No Longer Human | Arlecchino

Chapter 5: Beginning after the end

"Ouch", I groaned, rubbing the back of my head, the pain slicing through the fog in my brain. I blinked, trying to get my bearings. "What. what happened?"


"Hey you, you're finally awake" a voice cut through my confusion. I looked up to see a figure standing before me clutching a katana in one hand, bandages wrapped around both his hands. Wearing the garb of a samurai, he was stern and intent, with the look of one who has been to the very depths of hell.

"Who. who are you?" I stammered. There was something unreal about this, yet disturbingly familiar.

The figure raised an eyebrow. "Me? I'm Ren," he said shortly, his eyes cold yet not unkind. "Let's get down to business, all right, Rin?"

"My name... is Rin?" I echoed, confusion and fear melding inside of me. My thoughts felt scattered, as though pieces were missing. All that filled my mind was the laughter of my family, the serenity of our little existence. and then, nothing. A blank. No, more than that, it was like a gaping hole where my memory should have been. "I can't. I can't remember."

Ren let out a deep rumbling sigh, frustration evident. "Wonderful. You lost all your memories, huh?" He crossed his arms. "Alright, let me break it down for you. We went back in time, to fix the future, our future. It would appear, though, the means in which we did this messed with your brain a little.



I tried to process, but it felt like trying to hold water in my hands: everything kept slipping away. "Back in time... to fix the future?" I echoed, my voice distant, as though I spoke to myself.

"Yeah," Ren said, his eyes even, though I felt the weight of what he had said. "You're supposed to remember, eventually, but for now we need to focus. We have a job to do."

My mind felt fractured, but there was something in his cadence that made a flicker of understanding bloom in my chest. "What. do we have to do?" I asked, trying to find something concrete to grasp.


Ren stepped forward and nodded toward the katana that lay beside me, its blade gleaming with reflected dull light in the tiny pool. "There's someone we need to help, Peruere. She's in the middle of a fight with Crucabena. We need to back her up. So, pick up your katana, Rin. It's time to move."

I reached for the sword, my fingers shaking a little as I grasped the hilt. I saw, fleetingly, my reflection in the puddle, I'm young, about sixteen. The face that stared back was predatory, purposeful. But that was not how I felt. Not yet. Not until I understood what was really going on.

The fight raged on, chaos swirling around them as Crucabena unleashed a powerful blast, sending Peruere crashing into a brick wall. The impact reverberated through the air, leaving her momentarily dazed and injured. Rin seized the opportunity, moving silently, swiftly through the battlefield.

"Surrender! And let your mother-" Crucabena began, her voice filled with authority, but she was abruptly cut off.

Stab!

A katana pierced her heart, the blade emerging from her chest with a sickening squelch.

"Wha—WHO ARE YOU?!" she screamed, shock mingling with pain as she looked down in disbelief.

But the fight had only just intensified forthwith, with tension palpable in the air with regard to the mutual disregard that the two opponents shared for each other. Ren, with his shining katana, had just then stabbed Crucabena, and her scream still lingered in shock. He could feel the weight of Rin's emotions colliding against his apathy.