(AN: Hello. Yeah, I decided to completely remake this chapter the best I could since last night I was extremely sleep deprived and ended up completely destroying the storyline I wanted to follow. As such, I tried to remake the chapter the best I could. Finally, do please do forgive me for delivering such a shameful chapter to you all. Hope you can find this remake much more satisfactory.

Anyways, here's the chapter.)

"I'll be seeing you soon Reiki..."

...

...

...

'Did I just catch that properly?'

 I literally felt as if an arrow had struck my brain as all sense of time, place and self, went numb...  

Those words left her mouth softly as my entire being was filled with anxiety...

I had seen her in a detrimental state as tears rolled down her eyes... Frankly, I would've even accepted her to pray to god or Seiichi at this point, yet what she said was completely different to every single one of my expectations...

She had quite literally uttered my name as her last breaths!!!

That really shakes the heart of someone who used to love that person...

And just hearing her utter my name, my heart immediately began racing as my thoughts began exploding with the following interaction I'd try to commit...

I couldn't help it... I needed to confirm what I had just heard...

'Did she just mention... me?'

'I think I heard her say my name...'

'No, there's absolutely no way...'

I just didn't know what to think quite honestly... I was angered by her mentioning Seiichi, frustrated because of her actions, saddened because of us having to leave afterward... yet I could feel a sliver of happiness within my soul pondering over the possibility of Sakura finally getting to know my true identity...

And as I clumsily stood back on my feet and looked at her with a confused expression, I blurted out my surprise-filled words...

"Sakura... did you just mention me...?"

...

...

...

Yeah, I just voiced out my thoughts without much thinking involved...

And that just confirmed how oblivious I really am to common sense. I really should've seen this coming yet I didn't. I kinda may or may not have missed the small and minuscule detail that I'm in a girl's body now... Yeah... That must've been awkward... But surprisingly enough, rather than disregarding it as a joke or as stupidity, Sakura took what I said quite seriously... because the instant I said those words... Sakura looked at me frustrated and said annoyed:

"No, you brute, sadistic, cold-hearted b**ch... I did not say Reika, I said Reiki. The one correct hero who didn't even get a chance to display his power to the world. But, you shouldn't even utter his name as you have no right to speak the name of the single most benevolent, kindest and worthiest of heroes..."

...

 *Ba-Dump* *Ba-Dump* *Ba-Dump*  

Yep, all of my thoughts just went to the back of my head as those words echoed throughout my mind leaving no space for anything else.

I'm really stupid when it comes to love, becoming friends and socializing... I guess you can blame the PTSD from the heavy bullying for that... But, even if I blamed whatever I wanted, it didn't change the fact that I still did what I did... Even though Sakura had just insulted me, I simply let it go as I tried to analyze some of the... passionate... things she had just said.

And while she had actually said many different things, the one that stuck with me the most was the fact that she actually has the single most distorted image of me I had ever known. I had never thought of myself as any of those adjectives she had just used to describe me, yet she used them as if it were the undeniable truth. She was literally calling me the worthiest of Heroes right now... And of course, being the male hormonal teenager... I'M SUPPOSED TO BE, I had to react...

After hearing that sentence from Sakura, I really, really, really wanted to reveal my identity to her. But, just before I could respond I had noticed she hadn't finished her sentence actually... And as I stepped back on my comments a dark, malicious and, ominous aura started wrapping around Sakura's body. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth... As she continued to speak in a hoarse voice...

"...Yes, the best of heroes... And he would've been the strongest too... if he hadn't.... been killed..."

...

I just remained quiet as pressure began building up around Sakura... She lowered her eyes slowly to hide the tears that had started rolling down her cheeks, yet her broken voice and strange intonation made it evident...

"...He didn't have to die... He didn't have to go away... He didn't have to be shunned, abused, or abandoned... He... He... I shouldn't have abandoned him..."

...

I was unsure of what to feel or say right now... I had previously been clearly insulted, frustrated and furious... yet right now, I was unsure what my feelings even were... To be quite honest, I had no idea how to react... My mind kept debating over what should I say next... either reveal my identity or remain hidden as an antagonist...

