Ambush

[Attention, this is an old chapter that no longer holds any relation or meaning to the story. Please read it at your own sake and curiosity, as it will not have any value or meaning to the current plot that is progressing currently. Re-release of this chapter will occur at a later date.]

"Thank you," Hinotori said to the shop keeper as he exited with a grocery bag on his hand.

"Ahahaha! I finally got the last ingredient! Now, I can finally make some Sukiyaki for dinner. Wait, what time is it?" The young man asked himself as he pulled out his phone to check the time.

"1 AM?! Noooo, they already aired the season finale of 'Destinies of The Azure Skies' and the first episode of 'Searching For Andromeda.' I hate my life!" Hinotori yelled out in anger and disappointment as he smacked his forehead.

"What's making you so angry, flamboyant flame boy?" A muffled feminine voice asked the young man.

Confused, Hinotori turned his head to the left to find the source of the sound, just to see Aikawa staring at him with a lollipop in her mouth.

"Oh, Aikawa. What brought you here?" Hinotori asked in a perplexed voice.

"Just roaming the town in the night, trying to get a fresh breath of air."

"Isn't it a little too late for that?"

"Nah, the later, the better. So, what's making you so angry?" Aikawa asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Oh, it's just that I spent too much time looking for the ingredients to prepare Sukiyaki that I ended up missing my two favorite shows…" Hinotori explained in an upset voice.

"Yeah, it's a shame you skipped on watching 'Azure skies' and 'Andromeda.' But, in the meantime, I would recommend you to watch 'The Requiem of an Emperor,' and 'You're dead.' They'll air tomorrow morning."

"Oho? Are you assuming that I am uncultured enough to not already know?" Hinotori asked with a smirk on his face.

"I have to admit, you are cultured. But, I don't think you're cultured enough to know about the—" Aikawa smirked back and said in a confident voice before she got interrupted.

"The Evernon Saga?" The young man replied with a confident smirk on his face.

"I was about to say 'The Depra King.' But, I respect the fact that you're cultured enough to know about that one. But, I doubt that you've ever heard of—"

"Gambit of the Living Weapon!" Aikawa and Hinotori both said in sync.

The two were silent for a few seconds before they erupted into cheerful laughter.

"I didn't know you were this cool, Aikawa," Hinotori stated with a smile plastered on his face.

"Same feelings, flame boy," Aikawa responded with a calm and relaxed voice, "Want me to walk you home?" She asked.

"Uh, sure." He responds.

The two then started walking down the empty and dimly lit street together. They were mostly talking about their favorite shows and their favorite characters before they laughed together like a couple of old friends. Then, silence ensued between them.

"So, flame boy. What do you think about Kura-guy?" Aikawa asked, holding her head down.

"Huh? What's up with that question?" Hinotori replied in a confused tone of voice.

"I mean, how do you feel about him? Do you think of him as a friend? Or as someone who you just suffered the same things with? Or…a a murderer?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing, I just want your honest opinion because…I feel conflicted," Aikawa stated in a barely audible voice as she stared at the ground with a tired expression.

"Well, Kurayama is my hero, my savior, and most importantly, my friend. I know that he killed many people, so many people, too many people. But, he did that for the greater good. He isn't completely evil, neither is he completely good. I respect him for everything he did, and I am in no position to lecture him or critique him about his actions. He wants to build a family and live a stable life, and I won't die or stop being his friend until I see him reach his dream."

"That's what he wants to do? He just wants a family and a peaceful life?" Aikawa queried in curiosity.

"Yes, he just wants to live a peaceful life. Everything that happened to him until now was just life being cruel to him. He didn't ask to be involved in this investigation, it just happened."

"Poor Kura. He truly is having it hard huh?" Aikawa wondered.

"Yeah, he truly is. Now that I told you my opinion, how about you tell me yours?"

"About Kura? Well, to be honest, I don't see him as a friend. I only see him as someone I am indebted to. He's not a bad person, but a murderer is a murderer. Plus, I can't stare at his eyes or stay beside him for long." Aikawa stated.

"Why so?"

"Because, every time I look at him or hear his voice, I can sense an unbelievable amount of pain. Although he was smiling and laughing for the past two days, he was just faking it. Kurayama is in very great pain, and I don't think anything in this world can heal it." Aikawa spoke in a sad voice.

"You think that we don't know that?" Hinotori interrupted Aikawa, "Do you think that we don't know that he's in pain? Every time I look at him, every time I see him smile, I barely stop myself from bursting into tears. He is in pain that only he knows how painful it is. But, as his friend, I will never turn my back on him. I will stay beside him until he becomes happy.

If you can't support him, then that's fine, not everyone can support people in pain. If you can't be his friend, then don't, he didn't force you to be. If you feel indebted to him, then try to at least say thank you and get going with your life. But, you don't have the right to say that he's a murderer. Do you think he doesn't know that? So, if you truly feel indebted to him, say thank you, and go on with your life. You don't have to force yourself to be beside him."

