Epilogue:
Standing in the living room, facing Lady Kayra, who had returned early from her day spent with her son and husband, Cale knows that he still needs to account for his actions. Staring out the window, he leaves his back to the room and Kayra.
"I spoke with Kira," says Lady Kayra, watching as the Warlord of Darkness flinches at the girl's name. "She told me what you had told her and about what she witnessed."
Seeing no further reaction, Lady Kayra pauses a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing.
"Badamon came to you in a dream. He gave you options and told you that you had to make a choice or he would make it for you," says Lady Kayra, pausing to see if the man before her would say anything.
Nodding his head, Cale neither turns to look at her nor speaks.
"You took Kira," says Lady Kayra, again watching him flinch at the name, "into the woods, but found that you could not go through with it."
"Badamon showed again," says the scarred man in a low voice while still not turning around. "He told me I needed to complete my choice now, before she left the woods, or he would take me over and finish it himself."
"You followed her to the clearing. You made love to her..."
"No!" replies Cale, whipping around to face Kayra. "I raped her."
"Did you now?" she asks, raising a brow. "Did she tell you no? Did she try to stop you?"
"I didn't give her a choice. She was scared," says Cale, only to be interrupted by Lady Kayra.
"Most woman are scared the first time. If she had said no, would you have stopped?"
"Yes," comes the quiet reply.
"Badamon showed again?" asks Lady Kayra, though she already knew the answer.
Nodding his head, he turns back to the window. "He told me to hurt her. I refused."
"You then returned to the house and told Halo what had happened, leaving out Badamon's role in this," finish Kayra, staring at the back of the man before her. "Why didn't you tell him, Cale?"
"Did it matter?" asks the man. "Badamon used his Netherspirit against Sekhmet and Dais and the Ronins still blamed them for what happened to Wildfire's daughter. Netherspirits were not used against me."
"Badamon used your feelings against you," replies the woman calmly. "It can be a great joy to love someone, but also a terrible burden."
"She is a child, Kayra," replies Cale, turning back to face the woman. "I don't love her."
"Really?" asks the woman, again raising a brow toward him. "Would it have bothered you had Badamon told you to attack Torrent's daughter?"
"She is a child also," replies Cale, unconvincingly.
"But it wouldn't have bothered you as much," finishes Kayra. "There is no shame to be found in caring for someone else."
"She is too young," replies Cale quietly. "And I have seen too much to be the kind of man she needs."
"She will not be young forever," says Kayra, stepping toward the former Warlord. "Her father is a warrior. She is not the delicate flower you think she is."
Shaking his head, Cale turns back to the window.
Glancing toward the doorway, Lady Kayra sees that the woman in question is standing just outside of the room. Nodding her head, Lady Kayra walks away and stops next to the young woman.
"If he is the man for you, let him know and be patient," whispers Kayra quietly, before leaving the room.
Walking quietly into the room, Kira walks up behind Cale and gently places a hand on his back.
"Enough, Kayra. Let me be," says the man without turning around.
"Kayra has left," comes the soft reply.
Turning, Cale finds himself staring into the violet eyes of the woman who has been on his mind all day.
"I forgive you, Cale," say Kira quietly.
"You can't mean that," says the scarred man.
"You are my opposite, Warrior of Darkness," she says, raising a hand to cup his face.
"You mean Warlord," he replies, remembering their earlier conversation before entering the woods.
"No, I don't," she replies. Raising herself on tiptoes, she kisses him gently on the mouth.
"Kira," whispers Cale, looking down at her.
"I can wait," says Kira, before stepping away from Cale. "You said when you were with my father, you felt complete..."
"That was 21 years ago, when I first met him," says Cale, shaking his head.
"I feel complete with you," says Kira. "And if you think I am not ready, then wait for me."
"Kira," whispers Cale again. "I am not the kind of man...I have seen too much and done too much."
"I know," she says. "And I wouldn't have you any other way. Those experiences made you the man you are now."
Taking a step toward her, Cale wraps his arms around her and draws Kira in. Turning his head, he rests his cheek on top of her head.
"I will wait," he whispers quietly into her hair.