But my mouth did not even allow my brain me to make a case for the concealment side as I let my mouth run off...

...

...

...

"Sakura, I'm Reiki"

...

...

...

I'm truly stupid...

Don't blame me, ok?

I just didn't know what else to say.

I was feeling too insecure to blurt out anything that actually made sense...

Logically speaking, revealing my identity was truly stupid... yet I DID IT ANYWAYS!!!

And at first glance, this might not seem such a bad idea... but

There's one small detail I had overlooked...

A tiny flaw in my foolproof plan that I should've seen coming from a mile- No- A world away!

...

And that is... That I'm a girl right now...

...

That TINY, MINUSCULE, IRRELEVANT, miscalculation truly made itself apparent when Sakura's face turned into deep confusion as she tilted her head... and asked...

"Are you retarded by any chance...?"

...

...

...

YEP!!!

I AM!!!

Literally, in what world, should I expect Sakura to believe a 'criminal, murderous, brute' to actually be this idealized version of me? Answer: NONE!!! No normal person should believe that!!!

I wanted to bury myself 6 feet underground to hide my embarrassment... That's literally all I could think about, and I really would've done it if I didn't have one final obligation...

Despite my stupidity, despite my lack of resolve or critical thinking... I still wanted Sakura to know who I was...

And without much thinking involved, I kept pushing without much thought behind it...

...

"Sakura, I'm actually Reiki..."

...

I don't know why I kept pushing... Speaking frankly, to a foreign eye, this type of behavior and the fact that a girl was claiming to be a guy would probably be taken as just a delusional girl having disconnected and unreal thoughts... Yet, it was not that way...

I even managed to catch Myria and Scarlet blurting out loud "Eh's" in response to my words... Honestly, I couldn't quite fathom how weird it must be for my friends to suddenly hear me assume a male name...

'Thinking about it properly... maybe some I could've saved myself some issues if I had just outed my gender when I told them my past...'

But, immediately trying to put those thoughts in the back of my mind, I centered myself onto the task at hand. I just stood there as I stared right into Sakura's eyes, forgetting everything that surrounded me...

I had nothing other than honest intentions, yet it was clear, that Sakura was not even close to believing such a thing...

As I kept staring at Sakura's deep pupils her expression turned rock solid in determination as she relentlessly declared in a completely bored and uninterested tone:

"Let me put it straight, either you're thinking my intelligence is that of a toddler, or you're honestly retarded... This world may be of swords and magic, but I really doubt a random phenomenon reverses someone's gender, even for someone already girly like Reiki. So don't even try it."

I was left at a loss once again from her words. I know it might be a little difficult to believe... ok maybe more than a little... but it was still a possibility...

After all, it happened to me...

"But Sakura, it really is me?"

"Ugh, would you stop that? You do not even know who you're talking about... and if you keep talking... I'm going to get seriously mad..."

I could seriously not even believe her stubbornness... Just why is she fighting so much? I understand my current body does not match who I'm supposed to be anyways... and speaking frankly, my personality isn't the same either

Furthermore, I can't really claim being a man out loud... since Myria and Scarlet are still standing some feet behind me wondering what I had meant when I said I was Reiki...

As such, I somehow needed to manage to convince Sakura of the fact I was Reiki while dancing around the topic of my gender...

Easy...?

"Sakura, IT. IS. ME!"

"I will not repeat myself further..."

"Sakura, I am Reiki Ishida, the abandoned hero who the stupid king tossed to aside!"

"This is your last warning..."

"SAKURA, I'M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH!!! HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT?!"

I just tried to scream all of my anger, frustration, and honest anxiety at her face as I tried to make her realize who I was...

Yet, rather than achieving that, the moment my sentence came to an end... Sakura looked to the floor as she tried to hide her gaze while remaining in silence...

"..."

This got me both, quite curious, anxious... and very scared...

I didn't know what to expect anymore... Her mood was clearly dampening by the second, as she lost the kind-hearted aura she had held before...

It was too worrying to pass up... And as such, I stupidly asked what was going on...

"Uh, Sakura...?"

"..."

I don't know if I was actually expecting a response, but as I predicted, all I received was a dreadful silence which Sakura simply wouldn't let go...

