Two people that, in different ways, Kaharu considered his enemies were close to him as he was on that ground.

But he had no idea, nor did he have the possibility of knowing at that moment. Ever since he heard snap from the crowd of the students, everything had gotten a spicy melancholy to it. The image of students approaching him with ill intent wouldn't be seen by him for long, as he quickly, without even meaning to, held his arms over his head in a primal instinct to protect the most important body parts.

His energy was non-existent, his precious school uniform rubbed against the dirty floor, his morale was depleted after the failure his dear plan had become.

A certain feeling skyrocketed within Kaharu.

Fear.

It took ahold of Kaharu as his arms still held his head, now not daring to open his eyes to see the danger coming to him. Even though it was clear that he was soon going to get hurt, he didn't want to believe it at a local level. He didn't want to see it. He didn't want to hear it.

He didn't want to witness it.

His closed eyes would provide him with a momentary escape, as he could imagine any scenario in there. Still, all that filled his head at that moment was the chilling fear of being hurt.

Kaharu Kahari, the delinquent that used his rebellious and outspoken attitude to instill fear in his peers, was now on the ground feeling the other side of his usual routine.

He'd been in that position before, to get strong one needs to experience both loss and victory, that was what he'd learned in the couple of months he'd been in that lifestyle. On the ground after a tough struggle, as it was processed in his mind, a difference between that and now came up.

This was completely foreign to him.

When it came to losing to other delinquents and such during school, there was a routine he'd learned and gotten used to. Once you were down, that was that. You'd lost the battle, and the painful dishonor would plague you in solitude as the winning part scattered. The students charging at him after being ordered by some being had never been experienced by him before. In that sense, Kaharu found a connection between his current self and the person he used to be when he switched his lifestyle. Where that same fear was felt as he was knocked down by several upperclassmen. An almost cute attempt, in the most disrespectful meaning out there, Kaharu thought as he looked back at the moment.

He wanted to find comfort in the idea that he survived through that and grew 'stronger' because of it.

Was that actual strength?

In the end, what did those hours of dedicating himself to fighting and battling do for him if this was how he would meet his end?

Would he have been happier if he was a part of the lie at school? If he was part of the other students manipulated by the culprit? They apparently remembered their days as normal anyway, so what was the point of fighting it if it all would end up like that.

Maybe the culprit was a god, after all…

If Kaharu had been in a better mindset, he would've had a very clear answer for those questions with the burning passion. But he was in a state of fear, as his self-preserving tendencies kicked in.

- It's no good…

There's no point in thinking all of this when my fate is sealed anyway -

*FOSHAAAAAAAAAA*

A transparent, purple existence had taken the stage to deflect the raised fists rushing towards Kaharu's head. As the bodies of several high school students at Akumu high school were blown back with a windy force, Kosuto took a step forward as he adjusted a pin on his uniform. He said

"When did you grow so weak, Kaharu?"

…

The first thing my eyes were greeted to as my eyelids opened up was the sight of an ageless rival's smile, Kosuto stood right next to me.

It took a moment for me to process what'd just happened as it didn't stand clear to me at all when I'd held my head in shameful fear. Kosuto Kokoru, a group of students who were held at a distance by a purple, transparent ghost-like thing that had a very round shape with round eyes. Standing up the quickest I was able to, I grabbed ahold of Kosuto's collar, going with my gut feeling and said

"Did you do this, bastard!? Are you the culprit for this brainwashing?

Also, did you hurt all of these students!?"

I pointed to the direction the students were at as I tried to desperately get some truth, as my head had been in a deceitful daze for a while. Kosuto raised his eyebrow as he grabbed my collar in return, saying

"Huuuuuh!?

That's my question! What the hell is going on at this school!? I'm gone for a couple of days and all the sudden everything's off.

Also, I saved you! Why're you badmouthing me, huh bastard!?"

I could feel my heat be regained in my heart as an annoyance was felt in there, but I realized that the situation we were in called for better judgment. Even though I wanted to punch his face in, I let go of his collar, which drew his surprised eyes to it.

He returned the favor quickly as I dusted it off with gritted teeth.

There was perhaps a very small chance that Kosuto was the culprit, but if I wanted to make any progress at all, I would have to make some educated guesses on what to do. That was how I justified my unusual lenience towards one of my longest-running rivalries in my career.

