A/C: I´m updating this first chapter of PPGR: Regressions just to clear up what happened with Mitsuki XD the following chapters will come when I finish Townsville´s first arc "PPGR: Realities" Oh and for those confused, PPGR: Regressions is the continuation of PPGR: Reflections.
This arc will explain in depth about the RowdyRude Boys past as well as The PowerPunks past, it also includes the mirror counterparts of the boys (Haru, Ressee and Kai) in the mirror realm they are (Harumi, Rex and Kyle) it explains the origins of some issues like for example Miharu´s issue of Rave- Bruise and also Rage´s parenting issue and some other stuff. I know many are looking forward to the rudes and ruffs to meet for longer periods of time and yes, it will happen but first I needed to add this (Thankfully this is not as long as the PPGR: Reflections arc)
I hope you guys enjoy this arc just as I loved writing this and again I tell you all that questions either in pm, deviant or review here are welcome and I´ll be sure to answer you guys (If it´s through review you´ll have to wait until I update the story so you get the answer, I´d suggest you to pm instead but well, do as you wish XD ) Try not to ask for spoilers please XD
Chapter 1: Memory Lane
I had been a great deal of time wandering in this fantasy place, I left my previous place down the stairway and climbed up to find a gorgeous city. I decided to go over there to clear my head and hopefully ask for more information and confirmation of what the angel had said; it was kind of odd since people looked at first glance like balls of light floating around. There was clear serenity in this place, a sense of calm… a great feeling of comfort and I oddly felt in home. The moment I gave a step in, the souls changed shape and appeared like ghosts of people or well, more exactly speaking… the souls of people and weirdly animals as well, I was really curious about this place and the way people would act when I spoke to them. When I looked up I saw a never ending blue sky which looked like a crystal veil, it was snowing for some odd reason and it just made the city look even more beautiful.
I kept wandering looking at everything around me realizing this looked like some sort of Utopia when suddenly someone caught my attention; it was the soul of a boy who turned to see me after a while of staring at him, he then smiled gently towards me and nodded, I wonder if he was saying it was okay to talk to him or something…
"Well hello, young one" said the boy.
"I was wondering about this place…"
"Yes, I know you don´t live here currently, many souls that are still living on earth come here and well, it´s understandable that you are curious of this place" said the boy "This place is the Soul Realm but we affectionately refer to it as Serene City"
"Serene City…" I murmured intrigued "My name is Daiichi"
"Daiichi? I see, well… I´m planning on going to earth soon so my name will be Railey there"
"Railey? If you meet Makoto he would probably shorten it to Rale" I said wondering about Makoto´s thing with R names that end with E.
"Hahaha Rale? That sounds good! I´ll use that as my nickname then" said the boy who chuckled at the mention of it "Well, I´m not sure if I´ll remember to use it but if you by any chance see me, be sure to remind me of it and please refer to me like that as well haha"
"Sure I guess" I said "By the way… I was talking to an angel with brown hair and yellow eyes earlier and-"
"Do you mean Raguel?" Rale asked looking curious "You met one of the archangels? That´s so cool"
"Raguel? That´s his name?" I asked wondering if we were talking about the same angel.
"It emits this sense of comfort and confidence when being close to it, it also dissipates doubts in the heart and clears confusion, It is good to calm arguments and bring reconciliation" said Rale while smiling.
"Oh… no, then I think we are not talking about the same one and hey, what do you mean with It?" I asked confused.
"That´s because souls and angels have no gender" said Rale "But it´s okay to refer to us like "she" or "he" when they take a certain shape" said Rale "If it wasn´t the angel you saw, how did it look like?"
"He had long brown hair and yellow eyes…" I said a little puzzled on how to explain.
"Hmm… I´m not sure who you are talking about, there are many angels with such hair color but haha it would have been cool if it had been Raguel, had to try right?" said Rale looking troubled "Hmm… but now that I think so, I wonder if it even has that hair color, anyway, Sorry for not being able to identify him for you"
"That´s okay… but well, he mentioned something about angels and demons having yellow eyes and-"
"Demons?" asked Rale surprised, he then startled laughing "Hahaha seems that angel pulled your leg"
"What? Why?"
"Demons aren´t real" said Rale, what? Demons do not exist…? Then what was Brazen…? "It is true angels have yellow eyes but demons don´t exist"
"But he said that they both had yellow eyes and anyone else would have color contact lenses or have a disease" I said.