One would think that after getting turned down and shushed, I would've learned my lesson, right?

Yeah, no... I clearly hadn't learned simple human interactions... Because the instant she didn't respond, I didn't hesitate to ask again...

But, this time... something had clearly changed...

"Why do you not com-"

"So... you are not satisfied by killing Pietro-sama... you also go on to treat me as a fool... and even go as far... as to try to stupid, and absurdly impersonate a person you are clearly not..."

As I had been speaking, Sakura had abruptly cut me off...

And she didn't just cut me off in a regular tone either... Her entire pattern of speech was now decorated with chunks of dread, while her words became similar to poison...

Moreover, while her words had already startled me enough, I had not noticed she wasn't even finished...

"...You are the lowest of the low..."

...

In an instant, magic power swiftly began circling around Sakura as it became amassed along her hands in blissful patterns...

But those beautiful rays of light had more to them than what met the eye...

The colorful rays of light shining from her hands quickly began to increase in luminosity as the origin within Sakura's hands began forming 2 crystal, sharp blades...

It was a majestic image seeing a majestic, shining, holy sword come to existence out of thin air...

But, as I was left staring blankly at the image developing before me... Sakura finally revealed her incantation:

"[Archangel's Swords]..."

The instant her chanting came to an end, a sudden burst of light filled the room blinding all of us...

I was immediately forced to protect my eyes using my arms as I heard Myria and Scarlet complaining in the background...

I was actually quite taken aback by what had just transpired as I had never expected Sakura to act offensively purely out of me revealing my identity...

But I guess that's just how things work...

Because as I tried covering my eyes from the light I heard a loud declaration of war along with rapid incoming footsteps...

"YOU WILL DIE FOR EVEN THINKING OF USING REIKI'S NAME IN YOUR FAVOUR!!!"

She moved quite quickly within the light... Quickly enough for me not to notice her unfocused....

But being realistic here... She really stood no chance... Her entrance and incantation might've been flashy... but yeah... She was nothing special in terms of strength...

And that was immediately proven to me once more as she tried to slice me using her swords made out of light...

She was actually running at a decent velocity as she charged straight at me... Her swords growing in glow by the second...

It was actually quite a heroic and brave picture... except for one little detail... her sentence accompanying that wondrous image...

"DIE, DIE, DIE!!!"

And in the midst of her yells, the light and my left-over confusion from the intense light from earlier...

I wasn't able to cover myself from her attack...

...

...

...

*SHATTER*

Yeah... I was actually expecting something like this...

The moment Sakura even tried to slice me...

Her swords made out of lights and crystals...

Shattered into pieces...

Shocked, Sakura fell on her bottom as she stared at my unscathed self in surprise...

I actually pitied her right now...

Even though I'm actually who I say I am... She isn't able to punish the one who is taking the identity of the one she loves... even though that's also me...

'Hah... this is my last chance...'

I turned to face the awed Sakura with my most serious of faces as I opened myself up for her...

And as I prepared myself for anything in the realm of possibilities that might come to me... I finally voiced my thoughts with the most honest of voices I could muster:

"You're Sakura Kaneshiro my friend ever since childhood. We would walk to school every day... We would have lunch every day... We would go home every day together... We were best friends... We were inseparable... But I had strayed away... I left you... I tried to protect you in the most coward of ways... and I still failed... I left you... and paid the consequences... Sorry, Sakura..."

She looked taken aback for a second there but quickly regained her composure as she looked at me with disgust... and a sliver of hope...

"T-that still tells me nothing... There's no way you're Reiki. You are nothing like him physically or emotionally. If you want me to even get close to believing you tell me something only Reiki would know..."

...

A small grin quickly appeared on my face as I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel out of this situation...

...

Yeah, a thing only I should know...

...

"Remember when we first met on the first day of school? I remember you approached with a nice and warm smile and asked me why did I look so down... I remember being crushed by the fact that, that day was the anniversary of my parents leaving my side... Most other normal people would've likely granted me immediate pity and forget about me soon after for being such a downer... Yet you clearly weren't normal... rather than offering me pity... you stuck with me... came to school with me, had lunch with me, became good friends with me... You truly saved me back then... and for that, I'm unimaginably thankful Sakura... Yes... I am Reiki Ishida, your childhood friend... your classmate... and a person who used to love you for a very long time..."

