Chapter 12: Another?
7:32 P.M.
Hiro woke up.
He was sitting in his room, laying on his rolly chair, at his desk. Hiro lowered his propped up legs from the bed to the floor, and spun in his chair a few times.
Hiro had a terrible headache.
He must've dreamt it all… What a vivid dream… a horrible one at that.
The memory of it was already fading away as he stared at his ceiling once again.
Shuuki, Kaori, Mom, Dad, Kobu, Yumi…
Hiro sighed. Wanting to resume his state of idleness, he closed his eyes.
His problems with Shuuki were still there, and he still had to fix them. At least if he had died like he had in his dream, he wouldn't have to deal with this meddlesome situation--
Suddenly, an ear-curdling scream echoed throughout the house.
{Hiro: No way… right?}
The same scream Hiro had heard in his dream.
It chilled him to the bone, and he got out of his chair quickly and opened his room door. It couldn't be anything, right?
It was just a dream. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Hiro checked his watch.
7:38 P.M.
The hallway was unnaturally dark, and the lights were extremely dim.
Yumi's door opened slowly, and there stood Yumi in her penguin pajamas, wrapped in her pink blanket.
[Yumi: Brother… What was that?]
This was the exact same scenario as what had happened in his dream. Thoughts were rocketing around in his head, bouncing around in his skull.
[Hiro: I- I don't know.]
Yumi looked up at Hiro with glistening, fearful eyes.
[Hiro: Stay in your room, I'll check it out.]
Yumi nodded again and slowly walked into her room. With a loud creak, she closed her door slowly.
A shock went through Hiro's body as he realized that he said the exact same thing he had said in his dream. What was this?
Hiro walked down the hallway. The ceiling lights seemed to be flickering on and off, and the murky darkness became thicker and thicker. This was the exact same scenario as what had happened in his dream.
Hiro walked down the stairs. If this was the same as his dream, then–
Blood. Blood splatters coming from the kitchen.
Hiro knew exactly what this meant. However, he denied it, trying to cling onto the hope that this wasn't real. It was just a dream. Surely, it had to be.
He walked down the last few steps of the stairs as slowly as he could, fearful of what he would see next.
He forced himself down the stairs and right before he passed the kitchen wall, he caught a glimpse of what he had seen before.
There was blood, blood everywhere. It was even worse seeing it for the second time.
Hiro didn't even walk into the kitchen. He didn't even see his mother's face this time, but he knew it was her.
He threw up the contents of his stomach, all onto the wooden floor. Tears burst from his eyes, and he had to put his hand on the wall in order to prevent himself from collapsing.
In his pile of vomit he noticed something.
Green beans. They were still there.
What was this? Why was he seeing this for a second time?
bang bang bang!
Gunshots!? Again!?
Hiro was in horror and disbelief.
He walked into the kitchen.
bang!
He walked past his mother, or at least what was left of her, and walked to the other end of the kitchen, resting his hand on the wall separating the living room and kitchen.
He had a perfect view of his father and the two attackers in the back; the black-haired attacker shooting bullets at his father and the blue-haired attacker/Ishiyaka just standing there. Moonlight shone through the open door, casting their shadows and making them look like silhouettes.
They were the people who killed his parents. Who killed Yumi. Who killed Kobu. Who killed Hiro himself.
Seeing them for a second time, he noticed more of their features.
The black-haired attacker looked to be very young, maybe in his twenties. His pitch-black hair was slicked back so that it stood up, and none of it covered his forehead. He had a scar on his cheek, right under his left eye. His expression was carefree, however his grin and his red eyes leaked the notion that he was insane.
The blue-haired attacker/Ishiyaka however seemed to be in his thirties, maybe early forties. His hair was dark blue and wavy, and he had a bit of scruff on his chin. He looked tired and a little annoyed, like being where he was was a chore.
Both of them wore black battle clothing which had crescent shaped insignias on their collar and the right arms, which seemed to be a varied version of the traditional Luncia battle uniforms.
If Hiro remembered correctly, these two men were going to fight his father, and his father was going to die.
Hiro had to stop that from happening.
Avoiding the sight of his mother, Hiro grabbed a butcher's knife from a drawer in the kitchen.
bang bang!
Hiro's dad was in the living room, blocking bullets with his arm covered in white and red rocks.
bang bang bang!
