Chapter 4-14 - Looming Eclipse
14 - Looming Eclipse
“Ichika, you want some?” Ausra asked, offering her a bottle of water in the back of the car.
“Yeah, thanks.” Ichika said. She slowly took a sip. Her attention was elsewhere.
“It’s all gonna be alright. Don’t be scared for no reason, okay?” Ausra comforted her, putting her hand on Ichika’s shoulder. “Sakuto is strong, and he’s smart too.”
“I know...” Ichika sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. He’s gonna be fine.”
“I hope that he comes out unscratched...”
“My heart won’t be able to handle it if something were to happen to him. I can’t get myself to experience that type of pain again.”
“He’s a good kid.” Rin said. She was the one driving the car. The weather outside was sunny, the sunlight even invaded their car. A slightly chilling wind blew outside.
“Hah, do you approve of him?” Ausra asked, pinching Ichika’s cheek.
“I’m fine with it.” Rin smiled. “Ichika can be with whoever treats her right. Also...”
“Hm?”
“The attack on Bernard Stanley’s headquarters...” Rin slowly said. “It was done by a soulful. Just be honest with me, did you have something to do with it?”
“I just wanted to make a small gift for you, Rin.” Ausra smiled. “Oskar and Sakuto didn’t mind it at all. They were excited, in fact.”
“Ah, I see...” Rin sighed.
“...”
“Thank you.”
“Ausra, when all of this is done...and everything works out...let’s just go back to Tokyo.” Ichika said. “Let’s just spend time together just like back then.”
“I hope that’s the case too.” Ausra said. “There’s a lot you have to talk to Sakuto about.”
“She’s not alone. I have to try and see what the hell is up with Oskar...”
“I can’t imagine a life where he’s not there, and it’d hurt me to imagine a life where he’s not helping me out with crazy stuff like this.”
“It’ll all be fine, kids.” Rin said. “Just trust him to get the job done.”
“It was a long way to D.C. We had to take the hard route by land as well...” Zawadski sighed, finally stepping outside their car and stretching to his heart’s content.
“What, are you getting bored?” Yuuka asked, leaving the car.
“I got quite annoyed at the fact you were talking to your online fans the whole time.” Zawadski grunted.
“And here it is. Confirmation of contact.” Jian said, looking at her phone. “Sakuto Hitori is up.”
“He kept his word, huh?” Ichigo said.
“A lot depends on how his fight goes. While we attend to Mr. Kamiki’s direct orders, we have to entrust the duty of killing Jackal to Sakuto.” Captain Zervos said, exiting the driver’s seat. “Let’s all wish him the best.”
“Miyuki, I told you that I prefer the tuna sashimi over the salmon, right?” Kaito asked, disappointed, looking at the box of food at his desk.
“Ah, s-sorry...I can replace it if you want to...” Miyuki said, shriveled up.
“It’s whatever. Happens to the best of us.” Kaito said. “You’re free to go now, unless you also want to watch the show.”
“Excuse me?”
“I connected to our camera network in D.C. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to see Sakuto Hitori take on Jackal Kagerr.” Kaito said. “If you were ever curious about soulful combat, I suggest you pay close attention too.”
“Two soulfuls with uncontrollable growth, unknown motives and immense power...”
“Do your best, Sakuto Hitori.”
“The soulful world is counting on you.”
“So this is it, huh?” Oskar said. He and Sakuto were standing outside the hotel’s entrance. After taking a quick few minutes to rest, Sakuto was ready for war.
“Shit, I guess so.” Sakuto said. He wore his favorite and most comfortable gray compression shirt, paired with a pair of combat-attuned gray sweatpants and comfortable black shoes.
“Are ya scared?”
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“Nah.”
“Ya nervous?”
“Yeah, kinda.” Sakuto said. “This feels like the good old days. Exactly like how I felt before entering the ring or the octagon and fighting. I think of this as a tournament. Helps me ease the stress.”
“I’m sure you got this.” Oskar said. “It’ll be hard, but you’ll manage.”
“Queueing any ranked game with you is far more draining than this will ever be.” Sakuto said.
“Fuck off.” Oskar laughed. “But seriously man, be safe. I trust you to get the job done and come back.”
“Yeah.” Sakuto nodded. The two firmly shook each other's hands, and eventually, they pulled each other closer and embraced each other.
After the handshake, Sakuto slowly turned around and left, heading towards the flaring soul presence that belonged to Jackal. Oskar went back to the hotel, quickly opening his phone to check on the tracker he had placed in Sakuto’s clothes.
[OCTOBER 1ST, 2024; 3:00PM.]
“So, been a while, huh?”
