Ninomiya opened his eyes.

A woman, head hung over him, was sitting beside him. Her purple hair was covering her face like a curtain. He couldn't see her eyes, but he could see something else- horns. Six of them. Rising from her head.

Horns??? Wait-

"Where..."

It wasn't just the horns- even the place didn't feel real!

She wasn't a human. She was something else. A beauty, not of this world. And he was somewhere, but not in the world where he belonged.

"Where am I?"

"Have patience. You'll get there..."

Just then, his head felt heavy. Sounds started fading with his vision. His mind went blank.

He slowly forgot what he had just seen.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Akame. Knelling on her knees. Showing him servitude. Her ruby and sapphire eyes were placed right on him.

Right. So, this was the real world- where he had just been shot. Through the chest!

Upon realizing the severity of what had happened, he coughed involuntarily. There was blood mixed in his cough. He couldn't stand anymore.

Akame, showing great concern for his wellbeing, reflexively grabbed him.

She carried him to a safe location. They had to go under the sewers. But once they reached their destination, it was surprisingly clean and dry. This was her hideout.

Akame laid him down on a bed. She began examining his wounds.

The bullet had shattered the metal object and hit his artery. It should've ruptured his lungs.

She readied her hands. And with laser precision, she proceeded to extract the fragmented bullet.

After taking out the last of the fragments, she waited. She knew what would happen next. Her patient was no ordinary man after all. She waited.

And just like she was expecting, the wound started to heal on its own. It was miraculous- as if the sands of time flowed back.

Ninomiya's eyes opened. He didn't know what had happened. But his eyes. They changed colors- from blue to black, starting from the center of his pupils. He fainted as soon as he woke up.

Akame was stunned in disbelief. No, she never doubted him- she doubted her own luck. Trials and tribulations later, she has been rewarded.

She cried tears of foregone misery. It hurt to be reminded of the past. But the experience had given her resolve an unwavering strength.

She cried tears for the impending happiness. But the experience of the past gave strength to her resolution for the future. She let the tears flow.

Akame's irregular breathing woke up Ninomiya. She quickly wiped away her tears. She had to present herself in a dignified manner.

For a moment, neither of them could speak. Ninomiya wanted to know why she was crying. But first, he locked his eyes on hers. He took his time appreciating how beautiful she was.

Her jeweled eyes were glimmering with tears- the sky could be crying!

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"It's... It's nothing."

"You can tell me."

He waited for her to speak. She didn't, but she stopped crying.

"You seem to know me. But who are you? And how do you know me?"

"I am Akame, leader of the Revolution... Against our cruel leader Commander Akari. In the year 2200..."

This doesn't make sense, right? Ninomiya processed what she just said. And somehow, Ninomiya has got himself involved in all that. And now, she's speaking of a revolution in the year 2200? No way, he couldn't make sense out of anything she had just said.

He wanted her to elaborate on her statements because speaking of the year 2200 was just too much to grasp. But he heard footsteps. From the shadows of the sewer, someone approached them. A girl. She spoke.

"What she said was all true."

Hiori?

What's she doing here? And how does she know Akame? Ninomiya was confused. This can't be real, he thought.

"Akame, can you show him your body?"

Ninomiya didn't even have time to protest his sister's indecent request. Moreover, Akame didn't hesitate. She started taking off her uniform with a nod...

He just had to look at her, even though it felt wrong to him. But he kept looking as she peeled away all fabrics from her body. After all, she undressed for him, didn't she?

When he saw her naked, Ninomiya couldn't hide his bewilderment. It wasn't that he was disappointed. Instead, he was shocked beyond belief.

There were metals. Metals, where they should've been flesh.

Akame wasn't a complete human. What was she? A cyborg? Save for her hand, her left side was completely robotic. If not for the perfect symmetry, her non-human physique would have been obvious.

A million thoughts raced across his mind that he couldn't choose which to think first. He remained blank.

Ninomiya shook his head to regain his composure.

So, Akame was a cyborg from the future. His sister, Hoiri, knew of all these. And for some reason, Akame was being pursued. Hiori knew of this too. She had a lot of explaining to do.

So he looked at her for answers. And she was ready to tell him everything.

"Ninomiya. It may come as a shock to you. Listen to me carefully. Today is the day I will tell you everything about you and this world."

Ninomiya nodded. He knew that what he might hear from her wouldn't be all pleasing. But finally, he would know. Everything about his life. He recalled the scene behind the mountains. Now he would see that scene laid out in front of him. The truth.

He braced himself. He was ready.

"You... came from the skies. I don't think you're human. Dad and I were there. We saw you fall from the sky.

"We went to pick you up. But when we got there, we realized you were emitting dangerous levels of radiation. You were an alien. We weren't aware of your radiation until I started losing my vision. Dad seemed fine at first. But when we ran a full body scan, we realized his brain had mutated.

"Your radiation was supernaturally unusual. Something that our science couldn't explain. It was dangerous, but at the same time, wounds seemed to heal when exposed to your radiation.

"We examined your blood. You were somehow like a human. But not quite so. Your blood had some unnatural properties..."

Ninomiya consumed all that she had to say. He had always known that he wasn't human. He couldn't have been. And with her words, that perpetual feeling of mystery vanished from him. He could believe his sister without doubting her.

His sister? No, his step-sister. He was adopted.

"That thing on your chest..."

Ninomiya looked at his chest. She was talking about the metal object plastered onto his chest. It had been shattered by the bullet. He let her continue.

"Dad designed it. It's meant to suppress your powers."

But now, it was broken.

"When we saw your potential, what you could do... We had no choice but to use you- for the good of this world. We formulated a plan..."

"..."

"You see, this town... This is the only place where humans can live. We are the survivors of a post-apocalyptic world. All of us who live here... We're soldiers- of the 23rd century. And we need your powers to win this battle."

"..."

This was all too much for him. Even though he knew he wasn't normal, this was just too hard to believe. Soldiers? So he was in a town full of soldiers. And he had never noticed?

He put up a serious face. Hiori continued.

"This world does not have a future...

"But you can control matter itself! With enough power, we believe you can restore this planet. And maybe, even improve the quality of it.

" You are our only hope."

"..."

"Will you help us?"

The whole world needed him. He knew what it meant. Will he help them all? His sister, his dad. Akise, those people in his school. His maids and butlers. Everyone needed his help.

Ninomiya looked at Akame. Awaiting his answer, she put up a serious face.

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

Both Hiori and Akame gleamed in pleasure, their faces finally lit.

"Although, one thing's been bothering me..."

Both of the girls responded immediately, at the same time.

"What is it?"

Both of them waited for his question with worried expressions.

"How do you know each other?"

Hiori laughed. She let Akame tell him the answer.

"She," Akame looked at Hiori with a smile.

"...Is my professor."

--------------------Chapter 2.0 End----------