Chapter 12

Aunt Saki led Alice, Roger, Kurando and Kain to the Fountain of Sukune. It was a beautiful waterfall that poured into the usual pond which unlike usual ponds had the smell of lavender. Saki stepped on the cobble stone path to a stone platform which was in the center of the pond. The crowd watched from the entrance as she pulled a fan from her fountain robe sleeve and flicked it out. Aunt Saki began to dance with the fan and even at the age of 50 she was as delicate and as graceful as a swan. The group watched in amazement as the water of the waterfall and pond began to magically mould around Aunt Saki and reveal the bed of the pond. The group looked into the pond to see nothing and at first it was confusing. But Alice looked up to see that the stopping of the waterfall had revealed a shining Katana. The blade was clean and shined in the light and the handle was made out of white ivory.

"The Blade of Katsuragi!" Saki nodded at what Alice shouted and stuck her hand out at the blade. The blade began to float and as Saki guided her hand over to Alice the blade followed. "Well I'll be damned; the blade was at the Fountain of Sukune all along." Roger muttered with a smile. Alice just concentrated on the blade as it gently landed in her hands. Alice took a deep breath and gripped the katana by the handle. "Of course you know what this means…" Saki consulted Alice. Alice looked up at Saki with confusion. "What?" "I posse the soul of Kouenki, the protector of the blade. So to get it you must defeat me." There was a moment of silence and tension before Alice nodded. "I'll take Roger back to the house." Kurando shouted back as he took Roger back to the village. Saki then lifted her arm and pointed to the sky and chanted the words, "Awaken the spirit of the Ogre! Show the mask that hides behind the façade!"

The water of the fountain began to circulate Saki even more and even took her out of sight. "You do realise your on your own Alice, not even I can help you." Kain spoke. "Yes…" Alice answered through thought. The water then fell back in the bed of the pond to reveal that Saki had transformed into Kouenki. Kouenki was and is a beautiful Japanese goddess that was also guardian to everything that had value equal to life itself. Alice gripped the handle even tighter and pointed the blade at Kouenki. Kouenki smiled and charged at Alice. Alice wasn't a keen sword master so she lashed out with the sword at a funny angle which only hade the blade skim Kouenki. Kouenki kicked Alice back with her left foot then advanced with a punch to the gut. Alice fell down in pain and groaned. She would have usually cried tears of pain but instead she fought back. Kain had no choice but to watch. Alice jumped back up to her feet and lashed out with the sword again and this time cut one of the four arms of Kouenki.

Kouenki hissed at the pain and lashed out at Alice with her other three hands, knocking her to the ground again. Alice this time could not fight back the tears and began to cry. "Get a hold of yourself!" Alice heard a voice shout from behind her. Alice turned around to face Kain who had a serious face. "This isn't going to get better if you cry. You've got to fight back and ignore the pain, otherwise you'll get nowhere!" And as Kain finished his sentence Alice stopped crying. She then without saying anything lashed out at Kouenki once again and this time did some real damage. Kouenki fell to the ground and hissed in more pain. Alice stood over her and placed the blade at Kouenki's throat. "I guess I win…" Alice faintly spoke to Kouenki. A flash of light came which blinded Alice for a second but when she came to see again she saw that Kouenki had formed back into Saki.

"Well done, Yuri would be proud." Saki slid back from the blade in Alice's hand. Alice smiled faintly as she dropped to her knees and dropped the blade. She took a deep breath and looked up. Kain was infront of her. He came to his knees as well and gave Alice a smile. "She's right, he would be proud." He gave another smile as he gave her a quick hug. Alice stood up and nodded at Kain. She then turned around to see Kurando and Roger had come back and they gave her happy smiles too. Saki stood up and began to walk back to the house. Alice took one step but then felt a sharp pain in her belly. She fell to her knees and groaned. Kurando and Roger ran over to her. "Are you ok dear?" Roger asked. "The baby…" Alice gasped as she gripped her stomach in more pain. "Oh goodness yes the baby! Kurando, help me get Alice back to the house." Roger prompted Kurando. He nodded and slowly helped Alice up and led her to the house. Kain followed.

