Arc 2 - Chapter 9: You Promised To Give Me Flowers...

Back at the lounge.

“Kenichi…”

His voice cracked by just saying his name. Pointing his gun upward, he had it occupied with his left hand, while his right struggled to hold onto his cowboy hat.

“What are you doing here…”

Kenichi stared soullessly at the middle aged cowboy, while his hands rested inside his pockets. Wearing a black cowboy hat, the ridgeline, made it so it blocked anyone from seeing his eyes.

“Answer me dammit! How are you alive!?”

And yet, the ginger-haired man didn’t move, as he stood firm between the hallway and the lounge. With wood chips slumbering beneath his boots, his nonchalant face remained in action as he just stared.

Releasing his frustration, he lowered his left hand, as he had the gun pointed to the ground.

“You’re not a lich … so explain to us, explain to me … how did you become this.”

He didn’t bother opening his mouth, as he kept his cheeks motionless. Turning his attention to Jenny, he saw tears dripping down amongst the rug, as she held a spiked frying pan with both hands. Shaking her weapon violently, her knees were on the verge of buckling tight.

“You promised …”

She wanted to stomp, she wanted to cry; but she couldn’t. Tightening her body, no veins splurged from her skin, but she did move her right hand to wield the entirety of the pan. Her eyes turning red, and tears rolling down her cheeks, the grip she had on the handle crackled bits of the metal.

“Why did you break your promise…?”

Even amidst their controlled emotions, his face showed no sign of emotion; not even frustration nor annoyance. He’s not a lich, but he’s against them, so what can he be? A sympathizer? A terrorist? Or maybe there’s something else instead…

“Say something…”

Jenny placed her left hand against her chest. Not moving his mouth once, she lowered her spiked frying pan against her hip, while shaking violently. Her eyes narrowed, more tears soon poured forth.

“Say something!”

Pushing his face down, he turned down to see the woman with glasses lower her weapon. Keeping his face emotionless, he … finally unveiled his mouth.

“I have no memory of you.”

She took a couple of steps back. The grip she had on her chest tightened further, leaving her to slowly shake her head.

“ha…”

“And I never recalled him either.”

The handle of her weapon creaked. Gritting all of her teeth, she lifted the spiked frying pan, and pointed it straight back toward Kenichi.

“Liar… you’re lying …”

“It’s the truth.”

“You’re just a liar … a liar!”

“You’re getting annoying.”

He thrusted his hand toward her pan, in the hopes he would grab the handle, until a hand dug deep into his wrist. Glancing to his left, he saw a middle-aged man with darkened eyes, putting him still.

“I don’t want to do this…”

Pulling out a simple handgun from his jacket’s pocket, David gripped firm with his left hand. Aiming at Kenichi, his breathing fastened, but his grip didn’t falter.

“But I must.”

Having his right hand already on Kenichi’s wrist, he trenched his fingers deep into the bone. Twisting it like a doorknob, Kenichi’s hand was on the verge of dislocating, causing him to squeeze his eyes.

And having his gun aimed at him, David had his finger on the trigger, with the tip of it clammed with sweat.

‘Forgive me … Kenji.’

His body reverbated six times, with the epicenter being his right hand. Seeing six bullets charging at him, they were halfway to piercing his chest, as he saw—

He took a step to the left, just as the bullets grazed his jacket. The edges of it having burned marks, David saw Kenichi unfazed, as smoke plowed from the barrel. Time flowing normally, the six bullets penetrated into a wall, shredding the dark oak wood. And in that instant, David let go of Kenichi’s wrist, leaving a crimson scar.

‘He dodged them? H-How…’

Stroking his jacket without glancing down, Kenichi’s fingers rubbed the burnt areas of the leather. Pulling them back, his eyes immediately sharpened, leaving him no choice but to place his hands into his lower back. Having David’s attention, he brought out two huge chunks of metal from his holsters, with one on each hand.

David took a step back, as he unleashed six empty cartridges from the grip. As the empty bullets trickled the floor, he jabbed his hand into his pocket to pull out a small box. Taking out six bullets, he quickly filled them into the gun, and clocked the gun. All the while Jenny clutched her spiked frying pan vigorously,

‘Kenny …’

The two huge metals began to take shape, looking like it was coated in black amidst the darkened room. Two buttons attached on the center, his thumbs already hovered over them.

‘Just what is he wielding—’ thought David, before he was interrupted by Kenichi pressing the buttons.

There was a line, a chain attached to the mechanized metal … a chain most chainsaws used. They weren’t swords, they weren’t rotating chains on metal; they were two literal chainsaws.

Embers scouring a two feet radius, it created a dazzling display of light. Smoke lubricating from the bottom of the chainsaws, Jenny and David stared at it with complexity, as Jenny took a step back.

But it gave David no choice.

________________________________________________________________________

“I’ll make this painless.”

Dual wielding doubled chained chainsaws, Kenichi readied his stance by putting his right leg forward. Pushing himself off the ground, and extending his arms back, he brought the wind down to the chains of the metal as he flew.

And as he did this, David saw the world in slow motion. Only wielding a handgun, David thrusted both his feet off the ground, and dodged to the right.

Avoiding a direct slash, Kenichi thrusted his chainsaws a second time. Gathering a gust of wind by its chains, David steadied his feet on the ground again, and sweatied his palms.

‘His moves were lacking back then. So why this sudden change?’

Walking backward, he began dodging each slash from his chainsaws. Mowing the air with his chains, some of the metal grazed the dark oak wood below, shredding the floor like cloth.

