Tsuyuki's Cleaners

Chapter 1 (James Cairo)

"Colin, Alex! Take down the ones on the side!"

I held out my spear as I slashed the air, as water exited my pouch and created an aquatic shield. The Abyssal Creatures charged into it, as I shaped it into a trap.

"Now! Nomi!"

Nomi zipped in, and slashed with her sword, the heat of the blade causing pressure to expand from within the water trap, steam exploding everywhere.

Nomi landed in front of me and gave me a thumbs up. "I guess you can say... we've CLEANED this spot up pretty well!"

I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Come on, let's help out the others."

A massive legion of creatures began to emerge from the portal. I held out my hand, ready to close it. I wasn't afraid. In fact, none of us were. Because we all knew what was going to happen next.

A bright green streaked appeared across the creatures, as they all suddenly burst into flames. The streak returned, kiting, zipping, and destroying the creatures left and right faster than any of us could process. Only one person I knew could move this fast.

"Holy shit! I'm gonna die!!!" Alex screamed. Nomi and I turned around, in concern, but we both gave him a dead expression.

Alex smiled. "What? Can't a guy have fun in the depths of hell?"

The green streak appeared and completely obliterated the monster that had overpowered Alex in a single blow, as the figure landed in front of us. She looked at Alex, her face expressionless but somehow emitting disapproval.

"Come on, Rei! I'm sure you enjoyed that. Got to save one of your own! My powerful Queen!"

Rei turned around and walked up to me, her eyes empty, as her purple hair tumbled to her shoulders from the wind.

"Finish it." She said. At least that was what I heard. Rei wasn't much of a talker. She was more of an action speaks louder than words kind of girl. It would be hard to believe this soft spoken 16 year old would have the power that could potentially be among the greatest of the Cleaners. But she had already made it a mission to become the best.

"Sure thing." I nodded, as Rei put her brass knuckles back into her hoodie pockets.

I raised the sealing rune at the portal, as it began to close.

"Good work, little sis!" Nozomi hugged Rei, but she stared at the ground, despondent. Clearly uninterested in returning the affection.

"Whatever." She said, dejectedly.

Colin ran up to me. "James, are you okay?"

Colin had noticed the wound on my side. He was always so perceptive. Probably among the whole squad, Colin had to be hands down the most hardworking. Of course, seconded to Rei. In my many years of working as a Cleaner (28 to be exact), I had never seen someone with so much heart. So much desire to better and protect the world from the Abyss. As Colin.

Most of the new recruits I encountered typically had the same mindset as Colin, but would quickly realize it's easier said than done. When they realize the horrors of the Abyss, the terrible creatures on the other side.

One of our militant commanders, Roy, always liked to scare the recruits into a reality check, by telling them of a tale of one Cleaner who became adventurous, believing himself to be the Aurum Savior, a legendary mythological figure who would one day lead the war into the Abyss, ventured in alone. He was missing for two years, and when he returned, he had never been the same.

Despite all the horrors of our missions to seal and stop the monsters from entering out world, Colin had never backed down from his dream to become a good Cleaner. I respected him for that. Unfortunately, many of our colleagues didn't, because... Colin wasn't exactly Cleaner material. Don't get me wrong. He had passion. He had heart. But he didn't have the skill or the power to be one. No matter how he worked, he always lagged behind.

But even so, I recognized it, and respected it. And accepted him into our squad. Colin has been a little brother to me ever since. Doing his best and looking up to me. And in a way, I looked up to him too, to stay strong. No matter what my heritage was.

"Heeeeey, come on Jamie. What's taking so long? I thought we were all going out for udon later." Nomi grabbed my arm playfully. Nomi, or Nozomi Tsuyuki is my step sister. Her father, Mato Tsuyuki, ran and owned our dorm. The place we stayed. I respected him too, but part of me felt isolated. Because no matter how Nomi, Mato, and on occasion, Rei, treated me like a member of the Tsuyuki household, I knew I was not truly related to them.

"Not sure why it's taking so long... maybe it's a bigger portal?"

"Hey... uhhh somethings coming out. And it's BIG!" Alex said.

Nomi narrowed her eyes. "What... oh god. What in the hell?!"

"Get down, James!" Colin shouted, as we all ducked. A giant Abyssal creature emerged from the portal and swung his hand, annihilating nearby buildings. The thing was gargantuan. His strength was ridiculous.

"James... that can't be..." Colin whimpered.

It definitely was.

The strongest kind of Abyssal, probably the most lethal and hardest to put down, even for a high ranking Cleaner. These beings were extremely rare. And if encountered, needed to be contacted right away.

The S Class Abyssal Sentinel.

"We can't beat that thing." I said, turning to Nomi, Alex, and Colin.

"Let's g-"

Suddenly, I heard a grunt, as Rei began to glow, her body burning with black and green flames as she shot into the air.

