Leave a comment. I hold this story hostage.
(I couldn’t upload cuz I’m fixing my sleep schedule, it’ll be fine…)
~~~~
The next day arrived just as quickly as the last ended.
I awoke to the leathery feel of the driver's seat and my clock touching my hands.
I got out of the car and starched, there was no way for me to clean myself except for a cloth doused in water but I found that wasteful. Besides, I have the ABCC11 gene, something like a perk of being Japanese so to say.
“Is it time?”
Doctor waited for me right outside the town, people were gradually awakening but most were still asleep.
I nodded but went on, “I want to speak to Combat first.”
“He's where you expect him to be.”
I nodded once more before heading outside the town and to the dead tree with several shabby graves. He was there, sitting and staring at the sun that had come out from beyond the horizon.
“...”
“...Are you going to die like this?”
Combat didn’t react, he must have known that I was already here.
“...What else could I want? It’s peaceful and this is all I could hope for…”
“You are one pathetic man, Combat.” He flinched at my harsh words. The last time I insulted him it was more so at myself questioning my morals and beliefs, this time however I directly and bluntly said it to him.
“To think that after one loss you would give up, what happened to the man who was battle crazy and acted like a delinquent?”
Combat shivered, “He’s dead… Leave him be, he was an immature brat with hopeless expectations that went too close to the sun.”
“...You even talk differently, did the trauma from the Gold-Rank scar you to the point where your entire personality has gone to waste?”
I could see muscles rising in anger.
“...Why… Why are you provoking me? All I want to do is to die here at peace while I watch the sky, is that so much to ask for-”
“Yes! Yes it is! I think what you did to those children is less than what your anger matters right now! In my eyes you are a selfish and cruel man that needs to die the same way he came.”
Some of my inner feelings got undone.
“Hah… Do you even know where some of those kids came from? Spy families… Do you think those kids are so innocent? They’re not.”
Combat didn’t turn his head but twisted his eyes into a glare.
“Ha… HA… Fine, you want to fight me? Then I’ll start you little piece of shit!”
His empty sleeve flapped in the air and his vulgar language was slowly starting to come back.
Even though it had been over five years, Combat’s lethality had barely lessened and his missing arm seemed more of a boon in this situation.
‘How professional, making an obvious weakness as a strength.’
His fighting style had changed to suit his missing appendage, a more unorthodox mix of more kicking resembling Taekwondo.
But… there were even more flaws, ones that couldn’t be fixed no matter how much effort or time is put in.
Bang!
Blocking his kick with my arm, I went closer to his body.
“Damn brat…”
His guard was broken.
Bang!
I punched his right ribs, the ones he couldn’t protect.
“Cough-!”
‘Did I break a few of them?’
I felt the distinct feeling of bones cracking through my knuckles.
“You grew a lot stronger…”
He spoke almost with pride, but it made me feel disgusted that this man could even say such things.
‘Is he acting?’
Bang!
His elbow rattled my head and I jumped backwards.
“Ugh…”
I held my head, my eyes unfocused and Combat seemed to have multiplied.
“But… brat, don’t underestimate me just because I’m like this now okay?” He spoke in a chilling voice.
“Say that after you break some of my bones you fraud.”
I heard a small chuckle before he ran to me with a crazed smile reminiscent of his old self.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
His left arm felt like fluid as it whipped around my defenses and started to hit parts of my body. After some time of this exchange Combat stopped and asked me.
“...You’re holding back, like I said, don’t underestimate me!”
“...I’m not underestimating you, I’m just making the playing field level, I’m not holding back any more Combat, come, let’s fight to the death.”
*
*
*
Doctor heard the familiar footsteps of his most frequent guest.
“...So it’s my turn now…”
The voice responded with a resounding ‘yes’.
“...Let me see the village for the last time…”
“...Do as you please.”
Doctor heard the footsteps go further away before he walked to his window and looked at the just awakening village which he had lived in for a couple of years. After taking a last proper look he exited his house.
Spotting the cloaked figure he started following Takara outside of the village.
“...Are you truly not scared?” Takara asked.
Doctor could tell he had quite serious injuries but only responded. “Yes, I think death would be quite peaceful.”
“...”
‘Does he not believe me?’ Doctor wondered, but the thought faded as a familiar dead tree came into sight.
He could almost feel his impending death physically. As the tree got closer, he spotted a familiar figure, head cut but with a smiling face.
‘...Well hello old friend.’
Combat didn’t have many eye catching wounds but Doctor could tell that the internal wounds must have been quite severe.
“Are there any last words you would like to say?”
Takara placed his cloak on a branch of the tree as he readied his ‘tool’ for execution.
“...”
Doctor stayed silent. Were there any words he wanted to say? Nothing came to his head and he felt fine with that.
“...I believe not, but it was nice meeting you Takara.”
Takara narrowed his eyes by a slight amount, almost wondering where those out-of-place words came from.
“It was also nice meeting you, Doctor. But I believe that it would have been me you would have met at the end of your life either way.”
