The darkness hovering around Hiroshi made Hitomi take a step back. For the first time, her Takako fed delusions of Hiroshi started to match with reality. “A winnable game? Only for you!”

“Of course, I made the game so that I would win. You’re an obstacle in my path and I’ve already wasted enough of my time and strength on you when I should be facing Takako to end this nightmare.”

Panic started to settle deeper into Hitomi. She already feared her own death thanks to Takako, but it was no longer an illusionary one. Once she understood that it was truly going to happen the true fear set in with thick sharp claws around her whole body.

Water fell out of her eyes in a massive tidal wave that managed to surpass her in height. Hiroshi glared at the impressive feat. A wall of solid unflinching water raced towards him. ‘This is her true power…real emotions fueling her power…’ Usual pangs ripped at his chest. His hand clutched against his body.

He dragged up his determination and moved forward. As the water fell upon him, he didn’t even attempt to dodge. It was hard to call it an attack of the same sort that Hitomi used previously. It was closer to flailing about in helplessness.

“I don’t want to die!” Hitomi started repeating it over and over again as she became more scared.

However, Hiroshi kept his course. The water crashed upon him blowing everything away that it met. Yet, Hiroshi appeared on the other side of the wave. He looked no less wet for his trouble. It appeared as though the water passed through him without touching him.

The sight of Hiroshi’s unaffected body only intensified Hitomi’s reactions. “Impossible! The water should be affecting you!” More and more water poured out of it. None of the gigantic waves could do anything to stop Hiroshi as he began to walk towards her. With each step that he closed their distance, the greater the waves became even though nothing they did could stop him.

“I made a special rule to allow me to not be affected by your water attacks when I make a specific gesture with my hand.” Against his chest, his right hand could be seen held close. His thumb crossed over to touch the center of his middle finger while flattened against the other two. He appeared through the last wave in front of Hitomi with only centimeters between them. “It’s not your fault.”

“N-no-no!” Hitomi backed away a step before turning to attempt to flee from Hiroshi. A single foot of his drop to the ground making cracks that shot out towards Hitomi. The earth crumbled beneath her feet until she no longer had any balance. She fell backwards on her back sliding back to Hiroshi’s feet. “I don’t want to die!”

Hiroshi stepped forward walking onto Hitomi’s torso. He knelt down close to her seeing the terrified look on her face. “Perhaps now at the end you understand how all of those you’ve killed have felt. You’re getting the easy way out, you won’t have to live with this any longer.”

“P-please! No! I don’t want to die!”

He stretched out his hand touching his index finger to her forehead. In the sky behind him, the score changed to four for Hitomi. Big text appeared insensitively congratulating Hiroshi on his victory. He stepped off her body as he already saw the light from her eyes fading.

“I don’t…want to…die…”

Hanging his head, Hiroshi stayed next to her while her life disappeared. “I’m sorry. If I knew another way, I would have tried to save you.” In moments, his power stole away the life of Hitomi leaving behind a lifeless corpse. Much of the water fueled by Hitomi’s power began to disappear.

Hiroshi stood up holding to his resolve. He had to bite his lip as his arms shook. Casting his gaze over to the hole in the second floor where Takako stood, he could see the end of the darkness. The path however remained bloody as he remembered it. “Hate me and scorn me. Tell me I’m doing the wrong thing, but this is not my world or my rules. These are Takako’s rules and if this world of hers is to end someone must play by her rules.

“We probably can’t go back to being friends after I finish this, even with the world righted. You’ll never forgive me for my actions. But I do what I must to save lives with what little power I’ve been granted. This will be the end.”

Chapter 350 – Waterfall

Jumping up to the hole, Hiroshi returned to the classroom that Takako claimed as her throne room. He slowly approached the base of the twisted throne. “I passed your little test.” Hiroshi had trouble feeling his body after his fight with Hitomi. While he wasn’t completely broken, it still left him weakened. He did everything to hide it from her.

There was a stillness in the manner of which Takako held herself. “Yes,” she responded with measured control. Hidden within the single word was a mountain of emotions. It was difficult to pick them all apart from another, but one very clearly came out in front of the others.

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Rage.

While even that was kept in control, not all of it could be contained. The casual capricious attitude that she had before when addressing Hiroshi disappeared. Despite everything that he saw thus far from her, he thought she looked the most human now. ‘This is a little unnerving. It was easier when she looked like a monster.’

“You killed her.”

“You sent her.”

“You cheated.”

“I won by any means.” Hiroshi didn’t expect her to be so focused on the death of Hitomi. He didn’t see it having such an impact on her. It made him wonder what she was to her.

“You killed her.”

“What did you expect?”

“For you to die.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“You shouldn’t have won.”

