Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Wave 1, Chapter 11

BY APHRODITE’S FAVOR

Hi, I’m Eriko Kagaho, also working as Andromeda Knight. I decided to give you a report of what happened so far because Toudou-kun seemed unapproachable at this moment because of what happened to Manami-kun.

I received a call from Miyahara-san that night regarding Manami-kun's disappearance shortly after he remained in the club room as a punishment for not attending their practice twice. At the same time, we received signals coming from a few blocks from Miyahara-san's home, which turned out to be the house of Manami-kun's old doctor that was later occupied by his new doctor. Toudou-kun, meanwhile, was kind of panicking when his junior disappeared. He was like blaming himself for leaving him alone in the club room after remembering what happened to him last year. Before we could even find out where Manami-kun is, several Sombers attacked us, and that makeup-wearing Blackhole who was responsible for what happened to Miyahara-san's concert days ago trapped us in a cage fused with chaotic energy. He even stole our Celestial Brooches while we were trapped. What’s more, we have learned that they had Manami-kun in their custody after he showed his Celestial Brooch to us. It triggered Toudou-kun so much that when we woke up, he tried to break free with his bare hands that almost burned him, but a miracle happened and he managed to pull apart those steel bars with his own cosmic energy – even without transforming. His high concern over Manami-kun and fear that he might experience the same ordeal as him caused him to break us free from that cage to save him and Aglaia-san.

As what we have feared, when we came to that house, we saw Manami-kun naked and with blisters in his body. He was said to have been repeatedly tortured, which caused Toudou-kun to unleash his anger and managed to control our Celestial Brooches to be returned to us. Thanks also to Berenice Knight’s help, we have managed to corner the said doctor who later turned out to be an Unloved. It was quite a hard battle because we have to deal with an Unloved who deliberately sold his own Spark Heart in exchange for knowledge, which we later found out was for his wife who died of the same sickness as Manami-kun had. We purified him with our combined cosmic energy without realizing that he will survive as a human, which is a good part. Everything was supposed to be okay now, and Aglaia-san finally forgave Manami-kun after four years…

However, that makeup-wearing Blackhole wouldn’t give up. He single-handedly defeated Berenice Knight, he trapped the four of us and Aglaia-san in several electric poles, and challenged Toudou-kun to a battle, where he made the entire town into their battlefield, as his revenge, perhaps. Still, I find it too cruel. I wonder how Toudou-kun will be able to deal with someone like him.

*****

“You, against me. In this arena. Fight me! Show to me that cosmic energy you’re bragging about!!!”

Raya turned mad after what happened. After Ufuin abandoned him, after the Heart Knights successfully purified Sangaku’s ex-physician, after getting their Celestial Brooches back from being stolen, he already had enough of the failures in a day. He thought everyone must suffer with him – by turning the entire town into a barbed fighting ring for him and Virgo Knight – who he blamed for everything he lost.

Virgo Knight understood his rage, but he finds it pathetic. “If you wanna fight me,” he said, “leave the entire town out of this! And ain’t your fault that I got ourselves out of that cage you made and took back what you stole from us-!?”

“IDIOOOOOT!” Raya screamed again, firing electric balls of chaotic energy at him, but luckily he dodged it. “Idiot! Idiot! A COMPLETE idiot! Don’t you understand why I turned this entire damn town into our arena!? HUH!? A fight needs spectators! Your friends are spectators! This entire town are spectators! They saw the goddamn miracle you did! Why not show it to the world!? There’s a little catch though…

The whole world will suffer on your behalf!!!”

The barbed cage of chaotic energy began to send electrical signals to every electrical post standing, as it started to hit every innocent bystander it could detect. Several screams and cries were heard, which only made Raya laugh like a total madman.

Meanwhile, the trapped Heart Knights could also hear the cries of the civilians from a distance, shocking them to the core, yet they couldn’t do anything because they are currently tied to each barbed post.

“This is too cruel,” Andromeda Knight muttered.

“Why is he blaming Toudou-san for everything...?” Lyra Knight was crying.

“Well, that’s official,” Lupus Knight grunted. “That Blackhole’s nuts!” and he looked around the barbed fence. “We hafta get out of here before we get--

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!”

With his simple way of moving his hand, the barbed fence sensed his moves that it electrocuted him.

“YASU!!!” Andromeda screamed.

“ARAKITA-SAN!!!” the juniors yelled with her.

“YASUTOMO-CHAMA!!!” Aglaia also screamed.

It took seconds for the barbed fence to hit him with an electric current. He panted with a thought that he almost got toasted.

“The fence is detecting every single move we make,” Pegasus guessed. “One small move and it could be fatal for an ordinary person.”

“Dammit,” Lupus still managed to talk after being electrocuted. “That moron has a plan to kill everyone in the first place...”

Aglaia was almost in tears as well. “I’m worried-pi...”

“Why?” Lyra Knight asked.

“I have thish feeling-pi... Hesh planning cho manipulate Virgo-chamash mind-pi... By keeping on reminding him of what happened cho him-pi cho weaken him-pi...”

That possibility made Andromeda angry to the core as well. “He knows because he was one of those people. And he’ll use that dirty trick to win. But knowing Toudou-kun, he won’t give in to his provoking tactics.”

It was something they all hoped for, now that they all know what happened to him last year. Raya may have an upper hand, but they all believe that Jinpachi is a strong young man who will let his mountain god demeanor prevail to win.

*****

Virgo Knight can hear their screams. It was the most deafening thing he heard in his life. Obviously, Raya is provoking him to stand up and fight – but he couldn’t leave Berenice Knight and the doctor alone.

Tired of their helpless cries, it left him with no choice but to run away from those unconscious bodies for their own safety, provoking Raya to hit him instead. But he couldn’t do so without a fight.

“You’re finally moving now, huh!?” he chuckled. “Good! Because it won’t be fun if you don’t…

I won’t be able to hear you SCREAM!!!”

As Virgo swiftly shifted his stance away from Berenice and the doctor, the barbed fence began to detect his move, sending electric shocks right away towards him. But knowing that he will not be safe from electrocution, he immediately pulled out his fans to dodge the current. He continued doing so while running away.

“Is that all you can do!? HUH!?” he turned to Virgo while being hit relentlessly with electric current and kept on dodging them. “A powerful Heart Knight who can’t do anything but to dodge my currents!? This is getting soooo boring, isn’t it!?”

“And what about you, asswipe!?” he has just dodged another current. “Are you just going to watch me!? I thought you wanna fight me!? Or do you even know how to fight!?”

“Oh, I’m already fighting you, can’t you see!? It’s just that I’m giving everything I’ve got to take you down!”

“That’s cheating, stupid--!”

“You’re far more stupid than I thought! In a fight, you’ll do everything to win – even if you have to cheat--!”

“Well, I’m not like you,” he did a twist as another current was about to hit him directly, but he used his fan to swerve it to Raya’s direction. It did hit him directly, however…

“That’s supposed to be a good move,” he snickered, “but it’s also stupid! You know that electric currents are in my blood – they will not hurt me a single bit!”

He was telling the truth. Even after being hit by a current, he remained unscathed.

No wonder he’s playing dirty, Virgo said to himself. He knows from the start that he can’t be defeated if he’s in his own territory – by creating his own within a town full of innocent people! Clever but dirty…

How can I win against this guy!?

He later noticed the barbed fence acting up again. Virgo was forced now to do minimal moves to avoid being hit, but he could also feel that the fence has a mind of its own with a hundred eyes to detect any movement. He tried to use his senses to feel what the barbed fence feels in hopes that he will be able to protect that person from being hit…

Until he noticed Berenice Knight, who was already awake and just trying to get up, without knowing that she is in the same trap as Virgo.

Crap!

As expected, the barbed fence detected her movements and it was about to fire at her, that he immediately ran towards her.

“LOOK OUT!!!” he warned her.

Meanwhile, Berenice’s silver eye widened to see Virgo coming towards her, without any understanding why. Everything was so sudden that he hugged her and she could later hear his screams and his friends calling his name.

“Aw, what a touching move there, whore,” Raya laughed when his enemy got hit at last. “Ya think hugging her will be enough to protect her!?”

So he made a slick move by snapping his fingers, calling out an electric current to hit Berenice from behind. Virgo felt the spark and anticipated that Raya would do such a dirty move that when it was just about to hit her, he managed to block it with his iron fan…

However, the screams of his friends and StarPet became the price as the maddened Blackhole hit them next – even though they didn’t move at all.

“You’re getting dirtier, mudface!” Virgo growled. “I thought your so-called stage fires at anyone who’ll move!?”

“Wait? Did I say that?” he chuckled. “I think you need to clean your ears, li’l whore. The entire place is an arena. If they’re inside it, whether they move or not…

They’re going to DIE!”

Random screams were heard again from somewhere within the town. It was like raining with lightning – a literal thunderstorm where no one is safe even those who were at home. If they could only see what was happening out there, it would be a horrible sight.

Berenice slowly remembered what happened before she got knocked out. As far as she could remember, everything was supposed to be well when she managed to corner Raya and defeated him. But maybe, out of his will to win and not to go back empty-handed, his chaotic energy went to a dramatic increase and everything happened so fast.

“Be careful with him,” she warned Virgo. “He’s no ordinary Blackhole.”

“Yeah I could see that,” he replied.

“He uses emotional manipulation to drag down his opponent, giving him time to power up his own chaotic energy. But little did he know that will be his downfall.”

“What do you mean?”

“First off, do you know how Blackholes were born?”

He raised his eyebrow.

“Blackholes are originally humans who have lived twisted lives before they die. Their Spark Hearts die within them if they were consumed with too much chaotic energy – but they manage to live until they die by whatever means. It’s like they’re zombies who lived for the sake of doing evil and nothing else.”

“So what do you wanna imply in there?”

“Since they were humans once, some events in their lives might have triggered them to do despicable things to cause their Spark Hearts to die. I have this theory that this guy enclosed us in his barbed stage as his security blanket, at the same time, slowly killing us while we’re inside his cage to remind us of how he felt when he was still human. That…

That was a mistake on my part when I accidentally killed them last year while trying to save you… They ended up as vengeful Blackholes.”

