Part 2

Reiko Matsumoto's brown eyes open to see the white tiled ceiling above her.

She groaned as she placed her hand on her forehead.

Beside the sound of a few faint noises, everything was quiet around her.

"My head"

"Try not to move around so much."

At the sound of the soft voice, she jumped, nearly falling off the hospital bed.

Gathering herself, Reiko looked to the corner of the room to see Antonio staring out the window overlooking the courtyard.

"Head doctor," Reiko said as she sat up on the bed.

Antonio turned his head to look at the woman.

"Please don’t move around so much," Antonio said as he turned to the woman. "You suffered a bad fall; I found you passed out on the floor in the lobby, so I brought you here to rest up, but you appear to be doing well’

Without saying anything, Reiko stared at the head doctor.

Slowly, the events of the past started to rush back into her mind.

The man in the dark cloak.

"Your lying," Reiko said softly.

The memory of Nereus showing her the image of the girl that Haruko brought to the hospital to be helped.

"That girl is part of something big, isn’t she?"

Not feeling that he could lie any more, he replied.

"I don’t know the full details myself, but given what has happened tonight, it would appear so."

After a few seconds of silence, Reiko laid back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"And Haruko is a part of that as well."

Antonio sighed.

"I’m afraid so. He is most likely there now. He is everything you said he would be, I’m sorry," Antonio said, looking at his bandaged hand.

"It isn’t your fault; if he isn’t here, then the center of all this is where he would be."

(Haruko, you idiot. Getting involved in issues like this without a care in the world.)

"You are so grounded," Reiko said, still staring at the ceiling.

_____________________________________________________________________

In an open field under construction, there were three people.

Aoi, the Water Crystal Guardian- A girl who had complete control over the element of water. At the moment, she was a chained captive by-

Nereus, the former first-generation Water Crystal Guardian who was planning to steal the soul of the chained girl for her power and-

Haruko Matsumoto- an uninvolved party in this matter, who came to rescue the girl.

"If anything, you are very persistent; I’ll give you that," Nereus said.

Once again, Aoi stared at the person who had came to rescue her.

Haruko Matsumoto.

"Haruko, you...you came here."

Haruko looked at Aoi with a surprised look on his face.

"Wow, I think this is the first time you called me by my name since this whole ordeal started." Haruko turned his attention to Nereus. "Let’s just hope it won’t be the last time."

Nereus raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, the chains began to vibrate. Aoi groaned in pain as the chains in her chest detached themselves, falling to the floor.

The chains quickly reeled themselves out of the body of Nereus and back into the statue, with Nereus never taking his eyes off the teen.

"I know I’m going to sound like a broken record, but this time, after everything that has happened, this time I am going to save you."

Aoi watched on as Haruko started walking towards the man.

Something has changed about him since the last time I saw him—something that I can’t explain. (He seems like a whole different person.)

"How are your insides?" Nereus's deep voice interrupted Aoi's thoughts.

Haruko did not reply.

"Surviving that attack is one thing but coming back for more is idiotic all together."

Nereus started walking towards the teen.

A white sword began to form in his right hand.

"I want you to know you will not have the opportunity to regret that decision again."

"I won't," Haruko coldly replied.

Sword in hand, Nereus crouched down.

Like a bullet, Nereus blitzed towards the teen.

As Haruko took a step back, Nereus vanished before him.

"What the hell?"

"Behind you, duck!!!" Aoi shouted out, breaking the silence.

Haruko ducked as Nereus appeared behind him and swung his sword, missing the teen's head.

Not letting up on his assault, he swung the sword again.

Slamming both of his palms on the ground, Haruko quickly handstands and kicks his right foot towards Nereus, causing him to block the hit with his left forearm.

Both men stared at each other for a quick second.

Nereus moved his head as Haruko brought his left leg up in an attempt to kick him. He swatted Haruko's right leg away and grabbed his left leg.

