One-off short stories

Defeat

So I was watching some Shugo Chara (don't look it up), and the idea for this one-shot came to me, so I wrote it. Basically, Ryan got superpowers and became an assassin of sorts, and then this happened. So here it is.
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Ryan fell to his knees, out of strength. "How could, why could you..." His voice was wavering,"Stop me. Me!" He'd finally decided. He'd finally found out what he could do. And yet he ended up here? Here? Here? Losing to her? The person who he'd built himself to no longer need. The person who he wanted to be able to stand back. The person he wanted to leave safe and sound. The person he'd chosen to become strong for. The person who made him realize why he needed to do something. Now, after it all happened, he feel at her hands. As he disappeared into his own shadows again, he felt it easier than before. But he was gone. Gone and safe. Right? He'd just continue. She could never corner him, or stop him for real. But when he reappeared, he still couldn't stand up. It was far too hard to stand up. Because he was still getting stronger.

It had been some time ago. After another horrible incident. As always, to the two of them, or even their friends. When the person came to Ryan.
He wore a fancy suit, and had an aura of authority around him,"Hello, you are Ryan Endo, correct." He said it more as a statement then a question.
"What's it to you, sir?" Ryan said, putting a bit of edge to the word 'sir'.
"We have come with an opportunity for you." The man said,"You want to live in a better world, do you not?"
"My name may be Ryan Endo. But I'm not interested in some old man's idea of who I am and what I'll do." He was trying to get the man to go away.
"I could offer you the ability to make it so that you would be able to stop any problems coming to you." He paused for a moment,"Or your friends."
"What?" Ryan asked, caught a little bit of guard by the last part,"I could stop it?" He was a bit interested, but then realized he couldn't get caught up in this man's words,"You're out of your mind. No boy could do anything like that. I'm not a god."
"I could give you the ability to feed off your failures. It still haunts you, doesn't it? How you let those two be killed." He said.
"How do you know that!" Ryan growled, and went to grab something from his backpack. He pulled out his spear,"Shut up, and go away! I'm living my life. No other stranger will affect me!" Although he sounded strong, his hands were shaking. What am I doing? Threatening this man? Why?
"You haven't quite realized it yet have you? It will consume you. You will become nothing sooner or later. You keep failing, you keep losing, and all you'll end up as is a broken person. I'm offering you the ability to change that. Not just for you. For her as well." He said.

That was that. And now I'm here. I've used my powers for the best of the world. Those that would hurt people like her. Those like me. If I'm the only one left, than the world will be better when it's over. I can't let anyone else come near me. I'm too lost for that. But I'm strong, right? At least I'm strong, right? Then why did I lose! Why did I come so far, was about to bring this world to a better future, and then was stopped by them!
She said I had become a tool. That at some point my ideals stopped being my own. That I lost what made me who I am. But isn't that a good thing? I saw all the mistakes I had and consumed them. They got eaten, and I grew because of it. Why then, did she have to get in my way! Why then, could she stop me! She had to face worse than I did. So she deserved to not have to worry about that kind of stuff anymore. And I was the perfect man to make that real. Me. Me! It was perfect. Ryan knew he was making this world better.
He remembered stabbing a drunken father who had gone mad, saving his wife and kids. He'd felt terrible, but he'd brought justice. He remembered choking the man who's finger could've held the ability to kill hundreds. And he remembered cutting down the boy who would've unknowingly killed many had he been left alone. And yet, after all that good he'd done. Even if it took evils, he'd fixed problems before they occurred. And yet, she had still stood against him. She m still wanted me back.

"You can still turn back, Ryan!" She had told him,"We were going to try to change things together. Not by you becoming a monster."
"Shut up! What do you know anymore!" I had said, anger in my voice,"You shouldn't have gotten involved. When I left, I didn't want to be found! I didn't want you to look at me! But now you need to go! You need to forget! I understand you hate this! But you, need people like me doing this. Otherwise it would all be worse. All of it."
"No." She said,"I would never leave you behind. Especially not as you are now."

He remembered becoming the man he was.
"You hate you're mistakes, and what you have failed. Channel that. Use it." The man had told him.
Ryan tried. He thought back to all the moments that could've ended better. And his arm reformed. It changed into a shadow, into a spear of sorts. And he stabbed right through a dummy. Then, he focused harder. And he disappeared into a shadow. I hate those mistakes, so I'll disappear. And what will reappear is the man who will fix things. The shadow moved out of the training center he was in, and into the observing room the man had been watching him from. Ryan appeared right behind the man, his spear slightly pushing against his back.
"W-what are you doing?" He asked, scared.
"You won't do this to anyone else!" Ryan ordered him.
"Y-yes of course." He said.
"And you'll only make me go on missions for the greater good. To fix the world that has hurt me, and those I love, so much!"
"Y-yes."
"Good. If you ever break one of those rules. I'll make sure you get what you deserve." Ryan said, and his arm soon turned back to normal.

So now he waited, lying on the floor. She had proved him wrong. Because he stood here alive. She hadn't killed him, or even seriously hurt him. She completely and utterly destroyed him. Because he stood there perfectly fine. Because of all that, he was like this now. His guilt, his failures fueled his power. And he had never felt stronger. But he only felt more and more unsure. He'd never lost until now. And yet, who he'd even beaten before, who he'd pushed back easily before. She had been able to completely destroy him. What was he supposed to call to now? Who was he supposed to be. He couldn't fight anymore. He couldn't kill anymore. He knew that much. But he'd done so much. He could kill himself. That thought passed through his mind. He could run away, find his own way to survive. He was a shadow, he could hide. But all of that would be so painful. But what else could he do? What else was left for him?Someone who does what he had done. He couldn't come up with an answer. And so, he disappeared into the darkness.

"You're still here?" He asked, as he returned.
"I waited for you." She said.
"But...but why? I was gone. I ran away. Why would you wait for me?" Ryan asked, honestly wondering. He was so evil, so useless to them, so why.
"Because we all still remember you." She said,"And I can't bear to see you like this."
"Yeah. So what now? I get it. I can't do anything. What I was doing back then. It must've not worked. Because you stopped me. I thought I'd become strong but then you stopped me."
"You were strong. That I know. But you weren't right. You were alone. And that doesn't end well."
"Like now. It's over." Ryan said,"For me. What do I do now? Turn myself in? Let myself be killed?"
"You don't need to do that." She told me,"I'll let you come back."
"What?"
"Just come back, Ryan."
"I...I can't. Not after what I've done."
"Please. We all make mistakes. We both know that. But, you can't stop because of them. That's something you used to know. That you told me."
"But, but. I'm...I'm...I'm so much worse."
"So what? That doesn't mean you can't fix things." She said.
"But doesn't that make me weak? That would just show my weakness. If I stop, if I turn back." Ryan said,"It'd be impossible for me to do that!"
"It may be hard. That's true. But that's because, you need to be strong to do it. Being weak is running away. Can't you see? You were running. Trying to do things from the shadows. That was being weak." She explained.
"It...it was?" Ryan asked, unsure of himself by now."
"Yeah. So try to be strong again. And come back. Because I need you too sometimes."
"Oh..." Ryan started to stand up again,"I see it now. I really am a fool. But, you're giving me another chance? I should call you stupid. But I can't. I guess, all I can really say, is..." He paused for a moment,"Thank you. Thank you for defeating me."