Darkened skies turned the alleyway into a grayscale landscape.
“I’ll start by making you regret ever coming here today.”
Unsteady scene.
As Max began to shift his attention to his left shoulder, Charlie swung his left elbow towards Max’s face.
The smooth and swift movement of the elbow was met with the quick action of Max’s hand.
Max’s detailed eyes. Fiery rage.
“Wow, you’re fast. But… I don’t need any fire to deal with you. I’ll end this quickly.”
Charlie’s picturesque blue eyes.
“Wow, you really think I’m gonna lose to you? In your dreams.”
Charlie lifts his left knee and drives it into Max’s chest. Simultaneously, he shoves Max down with the hand he had on the shoulder.
Falling backwards. Coughing blood.
Moments before impact. Cocky smile.
Max lands on his hands and swings his right leg out. Charlie darts back, narrowly avoid the trip.
Max backflips into a standing position and charges at Charlie.
“I’M ENDING THIS RIGHT NOW!”
As Max extends his right hand out, forming a fist, Charlie stands his ground.
Max stops in front of Charlie and begins to wildly swing his fists. Charlie manages to continuously dodge the shots.
“Scared of taking a punch?”
“Your guard’s down.”
Charlie grabs on to Max’s left arm and shoulder. He then uses all of his strength to heave Max into the air.
‘There, I got him.’
While mid-air, Max’s right arm descended, turning his elbow into a point.
‘Oh, shit. I’m screwed.’
The sharp elbow connected with Charlie’s face. There was an amplified crunching noise as Charlie released Max and fell backwards.
Charlie felt the back of his head hit the ground, followed by darkness overtaking his vision.
——
“Charlie… Charlie!”
Charlie opened his eyes to Anna’s sunny yellow gaze staring back at him.
“I… failed again, huh?”
Anna’s face formed a smile.
“You haven’t failed. He’s knocked out. The police are on their way. Everything’s gonna be OK.”
Charlie returned Anna’s smile.
“That’s great to hear.”
After a brief period, Anna converted her smile into a face of scorn.
“You’re so damn reckless, you know that? Always going to the extremes to show off, huh?”
“Speak for yourself. Last I remember, you had a giant gash in your shoulder.”
“Asshole, I’m trying not to think about that. Don’t talk about that.”
Charlie glanced at Anna’s right shoulder, which was now wrapped by her shirt.
“Well, the good news is, you stopped the bleeding.”
“Are you implying that there’s bad news?”
“Yeah. Now you have you walk around everywhere shirtless.”
Anna gave off a look of curiosity.
Shortly after, the immediate presence around her turned into pure hell.
“Do you… have a problem… with my chest?…”
“Uh, no, I think you have a great body. I just didn’t think you were that kind of person,” said Charlie as he pushed himself up and scrambled back, his eyes turning white.”
“JUST WHAT KIND OF PERSON DO YOU THINK I AM?!”
“Uh wait, I didn’t mean that! I’m sorr- Wait a minute.”
“What, any other comments about me?”
“No, I’m just wondering… I remember Max pulling the knife out of you.”
“Yeah, obviously, it’s not in me anymore.”
“So, where is it? Is it still on him? We should check to see if he still has it.”
“Yeah, we should check.”
“Yeah, you guys should’ve checked.”
Charlie and Anna both turned to find Max on his feet, slowly approaching while holding the knife in question in his right hand.
Charlie was dumbfounded.
“This dude’s literally a cockroach…”
“It’s just one thing after another, isn’t it?”
Charlie carefully observed Max as the enemy made his approach. He noticed that Max’s left arm was dangling like a zombie’s arm.
“Looks like my awesome move broke your arm.”
Charlie met Max’s gaze with a look of tenacity.
“Am I gonna have to break more of you?”
Anna joined Charlie to his right, matching his presence and posture.
“I think we’re gonna have to show this guy where his place is.”
Max grinned and lifted the knife to chin-level.
“Show me where my place is? How about I show you guys what it’s LIKE TO DIE!”
Max broke into a run and charged as Charlie and Anna watched.
“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-“
Suddenly, someone grabbed on to Max’s broken left arm, which was forced back as he continued to run.
“WHA-“
Max exclaimed the sound of pain as he fell face down, losing his grip on his weapon.
The knife bounced and landed in front of Charlie’s feet.
“You forgot about someone.”
Holding on to Max’s arm was Tsuru, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m not going to let you hurt them. We have a job to finish.”
Charlie and Anna stood over Max, preparing to end the fight as the sun began to break through the clouds.
