3 - The Remnants Of The Eura Stronghold

Ichika and Sakuto arrived there at night.

For some reason, after the second global soul event, the nights felt darker. The days felt more eerie, as if something was wrong. The nights were colder, it wasn’t the darkness of space that encompassed the fear of the unknown, it was a deep abyssal darkness, deep in an ocean that was in the middle of a beautiful but terrifying metamorphosis. It was a sense of depth that felt warm and comforting. It felt both embracing and empty.

There was a person they were supposed to meet there. A person that Kaito told them to listen to and aid in any way they can, even if it cost them their life. A key player in the stronghold game. And as they approached the gate...

“Halt. You are not authorized to cross this point.” The guard said.

“No, that’s the thing, we are. Kaito Kamiki sent us.” Sakuto replied.

“I said halt!” The guard pointed his rifle at him. “Leave the area immediately! You are not authorized access!”

“Well if you listened to what I said, you'd let me through!” Sakuto yelled, slicing his rifle in half with a shadowy tentacle.

“Sakuto, what the hell?!” Ichika bounced back. “He’s gonna raise all the alarms now. Good job, I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

“Would you rather get shot instead?” Sakuto asked.

“R-r-requesting backup! Unidentified soulful activity!” The guard yelled into his radio while trying to reach for his handgun. Once he pulled it out, he pulled the trigger, and was shocked to see a total of zero bullets come out.

“I put the safety on.” Sakuto said, barely holding his laughter in. “I swear, I’m having way too much fun with this.”

“And who are you to oppose me?”

“Yet another soulless, right?”

“I bet if I wasn’t a soulful and had to carry out this mission, you’d shoot me dead, you’d take my life...”

The shadows slowly faded away, and Sakuto grabbed the guard by his vest and raised him into the air.

“That’s Sakuto Hitori and his ally. Let them in before you get yourself killed, you idiot.”

Upon hearing that sentence from the radio, the guard gasped in fear and shame, and Sakuto deeply sighed. He threw the guard back on the ground and made sure to slice his handgun in half too. They proceeded and advanced in the base, with rows of soldiers contemplating whether or not to salute or bow down to them. They stared at them in silence.

“What’s the purpose of this show of arms if any competent soulful can wipe an entire battalion out with no issue...” Sakuto said.

“Maybe it’s to deal with the soulless? You gotta remember they can be a tool too.” Ichika answered.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

They entered the multi-floor base. The inside seemed strangely hollow, there was only a pair of vases with fading palm trees to give at least some life to the environment. The night sky didn’t help either, everywhere was dark. Slowly, they made their way to the top floor.

“Why the grim welcome? Whaddya think?” Ichika asked.

“No idea.” Sakuto replied. “But I can feel a soul presence coming up. Actually, wait... it’s coming towards us. Stay here, guard my back. I’ll go up there.”

“Mhm.”

Sakuto made his way to the top floor. And there, he was greeted with a rather questionable experience. He could hear the faint remnants of a conversation, creeping their way into his ears which were clearly not in the mood to listen to them.

“What the hell is going on with them? Are they...”

“Yeah, it’s two voices. Both are female. And they’re arguing?”

“I’ll take a shortcut. Maybe it’s something important.”

He tossed a small shadow shuriken into the ceiling of the room and invaded it by climbing out of it. He saw an older woman resting by a large table, and a younger woman who was just a few steps away from being fully dressed and very upset. And she was the one who gave Sakuto the warmest greeting.

“What the hell are you doing? You’re supposed to enter normally!” She yelled. “Who is to say you’re not here to kill us?!”

“Kaito-”

“You’re here to kill us, aren’t you?” She said, summoning a crossbow in her hands and pointing it at Sakuto. She was damn ready to shoot it too.

“Stop it this instant.” The older voice said. “Victoria, collect yourself and greet the guest in an orderly manner.”

Ichika quickly reached the fading standoff.

“Sakuto? Everything alright?”

“Yeah.” Sakuto said, taking a step forward towards the two women. “I’m Sakuto Hitori, Lieutenant-Commander of the Heisei, sent here by Kaito Kamiki’s orders.”

“God damn, saying that introduction felt way too good.”

“I see. They sent the Heisei’s star weapon here.” The older lady said. “I am Matilda Thomas, the eldest of the Thomas family. This woman here that tried to murder you out of her own incompetence, for which I apologize, is the rightful head of the Eura stronghold - Victoria Thomas.”

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“Aunt, don’t embarrass me!” Victoria said bitterly. She was a brunette with powerful aqua eyes and a strong body, she wore a dark suit with a white shirt underneath, and so did her aunt, albeit her set had slight golden touches to it.

“So, why was I sent here?” Sakuto asked.

“Allow me to explain everything in an orderly fashion.” Matilda began, and invited the two soulfuls to the table. “The rest of the Heisei will be informed of this via a briefing, but there are some details that I would like to disclose to you privately. Are you sure your ally here is trusted?”

“She is.” Sakuto said. “If you share something with me, you’ll have to share it with her too.”

“How sweet.” Matilda laughed. “Anyhow, I assume Kaito has already explained how the stronghold system works. Six areas, six people. But what he didn’t explain was that the Eura stronghold is in a disastrous state. So disastrous, in fact, that not handling the disaster will result in a very unfortunate predicament to come to fruition.”

“I see.”

