-52-

Hiiro holds up the gashat that Masamune gave him not too long ago. "I should be honest about my real orders. I have to destroy Parad."

"Why didn't you tell me that originally?" I am concerned about Parad's safety now. "Hiiro, why did you say-"

"Because I knew you would object to it. You don't want Emu to lose the ability to be Ex-Aid, so I hid it from you." We're in a fake relationship and he is hiding stuff from me. Feels like a real relationship now to me. 

"Why would you hide that from me though? Is it because you fear me getting in the way of your mission?" I look him, staring at his cold face, and he looks away. "Answer me, Hiiro!" 

Hiiro looks like he is a hot mess right now. He doesn't seem to be in the right mind. Masamune is making him do things he doesn't want to do.

"I didn't want you to run to his side and get into harm's way. Elk, you have to promise me that you won't do that." He steps closer to me and grabs my hands. "Please, don't run to his side and defend him! I don't want to hurt you because I have orders to harm you if you interfere." 

My eyes go wide. "No way..." Masamune is already expecting me to do things to betray him and have me tossed out the moment I do. 

"I don't want you to die at all. I don't want to lose my friend," Hiiro says, his eyes watering up a bit. "I am only doing this because Saki...I need her to come back. You have to understand that. I love her with all my heart and soul, which is why I have to do this all. I really don't want to take your life during this."

I swallow a bit. "Hiiro..." 

I understand the fear he has in dealing with Parad when I'm around him. I know Emu can defend himself for sure, but Parad can get a bit too cocky and lose it. Parad may be a good gamer, but he's not on Emu's level in my opinion. Emu thinks carefully about his moves and what to do next. Parad sort of thinks and sort of doesn't think. 

"Emu is going to be with him. I have the reports from Masamune about the sighting of Parad with someone." Right...people still report which Bugster needs to be beaten in order to beat this game. 

"Emu..." I can't even run to his side and hug him to death. "Fine. Do what you can, but I don't expect you to be able to do much."

He lets go off my hands, which are surprisingly quite cool, and nods slowly. "Alright, let's get going to see what they are up to."

I guess I'm going to see what he is up to.

~.~

"Parad, I have orders from Masamune to discontinue you," Hiiro says, moving forward towards the three beings in front of him. One is a Bugster, the other is my true love, and the last one is Parad. 

"Hiiro-san?" Emu is confused about why he's here, but I don't blame him. It isn't like I can openly communicate with him while I'm at Masamune's company. "Wait...is that Elkie over there?"

I hold up a hand, waving at them. "I'm here to make sure that Hiiro completes his orders. I'm afraid it is going to be a Game Over for you all one day." I look at Parad. I hope he knows that I am just playing along. 

Parad turns, his suit moving with him, and he looks our way. "Give it up, Hiiro," he states, bossing Hiiro around. "You cannot beat me." Parad is going to be hard to face. 

Hiiro reaches into his pocket and holds up his fancy gashat Masamune gave him. "I have the power to do so."

"What in the world is that gashat?" Right...he hasn't seen it, right? Neither have I. At least not in battle. 

"I will definitely bring her back," Hiiro says, pressing on the side of his fancy gashat. "Proceeding with level one hundred." He transforms, his suit white and gold, and I gasp.

"Who are you?" Parad's Bugster buddy asks.

"Level one hundred..." Emu is stunned. I can't blame him. Hiiro looks pretty cool in that suit because of the color of it. 

"Hey, now that looks exciting!" Parad exclaims, sounding amused by Hiiro's new upgrade. I agree that it does look exciting, but he's still not as amazing as Emu. 

Hiiro rushes towards Parad and Parad moves forward, connecting blades with each other. Okay, they are completely stupid. They are seriously going to fight out in the open like this? They're not going to change the type of area it is? Just gonna fight in the middle of this place? Yep, great idea.

"Thinking they're stupid?" Emu asks me and I look over, my eyes landing on him. When did he get so close to me?

"Yeah, of course I am." 

"I just wanted to get in a quick word with you before I go and handle that Bugster. I love you, Elkie," he tells me, smiling at me softly. Aw...he loves me!

