Author Notes:

The following concepts that are to be used in this chapter are credited to the following:

1.) Mr Question Mark - Author of the famous fanfics: A Certain Unknown Level 0 and Between the Lines


Fictions Mentioned:


Episode 19 - A Kihara By Any Other Name


Bread came falling from the sky.

A number complained because it was not meat.

Meat came falling from the sky.

A number complained that bread was better.

God came down from the sky.

Until he understands what makes everyone happy

For the time being, he'll make water fall from the sky.

— Lady Frederica Bernkastel


OP Credit Song:

Adele - Skyfall (Lyric Video)


Beginning:


Location:

Multiverse: 07th Multiverse

Universe: HWTC Universe-Prime


It was 1983. The cicadas' cries are getting louder and busier with each passing day. That eternal June was abnormally hot. In spite of it being June, it was already hot enough to make you believe that summer had arrived. However, it was only June after all. After that, when July finally arrived, it made everyone feel much more like they were actually in the summer.

Today was like a dream, in which everyone went to the pool to play. At a glance, it'd seem like a common whimsical desire. However, for one Touma Kamijou, 11 years old in physical appearances, wearing an orange shirt and grey pants, with both hands to his pocket, sporting a serious and concerned expression, was still to be reminded of the journey that he had undertaken. A journey that had lasted for so many years.

Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?

Numbers would hardly matter at this point and stage of his life, already an old man on the inside and was only young on the outside. Even his black orbs would say otherwise, ones that were turned towards his childhood best friends of the Gaming Club and the young girl with azure hime-cut hair to whom he was currently in a secret relationship with.

Sometimes, it was quite hard to believe it for himself.

It was finally and truly over.

That endless nightmare. The endless repeats. The hopping between the fragments. All of the pain and suffering that he had to undergo. The choices that he had to make, no matter how painful, all for the sake of defying fate and remembering who he was.

How does someone like him cope with this kind of suffering? How does one deal with it and not make it seem too obvious? He couldn't really just share it with just anyone, not even to his childhood friends. In fact, there were only two specific people who knew about his secret suffering as they were present at some of it.

The young girl with azure hime-cut hair, Rika Furude, and the young girl with long light purple hair and has a pair of dark purple horns, Hanyu Furude.

They were the only ones who know how he truly suffered, with Rika experiencing a taste of over a hundred years of endless loops which were a drop in the bucket compared to what he had to go through. He had seen things that many would not believe. He had seen countless people die in many worlds and realities that are as numerous as the stars themselves. He'd recall the death and destruction, the wars and devastation, the rise and fall of civilizations, he'd seen them all, each and every set as one could think of in the mind's eye.

So then, compared to all that, how come he hasn't broken down from all of that pain and suffering?

Short answer: He already did. He just kept going and going non-stop. He just couldn't know when to give up as if the word "giving up" was a part of his mental dictionary. His will became like iron forged through the fires of tribulation. His passion and determination to see everything through to the very end knew no bounds. And when he finally came too, he realized that he was crying, when he would hear the familiar wheezing sound that he had been accustomed too as a child of elementary days.

And out came a blue box that he had longed to see after all this time of being almost alone, followed by the door that would open, revealing the Doctor sporting the face of his tenth incarnation, wearing his iconic wardrobe consisting of a brown Duster-type overcoat worn over the brown pinstripped suit, wearing the same Converse All Stars shoes, dashing headfast towards him as they would cry and embrace each other. The man who had been his second father, his guardian, and his mentor had finally arrived to see him at long last after so very long. And that was followed by four of his childhood friends: Shinichi Kudo, Kyon, Sota Mizushino, and Lelouch Lamperouge who would dash alongside the Doctor and came to his aid, with a mixture of expressions that would range from relieve to distraught to concern to a bunch of things that they would all like to say.

That was a memory that he would recall by the time when everything was finally over and done with.

It was over. He made it through it all. And it was then that he cried so very hard to the point where it made everyone quite worried. But most wouldn't know the cause of it, and Kamijou would prefer that they didn't need to know such things. Not with the kind of things that he had seen them pull and the deaths that were due to follow in every route left taken under the sun.

Still, Kamijou would breathe in and out, thinking of the surreal normal day that he had been having as of now. Even if it's a normal day for everyone else, the time he spent to obtain a simple day like this was quite mind-boggling. And since he's able to grasp that, he'd be able to truly feel happy when looking at these peaceful days, even though they look ordinary to anyone else. For Kamijou can understand just how much these peaceful days had been fought to be obtained; the many countless worlds would still spring within his mind that was still as sharp as ever.

And so, in one bright average day in Hinamizawa, Kamijou was currently riding his bike as they went down the road of the mountain slope and enjoying the sights of the warm countryside. Accompanying alongside him were the members of the Hinamizawa Afterschool Gaming Club who were riding their own respective bikes.

To introduce them one by one...

The first person to take note of was Mion Sonozaki, a tall and busty teenage girl with teal eyes. Her ponytail tied hair is long and light-green in color, with bangs parted at the center of her face. She is considered to be the heir of the Sonozaki Family, considered one of the "Three Great Families" of Hinamizawa that are believed to have the highest concentration of the demon bloodlines and to have long been the enforcers of the traditional practices and customs of village. Currently speaking, the Sonozaki holds a great deal of influence both inside and outside the village. Her Club Alias was "The Club President".