"Rei!" Nomi shouted after her.

"No Rei!" I shouted. "You can't beat that! We need to go!"

There was nothing we could do. I knew I should have seen it coming. Rei was never the type of girl to back down from a fight. Even if it was a S class.

Rei screamed as she launched a devastating punch on the monster's hide, but to no affect. The monster roared and tried to grab her, but Rei zipped out of the way, darting all across the battlefield like a rubber ball bouncing off of the walls at a hypersonic speed.

"REI! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT YOUNG LADY!" Nomi raised her fist in the air.

Alex walked up to me.

"Welp. There's no stopping her. Unless any of you guys are crazy enough to try. I guess all we got to do is try to help her out."

I gritted my teeth. There was no way we could defeat that thing.

I watched as Rei continued to kite in, delivering blow after blow on the monster's hide with her brass knuckles, doing no damage. She was fast, fast enough to hold her own against the S class, which was already really freaking impressive, considering it normally took at least seven High Ranking (even higher than me) Cleaners to dispatch one of these things.

But Rei couldn't penetrate its hide, or find any weak spots.

I clicked my communications device, to activate the distress signal.

I readied my spear, turning to the rest of our squad. "We gotta support Rei. No matter what. We're NOT letting these monsters take over our world!"

"YEAH!" Everybody shouted, as we joined in.

Rei rushed in, but finally lost her luck, as the monster launched a punch in her direction. Rei managed to block it, but was sent flying back. I instantly ran to the spot and caught her, as Rei got to her feet, breathing heavily.

"Rei... go easy on yourself. This is an S class. We just need to hold ou-"

"I will defeat it."

I looked at Rei. She stared at the ground, her eyes full of rage, clenching her brass knuckles so tightly her hands turned white.

"Rei, listen to me. I understand. But this is-"

"I WILL WIN." She shouted. "Even if I break my body to do it. I will become the strongest Cleaner. For Mom." She growled, as she zipped back into the air, trying to kite the monster, but the monster had already figured out her movements, and slammed her back onto the ground.

Our squad wasn't having too much luck. The monster was able to pick us off and fend us off like fodder. Its main focus was on Rei, but even despite that, we weren't able to get past its occasional wall of spikes.

Suddenly, a massive blast of darkness appeared from the monster's mouth, as it launched it at Rei. Rei swirled out of the way and shot inwards, trying to catch the monster's mouth, but apparently its insides were as tough as its outsides. Rei quickly darted out of the way.

My eyes widened as the blast exploded in our proximity, sending us all back. The only person left standing was Rei.

Rei breathed heavily, as she readied her knuckles.

"Won't lose. I won't lose." She muttered, as she looked at the monster with rage.

"You guys killed Mom. I will never forgive you." She said, as she readied herself for another shot.

"NO! REI! STOP! PLEASE!" Nomi pleaded. I joined in, begging for Rei to stop and try to evade, but Rei wasn't having it.

Suddenly the monster doubled over.

"What?" I asked.

The monster turned around, as something... some ONE. Stood on its head. Rei was motionless, as the figure stood at the top, and I realized he had just impaled the monster with a glowing sword. The sword looked nothing like the ones we used in the Cleaner Company. The blade was angular, silver, with weird markings on the side, like Alien language. The blade glowed silver, as the figure got to his feet. He was muscular, with a buzz-cut. His face, asian in appearance.

He regarded us, as he leapt into the air, and delivered a spiral cut with so much precision and technique, that it made my jaw drop. The boy ripped into the monster's neck, as a bright flash of light illuminated the street we had been fighting on.

By the time I regained my vision, the boy had landed in front of Rei, facing her.

He was around 5 foot 7. He had one of those faces that were hard to gage age from. He looked like he could have been anywhere near 15 to 20. But one thing was clear. He was ripped.

The boy held out his hand, and caught the monster's head from behind.

"So... strong..." Nomi muttered, as Rei was speechless, staring at the man who had just slain a S Class Sentinel in two strikes.

This wasn't normal. It couldn't be. No one was this strong. It just wasn't possible.

The boy turned to me, glancing at the seal.

"Seal it." He said. I stared at him, and shook my head, getting to my feet, and holding out the rune, as the portal began to seal.

I looked at the boy, as he put his sword back in its sheathe. He held out his hand to Rei, who had fallen to her knees in utter shock.

"Are you okay?"

Rei glared at the ground, clearly upset. I could tell. She had done everything she had to become strong. And rightfully so. She was the strongest of all of us. Far surpassing both me and her older sister. And potentially every high ranking Cleaner in the city. She did everything she could to excel. To become the best.

And to, in the span of ten minutes, realize there was a being far stronger than her.

Rei smacked the boy's hand and walked away.

The sky cleared, and I approached the boy, noticing the blood stains all over his clothes.

"So... I'm James. Umm what's your name?"

The boy looked at me.