Virgo slowly thought carefully on how Blackholes like Raya came to be. Just as he predicted, they were reborn to bring more misery to the human world more than what they did when they were still alive. It’s like imposing a death sentence is useless to a criminal if they will just become Blackholes in the end. But if Berenice says that there is something that Raya did which can become his downfall…

“So you’re saying,” he guessed, “if he will accidentally destroy his security blanket while he keeps on firing at us, will that weaken him?”

“It’s more than that,” Berenice explained. “He detested all humans, that he refused to be recognized as one before. To show him how human he still is will weaken him.”

He slowly got her point. “Are you suggesting to purify him?”

She smirked. “I believed you’ve managed to do that to this doctor here,” she pointed at the unconscious doctor, “so I would say it’s possible—”

“What are you talking about there, huh!?”

They didn’t notice Raya who was already behind them. He used his teleporting ability to get into them without noticing. They were forced to split apart, which activated the barbed fence again, this time, with a plan to hit them at the same time. Luckily, they had anticipated his next move that when the lightning flash was about to hit them, they split and it became more effective for them to dodge them.

“Hm, you’re getting better at blocking my currents,” he whistled. “It’s getting boring—”

Since his currents failed to hit the Heart Knights on the ground, he decided to hit the Heart Knights trapped in the fence instead. Their screams made him chuckle in delight.

“There,” he said, “much better—”

“Bastard,” Virgo growled.

“Ah-ah-ah, don’t blame me! If you have only let me hit you and that bitch earlier, your friends will still be safe!”

“Coming from you? I would rather dodge any lightning strike you’ll fire at me and my friends than letting ourselves be hit—”

“Oh, but would that be hard for you? Even with this weak bitch on your side, you’re still all alone. You’re fighting alone at this moment. Fighting pathetically…

Just like what you’ve tried to do a year ago.”

Just as Berenice Knight warned him about, Raya began to play with Virgo’s mind using his past trauma. Berenice, however, tried to wake him up by facing the Blackhole again with a pulling attempt.

“Don’t listen to him!” She told him, as she used her nylon strands to pull the enemy away, but Raya thought he already had enough of her old tricks that he used her own strings to let the electric current flow towards her to get electrocuted.

Meanwhile, Virgo’s mind almost went blank when Raya attempted to make him remember his tragic past, but he shook his head right away. Calm the hell down, Jinpachi, he said to himself. This guy’s trying to mess up your head just as what Berenice warned you about! Focus! Try to think!

“Am I right or am I right? ” Raya kept on playing with his emotions. “You were all alone that very night when we found you. For him , it was love at first sight. I can remember clearly…

This night was the same night it happened. In this same place. The moonlight has graced us with how beautiful your body was, begging to be played.”

It was like he was narrating the same disturbing scenario all over again, making everything as vivid as yesterday. There is one point where he is right about what happened, and that was the fact that he was all alone, and the night was only illuminated by a crescent moon – the same night of last year when a tragedy came to his life. To make it worse, Virgo looked around and later realized…

The barbed fence. The concrete. The broken lamp post and the grass underneath. He finds the entire place familiar that it is starting to make him nauseous.

“Dammit,” the rest of the Heart Knights heard the trash Raya was saying, especially Lupus Knight, who became more eager to escape, “he’s messin’ up with Toudou’s head!”

“We got to help him,” Andromeda was shaking.

“But how!?” Lyra Knight asked. “If we keep on struggling, we’ll surely be burned to crisp--!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!”

They have only noticed Pegasus who got electrocuted again from struggling too much.

“Stop it!” Lyra cried again.

“We can’t… stay like this,” he panted. “Look at him… He’s struggling to think straight because that Blackhole keeps on reminding him of his past…!”

“Toudou’s losing it,” Lupus also made an attempt, “we gotta do something--!”

But he got electrocuted again in the end.

“Yasu, calm down!” even Andromeda was already crying. “If you’ll keep on doing that, you’re going to—”

But he didn’t listen. Despite his skin and costume already in tatters, he kept on struggling as much as he could. Even Pegasus was doing the same thing, sharing his sentiments with Lupus, while the girls were already crying out of their helplessness.

Meanwhile, all Aglaia could do is to pray and hope that her master will be able to overcome this ordeal.

Pleash don’t give up-pi…!

*****

“I’m sure you remembered clearly,” Raya kept on straining Virgo mentally, “this very place… how your first time was… How ironic, that you have the power of the Maiden Constellation – but you’re not a virgin anymore!”

The dreaded memory began to sink into him again. That night, on that very spot, one year ago, on his own birthday, where he never thought of getting chased, kidnapped, and raped by a group of five men – despite he being a male, himself. It was haunting that his whole body and mind began to turn numb again.

Berenice Knight found his reaction alarming that she used her remaining strength to stand up and attack the Blackhole with everything she got – but surprisingly, Raya just dodged her whip baton with his bare hand.

“Do you think you can kill me with the same trick twice?” he smirked. “Use your brain, bitch. I am immortal now – no puny weapon can kill me!”

With her weapon being held, Berenice used her kicking prowess to get even. “Since when did a Blackhole become immortal!?” she grunted. “Granted that Chaos turned you into one, you’re still human--!”

“If I still am, then why do your tricks seem weaker to me? Are you only strong for killing humans? Shame. Comparing to us Blackholes, you’re the worst!”

She knows that fact, and she admitted that she regretted doing so. However, if she had let them survive and roam around, who knows if they will end up victimizing other people aside from Jinpachi. Yet, the weight of her actions at that time was so great it slowed her down.

Despite that, she still valiantly fought Raya after that humiliating defeat minutes ago, because the present is important for her.

“I know the severity of my actions at that time,” she told him, “but I have my reason – unlike you who did a crime on an innocent kid just for fun--!”

“Fun!?” he laughed. “You think he raped him for fun!? Part of it might be true, but have you ever thought of any reason why him, of all humans that we can choose to play with!?”

“Then tell me,” she threw a punch, “why did you do that!?”

Surprisingly, Raya stopped, much to the other’s surprise. They didn’t expect him to have no slight idea why they did that last year. There should be a valid reason, if he blatantly said that raping him was more than fun for the one who dragged them to do it…

But they didn’t expect his next response, either.

“…How would I know?” he shrugged.

It irked Berenice that she grabbed his collar. “Don’t screw around!” she demanded.

“Idiot, do you think I’m screwing around!?” he said. “If I know, I’ll definitely tell you… Until the end, he is a bit secretive, you see… He never mentioned any reason for his plan to us. As for us, we’re just following orders for money. But if you’ll ask me…”

He surprised her with a ball of electric current and hit her in the stomach, causing her to bump towards the barbed fence and get herself electrocuted again.

“I just love seeing some hot action from a virgin little boy. It turned me on when that happened. I was happy that he dragged me into his plan…”

The tragic past kept on coming to Virgo Knight, forcing him to remember every cursed detail, every crude sensation. Somehow he understood why Raya chose that very spot to trap him and his fellow Heart Knights in the first place. That’s what I’ve been figuring out for months, he said to himself. But that doesn’t mean that I have to remember every single detail of it to figure things out. I wanna forget that damn night, if I could…

No. I wanna forget it. Everything! For me to move forward!

He shook his head and made a decision to confront Raya, to prove to him that he has already forgotten about it and has already moved on. He started by throwing a punch, but Raya just dodged it like nothing came. Despite that failed attempt, he kept on attacking – and surprisingly, his moves were out of place.

“Is he just,” Andromeda watched him fight, “throwing punches and kicks at the opponent?”

“That’s not how he fought the first time he became a Heart Knight,” Lupus remembered. “Seriously, what the hell is Toudou thinking!?”

“C-can’t he use his fans on him!?” Lyra wanted to suggest.

“Is he,” Pegasus tried to analyze the fight, “trying to forget by defeating the enemy?”

They all looked at him after his analysis. It also made Andromeda think that his observations might be true. “I’ve seen him fight on several occasions,” she recalled, “and none of them showed how random he fights right now. Maybe Manami-kun is right about trying to forget while fighting…”

“So I’m right after all,” Lupus bit his lip. “He hasn’t been fully recovered at all! He’s been acting like he already moved on but he was only showing off! And that bastard Blackhole made him worse! Damn…

Toudou… stop it… get your act together, man!”

Meanwhile, Aglaia remained silent as she watched her master fight desperately, like she has never seen him that pathetic for the past few days. The memory of last year kept on haunting him, something that she has failed to anticipate back then.

If only I met him earlier-pi, she thought, he won’t shuffer like thish-pi… Maybe if I’ve only met him lasht year and made him a Heart Knight-pi… that will not happen cho him-pi… Why-pi…

Why didn’t I do that-pi?

*****

“Holy crap!” Raya kept on laughing as Virgo kept on making desperate attempts to hit him. “Are you really fighting me!? Are you really serious!? Come on, you’re better than this! We’re not playing…

Or tell me,” he whispered to him, “is your body acting up right now and you’re just pretending that you want a one on one with me?”

He cringed with that hot breath he felt from the enemy’s ears that he jumped away. “Shut up!” he yelled as he attempted to kick him, but Raya just jumped off his leg like a jumping rope.

“You’re getting more and more boring, whore,” he yawned.

“I’m not a whore!” he attacked again.

“Well you already are,” he dodged his arm with a hand chop, “after he gave in to your service --!”

“You and your damn boss made me into what you’ve been calling me!” he kept on throwing punches and kicks, but he could slowly feel that he is starting to get tired. “You’ve screwed up my life! All I’ve planned for – they’re all gone! No thanks to you assholes! Why me!? Why the hell me!? I don’t get it! I don’t get all of you!!!”

A wrong move by Virgo became an opening for Raya as he caught his Celestial Brooch that served as his beltbuckle. His lavender eyes widened.

“I’ve already answered your question to that fairy godbitch of yours,” he grinned. “You should have really cleaned your ears. But it doesn’t matter…

Who cares about his reason? All we know is that you’re one special li’l bitch.”

All of a sudden, he pulled out the Celestial Brooch away from him, before kicking him away on his stomach. The move was fast enough to send him straight to the opposite fence that caused him to get electrocuted, although lightly. The loss of his brooch for the second time reverted him back to his civilian form, causing panic to his friends.

“TOUDOU!” Lupus yelled.

