Soul Spark

10 - Roundabout / Remember, No Soulfuls

“Kaito Kamiki has an impenetrable barrier around him at all times.”

“It is not the result of his own power, but a power that one of his allies deploys all the time. The source was identified to be a submarine that is usually positioned by the pacific ocean, in close proximity to Kaito’s stronghold territories.”

“But it needs to resurface at times. It needs to resupply. And due to sheer luck, we identified exactly which port it will be docked by.”

“All that’s left now is to strike.”

“Check your guns, everyone.” Mukawa said, grabbing his camouflage-colored bag. “We kill on sight if we’re endangered, but try to avoid collateral damage.”

In the small warehouse, Mukawa and his associates were preparing for the unpredictable but absolutely vital operation. His team was packing up their bags, reloading their weapons, putting on bulletproof armor and taking every precaution necessary.

“Kana, you’re holding on to the thermite, right?” Mukawa asked.

“Yes.” Kana replied. She was Mukawa’s old ally and one of the more ruthless fighters in the group. She had short straight hair with some of the bangs colored red, and her dark eyes were full of resolve.

“Haruki, preparation report? Did you take the medkits and everything?”

“Everything’s in place. Good to go.” Haruki nodded. While Mukawa was the head of the operation, Haruki was the second-in-command, and he had a very specific duty - his job was to object to Mukawa's ideas. He was no older than 18, he had ruffled light brown hair and swamp-colored eyes.

“Right.” Mukawa sighed. “I don’t think we’re forgetting anyone, are we?” He sarcastically said, looking at Dima.

“Fuck you.” Dima said. “You hid information from me.”

“Did I?”

“You never told me you worked for Otto Richter.” Dima said. “You never told me he had a copy of Sakuto Hitori’s ability.”

“Your fault for not being able to put two and two together.” Mukawa shrugged. “Besides, if you really were upset, you wouldn’t be here, patiently waiting for my orders.”

“Fuck you.” Dima sighed. “Why do we need guns?”

“Because of Kaito Kamiki. Come to think of it, everything’s because of that asshole.” Mukawa explained, approaching him. “He’d divert his personal attention to us if he finds out that soulfuls are raiding his precious little source of protection. This way, if we raid it like soulless pirates, he’ll just brush it off as bad luck.”

“You seriously don’t think that there’s gonna be soulfuls on board?” Dima asked. “You’re not convincing me.”

“That’s why we have jammers. It’s like you were snoozing while I was explaining the plan.” Mukawa grunted. “We’ll kill them before they ID us as soulfuls.”

Dima still felt discontent.

“You know that this is the only way, don’t you?” Mukawa said. “So, will you trust me?”

“It’s not like I have any other options.”

“I knew you’d be loyal to me ever since I saw that look on your ugly face.” Mukawa said. “You have someone special to you, don’t ya? And she’s not a soulful. Which puts her at risk. You know that perfectly well, don’t you?”

“What are you trying to prove? I’m loyal to your cause, not to you as a person.” Dima said. “I don’t know what else you’re hiding from me.”

“If you were loyal to the cause, you’d be in D.C. right now. Fighting your old friends and the fiends of the Heisei. You’re loyal to me because it’s a loophole.” Mukawa said. “I’m this roundabout way to support Otto without actually supporting Otto. And others don’t need to know that I support Otto, hm? They’ll just believe you when you tell them you work for me. That I’m a free company.”

“Fuck off.” Dima said, clenching his fist.

“Mukawa, we’re going.” Haruki said.

“Then let’s go. Let’s make sure our friend here doesn’t lose his precious soulless partner.” Mukawa said.

The night was still young. The squad was slowly moving around the port, already aware of where the submarine in question would be. Even the warehouse they used to prepare their assault was located at the same docks.

Slowly, beneath the dark and starless sky, they crept towards their objective...

“Oi, you ain’t done refilling this one?” One of the workers said, standing on the dock near which the submarine resided. “Are there lads inside?”

“Yeah. ” His coworker replied. “We gotta wait more til they get the crew here, probably til tomorrow. Something's wrong with their reactor.”

“It’ll take a while then.” The man said. “Stay here, I’ll go take a leak.”

As he went on and left his colleague alone, he failed to realize that it was the last time he’d see him. A clean shot from a suppressed sniper rifle put him down in an instant. Haruki took aim again, killing the second coworker. His limp body fell into the water.

“The coast is clear. Go.” Haruki said, grabbing his rifle and moving forwards. The rest of the squad followed him, and soon they approached the submarine.

“Kana, get the thermite out.” Mukawa said.

“No.” Kana replied.

“Excellent. Just be safe when- wait, what?” Mukawa asked.

“I think it’s better if we lure them out first. Then one of us pops the EMP, and we kill them all in one go.” Kana said.

“Kana, what did we agree on when it comes to improvising?” Haruki asked, disappointed.

