Chapter 14

“What is Diran’s ability?” He demanded as he swung his sword down at me.

I blocked it with my sword, but it was no easy task, his strength was amazing. He wore blood red robes which matched the color of his hair perfectly. He showed no emotion and no response to what was happening. He was scary all right.

I leapt back, creating some distance between us in an attempt to catch my breath. While I was doing that, my foe shifted his sword in his hands and retook his stance, not showing any fatigue or hesitation.

His sword was a peculiarly strange blade, it was no wider than my thumb, up until the tip where it became a triangle like shape. Like a barb, but bigger. The handle was black but had a long red ribbon hanging from it, which matched his hair and robes. He must really like that color.

He kept up with me, blow after blow, strike after strike, he was able to block them all. Each time my sword connected with his, his counterattack was immediately ready. He himself could not keep up with the speed of Version One, but his sword could. It moved with unmatched fluidity, as if it had a mind of its own.

I jumped back yet again after another flurry of attacks. I had no openings. None of my attacks could get through his defense.

“Hey red, what's your story?” I asked, attempting to buy enough time to think of a strategy.

“That is not my name, I am Rojo.” He responded before striking again. If there’s one thing that stays consistent with villains, it’s that they love to monologue.

I quickly blocked his attempt and leapt back once more. It was easy to create distance using Version One, but this guy wasn’t like the foot soldiers. It was as Toshi said, he’s on a whole other level compared to them.

He lunged with his sword aimed right at my heart. Quickly, I sidestepped it, his attack missing by mere inches. I closed the distance before he could attack again, and launched an attack of my own.

My blade connected, causing a small but painful cut in his left arm. But before I had time for my next move, I caught a kick right in my ribs.

I was reduced to only one sword, so I was realistically only at half power. With these circumstances there's no way I could win, not in a sword fight. My sword techniques, my abilities, all of it is built around my use of two swords. It’s not to say I’m not competent with only one blade, but it’s drastically different than using both.

Unless I came up with some bullshit plan or the Gods of asspull decided to favor me, there was no way I could hold him off long enough for Diran to arrive, let alone win this fight.

“Okay fine, I won’t call you that, but what’s your deal? What’s your tragic backstory? Were you abused as a child? Was your family murdered right in front of you?

What is it? I know you guys' love to go into detail about all that stuff.” I attempted to buy myself more time once more.

“No.” He responded and attacked again.

Another series of attacks, parries, and counter attacks followed. There was no difference in our skill with our swords, it was a stalemate. This would all come down to the difference in our abilities.

“Look dude, I already got your ability all figured out, if you give me the details behind your backstory, I might feel enough pity to spare you. I might not look like it, but I am quite merciful.” I jokingly said, but this time I actually got a reaction from him. My remarks were met with a slight grin.

“What difference would it make knowing?” He responded, clearly confident in the power of his ability.

“You see, you may have not realized it yet, but I am basically a strategic genius. I’ve seen Death Note like four times. And weren’t you the one wanting to know Diran’s ability a few minutes ago? If knowing makes no difference, then why did you need to know his?”

“So, by knowing you think you can defeat it?” He laughed a hearty laugh at my presumably foolish words.

“Ooh, I get it. I’m understanding now. You’re the whole “I’m so cool because I’m so strong and powerful and strong. And I have a super cool invincible power that's super cool and invincible and you can’t beat me because my power’s so cooool.” type of villain.” I responded, doing my best Cartman impression, which was admittedly poor.

“No.” He responded, deadpan.

