A common bar and eatery is filled with several drunken men , all either playing cards , watching sports or discussing the news for the day. Suddenly , the door of the bar slams open. In the doorway , a small figure of about 5 feet stands. It is a blue eyed , dark brown haired boy. And he has an inquisitive, distant and stern look on his face. The boy slowly walks to the center of the bar , observes the men for a few moments , then walks over to the counter.
" You come to gamble again Akemi ? "
" You know it," the boy replies.
" How much you betting this time ?"
" I have a few books. If you sell them you could probably make a few thousand yen." he says , almost as if he were calculating in his head.
" How's the girl ? "
" Fine. She's still in the cottage. She's been sleeping all day. I think she might have the fever" He says with a concerned look.
" Well, after you're done , come to the office. I might have some medicine for her. Some food too , in case you ran out for the week. My wife's been cooking alot lately , and the kids don't like her new style."
" I appreciate it mister Akazi. I'll take some soup for Ryuko if you have any. " The boy bows his head and clenched his fists, " You're one of the good ones." he mumbled under his breath.
After about 30 seconds Mr. Akazi comes back from his office. In his hand he holds a rectangular object carefully wrapped in a silk garment. He reveals it to be a stack of different colored cards. Some are torn at the edges , but most of them are in pristine condition.
" Here you go. Your personal stack. " He hands the cards to Akemi
He takes the cards and says Thank you. Akemi then walks confidently to the center of the room , and shouts in his deepest voice " Do I have any challenges. "
Everyone stares at him silently , until a large man in a worn down hat with old shoes stands up. " I got you for today kid. You aren't winning this one. " He says in his most menacing voice. He walks closer to Akemi then says , " And when you do , you're gonna pay for all of that money that you took from me. I'll make sure of it."
Akemi smiles a wide grin , " You bet your life sir ?"
The man chuckles " Sure , whatever kid."
Akemi's face becomes serious " You shouldn't have done that. "
Fast forward 15 minutes , Akemi manages to achieve a royal flush. The large man sits in his chair with his mouth wide open as if he is baffled, and slams his fists on the table. " LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT" he yells. " YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME HOW YOU DID IT ! YOU MUST BE CHEATING SOMEHOW." He looks at the crowd gathered behind Akemi " HE'S USING HIS REFLECTION ISN'T HE ?!"
They all shake their heads , and some even pat Akemi on the back. " I believe this is what they call luck sir. Or it could just be that you're bad at the game of life."
Laughter erupts as the man's face becomes red hot. Akemi snatches the 50 dollars that the man had set on the table and quickly gets up. He walks past the counter , says " Evening , Mr. Akazi. Say hello to the wife and kids for me", and leaves the bar. He hears sounds of cheering in the bar as he walks down the street. Before the building is out of sight , he lets out an enormous sigh. " How much longer am I going to have to do this ?" he asks himself. He looks at the 50 dollars in his hand. " This could buy me a new blanket. Or I could get that dress " He looks up at the sky , filled with stars. He mutters to himself " You're out there somewhere. Hopefully not dead … At least not yet" and continues walking.
Not even 5 minutes have passed when he hears rapid footsteps running behind him. He doesn't even turn around when he manages to dodge an incoming knife. He trips the assailant , who falls face first on the ground.
" So , you were actually serious when you bet your life ? How stupid can you be ?" he turns around to see the large man , his face still red. " For a supposed rich man, you really don't have much in the house of wisdom now do you ?" he laughs.
The man does not say a thing. He simply points at Akemi. After 10 seconds , 4 men appear behind him. " Get him. Bring him to me , it doesn't matter if it's dead or alive." Two of the men have revolvers , one has a knife and the other one has a full sword.
" Come on , I was trying not to get my clothes dirty. " He takes his hands out of his pocket and enters the typical karate stance.
Akemi is the first to move. He goes directly for the men with the revolver before they can fire. His speed is too fast. The men cannot say a word before Akemi manages to take out their legs , then kicks them in the face with enough force to crack their skull. The man with the knife lunges at him while yelling, but is quickly subdued when Akemi knees him in the stomach , then headbutts him. He snatched the knife from him , and through it at the other knife wielder , who just narrowly dodges. The other one runs towards Akemi with his sword in hand , as if he's practicing an ancient swordsman art ; but Akemi flips the one who he had already subdued in front of him , causing him to get stabbed in the back. Akemi then slips through and snatches the sword and stabs the man directly in the stomach. Akemi wipes his hand , now covered in blood on his pants. " I haven't had this much exercise in years. This is doing wonders for my back." He stares at the large man , with the eyes of a ferocious tiger. The man is clearly fearful of him , and prepares to run. But before he can, the man who Akemi tripped grabs him and begins choking Akemi. Akemi easily flips him and snaps his neck.