"I love you too." I smile back and look over at the Bugster. "You better get that thing before it decides to hurt someone. I'm trusting you to handle business well, Emu."

"I can show off my new form to you now." He moves away from me, moving a bit forward. "I'm going to change the fate of the patient with my own two hands!" Oh, he definitely will! "Hyper Transformation!" 

Hyper Transformation? What is that? Is it cool?

Emu transforms, turning into a person in a gold suit, and I gasp. Wow, that is so cool! Is this the new form he had to show me? Of course it is! I'm just in shock right now from how awesome he looks while standing there in it.

"Hey, isn't that Brave?" Nico? 

I turn my head, staring at Taiga and his assistant in the distance. I guess he doesn't trust Jennie to be around here. I wonder why that is. 

I turn my head, returning my attention to Emu, as he hits the Bugster down to the ground. I wonder how much I missed while staring at Nico and Taiga. It seems like I have missed a bit of the fight, but that is okay. It isn't like I'm good at paying attention to anything but how great Emu is. I wonder if that can be considered a secret talent of mine.

Emu activates his finisher and slashes the Bugster a few times. Emu moves behind him, holding his weapon carefully, and the Bugster looks down at their body. It appears that it did nothing, but I'm sure it did something. This is a new power and it works in a whole new way.

"Your attacks appear to be weak. They did nothing to me!" The Bugster exclaims, seeming happy about their seemingly untouched state. No, Emu definitely did do something to them and they will see it soon.

"The game has already ended for you," Emu tells the Bugster and the Bugster screams, obviously in pain. See? Did something.

"Ah..." Is that Parad? 

I look over as Parad stands up as Hiiro gets ready to hit him with a finisher. Parad activates his and swings, trying to fend it off. Hiiro's attack breaks through it and hits him, sending Parad falling to the ground as his health bar gets low.

"Parad..." I can't even move forward to assist him right now.

"If I eliminate you, then I will get my wish," Hiiro says, sounding sure of what he wants. 

Nico moves between them. "I'm going to deal the last hit to him!"

"Move out of the way!" Hiiro shouts, ordering her to get lost. I don't blame him for wanting her gone. She's freaking annoying. 

"Oh, shut the heck up! Why are you even after him anyway? What does this even mean to you?" She turns to him, staring at him as she pulls out her Rider Player Gashat. 

"How about you just stand aside?" Taiga appears beside her and shoves her back. Did he just put his hands on a girl for no real reason?

"That hurts! What are you even thinking about? We're on the same side here!" Nico shouts, mad at Taiga.

I look at Parad as he stares at the chaos. He should be running any moment. He's not going to want to stick around for any of the rest of the mess. 

"This is just boring," Parad says, sounding disappointed in what happened to his fight with Hiiro. Does he even care that he was about to be killed? "Elkie, see you later." 

"Peace, I guess?" What do I even say to that? 

He disappears, leaving in pixels, and I look over at Hiiro as he moves forward a bit. Yeah, he's definitely upset that his kill left. I guess it wasn't meant to be. Parad gets to live another day and I get to keep on going.

"Hey, this is your fault, Taiga!" Nico shouts, still mad from getting shoved onto the ground. "Why did you stop me?"

"This is Brave's fight to fight. It isn't yours," Taiga responds and I roll my eyes. Parad belongs to Emu, so we should let Emu deal with him. 

I turn as Taiga faces Hiiro. "It seems like you have made your choice," he comments, making Hiiro turn his head to him. Yeah, Hiiro has made his decision. 

Hiiro ends his transformation and looks away. "You do not have to worry about me. At least...not until I reclaim my past. Elk, let's get going."

"Hiiro..." Now? 

"Wait...I still believe in you!" Emu shouts and I turn to him as he stops near Nico and Taiga. "Someday you're going to return to the CR with Elkie." 

"Elkie, let's leave," Hiiro orders, turning away and moving ahead. 

I have no choice but to go.

A/n: I am sorry for the late chapter. I was busy. 

Thanks for reading and waiting!