“Open the hatch! We need to check on the engine!” Dima yelled.

“You fucking idiot!” Mukawa barely contained his yell, as the words came out as troubled whispers. He signaled for his whole crew to crouch down as to not be seen.

Dima, on the other hand, had taken his ski mask off. Due to his wonderful fortune, the hatch was opened. An older woman popped her head out of it.

“What’s wrong with the engine?” She asked. Her soul presence was up there, she was one of the targets.

“I need to take a loot at it.” Dima said. “We might have to run some tests on it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the engine, the problems are with the reactor. Do you even know what you have to do?” The woman asked, now sounding concerned. “Are you even a part of the repair crew?”

“This is why I hate improvisations...” Mukawa sighed.

“Now!”

Mukawa quickly deployed the EMP device and fired off a blast strong enough to jam out the electronics in the submarine. Communication was no longer an option. Haruki and Kana aimed their submachine guns at the old woman, and despite her best attempts to reinforce herself, her face and neck were getting destroyed.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Their comms are cooked, go in, now!” Mukawa yelled. The two gunners approached the woman with their knives, and before she could activate any soul powers, they killed her.

They, with Mukawa, quickly jumped in, and Dima followed suit. The gunners aimed at the two soulful men, but were quickly overpowered. They couldn’t do much without soul prowess. Instinctively, they protected themselves with reinforcement, which gave their nature away.

“Shit! It’s Otto’s dogs!” The man yelled. “Leave the sub, get the emergency line!”

“On it!” The other one said, throwing Kana back, and striking Haruki with a powerful jab.

“I closed the hatch.” Dima said, taking a stance. “We can get ‘em.”

“Then we’ll just have to kill them. Come on, give ‘em hell!” The man said, charging at Haruki. He caught him off guard with his speed and slammed his face into the sub’s wall. The other man rushed at Kana, kicking her back and preparing to finish her off with his sword.

“This is why I hate improvisations...”

Mukawa quickly concentrated.

“Oh well, cat’s out of the bag already. What matters is we get the host of the barrier, which could be either of those two.”

“Fuck it.”

“Divine Acclamation.”

“Mukawa?!” Kana yelled. “I thought you said no soul stuff?”

The spark of light behind his head quickly became brighter and brighter, as a more dull and colorless shade engulfed the insides of the submarine.

“Vivid Daydream Cemetery.”

“I changed my mind.” Mukawa sighed. Once the acclamation went into full effect, the two men, who were caught off guard, quickly fell asleep. “We’re on a timer now. Go, quick! Destroy the source of the barrier!”

“Damn hypocrite.” Dima said. “Let’s finish those two off and get the hell outta here.”

“You’re wrong. It’s not two.” Haruki said. He looked much more concerned now. “There’s someone else on this submarine.”

“What do you mean?” Kana asked, confused.

“Look, over there. Strapped to the seat.” Haruki pointed. “It’s a child. He looks about a year and half old.”

“We killed the barrier’s host, I don’t think we should be concerned with this.” Haruki said. He decapitated one of the men, as Dima killed the other one.

“That’s not the case.” Mukawa said. “What’s a child doing on a submarine like this?”

“Mukawa, you don’t gotta worry about it.” Dima said.

“He has a soul presence.” Mukawa said. “There’s no reason for the kid to be here. Come to think of it, we killed the other three with relative ease. They were looking forward to killing us. I think Kaito would instruct the barrier’s host to be more passive.”

“Or, he’d instruct the aggressive fighters to protect the barrier’s host.” Haruki said. “Mukawa...do you get what I’m saying?”

Mukawa did indeed consider that possibility.

“Fuck...”

“You’re right.”

He held his head, and a few moments of silence later, kicked the wall of the submarine in rage.

“God fucking damn it!”

The four of them stared at the sleeping child. He had a bit of light brown hair on his head, his body looked very frail and innocent. His breaths were quiet and peaceful.

“No, no, I can’t do this.” Mukawa said, taking a few steps back.

“What do you mean?” Dima asked. “Who was the one talking about stopping Kaito at all costs?!”

“It’s a fucking child, look at it yourself!” Mukawa lashed out. He looked at the kid’s face again. “I can’t...I’m not gonna murder a child. There’s gotta be another way.”

“What other way?” Kana asked. “You’re gonna try reasoning with him? A child that doesn’t even need to speak or understand anything? They probably used some black magic to even get him to activate his soul expression in the first place...”

“We don’t have any access to those right now. And we won’t be able to take him to the doc in time.” Haruki said. “You can’t convince him to undo something he didn’t even realize he did.”

“Fucking hell...” Mukawa sighed. He took a deep breath, crouching down and resting his head on his palms.

“Mukawa, you have your acclamation active.” Kana said. “Can you fabricate a pattern of memories that makes him deactivate?”

