kioshi's skull which dropped him to the dirt of the school grounds.

The ground trembled under Kioshi as his vision steadied and was so close to his face that everything was blurred. The previous night he had had greater trouble getting to sleep, thinking of what the next step would be to realizing his ambitious – to create a better world not just for him but for everyone. His father had asked him what was stopping him. The answer just punched him on his right temple.

'Look at what you did! You just didn't know when to shut up and now Mr Tetsuo is dead! Things were fine before you opened that big mouth of yours!'

Kioshi spat out blood onto the dirt.

'It's not all his fault!' Argued Miyako. 'We all participated in that discussion!'

'It is!' Retorted Aika, standing by Makado's side. 'Once a Ghost becomes involved, everything goes to hell!'

Kioshi clumsily stood, still dazed, checking his lip that was beginning to swell. 'I know that this is scary and that this may feel beyond us but I believe that we have the power to make a change! We can fight this everyone! If we just... If we just...' He shook his head. 'We just have to be strong and be determined! If our desire is strong enough we–'

'What was that you were saying yesterday?' Seito interrupted. 'Stuff like: We should fight for our future, I won't accept the world as it is... It's talk like that that probably got Mr Tetsuo killed.'

The group nodded and murmured in agreement.

'Maybe... Maybe you did take it too far.' Hido shrugged, unable to meet Kioshi's eyes now. 'Sorry.'

'Hido! Not you too!'

'I'm sorry, Miyako.' Hido's face softened. 'If us making a fuss is going to get even more people killed then... I don't want to fight.'

'No way... Kouji, you can't believe this too can you? You were just as determined as I was.' Kioshi pleaded with his eyes, hands outstretched. But Kouji merely shrugged guiltily, unable to meets his eyes like Hido. 'K-Kouji...'

'Don't you get it yet!?' Makado exclaimed again. 'You're a loser! And on top of that you're a Ghost! No-one cares about your opinions! No-one cares about how you feel! There's a reason why people avoid you – you're a bad omen – a disease! And if you're the kind of person who makes people feel worse, then you'll be alone forever! Just stop trying – you just make everything worse! Idiot!' His fist met Kioshi's nose and mouth, throwing him onto the ground again where this time he stayed.

_Alone... Forever... It's just as I thought... I will never belong... Why do I try? Again and again I'm hurt by these people even though I know what they're like and yet again and again I try to reach out._ The anger and frustration that he only felt when he was secluded with his thoughts were bubbling to the surface as his resolve became unsteady. _Why is it only me that cares? Why is it only me that considers other people? Their interests, how they feel?_ 'It's because of you...' His fingers dragged themselves hard along the dirt slowly as he brought his arms together to lift himself.

'It's because of me that what?' Makado challenged, readying his fists for another strike.

Kioshi's thoughts became unstable, all rationality and reasoning leaving him to be replaced by his hatred of people and society. 'It's because of people like you that Seiya killed herself!' Kioshi dashed, striking Makado on the nose. Makado was thrown off his feet onto his back and the sound of air leaving his lungs smacked Kioshi's eardrums.

What am I doing wrong? Father, mother, show me... I can't fight if I'm all alone. Seiya, you must have fought too. People don't just decide to kill themselves – it's not a sudden decision. She was a Ghost and she must have fought for her place in society. Like my parents but she must have lost. Am I fighting the same futile fight?

Makado picked himself up and in a rage charged at Kioshi, delivering a punch with all his weight behind him, blind-siding Kioshi whose mind wasn't focused on reality. Kioshi hit his head hard but an instinct activated, fighting to pick him up, failing in its attempt. _Life and death, what does it all mean? Seiya killed herself but in the end it was as if she never existed. But, that can't be true can it? Because I'm thinking of her right now. Perhaps... Perhaps death was her way of fighting?_

What am I doing with myself?

Kioshi felt his mind futilely fighting to stay conscious. _What am I doing wrong?_

_What am I doing wrong?_ Izumi thought. Her eyes were staring blankly ahead but now chose to look everywhere else, not knowing what to do with themselves. Usually they could focus but, today was different. _What has changed? Of course..._ Izumi had had a worse night sleep than usual and her usual night sleep was terrible in itself.

The bus rocked gently as it went over a speed bump and the jolt was enough to bring her back to full-consciousness. With her two index fingers she rubbed the inside corners of her eyes, removing tiny pieces of debris then massaged her forehead before resting the side of her head on her fist as her elbow balanced on the window-ledge.

The world passed her by as a blur.

Yesterday's score was worse than last week's What will Junichi say when he hears that I'm still failing? What will mother and father think when I tell them?

_'Things can only continue to go downhill.'_ A voice in her head claimed.

_No..._ Izumi continued tiredly. _Things can go uphill. Isn't the expression something like; when you hit rock-bottom, all you can go is up?_

'The difference is Izumi, that you're not quite at the bottom, yet.'

Izumi's expression softened. 'That's right...' Frowning quickly, she shook her head. 'No, I can't think that.'

At her stop, Izumi got off the bus, strolling the sunny streets of Shibuya with her hand clutching the thin strap of her handbag, purple dress swaying from the gentle wind and large breasts bouncing with every step. Her black hair tied in a bun on top of her head held strong with no sign of coming apart and revealed just how worn her face was; no make-up in the world could make her look less fatigued.

'I guess it's not all bad, it could be worse. I can always improve – there's still time.' Izumi frowned, almost like she didn't believe herself. 'I just need to figure out what's keeping me up. It's not... that...'

_'It has nothing to do with the aching of your joints and the soreness of your breasts.'_ She thought sarcastically.

Sure my breasts are blossoming... very quickly but, growing pains shouldn't be enough to–

'Are you blind, Izumi? Something is clearly wrong with your body. Or do you want to pretend that–'

Izumi stopped in her tracks, coincidentally at the end of the road. _I said that I wasn't going to think about that, my body. I have more important things to dwell on – like – You nearly got me –_ I _, nearly got me..._

'Fine, ignore that what's going on with your body and ignore what's keeping you up. Do you want to ignore the fact that you're talking to yourself?'

She gasped, covering her mouth, realizing that she was right.

'Continue living in oblivion, moron.'

Just as Izumi was about to retort, her world went black.

What felt like seconds later, Izumi slowly returned to consciousness though she knew she was lying down. He head was throbbing as if someone had struck her hard and reaching for her crown her hand returned to her slathered with blood. Izumi's thoughts came to her slower than she liked. 'Skull fracture... concussion...' It was then that she noticed the ringing in her ears. 'Dizziness may also be due to–'

'LOOK OUT!' A woman screamed.

Forcing herself to be alert sent waves of pain flooding through her skull but, Izumi was able to see a ball of fire tear across the sky, colliding into a building to her left and spit debris onto the road.

'An explosion...' Izumi mumbled, getting onto her feet lethargically. 'I was probably struck in the head by...'

Izumi too easily lost her concentration when she spotted the red Toyota in front of her with an unconscious family trapped inside, knocked out by the hard ramming of the car behind them – empty, the passengers ditching their vehicle as soon as they were able to. A strong feeling to help the family took over her entire body – a feeling so warm and pure, stronger than any feeling she knew.

'Hey!' Izumi cried, banging on the windows. 'Hey! Wake up!' She then looked around. 'Hey you!' She caught a man by his sleeve, 'Help me out here, these people can't get out!'

The man shook his head fearfully before darting away.

'Bastard!' Izumi winced at the pain her screaming caused. She shook it off – something that she regretted however, quickly returned to the group made up of parents in their early-thirties with a young boy and a new born girl in the back seat. 'WAKE UUUUUP!' Trying the handle, the doors were locked. Now she didn't know what to do; no matter how much she yelled and banged on the glass the parents wouldn't wake up but her raucous was enough to wake the baby girl up who contributed to the public's cries.

'WATCH OUT!' Someone cried within the now thinned crowd. Izumi watched as another ball of fire zipped across the sky, meeting the face of the bank behind her and exploding, launching more chunks of stone onto the streets. Izumi swiftly rolled underneath the car just in time to see feet disappear under stone and felt the car wail as it crumpled under the force of the debris.

The child's crying stopped in an instant.

Breathless from shock, Izumi could barely get words out of her mouth but an agonized scream escaped with ease. 'NOOOOO!' She cried, not caring about the splitting feeling in her head. I don't understand! Why are people dying!?' Anger began to fill her, anger towards herself for not being able to save the family and anger towards those who saw her struggle but wouldn't lend a hand. What kind of people wouldn't help? There were kids in there! And a baby girl! And they're all dead! 'All dead!' A fist slammed the ground. 'Selfish _BASTARDS_!'

Izumi then heard delighted laughter and forced herself to keep quiet. Just as she had thought, the voices became louder, two young men approaching her hiding spot until she could hear see their shadows from under the car.

'This is a hostile takeover folks!' A man declared. 'Grab your crap and get the hell out of here! Shibuya is under new management!' He punched the hood of the Toyota with such super-human force that the car tipped on its nose and the rear wheels left the ground.

'We've cleared the block, if they're not hiding then they're dead.' A younger man said.

'Good. Akira will be pleased. What's next?'

'What else? We start the hunt; tear this place down and kill everyone Human we see. We'll know who they are when they don't put up a fight.'

'How will he able able to control the Keys? Is he that powerful?'

'He's that powerful.'

'Damn...'

'You're telling me. It's a good thing we volunteered then.'

'You can say that again.'

What? Izumi pondered. Akira? Keys? When she moved her leg, she accidentally knocked loose concrete that rolled out and hit the pavement noisily.

'What was that?'

'I don't know, but it sounded close.'

'Someone is still here. Check under the cars.'

Shit. Izumi was both powerless and trapped. The way she rolled from was blocked off by debris and though she was small, she wasn't small enough to squeeze through the available gap. Searching around, she discovered that the other side was blocked off too by a car that had completely collapsed from the weight of debris. _That could have happened to this car..._ Izumi couldn't help but think.

'See what you've gotten us into!? There's no way we can escape!'

Zip-it! There's always a way!

Her only escape was behind her where the crashed cars made a wonky tunnel that she could crawl through. Escape would mean risking more noise but that's a risk she would have to take; if she stayed she would be spotted and killed because she was definitely Human.

Before Izumi could move however, the sun came out above her and so she rolled onto her side, using her hand as a visor to peer at the sky. Standing over her was the man in his early twenties holding the red Toyota along with the debris and the dead family inside above his head with ease.

On her feet now, Izumi attempted to run away from but ran into the younger man in his late-teens who grabbed her by the shoulders, passing her back to the other man; thick with muscles, who tossed the car a short distance, crashing onto an abandoned car with a heavy, metallic thud.

'Look at what we have here. Thought you could run away?'

'Oh-ho-ho! We've found a prize! Check out her ass! It's huge!' The boy exclaimed excitedly.

'I'm too busy checking out the front.' The man smirked, eyeing Izumi's large breasts with greed.

'Go to hell!'

'The pig male preying on a helpless girl; isn't that a bit cliché?' Izumi backed away, scowling irritably.

'Hey look, this girl's got an attitude.' The boy chuckled. 'I'll tell you what, play along and we'll consider not killing you.'

Izumi didn't know what what else to do but keep quiet.

'It's true isn't it? You're not a Key. Why else haven't you fought back?'

'Looks like you're at our mercy, so play nice. It would be a shame to kill a sexy thing like yourself.'

_'_ Typical, the world goes to hell and the assholes are the ones left behind.' Her anger boiling over, angrily she faced the boy.

'Ooh feisty!' The boy laughed patronising.

'It was part of my charm. My boyfriend loves it when I'm snippy and sarcastic. I'm sure the girls love the kid trying to play grown up! Moron!'

'Keep talking why don't you – see where that gets you. Will it kill you to show something real!?'

Arrogantly, the boy backhanded Izumi who then retaliated with a head-butt to his nose. The man pulled her back, laughing at his companion who was holding his bleeding nose as he did so.

With a bloody smile the boy raised a hand, snapping his fingers which caused the bottom of Izumi's dress to catch alight. She tried her best not to satisfy the two men however, when the flame bit into her thigh she went against herself and shrugged off the shoulders of her dress, sliding it off so that her voluptuous figure was in full view for the world to see; short and thick physique; breasts bulging out of the top of her black bra; smooth, slightly tanned skin and wide hips. Both the teen and the man laughed, kindling Izumi's anger which was hotter than any flame. 'Bastards...' She stomped out the flames on her dress.

'I will kill you!'

Quiet! You're just my subconscious! You don't have any baring on my life and you certainly don't dictate my actions!

'Fine, be a coward. I will watch as these to men have their way with you. You think Junichi is going to come and save you? We're dead. You can snip at them all you want with sarcasm but, I promise you on thing, you will not be the same after today.'

_Shut up... Just... Shut up..._ Izumi's head fell to hide the tears forming in her closed eyes. A tightness overcame her body, a feeling that arose out of nowhere and left her feeling breathless and fatigued. Her breathing was audible, causing the two men to get the wrong idea of what she was feeling. However, Izumi was too dazed to notice the world around her, instead focusing on the thoughts running around in her mind.

'You remember this feeling, don't you?'

Izumi looked up, the world's colour had changed, becoming greyscale and the two men were nowhere to be seen. 'This feeling?'

'Think hard, what should you be feeling?'

Nervousness filled Izumi, feeling unsure of herself and frightened at what her mind was trying to unearth. Looking down at her half-naked body she brushed her fingers delicately against her thighs. 'Fear. But... I don't.'

_'What_ do _you feel?'_

Izumi's gaze was fixed on her paused hand and seemingly oblivious to the question, she took a while to respond. 'Helplessness.'

'And so you should.'

Her heart began to race.

Izumi's mind was talking to her; she didn't have to pay attention to the world to know what it was planning. Frightened, she looked up to see a girl staring back at her; lean with wild, black hair covering half of her face, her school uniform covered in blood and a thick, black line running horizontally across her throat.

'Here you are again.' The girl spoke.

Too stunned to talk, the only thing Izumi could do was stare at the ghost with her lips partially parted. With effort she managed to utter a single word, 'Miko.'

'That's who she was, now she's just another corpse.' Miko replied.

'She was my friend.' Izumi argued.

'And yet you didn't see.'

'Didn't see what?'

'Don't give me that bullshit!' Miko retorted, making Izumi flinch. 'You didn't see! You didn't see that she was dying! She was dying inside, Izumi! And you didn't see! You were too focused on trivialities to see how much she was suffering!'

'Stop it!' Protested Izumi, covering her ears.

'You can't stop the guilt from eating you alive.' Miko continued venomously, her voice penetrating Izumi's hands. 'It doesn't matter if you want to change! To train yourself to save lives because when it mattered you weren't there. You weren't made of the right stuff!'

'I said shut up!'

'When you saw the blade against her throat you were helpless then – just like you are now! A scared, pathetic, little girl that killed your best friend! What would it take for you to see her suffering!?'

'YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!' Izumi screamed, staring the illusion boldly. 'How was I supposed to know if you didn't tell me!'

'If you invested more time in your friendships then you would have seen it! Instead you were too focused on your own misery! Why do you think you can't sleep!? She expected you to accommodate her in your life. To make her feel valued, reciprocate her feelings and idea of friendship! But you failed and she slit her throat.'

'I tried!' By now Izumi was crying. 'I swear I tried! We all hurt! How was I supposed to see!?' She collapsed onto her knees. 'I don't know how to feel! How to care! I feel numb all the time and Junichi! I just don't know! I don't know how to be alive – I don't know how to...'

'Is this still about you, Izumi? Tell me something, when her blood sprayed over your perky body, did you feel alive then? Or did stop being selfish and finally understand her feelings?'

It was then that Izumi realized that she too was in her school uniform – the traditional sailor suit and was cover by a spray of blood. Her hands rose in front of her face. 'That's not fair... I try... Around people I try...'

'You mimic feelings and emotions but you yourself don't feel. If you don't feel then how can you recognise a cry for help. You're a terrible human being.'

'I... I...'

'Look at you now, still a scared, pathetic, little girl. Stay helpless forever.'

'Izumi.'

Suddenly Izumi awoke, sitting on her knees, hands raised to her face with drying tears stinging her face. Crouching in front of her was a boy she recognised; her boyfriend, 'Junichi...' She breathed.

'It's over now, no need to be scared. Yamato needs our help though.

Still shaking, Izumi turned to her right to find her friend Yamato on the ground with what was left of her dress shrouding his head. 'What happened to him?' She stood.

'We surprised the two bastards, took them head on. I managed to intimidate the big guy with my father's pistol while Yamato fought the Key who could use fire.'

Izumi figured out the rest. 'The boy he... burned, Yamato's face?'

Solemnly, Junichi nodded.

'We have to take him to Eiko.'

'Eiko, do you think she'll be able to fix him?'

Izumi bit her lip as she pondered the question. 'I believe in her.'

'That's good enough for me.'

'It's too late, Izumi. There is no making up for what you did. No number of good deeds can erase the bitch that you are.'

'Shut up.' Izumi snapped.

'Hell will come for you. Eventually. You deserve all your misfortune. Look around you; the world is burning. You will lose all that you love...'

'What was that?' Asked Junichi who was trying to pick his unconscious friend up by slinging an arm over his shoulder.

'N-Nothing...' She sighed, fighting hard to conceal the worry in her eyes. _No... You're wrong..._

'This is terrible...' Izumi commented.

'It must be like this all over Shibuya now I think... It was like this on my street too. The chaos must be spreading to the other wards of Tokyo as well...'

'You must have been in a hurry. That explains your appearance.' Izumi joked, referring to her boyfriend's informal appearance. 'What about your parents?'

'They'll be safe, I hope. My father can take care of things.'

'I guess he can...' Izumi looked away. _Mother... Father..._ She gently massaged her forehead. The stress of their predicament wasn't doing her any good as she felt a brutal headache forming and her body heat up.

'Are things alright... With us?' Junichi asked out of nowhere.

The question caught Izumi off guard. 'Why would you ask that?'

It was clear with Junichu's demeanour; his tense body, and screwed expression as he looked away that he was shy about continuing. 'I can feel you growing distant. I guess I'm scared.' He turned face his partner. 'I don't want to lose you.'

Izumi's mouth opened and closed a few times. 'I...' She sighed, 'I don't know... I don't know what to feel. I think–' Izumi halted abruptly, forcing the three of them back. The hastiness caused Yamato to groan. 'Sorry Yamato. Junichi, look.'

Junichi's head peered around the corner to confirm a group of people in the middle of an intersecting street having a conversation.

'Junichi.' Izumi called in a hushed voice, tugging at his arm. After spending a little longer eyeing the eight people he turned back to look at Izumi appeared more worried than she had done moments ago. 'They're Keys – I know they are. That's what those two guy were talking about. Some guy called Akira has control of them. They... They said that they were hunting Humans – us!'

'So what is this? Some sort of purge?' Junichi now joined Izumi in looking worried.

'I don't want to think that. But if it is then we're in danger. We're not prepared for this and when it comes down to it... I don't know how to handle myself. I don't want to die Junichi.' Izumi confided in a harsh whisper, staring deep into Junichi's eyes.

'We can't afford to think like that. But I'll fight until my last breath.' Junichi smiled reassuringly. 'I won't let any harm come to you. I promise. But first, let's get Yamato to Eiko then we can figure out the details.'

Izumi nodded.

The two lowered, forcing a barely conscious Yamato to crouch too then hurriedly scuttled off the corner and across the road, Junichi staring ahead but Izumi looking at the group. There were eight of them; four men and four women of mixed ages but still a threat if what Izumi heard were true and all of them possessed some sort of ability. Two men and two women were on one side of the car, a woman standing on the roof looking the other way, a man and a woman leaning on the boot chatting, and then one more more barely visible at the front.

'We'll have to use the cars for cover.' Izumi suggested.

'With Yamato though it will be tough.'

The train of cars walled off the road where the Keys were grouped so Izumi thought that they would have no problem passing them. However, despite looking in the other direction, the woman on the roof of the car twitched as soon as the three were in line with their road intersecting them perpendicularly. 'Someone is here.'

The three froze and Izumi eyed the woman anxiously through wall of windows made by a row of cars.

'How could she have known we were here!?' Junichi whispered.

'I-I don't know! It must be her ability!'

'Damn it!' Junichi peered through the car windows down the street to look at the woman who had now moved stepped off the car and was searching around. 'Screw it! Let's keep moving.'

'I don't want to risk moving just in case she doesn't know where we are.' Izumi looked through the windows again.

Ironically, the woman's head flew in the three's direction, Junichi falling back in surprise. She called to one of the men then pointed in the direction of Izumi, Junichi and Yamato, Junichi and Izumi nodding in unison before sprinting away with haste.

Making his way down the road, the man threw his arm upwards, creating an large shockwave that swept every car ahead of him into the air, plummet with the ferocity of missiles to lodge themselves into buildings, crashing sickeningly on the pavement and on top of other cars.

The three were unaffected by the attack though if they had lingered for a moment longer to survey the group they would have been crushed by a bus that had flattened the car they were using for cover. As they progressed further down the road they were cut off when a different woman slid to a stop in front of them, startling and leaving them speechless as they couldn't figure out how she got so far ahead of them. Her body was slightly hunched over and she looked up at them through lazy eyes, her mind clearly not her own.

Junichi considered whipping out his pistol but found that he didn't have to when a car thrown into the air by her companion landed exactly where she had been standing. Izumi screamed in horror.

'There's no time to think about it Izumi! C'mon!' He dragged Izumi and Yamato ahead, not knowing that the woman was unharmed and passed through wreckage like a ghost. As Junichi dashed forward he stopped when a man landed on the trunk of the car beside him, pouncing to pin Junichi down on the side of another car and deal continuous jabs into his left set of ribs. Junichi gritted his teeth through the pain then kneed the man hard in the stomach, grabbing the back of his shirt when he doubled over, spun around to then throw him head-first through the one of the windows of the car.

With barely any time to recover, Junchi yelled, 'GET DOWN!', flinging himself at Izumi and Yamato, knocking them down the ground in time as a truck tumbled over their heads.

'We have no way to fight them off! Izumi screamed over the sound of crushing metal.

Using Izumi's words as a prompt, Junichi withdrew his weapon.

'No!' Izumi placed her hands on barrel of the highly polished pistol, bring the gun down. 'We are not killing anyone else!'

'You'd rather them kill us!'

'No! But!–' Izumi grew silent and resentful, ignoring the danger she was in.

'I understand. You want to be a nurse.'

The last of the cars settled into place and the world grew quiet. Junichi smiled at Izumi. 'You want to preserve life and not take it, right? And besides,' He looked ahead, 'They're not in control of their actions are they?'

'You do understand.' Izumi smiled warmly, gently squeezing Junichi's hand.

'Of course I do, Izumi. You're my girlfriend.' He looked up to find the seven remaining Keys advancing at a hurried pace.

Izumi was oblivious to the world, ignoring the threatening advances of the of the seven Keys who would no doubt overpower them with ease and serve them the same fate as the many corpses that littered the streets. The woman who had the ability to pass through solid objects wrapped an arm around Izumi's neck, dragging her onto her feet and away from Junichi. She outstretched a hand to touch Junichi before she was taken away but was denied as a man grabbed Junichi roughly, bringing him onto his feet and slamming him onto the hood of a taxi.

_'You're nothing but a scared, pathetic, little girl.'_ Izumi thought.

I know...

'Izumi...' Junichi breathed. What were you going to say?' Junichi was then pushed forward while he turned to stare at his entranced girlfriend. 'Izumi? Izumi!'

'I think... I think...'

The world changed in the blink of an eye and now she was staring at the night sky with an arm outstretched, cupping the faint moon's faint shape.

Spread out in a park, Kioshi was surrounded by a flock of dead-eyed children who collectively formed a circle in his vision. They all were wrapped in scarves that shielded their mouths as well as their necks and their stares were just as blank as Kioshi's, lacking any curiosity as to why he was sprawled on the grass.

Somehow Kioshi knew the truth of what he saw.

Mother...

DESIRE

They seemed to be gone; he most have lost them.

Having locked himself in a cleaning closet within the boy's changing room, he slowly opened the door and it creaked painfully, betraying his position. He was sure that he was alone and so more and more the door opened, sounding like a monster twisting metal or sharp claws tearing across a chalk board.

He peered out, searching either side thoroughly to ensure that no-one was with him in the dimly lit locker room, a mixture of black and brown in the darkness while poorly lit by old, orange lights on the walls.

Out he stepped, thankful that his pursuers must not have known that he had come this way. Walking past the showers, he was startled when he stepped into a deep puddle of dirty water from a clogged drain, filling his shoes and now causing his socks to make an audible squelching sound as he walked.

A drop of water splashing against the puddle made his heart race, but common sense quickly made him realize that it was only a leaking shower head. Truly, the locker room was scary place to be in so late after school.

He hastened his speed, making for the door but tripped, landing on his his stomach with hands in front of him. Looking at his feet he found a school bag lying tangled in the leg of the bench and his foot. Shaking it loose he stood up but winced at a sharp pain in his hand, discovering that it was bleeding, having been dragged across an old, loose screw at the foot of the bench ahead.

Blood ran down the length of his arm as he held his hand to inspect it. It would require some some stitches to fix.

The only sound in the deserted school were his footsteps as he darted across the hallway, lit by the scattered light from outside; the stars and large moon looking down at him, tattooing monstrous and distorted shapes of trees and window frames blocking the moonlight.

He couldn't lie to himself, he was quite frightened.

Not to mention that the group of bullies were no-where to be seen.

If he was lucky then the nurse would still be in her office, perhaps just getting ready to leave which to his luck she was as the light were on. Just as well, as the wound on his hand wouldn't stop bleeding. Thoughtlessly he pounded on the glass. 'Help! Help me please! I'm bleeding!' Blood stained the glass, creating distorted shapes that were translucent in the light. Desperately, he looked at his hand, illuminated by the moonlight and realised that the wound was deeper than it looked, a slither of flesh a couple of millimetres wide and two inches long ripped out.

His heart pounded at the thought that the group of bullies could get him at any moment – a thought so distressing that his throat closed up. Now he began to panic, banging on the door even louder and faster now, then looked at the end of the corridor and saw figures cutting into the light.

The bullies.

He couldn't take it anymore.

Rummaging down his sock he found it, the knife he procured during lunch by sneaking into the kitchen, a small thing but good enough for the job. At the moment it was wrapped in paper so that it wouldn't cut him open and taped to his shin so it wouldn't fall out. The paper acted like a sheath and so slid out easily.

He held it over his heart, counting down from ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

He swallowed, beginning to cry but the second he spent hesitating was the second that caused his body to hesitate and so rather than ending his life swiftly, the blade sank into his chest slowly and painfully.

But, before any more harm could be done, the door opened.

He would survive.

The nurse looked down at him in wonder but then smiled, taking his hand and pulling him in gently.

'I'm sorry!' He cried pathetically. 'I'm so sorry!'

'It's okay.' She said, a woman medium in height with shoulder length, dark-brown hair and a pair of rectangular glasses. The knife wasn't deep so with some care she slid it out then placed it on a tray to the side, lifting his shirt to tape gauze to his chest and then place his hand firmly on top. 'Apply pressure while I call the ambulance.' Gently she pushed him down onto a stool before disappearing behind him, leaving him to think about whether his attempt to kill himself had been the right thing to do.

His mind ventured to that girl, Hatsuo Seiya who had jumped off the roof of his school – a girl driven to madness like him and many, many others. Death was the fate of all Ghosts, he couldn't help but believe.

An arm cupped his chin and the tip of knife dug into his neck as the nurse tried to slice his throat open. First he screamed, but quickly he came to his senses, pushing the weapon away then clumsily forced himself and his attacker to the ground. The nurse fought to use the knife but a new found determination found the boy – a determination to stop being bullied by his peers, a determination to stand up and fight, a determination to live.

His strength prevailed, the nurse was the one to get a knife to the neck.

The nurse's face was mere inches away from his own, wide-eyed and unmoving like a china doll. Still cautious of the woman he was on top of, he slowly sat up, never severing eye contact.

Finally he allowed himself to blink.

The brightly lit room of the nurses office was replaced by a dark room where the only light came from a window with curtains drawn closed; beige curtains with a bronze-coloured floral pattern.

His mother's curtains.

Horrified, his stare returned to the woman he thought was the nurse who had tried to murder him, but instead met his mother's far away gaze.

With a knife in her neck his mother passed away, hand held up to try and touch her son's face.

His mother was dead and he had been the one to kill her.

How could that have possibly happened?

*

'NO!' See girl screamed, shaking the classroom with her tortured screams. 'NOOOO!'

Around her her friends consoled her, placing their hands awkwardly on her body and speaking endearing words that did nothing to ease her sorrow.

Kioshi watched the scene as more girls gravitated towards her, and the good-natured person within him longed to find out for himself what the commotion was about and do his best to help. However, Kioshi's bitter half was dominating him, weary of the what his peers think of him. He wasn't in a rush to be scolded again.

Look at her grieve. Look at them come to her aid. I will never have that. How do people come to build these bonds?

Kioshi admitted to himself that he might have approached the situation the wrong way, though still felt that the other teenagers need to be pushed into action otherwise, they'd remain complacent.

There was only two weeks of the semester left and Kioshi would face them alone just like he had faced every day of school before that. Kioshi hunched over, placing his head on his hand in a sulk. _Would it be worth it to try and find my way back into those memories just for the sake of belonging and affection? Would it be wrong to feed off the affection of someone else even if the person I'm stealing that affection from is my father?_

Kioshi smiled.

The idea that he relived a moment as his long-lost mother was remarkable in itself. 'Maybe I'm a Key.' His attitude suddenly changing, Kioshi rubbed his eyes with the balls of his palms. _No, I'm going mad. This was bound to happen like my mother did..._ Then the sight of his mother laying seconds from death appeared projected on his palms and when he closed his eyes the image projected itself on the inside of his eyelids. There was no escaping it.

Kioshi sighed.

'He was my brother!' The girl sobbed loudly. 'And he killed her! And then he killed himself! Why would he do that!? I don't understand!'

_So that's it..._ Kioshi began to think more deeply. _The loss of a loved one. No, the suicide of a loved one. Again in Zone Three._

'Chisa calm down! Chisa!' A friend calmed.

'NO! You don't get it! I'm next!' Chisa threw off her friends hands. 'My mother was there! I told her about that man Akira and she told me that she tried to rebel against him when she was my age! Now she's dead! Just like Mr Tetsuo! She's dead and it's all my fault! I should just kill myself and save him the trouble!'

'Who are you talking about?'

'The Grim Reaper! Let me go! LET ME GO!'

Chisa's friends had resorted to pinning her down to the desk where her legs kicked about frantically.

'Someone call the nurse!'

A fire was building with Kioshi, a strong passion like the passion he held when he pleaded with his peers for their help. 'How can you all stand by and take this!?' He blurted out.

Chisa continued to wail and the class paid him no attention. He looked around, hoping that Aki at least would have cared for his opinion but she hadn't turned up yet. 'Everyone, please listen!'

The class wouldn't however, preferring to ignore his exclamations. Disturbed deeply, Kioshi closed his eyes and covered his ears, quivering on the spot. _No, I can't take this. I can't! I'm tired of feeling so alone, so helpless. I want things to be different – I want to make those changes but people won't help me... Am I doomed to be alone forever? Move! Do something Kioshi!_

_'Aren't you going to move!?'_ Makado screamed in his mind.

_Aren't you going to move?_ Kioshi now thought. _Aren't you going to move? What are you so afraid of? What's stopping you? Pain is only an illusion – an act to detour people from pursuing their desires. To fear pain is to embrace loneliness. To reject pain is to embrace your dreams._

'EVERYONE LISTEN TO ME!' Kioshi screamed.

Still the class refused Kioshi of their attention.

'Aren't you tired of this!? The news of someone else killing themselves? Not knowing what the future has for you?' Kioshi held his arms open pleadingly to the oblivious class. 'Mr Tetsuo told us of a time where people didn't live like we do – where people were free to live as they chose to! But you're all content to just roll over and die! Why won't you fight for your future!? Why are you all condemning yourselves! I don't get it!'

Chisa was still hysterical, her friends were still attempting to comfort her and the rest of the class continued the act of ignore the fact that Kioshi was even alive.

Defeated, Kioshi's arms fell to his sides and he closed his eyes. It's futile... When he opened them again he was met with a different scene: a luxurious room with beige walls housing a double bed that sat low to the ground; a television atop of a television stand at the foot of this bed and an elegant, black, modern table positioned in the corner with a small potted plant perched on top. On the left side of the room parallel to a large window showing off a great view of Toyko was a mini fridge and to the left of back wall – beside the television was a door that lead to a bath room.

Izumi and Junichi sat on opposite sides of the plush bed, backs to each other, taking in the silence.

'Yamato will be fine.' Junichi comforted.

'I know.' Izumi replied, head hanging low. She straightened up, swiping her hair back only to let it fall. A frown was on her face.

'Now's a good time as any to tell what the heck is going on with you.' Junichi was turned around now, leaning on one arm. 'I understand that you're upset about Miko but Izumi – you're pushing everyone away.'

'I know...' Izumi responded.

'You're sad all the time and when you're with me you can't look me in the eyes – _really_ look me in the eyes. When you look at me it's like... You're staring _through_ me.'

'I know.'

'And...' Junichi now shied away, turning away from Izumi slightly. 'We've been together for over a year and... We haven't had sex.'

Izumi covered her ears. 'No...'

'Do I repulse you that much?'

'No!' Izumi wheeled round, placing a hand on Junichi's 'No... Junichi...' She smiled. 'I love you – really I do it's just that...' Her eyes traced the long creases on the cream-coloured bedding, 'It's just that... Junichi,' she stared into his eyes, 'I don't... I don't _get_ those feelings.'

Eyebrows pushing together, Junichi asked, 'What do you mean?'

Izumi let out an embarrassed laugh, removing her hand to play with her hair, looking everywhere but at her boyfriend. 'I don't feel sexual attraction – towards anyone.'

'So you don't actually love me then?' Junichi appeared frustrated.

'You don't understand.' Izumi sighed, turning completely on the bed. 'I have physical attraction and I'm a romantic. I want relationships... I want _you_ but, I just _don't_ ever feel like having sex with people.'

'You're asexual?'

Izumi nodded slowly.

'Is this because of... Miko?'

'No! I...' Izumi trailed off, looking away.

'You haven't seen it Izumi, how the light in your eyes died when she killed herself.'

_'Everything you know is coming to an end. The world you know shall perish just like Miko did.'_ The voice in Izumi's head taunted.

At that moment the hotel room door opened and three men with their faces screwed up in anger stepped inside, grabbing both of them to then drag them into the corridor. Yamato was there too with his face wrapped up in bandages.

When Izumi stepped out of the stairwell out into the corridor, the lights stunned her temporarily. Before she could recover she was nudged forward roughly by one of her escorts. The corridor stretched on ahead, spanning seemingly forever.

'Don't worry, Izumi, I'm not leaving your side.' Junichi replied confidently, though where he got this confidence from eluded Izumi.

'No talking.' Another escort ordered.

Above them bright lights wrapped in spherical, rice-paper casings lit the way ahead and on either side of the trio were doors that went on just as endlessly, accompanying them no matter how many corners they turned or how many floors they were forced to walk up.

At the beginning and end of each corridor was a potted plant perched on a small, round, wooden table and just as frequent were paintings adding to the luxury of their surroundings; cream-coloured walls and soft red carpet that made their march somewhat more pleasant that it should have been.

However, Junichi, Izumi and Yamato were reminded of their situation by the series of footsteps escorting them from behind.

Yamato grunted.

'Are you alright?' Izumi asked, lightly touching Yamato's arm.

'I said no talking!' The escort shoved Izumi roughly, making her stumble.

'Don't touch her!' Junichi wheeled round only to be pushed himself.

'No talking.' The escort repeated.

'I'm tired.' Izumi complained, looking over her shoulder at the three men of varying heights. 'We've walked up ten floors can we please just take the elevator?' She thought that her request wouldn't be fulfilled however, instead of turning towards the staircase the escorts simultaneously stopped when they reached the end of the corridor where the polished elevator doors were located. 'Thank God.' Quickly, the elevator arrived and so the group of six stepped in, Izumi enjoying the confined room doing taking over from her legs.

They only had three more floors to go up to but it was three floors that Izumi couldn't even think about traversing on foot, feeling that the walk had added more bulk to her already large thighs.

'They're trying to wear us out so that we can't put up a fight... Or run away.' Junichi confided.

'It's worked.' Izumi, quickly massaged her thighs.

The steel doors parted smoothly to introduce the trio to a penthouse; a room considerably excessive for just one person to live in alone; walls mostly made of glass so that Shibuya's cityscape could be seen in all of its urban glory and even the rest of Tokyo; exotic plants in all corners thriving majestically despite being in the wrong continent; a large, oval, glass table perched on thin, stainless steel legs in the center, resting on to of an obviously hand-made rug and then the fireplace at the far end of the room, roaring silently while the television above it was tuned to the news depicting the ongoing chaos that would soon burst out of Tokyo to the rest of Japan.

To the left a door opened and an old man around fifty with a long face, somewhat large nose and eyes peering through mostly closed eye-lids stepping out with a towel draped around his slightly bloated waist.

'Mr Yamamoto.' One of the escorts said, a bellboy dressed in light-grey uniform announced, stopping only a few steps into the room. 'A few of our men found these three in the street.'

Akira disappeared from view and returned with another towel drying his full head of white hair roughly. 'And?' He asked in a calm, voice that sounded slightly younger than his appearance gave off.

'We were going to execute them like the rest but in this one's rambling she claimed she's training to be a nurse.' He pushed a red-faced Izumi forward.

Akira who was eyeing the television paused in mid-sweep of his towel, 'A nurse you say?' Now he met the trio's eyes, smiling. 'Come, sit.' Like a thoughtful host he gestured for the three to come further in, extending an arm and sweeping gracefully until his open hand pointed at a plush sofa on one side of the coffee table. Akira sat opposite.

'I know you.' Izumi said half accusingly and half in awe. 'When they said "Akira" I didn't think it would be Yamamoto Akira. You're that politician who was in the running to becoming our Prime Minister.'

'Yes...' Akira dismissed. 'I take it you're the nurse?'

'Student nurse.' Izumi nodded courteously.

'Still a valuable member of our society. I find it strange that you keep such... strange, company.' Akira gestured to the scruffily dressed Junichi and Yamato who had Izumi's turquoise dress shrouding his head. 'And even you yourself, you all look as if you don't know how to dress. Is this what our society is coming to? People presenting themselves so ridiculously!?'

'Hey!' Junichi cried, outraged. 'Well maybe I would have been able to dress like I wanted to to take my girlfriend out if someone didn't order their goons to trash the streets!' Junchi was sporting a t-shirt where the sleeves and collar was red and a pair of ragged jeans with a stain on the left leg. 'And then one of your boys burned my friend's face off!'

'That's terrible to hear.' Akira admitted. I am deeply sorry.'

Izumi shook her head quickly. 'You're going around murdering people and here you are apologising that my friend's face is gone?' Izumi went on. 'What the hell is wrong with you?'

Yamamoto Akira rose, walking arms behind his back to the transparent wall, staring down at Shibuya. 'The youth of today; no respect for their elders.'

'Yeah? Well my father is a great man who has my respect!' Junichi declared.

'Akira ignored this remark. 'This is my empire. Do you know how much this country has sacrificed? How much it has suffered? Japan was on top of the world once – a mighty nation, a family that fought for what it believed in. And yet everything changed when our empire fell.' He turned to look down at Izumi and Junichi who gave him angered looks. 'I was perhaps as young as you during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which effectively ended out reign in the war. I was there when Japan was brought to its knees and I had to grow up in our wretched society that spawned afterwards; forced to grow up with those Americans that I so despised, watching them twist our country to suit their tastes.'

'What are you talking about?' Junichi interrupted, perplexed to the degree of calming down. 'The end of the war benefited not just Japan but the entire world. Look at us, we're all free with the power to make our own choices – carve our own destinies. How can you call this a wretched society?'

'Japan is only known to the world as a country leading in technology when it can be so much more! The strength and determination we displayed all those years ago has been replaced by a sickening nonchalance! I swore at the end of the war to someday change Japan for the better; make it the empire it needs to be!'

'So what!? You're going around killing people!? Killing Humans!?' Izumi cried.

'I'm doing what it takes to make us a great nation!' After looking down at Shibuya's empty streets, Akira faced the three again. 'The Keys are the answer. With my power I can control each and every one of you people. I'll reduce the population to something more manageable – something not frowned upon by the world and eliminate all you worthless Humans, making Japan a pure, super-powered race. And after all is done I will use my power to suppress all of your emotions so you will have no choice but live the live I have destined for you all. There will be no more crime, no more chaos, only order! My Paradise.'

'But you need people like Izumi.' Yamato finally spoke in a raspy voice, coughing immediately. 'Nurses... Teachers... Everyone else can die even the company workers because you can always retrain them. Keys will make up the military and you'll be the head of government.'

'Oh-ho-ho!' Akira chuckled. 'Smart boy. And when I die my son will take my place. My dear boy, Hiro.'

