The arena became silent. A loud sound that originated from the bottom repressed the voice of the world. Everyone inside the building that had witnessed the activity below stood still in soundless states.
Haruto overlooked his opponent, frozen like a statue but with shaking hands. The vibration carried on to the grip of his sword that extended all the way to the blood coated tip that exited Hiromoto's back. He could feel the rhythmic drumming slowly fade away as each second passed. Hiromoto had coughed up blood on Haruto's hands, shivering and looking at his opponent with regret, his last words were inaudible to his adversary's ears as the boy stood in fear right in front of him, finally, with his last breath and beat, he fell. Bloodied and lifeless on the cold damp ground.
Unexpectedly, the crowd had reached their loudest, the sound of fireworks that lit up the night sky, and the thunder that raged through the clouds like it was about to rain.
A melancholic sight.
Haruto gawked at his hands as the crowd's impalpable voices swam around him. Fear produced an ear-piercing sound to his senses and his vision focused on his hands that made his surroundings indistinguishable. The horror of his actions, the nature of his atrocious act; sent him into a state of mental panic. The corners of his eyes had watered up, his face going through a state of insanity, the downfall of a little boy's innocence. "Ack—" Haruto ached as he held his chest, the poison had completely taken over his body, infecting him with torturous pain. Unable to bear the feeling any longer, he fainted.
His skin felt cold and wet, a movement was like being in space, and the sound of water moving filled his ears. Haruto opened his eyes, surrounded by a dark cold body of water, the light of the surface was moving away, desperate to reach the top, he swam. But each movement became heavier as he progressed, with his next paddle, a sudden grip began to anchor him to the floor, slowly drowning as his hand moved away from the light.
"You did great Haruto." A whisper to his ear in the darkness.
As he slowly regained his consciousness, Haruto came to a vivid scene. White figures were walking left and right in all directions, his clothing was shining brightly of white as well. It was like a scene in heaven. Shortly, a mysterious figure approached him on his soft bed.
"Am I... dead?" Haruto asked.
The figure came closer, its face slowly revealed the features of a woman "No you're not dear." A faint voice replied.
As his vision steadily came back to normal, Haruto saw a room, slow rhythmic beats came from a small monitor beside him, the woman beside her wore a white uniform with a small hat that had a red cross on its front part. She smiled at him, caressing him like a mother taking care of a baby, as she turned her head, her features changed from a lovely looking woman to a serious authority that demanded a doctor, eyebrows curved inward, mouth opened but didn't smile, and her tone became hasty. Before he knew it, Haruto was accompanied by a nurse and a doctor in a curtain covered white bed.
"How is he doing nurse?" The doctor asked in his hoarse voice as he prepared his checklist for the nurse's responses.
"He seems to be doing fine Doc, the poison was successfully eliminated from his bloodstream and his wounds have been treated." her hands moved around Haruto's body, checking every part of him for any remaining anomalies. From his eyes to ears, to mouth, and to the rest of his still body.
The doctor moved his pen every time the nurse answered a question. After checking his body one last time, the nurse stood, hurrying over to the right side of the room. The doctor kept writing on his checklist as he slowly went away to the left side of the room.
Near his bed, the curtains were being slid open to reveal the various tournament contestants that had been seriously injured in the tournament. Everyone was there; Keiko, Gokuro, Sayozane, and more. Haruto watched as the workers tried their best to help them. Doctors were coming from every direction to check on the patients, mumbling words that sounded like they were amazed by what happened earlier. "What did happen earlier?" Haruto thought.
From the east side of the room, men in black with suitcases came in to interrupt the doctors' procedures, conflict rose among them, demanding an explanation as to what they were doing. One of the men had opened a briefcase and showed a small box that contained a pill of sorts. Haruto couldn't hear what they were saying, only baffles and wails entered his ears. As he laid bare on the bed, he tried to move, but every muscle he budged only sent pain throughout his body, forcing him to stop any movement.
