Kihara Amata was a very busy man.
Certainly, he is the busiest of them all. He had gone through hundreds of facilities and projects in his lifetime. Many of which are a success, creating some of the most prominent Espers and breakthroughs of their time. This earned him the status like no other who bears the name 'Kihara'.
But the current project he was affiliated with would become his greatest masterpiece. Even though the boy was only 12, he was already dubbed by every other scientist as the Greatest Esper of All Time, a rival for the Monster of Tokiwadai.
But that rivalry wouldn't last long. Within less than three years, these gaps between them would be practically nonexistent. Calling it a gap would undermine the true scale of the two. The boy's power would be so great, that truly nothing else would ever come remotely close to it.
SYSTEM was what it is called. Another name for something that is known as Level 6. A Level that was supposed to rival that of a God. Academy City's main purpose in their creation.
And for something so important as that, it was only natural for Kihara Amata to be so adamant on not messing up such an important task.
Though he was quite the lazy bastard, he wasn't so bad as to leave his work undone. He would spend hours to complete everything for that day, so that he could spend more time lazing around.
And when he was bored of not doing anything, he would find a way to do something.
This time, it was to raid his subordinate's work stations with the motive of 'Making sure there was nothing that could jeopardise the entire project'.
He rummaged through the desk. Tossing stuff out the way without a single care even when some of the item breaks. Staplers, duct tapes, scissors and nail clippings, all the likes he had tossed.
He then went through the drawers, doing the same things at the unimportant items that failed to seize his attention.
And then he stopped immediately.
In the drawer was an explicit item. It was filled with numerous colours. Though, he could not keep his eyes off the reds. His eyes narrowed, his lips twitched.
He picked the thing and eyed it close. "Porn mags." He grins, letting out a breath as he opens the thing. He opened it and was greeted with some spicy images.
"Yep." The man mused. Eyeing certain parts of the pages. He flipped it onto the next page. He hummed. "Boobs."
He shrugged and threw the magazine away before going back to searching the next desk. He gets pussies. Images don't feel as good compared to the real shit.
He mowed through each and every rank of desks he could. All done out of boredom that he could no longer contain.
He was broken out of his impulse by the sound of one of his subordinates coming in, almost slamming the door open. The Kihara glared at the sweating, heaving man.
"Did I not put you, specifically, in charge of supervising the collider?" He speaks with a hot breath. Nothing escapes his wrath. And this guy is standing on thin threads. One wrong step, and he's getting a free sex operation exchange at that very moment of time.
The man gulps. "S-sir," He immediately addresses. "T-there's an important order."
"Then spit it out." He exclaims angrily.
The man flinched, but proceeded still nonetheless. He cleared his throat. "W-we've gotten the order to release the Subject." Amata's eyes jerked, gazing right into his soul.
The Kihara pulled in a deep breath. He releases it slowly. "And exactly who sent the order?" He didn't give the man a room to answer, as not a second later he grabbed him by the collar. "Did they not remember that they already signed the fucking contract?!"
Angrily, the Kihara shoved the man down onto the floor before stepping over him. He stopped and leaned on a desk as the man beneath fixed his glasses with a shaky hand.
"I-it's not the b-board of directors." Reveals the man.
"Then wh-" He stopped dead in his tracks. He knew immediately who it was. "Give me a reason to not kill you right now, pulling up with lies like that." It wasn't the usual for him to give someone a chance, not when he was so very close to killing this man.
"A-a talking dog d-delivered the news."
Amata's eyes twitched. "Noukan."
Was it a coincidence that the 1st Ranked died not even 24 hours ago in an attack? There's no Espers stronger than the current 1st Ranked up until her death yesterday evening.
That wasn't a coincidence. No stars would dare to align just to bring this man to come out. He's at this phase again.
This shit only confirmed his burning suspicion.
Kihara Amata clicked his tongue out loud. Slamming his fist onto the table. "So close. We were so close." The Kihara seethes.
He turned around, pushing away the man. He briskly walked out the room and walked down a flight of stairs, rage pouring out of him like a stream of water. His footsteps were slammed against the metal stairs, loud in its presence.
He didn't understand why this was happening, but it is happening. He wonders whether the death of the previous 1st Rank has something to do with it.
