Thunder in Our Hearts

by ChiioUnicorn

"Hello, my stupid little sister." The moment she heard his voice, she knew in the recesses of her frantic mind that the red demon had arrived. He was dangerous... Yes. She would kill this red thing even if it resulted in her own self-destruction. Even if it was the last thing she would ever do. A twisted take on what could've happened if Kagura never made it to Earth.

2. mad sister

A/N: I wasn't really planning on continuing this but a kind anon gave me a review and their words were heartfelt enough to make me happy. So you can thank them for doing that. I thought I'd try my best to give a good continuation - if only for another chapter.

But you know what's great? The fact that Satoshi Hino (Kamui's voice actor) and Rie Kugumiya (Kagura's voice actress) also star as Saito and Louise from Zero no Tsukaima AND Yuuji and Shana from Shakugan no Shana. In other words, these two are couples in two different series! So maybe the third time's the charm? (lol) Of course, Rie still reigns as the tsundere queen in my heart. Kamui is also Toma from the otome game, Amnesia - so you can imagine my thrill when I found this out because Toma is my absolute favorite yandere boi and Yuuji is also borderline yandere so think of the potential for Kamui going yandere/shot (sorry, i know i have horrible taste lol)

Just know that every time I hear them together, I'm over the moon about it.

Detailed trigger warnings: psychological assault via mind violation, characters dealing with trauma, eating disorder, depression, nonconsensual imprinting, mentions of suicidal attempts and self-harming behavior, discrimination/racism towards aliens, predator/prey dynamics, male possessive behavior bordering on dominance, bullying, cursing, inhumane experimentation, kidnapping/imprisonment, graphic violence, incest context, imprisonment, talk of dysphoria, body image, and appearance. (lots of warnings, i know)

Bold- language, dactylology, Yato speech

Italic- Thoughts, flashbacks, place

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II. mad sister

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Conference Room, Hunter's Herd

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Outer space was a vast, infinite vacuum that no one knew for certain how long it stretched on for. Many died before being able to live through their first light year abroad. What Abuto considered the most valuable thing out here in the silent void was neither intelligence or power - it was the inability of someone's mind to comprehend all its contents. In other words, ignorance.

It's true what earthlings said about ignorance was bliss. Abuto thought they were onto something and found himself envying them..

Earthlings and mundane inhabitants lived on their own little worlds - happily oblivious to what terrors orbited within the black seas of infinity. Abuto didn't hold it against them for not choosing the life of a space voyager. It was one thing to wander aimlessly when warmongering fools like him didn't belong anywhere, and it was another thing not to live anywhere but on the safe ground - where gravity was a source of comfort instead of a constriction.

The secrets of space, slumbering like beasts, have hitherto harmed him and his crew in moderation by far. After all, the Yato were hardy and resilient amanto born to die fighting or die trying. Someday, though, the piecing together or dissociated knowledge would open up such terrifying truths of reality - the mind-shattering insignificance of their existences. For the Yato - one of the strongest races in the universe - nothing could be more terrifying than realizing how small and powerless they were in the chain of command. How little they mattered in the face of cosmic behemoths far more insidious and terrifying than themselves. He heard that just looking at an outer entity was enough to drive a man insane.

Such was the case with that girl - Subject Rouge. Whatever rabbit hole she stumbled into - she was still tumbling through to this day. Abuto was certain she would be the catalyst that would transform their unrest into a waking nightmare.

The men called her the captain's mad sister. Kagura was her name, yet she didn't answer to that. When she woke up for the first time in their ship, she reacted with confusion and fright as though she were surrounded by monsters - and hell, she was a feisty one. If the medics tried to give her care through touching or speaking in soothing tones, she would give them a piece of her mind - or what was left of it, anyway.

She didn't remember Kamui, but she reacted violently whenever he appeared within her line of sight. Not that he was the only one who she loathed to be around. Anyone who approached her would be met with hostile aggression - no matter if they were men or women. Of course, she didn't tolerate being touched at all. Any fool risked life and limb in doing so. They were lucky if she reacted by recoiling with disgust and snapping her jaws in warning instead of her biting off their fingers clean off like the last medic who dressed her head wounds and forgot to give her the right amount of anesthesia. He needed to be rescued by the guards on duty, as she was even worse under intoxicated rage and nearly decimated the entire med bay with her powers. As such, she needed to be moved into a private room under 24/7 watch where the walls were sturdy enough to contain her psionic outbursts. She was kept inside a glass room within another room where four guards monitored her a safe distance away from her. No one was allowed to go near her save for the occasional medical staff, Abuto himself, and of course - Kamui. However, the latter rarely visited his sister with the excuse of "having better things to do than bother with a mindless beast like her".

Gone was the sweet little girl who used to play in the rainy slums of Rakuyou. In her place was a traumatized lab animal with no recollection of the life she lived prior to being locked away and experimented on - reduced to a raving lunatic who screamed if anyone came near her. Her mind was so far gone that she couldn't speak or understand what was going on around her. She only knew of pain and violence - and responded in kind. Then there were the times when she believed she was alone - even though the guard on duty was right behind the glass in front of her. Watching her behavior through the cameras, anyone could sense that there was something haunting about her. Like the way she would stare off listlessly into the side of the room and sit in a single spot for hours on end, her muscles occasionally twitching. Other times, she seemed lost and sad.

Abuto wasn't sure which side of her unnerved him more. He would occasionally hear whispers from sympathetic nurses just within earshot. Some were complaints about their new difficult patient. Others were pitying comments. Take the other day…

"Mana had to take another day off because of that girl. Took a serious blow to the head after she tried giving that girl a haircut. Stupid of her. This is why I hate new hires. What did she think would happen when she came up to her with shears in hand?" A sour-faced Yato nurse had grumbled. "Personally, I can't stand her. Her and her condescending compassion - not to mention she's always making eyes at the captain. That's probably why she tried to get on his sister's good side. Thought she could sleep her way up to the top, that slut." A snort. "Said she would make her pretty as a spring plum. Honestly, did she think all it would take was a sweet voice and gentle touch to her calm down? So conceited. Idiot. I heard the charge nurse put her through the ringer after the captain paid a visit. Eek! So scary!"

"Right? He's handsome though. Those strong arms, his sunny smile, and the way he speaks so gently even when he's being terrifying… kya~!" The other woman swooned. She was the nicest of the bunch. "To think he actually has a little sister! Hey, doesn't she remind you of the Master of Konan? She and the captain bear a striking resemblance to our esteemed Lady!"

"Don't be ridiculous! The captain already denied such allegations years ago!" The first nurse sniffed. "Still, she would be quite a beauty if she weren't so malnourished. Poor dear. She's plumb out of her head. Unable to talk or eat without throwing up. Refuses to sleep or bathe unless she's sedated. She keeps staring at that wall like there's someone there. Thinks it's talking to her, or something."

Abuto remembered being puzzled at the time. That girl was hallucinating about things that weren't there? Even going so far as to interact with such things?

"What was the captain thinking - bringing her here?" A gossipy woman, the third nurse, had hissed. "This is no place for a mental invalid. She needs around the clock care! A soothing environment! Proper therapy! With how short staffed we are and the amount of injured men we get everyday, it's unrealistic to expect us to be able to handle all this! Who does he think we are, miracle workers?!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! We should consider it a privilege to care for a sister from our kind. We're rare enough as it is - being outnumbered by the males and all- AH!""

"OH! V-Vice Captain Abuto?!" When they caught sight of him frowning at them with intense disapproval, the Yato women went pale and ran past him uttering frantic apologies. "P-Please excuse us!"

But they were not wrong,

Due to a unique biological strain, their race consisted almost entirely of men. Whether this was divine retribution or nature's way of population control for one of the most violent races in the universe, Abuto didn't know. However, many Yato, including himself - were instilled with great pride in looking after their young ones and raising them to become strong. Especially young girls. A single female was born to one out of a hundred households. This made them all the more desirable after the great war that desecrated their home planet and drove the Night Rabbits to near annihilation. The aftermath resulted in many Yato becoming scattered across planets, becoming vagrants or mercenaries. Amanto and humans alike hated and feared their kind - making it difficult to find reliable work other than taking on criminal jobs.

What never changed was how now, more than ever, Yato women were largely desired by men of all species. They were objectified as possessions to attain status and glory. Fiercely loving and devoted to their families, their fiery beauty and vivaciousness took the galaxy by storm. Like the goddesses they worshiped, their battle prowess was something to be admired. These women were more than capable of holding their own for days on end in battle. The nurses within their division were no exception. If the men tried so much as making unwanted moves on them, they would make treatment more painful and keep them in the infirmary for days on end. Few fools learned that the hard way after pissing off one of the more bad-tempered ladies one grope too many.

Within their community, the difference of strength between a Yato male and female didn't contain a big gap. One such example was Kouka, the Master of Kouan who tamed the Yamata No Orochi as well as the heart of the greatest hero alien hunter who ever lived - Umibouzu. Even after her death, many looked to her as a goddess among their kind.