At the front of his bed, Sayozane lying down, unconscious and unresponsive to the people crowding her. Her body looked very weak and bruised, the wounds on her head still dripping with blood and her breathing was slow. Her caretakers started to argue over something, their conflict eventually leading to an even bigger argument that placed the room in fear. Shortly after, Sayozane began to have a seizure, her mouth started to bubble and the monitor began beeping even faster, shocking both parties near her.
"She's dying goddamit—" A man explained in a loud manner.
Haruto laid still as he watched everyone slowly cover the sight of Sayozane and in the process, he fell asleep.
A few hours later
"Everyone seems to be doing well now." the same voice that Haruto heard earlier lighted a cigar which he inhaled in the process. "That pill they gave really worked wonders on everyone, it's as if their wounds immediately got healed."
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The sounds of metal trays being placed down and plastic wheels moving in different directions were all around.
"Who were those men anyway Doc?" the same feminine voice he heard earlier replied "Were they part of the government? They obviously have more advanced techniques then the current medical field has, it's amazing!"
"Something about a secret organization that helps fighters... that was all they gave us." The sound of the cigarette being rubbed on a metal container followed and a whiff of smoke entered Haruto's nostrils, making him cough and waking him up.
"Ack—" the boy exclaimed as he continued to cough. The nurse immediately giving him water to soothe his discomfort.
"Where... where am I?" The boy asked.
"You're in an underground infirmary my boy..." the figure came closer as he explained; a tall old man wearing a doctor's coat and silver-lined glasses. His face somehow gave off a sense of someone who was content and wise."That fight you had really took a toll on you, the poison in your bloodstream started eating at your cells which lead to internal damage of your organs. Fortunately, help saved you from... well... dying."
As he budged his body to move and stretch, Haruto began to remember what happened to his best friend. "Is Sayozane okay?" he asked.
"Sayozane? Oh, you mean the girl that fought the Muay Thai fighter." Turning around and pointing, Haruto saw his beautiful friend alive and well, smiling while chatting with the nurses. "Her fight also took a toll on her, whoever fought her really damaged her organs and brain tissue. We were able to heal her to her current state, but..." a frowning face troubled Haruto.
"But what?" the curious boy asked.
"The damage to her brain was too deep, even with... whatever that certain help gave her, they weren't able to retain her memories..."
"Her memories? What does that mean? Does she... remember me?"
The nurse and the doctor looked at each other, not knowing what to say to the sad boy. "Son, how about you go and find out." The doctor said.
Taking off the tubes and wires attached to him, Haruto walked slowly over to Sayozane who was still laughing and chatting with the nurses, as he came closer to her, she noticed him. Excusing herself from the workers, she walked slowly over to Haruto as well.
"Sayozane..." Haruto said as he scratched his head in confusion. "Are... you okay?"
She didn't answer, her face gave off a blank look, the silence between them made Haruto feel uncomfortable. "Did she forget about me?" Haruto thought as his eyes welled up with tears but in his sadness, he felt two hands close in on him, hugging him tightly.
"I'm okay, you dummy..." Her sweet voice reassured him. She didn't forget her best friend.
As they continued to embrace each other's warmth, a glimpse caught Haruto's eye, stirring something within him once again, a familiar feeling. Letting go of her, he turned around to leisurely walk towards one of the hospital beds. Fists clenched and breathing rapidly, Haruto began to seethe once again.
Sayozane having noticed this asked him what was wrong. But no answer was given, other then the flicking of his arm to remove her grip. She continued to grab him as he moved closer to the bed, even when Haruto grabbed a nearby scalpel, and proceeded to raise his fist in the air. "Haruto what are you doing?!" Sayozane screamed as he desperately tried to pull the tool from his locked hands. Her feet slid as she held on to the angered boy, her grip becoming even tighter to try and subdue his friend. Her strength had become weak and she couldn't do anything other than grab on to his clothing.
Haruto came even closer, his face becoming angrier and giving off a look of desire to kill, ignoring even the cries of Sayozane as she pleaded him with every step. Finally, after arriving at the side of the bed, Haruto raised his fist that held the scalpel high into the air, it's trajectory aimed directly for the left side of a person's chest. With weapon ready and target still, his knife fell down.
"No!" his best friend screamed.
But before Haruto could administer the killing blow, a rough hand held his arm.