He couldn't think of a reason why he would do it. But the man was unpredictable. You can never truly understand how he does his things. And the possibility of him doing the least rational of things was never so slim. So long as it benefitted whatever it is that he plans on doing.
One of them being the Drafting of his ancestors into Unit 747 during the 2nd world war. That one he can understand, but there were something in his words that somehow predicted the loss of the war.
He stood directly in front of a steel door. The doors in question were roughly 20 inches of pure steel, reinforced with a special kind of metal to prevent any attempts in breaking it. Especially by he.
He looked up and glared at a certain CCTV. It didn't take long before the beep was heard. Air rushed into the room with hiss as lights poured in. Inside was complete silence that was occasionally broken with flat pitch.
The boy sat atop his bedding, his right leg stretched out, barely touching the opposite wall. He leaned against the steel wall of his confines. His left eye was slightly open. A glazed ruby red eyes. It appears to be unimpressed. Cold was how he would describe it.
"Get up." The Kihara speaks. Nothing that resembles any forms of emotion were present within his voice.
His only opened eyes twitched, his lips twisted into a scowl. He got up with a slight groan. The boy was taking his time. And the man was not having any of it.
He stomped in, as if leaping directly at him. The boy could not voice his anger as his shoulders were pulled. The sharp pain in them had him winching.
"The fuck are you doing?!" The albino shouts as he is shoved out. He very nearly slammed against the wall of the corridor. He caresses his sore body, glaring heatedly at the man.
The boy would really like to- "Move it!" He screams, grabbing him by the nape. He was forcefully led through the corridor.
The boy grabbed him by the wrist, trying to get the hands off. Dare he not to use his ability, lest he try to ruin the things he's done. God knows how much time he's spent here.
He curses and insults his assailant, dragging him up the stairs into another hallway, down into the elevator, where he was again pushed in harshly.
"Calm the fuck down!" The albino screams.
"Shut it." Was the response he got.
The two of them are extremely furious. They did not hold themselves back in showing their boiling rage. The very space they were in felt like it was gonna melt.
Only when the Elevator stopped did the albino notice their surroundings. His nose was picking up dust. His anger was still present, but his surprises were apparent.
He was pulled out a hatch that he did not notice. And immediately the dust almost choked him if not for his barrier immediately taking actions. He was completely off guard at this moment. Feeling as if he's caught up exactly where he was being taken.
The place looked abandoned, but he'd notice some peculiar items that are out of place. The surveillance camera looked new. Even the boxes look pristine.
The massive iron gate, about to fall apart from the corrosion, opened in a surprising sense of smoothness, almost as if brand new.
This will be the first time he's ever seen the outside world in years.
The lights that poured in and the sights were both so very much mesmerizing and disappointing at the same time. The bland view of a broken up parking lot and the cloudy sky were not the big reveal he was hoping for, but who is he to complain when the fresh air went into his lungs? Even when it reeks, it is still better than the one down there.
The very same air that invigorates him back to life. The air of the outside world, coming from the trees of life. And not the same shit he had down there, where even the very air was artificially made.
He let out a satisfying exhale. He feels relaxed just by knowing that the world hasn't changed much. He could hear the distant sounds of cars from here. It calms him to hear something so familiar from distant memories.
"Tch, quit acting so dramatic and get the fuck out of here." He was broken out of his trance by the angry sound the Kihara gave off. He irritatedly looked back and glared. But then immediately his mind registers what his spoken words were.
The look of surprise and confusion painted all over his face were much too fast for the words. He didn't get to voice his surprise as the man already knew exactly what the boy was gonna say. "Ain't that the shit you wanted? Well there you fuckin' go."
He began to wonder why exactly this was happening. He watched as the blond man retreats back to the hole they came from. A thought surfaced up into his head. A terrified look etched across his face. "Yomikawa, my guardian, I swear if she-"
At that, the man merely rolled his eyes. "The bitch's alive, sucking on a tube. She's better off dead if you were to ask me." The hatch was opened, leaving a mark on the concrete floor. Before he went in, he began to snort. "Oh yeah, now that you're out, you'll be handling the hospital bills from now on. Get some work if you can, baby boy."
The boy's tense shoulder eased up. He let out an angry scowl, soon replaced by a worried look. "When I'm out of this place, you better be long gone. Because as soon as I see you, you'll be dead before my fucking feet, fucking brat."
