N_i_q_u_e

He wasn't looking forward to it. Kaito's wardrobe had also changed in the last year. Gone was the basketball shorts and Converse sneakers. And in its place was black cargo pants with steel toed, knee length, reinforced combat boots and compression shirts.

His hair had grown but Kaito had shaved the sides off and tied the rest back. He still did raids with Yoonho and the White Tiger Guild but many stayed out of his way. Kaito had grown stronger in the last year and also bigger. He was taller and bigger than Yoonho now. Kaito could clear dungeons alone, he did, the Guild was just there because no one was allowed to enter a gate alone.

His weapon changed from the sword the association gave him to katana custom made from magic beasts and mana crystals. Kaito had zero friends not because he didn't want them (he didn't) but because he never had time. He was always in a dungeon or training, most of the time Yoonho, Byung-Gu, Eunseok, or Jinchul had to remind him to eat and sleep. If not for the four of them, Kaito would run himself into the ground.

Kaito hated weakness. Not because he was strong or because he was vain. He hated weakness because the weak die and the strong live. He himself had been weak a year ago and because of that he and his friends died.

Kaito considered himself dead because the Kaito from before the dungeon break and the Kaito now were not the same person. That Kaito smiled and joked, this Kaito had dead eyes and a neutral face. That Kaito never thought of killing, this Kaito killed daily. It might not be humans he was killing but he was still killing.

That Kaito always had five people beside him, this one had no one beside him but people behind him. That Kaito walked carefree, this one walked with the weight of Korea on his shoulders. This Kaito carried a weapon more often than not. This Kaito had no life outside of being a hunter. This Kaito had nightmares, not dreams. This Kaito stared at blood and got flash backs. This Kaito was more weapon than human. This Kaito struck fear into the hearts of his peers.

This Kaito hated attention. This Kaito wanted to die. This Kaito didn't even know who he was. This Kaito didn't have a brother or parents or a sister. This Kaito was a danger to himself and he didn't care. This Kaito was a dead man walking. He wanted to close his eyes and never open them again. He wanted to die so bad but didn't wanna commit suicide.

---

Kaito walked like he was a war general. He never spoke. Many had no idea what he sounded like. Many thought he was full of himself. Kaito looked no one in the eye when they spoke to him. His eyes were always somewhere else or his head was turned away.

Kaito's mana alone could suffocate someone. Which was why he regarded himself as a weapon. At the current moment Kaito was the strongest hunter Korea had ever produced. He wish he had this strength a year ago, maybe he could've saved everyone. Maybe he wouldn't be a walking corpse. Maybe he'd still be laughing. Or smiling. Or crying. Maybe he'd still eat regularly. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Always maybe and if. But never reality.

---

Two years had passed since Kaito's awakening and not once has he gone to the cemetery. He couldn't. He still had nightmares. Still had flashbacks. Still heard the screams. Still saw bloody hallways. Still felt blood on his hands that wasn't there.

Kaito was known all across the globe. People cold him the "Executioner of Korea." Because stories about him clearing dungeons alone had spread around. Hunters gossiped worse than teenagers. Kaito was turning nineteen and he was already a staggering six foot six inches (204 cm) and broad shoulders.

Kaito wasn't built like a body builder but he did have muscles. People often forgot that he was still a teenager. His eyes remained blank but the red was brighter now. Kaito also had better control of his powers.

---

Kaito had gotten several letters asking him to join other countries. He ignored them. He ignored delegates trying to persuade him. He ignored other hunters wanting to treat him like their friend. Jinchul was still his babysitter. He still trained with Yoonho, Byung-Gu and Eunseok. He was the one who made them push past their limits.

Still he barely spoke. Yoonho and the others knew what he sounded like but if you saw Kaito from before the dungeon break and the one now, you'd think it was two different people. Kaito used to talk a lot, now he barely does.

---

"Kaito. Time to go. Dungeon break."

Kaito was up from the couch in Jinchul's office before Yoonho could finish speaking. He followed behind Yoonho. Like he always does, like he always had for the past two years.

"You know, you've grown quite a lot these past two years."

Yoonho said as he drove them downtown.

"Mmm"

"I'm proud of you."

"A well maintained weapon can achieve great things."

"You're not a weapon, Kaito. You're a person."

"Aren't I? I feel like a weapon."

"You're not. Stop saying things like that. It pisses me off."

"Apologies."

"And stop apologizing for everything. One day, Kaito, you're gonna see yourself the way I see you, the way we see you and when that day comes, we'll be there."

Kaito said nothing as he stared out the window. Yoonho knew the conversation was done for Kaito but not for him.

"You're a good kid. I hope you see that someday."

"Mmm."

---

The dungeon break was an A-rank level. Hunters were already there and executing the civilians. Kaito walked past them all and drew his sword. Magic beasts all looked the same to him, vermin to be exterminated. Not matter how big or small, how strong or weak. They were vermin in his eyes. He hated them, his hate for them was visceral.

Kaito didn't hesitate to rush into battle. He ducked around passing hunters and civilians and cut orcs from all sides. Red lightning around his legs made his movements faster, way faster. His blade cut through them like a knife with melting butter. His expression never changed but his powers did, subtly. The rage he felt within was a little too much.

Mana surrounded him and many hunters stepped back. All you could see what sparks of lightning and blood flowing. You couldn't really see Kaito from how fast he was moving. No wasted movements. No flashy attacks. Just brutal extermination.

When he was done his katana was dripping blood and his right arm was covered in blood. He flicked his hand once and walked back to where Yoonho was leaning against the car.

"Good job. Faster than usual. Angry?"

Yoonho looked at him with a small frown. Kaito nodded and Yoonho sighed before ruffling his long hair.

"Come on, I'll take you to eat."

"Not hungry."

"Lies. Let's go."

"...okay..."

"Great. Let's get some ramen."

"K."

They got in the car and drove away, association agents were already on sight to keep things in order, there was no need for them to be there.

What Kaito didn't notice or refuse to notice because he couldn't care less, was that reporters were on sight before they arrived and his entire massacre was caught on camera and aired live to the entire world.

---

Across the ocean a massive hunter sat in his office and watched the news play. He had gotten curious about the S-ranked hunter named Goto Kaito who refused to be called by his last name. And now he could see that his curiosity was not for naught. Kaito was a very interesting individual and he couldn't wait to meet him face to face.

---

Somewhere in Asia another hunter stated at the TV in amazed shock. He had heard Kaito's name in passing but never gave it much thought, because to him, not everyone is cut out to be a strong hunter. Yeah, there were powerful hunters out there but he was confident he was the strongest in Asia. But he sees now that Kaito was rising to the top at an alarming speed for his young age.

---

Another hunter sat in his mansion and watched the news almost bored. Well, he was until he saw Kaito moving or well, his blur passing the camera. He saw the orcs fall before they even knew what hit them. Saw them look for something that was no longer there and saw the dead eyes when the camera got a good view of Kaito's face. Not much interested him, but Kaito was becoming very interesting. Very interesting indeed.

---

Back in Korea, Kaito had dinner with Yoonho, Byung-Gu and Eunseok. Jinchul had to work so he couldn't join them. He had no idea that he was stirring the world into a frenzy and even if he did, he probably wouldn't care. He had no interest in the problems and opinions of the world, he was a Korean hunter, full stop.

---

Korea was only invited to international events out of courtesy and not because they had promising hunters. But now Korea was invited because everyone wanted to meet Kaito, too bad for them, Kaito spent most of his time in dungeons or the association gym. He didn't bother going and everytime he declined, Korea sent a formal letter dressed as an apology.

Kaito used to love the attention. Before the dungeon break he used to smile brightly at the cameras and his fans. He lived for that attention, now the attention felt weighted. And that weight was heavy.

Kaito walked the earth like he was the only one who could save him and he didn't want to be saved. Not now anyway. Maybe someday.

---

Kaito was now twenty years old and for the past three years he had not once showed any emotion besides the very first break down. His eyes weren't as dead as they used to be but they were blank. The red was actually visible now and most people who looked at his eyes said they looked like rubies.

Kaito had gotten stronger, both physically and with his mana. He could throw up barriers without even raising his hands. He had gotten closer to Yoonho, Byung-Gu, Eunseok, Jinchul and even the Chairman. He was no longer that lonely boy who lost everything in the span of two weeks.

He was a man with few close friends who always did whatever they could to make sure he was okay. He appreciated them greatly. The Chairman was like a father to Kaito, always making sure he was actually fine before sending him back onto the battlefield and not just physically fine either.

Jinchul had become the responsible older brother. Kaito knew that if he wanted to talk, he could go to any of them but he preferred to go to Jinchul. Jinchul had known him the longest anyway. And he knew him better since they spent more time together.

Yoonho was the older brother who trained with Kaito when he had too much on his mind. He was the one who took Kaito on raids to get him out of his mind. With Kaito, Yoonho didn't have to hide his beast transformation. Kaito preferred that they spar like that. Kaito never let Yoonho feel like a monster, which was why Yoonho hated it when Kaito called himself a weapon.

Byung-Gu was the gentle older brother who cooked for Kaito most days and took him for walks around the city so he wasn't in his apartment only. The two had the type of relationship where talking wasn't necessary. Byung-Gu couldn't heal Kaito's wounds with his powers, no one could, so he made sure he was there for Kaito in other ways.

Eunseok was the older brother who dragged Kaito out to eat. He was the one who made Kaito watch TV again. He introduced him to new games and took him to see fireworks, just because. Eunseok was the brother who filled the silence and never let Kaito drown.

Jinchul glanced back as they walked into the gate, Kaito's face was neutral, his eyes forward, his steps light. He didn't have the excitement or fear most new hunters had, but he also didn't have the arrogance of other hunters. He was just there.

---

It wasn't long before the first magic beast made itself known, it was an D-rank hobgoblin, not unusual if you've seen it a hundred times, but Kaito had never seen one face to face and suddenly he wasn't in the dungeon anymore.

He was standing in a bloody hallway, hands covered in blood that wasn't his and screams that sounded distant. He blinked and he was back in the dungeon. He looked to his clean hands and breathed deeply.

He stepped forward and met the hobgoblin head on, the sword slicing through it. But Kaito felt as if his body was moving on its own. He was just going through the motions. The others stared in shock, they had at least expected some reaction but got nothing. Kaito glanced at the dead hobgoblin and felt absolutely nothing.

It should've scared him, but it didn't. He closed his eyes briefly and in that time span, more goblins and hobgoblins ambushed them.

"Kaito! Look out!"

Yoonho's voice echoed. Kaito opened his eyes and stared at the blade that was heading straight for his eye and did nothing. Jinchul pulled him.back by the shoulder and blocked the attack.

"Are you crazy?!"

He turned to Kaito who still had the blank expression on his face.

"Apologies."

Kaito mumbled and shrugged Jinchul's hand off. He gripped the sword tighter and walked towards the oncoming goblins before speeding up to a full sprint. He was fast, really fast. Goblins didn't have time to attack before they were sliced and killed.

If Yoonho, Byung-Gu, Eunseok, and Jinchul weren't the rank they were, they would've had a hard time seeing him move. The worst part or best part, depending on who you asked, was that Kaito wasn't using a trace of his magical powers. He was using his body as it was. No enhancements, no mana boosting his speed, no mana on the already reinforced sword.

"Guess we should've picked a higher ranked gate."

Eunseok said as they all watched Kaito obliterate the goblins and hobgoblins.

Kaito used the blood on the ground to slide around as he killed. His expression never changed, it remained neutral and his eyes dead.

"I was expecting some emotion, at least."

Yoonho mumbled. Byung-Gu looked at him.

"People process trauma differently. Remember Kaito is just a seventeen year old kid. He's still going through puberty as well. And I can bet you, he, himself doesn't know how to deal with everything. And grief isn't linear, Yoonho, you know this."

He was right. About everything and the others knew it.

---

They cleared the gate with no problem, well, Kaito cleared the gate with no problem. His sword dripped of blood but he chose to ignore the sound of it. He walked ahead of them as they left the dungeon. From behind, Kaito looked like a soldier from the edo era who just finished slaughtering enemies. His walked was confident and his shoulders squared.

His face showed nothing. When they got out of the gate, there were a few reporters and civilians waiting for them. Kaito ignored all the questions and walked towards the car they came in. The association agents kept the civilians away from the hunters.

---

When they reported to the Chairman, he wasn't shocked. Not because he knew what Kaito was capable of, no one knew that. But because he was betting everything on Kaito helping Korea. The other S-ranks stared at Kaito as he looked out the window of the office.

"... they were weaker than I thought..."

He said, halting any conversation that was happening. The Chairman tilted his head a little amused.

"Oh? Is that so?"

He asked.

"Yes. I expected some fighting but they couldn't measure up."

"Only an S-rank could say that. A lot of the lower ranked hunters have died to goblins and hobgoblins."

Kaito turned his head towards the room.

"Then they were weak too."

He stood up.

"The strong live. The weak die. That's the way of the world. Always has been. Always will be."

He walked out, leaving everyone stunned at his words. No one expected someone so young to think like that. They watched him leave the office. The door clicking softly behind him.

"What the hell?"

Choi Jong-in whispered. Yeah, that was going through everyone's minds.

"Mr Chairman. I was excited for Kaito to start hunting but I don't think he's ready."

Yoonho looked at the Chairman seriously.

"Oh? And why is that, Hunter Baek?"

"Kaito shows little regard to his own safety. When we got ambushed, he stood still. At first we thought he froze because of fear but that wasn't the case. He didn't flinch or move to hide. He just stood there as a blade was aimed directly at his eye. Had it not been for Manger Woo, Kaito would've lost an eye."

The Chairman listened to his words with great concentration.

"I hear what you are saying, Hunter Baek, however, has Kaito told you he would like to abstain from hunting?"

That stunned Yoonho, he expected the Chairman to agree with him.

"No, Sir."

"Did he not clear the dungeon on his own?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Until Kaito comes to me himself and tells me he does not want to hunt anymore, I will not stop him. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. I understand your concern, Hunter Baek, really i do. And while I would normally recommend Kaito wait a little more, we are in desperate need of his strength. We already lost an S-rank to America, we cannot lose another. Kaito is strong, yes but he is also just a child. Make it your job to keep him alive until he can stand on his own feet."

"...Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed. All of you."

They walked out of the Chairman's office but his words stuck with them because even though the Chairman spoke to Yoonho, they all knew that responsibility fell on them too. Kaito had to live long enough to close the gap between the other countries and Korea. And if the Chairman believed he could do it.... they'd put their faith in the Chairman and Kaito.

---

Kaito had been in the gym for hours, most agents had already left but he was still swinging the wooden sword, sweat was dripping down his chest and onto the floor but it was like he was in a trance. And yet his movements were precise.

Kaito spent a lot of time in the gym, not to practice his powers but to strengthen his body itself. Yes, he practiced with his powers, he'd meditate if his mind was quiet enough, he'd make little barriers or ice sculptures but his mind wasn't always quiet and Kaito had learned that his powers depend on his emotions. And that made it difficult to control it because no one can really control their emotions.

His powers weren't dependent on his emotions but it was stronger when he was feeling strong negative emotions and right now, he was full of negative emotions.

Kaito couldn't remember a time after awakening where he wasn't in the association gym. In the months that had already passed, he spent more time in the gym than in his apartment. It kept him busy and it let him think about something else other than hallways covered in blood and screams that still echoed in his head. His own and those of the students and teachers who died. His friends, his brother, him.

He's dealing with trauma that most people don't see in a life time. Give the kid a break. Who in the hunter's association can confidently say that they watched everyone they hold dear died in front of their eyes and they're still moving forward? Who? No one, that's who.

Kaito takes his training very seriously. Half the time he trains alone, swinging wooden swords until his arms feel like falliing off. Running around the track until he loses track of time. Lifting weights that should physically be impossible. If Kaito sits still for too long, memories invade his mind. Memories he doesn't want surfacing. So he keeps busy and too some it looks excessive but to him, it's just to take his mind of the problem he doesn't want to face.

Kaito isn't an enigma, he's just a broken boy who doesn't know how to get out of the darkness. People leave, that's what Kaito grew up with. People leave, whether they leave on their own or they die, they leave. His parents left him, Taeyang and the others left him, his adoptive family left him, so forgive him for not being all sunshine and fucking rainbows.

