by Ash Masters
*
They rode in silence, Kioshi facing the window so that Junichi couldn’t see as much of him as he wanted.
‘So...’ Kioshi said, staring at darkness.
‘So.’ His father said.
‘I guess we’re alike now huh?’
‘I guess... I don’t think it’s a good look to wear two eye-patches though.’
Kioshi smiled. ‘Maybe one of the masks people where when they sleep?’
‘That would certainly look better. I suppose... you want to know how I lost my own eye don’t you?’
‘I think I’ve earned it.’
‘Yeah... It was towards the end of Akira’s takeover. By this time many of the people of Shinjuku had been taken over and the Keys who had once lived with us had turned with us. The Advanced Tier Keys known as the Reapers were gone and so us Humans were at Akira’s mercy. He used his army of Keys to begin to wipe us out. Genocide. His plan was to make a race of pure super-powered people – a precaution for war I suppose.
The people fighting against him had an upper hand though many didn’t know it and that was–’
‘Yamato.’
Junichi sighed. ‘Yeah. Though, I don’t know how you know this.’
If Kioshi could see he would be staring at himself on the reflection of the window. Without his power active, his eyes were nothing more that two grey balls in his skull. ‘I saw it.’
1988 – SHIBUYA
Junichi darted around the corner of the counter, forcing his back against the wood in an attempt to both find cover and recover his breath. He fought to keep his erratic breathing tamed so as not to expose his position and after a long silence it seemed to him that he had succeeded.
His guard dropped.
‘Damn it...’ He hissed. His fists met the hard wood several times. ‘Damn it!’
‘Over here!’ A voice echoed in the distance followed by the storming of many footfalls.
‘Shit!’ Junichi breathed, scrabbling as quietly as he could until his feet, cutting his fingers on broken glass from a paining that had been on the wall behind him. He balanced on his rifle, keeping his head ducked and then counted the seconds until he would be found. He was determined to keep his wit and tactical mind and not let the unique situation overthrow his determination to see the battle to the end.
A loud “boom” like the release of compressed air followed by glass exploding, sending miniature glass daggers flying in Junichi’s direction, striking the wall before raining down on him, getting tangled in his hair and sliding into his clothes.
Junichi silently strafed to the edge of the curved counter, making sure that his running shoes he had swapped for in the store across the street didn’t betray him. They didn’t. Carefully he picked up a large shard of glass, slowly pushing it out of the edge of the counter then angled it in such a way so he could see his attackers; three teenage boys.
Breathe... Breathe... Breathe... After steadying his breath he tossed the shard to the side, for a split second diverting the trio’s attention. As swift as an archer getting into position Junichi had kneeled, balanced his rifle, aimed and squeezed the trigger twice all before they had turned back around. One fell to the floor, a bullet to the head and chest.
The other two turned so Junichi ducked and rolled to the furthest side of the counter just in time as the half he was hiding behind exploded. Peeking out of the other side he fired three shots, two striking another boy while getting the other in a shoulder.
One of the boys dropped dead while the other backed up, bumping into one of the thin, metal frames previously housing the glass, sliding down and cupping his bleeding shoulder. Junichi stood, dusting himself down and brushing out glass from his hair, crouching in front of the bleeding youth. He was a scrawny thing with greasy, black hair and clothes hanging off his body – several sizes too big.
‘You’re just kids... And here you are trapped by a madman’s power...’
Without warning the boy slashed Junichi in the face with a knife-life piece of glass right across his eye.
‘ARGH! SHIT!’ Junichi screamed.
Quickly the boy got onto up but Junichi dashed forward, knocking him off his feet and through the broken window.
Face bleeding Junichi peered through his one good eye, picking the boy up by his shirt. ‘WHERE’S Akira!’ He roared.
Under Akira’s influence the boy merely looked blankly at Junichi. He knew that his captive wouldn’t talk so he dropped him, focussing his attention to his damaged eye. As if to mock him the boy laid where Junichi had dropped him, staring with interest.
