The Legend of Zelda: Time Gate

Chapter 36: First Battle! Shuto Unleashes His New Berserker Ability!

I've regretted a lot of things.

But right now, I'm regretting this fight. Maybe... I should have let Yashiro fight instead? But all I've been doing is waiting on the sidelines. I was the one that founded the Time Keepers, right? If that's the case, then I should do everything in my power to save my leader!

I had been saving this ability for an emergency, and this counted as an emergency to me. My brother Jun... he fights with the same thing I do. He can use sound distortion. Believe it or not, we were both in band class as humans. He had graduated quite a while before I died, but he ended up dying only a few years after he graduated. And I... I didn't even get to graduate from school. I was in the ninth grade when I died from a rare sickness. Even now I don't know what it was.

That's another thing that I've regretted.

Maybe... if I hadn't been sick, I may have been able to save Yashiro from getting shot down by that serial killer that had been striking terror into the people of Hyrule all those years ago. That man is still alive too.

And maybe... if I hadn't been sick, I would have been able to stop Mitsuhiro from crossing the street that day, and he wouldn't have gotten hit by that car.

But how would I save Uzuki? None of us knew how she died... I asked her what it was like not to remember anything once, and she said it was the worst thing ever. It was like falling, and you don't remember getting up. All you remember is opening your eyes. The time between the moment you fell down and the moment you got up is just black.

So, there's a lot of stuff I've regretted. I'm not going to let this fight between me and Mitsuhiro be one. I will defeat him. And I've got a secret weapon. It's similar to Jun's sound distortion. You see, Jun doesn't transfer his sound distortion through an instrument like I do. Instead, he can somehow blow sound waves from the palms of his hands. So obviously, he's quite a bit stronger than I am. But I've managed to pick up and maybe even enhance some of his tricks, so I'm hoping I can become stronger than him. And I know I will be able to defeat Mitsuhiro... no, the Kyodai no Akuma too. All I have to do is utilize my new attack before he kills me.

I thought about all this as I approached Mitsuhiro. He didn't look much different, but I couldn't see his face because his back was facing towards me. But the way he was standing told me that he had changed. He was hunched over, with his head and shoulders down. His knees were bent, and his hands were stuffed into his pockets. But as I got closer, I also noticed that the markings on his arm from the seal that Uzuki had placed on him had grown larger. His hair had changed too; it was still black, but there were strange silver markings streaked through the black strands of hair. But what else had changed?

When I was only a few feet away from, I stopped, trying to prevent myself from going any further. Mitsuhiro lifted his head, and turned around to face me.

It was then that I had seen what a monster he had become.

His eyes were pure black, like Dex's, but they didn't have any pupils at all. They were just black. And painted from the bottom of his eyelids to the end of his jaw were black lines; one line for each eye. He licked his lips, his long tongue making him look more and more like a serpent. This was clearly not Mitsuhiro anymore. This was the Kyodai no Akuma.

But how much of the Kyodai no Akuma was it? Mitsuhiro hadn't completely changed; his hair was the same, and if you didn't pay much attention to his black hole eyes and long tongue and monstrous fangs, his face was still the same. But no matter how much he changed, I knew he was still Mitsuhiro on the inside. We just had to rip the Kyodai no Akuma out.

Easier said then done.

I prepared my fists, ready for when Mitsuhiro would attack me. He simply smiled, but I could see every sharp fang in his mouth, which caused me to shudder a bit. But I had to keep my guard up, otherwise I wouldn't stand a chance.

Mitsuhiro stretched out his right arm, and from his skin grew black metal, forming a disfigured machine. It looked just like his old white Time Distorter, only the metal was twisted, almost like it had been melted and reshaped. He stretched out his left arm, and a black katana appeared in his hand, the handle also deformed like the Time Distorter. Mitsuhiro circled around me, licking his lips as he walked. I watched him with determination in my eyes as a clutched a shuriken from my holster. In one swift movement, he attacked me, and a dodged, throwing a shuriken at him. He blocked it with the blade of his sword, and grinned at me with his demon grin.

