Chapter Eleven – The Quagmire of Doubt

Zhi had started to get impatient at Kage's silence. She had merely asked a simple question and he had been locked by it, frozen in place on the muddy dyke as if they cemented his feet to the ground. Because of the low-slung bandana across his eyes, she couldn't judge his mood, yet the way his jaw was locked told her that she had possibly said something wrong. "Kage…san?" she asked, adding a respectful tag to try and smooth over whatever anger she might have provoked. However, he stood there, tight and frigid. It began to scare her.

Suddenly, Kage lunged at her. The speed in which he moved caused her to yelp loudly and, without her knowledge, her arms had risen up to protect herself. Her mind wailed with possibilities of what could have caused him to turn so violently on her, yet her eyes had pressed closed to hide from the blow and she couldn't see the purpose in his eyes. All she knew was something had set him off and she was going to suffer for it.

When the blow came, she found herself on her back in the thick, greedy mud of the rice patty. She was more surprised than ever. There had been no painful strike or agonizing injury. She was just muddy now and she wanted to know why. "What are you doing?" she cried and wiped some mud that had splattered onto her face, feeling a distinct chill run through her as the waters hadn't quite shed the coolness of the morning. Being lathered in blackish mud and her mind whirling at the reasons behind it, she looked up to him for answers but was met with only a foray of new questions.

Kage was on one knee next to her, his hand plunged deep into the mud for balance and his body was equally covered in mud. However, his eyes were cast off in another direction, his lips pressed and it was obvious that their playful romp in the mud together was anything but a fetish.

Zhi managed to sit up in the deep mud and crushed rice plants, trying to wipe away the filth. Everything he did made her more and more confused, yet when her eyes finally came across the dyke they had been walking on, her chest froze against her heavily soiled shirt and she gasped. Two huge gashed ran the length of the dyke, completely destroying it where they had been walking before thinning back out and disappearing a distance away. It was as if a huge bird had swooped down with great talons and dug up the ground beneath them. She hadn't even seen whatever had tilled the ground so maliciously, but obviously Kage had.

The attack had sterilized Kage's mind and he was no longer fuming over what Zhi had said. There was a moment just before he had seen the attack coming where he was ready to punish the idea – the proposition that someone be allowed to replace his precious sister. Even as Zhi was oblivious, he would have responded to the idea in a very vicious manner despite the fact that he had grown used to her being around him and that he had put forth quite an effort to save her. She had touched a part of him that was raw. He knew that part of him would never heal and, as a constant reminder of why he had done the things he had done, he didn't want it to. There was more than one person that suffered from his refusal to heal.

Now Kage looked intently at the area around them. Whoever had attacked was very good and had used his distraction to almost end them both. The effort had failed, but Kage was certain there was more to come. "Come out! You too chicken-shit to show yourself after seeing what I did to your tin-man buddy?" Kage hollered. He stood straight, towering over Zhi, and the mud caked his skin and body, dripping like the earth's blood from him. Despite his soiled appearance, the sublime glow of his Ryuugan showed that another attack wouldn't catch him off guard and that whoever was responsible for the first had to find a new strategy or retreat.

A slight distance from the two mud-soaked victims, a collection of sparkling, diamond-shaped plates appeared in the air, floating aimlessly against the sky and marking an unnatural presence. Soon enough the metal combined together into four larger plates and these plates orbited a man floating as carefree as a breeze, though a devious smile and intent eyes warned of a purpose far crueler. His purple hair was shortly cropped and styled fashionably and his clothes were as beautifully colorful as service would allow. With a smile on his face, the man's purple eyes showed amusement and lust and it seemed he had only half-expected that his attack would have done them in.

Kage immediately recognized the man as one of Oberon's lackeys, though he wasn't at all surprised. No human he knew had the capacity to attack as he had and the brawler had expected that one of Oberon's minions would catch up with them. As he had soundly defeated Flute and sized up the fragile woman as benign, he worried of two others in Oberon's vanguard. Yet he knew that other than the skittish woman, this man was the weakest of the group – even weaker than Flute was. That fact disappointed him. "I figured one of you would be along soon. I guess Obi's keeping the best for last, huh?" Kage barked at him, taking a few steps onto what was left of the dyke so he had better footing. "I think your name was…Fuck or something?" he added with a smirk, trying to incite anger from the man.