"I know," she replies.
Not used to sitting and doing nothing, Kaida finds herself doing just that on the steps outside of the living room. She had come downstairs with Kira and spoke with her before Kira had entered the living room. Kaida stayed on the steps and had watched as Lady Kayra had left the room minutes after the daughter of light had entered. She was still waiting on the steps when Kira came out of the room.
"How'd it go?" asks Ryo's daughter to her best friend.
Smiling, Kira says nothing. Walking up the stairs, Kira heads for her room. Nodding her head, Kaida still finds herself not ready to get off the stairs. Feeling a tremble in the steps, Kaida glances toward the top of the stairs and finds herself looking at one of her lovers, Sekhmet.
Noticing motion out of the corner of her eye, Kaida turns to look next to her and sees that Dais, her other lover, is standing next to her with only the handrail to separate them. Saying nothing, Kaida tries to be patient to see what the men wanted that they would come at her from two different directions. Finally not able to take it anymore, since patience never really was her virtue, Kaida opens her mouth.
"No greeting. Uncomfortable silence. Is this the part where you say that it was fun while it lasted?" she asks, glancing between the two men.
"Kaida, you are a lovely woman," says Dais, looking at the woman sitting on the steps.
"Ah, this is the it's not you, it's me speech," says Kaida quietly.
"When all this is done, we will return with Lady Kayra," says Sekhmet, taking a seat next to Kaida on the steps. "It's wouldn't be right to let you think that there is a future for the three of us."
"Even if we would stay in this realm, threesomes never last," continues Dais, shaking his head, his white hair flowing around his face. "And we do not wish to force you to choose, simply because we do not want to know who you care for more."
"How long did it take the two of you to work out this speech?" asks Kaida, pointedly not looking at either man.
"Kaida..." says Dais, but Kaida waves him to stop.
"I understand," she replies, then shakes her head. "Well, no, I don't understand. You said it could always be this way."
"I shouldn't have promised things that Sekhmet and I couldn't carry through on," replies Dais. "We never meant to hurt you, only to please you. We wanted to clean the stench of evil from your first time with a man. We allowed the relationship to continue when we shouldn't have."
Nodding her head, she is looking away from Dais when the older man notices the boy standing at the top of the stairs. Makoto, son of Cye, locks eyes with Dais only for a moment before returning his gaze to Kaida.
"There is another for you," says Dais, looking back at the woman before him.
Catching his eyes, Sekhmet gives Dais a puzzled look. Jerking his head toward the top of the stairs, Sekhmet looks up and notices Makoto standing there and looking down on them.
"Well, since I can't convince you otherwise, I guess this conversation is done," says Kaida, then looks up at her former lovers. "Anyway, Cale probably needs someone to talk to."
"Cale does not talk," replies Dais, looking toward the living room doorway.
"He broods," says Sekhmet, getting up off the stairs.
"Well," says Kaida, forcing a smile, "go brood with him."
"I believe she is ordering us around," says Dais, glancing at Sekhmet, while entering the living room.
"Look who her father is," replies Sekhmet, also disappearing into the living room. "Are you surprised?"
Standing up, Kaida turns to go back up the stairs. Looking up, she sees the back of Makoto, who had turned away from the stairs the moment Kaida got up. Frowning, Kaida climbs the stairs to ask Makoto what is wrong, but hearing his bedroom door close, she decides to let the matter be.
Staring at the mirror that allows Badamon to find out what is going on in Mortal Realm, he sneers at the happy moment shared in the living room.
"I need to find a new child to focus on. The Ronins must suffer," says Badamon.
Using the mirror, he looks through the Mouri house, trying to find something that he can take advantage of. Stopping the mirror's search when he reaches Torrent's twins speaking with each other, Badamon listens carefully to what is being said.
After only a few minutes, Badamon smiles. "Oh, this information is good. Very good indeed."
Listening more, a plan forms in Badamon's mind.
"Oh yes, I can use this," says Badamon. "If my plan succeeds, Torrent will bury a child when I am done."
Laughing, Badamon continues to watch the twins talk until their conversation is done.
THE END...
Continued in Guilt's Death