Sins of Blairwood-8
~Family Time~
"So, how was everyone's day today?" Kuroko asked, sitting at the table with Ben, Senshi, Ban, and Elaine enjoying some home cooked food that Ban made, with Saphira eating a crate of high quality meats.
"My day was pretty good, I managed to catch a bounty I'd been hunting for the last couple weeks, and the payout was huge." Ben exclaimed.
"Nuh-uh, you don't get to talk, not after you took your nephew, my son, to a strip club last night." Kuroko said.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but Senshi's actually got himself a girlfriend now." Ban smiled.
"Grandpa." Senshi groaned.
"When was this?" Kuroko asked, looking at Senshi.
"It was official, on Halloween." Elaine smiled. "During the little cemetery party Erma put on for Felicia."
"It was quite sweet actually." Ban said.
"I cried a bit when I heard the part about how Senshi stole a mean old lady's candy and replaced it with mud and dog poop." Ben snickered.
"You're laughing, not crying." Kuroko said.
"I cried at the part where he saved the best pieces for Erma." Ben defended.
"Why am I the last one hearing about my son's first girlfriend?" Kuroko asked.
"Probably because you're normally out on jobs." Senshi said.
"Excuse me young man, what did you say?" Kuroko inquired.
"He has a point Kuroko." Ban said. "I know you're gone 90% of the time for work. You need to spend less time at the desk and more time at the family dinner table."
"Pffft. What exactly did she tell you was her job?" Ben asked.
"When we asked, she told us she was an accountant for a law firm in the big city more inland." Elaine said.
"Oh man, you seriously told them that?" Ben asked.
"Ben, that's enough." Kuroko said.
"So what I'm getting is, not even Grandma and Grandpa know what you actually do for work, do they?" Ben inquired.
"Ben, stop it now."
"Stop what? Telling them the truth?" Ben inquired. "At least I'm honest when I'm asked what my job is. Senshi, ask me what my job is."
"What's your job Uncle Ben?" Senshi inquired.
"I am so glad you asked. I am a bounty hunter, who doesn't have to obey the normal laws of bounty hunting, and can use actual, live ammunition if needed, and I sometimes end up killing my targets which reduces their bounty to half." Ben exclaimed. "Do you wanna know what your mom's job is?"
"Ben. Stop this right now. I know you're just being petty because I inherited all the powers of the Sins plus Grandma Elizabeth, and you didn't inherit any of it, despite the fact we're twins." Kuroko said, slamming her hands on the table.
"Oh please I don't need the powers of the Sins, you know why? Because I ate the Akuma Tree. The tree that all the Devil Fruits derived from, and gained all the powers of the Devil Fruits, in exchange for my ability to swim. I'd say that's a pretty fair trade off, wouldn't you?" Ben asked, using the Gum-Gum fruit to stretch his neck out and be face to face with Kuroko.
"An' it messed with your head. Geeze, and you wonder why mom and dad kicked your ass out of the house when we were sixteen." Kuroko said.
"They kicked you out at the same time." Ben said.
"Because I refused to get an abortion." Kuroko said.
"No it's because of your line of work that forced them to kick you out." Ben said. "It was either kick you out or call the police and have you arrested."
"It didn't matter anyway, because they died a month later when their car got ran over by an 18 wheeler." Kuroko said.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were the one who orchestrated their deaths, just to get your hands on their life insurance." Ben said.
"Are you kidding me? They were our parents. Why the hell would I do that?" Kuroko asked.
"Isn't that how you work. If you're paid enough you'll take the job?" Ben questioned.
"What's he talking about Kuroko?" Ban questioned.
"Ben I swear to God if you say one more word I'll…"
"Kuroko is a mercenary." Ben stated, leaving the dining room quiet. "She kills people for money, and she's been doing it since before she had Senshi."
"Kuroko is this true?" Elaine asked.
"Is this true young lady?" Ban questioned.
"Yes alright yes. It's true. I'm a mercenary. My job takes me overseas a lot, so the money I make per job is a high enough price that it doesn't matter. $500,000 USD per job." Kuroko sighed.
"That money, is blood money." Ban said. "Now I might be a bandit, but I've never had the urge to kill people senselessly for money."
"That money is what allows me to care for my son." Kuroko said. "An' don't give me that crap, you killed people and got paid for it."
"I was a Holy Knight." Ban said.
"They're the same thing." Kuroko stated.
"They are not the same thing Kuroko Liones. I had a motive that wasn't money that involved killing people. I had loved ones to protect, I had a duty to defend the Kingdom of Liones, I was a Holy Knight, and I was a soldier." Ban said. "I didn't kill for money, I killed to defend my loved ones, and to protect them."
"You wanna know why, I took moms name while you kept dads?" Ben asked. "It's because one of these days, there's gonna be a time where the bounty on your head, is not gonna be one to ignore anymore, and I'd rather be the one to take in my sister, than some punk who thinks he has a shot with her, and loses his life. I have a code to live up to as a bounty hunter, and every day I let you go free, I am shattering it more and more. I took up Shigura, so I wouldn't be directly associated with you, when I take you in. An' that time is coming sis. It's fast approaching and pretty soon, I'm not gonna be able to ignore it either. Your bounty has already reached $5,000,000 USD, and even that's not enough to encourage other bounty hunters to take action against you."