'You can't do this!' Junichi stood. 'You can't take away our freedom!' You better kill me now because if not I'll be back for you!'

Akira made his way to Junichi, looking down at him with disinterest. 'The plan is already in motion, boy.' He snapped his fingers without diverting his eyes, the bellboy came forward. 'Take these people away. Kill the two men and escort my darling here to the hospital and put her to work.

Izumi and Yamato reluctantly stood, following the boy out into the corridor but Izumi had no intention of kneeling for her executioner.

Kioshi found himself in the corridor staring blankly at a square of black glass that couldn't be looked out of. _My mother was a strong woman and my father a determined man. I share none of these qualities however. Do I intend to just roll over and die?_ His hand turned into a fist and began to shake. _I can't do anything though! I don't have any friends!_

'Kioshi?' Miyako called from behind him.

In an instant the stress that was tightening Kioshi's body evaporated and he was left speechless.

'Oi, Kioshi.' Announced Hido.

Kioshi hesitantly turned but was rewarded by the sight of Hido, Seito, Kouji and Miyako waiting for him. 'Everyone...'

'You're such an idiot. You know that, Kioshi?' Seito said softly. 'You don't know when to just give up.'

Kioshi's eyes narrowed. 'If you're just coming here to give me a hard time, then go away. All of you.'

'What Seito is trying to say is that Mr Tetsuo's death was all on us. We all want things to be different and...' Miyako shied away.

'We want to do whatever it takes... So yeah...' Kouji shrugged.

'But I'm just a Ghost right? No-one cares about what I think? _Right?_ ' Kioshi gave them all a disgusted glare, forcing the group to all look away with expressions that revealed guilt that they were too stubborn to say outright.

'How can I trust you if you can turn on me at any moment?' Kioshi didn't know where the attitude came from as wasn't what was happen what he had asked for? People to befriend him and help to accomplish his goal?

Kouji surprised Kioshi by bowing deeply, keeping a strong posture. 'I'm sorry!'

The other three took Kouji's lead, bowing as well. 'I'm sorry!' They stated in unison.

_You guys..._ 'Alright. If we're going to do this then first we need to find out who killed Mr Tetsuo and why, since we can't count on the police to do it. And then we need to find out what's going on in Zone Three because I can't be the only one who finds it odd that a lot of these suicides have happened here.'

'That's not a bad plan, good thinking.' Hido praised.

Kioshi couldn't help but feel a touched by the compliment.

'We should split up then.' Kioshi continued. 'I say Hido, Kouji and Miyako go looking for clues about Mr Tetsuo here while Seito, Aki and myself go to Zone Three.'

They all nod.

'But we barely know her.' Seito argued.

'It doesn't matter, I want her here.'

'Whatever.'

'We all have our missions then.' Kouji declared, trying to force enthusiasm. 'We'll start looking into Tetsuo-Sensei's murderer after school while the trail is still warm. Let's all meet up tomorrow with what we find.'

ECSTASY

'The first question we need to ask is who would go out of their way to kill Mr Tetsuo?' Miyako placed a hand to her face as she thought.

'A demon.'

'Be serious Kouji.'

'OK, well how could someone possibly know if someone was talking about what Zone One was like so many years ago?'

'Certainly not the police.' Said Hido.

'This is definitely a government job. But how do we find out for certain?' Asked Kouji.

The three were the last in the classroom, the other students having gone how while Kioshi, Seito and Aki had gone off to Zone Three which was formerly known as Akihabara. Kouji was sat on the desk with his feet on his chair, leaned forward with his head on his hands, elbows resting on his knees. 'Let's think about this from a different perspective.'

Hido and Miyako both looked at Kouji.

'The government or whoever is actually running things at least thinks that we don't know anything. Maybe they'll be careless covering this up.' He continued.

'What do you mean?' Hido asked.

'What I mean is there may still be clues lying around. The Janitor for example, he's just an ordinary man – a man controlled by Yamamoto Akira or whatever.'

'Who had to clean all of that blood.' Miyako shivered.

'Yes, well what I'm getting at is that unless the government procured it, he may have had to get rid of the bullet himself.'

'I see what you're getting at, you think that the government wouldn't have sense to completely get rid of evidence – at least themselves because they don't think we know any better.' Hido

'Exactly. Who would come looking after it if everyone in Japan is being controlled by the same person?'

'So what does this mean? Asked Miyako.

'Simply put, the bullet might still be in the building, unless it's been thrown out.' Hido rephrased.

'Right.' Kouji confirmed.

'So we should go down there first. It's the only lead we've got.'

The three collected their things together before heading for the staff room where they thought a copy of the key to the basement would be kept. Even without the students roaming the corridors the environment was as just peaceful. During the day students only ventured from one place to another, never stopping to talk to one another and so the only sound ever heard were the constant thundering of footsteps.

'It's strange isn't it?' Miyako said, her voice bouncing off the walls. 'How the school is just as quiet with everyone gone as it is with everyone here. It makes you think doesn't it? It makes me feel lonely.'

Neither Hido nor Kouji said a word but continued to listen as their echoes continued to resound against the walls. Kouji couldn't help but think how the colour-less environment reminded him of a prison. With the windows tinted black, light did come in but it made the walls look bleak.

Marching across the corridor then around a corner, they soon stopped a a recently cleaned spot, the spot where a student was caught in the crossfire when the bullet that killed Mr Tetsuo passed through the door. The ground here was a different colour from the rest as it was disinfected with bleach rather than tradition cleaning products. The wall was the same too where the students head had exploded, catching the window pane, and this area had been stripped of its paint. Where the bullet struck the wall be was now a white patch, the bullet extracted and filled with filler.

'How could we have taken so long to work with Kioshi? People keep dying and we were too scared to do anything.' Miyako stated.

'This was an accident Miyako, cheer up.' Hido comforted, placing an arm around Miyako's shoulder but it wasn't enough to lift her spirit and continued to look at the repaired wall thoughtfully. 'But I suppose what you're saying is true...'

'He wanted to do the right thing from the start and all we did was heckle him for it.' Miyako looked at Hido. 'Do you believe that it's our fault that Ghosts are the way they are?'

'I do.' Kouji cut in.

'Me too.' Replied Hido. 'Don't let that think badly about yourself though, Miyako. What we're doing now is good and that makes you a good person.'

'I suppose you're right.

'C'mon, the staff room isn't too far.' Said Kouji, leading the group onwards but Miyako was having trouble leaving the scene. When the others disappeared into the staircase however, she finally managed to leave.

She found the two boys outside of the staff room, leaning in to hear if anyone was inside and Miyako thought that it was vacant until standing next to Hido heard faint movements inside. She swept passed the door to stand beside Hido so that herself and Hido were on one side and Kouji on the other.

'Now what?' Hido whispered.

'I don't know.' Kouji replied.

'We don't even know who has the key.' Miyako pointed out.

The door slid open and as soon as the teacher stepped out his eyes quickly found the three students who looked up at him, startled. 'What are you all doing here? Don't you have studying to do?' He asked bluntly. He was a very plain-looking man with a fairly normal haircut, starched, white shirt tucked into charcoal-grey trousers and clean, well-polished shoes.

'We uh... We were hoping to talk to the teachers before the left!' Miyako quickly explained on the spot. 'Is it alright for us to go in? We'll be very quick.' She mustered up the saddest, most innocent look she could pull-off and though the teacher looked as if he had better things to do and was on the verge of sending the three away he instead stepped to the side and held out an arm indicating them to enter.

Hido expected the staff room to be a chaotic environment; desks littered with papers, files poorly doing their jobs and shelves in a disorganised mess, coffee mugs lying around, boxes turned into storage units, bag lying around as trip hazards and computers overloaded with sticky notes.

Instead he walked into a calm, ordered world thoughtfully lined with rows of desks with dividers so each desk became a cubicle, with documents stacked up high but divided with colour-coded pieces of card, trays housing papers that needed to be marked or were done and had to be given out the next day, timetables pinned to the cubicle walls, diaries carefully positioned on the desks, mugs hanging from hooks above the sink and boxes with documents carefully organised..

Order. An order that didn't feel natural.

The teachers were hard at work, rhythmically and systematically working like a well-oiled machine, some placing a sheet of paper from the stack in front of them, swiftly analysing its contents before speedily making their notes then passing it onto the correct level on the multi-levelled tray. Others were taking calls and making notes, others typing with a concentration that could only be compared to robots.

As soon as the three invaded their space the teachers all stopped what they were doing mid-action to look at them, an audience in the blink of an eye. Never had the three been so thoroughly disturbed in all their lives. It was clear that an element of mind-control was present because no group of people could be so efficient, so synchronised, so miserable.

Their bodies emitted a determined force that longed to be put to work; all well-dressed, well-rested and focused yet looking deeper, Miyako saw a sadness in all of them yet a sadness so far away that their minds couldn't fully recognise it.

'There, beside the sink.' Hido pointed out in a whisper.

The three made their way inside, tracked by unblinking stares.

'Hello.' Kouji began, stopping in front of the sink that shone as if recently polished. 'The three of us were wondering how all of you were doing since one of your work colleagues...'

The teachers continued to stare without blinking, none appearing to consider speaking.

'We understand that your jobs are stressful and we just want to let you all know that we appreciate your efforts!' Kouji laughed nervously, Miyako and Hido joining in.

Still the teachers didn't blink nor move their lips.

Miyako looked over her shoulder at the rack of keys but noticed something else, a photograph hanging above of the teachers; organised on elevated benches with the shortest teachers at the bottom and the tallest at the top, unsmiling like they were presently, staring lazy-eyed at the camera. A feeling overcame her then, possessing her body, dragging her thoughts away, pulling her mind away from reality. Soon her eyes widened then slowly her face twisted into a frightened visage, her eyes still focused on face after face in the photo, taking in their internal misery and sorrow. It broke her heart looking at the group of people who had no control of their lives and her distraught caused her body to shake, inadvertently dropping the framed photo which shattered at her feet. 'NOOOOO!' She bellowed.

At the sound of the break all the teachers stood.

'Miyako!' Hido called then lowered his voice, worried that he might agitate the already alert teachers. 'What's the matter?'

But Miyako wouldn't stop shivering as she breathed shallowly

'Kouji, we're going.' Hido announced.

Quickly Kouji scanned the rows of keys before following Hido out. Hido had settled Miyako further down the corridor, sitting her on the floor then crouched before her, staring worriedly. It was then that Miyako silently began to cry, unblinking like the teachers, staring through Hido into space but tears spilling regardless.

Kouji crouched on the other side of Hido, matching his concern. 'Miyako, what's going on?'

Miyako mouthed something.

'Miyako, we can't hear you.'

Every few seconds her head twitched and during this time she kept mouthing something.

'Miyako...'

'Their souls. They don't have any souls!' She cried.

'Miyako,' Hido placed his hands on her shoulders, smiling an encouraging smile. 'I'm sure they have souls. Mr Tetsuo said it themselves that their emotions have only been suppressed.'

'He's right Miyako.' Kouji agreed.

'No!' Miyako shook her head savagely. 'No! No! No! They're not there anymore! When I took that photograph I looked into their eyes, and when I did I felt them! I felt every one of their souls reaching out to me, begging me to pull them out of their misery.'

'What are you talking about Miyako?' Kouji asked, puzzled.

'I felt like I was drowning...' Miyako's body drew together, arms covering her head to protect herself from an invisible threat. 'I was drowning in decay... I couldn't breathe, darkness kept rushing down my throat. And then... Hands – so many hands burst out of the black decay, reaching out to grab me, thousands of hands trying to get as much of me as they could! Grabbing onto my hair, tearing it out in their haste! They wanted me! They wanted me to set them free... They were so desperate for me to pull them out of their living death...' Gently she began to rock forwards and backwards.

'We can't go back in there.' Hido turned to Kouji who had stood up by then. 'She can't go back there. Something is wrong with her...'

Miyako knew it too, what she experienced with the teachers wasn't the first instance as every time she stared into the eyes of another person she could get sense of who that person was: good or bad, sad or desperate. She could feel their loneliness, their pain, their broken hopes. It's was why she was one of the most emotive people she knew. What drove her into shock was the collective force of all the souls.

'The key's not even in there.' Claimed Kouji.

'What? Are you sure?'

'Positive. There was a single key missing and that was for the boiler room. That's where we need to go.'

*

Katou hid in the corner near the rotten, black bags and the smell flooded her nostrils, forming a ball of filth in her stomach that made her want to gag.

The room was surprisingly big and it took some time to fully explore the place, made hard by the poorly isolated boiler at the end of the room which served to make the atmosphere thick and humid, forcing the bags' contents to grow mouldy, break down and evolve into something far worse than it already was.

She could hear the footsteps echo over the grumbling of the boiler. They were close. They were going to finish the job.

'Hey, where are you!? I know you're still here. C'mon where's my punching bag!? Masaru yelled.

_No... N-No..._ Katou could barely think as pain filled every space in her mind.

Katou had found the key to the boiler room lying under the window-sill where that boy had died. Upon picking it up her curiosity took over, leading her to the restricted part of the school building where after taking the small staircase into the basement discovered not only the powerful boiler working at the end of the room but piles of black bags to be discarded at the end of the week and boxes filled with remarkable items that she wasted no time before inspecting them; busted desktop hard drives that she could no-doubt fix, spare parts for her laptops and PCs at home, pens, old books and so on. Her own small paradise. If only her sister in America could see what she had seen, it might have convinced her to come and visit her.

She thought that after school the next day she could come down to find new things to pack up and take with her. Taking the key off its tagged ring she went into town to get a copy made and since coming down to the boiler room she had experienced a new feeling in her chest, a feeling she couldn't describe. She realised right then from the rawness of the feeling – the newness that it was a feeling unlike any other. Joy, solace, excitement.

Going down to that room to indulge her technological and quizzical mind finally gave her something to look forward to and excite her.

That was until those boys found her.

She knew she was in trouble when she heard the old, wooden stairs creak and the chuckle of the boys' laughter flooded her ears. As quickly and quietly as she could she scrambled under the hollow frame of the stairs, raising her knees to her chin to make herself small. The only light came from two small industrial lights in a cage on the ceiling but these lights were underpowered, lighting the room but giving it a murky look like staring into dirty water.

They boys' banter grew louder, steadily dying down when they saw the internal organs of the hardware sprawled across the floor for inspection, motherboards, chips, inferior graphics cards, disk drives, floppy disk slots, CD drives, wires, cables, screws and different sized glass panels from monitors. They then saw Katou's notebook with the inventory written in her clearly feminine writing and her bag making them realize that in the dark underground of the school, they weren't alone.

In an instant they became predators in the night.

'Alright, spread out and find her. She has to still be in here. Masaru, stay at the door so that she doesn't leave.'

'Gotcha, Daisuke.'

'Time to have some fun! Fumio you take that corner and I'll take this one.' Eagerly he clapped his hands, bouncing on his feet. 'Right let's do this!'

The hunt began.

'Argh, look at all this crap... She must be some kind of sewer rat.' Fumio remarked.

'Sewer girl...' Laughed Masaru.

'More like garbage gnome...' Commented Daisuke.

The trio laughed.

_Meanwhile under the stairs Katou curled up into a ball, forehead pressing against her knees while her arms held her._ Just be quiet they'll soon leave. She thought reassuringly.

'This is getting boring man, we don't even know if she's here.' Masaru called.

'Yeah? Well where else would she be, dumbass?' Fumio patronised.

'Well I don't know, maybe she left before we even came in!' Masaru retorted.

'Cool it you two. She's obviously not here. Let's go.'
_Fumio and Daisuke regrouped at the foot of the steps and the three made there way upstairs, leaving Katou alone. She stayed as she was was for a few heart-pounding minutes just to make sure that they were gone and when Katou was confident that they wouldn't return she crawled out of the space, hurriedly and tearfully collecting her things, unsure if she should pack up the components that she desperately wanted to adopt._ I have to get out of here! They'll beat me up I know it!

'See I told you.' Fumio sneered.

Katou froze, heart beating furiously in her chest. Her hand had reached out to pick up a motherboard but she just stopped in shock, fear clamping her muscles.

'Fumio here said that if we left for a while then you'd be here when we returned. And here we are...' Daisuke explained to Katou almost to punish her for finding peace in the strangest of places.

Katou gradually lowered her hand, leaning back to sit on her legs with her hands placed firmly on her lap, arms rigid to stop themselves from shaking. 'Please...' She mumbled. 'Please... Don't hurt me...'

'"Please don't hurt me!" She says!' Daisuke mocked, grabbing Katou by the roots of her hair, lifting her onto her feet as she screamed in discomfort. He turned Katou to see her face clearly showcasing her agony. 'Stupid, dirty bitch.' He spat.

'Garbage Gnome.' Daisuke chuckled.

'Yeah... Garbage Gnome.' Masaru parroted.

'Sewer girl.' Said Fumio.

All three began to laugh, Katou began to cry.

Masaru went to the parts scattered on the floor, inspecting them with interest.

'Man, I wish she'd shut up. Hey Daisuke, tell her to shut up.' Fumio complained, arms folded.

'I have a better idea.' Masaru announced, swinging around to smash the glass monitor screen over Katou's head.

Katou was brought down to her hands and knees, eyes wide with shock and horror so severe that she had forgotten how to breathe, gazing at the concrete floor that was steadily becoming the victim to a downpour of blood. Her blood, she realised when she held her hand before her hands, watching blood drip onto it uncontrollably.

'Masaru! What the hell man!?' Fumio cried, outraged.

'Man, that felt really good. I feel better somehow. You guys should try it.' He tossed aside the shards left over in his hands.

Katou coughed blood all over the parts on the floor then did her best to stand, using Daisuke as support, clawing her way up to lean against his body, meeting his panicking eyes.

'Oh shit! She's got glass sticking out of her head! Why did you do that Masaru.'

Swatted by another glass monitor screen, Katou was brought to the ground again where she twitched in her blood, fighting to stay awake.

'M-Masaru!' Daisuke stuttered.

'You won't be making fun of me anymore will you?' he asked.

'N-No!'

Masaru turned to Fumio. 'You won't call me stupid any more will you? Or dumbass. I'm not the idiot of the group anymore. Got it?'

'No! I swear!'

'I'm leader of this group now. You'll see what I can do. Now let's go.'

With that the three left Katou dying on the ground.

'Y-Yoko...' Katou sobbed as she struggled to remember how to move her body. Rather than move her body twitched. 'Yoko, help me.' She wished that her sister were still around but she hadn't seen her in years. Somehow Yoko had escaped Japan when she could and was living another life in America. Katou had e-mailed her telling her about what she had found but she hadn't gotten an e-mail back. She had to survive to see Yoko's excitement for she too was fascinated with technology – something inherited from their parents.

Yoko came to her in a dream. Her form was blurry but she descended like an angel to pick her up and take her away, take her somewhere safe. 'It's alright Katou.'

'Yoko, you came back for me.' Katou smiled.

In reality Katou had found the strength to move herself into a corner where she would wait to die.

But she had awoken. Still alive.

And Masaru had come back to finish the job.

Katou knew that many students turned to violence to get out the frustration that built up in them, the frustration of being doomed to become like those drones walking the streets without any will of their own, living a wretched life with no way to mitigate the pain that burdened their hearts. She was just another victim in a long list of bullied students, another case that would never be solved, another entry in the newspaper like Hatsuo Seiya and Kimura Daichi, the boy who had murdered his mother before killing himself.

But at least Katou could die surrounded by the things that had briefly put a smile on her face. That didn't stop her from being scared.

*

'No – wait. Stop.' Miyako said weakly, holding her head. She stopped to lean on a wall.

'C'mon Miyako, the faster we can find the bullet the better.' Kouji explained.

'I know – I know.' Miyako looked to her side at the open boiler room. 'Something bad has happened. In there. Someone is in trouble, a girl. Hido... She's dying.'

'How do you know know?'

'Her heart, I can feel it suffering.' She placed a hand to her forehead, feeling her brain pulsate.

'What are we waiting for then?' Hido attempted to rush into the room but Miyako held onto his sleeve. 'What are you doing, Miyako? Let go.'

Miyako had broken out into a sweat and her breathing had slowed significantly 'There's a boy down there... He's... He's...' Blood then began to slide out of her nose as she fought to get the rest of the words out.

'Holy!... Kouji! What do I do!?'

'I don't know!' Kouji began to panic. 'Maybe... Maybe it's her power? To read people – I don't know!'

'What!? The power to give headaches and make you bleed!? Miyako! Miyako!'

But Miyako had already passed out.

'Damn it...'

'Listen Hido, take her to the nurse and I'll go down there and recover the bullet. Or rather, try to recover the bullet.'

'Kouji I–'

Kouji stopped him. 'I know finding who killed Mr Tetsu means something to you but don't lie and say that it means to you more than Miyako does.' He smiled. 'Go.'

'Kouji... Thank you.' Hido lifted Miyako like a man cradling his newly-wedded wife. 'You'll be alright Miyako, I promise.' He exchanged a soft look with Kouji whose mouth locked together as he became increasingly unsure of himself. Then swiftly he was gone, heading back down the staircase.

Nervously Kouji exhaled but wasted no time in traversing a set of old, wooden stairs into the the boiler room. The room was poorly kept with black bags tossed haphazardly to the side. He doubted that they were thrown out as often as people suspected and he also suspected that the room was rarely used and when it was it more for storage than anything else.

The boiler room was moderately sized, enough to lose sight of a person if that person were at the other end of the room. The boy whom Miyako had warned him about was nowhere to be seen. Kouji took several steps into the dimly lit room and while the light was under-powered the smell more than over-compensated in giving the room a unique atmosphere. The circular, caged, industrial lights flickered and inside the plastic casing Kouji could see dead wasps that has somehow found their way inside but died, the heat and light cooking them alive.

It wasn't too soon did Kouji find the plethora of spare computer parts and a school bag. Reaching inside he found a few books; a novel, a text book and a notebook filled with writing and drawings. An inventory was included. Kouji's attention quickly moved to the blood pooled on the ground ahead. Crouching down he could see the ground more clearly, seeing that the person crawled away, leaving only a thin trail of blood. 'Miyako was right...' He said to himself.

Further down the room the sound of tearing metal and the breaking of glass filled the room with sharp sounds, startling Kouji who then made his way to the source with caution, keeping his eyes out for anyone else; the boy or the girl. Crunching under his feet made him stop. Stepping back and lowing herself he found what looked like a glass box filled with yellow pills that had been knocked over, splashing with a great radius. _No..._

Kouji picked up a pill, examining it closely.

It wasn't a glass box at all. The worn, iron cage housing the light had rusted away and the old light that had long since dropped off the ceiling finally fell when the cage did. What Kouji stepped on weren't pills he realised but an unfathomable number of dead wasps. _It must have been the collective weight that had caused the light to fall off in the first place._ The flicked the wasp between his fingers away.

That wasp hit a boy in the chest. 'Who are you?' He announced, bringing Kouji out of his thoughts.

Kouji looked up to see a boy in school uniform; a black, long-sleeved jacket buttoned up to his neck, the white from his shirt poking out of the bottom, black school trousers piling slightly at his feet and polished, black shoes. On his collar was a pin, the symbol of the school which was a star surrounded by a ring of ivy. His hair was brown and long enough that his eyes were nearly invisible.

'Who are _you_?' Kouji asked.

'This is even better, I can kick your ass instead of that girl's.' Masaru smirked. 'Make me feel _real_ good.' He raised his fists.

'So it's you.' Kouji's eyes narrowed. 'You beat up girls? Are you that pathetic?'

'You don't want to get me mad.' Masaru got into a fighting pose, spacing out his legs apart for more stability, raising a hand to his face while keeping another levelled at his chest. 'You don't know what I'm capable of.'

'You beat up girls, we've already established that, stupid.' Kouji pointed at Masaru accusingly.

'Don't call be stupid!' Masaru warned venomously.

'Or else what? You'll beat up more girls who can't defend themselves?' He folded his arms, raising his head to look down on Masaru. 'She must have been what? Looking at all those parts over there? And then you come over and attack her?'

'That's the gist of it.'

'Why?'

'Because, when you have a chance to vent, you do it. And trust me, I never felt more alive than when I smashed that glass over her fragile head. Twice.'

'You bastard...' Kouji gritted his teeth. He didn't know what to do, he wasn't much of a fighter and all that came to him when forced into a situation like this was trash-talk. This boy before him however was the opposite; though seemingly docile, he lived to fight. There was no point in angering him as the angrier he got the more brutal he'd fight.

Kouji raised his fists.

'This is going to be fun.' Masaru declared, then charged.

A right hook to the face, dazing Kouji, a jab to the stomach winding him. His head was grabbed then thrown into Masaru's raised knee, almost breaking his nose then his hair was grabbed and was forced to straighten up as blow after blow was struck on his chest. He was then thrown to the floor, spitting out blood.

Before Kouji could even think about recovering he was kicked in the head, forced to see stars and didn't see the stomping coming. Kouji rolled out of the way and the force of Masaru's own attack damaged his ankle when he hit ground instead of flesh.

Kouji stood, making his way for the exit but was dragged back by his own long hair. There would be no escaping.

Round three.

Masaru found a stray monitor that hadn't been dismantled, striking it against Kouji's head to send him to the ground. He wanted to move, but his body felt heavy and underneath him he could feel his sweat and blood make the dead insects stick to him.

In a frenzy, Masaru attacked the rubbish bags, ripping them open like a predator commencing feasting on its prey, looking for something to hurt Kouji with. But Kouji used the time to think; he was a thinker not a fighter and it was only by chance did he realize that he had the endurance to take a beating. Kouji sluggishly raised himself, breathing shallowly through the pain so that he wouldn't make a sound loud enough to disturb the hunter. Now sitting, he wiped away the wasps – some who he could hear still buzzing in his ear, looking around for anything. And then he found it. _He truly is an idiot, isn't he?_ Kouji smirked then as quietly as he could he moved to the rusted iron cage, picking up one of the shaped bars that had come loose when it dropped. The texture was incredibly rough and crumbled in his hands but it would do.

Bar in-hand, Kouji lowered himself to reduce the sound of his footsteps, breathing slowly and ignoring the blood flowing into his eyes. Before him was the predator thrashing around the trash as he continued for something he could use to inflict pain, ignoring the filth that was coating him.

Kouji continued to steadily advance, coming within two feet of Masaru but it wasn't enough, he would have to get in closer. The distance slowly closed between them, each step reducing the space by inches. Masaru began to slow himself, an instinct telling him that something wasn't right; he gradually straightened himself, believing that it would be him who would have the upper hand.

Close enough now, Kouji slowly elevated himself to his full height, tiptoeing now. The nine inch, iron bar in his hand held so that most of the length was behind him.

With surprising speed Masaru wheeled around pouncing on Kouji, knocking him off his feet, landing heavily on the concrete floor sprinkled with glass and deceased wasps that crunched under their weight. Even with the iron bar thrust into his shoulder, tangled in his collar bone, Masaru tried his best to attack Kouji who twisted his head as far away as he could, breathing quickly as his heart raced.

Masaru dragged himself up Kouji's body, fingers digging into his face and pulling down thoughtlessly, getting Kouji's flesh caught under his nails – his final attempt to maim before his heart gave out, his head dropping suddenly onto Kouji's chest.

And then the boiler room was quite once more.

'Argh!' Kouji wailed as he tried to push Masaru off of him. 'Arrrrrgh!' He looked up at the ceiling, desperate, breathing continuing to be shallow. He looked down at the corpse one more time then pushed. 'ARGH!' He screamed, flipping him off.

As fast as his body let him he stood, the desire to get out of hell of the boiler room fuelling him. 'Hey!' He cried out, letting the echo carry his voice. 'HEY!'

Nothing.

'Shit...' He breathed, venturing further inside. The boiler room was larger than it looked and where he thought it ended it actually turned out to be a corner where he turned to find another equally large section. The room must have ran under the entirety of the the school. Lethargically, Kouji continued search and in time he had covered the entire room without a trace of the girl.

Kouji headed back to the door where he restarted his search, incorporating the focus he had before he was attacked. This time he noticed a trail of blood, copious droplets heading further into the room. Rounding the corner again, Kouji found that the trail instead lead to behind a tall heap of black bags that looked like it could topple at any moment.

However, there behind the stack was Katou, barely conscious. Kouji crouched in awe, horror clear on his face when he saw the glass sticking out of her face that almost entirely red with blood.

Katou looked up at the Kouji.

'I'll call for help.' Kouji offered, reaching into his pocket for his mobile phone but Katou made a sound. 'What is it?' He lowered himself so that he too was lying down, curling up opposite her as Katou fought to talk.

'N-No...'

'You want to die?'

'N-No...' She repeated. 'But, I don't have the strength to go on.

'I got him... I got the boy who did this to you. He won't be hurting anyone else.'

Katou smiled.

'Listen, I need your help. Do you think you can try?'

'Y-Yes.'

Kouji thought it commendable that despite all she had gone through, Katou had the courage to show kindness and keep her faith in humanity. 'I don't know if you've seen anything like this.' He began slowly, not wanting to confuse her. 'Maybe you saw a special bag or something. I'm looking for a bullet. I know it's not much to go by but, have you seen it?'

Katou was quick to respond, her hand curled up and weakly beckoned Kouji closer. 'At the furnace. White bag... too big... Body. The teacher who was... shot.' Her hand dropped and she fell silent.

'No...' Kouji breathed, slowly standing but as he did he saw her hand slowly crawled over the floor, arching across to extend and point back in the direction he came from.

'Bag... Bag...' Katou uttered. 'Bag... Bag... Bag...' She continued to utter the word over and over again until she gradually became quiet.

_Bag? There are plenty of bags in here..._ He stood and left the girl, not wanting to look at her for fear of dying more inside than he already had. Wandering back at the foot of the stairs he was at a loss. _Did she hide it in one of these bags? I've already checked her school bag..._

Footsteps echoed as Miyako and Hido made their way down, Miyako looking better than she did before.

'Kouji... Damn, are you alright?' Hido asked.

Kouji looked away. 'You're always so sensitive Hido... It's nothing. How are you feeling Miyako?'

Miyako looked at Kouji even though he was looking at the floor. 'My headache is gone, the nurse gave me some medicine and some water.'

'I didn't know they were allowed to.' He said bluntly.

'Kouji... What happened here?' Miyako's hands drew to her ample bust.

'That guy, he tried to kill me but I killed him instead.' He bit his lip, frowning.

'You had to kill a guy?' The light overhead shone onto Miyako's glasses hiding whatever feeling she held in her eyes. 'And the girl?'

Kouji crossed her, ignoring her question and rummaging through her bag once again. Perhaps he missed something.

'I see...' Was all Miyako said.

'Five deaths in one week...' Hido said to himself.

Kouji withdrew the books and the notepad but again but he was left with an empty bag. He shook the sack and heard nothing, checking afterwards for extra pockets. Nothing. He dropped it, baffled.

'Did you hear that?' Hido asked.

'Hear what?' Kouji replied.

'I didn't hear anything either.' Said Miyako.

'Do that again – drop the bag.' Hido closed his eyes so that all of his effort went into his hearing.

Kouji lifted the bag then dropped it again, enough to make Hido's eyes snap open. 'There it is again.'

'What?'

That clanging sound, metal hitting the ground.

'You mean the buckle?' Kouji pointed out patronisingly.

' _No_. I mean...' Hido too crossed Miyako, crouching at the bag. 'I heard something inside the bad, metal wedged between fabric, dampening the sound. You won't see it because it's too dark here...'

'How could you hear it but not us?'

'I don't know Miyako. Maybe...' He fingered the inside of the bag, looking for a loose seam. 'Maybe I have an ability too.' He found it. 'There.' Digging a finger from his other hand in, he tore the bag open, dipping a hand in fully and excitedly pulled out a long piece of gold, rounded metal.

The bullet.

FAMILY

Kouji watched attentively as the people passed him by, the nurses, the doctors, the patients be it walking groggily past, IV drips hanging from poles on wheels; in wheelchairs or in the few cases on a bed. One turned to look him in the eyes but appeared to Kouji as soul-less as every other adult he saw.

He had a few stitches on his right temple and surgical tape to keep a shallow cuts together. In his hand the golden bullet dug into his skin, designed like screw with protrusions twisting down the body – a strange design but a design that probably allowed it to inflict that damage that it did; penetrating Mr Tetsuo in the skull as well as the student passing by.

Kouji couldn't help but wonder what kind of person the nameless girl was. From their brief time together he knew that she would have been one of the kindest people he would have known if only she had lived further.

_But, what if she were a Ghost? What if I had spoken to her already or passed her in the corridor? What if she had spoken to me and I ignored her?_ Kouji rested his head in his hand wearily. _Damn you Kioshi, for pulling me into this with your words._

Kouij was aware of the fact that he was entering a new and dangerous world, a world where the true nature of the Akira's world will reveal itself in all of it horror. There would be no turning back now. He knew that who he was a person would be tested to the limit.

' _I can see her whenever I see you Kouji. You share the same eyes, the same determined eyes.'_

_His father sat calmly in his wheelchair staring out of the tinted window. He was an only in his late forties but a strange sickness ravaged his body, making him appear significantly frail. 'You are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that this company succeeds and I appreciate_ _that. But to be a successful and respected businessman you need more than determination and smarts. You need compassion, empathy and a heart that resonates with the people._

_'All those people down there, they are living, breathing people, not just clients. Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that you genuinely care about them. If you can_ show _me with your heart that you can look after these people then you can have this company when I die.'_

'I am those things father.' Kouji said.

His father shook his head. 'It is not enough to say so, Kouji. And it's not enough to act. The heart needs to be there otherwise everything will be an empty gesture for the sake of spite.'

'Then what can I do?'

'Live, Kouji. Live and experience what life has to teach you. The man I am here – in my entirety is because of what I have experienced growing up.' Kouji's father gave him a weak but warm smile. 'There is no one route to travel. You must be weary, Kouji.'

_Compassion, empathy... Qualities that make me a decent human being..._ Kouji thought. 'I witnessed first-hand the lengths people will go to numb the pain in their hearts. We're so miserable that we turn to hurting each other just to feel better about ourselves. And then there was me who said it's irrelevant.'

Kouji bit his lip again.

_If every day you open up the newspaper or turn on the television only to read or hear about people killing themselves then it starts to become irrelevant. Be thankful that by the time you have to get a job you'll have more of a chance._ Kouji had said selfishly.

'And there I was standing there as Kioshi stood up for what he believed in. He was right, it's because of people like us that Hatsuo Seiya and that girl died.'

Hido and Miyako appeared in front of Kouji. 'How's your head Miyako?'

'Fine. The doctor didn't know what was wrong – it's not like he didn't try his best.' Miyako folded her arms.

'It makes you think.' Said Hido. 'If _he_ is running things,' he cautiously looked around. 'He wanted to make the perfect society right?' He continued in a hushed voice. 'Part of that would mean that all of these organisations would have to be high tier – I mean _really_ effective and efficient.'

'You mean like how the teachers were?' Miyako thought back to the rows of teachers in the immaculate staff room, working methodically, systematically, all straightening and looking at them like robotic slaves. She shuddered.

'Exactly. And we really need to talk about this, do you think what Mr Tetsuo said was true? Do we have special abilities? Are we Keys? Miyako may have the ability to look into people's hearts and see who they really are and me? Maybe enhanced hearing?'

Kouji resisted the urge to snort. 'There's no way to tell for sure yet.' He said. 'Anyway, this bullet.' A doctor passed, eyeing Kouji for a moment, forcing him to hush momentarily.

'Any idea what we do now Kouji?'

'I was thinking about that... I know someone who can help.'

Miyako and Hido looked at Kouji with wonder. 'And who would that be?' Hido asked.

*

The world looked different when passing through in a car. When stopping at traffic lights the three could get a better look of how society functioned so late in the day as being inside the car in the middle of the road they really began to feel like they were in the center of it all.

Miyako and Hido sat quietly in the back seat, staring out of their respective windows while Kouji was in the the passenger seat, head leaning on his fist, taking a nap. The driver was a stern looking man with his face constantly screwed up into a scowl, eyes forever narrowed. His hair was cut so far down to his head that he may as well have been bald and on one side of his head and running down his neck was a tattoo of a red and gold Chinese dragon while on the other side was a tattoo that read "family" in Chinese characters.

The car went off the main road onto a less populated and narrower one, the buildings now so close together that the sky appeared darker. Another turn brought them into an alley that may as have been a tunnel for it was so dark and without light that it felt like they had been going in the same direction for a long time. The driver then made a right, driving down for a few more minutes before stopping abruptly, throwing Hido and Miyako forward. The man tapped Kouji's legs harder than he needed to to wake him but Kouji didn't complain.

Kouji was the first to step out, Miyako and Hido following his lead, Hido stepping into a shallow puddle. He looked up to see the rain pouring down, the grey sky steadily growing darker, foreshadowing a heavier downpour.

As soon as Kouji closed the door the man drove off, leaving the three to stare at a large, corrugated steal door at the top of a small set of concrete steps, the loading bay to an unknown establishment. Without hesitating, Kouji advanced up the stairs, bashing the door with his fist, filling the ally with distorted music.

'Kouji, where are we? Who was that guy?' Miyako asked.

'I have no idea who he was.'

'But where are we? Why are we here?' Hido questioned, suspicious.

'We're here to see the Yakuza.'

'The Yakuza!' Miyako and Hido exclaimed at the same time. 'C'mon, we all know that they're just a myth – an urban legend.' Hido raised an eyebrow.

'They are real.'

'But all the information about them wrote about their end during the nineties.' Hido argued.

'Now that I think about it,' Kouji placed a thoughtful finger to his lips. 'Maybe there is a link between the date the organisation allegedly fell and Akira's uprising.'

'What good would pretending that the Yakuza don't exist do?'

Miyako folded her arms. 'Besides deterring people from joining an organisation that can oppose _you know who_?'

'I'm sure we can say his name Miyako.'

The steel doors opened slowly, every second building up tension and anxiety in both Hido and Miyako. Hido lowered his arms but Miyako slowly took his hand. The door revealed to them a car repair warehouse; cars elevated so that work could be done to their undercarriage, tires lining racks, tables awash with spare parts and large machines that could have done anything. Lights hung far from the ceiling by cables but looked secure and were bright, giving the warehouse a welcoming feel.

'I don't want to say his name in case something bad happens to me. Or maybe the people I care about like Chisa.'

Hido squeezed her hand gently, his heart beating quickly at the revelation that he was even holding it.

There were a few people about, some simply sat, enjoying a cigarette, keeping themselves to themselves while others were working on the cars. As they passed through Miyako couldn't help but notice the elaborate tattoos some where sporting on their bodies for those who had decided not to wear a shirt despite the coldness of warehouse. One man rolled out from under a blue seven-seater car, blowtorch in-hand, sitting up to wipe away sweat with his dirty leather gloves. He removed a pair of goggles, placing them on his forehead and stared at Miyako as she passed.

On his body was a skeleton in samurai armour sat with his arm raised so that the length of his sword could be seen; bloody and chipped to show that he had been through many hard battles and somehow even in his dead state he still existed to fight another day. She met his eyes and could feel his heart talk to her; telling her that like the samurai he would fight beyond his limit to protect what he believed in.

Kouji had already moved up a small large set of exposed, metal steps, finding himself at the closed door of an office door that protruded but connected by a wide walkway running along the wall met by another set of steps. With the back of his first two fingers he knocked lightly on the door where the grey paint was slowly chipping away and the revealed metal was brown with age.

'Come in!' A woman commanded bluntly.

Kouji sighed then opened the door, greeted by a fog of cigarette smoke that loomed heavily like a storm-cloud over the head of a tense and frustrated woman. Leaning on her fists, she stood over her dented, metal desk, staring at a piece of paper taking up more space than the desk provided through rectangular glasses. Her hair was messily tied up behind her by a maroon ribbon though a swirl of hair fell in front of her face which she didn't seem to mind. Wrapped around her body figure was an emerald kimono decorated with a pattern of brown branches holding lanterns with Fireflys dotted around the green spaces.

Angrily she ground the cigarette into her ashtray so hard that the entire stick broke apart then glared up at the light bulb struggling to remain attached to the ceiling but struggling to fully illuminate the small room. 'Damn it! Would it kill someone to get me a better light bulb!?' She slammed the desk with the palm of her hands, sending the sound echoing through the warehouse.

'Maybe if you reduced your cigarette intake by forty you'd be able to see better. What's this?' Kouji too leaned over the desk to peer down on what looked like blueprints for something he didn't recognise.

'Plans for something big, something desperate.' she said, stretching. Standing directly under the light the lines on her aged face became prominent as intense shadows highlighted them. She stood up straight, adjusting her kimono. 'Come here Kouji!' She opened her arms.

'Mother.' Kouji smiled, rounding the desk to hug her.

Hido and Miyako stepped inside.

You've gotten so tall. What happened to you?' Her smile turned into a worried frown.

'It's part of the reason we're here.' Kouji looked at his peers. 'These are Miyako and Hido, Miyako, Hido, this is my mother Ikuhara Midori.' He parted from her, moving to his friends' side.

'It's not about your father is it? Has he gotten worse?' Midori asked worryingly, her common vexed visage gave way to a gentler, motherly face that the Yakuza never saw.

