I want to be a hero (Itsuki, Sophia, Reiji)
At the top of a skyscraper that oversaw nearly the entire center of Kageoka, a strange pair was found. They were in a waiting room just outside the conference room on the highest floor in the building.
A girl in a maid uniform sat on one of the sofas in the waiting room. Her legs pressed against each other, her shins trembled, as she struggled to hold back the urge to tap her feet against the floor.
Her small shoulders pressed against each other, her face a mask of politeness, but each micro movement betrayed fear and anxiety towards the situation that would soon unfold.
On the sofa, contrary to the one she was on, a young man was there, his arms were on the sofa's back while he rested his them at the edge of the sofa. To an onlooker, his eyes were glassy, unfocused, but for those with a sharp view, they could see beneath the unassuming facade of the young man, a man with focus, with eyes on something, not just staring at the empty space.
His ears perked, aware of the surroundings, the long sleeves of his hoodie and shirt hid a myriad of scars, and a choker hid a nasty scar on his neck. A body built to fight, of a fighting beast rather than a person, even if its instincts and prowess had been dulled, the signs of who he was were still visible.
Itsuki opened his eyes as he saw that the girl was not moving away. It meant that they were waiting for the same person, most likely. He shifted his position on the sofa with a grunt, cracking his shoulders and neck.
“Hey, you, what’s your name?” Itsuki questioned the girl. His words seemed to light something in her, enough to break the ice between them.
She got up from the sofa and placed a hand over her chest, as she inconspicuously took a deep breath of air and said with a loud yet prideful voice. “I am Sophia Alexandria Newtonia IV! Proud descendant of a long line of royal maids who have served kings and queens all around Europe!”
She spoke with a perfect voice and tone, the voice of someone who had rehearsed lines to perfection. It would’ve drawn out the breath and attention of everyone in the room in any other situation.
Sadly for her, Itsuki was far too simple and uninterested in European history to care; if he was interested in the topic, he would’ve been able to call her a lie immediately.
Instead, Itsuki took one cursory glance at her. She gave him the same vibes as that shy and creepy girl, Rin was her name. Someone highly teasable. “Alright. I will call you Sofi.”
She felt insulted by how easily he dismissed her name; her face reddened. Not even her most disreputable client had been so dismissive of her regal name and, well, her history, that easily!
Before she could iron out the issue with Itsuki, someone stepped out from the conference room. “Good, you two seem acquainted already.” Itsuki’s mood was spoiled a little, as Sophia’s spine straightened out like a needle.
“So, why did you call us, boss?” Itsuki cut straight to the chase, as Sophia looked at him with slight incredulity. Her own breath was out of pace and anxious, as Reiji’s face portrayed no emotion.
Itsuki and Sophia shared a look at each other. Itsuki got confirmation that they were feathers of the same wing.
“It seems both of you at least know each other, cursory. Good enough.” Reiji said with a deadpan voice, straightening his uniform.
While both Sophia and Itsuki wouldn’t care much about his action, it was done to hide his own anxiety over the topic, to give the illusion of control before them.
Truth be told, Reiji was unsure of what to expect from his plans, and that was not a good thing for someone so used to control like himself.
The idea world was simply too volatile to be controlled and predicted, and its inhabitants were even more chaotic. To understand, find ways to exploit it for the benefit of the people, and deal with the lingering threats inside of it, would require first-hand expeditions into it.
Itsuki was a member of the student council and active for 3 whole years. He was more likely than not more than informed and knowledgeable about the Idea World, Yokais, and the threats they would find there.
Of course, Reiji was not woefully underprepared as some cynics and pessimists would think. He had acquired one of the bestiary from the Student Council, a nice read that detailed the type of enemies one would find inside the Idea World, up to a point.
That, coupled with Itsuki’s experience, on paper, was just enough for a safe first expedition.
Sophia, or as he knew, Chie, was a whole different question. She was not used to the intricacies of the Idea World and its dangers, but she was somehow awakened.
He lacked a wide net of awakened users, as much as it hurt him to admit that, so those two were absolutely needed, even someone as green as Chie was needed.
“So, where do we go, boss? Itsuki questioned with some disinterest in his voice. He was not as unstable and wild as he used to be; discipline was instilled in him, which was a quality Reiji sought in his minions- workers.
“We will investigate one of those Bleeding Zones. Sophia is also an awakened. She may come in hand.”