‘She’s getting stuck in a loop.’ The flow of the conversation was very different from the last time that they talked. He still didn’t have any empathy for her or the situation, but she continued to defy his expectations. “Things won’t work out like you planned.”

“Is that right?” Takako stood up from her seat to stare down at Hiroshi. The swirling mass of emotions that stayed under the surface looked to be slowly rising the longer that their conversation went on.

“I don’t know who you’re waiting for, but they’ll have to get in line. I’m coming for you first.”

She slowly took a step down the throne followed by another. “You think just because you’ve protected yourself from my power that you can beat me?” The confidence, though borne partially out of anger, resurfaced for Takako. She started to look more in control, yet also losing that control. Hints of emotion fueled insanity filled into some of the cracks developing.

A flicker in Hiroshi’s stonewalled face appeared at the remark. “You knew about that?”

“Of course, we made many plans knowing who you would have available to you. The tactician that I gained is very adept and her forecasts have all played out exactly how she foresaw.” As she slowly made her way down the steps to Hiroshi, she recounted more of what she was told. “She even said that Hitomi would die. I refused to believe her, but it seems that she was right about even that. She’s a rather disturbing woman.”

“Coming from your lips, I find that difficult to believe.”

The steps seemed to be eternal as she was still walking down, albeit slowly. “Where others quickly embraced what I gave them because they couldn’t take what they saw with their virgin eyes, she didn’t even blink. She looked like she lived in such a world and it was commonplace. And her mental barriers are truly impressive, even I couldn’t penetrate through all of her defenses.”

‘Someone that Takako couldn’t completely capture?’ Such a thought unnerved Hiroshi as he pondered the meaning of her words. “Why are you telling me all of this? You’re making it sound like you’re not actually the boss.”

Takako finally stopped reaching the floor of the classroom. She was shorter than him. The small looking girl that had the entire neighborhood in a grip of fear still had an unassuming appearance. All she had working for her was presence and reputation. It built her up into a grand figure that still was just a small being.

Just a child.

“I am the one in charge here. Make no mistake, I control even her.”

“So what’s the point of all of this?”

“No point. Just killing some time before I kill you.” She carried the confidence in her speech well. Takako believed without any doubt how things would turn out. “Like with Hitomi’s death, your fate has already been foreseen as well. You will fall to my hands.”

“Another one of your tactician’s forecasts?”

“That’s right.”

“As you already stated, your mind control powers won’t work on me. And your army is being kept busy downstairs. You have no more moves to play.”

She tilted her head a little amused by Hiroshi’s groundless confidence in her position. “Is that what you think? So you think that I’m a helpless little girl without my power?” Suddenly the room started to shake from all sides. “Why don’t I show you how wrong you are in your assumption.”

Hiroshi braced himself, not quite sure what she had planned. His eyes darted around the room not seeing any signs of other troops or traps. It didn’t seem like she had some secret weapon still being withheld from use. ‘Can she still use her mind powers on me? Are they not what we think?’

The throne behind her began to twist and break. All of the metal and wood started to turn to particles seemingly reacting to whatever power that Takako was summoning for their fight. It was still all just show as nothing had happened yet.

“Allow me to impart upon you the reason that you will lose.”

“Huh?”

“Your resolve you’ve been clinging to so tightly.”

“What are you going on about?”

The entire throne had finally disappeared with the air around Takako becoming thick. Her presence intensified with her intent to kill. “It’s a little secret that no one knows about. Hitomi was the first one that joined me. I never allowed her to leave this room until today.”

“What’s your point?”

“Hitomi joined me willingly. She was never under my control. I did feed her what she needed to fight, but she was still free from me.”

Hiroshi’s eyes widened in shock at hearing such a revelation. He couldn’t move his body. “You’re lying. That can’t be right!”

“She’s the only one that I never had to use my powers on. Her monumental level of concern for my wellbeing made her loyal to me. I kept her in the dark about most of the things that happened outside of this room. She was my last true friend. And you killed her!”

* * *

Far across the neighborhood away from the fighting, a deep trench carved through the ruins of what had once been a pleasant line of homes. Smoke rose in columns from all of the destruction wrought by the impact.

Buried partially under the foundation of the last of the houses that finally stopped the impact, debris began to move. Out of the darkness of the rumble a hand punched through wood and brick. It looked a little dirty and bruised, but no worse for wear.

A slight haze appeared around the hand as a mist of particles started to emit from deep within. The pile began to shift and fall away as it was effortlessly cleared away. Standing up, he looked around at the damage and then in the far distance to the school. Lights and explosions went off around the area, but his eyes were normal. He didn’t know what was happening. “Damn, I can’t believe they knocked me out for the entire length of the fights. I’m awake now and I’m ready to put an end to all of this! Just hang in there everyone!”