As Max walked out of the front doors of the mansion, he discovered that woman was blocking his path, standing with her arms folded.

Max stopped just outside the doors and dropped his duffel bag.

“Oh, look, if it isn’t one of Kita’s S-ranked Assassins. I like to think the “S” stands for Soul Crusher.”

“Oh, look, if it isn’t the annoying little brother of the S-rank Assassin that’s more kind, more reliable, and way more good-looking than you’ll ever be.”

“I don’t really care. I don’t really like you in that way, Kira. So what do you want?”

“I wanted to talk to you. It’s been a while since we’ve crossed paths.”

A gentle breeze swept through the area as Max and Kira locked into each other’s eyes.

“Talk to me? Are you trying to have a reunion or something? Just let me leave for this dumb mission, Kira.”

“What makes the mission dumb?”

“Everything.”

“Everything, as in… ?”

“Everything.”

Wind swirled around Kira, causing her glossy-black hair to flow as if it was levitating.

“I’m here to warn you, Max. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

Kira’s dull gray eyes caught the reflection of sunlight.

“I just thought I should say that in the place of your brother. Right now, he’s probably apologizing to you repeatedly in his mind. He wishes that he could see you more often.”

After pondering for a few moments, Max began a slow walk. He began to speak after he passed Kira.

“I’m going to complete this dumb mission, and I’ll finally get the fame and recognition I deserve. Just stay out of my way.”

As Max distanced himself from Kira and the mansion, Kira began to process Max’s confident words.

‘I hope you’ll be ok, Max. And I’ll make sure that your brother comes back soon.’

——

Savior: Original Story by OneSevenEight

Episode: Framed Perspective - Part 21

——

“Now that the deal is set, it’s time to proceed to the training area.”

After completing their handshake, Tamashi and Rai each turned their attention to Sensei.

“Training area? Is there some sort of training area in this house? The house seems kind of small though…”

While Tamashi questioned Sensei’s statement, Rai’s mouth formed a grin.

“Let me guess…”

Sensei made his way to stand behind Rai and Tamashi.

“I hope everyone has had enough to eat, since we won’t be coming back for a while…”

Sensei placed his hands on each of the boy’s shoulders. At the moment of contact, the scene instantly changed to a never-ending sky in all directions. The orange tang of the sky appeared to suggest that the time was around sunset.

“Woah, wait… I remember this place now… This is where you live, isn’t it, Rai?”

After glancing around, Rai moved his arms up and performed a stretch.

“Yeah, well, this is just a stupid area inside your stupid mindscape, Tamayo.”

“I guess you’ll never respond to a question normally, will you?”

Tamashi turned to Sensei.

“So, uh, how are we all here right now? Are we just all somehow inside my mind?”

The vibrant orange hue of the sky bounced off of Sensei’s eyes.

“This area is called the Void. It’s a space that exists inside the mind of every Riyosha. Yes, we are standing inside your mind.”

“Wait, how does that even work? How did we all just casually walk into my mind? How am I standing inside my own mind?”

“Instead of following the laws of science, the Void follows its own set of rules. What you may normally know to be impossible might be possible here.”

“Alright, so let me ask you this: Why did we come here? Is there something special about training here?”

Sensei reached into his pocket. His hand reappeared with a box of cigarettes in his grip.

“Look around, Tamashi. What do you see?”

Tamashi quickly looked side to side, surveying the area.

“It’s all just… a sky?”

“If you started walking, and never stopped, you will never hit a wall. You will never get any closer or farther to a cloud you may see. The view would appear to be the same at a point that is 20 miles from here. You see, that is the true nature of the Void, in that, it is a vast expanse that neither begins nor ends.”

“So, that means… we have infinite space here?”

Sensei removed a cigarette from the box and gently flicked it through the air. Suddenly, a flame appeared at the end of the butt.

“Your conclusion is correct, which is why the Void is the ideal space for you to train in.”

“Another question: how did you light that? You didn’t use a lighter.”

“There’s many things you can do in the Void that would normally considered to be beyond reality in the physical world.”

“Would I be able to do something like that, then?”

Sensei placed the cigarette in his mouth.

“No, in most cases, you wouldn’t be able to do something like that. It would take you years of training to learn how to properly communicate with the Void. However, Rai doesn’t have that issue.”

Tamashi looked to Rai. He was facing away from the group, with his head tilted in the direction that appeared to be up.

‘So, you have to spend most of your life here…’

Tamashi turned his attention back to Sensei.

“So, we came here so I could train, right? When are we gonna get started?”

Sensei grinned through his cigarette.

——

A man with a large oversized hood plowed his way through the unusually quiet city streets.

‘How am I gonna do this… I didn’t exactly get a lot of info from the woman who prides herself on research.’

The man noticed that two high school students in uniforms were approaching from the other end of the sidewalk.

“… anything from Tamashi?”

“Nope. That guy’s still off the grid. Man, this sucks. I really want to talk to that dork.”

As the blonde-hair, blue-eyed boy and the black-hair, yellow-eyed girl made their way inside the nearby coffee shop, the hooded man allowed a smirk to appear on his face. His blood red eyes shone through the darkness.

‘I guess it just sometimes takes good luck.’