Author's Notes:

So hey, I'm still alive... so here's another 3,601 word chapter. Enjoy!

Summary: Reigen is down leaving Ritsu to fend for himself!

New Enemy; Hostile Motives

Thunder crackled as Ritsu's hair blew frantically from the intense wind. With his barrier gone, the screeching storm became deafening, loud howls of gust twisting and turning everywhere. Despite the weather being cold, the boy's face was somewhat paler than usual. Ritsu stood petrified at the sight of his brother's master laying lifeless on the floor, his heart beating twice as fast in anticipation. He must be seeing wrong, there is no way that annoying con-artist would kick the bucket so soon, right? He didn't want to give it a second thought, he desperately called out to him.

"Reigen!"

The voices of two strangers merged with the chaos around him, slowly becoming background noise, hardly registering to the young esper. However, comparing them to Ritsu, his presence felt more like a ghost at this point. He was paralyzed, stuck in a horrible plight of the harsh reality that was playing out in front of him.

Reigen still hasn't moved. Ritsu was afraid to call out to him again, fearing how alone he would feel if he didn't receive a reply back. It was ironic, that moments ago he had threatened Reigen with intentions of doing just the same but to actually see it happen, Ritsu didn't expect it to feel so… so dreadfully wrong.

He didn't understand. Why would Reigen's sudden demise hurt him so bad? Why did it leave him with a burning ache of guilt and regret? It wasn't fair. This wasn't how it should have ended— Reigen wasn't supposed to die from all this! Ritsu was sure of that now. That removing Reigen from their life wasn't the answer to their problems— to his problem. It would only hurt Shigeo and that meant he'd only be hurting himself.

Ritsu rushed towards Reigen, completely ignoring his foes who stood mere feet away from him. Reigen was face down on his stomach when he got to him. He carefully turned him over onto his back, quickly placing his head onto Reigen's chest to listen for a heartbeat.

Ritsu sighed with relief, Reigen was still alive.

Shaking his shoulder lightly, Ritsu called his name again. The only response he got was a small pained groan, confirming that he was somewhat okay, most likely just suffering concussion. Knowing he was alive and breathing was enough for Ritsu. The young esper had wanted to check him for more wounds. Yes, that would have probably been the most appropriate course of action to do at this moment. However, Ritsu didn't have that kind of time, not with the enemy right in front of them.

"Idiot," as Ritsu heard Justice say this, he automatically thought the comment was meant for him. He quickly tensed, turning around ready for a fight but soon paused as he realized it was directed to the younger person beside Justice, he stood there surprised.

"That man was not an esper. You hit the wrong one," continued Justice, a hint of agitation coursed through his slightly raised voice.

"Oops…" the young teen casually said with a bored tone. His dark onyx eyes met with his partner's. "What difference does it make?"

"The difference Aki, is your inability to follow orders. It's becoming a nuisance."

The black haired teen frowned.

"I told you to stop calling me that. These names you made for us, they sound stupid." He rolled his eyes, clearly making his attitude known. "And it wasn't my fault! That fucking idiot out of nowhere decides to jump in my way at the last second. Serves him right for being so stupid!"

The insult seemed to vex through Ritsu with an unrelenting vengeance as he snapped his full attention to the teen now. His aura intensified, flickering wildly around him. Even against all his best efforts to try to stay calm and attentive, it surely seemed impossible now. His emotions gradually started to crumble apart. Lightning rippled through the clouds of Shigeo's storm and a roar of thunder vibrated the atmosphere as Ritsu stepped forward from where he was standing.

"Do you have any idea what you've done!" shouted Ritsu in anger. Aki spared him a quick glance before turning his attention back at Justice, practically ignoring him.

"Sooo, do I finish this one off or not?" he asked pointing at Ritsu with his thumb over his shoulder. The question was so painfully obvious it was almost insulting to Justice who merely shot the teen another sharp glare.

"Stop asking these pointless questions and just follow the plan, I will not say it again," Justice said to Aki, who looked completely offended by his remark. "With that said, where is the mask I told you to wear? Can't you do anything right?"

"Ugh, that ugly thing again? I don't see the point. If my job is to dispose of our targets then there's not much of a problem if they see my face. It wouldn't matter in the end, am I right?"

Justice lowered his eyes at him. "I want it done Aki, I will not tolerate any more mistakes." he dismissed.

With a sigh through his breath, Aki mumbled an aggravated response as he watched Justice fade into the Kageyama's house. He turned back around to face Ritsu, sighing yet again, uninterested.

