4th Reikon Squad

His dark-blue katana was finally taken out and it gave a bright blue light illuminate from it. He scoffed.

The ground shook again; but this time, it was on a different scale. It also gave out a loud thump. Then, the sky flashed into darkness for a second.

From up top, news helicopters got to capture a bright blue light formed in a straight line. Then, it was silence...

Before Ryoka fell into darkness, he heard a soft whisper, "The moon— it will mark the nick of time for the amassed calamity." He then drifted into a deep slumber.

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The subtle voices awoke him. He couldn't make it out of what they were talking about, but he knew it was not a particularly pleasant topic at all.

His vision has been dark for a long time. It was too long for him. Is this how they felt when they died? No, it can't be. After all, it was the subtle voices that awoke me. I couldn't make it out of what they were talking about, but it sounded like it wasn't a pleasant topic.

So I am alive. I guess it wasn't my time yet, thankfully.

His vision slowly started to reform and lights began to sparkle back. Those bright lights started to be more colourful stars. Once the process concluded, he tried to open the lid.

He groaned out of fatigue, which startled Miyamoto. He was sitting next to him and was scrolling through his phone.

"Ryoka!" He called. Ryoka heard it subtly.

"Ry-"

Ryoka opened his eyes and groaned at the lights, "Don't yell Mito. Please, you'll disturb the others," he said in a weak voice.

He realized his mistake, "Oh right, sorry," he retracted his voice by a bit.

"Where am I?" Ryoka asked as scruffed his hair.

"A hospital near the agency," replied Minamoto.

Ryoka smiled, "I see.,"

"Do you feel numb anywhere? Asahi told me you won't be able to move freely for a few days."

Ryoka tried to move his body, "Yup, no good."

Minamoto scoffed, "Thank god you have something humanly inside you,"

"Is my pain something to be relieved?"

"Yes- and no."

"Beats me," Ryoka shut his eyes.

He heard the door was slid open, "Ryoka? You awake finally. Didn't I tell you to give me a call, Minamoto?"

He gave a sorry chuckle, "Sorry, I forgot."

Ryoka rose and sat on the bed while leaning on the wall, "Sorry to worry all of you. I was-"

"You're so cool when you fought that guy, man!" Praised Minamoto.

"I've never seen that level of attack, let alone mana. You have the potential to be- something!" Told Aiko.

Ryoka chuckled, surprised by their reaction, "It's mostly thanks to the Responders on the field, really."

Minamoto gave a pat on his back, "Don't play as the humbled guy, Ryoka. You deserved the praise," they laughed.

They talked quite a bit about the fight, how they pulled it off neatly and how they united as one to defeat the calamity's tool. At the same time, they were also praising each other's back into making it a stable conversation.

"So, what did the public say?" Ryoka asked out of the blue.

"Well, Asahi vaguely shooed them away for now. They will make a comeback certainly," explained Minamoto.

"But for now, there won't be any problems with them," added Aiko.

"I see," responded Ryoka.

As the conversation resumed, he got quieter and less motivated after each topic. Aiko and Minamoto also realized it as they got mouthfuls for quite some time. They had thought that he might be tired, so they tried to wrap it up quickly. Though, it was Ryoka who kept the conversation longer;

"Pardon me for ruining the mood, can I ask a serious question?" Ryoka slipped through to dense talks.

Both of them nodded, giving him the way to spill the bean.

"The count--" he looked down, "Death count- aftermath," he choked the question.

They startled, as they were caught off guard by the sudden hard throw. Aiko took the courage, "Around 4000," she looked away, unable to see Ryoka's face.

"Quarter of Kyoto had fallen," Minamoto sighed.

"Ah, I see," responded Ryoka in tremble. Ryoka turned away so they couldn't see his face, "May I ask for your leave for now? I need some time to be alone, sorry,"

Minamoto smiled, and patted his shoulder softly, "No need to be sorry," he walked out of the room quietly.

"We'll be there if you need us, just call us," Aiko left the room and slid the door politely.

Huh, so much dust entered my eyes suddenly that tears started to slide down. He started to sob quietly.

"They pretty much called me a hero, but I haven't saved anyone or anything," cried Ryoka.

"Thousands of them-"

"Adding to it, they didn't have a quick death. It was to the point death..."

"...Is a better choice."

"They had to steel themselves to take the solution."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm truly sorry."

"I am not a hero."

"I'm weak.

"I'm a coward."

"I'm stupid."

"While the others are cheering for me, the ones who suffered never recovered. Because they lost something irreplaceable."

"They died..."

"...because of me."

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After a long self-reflecting monologue, he fell back to slumber. Even in there, it wasn't any better than what he was reflecting. He may not seem like it, despite his emotionless actions; he's hurting more than anyone thought.

After some time, he woke up and picked up the presence of a new visitor, "Fumi-chan," he called right after regaining consciousness.

"Good thing you kept the promise," she replied to the call. She gave a wide smile that brightened his heart for a moment.

Also at that moment, he could muster a smile for an extra second. I am not ruining her smile, so I can smile more. Oh, I'm so selfish right now...