Chapter Text
A little mosquito. An insect very common, yet irritating as all can be. It just goes about, flying around until it lands somewhere. While at rest, it begins to drain the blood of whatever poor innocent creature it is currently resting on. Always parasitical. Always annoying. Always a problem. Like the domestic terrorist gang that lives nearby, the mosquito is always biting at the flesh, always drinking and causing problems whenever it rests. In the air, it’s just something you ignore in the hope it doesn’t cause issues. Always annoying. Until it becomes a drastic problem you use every once of power to stop. It starts off with just a small issue. You smack it once, thinking it’ll solve it. Then again. Then again. Then you use everything within your budget to take that infernal bug down once and for all-
SMACK
One such mosquito wasn’t so lucky. It was smacked against the skin of its prey of the day. Dead. No longer moving. Said attacking prey… Was a human! Groaning, the human gets up. Revealing themself to be a local college-aged girl. Nice, fair features, with blonde hair to match, and a pleasant shade of blue eyes. This was Hinata Kinayashi. Growing up with just a plain Karoboemon shirt and sweats, she gets out of bed to get breakfast. She giggles as she walks into the kitchen.
“Burnt your eggs again, Mori?” was her tease towards a young upstanding man with orange hair on the opposite end. With an average face, green eyes, and a typical button up shirt, you’d be surprised how close Hinata is with this particular man. The man, “Mori,” blinked at Hinata.
“What do you mean, ashes are the new health program” was the dry retort of the young man. An older woman looks directly at the man as he says this.
“Now, Moritaka Shugo, you KNOW Hinata is only teasing you, young man.” The chastising was never part of Moritaka’s regular day to day life. He blinked blankly at the older woman and muttered, “Sorry mother. Sorry Hinata.”
Hinata, smiling, leaned in a little. “What’s that, Mori? I couldn’t hear you!” Moritaka couldn’t help but give Hinata a blank stare as he wondered how he could’ve ended up with the most playful friend out there. Mori, meanwhile, just blinked at her. “Can’t we get going? We’ll be late for school at this rate.”
Hinata’s eyes grew wide as she shoveled down her own serving of breakfast. Not before Mori’s mother could chastise her next though. “Now, now, Hina. Don’t go eating too fast. You’ll hurt yourself.”
Hinata’s face looked at Mori’s mother incredulously. “Not you too, Shugo-san!” was the best exclamation of fake betrayal she could muster. The mother laughed as she winked at the two. “If you want to wed my son one day, you need to master self control.”
Mori got up immediately, blushing hard along with Hinata. “Okay, mother, now we REALLY need to go. I’ll be seeing you later.” He grabbed Hinata by the hand as they both ran out of their house.
The neighborhood they were in can best be explained as quaint. Small. They lived in a small town. The population was smaller than 3000 people total. The train came by 6 times a day, to and from the big city where the college the two went to was. The area surrounding the town was pleasant enough. It was a typical forest area with farmlands beyond the treeline, and nice pleasant woodlands all around. Very average, very small.
As the two boarded the train, they heard the train system speak. “Stop for Komachi. Next stop, Kyoto College Station.”
Relieved they made it, the duo sat down on some nearby seats. Hinata rested on Mori’s shoulder as they looked out on the natural scenery.
“Isn’t it amazing, Mori?”
“Hmm?” was the only thing that came out of Mori’s nonchalant mouth as he looked towards the natural scenery surrounding them.
“The whole world… I’ve been reading about how people want to… ‘take this beauty away in the name of progress…’ and I’m not sure I WANT that for us.”
“Oh, really? Not interested in the chaos?”
“Not really. I… I think I would absolutely FREAK if anyone ever did anything to ravage this beautiful land.”
A smirk came across Mori as he imagined Hinata turning into a demon of nature at the drop of a coin. He chuckled to himself as he looked on at Hinata. “How badly? Destroy the world freak?”
He certainly wasn’t expecting Hinata to look directly at him with the coldest tone possible. “Yes. Without a second thought.”
Mori looked at her shocked. He wouldn’t have imagined Hinata was capable of such dark threats. Hinata took on a more concerned look at Mori. “What about you? Wouldn’t you want to destroy the world over something so awful?”
It took Mori a few seconds to think about before he turned back and gave his answer. “I don’t know. Certainly if said person responsible also killed my whole family. Still undecided for destroying the land.”