“The original head of the Eura stronghold was impeached during the war against the Adler Group. Her name was Elena Thomas, she was a wonderful woman, a truly admirable and powerful woman. Most importantly, she was a woman with a strong backbone, never backing down on her ideals...”

“Aizawa killed her.” Victoria interrupted her aunt’s sorrowful dialogue. “She and her forces hunted her down and murdered her.”

“Huh? Why didn’t the strongholds do anything?” Sakuto asked.

“Too busy controlling the war. And besides...” Matilda took a deep breath, exhaling with troublesome sorrow. “There was nothing they could do about it.”

“Nothing?” Ichika asked.

“Aizawa is no ordinary soulful. She’s strong, she’s dangerous, she has resources and she has plans that we have trouble properly intercepting.” Matilda explained. “Otto Richter, sure, he was a threat, but Aizawa... she’s a monster.”

“This is why I requested to meet up with you personally, Sakuto Hitori.” Matilda said. “As it stands right now...”

“You are the only soulful capable of taking her down.”

“Right. So that’s why I’m here...” Sakuto thought. “Another war is starting.”

“War against people who want their own ideals to prevail... and I’m such a person too now. And so is the side that I fight for.”

“So that’s what it is, huh? Another damn war?” Sakuto objected. He felt Ichika quietly hold onto his arm, trying to calm him down. “It hasn’t even been a month, has it? And you’re dragging me into another-”

“It is inevitable. Two powerhouses cannot coexist in peace. Eventually, there will be a full-scale operation involving you and the rest of the Heisei... perhaps even Kaito himself may show his face.” Sakuto said.

“Right. I kind of don’t remember seeing him in the war. Maybe there’s a reason as to why?”

“He doesn’t want to risk his soul expression getting tampered with.” Victoria said, suddenly standing up.

“Then you know about his goals?” Ichika asked. A brief silence followed.

“Information spreads like wildfire in a lush, cramped forest.” Matilda said. “Especially if there’s a rogue soulful running around screaming about it in everyone’s ears. Perhaps his goal might be the reason there is tension and mistrust between Kaito and the strongholds.”

“Aren’t you working with the strongholds?” Sakuto asked.

“We are working for ourselves first and foremost.” Matilda said. “First we must eradicate Aizawa. Then we will worry about the strongholds.”

“A three-sided war...”

“In reality, it is a war between two sides, and the third one... is simply collateral damage. But such is life.”

“In the collision between two monstrous forces, whoever gets caught up in the destruction has no way but to simply live with it.”

“This concludes our meeting. I assume Kaito will keep us in touch.” Matilda said, standing up. Sakuto and Ichika stood up too. “And please forgive the unfortunate first impressions.”

“Everything is fine. Thank you for the info.” Sakuto said. “Ichika, let’s bounce.”

“Mhm.” Ichika said. She headed for the stairs, but saw Sakuto about to dip into the shadows, waiting for her. She sighed in disappointment. They left.

“How many times do I have to tell you...” Ichika complained as they left the base. The source of her complaints was the fact that Sakuto kept showing off his shadows to the outright terrified soldiers outside.

“Hey, you can’t blame me.” Sakuto said. They were outside, the moon showered them with its pale light and there was beautiful scenery to be explored where they were. They were surrounded by nature, the dark sky and now hardly visible layers of clouds, and most importantly, each other.

“I just wanna look cool.” Sakuto said. “Like one of those empty-headed overpowered protagonists.”

“You don’t have to.” Ichika said with a smile and a slight blush. She quickly grabbed onto Sakuto’s hand and held it tightly. “You’re already cool.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Ichika said, looking at him with the same smile. “You don’t need to show off when you’re with me...”

“...huh?!”

“Sakuto?” Ichika asked, now worried. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, my bad. Zoned out a little.” Sakuto replied, snapping out of it. His hand twitched a little. He held onto Ichika’s hand a little tighter.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here.” Ichika said, returning the gesture. Had they not been subconsciously reinforcing their bodies, both of their hands would crumble.

“It’s these small gestures.” Sakuto thought, taking a deep breath. “Hand holding, little kisses, hugs, headpats, or just her being close to me... she’s my soulmate. I have to get used to how it feels having one.”

“Anything on your mind? You look worried.” Ichika said, as they stood still for a few moments, enjoying each others’ presence and giving that feeling away with the subtle smiles hidden beneath their eyes.

“Dunno. Guess I just... I don't know what will happen.” Sakuto replied, gently caressing Ichika’s palm with his fingers. “I’m strong now, and she’s saying that I might only have a chance against whoever that is...”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Sakuto.” Ichika smiled. A lonesome wind blew past them, and the moon looked truly mesmerizing when they observed it with their unpredictable gazes. “You’re right, you’re strong.”

“I’ll manage.” Sakuto said, now sounding a little more confident. He glanced at Ichika, who was still stunned by the beautiful moon, and smiled.

“That’s right. She’d never say those mean things to me.”

“She’s my soulmate after all.”

“This warm feeling in my chest and gut means that our bond is truly special. I can feel at ease with her, I can be honest, and I can expect to get kindness and understanding back...”

“Hey, Ichika...”

“Hm?”

“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Sakuto asked, squeezing Ichika’s hand a little. Ichika didn’t respond, she just slowly nodded and returned the gesture. And as the wind calmed down, she spoke again.

“It’s beautiful because we’re looking at it together.”