The other person to take note of in connection with Mion was her twin sister, Shion Sonozaki, resembling the former in every way in terms of physical appearance except for the hairstyle, letting her hair down instead and has a sunshine yellow ribbon tied on the back of her head to differentiate between herself and her sister. Her Club Alias was "The Substitute President".

Another person to take note of was Rena Ryugu, a young teenage girl with short brunt orange hair in an angled cut with long sides and her fringe parts on the left of her forehead. Her eyes are lavender blue and droop at the ends. Her Club Alias was "Kyute Mode".

Another person to take note of was Keiichi Maebara, a young teenage boy with brown hair and blue-violet eyes. His Club Alias was "Magician of Words".

Another person to take note of was Satoshi Hojo, a young teenage boy with blond hair and red-violet eyes. His Club Alias was "League of Legends".

The other person to take note of in connection with Satoshi was his younger sister, Satoko Hojo, a young girl with spiky blonde hair worn in a short bob; held back with her signature black headband. Her Club Alias was "Trapmaster".

And last but not the least was Rika Furude, the love and understander of his life, a young girl with azure hime-cut hair and violet eyes. The daughter of the late shinto priest of Hinamizawa, the current miko/kannushi (or shrine maiden/priestess) of the Furude Shrine. Her Club Alias was "Racoon".

Of course, one could also not forget about Hanyu Furude, the young 1000+ year old girl with purple eyes, long light purple hair and has a pair of dark purple horns sprouting from her head, with one of them having a crack in it. And she isn't around for the moment and is currently somewhere else in the meantime, saying that she needed to be somewhere else. To quote her specifically, it had something to do with her duties as the guardian deity of Hinamizawa, attending a meeting between herself and a rival of hers by the name of Tamurahime no Mikoto.

"Iyaaahahaha! I, Sonozaki Mion, will forever regret not bringing a camera today!," Mion would exclaim, sporting an excited expression.

"Hau, Rena doesn't need a camera~. I've already burned that scene into her eyes. If I close my eyes, Keiichi-kun's keyuuuute fur seal goes swinging around in my mind~, Hau~" Rena would say, sporting a smile on her face.

"Heyy!," Keiichi would shout in annoyance. "You don't need to imagine it, you don't need to remember something like that! I'll file it right off those eyelids of yours if it does!"

"Hehehehe, Kei-chan is sure fired up every now and then, especially when it comes to being the but end of the joke," Shion would laugh softly, enjoying the predicament of the Magician of Words as she recalled the punishment clearly from the back of her mind.

Satoko, sporting an amused smile, turns her head backwards as she joins in on the conversation. "I guess even Keiichi-san's fast talking is helpless in our special-rules version of strip rock paper scissors!"

Keiichi turns foward to Satoko out of annoyance. "Kek... I'll never accept such a primitive game! Never!"

"Hehmm! But today's Okinomiya game tournament really was fun though. Having a bash with non-club members is nice once in a while," Mion said.

"Hahehe! It really was a fun day. Rena was totally satisfied," Rena said, sporting a satisfied smile.

Then Satoko turns towards Satoshi with a smile, saying. "You were great back there too, Nii-Nii. You managed to score an even higher score for the club."

Satoshi looked towards his sister and smiled gently. "Thank you, Satoko."

Then Rika joins in on the conversation. "Ah! I'm totally satisfied too! I particularly like the part when Keiichi's fur seal went swinging..."

"Kah! Stop talking about that!," Keiichi exclaimed out of annoyance and embarrassment.

And thus, everyone eventually laughs at Keiichi's misfortunate predicament.

Well, all except one.

Touma Kamijou, despite smiling, had opted to remain silent and concentrate on the wheel, content to let the fresh breeze cool down his skin as he and the rest would drive down the slope. And in that time, he and everyone else, looking back at the events that transpired at the pool today, rides up the winding path home by bicycle. Since there's no pool in Hinamizawa, they had went to Okinomiya's municipal pool.

And since there was a height difference between Hinamizawa and Okinomiya, it's a very nice ride to go downwards to Okinomiya. However, the way back is quite a long ways up. To peppy kids of Hinamizawa, it's not that hard of a climb. Even so, the ride up the long and steep hill naturally becomes silent as everyone focused on pedaling.

As Kamijou would watch everyone pedaling, sporting smiles and speaking casual conversations, he could only sport a content smile on his face, opting to remain silent and let his childhood friends take center stage for once and leave him as the background character for the time being.

But...

"-ear. Dear!"

"Eh?!," Kamijou sported a surprised expression, turning towards Rika who was pedaling her bike besides his, taking care to measure the speed. He would see her expression that was full of concern and worry, a quite familiar expression that he had seen several times by now, and this one takes a whole new meaning that was a lot deeper in terms of personal relationships and experiences.

"Are you alright? Dear?," Rika asked.

"..." Kamijou couldn't answer straight away, glancing back at those in the front, his childhood friends who were smiling and having fun just as always, minus possibly Keiichi whose getting dragged into the metaphorical mudwater due to most of everyone else not willing to let it all go. He turns back towards Rika, still sporting the same overtly worried expression on her face that made her more beautiful in his eyes. "Y-Yes. Of course, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"...You're lying, dear," Rika sported a worried expression.

