Bob heaved a sigh as he stepped off the grav-jet. Cikizwa, Arvid, Elise, and Nana were waiting for him, worried looks in their eyes.

“Hello everyone, are you all ok?”

The Nemesis team nodded their heads. Bob looked around until he found Saydaa, sitting on a log, looking away from the team. He heaved another sigh and walked over to her.

“Saydaa.”

The girl jumped a bit but kept looking forward.

“B-Boss-man…”

“You all right?”

“Fine…just fine…”

Bob held back yet another sigh. Girl had been hit pretty hard lately. He should honestly sit down and talk with her for a bit. But things were in motion that needed to be completed.

“You up for another mission? I could really use a spell right now.”

She gripped her pants.

“Do you…honestly want me to do anything more here?”

“I do. In fact, I need you to. And I know you can pull this off.”

Saydaa was silent for a moment before heaving a sigh of her own.

“...what’s the spell?”

Kiyosuke stumbled through the forest. Every step sent fire through the wound on his back, the bloody bandage sticking to his skin. Sweat dripped down his forehead, every muscle in his body ached, but still he pressed on. He grit his teeth and kept his feet moving, uncaring of the branches inflicting additional scratches on his arms and face.

He had to keep going.

He had to.

For his revenge.

To gain power.

So he wouldn’t have to see them again.

No, they had nothing to do with this.

They were a distraction.

An annoyance.

An obstacle on the path to power.

A hindrance to his revenge.

Yet, he could not forget the feelings.

What he felt in that moment…when he thought it was over. When his brother would strike again.

It was time to go.

He would not be bound.

He would remove all the chains on himself.

That’s what it meant to be an avenger.

Suddenly the bushes ahead of him rustled. Kiyosuke reached for his blade, wincing as his wound flared up once again. A man stepped out from the trees.

“Hello Kiyosuke.”

Kiyosuke narrowed his eyes.

“How?”

Bob shrugged.

“Did you think I didn’t have contingencies for you running off? It’s literally how we met.”

“Whatever. I’m done fooling around. I’m done with your job. I’m getting my revenge, no matter what.”

“I, too, am done fooling around.”

Bob lifted a tesla gun. He squeezed the trigger and a surge of lightning zapped through the air. But Kiyosuke was already on the move. And he had learned his lesson. Approaching Bob was foolish, and unnecessary. All he had to do was run away, and there was nothing the normal human could do to stop him.

“Or that’s what you’re probably thinking. Which is why I brought help.”

Arvid stepped out from behind a tree, a large shuriken in his hand. He lobbed the shuriken straight at Kiyosuke. Kiyosuke nearly sighed. Really? Could they be any more obvious? There was only one reason for Arvid of all people to be carrying a shuriken.

So he swung his blade straight at it, forcing Nana to cancel her obvious transformation...

Clang!

The shuriken bounced off his blade. It was real.

And then a chakra net approached him from the rear.

Kiyosuke grit his teeth and jumped over the net. His body ached as he squeezed chakra out of it, not even enough for a substitution to distract his pursuers.

And as he flew through the air, a shadow passed over him. Above him floated Elise, her Mass Manipulator Array at full power. Gravitational fields surrounded Kiyosuke, lifting him into the air and forming shackles of purple light around his arms and legs. At this range, in his current state, there was nothing he could do to resist. Elise took him back to the ground, keeping him from moving.

Then Saydaa emerged from the trees, looking away from everyone and fidgeting.

“Saydaa, do it.”

She jumped.

“Um, boss-man, are you sure about this? Mistress Baba Yaga always said messing with spells I don’t understand is really dangerous, and this spell is bad news.”

“I’m sure. What you’re going to do will make it less dangerous, not more. And I know you can do it.”

Saydaa bit her lip but she slowly nodded. She took a deep breath.

“So…reach for the brightest spot instead of the darkest, right?”

Bob nodded. Saydaa took a deep breath and stepped up to Kiyosuke. He grit his teeth and averted his gaze from her. She tapped his forehead once.

Kiyosuke’s vision faded to white.

