THE RISING SUN

I awoke to the smell of anesthetics and slowly picked myself up from the bed, holding my head with my right hand in confusion. Where... am I? I wearily opened my eyes to find myself in a dark hospital room laying in a bed. On the left side of my bed there was a lamp, I tried to reach out with my left arm but was stopped by a stinging pain. Looking down at my arm, I saw that it was in a cast. So that idiot broke my arm huh? Seriously, even without his powers he doesn't know the meaning of holding back. Minutes later the door opened and a recent acquaintance of mine walked in. "Kihara Ayumi. I guess you're here to tell me how crappy a guardian I am huh?" A beautiful green hair girl wearing her Nagatenjouki uniform with a dark blue winter coat over it. Her hazel eyes were hidden by light reflecting off her large round glasses, but I was sure she was staring coldly into my soul.

She put her index finger to the side of her head, rubbing her temple in irritation. "Seriously I've never seen someone who looked so happy after having their face caved in." True to her statement, I couldn't help but have a large smile on my face.

"Well if you think about it, I challenged a level 5 by myself and got away with only a broken arm! I consider myself lucky!" I sarcastically replied.

She remained silent for a while, as if trying to analyze something. "I don't get you. Sometimes you're existence is nothing worth mentioning and the next time I see you you do some interesting things. What are you, bi-polar?"

I couldn't help but laugh at the statement. "Hahahaha! I guess you have a good point there."

"I thought you were going to retort with something like 'I don't want to hear that from you!' or some variation."

"Normally I would but I feel great right now. Not much can really damper my spirits."

She sat down in one of the chairs adjacent to the bed. "Is that so? That's good, because of your stupidity last night, the Institute is now reevaluating your worth."

"The leash for Gunha huh?" It made me think. "What about the other Level 5's?"

"#1 isn't a problem, at least for now. #2 has started to bring some unrest with the higher ups, but hasn't made a move against them, yet. #3 isn't a threat. #4 has the same problem as #2 but is less priority. #5 has been quiet recently. The level 5's are Academy cities pride and sword, but the Board fears that one day they will bear their fangs at them, So they invested in some 'insurance' to make sure they can handle it should the situation arise." You skipped one...

She wore a displeased expression when she said all this. "Why do you look so unhappy about it?"

"Cause they're all a bunch of fucking idiots. They're all content with the means to an end. Level 6, System, Tree Diagram...FIVE_Over. It's all fucking stupid."

I've never heard of FIVE_Over. I was curious now. "Didn't you become a scientist to reach that kind of goal?"

"Not that kind of goal that will undoubtedly bring changes to the world. They're all impatient to bring about a new age when we haven't seen all the possibilities of this one. I'm not saying the thought of Level 6 isn't exciting, I just don't want it yet. I'm just as interested in the experiment as I am the results." she sighed. "I'm rambling like an idiot now. Not very Kihara like."

"So?" I'm glad she opened up to me a bit, even if it was unintentional, but, "Who cares what you do is Kihara like or not?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you an idiot? I'm a Kihara."

"Yeah but that's not all you are. You're Kihara Ayumi."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

I sighed and shook my head. "For someone who's picking a fight with the Kihara Family, you sure take pride in your name. Listen, Before your a Kihara, you're a human. Before you're a Kihara, you're a girl. Before you're a Kihara, you're Kihara Ayumi! You should prioritize yourself more than anyone else." look at me, acting all sensei like!

I couldn't really get a good look at her face, but she started to cover her face with her hand. Is she face-palming! Was I that bad?

"I-isn't that j-just selfish thinking?" she stuttered! Kihara Ayumi just stuttered! And it was so cute! No! Control yourself Kouta! I need to amend the situation!

I waved my hand frantically, "T-that's okay! I think it's okay to be selfish! People act on selfish desires all the time that seem like selfless acts all the time." I thought about what I wanted. "Personally I just want you to prioritize your feminine side more. Coupled with your cute voice, you can steal any man's heart."

...

...

...

I said that out loud, didn't I? Though I couldn't see her face due to her hand still being over it, I could feel the killing intent emanating from her body as the temperature was steadily rising. Crap crap crap! I'm dead! I'm going to die! I'm going to burn to death in a hospital!

