Author's note: Yeesh... I REALLY have turned lazy, haven't I? Well...
personally school's killing me. I haven't been to locate any of my stories
that I write on paper, either, and I've grown a bit frustrated at it all...
but hell, I'm not about to lie down and just wither away while these other
writers come in. No way. Well, here's chapter 10. Enjoy.
---- ----
Chapter 10: The Eyes of the Bushin
Dammit, why do things have to be like this? Seriously... I wish there was a door to my life that lets me exit it. It's all because of this energy inside me... If I didn't have it I wouldn't have all these problems... I'm not so sure if I want to keep this up... Right now I don't want to think about it. That's why I'm back here, hidden from sight of the others at the mansion in the trees. I just need too get my mind clear... but I can't. I can't help replaying the whole scene over and over in my mind... Yui restraining me from killing that waiter... Me finally telling him my purpose... and the one scene that really hurt me...
Yui actually forced me down and told me, with more sincerity, seriousness and emotions than I've ever seen, not to go about the path I swore I would take...
"Yui..." I whispered, my eyes starting to water. He really cares for me... I can't just turn around and...
I let out a frustrated growl as I sat underneath the large tree, pounding the grass with my left fist while resting my eyes on my right arm and knees. Things could never be the way I want it to. All because of this retched curse... The anger that bubbled under my skin boiled under but no matter how much anger I felt, my speech came out in sobs.
"Dammit, father!" I cursed at him so loud it echoed within the forest. "How could you...! How could you do this to me!? What did I do to deserve this? It's all because of you, you know that!? It's because of you that I'm a murderer! I hope you're enjoying yourself as you burn in hell!!!"
My emotions went overboard and before I knew what was happening to myself I was crying. I hated crying... and I only seem to cry when I think about my dumbass father and his stupid ambitions... and his energy that he passed onto me. I don't like it one stinking bit. I pounded on the grass a bit more, this time slower.
"I hate you... I hate you... I hate you..."
I suddenly felt weak and I stopped punching the innocent grass below my fist. I rested my back against the tree trunk and closed my eyes, letting my tears trail down my cheeks. I just couldn't stop thinking about him and what he did to me... If it wasn't for him I would have been a normal girl living a normal life...
{But if it wasn't for him you wouldn't have found Yui...}
Ugh... No! I did NOT just thank my father for actually cursing me for the rest of my life! No WAY! I despise EVERYTHING about that man! I'll NEVER forgive him for this... Never, never, never, ever, EVER!
{Stop it, Kaoru. Stop being in denial. You gotta admit that this Satsu no Hadou has its benefits...}
Why am I thinking like this? This energy has been nothing but a nuisance. No good can come from evil energy...
(It's because if it that you met Yui, Mitsumi and Rose... Especially Yui...}
But what about my outburst? What about my overall life goal? How did he take that? He's worried about me... I can't stand him looking at me like the way he does now... It hurts me... How can I show him that I'm not some sort of psycho?
{Kaoru?}
Huh...? Another voice in my head? Oh... It's Rose... I sighed. Talking to myself was getting too weird and agitating at the same time. Wiping my eyes I responded, {Yes, Rose?}
{You ok? It seems as if you're troubled...}
{You know just as well as I do about what's wrong with me...}
{Yes... but its basic human logic to tell someone how you're doing to feel better...}
I paused for a second about that. Can I actually still consider myself human after what I did...? Or rather... after looking back at ALL my life? All I do is move around and murder. That's inhumane last time I checked... Do normal people walk around cursed with Satsu no Hadou? No. Not at all. At least once in life that person had to have been severely corrupted to even be qualified with it... Wait... Hold on a second... How could normal people like the ones I encountered HAVE Satsu no Hadou? I don't think they all had Ansatsuken influences... Wait... WAIT!!!!
My mind went spinning after that. Things suddenly weren't making ANY sense at all! My head suddenly hurt just thinking about it. It really didn't make any sense at all! A person with Satsu no Hadou needs to KNOW Anstastuken to a point where they know the technique of Shungokusatsu and/or is so consumed by the art that they are absorbed by the will to be the strongest. So how...?
