"Toga Alexander Yagari, you better snap out of your ridiculous drunken stupor and tell me where my son is this instant or I will shove a fork up your needle nose and pick out your brain!" Kaien shouted.

He was upset as any bystander could see. Toga hadn't recovered from his drinking after the events that happened with him and Kaasu. Kaien was at first just angry with Toga for partying during the most important tournament for their metaphorical son, but Toga started blatantly yelling at his fellow superiors for cheering for their unranked veteran fighters. When Kaien tried to convince him to cheer for Zero after he successfully achieved a draw, Toga actually tried to fight him for barking orders at him. Now, he was holding Toga up by the collar of his trench coat in front of some attendants. Kaien had every right to kill him, but Toga wasn't about to let the retired hunter before him commit the deed.

"Let me go," Toga whispered. Kaien loosened his grip on Toga's trench coat and pushed his ear up to Toga's mouth to hear him speak again. "Please…let me go."

"Not until you tell me why you started drinking," Kaien responded, tightening his hold on Toga.

Toga looked into Kaien's eyes with a stare of deadness. He looked suicidal. The color in his eye was dull and filled with numbness. He used to have a vibrant shade of pale blue that made him popular at Cross Academy, amongst the women of course, but the glitter in his eye was gone. Whatever alcohol he imbibed within the past hour killed his friend.

"Now, that's a look I haven't seen in years."

Kaien turned his head and looked into a pair of supportive blue eyes and graying blonde hair. Superior Ookii stood before the men with a thumb tucked under his shining belt buckle and a tanned robe over his hunter's uniform. His cowboy hat was set in place and the spurs of his boots clinked as he made his last step to Kaien and Toga. Ookii didn't want to interfere with Toga's condition, but Kaasu had spoken to him before Superior Delacroix announced an intermission for the fighters. She said they had gotten into an argument and that he may need to hear a father's advice, but he didn't think she really meant it. Ookii and his brother, Clovis, still didn't trust the huntess after Akai's death, but they had no choice. She was innocent. She was always fucking innocent. Kaien released Toga after sighing and took a few steps back. Toga looked at Ookii for a moment then proceeded to walk away.

"Boy!" Ookii called, intimidating those around him. He seemed more authoritative and scarier when he was serious. "Don't turn away from me when I'm about to talk to you."

"The fuck do you want?" Toga snapped, turning to Ookii.

"What the fuck do you want, boy?" Ookii replied, making Toga glare at him. "You lost your goddamn mind talking to me like that. You wanna be let go to where exactly? You were exiled here fifteen years ago, and you received an order never to return for any occasion lessen your assistance was vital for the Hunters' Association. You can be arrested at any given moment for disobeying the order. As far as the law is concerned, the only place you can go back to is Corviere and I have the right to exile you from there as well."

"Then do it!" Toga shouted, tears dripping from his eyes.

Ookii gasped sharply as he stared into Toga's eye. He was hurt, and he was hurt badly. Kaasu wasn't innocent this time; she did something to his boy. Ookii kept his lips parted slightly and furrowed his eyebrows. Kaien was flabbergasted. He had never seen Toga cry or yell at anyone so tumultuously. He was angry and heartbroken all in one breath, and it wasn't a result of the liquor. This was Toga's vulnerable side. Kaien had begun to fear this new Toga.

"Is that what you really want?" Ookii asked, drawing Toga out of his drunken foolery. "To have everything taken away from you again?"

"I don't have anything for you to take," Toga hissed. "What I have in Corviere doesn't equal what I had here. Here, I had family and friends. I had all of your family take care of me through adolescence, and I had friends to spend time with. My rival was here. My first mission and my first promotion was here. My first girlfriend was here. My first graduation and my first exam was here. The woman I had the biggest crush on - the love of my life - is here. No matter how many places she's gone to, she was always in her little cabin in the woods here. I wanted to be her boyfriend when I was a little boy here. I went on my first date with her here. You, Mama Clara, Lotte, Hal, all of you were here. I lost all of you when I was gone."

