Chapter 9: Tipsy
"Fight me."
"No."
"Fight me."
"No." Kae was not having that today from Claire.
"Fight me god dammit!"
"I said no." Kae looks back at Claire. "There's something I need to do today."
"You won't be able to do it unless you fight me." Claire crosses her arms. "Fight me, or I won't fake leave with you so that you can go off and do that."
"I'll only need thirty seconds." The two kids begin to walk outside. Once they take opposite sides of the back yard, they get into offensive positions.
"This time, I won't get cocky with a 2v1." Claire smiles at Kae with aggressive eyes.
"Then bring it." Claire stops smiling, and both kids collide forearms. Kae noticed that a lot of his fights begin that way, and he did not know why. Yula was observing in light blue jean shorts, and a white tank top as the kids fought.
"Where did the time go?" Yula says to herself. "I used to be their age. Now I'm 33." She looks down at her body. "Eh. At least I look 24." She smiles about that as she sips some tea from a black mug. Their fight did not last long as they both knocked each other out with a punch in the face while in the middle of a barrage struggle. "Already?" She sighs, places her tea to the side, and drags the kids inside. "I guess her week's training paid off."
As the two kids woke up, they held their cheeks.
"Oh god..." Kae says. "Why do I feel like crap?"
"You're tell me..." Claire also holds her cheek. "I feel bad for your future girlfriends."
"Why?"
"You'll get it when you're older." They both set their eyes on an envelope left on the table with Kae's name on it. "What's this?" Claire was quick to grab it first, but her fingers began to burn when she picked it up. "Ow!" Kae grabs it when she drops it, and it does not affect him.
"Huh. It must like me." Kae opens the envelope, and a hologram pops up. It was Ria's father, Urano, and he looked happy.
"Greetings, young mortal dating my daughters." The hologram says.
"Aha! I knew it!" Claire points to Kae with a grin on her face.
"I'm just joking. That was just to embarrass you in front of anyone that could be standing near you."
"Aw." Claire looked disappointed.
"You have been invited to the demon realm once more for a celebratory dinner regarding your victory last week. There will be food, there will be fun, and if you wish it: there will be women."
"Oh fun. He'll provide me with asses to kick if they try to touch you." Claire gave the most threatening smile he had ever seen from her.
"Your options are to accept, or forever burn in hell. Discarding this letter without an answer counts as a no." That made Kae snort.
"Wow. That's a hard handful of choices to pick from."
"You have an hour to answer from when you opened this." This made Claire skeptical.
"What did he mean by your victory?" Claire and Kae looked at each other for a few seconds. "Kae-"
"I accept." Kae quickly said it, but Claire was quick to grab Kae's arm.
"Oh no you don't!" Both kids were gone in a flash with the envelope. When they looked around at their new location, they saw a large castle in front of them. "Holy shit."
"The opposite." They were in the demon realm after all. Many lower class demons that were also outside of the castle looked at the two mortals. "What?" They looked elsewhere nervously.
"Do they know you?" Claire looks at Kae with a skeptical face.
"No." Kae looks from the demons to his cousin.
"You crippled me you little shit!" The fish demon points to Kae. He seemed to look good as new.
"Yeah? I'll do it again unless you shut the hell up." The fish demon walks away while mumbling to himself.
"Uh..Kae..."
"Not now."
"Yes now. Where did you get those?" When Kae looks back at Claire, he saw her pointing at his two kiss marks.
"I really need to hide those." Now Kae was blushing. He must look ridiculous.
"We're having a talk later." Claire places her hands on her hips. "In the meantime, I want you tell me where the hell we are."
"This is the demon realm." Kae sees Claire take a look around the place.
"Huh. I expected more fire and torture."
"That's hell. This is a place where the demons live."
"Wait. Really?" Claire suddenly gets insanely nervous. "Like the ones that take your souls and stuff?"
"Eh. They're not so tough. You can beat most of these guys with a few punches." The two kids see Urano walk up to them with open arms.
"Welcome to my castle. I am Urano." The demon god takes a polite bow. It was the opposite of Claire's expectations on demon behavior. "I rule over this universe's demon realm." That made the two kids curious.
"What univ-"
"Enough small talk. I'll let someone give you a tour of the castle. Let's see… Aphra! Lapeto! Come to me!" Two bundles of smoke form two demons beside Urano. One of the demons was a shirtless male demon with a six pack, short white hair, and purple eyes. The other demon was a female with an hourglass figure, long, white hair, a d-cup chest, and a big butt.
"Hey. I'm Lapeto." The male says.
"And I'm Aphra." She winks at the two kids.
"These two are triplets; along with one more son that we do not talk about." Urano clears his throat.
"Was he the one that-" Kae tries to guess that it was Krio, but he is cut off.
"We don't talk about. Anyway, these two are competing to succeed me when my time comes in a few centuries. Their bodies are perfect, and their power is promising. I figure that I trust them enough to give you a tour of my home. See you at lunch!" With that, Urano disappears.
"Yes, he was talking about-" A small portal opens next to Lapeto that summons a fist to punch him in the face. The fist retracts before the portal closes. "-tsh! Asshole. Anyway, follow us."
"Keep any eye contact to yourself, or to the both of us." Aphra continues. "The family has a tradition of pursuing anyone they make eye contact with."
"What?" Kae thinks about when he first met Krona and Ria. He was at the mall, sitting on a bench near an ice cream stand, when he got the oddest feeling. It was a cold and disturbing feeling. He wanted to keep his promise to Kess, which was to wait there and not go anywhere, but he also wanted to find the source of this feeling. It did not take long until Kae's eyes made contact with Ria's purple eyes. He even remembers the cute smile she gave him when they made eye contact. He soon made his way over to the group of girls, and the leading Kess. "I thought you said this had to do with the Cree thing Kess?" Those were his first words during that encounter.
"So I guess you don't need to be introduced to Krona and Ria, eh Kae?" Aphra chuckles. She really just wanted to see the two awkwardly react.
"Who are they?" Claire looks at Kae.
"They're the sisters of these two. Just like them, these two can read minds I see."
"Really?" Claire thinks to himself. "If that's true, then are they the girls that I saw before?"
"No." Kae quickly denies it.
"Yep." Aphra looks to her right. "So this is the courtyard. It's where a lot of events are held due to its large area." It was composed of a big pool in the center that was surrounded with an even bigger area of tiled floor. It had a rough texture to prevent tripping when wet. There was also a garden following the inner walls decorated with small shrubs and flowers. In addition, it was surrounded with five stories of floors in every direction that led who knows where. It was odd that a bland, yet sophisticated décor was in a land where letting your needs take charge was the norm. "I advise neither of you to use the pool because it's not water. Only people that can control demon energy are ever allowed in the pool; otherwise, your soul and body will be consumed by the energy." She leans into Kae. "Buuut…you may be an exception." Aphra was looking right at Kae's kiss marks.
