Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

They wrapped up the dinner. Reon went to Hitori's room while he went to the veranda. Kakashi told Hitori to look out, but he still went outside, so Akira followed him.

Kyoryu went to the first floor to keep an eye on the surroundings and cover the boys if something happens.

It was half past twelve o'clock, but none of them were sleepy– not even Reon. she was just lying on Hitori's bed, smelling the sheets, and trying to figure a way out of this mess.

Eya healed her bruises and Reon drank some potions. But what she needed was a whole day of rest, which she knew she was not getting.

Hitori was sitting on the veranda's stairs. He was staring at the darkness in front of him and wondering what Guardian Spirit eats when Akira took a seat by his side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, Hitori sighed. "I, Atama-sensei, and Kyo-san. We were in the War, and we knew we were losing. But before any one of us could offer our help, Dad and Mom banished us from the Realm of Magic. We could not return."

Hitori raised his hand to stop him. "Do not feed me that and make me vulnerable. If I hear anymore, I fear I will have no reason to live. And you said that you need me strong."

Akira closed his mouth and nodded. "We need you, but not vulnerable."

"Let me think about how to handle this Onogi bastard first." Hitori dropped his head.

Akira had figured out a plan but was not sure whether he should tell Hitori. After seeing Hitori worried more about Onogi than his parents, Akira told him the plan.

"Let us do what he did to Kamiya," he said. Hitori lifted his head and looked at Akira, staring blankly.

"Are you insane?"

"Why? What is the problem? Tit for tat, right?"

Hitori shook his head. "It does not work that way. The way he killed Kamiya was too insulting and gruesome. If we did the same, it would not make us any different from him."

Akira considered that and nodded. "He sure looks like he is eaten by the guilt– you know when you deliberately brought that topic and marked him as a killer."

"If it was me, I would have killed myself by now. But it was Onogi, he has an image to maintain. I knew the guilt would hit him– if not Kamiya's guilt, then Kuzu's for sure. And it did."

"Yes, it did. Electrocuting is out of options then," Akira said.

"That death will haunt me. I want Onogi's death to be satisfying."

"Satisfying? For whom?"

Hitori glanced at him. "For me. For Reon. And for Akemi-san. A satisfying death, not a haunting death."

"Do whatever you want, I will follow you. But do it at the same time and place he did– during the expeditions."

Hitori stared at Akira, he was amused by the kind of plans he was proposing.

"The expedition. Heck, I can not wait that long." He started playing with his fingers.

"You don't have to wait. Perhaps we can—"

"No. I want something original." He thought that would shut up.

"Something original?"

He heard Kakashi coming towards the veranda. Hitori glanced over his shoulder and saw Kakashi approaching him.

"Then what? Storm his fort again?"

Kakashi closed the door behind him and Hitori saw his eyes widen after hearing Akira's suggestion.

As if someone brought his years-old breakup, he rushed to the boys and bent.

After checking on Reon, Eya came out. She saw the boys standing on the veranda, it was getting late and the time for a possible surprise attack.

So she called them, "Hey, time up, come inside now!"

Kakashi leaned back and Hitori felt relieved. For some reason, he thought Kakashi was preparing for an unwanted lecture.

Hitori got off the stairs, helped Akira on the way, then followed Kakashi inside.

This was his chance to flee before Akira starts suggesting his inexperienced plans.

But Eya caught him. "What were you talking about?" She asked.

Hitori shook his head. "Nothing

Just trying to get over the sudden—"

"Yes, it must have been hard on you. If you want to talk, we can—"

"I am alright. Akira was helping me."

"Come on, that is not what you were talking about," Kakashi said. Not now, man.

Hitori glanced at him and turned around to go to his room.

"Where are you going?" She asked. "Reon is sleeping in that room."

"So I will sit by her. We have something to talk about."

Kakashi turned to Akira. "What storm were you talking about?"

Hitori bit his lip as he spun and looked at Akira. "Do not—" Too late.

"Onogi's fort. We were talking about storming his fort," he said as if everything was alright.

Eya gasped, she covered her mouth, and a grin spread on Kakashi's face.

"No, no, no," she chanted, "you are not going to do anything, Hitori-san." She looked at him in disbelief.

Kakashi said to Akira, "No storm, no action. Nobody even thinks of doing anything. No one goes alone to storm a fort and force everyone to follow. So no action till we all agree to it."

Eya nodded. "No action. No action till we all agree." She looked at Hitori. "You risked your and our lives last time, so can we please have a discussion before taking action?"

"Yeah, we will. But I thought—"

"Fuck what you think," Kakashi said, pointing at Hitori, "you are not the boss here. You are just a teenager with no sense of right and wrong. Get your act together."

Hitori glared at Kakashi. "You do not have to put it that way. I have a sense of judgment. Maybe Reon's abduction took over me, but we are alive!"

"Alive? Barely alive. We underestimate that sadist father and his mental son. We would have died today."

"How? I do not see how! You two ran down to help Kyo-san, but he was alive. If you had come back—"

"We would have died today!" Kakashi shouted, Hitori was ready to reply, although Eya and Akira were scared of things getting physical. "If Onogi's father was not a traitor and a sadist son who wants to beat the shit out of his son, we would have died."

Hitori closed his mouth. It was a shock, his heart sank in his chest. "Traitor?"