He Smiled Through It All

Raizen collapsed to his knees.

His body trembled, fists pressed to the dirt as he gasped for breath. The blackened hue of his skin began to fade, dissolving like smoke, revealing the deep blue underneath—his real self. The silence around him felt too loud. Each breath was a struggle, as if the very act of being alive was punishment.

His voice cracked through the air like something breaking.

"I… I killed him. Someone I… I admired."

He slammed his fists into the earth with a dull, hollow thud. The ground didn’t respond, just like the universe hadn’t—when he begged for it all to be a lie.

"I'm nothing but a failure."

Kaminari blinked slowly. “Oh… he’s blue now. Does that mean he's on our side?”

Kenzo approached quietly, handing Bakura back to Kaminari with a nod. “Yes. The Black Lotus Seal is gone. His memories… his strength… they’ve returned. He was always blue. The black only masked what was buried.”

Raizen trembled, choking back sobs he couldn’t contain.

"I didn’t want to be this… this monster. Why me? Why was I chosen to serve him? I killed someone I cared about… but not with my hands."

The ache in his voice felt like it could split the sky.

Kaminari watched, silent. Something about Raizen's pain was too familiar. He stepped forward, kneeling beside him, and placed a hand on Raizen’s trembling shoulder.

“You're right. Life isn’t fair,” Kaminari said softly, no arrogance in his voice—only understanding. “It's like paper tossed into a river. It’s going to sink. But… if it’s folded right, it might float for a while. Maybe even carry something.”

Raizen’s shoulders shook harder. “Don’t you dare try to lecture me!” he snapped, voice sharp with grief. “You… you haven’t—! You ever killed someone who once shielded you with their own life? Have you ever—brought horror to your own country?”

Kaminari stared at the ground. Then, slowly, he exhaled.

“Who knows.”

Raizen paused, breath catching.

“There was this boy,” Kaminari began. “He never got to know his mother. All he had was a bracelet. One day, someone crushed it underfoot… laughed while they did it.”

Raizen slowly looked up, blinking.

“That boy watched his father fall ill. Helpless. Useless. Then he found out his mother… didn’t just die. She was murdered. Hidden from him. Lied to. Every day, people bullied him—humiliated him for no reason but for existing.”

Kaminari’s voice grew quiet.

“But the worst came later… when he had to fight someone he never stopped thinking about. His childhood friend. His only friend. The one person who stood by him in the dark.”

Raizen’s eyes widened. He didn’t speak.

“He killed him.”

The air felt like it had been ripped away. Raizen stared, jaw slack.

Kaminari looked away, jaw trembling. “So yeah. I know what it’s like.  To be hated. To hate yourself. To scream at the sky until your throat tears and nothing answers. I know. This story changed my life.”

Raizen’s lips parted but no sound came. The tears came silently now.

Kaminari touched the aquamarine stone hanging from his neck.

“That boy found a letter from his mother before he left home… and it reminded him—there’s still something worth fighting for.”

Raizen’s voice cracked. “Why are you telling me this…?”

“Because,” Kaminari said gently, “I am the boy.”

Raizen didn’t speak. He just… nodded, slowly. One trembling hand wiped his face. Another pressed to the ground as he tried to rise.

Kenzo stepped forward. “Come back to the village, Raizen.”

“…Alright,” he murmured.

They began walking together. After a while, Raizen asked in a small voice, “What happened to… Shiori-chan?”

Kenzo exhaled. “She married. Has three children now. One of them became a warlord.”

Raizen looked down. “I see…”

Kaminari tilted his head. “You have any siblings?”

Kenzo smiled faintly. “Raizen here is Hiroshi’s younger brother.”

Kaminari froze mid-step. “HUH?!”

Sumire’s eyes widened. “Wait… Brother of the Blood Warrior?!”

Raizen turned his face. “Don’t compare me to him. Hiroshi was everything. I’m just… a mistake.”

—

The villagers bowed low as they returned, eyes filled with fear.

Kenzo raised a hand. “Do not fear him. He was under Kuroshin’s control. That seal suppressed his memories and his soul. He is himself again—Raizen, the one we once trusted.”

That night, the others slept peacefully.

But Raizen lay awake.

His eyes traced the wooden ceiling above as memory spilled like a flood. The village surrounded by forests. The scent of firewood. The laughter of his brother.

Then… the screaming.

The warlords. The fire. The blood.

Hiroshi—eight years old—had awakened his aura to protect him. Injured, coughing blood, Hiroshi still shielded him.

"Raizen… don't cry. I'm here."

Years later, Hiroshi had said, “Guard the forest. I’ll protect the edge. We’re the guardians now.”

“But why us?” Raizen had asked.

“Because we hold something precious. The sword. The mask. If we don’t protect them… who will?”

Raizen never awakened his aura.

Until that day. He touched the mask. The power ripped through him like lightning, wild and uncontrollable.

He remembered the scream in the forest.

“Hiroshi!” he’d yelled.

They rushed in. A couple was being attacked by a beast.

“Please help!” the girl sobbed. “He’s hurt!”

The boy stood bravely with a broken sword.

Hiroshi charged. Graceful. Focused. Deadly. His sword—drawn from blood—cut through the beast. But the beast struck back. Hiroshi screamed.

“RAIZEN! USE YOUR POWER!”

Raizen obeyed.

And lightning answered.

A blast of pure energy incinerated the beast… and nearly killed the boy. Another bolt tore through the air, and Hiroshi had to shield the girl with his own body.

Later, Raizen asked, shaking, “Brother… how…?”

Hiroshi smiled. “Beast blood. It helps heal… kinda gross though.”

“But the girl… she called me a murderer…”

Hiroshi lifted him gently. “Let them say what they want. You’ll learn control. One day, Raizen, we’ll make this world a better place to live”

That memory ended in silence. Raizen stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Tears rolled quietly down his cheek.

Raizen stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. The silence wasn’t peaceful—it was heavy, soaked in the memories of a life split by tragedy.

He remembered Hiroshi’s gentle voice under the twilight sky. They were alone, the forest around them swaying with wind and warmth. Raizen was training, Hiroshi approached.

And then, Hiroshi had turned to him—his expression unusually serious—and spoke.

Words that Raizen would never forget.

Words that would change everything.

Because after that moment... something happened.

Something that shattered his life forever.

—To be continued