Post by Nosuke on Jun 19, 2022 14:24:05 GMT -5
Ryuunosuke Tangan
a.k.a. "The One-Eyed Demon of Penguin Village"
単眼魔
単眼魔
MALE
23
EARTH
HUMAN
HUMAN TRANSFORMATIONS
GOOD BARGAINS, INTELLIGENCE, WEALTHY
ONE TIME USE SPACE POD
BALANCED
EARTH DEFENSE AGENCY
HETEROSEXUAL
Appearance
Details
-170 cm (5'7")
-75 kg (165 lbs)
-Vertical scar across the right eye
-Right eye tends to have a typical blind eye appearance, a cloudly blue/gray, except for when it is in use. Then it glows a faint blue.
-Often wears a black headband with a logo-less metal piece in the center
Personality
Nosuke is a monster. Every problem in his life is his fault. Everywhere he goes, pain and despair follow. Nosuke trains hard every day; in solitude, away from people. It is rare to see Nosuke with others unless he has to be, and getting him to open up about himself is nearly impossible. With that in mind, if he says something, he is not bluffing or lying. He always means it.
Despite his stoic exterior, Nosuke is broken. He truly does want to help people, but is the risk worth the reward? He became a monster in his mind when he caused the death of his friends, and that was after he'd already gotten his eye poked out in an earlier close encounter. For a while, he gave up his training and efforts to be a defender of the innocent to sulk. Then, an idea came to him. If he was this big bad monster, why not channel that towards something good? Instead of allowing his misfortune to cause pain to him and his, he was going to try to use it to his advantage, even if it made him seem crazy. Thus, the One-Eyed Demon of Penguin Village was born.
Random passerbys and local townfolk grossly oversimplify Nosuke as a lazy loner. He strolls into his local village every now and then to get the bare necessities, then returns to his very humble abode to sleep and mope. The scariest part about him may be the odor he emits when he forgets to shower for weeks at a time, or his atrocius bedhead, but that's about it. Some monster.
Despite his stoic exterior, Nosuke is broken. He truly does want to help people, but is the risk worth the reward? He became a monster in his mind when he caused the death of his friends, and that was after he'd already gotten his eye poked out in an earlier close encounter. For a while, he gave up his training and efforts to be a defender of the innocent to sulk. Then, an idea came to him. If he was this big bad monster, why not channel that towards something good? Instead of allowing his misfortune to cause pain to him and his, he was going to try to use it to his advantage, even if it made him seem crazy. Thus, the One-Eyed Demon of Penguin Village was born.
Random passerbys and local townfolk grossly oversimplify Nosuke as a lazy loner. He strolls into his local village every now and then to get the bare necessities, then returns to his very humble abode to sleep and mope. The scariest part about him may be the odor he emits when he forgets to shower for weeks at a time, or his atrocius bedhead, but that's about it. Some monster.
History
Ryuunosuke was only ever supposed to be an ordinary farm boy. His parents, both farmers near Penguin Village, raised him to follow in their footsteps. A lot of his core values were instilled in these early years, such as his moral code and desire to help others. His parents were close with a lot of members of the community, so Ryuu naturally tagged along and built up a repoire for himself. Being restricted to Penguin Island made him ambitious. More than anything, Ryuu wanted to explore the stars. He'd heard rumors of aliens and warriors from the cosmos that were free to do whatever they wanted, and those tall tales inspired him to be curious.
Growing into his teenage years, Ryuunosuke was introduced to a new family in the village who'd moved from East City. The two families grew close, as they also had a son around Ryuu's age. That boy was named Shinyu, and he was exactly the kind of friend Ryuu needed. Being from the big city, Shinyu was able to answer all kinds of questions that Ryuu had. Having a walking encyclopedia brought great joy to Ryuu, and having someone to praise him for his intellect likely brought great joy to Shinyu, so the two became close friends rather quickly.
When Ryuu was 17, he was let in on a secret as to why Shinyu's family had moved to Penguin Village. Both of Shinyu's parents, and even Shinyu himself, were members of the Earth Defense Agency and were tracking a powerful foe who'd apparently taken refuge nearby. Shinyu's job, since he wasn't cleared for combat given his age, was to recruit new members into the agency to help grow their numbers for the future. Since the two boys had grown so close, it only made sense for him to extend an offer to Ryuunosuke.
