[Episode 12: Passion and Pain.]

OP 3: Sky Should Be High from Guilty Gear Xrd REVELATOR.

It starts with Kazuma in odd gear, with Koudari and Koudashi at his hips, walking alone in the wastelands between Hannouji and everywhere else. He's on his own, both swords gleaming. At the softer bit of the song, he's wandering from place to place, Kibonochi, ragged and torn, fluttering in the wind. At the end of it all, the sun makes the screen go white...


Day in.

Day out.

The same guards, the same everything. If the other me wanted to bore me to death, and she got to her wish... God, I'm bored! I'm sure my big brother is getting hurt by Ragyo over and over. I shifted in my bunk. Bored bored bored bored bored bored... BORED! My cellmate's name was the Thames, and he was part of REVOCS's UK branch, one of Ragyo's proxies that were lobbed in here for a stupid reason...

It was allergy season, and the poor Thames has a pollen allergy... of course, that contained a hell full of sneezing and sniffling. His day was going well until a presentation, where he sneezed too loud and earned him a life sentence. Another guy, nicknamed Pennie, was a mailroom boy, the youngest other than me. He accidentally dropped a penny onto the ground in front of the other me...

That earned him a life sentence and the revoking of his dominant arm. There was Zeale and Deter, they both jammed the copier on accident, losing both their hands and gaining life sentences. Mommy always said how unfair the justice system was when you had two perfectionists running the world. She was more than right. Zeale was a cute guy, always staring at me with a happy smile. He was a little... slow.

Deter loved his brother, and he always said, "Zeale thinks that yer an angel,"

He'd give me a tiny paper crane, and I held it now. Looking at it, it had writing on it. Yet, I never unfolded it.

The Thames leaned over the side, "Hey Baba, what d'you think we should do?" he asked. He was tallish, sallow and thin. His hair was black and swept over his forehead.

"You got any cards?" I asked, my nickname, Baba Yaga, was because I fought the guards on my first day here, making them respect me. Trotser from the Russian section witnessed it and called me, "Baba Yaga!" while nursing his flask of whiskey.

"No, wish I did, Baba..." he sighed.

"All we can hope is that we have a window to escape before Ragyo causes the apocalypse..." I huffed. He grunted and scratched yet another hashmark into the dank walls of our cell. I commanded respect here, that's all. At the Mess Hall, Zeale, Deter, and Pennie joined us. We all sat together, my height making my feet barely touch the floor.

I was always the short one. We all sat together, seeing all the other inmates like Trotser and some of the others like Ken and Chi, they got in after smuggling some illicit material, involving my brother, to Satsuki. It seemed to be three tapes. The Thames leaned forwards.

"Everyone, this is Baba Yaga, or jus' call her Baba," he introduced. They all waved silently, going back to their food. Pennie nudged me gently.

"How'd you get in here?" he asked, his eyes were green and his hair was bright orange, he seemed like he was scalded. I smiled.

"It's a long story, but I've got time. Okay, so you know the Kaguya family, yeah?" I asked. Everyone at my table cocked their heads to the side.

"We used to be close with the Kiryuins. My brother is fucking Ragyo's daughter," I blithely stated, leaving a few of them in shock. Some of them have seen Satsuki, and they knew exactly who I was referring to.

"So, anyway, Ragyo went insane and my mom and I made a rebellion called Barbershoppe, and here I am..." I summed up. The others stared up past me, I didn't notice a single person move, everything slowed down...

*Khck! BAM!* *BAM!*

Ken and Chi both slumped, and I turned towards the man who made the gunshots. He was tall, his eyes were a piercing reddish-brown and his hair was silver, the other inmates seemed to catch their breaths, not even breathing out for a second. He wore a borderline military uniform and held a slightly smoking Glock in his hand.

"Baba, that's the Warden..." The Thames whispered. The Warden made his way towards our table. His eyes shining hungrily at me. Why did my brother and I attract such beautiful creeps? He stopped in front of me and knelt, his reddish-brown eyes roving my body.

"You are... Nui Kaguya, yes?" he asked in a halting Italian-ish accent.

"Yeah, so what?" I asked.