"That's enough..." the mysterious person said.
Turning around, Haruto couldn't believe what he saw, it was Kenriki who was holding his hand that carried the scalpel.
"What are you doing Haruto?!" The boy said as he held his grip even tighter at the seething lad.
"This bastard... he needs to pay..." Haruto exclaimed as he struggled to retrieve his weapon. "He almost killed her!"
Kenriki held on to Haruto with both his hands, explaining to the boy about the wrongness of his actions.
Haruto looked back at his target, the bandages, the tattoo, the outfit, and the irritating face that made him angry even with just a glimpse of it. It became clear that Gokuro; the attacker of his best friend that almost ended her life, had become a figure of hatred to him. Shoving off his grip, he stared intensely at the unconscious boy. Finally, after taking a deep breath and calming down, he let go of his anger. As he stood next to the bed, he came across something peculiar, beside him was his sleeping sister.
"Keiko? She's... sleeping next to her brother..." Haruto thought as he stood, it was then that he realized, she does love him, even with everything that happened between them. This was the epitome of sibling love. As he stood there watching over the two, he began to understand the wrongness of his actions.
Facing away from the siblings, the trio decided to finally leave the area. After thanking the workers who had helped them, they waved goodbye as they exited the small building that was beside the temple they fought in. The sun was setting and the night was fast approaching, as they walked towards the empty street, they noticed a commotion near the entrance. Curious about the mumbles and talks that were occurring, they decided to check on the small crowd.
"Did somebody get into an accident?" Sayozane asked.
"It's probably just another biker accident, they're pretty common these days," Kenriki replied.
"Wait... biker accidents attract groups of people? Isn't that a little weird?" Haruto said as he looked at Kenriki, confused at his words.
"Well, it depends on the severity of the accident. If someone died, of course, they'd pile around to watch it..." The boy replied as he looked concerned at the expanding crowd. "People will either help them or leave them alone, that's what happens sometimes."
As they moved closer towards the crowd, they began to ask them what was happening, nobody answered them so they decided to budge in to see what was happening.
"Ugh—these people are too close to each other," Sayozane complained.
"I'm telling you guys it's just another bike acc—"
"Kenriki-kun, what's happening. I'm almost there, is it another—"
Sayozane held her mouth as she stood in fear of what she saw. Horrified by the sight, Haruto and Kenriki were shocked at the grizzly incident as well. It was the registrar from earlier, dead, mangled, and torn apart. His face had been disfigured to the point that they couldn't even recognize him, only his sleeves gave off the idea that it was him. Blood and guts spilled the floor, they watched as the medical team tried to examine the body, two cops reported on their devices about the situation that was unfolding in the area.
An officers radio gave off a static sound before changing to a monotone voice that the man could talk to. "Subject appears to have been mutilated. Sir? Any markings? There appear to be claw marks on the ground and on his body sir. Search team for a bear? But sir, these claw marks are too big for, yes... yes... okay, understood. Over and out."
Immediately, both cops went to their car to retrieve two pistols and a tranquilizer gun from the trunk. Informing everyone to report to them if they had witnessed what had happened here. Various claims and stories were blowing up; a tall red creature with fangs and four legs, a mutated bear, and even aliens. These were the stories that these people gave and it was more than enough to annoy Haruto. Deciding not to meddle in the disturbing scene anymore, the trio ran for home.
"What was that?!" Sayozane asked. "Who would do such a thing?!"
Kenriki looked back at the scene. "It's not 'someone', something did this."
"Whatever man, let's just get out of here!" Haruto said as they continued to run.
The lights on the door were flickering as Haruto opened the gate to his dimly lit home. As he entered into the dark room, he noticed a missing pair of shoes by the mat and a note on the small rectangular glass table. Placing his shoes and bag aside, he decided to read the note.
Dear son
I'm sorry that I was not able to watch your match today. Something came up recently. The mayor asked me to accompany him on a very important meeting so I won't be home for a few days. Ms. Goodman will be the one to handle all your meals. There's also a small bag of cash in the drawer that you can use for whatever you like.
Love ~ Dad