Seeing an opportunity to be more than a farmer, Ryuu accepted without ever consulting with his parents. At age 18, Ryuu and Shinyu packed their bags and moved to South City to begin training for the Earth Defense Agency. There, they were introduced to the third member of their team: a girl named Hatsukoi. Together, the three became a formidable young trio. One of the key components of their teamwork was how well they all worked together. They approached each mission and assignment like a single, well-oiled machine rather than three individuals. That said, they were only taking on the lowest level assignments.
Things went smoothly for a while, but Ryuunosuke's confidence got the best of him. Eventually, he started to make mistakes. They were small things at first, but ultimately the once perfectly in-sync trio started to crumble. Eventually, Ryuu's minor mistakes culminated in a botched attack, one that involved his right eye practically getting cut out.
Half-blind, everybody expected Ryuu to become less effective than before, but the opposite happened. It seemed like his ki control had been enhanced and he became more ruthless than ever. On a personal level, Ryuu was at his peak, but the same could not be said for his crew.
The team's remote abode went up in flames while they had an argument about how to handle an opponent, Ryuu started to miss meetings due to poor time management, and their friendships were being stretched thin. Even with their struggles, the trio still continued acting under the Earth Defense Agency. In their young minds, the best way to address their struggles was to keep pushing on and all their problems would just resolve themselves. Everything came to a head when a capture mission fell apart, costing the lives of both Shinyu and Hatsu before Nosuke finally scared off the enemy.
Losing his friends was a huge blow for Nosuke. He considered the two of them closer than any of his actual family members, and outside of them, he really didn't have any friends. Shinyu's family refused to forgive him for allowing their son to die, and Nosuke's own family continued their usual carefree demeanor. They just continued with business as usual despite losing a close family friend. Without his friends by his side, Nosuke fell into a deep state of grief. He moved back to Penguin Village into a small hut in the countryside and became something of a hermit.
Every night, nightmares about his blunder kept Nosuke up. One recurring nightmare about the event, to be exact. It bothered him for a while, but eventually, he found comfort in seeing his friends with him. Alive and well. When he had the opportunity to kill the villain who'd taken the lives of his friends, Nosuke took the high road and left him alive - to think about what he'd done.
This was a turning point for Nosuke. He'd already started to gain a reputation for his skill prior to the deaths of his friends, and realizing that he still had that capability, he decided to try to get back to it. Unfortunately, he now had to face the biggest obstacle yet: himself. His own insecurities were the only thing standing between him and a future of prosperity. Now was the time to tackle it.
Growing into his teenage years, Ryuunosuke was introduced to a new family in the village who'd moved from East City. The two families grew close, as they also had a son around Ryuu's age. That boy was named Shinyu, and he was exactly the kind of friend Ryuu needed. Being from the big city, Shinyu was able to answer all kinds of questions that Ryuu had. Having a walking encyclopedia brought great joy to Ryuu, and having someone to praise him for his intellect likely brought great joy to Shinyu, so the two became close friends rather quickly.
When Ryuu was 17, he was let in on a secret as to why Shinyu's family had moved to Penguin Village. Both of Shinyu's parents, and even Shinyu himself, were members of the Earth Defense Agency and were tracking a powerful foe who'd apparently taken refuge nearby. Shinyu's job, since he wasn't cleared for combat given his age, was to recruit new members into the agency to help grow their numbers for the future. Since the two boys had grown so close, it only made sense for him to extend an offer to Ryuunosuke.
Seeing an opportunity to be more than a farmer, Ryuu accepted without ever consulting with his parents. At age 18, Ryuu and Shinyu packed their bags and moved to South City to begin training for the Earth Defense Agency. There, they were introduced to the third member of their team: a girl named Hatsukoi. Together, the three became a formidable young trio. One of the key components of their teamwork was how well they all worked together. They approached each mission and assignment like a single, well-oiled machine rather than three individuals. That said, they were only taking on the lowest level assignments.
