Despite his stern exterior he still was very much concerned about his twin. This wasn’t how he had planed any of this to go. For them to end up involving the person in this Ryuji desperately wanted to save was not how any of this was supposed to pan out. Teeth gritted he willed himself to remain iron willed. Shotgun seat right next to his best friend he turned towards the leader before giving a curt nod as Ann inquired if they would really go through with their plans.
“ I’ll protect him. Don’t worry. ” They’d waste too much time taking him back and today was the only day they could do this. Targets didn’t stay in mementos forever. If they got unlucky he was already halfway to developing a palace. It surprised Ryuji anyway how he didn’t have one of his own already.
No, it was time to come clean with his past and take the bastard down for once and for all.
“ Let’s go. We’ll steal his heart. ”
Everything that happened went by in a blurr. He was dissociating hard by now, running on autopilot as the team exited the vehicle, which, no surprise, turned back into a cat. They went through some kinda vortex portal, no big deal, and once on the other side faced a figure standing there and surrounded by black gooey smok-
Stumbling back in complete shock he felt how his legs gave up and he fell back to the ground. Not even 20 meter in front was the figure of their father, surrounded by black gooey smoke, eyes a burning bright yellow making him look even more like the demon that he already was. And something about those eyes invoked a fear and p a n i c inside of Kouji, that he had burried under layers and walls of self preservation.
I’m doing this for Ryu and Ma.
He’ll know it if I show fear.
Just keep low and don’t let him see.
Don’t forget who you are doing this for.
All of these mantras, he had repeated every day, were blown away by the sight before him.
He couldn’t even ask himself why he was here, or why he looked so distorted, all his mind was filled with was pure fear. Primal, survival fear.
This wasn’t just his father.
This was the reincarnated embodiment of all the malice his father carefully hid behind an exterior, that no normal human would ever doubt or suspect to be what he truly was:
