CHAPTER 13

RESCUE

There was a sense of ease that befell the two espers. Considering the circumstances, it wasn't going to last long. But for the time being, the situation had simmered down.

Crush walked through a rural landscape, with wind blowing rapidly. There didn't seem to be any civilization anywhere, and the skies were gloomy. Even the clouds were unable to grace the visuals. The gusts of wind were so powerful that they consumed everything. Upon looking farther ahead, Crush saw cyclones. Dozens of them. The entire landscape was inhabited by tornados, and every one of them was filled with destructive force.

As he walked along the path, Crush couldn't imagine what kind of human being would possess a subconscious such as this. Not even a monster would be comfortable living here.

But where was this? Something in Tatsumaki's imagination… or a real place? Crush was unsure, but he didn't want to spend too much time here, even with his mission at hand.

Eventually, he saw a figure standing in the middle of the road ahead of him. Tatsumaki's green hair drew Crush's attention, and he approached her. Strangely enough, she was just standing there, making no attempt to flee or to attack. Even with how unusual this encounter had become, Crush chose to press forward.

A few minutes later, he stood before her, and the Tornado or Terror clapped her hands. "I may have underestimated you."

Crush shrugged humbly for a moment but he didn't dwell on it. "I am here to accuse you of murder, Tatsumaki, Tornado of Terror."

She sighed, as if it were pointless. "You are the criminal now, Crush. You won't have a world to return to after this. So, I hope it was worth it."

He knew this was likely. It wasn't as if he hadn't considered all the circumstances. However, he was in this extraordinary position to finally face his greatest tormentor. The monster who ruined his life two years ago. His world was already shattered before this encounter.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

She squinted her eyes and nodded. "Your name is Katsuo Hironaka."

"You already knew who I was?" Crush had felt like she was suspicious, but this confirmed it.

"Once again, you underestimate my power." She crossed her arms smugly as she stood there. Considering the circumstances, she was speaking very calmly.

Crush theorized that her subconscious had a much stronger degree of composure, being that the tornados thrashing about were representative of her anger and emotions. All of that hatred harbored a sound mind of dedication to her psychic craft, which existed within her head.

Now that Crush had gotten inside it, he had the chance to speak with her in a more genuine fashion than he would have previously.

"What is all this?" he asked, losing focus on his cause.

"The head of an esper is a terrible storm," she replied. "You are intruding. You have no right to lay judgment on my subconscious."

He sighed and tried to move past accepting this incredible discovery so he could press on with his mission. "I have done this so that I could confront you in a fair battle."

"You knocked both of us out?" she asked, as if it were absurd. "Would it not be more ideal to attack me while I was unconscious instead?"

"That would solve nothing," Crush explained. "Besides, you have power even in an unconscious state. I theorized you would be more vulnerable when unconscious, but it would take something more… drastic… to reach you."

Tatsumaki nodded, impressed by his bold strategy, even though she rarely revealed praise to others. On the surface, she maintained a fearsome attitude and arrogance toward others. Here in her subconscious, her character was more authentic. "Who do you believe that I murdered?"

"You know who." Crush felt the emotions bash at his heart, attempting to be heard. He was close to exploding now that everything would be out on the table.

"I have no clue," Tatsumaki insisted. "State your case and I'll respond. Or else, stop wasting my time."

"You killed my father. My mother. Both of my brothers. And you nearly killed my sister as well. You also killed Moyra Kilshim's family. Her husband and both of their sons. All of them dead, from your actions." After going through the list, he watched her with the most intense gaze he'd ever released. His journey to reach this place had been a long and painful one, but at last he'd reached this monumental moment in his life.

Of course, Tatsumaki wasn't going to simply give him what he was looking for. "I don't know any of these people," she explained. "And I didn't kill any of them. You are foolishly mistaken."

"I'm not mistaken!" Crush exclaimed, taking a firm step forward as he clenched both his hands into fists.

"You have mental problems," she told him next.