Things went smoothly for a while, but Ryuunosuke's confidence got the best of him. Eventually, he started to make mistakes. They were small things at first, but ultimately the once perfectly in-sync trio started to crumble. Eventually, Ryuu's minor mistakes culminated in a botched attack, one that involved his right eye practically getting cut out.
Half-blind, everybody expected Ryuu to become less effective than before, but the opposite happened. It seemed like his ki control had been enhanced and he became more ruthless than ever. On a personal level, Ryuu was at his peak, but the same could not be said for his crew.
The team's remote abode went up in flames while they had an argument about how to handle an opponent, Ryuu started to miss meetings due to poor time management, and their friendships were being stretched thin. Even with their struggles, the trio still continued acting under the Earth Defense Agency. In their young minds, the best way to address their struggles was to keep pushing on and all their problems would just resolve themselves. Everything came to a head when a capture mission fell apart, costing the lives of both Shinyu and Hatsu before Nosuke finally scared off the enemy.
Losing his friends was a huge blow for Nosuke. He considered the two of them closer than any of his actual family members, and outside of them, he really didn't have any friends. Shinyu's family refused to forgive him for allowing their son to die, and Nosuke's own family continued their usual carefree demeanor. They just continued with business as usual despite losing a close family friend. Without his friends by his side, Nosuke fell into a deep state of grief. He moved back to Penguin Village into a small hut in the countryside and became something of a hermit.
Every night, nightmares about his blunder kept Nosuke up. One recurring nightmare about the event, to be exact. It bothered him for a while, but eventually, he found comfort in seeing his friends with him. Alive and well. When he had the opportunity to kill the villain who'd taken the lives of his friends, Nosuke took the high road and left him alive - to think about what he'd done.
This was a turning point for Nosuke. He'd already started to gain a reputation for his skill prior to the deaths of his friends, and realizing that he still had that capability, he decided to try to get back to it. Unfortunately, he now had to face the biggest obstacle yet: himself. His own insecurities were the only thing standing between him and a future of prosperity. Now was the time to tackle it.
Techniques
-[ST1] Ki Sense: Nosuke is able to detect ki signatures, but only in his right eye and only if he can see whoever possesses the ki. This makes his ki sense more akin to that of a scouter than what most would consider ki sense.
-[ST1] Flight: Nosuke can take to the air and fly without the help of a machine or others.
-[OT1] Laser Vision: From his right eye, Nosuke can fire a thin beam of ki in whichever direction he's looking.
-[OT1] Pinpoint: With a little bit of coordination and effort, Nosuke can enhance a punch or kick with ki via his blind eye, giving it a little extra oomph if it were to connect.
-[DT1] Glint: Nosuke can cause his right eye to glow very bright, capable of temporarily blinding anybody who sees it.
-[DT1] 20/20 Dodge: Nosuke may not be able to see out of his right eye, but it is still capable of perceiving things. When he focuses, he is able to better read opponents, which gives him an easier time dodging an incoming attack.
-[ST1] Flight: Nosuke can take to the air and fly without the help of a machine or others.
-[OT1] Laser Vision: From his right eye, Nosuke can fire a thin beam of ki in whichever direction he's looking.
-[OT1] Pinpoint: With a little bit of coordination and effort, Nosuke can enhance a punch or kick with ki via his blind eye, giving it a little extra oomph if it were to connect.
-[DT1] Glint: Nosuke can cause his right eye to glow very bright, capable of temporarily blinding anybody who sees it.
-[DT1] 20/20 Dodge: Nosuke may not be able to see out of his right eye, but it is still capable of perceiving things. When he focuses, he is able to better read opponents, which gives him an easier time dodging an incoming attack.
Roleplay Sample
Thunder shook the hut. Heavy rain splattered against its roof, walls, and the boards covering the windows, making sleep very difficult for anybody inside. Fortunately, the person inside was a heavy sleeper. Nosuke turned in his sleep and pulled his cover over him, completely oblivious to the external factors weighing on his sleep potential. Tonight, like most nights, it was the internal battle he had to win in order to catch some zzz's.