"Hah. I like you," he chided, grabbing my hand and gently hoisting me up.

"A treasure like you does not need to be among the rabble..." he whispered, yanking me along behind him. The other inmates stared at me in shock as he led me away. Maybe I could use this to my advantage... The Warden sat me down, straightening me and smiling so sleazily. He was handsome, but... he gave me a bad vibe. I stared straight ahead.

His office overlooked the work yard, with a balcony overhanging it and looking out at the mountains framing the prison, or Site A. Many of the other guys and girls I knew also called it Asphodel. His office was full of filing cabinets. Yet, his window faced the oppressive iron gate that kept everybody in and nobody went out except for him and his detail, what many of the guys and girls called the 'Diet REVOCS Police.'

"Ah! Yes, just like that, dear," he gasped, holding his fingers up in a picture frame. He seemed too joyous.

"So... how'd you get in here?" I asked.

"Oh? Dear, the same way everyone gets here... through that gate. We enter a world of regulations, where death can happen at any time... as you saw with those two pieces of garbage. Such wastes of potential," he sighed, twirling his hand through my hair, leaning down.

"Yet you, Nui, are bursting at the seams with it! So much potential! So much that Kiryuin and that woman can barely comprehend it! Your talents are so wasted..." he pouted like a child, straightening with a snap of his bootheels. Starting to circle me like a hungry wolf eyeing a lamb.

"You, the little sister of famed aspiring revolutionary Kazuma Kaguya, are just complacent with your dreams... you need to wake up, dear... your brother won't always be so strong. He'll grow complacent, old, fat and lazy... yet you! You, Miss Nui Kaguya, will stay strong, beautiful..." He muttered, leaning down.

"If you just stay by my side, we'll become the ones to usher in a new future! Doesn't that sound wonderful?" he asked.

"Oh... yeah... right... heh..." I mumbled, not appreciating the character assassination of my brother. If I had my sword I'd chop off the Warden's arm for even thinking about my big brother in that way. He was a dunderhead sometimes, but he was my dunderhead. The Warden's eyes widened, and his smile was bright. If he wasn't a man who just gunned down two guys that were just peacefully eating, I would've found him to be handsome.

Now he was just Diet Ragyo. He even dyed his hair to be like hers only to fail miserably. It looked sort of washed out, and there was no rainbow light, but he had the cold efficiency down-pat. He wore white to symbolize his purity, but black underneath, showing that he wasn't too moral. I glared right back at him.

"Poor little girl... so lost in her own story... are you the Protagonist? No, you're not, your brother is the Protagonist. You are the Side-Character..." he sighed, petting my hair again.

"Would you like to be the Protagonist? The main character?" he asked. I didn't do anything that indicated yes or no. He leaned down on me, his eyes fixed on me.

"Come now, dolce piccola signorina, seize the chance, my dear..." he begged. I looked at the door.

"I'll... uh... think about it," I mumbled gently.

The Warden let me go, and I walked back to my cell, with the Thames waiting.

"So, how'd it go?" he asked.

"Creepy," I sighed, shuddering. I hated that, I hated the Warden. Gunning down two innocent men that were just going about their lives...? I only hoped Kazuma was in a better situation than me...


I fell to my knees, it happened so fast. One second, the Doc and I were having a nice conversation... then boom! COVERS. I had run, grabbing the Doc and hauling ass to the nearest exit. He was wounded, his eyes started to glaze over.

"C'mon, doc! You gotta stay with me!" I urged, looking down at him. He was the only link I had left for anything resembling a past. A past I wanted to know about. A past I wanted to know that my mother wouldn't ever tell me about. He was my only link. He knew who I was.

"Kazuma, leave me..." he sighed.

"No! I won't lose anybody else!" I denied.

"There's... the problem! You run away... you forget and hide... Like a game of Hiding and Seek..." He said, grabbing my gown and leaning up towards me.

"Follow this order... Fight. Fight your demons, kill your demons... live on to fight. Don't! Don't you dare run away!" he urged. I let him go, seeing the long road ahead. I only had one place to return to. One place to go where I always belonged...

