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Unknown Past
Volume 2 Chapter 3: Loyalty, Part 9: Hiromu's Perspective

Volume 2 Chapter 3: Loyalty, Part 9: Hiromu's Perspective

GA! GA! GA!

(Seriously!?)

I quickly lean over to the right, causing a bullet, an icicle, and a small fireball to fly past me.

"WHOA!!!" Ripperu yells, stretching her body in unnatural ways to dodge the projectiles.

For her, those were close calls. But for me, those were poorly aimed attacks.

"Geez! You aim like storm troopers!" I exclaim before firing my guns.

GA! GA! GA!

I hit all three of my targets in the head. Luckily for them, those bullets were concentrated shots of my rhime, so they will simply be stunned rather than killed.

"How disappointing!" I say, twirling my guns in my hands. "They really don't live up to their rep."

Above me, the camouflaged wolf spider animal tone attempts to fall onto me...

Before Sigka, in his gorilla form, jumps into the air and slams the spider into the wall.

BATAN!!!

"Indeed." Sigka says, brushing himself off. "And that's what worries me."

Ripperu lets go of the three fighters she was choking with her water tentacles.

"Why so?"

"They don't seem to be trying too hard." Sigka states. "It's as though they've given up from the very beginning."

"So... You think they have something in mind?" Ripperu asks.

Sigka shrugs.

"Following the rules is boring when it makes a fight one sided. If life is a play, it's one of the dullest around. You want a good play? Rule #1: Screw the script!"

"Shut up, Hiro."

We continue down the corridor, go down a flight of stairs, and come to another corridor lined with laser fencing.

"My turn!" I say cheerfully.

I charge my legs with electric rhime...

And easily dash through the tight openings between the laser beams.

At the end of the corridor, I walk over to the terminal for the door and the laser fencing.

Katakatakatakatakatakatakatakatakata!

"Beep!" I say, pressing the confirmation button.

With that, the fencing deactivates and the door op...

"RAILGUN! "

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Whoops!" I yelp, leaning backwards to dodge an incoming beam of electricity.

Further down the corridor from where I came, Ripperu liquifies herself to dodge the shot, while Sigka hangs onto the ceiling as a chimpanzee for evasion.

BBBBBBAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!

When the beam dissipates and the wall behind us is completely destroyed, Ripperu and Sigka turn back to their original forms.

"You could have warned us!" they tell me.

"Oh, where's the fun in that?" I retort.

Pachi. Pachi.

I disperse my rhime through the air to get a better idea of my surroundings. 67 people in the room. Two standing side by side in front of the others. At least 30 more down the next corridor behind them.

Pachi. Pachi.

The guy clapping is one of the two in front. If I recall his shape from the projection...

"So, we finally meet." Jonathan says, still clapping. "Glad to see you don't disappoint."

The three of us walk into the room. The others seem rather wary, but not me! I don't sense any traps or hidden fighters surrounding us. Everybody is in the open. Many of the people behind Jonathan and the other one in front begin to talk among themselves, while backing up as we advance towards them.

"Halt!" the one man orders, gesturing with his hand for us to stop. "This is as far as you go."

"And you are?" Ripperu asks, pointing at him.

"Straight to the point." he says. "Very well. I am Jericho Hael, the current leader of our age's yakuza. Known to many as the 'Swordsman of the Sun'. And..."

He stretches out his hand, and flames erupt from his palm, taking the form of a blade.

"The one who will end you."

He then points the blade at Ripperu.

"State your name and title." Jericho says.

"Huh?" replies Ripperu.

"Contrary to what you might think, many of us do have codes of honor. For me, I wish to know the names of those I fight. Should I kill them, I wish to remember their names so that, when I fight my next opponents, I can relay the names of the fallen to them. And should I be defeated...I simply wish to know the name of the one who ended me so I can reflect on that name in my dying moments. So again, state your name."

...

(You expect us to reveal such personal inf...?) Sigka thinks.

Ripperu walks forward.

"I am Ripperu, also known as 'Liquid Wrath'. Former thief, now a Keisetsu member hoping to make things right."

(What happened to secrecy!?)

Jericho nods, then points his blade at Sigka.

Taking the hint, Sigka sighs, then speaks.

"I am Sigka, and I'm referred to as the 'Sage Beast'. I fight to aid the one who aided me when I needed help the most. I am one who honors his debts."

Jericho nods again, and finally points at me.

"It's a tragedy, but I have a confession to make." I say. "I am...a side character!"

I don't need eyes to sense the glares Ripperu and Sigka give me. The others in the room likely have confused expressions on their faces.

"Shut up, Hiro!" they exclaim, angry.

"Hiro?" asks Jericho. "You wouldn't happen to be Hiromu Limelight, would you?"

?

In that instant, my urges to come up with something comedic disappear. Perhaps it was the way he said my name. Perhaps it's because he knew my name. But, if he knows me, what pieces of my past will I have to remember here and now?

What...memories?

"You seem to resemble his picture they posted in the obituary for you and your family."

!

(My obituary. My death. Their...deaths.)

Jonathan bursts into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Jericho asks.

"I knew the rumors were true!" Jonathan remarks, walking past Jericho.

"What rumors?" Ripperu asks.

Sigka, panicking, gestures for Ripperu and Jonathan to stop talking.

"The rumor of a man who died internally, and his body went on a rampage." Jonathan continues. "The battle that his family died in was finished with both sides becoming nothing but piles of corpses. All at the hands of one man."

"Don't go any further!" Sigka yells.

My index fingers, my trigger fingers, begin to twitch, but otherwise I remain motionless.

"A man who died and came back a demon. An empty shell consumed with rage. The 'Raging Pistol'."

With electric tone speed, Jonathan "teleports" in front of me. He's fast.