Hinata gave him a rather dark dirty glare at this answer. Mori was taken aback at the offense Hinata had taken- oh yeah, that’s right, Mori thought. Hinata doesn’t have her own family anymore.
Without saying another word, the train arrived at the station for the nearby University. The two got off and headed off for class.
Now class wasn’t that particularly interesting. They only had one class that day, for History. It was a drag, listening to how the nation was developing at a faster rate than ever after driving some unknown animal species to extinction just to claim the new frontier they had discovered. Rich beyond belief, the land had every natural resource needed to maintain a good civilization. Good mountain range. Good streams of rivers and lakes. Even a good forest scene for all the fresh air in the world. It wasn’t that interesting to hear about how idyllic the world had become an earthly paradise after getting rid of the particular animal problem. Just what WAS that whole lame thing about? What animal had to get eradicated for this to happen?
Well, didn’t matter too much. After a good two hours, class was over. Mori and Hinata managed to grab a good train ride on the way back. Hinata seemed to be thinking about the lesson of the day.
Mori blinked at Hinata. “What’s gotten you so bothered?”
Hinata sighed as she looked on. “History today… about the settlement… I’m grateful we have the beautiful land… but… did we really need to get rid of all those innocent animals that were here.”
Mori shrugged, “the animals were said to be a special invasive species. Wasn’t natural to the land either. No shame in getting rid of parasites.”
Hinata looked down uncomfortably, “Even so, everything has the right to basic integrity.”
Mori looked down again. The right to basic integrity. The idea that all must be treated the way common sense dictates you treat anything. The Golden Rule. Utmost respect, love, and kindness in all ways. Mori nodded nonchalantly as he looked out at the burning landscape?!?
Mori and Hinata gasped in horror along with all the other passengers in the train as they saw the area get razed in fire. Not just any old red orange fire. This fire… was purple. Purple fire blazed the land, setting and tearing everything apart. This wasn’t natural, in the slightest. Something… or someone… was torching the land. Hinata got up terrified.
“What the hell? WHAT THE HELL?!?” was all Hinata could exclaim in shock and horror at the sight. Soon afterwards, she ran for the emergency brake and pulled the train to a stop. As soon as the train stopped, she ran off. Mori just looked at her, showing more emotion than ever.
“HINATA!! GET BACK HERE! HINATA!!” was the only thing that could be heard as he chased after her into the smoking atmosphere. As he ran, he noticed the whole forest was almost entirely decimated. Trees, once having existent for thousands of years, watching time evolve… ended by this new deforestation and arson. Vegetation and wildlife burning alive as creatures as majestic as deer, all the way to the common bunnies, were running around on fire, chirping and neighing in pain as they died.
Mori was looking around in horror at the devastation… until he tripped on something… small. It was a small blob shaped like one of those marshmallow shaped stuffy toys. It had a few characteristics of an eagle, namely tiny feather arms, and a tiny beak with a General cap, along with an adorable military suit on it. It looked at Mori and smiled.
“Hello Moritaka Shugo. Sad day, isn’t it?”
Mori was taken aback at this… rather inappropriate appearance of a cute creature talking like a human. The forest was on fire, wildlife being killed… and there’s just a tiny talking eagle walking around!
“I know. It’s infuriating. Seeing the whole forest burn down… all at the hands of he who caused all our pain and misery.”
Now, normally, you don’t let a mascot character discuss sermons while the land is being ravaged… but the points in focus were creating more questions rather than answers. All Mori could do was… ask blatant pointless questions. “What do you mean? Who caused all this?!?”
As Mori was questioning what this mascot was talking about, Hinata slowly walked towards the two. She had an empty dark look in her eyes. “What… Do you mean… about someone called “he who caused all our pain and misery?”
The mascot turned towards Hinata and gave a… rather sinister grin as he turned in her direction. “Ah, we’re talking about Emperor Taro. The one who wishes to raze the world and turn it into an isolating empire.”
“Emperor Taro has always been opposed to our way of living. He opposed our benevolent decision to keep the landscape as it were. And he was diametrically opposed to the political system we have been using, to ensure dignity towards all who live in the land. For years, we’ve been able to keep the little tyrant away in his little cave… we appear to have miscalculated the following he’d pull together to finally declare war on the land.”