“Just a few days. How’re your injuries? Your hand looks like you upgraded it.”
“It feels more like a downgrade, honestly. But it is what it is.”
“I guess...”
“And what’ve you been up to?”
“A few small jobs here and there. Had to raid a corporation’s headquarters on my way here. Bernard Stanley’s. Felt great, honestly.”
“Never knew you moved like that. Could’ve given me a call, honestly. Would love to destroy their fancy ass building myself.”
“Was more of a personal matter. A shame we couldn’t get their CEO, though. Didn’t see him running up to the roof. Had some good fun fighting the soulfuls they had for hire.”
“That’s my bad. I caught Bernard Stanley himself on the street and made quick work of him.”
“Ah, that’s good then. Job’s fully done.”
“After all the shit that happened after our last fight, I was looking forward to taking a better look at ya, Sakuto.”
“And why’s that?”
“How does a person who does whatever the hell he wants choose to listen to someone else?”
“...”
“Take your time, man. I wanna find out what keeps you working with the Heisei.”
“You see, there’s this one girl that I like. You know, I really, really like her. She’s a soulful, she’s smart, funny, pretty...and most importantly, she gets me. She can understand me while others can’t. As long as I’m cool with Mr. Kamiki, I’m sure that she’ll be fine too.”
“So I was right. You were doing it for yourself. And that thing I saw in your eyes... must’ve been you thinking about her. Can’t lie, kinda disappointed that you’re willing to trust someone. I thought you’d know better.”
“Trust is... a difficult way to put it, you know? I’m scared of trusting her, but at the same time, if I don’t at least try it, I’ll end up being the same miserable piece of trash I was before I awakened as a soulful and met her. Shit, maybe meeting her was the reason I awakened in the first place.”
“Yeah, I get ya. Trust is a pretty awful thing. You brace your stomach but get stabbed in the back.”
“At least you got someone with ya. That friend of yours that was there for the first time we fought. You left your chance to kill me to save him. Don’t you trust him?”
“Nah, had to kill him. He said what he really thought about me. Said I was a selfish psycho or something like that and dumped some lead on my face. All he did in the end was just prove my point. Trust is worthless.”
“God I wish I didn’t have to kill you. You seem like you know your ABCs when it comes to being messed up in the head.”
“Never knew better. Street life, seeing death all the time. Guys telling you to not trust anyone before getting shot by their own boys or families. It is what it is. Made me feel like I was rejected by the world.”
“It’s a pretty painful thing. Feeling like you don’t belong anywhere.”
“You know how that feels?”
“Yeah. Up until now, I had nowhere to be. At least now I have something I’m loyal to. And you... you look like you’re only loyal to yourself. ”
“Huh...is that so?”
“...”
“Sakuto, do we really gotta fight?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, come to think of it. We’re both delusional and freedom-loving soulfuls who put themselves above anything else. We see the shitty system that we are trapped in, we fight it...”
“What are you getting at?”
“Sakuto.” Jackal said, standing up from the bench the two were relaxing on. The wind gently blew in his direction, the sun caressed him with its unwavering and comforting beams of light. He extended his shadowy hand. “Join my side.”
“Hah...” Sakuto said, remaining seated. “Join...your side?”
“We’re both pretty damn strong. The two of us can definitely kill off the Heisei dogs...and I’ll make sure no one harms your girl. Eventually, we’ll be strong enough to kill Kaito Kamiki and all the other shitheads playing these political games. Come on, don’t you see my vision? True freedom. I know we can make it work. Obedience to no one but ourselves.”
Sakuto deeply sighed.
“Hayk Nakama was one of the strongest soulfuls, you probably heard of how stupidly strong he was. But he always said this one thing. That we shouldn’t mess with Mr. Kamiki. He never explained the hows and whys, but that’s what he kept repeating and basing all of his decisions off of. He even died to make sure he followed those words. I’m sorry man. I’m gonna have to be selfish.”
“I see...”
“I’m guessing I shouldn’t ask the same question back.” Sakuto said. “You’re dead set on your own methods.”
“Sure as hell am.”
“Then let’s do what we came to do.” Sakuto stood up, shaking Jackal’s hand. The small park they were relaxing in was filled with nature’s ambience. Birds were chirping, insects were exploring the environment...the place was devoid of people. Maybe that’s what made it so peaceful and comfortable for the two of them.
“It’s a shame...I like this place a lot.” Jackal said, letting go of the handshake and taking a few steps back. “Apparently I like parks a lot.”
“They’re really nice. I like nature too.” Sakuto replied.
“Sakuto...”
“Hm?”
“Thanks for talking to me.”