I let out a loud, frustrated scream. I suddenly was insanely ticked off at my life. Just when did I become so blinded to the obvious? It sickening just thinking about it... What have I been DOING?!?
Before I knew what was happening to me, hands clasped down on my shoulders.
"Kaoru!? Kaoru! Calm down! I can sense heavy turmoil in your heart... Just relax..."
I barely took that request into consideration. I was lost and confused... So many years I kept up this charade... All and all... if those people that I had disposed of weren't influenced by Satsu no Hadou... then what caused them to act they way they did...? It all seemed like a really good simulation of what I experienced but... now that I think about it...
I calmed down by breathing deeply as best as I could. I took a few moments to gather myself and look into Rose's worried eyes. I knew it was her. She was the only one who can pinpoint where I am. How she got here, I'm not surprised. She does live here after all. For a while neither of us said anything... then as I opened my mouth to try to speak she cut me off.
"Don't say anything, Kaoru... I already know..."
I then closed my mouth, looking down at the grass and my black sneakers in front of me. I suddenly felt really, really guilty about my way of life. It was too much of a shock for me to swallow all at once. My whole body ached, especially my head, which felt like it was going to explode. Without thinking about it I rested my head against Rose's chest as she kneeled down to comfort me.
"I didn't expect you to find out about this on your own..." she whispered kindly. "I planned that you would do some training under my wind and then, when I felt you were ready, I would tell you... but it seems you've been so heavy in thought that you finally come to terms with things..."
By this time I could feel tears run down my cheeks again, but I didn't sob.
"I... I just don't understand..." I managed to say. "Why did I turn out like this? Why didn't I find this out sooner? I... I'm so confused..."
"I know... I understand what you're going through perfectly..."
"B... but it's just that... My life's been a lie, hasn't it?"
"Wha...?"
I looked up into Rose's eyes and I spoke as she wiped the tears from my eyes.
"...you can look into a person's soul, right? And if you knew so much about me... when we first met... then can you tell me... how things were really like?"
I expected her to immediately give me an answer... but somehow she fell silent. I felt my heart turn unexpectedly as I saw her eyes... They didn't seem reassuring at all....
"Kaoru... About that..."
I cut her off right then and there.
"Let me guess... You can't?"
"I didn't say that. Please... let me finish."
"...ok..."
"You see... I know a majority about you before we met. That was pretty obvious because I told you. However... as time went on while you were here and I tried to look deeper into your life... I came to a block..."
"A... block...?" I repeated, a bit taken aback at the fact that not even Rose could crack the lock to my past. It seemed way out there... and if I didn't know any better, I would've said that she was lying right then and there, but I wasn't thinking about that.
"Yes. A block. I can't tell why that is, because no one else I encountered had a block to their true soul. Perhaps... there's something more to you that won't show itself..."
I felt my neck muscles tighten up as I thought about it. Could it truly be something about me that's so important that it can't show itself...? Is it hidden within me? Before I could truly think about it, Rose kept talking.
"And if I can't see it... that means only one thing..."
I looked onto her with nothing but seriousness... She just looked gently into my eyes and then finished.
"You may just have to find out the answers to your life by yourself..."
For a while I didn't respond. Although I felt as if my reaction should've been bigger, I somewhat felt... accustomed to going about things alone. However... as I thought about it... I knew this wasn't going to be easy at all. I was going to be running blind... I couldn't even trust my own history anymore... Then again... I pushed off Rose's body while reaching into my shirt pocket... and pulled out the mirror that I held deeply to remember my mother by... For a while I just stared at it, asking myself questions like "But does that mean... my mom's not for real? Who am I really? What's my purpose...?" I mumbled them all out loud so that Rose could hear. I could tell that she could sense how I was feeling as she stood up and offered a hand to me.
"Kaoru... I have someone waiting at the mansion. He's a close friend of mine and he can probably help you out. Do you... want to go through with what he might tell you?"
Did I have a choice? Honestly, it wasn't because Rose was pressuring me to see this person... I literally needed to start somewhere... and I could use all the help I could get... but...