Kiyosuke looked around. He was on the ground again. He raised his hands and looked at them. He was no longer bound. He was no longer surrounded.

He took a deep breath.

He was alone.

He then started to look around at his surroundings and froze.

His heart began to pound.

He began to sweat.

He recognized this place.

“What…is this?”

“Ah there you are!”

A door slid open and out stepped Kiyoatsu. Kiyosuke grit his teeth and reached for his blade.

But Kiyoatsu just grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

“Come on, little brother! We’re going to be late!”

Kiyosuke pulled on his chakra…but he found a mere puddle where once was a lake. He could do nothing but allow himself to be dragged along, until Kiyoatsu brought him to another room.

“Happy birthday Kiyosuke!”

He froze.

It couldn’t be.

What was this?

He tried to back away.

He tried to run.

He tried to break out of the illusion this must be.

But his body moved on its own.

And his parents wrapped him in their arms.

The scene faded.

Another came.

“No…stop this…I-I don’t remember any of this…”

And another.

“T-This is all an illusion! None of this was real!”

And another.

“I just…I just need to avenge them! That’s why…that’s why…I need to be alone…I have to be…”

And another.

He tried to stir up the fire in his chest.

He tried to think of that night.

He tried to think of his brother.

But the fire and the rage were gone.

All that was left…were tears.

And then…

The scene shifted.

The next scene was vague. The surroundings were a blur, as if they had never been recorded. The figures were hazy.

But still, he could hear them.

“I’m offering you a job, and if you get the job done and don’t cause problems, then I don’t care what you do otherwise.”

“Greeting: Hello, this unit is designated NSLICE-000P, colloquial designation ‘Elise’. It is nice to meet you.”

He tried to push back. He didn’t need this.

“A good bout, now let us go and feast!”

“May the leaves hide you, Amano-san.”

He didn’t want this. He didn’t want them. Please, just go away. Leave him alone.

“Heeeeeyyy jerk! What you eating tonight?”

He couldn’t…he didn’t…you can’t…

“W-Why? W-What are you doing?!”

“I…don’t know. My body…moved on its own…”

But he knew. It was because...he couldn’t lose anymore. Anyone more.

Kiyosuke’s heart broke.

Bob watched as tears streamed down the boy’s face. He nodded at Elise and she released him, Bob catching him before he collapsed to the ground. Bob pat his back as the boy sobbed.

“You know…it was never really about revenge, right? Not completely. Your whole quest for power, the desire to strike out on your own.”

The boy just sobbed but Bob continued to speak.

“Something like what you went through, it breaks a person. By hiding it away and covering it with rage, you managed to come out intact…but not entirely. That’s why…you used revenge to push everyone away, right? To protect yourself…so you’d never have to feel that way again.”

He continued to pat the boy on the back.

“But you need to face this now. You’re ready…to acknowledge the grief, and the sorrow, the pain of all that you lost. To weep and mourn. Even if it breaks you. That is not weakness. That is growth. And we’ll be here for you, to help you pick up the pieces.”

“...you can’t. I can’t. I need to stop him. It’s just going to happen again.”

“You already did.”

Kiyosuke stopped for a moment.

“They told me what happened. He tried, didn’t he? He wanted to kill Saydaa. But you stopped him. She’s alive because of you, and for that, I thank you. You’ve gained power after all, haven’t you?”

Bob released Kiyosuke as the boy stood on his feet, staring at his hands.

“Because gaining enough power to kill someone is easy, all you need is a sufficient weapon and a good plan. But the power to prevent loss, to protect what you can’t afford to lose? That’s something else, isn’t it? And that's what you really wanted.”

Bob extended his hand.

“Trust in us, Kiyosuke. And trust in yourself. You’re not a helpless little boy anymore. And neither are we. I promise, it’s going to go differently this time. It already has, hasn’t it?”

Kiyosuke stood still for a moment, his eyes quivering and tears streaming from them. But slowly, ever so slowly, he reached up and grabbed Bob’s hand.

“And, there’s one more thing that will make this time different.”

“...what’s that?”

Bob made a dark smile.

“We’re going to go kill that monster, together.”