The shopping district was filled with emotions both good and bad as civilians watched on. Many were uncertain of their safety, not knowing if they could rely on the hero, and many had hope, hope the hero could save them. Fear mixed with faith as all eyes were on Hitsu, everybody watched with apprehension. Their safety, their wellbeing, their lives, all depended on one hero.
The shadows made the first move. The smallest one, who happened to also be the fastest, charged at Hitsu head-on. Hitsu didn't move, he simply smiled as the monster charged towards him gaining more speed with every second that passed.
"H-hey," Nox yelled in concern, "look out!"
The shadow reached Hitsu and immediately leaped, its claws aimed for his throat. In an instant, Hitsu moved his upper body to the side and dodged the attack. As the monster glided through the air the boy made his move. The pink energy rushed to his leg, the leg directly under the shadow. In a flash, Hitsu brought his leg up and sliced the shadow like a slice of bread. The shadow let out a cry before the two halves of it turned into smoke and faded away.
"That's one," Hitsu said with a smile.
Hitsu instantly turned back to the remaining shadows. Using the power still in his legs he copied the former shadows strategy and dashed directly at his enemies. The shadow looked ready for the attack and about to lunge at the boy. The moment the shadow swung its claw outward Hitsu turned directly to the right. Nox's eyes darted to the side to see Hitsu clinging to the top of a stall for just a second. Before anybody could react, Hitsu boosted off of the stall and, now with the bright energy flowing through his arm, sliced through the shadow. By the time the shadow had vanished Hitsu had already used the momentum of his attack and slid a considerable distance from the last remaining monster.
"That's two," Hitsu said aloud.
The last remaining shadow looked around frantically. Now alone, it let out an angry roar before charging at Hitsu. The shadow's anger and grief took over in place on a strategy as its only goal was to hurt Hitsu. The boy grinned before he began to charge directly at his opponent. The two warriors stormed towards each other, neither willing to back down. When the two reached each other Hitsu was the first to attack.
With the pink energy now flowing around his entire body, Hitsu slid across the ground, knocking the creature several feet into the air. Hitsu quickly stood as the shadow began falling to the Earth below. All of the pink energy rushed to Hitsu's right arm as he planted his feet firmly in the ground. A strong wind raced through the shopping district as the boy pulled back his arm.
"This is it!" Hitsu shouted, his smile refusing to fade.
Hitsu's arm rushed forward and slammed into the shadow's stomach with a booming thud.
"NEON..."
Hitsu pointed his arm to the air and listed the shadow as high as his arm could reach. After a moment of holding the doomed creature to the sky, Hitsu brought his arm back down.
"...FINALE!"
Hitsu slammed the shadow into the ground beneath them which began to crack under the force. Pink energy burst from the site forcing everybody to look away. The only one who refused to avert their eyes was Nox whos eyes remained locked on Hitsu's smile. It wasn't a sick smile, it wasn't a sadistic smile, it wasn't a happy smile, all Nox could see in Hitsu's smile was hope. She didn't understand. How could a smile give her hope? Hope she didn't know she needed.
As the blinding energy faded the civilians looked back to the end result. The townspeople watched the final shadow lying limp on the ground for just a moment before it dissipated into thin air. Their attention was drawn back to Hitsu, the winner, and his bright smile. The people stared with agape mouths and blank thoughts leaving the air empty. The stunned silence was broken by the hero.
"That's three," he said.
After several more silent moments, the crowd began to cheer loudly. The gracious civilians had quickly shed and opinions of Hitsu's classification as they applauded with thanks. Noz watched Hitsu's smile seem to glow even brighter than before as he looked around happily. Hitsu's eyes fell on Nox once again.
"Guess they like heroes now huh?" Hitsu said in a joking manner.
Nox couldn't help but let out a relieved giggle.
"I know I do," was all she could think to say.
"What's with this guy?" Nox wondered. "One second he's fighting those monsters and the next he's throwing out jokes. He really is something."
Suddenly, the giant feline leaped back through the pillar of smoke. Juno walked towards Hitsu with what appeared to be a dejected look. When she reached the boy she sat down and let out a low meow, her head was lowered like a pet that was being scolded.
"What's wrong girl?" Hitsu asked concerned.
Once again Juno meowed as she refused to meet Hitsu's eyes with her own.
"Can he understand her meows?" Nox wondered as she watched the two conversate.
"It got away?" Hitsu said in shock.
Juno only responded by nodding her head.
Hitsu let out a sigh before placing his hand on the giant cat's head. He playfully petted behind her ear causing the cat to purr.
"It's alright Juno," Hitsu said in a comforting tone, "we stopped them so everything is fine."
The world seemed to want to contradict those words. The moment the sentence left Hitsu's mouth everything changed. The world moved in slow motion as Nox watched on horror. Directly in front of her was Hitsu's shadow, stretched and elongated by the morning sun. Slowly rising from the darkness was the missing shadow. Nox couldn't move, the shadow, a creature that's species had taken thousands of lives, was only mere feet from her. Her fear was only amplified as she another detail became clear.
The shadow wasn't looking at her.
The shadow's eyes were locked on Hitsu. Nox could feel the hatred and anger radiating off of the creature as it slowly rose from the ground. The girl looked around desperately, the civilians all talked among themselves and celebrated Hitsu's victory, nobody was paying attention.
"This can't be happening," Nox screamed in her mind, "somebody else has to see this. Somebody has to do something. Please. Somebody help. Somebody say something. Somebody do something. Somebody...Somebody...Somebody...
...I'm weak"
Nox could only watch in horror as the shadow pulled itself fully out of the ground. It turned its head menacingly and stared down at her.
"I think about that moment sometimes. Think about that shadow and what it saw when it looked down at me. Think about how that thing looked me dead in the eyes... And saw nothing."
The shadow turned away from Nox as if she was repulsing, a piece of trash not worth its time, and focused completely on a distracted Hitsu. The creature fell to all fours and pushed off with all its might. It barreled towards Hitsu with its claws gleaming in the morning light. Hitsu continued to talk to Juno, oblivious to the deadly threat reaching towards his throat.
"Nox...Why...Are...You...So...
...Useless?"
...
End of Episode 4