"Too slow," Nereus said as he lifted the teen off his hands and into the air. He then flung Haruko away several meters.

His body rolled across the floor before coming to a complete stop.

Haruko's body laid there on the floor, not moving.

"Haruko!!!!" Aoi shouted out.

Haruko quickly shot up to his hands and knees.

"Owowowowow, holy shit that hurts," Haruko blurted out.

Aoi looked at the teen.

Blood was pouring down the right side of his face, dripping to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Aoi asked.

Haruko dusted himself off and stood up.

"Yeah."

Haruko stared at the man.

(This guy, his reflexes are nothing to scoff at; if Aoi did not warn me to duck, my own head would be on the floor.)

Haruko placed his hand on the back of his neck.

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(With his speed, I can forgo attacking him head-on, not without a plan at least. If I can find a way to catch him off guard.)

"I assume that you are finished with coming up with a plan to defeat me—no, I take that back: a plan to survive."

Haruko ran towards the man.

With an expressionless look on his face, he raised the sword in the air, and in a quick second, he swung the sword down with all of his might.

Seeing this, Haruko jumped out of the way.

Since the sword was not physical but what he considered energy, he assumed that the sword would release an energy blast, but nothing happened.

Haruko turned his attention to the man, only to see him with a grin on his face.

BOOOM!!!!!

A loud, thunderous noise startled the teen.

Haruko turned his head back, and his eyes drifted down to the ground. His eyes widen as he sees that the ground was split open with a huge cut that spans the length of the open yard.

(What the hell? He did this with a quick slash, Haruko thought as he observed the damage.

"Still trying to process what is going on before you," Nereus said as he rested his sword beside him.

Haruko turned his head toward the man.

"Those who are slow to understand the information in front of them are even slower to react."

With a quick dash, Nereus appeared crouched down in front of the teen, ready to swing upward in an attempt to split his body in half.

Haruko looked down.

(Oh, that right, his speed; I totally forgot about that.) Haruko nonchalantly thought.

Through his eyes, it was as if everything was moving in slow motion.

Ba-bump.

(With his speed and strength…..)

Nereus twisted his body.

Ba-bump.

(I won’t be able to dodge this.)

Haruko unclenched his fist.

(This attack would most likely kill me, and that will probably be it, huh.)

Ba-bump.

(After everything that has happened, after everything I said, this is how it ends.)

Haruko closed his eyes.

Ba-bump.

(Reiko.)

Ba-bump.

(Alexis.)

Ba-bump.

(Jayden.)

Ba-bump.

(Emi.)

Ba-bump.

(Emila.)

Ba-bump.

Nereus raised his body, and the sword followed suit.

Aoi.

Ba-

Silence.

HARUKOOOO!!!!!!! Through the blackness in his mind, Aoi's voice shouted out, causing Haruko's eyes to quickly open, bringing him back into the world.

As the white sword quickly approached him, Haruko ducked under the strike of the sword.

The missed sword strike created a violent gust of wind behind the teen.

Both men stared at each other.

With his sword raised in the air, he brought it down once again.

Suddenly, blue chains wrapped around his forearm.

Nereus quickly turned his head to the source of the chains.

Aoi.

"You, what do you think you are doi-"

He was cut as he moved his head to dodge Haruko's uppercut.

Nereus pushed the teen away from him with a kick and sent the teen back.

With his free hand, he gripped the chains around his right forearm.

The chains began to liquify, falling to the ground.

He raised his sword to Aoi.

"Don’t think that little trick of yours will work agai-" Nereus was once again cut off by Haruko as he rammed his shoulder into him. Knocking him off balance

Slamming his foot into the ground, Nereus stopped himself. He quickly spun around, and under the cover of his cloak, he grabbed the teen's neck, lifting him into the air.

Haruko struggled for a bit before being slammed into the ground.

Haruko let out a pained gasp as Nereus squeezed his throat.

"Foolishness," Nereus said as he knelt over the teen.