"Mace. My name is Samuel Mace."

Chapter 2 (Samuel Mace)

"So... how did you... where did you come from?" The one who called himself James shook my hand.

I pointed at what remained of the closing portal. "Inside that."

Several gasps and a "what the hell" came from the rest of the team. A woman walked up to me, and looked at me curiously. I didn't blame her. In the span of our talk, I had already assessed everybody's skill.

The one named James was likely the leader of the group. His strikes and movements were experienced. The woman also appeared to be of some kind of high rank, considering her movements were also relaxed. Not as stiff. Similar to James.

One of the members looked inexperienced, a recruit? The other was oozing recklessness.

The last one... was hard to gage out. I could easily tell she was on a league of her own, different from the rest of her squad. But her attitude, and standoff like nature probably caused friction with the group.

Warrior pride?

"Mace, you mean to tell me you lived your whole life in the Abyssal Realm?" The woman asked. "I'm Tsuyuki Nozomi, by the way. But just call me Nomi."

I glanced at Nomi. "Yes... no." I put my hand on my head, confused.

"I..." My head flashed with weird visions as the others backed off.

"What... I have... I've lived. I died. I... I don't remember..." I muttered.

James put his hand on his chin. "Amnesia huh."

The reckless one, chuckled, causing the inexperienced one to jump, started.

"Well, doesn't really matter. You just freaking OBLITERATED that thing! Rei is probably SO pissed right now."

"Alex!" Nomi said, putting her hand on Alex's mouth.

"Mmf! Mmm mmm mmf!" Alex said.

The last member of the team reached out his hand. "My name is Colin. As what Alex... well. Tried to say, is that your power is astounding. You're clearly not from here. I guess all that time in the Abyssal Realm has made you strong."

James smiled. "No matter, you are absurdly strong. It's... unnatural. The other Cleaners are probably headed to our direction and have a ton of questions to ask you."

"Cleaners?" I asked.

James chuckled. "Yep! We're the Cleaners, Squad 170b. Residing in the Tsuyuki Dorm! We're responsible for defending this place of the monsters that come from the Abyssal Realm."

From the edge of my vision, I could make out tons of vans coming to our direction.

"Cleaners... an organization?" I asked.

"Yep."

"How strong are they."

James was silent, his face surprised. "Well, they're really strong actually. We kind of have to be, to protect this world. I'd say a couple of them are needed to take down the S-Class Sentient you killed."

I clenched my fist. These guys were not strong enough. I needed to get stronger. To defeat Mogul. I didn't know why I had that desire, but for some reason, with all the shattered and missing memories, one thing was very very clear and was nailed into my head.

Defeat Mogul, the Prime Aspect of Sin.

"Mace? You good buddy?" Alex said, waving his hand across my face.

I snapped out of my train of thought. "Yes."

Colin put his lance away. "You're seeking to be stronger, like Rei."

James looked at me curiously. "I have a lotta questions for you too. But I guess it can wait for Monday. It is the weekend, we deserve a little break, let the weekend squads take over, you know?"

"Hell yeah." Alex said. "Didn't Nomi say we were going out for udon? Where is she anyway?"

"Come on, Rei. Don't be like that." Nomi dragged who I presumed to be Rei by the arm, as she glared at me.

"This is Rei, by the way." Nomi said, ruffling her hair, much to her annoyance. "She's my little sister, and the powerhouse of the team!"

"Hello." I said.

Rei ignored me.

James crossed his arms, as the other Cleaners got out of their vans and were all eyeing me.

"Who is this? What happened to the S-Class? Don't tell me our little Cleaner superstar here took it down all on her own!" The man clapped, as he walked to Rei's side. Rei paid him no attention, as she continued giving me a death stare.

"Nope. That goes to Mr. Samuel Mace here. Very interesting fellow, I think I'm going to go with him and we can have him questioned." Said James.

The man raised his eyebrows. "This boy? Interesting... yes. We will have a lot to discuss. Monday morning, perhaps?"

"Sounds good." James replied, as the rest of the Cleaner squads got to work to fix up the area which was ravaged from the battle.

I was disappointed. There was no one strong in this world. I had stayed in the Abyssal Realm, because whenever a portal formed, and the monsters entered, I would see the other side. The beings who fought back. None of them were particularly interesting. So I stayed, hunting down as many S-Class and SS-Class monsters as I could to get stronger. But eventually, there was no point. Because no one stood against me. Even without my Phoenix Form.

Until the one named Rei appeared. She defeated the monsters left and right in the blink of an eye, and attracted my attention. So I followed, hoping she would be a powerful opponent for me to increase my power. But the disappointment when she was outclassed by the S-Class led me to be underwhelmed.

Yet for some reason, seeing her determination, made me reconsider staying. It had been so long since I had seen someone with so much resolve.