Hinata nodded slowly, noticing a few shadows jumping through the land. There were multiple figures destroying the wildlife as they jumped through. A slender figure wielding a mighty axe. A large bulky figure wielding a wrecking ball spiked flare. A small tiny figure wielding a minigun. And more that seemed to destroy and slaughter all the wildlife. The injustice. The outrage. She tried to get up to stop them, but the Eagle mascot grabbed her.
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Hinata Kinayashi. Fight them now, and they’ll include you in their massacre of all the good people willing to fight.”
Hinata turned towards the mascot with tearing eyes and a look of fury. “Then what are we supposed to do?!?” she cried in fury. “I will NEVER tolerate the injustice they’re enforcing onto mother nature!!”
The eagle smirked demonically as he reached for his pockets. “There IS a way you can at least ATTEMPT to fight them head on. Use these new and improved devices, infusers, to fight this.” He pulled these infusers out to… reveal a revolver. A gun. A pistol.
Hinata nodded slowly. She snatched one of the revolvers and tried to point it at one of the beings destroying the forest-
“Oh, wait. My apologies. Don’t shoot them.” The mascot warned. His eyes gave off a dark glow as he gave the next instruction. “Shoot yourself. In the head.”
Mori looked on appalled at the instruction. Hinata’s world, the world of nature, was being ravaged by monsters, and this creep’s solution was suicide?!? He wouldn’t stand for it. “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!? HINATA. DO NOT KILL YOURSELF.”
The mascot smirked as Mori approached the mascot. “WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TELLING HER TO SHOOT HERSELF!??”
The mascot didn’t even blink as it gave its answer. “What the hell I think I am is the general ordering the willing to inject themselves with the necessary hemoanima to fight back.”
There were many answers as to why a mascot would tell you to kill yourself. Self-injecting “hemoanima” into the brain was NOT among the reasons Mori could think of to justify this. After all… what the heck was “hemoanima???” Mori’s expression changed tunes from rage to confusion at the mention. “... Hemo… anima???”
“Yes! Hemoanima! It’s a recent development that can enhance the average person into a superbeing capable of fighting with increased strength and resilience. Inject yourself with these bullets, and you will be able to gain access to powers you never knew you had. Use these to fight the attackers!”
Mori didn’t know what to say. It was clearly too good to be true. He knew that he had to warn Hinata to not go for it. Sure, there’s a chance that this “hemowhatchamacallit” could save the forest- no! It’s not worth it! He turned towards Hinata.
“DONT DO IT HINATA! IT'S NOT WORTH IT.”
If only he doubled down faster. If only he resolved a fraction of a second faster. If he had only cut the mascot off instead of listening to the full fishy story, he could have prevented what would have happened next.
Hinata, without hesitation, took the gun, pointed it at herself… and then a thunderous clap could be heard through the air… as she fell to the ground, with a fresh bullet wound in her head, blood flowing freely out of her side… or so he thought. The blood began to flow more and more until it began to swirl around Hinata, caging her inside a cocoon. Mori could only look on in amazement as her blood began to curdle her. Screams of pain echoed throughout the burning skies as he saw… something that had to be seen to be believed.
Hinata Kinayashi. Now Hinata, she was never really someone who volunteered or joined any major organizations or clubs growing up. As your average girl, she always just got up, went to school, and returned no questions asked. She wasn’t involved in any sports, or volunteer programs or anything of the sort. So if we were to tell you that she stepped out of the cocoon alive and well, donning a Girls Scouts Uniform of Black and Red instead of camping colors, holding a long katana on her side… Well, it’s okay if one doesn’t believe that. Mori certainly didn’t want to believe the rather impossible sight he was seeing happen before him.
Hinata’s face seemed contorted. Like she was uncomfortable having her body redevelop in this fashion. However… the look quickly turned into determination and… what seemed to be silent fury as she stared down the attackers. She ran with her sword, and slashed at some of the ground troops. First blood. She could feel the adrenaline crossing through her veins as she slashed the innards of the ground soldiers clean open. The blood splashing onto her girl scout uniform, as she continued to slash at them. Mori was standing there, amazed at what Hinata was doing. He’d have kept looking on, if a certain being wasn’t dragging him.
“I’m sorry, Moritaka, but we’ll need to catch up with Kinayashi-san later.”