His coldness isn't a front, it's a shield to protect him from the hurt of having people leave him again. Kaito never had someone not leave him, for a while he thought he did but then that person died. Kaito trains and trains and trains until his body gives out because he wants to be strong enough so people don't leave him.

Kaito has walls up so high, if they were physical, they would reach the skies. Sure he listens when the Chairman speaks or when Jinchul tells him something. Sure he goes along with Yoonho and the others but he doesn't consider them friends, hell, calling them allies would be a stretch too.

Kaito isn't difficult to understand. He's just no longer the person who laughs at dumb jokes and smiles just because. Kaito is a trauma survivor with survivors guilt and PTSD. You don't just heal from the shit he went through. You can't. Grief doesn't ask. Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints. It takes and takes and takes until there's nothing left.

Kaito is what people would call quiet and sure he was but not the way people would think. Kaito observes people and they don't even realize it. He knows people's strengths and weaknesses, he knows when they lie and when they're telling the truth. People fear him but for the wrong reasons.

People see hollow eyes and expressionless faces and fear strikes them. What they don't see is the pain beneath all that. People pity Kaito for the people he's lost. They keep their distance from him because they don't want to deal with a broken boy.

Yoonho, Byung-Gu, Eunseok, Jinchul, and Chairman Go are the only ones who don't treat Kaito like some fragile porcelain doll. They treat him like the human he is. Kaito has his days where he doesn't want to leave the bed and just lay there and rot but that's the point. Grief can leave you alone one day and just attack you the next. Grief isn't linear. And it never will be.

When people look at Kaito they see a survivor, when Kaito looks at himself, he sees someone unfortunate enough to have survived. The distinction is important.

Kaito isn't suicidal, not in the usual sense but if a monster came at him at full speed, he wouldn't really move. He wouldn't kill himself but he wouldn't stop himself from being killed either.

---

"Kaito. Ready for your first raid?"

Yoonho's voice was light as he asked the question. They had been training with Kaito for the past six months and they felt that he was ready to go into dungeons without hurting himself and others.

Kaito's appearance had changed a lot over the last six months. He was taller, taller than all the Korean S-ranks. His hair was longer. He had more muscle mass, not like a body builder but enough. Kaito looked nothing like the mage his hunter classification identifies him as. And if the Korean S-ranks were being honest, Kaito didn't fight like a mage either. He had too much strength behind his physical attacks but he didn't fight as a tank either.

He still wore the Converse Jinchul bought him, still preferred basketball shorts over proper pants and jeans. His eyes were still hollow and he still didn't talk much. Kaito was still Kaito, just different.

"Yeah."

That was all he said most days. Kaito spoke in one word sentences or short sentences. His voice was also a little deeper now. He looked and sounded nothing like the teenager he was. Kaito sounded like a man who has seen it all and was done with life, which fair, honestly.

"It's a simple C-rank dungeon and we'll be there, so don't worry."

Eunseok said with a grin.

"I'm not."

"Of course you're not."

That was just how it was, they'd try to include Kaito in conversations and he'd just shut down but they weren't giving up. Kaito was one of them now and despite being so closed off, Kaito was actually really kind. Not pretend kind, really, truly, genuinely kind. He always helped agents carry heavy paperwork. Always delivered reports without being asked.

---

"Mr Chairman, is it wise to send Kaito out into the field with his condition?"

Choi Jong-in asked the Chairman as the other S-ranks sat in the Chairman's office. They were all notified that Kaito would start hunting soon, with Yoonho as his guardian, not that Yoonho minded. Kaito was a good kid and a good sparring partner and always pushed Yoonho past his limits.

"What condition would that be, Hunter Choi?"

The Chairman's voice wasn't harsh but there wasn't really warmth in it either.

"What he means, Mr Chairman, is that Kaito is not stable enough to be put out on the field."

Lim Taegyu commented from the side.

"Is Kaito hunting with any of you?"

The Chairman asked the room and that shut them all up because yeah, Kaito wasn't hunting with any of them or their hunters. He was hunting with the White Tiger Guild and Yoonho was the one who went to the Chairman to say Kaito was ready for field work.

"Hunter Baek has decided that Kaito will be under the care of the White Tiger Guild and as such Kaito will hunt with the Guild and Hunter Baek himself. Kaito is most comfortable with Hunter Beak. While I understand your concern, we cannot keep Kaito here indefinitely. He is extremely powerful and as it stands, we need that powers."

The gym, well, technically the training hall was huge and there was no one around. Kaito looked around and saw the same stark white interior of the room. He was starting to hate the color white.

"No one will bother us here. It's usually reserved for the S-ranks. Reinforced equipment and everything."

Eunseok said as he saw Kaito looking around.

"Come on, kid. Let's stretch and see what we're working with here."

Yoonho patted his back and they all walked to the center of the room to stretch. Kaito did normal stretches for a while to loosen his body before he went for way more advanced stretches.

The trio stared as he raised his leg high and held it there for a minute before switching to the other leg and repeating the process. He dropped to a split and straightened his back. Kaito was in his own world while the others just stared at him in shock.

"Holy shit, you're flexible."

Yoonho blurted out. Kaito turned his head towards him.

"Mmm, yeah. Martial arts requires you to be."

"No shit."

Kaito went back to his stretches. His body cracking as he twisted and bent. Thirty minutes passed and Yoonho announced that they can start sparring. If only he knew what hell that would bring to them all.

---

Yoonho quickly realized that Kaito was a monster. Not in a bad sense but the bruises blooming along his body was starting to piss him off. Kaito had wiped the floor with all three of them and was standing there like he didn't just annihilate three S-ranks. Byung-Gu and Eunseok were smart enough to tap out after the fifth time they got sent flying but Yoonho was a prideful man and he refused to give up.

Dungeon beasts had never made him sweat and ache so much as this kid did. He hated it. He stood up again and Kaito got in a fighting stance. At least he was learning something valuable as he sparred against Kaito. Fighting humans and fighting dungeon beasts, are completely different.

---

The two kept at it for hours with Yoonho refusing to give up and Kaito refusing to stand down. Both too prideful to admit they needed a break. Byung-Gu and Eunseok watched from the sidelines as the shockwaves of their attacks burst through the training room. Yoonho managed to land a few hits on Kaito but it still wasn't enough.

Neither were slowing down or backing off. Punches and kicks flew, grunts and groans echoed through the training room. Yoonho vomited blood at one point from a hard punch against the stomach, yet he refused to quit.

Call it pride or foolishness but this was actually good for Yoonho. It was teaching him how to keep going even when in pain. It was teaching him that no matter the state you're in, your enemy will never show you mercy. It was teaching him to keep fighting until he could no longer fight at all.

---

The training room doors burst open but the two didn't even notice. Byung-Gu and Eunseok looked towards the door and saw Jinchul and the Chairman standing there and observing Kaito and Yoonho. Yoonho was partially transformed as he followed Kaito's rapid movements. Kaito's shirt had four parallel tears in it and was covered in blood from where Yoonho's claws scratched him.

Both were spotting bruised faces and bloody noses but they didn't seem like they'd stop anytime soon.

"How long has this been going on?"

The Chairman asked as he watched Yoonho barely managing to dodge an attack from Kaito.

"Since this morning."

Byung-Gu answered, his eyes going back to the two sparring.

"Kaito is actually helping Yoonho. I've never seen him fight with so much concentration before. It's intense."

Eunseok said mesmerized.

"It's seven at night, are you saying that they've been at this for the whole day without breaks? Aren't they hungry or thirsty?"

The Chairman looked at the two sitting against the wall. Both shrugged. Kaito and Yoonho showed no indication of hunger, thirst, or fatigue. They were in a dance of kicks and punches. Blood and sweat covered the floor and both looked like they were enjoying themselves.

Kaito had a smile on his face but it wasn't your typical happy smile. This smile was filled with adrenaline, Yoonho had the same expression on his face and it seemed like their movements had sped up. Kaito was jumping and flipping to avoid Yoonho's attacks and Yoonho was using his tiger speed to keep up with Kaito's movements.

Both were in their own world. Jinchul stared at them and at the training room that was now in disarray. The equipment was reinforced but somehow these two managed to destroy at least half of it. Well, the shockwaves of their attacks did. The walls had spider web cracks on it and the floors had little dents in it as well.

---

The Chairman flared his mana a little and the two finally snapped out of it. They stopped sparring and turned towards the Chairman.

"I'd stretch if I were the two of you. Hunters heal quicker than the average human but you're going to be sore come tomorrow. And for the love of God, eat and drink something."

The Chairman chided them. Both looked a little sheepish but nodded silently. Kaito helped Yoonho stretch and made fun of him for being so stiff.

Jinchul and the Chairman watched this and was happy to see that Kaito was at least well enough to make fun of people and that his eyes weren't so dull anymore. It would be a while before he was fully okay but they knew that if he had people in his corner, it wouldn't take very long.

Yoonho was the perfect person to bring him out of his shell, despite the man looking stern and sometimes unapproachable, he was a nice guy who wanted to help as many people as he could.

The two finished their stretches and the adrenaline was wearing off and their hunger was making itself known with their stomachs growling very loudly. Kaito poked his stomach and looked at Yoonho.

"You're buying me dinner."

He said simply. Yoonho turned to him so fast, it was a surprise he didn't get whiplash.

"What? Why?"

"Training made me hungry and I don't have money. I'm not going on raids yet, so I'm broke."

He shrugged and walked over to Eunseok to grab his water bottle.

"You're a leech. Known you for a few days and you're already bleeding me dry."

Yoonho grumbled but didn't say no.

"I'll pay you back."

"Pay me back by staying alive when you go on raids."

Kaito looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"Okay."

"And we're training everyday."

"Cool."

---

Kaito spoke to the Chairman about raiding for a moment and it was decided that until Kaito could control his powers consciously, he would raid with Yoonho and Jinchul. Well, The White Tiger Guild and Jinchul. He would rotate between them to give him some experience in raiding before he could go off and do it on his own.

Jicnhul just sighed at the future headaches he was sure he was going to get. Yoonho looked at Kaito and grinned, he would turn this kid into a great hunter no matter what.

The power scale would tilt and Yoonho had a feeling that Kaito was going to be responsible for it. The Chairman shared his thoughts about that, they could see that Kaito was a powerful individual and he looked like the type to fight for what he believed was right.

He did save people he didn't know and put his own life at risk in doing so and he did it without hesitation. Not many people would do that. Yes, hunters risked their lives everyday but many only did that for the money and the fame. Kaito did it because he could, not for fame.

"Go eat. I'll be seeing you all tomorrow to discuss Kaito's schedule and to discuss the prospect of joining a guild or the association."

The Chairman smiled slightly. Kaito looked at him with a tilt of his head. He'd never really thought about that. Not that he had the time to do so.

They all bowed and left the training room. Only the Chairman and Jinchul remained.

"That boy, he has no idea what he's capable of."

"Sir?"

"Jinchul, Goto Kaito will shock the entire world with his powers and many will come after him for it."

"I don't understand. How can you be so sure?"

"Let's make a bet."

"A bet, sir?"

"Yes. This time next year, Kaito will be in the top twenty hunters across the world. And people will recognize his name all over the world. Not as the boy who survived a tragedy but as a hunter who is changing the world."

"The top twenty? That's putting the bar a bit high, don't you think, sir?"

"No. He will achieve it. I believe in him."

"Why? Yes, he's an S-rank, but why put so much faith in him."

"His eyes."

"His eyes?"

"They burn with determination and hatred. He will utilize those intense emotions and defeat the magic beasts that plague this world."

"You sound so sure."

"And you don't sound sure enough."

Jinchul had no answer for that because it was true, he didn't think Kaito was anything special, just another S-rank who will think they're too good for the lower ranks.

"He will surprise you, Chief Inspector Woo."

The Chairman said with great conviction and left Jinchul to his thoughts. Jinchul looked at the blood on the floor and thought back on the report he received weeks ago about the dungeon break at the school. He thought about the destroyed building, something Kaito did unconsciously because rage and grief clouded his mind.

He sighed and left the room to go back to his office. He had paperwork to do and an S-rank to babysit. Jinchul's life would never again be the same again.

The car ride to the house was mostly silent, the only thing making any sort of noise was the radio. Jinchul glanced at Kaito from under his sunglasses every now and again. Kaito was staring out the window as they drove. He was exhausted from all the crying and didn't feel like talking.

Jinchul respected that. He didn't make small talk or force Kaito to talk. They just drove in silence, it wasn't an uncomfortable silence but it wasn't comfortable either. It was just silence. They parked in front of the house and got out.

Jinchul was getting out to explain to Kaito's family what had happened and that he was likely to become a hunter. If only they knew that this would be the last conversation Kaito will ever have with his family.

The door was thrown open just as they got on the porch and Park Ji-a stood there with a glare on her face.

"Why couldn't it have been you?!"

She yelled as soon as she saw Kaito. Jinchul wondered what she was talking about before it clicked. She wanted Kaito to be the dead one and not Taeyang. He looked at Kaito and saw that he wasn't even surprised at her outburst.

He just pushed past her gently and walked into the house. Jinchul followed with a nod in greeting towards Ji-a.

"I'm talking to you!"

She yelled as she whirled around to face Kaito's back. He ignored her and stepped further into the house, not even taking off his shoes. He already knew that he wasn't going to be there long. The thing about Kaito was that he could read people and situations like an open book. A blessing and a curse.

The yelling got the attention of their parents and they came from the kitchen to see what it was about. Park Kyue and Park Seo-jin looked at their son with the same contempt as their daughter. But when they saw his dead expression, Seo-jin's expression softened.

That was not the Kaito they knew.

"Oh, you're here."

Kyue said it with so much hatred that Jinchul wondered how Kaito didn't flinch. He just kept staring at them with the same expression he had on his face since he woke up in the hospital that morning.

"I'm gonna become a hunter."

His words surprised them. But not in the way Jinchul thought it would. The two women, well, women and teenage girl, looked at him with even more hate. His father was the only one with a concerned expression.

"Yeah? What so you could die in a dungeon? You know what? Go right ahead. Die. You should've died in that school and not Taeyang."

Jinchul had never heard so much hate in a teenagers voice before today.

"Yeah. Okay."

Kaito agreed and pushed past them and walked up the stairs. Kyue and Ji-a followed behind him. Still hurling insults at him, wishing him dead. Jinchul understood that they were grieving their son and brother but did they ever think how Taeyang's death was affecting Kaito? He was the one who saw how his brother died. How all his friends died. Shouldn't they be a bit more compassionate?

Seo-jin sat on a chair in the dinning room and placed his head in his hands.

"They're just grieving, the don't mean it."

His words sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince Jinchul.

"Mr Park, with all due respect, Kaito is grieving as well. And yet he is not hurling threats at people."

Seo-jin raised his head and stared at Jinchul. He was right, though. Since Kaito had woken up, he had never wished death on anyone. Not even himself.

The two just stared at each other for a while. A loud crash got their attention and they went upstairs to see what it was about.

They stood in the doorway and watched as Kaito was crouched down and picking up glass from a picture frame. He was careful in his movements despite his mother and sister still yelling at him. Jinchul looked around the room and saw bunk beds in one corner. Both unmade. He saw pictures around the room, medals and trophies as well.

It was Kaito and Taeyang's room. He stared at a picture of both boys smiling brightly. Kaito raising a judo trophy high above his head with a gold medal around his neck. He didn't look any younger than he did now. It was a recent picture.

The Kaito in the picture looked nothing like the Kaito in front of him. Not just because of the physical changes he went through with his awakening, but with the pure joy on his face on the picture. His eyes were so bright they shone. And now they were so dull they looked dead.

Kaito threw the glass in the trashcan in the room and placed the picture on the duffle bag on the lower bunk. He was ignoring everyone in the room. He took more pictures off the wall and stuffed it in the bag. Ji-a tried to stop him but he just glanced at her and her hands fell to her side.

Jinchul didn't know what she saw but it must've scared her because she took a step away from Kaito. Their mother saw this and moved so that she was in front of Kaito, he looked at her and her face changed. Gone was the fury and in its place fear.

