(It can't be! This is some kind of joke! Some sick joke! No! This can't be real! This has to be that fake me in his form making a mockery of me!)

Standing there in front of me, trying to shield his already seen face from me, is Hisashi! Hisashi Turbulent! My friend! My friend who died saving me! My friend that I have chosen to put my life on the line for!

"This can't be! Who...who are you!?"

"Oren...It's...it's not what you think!"

"Of course it isn't! The Hisashi I know would never have done something like this!"

"Oren...please leave."

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT WITH MY LATE FRIEND'S FACE!?!?!?"

"The Hisashi you know wouldn't have wanted you to get hurt. Now leave. I spared you before, so don't waste the life I let you keep!"

"The Hisashi I know wouldn't aid the very people that have hurt those around him! You're working for the people that put your school, your students, and Mai at risk! You're acting like an assassin, not a teacher! The Hisashi I know wouldn't be the man who was responsible for the indirect destruction of my home and family! My friend was kind and trusting, not a mercenary in a power struggle that is taking more lives than it should!"

"As Virginia Woolf once said, 'you cannot find peace by avoiding life'. Like you, I have some things to fight for that I cannot ignore. As you said, I'm a teacher. And as a teacher, I cannot favor a select number of students over the whole class!"

I remain frozen in place, not even thinking twice about the fight any longer.

"Everyone I loved in Terraz died because of you! Sueka sacrificed herself so we could both live! Mai is in the hospital because of you! So many people are in a coma because of you! And you talk about not favoring a select few!? There won't be anyone left for you to guide if this keeps up!!"

“That personality of yours. I don’t know whether or not to consider it a blessing or a curse. Are you too open-minded because you are willing to befriend the enemy? Or are you simply narrow-minded because you fail to accept what is really going on? I AM your enemy!"

Hisashi pulls our his sword.

"I will strike you down if you resist! Don’t be stupid and LEAVE!!!”

I remain motionless.

(This isn't him. This isn't the Hisashi I know.)

"LEAVE, PLEASE!!!!"

I stay still.

(Is this...the real him?)

A crystal on his side begins to glow.

"Selot," I hear that Dodge character say through the crystal, "we have an unexpected guest in the preparation room. Take care of whatever is holding you up and get down here, pronto. Otherwise everything we've done up to this point will be for nothing."

Hisashi looks at me in silence, then closes his eyes. Tears begin to stream down his face...

As he walks towards me.

"Hi...sashi?"

"Everything I've done, everything I've sacrificed, everything she sacrificed, cannot end here. I'm sorry."

When within a sword's length of me, he swings his sword with precision. As for me, I cannot bring myself to fight, let alone dodge to my fullest. Even if he has a reason to kill me, I cannot bring myself to hurt him. I cannot. With each swing, a portion of my cloak is cut off. And with each following swing, his sword gets closer to my chest. I continue to lean from side to side and back up, but this pitiful attempt to dodge his attacks is getting me nowhere. All I can do is look at his face. His eyes continue to water as he attacks me. Remorse. Guilt. This is...the real Hisashi. A fake would not have these feelings towards his enemy. Towards...me.

"Wind...Drive...: Tornado...Slash..."

He performs a weak wind slash at my legs, causing me to collapse and land on my back. He puts his right foot over my heart and holds his sword over where I assume is my left lung.

"Oren, please. Leave me."

All I can do is look back at him.

"You know I've always been reckless, mi amigo. Especially when it comes to those I care about."

Hisashi closes his bloodshot eyes.

"Then...Adios...mi amigo..."

And with that, he thrusts his sword into my chest.