"I see and hear things perfectly clear," he assured her. "I saw everything. And soon, the world will see it as well."

"I highly doubt that. What, you think you can show the world something that doesn't exist? We are espers, but even we are not capable of changing reality like that."

Crush shook his head, the emotions beginning to overflow. "Your murder was caught on camera. I have it, and I will show it to the world."

Tatsumaki let out a twisted laugh. "Your logic is profoundly misguided. Why not just go to the police right off the bat then?"

"You're a hero," Crush pointed out. "I can't be sure that they'll accept you for what you really are. Therefore, I cannot afford to risk letting you elude justice. I spent years preparing for this encounter, to make absolutely sure you had no way to escape your fate. This way, I can make sure you face the truth."

"Even if you were capable of killing me, you would be the one everyone called the killer. What good would it do you?"

"You're right. I would be a killer. And I'm willing to accept that fate. So long as you pay for what you did."

Despite the firm stand against her, Tatsumaki remained smug. "I've committed no such murder. When? Where? Tell me what foolish mistake in your observation has led you to this point."

And so Crush reviewed the incident. "It was just over two years ago, in B-City. My family was taking a bus to my apartment, to visit for Christmas. Moyra Kilshim's family was traveling on that bus to go and see her in E-City as well. A monster was in B-City, and you were tracking it down to kill it. But you saw the bus, and decided to display your power on it. You… crushed it."

Even with her constant attitude of brushing things aside, Tatsumaki was listening to this very closely. "The bus had nobody on it. I saw to that before destroying it."

There was the sense that his heart was stepped on. Crush hadn't expected Tornado to quickly admit to destroying the bus. Instead, she went with an unexpected strategy. "Bullshit." He wasn't going to have it. "You knew there were people on that bus."

"Clearly you are out of your mind," she said, continuing her resistance to the accusation.

"I have the entire thing on video. I've spent years reviewing this. Studying this. Analyzing this. I know what happened that day, beyond any doubt. I simply do not know… why? Why did you kill them?" His eyes became moist as he was hit by the variety of emotions. Anger and Grief. Vengeful and sorrowful.

It felt as if he had her in a corner. There was no way she could deny the truth. Terrible Tornado was guilty, and there was no way around it. Now, all that remained, was her explanation. Crush deserved to know that much at least, regardless of what happened next.

Tatsumaki acted as if she had nothing to hide. "What possible reason would I have to kill your family? I am a hero. I kill monsters, not people."

"Then you had no intention of killing them?" Crush asked. That didn't excuse her crime but it would help to clarify the intent behind it. "Then you destroyed the bus, for what? To flex your power or something? You never thought to check if there were people on board?"

"I already told you, no one was on that bus!" Tatsumaki raised her voice, causing it to crack by the end of her statement. Now she was angry, even in her subconscious. But it was a different kind of anger than what infected Crush. The way she acted, it was as if she were offended for being accused of such a reckless and unprofessional act.

That felt like progress to Crush. Perhaps the truth was that Tatsumaki had never meant to kill his family. Instead, she had done it by mistake, when she crushed the bus. "Why did you destroy the bus then? What purpose could that have held?"

"It's none of your business," she replied coldly.

This time, Crush didn't refrain from reacting. He unleashed a wave of psychic energy upon Tatsumaki, attempting to inflict harm on her. In response, she held both hands up and deflected the attack. Her counterattack came swift as well, causing Crush to set up a barrier in defense. Both of them traded blows, while Crush sought to approach and get closer to her. Meanwhile, Tatsumaki was trying to retreat. Neither of them was able to levitate while in this environment. For whatever reason, the subconscious had limitation to what they were capable of.

Thanks to those limitations, Crush found his advantage at last. After all, he had trained in the art of exerting power while unconscious. Even though Terrible Tornado was able to do remarkable feats while out cold, she never specialized in that style of combat. But that was exactly what Crush specialized in. Therefore, he found himself with the advantage at last.