“WHAT?!?” Mori was shocked that the mascot would suggest leaving Hinata behind to fight these monsters on her own, but the mascot gave the motive immediately.
“I’ll explain later, but we need to make sure your other beloved are safe at home.” That sentence hit Mori the same way a normal average man gets hit on the head with a sack of rockhard glass jars. The idea that his parents were in danger to the same threat. The mascot didn’t need to say anything else before Mori began running like the world depended on it. He dashed all the way back to the town, hoping that all would be well.
You’d think with all the natural disasters, the damage done to a civilization that knew something about fighting back wouldn’t be as bad as damage done to a natural forest landscape. You’d be entirely wrong when exposed to the scene before you. Citizens were running in agony, as multiple shadow figures silently walked along, cutting all citizens down without hesitation. A slender womanly shadow with a ponytail and two samurai swords. A taller slender figure with a chain blade. A large muscular shadow on a bike. A petite shadow firing some kind of electric pistol at the innocent. So many impossible sights, as Mori looked around in horror at the sight.
“No… Please be okay, mom. Please.” These words would ring hollow as Mori ran, dodging attacks as he went… until he saw a sight he never wanted to see. While he was always bickering with his mother, fighting with her about her bad habits, he never wanted her to suffer. So why… why was she on the ground, with a gigantic slash across her entire frontal body… she quickly let out a pained groan.. Almost crying… Mori instinctively held his mother up close as she died out.
“... mom?... MOM?...” Mori couldn’t do anything more than finally… shed the tears no one would have thought have ever existed within him. He begins… to sniffle little by little… as he hears a laugh. A painful laugh. A taunting laugh. He gets up and gives a dark staredown at the laughter. It was the form of a young man. The fire was darkening him into a shadow, but the features were real. The ahoge, the red hair, the slender build… and the distinct impression of a rich academy uniform. He looked down at Mori as he laughed sardonically.
“Oh, Moritaka Shugo… how it pains me with laughter to see you so… defeated. What weaklings. Under my leadership, Emperor Taro… we shall see a beautiful glorious future where all fall under ME.”
That hit Mori even worse. He not only lost his mom… but he lost it to the legendary villain?? The mythical ever-debated Taro? His rage began to overwhelm him as he got up and tried to get revenge. However, the mascot tapped Mori on the leg. He was holding out one of those pistols.
“Wait. Mori. Hit yourself with the infuser first.”
Mori darkly looked at the pistol in the mascot’s hands. He didn’t want to have to take it to this point… but if it meant avenging his lost family, he’d take it. He snatched the pistol, spun it like it was a game of Russian Roulette, and plugged the pistol onto the side of his head. Then all that could be heard was the sound of thunder as he fell to the ground.
The pain rang throughout his head for a while… until he regained consciousness inside a cocoon of pure blood. Haunting chanting was all he could hear as his body began… to change painfully. All his flesh and clothing melted away to form… a Boy’s Scout uniform of black and red. On his right forearm, a shield began to form around him. He was in pain, trying to scream over the pain as loudly as he could… Until the pain ended. He was back to life… In a uniform… with a shield. He stared down Taro and his commanders with a dark look in his eyes.
He kicked his shield up and threw it straight at a warrior wielding hovering knives. It seemed to knock the little fluffy figure out in one go. The shield came back like a boomerang, and he kept throwing it at the soldiers. The blood quickly got over Mori as his mind and heart darkened. He no longer could think about who was in the way of the shield. All that mattered was landing a hit on Taro as he threw away. Taro just laughed mockingly as the shield hit him… Until he prepared his sword. He slashed it down, cutting Mori down instantly.
“I don’t have time to sit around impressed by your parlor tricks, Shugo. I’ve got bigger plans for the land. Harem, dispose of the weakling.”
Taro turned around and took off. Mori coughed out blood incessantly as he growled, “Emperor Taro. I promise… I will avenge my family. I will protect Hinata. I will have… MY REVENGE.”
As he swore this in his heart, three shadows began to approach. A jack-o-lantern with a shovel, a winged beast, and a large van, began to creep up on Mori. As Mori looked on in despair, the mascot grabbed Mori by the ankles, his eyes glowing dark red. “I’m sorry, Shugo-san. But we need to retreat for now.”
Mori looked at the mascot with tears of fury. “N-NO! WE MUST AVENGE THEM!!”
