Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this unexpected turn of events… especially for the one whose head has been hurting.

~保護者~

"The Eye of the Faein"

~保護者~

Following another violent training session (the second one of today), Espio rather irritably flicked some blood off of his sword. He had managed to get a multitude of strikes in, even with both Kal and Ryuji teaming up against him with their vastly more controlled Darkness. He himself wasn't unscathed, either, because of said team-up. That fact irritated him. He made it a point not to let them strike him enough to where he retained visible injuries for any length of time, as he had no desire to answer questions at home about why he was injured. Staying out long enough to heal seemed pertinent, but at the same time… the sun was nearly fully set already. He had been gone most of the day. Surely, he should return…

He had barely had the chance to start the motion of sheathing his sword before Kal spoke up. However, she had her attention directed at Ryuji. "What do you think…? Shall we return him home again?" Already deeply suspicious, Espio paused and looked at her with vaguely narrowed eyes. "The first time went so well, after all."

Ryuji shrugged briefly. "It could be beneficial," he answered lightly.

Kal tutted at him, feigning disapproval. "That was hardly the 'yes' or 'no' answer I sought." She turned her attention to Espio. "Either way, I leave you in his care. I have business to attend to." With that, she teleported away. Espio mildly glared at the spot where she'd been standing.

"Tch." Ryuji crossed his arms with an annoyed sigh. "I'd prefer her handle business with you as opposed to myself."

"Then don't fucking bother," Espio muttered, already turning away again and starting to leave.

"Are you going back to them?" Ryuji questioned, a sudden venomous note to his tone.

For the second time, Espio paused. "So what if I am?" he boldly challenged, not being in any way respectful like a chameleon normally would have been toward their family.

"They're a waste of your time," Ruyji said in return. "Your mother is a failure and that woman chasing you is a disgrace to our people."

Espio turned back around to face him. "That is irrelevant to you."

"Hardly," Ryuji agreed. "But it pertains to you, and by now you surely know our opinion on what your surroundings should be."

"What is your suggestion, then?" Espio decided to ask, though he really didn't care about the answer he'd get.

"Remove them from your life entirely and focus on being what you should have been able to become with the training our people failed to give you," Ryuji answered. "It is increasingly obvious that your skill alone would have brought you much farther than any before us."

Immediately, Espio shot Ryuji a cold look. "Not now," he answered simply, turning away yet again. "Later, perhaps, but not now."

"It would be better to do it now," Ryuji murmured. "Emotions are powerful, and that is true for positive ones. You might make a regrettable decision outside of the state you're currently in if you do not handle this now."

Espio tossed him a glare over his shoulder. "Until I find a better place for my children to remain, they will stay alive. I am not arguing over this."

Ryuji huffed. "It was a suggestion. Do not be confused." He received an answering huff and Espio resumed walking away, soon disappearing into the depths of the forest. Shaking his head, Ryuji teleported away after his partner.

~保護者~

Twenty-two days had passed since the Faein had ensured temporary peace. Things were arguably well, but Jet… wasn't. It had been hours since he'd slipped away from his family and locked himself in his room, carrying out endless arguments that he wanted nothing to do with. He had been having good days for the most part since starting to visit with Sonic frequently, but today he felt… off. Again. The same presence that had been haunting him lingered close by, weighing on his mind and whispering to him. It didn't matter how tightly he covered his ears - the voice was in his head. And no matter what he did, he couldn't force it out.

"We are at war, you and I," the voice told him softly. "A war of opposing philosophies. A war to see whose vision of existence proves true. Is it inherently good, as you believe? Or is it a dark place, filled with suffering, as I see…?"

"You want me to contribute to it," Jet bit out. "To make your vision real."

"I would much prefer that… to an existence full to bursting with Light," was the casual response.

Not for the first time today, Jet found himself gritting his teeth and pacing. "Don't pretend with me," he muttered. "Don't act stupid. You know it already isn't." Already tired of the motion, he sank down into a sitting position against one of the walls, his hands still tightly clasped over his ears for all the good that did.

The presence shifted from behind him to his right side. "You believe that existence is good at its core… as are its people. That is where you and I differ."

An urge struck, and the instant it did Jet hit the back of his head on the wall several times without thinking. That helped him vent a few of his emotions, at least somewhat. "It fucking isn't," he snapped, though he made an effort to keep his voice down. The very last thing he needed was for someone to hear him out in the hall. It wasn't enough to keep his aura hidden. He had to stay quiet, too.

