Instinct - Great Encounter Battle Arc

“Oshi! Is that you?”

“Yes, Sweetheart, it’s me! I’m here now! You’re going to be alright!”

“Save me! Please!”

“I will, don’t you worry! Deep breaths, Sweetheart!”

“It burns! It burns! Please Oshi, it hurts so bad!”

“You’re so strong, Sweetheart! I’m going to get you out!”

“Arghhhhhhh!”

“Sweetheart? Sweetheart! Please, tell me you’re okay! No…No! Please, don’t go! You’re all I have left! I’m so sorry! This is all my fault!”

Hiroshi’s mind snapped back to reality as he came out of his trance. Through pure instinct, he had leapt forward, and his blade had somehow blocked Tomokazu’s just in time. The young man was surprised at his own strength. He had travelled over fifty meters in under a second. He was almost a blur at that speed. He sighed a breath of relief.

Tomokazu pushed down harder on his blade, and Hiroshi strengthened his grip, making sure that Tomokazu’s blade didn’t move an inch closer to Bibi’s face. The men locked eyes, determined to complete their goal.

“Oh, what do we have here? Are you alright with supporting this absolute blasphemy against my father, Shinigami?” Tomokazu hissed at Hiroshi, who was busy concentrating on keeping his sword steady. Nonetheless, he gave a cold response.

“Blasphemy huh? Is that what you would call that? How high do you value you and your father?”

“Very highly. He’s a God! And you and this woman are defying him and his beliefs!”

“By what? Saying that she wanted to kill him?” Hiroshi smirked. “I think I’m on her side.”

Tomokazu dragged his blade up Hiroshi’s, and he stepped back quickly to avoid his head been taken clean off.

“Besides, rules are rules. No killing. You have beaten her enough. Now leave her alone,” Hiroshi continued, standing in front of Bibi and sticking out his right arm to defend her face. Bibi looked at his back in wonder and joy.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Tomokazu was completely dumb founded at Hiroshi’s lack of fear towards the Gods. The crowd was completely silent. They would never dare defy a God, especially not the God of Hope. His power and respect were off the scale. “You know, we can skip your Semi-Final and fight right now!”

Hiroshi once again unleashed his dark presence slightly, clenching his fists in anger.

“You are such a fool. I just didn’t want you to kill a poor, defenseless woman! You won! Is that not enough?!” Hiroshi yelled at Tomokazu with pure hatred, who eventually backed down. “You’re abusing your power like a damn coward! Stand aside. I will have my battle first, and then you will have your final match.”

Tomokazu grunted in resistance but eventually walked out of the arena. He couldn’t stop thinking of Hiroshi’s energy. It was so strong, almost on a God’s level. His speed was immense. How could he make up so much ground? It was eating up the God child’s brain.

Meanwhile, another man in the crowd opened up a device on his left upper outer forearm. He was wearing a very dapper fedora and sunglasses, trying to hide his face. He wore a smart tracksuit, and to anybody else, he was just another man coming in to watch the Tournament. The device looked very complicated and had a small screen with little buttons layering all over. and he spoke into it discreetly.

“Utsu? Yeah, it’s me. Can you come down here? I think we have a Code Black.” The man waited for a response. “Yes, I’m almost one hundred precent certain…No it doesn’t look like him. It doesn’t matter! We can figure it out later! Get your ass and the rest of them down now! It’s a Code Black! I repeat, Code Black!”

As Alexander announced the winner to the crowd, responding with a massive cheer once again, Hiroshi offered a supporting hand to Bibi. He smiled at her warmly.

“You alright?” Hiroshi’s voice was full of sympathy and understanding. Kuro-Yami allowed Hiroshi to continue, assuming that there was a far greater goal that he was trying to achieve.

“I..I suppose,” Bibi blushed, taking Hiroshi’s hand. “Thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me, he was going to kill you. I just stopped him from murdering an innocent civilian, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Well…thanks anyway. I’m sure the crowd hates you now…”

“Even more than they already did?” Hiroshi laughed aloud. “I couldn’t care less! You’re safe, and that matters more. Say…Why even are you fighting in this Tournament? I can tell it’s not for the mentor.”

“Oh! Yeah…um…I suppose I can trust you,” she huffed, folding her arms. “I heard word on the street that Tomokazu was going to be here. I thought that if I beat him, it would lure his father out, so I could kill him. I’m nowhere near that level though,” she explained, looking at the ground in dismay. Hiroshi put a supportive hand on her shoulder, and she shivered slightly at his touch.

“You will be in time. I know it. That idea of yours…I like it a lot!” he grinned deviously. Bibi looked up at him in awe. Nobody had ever taken her goal seriously, except for this random stranger.

“And now, the other Semi-Final! Number Five, Blossoming Flower, versus Number Eight, Shinigami!” Alexander bellowed into his microphone, excited to get to the final as quickly as possible. Hiroshi looked down at Bibi with a kind smile.

“That’s my cue. You go get patched up, and after this Tournament is done, I want to discover the origin of your anger to the Gods. Might give me even more reason to kill them!” he continuing smiling as he walked away from Bibi, knowing that he had a strong ally at hand.

Kuro-Yami was proud that Hiroshi had not saved her for heroic reasons. He had saved her just for information and a new, powerful ally. He was becoming more like himself every day. Or was he? At least, that’s what Kuro-Yami thought.

What confused Kuro-Yami was that thought in Hiroshi’s head as he saved Bibi. What was that voice? He didn’t have an image, just words. Did Hiroshi block it out because of trauma?

“Too many unanswered questions,” Kuro Yami thought to himself, focusing on Hiroshi’s mental stability.

Those questions would be answered quicker than he realized…