"An' as long as it remains that high, they never will." Kuroko said. "Senshi go upstairs and… where'd Senshi go?" Kuroko questioned, noticing her son was no longer there.
"Elaine took him to the Williams' house." Ban said. "She saw he was about to have a breakdown after Ben blurted out what your actual job was, and decided to take him away from here for the time being."
"I'm back." Elaine said, coming into the dining room. "Sam and Emiko said they'd be more than happy to take care of him for as long as would be needed."
"You told them my profession?" Kuroko questioned.
"I had to. If I hadn't, Senshi would have, and he was already at the breaking point of melting down." Elaine said.
"Then I guess I'm left with no other choice." Ben said, slamming a pair of cuffs on Kuroko before putting a collar around her throat. "Kuroko Liones, you're under arrest for numerous murder, all over the world."
~The Comfort~
"Sam, what do you think we should do?" Emiko asked, looking into the room they'd set up for Senshi.
There, they could see Senshi leaning against his bed, with Saphira in his arms. It'd been a week since he'd come to stay with them, and they could see, he was slowly starting to lose hope. Sam and Emiko had agreed to be his legal guardians, and the money Senshi's uncle, Ben Shigura, gave them from Kuroko's bounty being collected was more than enough to help them raise him alongside Erma. Ban and Elaine had gone back to the secret island where the others were, and Ben wasn't legally eligible to take care of Senshi due to the fact he was both a bounty hunter, and Kuroko's brother, not to mention he was a little mentally unstable.
"I don't know Emiko." Sam sighed, leaning against the wall. "But I do know he can't be left alone right now."
"I don't think we need to worry about that." Emiko said. "Look."
Sam looked inside Senshi's room, and saw he was not alone anymore as Erma had floated her way up through the floor, and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, before he brought her in for a hug.
"I think he's gonna be just fine." Sam smiled.
~The Inevitable~
Sam and Senshi were looking through the darkened kitchen, as Sam held a flashlight. Both Sam and Senshi looked as though they suffered from some small amount of injuries, with cuts and bruised on their cheeks and arms.
"You doing okay Senshi?" Sam questioned.
"I'm not out of the fight yet." Senshi said.
"Now where are you?" Sam questioned, before a small shadow went flying past them.
Following the shadow, Sam and Senshi spotted her heading for the living room, but lost her when they got there.
"Darn it, she's gone." Senshi snapped his fingers.
"Gone again." Sam sighed, before a larger shadow went past them, chasing after the smaller shadow.
Suddenly the room became a swirling mess of furniture and appliances, before the larger shadow grabbed the smaller one, and dragged her upstairs to the second floor, with Sam and Senshi giving chase, following the shadows to the bathroom.
"You got her?" Sam asked.
"Yeah." Emiko said, pulling on Erma's leg, dragging her to the bubble filled tub. "But here comes the scary part."
"Senshi you traitor." Erma shouted at him.
"Senshi, go and get Warrior Unicorn Princess ready for when she gets out." Sam said.
"Sir yes sir." Senshi saluted before running off.
"After her it's your turn for a bath young man." Emiko called out to him.
"Uh-oh." Senshi exclaimed.
~Pile of Secrets~
It was a nice autumn day out in the backyard of the Williams/Liones household. There was a pile of leaves out in the front, which exploded as Senshi, Amy, and Erma jumped out with smiles on their faces, while laughing like the children they are.
They threw leaves at each other, and jumped in what remained of the pile, but the fun came to a stop with the sound of one voice come from inside.
"Kids, are you three done raking the leaves yet?" Emiko called from the house.
"Oh no, she'll be here any second." Amy said.
Senshi and Erma looked to each other, before they both used telekinetic abilities to bring the leaves together into one big pile. They had to make it quick, as Emiko had instructed, they were not to use their abilities in any way to take care of this task.
The moment Emiko opened the door to the backyard, she saw Erma, Senshi, and Amy standing in front of a large pile, all with rakes in their hands.
"Hmm…"
~Tree Decorating~
Erma could be seen smiling as she floated up to the top of the Christmas tree, and put the star on top, making her smile even bigger.
"Well done Erma." Emiko smiled.
"Uh, Honey? Are you sure that the tree is stable?" Sam questioned.
"Of course dear, why?" Emiko asked, as she turned to look at her hanging upside down husband.
"I'm just afraid some of the ornaments might fall off, is all." Sam said, as he and Senshi were both tied upside down within the living tree's vines.
"Can I get down now?" Senshi asked.
~#25~
Erma and Senshi were sitting on a park bench, waiting for their friends to arrive for some Christmas Carolling. But as they were waiting, something appeared up above them, and they looked up to see some mistletoe hanging there between them.
The sight of it confused Erma, while it cause Senshi to blush. He didn't exactly know what to do, so he decided to take a page from his Uncle Ben's book, and scooted closer, before giving Erma a quick kiss on the cheek, causing her to blush before he scooted back to where he had been on the bench, his face red from embarrassment.