Faster than I am.

"It was you, wasn't it?" he asks me.

I remain silent for a time. Everyone, save for Sigka, awaits my response. To sate their curiosity, I open my mouth and say...

"You're overthinking it. People die when they are killed."

Those who didn't facepalm themselves perform face faults.

Enraged, Jonathan grabs me by the neck and slams me into the wall behind with his enhanced speed.

BATAN!!!!

"Wrong answer!" he yells. "Tell me!"

I remain silent, then look at him.

"And why should it matter?" I ask.

"Show me..."

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I remain silent.

"Show me your strength!"

"Jonny!" Jericho yells. "Don't go changing up the plan!"

"So there IS a plan." Sigka notes.

(Shit!) Jericho thinks.

Jonathan removes me from the wall and lifts me higher. I don't struggle.

"All those years..." Jonathan says. "I fought in another civil war around 16 years ago and was said to be the strongest Electric tone! All those years gone to waste when my title was taken away by a myth! My reason for fighting, for joining the Kyusen and yakuza, was to become stronger and surpass this legacy!"

He brings my face closer to his.

"But all I see is a lie." he says.

?

"All this time, I've been jealous of an empty shell."

??

I begin to open my mouth, but he covers it with his other hand.

"You're only deceiving yourself. Your humor hides your sorrow. Your rambling voice hides a silent mind. An empty mind. A broken mind...and a broken heart. You call yourself alive? I know your type. You aren't alive. You aren't here. You only live in the past. You cannot let go of life, just like you can't let go of your memories."

He slams my head back into the wall.

BATAN!

"But if you can't bring yourself to live in the present, can you really say you're here?"

He lets go of me...

!!!

And charges towards Ripperu!

I speed myself up, and get between them just in time...

Only to get stabbed on the left side of my chest with a and slashes upward with it, ripping my shirt apart and making a clean cut across my chest. Blood spills out. Jonathan finishes with a kick to the chest, knocking me into the wall.

BATAN!

"You really are an empty shell..." he says again.

"Don't listen to him!" Sigka yells while transforming his arms into gorilla arms. He lands a few clean blows on those surrounding him.

Jonathan looks at me, likely in disappointment. I cough up blood.

(So... This is the strength of those that fought alongside Hisao and Katsumi...)

I focus on Jonathan again, and he looks at Jericho.

With his superior speed, he dashes over to Jericho and Ripperu...

And kicks Ripperu in the stomach, knocking her a few meters away from Jericho!

!!

"Jonathan!" Jericho yells. "What are you doing!?"

Jonathan dashes over to Ripperu, who is gasping for breath.

"Awaken from your shell. Unleash the monster within!" he says over her.

"Don't!" I yell.

"If you don't, then say goodbye to this girl!"

"RIPPERU!!!" Sigka yells.

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jonathan...gets hit clean in the chest...

With...my railgun...

"GGGGAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!" he yells in agony.

When the beam of electricity dissipates, he is pressed a few centimeters into the wall, his clothes nearly burnt off.

Everyone goes silent for a few seconds.

Until Jonathan chuckles.

(No. No! Oh please, no!) Sigka thinks.

"Now..." Jonathan says as he charges his gun with electricity. He chuckles again.

"This...is what I've been waiting for!"

Ripperu looks over to me...

Ripperu...

She...isn't my concern...

"Hiro...mu?" she asks weakly.

Biri.

I slowly rise from where I stand.

Biri. Biri.

I can sense...everyone..save for Jonathan...Ripperu...Sigka...and Jericho...are stepping away...

Biri. Biri.

I can feel it... The electricity surging out of my body... Enough electricity...to even make my electric tone hair stand up...

Biri. Biri.

Enough electricity...to be dangerous even for an electric tone...

I reach for my blindfold...

"Hiro! Listen to me!" Sigka yells.

I grab hold of it with my left hand...

"Don't do it!" Sigka continues.

With my right hand, I reach for my music player... It was made to handle this amount of electricity...

(What...is he doing?) Jericho thinks.

I remove my blindfold...and let go of it...letting it drop to the floor...

Revealing my closed eyes...

I go through my songs...and instinctively scroll through my playlist...until I find...the perfect song...

Mell's..."Red Fraction"... IO Drive Mix...

"It's Hiro time..." I say in English.

As I open my eyes...

My pupilless eyes...giving off a flourescent glow...and streaks of electricity whenever I move my head...

"Let's begin..." I continue in English.

When the first notes of the song play on my music player...my body radiates electricity... And with this electricity...sound waves... It's as though...my body is producing the song...

And...at the first guitar note...

I dash over to Jonathan...at a speed he cannot match...and grab him by the throat.

(What!?) he thinks.

With every note...I send more and more electricity into my hand...shocking his neck... When like this...I have a stronger grip...as I can push myself even harder than usual... Pain means nothing...

All I have is rage... Blind rage...

This is why...my nickname...is "Raging Pistol"...

At the part where the guitar gets even louder...I quickly remove Jonathan from the wall...

And smash him face first...into the floor...

BATAN!!!

With every guitar note...I step on the back of his face...

BATANBATANBATANBATANBATANBATANBATANBATAN!!!

To avoid another stomp, Jonathan jumps up and points his gun at me.

I walk slowly towards him...

GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA!

He fires his gun... The sound of each shot...is drowned out by the sound of the song...

Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi!

A centimeter from my body...I block each bullet with the barrels of my guns... Unlike before...there are no afterimages...

To many...it looks like I never moved at all...

(What in the!?) Jonathan thinks again, fearfully.

I continue to advance slowly...

GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA! GA!

Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi! Panchi!

And I block every shot... With every shot...Jonathan...panics...more...and more...

When the guitar gets louder again...I dash behind him...

And use my