“Aww, I’m honestly quite disappointed Red. I thought we were going to have a duel over our conflicting ideologies. A fight where we would both push past our limits, becoming far stronger than we ever thought we could.... Only for me to take the edge, to barely defeat you! Edging out victory because what I stood for was righteous......But in the end, I would gaze into your dying eyes, and we would reach an understanding. It's not your fault your views are so twisted, it's society’s fault. It's the fault of your upbringing, the environment you were raised in, you were a product of your times. I would think that by defeating you I would also defeat everything you stood for, but then I’d realize that was twisted. I would come to realize the truth, that there are no bad people. Just people who were dealt a bad hand. By defeating you I didn’t defeat the evil you stood for, I only defeated a product of that evil. And your defeat would spark a change for my character arc. Instead of defeating the products of evil, I’d strive to destroy the evil that made them. Then, even though you were an enemy, you would have an emotional send off, one that fans would remember fondly even after the end of the series. But no, we have to do it your way.” I sarcastically said, stabbing my sword into the ground and angrily crossing my arms.

“Enough! shut up already!” I finally broke him.

“Have you no honor? No dignity? Do you lack any and all self-awareness? This isn’t supposed to be some fun activity! I am trying to kill you! This is a fight! This isn’t some story book your mommy used to read you, I am going to murder you, painfully!”

“Hey…. That’s the spirit! Keep yelling, next talk about-”

“No! this is the part where you shut the hell up! You are a child! You are an insignificant little bug who needs to learn his place! We know all about you, you don’t care about anything! You don’t care about your honor, your reputation, you don’t even have any goals! You act like everyone is below you, while you are the lowest of us all! You only care about keeping up this bullshit “I make fun of everyone because they’re such losers, but I'm not, I’m super cool and so much better than them.” act. A person like you could never defeat me!” He returned my Eric Cartman act with an even worse one.

He stared at me, his red eyes could melt through ice, such ferocity and hatred behind them. This was not just a mission for him anymore, he hated me and everything I stand for. He was someone who built his entire life around his convictions. Just a minute ago, he was a man of focus and commitment, he was nothing outside of his goal to defeat us. For a man who has kept moving forward, who was nothing outside of his goals, I was nothing but trash, the exact opposite of him.

This is the part where someone would typically respond with “And you're any different? We are both sins! In your eyes I am sloth, but to my eyes you are pride! You don’t care what your actions reap as long as you reach your goal! You don’t care how many mountains of bodies are left in your wake as long as you achieve your dreams! We are both the epitome of negligence!” But instead, I responded with.

“Now we’re talking! The battle of ideologies will commence! We even have the perfect setting! The sun is starting to set, we are on the edge of a cliff before a river, this is perfect! We even already know each other's abilities! You saw mine when Roku and I were recreating Madara vs. the Shinobi Alliance, and yours is so obviously tied to that weird barb-like shape on the end of your blade. We won’t have to worry about figuring them out, just pure sword fighting over our ideals, the way God intended!” I punctuated my sentence by pumping my fist in the air.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” He screamed and lunged towards me.

“All according to plan.”

While I was giving those long, annoying speeches, I was also pacing about, waving my hands in the air, gesturing with every word like a Shakespearean actor. This charade was done with purpose.

After performing my act, I ended up on the edge of the cliff. Leaving me very vulnerable and very unarmed, as my sword was stabbed into the ground where I first began my rant. By all means this would appear to be the perfect opportunity for him to kill me, but that's just what I wanted. As a man with great power and great responsibility once said: Watch the hands, not the mouth.

“Banished Blades Version Three!”

Over the course of this fight, I had gained an understanding of the limits of his strength and speed. This was a major gamble, but I seemed to be on the lucky side today.

Just as his blade was about to reach me, lightning ripped down through the sky and flowed into my sword, destroying the very ground on which we stood with an explosion. Sending the both of us into a free fall towards the river.

“W-What?” He gasped, unable to understand what had just transpired.

“Oh please, you really fell for all that? Of course I know I’m honorless! Of course I know I look like a spineless coward! I just needed to use that to my advantage” Roku may have strength to make up for his lack of charisma, Diran may have both charisma and strength, but I have neither strength nor charisma! What I do have is smarts! While Diran is exceptionally skilled at charming people with his words, I am exceptionally skilled at people! To me, you are nothing but a cliche! I know exactly what you are going to do! You're not a person, you’re a character in this story! I just said exactly what would piss you off enough to fall into such an obvious trap!” I said with a maniacal, almost villainous laugh. My plan had succeeded. Against all odds, my plan had succeeded. Distracting someone by being a nuisance...I never thought I’d beat someone that way.