Sunlight began to radiate off of the duo’s battle-worn bodies.
Charlie raised his fist to his chest.
“Like Tsuru said, we have a job to do.”
Anna flicked her hair back with her hand.
“We have to help our friend out.”
Charlie moved his arms to form a boxing stance.
“So, understand this.”
Tsuru joined Charlie on his left side and placed her left arm on her hip. Simultaneously, Anna assumed the same boxing stance as Charlie.
The trio then unanimously declared their intent to Max.
“WE’RE NEVER GIVING UP!”
Max raised his head and met their collective gaze with a stare akin to a ferocious inferno.
“I don’t care anymore. I’m not losing this.”
Charlie noticed that sparks were appearing around Max.
“WE NEED TO GET-“
Suddenly, there was a large, violent explosion.
Everyone was sent flying back as windows shattered and flames erupted to the sky.
——
After awakening, Charlie immediately sat up.
‘Where’s the others?’
Charlie looked to his right. Anna was crumpled up against the wall, blood pouring from her head.
“Oh, shit, ANNA!”
Charlie grabbed on to Anna and began to talk to her.”
“Anna, you’ve gotta wake up, please, wake up already, Anna…”
Charlie’s attention was then caught by an object leaving the wall of flames in front of him.
As Max slowly made his way out of the fire, Charlie rose to his feet, holding Anna in his arms.
Max stopped his walk just outside the inferno, locking eyes with Charlie and grinning.
Charlie noticed that Max’s left eye was encased in fire.
‘I guess, as insane as it is to be able to make fire from nothing, there’s still a limit to his powers.’
Charlie’s face formed a look of grim determination.
‘We’re completely screwed now, but I’m not ready to give up. We have to make it out of this alive.’
For a brief moment, both Charlie and Max froze in their respective places, waiting for each other to make a move.
“Charlie and Anna. BOTH OF YOU, IT’S TIME TO DIE!”
Charlie stood his ground as Max raised his right hand to form a fireball.
All Charlie could do was stare into Max’s flaming orange eyes.
Suddenly, Max was encased in a web of lightning.
The wall of fire disappeared, revealing a dark-hooded figure standing behind Max, holding Tsuru over his right shoulder.
When the lightning web disappeared, Max turned around and launched a tirade against the intruder.
“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU INTERFERING WITH MY FIGHT? LEAVE OR DIE!”
The figure lowered his hood, revealing his short, messing black hair and twilight blue eyes.
“Who am I? You hurt my friends, so I’m the guy who’s gonna destroy you.”
Charlie’s mouth dropped to the ground as he realized who had just appeared.
“Is that you, TAMASHI?!”
——
Savior: Original Story by OneSevenEight
Episode: Framed Perspective - Part 14
The day was unusually bright and sunny for an autumn day. Leaves danced through the air and collected on the grimy sidewalks and streets. The tender breeze that carried those leaves served as a deterrent to the minimal heat. There was a sense of calmness that swirled within the soft and gentle breeze. As Tamashi stepped out of the house, he turned his head to the sky, glaring at the cotton-like clouds against the cool blue sky. As his mind began to drift towards the clouds, one thought looped through his mind. ‘Charlie and Anna. I need to find them.’ —— Savior: Original Story by OneSevenEight Episode: Framed Perspective - Part 15 —— ‘I need to talk to Charlie and Anna, but how do I do that? I can’t go near the school and I don’t have a phone. So am I just gonna have to stand around in the streets and hope they pass by at some point?’ As Tamashi thought about his next steps, he began to approach an int
“Well, it’s not great to see you, you pile of dust.”Rai pointed at Tamashi as he spoke.“I’m currently spending my precious time plotting in Tamayo’s cozy mind space, so I’d appreciate it if you left me-““STOP CALLING ME TAMAYO!”Tamashi jumped to his feet and marched towards Rai and the old man.“Listen, I’ve had enough of your shit. I was just trying to stop someone from getting run over, and then you show up, and everything goes to hell, then WORST OF ALL-“Tamashi planted himself in front of Rai and grabbed his shirt.“-YOU WON’T STOP CALLING ME TAMAYO- Wait, this shirt… HOW ARE YOU WEARING THE SAME SHIRT AS ME?”“Oh, the shirt? I’m simply mimicking what you’re wearing. I’m not really a physical being, so part of my shape and appearance is determined by you. So, can you let go of-“&l