"Your mind has changed?" the voice inquired slowly.

Jet knew how it was guiding this conversation… what it wanted him to admit aloud. But he refused to say it. He refused to give it that satisfaction. "Dealing with people like Nareish, Tein, and the demons is proof enough that evil is just as natural as good," he said instead. "Both will always exist. There's nothing that can be done to change that."

"This is not about them, or about any of the other great evils you face," was the reply. "This is about everything. Everyone. Tell me… have your allies throughout your life outweighed your enemies, or is it the other way around? How many people have you met who were worthy of death versus those you cared about? How much of a balance has there ever been?"

Gritting his teeth some more, Jet hit his head several more times on the wall before answering. "Get to the point already," he muttered. "You're giving me a fucking headache." On that note, he found himself repeating what he'd done a multitude of other times in an effort to distract from the newfound pain. Yes, this also hurt, but at least this pain was one he had control over.

When the urge passed and he briefly stopped, the voice told him, "It is as you yourself have begun to think as of late. Those who are against you… people like Nareish… they deserve nothing less than to die."

Now Jet was openly scowling. "You always tout killing as an act of love."

"It is all about intentions… and how you choose to end a life," the voice murmured. "When you face the ones you love and end their lives… you spare them suffering by making their deaths quick. Painless. They are not truly dying. Death is the only freedom you can give them, and so they are set free."

Though he almost never could expect a straight answer to anything, Jet found himself asking, "And what about people I don't 'love'? What do you propose be done with them?" As he spoke, he squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the back of his head hard into the wall, still needing some sort of stimulation. When that wasn't enough, he resumed hitting it for a moment.

Somehow, the already dark voice that had been speaking to him managed to darken further, achieving that special tone that always made Jet shiver… and listen more closely. "You and I exist separately, and yet together as one," it all but purred. "My powers are your own. Use them, and you will cast your enemies into a nightmare from which there is no end… no escape. Their suffering, their lives, will only fuel our strength."

There was a long, long silence. Eventually, Jet broke it by letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Go to hell," he muttered under his breath… just in time for a different presence he'd been tracking to reach his door. Unable to make himself not do it, he struck his head twice more as one of the double doors leading into his private space opened. Why can no one ever let me remain alone? he found himself thinking as dismay abruptly joined in with his irritation. He didn't like these emotions. He didn't know how to make either of them go away. He didn't like them. The resulting upset triggered another reflexive strike of his head against the wall, which helped… if only very temporarily.

Sein rushed in quickly, brief panic coming over him at seeing his son in this state. Quick, borderline instinctive reactions, led him to create a sort of cushion of aura behind Jet's head (much to Jet's continuing upset) while teleporting the flute into his hands once more. He found himself recalling his talks with Sonic and took a moment to calm down. Your son needs you… take a deep breath and think. With this time taken to reflect, Sein sat down a few feet from Jet and frowned. "Hey, you can hear me, right?" he asked softly.

Jet debated not answering, as he really didn't want to talk with anyone right now, but after a brief delay he thought better of it. "Yes," he mumbled.

"I don't know much, but I want to try and help you. Do you know what's causing this?" he questioned lightly.

Immediately, Jet opted to only offer a half-truth and nothing more. "I have a headache," was the only response he gave.

Something in this didn't feel right, but Sein didn't push it too hard. "What can I do to help? Do you need anything?" Jet only shrugged, unsure what to really say. He tried to hit his head again when the urge struck, but was met with the cushion and felt a spike of stress in response. Knowing that he couldn't let this go on, Sein sighed. "I'll be right back with Sonic." Rather than say anything more, Sein quickly teleported himself to Mobius and almost too harshly grabbed Sonic by the arm whenever he got near. "I need your help, now," he said quickly.

"Wha-?" Sonic asked in surprise, whirling around to face Sein. Amy, who was with Sonic at the time, looked on in utter confusion.

"Jet's not doing well. I tried helping, but I don't know what I need to do and I absolutely can't let him go through a meltdown. Please, come help if you can," Sein pleaded.

Sonic understood immediately and nodded. "Of course I will," he agreed. Turning to Amy, he quickly said, "I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Alright," Amy nodded. "Make sure he's okay." The blue hedgehog nodded again.

