Khaos Wars

Chapter 9 - A savior's sacrifice

Kazu stared dumbfounded at the girl in front of him. Aika; the same dirty, frightened and helpless girl from the other day. Was it really the same person? He would have never thought she was one of them at that time; even though he should have expected it. Now it made sense why Takeshi had taken her.

She had healed abnormally fast. A picture of Daisuke popped up in his head. No, he wouldn't. Did the traitor give her Healing Astra? He felt the anger rise in him; Healing Astra was important for Khaos' resurrection, which again was important to save their people. How could he give something like that to the enemy?

He looked back at Aika. She was either incredibly brave or completely insane. What a nutcase, he could have killed her but she still decided to trust him.
"What do you think you are doing? Do you have a death wish?"
"I know you won't hurt me. I saw your kindness back then. You don't really want to do this, do you?" She put her arms down. Kindness? Did she even know why he was here? He was no knight in shining armor; he was a rotten, evil individual who didn't deserve her affection. And he knew it.
"I would have never acted that way if I knew who you really were, you parasite." Kazu had to convince her she was wrong.

His words clearly had an effect on her. Aika's eyes widened in surprise and she put one foot behind the other; as if to take a step back but she stayed in one place. Good. She seemed to become scared of him. But then she took her foot back up front, her eyes went back to normal and she crossed her arms.
"You didn't answer my question." She had been staring him in the eyes this whole time. He was getting frustrated. Did she understand the position she was in?
"I don't need to; I could kill you right now." Kazu tried to scare her again. He didn't really comprehend why; he had no reason to. Then again; he never really knew why he did anything anymore. Maybe because he always did what was expected of him.

"You say so;" Aika let her arms fall down to her sides and took a step towards him "but both my friend and I are still alive. I'm defenseless now, so what is stopping you?" She took another step. Aika was right. He was contradicting himself. Kazu backed away, uncertain what to do. She had cornered him using only her words; she saw right through him.

"Why are you backing away? You're way stronger than anything I have ever faced." She hit where it hurt the most. Her words were like bullets to his heart. Memories of his time on Cronos troubled him; back then he had been admired by everyone for his strength. On a planet crumbling under countless natural disasters; people like him were the most valuable ones. He was expected to be some kind of savior even though he was just a kid; a kid with the fate of a million lives on his shoulders. Some even resented him for his gift; why did they have to suffer while he held all the power? Even though he didn't choose this life.

"Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?" Aika looked worried at him. He had been silent for too long. What was he supposed to answer? No, he wasn't okay; he didn't know who he was anymore.
"I-I don't know." He mumbled. Low grumbling came from behind Aika; the other parasite started to wake up. He wanted to get away from there; his fighting spirit was gone. He reached for his pocket and pulled out a tiny white orb which he hurled to the ground. The orb shattered and sent out a sharp light around him.


Kazu suddenly found himself back at the abandoned building that had become his home. The swift transportation left him feeling slightly cold, dizzy and nauseous. He had done it now; that was his only teleportation-orb.

A door opened downstairs and the sound of heavy steps followed. Takeshi. Should he tell him? No, he wouldn't understand. Takeshi knew who he was; Kazu truly envied him for that.

He wanted to run to his room, but that would make Takeshi suspicious. Instead, he walked casually to the other side of the living room and opened a door. Behind it was a small corridor with two doors on each side; Kazu's, Takeshi's and Taiki's bedroom, and a bathroom. His room was the farthest to the right, after Taiki and across from Takeshi. That meant Takeshi was next door to the bathroom. He remembered when they first decided which rooms they were going to have; they failed to agree and were forced to pull straws.
Takeshi lost and had been clear that if anyone disrupted his sleep they would have to scrub the toilet with their own toothbrush. Kazu chuckled slightly at the thought; Takeshi looked so intimidating and stiff, but in reality he was just a big dork.
People like him were rare on Cronos. Everyone was so depressed and on edge all the time. Maybe that was Takeshi's own way of keeping the hope that one day things will get better.

Kazu went to his room and locked the door behind him. Hiding from his friends like this... he felt like a coward. He shuffled over to his bed on the other side of the room and tossed himself onto it. While reaching for his pillow, he sat up cross legged. He squeezed his pillow tight and looked around the room; this usually helped him calm down when he had a lot on his mind. His gaze followed the timeworn tapestry on the wall; from one corner to the other. A mirror hung on his right and the reflection forced him to confront it. He couldn't recognize the person staring back at him anymore.

He was supposed to be leading this team, but couldn't even sort out his own thoughts. Why did her words have such an effect on him? No one had ever made him feel this way before; feel so lost. He should have just killed her when he had the opportunity, perhaps then he wouldn't be sitting here -like this. But why didn't he; she was just a parasite, wasn't she?

A minute passed. He buried his face into the pillow and let out a scream.

Aika was out of her mind, but she had been right. About everything. He finally had to admit it to himself, even though it hurt his pride; she understood him better than he did himself. All the expectations of others had made him lose who he was. Aika had only met him twice and she could already tell that beneath his ego and indifference there laid an ordinary and anxious boy. Someone who had let the pressure of being Cronos' savoir corrupt him. Takeshi and Taiki were the only ones he could be himself around, but even then he had to keep up a front.

He had made up his mind. Aika made him realize how fake he had become. He had to see her again, talk to her again. Maybe she could help him find himself. This was the one thing that he had decided for himself in ages. The one thing he would do for himself only. The one thing no one had ordered or expected him to do. He wanted to find his long lost self and Aika was the only one who could rescue him. Why had he acted that way towards her? He regretted it. After their next fight he was going to find a way to speak to her again. If she survived it.

For once; it was time for someone else to save him.