Inside the Furusato castle, Imawashiki strode down a long hallway with a tattered carpet stretching throughout the entirety of the elongated area.
Ever since they first invaded the castle, the large structure had sustained quite a bit of damage. Some walls had missing stones, leaving minuscule openings. The floor harbored stained blood, and the village itself still looked the same as it did on the day of the invasion.
However, that wasn't currently important. Imawashiki took a sharp left and came to a halt in front of a wooden door. The fiery abomination pushed, gripping the chilly handle, and entered the mysterious room.
Residing within the room was Regashi, his eyes closed while he stood, staring at one of the room's walls. Imawashiki never understood the reasoning behind this—but who was he to judge? They all had their own issues. Just adding fuel to the fire of trying to make the world a better place.
"Lord Regashi?" Imawashiki called out to the brown-haired male.
Regashi's eyes flickered, turning to face the confused and metaphorical butler of the Furusato Unit. The cloaked lord adjusted his body slightly, greeting Imawashiki with a gentle smile.
"Just in time, Shiki!" Regashi proclaimed, walking toward the entrance of the room, walking the opposite way that Imawashiki went upon entering the room. "This way."
With a small gesture of his hand, Imawashiki followed Regashi out of the room, closing the door with a small—*click!*—as it latched to the wall, concealing the room once more.
"You needed me, Lord?" Imawashiki questioned again, adorning an expectant expression.
Regashi waved, huffing. "I should really have you guys stop calling me that. After all, I haven't been truly crowned king just yet."
Imawashiki eyed Regashi with confusion. "I doubt that the old prerequisites will be needed here, Lord Regashi."
"Maybe not," Regashi concurred, nodding his head. "But I still want to earn it."
Earn it? What could Regashi mean by earning the right to be king? As far as Imawashiki thinks, Regashi was practically overqualified for such a position. If anything, it's a wonder as to why the male still desires to be a true king.
"But that's not what I wanted to discuss, Shiki. I have something far more important; perhaps threatening." Regashi abruptly disclosed.
Imawashiki blinked in confusion, a brow knitting at the unexpected words. "What do you mean, Lord Regashi?"
"Firstly, drop the 'Lord'," Regashi ordered. "Secondly, we have a mole amongst our unit, potential giving away our plans."
Imawashiki halted. A mole? How is that possible? All of their men were desolate with connections to the outside world, their backgrounds proving such. So which one of their men had ties with people outside of the Furusato Unit?
Imawashiki found his feet, continuing to walk. "A mole? Who could possibly be disclosing information about us… Regashi?"
Regashi smirked at Imawashiki's informal addressing of him. "Don't overthink it, Shiki, because even I was shocked upon finding out such a thing." The brown-haired male revealed, rounding a corner, still followed by Imawashiki.
"Then, who is it, Regashi?" Imawashiki asked, dumbfounded. Something had managed to slip past the eyes of Regashi? That alone was quite the feat.
Regashi chuckled, suddenly stopping beside a window with small cracks, the rising moon's light refracting off the fractured glass. Imawashiki also came to a stop, eyeing Regashi with even more bewilderment. It was difficult to have the brown-haired male take things seriously, similar to how he was when he was a mere teenager.
"Before I reveal anything, do you remember the man that had challenged my strength all those years ago, right after I had first found you?" Regashi quizzed, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
Imawashiki cupped his chin in contemplation. "... Tadashi. Wasn't that his name?"
"Indeed, it was," Regashi confirmed, folding his arms. "But, Tadashi was a man who refused to stay in the dirt. Oh, how he hated losing. I was his biggest competitor back then, and he has been stirring up trouble again as of late."
Outside, standing atop a castle wall, Regashi could see Kiyo through the window. His green eyes glinted at the sight of the scythe-wielding man. Imawashiki's gaze was drawn to the Furusato Unit member soon after, and he joined Regashi in his espionage.
Imawashiki took a quick intake of breath and said, "But what about our mole situation?"
Regashi took a moment to respond, his brown hair swaying as a draft swept through the castle. "When we revived Kiyo, I had noticed something… abnormal. His body not only obtained his regular Aura Sense, but I could feel a lingering presence residing within him, as well."
"Go on…" Imawashiki ushered, his eyes returning to Regashi.
Regashi's smirk began to display his teeth.
"It appears that Kiyo has made contact with his old boss."
XXX
—Flashback—
"Enough of this! You have been nothing but an impediment to my goals!"
Standing on a grassy hill, a younger Regashi stood tall, his smaller body no longer wearing his Furusato Unit cloak, but the clothes of a prince instead.
Standing across from the teenage Regashi, a man with spiky, ashy-blonde hair, black boots, and leggings, along with a gray top. This man held a glare that would make any civilian crumble.
"Well, you managed to drag me out of my home, Tadashi. What will you do now?" Regashi asked, a cocky tone lacing the underbelly of his words.
The man, Tadashi, scowled, clenching his fist. "Derrien should've never taught you such great power. You only plan to use such strength for your own selfish desires!"