“TOUDOU-KUN!” Andromeda yelled.

“TOUDOU-SAN!” both Lyra and Pegasus yelled.

“JINPACHI-CHAMA-PIII!!!” Aglaia kept on flapping her wings.

The weakened Jinpachi struggled to get up after realizing that his Star Heart had been taken away from him again, causing him frustration that he almost dug his fingers on the ground. Meanwhile, it triggered Berenice to see him back to his civilian form that she stood up right away and attacked Raya with her technique…

“BRAIDED WISP!!!”

Using the wind around her, she turned them into braided whip-like objects to attack the Blackhole. But Raya, being confident that he is far more superior than the six Heart Knights combined, called the electric currents from the barbed fence and fired against her attack.

“You’re a disappointment, lady,” he snickered. “Your purifying attack’s only good for an Unloved. DO I LOOK LIKE AN UNLOVED TO YOU, BITCH!?”

His currents caused the strands to set ablaze, resulting in an unexpected explosion that sent Berenice flying. None of her fellow Hearts Knights expected that she would be utterly defeated by a Blackhole, which made them convinced that a Blackhole’s powers are more than maybe five Unloveds combined.

Jinpachi witnessed her defeat as well. The one who saved his life from the likes of Raya, now being owned by the likes of Raya. As some people will say, how the tables have turned, and it wasn’t good.

“Anyway,” the overpowered Blackhole turned to him while putting the Celestial Brooch in his pocket, “going back...”

He doesn’t have his brooch anymore. All of his friends are trapped in the barbed fence. Berenice Knight has been defeated and can’t continue to fight. All hope was lost to him. For the first time since last year, fear crept into his heart.

“You know,” Raya kept on walking towards him while cleaning his ears, “I hate it when I get interrupted, it’s making me lose my train of thought. Anyway...”

He looked at him from head to toe: he was entirely different from whenever he transformed into Virgo Knight, and for Raya, seeing him in his civilian form is much better that the memory of last year began to freshen up his mind again.

“Look at you,” he scoffed, “you’re far freaking pathetic than when you’re in your Heart Knight mode, but you know what...? I’m more attracted to pathetic-looking humans like you. Now that I’ve finally seen your real face since last year, it’s starting to make me feel curious...”

When he finally reached Jinpachi, he just looked down on him, while the latter just glared at him like that was the only thing he could do to save himself. Raya suddenly grabbed the collar of his long-sleeved shirt, and from there…

He licked his lips. While Lupus smelled something terrible that might happen on the ground.

“I have an idea,” Raya’s grin went from ear to ear. “How about we re-enact what happened last year? Your friends will be on a special treat to see everything--!”

“TOUDOU!!!” for the first time, Lupus’ screams were full of desperation. “RUN!!!”

But it didn’t give him a chance to run for his life as Raya tore the right sleeve of his shirt.

The sound of clothes ripping and the snickering of those around him began to trigger everything. All of a sudden, he felt like he was transported back in time when he was caught by those men and started to tear off the clothes he was wearing while he tried to struggle for an escape.

That memory made him scream for his life.

“BASTAAAARD!!!”

His screams woke Berenice Knight up. Her will to protect him fired up in her chest as he pulled Raya away from him and began to give him punches. This gives Jinpachi a cue to run like what Lupus told him to do.

The lust-laden Blackhole, however, didn’t flinch when his prey tried to escape while being forced to fight off Berenice again. “That’s right! Run!” he said. “As if you can get out of my territory that easily!”

“Your opponent is ME!” she pulled his hair and punched him again, but that didn’t matter for him as long as his currents are still active. He just hit her again to her core and pushed her away.

“You!? My opponent!?” he laughed. “None of you are worthy to become my opponents in the first place if you looked that pathetic!” And he jumped and kicked Berenice to her head, sending her away again, ensuring she won’t be able to stand up.

While Jinpachi kept on running. His mind is already blank but he knows he has to escape no matter what. He felt like he was trapped in the same time-space continuum where it all started on that dreaded night. Raya, meanwhile, just laughed upon seeing him running towards the town.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he called him. “Are you trying to gain more audience for our little re-enactment? That’s nice of you! But...”

He snapped his fingers. Several screams were heard when the entire town was bombarded with random thunderstorms again.

“Before they could even watch us doing so, they’re all dead! How sad.”

The screams forced Jinpachi to stop at one corner. He couldn’t move forward because of those innocent lives’ screams that kept on triggering his mind. Instead, it slowly moved him back, to the point that he wasn’t sure anymore where to go.

“I told you,” Raya rushed to him, “you can’t just get out of my territory that easily. Where else do you have to run but to ME!?”

He pulled his collar from behind, this time to throw him back to where the four other Heart Knights and Aglaia were trapped.

“It won’t be fun if they won’t be able to see how much of a whore you were back then,” he snickered while walking towards the headband-wearing victim. “I think it’s their chance to see who you really are…

Let them see your slutty face!!!”

He ripped his shirt again, this time from the collar of his back. It made Jinpachi scream again.

“STOP IT!!!” he even tried to beg while grabbing a fistful of sand and threw it right to the Blackhole’s face, allowing him to stand up and run again. But it didn’t irritate Raya at all despite being hit in the eyes, because after all, no matter how much he runs, he will remain in the same spot.

As for the rest of the Heart Knights, all they could do is to watch – even if they don’t want to. They forced themselves to close their eyes in despair while tears started to fall from their closed eyelids, trying not to see their own friend being humiliated once again. Lupus Knight, however…

His eyes remained glued to the ground, watching Raya playing with Jinpachi’s mind and body. His trauma. His past. Like someone who was obsessed with watching a favorite scene in a crime movie again and again.

The scenes that were forced to play in front of him gave him enough strength to try struggling again, not even giving a damn how many times he will get electrocuted, as long as he will be able to escape.

“Yasu, stop!” Andromeda begged him. “If you’ll keep on doing that, you’re going to die--!”

“That’s better rather than seeing Toudou getting broken again!”

She paused and stared at her in shock, while he continued to pull himself away from the barbed fence while the currents kept on scourging him.

“If you were there last year... you’ll never believe it yourself,” he didn’t even notice his own tears falling. “When we went to the hospital, when he woke up... he couldn’t talk to us. We couldn’t talk to him. We couldn’t see his eyes. He was just staring at his own hands all day... For the first time since I met him two years ago, he looked so broken... I then kept on asking ‘Where’s Toudou?’ while he was at their home recovering... You have no idea how many damn days... weeks... months, before we managed to bring his soul back...! It was so freakin’ hard! And we even thought that he’s back to his old self, damn I’m wrong... He never was...! He’s really good at lying...! He shows to everyone that he’s freakin’ fine, but the truth... He’s been hiding his true feelings for a year! He won’t let anyone worry about him for nothing! That’s how an idiot Toudou is…

And that is... that’s something I don’t want him to lose! Fuku-chan... Shinkai... and I... We swore to protect him no matter what! With or without superpowers! He is Hakone’s Mountain God! We don’t want to lose him! Not in this damn case!”

As Lupus Knight kept on struggling for freedom, it made Andromeda think as well. After learning Jinpachi’s story, she even offered her service to protect him at all cost. She already made that promise before, so why the hesitation?

“I have no idea exactly what happened to him,” she admitted, “but you were there when you saw Toudou-kun at his lowest... I’ve made a promise to him, too... I also don’t want to stay here stuck in the barbed fence while watching him getting raped again...! This is not what I’ve promised to him! I don’t want anybody to die, and I don’t want him to suffer again!”

Inspired by Lupus’ determination to break through, Andromeda also forces herself to be pulled away from the barbed fence, as she, too, is getting electrocuted several times. It also triggered Lyra, who knew nothing about Jinpachi’s past – until now.

“I don’t know much about Toudou-san,” she said, “and I even called him a pervert… But now, I felt more guilty when I did that,” and just like her seniors, she tried to break herself free, not minding the electricity scourging her body. “As far as I know… he didn’t do anything wrong to be played by random people! I wanna protect him! I have to be there, too!”

Pegasus has been trying to break himself free as well, just like Lupus, since a few minutes ago, and he has been doing it again after hearing from the broody senior about the aftermath of last year.

“Toudou-san,” he took a deep breath, “pushed himself to save me… and he became a Heart Knight so no one will suffer the same fate as him…! I’ve made a promise to myself, too…! I won’t let any Blackhole touch him again!”

The four Heart Knights used all their physical limitations to break free from the barbed fence, something that Aglaia saw as more than heroic, despite her worry that their young bodies won’t be able to make it. But what Raya was doing to Jinpachi only made their powers fueled for the better.

Guysh-pi, she was sobbing, you’re all amazhing-pi…! You’ve only become Heart Knightsh a few daysh ago-pi, but you’ve shown your growth ash early ash now-pi… I’ve been nothing but a burden lately-pi… and yet…

You’re making me proud of chooshing you-pi…!

Just like them, the little sparrow flapped her wings to break herself free, while she could feel her own feathers burning from electrocution.

Meanwhile, on the ground, their screams of mixed pain and determination have reached Jinpachi’s ears, awfully stunned by their display of determination to break free, come down and protect him. It wasn’t something he wished to see nor hear. In fact, their actions only increased his fear for them.

Guys, no, his mind begged, while on his knees, holding on to the remaining pieces of fabric of his shirt. Stop…! You’ve done enough…! If you keep on doing that…

“Aw, they really wanna join our fun?” Raya saw them, too, chuckling. “Too bad…”

He grabbed Jinpachi’s hair.

“I’m a bit greedy when it comes to having fun,” and he threw him back to the ground and pinned his arms with his knees, causing his headband to fall from his head. “I got a little jealous when he screwed you all by himself, while all we only did back then was to touch you. Quite unfair, isn’t it? He isn’t here anymore, so I’ll grab this chance while I still can…”

And he pulled away the headband-wearing teen’s remaining fabric of his shirt, revealing his lean torso, while he kept on screaming. Raya licked his lips as he began massaging his chest.

“Nothing has changed,” he smirked. “Your skin’s still soft and smooth… tell me, what’s your secret?” and he leaned towards his blushing face already wet with tears while kissing his neck. “Unlike him who’s quite a rough player, I can be gentle, if you will behave. So I can savor more than what he already tasted from you. Isn’t this fun…?