'It's not about him and... Yeah...' Kouji looked away, avoiding his friends' gazes of intrigue.

'What's wrong with your father? Hido asked.

'It's not relevant.'

Miyako eyed Kouji with interest, feeling her own heart beat more purposely, a sign that her body was trying to read him.

'Come, sit.' Midori sat down behind her desk while Kouji allowed Hido and Miyako to take the remaining two metal holding chairs, he himself leaning on a wall.

'You're a member of the Yakuza?' Mikayo asked.

'I'm one of the leaders and have been even before this mess.'

'You're talking about –'

'Kouji!' Miyako warned.

'I said it's fine to say his name Miyako.' Hido reassured.

'We don't know anything! That's why we're here.'

'Hey, what's going on?' Midori leaned forward in curiosity.

The three remained silent long enough for Midori to lose a bit of her softness. 'Our teacher was murdered yesterday because he was talking about... _things_ that happened before we were born.' Kouji eventually said, slowly meting his mother's eyes.

Midori relaxed. 'Ah yes. Him. I read about it in the newspaper about your teacher's death. I've been around quite a while now and know when he's trying to send a message to people like us. People who survived his takeover of Japan.' She smiled weakly. 'None of us could believe it when he took over Japan. When he had complete control he sent Keys out to eliminate us. Our numbers fell harshly, many of my friends never lived to see the dystopia he created. I don't know whether to envy them or not.' Midori shook her head, standing up and facing away from the three with arms folded. 'The Yakuza refused to succumb to his pressure however so we divided into much smaller ranks. None of us know how but those who rebelled against him and survived have become immune to his ability to control the masses. We're noticeable though, so we best to fit into society or lay low and avoid his eye.

'For a politician though, he was very short-sighted. We may not achieve our result through the most moral of means but, we still contributed positively to society – take the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The Yakuza contributed their services to help ease the suffering of those affected. It doesn't matter to him though – he only sees things in black and white; good or bad. There is no grey area.'

'If he has eyes everywhere then surely he can see everything?' Kouji pointed at.

'That is true,' replied Midori. 'But by that logic should none of his spies be around he is blind. For all he knows we don't exist. That is of course if one of you three is under his influence.' She faced the trio.

The statement created an anxious tension to form between Kouji, Miyako and Hido.

'Just kidding. His characters don't operate like that. They're more... passive, as you see them on the street.

'But then who killed our teacher?' Miyako asked.

The question threw Midori off.

'Mother?' Kouji almost pleaded, knowing that his mother had the answer to the question that not just him Hido and Miyako held but Kioshi, Seito and Aki as well.

'The person you're looking for is probably among a set of people who Akira holds for cases as the once you saw; the deadliest people you will ever encounter if you're unfortunate enough to. I don't know what they go by now but before they were known as the Reapers of Justice. Or simply: the Reapers.'

'Reapers?' The Miyako, Kouji and Hido repeated simultaneously.

Midori sat again. 'Before the world changed the Reapers handled monsters known as Nightmares – horrible creatures.' Midori interlocked her fingers, thoughtfully. 'But now they have been twisted into his Assassins...'

The stabbing of rain on the roof of the warehouse could be heard as no-one said anything for a while. As they had all been talking, no-one had noticed just how audible the rain was as it splattered against the windows and sprinkled the roof to produce a hollowed echo that bounced across the warehouse. A few of the Yakuza members had left, other matters to attend to while others stayed, conversing with each other or continuing to work on the cars.

'It's not too late to go home and behave as if none of these events have happened.' Midori offered, sliding her glasses properly onto her nose.

Kouji however placed withdrew from his pocket the specialised bullet, placing it carefully on the the desk so that it would stand. 'I've had to kill a boy, mother. I can't go back...' Kouji looked away.

Midori sighed, slouching with her hands resting interlocked on her stomach and looking at the corner of the room dreamily. 'If you are choosing to immerse yourselves in the affairs of a world that you didn't belong to then there are things you need to know. This in particularly relates to your father, Kouji.' Her eyes fell on Kouji's expressionless face. 'The Reapers were originally tools of the government; Keys with "Advanced Tier" abilities who believed that with their abilities it was their duty to help Japan any way that they could. If the time came any one of them could shift the course of an entire war. Imagine a soldier that was bulletproof, imagine a soldier that could never even die. Imagine a soldier that could heal the wounded and even regrow limbs. No-one knew who these men and women were as because they covered their faces. They were like _Super Sentai._ ' Midori smiled at the idea of superheroes. _They feel like a myth when just ten years ago superheroes walked the streets._

' _Super Sentai_?' Hido folded his arms.

'It was an old television show that got cancelled soon after Akira fully took over Japan. It was about colourful superheroes who protected Japan from evil. Anyway,' Midori laughed, embarrassed. 'A Reaper could be your friend, your neighbour, your mother or father. But they were dispatched when a Nightmare threat grew out of control when not even the police couldn't contain the threat – something that happened far too often, part of the reason why people hated Nightmares.'

'What are those?' Hido asked.

'Nightmares are horrible creatures as common as the people who once walked the streets as free people.' Midori leaned in now, formally addressing the question. 'They are the physical manifestation of one's negative emotions. You see, Humans and Keys alike are more than flesh and blood.'

Kouji, Miyako and Hido were instantly drawn in by Midori's claim. 'What do you mean by more than flesh and blood? Miyako leaned in closer.

'The Yakuza have long since believed that the body is composed of three parts: the body (the vessel), the mind (the control centre) and most importantly the soul (your will). _He_ was aware of this too. Let me explain to you the basics of mind-based abilities. It's all about the eyes first and foremost. Without the eyes these abilities are useless. You've all heard that the eyes are the windows to the soul?'

The three nodded.

'This derives from this belief that has been around since before feudal times. Through the eyes a Key with the power of Mind-Control can affect the mind. Yakuza believe that _he_ is so much stronger because he uses the eyes as a gateway to enter the body, taking over the mind like a virus to then seek out the soul and then banish it. Without the soul the vessel is nothing but a manipulable shell that knows how live but has no direction or resolve – no _will_.'

'The Deprived's souls have been banished? How?' Miyako's curiosity had by now consumed her entirely.

Midori chuckled. 'Yes, the Deprived as we called them. It has been long theorised that the soul itself is a gateway to another dimension – a _powerful_ dimension and its energy that powers our souls and gives us our will. _He_ must have been able to banish it to a completely different dimension. One (many believe) is the ultimate dimension of darkness.'

'This dimension,' Miyako stood bringing herself desperately closer to Midori, 'it's where the Nightmares live... isn't it?'

'Yes it is. You've been there, haven't you, Miyako?' Midori said carefully.

Miyako looked past Midori, staring into space. 'Yes... It makes sense now...'

'What makes sense Miyako?' Hido was half on his seat, resisting the urge to calm Miyako who he knew was on the verge of hysterics.

'I'm a Key... My soul can read another soul but the Deprived have none.' Her eyes met Midori's hard gaze, folding her arms around her body. 'Within the Deprived there is a hole where the soul was; a black hole and when I try to feel their soul I'm drawn in, sucked into the Nightmares' dimension where their souls struggle...' Her eyes closed. 'I could feel the darkness...'

She licked her lips.

'The darkness was alive...' She stood on the spot as the sensations that she felt returned to her as if she were still there. 'The power of the Nightmares' dimension have given the lost souls a physical form, they want to escape, they want me to help them.' She could see herself sinking into the blackness, dragged down by thousands of chalky-white hands.

'Miyako!' Midori snapped.

Miyako was startled back to reality.

Midori was standing now, face a stern face that anyone close to her recognised as her default expression. 'You must be drawn to the darkness or else you will be lost forever. Or worse... You might lose your humanity and become an abomination. The Nightmares are incredible creatures with raw physical strength but are also Keys of Darkness itself! When a person's negative emotions reach its peek that person spawns a Nightmare!

'The Eclipsed – the people who have spawned a Nightmare lose themselves completely to the darkness. They are no longer human but something more sinister and dangerous, capable of unimaginable cruelty.'

'Is father...' Kouji trailed off but soon swallowed his nervousness. 'Is father an Eclipsed?' He thought back to the sight of his father sitting lifelessly in his wheelchair with skin transparent, a network of black veins visible and making him look like a living corpse.

Midori didn't meet Kouji's eyes and let the room fill with the song of the rain as she became silent.

'Mother...' Kouji stood.

Still Midori didn't respond.

'Mother!'

Midori's body jolted. Reluctantly she faced her son. 'Yes... and no...'

'What does that mean!?' He asked desperately.

'It means that your father is a strong man. The same part of us where the Nightmares come out of is the same place where we draw our will. If your father still has some semblance of humanity then his soul must still be there no matter how small it may becoming.' She frowned, turning her back to him.

None of the three teenagers knew what to say.

Finally Midori said, 'You now know the answer to the question of who killed your teacher. What do you plan on doing with it?'

'We're going to fight!' Hido offered but his voice didn't convey the enthusiasm that his raised his voice implied.

'Even if you know that by returning the world to how it once was you may unleash upon us a greater evil?

The three looked at each other and they all thought the same thing; that their resolve to fight might not be as strong as they initially thought it was and that Tamashii Kioshi might be alone in his mission to create his own Paradise.

BLACK

I _s this the beginning or the end?_

If this is the beginning then where is our miracle? If it's the end then what purpose did I serve here in this world? I am so young. That's right, there is still use for me yet...

But am I disposable just like all those other people – many whom may not have served any kind of purpose?

I wanted to become a nurse so that I could preserve life yet it's only now that I realize how fragile we all are. I believed that everyone had the right to life, the right to live that life and enjoy that life. Yet, here I am, a prisoner; my life in someone else's hands. What kind of life is that?

What kind of life is that?

Look at Junichi. He's strong and brave even though I know he's scared. He tries his best but his efforts are in vein. Despite giving it his all we're together in this situation and though he fought and struggled he's going to die whereas I will live.

Why? Why is this?

Is it truly because of my choice of wanting to be preserve life? That can't be all. If it is truly so straight-forward then what does it say about me? What does it say about Junichi and Yamato? What does it say about every other person that walks not just Japan but the rest of the world?

I wanted to be a nurse so I could save lives. That's what I tell myself over and over again and that is the truth. But... What is the deeper meaning behind this? To want to help people so intimately and heal is a sign of kindness, of compassion. To be a teacher is to care about the young and want to help them grow. That is compassion. Does this mean that only the compassionate survive? Is being compassionate equal to being strong? Many people claim that only the strong survive.

I don't understand!

Izumi continued to nibble on her bottom lip.

'You're panicking, Izumi.'

There are fates worse than death. Sometimes we feel like we to want to die but in death comes pain to those who care about you and so living on with this pain is the greatest pain of all. Wait... Is living itself the spiritual embodiment of pain?

But what is living if this complex act can also be determined by someone else? If my life is now in the hands of someone else then this must mean that my life has ended but in-turn has begun again as something new; continuous beginnings and endings...

_What does it all mean? Though? What does this all mean?_ 'What does it all mean!?'

'Izumi?' Nudged Junichi, bringing Izumi out of her torture. 'What are you talking about?'

Now in the elevator, the bellboy boy slid his hat off his neatly combed hair. 'Are you all alright?' He turned to face Junichi, Izumi and Yamato, smiling. 'Don't worry, you're safe. I'm not the bad guy. He claimed.

'You only work for the enemy.' Junichi stated sarcastically.

'How does one pose as the enemy but not be an enemy at the same time?' Izumi questioned while ignoring the mutterings of doom inside her head.

'When you're undercover.' The boy answered bluntly.

'I see...'

'Izumi,' Junichi grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her so that they were facing each other, but Izumi was afraid to look at her boyfriend. 'What's going on?'

Quickly she met Junichi's stare, returning it with a fake smile. 'Nothing's wrong.'

The elevator doors finally parted to a into a large, grey basement housing an assortment of goods, food in large boxes, crates filled with unknown items, trays holding dusty bottles of wine, stray towels placed randomly about, stacks of paper as well as other objects.

'Let's get going then.' Izumi encouraged with feigned enthusiasm. 'So, if you're undercover then what organisation do you belong to?'

'That doesn't matter.'

'Doesn't it?' Junichi asked, following Izumi out of the elevator. 'You can't be any older than we are.'

The boy sighed. 'Well since I have no choice, my name is Zero-Sixteen. I am a Reaper.'

'You're a Reaper?' Izumi raised an eyebrow.

'We knew something was wrong the second it happened.' Zero-Sixteen continued, disappearing to the left where he used a clustered set of keys to open a thick, steel that looked out of place amongst the old stone. With a flip of a thick switch a small light bulb turned on above his head. The trio followed, stepping down a set of metal steps, leaving Zero-Sixteen to close the door securely behind them.

Their footsteps echoed in the narrow, concrete corridor that ended at another steel door. Zero-Sixteen passed between the three, opening the door by turning a large, heavy wheel at the centre and what it opened up to however was a complete change of environment; a low tunnel with a river of dark, disgusting water streaming through the middle. The sewers.

'I don't understand.' Said Izumi as the three stepped down into the murky underworld. 'If you're a Reaper then why can't you stop Akira? You were in the same room as him today.' Behind the torn dress Yamato coughed bitterly, stopping to lean against a wall to catch his breath.

'We need to hurry and get you healed.' Junichi placed a careful hand on Yamato's back which Yamato responded to with a gentle nod.

'Because it wasn't my mission.' Zero-Sixteen worded plainly. 'I was instructed to infiltrate the hotel and gather intelligence – which I have. People better than me will can take care of him when I give them the information. We couldn't act while not knowing who we're up against.'

'People better than you?' Asked Junichi.

'Yes. Amongst the Reapers I'm one of the least respected. And rightly so; I'm nothing compared to all of those people.'

'You're being hard on yourself, Zero-Sixteen.' Izumi claimed.

'I wish I were but I am largely like ghost to these people, worthless and invisible.'

Junichi grabbed Zero-Sixteen by the shoulders, pinning him against a set of pipes running along the wall. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means what it means! I'm one of the weaker members!' Zero-Sixteen pushed Junichi off angrily. 'I know what you're all thinking; we're Reapers, we're elite. You look at us and believe that we're a family or a tight unit. But we're not. Just like any society there are those with egos; within our ranks we compete to show what we're made of – no-one says so, but secretly we want to prove that we've got what it takes to stay among them.'

'You're not doing yourself any favours by putting yourself down. You're only as strong as your own will to survive!' Lectured Junichi, placing his hands on his hips.

_You're only as strong as your own will to survive?_ Izumi thought.

_'Are you strong Izumi?'_ The voice in her head asked her.

This isn't the end... If it is the end then I won't accept it as that! Get out of my head! Leave me alone!

Zero-Sixteen chuckled for a brief moment, watching the rats scurrying around. 'Akira's power from what I've seen is spreading fast. I don't know if you guys will understand, but he's treated Shibuya like a computer system and he's a virus; attacking and spreading dangerously fast. First he took over the minds of a handful of Keys and then these Key's acted as conduits; re-transmitting the signal Akira is broadcasting. Anyone who gets close enough somehow ends up belonging to Akira then he can do whatever he wants with them.'

'But we weren't effected.' Claimed Izumi with her mind now settled. 'Why?'

'I wish I had the answer to that.'

Izumi continued,'Just being in his presence was driving me insane... It felt like I was falling asleep and it took me all that I had to remain conscious.'

'I know...' Zero-Sixteen added. 'Such a strong aura around him. I've never felt it before, even among the other Reapers of Justice.'

'When he stared right down at you Junichi, I thought my brain was going to explode.' Izumi admitted.

'I don't know what you're talking about...' Was all he said, eyeing Zero-Sixteen with a subtle disliking.

'You couldn't feel it? Then you're a better man than I am–'

'Stop talking like that!' Junichi snapped. 'If there's one thing I hate it's people putting themselves down! You're a Reaper! We look up to you. You're all goddamn superheroes, man. You can't devalue what you have!'

'What do you know what I have!?' Zero-Sixteen snapped, shoving Junichi. 'Yes I can fight – we all can, but when it comes to our abilities I'm nothing to them! Don't you understand!? All I can do is read how people's bodies will move before they actually move. That's all. I can't lift skyscrapers or change the landscape with the force of my mind! I am nothing to them – a joke! I go around acting tough to show that the pressure isn't getting to me but the truth is that it hurts!

'The only reason I was tasked with reconnaissance is because I'm fodder. If I'm lost then no big deal because we still have Zero-Two who's invincible and Zero-One who's immortal! Zero-Three? She can see the entirety of Shibuya in her mind! How else do you think we were able to react as quickly as we did! How do you think we know where Nightmares are when they appear the moment they do!? What am I to them!?'

Zero-Sixteen stormed off.

'Wait!' Junichi caught up with him, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'Look, I know I shouldn't have opened up this subject but don't act like what you have isn't unique. Look at us Zero-Sixteen, the three of us are only Human.' He looked back at Izumi and Yamato who had turned to look away due to the gravity of the truth. 'Do you know how great it would be to save a life before they were even in danger? If I could see as you could when Yamato was in danger then I could have stopped what happened to him from happening.'

'If I wasn't Human – if I was a Key then I could make a difference.' Yamato said through his wounds, walking over to Zero-Sixteen to stand taller than him by a few inches. 'I wouldn't be complaining that even though I have power it may not be as good as others. How do you think Standard Tier Keys feel when they see you? You go out there and you fight Nightmares. That's why you were recruited. Zero-Two may not be able to get hurt but he doesn't have the ability to stop a Nightmare from killing someone. You do. You can see the twitch in its body before it moves and save that person. Don't you dare belittle that.

'Like Junichi said, if I had known that kid was going to take my face then I wouldn't have taken him lightly. Junichi and I, his father might have taught us how to fight but that means little in this world we live in. The truth is, we Humans depend on you Keys to fight for us. Remember that.' With his head tilted he moved towards the back of the group.

'I was thinking...' Izumi mumbled uncertainly. 'I was thinking about what it means to live. At first I was thinking that our ability to live is determined by how much compassion we have, but now I feel that our ability to live is determined how strong out will is. If you choose to be strong then you forge your path ahead.'

'You're right...' Zero-Sixteen nodded his head a few times dreamily as he thought to himself. 'You're right. It appears that the lucky one here today is myself. Right, We're quite close and when we get there we'll consult with Zero-One, he'll know what to do.' With a lifted spirit, Zero-Sixteen continued on further into the sewer, Junichi and Yamato passing Izumi. When Izumi went to move she stumbled, her body weakening for a second. She clung onto a vertical pipe as she wrestled with her darkening thoughts and fought back a cramping feeling in her heart, eyes wide as she breathed shallowly. She assumed that her thoughts and seemingly splitting personality was a by-product of the stress from losing her friend. It never occurred to her that the problem might stem from somewhere else such as from the problem with her blood.

'Kioshi?'

Kioshi was startled back to reality where he was slouched on a support pole on the bus as he, Aki and Seito made their way to the station on their way to Zone Three. His eyes were half-closed as if half-asleep and barely acknowledged Aki's call.

'Are you all right?' Aki worried.

'Yeah...' Hastily Kioshi rubbed his eyes with the bottom of his palms, smiling afterwards.

'Can I tell you something, Kioshi?'

Kioshi was thrown off by the sudden question. 'Sure. Of course.'

Aki thoughtfully nodded. 'I'm not sure about all of this, Kioshi. Why does it feel like we've lost already?' Aki asked.

'Because,' Seito commented as he sat beside them. 'We're biting off more than we can chew.'

'Akira's the bite and we're cutting that into smaller pieces. This mission being one of them.' Kioshi argued.

'I have a very bad feeling, Kioshi.' Aki whispered, gripping onto the same pole as Kioshi tighter.

Not knowing what to say Kioshi began to stare out outside the bus' window, watching the legion of Deprived. _You were fighting to stop this but in the end you lost more than the fight. You lost yourself too, mother. If it wasn't for Yamamoto Akira then you wouldn't have gone insane. But what exactly drove you so mad and what was wrong with your blood?_

Izumi looked up at Kioshi with dead eyes, her body weak and depleted, unmoving under the thick covers that sheltered her. Her hair was soaked with sweat, breaking apart and clinging to her face, her skin was grey and dying, overrun with black veins.

What was wrong with your blood?

'We're here Kioshi.' Aki pointed out as the bus came to another stop.

Seito was already outside when Kioshi stepped out at the entrance to Zone One Station and inside it operated with a disarming elegance as the Deprived got their tickets, passing the barrier, entered and left the platforms like parts on an assembly line. What was most noticeable was that even with hundreds of people about, the place was disturbingly quiet as people went about their own thing, stuck in their own world.

As soon as he entered, Seito felt uneasy being surrounded by so many people in such a tight-seeming space. Aki however was unaffected as she made her way to the ticket office to purchase everyone's tickets. Kioshi on the other hand felt more uneasy than Seito as paranoia set in, wondering if Akira knew of their intention to rebel one deed at a time. Though he didn't consider Kouji a friend he did wonder if he was safe as he was in the most dangerous environment of all; where Mr Tetsuo died. _If Akira was the one to order an attack on Mr Tetsuo then what would stop him from sending someone to kill him or even us?_

The thought only served to strengthen his paranoia, feeling that anyone in the station could grab him and drag him away into the crowd without Seito or Aki knowing and they would never see him again.

So many people...

So many potential threats. His father had taught him how to defend himself but not against so many people. What would he do if someone got hold of him? What would he do if someone got hold of Seito? Quickly he looked beside him, Seito was still there.

What about Aki?

His heart stumbled as it went about its rhythmic beating. _Shit._ 'Seito, let's find Aki.'

The two began to wade through the crowd towards the ticket office but the task proved to be difficult as the Deprived were unmovable in their trance and so they had to force themselves between them in order to progress. Upon reaching the ticket office however, Aki wasn't there.

'Where did she go?' Seito asked.

'God, I hope no-one has taken her.' _It's just as I feared..._

'We should split-up and then meet back here.' Seito offered.

'We're _not_ splitting up; that's not a good idea. And what if she was...' Kioshi trailed off, looking away from Seito.

'You don't think someone took her do you, Kioshi? Listen to how quiet it is in here, if someone took here then we would have heard.'

'What if someone was covering her mouth?'

'Well, we can't wait for her for ever.'

Outraged, Kioshi raised his voice. 'So what? We just go on to Akihabara without her?'

'Maybe...' Seito admitted, moving to the ticket stand to purchase new tickets.

'Maybe?' Kioshi grabbed his arm. 'Maybe? If it were Kouji or Hido or Miyako then you'd look for them.'

'I would.' He replied. 'But Aki...'

'What?'

Hido ripped his arm out of Kioshi's grasp, irritated. 'She's a freaking Ghost Kioshi! No-one talks to her, no-one likes her and no-one wants her here! Look at her, look how disfigured her body is. Something is wrong with her and truthfully, she's just an eyesore.' The words were leaving Seito freely now. 'The always messy hair, she's so quiet–'

'Shut up!' Kioshi cried, swinging his fist, meeting Hido square on the cheek, knocking him to the ground. With both hands he dragged him up. 'You call her a Ghost? Well what if she is one? She's a better person than you are, Seito – at least she _cares._ Aki's not a Ghost to me – I care about her.'

'Yeah-yeah.' Was all Seito replied in a tone that showed that he understood Kioshi and was sorry for the most part but refused to meet Kioshi's eyes as he picked himself up.

'What are you so afraid of, Seito?'

'What am I afraid of?' Embarrassed. Seito put his back to Kioshi. 'Nothing.'

Feeling that their conversation was over, Kioshi went to go and search for Aki but his task was done for him as she stood behind him, baring an expression that held mixed feelings. She had heard Kioshi's and Seito's exchange.

*

Izumi, Junichi, Yamato and Zero-Sixteen continued to traverse the complex sewers on their way to the Reapers stronghold. Junichi and Zero-Sixteen had taken to talking to each other while Yamato continued weakly in silence. Izumi was at the back, lost in thought but kept pace. Barely.

My emotions feel so raw – amplified. Everything I feel feels too real. This doubt in my mind – I've never doubted myself like this before. Every negative though I have feels toxic like corruption. It's a darkness like a fire; spreading and corrupting, causing irreversible damage. Miko death has unlocked some box of powerful emotions that I don't know if I'll be able to control.

'I'm so scared...' Izumi muttered.

'What's there to be scared about, Kioshi?' Aki Asked.

'You wouldn't understand.' Kioshi replied.

'Are you scared because... you're a Ghost?'

'Ghost?' Kioshi repeated, shaking his head. 'What are you...' And then Kioshi realized that he wasn't in his mother's memory but back in the present. Shakily, a hand rose up to hold his forehead.

'Kioshi, are you okay?'

'He's losing his nerve' Seito quipped.

Kioshi pursed his lips tightly, looking away from the both of them. _Just then, I couldn't tell which one was reality..._ _I'm going mad... Like her._

The train rocked steadily as it passed through a tunnel and so for a while Kioshi lost sight of Aki as she stood in front of him grasping the pole that supported her close to her body. Seito again was sat a few seats away and occasionally shot Aki a loathsome glare.

_Darkness..._ Kioshi thought, thinking back to what his mother was feeling. He tried hard to understand what was happening to her mind that would inevitably cause her to go mad.

_If I continue to looking into my mother's past for insight, I will probably go mad._ Kioshi was aware that it wasn't as simple as he made it seem.

Everyone has darkness in them, myself, my father, even my mother. What if something inside of her was augmenting that darkness? What if something was forcing these thoughts into her head?

Grey daylight flooded the carriage allowing Kioshi to see the worried look on Aki's face. Kioshi smiled thoughtlessly, a lie to calm her down. _Even Aki has darkness in her. She's a Ghost like me._

Aki was staring out of the window tiredly.

What could be in her heart that would augment her own darkness? Could it be her doubt? Or was it something else? What could augment the darkness in my own heart? I even asked Seito what was he afraid of. I'm sure that he's afraid of becoming like me and Aki, he's afraid of becoming irrelevant, afraid that one day he will stop being acknowledged by his peers.

All this thinking is pointless.

'Kioshi?' Aki asked gently, avoiding Kioshi's eyes.

'Yes, Aki?'

'Why do you care about me?'

Kioshi didn't expect that question. 'Why do I care?' He became silent so now the only sound heard was the slight drumming of the train as it made its way towards Zone Three. 'I care about all the people. It's why I'm here now.' He replied nervously.

'Oh...'

'But... We're alike, you understand what it's like to live a life where you're almost invisible. I know how much loneliness hurts and I know that knowing that just one person cares can make a difference even if it's a small one.' Kioshi moved closer to Aki. 'It sounds like pity but it's not. The truth is that... I guess I like you...'

'How long have we known each other for?'

'We've been in the same class for a while now. Years.'

'And all this time you've... cared?'

'Yes. If anything, knowing you so long is partly why I care so strongly. What Seito and everyone else doesn't understand is that a Ghost is merely a person who isn't a part of someone's life. You're a part of my life; you're Aki, my friend.'

Aki finally gazed into Aki's eyes, taking a step forward, her body pressing against Kioshi's 'I've never had anyone care about me before.'

'What about your parents?'

'No.' She breathed. 'They haven't cared in a long while. My father cares, but he cares in... the wrong way. But, it feels nice to be cared for in the right way.'

Kioshi smiled, happy that Aki appreciated his company. 'Can I ask _you_ something?

Aki nodded.

'Why is it that...' Kioshi hesitated. 'Why...'

'Oh... I do mind a bit... I can't tell you everything Kioshi, it would frighten you.'

'Are you afraid I'll run away?'

'Yes.'

He frowned. 'And if I promise I won't?'

'Are you telling the truth?'

'About what?'

'That you care. Are you telling the truth?' Her breath tickled Kioshi's neck.

'I am... I do care.'

The movement of the train became noticeable when the two fell into silence. The train was filled with grey light, making the interior look and feel bleak.

'About my body, I have what the doctor calls it a "mutation", and this mutation causes my body to produce large quantities of blood and without a place for it to go it all ends up storing... well, you know...'

'Your breasts are full of... blood?'

Aki nodded grimly. 'I sometimes have these nightmares – really disturbing nightmares where I'm a mother feeding my child but when I look down at my child – it's not a baby it's... it's something terrifying. It makes me feel like my body is meant for something. Something horrifying.

Kioshi couldn't help but frown. _They both have the same... mutation? If my mother truly has the same problem as Aki then I wonder what that problem was and above all, what that means for Aki. More importantly, how are the two of them related?_

PERCEPTION

Zone Three High School was a grim building set off a main road, surrounded by black, iron railings that elegant as they were looked like they were there to keep the students in than anything else. It was a large building that gave off a menacing feel and with the lack of plant life to give the site any kind of welcoming charm, Kioshi, Seito and Aki couldn't help but think that the building was more of an asylum or prison than a school.

The gates were open but not completely, giving Aki a feeling that something wasn't right. Gentle winds causes them to swing on their hinges, squeaking and scraping the ragged pavement under them. Kioshi too had the impression that something was wrong inside as the school day had yet to end but the High School had a vacant air about it.

Seito felt a strong sense of dread welling up in the pit of his stomach. 'Something isn't right you guys...'

'You feel it too?' Kioshi scrutinised the building.

'Maybe this is all there is to it.' Said Aki. 'Look at this place, this isn't a school, it's something evil.'

'Maybe...' Seito mused.

'Let's just hurry up and do what we need to do, then leave.' Kioshi advised.

'And what is it that we're doing?' Seito asked.

'We should probably talk to Seiya's classmates. She's the one who started all of this.' Aki advised.

'We all saw the paper, Seiya was a Ghost. No-one knows anything about her.'

'It doesn't hurt to try, Seito. Let's go.' Kioshi took the first steps towards the school site.

'Aki...' Seito tapped Aki lightly on the arm.

'What is it Seito?' Aki gave Seito a deathly glare.

'Sorry about before. I... I tend to over-think things and what with everything going on I guess I'm just a little stressed.'

Aki relaxed. 'Seito, in times of hardship, who we really are as people rises to the surface.' She then followed Kioshi. Downhearted, Seito followed suit.

Inside the school the place was quiet. After passing through an empty entrance hall they scoured the empty corridors that followed, their steps echoing in the silence which made Aki feel even more alone than she she had when she was merely standing outside. 'It's too quiet... I don't like it.' She confided.

'Me neither.'

'Don't tell me you're a coward, Seito.' Kioshi joked, peering to his side to find Seito quite tense. 'Hey, don't worry. Everything it's going to be okay.'

Hido faced Kioshi to see him smiling at him. He couldn't help but smile back. 'You're actually a good guy y'know, Kioshi?'

The two continued to smile for a few moments more.

'Does anyone have the time?'

Both Kioshi and Hido shook their heads.

'Well, according to when we stepped off the train, we had plenty of time before school came to an end...' Aki claimed, arms folded in thought. 'Even so, the school shouldn't be this empty.

The more ground they covered the more they could confirm the obvious; that they were in fact alone which shouldn't have been the case.

Behind the trio the sound of an object being knocked over, which echoed down the corridor something caused everyone to stop instantly and look back, finding nothing that could have caused a disturbance in sight, with no sounds following.

'What was that?'

'I don't know...'

'We've searched every room and every corridor. No-one is here. So why is it that we're hearing strange noises?'

'Easy, Seito.' Another sound in the distance made Kioshi turn back to face the direction he was headed.

Meanwhile, Seito walked up to a classroom, nervously peering inside. The longer he stayed within the school the more anxious he became and he knew it would show and make him seem like a coward which in his heart he knew that he wasn't. 'This doesn't make sense!' He faced Kioshi and Aki pleadingly. 'School isn't over so why is there no-one here!? No students, no teachers not even the Janitor!' His hands, balled into fists, were shaking. 'Look at this place! _Really_ look at it. Everything is so clean and new; the windows, the floor even the paintwork! It's like–'

'No-one was ever here...' Kioshi finished.

Seito's body relaxed. 'But how can that be? And it's not just as if no-one was ever here it looks like this place has only been built.'

Aki sniffed. 'Floor polish and paint. Why didn't I notice before?'

'So what's everyone saying? That we're in the wrong school?' Kioshi raised an eyebrow.

'Impossible. This is the place.'

'Aki is right.' Said Seito. 'The fact that we're only noticing now, I think someone wants us to realize this.

The three rounded a corner but all abruptly stopped when they found that the corridor ahead literally went on for ever.

'W-What!?' Kioshi exclaimed, spinning around to face the other end but found that behind them the other corridor stretched endlessly. 'Let's go back.' However, once he turned to face where he came, instead he palmed a freshly painted, white wall. 'What is this?' Kioshi backed away, quizzical. 'What is this!?'

'We're in someone's game...' Seito looked around.

'We're trapped?' Aki looked up and down the corridor painted white on all walls as to create a tunnel of blinding white. 'How could this have happened?'

The corridor suddenly filled with loud, echoing bangs following one after the other that the trio couldn't see or identify. The longer the banging went on the louder it got as it drew closer, and the closer the noise came to them, the more anxious the three became. In time the source of the bangs became clear when further ahead a set of doors either side of the corridor slid down from the white ceiling to slam against the ground, continuing down the walls so that the entire corridor became lined with sets of wooden, sliding doors.

A set of doors came down besides Kioshi, startling him then he turned around in time to see another set of doors appear behind him, continuing the trend. These doors continued to come down until the noise of their impact grew quieter until they faded into the distance, disappearing back into the unknown.

'What's going on?' Aki whispered. 'We can't still be in the school can we?' Her mind raced back to her facing the intimidating exterior of Zone Three High School, feeling the gentle wind rock her clothing and listening to the gates grind against the ground. _What I felt was real..._ She went up to a door but found it locked but she tried again with more force, her mouth growing increasingly thin, face growing red as her efforts called for more of her strength. 'Damn it...' She breathed, heart racing.

'We should try different doors.' Seito suggested which Aki and Kioshi agreed to, moving to different doors. Each placed both hands at the edge and pulled with all the power they could muster, but it was evident that no matter how much they pulled the door wouldn't open.

Seito tripped himself after he gave one last demanding pull, Aki broke the top of a few nails but Kioshi gave up long ago, resorting instead to kick the screen in with no luck, the door clearly not paper though the door showed otherwise.

'Geez! What are these doors made of!?' Seito complained angrily, sitting on the ground, defeated.

'I think I get what's happening.' Kioshi gulped, his body visibly tightening up as if he was preparing for something.

'What?' Seito stood, eyeing Kioshi.

Kioshi's eyes narrowed. 'Mind Control.'

A door exploded and a boy leapt out, jumping Aki who screamed as the boy held her down, eyes wide and crazed, drooling as he spewed incoherent ramblings. Saliva leaked from the corners of his mouth, coating the side of Aki's face as she turned it away from him in fear. Aki managed to keep him at bay by keeping him at arms length but her strength was quickly weakening. 'KIOSHI!'

Without thinking Kioshi delivered a sweeping kick to the boy's side, probably breaking a few ribs but forced him off of Aki. Hastily he picked her up by the hand, wiping off the pool of saliva off the side Aki's stunned face.

On the floor the boy writhed around on the side that wasn't broken, cupping the side that was. A second later he scrambled onto his feet to charge at Kioshi who pushed Aki aside in time as the student pinned him to the floor like he did Aki, hands, tightening around his neck with the intent to kill.

Panic caused the training his father had drilled into him to leave, making him vulnerable and allowing air to escape his body faster. _'Get up.'_

'Father...' Kioshi wheezed.

But Kioshi stayed on the floor, resentment and defeat keeping him down.

'I said get up!' His father yelled, throwing a wooden sword at Kioshi which hit him on the head and landed a few feet away. Furious, Kioshi stood, retrieving the wooden sword.

'Now attack.' Junichi ordered.

Kioshi dashed, threw the sword above his head then tried to throw it down on his father, but his thoughtless action left him exposed and so his father without mercy threw the tip of his blunt weapon hard into his gut.

Stunned, Kioshi fell onto his knees, teeth gritted together as he fought back tears.

'You're sloppy!' Junichi roared, slamming the tip of his wooden sword into the ground. 'I didn't raise a sloppy child!'

Still winded, Kioshi didn't have it in him to retort so all he could do was stayed hunched over, holding his stomach and listen to his Junichi's teachings.

'It's not enough to attack! You have to think! Anyone can use a sword but only few can wield it!'

'I don't even want to use the sword!' Kioshi stood tall, allowing his father to smack him lightly on the side of his head.

'It's not just about using the sword Kioshi, I'm teaching you about life. If you're going to do anything you do it to give it your all; you do it with the intent to succeed and come out on top, be it in your studies or in a fight – even if you're not using a sword. No half-assing. Now, get up.'

Kioshi brought a knee up into the student's stomach, driving him off then climbing on top of him began to deliver powerful strikes repeatedly onto the same spot on his head until the boy became unconscious. On the ground, Aki used the wall to guide her onto her feet. 'What happened to the walls?

Seito and Kioshi looked around, finding now that the walls were covered in copious amounts of blood.

'Ignore it, it's not real. We're under the power of a Key.' Kioshi said, standing.

'Y-You mean like Mr Tetsuo said?' Hido looked around, watching still wet blood slide down the walls and pool on the ground. A trail was snaking towards his feet and so he shimmied away.

'As soon as we stepped inside the school we entered an illusion. That's why the school looked so empty. The reality is that something has gone on here and if that boy and the walls are any indication, many – if not all of the students were possessed and began to kill one another.'

'This is what this blood is?' Aki scrutinised the walls. 'So, the Key must have been making students kill themselves and other people. That's why Zone Three has such a strong concentration of deaths.' Kioshi thought out loud, pacing the corridor.

'What about Hatsuo Seiya?'

Kioshi bit the tip of his thumbnail, pausing. 'I don't believe that Seiya was manipulated to killing herself. I do believe however, that Aiya's brother was because he also went to kill his mother. But what would be gained from killing them?'

'It's about Mr Tetsuo!' Seito gasped, putting his hands together excitedly when the answer came to him. 'It's always been about him!'

'What are you talking about Seito?' Aki asked.

'Chisa was there when Mr Tetsuo died. Her brother lives here so maybe her mother and father don't live together. Imagine that she went home and told her father what she had learned. What if her father rebelled against him when she was younger just like here mother? Her father must have spoken about Shibuya and Akira must have found out then proceeded to have the entire family eliminated. Whoever this Key is, he or she is a power that lives in Zone Three. Akira wouldn't take any chances and so eliminated her ties here; her brother who then killed his mother. Remember what Aiya said, about the Grim Reaper coming for her? This has to be what she meant.'

'That her family was involved with Akira in the eighties and one-by-one they're being killed.' Aki added.

'Yes. Akira's all-seeing eye must give him extreme accuracy when it comes to picking targets.'

'All-seeing eye?' Kioshi asked, listening to Seito but eyeing the doors in case more opened.

'Because he's controlling the majority of the population he must be able to see everything through their eyes. How else can have made his Paradise?

'So–'

One after another doors slammed open, startling the three.

'Shit! Alright. We know someone is controlling these students, but we can't do anything now – we need to get out of here!'

'But this place goes on for ever, Kioshi!' Aki cried, drawing closer to Kioshi while looking from side to side.

'It has to be one of these doors!' Seito panicked. 'I say we go in the direction where all of these doors started to appear!'

Students now filled the halls, heads lowered menacingly, growling through their teeth and all covered in blood.

The last student to appear came from the door opposite to the student who attacked Aki and Kioshi. She slid it open with ease, body hunched over with fingernails glistening with crimson.

'Quick! This way!' Kioshi beckoned, heading into the classroom where the unconscious student had entered from. Upon entering however the classroom transformed into another blood-stained corridor that was now swarming with students.

Aki screamed against herself, quickly covering her mouth.

Seito looked behind him to find that the deathly students had now filled the corridor they had come from and were slowly making their way to them, moving slow but confident that if not them then someone else would get the group. 'That's it! Let's head down the corridor until we reach the end!'

Seito's yells alerted the students who immediately dashed towards them.

'C'mon!' Aki pulled Seito and Kioshi through another door into another corridor where upon passing immediately began to run.

'Crap! We've done this all wrong!' Kioshi exclaimed. 'We should have tried to retrace our steps!'

They passed through another door.

'How would you say we'd do that, Kioshi!? There are literally thousands of doors!'

'Don't you get it, Seito! We're still in the school! Only our minds are perceiving it differently! The door behind us would have taken us back down the corridor. Instead we're heading in another direction.

'But why are we still running!? If what you're saying is true then we've entered a classroom!' Aki cut in.

'The corridors represent the combined space within the school!' Kioshi grabbed Seito and Aki, pulling them through another door and into a fresh group of students. If we're still running it's because we enter a classroom, circle around and then leave again to continue running!'

'But!' Aki huffed, feeling a stitch on her side. 'By your logic, when we leave we're either turning left or right! We have no way of guiding ourselves!'

'She's right!' Seito stopped, out of breath. 'Through here...' He gestured for Aki and Kioshi to pass first, leaving him last but unlike the other rooms, when Seito passed through he fell.

