Shattering Humanity-Chapter 116: Lines Instead Of Footprints

In a beach town, overlooking the ocean that stretches to the horizon. Alien snow is falling around Katsu and Shelly while they are by themselves looking at the slow, soft waves from the sidewalk bike path.

The blue color of the water and the color of Shelly’s eyes are different blues but between going back and forth between the two, Katsu can’t help but compare the beauty of the two shades of blue in their "calm state".

She looks over at him when he’s looking back out at the water and she blushes.

Shelly: "Remember when we went to the beach for the first time when I moved in?"

Katsu smiles and nods.

Katsu: "My mom and dad went to the snack bar to grab some food. I swam too far out and the tide pulled me, but you came to save me.There’s been so many times, I’d be dead if it weren’t for you. (looks at Shelly)You truly are my guardian angel. Haha, it’s like you’re my ’Shell’."

Shelly blushes a more brighter red.

Shelly: "N-No I’m just-. I do it because-."

Luckily, there is a flushing noise from the bathroom they were standing next to that bails her out. Aiden walks out writing in a small notepad flipped halfway through. The genius looks at Shelly with such enthusiasm and haste for her attention it makes the respectable fighter flinch backwards.

Aiden: "Shelly! Can you step into the bathroom for a minute and then come out and let me know if you feel any different?!"

Confused, but willing to help her fellow smarty-pants, Shelly walks into the single bathroom and closes the door. Both Aiden and Katsu are next to the door.

Aiden: "Well Shelly, do you feel any different from outside?!"

They both lean to the door to listen.

Shelly: "You said to wait... so gimmie a minute!"

Daisuki, Scylia, and Charybdis walk up behind Katsu and Aiden while they are leaning up against the bathroom door.

Daisuki: "Wow! So that’s what you guys are into? Kinda gross."

Scylia: "You boys should be ashamed of yourselves!"

Char: "Ehh, I guess I can understand the interest."

Shelly comes out to see Aiden and Katsu pleading their case. She steps out into the "snow" and then as soon as the first flake touches her head, her eyes grow wide and she looks at her hand, opens and closes it. She turns around, looks at the edge of the roof of the small public bathroom, at least 10+ feet off the ground.

While the boys are on their knees begging for forgiveness they miss what makes the other three drop their jaws. Katsu and Aiden turn around to see Shelly on top of the bathroom roof, at least 10+ feet off the ground.

Daisuki: "Shelly, did you just- did you just fly?!"

Shelly looks down at them all from the top of the roof, smiling with the widest grin seen so far.

Shelly: "Nope! I jumped!"

Just like how Saku couldn’t help but see Itsuka as an angel with the sun as her backdrop, Katsu can’t help but feel it is only proper to stare up at her on his knees. As if she actually was a messenger or guardian sent from God. With her physical ability and all of her attached weaponry weight that is juxtaposed to her beauty and seeming innocence.

They all watch as Aiden the researcher, finishes a note, flips the pad closed, and puts it in his sweatpants pocket with the mechanical pencil.

Aiden: "Okay, so all I need is to ask for Sol’s results and opinion, then I should have a stable first thesis."

Daisuki smiles while he grabs Scylia’s hand with her new engagement ring and holds it, entwining their fingers.

Daisuki: "Well you kids do whatever you want, just don’t get into trouble. This side of ’Outer Sanpaku’ is the quieter, Icemen-less side that we were in when trying to out maneuver Nephilim. The most we gotta worry about is the better of Humanity’s Final Flame soldiers and Academy students trying to collect our bounties."

Shelly jumps off the roof with multiple flips and rotations, landing perfectly. It would get perfect 10’s in any gymnastics competition, from amateur level to Olympic.

Shelly: "Then why did you play it up with ’King Butthurt’ like it would be a competition?"

Daisuki chuckles.

Daisuki: "I just wanted to give him something to feel good about. Listen, I know he kinda asks for it, and it is his fault most of the time, but go easy on him. He’s just prideful because he’s had to build a legacy for himself, from nothing, and no help, but the emotional support from a stray pup, until now. Don’t forget, we have only known each other for a few days, he’s still getting used to being ’accepted’."

