[Episode 13: A Broken Crown.]

OP 4: This Is War by 30 Seconds to Mars.

Kazuma and Satsuki stand together against Ragyo, standing on a chessboard, pieces fall around them as they fight her, tears stream down Kazuma's face as good memories blaze into flame, burning away as he fights on, no matter how wounded he gets, he still walks by Satsuki's side, always there and always fighting. The end of the OP sees Kazuma finally standing before Ragyo...

And Satsuki appears by her side. Blinded by a blindfold and wielding the Dual Bakuzans. Kazuma clenches Koudari and Koudashi, Kibonochi Ryuken flaring to life as the logo is burned out.


With every passing day, I'd fall more and more into the dark recesses of the Warden's office, growing numb by the second. My schedule was...

Wake up.

Do morning duties.

Get The List from the Thames. I'd pick the elderly and the sick. Even guys and girls around my brother and I's age.

Then, the Transaction, which I was done with for today. The gates would open more and more, and groups of three or four would stagger out single-file, singing my name and waving to me from below the balcony. Yet today was... different. We heard a loud *SPWWWWEEEEEEE!* I heard a huge explosion, rocking the prison in its rocky cradle. I jolted up, seeing something I wasn't expecting. Gourd rockets! I was never this happy to realize that Takarada was here! The Warden got up and grabbed his gun. His eyes narrowed and darting around.

"What is going on?" he asked, grabbing hold of me, his Glock pointed at my cheek. I didn't answer, I did not need to. Takarada was coming for him. The sound of a thousand rockets pierced the evening gloom, smashing the metal gate to pieces. On the other side was Takarada, arms crossed.

"ALRIGHT! Hand over Nui an' the prisoners!" he announced. The Warden cocked his gun, thrusting me outward.

"One more blast and her brains will be all over the floor!" he yelled.

Takarada smirked, "Nui!" he called. I knew what he was gonna do. I smirked and slammed my head into the Warden's nose, he just barely dodged and I rebounded. The Warden's handsome face was twisted into a mask of rage and betrayal. I landed near Takarada, and he pulled me into a hug.

"Hey there, Ni..." he sighed, squeezing me tightly. It felt so good to be with someone familiar again. Even if he was an asshole. His smile was genuine, and his grille was gone? He was all cleaned up. He was in his regalia suit, his eyes focused on The Warden, who started to glow a bright white, his Glock becoming a sniper rifle.

A hail of bullets rained down at us and Takarada fired back. We were behind some cover, and he looked so... noble. He wore his glasses on his face rather than perched down too far on his nose, just enough to stay on. His gold-plated revolver stayed slack in his hand.

"What's with the new look?" I asked.

"Gotta look good for ya, Nui!" he answered, grabbing my hands and shoving himself into my personal space, he smiled and pecked me on the lips.

"What?" I breathed.

"Alright! What're we here for, boys?!" he yelled.

"To spear the snake and dash those who oppose us to the ground with the iron rod!" A flood of voices answered.

"What do ya hold in your right hand?" he asked them, the Warden stopped firing, seeing a whole bunch of barbers around us. They seemed to come through the gate, with razors and everything blazing. The guards all came out of the woodwork in Goku Uniforms, all of them ready to defend their boss.

"A razor to cut the darkness!" they answered.

"An' in yer left?!" he thundered.

"A mirror to shave by!" they roared.

"SO! LESSGO! BARBERSHOPPE: ATTACK!" he commanded, and the barbers started to fight the guards, with the chaos still raging around me, I ran to the cell blocks, seeing Dagda and The Thames leading them out. Barbershoppe was the distraction to get everybody out of the way of the assault on the Warden's little personal concentration camp.

"Dagda?! The Thames?!" I gasped.