Kaito kept packing while the two was frozen in fear. He grabbed something from the bedside table and held it up. Jinchul walked closer to see what it was and saw it was two blood covered gold medals. Kaito put them in the bag as well but left all the other memorabilia on the walls.

"I wish you were dead."

Ji-a whispered but everyone in the room heard her. Jinchul froze. Seo-jin's breath hitched. Kyue stared at her daughter. And Kaito? He turned towards her.

"Me too."

He zipped the bag closed and threw the strap over his shoulder.

"I hope, no, I pray, that you die a horrible death. You're not my brother, you're not even family. You're just a stray Mom and Dad felt pity for. Even your own parents didn't want you. Die already, you'd make a lot of people very happy."

Kaito stepped closer to her. He leaned down so they were face to face.

"Be careful what you wish for, Ji-a, you just might get it."

His voice wasn't loud nor was it angry. He said it so matter of fact that it stunned her.

"Jinchul, I accept the Chairman's offer to become a hunter. I don't need permission from an adult, right?"

"No. Hunters under the age of eighteen do not need permission from their parents or guardians, they are legally emancipated as soon as they awaken."

"Cool."

With that he and Jinchul walked out of the room. Seo-jin was frozen in horror he was losing his son in real time and this time not to death but because of the selfishness of his wife and daughter.

The three followed them downstairs and watched as Kaito snatched another photo from the wall. It was of him and Taeyang when they were at their middle school graduation. Kyue rushed to grab the photo but Kaito just raised it higher.

"The Association will provide you with living accommodations until you are able to get some of your own."

Jinchul told him. He was done with this whole situation. He had never met a family who wished death upon someone who barely survived in the first place. And the fact that Kaito wasn't at all surprised meant that he was expecting this outcome.

"Goto Kaito died two weeks ago. You don't know me and I don't know you. Don't contact me, for anything."

With that he opened the front door and walked out of the house he once called his home. Jinchul followed him silently.

"Kai."

Seo-jin called out.

"I hope you become a great hunter. And that you live your life to the fullest."

His words were sincere. Kaito walked to him and hugged him, much to the surprise of Kyue and Ji-a.

"Will do."

Kaito replied as he pulled away. He followed Jinchul to the car and that would be the last time the Parks saw him face to face. And it would be the last time Ji-a saw the man who considered her his sister, forever.

---

Kaito sat in the Chairman's office as he filled in his hunter forms. Jinchul had explained the situation to the Chairman and to say the Chairman was angry was an understatement. Kaito didn't looked bothered by the outcome at all but his eyes spoke louder than his mouth. It was somehow duller. Like the last thread of hope he was holding onto, snapped.

Kaito handed the forms to the Chairman and he read them. Next to next of kin he had written none. Address was left blank. Emergency contact was left blank as well. The Chairman closed his eyes as he saw that. He filled in the emergency contact with his own number.

"Goto Kaito, you are Korea's 9th S-rank. I look forward to seeing how far you'll come."

"Thank you, Mr Chairman."

"Of course the media is going to be curious about you and will want to interview you but you can ignore them if you wish to. Jinchul and I can cover that for you. Hunter Min and Guild Master Baek have both agreed to help with your training. All we need is your okay."

"Can we start tomorrow if possible?"

"Of course. They'll be notified of your decision."

Kaito nodded and stood up. He bowed to the Chairman and left the office. He was given a room at the association building temporarily while they found a secure apartment for him.

"That boy..."

"Sir?"

"No. It's nothing. Make sure he's comfortable, Jinchul."

"Yes, Sir."

"And keep an eye on him. He might look like nothing bothers him but his eyes speak louder than his mouth ever could."

"Of course, Sir."

"You can go home, Jinchul. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Sir."

Jinchul bowed and left the office as well. Never in his life did he think he'd be put on babysitting duty for an S-rank much less one so powerful.

If only he knew that down the line that S-rank would become someone extremely important to him.

---

Kaito spent the night in the gym. He couldn't sleep and decided that he'd just train his body. He'd been asleep for two weeks and his body was stronger because of his powers but he felt out of shape. He ran around the gym for a while, lost in thought. He didn't even realize how fast he was running.

"I wonder..."

He stopped and breathed deeply once. He closed his eyes and felt for the lightning in him. He could do it unconsciously so he could do it consciously as well, right? He felt tingling on his body and forced it all to his legs.

It took a while but he got it after fifteen minutes of trying. He opened his eyes and started running again. This time the lightning around his legs boosted him. He ran even faster, of course he had never done this before and pushed too much, too fast. He couldn't pull the lightning back in to stop and tripped over his own feet and shot to the wall.

A Kaito sized dent was now in the wall. He laughed at the situation. A genuine laugh. He got up and dusted himself off. He tried again and again and everytime he got hurt he would laugh. Bruises scattered around his body but he didn't care.

By the time he stopped the gym was in disarray. Equipment was broken, dents in the walls, some walls had cracks running up them. He had no idea how long he had been in the gym but it had to have been a while.

The gym doors opened and Jinchul stood at them. Kaito turned his head towards him. The two stared at each other for a moment before Jinchul shifted his eyes towards the destruction of the gym.

"What-?"

"Couldn't sleep so I came to the gym."

"You destroyed the gym because you couldn't sleep? Did you have another breakdown?"

"No and no. I was training, exercising and I wanted to see if I could summon the lightning voluntarily. I can."

Jinchul pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache forming and it was only six in the morning. Yeah, babysitting this kid was going to send him to the grave before he hit thirty.

"And the bruises covering your body?"

"Trial and error?"

Kaito's casual shrugged made Jinchul want to strangle him. Never before had Jinchul felt the urge to hit someone, until now that is. He closed his eyes and prayed for patience because if he prayed for strength, he might actually hit Kaito.

"Shower, eat, and get changed. Your training starts at 7."

He turned and walked out, now rubbing his temples. Kaito went to do just that. At six fifty he walked into the Chairman's office where Yoonho, Byung-Gu, and Eunseok were already waiting for him.

Jinchul had his sunglasses on but Kaito could feel the glare from the man.

A knock at his office door snapped him out of his thoughts. He straightened up and looked towards the door.

"Come in."

"Sir."

Woo Jicnhul, Chief Inspector of the Surveillance Division walked in. The man was usually stoic and all business but even he couldn't hide the anguish in his eyes.

"Report."

"Sir. The dungeon break at Seoul High (fake name)... the incident... the dungeon break happened at... according to the survivors the dungeon break happened after assembly when most of them were walking to class or were going to the field for PE. The survivors that were unharmed were at PE when the gate broke open. Everyone who was close to the gate had died before they even knew what was happening. A group of freshmen survived because a group of six boys saved them..."

Jinchul, a man of professionalism, stumbled over his words partially. His hands were also subtly shaking. The Chairman said nothing about this because honestly, if Jinchul wasn't affected by this incident, he'd fear the man wasn't human at all.

"The six boys were all seniors, ages seventeen and eighteen. Of the six boys... five are dead and one is in hospital in critical condition. From the corresponding hunters, they tried to heal his injuries but it was as if his body rejected the healing, hence his critical state. They all had matching gold medals around their necks or near the sight where they died. The survivor awakened and according to the hunters, he is powerful. He destroyed most of the building. And the only reason the building didn't collapse is because he passed out. He was clinging to one of the deceased, which let's us believe that the two were close."

The Chairman listened silently as Jinchul spoke. Letting the man take breaks where needed. Jinchul looked at the Chairman as he spoke because if he read from the report, he feared he'd cry and that was something he didn't do.

"They... the five boys didn't die quick... well, one did, but the others suffered. We got the names of the boys and all the deceased. Park Taeyang died the slowest, he had multiple stab wounds and broken ribs. From what we found out the boy that clung to him is Goto Kaito."

Jinchul paused and let that name sink in.

"Goto?"

The Chairman asked thoughtfully. Everyone knew Goto Ryuji, strongest Japanese S-rank hunter. And Goto was not a common name in Korea, hell, it wasn't even a Korean name. Jinchul clutched the papers a little tighter.

"Goto Kaito is the only survivor out of those who did not manage to escape. He is the one who saved the group of freshmen by throwing a table at the centaur. He was taken in by the Parks when he was four years old after his parents up and left him in a foreign country. He is... was the captain of the school's basketball team and he won them the championships three years in a row. They were all at assembly to congratulate the basketball players for their magnificent win this past Friday."

Jinchul swallowed before continuing.

"Goto Kaito risked his life to save those freshmen. He saw how his friends and brother died and he awakened because of that trauma. Goto Kaito will never be okay again and I fear that he would either become a great asset to the country as a hunter or a very dangerous individual. Our hunters could not even go near his barrier as it was too volatile and seemed to lash out at them. He evaporated centaur that most hunters have trouble fighting. And he did it unconsciously. His pain and rage fueled his powers which makes him dangerous."

The Chairman looked at Jinchul with narrowed eyes. He knew what Jinchul was trying to say. Kaito could either help this country tilt the power scale or he could be a danger to them all. Only time would tell which it was.

"His screams... the corresponding hunters reported that his screams will forever haunt them."

The Chairman raised a hand to stop Jinchul from speaking further and increased the volume on his laptop and pressed play. Kaito's screams came from the speakers, echoing through the office. The fact that it was so loud said enough. The reporters were outside the school and their was commotion around them but Kaito's screams could be heard clearly.

"This child... his screams are this loud because he lost his brother in the most brutal way and right in front of him. Tell me, Jinchul, if you were to lose someone close to you, let me rephrase, if your loved one were to be killed by a monster from myth, would you be calm? Would you have done anything differently? Mind you, you're only a teenager, who biggest fear should've been college."

The Chairman stared Jinchul dead in the eyes as the video kept playing. Jinchul froze at the direct question, he had never thought about it, he always separated himself from situations like this. Preferring to be as professional as he could be.

"I don't know."

"Exactly. You don't know. This boy lost five of his closest people and you expected him to be calm about it. How long do you think they were running before they all got hunted down? What do you think went through their minds as they were dying?"

"I have no answer for that."

"Fear, Jinchul. Fear was running through their minds. I'm sure they knew they were going to die. Only, they didn't expect it to be so swiftly. They were probably terrified as they were hunted down like animals. I'm sure your report says they were found together, yes?"

"Yes sir. Only one was found away from the group. He was the one who died the second slowest. He was pierced through the shoulder and chest."

"There you have it. They didn't even split up. They probably left him because he would've slowed them down as they ran. What do you think went through their minds as they had to leave behind their dead friend?"

"Dead? How do you know he was already dead when they left him?"

"From how close to each other the others were found, no way they left him to die alone. Jinchul, this was a traumatic experience for everyone involved. Have some compassion for the survivor, yes?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. I want you to monitor Goto Kaito."

"Sir?"

"Something tells me that boy won't be hospitalized for very long."

Jinchul looked at the Chairman confused but didn't question his orders. He simply placed the documents on the Chairman's desk bowed and left the office. He sighed when the door closed behind him and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had to get to the hospital. Kaito would be out of surgery right about now.

---

Kaito opened his eyes (he doesn't know when he closed them) and had no idea where he was. His body was stiff as a board and he had something down his throat but couldn't raise his hand to take it out. He stared at the stark white ceiling with half lidded eyes.

A nurse walked in and froze when she saw that his eyes were open. She ran out of the room to call a doctor and two doctors followed her back to the room. Kaito had been on life support for two weeks and suddenly he woke up? Impossible.

The doctor's examined Kaito's eyes. He didn't react to any of it, just stared at the ceiling as the checked his pupilary reactions. The nurse removed the breathing tube gently. They expected Kaito to at least cough but nothing. He just kept staring at the ceiling with blank eyes.

"Nurse Yuan, contact the association."

The lead doctor, Dr Park Yoonjin (no relation to the Parks who adopted Kaito) said as he watched Kaito's reactions carefully. The nurse didn't even question him as she ran out of the room. Not long after she walked back in with Jinchul who was already on his way to Kaito's room. He had been visiting the hospital for the past two weeks. The only one who visited, the Parks didn't visit Kaito at all.

"Mr Goto can you hear me?"

Jinchul asked and Kaito's blank eyes moved towards him. Jinchul had to hold back a flinch. He had seen all kinds of expressions in his years but never one like this. Kaito's eyes were dead. There was no light in them, his red eyes looked black which should not even be possible. (The eye color change happened with the awakening, same with the blue and red hair Kaito was rocking.)

"Mr Goto-"

"Don't call me that."

Kaito's voice was gravelly and flat as he spoke. There was no emotion behind it. His eyes moved back to the ceiling and he just stared at it.

"My apologies, Kaito. Do you know where you are?"

"No."

"Do you remember the last thing that happened."

"N-"

Kaito paused, Jinchul should've waited before he asked that question. Kaito's eyes widened as they filled with tears that spilled out quickly. His breathing hitched and Jinchul tensed.

"Out. Get out of the room. Now!"

He ordered the doctors and nurse as Kaito began to hyperventilate lightning crackled around his figure. The doctors and the nurse didn't question Jinchul and ran out of the room.

"Taeyang."

Jinchul found out that he preferred the flat tone to the harrowing tone Kaito used to call out to his brother. Kaito's silent tears turned to sobs as he remembered what happened. His eyes glowed the same deep red as the lightning crackling around his body. Jinchul knowing what Kaito's screams can do moved forward and covered his mouth.

"I need you to calm down or you'll kill everyone in this hospital. Can you do that for me?"

Kaito's devastated eyes moved to Jinchul and he nodded. He didn't want to be a murderer. He calmed down some but it was enough for the lightning to fizzle out. His eyes were still glowing and Jinchul knew that this kid was powerful, the little lightning he let out, had cracked the walls and windows in the room. If Kaito had released just a little more, the room would have been destroyed and maybe the entire wing of the hospital.

Jinchul removed his hand from Kaito's mouth and sat on the chair beside the bed. A chair he frequented often these past two weeks.

"Kaito."

Jinchul's voice was soft, which was rare for him. But he didn't need Kaito loosing control.

"You are the only survivor out of those who couldn't manage to escape safely."

He watched his reaction and as predicted Kaito's eyes widened and more tears spilled from them.

"My... brother..."

"Your brother didn't make it. I'm sorry. The hunters arrived too late and he was already dead when they got there. An S-rank healer can heal just about anything but they can't bring the dead back to life. I'm sorry."

"Why...?"

"Pardon?"

"Why did they take so long to come for us? Why? Huh?"

Kaito was getting agitated and lighting sparked back to life at his agitation.

"Please, calm down."

Kaito breathed and forced himself to remain calm.

"My name is Woo Jinchul and I am the Chief Inspector of the Monitoring Department of the Korean Hunter's Association. It took thirty minutes for the hunters to respond to the call. The reason they couldn't get to you in time was because of the overwhelming number of centaur that appeared out of the gate."

"So they were weak."

It wasn't a question and Jinchul froze at that. Weak? A-rank hunters were the first on the scene before the S-ranks and this kid just called them all weak. He looked at Kaito closely and his breath hitched when he saw the pure hatred in Kaito's eyes. He expected to see more lightning but there was none. Kaito was keeping himself calm for the sake of everyone else in the hospital.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How is it that you look completely healed? You don't even have any bruises from where you were beaten."

"Dunno."

"Are you in pain?"

"No."

"Raise your right arm for me."

Kaito raised the arm that was in a cast over his head with no problem. He hadn't even noticed the cast or the bandages covering his head and torso.

"How?"

Kaito just shrugged at the question. Jinchul stood up and went to call the doctors back into the room.

"When can I leave?"

"As soon as you're discharged."

The doctors came into the room but Kaito didn't look at either of them. They checked his breathing, his ribs, his head and found nothing wrong with it. Which was surprising since Kaito's body had rejected the healing of the hunters. They removed the bandages and found no bruising or scarring. Kaito looked completely normal as if he had never been injured in the first place.

They cut off the cast and he flexed his fingers. He was sitting up on the bed and they were shocked at that too. They removed the catheter bag and Kaito got off the bed. He walked to the bathroom on steady legs which shouldn't be possible as both his legs had been stabbed multiple times.

Kaito was only in the bathroom for five minutes before he came out.