Finally, Crush burst through Tatsumaki's barriers and knocked her off her feet. She collapsed to the ground and Crush lunged for her throat, grasping it with both hands. His fingers glowed blue with energy as he used his power to enhance his attack, and Tatsumaki glared up at him with eyes of anger and defiance.

The strange feeling of a pulling came over Crush. His arms were wrenched back, inexplicably, and he ceased his attack. With that, he backed away, turning to see the source of the pull. There behind him, were the two figures from his nightmares. The two demons. They stood by him, one on each side, and they had a sense of urging behind their presence. Crush could feel them trying to pull him away. Only instead of pulling him together, they were tugging him in two different directions.

Then Crush put something together. One force was pulling him directly toward Tatsumaki, while the other was guiding him away. He didn't notice it at first, but soon it came to his mind. It became impossible to overlook. This was the two forces in his existence. Not just two random demons. They were trying to guide him.

But what were they? Or more specifically… who?"

Now that she had the opportunity, Tatsumaki returned to her feet. "You are quite determined," she said. There was a trace of genuine praise in it. "But you are still mistaken. I killed no one."

The two beings continued to pull at Crush, and he started to change. His mind longed to achieve justice, but he also struggled to grasp how it would work out. If he wanted to, he could simply kill Terrible Tornado. But if he did that, his life would come to an end as well. That was worth it to him, as long as he put a stop to the killer of his family.

"My sister needed a lesson," Tatsumaki explained, despite being reluctant previously. "She doubted herself. She believed she wouldn't be able to move the largest of objects with her powers. I had to show her that it was possible. I crushed the bus that day, to prove to her that our psychic powers are capable of great things. It was to demonstrate to her what she should be aspiring to."

With that said, Tatsumaki put her hands on her hips and let out another humph. "But I checked the bus with my powers. No one was riding it." Her arrogance surrounding the extent of her powers knew no humility. Regardless of the circumstances, she was incapable of admitting there were flaws in her abilities.

Crush seemed to put Tornado's mindset together, as if it made some sort of twisted sense, but he was no longer concentrating on that. Instead, these two figures were there, trying to sway him. Somehow, he turned to the one pulling him away from Tatsumaki. And then he noticed something. The being pulling him away was wearing a necklace. And that necklace had the blue crystal at the end of it. It was enough to reveal who it was to him.

"Ichika…" Katsuo felt his heart stop.

Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow. "You truly have gone mad. Any minute now, we shall both awaken back to consciousness, and then I will kill you for all of this."

But Katsuo was no longer trying to pursue justice. Instead, he saw things differently. It happened in an instant. The moment he saw Ichika in his dream, tugging his arm, urging him to go away from Tatsumaki…

That painted the portrait of truth that he'd failed to observe after all these months. "Ichika… I'm sorry…" He took a few steps back, and when he did, he felt the being representing Ichika grow in power.

"Who is Ichika?" Tatsumaki inquired, strangely intrigued. But then she remembered the text message to Katsuo's phone from earlier in the day. "She is… your sister?"

When Katsuo looked back at Tatsumaki, he felt the anger and rage of Crush once again. It was about to come barreling right back out of the cannon, into a blast of fury. Almost in an instant, he returned to that storm of a man who had lost sight of his own humanity.

But then he stopped, and Katsuo returned. "She is my sister," he stated, his composure having returned. "She is my family. And I love her. Over the past two years, I thought what I needed to do was to enact vengeance for the loss of our family. But I was wrong. Instead, I simply have one thing I need to do." He felt the warmth begin to restore his heart, and with it, his entire soul. "All I have to do now… is to look after my sister."

There was something uneasy about the concept to Tatsumaki. It burned at her, in ways she hadn't expected. She was thinking about her sister now. Fubuki. Tatsumaki had been looking out for her sister for as long as she could remember.