"Flicka! Thank goodness you are still alive!" Dagda gasped, almost barreling me over with a huge hug. I laughed and the Thames handed me a familiar blade. It was my sword, an odachi that I took with me to Osaka. Not realizing that I'd be thrown into Asphodel. I unsheathed it and I saw something whiz past my head, nicking my cheek. There he was, the Warden stood tall, proud, with his eyes showing what he was like underneath.

"You... are... mine! Mine!" He yelled, bringing the rifle up and I parried a bullet, sending it careening into the tarmac. My eyes were narrowed as my hair billowed in the stiff, hot wind of the bombed-out prison. The Warden's gun was still smoking from the shot, and I started forwards, intent on killing him. My hatred bubbled forth, and the Warden continued to fire, the bullets whizzing by me, I didn't notice them all rounding back.

Kaneo bashed me out of the way, his shell armor taking the bullets, they drilled into his armor. He stood, gritting his teeth. His rage was felt as his arms were around me.

"I won't letcha... ever... touch her! Kill them all, boys! Let God sort 'em out!" he screamed, sending his legs out to stab into the Warden, they succeeded, with Kaneo's green eyes pinpricks. He raised the Warden, blood flooding from the man's body and his rifle dropped to the ground. Kaneo started to cackle. The Warden was dying and I didn't feel anything.

Not even satisfaction.


Rei Hoomaru was in a hurry. She had to warn Lady Ragyo that Sites A through Z were all going into warzones with Barbershoppe and Nudist Beach at the same time attacking in tandem. The reports were messy, jumbled, confused. Some said that Kaneo Takarada was the leader, some said that Kazuma Kaguya had gone renegade and killed Satsuki in her bed, and some even wilder reports assumed that Flavia Kaguya and Goro Kaguya both were behind the attacks.

She had no time for tact, no time for lackadaisically moving. She knew that the other two were bogus, but the first one held water. She hurriedly knocked on the door to her lady's office, she needed to tell her that this was what they feared all along. People were waking up and actively ditching their clothing, burning it in America, Russia, the UK, Sweden, all shouting the names of the prisoners of Site A.

All of them were singing the praises of Nui Kaguya for opening their eyes due to her kindness. All of them for Zeale. All of them for Dagda and The Thames. The Prisoners of Site A were leading the world into an uprising. Yet, when Rei was bidden entry, she saw her boss sitting serenely, watching Hell on the screens unfold. Ragyo had unleashed the COVERS in their perfected forms. Someone was in her arms, laying there, his pale skin and golden eyes identified him as Goro Kaguya.


I enjoyed the carnage, seeing those idiots fall, but... Goro seemed to seethe with rage. He wasn't just Shinra Koketsu, but he was also Goro Kaguya given a second chance at life. I held him tightly, never once letting him go. He was part of me now.

"Why...? Why are you destroying the world?" he asked.

"These people will be an example, darling... and your precious little daughter and your dashing son..." I sighed, kissing him on the neck, feeling the Life Fibers brush against them. He clenched me harshly, his eyes narrowed.

"What about your daughter? Are you going to kill her, too?" he asked.

I smiled, making Goro tighten around me, he was a perfect chimera of Life Fibers and clothing. The tests done on him were extraordinary, and we watched the world burn down on the screens. America and Russia were the first to rebel, making it harder for my forces and the COVERS to attack.

"So that's it, huh? You were just using everyone? Not just me, but Flavia and your husband? He loved you more than anything! I remember it, all of it. Helping him confess, helping him through the doldrums that he weathered... all because he loved you, you threw him away, made him expendable. REVOCS wouldn't exist without my wife and me. We were the ones who started this company..." Goro sighed, making me still smile. He was trying to appeal to my dead humanity.

"All four of us started this. Our children are suffering because of it, chiefly my son and your daughter. The sins we made are now on your shoulders. You took my son and broke him... you took your daughter and broke her... you... you forced my wife to make a decision..." he told me a falsehood.

"No, I don't think so. Your wife made the decision herself. We made an arrangement," I revealed.

Goro was shocked, "What? No, Flavia would never-" I cut him off.