"What's with my hair?"

He asked Jinchul.

"Is something the matter with it?"

"Yeah. Why isn't it black?"

"Could be due to your awakening."

Kaito touched the ends of his hair and sighed. He liked his black hair but he couldn't do anything about it now. He'd dye it later.

"I'll go get your discharge paperwork."

Yoonjin said as he dragged his colleague out of the room.

"Kaito, your family, they didn't come to visit you. Not once."

Kaito froze at that but didn't say anything. Jinchul saw his expression change but didn't comment on it.

"If you're up for it, would you mind visiting the association with me?"

"I don't have clothes."

"I'll buy some for you."

"Thanks. I'll pay you back. Large for a shirt. Medium for pants. I'll walk bare foot. Could you get me basketball shorts, please?"

"No need to pay me back. Are you sure about walking barefoot? I can get you shoes too."

"All Stars, size 260(USA size 8). Thanks. Any color is fine."

Jinchul nodded and left to go buy the clothes and other essentials so Kaito could shower as well. So the hospital smell wasn't clinging to him as it was now.

Kaito sat on the bed deep in thought while he was alone in the room. He already knew that he had lost his family, the Parks not visiting said a lot and it said it quite loud. The doctors came in and set the forms on the bed next to him but said nothing. They had contacted his family to tell them he was awake but got no answer.

Jinchul came back thirty minutes later with the clothes and essentials. Kaito took them silently and went back to the bathroom to shower and get dressed. He came out twenty minutes later dressed. He had tied his hair back but left some strands to fall in his face. He let Jinchul sign his discharge forms and they left the room together.

They left the forms with the doctors and left the hospital. The car ride to the association was silent. Jinchul had already informed the Chairman that they were coming and the S-ranks of the country was informed as well. They didn't know Kaito's rank but they saw from video evidence what his powers could do, they needed to be cautious. They were also just there to stop Kaito if he went on a rampage. As if they could.

Many agents stared at Kaito as he walked beside Jinchul to the Chairman's office. They all knew who he was, the survivor of the tragedy. He didn't look at any of them, just stared straight ahead as he walked. They got to the Chairman's office on the top floor and Jinchul knocked. When they stepped in the S-ranks were all scattered around the office. Kaito looked at all seven of them with a blank face.

"Sir."

Jinchul bowed slightly to the Chairman. Kaito did no such thing and just sat on the couch in the office.

"Mr Goto-"

The Chairman started and the S-ranks turned to face Kaito.

"Don't call me that."

"My apologies, Kaito. Do you know why you are here?"

"No."

"Would you like to know?"

"Sure."

Everyone was shocked at his lack of respect when speaking to the Chairman. The Chairman himself didn't take it too badly.

"You have been informed that you awakened, correct?"

"Yeah. The hair and eyes are a dead give away too."

"Yes, seems so. We would like to evaluate you but before we do that I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Do you want to become a hunter?"

Kaito thought long and hard about that. Did he want to become a hunter? The very thing that failed to save them because they were too weak.

"Let me ask you something in return. Why don't you evaluate me first? I'll tell you my answer after that."

The Chairman smiled but it wasn't a cheerful smile, it was a smile that said so much and yet nothing at all. Kaito could see the calculation in the old man's eyes.

"Of course. Right this way."

The Chairman stood up and Kaito followed, they all left the office and walked to the evaluation room on the ground floor. Many agents stared again and those who came for their own evaluation actually moved out of the way when they saw the Chairman and all the S-ranks. Kaito walked in with them when the person who was already in their walked out.

The agent was about to call the next person when she saw them and she froze. The Chairman just smiled as he walked past her and into the room. The others didn't even look at her as they followed. The door closed behind them and Kaito looked around the room. It was a large room with a giant orb in the center of it and machines around it.

"Please step on the platform, Kaito."

The Chairman directed gently. Like a grandfather speaking to his grandson. Kaito walked up the platform and everyone moved closer to the machines to be able to see his rank. The other agent conducting the evaluation was sweating.

"Place your hand on the orb, please."

Kaito placed his hand on the orb. He breathed deeply.

CRACK! BOOM!

The orb cracked and exploded. A lightning barrier surrounded Kaito to protect him from the blast. The others froze in shock. This kid just broke the biggest mana reader in Korea. The Chairman's smile widened as he saw this. He was greatly pleased. The agent had passed out.

Alarms blared and Kaito still had his hand raised to where the orb used to be. The sprinklers went off as the flames and smoke rose and they were all drenched. The S-ranks were shocked. None of them had broken the orb. That meant this kid was stronger than them by a lot and he didn't even know it.

"Kaito, my boy. Usually you'd come back in three days for a reevaluation but I think we can do it today, what do you say?"

The Chairman sounded excited which was rare as he too kept up the professionalism.

"Sure."

The lightning barrier went down and Kaito walked to them. His hair was clinging to his face but he didn't move it. They walked out of the room and everyone tensed when they walked out. Kaito glanced at the female agent as she ran into the room.

They walked to an empty room below the association building. It was stark white and looked like a psych ward room.

"That lightning. It is a peculiar color, red. Not seen amongst hunters. Their lightning is usually blue."

The Chairman said as the door closed behind them all. Jinchul looked at Kaito and the kid just shrugged.

"How did you put up the barrier?"

"Dunno. It just went up as soon as the orb exploded."

"So, it's unconscious?"

"Probably."

"Please stand in the center of the room. The information we gathered on you says you know martial arts, that correct?"

"Yep. Don't just know it. Competed in it."

Kaito walked to the center of the room. The Chairman turned to the still stunned S-ranks.

"You will fight him. Don't hold back."

"He's a kid."

Baek Yoonho found his voice first.

"Yes. I know. You will fight him. I want to see how his powers worked."

They were apprehensive but they were curious as well. Choi Jong-in stepped forward first. He stood across Kaito and smirked slightly.

He shot a fireball to him and it exploded as it always does. When the dust settled, Kaito was standing there unharmed with a lightning barrier around him again.

"This isn't going to work."

Jinchul commented. They all looked at him.

"What do you mean, Jinchul?"

The Chairman turned to his right hand.

"Kaito. He's on the defensive. Like he said, the lightning reacts to danger near him. Agitate him. Let him be on the offense."

Despite speaking in a normal tone, everyone heard him. Perks of being an S-rank. Kaito breathed deeply again and lightning sparked around him. He poured all his anger out and the lightning grew in size and force. He screamed and the lightning shot out straight towards Jong-in. He didn't even have to move, the barrier shot up again so he was on offense and defense.

Everyone's eyes widened at the sheer size of the attack aimed at Jong-in, at least the man was smart enough to dodge. Lightning hit the wall and the building shook. Kaito screamed again and this time it was a scream filled with anguish. The lightning shot out again and his hands shot out as well. Barriers covered all of them as he let the lightning loose with all his emotions.

His eyes glowed red and it was kinda creepy to see. He looked like a demon. All he needed was the horns, wings, and tail. (Pfft. Soon.)

They all knew that he was letting out all his emotions. He was finally releasing everything he didn't release on the day of the incident. The lights flicked and burst and the room was plunged into darkness, the only light coming form Kaito's lightning. Now he looked even creepier. Their breaths hitched at the sheer grief in his scream. He didn't even pause to breathe. He clutched the front of his shirt with both hands, right where his heart was located and sank to his knees.

He was crying. He let out a louder scream mixed with a sob and the lightning reacted. But it wasn't only lightning that reacted. They figured out why his hair had blue in it as well as red. The temperature of the room dropped and they could see their breaths as they watched him. The walls frosted over and lightning broke the ice. And the cycle repeated until Kaito ran out of steam, which took a while. Did S-ranks have enhanced lungs because, whoa, this kid has been screaming a while and at top volume.

His forehead was on the floor as he cried. His screams had died down and he was just sobbing. His powers reacted to his emotions as they figured out. The Chairman didn't have the smile on his face anymore, Kaito's heartwretching screams and sobs struck them all. They knew he had suffered tremendously but they didn't think he'd let out so violently.

"Emotions. That's what his powers feed on."

Jinchul observed as he watched Kaito. And yeah, Kaito's powers stem from his emotions. He has no control over the powers he had gotten and at the moment he had no control over his emotions. The hurt was still too raw to control and he didn't have time to grieve properly.

"Is this what's gonna happen everytime he has to fight in a dungeon? If so, it's very dangerous to him and to anyone who enters a gate with him."

Choi Jong-in raised a valid point. If Kaito couldn't control his powers or his emotions, he would be a danger to everyone, including himself.

"No. That's not it. His powers are in control of him and not the other way around. The barriers surrounded him without him consciously thinking about it. He has no idea what he's doing and that is more dangerous than anything. He could use too much too fast. He needs help."

Min Byung-Gu said as he took a step forward. The barrier around him stopped him but the lightning didn't hurt him when he touched it.

"He's not trying to hurt us. He's the one hurting."

He said as he pushed against the barrier more. By some weird luck or rather by coincidence the barrier gave way and he walked towards Kaito still on the floor sobbing. Byung-Gu walked at a steady pace. He didn't rush, the lightning around him actively redirected itself as he got closer to Kaito.

He kneeled in front of him and wrapped his arms around him in a hug. The others watched in shock at this. Not shock at Byung-Gu's actions, he was a genuinely good person, so his actions didn't surprise them. What did surprise them was that the lightning and ice wasn't attacking him.

Kaito's breath hitched as Byung-Gu hugged him. He raised his head and looked at him with teary red eyes. He raised his arms slowly and wrapped them around Byung-Gu. The hug tightened and Kaito calmed down after a few minutes.

"You're gonna be okay, Kaito. Maybe not now but someday you will be okay."

Byung-Gu whispered in his ear as they hugged. Kaito let out a shuddering breath and nodded. He didn't believe him but he wanted to. He wanted to be okay. He wanted to be fine. He didn't want to have outbursts like this one everytime.

The lightning around them waned the more Kaito calmed down. The temperature in the room also regulated. They were plunged into darkness again as the lightning faded. Byung-Gu didn't let go and Kaito was grateful for it.

"Kaito. You need help controlling your powers. Or you'll put yourself and others in danger."

Kaito nodded against Byung-Gu's shoulder. He knew he needed help and he was willing to accept any kind of help they could offer.

"We'll help you, okay? Maybe not all of us but I definitely will."

He nodded again and tightened his arms around Byung-Gu.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome, kid."

Yoonho sighed as they all heard the conversation. Of course Byung-Gu would be the first one to offer help to someone in need. It was in his nature.

"You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?"

He grumbled as he walked towards them as well. Despite the room being pitch black Yoonho could see where they were, hell all of them could.

"We'll help you, kid. Don't worry about it."

A perfectly normal day was about to turn very devastating for Goto Kaito and he didn't even know it. It would be the day he experienced a loss he didn't know existed and one he would never truly recover from, ever.

Goto Kaito was a Japanese 'orphan' whose parents abandoned him in Korea when he was just 4 years old. One day they were there and then they weren't. Kaito was taken in by the neighbors, the Parks. Where he met Park Taeyang who was five years old at the time. The two became brothers and they were closer than most biological siblings.

The Parks were good people who treated him like family. They also had a daughter who was five years younger than Kaito and six years younger than Taeyang. The two adored their little sister and would do anything to keep her safe.

Too bad Kaito would lose everything he held dear in the span of a week and he didn't even know it.

The students had just gotten back from assembly where the principal had thanked the basketball team for winning the championships for the third time in a row. Most of the students were already in their classes. Kaito and five other members of the team were still walking to their's when it happened.

"Hyung, are we going to your house to celebrate again?"

Kun Min-jae, one of the five teammates asked with a grin on his face. All of them were in high spirits after last week's game. It was their final year of high school and they wanted to leave with a bang. The gold medals around their necks gleamed in the fluorescent lights of the hallway.

"Why our house? Why can't your mom cook for us this time?"

Taeyang asked with a mischievous grin.

"We all know that Min-jae is afraid of his dad and would never ask to host us."

Han Seo-joon snickered, causing all of them to burst out laughing. Such a memorable occasion. Bright smiles. Bright futures. Six friends against all odds.

"Eomma wouldn't mind hosting. She's expecting you freeloaders anyway."

Kaito didn't turn to look at his friends but they all knew he was smiling by the tone of his voice. Taeyang threw an arm over his shoulder and ruffled his hair.

"Why would you tell them that, Kai? I wanted them to sweat a little."

"My bad."

"We all know that you don't mean that."

Kaito laughed and looked at his brother affectionately. The two have been close since the moment they met when they were little. Attached to the hip. Two peas in a pod. Where one was, the other wasn't far behind.

"So we're coming to dinner, right? Right?"

Min-jae asked bouncing on his toes like an excited puppy. Min Do-yoon, one of the more serious guys from the group grabbed his collar and held him still.

"Yes, you fool. Stop acting like an overexcited dog. Do you not get fed at home?"

Min-jae just pouted but said nothing. Kaito tilted his head back as he glanced at the two of them. The two always had a weirdly romantic relationship.

"Just kiss already. The tension is giving me a headache."

He looked forward again as the two froze. The other three laughed so hard that they had to hold their stomachs.

"Ne~ Do-yoon, when are you finally gonna ask Min-jae out? We're dying to know."

Eun Ji-ho asked between gasps of air as he laughed. Do-yoon glared at him which only caused him to laugh harder. Kaito snickered but coughed to cover it up, not wanting Do-yoon's glare directed at him.

The laughter died down when an ear piercing scream echoed off the hallway walls. They all ran in the direction of the scream and froze dead in their tracks. Surrounding a group of freshmen were centaur. A monster they only saw in mythology books. They had never encountered a dungeon beast before and now over a dozen of them were in their school. They were frozen in fear with no way of defending themselves.

Kaito was the first to move, impulse controlling his actions. He hurled a table from the hallway at the nearest centaur and it broke on impact as it connected with the centaur's back. The centaur turned slowly and snarled. It dropped the girl it was holding and the others soon turned their attention to the group of boys and Kaito felt like his life was over.

Oh, how true that was but not in the way he thought.

Kaito was a tall kid, standing at one hundred and eighty three centimeters tall. The perfect height for basketball and martial arts and also the perfect height to get hit on the head by a monster chasing you like you're its next meal.

Taeyang grabbed Kaito's wrist and dragged him away. The centaur stepped closer to them and their eyes widened in fear as they took a step back. They turned and ran.

"Run!! Evacuate!"

Kaito yelled at the freshman as the six of them ran in the direction they came from, the centaur hot on their heels. They ran down the hallway and to the stairs, hoping to buy some time for everyone else to evacuate. What they didn't know was that, the centaur they saw, weren't the only ones and that most of the school was crawling with them.

They ran through the eerily empty hallway. They turned a corner and froze again. The walls were covered in blood and bodies of their deceased peers. Seo-joon covered his mouth as bile rose up his throat. Kaito had tears in his eyes. The stomping of the centaur behind them forced them to keep moving forward. But how do you outrun a monster with the body of a horse?

Answer. You can't. No matter how athletic you might be.

They ran until their lungs burned and their legs ached. But they didn't run to the exit. They were too consumed by fear to think rationally. Their only thought was to get away. They sprinted down the stairs and narrowly missed the spear that was swinging at their heads as they reached the bottom.

They tripped and fell as they dodged. They slipped on blood and slid on the ground. They now knew why it was so quiet. Everywhere they looked, there was blood. And the giant pool they were lying in was still warm. Kaito grabbed Taeyang as the centaur swung again. His left calf got cut in the process, not that he could feel it. Adrenaline was running high.

They scrambled up and ran again. An arrow pierced Do-yoon's shoulder and he stumbled. Si-woon grabbed him as they all kept running. They couldn't stop. They had to keep running. At least until the hunters got there. But could they do it? Could they run for however long it took for the hunters to show up?

Their uniform clung to them as the blood soaked in further. Their white shirts now dyed red. They looked like they were in a horror movie, and honestly, it wasn't far off. They were in a horror movie, only this was real life and their lives were really in danger.

Do-yoon felt the affects of the blood loss not too long after. He was getting lightheaded and his steps stumbled a lot. Kaito turned his head back just in time to see Do-yoon being pierced through the chest from behind.