James turned to us. "Well, looks like we got ourselves a new roommate to the Tsuyuki Dorm! Old Man Mato is going to love this guy!"

Alex and Colin patted me on the back. "Welcome to the family!"

"Hold on!" Nomi said. "Where is Mace going to stay?"

James suddenly stopped, fist midair. "Oh. Didn't think of that."

Alex raised his hand. "I have an idea."

He pointed his finger to Rei, who looked up. "He could be Rei's roommate!"

Rei's blank expression suddenly changed. Her face becoming red. And her voice, both doubled in volume, and in octave.

"EXCUSE ME?!" She squeaked.

Alex snickered, and Colin held back a laugh.

James and Nomi both grinned. James gave her a thumbs up. "That's great! Rei has the biggest room in the house! I'm sure you can make some space for our newest recruit... Samuel Mace! You both like to be strong, I'm sure you two will get along great!"

Rei stormed in front of James, her face contorted in anger and annoyance.

"I refuse! My room is my own! Why do I have to share it with him?! A... boy of all people..."

"Hey, Lady Rei, you're turning a little red there." Alex joked.

Rei glared at him, her face reddening even more. "I am most certainly not!"

I glanced back at the portal. Perhaps staying back in the Abyssal Realm was a better idea. But... if Rei continued getting stronger, she might be strong enough for me to fight her. And if it came to that...

There could be a chance for me to become even stronger than I currently was.

"It's settled then!" Nomi said. "Congratulations, little sis, on your new boyfriend, I mean roommate!"

We walked back to this "Tsuyuki Dorm". As Alex put his arm around my neck and began talking to me about the customs of this world. I glanced behind me, and Rei's face was murderous.

Chapter 3 (Samuel Mace)

The Tsuyuki dorm looked like what you would see from a normal household. Multiple rooms, a living space. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was a lot better than the living conditions I had back in the Abyssal Realm.

"Well, I would tell you to drop your bags here, but you don't got any!" James laughed. He was so charismatic. It was almost too obvious that he was the leader of the team. The others entered the house and went off to their rooms.

Nozomi went up to Rei.

"Alright, go on and show Mace here to the room. Considering you two are going to be the closest together, I'm tasking you with giving the new guy a tour!"

Rei glared at me, and turned around, walking away.

I followed her, as she walked up some steps and took a few turns. She was silent the entire time, but her body language was enough to tell me she wasn't too thrilled to be given the responsibility of being my tour guide.

Rei opened the door to her room and held it open for me, as I walked in.

There wasn't much. A bed, and the floor. Some posters of what I presumed to be legendary Cleaners lined her room. But that wasn't the main thing. Her room was full of pictures of her family. In particular, an elderly woman who was seen with them. I guess that was her mother.

I turned to her.

"Where will I sleep?"

Rei pointed at a space in the corner.

"The ground?" I asked.

Rei looked at me, as she took off her hoodie, and smoothed out her white t-shirt.

"Hey, Mace." She muttered, her eyes trailing off to my swords.

"What is it?" I asked.

"When you are done with the questioning, and you have settled in. I want to fight you. One on one."

I regarded her. "You will lose." I said, calmly.

Rei glared at me. "I will not."

I sighed, as I sat in my corner, putting my swords down and unwrapping the chain on my left forearm.

"Rei, you struggled against an S Class Sentient. To me, those monsters are just warm up. They're nothing. I understand your desire to become stronger, but don't mistake ambition with delusion. You can't win against me."

I heard Rei clench her fists, her knuckles cracking. I turned around, and realized there were tears in her eyes.

"You don't have any right to tell me what I can't do." She whispered, her voice low and dangerous.

I put the chains on the ground, as the metal clanged against each other. I got up, and held out my hand.

"Come." I said.

Rei gave me a surprised expression.

"You want a fight? Then come. Come at me with everything you have. I'm unarmed. And you have experience with knuckle combat. If you think you have what it takes, try and land a punch on me while you have an advantage."

Rei was silent for a few seconds, probably trying to comprehend what was going on, but suddenly, heard expression and demeanour changed.

Rei lowered her head, raising her fists in the air, as she leaned to one side, and shot forward. Her speed was formidable. Much faster than any Cleaner I had seen before. But it wasn't enough.

I watched as her first punch came my way, and I blocked it, Combat Intuition instantly showing me her fight patterns.

She threw another punch, but it was clearly a feint. I weaved to one side and grabbed her wrist, then her other. Then closed in and pushed her against the wall.

Rei gasped.

I leaned in closely, until our faces were only an inch apart. Rei stared at me, her large eyes were wide in shock. In a way, Rei was very attractive. Cute and pretty, but her terrible personality acted as a counterweight.

"You couldn't beat me even when I was unarmed. I'll tell you now, that I only need one of my powers to defeat you."

Rei's face turned red. I couldn't tell if she was embarrassed or infuriated. Either case seemed likely.

