Chapter 19: Storied Past

Chirp Chirp Chirp 

The sound of birds chirping stemmed through the halls. Lying on a pure white bed, Ricolo could be seen, sleeping peacefully. But this sleep wouldn't last long, as he abruptly snapped his eyes open. And jolted forward into a sitting-like position, he quickly grabbed onto his ribs but the injury was completely healed. 

He took a deep breath, before he glanced around, his mind racing with thoughts... 

Pov: Ricolo

Tsk, that punch did more damage than I thought. To think it would cause me to pass out like that. But oddly, the sharp pain in my chest is gone. I'm guessing recovery girl has something to do with that. So, I need to thank that old woman. I grab onto the side of the bed, before swinging my legs and placing them on the white tile floor. 

I sit on the edge of the bed, before in the corner of my eye, I see flowers in a jar, neatly placed on a dresser next to the bed. How long was I knocked out? Surely, they wouldn't give me flowers for one day. I gingerly stand up from the bed and walk towards the shut door, grabbing the doorknob and twisting it open.

I slowly creak open the door and enter into a long hallway. The hallway was empty and quiet, luckily, I noticed that the hallway was that of the school. But, even if it is a weekend, the school shouldn't be this quiet, it feels like I'm in some old 80s slasher horror movie. I take a few more steps forward and head towards the exit before suddenly, I hear distant light footsteps, I quickly snap my head back, and lock eyes with a white mouse. 

" My. My. You have quite good ears, Ricolo. " Nezu says to me. I nod before asking him a question. " How long have I been passed out for? " Nezu grew quiet before speaking. " Almost exactly two weeks, but it's lucky you woke up, when you did. The sports festival is about to begin. " Sports festival? I think Eraser Head mentioned it before, but I don't quite remember what it is. 

" What's that? And why wasn't I transported to a real hospital instead of the school nursing room? " Nezu snickered at my question. " Well Ricolo, I'll explain what the Sports festival is later, for your other question, the answer lies with this, you shouldn't doubt our nursing, we have the best nurses in the world...And, we wanted to relieve media pressure... By acting like you were perfectly fine. " 

That makes sense, even if it isn't morally correct, but I have another question to ask him. " What happened to Eraser Head? " 

" He's fine. For the most part, he's still quite injured. " Responded Nezu, until he suddenly twirled and wagged his finger while walking away from me. " But I don't have time to answer any more of your questions, Ricolo. I have a meeting to go to. " I watched stumped, as he slowly walked away from me with his hands behind his back. 

I could only scoff before I turned around and headed towards the school's exit. Eventually walking through the doors, instantly a bright full moon illuminated my hands, I take a few more steps before I reach into my pockets and grab my phone. I slide it out of my pocket and click the button on the side but the phone doesn't turn on. It's completely dead.

Shit. I need to find a way to charge it or Lori going to kill me...

Ring Ring Ring 

The sound of a phone ringing could be heard, as I call Lori. I'm currently standing inside a grocery store borrowing a cashier's charger, she stares at me, while I call Lori, but she doesn't answer. I grow quiet before disconnecting the charger and sliding my phone back inside my pocket. Lori isn't answering me. It is late. She's probably asleep. 

I start walking towards the store's exit before abruptly the cashier calls out to me. " Hey! A bad storm is meant to pass through soon. Are you sure you want to leave this store? " I nod and walk through the exit while waving my hand at the woman. If a storm is passing through, that only means more of a reason to check on Lori. 

As soon as I step outside the store, booming thunder erupts, shaking the ground I'm standing on. I ignore it and keep walking, It should take me around twenty minutes to arrive at Lori's house, hopefully, the forest will shield her from the rain...

Twenty minutes later. Inside a dense forest, powerful winds ripped leaves off trees, while hail fell from the sky brutally colliding with the ground. Standing in the middle of it all, was Ricolo who was walking through the storm, his blue hair blowing wildly. 

He grabbed onto his flowing hair, as his eyes glanced over towards a shack hidden behind several trees and bushes. Ricolo calmly walked towards the shack, before stopping and gently knocking on the door and calling out. " Mother! Are you still awake? " Ricolo waited patiently for a response but only the sound of hail answered him. He took a deep breath and pressed his palm on the door slowly creaking it open. 

As soon as he opened the door, the smell of blood swept through his nostrils making him stop in a state of shock. Even though the shack was pitch black, due to Ricolo's years of being an assassin, his eyes naturally got accustomed to dark letting him see the cruel sight in front of him. Lori could be seen sitting in her chair, with her head dangling back. A crude slash could be seen lining her neck.

Blood covered her clothes, and her skin was pale. It was clear that Lori had been dead for quite a long time. Ricolo stared at Lori's corpse, his eyes dilated. However, the reaction Ricolo gave wasn't one a regular person would give. Instead, of panicking and sprinting toward the corpse. He slowly walked towards the body, the wooden floor creaking with each step. 