"Well, that´s true except for the demons part, demons are only a myth humans like to believe in just like the silver cord that supposedly ties the soul to the body; also, angels are difficult to spot on earth since those angels that have had their memory wiped before being born as human children have different colored eyes to remain unrecognized, hmmm… but well, angels that go down there with a purpose and keep their memories can´t change their eye color so they do seem yellow, the only way to disguise them is to wear different colored contact lenses…"
"You say demons don´t exist… but then, how do monsters exist as well as evil beings that look like demons…?" I asked recalling Brazen, if he wasn´t a demon, what was he? An angel? That couldn´t be possible…
"Monsters are like animals, they go down there to fulfill their purpose but they are not evil in nature" said Rale "As for the evil beings… I´ve heard the rumors of a really dangerous virus that attacked an angel once"
"A virus?"
"Yes, the angel that was attacked I believe was ´´Lucifer´´ but well, they are only rumors so I can´t really confirm you" said Rale looking thoughtful.
"It´s alright, what else do you know?"
"Well, that angel went to earth and corrupted a personality down there and is looking to achieve some kind of revenge" said Rale "If that is true… that Corrupt Angel might start targeting angels down there to achieve a superior power"
"That Angel is targeting angels…?"
"Well, I think we should call it a Virus instead of an angel… that Virus plans on killing angels by eating their Chant Spheres" said Rale looking worried "But I hope that is only some fake gossip around here"
"Chant Spheres?"
"The Chant spheres are little marbles of light that dwell in certain body parts of Angels that have gone to earth" said Rale "It is so they can keep being on earth, you could say it´s some sort of symbol that authorizes them to be on earth having a physical shape there and keep their memories"
"I see… so if you take a Chant Sphere from one, does that mean the angel dies?"
"Not exactly, after losing the Chant Sphere, they have a certain amount of time to retrieve it before coming back here without being able to return for some centuries until a new Chant Sphere is formed" said Rale, that did sound awful "An angel that has had their Chant Sphere removed goes through an intense deal of pain, the true pain they can experience and well those Chant Spheres have an embodiment of power within too even if they don´t tie the angel´s life in it"
"What happens to the angels that have had their memory wiped?"
"Those are more hard to spot but if the virus is the one chasing them down, it shouldn´t have it hard since angels can sense each other, they can be misguided by outside facts like applying logic instead of just following their senses but it´s certainly easy to chase them down" said Rale "An Angel that has no knowledge of what´s going on is on more danger since it will keep behaving like it is true in nature whereas an angel that knows their stay on earth is dangerous may behave entirely different to misguide the Virus"
"Entirely different? You mean like a corrupt angel?"
"Do not think that corrupt angels are common… this is like the only case that something like that has come up even on a rumor but aside of that unique exception, corrupt angels do not exist, if anything, ´´evil beings´´ could be like spawns from the original virus" said Rale "When I say differently, I mean like behaving like a crap of human being if I may use those terms… they behave in unspeakable ways so that the enemy uses logic and disregards him/ her as an angel"
"Hmm I think that is smart" I said thoughtful.
"If the rumors are true, then one can´t really say that a person with legit yellow eyes is an angel since the virus and virus spawns if any, have yellow eyes as well" said Rale "Also, archangels are easier to spot than angels since their presences are stronger"
"I see…"
"I heard that an archangel had an accident once, it lost its memories and well became a personality without a life plan, I don´t know much about it but that archangel is in great peril" said Rale "I just hope another archangel or angel is looking after it"
"So that archangel that suffered that accident, has a Chant Sphere as well even when having its memory wiped?"
"Unfortunately yes, if the archangel originally just went there by authorization and didn´t plan a life on earth then he or she is set to the same, if he or she loses the chant sphere they come back here" said Rale "Angels with true personalities on earth have a different type of chant spheres though, if those chant spheres are removed, that angel is locked inside it"
"Meaning taking the chant sphere of an angel with a life plan on earth is like removing the soul of the person?"