Steam teleported over from where he was. "I'm going, too. I want to help where I can."

Sein, not wanting to waste any more time, simply nodded and brought the two of them with him back to Babylon where Jet was. As Sein and Sonic went into the room, Steam stayed outside and waited as calmly as he could manage. Once in the room, Sonic wasted no time in walking right over to Jet and sitting directly beside him. After all, this was something Sonic had been able to get away with for many years and, true to form, Jet had no adverse reaction to it.

That was a good sign, so Sonic decided his first guess on the situation was correct. He's really stressed out about something, but he's not terribly near meltdown territory right now. That's good, at least. Still, Sonic didn't know what was causing the stress. That had to be determined. His first order of business, then, was calming Jet down enough that he'd even be willing to discuss the problem at all.

With this plan of action in mind, Sonic started up a very simple conversation. He talked to Jet about Amy being back, about Tails's new friend Wery, about how nice the weather had been… really, just anything calm and even just mildly interesting that could help gently ease his friend's attention away from whatever the source of his troubles was. It was a method that nearly always works for him in milder situations like these and, thankfully, that seemed to be the case on this day as well. Jet's attempts to hurt himself gradually got less and less until, finally, he stopped entirely. Eventually, he lowered his hands back down and his posture relaxed a bit more.

Once this was done, Sonic motioned Sein over. "You can come here now. He's alright." Jet privately disagreed to some extent, but he didn't say so. At least he wasn't feeling as… awful right now as he had been minutes before. There was that to be grateful for.

Sein approached and sat down by Jet, a small smile on his face. "I'm glad you're doing a bit better." His gaze shifted to Sonic and he nodded. "And thank you for your help. I really appreciate it."

"'Course," Sonic answered. "It wasn't much, though. In situations like these, ones that are comparatively more minor than others, just talking or providing other distractions is usually enough. His mind can sort of… get stuck on one negative thing, or several of them, and it can be hard for him to switch gears on his own." He looked over at Jet. "Was that happening this time? It seemed like it to me, but you'd know best."

Thinking the scenario over, Jet shrugged. "...I... guess." The formality of his speech pattern these days was gone for now. That was a telling sign to Sonic that the hawk had likely been a good bit more upset than he'd been letting on. Maybe he even still was.

Sein frowned somewhat before sighing gently. "I understand if it's something you don't want to talk about, honestly… but I would really appreciate it. How you're feeling and doing matters so much to me, and I want to help."

Without having fully intended to, Jet shook his head and made a small admission. "I don't even know…"

The frown disappeared and Sein smiled. "That's okay. Take your time. We can talk about it another day."

Steam chose this time to finally walk in and stand a little ways to the side, just so as to not cause any further issues. "Hey, Jet. In a few minutes, I'd really appreciate a bit of time to talk one on one about a few things. You're the only one I can discuss it with right now… and I think it would be good for you to get out and clear your head."

Sonic was in immediate agreement with this idea, though he had no idea what Steam was planning. "He's right, you could use the fresh air. Plus, walking around a bit has always helped calm you down. I think you should do it."

A smile came from the other hawk in the room, Sein focusing his attention toward Steam briefly before turning it back toward Jet. "Could be good for you."

With a bit of added insistence from Sonic, Jet finally caved, nodded, and stood. Without a word, he crossed the room to join Steam. The green hedgehog motioned for Jet to follow him as he stepped out of the room and began walking down the hallway. The hawk simply followed in silence, his mind largely elsewhere. Once they were well out of earshot and he was certain that nobody was able to hear them, Steam properly turned his attention to Jet and frowned. "The Void spoke to you, didn't it?"

There was no point in questioning how Steam knew (the answer to that was obvious enough), so Jet just answered with a simple and vague, "Yes."

Steam sighed softly. "What did it say to you? Anything particular, or is it too much to try and speak about?" Given how high his stress levels still were, Jet found himself immediately just shaking his head in unspoken refusal to say anything about it. "I understand, Jet," Steam murmured softly. "I won't push you to talk about it… but know that someone does understand what you went through… somewhat. I want to help you where I can… even if you don't really know me."

It took effort and he wasn't able to make himself say much, but Jet managed to mumble a small reply. "...Okay."