“And you plan to take us both down? You’re insane!” He shouted, still shaken by the sudden happenings.

“You’ve only been right about one thing this whole time, and that's that it wouldn’t matter that I know your ability! Because you wouldn’t even get a chance to use it, Version Two!” I magnified my sword, sending it flying to my hand.

“You see, that down there is a whole lot of water, and water tends to conduct electricity pretty well. As you know, I tend to have a thing or two to do with electricity.” I used Version Two to bring me to the cliff side, where I then hung by my sword.

“This isn’t over yet!” He screamed in anger.

“Sure, it isn’t you psychopathic meat bag. Banished Blades Version Three!”

I blasted the river with a massive lightning strike just as he fell in, sending the lightning coursing throughout the area. Voltage of that magnitude would be able to cook a ten-ton mammoth, and judging by the fried fish floating to the surface, this battle has reached its conclusion.

“Version Two.” I magnified the top of the newly reformed cliff and began flying back. With him defeated, I would now either have to help Roku or take out the third general. Either way I should get my other sword back first, it's a miracle that I won this battle without it.

I had succeeded, I didn’t die, I didn’t watch from the sideline, I had defeated him. I won a battle all on my own. When was the last time I had defeated someone like that in one-on-one combat? I couldn’t even remember now, but it didn’t matter. I had broken free of my fate as a side character, I had succeeded. I had fulfilled my job as a hero, I won. I had won and nothing could take that away.

I can do it, I’m not useless, I’m not dead weight, I’m not a failure. I did it all by myself. I had beaten him by the merits of no one else but myself. With my sword, with my skill, with my wits, I had bested him. I was powerful, I was strong, I could succeed with the help of only myself.

For a minute, for one joyous minute, I tasted victory. I felt pride, I believed in myself. For only a minute, before it was snatched away once again.

“Gahgh!” I cried out in pain.

Before I made it back to the top, I felt a sharp pain in my calf. I looked back down the cliff side searching for the source of my pain, only to be met with the sight of the villain I thought I had bested.

Rojo threw his sword like a spear, impaling my leg. The sword stuck deep into my calf, stuck firmly like a lock thanks to the barbed end. Rojo held onto the ribbon hanging from it for dear life, pulling himself from the depths of hell.

The lightning had caused damage to him, but he somehow avoided a lethal blow. Was the gap in our strengths really so great? I had not only failed to kill him, but now he was using me to get back up, as if he was hitchhiking.

“Shit!” I exclaimed as I reached the top and fell down. I couldn’t stand on my leg anymore, a sword stabbing straight through it would tend to do a lot of damage, which is why I cringed in anticipation of pulling the sword out.

“Aaagh!” I screamed in pain as I ripped the sword from my leg, hoping that he hadn’t reached the top yet, but it was too late.

“You’ve been pierced by the tip,” Rojo excitedly said as he pulled himself up from the cliff.

“It is just as you surmised from earlier, the key to activating my ability is the strange barb on the tip of my blade, and now that you’ve been cut by it, you’ll know the worst pain known to man. Now face it. Heathen Heart-striker!”

“Erugh!” A sharp pain coursed through my body as I reeled back and cringed in pain, grinding my teeth hoping for it to dissipate. But when I opened my eyes, I wasn’t lying on the hill anymore. Instead, I was in some place completely different.

I gazed up at an all-familiar white ceiling. I was lying in a hospital bed. I tried to move my body but was met with no response from any of my limbs, it seemed I couldn't even move my head. It wasn’t like I lacked feeling in all of the parts of my body either, my leg was in extreme pain, but the rest of my body had a strange numbness to it.

“You're awake, thank goodness!” Diran said.

My body moved without my input, as if an outside force grabbed my head and turned it to face Diran.

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Yet, it was not the Diran I had seen hours earlier, he seemed different somehow, almost as if he was younger.

“How are you doing?” He asked.