The three tumbled down a set of stairs, landing on a pile in a stairwell. They groaned as they picked themselves up, realizing that the world was different. Above them the rabid students were storming down the steps, making chase and so ignoring their pain, Aki Kioshi and Seito continued downwards until they reached the ground floor.

Aki kicked the door open, Seito dashing through and then Kioshi who slammed it shut behind him, forcing all of his weight against it just in time for a large, opposing force to crash into it and nearly knock the door out of its frame. Moaning and clawing seeped through the wood as Kioshi tried his best to keep the horde at bay.

'Somehow we're back in reality?' Seito paced the corridor hurriedly, hands on his head. 'But the walls are still covered in blood!'

'Whoever is doing this must have eased up on the illusion then!' Kioshi struggled to contain the force of students behind the door.

'What are you guys doing!?' Aki slid to a stop further down, turning back to see Seito and then Kioshi at the door. 'Forget about it and come on!'

Adding to the sound of cries behind him was now the distinct thundering of footsteps from down the other end of the corridor; another large mass of students who looked just as bloodthirsty as the had in the prior illusion.

Kioshi took Aki's advise, abandoning the door to let loose another herd of students who combined forces with the storming group to form a flood of death. Another corner they turned but now more students were bursting out of the classrooms – they same classrooms that the three had thought empty originally. They blocked their path ahead but the trio were determined to push through and so they did.

One grabbed Kioshi by the collar of his uniform, pulling him back. Quickly he turned to grab the student by the throat as she tried to bite him. 'I'LL KILL YOU!' She screamed, snapping her teeth and digging her nails into his face with blunt nails. Kioshi managed to pull her off easily. The doors to the entrance hall now loomed beyond the crowd of students.

_Nearly there!_ Kioshi thought.

Seito pushed the dazed students out of the way when he could which wasn't often as the students continuously tried to grab them at every opportunity. A student got the better of him in the end, grabbing onto his wrist as he tried to shove a largish boy out of the way. 'Get off of me!'

Kioshi saw Seito in distress and readied a punch as as charged down the hall but he was grabbed on both sides by a group of students who quickly dragged him off his feet and suspended him in mid-air.

Seito was thrown onto ground but this didn't stop him from trying to crawl away. The students ended his efforts by collectively stomping on his legs until they heard the muffled snapping of his bones. 'ARGH! KIOSHI! AKI! HELP ME!' He howled, screaming as more students formed around to stomp on him.

'SEITO!' Kioshi cried, fighting back tears and using the strength from the emotion fuelling them to drive his resolve, throwing all of his weight forward and shifting his limbs about so that he could bring himself down and wade through the students hungry for death. Fighting them was like passing throw a web of thorny vines as the more he fought to advance the more it clung onto him and he found it difficult to break free.

Ahead of them all, Aki was grabbed by the sleeve of her shirt and when she abruptly pulled it came away from the body of her uniform. The entrance was almost within her reach but she was held back by the many hands who had grabbed her by the hair. Aki collected her hair together in one hand to mitigate the pain as she sluggishly advanced, succeeding in lessening the pain but still felt excruciating pain. Eventually she couldn't move and was pulled off of her feet where she crashed onto her back and was swarmed by students.

'YOU CAN'T RUN!' A boy spat.

'GET OFF ME!' Aki wailed as she wiggled on the spot then screamed when the demented students pulled at her hair with such intensity she knew that if they kept it up her scalp would be torn away form her skull. Others had taken to grabbing her arms, pulling with equal force, feeling her shoulder begin to slid out of its socket. 'No! NO!'

'I'LL GET TO YOU!' Kioshi's school jacket and sleeves tore away from him as he fought desperately to free himself from the crowd, getting hair pulled from his head and skin scratched off his bare skin as his capturers fought just as hard to keep him in his grasps as he tried to escape it. Face streaked with deep cuts he cried out for Seito but the students seized the opportunity, using his open mouth as fresh opportunity to cling onto him.

The screams Kioshi heard from Seito as he was trampled were screams that he had never heard before, filled with a blend of emotion and at a pitch that not only hurt his ears but his heart. Kioshi used these screams to drive himself on, tears blurring his vision and the hand he held out before him. He desperately needed to get to him – he couldn't bare to have one of his friends die.

However, Seito's shrieks of pain became mixed with Kioshi's exasperations and sobs as he knew he wouldn't get to him before the students killed him. It would take a miracle for him to save Seito. Still, he held out a hand in vein, hoping to reach him. 'SEITO! SEITO! I'LL GET TO YOU! I'LL GET TO YOU!'

But, Kioshi was swept off his feet, the shock of it froze his cries. Suspended in the air by the masses, Kioshi no longer had any control of himself and didn't have the strength to bring himself down. Moments later Seito's screamed came to a bloody end. 'SEITO!'

The sound of Kioshi's scream gave Aki strength whose own screams turned into a cry of rage, pulling herself free from the many hands holding her to then pick a boy up and hold him over her head. 'Kioshi!' She roared, throwing the boy into the crowed to knock a few over. As she roared she tore through the crowd, pushing them away with ease, embracing a primal power that had blossomed within her. Aki was angry, she wanted to hurt the people causing Kioshi pain, Kioshi being the only person in her life who cared about her.

'That's enough!' A girl called. With the snap of her fingers the students went limp, standing hunched over with arms hanging in front of them.

Kioshi was dropped but quickly he collected himself, bleeding all over and darted to Seito, oblivious to the students around him who weren't moving nor blinking yet twitched every now and then.

What he found left of Seito was something he didn't have the words to describe.

Infuriated, Kioshi moved on, finding Aki who was growling like an animal, her skin losing its colour and turning grey. 'Aki?'

Aki's head flew in Kioshi's direction and for a moment she didn't recognise him as she growled but she soon calmed, her skin reverting to its natural colour and her growling transformed into whimpering as she cried.

The crowd parted as Kioshi wrapped his arms around Aki then finally noticed the figure standing in the cleared isle. 'The Key...' He muttered bitterly.

'How amusing.' She chuckled, a girl who appeared to be older than Kioshi and Aki by several years with long hair covering her breasts and dyed a vibrant shade of red that neither Kioshi nor Aki had ever.

'It's was you!' Kioshi accused.

Mockingly she clapped. 'Bravo.' She smiled sinisterly.

'Why did you do this!?'

'Well, I was told to take care of some people but I decided to go with it. Y'know?' She shrugged 'There aren't many active Keys around these days and if you could, wouldn't you do something you knew you could get away with?'

'You bastard!' Aki cried. 'YOU BASTARD!'

Aki's retorts brought a smile to the red-haired girl's face. 'Now the grand finale.'

The students around them began to moan, holding their heads in pain, eyes and mouths wide as something afflicted them.

'What are you doing to them!' Aki screamed. 'Leave them alone!'

'Make me, bitch!' The girl challenged excitedly as the groans became screams and one by one the students began to drop dead.

'AKI, NO!' Kioshi retorted when Aki pulled out of his arms, charging down the corridor with a raised fist.

Both Kioshi and Aki felt the urge to blink but when when their eyes opened again the school was clean and the girl was gone. Aki stopped where the girl was, punching the glass on the door where the girl had been standing seconds before. The growling had returned.

Kioshi fell onto his knees, the weight of all that had gone wrong crashing down on him, eyes closing so tightly that it hurt him. When the weight of his failure became too much for him to bare, Kioshi he fell onto his hands and knee.

And then he screamed.

OVERDOSE

24 YEARS AGO

A few days later Izumi, Junichi, Yamato and Zero-Sixteen reached the headquarters for the Reapers of Justice, having had to take their time and be careful while navigating Shibuya – the district having become even more relentless. During this time Izumi worried frantically about Yamato, wondering how long he could hold on but, he amazed her and Juncihi with his strength and determination to live on.

The room was an oversized Rubik's cube; a box where the walls were composed of thick girders framing squares of glass showcasing Shibuya all around them in its urban glory. At the height they were at, Shibuya looked peaceful and undisturbed.

The room though modern appeared more like a shine housing a deity rather than a base of operations. The glass was tinted bronze so although one could gaze upon the rich, Shibuya cityscape the room was dark and mysterious. Industrial lights above shown gently down allowing the room to give off a holy feel that didn't seem to disturb the Reapers as the fully-armoured group went about their different tasks.

'Oi! Sixteen! What is this crap!?' A man cried from across the room, alerting the occupants. 'You bring outsiders into our headquarters?'

All eyes fell on Junichi, Yamato, Izumi and Sixteen then the Reaper base erupted into heavy conversation.

'Sixteen, you know you aren't allowed to bring unauthorised people in here!' A woman scolded.

'Hey, he's just a kid, he doesn't know any better. Isn't that right Sixteen?'

Sixteen nearly became shy but instead he spoke his mind. 'Shut it you self-righteous bastards!' His retort sparked laughter from a few of the Reapers. 'Go on! Laugh! But I've seem Yamamoto Akira and I am in a better place to help the people of Japan more than you guys. So continue to laugh.' Hurriedly he lead the small group out of the room.

'I can see what you mean.' Junichi said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

'Not all of them act like that. But the most important and needed Reapers have egos matching that importance.'

They passed through a set of steel doors into another world, a world many hundreds of years in the past. The wide corridor they were in was lit by candles down the short length, bright enough so that they could see where they were but dark enough to give a mystical and ancient ambience. Either side of them were sets of rice-paper doors that ran all the way down and as they passed them, Izumi noticed the silhouettes of a single person sitting in each room. 'What is this?' She wondered.

'This is a part of the base that inspires tranquillity which is important for some of the Reapers.' Sixteen began. 'Most of us stay outside in the main bunker where we discuss tactics, hold meetings, play with new weaponry handed to us by... people, relax and so on. Here however, is where the more peaceful of us stay, people like Three who needs constant isolation so she can concentrate properly.'

'They're meditating?' Izumi peered into another room.

'Precisely, for lack of a better explanation. Like I said before, Three has the ability to see everything going on in Shibuya all at once so of course she needs the peace.'

'Amazing...' Izumi breathed, somewhat jealous that people existed with such power.

'As I said, it's how we're able to react so quickly to problems not just in Tokyo but around the rest of Japan.'

'This place is so beautiful...' Izumi scrutinised the details. 'The wood looks so rich and so well carved; the sheets on the doors look sturdy and of good quality and the candles look so luxurious and glow so magically...'

Junichi smiled to himself.

The wall at the end of the corridor was taken up mostly by the largest sliding door any of the three had ever seen but unlike the other doors it wasn't as translucent. Combined with the low light and the lack of transparency, the door almost blended in with the wall. The candles either side of the door burned gently, generating a sweet aroma.

Sixteen kneeled at the door, knocking on the floor twice. The knock was hollow, echoing below the surface. He waited a minute before standing to place a hand firmly on the door.

'Not many get to see One.' Sixteen looked back at the eager trio. He's only taken up his leadership role today but even so his order was sent through Twenty-Nine. Be respectful. Especially you, Junichi.'

Junichi nodded.

Sixteen slid the door open to reveal a plain room with no furniture and no windows, only six candles – three on either side of an object wrapped in fabric and ribbons like a present to someone.

'Junichi, Izumi, Yamato. This is One.' Sixteen introduced. 'He is immortal.'

The trio were puzzled but Izumi soon understood what she was looking at, gaining the confidence to remove her shoes and step into the room to kneel before the holy figure. The others shortly joined her, Junichi and Yamato still confused.

'I don't understand.' Junichi looked at Izumi.

'Don't you see Junichi?' Her eyes met his. 'This man has walked the world for centuries. Immortality doesn't grant eternal youth so the man underneath all of this must be very aged.'

'You are wise girl.' One spoke.

Junichi and Izumi turned their gaze to the sitting figure wrapped purposely with fine, red silk with golden dragons embroiled onto it. Crossing his form were two wide strips of golden silk with Chinese characters stitched on that passed over his shoulders and under his legs.

'Thank you.' Izumi bowed.

'Leave us please, Sixteen.' One said in a tone that was heavy with age and wisdom but was also energetic and youthful. _An unusual mix,_ thought Izumi.

Sixteen bowed despite the fact that even One's face was clothed, then left, sliding the doors closed as he bowed once more.

'There are three of you.' One claimed.

'How do you know?' Junichi was astonished.

'I've learned a great many things during my time on this world. One of these things is to feel the peoples' ki; their life energy. The same power that fuels their ability to tap into the world's energy and do as they do; Keys entering the lock that is this world.'

'Aren't you going to ask why we are here?' Izumi looked concerned.

'I don't need to.' One hadn't shifted at all and in the low light it was hard to tell if his mouth was even moving. 'When Twenty-Nine told me of what happened in Shibuya I knew that it was only a matter of time before leadership fell to me. Two is headstrong and too rash. The price of invincibility. I had hoped that in time I would met a person who will be they means for stopping this madness.

'You can't mean one of us? We're only Human with all due respect.' Stated Junichi.

'Being a Key is not a sign of class or dominance in society. Even though the people here are of a higher tier than the majority of those in Shibuya, it doesn't mean that they are better than the people they protect. They go out there with their identities hidden and when their duties are done they fade back into the masses.'

'So what do we have to do, One?' Asked Izumi.

'Things are going to change very quickly. There is a traitor in our midst. She will give us up to Yamamoto Akira and he will come to steal our power.

'How do you know?' Yamato finally said.

'I know because my years of being in this world has allowed me to tap into the world to the greatest degree. I can see the past, present and future. You. With the energy that wavers between good and bad.'

'Izumi gasped. 'Me?'

'Me?' Asked Junichi.

'No. Me.' Declared Yamato.

'Indeed. You have been scarred but are struggling to stop what you endured from defining who you are. You should let this restraint go and let your true self bloom because in the end people see you for who you are – for what's on the inside as opposed to who you are on the outside. Look at us Reapers who go out into the world to fight behind masks. People don't know who we are yet they remember us by the good we do.'

_I should let my restraint go?_ Izumi couldn't help but think. _I can't do that, I'm scared of what will happen if I do. But what is there to be afraid of? What is blooming in my heart that has put me on edge? Is it actually darkness?_

'I wish I were one of you.' Yamato admitted.

'Your energy burns with a passion for justice which is a quality that many of the Reapers share. I said that Akira will be among us soon and will try to take our abilities but the power of Keys can't be taken easily. I know of a technique that will allow a person to do this and I will teach it to you.'

'Why are you teaching this to me?'

'Originally, I thought that if I could teach someone this technique then you could steal Akira's power from him. But I see that his will is too strong and his ability will not go easily. I am afraid that in a few days time the end of the Reapers will come. They will perish under the might of Akira's power to be used as his assassins. This I know for certain. To circumvent this you will go to each Reaper and take their power from them. It is the only way to ensure that you will have the capability to fight for your future.'

'You want me to take their ability? I don't think I could do this.'

'Sometimes my child, we must forsake ourselves for the sake of the greater good.'

'I... I understand.'

'Wait.' Junichi interrupted. If you know that there's a traitor here then why not stop her?'

'Because, this particular Reaper is the wife of Yamamoto Akira and so is always be her husband's side. In fact, Akira himself was part of our ranks before a lust for power nearly destroyed us. Just like how he tried to gain power in politics he tried to gain power by stealing ours.'

'He knows the same technique and he failed?'

'Indeed. Now, he will return with an army of Keys and finish the task he set out to do all those years ago which is why I need you, my boy.'

'But... I don't think I can survive, One...' Yamato admitted weakly.

'One of the Reapers will heal you. You will live to fight on.' One fell silent for a while before speaking again. 'You two, please leave us. You, my boy, will stay here.' The last part was directed at Yamato. Izumi and Junichi stood. 'When you leave please send the girl in. Sixteen would have told her that she was needed. He's a good boy.'

And sure enough when Izumi opened the door there the girl stood. 'Eiko!' She exclaimed.

'Eiko?' Junichi parroted.

Eiko; Izumi's best friend and classmate as she trained to be a nurse, Eiko; Yamato's girlfriend.

'I guess I have some explaining to do.' She said, laughing.

Izumi didn't have the words to describe the cocktail of emotions she was feeling but against her will a growl left her lips.

*

Sat on a table in the main room where the three had passed through, Izumi eyed her friend Eiko, not knowing what to think. A significant part of her of her felt betrayed that her best friend hadn't told her that she was a Reaper of Justice yet, the small part of her understood. What made Izumi feel uncomfortable was that she didn't think she knew the person sitting opposite her. A great number of things about Eiko being a Reaper angered her.

Eiko was a short girl – as tall as Izumi and eighteen like the trio. Her hair was on the lighter side of black and extremely short. She sat smiling in her armour where the number "Thirty-Four" was present on her left breastplate.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you.' Eiko's lips stretched once more into an endearing smile. 'I know that it must hurt because we're best friends and we tell each other everything. But... You have to understand, by being a Reaper I swore an oath of secrecy.' Eiko placed her hands over the table in an attempt to hold Izumi's hands but Izumi continued to keep them underneath and out of her reach.

'I get it.' Izumi replied but wouldn't meet her best friend's eyes.'I didn't know...'

_'Don't try to restrain the emotions that you feel in your heart, Izumi.'_ The voice in her head spoke in an alluring voice. 'Let those feelings go.'

Izumi shook her head frantically. _NO! I can't! I won't! Leave me alone! Stop messing with my head!_

'Izumi?' Eiko nearly rested her entire torso on the table so that she could look up at Izumi's lowered head.

'Sorry.' She shook her head. 'You were saying?

Eiko sat back on her seat. 'I don't fight Izumi; I'm only a medic. I help those who get hurt during the Nightmare's attacks. Sometimes I'm called to tackle greater circumstances. Though... Sometimes I wish I didn't do it.' Her expression twisted.

'What kind of circumstances?'

'Sometimes, I'm called out behind the scenes to heal stuff like cancers, immobility and so on. It's something that gives me joy but it gives the illusion that our hospitals are doing good work like having many cancer patients going into remission. Although it feels good to help it just makes me wish that I could help everyone who's sick on my own terms. But instead I have to keep my ability a secret and I'm not exactly sure what the secrecy is even there for.'

'So why did you join the Reapers?'

'I thought that being a Reaper would allow me to move freely around Japan to help the sick.'

Izumi's hand was in Junichi's own and was grasping it tightly. Jealousy was tearing away at her heart, fuelling the darkness that had made itself known to her when the chaos started. Here I am training to be a nurse – her too only to find out that it was a charade. Not only can Eiko help people but she can cure them too! Meanwhile I was the unsuspecting best friend...

'Are you mad at me Izumi?' Eiko asked.

Izumi quickly shook her head, still not looking her friend in the eye. _I'm scared._ She confided to the voice in her head.

'What are you scared about?'

I can feel it – I can feel _you._ And I don't think I can control you.

'Then let me go.'

No... What you are, it's wrong. Perverse. Just what are you and how can have dug so far into my mind so quickly?

'I am the power that you have kept in your heart ever since you were a child.'

A child?

'Yes... Why do you think you wanted to become a nurse? To help people? No... You became a nurse because you're selfish. You know you're a bad person but you don't want to allow yourself to feel your true emotions. So you lie and cover it up with good deeds so you can trick people into thinking that you're a good girl.'

'No...' Izumi whispered out loud.

'You're the person that needs to be punished, not Eiko. Eiko was only following her heart whereas you defied yours.'

'I don't want her to be punished.' Izumi covered her ears and shut her eyes to futilely shut out the presence in her mind.

'Izumi?' Junichi and Eiko said in unison. 'What wrong with her Junichi?'

'I don't know. She's been stressed out since all this started.' Junichi placed his hand on top of Izumi's not knowing what else he could do.

'Come on, let's lie her down.'

Junichi nodded, standing up but Izumi was suddenly unmovable. 'Hey, Izumi, get up.' He grabbed her by the arms and pulled but Izumi now was welded to her seat. 'I can't move her.'

'What do you mean you can't move her? She weighs like, ninety pounds. Okay, that's a lie.' She moved to Izumi's other side and too attempted to lift her but just as Junichi said, Izumi couldn't be moved. 'Wow...'

_'You continue to lie to yourself, Izumi.'_ The voice continued. _'You're not scared of the darkness, you're scared that with what is going on around you, your true self will come to life, and people will see the bitch that you are.'_

'You're wrong.'

'If I'm wrong then let yourself feel. Go on Izumi! What are you waiting for!?'

'NO! Why are you here!? Why now!?'

'Because there is a time and a place for everything, a time when we are tested and who we are as people is revealed.'

'SHUT UP!' Izumi's eyes snapped open, breathing heavily. 'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Argh!'

'Izumi!' Eiko exclaimed. 'Calm down!'

Izumi stood abruptly. 'I can't stand you! You lied to me! You played me the fool! There you were, a friend and all this time you were better than me! How long!?'

'H-How long what?' Eiko looked fearful, quickly looking behind her to see the other Reapers staring at the scene.

'HOW LONG WERE YOU ONE OF THEM!?'

'Two years? Maybe three...'

Without warning Izumi had dashed over the table, wrapping her hands around Eiko's neck. 'Three years you treated me like an idiot!? Three years you lied to me!? I hate you! I WISH YOU WOULD DROP DEAD!'

'Good girl, Izumi... Come to me.'

'What the hell, Izumi!' Junchi grabbed Izumi by the shoulders, ripping her away from Eiko before she was strangled to death. Izumi collapsed on the floor, leaving Eiko coughing roughly while she massaged her neck. Red marks on her skins were already beginning to darken.

'N-No! I didn't mean...' Unsure of what to do, Izumi simply got up and ran off to another part of the building.

*

Izumi ran through dark corridor after dark corridor, ignoring her bodies need to catch its breath. She didn't know where she was but the lack of windows made her surroundings painfully dark. It was clear to her that she was lost.

'Izumi!' Eiko called from behind.

Izumi finally stopped, spinning round to see Eiko running up to her. Wanting to apologise, Izumi walked up to her, tears in her eyes but was greeted with a slap that knocked all sorrow out of her system.

'Grow up, Izumi.' Was all Eiko said.

'E-Eiko... I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I... I...' Before she knew it, Izumi was pinned to the wall, Eiko strangling her with a ferocity that she couldn't understand. She thought that Eiko was her friend yet, there she was trying to kill her.

The two fell to the ground and Izumi could feel her face reddening. Her hands continued to hold onto Eiko's as she fought to clear them from her throat but Eiko was too strong.

Suddenly Eiko was gone and Izumi immediately felt it; warmth under hands and a pulse passing through her body; her neck gripped tightly by her own hands.

*

Junichi found Izumi after searching room after room in the Reapers' living quarters. The rooms had the bare minimum: a sturdy bed, a set of drawers and even a desk but the rooms themselves were mostly unused save a few, indicating that some stayed in the building full-time whereas other like Yamamoto Akira's wife lived at home.

'I'm a monster...' Izumi murmured, staring out of the window. 'A monster...'

'You're not a monster, Izumi.'

'I AM A MONSTER!' Izumi wheeled round. 'Look at me, Junichi! LOOK AT ME! Look at my body! My body is red and sore! My hair keeps breaking and falling out! Why do you think I cut it so short!? And my breasts! My breasts keep growing! No matter what happens they continue to grow, filled with the blood of monsters! Of Demons!'

'What are you talking about Izumi?' Never had he seen such fear in Izumi's eyes.

'I have these dreams, Junichi. They haunt me... They make me not want to sleep at all. I see monsters – towering monsters made of bones and they hunt down girls like me, they hunt us down and they feast on us.' She gazed into Junichi's eyes. 'They feast on the blood that's ripe in our bodies.'

'Hey...' Junchi advanced then hugged Izumi gently. She placed her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat gently. 'They're only dreams, Izumi. No monsters are coming to get you.'

'Your wrong, Junichi! My body is talking to me; telling me that these dreams aren't dreams but memories – not mine but of people like me – people from a long, long time ago.' She pushed herself away from Junichi, heading back to the window. Dreamily her hands rested on the window-ledge.

'People like you?' Junichi asked with a raised brow, moving forward.

'People with blood in their breasts.'

Junichi froze.

'Day by day my body my body is preparing itself to be the mother for the Demons.'

'Enough Izumi! You're being silly!'

Izumi straightened.

'Stop being silly Izumi... You're... You're scaring me a little.

Izumi's muscles became prominent under her skin again and then without warning she punched through the window. 'I am not crazy!' She held her hands to her face, staring at her reflection on the shards of broken glass protruding out of her flesh. Her entire eyes were glowing purple and her irises were nothing more than black rings. 'I see them...' Her breathing spontaneously became erratic. 'I can see them now!'

Not knowing what to do, all Junichi did was stand on the spot, his body too shaken up to move. 'W-What do you see?'

As if in a trance, Izumi slowly turned to face him, unfazed by the pain in her hand. 'Nightmares... Demons... They will kill us all.'

DECEPTION

They were all over him...

My view of his body was eclipsed by the blight of students and his body was overwhelmed by the blight of feet raining down on him, breaking his legs so he couldn't run, breaking his arms so he couldn't crawl, braking his ribs so he couldn't breathe. His eyes were wide as pain flooded his body and his screams tore my ears. And then...

And then...

The guilt was killing him as it was because of him that himself, Aki and Seito had gone to Zone Three in the first place. _I should have gone alone! I should have just stayed alone! Whenever a Ghost gets involved all goes to hell! Why did I do it!? Why did I have to fight the laws of society!?_

I will be alone forever and it will be my fault! Mine and mine alone! But I can't accept this loneliness and so I fight it. At least mother embraced what she was afraid of! Even if it was bad – even if it drove her insane at least she didn't have to think about the problems that brought up the feelings in the first place!

I thought there was darkness in everyone but not in me! Where is my darkness to take the pain away!? Even Aki found the darkness in her heart and allowed her to act the way she felt in her heart!

Kioshi remembered how animalistic Aki became and the supernatural strength she demonstrated. _She's got the same thing my mother had. The power of Demons coursing through her blood... But, how is that possible?_

' _No matter what darkness you meet Kioshi, you mustn't become lost in it like I did. You'll think that it will cure you of your pain, but it won't. You must fight it.'_

Kioshi's hands curled into frustrated fists. _Damn it! I can't do this! I don't want to do this anymore!_ His hand clamped down on his head, his fingers pulling on his hair. _What about Seiya? Did she really jump or was she tricked into killing herself?_ His hands fell softly onto his desk.

The class was quiet around him as they worked, their new teacher at the front writing things down on the board. Kioshi looked at Aki who looked at him back. He was sweating, he felt cold, he felt sick. His breathing was shallow as the constant hammering of his heart was leaving him breathless. What the two of them saw – what they experienced was a nightmare come true.

He closed his eyes.

Kouji eyed the Kioshi and Aki with interest as did Miyako and Hido. The fact that the two had returned to class the next day looking like they had survived hell had him on edge. Somehow people in the two groups had found harm on their missions. _And where is Seito?_

The classroom door slid open and the headteacher, Mr Yurikawa entered. 'Attention everyone.'

The class quickly put down their pencils, standing up.

'We have a new student joining us today, I hope you will treat her well.'

The girl made her way to the front of the class, smiling. 'My name is Yamamoto Ayumi. It's nice to meet you all.'

'Ayumi is transferring from the High School in Zone Three.'

She smiled. 'We've all heard about the problems going on there. I wanted to move to this good school so that I can focus on my studies.'

Some of the class nodded while others pretended to not know what Ayumi was talking about.

'YOU!' Kioshi cried, bringing the attention of the class on to him, surprisingly. 'YOU! YOU! YOU BASTARD!' He barged through the rows of desks to grab Ayumi by the shirt.

'Mr Tamashii! Unhand Ms Yamamoto this instant!'

'You don't know what she's done!'

'YES HE DOES!' Aki roared. 'He knows fully well what she's done! They're all being controlled by Akira! THEY KNOW!'

Kioshi wanted to say so much but he was held back by common sense that told him that revealing that she was a Key was bad in the long run. 'Why did you do it!? Because of you Seito is dead!'

'What was that!?' Kouji, Miyako and Hido all had outrage on their faces.

Ayumi remained quiet with a look of confusion and horror etched on her face.

'I won't forgive you!' Kioshi spoke venomously. 'I swear to God that I will make you pay.'

'What did I do?' Ayumi asked. 'Do I know you?'

'W-What!?' Kioshi went to retort further he stopped, thinking back to yesterday. What had happened?

What had really happened?

He had gone to Zone Three to find a clue about the teenagers deaths and so they left their own school to get Zone Three High before the school day ended so that they could question Hatsu Seiya's classmates.

They were directed to a gang who was known in the school to bully and abuse Ghosts and other such students then having been told of a particular abandoned store that they hung out, Seito, Kioshi and Aki went to investigate but were disappointed when the place was deserted.

Just as they were about to leave however, they were ambushed and tied up where the group proceeded to attack them. Kioshi watched in horror as they knocked Seito over and then stomped him to death while others enjoys harming Kioshi and Aki in other senseless ways. They finally stopped when they got bored and decided to go home.

Ayumi slipped out of his grasp, Kioshi holding his head.

Badly hurt, Kioshi and Aki left, seeking help and some time later found a crowd. They called for help but the legion of Deprived simply ignored them, even barging them out of the way in their mindlessness. But one person did help eventually, a girl with red hair. Yamamoto Ayumi. The two fainted on the street from their wounds.

Kioshi woke up sometime later feeling dazed and confused. The only thing he could remember was Ayumi's face and the pain he felt...

'It... It wasn't you... It was them... Those bullies.' Kioshi made his way out of the class, holding his head, a sickly feeling in his head making him dizzy. A short way down the corridor he fell onto his knees.

' _Are you okay!?' Ayumi asked. 'What happened!?'_

'Kioshi.' Ayumi asked, kneeling in front of him. 'You're still hurt. You shouldn't have come in.' She placed a hand on his shoulder.

'No... That's not how it happened... The students...'

'What about them?'

'They... They attacked us.'

'A gang attacked you. At least, that's what you told me. You and Aki, you were bleeding and no-one would help so I got my driver to take you to the hospital.'

Kioshi's head steadied itself. 'Yeah... But, why are you here?'

'I was disgusted that people in my school could be so cruel so I asked my father to transfer me. He's owns the energy companies in Japan so he has great influence.'

'But your name is Yamamoto...'

'So?'

'That's _his_ last name, Yamamoto Akira.'

'I don't know who that is, but "Yamamoto" is a common last name. You should know this.'

'Y-Yeah, of course...'

Ayumi smiled a wide, endearing smile. 'It's alright. You were hurt so it's not surprising to not know what you saw.'

'What I saw...'

His mother was standing at the window in her pink cardigan.

'What I saw...'

She turned to face him, greasy hair curtaining her face, skin grey and transparent.

'What did I see then?'

She advanced, walking awkwardly like she forgot how to use her legs.

'Something is wrong.'

Kioshi gaped at her as Izumi's grim form stood before him. She knelt, stretching out her hands to touch him and when she did Kioshi's body reacted as blood vessels began to bulge under his skin.

'Something isn't right...'

The closer her fingers reached the more they bulged – the further they expanded as she was calling out the darkness locked inside his heart, the same darkness Izumi had found and embraced.

'No...'

'No...'

'No...'

'We should get you to the hospital Kioshi.'

'Kioshi? Who's that?' Kioshi asked.

'You are? You must be concussed.'

'No!' Stubbornly he shook his head. 'What are you talking about! My name is Izumi.'

Ayumi was taken aback. 'N-No you're not, your name is Tamashii Kioshi.'

'You still think I'm crazy don't you, Junichi!' Kioshi exclaimed. 'When will you realize that something is wrong! That something is wrong with _me_!'

Ayumi was deeply puzzled.

'Wait, no!' Kioshi, placed his hands on his head, shaking it madly. 'My name is Kioshi! My name is _Kioshi_! Not Izumi! Izumi had friends! Izumi had a family! Izumi had courage and strength! Izumi was my mother!' He shook his head again. 'I'm Kioshi! Kioshi is weak! Kioshi has no friends! Kioshi is alone! Kioshi gets people killed!'

Aki was watching Kioshi in the doorway, frightened at the sight of the person who she considered a friend going mad but didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to think as she had experienced the same wave of memories that Kioshi had. Had their encounter in the school really been false? _What's real? What's not?_ She looked down at her shaky hands, shaking from a conflict between confusion and anger.

'I can't take this anymore!' Kioshi cried.

Ayumi fought back the urge to smile. _He's already broken. Just like the others. This is going to be too easy..._

*

They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul...

If that's the case, then why is it that we can't all see through them?Why is it that people can't see other people's true intentions? What makes them, them? Are eyes tinted? Is that the problem? In that case, people must naturally be secretive and deceptive if their our bodies are born so that others can never know who we truly are and what we truly want.

That is why when we catch a glimpse of someone's true self it makes us feel so strongly.

Miyako walked down the school hall, bag clutched tightly against her body as she made her way out, deep in thought. Besides her students passed, some with a similar distracted look that she had yet, different all the same; a gaze that showed that they were mentally far away but in the present at the same time. The eyes of the Deprived – those who haven't been able to feel their souls for a long time. Their faces were in pain though this display was subtle. One had to really look at their faces to see the distress.

That morning she had paid attention to the teenagers she had passed and saw that few had that far away, hypnotised look that most of the adults had but just as many didn't, few like Kioshi, Kouji, Aki, Seito, Hido and herself. The teenagers who were Deprived must have been individuals who had lost the will to live but hadn't decided to kill themselves. _In time, perhaps we can call on others to help us. It would be nice having a family of sorts, our own world where the hands of the many join together. My own Paradise._ Miyako's pig-tails bounced on the back of her shoulders as she walked on.

_But if I want to create Paradise I need to recover the Deprived's souls. According to Miyabi, they have been transported to a world beyond our reach._ Miyako paused in the now empty corridor, gently pushing her round spectacles so that they rested better on her nose.

_No, a world out of others reach but not my own. But... Just what_ is _a soul? What does it exactly mean to us? It doesn't matter how it's explained, it still feels odd. Before all of this started, I believed that who were had to do with what went on in our brain; the choices we make that define our character. But now... What if who we are is defined by our soul?_

_One thing that is true is that this world that we thought was so simple is actually more complicated – there are secrets and mysteries lost to not only this generation but those who knew the world as it was before:_ 'Shibuya, Akihabara, Shinjuku and others who's names have faded into a myth in favour of Zones.' A hand supported her head heavy with thought. _I have to save them if there is any chance of restoring this world. Kioshi doesn't full know what he's doing and Hido, Kouji and I now know that the world is bigger than we thought. Only I have the power to stop this – I am a Key. I'm not Human like them. Still..._ Miyabi's hand slid down her face slightly and she peered through her fingers into space. _What about that other world? The Nightmares' home?_

_Black... Darkness. I saw it. I_ felt _it. Is that really where the Deprived souls live? Through the eyes and in blackness? They say that they eyes are the window to the soul but if the soul isn't a physical part of our bodies then where is it? But if the soul doesn't physically exist then what did I feel when all of those eyes were looking into me._

It doesn't matter... I have the power to help and so I must. You can't try to comprehend what can't be comprehended.

Miyako thought back to herself clutching the photo of the collective staff with looks so plain, so dead that it broke her heart and started the chain of thoughts that weighed her mind down and held her heart captive.

Darkness...

She closed her eyes and her mind brought her back to the world she was in before...

Darkness...

There Miyako was, hovering in the darkness, this new world stripping her of her identity; her clothing, her voice, her name. She was just a vessel floating in the darkness. Her skin shone like a light in the dark and her eyes were closed, head tilted back and body arched back with arms behind her. Slowly her eyes parted open but not fully.

A bubble left her lips.

Where am I? _She thought. Another bubble escaped her lips._ Who am I?

A pain erupted in her breast and she curled into a ball, clutching her chest in a vein attempt to hold her heart in her hand. Her thoughts then went to a documentary she watched where a surgeon had a man's chest opened up and during the surgery he died on the table. In a desperate attempt to save him the surgeon reached into his chest, took his heart in his hand and began to pump it.

Miyako thought that someone was pulling on her heart.

Black fingers slid over her body, first one hand then another, then another, black hands extending from the darkness to claim her. Hand after hand reached for her, taking over another area of her flesh, hand holding onto hands so that they could be taken too – until Miyako's body was overrun and their collective force so powerful that they were dragging her down.

Miyako could hear moaning; sick, demented, orgasmic moaning, moaning for her help to help bring them out of the darkness. Their moans filled her ears and then her heart and then finally her identity returned to her.

I will save all of you. _Miyako thought._ With all my strength I will return you to your homes! I will take you all inside my heart and carry you home!

More hands came from the darkness to hold her, grabbing her wrists, arms, torso and breasts, grabbing her head and covering her eyes so only her mouth was visible.

I can't let you make me one of you. I can't let you corrupt me. Who am I if I can't help you!? Without you how can I make my Paradise!? A world filled with smiles! A world where the young don't kill themselves! A world where everyone are friends!

Miyako's eyes opened, returning her to reality where she was breathing heavily. Before with the door open was the staff room where she watched the teachers go about their duties so mechanically. _Where is the enthusiasm? Where is the passion? I felt your feelings and know that this isn't how you want to live! I understand your feelings but I don't know what to do, I don't know how to return your souls._ 'Somebody tell me how!' She screamed.

Just like before the teachers stopped what they were doing in mid-gesture, simultaneously turning to look at Miyako.

She flinched; the feeling returned; _darkness all around her, hands clinging onto her groping and caressing her skin like multiple lovers. Her mouth opened but words wouldn't leave her as many feelings clashed and conflicted: fear, desperation, longing and many others emotions including ones that felt wrong but good at the same time._ What is this? Why does this feel so different? _Her body wouldn't move to her will and the sensation of hands on her body pleased her in a way she couldn't describe; it brought warmth and made her feel pleasant and weak at the knees._

Feeling all of these hands it feels... It feels... _Miyako's eyes closed._ Embrace the feeling... Find comfort in it and use it.

_She began to swim, struggling under the weight of her seducers, kicking her legs back and forth as she tried to rise upwards instead of being dragged down by the mass of souls._ Is there even anything up here? How do I know that by swimming I can escape with these souls? _She kicked harder, bringing herself and the legion of souls further upwards in the darkness of the Nightmares' world._

Be strong Miyako! You're a Key – You can do this! You're going to save these people and create Paradise! You're a superhero! Yes! A superhero! _Miyako smiled._

_'No.'_ _A voice spoke from somewhere in the darkness._

_Miyako stopped in shock, steadily beginning to sink again into the darkness._ No?

'No. You're just a girl. A stupid, pathetic girl.'

Stupid? Pathetic?

'When will you realize, Miyako, that your efforts are in vein? You may save these people but there is nothing stopping Akira from taking them again. What use is your power then when you're faced with your failure?'

I... I...

_'See, you understand now don't you? Idiot.'_ The voice laughed, a feminine laugh.

You're wrong! I can stop all of this! I can–!

_'You think that you can change the world?'_ The voice laughed again. _'You've always been like this haven't you, Miyako? You've always tried to be the voice of reason that can soften conflict and bring people together and created bonds. I know this from your memories. But, you are a liar.'_

N-No way...

'Yes! Where was your kindness when Kioshi was being beaten up? Where was your friendship when your peers blamed him for your teacher's death?'

_Miyako sunk further into the darkness._ I... I...

'You're a hypocrite, Miyako. Worse, you're not a good girl. No matter how many souls you may fight to save, if you can't extend your hand to those around you you will never truly have humanity. And if you don't have humanity then you may as well kill yourself.'

Outside the staff room Miyako had fallen onto her knees. Eyes and nose bleeding from the mental strain she was forcing onto herself – so heavy and painful that it felt like a hammer being thrown continuously down on her skull but she had forgotten how to scream so she sat with lips partially agape, flickering between open and closed.

The teachers all rushed out of their seats, sprinting towards her and vault over their desks to swarm Miyako like Vultures. In moments she was overrun, pinned to the floor by her arms and legs, staring at the bright lights above her without the power to even blink.

'Stupid girl.' Ayumi stood amongst the crowd, staring down accusingly at her. 'So this is what you fear. You long to help those who desperately need saving even at the cost of your own sanity.' Ayumi chuckled as she crawled on top of Miyako, sitting on her abdomen to stare into her eyes as they bleed but didn't blink. 'Are you still there, Miyako?' Ayumi chuckled mockingly again.

Miyako's eyes bore into Ayumi who though couldn't move could still feel her heart.

'Argh!' Ayumi exclaimed holding her chest but then smiled, strangling Miyako. 'Oh no!' She shook her head, red hair flailing around. 'There's no soul in this body, there's nothing to save! It buried under pain and hatred!' She spoke venomously. 'You can say that it is the soul of a Ghost.' She smiled to herself. 'Those eyes! Those eyes that glisten seductively with judgement determination – that-that _tries_ to read me, that try to be free. I hate them! Who are you to be free huh!?' She wrapped her hands around Miyako's neck, digging her thumbnail into her throat to draw blood. 'Who makes you better than me!?'

Still Miyako tried to read Ayumi.

'You just don't listen do you girl!' Ayumi slammed Mikayo's head hard onto the floor. 'No matter... You like surgery don't you? Tell me, have you ever played doctor?' Ayumi smiled sinisterly, a sweet, innocent smile filled with madness. 'What do you think will happen if I got this nice pointy object,' from nowhere Ayumi retrieved a long, silver spike that shone in the bright light, 'and played around with those beautiful eyes? I'm a girl of reason though, so all you have to do is blink if you don't want me to.'

