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The Silence After the Storm
The night was too quiet.
No city noise.
No voices.
Just the distant hum of wind rushing through the ruins.
Akira, Hiroshi, Daisuke, and Yuki sat in the wreckage, their bodies bruised, their minds barely able to process what had just happened.
Kenji was gone.
Not just dead.
Not just defeated.
Erased.
There was no body. No trace of him.
Only the cracked ground where he had made his last stand.
Daisuke's hands clenched into fists, trembling.
"He can't be gone."
His voice cracked. Barely above a whisper.
"We've lost people before. But we've always… we've always found a way to—"
Akira didn't respond.
He could still see it.
Kenji, standing against Minh.
Kenji, defying time itself.
Kenji, roaring as he charged to his death.
His last words rang in Akira's ears.
"If I go down, I'm taking him with me!"
But Minh had rewound it all.
And then Kenji was just… gone.
Erased from time.
Daisuke punched the ground.
"DAMN IT!"
The sound echoed into the night.
Hiroshi sat motionless, his katana resting beside him. His face was unreadable, but his hands were tight around the hilt.
Yuki exhaled sharply.
"We should have been stronger."
Akira finally spoke.
"We survived."
Yuki turned to him, eyes burning.
"Kenji didn't."
Akira's voice was cold.
"And if he didn't do what he did, none of us would be alive right now."
The words hung heavy in the air.
Because they all knew—he was right.
---
The Arrival of the Allies
A gust of wind swept through the ruins.
Then—footsteps.
Figures emerged from the shadows.
Their allies had arrived.
Renji Arata, Mei Takeda, Koji Sakamoto, Shoji Nakamura, Haruto Fujiwara, and Nao Mizushima—the ones who had stayed behind to gather intel—now stood before them.
Their faces were etched with shock and confusion.
Renji's usual smirk was gone.
"Where's Kenji?"
Silence.
Shoji pushed up his glasses.
"Where. Is. Kenji?"
Daisuke didn't answer.
Mei's eyes widened as realization dawned.
"No…"
Koji—Kenji's younger cousin—stepped forward.
"No. No, you're lying. Where is he?"
Akira exhaled, forcing himself to say it.
"Kenji… didn't make it."
Koji's breath hitched.
Renji ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tightening.
Shoji adjusted his glasses, his voice strangely hollow.
"Tell us everything."
---
Retelling the Nightmare
They did.
Every detail.
Kenji's last punch.
Kenji breaking through Minh's time control.
Kenji forcing Minh to take a direct hit.
Kenji buying them time to escape.
And finally—Kenji vanishing.
By the time they finished, the air was thick with grief.
Koji's fists trembled.
"He wouldn't—he wouldn't just let himself die like that."
Nao's eyes were cold.
"He didn't let himself. He had no choice."
Koji turned to her, his teeth clenched.
"We should've been there! We should have—"
Akira cut in, his voice sharp.
"No one could've saved him."
Koji froze.
Akira's eyes were steely.
"Minh didn't just kill him."
"Minh erased him."
---
A Growing Divide
A heavy silence stretched between them.
Then—Koji turned away, shaking.
"No. I don't accept that."
Akira sighed, rubbing his temples.
"You don't have to accept it. It happened."
Koji clenched his fists.
"If we had been there—if we had fought together—"
Haruto's voice was quiet but firm.
"We would all be dead."
Koji flinched.
Then—he stormed off.
Mei sighed, crossing her arms.
"He needs time."
Shoji exhaled, his expression unreadable.
"We all do."
---
Kenji's Last Gift
That night, they sat around a dying fire.
No one spoke for a long time.
Daisuke stared into the flames.
"Kenji was always the strongest of us."
Akira nodded, his voice hollow.
"He was our shield."
Yuki exhaled.
"And now we have nothing to protect us."
Renji leaned forward, his usual grin absent.
"That's not true."
The others looked at him.
Renji's eyes were dark, but his voice was steady.
"Kenji died to protect us. But he also proved something."
Mei frowned.
"What?"
Renji smirked.
"Minh isn't invincible."
Shoji's eyes narrowed.
"What makes you think that?"
Renji grinned.
"Because Kenji hit him."
Silence.
Then—Akira's eyes widened.
"…He actually landed a hit."
It was true.
Minh had rewound it with Chrono Requiem.
But for a brief moment—Minh had been hurt.
That meant…
He could be beaten.
---
The Next Step
Akira clenched his fists.
"Then we find a way."
Daisuke looked at him.
"To do what?"
Akira's voice was steel.
"To make Minh bleed."
Renji grinned.
"Now you're talking."
Mei sighed but smirked.
"I guess we're not done yet."
Shoji adjusted his glasses.
"Then we'd better start planning. We'll need every advantage we can get."
Koji, still standing in the shadows, listened.
His cousin was dead.
But his fight wasn't over.
---