63 Ayame past (1)

(Warning: There is major spoilers for Honkai Impact Players in the following chapter. Please read with caution. Courtesy: Editor.)

'What's going on!? Didn't Higokumaru only appeared in the Stigmata dimension? How come she managed to appear here?'

Kouro's mind fell into utter chaos.

That's because, back when he was reincarnated into this world, Kouro was searching for various information to verify if this world is really the same as the one in the game.

And after being completely certain that this world did have something in common with the game, he became a little arrogant that he has an advantage for having of information about the future.

Only, that arrogance was crushed after his encounter with Ayame, who had turned into a Pseudo-Herrscher, and meeting Higokumaru and Sakura.

Higokumaru who was being stare very intensely by Kouro then hid behind Sakura, "Sakura-nee! That man looking at me with scary look."

Kouro who was still dumbfounded, when he heard Higokumaru's words then shook his head.

"Ah… No I'm just surprised to see you, if you feel uncomfortable, I'm sorry. "

Kouro took a deep breath and thought.

'Hahh.. Calm down O myself, didn't I prepare for this, moreover, sooner or later this is bound to be happen.'

He quickly calmed down, his mentality also changed slightly, even so, his current brain was thinking fast.

'Sakura and Higokumaru, if I remember correctly, in their original timeline they were around this city when the Third Eruption disaster occurred, then they were defeated by Kiana, Mei and Bronya. '

'And because of the battle, Higokumaru (Herrscher of Corruption) was weakened, so that Sakura who was used as a vessel could control herself again. '

'Then, the Herrscher of Corruption induced the negative emotions of one of the students from Senba Academy, this making the Student (Yu Na) a Pseudo-Herrscher.'

(E/D: The student Yu Na can also be written as Yuna, simply.)

'But in this timeline, it's not Yu Na who became the Pseudo-Herrscher, but my childhood friend, Akimitsu Ayame, instead. And if I add that Higokumaru in front of me, it doesn't seem like she's affecting Ayame's emotions, well... Or maybe it's just a facade?'

'Then what has changed about Higokumaru(Herrscher of Corruption) that made it different from the original timeline?'

Kouro was in deep thought, but suddenly opened his eyes wide as if realizing something.

'...The Herrscher of Corruption is RIN that is from the Previous Era 50,000+ years ago... Could something may have happened that changed the history from 50,000+ years ago!?'

(E/D: This is major spoilers for Honkai Impact players readers.)

Theresa, who noticed Kouro's dazed expression, asked worriedly, "Kouro, are you sure you're okay?"

Kouro heard Theresa's inquiry and answered half-heartedly, "Oh, Ah... Yeah, I'm fine."

After saying that, Kouro then turned his head towards Sakura and Higokumaru, who was peeking from behind Sakura's body, "As for how I noticed you, its because I sensed your aura, it's very unique."

'It's highly likely that the two of them are deliberately releasing their auras.' Kouro though as such.

"Is that so? Looks like you're strong enough to be able to sense our auras very quickly." Sakura spoke in an even tone.

(E/D: In the game, Sakura always speaks politely, although it is not reflected on the subtitles.)

"What is your real intention when you started to follow us, miss?" Kouro inquired while having his hand on his greatsword, holding it tightly.

Earlier, Kouro felt like he was being watched by someone when they entered the Senba Academy, at first, he though that it was Ayame who was watching them, but when he was dragged by Theresa away from the Academy, Kouro could still feel that they were being watched.

Thinking for a brief moment about who was watching him, the only people that crossed his mind were Sakura and the Herrscher of Corruption.

..

Sakura saw that Kouro is ready to attack, so she replied, "Don't worry, I have no ill intentions towards you." and as if to prove her claims, she raised her hands in surrender.

Seeing that, Kouro loosened his grip on his greatsword.

"My name is Yae Sakura, and this on is Higokumaru... My travelling companion."

Higokumaru slowly floated from behind Sakura and introduced herself, "Hello... My name is Higokumaru."

Kouro looked at Theresa, and feeling Kouro's gaze, Theresa nodded her head.

"My name is Hanagami Kouro."

"And I am Theresa Apocalypse."

After their brief intro, Sakura lowered her hands and spoke.

"First of all, I want to apologize for spying on you, my goal is actually that Pseudo-Herrscher. Higokumaru and I wanted to purify her so that she would not harm this city again."

"Purify?" Kouro asked in confusion, but as if he realized something, Kouro shouted and his purple eyes began to glow, "Do you mean kill her!?"

Theresa at the side raised the Oath of Judah and took an offensive stance.

Seeing that, Sakura wanted to explain, but was preceded by Higokumaru, "No! You misunderstand. We really only want to purify her so that she can live a normal life, we won't kill her, please believe us!"

Kouro stared at Higokumaru intensely, Higokumaru, even though she felt uncomfortable being stared at by Kouro's glowing purple eyes, she still forced herself to look into it with determination.