"One more thing about that, and I'll drop the topic," Steam said gently. "Know that the Void will try to take control of you at some point. I'm going to do everything in my power to stop anything bad from happening, but I just want you to be aware. It doesn't care about your wellbeing as long as it can make good use of you."

This wasn't new information. Jet was well aware of the risks. The Void had made them clear enough. "I know."

"...Be safe," Steam said quietly. "That's all I ask."

That was never a promise Jet had been able to keep at any point in his life. As such, he refused the idea altogether. "A promise that cannot be kept must not be made," he responded after a long pause. It was probably the longest sentence he'd be able to force himself to say for the rest of the day, if he had to guess.

I was afraid you'd say that. Steam shrugged. "Onto other business… I've noticed that Li hasn't gone back to his forge. What happened?"

It again took a small amount of time for Jet to answer. "...I was going to deal with it… before…" he trailed off, not wanting to continue, nor to admit just how long this problem had been persisting. How many days or weeks had he lost to this internal torment? He wasn't actually sure. That… bothered him.

"Oi," Steam huffed gently. "Try not to let this bother you too much. Anyone in your situation would have a difficult time. Pushing yourself to meet a standard that's too high will break you, so why don't we go take a load off and be productive? Get something done so we can relax?"

Jet was quiet for another short while, thinking over what Steam had said and letting it sink in. Eventually, he started to try to comply by asking, "One of your powers… it's fire?"

"Yeah… not Demonfire or anything comparable to Kaden's, but it's definitely fire," Steam answered. "I assume you've got an idea?"

After giving the matter more thought, Jet answered slowly, "With proper Privilege, your familiarity with fire can help tame the inferno."

Steam was briefly caught off-guard. Jet offering something as important as Privilege was astonishing, and the hedgehog wasn't sure of how to feel. "Are… you sure you're willing to grant that?"

It was hard to get words out again. But Jet pressed on as much as he could. "I don't… like fire. By myself, I just… I can't." It was as much of an admission as he was capable of making. He refused to say anything more on the subject.

"Don't worry. I'm willing to help you with whatever you need, especially when it's something like that. Nobody should be forced to do everything on their own," Steam answered, a soft smile on his face. "As long as you're comfortable granting that kind of Privilege, I won't object."

The only thing Jet was uncomfortable with was the idea of facing that hellish blaze. He'd been dreading it for years. The feeling hadn't diminished over that length of time, especially now that the moment was finally here. But he didn't vocalize any of that. Instead, he silently granted Steam the required abilities with a small nod in reply to what Steam had said.

Steam turned away, frowning. "I know you're not the Jet I knew, but I wish I had helped you a lot more than I did." I suppose that helping you now is… close to the same thing.

Jet didn't know what to make of this. He again took time to consider what Steam had said before doing his best to respond. "Don't blame yourself," he said quietly, also looking away. He started drumming his fingers rapidly on his thigh absentmindedly.

"Blaming myself has been… most of my life. I'm trying to turn that around, but I'll recommend this to you." Steam glanced back to Jet after a few seconds. "The advice that you give is something you should take into consideration for yourself. Don't be afraid to give yourself advice."

With the state he was currently in, Jet couldn't fully understand what in the hell Steam was saying. "...What?" he found himself asking.

Steam sighed, trying to think of how to explain this. "What I mean is… in the same way that you said for me to not blame myself, you should take that advice for yourself. Not everything is your fault, you know?" Jet was again silent. All manner of ways he could disagree began flooding his mind, though he knew better than to give vent to any of them. The hedgehog scratched the back of his head. "It… it's not easy. I had to have people like my wife and Sonic beat it into my head for years before I really got the message, and even now I struggle with it. For now… let's not dwell on it too much and go get this done so we don't have to worry about it anymore."

That was an idea Jet could get behind. Now that Kaden was contained, however briefly, it was safe to tackle this problem. The opportunity wouldn't last forever. So, despite how reluctant he was, Jet teleported away to Li's forge for a welcome… and yet decidedly unwelcome… distraction.

~保護者~

With lazy eyes, Marthal followed the movements of his companions far below. He was laying on his stomach on a branch in a high tree, chin comfortably resting on the backs of his stacked hands and his legs stretched out behind him. He had agreed to accompany Sonic and the others on another trip to Hyale. It was here that they were sparring, but for now he was content to merely watch. No doubt, it would be good of him to join eventually… but for now he couldn't be arsed.