Nereus quickly released his grip on the teen's throat and raised his hand to block the blast of water coming towards him.

Haruko watched as the water avoided the man.

(What the hell, he can block her water attacks.)

Both Aoi and Nereus are in an intense battle.

(If he can block her attacks, then how the hell can this guy be beat?)

As Haruko watched as Nereus blocked Aoi's continuous blast of water, something caught his eye.

Nereus's white sword, which was firmly implanted into the ground,

Its shape or lack of features did not matter to the teen, but-

Looking at the weapon, Haruko could see that small cracks began to appear.

(Wait.)

Haruko looked at the man's face; he could see that he was pushing himself, blocking Aoi's attack.

Turning his attention back to the sword.

(I see that is how it is.)

With both hands, Haruko grabbed Nereus cloak.

"What are you doing?" Nereus asked as Haruko pulled himself away and head butted him.

"Gahhh!" Haruko shouted out as his head bounced off Nereus's; it felt as if his head had hit a brick wall.

Nereus then face-palmed Haruko, slamming his head into the ground.

Blue chains of hardened water began to wrap around his body and outstretched arm.

"This again," Nereus said as he gripped the chain around him with his free hand.

"Not the same," Aoi replied.

Hardened water spikes emerged from the ground under Nereus and Haruko, grazing him on his arm.

Nereus winced in pain as the chains pulled his arm down.

With nothing holding back the water, Nereus was blasted away several meters away. The water pressured him against a large pile of sheetrock.

He pushed himself and slowly started walking against the pressure of the water. Aoi increased the volume of water being put out, causing Nereus to stop walking.

Suddenly, the water was blasted away from him.

Aoi stopped her water blast as Nereus stabbed his sword into the ground.

He attempted to take a step, but several blue chains wrapped around his ankle. He groaned as he attempted to cut the chains with his sword. The ground beneath him began to grow darker, causing him to look at the sky.

"Whoa," Haruko said as he looked up. "What the hell is that?"

Descending from the sky was a large blue hand made of water.

"Do not think that this will stop me," Nereus said as he raised his hand to the sky in an attempt to dispel the large hand.

His eyes widen.

The large hand began to fall faster.

(NO….with both its size and its speed, I won’t be able to dispel it in time.)

The hand slammed into the ground, crushing Nereus under it. The ground shook violently as dirt and smoke shot into the air.

The shockwave of wind and smoke caused Haruko to block his face with his forearms.

The smoke began to die down as Haruko watched on.

There was silence in the area.

Haruko turned to Aoi and started running towards her.

(This is my chance; if I can’t beat him, then the least I can do is free her so she can escape.)

The large hand began to crack, causing Haruko to look back.

(No, it can’t be.)

More cracks started to appear.

BOOF!!

The large hand exploded.

Standing in the broken rubble was Nereus; he was slouched against one of the broken fingers. Haruko noticed that a large amount of blood was pouring out of his mouth.

Aoi watched on.

(My body right now is operated by nothing more than a broken soul hanging on a very literal string and my own willpower. By canceling out the crystal guardian abilities within your soul with the broken mess that is mine, I can feel myself slowly tip over to the other side, which is death.

Nereus words echoed in her mind.

"Haruko, listen to me."

Haruko looked back at Aoi.

"That individual, regardless of the state that he is in, is a Crystal Guardian of the same element, just like me."

Haruko's eyes widen as he turns back to Nereus.

"But how?"

(Another Crystal Guardian with the same element as Aoi; I guess that was how he was able to block her attacks, but then...)

"His soul is broken."

That sentence from Aoi interrupted the teens thoughts.

"With his broken soul, he can’t create water the same way I can; he can only attempt to dispel the water that I can create, but since his soul is broken, that means..."

"The more he dispels your attacks, the more broken and damaged his soul becomes."

Now that statement surprised her.

(It isn’t much, but if we attack carefully, then we might win.) Haruko thought.