Sophia opened her mouth to protest about just being “someone who can come in handy”, but she had no patience or inclination to talk back to her boss, so for now, she would resign herself to silence.
She and Itsuki shared a look.
_‘Sucks to suck, but this is our boss.’
‘Agreed.’_
While they had just met, they could rejoice in the fact that their boss sucked ass, but he was still their boss. Itsuki was the first to get up between the two. He adjusted his hoodie to make sure not a single one of his scars was in view.
He didn’t want to garner pity, nor the looks of the others. Those scars were his to bear, and no one else’s. A mark of his mistakes and suffering, medals of both shame and honor he gathered along the years.
The group walked out of the building, and an unbroken silence brewed between them.
As for Sophia, she felt awkward and anxious about the whole Bleeding Zone thing. She felt Itsuki’s eyes on her back, or better yet, on the Baka-tanuki that hovered over her, in its mask form.
When she wasn’t aware he was also an Awakened, it was easy to dismiss him as someone zoning out and living in his own little world, but now, the gaze he had was a lot more focused and blatant.
‘That guy’s eyes are on ya, girlie.’ The Tanuki said inside her mind. Yeah, Sophia knew that; she didn’t need any reminder of that. ‘I wonder where the rich and powerful runt found someone like him, y’know?’ He said with some interest, as the floating musk turned around to stare back at Itsuki.
‘What do you mean? The guy looks pretty normal.’ Broke even, Sophia thought. The guy had a pretty face, but it was not unlike the many pretty men she had seen in her time in the maid cafe.
‘Ya ain’t seem deep enough, girl.’ The mask narrowed its “eyes”. ‘That guy’s body is like a map to Makai itself. There were oni with fewer scars than him. The only pretty thing about him is that face.’
The mask saw the scars as red lines throughout his body. Those scars were no accident or misfortune that befell him. Each scar was filled with blood, marks of bloodshed and violence. ‘The guy is a monster with a petty face. It makes sense the runt of the litter over there would want someone like him.’
The Tanuki finalized his thoughts.
A shiver ran up her spine.
What was up with Reiji and that guy? One was an iceberg of a man, and the other apparently was a violent monster or something like that.
Even as the latter hadn’t shown any ill behavior, Sophia wasn’t able to put her weariness to rest around them both. She wanted to run away, but the mere thought of it filled her with fear. Reiji was before them, leading the group.
Itsuki was on the back, walking at his own pace. She had nowhere to run! She was between a rock and a hard place.
Without choice, she took a deep breath and accepted her situation. Itsuki hummed.
His companion had a pretty interesting talk with her Idolon. It was time to break the ice; the silence was bothering him at that point.
“So, how did the no-fun guy even find him? He got on my tail after I messed up a guy of his without meaning to.” Sophia looked at Itsuki with a flabbergasted face.
How could someone even “mess someone up without meaning to”? She looked at Reiji, and he gave an annoyed nod. The Tanuki laughed in her mind, in a tone of “told you so”.
“Well, it's your turn now.” Itsuki teased her. Sophia gave him a false pleasant smile, and washed the flabbergast out of her face.
“Reiji-sama recruited me when I applied to work in his company. After confirming my status as an awakened, he decided to keep me close by.” A more flattering way of saying she lied to get into the company, working under the big boss’s heir, and the heir caught her hot-handed.
At least her status as an awakened landed her the job.
Itsuki merely nodded.
Sophia felt a bang of uncertainty. He didn’t seem to care about her words, well, not in the way others would. Most people, even the ones who frequented the maid cafe back in the day, would show some doubt or ask her to prove herself.
Prove she talked the talk and walked the walk.
He didn’t; he accepted her words at face value and didn't seem to want to dig deeper. Was he easily trusting? Naive?
He was strange.
Maybe he accepted her words because he feared that if he dug deeper, she would dig deeper into him.
Meanwhile, Reiji felt amused. His employees were getting buddy-buddy, maybe with some small talk they could even be called acquaintances when they solved the situation.
They talked to each other and never batted a single eye. Their relationship was merely utilitarian at the end of the day, so it was surprising that those two could still waste words so frivolously when they had no confirmation if they would come back home safely, if they came back at all.
It was not unexpected for him to be left out, after all, one of them was wrestled into his employment, and the other saw people as a means to rise, better her own life rather than people.
It was a funny thought, for so deeply flawed people to still talk and introduce each other so nicely. A match made in hell, if he had no say, he had to suppress a scoff at how ludicrous it all felt.
