I was falling, 5 feet off the ground. I rolled to cushion the impact of the landing, but it still hurt like hell, though. That, combined with my limited supply of energy left and my bruised and battered body, made me feel like I was barely alive. I continued to roll once more before stopping and lying on my back, arms and legs spread out like a starfish. I tilted my head towards Isamu, who lay on the ground off the platform. Was he dead? I reached out my hand towards him; it was getting hard to breathe myself. The world spun as my vision blurred. Just as I was blacking out, I saw a few images. Some comforting, others, not so much. Isamu's hand was moving, good, he was alive. Stretchers had come for both him and me.
Something not so reassuring was a figure in a jet-black cloak. The ends of it were torn and tattered. The person turned to leave, and I was able to catch a glimpse of their face. And what I saw did not look human. It looked to be male, but it had features that were not of this world. Everywhere I looked, I found spikes. On his cheeks, his shoulders. For a split second, his hood blew back in the strong wind, and I saw long, thin white spikes in place of hair, his bleached skin shining in the afternoon sun. He quickly put his hood over his head again, careful to hide his identity. The strangest thing was that nobody out of the 100,000 people here seemed to notice him. Then, right before everything went dark, I saw his right eye wasn't real; it was mechanical. Then the darkness washed over me.
First, I heard them. The steady voices of nurses and doctors roaming around, a female's voice in my left ear. Talking to someone else, trying to explain how they can't see me right now. Then a male's voice in my right ear. This one seemed familiar; I'd heard it before only twice. It was deep and threatening.
My smell came next, the aroma of fresh flowers. Then, I felt the soft hospital bed sheets intertwining with my fingers. The silky presence was comforting. My taste was the next of my five senses to kick in. I felt around my mouth with my tongue; it tasted like a desert without an oasis.
Lastly came my sight. I opened my eyes, although a bit blurry, and the shapes of objects and outlines of people started to appear. A vase next to my bed with the flowers I was smelling: Tulips. I smiled.
That smile was immediately ripped off my face when I saw who came to greet me. Isamu? My father? Arthur? Nope. None of those. Because the man standing in front of me was one I was already liking less and less. Orosu Kurashuu stood at the foot of my bed.
"You look well," Orosu spoke, his voice flat. "Certainly better than the state I last saw you in." He sat down on a chair, sitting upright and being surprisingly respectful. His body language, not his vocabulary.
"Why the hell are you here? To mock me for passing out when I still won?"
"No, actually. You did quite well; you even stopped holding back, just like I asked. Who was your opponent's name? Ah, Isamu, right. He put up the best fight I've seen so far. He was just as amazing to watch as you." He remarked.
"I was what?" Isamu said, pulling back the curtains that separated the two beds.
Orosu and I turned our heads towards Isamu.
"How long have you been there?" I asked.
The corners of Isamu's mouth twisted into a smile. "Quite a while."
"Well, since you're here, I can at least tell you too," Orosu said, picking his head back up, his face taking on a serious expression.
"Well, if you're going to talk with my fiancé, you'd better be able to say it in front of the kid and me."
We turned around. The sweet but sharp voice of Irena travelled from the doorway to our ears. Her Russian accent clearly affected Isamu, and if I was being honest, it was doing the same to me.
"The kid?" Orosu said, looking confused.
Haru popped his head in the doorway, looking quite energetic. If I remember correctly, Haru was 16, one year younger than me. I wouldn't call him a kid, but certainly not an adult with that innocent of a personality. Yet he was able to make it past the first round and even get accepted into Fabled Mist. Quite impressive if you ask me. This was the first good look I've had at him, the first time we met in the banquet hall. He was short in build, looked to be about 5,7, maybe taller. His hair was light black and short. Two thick strands crossed over his nose in opposite directions. His skin colour exactly mirrored Isamu's. His facial features were softer, as evidenced by the way his jawline curved more towards his chin.
Orosu looks resigned as he ushers them in.
"It's one pest after another." He mutters under his breath.
