1.69: No Witnesses

*Bandit hideout; Legon City*

***

All the members of the Sapphire Dawn were staring at the building right before Gale showed up.

"...What the hell..?"

Gale stood idle as he witnessed the destruction the building had suffered. Konami was catching her breath after causing havoc a few minutes earlier.

"What happened here?"

"K-Konami…she has powers?!" Toru asked.

"The building…and everything inside it…"

Gale walked to her and noticed the ruins she prompted. "Konami, did you do this?"

Gradually, she turned to him, her eyes beaming with spiritas. "Gale… I'm going to be a Last Hero…"

Thud!

She passed out on Gale's shoulder, and he took her to the others. "Alright, guys. This can be considered a job well done. We will discuss this matter further at the base. For now, Let's leave before we attract any unwanted attention."

Nobody had anything to say against his order, so they all left obediently.

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*10 minutes later*

***

The Rebirth guild arrived at the scene after a report from one of the civilians.

"Martin…do you see all of this?" Bobby asked. "A whole building squashed to thin air. That has to be some strength to do this much damage."

Lennox and Yamato were checking for any survivors or clues.

"Any luck, you two?" Martin asked.

"Apart from mass destruction, not much was left of anybody," Lennox said.

"By what I can assume…" Yamato's eyes began to glow as he picked up one of the bandit's arms.

"EWW!! DROP THAT!" Gonzales commanded as he vomited.

He squeezed it to allow some blood to fall on Gonzales's hand. "AAAAAHHHHH!!!"

"STOP BEING A BABY AND DO YOUR JOB!"

"He suppressed the urge to vomit, took a deep breath, and composed himself.". "T-This is why I hate my…prowess?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and came close to him.

"They were afraid of losing someone—their boss! And…a big guy—I can't tell who he is…but he was annoyed about their presence."

"That must be Chiampa, and Motoroshi was the boss they were waiting for," Martin answered him.

"A guy walked in. They are laughing at him…but wait, the big guy is glad all of a sudden. And five other people barged in from there…he died after that."

"Dammit. This means that a group ambushed them. Can you find any more detail?" Lennox asked as he kept writing this down.

"Alright, but we'll need a new corpse."

So they all moved the broken pieces around to find something.

"GAH!"

A loud gasp for air was heard under the gravel of concrete. "H-HELP ME!"

"He's still alive! Bobby, help me take him out."

Bobby ate a Demonico, and his body began to increase in mass. With one swoop, the bandit was free.

"COUGH! Thank…you."

Martin did not hesitate and tied him up. "W-WHAT IS THIS FOR?!"

"Listen, we are the Rebirth Guild and need all the details of what transpired here."

The bandit lost his fear and began to laugh. "Hehehe. And what makes you think I'll talk?"

The bandit spat on his shoe and laughed, but Yamato came close and held his knee.

~LIVING BLADE: SCREAMING SHOCK!!

SNAP!!

The bandit's thumb exploded off his hand.

"AAAAAHHHH!!!"

He tried pressing onto the chair to stop the bleeding. "Next time, that will be your balls if you don't talk; NOW SPIT IT!"

The bandit started shivering as he looked up at him. "T…That…prowess. YOU'RE A FUSHIGIRI!"

Yamato flinched with anger.

"WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! The Rebirth is working with-"

SNAP!!

"AAAHHH!!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND TALK YOU FOOL!"

"Yamato! Calm down, get back to the car…now."

"Martin, I will make him talk, just give me a little more-"

"Please."

Martin did not want another word, and Yamato punched the ground and began walking away.

"Now then, I'll take it from here," Gonzales said. "Hi, Sir; we're glad you survived the incident. My name is… G.G. and we are here to find out what you know about everything."

"HUH? And what makes you think I will talk?!"

Gonzales smiled. "Your freedom."

The bandit stopped laughing, and that gave Gonzales an idea. "Y-Yes! We are from headquarters, the most secured area in the Primal region."

"Show me your-"

They all took out their badges and Identification cards. "I am not here to take your time, and I know you don't want to do that either. All we want is information; if you cooperate, we can assure maximum protection."

The bandit began to shake his head but then started disagreeing.

"You don't understand, they will kill me. If I say anything… I'm a dead man!"

"Don't worry; you only have to tell us what you can. For starters, what happened here?"

Gonzales slowly unlocked his chains and set him free. "Here, have some water."

The bandit nabbed the bottle off his hand and gulped it down. "BAH! T-thank you! It was so scary, but I remember everything..."

"It kinda happened a few minutes ago, but alright…" Bobby said.

"R-really?! Oh no-"

"D-Don't worry about it! You're safe now. Bobby, you're not helping!" Gonzales exclaimed. "Sir, go ahead."

"Yes, it was a group of ronins, and a Fushigiri was leading them. But he seemed to have known our hideout…so he must have known my master!"

"What is this master's name? Please tell us that, and we will protect you. You have my word."

"You seem more negotiable. Look…I will tell you everything I-"

In two seconds, Yamato saw a shadow above him, and it began to smile at him.

"No witnesses should be left behind."

Before he could warn the others, his body turned back to the bandit, and he blew up his heart.

SNAP!!

"!!! YAMATO NO!!"

"W-huh?"

The bandit died with a smile as he was staring at the shadow. "M-Master Kojima…" His eyes lost their shine, and his head tilted away.

"NO, HE'S DEAD! DAMMIT YAMATO, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Martin asked furiously.

"I-I didn't do anything! My body moved by itself, and, and…I SAW SOMETHING!"

"Gonzales quickly! Get some memory from him."

"I can't. Yamato's attack killed him now...meaning if I try to use his blood, I will only see this event."

"F*CK! WE WERE SO CLOSE!" Martin held the dead body before draining the corpse of whatever blood was left of it. He opened a bottle and stored it inside.

"Let's go back to H.Q. The boss needs to be alerted." Martin ordered.

"Martin, Look, I promise I had-"

"You could have told me it hurt you this much, Yamato. I thought it was a code that we don't bring our emotions to the battlefield."

He shoved him out of his way and entered the car.

***

"Another painting that came on point. Well done, Seto," a mysterious man said while joining him on the rooftops.

"You going down there was unnecessary, Kojima. You could have gotten caught."

"Oh, please. Even if they tried to capture me, I would have turned them inside out."

Seto held up the painting of Yamato killing the bandit. "So, how did it come out?"

"Well, I did suggest going for the brain; why draw the heart?"

Seto shrugged his shoulders and held the paintbrush on the painting.

~ART PROWESS: RETRIBUTION CUT!

SWISH!!

The painting turned blank again, and he quickly slid it into his bag. The body of the bandit and the remains of the building vanished as if it never existed.

"Wow, I always seem to forget how dangerous your prowess is…Major 2."

"Come on, I hate being called that. Besides, art must have a start and a finish. And if the painter is not pleased,…"

"He has to fetch a new canvas." Kojima finished his quote. "That is why I am always here to get you one. Come on, let's go back."

Kojima wanted to aid him, but Seto sat down and began illustrating a new painting.

"Hey, Seto! We can do this at home; what other building are you sending to the Art Hell?"

"No, this is a vision, AND I LIKE IT!"

Kojima came closer and watched. "What, is that a tree?"

Seto began to laugh. "YES! I drew a trunk; you already know what is happening in my head." "That's because I have been doing this for ten years."

Seto lifted the brush and smiled. "So what did I draw?"

Kojima looked closer and tried tilting his head in both directions.

"That is a school, but wait…you and three other majors attending it. No, don't tell me…"

"Kojima, I will enroll myself at Red Star High!"