Then, he caught himself. The mask was slipping.
Reiji bit his tongue to stop those thoughts and return to the carefully crafted mindset of the heir of the Kurobane Group, cold, measured, without a flaw.
“So, Itsuki-san, what about your scars?” She asked, as she too slipped into a persona. The confident, the experienced, and flawless Sophia, not the shabby, awkward, poor Chie.
Itsuki felt uncomfortable with her question; he instinctively took a finger to his choker, adjusting it out of instinct, and his fingertips touched the patch of scar tissue there.
A persistent scar that accompanied him even in the days when he was numb to everyone and everything. Somehow she had seen it, despite his best efforts.
He was not ashamed of them, but it didn’t mean he wanted to scare other people with them, or garner pity from their looks.
In a way, it also drew in Reiji’s attention, as he was unaware of Itsuki’s scars; as far as he knew, Itsuki was the same zombie he had always been.
Yet, Itsuki didn’t see anything in them, both Sophia and Reiji.
They lacked the looks of pity or the fear of his scars, although he was sure Reiji had yet to see them.
No point in hiding it anymore.
As for Sophia, she softly dug her nails into her palm. She wanted to break the ice, know more about Itsuki, and see how easy he was to exploit. He was also in Reiji’s payroll, but hey, kindred spirits and all of that, as they were both minions.
She wasn’t planning on doing anything too evil or dangerous if she ever had to exploit him, just knowing the hand she was dealt, as Reiji had no gaps or weaknesses to use.
“Well, combat. I was quite a brawler, got them all by brawling.” He placed a hand on the back of his head, angrily scratching it. Itsuki omitted some details, as most of his fights were of the very violent sort, and always left him bleeding.
However, Sophia was smart enough to read between the lines. If it were possible, his words would be dripping with blood. Those were the sort of fights she only saw in movies or in the news as some sort of gang violence. Her instincts didn’t lie, and she had learned to trust her gut.
It told her that Itsuki was not someone to be trifled it, despite his soft face and laid back posture. ‘Fuck, you have an eye to gather up fucked up people, don’t you?’
Sophia glared daggers at Reiji from behind his back, her mask never slipping. Her boss was barely human in how cold and methodical he acted, and his other underling was some sort of bad dog fighter that came from the pits of hell.
‘The days of fooling people have finally caught up to ya, didn’t they?’ The Tanuki taunted her with a laugh. If she could cry, she would bawl her eyes out. Life was so unfair sometimes. She thought she had an easy win in a big, yet obscure city like Kageoka.
But it seemed her life just got more complex and hectic.
She had no one to blame but herself.
As for Itsuki, his eyes locked immediately in the Bleeding Zone before them. Sophia was clueless about it, it seemed she was too busy talking to herself.
A glance over Reiji told him he also noticed the zone, and he stared at it.
Good.
Yet, Itsuki couldn’t help but notice he was quite sloppy in his perception; he had to force himself to notice it rather than seamlessly see it as part of their (new) world.
Just like that girl, Marisa. He had to wonder how long Reiji had access to his powers as an Awakened.
Yet, Itsuki’s instincts screamed that entering that zone was a bad idea.
Something strange was happening in it; his instincts told him so.
Those were not green and fairly young instincts in him. Those dated from way back then, to his days as a support, someone who was on the backlines helping others.
Itsuki clicked his tongue, his eyes focused.
His posture shifted.
From a slightly crouched posture to one that is completely straight. The scars on his wrists were exposed by the flick of his wrists.
“Reiji, this is a bad idea. We should retreat.” Itsuki stopped dead in his tracks. His face assumed a new expression. One experienced coldness, one who saw too many situations go from under control to complete freak shows.
A glance at Itsuki’s face made Sophia’s mouth dry. There was absolute confidence on Itsuki’s face. His eyes had no hesitation, his words held no margin for error.
Even Reiji felt startled by Itsuki’s tone and presence. It was different from before. Before he sent him into that mission to steal that relic, Itsuki was a loose cannon, a beast barely under control.
But ever since he came back, he was oddly sane, very off-brand to the person he used to be, and even Reiji felt that.
It was wise to listen to Itsuki’s words. After all, he was older and more experienced in the matters of the Idea World than both himself and Sophia, but something in that Bleeding Zone had his attention; he felt compelled to enter it.
Reiji gritted his teeth, but showed no sign of emotion in his outward shell. “We shall continue. From my previous investigations, this zone is pretty tame compared to others.”
