Nishiki's POV:

After the fight against Echo, I got cleaned up and then changed my clothes.

"Man, that was kinda rough, thank goodness it's over!" I said in my mind as I stretched my arms.

I looked out the window and see the sun setting.

"I should clear my head first before I head over to train, a little rest never hurts anybody," I said in my mind.

I headed over to the rooftop and when I arrived, I went to the rail and placed my arms on it and leaned forward a bit. I looked at the view of the town which was pretty nice.

"Looks good to see the town from up here, it's pretty peaceful I must say," I said to myself.

But then I looked back at the fight and when Echo threw me to the trashcan, it reminded me of something.

"..." I fell silent a bit and internally sighed.

Third POV:

*Flashback*

"Who would have expected a once unwanted child, would one day find refuge in a better place where they feel more at home than their previous one? I certainly didn't.."

Years ago, Nishiki lived in the main city of Inazuma City, he didn't exactly have a good life as he was considered unwanted by his father.

Nishiki was disowned and sometimes beaten by his father when he was young. He would call Nishiki things like 'useless, trash, worthless, unwanted, waste, etc'.

His mother, on the other hand, was the only one that cares and supports him while his father mostly wasn't home or refuses to acknowledge him as his son. It was also because of this cruel man that he was isolated at home and couldn't even attend school or make friends because of it, so he was forced to be homeschooled as is mother was his teacher. And during his days inside his house, he'd look out from the window, either just observing the surroundings, or seeing the people interact. Other times, he'd watch television as a form of entertainment and a distraction, his favorite shows were about samurais, his favorite being Sakamoto Ryouma, which in fact is where his mother got the name from. He'd sometimes hear some arguments and it would always scare him but would find comfort in both television and his own mother.

"Mom, why can't I go outside?" Nishiki asked, curious yet sad. He sat on his mother's lap as they were watching something on the tv.

"I'm sorry sweetie but, your father strictly prohibited you from going.." His mother would always say, the sadness in her eyes is something he'd always see.

"But why..? Does, father really hate me that much..?" Nishiki would ask.

"You father is just, stressed these past days.. He doesn't mean to hurt you.. He'll, come around and come to love you one day." His mother would always reply like that. She was just trying to give Nishiki some hope.

"Will you, hate me too..?" Nishiki asked sadly, looking down.

"Ryouma, I'll never hate you. Nothing will change that," She said as she embraced him.

"R-really?" Nishiki asked in which the mother smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, you'll always be my strong little samurai. The you'll grow up into a big strong boy," She spoke as she snuggled his in which he laughs at her actions.

One time, he tried making friends as curiosity got the best of him. Remembering one of the videos, he took reference from that and used it to successfully sneak out. He then tried to befriend some kids he spotted but they rejected him and even had some insults thrown at him due to his appearance. Luckily his mother found him and scared off the bullies before quickly taking Nishiki back home before his father saw them outside. Luckily he wasn't home and they seemed to have made it back safely without being spotted, hiding the evidence of Nishiki sneaking out too. While inside Nishiki's room, his mother scolded him a bit but then noticed her son had some tears.

"I-I'm s-so s-sorry.. D-does, m-mom, h-hate, me n-now?"

"R-Ryouma no, I don't hate it's just. You shouldn't have gone outside, it's dangerous," She spoke as she went down to his level.

"Why, why didn't they want to be friends with me?" Nishiki asked, seemingly sobbing from what happened earlier.

"Ryouma-" But before she could finish he spoke again.

"D-do they hate me? W-why? D-does n-no one.. Accept me? N-no one will-" Before Nishiki could finish, he felt someone's hands on his face.

"Ryouma, listen carefully alright.." His mother had gently placed a hand on his face and wiped away his tears, before placing their foreheads together, "You'll find someone who'll accept you just as much as I do.. People who'll be friends with you for the person you are and grow up to be. Promise me you won't stop being who you are and be someone you can be proud of okay? You'll do that, right?" She softly smiled, even if it had some hints of sadness she tried to hide. Nishiki being inspired by her words, smiled back and nods.

Of course, one day it all went so wrong. When Nishiki went down to talk to his mother, he heard them arguing. Nishiki peaked from the corner and eavesdropped.

"Why do you even care about him? He is just a useless child, he is nothing but trash that is meant to be thrown away!" the father shouted.

"Don't call our son that!" Nishiki's mother shouted back.

"I'll never consider that thing my son! I never even wanted a child in the first place, and only had him because I went along with you, but thanks to you and that mistake my life went downhill, it is because of you two! We already have a lot on our plates yet when that little brat came into our lives, he caused nothing but trouble!" Nishiki's father shouts back in response, "I only let you keep him because of your sorry ass begging me to let him stay under one of the conditions that he isn't allowed in public, he'd only be a stain in my reputation."

"Our son isn't a mistake, he's a blessing in our lives, you should be grateful to have someone as wonderful as him as your child! How could you act this heartless towards him?! I won't tolerate your behavior towards him!" Nishiki's mother shouted back, having snapped at the moment.