The Kihara then descends down, leaving him alone in the ruins of this warehouse. The same can be said of the boy. They were no longer bound by contract, and it is only natural for him to feel this level of hatred for that man.
If he were to see him anywhere in public, not even a strand of Kihara Amata's hair would be left on the face of the earth.
He turned around towards the open space. He could feel the restrictions being released. He was finally out again. Free.
He took his first step with his right leg. His stride was slow, cautious, and deliberate. He didn't know how far to run yet. Perhaps he'd walk the long way around if he needs to. But for now, he just wanted to enjoy the feeling of the sun's warmth on his back.
He trailed along the broken up road, much of its fragments were chipped off of it. The buildings were rotting left and right. The smells of urine and blood were oozing out of the alleys. No signs of life were to be found around the place.
Except for a certain broken down building. He could see some lights coming from it, red in colour, like a fire. He approached it, hoping to find a person. He has no idea where he is. Hell, is he even still in Academy City? He does not know.
His hand made contact with the dusty wall. He peeked over the shattered parts of it, and found several people inside. There were a total of 11 people there, all males. Aside from three other people around them, they're all much older than he is.
He stepped in, and he was spotted not a second after.
The group stood up, wary at his sudden appearance. Several are holding on blunt objects and weapons. One has a knife, and another one has a gun.
The person who appears to be the leader of the group stepped over. "Who you is?" The guy asks, sounding aggressive.
The boy doesn't miss a single beat in not answering the question. Instead, asking one of his own. "Where am I?"
As keen as they were to ask the very first question, they don't seem to be any more adamant in not answering him. They just stared. Before laughing out loud like a bunch of complete retards.
Some were holding their stomachs from the sheer laughter he's having. Others just chuckle. A few weren't as amused. He, however, did not take this kindly. He could feel his eyebrow twitching.
They aren't gonna be stopping any time soon as it appears, there is no use sticking around with a bunch of hooligans like them. So he went back the way he came from.
A shot at the wall left it crumbling down. Dusts fly all over the place. It was fortunate that only a very small amount got in. There were steps coming from behind.
He watched from his side and saw a person tower over him. He stopped just right over his side. "Boy, I don't know which mental asylum you escaped from, but you've got to show some respect now that you're in our turf."
Again, his eyes twitched. They're provoking him. "I'm speaking to y-"
His words were cut short. No more words could come out of him. Not ever. Not when his vocal chords were no longer at the place they were supposed to be.
The body fell down, twitching and quivering, letting out sounds that no humans should ever make. He was still alive, his legs moving trying to escape. His hands wrapped around his neck.
On the boy's hand was a bloodied veins, sticking to it was skins and flesh as he threw the thing aside as if it was a dirtied rag. None of the blood tainted his palms.
They all watched in surprise at the gory sight. The colours on their face drains quickly. A sinister grin washed all over the boy's face.
"I didn't start this, now did I?" He grins. "You're all pissing me off earlier, laughing like a bitch. Where did the attitude go now, faggots?"
There was something different about his mentality. It was that blood no longer matters. It's sight were nothing but coloured liquids, and fucked up shit becoming the norm. Much of his days and nights were spent on kill or be killed.
It got to the point where he has distorted the line of okay and not okay.
Screams became music, and iron was his perfume. Red painted his world. And in them, was only himself.
He stuffed his right hand at his back, pushing the excess clothes back into the jeans. Out of all those clothings, he really did pick the one that does not fit.
He grumbled under his breath. He soon noticed a small stain of red on his collar. He was a bit messy earlier. He should've been a bit more careful with his onslaught. He wiped the stain with his fingers.
It feels weird to be walking in the midst of crowds again. And it feels even more weird to not be the centre of attention. It made him feel even more wary than he should be. Maybe it was just him being overly paranoid. You can't really blame him, the unknown circumstances of his sudden release is more than enough to justify the anxiety he's feeling.
There were occasional glances being thrown at him. He looked like a teenager in their depressed phase in life. Something that they would call an 'emo' and stuff alike, he heard from whispers of a few female passers-by. The black t-shirt and the long sleeved white shirt beneath had only amplified the effects.
He was as thin as a stick and pale as a sick person. The only thing more ghostly than his skin was his moppy hair. You could potentially mistake it for a cobweb had it not laid atop his head. They dropped down just below his ears, moving even from the slightest of winds.
