Listen to Your Heart
"Adrian, that was the name of your beloved, right?" inquired Kanon, "I'm sorry, I'm not her. My name is Kanon, and I am a Mercenary."
"Kanon must not be your real name. No mother would give her children such a name. Well, maybe one of us, but not a human mother. You must have changed your name before you became a Merc. What did your birth mother call you, young Merc?" asked Rainie.
Kanon told him, "She called me Aisha. After her death, and my scarring, I felt that the name didn't fit me at all. So I threw away my identity, and took on the persona of Kanon."
Rainie stared at her for a moment. "Just like it was with your daughter, you greatly resemble my beloved Adrian. It's so uncanny, that for a moment I thought she came back. After the Zeikians burned her home down and killed everyone in the town, I guess I just felt like I should have been able to help her in some way, and blamed myself."
"Did you say her hometown was burnt?!" exclaimed Kanon, "And that the culprit was the Zeikians, the group that still goes by the name Metal Demon?"
"Yes, but why?" inquired Rainie.
Kanon replied, "My mother was killed in a demon's assault on our hometown. I was young then, and didn't quite realize what was going on. For some strange reason, they were after me. But my mother wouldn't let them come any closer. She died on her doorstep, after yelling 'Aisha, run!' I ran as far as I could, but was attacked by the demons before too long. My left arm and leg was broken beyond repair, they gouged out my left eye, and left a scratch on my right eye. In fact, I still have some scars on my left torso and breast from the attack. They luckily thought that my 'frail, human body' was too weak from the assault, and left me to die. But I managed to drag myself away from the village at the first opportune moment, and head for the nearest doctor. He preformed the surgery that turned me into the woman I am today. If I hadn't gone, I probably would have died."
Boomerang looked at his beloved with wide eyes. He'd known that she was orphaned and scarred in the same incident, but he never knew all the details. It was something Kanon didn't want to talk about, and he'd respected her privacy. Now that he'd heard the story, he could see why she didn't tell it. It is rare for one as young as Kanon had been to be targeted by demons. What deadly secret was she hiding, that was unknown even to herself?
Rainie was even more shocked than Boomerang. "You mean to tell me that you were the target of a demon's attack when you were a child? Hmmmmmmmmmm. . .most interesting. Miss Kanon, would you mind if I saw your right arm for a little? I mean, can you give yourself a cut with your knife, there's something I would like to see."
"What reason would you have for doing that?" asked Kanon, "But I guess it can't hurt, I've already gotten all those scars on the left side of my body, one more on the right won't do anything to hurt me." So she took her knife, and made a shallow cut above her elbow.
Rainie took a look. "I was right. You aren't just some random girl who has been swelled up in the tide of fate," he stated.
Kanon wondered what he meant. So she also looked at her arm. Just as it was with Annie, her arm was made out of metal. And this wasn't the artificial one either. She thought back to the day she'd gotten the implants. The doctors had all seamed a little freaked out when she'd walked past. They had all spoken words like demon, monster, and android in hushed whispers. The child had always thought they were talking about the attack that had led her to be orphaned in the first place, how demons had come to kill a small child. She had never even imagined that they had all been speaking about what they had seen in the child.
Rainie told her, "Take it easy my dear. I can tell you are feeling a bit nervous over the whole situation. Just listen to what your heart tells you."
Kanon laughed. "It's just funny, that's all. I've been a Demon Slayer for years, as has been my daughter. For me and her to turn out to have the same blood as that of the very monsters we've been hunting. Not just any demon blood, but that of the 'Metal Demons'. I don't mean to insult you Elder, it's just that's what I have been told from childhood."
"No need to apologize Kanon," Rainie informed her, "Or to be more precise, I should call you Aisha Bernadette."
"How did you know my last name? I only told you my first name when you asked. Heck, I haven't used the name Bernadette in years," Kanon said.
Rainie stated, "You see, long ago, I had heard rumors of Adrian having my child. When we went to her burnt out village, I saw a picture of her with a young girl that looked exactly like her. I know your last name only because that was her name. . .Adrian Bernadette."
Kanon looked at him with wide eyes. "You mean, that you are the father that she told me I would meet in the someday that never came?!"
"Yes, my daughter, " Rainie whispered, "Finally we have met. Your dead mother must be smiling upon you from up above today."
Kanon spent the rest of the day reflecting on herself. Near sunset, Rainie showed her where they had buried Adrian after she was discovered in the burnt out house. A tear fell from the mercenary's good eye, as she placed a rose on the grave, and let her sorrow over her mother go at last.
- - - -
Well, this chapter is kind of based on a short story I read. There was this girl who was apprenticing under a demon slayer/sorceress, and they fought off a demon. When her master asks her what she was, and tells her to name what she had just fought, the girl thinks she is a demon. Thus, the sorceress states that "They say there is some demon blood in those of us who have the calling [to become a demon slayer]." That's not the exact quote, but it's mostly correct. The point is, I was going for irony at the fact that Kanon was hunting demons all her life, but she had semi-demonic blood.
