As the man lifted his hood, Kazuichi stood frozen as disbelief washed over him. The battle-hardened warrior who had been hacking through waves of mindless Hybrids was suddenly stripped of his composure, and faced with a ghost from his past. For a moment, the battlefield faded into the background. The ground still rumbled with the distant roar of the elements, but Kazuichi's entire world narrowed to the man standing before him.
The man's face, now fully exposed, sent a chill down Kazuichi's spine. Recognition flickered in his mind, though he couldn't quite place it. Something about those eyes, the cruel twist of his lips, gnawed at the edges of Kazuichi's memory. Where had he seen him before?
Seconds stretched into what felt like hours as Kazuichi's mind raced. His heart pounded violently in his chest, the adrenaline of the fight still coursing through his veins. Then, like a sudden crack of lightning, it hit him.
The orphanage.