I let go, as Rei put her hands down, her face still red.

I walked off, but Rei stopped me.

"Mace..."

I turned around. Rei was wringing her wrists. She didn't look at me.

"Nothing." She muttered, as she walked to her side of the room, despondent.

I left to find James. We needed to talk.

I found James working on some documents, when suddenly he stopped me.

"Whoa there, Mace!"

"What?" I asked.

James pointed at the shrine I almost bumped into.

"That's Mitsuki's shrine. Don't touch it. It means a lot to us."

"Mitsuki?"

James sighed. "Man, I'm sorry if all the information is coming at you like a waterfall. Mitsuki was Mato's wife. Until she was... well."

"I'm sorry." I said, as I knelt in front of him. James was surrounded by hundreds of documents.

James smirked. "Ah, well, it isn't your fault after all. But Mitsuki was a great Cleaner. She was one of the best, but then one mission went awry..."

Mitsuki was Mato's wife... meaning she was Nomi and Rei's mother.

I remembered Rei's words when she fought the S-Class Sentient. She fought like she sought vengeance. The fury in her eyes.

James noticed my expression. "So I guess the pieces all fell into place, huh."

I suddenly felt bad. I squashed all of Rei's hopes of beating me, without thinking once about what she was going through.

"Well, if it isn't the new boy!" An elderly man walked into the room. He wore a pair of glasses, and he had a friendly smile. James' expression brightened up.

"Father!" He said, as he went up to the man and hugged him.

"Oh, James! I got the call from Nomi. This is Mace-san, yes?"

"Mace is fine." I replied.

Mato held out his hand. "Call me Mato. It is a pleasure to meet you!"

I nodded.

Mato turned to James. "Where's my two girls? What are they up to?"

James sifted through more papers. "Rei is probably studying in her room. Nomi, Alex, and Colin are out, with her boyfriend for udon. Alex heard banging in Rei's room, so he assumed she was busy with Mace."

Mato's face suddenly turned red.

"Banging?!"

I was confused as to why he had that reaction. "Mr. Tsuyuki, Rei and I were just sparring, as she requested it."

Mato sighed with relief. "Oh! I see. Well, Reirei always loves to push herself. I just wish she would just go easy once in a while. Always training, that girl!"

James laughed. "Well, I guess I'm done with my paperwork for today's mission. A bit more than usual, considering we got a new recruit. I'll go to the office and hand them in, in the meantime, you could have a word with Father. He's a real nice guy!"

James got up and slipped on his shoes, heading out the door.

I glanced at the shrine.

Rei's mother died as a Cleaner. It would make sense for her to strive to become the best. That kind of trauma...

Mato noticed me looking at the shrine. "Ah, yes. My dearest Mitsuki." Mato went to the shrine and did a ritualistic motion, probably commemorating her.

"This is my wife, you see." Mato turned to me.

"James told me she was a really strong Cleaner. I'm so sorry for your loss." I said.

Mato smiled warmly at the shrine. "She was strong, hardworking, but above all else, kind. In a way, she brought out the best in me. When she died, it was devastating."

Mato sat down. "My dearest Mitsuki, ripped away from me from the Abyssal Creatures. Her dying words was to tell me to take care of Rei and Nomi. And to be happy again."

Mato clutched his chest. "I did my best to be happy, but sometimes I would yearn for her. I did things that I regret. I'm sure you will learn of it when you walk around town. But I can't help it."

I stared at the picture of Mitsuki. She was beautiful. Her face, innocent and pretty, like Rei's, but her hair, brown and elegant like Nomi's.

Mato continued. "But the pain that was put on me, couldn't compare to the pain on my daughters. Nomi was crying for months on end. It took her boyfriend to show her that the best way was to move forward. In a way, she was the only person in this household to truly accept her death.

"Rei on the other hand... she took it to heart. She saw her mother's body in that coffin. And from that day onward, she stopped smiling. Such a sweet and happy girl, all that light taken away. It felt like on the day I lost her mother, I lost her too. Rei had never been the same."

Chapter 4 (Rei Tsuyuki)

"Mommy, why are you a Cleaner?" I asked, as Mom held me by the fire.

I was five at the time. And I remembered vividly.

A warm fire, and Mom's embrace. I felt safe. I felt loved. Everything about the scene made my heart feel protected.

Mom smiled at me. "Reirei, why do you ask?"

"Because you are always in so much danger. Every time you come home, Daddy sees you with bandages and gets really scared."

I looked down. "I get scared too."

Mom laughed. "I'm sorry for worrying you two! But I am fine."

Mom smoothed the locks of hair around my forehead. "Mommy just wants to keep everybody safe. So you could smile and have a great life. I work with my colleagues and my teammates because I know one day, my little Reirei will grow up to be one of the best people in the whole wide world!"

"Do you mean that?" I gleamed.

