WWLAOS: Because they are for what they are worth, living beings. The demonic creatures are evil. And Darkwolf provided the demon monkey's. You're right, that was the purpose of the last chapter.


"Yori, are you alright?" Ron asked.

"Yes Stoppable-san." She replied, sounding in no form, or definition 'alright'. "It's just a flesh wound." She indicated the long cut on her arm, courtesy of Monkey Fists Monkey Ninja's, who had lead the assault.

"That's not what I'm talking about Yori." Ron replied, concern filling his voice. There were two dead among the school's students, new trainee's, who had not even begun to work on anything except unpacking. The rest of the students were in bad shape, and none of those fit to walk, were in any state to take command. The sensei was away on school business when the attack had occured, so Ron had agreed to remain and 'Hold down the fort', until the old man arrived. "Physically you're fine, but how are you emotionally?" He asked, laying his hands on her shoulders. Whether it was the words, or the gestures, Ron didn't know, but she broke down into tears, with only a soft 'oh', from her mouth, and threw her arms around him crying, instead of sobbing. The difference wasn't much, but it was significant. He waited patiently as she released the emotions she felt. After a few moments, the crying lessened, and she pulled away a bit, wiping at her eyes. "Better?" He asked. She only nodded. Ron reached out, and laid his hand across the shallow cut on her arm. The Lotus Blade hummed quietly, and the wound sealed over.

"Thank you Ron-san." She whispered after a moment, as the amazement passed.

"Anytime. Let's see if we can help the others." Ron offered his hand, and she took it with a smile.


A few hours later, Ron finally was able to step away, with enough people repaired to take over the lesser tasks while he took a break. He did so, and went looking for the one person he hadn't seen since the end of the attack. Adam.

When he found Adam, the other was sitting on a flat rock, chanting almost inaudibly. He didn't seem to notice Ron, so the blond waited a few moments and then cleared his throat.

"Adam? Are you alright?" Ron realized he was saying that a lot, and remembered how much Adam hated the question. He changed before the other could answer. "What's wrong I mean."

"I know what you mean." Adam replied, with a cold edge to his voice. "What's wrong, is that I had to kill Darkwolf. Again."

"Again?" Ron asked.

"Again. It's not the first time I've taken him down. Don't worry, he's gone now, and he cannot come back. He can only pass into dimensions with a habitable body, and I've removed the one from this dimension." Adam turned away, staring off into the mountains.

"Come on and come in, it's freezing out here." Ron offered.

"I can't." Adam replied.

"What do you mean, you can't?" Ron asked, sighing in exasperation at Adam's lack of communication skills.

"The counter point to all the power I bear, is the burden of life." Adam replied, folding his hands together. "In taking a life, I take on the burden of that life, until I rid myself of it."

"And how do you do that?" Ron asked patiently. Adam turned to stare at him.

"By purging my stomach of it's contents, and then sitting in the snow for a while." He replied evenly.

"And the chanting?" Ron asked.

"Calling to the game gods, and asking for honor in the kill." Adam answered with a slight shake of his head. "I'm not sure if they can hear me from here though."

'Do not be so sure.' Ron heard the voice, and whipped his head around looking for the source. There didn't seem to be one. 'Do not injure yourself. I am the voice of Kiitharaa. The first of the five, and Game God of the misfits.' Ron saw Adam bow his head low and leave it there, something he'd never seen the other do.

"Master, please. I beg honor in the kill." Adam whispered, a lump in his throat.

'You know you need not do so. Rise to your feet.' Adam moved faster than Ron thought humanly possible. 'We have decreed this, abide by it.'

"As you wish Master." Adam responded.

'First, let me finish before you interrupt. Second, stop calling me master. Third, know that we grant you honor in all kills. You never again need ask honor, or call penance as you have done before. Finally, we take from you the burden of life.' Adam gave a sharp gasp, and dropped to the ground. 'For services rendered, we give the gift of freedom from this unfair limitation. And thus, I am gone.'

For the second time that day, Adam emptied the contents of his stomach, finding things he didn't remember eating.


Ron sighed again for what seemed the hundredth time that day. It was the hard quick sigh of someone sure they were forgetting something, but totally unable to remember what it was. Sensei was due back today, and Ron was half dreading it. It wasn't that there was anything that had gone on beyond the first incident, but that was what he was dreading, was telling the old man of the death's of the two young students. They had been taken back to their families, and their bags were leaving now. The air around the school was chill, almost as if the pall of death still hung over the place. Adam still refused to re-enter the school, though now he refused to name his reason. Ron looked at his watch, and rose to his feet. The Lotus Blade hung sheathed from his waist, and it rattled slightly as he moved. Rufus followed solemnly.When Ron reached the otherside of the now repaired bridge, he found he was not the first one to meet the sensei. Adam was speaking with him in low tones, not nodding exactly, but not shaking his head either. After a moment, he bowed deeply, and turned to face Ron.

"Greetings Stoppable-San. Though I am glad to see you, it is a shame to meet under such circumstances. Your friend has told me of the deaths of the students." The old man smiled at Ron's surprise. "He also says he feels responsible for it. I will tell you something that must remain strictly between us."

"Yes Sensei?" Ron asked, bending low.

"I knew there would be an attack, and went away anyway. I did not expect the numbers of demons, and assumed it could be handled by the students alone. If anyone, it is my fault. But it is past, and as I told your friend, put it behind you. There is nothing that can be done. Not even that option." The old man nodded at Adam. Adam swallowed, and looked away.