" If you were gonna challenge me , I at least would have appreciated if it was a good one. It hasn't even been two minutes. " he sighs.
He looks at the man , then walks slowly towards him. The man doesn't move from shock. " Please , I'll give you anything !! I have a lot of money. We could go into business together ! JUST SPARE ME ! " he cries frantically. Akemi looks at him concerningly. He turns around and walks away. The man sighs in relief. But then seconds later , Akemi comes running back at his fastest speed. He kicks the man right in the stomach and he goes falling down.
" Whoops. Your appendix should be ruptured now. You're gonna die slowly. Only people of your kind deserve that. Leading a band of common criminals and trying to kill a child. Where's your dignity at ?" he says with a frown. He stands there for a few seconds , then turns around and starts walking.
" Oh , looks like I won the bet. That's another one down." He turns around to see horror in the man's eyes , and starts walking again.
In 15 minutes , he is at the door of a small house in what seems to be the business district. He waits a few seconds , his head lowered, before opening the door with his key. Before he enters he looks at the sky again " Full moon tonight. I don't know if that's good or bad. " He looks down because he feels something crawling on his leg. It's a cat , with large grey eyes. "Oh , it's you. How're you doing Ceasar ?" He thinks to himself for several moments before slapping his forehead " Why would a stupid cat be able to talk again ?" He stares at the cat , then develops a grin. He kicks his leg out and Ceasar falls face first. He goes into a furious rant of meowing , while Akemi laughs. He remembers when things used to be like this. Memories of the orphanage and his parents come back. If only…
" Mitsuya is that you ? " A voice calls out from a separate room.
He snaps back to reality. " Yeah. " he says in a calm voice. " I'm home , Kaoru."
He goes into the room, which has nothing but a desk , a lamp , a bookcase , a flowerpot and a small bed in it.
" It's late , what were you doing? I got worried." she says in a frantic voice.
" I made some money. I can probably get you that dress you wanted now."
"Describe it for me again" she says, her voice is one of hope and enthusiasm.
He sighs " Not again. Fine. The dress was red and white , and it had sequin , sparkling with the brightest of silver and the smoothest of silk. It was slim , with a great waist…. Do I really have to do all of this."
She looks turns around. " Just do the last part. You stupid buzzkill " she folds her arms and pouts.
" It was a gown designed for a princess. And no one can ever where it except for the one right here."
Her smile lights up when she suddenly points and says " Perfect. 10/10."
Mitsuya sighs because she isn't even pointing in his direction. He prepares to go to get his blanket when suddenly she says " Did you hurt somebody today ?"
Mitsuya stops in his tracks. " What're you talking about. I didn't do anything. "
" You're soul is burning a bright red. It was purple this morning. You're attitude turned ferocious today , and I'm sure that you did something. You must remember that soul magic has factors in all of the senses. Did you at least find out any information ?"
" No , I didn't " he says in a solemn voice.
" Well , don't get hurt Mitsuya. You can't die just yet."
" I know. I don't plan to until you get your sight back. Your ACTUAL sight. " he can tell that she's smiling. He walks out of the room. He later comes back with a blanket and spreads it on the floor. It takes him a few hours to go to sleep , as his head is filled with entangled thoughts. " The Organization… Angel…." he mutters.
Then he falls into deep sleep. While sleeping , he becomes trapped in a dream like state. What is this , he thinks to himself. It seems as if he's reliving something. But what is it , exactly ? . Everything is blurry , until his vision finally becomes focused. Where is he ? In a closet. He hears something next to him. It's his sister , and she's holding on to his arm tightly. And she's... crying. Why is she crying, he asks himself. He asks her in a low voice , " Are you okay Kaoru ? " She shakes her head sideways and points in front of herself " Mommy" she cries. He looks forward , between the cracks of the closet door. There are rapid footsteps coming up the stairs. There's a purple light , and then the sound of bullets pierces the air. He has realized his current situation. " MOM !!! " he yells. He wakes and quickly raises up , failing to catch his breath. " Just a dream." he says , tired. " Just a dream."
Suddenly there's a pounding at the door. He instantly wakes up , and by the looks of outside he can tell that it's at least 4 A.M. He groans , stretches his arms. He goes to the door and swings it open. It's clear that he is tired and angry. A mysterious man stands before him , with long straight black fair. He is of fair complexion. " We need to talk" he says. Akemi stares at him and says " Come back in a few hours." And slams the door. Before he can go back to bed , there is another knock. He runs to the door and swings it open and says " Ok , I've had it. Let's fight." with a serious but strangely happy expression.