"Yes, their personalities are left in a state where if they don´t have a soul exchange in that moment, then they die" said Rale, soul exchange…? "Those chant spheres do not have a time limit of being recovered, once it´s taken it´s over"
"That´s horrible…" I murmured a little worried, was this… what Her wanted us to face? This Virus that is hunting angels…? Or is she not aware of this…? If only I could go back there and tell them about this…
XXX
Time seemed to stop as we faced what looked to be one of the most awful incidents, not to say puzzling… as we waited for help we examined Mitsuki who had a wound in form of a cross close to his waist, it was an odd wound since it was almost perfect, it looked like a surgery cut… Miharu kept crying beside his unconscious body; I just wonder how much time passed for this to happen and if there was any hope for Mitsuki to survive, it was scary how the mirrors that were around were smeared with blood and Mitsuki lying there so pale, it was incredibly terrifying…
After a bit of finding Mitsuki and checking him to see what had happened I noticed Mitsuki´s phone on the floor covered in blood and with the battery missing, so, I took the phone and put my battery in it to look for Matt´s number and ask him to bring help.
"Makoto, tell him to hurry…" I hear Miharu say while sobbing. The phone rang endlessly before he picked up, I was starting to think he might have been attacked as well and also wondered what kind of person takes the battery and leaves the phone as it is instead of destroying it?
"Mitsuki?" I heard Matt say "Where are you dude? So mature of you to hide before riding the ´´Beheader´´ "he said with a tone of sarcasm.
"Matt, it´s Makoto, Can you two rush over the house of mirrors please?" I asked him while looking away uneasy.
"Eh? Why the hurry? And why do you have Mitsuki´s phone?" asked Matt confused.
"Please! Just hurry! Mitsuki is dying!" I said horribly concerned.
"Dying? I thought the dude knew how to get out of that place alone haha seems he won´t ever figure it out no matter how many years pass" he said while chuckling.
"Matt! Just come please! And call an ambulance!" I said concerned and frustrated that he wasn´t taking it seriously; though well, before I could say anything else I noticed the end tone.
"What did he say…?" Miharu said as he kept looking at Mitsuki.
"I don´t know, he hung up" I said puzzled "Is Mitsuki going to die…? Just like this…?"
"Mitsuki…" murmured Miharu as he kept crying, I then noticed Mitsuki had moved his hand to pet his head, he was looking wearily at him with only one of his eyes open.
"Hey, don´t cry…" he murmured weakly.
"Mitsuki! You are still alive!" I said still concerned yet relieved he was still breathing…
"I get distracted and this happens… in my defense, she was saying really puzzling things" he said while smiling as much as he could manage to.
"Mitsuki, please hang on…" I said frustrated, we couldn´t move him or he would die from severe blood loss…"
"Do not fret; I listened to what you said before… Matt will come" said Mitsuki.
"How do you know? He hung up…" I said worried and sad.
"You were blunt enough… I´m certain about him understanding" he said "Then again, because I got distracted, I won´t make it to the hospital…"
"Don´t say that! Matt will come soon!" I said looking horribly upset at him.
"H always comes just a little too late… haha, that´s Matt for you, I´m still grateful he´s always been there for this knucklehead" he said as he smiled troubled, Miharu kept trying to cure him though he ended freezing his bleeding.
"Mitsuki… I will try to make your bleeding stop for some time…" said Miharu as he sobbed.
"You are a very kind child, you make me feel like an older brother" said Mitsuki as he suppressed a chuckle "Just like my brother Kyle and Matt are to me"
"But your brother…" murmured Miharu uneasy.
"I know he is with me always… somewhere, he is watching me… I can´t see him, but I know he´s there and is… listening to me…"
"Mitsuki! Stay away! Please!" I said scared since he looked like he was falling unconscious.
"I want to… I really want…" he said as he kept petting Miharu and suddenly stopped.
"No! don´t die! No!" said Miharu desperately, he then held his head frustrated probably about to burst in tears.
"Mitsuki…!" exclaimed Matt as he came running.
"Matt…" I murmured ignoring what to say.
"I´m sorry, I got lost momentarily… Kisaki went ahead to call the ambulance, sorry for what happened earlier, my phone´s battery died" said Matt as he approached us.
"Mitsuki is…" I murmured not wanting to say it.
"This wasn´t supposed to happen…" he said looking away while frowning, he then knelt down beside him and stared at him "Mitsuki, you fucking asshole, you can´t die yet! Wake up already!" he yelled to him as he punched him.
"Matt! Don´t hit him!" I said startled, why would he hit him?!