"What does she mean by-" Claire is cut off.
"Anyway," Lapeto interrupts as he aggressively looks at Aphra, "If you look to the left, you can see the ballroom." It was an even larger room than the courtyard, and it was oddly positive. The center floor was made of white marble for dancing, the outer portion of the floor was a black carpet with shapes, and there was a stage with a piano on it, and closed curtains. The white tables were on the black carpet, the white walls had windows that were covered with red curtains, and there was the cliché chandelier on the ceiling. "Odd choice of décor, in my opinion, but it's better than nothing. Personally, the stage could use a pole."
"The only pole you need is already on you." Aphra chuckles as her voice got softer.
"Not now." Lapeto's voice also got softer. "The mortals are here."
"Uh..." Kae looks at Claire. "What's happening?" The four heard a banjo softly playing in the distance.
"Hey! Shut up out there!" Lapeto yells to a random lower class demon outside of the castle walls.
"Fuck you!" The lower class demon plays the banjo more aggressively until Lapeto flies to the demon, grabs it, and shoves the front of the banjo down the lower class demon's throat.
"This is why we should purge the lower class demons." Lapeto crosses his arms as the four continue to walk.
"Let's not talk politics on a tour. How about we show them the room of reflection?" Both of the demons look at each other with smiles.
"I don't like the sound of that." If it meant looking into Kae's mind, he wanted no part in it.
"In that case, Let's go." Claire was smiling. "If you don't want to talk about it, typical of boys, then I'll just take a literal look into it."
"In that case, I think I'm gonna-"
"No." Claire grabs Kae's foot as he tries to fly away. "It could be good for us. Then I can figure out how to stop being so aloof, and you can sort our your weird behavior lately."
"Whatever." The four make their way to the room of reflection. They were in a small box that had two doors: one that lead to an infinite black void, and another that lead to the castle. There was a big window that looked towards the void. "Whoa."
"That's creepy." Claire looks at the ground. "Is there even a floor?"
"Only if you imagine it." Aphra and Lapeto cross their arms.
"I guess I'll go first." Claire walks into an abyss. While she saw no floor, she did feel it beneath her feet. Marble? Maybe. She walked for a minute, and then looked back. "I swear I walked further than this."
"The room follows you. If it didn't, you'd get lost forever. I mean, who would make an infinitely sized room that didn't have a portable exit?" Aphra laughs to herself. "That's ergonomically terrible."
"Right." Claire looks around the black void. "I don't see anyth-" She is interrupted by a large roar that makes her jump backwards. The roar was followed by growling, along with gigantic red eyes that opened and looked at her. "What the hell is that?" She could not see a body. Just big, red, glowing eyes. It was not until she saw herself getting larger, and hairier, that she realized that she was the source of it. "..." She could not even talk, nor could she control her movements. "R...RRR…" Something was in her hands. Something small, and crunchy. It was also yelling.
"Is that..." Kae saw himself in the hands of Claire. Seeing this unravel again was making him panic a little.
"Kae?" She tried to loosen her grip, but that just made it tighter. When she blinked, she was back normal. "Oh thank god." She then looked up, and saw a giant fist aiming at her. They did not hit her, as they were slow, but they began to get faster.
"Alright, what the hell is this?" Kae was going to walk in, but Lapeto stops him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He was grabbing Kae's shoulder. "If you walk in there, not only will she endanger you with her troubles, but you will endanger her with yours."
"We're tough." Kae scoffs.
"Yes, well so were our uncle and aunt." Lapeto places a hand on his heart. "But they fell when the emotions from their failed marriage worked together."
"Alright, alright, jeez. Don't have to make it so sad." Kae continues to observe as the fist forms a belt in his grip. At this point, Claire was getting annoyed.
"Fuck you." She chucks a ki blast at the void, but it never seems to create an explosion. It was like it hit nothing. "What? In that case..." She waits for the belt to be used, and she grabs it with both hands to immediately pull on it. It was a saiyan man with short, spiky hair, and black eyes. "Who are you?" The man flew away, and Claire tried to unsuccessfully pursue him.
"Wait!" It was no use. He eventually flew off. "Alright, getting a little depressed here. I'm done." Claire took a few deep breaths as she walked back into the box. She also pushed Kae into the abyss. "Knock 'em dead." Kae did not know what he was supposed to do.
"Hello?" His voice echoed for a few seconds with no response. "So do I just wait, or..." Giggling could be heard as the scenery around him changed.
"What?" Claire was confused. "It didn't change for me."
"No..." It couldn't be. It was the day he fought Cree. He could tell due to the trees around him, and Kess pointing to the three girls.
"I know you'll like this." He says.
"Hey. You never said that." Kae looks to the girls. It was just as he remembered them: young, tight, and smooth. "God dammit." He could also feel that sensation of euphoria that he got when he saw them. The three suddenly looked at him from across the body of water. "Huh?"
"How does it feel?" The three girls chuckle as the whole area turns black again.
"How does what feel?" He then found Cela giving him the chest hug from before. In addition to the feeling of happiness he was getting, he also felt something else. Something cold, yet comforting.
"How does it feel?" Says Cela as she too disappears.
"I feel like I'm missing something here." Kae then felt the cheek kiss Yano gave him a year ago. It was right on Krona's mark. Oddly enough, she did not appear.
"Kae?"Not only could Kae hear Ria, but the three in the box could hear her as well as an echo."
"Ria?" Kae looks around him. Or is this just another trick? They could also hear his thoughts as an echo.
"It's the real deal. Are you in the room of reflection?"
"Yeah. I didn't want to come." Kae was getting nervous. "Should I be in here?"
"No! Get out right now!" Ria sounded very worried. "It's d-" She was suddenly cut off.
"Hello?" Kae waited a few seconds. "Great. Maybe I should." As Kae was ready to walk out, the door disappeared in front of him. His instinct was to scream. "I'm gonna die in here!"
"No you're not." He heard his voice behind him. When Kae looked back, he saw an almost identical version of himself. The only difference was that this version had white hair, blue skin, and pointy ears.
"What the hell is that?" Claire points to the demon version of Kae.
"Oh my." Aphra chuckles, and smiles. "It seems like some demon energy has leaked into a mortal. That's great."
"How is that great?!" Claire had half a mind to walk into the room.
"Because it'll be fun to see where it goes." Aphra looks back to Kae. "Now shut up and watch." Kae was taking it worse than Claire was.