"Rose?" I asked while grabbing her hand to stand up, "how can this person help me? I don't even know what I need help with... exactly... There's just so much—"
"Don't worry your head about it," Rose cut me off. "We'll worry about it when the time comes... Now, let's go. It'll get dark soon."
"Ok..."
Rose held my shoulders as she walked with me. As we made our way back I couldn't help but feel a little bit of every emotion that was humanly possible. I think the most dominant though was loneliness... not due to the fact that I didn't have anyone that cared for me, but for the fact that I didn't know who I truly was... I help alienated in my own body... I heaved a few heavy sighs on the way there...
---- ----
"Are you ready, Kaoru?"
I gave Rose a look of total seriousness. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I said quietly. Rose nodded and we both went through the door. It took us a few minutes to get upstairs to the door that led to the balcony on the third floor. The balcony faced the waterfront and the city of Paris, where the sun was setting towards the right. There were a few white tables on the balcony accompanied by chairs, the chair all the way to the left showing a stranger. He wore some type of red and orange outfit and sneakers and had short hair. He was facing away from Rose and me so I couldn't fully see his face, his arms crossed as if contemplating something. We approached him but we didn't confront him. I just at him for a long while, wondering what was going to happen next. However, I didn't need to ask myself that for long.
"So... You're Kaoru Miadama, I see..." he said in a somewhat low tone of voice. I felt my neck tense up a bit. There's was something about the way he said it... It was with so much confidence...
"Y... yes..." I responded, not meaning to stutter. His head tucked down a bit and then he spun around so I can see his face. The moment we made eye contact I knew.... There was something about him. Something out of the ordinary... It was like he was looking right at my insides...
"Yes..." he went on. "You're exactly what I sensed. That energy..."
He paused for a while, and then he continued. "Kid, let me tell you something... The way I see things as Rose tells me, you have no solid direction in life."
"Huh?" I let out instantly. "What do you mean? I... I mean I now know that what I was doing before was wrong, but..."
"Hold on, Kaoru," the stranger cut me off. "You didn't let me finish..."
"Oh."
Somewhat feeling a bit stupid, I sat down across from him, and focused all my senses on him. He kept going on.
"Before we go on, I'd like to formally introduce myself... Guy: Master of the style of Bushin Ninjitsu."
My eyebrows went up. "Oh? I... I knew I've seen you before... Somewhere..."
"Yes, well... I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm surprised. Anyway, that's a bit besides the point. Our main focus is trying to figure out what you're life is worth. I know that you've been asking that question a lot as of late. What you are. What is your purpose in life. Who your family is. What your past really was..."
Silence went through for a while after Guy finished. I was making sure I was paying attention to everything he was telling me, since I had this feeling that it was going to change how my life was going to go forever...
"They say that nothing can escape the eyes of a Bushin," Guy went on. "They also say that the eyes of the Bushin can reveal anything and everything about his target. As much as I would like to flat out tell you the answers to the questions that you seek, I can only tell you how you should go about it."
"I understand..." I said right afterwards.
"Your energy.... The energy that you've condemned as a curse... You call it the legendary "Satsu no Hadou." I'll tell you this much... As I sit here, if you were really an inheritor of that surge energy, I wouldn't be sitting here just talking. That's for sure. That same murderous intent... It's in you... but in a way, it's not the same...."
"Huh?" I gasped, thrown back a bit even though I heard Rose say that before. "Are you saying that...?"
"I'm not sure," Guy went on, his eyes softening just a little. "If it is, then you're a special case; a rare carrier that somehow doesn't have the same properties as a normal one. Darker skin... Blood red eyes... True murderous intent... It seems you carry neither of these traits; the ones that really define a Satsu holder."
Something in my stomach dropped right there as Guy continued. "I'm not sure how you've been taught of Satsu no Hadou. Perhaps not clearly or not enough, but what you have inside of you... It's actual ki energy... It's somewhat close to actual Satsu no Hadou..."
"Then what is it?" I asked anxiously.