"…Was that really necessary…" said Mitsuki as he looked annoyed at him "Always so rough…"
"Mitsuki!" both Miharu and I said surprised.
"How?" I asked awestruck about it, I thought he had died…
"But his aura, his aura was gone…" said Miharu perplexed.
"Nah, he was still breathing" Matt said as he looked away.
"Thank you!" I said while hugging him happily.
"Ah? Why are you thanking me you weirdo, I just punched him" he said while staring at me sarcastically.
"Maybe, it was too faint to see…" murmured Miharu.
"Yeah, his punched are miraculous" said Mitsuki while chuckling briefly.
"Idiot don´t exaggerate, you were just not dead yet" said Matt looking indifferent.
"It´s like when people punch to get some sense into the person" said Mitsuki as he smiled "But I´m not thanking you, it hurt… I felt like you had punched my soul right back"
"I think is to knock sense into but anyway, don´t say nonsense" said Matt looking dubious at him "At least you´ll hang on till the surgery…"
"How do you know?" the three of us asked him.
"It´s just a hunch, I´m not sure if he´ll hang on that much, I just want him to" said Matt "Our thoughts are able to affect physical reality so if Mitsuki thinks he won´t die, he won´t die and less if it´s not his time to go, well that´s for him to decide"
"How is he going to-" Miharu and I said interrupted by Matt.
"So just be positive" he said flatly to Mitsuki as he sighed.
"I will" said Mitsuki as he smiled and nodded, yet he fell unconscious again.
"Mitsuki!" we exclaimed scared except for Matt.
"He is still breathing, he can sleep all he wants for all I care, if he is not dead, that´s enough for me" said Matt.
We sat there without anyone saying anything until Kisaki arrived, the paramedics lifted Mitsuki on a gurney and took him inside the ambulance; we left right away towards the hospital and reached it within minutes, the hospital was fortunately close to the amusement park, it was kind of convenient right?
As soon as we went in, Miharu went off while I stood in front of the elevator, he then stopped running and turned to see me confused.
"Makoto?"
"I´ll be right there, I just want to visit Daiichi for a little while… I won´t take long" I said, I felt really guilty whenever I thought Daiichi was alone in that room.
"Alright… I´ll be with Matt…" said Miharu as he left, I on the other hand went into the elevator and towards Daiichi´s room in a rush, I wanted to see Rage just for a little while since I feel I haven´t been around as I should be.
"Daiichi…" I murmured as I went into the room looking at Rage unconscious on the bed, he had this oxygen mask on his face, if he was sleeping… why would he need that?
I walked inside the room and leaned against the wall staring at Daiichi melancholically feeling my heart twist with remorse, I didn´t know why but I felt like this was my fault… something inside me told me so and just like when I was in Townsville, this feeling told me that Daiichi wasn´t okay, Daiichi was probably too far away to reach; his body was here… he was so close yet I felt like there was an endless gap between us that who knew when it was going to close; He wasn´t sleeping, he wasn´t dreaming or maybe he was…? But even so… this state of his… this state that threatens his life and puts doubts in my heart about him awakening, talking to him or even have him close; his sole conscious presence…
These thoughts were eating me inside, Daiichi wasn´t going to wake up soon, he wasn´t just sleeping, he was in a comma… just like that boy Brick was… Daiichi was in such a grave state and I dared leave him alone, if I was in that situation I´m sure Daiichi would be here every day but what about me? I go have fun at the amusement park, I go hang out with others… what kind of brother am I? What kind of friend am I…?
"Daiichi, I´m so sorry…" I murmured as tears trailed down my eyes "Even when you take care of me so dearly… I took too long to realize that you weren't sleeping… how dumb I am, aren´t I…? Miharu tried to hide it from me for some reason but well… I just don´t know what to do or think… right now Mitsuki is on the verge of dying too so I just don´t know Rage… What´s going on? Why is this happening to us…?" I said as I sobbed while looking at his calm expression sadly not getting a reply "I believe you can at least hear me since the doctor told me to tell you about stuff… so I just want to apologize for everything I´ve made you go through, all that pain you had to carry all by yourself… All that burden you experience even now, I´m sure I´m at fault for many things like taking your childhood away since you had to take care of me back then like a parent… and I just…" I said as my voice broke down and started crying "I just want to say I´m sorry…"
For my dismay, as soon as I finished saying that, a red smoke engulfed me making me appear before Her startling me, Miharu looked at me concerned like wanting to ask what I had but was debating whether to ask me or not.