Reiji Kurobane wanted to see what was up with that zone, in crude terms. And he would get what he wanted, whether Itsuki wanted to go with him or not.
Even if Itsuki had an option in the matter, Reiji was still his boss, and he could take what was given far easier than Itsuki could even conceive.
As for Itsuki, he sighed heavily, his posture relaxed again, but not his gaze, the emotion in his eyes. It was the emotion of someone who expected the fight of his life, like the many others he had had before.
Sophia took after Itsuki. The instincts that allowed her to survive and thrive in this world told her that the guy was onto something, so she silently braced herself for the impact that was bound to come.
She hadn’t come this far by ignoring omens and signs of disasters.
The only one who held a semblance of calm and peacefulness in that trio was Reiji.
He was their leader, their boss; he knew better, or so he thought with all of his mind. There was no way he would be wrong instead of them, as a silent thug in the dark threads of his heart pulled him towards the Bleeding Zone.
When they entered the Bleeding Zone, Itsuki immediately manifested a Zona Oscura.
Rieji had no time to react as his subordinate incarnated before his eyes. Armor pieces exploded from his body, as well as a sword.
He followed suit alongside Sophia. A suit of armor covered his body, as the mask’s presence before her got stronger, more tangible.
Itsuki scanned the area. There were no signs of Idea World denizens, or any other creature for that matter. It was still dead. No animals, life forms, anything. It felt as if the air itself was stale.
Not the type of stale that allows mold to grow, but the complete absence of anything, like they were in the middle of a desert.
Buildings untouched, but with a feeling of wrongness about them, like they were prop objects on a stage. The bluer tint of color over the skies, like the Starry Night of Van Gogh.
The oddly cleaned streets, but with a faint outline of brown on it, as if someone tried to color it as a worn-out and well-used street, but failed. It lacked the presence of cars too, as it just added to the feeling of wrongness in it.
Many alleyways that lead to nowhere, like the misconceived image of a Forbidden Zone, were made by someone who only heard rumours about them.
But no presence of the supernatural, besides those small things that irked Itsuki. The place felt closer to a Flooding Zone than a Bleeding one, but there was nothing there.
Not a single thing.
Something was very wrong. It was as if the place was already cleaned up beforehand. Without the movement of people inside the Bleeding Zone, it should’ve collapsed a while ago, at very least.
“This is bad. We should get out immediately. Reiji, something already got there, there ain’t one single thing in this place. Whatever went here did a thorough job. If we are lucky, it will be the Student Council; if we aren’t, there may be a group of rogue awakened…”
The zone was unsettling. It was never that calm, even when someone cleaned up one, there were signs, anything to show there was a fight there, as the Bleeding Zone died down and starved, but this one was not starving.
It was stable.
It meant it was cleaned very recently, but if it was, why wasn’t there movement of people? Measures to avoid people getting into the bleeding zone and reactivating it with their emotions, like pouring fuel on flames?
They seldom met anyone close by.
For someone as experienced as Itsuki, that was wrong. Reiji shrugged under his heavy suit of armor. “It doesn’t matter, then. The place should be free to explore. We would gather some data on the bleeding zone.” He pushed forward.
Whatever compelled him into the Bleeding Zone forced him to go deeper, like an unconscious whisper; it felt just like his thoughts, like it was in his nature.
Itsuki groaned. He and the Tanuki mask shared a look, as Sophia took on to analyze Itsuki, using his as a gauge of how bad things were about to get. “Shit about to hit the fan, isn’t it, friend?”
The Tanuki Mask said with a dry voice. “Yeah, it sure is.” With one last groan, the duo pushed forward as they followed right behind Reiji.
However, their stroll didn’t last long enough. A figure appeared in the air, supported by a horde of lesser pale creatures. A towering figure of raw muscle and pure power, a crude and cruel imitation of an office worker, its suit made out of flesh. An unnerving smile on its face.
Itsuki’s instincts flared up. That was a Nightmare, not an enemy they could face on their own. Twelve wings sprouted out of his back as he took immediate flight, a mad dash towards the creature. “You two, retreat!” Itsuki barked from high above, his sword clashed against the elbow of the nightmare, its unnerving smile widening.
“Oh my! We have reached out to a prospective worker with a job invitation, but we hadn’t anticipated he would bring a Go-Getter with him!” The figure gave a deep, booming laugh, like he was some sort of big shot welcoming people to his company.