"Toga…" Kaien whispered, wanting to reach out and take him home to Corviere where he wouldn't be reminded of his past.

"What are you wantin', Toga-boy?" Ookii asked, fighting his own tears.

"I just want my friend back," Toga whimpered, falling to his knees. He curled into a ball and sobbed, "I just want her back…"

That bitch! Ookii thought, walking towards a fallen Toga. I don't care how innocent she looks. She will never speak to Toga ever again. I'll make sure of that.

"Toga…" Kaien called, kneeling next to the man.

I don't like this at all, Kaien thought. What's happened between him and Kaasu?

"Before the meeting," Ookii started, embracing his son in his arms. He patted Toga's head and rubbed his back to soothe him as he had done when Toga had nightmares of his deceased mother. He continued, "Lotte tol' me she was wantin' to see ya. Her and Hal want to show you the family they done raised. When they heard you were here, they cried in each other's arms. They boths wantin' to see ya, boy. Ma Clara is wantin' to see ya, too. Toga, your family and friends are still here. You never lost them. You just had a harder time seeing them is all. Nothin' ain't been lost when ya left, son."

Kaien looked at the men and wiped a tear that had fallen from his eyes. As he watched them, he saw Toga as a child crying in his father's arms. It was touching. Toga sobbed and embraced Ookii in return.

Kikai rested her back against the wooden bath tub's wall and soaked a sponge in the warm water. She reached for some soap and rubbed the sponge's lather on Zero's bare chest. Once intermission had begun, the two ended their passionate sex drive and decided to wash away the results of their actions. Zero relaxed into Kikai's washing and rubbed her bended right leg as she traced the sponge over his stomach. She made an interesting first lover for his standards. Zero has had a girlfriend before, but he never considered them as girlfriends. Kikai made the top of his blank list for best lovers. A knock on the door was heard. Kikai's attendant couldn't unlock the door, so he spoke through the wooden barrier.

"Madame Ryokushoku, you have the third match. The superiors have decided it will be three-against-one. Only three fighters have made the ranking matches from Precinct 65, District VIII."

"Can the apprentice handle three Flos hunters at once?" Kikai asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This I am unsure of, madame. There are no statistics saying the woman can or cannot."

"Superior Dengen Akai's apprentice is a woman?" Kikai asked, seizing Zero's washing.

"Yes, madame. She is a top huntess and also unranked."

"I was told only superiors were allowed to rank others," Kikai said, growing angry. "Why the sudden change in plans?"

"Akai Dengen's apprentice has a vote in the presidency ballot; meaning, supposedly, she is on the level of a superior or at least has been for years. She is being observed by the other superiors to determine whether she meets the requirements of perhaps a vice president. She does not have enough votes to qualify for candidacy against Superior Shinku Heishi. This is all the information I have been able to gather. More will take risky maneuvers."

"I see," Kikai responded. "Thank you for your work."

"Madame."

"I am sorry, but I must dress for my fight soon," Kikai whispered in Zero's ear. "Thank you for playing with me."

"My pleasure," Zero said, standing to his feet.

Kaasu was pissed. Her first fight was against six people, and she couldn't fight with movement. She had to sit there and take her beatings like a chump. Unbelievable! Dylan, Ishka, and Valerie were trying to give her a nice prep talk, but she wasn't bothered by any of it. She came here to prove she wasn't a monster, and she was going to do it by death or by the sword. The only problem was getting the flags pasted on all six bodies she was up against. A knock on the door was heard and everyone turned. Superior Ookii came in and stood firm and angry before the group. He gave Dylan, Ishka, and Valerie a look, and they all left the room for him to speak. Kaasu didn't have any furniture for him to sit on, so she waited for him to talk while she lay against the wall on the floor.

"I spoke to Toga," Ookii started, glaring at Kaasu.

