***
Time had fractured.
It was all going so well. Why now! Why now!
The frustrating thought hit Shizuka each second. But she had no time to dwell on her frustrations. Her mind spiralled–how did they find us? A breach? An informant?—Each thought just left her with more questions than answers.
She cast them aside, all that mattered at this moment was getting her son to safety at all costs.
"Mother, slow down! What's happening?" Max stumbled, his feet trying to keep up with his mothers hurried footsteps.
Shizuka gave the boy no reply.
They reached the old shed, she stole a glance back at her son, a confused expression on his face. She knew he had many questions, but she couldn't and didn't have enough time to do so.
Placing her hand on the doors of their old shed, an ash-like aura surrounded Shizuka's hand.
The doors outline shone, a line dividing the door in two as it opened up.
Shizuka stared at the entrance, then back at her son. Her shoulders, involuntarily shaking. But she gritted her teeth as she turned towards her son. "Max, get inside now."
"What, why? Mother, what's–"
BOOM!
A resounding explosion cut off their dialogue. It tore through the main hous, shaking the surrounding area. Smoke rose up from the house, painting a dark contrast to the serene neighborhood
Shizuka's teeth rattled.She knew now she had to hurry to aid her husband. She held her son's shoulder to ground him. "Max, I know you have a lot of questions. I can imagine. But…" her shoulders shook but she forced herself to keep talking. "You're not ready yet, but I know you'll be Max. Even…even if we're not around."
Before Max could ask any more, Shizuka shoved him inside. The door sealed shut immediately. An ashy outline surrounded the shed as it seemed the sound, air, and even the presence of the shed seemed to fade away into the background.
Shizuka pressed her forehead the wood, listening to the frantic thuds of his fists before silencing them as well.
Her body shook, no torment could be worse than what she had to do. God she hated this. She didn't want more than ever to just burst down the doors. But she knew she couldn't.
Her eyes watered, her shaky voice managing to come out. "Max…I'm sorry. Just know I'll always love you. I'll always be there, me and your father…We love you." her voice projected to max. His frantic banging of the door increased with fervor. But no sounds reached outside the white protective dome.
She wiped her tears as she backed away from the shed. She gazed at it, burning it into her memory as she turned away, not looking back once as she dashed forward to the site of the explosion.
***
Julius twisted in mid air, his boots skidding across the asphalt as he landed in a crouch. He glanced up as Raphael was walking out of the ruins of his front door, hands still buried in his coat, looking as if he were strolling through a garden.
"Woah Julius," the man purred,"You're really off it aren't you. So this is what family life can do to a man."
With his body taut, Julius' mind fired as he analyzed what had just happened. 'Too fast. His quirk has grown. I didn't see him do any hand gestures. That suggests two options. Option one: His control has grown much for him not to need it or…Option two: He's awakened." the latter thought unnerved him. Awakening wasn't something one could train for their whole life and just break through. It needs special, almost impossible conditions to do. In such a short time, unless…'he' is involved.'
Standing up, his hand reached for the sword pendant around his neck as he tore it off. The silver charm ignited with a fierce, blinding white glow, extending to a full-length longsword.
Raphael chuckled, "Always so prepared weren't you." he didn't break his stride. Then, swiftly, the winds picked up.
Golden eyes flared, tracking each slight movement with a hyper focus. Julius glanced at hands, four of them, normally invisible to the naked eye, now outlined with a golden hue. They lunged for him like massive talons
Julius weaved through them, then dashed forward with speed. But as he lunged for a slash, Raphael's smirk widened.
"Ah, close quarter combat. A good plan" he mused, "…for the old me."
Two hands erupted from the air, rushing out of Raphael as it sped towards Julius. Julius' eyes widened as he barely managed to bring his blade up before the impact of the hit sent him flying, crashing into a lampost as it bent against his weight.
He spat blood, his teeth gritted against each other as he stood up with the help of his sword. 'Two more! I had predicted an increase in one, maybe a two. But for him to maintain six arms at once. I can't just rush in.'
"Surprised, well, you always said I was full of surprises." Raphael at the neighbours, who had come out due to the explosion, their faces pale with terror. "Hmm, I had wanted maybe more time for our reunion but it seems it may come short now."
He finally pulled his hands from his coat. His purple eyes locked onto the surrounding apartment. "But let's extend the time just a bit. Ants, scurrying around as always." his voice spoke, devoid of pity, "Let's end that shall we."
He raised his right hand, slowly, agonizingly above his head.
Julius' eyes widened. In his golden vision, a collosol outline of a hand materialized, stretching over the resident blocks like a cloud. To the citizens below, the sky was clear. But to Julius, it was like a guillotine, ready to reap their souls. Julius dashed forward with frantic speed.
"Always wanting to save them." Raphael drawled, his hands beginning its decent." Lets see how you do."