"As I said before, I'm not sure. Something like this has never crossed my eyes before... However, it seems as if you've been seeing this for a while..."
I immediately pictured the guy back at the restaurant in my mind... and then the many others before him. "That's.... That's true..." I whispered.
"The best Rose and I can do is help you become ready for whatever you might face. Your nature is unlike the others I've seen before... It's something that's never been recorded before, and since you're the only one with this predicament, you're the only one who can actually discover the mysteries in your life. You understand?"
I nodded without any thought about it. "Yes."
Guy's eyebrows furred up a bit. "That determination... Yes. I believe you can face whatever's in front of you. If I came all the way to see you, I knew that it'll be something out of the ordinary. I needed to see if you were able..."
That's something that now I knew I had. If I was going to find out about my real past, I was going to need to be ready myself. In body, mind, and spirit. That's all I had left...
"However," Guy went on. "I suggest you make sure you're ready. Stay with Rose a while... Finish the sessions that she's holding for you. It's for the best. You shouldn't go off now... Just a word of advice."
I immediately took that to heart. "Okay, I will."
Guy closed his eyes and lowered his head, as if thinking. "Now... if I'm right, it's late. Rose?"
"Guy?" she replied, speaking for the first time in the conversation.
"I best be off. Leaving Cody and the rest back in Retro City is a chance I can't take for long. If you need me you know how to contact me."
"Of course. I'll walk you out."
I watched as Guy got up from his chair and walked past me to Rose and disappeared through the door, carrying a short conversation. I found myself alone, let with all these thoughts in my mind... I looked towards the sunset over the riverfront and sighed. I had a long road ahead of me... I was going to find out about myself...
"Kaoru?"
An unexpected voice rang out from behind me. I spun around...
"Yui?"
Indeed it was him. He had changed his clothes into something more comfortable for the brisk weather outside. He just stood at the doorway, looking into me with his solid eyes. I could sense something within him... Something big... like a heavy load...
"What is it, Yui?" I asked again.
"There's something I need to tell you..."
----- ----
End of the chap. Chan's turn. Things have picked up indeed. Hopefully this'll relieve my writer's block on this story... Well, how am I driving? Contact me through the reviews, please.
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Chapter 10: The Eyes of the Bushin
Dammit, why do things have to be like this? Seriously... I wish there was a door to my life that lets me exit it. It's all because of this energy inside me... If I didn't have it I wouldn't have all these problems... I'm not so sure if I want to keep this up... Right now I don't want to think about it. That's why I'm back here, hidden from sight of the others at the mansion in the trees. I just need too get my mind clear... but I can't. I can't help replaying the whole scene over and over in my mind... Yui restraining me from killing that waiter... Me finally telling him my purpose... and the one scene that really hurt me...
Yui actually forced me down and told me, with more sincerity, seriousness and emotions than I've ever seen, not to go about the path I swore I would take...
"Yui..." I whispered, my eyes starting to water. He really cares for me... I can't just turn around and...
I let out a frustrated growl as I sat underneath the large tree, pounding the grass with my left fist while resting my eyes on my right arm and knees. Things could never be the way I want it to. All because of this retched curse... The anger that bubbled under my skin boiled under but no matter how much anger I felt, my speech came out in sobs.
"Dammit, father!" I cursed at him so loud it echoed within the forest. "How could you...! How could you do this to me!? What did I do to deserve this? It's all because of you, you know that!? It's because of you that I'm a murderer! I hope you're enjoying yourself as you burn in hell!!!"
My emotions went overboard and before I knew what was happening to myself I was crying. I hated crying... and I only seem to cry when I think about my dumbass father and his stupid ambitions... and his energy that he passed onto me. I don't like it one stinking bit. I pounded on the grass a bit more, this time slower.
"I hate you... I hate you... I hate you..."
I suddenly felt weak and I stopped punching the innocent grass below my fist. I rested my back against the tree trunk and closed my eyes, letting my tears trail down my cheeks. I just couldn't stop thinking about him and what he did to me... If it wasn't for him I would have been a normal girl living a normal life...
