Restarting

The Kiss of Death

"Holy crap! There's a beautiful girl sitting on my bed red as a beet! What am I supposed to do now? I've never been in this position before I mean, I'm a total virgin! The only person I can think of that's even more hopeless than I am at this is Tsuyoi. Oh man, oh man, oh man what the hell do I do now? Do I even want to do this? Wait. Am I jumping to conclusions! Maybe she just wants to talk and I'm just a stupid teenager.", Akai stood there in complete distress, panicking about what he should do next. Sweat covered his forehead and his palms were soaked with sweat. His mind raced and his heart was nearing critical speeds. He tried to gather his senses but failed miserably, his voice cracked multiple times as he spoke to her " S-so wHat did you want TO talk abOUt?", he hit himself in the chest out of embarrassment.

She looked up at him while still covering her torn shirt with a serious look now. " I wanted to talk to you about my sister, Amai Sora.", Her voice sounded like Akai expected it to now and he could tell that she was serious.

"Okay then, just lemme close my window so my parents don't shoot me tomorrow." Akai walked over to window to shut it when he noticed a mildly disturbing sight on the girls neck. it was a very small dot of green light that seemed to be hitting the back of her neck. Akai hadn't figured it out yet but it was in fact a laser from somewhere outside his window.

"Are you're parents really that strict about the AC? It's not that col-", Akai tackled her off of the bed as a loud and sharp sound whizzed just over her head. This shot was followed by several more gunshots afterwards that made impact with the floor next to them.

"What? Why wouldn't they just shoot the bed?", this thought zipped in and out of his mind as multiple gunshots fly over their heads, landing in the same spots.

"What the hell is happening Akai! Who's shooting at us?!", The girl with silver hair started panicking and struggling with Akai who was on top of her, holding her down.

"Dammit, can you stop moving for a second and listen to me!", she stopped when Akai's voice turned into an almost angered tone. " Okay first up, what's your name?", she looked at him confused but soon understood how serious he was. " Answer me"!

" M-my name is Mori Sora.", she had locked eyes with Akai and saw a confident mask covering the monster within him. She knew that something wasn't right with him.

He responded without hesitation " Alright Mori, when I tell you to we are gonna bolt for my door. Don't bother opening it just smash through it, damn thing is thin as paper. " She has to reload at some point, we'll move when she does.", he thought to himself as bullets started pelting the rest of his room.  Akai and Mori heard screams coming from outside his room that sounded like Nao and Yuna. " Yuna! Get away from the door! We're coming through!", Akai shouted to his sisters while he waited for the shooter to reload. Gunshots continued for a few seconds longer, the shooter kept shooting the same spot in the room without fail and with minimal deviation.

Akai looked at his alarm clock and noticed that it was now 6AM and the sun should be rising in a few minutes. Then, silence overtook the room. It was time to make a run for it and Akai took this chance " Let's go Mori!", Akai grabbed Mori's hand and the two of the sprinted towards the door which Akai bashed through and hit the floor on the other side, causing Mori to trip over him. Just before Akai could get her up the laser returned and this time it was pointed at Mori's head, right at her temple, Akai saw this and jumped in front of her right before a shot was fired.

Bang!

A shot rang throughout the streets and all around the neighborhood. The bullet flew in through Akai's bedroom window and tore through his left shoulder leaving him with a broken shoulder blade.

Meanwhile, one street over. . .

" She's early isn't she? How is the spirit attacking before 7AM?", a man with short crimson hair and dressed in all black stood on top of a roof, overlooking the unfolding battle taking place at the Kenshi household. His blood red eyes glimmered in the now emerging morning sunlight as they lit up to combat the sun's rays. He had a single sword in his sheath set on his back with the strap coming over his left shoulder and returned under his right arm just above his floater rib. His sheath was all black as well with white seams and a red stripe at the base where his sword's handle emerged. He sat there in silence, waiting for a response over the microphone in his ear.

One certainly came back with an answer and an order " Your orders are to protect Yuna kenshi and her brother at all costs. Remember that she is your NUMBER 1 priority newbie.", the voice made it clear that Yuna was to survive at all costs. With this order, the Crimson Swordsman leaped from the roof he had been standing on to the street below and ran towards the Kenshi household with impressive speed.

Back at the Kenshi household. . .

Yuna runs into the kitchen to grab weapons while Nao and Mori attend to Akai's gunshot wound. She yells out to Mori " Put the couch in front of the door and pull the blinds on all of the windows now!", Yuna grabbed her favorite chef's knife and a long bread knife from the knife block and ran back upstairs into her parent's room where the others were waiting. " How is he doing Nao?", Nao looked up at Yuna with tears in her eyes from all the blood on her hands.

" Gyaaaah! Nao please try not to cry on it, nguuh".

" I-uh I'm sorry Akai. Yuna, what do I do, there's so much blood and it won't stop"! When Nao said this, a bullet flew through the bedroom window and hit Yuna on the left side of her ribs and tore through her spleen. This shot was followed up with 2 more shots that hit her in her right shoulder and one hit the lower right part of her abdomen.

Akai raised his head to see his sister falling to the ground with a knife in either hand. In this moment, the image of Valentina walking towards him in the classroom had returned to his memory and sent his insanity surging back to the surface. " Y-Yuna? N-no she can't die. I won't le-.", before he could finish his sentence the bedroom door was smashed open and a man with crimson red hair ran in towards Yuna. Akai shouted at the man " Don't you touch her"!

The man looked back at Akai with a saddened look on his face as he spoke in a slightly panicked voice " Damn, that last round ripped into her appendix. You guys have any First-Aid"!? He looked towards a sobbing Mori who was unable to respond then quickly looked to Nao who had the only kit in her hand.