“Like I said, Kaito did something directly.” Mukawa replied. “I don’t know what kind of memories I need to implant into his brain to make him do that.”

“Something primal that even he can comprehend.” Haruki said. “He’s not a complete infant. He probably knows and recognizes what emotions are.”

“God, you’re talking like you know exactly how a child works or thinks. We don’t even know his age or if his brain is normal. He’s a fucking soulful before even learning his first words. That makes no sense. His mindscape is somehow handling soul prowess.”

Everyone kept looking at Mukawa.

“What? I’m not gonna murder a fucking child!” Mukawa yelled at the crowd. “He doesn’t know what’s going on! He’s a damn weapon!”

“Then treat him like a weapon!” Haruke said, walking towards him. “I’ll take care of him.”

“No you fucking won’t.” Mukawa objected, grabbing onto his clothes from behind. “We’ll figure something out.”

“Like what?”

“Like...I...don’t know! Just let me think!” Mukawa said, sitting down again. His breathing was panicky.

“A barrier that cannot be disabled.”

“A barrier that is unable to be disabled by the kid.”

“A barrier the usage of which was imprinted into him...”

“Hold on, the barrier is active at all times, right?” Mukawa asked. “Even when the child is asleep, correct?”

“Yes.” Dima replied.

“But what if he’s unconscious?” Mukawa asked. “Think about it, he didn’t learn how to use his ability, he just activated it without even realizing it thanks to whatever Kaito did to him.”

“So if we make him lose consciousness and come back to life, you’re saying that the barrier would be released.” Dima said. “And he would have no way of activating it back up.”

“That’s assuming he really doesn’t know how to activate or maintain it. We’re jumping to conclusions too much.” Haruki commented. “We don’t know what to do. The safest way is to kill him.”

“You're right.” Mukawa said, now sounding determined and even enlightened “You’re right!”

“Huh? Weren’t you against that idea a few moments ago?” Kana was confused.

“We kill him, but only temporarily. We kill his body and bring it back to life.” Mukawa said. “Kaito probably accounted for loss of consciousness, but he’d never expect loss of life to be an issue. The kid was confined to this submarine and protected his whole life.”

“And tell me, please, how the hell are you gonna kill him and revive him?” Dima asked. “Is there a soul expression you have that I’m not aware of?”

“Soul determination.” Mukawa said. “Once a soulful is critically wounded but isn’t definitely dead, soul determination allows their souls to persist for just a little longer. The body will be dead, but it actually won’t be dead due to the determination. In that time window, we jumpstart the body back up and he’ll be fine.”

“This is the most crackhead theory I’ve ever heard in my entire life.” Kana said. “You’re gonna...I...I don’t even know what makes you think it’ll work. Does he even have soul determination potent enough to keep him alive?”

“There’s gotta be medical equipment around here. We stop his heart, wait for him to be clinically dead, and once he’s being kept technically alive only by his soul determination, we’ll kick start his heart back up.” Mukawa said, starting to ravage through the submarine to find the necessary equipment. “If we find nothing here, Dima, you’ll get to the nearest hospital and get us everything necessary.”

“You’re gambling with his life. If you wanna keep him alive so badly, think of another way.” Haruki said. “Your theory isn’t even correct. You think soul determination can magically recover all the dead brain cells that he will have as a result of his heart stopping?”

“I’ve seen what soul determination can do.” Mukawa said.

“Just because a certain Sakuto Hitori could survive for a few minutes with minor damage, doesn’t mean that a two-year-old child will heal his dead brain.” Kana said, grabbing Mukawa. “Look. For another. Way.”

“I have the defib kit.” Mukawa said, holding a red box. “Haruki, your soul expression lets you phase through walls. You’ll manually stop his heart. We’ll use the defib to start it back up.”

“Do you not hear what I’m saying?! You’re hoping for a miracle!” Kana yelled.

“And if there’s even the smallest chance that it’ll work, I’ll try it.” Mukawa said, approaching the child. He unpacked the defib kit and placed all the equipment on the floor. “Haruki, come on! We’re short on time!”

“I’m not going to.” Haruki replied. “I’m going to kill him so we get this shit over with.”

“No you’re not.”

“Mukawa, I respect your opinion, but this is just a sacrifice.” Haruki explained. “Do I need to tell you how many soulful children like him are being killed off right now? And just how many children like this are gonna be killed if we don’t do this?”

“Just shut up and do what I say.”

“Your fucking empathy is gonna be the downfall of you.” Haruki continued. “The Mukawa that I know would’ve made this choice in a heartbeat. The Mukawa that I chose to follow would have already been cleaning the blood off of his hands.”

“Mukawa, all this time, you’ve had your acclamation active, right?” Dima suddenly asked.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“And whatever dream you implant into a person’s mind becomes a certain memory, right?” Dima asked again.

“Yeah.” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

“So instead of actually killing him, why don’t we just convince him that he’s dead?”