You’re really suitable to be his whore!”

--Then someone kicked Raya from behind, so strong that it sent him flying forward.

What--!?

“Mic Mode: CHORUS SCREAAAAM!!!”

“FULL MOON INFERNO!!!”

The whole barbed fence surrounding the town started to collapse, thanks to Lupus and Lyra Knights’ efforts, while Pegasus spearheaded the attack by kicking Raya out, and Andromeda and Aglaia taking Jinpachi away.

“We’re here,” she whispered to him. “We’ll take care of him, don’t worry.”

As she expected him to respond, she noticed his eyes: glossy and lifeless. His face turned blank. Just as she feared, Jinpachi turned into a broken doll, just as Lupus described to him.

“You go ahead, Andromeda-chama-pi,” Aglaia told her. “I’ll keep an eye on him-pi!”

She has no choice but to follow. She stood up and patted his shoulder before she went with the rest of the team to fight the Blackhole.

The little sparrow, meanwhile, tried to poke his temple gently for him to wake up. “Jinpachi-chama?” she called. “Itch okay now-pi… They’ll defeat that Blackhole for you-pi.”

But he remained listless.

“Jinpachi-chama…?”

His panic attacks, his past, and Raya’s attempted re-enactment of his rape scene broke him inside, to the point that no aromatic scent nor anyone’s voice will wake him up anymore. And all Aglaia could do is to cuddle him with her little wings, hoping that will warm him and bring him back to his old self.

*****

A year ago.

After Berenice Knight saved my life, I couldn’t think of anything, nor feel anything. My mind was blank. Everything I saw was black and white. I couldn’t hear anything, either. It was like all of my senses were taken away after I was raped.

As far as I remember, there were people who would try to approach and talk to me, like nothing happened. They just want to talk to me, asking me how I feel and stuff, and how their faces looked like when they were wishing for me to respond. I wanted to answer back, telling them how I feel, joke with them, smile at them… But I didn't understand myself at that time why I couldn’t do that… It was like my soul was stuck in an oblivion after what happened to me, while I’m having doubts whether I’ll climb back or not anymore…

Then, I met Maki-chan’s mom, she’s a psychiatrist. My senses went back to normal after finding out that she was Maki-chan’s mom. And he even was there to cheer me up. From there, I remembered our promise to each other during the Inter-High: that didn’t count because Maki-chan was forced to forfeit due to a flat tire. A promise must be kept. Must be done…

We promised to settle everything in our last Inter-High.

Then I began to hear their voices: Shinkai’s. Fuku’s. Arakita’s. Even Maki-chan’s. They’ve been talking to me nonstop for God knows how long, trying to reach out to me. When I finally heard them, I couldn’t remember anymore how long I’ve cried so damn hard. It was a relief for me to come out after a storm. From that moment, I’ve realized that there are people who have been waiting for me to wake up, pedal and climb like I’ve done before. They all wanted me back. I wanna go back, too, for a long time. But I admitted at that time on how I’ll start over. I just found myself lucky that they helped me through my depression and trauma.

After I ‘woke up’ from that nightmare, the first thing I did is to change my plans. I cancelled my plan to get a girlfriend after high school and scrapped my plan to have my first time by the time I will reach twenty-one, because what happened to me’s already considered my first time – and it was horrible. I conditioned myself to be better for the Inter-High by training harder. Fuku chose me to become his Vice-Captain after he became Captain of the Bicycle Club, a post which should have been for Shinkai if not because he suddenly quit due to that rabbit incident. It was like a challenge for him on how I can handle myself after that. Challenge accepted, I thought.

As I tried my best to be okay, there is only one factor that made me keep on going: the people who have been waiting for me, the people who believed in me, the people who loved and took me as I am. I have this sense of need to fulfill their wishes, and I don’t want to let them down. So I kept on living my normal life… until, well, Agu-tan came to my life and told me my destiny as a champion of love and justice…

But I didn’t realize that by becoming a Heart Knight, I’ll be closer to those bastards who ruined my life in the first place. Just like tonight…

I don’t blame Agu-tan for it. In fact, I wanna thank her for believing in me despite my past… Being a Heart Knight made me realize my worth. It made me strong enough to ensure that none of my friends will get hurt the same way as I felt last year. But tonight…

These bastards kept on making me realize that my resolve’s still not enough. I don’t understand… My past is weakening me… I thought having cosmic powers are enough for me to stand on my own? I was wrong…

I don’t wanna believe I’m not strong enough. But I can’t move. My body won’t cooperate. My mind’s still blank. I can’t hear anything… Why…? Who really are these people…? Why did they rape me…?

Why me…?

*****

They want you… to destroy the world.

All of a sudden, Jinpachi’s blank eyes turned back to normal.

His strange dream after hearing Aglaia talk for the first time came back to him, making him remember his conversation with that mysterious person, whom he believed to be Berenice Knight. She said something about a possible reason why those humans-turned-Blackholes targeted him specifically. It was something about him that can destroy the world, but in what sense?

The moment his senses came back to him, he finally saw his friends, all battle-scarred while fighting Raya. It was like they were dealing with a powerful being close to a god.

“…What is this?” was the first thing he muttered when he saw his friends fighting for his sake.

When Aglaia heard his voice once again, she was overjoyed. “Jinpachi-chama!” she chirped. “You’re awake-pi! I’m sho glad-pi--!”

“What’s… going on?” he asked, almost inaudibly, while watching the fight.

“Their coshmic energy roshe when they shaw you in peril-pi,” she explained. “In their heartsh-pi, they wanna protect you-pi! Thatch why—”

“No…”

The little sparrow blinked when he suddenly muttered that he wasn’t liking the situation at all. To him, it was worse than committing suicide for his sake. It wasn’t something he asked for, yet no one told them what to do but their hearts.

“Tell them to stop,” he begged her.

“W-what do you mean-pi--!?”

“Make them stop…! Or they’ll die--!”

“LIST’N UP, TOUDOU!”

He paused. He knows that voice coming from his friends fighting the Blackhole.

“I’m sure you’re listenin’!” it was Lupus Knight, who decided to talk to him while using all his strength to fight against Raya. “We’re doin’ everything we can while you sit there chillin’ out! Don’t worry ‘bout us! Sometimes you have to think of yourself, too! You’ve done that several times when it comes to your vanity! But this time…”

Jinpachi later noticed Lupus’ face: he was smiling while fighting. He was wearing the same expression he usually has whenever he was on a race, like a beast starving for victory. And he knows if he has that expression…

He is confident of winning, no matter who their opponent is.

“Don’t shoulder the whole world, idiot! You ain’t alone in yer fight to be as normal as possible!”

It wasn’t just the wolf Heart Knight who was smiling. The three others as well, each with a deep reason to fight and face tomorrow afterwards. Unmindful of their own injuries and limitations, they have one thing in mind.

“After this,” Andromeda Knight said, “let’s say we’ll visit Manami-kun’s house for dinner?”

“Auntie will be so happy!” Lyra Knight agreed.

“Mom makes the best cakes,” Pegasus Knight testified, “and pasta! If I’m right…

Shinkai-san said you like pasta, don’t you, Toudou-san?”

They are all looking forward to finishing the battle. They are all optimistic that they will win. No one bothered asking what to do with their injuries, instead, they all looked forward to tonight’s dinner that Sangaku’s mother was planning to prepare.

And all Jinpachi felt for them was fear for their lives. Yet, their smiles and their optimism made him think deeply.

Manami… of all of us, you’ve been a Heart Knight for a long time. You’ve shouldered the pain of losing Thalia-san by fighting alone… But after you told me that you wanna join the team, your aura has changed… You’ve become a freer person like she hoped for. You said that you’ve become a Heart Knight for revenge. Maybe… I can think of that, too.

Miyahara… I don’t know much about you, but I’ve learned from the Princess how you’ve concealed your identity to help your dad not to carry everything by himself. I wanna see and hear you sing someday. I wanna feel refreshed after what happened to me. I wanna get to know you better so I won’t feel alienated while talking to you. You can sport a dual personality… just like me who can conceal my true emotions to people.

Kagaho… it has only been a few days since I got a chance to get to know you better. I thought you’re the type who won’t talk to anyone unless it’s school or business related… But I guess, I owe Arakita gratitude for knowing you. Your love for your family and your concern for Arakita made you want to become a Heart Knight, yourself. It’s definitely a job that suits you.

And Arakita… I really hate your guts. From the time you first joined the Bicycle Club, you’re the only person who dared to criticize how I look. Yet… you’re the first person to reach out to me after I was raped. I just don’t know how to answer you at that time. But now, I believe I’m now at the right mind to say…

Thank you. All of you. For standing by me. We barely knew each other. We have differences. But we have all one thing in common…

We all want to do something for the better. That’s why… I…

“Aw, how touching,” Raya, already fairly bruised from their surprise attacks, managed to snicker despite his disadvantage, “it sickens me… Is that all you got!? Were you angry a while ago that I tried to rape your leader!? You, humans, are so weird…

It’s disgusting!!!”

Their reaction regarding what he did gave him an idea to surprise them, since these cosmic energy-powered humans are good at surprises. He concealed a weapon which he made from the scraps of the barbed fence he created. Knowing that it’s ready, he first gathered a good amount of chaotic energy to feed himself while the four Heart Knights were about to attack him altogether.

“Do you think only you can gather enough cosmic energy to amplify yourselves? Mind you, even Blackholes can amplify their own chaotic energy just to make sure you’re all DEAD! I told you… I won’t leave until I get what I want…

You’ll definitely regret ruining my fun time with the whore. Too bad, you won’t be able to see his slutty side after this!!!”

The chaotic energy he gathered from their despair earlier has allowed Raya to transform into a bulkier, heavier version of himself that he looked like he was high on steroids that his black clothes began to rip apart. The scraps from his destroyed fence were collected into some kind of a sword that can emit electricity which is ten times the voltage compared to the fence, itself.

The Heart Knights were forced to stop after seeing his new form, giving him a chance to surprise them with one strike. He succeeded. With just one strike without exerting much force, the four Heart Knights were pushed away. The great amount of chaotic energy turned their Celestial Brooches static that it forced them to turn back to their civilian selves.