Ritsu could already tell from his attitude that he was being underestimated, maybe even belittled. It was that very mindset that Ritsu hoped he could gain an advantage over. This person seemed very arrogant unlike his partner. He also didn't look that much older than himself. A teenager, Ritsu thought.

I could take him.

Aki swiped his long straight bangs out of his right eyes view, curling it behind his ear to hold it in place. He licked his dry lips before he spoke.

"Talk about a scary face. You're making me uncomfortable, glaring at me like that."

Ritsu didn't say anything, he didn't want to indulge him with small talk if it meant prolonging this any longer than it has already. The younger esper prepared his protective barrier over his body. Ritsu was not letting his guard down this time.

"Whoa, the silent serious type, huh? What happened to all that energy you were pouring out moments ago against Mr. Bossy over there? That's no fun." Aki paused waiting for some kind of answer.

Ritsu said nothing.

"Fine. I guess you're still mad about what I did to your buddy back there," he said, leaning to his left for a better view of Reigen on the floor behind Ritsu. "But then again, why should you be? You didn't seem to care much about him either. If anything you should be thanking me for doing you a favor. I mean, he was the one that stood in the way of your brother's trust for you, wasn't he?"

Ritsu widened his eyes.

"Wait, how did you...?" uttered Ritsu in disbelief.

Just how did this guy know all this?

Ritsu clenched his teeth shut, trying his best to hide the upsetting expression planted on his face. He didn't want to show that his words got to him, although that might have already been too late. The only person Ritsu had ever revealed that to was his brother Shigeo and that was not until earlier today, so how? Ritsu shook his head from his thoughts. There was no time in trying to figure this out now.

He'd just have to beat the answers out of him.

"The only person standing in the way of my brother is you," Ritsu held his hand loose in front of him, concentrating his powers to the edge of his fingertips until it flickered like luminescent flames. "So step aside."

Aki raised his chin as he stood up, straightening himself a bit taller as he lowered his eyes down at Ritsu. "Hmmm, straight to the point. Maybe I have dragged this longer than I should have. No use in asking questions I already know the answer to, right? Why don't—"

Ritsu wasn't going to let him finish, if he wanted to end this, he needed to attack now while he has the chance. Whether it was dirty or dishonorable didn't matter to him. After all, this was the same person who had just ambushed them from the shadows with no remorse. With quick dash like movements of his telekinesis, Ritsu was able to get close to him. He swung his arm releasing his full force but nothing made contact.

Aki had slipped right through his strike by the mere brush of their skin. Ritsu made a startled yelp as his hair was tightly pulled and not a second later the air was knocked out of his lungs, shattering his barrier. Aki's knee etched into Ritsu's stomach, bruising his skin from the impact, leaving a tender pain in his core.

"Whoa, whoa there! You nearly had me. He was right about you, you're feisty!" exclaimed Aki, releasing his grip on the younger boy's hair, he quickly spun his leg around.

Ritsu watched a wide grin spread across Aki's face before his foot collided against his abdomen, constricting his already empty lungs once more and lunging him across the floor. He was left lying on his side coughing and heaving desperately for air. When he tried getting up, he was hit with a sudden dizziness that kept him still on his hands and knees. There was a pause, then suddenly Ritsu tightened his hand around his belly and vomited onto the pavement. It was unbearable.

"Eww, was that the soup from earlier? That's so gross."

Ritsu scowled, he was tired of this guy.

"How do you even know that— Just who the hell are you!" snarled Ritsu, spitting the nasty saliva from his mouth.

"Oh, now you want to ask questions? Are you trying to buy yourself time after realizing that you have no hope in winning? That's pretty desperate."

Ritsu detested how Aki gloated at his unforeseen victory. The way Aki made him look so pathetic took a blow on Ritsu's ego. It was completely humiliating. He wondered just how terrible he must look in this condition. Tremors shook throughout his body, with bruises and scrapes all over his arms and legs, cold sweat running down his face as he still panted for the necessary oxygen to fill his lungs.

Ritsu couldn't stand it!

His strategy had failed. A miscalculation; a careless mistake. It made him realize, this person had already been aware of his abilities.

"There's no way you could be finished with just those two blows." Aki waved his hands upward. "C'mon, let's get more acquainted. This can't be your full potential."