"Don't worry Miharu, I´m fine" I said as I rubbed my tears off with my arm and offered him a big grin.
"Makoto…" murmured Miharu as he looked at me still worried, I then turned to face Her and frowned.
"What is it? Mitsuki is dying! Why did you call us?!" I said upset as I kept to myself the fact I had gone to visit Daiichi and my irritation for being taken forcefully away.
"I called you here to tell you that, Mitsuki, will not survive" said Her flatly.
"What?! How do you know?" I said frustrated and scared.
"It´s just meant to happen" she said.
"Are you saying we shouldn´t do anything? He just can´t be saved…?" I asked her incredulous.
"I don´t comprehend why humans are so stubborn when it comes to death" she said bored like.
"Because we have feelings" said Miharu while frowning, he looked angry… and I thought only Bruise could be angry…
"But well, I´m saying this because if I say it later, it´ll be too late; there is a way to save him though" said Her.
"There is?!" I said surprised.
"It´s dangerous still want to give it try?" said Her.
"What is it?" we asked.
"To infuse Chemical X into him" she said flatly "It´s dangerous to try and turn a human into a super being like you three since there´s a minimal chance of that happening"
"What can happen…?" we asked curious and slightly concerned.
"There´s a 70% for him to turn into a monster, 29% to result in death and 1% for it to succeed" she said.
"What?! Why?!" I said alarmed.
"When a person is bathed with Chemical X 50% become monsters and 50% have powers temporally; when it´s infusing it to make it permanent is to change the person´s structure" said Her.
"How?" I asked puzzled.
"It transforms muscles, organs, blood… every fiber and corner is modified to match one of a super being. Super being are not structured like a human, they look like one yet they are entirely different from the inside… A powerless human would be pierced by a hit of a laser beam; a super being takes it as a small burn. The impact of a car would kill a person yet a super being would receive a simple smack or in cases of superior strength, the car ends destroyed instead"
"Oh…" I murmured as I stared curiously at Her.
"Super beings have Chemical X flowing through their bodies like the blood a human carries in their arteries which keep the heart beating; an example of that is Barricade, he has a great amount of Chemical X which resulted on giving life to his hair… Infusing Chemical X means to change blood for Chemical X and that the heart accepts it" said Her.
"Wait! So we bleed Chemical X too? But I´ve always bled normal blood…" I said confused.
"Humans that have two types of blood, the one that travels inside the arteries feeding the heart while the veins transports the dirty blood, that´s the one humans bleed; it´s a defense layer"
"Oh… but then, shouldn´t we bleed dirty Chemical X?" I said wondering if it made sense.
"Indeed, it´s red Chemical X which could be compared to the dirty blood in the veins of a human" she said flatly "The red is a façade to emulate ´´blood´´ " said Her.
"Wow, who would know…" I said amazed "Does that mean our hearts are black too?"
"Anyway, will you give it a try?" Her asked ignoring my question.
"Yeah… if Mitsuki will die at this rate… I rather cling to the slightest chance there is" said Miharu shyly.
"I agree too… yet I would like asking Matt for his opinion" I said "I just feel that´s the right thing for us to do"
"Yes…" said Miharu while nodding.
"Should we call our ´´blood´´ blood anyway?" I said puzzled going back to the past subject.
"Yes, just do that" said Her dismissively.
"Well… it works the same as blood, looks like blood…" murmured Miharu.
"It´s blood!" I said while smiling as the smoke engulfed us once again, we then appeared back in the hospital close to where Matt was; seems I would need to continue my visit to Rage later…
"Hey cutie…" said Matt as he looked kind of down, he was sitting in the hospital waiting area; it was kind of sad to see him that way… and hey, where was Kisaki? "You two sure took your time"
"Kisaki…?" asked Miharu wondering the same as me.
"She went back already, I believe she may have gone tell the others about this but who knows" said Matt.
"Matt… we need to talk seriously with you" I said confused on how to explain.
"I wonder what that might be…" he said as he sighed, I motioned for him to follow us and so we went to the rooftop to talk. I then explained him about the possibility of Mitsuki´s survival but the risk it was…
"So we wanted to know if you were okay or not with it…" said Miharu shyly.