Such kind of chaotic energy rendered them defenseless. Their bodies were totally weakened from electrocution. For Raya, however, seeing them in their weak state is not enough for them to be considered defeated.

“This is really disappointing,” he hissed. “So I transformed for nothing!? You despise me… You’ve already ruined my moment with the Boss’ whore, now you’ll just lie there sleeping!? You really are humans…

WEAK!!!”

The Blackhole’s feigned disappointment only showed the big difference of their powers at that moment, that he didn’t give a damn anymore if they are transformed or not, if they are girls or still young, as long as his thirst to kill will be satisfied.

“After this,” he kicked each and every one if them like lost balls, “you won’t even get recognized by your so-called friends and family! This is your fault, you know! I bet right now you’re crying from the inside asking yourself why you’re here in the first place. That’s right! There’s no one else to blame – but that whore friend of yours!”

Someone suddenly grabbed his leg, as he tried to stop him from kicking others away.

“Should you,” Yasutomo was clinging to the Blackhole’s leg as tight as he could, “say that... to yourself...? You should be blamed in the first place, asshole... You and you damn cult...!”

Hearing those words from a mere human triggered Raya that he began stomping on his back.

“YASU!!!” Eriko screamed for him, but he remained adamant as he remained clinging to the Blackhole’s leg.

“IDIOT!” he yelled at him as he kept on stomping him. “All of you are IDIOTS! Why blaming US!? HUH!? YOU, in the first place, created US! And now you’re putting all the blame on Lord Chaos!? On US!? That’s what you, humans, are good at: blaming someone for something they should not be accountable for in the first place! YOU disgust me! Damn insects! Microbes! If you really wanna die right now, I can grant that to you!!!”

Yasutomo’s brave action earned Eriko a new perspective that she, too, clung to the Blackhole’s back. “Admit it to yourself,” she hissed, “you’re angry at the human race because of how they treated others and themselves. To tell you, not all humans are like that! The problem with you, Blackholes, is that you take their darkness in their hearts as an opportunity! Not a lesson to learn--!”

“SHUT UP, BITCH!” he elbowed her in her face, earning her fiance’s wrath.

“You’ve hurt my girl, asshole!” He punched his leg like a desperate soldier.

“Kagaho-san is right,” Maera tried to stand up, getting rid of her already-shattered glasses. “You only see what humans are bad at. Well... That’s what you’re only good at,” she later picked a random pole on the ground. “You’ve hurt our seniors... You made Toudou-san cry... You’re far more despicable than most humans I hate!”

She suddenly attacked Raya, without a concrete plan in mind on how she can make a good strike on his face, if not on his head. However, Sangaku foresaw a different scenario, that he immediately ran towards her--

“Class Rep, NO!!!”

He suddenly snatched the rod from her, thus when it was about to hit Raya’s face, he immediately caught it and used the rod as an electric conductor, leaving the blue-haired boy electrocuted instead of her.

“SANGAKU!!!” she screamed.

He managed to let go of the rod, thankfully, but the electric shock weakened his body more that he clung to Maera’s arms.

“Listen,” he still managed to talk, “there’s no point in reasoning out with him... He may be just like Doc... who gave up his humanity a long time ago... No wonder he has no idea what human love is and how it works...”

“I told you,” Raya heard him, “I’m not HUMAN!!!”

His wave of chaotic energy pushed the four teens away again.

“How dare you compare me to you...?” he growled. “Blackholes are far more superior than humans... You’re just jealous of what I can do... Do you really crave for more suffering? I told you, I can give that to you now...!”

As the four tattered teenagers faced the possibility of death in the hands of a rampaging Blackhole, Aglaia couldn’t stand watching them suffer and die without doing anything. “They’re going cho die if we don’t do shomething-pi,” she sobbed. “They need you, Jinpachi-chama-pi! They--

J... Jinpachi... chama... pi?”

When she looked at her master, she noticed his body: glowing with rising cosmic pressure. He has seen everything, that is for sure, no wonder his cosmic energy began to rise gradually. But how he did that is already something that Aglaia has no idea at all. In just one day, he has displayed a surprising feat in controlling his cosmic energy: during their confinement in a chaotic energy-infused cage, and during their raid to save Sangaku. He showed such a dramatic growth just by being triggered to the things that he swore to himself not to happen again.

Then, wearing a new determined face, and his cosmic pressure rising exponentially, Jinpachi glared at Raya from behind, and then…

“...Shining Heart... Metamorphose.”

*****

Their bodies have reached their limits. Being an ordinary human just drained their energy thrice than being in their Heart Knight form. At this point, all the four teens could do is to protect themselves, with the boys shielding the girls as Raya slowly approached them.

“Look at you,” he chuckled. “Cuddling like scared little kittens... Where’s the spunk you’re showing at me when you told me you’re not to blame!? HUH!? That’s another thing humans are good at: yapping at things that are not true in the first place! Damn... If you’ve only let me kill you earlier, you won’t end up being that pathetic... Well, that’s your fault…

You’ve asked for it. You’ll definitely get it!”

Until, for some reason, his pocket felt burning. When he noticed his pocket, it was shining.

What the--

Jinpachi’s Celestial Brooch sprung out of his pocket, and it just disappeared. Everyone turned silent at what they just saw.

“Wh-what just,” Eriko blinked, “happened...?”

“Wh-what did sprung up?” Maera asked, obviously because she had just taken off her glasses earlier that she couldn’t see anything clear.

“It’s Toudou-san's brooch,” Sangaku answered, which is a good thing. “Wait,” speaking of which, he looked around, “where is he...?”

Meanwhile, Raya’s eyes popped up in rage when he noticed that he couldn’t see Jinpachi anywhere except his headband. The disappearance of the Celestial Brooch that he managed to acquire earlier from defeating him has once again slipped from his grasp, and it is starting to get into his nerves.

“You’re a sneaky little rat, are you?” he hissed. “Do you think taking your precious brooch back will do you more good? We’re not yet done, you know! Come out, come out, wherever you--

AAAACK!!!”

A straight punch to his left pushed him towards a tree. Meanwhile, the four teens later realized who threw that punch against the Blackhole. Standing in front of them is their friend, who has regained his cosmic energy – brimming and more powerful than ever.

“...Virgo Knight!?” Eriko muttered.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Yasutomo smirked. “Bastard.”

Virgo Knight didn’t answer. Instead, he walked towards Raya, who was just trying to stand up after bumping hard to a tree that caused it to have some deep bump marks.

“I see,” he tried to smirk, “playing hard to get while you still have the power to transform, huh,” he then managed to stand up. “Aren’t you getting tired of trying again and again? Admit it, li’l rat, your mental state doesn’t fit you to be a...”

He suddenly stopped talking. For some reason, Virgo Knight’s brimming cosmic energy made him shut up. But more than that, he saw a strange mark on his forehead: a glowing white heart-shaped one with a star symbol inside it. Judging by how he reacted to the symbol, he somehow recognized it somewhere.

“This,” his grin slowly disappeared, “this is getting more interesting than I thought...”

Meanwhile, Aglaia came back to her friends to check on them. “What happened to Toudou-san?” Maera asked.

“Th-thatch the thing-pi,” she replied. “The lasht thing I know-pi, hesh shuddenly filled with coshmic energy-pi. Itch much powerful than a while ago-pi! And…

Look at hish forehead-pi!”

They tried to look, but they couldn’t do so because Virgo was facing back at Raya, but then, seeing his shocked face, Raya began to attack with his electrically-infused fists, but surprisingly, instead of dodging it, Virgo just stopped his fist barehanded.

“Stop being cocky,” he said to him. “Just because you suddenly got a power-up, you can do anything as you please! Remember – you’re still a whore!”

He then tried to surprise Virgo with a kick on his side, but Virgo suddenly jumped – and disappeared from his sight. The bewildered Blackhole looked around almost frantically.

“Don’t hide from me, slut!” he growled. “Show yourself!”

However, the four teens can still see him – even Maera with bad vision. “Aikido,” Eriko noticed. “He’s not moving fast, but he moves like he is that Blackhole’s shadow. No wonder he would think he’s moving fast.”

Yasutomo just smirked at his move. “Sleeping technique, huh,” he guessed. “Why the hell didn’t he use that a while ago?”

“I-is that even possible?” Maera asked.

“He won’t be called ‘Sleeping Beauty’ for nothin’. No climber can surpass him by how he pedals – he doesn’t make any noise at all, so whoever races with him will think they have surpassed him – only to find out that he already went ahead. But in this case...

Eriko-chan is right. He’s acting like that bastard’s shadow so he thought he’s really hiding out of his sight. He didn’t even realize he’s just near. In the end...”

Raya didn’t notice Virgo’s next move when he kicked him in his cheek. Although he was able to see his shadow, he was too late to notice.

“Once he noticed it, he’ll never realize he’s being hit!”

His mental struggle gave him a hard time executing his own fighting style earlier. But his newfound determination from earlier gave him a brand new kind of strength. Later on, Virgo Knight began his winning streak by striking Raya in different places. This time, they all hit specifically…

But when they were able to finally see his face, they were also able to see what Aglaia was mentioning about. “Aglaia,” Sangaku asked, “are you referring to that symbol on his forehead?”

They also saw the said symbol. “Where the hell did he get that!?” Yasutomo raised his eyebrow.

“I have no idea either-pi,” Aglaia replied. “Before he even transhformed-pi, Jinpachi-chamash body jusht glowed-pi, and jusht shaw that shymbol on hish forehead-pi.”

“Do you know what that means?” Eriko asked.

She slowly nodded. “That shymbol-pi... ish the shymbol of the goddesh of love, hershelf-pi…

Aphrodite-chama-pi!”

*****

Just by seeing the symbol on Virgo Knight’s forehead, Raya finally snapped. “Don’t act like you’re a chosen special thing,” he also began to try answering his attacks. “Remember your place! I’ve already told you that several times! You damn stupid whore--!”

He got another slap in his face that almost flatten his nose. That brought him to throw several blows at him without giving him a chance to hit.

“Damn you,” he picked up his weapon, “damn you, damn you, DAMN YOU! Even with that power you have, that’s just a borrowed one! You’re still a goddamn human, REMEMBER THAT--!”