The group didn't realise that tucked away in the shadows was Yuri, or correctly the darkness. Its eyes had widened in interest as the group carried Alice out of the Fountain of Sukune. "Ah yes the baby! That shall make it even easier! Oh it shall be even easier to destroy Yuri now!" The darkness chuckled with the dark laugh that it kept on using. "As for the spirit that is aiding her, he will be able to be disposed of once I finish with her…" It muttered to itself as it remembered Kain was with her. It moved quietly through the shadows towards the entrance and exited as the group were out of sight. It followed them swiftly to the house as it finally had to make itself invisible when coming into the proper village. As the group entered the house he came to the main room window and watched from there.

Kurando and Roger sat Alice gently on a chair and let her have her space. Alice took some deep breaths before the pain left. "So how long have you been pregnant?" Saki questioned grabbing another chair and sitting down. "About 1 month now, Yuri was so happy when I told him." Alice smiled faintly. Saki smiled back confidently and gently grabbed Alice's hand. "You do realise that the blade will take 8 to 9 months to master. By that time the baby will be born and you'll have little time left to save Yuri." Alice's head sank. "Yes, but I must do what Yuri would want; stay strong." Saki gripped Alice's hand more firmly on her reply. Alice brung her head up and smiled. "Can I have some time alone please…?" Saki nodded as she stood up and began to exit the room, Kurando and Roger swiftly followed.

Kain was about to leave when Alice stopped him. "You can stay…" She grabbed his shoulder gently. He turned around and nodded and sat down on the chair Saki sat on. "What is it?" He asked. Alice looked at him straight in the eye and took a calm breath then answered. "Who are you really? I know you're linked with Yuri but in a different way." Kain sighed at her question and put his hand in his chainmail. He pulled out the picture he had earlier on the boat and passed it to Alice. Alice looked at the picture in shock. "This is…" "Yes, me and Yuri." Kain answered standing up. "Are you like his guardian angel?" Kain chuckled at Alice's question. "You could say that. I promised his dad that I would protect him." Alice stood up and stepped towards Kain. "I met him when he was being picked on in school by boys who where older then him. I went over and helped him and we became friends. I first saved his life for real when he was about to be crushed by a collapsing pillar. That school was not in good condition."

Alice nodded as if to say she wanted to hear more, so Kain continued. "His father thanked me and asked me to look after him while he and his wife Anne weren't around. I continued to watch over him until he was 6." Kain stopped promptly as he took a deep breath. "What happened?" Alice asked coming closer. "One day me, Yuri and his mom were gonna take a train ride to the city. But Yuri stood to close to the edge of the platform and fell over the edge…"

"Mummy!" Yuri screamed as he fell over the ledge. "Yuri!" Anne screamed back as she saw her son fall. Kain ran to the edge to see Yuri had caught his clothes in the track. He then looked to the left to see a train was approaching. Kain looked back at Anne and shouted, "I'll get him!" he then jumped off the platform onto the tracks and untangled Yuri's clothes. Kain knew that he wasn't going to be able to save them both because the train was moving quickly. He lifted Yuri and chucked him back onto the platform. "Look after your mom ok?!" Kain shouted at Yuri as he turned to face the coming train. The last thing he heard was Yuri and Anne screaming his name, and everything going white.

"So I died by being hit by a train. I took my own life because I could see he had a great life ahead of him. And it seems I was right…" Alice looked up into his eyes and pulled a sad face. "Kain…" "Don't look at me like that, his life was more important." Kain sat back down. Alice looked at the picture once more then tried to pass it back to Kain, but he flicked his hand. "You keep it." Alice nodded then looked down at the picture one last time. She then gently kissed it and placed it away safely. "Right, I think I've talked enough…" Kain stood up and began to walk away. "Wait Kain…" "What?" Alice looked at him in his eyes again. "What's your name?" Kain stayed silent before answering. "All I can remember was Kain…" He answered as he left the room. Alice stood silent and then took a seat again.