"I see… well, as Mitsuki´s best friend and guardian I must say that´s the best we can take our chances on" said Matt thoughtfully.
"Guardian? You are Mitsuki´s babysitter?" I asked puzzled.
"Hahahahaha no way! If he was a kid then yes but no, his brother only entrusted me with him" said Matt while smiling troubled.
"But it´s the same right? You had to take care of him" I said curious.
"I´ve always seen Mitsuki as my closest friend and well, back then I admit I saw him like the younger brother I never had but I can´t really call myself his babysitter… I say guardian because since Mitsuki has no relatives, I would be the one to decide about many family matters that normally only his relatives are allowed to have a say on them" said Matt.
"Mitsuki has no relatives…?" asked Miharu sounding sad.
"What about his parents…?" I asked looking concerned at Matt.
"I can´t really explain you since Mitsuki´s things are a little private, I don´t want to be mean but I don´t go telling around Mitsuki´s personal stuff" he said as he smiled apologetically "He might tell you one of these days though"
"Hehe you are a nice friend" I said while smiling.
"I probably shouldn´t have said he had no relatives… but well, I will need to apologize to him for that"
"So then, we can take him…?" I said.
"Well, it might be probably best to wait for the surgery to finish" said Matt.
"Mitsuki…" said Miharu while sobbing "I don´t want him to die, it´s my fault for leaving him…"
"Miharu, calm down… you´ll see Her will fix him" I said while smiling reassuringly, in that moment we hear Her´s voice and as we looked around we were engulfed in the smoke appearing back in the laboratory.
"Whoa, what is this place?" asked Matt, it´s surprising Her allowed him to come… Mitsuki was lying on the steel bed with the wound still there…
"Why did you bring Mitsuki here? They hadn´t finished the surgery…" I said concerned as Her approached Mitsuki.
"He was about to die in mid surgery" said Her flatly "So I decided to just bring him here"
"But wouldn´t that-" I said interrupted by Her.
"I erased the humans' memories of even going to the amusement park" she said.
"Oh…" I murmured, she sure does anything she pleases…
"Wait, aren´t you going to ask Matt what he said?"
"I heard clearly, as he said ´´yes´´ I did what I had to" said Her.
"Well, well… seems she listens to everything" said Matt, we then saw how she moved a claw in circles and Mitsuki´s bleeding stopped. Mitsuki was already wearing an oxygen mask and a heart rate machine was doing beep noises indicating his heart´s state…
"I saw you trying to cure him earlier" said Her flatly.
"Ah, yes…" murmured Miharu as he looked down, I wonder if I should refer to him a Rave only since he is technically not Miharu…
"You were doing it wrong but you are certainly capable to; you will learn now" she said as she motioned him to go closer.
"Now…?" murmured Rave puzzled looking kind of nervous.
"Yes, you will practice with Mitsuki" said Her shocking us.
"EH?" we exclaimed surprised at that, practice with Mitsuki?!
"You better do it well or you might kill him" said Her while smirking, how can she smirk that way saying that?!
"What?!" exclaimed Matt alarmed.
"Don´t worry, she won´t let Mitsuki die… I´m sure of that" I said nervous.
"I´ll try and trust that..." he said looking worried and well who can blame him… I´m too shocked on the fact she is risking his life like that, it´s not like I doubt Rave but if he accidentally does something irreversible, Mitsuki will… "Can I have a word with Rave?"
"Sure, but be quick about it, Mitsuki can´t wait" said Her.
"Yeah, I won´t take much" I said as I motioned Rave to follow me outside the laboratory.
"Makoto… what´s the matter?" he asked while looking concerned at me once we were outside.
"Rave… do you know anything about Miharu?" I asked him straightforwardly, I had to since Misuki couldn´t wait.
"Miharu…? What…?" asked Rave looking perplexed at me.
"You know I´ve always called you Miharu don´t you…"
"Yes, but I never really understood… dad also calls me that, I sometimes wonder if it is my name or not…" said Rave shocking me, what was he saying…?
"But Rave, you remember everything about our childhood, don´t you? You even told me about events from the past at the amusement park"
"My memory is not so good, Makoto… I remember some things from the past… but I can´t recall every little detail…" said Rave while looking down shyly "I know my dad abuses me and so on but I don´t-"
"Rave, do you remember when you met Harumi…?" I asked him.