His rod, however, was split into two using one of Virgo’s iron fans. Not yet contented by just splitting the rod in half, he split it again, this time into several pieces, using just one fan alone.

“That does IT!” he powered up his fists and began to make another electric blow at Virgo, however, he pulled his other fan and split the electric ball in half, sending the two halves in farther opposite directions before they exploded.

“Are you making fun at ME!?” he attacked again. “You should have put that up earlier, not like now that you’re playing with me! No human should play with my powers! NO ONE--!”

“Pitiful.”

Virgo Knight suddenly spoke. However, it wasn’t what everyone expected as his voice turned into that of a woman.

“Yet you dared to play with a human life with a scarred past,” he went on with a woman’s voice. “Are you pulling up an act of being a spoiled child to win?”

His voice made Raya scream in unjustifiable rage that it was his turn to throw random attacks on Virgo. The tables have turned as it was his turn not to be able to hurt accurately, and worse, Virgo has no plans of giving him a chance to hit again after showering him with several blows.

Meanwhile, the four teens and Aglaia almost forgot the pain in their bodies as they watched the fight. “D-did Toudou-san just,” Maera tried to recall, “just spoke... in a woman’s voice?”

“I-is he possessed by Berenice!?” Yasutomo even guessed.

“Not Berenice-chama, but,” Aglaia replied, “you’re right-pi... It ish Aphrodite-chama whosh fighting the Blackhole in Virgo-chama's shtead-pi...”

“B-but is Toudou-kun aware of this!?” Eriko got confused.

“I have no idea-pi... But maybe-pi... she heard him... or maybe hish mental and emotional trauma totally shtrained him-pi... I dunno anymore-pi...”

“You’re right on the second part.”

They all looked to their right when they saw Berenice Knight walking towards them, awfully injured and with her uniform tattered.

“You looked wasted,” Yasutomo said.

“Wh-what do you mean by what you said earlier?” Sangaku asked her. 

“What you’re seeing right now,” she turned to the fight, “is not Jinpachi Toudou fighting, nor Virgo Knight. Just as I feared, his mental and emotional stress has built up especially after that Blackhole played with his past to the point that he attempted to recreate the scenario in front of you. Because of that…

Just as what you’ve witnessed, the spirit of the goddess Aphrodite decided to fight in his stead.”

No one reacted with her revelation, but judging by their faces, they were obviously shocked that something like being possessed to continue fighting can be possible.

“However,” her eyes narrowed at the fight, which slowly turned into a brutal display of power, “this isn’t a good sign. We have to stop him before it’s too late.”

“W-wait a sec, lady,” Yasutomo interrupted her, “why stopping him now!? I mean, he’s beating a Blackhole to a pulp--!”

“You don’t understand its possible complications, Lupus Knight.”

“What did you say--!?”

“Yasu, calm down,” Eriko stopped him.

“The fact that it is Aphrodite, and not Virgo Knight, who is fighting – no, beating the Blackhole, is already a bad sign for Jinpachi’s mental health. There’s no sign of struggle. He has completely let her take over his body just to win. If you know him better than I do, why do you think he would do that... if he really wanted that to happen?”

They slowly understood her argument. The takeover was a bad sign after all, as they have slowly noticed that his moves are starting to become out of the ordinary. There was already a graduation of takeover when he woke up and transformed right away, and from what Aglaia witnessed, before he even took back his brooch, Jinpachi had already been possessed. No wonder that the cosmic energy he emitted seconds ago was different from what he showed an hour or so ago.

“Aglaia,” she called the bird, “do you remember what I told you a few days ago?”

She blinked several times before she finally recalled their last conversation, that was the time when the boys saw Jinpachi sleeping outside of the boys’ dorm building. Making her recall her words one by one slowly weakened her.

“This is what I’ve feared about,” Berenice admitted. “His mental and emotional state may prevent him from fulfilling his duties as a Heart Knight. Consider that as a warning. However…

I will try my best to bring him back.”

This time, they were all surprised. Despite her condition, Berenice’s face says it all: she has a plan to bring Virgo Knight back to his old self.

“H-how exactly will you do that!?” Eriko was worried. “You’re wounded, yourself--!”

“Andromeda,” she smirked, “I’ve been a Heart Knight long before you came. Let’s say I’m used to this kind of pain. But to see your friend slowly losing his own self during a battle is much more painful, don’t you think?”

Her response made her speechless.

“Besides,” she adjusted her police hat, “that has been my duty even before the night I saved him… I’m just fulfilling my duty to protect him. At all cost!”

And she dashed towards the fight scene, where Virgo Knight, currently possessed by Aphrodite, is close to getting Raya killed with his borrowed strength.

As the four teens remained silent while trying to remember Berenice’s words in their hearts, Aglaia understood her sentiments. Because she was the one who saved Jinpachi last year, surely she saw the pain and humiliation he went into before she fully stepped in, that is why she was able to say those words. And just as Yasutomo said earlier, Jinpachi is still technically not mentally okay, but he is trying his best to carry himself in front of other people who have no idea at all what happened to him last year.

Thus, Aglaia decided to let her do her plan, but Yasutomo thought otherwise. He tried to step forward to help, but—

“Pleash shtep back-pi,” the bird told him off.

“Hey--!”

“Right now-pi, you’re in no condition cho fight-pi. If you’ll shtep in-pi, we’ll never know what will happen cho Jinpachi-chama-pi. Berenice-chama, however-pi, witnesshed hish trauma-pi. She hash an idea on how cho handle him-pi.”

“But,” Sangaku suddenly asked, “do you know what she’ll exactly do?”

It was a good question, she thought, but she admitted that she never thought about it.

“No-pi,” she admitted, “but her coshmic energysh telling me cho trusht her-pi.”

Strangely, the little bird’s eyes expressed some kind of conviction, telling herself to trust Berenice, no matter what – even though she, herself, is as worried as everyone else.

*****

Raya’s brimming chaotic energy from a while ago was depleting fast, no thanks to Virgo Knight’s consecutive strikes at him. He couldn’t speak, either. It was like his body was slowly giving up and instead begging him to hurt him more. Virgo obliged, however. It was like Aphrodite, herself, is giving the Blackhole a hard lesson of humility and consent, that mercy is already out of her vocabulary…

Contrary to what Aglaia thought about her as an ever-loving, merciful goddess.

As Virgo landed his one powerful punch on Raya’s face, it totally knocked him down. He couldn’t move anymore. He may have died already from those several blows he got from the one he tried to rape earlier. As they thought it was already over and Virgo won…

To Virgo Knight, it’s still not over unless his opponent has been obliterated.

“H-hey, Toudou,” even Yasutomo tried to stop him, “I think that’s enough, he’s already down!”

“Virgo-chama!” Aglaia called him. “You can shtop now-pi! He can’t win againsht you now-pi!”

“We all know he’s a Blackhole,” Eriko added, “but I don’t think obliterating him for good is necessary!”

“Please calm down, Toudou-san!” Maera begged.

But surprisingly, Virgo isn’t listening. All in his mind right now is complete annihilation against the Blackhole. They were fully convinced that he wasn’t him, at all, who was fighting against him.

As he was about to deliver his final blow using his fans, someone suddenly blocked him by grabbing both his wrists.

“Stop it now, Jinpachi!”

Berenice managed to stop him on time. Although his blank face couldn’t tell his displeasure that someone stopped him, his trembling hands said it all.

“If you’re there,” she continued, “will you just let this happen!? Are you serious in letting Aphrodite’s spirit take over you to win!? I’m sure people who have been admiring you will not like it once they find out that you’re using someone else as a last resort to win. Knowing you, you will not let that happen, yourself!”

There is a slow struggle between them as Berenice kept on convincing Virgo that he is possessed and therefore should wake up.

“Where is your pride now!? Are you just letting it pass after he tried to rape you again!? He was only messing your mind. I know that you’re still not okay after what happened to you, but are you just giving up!? Was your grace and confidence just a total russ? You’ve managed to carry yourself for the entire year, you can’t just give up now and leave everything to a spirit!

Aphrodite… I know you’re inside Jinpachi right now, so please… let him finish what he has started. He’s been… carrying the weight for so long. There won’t be any sense of fulfillment if you’ll only be in his way… This is not how you are supposed to work and behave as a goddess… We, Heart Knights, are your emissaries of love and justice. We fight for the sake of it, not to show how powerful you are. Doing so could become as worse as those Blackholes. I know how upset you are with the outcome, but please…

Let your emissary finish his job… without regrets…”

It was a bold move for Berenice to plead for the spirit of Aphrodite inside Virgo Knight, however, she thought it was the only way to pacify him. Surprisingly, her plea began to make a good effect on him, as he slowly calmed down, his arms slowly went down, and his purple eyes began to show luster again. The symbol on his forehead slowly disappeared as well.

“That’s better,” she smiled. “Remember what I told you about the possibility of purifying a Blackhole? You can give that a shot. They are still humans, after all. And I’m sure… he—”

And the world suddenly stopped as a sharp object pierced her from behind.

When Virgo Knight finally came back to his senses, it was a bit too late when he saw Berenice Knight being stabbed in the back by none other than Raya, who unfortunately managed to wake up after that utter defeat…

It was testified by Maera’s tearful shrieks.

“BERENICE!” he immediately caught her. Her own blood began to spoil the ground. “Hey! Hold on--!”

“You’re finally awake,” she still managed to smirk at him after getting stabbed. “That’s good—”

“No, you’re not good--!”

“W-we have no time,” she held his arm tightly. “R-remember what I told you… P-purify him… Th-that can… make him remember—”

“Outta my way, bitch!”

Despite the major damage he inflicted on her, Raya still has some strength to pull her by the hair and toss her somewhere.

“That’s better,” he chuckled. “Damn,” he crooked his head for a little stretch, “that surely was nasty… I’ve never thought you’ll seek divine intervention from that bitchy goddess… But do you think you’ve won—

H-huh!?”

He was busy talking to himself that he didn’t notice Virgo Knight already missing.

He gritted his teeth. “Playing hide and seek again, huh!?”

Meanwhile, even his four friends noticed how he quickly disappeared in their eyes. “Wh-where did he go!?” Maera looked around.

“I can’t see him,” Sangaku looked around as well.

“I couldn’t feel his presence, either,” Eriko said.