Hannouji Academy. I walked alone, my gown billowing in the lonely wind and making my eye water, leaving Doc behind. I only hope that his soul got where he wanted to go... I saw the city, deathly quiet except for a few dogs barking up a storm at me. I just drifted along, my eye closing, opening, closing. My hair billowed in the wind. I wanted to go home.

I wanted to fall into Satsuki's arms, finally belonging somewhere where Ragyo couldn't hurt me. Then again... I had to face my demon. He was a weak-looking thing, bones showing through his skin, almost translucent.

"Love... love..." he moaned, his sallow gray eye met my gold one. He crawled up to me, pooling at my feet.

"We... need... love... real love..." he begged.

"I know, I know..." I sighed.

"Ragyo... killed our love... made it... wrong. Can we love Satsuki?" he asked.

"I dunno," I huffed.

"Then, we must prove it to her... love... love..." the demon begged. There was only one way to kill it. It was to face my fear of intimacy, the kind that Ragyo shoved down my throat and made me hate. Every time I close my eyes at night I feel her there, I feel her cold hands, see the bioluminescence and let out a scream of utter despair.

Satsuki was the only one I felt safe around, so... she'd have to do.

The thin man was only one of my demons, the others were bigger, meaner. Much more deeply seated than him. I lashed a strand of Gray Fibers on the wall and climbed up to Satsuki's quarters, seeing her in her bathrobe, loosely flared out and exposing her ivory legs and she seemed lost in thought, Bakuzan was leaned against the arm of the chair. Her eyes were closed, and I wanted to open the window and slink in, sticking to the shadows.

Yet, I never once got that far whenever I snuck up on her, that, and I was too young to die. I noticed Junketsu and Kibonochi hanging side by side, asleep. I was so proud of her for getting him out of Ragyo's hands. My blades were hung on the rack, too. Her legs shifted and I lowered myself to swing onto the sill. She still didn't see me, until I slipped off the sill.

'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!' I thought, slowing myself with another strand of Gray Fibers, it was hard to get used to the fact that I could do Cirque du Soleil-level acrobatics and swing around like a spider. Even more difficult was the other abilities, like slow regeneration and the fact that I had spears that could shoot out of my back like quills. It was hard to believe that I even was still human.

I slinged my way up onto the sill, seeing Satsuki standing there with a coy smile on her face, "Do you want me to let you in?" she asked.

"Y-yeah..." I stammered, my eye staring into hers, they looked like they were the sky itself, she gently pulled me in and I shut the window behind me, my fibers wheeling through the air.

"So... this is where you've been, doing tricks outside windows in a hospital gown?" she assumed.

"No! I was just... I just... damn!" I snapped, using my old cover of being too proud to admit that I missed her. The coy smile never fell. She brushed my hair out of my eye and touched my scar, tracing it gently, her soft touch made me start to fidget. My demon appeared.

"Love! Love! She's here! Our love!"

I sighed and tried to lean into it. Satsuki gingerly sidled away, "You're uncomfortable, right?" she asked.

"Y-yeah..." I agreed, she took my wrist, gently placing my hand over her heart, pressing it down and smiling. I felt her heart hammer against my hand, her eyes closed and her smile never faded. Her starlight eyes shined in the dim light and I looked down at my feet.

"Do you feel that?" she asked. I nodded.

"This heart beats for you, okay?" she reasoned, tipping my face up with her free hand. My mind was screaming at me, 'NO! Don't! She'll turn out just like Ragyo! Stop it! Stop it, me!' I felt her warm hand radiate heat to my face. She leaned forward, her eyes piercing me down to my soul. I was fully expecting her to slam hard into me, her tongue forcing its way down my throat and almost choking me, but... she didn't do that?

"Do you want this?" she asked.

I was taken aback, "What?" I asked.

"Oh please, I am not my mother, I want to know... do you want this?" she repeated. Was she... asking for my consent? Normally Ragyo would just tackle me and tear off whatever I was wearing, tearing her clothes off and having her way with me, ravaging me until there was nothing left but my broken pride, sobbing like a wounded animal, being held in her cold arms and shushed with even more gross kisses.

