Kowareta Sekai: The Shadows of Kage (KSSoK)

The Tournament, Part 3

 Wait, that memory just now... Is that really how it ends!? Such a cliffhanger... Kage looks at Katsu, then realized that he was still wrapped up in Katsu's tentacles. "Wait, why are you still holding me like this!? You grabbed me with your nasty tentacles hours ago!" Kage struggles some more. Katsu looks at Kage, confused. "I litterally picked you up like five minutes ago." He says, still confused. How was I able to have that flashback in five minutes!? It seemed more like five hours! Wait, it felt like more! You know how much time passed in that flashback? Kage pinches one of the tentacles, causing Katsu to throw Kage. Kage flies through one or two trees. "O-ouch, Kage! That freakin' hurt!" Katsu then sends the two tentacles at Kage. One grabs onto one of Kage's ankles, holding him upside down, and the other stabs at Kage's stomach, only to get stopped by Kage's clothes. Finally, the tentacle pierces through Kage's clothes, stabbing him into him. It continues to do that, drawing more and more blood each time. Finally, it makes it's way through Kage's back, triggering another flashback.

 A couple of years ago, Hirano mansion...

 Kage stands at the front door of Rika's house. Hmm... It's been three days since I last visited... That day, I met a very annoying boy. I hope I don't have to see him today. Kage knocks at the door, a bit nervous. The door opens, and there stands Toshiko, arms crossed. She seemed angry about something. She looks down, and sees Kage, causing her anger to suddenly fade. "Oh, hey Kage. How are you today?" She grabs Kage's hand, leading him into the kitchen. As always, Hansuke closes and locks the front door. Toshiko shows Kage another plate of onigiri, then picks one up. She hold it up and says, "Say 'Ahh'." Kage puts his hand over his mouth. "I'm old enough to eat on my own, Toshiko!" He says, backing away. "Aww, You are the only one I get to do this to! Rika doesn't even let me do this!" Toshiko says, making a pouty face. Kage uncovers his mouth. "F...fine." He opens up his mouth,  and Toshiko inserts the onigiri. Kage starts to chew on it, then takes the plate. He happily grabs the remaining onigiri on the plate, stuffing them into his mouth.

 "See? You act all serious, but once you start eating rice cakes, you start to act like the little boy you are!" Toshiko laughs. "Ah, Kage-san! You're here!" Rika runs up to Kage, hugging him tightly. Just then, the feel a force, separating them. "Woah, hold on, Rika-chan! Why don't you hug me when I come over!?" Akio asks, obviously jealous of Kage. Kage puts on a face of disappointment. "Oh, It's you again... I'm gonna head out, now." Kage then exits the kitchen walking towards the front door. Rika runs after him, saying, "I'm gonna come with you, then!" Just then, Akio blocks her way. He starts to say something, but Kage doesn't hear it, everything else blocked out by anger. Wait... why am I so mad? Th... There's no way I'm actually... jealous? Nah, that's not like me... Kage leaves, closing the door behind him. 

 Kage goes to the tree that he hung out with Saki at, and sat down. Finally, I get to think... Like, what the heck, man? I don't get that guy, always talking about Rika, and clinging to her... Kage  stretches. A few seconds later, he hears a voice. "So that's where you were... I knew that I would find you here!" Saki...  Saki walks towards Kage and sits down next to him. She looks over at Kage, then smiles. "What's wrong, Kage?" She asks, scooting a little closer. Kage looked at Saki, and though she was smiling, he knew that Saki was actually very concerned. "W...well, Akio is kinda a jerk, and always clinging to Rika..." Kage says, then turns towards Saki. "There... It must be boring knowing that you can't hang out with Rika like you used to, right Saki?" Kage asked, but his question was answered with a confused look. 