Though the same couldn't be said for her children. If Umibouzu and Kouka were worshiped and revered among their people as heroes, then the opposite could be said for their… ruinous offspring. Abuto could imagine skeptics arguing amongst each other on a grand platform about where those two went wrong when it came to parenting. How did two heroic beings produce children who existed on opposite ends of insanity?

Where Kamui was a high-functioning megalomaniac whose name struck fear into the hearts of many - his sister was a mentally unstable nutcase who couldn't form a rational thought in that hard little head of hers. Kamui was effervescent when he wanted to be and could even talk to a lion into purring like a kitten. The girl, on the other hand, was incoherent and unintelligible in her speech as she shrieked and wailed at inanimate objects and people. Kamui masked his intentions with a smile - a friendly gesture there, breaking someone's arm over there… everything he did he always did with a smile. He never let anyone catch on to what he was really thinking. His little sister, on the other hand, didn't bother concealing her raw emotions. She still contained every spark of a firecracker just like when he met her as a child. Anyone who got too close to her would be attacked. In fact, anyone who was stupid enough to enter her vicinity was all it took to throw her into a violent frenzy - such as that well-intentioned but foolish nurse who only wanted to clean up her barbaric mess of hair. She would lash out before retreating into one of her hiding places. Under the bed, behind drawers, huddled in the darkest corner. She didn't like being in places that were brightly lit or had high ceilings and often tried to find the best burrows she could fit her bony body in.

Kamui's hunger for violence was based on bloodlust and being the center of attention. The girl attacked whenever she felt cornered or threatened. Her aggressive hostility stemmed from deep rooted fear of being harmed. She showed no desire to have anything to do with other people and was wholly concerned with being left to her own devices.

A bad brother, and a mad sister. One of them was a cheerfully vicious murderer whose bloodlust ran deeper than the Night King himself. The other was a berserk girl whose unstable psionic powers were linked to her equally volatile emotions. Crossing either of them promised dying a very agonizing death.

The past three and a half weeks were an absolute nightmare for the 7th division. Woe to the vice captain who spent several sleepless nights running around like a headless chicken trying to keep everything in order. Or at least, keep their ship from falling apart no thanks to a certain young man blowing up one of the biggest weapons manufacturing facilities in the galaxy holding a corrupt executive captive, and stealing what had to be the most dangerous and deadly psionic mutant resulting from years of cruel experimentation and abuse.

The captain's mad sister was quite the popular topic around the fleet. Everyone in Harusame knew about the 7th captain blasting Sector 101 to kingdom come after reuniting with his long lost sister. Word spread like wildfire through the chain of command, and he'd been receiving emails from the other captains inquiring about who she was and why their admiral was so dead set on keeping her out of HQ's hands contrary to what Abou ordered him to do.

The higher ups were not pleased when they heard the news. Admiral Asshole - uh, Abou put them through the ringer for causing a substantial loss of profits in the underworld. Thanks to their actions, nearly every crime organization in the galaxy had it out for the Night Rabbit faction in the Harusame - accusing them of sabotaging their access to weapons as well as killing their men who attended the conference at the time of the massacre in order to keep them at a disadvantage should Harusame decide to strike. Now he and Kamui were in the middle of yet another conference call trying to smooth things over. Their fifth negotiation meeting, to be exact. Or rather, it was him trying to keep the two men from killing each other while trying to come up with a solution to break the stalemate.

"You incompentent, irresponsible, self-centered, destructive, intemperate Yato buffoons! Why haven't you reported back to HQ by now like you said you would?! Are you running away in the opposite direction, ah?! You were supposed to be on planet Blitha two weeks ago!" Frothing at the mouth with rabid outrage, the corpulent official was putting them in the wringer over the holographic call. "Do you have any idea how much millions of dollars in damage you've caused?! And now you're refusing to import that troublesome test subject back to us?! This is blatant insubordination, Kamui!" He slammed a fist against his desk, nearly causing his wine bottle to tip over from the sheer force of his fit. "You call yourselves Harusame's Thunder Guns?! More like Blunder Duds! Thanks to your stupid rampage, the Tendoshou are breathing down my neck about this! Well?! What do you have to say for yourselves?!"

"Ahaha! How terrible! I'm very sorry~" Kamui exclaimed, obviously not meaning it. "My bad. If you want, I can send you a box of tissues for wiping up tough stains, Admiral Ass- Abou."

"CALLING ME A SHITSTAIN NOW, YOU LITTLE-! LAUGH IT UP WHILE YOU CAN JUST WAIT ONCE I DOCK YOUR PAY AND HALT YOUR RESOURCE FUNDING FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS!"

"Oh no~ the admiral's mad! Help~!" Laughing merrily, Harusame's Lightning Spear mashed the distress call button over and over, much to the admiral's rising ire. "It's every man for himself!" Turning to his right-hand man, he became solemn. "Abushi, get the escape pods ready in case we can't evacuate everyone in time."

This taunting made Abou howl with frustration.

"TAKE ME SERIOUSLY DAMN YOU!"

Abuto felt a massive headache coming on. Kamui wasn't even trying to be contrite. Once again, this left the vice captain flying solo for damage control. He put on his best smile in hopes of placating the furious amanto. It would do them no good if the fatty decided to starve them out by cutting off their resources.

"N-Now, now, Admiral! There's no need to be drastic! T-There's just been a delay in arriving at HQ as planned! You know, blasted solar storms and all! Ahaha!" He hurried to add on before his idiot captain could make things worse. "I've actually been meaning to discuss a serious topic with you. As you know, we Night Rabbits are an endangered species. T-There have been cases in which we can die from loneliness. This is a young girl we're talking about - one of our own kind. Not to mention she's the captain's little sister. This is a delicate situation to take in, if you please." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kamui scoffing at his attempts to quell things over - mouthing 'ass kisser' at him, which he wisely decided to ignore. "As the 7th division consists solely of Yato, we strongly feel that we are the best fit for monitoring her. What happened in Sector 101 is a prime example of negligence and ill security measures! We wouldn't want anything like that happening in HQ. All this trouble over a little girl - it's not worth fussing over, sir." Before Kamui could interject, Abuto quickly moved his hand over his mouth - trying to maintain his pleasant composure while muscling his young captain into staying quiet.

"Hmm… I understand your sentiments, Vice Captain. I can understand your need to look after her - a rare female of your kind. Especially a young one." The green-skinned amato calmed somewhat upon addressing Abuto. "Be as it may, you are the storm sent by Harusame to keep our name prevalent in the underworld and keep the profits running. You can't exactly do that if you're busy looking after a baby rabbit whose powers are a ticking time bomb." He stole a glance at Kamui, who managed to break Abuto's hold and judo throw him onto the ground. The ruthless redhead let the groaning man get up after a harsh kick to the ribs as a reminder to never touch him so casually ever again.

"No offense, 7th captain Kamui, but you're no use to me dead. The Elders have taken your blowing up Sector 101 as more than a slight. They're accusing you of treachery. It took me a lot to convince them otherwise. You ought to be grateful I went through such trouble keeping you off their radar." If Abou was hoping this would elicit a somber reaction from Kamui, he was sadly mistaken as this notion flew over the latter's head.

"In other words, you want me to play fetch and show my belly." Kamui cut to the heart of the matter. It was clear he was in no mood to be led around in circles. "To think this is happening at an opportune time in which you want to separate me from my useless, batshit baby sister who just so happens to be the failed result of some secret experimental project directed under their watch - something so classified that you won't even give me the details about."

"...All you need to know is that she needs to be refrigerated before she fully recovers. You can't contain her - she's too unstable. That's why she was put under stasis when the project failed." An exasperated Abou informed him as he folded his hands across the table. "Her powers are an antithesis of altana - alba. Those clear crystals harvested from alba veins and spliced into her DNA. Alba is unknown to the general public. If those troublesome Joui rebels were to stumble across it, who knows what countermeasures they'll resort to."

"Hmm… it's a mystery, those hard headed samurai." Abuto seconded.

"So, for the last time, I'm ordering you to drop the director Kuru so his associates can pick him up. Then you're to deliver that girl to HQ so she can be exported to a secure location."

"And by secure location, you mean ship her off to some obscure planet where nobody will be able to find her. Including me." Kamui paraphrased. "Sir."

"Yes." Abou's reply was unhesitant.

"And you're not planning on telling me where?"

"It's for your own good not to know. That way you won't need to worry about ever seeing her again the way she is. It would be easier for you to think of her as dead at this point." The finality in his tone left no room for further argument. Kamui fell silent, which was unusual for him. Abou took this opportunity to change the subject. "Now as far as the briefing for your next task goes, you're to head out to the stormy planet, Blitha. You're to investigate the disappearance of the 5th division. It's been nearly a month since we received a distress signal from Captain Shoukohou. We sent a recon squad to scour their last known sighting, but they haven't made contact with us since." He paused. "The last report states that their ships haven't left the planet, and all their gear is intact and accounted for. However, there's no sign of them anywhere."

