True Harmony

Chapter 21

My blood was on fire, my vision was blurred by never ending torrents of red, my muscles were clenched and flexing to near superhuman levels, and my target was the dead motherfucker laughing in the face of my best friend.

Miku was bawling her eyes out over her lost necklace, and Jack wasn't letting up with his torturing.

"BAH HAHAHA! THAT'S IT, GIRL! CRY! CRY YOUR DAMN EYES OUT! YOU'RE NOTHING, AND YOU KNOW IT, BITCH!" Every laugh he made stung my heart and fueled the flames in my soul without any mercy. I stood up slowly and quietly, yet with force and haste, so you know that shit was about to go down. My mind was just bellowing messages of hate toward him.

"NOW TO MAKE YOU SHUT UP FOR GOOD!" Jack lifted his hand to prepare an attack upon Miku. Normally Miku would be able to defend herself in this situation, but her tears were blinding her, and her body still hurt after getting thrown into a food court table. All she could do was look up in horror and scream. Jack continued to laugh, now even harder. "BAH HAHAHAHAHA! AAAH HAHAHAHAH-"

POW!

I could take no more of what was unfolding, and with a scream of anger, I unloaded an insanely powerful punch in the dead center of his face. He screamed in pain and flew backwards. He looked up and was shocked to see his assailant.

"W-what?!" Jack asked aloud. I stood before him, fuming with intense rage. I was breathing heavily with anger, like a lion about to strike. I inhaled deeply and blasted a deafening roar that could have echoed through the entire mall, and I charged at my prey with blinding speed. Before he could react to it, I attacked him once more across the face, and I unloaded a vicious combination of attacks on him without any amount of letting up on him. The man flew around the room and ricocheted like a pinball every time I sent him in a different direction. Each swing of my fists was accentuated with a loud, sharp grunt, further releasing the beast residing in my soul. I blasted him high in the air with a launching donkey kick, and once he peaked, I slammed him back to the floor with a sharp elbow in the center of his back, releasing a horrid cracking sound of his spine. He was on the ground as I threw my hands out behind my back. I thrust one fist forward, then another one, then another, and I pumped them faster and faster, and then I bellowed the title of my powered up signature technique.

"BARE-KNUCKLE BARRAGE!" I roared, and with it came a blinding flurry of punches that pummeled my opponent with no mercy. I've taught myself over time to move my arms in an almost impossibly fast velocity, and yet contain the force of any powerful punches. No one has been able to resist this attack's might. The fire in my soul coursed through my veins. The flames reached all the way to my fingertips, and I felt my hands practically igniting in the air like a reactive match against the friction of the air. Jack was trapped in the vicious storm of punches raining down upon him. With one final double fisted attack, he was sent careening in the other direction, and when he landed, he was practically gasping for breath and almost unable to stand. He worked up the nerve to speak.

"W-why are y-you doing this?" He asked me weakly. I was disgusted by his ignorance.

"Let me spell it out for you in a way that your tiny mind can cope with!" I spoke with a growl in my voice, and it was a deep, serious sounding voice as well. "You can mess with me all you want to. You can laugh at me, poke me, push me around, or whatever; I'll just laugh it off, or just walk away." I tightened my grip in my fist a little bit. "Never mess with my friends. There will be hell to pay." I walked towards him slowly. "Don't ever hurt the people I care about or the people I love. I will make them suffer no matter what." I was right near him. I looked down upon him and my gaze was as fiery as my flying fists of flaming fury. "Let me let you in on something right now, you ungrateful son of a bitch!" I picked his sorry ass up, held him by his collar, looked him straight in the eye, and spoke to him in a voice so powerful and fearsome, it would have struck fear in the heart of the devil himself.

"Never...ever…ever…ever!"

"Make…"

"Miku…"

"CRY!" I roared. Jack's eyes widened in fear, and before he could let out another word, I unloaded a head-butt that could've shattered his skull like a farm fresh egg. He lurched backwards in pain as he screamed in said pain, and there was nothing about to stop me from dishing out more pain. An unrelenting storm of punches, kicks, and other strikes rained down upon my opponent, and I rammed him into the wall like a truck against a deer. I took his cranium in my grip, and continually slammed it into the side of the wall, and saw him collapse on the floor once again after that assault. He was even harder of breathing and was trembling like a leaf in the wind. Cuts had opened up and he was more bruised than a banana dropped down a flight of stairs. He decided to try talking to me again.