He was too busy feeling like he was being watched, anyway.

Not for the first time, he inhaled deeply and sifted through the scents in the area in an effort to discern what was going on. However, none of the information his nose collected was of much use. There were too many people, too many scents both new and old mixing together within this settlement for him to decide who might have been lingering around for too long near him. And besides, no one was lingering to begin with. If they had, their scent would have become concentrated, stronger. He would have been able to pick up on that.

These are shinobi, he reminded himself. They aren't exactly known for sitting still and risking discovery. Sighing, he decided he may as well try a new tactic. Standing up, he followed his nose to the most recent and concentrated scent near his previous location. If he was indeed being watched, it seemed that whoever was doing it had been observing him from different angles… for whatever reason. Didn't think shinobi were this openly curious. This is… weird.

Given how fresh this scent was, Marthal suspected that the person who had left it most likely had only just left. With this in mind, the yokai took a small chance. After putting his hearing aids back in, he dared to call out, "Oi… is someone there? I don't enjoy being watched like this."

The chameleon dangled down from a tree branch suddenly, tilting her head briefly. "Forgive me. I was highly curious."

Now that he'd heard her voice, Marthal was able to pinpoint where she was. He eyed her closely for a moment, but none of his instincts threw out any particular warnings about her. As such, he felt comfortable enough to relax his guard again. "...It's fine," he eventually answered with a shrug. "Curious about what, though? Pretty sure yokai aren't exactly a rare sight in these parts."

"Yokai are not uncommon, but I rarely have the pleasure of meeting someone who is part yokai," she murmured gently.

Fair enough. Conceding her point, he shrugged again. "Well, I guess you're not wrong. Yokai don't tend to interbreed with other species. Guess I'm a bit of an odd duck that way."

The female chameleon nodded briefly. "Would you mind if I sit with you?" she questioned.

"Go for it," Marthal invited, taking a seat in the grass. "I'm not doing much of anything else."

She dropped from the tree and landed silently into a sitting position before turning to Marthal. As best she could in this position, she bowed and murmured, "My name is Tyria."

"Marthal," he responded in kind, sans the bow. He offered a small smirk. "As you might've guessed, it's a really old name and I myself am technically really old. Don't even ask, though, it's a mess of a story."

"I… was not planning to. Considering that one of the most respected leaders of our past recently rose from the grave, I am willing to accept much," Tyria admitted briefly.

Also fair. Marthal decided to ease the conversation away from this awkward starting point by asking, "So what, exactly, were you curious about? I wouldn't normally because I can't be bothered, but I'm willing to answer any questions you might have right now."

"Considering your ancestry, how does being part yokai affect your life?"

"There's… a lot to that. A lot of little things that, together, are a big thing. Like, I can't stand wearing shoes. I'm overly sensitive to smells. It's hard to think logically and not instinctively a lot of the time. Stuff like that make living 'normally' almost impossible most of the time. I spent most of my life living outside of society because of it."

Tyria looked at her own feet briefly before nodding. "I understand what you mean. I have often found shoes to be… inhibiting, but perhaps that is for far more unusual reasons."

For the first time, Marthal noticed her own lack of footwear. Also unusual for a chameleon. Huh. His tail arced from one side of his body to the other behind him as he thought things through, then asked, "Did you have any other questions?"

She tilted her head before looking at his ears, or more specifically what was in them. "What are those things in your ears?"

Deciding to both show and tell, Marthal took one out and held it so she could see. "This is the one bit of modern tech that I really rely on day-to-day. See, I'm mostly deaf. These little things are called hearing aids, and they bypass whatever parts of my ears don't work in order to get sound through to me. Without them, I can barely make out even loud noises."

"...I could not imagine living in that way. I have lived for so long with my senses that it would be difficult. I applaud your efforts," Tyria murmured softly.

"It's just normal for me," Marthal answered casually, putting the aid back in. "I was born this way, so it's nothing unusual."

She blinked a few times. "You seem like you also fight well. Perhaps we could spar sometime? I would appreciate further experience."

"Sure, I'd be open to that," Marthal agreed. "Training is a good idea for everyone right now."

There was a brief nod before she glanced around. "Do you like our lands?"