Live satellite pictures featured the thunderous purple planet. Unlike Rakuyou, the weather was almost always severe. There were heavy clouds obscuring the rocky landscape.

"As you know, Blitha was only recently discovered. The initial survey suggested that a once extinct civilization was in fact, alive and hiding underground. Proof of the pudding lies in the umbra veins and primitive tools used for excavation." The oily amato then cracked a smile. "If anything, I'm presenting you gentlemen with an opportunity. Whatever you find - inhabitants or artifacts - you get to keep forty percent of the cut. Not bad, huh?"

Forty percent? That was enough for their crew to receive premium supplies for an entire month! They wouldn't have to stop for supply drops for at least two weeks.

"That's one way to sweeten a deal, sir." Behind Abuto's cordial smile was growing suspicion. After all, it was very unlike their greedy and decadent admiral to be so generous. It was clear he was evading Kamui's jabs.

"An ill omen, surely," Abuto remarked. "The lightning there is as bad-tempered as my ex-wife." He chuckled at his own bad joke, a little embarrassed that neither man was laughing. "It makes it nearly impossible to navigate through without a fast guide. If you manage to get past the exposing plains, there's the part where you get lost in deep canyons to worry about." He broke into a grin to hide his unease. "Blitha is even more obscure than the poisonous planet, Kounan. It would make sense to send your best, most resilient division to brave unstable climate change…"

"And also very cunning." Kamui chimed in. "They're a mysterious bunch, those Tendoshou. While I understand their grand scale ambition to unite the cosmos under one banner, I can't help but feel that it's, well, dubious to demand a crew of Yato pirates to go to some uncharted planet and find a missing crew without telling us what to expect. Just when I find out what they've been doing to my sister for the past ten years. Right under my nose this whole time…" There was a sharp edge to his smile. "It makes me wonder what's waiting down there for us." His grin widened a fraction as he leaned in, his hands spread out on the table. His blue eyes pierced into the nervous admiral's. "Accusing me of treachery, you said? It sounds more like they're fearing retaliation. As if I would do such a thing! Not when everyone here is like family to me." Despite proclaiming his affection for Harusame, only someone who knew him as well as Abuto could sense his underlying dissatisfaction. "That really hurts~ questioning my loyalty even though the syndicate is like a second home to me!" He clutched his heart in faux pain. He dropped melodramatics in a flash as he chuckled. "So. Why do you keep insisting that I go light years away on some month-long mission to find a crew that's most likely dead or worse? If I didn't know any better, I would think you were trying to get rid of me."

Abuto wanted to bury his face in his palms at this point. It wasn't that Kamui didn't understand subtlety - the man just didn't care. Abou grudgingly allowed Kamui to get away with a lot of shit that would've gotten lesser men fired since he commanded one of the most deadly divisions in the galaxy.

However, Kamui was pushing his luck with the Admiral.

"I'm offering you reprieve from the harsh revelation regarding your sister, and you repay me by questioning my orders? I resent what you're insinuating, Captain Kamui!" Clearly offended, Abou growled as he wiped the perspiration that formed on his brow with a fine silk handkerchief. "You're not in a position to be making demands, Kamui. Thanks to you pissing off the members of the Intergalactic Health Department's, we lost a lot of backing as well and potential clientele." He weighed the younger man with a flat stare. "I wouldn't be getting complacent if I were you. We're already in a precarious position with the Elders. They're starting to favor the Chidori pirates, whose recent revival is making waves out there with their increase in numbers."

"The Chidori? Seems they're doing well without their missing queen." Tilting his head with a hum, Kamui continued in a pleasant manner. "That said, while I understand the tight spot you're in… what you're asking me to hand over aren't just acquired goods. My men, my weapons, my treasure - everything on this ship belongs to me. Including that thing." He said, obviously referring to his sister. "You'd have to give me a very good reason why I ought to barter her off to those dried up, paranoid geezers, no questions asked. Especially considering the fact that they're refusing to disclose the information as to why they were experimenting on her in the first place." He flashed the admiral a pearly grin, but his eyes were warped with a desire to ruminate those responsible for getting in his way. "I don't really like it when people try to take my things."

"You know, sir…" Abuto coughed. "You're starting to sound like a possessive boyfriend… or a kid who doesn't want to share his favorite toy."

"Hm? Did you say something, Abushi?" There was a dark undercurrent to his deceptively innocent tone.

"N-Nothing, sir!"

"Mark me, Kamui." Abou cut in to growl at said man in warning. "If you're not on Blitha after securing the drop off with Director Kuru and Subject Rouge within three days, I'll send every division after your fleet and blast you all to kingdom come. One way or another, you will do as I command."

"I never said I wouldn't, Admiral. No need to get uptight."

Dark energy sparked between the two pirates as they stared each other down. One smiling while the other one grimacing.

"We'll get underway this second, Admiral." Abuto interjected before things could get any worse. He needed to get these two as far away from each other as possible. "We're already on our way to Earth, and we'll be sure to return to HQ before you can say yesterday. Thank you for your time, Admiral."

"Excellent." Appeased, Abou grinned down at the vice captain. "It's a shame you turned down the position of leading the 7th division all those years ago, Abuto. You're efficient, civil, and far more pleasant to deal with." Abuto could only give a sheepish shrug as their superior shot Kamui a black look before clearing his throat. "That said, I don't want to hear any more trouble from the 7th division, nor do I want to hear any more questions about the Tendoshou or Subject Rouge. Am I clear, Captain Kamui?"

For the most part, Abuto always knew the green-skinned amanto to be a bootlicking, groveling fool obsessed with keeping up appearances. On the other hand, it was his wealth of connections and willingness to exploit others for the organization's benefit that kept their ships aloft and the cash pouring in. There were few times in his life he saw the man genuinely threatening when he asserted his authority over them. Now was one of them. Finally, Kamui seemed to catch on that there was no pushing their leader any further. So he withdrew with a mocking bow.

"Like glass… ' sir ." There was a touch of distaste coloring Kamui's concession. One that Abou picked up on but chose to ignore in favor of moving forward.

"As you were." Taking a big gulp of his wine, the admiral's stiffness went away as he went slack in his chair. "I'm glad we could reach an understanding, gentlemen. May your voyage be a safe and swift one."

"Aye, admiral." Both Yato men saluted their leader before filing their things and moving to conclude the meeting.

"One more thing, Kamui." The admiral's eyes zeroed in on the young man as he continued. "I do hope to see a change in attitude by the time you report back. The only reason I'm not taking any repercussions against you for your insubordination is because of your clean track record by far. You haven't failed a single mission given to you no matter how ridiculous the odds." This grudging admission did little to hide his disappointment. "What you've managed to accomplish these past five years as captain while still being so young… It's remarkable." Kamui didn't appear moved by this praise, nor did he care. "But understand that you're not the only one with talent. There are… interesting candidates vying for your position. So, I hope you won't let me down."

"I'll keep that in mind, Admiral."

Abou only nodded before turning off the communicator, leaving behind a black screen. When they left the room, Abuto made his displeasure clear.

"Oh, captain, my captain." Abuto snided to the shorter male ahead of him, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Kamui kept walking as though he hadn't heard him. "Arguing with the admiral for two hours, and we're somehow still in one piece." He said the last part sarcastically. "Your harum-scarum ways haven't changed a bit since you first arrived here. The women here are so used to seeing your mild-mannered ways. They don't know how abrasive you really are."

"It's his fault for stonewalling me." There was no humor in his voice. "I ask one simple question, and all he can do is flap his gums and give me the runaround." Their boots echoed against the catwalk overlooking several operations below where the workers were. "Let's go pay a visit to our friend, Nuru. We'll have a… pleasant chat." It was clear Kamui was planning to wring whatever information he could from the fishy director. The only problem was that they couldn't crack down on him the same way they did to their prisoners. He was supposed to be their "guest", after all.

What was he planning to do? Whatever he had in mind, it didn't sit well with Abuto one bit.

"There are some things we're not meant to know, Boss." Abuto sighed, scratching his stubble. They trekked across the main corridor with staff bustling in the background. Wide windows reflected a sea of stars across their capes, giving the impression that they were walking on a nebula. "I'm telling you, it's a bad idea to keep sticking our noses where they don't belong."

"No?" Kamui didn't stop until they reached a long window overlooking the training grounds below. A squad of rookies were performing conditioning drills under Ungyou's harsh instruction. Both captain and vice captain observed as Ungyou went around correcting their forms.

"Secrets are secrets for a reason, Abushi rabbit. There's no honor among us pirates, but even they know not to involve the families of our kin. That's the main reason a lot of men took up joining Harusame in the first place - to take care of their families when government financial backing couldn't. The membership contract included the mutual agreement to never involve kin." An eerie shadow fell over the redhead as he smirked at the older gentleman. "Put her into cold storage? Yeah, right." He snorted. "The fact that they're demanding she be kept under lock and key instead of wiping her memories and letting her live elsewhere is testament that they still plan to use her in whatever nefarious scheme they're plotting. So grand that they're afraid of what'll happen if word of it leaks out. It's even more suspicious that they never want me to see her again." He caught wind of Abuto's knowing smirk and scowled. "You can quit looking like you know better, Abushi rabbit. I would never go out of my way to languish in the company of a broken doll. I'm not like Housen - needing a pretty, pliant girl to inflate my ego. He's a fool for letting a weak woman get the better of him and succumbing to stupid feelings such as loneliness and affection."

