Aspect: Ronin

I’m not supposed to exist?

“So I’m the only Ronin?” he asked.

Koharu nodded. “And, technically, you don’t have an Aspect or a Sect, since you just absorb other people’s.”

“But I only used your Aspects for a couple of minutes before they disappeared,” Ignacio said. “That doesn’t seem very useful.”

“Oh, that happens to all of us,” she said, slapping him on the shoulder. “The duration for which you absorb Aspects will increase the more you use it.”

“Or, that’s how it’s supposed to go,” Kiyomi said, stroking her chin. “I’m skeptical about whether or not this is your first time here, judging by how quickly you started using our Aspects.”

Ignacio glared at her. “What, so you expected me to die?”

Kiyomi raised an eyebrow. “I thought the fall would wake you up in the real world.”

Ignacio took a step towards her. “So, you did try to kill me?”

Kiyomi folded her arms. “Another step, and you won’t be waking up anywhere.”

Koharu stepped between them, holding a hand out to Ignacio. “What she means is, she thought your powers would awaken when she kicked you off the edge,” she shot Kiyomi a narrow glare. “Which I do not condone, by the way.”

“This is pointless,” Ignacio grumbled. “Can you take me back to the real world now, please?”

Koharu sighed, reaching into her robe. She pulled out a pocket-watch on a gold chain, the second hand ticking furiously. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Kiyomi faded into a red mist, and then… nothing. As if she was never there.

Ignacio’s eyes widened. “Kiyomi…”

Koharu placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. We’ll be on the other side.”

Her face faded into a pale blue light, and her whole body followed, the weight of her hand vanishing from his shoulder. He took a step back.

“Koharu?”

He glanced around, the sound of insects and birds chirping suddenly all he could hear. He spun around, the dire-bear’s body still laying there.

“Koharu!” he shouted.

His eyes flickered back to the dire-bear’s body, narrowing as something moved. A black mass shuddered atop the corpse, expanding and contracting like it was breathing.

He raised his fist, an orb of Koharu’s blue light forming over it with the hiss of a fire igniting.

“Come on then,” he whispered, his heart spiking again. “Come on!”

The black lump shuddered harder. And it burst with a spray of black liquid. A creature with a deer’s skull for its head emerged, screaming like a woman as it raised its arms. Its head twitched to the left, over and over, making the sound of bones snapping as its arms lowered to its sides.

Ignacio backed away, and the creature climbed out of the dire-bear’s corpse. Its slender legs stepped slowly, strands of its long black hair lifting in the breeze.

Ignacio’s back slammed into the bottom of the cliff as the creature crept closer. The sound of bones splintering grew louder as it lifted its head, stopping a few feet away.

“Take… care of her, Ignacio.”

Ignacio’s eyes widened. “Koharu!”

He sat up, screaming. He panted, his body damp with sweat. He stared at his feet, suddenly back in the boots he’d put on that morning. He closed his eyes as he panted, rubbing his nose with the back of his shaking hand.

He lowered it, blood smeared along his thumb.

“Hey,” Koharu said, walking around him with her arms folded. “You okay?”

Ignacio lowered his hand. “What did I just see?”

She placed her hands on her knees, narrowing her eyes. She placed a hand to his cheek, using her thumb to pull his eyelid down.

He swiped her hand away. “Koharu, when you guys left there was some kind of a creature with a deer-skull for a head that came after me, and it knew my name.”

“You’re okay,” she said, straightening. “It happens to all of us. They’re called Fears.”

“Fears?”

“Yeah. They follow you around in there sometimes. You just have to wait until they attack and make sure you kill them first.”

He panted, wiping the blood on his thumb against his pants. The creature had sounded so… familiar. He couldn’t remember what it had said, just his name. But he remembered the tone.

“Can they be killed?” Ignacio asked.

“You can try,” Koharu said. “But they come back for most people.”

His stomach sank. A shiver ran down his spine.

“You don’t think-”

Koharu sighed. “You’ll be fine, Ace,” she said, turning to Kiyomi as she walked up to them.

Her mask was gone, and she was back to her dark hair and clothes. She narrowed her eyes at Ignacio, then turned and walked away.

“Thanks for trying to kill me,” Ignacio said, wincing as the pain in his chest blossomed to life.

He turned as the sound of laughter came from outside the room. The big guy who’d slammed his chest earlier sat across from Thiago on a large polymer couch, laughing as he placed a bottle to his mouth.

Koharu offered him a hand, and he took it. He slid off the Cypher, his head swirling as he stood.

“Don’t rush,” she said, hooking her arm under his. “First time using a Cypher is rough.”

She helped him hobble out of the glass room, the laughter growing louder as the door slid open.

Thiago turned, spotting Ignacio with a wide grin. He stood from the couch and fell back down, his leg lifting into the air. Ezequiel burst out laughing, slapping his knee as he pointed.

Another man with long black hair sat on the other end of the couch with Thiago, slowly shaking his head as he flipped a red coin into the air.

“Ace,” Thiago gargled, lifting a bottle as he lay slumped on the couch. “How was yer first time?”

Ignacio tapped Koharu’s hand. “Thank you, I can walk.”

She let his arm go. “Don’t be stupid, ask for help if you need it.”

He nodded, and walked around the couch to Thiago’s right, dropping onto it.

“Ignacio,” the big guy said, raising his arms as if he expected a hug. “You weren’t lyin’ after all! I checked the files from Doctor Ivo and everything looks legit. And after deliberating with Koharu and Kiyomi, it looks like you’re not lying past being a little unsure of things yourself, which is understandable. So, I’ve chatted to your buddy.”

“That’s me,” Thiago said, raising his bottle again as he hiccupped.

“And I’ve decided we’re gonna help you,” the big guy continued, scratching the side of his beard. “On two conditions.”