"DO-YOON!"

He turned back and caught his friend as he sank to the ground. The others stopped as well and their eyes widened in horror at the sight. Kaito grabbed the spear and tried to pull it out but his hand wouldn't move at all. He knew it was a bad idea to pull it out but they didn't have the time to stay where they were. They were out in the open and they'd all be dead soon enough if they stayed. He let go of the spear and picked Do-yoon up in a bridal carry and kept running.

He kept his eyes forward as tears rolled down his cheeks. They needed to hide. Do-yoon needed medical treatment ASAP and he knew that he was gonna lose his friend with the amount of blood Do-yoon was spitting up and the amount that was soaking his already stained uniform further.

They found an empty hallway and Kaito put Do-yoon down against the wall as gently as he could. His arms were covered in blood and he closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. He cupped Do-yoon's face.

"Hyung. You gotta hang on. Okay?"

He whispered as Do-yoon coughed up more blood. He grinned up at Kaito and Kaito knew that his friend wasn't going to make it. No matter what they did, Do-yoon was dying unless a healer magically appeared in front of them, right here, right now.

Min-jae grabbed Do-yoon's hand and held it tightly. Min-jae was wiping tears with his forearms as he kneeled beside Do-yoon as well. Kaito moved back a bit to give them space. He ran a hand through his long hair, staining it with blood. He didn't even care at that point. He was about to lose one of his closest friends and he had no was of saving him.

"Cap-tain... not... your... fault..."

Do-yoon's words were weak but he looked at Kaito with soft eyes and somehow that made Kaito feel worse than he already was. Kaito's tears were falling fast now as he crouched down and sobbed in his knees.

Do-yoon raised his blood covered hand weakly and cupped Kaito's face. Kaito lifted his head and stared at Do-yoon through blurry vision. Do-yoon's eyes dulled as the pool of blood grew beneath him. His hand slacked and Kaito caught it, holding against his face firmly. He didn't care about the blood. He just wanted his friend to know that he was there.

Won Si-woo, the quietest member of the group was shaking as he cried silently. His arms were wrapped around his middle as if to protect himself from this horrible nightmare. They were all confused and in shock. When did the gate open for it to break today? Had it been open this whole past week and nobody noticed? Why hadn't anybody noticed? Was Do-yoon really dying? Dead? Were they dreaming? All these thoughts ran through their minds and yet, they could not make sense of any of them.

Do-yoon's eyes went blank and his hand was limp in Kaito's grasp. Kaito let out a choked gasp as he stared at those blank eyes. He couldn't look away no matter how hard he tried. Taeyang grabbed his shoulders as grief hit them all. Do-yoon was dead and he died right in front of them.

Distant galloping brought them back to reality. They all turned their heads to the far end of the hallway where the galloping grew louder as the centaur grew closer. Kaito placed Do-yoon's hand down gently and closed his eyes with his hand. He stood up on shaky legs and faced the end of the hallway.

"We're gonna die if we stay here."

His voice was hollow, not his usual cheery tone. When he turned to the others he saw the same look in their eyes that he probably had too. Blank, hollow, traumatized eyes. The kind that would probably never go away. The kind that stays with a person years after the traumatic experience. The kind that no seventeen and eighteen year olds should ever have.

"We have to go."

Taeyang said following his brother's line of thinking. If they stayed, they would die and it wouldn't be painless deaths. They had no choice but to keep running until the hunters came. It wasn't like they could fight the centaur. Even with their martial arts, they would lose spectacularly. They didn't have specialized weapons like the hunters, they didn't have enhanced strength, they didn't have magic like the mages or healers. They were normal human beings who will die if they tried to fight.

The growling and snarling got closer and they all prepared to run but before they could, another dozen or so came from the direction they were supposed to run to. They froze, turned back and ran in the direction they came. Their path that way was also blocked. They were trapped with no way out. Taeyang threw open the side window. The jump from the forth floor would probably break some bones but it would be better than being dead.

The centaur grew closer and closer. They had a split second to make a decision and they chose to run. They abandoned the window and ran to the far end of the hallway where the other centaur were coming from. There was a staircase right before the hallway cut off. They had one shot at this. They ran as fast as they could. They made it in the nick of time and bolted up the stairs instead of down. The centaur hot on their tales again. They ran to the fifth floor and ran down the hallway. They needed to get to the ground floor to get out of the school.

They didn't look back as they ran, which was their first mistake. A swoosh sound, a gasp, and a thud made them turn their heads back. That was their second mistake. Min-jae's head had been separated from his body. It happened so fast that by the time the others turned their heads, his body was just beginning to fall to the ground.

Si-woo screamed and tripped over his own feet. They had lost another friend. Was this how their lives ended? Being picked off one by one? Was this how they all died? Before they could grab Si-woo, a spear was driven straight through his skull. He didn't even have time to cry out before he was dead. Kaito stared at his dead friends. Third mistake. When he turned his head slammed right into the stick of another spear. His vision blurred and blood dripped from his head already.

He gasped and Taeyang dragged him down and under the next swing. Ji-ho trembled and was the next one to die. He was sliced clean in half at the waist. He stared at Kaito and Taeyang as he coughed up blood. His body detached and he too fell to the ground, dead.

Taeyang kept his hold on Kaito's wrist as they kept running. Kaito was stumbling because of the head wound and his right eye was blurry because of the blood. He couldn't see properly and kept tripping over his own feet. They were slammed into a wall from the side. Taeyang's grip loosened as they both gasped in pain. Kaito was kicked in the ribs and was sent flying back. He landed hard on his shoulder and gasped in pain. He opened his eyes just as Taeyang grabbed the back of his shirt to drag him up.

Always looking out for his kid brother. No matter what. Kaito couldn't breathe properly as his ribs were probably broken. He couldn't even walk, let alone run. Taeyang set him against a wall. He couldn't hear properly now that he thought about it.

"... okay... you're... fine... here..."

He had no idea what Taeyang was saying but he nodded along. Taeyang seeing his brother's dazed look and slow nod, spoke louder.

"You're gonna be okay! It's gonna be fine! I'm right here!"

It was a lie. Nothing was going to be okay and they both knew it. Kaito was crying again this time from the pain. He had never cried so much in his life. Not even when his parents abandoned him. Not even when he had his tooth punched out at twelve by a bully. Never as much as he had cried today alone.

Tragedy struck again when a centaur loomed over them. Taeyang tilted his head back and looked up. The centaur was grinning at them menacingly. Kaito blinked slowly as he processed what was about to happen right now. They were going to die. A seventeen year old and an eighteen year old was going to die before they even lived their lives.

Kaito was going to die without knowing the answer to why his parents abandoned him. They were both going to die on what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of their lives. Kaito's vision was blurry and not just because of the blood and tears.

The centaur brought its spear up and Kaito stared at it, accepting his fate. Unfortunately for them, the centaur wanted to play with its prey. It twirled the spear and hit them both with the side of it hard. The flew to the side and Kaito screamed as pain shot through his body like fire. His vision was swimming now.

Taeyang dragged himself to his little brother and took his hand in his tightly. The centaur strolled to them and stabbed Kaito in the thigh and then Taeyang through the shoulder. Taeyang kept his tight grip on Kaito's hand, despite the pain. The centaur kept playing 'Who can scream the loudest?' with the two. Kaito was almost unconscious as he stared at his brother.

Taeyang had a smile on his face as he looked at Kaito. He cupped Kaito's face with his other hand and brought their foreheads together.

"I love you. Always."

He whispered right before the centaur stabbed him through the side, piercing his heart and lungs. He coughed up blood but kept smiling at his brother as he died. Kaito's eyes widened in absolute horror as Taeyang choked, gasped and went silent. The hands holding him went limp and Taeyang's head dropped to the floor.

His body went cold as Taeyang's blank eyes stared at him. He was hyperventilating, which was putting more strain on his already injured body. He screamed. Loud. Unrestrained. And absolutely devastated. Tears were flowing faster. His body tingled and the centaur brought its spear up again but never stabbed Kaito as lightning struck it from out of nowhere.

Kaito grabbed Taeyang despite his body protesting. He held his brother close as he screamed. He screamed and cried and begged it all to be a horrible nightmare.

What Kaito didn't know was that hunters were in the building already and had felt a massive surge of mana suddenly appear. What he also didn't know was that he was destroying half the school building with his new found awakened powers. What he didn't know was that the trauma from seeing Taeyang die had awakened him. What he didn't know was that his hair had changed color. What he didn't know was that his throat was bleeding from all the screaming. What he didn't know was that the centaur that had migrated to them had all evaporated as lightning surged around them.

What he didn't know was that they all died that day but only five of them stopped breathing. What he didn't know was that hunters were trying to calm him down as the building was actively collapsing because of his powers. What he didn't know was that his throat was bleeding because of all the screaming. What he also didn't know was that his grief stricken screams were echoing and it would haunt Korea for a very long time. What he definitely didn't know was that he was absorbing part of Taeyang and he wouldn't know that for a while.

---

When the hunter's association was called about a dungeon break at a high school, they didn't expect to find so many dead in the span of the thirty minutes since they got that call. They had deployed all the nearby hunters they could. And while they saved students and faculty members, a lot still died. It was a big school and the hunters had only managed to save forty percent of its occupants. The other sixty percent was dead.

If put in individual numerical values, that was approximately over a thousand people. Majority being students. The hunters went through the school and killed all centaur they found. They were moving floor to floor, classroom to classroom. When they killed most of the centaur, a scream made them run towards it.

It was a very heartbreaking scream. It was a scream that would haunt them for the rest of their days. And with that scream came a large amount of mana. Mana that was so strong, it almost made them kneel. Mana that was so dark, most had bile rising in their throats. The scream got louder and more heartbreaking.

They ran through a hallway and saw the bodies of three teenage boys, all wearing bloodied golden medals. All having died horrible deaths. They saw a dozen or so centaur moving towards what looked like two other boys, but before they could take action, the centaur evaporated.

They saw a lightning barrier around the two boys, from what they could sense, the one was dead and the one clinging to him was alive. The screams hadn't died down, they came out raw and broken. It wasn't just screams. It was begging as well. The hunters tried to talk to the screaming boy but he wasn't hearing any of them.

The building was crumbling around them and it would collapse with them in it if they didn't stop the screaming boy. They didn't have to do anything or even wait long. The screaming died down and the lightning barrier fizzled out as the screaming boy passed out still clinging to the dead boy.

The hunters sighed in relief but that relief was short lived when they saw the massive pool of blood the two was lying in. And it kept growing, a healer rushed forward to heal the still living boy but it didn't work.

It was as if his body was rejecting the healing. The hunters all froze for a second before another sprang into action and grabbed his cloak and tore it to strips. He wrapped it around Kaito's injuries to stop the bleeding. They had to pry his fingers off Taeyang's shirt as even unconscious, he clung to his brother.

They had little time left to get him to a hospital and a blood transfusion. The hunter who wrapped his wounds picked him up and jumped from the massive hole where the wall used to be. He ran to an ambulance, ignoring the reporters who were asking him questions. He filled the EMT's in on the situation and handed Kaito over to them.

They rushed him to the hospital and he was immediately taken to the OR, they didn't know if he would live but they had to try their best.

A tragedy happened that day six friends (brothers) died that day but only five stopped breathing. This day will forever haunt Korea but not as much as it will haunt Goto Kaito. Nothing will ever compare to this day for him. He will never experience a loss as great as this one in his life.

The commanders, except Ace, went to Renji's room the next morning to clear out all his things but they were surprised to see that the room was already clean as if no one had ever occupied it. Even Renji's sword mount was gone. There was not a trace of him anywhere. The only thing that was left in the room except for the furniture was an envelope on the desk.

Vista picked it up and read the first page. His eyes widened at what he read. He turned to the others and the look of shock intrigued them. The documents contained all of Teach's crimes and dirty dealings. Everything he did behind Whitebeard's back was laid out in front of them in plain sight.

They finally understood what Renji meant when he told Whitebeard that he didn't even see a traitor under his nose for decades. At first they didn't want to believe it. They've known Teach for decades but Renji never did anything just because, he didn't really hold grudges, he never did anything because he could or wanted to, he did things because he needed to. He was protecting them and they cast him aside.

Thatch was the first one to break, tears streamed down his face the more he read. He and Renji were close and he lost his brother. A brother who never felt like he fit in and now they cast him out. He removed his mark, they didn't know how, all they knew was that Renji wasn't one of them anymore. They told him to leave and he erased any trace of them from him.

They took the papers to Whitebeard. They watched as he read it. They watched as his expression darkened. They watched all five stages of grief pass through his face in the span of 10 seconds. They watched as he realized the weight of his decision to cast Renji out. They watched as he covered his face. They watched as his shoulders shook.

"He always told us that he wouldn't beg for our love."

Izo broke the silence and everyone except Ace tensed. He had no idea what Izo was talking about but everyone else knew.

"I always thought he was a pretentious asshole. I had no idea the weight he carried on his shoulders."

Haruta mumbled. He felt worse than the others. He and Renji never saw eye to eye and Renji just started hanging out with him and now he might never get to see him again. At least not as an ally.

"I always told you guys that we were gonna lose him. I should've pushed harder to get him to open up."

Vista shook his head as he said that. Renji always preferred his company, whether it was to train or just sit in silence.

"It wouldn't have mattered. Renji never felt like he belonged here and all of you are to blame for it. You never excepted him after he lost his memories."

Thatch didn't look at any of them. He just stared at the table with blank eyes.

"Renji lost his memories?"

Ace asked.

"Oh, right. You don't know. Renji lost his memories two and a half years ago. And after that he wasn't the same person. He didn't trust us and we never made it easy for him to do so. Like Thatch and Vista said, not all of us accepted him. Of the 15 commanders, only 4 accepted Renji as he was."

Namur explained.

"15? But there are 16 divisions."

Ace was confused. Well, he was never the sharpest tool in the box.

"Renji was the second division commander before you. Despite his memory loss, he took his job seriously and made sure no man in his division was left behind. He handed in his reports on time but he never really bonded with his division after the memory loss. He preferred solitude. Thatch and Vista were usually the ones who kept him busy. Renji told us that he wouldn't beg for our love or acceptance and that we should expect the same from him."

Izo explained. Ace finally got what they were saying. Renji was a bit of an enigma.

"If you had gone after him like you planned to do, the chances of you surviving that encounter were zero. Renji is strong, very strong, he never shows it but his aura alone should tell you how strong he is. He could kill us all with minimal effort. He holds back a lot but I have a feeling that he will no longer do so. Renji always expects the worst when it comes to himself. He doesn't believe that people will choose him and we just cemented that idea by casting him out."

Vista looked at Ace as he said that. He wanted Ace to understand that if they did encounter Renji in the future, they shouldn't expect to walk away alive. Renji declared them his enemies and they have all seen what he does to enemies. No one has left alive after encountering him. Whether they were Marines or pirates, he never let them live to tell the tail if he was fighting seriously. The amount of people he spared does not even compare to the amount of people he has killed.

"Are you going to inform Shanks, Pops?"

They all looked at Whitebeard at Thatch's question. It would be the right thing to do but they didn't know how he would react or if he would react. They didn't know if Renji already informed him or if he went completely dark. They didn't know what the future held and maybe that was for the better. Renji was in a fragile state right now and they didn't know how he would react, they, now that they thought about it, what did they know about Renji?

"It would be wise to inform him. Though, we have no idea how he would react."

They nodded at Whitebeard's words. But Ace was confused. Why did they need to inform Shanks? What did he have to do with all this.

"Why do we need to inform Shanks?"

He asked and they all looked at him confused before it hit them, Ace didn't know about Shanks and Renji's relationship.

"Just tell Shanks that we want to have a meeting with him. It would be easier and no one would eavesdrop on the conversation."

Vista deliberately chose not to answer Ace's question. In his mind, it was none of Ace's business what was happening between Shanks and Renji. Ace saw this and wanted to comment on it but Marco grabbed his arm and shook his head. When it came to Renji, Vista and Thatch would always jump to his defense no matter what.

Whitebeard nodded at Vista's words. It would be best to tell Shanks face to face. It was better to tell him their side of the story. Maybe Renji went to him and they would see him again and apologize. If only they knew, how wrong that assumption was.