...

Silence abruptly filled the room as Sakura's menacing presence melted away in the atmosphere...

Up to now, Sakura had constantly been shrouded in a horrible and killing-intent filled atmosphere... yet right now all of that was gone... completely...

I could not describe it properly, but Sakura's face seemed to be in shock, relief, sadness, anger, frustration, and happiness all combined in a single expression...

It was funny, scary, pitiful and literally everything in between at the same time...

I could feel every single emotion irradiating from her body and consciousness alike...

And with that same feeling connected to her words...

She spoke a sentence which I'll remember forever...

But not for the best of reasons...

"Reiki... YOU'RE A GIRL?!"

...

The room became silent once again as those words filled my ears and the entire guild as a whole...

I was a little taken aback by her nonchalant words that she did not even hesitate to utter...

And at first, I did not quite process what had just happened...

But, thinking about it logically, those words she just said... they were really dangerous if I did not control them fast enough...

I had not told Myria nor Scarlet regarding my former gender issue...

And it would become really awkward if I were to out myself right now...

It was really concerning, but I thought it would be fine since they were supposed to be very far away... yet when I turned around...

...

...

...

Both, Myria and Scarlet, were not even a feet away from me as they both were on the edge of dislocating their jaws off of their mouths...

...

'Sh&t... I got caught...'

...

...

...

No one in the room dared to utter a single word as we all simply stared at each other...

It was really awkward with Scarlet looking at me as if I was some strange alien while Sakura was still in shock...

In summary, everyone was kinda just staring at me in all types of disbelief...

...

"Uh, I can explain...?"

...

...

...

'Yeah no I probably can't...'

That was the only thing I could think as everybody kept staring at me as if they were looking at a newfound abomination of some sort...

I really had no excuse or anything I could say to escape the situation right now...

Like, NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL...

It was truly a lost cause... and with my incredible luck... The worst case scenario was the most likely scenario...

...

...

...

But...

In contrast, with every situation that has arisen since coming to this world...

For some reason life conspired in my favor...

...

...

...

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"LITHERM KNIGHTS, OPEN UP!!!"

*BOOOOOOOM*

A loud explosion echoed throughout what was left  of the guild...

We all turned in shock to face what little remained of the broken down, and smoking front door of the guild...

And as the cloud of dust that had been created from such explosion finally dissipated...

Dozens of men stormed the room in a troop formation holding swords, spears and staffs while encircling all of us...

Nobody truly knew what to say as the men pointed their weapons and amassed magic power in order to attack us...

...

But for some reason... None of them did...

No one dared to really do anything...

Until from the front door an unfamiliar, muscular, tall figure appeared from within the smoke...

His body was well built, with grey hair short hair and a pair of chains hanging from, what I assume to be, military clothes... The man was clearly in his mid-forties or so...

And as we all stared at the strangely strong figure before us, I caught in the corner of my eye, Myria flinching from his appearance...

I wanted to ask her if she knew who that was... but before I even got a chance to do so... I was interrupted by the figure declaring in a commanding and condescending tone...

"WE'VE BEEN NOTIFIED YOU ARE NOW ACCUSED OF CONSPIRING AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE! FOR THAT WE WILL NOW HAVE TO CAPTURE ALL OF YOU!!!"

...

Yeah it may not have been the best of savings or opportunities to escape from my current situation... But something was still better than nothing...

But, as I thought I had managed to escape all of my issues and preoccupations...

Myria grabbed my hand firmly as she turned to me and said concerned:

"Reika, we need to leave NOW!"

(AN: Hey there! I did my best to fix this chapter, and as such for those who took the time to re-read it, I ask:

Is the chapter satisfactory now?

I once again, wish to apologize for delivering such a bad chapter yesterday and do not worry, I'll be posting the daily chapter in around 2 hours time.

Without further ado, I'll be writing the next chapter ;3;)//

Thanks for sticking with me through good, bad and sleep deprivation <3

Thanks)