Itsuki’s blade trembled as blue flames escaped it, yet it failed to burn through the Nightmare. Even as he was marked by his skill, it was not enough to pierce its hardened flesh.
“It was such a shame to lose that young man; he most likely was poached by another company. But do not fret, young man! For someone with such an attitude and drive, we have a place in your company!” Itsuki gritted his teeth harder.
Then he noticed. Where were Sophia and Reiji? It took a split second for him to change focus to them, but that split focus was all the Nightmare needed. It grabbed him by his head and tossed him against a building, like a comet.
A sizable chunk of the building shattered upon impact, and a deep echo of pain echoed on Itsuki’s back, but he had a view of Reiji and Sophia.
Reiji was kneeling on the ground, kneeling, his hand placed over his chest, as if he was having a heart attack. Unbeknownst to Itsuki, it was not that far off a situation. Reiji felt a deep pang in his chest, like he was dying, like a vessel overflowing, ready to shatter.
Sophia was torn over running away or trying to stand up and fight. Itsuki narrowed his eyes as the Nightmare made its way towards Reiji; its horde of lesser creatures used their bodies as stairs for it.
As it got lower, the skies darkened, their own thoughts vanished to give place to harsher, eviler, crueler voices in their heads, and the creatures behind the nightmare increased, like a tidal wave of darkness, tired eyes, ties, and suits.
It a rasped breath, Itsuki saw the situation. It was made. They were unlucky, absolutely unlucky. That thing was above their pay grade.
Worse, he recognized what was happening to Reiji. He was becoming… a nightmare. Worse, an Awakened in the process of becoming one.
His free hand grasped the cold concrete of the building, piercing through the hard material, as the hand over his blade held it tightly.
If he were to act by the book, he would need to kill Reiji now. A Consumed Awakened was not a threat Higan, no, every Awakened in Kageoka was ready to face now.
However, a chill of dread crawled upon his spine. Imagine what would happen to him, his father, if the heir of the Kurobane Group suddenly vanished after walking with him? Worse, what would happen to that girl, Sophia?
The darker thoughts whispered sweet, incoherent lies in his ears. That darkness seemed overwhelming. The ideas and paranoid thoughts of what the Kurobane Group would do to him filled up his mind, the dread grasped his heart, and he too felt like he would have a heart attack.
Yet, as he saw it get lower and lower towards the ground, and the darkness deeper, he also saw the trembling figure of Sophia, unable to think or act, the mere presence of that thing enough to make her tremble in her boots, like she was facing an apex predator as a small prey.
Her bravado and personas wouldn’t cut against it.
With one last rasped breath, Itsuki punched he building with his free hand out of frustration, it made its whole structure collapse.
Damn the book. He didn’t want to follow it anymore, or just do bad things, because it would be easier. He felt his chest warm, his heart accelerating as if it was going to explode, his eyes narrowed on the Nightmare. Flames covered his blade and his wings.
A blue comet deep from the abyss took flight.
Itsuki moved out of the crater he made on the building and flapped his wings, as they propelled him forward, his blade raised high. “Sophia! Grab Reiji and get out of here! Try to contact the Student Council of Higan! Seek the Fujiwara-Senki, goddammit, just get out of here, now!”
Itsuki barked louder, as his words snapped Sophia out of her indecisiveness.
That situation was new to her; she had never faced anything like that.
But his voice seemed to break her out of the spell. She took Reiji’s heavy body and sprinted to the exit.
The Nightmare noticed Itsuki and moved out of the way as he struck his sword downwards, completely missing the Nightmare.
He used his wings to adjust his trajectory, turning around to face the Nightmare again, and then propelled himself forward with his blade. This time, the Nightmare had no time to dodge out of the way and didn't bother to block.
Itsuki was no threat, just a prospective recruit, or so it thought.
His blade made an arc towards the Nightmare’s chest, as it stuck deep into its flesh, a small blaze of gold deep within the blue flames writhed over the sword.
The Nightmare grabbed the blade and pulled Itsuki in, its smile widening to a maniacal degree. “I thought that the boy there was a prize, but I was mistaken! You are not a simple man! Do you want to join my company as a manager!?”
It didn’t seem as much of a question as it was a demand.
Itsuki prepared to spit over the thing’s glasses, but a burst of darkness came from behind him, an all-consuming wave. He used his wings as shields, as the whole structure of the Bleeding Zone distorted and twisted, as it even took the Nightmare by surprise.