They all tried to find him, until Yasutomo managed to spot Virgo landing towards Raya, surprisingly concealing his cosmic energy using both his fans that are brimming with enough cosmic energy to do what Berenice suggested him to do…

This time, without any deity spirit to mess up with his consciousness.

“Feel back your lost love with this technique,” he declared, as a strong wind of chaotic energy began to surround them, swirling around his iron fans. “This is Jinpachi Toudou’s own Iron Fan Technique…”

Once again, it was too late for Raya when he looked up in the sky…

“SLEEPING GALE SLASH!!!”

Two consecutive slashes hit him in the chest, not to slice him off, but to suck out the chaotic energy he has. As a result, his Blackhole side has been mortally wounded…

But his soul as a former human slowly showed up.

*****

A year ago, I died.

This bitch showed up from nowhere after our recruiter feasted on a pretty-looking high school guy. As far as I remember, he managed to escape, leaving the four of us trapped. Before we could even run for our lives, we were all killed -- or that's what I thought.

Everything to me turned black. Then white. Then gray. I could still remember how one funeral got rid of my body by cremating it. No one attended my funeral. My old bitch didn’t cry at all. In fact, she kept on blaming me for all the misfortune we got ever since I was born. Well, she shouldn’t bother counting my mistakes anymore. I died. That’s what everybody wanted…

But then, her. The only person who cried at my funeral was my sister.

My older sister. She’s probably the only person in the world who knew that I exist. She took the role of my mother who doesn’t bother looking after me at all for some reason. She was the only one who showed me that I’m still human with all the rights…

Yet, I thought her guidance wasn’t enough. I saw myself getting in trouble, even those things that I don’t mean to. I fell from one bad company to another and managed to get out of those alive. Until I saw myself in the company of this mysterious guy in dreads. I thought he’s one hecking intimidating guy…

Until one day, we told us to keep an eye on a certain guy with a headband who studies in an exclusive school in Hakone. He told us to follow his routine. We learned that every weekend, he goes home alone and back on his bicycle to their hot spring resort home to help. I once dared to ask him why. He just said to follow his orders. So I did.

Then, that night came. We found him biking on his way to the dorm, I guess. We followed the bike and managed to corner him. He’s fast. We couldn’t even hear him running for some reason – but as expected, Boss managed to capture him. He escaped once, but still caught. Until we took him to an open parking lot with broken street lights. Then, Boss started to tear off that guy’s clothes and started kissing him.

It was a weird experience for a big, burly guy like him to get attracted to a girl-looking guy, but none of us dared to question him. I remember, he kept on calling him ‘my love’ several times. There is only one instance when he called that guy ‘Aphrodite’. Is that supposed to be a goddess? Anyways, we were holding the guy while he was getting raped while I was tasked to cover his mouth so he won’t scream. He even encouraged us to touch him. He really has a soft skin for a guy… but that was just it. He did all the work. I’ve seen everything…

For some reason, I remember my own experience back in high school.

I was severely bullied. A group of those kids ‘ruling’ an all-boys school usually pick their ‘favorite’ every week, but in my case, they have never let go of me ever since I was ‘picked’. Then, there is one instance where they pulled me at the back of the gym and started taking off my clothes and took turns raping me and electrocuting me with those tazers. It was horrible like damn. I puked several times in a day because of it, but no one noticed what happened. No one cared.

I didn’t even let my sister know what happened to me that day.

I stopped going to school afterwards, but I managed to get into an out-of-school gang. I thought I could use them for revenge. They helped me. I led in kidnapping those bastards who raped me and had them electrocuted… but I know there is a huge price. I agreed to be used just to get even. But eventually, I jumped from one gang to another killing each member who took me in and later used me.

From my experience, I’ve learned that there is no such thing as ‘free’. Everything has a price to pay. I thought of myself as an expensive bitch who can only be used for free if one will pay me a handsome price. I started to become obsessed with torturing my own kind after days of being with them. I strangely feel good when they break my trust in them only to die afterwards. They deserve it, I thought. Besides, I also thought, no one will mourn for them. No one will look for them when they go missing. No one will care…

But then, after my death, and after finding out that he isn’t an ordinary human at all that I started to see myself working as a Blackhole, I began to learn the reason I lived a miserable life. My mom lived a good life, had a good husband and daughter before their house got attacked by robbers. My sister wasn’t there when that happened, but the police found the house in a mess. The robbers got away. Her husband was killed. My mom was raped. And I was the fruit of that crime.

I don’t blame her on that part. I just learned a good lesson about it. Saying that people are born naturally good is nothing but pure bullcrap. People who decided to live a ‘holy life’ die earlier, either of natural causes or of tragedy, and people living in sin tend to live longer because they have all the means and wits to survive. This is a world where the strongest survive, and there is no room for what they call mercy. That is how weak and pathetic humans are in reality. That is the reason I took Boss’s offer to be a Blackhole. I could do whatever I want with my power, making everyone miserable because of their own selfishness, making them realize their greed and to see them being swallowed by their own sins. My hatred for the human race made me who I am now. They are all the same…

Yet… I still couldn’t forget how and why my sister cried for me when I died. I remember when she said… I didn’t deserve a miserable life… and told me to forgive my mom for all the crap she did to me… That I deserve a more sane, meaningful life. She’s been… expecting me to live without pain and suffering…

No. That’s not my nature. She deserves better. She deserves to live more happily than I do. I guess… that’s her reward for loving me as I am.

*****

Virgo Knight’s new purifying technique made Raya remember his past, unintentionally, that caused him to shed a tear. However…

“Damn you,” he growled. “Damn you! Don’t pry into my life! How dare you!!!”

But Virgo didn’t answer. Due to his own technique, he also saw the Blackhole’s surprising past, causing him also to shed a tear… for him.

Raya was stunned by his tears. The moment he saw them, his strength was totally drained from too much exposure with cosmic energy. He shook his head vigorously, condemning him for the pity he showed to him.

“You don’t know everything about me!” he yelled. “Don’t you dare cry for me like you understand! Damn you! I DON’T NEED YOUR PITY!!!”

But Virgo remained staring at him, tears still falling on his cheeks. The pity and painful compassion he felt slowly shrinking Raya’s body, burning him from the inside.

“Remember this,” he warned him, “no matter what you do, you’ll remain his whore! It won’t bring back everything that was taken from you! You can’t act righteous forever! You can’t change everyone! You can’t change your fate! Remember that…

APHRODITE!!!”

The cosmic light swallowed Raya whole that the entire town became immersed with soft light coming from the hole Virgo created. Then, at the blink of an eye…

The whole town became quiet.

“…What the hell…?”

Yasutomo was the first to wake up from that living nightmare. He saw himself on the ground with four of his friends. Then he saw Aglaia, trying to wake each of them.

He saw himself: his Celestial Brooch was still beside him, but the strangest part is that all of his injuries are gone. He couldn’t feel any sign of pain, either.

“Wh-what happened?” Eriko got up, looking around.

“How would I know?” he grunted, scratching his head.

“Virgo-chama won-pi!” Aglaia told them the good news. “The whole town ish shaved-pi!”

“R-really?” she couldn’t believe her ears. “H-how did that happen!?”

“S-Senpais,” Maera woke up next, “what’s that black thing over there?”

They noticed a lump of black fabric on one side of the parking space. Sangaku, who woke up along with his neighbor, decided to check that lump of fabric personally. He pulled the fabric upwards.

“Isn’t this,” he guessed, “that Blackhole’s clothes?”

They looked at each other.

From the looks of the fabric, it was obviously torn and tattered. No stain of blood or anything to get his DNA. They later concluded that Raya disappeared from the light, along with his body and chaotic energy-infused soul, an indication that Aglaia was right after all.

“W-wait,” Maera then remembered, “where’s—”

“Jinpachi-chama!”

Aglaia spotted the hero, himself, walking towards the group with an unreadable face. Just like the others, his injuries were miraculously healed. He seemed clueless as to what he exactly did after winning his own battle.

They all rushed to him with such relief. Meanwhile, Eriko found her schoolmate’s headband on the ground. But beside that…

Something sparkling was also found. Somehow, she finds it familiar.

“You’re alright,” Maera cried after seeing her senior in good shape. “Thank goodness…”

“Here,” Yasutomo suddenly threw his jacket at Jinpachi. “Wear that. Those guys might bombard you with a lot of questions why you’re naked.”

“Uh,” Sangaku blinked, pointing at himself, “what about me, Arakita-san?”

“In the first place, why did you only pick up a pair of pants!?”

“Ah, I was in a hurry, so—”

He sneezed.

Maera just sighed. Luckily, she was wearing her cardigan. Leaving with no choice, she took it off and gave it to him. 

“You don’t wanna end up being scolded by Uncle,” she said. “Do you?”

He smiled and took her offer. “Thanks, Class Rep!”

Meanwhile, Jinpachi didn’t wear it right away. He only stared at the jacket for a few seconds before he looked around. “Did we,” he looked around, still weak from that mentally and emotionally-straining battle, “win…?”

“We did,” Sangaku answered. “And you’re quite a badass, Toudou-san. Even the spirit of Aphrodite sided with you.”

“Aphro… dite…?”

He swore that he heard that name a while ago. And even a while back. For some reason, her name resonated with his heart, yet he couldn’t figure out why.

“Toudou-kun,” Eriko came to him with something in her hand. “I believe this is yours.”

It was his headband that she picked from the ground. Jinpachi recognized it but he didn’t take it right away, maybe because his mind was still mixed up from the battle.

She understood his situation, so she gently parted his bangs and pushed it on his head, giving his signature look back to him. But while she was doing so, he noticed something dangling on her hand: a silver necklace, where its woman’s head-shaped pendant has a dark red jewel encrusted on its star-shaped base on the head’s hair…

Strangely, he remembered that very pendant like he has seen it before several times.

“Where did you,” Jinpachi pointed at the necklace, “get that?”

“Beside your headband,” she replied. “I even thought it was yours—”

“Wait-pi…”

Aglaia noticed the pendant as she flew towards it. She smelled and pecked it, then all of a sudden, she leaned away, sweating.

“Wh-what is it?” Maera asked.

“Thish,” she gulped, “thish ish a Shtar Heart-pi!”

