Hieru forced us to our knees in front of the other guy, pointing guns at our heads as he grinned victoriously, "They fell for it, Kugewa."
Kugewa smirked hearing that before he looked at us, "It's been a while since we saw each other, hasn't it?"
"What do you want with us?" I growled.
"Why, isn't it obvious?" Kugewa leaned in to me and whispered, malice evident in his tone. "We want the Fluctuation Artefact that you own."
At that, I froze.
Hieru grabbed my shirt as he pushed me back, "We know you have it, so 'fess up or we'll shoot your little friend here." As if to prove his point, Kugewa took out a gun and aimed it at Konju's head.
I went pale. No no no, please don't kill Konju!
"Aruke, don't do it! I'll be fine! You can't let them get-" Kugewa covered his mouth and kicked him, "Shut up, you. This is his business, not yours."
"No! Let him go please!" I begged. "He has nothing to do with this!"
"He's our leverage. Why would we let him go?" Kugewa gave me a terrifying grin. Out of instinct, I gulped.
"You have 20 seconds to give it up, kid, or he gets it," Hieru threatened me, an arrogant and victorious smirk appearing on his face.
"B-But I can't choose between those 2!"
"Too bad, too sad, because the countdown starts NOW!" Hieru grinned.
"20!" Kugewa began.
I panicked. What do I do?! I was honestly scared for Konju's life, but I had promised to protect the Fluctuation Artefact.
"19!" Hieru continued.
Konju's life or the Fluctuation Artefact?!
"18!"
Argh! I can't choose! I can't cause someone's death! But I can't let more people get hurt!
"17!"
Konju was the only one who cared for me aside from my parents! Call me selfish, but I want to keep him alive!
"16!"
But the Fluctuation Artefact chose me for a reason! I can't let it down now!
"15!"
Guess who decided to rear his ugly face at me at this time of crisis.
You lost, Aruke. Face it! You can't save both of them! You'll have to choose!
Shut up! I don't want to hear it from you!
"14!"
Am I wrong? You know that's the truth!
I stopped. I-I....
"13!"
In the end, you're no hero! You're just a kid who wants to be a hero to make himself feel better!
I...
"12!"
You don't deserve anyone! No one in this world loves you!
Hearing that, for some weird reason, I suddenly remembered my family and Konju.
"11!"
How my dad patiently helped me and comforted me when I felt down despite how busy he was. He never turned me away, even if he had so much to do.
"10!"
How my mom would hug me and tell me stories on the few times that she came back, which was once every month. She would tickle my nose to make me feel better.
"9!"
How Konju had explained everything about this thing to me and gave me more motivation to move on.
"8!"
... You're wrong.
H-Huh?
"7!"
I do have people who love me. You're just trying to deceive me.
"6!"
You're my dark side. I may never be able to conquer you.
"5!"
But instead, I'll give you hope.
"4!"
To show my gratitude to my loved ones, I'll move on from my mistakes, no matter how hard it is.
"3!"
Because I owe them that. Not only them, but the Fluctuation Artefact.
"2!"
It has helped me meet Konju, and I owe it that. That's why.... I'll save all of them! No matter what!
"On-" I suddenly elbowed Hieru's stomach, causing him to fall back. Then I stood up and turned to him, my eyes unknowingly glowing red.
"You can dream on it," I declared. "Try all you want to take the Fluctuation Artefact, but I won't let you touch it. Neither will I stand for my parents to get hurt because of me. I chose to take this path on my own free will, and I will keep my promise to protect this Artefact with my life."
Hieru growled, "Fine then, let's fight. Kugewa, keep watch over the kid."
There was no response. He turned around just to see Kugewa being held back by Konju, freezing a bit before he turned back to me, a scowl present on his face.
"You're going down, Hieru," my eyes narrowed as I got into a battle stance.
"Funny, you took the words out of my mouth, Aruke."
With that, the two of us charged.
YOU ARE READING
Book Writing
Aventura"You can't change time." Those were the words that 14-year-old Kin Aruke believed in based on time travel. Sure, he wasn't all the special, living in Yukon, Canada despite being half-American, half-Japanese, but he had always been the kind to not l...