I gripped my flute, and pulled it out from the strap on my back. I held it in my left hand as I pulled another shuriken from the holster on my belt. I threw the shuriken at him, distracting him, and then I brought the flute mouthpiece to my mouth, blowing a shrill tune at him. Mitsuhiro fell to his knees, but was back up again in a second, charging at me with his fingers outspread, his fingernails pointed like claws. He hissed at me, and I backed away, creating even higher notes with my flute. I took another breath, and played the highest note I knew. Mitsuhiro fell to the ground, clutching his ears to keep the terrible sound out. Even I wouldn't be able to stand up much longer; I never used the highest note on my flute. The sound was so high that it would paralyze, no, it would kill the victim. And because I never used it, I wasn't used to it, and my ears hadn't quite fully adapted yet. I began taking deep breaths so that I could get rid of the terrible sound that was trapped in my head.

Mitsuhiro was healing quickly though, and it was barely a minute before he managed to get back up to his feet.

"You're... stronger than I thought..." I mumbled as I put my flute away. "But of course, you are Mitsuhiro... you were always the strongest one of all of us." I took out multiple white bandages and wrapped them around my hands, preparing myself for hand-to-hand combat. Mitsuhiro smiled, as if he was satisfied by my actions, and he put his katana and Time Distorter away. He snapped his neck, and glared at me with his black hole eyes as he licked his lips again.

I traced my finger across the cutout Triforce in the metal on my belt, the Time Keepers' headband. Link had Mitsuhiro's headband... I wanted to see that headband on Mitsuhiro's arm again, even if it meant my life!

Mitsuhiro charged at me again, his fingers outspread like he was some wild animal. He punched and clawed at me, but I blocked and dodged all of his attacks, countering them with my own. And every time I attacked him, he disappeared in a flash, attacking me by clawing at my skin. I ended up being covered in scratches and cuts, blood running down my arms and face. But I wasn't done yet; I had only been fighting him for nearly twenty minutes! I wasn't going to go down after only twenty minutes!

I continued to punch at him, landing a few hits but realizing that they didn't do much damage. His attacks were really wearing me down though, and I knew that if this pattern continued, I wouldn't last much longer. I had barely damaged him at all, and he was still fighting me with full force. I had to conserve my energy so that I could use my new skill that I had developed. I wanted to save it though, because I knew I could only use it once during this battle. I continued to fight him, wondering how much longer I could last. I could see Link, Uzuki, Yashiro and the so-called Dex watching me fight Mitsuhiro from the sidelines. It was funny... I knew Link so well, but I had never actually seen Dex. I was sure that Uzuki, Yashiro or Mitsuhiro hadn't seen him yet either. When Mitsuhiro was in this form though, he looked even more demonic than Dex.

Mitsuhiro blocked my next punch, and twisted my arm so hard that I was sure he would have broken my arm if I had given him the chance. But before I gave him that chance, I struck him in the stomach with one of the kunais I kept hidden under my shirt sleeve. He fell back, releasing my arm and kicking me to the ground. I watched as he pulled the kunai from his skin, and then I saw the blood underneath me. I was really beaten up badly... now was the time to use my new ability.

I jumped up from the grass, and with a look in my now demon red eyes as sharp as the Kyodai no Akuma's, I stretched my arms out, and from my back grew metal. It covered over my arms, leaving my shoulders, wrists and hands bare. The machines on my arms had a few large holes circling the metal, which was the main point of my weapon. I lowered my arms, and waited for Mitsuhiro to charge at me again.

Come at me, you damn bastard, I thought furiously, waiting for him to strike. When Mitsuhiro had finally recovered from the strike to his stomach, he lunged at me with claws in front of him, and before he got to close, I raised my arms again, releasing monstrous sound waves from the machines on my arms. The sound waves blew Mitsuhiro back onto the ground. My flute didn't work... but these machines produced sound waves that were hundreds of times stronger than my flute. This would definitely take Mitsuhiro down.

