Part 4

Location: The Bronx, NEO New York City

Time: 1:18 p.m.

Everything was lively.

The sound of students talking could be heard in the classroom.

Lunch period was over, so all the students were in class 2A, setting in for the next class, except for a few.

The classroom door slid open as the female teacher walked in, causing most of the chatter from the students to die down and take their seats.

The sound of chairs scraping on the floor filled the room as the teacher walked to the desk in front of the room.

Putting the folders on the desk, the teacher stared at the class to get a head count.

Sighing, she spoke.

“It seems that several of our students are either late or have decided to cut the rest of the school day.”

The teacher turned around and began wiping the eraser board clean.

“Well, it’s their loss.”

As the teacher began writing on the border with a marker, Emi Takahara's purple eyes glanced to the left at the empty desk beside her.

A seat that, at this time, would be normally occupied by Haruko Matsumoto, but right now he wasn’t here.

Her mind drifted off.

["Alright, I think I have a location.”

“Wait, really!” Haruko shouted out as he stood up from the bench. “Are you serious?”

Emi turned her head toward Haruko as he got closer to her.

With an annoyed look on her face, she pressed her phone against her chest.

Haruko noticed this, and the expression on his face became one of worry and confusion.

“If I give you this information, what are you going to do with it?”

“What do you mean, I’m going to save her and get my necklace back?”

“This very exact thing happened the last time several days ago, in the same exact way, and you ended up in the hospital; do you not remember?”

Haruko stared at Emi with a blank look on his face.

“Not really”

“What do you mean?”

“That night,” Haruko started to speak. “I can remember most of that night clearly; even with me fighting the leader of that group, it just..." Haruko paused before looking at his palm. “At some point during that same fight, I blacked out, remembering bits and pieces of it, and when I came to, I was in a hospital with these powers.”

As Haruko said that, his right arm was engulfed in lightning.

Sparks emitted from his arm fiercely cut through the air like butter, causing a pressure of air to blow away from him in all directions, with him at the center, as if the lightning on his arm were trying to push everything away.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

At the sight of such a display of power from the teen, Emi took a step back.

Her skin could feel the heat that was emitted from the lightning.

Her clothes

Her hair.

Her skin.

All of it felt dry, as if she were standing in direct sunlight with no protection.

Almost stinging against her skin.

But-

(Haruko….)

Haruko just stood there with his arm covered in lightning, as if it didn’t bother him one bit.

No wincing.

There was no outburst of shock or pain.

Nothing.

There was no reaction at all from him.

(This is... that ability... this is the first time I have seen such an output for an ability like this.)

She looked at the lightning-engulfed arm of Haruko.

(To have this level of intensity and pressure from just that amount of lightning is something entirely different, but.)

Haruko Matsumoto.

He just stood there, looking at his palm.

(The contrast between the intensity of his powers and this calmness of his demeanor—at this level, what would happen if he were to use those very same powers in an agitated state of emotion.)

Glancing at his palm, Haruko turned his attention to Emi.

Noticing the look of concern on her face, the lightning on his arm fizzled out.

“Sorry about that; I tend to go a little overboard trying to use my powers. What're we talking about again?”

“Your idiotic idea that you are calling a plan”

"It is not that idiotic.”

Emi started to get annoyed.

“Do you not understand the gravity of the situation you are in now?"

“I do, and it is because I do that I can’t simply ignore it.”

Haruko stared at Emi.

“Aoi, that girl is my responsibility for the time being, so that’s out of the question, and that necklace, my necklace……”

Haruko averted his eyes away from Emi.

“From what seems, I can still use my powers without me wearing it, but I am not sure to what extent; probably something to do with my soul and all that, as Aoi said, but that necklace, regardless of what it is now or always been, is the last remnant of my mother that I have left now in this world, and I just can’t let that go.”

Those reasons.

She knew Haruko for years; by this point, she knew what he was like.

Haruko Matsumoto.

By every metric, he was a slacker in school who would be in the top 10 in grades in the class if he actually tried. Somewhere between a loner and a somewhat social person, given the topic of discussion but-

If there was a problem, he would do everything in his power to help, to the detriment of himself, and if there was a fight for a righteous cause, he would be in that fight.

That is who he was.

Those causes were enough to drag him into a fight.

Deep down, that was who he was.

She knew there was no changing that for him.

“Very well, I will tell you the address,” Emi said in a soft tone, causing Haruko to look at her.]

Emi's purple eyes glanced away from the empty desk and upwards to the window that showed the skyline of Manhattan off in the distance.

So peaceful.

Despite the serenity of the view of the city, her mind drifted back to Haruko.

Somewhere in this vast metropolis that was called a city, Haruko was out there doing god knows what.

“Just be careful, you idiot,” Emi said under her breath before looking away from the window.

_____________________________________________________________________

Footsteps ran across the sidewalk, followed by the sound of panting.

Haruko Matsumoto.

Right now, he was running towards the location that he believed Aoi was being held at.

[“From what I can tell, based on what was provided, the coordinates only lead to a single street, off Cypress Ave., passing Bruckner Boulevard to Locust Ave.” Emi stated.

“Just a street, no buildings in particular; that doesn’t leave much.”

Haruko placed his finger under his chin.

“With the location out in the open, it's most likely a trap.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I’m not sure, but it is the only lead I have going forward. I still have my powers, so I should be okay for the time being, and I’ll probably figure out something on my way there. Right now, I don't have any time to waste”]

Haruko’s footsteps slammed as he ran across the sidewalk.

In the corner of his blue eyes, he spotted a green street sign attached to a traffic light, causing him to stop in his tracks.

He bent over and placed his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

His panting filled the air.

His legs felt heavy, as if they were about to give out.

“141st Street, I can probably cut the distance in half if I cut through here.”

Meet us at this location, and nothing will happen to you or the other Crystal Guardian.

That message replayed in his mind.

Grunting, Haruko picked himself up.

“Not yet; I am so close.”

Haruko started to run off again.