Chapter 1: End of the Beginning

"Good morning, Nishino!"

"Good morning to you, too."

"Good morning, Senpai!"

"Thank you, good morning."

Akane Nishino greeted her classmates as she walked through the school entrance after being dropped off by her driver. It was another day of school and things were looking to be just as predictable and ordinary as the last. Making it to the locker room, she witnessed the same scene as the many days before of a boy standing in front of his locker, dropping his duffel bag onto the floor. She internally sighed and readied herself for what would inevitably come next.

"Good morning, Kageno."

If someone were to even bother comparing the boy to her she would find it insulting. Unlike Akane, his grades were unremarkably below average, as was his athleticism. If there was one word she would use to describe him, it would simply be 'mediocre'. The boy turned to look at her while he opened his locker hearing Akane's voice. He smiled at her.

"Good morning, Nishimura."

…

"Excuse me, Kageno."

"What is it, Nishimura?

Akane kept her cool as the boy placed one of his pairs of shoes in his locker.

"My name…It isn't Nishimura."

"What?"

Akane continued smiling at him innocently while he appeared to be genuinely surprised at hearing that. Seeing that made one of her eyes twitch slightly.

"My name…It isn't Nishimura. It's-"

"Oh, hold on, I remember now."

She internally made a sigh of relief. Maybe he wasn't so hopeless after all.

"You are technically a named NPC, aren't you?"

"'Named' what?"

His response almost gave her a puzzled expression, but Akane refused to show it.

"Sorry, I'm just talking to myself. I'm pretty good at remembering the names of all the important characters. But I haven't been getting enough sleep…"

What the? Important characters? What is he even on about?

"...So I guess I got careless."

"A careless mistake, I see."

Akane nodded at the boy's words while he closed his locker and picked up his bag. If this was how he chose to remember how to say her name properly she could live with it. Before he only had what, about 3 months in class sitting next to each other to remember her name?

"That's okay, everybody makes mistakes."

"Yeah, sorry…Nishitani."

My name is not Nishitani, jerk!

"It's Nishino. My name is Akane Nishino."

She mentally facepalmed as she introduced herself once more to him, hoping she'd finally get it through that lead skull of his. He gazed at her for a few seconds after hearing that name, leading to an awkward standoff between the two that only ended when they heard the bell ring.

"Oh, well, see you later, Nishimura."

HOW DID YOU EVEN GO BACKWARDS?! IT'S NISHINO!

As he walked away from her heading to class she finally dropped her smile revealing a scornful expression. This wasn't even the thing she hated most about him. Despite making 'eye contact' with her his eyes were always just so distant, as if he was looking at something else and completely disregarding her. Not just that, but they also felt so…empty. She didn't know how to describe it, but just the way his eyes betrayed that smile he would give to her. Walking to class her mind remained fixated on his eyes wondering just what he was really thinking.

That was one of two interactions between the two for the day that she would be aware of.

He's not answering the phone.

By the time Akane left school after doing make-up work, the night had already fully set in. Walking through the streets with only the moonlight and lampposts to illuminate her surroundings wasn't something new to her, but it had been years since she'd last done this. Ever since…She would rather not dwell on that thought.

Step

Akane's heart dropped upon hearing what sounded like a footstep right behind her. She turned rapidly, trying to find the source, but her eyes met nothing.

Why did he not answer the phone?

Dread started to slowly build up within her, but she was able to calm herself down. Taking a deep breath she turned back around intending to pick up her pace, but instead she bumped directly into the chest of a stranger.

Huh?

She immediately stepped back, looking at the large figure in shock. The man looked down on her, further solidifying her physical inferiority.

"Akane Nishino, I presume?"

His voice felt like sandpaper to Akane's ears. She wasted no time turning around and sprinting away from the stranger who didn't even bother to give chase.

Why?! How?!

She made a right turn and as soon as Akane turned the corner a car pulled up in front of her, the headlights blinding her.

No, not again!

The driver's side door opened up and another man came out who immediately lunged at her. Akane tried running back the way she came but the first man somehow was already behind her leaving her surrounded.

"NO!"

Akane was grabbed from behind and had a cloth violently shoved into her face by the second man who grabbed her by the arm in an attempt to make her stop struggling against his hold. She was starting to tear up as she thrashed around, finding it harder to stay conscious as whatever was inside the cloth was starting to take effect.