"I've always liked it up here," he admitted. "I'm not a fan of the cold, but during milder weather like this, it's nice. Plus, a couple of my more… entertaining yokai friends were born up here. Those two were pretty, erm, eccentric."

Tyria blinked a few times before the faintest of smiles appeared on her face. "I am glad. These lands are my home. That others can find some joy in them pleases me."

"What's not to love about them?" Marthal asked. "Fresh air, unspoiled wilderness, no pollution, not many people… Aside from the occasional Hollow or two, this place is practically perfect."

She nodded. "It is far more pleasant than some of what a friend has shown to me from the outside." Tyria thought for a moment, then added, "Not that it is all bad, but it certainly does not suit me."

"It's not for everyone," Marthal agreed. "I put up with it for a long time for a lot of reasons, but it's not what's best for me. I learned that eventually."

"What is best for you?" she questioned further.

"Wilderness," was the simple reply. "It's where I'm most at home. And… well, at least out here there are more people like me. I'm a lot more like pure yokai than I'm like 'normal' people. I get on with them better usually."

Tyria nodded. "That is reasonable. If it is what suits you most, then I would believe that is the path you should take."

"Wise words," Marthal chuckled. "Just took time for me to figure it out on my own, is all."

"It happens. It took time for my friend to realize that he did not align with all of our traditions, and I understand his reasoning. Change is not bad, especially if it ends up being for the better," Tyria said gently.

Marthal gave that some though, idly licking some fur down on one of his wrists as he did so. Then he said, "Yeah, you're right about that. Time's gonna keep on marching forward, and if nobody changes to keep up with it, they'll be plowed over by it."

Tyria nodded once more before standing. "I wholly agree, but I must be going now. There are things I must maintain. Meeting you was very pleasant, Marthal."

"Same to you." Marthal stood up and took in a small breath to further cement her scent in his mind and commit it to memory. Then he teased, "Next time I smell a scent bouncing around my vicinity like a rabbit, guess I'll know it was you."

She didn't immediately understand, but once she did, she gave a faint smile. "Perhaps." With this said, she hurried off in a still-silent sprint. Shaking his head, Marthal turned away and began heading back toward Sonic and the others. He supposed it was his turn to get some training done.

~保護者~

It was late at night when an oppressive aura washed over the village of Hyale. A figure appeared near the heart of the settlement. The person's form was undefined at first, but slowly morphed into one that largely resembled a chameleon woman… aside from the blazing crimson eyes. Sporting a wild grin, the woman raised a hand in the direction of the village elder's home. The energy that was released from her palm was comprised of very distinctive crimson and black colors in the form of a powerful beam. When it died away, there was nothing left of the home, or the elderly woman who had been resting inside.

Pleased with her handiwork, the woman unleashed her attack on several more homes, vaporizing any and all who were caught within it. After having lain hidden away and dormant for so many eons, she was delighted to partake in such acts again. That said acts drew attention swiftly only made this better. Spying the many wary, suspicious, and angry faces surrounding her, she continued to grin. Her mouth never moving, she projected her voice to them all. "If you lot want to survive… for now… I have but one suggestion. Return my son to me. He and I have some… catching up to do."

Her voice positively dripped with malice. It appeared to startle some of the chameleons who had been watching her. However, only a few were wise enough to turn tail and leave… though they didn't obey her. They were swiftly killed. Finally, the commotion drew more worthy attention. Sensing a greater source of power, the woman began walking toward it. The plants lay blackened and dead where she had been standing, the slightest of breezes reducing them to dust. Every step she took resulted in the same.

Upon reaching the source of her interest, the woman only grinned wider. "You… you are the one who keeps my son away. Return him. He belongs to me."

Aniko stood unwavering, staring this woman down with evident hatred in her eyes. "And why should I do that?" she demanded.

"He belongs to me," the intruder reiterated, as if that explained everything.

"I don't think you understand," Aniko muttered. "He does not belong to you. If anything, I lay sole claim to him."

"I gave him life, therefore he is mine," was the smiling response. "Bring him here, or more will perish."

"We swore our lives to one another," Aniko nearly snapped. "And you will-" A hand was set upon Aniko's shoulder, and a brief inspection revealed that it was Rose.

Rose cleared her throat and spoke. "Why have you come here, again?" the cat questioned gently. The creature before them didn't explain again, not that it truly had before, and instead began to advance forward again. Oh, I see… The cat briefly sighed in response, frowning. "What are your intentions with him?"