Shanks was of course confused on why Whitebeard had requested his presence on the Moby. He went of course, wanting to see Renji again, not knowing that Renji wasn't part of the Whitebeard Pirates anymore. Both crews thought the other had Renji but neither had him. Renji was gone and maybe someday they would see him again or maybe they won't. Who knows?

---

Shanks stepped onto the Moby Dick a week later and immediately felt the tension in the air. He looked around the commanders and expected to see Renji sitting on the railing in front of them but he was nowhere to be seen. Shanks couldn't even find a trace of his haki on the ship at all.

"Old man. Where's Renji?"

Shanks skipped the pleasantries as he looked up at Whitebeard. The carefree smile he had worn on his face was gone, replaced by a seriousness rarely seen.

"He's not with you I take it?"

Whitebeard answered his question with a question. Any hope they had died when they heard Shanks's question. Renji was really gone and they had no idea where he was or if he was still alive.

"Whitebeard. Where is he?"

"He left."

"He left? No. He didn't. He didn't just leave, did he?"

"No. We kicked him out. Cast him out."

"Why?"

"He killed Teach."

That stopped Shanks cold. Renji had told Shanks a while ago that he would kill Teach. He just didn't think he would go through with it. He thought he'd wait or ask for help, instead he did it on his own and got cast out.

"Teach was a traitor. Renji did you a favor."

"We didn't know that, yoi. Not until the next morning."

"You didn't think to ask? I thought you were smarter, Marco."

"Captain, calm down."

Beckman placed a hand on Shanks's shoulder. Shanks shrugged it off.

"Do you know what he could face out there now that the world knows who he is? Did any of you even think about that?"

He snarled and his haki shot out of him in sharp bursts. The commanders had to steady themselves against the wall and the railing at the pressure of his haki. They've never seen Shanks this angry before.

"Brat, we made a mistake. We get that."

Shanks turned to Whitebeard.

"Mistake? A mistake?! You just doomed us all, not just Renji! The darkness in that man is something that we cannot fight against. If he decides to come after every single one of us, do you think we will walk away uninjured, much less alive? Do you?!"

"We didn't know."

"Of course not. I never should've let him leave my crew. I thought you would be better for him than me. My mistake. You condemned him. Did you even try to hear him out?"

"No."

"No. Why?"

"We were in shock. He killed Teach with no expression on his face like it was just another chore."

"Renji never does anything for selfish reasons. You should all know that."

"He removed his mark."

Shanks turned to Izo.

"What?"

"Pops's mark. Renji removed it. Or well, it disappeared from his back like it was being erased."

"So he has no mark on his back?"

"No."

"So he has no protection from other pirates."

"Renji doesn't need protection."

"No, he doesn't. What he needed was assurance but that ship has sailed, hasn't it, Whitebeard Pirates?"

They froze at the coldness of Shanks's words. He was glaring at all of them.

"Brat-"

"Save it. I'll find him myself. Stay away from him."

Shanks turned to his crew.

"Let's go."

They followed him as he walked off the Moby Dick. None of them looked at the Whitebeard Pirates as they walked behind their captain. Beckman was the only one who glanced back. But the look in his eyes was cold. He followed behind his captain as they stepped onto the Red Force.

---

On the other side of the ocean Renji walked around Marine based islands with no care in the world. He had already burned down several marine bases in the past two days. He never stayed on an island for more than a few hours. He didn't bother hiding his face, he wanted everyone to know who it was. He didn’t even care what people thought about him. Several Marines also lost their lives to him and he didn't care either.

---

Six months after the Whitebeard Pirates cast Renji out they finally got word about where he was. But it wasn't good news. Renji was captured and was being transported to Marinefort. It came as a surprise to many pirates and marines alike. But they wouldn't be surprised for long.

Not even a day into the transport the ship sank. The Whitebeard Pirates are the only ones who knew that it wasn't random. Renji had manipulated the ocean into sinking the ship. He got away, obviously. And what many people didn't know was that on that ship, Renji was the only living person. He had already killed all the Marines on board. He needed information from the Marines and killed them whether he got what he wanted or not.

---

Shanks stared at the newspaper blankly as he read the headline: 'Pirate Kills Hundreds Of Marines In Cold Blood. Is this the rebirth of the Marine Slayer?' Shanks couldn't figure out what Renji was thinking with all this killing. He didn't understand why Renji was putting a bigger target on his back. He didn't understand why Renji would go so far as to burn down literal islands. What was his end goal? Did he even have an end goal?

"Boss? You okay there?"

Lucky Roux asked Shanks. They had all seen his face as he stared at the newspaper. They were worried about their captain. He wasn't himself the longer Renji was on his rampage. It had been a while since they've even stopped on an island for more than two days. Shanks didn't even want to party anymore.

"Shanks. You can't keep doing this to yourself."

Beckman said as he blew a puff of smoke out. He had seen Shanks's spiral first hand and it wasn't pretty. As much as he wanted Renji to be safe, he couldn't control the man and his actions were affected his captain in a negative way and he wouldn't stand for it.

"What am I doing?"

Shanks lifted his blank eyes to look at his first mate.

"You can't keep blaming yourself for Renji's actions. He's a grown man, capable of making his own decisions. What he does and doesn't do, is not your fault."

"Isn't it? Renji went to the Whitebeard Pirates after I hurt him. And since he's been there all that's ever happened to him is him getting hurt. I don't know why he's killing the way he is but I have some part in it. He was my responsibility and I failed him. I failed Captain Roger. And that's on me."

"You're putting the blame of someone else's actions on yourself. You can't control Renji. And the way he's going, no one can control him. You have to accept the fact that he might be our enemy. Face it boss, he's a threat, end of story."

"End of story? Is that how you see it? He's just a story to you?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"No. I understand, alright. I understand perfectly. If he becomes a threat I'll deal with it, until then, keep your opinions about him to yourself."

Shanks stood up and headed for the door that led below deck.

"Your love for him has blinded you!"

Shanks froze. Everyone on deck froze.

"Watch your words, Beckman. I won't tell you again."

Shanks went below deck with that. His tone had been ice cold and Beckman didn't need him to turn around to know that his eyes were just as his words. Beckman sighed as he picked up the newspaper and read it.

It seemed that Shanks didn't read the whole thing, just stared at the headline the past hour. He probably didn't even see Renji's most recent bounty. Beckman read the entire article, his eyes widened at the bounty part. He shot up from his seat, the newspaper shook in his hands and his cigarette had fallen from his mouth.

"Shanks!"

He whirled around and looked at the door Shanks had stepped through. His shout got the rest of the crews attention and they all stared at him.

"Shanks!"

He yelled again, more urgently this time. Shanks came onto the deck a minute later. He was annoyed at the disturbance and was about to voice it but he saw the state Beckman was in and speed walked to him.

"What? You're yelling my name like we're being attacked."

Beckman didn't speak, instead he thrust the newspaper to Shanks.

"I already saw the paper."

"Did you?"

"Yes."

Beckman pointed at the bounty and Shanks's eyes widened. He grabbed the paper and stared at it again but this time with a surprised expression. Everyone crowed around the two of them to see what was happening. Yassop grabbed the paper from Shanks's hand and read where Beckman had pointed.

"What the hell? He just became the most wanted man in this era in six months? What the hell did he do? Kill Sengoku?"

WANTED DEAD ONLY

MARINE SLAYER GOL D. RENJI

B 7 500 000 000

To be continued...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

No one noticed. Why would they? He still spent time with everyone, still laughed at jokes and ate dinner with the crew. He still attended commander meetings even though he wasn't a commander anymore. Still had late night conversations with Whitebeard like he used to. Still did everything normal. The only not normal thing he did was actively plan Teach's murder.

He would glare at the man from the mast. Stare holes into his head at dinner. Teach noticed but Renji did nothing to hide it. If Teach looked at him he would stare at the man until Teach got so uncomfortable he had to look away. Whitebeard noticed this as well. He didn't know what was happening to Renji and he had a feeling that when he found out, he would not like it at all. Oh how right he was.

"Renji, my boy. It seems that we have a lot to talk about."

Whitebeard said one night during one of their talks. He didn't know that this would be the last conversation he ever had with Renji.

"What do you mean, Pops?"

"You have been hiding something. I do not know what it is but Renji, we are here for you."

Renji looked at the man he had called his father for almost a decade and almost burst out laughing. Not because he said anything funny but because Renji knew that after tomorrow, Whitebeard would not even look at him the same way again.

"I know, Pops."

"Do you?"

"I don't get what you mean."

"You hide things because you think we'll be better off not knowing anything. Am I wrong?"

"No. You're not wrong. But I'm not hiding anything."

"So you do not glare at Teach every chance you get?"

"I do."

"Why?"

"Personal reasons."

"Will you tell me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"For the safety of this crew."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I really hope you know what you are doing."

"Me too."

"You sound unsure."

"I am. But it's something I have to do."

"Will you be safe?"

"Probably not."

"You sound so sure of that."

"I am."

"Renji-"

"Pops. There will be somethings I will do that might look like a threat to you but just know that no matter what I am always doing whatever I can to protect all of you."

"Why does that sound like a goodbye. Are you leaving again?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"No."

"Renji are you going to leave again?"

"Probably."

"For how long?"

"I don't know. Maybe forever."

"I see."

"Do you? Do you really see? Do you see my struggles? Do you see the pain I go through everyday? Do you see my smile is fake? Do you see the unshed tears in my eyes everytime I look at everyone? Do you see me dying inside? Do you really see, Pops? Do you?"

Renji didn't mean to rant but everything had bottled up and just spilled out. Whitebeard looked at him in shock. He was stunned at the outburst. He had no idea that Renji was struggling with all that while maintaining a smile.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's fine, don't apologize. I didn't mean to snap."

"Renji..."

"I'm sorry, Pops. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt any of you. I just wanted to protect you all. And I always will even if I'm not here anymore."

Renji stood up and walked to the door.

"Renji... wait..."

"I'm sorry, Pops, for everything."

Renji opened the door and stepped out, closing the door behind him gently. Whitebeard sat in the room in the heavy silence Renji had left behind. Renji’s apology sounded like a goodbye and the feeling of dread creeped up in Whitebeard.

Close to midnight Renji stood shirtless on the deck with his packed bag against the railing. He was waiting for Teach, he knew he'd come out, Teach always did his dirty dealings at night when he thought no one was watching. He didn't know that Renji had been watching him for the past four months every night.

Teach walked onto the deck and was surprised to see Renji. As well as his bag.

"Ren, brother. You leaving again?"

He asked with that fake sweet tone. Renji turned to him with dead eyes, not that Teach could see it.

"Yeah."

Renji's voice was dead and toneless. He tilted his head at Teach and smiled. It was a smile Teach had never seen before. It was a smile Renji never wore. The smile was ice cold.

"The time for your death has come, Teach. No, Blackbeard."

He said in the same dead tone. Teach's eyes widened and he stepped back.

"What? You want to kill me? You think the old man will let that slide? You're crazy if you think any of them will welcome you after you killed me."

"I already planned ahead. You think I didn't cover my bases? I don't need their love. I need them safe and you gone."

Elsewhere the feeling of dread Whitebeard felt earlier had increased and he got up from his bed and walked to the deck. His eyes and several commanders' eyes widened as they saw Renji's lightning covered hand pierced through Teach.

Renji had no expression on his face as he killed Teach. He removed his hand and Teach dropped to the wood, dead. Renji stared at his corpse for a moment before turning to the ocean.

"Rip him apart."

He commanded and two big sea kings rose from the dark waters. They lowered their heads to the deck and grabbed Teach at each end. They ripped him in two before devouring each half and disappearing back into the ocean.

"Renji! What the hell?!"

Renji turned to the others and stared at Whitebeard.

"Say something, dammit!!"

Ace rushed towards him, his fist covered in fire. Renji stood still until Ace was close enough. He roundhouse kicked Ace against the head hard. Ace flew back and crashed through the wood, unconscious.

"Ren, what did you do?"

Renji looked at Thatch's sad expression and at that moment felt nothing. He looked at the men he had come to call his brothers and felt absolutely nothing for them.

"Why are you all here? You're supposed to be sleeping."

He said finally.

"We heard yelling, yoi. Why did you kill Teach? Why would you kill your own brother, yoi?"

Renji was silent again.

"Answer him!"

Whitebeard's voice boomed. Yet Renji said nothing. He didn't even flinch.

"Leave. Leave and never come back."

Izo's voice broke as he said that. He couldn't believe that Renji actually killed one of their own.

"You're no longer a Whitebeard Pirate. Leave and never look back. We'll kill you if you ever show your face in front of us. Leave my territories."

Whitebeard's final words should've saddened him but it didn't. He always knew that they would act like this. He prepared himself for it. He even prepared for death by their hand.

Renji turned around and grabbed his bag. With his back to them they finally saw that his mark was slowly disappearing. More than half of it was already gone.

"From this day forward, we are no longer allies. We are enemies. And should we cross paths, I will kill you. All of you."

Renji didn't turn to face them. His mark was now completely gone. On the outside he was expressionless but on the inside, no matter how much he told himself it didn't hurt, his heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces. He would never see his family again. It hurt worse than when his father abused him in his past life.

"I see."

Whitebeard felt his heart breaking at Renji's words.

"Do you?"

Renji stepped onto the railing.

"Do you really see, Whitebeard? You couldn't even see a traitor right under your nose for decades."

Renji stepped off the railing but didn't fall into the ocean he stayed in the air. He turned one last time and they finally saw the tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Goodbye."

He disappeared. And that was the last time the Whitebeard Pirates ever saw Gol D. Renji. They had no idea what the future held but they knew that if Renji was serious about them being enemies, they would not survive an encounter against him.

Teach however wasn't a happy camper. Everything he built was riding on Whitebeard's declining health and now it was all ruined thanks to Renji. Teach still feared Renji, a lot more now than he did. He saw Renji as an obstacle that had to be removed but he couldn't even get close to him. The commanders all took watch over Renji while he was unconscious.

There was never a moment where he was alone, which meant that there was never a moment for Teach to strike while the iron was hot. It irritated him to new levels. They were treating Renji like some sort of God and he didn't like it one bit. Renji was throwing a wrench into his plans and he knew he'd never be able to defeat Renji one on one if they were to fight. Not without the power he sought.

---

Renji opened his eyes with a groan. He had no nightmares for the first time in a while and he was grateful for it. He felt rested and not at the same time. How that worked, he didn't know. He couldn't see out of his left eye but he thought it was because he slept so long. He sat up and saw that he was in his room.

"Oh? You're up. Finally."

He looked to the door and saw Thatch stepping in. Thatch had a grin on his face but grimaced when he looked at Renji's eyes, which left him very confused. Renji got out of bed and stumbled but Roger caught him. To Thatch it looked like he caught himself. He walked to the bathroom and Thatch followed. He stayed outside the bathroom while Renji did his business.

When Renji was washing his hands he looked into the mirror and flinched when he saw his left eye. It was still completely black. He touched under it as he stared at himself.

"What the hell happened to my eye?!"

"Dunno, dude. That is something you should ask Pops and yourself."

"It happened when you healed Whitebeard."

Thatch and Roger's answers gave him more questions than answers. He threw the bathroom door open and looked at Thatch.

"Pops? He's okay?"

Thatch was startled but grinned wide.

"Better than okay. You're a genius man, reversing his age? Pure genius!"

Thatch was elated but Renji looked very confused at his words.

"What?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Oh, man! This is gonna be awesome!"

Thatch grabbed Renji's hand and dragged him to the door before stopping.

"You might wanna shower first, actually. No offense but you reek."

"Of course I reek. How long was I even out?"

"Four days."

"Four days?! What the hell?!"

Renji was freaking out and Thatch lived for it. He had never seen his brother in this state before as Renji was always calm and collected around them. He pushed Renji back to the bathroom and closed the door. Renji showered and brushed his teeth with the supplies he left on the ship when he left, it had yet to expire.

He came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and his hair hanging in his face. He glared at Thatch and grabbed his bag to get dressed. He didn't care that Thatch was in the room while he changed. He tied his hair and put his eye patch back on.

"You done? Let's go."