Satsuki waited patiently, her eyes drinking in my body... but it didn't feel wrong. That's what was weird. I hesitated still. She waited. I leaned forward, trying to say what I wanted to say.

"I... I... I want this. I want... I want you," I admitted, her hands drifted down to the folds of her robe, she undid it and I saw the most beautiful thing in the world... the body of my lover. Perfect, unmarred, pale skin. Her hair was a stark contrast to it. She took a deep breath, her eyes looking down at me.

"Alright... what do you want to do?" she asked.

"I... uh... uhm..." I stammered, my face turning red as she stripped off my gown, dumping it to the side. Her blue eyes seemed to glow in the light of the moon, her hand on my cheek brushed my scar. She looked divine... like the moonlight given form. Something that was out of my reach but here anyway.

"Handsome is the man covered in scars..." she muttered, my heart was thudding, and the demon was there. My eyes locked on Satsuki's everything. She bore herself to me, and I had no idea what to do. No idea, because normally... or abnormally. I was unprepared for it all. She was here, fully willing. Fully aware of what I went through.

Yet, she wanted to do this. I wanted to do this... She kissed me, slowly, gently... and pulled away when I tensed.

"It's alright, it's just me, just..." she sighed, grabbing my hands, "Me,"

I didn't want to hurt her. I didn't want to rough her up. She gently pulled me into her arms, wrapping herself around me and slowly feeling me up. Slowly we went, languid kisses and tender words, her eyes focused on me and only me. We fell onto the bed, her arms around me. She smiled, her eyes shining.

"Now then, shall we continue?" she asked.

"Uh... oh! Oh! Oh no..." I gasped. I... uh... had a boner. Thoughts of Satsuki being disappointed flooded my mind, but she laid her hand on my member and stroked gently, I closed my eye, and took a deep breath, causing her to pull away again. I cursed myself, I wanted to tackle her and have her! Why did I hesitate?! I know it's Satsuki!

I love her! I care about her! I worry about her! Why am I so scared?! I wanted to throw all caution to the wind! Satsuki started to rub my back, her voice low.

"Easy... easy... shh..." she soothed, her eyes closed and her smile was small. I laid my head between her breasts, closing my eye and sighing. I couldn't get Ragyo out of my head. She was too ingrained. Too deeply seated. She taught me that love was fighting for approval, fighting for love was brutal and unfair. While Satsuki was so considerate.

Satsuki kissed me slowly, it was now or never. I reached up, deepening the kiss with a push into her arms. She wrapped them around me, pulling away but holding me tightly. Her body was warm, her hair was so soft... She was like... like a dream. I didn't want to wake up from this one. Because I knew it was real. I gently grabbed her chest, right over her heart.

"Ah! What're you-" she started.

"Shh! I'm listening..." I soothed, closing my eye.

She waited, and I smiled.

"Your heartbeat is so gentle... so... strong. I want to listen to it forever. It's never loud or thundering so much that it sounds like a ticking time bomb, it's pure and gentle, it knows what it wants..." I sighed. Her delicate, but strong hand placed itself over mine, she closed her eyes.

"Your heartbeat is... erratic. Panicked, scared... but, you have an underlying beat that signifies that you still have the drive to accomplish what you want. You..." quieted her with a kiss.

"I'd die for you, you know that... right?" I asked.

She nodded, her eyes opening, "I'd do the same if it meant you'd be safe..."

I knew that in a week, it'd all come crashing in. The COVERS would awaken, sealing the fate of everyone I knew. Taka, Ira, Uzu, Genki, Nui, Satsuki... all of them. All while my mom doesn't do shit to help... What would Dad do? Anyway, Satsuki kissed me again, forcing me back on the pillows, now that I was used to her, she could get down to business.

And I was lost within the sea of bliss that was my only love. I fought, bled, almost died, mutilated, and killed myself for her again and again. She was in my arms, pure and untainted. I felt every bit of doubt and fear leave my mind... only leaving bliss in its wake. I kneaded her soft breasts, hearing her moaning and her muscles going slack.

She was mine. All mine. She melted into my arms, her eyes closed and her breath short, "I... I... I love you!" she gasped.