Tatsumaki thought back to her time in the school. In the lab. All of the experiments that she was put through. All of the torment she faced. The times she suffered by herself. And the time that Blast had given her the greatest lesson she ever learned. Everything that happened had distanced her from Fubuki, in ways she hadn't imagined. Her quest and desire for power had been crafted from tragedy, even if she refused to acknowledge it.

"You are a strange being," Tatsumaki said.

Katsuo sighed and pressed his hand against his forehead. "You are a murderer, Terrible Tornado. Nothing you say or do will ever change that."

She rolled her eyes. "Your misguided attempts at establishing the truth will get you nowhere. I'll never allow you to kill me, and I'll never be convicted in a court. Therefore, you have accomplished nothing."

But Katsuo didn't see it that way. In fact, he saw things much differently now. "I don't want it anymore."

Once again, Tatsumaki was unsure of what he meant. "You don't want what anymore?"

"I don't want to kill you. All I care about now is my sister. I'm going to spend the rest of my life looking after her. Do what you will with your life. It matters not to me. Not anymore."

And then Katsuo began to move backwards. The pull of the being from his dreams was stronger now, and the face, once expressionless, became filled with emotion. It was Ichika Hironaka, his younger sister, and she was smiling proudly. She held his arm tightly and pulled him with her, tugging with all her might to bring him back to her. Back to humanity.

The dream wasn't his alone. He realized that Ichika had the dream of the 'two demons' before as well. Only it wasn't demons that plagued her. Instead, the two figures were Crush and Katsuo, both pulling her in a spiritual tug-of-war. If Crush had won, then Ichika's life would drown with his. Instead, Katsuo managed to win the contest, which meant she had a future.

And at last, everything made sense to him.

Katsuo woke up, and felt an aching headache. He groaned in discomfort as he stretched and then his awareness returned, causing him to quickly spring to his feet.

Before him, Tatsumaki was up as well, still struggling to come fully to. But she was alert enough to set more barriers, in preparation for another battle. "Do you still seek to follow through with your claim?"

Although he wasn't sure if he'd leave this room alive now, Katsuo still remained committed to his new mission. "Stay away from my sister. She is innocent, and deserves to live a peaceful life."

Now back to her present life, Tatsumaki was as moody as always. "You idiot! What makes you think I would harm your sister? You chicken without a head! Go back to your stupid house and leave the hero work to the professionals! And don't ever show your face back at the Hero Association again! And while we're at it…"

The angry tirade turned into mindless babble, and Katsuo turned to make his exit. There was nothing left for him here in this place, and he went to the door. He sent the forklift sliding out of the way and removed the door from its bolt, and then he returned outside into the cool air. The darkness which plagued him didn't follow. It remained in that room behind him, never to show up again.

Instead, he was rescued by the light. He was rescued by Ichika.

(Later that night)

After a strange and eventful evening, Tatsumaki landed in front of her sister's house.

Her encounter with Crush had been oddly revealing. She remembered his name, and his claims from long ago. Back when his family died, killed by a monster. A monster she had killed herself later that day. But in his grief, Crush had come to believe that she had murdered his family. It simply wasn't true. Her powers never failed her before.

Or had they? The possibility now presented itself, and Tatsumaki had time to analyze it. As great as her powers were, it felt possible that she had made a mistake. Her error could have happened, and she could have easily abused her power. The easier it was for her to use her powers, the easier it was for something to go wrong. A jar that was full had a greater chance of tipping over and spilling.

As she thought those things over, Tatsumaki also thought about her sister. Crush had a sister, too, and he cared deeply for her. Somehow, he seemed to grasp the right way to look after her. It was something that Tatsumaki lacked. She had failed numerous times to do right for her sister. Therefore, she found one realm where Crush was superior to her. He knew how to love his sister appropriately.

With a low growl, Tatsumaki rang the doorbell. Perhaps tonight, she would be able to speak with Fubuki and settle things. Even if it took some time to complete, they could fix things.

The door opened and Fubuki was there, with eyes of yearning. "Hey… I guess you weren't kidding about coming late."