Irina sits down on Isamu's bed and softly caresses his hair, which he doesn't seem to mind. Haru grabs a stool and sits beside me on the opposite side of where Orosu is.
"Now, before I was interrupted, I apologize if I didn't see the full match between you two, but I was busy researching something…" Orosu paused to see if we had any questions. Then, when he saw we were all looking at him intently, waiting for him to proceed, he took note and started speaking again. "And I figured it would prove useful to everyone's evolution going forward: The Eyes of Retribution."
Those words triggered a memory in my head. I've heard of these. An old fairytale, buried away with all the rest of the outrageous tall tales of the world. That begs the question, why would Orosu of all people be interested in a children's fantasy?
"There are 5 different types of recorded eyes. Shatter eyes, Spectre eyes, Burst eyes, Dead eyes, and Inverted eyes. Each holds specific effects that grant you power beyond what you can get from just simple training. However, each eye can only be activated when specific conditions are met," He finished. Naturally, questions arose.
"And how do we know you're not pulling some kind of prank on us?" Irena asked. Rightfully so. It's a little hard to believe someone you just met.
"Do I look like someone who's joking?" Orosu said, a little ticked off that Irena would accuse him of lying.
After he saw that no one was objecting to his reasoning, Orosu took a deep breath to calm himself and continued.
"I shared this with you because I want at least one of you to take this to heart and achieve one of these eyes and be able to activate on command."
He got a solid two seconds of silence before Isamu spoke up
"A little please and thank you would be nice."
Orosu, in response, raised a challenging eyebrow, but gave in.
"Fine. You don't have to devote even 25% of your time to developing one, but please give it a chance. Even if the effort you put into it is close to zero."
After Orosu, Haru, and Irena had left, both exhausted from Orosu's constant lecturing like a college professor talking about his favourite subject, we fell asleep right there and then. When we were roused from our slumber, our injuries had healed. We would then be released and free to enjoy the rest of the day. Isamu said he was going to go spend it with Irena, saying something along the lines of how she would chastise him constantly if he didn't show up, despite that being a blatant lie. He probably wanted to reassure her that he was okay. In the end, it was the right thing to do, and I respected his decision.
But as it turns out, there was no rest of the day; we had slept off our disservice for the entire night. The morning lights of daybreak shone on our faces so bright that we had to shield our eyes from the brilliant radiance of the sun. It's warmth heating our cool skin.
Then, for the briefest of moments, I felt something cold at my back. Nothing was touching my skin, not even the sun, but the feeling was unmistakable. I whipped my head around, expecting to see someone there, but… Nothing. Not even dust, the clean, empty halls of the stadium felt like they were hiding something from me, something I couldn't quite grasp. The mere thought is just out of arm's reach. My mind flailed around trying to grab it. Then, it latched on and refused to let go. And from that discovery, my eyes picked up the faintest movement from my peripheral vision, a piece of a torn cloak, and it was jet black.
My heart pounds in my chest as the cloaked piece disappears around the corner, vanishing from my sight. As soon as my brain registers it's on the move, I turn on my heel and sprint to where the movement ceased in my vision. My feet, pounding on the pavement, trying to get answers I didn't even want to hear but desperately craved. So when I rounded the corner, ready to face the truth, I was met with cold, dark questions. A wall stood before me.
"Where the-?"
The mysterious man had completely disappeared. Gone, without a trace. But how? This was a dead end. Before I could dwell more on the thought, Isamu put a hand on my shoulder. Clearing my thoughts and making me look back at him with unintentional hostility.
"Arashi… You okay, man?
My brain doesn't know how to react, my words coming out in broken stutters
"Let's go. We'll be late if we don't get a move on," He insisted.
I reluctantly let him lead me away. And just like that, all my worries are gone. But from the shadows, the man with the void coloured robe, which helped him blend into the dark background, slipped into the light. A grin spread across his pale white face. "Evil will always emerge to counteract the good. The natural Yin and Yang of existence. The plan has already been set in motion, and like humanity, once its path towards destruction starts, you too can not stop it, Arashi Nakamura."