Mom nodded. "Don't you remember what you told me? When you came home from school? What you wanted to be when you grew up?"

I remembered. I wanted to be a princess. But not because I wanted to look pretty. Not because of the money. Not because of the dresses or the fancy princes who would want my hand in marriage. No.

It was because I could use my influence. My power, to keep everybody safe. I could become royalty, and do my best to make sure everybody was happy. I would give away my money to the poor, and end all poverty. I would teach the children who couldn't afford school, so no one could go without education. I would teach everybody to be able to cook. To be able to fend for themselves.

I wanted to be a princess so everybody could be happy.

I snapped back into reality. The sun was setting down, as my room became darker. I lay in my bed, tears in my eyes, remembering Mom's funeral. Her face. She was so peaceful, but I felt like a part of me had left just like she did.

I clenched my fists. Those Abyssal bastards took Mom from me.

They ruined my life.

They ruined Dad.

And they continued to ruin everybody, by killing innocent people, and Cleaners. Cleaners who had families. I couldn't let what happened to me happen to them too.

I needed to become the strongest Cleaner, so I could fulfill my wish. To use my power to keep everybody safe.

Just like all those years ago.

I turned around in my sheets and stared at Mace's swords. The silver one, glowing in the dark. Along the side was some writing I couldn't comprehend. The other sword was gold, and was elegantly made. There was no way those two blades were from here. Their magical properties were unlike anything I had ever seen.

Samuel Mace. The being who had defeated the S-Class sentinel with just two blows. He had power that was so obviously greater than mine. And I hated it.

He had no drive to become a Cleaner. He was just... some boy. He had no terrible past. He had nothing that drove him to become that strong.

But he was strong anyway.

"This... isn't fair..." I mumbled, as I closed my eyes tightly. Tears leaking out of the corners of my eyes.

You couldn't beat me even when I was unarmed. I'll tell you now, that I only need one of my powers to defeat you.

Of course I know I couldn't beat you, Mace. That much I know. But I have to fight you anyway. I needed to. I need to become stronger. To avenge Mom.

Suddenly, I heard creaking from the corner of the room, as the door slowly opened. Mace entered the room, his muscular frame casting a shadow from the side of the wall I was facing.

I remembered how he had pushed me against the wall, grabbing my wrists, how he leaned in close to me. So close that I could feel his breath on my neck.

My heartbeat went up, as I shook my head.

No. No. What was I thinking? I had no feelings for that passionless brainless dolt. He had no goal. He was just strong. That was it. Nothing was special about him.

I slowly glanced behind me, as I could see Mace walk up to his swords, and sat on the ground. He wrapped the chains around his left forearm, as it slowly began to wrap on their own. Those weapons... I wondered where he got them from? But I knew he wouldn't be able to answer the question. Because he didn't remember.

On his left arm was a tattoo of a spear. I never had a thing for guys with tattoos, I found it obnoxious. But for some reason, it looked... no. Stop Rei. This guy is an idiot. He's just another muscle head. A junkie.

Mace leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes, before getting up and putting on his straps for his swords. He got up, fully armed, and left the room.

Was he training? I had to follow him. Not because I was interested in him or anything.

I got up from my bed and slipped on my purple hoodie, and put my knuckles in my pocket, following him outside of the house.

I entered the backyard, and found Mace standing in the centre. He had his eyes closed, breathing hard. What was he going to do?

Suddenly, Mace grabbed his golden sword, and cut his forearm. I gasped. What the hell was he doing?

Flames began to arc from his left arm, as it spread up to his shoulder. The flames were bright. Much brighter than normal fires. And much more intense that Nomi's.

What was this power? He never showed this ability in his fight....

Then it hit me.

I'll tell you now, that I only need one of my powers to defeat you.

Mace had multiple powers. This must had been one of them.

Mace stepped forward, and began to summon more of his flames as his face contorted from the effort of controlling it. Whatever this power was, it was clearly not natural. The flames looked... godly.

"Come on.... don't lose yourself, Mace. Don't lose yourself." He muttered, as the flames began to form some over-mold around his arm, similar to James whenever he went full power.

"I can't... lose myself... I need to... I have to..." Mace grumbled, as he suddenly doubled over.

I gasped as I leaned forward from the pillar to try to get a better view. This guy's power was immense. I gripped the pillar harder.

He was so much stronger... I needed to train much harder if I wanted to catch up.

Suddenly, Mace doubled over, as he fell to his knees. My eyes widened, as the flames covered his entire left side of his body.

"GrrrrrAAARRRR..." Mace growled. Was he losing control? He looked like he was going feral. I pulled out my brass knuckle, and slipped it onto my right hand, as it began to glow with a ethereal black and green. If Mace went berserk, I had to put him down... but did I have what it took?

"Kill him..." Mace seethed, as he stumbled around. "I must kill him..."

