The metal rails squealed as they ripped open, the force of the car causing them to buckle before snapping, the car sailing free.

She smiled, heh, this was kinda nice, almost like flying… And then it started to fall, the force gathering as a stone in her stomach as she plummeted, the murky waters racing up to meet her.

She smirks, for she always did want to go out with a bang… Or much rather a crash.

Her head is throbbing, blood is trickling down her sides and yet she doesn't care, she feels calm.

This is the end, she is ending it and no longer will she have to control it. To suppress it. No more of those never ending numbers.

The water is almost there, her eyes widen and she breathes out, a sense of panic flares within her but she quells it, this is what she wanted to do and this is what needs to be done.

She closes her eyes, waiting for the impact…

v He

"Congratulations! It's a baby girl!" the nurse exclaims, her hair is bright red I note, flushed cheeks that are slightly rounded, yet the rest of her figure is slim. She seems cheery, far cheerier than the atmosphere of the room allows, as even in this infant form I can sense it, there is an under-lying sense of tension and fear permeating throughout the whole room. And it is centered upon me.

On impulse I cry loudly, as anyone new-born is expected to do, however the tension does not dissipate it remains, slowly shaking my head like the disgruntled baby I am supposed to be, I take in my surroundings, there is a woman lying in a bed, covered in a sheen of sweat, blond strands of hair sticking to her face as she pants heavily, though her exhaustion doesn't explain the panicked look in her eyes as her stare shifts frantically from me and then to the man standing quietly by her side.

He looks regretful, though not as if he wished me not be born, but much rather regretful of the action he knows he is now going to have to carry through.

It must have something to do with my sex.

Taking in the room, it seems feudal, the walls are all covered in a bright orange colour whilst red swirls, similar in colour to the woman's hair, are scattered throughout. Various tapestries with strange symbols adorn the walls, squinting ever so slightly I can deduce that they are perhaps Japanese, though cannot confirm as it was never a language I learned.

The man seeming to have come to terms with his decision, steps forward and gently scoops me out of the arms of the overly cheery woman, I feel an instinctual sense of comfort and safety wash over me and I suspect that this is my father, he proceeds to move away but is halted by the woman's desperate cry "Ashina!", the man halts and turns sorrowfully back to the woman, who judging by the look of sheer panic and desperation on her face, I can only assume is my mother and one that disagrees with the fate that is about to be placed on me.

"Sore ga okanawa renakereba narimasen" he declares, the tone of his voice leaving no room for argument causing me to frown at my lack of understanding and hence helplessness in this situation, whilst the woman crumples, her faces falls and she lets out a pitiful moan before desperately scrambling towards me and the man. Immediately the nurses that have previously just been hovering nervously on the fringes of the room step into action and forcefully restrain the woman, though she ignores them, with surprising strength and speed she manages to get halfway across the room before my father hollers his guards, strange men shimmer out of nowhere and grab the woman's arms, hoisting her back towards the bed as she loudly shrieks and jerks, screaming like a wounded animal.

"Ashina! Shite kudasai, arimasen! Hoka ni shite kudasai iya, nandemo! Ashina! ASHINA!"

The screams follow us all the way out of the room, before the door slams shut behind us and they are muffled out of hearing, though the fear it has instilled still remains.

I was physically helpless and now socially to, for I couldn't even understand what they were saying let alone figure out how to solve it. Instinctively I give out a pitiful wail, my supposed father, though I'm not too sure now, judging by how he is acting, cradles me closer, pressing my forehead into his shoulder, where my soft infant skin meets … armour?

Yes – armour, cold, shiny metal that smells of oil and dirt hits my senses, I wrinkle my nose in disgust when I detect the tell-tale stench of dried blood, this man was a warrior and judging by the amount of dried blood I can smell one that has partaken in many battles.

Yet, I have little time to dwell upon these details of my father as it seems we have emerged from whatever building we had previously sheltered in and the first thing that strikes me is the heat. It is unbearably hot, the whole environment seeming to be choking from a thick red substance, it almost looks gaseous however it moves and shifts like a predatory animal hunting its prey, it's sentient I realise… Or at least controlled by someone's or something's will.

The air is choked with the sounds of screaming, yelling, clashing and the continuous whistling of metal as projectiles are fired through the air, though all this chaos is superseded by one noise, a deafening "ROAR!" that is quaking the very earth. Confused and worried I desperately search for the source of the noise however are prohibited by my father's firm grip on me pressing me into his shoulder, he remains calm despite the chaos and marches steadily forwards, determined on his course of action.

The noise is getting louder and as a result making me more and more appreciative of the seemingly sound proof building we were previously in, my skin is blisteringly hot, the only relief from this being pressing my skin into my father's armour, but that too is heating up, our very surroundings seeming to be burning in the red gas, however there is no flame in sight.

Finally we reach our destination and my father settles me down on some cool stone, it relieves my baking skin from which I am thankful however the mere glimpse of the stone I got as I was being placed down startled me slightly, if what I saw was correct, my father had just place me on some kind of altar?

As if to confirm my suspicions that what was about to take place was some kind of religious ceremony, my father began to chant, his hands make fluid and precise movements as the air around him begins to shimmer, a blue tint forming. The air starts to feel cooler, the blue tint seeming to push back the red gas, forming a sort of shield around us. Another deafening roar sounds, however this time much closer, my father stiffens, his movements becoming blurry as he speeds up, yet I am still unable to locate the source of all this red gas and noise.

My father's chanting is melodic, making me feel calm despite the danger, I feel lulled towards sleep when it finally comes into my range of vision. It is a beast. One with furious red eyes and skin, no wait fur? Yes, fur, it is a fox, one with multiple tails and a gigantic size, its enraged, the very blood lust pulsing from it in waves of the red gas. The fox creature spotting us, lunges forward its teeth snapping forward as to rip us to shreds, however my father's blue tinted dome protects us, the fox's mouth being shunted back as it is repelled. This only further angers the beast causing it to start collecting some of the red gas at its mouth as well as another substance, which has a similar blue tint to my father's, seeing this my father stiffens considerably before hurrying his movements even further.

The beast's construct is fully forming into a blackened sphere now, however before it is able to fire it, violet glowing chains erupt from the ground surrounding it, binding it tightly as it roars its protest, the construct dissipating as a result. Giving me one last mournful look, my father presses down on my stomach hard, the pressure making me squeal as I am practically winded, however this feeling is soon overridden as it is replaced by an acute burning sensation. It starts within my stomach before flooding my system as it seems to flow like lighted gasoline along all my nerves, I scream and wail at the intense pain and my vision blurs only vaguely noting the seemingly shrinking form of the fox.

I quickly dismiss it for deluded hallucinations before the pain over-whelms me and all I see is black.

"Sore ga okanawa renakereba narimasen" - I'm sorry but it has to be done

"Shite kudasai, arimasen! Hoka ni shite kudasai iya, nandemo!" - Please no! There must be another way, please no!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter - till next time!

Maddiev98xx