“Oh. This is unexpected.” Then, both were swallowed by the unexpected flood that overwhelmed even the Nightmare’s corporate hellish presence.
Time felt like an eternity for Itsuki.
A second had passed, or decades.
It didn’t matter. He flew on the ground, his wings stained with heavy, liquid dark. He took a deep breath, but air was damp and cold.
He looked around.
A citadel of industrial might with an oppressive air stretched itself across his view, but it was hard to say if it covered the whole horizon, or if it was just the dark obscuring the view.
It was too much, like the whole place stared down at him, as the shadows crept ever closer. It whispered.
“You are not enough!”
An accusation similar to his own voice.
“You have brought misery to everyone around you.”
A myriad of voices like his old friends back when he was happier.
“You can’t protect anything or anyone. You are weak.”
A voice just like hers.
Itsuki pursed his lips.
He wasn’t enough, that was true. He was not enough for her; he wasn’t enough to avenge her; he was not enough to find that bastard and make him pay.
Hah! What does he need to say about his miserable existence? Had anyone ever benefited, have they ever been happier by having him around?
Maybe once upon a time, of a tale of a boy with stars that sparkled in his eyes, but not himself. Not his current self, maybe not even his future one.
Weak.
Sure, he won battles, he won fights, accomplished objectives.
But was any of them a full victory?
No.
All of them had a but.
All of them were accompanied by bitterness.
Not a single sweet victory, just struggles, pyrrhic victories, bitter victories.
Not only that. He was so weak, even in the real world.
There were so many fighters, those who could protect others, that had the strength to oppose evil, or the raw power to stand against titans, either for good or evil.
He lacked all of that throughout his life.
If someone ever set out to kill him, and he couldn’t face them head-on, he was as good as dead. No resistance, he had no luck or fate to help him, no secret weapon on his sleeve or a get out of jail free card in his pocket.
His weakness, his lack of strength, was what hurt the most.
He was no Superman; he lacked the strength of Heracles, the courage to stand against terror and fear.
The charisma and heart to motivate others.
The mind to pierce through any problem and solve it.
What.
Does.
He.
Have?
Black as pitch tears fell from his eyes, as that place’s miserable aura grew over him, like chains over his wings and arms; it bound him there, unable to move, to feel, to act.
He hadn’t even the love to shield him and give him strength.
What a pathetic person like him could even accomplish, hiding behind bravado and trying to put up a strong front?
What if it wasn’t enough? No, it wasn’t enough.
He saw truly impressive individuals, geniuses in their own fields, heroes of real life.
A girl with a heart of gold and the bravery to protect others at her own expense.
A young man with the will and drive to achieve great things, and save everyone he could reach with his hands, and even beyond that.
Boys with the strength of Greek Heroes, with just as many flaws, one a villain, one a hero, maybe.
Those who would always get up no matter what, despite how many times they were beaten.
And the many, many, with the occasion and love to cherish others.
In that pity party, Itsuki was all alone, as he was embraced by this overwhelming pain in his heart and mind.
He was such a mess, so flawed, so weak.
What others would see in him at the end of the day?
His mind was always at a limit, and his hope ran thin, yet he put on a bravado every day to try to heal. Make himself feel alive and important.
Itsuki felt his heart burn, as his lips pursed, the darkness pierced through his heart, yet it was not cold at all, it felt like it was burning, a blaze throughout his body, as the black tears continued to fall.
He opened his mouth to speak, to scream, but just a broken sob came out of it, as the memories of his failures, that failure of a life he led, replayed in his eyes.
Every flaw, every little mistake.
The pains and memories.
A thing materialized, pleased with the suffering of Itsuki.
Its hand grabbed his head and pulled it up, as it was face-to-face with him. “Are you ready to become a Manager?” Its voice was giddy, happy, despite all the hellish torment around them.
That torment crawled under his skin as Itsuki’s voice failed him.
He wanted more. So much more.
He wanted to be loved. He wanted to be strong, play the hero at least once.
To leave on the light, and not crawl in the shadows, like he always did.
To feel like that person, at least a little.
He didn’t ask for much.
Just a little of the man he was, if he could be like him just a little.
His heart felt like an inferno.
“I…”
He saw the back of that person, like a guiding star in his mind.
Someone he could never be.
Nor emulate.
But he yearned for that same light, that goodness.
To carry some of that strength.
“I want.” Itsuki's voice came off broken, as that heat felt like it would take his life at any moment.