"..." Kamijou sported a surprised expression, which then turned to a sad smile as he would begin to focus on the road once more. "...Yeah, sorry about that...I...I just have a lot on my mind right now, Rika. It's just...I...can't believe that it's finally over. I mean, a month had already passed by, no sign of anything different, nothing to worry about, no dangerous obstacles to cross, there was just...peace...Ghhh!"

"Dear!," Rika sported an alarmed expression.

And thus, he would begin to sport a semi-grimaced expression, putting his right hand to his heart as he would suddenly fell down from the bike, tumbling down to the ground a few times in succession throughout the downward slope, with the bicycle accompanying him in his fall, much to the shock and horror of Rika and everyone else who was present.

"Touma!," they all exclaimed, with some adding the honorific suffix of "san" or "chan", as they see their childhood friend crashing down and tumbling across the slope asphalt pavement.

By the time he stopped tumbling, he was covered in simple bruises and little prickling wounds in light of the impact. He would touch the left side of his forehead, and it was there that he found out that a trickling of blood was flowing to his...head...

Blood...

He touches his head light, feeling disorientated at the fall, and was feeling quite numb. He would see his childhood friends gathered all around him, speaking in words that he may as well not hear. He was giving a look that seem to have them quite concerned, and perhaps even terrified. There was the thousand-yard stare. The blank, unfocused gaze of combatants who have become emotionally detached from the horrors around them.

Horror...

There were many horrors that he had encountered. Many people wielding all types of weapons that they could get, affected by some kind of parasitic virus that drives them all insane. The endless loops where he had to stand and watch helplessly as many variants of his childhood friends die over and over in ways that went from random to over-the-top in terms of gore.

Gore...

There were a lot of them. The scattered appendages. The ripped apart arms and legs. The nailed hands and feet. He recalls them. The trauma. The madness. He would look at all of the childhood friends who were gathered by his side. And certain memories crashed down that gave rise to daydreams that went the way of nightmarish pleasantries. For each and everyone of his childhood friends were twisted to the point of no return in the many years that seem to have passed by from his perspective.

There were the screams of innocent children. The automatic gunfire that was heard throughout the area. People dying from toxic gasses. Military soldiers making their way and shooting everything in sight, trying to obtain the dreaded virus that would be used and intended as a bioweapon that would be used against the enemy. The outbreak that had the world fell as if by the sound of clapping thunder. The horrors continued on and on as if passing by a river. And yet, all of this seem to have happened in a single fraction of a moment from the perspective of those around him who kept calling him out, asking if he was alright. He would see Rika's expression, showing a sense of worry and concern, lightly shaking his body by grabbing his shoulder, calling out to him.

"Ghhhkkkkkkkkkk!"

Kamijou was gnashing his teeth, holding both sides of his head with his sporting a grimace expression that would relate to a nightmare that was of the past. The many deaths that he had undertaken.

Death...

The many times that he had died and come back to life seem to continue to remain afresh within his mind. A bunch of needles sticking out on him from every side of his body while being strapped towards an operating table. Getting crucified, with both hands nailed to the wood while his appendages spill out from the floor.

For he would see the many deaths that were to unfold upon him and was enacted by none other than his precious childhood friends which would start suddenly without any form of warning because of a dangerous mental disease that turns the mind to insanity and to madness in the worse possible form, bringing out the negative aspects and turning it up to 11. In each fragment, in each timeline, one would go beserk and kill the other, forcing Kamijou to try to put the other down. But he could not...

And in these moments, he would recall his arms and legs being amputated by something...

No... Someone...

"Oh dear...It would appear that the amputation process was a bit more than you could truly handle as of this stage..."

There was that familiar voice that he hadn't heard in quite a while. There was someone standing in front of him. It was a woman whose face resembled someone that he knew all too well. Miyo Takano. Wearing a white hat and white nurse outfit, carrying a bloodied surgical knife that was dripping with blood, with some of the blood even being seen from the right surgical hand glove that she wore.

No... This wasn't Miyo Takano...

"But my oh my! How much blood have you spilled today. Did you know that the bloood in the human body contains approximately 1.2-1.5 gallons? I mean, wow? In spite of everything, you still can breathe properly and efficiently. Didn't know whether to call it as dumb luck or if it was something else that I was missing in order to put an end to your miserable existence."

This was someone else. The face and body belonged to that of Miyo Takano, but her mind was that of someone else. It was like her entire personality was swiped and replaced with someone else, likened to that of demonic possession that one could see from a horror movie. The same slasher-like smile was present within this Takano, as if she were enjoying every moment of his suffering, intrigued at the possibility of even a tiny speck of blood dripping across the cold floor.

Kamijou knew who this was... For how can he not...? How many times have he fought this person, this madman who had been experiencing the same endless hell as he was, and yet unlike him, this person was enjoying every moment of it, revelling the chaos, becoming the chessmaster that tried to insert multiple obstacles if only to ensure that Hinamizawa, no matter what world, dies in flames, all for the purpose of scientific discoveries and facts.

He knows the madman, or rather the personality that was inhabiting this variant of Miyo Takano.

