The Subject

Mantogai smiles realizing something.

"Hey blue-haired human you must be exhausted of most of your soul energy after fighting me if I recall at the beginning of our little fight you had about 7,000 soul energy now that's down to 428 and you still think you can beat me?

They all look at Sora and say "Boss stay back and preserve your stamina take Gin and Yasuko inside we'll face him!"

Sora frowns with a look of displeasure on his face. "I thought we fought as a team and besides since I'm the boss shouldn't I be giving you orders?!"

Akai speaks up. "Right now you are the weakest link together all of us have around 4,777 soul energy while you only have 428 so you must go inside and rest and take them with you we've got this!"

"Alright, you guys better live you hear me!?"

"Yes, sir you can't count on it!"

Sora runs and picks up Gin and Yasuko's bodies and takes them back inside the damaged restaurant. He gently lays down their bodies inside a dining booth. He leans up against a counter lighting a cigarette.

"I'm a failure of a boss Gin's knocked out but heavily injured and Yasuko is dead." Tears begin streaming down his face as he wipes them away.

"I've always messed up everything!"

Sora's point of view, October 30th, 2001

It was a normal day at first is what I thought I was 7 years old at the time so I had no idea my life was going to change forever. I was just sitting at my desk at school when suddenly the teacher said it was time for recess which of course made me very excited. As we were in the hallway leading to the playground I noticed men in black lab coats whispering though I couldn't hear what they were saying.

As I entered the playground my only friend at the time Yuki Tama invited me to play in the small wooden sandbox. Of course, Yuki was my only friend so I happily agreed and we built sandcastles until a larger boy came and stomped on all of our "hard work". The boy kicked Yuki in the face and called him a hare due to his snowy white hair and threw sand in my eye temporarily blinding me.

My emotions just took over my body I wiped the sand out of my eyes and punched the kid to the ground. I was in a blind rage and so I got on top of him and just kept punching him which caused a mass panic while I was beating the kid I noticed the same people in black lab coats once again whispering and pointing at me. The teacher and some other kids managed to pull me off of him and drag me to the principal's office while I was being dragged away I noticed Yuki's face and it was one of fear not of the bully but me. I knew what I did was wrong but I felt like the kid deserved it he kicked Yuki insulted and threw dirt in my eye so I felt like it was justice.

The principal called both of my parents I was suspended for 2 weeks I was confused why my dad was mad because he was always the type to win a fight but then later I found out I had broken the kid's nose. When I got home I was beaten by various household items they even made my 5-year-old little brother Arashi slash my thigh with a piece of broken glass. My parents called me names like unstable and a monster to the point where I started to believe them.

They even damaged the once close relationship I had with my brother now he became distant almost like strangers passing each other on the street. I forgave my brother for what he had done because I knew he would never have made that choice if my parents if you can call them that forced him to. About 2 days had passed I remember it like it was yesterday it was a Thursday the day that would change my life forever.

The same men in black lab coats showed up at my house and spoke to my parents I could see that there was someone new with them a young red-haired man around 21 on his coat was a name tag that read "Dr. Kurushimeru". The doctor pointed at me with a stern look on his face at this point I was a ghost of my former self even though my parents were always abusive scumbags they always fed me decent enough food but at the time they thought the "monster" didn't deserve food so they didn't feed me and gave it all to my brother.

My parents rushed to the back and quickly and within 2 minutes grabbed a pen and signed a paper sealing my fate. Dr. Kurushimeru spouting something about me changing the world but at that point, I was so far gone my mental state was broken, and then I finally understood his words clearly.

"We will give you some time to say goodbye to your friends."

Those words snapped me back to reality I opened our closet put on a coat and headed to my and Yuki's secret fort within the hills. It took me about twelve minutes to get there. The fort had a ladder leading up to the actual base Yuki designed it himself he wanted to be a designer when he grew up that was his dream. I climbed up the ladder with the scientists watching me closely as I entered just as I expected Yuki was sitting on one of our little stools playing the new GameChild hand-held console he notices me and stands up putting down the game we stare at each other for a second when I looked into his bright yellow eyes the memories from Halloween day came flooded back into my brain.

It was silent for a moment before I finally found the courage to say something.

"Yuki I'm sorry for the way I acted before what I did was horrible and unforgivable it's fine if you don't wanna be friends with me anymore!" While I said that I held on to my coat tightly and stared at the floor not having too afraid of how he looked at me as I apologized.

"Sora raise your head and look at me!" I slowly raised my head eventually when my head was up and I was looking at Yuki directly the look on his face was that of a mother scolding a child I felt ashamed.

"Sora what you did to him was indeed terrible I know you were standing up for me but you cannot let your anger control like that and there is one thing you must know."

My stomach curled up fearing what he was going to say next.

"What is it, Yuki?"

"You must know that we will always be friends!"

As soon as those words left Yuki's mouth it felt like my emotions that were once bottled up and locked away deep inside my inner being exploded out and tears flowed freely like a river down my face. I'm guessing Yuki felt the same way because we embraced each other holding on tightly sobbing like a newborn baby. Yuki's eyes lit up like fireworks almost like he was a different person from the quiet and timid Yuki Tama that Yuki was dead now that day a new Yuki was born a much more cheerful one and that was the first time anyone other than my brother had shown me true care.

We embraced for what felt like forever but in reality, was only about a minute, and eventually, I let go.

"Yuki I have to go somewhere for a while see you soon!"

I quickly descended the ladder and walk over toward the scientists.

"Wait Sora don't leave yet!"

Instead of responding verbally I simply turned around and smiled I believed that conveyed how I felt but little did I know that would be the last time I saw the Yuki that I knew. I got inside the big black armored vehicle and waved goodbye to life as I knew it forever that day I became a test subject of the "Artificial soul hunter project."

They took me to a facility that Dr. Kurushimeru referred to as the "Palace." Although it was called a palace it was a former mental hospital with a testing lab attached to the side of it that is where I would spend most of my time within the palace. That day was the day I went down to the darkest depths of hell and Dr. Kurushimeru was my equivalent to Lucifer himself I felt like I had sold my soul.

There were about 70 other kids there when I arrived and was given the new name Boryoku which means violence I couldn't even escape what happened there either. On the first day, Dr. Kurushimeru escorted me to my room it had a bunk bed but I was told I would be there by myself Dr. Kurushimeru then left and I just sat there by myself for what felt like years but was a couple of hours. Hours later he came back concealing something in his hand behind his back then he said this.

"This will only sting a little."

What he was holding behind his back was a butcher's knife he then stabbed me in the chest I went into shock as I could feel the warm blood running down my cold chest the pain was extremely intense but then it went dark... I was dead.

When I opened my eyes again I was in a snowy cold place covered in ice. I walked around for a few minutes trembling in the cold temperature I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was surrounded by a warm green liquid then I could hear Dr. Kurushimeru's voice.

"He's alive again increase the temperature to maximum heat."

And thus began my first day of hell.

Character Case #3: Sora Aoi

Blood type: B negative

Height: 5"11

Threat level: Small building

Favorite song: A cruel angel's thesis