Wood chunks scattering the floor, no sweat or exhaustion dwindled inside Kenichi. Even when he thrusted his chainsaws, with all his strength, his vision and arms were in perfect sync with David’s ballad.

‘And I can’t even shoot at him point blank.’

A piece of loose wood got into David’s eye. Like a piece of large rock, it assaulted its way into his lower eyelid.

“Ah!”

“You’re backed up.”

David placed his back against the wall, as he continued to wield his pistol with his right hand. Extending his left hand outward, his palm scoured the hard wood.

‘I just need to execute this properly.’

Using his peripheral vision, David noticed a large dresser beside him. Shifting his left hand downward, he grabbed the center back of the large wooden dresser, while he kept his eyes on Kenichi.

Seeing him raise his right chainsaw, he also pulled back his left. With his right rotating blades swishing the air above him, the angled metal to his left had pointed itself inward.

“You’re finished.”

Swinging his right chainsaw down like an ax, David’s grip on the dresser tightened, which left his left arm to bulge. At the right time, David pushed the dresser forward, sending Kenichi’s right chainsaw to slice through the wood. While he did this, he ducked down, as his left chainsaw barely grazed the top of his cowboy hat, leaving scraps of leather to crackle.

‘That was close.’

Crawling backward, sweat drenched from his forehead. His antics of desperation in play, Kenichi’s hands began to softly shake.

“Dodging me is pointless.”

David bumped into a couple of chairs near a table. Being blessed by luck, he grabbed the leg of a chair with his left hand, and threw it toward Kenichi. Without blinking, he raised his right chainsaw up and down, but the object didn’t break.

He didn’t throw it, but held the leg of it. Sparks spewing from the clashes of metal, it gave garments of light into the room. While the chair and chainsaw were in an ensuing duel, Kenichi and David made eye contact, with David laying on the floor.

“Remember those sparring matches with all four of us? You weren’t that strong. Hell, you were the weakest out of all of us.”

“How many times do I have to tell you…”

David glanced to his right; and his face went ghostly pale. Barely glancing at his left, he saw an inward angle of Kenichi’s left chainsaw, rotating and embering the metal of the chains.

Widening his eyes, it was clear David left his guard down. If only he kept eye contact, he could’ve done something…

“I don’t remember anyone.”

David flinched himself to the right, as he felt his cheeks run down freezing sweat. Everything in slow motion once again, he saw the rotating chains graze through his face, the spikes millimeters from scratching the tip of his nose. Just as it … David pushed the chair with all his strength.

‘W-What…’

Kenichi almost tumbled to the ground, and retracted his chains from his chainsaws. Walking a few steps back, his swords swayed in the air, with his left chainsaw grazing the metal of the chair.

Holstering them back into his jacket, he felt an unfamiliar liquid run down his shoulder. Slowly placing his hand on the area, and rubbing it gently, his fingers clammed with warmth. Sticky, it was none other than…

‘Blood…’

Turning around back, he saw a woman with glasses and monolid eyes. While his chest heaved irregular breaths, he saw that her eyes were tearing up, and her face red with tears that stained her cheeks.

And she wielded a spiked frying pan, marked in blood.

“You’re pretty strong.”

Jenny pointed her spiked frying pan to Kenichi, as her hands shook intensely. Her feet superglued to the floor, the wooden floor beneath her splintered the more she dug her heels.

Walking toward her, he looked down while casting a shadow. The spiked pan reaching the edge of his chest, he slowly moved his hand forward.

“But not as strong as me.”

Gripping the frying pan, and upon lifting it up, her feet dangled as she kept her palms on the handle. Her face clammed with sweat, she saw Kenichi’s eyes narrow at her. Swiping his hair with his left hand, Kenichi pulled her in close, his breath brittled with beef jerky.

“I think it’s best if you forget about me, can you promise me that?”

Her breath got caught inside her throat.

—And a gunshot was heard.—

“You can’t promise someone if you can’t even hold a promise.”

Smoke rose from the barrel of a simple handgun. The trigger already pulled, David had his eyes focused on Kenichi’s lower back.

Feeling like he was being stabbed, Kenichi coughed out twice, as blood conjoined with his wheezing breath. Dropping the spiked frying pan, Jenny collapsed alongst the floor, her right cheek being slammed first.

“Cheater…”

Moving his right hand toward his liver, a stream of blood gushed out from it, leaving his palm to be drenched in its stickiness. His vision going blurry, his legs felt the weight of his upper body, which led him to buckle his knees. The pain worsened, he began his trek toward a nearby window, a window that looked bulletproof.

“I think I should go.”

Balling his left hand, he smashed through the hardened window with his knuckles.

Glass splattering all over his body, with sharp shards slashing his arms, some of the pieces got stuck in his skin. The pain being directed to his arms and left hand, he placed his right foot on the window frame, and gripped the edges of it by the butt of his palms. Glancing in back of him, he saw the two adults staring at him, their eyes darkened in glum shadows.

Which led him to soften his face.

‘Even when I had memories, I never fulfilled any of my promises…’

Glancing to his left, he saw the fight between Pedro and the others finalizing to an end. Turning around to see the city, he pushed himself off the window.

Jenny and David couldn’t look at one another, as they scour the glass shards and many broken furniture and flooring. Ignoring the other battle, they slumped down to the ground with emotionless faces, while their ears blocked the screams and shouts from afar.

“Kenny…”

Jenny covered her mouth with her hands, as her breath got caught in her throat again.

‘You promised to give me flowers…’