Itsuki tried to find strength in others, in memories, but no one came.
He was all alone. No one to push him forward towards that light.
No one but himself, as always.
He would escape death once again. Find himself broken and alone, with no one to truly fight by his side. He fought beside Momo and the Fujiwara Senki, but he didn’t fight with them.
He always felt so dislocated just by being there.
Alone, broken, a wrench without a tear left to cry.
With no reason to fight, no one to protect…
…
…
…
He was alone; no one would lose sleep over his pain. No one would cry over him more than any other person in their lives, save his own father.
Even as a broken mess, even alone, he would survive, hurting, crying his soul out once again.
But he had to protect them; he had something to lose.
Itsuki Kusanagi would never be good enough, nor strong enough.
But he wanted to hold that light; he followed the words that came out of his lips.
He couldn’t intervene. He was not strong enough… but he- “I want to intervene!”
The black tears from his eyes vanished as the chains of misery burned up. His heart was like a miniaturized star, as tears continued to flow out.
He spread his wings far and wide. A glow over his back, like a sun.
With a powerful flap of his wings, Itsuki took flight into on high, it knocked the Nightmare to the ground, as he soared through the dark and unknowable skies like a being of light.
(...)
Chie held on to the Tanuki mask for dear life, like she held on to her persona as Sophia to survive and endure her life. Silent tears and sobs escaped her mouth, her eyes closed shut to not stare into the darkness, stare into the abyss.
“Look at how you carry yourself. Have I taught you no shame, young lady?” The voice of her mother rang in her brain like a siren; it was so damn loud it rattled her whole head.
“Always fooling others, stealing, scamming. Which man will ever marry a bitch like you?” She heard the voice of her father, as well as the motion of something being thrown her way. She instinctively flinched and cried a little louder.
Nothing hit her body, but she felt like it did, hurtful memories bubbling to the surface, and those memories made the damage become real, as blood ran down her forehead.
The voices of her brother and sisters echoed; they ridiculed her, mocked her, and somehow, they hurt even more than her mother and father’s actions combined.
The tendrils of dark pierced her skin and started to spread in her flesh like a blight, as she was too powerless to act, the Tanuki in the mask no longer answering to her cries.
Chie puked on the ground before her, a mass of dark tendrils crawled out of her mouth like a ball of inflamed phlegm.
She felt so sick, so lost, so hurt.
She escaped her home to live in Tokyo, change her life for the better, not to die in the dark like that!
That misery wouldn’t claim her; she would endure it. She endured it her whole life, what was a little more?!
Yet the defiance in her heart felt defeated.
How could she escape that fate? The fate of being consumed by her surroundings?
She didn’t know. But Chie didn’t live this far to die there! She hadn’t become Sophia to fall down in the gutter!
She clutched the Tanuki Mask further, enduring the onslaught of words that came from the voices of the dark; she made herself deaf to the world, as if it could help her.
It would buy time, but never fix the issue truly.
“Sophia! Scream! Let me hear your voice! I am coming, just hang on there!” At first, she refused to hear that voice, but it kept shouting, even louder and louder.
Then, she saw the light. It contrasted so deeply against the dark that it forced her to open her eyes.
She could not see him, but saw his light. Him.
That person who saw her not as Chie, but Sophia, without question or second-guessing. What's his name again?
Oh.
That realization, that single realization, sparked a flame in her chest; it purged out her hopelessness, enough for her to scream, enough for her to cry for help, to escape her fate.
“Itsuki! I am here!”
The ground underneath her gave out, as a blinding light took her in his arms, and then soared onwards.
The Tanuki in the mask awakened again, away from the pitch black dark. “Damn brat. To think you were chained in hell and actually got up!” He laughed. Itsuki paid no mind to it.
However, Sophia saw sadness in his eyes, and tears fell and were carried downwards by his momentum.
He looked hurt, but she had no way of helping him, nor did she know how. “You, Tanuki. What can you do? What do you know about this darkness?”
The Tanuki laughed, but that was a fake laugh, one filled with concern and caution. “That boy exploded into that; it altered all the landscape and changed everything. You were dragged to the deepest parts alongside that thing. I think its power and the darkness within the boy resonated.”
“I can feel that you plan to save him, go to the top, and take him out.” Sophia looked at Itsuki with horror. He still planned to take Reiji out?