In his dream, another thunderstorm was at work, but it was not attacking his lonely hut on the hillside. Instead, it surrounded an epic battle between three warriors, all high up in the sky. Meanwhile, Ryuunosuke stood on the ground, watching helplessly from below. Two of the three figures in the sky seemed to be allies, as their attacks were synchronized and only against the third combatant, who seemed to be holding his own pretty well. Eventually one of the two teammates landed what seemed like a big hit, but the opponent retaliated and kicked one across the sky. They may have been able to recover, but a bolt of lightning arched out of one of the clouds and struck them down.
"Hatsu!"
Ryuu called out. He watched one of his friends topple out of the sky, but when he tried to run to catch her, it was like he was walking in quicksand. His feet would not move. She fell and landed in a cloud of dust about twenty feet ahead of him. Eventually, he managed to reach her, but she was in horrible shape. Her face and clothes were bloodied, her hair was tattered, and she wasn't breathing. Ryuunosuke took a few deep breaths as tears streamed down his face, but he knew what he needed to do. He put his hands on her chest and got ready to perform compressions.
When Ryuu pushed down, his arms continued until he phased through the ground and found himself in freefall. He tried to catch himself with his flight, but it was like he'd forgotten how. The wind rushed past him, whistling in his ears and blowing his hair all over the place. Cold water droplets stung his face as he tried to collect his thoughts and identify the situation. All around him, dark clouds flashed with lightning, sending slight tingles up his spine as he did. Before long, he fell out of the clouds and saw himself thousands of feet in the air.
Off to his side, another combatant seemed to also be in freefall, but unlike Ryuu, he was unconscious. Ryuu cupped his hands and yelled in the direction of his friend.
"Shinyu! Shinyu, wake up!"
No dice. He just continued tumbling towards the Earth like a ragdoll, just totally limp. Ryuu tried everything in his power to reach his friend. He rolled, he tucked, he even tried to move his arms like he was swimming, but nothing seemed to work. The only direction he could go was down, which wouldn't help him save his friend. Beneath him (or ahead of him, depending), the ground quickly approached. Ryuu braced himself to crash, but suddenly the direction of his tumbling changed. Another loud thud rang out, but Ryuu was too preoccupied to notice. Holding him in his arms was his worst nightmare.
The final combatant.
Shinyu and Hatsu had been bested by this foe, and now Ryuu was at his disposal. He tried to fight free of his grasp, but much like his legs and flight, it was like he had no control over what was happening. Ryuu's attacker, the last combatant, was some kind of Fishman. He was covered in iridescent blue scales that lit up green and yellow in the flashes of lightning and had a big blue fin sticking out the top of his head. Fishman looked at Ryu and licked his lips with a smile, revealing the razor-sharp fangs within his mouth.
Seeing his enemy smile was the last straw. It was already bad enough that his friends had been knocked out of the sky, but the idea that this beast was enjoying it disgusted Ryuu. He glared at the enemy as he tried to break free, but he still couldn't find the strength. Pain in the back of his head started to build. At first it was minor, but the angrier he got, the more prevalent it became. Before long, his entire skull felt like it was on fire, then-
PZZZRRKKKTTT!
A bright beam of blue light fired out of Ryuu's right eye, waking him from his slumber and bringing him back to the world of the living. He sat up in a cold sweat and wiped his face as he realized everything he'd just experienced was a bad dream. A recurring bad dream, one he'd had countless times before. None of it was real. A few droplets of water landed on his shoulders and head, which brought his attention to his roof, where a crisp slice had been cut by his laser vision.
Nosuke sighed and plopped back on his bed, allowing the stray rain drops to land on him and his blanket. As far as Nosuke was concerned, it wasn't a night without that dream. Most of the time, he didn't laser his roof, but every now and then his emotions got the better of him. It was a dreamlike representation of the mission where his friends died, with more blame on Nosuke rather than the facts of what happened. The nightmare sucked, for sure, but even it didn't fully capture his feelings towards the event.
With that dream out of the way, he could get to his real sleep.
--
The next morning, as Nosuke was working on fixing the laser slice in his roof, a mail courier arrived to drop off his mail. The two had their typical greeting of a wave from the courier and a nod from Nosuke, who just as quickly returned to whatever task preoccupied him rather than strike up a conversation with his friendly courier.