No…Please…

Before Akane fell unconscious she looked ahead of the man standing in front of her. She thought her mind was playing tricks on her as she saw a figure standing in the distance just barely visible from a lamppost. She could have sworn he was just staring right at her while she was being abducted. Not just any random person, she vaguely made out the school uniform, the short black hair, and the…the eyes…

Akane's last thoughts before she fell unconscious were of why Minoru Kageno was watching her abduction.

"Mmph!"

Akane woke up with a startle, disorientated by her new surroundings. From what she could tell, she was laying down on the floor of an empty warehouse right below a skylight, arms bound and with a cloth tied around her mouth. The moon was her only source of light this time around and the longer she tried observing where she was the more she was panicking.

No no no no no not again. Not again!

Her brief moment of solitude was broken when she heard a mocking laugh coming from ahead of her. Getting into a sitting position and narrowing her eyes she could see through the darkness the same two men that abducted her. One was sitting down on a metal beam and was the source of that laughter while the other was quietly leaning against a pole. Now that he seemingly got her attention the man sitting down began to get up.

"You know you shouldn't do that. The daughter of the head of the Nishino Zaibatsu, wandering the streets alone at night. You might get caught by some unsavory characters."

The other man turned his head toward Akane after his partner finished. His neutral and factual tone contrasted the other man's mockful and aggressive one.

"Just stay there. Do not try anything. We already sent the ransom note. As soon as we get our money, you're free to go."

"Or that's the cover story anyways. Seems your dad made a lot of enemies."

Hearing that made Akane shift uncomfortably as she now thought the men wanted more than just money from her. The memories of what happened once before started to come back and she started breathing heavily against her gag.

"Hey, shut it."

"Huh? You shut it, outsider. You think you can talk down to me?"

"I said stop talking, you outdated gangster cliché."

She witnessed the two men going back and forth for a while, neither side better than the other. After a few minutes of petty squabbling followed by more time of silence eventually the man who was laughing at Akane started approaching her with a frustrated expression.

"This is so annoying. I finally caught my lucky break, and now it's all ruined."

His face started to shift to a disgusting smile. Her body shook as she tried moving away from him the best she could in her bindings.

"Why don't you make me feel better? Gimme a little fan service."

Her eyes started to tear up as one of her worst fears seemed to be coming true. Her shivering became more pronounced.

"I'll start with that pretty little mouth of yours."

He went to grab at her face but she jerked her head back violently as he touched her, surprising him. That initial shock however quickly turned to anger as he became more aggressive.

"Don't you DARE fight me!"

Before Akane realized it she was slapped across the face by the man making her cry out in pain. Her chin was lifted up by the man and he forced her to look at him.

"This should be familiar to you. It's your second time being kidnapped, after all."

Akane's eyes widened further as she looked at his eyes. More memories of the previous event started to run through her head making her shaking worse. She was finding it harder to breathe as he continued.

"That last guy was a stalker right? I'll give you much better memories than him."

Akane reached her breaking point. She began screaming as loud as she could against her gag but it was no use. All it came out as were desperate whimpers and pleas that went unheard, at least as far as the two men were concerned.

"Stop struggling! Nobody is coming!"

Before those words could really be registered by Akane, the situation was interrupted by footsteps suddenly being heard on the rooftop. The man who was just about to begin undressing her let go and stood up looking suspiciously above their heads. The skylight that once simply showed the moon shining in the night sky was now covered by a lone figure standing over it, holding a duffel bag.

"What?! I mean, who's there?!

The figure simply dropped the bag by the skylight. Akane sat up from her former apprehensive position to get a better look. As she thought she was going to get more clarity, a loud crash was heard as the mysterious stranger broke through the skylight sending shards of broken glass down towards her. Akane flinched and jerked her head down to avoid any of the broken glass getting on her face.

When she heard the final pieces of glass fall, and the dust cleared from the dramatic entrance, she looked back and saw the stranger facing the man just about to defile her. He wore plain black pants and a long sleeved shirt with a matching ski mask. His calm stance differed from the criminal's worried and angry one.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"Me? I'm just a Stylish Ruffian Slayer."

Stylish Ruffian Slayer?

Ignoring that odd introduction for the time being, his voice was also calm, much like the other man before that told that pervert to shut up. But to Akane there was more to it than that. He sounded…confident.

"Stylish…Ruffian Slayer…"

After that brief moment of being stunned he reached towards the back of his waistband.

"Don't get cute with us, damnit!"

Before he could even point the handgun he just drew towards the Stylish Ruffian Slayer, the masked man flung a piece of broken glass at the man's hand using a speed that Akane could barely make out. It had the precision of a throwing knife, lodging itself into the back of the man's hand. As the kidnapper cried out in pain, He quickly followed up on it ,rushing towards the man and grabbing him by the waist with momentum that he was not ready to counter and threw him violently into the ground.