"Good," Kaasu said, lighting a cigarette. Toga should be feeling better now. Her worrying about him was over for a moment. She said, "Is he feeli - ?"

"You've got some nerve talking about him as if you don't care," Ookii spat. "He's suffered nearly all his life for you, and here you are acting as though he's just another punk on the street who decided not to do drugs. Toga is not a boy. He's worked hard all his career just so you could look at him, and you treat him like he's nothing, you sick bitch."

"Miss Nix, your match will start in twenty minutes once intermission has ended."

"Thank you, Philip," Kaasu said, inhaling smoke and blowing it out in thin tendrils. "You were saying, sir?"

"You go to hell, monster," Ookii said, gaining Kaasu's attention. "I dunno what possessed you to make Toga weep the way he did, but you'd best pray that he forgives you. You should have hanged for Akai's death, and, if it were up to me, you would be hanged right now for Toga's tears. As farfetched as I can see it, he still loves you and wants to be near you even if death comes first. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were seducing him with your own powers. No real man would fall for you."

"You are saying your son is not a real man?" Kaasu questioned, inhaling smoke and blowing it out.

"Toga is a better man than most men you've ever faced. He's the only man I know who trusts you with his life and death when no one else will. I wouldn't be surprised if my brother rose from the grave and agreed with me. He's dead now because of you," Ookii hissed. "He should have killed you in the forest. He should have never let you speak to Toga just as he didn't let you speak to anyone else in the Hunters' Association. He should have punished you just as he had the other gypsy clans. Hear me, monster. I hope the prejudice come to kill you for what you did to my brother and what you've done to my son."

With that, Ookii left Kaasu on the floor and returned to the superiors' box. Intermission had ended, and it was time for her to fight. She left her room and proceeded to walk through the hallways. She met the entrance to the stage, stood in place, and walked through the door.

The light grids were lit to its highest wattage. The silver walls of the coliseum's arena stood high and firm as Kaasu looked at them and followed their edges. The audience was silent as Takeda introduced Kaasu to her viewers. Heishi gasped in complete shock that his own former lover was Akai's apprentice! Kaasu walked along the sand in her boots with ease and stood near a table where an attendant spoke to her. Valerie was seated next to the attendant and gave her a supportive look and smile. Several fighters were introduced after she had understood her protocol, and the audience applauded them. Kaasu stood in the center of the fighters' circle and waited for the starter. The small referee scuttled out behind a white line near the table and began announcing the first match.

"Nix Kaasu vs. Team Murasaki! Ready? Fight!"

Two of the six fighters charged at Kaasu in a combination attack with their weapons, but neither of them could connect their hits with her.

"She formed a shield!" one of the fighters declared.

The other four fighters decided to form a plan and charged to attack Kaasu. Since she couldn't move, the most she was able to do was form a barrier around herself. Her eyes were closed, and she stood in place silently. The fluttering of a butterfly's wings caught her attention. One of the fighters was about to strike the darling blue butterfly and kill it. Kaasu removed her shield and created a smaller one to protect the butterfly. Ookii, Toga, and Kaien were watching from above in the box and couldn't see that her shield was down, but they could all feel it. The fighters had struck her several times with her shield down and physical incapability to defend herself. She was being hit brutally, but she never hit the ground. As a male fighter charged at her to punch her, Kaasu looked up to see the butterfly coming towards her. The fighter stopped and turned to see the butterfly going to her also. Almost all of the fighters stopped as they watched Kaasu. The blue butterfly was hovering above her head until a female fighter stabbed Kaasu in her back. Kaasu screamed in agony as a searing pain tore her flesh open. A tear came down her cheek. The female fighter gasped, thinking Kaasu would at least dodge her attack, but Kaasu followed her orders. She didn't move.