"Who the hell are you?" Kae took an offensive position.
"Whoa. Calm down." Demon Kae holds his hands out. "I'm just you, but blue. And, like, honest."
"I'm honest. You're a liar." Kae did not ease his position.
"No, trust me. I don't want to fight you, or do anything weird." Demon Kae crosses his arms. "I don't really exist either. All I am is a real form of your emotions."
"Prove it."
"Are you sure? 'Cuz I could go on for a long time about Ria's-"
"Okay!" Kae covers his mouth. "You've made your point." The demon kicks Kae away.
"You forget I'm as strong as you." Demon Kae sits down. "Look, I'm what Ria and Krona feel. I know everything you want, and I know that what you want is to not be embarrassed."
"No shit."
"But, we both know how we feel about the girl we'd take a bullet for."
"Yeah. She's great."
"Right? And kteasian." Demon Kae smiles.
"Yeah." Kae nods. "She's great, and proof that being kteasian isn't so bad."
"But kinda crazy."
"Yeeeah..."
"But worth it."
"Her craziness makes her hot."
"See?" Demon Kae crosses his arms. "You just needed to talk to me. I'm not so bad. No one can find out but you. And Krona. And Ria. And her family."
"I guess. I just don't wanna be a creep like Cree." Kae cringes at the thought of it.
"Hell no!" Demon Kae shakes his head. "We won't; but, it doesn't mean we can't have a little fun."
"I dunno… a little fun almost killed you know who."
"But you liked it." Demon Kae points to Kae.
"A little."
"That's all that matters." Demon Kae lets out a sigh. "You know, I get stronger the more you ignore me."
"What? No way."
"Yeah way." Demon Kae nods. "You just don't feel it because you know who is keeping you under control."
"Fine. I won't see you know who for a week."
"Are you alright with letting you know who get hurt while you're gone?" Demon Kae got an inch taller. "That's what I thought."
"But we can't just be doing what we want all the time." Kae crosses his arms. "We'd get grounded a lot."
"Yeah, you're right. We can try to control it. How about that?"
"Works for me."
"No." Toma was standing behind Kae. "Feelings, Kae? That's so kteasian."
"Toma?" Kae replies. "Wait. You're just an illusion."
"You're a saiyan. Being a saiyan isn't looking at tits and asses a lot." Toma turns into her super saiyan god form, which astonishes all three of the beings in the box. "Being a saiyan is all about power like this. Pursuing your instinctual desires won't ever get you here."
"Take your top off." Demon Kae replies silently.
"Shut up." Toma blasts demon Kae. Not a trace of him is left.
"Whoa." Kae was legitimately frightened now.
"I may be away, but the danger is as big as it was before. You need to get your shit together unless you want to be crushed by Claire again."
"Oh don't listen to her." Krona was standing right next to Kae. "She doesn't know you like I do."
"Demon bitch?" Toma points to Krona.
"Come on, Kae. Let's go." Krona links arms with Kae and attempts to drag him elsewhere, but Toma links arms with Kae's other arm.
"Oh no! I'm not done de-pussifying him." Toma pulls the other way.
"Let go!" Krona begins to pull as well.
"No you let go you stupid bimbo!" The tugging was extremely painful to Kae.
"Both of you let go!" Kae found it hard to try and pull them together. No, it got harder the more he tried. He got the bright idea of kicking them both in the abdomen, in which he used it to fly away. Of course, they flew after him.
"You can't run away from your destiny!" The two women simultaneously seemed to move and talk. As Kae flew, he also found his past foes interfering. He managed to avoid the nurse's kneel towards his face, the ball of energy tossed by the three kids, and a kick from the speedy version of Cree. What got him was a smack from the mall giant, which forced him to hit the ground hard. "See? You can't run no matter how hard you try." They begin to close in on Kae, who stood with his right hand on his head.
"Fuck! This hurts!" There was still not an exit in sight. "What the hell am I gonna do?" Even if he did defeat most of them before, there was no way he could defeat super saiyan god Toma. The only reason she did not catch up to him was because he did not know how fast that form was. Out of the blue, he saw a hand reach out to him. "Marina?"
"Come on!" Kae takes her hand, and he takes a look around him.
"Huh? Where did they go?" Not only were they gone, but there were also men with shotguns surrounding them. "Marina! No!" He surrounds Marina's body with a hug, and he tanks a shotgun blast to the back that launches the two kids. It was a very strong pain, but it did not penetrate his skin. "Fuck!" He closed his eyes, and awaited a collision with the floor; but he never felt one. No, he felt like he was falling, and he could not find the strength to fly. "Are you alright?" When he opened his eyes, Marina was not in his arms. No, he was falling alone until he felt himself fall into a body of cold water that he could not see. "What is this?" He saw nothing but a pitch black void. As he moved his limbs, he felt like he was underwater. "Am I sinking?" There was a burning sensation in his cheeks right after he resurfaced. "Ow! What the hell is happening?" His kiss marks began to release smoke. Not only that, but his whole body was beginning to feel very strange. It was an intense feeling that caused him to release his power in a very large aura; and as soon as he began to intensely increase his power, the world around him lit up. He would find himself in the pool of the courtyard surrounded by many members of Urano's family.
"Oh crap!" Claire got into an offensive position. "I don't think the pool made him weaker."
"What?" Kae finds the pool water swirling around him like a whirlpool.
"K-Kae? Is that you?" Claire's offensive position loosens up slightly.
"Depends. Am I still in the room?"
"No. You broke out."
"What? What happened?"
"Well…."
As the door closed for Kae, the three in the room began to see something different. What they saw was a stagnant Kae.
"What's he doing?" Claire decides to comment on the odd behavior. "He's just standing there." He has been standing still for five minutes, and he was looking out towards the abyss.
"Maybe he's beginning to lose his mind." Aphra tries to open the door, but it does not budge. "Uh oh."
"Uh oh?" Claire began to look concerned. "What do you mean uh oh?" The three in the room began to hear Kae scream while holding his head. "Kae!" Claire tried to break the door down, but it still did not move.
"I'll go get father." Lapeto disappears in a cloud of smoke just as Kae begins to calm down.
"What's happening to him?" Claire sees Kae aim his right palm at the door, and he forces the door off of its hinges with a purple blast of energy. The emotion of pure rage was present on his face as the marks on his cheek emit a more intense blue glow.
"Grab his right arm." Aphra and Claire each hook their arms around one of Kae's arms, and he reacts by trying to fly off. "Don't let him fly away!" They each take hold of one of his limbs, pulling back in their respective direction, until he kicks them in the abdomen and flies off. As he attempted to fly out of the castle's bounds, guards of the castle attempted to strike him down. Only one was successful, and he hit the floor of the courtyard hard.
