Chapter 12 "Hikyou"

Chapter 12
Hikyou

YEAR 2046

[Knapp Mitsukai - Midnight]
[Sybil Magnus - Timeless]
[Danielle Medina - Forgotten]
[Logy Oib - Silent]
[Clear Dawn - Nova]
[Zack Kyota - Void]
[Jade Wolf - Gravity]
[Johnny Shiba - Atom]
[Skylar Lawrence - Starry]

It has been nearly one year since Knapp lost the power of the universe. He has been trying to open the portal to the Heart, but to his frustration, it will not open at all without his power. All he wants to know is whether Kawaii is ok or not.

“Knapp! Knapp!” Clear shouts as she barges into the kitchen, making Knapp spit out water. “It’s your brother!”

He quickly follows her into the bridge room. Clear continues, “Your brother is dying! Sky has been trying to heal him for nearly half an hour, but… Ryu is still bleeding because he… He was shot…” Her eyes are tearing up. “He was shot in the head.”

It feels like the world has ended for Knapp. He says as he grabs his own head, “No… No, no, no…!”

He collapses to his knees, eyeing the floor. He does not want to look into anybody’s eyes. He does not want pity at this point… especially when… “I don’t have the power of the universe. Why… Why am I so helpless?”

“Knapp…” Sybil says softly, clearly concerned for her partner. “I’m so sorry --”

“Dammit!” Knapp screams as he stomps his fists on the floor, expecting it to be completely destroyed but he has forgotten that he no longer has the power of the universe, so he barely makes a dent. “Dammit! Dammit! Dammit… dammit…” He starts shouting at first but turns quieter at the end.

Clear hurriedly turns back to the radio and speaks into the microphone, “Starry, keep healing. There… there has to be a way to stop the bleeding! If Ryu dies...” She stops quickly as she shakes her head. What will happen to Knapp if Ryu dies?

“I-it’s no use! My healing energy… It’s about to run out… I’m so sorry… So sorry,” Sky cracks up into light sobs as his voice reaches Knapp’s ears.

The leader of the Dark Team freezes at the healer’s broken voice. He asks softly, “Who… Who did it?”

Clear repeats the question for Sky, who responds back immediately, “H-hakai.”

“Knapp!” Sybil yells, watching him suddenly get up and run out of the room.

~*~

France is right there… just right across the border! Knapp hurriedly gets on a scooter. He is about to start it when he spots the familiar child standing in front. He widens his eyes in shock. He thought that without the power of the universe, he would never see him again. “K-Kawaii…”

Kawaii lightly taps the tip of his foot on the ground. A bright hole instantly appears under his feet. As he disappears into the hole, he says calmly, “Ryu is down here.”

Knapp does not have to think twice as he immediately follows him into the hole.

Going into a familiar place with the old temple that seems to be falling apart, he finds Kawaii running towards Double God. The child form of the Fifth Universe gets behind Hikyou and takes a peek at Knapp.

“Seriously?” Hikyou gives an annoyed sigh as he glances at Knapp. “Why did you bring him here, Kawaii?”

Kawaii narrows his heterochromia eyes in annoyance, not answering Hikyou’s question.

“He told me that Ryu is down here… what does that mean?” Knapp asks. “Why… why can I see Kawaii now?”

“Even if your power is taken away, you are still the Universe Warrior… Kawaii can sense your emotions,” Hikyou says. He glances at the temple as he says, “As for Ryu… I took his soul here.”

“What? Why?”

“Otherwise, the chains would have taken him.” Hikyou crosses his arms. He briefly pauses as he takes a look at Knapp’s state. The Universe Warrior looks an absolute mess, but Hikyou does not blame him at all - after all, he thinks Ryu is dying for real.

“It’s my fault,” Knapp mumbles. “I… I was the one who wanted him in that stupid squad… so that Danielle, Zack, and Sky could watch him closer… but… I shouldn’t have done that…”

Hikyou gives him a small smile. He says cheerfully, “There’s no need to worry. I got to him first. His life has always been in my hands.”