"Harumi… I have vague memories about him… I just know he was my neighbor and that we got along really well, I do remember some things but I…" he murmured shyly while looking away.
"Do you remember then when Harumi died? What exactly happened?" I asked getting concerned "What you felt…?"
"That is… I know he died, but I don´t remember that at all, I know nothing about how he died" said Rave shocking me, Miharu had told me back then how he saw Harumi´s death and the wrath he felt… how could he not remember…? Unless he doesn´t remember the events that caused him wrath…
"Do you remember anything about you being angry at all…?"
"That is…" he murmured looking away nervously "Why are you asking me this…?"
"Rave… you…" I murmured shocked, it was clear he wasn´t Miharu, he was only a part of himself, a strange fragment of himself… what happened to Miharu…? Where is my friend and brother…?
"Makoto… are you alright…?" he asked looking concerned at me.
"Do you then remember when you argued with Daiichi…?"
"Why are you asking this to me…" he murmured as he trembled and looked down as tears welled up in his eyes, he probably doesn´t remember…
"I´m sorry, I just asked a lot of nonsensical questions, let´s go back, Mitsuki is waiting" I said dropping the conversation, it was enough for me to realize Rave wasn´t Miharu but a fragment of what he was once, it wasn´t a matter of personality change, Bruise and Rave thought differently, even if they have similar things they shared, they are like two different persons in the same body.
"Okay…" murmured Miharu as we went back to the laboratory, Miharu walked over to where Mitsuki was waiting for Her to go as well.
"So well, now that you are done talking, you two should wait outside, Rave will go when we are done with the surgery" she said, hope he doesn´t faint for the stress…
"Okay…" we said as we started to leave.
"By the way, don´t go fooling around" said Her as we left, what did she mean…?
"Geez, that woman knows everything" said Matt "That´s a little creepy"
"Kind of…" I said as we went to sit on the sofa "I wonder how come she trusts you enough to bring you here…"
"It might be that we were together" said Matt.
"Matt, are you hiding something…?" I asked curious.
"Ah? Why do you ask?"
"It´s nothing… lately, people seem to be hiding things from me, it just saddens me" I said sad.
"Well… people are not trying to hurt you, they need to hide things sometimes, they do so for our welfare most of the time, though well… you are not free either" he said as he smirked.
"Eh…? What do you mean?" I asked confused, I also noticed him approaching me while kneeling down on me.
"That" he said as he pointed to my left eye, I just looked back at him shocked, I also stood paralyzed by staring at his eyes and just trembled in fear.
"How…" I murmured as I continued looking at him scared.
"That ´´green´´ eye is actually a color contact lens" he said as he smirked slyly, I then tried averting his gaze highly uneasy.
"Everyone has one or two secrets… I don´t think you should feel bad about it since you have secrets of your own… even some you are not even aware of" he said as he stared at me still smirking.
"But why… For some reason I feel like you know everything…" I said terrified.
"Don´t be scared of my eyes, they may bark but they won´t bite" he said as he smiled "I don´t know anything, I was just teasing you"
"Oh, haha, it sounded so real…" I said as I chuckled nervously and looked away.
"Or perhaps not?" he said whispering in my ear, I then froze once more, was he toying with me? Why…?
"What…?" I murmured as he held my chin and raised it deepening his stare on me.
"Thy heart is an empty abyss, at the bottom of it lies traces of doubt, sadness and confusion… that which hurls in your stomach threatening you to vomit is guilt and that which you hide is a bloodlust spawn" he said, how was he managing to scare me so much…? Though in that moment I noticed a frying pan smacking him all of a sudden.
"Oww…" uttered Matt while groaning, he then sat back straight on the sofa.
"I said no fooling around" said Her from who know where.
"So! How did you two meet?" I asked Matt.
"Hmm… it was so long ago… I met him at a park in EchoTown, Kyle, Mitsuki´s older brother and Mitsuki were doing a magic show"
"Wow! Mitsuki know how to do magic?" I said amazed.
"He was more of Kyle´s assistant haha so Kyle was the one who did the tricks, I was one of his spectators. Kyle´s magic was really something; in fact, h was the most spirited magician I´ve ever known, he had a passion for comedy, acting and magic" said Matt.
"Sounds like a really cool person" I said happily.