“Peachy keen, jelly bean.” I answered, except I didn’t. My body once again moved and spoke without my input. It was as if I was experiencing a movie from my own perspective, I couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, couldn’t do anything of my own accord. Everything that was happening was outside of my control. I was a spectator in my own body.

“You took a pretty bad beating back there, your leg was going the wrong direction. It’ll take a while before you’re back at 100 percent. But the doctors did the best they could! And they saved your life so I doubt you’ll complain much!” Diran said with a playful chuckle.

Things were starting to make sense. I remembered; this had happened before. I had been in this bed before; I had heard those very words before. This was like a flashback, except different, I could feel everything that was happening. It wasn’t like a memory, it was like I was here, as if I was experiencing this once again.

“Oh, I’ll be fine. You know me, I’m like rubber, I always bounce back.” I tried to do finger guns to accent the sentence, but it caused a massive pain to burn in my chest.

“Be careful, the wound isn’t completely closed yet, try not to move.” Diran worriedly said after he saw me wince in pain.

I remembered now; this was after I lost to that crazed anarchist years ago. My first great defeat, when I realized I was a side character.

“Listen, I know this is going to be kind of hard to hear, and this probably isn’t the best time, but it needs to be said.” Diran said as he looked down, avoiding eye contact.

“Well spit it out already.” I gulped in fear at what he might say. Was I paralyzed? Was the damage to my spine that bad?

“We need more party members to pick up the slack.” He answered, already wincing in anticipation for what my response might be.

“Huh? Why? We got all the power we need with just us, why would we need more!?” I protested.

“At least until you’re back to 100 percent! We can’t just stop and take a vacation until you’re completely healed. The people are counting on us. We can’t abandon them. At least let us have some temporary people to help until you’re healed.” He pleaded.

It's not that it didn’t make sense, it was just painful. First losing in the way I did, now needing people to pick up the slack of my mistakes. It was humiliating, Diran and I had always been enough, the two of us were strong. We’ve never found an opponent we couldn’t beat. But now I could see the gap starting to form. Right now, it was little more than a crack in the sidewalk, but before long it would be a vast canyon, one that I could never hope to overcome.

“Fine, but make sure we get a healer so I can recover faster.” I responded with a forced smile.

***

“Why?” I asked. I was back in the real world, and Rojo stood in front of me, I couldn’t tell if time had passed or if that flashback happened all in the instant he activated his ability.

“You’ve shown yourself to have quite the intellect, I’ll let you figure it out.” He responded with a sadistic smile.

He began swinging his sword by the ribbon. With my leg cut, my mobility is gone. By using his sword in this way, he can keep his distance while attacking.

He spun the sword and struck; the swing was aimed right at my neck. I brought my sword up and managed to block it, but when he reeled it back, the tip slightly cut my hand. He grinned; the slight cut did not go unnoticed.

“Heathen’s Heart-striker.” He activated the ability once more.

***

I gazed up at that all too familiar white ceiling once again. I was back in the hospital bed. Another failure by my part had taken place. Another mission had gone by, which meant another hospital visit.

“Oh, you're awake, thank goodness!” Diran said. I turned to him once again, this time he was joined by Shai and Useless.

“I-I’m glad you’re ok.” Shai said.

“You look like crap.” Useless said.

I paused, looking at her with curiosity.

“......Who’re you again?”

“I’m your replacement, you bed ridden dolt.” She responded.

I remember now. This was a few months after that incident. Useless and Shai had joined our party, and the gap between Diran and I had grown. I had done nothing but get demolished in the newest mission.

“Don’t say that!” Diran said, coming to my defense.

“It's true, I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have such an incompetent teammate.” Useless told him.

“We both know you're not in the same shape as him because he sacrificed himself to figure out the enemy's ability!” Diran said to her.

“But the fact is I’m not. You always say how he’s recovering, and how he used to be even stronger than you, but all I see……...is trash.” She responded.

***

“Dammit.” I was back in the real world again.