"I'm…I'm… sorry…I really…am…" Jack said through his weak breathing. I looked down upon him once again.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" I asked him, still enraged. "I'm not the one you made cry and it wasn't my necklace you smashed! I'm just the one taking revenge on it!" Jack, realizing what I was hinting, crawled over to Miku with the last of his energy. He held a kneeling position and began begging.

"PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" Jack began. "I'm sorry! I know what I did was wrong! I get it. Please, just forgive me!" Miku looked at him like she couldn't believe her eyes at the sight that had befallen her. She looked shocked and disgusted at the same time.

"You laughed in my face, you insulted me, hurt me, and the worst part was that you destroyed one of the best gifts I ever received. I can't forgive anyone like you for what you've done." Miku said defiantly. The message rang out to everyone.

"W-WHAT?" Jack was outraged. I walked up behind him and prepared my retort.

"That's all I needed to hear!" I grabbed Jack by the back of his neck again, and resumed bludgeoning him left and right, each strike more devastating than the last. With an unbelievably strong kick directed at his midsection, Jack wound up on the ground weaker than ever. He coughed up blood, he was breathing with stunted breath, and he was positively mangled. Once more he tried to console me. This was getting tiresome.

"P-p-please… have… mercy…" He sputtered. "I p-promise I'll leave you alone… for good now… I'll n-never bother y-you again… Please… j-just spare me!" He was begging me for a second chance? Where does he get the gall?

"Look at yourself." I taunted. "What happened to all of that confidence you had? You had it all, right? You were ready to take me on and prove you could take me down. What happened to all of that, huh? You're on the ground, beaten, maimed, and cowering in fear. You've shown me who you really are under that shroud. You're nothing but SCUM! I hate people like you, and they should all be destroyed! You don't deserve mercy! I'm finished with you! I'll finish this now, ONCE AND FOR ALL!" I charged at him and pounded him back and forth across the face at blinding speed. I halted to prepare my final assault. With one final mighty roar, I felt the power flowing to my fist. I reared back, screeched with an unmatchable amount of volume, and I moved in for the kill!

"GC! STOP!" I felt a hand grab my shoulder as a voice called out from the beyond. It was Miku, trying to snap me back into reality. I felt her grip on my arm through my enraged stupor, and I immediately froze in shock and fear. I looked at her and saw the fear in her eyes. "Please, you've done enough! It's okay. Just stop now." Miku said to calm me down. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and I turned my back on Jack to hide them.

"Okay, you want mercy? Fine, you can have it!" I said, fighting my sobs. "But I want you to get away. Run away, Jack. I never want to see your face again." I clenched my fists in strain. "If I ever see you again, I swear to God that I WILL finish the job! Understand?" There was silence for a few seconds.

"Th-thank you." Jack stammered. "Seriously, y-you don't know how much I appreciate th-"

"Just get out of here!" Miku ordered.

"B-but!"

"NOW, DAMN IT! GO BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!" I turned and lashed out at Jack. That got him to jump and he bolted from the scene.

"Good riddance." Miku said as Jack turned the corner. She looked at me and saw my state. "GC? Are you okay?"

I was on my knees, breathing heavily, and muttering to myself in terror. "No. Nonono, this can't be happening again! I thought I could control it, but… Oh God, why? Why is this… Why are you… No no nonononono, why?"

"Hey, GC i-it's o-" Miku began to say.

"Don't come any closer!" I demanded. "I'm out of control. I lost it. I-I'm dangerous, Miku. I'M SORRY!" The tears I held back as best I could soon poked their way through. I felt immeasurably guilty over what I had done in front of her. "I saw it in your eyes, Miku. You were afraid of me. I scared you. I'm sorry, Miku! It's out of my hands. I thought it was, but…" I started crying harder to the point of indiscernible speech patterns. I was indeed a wreck, and there was barely any way for me to get out of it. I looked in my hands, those dastardly weapons of mine, and saw the pain I caused with them. Suddenly a second pair of hands reached down and took them lightly.

"GC, calm down. I'm right here." Miku told me. She helped stand me up by gently. "Stop being so hard on yourself; it's okay. I promise you."

"B-but I… I went crazy… I saw that I scared you…"

"I was a little scared, but I don't care about that. All I care about right now is that you're okay and that's it. I understand that whole thing with anger, you know. You saw what I did a couple of days ago, and that was just an over exaggerated temper tantrum."

"But Miku, I didn't stop myself like you did. I was seriously about to kill him. I don't think you understand what I'm dealing with, since this was more than just a simple tantrum about him hurting you. It released my dark side. My rage has almost manifested into its own form and it takes over whenever I get too angry. The darkness overtakes my body and causes me to do things like that. I thought I was able to control it, but I guess he still wants to gain control. I-I'm honestly scared of it." My eyes watered again. Suddenly, Miku placed her hands on my shoulders and gripped them gently.