"What the fuck is going on here?" Krona lands next to the grounded Kae.
"Krona! No!" Aphra tried to warn her, but Kae took hold of Krona in a very tight hug.
"He's...crushing...me..." Lapeto takes that chance to punch Kae in the back, which caused him to release Krona and fly towards the pool.
"Oh crap." Lapeto scratches the back of his head. "Well, it was nice knowing him." Kae's landing in the water created a very big splash. It also caused the water to begin boiling. "Oh?" The marks on his cheek began to release smoke, just like they did in Kae's mind, but they also began to emit the same rainbow glow from before. The courtyard then saw Kae begin to yell in the water, as his power began to increase. "Well, this is n-" An intense windstorm was created as the water from the pool was splashed in all directions. Claire had to quickly fly around to not be hit by the water.
"His body absorbed the water's power, and then immediately rejected it." Urano placed his hand under his chin, as if he was pondering something. "Curious..." The courtyard was left to look at an angry looking Kae above swirling water that seemed to be trying to avoid him; and immediately after, he was left looking confused as all three of his kiss marks shattered.
"What? I don't remember that." Kae lands on the floor next to Krona. "Did I really try to crush you?"
"That's not important." Krona crossed her arms. "What I want to know is why someone with uncontrolled demon ki on him was allowed to go into the room of reflection."
"Honestly," Lapeto says as he crosses his arms, "I thought it would be fun; and, it was. He was no real threat."
"That doesn't matter." Krona crosses her arms. "It ended up with him going berserk, and landing in the pool."
"But he survived."
"You didn't know if he would survive." Krona grabs Kae's arm, and she begins to drag him inside. "Come on. Claire, come with me."
"Right." Claire walked with Kae, and Krona.
"Typical Krona. What a downer." Lapeto chuckles to himself, but Urano looks at him with disapproval. "What?"
"Krona was somewhat right."
"He's just a mortal. They're expendable."
"I don't think you understand." Urano crosses his arms. "How could you bring him into the room of reflection, and not tell me about it? I would have wanted to observe as well."
"Sorry, father. I'll let you know next time."
"Good. And Aphra."
"Yes, father?"
"Send Kae an apology after the buffet is done."
"What kind?"
"Surprise him."
"God dammit. This is why I never wanted to bring you to my dad's castle." Kae had many wires hooked up to his body in order to get some readings.
"Where's Ria?" Kae looks at the monitor, but he is not sure what the readings mean.
"She's in Other World taking care of some business."
"Other World?"
"Yeah. You know, the place where the gods live; and the place where souls go to be judged."
"Wow. That sounds important."
"It is. Especially since the place has a very low tolerance for demons."
"Then why is she there if it's so risky?"
"I can't tell you that. We're only acquaintances."
"What? I would've thought that we would be friends by now."
"If you want my friendship, then you'll need to kiss me on the lips." That sentence irritated Claire more than she already was.
"Don't even think about it. Just tell me if my cousin is alright."
"He looks fine. There are no readings of demon energy in his body, nor are there any signs of a mental change." Krona analyzes a portion of the readings carefully. "Hold on..."
"What?" Claire looks at the same readings she was looking at. "What did you find?"
"Wait no. That's just puberty." Claire saw Kae's eyes dart for Krona's chest for a fraction of a second.
"Kae!" When she punches his head, the readings go crazy.
"It's the demon realm. It changes me." He rubs his head as Krona takes the wires off of Kae.
"Well, you've got nothing to worry about. Everything's fine." She gives the two saiyans a reassuring smile.
"Alright." Claire crosses her arms. "But if I see him acting like a demon again, I'm gonna kick your ass."
"Whoa now." Krona holds her hands up. "I guess the demon realm affects everyone in some way."
"No," Kae says, "we're just very protective of each other." The speakers on the ceiling let out a quick message.
"Dinner's ready. Come and get it." Kae and Claire get big smiles on their faces.
"Alright!" They simultaneously say.
"Alright...let's get this over with." Krona motions for Kae and Claire to come to her. "Follow me." The kids follow Krona through a series of doors that eventually lead them to the kitchen.
"I wonder what demons like to eat." Kae's question is answered when they walk into a table full of food: copious amounts of wine, roasted chickens, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, key lime pie, mini burgers, and baskets of bread. "Whoa." There were only a handful of demons in the room at that moment: Urano, Lepito, Aphra, Krona, Ria, and three more demons. The first demon looked to be 14 kteasian years old. What set him apart, due to his common traits of white hair and purple eyes, was his clothing. He seemed to have a thing with casual long sleeve shirts, and skinny jeans. The second demon looked to be 12 kteasian years old. What set her long-haired self apart was her choice of dark colored sundresses. The third demon seemed to take on the appearance of a 24 year old kteasian woman. She had the exact same proportions as Aphra, so it was safe to assume that she's where Aphra got her looks from.
"Welcome mortals. You are only here today because you have proven yourself to be worthy among the eyes of the demons, or you are simply acquainted with said person." He directs his arm to one member of his family as he introduces them. "Of course you know Krona, Ria, Lapeto, and Aphra, but I would like to introduce my wife Gaia, my other son Themo, and my youngest daughter Thya. Please, let us sit." As they sat down, Claire was confused about how polite he was behaving. "We have taken the liberty of scanning your little heads to figure out your favorite foods. In addition, you are more than welcome to partake of demonic wine. It's like regular wine, but the flavor varies by person."
"I'm 10." Kae looks at the bottle.
"I'm 13." Claire also looks at the bottle.
"Oh pish posh." Urano gives the kids a wave of antipathy. "This is the demon realm. Besides, it differs from mortal wine."
"How?" Claire picks the bottle up.
"It derives its effectiveness by how sinful you are. If you are very pure, it will not affect you; but if you are very care-free, you will get drunk in the first sip. It's great." Urano chuckles to himself.
"Don't be nervous." Gaia pours some wine in a glass, and she hands it to Kae. "You'll like it." Urano watches attentively as Kae takes his first sip.
"Hmmm..." Kae waits a few seconds, and he looks around. "I don't feel any different."
"I see." Urano raises his hands. "Then dig i-" As soon as he says it, it was like Kae and Claire were racing to see who could eat the most food. "-in." The others would eat, but they were surprised by the amount of food that the two kids were consuming. It was mesmerizing. They tried to avoid drinking the wine, but they occasionally had dry throats that needed to be quenched.
"Wow." Themo was mainly looking at Claire. "If her throat can handle that, then I wonder..." His thought process was interrupted by a death stare given by Ria. It did not take long until the two kids destroyed everything on the table. Even several bottles of wine.