I was beginning to understand his ability. When cut by the tip of his sword, you are forced to relive some of your most painful memories. But not physically painful, mentally and emotionally painful. Mine just happen to be both.

Before I could adjust to reality, I was once again pierced. Another hospital bed, another failure. Again and again, I saw them. I saw the failures themselves; I saw the aftermath. I saw my friends saving me while I did nothing, I watched my once confident self fade away into the sack of sarcasm and broken dreams it is today.

Every time I awoke, I was sent right back. Hell. This was truly Hell.

I had thought I’d won. I made the mistake of believing I could do something. Every time I think I’ve done something, every time I think I’ll succeed, every time I think I’ve changed my fate, that hope is ripped from my clutches at the last second.

Over and over and over and over and over again I am reminded of my shortcomings. Over and over and over and over and over again I am reminded how useless I have been. It feels like this has gone on for an eternity. Repeatedly staring my failures in the face, seeing all my flaws for days. But that isn’t even the worst part, the worst part is that I have yet to see a repeat. I have yet to see the same flashback twice. I have spent what feels like weeks, months even, watching my pathetic attempts to be something, and I haven’t even reached the end.

Why wasn’t I dead? Why hasn’t he just killed me?

He has every opportunity to, so why won’t he do it? I can’t take this hell anymore; I’d rather be dead than stuck seeing a montage of all my worst moments.

“Finally given up?” He sarcastically asked as I laid on the ground silent and unmoving.

I didn’t respond. This ability wasn’t deadly in the traditional sense, the cuts he was making were small and hardly bled, but it was still deadly. It didn’t crush your body, it crushed your mind, your spirit, your will to go on. It crushed your soul.

“No answer? Oh well, guess it's back to your own personal hell then.” He cheerfully said before stabbing me once more.

I was on a roof overlooking the city. Not because the building was tall, but because it was on a hill outside the city. I stood alone, no one around me, but the faint sounds of celebration below me.

“What are you doing up here all alone Lee?” It was a woman's voice, a soft, kind, warm voice that I recognized instantly.

“...I’m tired Tsu.” I said. The girl was Tsubusu. She was the girl I loved, who I had no chance with, who I wasn’t good enough for. I was constantly reminded of that awful pain in the previous flashbacks, and it seemed I would feel it once more.

“Then you should get some more sleep, silly.” She playfully said as she walked up and stood beside me.

“Not like that.” I said with a forced chuckle.

“I know. I can tell, there's something that's really bothering you isn’t there?” She asked with concern.

“Yeah…there is.” Another mission had gone by, and another failure on my part. It had been a little over a year now since the incident. I had recovered a while ago, but it didn’t change anything, I had become weak, I had become useless, and the gap between Diran and I grew vaster by the day. I could do nothing.

If I remember correctly, this was about a month after I adopted the strategy of watching from the sidelines. It kept me out of the hospital, but somehow it still hurt more than actually participating.

“It's alright Lee. Talk to me, I can help.” She said with a caring smile.

I was conflicted. I was always the type to bury my real pain deep down. I wanted to tell her, I wanted to get everything out there, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t make myself vulnerable. I couldn’t pile all of my shortcomings on her.

“Don’t worry, I’m all ears, I won’t judge.” She put a hand on my shoulder.

Before I could think, it all came bubbling out.

“I'm tired………. of everything! I’m tired of being unable to change, I'm tired of being such a useless excuse for a hero. I’m tired of being weak. I’m tired of being nothing. I’m tired of being the side character. I’m tired of not being able to accomplish what I want to accomplish. I’m tired of my effort never being recognized. I’m tired of not being enough. I thought things would go back to normal, but it just gets worse every day.” The words and emotions welled up like the tears in my eyes.

“It’s okay, let it all out” She kept reassuring me as I let it all out.

“What's the point in me being here when there is a stronger, better version of me right down there? Why is Diran everything I hoped to be, but everything I can’t be?

Since we were kids, we always did everything together. We worked together, trained together, played together, did everything together! So why is he so much better than me? He is strong, confident, fearless, and charms everyone he talks to, he is everything I have ever wanted to be, so why is he everything and I.........am nothing?” I released pain I didn't even realize I had.