However, in light of current events and knowing something that the human brawler didn't, Puck merely smiled wider and crossed his arms over his chest, his lustful eyes moving over Zhi's dirtied body and responsive eyes, knowing the reason she looked at him with such fervor was the many wonderful nights he had spent trying to violate her. Still, seeing her covered in muck and so delightfully afraid, he could hardly gather his thoughts to retort. "Ah, an avenue I had hardly explored. How wonderful you look when lathered in condiments, my dear," the man responded, all but ignoring Kage.

As Zhi burned in anger, Kage felt his own rage fanned. He never liked being ignored and quickly swept his hand through the air, sending a surge of energy through the invisible bands that only he could see. Just as he had been able to cut open Flute's face on a whim, he had hoped to knock the perverted look off Puck's face but instead was startled when there was a loud pang that echoed through the rice patty. One of the rotating plates had moved up and taken the blow – being bent in the middle from the impact. Puck had been enjoying his own thoughts when the interruption came, yet he hadn't even moved as the plate took the impact.

Eyeing the bent plate, Puck laughed softly as it bent back to normal and began rotating, his amusement even more amplified by the actions of this twisted knight. "Temper temper, boy. If it pains you to see me admiring this pert young thing, I can always enjoy your wonderful form as well," he said with a lavish giggle. Puck obviously had no restrictions when it came to his interests and he was just as content to ogle over both of them. Kage responded with a snort and Puck frowned slightly, reaching out one hand so he could lovingly look over his nails for imperfections. "But you hurt my feelings when you said that I'm the weakest. How can you be so cruel and break my heart?" he said, though he appeared far more dubious that Kage gave him credit for.

Kage scowled more, having none of the capacity to toy with him as he had Flute. "Blow me. Even Flute was stronger than your dumb ass. After seeing what I did to him, Obi's just being a dick by sending you instead of that other girl. At least she might have been interesting to fight," Kage responded.

Puck smiled once more. "Do you mean Lady Titania?" he asked.

"Whatever her name was," he replied.

Puck suddenly started laughing a bit more and even twirled in his delight. While Kage was left to wonder what had left him so amused, Puck settled onto the ground farther down the dyke, the metal plates still rotating and orbiting him like clockwork. The fact that the human couldn't remember what had happened made it even more wonderful – so much so that Puck nearly held back from telling him. Puck couldn't even imagine how Oberon was able to stay his anger and refrain from crushing the human, but he felt honored to be the one to inform him of his deed.

It was even very peasurable. "My dear boy, you have already killed her," he said, his voice almost arching in enjoyment.

Kage was struck by what he said. He had no memory of killing anyone after Flute and after observing what kind of power Titania possessed, he couldn't believe that he had done it. He knew that he would at least remember the struggle, yet his mind was blank and his mouth gaped open. He truly didn't remember what happened after Oberon had racked his body to the breaking point and turned his focus on Zhi, yet he could also see by use of the Ryuugan that Puck wasn't lying.

Somehow, he had killed someone who was nearly as strong as Oberon and didn't remember a thing. "What did you say?" Kage stuttered amidst his own amazement.

Puck posed in dramatic fashion, as if he were playing a part in a play. He had always enjoyed the theater and even peeked in on human plays since their arrival, yet it was when the drama was real and the essence of emotions was displayed that he truly felt the depth of theater. It made him glad he came with Oberon on his mission. "Oh, pity poor Commander Oberon! You have slain his beloved wife and sent his soul into chaos. With how viciously you have performed the deed, it is a wonder the commander himself has not hunted you down for revenge. Yet," he continued, his eyes moving to the human for another dose of information, "I would imagine that he is still trying to find all of her."

Kage's mind was out of control and his eyes darted wildly in his head. As if somehow triggered by the taunting, flashes began to burn in his mind and show him fragments of the deed he had committed. He could only see short jolts. They were confined by his fear and only clear enough to see how brutal he had been. But the Ryuugan was only now showing him of things that had happened when his mind was black and his anger raged.

The woman screamed. She tried to defend herself but…can I really move like this? I broke her spear like it was a toothpick. Even Obi tried to stop me but…gods…I tore her apart.