"Speaking of women…" Abuto decided to steer the conversation back to the matter at hand. "What do you plan to do with that sister of yours? Her mental state isn't exactly ideal for interrogation… and even if she does know anything, there's no way we can communicate with her. She can't speak or understand our language. You haven't even visited her once since she was moved to the backroom." He noticed that Kamui's smile was fading before reappearing once again. "So. Do you plan on handing her over to HQ, or are you going to keep her hostage here until you finally get answers?"

"You know…" Closing his eyes, the captain let out a long suffering sigh. "You already asked me this before."

"And you still haven't given me an answer."

"What I do with her is none of your business, Abuto. If that asswipe believes he can blindside me by using her against me as leverage, he's got another thing coming. I don't take stupid orders from a conniving rat like him." There was a sneer in his voice. "Or do you think I can't handle a weakling like her?"

"No, but it does become my business if you plan on keeping her around when it poses a risk to our crew, Captain." Abuto retorted coolly. "Especially if you have no idea what you're doing. Maybe you and Housen aren't so different, after all."

"Abushi…" Kamui growled in warning.

"I didn't approve of your choices then, and I don't approve of them now." Abuto informed, putting his foot down even as Kamui glared at him with the intensity of a thousand suns. "I don't make it my business to stick my nose into family matters, but if this involves compromising the safety of our division, then it's time for a wake-up call." He said. "I hate to agree with the fatty, but he has a point." He said. "There are some things you just can't control with despotism. If you can't handle her, then stop keeping her around here. If you don't know what to do with her, then speak up." He sighed. "Yare, yare… you always did have a bad habit of picking dumb fights and then leaving a mess for others to clean up after. For you, I guess it would be nothing short of a miracle if you went a week without provoking someone."

Yeesh. For all his tactical genius, he can be such a moron . Abuto scoffed. What a hopeless captain I have.

"Come to think of it, next month's operation involves visiting the Carosh Cartel and burning up their storage sheds holding Teisenkyou after they ignored our warning not to compete with us. Those Inusei traffickers are going to be a hassle to manhandle without someone to stall them." Kamui hummed in thought before turning to Abuto with a brilliant smile. "I'm so glad you're volunteering to be the decoy! Thanks a lot! With you staying behind, we'll be able to make a clean escape!"

"B-Boss…!" Abuto choked out in horror. "C-Come on, that's too harsh! I'm only saying all this out of worry, you know!"

"I know! And I'm showing you my gratitude!"

"By throwing me to the wolves?!" No pun intended. "Just because I disagree with you on some points doesn't mean you should make an example of me after all the years of service I've devoted to you!" Abuto protested. "Damn it, don't just kill me off on a whim like that! That's abuse of power! You're making me out to be a chew toy for those dogs!"

"Woof." Kamui supplied a toothy grin.

"Alright already!" Abuto held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "I'm not undermining your judgment, but you grilling Admiral Asshole hasn't exactly put us at an advantage. Maybe if we hadn't blown the facility to smithereens, we could've performed a more thorough investigation before everything was destroyed." Abuto said with a sigh. "The only leads we have now are Dr. Nugo's audio logs and the neural chip extracted from your sister's head. Our doctors and engineers are working hard to restore the data. Since Abou won't let us interrogate the director, we're in the dark about what they're really up to."

"...I know. You don't have to say it. I shouldn't have been so hasty." Kamui's admission was casual, dismissive. "That place was such an eyesore, I did the stars a favor by wiping that filthy stain off the cosmos," He continued to watch the rookies spar with each other in fisticuffs. "For wasting my time and energy, I collected their overdue fee plus added interest in blood."

But it's not just that, is it, Captain?

Abuto knew a thing or two about hiding secrets. People lied as easily as they breathed. But when they were hiding something, there was always some physical sign that gave them away. Aversion of eye contact, accelerated heart rate, and so on. He'd known the captain since he was a fresh recruit - ripe and ruthless at age nine. He didn't have such obvious signs of being a liar, but eventually Abuto figured it out.

Looking down at the captain's side, he caught the slightest twitch of his right hand. A movement so subtle anyone could have overlooked it, but it was there. That was what gave Kamui away. Whenever he lied or spoke half-truths, his right hand would be tempted to curl into a fist. He was a fighter through and through, so much that it was instinctive of him to defend against his inner conflicts.

Yare, yare. You don't have to try so hard to hide it. Abuto silently mused. Anyone would be perturbed after realizing the time you spent serving a criminal organization coincided with your sister slowly losing her mind after years of being subjected to twisted experiments. That which our own organization approved of. It's disillusioning to say the least. These were the thoughts brewing in the vice captain's head as he looked at Kamui's back. A part of you might even feel responsible for what happened to her - perhaps even guilty for not checking up on her. But you probably believed that you left her in good hands - that she was better off without you.

Abuto recalled the moment an injury-ridden, blood drenched Kamui arrived with the young girl in his arms as he boarded the Hunter's Herd . His captain never took an interest in people unless they could benefit him in some way. He couldn't see that girl fitting into his captain's usual criteria. She was too broken to contend in a fight and couldn't manage a proper sentence to extract information from. So for someone who claimed not to be shackled by emotional bonds, what reason was he contradicting himself now? Why go through all this trouble for a "weakling little sister"?

Remembering the flash of horror in his eyes after Nugo's revelation on how they broke her during his absence, Abuto was briefly reminded of his own painfully stupid choices when he was his captain's age. In particular, his worst mistake that he continued to regret to this day… It was eleven years ago.

"Atsushi! NOO!"

His wife's anguished scream ripped him out of his murderous trance as he was forced to confront the reality in front of him. His nine year old deaf son laid unconscious and unresponsive bleeding from a gaping head wound caused by none other than him. The proof lay within his bruised knuckles stained with the child's blood.

"Atsushi… Please open your eyes! Look at Mommy!" The brunette woman pleaded with her son, choking on her tears as she desperately tried to stop him from bleeding out. "Stay with me. Don't go anywhere! You can't lose after just one punch - that's not how we raised you!"

Mute with horror, a younger Abuto could only watch as the ties between him and his family frayed apart. Weeks of arguing with his woman over money and his lackadaisical criminal life culminated into what had to be the worst night of his life. It ended with both of them losing their tempers and him succumbing to his Yato blood - lashing out at her. It was his son who paid the price - taking the hit meant for her in order to protect her.

"ABUTO!" His wife shrieked at him in desperate fury mixed with mortification. "Do something, damn you! Are you just going to let him die?! If he dies before me, I'll never forgive you! Do you hear me?! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF YOU LET HIM DIE!"

In the present, Abuto swallowed the sourness building up in his throat along with the painful memory that continued to haunt him to this day.

No matter how hard people had tried to outrun it, the past had a way of catching up. Shaking off bonds was no easy task. It was easy to believe that people didn't matter to you so long there were miles of distance between them, but once the subject of interest was within your line of sight…

Well, some things were easier said than done.

"TAA!"

A battle cry from below drew the men's attention as they witnessed Ungyou sparring against five rookies in a one-man standoff. Ungyou was a large man even by Yato standards. Tall, broad-shouldered, and sinewy. He towered over every crew member like a lumbering shadow. With sable eyes and heavy brows, the bearded man had been here almost as long as Housen had been - even before Abuto. He mentored almost every recruit accepted into their division until he deemed them "decent enough fighters". He even trained Kamui for a time before Housen took the boy under his wing to groom him into his successor. Back then, Ungyou was fiercely devoted to Housen. Perhaps he might have been even more bloodthirsty than Kamui was, but then again - they all had been like that before Kamui dominated them into subservience. It took time, but eventually he grew to respect Kamui as their leader. He was quiet but earnest and looked after his trainees under strict instruction - like they were his own sons. Speaking of which…

Most of them were crow-haired and well-built save for one freckled redhead - who was scrawny as a scarecrow compared to his toned companions. Their inky uniforms and flowy trousers made them look like storm clouds dancing in the heart of a maelstrom. As opposed to using their trademark umbrellas, the braided men were allowed to use whatever means necessary in order to take down the veteran fighter. As such, they used blades, polearms, and hammers.

"Oh look, that one is using a rope dart. Those are really hard to use, but he looks like he's handling it pretty well! He should scream, 'get over here' or something Scorpion would say*!" Kamui whistled, his azure eyes glowing with anticipation. Abuto could tell he would rather be down there battling but settled for admiring the variety of weapons they were wielding. Ever the enthusiast for appreciating different ways to kill, Kamui looked like an artist critiquing a gallery of violence. "And that one is wielding a meteor hammer. Wow, look at the size of that thing! And those spikes would really hurt if they got under your skin!" He exclaimed with a shudder. "This should be interesting."