She then looked at the Tanuki Mask. “Sophia, be confident in yourself. As long as you keep confident, no, as long as you are Sophia, you will be nigh invincible. Believe in that, and I will do the rest. Do you trust in me?”
Sophia bit on her lip and nodded. She steeled herself to craft her perfect Persona, one that wouldn't crack. Meanwhile, Itsuki gave a nod to the Tanuki Mask, a succinct understanding between them.
“The boy is at the top of it all. Continue to soar, and you will find him.
They continued to soar towards the top. “How did you break out?” Itsuki questioned Sophia. She wasn’t restrained like him. He couldn't remember exactly what happened, just the emotion of self-hatred that burned in his chest.
It gave him the power to break free, grasp the light. “I… just… didn’t accept that fate. I wouldn’t settle for any less than the light I chase for so long. I can’t die in this place full of shit!” She snapped, outrage in her voice.
Good, outrage would allow her to perform well against the coming trial.
Soon, they broke through the ceiling and reached the heart of the Flooding Zone.
It was an Industrial Nightmare, filled to the brim with cogs and the facsimile of people, helpless automatas, rusted and breaking apart.
In the heart of it was the last piece to solve this mess. Reiji.
He was in the heart of a myriad of cogs spinning, gears grinding, like a heart beating.
As soon as they entered, they were attacked from everywhere. The ceiling, the walls, the cogs, everything turned on to attack them, as lasers were shot from the darkness all around, the cogs launched themselves like saw blades.
One of those saw blades was too fast for Itsuki to react.
One of his wings was nearly cut immediately, a good chunk of it gone.
Pain shot in his system, but he didn’t stop, even as his stop speed slowed.
Cogs, darkness, automatas, industrial nightmare.
That was not any Flooding Zone. It was as if the public opinion of the Kurobane Group manifested itself.
Maybe it was really that, and Reiji, as the heir, as the centerpiece of it all.
Damn bastard.
“You! REIJI! DO NOT DARE TO ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE CONSUMED!” Sophia placed the mask over her face, as her attire changed completely, mimicking that of a certain hero who journeyed to the west.
A certain stone monkey.
As the attacks came, she intercepted them with great speed. Punches, kicks, her whole body acted as a shield as she tanked or otherwise deflected every attack towards Itsuki, pairing around him like a blur of speed.
She believed herself to be invincible, and as such, the Tanuki mimicked the strongest being it knew.
Reiji's face moved to stare at Itsuki. Half nightmare, half a person at that point.
“Do you want to live in the shadows of the Kurobane for so long? When you will live your damn life, you damn babstard? When will you make your own choices instead of being controlled?” Itsuki shouted to the top of his lungs as Sophia giggled madly, mocking and taunting the nightmarish Flooding Zone, going too much in character at that moment.
Itsuki didn’t know if his words would hit close to home. He was just shit talking Reiji, but it got a reaction.
It was time to up his game. “What happened to the man who said he would give me everything I wanted, if he can’t even help himself?”
That did the trick.
Reiji’s eyes focused on Itsuki as he started to push himself up from the “heart”. “You… you couldn’t even look after yourself… don’t look down on me!”
Reiji spent his whole life just as another puppet of the Kurobane Group, a tool made by his father, a tool only loved by his mother as long as he gave something to her.
He was not different from the unwashed masses who were at the boot and heel of the Kurobane Group; he was just a more high-maintenance, and important, puppet.
That corporate hell where people lacked individuality and lived their lives as mindless machines was all he knew, all he wanted to change.
He didn’t want to be that cold bastard that everyone knew; he wanted to be more, to be a beacon of light for other people.
But he had to keep on the mask.
Yet, he saw those two buffoons, those two wrecks of people… pull themselves out of the mud, and hurl themselves at him.
If they could do that, there was no reason he couldn’t do the same, but it required to…
Abandon the mask, the facade, and admit he cared. He wanted the limelight, and…
Reiji looked away, being pulled back to the heart.
Yet, Itsuki was already upon him, a hand extended. “Will you accept being in the shadow of your parents? In the shadow of the Kurobane?”
Reiji’s blood boiled, and he saw red. He threw himself out of the heart, in an attempt to punch Itsuki. Itsuki used the opportunity to grab him by the hand and use his momentum to rip Reijni out of the heart.
The Flooding Zone started to collapse.
A Nightmare stared them in the distance, as they exited the now returned Bleeding Zone.
At the surface, it was smiling. Inside, it fumed with rage, as he was rejected by those three. Looked down upon by them. He hated them.