Reward

"Aren't ya a beautiful one?" The man said as he released a disgusting chuckle.

"Please...let me go. I don't have—" The woman was trembling with terror as she was nervously sweating from the extreme fear she was feeling.

"I know you don't have anything valuable. Lucky for you, I'm not intending to rob you at all." The man whispered into the woman's ears before he gave her a disgustingly malicious smirk.

"No, please—" The woman said in a desperate voice, on the verge of collapsing from fear and bursting into tears after she realized what will happen to her.

The man pointed his knife at her neck and pushed it against her throat, not injuring her. "I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice. Now turn around, and be a good girl." He said as he rubbed his hand between the woman's thighs.

The woman acted on impulse and elbowed the man, making him loosen his grip and drop the knife. The woman saw a chance and quickly grabbed the knife that was lying on the ground before the man grabbed her again. She used all of her strength to try and stab him in his side, but she was shocked to hear the sound of clashing metal the moment she stabbed him.

The man released an internal laugh before he started talking, "Surprised? Did you think that you could so easily overpower me?" He said as he pointed his finger at the woman's throat before it slowly transformed into a metal blade. "This is your last chance. Turn around and be a good girl." The man whispered into the woman's ear in a murderous voice before he pushed the blade forward towards her throat.

The woman was left with no choice and turned around while her tears were coming down uncontrollably. She was silently crying after realizing that her frail body can't compare to this man's strength and that no one can save her from such a situation.

The man pulled the woman behind a dumpster and started ripping her clothes off as she was silently crying while tears were racing down her cheeks. She then felt the man touching her body, starting from her upper body and slowly making his way towards the lower part between her thighs. All of her life regrets started pouring on her like a waterfall.

The only thing that woman wanted was at least a little glimmer of hope. Someone or something to save her from this dire situation.

"Oi." A voice called out from behind.

The man was almost about to vomit from the extreme fear and terror he felt from this very unpleasant surprise. He quickly transformed his arm into a metallic blade before he turned around and swung it with all of his power and speed.

Kurayama barely dodged the slash that ripped his mask in half. However, he quickly regained himself. His arm was surrounded by black mist before he delivered an unbelievably powerful punch that punctured through the man’s chest.

While gargling on his blood, the man looked up to see his murderer. It was a man covered with a dark mist, wearing a black cotton mask with a skull painted on it, and black eyes with red irises. He was glaring at him with wide eyes, eyes that screamed out 'Death'.

Kurayama retracted his arm from the man's chest before he collapsed to the ground like a lifeless doll. Kurayama was infuriated. His cotton mask was ripped to shreds by the man's swing. It was unwearable.

"Son of a bitch! That was the only one I had. Fucking surprise attacks." Kurayama complained in an irritated voice as he removed the mask, revealing his face.

Kurayama took a quick glance at the woman. She was silently crying as she curled up her half-naked body and hugged her legs.

Kurayama stared at her for a few seconds, right before she lifted her head and took a quick glance at him. Kurayama quickly turned around and covered his face before he used his dark whip to grapple onto the roof of the building and pulled himself upwards.

The woman stared at him as he disappeared. She wiped her tears and cracked a half-smile of sadness yet relief.

Kurayama was back on the building that he was on top of before. He grabbed his mask and shoved it back into his black duffle bag. Suddenly, Kurayama stared at his arm with an irritated and frustrated look on his face, remembering how the rapist almost sliced his head off.

"Goddamit, I'm still weak since then..." He said, remembering the time Kiomaru locked his memories away. The moment he became weak.

------

Kurayama finally was determined enough to wake up from his bed at noon after the sunlight interrupted his peaceful sleeping session. He walked out of his room and headed straight to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Before he opened the fridge, he remembered something really important.

"Ah, fuck. I ate my last cereal yesterday." He said as he opened the fridge to find a half-full carton of milk.

"Oh well, the milk will do." He sighed before he grabbed the carton of milk and chugged it down.

He sat on the sofa and released another sigh, "Great, I don't have money, and I got kicked out of my last job for being too sleep-deprived. Fan-fucking-tastic." He said in frustration.

Kurayama was thinking. He was thinking about his financial problems and how he can no longer even buy food to eat. Then, he remembered something.

"Oh, the officer said something about a reward from the heroes agency." He blurted out, finally seeing a solution.

Kurayama wore his casual clothes, which consisted of a black sweater, black pants, and black shoes, and headed towards the nearby heroes agency.

Once he entered the agency, Kurayama was startled by the vast and busy interior of it. The agency was made up of six vast sections:

-Reward section

-Complaint section (Heroes and civilians)

-Job request (Only for people requesting the help of heroes)

-Mission request (Only for heroes requesting a job)

-Hero applications

-General aid

Kurayama walked towards the reward section and made his way towards one of the many receptionists there. As he was making his way towards her, he realized that she was a little bit familiar.

"Hello, sir. Welcome to the Heroes Government Agency. How may I help you?" The woman said in a professional smile before she took a better look at Kurayama.

Kurayama and the woman were in shock after staring at each other. He saw the woman that he saved yesterday, while she saw the man that saved her yesterday.

"Y-y-you...you are—" She struggled to say while trying to suppress her tears.

Kurayama quickly cleared his throat and interrupted the receptionist, "No need to thank me. Just, please be quiet about it here." He said in a calm voice as he stared at the woman.

The woman nodded in response and wiped the tears from her eyes before giving a professional smile to Kurayama. "Of—...Of course. How may I help you, sir?" She said in an equally professional voice.

"Well, I would like to receive my 'Part-time Hero' reward." He replied.

"What's your name, sir?" Said the woman as she turned to her computer.

"Ishigami Kurayama." He hesitantly stated.

The woman nodded and started typing on the keyboard.

"You defused an armed robbery yesterday, is that correct?" She professionally inquired.

"Yes."

"Well then, sir. The agency has already deposited 55,000.00 yen into your bank account. You may withdraw them at any moment."

Kurayama was shocked by the amount of money. "Woah—... Um, anyway, thank you for your help." He said as he turned around, making his way towards the exit.

"By the way," the woman said, making Kurayama turn around to hear what she has to say, "My—... My name is Kiode Hirono" She bashfully said.

"Um...okay. Thanks, Kiode." He said as he forced himself to make a friendly smile, making Kiode blush more.

Kurayama then walked out of the agency and towards the nearest ATM he could find. He inserted his credit card and checked if the money was actually deposited. Much to his surprise, it was.

"Wow, I have 55,000 yen. I guess I won't go get a loan from the bank...yet." Kurayama said in a relieved voice.

------

After finally having enough spending money, Kurayama made his way towards the nearest supermarket he could find. Upon entering the supermarket, he bought as much food, toilet paper, and batteries as he can afford.

Making his way towards the cashier, Kurayama saw an awfully familiar figure. However, he couldn't quite determine who it was due to him looking down at the cashing machine, calculating the total of Kurayama's groceries.

"Alright, sir. That will be 27,000 yen. Would you rather pay with cash or with your credit card—" The cashier asked before he locked eyes with Kurayama.

Kurayama and the cashier both looked at each other in absolute shock. Kurayama was in complete disbelief as he stared at the very unpleasant surprise in front of him.

The cashier was a grim reminder of Kurayama's dark past. It was Subject#2 from Lab 5. The boy with the golden eyes.