Kamui Kihara.

He was one of, if not the greatest hindrance to Kamijou's goal in trying to finally put an end to all of the madness whose source lay within Hinamizawa. He was one of his most deadliest adversaries. The darkness and pure evil that was present in this person ― Kamui Kihara ― was made apparent in the many times when he and Kamijou had tangeled and fought, and in some cases, ended up rather bloodily, with their own guts and appendages being spilled around the corner.

There was that twisted sense of interest, an obssession that was present within this person ― Kamui Kihara ― which in turn made Kamijou even more wary based on the unpredictable strategties that the madman would employ. In every single face that Kamijou had encounterd in relation to Kamui, be it to a mere stranger who seem to carry no significance in the grand scheme of things and is just trying to get by in life, or whether it was someone that he was aware of to the point of already being wary such as Miyo Takano, or if it was even someone that he was close too, recalling the one time when...

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

There was nothing but death. The blood that was spilled on the floor and the walls was quite horrific to look at due to the dead bodies. The police were outside of the establishment, all heavily armed with tactical riot gear, with shields on the ready, barricading all entrances and exits from all sides. At this moment, on June 13, 1983, a massacre had occured in the once peaceful Angel Mort. And it was something that hit without warning.

"Did you see it, Kamijou Touma?! Did you see what I just did?! I did it! I finally did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it! Ahahahahahahahahaha!"

The screams came from none other than his old childhood friend, Keiichi Maebara, or rather...Kamui Kihara, having replaced the memory and personality of this Keiichi with his very own through the use of the dreaded personality swipe. In other words, this variant of his childhood friend...was already long dead to begin with.

And now, he was gloating, boasting of the achievement and basking it in a eureka-like fashion, boasting of the achievement that he had just incurred, which was the death of everyone around the establishment, and among them were many of Kamijou's childhood friends, the members of the Hinamizawa Gaming Club with the exception of Satoshi Hojo who was still stuck in his comatose state at this time. The same tone despite the difference in voice. The body was different, and yet there was no denying it. This was the dreaded and hated enemy of Touma Kamijou. And he had been two steps ahead of him this time in case of his world hopping and repeatable time loops.

And as of now, Kihara had officially crossed the line once again, already killing Rena Ryugu through the use of the aluminum baseball bat, with her eyes sprawling around the floor, and before of which had tried desperately to put a stop to the madness, but to no avail as Kihara was the much better fighter than her. But Kihara kept hitting the dead body, sprouting more amounts of blood that would cover some parts of his face.

"...K."

Kamijou was seeing red, with his eyes sharpening into a pale yellow, replacing his traditional black, likened to that of a dragon who was angered at seeing his love ones getting treated less than mere trash. Such disrespect for the dead, especially that of his love ones, no matter what world, was quite unforgivable in his eyes and would not be tolerated.

"...Ki...Kihara...Kamuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

He would stand up from the ground, all bloodied and bruised, with tears of sorrow and righteous anger, standing up with all of his might and shouting the name of his accursed enemy out loud. He would raise his right hand, clenched into a fist, and pull a fast right hook, only to be firmly denied as a perfect swing of about 90° was enacted through the use of a baseball bat, sending Kamijou's body twisting and crashing towards the wall and sprouting blood on his mouth, his back lying towards the ground.

"And that folks was what I call a home run! Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

And another memory of the bastard seem to pass by. One final straw was trying to touch a hair on the woman that he loved. In fact, Kamui had wanted to see Kamijou's beloved, Rika Furude, getting tortured and disemboweled before his very eyes.

For he recalled being pinned down on the ground, helpless to stop anything as his legs were shot multiple times, unable to even walk or crawl as he was currently being pinned down by the Yamainu, with some of them aiming their Heckler & Koch MP5 SMGs on him. And he was watching Rika Furude, the woman he loved dearly, sporting a painful but no less smiling and reassuring expression, seeing her disembowled piece by piece, and she was howling in pain.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

"DAMN YOU, KAMUI! DAMN YOU!"

But it was not just the past that he was recalling...

"These small fights are such a pain. I think I'll just end the world."

It was a future... His future... Blank and blurry as ever, cannot even be seen by him no matter how much he tries to squint his eyes as if to magnify them closer, and yet...he could feel it despite not knowing what was happening. He doesn't know what's going on or why, but he felt a bleeding effect of sorts that resonates within his right hand ― Imagine Breaker ― acting like an Internet service provider that would transmit a wide range of data transfer rates, in this case being his ripple effective proof memories of a possible timeline that would have happened to him in the not too distant future. And the only thing that he knows is that he was about to suffer fates far worse than mere death in the next few moments.

"I think I'll just end the world."

"...I'll just end the world."

"...just end the world."

"...just end the world."

"...just end the world."

"...just end the world."

"...just end the world."

"...end the world."

"...end the world."

"...end the world."

"Kssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Kamijou screamed in horror and pain as he grabbed his head as if his brain and his blood vessels and nerves would blow up from the inside out, much to the shock and horror of everyone else who was gathered alongside him, calling out his name to no avail as their voices were blocked and the only thing left remaining where what he felt to be the total obliteration of every soul, 6 billion in total estimation, that had ever lived on his world ― ACMI Universe-Prime.

