Chapter 27 - Akio FurusawaHollow Night“Just a little further…”

  The words came out with a choke. I tried to push past the agony in my lungs and press forward, but there was only so much I could do to override my body’s will. I mouthed an apology, allowing my legs to ease into a slow retreat, seeking refuge in the darkness.

  Lost in the byrinth since our separation from the girls, we found ourselves at an empty intersection. Streets lined with desote storefronts amplified the eerie silence. In the midst of the pavement stood a tree, its fresh spsh of green contradicting and yet complementing the urban cityscape aesthetic of this entire pce. Well, attempted aesthetic. What kind of a city has no people in it, after all? Below it, stood a familiar golden mppost, the cerulean fire within flickering with a resilient glow.

  To my left, stood a massive ebony tower, its height threatening to pierce the sky itself. I had the strangest sensation of the structure itself looking down at me. In my head, it was smiling, but it was the type of unreadable smirk that made you uneasy.

  On its front, just rge enough for me to make out in the dark, were the words ‘Towa Records’. I resisted the urge to tremble with relief. We’d been here before, previously, the four – no, five of us. We’d taken the route from Spain Hill, down into Cadul City, which y just up ahead.

  If we retraced our steps, we’d end up back around Tipsy Tose before long. It would be an arduous journey to say the least, but if we stuck to the shadows and took our time, then…

  No, there was no time. If Hoshino really was…gone, then I only had a few minutes left before I was gone too. I needed to get Katoru to safety, no matter what.

  As I turned to divulge my pn, I had the most bizarre feeling that something was wrong. To be more specific, that something was missing. I squinted closely at the incredibly dark road that we had come down from Cadul City, and then it hit me.

  The light from the other torches was nowhere to be found.

  The very same torches we depended on for safe travel back – their light had completely vanished from beyond Towa Records.

  Either we’d been sabotaged, or completely lied to. Both had dire, very dire implications for the two of us.

  Between my desperate wheezes, I heard him croak “Leave…behind…”.

  Crap. Was his condition getting worse? Did he have injuries elsewhere I hadn’t noticed? Even so, there was no time to check. I was reminded of that by the subtle, careful creaks and plods that echoed through the abandoned streets we slithered through.

  “No way.” I groaned. I’d had my life saved once tonight already – it was time for me to repay the favour. “But, maybe now you’ll give the takoyaki a rest.”

  I felt Katoru’s chest heave on my back, and for a brief moment he felt weightless on my hands, on my body. Seeing that he’d retained his sense of humour, I felt a wave of confidence wash over me, and with great timing. I would be needing it real, real soon.

  As if sensing my hesitance, he had strength enough left to impart one st message.

  “Shibu…store…”

  It took me a few beats to remember. Of course! How could I have forgotten the shortcut through the Shibu Department Store? If we took that, we’d at least get to the Scramble Crossing, and then back to Center Street before I would...

  “Alright.” I whispered, once I had caught my breath and prepared myself. “Sorry, buddy. This is gonna be a bumpy ride.”

  I knew that the moment I started to run, there would be no turning back.

  Not once did I look behind; for I knew that if I turned around to see what was making those low, threatening growls that only seemed to grow closer and closer, there would be nobody left to save me.

  The back door burst open with a loud bang, smming against the outside wall. I tumbled forward into the small courtyard, almost falling over onto the unkempt grass. I then scrambled to my feet and headed back inside, my arms finding Liu’s exhausted body.

  With what felt like the st of my strength, I picked him up a few centimetres off the floor, and in the distance, I noticed two glowing red circles looking right at us from the hallway’s darkness. They were growing increasingly rger.

  “Come on come on come on…!” I murmured with gritted teeth, turning around and practically throwing Liu onto the grass behind.

  By the time my hands had found the door handle, I could see it.

  Its sleek, onyx silhouette weaved out of the darkness, muscles rippling with lethal intent. Its razor-sharp cws, like ebony daggers unsheathed, glistened ominously, each one looking as though they could tear through flesh like paper. But it was the panther’s eyes – sharp gleaming orbs of crimson malevolence that had penetrated through the bckness – that terrified me the most. In that split second of idleness, its paws had left the ground. It was diving. It was diving towards us.

  Liu’s shout was what spurred me back into action, and with a great swing, I smmed shut the door, summoning all the weight I could and pushing my back against it. On the other side I felt a primal force smash and pound against the makeshift barrier. With every strike, I found myself recoiling further and further.

  My fearful eyes caught Liu’s, who had been fiddling with a gss bottle, some kind of cloth wrapping coiled around its mouth. Just before a burst of bck fire erupted in his left hand, my eyes were finally able to read what was printed on the bottle’s bel.

  He nodded, and I understood. Katoru held the weapon in his hand, the heat emanating from it matching the intensity in his eyes.

  “Three.”

  Another bash from the other side of the door. It took everything I had to keep from trembling at the force of the blow.

  “…T-two!”

  Again, a violent pummel assaulted my spine through the whittling back door. I didn’t know how many more I could take.