But the attack never came. In fact, the temperature lowered and she finally removed her hand from her face. "We're getting off topic here." Eh? I'm not dead? Did she not hear me? No, she definitely heard me. So is she just choosing to ignore it for now and burn my body later? A barrage of possibilities passed through my head, all leading to a Bad End. "Due to your actions, they have put their plans for #7 on hold. For now, they don't think you are a good enough leash for Sogiita Gunha."

I stopped my internal panic and looked at her. "That's good for you. In the end I still helped you against the Kihara Family."

She stood up and headed to the door, "That's all I wanted to say."

"That's fine. See you later Kihara san." Yes! I'll live to see another day!

"...Ayumi is fine..." she walked out the door before I had time to respond. Just Ayumi? No honorifics? What the hell is wrong with that women? I decided not to think about it and looked at the clock. 0700 huh. Probably not many people are here. Wait, do they even allow visitors at this time of night? I decided to get up and get something to drink to clear my thoughts. Walking through the dark hallways I saw the light of the sun peering over the cityscape horizon through the large windows. A rising sun huh? It's really refreshing.

"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" My thoughts were halted by a deafening scream. I ran toward the scream not thinking about what to do when I get there. I arrived in front of a patient's room, loud violent noises going on behind it. Wait. Now that I'm here, what am I going to do? I don't look very threatening in a hospital gown and arm cast. "SUCH MISFORTUNE!" That voice!

I instinctively opened the door and ran in. "Kamijou-san are you al-" All my higher thought processes were halted by the unusual scene before me. Kamijou Touma in a full body cast being carried by a beautiful busty women with a stylish ponytail wearing something I never thought I would see with my own two eyes. "T-t-t-t-t" I couldn't get the words out and was steadily losing blood from my nose. "THE FALLEN ANGEL ERO MAID!"

I awoke in my hospital bed again. Wait, again? I tried to retrace my steps from when I woke up the first time. I woke up, talked to Kihara-san, and went to get some water. But I kept drawing a blank after that. Why do I get the feeling I'm forgetting something really important... It's right there... On the tip of my tongue...I almost got it...There was a scream and then...

I was interrupted by the loud noise of a door being swung open, "YO KOUTA I HEARD YOU'RE AWAKE NOW!"

Sogiita Gunha, your timing is impeccable. "YOU IDIOT! I WAS SO CLOSE TO REMEMBERING SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT!" I realized my outburst was unjustified, but I couldn't help myself as the beautiful memory fully escaped my mind.

Gunha laughed off my outburst, "Amazing! You're really full of guts aren't you?" Gunha was no longer wearing his normal outfit. Instead he wore a white hoodie with a small rising sun symbol on the right side and white slacks.

"And who's fault do you think that is?"

He puffed out his chest with pride, "Mine, of course!"

Don't act all proud for beating my face in! Still, the smile on my face remained. "Thanks Gunha. I really needed that."

He replied with a grin. "Anytime!" He sat down in the chair and looked out the window of my room. "So, what are you planning to do with those newfound guts of yours?"

"To be honest, I have no idea. I thought about pursuing my original dream."

"An all around hero right?"

"Yeah but, I can't do that."

"Oi."

I chuckled at his slight irritation, "No, I don't mean it it like that. I realized something as I grew up. There are different kinds of heroes. There are those who save people from danger. There are those who attract other to them and act as someone who they can look up to and emulate. There are those who will always be there for others and fight for their sake. There are those who protect who are unable to protect themselves. There are even those who, despite all odds, stand on the stage and come out on top just for the sake for their loved ones. All types of heroes. Maybe I can be an all around hero. Maybe I can be a hero who fights to redeem himself for his past actions. But," I tightly clenched my right hand. "That's not the kind of hero I'm aiming to be, not anymore."

"So what kind of hero are you aiming to be?"

I turned to face him, feeling the heat of the orange mourning sun beating on my back. "Isn't obvious? I'm going to be a hero that only I can be. A hero that only Kazeyare Kouta can be."

A/N: Cheesy? Like Nacho cheese! Over already? Well somewhat. This chapter of their reunion is over but can they really return to what they had before? People are always changing. For better or worse so can this 'friendship really still hold? Or is it just an Illusion both are struggling to make into reality? Hopefully you understand our 'hero' Kouta a bit better but in all honesty, you're here for some Guts! Well then look forward to the next few chapters!

This is Sargent Crash

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