"Always! Always and... ah!" she then started to moan, even more, I held on tightly, my eye closing as my teeth scraped against her neck. She was mine. I won the game, and I was collecting what Ragyo owed me. The demon was gone, and in the place of it... a lovely angel named Satsuki Kiryuin.

I pulled back a little, "Did that hurt?" I asked tentatively. She shook her head, her cheeks flushed.

"Please, don't stop..." she begged, making me blush furiously. 'Damn! She's making it harder to focus!' I thought, kissing her and leaning into it, not using my tongue, I wasn't going to stoop to Ragyo's level. Satsuki wrapped her legs around me, pulling me down and making me stop just before entering her. I hesitated. I always hated this part.

At this juncture Ragyo would've pinned me, her maroon eyes would be boring into my soul, her right hand would be clenching tightly around my neck and her lips would on mine, sucking in what air I could breathe in. Then the searing, burning sensation in my lungs would start as she made me enter her. The dread, the fear, how good it felt and how wrong the person I was sharing the bed with was... didn't matter.

The world faded back in, and I saw Satsuki laying there, bite marks, bruises, even some fingernail scrapes were on her previously unmarred skin. Her luscious black hair fanned out from beneath her. It was messy.

Satsuki still looked up at me, a little confused by my reluctance, "It's okay... don't worry... it's okay..." she soothed, cupping my cheek with one of her hands, tracing my scar, leaning up and kissing me.

She was inches away when she parted from me, "She's not here. She'll never touch you again... I'm here. It's our time. Our turn to express what we've longed to express. I can feel it, I can feel your passion, your desire... so, one last question... no, one last promise," She said, leaning up, her lips pressed to my ear, her low, warm voice breathed into my ear this one request...

"Take me. This is our nuptial. This is our night. Where we don't have to worry about the destruction of the world... all we have is each other. We're bonding more than our flesh tonight. We're bonding our souls. Our hearts will beat as one. So, close your eye and just let go..."

And let go I did. One second, I was kneeling, and in the next second, I was on top of her, kissing her, my breath coming out in short gasps. I relentlessly pounded her, my mind lost in a haze. All I saw was her. She was smiling, gasping, moaning and screaming in joy. I held her close, tight. Where she belonged. Where I belonged, Who I am, it didn't matter.

I was in my Satsuki's arms. Where nothing could hurt me. Not Ragyo, not the deaths I experienced, not even the demons. I always wanted this. I wanted this ever since that night at the Manor where all of this began. Where I pined for the goddess that I only hoped to reach in dreams. Where I wanted her the most. Now she was mine.

I thrust strongly, gently, hearing her moaning cries and small encouraging remarks. I felt the pleasure building up, I was good at holding it all in. Then, I heard her gasp out.

"Ka- Kazuma! I'm... I'm..."

In one loud cry, I let go, and it got messy. I gasped and huffed, covered in sweat, sticky down there and extracting my member from Satsuki, who shuddered. In a breathy voice, she said.

"I love you," those three little words made my heart soar, I leaned down, pressing my lips to her ear, feeling the soft folds of her hair.

"No matter what, come hell or high water, I'll always be here with you. I love you, and I want you to be happy. I want you to know that even if you don't love me, I'll still love you..." I vowed, kissing her curves, her stomach, her cheeks, her hairline, the top of her head. Showering her with slow, lazy kisses, tracing her body gently with my hands. I laid my head down against her chest, she leaned up and kissed me.

"Goodnight... my dragon..." she muttered, and I closed my eye.


Waking up was harder now. Especially since I was stuck in a borderline concentration camp. Warden kept on being creepy, watching me from his office and waving. I hated him... we lost Pennie. One minute, he was eating, and the next... beaten. We lost Zeale and Trotser. One minute, just playing cards, and the next, hung from the battlements with stakes through their chests, screaming in Russian and Japanese for mercy.

I wanted to do something! I can't just stand by and watch as innocent men and women wait to die! The Thames and I sat together, his eyes haunted, his movements stilted. Deter looked towards the outer walls. Zeale would be by my side, too, watching me with that handsome smile and twinkling amber eyes.