Before the phantom hand could flatten the buildings, a shimmering white dome encased all the nearby apartments, shielding them from Raphael's attack with a crack of energy.
"Thats our job to do so, Raphael." a voice hissed.
Raphael arched an eyebrow, unimpressed by the act nor the person. "Ah, Shizuka, how nice to see you. Now the reunion is actually complete now. So let's fully catch–-"
The white dome dissipated, simultaneously, the same white aura coated her skin as she became a streak of light, crossing the distance before raphael could even blink. Her fist shot out, burying itself into his solar plexus
Raphael shot out, but quickly anchored himself to the ground before he could crash. He wiped a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. He looked down at the dried red liquid. He let out a short chuckle. "Hah, blood, it's been a long time old friend."
He rose up slowly, eyeing the duo with a small smile. "Well, before I was so rudely interrupted. Let's continue shall we." he raised both his hands this time, slowly to the sky.
The ground shook with an escalating tremor. Electric lines sparked, apartment buildings shook as their foundations groaned under the strain of vectorial shifts.
Grim expressions marred Julius and Shizuka's faces.
Julius spared a glance at Shizuka. A secret asking. Shizuka nodded back. Julius felt himself relax. His hands tightened around the hilt of his blade as his eyes narrowed. "Lets take the damage away from the surroundings. The heroes should arrive soon, if the lines haven't been dampened. Shizuka lets go."
Shizuka nodded. A white aura, 100 metres wide dome materialized, with Shizuka at the epi-centre. A white aura coated Julius. A dark aura surrounded Raphael as he felt himself getting weaker, his phantom hands shrinking and flickering as they lost some power. He just chuckled as he didn't mind. Seemingly not minding the burden.
Julius didn't wait, with a burst of speed, he dashed with faster speeds than possible. His eyes shone with a golden hue as he slashed down.
Raphael, hands still in pocket, controlled a phantom hand(which was now much smaller and less numerous due to shizuka's influence) to block the attack.
With a pirouette, Julius pivoted as he slashed, aiming for the neck. A phantom hand quickly met the attack.
Julius analyzed the very few openings which were quickly reducing. 'Even with shizuka's quirk. His phantom hands are still active. I'll have to attack his blindspots before he could perceive them.'
The sword dance continued as Julius slashed, stabbed, hacked with none reaching Raphael.
"I had expected more than this Juli."
Julius dashed back as he rummaged through his pocket. He removed a small box with some writings wrapped around it. He threw it ahead.
An unimpressed expression marred Raphael's face. "Really, an echo. Really." a phantom shot out and caught it. Immediately, smoke exploded from its vesel.
The smoke wrapped around Raphael's vision instantly. "Should've known not to underestimate you. Removing my vision so i won't-" Raphael had to quickly turn and dodge a slash aimed for his neck. Julius narrowed his eyes as he quickly slashed upward, followed by two quick slashes and a stab.
Phantom hands blocked the attacks as Raphael still had that casual air around him. "Anthing else Juli. I'm not 16 you know, so do show me something-"
An invisible force hit his back, cutting him off, as he flew forward. Raphael winced, his back throbbing as he gritted his teeth. "I forgot how annoying your quirk could be." his cool mask replaced by a scowl. "Seriously, when it was just getting fun."
Shizuka and Julius stood side-by-side, their breaths heavy. "Juli, normal attacks aren't working." she murmured. "Any way we want to take him down." Shizuka asked
"Normal attacks won't work on him, we'll have to catch him off guard. For now let's continue with our attack pattern."
"Honestly, this has just been an annoying experience." a voice spoke, directly behind them." But I'm afraid I'll have to cut our reunion short guys."
Their eyes widened. Both freezing in place. Years of training, though dulled, didn't just disappear. And those years on instinct were sending, no, blaring warning signs in their body at the moment.
"Honestly guys," Raphael started, his voice soft, whisper-like. "I didn't want to do this. Really. I…wish we could have sorted it out reasonably, so I'll give you one more chance. Tell me where the stone is and I promise…you two don't have to die."
"What a load of crap!" Shizuka scowled, "We both know that. Stop giving us this pitying speech and acting like you don't want to do this. Stop acting like we're friends again."
"Our answer is clear." Julius stated.
Silence permeated the place as the three stood. Raphael sighed, a sound of genuine disappointment. "I should have expected it. You two are some of the most stubborn people I've had the pleasure of knowing." he let out a dry, hollow chuckle.
Raphael raised himself in the air, far above the buildings and the chaos down below. He stared at the destruction, the people running round, calling for a hero. Some injured, some maybe dead. Then his eyes landed on his two former friends. A sliver of a memory, a time when there was just…friends. His eyes drifted towards the house, the young boy there.
"Actually Shizu, Juli I really don't want to do this." he whispered to himself.
His eyes turned emotionless as his right hand slowly lifted. Time seemed to stop as the world waited for the next outcome. His hand reached above his head as his eyes met the two pairs of eyes. Then he brought his hand down.