 "Huh? Why?" Saki asks. Kage looks at her, confuzzled. "Wait, so Akio isn't pushing you away?" he asks. Saki shakes her head, then looks around, still confused. She then looks like she got an idea. "Maybe... He doesn't want you to be around Rika because you are a boy? They are going to get married, you know?" Saki says, causing Kage to jump. Saki sees this, then smirks. "Are you... jealous?" She then laughs. Kage looks at her, then smiles at the suggestion. "Nah, he thinks I am trying to steal Rika from him... I honestly don't care if they get married..." He gets up and stretches once more. "Well, now that that is taken care of, I'm going back." Kage starts walking in the direction of Rika's mansion. Just then, he feels Saki grab his hand and start to lead him somewhere. When she stops pulling, Kage sees that he is on a high ledge. "This is one of the most beautiful spots here, in this dimension. You can see almost everything!" Saki tells Kage. Thoughtfully, she says, "If you ever need to take a break from people, just come here." She sits down, enjoying the view.

 "Ah, there you are, Saki! Oh, and Kage is here too?" Rika comes up to the ledge, then sits down next to Saki. Akio also comes up to the ledge, sitting on the other side of Rika. Kage starts to walk away, satisfied, happy that everyone else is also happy. Though he felt like everyone was okay, he felt a twinge of fear rush over him. Wait, what!? Kage turns around, and sees Saki on the verge of falling. Kage runs towards Saki, though it seems like she still hasn't noticed it, herself. Saki slips, and Kage does a dive onto the ground, holding his arm arm to catch her. He succeeds, grabbing onto Saki's wrist. She isn't too heavy, so I should be able to do this... Kage pulls her up, though seemingly used up most of his strength trying not to fall. Once up, Saki sits down, thinking about what just happened. Akio looks at Kage and shakes his head. "I knew you were no good at first, but this? Pushing a girl off a cliff, then saving her to impress another girl? I'm starting to wonder if you are even human!" Akio grabs Rika's hand. "Let's go, Rika-chan!" They start walking towards Rika's house. Kage starts to walk in that same direction, but stops when he walks past Saki. He turns to face Saki and holds out his hand. She takes it and stands up. "Is this the place you wanted to show me the other day?" Kage asks as they were walking to Rika's house. Saki looks at him, tears in her eyes. "No sorry, I'll show you next time, I promise!" She says.

 End of flashback

 Kage opens up his eyes, and the tentacle is still pierced through his stomach. W...Was that the promise we made when we were younger? More like she made it... And I kinda just went with it? To be honest I was expecting something a bit different... Kage gets thrown onto the ground. He struggles to get up, but once he is standing, Katsu picks him up, and throws him. No... I can't just flop here... Wait, that sounded weird, so... I meant die. Whatever I do, I must at least fulfill the promise or whatever, so I must live. Just then, he feels a cold sensation all over. Kage looks down at his hands, and see that they are covered in some kind of pink metallic substance. They start covering the rest of his hand, forming two glove-like things. He gets up and feels the metallic feeling creeping up his legs. A couple of moments later, Kage stands there, completely encased in pink armor, but there is also another feeling... What is this? Why am I suddenly so hungry? Kage walks back to where Katsu and everyone else were, though his appearance was.

 "Ah, Kage! Are you okay?" Saki runs over to Kage, Kei directly behind her. Once she finally gets to Kage, he grabs her. Kei looks at him, shocked. "K-kage!? What're you doing with Saki!?" Kei asks, and Kage turns his attention to him. "I... I don't know...!" Kage tries to let Saki go, but his urges are too strong. Why am I getting so hungry looking at everyone? Just then, they hear a voice. "Ah... Kage transformed into his emergency recovery form...?" Toshiko stands there, concerned look on her face. Wh...What? Emergency recovery form? What is this!? Kage then starts to feel hungry again. "Basically, once you are in this form, you can't turn back until you are mostly recovered." Toshiko starts to walk towards Kage. Saki puts on a hopeful expression. "S-so since this is a recovery form, then all we have to do is wait?" She asks, still struggling. Toshiko looks at her with a serious expression. "If only it were that easy. In order to recover... He needs to eat..." Toshiko says. Saki looks even more hopeful than before. "So, that means that we just need to find him some food?" She asks, having gave up on trying to get away. Toshiko shakes her head. "That isn't the case...You see, This recovery form needs something much more specific... It needs human flesh..."