Chapter 19: The Sound of the Mind Exploding

"...Abner."

BOOOM!!!! Explode.

The moment Abner announced his name, that seemingly harmless pronoun was uttered out of his lips, Ash became genuinely unresponsive—and shocked. Within his head, within his brain, within his mind, countless explosions were setting off, blowing his mind into smithereens drifting away into outer space.

First, it was the identical pairless earring. Second, it was his identical name. What else is there that is so familiar, so similar? What else could happen, would he see, that would make Ash become so shaken with remembrance?

Ash's mind was completely muddled full with confusion and disarray. Memories of when and where he had seen that specific earring haunted his mind like an unrelenting ghost that wants to curse him and cause him torment for eternity.

He was suspicious. But he couldn't afford to be.

Because with suspicion, there comes hope. And with hope, there comes disappointment.

In the end, it was all but a surmise. Not something substantial.

'It might be just a coincidence.' Ash denied to himself as he wrapped his mind around the impact he had just received.

Standing up abruptly, Ash rushed at Abner. His footsteps stamped into the dirt ground, leaving large footprints behind. The sunken in dirt was smudged together and compressed tightly, forming marks that appears as if it could last forever yet would disappear as long as more dirt was swept in.

Grabbing Abner by the collar, Ash gripped it tightly as he lifted the surprised Abner up into the air. A shocked Arlo stood at the side, watching everything unfolding fast before his very eyes, unable to react.

"H-hey...!" Arlo stuttered out. It took a while for Arlo to react as he took three steps at a time approaching the two men in a deadlock.

However, Ash paid Arlo no mind, completely considering Arlo as no threat even in his current condition. Blocking out any distractions, Ash solemnly looked into Abner's eyes that have now calmed down after his brain had quickly went over the situation. Abner had expected something like this to happen after he told Ash his name.

Once his name was spoken, Ash seemed to have broken out of a cocoon. From a quiet worm into a fierce butterfly into a charging bull that won't stop until he gets his answer.

Disregarding how he lost his temper in front of strangers he met for the first time, losing his cool and becoming hot-headed, Ash gritted his teeth---whether in anxiousness or anger---and asked.

"Your name...is really Abner?" The glint in Ash's eyes was sharp and hot as he asked this, his grip on the collars in his hold tightened beyond compare.

Under the intense scrutiny of the man in front of him, Abner calmly and cooly nodded his head as he too stared straight into Ash's eyes without any signs of fear and hesitation, his violet-purple eyes glowed with determination and unwavering spirit.

Although Abner was still indecisive on whether or not he should tell Ash that it was him, his old friend, Abner would never back down and deny his own name. The name that was given to him by the one who had raised him.

Ash was taken aback by the fiery spirit he saw in Abner's eyes that was the same as the Abner he'd known. This made him doubt if this Abner was actually the person in his mind.

Arlo who had reached their side since some time ago took in the minute exchanges between Abner and Ash, still a little confused, he was also angry at what Ash was doing to his friend. Although his heart still held slight uncertainty, Arlo took in a deep breath and became brave.

He stepped toward Ash and held the unmoving man's arm, trying his hardest to pull it away and for it to let go of Abner, "Ash, jerk, let go of Abner right this instant. Or else I won't be so polite!" Arlo shouted, even though he was only putting up a brave font, in reality, Arlo did not know what he wouldn't be polite about. He was weak after all, he can't even make Ash stumble, let alone fight and defeat the other.

Ash found it annoying how Arlo kept on chattering beside his ear, though Arlo couldn't actually reach his ears, his height centimeters below Ash's. However, he continued to ignore the green-haired young man next to him running his mouth off about all-bark-and-no-bite threats. Focusing, instead, all his attention on Abner who similarly had his attention all on Ash, letting all of Arlo's words to go through one ear and out the other.

The two in a staring contest finally terminated their strange actions when Ash suddenly released Abner's collars, dropping him down from the sky. In one go, Ash punched a heavy fist toward Abner's chest that could easily catch anyone off guard, especially when the other party was currently falling and in midair.

Yet contrary to expectation, Abner was able to easily avoid that destructive punch at so close a proximity. Abner had maneuvered his body in air at the last second, barely able to dodge a powerful blow that was bound to injure his current weak body to being bed-bound for a few weeks.

Abner twisted his body and spun in the air before landing smoothly albeit weirdly onto the ground. The dust rising as he landed.

Ash stood where he was when he threw a punch at Abner, his eyes had the gaze like that of a predator hunting his prey.

'If I fight with him, I'll know if he is the Abner I know or not. No matter how much he tries to hide his skills, I'll still know and then my doubts can finally be cleared.' Ash declared resolutely to himself as he readied his breathing and tensed his body. Unknown to Ash, deep inside his wounded heart was a hint of hope and expectancy.

Abner held back his smirk as he saw that hunter look in Ash's eyes. He almost habitually teased Ash for looking that way which almost blew his nonexistent cover.

Backing up, Abner also went into a fighting stance. Abner was not unknown to the possibility that Ash would recognize him through his fighting style, however, whatever happens happens. If it's meant to be for Ash to find out about his real identity, then so be it. He didn't really have any reasons to conceal it from him in the first place.