"That hit the spot." Kae was laying back on the chair while holding his stomach. He also had a blushed face.
"I agree." Claire also had a blushed face, and she let out a burp.
"That's nasty." Kae chuckles.
"You're even nastier Mr tit...looker...guy."
"Nice comeback." The two kids were very obviously drunk.
"Shut up before I make you shut up."
"You wanna fight?"
"Okay." Thya stands in between the two kids, and she extends her hands out. "No need to fight some more. We don't need to call the guards out."
"Who are you?" Kae looks at Thya. "You're pretty cute." Krona and Ria chop Kae and Claire's necks to knock them out.
"Alright, that's enough." Ria picks up Kae, and Krona picks up Claire.
"Oh no." Urano shakes his head. "The fun isn't over yet. We need to see if the wine reacts with Kae."
"Why would it react with Kae specifically?"
"Because the dip in the pool had to have done something to him. No mortal just survives it out of the blue."
"I performed some diagnostics on Kae. He had no hint of demon energy within him."
"Come now, Ria." Gaia crosses her arms. "You know that your father is right. The kid's body has somehow gotten used to a demon's energy from previous exposure. As a result, his body was able to instinctively neutralize any extreme effects his body had on him." Gaia took a sip of some demon wine, and she gives the glass a slow swirl. "Now, it is a matter of when the mortal will be consumed by the energy introduced by the pool, and not if."
"I'll neutralize them, and get him back to normal." Krona and Ria look at each other.
"Oh sure." Themo laughs at his sisters. "Next, you will say that a mortal will be able to surpass a god of destruction. What a ridiculous claim."
"Fuck you Themo. Let's go, Ria." Krona and Ria walk out of the room, and the other demons in the room are left just staring.
"Did that mortal call me cute?" Thya looks at the unconscious Kae's face right before it was out of view.
"Thya," Urano says with disapproval, "do not meddle with your older sisters' pet."
It did not take long for Kae and Claire to regain consciousness. They found themselves back in Kae's house, and they saw the time on the clock.
"Are we still drunk?" Claire says as she looks at the clock. "...or were we only over there for half an hour?"
"I don't know." Kae tries to stand up, but he collapses easily. "I can't stand. My legs are being retarded."
"Just like your brain." Claire also tries to stand, but she also collapses easily.
"And your brain."
"Hahaha..." The two kids try to fly, but even that feels difficuly. They end up bumping into each other's heads, and collapsing on relatively opposite sides. "Watch where you're flying, stupid." Claire rubs her head.
"My flying is fine. Your flying is stupid." Kae rubs his head as well. "I'm going outside."
"No. Don't. You're still weird."
"I'll be fine." Kae leaves the house, and he flies off towards a random direction. "I'm going to Pazzi City." Claire knew that was the wrong direction, but she let him fly in that direction.
"Fine. I'll just sit here cuz I'm older and smarter."
"Yeah, yeah." Kae collapses two minutes after that encounter in front of Yano's house. "Ow! Alright, maybe she has a point."
"Kae?" Yano, who was in the front yard, looks down at the drunk Kae. "Are you alright? You look like my dad after he gets home from work."
"I'm fine. I'm fine." Kae tries to stand again, but he fails. "Just...uh...tired from training. I just need to lay here for a second."
"O...kay..." Yano was confused, but she did not question it.
"By the way, you remember that thing you did a year ago at night?"
"Yeah? It was stupid, I k-" Kae gave Yano a quick peck on the lips as Fan, the new girl from the day at the mall, walks out of Yano's house.
"Hey Y-yyy!" She had no words for it. "O-Oma! Look at this!"
"Huh?" Kae looks at Fan. "I haven't seen you before. Who are you?"
"What's going o-" Oma's facial expression soured when she saw Kae. "Oh. It's here."
"Aren't you Kess's's's younger sister?" Kae points at Oma.
"What's up with you? You look weird." The three kids see Yano walk into the house with a red, speechless face. "What did you do?"
"Oma!" A man in a short, black convertible drives up to the house. "I've come to pick you up." He had tan skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. He also wore a white tank top, khaki cargo shorts, and sandals.
"No way." Oma crosses her arms. "Mom told you to stay away from us."
"Come on, sweetie. I told you that I haven't seen other girls than your mom. Those were just lies."
"There were photos. Get out of here!"
"Yeah, Mr. car man. Get outta here." Kae motions for the man to drive away.
"This doesn't involve you, kid." The man points at Kae, right before stepping out of the car and kneeling on the ground. "Come on, Oma. Come to dad."
"Mr. Cheso!" Oma's mother steps out of the house with a gun in her hand. "I have repeatedly told you to stay away from the kids. Now get out of here before I call the police."
"Come on, Feta. You know my name."
"And the number for the police. Now get out of here."
"I'm taking our daughter." The man begins to surround himself in demonic energy. Kae did not know why, but this one felt different.
"This is what I'm talking about. This! Whatever that purple stuff is. It's freaky!"
"It was to protect the family!" The man took an offensive position.
"You know, I don't like your face." Kae stood in between Oma, and the man.
"Like I said before, kid, this doesn't concern you. Now move before I turn you into dust."
"Mr Ches-" Feta was interrupted.
"My name is Rico!" An explosion of purple ki erupts from Rico in the form of a windstorm. For some reason, Kae's body twitched at the sensation of the explosion. It seemed familiar.
"Move, Kae!" Feta knew Kae from several encounters at the school. "Rico is a dangerous man."
"You better listen to her. Let me talk to my daughter, and this can all be avoided." Rico looks at Kae with an angry face.
"No." Kae takes an offensive position of his own. The shaky sensation of the world was slowly balancing out in Kae's eyes. As a matter of fact, his vision began to solely focus on Rico.
"What are you doing here?" Oma and Fan look at Ria.
"I just came to observe my friend's match. We seem to have...lost contact a short while ago." Upon closer inspection, Ria noticed that the marks on Kae's cheeks were gone. They were not invisible like they used to be, but they seemed to have completely disappeared. Like they never existed. "It was no wonder I was not able to call him."
"Get out of here." Fan was not having it. "Go prey on someone else."
"Whoa. What do you have against me?" Ria was feeling very attacked.
"I know what you do. You just come, and use people for your own sick fun." Fan pulls Oma away from Ria.
"If your definition of 'sick fun' is saving a child from being crushed to death by a big ape, then sure."
"When did that happen?" Ria looked at Kae in silence. "Don't ignore me!"
