Seven Heroes Redux

— My mana regenerates faster in this state. And my magic residue decays faster too.

Tatsuya laughed at her.

— How does it feel?

— Hey, being too tall has it's problems too, you know?!

Yuto giggled. Then, he asked:

— Disruptor, how exactly do you plan to help me? The level 7's are not easy to deal with.

— Have you heard of Tokyo's orbital cannon? I plan to hack it.

— Wait, really? Can you control that monster from here?

— Unfortunately, no. I will need to fly there. I'll probably have only one chance.

— You're not planning on sacrificing yourself, are you?

— Of course, I'll try to escape after that. But the cannon needs recharge, so I can only shoot once. And they won't let me in again.

— That's good to hear. So I'll have to choose one enemy to use it against. I can probably deal with Stopwatch if I'm with my friends. Slade, I can convince her. How about you use it against Hakkiri, the top 1?

— Are you sure? He has electricity power, so he may be immune.

— That cannon is no joke. It could destroy a whole city if it was used at least once. They made it specifically as a last resort against disasters.

— Understood. When you're ready, please call me. Or not, actually, I know everything you do. When you defeat Slade, I'll go there immediately.

— That's more scary than comforting, but thank you.

Disruptor waved and left. Tatsuya said:

— I wanted to see the stars. Do you want to come with me?

Confused, Yuto asked:

— What? Why so suddenly?

— I have some important things to discuss with you, Yuto. We can use this opportunity to ease our mind before the main battles. Have you ever been to a farm?

— No, I like the urban landscape.

— Just as I thought. I like the city view too, but there are many others you need to experience.

— Do you own a farm?

— No, my uncle has one. He owns it, but he's never around. Just to show how rich he is.

— So your whole family is rich, huh. Alright, when do you plan to go there?

— Tonight. Unizard, Haji, what do you say?

Haji answered:

— I don't see a reason to refuse.

Unizard replied:

— Yeah, why not? As long as I don't have to fight. I must preserve my energy at all costs.

They finished lunch, with Koharu and Akari keeping them company. Evening came. Tatsuya arrived at Yuto's house with his blue supercar. Unizard spent time there, so they were all together.

— There, make yourselves comfortable.

Yuto couldn't believe his eyes:

— Tatsuya, how much did this cost again?

— 300 million yen, I think.

— How can you say that so casually?!

— Look, I have a job, alright?

— Even if I had one, I couldn't buy this with my life savings! What the hell is your job? Drug dealing?

— I'll tell you there. But we need to talk about a few things before.

— Really? I thought you would say something like "I don't trust my memories enough yet".

— I don't trust them enough. That's why we need to talk.

Yuto looked into Tatsuya's eyes. He was serious. What was so important that he wanted to talk about? The blue man smiled and added:

— Well, now is not the time yet. Even the car ride must be entertaining for all of us.

Tatsuya inserted a pen drive into the radio. An electronic music started playing.

— Wow, Tatsuya. I didn't know you had such a good taste in music.

Haji in the back seat patted Yuto on the shoulder and commented, smirking:

— This dork always played electronic music while playing online games. It made him feel like he was in an edit or something.

Small Unizard giggled genuinely:

— Huh, men...

Tatsuya also giggled:

— Really? That's good to hear. Like I said, I like the urban landscape. Appreciating it while listening to a symbol of the city is so magical.

Yuto replied:

— You're saying that when we're going to the middle of nowhere...

— Hey, my uncle may be a bit old but he knows everything about technology. His farm is a bit high tech.

— I feel like we're in a science fiction story now.

Tatsuya smiled while looking the road. The car was in auto pilot, but he was actually enjoying the view.

— Hey, have any of you seen that meme? Look at me, I drive.

The other three burst out laughing. They felt like they were hearing a dad joke. Wait, he really was a dad.

— Tatsuya, you aren't actually driving, but I understand. You're literally me.

— Yeah, that's the spirit!

— Wait, something is off. Genesis should be here! Everything is better with her.

Yuto called Genesis on his phone. She took a while, but she answered.

— Hi, Yuto! I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly... Is everything alright?

— More than alright, Genesis! Wait, is this a bad moment? You look like you're in trouble.

They saw her face cam. She was in the middle of a shootout. The beautiful starry sky was the background. Wearing a heavy coat and hat, she was crouching behind a small wall. The snow wind lightly swayed her red hair.

— N-No, I'm alright, really! If I was in danger, I wouldn't answer the call, haha...

— Are you sure? We wanted to include you in a group photo!

— A g-group photo? That's amazing! I can't wait to go back and meet you all!

Unizard commented:

— Hey, the music beat is coming! This will be the best time to take a screenshot!

Genesis, surprised, said:

— W-Wait, a screenshot? But my hair is messy and I'm wearing weird clothes...

Haji reassured it:

— Who cares, silly? You didn't hear Tatsuya saying the cringest jokes I ever heard! Everyone is being goofy today!

— Hey, I'm not cringe!

Genesis looked at them for a second. They were enjoying it the most they could. She smiled in response.

— Here's the beat!

The music reached the best part. Everyone started dancing their heads to it.

— Go, Yuto, now! Everyone, say cheese!

Everyone looked at the camera and smiled brightly. Genesis had the biggest smile, as always. Yuto took the screenshot with the whole squad laughing. Tatsuya commented:

— Save that photo with your life, Yuto. Everything can change from night to day, so we need to remember this moment.

They arrived at the farm. After a few minutes of looking at the stars and especially the moon, Tatsuya became increasingly restless, until he shouted:

— I don't care about what you say! Wisedroid killed you, I know you're a fake!

Yuto was more than confused by the sudden outburst of anger:

— Huh?

Tatsuya punched him in the face for some reason. Haji, startled, shouted:

— W-What the fuck?! Tatsuya, what is wrong with you?

— Don't you remember anything about the moon? Why isn't it cut?

Both of them confused, Yuto answered:

— What are you yapping about, bro?

— The moon, dammit! Slade was here and... wait. She wasn't supposed to be here at all.

— Slade?! You're losing your mind, Tatsuya.

— Wisedroid killed you, then Slade revenged you! Don't you remember any of that?

— Of course not! I don't even remember fighting Wisedroid, to begin with!

— Wait, were you telling the truth back then?

— You can bet your ass I was saying the truth! I was supposed to fight him with Ria, but the other day he was dead and me too, for some reason!

— I remember his smile! He was my friend. He died because you died! Why didn't you resist?

— Tatsuya, I think you need some rest.

Tatsuya held his head, as if he was seeing everyone else as crazy. Yuto approached him with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder.

— How about we sit on the grass and watch the stars? This could help us.

Out of instinct, Tatsuya punched Yuto to the ground. The impact was so strong he bounced off the grass. Haji, in disbelief, ran towards them and yelled:

— What the hell are you doing?! I thought we were friends!

— You stay right there, brat! This is between me and him!

She stopped, startled. Unizard wanted to help, but she knew Tatsuya was much stronger than he appeared. Besides, Yuto wasn't calling for help. Maybe he wanted them to stay out of this.

— Yuto, I'm sorry about punching you, but-

Yuto quickly got up and punched Tatsuya in the face.

— What the fuck is wrong with you?! I know you're having an epiphany or whatever, but we're friends! You can't just beat the shit out of me because you feel like it!

— We're not friends, Yuto. We've been enemies this whole time, and I can't let you live. Slade can't get her hands on you.

Tatsuya somehow teleported behind Yuto and kicked him to the side, sending him a few kilometers away. Just as he was about to get up, Tatsuya appeared from the side and kicked his stomach upwards several times, until Yuto was unable to move.