Kage's mind was a torrent of thoughts and regrets, yet his eyes pressed closed and he could only think about one thing. It was the same as before. The capacity for evil things was still within him and he had done something horrendous, even if she had been his enemy. He had no memory of it and even refused to believe he had been able to out-power not only the Titania, but also Oberon and Puck. Oberon had beaten him with one attack, yet he could distinctly remember knocking him away with the flick of his wrist.

This power…what is this power?

Mako-chan…

Pushing his mud-stained hands against his face, Kage tried to contain the burning in his head. He had come to China to try and find his new soul, yet all he had found so far was that he was spiraling back into a pit, accelerated by his new powers and terrifying eyes. His Scion powers had always had the capacity for evil, but he had found solace in the Ryuugan and their ability to see the light. But now he felt the tentacles of darkness pulling on him again and, without his only shining beacon of light to save his drowning soul, he feared that he would become something far worse than he had been.

For the first time, he was absolutely terrified of the Ryuugan.

Seeing as the boy had been struck by his own capability, Puck began to walk towards him, the spinning plates revealing their razor-sharp edges and glimmering intent. Watching the tortured boy fall to his knees before him made it even more enjoyable and Puck licked his lips lustfully, saddened that he couldn't enjoy the human as he would like to but fully intent on fulfilling his master's orders. In that, Puck was extremely lethal. "Oh, don't be sad. Whatever power you used to kill Lady Titania obviously exceeds your ability to control it. You can't even remember what you did! While such a power is very arousing, I'm afraid such power has to be snuffed out. It could be very inconvenient to our future plans," he said, raising up a hand and the spiraling metal plate that followed.

Kage showed no reaction and Puck was ready to end it when Zhi suddenly appeared between them, her arms outstretched widely and her face showing how intent she was on protecting the one that had saved her. While she couldn't understand what had happened anymore than Kage could, her eyes were focused and her lips were firm – she was going to stand by him no matter what he did. "Don't touch him! I won't let you hurt him," she warned.

Her tone was such that Puck stopped in his approach, yet kept his killing blow ready to strike, even if it meant going through the young girl. He was very annoyed at her loyalty. "Little nymph, a mouth that is larger than a fist can obscure one's sight. We will have our fun together after I disembowel this horrible creature," he replied.

"I won't let you! I don't care what you say he's done – he has a wonderful soul and a warm heart. He'd never let anything control him!" she yelled back, defending not only his body but his mind and soul. She may have been blinded to the truth by her feelings for him, but she stood by them no matter the cost – no matter what it cost her. She felt that was the basis for the love she felt for him. Even if the truth was less than hope, she also felt that he would do the same for her. "I won't let you touch him," she echoed, then lowered her hands into a fighting stance.

Puck laughed. Once before he had let her out of her restraints in a cruel game of his own delight. He had promised that should she get past him, she could return to her village. The pleasure was in the attempt and he had reveled in her efforts to escape. While he was never allowed to completely rape her, he had spent an entire day tiring her and resisting her attacks; all the while he groped her nubile body and teased her flaring emotions. In the end, he left her exhausted and embarrassed and once more tethered by chains and darkness – all to satisfy his lust for her.

Now, without the restraints of Oberon on him, he would be able to pursue his passion to its beautiful end. Nothing was going to deny him of the pleasure this time. "You have a terrible memory. Do you so long for my touch?" he cooed, lowering his arm slightly to taunt her with a smile.

Zhi glared with a muddy face, her eyes narrowed by her brow. She remembered everything he had done to her and it burned in her memory, forcing her to hate him more and more with every breath. Yet, she slowly took a breath and released it, remembering the mistake she committed with Flute. Her rage had put her into an unwinnable situation and the colossus had brushed her aside because of it. Faced with the perverse Puck, she found there was more at stake than her own horrible memories. Kage knelt behind her, his body slumped forward and the darkness upon him. She had to protect him despite her own desire for revenge.

It was the true test of her feelings for him and she knew that if she ever wanted to be worthy enough to walk next to him, she had to prove it by defeating the one that had nearly robbed her of her innocence.