"She would and she did, she sacrificed your son for the life of your daughter. I fully intended to make him a powerful warrior. Yet... it wasn't meant to be. Now he's just a broken little boy, wearing a broken crown," I sighed, Kazuma was stronger than I initially thought. The Primordial Life Fiber needed him to finally end the Gray Fibers.

When I fought him all those days ago, he had me on the defensive! He was relentless, never holding back and never giving up no matter how many times I had wounded him. He'd rebound all the same. I watched the destruction play on the screens, letting the COVERS feast on the entrails of the fools who dared to oppose me.

Just three more days and blissful silence will conquer. My rage boiled underneath my skin, sending waves of bliss into my body. Oh yes, everything will be silent, everything will be silent forevermore...


Satsuki and I clashed, our swords sparking and our Kamuis in their Shizui and Ryuken forms respectively. Her white hair billowed wildly in the hot wind, her blue eyes narrowed. I still held back, Kibonochi billowing behind me and my swords sparking gold and molten. I never wanted to hurt her.

"Don't you dare hold back, Kazuma!" she yelled.

You're holding back, Kaz...

"I don't want to hurt her, Kibo!" I objected.

Kazuma! War isn't fair. War isn't a game! Do you think that she'll hold back just because you share a bed? No! So I'll unrestrain us!

Kibonochi Ryuken's restraining bands broke and I felt true power blaze forth like a consuming inferno. Large wings tore their way out of my back, I felt so much rage, so much power! A frenetic chorus of burning fire flowed out of me. I was compared to a fiery spirit of vengeance by many of the people I used to terrorize as Ragyo's hitman.

I charged, clashing anew, Satsuki smiled and I grinned widely, finally feeling like I could be me. Finally feeling like what we were doing was right. Going to war in three days was going to be tough, going to war and possibly dying never scared me. I wanted to die. I wanted to leave and run. Yet, Doctor Renfrow's words came back. I couldn't get anything done by running.

We traded blows, our blades singing songs of challenge, of determination and hope, I blasted back, my wings carrying me aloft, they became metallic and bladed, I used them to attack as well as defend. My body was acting independently, twisting and turning, parrying and blocking Satsuki's onslaught of hits. My wings buffeted her and slashed at her, stabbing too.

She danced with me, her spear slashing and parrying my swords back, I backflipped, my Kamui was holding up well. I flew around her, slashing and diving, hitting her and going back into the air once more. Satsuki was land-locked. Yet, her Kamui started to steam, I was steaming as well, we both clashed harshly in a burst of heavy steam.

I felt something soft on my face, and Satsuki's arms were wrapped around me, squeezing tightly.

"I win," she said.

"What?! No! It's a draw!" I huffed.

"Aw... are you being a sore loser?" she teased.

"Agh! Uh... no!" I stammered, realizing that I landed on her chest and barreled us back against the far wall. She was smiling, heavily breathing because of Kamui Exhaustion. She looked so roughed up, but Kibonochi was ragged, threadbare. So was Junketsu, torn up and ragged, barely hanging on, she was smiling. She always did after one of our sparring sessions.

"You always were the one who'd beg me and Ragyo for more rounds if you lost a game..." she reminisced. I could barely remember a time where I loved to play a game with Ragyo, only ones with Satsuki. I smirked and got up, helping her up myself.

"That was intense... nhn... you almost got me there!" she said, before wincing.

"Ah! Oh shit! Did I- Oh no... I hurt you!" I gasped, seeing some red blooming on her side. I quickly bit my finger, seeing the Gray Fibers come out and curiously touch her wound, she looked down at them, then back up at me. She seemed to be fascinated by my concern about her wound. My Fibers were quickly stitching up the gash, returning the blood to her body. A pad appeared to keep the wound untouched. I knelt and pressed a kiss to the pad.

"All better, yeah?" I teased, winking. Or blinking. Or was it winking? She kissed me on the forehead. I blushed and averted my eye.