"He belongs at home," was the simple answer, "now that his powers have truly begun to awaken." Without any warning, an attack snapped out to the side, tearing down a tree and the home built within it. Before any of it could hit the ground, it was blown apart with the person's energy. If anyone was inside the home at the time, they didn't live long enough to flee.

Aniko shifted forward, only for Rose to further block her movements with an arm. "You would take him despite not having heard his opinion on where he wishes to reside?" Rose questioned, her frown only growing more pronounced. "And further destroy the only home he currently knows?"

"His opinion is irrelevant. This home is ill-suited for our kind. We will be leaving." Another attack, this one stronger, tore apart two more homes. Only three or four people managed to get out in time. Wisely, homes started to be abandoned en masse and with great speed at that point as the shinobi took to the trees beyond the village for shelter.

The next action Rose took was rash by most normal means. The cat raised a hand and cast up walls of Light to separate the one attacking the chameleons from being able to directly do so more. "Forgive me, but I cannot simply allow such a thing to occur."

Predictably, this didn't go over well. The malicious smile the person had been wearing took on an even darker tone as "she" turned to directly face Rose. Without a word, "she" aimed an attack at the cat, only to pause and shift her gaze to the left. "...So you left him alone with someone else's spawn," the person murmured to Aniko. "This is how you see fit to 'protect' him?"

"It's none of your damn business," Aniko bit out, clutching at her sword. "Someone with ill-intent attacked my people. I had no desire to let it get to him as well."

Several things happened in rapid succession almost before Aniko could finish speaking. Having sensed danger, Espio suddenly appeared by her side from wherever he had previously been. No sooner than he had, the "woman" lunged for them both. Espio dodged to the right, and their attacker decided to pursue him. With that, the two of them disappeared into the surrounding woods at high speeds, trading blows all the while.

As this all went on, Rose let down the walls of Light and quickly grabbed hold of Aniko's arm before she could take off after the two. "Going after them now is suicide. While you are strong, you will only manage to distract Espio if he's in the mental state to care," she explained quickly.

"That's my son!" Aniko snapped, twisting her arm and wrenching it free of her hold. "You expect me to simply wait?"

Yet another unexpected turn of events took place. All around Aniko, time slowed substantially, to the point where it was barely moving at all. A voice, one that was somehow impossible to distrust, entered her mind. "I apologize for intruding upon you in such a manner, young Aniko… but this situation bears explaining." A soothing warmth blanketed Aniko from seemingly nothing, easing the sharper edges of her fear and concern away. "Your partner is safe. Your grandchildren are safe. Soon, your son and your village will be, as well."

Despite how comforting this all felt, Aniko couldn't help but attempt to move away from it all. "Who the hell are you and what are you talking about?" she demanded harshly.

"A friend," was the soft reply. "We seek to help, but to do so now requires… proximity. We cannot in good faith arrive there ourselves. Not now. Your son, however, bears a gift… one he was granted long ago. We will use that gift to eradicate this threat, for it cannot be allowed to remain. In exchange, his eye will be healed, and his Darkness will be under control again for a time."

Aniko frowned. "Is that all, then? You don't want anything for doing this? How do I know I can trust you with my son?"

After a pause, she received an enigmatic reply to her questions. "We created the Seven Pillars and all the life they uphold. We will not allow that which we love so dearly to be destroyed. We will protect it until the very end… should an end ever come."

"I still don't like this," Aniko muttered. "If I find out that you've done anything to harm my son, I'll hunt you personally."

"I would expect nothing less from a mother," was the soothing acknowledgement. "For now, however, trust us. Moreover, trust him. He will be alright."

Aniko huffed. "Fine. Just don't hurt him," she muttered.

"I would never." With that promise made, the voice faded away and time resumed moving at a normal pace.

Rose turned her attention to Aniko as soon as time returned to normal and frowned. "That was not normal," she murmured gently. "You moved imperceptibly."

"I'll explain later," she murmured, turning her attention to where the fight was occurring. Not a full ten seconds later, there was a series of violent explosions. The ground rumbled from the force of the blasts, all of which clearly emanated from the enemy. However, before they even had the chance to let up, a sudden light started to overtake the apparent battlefield. It was very small at first, but soon blinding heavenly blue swept through the entire area. It swept through the trees, even passing around and through Rose and Aniko. Soon, the light and winds died down, and all was quiet.