"You asked for it." Rico raised his arms into the air, and a small black ball of energy appeared in his palms. "How do you like the feeling of your soul being ripped apart?" Ria pulled the kids away to a safer spot when she saw the ball in his hands.
"How does he know that technique?" Only demons from an extinct clan knew that technique, with very few exceptions like Urano, so it was unusual for him to know it.
"I'm in a rush here, so I don't care who I have to kill just to see my daughter." The man threw the ball at Kae.
"Get out of the way!" Ria warned, but Kae stood his ground. "Wait. I forgot that you're still..." Not only did Kae stay, but he catches the ball with relative ease.
"!" Kae's eyes widened, as if something caught him by surprise. In reality, he felt like a shock went up his spine when his hands made contact with the sphere.
"What?" Not only did it surprise Riko, but it surprised Ria as well.
"What? Did the pool affect him more than our sensors let on?" The ball was compressed to fit in Kae's right hand, where he immediately crushed it.
"That's impossible! The ball should have consumed your mortal coil, and soul!" Rico felt like he had literally seen the impossible. Kae's aura once again exploded, like it did when he touched the pool, and it took on a light blue color. It came as no surprise to Rico once he felt that explosion of diluted demon energy. "I see. So that's it."
"I'm gonna start hitting you now." It was the most aggressive tone that Ria had ever heard from Kae. He lunges forward, and punches Riko in the jawline. While the punch did affect Rico, it did not launch him. No, Rico firmly planted his feet on the ground, and he pushed Kae onto the sidewalk by his chest. What made Kae's situation worse was that Rico was charging a blast in the same palm that planted Kae to the ground. To Kae's advantage, his shorter height allowed him to raise his feet in order to easily kick Rico in the abdomen, and into the air. Shortly after, Kae flew upwards with his right fist flaming with a light blue energy; ready to make contact.
"So that's it." Fan looks at Ria.
"What?" Ria looks back at Fan.
"You're trying to turn him into one of you." Fan skeptically looks at Ria.
"What? No." Ria shook her head. "The last thing I want is for him to become like my Zen-Oh forsaken family."
"Then why did that demon-like attack not work on him?" Fan did not personally care about Kae, but she did care about what Ria was doing.
"How should I know?" Ria crosses her arms. The two warriors were crossing punches as the group of girls were talking. "The kid's weird."
"Now that you mention it," Oma says, "my dad did kinda have that light blue stuff around him before." The two males had expressions of anger on their faces as they fought; like they were aiming for a more dangerous fight. Just then, sirens were heard coming in the distance.
"PCPD! Step away from the child!" The police cars stop just as Rico kicks Kae away.
"What the hell are you gonna do about it?!" Rico throws a ki blast in the direction of the police cars, but Kae appears in front of the cars and knocks them away.
"He was going to kill them? Just like that?" Kae grits his teeth. "That's fucking dirty!"
"So is your mouth. I hope you learn some manners in Other World."
"How can you do this, yet want to talk to...uh...Kess's's's sister?" Kae's facial expression indicated that he was livid, yet a little tipsy.
"She will forgive me after I explain everything, but you are getting in my way." Rico aims his hand at Kae. "You have five minutes before I really get serious. In that timespan, I want you to stop interfering."
"You might want to make it one minute." Kae aims his hand back at Rico.
"Little child takes a sip of some demon power, and now he wants to party?" Rico laughs to himself. "Fine. I'm going to kill you, and the police, so I can talk to my daughter."
"You're crazy."
"Well that's what this power does to you!" That line makes Kae's eyebrows relax a little. "You expect to do one thing, and more things happen."
"Don't listen to him!" Ria yells from below. "He just doesn't know how to use it right."
"Shut it, you! I'm guessing she's your catalyst." Rico smiles. "I'll kill her too."
"You touch her, and I'll go into hell to kill you again!" Kae's aura once more explodes, and he uncontrollably flies fist first towards Rico's face. That just makes him laugh.
"There it is. It's just started!" Rico kneels Kae's chest, and he kicks him into the ground a meter. "You're playing with fire. Now prepare to get burned." A ki blast was sent Kae's way. What surprised Rico, once more, was a powerful shot of pressure that canceled out the blast. It managed to push Rico a little. "It's so odd how you let the dark power so easily cloud your thinking." Slowly, Kae rose from the ground with half of his shirt—and the whole rest of his clothes—still intact.
"How does this not hurt as much as it usually does?" Kae forgets that he is still drunk. "Was that all?" Kae's comment made Rico frown, and continue without speaking. The two flew towards each other, and they begin to exchange punches. As the fight drags out more, Kae can feel his body becoming more autonomous. Not only that, but he could not even see Rico's pupils or irises anymore. "What's wrong with you?" The only things Kae could hear from him were grunts. "This seems bad." He lowered his guard for so long, which gave Rico the opportunity to strike Kae in the chest with a great amount of force. There was no chance for breathing room as Rico kicked him towards the floor, and immediately followed with a kick to the spine from below. Once more, Kae felt a shocking sensation on his spine. This left Kae feeling two ways: out of breath, and immobile. Rico uses this opportunity to physically push Kae into the floor as far as he could. "!" As if moving on their own, Kae's limbs branched out to eventually stop the descent towards the mantle. It had to have been at least one mile that they had traveled. As he let out another grunt, Rico sends a punch to Kae's abdomen to try and make him retract. The series of punches continued until Kae let out a loud grunt of his own that pushed Rico out of the hole. Kae quickly followed after him, and took hold of his shirt. "..." For some reason, he remembered Don Paggesi's words once more. "You have to remember something, kid. It's either them, or your loved ones." One look at Rico's eyes, and a consideration of his previous action on the police, made Kae consider killing Rico. "No. That's bad, but..." He did not know what to do. If he did kill him, it would greatly impact him mentally. If he did not, then he would simply regather his strength, and return. He also looked like he was beyond reason at this point. "..." As he was thinking, he noticed Rico's arm move; but it was not to hurt Kae. Instead, he saw a blast move towards Ria. "Watch out!" Kae tried to fly to her, but Rico knocked him to the floor. He saw a blast graze her arm as she moved to the left. "It's either them, or your loves ones...them...loved ones...them...them...them..." The word 'them' seemed to intensify in his head the more he thought of it. It made him stand up, and look right at Rico's nonexistent pupils. "Them..."
"…?" Rico let out a confused grunt, but he was interrupted by a kick to the jaw from Kae. One look at Kae's eyes let Rico know that he was past his breaking point. They were the eyes of a hunter, and that made him smile.
"What happened to dad?" Oma was terrified, and confused.
"He's not your father anymore." Feta went inside to put the gun away with a disappointed face.