Tamashi remained planted on his knees, paralyzed by the pure force of the electricity flowing through the room.Rai towered over Tamashi. The electricity was causing his brilliant white hair to float as if it was being blasted by a sea breeze.Rai presented Tamashi with a devilish grin.“Come on, Tamayo, I’m waiting for you to make the first move!”Tamashi moved his left arm up to shield his face.‘Shit, what do I do? This is bad…’As he withstood the pressure in the room as if he wasn’t affected by the situation at all, Sensei continued to observe the situation.‘It’s unfortunate for Tamashi, considering he has to battle and win over the strongest of the five.’Sensei’s arm began to move outward.‘But… That doesn’t have to happen at this exact moment.’Rai reared back his fist.“If you’
“I’ll teach you how to fight.” As Tamashi processed those words, he became visible suspicious. “Are you saying that just because you want me to call you Sensei?” “No, I’m saying I’ll teach you how to-“ “I mean, if you really want me to call you Sensei that badly, why don’t you just admit it?” “But that’s not what I’m trying-“ “I mean, if you really want me to call you Sensei that badly, then I guess I have no choice.” “Please- wait, are you finally going to show at least a bit more respect than Rai does?” “Sure.” Tamashi’s response was accompanied by an expression of deceit. “‘Jiji-sensei.’” —— Savior: Original Story by OneSevenEight Episode: Framed Perspective - Part 18 —— “Oh wow Bri, your snacks are so good! MMM!” Max observed in disgust as Kaze stuffed her face with an assortment of sweet snacks. “I didn’t know there was a Seishin that
A woman with shoulder-length, jet-black hair stood in front of a window inside a hallway.As someone approached from behind, the woman quickly jolted her dark gray eyes back to lock onto the visitor’s hazel gaze.“Oh, it’s you, Madam Bri.”“Hello, Kira. I see you’re as aware of your surroundings as ever.”“I been used to looking over my shoulder for so long now. I guess you get used to it in this job.”Bri directed her attention to the window.“Yeah, I guess so.”For a slight moment, Bri and the woman she referred to as Kira silently stared through the window. On the other were a group of new recruits, diligently training to become assassins.“So, how did the mission go?”“It was a success. I managed to eliminate the group of Minami warriors that were stationed near the American and Canadian border. They will no longer be a threat to us o
The vast expanse of the night sky was illuminated by vivid stars and dancing fireflies as an older man with grassy green eyes walked out of the back door of his modest home.He removed his phone from his pocket, dialed a number, and raised the phone to his right ear.“… Yes… Yes, I’m aware it’s late, but I’m sure you want to hear this... That boy you were looking for… Yes… It was a coincidence… I’m sorry you think that… Anyways, I’ll spend the day tomorrow training him… I’ll be sure to keep in touch… You too, Brianna. Sleep well, young one.”The man returned his phone back to his pocket, then proceeded to retrieve and ignite a cigarette.——Savior: Original Story by OneSevenEightEpisode: Framed Perspective - Part 20——“Alright, so you’re gonna train me to fight Rai, right? Is this gonna b
As Max walked out of the front doors of the mansion, he discovered that woman was blocking his path, standing with her arms folded. Max stopped just outside the doors and dropped his duffel bag. “Oh, look, if it isn’t one of Kita’s S-ranked Assassins. I like to think the “S” stands for Soul Crusher.” “Oh, look, if it isn’t the annoying little brother of the S-rank Assassin that’s more kind, more reliable, and way more good-looking than you’ll ever be.” “I don’t really care. I don’t really like you in that way, Kira. So what do you want?” “I wanted to talk to you. It’s been a while since we’ve crossed paths.” A gentle breeze swept through the area as Max and Kira locked into each other’s eyes. “Talk to me? Are you trying to have a reunion or something? Just let me leave for this dumb mission, Kira.” “What makes the mission dumb?” “Everything.” “Everything, as in… ?” “Everything.” Wind swir
“Alright then, since you’re so eager, let’s get started. First, I want-““Wow, I get to watch Tamayo train? It’s an honor to be able to watch my opponent train!”Sensei removed the cigarette from his mouth, simultaneously releasing a puff of smoke from his mouth.“Rai, why don’t you focus on doing something else?”“Why should I? As far as I’m concerned, this is currently my domain.”“Alright, then I have a solution to this problem.”Sensei used his left hand to snap his fingers. At the moment of the snap, Rai was standing directly in front of Sensei.“Wait, what- WHAT ARE YOU UP TO-““I ask that you please refrain from destroying the house.”“OR WHAT, GORILLA SKIN?!”Sensei raised his left hand to Rai’s forehead and snapped his fingers against Rai’s forehead.At the moment