{But if it wasn't for him you wouldn't have found Yui...}
Ugh... No! I did NOT just thank my father for actually cursing me for the rest of my life! No WAY! I despise EVERYTHING about that man! I'll NEVER forgive him for this... Never, never, never, ever, EVER!
{Stop it, Kaoru. Stop being in denial. You gotta admit that this Satsu no Hadou has its benefits...}
Why am I thinking like this? This energy has been nothing but a nuisance. No good can come from evil energy...
(It's because if it that you met Yui, Mitsumi and Rose... Especially Yui...}
But what about my outburst? What about my overall life goal? How did he take that? He's worried about me... I can't stand him looking at me like the way he does now... It hurts me... How can I show him that I'm not some sort of psycho?
{Kaoru?}
Huh...? Another voice in my head? Oh... It's Rose... I sighed. Talking to myself was getting too weird and agitating at the same time. Wiping my eyes I responded, {Yes, Rose?}
{You ok? It seems as if you're troubled...}
{You know just as well as I do about what's wrong with me...}
{Yes... but its basic human logic to tell someone how you're doing to feel better...}
I paused for a second about that. Can I actually still consider myself human after what I did...? Or rather... after looking back at ALL my life? All I do is move around and murder. That's inhumane last time I checked... Do normal people walk around cursed with Satsu no Hadou? No. Not at all. At least once in life that person had to have been severely corrupted to even be qualified with it... Wait... Hold on a second... How could normal people like the ones I encountered HAVE Satsu no Hadou? I don't think they all had Ansatsuken influences... Wait... WAIT!!!!
My mind went spinning after that. Things suddenly weren't making ANY sense at all! My head suddenly hurt just thinking about it. It really didn't make any sense at all! A person with Satsu no Hadou needs to KNOW Anstastuken to a point where they know the technique of Shungokusatsu and/or is so consumed by the art that they are absorbed by the will to be the strongest. So how...?
I let out a loud, frustrated scream. I suddenly was insanely ticked off at my life. Just when did I become so blinded to the obvious? It sickening just thinking about it... What have I been DOING?!?
Before I knew what was happening to me, hands clasped down on my shoulders.
"Kaoru!? Kaoru! Calm down! I can sense heavy turmoil in your heart... Just relax..."
I barely took that request into consideration. I was lost and confused... So many years I kept up this charade... All and all... if those people that I had disposed of weren't influenced by Satsu no Hadou... then what caused them to act they way they did...? It all seemed like a really good simulation of what I experienced but... now that I think about it...
I calmed down by breathing deeply as best as I could. I took a few moments to gather myself and look into Rose's worried eyes. I knew it was her. She was the only one who can pinpoint where I am. How she got here, I'm not surprised. She does live here after all. For a while neither of us said anything... then as I opened my mouth to try to speak she cut me off.
"Don't say anything, Kaoru... I already know..."
I then closed my mouth, looking down at the grass and my black sneakers in front of me. I suddenly felt really, really guilty about my way of life. It was too much of a shock for me to swallow all at once. My whole body ached, especially my head, which felt like it was going to explode. Without thinking about it I rested my head against Rose's chest as she kneeled down to comfort me.
"I didn't expect you to find out about this on your own..." she whispered kindly. "I planned that you would do some training under my wind and then, when I felt you were ready, I would tell you... but it seems you've been so heavy in thought that you finally come to terms with things..."
By this time I could feel tears run down my cheeks again, but I didn't sob.
"I... I just don't understand..." I managed to say. "Why did I turn out like this? Why didn't I find this out sooner? I... I'm so confused..."
"I know... I understand what you're going through perfectly..."
"B... but it's just that... My life's been a lie, hasn't it?"
"Wha...?"
I looked up into Rose's eyes and I spoke as she wiped the tears from my eyes.
"...you can look into a person's soul, right? And if you knew so much about me... when we first met... then can you tell me... how things were really like?"
I expected her to immediately give me an answer... but somehow she fell silent. I felt my heart turn unexpectedly as I saw her eyes... They didn't seem reassuring at all....