In the Superiors' Box, Kaien and Ookii had to hold Toga down from running out of the audience and going to Kaasu's side. He begged and pleaded to be let go to help her, but Ookii refused and told him this was part of the fight. Kaasu gritted her teeth and saw the butterfly in her face. It was beautiful. The female fighter pulled her dagger out of Kaasu's back and noticed something frightening. Kaasu's blood wasn't red. It was…black! The fighter screamed and backed away from Kaasu.

"What - what the hell are you?" she asked, trembling. "Wha - what are you?"

The butterfly flew behind Kaasu and landed on her wound. It drunk some of her blood and used its small front legs to repair the damage! Kaasu remained still and focused her attention to the butterfly. Now that the butterfly was on her body, she could reproduce a barrier around herself. The fighter was still screaming in fear and forfeited the match. The other five fighters were confused and had to formulate another plan to defeat the woman. Kaasu's barrier grew larger then shrunk. As everyone kept charging and attacking, the shield grew smaller and smaller until it fit Kaasu and the butterfly's form. In seconds, Kaasu used the barrier as an attack and threw the fighters away from her. Two of the fighters were knocked unconscious from the blast, and the rest were too weak to continue. Kaasu won the match, and the butterfly finished repairing her wound. It fluttered away from her fixed gash and landed in her hair.

Zero was match number six, and he had already seen most of the other matches. There was only one left after him. He wondered what sort of fight Kaasu was going to have to engage in with him. Ishka came into his waiting room to wish him luck and left to sit in the audience. He was happy to have seen her and receive her support. She was such a cutie pie. Zero walked through the door to the arena and almost felt sick. His stomach churned and bubbled. His chest was tightening.

"Bout 6: Nix Kaasu versus Kiryuu Zero. Officer Nix is to fight Officer Kiryuu blindfolded and weaponless," the referee announced. "Ready? Start!"

Zero and Kaasu stood motionless. Zero didn't know whether to charge or wait for Kaasu to charge. It remained uneventful for several minutes until Kaasu walked up to Zero. He narrowed his gaze at her and took deep breaths, preparing for an attack. She didn't, however. She just stood in front of Zero and folded her arms. Zero didn't know what to make of this. She wasn't attacking and she wasn't defending herself yet. He was hoping Kaasu would start the match, but it looked like she wanted him to start. Zero was about to walk away from Kaasu, but she kicked him in his side and punched him in his chest. It was a hard hit, hard enough to fracture some bones. Zero glared at the older woman and charged at her with an impressive speed. She attacked him several times with open palm martial arts and hit him with deadly accuracy, but she wasn't hitting him hard enough to hurt him. Zero then realized she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want to hurt anyone. She attacked someone just enough to weaken them not make them suffer with bruises or cuts.

Zero used this to his advantage and decided to use an attack that he hadn't mastered yet again. His insides burned mercilessly as he directed his stomach acid to the tips of throat. Saliva released a flammable chemical in his mouth and he was able to create a harmful gas in his mouth. He created sparks in his hands, took a deep breath, and blew out the acidic gas through a hole in his tight hand. Green flames engulfed Kaasu's body. She almost didn't make her barrier in time. Zero was quite good in battle. Kaasu lifted some of the green flames and forged them into a ball. The color changed from green to blue as the flames gathered. Zero watched her in awe then remembered this was a fight and charged at her. She turned to her side where he sped to attack, and thrust the ball of flames in his face. Instead of burning him, the flame ball absorbed some of his powers, making him a bit weaker. He and Kaasu exchanged several hand-to-hand attacks before Kaasu suddenly folded her arms again.

"Draw," Kaasu said, stopping the match.

Zero raised an eyebrow and stood straight on his feet. Did she use up her power, too? As they stood there, waiting for the referee to call the results of the match, the window above the arena broke and shattered to the ground below. Everyone looked down at the glass then looked up. Kaasu snatched her blindfold off and gasped in fear. In a second, someone threw several sharp spears and needles at Kaasu. Many of them punctured her body. Her barrier couldn't stop some of them from entering her body. She moaned as the needles burned her skin then screamed once she took a good look at them. The symbol of the prejudice was engraved on one of the spears and needles! The needles ate her flesh as they crawled deeper into her skin. She yelled some more and started crying. Bombs were being thrown in and arrows were being shot. Everyone panicked and were running through the emergency exits. Toga and Kaien had to get to Zero, but a group of vampires got to him first.

