'It might be just a coincidence' The man wondered, checking the name tag. Though subconsciously he hardly believed that.
'What if it wasn't?'
The man was rightly annoyed and scowled. Not only had he just missed a strike to the heart - something he should be able to do perfectly -, but now he might need to save him.
In his left hand, he lifted Junya's burnt body and carried it away grudgingly.
***
Junya woke up from a stupor and a stinging pain fell upon his body like a million wasps were crawling over his skin. He clenched his teeth, fighting the feeling and forced himself not to move.
Bandages lined his whole body from head to toe, except his mouth, which thankfully granted him an airway to breathe.
After the pain subsided, he grew well enough to observe his surroundings. His back was leaning against a large rock seemingly in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by trees and bushes.
He wanted to shout, but every attempt would be soiled by his dried throat. His confusion was disorienting, where the hell was he? A sharp snap of a stick returned him to his senses.
It was hard for him to turn his head, but his eyes followed the direction.
'W-wai-wah?' Junya fumbled.
What had startled him was the sudden appearance of a man. A thick black coat shrouded his body, revealing only the top of his face. The man's eyes were cold and sharp, his attire resembled that of a demon's comrade.
"Seems like you can tell what's going on around you." He muttered while handing Junya water.
"Tell me how you got here"
Junya stared blankly "I- I don't know".
"Hm," He snorted before staring at Junya which he found pretty uncomfortable.
"I really can't remember much except..."
"Forget it, tell me your real name," The man retorted.
"Junya Wotanbe"
The man looked unphased, but he was somewhat eager to learn more.
"Tell me about your parents. Are they alive?"
Junya shook s head, but the man relented in his questions.
"Did they die during the Evie of Chaos?"
Again, Junya nodded his head.
"Is your mother Harriet Wotanbe?"
Junya's eyes widened with shock as he looked at the man, he even got the pronunciation correct. How did this man know about his mother?
The man could guess the questions Junya wanted to ask with a simple glance. "I never imagined I would meet her son here, especially considering I almost killed him"
Junya noticed that despite his words, the man never showed any emotions. It was like his face was stuck, forever with a glare.
"I met your mom back during the Eve Of Chaos, she saved my life. Ms Harriet was among those who had received a blessing and helped fight against the mobs"
"Is... she, my mom alive?"
"No, she's dead" he replied bluntly.
Junya felt like he had been slapped when his new light of hope was vanquished.
"What about my father..."
"I'm asking the question, I'm not your friend. I'm still deciding if you should live" The man spoke with a warning in his tone.
Junya gulped a mouthful of saliva and stayed silent.
"Tell me the last memories about your parents"
Junya recalled the events in great detail. It was a traumatic experience for him and he often dreamed of the day in his nightmares. The kitsune flames that killed his mother were some of his first.
"Well, I know after the flames your mother suffered from burns that covered half of her body. So maybe she managed to get away" he shrugged "Your father likely died, but it's all spilled milk at this point"
"All of that makes sense so far, but how did you end up here? why did you leave your Sheltered town? It's a crime to do that y'know, why didn't they send soldiers to capture you?"
He was trying to get to the bottom of things. It wasn't enough for him to know Junya's mother, he needed to know his motives.
However, Junya's face went stiff, gritting his teeth in anger
"I swear I'll fucking kill them all" Junya seethed clenching his fist, thinking back on all the injustice he's had to bear. The bullying, the betrayal, the pure injustices he's had to weather, All because of some ignorant teachers; and who could forget about Imani. The way he felt was indescribable.
"Killing a human is a crime, so I'm going to ask you again-" The man wasn't able to finish his line before he was interrupted by Junya's anger.
"I don't care if it's a crime! I will kill them all!" Junya raged, his voice portraying that his words weren't meaningless. "Especially those two, they will die they wors-"
Boom!
The man's foot rocketed into Junya's chest, opening his wounds and rebreaking his bones back into his chest. His angry expression was one of the few that Junya recognised.
The man stepped on his chest to prevent him from slumping and lifted his chin with his shoe.
"If you want to kill them that means you no more than a Mob and frankly, the world would be a better place If I killed you right now, so choose your next words wisely"
His breathing became more haggard, but his conviction remained true.
"Fuck them... Fuck them all! Fuck that bitch too, I fucking trusted her and she did it with that asshole!" Junya screamed knocking his head on the ground through sheer anger.
His eyes were red and his mind was consumed with rage and revenge.
"I trusted her... she was the only person I trusted all those years. Ever since the Eve of Chaos, she's been by my side. Even after all that she still f*cked him!" Junya wailed as tears rolled down his cheeks. He tried to suppress his hiccups but his crying only got louder and uglier.
Realization washed over the man. He understood his anger and his pain. The utter despair Junya was engulfed in mirrored a pain he had long forgotten. Junya cried for hours until his tear ducts ran dry and only his broken heart filled his void.
Night had fallen and Junya lay in the fetal position, legs curled and tucked under his arms while small hiccups shook his body - an aftereffect from his long built up tears -.
The man left him to cry without offering words of consolation. He sat by Junya and gazed outwards. He could only feel a burning sympathy for the boy.
"Ya know kid, I cried just like that one" The man confessed. "I cried like that when I never saw your mom come back once the Eve of Chaos ended. I was only an orphan before she came along. I will never know why she saved some mopey kid like me, but in my eyes, she was the only person to have ever offered me kindness and I never even got to thank her"
"Oh great, remind me about my dead parents, please"
"Lemme ask you a question. What did you do after you thought your parents died," The man asked.
"Well… I got turned over to the Military at the time and they placed me in an apartment and....." Junya clenched his teeth in sorrow. "Imani's parents took care of me until I was old enough"
"So that's the name... Hm, what was so good about her?"
"I always got bullied at school by some prick and his crew for not unlocking my Elo Command, But she, she would always treat me with compassion and mend my wounds. Imani would cook for me and push me to train; although she always hated when I overworked myself. I just wanted to make it up to her by becoming stronger, but she-"
"I'm sure I can figure out the rest" The man interrupted. "Killing seems to be a little drastic conclusion to come to don't you think? Maybe you're upset because you haven't done a thing you said you would"
"I don't know why... I felt a lot of things going through my mind at the time like I was going to have an aneurysm. I couldn't feel anything except emptiness and anger. Like someone had just snubbed out the fire that kept me going. The light was gone and I couldn't see a future without it"
The man pondered a moment before continuing, "Maybe after all those years of bullying finally got to you. Seeing her betray you was just the thing to push you over the edge, Y'know a psychotic breakdown of sorts." He paused. "Mobs can do the same thing, although it's intentional. They purposely overload their nervous system and enter a state that's out of touch with reality. The only thing is that they're more likely to die from that overload"
----- EN: I'm Australian, so I use Australian English and the Author uses UK English so forgive us for our different spelling.
---AN: Floor gang, hehe