Nishiki wanted to cry, but he held back his tears. He wanted to stay strong, like the samurais in his favorite show. Nishiki's parents continued to argue, but suddenly, it all escalated.

"You know what, I'm done putting up with you two!" The father pulled out a gun from his pocket and aimed at the mother, catching her off guard and dropping her demeanor.

"W-what are you doing?" Nishiki's mother stuttered as she slowly started backing up, the fear and panic rose.

"I had enough! If you love him so much, how about you join him?" the father said without giving his wife a chance to speak.

Nishiki's father then pulled the trigger and shot his wife in the head. She falls to the ground and laid there lifeless as her blood flowed from her forehead onto the ground. Nishiki was horrified and had tears coming out of his eyes. He slowly started backing up, but as he did a creak was heard from the wooden floor.

Nishiki's father looked back and his eyes indicated that he had lost it.

"Ryouma.. I know you're there. Be a good boy and come out-"

Nishiki started running to his room as quickly as he can, despite hearing his words. This did not make the man happy.

"Get back here this instant you little brat!"

Nishiki's father shouted, coming out of the dining room before attempting to shoot the poor boy but luckily kept missing. When Nishiki arrived at his room, he entered and locked the door. He was horrified and tried to find a place to hide but there was none. That was when he had an idea, he remembered seeing an officer somewhere while he was window watching, so without wasting a second, he went out the same way he did before when he snuck out the first time and started running..

He didn't stop, nor looked back, he just continued running.. If he stopped he'd be dead, his only hope of survival, was to get help.

"D-don't look back, don't look back! I have to do this for mom, s-she got hurt! C-come on, please, I need to make it!" Nishiki thought to himself as he continued running, ignoring the exhaustion and pain in his body, his vision started to become blurry and his head was spinning from running, he couldn't see anyone..

That was until he saw a patrolling officer and at that moment, he gathered the strength and called out to the officer, catching their attention as they were shocked seeing Nishiki. The officer asked what happened and Nishiki despite being scared told them everything. This made the officer immediately report and call for reinforcements.

When the police arrived, they arrested Nishiki's father and brought Nishiki into an orphanage. Nishiki was picked on a lot by the kids there and he used to be alone, however he stayed strong, he held his ground not letting the world easily crush him.

*End of Flashback*

Nishiki's POV:

As I remembered what I had been through, I clenched my hands in fists and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and then opened my eyes again.

"Of course those memories have to come, but at least that time is over now, no time to dwell in the past any longer, even if it haunts me sometimes.. Wouldn't want to see that man ever in my life again, " Nishiki muttered to himself, before looking up into the sky, "I wonder if mother is watching, seeing where I am today.. Well, she was right with what she said back then."

I then heard footsteps behind me and I quickly looked behind me. It was Midori.

"Oh, sup Midori," I said with a grin.

"Hey, what are you doing up here alone?" Midori asked as she approached me.

"Just thinking while looking at the view of the town," I said and then turned around to look back at the view of Inazuma Town.

"What were you thinking about?" Midori asked as she went beside me.

I was silent for a bit until I said, "Just, a little bit of the past that's all."

I looked and saw Midori's eyes widen a little, but then it turned back to normal as she calms down. She faced the view and placed both her arms on the rail.

"That again huh? I know it's pretty bad, sure sucks to go through such traumatizing events," Midori said, "I'm with you, I used to have very controlling parents. They wanted me to be a girly girl due to their standards, but I didn't want that! All I wanted was some freedom to be how I want to be without such pressure and expectations, is it really that much to ask..? They then soon had enough with me and sent me to the orphanage since I was too much of a troublesome. Geez, some parents they are!"

"Yeah," I said as I looked back at the view, "remember how we met in the orphanage?" I asked as I smiled.

"Sure do," she replied as she smiled.

Third POV:

*Flashback*

In the orphanage, a girl with vermillion hair was getting bullied by some older girls.

"You're such a loser, I mean you don't even fit it," one of the girls said.

"Yeah, no one would like you to be their friend anyway," the other girl said.

They laughed at Midori, but then a boy with long black hair that is tied with a blue hairband in a ponytail saw this happening and approached them.

"Hey! leave her alone," Nishiki said.

The girls turned around and faced Nishiki.

"Or what?" one of the girls said.

"Or I will report you," Nishiki said as he smirked.

The girls' eyes widened.

"Alright we'll leave," the other girl replied.

They then left and Nishiki went to Midori. He lent her a hand and helped her get up from the ground.

"Thanks," Midori said with a smile.

"Your welcome," Nishiki said as he smiled back, "what's your name?"

"Seto Midori, nice to meet you,"  Midori said as with a smile.

"I'm Nishiki Ryouma, nice to meet you too," Nishiki said and he smiled back at Midori.

From then on, they became close friends. They got each others' back and would help and support each other.

As days went by, Nishiki noticed Midori can get a little too violent with the bullies, sometimes Nishiki had to hold her back to prevent her from causing too much damage. But after a while, Midori would calm down. They soon had enough with the kids messing with them and thought it was a better option to leave themselves, they did learn how to survive on their own a bit. So on that night, they snuck out of the orphanage and tried to find a place to live in. They had no choice but to live in the backstreets of the town, but they made sure to be careful and atleast practice more on self defense.