Knapp has a look of surprise on his face. His mouth parts but no words come out of it at all. 

“Kawaii probably brought you here so that you would calm down. Although I don’t approve of his actions,” Hikyou looks down at Kawaii as he places his hand on the child’s head. “Ryu is in the temple. Do you want to talk to him?”

“Y...Yes.”

~*~

“Knapp!” Ryu cries as he shoots himself up from the ground, panting heavily. He tries to open his eyes, but he closes them quickly at the brightness.

Knapp gets startled by Ryu’s sudden outburst. He watches as his younger brother rubs his tired eyes, and that is when he notices that Ryu is only wearing white shirt and pants. It has been so long since the last time he has seen him.

He is with Hikyou in… well, the entire place is just… completely white and nothingness. Not even a dark drip anywhere.

“Where… Where am I?” Ryu asks anxiously. “What am I doing here… What did I… Oh…”

Knapp hears the younger Mitsukai sighing.

“I got shot, didn’t I?” Ryu asks himself.

“Yes, Ryu, you died.” Hikyou decides to show himself.

Ryu quickly turns around and slams his hand on his side only to realize that he no longer has his usual pistol.

“Wow, you reacted so fast. Are you really going to kill me without a second thought?” Hikyou asks almost light-heartedly. He continues cheerfully, “Sorry, Ryu! I was a little too late to save you… but luckily, the chains have not gotten to your soul… not yet.”

Ryu starts to run towards Hikyou but he does not seem to be getting anywhere.

Is this place some kind of illusion? Or is this Hikyou’s… or Kawaii’s doing? Knapp wonders at himself.

Hikyou rubs his chin thoughtfully, “So, Knapp, eh?”

“How do you know his name?” Ryu stops running with a frown on his face. 

“I heard you crying his name when you woke up -- Ah, you haven’t heard anything? He’s quite famous throughout the universe!”

I am? Knapp scratches the back of his head.

“Fa-famous?” Ryu stammers in surprise. “W-what do you mean? Did you see him?!”

“Yes, but for now, you need to know something else… which is very important.”

“No, my brother is more important!” Ryu exclaims.

I’m important? Since when? Knapp blinks in surprise. Last time we saw each other… he hated me.

“He is alive?” Ryu continues. “I… I can’t believe it! Wait... How do you know he is still alive? Who… who are you?”

Before both Mitsukai brothers even realize what is happening, Hikyou is already behind Ryu.

H-he’s fast…! Knapp stares in awe.

“I choose you, Ryu Mitsukai, the grandson of the legendary Breaker, Gotsu Mitsukai. Your heart is made of light and order-- No…” As soon as Hikyou places his hand on Ryu’s left shoulder, he pulls it back quickly. “Ryu, what is happening to you?”

Ryu shakes his head furiously with a deep scowl on his face as if he is recalling something terrible. 

“This shouldn’t be happening,” Hikyou frowns in concern.

The darkness begins to spread out all over the place, leaving only the light spot under Ryu, who collapses to his knees. 

“Your heart has been tainted with darkness. It shouldn’t be happening. You’re…” Hikyou stops himself at first as if he realizes what he is about to say. He continues after a few thoughts, “You’re a Mitsukai, for pete’s sake!”

“Who the fuck are you?!” Ryu yells suddenly.

Knapp decides to step in, “It’s Double God you’re speaking to.”

“Wha…?” Ryu asks weakly, clearly surprised.

“Hey! What is the meaning of this?” Double God says, slightly annoyed. “Even though the Fifth lets you in here, you have no right to interrupt.”

“Please allow me to help him. If light and darkness are out of balance, then the Fifth can die for sure. If he dies, then we die with him as well. I thought that you, out of all people, would understand that.”

