Familiar Stranger: CH 22

Chapter 22: Break

 

The man turned around just in time to intercept Ryuga's blade with his own as the barrier burst.

"-!!" The shock is clearly evident on his face.

"Speak of the devil. And I was wondering where you are." This man is as solid as he appears, bringing about fears he'd forcefully shoved away at the corner of his mind. Pointedly ignoring him, Ryuga looks past his shoulder towards Mikage crouching on the opposite side.

"Mikage! Are you alright?" There's a strange look on the other's face. Confusion, apprehension. A soft snicker from his enemy answers instead. Ryuga presses in harder. "What have you done to him?"

"Nothing too bad, just told him something interesting."

Breaking off the contact, he took a step back. The man turns around to face him properly. His appearance sends Ryuga's mental into a frenzy; imaginary alarms blaring, echoing in his skull, dampening his concentration.

"I can tell you didn't expect to see me from how you look. So cold. I did tell you we'll meet again."

"And I said there'll be no next time." Memory of that exact exchange resurfaces together with the pain and suffering. The scar on his left palm throbs in tandem. He certainly did not expect for it to turn out like this.

Mikage can only watch from the side-line in utter confusion - what had transpired between the two of them? And why does it feel like a part of him knows, yet it feels entirely unfamiliar at the same time?

"Spare him some hints, won't you? Or rather, just tell him the truth." The truth? Glancing towards Ryuga who is looking painfully reluctant.

"Ryuga?" He can see the panic beginning to rise from the other. Ryuga averted his gaze, looking downward.

"There's nothing more to be said, and you were supposed to be gone."

"It's pitiful. You're still so scared after all.-" The man lapsed into a pause, and his next words came directly next to Ryuga's ears. "-Is that why you shelter him so much?"

He can feel his blood running cold in his veins as the realisation hits him. It had been an unconscious act; nonetheless it was painfully true. His eyes snapped towards Mikage standing a distance away from them - eyes wide, breathing heavy, anxious.

He can't allow it to happen a second time, not when he's there to stop it. And he had promised Rian to never let the same tragedy repeat.

"His life is not yours."

"That won't stop me anyway."

"I won't let you, not if I can help it!" And they clashed head on like how they always do.

 

At that moment, he felt like he finally knows something; he finally found the answer he had been looking for ever since he first got here. For some reason he felt like there is something that he needs to accomplish in this world before he would be allowed to return. It may be this, it may be not. But he knows he must cut this man down again. He must, whatever it takes.

 

"Ryuga, we can't stay in here for any longer!" Zaruba alerted him in urgency. The longer they stay the more they will be affected by the negativity.

"I know!" He diverts the man away from Mikage, kicking him off to put some distance. Within the split second, he summoned his armor, destroying the pocket space in a single strike.