Tatsumaki nodded, trying to avoid resorting to her typical trait of annoyance. She was doing her best to be civil. "I am… here to have dinner with you."

"Come in," Fubuki said sweetly.

They both went to the dining table, where the plates were set, along with all the utensils. In fact, everything looked perfect.

In the center of the table was a bottle of red wine, which was already open. Fubuki took it and poured some into Tatsumaki's wine glass, then she filled her own glass after that. "Let's have a glass before we eat," she suggested.

"Fubuki…" Tatsumaki felt it. The love for her sister, and the guilt for her torment. She realized, at some point during her conversation with Crush, that she had inflicted a great wrong upon Fubuki. This was her chance to begin to set things right.

"Yes?" Fubuki was oblivious to everything Tatsumaki just went through.

"I wish to speak with you," Tatsumaki explained.

"First, let's drink," she said. She sounded intoxicated already, like she'd already been drinking herself. There was a sense of depression in her tone.

Tatsumaki didn't want to refuse anymore of her sister's kindness. Not right now. Not tonight. She lifted the glass and Fubuki tapped it with her own. And they both drank the wine together.

With that done, Fubuki turned to leave. "I'm going to bring out the food," she announced.

"Wait…" Tatsumaki held her sister's wrist, being strangely gentle. "It's fine, Fubuki. Just… wait…"

But Fubuki wasn't able to keep still. "I have it all planned out, Tatsu. Everything tonight needs to be perfect. I spent so much time planning it out. It's just like you aspire for. You aspire for perfection."

The damage Tatsumaki had inflicted upon her sister was more visible now. She had failed to see it before. But now it was painfully obvious. "Fubuki…" She felt her breathing get burdened, as she choked on the emotions beginning to reach the surface. "Fubuki, I…"

Then her breathing really became difficult. And she began to cough. Tatsumaki went from emotional to confused, and then both mixed together. Suddenly, she wasn't able to maintain herself at all.

The next thing she saw was Fubuki's tear-filled eyes. In her hand was a kitchen knife, and she brought it forward. The blade penetrated Tatsumaki's chest at first, but Fubuki didn't stop there. She plunged the next strike into her sister's heart, and then the strikes were a mess of mindless thrusts. Fubuki cried endlessly, while Tatsumaki couldn't even scream. The wine had been poisoned. Her sister had poisoned her. And then she took the knife to her heart.

Tatsumaki fell forward, clenching her hands weakly upon Fubuki's shoulders, and the stabbing kept on happening. In fact, Fubuki grew more irate, screaming furiously, even while crying. "It's perfect! It's perfect! All powerful! That is true power! It's perfect!"

In the end, Tatsumaki was unsure if she'd been killed before she could use her powers, or if her will to live on had simply diminished. It was too late for her to save Fubuki. The damage was already done. She had failed her sister.

Only when Fubuki was absolutely sure that her sister was dead, did she take the knife into her own heart. In the end, both of the Psychic Sister were lying next to each other, red wine spilled on the floor, and the perfect set of silverware and utensils remained unused. That was the end of Tatsumaki and Fubuki.

(That same night)

Katsuo ended up returning back to his apartment. Somehow, even after the crazy events of his encounter with Terrible Tornado, he was still alive. Regardless of what he got out of it, he knew he was blessed.

When he opened the door, he heard the television on in the living room. Ichika was sitting on the couch, after apparently falling asleep while watching some cartoons. She was curled up in a ball, clutching a pillow in her arms.

Rather than waking his sister up, Katsuo first went to his room. When he arrived, he saw a familiar sight on his bed. The photo album that Moyra had given him. He hesitantly walked over, and then he flipped open the first page. There were photos in it this time. Photos of mom, dad, his brothers. Pictures of Ichika and of him. His family was now nothing more than this. Pictures of memories past. At some point, Ichika had gone through his belongings to locate all of these.

