"It doesn't matter, just give him the letter" – Haji
"Fine…" – Unknown
Haji and the other students split ways, Kuro felt like more and more people were packing the area.
(Kuro to himself) "I better get out of here, this place is starting to get crowded"
Kuro assimilated with the crowd easily and went back to class. At the end of the day, he joins up with his accomplice to relay the information he received.
"A letter, huh? Alright thanks for everything Kuro, I'll make sure the goods are delivered to you by tomorrow" – Jorn
"Don't forget, extra salty" – Kuro
"I know, I know…" – Jorn
Kuro drooled a bit but quickly turned around and walked away. Jorn moves out of school and passes the message to the others.
"A letter to Seiichi, does he plan to seclude him?" – Takeru
"Guess it works though" – Takeru
Takeru starts furiously tapping on his phone and sends everyone a message. It was lucky that the current situation was quite fitting to his current plans. Takeru quickly told everyone's role for that day and made his way back home.
"Okay, that's that. Now I need to talk to Reginald" – Takeru
Takeru returns, the place looking more clean than usual. It was apparent that Reginald had tried to clear his things around the house as he was instructed a while ago.
"TAKERU, IS THAT YOU!?" – Reginald
"YEAH IT'S ME!" – Takeru
Reginald jumps out of his hiding spot and greets Takeru with a relieved face. He let out a smile and wiped off some sweat on his face.
"Wew, looks like they haven't figured it out yet…" – Reginald
"You know, you aren't supposed to say anything and simply leave, right?" – Takeru
"You could've easily gotten caught there" – Takeru
*Reginald sighs*
"I panicked so badly, y'know…" – Reginald
"Look, I'll be busy tomorrow so handle yourself, alright?" – Takeru
"Yea yea, I gotchu" – Reginald
Reginald moves away to the living room and leisurely lays on the couch, turning on the T.V. Takeru, strained from the recent events, decided to get some rest for tomorrow. He knew he needed to be in best shape for everything to go as planned.
A couple blocks away, a young man, who just came back home from school, sat on a chair, filled with regret, despair and guilt. He could not fathom his misdeed and needed to take his mind off. The teenager grabbed his school bag and scattered the contents on the floor, seeing a letter which one of his mates from the student council had given him. He did not know why it was given to him or where the letter really came from. With all the mystery surrounding this piece of paper, it was hard not to open.
The contents of the letter were simple, a place and a time, with no information on the author. Seiichi put on a puzzled face, perusing the letter to see if anything else was written, but to no avail. He lets out a long sigh and walks off to his kitchen to get a drink, the letter stuck in his mind.
Meanwhile, Haru felt a certain fear every time she glanced over to the window. She didn't know when it happened but the thought of the myrmidon forcefully coming into her house was frightening to her, even though this was improbable. Haru was different from her family and, due to their fears, she was kicked out and compelled to live with her grandmother since she was very young. A question still pondered through her mind…
(Haru to herself) "Why? Why are they back now…?"
The rest of the day passed quickly as no one was doing anything particularly interesting except getting ready or having as much rest as possible.
Now, the time of reckoning had arrived, the team gathered up at the entrance and went over their plan once more for confirmation then split apart according to their roles. Jorn went over to the main hall to identify all the members of the student council present while girls kept watch on Haji and Seiichi. Takeru was nowhere to be seen though.
After waiting a bit, Haji signals Seiichi to follow him, which the latter promptly does. Seiichi trod with carefulness, afraid of being jumped, while Haji had a smug look on his face as he led Seiichi into the school hallways. Following a 5 minute walk, Haji abruptly stops his tracks and rotates back to face the tall young man. Haji showed a cool composure, it was not clear whether it was fake or that it showed he already had his victim cornered, while Seiichi stared back with great intensity. The light of the moon shining on their faces and the deafening music echoing throughout the school. Seiichi then opens up with a question.