Mitsuhiro jumped back up from the ground, and charged at me again, catching me off guard and attempting to punch at me. Before he struck me, I jumped into the air, and blew the sound waves down towards him, pushing him down into the earth. The ground split around him, and he fell down into the cracks, disappearing into the ground. I landed back on the ground, making sure my weapons were ready if he were to attack again. I waited, but he never arose. Where did he go?

Then, like lava erupting from a volcano, he flew up from underneath the depths of the earth, his Reaper wings spread and his temper at his limit. He drew his katana again, leaving his Time Distorter unequipped, and flew at me. I readied my arms again, and launched another sound wave. But before I could blink, he wasn't in front of me anymore. He was behind me, and before I realized it, he had blown his katana straight through my back. I could see the blade piercing through my body, and where it had come out through my torso at the other end. I was in too much shock to exactly realized what had happened, but I already knew I was done for. I heard the others scream as they watched me fall to my knees when Mitsuhiro ripped the blade from my body. I fell onto my stomach, a pool of blood beneath me, and waited for him to finish me off. No... he had already done that. This was my end... I was going to die right here. Even though Reapers could only be killed with light, they could also be killed by their fellow comrades; in other words, other Reapers. And even if this wasn't true, Mitsuhiro would have killed me anywhere, because it wasn't him who was killing me: it was the Kyodai no Akuma.

But I knew there was only one other demon who could kill... no, I should say, 'stop' Mitsuhiro, and that was Link. Link had a double demon on his side: Dex and the Deity. What would it be like if Dex and the Deity worked together? It would truly be an unstoppable force. But Link could barely control Dex... he would never be able to control both Dex and the Deity at the same time.

I looked up at Uzuki, Link and Yashiro. They were running towards me, but would they be able to help me without Mitsuhiro getting in the way?

"Link, help me!" Uzuki yelled as she began to pull me up from the ground. Mitsuhiro seemed to be staying away... but I considered this a good thing. But I felt so weak not being able to defeat Mitsuhiro. Even if he was the strongest in our group, that didn't make any difference. I was unable to defeat him, even with my new power. I felt so pathetic... I felt like I deserved to just lay there and rot, until I died.

That was until I saw Yashiro's expression. Her eyes were red, like she had been crying, and she looked so worried... then I realized how important I was to the group, to my friends. I couldn't just give up after one battle, especially after a battle against a demon like the Kyodai no Akuma. I guess from the beginning I knew in my heart that I wouldn't win against him. But it was a good try.

I twisted my head around so I could see Mitsuhiro. He was gone. It was already hard enough to find him the first time; it was thanks to Uzuki that we had found him. But where in the world would he be now? Even as the group fixed me up with bandages and red potions, I still couldn't shake this bad feeling...

An Interlude

Mitsuhiro stopped next to a tree, still clutching the wound on his stomach where Shuto had struck him with the kunai.

You're so pathetic, the Kyodai no Akuma screamed inside his mind. Why didn't you finish off that little brat when you had the chance?

Mitsuhiro gritted his teeth as he sat down next to the tree.

Stand up, idiot! Don't be as pathetic as those Reapers!

"Shut up," Mitsuhiro hissed, finally coming back to his senses. "Why do you torment me?"

I'm a part of you. No... I am you. And you are me. We are the same person.

"We're not even close to being the same person," Mitsuhiro growled. "You're a monster. You hurt Shuto. And I bet you won't take any hesitations to hurt the others too."

You're a smart kid. But you should be smart enough to know that they're just holding you back. You have so much power... they are just specks of dust compared to you. Why can't you understand that Mitsuhiro? Why can't you accept the fact that you can be so much more than just a member of their measly group? You know that it will only take three seconds for the Society to squish them like bugs.

"You don't know them like I do..." Mitsuhiro hissed.

Sure I do. Because I've been with them since the beginning Mitsuhiro. Ever since you were reborn as a Reaper. Ever since you teamed up with those idiots at the Mirror Sanctuary.

"If they're so weak, then how come they've been able to survive this long?" Mitsuhiro screamed. "You said that it would only take three seconds for the Society to kill them! They've been surviving for four years now! And I know that they'll be able to stop the Society, and Ganondorf if he is every revived!"