The world felt silent. The sound didn't come immediately. First, there was the pressure—a weight like the sky itself falling. Before the judgement arrived. A resounding explosion boomed through the whole neighborhood and the surrounding streets. Like a weight was pressed down on everything. People ran, scrambling over one another to get to safety.
In the center of the storm, Shizuka and Julius held each other's hands. Gripping it tightly. They glanced at each other, the years of love, memories shared between them. Then their son, regret flashed in their eyes. They hugged each other to anchor themselves.
"He'll be okay…right?" shizuka whispered.
"He's our son." Julius replied, tightening his embrace. "He'll be okay, Shizu." the couple shared their last moments together.
For ten minutes straight, the destruction continued, stretching like forever. Raphael watched it all. Burning it into his memory. He turned to leave, but paused, his gaze landing on the house, now destroyed to bits. He could sense a faint lifeforce from there.
***
Max gritted his teeth as he crawled his way out of the damaged shed. He had just minor injuries on him, but that didn't concern him at the moment. He had to find his parents.
He stumbled out, his eyes widened as he took in the place or what was left of it. The place looked like it was flattened, houses, the streets, gone. Max felt his legs get weak, 'M…mom, Da…ad.' He willed his legs to move as he dashed.
Max's eyes darted from sides-to-side, the destruction worse than he had imagined. His hand shot out to his mouth to stop the bile from rising up his throat. Limbs jutted out rubbles, angled at wrong places.
Dread rose up in max. 'N….no, mom and dad are safe. They're safe…' the hope diminishing each way as he navigated his way through the destruction.
"Mom! Dad!" he shouted as he dug through some debris. "Momm! Daddd!!" he spun around, his mind racing on where they could possibly be.
His quirk activated by itself, the golden hue flaring in his eyes as he gazed around. He ignored the exhaustion he was feeling as he pushed his quirk to the limit. He tried to ignore the multiple, multiple dead bodies as he prayed his parents weren't among them. As selfish as the thought was.
A golden highlight made the boy pause. The sweat rolling down his face felt like ice chilled water as it dashed the flame of hope out. His hands shook involuntarily. Eyes dilated. Mouth opened and closed several times before he let out a cry. "Mommmm!!! Daddddd!!!" he stumbled into a sprint.
He slid to his knees as he dug. He didn't care about the cuts and bruises forming as he dug. He didn't care about the putrid smell that was slowly entering his nose. He didn't care about any of that. Hope was an evil thing. He clung to the kindle of flame against the harsh winds of reality.
He dug and dug and dug, until he finally saw the outline of a hand. He increased his speed. Moments later, the debris gave way. "M…mom. D…dad." his voice stuttered out, the golden glow in his eyes dimmed out as exhaustion came through. He shook them gently, scared that it might make things worse than it already is. "M…mom. D…dad, please wake up. Wh…at ha…pened here?" he shook again. But alas no movement. And so the little kindle. The tiny bit of hope that Max clenched unto as snuffed out.
An agonizing wail escaped his throat as he clutched their clothes. Tears ran down his face as he cried out.
Minutes passed and the tears wouldn't come out again. "W…hy? Wh…at did this?" he croaked.
"That would be me."
Max spun around, his boots skidding in the ash. His eyes widened in recognition. "Y…you're him. The one from the house." then the reality of what the man spoke registered in his mind. "W…what do you mean you did this?"
"It is as I said. I did this. All of it." he gestured to the wasteland around him with a lazy hand. "You were meant to be among the casualties, little kincaid. But your parents protected you to the very end."
Max didn't register the words after. His mind replayed the words, 'I did this.' Pain and grief gave way as anger flared in his heart. He gnashed his teeth as he ran forward. "You did this.You monster, I'lll kill you!"
Before he could take another step, Max was suddenly jerked off the floor, his feet kicking at the empty air. An invisible hand tightened around his throat. Max gagged as he clawed frantically around his neck, but only found air. It squeezed more, his face turning red as his vision started to swim
"Honestly I should just kill you where you stand." Raphael spoke, his hands still tucked casually in his pockets as he strolled forward. "But I won't do that." he walked forward as he levelled Max's struggling face closer to his. "You're too weak so why should I?"
Max thrashed in the air more. The force tightened more around his throat. "If this is what Julius and Shizuka died to protect then they sure wasted their time. What a…disappointment. So I'll let you live knowing the feeling you were spared because you were just weak." he brought Max closer. Purple eyes glowed as Max shook in both anger and fear. Raphael leaned in and whispered. "Your parents should be ashamed of having such a worthless son who couldn't even protect them."
Max's eyes widened, his hands falling limply to his side. Raphael let him go as he watched the boy desperatly take in air. Then he turned around and walked away.
Kneeling weakly on the floor, his body shivered, weakly crawling to the remanents of his parents "I'm sorry." he said continuously as he held himself.
***