During their stay, they encountered an assassin who tried to kill them, but cause of their teamwork, strength, and training, they managed to defeat the assassin but they didn't leave unscathed. Not long after that incident, a man with dark violet hair came to them and asked them to come with him. They sneakily arrived at the base of Raimon and he showed Midori and Nishiki their dorm rooms. Kudou said they could stay if they wanted to be assassins and help defeat Shadow Clan. Midori and Nishiki at first had put a lot of thought into it and soon agreed. The day they are gonna take the exam came and they passed. That was the day they became marksman assassins of Raimon.

*End of Flashback*

Nishiki and Midori smiled at the memory.

"It's a good thing we agreed," Nishiki said.

"Yeah, we're like a family here," Midori said as she put down her arms from the rail and backed up, "and at least we get to kick Shadow Clan's butt," Midori added as she kicked.

Nishiki nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, they heard the door open to the rooftop. They looked behind and it was Leo and Lea, they were wearing his assassins' uniform.

"There you guys are, we were looking for you," Lea said.

"Told you they would be here," Leo said, "after all, this is like the thinking spot."

"Hey Leo, Lea," Midori said as she smiled.

"Why were you looking for us?" Nishiki asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we were gonna tell you that Otonashi-sensei has something for you guys," Lea said.

"Oh, thanks for telling us, we will be there," Midori said with a smile.

Leo smirked while Lea smiled in response, "you're welcome."

After Lea said that, she and her brother turned around and left. Nishiki and Midori shared a look and then left the rooftop. They went to the workplace of Otonashi-sensei and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Otonashi-sensei said from the other side.

Midori and Nishiki entered and saw Otonashi-sensei finished working on something. She turned around and saw the two. She smiled and stood up from her chair.

"Hello Midori, Nishiki," Otonashi-sensei said.

"Ohayo Otonashi-sensei," Midori and Nishiki said in unison.

"What did you call us for?" Midori asked as she and Nishiki went to Otonashi-sensei.

"I have something for the two of you," Otonashi-sensei said and she turned around and grabbed something from the table.

"I upgraded your bow Midori-san, here," Otonashi-sensei said as she handed Midori her bow, "I made it into a laser bow so that you won't need to reload your arrows. Just pull back the string and let go like when you fire an arrow. Then you can try it out."

Midori looked at the dummy and faced it. She pulled back the string and aimed it at the dummy. She let go and a laser fired. It pierced through the metal and created a hole in the dummy. She was surprised and happy, she faced Otonashi-sensei and smiled.

"Arigato Otonashi-sensei!" Midori said as she smiled.

Otonashi smiled and then looked at Nishiki.

"As for you Nishiki, here you go," Otonashi-sensei said as she handed Nishiki a device, "Press the red button and see what happens. But please don't aim it at me or Midori."

"Hai!" Nishiki replied.

Nishiki aimed the device away from them and then presses the button. The device turned into a laser gun and this surprised both Midori and Nishiki. 

"It can pierce through walls very well, the longer you hold the button, the larger the laser will be when you release. You can try it out on the dummy," Otonashi-sensei said.

Nishiki turned to the dummy and aims the laser gun at it. Nishiki holds down the button and the laser starts charging up as an energy sphere started to appear in front of the gun. Nishiki releases the button and a laser fired. It pierces through the dummy and hits the wall behind it. This surprised Nishiki and Midori, they then smiled and faced Otonashi-sensei, who had a smile across her face.

"Arigato guzaimasu!" Nishiki and Midori said as they bowed. They then straighten back up.

"You're welcome you two, I hope it will be useful in your missions," Otonashi-sensei said with a smile.

"Hai!" Midori and Nishiki said in unison.

And with that, they left the workplace and went to their rooms and changed into their assassin uniforms. They headed over to the training grounds and trained. They shot down multiple enemies and tried out their new weapons. After what felt like hours of training they took a break.

"These new weapons are awesome," Nishiki said as he looked at his laser gun.

"Yeah, but we should still try to master them," Midori said.

"Yeah, yeah," Nishiki replied.

"Yo Nishiki, Midori!" the two heard a voice behind them. They stood up and looked behind them, there they saw a boy on the rooftop of the hologram building with red fade to orange hair, it was Blaze. He wore an orange t-shirt with white stripes and dark gray pants.

"Oh, hey there Blaze!" Midori said smile.

Blaze then came down from the rooftop and went to them.

"I came to tell you two that dinner is ready and almost everyone is there. You guys should go eat some dinner," Blaze said.

"Oh, thanks for telling, I'm starving," Nishiki said with a smile.

"I can tell," Blaze said as he crossed his arms.

The three of them headed over to the dining room and grabbed their food. They sat at a table and talked to each other while eating their dinner. After everyone finished, everyone headed over to their dorms and got ready to sleep. Everything was alright that night, peaceful and silent.