Katsu is still on the ground. On his hands and knees looking at the ground while listening to his Mentor’s sympathy. With a stone face, Katsu thinks to himself about his hatred for Saku.

Katsu(thinking): *I don’t care. I’m going to kill him. I don’t care. I’m going to kill him. I don’t-*

Shelly walks to Katsu making him lose focus on his hate and she holds her hand out for her adopted brother to grab. Katsu looks up at the hand and takes it while thinking.Katsu: *I’m going to kill him, before he kills her.*

Shelly: "You’re definitely right about him always asking to get embarrassed."

Shelly helps Katsu back up but with this "new acquired" extra strength, the small blonde barbarian accidentally throws the 18 year old, 10 yards just by her pulling him up from the ground.Katsu: "Ahhhhhhh!"

Shelly: "Oh my God, Katsu! I’m so sorry!"

She runs over to a folded over Katsu. As she helps him up though, boots can be heard on the pavement approaching them. Shelly jumps in front of Katsu and the rest of Izanagi grips their weapons, while the new possible threat grips theirs.

Two HFF soldiers a man and woman who look similar, with a bronze Iceman head patch and bronze supply patch each. The names Aclima(woman) and Cain(man) on the back of their sweatshirts. With Academy students, a young man and woman, the number 13 on their sweatshirts with the names Abel (young man) and Balbira (young woman) all with right IceEyes and dual wielding SunSwords.

Cain: "Well, well, well, looks like we’ll get to have that big pricey wedding after all, Aclima!"

Aclima: "Yay! How much is that?! All together it would be, at the very least, two million right?!"

Cain: "That kid with the Lefty can pay for the ring alone."

Shelly stands up and then closes her eyes. She takes a few deep breaths, as if concentrating or meditating.

Aclima: "Not unless we can haggle his Lefty to make his reward higher, cuz I want a BIG ring."

Scylia looks down at her small diamond ring next to her broken heart tattoo on her middle finger and gets angry at the other woman’s remarks. Daisuki notices that she’s upset as she softly speaks her true feelings.

Scylia: "If the concern is being in possession of the most flashy ring, are you really in love with the one who gives it to you? Anything around your finger, even a little bit of ink, symbolizing your love, should be enough."

Since it’s only visible to Katsu and Aiden at close range, they stare in amazement, while Shelly is concentrating, as if there was a slight magnetic force or gravitational pull towards her body, the alien snow within a 2 inch radius of the young woman begins to get pulled towards her and disappears upon touching her, as if she’s absorbing the "snow". A whitish, "platinum" color of aura slightly emanates from her body.

Daisuki snickers at the threat and relaxes. He grabs Scylia’s hand and starts walking away casually.

Scylia: "Wh-Hu- Hun?! What about-!?"

Daisuki: "Come on Char! Since I can’t look at the dress until the wedding, your sis is gonna need your opinion. Especially now that Shelly’s busy."

Char looks back and forth, then at Aiden and shrugs.

Char: "You coming with?"

Aiden shakes his head and looks at Shelly and Katsu.

Aiden: "This is my chance to study both, Shelly’s physical combat ability in this ’snow’. As well as getting to see if Katsu’s ’Angel Eye’ can be useful in a fight with an IceEye user that’s not Saku with the other ’Angel Eye’."

Char gets disappointed.

Char: "Aww, I actually want to stay now!"

Daisuki: "Come on Char, you owe your big sister!"

Char reluctantly and slowly goes to join his engaged ’Uncle’ and biological sister.

The two HFF soldiers are visibly angry from being taken lightly.

Cain: "Mina, you damn traitor! First you kill innocent people before this apocalypse! Now that humanity is on the brink of extinction and resorts to hiding, you’re part of a terrorist group that kills innocent people on a shuttle just trying to get home to Mount Decima!"

Daisuki stops.

Katsu and Aiden: "What?!"

The announcement of the tragic news to their old temporary home, and the deaths to the innocent people not hunting them down, breaks Shelly’s concentration but she keeps her eyes closed. The white/platinum aura around her but the snow no longer being pulled in.

But Katsu’s shock quickly turns to anger and his ’Above Sanpaku’ presents itself. His ’Angel Eye’ pops off to its 2nd Stage with a deep black flaming aura, the bright sliver of white down the middle.