"GC, look at me." Miku ordered. I looked in her eyes, and they held a stern expression, like there was nothing but seriousness emanating from her."Don't be afraid of it with me here. I promise you that I won't leave because of this. I mean you didn't when I lashed out, and I was even attacking you. What kind of person would that make me if I left because of this? Besides, you just said that you did that because he hurt me, right?"

"Once I heard you start crying, I couldn't hold back anymore." I admitted.

"Well then, I think you were in more control than you think. I didn't see someone different when I looked at you. I saw that you were trying to protect me, and to be honest, I can't thank you enough for that. It showed to me that you really care." Miku's expression warmed up, and her voice followed suit. "I know we say this all the time, but no matter what happens, we'll always be there for each other, right? This will be no different. You told me after my episode that you'd help me out with my anger. Now it looks like I can say that to you, too. Just like you told me, we'll get through this together. I'm happy that you're okay, but I'm even happier to know that you're there for me and that I can count on you to pick me up when I'm down and protect me when I need it. Like I said before, GC, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me." She pulled me in for a warm, tight hug which lasted about a minute or so. I didn't want to move during that time. I just wanted to be close to her, which was a blissful feeling in itself.

"Thank you, Miku. You're the best." I said softly near her ear, as we were still in each other's arms, and she giggled at this. Suddenly something else came to my mind after we let each other go. "I'm still so sorry about the necklace. I can't believe he did that!"

"It's alright. If anything, I should be sorry, since you went through a lot to get it for me." Miku replied. "It was so pretty, and I appreciate you giving it to me. It meant so much to me."

"I'm glad you liked it, Miku." I noticed the leftover piece in the wreckage. "Hey, it looks like the extra music note charm is still fine." I went over to pick it up, and it certainly was fine, albeit a little scratched after the beating the rest of the piece took. Suddenly, inspiration struck me like a lightning bolt. "THAT'S IT! I've got an idea. Wait right here, Miku. I'll be back." When she gave the okay, I ran back off to the jewelry store, this time prepared to make a previously suggested purchase.

I got there and the clerk told me he saw everything that happened. He didn't do anything about it because his phone was down and he didn't have anyone else working that day. Apparently a "Be Back Soon" sign was out of the question? After some minor back and forth about it, we eventually got down to business. I decided on buying a chain that would allow me to connect the charm I had to it. It was the nicest chain that I could find for her, and that was enough for me. I paid the man, and then ran back to my friend, not even caring that he didn't give me a refund. After my actions from earlier, I doubt that I deserve it anyway. I made it back to Miku and gave her the straight scoop.

"Well the bad news is that they were out of the necklace I got you earlier." I began.

"Aw, that's too bad. Well it's alri-"

"Let me finish. The good news is that I found something just as good, I think. I'll skip the whole 'close your eyes' thing and I'll just say I want you to have this." I held out the new necklace to her. It was a lovely silver chain with very small links, almost looking like string, and right on the bottom of it was the music charm, revitalized by the jeweler, who offered to clean it up for nothing. Her eyes lit up once she saw it. "I understand it isn't as pretty as the other one, but…"

"It's beautiful, GC." Miku said suddenly. "This is perfect!"

"I-it is? Really?"

"Uh huh. See, the first one meant a lot because you knew I loved it, but this one is even more meaningful because you made it for me. It's extra special now!"

"Heh, an extra special necklace for an extra special girl." I sheepishly said. We both blushed and smiled at each other. "And… thanks again for understanding. You know, about earlier?"

"I told you, GC. It's okay." Miku said with a smile, and her next words stuck with me. "You can trust me, you know that." I thought for a few seconds about these words, and I suddenly realized something.

"I can trust you." I said to myself. "I DO trust you!" I suddenly decided that it was time to go all out for today. It was time to unveil my greatest secret to Miku. I turned to face her, took her hands and looked her dead in the eye.

"Miku, come with me. There's something I need to show you." I spoke with a firm seriousness.

"W-what? Why? Why not here?" Miku seemed shocked.

"Because, this is something I can't show you here. This is something I need to show you and you alone. Please come with me."

"O-okay…GC." She reluctantly agreed and I led her out of the mall, her hand in mine, but more like the first time when I was leading her to the karaoke joint.

I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to pull this off. I feared that this would make or break the two of us together, but I was prepared to go to any lengths to show how much she means to me, even if it meant unmasking myself to her.

I was prepared to show her the truth, and this meant showing her my greatest secret and my greatest power.