"What do you want, Haji?" - Seiichi, coldly
"Oh you know damn well what I want Seiichi. REVENGE!" - Haji, fiercely
"Haven't you already had your revenge? When you got me beaten to a pulp and almost took me off the student council. You even managed to get Takeru suspended. What could you want more, huh? - Seiichi, knowing Haji had already won in this game
"THAT IS NOT ENOUGH!!" - Haji, replied loudly in anger
"YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!! Don't you remember?!" - Haji
"My friends, my reputation and… and Amie…!" - Haji
(Seiichi to himself) "Amie…? I barely even remember what she looks like"
"You took them all in an instant!" - Haji
"No Haji… I didn't take anything from you. You were the one who left everything behind" - Seiichi, playing it cool
"To this day I don't understand why you did such a thing" - Seiichi
"I saw you… I saw you hugging and kissing Amie that day… I SAW EVERYTHING!!" - Haji
"She was traumatised man… and there was no way she was going to you, after what you did" - Seiichi
"She was MINE" - Haji
"AND and YOU took her away!" - Haji
(Seiichi to himself) "He really has gone crazy…"
"She was nobody's Haji, I didn't like her and… She barely knew you, man" - Seiichi
"SHUT UP! SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH RIGHT NOW, SEIICHI!" - Haji, as veins pop out of head showing his great fury
Subsequently, Haji let out heavy breaths, an incredible rush coursing through his veins. He couldn't keep it in anymore. Sweat oozed from his pores as he convulsed and his body cracked. Every second that passed, he sensed his power rising. Seiichi looked at him with worry and confusion.
"H-Haji are you okay?" - Seiichi
After a few minutes, Haji was almost completely different. He was now on all fours and his mouth had grown in size. Although still mostly possessing human skin, various parts of his body were now morphed, especially his legs, which were now bent backwards and his feet looking a bit longer, more laid out on the floor, with a slimmer physique.
"Hehehe… YOU'RE DEAD SEIICHI!!" - Haji, in a petrifying and cracking voice
"SHIT! Guys come in, I need help!" - Seiichi
Seiichi ran away as fast as he could and took a right turn, meeting up with Takeru who was hiding in the corner. Takeru was shocked by Seiichi's frightened look and jumped to his feet immediately.
"RUN, QUICK!!" - Seiichi
"What's going on, Seiichi?" - Takeru
"Haji… h-he's different, like he's a monster or something... Let's just go, quick!" - Seiichi
Suddenly, something jumps above Seiichi and Takeru, cutting off their escape. Haji stared at the duo, showing immense fury. His eyes burned with rage and his mouth spilling a strong fluid which melted the ground.
A few moments later, the rest of the team arrives, confused by the view. Before anyone could say anything, Haji started moving towards the group forcing them to run the other way.
"WHO IS THAT!?" - Haru
"It's Haji, but we don't know what is going on with him!" - Seiichi
Takeru looks back, seeing Haji appearing right around the corner, He acts accordingly and gives out an order.
"Fuck! He's too fast, everyone into the classrooms" - Takeru
The team, seeing no other choice, agrees and they split up to hide in the classroom.
(Takeru to himself) "It would've been better if we didn't split up but it doesn't look like we can't fight him without a plan…"
Everyone managed to find a hiding place, Seiichi and Takeru stuck together while the other three went over to the opposite classroom. They all tried their best to remain quiet with Haji walking around closeby.
Takeru peeked out, seeing Haji's back leg moving away. He quietly stepped towards the classroom door to see where Haji was moving towards. After he had looked around, he decided to take a right turn into another corridor. Before looking away, Takeru spots an interesting item which may help with the situation. Subsequently, he went back to Seiichi to discuss their plan.
"Hey , Seiichi I need your help" - Takeru
"What is it?" - Seiichi
Takeru relays his plan over, Seiichi following attentively. They then contact the others to tell them to stay put, to avoid any possible unwanted interference.
"But why? It's better if we are in numbers? I have a plan too…" - Miyuki
"And what would that be?" - Takeru
"We could, like, lure him to the rest of the school and expose him… maybe he'll stop then…" - Miyuki
Takeru let out a smile, seeing that Miyuki's plan could work but quickly revoked it.
"Good plan, for the short term, that is" - Takeru
"Nothing will stop him from doing it again. We have to face him! Now or never" - Takeru, said with certainty
"BUT! BE CAREFUL" - Miyuki
"I hear you, Miyuki" - Takeru
Seiichi then sprints out to face Haji, Takeru grabs the item of interest and takes a detour.
"HEY HAJI I'M RIGHT HERE!" - Seiichi
"SEIICHI!! I'll kill you!" - Haji
"Just try it, you thirsty looking ass" - Seiichi
"GAAHHH" - Haji
Haji leaps towards Seiichi and tries to spit on him, the latter barely managing to get away with just his clothes destroyed. Haji keeps approaching but out of nowhere Takeru appears and sprays pressurised nitrogen on Haji.
"Take this!" - Takeru
"AHRRG!?" - Haji
He then tries to bash him on the head but fails due to Haji's evasive skills. Haji prepares another ball of spit but is stopped by Takeru spraying more nitrogen on him
"AHH ENOUGH!" - Haji
Haji, now angered, jumps towards Takeru and kicks the fire extinguisher away and pushes Takeru on the ground.
