Looking up to the sky, wondering – "Oh why?" Great Botan has fallen, his life is gone. For life; for arms, our dear friend has passed away. Lead on, dear Aya, against the strife. In memory of him, his planes, fight for Weiss. For there are still dark beasts in the shadows, aiming to strike those near you – so put them in a vice, Aya, the iron grip of Weiss..
Genesis
The common bustle of city life continued to wander by. Botan and Azumi continue along, one hand occupied by the others, their other hand holding ice-cream. No worries, no fears. Peacefully treading along. The freshly fallen autumn leaves littered the winding sidewalks of the park. Green grass surrounds the pair on all sides. Soon, they find themselves alone, enjoying the sweet taste of vanilla ice-cream. Botan, dressed in his usual clothes, a suit, a tie, and his hair in the normal drooping style. Azumi, the glittering flower of the pair, hopping along joyfully – enjoying every moment away from wants and needs, no pressure, no worries. Hoping this will last forever, never believing it will end.
Sitting down slowly onto a park bench, the two finish their ice-cream, licking sticky fingers clean. Botan slowly leans back and his eyes drift along the rolling hill before him. A pair of young boys played in the sandbox, too far off to be heard, but adding to the overall effect of peace the late day brings. Azumi, eye-lids slowly closing, leans her head against her father's warm arm, and in the last moments of wakefulness sees one of the two boys leave with a woman, and the other, sadly, walk into the trees.
The sun begins to set in the distance, they sky changing to reflect the golds and browns of the fallen leaves that carpet the ground.
"Azumi, isn't the sky beauti…" Speaking as he turns toward his daughter, Botan spies the peacefully sleeping Azumi, cuddled against his arm. His face, breaking into another warm smile, cuts off the last of his sentence, drinking in the beautiful young joy before him. Gently lifting her, and himself, off the bench, Botan carries his daughter in his arms, and begins to follow the twisting paths of the park back to the city.
Once out of the park, and into the less suburban area, the maze of streets slowly slip by. Each step another building falls by as Azumi takes another soft breath in. Slipping past an abandoned flower shop, Botan continues along the streets. Not long after, Takatori Shuuichi, campaigning for chief of security of the city, stopped in front of the flower shop, wrote down the address, and continued along his way.
A gentle rain begins to pour, the first drops lightly taping Botan on the nose. Picking his pace up a little, he continued the journey home. Almost home. The sun had set not too long ago, night closed in. The rain began to drum to a constant beat. Botan soon takes off his jacket to cover Azumi, who continues to sleep throughout the rain. A noise, a muffled yell, a pause in Botan's step. Dark shadows in the alleys begin to move - at first, set aside as figments of imagination. A lone figure ahead on the sidewalk sits on a bench reading a newspaper, ahead of Botan and Azumi. A glint of metal strikes through the rain and night by the man's side, illuminated by a distant street lamp. Botan continues on toward the man, dreaming of the safety of his home.
The bench is closer now, the metallic object now deciphered as a steel chain. Another step, and Botan enters a block of sidewalk 10 ft. away from the man. A snicker, and the man stands. He picks up the chain, and it begins to twirl.
Sparks of glowing water pass through the beam of light from the street lamp. Botan's eyes shift nervously about. Three more figures step out of the shadows. "What do you want!?" Botan yells. The only reply is an echoing snicker, each of the four men echoing the others. Azumi shifts in his arms. The men continue a slow advance; the chain still twirls. "Leave us alone!" Turning on his heel, Botan runs. Lightning cracks through the sky, creating a rift of electrified air, causing thunder, and illuminating the fleeing form of a man below. The beat of the rain, challenged by the pounding of running feat, picks up. Clashes come from behind, Botan runs.
Run, keep running, they're still coming. Horrifying visions reach Botan's mind. A stone, hidden by the night and rain, protrudes out of the street. Vision blurred by fear, by tears, by rain, an unwary foot catches this stone, causing a man to fall. Shielding his daughter with his body, Botan hits the ground. The pounding feet catch up.
Pain, blinding flashes. Chain bites into flesh. Racking laughter joins the rain and pounds downward. Keep Azumi safe, Keep Azumi safe, KEEP AZUMI SAFE. Botan wills himself to shield his life. Blows rain down, Botan does not give.
An arm jumps out of the night sky, followed by forked lightening. More arms and hands join in, prying at the covered prize. No, no. NO! Azumi is pried from Botan's arms. Summoning the strength not yet pummeled from his body, Botan surges upward. One, two, three. Three punches flash from him into faces smirking at the captured girl. "YOU SHALL NOT HAVE HER." With a roar, Botan heaves in deep breaths, staring at the four…as three slowly stagger up from the ground.
The chain begins to twirl again. Botan charges. Steel flashes. A metal pipe and a chain strike at the same time. A whip to the face, a crack against his spine. Botan falls. "AZUMI!!!!!" Botan shouts, reaching upward towards the closest thing to a heart he has ever had. "AZUMI!!!!!" Tears flood from his eyes, his legs won't respond.
"So the little wretch has a name, how funny." Laughter crashes downward from the beasts, slowly treading into the night, the dark. A last snide remark drifts out of the rain. "Can't even save your own daughter…how pitiful."
With one last choke, Botan manages to mutter out, "Azumi, Azumi." His voice barely a whisper contending with the rain, "Bring her back…you bastar…" Botan's voice trails off.
Far above, the unforgiving rain clouds pelt down. Lighting flashes, briefly illuminating the sobbing figure on the ground far below. The rising echoes of the figures words striking upwards towards the heavens, silenced by the crashing thunder. "Azumi, Azumi."
Somewhere in the distance,
The rain continues to pour hence.
A paper plane, long forgotten since.
Turns to a soggy mesh, and enters the past tence.
A face once bright, where a smile could twist,
Has faded into the night's mist.
For Botan, for Azumi.
Remember the tradgedy,
Of their story.
To be continued…