1 second

...

4 seconds

...

10 seconds

After several second of staring at each other, Kouro then closed his eyes and sighed, "Fine... I'll believe in you."

"Eeh!!" x3

Theresa, Sakura and Higokumaru looked shocked.

"Etto... Are you sure about trusting us just like that?" Higokumaru asked confusedly, Sakura, who was at the side, also looked at Kouro with confusion.

After all, they had just met for the first time, and is only acquaintances at most, but Kouro put his trust in them instead.

Kouro glanced at the two not-so-strangers and replied lightly, "My intuition tells me to believe in you guys, I knew you weren't bad from the start, I just did that just to see your true personality."

Hearing Kouro's reply, Sakura and Higokumaru felt like hitting Kouro in the face for toying with them.

Seeing Kouro like this, Theresa remembered the time he negotiated with herself in order to save the 3rd Herrscher.

Kouro, who didn't know what the other three were thinking, then asked Sakura and Higokumaru.

"By the way, if your real goal is the Pseudo-Herrscher, then why were you following us?"

Sakura thought for a moment to sort out her words and replied, "...That's because, you seem to have a special relationship with that Pseudo-Herrscher."

"...I do have a special relationship with her... Do you also want to hear her story?"

"...Well, we want to know who she really is and why she became like that." Higokumaru replied.

Kouro then passed his gaze at them who seemed very curious about the Pseudo-Herrscher, he can only sigh helplessly.

"Hahh... Fine, I'll tell you. But first, let's find a shelter to rest at."

Sakura and Higokumaru exchanged a look for a moment before nodding their heads.

"If both of you really believe in us, then follow us, well will take you to our resting place."

Kouro turned to Theresa first, and noticing his gaze, Theresa just sighed and said calmly, "I trust your intuition, Kouro."

Seeing that Theresa agreed, Kouro motioned for Sakura and Higokumaru to lead the way.

15 minutes later.

The four of them walked to a two-story apartment building that was still miraculously intact.

After entering the building, Kouro saw that the three of them were already sitting properly, waiting for him to tell his story.

Seeing this, Kouro sighed for the umpteenth time and stood up before starting, "That girl is called Akimitsu Ayame, she is my childhood friend. When I was little, she and I were close friends because we were neighbors, her house was on the left side of my house, not to mention she was a tomboy, which made it difficult to make friends."

"I often saw her playing alone at the playground, because she often said rude things, making her shunned by other girls. "

"But... Even so, she was my first reliable friend. " Kouro said with a slight smile.

After saying that, she then continued with a slightly sad expression, "...Ayame's family's economy was below average, her father was a gambling addict, while her mother only worked as a waitress in a cafe. "

"....Because of the debts accumulated due to gambling, Ayame's father and mother became stressed, the two of them argued with each other making Ayame scared. "

"Perhaps... The reason Ayame had a Tomboy personality back then was because she wanted to be strong, although sometimes I saw her body tremble in fear when she heard high voices. "

Kouro paused for a moment to take a breath before continuing with his hands clenched into fists, "I was only able to keep her company, play with her, and encourage her back then, just to give her a short period of not having to think about anything and have fun together. "

"Our relationship slowly grew closer, I also sometimes invited her to my house to stay overnight. Before finally on that night, a strange tattoo appeared on Ayame's back. "

"A strange tattoo? Could it be..." Theresa interrupted with a question.

"Yes, that strange tattoo... Stigmata." Kouro closed his eyes, no matter how many years had passed, he would never forget that incident.

"..."

"...Maybe for some people, having stigmata is a blessing, but for me, having stigmata is a curse."

"..."

"When Ayame was discovered to have the stigmata by her parents, Ayame was initially afraid that she would be scolded by her parents, but it turned out that her parents became happy when they found out that she had the stigmata, Ayame also became happy when she saw her parents happy."

"Ayame also told me the news with great joy. Until one day, I accidentally eavesdropped on Ayame's parents' conversation."

"...Do you know what they were talking about?" Kouro's tone continued to get higher.

"They intend to sell their only Daughter to a certain organization for money!"

"..."

"Hearing that from Ayame's parents' own mouths, I feel incredulous. For money they're willing to sell their own child!" Kouro said through gritted teeth.

Seeing Kouro's expression, Theresa then muttered with a worried expression, "Kouro..."

"I KNOW! I know, that they have no other choice, the debt they have has completely wrapped around them until they have no other choice but to sell their own child. " Kouro said with his hand hitting the floor until it cracked slightly.

*BAM! *

"... "

"Sorry, I lost control. " Kouro said with her head bowed before continuing, "...Although I understand the reason for their actions, I just can't accept that they were so desperate as to sell their own Daughter... "

"..."

"Hearing all that, I just looked at them coldly and left quietly. I didn't tell Ayame or anyone else."

"That's why in order to save Ayame... I made a plan, a plan that might make Ayame hate me. " Kouro said with his eyes shining coldly.