At long last, the tears could no longer be contained. Katsuo cried, seemingly endless tears, and he clutched the photo album to his chest as he lied on the bed. Everything had changed and he lost his family. Before that, he hadn't even appreciated them enough. He was always traveling, doing his own things, avoiding family gatherings. And then, it was Christmas, and the family had made the decision to all go to spend Christmas at Katsuo's apartment. The decision that led to all of them dying that day… leaving only Ichika alive.

It was too much for him to bear once he faced the truth. Katsuo felt every ounce of pain and sorrow all over again, like another slideshow. The newest member of his club of depression: Guilt. It was his fault this all happened. And to top things off, he couldn't even acquire the appropriate justice for them. Everything he ever did with his life was a failure.

The sound of gentle footsteps caught his attention. He turned back around and Ichika was in the doorway. She was wearing the necklace with the blue crystal and she had both her hands together in front of her. "You're late again."

Katsuo couldn't help but smile sadly. "Guess I owe you another hour of studying."

Ichika didn't respond to that. Instead, she walked into the room and climbed onto the bed. And then she hugged her brother, smiling as she did.

In this one moment of his life, Katsuo was granted permission to be vulnerable, and he took it. He rested his face in Ichika's lap, while she massaged his head soothingly and caressed him. "It's okay, big brother. I'll let you off the hook this time. Just this once, though."

They remained there, with the raging storm of darkness beyond the walls. In time, it would subside. They were safe and warm inside this refuge, away from the terrible tornado beyond.

(Four months later)

Ichika opened her eyes, after having them closed for the entire trip. Katsuo had a car now, and he decided to christen it by driving his sister in it.

And the destination was the carnival.

"Whoa…" Ichika said in astonishment. There were all kinds of rides up ahead, and even from the parking lot, she could see lots of intriguing sights.

"I give you, the carnival." Katsuo smiled as he watched his sister closely, eager to finally bear witness to her reaction.

She nearly succumbed to tears of joy, but she fought the urge. After all, she had spent a great deal of time mentally preparing for life beyond the trauma center. "I think we should start with the petting zoo. After that, we get cotton candy. And then the Ferris wheel, and then…" She paused right there.

"What's up?" Katsuo asked, tilting his head to the side.

Ichika sighed and stamped her feet, as if she just reached a new conclusion. "I think the only appropriate thing to do is let you choose what to do first, Katsuo-Kun."

He looked confused. "Me? I don't care what we do first."

"Yes, you do." She squinted at him, seeing right through his façade. "Pick something. Anything."

Instead of trying to protest, Katsuo made a decision. He chose to welcome his sister's love. He chose to embrace the idea that he had a say in what they did as a family. Not just in little decisions but in all their decisions.

"Let's eat some candy apples first," he suggested.

Ichika gave him a stern look, as if she were not interested. He felt like retracting the idea, feeling almost embarrassed. But then she laughed and gave him a playful push. "That sounds great. Lead the way."

Both of them shared laughter, and then they resumed the walk to the carnival entrance.

The news picked up the story of Tatsumaki's death the next day, along with Fubuki's. It became the biggest headline in the world, and the elements surrounding it were revealed as time went by. Ultimately, the police questioned Katsuo as well, considering he had been on the ride-along with Tatsumaki before she arrived at her sister's home. Despite his burning desire to kill Tatsumaki himself for many months, Katsuo chose to stay silent. It was quickly and easily determined that Fubuki murdered her own sister, then killed herself. Even when Katsuo's past was revealed by the police, they determined he had not killed Tatsumaki in the end, and so he was never charged with anything.

Ichika learned more methods of coping with her ailments, thanks to help from her brother. He studied psychology routinely, and received lots of advice from Shoko and other people in the field. This way, he had as much knowledge as he could gather to provide the best support for his sister.

Meanwhile, Katsuo got a new job working as a hero. In addition, he quit smoking, thanks to his sister's urging. Despite everything that they went through, Katsuo and Ichika pressed onward in life. They still had so much to do. It was just the beginning.

THE END