Today was different, though. As the courier turned to leave, he looked up at Nosuke and made a comment that caught even his attention.
"They found him. On the coast of one of the tropical islands. They'll make their move this afternoon."
Nosuke shot to his full height, looking down at the courier with wide eyes, almost as if he'd lost his mind. He inquired about the man's comments.
"Which island?"
--
It didn't take Nosuke long to find his target once he'd been given the location. There weren't many Fishmen around, after all, and with his multicolored scales, he stuck out on the golden beaches like a sore thumb. Nosuke landed in the jungle behind the Fishman quietly, but his power must have been detected, because the man spoke almost immediately.
"You've finally come to kill me, then? Took you long enough."
"That's what you'd like, isn't it?"
Nosuke took a few steps forward as the Fishman continued staring off at the vast ocean aimlessly.
"If it helps you sleep at night, maybe."
As Nosuke neared, he was able to see the damage that had been done - that he'd done in their actual fight. Brown, charred scales remained on the right side of the Fishman's head and the top half of his head fin had been completely sliced off. He turned to look at Nosuke, revealing the entire right side of his face had become almost unrecognizable, charred and scarred like nothing Nosuke had ever seen.
"It would certainly befit me. The deeds I've done."
He patted the sand next to him, inviting Nosuke to sit and chat with the murderer. The human walked over and stood next to his enemy, but he did not sit. He simply glared and listened to what else he had to say.
"It hasn't been easy for me, either, if that's any solace. I'm sure you'd understand, what with the whole one-eye thing and all,"
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Humor's a coping mechanism. Today's my last day on Earth, after all."
"My friends are dead. Gone forever because of you and your little army. I don't see what you have to 'cope' about."
Fishman laughed at that, though it may have just been to spite Nosuke.
"Whatever you say, sir."
The two sat silently for a minute or two before the Fishman shifted on the sand. Impatiently, he asked a question of Nosuke.
"So, how are you gonna do this? Decapitation? Smothering? Asphyxiation? I'm really open to anything."
Nosuke had been using his foot to draw a few doodles in the sand as he patiently waited for the right moment. Hearing the question seemed like a good a time as any.
"Why do you assume I'm here to kill you?"
"If you don't, your defense force will. If they arrive before I'm dead, I'll give them a reason to kill me. Regardless, somebody will kill me. Today. I just thought you would because of vengeance. It seems right up your alley."
"Vengeance. Right."
Nosuke crouched down next to Fishman and smiled as he explained his standpoint.
"Who said I wanted the nightmares to stop?"
"Huh?"
"My friends are alive. I watch you get your face lasered. Then I wake up. Then I'm free to have a normal dream."
"W-What?"
"Oh? Did you think I was losing sleep because I had to relive my worst moment night-in and night-out? It's become a part of my daily routine. I cherish the moments I get with my friends on a nightly basis. It's almost like they're not even gone."
Nosuke spoke with a crazy grin on his face, but Fishman listened in horror. He thought Nosuke was some kind of noble hero, but here he was practically expressing his gratitude for the enemy.
"You're not dying today, either."
In an instant, Nosuke unleashed another laser beam at Fishman. This time, unlike in the dream and the actual fight, he sliced across the left side of his opponent's face. Fishman recoiled and rolled around on the ground in pain, clutching at his left eye in agonizing pain. Nosuke leaned back, so that he was sitting on the sand instead of crouching, and began laughing maniacally.
"You're right. Humor really is a great coping mechanism."
His comments barely found time to escape his lips between laughs, and it was hard to tell if Fishman even heard him over his screams of pain. Laughter and screams echoed across the bay as Nosuke finally claimed revenge for his friends. They weren't back, but at least he could rest easy knowing the pain Fishman would endure was significantly worse than his own.
Still laughing, a task force from the Earth Defense Agency emerged from the woods to arrest the blinded Fishman. A few members nervously mumbled amongst themselves when they saw the scene.
"There's a reason they call him the One-Eyed Demon."
