"I feel—I feel this weird pressure," I said, looking around. "What ominous presence is this?"
My eyes widened at the thought, still blinded from the flash.
"Makoto, is that you?!" I called out.
In a fraction of a second, the light cleared out, revealing a mysterious, tall man using one foot to balance on the sword hilt.
"Who are you?!" Makoto questioned.
"You already have your guard up?" the man said.
[ PANIC ]
"SILV—" Makoto yelled.
FWOSH!
He dragged Makoto by the throat through the air before he could even react.
"ARGH! Let go of me!" Karrk, KAK!
Makoto struggled, coughing out blood as the man tightened his grip on him. Suddenly, he swatted him away.
"You bastard!" Makoto yelled.
BOOM!
He slammed into the school wall, creating a massive crater.
"AHGH!"
CRAAAK!
[ BLACK SCENE ]
STOMP.
STOMP.
The man walked over with his hands in his pockets toward Makoto, who was laying in the shattered wall, bleeding from the mouth, barely conscious.
"Ugh..." Makoto managed to open his eyes.
"I can see it. Just by your eyes, I can see it," the man said, staring down at him as an inferior being.
"See... w-what?" Makoto muttered, blood dripping from his head.
"I know your biggest fear." He leaned down right to Makoto's ear, flashing the most abominable grin. "You loathe feeling weak."
GELCH!
His eyes turned to him.
"DON'T YOU?!"
Makoto's eyes widened in sheer revulsion.
"So, because we both know how much you love sitting around and doing nothing, I guess I'll just have to show you what it feels like watching your loved ones' lives get taken away right in front of your very own eyes," he said, stepping away.
He suddenly paused, taking one last look back, turning around to see Makoto frozen in shock.
"Really? You're out of it already? No fun. But we can't have that, can we?"
Stepping closer, he used his knee to impale Makoto's chest.
BOOM!
Makoto fell from the wall onto the grass.
"AHGHG!" He coughed up a pool of blood.
"AHAHA!" The man laughed, looking up at the sky with a manic grin.
"Even though I just shattered your lungs and plan on taking everything from you, I can't even bring myself to pity a guy like you," he stated to the barely alive Makoto. "But out of the kindness in my heart, I'll leave you with my name. It's Shiba," he grinned.
[ RED SCENE ]
BANG!
Lightning struck again, this time Shiba disappeared with the flash.
Unable to move, Makoto watched, still frozen in shock with eyes wide—as if they were glued open.
He forced himself to speak.
"S-H-I-B-A..."
"SHIBAA!"
"SHIBAAA!"
He screamed. Makoto screamed without lungs, letting out the most gut-wrenching shrieks imaginable. It wasn't just because of the physical pain, but because of the thought of feeling useless, helpless, defenseless—and the word that categorized it all: weak. That word alone shook his soul down to the depths of its core.
[ PERSPECTIVE SHIFT: MAKOTO ]
Is this the end? I thought to myself.
Is this how I die? Is this how my lowly life gets taken?
PITTER-PATTER.
The rain became awfully heavy. I chuckled, raising my hand over my face.
"I don't understand. I don't understand... I don't understand!" I muttered, before screaming each repetition in a higher pitch.
"WHY?!"
"WHY?!"
"WHY?!"
"WHY!!"
"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE THE WEAK ONE?! TELL ME, SHIBAA!"
My hand fell back down.
SPLASH!
DRIP... DRIP...
I slowly looked down to see my own bloody lungs in front of me.
DRIP... DRIP...
Blood dripped from the hole he had torn in my chest.
GASP!
The realization finally struck me as my eyes grew heavy.
"Ugh... looks like I'm not making it out of this one," I said, staring down at the pool of my own blood in which I was sitting.
With each set of falling raindrops, I blinked.
"I have to accept it," I said, opening my eyes for the last time.
Staring off into the rainy distance, I thought to myself, Maybe—just maybe—if Yuki was here, she could heal me.
"Well, too bad she isn't." The corner of my mouth twitching.
I laughed.
"HAH! HA... HA... HAHAHA!"
It was comical.
"I accept it."
I closed my eyes for a few seconds. In those few seconds, I saw my father, my mother, and now my friends. All those people who were important to me had one thing in common. What's that, you might ask?
I have lost them all.
Why? Simply because I'm weak. I can't help but blame myself for every single one of those losses. All the memories came flooding back: when my mother passed, I barely remembered her face because I was still a kid. Me and my father had a great relationship, and we even pushed past it together... but now here I am, taking my last breaths.
Someone will have to break the news to him.
Do I want to depart from this world knowing I left him and everyone else with nothing?!
I took a moment to really think to myself, I open my eyes.
[ SILENCE ]
PLATTER.
PLATTER.
The rain overflowed my thoughts.
[ REALIZATION ]
[ REJECTION ]
I REJECT IT! I stated.
Gwah!
[ DISGUST ]
I barfed at the thought, wiping my mouth with my sleeve.
[ DETERMINATION ]
CLANG!
Rocks fell as I grabbed onto the wall. I stepped out, leaning slightly against the stone.
SPLASH!
[ DARK SCENE ]
The pool of blood was so dense, and the ripped-out tissue made it look like something straight out of a horror film.
As I walked forward—no, you couldn't even call it "walking," as I moved forward—each step was more painful than you could ever imagine.
"Ugh... what a gruesome sight," I grunted.
[ GORE ]
I glanced over at the ground.
[ STARE ]
"My spear..." I groaned, holding my injured arm as I limped toward it.
DOMP!
I fell flat on the grass.
"Ugh..."
I reached out, grabbing the spear.
"I have to keep going. Now that I have nothing to lose, I can't throw my life away without it being beneficial," I thought.
Tightening my grip, using the spear to pull myself up.
"I'll keep moving till my last breath!" I stated.
DRIP... DRIP...
[ HOPE ]
DRIP... DRIP...
The sound of my sweat mixed with the heavy rain was the only thing that accompanied me.
The field... it feels so wide. Like it's never-ending, I thought, trying to resist the crushing pain.
I pulled my focus back to what lay ahead of me.
What is that? It looks like a silhouette of a sword...
[ A THOUGHT ]
I squinted, not being able to tell if it was being held or resting on top of something.
[ BLACK SCENE ]
Lightning struck.
KRACK!
[ PERSPECTIVE SHIFT: SILVER ]
He swung his sword.
FWOSH!
The blade grazed my face.
[ FEAR ]
GASP... HAA...
I slowly regained my breath as he kept the pointed sword trained directly at my face.
"You still haven't told me your name."
He gave a dissatisfied look.