"I'm sorry, master, I couldn't bring them," Yasushi knelt in front of his master with a saddened face. "I'm very sorry, master, I failed." The master came over and gently stroked Yasushi's hair. "It's not a problem, my child, it's not a problem. Continue your training; they will surely come back."
"How can you be so sure about this, master?" Yasushi asked. "Wait and see, my child. Wait and see," the master said, leaving the room to join the others.
---
Ken and Makoto encountered nothing until they reached the city they lived in. Neither thugs who hated the opposite side, nor thieves, nor killers; none of them were around. The entrance to the city was more lifeless than usual. Ken hadn't thought that his absence from the city for a few years would make such a difference. "This is interesting, Ken-chan. For the first time, things didn't go as planned. It's a very abnormal situation," Makoto said, carefully surveying the surroundings. Ken felt the same.
They entered the city, and the market that should have been set up at the entrance was empty. The surroundings were filled with buzzing flies around filth. "This is impossible; there must be things we didn't consider," Ken thought. He was sure the city wouldn't change before leaving; he had taken care of everything, cleaned up what needed to be cleaned up. So, what was it then? "Ken, this situation is truly unexpected. We need to be careful," Makoto said, serious; his eyes had sharpened. They continued walking through the streets, but still, there was no one.
Had someone caused a massacre in the city? Even if so, who was this person? Ken went through the names and images of his targets in his mind; he remembered all of them, whether alive or dead. He never forgot any of his prey; he categorized the dead as the dead, and the living were the next targets. "No, this is impossible. No one could have caused a massacre; there are no suspects. You have any idea, Makoto?" he asked.
"No, there's no logic. Like you, I scanned everyone in my mind, but it's all empty, no results," Makoto replied.
"Then we're in for a surprise. We should be prepared for that," Ken said, and Makoto nodded. The two of them headed to the cabin, carefully noting every change they saw. "Here we are." "Are you ready, Ken?" "Yes, I'm ready," Ken said, opening the door. "WOW WOW WOW, so you finally arrived," the masked stranger sitting in the chair stood up and greeted them. "What do you want?" "Hmm, so you noticed the signals I spread around. Hehehe, you met my expectations." "What do you want?" Makoto's voice was firm, sweet Makoto was gone. "Well, well," he opened his arms, signaling them to calm down. "You must stay calm because losing our composure will weaken us, right? I know you know this more than I do, hehe." The man began to turn around the table with a thinking pose. "People believe what they see, what they feel, taste, and smell. But what if what they believe is wrong? Interesting, isn't it? You become sure of everything by experiencing it, but then it turns out to be a lie; it's very painful." The stranger turned to them. Ken and Makoto's eyes widened. "L-Larry," they both said at the same time. "WOW WOW WOW, my friends, you recognized me instantly. You're right; this is a very surprising reunion moment. I understand you," he said. Ken quickly reached for his weapon. "But this didn't work out; here's a new surprise for you."
Ken and Makoto fell to the ground, tied with invisible strings. After Larry removed the weapon, he approached them and said, "It's really sad that the people on this side have forgotten the existence of their souls," squatting between them and removing his mask. The stitch marks on his face were still prominent; he grinned broadly, and a little blood began to trickle from his cheek.
Ken was horrified by Larry's face filled with wounds as he looked at him. "Ken," Makoto's voice was firm, bringing Ken back. Ken quickly opened his palm and pinned Larry to the ceiling; the strings disappeared. This time, Larry stuck to the ground with the force of gravity. Ken pointed his weapon at Larry, lying face down on the ground, and said, "Hehehe, let the game begin."
Larry raised his hand, and Ken and Makoto immediately threw themselves out of the cabin. The ground they had just stood on flew into the air in front of them. Makoto, focusing on his opponent, got up. Larry was approaching them; his wounds had healed, except for those on his face. "I'm sorry; the way our reunion happened is really unfortunate," he said, pointing to his own face with his finger. "By the way, I'm sorry I cleaned the marks you left on me, but don't worry; my face is covered with your gift, and I will never clean them, I swear."
"What do you want, Larry?" Ken said, trying to focus on Larry's eyes. "Hey, Ken-chan, didn't you know you can't understand anything from my eyes? Don't forget, I'm like you," he said, a smile forming on his face. "If you knew that, Larry, you should have guessed my purpose," Ken said. Until Larry turned his head towards Makoto, Makoto silently lifted the gun and shot Larry in the foot. "I'm sorry, Ken; I was running out of time."
For Ken, there was no problem; he quickly punched Larry's face, who had kneeled down and shattered the planks of the cabin to enter it again. "Do you think it's over?" he asked. "I don't think so," Ken said. He observed Larry, who came out again, and was about to punch him again when his fist was grabbed. "Hehehee, you finally came," said the half-masked, wounded-faced man, looking at Ken with shining eyes. "It's you." Another unexpected event for Ken; Yu was in front of him.