Unable to move all Miyako could do was stare up at Ayumi.

'I'm glad that I've got your consent.' Ayumi bounced up and down Miyako's stomach for a few moments like an excited child. 'This is going to be interesting.'

*

Kouji entered his father's make-shift room on one the highest floor of the company building. Perhaps he would be able to spend time with his father without his brother being there to steal most of his attention. He remembered well the message his father tried to give to him last time; to actually be a compassionate human being. Although a good lesson, it was a lesson that he hated for if he had to learn how to have compassion then it must have meant that he was a horrible person and that bothered him.

It bothered him a lot.

Who was that man to tell him what kind of person he was when he hadn't spent much time with him? The man demanded compassion yet put the business before him and his brother. Nightmares or no Nightmares – _whatever the heck they actually are._

The metaphorical rug had been pulled underneath his feet because now he felt like he didn't know anything about the world and himself. Keys, Reapers, Nightmares, and on top of that he didn't know who he was as a person. Kouji had woken up to discover that he's not the kind of man that a man should actually be. He grew up believing that men had to be like his father; strong and stoic but now he had many things to think about if he had to grow to become a better person.

But, in the end I've decided that it's not worth it if restoring Shibuya means hurting more people in the long run. Is that the right decision?

There were many conflicting feelings swirling around within him, making him confused then that confusion had turned to frustration and was now slowly turning into anger.

Kouji could imagine his mother; the strong, independent woman who worked for the Yakuza, _'It's unsightly to be angry Kouji.'_ He imagined her saying, and perhaps she would be right. What was there to be angry about?

Katou, the girl he had encountered in his school's basement was what he had to be angry about. Kouji stopped in the middle of the room, covering his mouth as sadness swept over him. _The girl... Oh my God the girl... We need to find Akira and eliminate him. With him gone people like her won't have to suffer anymore. But I can't... I'm not strong enough and I don't know where to find that strength._

If I were stronger then that girl wouldn't have died. She wouldn't have... I can't give up can I? Perhaps... Perhaps by teaming up with Kioshi, Hido, Miyako and Aki... Perhaps there is strength there. In friendship.

'What are you doing?' His brother asked.

Kouji's hands slid from his face then he turned to face Hisashi who was sat in the corner, legs crossed with a book in one hand, all together appearing older than he was. Years of mature-thinking had made Hisashi a man in a boys body.

'It's none of your business. What are _you_ doing?'

'What does it look like?' Hisashi returned to his book. 'Someone has to look after father.'

Kouji folded his arm, transferring his weight onto one leg then looking down on him. 'What does that mean?'

'You know what it means.'

'And you should know what a rhetorical question is _little_ brother. It looks like you still have some learning to do.'

'Cute.'

'Cute?'

'You're quarrelling with someone younger than you.'

'You're fourteen. Hardly a child I would think.'

Hisashi looked up from his book, relaxing his posture. A smile stretched across his face. 'Yes Kouji, I'm fourteen and yet I'm better than you.'

Kouji's eyes narrowed. 'What did you say?'

'Look at the evidence _big_ brother.' He stood. 'My grades are better than yours when you were my age and better than yours now.' Now he made his way across the room. 'I'm recognised by officials and people so important that you don't even know about. And best of all,' Hisashi positioned himself right up close to Kouji, 'this company will be mine when father dies while you'll be off chasing a fairy tale.'

Kouji's eyes narrowed, remember that his father had said that when he died his younger brother Hisashi would take over the official business of the company while Kouji managed a part that from what he saw didn't even exist. _Does he take me for a fool!?_

Kouji thought of two ways for him to handle his brother's attitude. In his head he played out each scenario.

' _People so important that I don't even know about? You're talking about Yamamoto Akira aren't you?' He smiles._

Hisashi was taken aback. 'H-How do you know about Mr Yamamoto?'

'I have my ways. Remember you brat, I'm older than you and know more than you. Living in this world is more than about intelligence. There are other factors you have to consider to be... in a word you'd recognise, successful.' He folded his arms. 'I'm in the midst of beginning a change to how things are going to be like. And in this world there won't be any place for people like Akira and for people as narrow-sighted as you.'

Instead a nagging in the back of his mind was amplifying his anger with every passing second. Hisashi's ego had long been a trait that made caring for him an unbearable task for as soon as he realised his potential and importance to their father he had begun to change for the worse, evolving into the person attempting to stand toe-to-toe with Kouji as if he had something to prove.

Without warning Kouji punched Hisashi with such conviction that he knocked him down and with the first strike his anger had had the taste of realisation and the second punch came out easier, and the one after that and the one after that. Again and again Kouji brought his fist down until his brother was bleeding from his nose and mouth and his eyes were purple protrusions the size of golf balls. But then for a split second Katou flash before his eyes and his readied fist flinched. 'What am I doing?'

On the floor Hisashi whimpered, twitching every few seconds as he fought unconsciousness.

'That's not the kind of man I am. It's not the person I want to be...'

'You've proven to yourself that this is the person you are.'

Kouji turned, the new girl Yamamoto Ayumi stood before him, arms folded with a wide smirk on her face.

'Wait, how did you get here?' Kouji asked, puzzled.

'The question is, Kouji, how did you get here?' Ayumi strode across the room, crouching by Hisashi. 'Say, give him one more for me please?' Kouji reached down, picking her up by the wrist and hauling her up. 'Are you going to hit me too big boy?'

'Stop acting as if you know me!'

'I do know you, Kouij. You stop beating your younger brother to death, claiming that that's not the person you are but you've already demonstrated that this is the lengths you'll go to to make yourself feel good, just like that boy who murdered that girl who is constantly on your mind. What will stop you from murdering if it pleases you?'

'I'm not a murderer!'

Ayumi looked Kouji right into Kouji with large, grey eyes. 'The way I see it is that the boy is nearly dead already. You're rich so I'm sure you could get away with it. Go on, vent out that frustration. You know you want to, it's who you are.'

'Shut up!' Kouji wrapped his hands around her neck. 'SHUT UP!'

'Or perhaps you want to hurt me just like that girl?'

'ARGH!' Kouji roared, forcing his mouth shut but baring his gritted teeth. His grip relaxed by a fraction and his eyes turned to the bleeding boy at his feet.

*

Aki covered her ears, sweating and rocking about the floor in order to drive the thoughts out of her head.

My father cares, but he cares in... the wrong way.

The wrong way...

'Shut up...'

The wrong way...

'Shut up!'

The wrong way...

'SHUT UP!' Her fingers snaked through her damp hair as she wailed from her internal misery, heart pounding in her ear while memories of her bitter childhood abused her mind. The memories were like knives to her, each one causing her to shift around on her wooden floor, shrieking as the pain from those memories she tried so hard to forget returned to her and implanted themselves so that she would never forget them again.

'Aki...' Her father groaned. 'AKI!...' His hand landed heavily on her door, startling her and replacing her misery with fear.

Aki stumbled as she got onto her feet, cautiously leaning towards the door. 'NO! Go away! GO AWAY!' She stood huffing on the spot.

'Doing your homework like a good girl...' Was all he said. Still, her door handle began to slowly turn.

'NO! Don't come in here!' Aki ordered firmly. 'You want to hurt me? All you do is hurt me!'

'But I...'

' _NO!_ I don't want you in here!'

Clumsily, her bedroom door opened revealing her father's scruffy form; work shirt several months old, untucked, stained and mouldy at his armpits; belt-less trousers that had slid partway down his legs, displaying his prominent affection towards his daughter; an unshaven face with a head of shaggy hair filled with dust and crawling with lice and bugs, eyes red and sleep deprived that appeared glazed-over. 'Aki...'

'Look at what you've done to me! Look at how you've damaged me! Can't you see!? Father!?' Aki's wet and frizzy hair trembled as her body moved vehemently in conjunction with her words, sleep deprived eyes drilling into her father.

Her father advanced lethargically, each step forcing Aki deeper into her room. 'Don't raise you voice to me... I'm your father...' He said in a calm, shaky voice.

'No!' She shook her head in disbelief. 'That man is dead! You killed him! You killed him with your drinking and your drug abuse! Why!?'

Still her father advanced.

'You've destroyed everything! You and mother!' Aki felt herself begin to cry. 'You drove my sister away! She was sick and you wouldn't take care of her! My older sister! You forced me to do it and I couldn't! And so she left! Can't you see what you're doing to your family!? To me!?' Now her eyes pinched themselves closed and fear now welded her to the spot, allowing her filthy father to close the gap between them, taking menacing step after menacing step. Soon his over-powering smell was right in her face, and as he leaned in she leaned back until her father's gruesome form was hovering over her.

A hand crawled over her chin, gently grabbing her and bringing her back forward.

'You don't know what you've done... You don't understand...' Aki whispered. Her eyes opened reluctantly to gross sight of her father ogling her. Quickly, her head jutted in another direction. 'You're supposed to love me. You're supposed to care about me. But you don't... You and mother... Where did you go?' She looked at her father again. 'Father, don't you care about me? Don't you see me? Don't you see that you're hurting your daughter?'

Her father merely stood as he did.

'Father...'

Without warning he planted his lips onto hers, filling her mouth with breath so rancid that her tears began to feel like acid. His tongue swirled around her mouth as if he was attempting to rinse it out. Aki stood there petrified, eyes wide as her father violated her and even when he pulled away from here was so stunned that she had forgotten how to breathe.

Her father then reach around to lick her neck, an action enough to bring Aki back. 'NO!' She bellowed, pushing him back a few steps but, he wiped his mouth then grinned eagerly baring his teeth in anticipation.

Aki closed her eyes, turning her head away from him and as she did so she felt his hand land on her shoulders. 'I hate you... I hate you!'

Her father went on to unbutton her school shirt and Aki didn't stop him as fear intoxicated her. He paused to stare at her engorged breasts before sliding her skirt down. Tears sliding down the curves of her bare skin, shirt unbuttoned and sliding off, her skirt fell around her ankles and her underwear became the now most noticeable item of clothing on her body. Bare, her nipples became stood out as the cold atmosphere brushed her skin.

Feeling the air on her skin made her feel alive and feeling alive suddenly felt great to Aki. 'Papa, sit down on the bed. I'll make you feel really good.' Aki smiled a seducing, affectionate smile, gesturing for her father to sit on the stiff mattress which he gladly did.

Aki stepped out of her skirt, sitting on her father lap, resting her arms on his shoulders. Whispering into his ear she said, 'You're here. I know this is you. Ayumi.' She licked his ear. 'You're trying to push me. You're trying to hurt me. You're trying to break me.' Suddenly her hands were around her father's neck, squeezing without reluctance or hesitation. 'You fool, I'm already broken. Look around you. All this, this has already happened to me. Papa has already raped me in this instance. There's no mind left to torment – no soul to torture.'

'A...ki...' Her father whimpered as he struggled to breathe, his face quickly turning a different colour while veins bulged under his skin.

'You want to own me, papa?' Aki continued to whisper, now with a sadistic look on her face, all reasoning leaving her cold, hazel eyes. 'You, Ayumi and the world, you think you can control me? You think you can hurt me again and again and I will just lay on my back while you _fuck_ me over. No more... I'll show you. I'll show you _all_ what I'm capable of.' Her hands left her father's throat, and the man looked relieved. Instead, Aki cradled her father's head, holding it against her chest as if to comfort him. 'I do love you, papa.'

With those words she snapped her father's neck.

HUMANITY

'You were a child when she died, your mother. She left you all alone didn't she?'

'I had my father.'

'Your father? Don't make me laugh. Your father was a sadistic bastard who ruined your childhood by forcing you to learn how to fight. For what exactly?'

'For what I believe in!'

'Is that so? How interesting.'

'What is your goal!? Huh!? What do you hope to gain from tormenting your peers? Your friends.'

'Friends? I don't have any friends and neither do you. I'm alone, like you. Now that I think about it, we're quite alike wouldn't you say?'

'Don't compare me to you! You find enjoyment in tormenting people! YOU KILLED SEITO!'

Ayumi who was walking slowly back and forth in the darkness of Kioshi's mind froze, head slowly turning so that her cold eyes could bore into him. 'Me? No. You killed Seito, Kioshi.'

Kioshi was taken aback. 'You... Don't mess with me.'

'It was your selfish desire for friend that brought Seito into your life and because your actions that he died. Imagine if you kept that mouth of yours shut. Seito would still be alive.'

'No... It was because of you...'

'Me?' The world around the two changed in an instant, now becoming the familiar corridors of a Zone Three High School, covered in blood and littered with the bodies of dead student. Ayumi was stood at the end of the corridor, covered in blood. 'Because I love the thrill of torture, it was my fault. You're right. I wanted to hear music – I hadn't heard music since I was a child.'

Kioshi swallowed, trying to prevent his surroundings from unnerving him. It all seemed so real, the blood glistening in the light, the raw stench filling his nose. 'M-Music?'

'The screams.' Ayumi said, licking her lips. A hand wiped the blood of her face then she looked as it tainted her hand. 'Pain is all I know, all I understand. Tell me Kioshi, tell me why you struggle. Look at you now – you act like you're strong but where was your strength when I killed your friend? Where was your strength when you begged for darkness to steal your cowardly heart? Where was your strength when I crawled into your head?'

'I'm not pretending to be strong. All I want... All I want is to create the perfect world!'

'And what is the perfect world Kioshi?'

'A world where everyone can live the life they want to live! Not oppressed by your father!'

The two were now standing in the middle of the road, devoid of any people and cars so it was just Kioshi and Ayumi under the sky blanketed by clouds, surrounding by the oppressive, black towers.

'Let me tell you a secret about humanity, Kioshi.' Ayumi moved a tendril of vibrant red hair behind her ear. 'We are a broken race. There is no saving us even if you create Paradise. We hate each other – all of us. Even you. Hate is at the core of our hearts. The Deprived that walk these streets, these are people's true form; negligent of one-another, oblivious to their peers' cries. What makes you think that people will change if you restore them!' Her fists were shaking. 'We are never truly happy. We are never content, we most have more of everything and when we can't have it then we lash out either at ourselves or others. Masochists and monsters. That what we are.'

'I don't believe you. I don't believe the crap you're saying! I'll, I'll stop you!'

'You might stop me! You might stop my father! You might change the world but that will never stop the pain in your heart!'

Finally, Kioshi had had enough of the girl lecturing him. 'WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY!?' He began. 'What do you want me to feel!? You're right! I'm a coward! I started all this because I couldn't stand my place in society! I couldn't stand this pain in my heart! I'm weak!

'I have no friends! My father is distant! I have nothing in my life with meaning! All I know is this internal and eternal pain!' His hand tightened on his chest 'All of this is to fill this hole inside my chest, the hole left here when my mother died. To end this loneliness and anger! I can't take it! I'm only Human!'

A pain shot right up Kioshi's body, clutching his heart. It stole the air from his lungs and forced his whole body to lock up. _'Finally you've accepted the truth about your existence Kioshi.'_ A voice spoke to him.

Kioshi fell onto his knees as the pain intensified, crippling his body. _This voice... It's the same voice that spoke to my mother..._ He thought.

'The same voice that coaxed her into the darkness and further into madness, yes. It is the black power of Demons and Nightmares alike. The power of the Xero Xone.'

Xero Xone?

'The Nightmares' World. Take it and reap your hatred on Ayumi and her father Yamamoto Akira. Take it and have no regrets. That is what you want isn't it? To not feel? To not care? Those granted with this gift understand this blessing. People like your mother.'

Kioshi's eyes transformed, glowing a vibrant purple while his irises became black rings on his eyes. 'I can't! Leave me alone.'

The pain vanished.

The world felt quieter and the only sound was his own ragged breathing while he stared at the ground as it blurred and shook under his eyes. Sweat rolled off his forehead, splashing onto the dirt. A feeling took hold of him then, a feeling like he had been in that position before.

'We don't know what to feel anymore, Kioshi! We're crushed! And it's all because of you! Why couldn't you just keep your mouth closed!? Huh!? Kioshi!? Aren't you going to move!?'

Kioshi looked up to see Makado's angry form glaring down at Kioshi, ready to beat him to death. Makado swung a foot, breaking Kioshi's nose while knocking out a tooth. Bleeding, Kioshi tumbled before stopping on his side, a back to Makado.

Aren't you going to move!?

'What are you going to do Kioshi?' The voice said. 'Are you just going to lie here? Aren't you going to fight for what you believe in? Maybe you truly believe it; that we're just a dummy. We have no place in the world. Our body is flesh and blood, we think, we feel but our life isn't our own. We occupy this world, but we don't live in it. We don't live. In the end our body doesn't matter; our life has no meaning. We can die and our death won't cause a ripple. If our lives are so meaningless then why do we struggle? Why do we fight?'

Kioshi was suddenly on his feet, roaring with anger then charged at Makado, spearing him on to the ground. _'_ All the pain I've felt! All the times I've suffered!' He cried, grabbing Makado by the shirt and lifting him. 'Still! I try to have faith!' He threw his forehead into Makado's nose, breaking it in return. 'I've tried to have faith in humanity! All I want is for people to be happy! Why can't you understand that! Huh!? Ayumi!?' With his blazing, purple eyes Kioshi stared hard at the boy at his mercy. He threw a strong, satisfying punch. 'I will create Paradise! I'll create a world where people don't have to kill themselves to mitigate the pain!'

'Behind you!' Ayumi cried, climbing on top of Kioshi, riding him. 'Wheee!' She screamed as Kioshi stood and lost his balance. 'I was wrong! You _are_ strong! I didn't know that you had such power!'

'Get off me Ayumi!' Kioshi bellowed, stopping to pry Ayumi off. However, her arms were welded around his neck by her limitless power, being inside Kioshi's mind.

'Time for a handicap! You don't need these!' Quickly moving so that she was holding his head in her hands, she reached around and dug her fingers straight into Kioshi's eyes. He wailed in agony, panic scrambling his mind and causing him to thrash around.

Ayumi jumped off, pushing Kioshi down who fell easily. His head hitting something hard before landing on the ground.

'I can't see! I CAN'T SEE!' Panting in a panic, groping the floor, Kioshi helplessly tried to right himself. The pain burning his face was driving him insane, feeling like someone had thrown red-hot chilli power in his eyes. 'AYUMI!'

In the darkness of his mind Makado came to him, 'So, what are you going to do, Kioshi? Idiot.' Defeated, Kioshi fell onto his hand and knees, crying blood.

He was now blind.

'No. No-no-no...' His hands curled around a thin, cold pole and by navigating upwards he felt a familiar texture. _A desk..._ Sluggishly he stood, using the desk to support himself. 'This isn't real Kioshi... You're in your head... When you get out of this you'll be fine...'

'Is that what you think?' Ayumi claimed.

Kioshi naturally began to panic when he heard the voice of the enemy he couldn't see. 'W-What do you mean!?'

'I mean that anything that happens to you here happens to you out there. Just like when I blinded that girl Miyako. You're blind, Kioshi.' Ayumi laughed hard, the high pitch cry echoing in Kioshi's mind, haunting him, taunting him, reinforcing the harsh reality.

'DON'T FUCK WITH ME!'

'WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO!?' Ayumi spread her arms out, inviting Kioshi to act. 'I told you! I told you that Humans are monsters! You didn't believe me.' She lowered her arms. 'We are all broken people.'

'You bastard!' The dark power within him igniting, wisps of black smoke collected in Kioshi's hand, solidifying to form a, grey longsword. Angrily Kioshi swung the weapon around, but missed, stumbling but saved himself by clasping onto a desk, panting.

'This is how you felt before Kioshi; alone in your own world. In your personal hell. When you're a Ghost you don't matter to _anyone_ right? You just want to kill yourself because to die is the same fate as being alive. But at least when you're dead you don't feel the pain right? We Humans are only alive to hurt. We hurt the moment we're born when we take our first breath of oxygen.'

Kioshi lost his energy, carefully lowering himself onto the floor, focusing on the throbbing in his skull. 'I was... I was going to fight... Start a revolution... Change... Change this world for the better. No more Ghosts. No more... Deprived...'

'Look at you Kioshi! What can you do!?' Ayumi mocked. 'This is what my father wanted! Ambition is wrong! Hope is wrong! If you had only lived the life you were supposed to live in then you would still be able to see! Seito would be alive! Aki wouldn't have found the same darkness that you have! You lost before you could even try to change the world. _What_ can you do?'

The darkness was still raw in his heart but this darkness wasn't in the form of anger but defeat.

'What _can_ I do?' Kioshi mumbled.

_'You fight.'_ His father echoed in his head.

Kioshi looked up. 'Father?'

_'Why did you think I trained you? To be cruel?'_ In the blackness Junichi formed before him, lean, black hair; lines scarring his face to make him appear older than he was and a leather eye-patch covering his right eye. _'I fought to save the world I knew from becoming this dystopia! But I failed! I knew that as you grew up you would face challenges, challenges that would mature you, test you, show you who you really are.'_

'Who I am?'

_'You want to change the world? You want to start a revolution? Wars are tough, Kioshi! They are unforgiving and sometimes you have to do things you have to do! Sometimes you meet people who go to maddening lengths to claim victory. But whether you win or lose comes down to you, Kioshi._ You _decide if that person will succeed or not by your will just as your will decides whether you will succeed. If you want to survive – if you want to succeed then you have to ask yourself, what are you prepared to do? What are you prepared to sacrifice?'_ Junichi crouched before him, placing a hand on his shoulder then smiled. _Your mother knew this too but she couldn't live long enough to help you in your time of need. Don't let darkness and hate consume you. The true test of our humanity is if we can learn to forgive those who hurt us and stand up stronger. Stand up, Kioshi!_

Is this really you father?

Standing with pride, Junichi uttered a defiant, _'Yes! Our hearts are connected, yours, mine and your mother's! Stand!'_

'Are you talking to yourself now!?' Ayumi laughed. 'Has madness claimed you!?'

'I understand now that if I'm fighting then I have to give it my all. I have to put myself out there and fight with the resolve that I want to make a change.' Kioshi rose. 'I want to make a change, Ayumi but you're in my way. You're the first obstacle I need to pass to get to Akira and restore Shibuya. Looking towards darkness was cowardly but, I'll do what I must so that I can carve out a future for not just myself but for everyone else in this world. I'll take this darkness and turn it into strength!' Kioshi's eyes closed tightly, skin between his eyes creasing as he concentrated intensely. When he opened them again the red, bleeding balls were gone, instead replaced by glowing, purple eyes that burned strong, staring at Ayumi with a steel resolve.

Without warning, Kioshi took a defiant swipe of his sword, the blade lengthening enough to reach Ayumi and nearly cut off her head if she didn't bend over backwards in time. When she straightened he was caught by the throat, Kioshi in front of her without making a sound.

Kioshi's eyes opened wide, gazing deep into Ayumi's own, delving into her heart – her very being. He didn't know what he was actually doing, only following an instinct. Their eyes locked as Ayumi matched his stare with her own wide, grey eyes but her own resolve was weakening and her eyes were shaking as they were fighting to not become overpowered. Ayumi's breathing began to pick up as Kioshi's stare took hold of her. Growing even wider, she began to scream. 'No! No! Get away! GET AWAY!'

The scene changed again but instead the two were in darkness.

'I did my best but he was too strong! Please! Don't hurt me! I don't want to feel any more pain!' Ayumi began to cry and when Kioshi let go of her she got onto all fours, crawling behind him to then cover her head in fear.

Buildings sprouted from the ground, rocketing into the sky, They looked like the black towers only they had details and the windows were clear. The buildings were grey from dirt and exhaust with signs everywhere, poking out of the sides like appendages and slapped across the fronts. They told of things that Kioshi hadn't seen before the cinema, camera shop, clothes stores filled with dazzling and spectacular clothing, coffee shops, book shops, restaurants selling exotic and wonderful food, sweet stores, stores selling quirky contraptions – stores that would fill people with pleasure and wonder. Some stores even had signs that looked like they were made of lights but they weren't on. Kioshi knew instantaneously where he was and so the thrill made him oblivious to the cowering girl behind him.

Shibuya.

And yet... why was Shibuya underground? Above them was the roof of a cave that spanned across the entire area like a dome. Shibuya was trapped, like someone had ripped it out and stuck it underground.

'La, la la-la-la-la!' A girl sang and soon after Kioshi heard the song the girl responsible made herself known. She was was dressed in a beautiful dress; one covered with string, ribbons and lace but, to Kioshi everything was purple so he had no idea what colour the dress was. The girl had something in her hands, something that gave her great joy. Kioshi just had to find out what it was.

Ayumi grabbed onto his trousers when he moved but irritated, Kioshi snatched his legs away, walking on.

'La-la-la, la, la, la-la-la-la!' She sang. Such a beautiful voice. What was such a radiant child doing in such a dark, lonely place?

'Hey there,' Kioshi lowered himself, 'what do you have there?'

The girl went on singing, ignoring him.

'You're probably just an illusion too.' He reached out to touch her but the girl stopped. Innocently she looked up at him with big, innocent eyes. 'Y-You're real?'

'Of course I'm real silly!' She smiled and chuckled.

'What is that you have? I haven't seen it before.'

'This?' She looked down at the sack of fabric. 'It's a doll! Haven't you seen a doll before?'

'No... Sorry.' Kioshi smiled. 'What do you do with it?'

'What do you mean what do you do with it?' She frowned, placing her hands on her hips. 'You play with it, silly!'

'I don't know what it means to play. When I was as small as you I was only reading books.'

The girl poked her tongue out.

'Mr Cat!' Ayumi cried, jogging up to the girl and falling onto her knees, snatching the doll from the girl. 'Kioshi! Look! It's Mr Cat! I haven't played with him in years! Not since I was a child!' Her eyes were wide and filled with madness and it appeared that the hatred she held towards Kioshi had disappeared without an trace of them existing. Kioshi may as well have been a good friend to her.

Kioshi looked from Ayumi to the girl. 'Say, young one, what's your name?'

'My name? I'm Yamamoto Ayumi!' She smiled.

'Ayumi huh? That's a pretty name.' Kioshi began to ponder as to what was happening. It wasn't another mind trick created by Ayumi as the younger Ayumi was as real as he was. Ideas were forming in his mind, ideas concerning his power combining with Ayumi's power. _What if her power to get into people's head plus my power, whatever it is created this physical manifestation of Ayumi's past?_

'Ayumi! Get over here now! AYUMI!' A man commanded with strong authority.

Against himself, Kioshi took older Ayumi's hand and headed into an alley and from the dark, narrow gap he saw a cloaked figure with a walking cane approach little Ayumi who suddenly looked fearful for her life, grabbing onto Mr Cat tightly and visibly shaking. She couldn't have been older than six.

'Disgusting girl! So alone, so pathetic...' Ayumi said to herself, still wide-eyed with a demented look, hands holding her skull with her fingers biting in. 'No friends, no-one to care about her. She should kill herself. Yes, Ayumi should die. That what she wants. No! That's what she _will_ want! She'll realize it soon enough!' Mad chuckling passed through her gritted teeth.

_There has to be a reason why Ayumi is the way she is. I have to find out what happened to her._ Kioshi went back to observing Ayumi and the cloaked man.

The cloaked man raised his voice then brought the cane down on the little Ayumi's head who then started to cry. 'Where did you get that garment!'

'I...' The girl tried hard to stifle her tears but her weak presence only served to anger the cloaked man who swung his cane at the girl so hard that she fell to the ground, unconscious. The man picked her up, taking her away and when Kioshi peered out to look at the where the two had gone they were no-where to be found.

Ayumi ran out, plucking the discarded doll and pressing it to her chest. 'Look Kioshi! Mr Cat has come back to me! I won't let you go again.'

Kioshi ignored Ayumi and the darkness in his heart that was evolving into sadness, trying to get his thoughts in order. He knew that who he just saw was the man responsible for the current state of Japan:

Yamamoto Akira.

SCORN

A stern-faced Ayumi sat softly on her legs, hands nestled on her thighs and fighting the urge to tremble. Her lips were almost invisible, pressed tightly together. Cuts blemished her pre-pubescent face – some still bleeding and though they stung they were easy to ignore allowing her to stare intensely ahead.

Like a dog she had be trained, everything she knew right down to the thoughts her subconscious thought had been dictated to her by here overseer and father Yamamoto Akira who presently was leaning on his walking cane as he watched his near-perfect creation attempt to work.

Ayumi's left eye twitched, a by-product of a cut just under her eyelid. Thoughtlessly a hand raised to the wound, hoping that the contact would sooth it but when she did this her father produced a whip from under his robe and slashed her wrist. A sharp gasp left Ayumi as she hunched over but her other hand was quick to cover her mouth before she pushed her father to attack her again.

'Straighten yourself girl!' Akira ordered.

'Yes, Sir.' Ayumi whimpered, straightening herself though her eyes didn't leave the fresh cleavage on her hand.

'Continue.'

Ayumi barely contained her sigh but continued to stare at a man sat before her, fused to the ground by a mental influence from Akira whose mind-control was so strong that he was unable to even blink. The man could still be considered as young; only in his early thirties but this man had clearly had it bad in the underground Shibuya as he was as rough-looking as the girl he was forced to stare face.

With all of her will, Ayumi tried to muster the concentration needed to get into the man's head but it wouldn't come to her. Without realizing she had relapsed into an old habit of holding her breath and clenching her teeth behind her lips. The process was noticeable from the tightening of her facial muscles and the reddening of her skin.

The whip came down on her again, slicing her chest open. This time she allowed herself to howl with pain, falling forward with the side of her face rubbing against the dirt. Clutching the two halves of her severed and already-dirtied blouse she fought back tears. Tears was weakness and if her body was weak then her mind was weak. And if her mind was weak then it would need "Adjusting".

Ayumi hated "adjustments".

'How many times must I tell you, Ayumi!' Akira slammed his cane into the ground, echoing across the vastness of the cave. 'This ability doesn't manifest through force of body but through the force of _will_! You must open your heart – your _soul_ to the whom you're trying to control. Use your eyes! They are the gateway to the soul!'

'I'm trying, father!' Ayumi exclaimed, looking up but still laying on her legs as she clutched herself.

Akira threw the whip up, smacking the ground by Ayumi's light-brown hair. She flinched. 'I mean, "Sir".'

'Get up.'

Ayumi shifted around, arms shakily lifting her but her arms may as well have been trying to lift a ton of rocks. The stinging on her chest made her cough hard, blood continuing to spill out of her open wound.

'I SAID GET UP!' The whip came down on Ayumi's back, creating a deep crevice .

Ayumi roared, shaking her head madly. 'STOP IT! I CAN'T GET UP IF YOU'RE HURTING ME!' Then with all of her might she was sitting on her legs again then gradually stood. The front of her greyish-brown blouse was soiled with blood and her bare stomach was wet with it also. Between the ripped halves of the fabric, a deep gash could be seen, glistening in the light from the lampposts running along either side of the road she was standing in. 'It won't stop! The bleeding won't stop! H-Help me! FATHER!'

The other man got onto his feet unnaturally, like a puppet being hauled up by its puppeteer, walking up to a weaken Ayumi and grabbed her by the arms before falling on top of her to pin her down. His eyes were wide as they desperately screamed that it wasn't him controlling his body.

'Let me go!' Ayumi fought.

'If you want to get free then make him.' Akira said simply. 'You better act fast because I don't know how long his bones can handle the strain.'

Ayumi could feel the man's arms shaking as they struggled to remain straightened. She knew that it would only be a matter of time before they snapped. 'Stop it! When are you going to get it through your head that I'm not like you!? You keep training me and training me but I'm not like you! I'm not a Key! I'm NOTHING!'

'Indeed your _are_ nothing, Ayumi.' Akira lowered his hood revealing himself in the light. Very aged with a shaved head. 'You're pathetic, Ayumi!' He suddenly yelled. 'I didn't raise you to be so _useless_!' With his yells came the audible sound of the man's arms breaking. The pain was so intense for him that he was able to break through Akira's hold and scream, collapsing completely onto Ayumi with his arms pointing outwards halfway past the elbows.

Ayumi was so shocked that she laid as she was, staring up at the dark cave ceiling.

'Let me tell you about your mother.' Akira began, facing away from them and up at a plain-looking building that may have been a set of office years ago when it was on the surface. 'She was a strong woman. Proud and loyal and special amongst the Keys; her power on another level like mine. She was a part of an elite group called the Reapers of Justice and she had this ability to control people – also like me but, not like me all the same. Her ability was more subtle, more deceptive. Your mother was an enchantress – a beautiful enchantress. She could persuade people to do things with her words alone, she could inspire people or spawn hatred all with the words she used. Naturally she became a politician and that's where we met. She didn't like using her ability however, as she firmly believed in autonomy. Still, I loved her.'

'BUT YOU KILLED HER!' Ayumi allowed herself to feel the pain that the memory inflicted on her. 'You killed her you monster!' Weary that the man was still conscious she gently pushed him off.

'NO!' Akira slammed his cane down. 'The real monsters are up there! The men, women and children who were destroying our society with their selfish ways! Murdering each other! Destroying our reputation with the stupid fashion and their petty obsessions! And the Nightmares! Killing your mother was the hardest move I ever had to make! But it was a fate she deserved!'

'ARRRRRGH!' Ayumi was on her feet, running up to her father, wrapping her hands around his throat. Akira was shivering as the force that Ayumi was utilising resonated throughout his entire body. 'I saw what you did to her! This is what you did!'

'Ayumi...' Akira gasped.

Ayumi wasn't listening however, her eyes that were brown at birth but grey after years of dim light were wild with hatred.

'Ayumi!' Her father bellowed, forcing the man to stand and throw herself and Ayumi onto the ground where she laid crying. Akira composed himself, stepping closer to his daughter.

Taking a fistful of his daughter's hair, Akira lifted her head up where Ayumi gazed at her father with scorn. Ayumi wanted to struggle but fear had formed itself as a lump in her throat and a poison stopped her from moving. 'We have plenty of time, Ayumi. You have the DNA of two Keys who could use Mind-Control. You'll learn to use it even if I'll have to bring you to death's door. Now, let us continue.'

Ayumi wished someone could help her but in the underground cavern, no-one could save her from her hell.

*

'I don't expect you to understand, Kioshi.' A calmed and saddened Ayumi claimed as she sat against a wall on the roof of a department store, one knee drawn to her chin whilst her other leg was extended in front of her.

'I don't want to understand, Ayumi.' Kioshi lied.

'You know that is a lie; it's in your very nature to want to understand. After all, the reason you're here is because of the compassion in your heart. Not just selfishness.' Ayumi smiled weakly. 'In the end, I couldn't care less of what you think of me. I don't know what to think of myself. Not anymore.' Her eyes narrowed.

'I am watching... I want to understand how someone can be pushed so far over the edge of their sanity.'

'I grew up in a world you never knew, a world filled with pleasures that you can't fathom. But living in this world has its own negatives as well. Here I was isolated, and this Shibuya may as well have been in its own dimension. My father taught me everything I knew but he also knew that with no-one willing to contradict him, what he installed in my mind was what I considered right and wrong. In time and with enough training my concepts of right and wrong would become different to what you believe. That's how I was able to do the things I did.'

Kioshi sat against the low wall that overlooked the scene, eyeing Ayumi with interest. 'Whether you believed it was right or wrong is the problem, Ayumi. The problem is that you enjoy it.'

Ayumi looked up through tired eyes. 'Yeah, it feels great. It's not the deaths I enjoy nor the infliction of pain. What I enjoy is the satisfaction realizing the discontent in my heart.'

'Still!'

Look back at Kioshi now, Ayumi cut him off. 'Tell me Kioshi, acknowledging your true feelings, didn't it feel good? Didn't it give you a rush? Look at me down there. Does that girl look like the girl I am now?' Ayumi raised her other leg. 'Every bit of morality, every bit of innocence was beaten out of me and torn from my mind with his power. I am a machine programmed to his will.' Staring at her hands she added, 'realizing that anger, it felt so good and yet here you are now saying that everything I've know is wrong? I don't understand.'

'Because, you have no right to steal other people's lives! How people live their lives is up to them! Whether they choose to live! To devote their lives to their work! Or to Die! It's all up to them! People should be in a world where they're free to live! They shouldn't have to commit suicide to find peace!'

Kioshi looked away.

Teary-eyed, Ayumi argued, 'Why is it fair for others to hurt each other! For my father to hurt _me_! But when I hurt others it's wrong!? I can still feel his abuse,' Ayumi's body drew closer together and became tense. 'I can still feel his "adjustments" to make me a good girl! The girl I am today! I hurt people and their screams fill me with joy, because that's how I was raised. I don't know any other life or any other way of thinking!'

Looking at Ayumi, Kioshi couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. _Her heart must be aching from everything she's experienced._ 'I will never forgive you.' He claimed.

Quickly Ayumi stared at Kioshi, crushed by the lack of understanding.

'I will never forgive you,' Kioshi continued. ' _But_ that doesn't mean that I won't be there for you.'

'What... do you mean?'

Kioshi crawled up to Ayumi, taking her cold, rough hands in his own and staring into her eyes. 'To go through that pain and to be twisted so much, I understand why you're hurting so much. I can't imagine what it feels like to have suffered so much – to be transformed into a being filled with so much hate and rage. However, I can't forget all the pain you've caused to me an my peers. Killing Seito, hurting Aki, blinding me. Still, I'm not the sort of person to turn my back on someone even if that someone has wronged me. If you'll let me I want to help you heal.' Following his words, Kioshi smiled warmly at Ayumi.

'How... How can you be so kind to me? After all that I've done to you?'

'Because, I'm willing to put faith in you. Now let's get out of here.'

Ayumi nodded, shifting so that she sat opposite Kioshi then closed her eyes but when she opened them again they were different; her pupils had disappeared and her irises had a pattern across them that looked to Kioshi like shattered glass. The feeling of her stare bit into his eyes and his eyes bit into Ayumi's own. As they matched stares the world distorted around them, becoming black but this black faded into white then the world began to take shape around them, features coming into view; the walls then doors followed by windows, floor and ceiling. The last thing to materialise was Zone One outside the school's walls.

Simultaneously they blinked and simultaneously the school erupted with screams as everyone returned from their own hell.

Closing her eyes, Ayumi let the screams sink in. _Their screams once filled me with joy but for some reason my heart feels different, it hurts..._ Ayumi thought.

*

'What have we gotten ourselves into Kioshi?' Kouji folded his arms. 'I can't help but feel like we've opened a Pandora's Box of trouble. I mean, before all this we were just innocent kids and now look, people are dying.'

'It hurts... Hido... It hurts'

'You have to hang in there! PLEASE!'

'People are dying...' Kioshi repeated.

'Hido. I can't see...'

'I shouldn't have done this. Ayumi was right, I was selfish. In my heart, I had ulterior motives.'

The two stood at the gate as ambulance workers passed them, carrying an unconscious Miyako into the back of an ambulance where an anxious Hido was waiting.

'I think you're starting to lose sight of what you want. Is all this worth it?'

All the bodies Kioshi saw in pain, the blood painting the walls and floor. It was coming back to haunt him. 'All this pain... All because... I couldn't take it.' He began to cry. 'I couldn't take my place in society! I had to fight and now people are dying! I didn't want this to happen either, Kouji!' His eyes didn't leave the ambulance as it drove off. 'But, I can't give up now. Otherwise, what was all this suffering for!? For Miyako's sake, for Seiya's sake. For yours and my sake! I have to go on!'

Kouji stood awestruck by Kioshi's passion. 'I don't have your strength, Kioshi. I don't know if I can go on.'

'Ayumi says I lack strength, you say that I have strength. I don't have anything. I just have...' Kioshi placed a hand over his heart. 'All I have is my desire. All I want is to restore Japan to how it used to be. I saw what Shibuya was like, Kouji. It filled me with life. I want to see those smiles!' He looked up at Kouji who was taller than him by a few inches.

'I respect that.'

'Kouji...'

Kouji smiled. 'I've had my own share of questions and doubts but there's one thing I'm sure of and that's that I want to make a world where everyone can live happily in. No-one should suffer needlessly. Let's do this together.' He held his hand out.

Kioshi took it while smiling with exposed teeth. 'Yes, let's.'

'So, what now?'

'I think... We need to hold a meeting with, whoever is left in our group.'

'Myself, you, Aki, and Hido.'

'Right.'

'What about Ayumi? I don't like her Kioshi, I don't like her at all.'

'It wasn't completely her fault. But the fact is that if we want to start a revolution, we need her; she's the daughter of Akira after all.'

'Yeah... I suppose we do since you put it that way. I can't forgive her though Kioshi. Just hearing the screams, seeing all the blood and bodies of the students who hurt themselves or others... How can one person do that?' Kouji was close to reconsidering his feeling of co-operation.

'For now we need to set aside our differences.'

'It's a pretty big "difference" don't you think?' Kouji held up his hands, forcing himself to stop. 'Anyway, it's going to be hard to get everyone together. And I don't know how many people want to go through with this. Not after what they're seen and felt. They may be wanting to give up.'