They all looked at her in shock – except Jinpachi, whose eyes remained stuck on the necklace. When the bird confirmed what that is…

Everything came back to him, including what happened to his savior.

“Who owns that!?” Yasutomo pointed at the necklace.

“Wait,” Sangaku looked around again, “has anyone seen Berenice-san?”

They then remembered Berenice Knight who, as far as they could remember, ended up being stabbed by Raya after confronting Virgo who was under Aphrodite’s influence at that time. They all began to look around, hoping that she was still alive somewhere, hiding. However…

“This is,” Jinpachi was shaking when he took the necklace, “Berenice’s…”

The moment he recognized the necklace, he began to walk around, searching for her. Meanwhile, his four friends and Aglaia decided to help him look.

“Aglaia,” Maera suddenly thought of something, “i-is it possible for a Star Heart to trace its owner!?”

“Ah-I don’t think sho-pi,” the bird said. “I-if the usher can emit enough coshmic energy-pi, th-the Shtar Heart can be atthrachted to it-pi. B-but I haven’t encounchered that-pi…”

Meanwhile, as the memory of the battle slowly opened his mind, Jinpachi kept on walking frantically, searching for Berenice within the near-empty parking space.

“No,” he was shaking. “Where are you? Where the hell are you…

Ikaruga-sensei!?”

They all looked at each other. For some reason, he was looking for their homeroom teacher, and not Berenice. “I thought he hated that teacher?” Yasutomo even asked. “Why is he…

Oh… crap .”

He managed to get it right away. Considering that only her Star Heart was found, there is a possibility that its host is around somewhere. But how did Jinpachi know who it is? The narrow-eyed teen has speculations.

No wonder she knows Toudou on a personal level, he guessed while helping him search. And he might have recognized that necklace somewhere. It’s coming together like a goddamn puzzle!

“Wh-who’s Ikaruga-sensei?” Sangaku got curious.

“His homeroom teacher,” Eriko answered. “They’re not in good terms as far as I know because she made him fill out the entire blackboard with his name when he forgot to write his name on a test paper—”

“WHAT!?”

“B-but I don’t get it,” Maera got confused. “Is he saying that his teacher and Berenice Knight are one and the same--!?”

“TOUDOU!”

Before she could answer her, if she really has the answer, they heard Yasutomo calling Jinpachi, where they found him falling to his knees on the ground. They all rushed to him, with the grumpy teen headed first, worried that his PTSD began kicking again.

Meanwhile, Jinpachi, staring at the said necklace, slowly realized everything. He recognized it, and he couldn’t be wrong…

Karen has been wearing the said necklace all this time. And he failed to feel the cosmic energy within it to find out the truth.

“Dammit,” his lavender eyes threatened to tear up again, “all this time… Sensei… So that’s why… That’s why… you…

You’ve been keeping an eye on me… ever since you saved my life…!”

When they all rushed to him, Yasutomo tried to find that small bottle in his pocket to calm his teammate down, but he couldn’t feel anything. “Damn it,” he grunted, “I left it back at the dorm--!”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH….!!!”

All of a sudden, Jinpachi wails and sobs were heard in the entire parking space.

Their instincts pushed the four teens and Aglaia to hug him as tight as they could, assuring him that the battle was over, and they had won the night. The entire town is saved, at least, thanks to Aphrodite’s unexpected intervention, although it became dangerous for his mentally and emotionally-scarred state, if not for Berenice Knight – or Karen Ikaruga’s sacrifice.

Jinpachi’s tears were so contagious that even Yasutomo, Eriko, Maera, Sangaku and Aglaia cried with him. It was a strangely long night, and everyone was tired – body, soul, mind and heart. A supposed rescue operation turned into a gruesome battle against a Blackhole who went on a rampage for personal reasons, with the life of a Heart Knight as a prize to win.

None of them has enough strength to think anymore how they will explain their situation to their own family and friends once they head back to their respective homes. None of them, either, felt that there is someone besides them within that parking space, standing above the rooftop of one of the buildings there, who watched the whole gruesome battle from the start.

*****

Three days later.

“Jinpachi-chan’s damn late!” Mao kept on checking her watch. It’s already five forty-five in the morning. The bus will leave at exactly six. “Did you wake him up, Fuku!?”

“He woke up five minutes earlier than me,” Juichi said. “He said he’ll just go off somewhere.”

“Did he tell you exactly where he’ll stop by?”

“No.”

“Don’t worry much about him,” Hayato assured her. “Knowing Jinpachi, he’s probably here already without us knowing it—”

“Shinkai, you genius bastard!”

Just as he guessed, Jinpachi was already on the bus, and no one noticed him boarding. Mao almost had a heart attack upon seeing him.

“You made us wait for twenty damn minutes,” she yelled.

“Geez, did you even notice me boarding the bus ten minutes ago!?”

“Why didn’t you tell me right away--!?”

“Anyway,” he turned to Hayato, “got what you’ve ordered! It’s on your seat.”

“Neat!” he hopped on the bus right away. “Thanks, dude, I’ll pay you later—”

“Nah, Arakita said it’s free!”

“Really!?”

“Who the hell said that!?” Yasutomo heard him, who was just leaning outside.

“You have yours, too, Mao-Mao,” the headband-wearing teen waved a bag of some snacks. “Fuku has his apple tarts on his seat.”

“Oh my God,” the twin-coiled haired girl’s cheeks blushed in delight. “Arakita, you now have my respect--!”

“It’s not FREE, dammit!” he yelled.

“I’ll pay you later,” Juichi said.

“Now that’s reasonable. How does anyone of you don’t think as sensibly as Fuku-chan--?”

“That is after I get my allowance by the end of the month.”

“I hate you, stone-face.”

“By the way,” Hayato later noticed the strange silver necklace that his teammate wore, “you really ditched your old one, huh?”

“Not totally,” Jinpachi replied. “I just thought of trying something new…

For a little change.”

Today is their supposed first day of their annual training camp, and the bus is expected to arrive at Gunma an hour from now. It has exactly been three days since the five Heart Knights’ first gruesome battle with Raya, one of the strongest Blackholes they have encountered. The battle ended in a bittersweet way after Berenice Knight sacrificed herself to bring Virgo Knight back to his senses.

Thus, today, they were informed that they will be joined by another teacher instead. And strangely, when he asked what happened to Karen Ikaruga, the coach just blinked, saying he doesn’t know her. Even the whole faculty has the same answer. It was like her ‘existence’ has been erased in the minds and hearts of everyone in Hakone. Luckily, yet strangely, Mao and the rest of her friends still somehow remember her and just like him, they have no clue why none of the faculty members remember her.

“Fukutomi-kun,” the coach called him, “Tsukigawa-san already went ahead to re-inspect the facility. She said everything is ready.”

“I see. Izumida,” Juichi then called a semi-bald second year with a beautiful pair of eyelashes and is taking notes, “is everyone on board?”

The said member, Izumida, double-checked each row on the bus before facing the captain. “We’re missing one, Sir,” he said. “It’s…”

He checked the name on the list. He suddenly made a scorn face.

“Manami—”

“SAAAAAAFE!”

Three minutes before their departure, Sangaku just arrived with his bike, tapping the bus’ body to let them know that he’s still present. Everyone, of course, groaned for his tardiness.

“Get in here, stupid wonder boy!” Yasutomo yelled at him.

“Fashionably late, huh,” Jinpachi smirked.

“Sorry,” he chuckled, “I thought of taking my bike for a short ride but I didn’t notice the time, so—”

“Just shut up and get in!!!” the grumpy teammate ordered him.

“Yessir,” and he took the bike in before hopping on the bus, causing inconvenience to some.

As the bus is about to move, Yasutomo couldn’t help but to stare at Jinpachi’s necklace – which is, technically, Karen’s, and decided to talk to him about it.

“So,” he started, “ya sure that you wanna leave Agu-chan to Eriko-chan while we’re on a camp? I mean, she can give her unlimited supply of pancakes if she would want to—”

“I trust your fiancée,” he replied. “I told her not to spoil Agu-tan that much while I’m not around. If I leave her to Miyahara, I don’t think her own pet bird will be happy.”

“Can imagine that,” he agreed. “So what now?”

Jinpachi understood his question. He understood that right now, no one remembers Karen, and none of them remembered that she became their homeroom teacher in a matter of weeks. He even tried to visit her supposed residence but none of them claimed that they knew her. It was official, he thought.

“Arakita,” he held the pendant tight, “I’ve decided, after this training camp…

I’m going to find her.”

He only raised his eyebrow about his teammate’s decision. He seemed serious, which is already a given, however, “Where will you start?” he dared to ask. “Ya know how big Japan is, Toudou? And are we even sure she’s still alive?”

“If she’s not alive, her Star Heart won’t shine like this. I learned from Agu-tan that a Star Heart can indicate its host’s life. This pendant tells me that she’s still alive somewhere. That’s why…

I’m going to find her. And save her. I don’t care for how long I have to search. She saved me several times before. Now… it’s my turn.”

It’s his solemn promise to that necklace, a promise that he has no plans of breaking it no matter what. It is Jinpachi’s way of gratitude towards the woman who saved his life several times, and later sacrificed his life to bring him back to reality. Speaking of which…

More questions began to pop up on his head after that incident, among them is his connection to the goddess Aphrodite which was related to his rape case. What was her true connection to it? And who really is this mysterious boss in dreads who targeted him specifically?

As the bus heads to this year’s training camp venue, Jinpachi Toudou, Virgo Knight, decided to set those things aside in the meantime as he mentally prepared himself for the upcoming Inter-High. After all, it won’t be likely for another Blackhole or Unloved to show up in the next few days.

*****

Twenty minutes have passed.

As everyone has fallen asleep from their long journey to Gunma, Hayato’s bag moved a little bit.

His bag slowly and carefully opened so no one could hear its zipping sound. Seconds later, a little paw and a pair of long, floppy ears showed up…

And then, out came a cute little brown rabbit’s head; its nose kept on twitching as it craned its head outside, until it spied a certain sleeping reddish brown-haired young man who happened to own the said bag.

…Strangely, the rabbit smiled upon seeing him.

It’s time for you to wake up… Heart Knight-cchi!

**END OF WAVE ONE**