In response to his question, Zhi surged forward with incredible speed, darting right through the gap in his spiraling defenses and throwing a punch at his smug grin. Puck had been expecting the attack and was even a bit surprised by her improvement, but still evaded her blow with ease before throwing his hand through the air and sending a spinning disc of metal at her. What he didn't expect was that she avoided the disc by pushing off it right as it passed her, her unnatural weight allowing her to come down at him from a height with a heel meant for the same grin. That grin quickly faded as he brought his other hand up and her foot met a metal plate hovering at his hand like a shield. The kick knocked in his shield more than he expected and, for a brief moment, he attempted to reassess his expectations of her.

Zhi continued her assault by kicking and punching in such a fury that Puck had no time to concentrate his plates into spinning for an attack. It was all he could do to keep the two plates at his hands for shields to stop the powerful blows she was delivering. All the while he stepped backwards and blocked, he stared in wonder at her focused eyes and passionate face, feeling even more aroused by her despite the danger she posed. The girl that he had so easily handled before had been given something so powerful that he was having a hard time defending himself. In the time since Kage had freed her from the cell, she had been given hope. That was easily enough to put her on par with the alien and force him into taking her serious.

Whether it was Puck's rising intentions or Zhi's desire to protect someone she cared for, Zhi was finally able to land a blow on Puck as he foot came raking across his face and sent him sprawling into the mud. It was surprisingly satisfying to her and watching him grope around in the mud, she hopped a bit in excitement and stuck her tongue out, finally glad she was able to put aside her fear of him and avenge a small amount of her dignity. "Hah! How do you like my touch now, you pervert?" she jeered, taking her stance once more with a lot more confidence.

Puck slowly rose to his feet, his back to her and his shoulders slumped in anger. While she couldn't see his face, she knew he was more serious about the fight and that she couldn't joke around anymore. The smile slipped from her face and her stance tightened, but Puck stood still, his fists clenched at his sides as the mud dripped off of him disgracefully.

"How dare you," he blurted, his voice wailing in rage.

The indignation of being thrown into the mud was more than he could handle, especially since it was nothing more than a human girl that had done it. If anyone were to hear of it, he would never hear the end of it and he would certainly be discharged from service dishonorably. The foul muck of this insignificant planet was staining his clothes and he was embarrassed when no one was looking. There was no way he could live with the shame and Puck's voice quivered as he repeated himself in a scream, "How dare you!"

The alien quickly turned and threw his hands at her, sending the spinning plates in her direction with terrible intent. While Zhi was confident she could avoid them all, she was suddenly horrified when the four plates suddenly shattered in countless smaller plates and sped towards her with no possibility of being avoided. While sizably smaller than the larger plates and less lethal, she knew there was no way to block them all and resigned to throwing her arms up in front of her, hoping to save her face from terrible injury and the loss of sight.

Her body was suddenly alive with thousands of small cuts and gashes, making her cry out as both material and skin tore open to the plates. The forces of it threw her back into the dirt near Kage and she moaned, her skin feeling like it was on fire and her blood mixing indiscriminately with the mud. While it wasn't life-threatening, the wounds did drain her strength and make it harder to focus; two things she couldn't afford when fighting such an enemy. Moving on her hands and knees, she grit her teeth and looked up to Puck as he stomped out of the bog, his anger piercing the mud on his face and the four spinning plates now combined into one great one above his head. Kage was still out of the fight and Zhi was aching all over, but she still wouldn't give up and let them both die.

After some effort, she shakily stood on the soggy dyke and faced the furious Puck, her own eyes locked with intent and her fists held tightly at her sides. She was hurt and the mud only agitated the wounds, but she wouldn't give up while Kage still needed her. She owed him that much. She only wished that he was watching her valiant effort to save him.

"I have no patience with you. I don't care what Oberon says. I'm going to cut you down!" Puck yelled, throwing both hands forward this time and sending the spinning disc through the air at her.

With her injuries, she would have a harder time avoiding the attack, yet she was confident that her strength would serve her when she needed it. Kage was depending on her. He needed her. With that in her heart, there was no way she would lose even if it meant getting cut down in the process. "I won't you let you hurt Kage-san!" she screamed and prepared to defend herself.

It was then she heard something whoosh past her ear and her eyes widened in shock. The plate bearing down on her suddenly split in two and the pieces sprayed off in different directions, both impacting into the muddy waters of the rice patties and sending plumes of black mud into the air. Both Zhi and Puck were shocked into silence but Zhi was relieved when she felt his presence beside her – the warmth of his body near to hers. She slowly looked up to Kage's pursed face and something choked in her throat, yet she remained silent except for a slight whisper of his name.

