Crimson Rebellion

CHAPTER 10 — THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK

The station was silent.

The stranger stood beneath the flickering light, his crimson mask still covering half of his face.

Ren couldn't move.

He stared at him.

Something about the man's presence felt wrong.

Familiar.

But impossible.

The stranger slowly lowered his weapon.

Then he reached for his mask.

Raiden suddenly stepped forward.

“Don't.”

The stranger stopped.

Ren looked at Raiden.

“Why?”

Raiden's eyes never left the stranger.

“Because you don't want to see his face.”

Ren frowned.

“I've already seen enough.”

He stepped forward.

“I want to know who he is.”

Raiden shook his head.

“Ren, listen to me.”

“No.”

Ren's voice became firmer.

“Everyone keeps telling me what I should know and what I shouldn't.”

He pointed toward the stranger.

“If he knows something about my father, I'm going to hear it from him.”

The stranger laughed quietly.

“That's exactly what I expected.”

Raiden's expression darkened.

“Stay out of this.”

The stranger looked at Raiden.

“You've been keeping him away from the truth for five years.”

He slowly removed his mask.

Ren's eyes widened.

The tattooed recruit stared at the man.

“No way…”

Ren couldn't breathe.

The face in front of him wasn't completely unfamiliar.

He had seen it before.

Not in the present.

In his memories.

A man standing beside his father.

A man smiling while holding a young Ren's hand.

A man who had been there the night everything burned.

Ren whispered:

“Who are you?”

The stranger looked at him.

“My name is Kaito.”

Ren's eyes widened.

“Kaito…”

The name triggered another memory.

A little boy running through a hallway.

His father's voice.

A man's laughter.

Then fire.

Ren grabbed his head.

“Stop…”

Kaito took a step toward him.

“You remember me.”

Ren shook his head.

“I don't.”

“You do.”

Kaito's voice was calm.

“Your memories are buried. But they're still there.”

Raiden stepped between them.

“That's enough.”

Kaito looked at him.

“You're still doing it.”

Raiden clenched his fists.

“Doing what?”

“Protecting him from the truth.”

Kaito looked at Ren.

“Ask Raiden what happened after your father disappeared.”

Ren turned toward Raiden.

“What happened?”

Raiden didn't answer.

Ren stepped closer.

“Raiden.”

Still nothing.

Ren's voice became louder.

“What happened to my father?”

Raiden finally looked at him.

“He disappeared.”

“You already told me that.”

“He disappeared after the massacre.”

Ren shook his head.

“You're lying.”

Raiden's eyes narrowed.

“You don't know that.”

“I know because everyone keeps giving me different answers!”

Ren pointed toward Kaito.

“He says my father is alive.”

Then he pointed toward Raiden.

“You say he disappeared.”

Ren's voice cracked.

“So which one is it?”

Kaito answered.

“He's alive.”

Raiden immediately turned toward him.

“Don't.”

Kaito ignored him.

“Your father survived the fire.”

Ren froze.

The station seemed to disappear around him.

“What?”

Kaito continued.

“He was badly injured, but he survived.”

Ren stared at him.

“Where is he?”

Kaito's expression changed.

“That's the part you aren't going to like.”

Ren swallowed.

“Tell me.”

Kaito looked at Raiden.

“Your father wasn't taken by the Hollow.”

Raiden's expression became cold.

“He left willingly.”

Ren stared at Raiden.

“Why?”

Raiden looked away.

“Because he knew they would come for you.”

Ren's voice became quiet.

“So he left me?”

“No.”

Raiden looked directly at him.

“He left to protect you.”

Ren didn't understand.

“If he was alive, why didn't he come back?”

Raiden didn't answer.

Kaito did.

“Because someone convinced him that you were safer without him.”

Ren looked at Raiden.

His eyes widened.

“You?”

Raiden remained silent.

Kaito stepped forward.

“Raiden told your father that if he returned, the Hollow would find you.”

Ren stared at Raiden.

“Is that true?”

Raiden's jaw tightened.

“Yes.”

Ren's heart sank.

“So you kept him away from me.”

“I kept you alive.”

“You had no right!”

Ren's voice echoed through the station.

Raiden didn't react.

“I was eight years old!”

Ren's eyes filled with anger.

“You decided everything for me!”

Raiden lowered his gaze.

“You were a child.”

“And now I'm not!”

Silence.

The tattooed recruit watched them from a distance.

For once, he had nothing to say.

Kaito slowly turned toward the entrance.

“We don't have much time.”

Raiden immediately looked at him.

“What are you talking about?”

Kaito reached into his coat.

He pulled out a small photograph.

He handed it to Ren.

Ren looked down.

His hands began shaking.

The photograph showed three people.

His father.

Raiden.

And Kaito.

They were standing together in front of an old building.

But something was wrong.

The building behind them carried the same symbol.

The black circle.

Three lines cutting through the center.

The Hollow symbol.

Ren looked at Raiden.

“You said you weren't part of the Hollow.”

Raiden didn't answer.

Kaito looked at him.

“He wasn't.”

Ren frowned.

“Then why were you all together?”

Kaito's expression became serious.

“Because five years ago…”

He paused.

“…Crimson Rebellion and the Hollow weren't enemies.”

Ren's eyes widened.

Raiden finally spoke.

“And that's why you need to leave.”

Ren looked at him.

“Leave?”

Raiden turned toward the station entrance.

“They know we're here.”

A distant sound echoed through the tunnel.

Footsteps.

Dozens of them.

Kaito looked toward the darkness.

“They found us.”

Raiden's expression hardened.

“Ren.”

Ren looked at him.

“Stay behind me.”

Ren tightened his fists.

“No.”

Raiden frowned.

Ren looked toward the approaching shadows.

“I'm done hiding behind everyone else.”

For the first time, Raiden smiled.

Not proudly.

Not happily.

Almost sadly.

“Then stay close.”

The lights above them flickered.

One by one, they went out.

Darkness swallowed the station.

Then a voice echoed through the tunnel.

“Raiden Kuro.”

Raiden's eyes narrowed.

The voice continued.

“You've been hiding the boy for five years.”

A pause.

“Tonight…”

Footsteps grew louder.

“…we take him back.”

Ren stood beside Raiden.

His fists were clenched.

He no longer knew who his father was.

He no longer knew whether he could trust Raiden.

But one thing was certain.

Whatever happened five years ago…

was about to happen again.

NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW:

The Hollow have found Ren.

But this time, Crimson Rebellion isn't prepared for what is coming.

As the enemy closes in, Kaito reveals one final secret about Ren's father:

“Your father left something behind.”

Ren asks what it is.

Kaito looks at Raiden.

Then says:

“Something that could destroy both Crimson Rebellion and the Hollow.”

END OF CHAPTER 10

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