"Adrian, that was the name of your beloved, right?" inquired Kanon, "I'm sorry, I'm not her. My name is Kanon, and I am a Mercenary."
"Kanon must not be your real name. No mother would give her children such a name. Well, maybe one of us, but not a human mother. You must have changed your name before you became a Merc. What did your birth mother call you, young Merc?" asked Rainie.
Kanon told him, "She called me Aisha. After her death, and my scarring, I felt that the name didn't fit me at all. So I threw away my identity, and took on the persona of Kanon."
Rainie stared at her for a moment. "Just like it was with your daughter, you greatly resemble my beloved Adrian. It's so uncanny, that for a moment I thought she came back. After the Zeikians burned her home down and killed everyone in the town, I guess I just felt like I should have been able to help her in some way, and blamed myself."
"Did you say her hometown was burnt?!" exclaimed Kanon, "And that the culprit was the Zeikians, the group that still goes by the name Metal Demon?"
"Yes, but why?" inquired Rainie.
Kanon replied, "My mother was killed in a demon's assault on our hometown. I was young then, and didn't quite realize what was going on. For some strange reason, they were after me. But my mother wouldn't let them come any closer. She died on her doorstep, after yelling 'Aisha, run!' I ran as far as I could, but was attacked by the demons before too long. My left arm and leg was broken beyond repair, they gouged out my left eye, and left a scratch on my right eye. In fact, I still have some scars on my left torso and breast from the attack. They luckily thought that my 'frail, human body' was too weak from the assault, and left me to die. But I managed to drag myself away from the village at the first opportune moment, and head for the nearest doctor. He preformed the surgery that turned me into the woman I am today. If I hadn't gone, I probably would have died."
Boomerang looked at his beloved with wide eyes. He'd known that she was orphaned and scarred in the same incident, but he never knew all the details. It was something Kanon didn't want to talk about, and he'd respected her privacy. Now that he'd heard the story, he could see why she didn't tell it. It is rare for one as young as Kanon had been to be targeted by demons. What deadly secret was she hiding, that was unknown even to herself?
Rainie was even more shocked than Boomerang. "You mean to tell me that you were the target of a demon's attack when you were a child? Hmmmmmmmmmm. . .most interesting. Miss Kanon, would you mind if I saw your right arm for a little? I mean, can you give yourself a cut with your knife, there's something I would like to see."
"What reason would you have for doing that?" asked Kanon, "But I guess it can't hurt, I've already gotten all those scars on the left side of my body, one more on the right won't do anything to hurt me." So she took her knife, and made a shallow cut above her elbow.
Rainie took a look. "I was right. You aren't just some random girl who has been swelled up in the tide of fate," he stated.
Kanon wondered what he meant. So she also looked at her arm. Just as it was with Annie, her arm was made out of metal. And this wasn't the artificial one either. She thought back to the day she'd gotten the implants. The doctors had all seamed a little freaked out when she'd walked past. They had all spoken words like demon, monster, and android in hushed whispers. The child had always thought they were talking about the attack that had led her to be orphaned in the first place, how demons had come to kill a small child. She had never even imagined that they had all been speaking about what they had seen in the child.
Rainie told her, "Take it easy my dear. I can tell you are feeling a bit nervous over the whole situation. Just listen to what your heart tells you."
Kanon laughed. "It's just funny, that's all. I've been a Demon Slayer for years, as has been my daughter. For me and her to turn out to have the same blood as that of the very monsters we've been hunting. Not just any demon blood, but that of the 'Metal Demons'. I don't mean to insult you Elder, it's just that's what I have been told from childhood."
"No need to apologize Kanon," Rainie informed her, "Or to be more precise, I should call you Aisha Bernadette."
"How did you know my last name? I only told you my first name when you asked. Heck, I haven't used the name Bernadette in years," Kanon said.
Rainie stated, "You see, long ago, I had heard rumors of Adrian having my child. When we went to her burnt out village, I saw a picture of her with a young girl that looked exactly like her. I know your last name only because that was her name. . .Adrian Bernadette."
Kanon looked at him with wide eyes. "You mean, that you are the father that she told me I would meet in the someday that never came?!"
"Yes, my daughter, " Rainie whispered, "Finally we have met. Your dead mother must be smiling upon you from up above today."
Kanon spent the rest of the day reflecting on herself. Near sunset, Rainie showed her where they had buried Adrian after she was discovered in the burnt out house. A tear fell from the mercenary's good eye, as she placed a rose on the grave, and let her sorrow over her mother go at last.
- - - -
Well, this chapter is kind of based on a short story I read. There was this girl who was apprenticing under a demon slayer/sorceress, and they fought off a demon. When her master asks her what she was, and tells her to name what she had just fought, the girl thinks she is a demon. Thus, the sorceress states that "They say there is some demon blood in those of us who have the calling [to become a demon slayer]." That's not the exact quote, but it's mostly correct. The point is, I was going for irony at the fact that Kanon was hunting demons all her life, but she had semi-demonic blood.