"Too much pointless movement. Your guard is way down."

The man groaned in pain as he was effortlessly outdone by the Ruffian Slayer. He didn't even have a chance to recover as his face was stomped on by Akane's savior, bringing him out of commission.

"I see…It looks like you have some idea of what you're doing, Stylish Ruffian Slayer."

The second man, who had just been watching the entire scene amusedly, got the newcomer's attention. Turning to face the next abductor, he was greeted by the barrel of a gun, which the criminal promptly dropped on the ground.

"You know, I've been incredibly bored since I was booted from the army. Doing these little easy kidnappings, partnering with an utter amateur. This country is too fucking peaceful."

Akane watched on in both fear and growing intrigue of the coming fight, but also she worried for her savior. The man he beat previously was around his size and not as well built, but this other man was trouble. He stood a full head taller than the Ruffian Slayer and despite being covered he was noticeably muscular beneath it all.

"I see…I've always wanted to fight a soldier…"

"I welcome the challenge, Stylish Ruffian Slayer!"

The criminal drew his own knife and proceeded to lunge at him, forcing the hero to go on the defensive, dodging all of his strikes with great success until one of the slashes made contact. It grazed the hand of the Ruffian Slayer, forcing him to distance himself from the fight. Akane watched as the man laughed to himself as he looked at his knife, now slick with a slight amount of blood along the edge, which he licked up with demented joy.

"I can never go back now that I know…How good this feels!"

The man rushed at the Stylish Ruffian Slayer once more. Before his knife could even make contact with his face, the masked man swiftly drew a crowbar. Akane watches the sudden block in utter awe, eyes wide as her savior begins applying more pressure against her abductor. The larger man stumbled back in surprise as their weapons locked, not expecting such a counter. With how loud the fight was becoming, Akane wasn't able to hear their conversation as well as before, only being able to make out something her savior said about crowbars and their utility. Pulling out a second crowbar from seemingly nowhere, the two began clashing, steel against steel. Akane remained almost transfixed by the fighting she was witnessing, almost discarding the fear from her current predicament. Even though it was a pretty close fight, the Stylish Ruffian Slayer had the advantage. He had managed to disarm the criminal, leaving the burly man to continue the fight with his fists.

I've never seen crowbars used in such a way. He is wielding them like tonfas…

Akane flinched when the Ruffian Slayer blocked a particularly hard kick from his opponent, forcing him to kneel on the floor in an attempt to recover.

"All I have to do is protect my head from your strikes and I'll be fine, but if I land just one hit on you, you're done for."

The man laughed loudly to himself again and Akane looked over at her savior in concern. Because of the mask, she wasn't able to read his expression well, but she could see the worry in his eyes.

"You make a good point. At my current level, former military is still a bit challenging for me. That's the truth."

Hearing that made the man's smile grow wider, the words stroking his ego. At least, that was until he continued.

"That just means I have to get more serious."

The man's smile broke off, quickly morphing into confusion as the Stylish Ruffian Slayer got off the ground.

What is he going to do now? Will he really win this?

Both of Akane's questions were answered in no time, her hero tossing one of his crowbars forward towards the man, before grabbing it out of the air, holding it in a more conventional grip. His opponent raised his hands to protect his face just like before, but now the results were different- the Stylish Ruffian Slayer slammed the crowbar into the back of his opponent's left hand using the heel of its 'L'. A loud crack rang throughout the warehouse.

For the first time in the entire fight, the man cried out in agony. He made a desperate final attempt to counter, but instead ended up getting smacked across the face by the back of the Ruffian Slayert's hand, sending him reeling back a couple steps. Akane looked on in a mixture of relief and horror at the sudden shift in tides of the fight. The look of fear on the criminal's face as he clutched his broken hand only heightened those feelings.

"You beat up bikers with a crowbar?! You're the Balaclava Berserker?!"

Balaclava Berserker? Does he have other names?

Akane tried piecing information together from what she could make out as the two fought, now her savior being in the obvious advantage.

"They recently started wearing helmets, so it wouldn't kill them if I hit them in the head. And…the solution I found to that problem…"

The wounded kidnapper backed away in horror before his eyes caught on the gun his partner dropped a while ago. Throwing any pride he seemingly had before out the window he jumped towards it. Just as his opponent wanted.