Up above them, neither of them could currently see, was the spirit of a young woman, with angel wings, and a halo over her head. Her eyes orange with triskele's, and her hair a long flowing silver, with a smile on her face, as she held the mistletoe in place, before removing it, and flying off, without saying a word.
~Silent Night~
Erma was sleeping soundly in bed, with Senshi, as she normally did to keep him calm when he had a nightmare. It was a quiet and peaceful night, but the silence was broken when Senshi and Erma heard the jingling of bells.
"You hear that? It might be Santa." Senshi exclaimed getting up from bed, and heading for the window, with Erma following him, after she grabbed her knife.
When getting to the window, Erma and Senshi saw that it wasn't Santa. The jingling they heard, was actually the rattling of chains from multiple spirits, who've yet to pass on to the other world. Taking flight, and following them, Erma and Senshi were filled with wonder as they saw the countless number of people flying through the air, and saw several, coming from the cemetery, before they bumped into someone, and looked up to apologize but recognized the person from a picture Felicia showed them.
"Excuse me, but are you Felicia's grandma?" Senshi asked.
"Why yes I am." She smiled. "Won't you fly with me?"
"Sounds like fun." Senshi smiled.
So they continued to fly together, following the spirits to a large tree in the forest, where it was being covered in decorations, from all different cultures from around the world.
Senshi and Erma looked at it in awe at all the different people surrounding it. Some of the spirits were old, some were young, and some looked as old as they were, without having a chance to really live, before they died when they weren't ready.
Looking around the area, they saw there was music, there were people dancing, eating food, laughing and enjoying a good time together. Some were talking about how they died, some were showing the injuries they sustained before their deaths, others were talking about their loved ones left behind, and others were throwing a toast, to their relatives, who'd survived the year, and wishing them another good year of survival. Senshi spotted someone else who looked familiar, and Erma recognized him to.
"Hey excuse me?" Erma said, pulling his arm.
"What can I do for you children?" The man asked.
"Are you… are you Felicia's father?"
"I am. I take it you know my daughter?" He asked.
"Yeah, she's our babysitter." Senshi said. "We were over at her house once, and we saw a picture of you."
"Well, I hope you two are behaving for my baby girl." Felicia's father said.
"We do. But that doesn't mean we don't cause a little mischief every once in a while." Senshi snickered.
"Typical children." He laughed.
"Well, it's about time we got to meet, face to face." A gentle voice said, as a pair of arms wrapped around Senshi from behind.
Looking up, Senshi saw the face of a young silver haired woman, who smiled as she looked down at him, as he recognized her from photo's Meliodas had shown him.
"Granny Elizabeth?" Senshi asked.
"The one and only." She smiled. "An' I'm not the only one here to greet you."
Senshi got out from her embrace, and looked to see all his ancestors from the past, forming a circle around them, Senshi was in awe to see how many of his ancestors were there, and to his surprise, he saw Escanor, all beefed up and muscular in the crowd.
"Uncle Escanor?" Senshi asked.
"Heya kid. I'm proud to see you're doing well, and pushing through despite all you've gone through the last couple months." Escanor smiled, putting a hand on Senshi's head.
"My name is Japanese for Warrior, you know. I wouldn't really be living up to it if I couldn't push through some challenging times." Senshi said.
"Senshi, even the strongest of warriors, need to lean on someone every now and again." Elizabeth said, kneeling down to be eye level with him, and pulled him in for a hug. "You're brave, and strong, but you're also kind and gentle, just like Meliodas. But you're not alone. Just know, that your family, will always be here to guide and support you."
"All of us." Erma said, wrapping her arms around Senshi.
Senshi could feel the love from Elizabeth as she embraced him, with Erma's warmth and allowed himself to cry, just a bit, not wanting to ruin the festivities for everyone else.
When the toll of Midnight sounded, the spirits began to say their goodbyes to one another. With Senshi, Elizabeth stayed with him and Erma, guiding them back to the house, and tucking them back into their beds, giving each of them a kiss on the forehead.
After the sun began to rise, Erma and Senshi awoke to the sound of Emiko calling for them to come down for opening presents.
Sitting on each of their tables, were framed photos of their families, Erma's being one of her, and her parents, Senshi's being one of him and his mom, while both of them, had a copy of the photo recently taken, of Senshi and Erma between Emiko and Sam, with Erma holding Siris, and Senshi holding Saphira.
~Next Round~
Happy New Year.
The words flashed on the television screen, as Emiko and Sam were sitting on the couch smiling at how another year has come and gone.
"Another year gone, and another one filled with more hassle." Sam sighed. "At least things have gotten livelier since Senshi came to town."
"When has that ever stopped us?" Emiko asked.
"Happy New Year Honey." Sam said.
"I love you Sweetie." Emiko said, before they started kissing.
The moment was cut short however as Erma and Senshi turned on the light and began blowing and playing with noise makers in celebration of the New Year.
"Happy New Year." Senshi and Erma cheered.