Kage merely smirked at the sigh. "Sorry about that. I kinda lost my head for a sec," he said, though she wasn't sure exactly who he was apologizing to. His eyes were focused intently on Puck, but she could somehow feel his gratitude for her efforts in saving him.

While her body was racked with injuries and her emotions had been disturbed, she was coherent and stupid enough to through her arms around him, hugging him out of relief and mindless grinding mud into her wounds. "Kage-san! I'm so glad you're okay!" she was crying, though he was trying to pry her away from him amidst his objections.

Puck was fuming. He had always intended on tiptoeing around a direct confrontation with the brawler but with the insult that had been delivered to him, he was unable to dismiss reality despite what the fight with Flute had taught him. He didn't care how powerful the human was.

He was going to kill them both.

"Scum. Enough playing with you two. I'll slice you both into little pieces and fertilize these fields with your souls!" Puck howled and the two plates broke loose from the ground. Wobbling from Kage's attack and covered in muck, the pieces broke into as many small pieces as could still deal lethal blows and the swarm hovered around Puck like a hive of bees eager to defend their queen. The alien was heaving in anger and all but blinded by his plight. Rarely did one see the stupidity of running into a storm when angry at the thunder.

Kage finally shoved Zhi off of him and scowled, but soon turned his attention back on the enemy. While his mind was still consumed by the uncertainty of the Ryuugan, he had to push aside his fear in order to fight – something he had always been capable of doing.

He was glad to see Puck had lost all of his pompous villainy and was ready to get to business, but he was also eager to further his knowledge of Zhi capabilities in battle. After all, he had missed most of her fight with Puck and was only now realizing this was a good opportunity to learn more about the granddaughter of the man he sought. "You know, old Flutie was saying the same things before I kicked his ass up between his ears. He was a lot stronger than you," he remarked casually.

Puck had let his anger get the best of his judgment and angrily threw his hands forward, sending all of the plates forward in high hopes of ending the fight. As before, the sheer number of edges bearing down denied any evasion, yet since Zhi wasn't the only enemy, Puck's hopes were quickly scattered like raindrops.

Kage stepped forward and thrust his fist through the air, sending a spiraling pulse of energy along the invisible bands that only he could see. The pulse broke the swarm into disarray and continued in a straight line at Puck, its potent impulse unbroken by the spray of sharp metal. Puck barely had enough time to disappear from the line of fire. He reappeared in the air, his dirty face twisted in fury, though his escape was short lived as he heard the high pitch of Zhi's voice nearby. She had predicted his flight and was already almost on top of him. Without his metal plates, Puck had little success blocking her kick, though its true purpose upon contact with his head was to spin him and give her access for her next attack. In a feat of acrobatics and due to her unnatural weight, Zhi grabbed his legs and pressed her feet into his chest, aiming his body towards the elusive ground. Puck was too disoriented to see the danger.

With a powerful push of her legs, Zhi jumped from his body right as it aligned to the ground, sending him down to the hard earth with far more force than usual and making his body carve a large crater when it finally hit. His head reeling and his blood boiling, Puck stumbled to his feet with dirt showing in his white teeth. He bore them like an animal. He was already spitting out curses through the bitter taste when his eyes focused on a far more horrible sight – a dragon in his face.

Kage's whipping kick launched Puck a fair distance to a small grove of trees and rocks, his scrawny frame bouncing painfully against two thick trunks and his breath blowing out uncontrollably. As he had stood no chance against Kage alone and was embarrassed by the human girl, the combination of them both destroyed his glamorous self-expectations and left him as nothing more than a ball of dirt, sweat and curses.

With mercury-like blood seeping from his wounds, Puck tried to navigate his blurry vision as he lurched to his feet. All he could see was shadows and bright lights. The rice patties appeared much as mirrors laying broken across the countryside, making him long for his distant home. He tried to remember what he had done to deserve such a fate, whether it was his pride that had made him underestimate the humans or his inflated lust for sexual pleasures and trophies. In the times when he had sat and lusted for the chained human girl, his eyes doing what his hands were forbidden from, he would have never believed she would have been the one to cause him so much agony. Even as he had watched in horror as Kage had defied both Oberon and Titania in whatever rage had taken him, he never expected that he would be in such a mess. As an after thought, he severely regretted ever coming to the planet called Earth.