Aikawa was silent as she stared at the ground, not saying a single word.

"Hinotori, thank you. I really needed this talk."

"No problem, that's the least I could do." Hinotori replied as he stopped beside a staircase, "Well, this is my apartment. It is very small, but you're welcome if you have nowhere to go to." He said.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't plan on sleeping tonight. Walking in the dark helps me clear my mind." She replied with a relaxed smile.

"Well then, see ya later." Hinotori waved the woman goodbye with a friendly smile plastered on his face.

"You too, flame boy." She replied with a half-smile as she walked down the road.

------

4 AM:

"My God! 'Journey: The World of Witches' is already an amazing series just from the first two episodes. Melissa is definitely my favorite character." Hinotori said to himself in a very tired voice.

The young man exited his bedroom and started stretching his arms upwards. His eyes were surrounded by dark circles with bags under them, indicating his sheer sleep deprivation and tiredness from staying up so late.

Suddenly, a hard-knocking was heard on his door. The knocking sound gradually grew louder and louder, turning into banging.

Hinotori was terrified from the banging on his door and refused to open it or go near it at all costs.

"HINOTORI! Open the door!" A loud and familiar voice shouted from outside.

"Aikawa!" Hinotori exclaimed as he rushed towards the door to open it.

Upon opening the door, Hinotori was shocked to see Aikawa tightly gripping onto her shoulder while panting. She had a narrow trail of blood leaking from her mouth, her left eye was bruised, and her sleeves were torn off.

"What happened to you?!" Hinotori exclaimed as a wave of panic struck him upon seeing Aikawa's condition.

"The Kitsunes are attacking us! We need to get to Kurayama right now, or he might die!"

"What?!" Hinotori asked in a panic.

Suddenly, a flying projectile was sent flying towards the two. The projectile safely passed by them, landing inside of the apartment. Hinotori turned to look at the projectile and see what it was, his curiosity taking over him.

"Hinotori! STOP!" Aikawa screamed as a bunch of white electricity started surrounding her entire body.

Before Aikawa could grab Hinotori, a flash—brighter than the sun—radiated the apartment in a blinding white light that temporarily blinded Hinotori, causing him to spontaneously yell from the pain in his eyes.

------

In the very early morning, while Kurayama and Hayate were peacefully sleeping in their bedroom, a sudden knocking on the front door echoed throughout the apartment.

The knocking gradually became louder by the minutes, until Kurayama got up from his bed, confused and worried as he walked towards the door in quiet steps. All of a sudden, the knocking stopped as soon as Kurayama placed his hand on the doorknob.

Upon opening the door, Kurayama was startled by an object that came flying at him. Due to his quick reflexes, he blocked the flying projectile before he grabbed it to see what it was. The thing that he was holding in his hands was…a flashbang.

"HAYATE!" Kurayama released one loud yell as he turned his back to the thing.

The stun grenade exploded, creating a blinding light that radiated the entire apartment in a flash.

Kurayama was blinded by the light as he covered his eyes on impulse, grunting, and groaning from the burning pain in his eyes. Suddenly, he heard a bunch of heavy footsteps rushing towards the front door.

All of a sudden, six men wearing bright red fox masks rushed inside of the apartment and towards Kurayama. Before the dark mist could emerge from his body, an overwhelmingly powerful uppercut struck his chest, launching him towards the ceiling.

As he was falling towards the floor, another powerful blow struck Kurayama's face, launching him towards the kitchen and slamming him on the wall.

"Apprehend him!" A deep masculine voice shouted as the six men rushed towards Kurayama.

Five of the masked men pinned Kurayama to the floor, leaving him absolutely no chance to use his powers or break free from their hold.

"Let go of him!" Hayate roared in rage.

The masked men quickly turned around to see Hayate standing behind them, aiming a transparent sphere of air at them. Suddenly, she shot her air cannon at them, causing a powerful gust of wind that sent one of the men flying towards the wall, cracking on impact and knocking him unconscious.

"YOU'RE ALL DEAD!" Hayate screamed in an enraged voice as her eyes slowly turned into a bloodshot.

"Is that so?" A feminine voice calmly asked from behind.

Hayate quickly turned around, only to get struck on the side by a kick that launched her towards the wall, and knocked the wind out of her lungs. Tightly gripping onto her abdomen, Hayate violently coughed as she raised her head and tried to lock eyes with her attacker.

Standing in front of Hayate was neither tall nor short feminine figure with a short and messy black hair. She was wearing an orange fox mask on the side of her head, revealing her wide grin that was plastered on her face.

"Oi, wind girl! Weren't you just screaming 'YOU'RE DEAD' just a second ago? What happened to your power of rage? Did the author decide that it was too cliche?" The woman said, her grin becoming wider.