I told her all my insecurities, everything that had been bothering me, once I started talking, I couldn’t stop. Everything that had been troubling me came spilling out then and there. Whether I wanted it to or not.

“How can I be anything, when he is already everything?”

This was truly my lowest point, and now I had to experience it once more. I had to see the real me. The weak, whiny, cowardly, pathetic person I am. I had to see my one moment where I dropped the charade, where I took off the mask. I had to see the real me. And worst of all, she had to see it too.

“I don't see you that way.” Tsubusu responded with the same smile she showed earlier.

“What do you mean?” I asked, I couldn’t remember what happened next. I must have blocked it, repressed it because it was too painful. But that didn’t matter as I was about to experience it again.

“I don’t see you that way. I see two different people when I look at you and Diran. One is smart, kind, funny, speaks his mind above all else, resilient, doesn’t give up no matter what life throws at him, reliable, clever, trustworthy, and most importantly... is a great friend.” She said with a smile.

“And the other?” I asked, prepared to hear how little she thought of me.

“And the other one,” She paused.

“Is Diran.” She said with a kind, caring smile that melted the ice around my heart.

I stood there, eyes wide and mouth open in shock, the tears welling up in my eyes. I remember now, this was the day I fell in love with her. She had seen the real me, and she didn’t hate me. I felt pain, knowing that I would let her down many times in the future, knowing I would stagnate, staying as the same person who complained about everything without doing anything to change it. But I also felt happy.

She said I was smart, kind, funny, she liked how I spoke my mind above all else, resilient, never gave up no matter what, I was reliable, clever, trustworthy, and a great friend. So why should I give up now? Why should I accept the hand life dealt me now of all times? I may be a side character, but this chump was just a mid-level henchman.

Like hell I’d give up against him, not until my fate changes. Not until Tsubusu saw the real me, a new, changed me. Not that depressed, stagnant, excuse for a tragic backstory. But the me who is strong, who is confident, who is fearless, who will triumph over everything, and the me that will kick red’s ass.

Not the Lee I am, but the Lee I want to be. The Lee I can be. The Lee I will be.

“You don’t have to be Diran; you don’t have to be the ‘main character’. Because if you were Diran, there would be no one left to be Lee. And that wouldn’t be very fun now, would it?” Her smile had pierced through my darkness once more, I was once again motivated to not give up. I guess she really was relevant to this story.

“Now go down there and party the night away with your friends!” And with those words from Tsubusu, the flashback ended.

***

I awoke once more. But this time is different, this time I will come up with a plan. Every scenario can be beat, every villain has a weakness, I’ve seen them all before. I just had to make sense of why he has this ability, and what its purpose is. If I could figure that out, I could beat him.

I didn’t come this far to lose here. I wasn’t going to die after an important flashback like that. I’ve lost many times before, but I’ve yet to die. And there’s no way I’d die on a Thursday of all days.

I was always stunned when I came back from the flashbacks, it always took me a few seconds to figure out what was going on, why didn’t he kill me during that time? Why have all his blows been non-lethal? And what was the point of his ability? If I could answer those questions, I could figure this guy out.

He attacked not to kill and not to cause too much harm. He took out my leg so I couldn’t fight back, since then he's been attacking non-lethal spots, his goal is not to kill me, so then what is it? It had to connect back to his ability.

The point of that was to break me, mentally, to get me to hate both myself and my reality, but why? It would make sense if that was to crush my fighting spirit so he could kill me, but I’ve already established his goal isn’t to kill me. What would they want with someone who's broken, who hates themselves and everything about their life? It had to connect back to what Koun and Gerald had said, they wanted me to join them for some reason. They need me for something. So, by using Rojo, they’d get me to be depressed enough to join, that’s got to be it.

I had an idea, a gamble. If I was right, it would pay off greatly. But if I was wrong, I would surely die. I don’t think they’d kill off a side character after backstory or character development like that……...Actually, that’s exactly what they’d do. It doesn’t matter, I’ll take the gamble despite the obvious death flag.