"All bark with no bite!" Regashi retorted, smiling wickedly. "Come at me if you truly wish to end me!"
In Regashi's mind, he had already prepared for a situation such as this. Tadashi was a man of unjust virtue, disillusioned with the ideals of life.
'We're far enough away from Furusato to where not even my old man could sense our fight.' Regashi thought. 'I'll have to thank the fire guy I found for finding such a spot.'
Suddenly, a light sparked in Tadashi's hands, then followed by quick and forceful thrusts of his arms, sending two red blasts at Regashi.
*BOOM!*
The moment the blasts made contact with the ground Regashi stood on, debris flew high, destroying everything that the brown-haired teen once stood on. Even the land further back sustained serious damage.
"The best thing the Old Man could have ever done was teach me this power. Now I can prevent distasteful people like you from trashing our land."
With the familiar but detectable voice of Regashi, Tadashi rapidly spun his body, turning to face his opponent once more. Just as Tadashi thought, Regashi had appeared behind him without warning, prompting the ashy-blonde-haired man to strain the muscles in his right arm, relentlessly shooting several streaks of red magic at Regashi.
Despite seeing the impending assault, Regashi stood still, raising a palm into the air—*BOOM!*—making the brown-haired teen take the brunt of the magical attack.
Tadashi grumbled. "You can't handle true power! Derrien misjudged you, Regashi!"
With the low rumbling of the ground after Tadashi's attack, a shadowy figure emerged from the smoke. Regashi had remained unharmed.
"I pity you. You dedicated your entire life to becoming as strong as you are—but it comes nowhere close to my standing!" Regashi patronized.
Tadashi assumed a fighting stance. "If it's power you want, then you can taste a hint of mine!"
Clasping his hands together, several red lights flickered into existence, encompassing the entire area with blinding shimmers. Regashi's eyes gleamed at the presence of the plethora of lights, only for it to end as each flickering light suddenly exploded—*KABOOM!*—destroying the grassy hill that once stuck out from the ground immediately.
Tadashi, seemingly uninjured from his own attack, swatted at the smoke surrounding him, looking around to spot any life in the area.
"You were too naive to think that your power can overcome my will and might," Tadashi claimed, hushed.
But, to Tadashi's shock, all of the smoke slowly began to swirl out of existence, the leveled ground gradually sliding back into its original place. After a few short moments, the entire vicinity had reverted back to normal as if nothing had ever occurred.
Tadashi's eyes widened. Low and behold, Regashi remained untattered, his cocky smile plastered to his brazen countenance.
"I'm sorry, the dust was too distracting—mind repeating yourself?" Regashi spoke, prompting Tadashi to take a small step back.
Tadashi gritted his teeth, his glare returning full force, all of it directed at Regashi.
"You arrogant, impudent, adolescent child!" The Ashy-blonde man hollered, dashing forward, reeling his fist back.
As Tadashi sent his fist launching at Regashi's face, the brown-haired teenager had suddenly turned to dust, falling to the ground and leaving no trace of Regashi behind.
The man became stumped. 'What? Only one of our members could do something like this! It was some woman that had joined us not too long ago.'
"Hey," Regashi's voice rang through Tadashi's ears like blades. "You should never let your guard down in the middle of a fight!"
When Tadashi attempted to spin in mid-air, a sharp and scorching item raced toward him and sliced him across the face. The man fell to the ground in pain, releasing a small cry from the sudden assault. Tadashi could feel his face burning; blood was oozing from the newly formed crevice on his skin.
Forcing his eyes open, Tadashi looked up, noticing the teenage Regashi towering over him, his palm stretched out above him. "You know, it's quite humorous to use your own power against you. It just goes to show the gap between the two of us, eh, Tadashi?"
So Regashi had slashed at him with magic? Especially by using his own technique?
"If not me, someone will take you down, Regashi. Someone far stronger than you." Tadashi declared, clenching his face to placate the pain spreading across his face.
Regashi smiled, his eyes shining like emeralds. Regashi then pointed his fingers at Tadashi, his index facing the man as his thumb stuck out in the air, resembling his generation's new weaponry—in other words, a gun.
"Maybe in your reality," the teenager spoke, his voice calm. "But in mine, I will succeed!"
*ZROOM!*
In an instant, a flash of light emerged from Regashi's index finger, striking Tadashi down as a final blow, the man's body collapsing to the ground lifelessly.
A fire then combusted a few meters away, swirling in a clockwise rotation, only to then reveal a man with a netted shirt and red sideburns, his night-black hair blending in with the sky. It was Imawashiki.
Regashi smiled, walking toward Imawashiki.
"You're useful after all, fire dude."
XXX
I hope you enjoyed today's chapter! And, to clear up any confusion, the fight at the end was indeed a flashback of when Regashi was younger. Don't worry, this fight will definitely be vital to the plot later! And, Kiyo being a mole? For who? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_