Thatch grabbed him again and dragged him to the door. They left the room and with each step they took Thatch looked positively possessed. He was smiling so much that Renji though he was broken.

"You're creeping me out with all the smiling."

"Just wait and see. You'll be smiling too once you see it."

"See what?"

"Secret~"

Renji really wanted to punch his brother at that moment but held back and let himself be dragged to wherever Thatch was going.

Thatch dragged him all the way to the top deck. Renji was momentarily stunned. Everyone looked extra happy and honestly it was creeping him out, just a little bit.

His gaze shifted from the milling pirates to the 'throne' that was on the deck for Pops and his eye widened. He looked absolutely stunned, Thatch turned to him and saw his face and burst out laughing.

"You should see the look on your face."

Thatch's laugher drew attention to them. All eyes turned to them and the commanders all cheered when they saw Renji.

Before Renji could even comprehend what was happening his feet moved towards Whitebeard.

"Pops?"

His voice was a bit hesitant. He knew what Whitebeard looked like when he was younger but seeing it on a screen and seeing it in real life was a whole different experience.

"Son."

"You- what the hell?"

Renji was honestly dumbfounded. He knew he healed Whitebeard because he didn't smell sickly anymore but he had no idea what went wrong or right? His ghostly companions were also suspiciously quiet.

"From the look on your face, it's safe to assume that you had no idea you could do that."

Renji whirled around and faced Vista.

"I did that?"

He pointed at Whitebeard.

"Yeah, yoi."

Renji held his forehead as he tried to think back to what happened a few days ago. All he remembered was that he healed Whitebeard and then, nothing. His mind was blank after that. He turned back to Whitebeard.

"You- are you feeling okay, Pops?"

He had to know. Maybe there were side effects he didn't know about. It was his first time healing a human afterall. It was also the first time healing a chronic illness. He healed plenty of animals on the island he trained on, but none of them was sick.

"I feel better than I had in years, my son. Though, you look like you are confused."

"I am confused. I was supposed to heal you not- not reverse your age. Not that I'm not glad you're doing good. I'm very glad you're okay."

The others looked at Renji basically spiraling and were somewhat amused.

"You should be glad, Ren. You're practically a God. We're very happy that you were able to heal Pops, and even more happy that you reversed his age."

Thatch clapped a hand on Renji's back with a grin.

"You're a hero man. Enjoy it."

Renji didn't feel like a hero, not at all. He smiled with them but inside he knew that the image of him they had would soon shatter into a million pieces and he wasn't sure if those pieces would ever be put together again.

Renji healed Whitebeard for his own selfish reasons, he didn't want the old man to die, none of them did. But for Renji it was more than that, yes he saved Pops to essentially save the Whitebeard pirates but he also saved him because he knew that in his heart if the day came, Whitebeard and Shanks would be only ones strong enough to stop him if the need arose.

His sea witch powers were getting a bit out of control the more the eldritch being broke out of its prison. Renji knew he would have to stop it eventually but for now, for now he would enjoy the company of his family. He watched as they all laughed and the general joy of the ship, it had never been so lively for the 7 years he had been on the ship. From the original Renji's memories or his own. It felt nice.

They threw a party in celebration of Whitebeard's recovery and Renji's return. Renji drank with his brothers and finally buried the hatchet with those who were hostile towards him. He didn't hold a grudge against them but he also let them know that his forgiveness towards them was because of Whitebeard. He didn't want the old man to worry about any of them unnecessarily.

Vista watched his younger brother with sharp eyes. He could see the underlying sadness in Renji's eye. He could see how Renji looked at the ocean expectantly. He saw the way Renji stared at Ace like he was something precious but not in a romantic way, more like someone who has lost someone.

"Ren."

He called out to him and he saw how Renji smiled that same sad smile. Most wouldn't notice it because they didn't spend that much time with Renji before he left but the few who did saw the smile and knew that something was very, very wrong.

"Yeah?"

"Come here."

Renji got up from where he was sitting with Namur and Rakuyo. He walked over to Vista with that smile. Vista placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye.

"You okay? You seem a bit lost in thought."

"Yeah. I'm good. Just thinking about what I've missed all these months while away."

It wasn't a lie, not really. Renji did think about all the things he has missed in his time away. But he also thought about how this might be the last time they looked at him with any warmth. He always knew that he wasn't the one people always chose first. He wasn't the one whose explanations people listened to. He was the one always cast aside no matter what.

"You'd tell me if you weren't okay, right?"

"'Course I would. You're my big brother."

"You can always count on me, Renji, no matter what."

"Okay. I believe you, Vista."

The smile got bigger but the sadness in his eyes grew deeper. Oh how Renji wanted to believe his own words but he couldn't. He could lie to everyone else but he couldn't lie to himself. He was always the second option and that was what he will always believe. Maybe some day someone will prove him wrong, maybe.

Renji went back to the festivities, laughing, joking, eating, drinking with everyone. Vista kept his eyes on him and he wasn't the only one. Thatch, Marco, and Izo were also watching him with the same expression. They knew that Renji was hiding something but they didn't know what. But maybe that was for the best, not that they thought that or knew it. Whatever Renji was hiding would forever change how they looked at him and how he looked at them. They just didn't know it yet.

A few days after the party the commanders saw just how much Renji had changed. He was no longer quick to anger nor was he the same quiet untrusting man he was. He was still quiet but this quiet felt final in a way people usually said goodbye. He still sat on the mast when he had to think but he spent a lot more time on the railing mumbling to himself. If only they knew he wasn't mumbling to himself but talking to ghosts about his next moves.

It was one such day where Renji was on the railing that they saw the change first hand. Renji wasn't sitting but standing. He tipped forward and dropped into the ocean. Everyone panicked as they knew that he had a devil fruit now and that he could drown. The rushed to the railing to see where he was and Namur was preparing to jump after him but the ocean physically stopped him.

A barrier of sea water surrounded the Moby, no one could leave the ship. They were all still worried about Renji but they couldn't do anything with the barrier around the ship.

---

I sank to the sea floor like I knew I would. It was the first time since I ate the devil fruit that I got into the water. I didn't panic as I could breathe under water. A real walking contradiction I was, a devil fruit user who could control the sea and not have their body weakened. I sat calmly as I waited for the shark to appear like I knew he would. I should really give him a name.

'Master Renji.'

I opened my eyes and stared into the behemoth of a shark in front of me. His white eyes always freaked me out.

'The eldritch monster. How long until he escapes?'

'Not long. Maybe a few months at most.'

'Is he gonna come after me?'

'Most definitely.'

'I see.'

'Master Renji, are you going to face it alone?'

'What other choice do I have?'

'Are you strong enough to defeat it on your own?'

'Probably not. But what choice do I have? If I don't the world ends.'

'And your friends?'

'What about them?'

'Do they know you plan to do this?'

'No.'

'Why?'

'It is not their battle. I don't want them to fight.'

'Your aura is darker. What are you planning?'

'Nothing. That's all I needed to know. Send me up.'

'Master-'

'Send me up. I'm done with this conversation.'

'I really hope you know what you are doing.'

'Me too.'

The shark lifted me up onto his back and swam up with me. We broke the surface and I saw a water barrier slowly lowering from the Moby. I wonder what caused it. Did I unconsciously set one up so they couldn't bother me? I'm really putting distance between us, aren't I?

Someday, I hope you can all forgive me for what I will do. I hope you find it in your hearts to see that everything I do, I do for all of you. I hope that we can be brothers again.

Renji tilted his head at the question in confusion. He chuckled and walked around Marco. Taunting him in a way.

"Me? Who knows?"

"Ren!"

Renji was engulfed in a hug before he could taunt Marco more. He turned his head a bit and saw Thatch hugging him tightly. The others watched in shock. They all had one thing running through their minds, 'This is Renji?!' They watched as Thatch hug their brother.

"Renji?"

"Hey, Pops. Been a while."

Renji removed the hood from his head and grinned at Whitebeard, his fangs on full display.

"It's good to see that you are alive, son."

"Told you I won't die."

"Yes, you did."

"Looking a bit weaker there, old man. Lucky for you, I come with good news."

Thatch was still hugging Renji, he didn't want to let go incase this was a dream. Renji didn't mind as much as everyone thought he would. Renji patted Thatch's back a few times and pushed him away lightly. Not because he didn't want to hug him but because they all had a serious talk coming up.

"I'm not gonna disappear, Thatch."

"You might."

"Nah. I'm home. I'm staying."

"You promise?"

Renji held out his pinky and Thatch linked it with his.

"Promise, brother."

Thatch let go of Renji's pinky and instead moved the hair covering his left eye. He was greeted with a white eye patch (like the one Ken Kaneki wore). Everyone gasped thinking the worst.

"What happened to your eye?"

Vista asked as he walked closer. He too hugged Renji but not as long as Thatch had.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Renji smiled but it looked rehearsed. He wasn't lying per se, nothing happened to his eye. It's what was happening to his eye that should be the question.

"You seem different."

Izo said and hugged him too.

"Been a while since I heard that one."

Renji grinned mischievously.

"You get taller, kid?"

Fossa smacked his shoulder in a brotherly fashion.

"No?"

"You did."

Namur fist pumped him.

"Really? Didn't notice."

"How did you not notice your got taller?"

Jozu patted his head.

"I had no one to compare my height to."

Renji shrugged.

"You were alone?"

Ace asked from the side. He didn't want to interfere in their greeting as he didn't know Renji personally.

"Ace! Good to see you kid. But yeah, I was alone."

Ace's eyes widened at the warm greeting and so did everyone else's.

"Yeah. Good to see you too, Renji."

Renji looked at Whitebeard again and his face turned serious.

"Best we get some privacy for the next part, don't you think, Pops?"

Whitebeard looked at him for a moment before nodding. He stood up from his chair and walked below deck. The commanders and Renji followed after him.

"So, you have fun?"

Thatch asked as he walked next to Renji. The others listened to their conversion as they all walked.

"Yep. A lot of fun."

"Alone?"

"You can have fun alone, Thatch."

"You're a weird one."

"Yep."

They reached the war room and the commanders and Whitebeard took their seats. Renji stayed standing. There wasn't a chair for him to sit in anyway, but he preffered to stand anyway. He was too restless to sit still.

"Alright, should we do questions first or can we start with the healing?"

Renji's question turned heads. They looked at him at the end of the table. They didn't know that he was out looking for a cure for Whitebeard. They looked at Whitebeard and he didn't look at all shocked. He knew. They knew he knew.

"Why don't you tell us about this first?"

Whitebeard slid the weeks old newspaper across the table. The commanders passed it down until it reached Renji.

"Whoa. That's a lot. And dead only. Man, they sure know how to make me look like a villain."

"You ever think that in some people's eyes, you are?"

Haruta asked, his voice had none of the usual snark to it when it came to talking to Renji. He glanced at him but said nothing.

"Let's see. The slave thing is true. Destroying the auction house is also true. Fighting Kizaru wasn't my fault. He started the fight. The damaged buildings is his fault too and kind of mine. I did kick him through buildings. Fighting Akainu, also true. Burned island wasn't me. Akainu's magma did that. Killing Celestial Dragons, true. Fighting warlords, true. Though, I didn't fight Jinbei. Doflamingo on the other hand, he should be thankful I didn't kill him. The Marines stood in my way, had to get rid of them. Yeah, everything they say in here did happen. Marinefort was an impulse issue. But I meant to sink it, not just almost sink it. Pity that one. Real pity."

Renji browsed through his crimes with no emotion.

"Heh. They actually did it. Nice to see they do listen."

He read his name on his bounty poster, he was really happy that they listened and changed it. He laughed as he read it.

Wanted

Dead Only

Gol D. Renji

B 3 500 000 000

The others looked at him with shocked expressions. He seemed way too happy about his bounty. And the fact that they never heard him laugh like that since he lost his memories. Ace couldn't understand why Renji would tell the world who his father was. He seemed proud of it too, Ace could never do that. Nor did he want to.

"This is great!"

Renji beamed and looked at the others.

"Being wanted dead is great, yoi?"

Marco was baffled at Renji's obvious joy about his new bounty.

"Oh, no. That part not so great. They're using my birth name and not some nickname they came up with. That's the great part."

"You're not afraid of what people will say about you?"

Ace asked quietly.

"Nah. People have been saying bad things about me since I was thirteen. Besides, I couldn't care less about how people see me or what they say about me. Roger was my father and he will always be my father."

Renji looked at Ace with a determined expression.

"Son, why did you do all that?"

Renji looked at Whitebeard with a thoughtful expression.

"Cause I could."

He shrugged carelessly.

"You do realize that you just put a hit on all of us, yes?"

Rakuyo said bitterly.

"You're pirates. You always have a hit on your heads."

"Not the point, kid. You put us all in more danger. Did you even think for even one second about anyone but yourself."

"Mmm. Nope. I didn't. I thought to myself, 'What can I do to get the government's attention on me more and raise my bounty?' That's what I thought."

"You selfish bastard."

"Yeah. Deal with it."

"Why'd you bother coming back?"

"To cure Pops."

"No other reason?"

"No. Frankly, I don't care for the lot of you. You hate me and don't trust me. If I didn't make the promise to return to Pops, I wouldn't be here right now. I'd probably be your enemy."

Renji's declaration shocked them again. He said it with such coldness that the commanders visibly flinched. Whitebeard looked at Renji and noticed that once again it felt like there was someone standing next to him.

"And I'd kill you if it was an option."

"Renji, enough."

Renji's eyes flicked to Whitebeard and he relaxed his stance. He didn't even know he had tensed up in preparation of an attack.

"You don't mean that, do you?"

Renji looked at Thatch and before he could answer he felt a hand on his head. He glanced to the side and saw Roger looking at him worriedly. Everyone in the room looked at him and wondered what he was looking at. None of them could see Roger and Renji forgot about that small detail, having been alone with the ghost on an empty island for almost two years.

"No. I don't mean that, Thatch. I would never kill you."

They looked at him skeptically, no way Renji said something like that with no truth in it.

"How did you find a cure, yoi?"

"Secret~"

"Are you sure it even works, yoi?"

"Yep. Tested it many, many times."

The confidence in his tone was unmistakable. He was one hundred percent sure it would work.

"Can you do it now?"

"If you want, Pops."

Whitebeard nodded. He'd been feeling a lot weaker these past few weeks and he knew he didn't have long for this world. Despite the others being skeptical, Whitebeard had made his choice and none of them could stop him even if they tried.

Renji jumped onto the table and walked towards Whitebeard with the confidence of a man who had done this a thousand times. If only he knew that he would discover that some things are easier said than done.

"Ready when you are, Pops."

Erik appeared behind him with Declan and Roger beside him. Renji removed his bag, weapons and cloak. Everyone stared at his scarred torso and his 'tattooed' arms. They all had questions but they would ask him at a later stage.

Renji removed the eyepatch from his eye as well and blinked to adjust to the light. Whitebeard looked at him curious as to why he would hide his eye if it looked perfectly fine. Though soon he would see why.

Renji placed his hands on Whitebeard's chest and a gold light emitted from them as he used Erik's powers. Erik's hand stayed on Renji's and the other two stood on either side of him in case of an emergency.

"Shouldn't hurt."

'I see the damage. You need to get to the heart.'

'You want my hands in his chest cavity?'

'I want your hands on his heart. We can fix the damage from the heart and slowly go to the main organs. If you keep your hands on the surface, we'll only heal the surface.'

Renji's eye twitched at Erik's words. He took a deep breath and looked at Whitebeard.

'Tell him to keep a hand on your skin at all times. You'll absorb the pain he'd feel that way.'

'You're fucking crazy, you know that? This better work, cause if it doesn't, I'll kill you again.'

"Okay. I'm gonna start now. Keep a hand on my skin at all times, please. No matter what, do not let go."

Whitebeard placed a hand on Renji's shoulder. Renji coated his fingers in haki and pushed against Whitebeard's flesh. The flesh bled and the others protested but Renji didn't stop. Whitebeard felt no pain at all, which left him confused.

Renji broke the ribs to get to the heart and held it in his hands gently. He felt Whitebeard's heart beating in his hands weakly. He really hoped this worked.

'Okay. Good. Let's start.'