"Kiryuu!" a familiar man shouted.

"Haguruma!" Zero called, running with him. He turned to see Kaasu running off the arena's stage, holding her wounded and bleeding arm and limping into the darkness.

What the hell is going on? Zero thought.

Everyone was shaken up as they left the theatre. No one knew what happened well enough to explain to those who didn't see the fight between Kaasu and Zero. Only one thing was memorable: the theatre was being attacked and weapons were being thrown. No one was hurt with exception to Kaasu. She was brought to a hospital for her injuries. It was said she was in critical condition. Everyone was to report to their hotel rooms or houses until further notice. The entire city was on lockdown basis.

Kaien, Toga, and Zero were sitting in the living room of their hotel suite, hoping Kaasu would be fine. Toga was already brought to tears, thinking he and Kaasu would never be friends again, but he was in a worst state now. His beloved Kaasu was at the risk of dying, the entire city was under lockdown, and no one knew what hospital Kaasu was held in. She was just gone. Toga stood from the sofa and walked into his room.

Toga went to his bed and buried his face in the pillows. His scout fly, Jeane, hovered above his head.

"Master Toga…" Jeane called, landing near Toga's ear. "Are you - ?"

"No, I am not alright!" Toga yelled, gripping his pillow. "I'm scared, okay? I… I… I don't know what to do. I don't know where Kaasu is. I don't know if she's hurt or dead or whatever. I just don't know."

"If it is your wish, I can try to find her. There are only two hospitals in this entire city. She can't have gone far," Jeane said, trying to reassure that Kaasu was fine.

"Don't you think I would have sent you if she were in one of those hospitals?" Toga asked in a threatening tone. "She's not! She's somewhere else."

"Then let me find her for you, Master Toga," Jeane said, silencing Toga. "If she's not here, at least you'll know she's somewhere. Please, master, I want to help you. I want you to know something."

"Why is it that…" Toga started, lifting his head from his pillow to whisper, "you will actually help me when the situation involves Kaasu-chan when no one else will?"

"Nix created me to serve you, Master Toga," Jeane responded. "Should you ever need anything I am supposed to be able to provide assistance. I suppose Nix and I are the same in some respect. Humans have restrictions for tasks like mine as far as I have observed. They can't follow orders if it is against laws or the will of a person. Scout flies are different. We are not human. There are no restrictions for us. Nix knew that. Honestly, I think she's just an idiot sometimes as smart as she can be."

"Why is that?" Toga asked, lying down on his pillow.

"I have a recording of a conversation we had once if you would like to hear it. I think it will explain something," Jeane said.

"Play it," Toga replied, listening.

Jeane beeped a few times then flapped his wings. Toga watched as the scout fly fluttered his wings spontaneously and beeped and clicked. Jeane began glowing a bluish color and small waves rippled around its bodies. His wings turned to a silvery color. The flying orb remained still as the recording played. Toga heard gears turning and the sounds of drilling echoing.

'Miss Nix, I have a question that simply must be answered. Should I be ignored, I will give this lab such a thrashing you will wish you answered this very important matter.'

Kaasu turned off the drill and giggled, 'Okay, shoot.'

'Now, I've heard recently that you and Master Toga were dating when you were younger, and that you two have engaged in a very mature relationship. This rumor has been going on for several months now. I want to know what the hell is truly going on. I demand to have clarity, madam!'

'Settle down, Jeane. I'll tell you. First off, that rumor started two years ago after we met for the first time. I'm nineteen now, so that means I was seventeen when it rose to popular gossip. Someone saw us eating lunch by the lake and assumed that we were an item. I simply invited him to lunch for his promotion as a captain. Nothing worth dating about. The only way I would have accepted a date from him is if he asked me or if he agreed to keep the relationship a secret.'