Kioshi then looked at Kouji. 'Do your best to gather them Kouji. I need to talk to my father.' He took out his phone and began to press numbers. 'He was at the heart of it all when Akira was taking over Japan.' After a short moment he spoke into it. 'Father? Yeah, I need you to pick me up.'

*

They rode in silence, Kioshi facing the window so that Junichi couldn't see as much of him as he wanted.

'So...' Kioshi said, staring at darkness.

'So.' His father said.

'I guess we're alike now huh?'

'I guess... I don't think it's a good look to wear two eye-patches though.'

Kioshi smiled. 'Maybe one of the masks people where when they sleep?'

'That would certainly look better. I suppose... you want to know how I lost my own eye don't you?'

'I think I've earned it.'

'Yeah... It was towards the end of Akira's takeover. By this time many of the people of Shinjuku had been taken over and the Keys who had once lived with us had turned with us. The Advanced Tier Keys known as the Reapers were gone and so us Humans were at Akira's mercy. He used his army of Keys to begin to wipe us out. Genocide. His plan was to make a race of pure super-powered people – a precaution for war I suppose.

The people fighting against him had an upper hand though many didn't know it and that was–'

'Yamato.'

Junichi sighed. 'Yeah. Though, I don't know how you know this.'

If Kioshi could see he would be staring at himself on the reflection of the window. Without his power active, his eyes were nothing more that two grey balls in his skull. 'I saw it.'

1988 – SHIBUYA

Junichi darted around the corner of the counter, forcing his back against the wood in an attempt to both find cover and recover his breath. He fought to keep his erratic breathing tamed so as not to expose his position and after a long silence it seemed to him that he had succeeded.

His guard dropped.

'Damn it...' He hissed. His fists met the hard wood several times. 'Damn it!'

'Over here!' A voice echoed in the distance followed by the storming of many footfalls.

'Shit!' Junichi breathed, scrabbling as quietly as he could until his feet, cutting his fingers on broken glass from a paining that had been on the wall behind him. He balanced on his rifle, keeping his head ducked and then counted the seconds until he would be found. He was determined to keep his wit and tactical mind and not let the unique situation overthrow his determination to see the battle to the end.

A loud "boom" like the release of compressed air followed by glass exploding, sending miniature glass daggers flying in Junichi's direction, striking the wall before raining down on him, getting tangled in his hair and sliding into his clothes.

Junichi silently strafed to the edge of the curved counter, making sure that his running shoes he had swapped for in the store across the street didn't betray him. They didn't. Carefully he picked up a large shard of glass, slowly pushing it out of the edge of the counter then angled it in such a way so he could see his attackers; three teenage boys.

_Breathe... Breathe... Breathe..._ After steadying his breath he tossed the shard to the side, for a split second diverting the trio's attention. As swift as an archer getting into position Junichi had kneeled, balanced his rifle, aimed and squeezed the trigger twice all before they had turned back around. One fell to the floor, a bullet to the head and chest.

The other two turned so Junichi ducked and rolled to the furthest side of the counter just in time as the half he was hiding behind exploded. Peeking out of the other side he fired three shots, two striking another boy while getting the other in a shoulder.

One of the boys dropped dead while the other backed up, bumping into one of the thin, metal frames previously housing the glass, sliding down and cupping his bleeding shoulder. Junichi stood, dusting himself down and brushing out glass from his hair, crouching in front of the bleeding youth. He was a scrawny thing with greasy, black hair and clothes hanging off his body – several sizes too big.

'You're just kids... And here you are trapped by a madman's power...'

Without warning the boy slashed Junichi in the face with a knife-life piece of glass right across his eye.

'ARGH! SHIT!' Junichi screamed.

Quickly the boy got onto up but Junichi dashed forward, knocking him off his feet and through the broken window.

Face bleeding Junichi peered through his one good eye, picking the boy up by his shirt. 'WHERE'S Akira!' He roared.

Under Akira's influence the boy merely looked blankly at Junichi. He knew that his captive wouldn't talk so he dropped him, focussing his attention to his damaged eye. As if to mock him the boy laid where Junichi had dropped him, staring with interest.

Through the pain Junichi noticed this and it only fuelled his anger. 'Akira you bastard!'

PRESENT DAY

'I was angry but just like Yamato I didn't let what Akira did to me define the man I was going to be. I wanted to protect your mother. Something that I guess you already know somehow.'

'Yeah, somehow...' Kioshi slouched in the seat as the car slowed to a stop when they approached a red light. 'I don't think we can do this.' He remarked, half-closing his eyes.

'That's not the right attitude, Kioshi.' Junichi peered over the cars to see why the delay was taking so long. 'Traffic?' He uttered, raising an eyebrow. 'Impossible. There hasn't been traffic in years.'

'Our struggles are futile, Junichi.' Kioshi claimed.

'Our struggles? That's something that...' Junichi caught a glimpse of Kioshi, sitting with a vacant look in his eyes. 'Kioshi?'

'You're struggling but for what reason? Why are you trying to protect me when in the end we're going to end up like all the other corpses who fought against inevitability?'

'What are you talking about Izumi!? As long as there is still hope then we must still fight!' Junichi had argued.

'Hope?' Kioshi said out loud. 'Hope died when all this began. It lies amongst the bodies.'

'Izumi...'

'Tell me Junichi, what are you fighting for?'

'I'm fighting for you! For Yamato! For Eiko and everyone else who doesn't want to live like this!' Junichi punched the floor as he kneeled before Izumi who was sat on a bed with her head lowered and hands placed delicately on her lap.

'I wanted to fight too, Junichi, but fighting only brings pain to yourself and others. Because of our fighting Akira has escalated his efforts and more people have died. People who I wanted to protect. I wanted to dedicate my life to helping people to live but instead my struggling has reaped death. What kind of person am I, Junichi?'

'You're a good person, Izumi.' He placed a hand on Izumi's knee.

Kioshi shook his head. 'No! I'm a hypocrite! A hypocrite only serving my interests! We fight and people die, we don't fight and people still die! So why do we continue to fight against the tide!?' Finally, Kioshi looked at Junichi. 'Why do we continue to struggle? Mother, father, my brother and sister. They're all dead... THEY'RE ALL DEAD! I have nothing to live for...'

'That's not true! You have me! You have me to live for!'

A smile stretched across Kioshi's lips, parting gradually until he bared teeth then eventually evolving into a wide-mouthed laugh. 'HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Idiot! You don't mean anything to me.'

'C'mon Izumi! Snap out of this madness! You can't believe what you are say!? When all of this began you weren't like this. You were prepared to fight! What's happened to that woman?' His hand tightened on Izumi's knee but Izumi took no notice.

Kioshi continued to stare at Junichi with blank eyes and an expressionless face. 'That woman died in the face of helplessness. Her ignorance gave way to the acceptance of the truth. Junichi, what I believe is the truth. You want me to live for you, but explain to me this: why should I devote my life to living for a corpse? We're all dead, there is nothing to care for in this world anymore.'

'I...Izumi... Stop this...'

_'_ You don't see them do you? The Nightmares circling the sky like vultures, waiting for our resolve to weaken. They will eat us alive.'

Junichi was horrified.

Yamato stepped into the room. 'For heaven's sake, Junichi! Get your ass down here so we can fix you up!'

Suddenly Izumi was startled and the light came back into her eyes. 'Y-Yamato's right, let's get your eye fixed.' She got off the bed, taking Junichi's hand and leading him out of the room. ;I can't bare to see you in this state.

'Wait! Izumi!'

Izumi quickly stopped, facing Junichi and taking his other hand. 'What is it?' She smiled.

Junichi looked into Izumi's eyes, face frozen in a state of confusion. 'N-Nothing...'

'If that's the case then stop fussing and let your girlfriend take care of you.

PSYCHO

'Thank God we still have the news.' Yamato commented.

'At least for now.' Junichi pointed out.

'Yeah...'

The two along with Eiko and Izumi were stood in a square housing the large and imposing Shibuya Grand Hotel where Yamamoto Akira had been confirmed to be staying.

'Shall we go?' Eiko asked.

'Let's do this.' Said Junichi. Yamato and Eiko nodded in agreement, moving forward. Izumi however latched onto Junichi's arm.

'No.' She breathed.

'Izumi, don't worry, everything is going to be fine.' Junichi placed a hand on top of Izumi's head.

Stubbornly however, Izumi pulled her head away. 'We should leave. Everything is going to go wrong. Trust me, Junichi.'

'What are you talking about? We can stop Akira now – we have Yamato who has the power of every Reaper within him. He can end things just like One said he could. Have some faith, Izumi.'

'Everything is going to be all right, Izumi.' Eiko reassured her.

Izumi continued to shake her head, her hair flailing around. She looked worn out and fatigued with grey bags under her eyes. Her skin had long-since lost its lustre, now more grey and ugly consequently forcing more age onto her. Izumi was very aware that her mental stability wasn't as it once was however, now she was afraid that her friends would mistake her logical objections as signs of madness. With shaking hands she tied her hair up behind her, making herself more presentable. 'I understand why you won't listen to my opinions. Ever since Akira started all of this, I've... changed. But, you have to understand what I'm saying!'

The people of Shibuya now mostly Keys, had taken to walking around as if nothing was happening around them, heading to their destinations with no unnecessary stops, not stopping to communicate and ignoring everything occurring around them including people like Junichi, Izumi, Yamato and Eiko who had yet to be turned. This meant that they were free to talk any way they wanted.

'Look around us! Akira has possessed all of these people! He can see us and he's not doing anything! He knows that we've lost! If he doesn't turn us into one of these Deprived then he'll surely kill us!'

'Still,' Eiko interrupted, 'that doesn't mean that we can't at least try. Like Junichi said, you need to have more faith in us. Yamato has enough strength to stop an army so I'm positive that he can stop one man – and an old man at that.' She stood before her best friend. 'Look, Izumi, I know these last four years hasn't been easy on you, it hasn't been easy on all of us. We've all sacrificed something, we've all felt the physical pain and mental anguish. But, we're so close to the end now. You can't let what you've faced make you into...'

Izumi latched onto the end of her best friend's sentence, suddenly very sane. 'Into what?'

'It... It doesn't matter.' Eiko said off-handedly, looking away.

'Into what!?'

'I said it doesn't–'

'INTO WHAT!?'

'A coward!' Eiko finally admitted. Embarrassed she began to play with the fringe of her black, boy-ish hair.

'A coward?'

Eiko sighed, dropping her arms. 'You've lost your drive, Izumi. The girl I knew is gone – the strong girl with the determined heart who wanted to succeed. Where did she go? You don't even attempt to fight – you've already given up. The Reapers don't exist anymore. You have to fight your own battles. There's no room for fear and no room for cowardice. Look,' She placed her hands on Izumi's arms. 'For the last few years I've watched you tear yourself apart. You look so scared and I don't know what to do.' Suddenly Eiko felt tearful. 'I don't know how to help you.'

'You think I'm a coward!?' Suddenly her heart beat very painfully. 'Is that what you all think? Everyone?' She looked around with rage clear on her tired face.

'I think that you're scared.' Junichi gave Izumi an awkward smile. 'It's alright to be scared. Whatever happens I promised to myself that I'd protect you.'

'I'M NOT SCARED!' Izumi screeched, every blood vessel under her skin rising to the surface, black and more visible than they had ever been. She tore herself out of Eiko's grasp. 'I DON'T NEED PROTECTING!'

'Calm down, Izumi!' Eiko ordered.

'Shut up! SHUT UP! I'm not scared! I'm not scared! Even if we stop Akira, things will never go back to how they were! I decided long ago that I don't want to live in that world!' She held her head as a fresh pain arose. 'You're the ones who are scared! You're the ones who can't see the truth that the world you're fighting for is gone! We're all corpses walking! We act like we're alive but what life is this!? We're already dead! WE'RE ALREADY DEAD!'

A backhand from Eiko dropped an unprepared Izumi onto the ground where she sat huffing. 'I'm sorry, Izumi. I didn't know how else to stop you. You just need to calm down. We're going to be fine – you, me, Junichi and Yamato. No-one is going to die all right? Do you want to know what I believe about all of this? I believe that everything happens for a reason. We'll get through this, just have more faith in your friends. Can't you see how much you're hurting us?'

Izumi's vision blurred and a sickly feeling bubbled in her stomach. She turned away from Junichi, Yamato and Eiko, and her arms visibly trembled under her body as her eyes transformed into their purple, empowered form that only Junichi had seen. 'It's not about faith. It's not about power. It's about making sense of what's in front of you. There is no hope for us. Any of us... I'm not scared. I'm not scared. I don't feel anything because I've accepted fate. But, if there's something you all should be scared about Eiko, it's loneliness.'

'What do you mean by that?' Yamato asked, moving closer to the downed Izumi.

'Loneliness. How can the world go back to being how it was? How can people trust one another knowing that they could turn on each other at any moment? There will be no peace after this, only hatred and hatred leads to loneliness just as everything does. Yes... You all think I'm mad, you call me a coward and call me scared. In the end, I shall be at peace while you all will be tortured by hopelessness.

'We can struggle, we can fight, but in the end loneliness is all we have. You shall see, you shall all see. Loneliness is all that we have waiting for us.' Izumi stood, removing her tied hair from their confines and letting it sweep over her face. 'This is no doubt the same hotel that we were at when we were captured years ago. We were just too stupid to consider the idea that Akira remained here. So, shall we go then?'

Izumi lead the way forward, her body returning to normal while the three behind her became the ones to be filled with fear.

*

The hotel was surprisingly busy and though the lobby was filled, people didn't approach the group as they passed through and entered the elevator.

'Izumi is right...' Eiko stated. 'This is a trap.'

'That doesn't matter.' Yamato continued to have his arms folded. 'I'll stop Yamato today with my own hands.'

'I'm looking forward to finally being able to sleep properly.'

All eyes turned to Izumi. 'What? Did I say something strange?'

'N-No...' Junichi looked at Eiko and Yamato. 'You think we can do this?'

'Of course I do!' Izumi appeared irritated. 'Everything is riding on this but, we have Yamato. You're not just filled with the abilities of the Reapers of Justice but you're filled with everyone's hopes and desires for the end of to their pain and suffering. Nothing can stop this power.' _There is no hope for us. Damn fools._ Izumi thought.

The elevator doors opened once again to the penthouse and dread filled the three who had been in the room once already as they felt like they were re-living a nightmare. The last time Yamato, Junichi and Izumi had left the luxurious room they left believing that they were going to die.

'Look at this place! It's so fancy!' Eiko exclaimed.

'Eiko, Is this really the time?'

'Sorry Izumi, I can't help it. I talk when I'm nervous.'

Yamamoto Akira was found dressed in a suit on the chair that Junichi, Izumi and Yamato had sat on during their first encounter, with a glass of champaign bubbling lightly in his hand, seeming as if he was expecting the group to arrive. Junichi, Izumi, Yamato and Eiko wondered to him and Izumi noted the bitter look on his face – clearly still dwelling on their meeting in the Reaper's Headquarters which had been a major set-back in his plans.

From the elevators, thirteen Keys appeared to block the exit. Whatever happened in the penthouse would mark the end of a long struggle for not only the four teenagers but Akira who hadn't expected the resistance that he had faced.

'My doctor says I should avoid alcohol.' Started Akira, swirling the liquid around the sparkling glass. 'He says that at body is having trouble digesting it. But I said to myself, "Akira, today is a monumental day in your life. You should celebrate".' He set the glass down on the clear coffee table at his feet, struggling to stand but without any walking aid as pride had stopped him from having one.

'Yamato.' Akira outstretched his arms as if he wanted to embrace Yamato, placing his hands on his cheeks instead.

'Enough with your fake pleasantries, Akira.' Yamato spat.

Akira took a step back. 'I have thirteen of my strongest soldiers here to protect me,' with his words the Keys drew in closer, 'if you want my life, you will have to fight to claim it.'

_'The time in nearing Izumi.'_ A demonic voice called in Izumi's mind. _'Soon, everything you hold dear will cease to exist!'_ The world was suddenly different, filled with monstrous Nightmares instead of Keys, frightening her with their grey, muscular forms. Their purple eyes glowed while their mouths oozed black, inky drool.

Izumi screamed, falling onto her knees, grasping her head again and startling everyone in the room except the Keys who were under Akira's influence.

'Izumi!' Eiko kneeled beside her best friend. 'What's going on!? Talk to me!'

'Can't you see them! The Nightmares! Kill them! KILL THEM!'

'Nightmares!' Everyone exclaimed at once.

'You brought an Eclipsed here! Is this your feeble plan!?' Akira spat.

'Shut it, old man!' Yamato took a step closer to Akira. 'She's not well, that's all.'

'Fool! She's going to turn into one of them any moment and the Nightmare will kill us all!'

'No she won't!' Eiko retorted.

Izumi's eyes became purple once again. 'I can't take the pain! I'm going to explode!'

'You all had better explain what is going on here or else I'll have you killed on the spot! This has gone beyond entertaining!' Akira back away more.

'I tried to tell you, Junichi!' Izumi exasperated, physically looking like she was in pain. 'The blood of Demons runs through my veins! I can't control it!' She exasperated

'Impossible! IMPOSSIBLE!'

Junichi's head whipped towards Akira. 'You know something don't you!' He grabbed Akira by the collar of his blazer. 'You better fix her or else!' He aimed Akira towards the glass serving as both a wall and a window. His action prompted the Keys into action, grabbing the four and pulling them away in four separate directions.

The penthouse was now very tense.

'There will be order!' Demanded Akira, sorting out his suit then stated venomously, 'The youth of today!' With arms behind his back he continued. 'I will tell you before you die. There is an old story, about how Demons once walked this world. The were towering monstrosities made from bones that could make even Nightmares cower in fear. Humans existed in the world but the Demons were the dominant species as so Humans were nothing but wildlife to them. However...'

'However?' Eiko asked, exercising patience.

'However, a Demon fell in love with a Human and sacrificed everything, even its grand stature and power to be with her. That Demon was considered a traitor amongst its clan and banished from its society. It is thought that Demons were the world's original Keys; they could change not only their own shapes but the shapes of other things they touched.

'Demons needed Humans as fuel just like Humans need animals. What they needed most however, was their blood.

'As Human numbers fell, Demons themselves became to die-off because you see, they needed blood to lubricate their large, machine-like bodies. The Demon who was banished was able to survive because having shed a large portion of its mass was able to live on the small amount of lubricate that its body produced. The Demon and his lover had a child, and that child would become the world's first Key that looked like a Human.'

Junichi laughed. 'C'mon old man, do you really expect us to believe this crap!? It's a story – just like you said.'

'Look at the girl's body! It is falling apart because Human and Demon cannot co-exist in one shell! She is proof that the story holds some form of truth. This Key described would be different to the other Keys possessing the power to control darkness itself. Tell me, girl, is there any truth in that?'

Izumi was silent for a while before admitting, 'I have visions of Demons... Their blood in my veins lets me access power from the Nightmares' dimension. It's...' She began to quietly cry, 'It's driving me mad. The darkness is too great.'

Akira chuckled. 'Straight from the horse's mouth. The story says that Keys born with this power had a mutation that made their bodies produce blood at an accelerated rate, and if the Key was female it would store in their breasts so that she could be used by the Demon's themselves as–'

'Their mother...' Junichi muttered. 'That's what you said wasn't it, Izumi? Your body was preparing you to be the Mother of Demons?' He then looked away guiltily. 'And I didn't believe you.'

'It's alright.' Izumi smiled weakly.

'Realizing that they way for Demon's to survive was to become Human in stature, they too shed their mass so that the blood became more plentiful in comparison.' Akira continued. 'The Demons tried to create more Keys with the power over darkness who could provide them with an endless supply of blood for them to use. What they didn't realize was that a Key with the power over the "Xero Xone" was a mutation amongst Keys – a very, very rare individual. All the Demons ended up doing was creating more and more Keys and these Keys would later on stand behind the user of the Xero Xone and that Key would send the Demons into another dimension.'

'Izumi...' Eiko uttered.

'You're going to kill us now, aren't you? Izumi was staring through the floor. 'It's okay. Even if we beat you, the world is going to end anyway.' Her face contorted as the pain in her head returned. 'Do you want to know what the Demons tell me? They tell me that in time they shall come back to reap their revenge! They will kill us all!'

'Enough of this bullshit! Yamato seized the opportunity, breaking free of his captor to throw Akira onto the ground. Just as quickly he dragged him onto his feet, using his Advanced Strength to keep Akira's arms pinned to his back and in his possession.

'You did it Yamato!' Junichi declared excitedly.

With eyes moving to each of the Keys outnumbering them. Yamato strode to the window. 'I'd tell you to look at what you've done but you won't see it. You're too blinded by your ego and ambition.'

'Isn't it beautiful? A perfect, efficient society. All I need is your immortality and I can rule Japan forever.'

'That's not going to happen. You're going to rot in hell!' He pulled Akira away from the window, charging his throw but then Yamato instead let go, pushing Akira further into the room.

'YAMATO! What are you doing!?' Eiko's eyes were wide with shock. 'You had him!'

'Yamato! What the hell!' Junichi retorted.

'Shit! He has us!' Yamato didn't move nor look at his friends.

'What?' Eiko was confused but then she lost control of her body, stepping out of the Key's grip to then jump forward and begin to dance like a ballerina. 'What!? No! Somebody stop him!'

Yamato glared out of the pristine window with anger but couldn't move beyond shifting the muscles in his face.

_No..._ Izumi closed her eyes in fear. _It's happening! Everything is going wrong!_

'Izumi!?' Eiko called out but Izumi's eyes stayed closed, lost in her own world.

'Junichi!'

Junichi didn't move either.

Nothing could stop Akira as he played with his new toy. 'You see, Yamato,' He turned Yamato so that he could face him. 'You're body may be strong but your mind is still helpless. Your mind is unprotected and vulnerable to my Mind-Control.'

'But there's something you don't know, Akira!' Junichi declared.

Akira went to face the boy disrespecting him but when he did he was met with a fist to his face. Elderly and weak, Akira collapsed onto his hands and knees, dazed enough to stop Eiko's dancing but not dazed enough to break his mind-control completely. 'How... How...' He couldn't get the words out of his mouth.

Junichi stepped up to Akira, placing a foot on his back with a grin of satisfaction stretching his face. 'I discovered after our meeting in this room that I couldn't feel your presence like Izumi and Yamato could and when Yamato said that you had us I knew you didn't have me.'

'Impossible!' He spat.

'Believe it!' He picked Akira up, bringing him one again to the window but was forced to let him go when Yamato pulled him away threw him instead against glass. Junichi rolled along the glass just in time to dodge Yamato's punch that cracked the window.

'You forget about my new puppet! Attack your friend, Yamato!'

'NOOOOO!' Yamato howled as he brought a heavy fist into Junichi's stomach, bringing him onto his knees. He then plucked Junichi up but was greeted with a punch to the skull that didn't have any effect on him.

'Sorry, Yamato!'

'Don't worry about me Junichi! Keep going!'

Junichi delivered a jab to the stomach followed by a palm to the face then a punch that sent Yamato spinning on the spot.'

'You can beat up your friend as much as you want but he will never get tired!' Akira commented.

Yamato reached behind him to wrap his arm around Yamato's neck, he used a manoeuvre to flip him over and slammed him into the ground.

'You're right...' Junichi sluggishly stood, holding his bottom set of ribs that he knew had cracked. Blood was leaking from the corner of his mouth but he sat it out completely. 'I'll have to fight the puppeteer instead!' Raising a fist, Junichi went to charge at Akira but his wrist was caught by Yamato who turned Junichi so they faced each other square-on, raised a leg then stomped him in the torso with such force that Junichi was lifted off his feet and flew through the already cracked window.

The sound of smashing glass brought Izumi out of her mind where she saw her boyfriend fly out of the window, shards of glass protruding out of his skin. She saw the shock on Junichi's face, the realisation that he was about to die, a hand outstretched while his eyes locked into hers.

She watched Junichi disappeared from her sight, watched as the person she held dearest to her heart plummeted to his death. _'Is there anything left?' Her_ own voice rang in her head.

'What do you mean is there anything left?' Junichi had asked.

The first year of their struggle was coming to the end and after an intense battle they sat amongst devastation, the building they were in collapsed. Corpses surrounded them and with the light from the full moon above, there was no escaping the horror, even at night.

'All this time fighting, a long, downhill battle and in all this time I haven't seen my mother or father. Neither have you. It's been too dangerous and too risky. But are they still alive?'

'Mother... Father... I think about them everyday and I wish I knew. I want to call them, Izumi but... But I scared. I'm scared that somehow Akira will get to them or use them against me. Us.

'I'm scared that they've already been taken by Akira. And that we will never be able to get them back.' Izumi looked away from Junichi so that he couldn't see the tears in her eyes.

'We can't afford to think like that, Izumi. If we having nothing to fight for then... It's all over.'

'You can't really think that, Junichi?'

Junichi held Izumi's hand tighter. 'I don't know. But, you're by my side. Right now you're the person I have to fight for. _'_

_I have nothing to live for now!_ Izumi thought angrily.

'Just like you feared, the world you know will come to an end.'

Junichi! Junichi is gone! I'm losing him! He is my world and I'm losing him!

'Stop fighting the inevitable Izumi!'

I can't!

'Accept your fate!'

I won't! WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME HOW TO LIVE MY LIFE!?

'I am you Izumi... I am the dark thoughts that you didn't want to accept that have thrived because of the Xero Xone. But you know this already. You also know that the feelings that you wanted to hide were the feelings you truly valued. You don't need the power of darkness to tell you what you already knew in your heart, that your struggles were all for nothing. Your struggle against this power is merely a struggle to ignore how you really feel. Why are you hurting yourself? Are you a masochist?'

I don't like this! How can you call me a masochist!?

'Then let go! Let go! Izumi!'

Izumi felt a cocktail of feelings and sensations: warmth and cold, her heart pounding, clawing on her skin, icy water splashed on her, fire exploding from within her, loss, hatred, sadness, anger, confusion, fatigue, wonder, fear, anxiety, ecstasy, lust, joy.

Peace.

She decided to let go and by ultimately accepting the darkness in her heart, Izumi let the power of the Xero Xone consume her and let it go of all her struggles.

Shibuya Grand Hotel disappeared in a column of black energy that ripped the very fabric of the world; showing outer space inside the magnificent energy, distorting reality as cars lifted themselves from the ground to float up and disappear in storm clouds that spawned from nothingness.

The column of energy spread out, absorbing everything it touched, growing faster the more it ate, claiming more lives, destroying more buildings. Because the energy made no sound there was nothing to warn the people as the black energy spread and destroyed all that it touched.

There was no escaping the destruction.

Kioshi was thrown back into reality when something dropped heavily onto the hood of Junichi's car. It punched through the windscreen and grabbing Kioshi, tear him out the car then threw him out onto the street.

Kioshi smashed into the back window of a taxi, pain pinching at all the nerves in his body and was panicking because without being in his empowered form, his eyes though healed were useless.

The figure back-flipped off Junichi's car onto the roof of another car, looking down at Kioshi embedded into the taxi three cars down. Kioshi's eyes closed then reopened in their empowered state, the world returning to him in a purple tint. He felt the power of the Xero Xone blossom within, eliminating all pain and allowed him to remove himself from the broken glass and dented metal, standing on the roof of taxi.

Opposite him stood a hooded and armoured costume with a mechanical helmet that had an animated face that was scowling at Kioshi. The eyes were like empty sockets on a skull but with tiny red dots in the center, giving it a menacing appearance.

Unlike Ayumi, this man is a physical threat who would no doubt over-power and kill me.

What should I do!?

DESPERATION

The man pounced; jumping unnaturally high with the intention seeming to crash into Kioshi but, instead he front-flipped, extending a leg in an attempt to land a hard, flying kick.

Kioshi played along with his instincts; throwing his hands forward but looking away nervously. As the figure descended a black hole appeared an inch from Kioshi's palms, swallowing the man who had no way of stopping himself, closing when the figure had disappeared completely. Kioshi opened his eyes to see his foe gone and better yet he had defeated him without having to fight.

Just like that he had won.

Around him car horns blared, condemning Kioshi for disrupting their mundane routine, but but before he could step down from the crumpled car the choice was made for him as a hard kick threw him onto the roof of the car in front of him.

Kioshi spent a fraction of a second laying down before he flipped himself onto his feet with an agility he didn't know he possessed, jumping off the car to kick the man who had returned and was standing where Kioshi had moments ago. The costumed man caught the kick and Kioshi did he best to keep his body ridged so that he wouldn't hang upside down and be at his mercy.

The next thing he knew, Kioshi was flying through a store window, tumbling backwards but quickly managed to stop himself by using the motion to flip onto his feet, sliding to a stop on his fingers and toes. He found himself in the middle of a clothing store; rows of drab-looking clothing hung on racks on either side of him and creating a clustered arena to fight in. _There has to be some way of escaping! I can't die here!_

The man calmly entered the store and still in a runner's pose Kioshi pushed against the floor, flying once again at him but this time with a fist that was stopped easily. That was part of Kioshi's plan however as he threw all of his weight behind his knee, smashing it into the man's stomach.

He didn't flinch however.

Kioshi wiped the surprise from his face quickly, snatching his wrist out of his opponent's grasp, doubling back then jumping forward to deliver a volley of underarm jabs to the torso, not intending to quit until the man at least took a step back; _You've wounded the body now just keep working it until he drops!_

However, seemingly impervious to pain, the figure didn't react to Kioshi's attacks and Kioshi soon realised that his efforts weren't working and so backed off, lowering his arms, uncertainty clear on his face. 'Damn it...' While the figure waited for him, Kioshi decided to eye his opponent to find a weak spot.

His opponent was dressed in matte-grey armour over black fabric. The only fabric visible fabric were a hood and an open waist-cloth falling just above his knees. Unlike his upper body however, his legs was less armoured, instead wearing tough-looking, textured, black trousers though his knees and legs past that point was covered by the same strong armour that covered his upper body and arms. Kioshi eyed the complex, grey, mechanical helmet that made him look like he had a robot's head.

Looking at how hard the armour was, Kioshi was surprised that he didn't feel any pain on his hands from his attacks. _But his legs legs seem vulnerable so I should aim there._

'I've been watching you.' The man announced in a rough voice, bringing Kioshi out of his thoughts.

'Oh yeah?' Kioshi responded, remaining cautious.

'You have disturbed the order set here with your actions and so I must kill you for that order to remain.

'The order here need to be disturbed. You can't see the evil at work here.'

'It is a necessary evil – something that you fail to see. You fight for change before taking the time to understand that which you want to change. Now, give up your plans or I'll have to put you down.' The figure was in front of Kioshi before he could even blink, head-butting him to the ground. Kioshi sprung onto his feet as he landed, placing a hand on his bleeding forehead and shaking his head so that the world would steady itself. It was in the midst of his pain did he notice that his nose was still broken from his encounter inside his own head and he was missing a few teeth along the left side of his mouth.

The man spun round and kicked Kioshi on the side of the head, sending him spinning in a full circle, followed by a powerful jab to the stomach that not only winded him but sent blood splattering onto the face of the silver helmet. With his enhanced strength the man raised Kioshi into the air, fist still planted in his stomach, flipping him over his head to slam him on the ground.

Kioshi was fast to spring onto his feet but was struck in the stomach by his opponent's knee even faster. However, placing his hands on the man's still raised leg, Kioshi swung over to kick him on the side of the head. Much to his dismay, the force wasn't even enough to sway the seemingly invincible man who went to punch Kioshi but missed as he cartwheeled off his leg.

Kioshi was huffing and he dared not to touch his stomach, fearing that major damaged had been done to his organs. Blood drooling from both corners of him mouth proved him right. 'I can't die here!' He raised a hand, opening a black hole that this time deflected the man's attacking hand rather than swallowing it, then brought it to his head, deflecting another punch, and the punch after that which was so hard that Kioshi slid backwards, tripping over the counter.

When the man peered over, Kioshi had vanished.

Out of a black hole, Kioshi jumped out above the man, stitching his hands together to make a ball that fell onto the back of the helmeted skull, slamming into the wooden counter to crack it. Kioshi landed on the man's back but jumped off when he straightened and swiped in the same motion.

Instead of hitting ground Kioshi sank into another black hole that quickly closed itself, jumping out beside the man with an extended fist that when landing on the side of the man's head knocked him off his feet.

The man rolled on his shoulder, landing in a crouched position then produced a pistol from under his waist cloth, firing shots at Kioshi who deflected all of them with his black holes. Shouting out with determination, Kioshi threw the hole like a shuriken, curving to slice the pistol at the barrel.
From his back the man withdrew a shortsword pouncing once again.

'This is getting ridiculous!' Kioshi exclaimed, meeting the man halfway with his longsword, made from the same substance as his black holes. He held his weapon so that the blade ran down the length of his arm as opposed to normally.

The man's superior strength was weighing Kioshi down but he managed to retreat by doubling back only to spring forward, using his momentum to get an advantage which ultimately had no effect. The two clashed again, raising their swords simultaneously only to clash once again.

Kioshi was losing, the man's strength was too much for him to bare and it was only a matter of time before he was being forced towards the ground. Within moments he was now hanging backwards almost parallel to the floor, a foot propped firmly behind him to keep his balance but even this was proving to give little aid as he could feel his knees shake as his legs grew close to folding under him.

A third weapon entered the battle, resting on top of the man's own

Both Kioshi and the man turned to see a robed figure with its hood up and shadowing his or her features and staring at the man. 'Don't worry Kioshi, I've got your back.' She said, quickly lowering her sheathed sword, spinning on the spot to smash it into the man's face, knocking him off his feet.

With the weight gone, Kioshi fell backwards, exhausted, sitting in awe and shock, wondering who the mysterious woman was and how she had managed to so easily hurt the same person who gave him so much trouble.

The man was on his feet in seconds, swiping at the woman's head. She ducked and unsheathed her shortsword, meeting the man's own. However, her attack was a distraction as she flipped over to kick the man on the side of the head, hooking her foot around his neck to bring him down hard onto the ground.

Even with his helmet cracked, the man was persistent in continuing the fight. But the woman jumped back, holding out a hand then screaming. 'OPEN YOUR EYES!'

The man froze instantly as he attempted to throw a punch, hand level to his face.

'Look into my eyes,' she continued softly. 'Remember who you are. You're not someone's puppet, you are a person with his own mind, his own desires and dreams.'

Her words had an immediate effect as the man shook his head groggily while he began to lose his balance. 'What was I doing?' He said tiredly, holding his head. As if remembering, the man looked at Kioshi who was still sat on the ground. 'Tamashii, Kioshi...'

'Yamamoto Akira sent you,' Kioshi arose, 'didn't he?'

The man sighed, still holding her head forgetting who he was. 'Yes... He did. I would never willingly try to hurt you though.'

'Oh yeah?' Kioshi gently held his stomach. 'Why's that?'

'Because, I know your father.'

*

'Ten years... I haven't seen you in ten years.' Junichi began. 'Since the end of it all.'

'Yeah... And I can see that you've kept the eye-patch'

A hand raised to his eye-patch 'Yes, old wounds.'

'And this kid here is yours?' He looked at Kioshi but Kioshi didn't notice, blind once again.

'Yeah. A hard-headed kid.'

'Just like his father. Say, Kioshi, how old are you?'

Not bothering to up, Kioshi answered. 'Eighteen. I turn nineteen in November.'

'November... Wasn't that –'

'Izumi's birthday... Yes.'

'And how is she?'

'Take a guess.' Junichi said simply, looking away.

The sound of outside filled a silence that had formed between the three.

'You saw her right? You saw that something was wrong.' Junichi sighed, massaging the back of his neck wearily.

'So it got her in the end huh? The Xero Xone. Man, that sucks.'

Kioshi pursed his lips. _My mother had visions of the past in the same way that I am. My fears are coming true, I'm going mad just like her. It wasn't until she accepted the power of the Xero Xone completely that she completely lost it. And Shibuya was forever changed._ Kioshi's face hardened.

'What happened to you, Yamato? Where's Eiko?'

Yamato was silent for a short time but that short time felt very lengthy. Soon he stood to pace the small living room of Junichi's home, looking at their few possessions placed about as an excuse to delay an answer. 'Akira made me kick you out of that window. I heard Izumi scream and then my whole vision went black and my body felt like it was filled with electricity and was pulling me in a million directions. It was a horrible feeling, Junichi, I thought I was dying. But then, I woke up and I couldn't see – it was so dark but I could smell, and all I could smell was dirt. The street lights flickered on then, and around me I could see Shibuya but above me there wasn't a sky but a dark, rocky ceiling.'

'You were underground.' Kioshi exclaimed.

'Yes.' Yamato nodded. 'Though, I don't know how we got there.'

'It was my mother.' Said Kioshi, with his head lowered. 'I have the power of the Xero Xone too and have an idea of what it can do. I can open these black holes and sometimes they are miniature gateways into the Xero Xone itself. Anything can pass through and the reappear anywhere in the world.' Kioshi explained without giving eye-contact. 'The energy my mother released opened a gateway that transported Shibuya underground.'

'You have the same ability as Izumi?' Junichi asked.

Kioshi nodded.

'Don't tell me!' Junichi became noticeably tense. 'Don't tell me that the same thing that happened to Izumi is going to happen to you! I _can't_ lose anyone else – especially if that person is my son! My own flesh and blood! You're all that's left of my family and...' Junichi looked at the photo of Izumi placed on the television stand at the end of the room 'You're the only piece of her I have left.'

'Father...' Kioshi stopped, reconsidering.

'What is it Kioshi? If it's important, please tell me.'

_He sounds so desperate... I've never seen him like this before. I've only know the hard man who raised me and never the soft man who fought in vein for world that was lost. It must pain him to wake up everyday because in the end my mother was right; his struggles were all for nothing and loneliness was all that it gave him._ 'It's already happening, Father... You must have seen it in he car, when I spaced out...'

Junichi's fist slammed into the ground. 'NO!' He had forced his eyes closed in disbelief but opened them again so that he could continue the discussion. 'You're mother... You're mother said she had dreams about Demons. Do you have those?'

'No. But, I have episodes where I relive moments as her. That's all.'

Kioshi's words forced a reaction from both Junichi and Yamato. 'You've lived moments as Izumi?' Yamato asked, incredulous.

Kioshi nodded. 'It's getting harder to tell what's reality and what's not. The last memory I saw was the when Shibuya got transported underground. All that's left for me to see is...'

'Madness.' Junichi finished.

The room became quiet.

'If I don't die fighting Akira then I'm certain that my mind will be lost forever.'

'N-No, Kioshi...'

'Damn...' Yamato sat back down.

'I want to continue to fight, father. But, my thoughts and feelings are mixing with hers. And to begin with, they're already similar so its becoming harder to distinguish. Darkness is present in all our hearts and we can't pretend that they don't exist. The problem in my mother's case was that with the circumstances at the time, there was no bright side for her to look at, no hope. And so she fell into darkness. It was the only thing she felt sure of and could look with certainty into. It was the only thing she could confide in in the end, as it was the only thing to care to understand.'

'DAMN IT!' Junchi punched the floor, allowing himself to cry freely in front of his son and his best friend. 'I didn't know she hurt so much! I didn't understand! I kept saying I would protect her! But I didn't know what protecting her meant! They were just empty words! And now because of me she died! It wasn't the Xero Xone that killed her! It was me!'

Kioshi gasped silently. _I said the same thing about Hatsuo Seiya; that it was because of people like us that she died._

With a hand on Junichi's back, Yamato asked, 'What about you Kioshi? What do you feel? Do you feel any hope?'

Eager to hear an answer to the question Yamato posed, Junichi was able to silence himself, wiping away the tears and sitting up. 'Kioshi?'

Kioshi looked up at the ceiling. 'I don't know. All I can do is keep going and hope for the best. Isn't that what you did when you found yourself underground Yamato?'

Junichi looked at Yamato with interest.

'I suppose so... It was horrible living down there for the first few years but we all eased into it. There was no escape and no hope. Many of us down there we became Eclipsed. Eiko... became eclipsed...'

'Eiko? No...' Junichi shook his head.

There was a knock on the door and Kioshi remembered that the woman who had helped him was waiting outside. She had said that she needed to talk to Kioshi. Kioshi excused himself, letting his father and old friend catch up, leaving to get some answers.

*

'This is a surprise.'

Kioshi held up his hands. 'I'm grateful for your help but, just who are you?'

The woman lowered her hood, revealing herself to be in her early forties but still radiated youth and energy. She held a kind, motherly smile that somehow reminded Kioshi of his mother. 'My name is Otori Sayuri.

Kioshi scrutinised Sayuri carefully. She was wearing a costume that would have turned the head of everyone who had passed her if not for the fact that their minds weren't there own; a mix of robe and body armour much like Yamato's costume only more elegant. Clearly Sayuri didn't fit in with the rest of the world. 'Why did you help me? You're not like the rest of the Deprived. Did you fight Akira in the past?'

'No.' Sayuri looked away. 'I come from a different time. A time after that man Akira is no longer in power and Japan has been restored to its natural order.'

'The future?' Kioshi raised an eyebrow.

'In a manner of speaking, yes. I came here with my daughter to give her a better life because where I am from no-where is safe – something you will discover in time.'