He was deflecting all of the bullets with his right arm, pieces of stone breaking off every time a bullet made contact.
bang!
The bullet shattered the layer of rock protecting his arm.
bang bang bang!
He dodged the bullets, then smacked his arm violently against the chimney wall. The brick broke into a bunch of fragments, then collected onto his arm like an armor.
bang bang!
Hiro's dad blocked one of the bullets with one of his arms, but the other hit him in the abdomen.
He winced in pain, but couldn't afford to take his focus off of the attacker.
Seeing his father getting shot, Hiro almost yelled out his father's name, but remembered what happened last time.
It would lead to his death. It would distract him from battle and he would sacrifice his life to try and save Hiro.
Hiro absolutely could not let his father die. He also didn't want to be the cause of his father's death.
Hiro saw only two choices he could make here, no, three. Hiro could fight the murderers right now. Or, Hiro could wait for the perfect moment to ambush them.
Running away was not an option.
bang!
Hiro's father blocked the bullet with his arm, then dove behind the couch for cover.
bang bang bang bang bang!
An array of bullets flew through the couch, sending fluff and wood flying everywhere. Hiro's father was miraculously uninjured from that barrage, and rolled behind the wall next to the stairs, closing in on the attackers. It was where Hiro was just a moment ago.
Hiro's father tried peeking past the wall to get a view, but--
bang bang!
Both bullets shot right past his face, missing him only by an inch.
bang! click click click--
It was his chance to attack. The attacker had run out of ammo-- he had to take this opportunity.
Hiro's dad dashed out from behind the wall, putting his arm down to make a sharp turn, and sprinted towards the attackers.
But something wasn't right.
Suddenly, his head abruptly locked in place as his feet swept forward from under him. He began grabbing at his neck, as if he was being strangled.
Ishiyaka, who was standing at the front door, dissolved into a dark puff of smoke, right as another one of him appeared right behind Hiro's father, revealing that he was the one stifling his movement.
What was that? Did he teleport?! No... he was invisible?!
Hiro had to act now. Hiro had to act now, or his father would die.
This was obviously the work of some type of magic, but Hiro didn't know what it was. Was it teleportation? Invisibility? Or maybe illusionary magic?
The knife trembled in his hand, and his legs shook fiercely. He had to move, but he couldn't. He had never been this scared in his entire life, but if he didn't move now, his father would die.
His father was screaming and yelling; he kicked his legs and scratched at the hands that were crushing his neck, but none of it had any effect.
Hiro had to act now.
{Hiro: MOVE! NOW!}
But he couldn't. Hiro stood there, hiding behind the kitchen wall, unmoving. Why wasn't his body moving like he told it to? His legs weren't listening to him!
{Hiro: Move, dammit…}
Hiro was crying even more, his tears landing on the knife he held in his hand.
His father was writhing, but the man's strength prevented him from breaking free. Ishiyaka removed one of his hands, then promptly placed it on his victim's head. With one last scream, his father's head exploded.
{Hiro: Wha..?}
Hiro witnessed it again. His father's death. Hiro couldn't think. Hiro couldn't move. Hiro couldn't do anything but cry and watch his family die right in front of him. He gagged and held his mouth, expecting bile to rise. Nothing came up.
Hiro wanted to yell and scream and kill, but doing so would only end in his death. Hiro had to remain silent in order to survive.
Blood was all over the walls, the floor, the couch; Ishiyaka was covered head to toe in it as well. He made a disgusted expression as he looked at his clothes.
The black-haired attacker strolled over to the dead body and kicked it lightly with his shoe.
[Black-Haired Attacker: Hahahahaha!! DAMN that was cool! Did I ever tell you how cool you are Ishiyaka-kun?]
Ishiyaka looked at the black-haired attacker with an annoyed look on his face.
Ishiyaka raised his hand, then brought it down swiftly in a chopping motion. All of the blood covering him slowly separated from his body, then burst out in all directions, staining everything in the living room with red.
The blood was also flung all over the black-haired attacker, and he looked down at his clothes and raised his hands in surprise.
[Black-Haired Attacker: Whoa whoa-- c'mon! That's nasty.]
Ishiyaka looked away from the black-haired attacker, like he didn't do anything.
The black-haired attacker had a mischievous expression on his face, as he started slowly scooting over to the Ishiyaka with his arms outwards, like he was going to give him a big hug.