"YOU'RE DEAD MEAT NOW" - Haji
Haji prepares another projectile but then Seiichi tackles him to the floor. Haji acts immediately, punching Seiichi in the gut and pushing him against the wall. Takeru, still getting up, receives another kick to the face.
"GUH" - Takeru
"I-I told you we had to go to the gym…" - Seiichi
"Ugh… you really gonna… say that now… guh" - Takeru
"Shut up and let me kill you" - Haji, looking at Seiichi directly in his eyes
"Are you sure you want to do this Haji? You're never coming back if you do…" - Seiichi, obviously trying to buy time
"YES AND THERE IS NO ONE TO STOP ME!!" - Haji
Suddenly, Miyuki appears on the other side of the hallway and quickly screams to attract Haji's attention. Although, she appeared to be unarmed, confusing everyone as to what she was planning to do to defeat Haji.
"HEY ACID FACE LOOKS LIKE YOU FORGOT SOMEONE!" - Miyuki
(Miyuki to herself) "C'mon please work!"
Miyuki closes her eyes and begins to focus and out of nowhere a sudden flash of light explodes near Haji, blinding him and leaving a nauseating feeling on him. Once he got vision back, he tried to concentrate on his surroundings but was soon hit by another blast.
"Take that!" - Miyuki
However, this time the effect dissipated much faster and, now knowing what was the source of the problem, Haji jumped towards Miyuki and kicked her against some cabinets, knocking the girl out. Takeru and Seiichi, now separated, suddenly felt lost. They could easily contact each other, but neither had a plan. Takeru started slapping himself non-stop, repeating the phrase, "think, think, think" over and over again.
Seiichi, on the other hand, was trembling heavily. His hand almost on the call button but what would he say? What could he do? The looming menace was slowly closing in on them, leaving the two in great desperation. Takeru starts to lose all hope and the light starts vanishing off of his eyes.
(Takeru to himself) "This is it… there is nothing else to save us… we're gonna die here..."
Takeru becomes increasingly distressed by the minute, seeing no hope for them. Then, he comes up with one last thing. He gives one last call to Seiichi, who immediately picks up with a relieved face. Takeru was always able to figure out something before so he was delighted to hear from him at a time like this.
"Hey, Seiichi, don't move until you don't hear anything" - Takeru
"Takeru wh-" - Seiichi, his face changing to immediate confusion
Takeru hangs up on his friend and walks out of his hiding place. It seems he planned to have a one-on-one battle against the monster. Haji turns back and looks Takeru directly into his eyes.
"Fine, you're first!" - Haji
"HAAAAAAAHH!!" - Takeru
Takeru dashes in Haji's direction and tackles him. Haji quickly pushes him and gets on his feet. He then uppercuts Takeru, sending him against the wall. Right after, Haji grabs his arm and flings him across the floor. Takeru felt the pain rush over, he would've lost consciousness if he did not brace himself before impact.
The injured teenager, through sheer will, forcefully gets up. Battered and tired, he takes a long look around the place. Haji was still staring at him while Miyuki was down on the ground, bleeding out of her head. Takeru felt like he could only do one thing and prepared a final attack. He didn't know what one punch could do but he kept hope and slowly felt a rush building up from deep within himself, either from adrenaline or something else, he didn't know.
Takeru, once more, charged towards Haji and attacked. His punch caused a small shockwave which made windows vibrate and ears ring… however, Haji had managed to duck down just in time. With amazing reaction speed, Haji spits in Takeru's direction, burning the boy's shoulder
"GAHH!!" - Takeru
Takeru, not being able to handle the pain anymore, drops to the ground unconscious. Haji breathed heavily, returning to his normal form and taking a few steps back. He wasn't left unhurt, with bruises all over his body, a slightly broken left arm and continuous ringing near his left ear..
He sat on the floor, looking at the destruction around him. Two people were left unconscious, walls and cabinets bent in, rubble everywhere. Everything slowly slowly seeped in.
"What have I done…" - Haji
Seiichi soon came out and, after seeing his friend on the ground, quickly ran to tend to him. He looked around but saw no sign of Haji except an open window. Haru and Jorn arrived after a few minutes with a couple guards from the concert.
"OH MY GOD MIYUKI!!" - Haru, immediately running to her friend
"Seiichi, what happened?" - Jorn
"I-I don't know…" - Seiichi, his eyes unblinking from shock