"Your father did not properly train to control the demonic energy." Ria thought on that. "As a matter of fact, I think he let it consume him on purpose." The thought of that made Oma hug herself. "I'm more worried about the other fighter. What did he mean by 'them?'" The two warriors punched each other, but they were not attempting to block the other's punches. It seemed to be a fight of pure rage. A fight to see who would break first. Eventually, the warriors fought at a speed too fast for the human eye to see, and the viewers could only hear what seemed to be cannon balls being shot out of a cannon. In reality, it was just the sound of hits being landed.
"Is my dad right?" Ria says to herself as she saw Kae kick Rico away. "Did the pool change you?"
"What pool?" Yano, who has returned outside, says.
"It's a metaphor." Ria was lying, but how would Yano be able to prove her wrong?
"O...kay...?" Yano did not know what else to say. She just looked up at the same sky that Ria was looking at, but she saw nothing. "What are you looking at?"
"Something moving too fast for you to see." The two somehow knocked each other to the ground, but they continued to pelt each other with unblocked fists when they flew back to each other. "They're brutes." Perhaps for Kae, it was more due to his saiyan nature, but it was unnatural for a kteasian. It was not until the two began to push each other that Ria saw a similar sight. Kae once more looked like the unconscious brute that tried to crush Krona. The only difference between then, and now, was that the catalyst on his cheeks was not present. "Just where are you getting this demonic power from?"
"Is it just me," Fan adds, "or is his color stuff around his body darker?" She was referring to Kae's aura, which was a darker shade of blue than it was before.
"Now that you mention it," Ria says, "you're right." She did not look happy about that. The other difference in the fight was Kae's slow domination over Rico. The more shots they took at each other, the less effective they seemed to be on Kae. When Rico found that none of his shots were having the same effect, he lets out a loud yell that intensifies his aura. Kae did the same to try and intimidate Rico. "Wait. You guys can't see them fight, but you can see their auras?" That confused Ria. She figured that this was it. They were at their limits, and they were prepared to throw everything they had.
"What's gonna happen to my dad?" Oma looks at the two as they continue to increase their auras.
"I don't know." Ria crosses her arms. "That's up to Kae."
"And the police?"
"That's assuming Rico lives."
"What? Kae wouldn't kill...right?" Even if Oma was not a fan of Kae, she still did not think that a ten year old would have it in him to kill someone.
"Like I said, I don't know." Ria felt uncomfortable answering these questions. "My hope is that he doesn't, but I can't read his mind right now. Either way, this isn't the Kae you know, so his choice will be based on how strong this new power of his is on his mind." The two warriors yell as they fly towards each other. Upon impact, they create a strong pulse of pressure that moves the grass from four stories high. At this point, neither warrior had a shirt, nor did their pants seem like they were going to last much longer. While it seemed like they were stagnant, they were actually trying to fly towards each other. It was a small back and forth. Eventually, they gave up and began to wrestle on the ground. Rico mostly managed to toss Kae around, and plant him on the floor. Kae, meanwhile, mostly seemed to try and use Rico's own weight and momentum against him.
"..." Kae's right fist looked like it was on fire with a similar colored to his aura. Rico notices it, and tried to avoid the oncoming attack, but Kae delivered it to his chest with a loud roar. This was to launch him away, and give him some time. What they would all see is Rico holding the punched area with his hands, and grunting in pain. It even went as far as to engulf his entire body in the purple flame, and make him yell in agony. Kae used this time to fly upwards, and charge a blue ball of energy in one of his palms. "Them..." The sight of Kae charging an attack made the lit Rico fly towards Kae, and punch him in the face; but it did not make Kae flinch at all.
"Wait..." Oma looks at Kae's position moments before he sent the blast. "He's not going to..." The thought of Ria getting hit with the blast plays in his mind as he fires the blast at Rico's face; he even accompanied it with another loud yell. What seemed to make it even louder was Rico's equally loud yell as he took the entire blast. Oma was also yelling, but her 'no' was far more silent than the yells from the warriors. For peace of mind, Ria covers the eyes of the kids with her staff.
"Alright, alright, go back to your homes." The police force was trying to ward off potential trespassers. "This place is a big life hazard. Everyone step away." When Kae sent the blast, everything went silent. Even the sirens of the police cars. Now, they just saw a stagnant Kae. "Should we take him back to the station for questioning?"
"I wouldn't right now if I were you." Ria walks up to the police officers. "This was self-defense. The man he was fighting was initially prepared to kill, and the boy simply acted."
"Say...isn't he the boy that helped take down The Multiplier?"
"Yes."
"And do you all agree that the boy was protecting all of you?" When the policeman said it, Feta stepped forward and nodded.
"Yes, officer. He tried to use supernatural force to try and take my daughter away."
"Then we will look the other way just this once." Everyone looked back up towards the stagnant Kae. "What's up with him?"
"I have no idea." Ria shrugs, and flies up to see him more closely. "Kae? Are you there?" Kae's eyes shift to look at Ria. When he finishes inspecting her more closely, he hugs her tightly. "Oh no! Don't crush me!" It took her a second to realize that he was not trying to crush her. No, Kae was shaking more than he was hugging. "Kae?" The blue color that had taken over his aura had completely disappeared. She also felt something wet on her arm.
"I-I..." Kae was thinking about what he just did, and now Ria could read his mind once more.
"Oh..." Ria tightly hugs Kae, and she begins to fly. "Let's go to your house. There are eyeballs here that are ready to exploit you." Silently, Kae follows. When they do quickly reach his house, in order to out-speed any cameras that could follow, Kae sits on his couch with a paranoid expression on his face. What made it worse were the tears in his eyes.
"It's not okay..." Kae clenches his fists. "I...killed someone! It was different at the mall, because it was Cela's blast, but this time..." This time, he pulled the trigger. When Ria hugged Kae, he tightly hugged her back.
"I know it can be hard to experience this kind of stuff for the first time at ten years old, but there is no shame in killing to protect what you love." Her words made Kae briefly look at her before he uttered his next words.
"I need to go lie down." Kae walks upstairs, and he walks towards his room when he hears noises in Claire's room. Out of curiosity, he opens the door. "You okay C-" He was at a brief loss of words as he saw Kale and Claire kissing without shirts on. His facial expression changed to a more livid one when Kale made eye contact with him.
"Uh...I need to get to work." His eyes scanned Kae's clothing, and skin, as he passed by. "Holy shit. What happened to you?" The question only made Kae's eyes narrow more. "Okay...okay..." Kale rushed out of the house as fast as he could in fear that Kae was going to make a rag out of him.