Through the pain Junichi noticed this and it only fuelled his anger. ‘Akira you bastard!’
PRESENT DAY
‘I was angry but just like Yamato I didn’t let what Akira did to me define the man I was going to be. I wanted to protect your mother. Something that I guess you already know somehow.’
‘Yeah, somehow...’ Kioshi slouched in the seat as the car slowed to a stop when they approached a red light. ‘I don’t think we can do this.’ He remarked, half-closing his eyes.
‘That’s not the right attitude, Kioshi.’ Junichi peered over the cars to see why the delay was taking so long. ‘Traffic?’ He uttered, raising an eyebrow. ‘Impossible. There hasn’t been traffic in years.’
‘Our struggles are futile, Junichi.’ Kioshi claimed.
‘Our struggles? That’s something that...’ Junichi caught a glimpse of Kioshi, sitting with a vacant look in his eyes. ‘Kioshi?’
‘You’re struggling but for what reason? Why are you trying to protect me when in the end we’re going to end up like all the other corpses who fought against inevitability?’
‘What are you talking about Izumi!? As long as there is still hope then we must still fight!’ Junichi had argued.
‘Hope?’ Kioshi said out loud. ‘Hope died when all this began. It lies amongst the bodies.’
‘Izumi...’
‘Tell me Junichi, what are you fighting for?’
‘I’m fighting for you! For Yamato! For Eiko and everyone else who doesn’t want to live like this!’ Junichi punched the floor as he kneeled before Izumi who was sat on a bed with her head lowered and hands placed delicately on her lap.
‘I wanted to fight too, Junichi, but fighting only brings pain to yourself and others. Because of our fighting Akira has escalated his efforts and more people have died. People who I wanted to protect. I wanted to dedicate my life to helping people to live but instead my struggling has reaped death. What kind of person am I, Junichi?’
‘You’re a good person, Izumi.’ He placed a hand on Izumi’s knee.
Kioshi shook his head. ‘No! I’m a hypocrite! A hypocrite only serving my interests! We fight and people die, we don’t fight and people still die! So why do we continue to fight against the tide!?’ Finally, Kioshi looked at Junichi. ‘Why do we continue to struggle? Mother, father, my brother and sister. They’re all dead... THEY’RE ALL DEAD! I have nothing to live for...’
‘That’s not true! You have me! You have me to live for!’
A smile stretched across Kioshi’s lips, parting gradually until he bared teeth then eventually evolving into a wide-mouthed laugh. ‘HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Idiot! You don’t mean anything to me.’
‘C’mon Izumi! Snap out of this madness! You can’t believe what you are say!? When all of this began you weren’t like this. You were prepared to fight! What’s happened to that woman?’ His hand tightened on Izumi’s knee but Izumi took no notice.
Kioshi continued to stare at Junichi with blank eyes and an expressionless face. ‘That woman died in the face of helplessness. Her ignorance gave way to the acceptance of the truth. Junichi, what I believe is the truth. You want me to live for you, but explain to me this: why should I devote my life to living for a corpse? We’re all dead, there is nothing to care for in this world anymore.’
‘I...Izum
i... Stop this...’
‘You don’t see them do you? The Nightmares circling the sky like vultures, waiting for our resolve to weaken. They will eat us alive.’
Junichi was horrified.
Yamato stepped into the room. ‘For heaven’s sake, Junichi! Get your ass down here so we can fix you up!’
Suddenly Izumi was startled and the light came back into her eyes. ‘Y-Yamato’s right, let’s get your eye fixed.’ She got off the bed, taking Junichi’s hand and leading him out of the room. ;I can’t bare to see you in this state.
‘Wait! Izumi!’
Izumi quickly stopped, facing Junichi and taking his other hand. ‘What is it?’ She smiled.
Junichi looked into Izumi’s eyes, face frozen in a state of confusion. ‘N-Nothing...’
‘If that’s the case then stop fussing and let your girlfriend take care of you.
PSYCHO