He still couldn't seem to pinpoint his exact location within the city. He has no idea which part or even which District he is currently in. He had already spent a whole lot of time trying to ask others around but apparently they're too good to answer 'the likes of him'.
It was already hours since his release, and he is still nowhere near making any bits of progress. He sits at a nearby bench in the middle of a random corner he'd stumble upon. It's in some small neighbourhood that was rather out of touch.
He was an unknown person in this street, evident in the whispers of kids with their probing gazes before entering the warm comforts of their houses. Were they houses? Probably. He didn't know kids can live without supervision. They weren't that much older than he is too. He can only wonder what the requirements were.
He stifled a yawn and scratched the tip of his nose. The sky is turning red by the minute and he still hasn't decided where he will sleep tonight. Maybe he should go back into the abandoned district again and head for the rooftops.
As he was contemplating what to do next, an idea struck him straight in the head. He could check from the rooftops. All these times he was checking for familiar landmarks that he forgot of the sky.
The walls keeping these houses out are massive, and even more so for the buildings. He couldn't see past the buildings. But if he was higher than them…
The gravity around him were arrows, constantly going down. Suddenly they stopped. His baggy clothes pulled up as they flapped around as if they were being pulled by the winds. The gravity was inverted.
Slowly his legs let go of the ground. It was going slow until he fell into the endless sea of red and purple. His ears pricked at the change. It wasn't even 5 seconds later did he begin to reach terminal velocity.
He couldn't hear anything, as the winds dragged him into the vastness of the skies.
He'd gotten past the clouds. And that was enough height for him. His rapid acceleration towards space was abruptly stopped. He floats up above, as if he was floating underwater.
He looked down towards the awe-striking view of the city below. The dots here and there stand out in the harsh lines of the sprawling world. Beads of water can be seen pierced by the beams of light of the sun, creating a gradient along the city.
The walls surrounding the city looked small up here. The entirety of Tokyo, a city outside of the walls, looked even more bigger than anything's ever seen. Neon lights are everywhere. He didn't think that a city as backwards as that would be this bright.
He shook his head. He wasn't here to just sight see. He needed to figure out how to get back home.
He looked back at the windowless building. His old school wasn't too far away from the place. He hasn't explored much outside of district 7 back then, and he probably hasn't seen even half of the whole district. So there really wasn't much to recall.
His mental map has gotten dusty, but it is still just as good as it had been.
From here he could see his school and its many fields. Green in its park and white in its track fields. It wasn't too far away from the neighbourhood he was in earlier, but the whole place was blocked by thick lines of trees. No wonder.
He vividly recalls some corner turns and the streets he'd go through to get to the school. And there it was. The whole place looked the same. The parking lot is still larger than the whole thing. And the park to its front is still as lively as ever.
He exhaled as he felt his shoulder soften. Waves upon waves of nostalgia hits him. Memories really do have a mean right hook.
His body fell down in a calculated angle, rapidly increasing in its momentum. He made sure that the air he cuts through wasn't affected lest wants it to start burning. He slips into an alley undetected and he emerges out of it inconspicuously.
He crossed the street with his eyes glued towards the building. He felt himself holding in a tear. How much he had missed this place. How much had he longed to be back at this place.
It was a bad thing that he didn't have his key card. He would rather not break into the place. He doesn't wish to ruin his home like any sensible person should.
He let out a deep sigh. "Fucking Kiharas." He curses. He should've at least cracked the fucking bastard's shin back then and there while he still has the chance.
Actually, he still does. He could go back and do just that. Yeah, fuck it. He turned around. He'll castrate that nigg-
"You…"
A loud gasp. And a rustling of a bag. He's heard that voice before. It came from behind. His eyes wide. An unknown feeling came over him.
His head turned fast enough that his neck started to ache. "... Is that… really you?" The woman says. Her hands covering her mouth, slightly quivering.
Her shoulder length hair has gotten a bit longer, touching past her shoulder. She seemed smaller than he could remember. Maybe it was him who has grown, but there were certainly other physical changes.
She looked much paler than before, and skinnier maybe. Her hand stretches, as if to reach the unreachable. There were glints coming from her eyes. She was trying to say something, but she broke into a sprint instead.
Yoshikawa Kikyou embraced him with a whimper. He returned it. "Hi, auntie."
New Shit Next Week!