"Tell Aunt Yula about the demon realm, and I'll tell her about this." Kae closed the door immediately after he uttered the last word. He did not even want to think about what he just saw, nor about what he just did; but, it was easier said than done. His body seemed to remember the sensation, and it was not likely to forget anytime soon.
"Where is he!" A slam was heard at the front door, and Yula did not sound happy. "Kae! Where are you!" She rushed upstairs, and checked to see if his door opened. "Sweetie, I need you to unlock this door, and talk to me! Are you alright?" There was no answer.
"He wouldn't open the door for me either." Claire seemed to be sober at that moment in time. "He locked himself in there about an hour ago, and now he won't open up."
"Sweetie, I'm not mad. Let's just talk about this." Yula knocked again, but there was no response.
"Dammit, Kae! I can sense that you're awake!" Claire bangs on his door. "Either open up, or I'm knocking this door down!" Kae opened up the door in the same clothes that he had fought in. "Oh shit."
"Claire! Language." Yula immediately hugs Kae in the tighest hug she can give. "Oh I'm so glad you're okay! I took off early from work just to make sure you weren't gonna die."
"I'm fine, Aunt Yula." Kae's hands seemed to avoid touching her.
"Fine my left foot. Look at your clothes!" She turns Kae around, and inspects his body. "You also have bruises everywhere."
"I get those when I train with Toma."
"What happened in that fight, Kae?" Yula gives Kae a serious look. "You sound like something very bad happened."
"I don't wanna talk about it." Kae looks away from Yula.
"Hey! Man up!" Kae could hear Toma's voice from somewhere, but he did not know where.
"Toma?" Not even her presence made Kae sound ecstatic.
"Right here." Claire was holding a phone with Toma's face on the screen. "I'm calling from Koolsa, and I heard about what happened." Her digital arms were crossed.
"Yeah? Well I don't want to talk." Kae was giving Toma an annoyed facial expression.
"That's good. Just think about how killing that living turd was a good thing." Her words worried Yula.
"What happened, Toma?"
"Kae obliterated a demon."
"He WHAT?" Her yell, and Toma's blunt tone with the subject, made Kae clench his fists.
"I said I don't wanna talk about it."
"Hey. Don't get snappy just because I'm ten light years away." Toma points at Kae.
"Well maybe I want to be snappy." Kae crosses his arms. "It's not like I just ended someone's lif- oh wait! I did!" Kae closes and locks the door to his room.
"Jeez." Toma pinches the bridge of her nose. "Cela took her first kill well. I wonder what made him so bitchy."
"How's Kae?" Cela could be heard on the call, but she was not visible.
"He's not taking his first kill well." Toma's eyes were in disbelief.
"Pussy. Well, I need to go check on something. Be back soon!" A closing door could be heard as Toma was talking.
"Remember to not go to that one plac- and she's gone." Toma sighs. "Look, Yuma, just make sure the kid eats. Watch him closely too. We don't need any damn tree huggers to turn him into a pacifist." An opening window was heard from within Kae's room. "What was that?"
"Claire!" Yula yells.
"Gotcha." Claire runs outside.
"Holy shit!" Marina was circling Kae to look at all of his injuries. "Why didn't you put on any other clothes? You look like you were dragged through the damn ground." In the room was also Don Paggesi who had seen the news. They were all sitting outside by a table near the pool.
"I was gonna, but the people back home kept bothering me about this, so I just kinda flew off." Kae had a lower pitch to his voice than usual, and his eyes continuously had a look of worry.
"I know what you are going through." Don Paggesi places a hand to his heart. "You feel wrong for what you did. For the life you have taken." His words made Kae look at the ground. "While it will take time, you will eventually realize that the correct decisions are not always as black and white as the media makes them seem."
"But how do I know that what I did was good." Kae continued to look at the ground.
"Good and evil are subjective, Kae." Don Paggesi thought of a simpler way to say it. "It means that every person has a different idea of it. Sure, killing is normally bad, but was it bad when those saiyans six years ago killed the demons?"
"No." Kae looks up at Don Paggesi. "But I also sensed his energy just...stop." Kae looks back down. "I can't forget that feeling, or that I did it."
"The man would have killed a mother, and potentially everyone in the area." Don Paggesi placed his hand on Kae's left shoulder. "You only killed one person, but you saved many more as a result."
"You also killed some bad guys to save me." Marina places her hand on Kae's right arm.
"No, I just hit them very hard." Kae crossed his arms. "They just died because they were too weak; not because I wanted them to die."
"Still." She gave Kae a warm smile. "I'd be dead if it wasn't for you." Her smile helped Kae's eyes ease a little, but he still looked a little uneasy.
"You will have to keep taking lives in order to save more." Don Paggesi gives Kae a serious look. "Otherwise, your loved ones could be taken instead."
"I know." Kae closes his eyes, and he takes a deep breath. "I guess I feel a little better, but I still feel bad."
"That is normal." Don Paggesi nods. "Things like this take time to overcome no matter how much training you do." He stands, and tips his hat to Kae. "I must attend to my business, so I must leave."
"Oh it's always business with you." Marina crosses her arms.
"If I don't do it, then I can't keep the family safe." Don Paggesi ruffles her hair before walking off. "Remember Kae, it's them or you."
"I wish it wasn't." When the don walks out of view, Marina leans her head onto Kae's left shoulder.
"For what it's worth, I think you're a hero." She continues to give Kae a warm smile.
"Thanks." Regardless, it does not improve his condition. "I don't know why I left from somewhere to talk about what I wanted to avoid."
"Maybe you knew that my dad would be able to help you; you know, being a killer and all."
"Well, you're half right." The two kids heard Claire walking up to the two kids.
"So you finally stopped hiding?" Kae looked back at her. "Yeah, I could sense you. I just don't really care for a lot right now."
"Who's this?" Claire looked at Marina.
"I'm Marina. Who the hell are you?" She hugged Kae's arm self-defensively.
"I'm his cousin." Claire's saiyan tale swayed intensely in order for her to see it. She could see Marina's arms relax at the word 'cousin.' "So this is where you go for support? Not the aunt that cut work just to come see you?"
"Well, her dad has experienced what I have. I figured that some advice would help."
"Yeah? How did that work out?" Claire crossed her arms.
"Pretty damn good." Kae stands up. "In fact, I feel less shitty now."
"Look, I know that your feelings are crazy right now, but-"
"Do you?" Kae walks up to claire. "Because it's a hell of a feeling to know that you caused someone's lights to literally go o-" The world around him began to spin, and the ground felt uneve. "-oooh god my legs." Kae knocks out on his back.
Author's note: My old laptop died after 3 years of great service, so I had to get a new one. There also may be some delays until mid-May because of finals approaching.