While blind and weakened beyond reprieve, Puck was still trying to summon his weapons and held his hands at his sides. His fingers were stretched as far as he could push them, the muscles of his arms aching at the strain and the force pushing even more blood out of his wounds. Little bit little, the broken remnants of his metal plates had come together in front of him, churning into a large glowing disc that began to rotate to the beating of his heart. As he turned faster and faster, Puck formed it into the hardest plate he had ever constructed – something that would defend against any attack thrown at him. He was confident that if he could survive long enough to gather his remaining strength, he could put forth one final effort and defeat the two humans.

What his blurry vision denied him of was the end. Kage was already close enough to test the strength of the plate, but it was obvious Zhi was the one that wanted revenge for all of the terrible things that had been done to her and her village. She had been unable to defeat the colossus Flute, but she was already in motion to deal the final blow to Puck.

Lunging towards Kage, she moved with some unknown expectations in her heart. Her movements were natural and she didn't even tell him what she had planned, yet Kage moved in perfect harmony to her plan, arching his body around to send a kick towards Puck even though he stood a good distance away. The mysterious energy that Kage commanded was already forming at the edge of his foot like a stone falling through the atmosphere when Zhi landed on his foot, her delicate weight barely shaking his powerful kick as it shot her towards Puck's last defense. The catapult-like maneuver launched her like a bullet and her feet were aimed at her enemy. She hit the plate hard with her feet and yelled as she pushed through its attitude. It had little chance to withstand the power and smashed into Puck, kocking him back into a great stone behind him. As both Zhi and metal plate impacted into him, a large chunk of rock exploded from the backside of the stone – a gruesome testament to the power of the blow. All of the necessities of life spewed from Puck's mouth and his eyes nearly popped from their sockets.

The blow was final.

As Zhi stepped back, her feet numb from the impact but her hands shaking in satisfaction, the metal plate began to melt all around Puck, covering him in a gooey coffin that seemed to merge with his body and distort it. The shiny metal began to blemish and turn to a dark brown color, as if the metal was returning to its natural state in tune with the stone.

Puck said nothing more, but only moaned in his reversion. His eyes were lifeless and empty and that disturbed Zhi no matter how much she hated the man. With no thought left behind them, Puck's eyes melted just as the rest of him was and soon he appeared nothing more than a great growth on the stone – a vein of distorted ore that looked as if the rock itself had spat him out. The landscape was marred by signs from the battle but the distorted stone barely caught the eye – a modest tombstone for such a flamboyant character.

Her wounds getting the best of her, Zhi fell to her knees and winced. The mud was like sandpaper across her cuts and she felt chained by its heavy weight. She was looking around for some water to clean herself in when a shadow appeared over her, causing her to pause and close her eyes. This time she wasn't ashamed that she wasn't able to help, but only that she looked so terrible. Although he was just as stained, she wanted to clean up before letting him look at her, despite the fact she felt stupid because of it. "Kage-san…" she said.

"You did good, brat," he said abruptly, making her forget her troubles and look up at him. He wasn't smiling, but he did look at her with a sort of affection. Like someone else he knew, she had been willing to stand up for him even when he couldn't do it himself – something he thought was admirable, if only a bit stupid. Still, he was surprised how strong she was and that her loyalty was unbroken by pain.

It made her glad he saved her. "Let's move on," he ordered in a firm voice, his pace used to forget the things that had happened to them.

His mind was racing as she followed. He still had no idea how he had killed Titania or escaped from Oberon. He didn't know what part of the Ryuugan gave him that much power yet still robbed him of his memory and control. He especially didn't know if he could return to the people who cared about him when there was still a part of him that was dangerous.

What he did know was that this girl was the granddaughter of the man that could help and that she had shown him a level of devotion that he wasn't used it. His mind and soul were both tormented by doubt and fear, but he trusted her enough to stay near. If Liu Kuan Yin could somehow explain to him the purpose of the Ryuugan, he would take the risk of letting her close. He didn't know why, but he was certain that she could handle herself.

That was something else she shared with the person that he cared for most.