Shelly, with her eyes still closed, unsheathes her katana strapped to her back and puts the handle in her mouth, sideways. As soon as her teeth clench down on the grip of the sword, she opens her eyes and her protective feral growl slowly builds up.

Katsu: "And you’re blaming Big Bro, just because that scumbag Nephilim and those ’Sisters’ wanted to spread a lie that we’re terrorists."

Aiden: "Wait...D-Did an actual terrorist attack happen after we left the mountains?"

The students look at Katsu with his strange left IceEye and its scary, unfamiliar aura. Alongside Shelly, the undisputed #1 fighter throughout the entire academy, making a horrifying noise that every mammal instinctively knows to avoid to stay safe.

Aclima: "Don’t plead ignorance and pretend like we don’t know you’re all wanted terrorists. You’ve been found out, Mina! Admit it, that tramp with you there was your voice on the outside to your followers until the day you could take young influential kids and pull the strings from the outside."

The two students who are out of their league both start sweating and swallow their spit in nervousness and fear of the supposed terrorists.

Like being in a lioness den with her baby cub behind her, but the baby cub is a full grown lion.

Shelly’s ’1,000,000 mile stare’ alone makes their visions begin vignetting and they start hyperventilating. The more they focus on her blue azule eyes looking through them, the darker their vision gets and the harder it gets to stand up.

The girl Balbira, falls to her knees and both of the squad 13 students pass out, their IceEyes spasming in every direction while they fall to the ground. The HFF soldiers don’t even show a bit of concern for their supposed responsibility.

Cain: "Really? We’ve been killing those aliens for the past few days, and THIS little cutie made you two tap out?"

Both Katsu and Shelly are in the simplest of terms, PISSED OFF. Their burning admiration of their mentor makes the adopted brother and sister wanting to prove the accusations wrong. Daisuki and Scylia don’t turn around as Char catches up to them.

Char: "You two are just going to let them talk and make irrational assumptions like that? It could get ugly if we don’t try to clear it up."

Daisuki and Scylia both begin walking again and Daisuki speaks loud enough so only Char and Scylia can hear.

Daisuki: "It’s already ugly Char, my past has officially affected these kids and now I’m getting blamed for the immoral actions of others. The combination of lies from both sides. Whether the lie was to protect the life of a man with a bright future and family.Or the lie of a man who believes justice and freedom involves framing someone who is trying to repent for lying, in his own way.I wanted to try to atone for my sins by steering these kids in the right direction after being given a second chance.In an apocalypse that negatively affected all life on Earth, I am the small sliver of white within the darkness like that special aura those sometimes two emit."

Shelly takes the gun and holster from her hip. She kicks the Magnum towards Aiden watching from the sidewalk. He picks it up and looks at her as she nods at him. Trusting he knows what it’s for.

Aiden nods back.

Daisuki: "Now, because of their first perception of me, and the truth behind my conviction before all this alien shit, they have an unwavering view of me that is different from those soldiers who only know me as the convicted man that Nephilim perfectly set up and pushed deeper into ’Hell’. It’s easy to point a finger at me when there is a society of peace and stability that gets attacked and innocent people die."

Char looks back at the soldiers in the middle of the road of this abandoned post apocalyptic beach town, who have unsheathed their SunSwords. Shelly and Katsu are standing side by side in the road facing the enemies with empty hands, Shelly growling with her teeth gripped katana.Katsu protecting her left, the blade protecting her right.

The Gunner can’t see, but Shelly’s stare down of their opponents has a slight Below Sanpaku. While Katsu’s is extremely Above Sanpaku.

Char turns his head towards the adjacent beach and the clean sand.He watches as a seagull picks a crab out of the sand and flies up high. The bird drops the crustacean knowing the force of the fall, combined with the hard surface humans left for it, will eventually crack that "shell".

The poor fated crab makes contact with the road, smashing its protective armor with a *CRUNCH*. Signaling as the bell to start the fight.

Daisuki: "Instead of leaving our footprints in the sand, we’ve drawn our lines."

The 2v2 begins and both sides dash at each other.