In his dream, another thunderstorm was at work, but it was not attacking his lonely hut on the hillside. Instead, it surrounded an epic battle between three warriors, all high up in the sky. Meanwhile, Ryuunosuke stood on the ground, watching helplessly from below. Two of the three figures in the sky seemed to be allies, as their attacks were synchronized and only against the third combatant, who seemed to be holding his own pretty well. Eventually one of the two teammates landed what seemed like a big hit, but the opponent retaliated and kicked one across the sky. They may have been able to recover, but a bolt of lightning arched out of one of the clouds and struck them down.
"Hatsu!"
Ryuu called out. He watched one of his friends topple out of the sky, but when he tried to run to catch her, it was like he was walking in quicksand. His feet would not move. She fell and landed in a cloud of dust about twenty feet ahead of him. Eventually, he managed to reach her, but she was in horrible shape. Her face and clothes were bloodied, her hair was tattered, and she wasn't breathing. Ryuunosuke took a few deep breaths as tears streamed down his face, but he knew what he needed to do. He put his hands on her chest and got ready to perform compressions.
When Ryuu pushed down, his arms continued until he phased through the ground and found himself in freefall. He tried to catch himself with his flight, but it was like he'd forgotten how. The wind rushed past him, whistling in his ears and blowing his hair all over the place. Cold water droplets stung his face as he tried to collect his thoughts and identify the situation. All around him, dark clouds flashed with lightning, sending slight tingles up his spine as he did. Before long, he fell out of the clouds and saw himself thousands of feet in the air.
Off to his side, another combatant seemed to also be in freefall, but unlike Ryuu, he was unconscious. Ryuu cupped his hands and yelled in the direction of his friend.
"Shinyu! Shinyu, wake up!"
No dice. He just continued tumbling towards the Earth like a ragdoll, just totally limp. Ryuu tried everything in his power to reach his friend. He rolled, he tucked, he even tried to move his arms like he was swimming, but nothing seemed to work. The only direction he could go was down, which wouldn't help him save his friend. Beneath him (or ahead of him, depending), the ground quickly approached. Ryuu braced himself to crash, but suddenly the direction of his tumbling changed. Another loud thud rang out, but Ryuu was too preoccupied to notice. Holding him in his arms was his worst nightmare.
The final combatant.
Shinyu and Hatsu had been bested by this foe, and now Ryuu was at his disposal. He tried to fight free of his grasp, but much like his legs and flight, it was like he had no control over what was happening. Ryuu's attacker, the last combatant, was some kind of Fishman. He was covered in iridescent blue scales that lit up green and yellow in the flashes of lightning and had a big blue fin sticking out the top of his head. Fishman looked at Ryu and licked his lips with a smile, revealing the razor-sharp fangs within his mouth.
Seeing his enemy smile was the last straw. It was already bad enough that his friends had been knocked out of the sky, but the idea that this beast was enjoying it disgusted Ryuu. He glared at the enemy as he tried to break free, but he still couldn't find the strength. Pain in the back of his head started to build. At first it was minor, but the angrier he got, the more prevalent it became. Before long, his entire skull felt like it was on fire, then-
PZZZRRKKKTTT!
A bright beam of blue light fired out of Ryuu's right eye, waking him from his slumber and bringing him back to the world of the living. He sat up in a cold sweat and wiped his face as he realized everything he'd just experienced was a bad dream. A recurring bad dream, one he'd had countless times before. None of it was real. A few droplets of water landed on his shoulders and head, which brought his attention to his roof, where a crisp slice had been cut by his laser vision.
Nosuke sighed and plopped back on his bed, allowing the stray rain drops to land on him and his blanket. As far as Nosuke was concerned, it wasn't a night without that dream. Most of the time, he didn't laser his roof, but every now and then his emotions got the better of him. It was a dreamlike representation of the mission where his friends died, with more blame on Nosuke rather than the facts of what happened. The nightmare sucked, for sure, but even it didn't fully capture his feelings towards the event.
With that dream out of the way, he could get to his real sleep.
--
The next morning, as Nosuke was working on fixing the laser slice in his roof, a mail courier arrived to drop off his mail. The two had their typical greeting of a wave from the courier and a nod from Nosuke, who just as quickly returned to whatever task preoccupied him rather than strike up a conversation with his friendly courier.
