Leave or Stay? (Either choice has consequences. Will I make the right one?)

Author's note: I want to thank everyone for the compliments and I'm happy that everyone is enjoying the story! I have an outline of chapters 7 - 13 and hope you enjoy reading through them.

The fireplace brightens up the dark room. In the shadowy corner of the living room is Tohru. She wraps herself up in a warm blanket. I kneel beside her. My head rests on her

forehead.

"I'm sorry, Kobayashi…," she mumbles. I rub her forehead, "I-It's just like old times," she forces a smile and sighs. I can feel the pain in her voice. I should let her rest, but I

know I can't do that. Not when I have so many questions to ask her.

"Tohru. About mom…," I choke.

"Yes, Shiro? I know I have been hiding things from you. I promise I won't do that ever again. No. From now on, I swear to Kobayashi I will tell you the truth."

Kotori gives me an encouraging nudge, "Go for it, Shiro."

"Tohru. Did my mother really die in an accident?"

Tears pour down Tohru's cheeks, "No," she shakes her head and sniffs, "No...No, she didn't. It's a long story, Shiro. But I think you deserve to know what really happened."

I move closer so my ears can pick up every detail.

She pauses and hums to herself, "A long time ago your mother saved me. I was wounded in a fight between the gods and dragons. Miss Kobayashi found me and removed a

sword that was stuck in my body. She offered me a home."

"You're not my aunt? Who are you?"

She pets me on the head, "I love her, you see. You could say we're a couple. I spent my life fighting the gods. But that day I met her I left my world and lived here. I tried to

forget about the war…the suffering."

Kotori places an herb on Tohru's wounds, "Don't force yourself, mom."

"No!" she waves her hands, "I'll tell him the story. You see in the war there are two factions of dragons. Harmony and Chaos. Harmony doesn't intervene in human affairs.

Chaos fights to do what they want. Killing humans in the process."

I lay down with her, "So. That means you're from the Chaos faction? Why didn't you kill anyone?"

"I did it for Kobayashi's sake. I wanted to change. Forget my past," she rolls to the side and stares at the wall, "I thought I could live with Kobayashi and make the most of every

minute. But I was wrong."

I shake my head, "Life is short. Every minute counts. Ever since I met you, Tohru, I suffered. But I also had fun with you. I can't remember what life I lived before I met you."

"Hah…," Tohru coughs, "I remember Kobayashi saying the same things. Things happened in my world. Things got out of hand. You see, I'm the leader of Chaos. When everyone

found out I was living with a human…Things got so much worse."

I nod. I nod because I know where she is going with this. I flip through my notebook and find old pictures of me with Kobayashi, "I heard from Kotori and magus. You're stuck in

this world. They exiled you, didn't they? Your own faction?"

Her empty eyes stare at the shadows of the fireplace, "Yes. Another dragon overthrew me. I can't remember his name, but he fought against Harmony. Harmony was losing…

badly. They were forced to ally with the humans. A huge battle took place and the Harmony faction shut the portal."

I take in everything she has told me. It is a tragic and complicated story. It isn't exactly written by Shakespeare, but it is in the same vein, "That explains why magus didn't kill

you outright. I'm guessing the other dragons from Harmony and whoever fled to this world are living in secret, trying not to draw attention to themselves."

Tohru giggles a bit. She extends her hands, "You're just as bright as your mother."

I press my cheek against her chest. She wraps her arms around me rubbing my back. Katori squeezes in between us. A breeze of wind puts out the fireplace.

"So…," I whisper, "Where does my mom fit into all of this?"

Her eyes are teary, "The knights told me to keep quiet, stay away from humans, but I can't hide who I am forever. I'm a dragon and Kobayashi accepts me for who I am.

Still...The knights of the Harmony faction think it's a crime for Dragons and Humans to be so close. They already hunted down other dragons for the same exact reason before. I

love her more than anyone else in the world. But, I can't let Kobayashi get hurt because of me. When she was asleep, I left. She never saw me again. After that, she married

Takiya."

I feel my heart aching when she says this. I knew how important she is to Tohru. She is also an important person in my life. It is a shame for both of us that her life was cut

short.

"I wanted to return. So badly. But I didn't want to reveal myself to the knights. I waited. For years. Waited for the right time to reveal myself. When I heard that she had a baby

boy, I came back as soon as I could and then…and then…," she stutters and looks at me. Her face is one of guilt. The same expression I made ever since that day she died.

"The knights found me. We were both invisible, luckily. They told me I wasn't allowed out in the open in dragon form. I ignored them and got closer to Kobayashi's car. I could

see you in the window…Your eyes…They were just like Kobayashi's. A fight broke out between me and the knights. I breathed fire to drive them off. But one of my fireballs

smashed into the road. The road that Kobayashi drove on. The car swerved uncontrollably and there was a loud crash."

I look at her amazed. My fingers clutched tighter on to her. My eyes were shut the whole time. I felt the wet moisture in my eyes. The tears dripped gently down my cheek.

She sighs, petting me, "I failed Kobayashi. I was afraid of failing you, too. That's why I didn't accept you in at first, but…I did. And I love you just as much as her. I kept the

secret from you. I had to. To protect that precious smile of yours. But all I've done is put you in danger. The knights now know you live with me. If they come for me, they will

hurt you, too. Maybe even kill you," she reaches for the phone to the side of the couch she rests on, "I'll call Takiya. He can take care-"

I punched the floor with my clenched fist, "It's not your fault!"