This was just a game to him, thought Ritsu as he sucked his teeth. He pushed himself up from the floor and stood back on his two feet. He was far from done and he wasn't going to let this person intimidate him.

Focus, Focus.

He took a deep breath and another barrier strengthened around Ritsu. "Alright then, if you won't tell me, I guess I'll play your little game."

The younger esper raised his defenses, arms up, hands balled into fist. This time he wasn't going to be hasty. He'll wait until he makes the first move, this was Ritsu's safest bet. What made this difficult was that Aki seemed to know a lot about Ritsu than he did about him, which left Ritsu at a huge disadvantage. Furthermore, based on the recent attack, this teenager seemed more experienced in close combat.

Ritsu wasn't really a fighter. Even when he awakened his powers, he solely relied on its strength to fight his battles. He had no real skill or strategy when it came to the physical part of the fight. He watched Aki closely and for a brief moment they had locked eyes.

The older teen flashed a smile, in an instant his movements blurred and Ritsu tensed, just barely making out his position. A wave exploded in the air as their barriers collided. Ritsu was able to evade the blow while at the same time countering the next hit with a force from his own arm, completely blocking the assault. They both stumbled back from each other.

"Not bad, you're pretty good." Aki praised.

Ritsu didn't care much to respond, his heart was pounding much louder in his ears than he would like to admit.

"Back at the house you were pretty vigilant too, for a brat. I wasn't expecting you to pinpoint my position so quickly. It was kind of annoying actually."

Ritsu furrowed his eyebrows, blinking with a sudden clarity. "So that was your aura I was sensing earlier." He lowered his eyes now, contemplating the past events. "But that doesn't explain how you knew what we were doing? That's unless…" Ritsu paused again, raising his head back to the older teen. "Unless, you were in the house with us."

"Well there's no use in denying it now." Aki shrugged. "My uncle was chewing down my throat because of you. Talking about how I was jeopardizing the entire operation and how I need to learn how to control my powers better and blah, blah, blah— God— I'm honestly glad it's all over. I think sneaking around is such a headache."

"That man is your uncle?"

"Oops, did I let that slip out? Whatever," He shrugged again, nonchalantly. Suddenly his mood changed, and his words became more serious. "That just gives me more reason to finish you off."

Another nearly invisible attack flashed by Ritsu, almost too fast to see clearly. If he hadn't stumbled on his feet it would have been too late. He quickly regained his balance, dodging the fast kick that swiped soon after, cutting the air in half with its psychic energy. Ritsu's barrier broke once again but no harm had been done to him. He quickly rushed to put up a new one. As long as the blows didn't make physical contact the barrier should be enough to absorb the impact from Aki's psychic power.

Aki didn't pull back any of his punches either. They were strong and focused but that also made them readable. However, that didn't matter because his attacks were equally fast and consistent. It barely gave Ritsu a chance to retaliate. He was left on the defensive, anticipating each strike with no rooms for error.

Failing meant losing his brother to these strangers without ever knowing why. The thought angered Ritsu more than it scared him. Which is why he continued to press on and fight with everything he had. Ritsu needed to win this fight!

Unfortunately, the young esper was becoming exhausted. With no rest since the day before, there was only so much his body would allow him to do. He was at his limit. Every breath Ritsu exhaled became heavier, his body slowed with each movement until finally after blocking the next attack he fell onto one knee.

"That's all you're capable of, huh?" Aki said with a disappointing shake of his head. With his sleeve, the teen swiped the sweat off his face. Aki knew he was close to exhaustion but that didn't stop him from standing taller than his younger opponent. "What a bore," Aki added, making his way to Ritsu, who was trying with the best of his ability to stand back up on his two feet. "Don't bother, I'll make this quick."

Ritsu raised his head up, watching helplessly as Aki was slowly closing in on him. He stood there frozen at the cold realization: he was going to be killed and Justice was headed in the same direction as his brother to do the same. Panic rose through Ritsu's chest.

This can't be happening!

Aki was standing over him now. He raised his leg up until his foot was a little above the younger esper boy's head.

"Goodbye."

The older teen concentrated his power in his right foot and dropped his leg down with enough pressure it could bash Ritsu's skull right open. A loud crack was made along with one horrific scream that echoed in the air. Aki made a confused face as he looked down. His foot had broken something but it wasn't Ritsu's head. Before he was given a chance to make another move, a sudden blow hit the older teen against his chest. It launched him several feet across the street until he bashed into a neighboring house.