"Silly... you're so silly!" she chided, bumping me gently.

"Aw, c'mon, Satsy! Just don't..."

Bree! Breeee!* my burner phone pinged, and I answered it.

"Talk to me!" I demanded.

"Kazuma! Osaka has Fallen! I repeat Osaka has-"

I dropped the burner, Inumuta's voice was tinny and panicked. Everything slowed down, everything seemed to be in molasses. Satsuki was talking rapid-fire to Inumuta, an 'Osaka has Fallen' meant that Ragyo did a field test on the COVERS. Version 2.0, not the versions we fought with the Missing Forty inside them. Barber and my mother were MIA. We had three days left, yet...

She wanted to make an example. America was a crater, Russia an even bigger frozen wasteland. Britain became a dusty desert. Ragyo makes examples of people and places. Now? It was now or never, the Grand Festival would be the final experiment. Yet, my eye closed, and I realized something... I was no hero. Not to anyone but myself, lying to myself just to feel better. Excusing all of the deaths as little more than stepping stones. All I did was run away while I fought for so little in the end.

Nui was a better hero, her plan went off without a hitch. All of the blood on my hands was for nothing. I wasn't out for revenge like Matoi or Satsuki. I wasn't doing this for some lofty goal that was beyond even my understanding. I was just doing what I do best... running away like hell was on my heels. Running away from my trauma, running away from the woman that caused it and into her daughter's arms...

I was a coward. A fool of a king. Thinking that I could wear the same crown as my mother and father. Thinking that I could bear the same weight. If I could, they'd still be alive. My mother as I knew her was dead, my father was dead. All I have is my little sister Nui. Yet, Satsuki. That perfect angel, that woman I love more than anything...

She still stayed. Why? Why did she stay? She grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. I felt all the stress, all of those nights lying awake and jumping at every tiny sound, all of those nights I... I wasn't worthy. I wasn't worthy of her. Regardless if I had the determination and drive... she was too pure. Too good for me. I was already dead. Already dead yet still living because I wanted to.

It all crashed in on me. I started to sob, my eye being stung with tears. Everything was crashing through my mind. I wanted to do something right. I wanted to save everyone. I wanted to be that hero... Yet all I was... was a coward. Satsuki immediately drew me into her arms, holding me and kissing my forehead.

"I don't deserve you..." I sighed, trying to pull away, but she held fast. Her blue eyes narrowed, her hands drying my tears.

"Kazuma Kaguya, you listen to me... I don't care if you deserve me or not. Can't you see that you're ALIVE? You're alive, Kazzy. You're alive because something is left undone," she tried to calm me down.

"Don't you get it?! I'm only alive because your mother is a goddamn creep! She tore my family apart! Ragyo went unpunished... Ragyo whored her way to the top and used me... fucked me into submission because she wanted the perfect ubermensch to carry out her goals... Do you know how many times I wanted to die? Only to realize that I was your only friend?" I asked, tears still streaming down my face.

"Don't answer that. In three more days I'm gonna have to face the single most deeply rooted demon in my life. This is my fight. Not yours," I determined, Satsuki looked angry, grabbing my shoulders, her blue eyes aflame. She pushed me away, drawing her hand up and sending it smashing into my face. I felt it hit and she glared down at me.

"Don't you dare try to take her on alone. I'll follow you into hell, I'll save you time and time again. Don't you see that I love you? Don't you see that you're worthy?" she pleaded.

"You're so much more than worthy... I expect you to bring the hero I know you are to the battlefield. Never again will I hear you say you're unworthy. The future is not written, it never is... I know you have the courage. I see it in your eye. I see it every time I wake up. You face the darkest days with a smile. You wear Kibonochi with pride, you never hold back and I see that... So what if you fail? So what if you feel as if any moment you might die?" she asked, kissing me fiercely.

"It won't change the fact that you're mine..." she whispered, the pad over her wound fell off, and there was a small white scar there. I smiled. We had to gather the others.