And end the world it did, or at least his world had ended, his native reality, the universe that he had come from ― ACMI Universe-Prime. And everything around him was black as a chalkboard. Everything around him was odd. It was black. Nothing but black. The ground was perfectly flat. It was even more level and free of defect than the silicon wafer for a semiconductor. From where he stood to the horizon, the ground did not rise or fall by even a micron. There was the sound of static that was likened to that of a television screen losing it's signal.

There was nothing left. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Like an echo of many lost worlds would seemingly stopped by from within his line of sight. His reaction was no less erratic as the Club Members would sport concerned expressions, seeing the clearly distressed and panicking Kamijou who was clutching his head as tightly as he could, screaming as if in agony, with his eyes not even looking at them despite being turned towards them.

Something was happening to Kamijou. It was like his five senses were at a fog, his mind being elsewhere within the howling void. But while this was happening, he was recalling each and every nightmare imaginable. The details were unimportant due to the fact that he couldn't see anything clearly, like a fog going through his head and blocking out any unneccessary noise that he is not suppose to know yet.

Everyone betrays you in the end...

A whisper that seem poisonous to his mind. A thought to dreadful to imagine. For it would seem that whatever he experienced throughout this moment of a probable future that would never come to be, everyone around his world would try to kill him on sight.

"The international coalition army is continuing its joint invasion of Japan's capital city ofTokyo in order to eliminate Kamijou Touma who is hiding within the city. We have word that seventy percent of the 23 special wards in the heart of the city have already been reduced to rubble, but there are concerns that the large-scale destruction will leave doubt as to whether Kamijou Touma is actually dead."

For he hears the voice of a certain President giving the go-signal...

"I will skip all the unnecessary details. For one thing, we all know there was no room for argument. The Japanese government may have admitted Kamijou Touma is hiding in their country, but they have hidden this fact for a long time. That is an insult to the people of all nations who wish for a stable and peaceful international society. We are forcing great hardship on the people of Japan, especially those who live in the city center. That is an undeniable fact, but we cannot end this onslaught until we have definite and undeniable proof of Kamijou Touma's death. Even those of you who insist on pacifism must understand deep down. For true peace, we must slay that demon now! Even if opinions are split in the present, historians a century from now will surely applaud our decision. If Kamijou Touma is allowed to escape and once more disappear into this wide world, nothing but rubble and corpses will remain in a century! In accordance with the goodness of all mankind, we will make sure to bring his life to an end!"

And then came the thunderous deluge of applause that would seem to make Kamijou's heart grow absolutely still.

Friends...

"Kamijou Touma. If you had not done what you did, no one would have had to die!"

And family...

"It is true that Touma is our son. There is no denying that. But we have realized something! To destroy the absolute evil that is Kamijou Touma, the help of those who know him best is needed. You can judge us if you want, but please do so after it is all over! Please give us a chance to right the mistake we have made!"

They would all betray him. Kamijou's heart would shatter...But he would not break...For this was not the first nor the last time he had experienced such points-of-view becoming twisted to a certain direction. His journey throughout the Endless June is recalled. Everyone turning against him. Their viewpoints would seemingly shatter and target him, the only sane person alive on the world. And he would die for it.

And then came your average ordinary life. Nothing appeared to be wrong. The same pranks and shenanigans occured step by step. The same old routine of normalcy. Nothing appeared to be wrong. And yet...why exactly did something felt wrong?

You can be replaced...

"That was 'Kamijou Touma's' everyday life. Surely you recognize it. For them, it did not matter who it was."

It did not matter. For anyone can be Touma Kamijou. Anyone can be him and no one could tell the difference. Signified by the letters "A" and "B".

"You met various people in the past, resolved their problems, and expanded your circle of friends. From a god's perspective, it was all a ridiculous farce, but those may have been praiseworthy acts for a mere human. But their trust was established because you saved them, right? As long as they were saved, it could have been anyone, right? If someone other than you had been the one to save them, their trust and good will would have turned in that other person's direction. Anyone could have become 'Kamijou Touma'. It could have been a greasy middle-aged man or a dried-up old man. …What's wrong? Had you deluded yourself into thinking you were the sole original in the world and no one but you could have walked down the path you traveled? No one was truly looking at you. No one would be particularly troubled if you weren't there. As long as they had someone who could resolve their problems, their lives would continue on just fine. You decided to give up your life for such a shallow relationship. …How pathetic. You are worth nothing more than that. You are no different from a battery that is swapped out once it runs out of power. No one cares about the appearance or personality of a battery. And a battery cannot accomplish anything as only a battery. Nothing at all."

Was this it...? Kamijou could only stare at this farce in disbelief. Even when he lacks the context, he could still feel it. The negative swirling of emotion. The emptiness that the static scenes would cause that was directed right at him from both past and future.

So what...?

Is this the idea of breaking Touma Kamijou? An identity crisis? Surely there could have been a better setup? A better tactic than this? For had he not had his entire identity reexamined in light of all of the pain and suffering that he had endured at the Endless June.

"I can hear an extra pair of footsteps behind me...So that means my curse will kill you...DON'T GET KILLED BY A CURSE FROM THE LIKES OF ME!"

Keiichi-san...