  “ONE!”

  The bottle of alcohol, the liquid inside now becoming a votile mix ready to ignite, sailed through the air, directly at me. Feeling my apprehension fade away, I pushed off from the door and lowered into a slide across the floor, allowing the momentum to carry me forward.

  Instantly, the door broke open, allowing the lethal, airborne concoction to meet its unsuspecting target. With a heart-stopping shatter of gss, the darkness was lit by a raging, open fme yered with orange and bck hues. An anguished shriek rose from behind the wall of fme, a dark shadow springing back and forth uncontrolbly.

  “How do you have the EXS left?!” I shouted, the literal heat of the entire situation starting to get to me.

  “I don’t.” He groaned, the fire in his eyes rapidly fading. “We…need to leave.”

  I agreed.

  Once Liu found his way onto my back, we were back on the move. Soon enough, the desperate screams had faded away, though the glow of the fme behind us burned bright. Bright enough to make out the numerous elongated shadows that stretched across the tarmac, looming in our direction.

  Liu moaned, “For fuck’s sake…”

  I agreed.

  It was over. I couldn’t go on any further.

  We’d found shelter in a family restaurant. I was ying Katoru behind the cashier counter when I heard a barrage of hard knocks at the door. My hands curled into fists.

  “Liu.” I spoke. “Do you trust me?”

  He stared back at me. At first his eyes were suspicious, trying to get a read on what I was attempting to do. Eventually, a glint of recognition shot over his expression.

  “Don’t.” He pleaded, his hand finding my left forearm. “Don’t try to be a fucking hero, Furusawa. We’re…close. We can just keep runn-”

  He was interrupted by the sound of gss shattering. I smiled at him without looking away.

  "Liu, being a hero was never my intention," I began, finding a stray santoku knife. "I could never really fight, stand tall, or speak up. Not like you, not like Hoshino. I was weak."

  I rose to my feet.

  "But I didn't mind. When I had friends like you, Ryota, Ryuzaki, and Yakky, who needed all of that? There's still so much I wanted to do with them, with you. The others too. I know things will get worse, and one day, you might feel compelled to turn on each other."

  I heard them getting closer. I didn’t have much time left.

  “When that day comes, Liu, I want you to remember who the true enemy is. If the others forget, then remind them. Remind them of the nightmares we all suffered here together. The lives we’ve all had ripped away from us. Watch over them. The three of us - Kozuki, Hoshino and I - will do the same for you. Okay?”

  I didn't wait for a response. I knew Liu; he'd see it through to the end.

  Hopping over the counter, I saw countless shapes. I didn't care. My path was set.

  I looked back one final time. Liu was expressionless. “Also, call me Akio, okay? Those’re the characters for 'bright' and 'hero'. Pretty unfitting, huh?”

  With that, I threw myself into the bck pit. My knife swept through some, but for each I defeated, five more repced them. Soon, I was engulfed.

  It was…surprisingly peaceful.

  …

  No.

  I still had one thing left to do.

  With a flick of my thumb, a great, inexplicably intense heat began to consume me. The world had become a shade of bright blue as the bckness engulfing me began to crumble. I needed to hurry.

  I tossed the lighter over the counter, into Liu’s hand. He was unresponsive, looking at my fming body with awe in his expression. I was too far gone to form any meaningful words. All that left my mouth was a tortured scream, which was enough to snap him out of it. His fingers scrambled for the lighter, before balling it up into a tight fist.

  It was almost done. With the enormous surge in EXS I was receiving from the burner’s fme, I cpped my hands together. I felt the ground rumble, and suddenly, A shiny gold pilr, obelisk-style, shot up next to Liu, busting through the roof. It had mysterious engravings etched onto the sides, and within, y a single circur space shielded by a mysterious barrier.

  I pointed to Liu, and in an instant, he disappeared, turning into a spritely yellow wisp of energy. It fshed, before the space inside the pilr became occupied with Katoru, his unconscious body curled up in a fetal position.

  Good.

  Snapping my fingers, the obelisk withdrew back underground, Liu in tow. All that remained was the destruction, and of course, my harbingers. Despite the torment of my flesh under the fire’s animosity, my heart was still. I stood erect, staring up at the freshly made hole through the establishment’s roof.

  …Did you see that, guys? I kept my promise, didn’t I? Not exactly Ryota-level for his st day on earth, but... man, it's quiet in here. So, so quiet.

  I felt a spsh of water caress my forehead. Soon enough, drops of water surged out from the sprinklers above cooling the fmes ravaging my body. I knew it mattered not, but I appreciated the final act of kindness regardless.

  Dad, you watching? I gave it my all. I stayed loyal. Just like…like…

  As I fell, I caught sight of the Noise. They weren't monsters; they were just staring. Were their eyes always this dark shade of green? Didn't matter.

  The st thing I saw was the moon, just hanging there like an old friend saying, 'It's okay, the night's got you.'

  Somehow, it made everything feel a bit lighter, like it knew all my stories and still had room for one more.