"Haruko"

Nereus began walking toward the pair, with Haruko walking towards him.

"You don’t have to worry much. I just need you to do what you were doing before to support me as a backup. By either your attacks or mines, this all ends here."

Aoi watched the teen move towards Nereus.

(Just watch and wait for a time to strike, Aoi thought.)

Not waiting for an attack, Haruko ran up to the man and threw a haymaker punch with his right arm.

Nereus effortlessly blocked Haruko's wrist with his left forearm. He then pushed the teen’s arm away, throwing him off balance; in his right hand, a white sword began to form.

He gripped the handle of the sword and swung the sword toward the head of the teen. As he did, a pillar of hardened water rose up from the ground to block the incoming strike, causing the sword to bounce off the pillar.

As the sword recoiled off the pillar, Haruko crouched down in front of the man. Nereus watched as the teen thrust his body towards the man.

Haruko cleaned his fist tightly as he brought it upward.

The teen, with all of his strength, uppercut Nereus in the chin. His head bent upward as blood from his mouth flew into the sky.

(He hit him.) Aoi thought as she watched the events before her.

Haruko lowered his left arm.

(I can’t let up now.)

Nereus lowered his head to see that Haruko was attempting to punch him again. He dodged the punch by leaping several feet into the air. Both men stared at each other as the distance between them increased.

As he got higher into the air.

Behind him, a massive wall of hardened water rose, blocking his path of retreat.

As Nereus turned around to see the wall of water, a pair of chains flew towards him, wrapping around his left angle.

With a quick motion, the chains yanked him down and threw him back into the ground.

A large amount of thick smoke began to fill the air.

Nereus cut the chain from his ankle as he stood up.

Through the smoke, he could see a silhouette of a person running towards him. Since the girl was chained, he assumed that the person running toward him was the teen.

Nereus thrust his left arm and the sword forward, impaling the silhouette in front of him.

Suddenly, the silhouette features began to melt away.

(A water clone.)

The clone grabbed his arm, holding it in place as it began to harden.

At the sound of several footsteps, Nereus raised his head and looked to his left and right.

Around him was the sight of several water clones running towards him from all angles.

Deciding to forgo his trapped weapon, he released his grip on the sword and spun around in a clockwise motion, dragging his foot along the ground.

As he did, a white sword began to form in his hand. Now that he had fully turned around, he used his momentum to swing the word with a powerful slash, creating a violent shockwave of wind that blew away the smoke in the air and the water clones.

All but one.

Nereus glanced upon a single individual who was shielding his face with his forearms.

The real one.

He gripped the hilt of the sword tighter as the teen lowered his arms. Putting pressure on his feet, he quickly dashed toward the teen.

As he got closer, a spike of water shot from under the teen's feet diagonally towards the head of Nereus.

He quickly spun around counterclockwise to avoid the strike.

Haruko took a single step forward as he pulled his right fist back.

As Nereus spun around, he switched the sword from his right hand to his life and raised the sword over his head.

Haruko crouched down.

Now fully facing the teen, sword in hand, he brought down upon the teen head.

With his strength and the weapon of choice, he was sure that both would allow him to split the teen head open but-

There was a loud noise that sounded like glass breaking.

White particles floating in the air.

Nereus eyes widen when he takes a glance at his sword—more like what was left of it.

The sword was now broken, and the pieces that remained in his hand were breaking apart.

Nereus looked at the teen as he raised his head.

He noticed that there was no damage from his sword to the teen. On the right side of the face, where the sword impacted, a faint vein-like pattern appeared, flickering on and off.

Aoi watched as Haruko swung his arm around with his fist tightly clenched with everything he had.

Haruko Matsumoto.

This person before her right now was much different than the person she had met a few hours ago; his attitude and resolve have changed from the person she saw run out of her room in the hospital.

(Haruko, what happened to you?) Aoi thought as she watched Haruko strike the man in the face, knocking him to the ground.