Kill... kill who? Who was him? I looked at Mace in curiosity and astonishment as Mace stumbled all over the backyard, mumbling and cursing.

"I'm... I'm..."

I looked closer, and realized there were tears in his eyes. The next thing he said made my heart drop.

"I'm not strong enough..." Mace muttered, as he instantly took his sword and impaled his own leg, extinguishing the flame. Mace grimaced in pain, as the wound began to regenerate.

Self healing. Unbelievable. What other powers did this boy have? How many powers did he have?!

Mace fell to the ground, his face hitting the ground as he breathed hard.

"Mogul... how will I kill him. When I can't even get stronger than this..."

Chapter 5 (Samuel Mace)

"Yo, Mace? You good man? What happened?" My eyes fluttered open, as I awakened to Alex, Colin, Nomi, James, and Mato looking down at me.

Shit. I was in the backyard. I probably lost control of the Fires of War. I looked around. Thank god I didn't set anything on fire again.

"Sorry. I overtrained." I replied, as I sat up, and got to my feet.

"Overtraining?" Nomi asked. "You shouldn't overdo it. I'll tell you what I keep telling Rei. But if you keep pushing yourself with no time to rest, you'll never get stronger. Things take time!"

"Where's... what... what time is it?"

"It's morning."

"Morning?!"

Alex chuckled. "Damn, you were passed out all night. None of us noticed you were gone. I went to Rei's room, and knocked on her door, she didn't answer. Well actually, she did. She told me to go away. So I just assumed you were asleep in her room."

I rubbed my eyes. "Sorry to have concerned you all."

Nomi laughed. "It's okay! As long as you aren't hurt!"

James eyed me. "Are you okay with questioning today? I told the guys to come here instead of us going to them. Since learning that you ended up passed out."

"Yes." I replied.

The others left, as Colin gave me a nod.

Alex gave me a thumbs up for some reason. "Noticed the banging from the other day. Hope you two weren't having too much fun!"

Nomi looked disgusted. "Alex! That's so inappropriate!"

"Sorry. Couldn't help it."

Mato put his hand on my shoulder. "Try to go easy on yourself Mace. Gosh you and Rei have so much in common!"

I nodded. "I will, thanks Mr. Tsuyuki."

I followed James to the living room.

The man asked me a bunch of questions, which I answered truthfully. I didn't know if my answers satisfied him, but I did surprise him at some points in the interview. Particularly my memory loss.

"Interesting. You don't recall anything before your life in the Abyssal Realm?"

"No." I looked at my hand. "Just bits and pieces. That make no sense."

"How so?"

"An image of several boys, who look like me. And one in particular... he had long hair, streaked magenta in the ends. But... that's it. And one person in particular. A huge monster. For some reason, he is the only person I can remember. All I know is I have to kill him. His name is Mogul."

"Mogul... I see." The man scribbled on his notebook.

He got up and shook our hands. "Well, I will relay this to the higher-ups and we can decide what to do. For now, Mace can stay at the Tsuyuki Dorm."

"Thank you, Zen." James nodded.

I looked at James as the man headed out the door.

"What will you do?"

James shrugged. "I'm done with paperwork. Let's join the others. Maybe you could invite Rei out? We'll leave in an hour."

"Okay." I replied. There was no way Rei was going to leave her room. But it was worth a shot.

James noticed my expression. "You know, as much as Rei doesn't want to admit it, she actually likes going out with people. She's just shy. Try to get past that barrier."

I climbed up the steps and knocked on the door.

No answer.

"Rei, the others are going out. James would appreciate if you came with us."

"Go away." Rei replied.

I sighed and opened the door, slowly. I found Rei with her feet up on her bed, doing pushups.

I approached her, as she continued training. Beads of sweat rolled off her face as her tank top was drenched. She was working hard, to follow through with her goal. Something I could respect.

As much as Rei doesn't want to admit it, she actually likes going out with people. She's just shy.

I knelt down in front of her.

"You know, overtraining is just as bad, you should take the day off. Everybody in the team wants you to come with them."

Rei ignored me, and continued doing her pushups, but the moment she lifted her body off the ground for one more repetition, she froze, her forearms shaking from the effort. Rei fell to the ground.

Rei began to breathe heavily, as she struggled to get back up.

"Hey-"

"Leave me alone!" She hissed, as she tried to get in pushup position, but fell back on her face again.

"I... I have to get stronger... I won't stop until I become stronger than you!"

I glanced at the numerous photos of Mitsuki on her wall. Of a young Rei and her mother, smiling in the photos. They were so happy. I could see how much her mother had an impact on her. But what she was doing was just destroying her body. It wasn't making her stronger if she wasn't giving it enough rest.

"James and Mr. Tsuyuki told me about your mother." I said.

"Wha-" Rei said, before losing her balance and falling to the ground with a yelp.