Mitsuhiro's shadow grew out from underneath him, and from the shadow formed a strange shadowy figure, his eyes glowing red orbs. He was carrying a black sword that had drops of twilight falling from it. The figure was just a giant shadow.

The shadow moved forward, and grabbed Mitsuhiro's shirt collar. You are nothing without me, Mitsuhiro, he snickered, baring black fangs from his twilight mouth. Face it, you did half of those things on your own. You warned Uzuki with those drawings. You ran from them. You crossed out the Triforce on your headband with your kunai. You did all of those things. Admit it Mitsuhiro... you don't want to be a member of their group anymore! You're not running from me... you're running from them!

Mitsuhiro, frustrated from the demon's terrible words, tried to punch him, but the figure disappeared into a pool of darkness, like he had jumped through an extremely deep puddle. The dark puddle moved beneath Mitsuhiro's feet and behind him, where the figure formed himself as a person again and kicked Mitsuhiro to the ground. Mitsuhiro landed on his hands and knees, not punching back because he knew it was futile to do so. As long as the Kyodai no Akuma was a part of him... he would never be able to hurt him.

The Kyodai no Akuma circled Mitsuhiro, holding his black sword to him so he wouldn't make any sudden movements without getting sliced to bits first.

Tell me Mitsuhiro... what do you want to do? Do you want to go back and rejoin those idiots, where you'll be the leader of their pathetic group... or do you want to run? Of course, if you try and go back, either I will stop you, or you will stop yourself because you don't want me to hurt your friends. And you already know what happens when I try and stop you.

Mitsuhiro remembered back to when he had struck Shuto with his katana... which made him really sick to his stomach. Had he killed his friend? This demon was driving him crazy; it had been driving him crazy ever since he had been possessed and put under its control when he was first reborn as a Reaper. No matter how hard he tried, he had never been able to control it. Even Link was better at controlling his inner demon better than he was able to control the Kyodai no Akuma. It made him feel so weak... and when the Kyodai no Akuma starting playing his mind tricks on him, it just made him even more paranoid.

Well?

Mitsuhiro looked up at the demon, who was smirking at him now.

"Well what?" Mitsuhiro snapped.

Are you going to return to the Time Keepers the way you are now? They probably hate you now for betraying them... Uzuki and Yashiro have probably already caught on to the fact that you're just as evil as the Society...

"What's my second choice?"

You can keep running. You can run from them, from your past.

"And what's the point of that?"

There is none. It's just a question. You can either live with those Time Keepers, and have to live with the burden you've placed on them, or you can run, and forget all the bad things you've ever done. You can be free... free to become as strong as you please. Maybe you'll even be able to join the Society like before. Of course, they probably wouldn't like you as much as before, but I'm sure they'd still be able to take you in.

Mitsuhiro cursed at that idea. But could he really return to the Time Keepers the way he was now?

Just food for thought. You have as much time as you want to decide. But just remember, I'll always be here, watching you. You can't get rid of me. So, you may have all the time in the world, but eventually my presence will drive you to paranoia, and you may end up killing yourself in the end. Again, just food for thought. I hope you have a fun time deciding.

And at that last sentence, the Kyodai no Akuma disappeared back into Mitsuhiro's shadow.

Mitsuhiro sat back down against the tree, and looked up to the twilight sky. He had two choices, choices that would surely change the course of his life forever. He could stay with Uzuki, Link, Yashiro, and Shuto... or he could run from them so that he wouldn't hurt them anymore than he already had.

"Stupid decisions if you ask me," Mitsuhiro muttered to himself as he stood up from the ground. "Good job, you idiot. You've managed to get yourself into this kind of trouble..." He jumped up onto a tree branch, and began leaping from tree to tree, moving farther and farther from the Mirror Sanctuary. And he kept running, until he reached the city of the Dark Realm, where the towers of the Society rose up to the dark twilight sky. He landed on a building roof, and stopped to gaze at the magnificent towers.

And so began the search for Mitsuhiro.