Feelings Toward The Future [Joel]

[Seigi Yusha]

Back to where it all started... Seigi stood at the very clifftop where he had gotten attacked by those Worms for the first time three years ago. That was when his life truly began... He obtained the Anima Driver here. But why was the it here? Who planted the Anima Driver for him to find? All of these questions and more raced through his mind. It was a quiet night... A great night for some peace.

[Joel Amano]

His client has not called him in a while and so he had a lot of free time on hand. Joel took this chance to explore a bit more about his father's homeland. As he thought on, memories long forgotten resurfaced, some pleasantly welcome, others not so much. The one memory that struck him really hard was of his treacherous uncle. Rage and hatred welled up inside his gut and he clenched his fists till the knuckles are white.

When I get back, I swear...he will suffer...

All the while, lost in thought, as if in a trance, he had stopped his bike at the edge of a forest clearing and had begun walking. He kept walking under the light of a full moon and reached the end of the path near a clifftop. He was not alone it would seem...someone had arrived before he did. Respecting privacy, Joel stood a distance away and leaned against a tree, simply enjoying the cool breeze.

[Seigi Yusha]

Seigi was quiet for a short while longer. "You don't have to hide," he called out to Joel, still looking outwards into the night. "There's no point for two men with estranged memories to hide from each other."

[Joel Amano]

"That's fine by me."

Joel casually puts his fist into the pockets of his sports jacket and walks up next to the guy while also looking into the distance.

"It's rare to have a quiet night, for you and me it seems."

[Seigi Yusha]

"The funny part is that three years ago, I escaped here in order to get some peace and quiet... And got anything but..." Seigi said with a depressed sigh. "I won't get into any boring details. So, what are you running from?"

[Joel Amano]

"Me? No, I ain't running from anything. I am planning to take back what was taken from me, and HE will suffer for it..."

Joel's eyes narrowed as he spoke, his voice seething with years of contained rage and hatred.

[Seigi Yusha]

Seigi picked up on the man's anger. For a man with his profession, detecting the emotions of one's voice was easier than picking a berry. "Who are you running toward, then? What are your feelings toward the future?" Seigi asked, lying down on a patch of grass near his motorbike.

[Joel Amano]

Joel remained silent for a while.

Who, what, future...

Honestly he never thought about it before.

"I don't know and I honestly don't care. To me, the future never exists, just what is needed to stay alive in the present."

He gave a woeful smile to the other man.

"Having a goal in the future is a luxury only those oblivious to reality can afford. I have long lost that."

[Seigi Yusha]

Seigi smirked. "Almost every day for the past seven years, I've fought a life and death battle just to get home. And then, three years ago I end up joining a war I want no part of... And still, I look toward the future..." Seigi said.

He dug in his jacket's pocket and pulled out the Anima Driver and sack of Tokens. He placed them on the ground and let them sit.

"This thing decided my fate for me. It is permanently attached to my destiny until the day I die, and then it'll find some other sucker to bother... And yet, I still try to hope. Don't let unsettled anger decide what you do, don't let fear of death stop you from believing..."

[Joel Amano]

Joel chuckled out loud. He could not help it.

"3 years! I have lived like a street rat! And then some guy picks me off the streets to be his successor! A successor as a mercenary where every job can last for weeks on end with my life at risk. I cant even sleep without keeping an eye open."

He shook his head furiously.

"You think I didn't try to live normally? All I have are enemies who would try everything to get back at me if I am not careful. Now I am stuck fighting idiots who allow themselves to be consumed by powers do not not comprehend. And they think their lives are miserable once I take that power from them."

He took out his Driver, slammed his Memory into the slot and flicked it. The instant his armor materialized, he pulled the Memory and slotted it in the right side of the belt.

Impulse Maximum Drive!

"They don't know the meaning of miserable!!"

Whirling around, he slammed his right foot into the trunk of a tree, shattering it completely and causing it to tumble and fall off the cliff, the crashing sound resounding seconds later. He stood there momentarily stunned, breathing heavily and thinking to himself.

What the hell came over me...?

[Seigi Yusha]

"Looks like you got a lot off your chest," Seigi said as he stood up. He patted Joel on the shoulder. "You shouldn't let anger like that build up. It's bad for you."

He grabbed the Anima Driver off the ground and put it on. "I know a great way to steam off. If you want, we could punch the exhaustion and anger out of each other."

[Joel Amano]

"Heh...Ya sure about that? Cause I never hold back in a fight."

Joel took a deep breath, centered himself and poised to strike.

[Seigi Yusha]

Seigi grabbed the sack of Tokens from the ground and quickly dug his way through both pockets, getting two Tokens as if he instinctively knew where they were. "These two should do," he said to himself as he stuffed the bag into his jacket pocket. "Henshin," he whispered as he put the Tokens into the two slots on the Anima Driver.

"Henshin! Beast Lion!" the Anima Driver declared as it spat out an orb that consumed Seigi. The orb popped open, and there stood a man in a tuxedo with a lion head. He adjusted his red tie with beastly hands and simply looked over to Joel.

"Whenever you're ready, make the first move. In this form, I can't do so..." Seigi said, his hands on his tie.

[Joel Amano]

As soon as he finished speaking, Joel moved, clearing the distance between them in a single bound bringing his fist to punch the face. To a bystander, the effect would be akin to a sudden acceleration that the body seems to have phased a few steps forward in an instant.

[Seigi Yusha]

And just like that, Seigi appeared to have disappeared. He was behind Joel, and to prove it he tapped lightly on the man's shoulder. "As a warning, this is the fastest form I have. Beast multiplies the user's speed by 1.5 times. Lion doubles the effect of Beast. That means I'm currently three times faster than an ordinary person. Keep up," Seigi said in a slightly cocky fashion, doing a quick backflip before going back to adjusting his tie. "It's not meant for combat, but that doesn't mean I can't use it offensively."