"No one cares.

I can explain what I know about this, if we escape school for now.

Then, we'll go to your house"

Kosuto scratched his head as he said

"Escape? I just got here too.

Why my house!? Let's go to your house."

As I walked down the corridor, I shook my head, saying

"Your house"

"You..."

…

"So we ended up here anyway..."

In front of Kaharu Kahari and Kosuto Kokoru laid an average-sized apartment complex, home to the Kokoru residence. Very grey and colorless, the surrounding environment echoed the building's energy.

More surprise was to be had as they stepped inside of his apartment, Kosuto opening the door with a defeated and unmotivated sigh. Right by the entrance, a very plain hallway with simple racks for undressing stood. Without making, or thinking, any comments, Kaharu entered with an almost unusual "Sorry for disturbing".

It was a pretty small apartment, with two rooms that almost mirrored each other in size. Sitting down by the large table in the kitchen, Kosuto joined him.

"You're not gonna make any comments? About not serving you anything and such."

Kaharu straightened his back as he responded

"Not really, I don't really care that much about that."

Kosuto stood surprised to the attitude, he would've thought that a surmount of sly comments and teasing insults would've flown his way at that point. But he didn't have the time to respond in any way before Kaharu saw a family picture that stood placed before him. A specific person in that photo took his attention, a black-haired kid who looked around nine years old standing diagonally from a very casually-dressed Kosuto. The same kid who he saw the previous Sunday with Kosuto in the streets.

"This kid..."

Kosuto noticed the picture and quickly swiped it from the possessions of Kaharu, he said

"That's my brother."

Kaharu looked around the apartment, at other occasional pictures, and took a glance at the one that was stolen from him

"Where are your parents?"

*Silence*

Even Kaharu realized the potential weight of his question as the silence groomed a very heavy atmosphere in the room, Kosuto staring blankly at the picture in front of him, almost as if he was considering something in his head.

To speed up the process, and to avoid further curiosity, Kosuto started talking

"My dad's gone, he died in a plane crash, and my mom is in the hospital with a disease.

That's why I have to work part-time jobs to provide and take care of my mom and my siblings. That's why I haven't been to school in a couple of days, bills are coming up. We may not have it the best, but I'm just trying my best to make sure my siblings can grow to be whatever they want and for my mom to recover and if I have to work my bones to make that happen: So may be it."

A somber look took place on Kosuto's face, but even though it was melancholic, there was a passionate and motivated veil behind it all. Kaharu had a mix of emotions as he sat by the humble table, a sense of guilt was in the background, but also the sense of something odd growing inside of him. Almost like a car crash within him, unwanted but attention-grabbing and persistent. He felt some sort of connection to Kosuto as he spilled an unseen side of him. Quick rejection of such a feeling staged itself inside of Kaharu, as Kosuto broke out of his momentary state of spacing out. Kaharu, wanting to respond in any way, said

"You spacin' out, Kosuto? Pitiful, aren't you?"

A moment of terrifying silence came about as Kaharu felt a stab from a trident, poking three guilt-filled holes into it. Kosuto responded

"Shut up! Enough about that talk, just tell me what's goin' on with school"

An unrecognized burden was relieved from Kaharu's shoulders as he let his shoulders down from being tensed up. He quickly threw his hair to the side as he started explaining the situation.

It took some time, as there were many details that Kaharu had uncovered, which came to a surprise to even him as he talked through the events. Kosuto as well was surprised, it hadn't been long since he had gotten his powers, and his thoughts hadn't been that focused on the subject, so the concept of such power users hadn't really occurred to him. He wondered for a moment if Kaharu was the one behind it, but it was quickly dismissed by him.

- I don't think the perpetrator would make that face, even if they set up such an attack themselves -

He thought back to the moment he came to his rival's rescue, the face filled with absolute fear he witnessed back there for a moment wouldn't be easy to fake. Nor would it be easy for him to forget, it made him uneasy as he thought about it. He hadn't come close to painting such a face on Kaharu, despite his victories.

- Even so, I don't think Kaharu would do something like that. Even if I… dislike him, I guess. -

As Kaharu finished talking, Kosuto thought about it for a second before bitterly revealing

"Kaharu, let's create a temporary alliance"