'Now, see here, madam! Master Toga is a very hard man to court. Why I've seen him cuddle women without meaning it. No rumors ever rose from the women as much as this. I am inclined to believe that you two courting each other is of more value than a marriage in the north.'

'I bet it is. Those rumors haven't died since. They act as if we are married or planning on it at least.'

'I find Master Toga quite a gentleman. Why you are not attracted to him is beyond my understanding. I say a woman like you is a better fit for him than half the women he drags to his bed.'

'That's what I hope Toga gains in the future.'

'What's that now, dearie?'

'Someday, when I am long gone, I want to watch Toga in spirit and see him marry a beautiful woman who's strong, has good judgment, elegant, and would treat Toga like royalty every week. I want him to know what romance is like and what wonders it can do for him. When time passes and he grows older, I want to see his kids grow tall and love him. I want him to wake up every morning and say everything's alright. As his kids grow older and fall in love, I want them to marry great people and have their own kids. I want him to be able to play with his grandchildren and love them, too. As his clan builds and he watches everyone grow, I want him to die peacefully and smile as his time comes. When I see him again on his judgment day, I want to ask him if I did a good job.'

'A good job?'

'The reason I am a vampire huntess is because I want to protect Toga and give him a world where everything is peaceful and he doesn't have to fight for his life everyday. He doesn't have to be at war. He can go outside and not be in the middle of a bloodlust. I want him to be able to see kindness from every soul in every part of the world. I want him to travel to all the places I've gone and see the beauty in each land and country. When I meet him in the heavens above, I want to ask if I did a good job of giving him peace. I just want to hear him say that I did even better because then I'll know I made him happy.'

'Madam, that was beautiful. You want something so touching it's brought you to tears!'

'I'm crying because I couldn't make him happy before he left. That's why I want someone else to make him happy. I want someone who can support him and be able to do anything for him because I can't do it. I thought the rumors started up those years ago because I kept whispering to myself at the pond 'I love you.' When I left the pond and reported to Akai for my first day-off, Kodomo and her friends kept saying Toga would never like a monster like me. He was only my friend because he pitied me. Everyone else hates me. It hurt because I thought it was true. No one spoke to me or wanted to work with me except him. He was never there to help me when I was being tortured, but he was always there when it was over. He thinks I'm a monster, too. I never told him that I loved him, but I vowed to always be by his side should he ever need me. To hear that he's doing better without me is more than enough. All that's left for me to do is protect him. To make sure that he only has the least dangerous of missions and can be a top hunter. I hope that one day he finds a beautiful girlfriend and that my dream can be accomplished. I just want him to be happy. I work hard to show that I've always loved him. We've never dated, but I'd be lying if I said I've never wanted to be with him.'

'Why not let me tell him then? That you love him.'

'There would be no point in working this hard then. For me, Jeane, keep this a promise. I don't want him to know about any of this unless I am at the risk of dying or already dead. By then, my dream will have been achieved. At least that is what I hope. I don't deserve to see him happy until I have passed. I don't deserve to be with him while I am alive. I just want him to be taken care of in the meantime. Promise me you won't tell him this until I am near death.'

'Okay.'

With that, Jeane stopped the recording and watched Toga stare at him in tears. The great man that Shinku said Kaasu worked so hard for was him all along. She just wanted Toga to say she did a great job protecting him and bringing him peace. Her love for him died when she met Shinku, and that made Toga hate him. All he ever wanted was for Kaasu to notice him, and Shinku took her love for him away. Her love for Shinku has also died, however. Now, she loves no one anymore. She lost more than he did when he was exiled. She lost the love of her life and the courage to say she loved him. Toga never realized her feelings until it was too late.

"Jeane…" Toga said, panting. "Please…find Kaasu…"