Fueled by adrenaline and fierce competition, they sped things up. The Yato men sparred in a circle as their limbs flew to outrace who could land the decisive blow first. A battle of using nothing but their own bodies and bloodlust. This was nothing like the samurai's romanticized bullshit about honor and nationalism. Or other amanto's showcase of using technologically advanced weapons. Why the Yato fought lied within the reason itself - it was in their blood. Abuto once timed himself being able to land eight strikes per second, but these men appeared to make their blows land even faster than that. Their bodies jerked from one direction to the other in rhythm - not unlike a dance, Abuto supposed. When it came to their way of martial arts, the Yato strategy was to overpower their opponents using intimidation and brute strength, so they couldn't muster their composure to sufficiently counterattack. Their fight created a domino effect as they tumbled one after another. To outsiders of their tribe - such as earthlings, it appeared to be a simultaneous tornado of movement, blinding speed, and a blur too fast for the eye to process. This was no such problem for either the captain or his second-hand.

"Teeyaagh!" Silver metal whistled through the air as a meteor hammer, true to its name, mashed Ungyou square in the chest - breaking through armor and skin. Blood permeated the air as the older man back flipped away from an oncoming rope dart. He snatched the both respective weapons by their connected chains and pulled the surprised rookies towards him with brute force.

"Fuc-!"

"ACK-!"

Grabbing them by the heads, he knocked them unconscious as he forced them to eat dirt. As he was doing this, the other rookies were on him in a flash.

"Hyaaah!" The other three were relentless in their group attack. Even though they were green, they were stubborn and forceful. They forced Ungyou on the defensive, never giving him enough time to retaliate. Up against a big fighter like them, they went for his soft parts - the back of his legs, his groin, neck, and ears. When Ungyou tried to guard, one of the rookies hooked his swords on the back of his heels and pulled - forcing him to trip and hit the ground. Then they descended on him like a pack of wolves.

Ungyou, however, wasn't called the 7th Division's Tank for nothing. His incredible stamina and physical prowess was the reason he was usually put on the front lines. Rolling on his side to avoid earth-shattering blows that leveled the ground, he got back up and met them head on. He took every hit like a champ - not even crying out when they managed to break several of his ribs and even dislocate his shoulder.

"Ungyou might've outdone himself this time. This year's rookies look promising. To think they couldn't even hold a candle to him several months ago - now he's got them trained to corner an enemy far stronger than themselves." Abuto commended with a twist of his lips. "He's bleeding all over the place."

"But a cornered rabbit is more dangerous than a wolf." Kamui pointed out, keeping his eyes focused on the battle. Soon it was clear why.

Twenty minutes in, and eventually, the rookies started to tire as their strikes became slower. Ungyou went on the offensive - hitting hard and fast. The ground shook as he thundered across the gap and body slammed a man into the nearby wall. The target let out a gurgled gasp before collapsing on the ground, unconscious.

"YAH!" Ungyou caught the fist meant for his face as he dodged an oncoming kick with ease. Still holding onto the man, he kneed him in the stomach before striking the other man's head with the back of his elbow. They crumpled to the ground as well.

WHIZZT.

Ungyou wasn't able to avoid the arrow that tore into the flesh of his upper brow. The silent tanker, for his part, didn't even flinch. He eyed the final rookie wielding a bow and arrows. It was the freckled redhead. Beads of sweat gleamed on his balding head, wetting the fringe of his black hair like a shadow of a crown. Covered in cuts, he wiped the blood away from his beard. He squared his jaw and stepped forward.

Both warriors got into stance, circling each other like rivaling predators.

Ungyou popped his neck and cracked his knuckles, not bothering to wipe the blood raining into his left vision. The last rookie took an arrow from his quiver and used it to pull back his bow - taking aim at his superior. This silent exchange brought Kamui and Abuto leaning on banisters to see better. Both men threw aside their cloaks, and then they were off.

"He's a quick draw." Kamui noted the rookie's talent, as he was able to fire fast enough to keep up with Ungyou. His movements were smooth and precise, keeping a steady aim on his target while launching multiple arrows at once. Somersaulting to avoid an onslaught of metal rain, Ungyou lifted his gauntlet to deflect most sharp projectiles. Picking up a pair of chui* , the bearded Yato let out a mighty roar as he charged at the archer.

Dodging every swing of those giant hammers made it impossible for the archer to draw, especially with Ungyou closing in on him. One heavy jab from the giant was all it took to disarm the other man. He followed up with pommel strikes all over his body. Six hits to the arms and face - causing him to lose his bow as it flew across the room. Bleeding from the mouth and covered in deep lacerations, the archer put up his fists and went for a counterattack.

"RAH!" One downward swing with both hammers leveled the playing field as debris flew, sending chunks of steel flying. The rookie jumped and landed on his hammers, preventing him from lifting them back up. He kicked the hilts clean off the heads, rendering them no better than sharp sticks. Ungyou took one annoyed look at the broken handles before throwing them aside.

"...!" The freckled redhead slammed his hands against Ungyou's ears in a double palm heel strike, ripping down along his bulging neck and digging his elbow into his windpipe. This caused the bearded man to choke and stumble back. Pulling him forward by the braid, the rookie bashed his knee into the man's face - breaking his nose as well as his cheekbone. Blood pooled down the length of his white pants, deepening with every connected hit.

By the time Ungyou managed to break free, his face resembled a squashed plum. The veteran retaliated with a deep jab into the other man's solar plexus, causing him to retch. He then proceeded to come down on the rookie with a cold vengeance.

Finally, Ungyou made his special attack. His hands shot out like rattlesnakes as he grabbed the younger man's face and neck and forced his head between his thighs and lifted him into the air - forcing him to hang upside down with his legs dangling in mid-air.

"GRAAAAGH!" Ungyou belted out a ferocious roar as he finished the fight with his infamous piledriver move - slamming the other man's head into the ground with such force it created an aftershock. As the only man left standing in the ring, Ungyou was once again the victor. He roused the grumbling rookies awake. The five young men nursed their injuries while listening to their mentor's harsh rebuking. Abuto knew the quiet giant long enough to understand that despite how gruff and austere he acted, he really was secretly impressed that they managed to come a long way to almost beating him.

"Not bad. At the pace they're going, they might even pass as half-decent dummies. Right now, they're just meat bags." Came Kamui's final verdict.

"Not everyone has natural talent like you, Captain. For these guys, it takes more time. Not to mention, you had the advantage of learning from the Night King himself - one of the best fighters within our tribe." Abuto pointed out, only to be exasperated when he realized the man was once again - ignoring him in favor of sizing up his latest potential opponent. The rookie who almost managed to beat Ungyou. He was in the middle of a nonverbal conversation with his superior when he felt the heat of Kamui's gaze on his back.

Twinkling eyes met wary ones as a strange energy began to build. Appearance wise, they were similar in age and looks. However, there couldn't have been a bigger bridge of a difference between both red-haired teenagers. Abuto could immediately tell that they were like the sun and moon. The brightness of Kamui's long, wavy vermillion locks clashed with the other's unruly dark red tresses cropped just below his ears. They both possessed blue eyes. However, Kamui's burned a fiery azure that reminded Abuto of fire burning at its hottest. Whereas the rookie's reflected a silvery blue- like the color of an ocean on a rainy day. Kamui demanded the center of attention and possessed a flair for the dramatic, and the rookie was more subdued

They held each other's gazes until the underling finally realized who he was staring at and sprang to attention. Saluting both captains, he averted his eyes and joined his fellow comrades in cleaning up. This didn't go unnoticed by Ungyou, who nodded to them in acknowledgement before going about his business.

"Making friends already, Captain?" Abuto joked as he followed his line of sight. "That one you were looking at… well, I forgot his name, but he's an unusual one." To answer Kamui's questioning glance, he went on to explain. "He's completely deaf." As though to prove his claim, another mischievous rookie snuck up behind him and screamed as loud as he could - but the former didn't even appear to notice as he collected the broken weapons. The other rookies snickered, only to pale with fright as Ungyou smacked all of them upside the head for slacking off. Abuto "conversed" with the man several times before. Through sign language, of course. Raising a son who happened to share the same disability enabled Abuto to communicate with him along with others who'd lost their hearing to injury or illness. The young man was polite, helpful, and kept to himself. Abuto liked him.

"Oh, is that right?" Kamui no longer appeared to be interested as he strided off. "Well, memorize it for me. Tell him if he can manage to get the better of Ungyou and you at the same time, come and find me." In other words, he needed to hurry up and get stronger so the captain could issue a challenge to him.

"Yes, sir." Abuto chuckled.

They were on their way to the interrogation room where Nuru was being held. A few doors down marked the vault where Kamui's sister was being held under lockdown. Two guards were stationed outside the oval door, who saluted both men upon seeing them. A thought occurred to Abuto as he decided to make a temporary detour. He backtracked to the nearest vending machine and put in his order.