I regarded her. "I know why you're trying your best to become stronger. How about we have a deal. You go out with with the team, and tonight, I'll have a spar with you. We can get stronger, together."

I held out my hand, and Rei looked at me, her eyes watery.

It didn't occur to me that this was the same gesture I had done the first time we met. The day I tried to help her to her feet after killing the S-Class.

"Mace..." She muttered.

"I meant no harm when I said you were too weak. But I'm not going to tell you that you're stronger than me, because then I would be lying. All I am saying is I support you in your journey to becoming stronger. I'll help you."

Rei looked away. "I don't need your help."

"Alright. I guess I'll just leave you to sulk in this dead ass room while I keep pulling ahead."

"No! Wait!" Rei called after me as I began to walk away.

I turned around. Rei struggled to her feet. For some reason, seeing her like this, her purple hair plastered to her face, her black tank top and shorts made my heart beat faster. Maybe it was a survival reflex? It could explain why she was so formidable in combat, if she could emit an aura like that.

"I'll... accept your offer." She said, quietly.

Rei began to undress when suddenly her eyes widened, her face becoming red.

"Oh. Sorry." I said. I quickly left the room and waited outside.

"Pretty sick, right? It's the New Kona Autumn Festival, after all." Alex said, as he put his arm around my neck. Colin walked next to me. James and Nomi ended up separated. James had caught up with his old friends, and Nomi's boyfriend had shown up, leading to her breaking apart from our group. That left Colin, Alex, Rei, and I.

"Hey... Mace?" Colin asked, sheepishly.

"What is it?" I asked.

Colin wrung his wrists. "Do you have any advice for me? In getting stronger?"

Colin was the most inexperienced of the members in the squad. I remembered. But he had drive, he had passion and he wanted to become stronger.

"What is your end goal?" I asked.

Colin glanced at the people who were playing their stringed instruments.

"I want to become like James. It probably sounds silly. But I look up to him. He is strong, charismatic. Dependable. I want to be like that... but..."

Colin stared at his hands. "I am too weak. I do nothing but bring everybody down."

"Come on, Colin. You always say that! It isn't true!" Alex said, slapping Colin in the back.

"Alex, you wield the scythe with so much skill. Every time you're in battle you have a smile on your face. I don't have that courage or bravery." Colin sighed.

"Just keep practicing man! You'll get the hang of it! No one in the squad thinks you're a burden. Anybody thinks that I'll beat them up. Unless it's Rei. She scares me."

I glanced behind us. Rei was trailing us from behind her hands clasped together in front of her, her eyes empty, and disinterested. She kept looking at the numerous families that were all over the event. Like she was longing to be like them.

"So... what's going on with you and Reirei?" Alex leaned closer to me, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"The two of you share a room. You're what.. like 15?"

"16. Chronologically."

"Chronologically?"

"Yeah, my body... it..." I suddenly clutched my head. What was I saying? How did... did my body age differently?

"You're one special dude, ya know?" Alex joked. "But yeah. You know Rei is like 16 too. Who knows, if you enrol in Graham High, you might end up in her class! You two share a room, so you're basically a step ahead most couples anyway."

"School..." I never went to school before. I couldn't even recall ever going to any school in my little bits of memory fragments.

"Hey! Cotton Candy!" Colin said, surprised.

Alex's eyes went big. "No way! I haven't had that shit in months!"

Colin looked at Alex. "Hey! Language!"

Alex threw his hands in the air. "What?! I can't even curse when James isn't around either?!"

Colin crossed his arms. "It is a bad habit. When James or Nomi isn't around, it's up to someone to keep the integrity of the group."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's hit up the vendor. Mace, want some?"

"Sure." I replied, glancing at Rei. She was looking at a stall. Some kind of shooting game? She looked like she wanted to play, but we weren't giving her a chance.

Colin and Alex bounded off to the stall and joined the line as I walked up to Rei.

"Hey." I said.

Rei continued looking at the stall.

I raised an eyebrow, as I snapped my fingers in front of her face. Rei jumped.

"You okay?" I asked.

Rei wrung her wrists. "Yes."

I looked at the stall, and went over. The man regarded Rei and I.

"You kids wanna play? It's one Roma for one game."

I sifted through my pockets. James had given me some allowance in case I wanted to buy anything.

I handed the man one Roma coin, as the targets lined up. Rei stood next to me.

I examined the toy gun. It was one of those shooting games where you had to shoot down the targets. But unfortunately, I only ever wielded swords. My ranged attacks were never precise. And I never once fired a gun before.

I took aim, and wasted half of my ammunition on one duck.

I heard a giggle, and looked beside me to see Rei had her hand over her mouth. She saw me looking and instantly zipped her mouth, forcing her usual apathetic expression.

"Your aim is atrocious." She said.

I narrowed my eyes. "I've battled Abyssal Creatures for a living. This is nothing to me." I announced, as I aimed my gun again and missed another shot. And another.