Once the thought of an innocent death crossed the heroes' minds they immediately sprung into action. Nox dashed straight towards the armed man, her quiet steps unnoticed. Hitsu pushed off the ground with neon surrounding his legs, he clung to the walls of the nearby buildings and jumped towards the man. Juno grew to her giant size in an instant. She took a single large step before Nox jumped into the air. Juno's giant paws pushed forward and launched Nox towards the armed man.
The armed man noticed the heroes and turned to his side surprised. He had no time to react as Nox attacked from the air. She spun in the air and brought her arm down causing the pink fabric around her arm to swing down. Much to the armed man's surprise, the fabric went from gently falling to dropping in a second. He jumped back only for the fabric to slam into the ground with a terrifying thud, the ground below cracking from the force.
The man seemed stunned for a second but quickly turned to run away. He was stopped in his tracks as Hitsu landed before him, his body surrounded by neon. Hitsu pulled back his arm and readied a punch to defeat the man. However, the man was ready this time. The blade dropped from his hand and dangled in the air from a chain. Hitsu could see the chain disappear into the man's sleave. With his palm out flat the man attacked. His palm began to glow red and quickly shot out a burst of flames. Hitsu's eyes widened with fear as he threw his body to the side. He collided with the wall in a seated position, just barely avoiding the fire.
Seeing his opening the man began his escape. Flames shot out from his feet and he was down the alleyway in just moments. Everyone present watched as he flew to the end of the alleyway and disappeared around the corner, the confrontation over just as quickly as it started.
"Hitsu!" Nox shouted as she ran to his side, "Are you alright?"
Hitsu stared down the alleyway with wide and frightened eyes, his breathing was heavy and uneven and sweat rolled down his forehead rapidly.
"Hitsu!" Nox shouted as she grabbed his shoulders and shook him carefully.
Hitsu's head turned back to Nox and after a moment of heavy breathing, he seemed to come back to his senses. Hitsu threw his head back and took a deep breath before he looked at Nox with a serious expression.
"Who's Hitsu?" he asked with a serious tone, "My name is Vansu."
"You do realize I could kill you right now right?" Nox said with a sinister glare.
"I mean I'm fine absolutely fine nothing wrong here thank you very much for asking," Hitsu responded in a single breath upon realizing how close Nox's hands were to his neck.
With a sigh, Nox released her grip on Hitsu's shoulders and stood up. She offered a hand to Hitsu which he accepted and soon stood as well. A meow from Juno brought both of their attention back to the would-be victim. He stood against the wall of the building scared, but alive.
"Are you alright?" Hitsu asked as he and Nox rushed to his side.
"Are you hurt?" Nox asked concerned.
"No... I'm okay," the man answered, "you two came just in time."
"Did he take anything from you?" Hitsu inquired.
"No," the man responded, "he wanted money but something was off."
"What was it?" Nox asked.
"He didn't want all of my money," the man said, "just a little bit."
"Why would he only want some of your money?" Nox asked confused, "It would make the process longer than just taking your wallet and would give him less profit."
"I have no idea," the man responded, "I'm just as confused."
"Well let's go find the guy and ask him ourselves," Hitsu said, "Queen, Juno, let's go."
"Right!" Nox agreed. "Stay safe sir," Nox said as she turned to leave.
Hitsu, Nox, and Juno all turned and sprinted down the alleyway the same way the armed man had run. In only a few moments the three made it out of the alleyway and onto another street. The alleyway was darker due to the tall buildings and the sudden burst of light blinded the three temporarily. After a moment their vision returned to show them the same old busy streets they had known.
"Where did he go?" Hitsu asked as he scanned over the waves of people. "I don't see him anywhere," he said annoyed.
"Hitsu..." Nox responded, her voice was quiet and weak.
"What is it?" Hitsu asked still trying to find a single face in a sea of civilians.
"Look," was all Nox responded with.
"Look at wh-," Hitsu turned and stopped midway through his words. His eyes widened in fear when he saw what Nox stared at in shock. It was then Hitsu realized the street was extra busy because the crowd of people all stood still. The citizens, the heroes, and a cat all stared in silence at the same thing, a building filled with flames. A house that sat on the side of the street spit smoke into the air as flames rage on inside of it. Outside of the house two distraught parents watched on in horror.
"Hitsu!" Nox said suddenly, "We have to do something!"
"Y-yeah," Hitsu agreed as he forced his eyes from the flames, "let's go."
Hitsu, Nox, and Juno took off through the crowd to the building, every passing second felt like a decade. As they reached the house they did their best to take control. Nox ran to the distraught parents, the ones who seemed most likely to live on the building.
"What happened?" she asked. She didn't receive an answer but instead only a few words. Those words only made Nox's heart drop deeper into her chest.
"Our daughter is in there..." one of the parents mumbled.
Nox's eyes widened in fear as she spun on her heels. She stared into the flames and felt the same despair the parents did knowing someone was still in the house. Without a moment to lose, Nox broke herself from her shock and ran to Hitsu's side. He stood before the building ready to rush inside.
"Vansu!" Nox shouted, "There's someone in there! What do you want to do?"
"..."
"Vansu?" Nox said confused at Hitsu's silence.
As Nox looked from the flames to Hitsu she realized she saw him completely different than how he was. Hitsu's face wasn't determined and ready but scared and lost. His mouth quivered in fear and his eyes remained lost in the flames. His stance wasn't ready to run into the house like a hero but to turn and run like his life depended on it. What happened? What happened to the fearless hero?
"Vansu?" Nox said concerned.
Once again she received no answer.
"Hitsu!" Nox shouted as she grabbed Hitsu's shoulders and shook.
Hitsu's eyes continued to stare past Nox and deep into the flames. It was as if Nox wasn't there, as if the world was only Hitsu and the flames. Through his lost eyes and quivering mouth, through the fear and confusion, through the cold that locked Hitsu in place and the heat that radiated from the flames, Hitsu managed to whisper only two words. Two words that weren't meant for anyone and had no direction, two words that slipped from his mouth just to exist.
"I'm sorry..."
...
End of Episode 29