The giant shadow cried out in agony as Hitsu was ripped from its body.
"What?" Hitsu mumbled in confusion as he was pulled away from the giant shadow by something wrapped around his waist. His vision consisted of nothing back the black abyss that was the shadow and his nearly blinding pink arms.
"No!" Hitsu shouted in shock as he realized his suicide mission was falling apart. As he was pulled closer to the ground Hitsu shifted his body and pointed his right index finger high to the sky. Hitsu gasped in pain as all of the stored energy burst through his finger causing it to burn instantly. The neon energy shot into the sky before losing its form and exploding like a giant firework. Thousands of tiny pink shards gently floated in the air above like falling stars. From miles around people could see the dazzling display that was almost Hitsu's death.
In the moments before Hitsu's landing the shower of neon crystals was all that filled his vision, his view filled with nothing but the choice he had made. Hitsu landed on the ground with a harsh thud that locked the air out of his lungs. Hitsu opened his mouth to receive air as he sat on the ground but he only was gifted pain. The pain spread across his cheek as a hand connected with it.
SLAP
Hitsu's head was forced to turn to the side as Nox's hand connected with it. Despite his entire body being covered with burns and his finger a dangerous dark shade the pain of Nox's slap was so immense it forced Hitsu to forget his other injuries completely. Hitsu's finger hurt more than the rest of his body, his face hurt more than his finger, and his heart hurt more than his face. His heart ached in pain as Hitsu saw Nox's face, a face twisted with anger, sadness, and regret. Tears fell from Nox's eyes as they stared deep into Hitsu's. Nox was crying... And it was all Hitsu's fault.
"Nox..." Hitsu whispered in shock, "Why..."
"How could you?" Nox said through the tears, "How could you do that to us?"
"What?" Hitsu responded.
"We trusted you!" Nox shouted angrily, "You said everything would work out and we trusted you! What's worse... You promised me! You promised me you would be okay before you turned around and tried to throw your life away! How could you!"
Nox leaned forward and placed her forehead against Hitsu chest. Hitsu could no longer feel the pain or Nox's falling tears, all he could feel was guilt.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Sel yelled from Hitsu's right.
"You're lucky that Nox had a bad feeling you idiot!" Enai shouted from his left.
"If it wasn't for her you would be dead right now!" Jinsuke said angrily from behind Hitsu as he released the rocks that had pulled Hitsu free.
These voices were all that Hitsu could hear, his vision had already faded. Slowly but surely these voices disappeared as well and Hitsu was alone in the darkness of his mind.
"What's going on?" Hitsu said without opening his mouth. He stared at another Hitsu as he floated weightlessly in a sea of black. "I don't understand," another Hitsu said in confusion. "This doesn't make any sense," another added. "Where did I go wrong?" One of them asked. "When did I fail to realize?" another said. "That..." All of the Hitsu's said at once. "They care about me," the real Hitsu finished, and once again he was alone.
"How long has it been?" Hitsu asked himself, "How long have I been alone? How long have my only companions been a cat and my master? How long have my days of human interaction been so limited and unpredictable? How have I been this blind? How long have I been this broken? How long ago did stop valuing my own life?"
The darkness around Hitsu suddenly became filled with images of the future he had planned for. He was no more, a weapon used to defeat the giant shadow, and everyone was safe. Despite the fact he had won tears still fell from the eyes of the civilians, of the city, of his friends. Despite the fact they were safe they were still filled with sadness and despair.
"I thought... I thought that even if I died... Everyone could be happy."
Hitsu reached up to his face to find he was also crying.
"I thought that they wouldn't care about me... After the short amount of time we've been together..."
Hitsu wiped the tears from his face and the images that surrounded him disappeared leaving him in darkness once again.
"How stupid do I have to be..." Hitsu asked himself as a small smile formed on his face.
"To forget what it's like to be cared about?"
As the darkness began to fade and Hitsu's vision began to return as too did his hearing. Blurred colors and noises slowly became concerned faces and worried voices. Hitsu could make out the faces of his friends as they looked at him worried.
"Hitsu?" Nox asked quietly, "Are you okay?"
"You zoned out a started crying," Sel added.
"Yeah," Enai said, "Say something."
"We need you with us," Jinsuke finished.
"This," Hitsu thought, "this was in front of me all this time and I didn't notice. I sit here stunned that somebody cares when those people refuse to leave my side."
"I really am an idiot," Hitsu said aloud as he slowly stood.
"Hitsu?" Nox said confused.
"I'm sorry," Hitsu responded, "I really am. I promise that somehow I will make it up to you guys. I'll find a way to say thank you for staying by my side."
"Yep," Jinsuke said with a sigh, "he's back."
"About time," Sel said annoyed, "we still have this thing to deal with."
The group turned to the giant shadow to see it had finished recovering and now stared down at them angrily. The hatred in its eyes felt like a deadly weight being pressed down upon the whole group, but they stood in defiance anyway.
"Hey Hitsu," Enai said, "do you have a plan?"
"Nope," Hitsu responded, "But whatever we do..."
"...Let's do it together."
...
End of Episode 47