The Raven Dark Hero 61

Chapter 61 : Because He is an Ally of Justice

TL:SummerPeanut

It was his childhood friend, Hiro, who came into the room with a strange voice.

“Uhh... take care of the rest.”

“Sorry ‘bout this... newbie.”

The two men leave the room. The only ones left were Bright and Hiro.

And Hiro was still looking around with a creepy smile on his face.

(……Honestly, it's anticlimactic…)

Until recently, Hiro was certainly at the top of Bright's list of people to kill. Although he had lost interest in revenge due to various reasons, he would not hesitate to take action if the conditions were right.

But this was not that time. Right now, Bright was looking for a hot battle that would make his blood boil and dance.

“...... You ain't no match for me….Sheesh… somehow, I’m suddenly sober again...”

“ENEMY FOUND！！DIEー！！！”

Hiro charged towards Bright while shouting strangely. Bright intercepted it, and…

“…you little shit will be the one who, die!!!”

A flash of an uppercut. .........The impact caused Hiro to hit his head on the ceiling before falling...

“......Geez... you're not going to die from that now. Ahh, enough…”

Losing his motivation, Bright sat back on his chair and crossed his legs.

After a while, Hiro, who wasn't dead, woke up…

“Ouch……Hmm? B, Bright? Bright!? Why are you here!?”

Hiro was shocked back to his senses.

Bright was so pissed off when he hit Hiro that he didn't activate any of his abilities, so the damage to Hiro wasn't serious.

“...are you awake? Well then, if you don't want to die, sit quietly until the next one comes in.”

Bright had no intention of doing anything about Hiro at this point. However, the fact that Hiro was here meant that the other NDF would have to be escorted to the other rooms. In other words, it was unlikely that anyone else would come into this room, but Bright was betting on a glimmer of hope.

“Why did you...? Did you...deceive me!?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Sigh, and I was supposed to intercept the NDFs here…”

“I'm a soldier of NDF! In fact, I'm an elite soldier, you know!?”

“Is ‘sat so…. Then, I was thinking of letting you off the hook, but are you charging to your death now?”

“HI-IH!?”

Bright, who was getting annoyed with Hiro, glared at him with a light killing intent. Then Hiro let out a light scream and fell silent.

Hiro had been reminded yet again of the horror of Bright that he suffered hitherto. His cells knew that he would never be able to defeat him.

“Tsk…If you don't want to die, don't say anything else, just sit down and shut up, already.”

Bright let out an exasperated sigh as he sat back in his chair, making sure that Hiro was quiet.

...Ten more minutes pass...and I hear the sound of a fierce battle from the next room.

But in this room, there was only himself sitting on a chair and Hiro sitting like he’s in PE lesson, albeit he seemed uncomfortable, as silence enveloped the space.

“I don't know...I don't know…. Huh... Hey you, how's school going lately?”

The disappointment was so great that Bright's mental state began to go haywire, and he began to make small talk with Hiro.

“School? ……Why would you want to know about my…”

“I'm bored! Fucking bored! If you don't want to talk, maybe I should just pop your head to kill time. Like pop!”

“Ugh……I quit… school…”

Hiro quit school. That was a bit of a surprising response for Bright.

“…Why did you quit?”

“...... My childhood friend... is dead.”

(Childhood friend... oh, that's me. But I guess I was just a bump in the eye, and you're rather relieved, aren't you?)

“...You were close with that childhood friend of yours?”

“...as if. He never had me in his sights.”

It wasn't that he hadn't been thinking about it, but... he remembered the past.

“...then, you didn't like your childhood friend, did you?”

“…If you mean right now, I hate him...maybe?”

Bright was a little annoyed by the vague reply. He knew exactly how much Hiro had been pulling the strings behind Kouki.

“He...is always like that ever since I was a kid. Whenever I was being bullied, he'd appear out of nowhere and help me out... and then he'd smile. And say, ‘When in trouble, call me’ I was grateful at first. I admired his reliable back. But then I realized that he wasn't really my friend…”

He was a little puzzled by the fact that the conversation was going in a different direction from what he had imagined, but he didn't feel like breaking off the conversation now.

“To him, I was only someone there for him protect. I wasn't his equal, I wasn't his friend. That's why, when I manifested my gift, I wanted to be recognized by him so I told him right away. But he just snickered at me like it was nothing…”

Kouki also recalled that time. He was inwardly frustrated, but he forced himself to smile and feign indifference.

“After that, I reported to him every chance I got. I thought that one day he might say ‘You're amazing’ but he just laughed as usual, as if it was nothing.