'If this future is so inevitable then what is the point in telling me? Why do I matter?' Kioshi folded his arms, still sceptical, but winced as his body ached.

'It doesn't matter. The reason I'm here is that I felt your energy and and so came to your aid. You see, I am also a user of the Xero Xone.'

This caught Kioshi's attention. 'You are?'

Sayuri nodded. 'I've never known anyone with this ability but its feel and energy is distinct and unmistakable. I just had to see who was using it. When I saw that you were trouble, I stepped in. You could use some work.'

'I only started using it today.' Kioshi admitted.

'Which is why I never felt it before. This world, it's during the time that Akira is still in power isn't it?'

Kioshi nodded.

'I see, so not even here is safe.'

'The reason why that man attacked me was because I plan on stopping Akira.'

Sayuri who had momentarily drifted off as she thought, quickly returned to Kioshi. 'You?'

'Yes.'

'So it's you. You're the one who beat Akira! Right, if you're going to stop him then I'll lend you my hand. I've been trying to track him down, he has my daughter. She's a Key.'

'Let's go inside and we can talk this through with my father.' Kioshi lead the way back to his home where he held the door open.

Sayuri bowed was about to enter but stopped. 'What is your name?'

'I'm Tamashii Kioshi.' Kioshi disappeared inside, leaving Sayuri at the door. 'Tamashii Kioshi?'

Sayuri was suddenly worried.

KEYS

The group were gathered in a board room in his father's company _ENERGY-PLEX_ where they had finished swapping information as to what they had learned from their separate adventures.

'And so judging from what we've gathered including recent events, my father's friend Yamato under the influence of Akira was the one who shot Mr Tetsuo.' Said Kioshi.

'Alright. What now?' Asked Kouji.

'We take the fight to him.'

'You all can fuck yourselves.' Said Hido, glaring across the room.

Ayumi glared with equal intensity.

Kouji slammed his fist down on the long table placed in the centre of the room. 'We don't need you anymore, so you can go back to your father and ruin more people's lives!'

'Kouji,' Kioshi bit his lip.

'He's only saying what all of us are thinking, Kioshi.' Hido claimed.

Kioshi, Kouji and Hido all exchanged mixed looks.

'I can't bare to be in the same room as her.' Then looking at Ayumi Kouji continued to say to Kioshi, 'She got in my head, manipulated my emotions. I don't know who I am anymore, Kioshi! I don't know what feelings are mine and which ones are inspired by her. I want to kill my brother! And I can't remember if that's how I feel or if she has done this to me! My brain won't let me figure it out!' He then began to mumble to himself. 'That can't be me can it?'

'I–' Ayumi began.

' _Don't_...' Interrupted Hido, 'say anything... Just don't...' He shook his head disapprovingly. 'I can't – I _won't_ forgive you!' He announced poisonously. 'What you did to Miyako!' Hido stopped himself, pacing the boardroom only to dash at Ayumi.

Without thinking, Kioshi slid across the table placed in the centre of the room, the highly polished surface giving him plenty of speed and bumped into Hido as he met the edge,grab him and pinning him against the table.

The truth was that Kioshi as well couldn't bring himself to look at Ayumi and didn't want to acknowledge her either. However, he continued to feel his friendly nature try to undermine him; make him want to talk to her, befriend her. He as well as the others had seen the worst that she could offer but he was the only one who had an insight into what drove her to be the girl she was. All Ayumi wanted was redemption and Kioshi couldn't help but think that even though it was justified, the way they were treating her were the ways of the people in a society the group wanted to change.

'Get off me, Kioshi, or I'm going to kick your ass.'

'I can pin you down and you'll try kick my ass or I can let you go and you'll try to kick my ass.'

'You're siding with her! After what she did to Miyako! She made her gouge her eyes out with a fucking pencil! And you're siding with her!?'

'We need her! And I need you too! I can't do this alone!'

The door opened and Aki entered the room wearing her traditional sailor suit school uniform with a hard look in her eyes stopping after taking a few steps into the room where she looked from one person to another, eyes landing lastly on Kouji after he had closed the door and returned to where he was last standing.

'Aki?' Kioshi asked.

'Who else do you think?' She said, folding her arms under her breasts.

'Easy Aki.' Kouji explained. 'Kioshi is... Well...'

Hido threw Kioshi off, fuming. He extended a hand, helping Kioshi up.

Kioshi placed a hand on Hido's shoulder as he passed, feeling his way with his feet to Aki.

'What are you doing?' She raised an eyebrow, holding out her arms to stop Kioshi who was on the verge of bumping into her.

'He can't see, Aki.' Ayumi said bluntly, arms too folded but had enough courage to look Aki in the eyes. 'Kioshi and I fought and... I took his eyes. That's all there is to it.' She looked away, finding an interest in her shoes.'

'You can say that so causally and still have the nerve to sit here. Bastard.' Kouji spat.

'Hey!' Ayumi wheeled around to face him. 'Don't go acting as if your his friend! We both know that you're not!'

'I'm friends with anyone who I have respect for! If Kioshi can still go through with all this and even be in the same room as you after what you did then he has my respect. And I can at least stand here.'

Meanwhile Aki was stunned as she looked Kioshi up and down. 'She's lying right? Kioshi?' She placed a hand gingerly on his face.

'It turns out that I'm a Key and my ability healed my eyes see,' Kioshi showed Aki his peculiar, grey-out eyes. 'When I use my ability I can see but when I'm not I'm blind.'

'Her heart racing, Aki began to exhale audibly. 'How can you bare to be in the same room as her?' Her hand grew tense on Kioshi's cheek as an animalistic anger bloomed within her. 'How can you resist the urge to _kill_ her!?'

'Aki, that's not the way.' Kioshi assured her.

Her hand dragged across his cheek, leaving behind a trail of blood in their wake. Kioshi flinched and the pain lit him up, activating his ability so that Kioshi stared at her with glowing, purple eyes. 'You're wrong Kioshi, it is the way.' She smiled. 'You know it and you feel it just as I do.

'Aki, I know what's wrong with you, you have the same power as me, the power over the Xero Xone.'

'Oh? So right now you feel the same thing that I feel? The undeniable urge to kill?' Aki smiled. 'Just looking at her, Kioshi! It makes my heart race! My blood feel like its on ecstasy!' She said seductively. Her eyes too were changing colour except they were turning black while her pupils were red.'

'It's not the Xero Xone...' Kioshi grabbed Aki's shoulders in a panic. 'Aki! Snap out of it! Don't surrender to the darkness in your heart! Don't let it control you!'

'Look at you being all high and mighty when you are just as miserable as I am. Darkness is all I have.'

'You're wrong! When all this started I was sad. I was lonely and miserable. I had no friends and nothing to look forward too. When I decided that I wanted to fight against society, I didn't know what I was doing, I wasn't sure of myself and I got people hurt. However, after experiencing the things I did, I've decided that I could let these things knock me down; I could cry and give in to the darkness in my heart or I could continue to fight and carve my own future even when things look uncertain.

'In the end I might not have any friends and I might die but at least if I die I'll die fighting for something important and for something I believed in. That's better than giving up and dying with no-one knowing what you died for.'

'Oh Kioshi,' Aki stroked Kioshi's unharmed cheek. 'You've always been better than us. Your heart is warm and kind and has the strength to ward off the darkness. I'm not strong and I don't want to be. I've been through too much. I've felt too much and this hatred is easier to live with than it is living fighting against. Does that make me a coward?'

Tearfully, Kioshi shook his head. 'No... To accept your feelings makes you strong. To know who you are makes you strong.'

Aki nodded, tears forming in her now normal eyes. 'Hatred and pain is all I know, all I understand. I will find my own answers and perhaps one day you shall see me again.'

'Aki, you don't have to leave. Please, don't.'

'I want you to come with me. But you have to stay here for the sake of what you've started. I'm going to look for my family; my mother and my sister. Perhaps they will ease the pain in my heart. She walked away though, each step she took, winding Kioshi. Aki froze in the doorway, turning her head slightly almost to look over her shoulder. 'Goodbye Kioshi.'

And just like that Aki was out of Kioshi's life.

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER

When she thought about it, Ayumi realised that there was little difference between Shibuya above ground and the Shibuya lost underground as both were dark places somehow secluded from the rest of the world either literally or figuratively.

Why did I decide to take this mission? What do I hope to accomplish by returning here?

She had volunteered to venture underground to scout the area with Yamato, Junichi and a boy they recruited who liked to be called Radar because he had the ability to see through wall and could determine how many people were around him and where they were.

Underground Shibuya's wonder was obscured by the lack of light – only given out by the lamp posts lining the streets as one would expect. To this day no-one knew how the lights had remained on for all of these years but while the lights on the stores had remained off.

On many of the roads there were cars that hadn't been used in years. Seeing them empty was nothing new to Ayumi however, she had gotten a glimpse of what the streets should have looked like when she was teleported above ground by Yamato, occupied by people and in motion.

Teleporting had felt like her body had filled with electricity before discharging through her pores. It didn't hurt but it was a very uncomfortable sensation. The boy named Radar and the man she didn't know seemed to feel the same thing as the two of them shivered when they took their first few steps just like she did.

Ayumi had forgotten to ask Kioshi who this man was who had chosen to accompany them; a man perhaps in his late thirties with dark-brown hair and skin that reminded her or aged leather – a face that showed that it had experienced a lot within a short time. Then there was the eye-patch _Fucking pirate_.

Junichi caught Ayumi staring at him which startled her, causing her quickly throw her head in another direction.

Meanwhile, Radar was scanning the area.

'Do you know where we are?' Junichi, stopped by Yamato, resting the assault rifle he had kept and maintained since he was a teenager on his shoulder.

'Yeah. We're not far from my home. Finally I can get this helmet fixed.' He turned to look at Junichi. Yamato could still see however, walking around with the helmet was like driving around in a car that had crashed. 'It's funny, that's twice in a lifetime that my face gets messed up right?' Yamato's voice still projected itself clearly enough.

Junichi couldn't help but laugh. 'We should get off the street, stick to the allies. We don't know what's going on down here.

'Does this scenario feel familiar to you?'

'Yeah... Only, you're full conscious.'

Yamato thought how Junichi and Izumi had carried him and tried their best to bring him to Eiko. _Izumi was a different woman then. The woman she was before Akira's takeover aided her descent into madness sure was something._ 'Damn...'

'What is it?' Junichi asked.

'Izumi, she was a good girl wasn't she?'

Junichi lowered his rifle, looking down at the ground. 'Yeah. I often wonder what my life would have been like if were alive and the same woman she was when I fell in love with her; head-strong, passionate, affectionate. If it weren't for all this crap then the Xero Xone wouldn't have activated and she'd still be with me. It didn't just taint her mind, Yamato,' Junichi looked at his best friend, 'it poisoned her body. That power broke her body down until her hair started to break, her nails fell off and her skin couldn't keep itself together.'

'That kind of power, it's not meant for Humans.'

'No, and now my son has it.'

They began to walk.

Yamato could help but remember that it had only been a few short weeks ago that Akira had ordered himself and Ayumi to go to the surface and purge the streets of any trace of rebellion. He had murdered an aggressor; a school teacher and many others like him but he soon caught on to an even greater target; a boy named Kioshi who turned out was the son of his old friend. He had somehow bested Ayumi and so the task of killing Kioshi fell to him. _Akira once again got inside my head. Just like when we went to stop him all those years ago._

The man who was invincible and immortal suddenly felt very vulnerable.

The four were at the edge of the area where the buildings were fused with the rock. In some cased the alleys were limited so at times they had no choice but to risk themselves by going out into the open.

'This is what Zone One should look like?' Radar wondered. 'It's... Weird. So much detail.'

'Akira must have created the first black towers at the sight of this area's disappearance. Or at least, got a Key to do the work. From there he or she changed the architecture throughout all of Japan to match it.' Junichi said.

'I never understood all of the black.' Radar added.

'It's a demoralising tactic. A precaution. Take the windows for example, to be able to look outside may inspire hope which is something my father doesn't want.' Said Ayumi.

'Yes, your father.' Junichi kept up his pace alongside Yamato.

Ayumi kept the remark in mind.

'And where are all the people?' Radar looked around.

'I thought that's why I brought you along.' Yamato pointed out.

'You did, and I already scanned the area when we arrived.'

'I know that Eclipsed are invisible to sensory-based abilities.' Said Ayumi.

'Is that so?' Yamato looked over his shoulder.

'They're the one... sub-species of Human that aren't affected by any form of mind-control because their mind is linked to the Nightmares and Nightmares can't be controlled by Humans.'

'And myself. That's why you can't get in my head. Right, Yamamoto?'

Ayumi paused so did Junichi who turned to look down at her, not shifting his weapon from his shoulder. 'Who said I want to get inside you head?'

'Cut the bullshit, girl.'

'Who are you?' She asked, narrowing her eyes with suspicion. The bad feeling she was having about Junichi was becoming ever greater.

'I am the father to the boy whose eyes you stole.'

Ayumi lowered her head will maintaining eye-contact, taking a slow step backwards.

'And I am also the man who nearly killed your father before you were even born.' Junichi continued. 'It seems like all Yamamoto's are good for are ruining people's lives.' He took a step forward. 'Tell me, Yamamoto, do you still feel his blood on his hands? His eyes broken up in your hands? Do you remember his screams?'

'You... You came here to... Kill me?'

Junichi swiftly brought his rifle down from his shoulder, pointing it between Ayumi's eyes. 'Because of you my girlfriend is dead! Who am I to say that we're married!? That dream never came true! Because of you my son has suffered! I don't trust you Yamamoto, even if my son does. If you betray us I won't hesitate to put a bullet in your skull.'

'Noted...' Ayumi stated, eyeing the weapon fearlessly. _That look in his eyes, that's three people who have given me that look._ A drop of sweat slid down her right temple. _My father, Aki and now this man... Scary._

Junichi brought the weapon over his shoulder again.

'I know you two have issues and all but I didn't get to finish what I was saying.' Radar said.

With one last look that gave Ayumi goosebumps, Junichi walked on ahead with Yamato continuing to lead the way. 'I get it, you look at her and you can't help but think about Izumi and what her father has done. It's easy to kill someone with the blood of who you hate flowing through their veins. But, remember that she's not your enemy – your son's if he so chooses it, but not yours.' Yamato whispered.

Junichi scowled. 'I hate logic.' He grumbled.

'You don't seem to have matured much, Junichi.' Yamato joked.

'What can I say? You bring out the worst in me. Still, looking back at how I raised Kioshi, I took out my frustrations on him and raised him wrongly. Izumi would be ashamed.'

'I'm surprised that the two of you even conceived to be honest.'

Junichi chuckled. 'What can I say? She always wanted a child. During the periods when she was lucid, Kioshi always seemed to make her feel like the bad things going on in her head weren't real. Almost like salvation.'

'S-Sorry to interrupt but I think this is important!' Radar fought to get himself heard. 'As I was saying, I already scanned the area – the whole area and I could only find two, maybe three signs of life.'

Yamato was now the one to stop, wheeling around to face Radar. 'Three? When I left there were hundreds of people left!' He took a step almost in a threatening manner. 'That must mean...' He looked away, staring ahead dreamily and saying to himself, 'That must mean that more of the population have grown Eclipsed.'

'Whoa there!' Junichi grabbed Yamato by the shoulder and turned him. 'There are Eclipsed down here? More than just Eiko?'

'Akira is old. His power isn't what it once was. He sealed himself away at the Shibuya Grand Hotel and has diverted all of his power to above ground. One or two people might have turned every now and then but... I don't understand.'

'I was in charge of overseeing the people down here.' Ayumi claimed.

Yamato looked at Ayumi. 'You?'

'Like you said, my father is old. He's grown weak. When my skill as a Key reached the level that it is at now, my father entrusted me to keep everyone down here sedated – as many as I could. Those who I couldn't reach turned into Eclipse. When he sent us above ground there was no-one left to protect these people.'

'Us...' Yamato muttered.

'Yamato, this isn't the time to start doubting yourself!' Junichi interrupted. 'We have a large chunk of Shibuya who are Eclipsed. We are dangerously outnumbered. We need to find who ever is still Human and get the hell out of here!'

'What about the plan!?' Radar, threw his arms out in disbelief.

'The _plan_ , kid, was to come down here, assess the situation and get Yamamoto's helmet fixed. We knew beforehand that Akira is in the Shinjuku Grand Hotel but now we know that this place is infested with monsters!' Looking back at Yamato, 'Yamato, we _have_ to go. Now!'

*

They could come from anywhere.

Wherever there was shadows there would be Eclipsed and their Nightmare companions.

Nowhere was safe.

Anywhere the four turned they faced the threat of an ambush. The whole world was their enemy and with the entire area being underground, the places for danger to emerge was nearly infinite.

Yamato was aware of this when he burst into his home, tearing the door from its hinges so that the light from the street could flood in and reduce the "Emergence Zones" in the room. Orange light flooded in, illuminating everything but the far corners of the small narrow corridor but these corners would be too small for Nightmare that emerge from the darkness to be a threat.

'Akira may already know that we're here.' Said Junichi as he followed Yamato to the end of the corridor.

'I know. It's why I didn't risk coming back here sooner, in case I got possessed again.' With a hard kick he brought the wall down which turned out to be a door with stairs leading down to the basement.

'Don't count on it.' Ayumi said as she followed Yamato and Junichi down a long set of wooden steps. 'Remember, I said I was the one overseeing this area.'

'But Akira probably had eyes on you.' Reminded Radar, at the back of the group.

'That doesn't mean he can do anything about it. Father is powerless to stop our movements down here. He's stretched to his limit and so anyone he chooses to control down here is one less person he controls up there. He won't risk undoing all of his hard work to create a monopolised world. The only thing we have to worry about are the Nightmares.'

'Say, if Zone One – or, Shibuya is down here then how can there be people up there?'

'Teleportation.' Yamato replied thoughtlessly.

'I've never seen a Nightmare. What do they look like?' Asked Radar as the four touched down on the basement floor.

'They're the worst things you'll ever see.' Was all Ayumi said as the four separated.

The basement was large and surprisingly, was lit up unlike the other buildings with pits of metal and tools scattered all over the floor. A lot of the metal had already been bit into by tools such as the blowtorch perched on a wooden table. In one corner were engines of several car parts stacked on top of each other, oozing oil from their wounds and in another corner were a series of contraptions that couldn't be identified. Junichi picked up a freshly carved, wooden ball with mechanical legs and other workings spilling out of it – an unfinished project.

At the foot of the steps was another table which Radar went to examine. On it was a series of complex-looking objects laid out with a series of scrap metal, nuts and bolts filling the space between them. When completed and assembled Radar thought it would make something very cool. He found a draw spanning the width of the table, opened it and found something both incomplete and marvellous.

Radar picked it up with both hands. It was heavy. 'Is this a...' Still, he examined it as best as he could, ignoring a tugging at the back of his skull that was telling him that someone was approaching, only realizing that the tug was there when the person was on top of him.'Hey, someone's h–'

Then everything went black.

Ayumi, Junichi and Yamato all turned around, quickly shifting into a fighting pose, eyeing a woman with light-brown dreadlocks in a sleeveless jump suit covered in all sorts of tools from more engineering equipment to rope tied around her waist. In her hand was an aluminium baseball bat.

At the sight of the three she relaxed, dropping the bat that bounced gently across the ground, rolling into a corner. 'Holy shit.' She breathed, placing a hand on her chest. 'Don't do that father.'

'Your daughter?' Junichi asked, looking at Yamato.

'Yeah.'

'It's about time you got here! I mean there are Nightmares _everywhere_! I thought they had broken in here!'

'My fault.' Yamato held his hands up apologetically.

'And you let this idiot mess around with my arm?' Her eyes narrowed. 'It's not a toy, moron!' She directed at an unconscious and bleeding Radar, jabbing him in the side harder than she needed to.

Ayumi and Junichi both noticed then that Rika was missing her right arm.

'Never mind that, Rika. We need to leave.' Yamato said, walking up to pick Radar up as he began to wake up, placing a hand on the wound so he could heal it. 'Pack your things.'

'Hold on! We're not leaving mother!'

'We have no choice! We're coming back but we can't bring her with us right now. We haven't prepared.'

' _No_! NO!' Rika shook her head, walking to the middle of the room where she spun round to face her father. ' _You_ can leave!' She pointed accusingly. ' _I'm_ staying here! Someone has to look after her!'

'I know it's not my place, Rika, but your mother is Eclipsed. She's safe around her own kind.' Junchi pointed out.

'Do I know you!?' Rika exclaimed, facing Junichi.

'Well, no. But, I'm an old friend of your father's.'

'That's a no then? So shut the _fuck_ up.' She prodded him hard in the chest.

Junchi's eyes widened but he held his hands up in defeat, turning around to examine more of the room's contents.

'There's no need to be so aggressive, Rika!' Argued Yamato.

'Oh yeah!? I can when some bastard I don't know if telling me what to do! And I can when you want to take me away from my mother!'

The two stared at each other for a great deal of time.

'Pfft. Your helmet's broken... I'll fix it but then you get the hell out of here. I'm not going with you.'

Yamato took his helmet off, revealing to everyone a man with a shaved head and no eyebrows with nearly transparent skin with grey veins slightly visible underneath. Dotted all over his scalp were small red ports that began to bleed. 'Be quick.'

'Whatever.' Rika took it from her before opening another door and heading into the next room.

'It's true, you're turning into an Eclipsed. Still, you're just as hideous as you were before. I thought you couldn't take the helmet off?' Asked Junichi when he stopped pretending to look at things.

'I can for a few minutes. It's nice to get some fresh air. There are two components that ward off the Nightmare trying to get out; the helmet and an external pacemaker.'

'Ah, gotcha. Your daughter's charming.' Junichi commented.

'She's been through stuff.' Yamato looked away.

'What kind of stuff?'

Rika re-entered the room, heavy hiking boots clapping hard against the concrete floor. 'When the world goes to shit then people's true nature comes out. The fuckers will do anything when they're desperate for sex.'

'I'm sorry.' Junichi bowed slightly.

Rika merely shrugged. 'Eh. I'm over it. On the plus side, I've got a nice collection of things now.'

'What kind of things?' Radar asked.

Rika grinned.

Radar's eyes widened, his hands flying to his crotch. 'Sorry for asking.'

'How does your helmet work? It looks painful.' Junichi asked.

'It works by altering the workings of the brain.' She handed Yamato a different helmet then placed her hand on her hip. 'Our body secretes a hormone from the brain and it's this hormone that allows our bodies to do what we do as Keys. It acts like a conductor for the world's energy to pass through our bodies and every person handles this energy differently which is why there are so many different abilities out there.' Rika pointed at her temple.

'The reason why some people can't become Keys is because their life energy – their _ki_ isn't strong enough. It can be raised but it's difficult. Often an event that causes the body to undergo an incredible amount of stress can be enough to cause a spike in ki. But that's another story.'

'Wait, so that's why Izumi started acting as she did when Akira took over.'

'It appears so.' Yamato nodded, putting his helmet on.

'Anyway, when a person becomes Eclipsed, that hormone becomes corrupted and it attacks the brain and the body – like a virus and another energy passes through the body instead of the world's own. This is why Eclipsed can communicate with Nightmares but normal Humans can't. I'm not sure what this energy is but it's definitely related to Nightmares.

'It must be the Xero Xone.' Said Yamato.

'Xero Xone?' Asked Rika.

'It's the Nightmare's world. It has it's own energy. My son can control it and he's still a Key.'

'Why haven't you told me about this sooner!?' Rika exclaimed, her scientific mind at work.

'You never talk to me about your work, Rika. How should I know if there's stuff you want to know.'

'Right-right...' She began to mumble to herself. 'Xero Xone energy mixes with the world's energy enabling a Key to control its power. If the balance isn't right it can destroy the body or even corrupt the mind, inducing madness.'

'Wait! What did you just say?' Junichi placed a hand on Rika's shoulder.

'What?'

'What you just said. Something about madness. I need to know, my girlfriend died because of this and my son might too!'

Rika began to pace, forgetting that danger might come at any time. 'So our bodies can handle the world's energy but what happens when a second source of energy is introduced? The two mix. This is what happens to a person with the Xero Xone I'm sure. There has to be a balance. Too much will upset the body and at least harm the brain on some level seeing as the brain secretes the hormone that let's us use this energy in the first place.'

'Madness... And who knows what the Xero Xone is. Perhaps it's what let's Kioshi experience life as Izumi – who also had the Xero Xone.'

'What happens if there's too much of the world's energy as opposed to Xero Xone energy?'

'I suppose the Key would have better control over the Xero Xone. That would mean raising ki to an extent that would allow people to qualify as Reapers. Maybe even beyond that.'

'Let me get this straight.' Ayumi cut in. 'The only difference between Keys and Reapers is that Reapers have more ki?'

'Yes. That's why you can have two people with the same sort of ability but one person's ability is at a higher Tier. Akira has such strong Mind-Control power because he has a lot of ki.'

'That makes sense.' Said Ayumi, leaving the conversation.

'OK... So what would happen if the Xero Xone entered the body of someone who isn't a Key?' Junichi asked.

'What would happen?' Rika place a hand to her mouth, pondering for sometime.

'Forget it, Rika, we need to get out of here. We've wasted enough time talking.' Yamato made to leave for the other room.

'I GOT IT!' Rika declared, snapping her fingers. 'This is the answer I've needed all along!'

'What is it?' Ayumi was curious.

'I've had a feeling for a while that the soul is an actual part of our bodies though it's not a physical part.'

'Many people have thought this. What's your point?' Ayumi said.

'Well, imagine that the soul wasn't just this thing that gave us our personality but was also a plug (for lack of a better term).'

'I don't understand!' Radar pitched in.

'Stop interrupting and you will! Where was I? Yes – so the more negative thoughts we think the more our souls – our personality is affected. Our souls then shift out of place and allow the Xero Xone energy to flow out. The Xero Xone is where the Nightmares spawn from so with enough negativity I souls comes loose, is then lost in the Xero Xone with a hole in our bodies, the energy can come free. That energy mixes with our bodies, corrupts the brain and makes us Eclipsed.'

'I think I get it...'

'But by your logic, Keys can't become Eclipsed.' Radar stated. 'You're saying that if you're a Key you'll either go mad or control the Xero Xone but only Kioshi can control the Xero Xone and Key's aren't going mad, they're becoming Eclipsed.'

Rika looked downhearted. 'There's an answer to that – I know there is...'

'Remember what Akira said to us, Yamato? About Demons?'

Rika was suddenly interested. 'What did he say?'

'He said that Keys who could use the Xero Xones had a mutation. This mutation probably stops the user from becoming an Eclipsed and instead allows them to control the Xero Xone. You yourself said that stress can cause people to become Keys. Intense negative thoughts causes stress that makes people create Nightmares. Without this mutation, both Keys and Humans alike become Nightmares.' Junichi laughed. 'All I wanted to know was how the damn helmet works.

Rika began to walk around the room, collecting important items. 'This helmet is infused with a hormone made from a sample of my father's DNA before he became an Eclipsed – or rather part-Eclipsed. This hormone regularly flows into the stream of hormone generated in his body which fights off the dark force trying to take him.'

'There is a price however.' Yamato admitted.

'What is it?' Junichi asked. When neither Yamato or Rika answered he pressed again, 'What is it?'

'My body is breaking down.' Yamato explained. 'I'm dying.'

'W-What?' Junichi shook his head slowly in disbelief, walking up to put his hands on Yamato's shoulders. 'You're immortal, you can't die. All those years ago One gave you his power to live forever! I remember it clearly!'

'My ability to live for ever only prevents my heart from stopping. I could be brain dead and live forever. Disease and open wounds will affect me but I won't die – just be in a lot of pain. That's why invulnerability goes well with immortality. But this thing killing me is supernatural in nature and my body has no way of countering it.'

'BULLSHIT! The power of a Key stems from supernatural roots! How can something supernatural in nature not fight something else that's supernatural!?'

'Because, the power to utilise the world's energy isn't supernatural.' Claimed Ayumi.

'What are you talking about!? Of course it's supernatural! Do you think Humans are supposed to be able to do these things?' Radar stepped forward. 'That's why we spilt people into two groups. No, I think you're wrong Rika. We're not supposed to have these abilities, we're maybe mutations and those with no abilities are the normal people.'

'No. The girl is right.' Rika said firmly. Radar was taller than her but Rika radiated stronger determination and will. 'Our abilities as a Key is a natural foundation of this world. And I've explained why people develop their abilities at different times in their life. Or am I wrong there too?' She accused.

Radar said nothing, knowing that he had only been a Key for a few months.

'I thought so! It's because our power stems from a natural force that it can't combat a supernatural force! That's the reason my father is dying!'

The five of them were startled by screaming elsewhere in the house. When it disappeared silence was left in its wake.

'W-What the heck was that!?' Radar exclaimed.

'The scream sounded again, a long demented noise that faded into the screech of a banshee.

'Mother...' Rika muttered. 'MOTHER!' She dashed through the open door leading to another part of the basement, freezing at a locked door that was modified to have a small window. A light bulb flickered above, revealing a woman sat at the end of the room wrapped up in a duvet bound by five thick, leather belts.

Eiko's skin was dark grey and transparent, revealing a network of black blood vessels underneath. On top was a head of hair wet with sweat that clung to her like webs. Her teeth were red where her screeching had caused her throat to bleed so that when she coughed blood filled her mouth. Though she was probably in pain, Junichi's old friend was smiling.

'Mother!' Rika cried, placing her hands either side of the large window.

'My darling Rika!' She exclaimed, standing up but find yet again that there were chains connected to her belts that prevented her from get far from the wall. 'Come to say good-bye!?'

'NO! I'm not leaving you! Mother!' Though in her early twenties, Rika suddenly felt like a child.

'You should leave while you still can! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!' She laughed manically, dropping to the grow where she sat back against the wall.

'Oh Eiko...' Junichi shook his head.

Then the entire basement shook.

No-one moved a muscle or made a sound, believing that by doing so would trick whatever was outside that they weren't there.

'There's no use. It knows you're here.' Eiko taunted, baring her bloody teeth.

'What did you do mother!' Rika asked, heartbroken. Banging on the glass madly she screamed, 'WHAT DID YOU DO!?'

The house above them was torn clear off the ground revealing to the stunned group the biggest Nightmare any of them had ever seen.

'I brought my baby girl a big teddy bear. I really do love you, Rika.'

DEVASTATION

He placed a flower in her open palm, closing her fingers around it gently.

'What's this? A flower?' Miyako smiled. 'You shouldn't have.'

'Well I wanted to. I saw it and I thought of you.'

Facing the window, Miyako brought the flower to her nose. 'I can't tell what it is. I was never good with flowers.'

'Don't look at me, I'm a boy.' Hido pointed out. 'I'm not supposed to be good with flowers.'

Miyako continued to smell the delicate object fondly, admiring the gesture. She felt Hido's heart, bathing in the warmth it gave off, the love and longing he felt for her. Feeling those genuine emotions was just as good as being able to see, in her opinion. _If anything, I see better than most now._ 'Do you find it strange that in this world depriving itself of beauty, that flowers still bloom? They're beautiful and it just makes me feel like there's no place for them here.' Miyako's eyebrows drew together.

Hido made a sound that mixed a grunt with a sigh.

Miyako turned in her desk chair, sliding onto the bed to thoughtfully sit by Hido who was lying half on the bed. 'What is it?'

'Things are coming to an end.'

'Things are about to end?...' Miyako frowned, unable to believe it.

'I hope.' Hido murmured, standing up.

'Where are you going?'

'People are coming up to the door.' He returned moments later with Kioshi and Kouji.

'Kouji.' Miyako said plainly.

Hido returned to the bed, sitting on it with legs crossed this time while Miyako sat on the edge. 'Kioshi.' Miyako finally acknowledged.

'Miyako.'

'So, what's going on?'

'We have to go. Right now.'

'Right now?' Hido looked surprised.

' _Right_ now. I have a feeling that our friends are in trouble down there, they've been gone a long time.'

'I'm sure your dad's friend can handle things. Right?' his hands tightened on his lap. 'Do you really think that we have the power to but an end to all of this?'

'Honestly... I don't know.'

Miyako, Kouji and Hido were surprised by Kioshi's answer. 'You say that and you want us to go?' Hido remarked, shuffling along the bed to sit beside Miyako.

'What I do know is that we don't have a lot of time. Do you want to sit here and wait for Akira to send someone else to kill us? I believe that we can do it. We just need to believe in our own strength and in each other.'

'People are only out to kill us because of you.' Said Miyako.

'Cut the guy some slack Miyako.' Said Kouji, placing his hands in his pocket, not knowing what to do with them.

'Cut him some slack? Because of him that woman came here and killed our classmates! You all follow this self-proclaimed leader! What makes him so special!?'

'Miyako.' Hido soothed.

'NO! Tell me! What makes you so special Kioshi! Tell me!' Against herself she began to cry.

'I'm not special, Miyako.' Kioshi looked to the ground.

'If you're not special! Then why is it that you can see and I can't! Tell me that Kioshi! Look at me!' Her voice changed, becoming threatening. 'I can feel you Kioshi. I can feel the guilt tainting your heart. Ask yourself, why it is that both of us lost our eyes but the world gave you yours back? The world let you see again, it will let you take in the smiles of those who you will set free from this wretched place. And what do I have? I live in darkness! Darkness is all I have! It's not fair! And you say that you're not special!?' Miyako crushed the flower in her hand, shaking her head wildly. 'Don't insult me! Don't come into my house and insult me, Kioshi!' Her lips pursed together.

Not knowing what to do all Kioshi could say was, 'I'm sorry... I just...' He trailed off, unable to find the right words.

'Just get out of my house.'

*

Yamato tumbled a few meters, sliding to a stop at Junichi's feet, shakily dragging himself onto his feet. Junichi fired a burst of bullets at the towering monster who was quickly reducing the space between the them.

'It's no use, Junichi! Are you listening to me!?' Cried Yamato, pulling Junichi's shoulder and causing him to misfire. 'We have to get the hell out of here!'

'And hide _where,_ Yamato!? That thing can find us anywhere – all it has to do is look over the freaking rooftops!' He pulled his shoulder out of Yamato's gloved grip.

'We need to gain some distance so I can teleport us out of this place! We need to regroup and plan because with this thing guarding the hotel we won't get anywhere near Akira!'

The Nightmare groaned; a creature seven stories tall and built like a gorilla with arms each the width of a car from grill to the bumper. Its body looked to be made completely out of grey muscles that leaked a black, inky liquid from multiple places on its body that glistened in the light.

'I hate to interrupt! But there are Nightmares _EVERYWHERE_!' Exclaimed Radar, turning everyone's attention to the horde of Nightmares closing in on the other end of the road, looming between and under the cars and circling the air like animals stalking their prey. Though all with the same wet, grey, muscle look, the Nightmares came in varying shapes. Junichi spotted one that resembling a lion but with a mane made of thick, black thorns, a rhino with horns coving most of its body and snakes that were covered in scales as lethal as razor blades. Some however were bipedal and bore no resemblance to any known animal but were deathly and monstrous in appearance none-the-less

'Shit!' Uttered Junichi through gritted teeth, firing accurate shots that didn't stop them from advancing. 'Damn bullet sponges!'

Yamato turned Junichi around, handing him the shortsword that he kept hand on his back. 'Take this.'

'I've got my own.' Junichi tugged at the strap on his chest.

'You can use two can't you?' Yamato looked back at the massive Nightmare who had torn his house from of its foundations with ease then at the Nightmares blocking the other side of the road. 'You don't have enough ammo.'

'So you want us to what? Run away to a dark alley where we will still be eaten!? Great plan!'

'Well it's better than staying here and dying! I can at least hold the big guy off.' _Damnit, if the group weren't so large then teleportation wouldn't take long. But with four people to carry someone is bound to get hurt during the process._

'ARGH!' Ayumi screamed, getting between both of them. 'Stop arguing you two! Look, you take Radar and go – he can't fight.'

'It's true!' Panicked Radar.

'Yamato and I will fend these people off.'

'You can't fight!' Yamato interjected.

'Well I can try to control these Nightmares. Besides... This is my home. I can't leave here. While we're here they have a chance to go get Rika!'

'Watch out!' Radar pointed at the giant Nightmare as it drew a fist.

The two groups jumped out of the way in opposite directions as a clawed fist came down.

'GO!' Ayumi threw her hand, signalling Junichi and Radar to get away. 'And if you see Kioshi, tell him I'm sorry!'

The Nightmare was quick, dragging its fist across to swipe at Ayumi. Her eyes widened, not fast enough to react but luckily Yamato jumped in the way to hold the hand at bay. 'Get going, Junichi!' He ordered.

'Let's go!' Junichi took Radar by the arm, dragging him into a nearby alley, Nightmares following in their stead.

'Do you really think that you can control these Nightmares, girl?' Yamato threw the arm away, sending the Nightmare toppling.

'I can try.' Ayumi wiped her forehead but before she could lower her hand she was jumped not by a Nightmare but by a girl.

'Ayumi!'

'Never mind me! Rip that thing's head off!' The girl pinned Ayumi down by the arms, face so close to hers that combined with the lack of light she could make out her features. 'Not on the first date you psycho-bitch!' She hissed, throwing the girl to the side.

The Nightmare was on its feet again, pounding the ground with the length of its wide arms in rage, crushing cars but not Yamato who leapt onto a store front then sprung off using his momentum to boost the force of his Advanced Strength, throwing a fist into the over-sized Nightmare's face. In quick succession he threw all of his weight into a spin, extending his leg to deliver a powerful kick.

Yamato felt the air around him tremble as the Nightmare raised its arm to swipe him. However, Yamato's ability taken from Sixteen allowed him to read the signs in the creature's body, anticipating the attack and prepared himself for the impact, grabbing onto its thumb then jumped off, thumb still in-hand, to land graceful and with a mighty roar, flip the Nightmare onto its back.

The world shook as if struck by an earthquake, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was already on the ground, Ayumi would have been knocked over by the impact. Both girls got to their feet at the same time and Ayumi finally got a good look at her; a girl in her late-teens with silver hair, sporting a black and emerald lolita dress.

The girl smiled.

'What are you supposed to be?' Ayumi put up her fists. 'Satan's doll?'

As the girl advanced, she jumped from side-to-side, attempting to tackle Ayumi again but, Ayumi in the same motion spun and raised her leg, bringing her heel down on the girl's crown to bring her to the ground. At the same time, the Nightmare who with the support of a building had managed to get back onto its feet stumbled.

Ayumi spotted this. 'You're the one controlling the Nightmare, aren't you?'

The girl stood up, her mind not being her own allowing her to ignore the pain experienced by her body. Once again she grabbed Ayumi by the arms, pinning her to the building so roughly that Ayumi was winded. A hand quickly left an arm, holding her instead by the throat with strength disproportionate to her slim physique. Ayumi stopped resisting, eyeing the girl with malice instead.

Her grey irises transformed into their broken glass pattern, meeting the girl's green pair. Their gazes locked, matching intensities and causing the atmosphere to thicken with supernatural energy. However, Ayumi could feel herself losing, slipping out of consciousness and being taken over by whatever ability this girl possessed. 'No! I won't lose twice in a row!' She stared harder, feeling like her eyes were on the verge of popping out of her skull.

Ayumi's vision blurred until nothing was recognisable. The girl and the world mixed together until the world was grey and she didn't even feel a hand on her throat. _Shit._

She faced her father who was a she saw him in her brief trip to the past, wrapped in robes and sporting his walking cane. Looking at herself, Ayumi discovered that she was dressed in tattered clothes; a short dress that was once white but now brown with dirt and red with blood coupled with a black, sleeveless hoodie that had also seen better days.

_'You dare go against your father!?' He slammed his cane into the ground. 'You come into my kingdom and bring intruders! How dare you! I am your_ father _!'_

'No!' Ayumi shook her head in 'You're a monster!' The anxiety she felt when she was with Kioshi was returning; she didn't want to be back with him, forced to endure his punishments. 'You raised me like I was an experiment to you! Not a daughter! This is my home and you turned it into hell!'

'And yet you return.'

'This is the only world I know! This is the only place I can call home!'

'Yet you bring rebels! Revolutionists! When will they learn!?'

'They're fighting because what you're doing is wrong! You're so twisted by your demented, politics-fuelled fantasy of Paradise that you're blind to the people you're hurting!'

'My father died defending this country!' Akira argued. 'He died trying to ensure that this would be the best world for his son – me, to live in. And I'm doing this so the world is a good place for you to live in and then your children! And your children's children! Why can't you see this!? You talk about people I'm hurting!? In my Paradise no-one feels pain!'

_'Look around you! Look at what you've done to get here and the lengths you go to maintain order! Look at what you made me do! So long as you continue to rule there will_ always _be pain!'_

'SILENCE!' Akira bellowed, slamming his cane into the ground again. 'You have failed me, Ayumi.'

'I might have failed you but at least I realised that what you taught me was wrong! I killed innocent people in your name thinking that was I was doing was right!'

'I am your King in this world, Ayumi! You have betrayed your king and you will be punished for your transgressions!'