"USO DA! USO DA! USO DA! USO DA! USO DA! USO DA! ("LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR!")"

Rena-san...

"I know everyone has their stories of pain and sadness, or things that they don't want to bring up. But if you can't be a good friend without telling that, then I don't need any friends at all!"

Mion-san...

"I did it all! I killed everyone, with my own hands! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! After coming this far, I can no longer turn back."

Shion-san...

"So, good tidings to you...my dear, traitorous Touma."

Satoko-chan...

Most of his friends would succumb to the disease that he had fought tooth and nail, both literally and figuratively. Piece by piece, his memories would guide him to every single probable outcome where each loop would differ, taking the place of those who were suppose to inevitably die. For in each outcome, he dies. Plain and simple. Even if others were to save the victims, he would remain dead.

And dead. And dead. And dead. And dead. All in some twisted Russian Roulette to find out just how much reexamination would it take to break into his metaphorical skull of becoming something like a "nobody" or a "no one".

That was his life in a nutshell ever since he had landed on the 07th Multiverse, experiencing the worse aspects of dying in several ways from getting hit by a baseball bat to getting decapitated by a machete to getting crucified to a piece of wood like some twisted verison of a joke and a shout out of "Hail to the Messiah!".

Does Kamijou need to answer all of this? Does he need to succumb to any preconceived notions about whether or not if he was the original?

For the voice that was directed towards a "future" of him that would lecture about what kind of person was the "Original Touma Kamijou" meant to be was a load of pure trash talk that didn't need anymore to be said.

"I am Kamijou Touma. I am no one but Kamijou Touma!"

For he was Touma Kamijou. He didn't need to examine something so very simple and precise. No matter how many times when he could count the fact that adding in some unknown player that would play a role that was close to the one that he had played if not for a few minor differences.

He declared it before. And he would do so again. His name that held such meaning and inspiration to many. It was his promise. The One Who Purifies God and Slays Demons. That was his promise. And he was fighting against God (Featherine) and slays demons (illusions) in every single loop that he had been subjected too throughout the Endless June. And no matter how many years that had passed, from a hundred to a thousand to a tens of thousands to a hundreds of thousands and so on and so forth, he will not change his goals. He will continue and press on. He will fight up to his very last breath. And if his life were to become an empty battlefield where everyone else has fallen and he continues to stand alone in order to protect everyone, then so be it.

And yet...

"It seems this was on too high a level for an idiot like you. I suppose having no worries could be called a talent when it reaches this extreme. I am honestly impressed you feel so little unease about yourself."

There was this voice that he could hear. The same voice that declared that she would end the world as if in a mere finger snap. What was with this voice? And why was it so familiar despite not knowing as to whom it belonged too? For it resembled the almost exasperated surprise of someone watching a simple life form moving around energetically after slicing off a portion of its body.

Magic God...

Whispered through his ears. A term that he didn't know what to do with. And yet it felt so very familiar somehow.

"But how many cards do you think I have in my deck? Do you think it stops in the mere tens of thousands?"

For through the eyes of the the future, he saw countless worlds and experienced countless forms of despair. Some clearly cornered Touma Kamijou and attempted to crush him. Strange false accusations were forced onto him and a noose was put around his neck. He was stranded on a mountain with some acquaintances and he was forced to distribute his flesh to the others so they could survive until rescue arrived. He was lying unable to move on a hospital bed and was simply stuck like that all the way to his funeral. He was buried in humus and began to decompose while still alive, starting with the ends of the arms and legs. Earth was rendered unlivable and he was thrown into outer space to wander aimlessly in a capsule-like spaceship. As a puny human, he was destroyed by a giant robot or an asteroid.

The heart had no actual form, but Kamijou clearly felt his breaking, or at least...that was what he had felt as a reverberating side effect of connecting and intersecting to both points in time across the distances of universes. It was not being destroyed as if struck by a hammer or sliced in two by a sword. It was a quiet destruction as if termites had eaten into it and it was too late by the time the symptoms began to show.

Amid it all, he somehow managed to gather his thoughts bit by bit. He was not bothered by any of this. Not in the least. For these worlds were ones that he had lived already in the darkened past filled with endless loops among the Kakera no Umi. Thousands among thousands of experiences that could not be estimated. There were some worlds were he had been devoured alive by ravenous wolves. There were some worlds were he was not allowed to die and was forced to spend from the beginning up to the very end of eternity, when the universe would collapse into the final point of it's cycle which was the dreaded heat death. There were some worlds were he had been forced to take up arms and defend himself, careful to not kill anyone, and yet was still being hacked to the point of being likened to a well roasted pig on American thanksgiving. And then there were some worlds where he had been eaten alive by wild cannibalistic psychopaths. A blend mixture of chaotic pain and suffering that was likened to a dish served cold in multiple infinite sets.

From his endless past, he did not suddenly come up with a means of reversing or resolving the situation. He was instead using his bloody hands to build a path there, piece by piece. Which was why he was quite unsurprised at what he was seeing, experiencing the pain which reverberates within his right hand ― Imagine Breaker.

At this point, he would begin to breathe in and out, trying to control his breathing and calming his mind down despite the tremendous pain that was less physical and more mental, emotional, and even spiritual.