To say that the air in the main office was tense was an understatement. Nui and Takarada arrived with battle scars aplenty, with her supporting him on her shoulder, he looked up at us and gave us a smirk. Uzu was waiting with a smile and a pat on the back for me. Ira nodded at me tersely, Nonon and Inumuta, even if I didn't know them as well as Satsuki did, they nodded at me.

I stood tall, locking eyes with Satsuki, who gave me a warm smile. I wanted to see more and more. One worth dying for. I shut my eye, finding the words I wanted to say.

"In three days, we're going to fight impossible odds. We all know the atrocities Ragyo has committed against us, we of humanity that still shun the Fibers... I won't accept just rolling over and dying! I've come so far, I'm so close to what I want... I want... I want a world where people remember that day, that day where we make our stand and say, 'We won't be silenced! We will be heard! We will stand against the darkness and annihilate it! Dragons, Snakes, Toads, and Monkeys... Crabs and Courtiers, Scissor Wielders... All of us! WE WILL BE HEARD!' So stand up! So stand up and drink! Shatter your cups! In three days, we may die... but our sacrifices will never be in vain!" I yelled. We all toasted, but I didn't drink mine.

There would be time for that later. Soroi seemed to beam in pride, but he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Lord Kazuma, a word if you'd please," he said.

"Hm? What is it?" I asked. He bid me follow him and I did, he took me to a certain file cabinet in Satsuki's office, opening one drawer and thumbing through the files. He found one and opened it, exposing a small album marked with, 'The Kaguya Family' in gold lettering on its singed and weather-beaten surface.

I took it gingerly in my shaking hands. Seeing the gold letters and smelling the familiar scent of my father's cologne and deodorant made my eye start to tear up, I opened it and saw the family tree, with two chiefly famous conquerors on my father's side. Odo Nobunaga and Genghis Khan were both present in my bloodline, battle and strategy were in my veins.

My mother's side contained more living fast conquerors like Alexander the Great and the philosopher generals like Sun Tzu. (both distantly related.) It answered why Ragyo wanted me. I was the perfect soldier. No wonder why I thought a mile a minute. Thinking about everything like a general would. Why I could take on any challenger and end them in minutes.

"Lady Satsuki recovered that from the ruins of your home, Lord Kazuma, she intended that to be given to you upon our victory, but she saw fit to give it to you now," Soroi explained, I noticed that new space on the tree by my name was filled. Satsuki's name was there, connected to mine. I smiled, flipping to the other pages, seeing my father standing proudly, with me perched on his shoulders and baby Nui in a papoose on his chest.

'The last photo Mom took of us... before all of this started...' I thought sadly. Flipping to another page, seeing my dad and me on the couch together, I remembered this one. He was telling me the story that was chronicled on my back in beautiful color.

Son, the Koi becomes a dragon!

What?! No way, Dad!

Yes, he does, do ya know why?

Why?

Because he never gave up!

I felt my chest constrict, and I could feel my dad's love around me. I could feel his arms squeezing me tightly, wishing that I could hear him say how proud he was of me. Of the man I became. Of the man, I'll try to be. I'll never be half of the man he was.

I'm proud of you, Kazuma.

I opened my eye, looking down at Kibonochi, his wizened red and gold eyes looked up at me. I remembered his voice, that warm, lazy drawl... It sounded like Dad was always smiling. Then his anger would flare, becoming a low growl.

You thought I'd leave ya behind, huh? No, I never did, kiddo. I've always been here.

"Kibonochi? You're my..." I mumbled.

Well, part of him. Soichiro and Goro made Junketsu and I sound like them. So that they'd always be with you two through us. Goro is Shinra Koketsu, but that doesn't mean he wants to hurt you or Nui... I think- I think he doesn't.