"Vinegared kelp and coffee?" Abuto heard Kamui snort behind him. "Doesn't sound like an appetizing combination." His pointed glance towards the heavily guarded room made it clear he knew what Abuto was thinking. "The only reason I've been tolerating your visits to that thing is because I find your failures at fraternizing mildly amusing. I can't believe you're still at it."

Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't quiet by now. Abuto grumbled as he headed towards the big door. Kamui followed close behind.

"Or could it be… you're actually into little girls? Abushi, I never knew you were such a dirty man!" Kamui let out a melodramatic gasp, shuddering in exaggerated disgust before moving away from him. "Don't come any closer! I don't want to catch your twisted sexuality!"

"Hey, that's not-!" Abuto began to protest, only to be drowned out as Kamui prodded the confused guards.

"Hey, you two. Did you know that Abuto, my right-hand man here, is actually a raging lolicon?!" Somebody ought to give this kid a medal. His acting was really something else. Abuto would've been laughing if only he wasn't the latest target of his captain's vicious pranks. "Somebody put a stop to this pervert's machinations before he snatches more cradles!"

Both Yato men exchanged puzzled glances while throwing suspicious glances his way. The cautious revulsion in their eyes pierced through his body worse than being skewered by a thousand needles.

"Please stop it!" Abuto was horrified. And completely and utterly humiliated beyond belief. He was this close to loading his mouth with bullets. At least it would be a more honorable way to go compared to being flagged down as a pedophile for the rest of his days.

"Don't be embarrassed, Abushi. I already knew you were an abnormal one to begin with. If that's what you're into, who am I to judge? I don't kinkshame."

"Captain, I'm begging you, please shut up."

"Then don't waste my time with this nonsense." Kamui suddenly became serious as he stopped smiling. "Quit while you're ahead, Abushi. Don't get so attached to her out of some misguided sense of pity. You think bribing her in exchange for her hand games again is going to get her to spill useful information? You just said it was pointless trying to communicate with someone as crazy as her. All she does is imitate you like a monkey in exchange for food. She doesn't even know what she's imitating, let alone what it means." His blue gaze sharpened into a glare, and Abuto could've sworn he saw a flicker of something close to possessiveness. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but I'll remind you anyway. Don't treat her like a pet. She's not yours."

But she's yours to monopolize? Abuto bit down on this retort.

"Firstly, belittling her is not my intention." Abuto spared him a nonchalant glance as he nodded to the guards, who saluted before stepping out of the way for him. "Second, it's called 'sign language'. Warriors under a silent oath used to communicate this way." An oath I wish you would take, Abuto thought. "I figured if we were going to keep her around, we could at least try to find some means of communicating with her… at least until you decide what you want to do with her. It's better than keeping her locked up like a pet and allowing her to rot from neglect."

"She won't die. I didn't kill her back then."

"You came close to it, though." Abuto's response came equally unflinching as he reminded the younger man that he half-carried, half-dragged the girl, broken and bleeding onto their ship because he couldn't bring himself to finish the harrowing task of putting her out of her misery. She ended up needing four surgeries to keep her body from falling apart now that she no longer had their bloodline's regenerative abilities. "Like I mentioned before, it would've been kinder to put her out of her misery. You won't let her go, and you won't let her die. You're only prolonging her suffering out of spite towards our superiors." Abuto knew that it was hypocritical of him to berate him, but his inner distaste was too busy rearing its ugly head to give a damn at the moment. All nasty thoughts he suppressed came flooding out like a broken dam. "All of us here are vicious men, but you might be the most ruthless of all. I never once thought mercy could be cruel until I met you, Captain."

Abuto could tell by the jump in his throat and quickening of his breath that his words dealt him a deep blow - one that was powerful enough to stun him into agitated silence. Suddenly, he realized why Kamui never went out of his way to visit her until now. A part of Abuto understood that he, as a failure of a parent and husband, was in no position to lecture his young captain. After all, none of them here were saints. He himself committed terrible deeds he would take to the grave. However, the man's indecisiveness had been grating on his nerves for the past several weeks. His own bleeding heart and soft spot towards Yato children didn't help matters, either.

We're both heartless fools when it comes to our own families, it seems. Abuto glanced down at his scarred hands, the same hands that destroyed what he was supposed to protect so many years ago. Our race must be cursed. To possess a bloodlust so strong that it drives us to destroy what we cherish most.

Silence descended between them - thick and heavy enough to be sliced by cheese wire. Abuto didn't dare say another word.

The hydraulics made a snakelike hiss as the mechanism spun until the oval door opened with a weighty groan, releasing the air trapped between its seams. A camera glowed in the far corner, greeting them with an eerie blue light. A cold draft escaped from the dark room as one by one, lights began to illuminate the walkway towards the padded airlock chamber where the teenage girl was being held. Her room was sparse, containing the bare minimum of furniture: a table, a commode, a chair, and a small bed. Tiny holes dotted on the ceiling, barely visible to the naked eye, would release a nontoxic neutralizing gas whenever she became combative with the medical staff. Through the glass screen, they could see her huddled near a corner with her back facing them. The sight of her was enough to render both men into contemplative silence.

Cerise hair pooled around her all over the padded floor, reflecting an iridescent orange in the dim lighting of the room. It was brittle and far longer than his and Kamui's combined - too long to be manageable. White layers of her pajamas looked baggy and overflowing on her pitifully frail body. Nurses weren't able to find clothes on the ship that could fit a small girl like her. Thus, they needed to be rolled up so they could actually see her hands and legs. Most of her injuries were healed, but she made many attempts to bite and claw herself to the point of reopening her stitches and causing extensive damage to her already thin and scarred skin. Thus, most of her body was still garbed in thick gauze.

She hadn't noticed them yet, as she was busy playing with a bangle bracelet made from soft red metal grooved with tiny pink crystals. They couldn't see her face, but they could hear giggling and whispering as she rocked back and forth on her heels. It was as though there were two people in there, even though it was just her. There was something off about this. That nagging feeling persisted in the back of Abuto's mind as he observed her odd behavior. Kamui's raised brow confirmed he was having similar suspicions, but neither of them could prove it.

"...Call that hand game of yours whatever you want, Abuto. It doesn't change the fact that you're wasting your time. After all, it looks like she's found better company on her own." As though to prove his point, Kamui entered the room and alerted his sister to their presence. Startled blue eyes glowed pink as she took them in, her anger and fear rolling off her in waves. She rose at full height, all five feet and some inches of her. Shell-pink tendrils licked the air above her like protruding ears, twisting her shadow to resemble a rabbit's.

While not physically intimidating, she possessed a ferocity that proved dangerous when pushed too far. It was no wonder Kamui had a difficult time wrenching a win over her (no matter how much he denied it). What Abuto saw in her was fury. A great and terrible fury at being alive. He'd seen it before in resentful soldiers suffering from trauma, but that was nothing like this. Her reason was lost to madness. It consumed her soul. It was like a terrible thirst, and no matter how much blood was spilled - it could never be quenched.

Kagura had a small frame, large eyes and delicate features. She would've been quite a cutie if not for her poor condition and the dark fury contorting her face. A snarl escaped through clenched teeth. Her hair rose like fire as she lashed a pink tendril towards her brother like a whip - just inches away from his calm face as it hit the glass. That was her one and only warning for him not to take another step. As for Abuto himself, all he received from her was an offhand growl as her attention was mainly focused on Kamui. Abuto supposed he ought to thank the stars that she didn't hate him as much as she did the others. Since he was one of the few people who didn't try to test her boundaries since the moment they met - she seemed to tolerate his presence better than others - albeit with great reluctance. Of course, that didn't mean she trusted him in the slightest - if her scorching glare was anything to go by.

"Greeting your brother with an ambush, bar none?" Kamui noted with a blithe smile. Sarcasm bled through his faux pleasant voice as he leaned an arm against the glass, eying her with mild interest. Once again, she lashed out at him. The glass hummed from the vibrations she created. This didn't appear to anger him in the slightest, in fact her actions only elicited his amusement. "Even though your body is brittle, your attitude is still that of a Yato's. Onii-chan missed you, too."

Confusion flickered in those eyes, but his taunting wasn't lost on her as she raised her chin in defiance. Returning his disdain with a disgusted sniff, she regarded him as though he were an insect. She appeared as though she was barely restraining herself from pouncing him. Her visceral loathing for the man couldn't have been clearer. She didn't need memories of their complicated history to fuel her grudge, it seemed. It was as though her ire towards him was instinctive - perhaps protecting her from him. Abuto was hazy on the details, but he sensed the underlying fear and unspoken pain in her eyes as she regarded her brother.

Kamui, for his part, either didn't appear to notice or didn't care. The telltale twitch in his right hand told Abuto his emotions ran deeper than that. He was hiding something.