Try as he might, even when the blurs and the static would slowly vanish like mist and let Kamijou allow himself to finally see his childhood friends, including the woman he loved, sporting worried expressions, it was still not over.

For he as each memory as passed, all he could do was feel every ounce of pain that was slamming right on top of him as if he were to be hit by a growing tidal wave filled with the pricks and thorns of all sorts that got washed away.

He felt like drowning, stuck and caught between two forms of conciousness. The blurs and static were still there. The pain and suffering from both past and future were still there.

"...ouma-chan! Touma-chan!," Mion sported a worried expression.

"!" Kamijou would widen his eyes out, looking at each and everyone of his childhood friends sporting worried expressions. He was lowering his hands, breathing in and out. "...So-Sorry about that guys," he said, still shaking and reeling from the sudden memories and trauma that he had experienced and accumulated. "I just...I...I..."

He couldn't mutter an explanation. All he could do was simply lower his head, with his right hand placed on top of his head, opting to remain silent, which in turn made them worried even more as this wasn't the first time that this had happened to Kamijou. It happened a few times here and there, but it wasn't that serious and it usually lasted in about a few moments or so that was likened to that of someone staring off into the distance, with no one to look at despite his eyes turning straightforward. Sometimes it came about with a few random headaches that were triggered unexpectedly through various circumstances to which he would be sent to the TARDIS Medical Bay for random check-ups. This time however, it seem far too serious.

"...Rika-chan," Mion sported a serious expression, looking at Rika in concern. "Any luck on getting through to Doctor-sensei?"

Rika could only shake her head, sporting an exasperated and concerned expression while looking at her anachronistic cellphone that didn't belong in 1983, having been given by the Doctor in light of being the caretaker and understander of one Touma Kamijou. "No, Mion-san. I haven't be able to make contact. The line said to please hold for a moment. My guess is that either the Doctor is unreachable at this time due to being too busy dealing with something, or something must have come up that wouldn't allow the cellphone to make any form of contact."

"Haah!," Keiichi sported an exaseperated expression, scratching his head in annoyance. "Well that's just great. Now what the hell are we going to do now that Doctor-sensei isn't coming to help us?"

"First things first, Keiichi-san," Shion sported a concerned expression, putting a hand to Kamijou's right shoulder. "Let's start by making sure that Kamijou is capable of standing up first and foremost. Then we could talk about what to do next as we head back towards Hinamizawa. Kamijou-san, can you walk?"

Kamijou nodded. "Yeah...Yeah I think I can walk just fine..."

Then Kamijou would try to stand up straight, still feeling a bit too woobly and would have fallen headfirst into the pavement had it not been for Satoko and Rika who were just nearby, with the latter grabbing his left arm, wrapping it around her left shoulder gently.

"Satoko, you handle the right while I handle the left," Rika looked at Satoko who gave her a nod.

"Alright," Satoko said.

Then the both of them would have Kamijou's arms wrapped around their shoulders and allowed them to make Kamijou go steady. But then...

"Touma!"

Someone exclaimed. Everyone would look to the skies and see Hanyu Furude, the floating translucent young girl of over 1000 years of age, with lavender hair, dark violet eyes, and a pair of black or dark purple horns on her head, with the left being chipped, wearing an outfit reminiscent of one worn by a Shinto shrine maiden, with red hakama (long, split trousers), a white haori (kimono jacket), and a pair of long, pink furisode-like sleeves.

She would float down towards Kamijou and check up on him, changing her translucent form to her physical form of flesh and blood, touching from head to shoulders to lower body parts. Maternal concern was present before her very eyes. For aside from the Doctor, Hanyu could be considered to be his second mother and maternal figure in light of his relationship with Rika Furude, the shrine maiden of Hinamizawa. But not only that, for she was one of the few besides Rika who knew just what had truly happened to Kamijou. And she like many others despite her power as Oyashiro-sama was powerless to stop the experiences that Kamijou would accumulate over the passing years.

"I leave you alone for a moment and this happens! Good grief!," Hanyu would sport an exasperated expression, but was still accompanied with a maternal smile. "What exactly happened here, Mion-san?," she would ask Mion who was sporting a concerned expression.

"We're not sure, Hanyu. Whatever happened to Kamijou-chan had made him screamed as if he were in pain. We didn't know what to do except call for any form of help."

"In any case, we better get Touma-chan back to the Irie Clinic in order for you to get some rest," Shion suggested.


Ending:


ED Credit Song:

Theme of the Week #8 - Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Main Theme


Beginning:


But then...

A shot was suddenly fired.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Touma!"

And the bullet would hit Kamijou right through his left joint which would make him stumble and almost fall to the asphalt pavement if it were not for the fact that he was being carried by Satoko and Rika who both carried him to the shoulders, although it made it difficult for the girls due to the body weight being pressed down to them. And both the young girls who were carrying him and the rest were sporting expressions of shock and horror as they never saw the bullet coming, as if it were speeding bullet that was precisely designed to tag it's target like a prey getting caught in an innocent looking trap.

"Oh I'm afraid that it would not happen anytime soon my dear."