His hands glowed gold again as he started the healing. He had no idea what he was doing but with Erik's hands on his he felt better. Together the two healed the worst of the damage first. They destroyed all the blood clots in Whitebeard's main arteries before moving to the organs.

Renji's left eye had started glowing gold as well as he concentrated and Whitebeard finally had a clue as to why Renji hid his eye. Renji pushed passed his limits as he destroyed and healed over and over again. His nose had started bleeding from the strain he was putting his body under but he didn't stop.

Whitebeard could feel himself getting stronger the longer Renji held his heart in his hands. He could feel the warmth flowing through his veins. The others sat frozen as they watched Renji's back. Blood pooled out of his ears next and Marco shot out of his seat.

He got on the table behind Renji and healed his ears. He didn't try to stop him knowing it was going to be a futile endeavor. Marco healed Renji as Renji healed Whitebeard. Things took a turn for the worst when Renji's arms began shaking under the strain. Roger and Declan held his arms steady, knowing that if Renji removed his hands too quickly he would kill Whitebeard.

The gold light turned white as Renji pushed more. Whitebeard was fully healed but he didn't stop, he kept at it. His eye flickered between gold and white. He held the heart just a little bit tighter, Erik had removed his hands from Renji's and yet he didn't even notice. The three ghosts watched in horror as Renji began bleeding from the eyes.

He wasn't even seeing anymore, just feeling. Marco went to heal it but found no damage. It was bleeding but not injured. He looked at Renji's face over his shoulder and saw that his eyes were blank like he was in a daze.

"Renji, enough. Stop it!"

The three ghosts yelled but he didn't hear them. He didn't hear anything. He didn't hear his own heart slowing down. He didn't hear everyone yelling at him to stop. He didn't hear Marco's panic as he heard his heart slow. He didn't hear the chairs scraping on the floor as everyone stood up. He didn't even hear his own muttering.

His eye flickered with polychromatic colors and the light emitting from his hands changed colors rapidly. His sclera had turned black around the edges.

'How can he still heal without you touching him? I thought we needed to touch him for him to use our powers.'

Declan asked Erik confused and concerned, he had not let go of Renji's arms yet.

'I don't know what is happening right now. But he needs to stop before he kills himself.'

'How are we gonna stop him. His not hearing any of us. I'm not even sure he's present right now. Look at his eyes. Despite it being brightly colored, its blank.'

'I don't know, okay?! I don't know!'

'It's the fruit. It chose him for a reason and I think we're seeing that reason. He's utilizing the fruit itself and not just its benefits. This kid is bypassing the laws about this fruit. I see now why the fruit chose him.'

The other two looked at Roger. His eyes were on his son. The longer Renji kept going the more his sclera turned black, the black bled into the iris and his left eye turned completely black. The light turned red and Whitebeard's appearance changed. It looked like he was de-aging and he was. After what felt like forever, Renji let go of Whitebeard's heart. It was beating a lot stronger now. He pulled his hand out of his chest cavity and healed the ribs.

He had no idea what he had just done. He wasn't even in control of his own actions at that moment. He finally removed his bloody hands from Whitebeard's chest completely and healed the wound. The light was still red. Everyone looked at him shocked. His lap was covered in his own blood. Marco had tried his best to heal him but there was no damage to anything.

When Renji finally looked up, he looked like a horror movie victim. Blood was covering his face and his eyes were blank, well the right one was anyway. The left one was so black you couldn't see anything in it. Whitebeard removed his hand from his shoulder and he swayed. Marco, Roger and Declan grabbed him before he could fall over.

Renji stared at Whitebeard blankly for a minute before he went limp. His eyes were still open and he slipped from Marco's arms his head would've hit the table but Ace was faster as Marco was in shock at what just happened. He had never in his entire life seen power that could de-age a person.

Ace caught Renji's head and held him. His blood got on Ace's hand but that wasn't what was important right now. What was important was the fact that Renji just rewrote Whitebeard's entire biology. He basically rewired Whitebeard's entire molecular structure. His eyes finally closed after a while.

"Am I dreaming?"

Haruta was the first to break the stunned silence. That kicked everyone into gear. Ace looked down at Renji and saw that his eyes were closed and that his breathing came out as short and sharp gasps.

"Marco. I think something's wrong with Renji!"

Marco kneeled beside him and again tried to heal him but it was like something was blocking him and he was getting increasingly frustrated. Still he covered Renji with his flames even though it was futile. Ace was panicking as well. He just got his older brother back and before they could even bond Renji was literally dying in his arms.

Whitebeard gently pulled Marco back. He went to protest but saw the red light covering Renji. His breathing evened out and he looked calmer.

"Is this a fever dream?"

Thatch asked as he stared at Renji.

"Pops?"

They all looked at Whitebeard. He looked twenty years younger. But his eyes remained sharp. He too was staring at Renji. He had no idea what happened to him but he would find out. The presence he felt with Renji felt very familiar, too familiar.

"Get him to his room. We will discuss this when he wakes up."

"His room? Wouldn't it be better if we took him to the infirmary, Pops?"

"No. His room. Something tells me there is more to Renji than he let on. He would be more comfortable in his room. There is a reason he told me he was keeping it."

Vista picked Renji up as Ace would not have been able to carry him. Instead he grabbed Renji's things from the table and followed Vista out. He had never been in Renji's room. They always kept the door closed. Ace had been curious as to what it looked like but he didn't want to anger anyone by going in without permission.

They passed various pirates who stared at Renji's unconscious form in Vista's arms. Vista glared at all of them and they ran the other direction. When they reached Renji's room, Ace opened the door for Vista and followed him in. He looked around the room and saw various old bounty posters on the wall. A mount for a sword. Bed, closet, desk. It looked normal. Neat.

Vista placed Renji on the bed and took off his boots before pulling the covers over him. He went to Renji's bathroom and got a warm cloth to clean his face.

"You move like you've done this before."

Ace commented as he set Renji's things on the desk.

"Yeah. Not the first time we had to clean Renji up after he pushed himself too hard. Last time Marco did the cleaning up. I just carried him."

"Last time?"

"Story for another time."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Renji always manages to bounce back. Sometimes I wish he knew when to quit."

"He doesn't seem like the type to quit."

"He's not. I'm convinced that he will literally fight to the death before he gives up."

Vista had cleaned Renji's face and ears. They left him in the bloody clothes, not wanting to invade his privacy.

"He seems like a good guy."

"He is. He comes off as cold, but he's not. He just needs time and patience. The others don't see that."

"Is that why he's no longer a commander?"

"I'll let him tell you that. Renji has his secrets but he would never hurt us."

"Will he like me?"

"Yeah. He's good like that. He's doesn't trust easily but when he does trust you it's the best thing ever. He has a smile that could light up the whole world."

"You must love him a lot."

"He's my younger brother, of course I love him. Renji doesn't do things half heartedly nor does he do things that he doesn't want to."

He walked to Whitebeard's room and entered without knocking, he had a blank look on his face and that was worse than any negative emotions he would've been feeling at that moment. He was dressed, had his swords (katanas), and a bag on his back. He looked at the man he called Pops for a moment before speaking and Whitebeard knew that whatever came out of his son's mouth, he would not like it.

"I'm leaving. To find a cure."

He said bluntly. That wasn't how he wanted to say it but he couldn't think of a better way to say it.

"What? Now? It's night. Do you not want to wait for daylight?"

"No. I want to leave now. If I stay, I'm afraid I might kill Haruta."

"Is that what this is about? Haruta talking about your father?"

"Yes and no. What Haruta said was out of line and I can't stand the disrespect towards my father. And I realized that I was stalling. I came here not to ask your permission but as a courtesy."

"A courtesy?"

"Yes. I will leave with or without your permission."

"If you leave without my permission, you will be declared a deserter and the others will hunt you down."

"Will you declare me a deserter?"

"No."

"Didn't think so."

"Why the sudden need to leave, tell me honestly."

"I've realized that I am weak. I am stronger than the average pirate but if an admiral decided to attack us at this very moment, I would lose. I am going to be training on my own while looking for a way to cure you."

"You've put a lot of thought behind this?"

"I have."

"I see."

"Another thing, I no longer wish to be the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"What?!"

"I am sorry. But I can no longer do it."

"Why? You've been a perfect commander."

"More than half of the other commanders do not like me nor do they trust me, such animosity is not good for the chain of command of any ship."

"Will you come back?"

"Yes. Always."

"How long will you be gone?"

"I do not know. But less than three years. That's how long I will be away."

"Have you told any of the others?"

"No."

"You do not trust them?"

"I do not trust that they will understand my reason for leaving."

"You want me to tell them?"

"They will notice my absence, probably. So that will be best."

"I will tell them come morning."

"Thank you."

"Come back, alive, kid. I mean it."

"Can't come back if I'm dead."

"Stay safe."

"I will."

"Goodbye, Renji."

"See you later, Pops."

Renji nodded once and walked to the door.

"I'm keeping my room."

"Of course you are."

"One more thing..." He couldn't look at Whitebeard, not wanting to see the expected sadness in his eyes. "...I might do some morally questionable things in the future. And I won't be the same when I return. Take care."

He opened the door and walked out. As expected Whitebeard had a devastated look on his face at Renji's last words. They sounded like a warning and Whitebeard knew that with Renji, warnings aren't just empty threats, there is always truth behind his words.

Renji walked through the silent ship in the cover of darkness. He stood on the railing of the ship in the blinds pot of the crow's nest so the night watch wouldn't see him. He looked back one last time before stepping off the ship and onto the waiting sea king.

Since he ate the devil fruit, he couldn't swim and sea water made devil fruit users weak. He disappeared into the night and the Whitebeard Pirates were none the wiser. They all thought they would see him the next day but only Whitebeard himself knew the truth.

---

By the time morning came Renji was long gone. Everyone woke up and they were still a bit angry that the party had to end early the previous night and Haruta felt guilty but not for the right reasons. He was guilty he blew up like that but not for what he said. He didn't know why but Renji brought out a side of him he didn't have with the others.

Before the ship fully woke up, Whitebeard had called the commanders into his bedroom to give them the news. He wondered how they would take it. Would they be sad? Would they be happy? Was what Renji said about them true?

"Renji has left."

He didn't beat around the bush. He held up a hand when the commanders all spoke at the same time.

"He came to me last night and told be that he would go look for a way to cure me."

"Why would he leave without telling us?"

Thatch looked at his father figure with great confusion.

"You tell me because I asked him the same thing and you want to know what he said to me?"

They were all curious so they nodded.

"He told me that most of you do not like nor trust him and that you wouldn't understand. He also told me that he no longer wished to be the second division commander. So tell me, what the hell has been happening on my ship that I don't know about?"

They were all surprised by the second revelation. Renji took his job as division commander very seriously, for him to relinquish the title seemed impossible.

"Why- why would he relinquish his title, yoi?"

"He said that the animosity amongst the lot of you and him was not good for the ship's command. What have you all been telling that boy?"

"Nothing. He's overreacting."

"Enough, Haruta! This is your fault! You never know when you shut the fuck up! We told you to shut up and you never listened! You did this!"

Thatch turned to his brother and he snapped, he was angry, rightfully so. He and Renji had a rocky relationship but they made it work and he always looked for Renji when he isolated himself. Renji was his younger brother and he loved him and now he might never see him again.

"Thatch calm down, yoi."

"Don't tell me to calm down, Marco! You didn't like him either because he never followed you around like a soldier! Renji wanted to free to live his life and he felt like he couldn't do it on this ship because of you guys! He saved us, countless times, he saved us when he could've let us die! Do you get that?! Huh?! Do you?!"

The others had never seen Thatch this angry. He ran his hands through his hair, ruining his signature hairstyle and they knew that he was very particular about his hair. Thatch had never raised his voice in anger since they knew him, he was the happy one amongst them.

"He is coming back. In the span of three years."

Whitebeard told them. He understood Thatch's anger but he didn't want them to think that Renji would not be returning to them.

"Three years? Pops anything could happen to him out there."

"Yes, I know."

"Why did you let him leave?"

"He said he would leave whether I gave him permission or not. I am sorry, my sons, but I was not going to let Renji be declared a deserter."

"That's not all is it?"

Vista asked.

"No. He felt that he was weak and that he needed to get stronger on his own."

"Weak? The kid is stronger than us combined. That can't be it."

Fossa said as he chewed on his cigar in frustration.

"That he what he told me."

"And you believed him?"

"No. I don't know if any of you have noticed but since we left the last island Renji has been different. It was as if he was more than one person and that something was bothering him."

"I noticed, yoi."

"And you didn't say anything?!"

Thatch glared at Marco.

"What did you want me to say, yoi?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe just maybe pretended you cared for him or told one of us. Me! You could've told me!"

"I'm sorry, yoi."

"Save your sorry. If something happens to Renji out there because you and Haruta couldn't swallow your pride and talked to the kid. I will never forgive you. That goes for the rest of you assholes that thought Renji wasn't worth your time."

Thatch stormed out of the room and slammed the door. The others stood in silence of a moment.

"I agree with Thatch."

Vista said and he too left the room but he didn't slam the door.

"Your childish behavior might have caused us a brother and a damn strong fighter."

Izo left the room as well. They were stunned at his words, Izo wasn't one to curse much or at all. Fossa left without a word and Namur followed him.

"I'm sorry, Pops."

"Renji is never going to forgive you for what you said about his father last night, Haruta. I wanted you to know that. He told me that if he didn't leave immediately, he'd kill you. Reflect on yourself as a person and as a brother."

Whitebeard dismissed the remaining commanders and they all left the room.

---

Renji didn't stop traveling until he reached an uninhabited island in the new world. He reached it in three days traveling on the sea king who didn't stop until he could get Renji out of the ocean. He was understandably very hungry and Renji dismissed him as soon as his feet touched the sand on the beach.

"You lied. Why?"

Roger said as Renji stripped off his shirt and shoes.

"What? You wanted me to tell him that I see ghosts and that I need to prepare my body to use their powers?"

"That's not what I mean and you know it."

"I didn't lie. I just didn't tell him the full truth and maybe I never will."

"Why?"

"Why should I? I'm allowed to have secrets."

"And what will you tell him or them when they see you using various devil fruit powers."

"I thought about that, actually. I'll tell them that I ate a copycat fruit. Simple as that. And in a way it's not lying. Just not the full truth either."

"That seems like your go to, half truths."

"Yeah. The truth hurts."

"So you'll keep lying to them?"

"If it keeps them safe then yeah."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do."

"Why did you blow up like that last night."

"Because you're not a demon and I won't let anyone disrespect you like that."

"I see. Thank you."

"Anytime."

"You think you'll be able to use the devil fruit to its full potential in three years?"

"I'm hoping to do it in two or less. I need to be there when Ace turns twenty."

"Why?"

"Blackbeard, Teach is gonna betray the Whitebeard Pirates and kill Thatch. Ace will go after him and Teach will give him over to the navy and he will be killed by Akainu."

"You hope to stop that from happening?"

"Yes."

"You do know that you might die using this fruit, yes?"

"I've thought about that. I won't die. Not yet."

"What's your dream?"

"What?"

"Your dream, what is it?"

"To be free."

"You don't want to be King of the Pirates?"

"No. I just want to be free with my family."

"I see. I will help you achieve your dream."

"Thanks."

---

Renji focused his energy to summon the other ghosts. He needed to start training immediately and they needed to tell him how. Originally he planned to write the theory part down but Haruta pissed him off and he decided to leave early.

"I need to know what to do in order for me to use your powers, so please tell me."

"You need to get stronger first. Physically I mean."

Declan said as he walked around Renji.

"You can use the simpler powers at your current state, like healing yourself but if you ever hope to heal Whitebeard, you need to built more muscle and stamina."

"Okay."

"Renji, our powers might leave scars on your body, permanently. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes. I'm a pirate and I'm not afraid of scars."

Declan didn't elaborate and all the other ghosts looked sad, some even refused to look at Renji. None of them spoke and Renji felt like something was wrong but didn't want to question them and make them uncomfortable so he dropped it. Little did he know, Declan's apology was warranted and he will know why in the future.

"Good. We can start training after you get some sleep."

"And Renji?"

"Yeah."

"I'm so sorry."