"I always saw him taking roses from out of nowhere and doves from behind his back or from a beret, I wonder even now if he was really doing tricks or actual magic" said Matt sounding thoughtful.
"Haha I bet he had powers" I said amused.
"Yes, it could have been" he said while smiling "I always saw them together… they were very close" said Matt looking a little sad.
"I wonder what happened to Kyle…" I murmured noticing Matt´s compassionate expression as I said that.
"It´s one of the saddest things you´ll ever hear, but that, I doubt Mitsuki will tell you and I can´t tell you either"
"It´s fine… I´m glad Mitsuki had you" I said while smiling.
"Haha that idiot will always have me" he said while smiling cheerfully.
"You two may come back here" said Her from who knows where again but well we went back right away to the laboratory looking at Her and Rave who seemed horribly exhausted, the pressure must have been too much…
"The surgery is done" said Her.
"It was really awful…" said Rave as he trembled.
"The reconstruction is on its way" she said as we saw two containers aside of Mitsuki´s bed, we also saw how Mitsuki´s steel bed turned into a container like the other two.
"Eh? What is this…?" I asked confused.
"I need to make a check up on you four" she said flatly "In the time you are here, your bodies will rest completely and your arms will be cured"
"Wow! Really?" I asked excited.
"I cannot be taking charge of many things separately therefore I can´t continue training you guys as you are right now" said Her.
"What about Rage…?" I asked curiously.
"By the time this ends he will eventually wake up and Mitsuki will be probably on the last stage, that one will decide if it was a success or a failure" she said.
"But then… isn´t this going to take long…?" asked Rave.
"You two will be asleep the whole time so you won´t feel it" said Her as she motioned us to get in the machines.
"I see… so Rage will be awake by then, I hate to be in bed that long but if it´s necessary…" I said, I decided to believe in her words, Rage will definitely wake up from the comma, I just know…
"Ah! But what about Matt?" I asked.
"Don´t worry about me, I´ll be probably heading home soon, ah… I hope Mitsuki doesn´t miss that many rehearsals or Rurika will have my head" he said as he laughed.
"Oh, alright then… I´ll see you again when I wake up" I said cheerfully.
"That´s for sure" he said while winking at me, I just laughed in response, he sometimes manages to scare me but I don´t feel threatened by his presence and well, I just know he is a good guy.
"Good night, Matt!" I said as I lied on the machine noticing Rave lying on his too, I saw also how the lid closed trapping me inside once I lied down, I felt so claustrophobic but as I started feeling nervous a gas seeped out from some tiny holes making me dizzy and drift into nothingness…
XXX
"What about their brother?" asked Matt.
"He is already in a comma, he couldn´t be much more unconscious unless he was dead" said Her as she yawned.
"Are you sure this will be helpful?" asked Matt as he looked indifferent at the containers.
"Yes, and it won´t take that much time" said Her.
"You should probably check Makoto´s left eye, there´s something you might not have noticed yet" said Matt.
"Yes, I know about the fake eye" said Her uninterested.
"No, the fact he can´t see with it" said Matt as he sighed.
"What? Indeed, I did not know about that" said Her "That explains a lot of things"
"Anyway, do you really expect answers from their memories?" asked Matt as he looked curiously at Her.
"Don´t worry, I won´t wander off to memories that are not involved on what I´m seeking" said Her.
"You can do as you like, I just wonder if you won´t reach a dead end after checking every corner of their lives" said Matt.
"I will have some answers, I´m sure of that" said Her.
"Hmm? How are you so sure?" asked Matt.
"I´ve noticed some markings on Brazen´s body, those are definitely connected to what I´m looking for" said Her.
"Just don´t overdo it… those children need you" said Matt.
"You sure don´t seem what you are supposed to be at all" she said as she looked at him sarcastically while suppressing a chuckle.
"That´s the idea" Matt said while winking "Anyway, I should probably get going now, mind giving me a lift?"
"Sure thing" said Her.
"But just one more thing" said Matt as he looked seriously at Her "Keep an eye on Mitsuki, he´s being targeted for some reason"
"Of course" said Her as she made Matt disappear and so focused on the containers "Memory Lane" she said making the entire room appear briefly black then showing a giant mirror.
Jomo´s research has brought no leads, he even went missing on the progress… but hopefully this will achieve what we couldn´t in decades; find a clue of what or who is Beichte.