"Uwah, how scary." Kamui commented, a smirk tugging at his lips. "What's wrong? You don't like your big brother anymore?" In response, she snapped her teeth at him. "Shame. You used to be so cute… clinging to me and bragging to the neighborhood kids that you would marry me…" He trailed off in thought before recollecting himself. "Well, whatever." With a shrug, he pushed himself off the wall. "You can't kill me if you can't get a hold of your mind." Turning to his subordinate, he gave a mocking flourish as though to say "she's all yours" before stepping away with his arms crossed.

And yet…

Abuto frowned, scratching his chin.

Compared to before, her behavior was rather subdued this time. Usually by now, she would be howling and trying to tear down the barrier trying to murder them. But the launched projectiles he expected never came. It probably helped that Kamui ordered all the furniture to be drilled to the ground since he was tired of having to replace them every time she went through one of her hellish tantrums.

"Something's different…"

Murderous intent burned in her eyes, but she didn't dare approach the glass. Maybe she finally realized the futility of wasting her energy? Or maybe she was simply tired of trying? He studied her. No, that wasn't it. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to pulverize them, but something was clearly holding her back. She kept turning her head to the side as though listening to someone behind her whispering in her ear. This strange show of restraint made him even more suspicious, but he couldn't prove anything without going in there. Frankly, he didn't want to test his luck with her after all the trouble he went through to come this far. He shot a glance over at Kamui, who merely stretched his arms behind his neck as he gave him a derisive smile - daring him to make a fool of himself.

Feeling annoyed, Abuto wanted nothing more than to wipe that annoying smirk off his face.

"Yare, yare…" Sighing, he scratched his head in puzzlement before shaking his head. In any case, he decided to let it go for now as his next task would be challenging. He needed all the patience he could summon for today's lesson.

The crinkling of the kelp wrapper diverted her attention to him. Abuto made sure to keep his movements slow and easy as he approached the slot meant to deliver her food trays. It was a tubing system separated by an annex sealed by airlock sliders so she couldn't pick her way out like she tried before. She didn't take her eyes off of him at all.

"...It must be boring, staying here with nothing to do. Sorry for that. We're a rough sort of crowd, so we're not used to entertaining guests. Especially not little ladies like yourself." Although he came to negotiate terms about her staying on the ship in exchange for not terrorizing the medical staff, he knew he had to be cautious in dealing with her. Patience was key here. One misstep was all it took to tumble back to zero. She didn't give him any indication that she was listening as her eyes were transfixed on the food, but seeing as she wasn't actively trying to tear him limb from limb - he took this as a positive sign to continue. He made sure she was paying attention as he raised his right hand.

" Kelp." He signed to her. Using his hands to spell the letters. " K-E-L-P."

The girl suddenly went quiet. Curiosity laced with bewilderment colored her face as she stared at him. She knew this game, as he taught her these letters before in her childhood- even if she couldn't remember. But he knew that she knew what he wanted her to do - as this wasn't the first time they've done this. The only question was - was she in the mood to play their little game?

" K-E-L-P." He mouthed, his hand moving much slower this time. It felt like an eternity passed until she made her decision. The pink in her eyes dimmed to a guarded blue as her tendrils faded away. She never once blinked as she took slow steps towards the glass - stopping right before him. Abuto kept his face neutral and his body still as possible as she stared daggers into his brown eyes. And he waited.

Her white hand rose as she copied him to the letter. He didn't move as she had made a mistake. Seeing as this didn't evoke the reaction she wanted, she scowled and repeated the word back to him. She was one letter off. Still, he didn't budge. She needed to solve this on her own. He could sense her rising frustration and recalled the times she lost her temper because she couldn't get the words right. Flecks of pink sparked her corneas. She bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood and clenched a trembling fist, clearly livid and on the verge of another tantrum.

Behind him, he could sense Kamui's previous indifference giving way to interest.

Emitting a harsh exhale, the girl forced herself to calm down and think it over. Several minutes passed until she finally relaxed. She unclenched her fist as she tried one more time.

"K. E." She hesitated before continuing. "K. E. L. P."

Satisfaction welled up within him as he suppressed a smirk, pleased at how much she improved since their last session. Pressing the button, he sent over her reward. At last she tore her eyes away from his and waited impatiently for the tube to be delivered on her side. He watched with mild amusement as she tore open the wrapper and scarfed down her favorite snack. It was the only food she could tolerate without throwing it back up. He could feel Kamui's stunned silence behind him as they watched her eat without being forced to - without the assistance of a feeding tube. He could only imagine the look on his face seeing that someone had finally managed to get his stubborn little sister to do something they wanted her to do out of her own volition.

"A monkey you might call her, but she's a clever monkey, Captain." Abuto remarked. "There's a saying that madness and genius go hand in hand. She's picking up the alphabet faster than I expected." This time, he couldn't help flashing him a quick grin - delighting in the astonishment he showed.

Come to think of it, this was the first time Kamui ever saw him conversing with her like this. He resisted the urge to make another smug comment and settled for enjoying his coffee. Tipping his head back, he welcomed the roasted rich liquid quenching his throat.

"Alright, so you managed to get her to do… something else for once. It's not that impressive." Hearing him grumble, Abuto turned to him with an arched brow. "So, what were you saying to her?"

"I was just making small talk. Telling her it was kelp, and she spelled it back to me. She spells kelp, she gets kelp. I tried it with several other objects - like that bangle." He gestured to the bracelet she hid under her bed. "And now she won't give it back."

"...So, does she know what she's spelling?"

Abuto suppressed a smirk seeing his captain try his hardest to maintain an indifferent air despite him obviously not wanting to be left out of the loop. Well, even Harusame's Lightning Spear was still just a teenager. All teenage boys went through a stubborn phase of masking one's true feelings behind a show of pretending not to give a shit about anything to avoid feeling awkward.

"No. She doesn't understand yet that the things I give her have names. But right now, I just want her fingers to become familiar with the letters." The skeptic look on Kamui's face told him he still wasn't convinced that his efforts weren't completely a waste. They watched her crawl on all fours to burrow under her bed, staring at them from her cover of darkness.

"...Agnosia, was it?" That's what her doctor diagnosed her with. According to him, it was a condition that distorted her senses and her ability to perceive her environment. Like looking at broken mirrors that reflected a limbo of distorted images. He detailed her chalked up her condition resulting from years of trauma. Her battle with Kamui also caused heavy damage to her brain to the point where she couldn't recognize everyday objects or even people.

"Maybe I'll send another girl who looks like her to take her place. They wouldn't even notice the difference." Kamui became cold again. "If you want to know why I didn't kill her, it's because she just wouldn't die." He shook his head as he tore his gaze away from her, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm a selfish man who doesn't mind doing dirty work. I have no problem using others for my own gain… so I can't do what you're expecting me to do, Abushi." He turned to him. "I can't take care of her. I'm not her parent or her babysitter. I tried fulfilling that role, and well," A mirthless chuckle escaped him. "Look how that turned out."

"...Indeed." At this point, Abuto didn't know what to say.

"The doctor told me her mind has no language to help her translate her sensory input into words or concepts that can be communicated." A familiar plight. The girl was a fine mimic of shapes and patterns but couldn't perceive them as words. Abuto himself had been illiterate until he turned twelve. He would never forget the joy of learning how to read and write - an intellectual freedom he never had as a child.

"So, maybe it's better for me to just send her to an asylum."

"Asylum?" Repeating that hated word, Abuto finally snapped. He would've relished the redhead's astonishment if his mind wasn't boiling over with anger. "I grew up in one. That's where I learned to talk to the demented and disabled. My father was a war veteran who spent the remainder of his life at the bottom of a bottle. My mother passed away shortly after." He spoke fast and angry. "The kids there used to play with rats because we didn't have toys. Maybe you'd like to know what Kagura will find there when there's no visiting days. One ward was full of elderly homeless people. Crippled, deaf, most of them dying. But even if what they had was contagious, there was nowhere else to put them. That's where they put us." He took a threatening step towards Kamui, who balked at him - never seeing him so angry in his life. His words struck a chord with him as the situation finally began to weigh in his eyes.

Abuto didn't care. Seething with frustration, all he saw was red as he continued.

"You think conditions for the mentally ill have improved since then? Not for amanto like us." Abuto hissed. "There were young girls across the hall. Prostitutes mostly with STDs and epleptic fits. Then there were the perverts who kept after the young ones. And some insane - drug addicts and abandoned veterans - like my old man. The females from that group were in another ward to have unwanted babies born with deformities and diseases they inherited from their parents. They'd leave afterwards, but the babies stayed and we played with them."

"A..aaah…" They could hear Kagura mumbling but paid her no mind.

"Not even half of those babies lived, Captain. Most died before turning one." Abuto growled, his brown eyes flashing gold. "The room my brother and I played in was a dead house where they kept the bodies until they cleaned out the incinerator."

"You… why are you telling me all this now…?" Kamui stared at him in pure shock as he gritted his teeth. "So, what do you want me to do, Abushi rabbit? Should I kill her right here and now? Would that satisfy you?"