"Zeale... he wanted to see what was beyond those damn things... we were born here, y'know? And every day... he'd ask: D'you think we'd go beyond the walls again? And I'd answer: Maybe. Always maybe. Well, I ain't gonna stand here and die like cattle! Baba, you got an in with the Warden, please... for my brother," he pleaded. So here I was, in the women's section of the prison.

One of the women, Dagda, gave me a dress that hugged my curves and had no Life Fibers in it. It was pink like my old dress. Like the one my clone now wears.

"Are y' sure you wanna do this, Baba?" she asked, she was from the Stockholm branch, a family woman. She was the breadwinner. The only reason why she was here was that she didn't want to miss her daughter's recital. Ragyo was the one to orchestrate her punishment. That's why she was wearing black. She was a strong woman, stronger than Mommy ever was.

Mommy would freak out, bursting in and just mowing down whatever was in her way. Yet, Dagda was more of a mother than she was. She was brushing my hair, humming a sad tune.

"My dear little Flicka, please... you don't have to do this..." she sighed, hugging me.

"Aw, c'mon Dagda... it's what my brother would've done..." I sighed.

"But you are not your brother, little Flicka, from what you describe of him... he's stronger than you. I am worried for you, and may god see fit that you have a safe return..." she said. If only she knew that Kazuma was nothing like I described him. He was scared and lost. Yet, he kept going. Becoming so much more than what others thought of him.

I went up to the Warden's office, knowing that the guards would let me through. He welcomed me with a smile, and I didn't hear his words. All I wanted to do was avenge everyone he killed. Regardless of if I knew them or not. I could do more. I could save more lives.

"What do you need, my dear?" he asked.

"My request is simple, my body for a life!" I demanded. He got a hungry glint in his eyes.

"Well then, my dear... then your request is granted..." he sighed, smelling my hair.

"Just tell me which life you want to be saved... and I'll take them away from this place forever..." he muttered in my ear.

"Deter. Number One-One-Three-Seven-Two-Six-Five," I answered.

"With the slow brother, I strung up? I thought you'd save yourself!" he laughed.

"Well then, I'll send him out," he relented. Now, I was lying in his bed, watching that maniac sleep. Kazuma would probably rip him to pieces while Takarada would blast the bastard to hell. I sighed and sat up, tying my hair back into a long ponytail. Deter left that morning, I slept in though. Next were Thames and Dagda. It was necessary.

I just hope I get out in time to help save the world.


I woke up a little sore. My neck throbbed from Kazuma's teeth scraping against it last night. He was so peaceful when he was asleep. Last night was amazing, all of the emotions I felt and all he felt, all he bore to me. All he gave and all I received. I loved him. I love him even more now. His strong arms wrapped around me, his lips brushing against my bruise.

"Sorry... I got a little... carried away..." he muttered, his fibers winding around me, soft and strong. He held me and continued his feather-light kisses. I leaned back, my eyes fixed on the clock.

We had a week to prepare for the Grand Festival, and of course, Kazuma seemed raring to go for 'The Final Confrontation.' Both Junketsu and Kibonochi's ultimate forms were unwieldy and incomplete, but with Kazuma's Gray Fibers picking up the slack, maybe we'll have a better shot. I tried to get out of bed, but Kazuma would always pull me back into his arms.

"No, I'm not ready yet," he said. His golden eye shined in the dim early morning light. It was going to rain today. He held me still, kissing my chest, going downward and kissing every square inch of my body, making me shiver. He was thorough, methodical, and so very gentle. I shook in his embrace. I understood what it was like for him, but... I loved every second of our lovemaking last night, how tentative and adorable he was.

Now all I needed to do was help him with his fear of being in a tub.

"I need to get up," I informed him.

"Okay, here we go..." Kazuma segued, hoisting me up and stalking over to the bathroom, his fibers darting around, turning on the lights, starting the water, everything. We were still naked from last night, and he gently settled into the tub, still holding me.

"Kazuma? I'm very capable of dealing with my washing myself," I informed.

"Tell that to me ten seconds ago when I gave a shit, now relax! Today is the day you relax and I take care of you!" he declared.

This could only go so well...