"...W-What?" she didn't hear me or maybe she was confused by what I said. I smash my fist into the floor a second time. A third time. A fourth time.

"It's not your fault! I knew life would be hard for me. Like I said, I suffered. But I felt so much joy with you and Kotori. I forgot about what my life was like before almost. I don't

want to return to life before I met you! It sucks. It sucks!" I scream uncontrollably. I am loud enough to disturb the neighbors, but I didn't care. I shout to the world, "It sucked

back then. I felt nothing. All I did was sit at my mother's grave. Study. Go to school and do it all over again. I don't care about the danger. I don't care about the knights! I'll get

stronger if I have to! I'll face them all! Toh- Mom. I love you!"

Tohru is quiet. Kotori looks at me in awe. They both smile with heavy tears in their eye. That night, we spent together in the living room, crying, laughing, clinging to each other

closely. A dragon's body feels so warm and welcoming. Especially at a time like this.

Small rays from the sun flash through the gaps in the curtains of the window. My eyelids slowly open.

"Zzz…zzz…," a trail of smoke comes out of Tohru's nose while she snores.

Sleeping like a baby? I shake my head. I look through my bag. I find the sword I had retrieved from the knights. The knights Kotori and I beat up. Magus will come back. This

time I plan to meet him. I gently open the door and shut it behind me. I climb down the steps to our yard. The flying machine is still there. I rummage through the engine.

Click. Clack. Click Clack.

There! I find the batteries Magus gave me. I poke them. It gives off a rainbow-colored glow.

He can enchant non-magical items? Maybe if I learn how to do that I could face him.

I search through my laptop for information. I find some articles on enchanting. This must be the information I'm looking for. I take notes and study every detail I can. When I'm

done, it is already noon.

I'm practicing with my sword. I take a few practice swings with it and do pirouettes around a practice dummy. "You need more practice," a voice tells me. I look up and see a girl

in her teens. She wears an exotic coat. Something sown with different color-patterns. It looks like an Inuit design.

"Who are you?" I raise my sword.

"I know what happened to lady Tohru," she jumps toward me, "Did you hurt her?"

I shake my head, "No. What are you talking about? And you didn't answer my question. Who are you?!"

She ignores my questions and glares at me. Her face is so close to mine that I can feel her cold breath blow against my nose, "You hurt her, didn't you?"

"Geez. You're really nosy. And annoying."

She glares at me then mutters, "Cuckold."

Who does she think she is calling me that? What a brat...

"Bitch," I reply.

"Bastard in glasses," she replies.

"She-devil with horns," I retort.

"Take that back!" she tackles me to the floor and we start wrestling.

"No!"

"Take it back! Take it back!" she's pounding my face with her fists.

"Kanna Kamui," Tohru stands there with crossed arms, tapping her foot on the ground, "That's no way to talk to my son," she clenches her fist.

"Lady Tohru!" she looks at me, then back to Tohru in shock, "I didn't mean to. I swear!"

She pats Kanna on the head, "Kotori. Shiro. This is a friend of mine. Kanna Kamui. I'm sorry for her behavior. She doesn't like strangers."

Kanna looks at me, "He doesn't look like a dragon. Smells like a human…"

"That's because she is," Tohru grins.

Kanna's mouth is open. She looks at Tohru in horror, "Lady Tohru!"

"He's family. Family sticks together. I will not abandon him like I did Kobayashi."

Kanna frowns, "I understand lady Tohru. I saw him training. Why?"

"I'm training so I can protect them from the knights."

Kanna gives me a blank stare, "You can't beat them with just a sword! They have magic, too."

"Then teach me magic!" I hold up my notes on enchanting, "Train me. I can do it! I can beat them!"

Kanna presses the notes against her eyes and scans each of them, "I'm a dragon. The training I go through would be too much for a human."

"Good. That means when I complete it I can fight just as good as a dragon," I sharpen my sword.

"Lady Tohru, this boy is just as stubborn as you, if not, more stubborn. I can see why you took him in. "Kanna shrugs, "It can't be helped. Fine. I'll train you."

Kanna looks at Tohru. Tohru nods.

"Close your eyes!" she readies a spell.

"Teleportation?" I wrap my hands around my eyes.

BANG!

I land face first into the sand. I look up. The beach waves recede and pull closer to the surface. There's a calm whoosh sound as the waves splash against the beach. There

seems to be no one in sight.

"Where did you teleport us?" I groan.

Tohru looks around, "You could have told us. I need to change into something more comfortable."

Kanna points to a shed, "I left some swimsuits there."

"Oh thanks," she waves at me, "Good luck, Shiro. We'll be waiting here for you."

She skips to the shed with glee.

"Where do we train?" I catch my breath.

"One second," she performs a ritual with her hands.

I am lifted off my feet by an invisible force.

"Whoa, wait- Couldn't I just ride on your back?"

"Not in a million years,"Kanna turns into her dragon form. A slippery serpent-like dragon.

She flies in a zigzag maneuver until we are in the clouds where humans can't see us.

Kanna changes back into a girl, "You've studied enchanting magic. You practiced how to fight. Now I want you to apply what you learned and beat me," she assumes a defensive

stance. I can't fail now. I focus all my energy and begin casting.