Anyway, if Ash does end up finding out that he was the Abner he knew, he wouldn't have to work hard to gain his trust again from scratch and he could find out more about the situation that's happening over at the Underworld. Information that is not privy to lower groups and ones that are very accurate.

In fact, there was more benefit to Ash finding out than not.

Bam!

While Abner was in thought, Ash took this chance to strike once again, hoping to catch him off guard. If it was really Abner, Ash knows that he stood no chance that's why he wanted to attack when there was an opening.

However, Abner easily became clear-minded, shaking away all distracting thoughts, and at the same time moving his body out of the way. The tree that was behind him took the fatal hit for him, causing its trunk to snap in half bending backwards, collapsing onto the clean forest floor.

Abner landed a few meters away from the fallen tree. He had run across the many tree branches from other trees to keep a distance from Ash. Although Ash was not in his best state right now due to reasons Abner does not know, Abner would never underestimate his physical strength and punching power. He had the hardest fist among all his friends after all. Even if Ash had lost his explosive power, his fist by itself can still break many noses.

The two now stood at a standoff, each waiting for the other to make a move. Observing the minutest of movement in muscle of the opponent, watching their breathing, and tensing and relaxing of the other's muscles.

Kicking off of the ground, this time, Abner decided to make his move first. Dashing at Ash who stood like a towering boulder, Abner was unfazed. When he was about a meter away from Ash, Abner made his move.

Abner kicked at Ash's chest who blocked it with his steel arms. Pulling his leg back, Abner changed directions and threw out another kick, this time aiming at his legs. Ash pulled back his leg and stepped back, throwing out another wind-shattering punch. Abner ducked and leaned forward as he rushed close to Ash's face, this time throwing a punch at the eyes.

Ash didn't blink as he used his free hand to catch Abner's fist and squeezed it hard. Abner's mouth twitched at the pain he felt from his squeezed fist. Ash quickly used this opportunity to use his other hand to grab Abner.

Abner dodged that hand and arm. Leaning back and retreating, Abner directed his right leg to kick at Ash's chin.

With Abner's left fist in his right hand and Abner's right leg kicking at his chin, Ash used his left hand to capture Abner's leg in a swift movement. Again, the two parties were in a deadlock.

A stunned Arlo, who had let go of Ash's arm when Ash released Abner, was watching with admiration and excitement at the rapid and powerful exchange of blows at the sideline. He didn't interfere because he knows that the two people weren't actually trying to kill each other, and mainly, it's because he knows he would be the one to suffer first if he intervened.

He was too weak compared to the two vigorously fighting men before him.

With both his hand and leg caught by his opponent, with his quick thinking and processing, Abner let go of his right leg, letting it leave the ground. His body which was about to crash down onto the floor without its supporting pillar was spinning in midair as Abner used his only free leg to kick Ash in the chest.

This move successfully forced Ash to let go of his entrapped leg, and including his captured left hand.

Ash backed away some steps after being booted away by Abner. The force behind the kick was not small, Ash felt pain underneath his skin, though not enough to create a big bruise. Even when Abner had been training all he can whenever he could, it still isn't enough to be comparable to years of hard training that was lost through reincarnation.

If it was the him before he died and was reborn, he wouldn't at least broken two of Ash's ribs.

Placing one of his hands on the dirt floor, Abner supported his horizontal body with that hand as he swept a kick at Ash. Then using his other hand as well, Abner moved closer to Ash as he continued to deliver kicks to the blocking and dodging man.

Ash could not stay passive forever, nor would he allow himself to either. Bracing himself from the impact of the kicks, Ash endured, then grabbed both of Abner's legs, again entrapping him.

Ash howled as he used his strength to lift Abner up by his legs, swinging him around in circles, gaining momentum to throw Abner into the distance, "Arhhh!!"

During this time, Abner only passively accepted the treatment. An enigmatic gleam flashed within his two violet-purple eyes for a brief sec before vanishing.

Crash!

Abner crashed into the hard ground, kicking up dust and dirtying his already dirtied clothes from the fight just now even more.

Standing up, Abner quietly wiped away the dirt that he could from his clothes and patting off the dust that clasped itself onto the fabric. All done without a word. Once he finished, he lifted his head and looked at Ash who concurrently looked right back.

Ash's eyes were still clouded with confusion and doubt, even after the fight he was not clear about his previous suspicion all because of his and Abner's last exchange.

Honestly, Ash was close to confirming that this Abner was truly the Abner he had known since his teens, the Abner who he thought was gone and who he would never see again. This filled him with hope and optimism. But then during their last exchange with each other, when he lifted up Abner's legs and spun them, Ash had easily accomplished this feat which wouldn't be possible if it was the real Abner he knew that he was fighting against.

That act pushed Ash right back to square one, into the darkness that was his uncertainty.

So as Ash looked at Abner, all his eyes could express was doubt and utter disappointment. His depressed heart sunk under the additional heavy burden it had to carry.

Abner stayed silent as he stood there, unmoving. His violet-purple eyes dim and static as he took what was in front of his eyes all in.

In the end, why Abner didn't allow Ash to know that it was him was because he didn't think it was time. There was a gut feeling telling him to put it off until later, and he trusts his guts and instincts.

And as to when "later" is? Abner will have to wait and find out.