Leaves in the Wind

Night Terror
"Get out of my way!"

One of the en, troopers of the, turned toward the source of the shout. of condensed already manifested in his hand followed his gaze shortly... too late. An armoured gauntlet smashed into his masked face. The clawed fingers clasped around it and, with considerable momentum, the Soldat was brought down to the ground head-first. Crashed into it with a sickening sound as his skull was cracked, brain and blood smeared across the shattered pavement.

"You..."

Fourth Seat Officer of the Third Division, Teruo Akui, crouched over the dead body like a predator ready to pounce. His short, black hair tousled, hazel eyes wide open and bloodshot, drops of perspiration gathering on his dark skin. His fierce stare fixed at a pair of enemies who had just noticed him.

They lifted their bows and fired their. Teruo did leap at them indeed, rotating mid-air to evade the projectiles. Then, he landed right before them and passed by at a high speed. One of the Quincy groaned when his side exploded into a fountain of blood, torn apart by the spikes that protruded from Akui's Shikai. A spiky gauntlet and vambrace that looked more like a torture implement than a weapon.

The other one turned around, arrows bursting forth from his bow one after another. However, Teruo jumped into the air in a, over the arrows, with a kick delivered straight to the Soldat's back. With a loud crack the spine broke, and the Quincy crashed into the ground. Akui landed on all fours, like an animal, panting and looking around frantically.

"Who else...!?", he yelled over the clamour of battle.

Suddenly, he felt it. A powerful approaching the area, eclipsing that of the rank-and-file the way Sun overshadowed common stars upon the daytime sky. Teruo stood up in preparation to face another opponent. Heat. He felt incredible heat, yet he trembled. He bared his teeth.

"Man, why are you all dyin' like bitches? You can't even deal with a single ?"

There he was. A young man in a white uniform. By far, his most striking and recognisable feature was his short, red mohawk. There was no doubt about it – he was a. In fact, Akui did actually recognise him from the records of the previous battle. He was the one.

"You!", he exclaimed. "You're the one who wounded Lieutenant and killed the others!", veins bulged out on Akui's temples.

"Ah? Yeah, maybe. I killed lots of you guys", admitted. "You all go down like wusses so I don't really memorise everyone I waste, though."

"Graaaah!"

Roar of fury. Fueled by the desire to avenge his fallen comrades, Teruo charged at the Sternritter. Recklessly so.

"Just, like, that", added Bazz-B with a smirk.

A flash of light. Searing heat. A burning sensation exploding within his chest. Struck by a single of incredibly focussed fire, Akui instantly lost his impetus. Defeated casually, nonchalantly, with a single blow. His face contorted, unintelligible gurgle escaping from his mouth as he fell. Collided with cold stone, barely able to move.

"No...", he whispered when he sensed the Sternritter simply move on.

"No...", he muttered when he saw a unit of Quincy approach the estate of his family.

"No...!", he groaned when he heard the arrows shoot, and the screams that followed, cut off abruptly.

"NOOOOO!"

***

"Nooo!"

He woke up. That was another nightmare. Again. He cast aside the duvet, soaked in sweat, and after a moment's hesitation, got up from his . Absent-mindedly, he touched his chest with his left hand. His muscles, like steel wires underneath skin, tensed with each motion. There was a single circular burn scar in the middle of his chest, its other half on his back, between the shoulder blades. A constant reminder of his failure.

He was weak. Too weak to protect what he cherished, so he lost almost everything. Almost.

Still somewhat shaken, he opened the sliding door to his room and entered the hallway. He attempted to move silently, but all in vain.

"A nightmare again? I've heard you."

There was a boy standing in the doorway to the opposite room. Younger, shorter, with longer hair of a brown colour, yet still quite similar to his older brother. Yuji Akui, the current Fourth Seat Officer of the Third Division.

"Why aren't you fast asleep?", asked Teruo in response. "You need a lot of rest if you want physical conditioning to be effective."

Yuji rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Right, right, of course. Training. Sheesh. You want to be the new Captain-Commander or something?"

The older Akui narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at his brother as he was passing by.

"Something like that. Now seriously, go to sleep."

He proceeded to move to the bathroom. He had to wash his face, at least. Perhaps the whole body.

"You aren't the only one who's got nightmares, Teruo-niisan."

He stopped.

"I know, Yuji."

"But we're gonna get strong, right? So things like that won't happen ever again."

Deep breath, then slowly exhale.

"Yes, Yuji. That won't happen ever again."