'NO!' Her courage instantly gone, Ayumi took several, fear-induced steps back. 'NO! No more pain! NO MORE!' She stopped, opening her eyelids as wide as they could.

'That won't work here Ayumi, you are in my world!' With another slam of his cane he disappeared, replaced by a mob of four-legged Nightmares who encircled her and snarled hungrily with the ferocity of wolves ready to tear their prey apart. Simultaneously they drew in closer.

'No...' Ayumi breathed.

Closer they drew.

'NO!'

The snarling stopped and then they swarmed.

*

Yamato was thrown into a wall but was caught before he could drop then tossed across the road, skipping across like a stone on water on top of the cars and only stopping when the train of vehicles ended where he fell. Despite his mighty body, he struggled to get back up.

Like he had said to Junichi when he was younger, he may have been invincible but he could still feel pain. The ability allowed his body to be resistant to damage; his skin wouldn't tear and his bones wouldn't break but his nerves still worked and so he still felt pain. No ability was one hundred percent advantageous which was evident when he had met One, a man who was old despite his ability to live forever – the same ability within Yamato now.

As he trembled in his struggle to rise, Yamato thought about his life in Underground Shibuya, how in his armour he had become the force of justice he had always wanted to be. With Akira preoccupied with Overground Shibuya and his daughter Ayumi who was still a child, Underground Shibuya was an underworld with with crime and chaos. He however was the light that was fighting the darkness under his name Reaper.

_A dark name_. He thought, but a name he gave himself when he lost his wife to the allure of darkness.

Yamato was no stranger to pain, he felt it when he endured what the Keys and Humans threw at him yet each time he got up. Every time a building fell on him during intense battles where he couldn't escape in time, each time he was mauled by Nightmares when they overwhelmed him and everyday when he had to look his young daughter Rika in the eyes and see the hurt – hurt from not having a mother anymore, not having a normal father to do normal fatherly things with, not having a normal life, Yamato endured the pain and still, he had gotten up.

Not this time however.

'You have to get up Yamato!' He hissed, trying to lift his body that felt impossibly heavy, off the ground. 'You have to live so you can make it up to Rika! It's your fault that she's always so angry! If you were stronger then you could have stopped all the bad things she experienced from happening! Get up! GET UP!'

'You're stronger than this – I know you are.' Kioshi said as he took an arm and placed it over his shoulder.

'I thought you were the one who was supposed to stop Akira?' Said Kouji as he took his other arm.

'Kids...' Mumbled Yamato, still in a daze. 'How did you get here?'

'The Xero Xone allowed me to pass through the ground down to here. This place is practically the entire size of Shibuya so you can find this place by just moving downwards.'

'Yamato, Kioshi says you can give people abilities. You have to give me one so I can fight.' Kouji pleaded.

'I can't...' Yamato shook his head gently both to tell Kouji and to help wake himself up. 'I can't think straight.'

'Then what can I do?' Kouji asked, desperate to show his worth.

'Stop the girl...'

Kioshi and Kouji looked back at the Nightmare headed towards them.

'That's a Nightmare?' Kouji thought out loud.

'Nightmare _s_.' Yamato stressed the "s". 'Maybe a hundred of them fused into a single mass by that girl down there who somehow managed to take Ayumi down.'

'I got it! She's the one controlling that thing! I can take her!'

'It's dangerous Kouji, you'll get hurt! She took out Ayumi.' Kioshi looked over Yamato's hunched body.

'So what!?' Kouji met Kioshi's stare. 'Meaning if you go you won't get hurt?'

'With my eyes I may be able to stop her _without_ killing her. Do you even have what it takes to stop her?'

'You mean kill her?'

Kioshi was reluctant to answer. 'Yes... If need be.'

'I can do it! Just watch me!'

'Damn it, Kouji! What have you got to prove!?'

Quietly Kouji carried Yamato ahead and Kioshi kept up so they could put more distance between then and the giant Nightmare. 'You're the Key and I'm not, Kioshi. Miyako got me thinking; what makes you so special? What is it that made you want to fight against society? What gives you your strength to stand up and keep going? Stopping Akira is just as much my responsibility as it is yours. I've done my fair share even if my sacrifices weren't as large as yours.'

'Kouji, being a Key doesn't make anyone better than anyone.' He gave a reassuring smile.

'I need a part in all of this, Kioshi! I need to prove to myself and my father that I have what it takes to be a man. I'm sorry.' With his last words he ditched Yamato, heading towards the Nightmare instead.

'KOUJI!'

'Kioshi, let me go. I can hold him off; I won't die. You need to go to the Shibuya Grand Hotel. He pointed at the large building overlooking all of the smaller buildings like an abomination. 'It's time that we end this, end what your mother, your father myself and my wife started all that time ago.'

'Yeah...' Kioshi said to himself then something occurred to him. 'Wait, where _is_ my father?'

*

The girl stood over Ayumi's quivering body with a smile on her face, watching the naked, bleeding girl claw herself, emulating what the Nightmares were doing to her inside her mind.

'ARGH!' Kouji roared as he brought a fist down on the side of the girl's face.

The girl didn't flinch and with fist still on her cheek she turned to glare at Kouji as if she had already decided his fate. With her eyes now away from Ayumi, she stopped transmitting Akira's power and Ayumi returned to reality to fill the world with her tortured screams.

'C'mon, it's you and me.' Kouji readied his fists, moving to strike again. However, the girl was eclipsed by a wall of black feathers that exploded from between of them, fluttering away before coming together to create a black mass. The texture of the feathers melted so that all that stood between them was a smooth figure that was steadily becoming human in stature, details becoming increasingly identifiable; clothing, facial features then lastly colour.

Standing between the two of them was Sayuri who didn't look particularly happy. 'Asuka.' She spoke with narrowed eyes, slapping her daughter with the back of her hand.

Asuka's head was thrown to the side but when she returned to her mother she was met with Sayuri's powerful, purple gaze – the same eyes Kioshi had when using the Xero Xone. 'Go now.' She directed at Kouji. 'Kioshi needs your help and this isn't your fight. My daughter and I need to have a chat.'

Kouji was at a loss for words but anger bubbled inside of him directed at the woman who had intervened and prevented him from showing his worth to the world that he was realizing was starting to cast its shadow on him.

Sayuri turned to face Kouji and gasped at who she saw. 'It's you...'

*

Junichi and Radar ran, bodies ravaged by countless attacks by the Nightmares that hunted them. Radar stumbled in front of Junichi as they headed out onto a narrow road. It had been so long since Junichi had been surrounded by the Shibuya he had grown up in and not the black imitation above that he was lost.

Junichi stopped, wheeled around and then swiped upwards, slicing the head of a Nightmare as it jumped to attack them. Now with enough room he took out his own sword from the sheath on his back, parrying clawed strikes and counter-attacking with his own lethal blows.

Legs shaking, radar didn't know what to do but hope shone in his eyes when he picked up the presence of Kioshi. 'Kioshi!' No sooner did he say this did Kioshi appear, rounding a corner but was still quite far away.

'Kioshi?' Junichi repeated foolishly, distracted and leaving himself open for a a large paw to tear across his chest and reduce him to his knees, kneeling before his executioner.

Out of a Xero Xone Kioshi appeared, jumping out to slice the head of the Nightmare that nearly claimed his father's life with his Xero Xone longsword. 'Radar, take my father and get him to the pharmacy. It's around the corner I came from – just go down the road from there and take a left.'

But Radar was to frightened to move.

A Nightmare clawed Kioshi hard in the back, its claws lodged in place for a few seconds before it ripped it out. The air left his lungs and his eyes were wide with a mix of emotions that he was too dazed to make sense of. If it hadn't been for his sword he would have collapsed completely but instead knelt, using his weapon to support himself. With tears blighting his face Kioshi begged, 'RADAR! Get my father out of here!'

It took concentration to keep the Xero Xone active in his body and with the strong attack he had felt, his body wasn't working the way it should have. His vision shifted between blindness and full fidelity as if he was rapidly opening and closing his eyes while pain in his stomach and back grew more real. 'My body... Can't take much more...' Kioshi closed his eyes.

Knocked out of his petrification, Radar hauled a moaning Junichi onto his feet and into the direction of the pharmacy.

*

Kouji was running down a road when he bumped into Radar carrying Junichi as they rounded a corner. Junichi howled with pain.

'Kouji! Oh thank God! Help me get Kioshi's father in here!'

Kouji looked to his side and saw the pharmacy, rushing to open the door and watched as Radar struggled to bring Junichi inside, Junichi trailing blood. Once the door was closed the two looked around but it was hard to find what they could use to patch up Junichi because the lights weren't on. The only light they had came from outside but even it weren't helpful.

'He's really bleeding here!' Radar set Junichi down on the cool, squared flooring, watching him pant and sweat without a clue what to do.

'Let me see!' Kouji pushed Radar inside, inspecting the wound in the sub-par lighting. 'It's really deep as in... If we don't get him to a hospital then he's going to die. Right now all we can do is dress the wound until we can get up to the surface.'

'Screw that...' Junichi whispered, sitting up only to wince at the stinging of his wounds, moaning then collapsing back onto the floor. 'Take me... Take me to Yamato, he'll heal me up.'

'He can do that?' Radar's eyes lit up.

'That doesn't change the fact that you're losing a lot of blood. Radar, find me some bandages.'

Radar left Junichi and Kouji alone, causing a raucous as he searched for what Kouji needed.

'Kouji is it? What are you to Kioshi?' Junichi breathed heavily, fighting the pain from his torso.

'What am I to him? I suppose I'm his friend, sir.'

'You suppose?' Junichi made a disapproving sound then continued panting. 'In my time, we knew who our friends were and who we could rely on. Kioshi has always been a sad kid, but he also has a big heart. That big heart of his always made him do things for the right intention but in the end all he seemed to find was more pain.' His face contorted.

'Sir, you should really take it easy.'

'No, let me talk. It will keep my brain working. Kioshi, inside he's strong, but years of negligence on my part, his mother's death and his views on the world has made him a bit sensitive but he tries his best and that's what's going to push him forward. That's what will make him beat Akira But... In order for him to succeed, he needs to know where his bonds lie.'

This was the first time that Kouji had spoken to Junichi since they met. Junichi had visited the basement of _Energy-PLEX_ a few times with Yamato and didn't realize that he was Kioshi's father until he volunteered to scout Underground Shibuya along with Yamato, Radar and Ayumi, where Kioshi protested against Junichi becoming involved. 'I already said to Kioshi that he has my respect.'

'Respect and friendship are two entirely different concepts, Kouji.'

'I... I don't see how.'

Junichi smiled weakly. 'I don't expect you to understand, it's not your fault either since you've grown up in a world where the concept of friendship and bonds have become nearly meaningless. One can have someone's respect without being a friend just like one can be someone's friend but have no respect for them.'

'If someone doesn't have respect for another then how can they be friends?'

'Because a person may be good do bad thing but is good at heart and what's in a person's heart is what's most important. It's about having faith.'

'I respect Kioshi, sir. At the same time, I want to be by his side because I admire him. He's a good guy.'

'And I'm sure Kioshi values you, Kouji. That is friendship.'

'Oh crap...' Radar admitted, returning with several rolls of bandages and surgical spirit.

'What is it?' Kouji held a hand out for the items.

'We left Kioshi alone out there!'

'Radar!' Kouji cried, rushing out of the store but, to his surprise, Kioshi was standing outside, reaching out to open the door, looking weak and on the verge of fainting. The two locked eyes for a few seconds before Kioshi fell into his arms.

*

'Don't stop me!' Ayumi screamed. 'I can still fight!'

'You're insane!' Sayuri retorted, stepping in front of Ayumi to inspect her wounds and making a disapproving face as noted all the cuts.

'RARGH!' Ayumi screamed in protest, eyeing Sayuri furiously.

'Don't try that one me, missy! Listen, you're not thinking straight – I'm surprised you can even stand. Let me take care of this while you regain your strength.'

Ayumi stung all over and the pain was driving her mad. This madness however was pushing her on, dragging her back down into insanity where she had once lived, where she was at her strongest. She barged past Sayuri, ignoring the cries for her to stop, heading for the Nightmare some ways down the road – so small now that she could crush it in the palm of her hand.

In time Ayumi caught up and when she did she circled around, placing herself in front of Yamato so that she could be the one to beat the monster. Her irises in their enhanced form transformed again, the pattern of shattered glass spreading to cover her eyes to look liker her eyes had cracked. 'Look at me, monster!' She demanded, hand bared like claws before her face.

Immediately, the Nightmare staggered, tripping over its foot to crash into a building, collapsing easily like it was made from building blocks. When it righted itself, Yamato jumped high to punch it in the face, sending the Nightmare back by a couple of steps.

'I SAID! LOOK AT ME!' Ayumi commanded more forcefully. 'Your kind thinks it can just come here and hurt us! I am your master now! I want you to look at me!'

The Nightmare suddenly stopped, rotating its hulking head to gaze down at Ayumi, glowing, purple eyes focused on her. Its last step echoed across the enclosed area and though it was clear that remarkably it wasn't going to attack, Yamato was still on-edge.

'I wonder what your brutish mind is thinking.' Ayumi sniggered. 'I'm going to kill you. You understand me, beast? I'm going to kill you. Do you understand what I am saying?'

The Nightmare began to groan, the sound rising from the pit of its stomach up into its throat where it seeped out of its closed, fanged mouth.

'I'm going to _rip_ you apart! No, I'm going your body rip itself apart!'

As she spoke the words, cuts ripped across the Nightmares' body as if struck by many invisible blades. The Nightmare cried out loudly through its sealed mouth, its howls flooding the streets. The sight startled Yamato along with Sayuri and her daughter Asuka who had only just made their way to them.

Sayuri covered her mouth, gaping with shock as the Nightmare in the blink of an eye had its body ravaged. _H-How cruel..._

With ground-shaking force the Nightmare dropped onto it's knees, hunching over Yamato and Ayumi, raining down inky blood onto them. 'I suggest you leave and find the other.' Ayumi advised as the Nightmares groans intensified, more cuts ravaging its body.

Still stunned, Yamato didn't respond right away. However, realizing what Ayumi had said he turned and left, heading down the long road.

Ayumi watched in awe as the force of her evolved mind-control slowly destroyed the pitiful creature at her mercy, hacking away at its flesh with her mere thoughts. A smile stretched across her face, enjoying the exhilarating feeling that her cruelty was giving her. _It's like getting high..._

Sayuri felt sorry for Ayumi, thinking that only a person who had faced hardship could enjoy such mindless violence. However, she more sorry for the Nightmare whose sounds were like crying now rather than moans in pain. She covered her daughter's ears passed the Nightmare and Ayumi, following Yamato.

Sayuri just couldn't watch the madness.

TRUTH

Yamamoto Akira was young when his father went to fight in World War Two. It was a confusing time in his life, and without a father to give him the answers to the questions that he asked, Akira had to find them himself.

His father was different when he returned from the war, baring physical and emotional scars that had made his idol nothing more than a ghost a the shell. He had fought to create a better world for his son to live in but, the horror of war had made it so that he could never bring himself to enjoy it for himself.

The sight of his father who spent most of his remaining days in an idle state in their home, frightened Akira. At the same time however, he admired his father for what he had done and wanted to follow in his footsteps even if it meant risking his own sanity. When he was old enough he enlisted in the army but was quick to learn things about himself, things that he would grow to despise. Akira discovered that he lacked discipline – a fact that ashamed him and lowered his confidence and self-esteem.

As soon as Akira could, he left the army to pursue a career in politics, believing that if he couldn't inspire change through the force of numbers and physicality then he would inspire change from within; through the people. And so Akira studied hard and rose through the ranks of politics, first starting out as a secretary for a high-profile politician.

Akira remembered the day the man whose name he didn't remember had asked him to stay during a meeting that had lasted hours, the members bickering back and forth, unable to come to a decision. That was however, until Akira found a solution that spawned a deep and thoughtful silence among his superiors.

From then on he would be the protégé to that politician and evolve into a high-profile politician himself. Within time Akira was able to join the members of the people who held Japan together. But it wasn't enough, he needed to be in a more fixed position. And so the time came in his career when he wanted to run for Prime Minister.

Akira was proud of himself as he managed to rise through the ranks through sheer hard work and dedication but this wasn't because of moral obligation. Instead, Akira was holding his ability to control minds close to his chest so that he could deploy it when the time was right.

He remembered the day, sitting outside a coffee shop, elbows planted firmly on the metal table as he swirled a half-empty cup of coffee in his hand. His wife was sat back, looking into the road as cars zipped back and forth.

'I don't like this, Akira.' Mariko said, avoiding her husbands resolved gaze.

'Whether you like it or not is irrelevant.' Akira continued to play with his beverage.

Mariko leaned forward, resting her arms on the table also. 'It's wrong and it's not good politics.'

'Are you going persuade me otherwise?'

' _No_. I wouldn't do that to you because I know you're a man of integrity. You've gotten this far from the strength of your will and the confidence you inspire in your peers. It's what made me fall in love with you and your charisma and morality... You're on the track to becoming Prime Minister so why would you do something to jeopardise it?'

Akira was almost moved by Mariko's desperate eyes. 'As a precautionary measure, Mariko. I can't have myself not gain this crucial position. It's important for my plans.'

'But if you go through with it you'll have to keep all those you manipulate for ever. You'll create a dictatorship under the guise of government. Is this worth it in the name of Paradise? Paradise is just a childish fantasy!'

Akira put his cup down then wiped a drop of coffee that had splashed on his hand. Looking at his skin, he scrutinised the lines that plagued his it, a gift from mother nature to show how old he was becoming. 'I thought that this is what you wanted, Mariko? A world where people like you and your brothers wouldn't have to hurt. Even if I choose not to, I will have to take their minds eventually. If I want to make the world I envision then I will need the support of every member working for me. It's the only way to secure my Paradise.'

Mariko fell back in her seat, returning her stare to the world as it passed her by.

Of course it had been his wife who had exposed Akira to the Emperor, shattering his reputation and ending his career swiftly. She was a devoted wife and Akira had loved her for that quality but at the same time, politics was Mariko's life and she couldn't bare to witness the world she loved turned into a poisonous game for power. That wasn't the world _she_ wanted.

With his career over and his plan outed to the public, Akira's life was effectively over. In addition, Akira faced prosecution for hiding the fact that he was an Advanced Tier Key – a Key with an ability that warranted caution as well as monitoring. Mariko also lost her position in the government because no-one was willing to trust her.

Akira ultimately saw no choice but to show the world just how strong of a Key he was and so his takeover of Japan began on July the Sixteenth nineteen eighty-eight. The world discovered then that a Key walked amongst them who was on an entirely different level.

He didn't expect the resistance that he face but, Akira knew that he would win, his power was too great.

The final phase of his plan was to have another child and raise him or her to train their ability as a Key – an ability involving the mind he was sure of, as both parents had mind-based abilities. He dedicated another task to his twenty eight year-old son Hiro.

When Ayumi was born, Akira had no further use for the woman who had betrayed him and so he killed her himself, strangling her before breaking her neck. He had loved her once. Akira realised that day that he was capable of brutality, the only discovery he made about himself that brought a smile to his face.

After years of struggling, Akira was finally Emperor of Japan with everyone living the dream he had envisioned; a country efficient and relevant to the world; crime-free and secretly one of the strongest nations in the world as the majority of his people were Keys. With enough breeding Japan would become a race of pure super-powered people and with enough planning he could rule the entire world with the world's largest army.

For that to happen he would need the help of his son Hiro.

*

Sayuri finished managing Kioshi's wounds, tying the last of the bandages off. 'That should do it.'

'You look like a mummy.' Kouji chided lightly.

Kioshi didn't smile, snatching the roll off Sayuri and seeing to his father. Despite all that his body had gone through, his eyes were keen to stay empowered even though his body hummed with pain. The glow of his eyes unnerved the pharmacy's occupants as they reminded them of the Nightmares who they barely escaped alive.

'What do we do now?' Kouji asked.

'We go and we kill Akira.' Kioshi said bluntly. 'It's as simple as that. No more half-assing, we go in and we finish him. How's that, father?'

Junichi didn't say a word.

In another corner, Ayumi hissed as her body stung, sitting still while Asuka took care of her. 'Stay still Ayumi...' Asuka gave Ayumi an awkward smile.

'Bite me, Princess.' Still, Ayumi smiled a small smile.

'Well, Yamato is in no condition to fight, Ayumi is out, that boy Radar _clearly_ can't fight,' Sayuri looked back at Radar who didn't have any objections but was embarrassed. 'That leaves me and Kioshi.'

'What about my mother?' Asuka protested.

'Absolutely not! You're going to stay here okay? You've done enough.'

Asuka looked disappointed but didn't argue, instead returning to cleaning Ayumi though more slowly than she had before.

'Kouji's coming too. We'll go when I finish seeing to my father.' Kioshi continued to wrap up his father. 'When he wakes up he should be ready to go so when you're ready Yamato, please take them back.'

'Of course.' Yamato nodded.

'Kouji?'

Kouji was taken by surprise 'Y-Yes, Kioshi?'

'Take my father's gun.' Kioshi pointed with his head to the rifle laying amongst knocked over items. _There's_ something you can do.'

'You want me to use your father's gun? He wouldn't mind?'

'If he were awake he'd say that he'd want you to use it.' Finished with his bandaging, Kioshi rose, looking down at Junichi. 'Everything will be alright. Okay, father?'

'Kioshi...' Sayuri stood, placing a hand on Kioshi's shoulder. 'You know he's not going to wake up.'

Agitated, Kioshi pulled out of Sayuri's grip, spinning around to grab the sides of her hood, dragging her forward. 'Yes he will! My father's strong! He'll get through this! So don't you _dare_ give up on him! You hear!?' Kioshi shook Sayuri hard. 'YOU HEAR ME!?'

'Leave my mother alone!' Asuka screamed, scrambling onto her feet to then wade through knocked over boxes of medicine. 'Look at you're father!'

Closing his eyes, Kioshi shook his head wildly, his blood-soaked hair flying around.

'Kioshi,' Kouji uttered.

Kioshi looked up at Kouji who was frowning extremely hard. 'Look at your father.'

And so Kioshi looked at Junichi, tears he didn't know he was carrying spilling when he saw that he had wrapped Junichi's entire body in bandages, encasing him like Pharaoh ready to by buried and then idolised for years to come. 'Father...' Kioshi sobbed, sinking slowing onto his knees where Sayuri took his head and held him softly to her breast.

Junichi was never going to wake up again.

*

_The time is quickly approaching._ Thought Akira as he looked down from the penthouse of the Shibuya Grand Hotel onto the street where he saw three figures enter the square. Seeing the empty streets was a sight he would never get used to as the Shibuya he was once a part of was a thriving society. That had changed when in a flash on black he had been transported underground.

At first the trapped residence had tried to scrape some semblance of a normal life but this aspiration quickly decayed and person after person became Eclipsed. _Filth..._

Without Ayumi as his backup and aid, the rest of Underground Shibuya devolved into a nation of savages. Those savages wouldn't get him, he was sure of that. _Somehow I have survived all this time. The Eclipsed and their Nightmares aren't a co-ordinated group. All they want is somewhere to call their home. They would have proved a useful asset if those people hadn't taken the girl away from me. I felt their ki as soon as the entered the population and I could feel that the girl and her mother were powerful Keys. Much like Yamato, the girl possesses countless abilities except she was born this way! Marvellous! If I had had more time with her I would have siphoned more of her power._

The boy Kioshi is in the group I can only assume, and some other boy. The girl's mother is with them also. Perhaps I can use her to my advantage.

*

The elevator was nearly at the penthouse and the three rode it in silence.

'Turn off your eyes, Kioshi.'

_'Sayuri?'_ Kioshi turned to see that Sayuri had closed her eyes. _'You're in my head?'_

'Turn off your eyes. Optical abilities don't work when other's eyes are closed.'

_'I get it.'_ Kioshi let his body relax which caused his eyes to lose their functionality. With the Xero Xone hidden away again, all the pain that it was numbing came to Kioshi in one huge wave, stealing his breath and causing him to fall against Sayuri while he silently cried. 'It hurts...' He whined softly.

'Don't worry, it will all be over soon. There is a future without Akira.' Sayuri consoled.

'What is the point in fighting? You say that the future you come from is horrible. You had to run away.'

'When this is over we will have a talk. We will find a way to prevent my future from happening. But for us to get to that stage you mustn't give up now.'

'I can't... I can't let everyone down.'

The elevator slid smoothly to a stop, the doors opening to the penthouse. Kioshi already knew what to expect from the room, having already seen it when he witnessed the past.

'Guys, I don't think he's here.' Said Kouji, stepping out of the elevator. His feet clapped softly against the wooden flooring.

'What do you mean? He has to be here.' Kioshi said, frowning as he supported himself.

'I'm telling you, Kioshi, Akira isn't–' Kouji was stopped, knocked off his feet by a flying kick to the face. He fell onto his back and Akira landed at his feet, arms behind his back.

'Kouji, what happened!?' Sayuri asked.

'What do you mean what happened!?' Kouji's voice was muffled as he sat up, shielding his nose with his hands. 'That bastard broke my nose! He came out of nowhere! Shit!'

Sayuri darted out of the elevator, jumping over Kouji to strike Akira with the tips of her fingers. Akira knocked her hand out of the way but Sayuri flipped over him though wasn't in a hurry to turn around.

'Keeping your eyes closed? Smart woman.' Akira praised.

'You're agile for a man your age.' Jumping across the spacious room, Sayuri finally turned, pointing the arm furthest from Akira at the ceiling and the one closest to him at the ground, extending a leg forward and leaning back. 'What kind of monster are you?'

Dressed in a spectacular, navy-blue and black kimono, Akira chuckled. 'You should thank your daughter for the incredible gifts that she gladly let me steal.' He then dove in to attack, attacking with deliberate and well-placed strikes. Every strike he made was blocked by the blind Sayuri and every strike she made was blocked just as skilfully. Sayuri however, managed to get a hit in when she back-flipped, her robe arching dazzling in the air, kicking Akira in the chin.

Akira's head was thrown up but the pain went away immediately and his wrinkled gaze returned to his opponent. He then charged in, ducking under an arm sweep by Sayuri to appear behind her and plant an elbow in her spine.

Sayuri staggered forward then was swept off her feet by a roundhouse kick, struck again by another elbow to the spine while she was still in the air, driven to the ground. The pain was intense even though her torso was armoured and she could feel a deep indent where his elbow had connected.

After taking as much time as she needed to stand up, Sayuri unclasped her armour, dropping it almost theatrically. The armour was so heavy that it cracked the wooden floor.

'You walk around with heavy armour?' Akira laughed.

'It keeps my mind distracted.' Sayuri returned.

The fight continued.

By now Kouji was on his feet and went to Kioshi who was standing at the edge of the elevator so that it wouldn't close. 'What do we do?'

'I don't know. Keep your eyes closed.'

Disregarding the advice, Kouji risked a back. 'Sayuri is getting a beating; that guy can move, Kioshi! I thought he was supposed to be old!?'

'He's stolen some of Asuka's abilities, she must have more than one. I have to get in there and beat him.'

'Eyes closed?'

Kioshi nodded. 'If I'm going to beat him then I have no choice,' He looked at Kouji, powering-up his eyes. 'I'm going have to unleash the full power of the Xero Xone.'

'What will happen if you do that?'

Kioshi nervously swallowed. 'I don't know.'

Sayuri tried to attack Akira's head but the attack was slow and so was easily stopped by Akira grabbing her arm where he then delivered a chop to the side of her head, smiling as he did so. Sayuri spun a full circle, her whole body limp and vulnerable to a powerful knee to her stomach that forced her eyes to snap open. 'K-Kioshi!' She breathed. The next thing she knew, Sayuri was being held up by her hair. 'Kioshi!'

Kioshi then knew what to do when he saw his father's rifle dropped a short way in the room. He ran, picked up the rifle then slid across the wood, his bandaged feet proving useful. He flipped the gun around so that the barrel was pointing behind him and when we was close he brought the butt of the riffle down hard on Sayuri's head, knocking her out. _Sorry Sayuri._

Kioshi's attack surprised Akira, and with his guard down Kioshi threw as much power as he could into a punch. As his arm flew through the air, all of the muscles in his body swelled and his skin drained of its colour, turning grey. The fist connected, crushing the front of Akira's skull and knocking out his last few teeth.

'You brat!' Akira cried, not concerned over the damage to his face, grabbing Kioshi's grey, muscular arm and flipping him over onto the floor. He heard Kouji running and was able to catch him by the throat, lift him off his feet and toss him across the length of the room onto the flat-screen television hanging on the wall which crumpled then fell on top of him. Satisfied that Kouji wouldn't be on his feet too soon, Akira returned to Kioshi, crouching to pin him down by digging a knee into his stomach and wrapping a hand around his throat.

Kioshi squirmed but couldn't get free. The man on top of him possessed incredible strength. His teeth and nails sharpened as he struggled, and the blood that was seeping through the bandages were starting to turn black.

'Look at you, monster! You're turning into a Nightmare!'

'GO TO HELL!'

Akira dragged Kioshi onto his feet where he grabbed his head and threw it into his raised knee. Kioshi was instantly dazed and he fell onto his back. Akira began to stamp hard on Kioshi's torso that was starting to heal due to the power of the Xero Xone.

'I know who you are really thanks to one of the girl's abilities. You and your father have caused me quite a bit of grief over the years.' He taunted as he bombarded Kioshi's body with stomps.

'G-Go to hell!'

'Look at me, Kioshi.' Akira's words where like a physical presence that grabbed Kioshi's skull and was forcing him to face the old man. 'I said look at me, Kioshi! LOOK AT ME!'

'ARGH!' Kioshi could feel Akira in his brain; invisible fingers digging around. 'NO!'

'Maybe I should make you my servant? Or should I scramble your brain until all your lifeless body can do is drool?' Akira's eyes widened and Kioshi's purple eyes opened wider too. Kioshi then screamed when he felt imaginary clawing within his skull.

'No... I have a better idea. I'll make you relive the most horrible parts of your life over and over again until it drives you _mad_!' With the last word Akira stomped Kioshi so hard that Kioshi felt his ribs brake, filling the air with his piercing screams. 'How about it then?'

Kioshi was drooling now as he panted. 'N-Now... I see... Where... She gets it...'

The world went dark.

' _Kioshi... Kioshi...'_

'Where... Where am I?'

'You're home sweetie.'

Kioshi's eyes snapped open. He was back in his home, he could tell by the table, the chairs and the familiar, antique clock that ticked on the wall, an item his grandfather treasured according to his father.

'Wait, where is the colour?' He looked around, noticing that the world was back and white 'Why is everything so big?' Kioshi then looked down on himself and saw his smaller proportions. 'And my voice...'

He was a child again.

'Kioshi?'

Kioshi turned and saw his mother towering above him. Izumi sat down, placing a hand on top of his head and smiled. She was nothing like how Kioshi remembered her as the Izumi before him was tamed, healthy and beautiful; what she would have looked like is she didn't have to fight the power of the Xero Xone and had lived on as a mother. Kioshi recognised her clothing as the same clothes he saw her mother in when she died: a pink cardigan over a simple, white dress. 'You're such a beautiful child.' She gently and affectionately stroked Kioshi's head.

'Mother... This, isn't a memory?'

Izumi gently shook her head. 'Your mind has retreated into the Xero Xone.'

'W-Why are you here, mother?'

'My body was overcome again by the darkness, just like it did when my power removed Shibuya from the face of the Japan. Like many people, my soul was cast into the Xero Xone but, instead of becoming an Eclipsed, I died. My body was far too weak in the end. What you see before you is my soul.'

'So... This is really you!?' Kioshi's eyes lit up.

Izumi nodded.

'Mother...' Kioshi began to cry. 'Every since you died I've been scared that I would become like you, that I would go mad. Seeing you so sick as a child, it scared me. It scared me so much!'

'I'm sorry, Kioshi.' Izumi reached out to hug her son.

'I've been seeing things like you did except I've been seeing life as you instead. Why?' Kioshi didn't know if he was imagining things but Izumi felt warm. He didn't care if it was him imagining it or not, he was just going to enjoy it.

'Our souls are connected. Isn't that beautiful?'

'We're connected?' Kioshi smiled, resting his head against his mother's ample bosom.

Izumi nodded. 'Whether your mind succumbs to the power of the Xero Xone depends solely on you. In the end, I simply wasn't strong enough. I gave in too easily and though I thought I didn't want the darkness, in my heart I did and so slowly this darkness ate me alive. You are strong, Kioshi, you will survive the darkness – I know you will.'

'Everyone keeps saying that I'm strong!' Kioshi pulled away, suddenly a teenager again. 'Everyone keeps judging my strength! Only I should know how strong I am, but I don't!'

'Look at all that you've accomplished, Kioshi. Look how far you've come.' Izumi held out her hands and Kioshi took them, staring confused into his mothers eyes. He wanted to cry. 'Kioshi, when you started your journey you thought you were alone but now look at all the people in your life. You had a dream and you've gone through with it. That's more than I can say.'

'Don't say that, mother!' Kioshi shook his head, crying now.

Wiping away her son's tear, Izumi continued. 'All of my struggle has been to preserve my humanity – to retain what it meant to me to be Human: my sentience, my beliefs, my heart. Ultimately, I overdosed on the power of darkness. But not you Kioshi. You're strong and brave, just like your father – bless his soul.' She began to cry now. 'You have to continue to fight – not for the sake of our deaths but the sake of your life! Live Kioshi!'

'I... I don't want to leave you mother, I love you! Really! I really love you! Mother!' Kioshi hugged Izumi again, crying freely now.

'And I love you too, Kioshi.' She placed a hand on his head. 'Remember, Kioshi, you're never alone.'

Suddenly Izumi was gone, his home had vanished and Kioshi was sitting alone in white. 'MOTHER!' He cried.

Out of no-where his mother's voice called:

' _You're never alone. You have the blood of your father and mother inside you.'_

Kioshi inhaled deeply when he awoke, eyes glowing violently and forcing Akira to look away.

'Impossible! No-one has been able to pull themselves out of the world I've made for them!' Akira stood, preparing for a fight.

Kioshi stood also. 'You didn't put me in _your_ world! I put me in my own!' His body was miraculously healed and when he stood he revealed wings on his back, filling the room with its wingspan and violet light. Instead of feathers the wings were made up of black keys that were hovering in the air.

Kioshi felt resolved, he felt strong.

Then he struck.

Akira's face exploded with blood as Kioshi put his full force into a punch, shattering his nose. Then with a kick, Kioshi hooked Akira's neck, driving him to the ground. Dropping down to wrap his legs around Akira's arm, Kioshi then held Akira's arm just above his thigh while another was placed at the wrist. Without hesitation, Kioshi broke Akira's arm at the elbow.

The pain made Akira cry, trying to shake his head as he gasped. Enraged, he found his strength, knocking Kioshi off. Now with only one arm to attack with, Akira began his merciless assault, fury blinding him and making his moves lack any co-ordination or grace. He was out to kill while inflicting as much pain as possible.

Kioshi could feel his insides break every time Akira struck his body, attacking with enough force to maim him but not kill him. Every strike forced blood out of his mouth and white to flash over his eyes. By now Kioshi couldn't breathe as blood filled his lungs and soon he lost the ability to think when Akira's skull cracked his head open, driving him to the floor. Blood fell down his forehead and filled his eyes, changing the tint of his vision from purple to red.

Kioshi wasn't ready to give up despite his body slowly shutting down. To his side was his father's rifle and by simply extending his arm it was in his hand. _This is for all the pain you've caused me you bastard!_ Kioshi stared hard into Akira's bloodthirsty visage.

His hand went numb.

Kioshi's heart didn't feel right, each beat felt like an attempt to rip itself from his chest. Looking at his hand he saw it crushed, stepped on by Akira with no remorse. Akira twisted his foot, inflicting more damage while Kioshi was so distraught that he forgot how to scream. He was then dragged onto his feet. 'It hurts...' He managed weakly...

Kioshi was startled when Kouji jumped in, stabbing Akira in the neck with a long shard of broken plastic from the television, striking several times before Akira knocked them both away with ease.

'Will you just _die_ already old man!?' Kouji cried desperately, searching around for a weapon to use and found the rifle, covered in Kioshi's blood.

Akira held his neck as blood oozed between his fingers, his eyes wide with shock at the fact that he might lose. 'No... I can't die. I... I...' He staggered around, not sure what to do with his body. 'I... have to oversee my word...' Tears came to his eyes. 'My... My... Paradise...'

Kouji raised the rifle. 'Enough of your bullshit!'

He squeezed the trigger.

The bullets missed as Kioshi dashed, grabbing Akira by the torso, screaming out his frustration as he forced him across the room and through the window. The floor left his feet, cool air greeted his bare flesh.

Kioshi was flying.

Akira was falling further away from Kioshi, still holding his neck and seemingly unaware that he was falling to his death. His mouth kept opening and closing, uttering the letter "p".

Kioshi continued his descent.

_What was all of this for?_ He thought as he plummet thirty stories. _What was this all for?_ His eyes narrowed as he thought.

' _I don't want anyone else to die.'_

' _No-one does.'_

That right. To stop the pain in our hearts.

' _No... I can't accept that.'_

I couldn't stand my place in society. Call it strength or call it weakness, I couldn't bare the thought of living in a world filled with so much pain.

' _I'm a coward! I started all this because I couldn't stand my place in society! I couldn't stand this pain in my heart! I'm weak! I have no friends! My father is distant! I have nothing in my life with meaning! All I know is this internal and eternal pain! All of this is to fill this hole inside my chest, the hole left here when my mother died. To end this loneliness and anger! I can't take it! I'm only Human!'_

Weakness...

' _Whether you win or lose comes down to you, Kioshi._ You _decide if that person will succeed or not by your will just as your will decides whether you will succeed. If you want to survive – if you want to succeed then you have to ask yourself, what are you prepared to do? What are you prepared to sacrifice?'_

Sacrifice...

' _If I'm fighting then I have to give it my all. I have to put myself out there and fight with the resolve that I want to make a change. Looking towards darkness was cowardly but, I'll do what I must so that I can carve out a future for not just myself but for everyone else in this world. I'll take this darkness and turn it into strength!'_

' _Look at all that you've accomplished, Kioshi. Look how far you've come. When you started your journey you thought you were alone but now look at all the people in your life. You had a dream and you've gone through with it. You're strong and brave, just like your father. You have to continue to fight – not for the sake of our deaths but the sake of your life! Live Kioshi!'_

Strength... But... What does it mean to live?

Kioshi's clothes ruffled as wind took hold of him, the coolness soothed his skin and made him feel both calm and alive. He looked to his side and saw her, Hatsuo Seiya, falling with him. She turned to face him and smiled.

' _What is my purpose in this world? Or am I only here to die like Hatsuo Seiya and fade away as if I never existed in the first place?'_

'What was this all for?'

' _Freedom.'_ Izumi said.

Freedom?

'All of your pain, all of your struggle. It was all in the name of freedom.'

The freedom to choose, the freedom to fight. The freedom to live...

'You finally, understand, Kioshi. This is the ultimate truth.'

Kioshi nodded. _Yes. Life is forever in your hands, you just have to seize it. The freedom to fight your place in this world, the freedom to release yourself from your pain, the freedom to be... free. And death... Death isn't the end, only the beginning._

Izumi fell past Kioshi, extending a hand out to he son, disappearing into the ground where Akira was lying motionless. A Xero Xone opened up, a net that would ensure Kioshi that he would live on to see the world that he struggled so hard for. Kioshi eyed the black hole that grew larger with every second that passed, holding out his hands to touch it, tears blurring his eyes.

EPILOGUE

Her body straightened, heart pounding in her chest and sweat drenching her face. It was night time now though, darkness was something she would forever see.

Hido woke up beside her, rubbing his eyes as they stung, longing for more sleep. 'Miyako? What's the matter?'

Miyako continued to stare towards the window, unaware that the clouds were dispersing allowing the full moon and stars to greet Japan for the first time in ten years. 'Akira is dead.'

The news was like adrenaline to Hido, waking him up completely. 'Really!?' He exclaimed incredulously then saw the stars and the beautiful glow of the full moon, hanging outside the window as if the two of them were its private audience. 'It's beautiful...' He wondered.

'I can feel your heart racing.' Miyako smiled. 'It feels good.'

Hido got out of bed, moving towards the window, infatuated by the magical sight in the sky.

'Hido?'

Still looking up, Hido responded dreamily. 'Yeah?'

'Kioshi is dead.'

Hido wheeled round, staring horrified at Miyako. 'No way...'

Though she woke up in an alarmed state, Miyako was now calm and a warmth in heart was spreading throughout her entire body, reaching the tips of her fingers and toes. She smiled warmly, never having felt such pleasantness before.

'How can you be smiling, Miyako!? Kioshi was our friend! He died for us!'

Miyako placed her hands over her heart. 'I'm not smiling because he's gone, I'm smiling because he was happy.'

'You... felt him... Before he died?' Hido sat beside her.

Miyako nodded, silently crying. 'I heard his heart cry out. Mama, papa...'

'Take me with you.'

TO BE CONTINUED

137