Somewhere along the line, I realized that he was actually frustrated with me. So, I wanted to make him feel even more frustrated... so that he would admit it and say that I’m amazing.

But he always smiled, hiding his frustration away... But at the end of the day, he saved me and then he died. I was just someone for him to protect no matter what...I couldn’t make him recognize me...”

......Hiro started to confess something that was the exact opposite of the feelings he had been holding against him. He was already crying a small puddle of tears.

(...Err...hmm? Does this guy know I'm Kouki and he's intentionally teasing me?)

“......So, what did you end up thinking about that childhood friend of yours?”

Hiro was silent for a while, sniffling. And then…

“I… I wanted to be accepted by him! I wanted to be his equal friend! And yet... and yet, I… I left him there to die… uughh…”

...Kouki worried about what to do with all the hate he accumulated for Hiro... Still, what Hiro had actually done to Kouki was not something that can be forgiven. But recently, although he had been harassing him, it wasn't enough reason for him to kill for it...Hiro's softened attitude and sudden confession made him realize that his anger towards him was getting smaller.

In fact, he had been on the verge of death a few times….

(I'll be damned... Still... a debt is a debt. You have to pay back what you owe…)

“Hey, you. What would you do if you had this dead childhood friend in front of you right now?”

“Eh? ...well... I'll apologize. If I had admitted my own powerlessness back then...”

Bright wondered what did he meant by ‘back then…’. Harassment at school? The day he spoke about his gift? ...or maybe it was the incident at the shopping mall, but when that came up to his mind, he still felt anger.

“......That's not all. This is assuming that your childhood friend knows that you've been secretly spreading gossips to ruin his reputation and attempt to isolate him in a roundabout way.

...if you were in front of him right now... what would you do?”

Hiro's eyes widened... He knew that everything he had done had been exposed. But why was Bright so obsessed with it? Because that was the question.

Hiro turned to Bright, his hand landing on the ground and with his forehead rubbing on the ground. He knew in his heart that Bright was not Kouki.

“I can't go back in time to tell him this now. But if I ever get to meet Kouki, I'll tell him. I'm sorry. I just wanted you to accept me! And yet I was a ...... fool. I'm not asking you to forgive me, but I'll do whatever it takes to make amends…”

“Heh~…So, you'll do whatever it takes to make amends?”

“……Yeah. That is, if I can do it…”

Bright stood up. Then, in a cold tone, he said.

“Then you should die right here. Die here and now, and go do penance to your childhood friend in the afterlife.”

Hiro instantly froze. To him, Bright, someone that wasn’t Kouki had no right to tell him to die here.

But Bright wanted to test him. If he were to make even the slightest excuse, he would kill him instantly. That would mean he could finally take revenge for all the pent up frustration he had with Hiro…

(Now, come on, give me an excuse. The moment you do, I will pierce your open mouth with Lonsdaleite…)

Hiro raised his head. There was no hesitation in his eyes….

“...If that's what Kouki wants. Besides, even I think it's strange that I'm still alive and kicking after Kouki's death…”

He took out a knife from his chest. It was a survival knife that every soldier in the NDF carries.

“It's really strange…. I can feel a presence similar to Kouki coming from you(Bright)... If you're telling me to die, then I might as well die…”

With that, he pushed the knife towards his neck…

(Seriously, this idiot!?)

He activated his Speed Star. Just in the nick of time, he kicked the knife away as Hiro's hand moved.

“…You idiot! I wouldn't be happy if you killed yourself!!”

“...No, but you're not Kouki…”

“~tch, is the childhood friend you admired the kind of man who takes pleasure in having everyone he knows commit suicide? Do you really think he’s really such a shitty person!?”

“Kouki……“

When saying this, Hiro fell into his own thoughts…. And…

“...I don't think Kouki would allow that... Because... he's an ally of justice. ...... Ugh... ugh…”

Hiro then cowered and broke down in tears again…

...At that moment, the entrance door opened. Someone from the NDF must have come in.

Bright was like, ‘Ehh? Are you seriously coming in now?’.

“Darkflash Bright. To prevent another tragedy from occurring… I will kill you.”

There stood Mizutani Fuuka, the female Major General and the commander of the Byakkotai...

Author’s Note:

For those of you who were expecting a ‘serve you right’ episode... Many of you may not be satisfied with this development.

When I started to write this episode, I had my doubts too. ...I decided to just go with the flow and draw it. Then... Kouki and Hiro started to move on their own. Yes.

I apologize for the inconvenience, but I will post another story at 3pm today. (TL: >.> I didn’t utter a single peep)

This is the least I can do to apologize for the fact that my stock is getting low.

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