"Kaoru... About that..."
I cut her off right then and there.
"Let me guess... You can't?"
"I didn't say that. Please... let me finish."
"...ok..."
"You see... I know a majority about you before we met. That was pretty obvious because I told you. However... as time went on while you were here and I tried to look deeper into your life... I came to a block..."
"A... block...?" I repeated, a bit taken aback at the fact that not even Rose could crack the lock to my past. It seemed way out there... and if I didn't know any better, I would've said that she was lying right then and there, but I wasn't thinking about that.
"Yes. A block. I can't tell why that is, because no one else I encountered had a block to their true soul. Perhaps... there's something more to you that won't show itself..."
I felt my neck muscles tighten up as I thought about it. Could it truly be something about me that's so important that it can't show itself...? Is it hidden within me? Before I could truly think about it, Rose kept talking.
"And if I can't see it... that means only one thing..."
I looked onto her with nothing but seriousness... She just looked gently into my eyes and then finished.
"You may just have to find out the answers to your life by yourself..."
For a while I didn't respond. Although I felt as if my reaction should've been bigger, I somewhat felt... accustomed to going about things alone. However... as I thought about it... I knew this wasn't going to be easy at all. I was going to be running blind... I couldn't even trust my own history anymore... Then again... I pushed off Rose's body while reaching into my shirt pocket... and pulled out the mirror that I held deeply to remember my mother by... For a while I just stared at it, asking myself questions like "But does that mean... my mom's not for real? Who am I really? What's my purpose...?" I mumbled them all out loud so that Rose could hear. I could tell that she could sense how I was feeling as she stood up and offered a hand to me.
"Kaoru... I have someone waiting at the mansion. He's a close friend of mine and he can probably help you out. Do you... want to go through with what he might tell you?"
Did I have a choice? Honestly, it wasn't because Rose was pressuring me to see this person... I literally needed to start somewhere... and I could use all the help I could get... but...
"Rose?" I asked while grabbing her hand to stand up, "how can this person help me? I don't even know what I need help with... exactly... There's just so much—"
"Don't worry your head about it," Rose cut me off. "We'll worry about it when the time comes... Now, let's go. It'll get dark soon."
"Ok..."
Rose held my shoulders as she walked with me. As we made our way back I couldn't help but feel a little bit of every emotion that was humanly possible. I think the most dominant though was loneliness... not due to the fact that I didn't have anyone that cared for me, but for the fact that I didn't know who I truly was... I help alienated in my own body... I heaved a few heavy sighs on the way there...
---- ----
"Are you ready, Kaoru?"
I gave Rose a look of total seriousness. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I said quietly. Rose nodded and we both went through the door. It took us a few minutes to get upstairs to the door that led to the balcony on the third floor. The balcony faced the waterfront and the city of Paris, where the sun was setting towards the right. There were a few white tables on the balcony accompanied by chairs, the chair all the way to the left showing a stranger. He wore some type of red and orange outfit and sneakers and had short hair. He was facing away from Rose and me so I couldn't fully see his face, his arms crossed as if contemplating something. We approached him but we didn't confront him. I just at him for a long while, wondering what was going to happen next. However, I didn't need to ask myself that for long.
"So... You're Kaoru Miadama, I see..." he said in a somewhat low tone of voice. I felt my neck tense up a bit. There's was something about the way he said it... It was with so much confidence...
"Y... yes..." I responded, not meaning to stutter. His head tucked down a bit and then he spun around so I can see his face. The moment we made eye contact I knew.... There was something about him. Something out of the ordinary... It was like he was looking right at my insides...
"Yes..." he went on. "You're exactly what I sensed. That energy..."
He paused for a while, and then he continued. "Kid, let me tell you something... The way I see things as Rose tells me, you have no solid direction in life."
"Huh?" I let out instantly. "What do you mean? I... I mean I now know that what I was doing before was wrong, but..."
"Hold on, Kaoru," the stranger cut me off. "You didn't let me finish..."
"Oh."
Somewhat feeling a bit stupid, I sat down across from him, and focused all my senses on him. He kept going on.