Nao responded frantically " I have it right here, I've already used most of it on Akai though". The instant these words exited her mouth, all of the color in the world disappeared around Akai and his wounds suddenly vanished without a trace of prior injuries aside from the pool of blood he was laying in. He sat there as those phantom winds blew his hair and clothes again while time slowed to a halt.

" s**t! This again! What time is it!", he looked over at the clock that read 7:15AM. " I guess that would fit the previous time frames and now that I think about it, Valentina didn't show up until this time freeze happened". His eyes widened in excitement as life rushed back into his formerly shattered body only to have it ripped out again when the color flooded back into the world around him and time returned to normal. Akai turned around and threw Nao out of way as two bullets ripped through the bed right where she was hiding from the shooter.

The red haired man looked at Akai in shock " Can he see that too"? The man reached back and drew his Arming Sword." Hey! grab those knives and get over here now"! Akai obliged and got to him as soon as possible after retrieving the blades.

" So you wanna tell me who the hell you are and why the hell we are being shot at"! Akai shouted this to the man as bullets began blasting through the walls and windows in an endless wave of chaos and destruction.

" I'll tell you after I heal Yuna. You think you can buy me some time Akai?", the man brought his hand over the now unconscious Yuna's spleen and his fingers began emitting a dim green light.

" Doesn't look like I'll need to if they keep shooting". He grabbed the bread knife with his right hand and got down in a defensive position, blocking Nao from the wall and window. " I say we bolt downstairs to the kitchen when they reload.", the crimson haired man looked back at him.

"No, we should get outside after this. She wouldn't be able to carry anymore ammunition than she has fired."

" Are you crazy! Are we really going to bet on the fact that they ran out of ammo?!", bullets continued to tear apart the bedroom and hallway while the man healed Yuna's severe injuries.

" Listen to me! I've been watching you guys for a while now and I've also been watching the girl shooting at us, she can't carry more than 240 rounds.", he looked at Akai with a confident and serious expression making it clear to Akai that he knew what he was talking about.

Suddenly there was silence, the gunshots had stopped and the chaos had disappeared. " Go now you two.", the red haired man whispered to Mori and Nao. " Get to Akai's bedroom and hide in his closet". The two of them got up and ran into the hall and headed for Akai's room. The man looked to Akai and handed him the chef's knife but he pushed it away.

" I'll wait out in the hallway, give her the other knife if she wakes up.", Akai told the man.

" You sure? You'd do better with two.", the man handed the knife to him one more time.

" I don't have much experience with knife fighting so I would be useless with two." Akai pushed the knife away and stood up.

The man showed a half smile " At least you're honest".

Akai got up with the bread knife in hand and sat next to the door, waiting for someone to come in so he could cut them down. There was an eerie silence for a few minutes as the clock played it's disturbing melody, telling them that it was now 7:30AM.

"Akai! Drop"!

Akai fell to his stomach as something smashed through the back wall of the room and continued through the wall leading into the hall. The object bashed all the way out of the house and into the street.

"She's here!", Akai looked through the hole going through in his house and saw a girl with blue hair and a purple dress and a thick strand of purple hair in her hand, a different shade from the school.

"Hey red guy! This lady is super strong man.", the man was already up to his feet in a fighting position with his sword, ready to do battle.

"Get back Akai. She's a spirit, you can't help me with her".

Akai grabbed the man and looked deep into his eyes with a malicious and disturbing glare " I'll deal with her, you make sure that my sister survives", Akai picked up his bread knife and made his way towards Valentina. " I think it's time we finally settled this Valentina". Akai's eye's were cold and his voice was dark, his insanity was the only thing driving him forward.

"About time? This is the first time I've ever seen you in person.", she began walking towards Akai as she tore one her thigh high leggings off. " Would you like me to strangle you or melt you away"?

" Personally I'd prefer to burn you alive but I don't have any kerosene on me so that's out.", Akai rose the knife and leaped towards Valentina who was only a couple meters away now. " I'll make you suffer for what you've done"!

Akai slashed at Valentina's stomach but missed and received a crushing blow to his ribs that grounded him instantly.

" So pathetic, I can't believe you actually tried something that dumb.", she bent down to wrap the legging around his neck but was stopped by a kick from the red haired man that sent her flying backwards into a telephone pole.

" Damn you are reckless! What is wrong with you Akai!", He stood next an immobile Akai who now had started coughing up blood. " Ah s**t! Now what"?

Akai had blood filling up his lungs and he rapidly lost the ability to breath. " Stay with me Akai! I'll heal you up in no time. You're gonna be fine Ak-". The sounds of breaking bones covered the street only to be followed by a warm liquid covering Akai's face and chest. A feeling all too familiar to Akai, the feeling of fresh blood.

" Awwww, I thought his skull would be a bit tougher after that kick he gave me.", her face had a deep gash going across it from her left ear to the bridge of her nose. she also had a piece of wood stabbed into her back that hadn't gone deep enough to kill her.

Akai looked up to see the man standing there with half of his head completely destroyed as he fell over, Akai heard a voice from behind him. It was a young girls voice, it was Nao.

Akai couldn't force himself to speak this time and so he just moved his mouth while more blood came out of his windpipe, he was about to die again. Before he did, he heard that disgusting sound once more and watched his little sisters silhouette collapse to the ground. She had suffered the same fate.

This image never left Akai's mind for the remainder of this life, his murderous desire had changed, his insanity was no longer a lust for murder but it was an obsession to protect.

" I swear, I will save all of you. No matter what it takes.", he thought these words to himself as a warm sensation touched his lips and the world was consumed by shadows once more. He had died and right as he did, Valentina had given him the kiss of death.

He heard a voice in his head again but it wasn't the normal one he was used to, it was Valentina.

" I remember you now Akai, it's been so long since we met but I remember you now. I remember that I love you too".