Words started appearing in Doctor’s mind
“...What a presumptuous boy. You’re using Technician’s genetic modifying fluid aren’t you? Though I have no advice since it has no defects, just make sure that you still know that under all that your true age is still that of a boy’s.”
“...I’ll keep that in mind, Doctor.”
Doctor walked his way next to Combat’s dead body, his grave was only a few meters away.
“...Good night Doctor.”
“...I suppose I’ll see you on the other side, our greatest creation.”
“...”
Doctor focused on the sky, he wanted that to be his last memory within this world.
‘The sky is quite blue…’
Takara didn’t respond and as his knife cut cleanly through his neck, Doctor couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret as he still had a last few words to say.
‘...I forgot to tell him… I’m glad I saved hi-’
*
*
*
Although there was no visible smile, I could tell Doctor ended his life on a good note as his eyes, even when dull, held a clearness of a happy man.
‘...’
Using Aiki, I put the two bodies of Doctor and Combat into the two large holes that acted as their grave. Once I realized what time it was, I put the final touches on the graves and left for my car.
During my free time, I found quite a lot of the Cartel’s bases scattered around the desert. Starting my car, I left for a large semi truck, the only vehicle I would need because of the small population of the village.
“Who are you…? I don’t remember operatives being called here?”
“...Special delivery.”
“...Wha-”
A knife flashed as I cleanly cut off half of the member’s head. The body collapsed and my car ran through the wire fencing of the gate.
Bang-!
Wrrr-!
Intruder-!
Alarms went off but I was less concerned with that, a single move from me could now demolish this entire place within a couple of seconds. A feat that would place me around Gold-Rank, though I wasn’t sure since the Gold-Rank’s I fought in the past held back quite a large sum.
‘...Semi truck…’
I wandered around the large open garage where within a second I found the large vehicle.
‘There it is…’
My arms moved in instinct as I felt bullets heading my way.
Ting-! Ting-! Ting-! Ting-! Ting-!
Ting-! Ting-! Ting-! Ting-! Ting-!
My knives cut through all the bullets fired and I could tell some of the members were dumbfounded. I calmly walked to the semi truck and grabbed the keys hidden within the sun visor.
‘...It would be quite bad if these people followed me… right?’
As the truck started to warm its engine up, I got out of the car and both my knives have turned into katana.
‘[Flow, Obliterate]’
My muscles tensed and my grip tightened.
Before…
…
It was gone, parts of bits and pieces still remained but everything was destroyed. The building that once stood in place was now rubble and scrap metal. Blood spilled and organs sprawled around.
Even the once deafening alarm system layed quiet.
‘...Good.’
I spotted a patch of flowers, something to honor the people who have lost their lives here.
‘How… fitting.’
Desert daisies, or daisies in general had a meaning that fit quite well in this situation. But this could also be seen as psychopathic since nothing about this scene could represent ‘innocence’ or ‘purity’ in the slightest.
After leaving a small bouquet of the yellow and white flowers, I left back to the village.
*
*
*
The village fell into a mass hysteria.
Takara, who had just come back from the trip, fell sight to the village in a panic as Doctor and Combat were nowhere to be seen.
‘I suppose this is the normal response.’ Takara thought. The only people that protected them were now gone, and with an unknown status this was the only logical reaction to expect from normal people.
“...Everyone, could I have your attention please.”
Takara called out to the residents of the village.
“I’ve made a plan to get all of you through and into U.S. immigrant customs, I’ve brought a truck in which everyone can go in so that I can safely take you to the U.S.”
“What happened to the doctor and the soldier!?”
A villager cried out.
“They’re dead, a couple hours ago they died.”
Takara watched as despair washed through the adults' faces and the children were blissfully unaware of their dire predicament.
“H-How can we trust you? You’re an outsider… we don’t know you…”
“He-” The child he saved was about to yell, but Takara interrupted.
“Were you all not outsiders as well? This village was formed only a couple years ago, and I have been in this village the past few days, many of the villagers know me and the people who protected you also knew me. Is that not enough proof?”
The villagers fell silent after Takara’s words.
“I have a plan and all I need you to do is to get inside this truck, if it’s not enough space, I’ll get another one.”
As Takara explained once again, the villagers slowly started boarding the truck with skepticism still written on their faces. Any essentials were packed and brought along with them.
‘...At the very leasts, there aren’t any of them who want to stay.’
Everyone here who lived in the village knew of the horrors of the Cartel, that was one of the main reasons they were within the village in the first place.
‘Will I need another truck?’
His worries were soon unfounded as every one of the villagers along with their children were all in the carrier.
“If the ride gets too harsh or if anyone needs something, please knock on the carrier near the driver's seat, I’ll come to assist if anyones needs anything.”
After a final confirmation, Takara started the ride to the border.
~~~~
I couldn’t choose what picture since there were so many. So many pictures… I chose a nice one instead.
But happy birthday Futaba!
Anyways, back to the plot. This volume should be done within chapter 100 or so… This arc specifically should be done within the next 2-3 chapters.
I don’t actually know how long it would take since even the Britain arc took around 20~ chapters or so.
But after this volume I will finally use one of the tags that lay there wasted on this FF…