“Tch!” Double God leaps back into the darkness, but Knapp can somehow sense his presence close by. It is as if Hikyou is still watching them carefully.

Knapp makes his way toward Ryu, creating brand new light spots under his feet. After he reaches him, he sits down on the floor. “Ryu, please look at me.”

Ryu does not respond at all.

“Earth is dying. As long as it remains chained, it won’t recover ever again… not without a Breaker,” Knapp continues as he places his hand on Ryu’s trembling shoulder. “I wanted to come back, but… I can’t. I still have something to do, but… Double God needs your help.”

“No… I can’t do it. I’m only following the orders…” Ryu covers his face with his hands as if he is trying to hold back his tears.

The last few years must have been so hard for him… just him and Mother… Knapp wants badly to reach out and just hug him. “Ryu, please listen to me. I’m so sorry that I made you this way… You hate me, don’t you? Only if I told the truth six years ago…”

The younger Mitsukai freezes a little bit as if he recognizes the voice. He looks up to see who it is. He asks softly, “Knapp?”

~*~

“Ryu didn’t die,” Knapp gives a small smile.

He has been gotten back to the spaceship after his talk with his young brother. Hikyou sent Ryu’s soul back to his real body.

“And this is…?” Clear asks nervously and points her finger at a winged man standing right next to Knapp.

“Hikyou-sama,” Logy says right away. He scratches the back of his head apologetically, “Sorry, Knapp. Can’t help sneaking a peek in your head.”

“This is the Dark Team, huh?” Hikyou says in disappointment. He sighs lightly. “Kawaii told me all about you, so don’t worry about introductions. Let’s get down to business first.”

A wooden chair is being made out of nothingness, and then Hikyou sits on it. “I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t know who the Locker is. I probably don’t know any more than you do.”

“Then this is a waste of time.” Jade says. “Tezuka, Ryu, Sky, Zack, and Danielle are literally fighting for their lives out there. Why are you just sitting around and doing nothing?”

“Yeah. Aren’t you supposed to be Double God?” Johnny says. He shrugs his shoulders after Hikyou doesn’t respond right away.

“I hate to defend him, but… Without him, Kawaii would be dead a long time ago after Earth got locked.” Knapp looks away from the team with a frown on his face. “He has been feeding Kawaii with his energy, so that’s why he cannot waste it… He needs us.”

“What the hell are you talking about? A useless god like him needs us?” Jade makes gestures towards Hikyou. “Where was he… all those years? The chains mustn’t have been just built overnight!”

“We’ve been saving planets because of how their people harmed them, which in turn harmed Kawaii,” Clear says.

All of sudden, a silent white and black ball of shockwave from Hikyou’s body expands all over the room. He has not even moved from the chair at all, but everyone thinks their hearts had stopped for a second.

“I’m such a useless god…” Hikyou mumbles, almost to himself as he gets up from the chair. A white portal on the floor opens up, and then he jumps into it without saying anything else.

“W-what was that?” Jade asks nervously, forgetting to use sign language. “It’s like… he was overpowering us without even doing anything.”

Knapp sits down on the floor, sighing. “Forget him. He’s not going to help us. Clear, have you heard back from Zack yet --”

They, except Logy, jump at loud beeps coming from the radio in the bridge room. They head over there, and Clear turns the radio on.

“Nova here.”

“This is Void,” Zack responds. “Is Midnight there?”

“Here,” Knapp says.

“The mission failed. They ran into Kasai and Hakai. There was a woman with the enemies as well but she seemed to claim that she was a time traveler --”

“Wait, what?” Knapp interrupts. “This woman? Did you get her name?”

“No, sir.”

“What are you onto, Knapp?” Clear asks.

“I think she was the same person who sent me into the future… where I got the power of the universe,” Knapp says thoughtfully. “I know what she looks like though. One unique thing about her is that she has long silver hair. Void, can you get Starry to confirm this? If it’s her… then, we’re in trouble.”