He cautiously took each step, until suddenly during a step, he stopped his foot in midair and looked towards the floor. What Ricolo was looking at, was a tripwire connected to the chair Lori's body was in and the wooden walls of the shack. Ricolo glanced at the wall, before pressing his foot on the trap triggering it, causing a set of rustic knives to fly down from the ceiling, the knives soared through the air, before embedding in the wall with a series of thuds. 

" So, the one that killed you, is quite skilled. Huh, Lori? " Murmured Ricolo, as he approached his mother and stopped directly next to her body. Ricolo looked at his mother's throat, seeing the crude cut. He pondered for a few seconds, before speaking. " The knife or blade used for this cut was meant to cause bleeding, even though the cut looks crude on the surface, overall it's a perfect cut." 

" She wasn't robbed either, the person who killed her, most likely did it for revenge. Maybe even fun. Oh, well. Lori congrats on joining the afterlife. Make sure to keep hell warm for me. " Ricolo said with a cold but slightly sad look on his face until he abruptly reached into his mother's pants pocket and pulled out her phone. He clicked on the side of the phone before it turned on.

The wallpaper of the phone was of a young Ricolo posing next to a dead body. Ricolo could only shake his head at this image before he entered a passcode and spoke to his mother's corpse. " I'm going to use your bank account from now on, I hope you don't mind Mother. I know how stingy you were with money. " 

Ricolo turned around and slowly walked away from Lori's body before he glanced back and spoke while stepping outside the shack. " This is goodbye, mother. I wish you the best. "... 

Drip

Drip

Drip

As rain fell heavily in the darkness of night, Ricolo could be spotted under a light pole, leaning against a white brick wall beside an empty street. His gaze was fixed on the ground, lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approaching made him look up, and a familiar voice called out to him

" Hey! Ricolo! I started looking for you when I heard you finally woke up. But, what are you doing in the pouring rain?! " This voice belongs to Deku, Ricolo's eyes glanced up, locking eyes with Deku, who was holding onto a black umbrella.

Right when Deku felt Ricolo's gaze, his body began to shiver, as overwhelming killing intent engulfed his body until he murmured to himself. Only loud enough for him to hear.

" His eyes. They're colder than usual, what happened? That monster knocked him out, but it's been two weeks. Surely he isn't still mad about that? " Ricolo stared at Deku, in complete silence, only the sound of rain filled their ears. After several seconds, Ricolo spoke while walking towards Deku.

" Sorry, for not responding, I was in a bit of a daze and you surprised me, Deku. "Ricolo says with a grin on his face, before continuing to speak. " But I'm doing nothing, I was just reflecting on why I lost to that monster. " Deku slightly nodded, not entirely believing him.

Deku watched as Ricolo walked towards him, with his fists balled. He was gaining the courage to ask Ricolo a question, as Ricolo was only around three steps away Deku spoke asking this question. " Ricolo if you don't mind me asking. Why are your eyes so cold? " Ricolo was taken aback by this question, as he paused and spoke. 

" Hmm... Let's put it like this Deku. Always make sure to protect the ones you care about. " Deku turned his head slightly confused by this answer, but he could tell that Ricolo was hiding something. Knowing this, Deku shouted out.

" I-Its has something to do with that villain at USJ doesn't it? I heard y'all have a conversation right before they left. And a look appeared on your face. One I've never seen from you before. A look of concern. Every time, no matter the circumstance, your face is always, calm slightly filled with boredom but this time. I've seen your eyes morph from being cold to worried. So! What did he tell you? Or what did he do? I've wondering about it for weeks. It's even been affecting my training for the upcoming sports festival. Even though, we don't know each other in the slightest. You still are my classmate, and I have every right to be concerned!" Deku waved his hands while speaking. 

Ricolo just stood still as rain dripped down his face before he smirked and spoke. " I still don't understand why you didn't want to become our class president. You would have been a great one... But thanks for worrying about me. It means a lot, trust me. But that portal has nothing to do with it. He just put me in a tough situation. One that will affect my future greatly. "

" And just a warning, if you keep asking me so many questions, we won't be classmates for much longer. That's not a threat or anything. That is just the truth. " Ricolo said, but even with the warning, Deku quickly spoke asking a question.

" What is the situation? What could he possibly know about you? " 

" A lot. He knows a lot more about me. Then you and even the principal of the U.A. But, I won't be answering any more questions from you. I have a job to do. " As soon as Ricolo said this, he started to walk, Deku could only watch, as Ricolo walked past him. His body slowly becoming more hidden by the pouring rain. Deku remained standing, in complete silence. Until he sighed loudly and spoke.

" What exactly are you hiding, Ricolo? "...

~~~

Hey, the author here. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, I know it started a little rough especially with me putting battle trail instead of battle trial. But I'm here to let you know that, if you have any questions ask me. And that the story is about to speed up quickly.

The sports festival is going to begin after this chapter, with the students gathered up, before the first test, there are going to be slight changes to the festival itself. But you'll learn about those later. And, I'll go into more detail about Ricolo's past, after the festival. The training he went under when he was young and go into Lori's character a little more as well.

Well, that is all from me. Hope you have a great day or great night depending on when you are reading this :} ...