A voice would suddenly make himself known. And as if by magic, a man would appear out of nowhere by decloaking himself through the use of a watch, strolling down from the slope with a retrofuturistic anachronistic gun in his hand that was aimed at Kamijou. He seem to look Japanese, somewhere in his 30s if everyone would take a guess, with grey hair, wearing a truck driver outfit consisting of a clean pair of jeans with no rips, a white undershirt with a zip-up over it that isn't wrinkly and a pair of work boots, along with a trucker hat.

"Kamijou Touma and I appear to have unfinished business that we would need to discuss. And by all means, we can't have the childhood friends missing out on this, do we?"

The man would smile in a way that would send a chill throughout the spines of most of everyone who was present. And after the man appeared to be multiple armed men from all sides wearing what appeared to be JSDF military combat uniforms all armed with Howa Type 89 Assault Rifles that were aimed at all of them, and most especially towards Kamijou, being deemed as the primary target, in order for them to not make a single movement.

"Who...Who the hell are you?!," Keiichi roared in anger at the man who was aiming the gun straight to his spiky haired friend who was bleeding to his left joint.

And it wasn't just Keiichi, but everyone else was sporting more or less the same angered expressions due to the fact that Touma Kamijou was currently bleeding, having been shot to the left joint.

Hanyu could only narrow her eyes in recognition of the man who was simply smiling in a casual manner without a care of the world. For all she had to do was look at the man's eyes and she could immediately tell that something off was present at the man. It was like this man was possessed, for the soul of the man was there, and yet there seem to be another entity that was inside of him. A mental possession if you will. And the personality and behavior of the man felt off with the movements of the soul.

It was almost as if the personality of the man was swiped with someone else.

But she opted to remain silent. Instead, she simply glared at the man who had shot for all intents and purposes, her son, and she would not tolerate such an act if she could help it. For her pupils turn into a brighter red that slowly turned into a blaze in a subtle act of divine anger. And it was quite reminscent of the past, when Hanyu was once known to be Hai-Ryūn Ieasomūru Jeda, the skilled swordswoman who slayed "demons".

But she would let her adoptive son, Touma Kamijou, be the one who would confront this man, the devil in disguise.

After all...

Touma Kamijou and this man have a special kind of history that had stretched on and reverberated throughout the ages.

For Kamijou would gently tap the shoulders of the two young girls who were carrying him, drawing their attention. And he would give them a look, telling them to let go and let him walk on his own.

The girls were quite hesitant, especially Rika herself who could not help but shake her head and sport an expression of worry. but Kamijou would smile gently in reassurance as if to say that it is alright, and that he is asking them to trust him. After a moment of deliberation, Rika and Satoko would slowly let go of Kamijou's shoulders and allowed him to walk.

To the surprise of most, they would see Kamijou, with his left joint still bleeding and yet was seemingly being repaired due to a certain healing factor that allowed for slow healing of the wound, and yet still feeling the pain that he had been incurred with. With every careful step that was taken, he would be a few meters nearby towards everyone from the Club and forming a dividing wall against the man and the armed men who were all aiming at him with their weapons.

And Kamijou was sporting an expression of recognition.

For he recognized this man just by looking at those eyes. The same eyes that was present in every face that he saw in so many cycles. And thus would the silent confrontation and staring match between two mortal enemies would commence, with everyone else looking on in worry and concern, especially for Kamijou's well being.

"It seems that you took a new person to be your guinea pig for your Personality Swipe this time, Kihara Kamui."

The young spiky-haired boy declared in a serious tone that denotes a form of raw righteous anger that was quite deep. And the way he expresses himself was solemn. And there was that reflection that if one were to get a close look at whose physical resemblance that he now goes by, it would have to be none other than Touya Kamijou.

From a spiky-haired eleven year old in physical appearances that anyone could see, whose reflective persona that no one could see would sport the look of a middle age man probably around his 30s, and sported a stubble. The exact same reflective appearance. Like father, like son.

As the name "Kihara Kamui" was said, most of everyone among the Club would begin to pay close attention, sporting expressions of surprise, concern, and curiosity.

Does Touma Kamijou know this person?

The question passed by through their thoughts that were quite anxious and concerned. But then...

"...!"

They would notice their fellow member, Rika Furude, sporting an expression of anger, especially when she heard the name, with both of her hands clenched to a fists, for she has not forgotten just what the bastard had done to them through more lifetimes than she could count.

The man would begin to smirk, saying.

"That's right, Kamijou Touma," he said each word with emphasis, confirming the confident declaration, with his gun aiming at the boy's head. "It's been quite a while since we last encountered each other. And I'd figure that I should pay a close visit, you know, to celebrate a job well done and a proper congratulation party after clearing all of the levels that we both have endured after so very long."

"Oh how very kind of you," Kamijou softly muttered, his black orbs not taking his eyes off of the blue sharpened eyes of madness that was quite unnatural and out of place. "And I'd figure that you of all people would have grown bored with this by now."

"Oh no, not really, not when it came to you specifically after all. So now then...," Kamui would ready his hand to pull the trigger at the slightest sign of provocation, almost feeling itchy and wanting to shoot. "Let's get this party started shall we? Hmhehehehehehe! Hahahahahahahaha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"


Ending:


Main Companion Protagonists:

Touma Kamijou - VA: Atsushi Abe

New Characters:

Kamui Kihara

Othinus - VA: Asami Seto