“Ready to go back in?” Rojo said while twirling his blade, his personality had changed drastically over the course of this battle.

I laid on the ground, my eyes staring blankly to the sky, not responding.

“Back you go then! I wonder what kind of memory you’ll see now?” He asked, almost singing with glee.

He walked up to me, and readied his blade, the stab was aimed at the edge of my shoulder. Once again, a non-lethal blow.

“Don’t lose your sanity too fast, I’m having fun.” He said as he thrust his blade down.

Just as he did, I quickly shifted so my neck would be the spot where he would hit. This is the first step of my gamble, and it better pay off.

“W-What?” Rojo tried to stop his blade before it impaled my neck.

I grabbed his sword with my right hand, keeping him from pulling it back. It had cut slightly into my neck, but not enough to be fatal.

I kicked him back with my good leg while still holding his sword. As he flew back with a look of shock, his ability activated once more.

***

I was laying on a porch, overlooking the sea. My head resting on something indescribably soft. A warm breeze blew from the horizon, I felt pure comfort, I could lay here for hours. The sun was setting, letting beautiful colors flicker across the water. I felt peace, happiness, every worry I had in the world had left me, as I was left with a feeling of pure bliss. Someone's fingers combed through my hair, almost petting me, with a feeling of pure comfort and love. I looked towards her, but I could not see a face.

“It's alright now, you are calm and tranquil. You have no problems in your life, and nothing you should be worrying about right now. Just rest.” I didn’t recognize her voice, nor her sweet smile.

***

I was back in the real world, I didn’t have time to make sense of that “Memory”, if I could even call it that, because I had to finish the job.

I may have had his sword, but Rojo still held onto its ribbon. He pulled on it, but I didn’t let go of the sword. It cut into my hand, but I strengthened both my grip and my resolve. He pulled with all his strength, yanking his sword towards him, and me along with it.

I pulled my sword out from behind me, his red eyes grew wide as he understood his mistake. As his sword made it to his hand, mine made it into his chest.

“How?” He asked as he coughed up blood.

“You’ve shown yourself to have quite the intellect, I’ll let you figure it out.” I threw his words right back at him.

“You’re insane! If you’d been wrong, you’d be dead.” He coughed up, understanding my plan.

“Wrong? Oh please, you’re not cryptic enough that I’d have to worry about being wrong.” I smirked.

“But what now? You’re bleeding out, how will you take care of the others? You’ll die anyway!” He tried to smile, seemingly thinking I hadn’t thought of that.

“Oh, I won’t take care of them...he will.” And almost as if on cue, Diran burst forth from the house.

Before Rojo had any time to react, Diran appeared between us, and pushed us apart, leaving my blade still planted firmly in Rojo’s chest. Speed may be my main thing, but I did say Diran was superior in everything.

“Don’t get cut by his sword, that's the key to his ability.” I said as I fell to my knees and coughed up blood.

All those stab wounds covering my body really started to hurt. Diran nodded to me before turning to face Rojo.

“Shit!” Rojo launched a panicked strike aimed right for the back of Diran's head, but he wasn’t fast enough. Once the protagonist shows up, the mini bosses are already forgotten. Rojo better be prepared to face the Nappa treatment.

Diran stuck his hand out to block the blade, the tip connecting with his palm. Rojo’s' already despairing face sunk even deeper when the blade shattered like glass, as Diran's hand had turned to steel.

Suddenly, Diran vanished from sight, before appearing right behind Rojo.

“Oh, shit.” Were his last words before he caught the classic chop-to-the-back-of-the-neck, knocking him unconscious instantly.

“Shai will be over to heal you as soon as possible, hang in there, I’ve got bigger fish to fry.” Diran told me as he turned to the third general, who had seemingly recovered from Mack’s paralysis just as Diran conveniently finished.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m feeling peachy keen, jelly bea-” Before I could finish, I passed out from blood loss.