"You…You Bi—" Hayate struggled to utter as she glared at the woman.

"*Tsk * *Tsk * *Tsk *. That wasn't very superhero of you, wind girl. Well, I guess anyone would be salty as long as they're fighting against me." The woman stated in a sarcastic tone as she smirked.

"Evlin! Can you stop your little chit-chat and help us with this guy?!" One of the masked men shouted.

"Oh, SHUT UP, MOM! Can't people just have fun anymore? Well, I guess it's expected, considering the fact that all of you are soooo WEAK! If you want to start ordering me, then.Get.On.My.Level!" Evlin sighed before she shouted back at the man.

Meanwhile, Hayate was struggling to lift her hand and charge up another air cannon before Evlin turned to look at her.

"Ugh, men, am I right? Anyways, don't take it personally, Wind girl. But I have to finish my job or my superiors will scold me…again." Evlin said.

Suddenly, the woman's right leg slowly transformed and changed color to metallic silver.

"Nighty night!" Evlin said before she kicked Hayate with her metallic leg, knocking her unconscious and breaking a few of her teeth in the process.

"GOAL!" Evlin shouted with her fists raised in the air.

Evlin then took a deep breath and turned to lock eyes with Kurayama, slowly walking towards him as she did so.

"So, you're the emo-guy that was immune to bullets? You're somewhat of a letdown. I was expecting you to be very scary and terrifying, but you're just…sad." Evlin stated in a disappointed voice.

"I will slash your head off and spit on your dead body!" Kurayama exclaimed in anger.

"Now that's more like it! But, don't take this personal, Emo-guy. I'm just doing my job." Evlin declared in a smug voice and expression.

Suddenly, Evlin's right arm transformed into a metallic silver color.

"Pardon me, emo-guy. But, I love punching people in the face more than anything." Evlin said with a smug smirk.

The woman pulled her arm backward and clenched her fist very tightly. She then delivered a devastating blow right to Kurayama's face, causing him to spit a large amount of blood. However, much to everyone's surprise, Kurayama was still conscious.

"Eh? They usually go down in one punch. Oh well, wouldn't hurt to try again, at least not me." Evlin stated with the same smug expression plastered on her face as she transformed both of her arms into metallic silver.

The young woman started delivering consecutive blows to Kurayama's face, chest, and abdomen. Punching her hardest every time, trying to knock the young man unconscious.

"Evlin! Watch out!" One of the men warned his teammate.

"Huh?" Confused, Evlin uttered before she quickly turned around.

Evlin's turned her entire body into metallic silver. It was a spontaneous reaction that she had whenever she entered a very dangerous situation.

As soon as she turned around, Evlin spotted with the corner of her eyes a blindingly bright object coming towards her. She crossed her arms in front of her face in a defensive position, that's until she saw what that bright object was.

A wave of panic struck Evlin after she realized that the object coming towards her was a sphere of white electricity. She tried to dodge, but the sphere of electricity was already in front of her.

Evlin released a blood curling scream from the excrutiating and burning pain she felt on her entire body. And due to her iron form, the electricity circulated non-stop across all of her body.

Much to the men's shock, they tried to stand up and do something, but a sudden flash of white electricity appeared right in front of them. In a fraction of a second, they were able to see a young woman with white hair and white electricity surrounding her body. She snatched Kurayama and Hayate from the ground, and dashed at the speed of lightning towards the apartment door, too fast for anyone to react or do something.

"Hinotori! NOW!" Aikawa screamed at the top of her lungs after she leaped out of the front door.

Suddenly, Evlin and the other men saw a young man standing at the door frame. He had a yellow-orange hair and golden eyes. However, what was the most attention grabbing, was the sight of the young man completly engulfed in flames as he was carrying a sphere of fire on his right hand.

"Go...ablaze." Hinotori said in a hoarse voice that carried a terrefying amount of anger and killing intent with it.

He threw the sphere of fire at the Evlin before Aikawa used her speed of ligthning to snatch him away. Suddenly, the apartment exploded and erupted into flames in an instant, transforming the quiet and peaceful scenary into a hellfire that burnt more every second.

------

Lying down on the wide and comfortable bed was a young man with black hair. He was sleeping so calmly and peacefully next to a woman with long black hair.

Suddenly, the phone started ringing.

The young man woke up irritated and rubbed his eyes before he grabbed the phone and answered the call.

"Akira Fujimori, what's the problem?" The young man—Akira Fujimori—answered in a tired and sleepy voice.

After a few seconds, Akira's eyes widened in horror of what he heard on the other side of the phone.

"WHAT?" He shouted at the top of his lungs, accidently waking up his wife.

All of a sudden, he sprung up from the bed and dashed towards his closet, pulling out his uniform before he rushed outside of the bedrom. He was anxious, scared, and completly terrefied.

"Emilia, what have you done!" He murmured to himself.