"That was unusual," Armaris murmured from beside them as everything seemed to calm down, only evoking a mildly alarmed response from Aniko. Rose seemed either too focused on what was going on or unsurprised entirely.

Aniko decided to not question the black cat on why she was here and instead hurried off to find her son, darting through the trees in search of Espio. For once, however, he wasn't hard to find. He was crouched in the grass where he'd been for the duration of that strange attack. His opponent appeared to have somehow… ceased to exist. He was frowning in open confusion at the spot where "she" had been standing, one hand firmly covering his left eye. Aniko walked over to Espio and knelt by him, looking him over to make sure he was okay as she asked, "Do you know what just happened?"

"No," he answered truthfully. All he knew was that he'd been surrounded by attacks, about to be hit by at least half of them, and then it felt like his ruined eye had somehow opened. Then there had been light, and now… this. None of it made sense.

She gently set a hand on his shoulder and moved in front of him. "Let's go back to Shei and the others. Perhaps we can figure it out together?" It didn't take him too long to decide to just follow her. He stood up and sheathed his sword, but kept his eye covered due to the faint burning sensation that was travelling along the length of the scar on it.

Armaris met them halfway, quickly taking to Espio's side and inspecting him much like how Aniko had before huffing. "You had me worried."

He huffed right back at her and blandly replied, "That was not my doing."

The cat crossed her arms indignantly. "You should at least let me know that you're planning to bail out and go after someone."

"It was not my original intention to be involved in a battle right then," Espio remarked.

She rolled her eyes in amusement. "I know. I wanted to give you a hard time. Though, you definitely did something really unusual. Never seen that kind of energy."

"I did not do it," Espio told her, frowning anew. The burning across his eye started to fade, but he left his hand where it was for the moment just in case it started up again.

Right about then, Shei (having deemed it safe to do so) appeared with the children. Seeing her father, Zei squealed with delight, ran over, jumped, and tackled him in a hug with enough force to actually make Espio stumble back about half a step. He reflexively caught her with both arms, not even noticing at first that both of his eyes were open for the first time in thousands of years.

It took absolutely no time for Armaris to take notice, her own eyes widening as she gasped. "Espio… your eye. It's open," she murmured gently.

He didn't have a chance to react before Zei reached up and traced the path the old scar had taken across said eye. "No more line," she added, head tilting. "All gone."

Shei signed quickly, "She is right. The scar is gone."

"It's… amazing," Aniko murmured softly.

Zei lowered her hand and looked up at Espio. "Why all gone?" she asked. He stayed quiet, if only because he didn't have an answer for her. He wasn't sure why this had happened, much less how to react to it.

Rose quietly stepped up to Espio and motioned gently for him to follow her. "If I could have a moment to speak with you, I would greatly appreciate it."

Espio set his daughter down and nudged her toward Armaris for a moment. When she opened her mouth to protest, he quietly promised, "I will be back. It will not take long." Though she pouted, the little girl walked over to Armaris without further complaint. Once she did, Espio followed Rose away from the group.

The white cat waved a hand around herself and Espio, creating a barely visible barrier. "What just occurred was no less than an act of the Faein themselves," she revealed suddenly.

For just a moment, Espio stared at her in confusion. He appreciated her getting straight to the point, but it still didn't make this make sense. Obviously he knew what the Faein were, but he also knew that they had been dormant since damn-near the dawn of existence. How the hell did any of this make sense? "What are you talking about?"

"They acted through you in some manner. I know not why nor how they did it, but this is what they have done. They aided you in defeating the one attacking the village and have healed your eye as well," Rose answered. That explained… almost nothing. But it wasn't fair to expect Rose to know much more on this situation, so he didn't. Letting out an almost imperceptible sigh and nodded, both as acknowledgement of her words and as a sort of small thank you. She nodded in response, as if understanding what his intentions were before giving him a smile. "For now, try not to dwell on it. Spend time with those you love, especially the one you seem ever closer to."

Espio huffed, refusing to openly acknowledge that last bit, and simply walked back to the others.

~保護者~

7,743 words this time. Hope you all enjoyed! Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 4:15 p.m.) 11-11-20.