"...was to stop using crowbars as tonfas…"

The Ruffian Slayer sprinted at him as he reached for the gun. Just as his fingers grazed the edge of the pistol, one of the Stylish Ruffian Slayer's crowbars struck the ground next to it, forcing him to retract his hand.

"...Because using them as a club…"

Using the abductor's hesitation against him, he hooked the end of the crowbar around that hand and brought it up, forcing the man to face him.

"...Is far more effective!"

The once seemingly formidable man was now reduced to simply prey. He stood no chance against this monster… A crowbar slammed into his shin, producing a sickening crack that made Akane look away in horror. The strike made him fall to his knees, screaming once more in agony. Akane flinched and closed her eyes as she began to hear more and more sounds of the crowbar meeting flesh only being outheard by the man's screams for mercy.

Akane lost track of how many times she heard the now probably barely alive man be hit and was almost considering taking a look for herself when she heard the beating cease. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by her 'savior' crouched in front of her holding a switchblade towards her mouth. Her face paled at the sudden closeness.

"Don't move"

How did I not even hear him approach me?! Was he even trying to save me?!

The new fears sprouting in her head about this stranger's motivations were quickly cut short when a sudden swift motion of the blade left Akane's gag falling away from her face. Another slash and the bindings fell with it.

Akane was left momentarily dazed at her sudden liberation and she couldn't stop herself from just looking at him still in fear and surprise. She shakily rose from her sitting position maintaining what eye contact she could. Being underneath the broken skylight gave her a better look of him and she was able to clearly see his black eyes staring sharply into her through the holes of his balaclava. Without a visible expression, she was left to judge from just his eyes- she thought he was looking at her in a mixture of pity and…disappointment?

No, that can't be right. Why does he-

"Be more careful next time, alright?"

The masked man's sudden words broke Akane's thought process as he moved past her and towards the exit of the warehouse. She remained in the same position for a few seconds, lost in her own feelings about what had just happened to her.

"...H-Hold on, wait."

The girl turned her head back to look at where her savior had gone, but was met with silence.

He was already gone.

Who…What?

Akane rubbed her eyes in disbelief. When she lowered her hands, nothing changed. The girl was left alone and distraught in a warehouse, with the two unconscious bodies of her kidnappers.

I didn't even get the chance to say thank you… Kageno…

I got cut…

Minoru made it to the front steps of his house around the reasonably early time of just past 12am, thinking over the past couple hours on repeat while walking. It didn't actually take a lot of time to get home whatsoever, so he purposefully made sure to take the longest route possible to get back at a time where his parents were already asleep.

I got cut…

As he unlocked and opened the front door his mind continued to be plagued by his fight with that former soldier in the warehouse, the same scene playing over and over again.

I got cut…

Closing the door behind him gently he put down his duffel bag, which he had still been carrying, and his neutral face immediately turned to one of frustration. He covered his face in his hands in shame and groaned into them.

I GOT CUT!

Years he trained his technique, years he has been honing himself physically, years he's been improving his reflexes, but despite it all he still got a small cut from that man's knife during their fight!

"I could have done better than that. How did I screw that up so badly?"

His optimistic side tried to cheer him up by saying that it was his first fight against former military, but it did little when facing the legion of dissenting thoughts.

I got cut, it doesn't matter if it was a small one. He was able to land a hit on me and actually put some pressure on me before I beat him.

He shook his head in annoyance. This was an insult to himself. He could not tolerate that screw up of a performance! Even though he was able to help Nishino, he portrayed himself as someone who is vulnerable to physical harm!

And that ending! I should have just cut her bindings and left without saying another word. Why did I give her the chance to look at me for that long? Why did I-

"Minoru?"

Before Minoru could rip more into his faults during tonight's fight, he flinched as the voice of a woman who happened to be watching him interrupted his thoughts. She was still standing by the front door from the living room couch.

"Mom? You're here? And you're…"

He looked over at her and saw her clearly concerned and exhausted face. She must have been waiting for him this entire time. The frustration that was on his face melted away and a more melancholic and guiltful look took its place.

"What took you so long? This is the latest you've ever made it home."

She got up from the couch and Minoru couldn't help but lower his head and look at the floor. He didn't expect her to actually stay up that long to wait for him. She did this other times before, but he would just come home at a later time the next time around and so far just past 12am was the perfect time.

"I-I sort of got caught up in stuff. Just lost track of time I guess…"

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly while still avoiding eye contact. He really did not want to be speaking to her now, he knows how this will end.

"Are you okay?"

"Eh?"

"I asked if you were okay."