"Before we go on, I'd like to formally introduce myself... Guy: Master of the style of Bushin Ninjitsu."
My eyebrows went up. "Oh? I... I knew I've seen you before... Somewhere..."
"Yes, well... I'm not going to sit here and say that I'm surprised. Anyway, that's a bit besides the point. Our main focus is trying to figure out what you're life is worth. I know that you've been asking that question a lot as of late. What you are. What is your purpose in life. Who your family is. What your past really was..."
Silence went through for a while after Guy finished. I was making sure I was paying attention to everything he was telling me, since I had this feeling that it was going to change how my life was going to go forever...
"They say that nothing can escape the eyes of a Bushin," Guy went on. "They also say that the eyes of the Bushin can reveal anything and everything about his target. As much as I would like to flat out tell you the answers to the questions that you seek, I can only tell you how you should go about it."
"I understand..." I said right afterwards.
"Your energy.... The energy that you've condemned as a curse... You call it the legendary "Satsu no Hadou." I'll tell you this much... As I sit here, if you were really an inheritor of that surge energy, I wouldn't be sitting here just talking. That's for sure. That same murderous intent... It's in you... but in a way, it's not the same...."
"Huh?" I gasped, thrown back a bit even though I heard Rose say that before. "Are you saying that...?"
"I'm not sure," Guy went on, his eyes softening just a little. "If it is, then you're a special case; a rare carrier that somehow doesn't have the same properties as a normal one. Darker skin... Blood red eyes... True murderous intent... It seems you carry neither of these traits; the ones that really define a Satsu holder."
Something in my stomach dropped right there as Guy continued. "I'm not sure how you've been taught of Satsu no Hadou. Perhaps not clearly or not enough, but what you have inside of you... It's actual ki energy... It's somewhat close to actual Satsu no Hadou..."
"Then what is it?" I asked anxiously.
"As I said before, I'm not sure. Something like this has never crossed my eyes before... However, it seems as if you've been seeing this for a while..."
I immediately pictured the guy back at the restaurant in my mind... and then the many others before him. "That's.... That's true..." I whispered.
"The best Rose and I can do is help you become ready for whatever you might face. Your nature is unlike the others I've seen before... It's something that's never been recorded before, and since you're the only one with this predicament, you're the only one who can actually discover the mysteries in your life. You understand?"
I nodded without any thought about it. "Yes."
Guy's eyebrows furred up a bit. "That determination... Yes. I believe you can face whatever's in front of you. If I came all the way to see you, I knew that it'll be something out of the ordinary. I needed to see if you were able..."
That's something that now I knew I had. If I was going to find out about my real past, I was going to need to be ready myself. In body, mind, and spirit. That's all I had left...
"However," Guy went on. "I suggest you make sure you're ready. Stay with Rose a while... Finish the sessions that she's holding for you. It's for the best. You shouldn't go off now... Just a word of advice."
I immediately took that to heart. "Okay, I will."
Guy closed his eyes and lowered his head, as if thinking. "Now... if I'm right, it's late. Rose?"
"Guy?" she replied, speaking for the first time in the conversation.
"I best be off. Leaving Cody and the rest back in Retro City is a chance I can't take for long. If you need me you know how to contact me."
"Of course. I'll walk you out."
I watched as Guy got up from his chair and walked past me to Rose and disappeared through the door, carrying a short conversation. I found myself alone, let with all these thoughts in my mind... I looked towards the sunset over the riverfront and sighed. I had a long road ahead of me... I was going to find out about myself...
"Kaoru?"
An unexpected voice rang out from behind me. I spun around...
"Yui?"
Indeed it was him. He had changed his clothes into something more comfortable for the brisk weather outside. He just stood at the doorway, looking into me with his solid eyes. I could sense something within him... Something big... like a heavy load...
"What is it, Yui?" I asked again.
"There's something I need to tell you..."
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End of the chap. Chan's turn. Things have picked up indeed. Hopefully this'll relieve my writer's block on this story... Well, how am I driving? Contact me through the reviews, please.