The mascot wasn’t swayed. “We can avenge them later. For now, the forces are too strong! We must get them back at any price!!”
Mori kept struggling as the mascot dragged him off. “NO! NO! STAY BACK!! I NEED TO AVENGE THOSE THAT MATTER!!! I MUST!!!”
These words, these mantras, were all in vain as the mascot… began to fly in the sky, taking Mori with him. Mori, having contact with high winds given the mortal wound from Taro… could only keep his resistance for so long… before his sights faded to black… and the sound of wind with it.
It was a bright and beautiful day, at the new Capitol. After a painful stint of negotiations, the Humans of Old Earth and Futurum were finally at peace. The multi-century war was over. Humans and Futurans were now able to live in peace. It may have taken a bit of education and segregation to get started, but the people were beginning to make progress.
It was a bright day at the Stronghold. Built from the remains of his first true memories, the Stronghold was as much a Palace in its own right… if also a reminder of the hardships faced ever since the initial fight.
A young man with red hair, and a black shade of bangs, woke up, feeling refreshed, as the intercom rang out.
“UUUUUUUP AND AT EM TROOPS!! TIME TO RIIIIIISE AND SHIIIIINE!!! Wowee! It’s been four years now since the War has ended! I must say, we have really come together as a squad. Why, if I had remembered to keep count, I could have sworn it was your 1500th day of service! But who cares? It’s fun fun today! Additional announcements! Kyoshika Magadori. Please report to Nigou and Sirei for discipline, your “fluids” were found in one of the cafeteria room’s corners again. Be prepared to explain yourself. Takumi Sumino, report to the Old War Room in the Memory Section of the Stronghold. Hiruko Shizuhara would like a word with you. Okay! Let’s get going for the day!”
Oh boy, Kyoshika, why am I not surprised you went there again? These were all the thoughts the red headed man could think as he got up from his large bed. He got up and began selecting his clothes for the day as his beloved, a young woman with gray hair, got up next to him, giggling.
“Kyoshika, what are we going to do with you?...” was what the young man heard his lover say behind him. He looked down and coughed the sarcasm out.
“Think we should put her in detention next time, Nozomi?” the Young woman, known as Nozomi, burst out giggling at this.
“Come on, Takky, it’s been 4 years now! Should we still be treating each other like kids?” The young man shrugged at this.
“As long as the others can’t get up to speed with how we’re essentially in charge of the new Union’s security, we can’t afford any mishaps.” Nozomi shook her head. Even when Takumi came out and revealed that they used to be in a time loop back in the initial 100 days that hardened him the more he tried to find a way to break the loop, he still had ways of surprising her.
“Well, anyway… What did Hiruko wish to speak to you about?”
“Knowing her, it’s probably related to Project Bio-Beacon.” Nozomi nodded. It was an unnerving time in the newly found peace.
“Well, you go to your meeting, ‘captain!’ I’m going to check in on our bundle of joy!” Takumi’s heart warmed up a bit as he nodded to his wife, allowing her to take her leave first to check in on a certain important person to both of them. Takumi finished dressing up in his new attire before heading out to the top portion of the stronghold.
The top is best described as having a strange spaceship-shaped school surgically attached to the top of the palace. He passed by a sign that held a sign of much nostalgia. “Welcome to Last Defense Academy.” Last Defense Academy. The name held significance to Takumi and the other Commanders. It was where they were originally drafted to fight the war against sapiens and Futurans. Well, not originally. It was an exact replica of the academy, as the original was destroyed in the process of leaving. He took a breath as he touched the signage.
“We’re almost there. The war is almost behind us… what a cruel fate it would be if the time loop reset now, when we are finally almost there.” The thought still bothered him. There have been at least a few instances where Takumi was on top of ending the pointless war, seeing it get resolved years after the initial 100 day battle… and yet as soon as everything ended, the cycle would begin anew. The strain trained the poor man to develop paranoia that sets in a few years after the initial 100 days pass.
But that is a concern for another time. Hiruko needed him for something, and he needed to know what. He entered the old War Room, clad in Neon Blue, with computers strewn across the entire area, with large monitors displaying updates across the region. In front of the monitors was a slim woman, with dark violet hair, dark glasses, and a dark demeanor that would make any unsuspecting victim wet their pants. The woman turned towards the red man.
“Servant. You’ve finally shown up.” Takumi rolled his eyes at this.