Today was different, though. As the courier turned to leave, he looked up at Nosuke and made a comment that caught even his attention.
"They found him. On the coast of one of the tropical islands. They'll make their move this afternoon."
Nosuke shot to his full height, looking down at the courier with wide eyes, almost as if he'd lost his mind. He inquired about the man's comments.
"Which island?"
--
It didn't take Nosuke long to find his target once he'd been given the location. There weren't many Fishmen around, after all, and with his multicolored scales, he stuck out on the golden beaches like a sore thumb. Nosuke landed in the jungle behind the Fishman quietly, but his power must have been detected, because the man spoke almost immediately.
"You've finally come to kill me, then? Took you long enough."
"That's what you'd like, isn't it?"
Nosuke took a few steps forward as the Fishman continued staring off at the vast ocean aimlessly.
"If it helps you sleep at night, maybe."
As Nosuke neared, he was able to see the damage that had been done - that he'd done in their actual fight. Brown, charred scales remained on the right side of the Fishman's head and the top half of his head fin had been completely sliced off. He turned to look at Nosuke, revealing the entire right side of his face had become almost unrecognizable, charred and scarred like nothing Nosuke had ever seen.
"It would certainly befit me. The deeds I've done."
He patted the sand next to him, inviting Nosuke to sit and chat with the murderer. The human walked over and stood next to his enemy, but he did not sit. He simply glared and listened to what else he had to say.
"It hasn't been easy for me, either, if that's any solace. I'm sure you'd understand, what with the whole one-eye thing and all,"
"Is everything a joke to you?"
"Humor's a coping mechanism. Today's my last day on Earth, after all."
"My friends are dead. Gone forever because of you and your little army. I don't see what you have to 'cope' about."
Fishman laughed at that, though it may have just been to spite Nosuke.
"Whatever you say, sir."
The two sat silently for a minute or two before the Fishman shifted on the sand. Impatiently, he asked a question of Nosuke.
"So, how are you gonna do this? Decapitation? Smothering? Asphyxiation? I'm really open to anything."
Nosuke had been using his foot to draw a few doodles in the sand as he patiently waited for the right moment. Hearing the question seemed like a good a time as any.
"Why do you assume I'm here to kill you?"
"If you don't, your defense force will. If they arrive before I'm dead, I'll give them a reason to kill me. Regardless, somebody will kill me. Today. I just thought you would because of vengeance. It seems right up your alley."
"Vengeance. Right."
Nosuke crouched down next to Fishman and smiled as he explained his standpoint.
"Who said I wanted the nightmares to stop?"
"Huh?"
"My friends are alive. I watch you get your face lasered. Then I wake up. Then I'm free to have a normal dream."
"W-What?"
"Oh? Did you think I was losing sleep because I had to relive my worst moment night-in and night-out? It's become a part of my daily routine. I cherish the moments I get with my friends on a nightly basis. It's almost like they're not even gone."
Nosuke spoke with a crazy grin on his face, but Fishman listened in horror. He thought Nosuke was some kind of noble hero, but here he was practically expressing his gratitude for the enemy.
"You're not dying today, either."
In an instant, Nosuke unleashed another laser beam at Fishman. This time, unlike in the dream and the actual fight, he sliced across the left side of his opponent's face. Fishman recoiled and rolled around on the ground in pain, clutching at his left eye in agonizing pain. Nosuke leaned back, so that he was sitting on the sand instead of crouching, and began laughing maniacally.
"You're right. Humor really is a great coping mechanism."
His comments barely found time to escape his lips between laughs, and it was hard to tell if Fishman even heard him over his screams of pain. Laughter and screams echoed across the bay as Nosuke finally claimed revenge for his friends. They weren't back, but at least he could rest easy knowing the pain Fishman would endure was significantly worse than his own.
Still laughing, a task force from the Earth Defense Agency emerged from the woods to arrest the blinded Fishman. A few members nervously mumbled amongst themselves when they saw the scene.
"There's a reason they call him the One-Eyed Demon."
Boruto from Naruto