The black-haired attacker sprung towards Ishiyaka, and Ishiyaka dodged him with an extremely irritated expression on his face. The black-haired attacker hugged the air, missing his target.
[Ishiyaka: Do you want me to kill you?!]
[Black-Haired Attacker: Heheh…]
The black-haired attacker had a smile on his face, finding enjoyment in teasing his comrade.
Ishiyaka sighed.
The murderers were playing around, all while right next to Hiro's father's headless body in the blood-stained room. An exorbitant amount of blood was pouring out of the neck of Hiro's father, pooling on the floor around the murderers.
What type of demented magic did they use to paint the room in his father's blood?
Questions flooded Hiro, as he began to think more rationally.
Why were they here? Who were they? How could they act so carefree, standing right next to a headless corpse?
Yeah… how could they..?
Hiro was shaking.
Ishiyaka walked to the front door.
[Ishiyaka: It should be easier from here. I trust that you can take care of the rest?]
With a thumbs up and a grin, the black-haired attacker responded.
[Black-Haired Attacker: Of course.]
Ishiyaka stepped through the doorway, and with that he was gone. The black-haired attacker began walking in Hiro's direction.
Hiro had to take action. Not now; he had to wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Hiro's muscles tensed, his vision became extremely clear, and all of his senses sharpened. Hiro had never felt this focused before.
The only thing that mattered to him was killing the attacker and making sure his sister was safe. Everything in his life had led to this one moment. It was time to prove himself.
Time seemed to slow down for him. He peeked behind the kitchen wall; each step from the attacker taking an eternity.
The attacker still had that unsettling smile on his face, like a child at an amusement park. He was uncannily happy.
It was unimaginable to Hiro-- how could you take someone's life and derive pleasure from it?
He took a step... and another step… and another step... and another step… just one more…
The attacker turned to go up the stairs, with his back facing Hiro.
{Hiro: NOW!}
Hiro stepped out from behind the kitchen wall and plunged the butcher knife right into the murderer's back. It went straight in, with almost no resistance. Blood burst from the attacker's wound, and he turned his head to look at Hiro.
[Black-Haired Attacker: Agh--! Damn kid..!]
Hiro let go of the knife. The black-haired attacker stumbled forward and collapsed onto the stairs, the knife deep in his back.
Was that it? Did he win?
[Black-Haired Attacker: Is this really how I'm going to go? Ha, this is really pitiful.]
The black-haired attacker laughed a little bit, coughing up blood. The laughter transitioned into a coughing fit, then he began choking, and eventually stopped breathing.
He was dead.
He avenged his father and mother. He saved Yumi.
Oh… that's right... His parents were dead.
He looked at his hands, not knowing what to feel. He just avenged his parents, but he didn't feel accomplished. Was he supposed to feel accomplished? How could he when their corpses were just a few steps away?
A prick of pain. It felt like a bee sting.
Warm liquid was spreading through his back and his stomach.
Hiro put his hand to his stomach and felt something sharp. He looked down at his stomach and a silver blade was protruding from it, blood soaking into his shirt.
{Hiro: What?}
A voice behind him playfully spoke, close to his ear.
[Black-Haired Attacker: Just kidding.]
The murderer was standing right behind Hiro, a shiny dagger pierced right through Hiro's back.
{Hiro: What…?}
Hiro looked at his hands, his own blood all over them. It was warm. It hurt. The bee sting had escalated to a stream of needles traveling through his back to the front of his stomach.
What was worse was that Hiro was still holding the knife from earlier. The kitchen knife that he thought he had killed the murderer with.
The dead body of the black-haired attacker lying on the stairs in front of him dissolved into a thick cloud of smoke.
Blood was pouring out of the hole in his stomach. It hurt. It hurt so much.
Hiro turned his head to look behind him, and the same demonic, smiling face from his dream was looking right at him.
[Black-Haired Attacker: Sorry for getting your hopes up. It was a good try though.]
The black-haired attacker tore his dagger out of Hiro's back, and he collapsed onto the floor.
[Black-Haired Attacker: There's something dangerous about you. It's a shame, but…]
The murderer stepped over Hiro, and before walking up the stairs, he said the last words Hiro was going to hear before he lost consciousness.
[Black-Haired Attacker: Maybe it's best that you die here. For everyone's sake.]
Hiro lay on the floor, bleeding out.
7:46 P.M.
Hiro didn't want to die.
Hiro didn't want to die.