“I told you after they nominated me as Head of the New Guardian Order of Security. I outrank you now.” The woman gave off a sadistic smirk as she eyed Takumi.
“Keep talking like that, and I’ll ensure that you and Nozomi can’t enjoy that as comfortably.” Takumi just blinked and shivered at the mocking threat.
“Whatever. You called me to discuss something? Is it regarding the new operatives.”
Hiruko shoved her glasses up her nose as she spoke. “I’m not entirely in favor of entrusting the farther regions of the new Union to the new recruits. I TOLD you to go forward with training V’ehxness’s remaining soldiers instead of creating THOSE THINGS.”
Takumi let out a groan as Hiruko was determined to bring it up again. “I wasn’t fond of the option either, considering our history, but we did everything right as we could afterwards. We gave ALL of them the score immediately. I was surprised how many of them were taking the news in stride.” Wrong phrasing, as Hiruko shot a death glare at the Red Headed captain for this.
“STRIDE?!? Takumi. Half of those incel idiots who came in successfully are prancing their reputations around, in exact opposition to our commanding orders!! We still can’t get Kanai or Karee or Renavala to respect the rules of the New Order in terms of enforcement ethics!!! Or do I have to remind you of ‘the initial incident?’” Takumi sweatdropped as he gave his retort.
“Why are you yelling at me over this? Karee is just a jerk that Gaku coincidentally cannot control, and Kanai’s behavior is just Moko’s training regime for him. He’s taken on a lot more of her personality than the others-”
Hiruko slammed her hand down. “THE PROBLEM is that these idiotic ‘Beacons of Hope’ are becoming more of a problem for keeping the Union safe than they were supposed to be!! I TOLD YOU that telling the incels the truth would lead to this!!”
Takumi pinched his nose as he thought this anger over. “Fine. We messed up. But it’s only been 6 months since implementation began. You don’t see a problem with Kagemiyo or Kenji at any rate.”
Hiruko took a deep breath at Takumi’s weak reasoning. “Kage and Kenji are only good eggs because they have a grasp of what’s at stake in the reformation.. Thanks in part to my training.” The purple haired woman spat that tidbit out with a venomous smirk before going back to a scowl. “Our other “prodigies” simply aren’t meeting demands. And don’t get me started on the other SDU members training them.”
Takumi rolled his eyes as he turned around. “Look, Hiruko, I get that it’s frustrating having to go from leading the fight to supervising the new generation, but we need to give the new recruits some time-”
“Alright. Fine. I’ll skip the formalities and give you the biggest issue.” This caught Takumi by surprise. Complaining about the new members’ inefficiencies was mere small talk to Hiruko???
“Takumi. Eva came back with an Update at the Basin. 17.” Takumi’s body began to grow cold at the simplistic language undertaken. He slowly turned around, knowing his question would show the biggest crisis.
“17???”
“Yes. 17. That’s how many of the ones we haven’t rolled out yet have been taken.” That hit Takumi like a thousand V’ehxnesses returning just to stab Nozomi to death. That’s a large amount for what Hiruko was mentioning. It was enough to raise multiple “death flags” as a certain goofball blue headed friend on the team would call it. He couldn’t wrap his head around the quantity.
“17?!? Why the hell would the thief need that many?!?”
“How the hell would I know? I can create a few theories… but all of them spell doom for the Union.”
“Doom in what way-”
Before Takumi could get his answer, the problems would only keep on adding. If his side project was already going sideways in giving his friends more breathing time in the times ahead, then his main new priority was taking a tanking. A tiny white blob wearing a red sailor’s hat ran into the room with a teary Nozomi. The white blob seemed to be freaking out.
“YAAH! MR. SUMINO!! IT’S A CATASTROPHE!!!” this got the young man to turn around panicked, as Hiruko’s eyes darkened.
“Nigou. Nozomi. Report.” Takumi didn’t need to hear the report that this news was worse. Nozomi was sobbing hysterically. Takumi ran up and hugged Nozomi tightly, who quickly reciprocated.
“Nozomi?” The young blonde woman looked up with true despair in her eyes.
“TAKUMI! IT’S KARUA. SHE’S GONE!!!” If anything could break a man who experienced hundreds of timelines just to secure a true “golden ending” it was that. For the first time in ages, Takumi’s world went pale… And then faded to black as he collapsed to his knees.