She spoke softly to him which only served to hurt him more. In his mind he knew and she knew he didn't deserve this kindness.

"Yes. I was practicing the piano in school. I sort of, well not sort of. I really lost track of time. I promise not to make that mistake ag-"

Before he could continue any more with covering up his activities he felt the arms of his mother wrap around his shoulders and pull him gently to a hug. The act alone made his body shake a bit as her warmth and comfort made him realize how tired he also is.

"You don't have to lie to me, Minoru. I know how tired you have been lately. All I ask is for you to please be careful."

Hearing his mother's understanding made his head drop again in even more shame. He didn't reciprocate the hug as his mind was occupied with his own thoughts.

She doesn't know…She forgave me when she didn't know…

"It's…been hard for us all, even now. Some days it just feels like she-"

"I'm so sorry for keeping you up."

Minoru quickly interrupted his mother before he finished not wanting to hear what his mother was going to say next. He's heard it plenty of times already and it didn't make things any less painful.

"It's alright, Minoru."

His mother didn't seem to be upset at the interruption, his redirection was a success. She let out a content sigh as if hearing his apology made staying up this long worth it. She let go of her son soon after and saw Minoru still looking at the ground.

"Minoru, look at me."

He obeyed his mother and turned his head up to finally face her properly, seeing her face showing nothing but worry and also happiness that he was back safely. It didn't help his mind at all.

"I won't stop you from doing whatever it is you're doing anymore. We both know your father and I wouldn't be able to anyways. You were always the most stubborn one."

Minoru bit his tongue to avoid countering that. She wasn't wrong, but hearing that just made him feel even worse.

"Just remember, we love you and don't want to see yourself getting even more hurt."

…I don't deserve any of you…

"Your dinner is in the kitchen, just heat it up okay? Goodnight, Minoru."

Without another word his mother turned around and started walking away to go to sleep. After she was out view Minoru started to shake again slightly as he was picking at the interaction the two just had.

I keep on disappointing them, and they still forgive me…

He sighed, trying to compose himself. After taking a few deep breaths he decided to drop his stuff off at his room before going to eat. Picking up his bag and making his way over to his bedroom he saw the room next to his have its door left slightly open.

Her room…

He didn't bother questioning the reasoning and made it to his room putting his bag away.

As he exited he passed by the room again.

"Minoru?"

He flinched at the sound and turned towards the door still slightly ajar. The whisper was just barely audible, if he had taken just another step he wouldn't have heard it.

What does she want from me?

Minoru went over to the door and peered through the other side only being met by complete darkness. He considered whether or not he should go inside and see what she wanted.

It might be important. What if she nee-

Right before he could finish forming that thought he decided to just ignore her voice and continued on his way to the kitchen. Now that that was all over with he could focus on more important matters, mainly on what happened to Akane.

He was sure she wouldn't be upset about the way he was ignoring her tonight in the morning, after all, this wasn't the first time he let her down.

"Good morning, Nishino!"

"Good morning to you, too."

"Good morning, Senpai!"

"Thank you, good morning."

Akane Nishino greeted her classmates as she walked through the school entrance after being dropped off by her driver. It was another day of school, and things were looking to be just as predictable and ordinary as the last. Making it to the locker room, she witnessed the same scene as the many days before of a boy standing in front of his locker, dropping his duffel bag onto the floor. She let out a sigh, but on the inside she could barely hold back her smile as she looked at her savior. If he wanted to keep this identity a secret, the least she could do for him was let it stay that way.

"Good morning, Kageno."

Minoru turned to Akane as he opened his locker, giving the same smile as he did the day before.

"Good morning, Nishino."

"That is not my na-…Eh?"

Akane blinks in confusion and her black eyes look at him with a puzzled expression.

He…He said my name correctly.

Minoru continued putting his things away while looking at Akane and she could see other small differences with his appearance. His once dull black eyes looked directly at her, clearly no longer so distant, and his smile seemed a bit more genuine.

"Huh?"

"O-Oh it's nothing!"

Akane blushed and let out an awkward laugh at his response. Her fake smile which she would have everyday now became real for a moment.

Kageno is like me. Living his daily life behind a mask for the sake of others.

"Alright then, goodbye."

Minoru abruptly responded as he closed his locker and picked up his duffel bag starting to head upstairs to class leaving Akane alone to watch him go up.

Looking back on that day later Akane sighed in disappointment and sorrow. She was never able to get closer to him after that incident. She was sure they would have had many other things in common even if not so obvious on the outside, but it all was cut short.

After all, she didn't expect her hero to get killed that same day.