"If you're planning to send her to a place like that, you might as well. But I know you won't. You couldn't do it the first time. So you might as well let me do it for you." That comment put him on the receiving end of a rather vicious glare accompanied with a snarl. Their faces were mere inches away from each other. Still, he pushed. He had enough of this ring around the roses. His captain needed to make a decision now .

"You wouldn't dare touch her," Kamui growled with the underlying threat of inflicting painful retaliation if he tried. Their heated exchange didn't go unignored by Kagura, who climbed out of her hiding spot to watch them with baffled fascination.

"Oh, then you don't know me very well, Captain. See, I hate being wasteful. I'd sooner cut ties than continue a fruitless project." Abuto replied with a mocking twist of his lips. It was both exhilarating and terrifying to test his captain beyond his boundaries. It would be a miracle if he came out this alive. His usual self-preservation was overwhelmed by his Yato blood roaring in his ears. "Each day, she'll remain more a creature of the darkness and madness imprisons her. She's an angry creature, but she's also very inquisitive and bright. She can learn . And you're a fool if you're refusing to see that." He said, making the other man flinch. "What's left of her is slipping away, and soon there won't be anything left that can reach her." He stared deep into his superior's eyes. "What I want is to know if you're going to stand back and let that happen. Or are you going to give her a chance to prove she can be more?"

Temper climbing, the fire in Kamui's eyes burned hotter than a thousand suns. It threatened to melt him away along with the rest of the ship. Fear nearly seized him from talking altogether.

"You see her as a broken doll. What I see in her is a safe. Locked in which no one can open… but maybe there's treasure inside. Or maybe it's worthless rubbish. But you'll never know if you send her away." Abuto made one last ditch effort to convince him not to take the easy way out. It was for his own good. ""Some battles don't always take place in the physical plane, but within the mind. That's the battle your sister is fighting everyday. There's only one way out for her. Language. If she has no voice, teach her to talk with her hands even if her other senses are distorted. Give her that chance… sir."

You owe her that much. Was the unspoken line they both knew deep in their hearts.

Minutes felt like hours as they stared each other down, testing to see who would give in first. Abuto hoped he appeared more formidable than he felt. Inside, he was quaking with trepidation that his life would be snuffed out. He and the captain were on tolerable terms, but the man had his limit to tolerating backtalk. He was sure this was the end of the line.

Which was why he couldn't believe it when the red haired man pulled away with an irritated sigh.

"... I'm sure nothing would please you more than to prove me wrong." His dark voice rumbled low like distant thunder. "So persistent. You really are a pain in the ass." He didn't even bother with fake niceties as he tousled his hair in open frustration, messing up his fringe as he threw up his hands. "Ah, whatever. I'm tired of this. Do what you want. I don't even care anymore." With a backwards wave, he moved to head out the door.

"Ah… r-right then." With that, all his remaining courage evaporated on the spot. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the girl sitting on her bed and using her powers to float objects above her head. She was no longer concerned with them, it seemed, as she found juggling to be more entertaining.

"Still," Kamui paused at the entrance. "Never thought you had it in you to challenge me, Abushi. Here I thought you were spineless. Who knew that sister of mine could elicit such a bold reaction from you." Abuto blinked, not expecting to be praised for his bravado. "But..." There was a manic gleam as Kamui regarded him with a deceptively soft smile. "If you ever talk to me that way ever again, I'll string you up by your intestines and send your head to that pretty ex wife of yours. Then she'd have to find her own way to pay for your son's hospital fees. Got it?"

Willing himself not to wet his trousers, Abuto gulped and nodded.

"Also." Kamui added as he turned his face away. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was just joking when I said I'd send her to an asylum. I already knew about your sob story of a childhood - but hearing it from you made me want to puke. I wouldn't even send a dog to a shithole like that." Abuto couldn't decide if he was offended or relieved. As he was still in one piece, he decided on the latter.

"I plan on keeping her here at least for the time being. As for dealing with that shitstain, well… you just let me handle that."

"Oh… well, that's reassuring."

"I will find out what those guys have been doing behind my back. One way or another… starting with her." His words pointed to an oblivious Kagura, who tilted her head at him as he regarded her with a lingering stare before tearing his eyes away.

Feeling worn out, Abuto let out a long, controlled exhale as he ran his hand over his face.

"To answer your stupid question from earlier, Abushi rabbit - about why I'm going through the trouble of keeping her here… listen up because I won't repeat myself." White light illuminated behind him as though he were a divine messenger, just like his name. "I already said that she's my prey. I have to pay her back for nearly bringing down an entire building on me. She has to get better so we can have a proper rematch." Ah, there it was. His fiercely competitive streak that refused to accept defeat. "Although she doesn't fight the same way our race does, it seems I made the mistake of underestimating her before. No one is allowed to kill her but me… and it looks like she has the same idea."' His insinuation was met with a glower on her part - which he returned with a crooked grin. "So feel free to continue teaching her your weird language for the time being, but don't come crying to me if it doesn't work out."

Abuto stayed where he was as he watched him depart. He planned to catch up later. For now, he had a mad sister to try and educate. He did have one last question.

"Do you not pity her?"

"...Pitying someone is a waste of energy. Feeling sorry for ourselves is even worse." Kamui sounded strangely somber. "I never once pitied anyone in my life. If I'd once thought like that, I'd be dead. That's why if you really want to live, you have to work for it on your own. You can't expect others to take care of you." He cast him one last sidelong glance. "Don't be tempted to spoil her out of patronizing pity. Or she might thank you with a bite to the face."

With that, he left - leaving Abuto and his feisty little sister alone. The former wondering what on earth he'd gotten himself into, and the latter mulling over why the yellow and red monster rabbits came in to scare her, yell at each other, and then make her do strange things with her hands in exchange for that salty green paper.

They were strange.

.

.

.

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A/N: I had to cut the length of this chapter since it was getting way too long. I hope it's not super obvious how amateurish I am at writing this? I tried, man. Writing about a fic taking place in space is harder than it looks. Still, I hope this second chapter was to your liking! Please let me know your thoughts below! The next chapter is going to be more… action-related and plot points advance. Plus a few surprises here and there.

*"Get over here!"* - a famous catchphrase used by Scorpion of the Shirai Ryu, a reference to Mortal Kombat.

*chui - melee weapons made from medium length handles attached to large, solid metal spheres. It takes someone of considerable strength to wield them in real life, as they're hard to use since they're so heavy on one end.

(since I have no idea when the next update will be here's a longass preview for you guys as a special treat and apology)

Next time on Chapter 3: bad brother

"Abushi rabbit, the fact that I'm forced to not kill anyone and hold back from destroying my own ship is somehow your fault."

"You're the one who wanted to bring your very angry, very unstable psionic little sister along even after everyone said that was a terrible idea! And now she's gone and brainwashed a quarter of the crew against us!"

.

Abuto gawked as the girl yanked the older boy forward by his hair and yanked him down with her. What she did next neither men couldn't have foreseen in a million years. As an irritated Kamui was about to lecture her, she took him off-guard when she buried her hands in his flaming, disheveled locks and tugged him closer by the roots. Bewildered and slightly aroused by her actions, all the man could do was stare as her eyes fluttered shut. Without warning, she pulled him into a scorching kiss.

In their tribal tradition, Yato women communicated their intentions through many physical means. One such as the language of kisses. It was a language that conveyed multiple meanings depending on who they kissed and which body part.

When a scorned woman kissed the man responsible for their heartbreak and bit their lips hard enough to draw blood, it could only mean one thing. A kiss of death. It let men know that their days were numbered. As per tradition, the girl would seal the oath by staining her lips red with his blood.

That's exactly what the girl did. But the question remained as to why she even knew about it.

.

"That's right. We do know you… traitor brother. Or should we say… Kamui." This was the first time she ever spoke his name in ten long years.

.

"Traitor brother. Do you wanna feel how it feels?"

Without waiting for an answer, the pink rabbit projected a series of memories - replaying their severed history for everyone to see.

"She wanted to destroy you." Her eyes glowed as she forced everyone to see an image of their captain fighting with Kagura during their reunion. "Because you humiliated her." Abuto gasped as he felt someone's rage fill him. One that wasn't his own.

"She wanted to save you." This time, he was shown a grainy image of a broken family. Little Kagura was screaming and clinging to their father's leg to stop him from finishing off her brother lying face down in a pool of his own blood. "Because you protected her." Abuto relived the child's helplessness and desperation to keep their family from fraying apart - to no avail.

"She can't forgive you." The final image consisted of a girl sitting and crying at the bottom of some stairs, her umbrella having flown away when she tripped and fell down. "Because you betrayed her." Rain-soaked and covered in mud, she pitifully reached out to a fading figure.. A vain attempt to reach out and stop him.

"Kamui, no! Please don't go! I don't wanna be all alone!"

"What are her true feelings? She can't tell anymore."

.

" We adore you. We despise you… the boy who was once our hero… our… my beloved Onii-chan…"

.

"In the end, love… hey, does it become an obsession? Can even hatred bloom into a dark, beautiful passion?" She breathed against the shell of his ear. "Here's your answer."