Aki crawled between the rubble of wood. With blurry vision, he tried to raise his head to look over at Ritsu, trying to get a grasp of what had happened.

"What the hell…?" Aki wheezed. His grimace wide enough to reveal some bloody teeth by the edge of his mouth. If he wasn't angry before, he was surely pissed now.

Ritsu didn't look back up at Aki though, he remained still, subtly breathing to himself as if he had forced out the world around him. He just stood where he was with his head down. His left hand was cradling his shaking right arm, the long sleeve that once covered it was shredded and torn apart. A huge bruise could be seen pigmenting his swollen skin with dark pinks and purples about the size of a football, it covered the entire top of his forearm. He had been too late to form a protective barrier strong enough to block the blow, so instead he used his arm to shield his head. As a result, the shock and pain he received had been too much for him to handle, causing his powers to release around him rapidly.

Aki weakly sat himself up, trying to ignore the pain from his back and torso. He shuddered slightly as he tried to lean back onto his arms. He stared up at the cloudy grey sky, letting his head fall slightly with his neck.

"Ah! You're a fucking pain… doing some shit like that out of nowhere… after I thought you had given up," the teen was clearly still out of breath as he spoke.

He looked back at Ritsu, eyeing the rounded thick barrier that surrounded him. It was massive and it glistened with Ritsu's aura, vibrating vividly you could almost hear it. The teenager stood up, he walked to the barrier placing his hand on it.

"This was a desperate move, does this mean you plan on running away?"

Ritsu didn't dare speak, he was too busy biting back the whimpers from the stabbing pain in his arm. He was sure Aki had broken it but surprisingly Ritsu still could still move some fingers, even though doing so made his wrist burn like fire. Whether it was broken or fractured made no difference to Ritsu, either way, it was no use to him now. He was clearly in no condition to fight. Ritsu had lost. He was only still alive through the same miracle that had formed this barrier, subconsciously forced out of him with the last ounce of willpower he held onto.

A loud bashing noise caused Ritsu to finally look forward. There he saw Aki striking his barrier. Each thud and whack made Ritsu flinch, expecting the shield to break at any moment, which might be inevitable at this rate.

"Hey! Fucking respond to me when I'm speaking to you! If you think this barrier is enough to keep me out you have another thing coming— you can't hide in there forever!" Aki yelled violently. His threats became fuel to his attacks, every kick and punch smashed harder, creating cracks and dents on the surface.

Adrenaline pumped through Ritsu, his mind was racing, suddenly feeling numb to everything like his body was getting him ready for battle, or perhaps something worse. He needed to get out, get as far away from here as he can, live to fight another day because this match would surely kill him. Ritsu hissed as he let go if his right arm, allowing it to slump slowly to his side. With his good arm, he pushed against the ground and willed his legs to stand up once more. Just as he thought about turning to run, his legs wouldn't— no, they just couldn't. There was no way he could bring himself to abandon Reigen, much less leave his brother to the mercy of these people.

Ritsu chose to stand and face his enemy.

A fist busted through the hard barrier and it shattered like glass, the fragments dispersed until they were nothing but glitter and dust in the air. Breaking that barrier took more of his strength than he thought it would. Aki leaned forward with both hands on his knees trying to catch his breath, "Oh, what's this? I thought you'd run for sure."

"I thought so too," whispered Ritsu. His trembling arm felt numb now, pins and needles ran down from his lower forearm to his fingertips. He tried moving the weak hand experimentally but immediately jolted at the sharp pain that followed. It hurt— a lot actually! He swerved a step back, feeling lightheaded for a moment. "Damn."

Aki scoffed, "You're either stupid or insane."

"Maybe I am… who knows?" Ritsu mused, shaking his head, fighting the dizziness. "I'm not even sure at this point… how I plan to go about this." Ritsu blinked once, returning his attention back at the older teen, eyes sharp. A weary grin suddenly emerged from his lips, one that daunted Aki, making his foe grit his teeth nervously.

The storm had finally stopped.

"All I know, is that I won't let you leave here. Not without paying you back for what you did to my arm."

Author's Note's:

Wow I can't believe it has almost been 2 years since I've updated this story. I'm so sorry guys... T_T

I have some artwork I did for this chapter, if any are interested in viewing.

1) Please Be Alive! ( www. deviantart clori-eden /art/ Please-Be-Alive-780622640 )

2) Shield, A Last Resort! ( www. deviantart clori-eden /art/ Shield-A-Last-Resort-780623323 )