The day of reckoning arrived with a storm of people flooding into the stadium, I knelt high above them all, on one of the lights. There was no way I would show myself to Ragyo before we got started. I wore Kibonochi proudly, fixed from the other day. I smiled down at him, feeling the cool breeze. Today might be my final day of life, but...

I lived a good one.

Kazuma. You're so calm.

"Yeah, I've been waiting for this for years... finally, the day where I get to live as Kazuma Kaguya... and to die as him is going to be the sweetest reward. Satsuki and the others are waiting in the wings... it's time to face my fate," I decided. I saw the light of Satsuki shine outwards, piercing the light I cast with warmth and good intent, not like the scalding rays of Ragyo's light.

The wind picked up, and I saw the REVOCS helicopter crest the horizon, seeing that... that WOMAN... I clenched my sword hilts, keeping a close eye on where Nui Harime would end up coming in. There was no way Ragyo wouldn't come without some form of backup. She turned her arrival into one big show, and I grit my teeth. I couldn't do anything as everyone on the ground and in the stands was wrapped up in Life Fiber cocoons.

It's her or me. I've come so far and seen so much of what she does. She tore my family apart. She killed my father and turned him into her Kamui. Then, over the wall came Matoi, Mikisugi, Kinagase, and Mankanshoku on what Takarada told me was a Dotonbori Robo. I tensed, my time was coming...

"Your little party is over, Satsuki Kiryuin! Let everybody go or else!" Matoi yelled, pointing her scissor blade at her and Ragyo, who was monologuing about how blissful this macabre experiment was. I seethed. She was giving scientists like Soichiro the finger! Kibonochi billowed as I readied myself to lunge at her.

Kiddo, don't... remember the plan...

I still was at the ready. The plan was to wait until Satsuki revealed her revolt against the Life Fibers and Ragyo herself, then I come screaming from on high because I knew it'd take more than just a crucifixion to take her out.

"Well well, you must be Ryuko Matoi, and that must be Senketsu, one of the three products of Isshin Matoi and Goro Kaguya's experiments on Life Fibers and Gray Fibers... how cute," Ragyo chuckled, I just felt something snap in my mind, rage thundered through my mind and heart. My father sacrificed himself to have me live... did she know that I was nearby and that was just an attempt to coax me out?

I held fast, however. I had to wait. That was my duty.

"Bite me! You're exactly like your daughter, a big shot with a big mouth!" Ryuko snarled viciously. I was tense, my hands white-knuckling my sword hilts at this point.

"How droll, I assume that you have no idea who you're talking to, I am Ragyo Kiryuin, head of the-" And cue Bakuzan through her chest. That sight of her eyes twisted into anger and her expression stuck into one of pain was so cathartic...

"The time for speeches is OVER!" Satsuki's voice thundered, forcing Bakuzan in deeper, a flood of blood rained out of Ragyo's mouth as Satsuki lifted her, her arms straining and she lobbed the woman onto the throne, effectively crucifying her. Blood gushed like a torrent from Ragyo, and I fought the urge to laugh.

"Are you trying to take the throne from me?" Ragyo snarled, her eyes glowing crimson. Satsuki drew herself up to her full height, blood coated the black blade of Bakuzan. Her blue eyes burning with fire. She was an avatar of rage and defiance.

"No! I'm not!" she declared.

The others appeared, with Ira and Uzu in their Sworn Brothers Regalia. That was the signal! I sped downward, my swords out and gleaming in the sunlight, my mouth fixed into a smirk, my golden eye shining. I landed next to Satsuki, pointing Koudashi and Koudari at Ragyo. Her eyes smoldered into my soul, but my eye stared straight into hers, finding nothing.

"Today, we'll prove that humanity doesn't need to be guided by a bunch of threads! We can carve our own paths! I'm done with running, I'm done with hiding!" I screamed, syncing up with Kibonochi, going straight for her.

"SO QUIT PLAYING AROUND, RAGYO KIRYUIN!" I roared, blasting forwards at top speed. My rage, my determination, all of it was out in a full display.

The final battle... is here!