From The Side

Chapter 8

A/N: 2 of 5 for the week. Upped the rating to T due to the nature of what's going to happen in the near future.

~*~

At first it was obviously a dream. He wasn't the teenager that he was back then but still, there were the three of them. His brother was standing tall and grinning over the field as if envisioning what it would be like when his own home was built on it. Then there was the girl about his brother's age. At first he hated her, thought her nothing more than a nuisance to demon-kind, but he gradually came to accept her.

Despite her always peaceful appearance, she had hair as deep red as the blood that flowed from his enemies. Her eyes were of a deep blue that seemed to hold an ocean of wisdom, experience, and love. 'With her, I could become something more than a demon.' That was what he had always thought.

But it was a dream, after all he hadn't seen either of them since the last few years of his adolescence. His brother he'd seen more recently than her, but not by choice. No, that was because...

Once his mind accepted that there was something stopping him from seeing his red-haired maiden, the whole field was suddenly on fire. He panicked and memories came flooding back. Forgetting that it was nothing but a dream, he ran as fast as he could towards a fortress in the distance. Even as he ran he found the scattered remains of what he and his brother were going to live in and the dead bodies of the workers. Smaller bodies were also on the road to the fort, forcing tears to his eyes as he recognized each one.

A howl of rage echoed through the night air and he stopped. Changing the direction he was going, he quickly found an army of orcs surrounding two small ninja children and the girl he was looking for. Excited she was still alive, he moved forward but had to stop again as the world shifted as dreams do. When it returned to something stable, he was kneeling in front of the red haired woman, tears streaming now as he gazed into her cold blue eyes. His hands were stained red with her blood and there were wounds from her sword all over his body. The orcs around him said something that angered him, but nothing could overcome the sorrow he felt as the last moment of Aki's life past. All he saw was her blue eyes, now nothing but empty waters.

~*~

Zarame woke up to someone combing his hair and tiredly looked over at who was doing it. Seeing blue eyes startled him and it took him a moment to realize the pink hair was not blood red and the face belonged to Kuno. He forced back the bitter words and chose only to confirm that his mind was in the right place. "Kuno?"

"You worried about your Aki again? Did she die too?" the Nekomata asked, her eyes filled with concern.

The similarities in the two were too much. The shade of red hair, their manner of speaking concern for him, and even the way they styled their hair in the ponytail above the scalp, letting the rest hang loosely around their body. But the most troubling similarity was the eyes. Kuno's weren't as wise as Aki's, but they held curiosity instead, the same experience, and a similar deep love for those around her. He turned his face away from hers. "I... I don't know. I have to go. Forget everything I told you earlier." He'd almost forgotten that himself, so when it came out his mind sunk more into depression. He stood up and began to walk off before Kuno could stop him.

Seeing Brandon just outside of view, he began to walk directly up to him, but chose instead to have Brandon follow him. "Brandon, come with me."

"Yes sir," came the guilty response.

The two walked side by side for a little while, Brandon staring at the floor anxiously and Zarame gazing ahead at nothing. They came at last to an empty room, save for a white haired man with chains on his wrist and ankles. Ignoring the familiar person, Zarame faced Brandon directly. "Can I hit you with the promise you won't hate me afterwards?"

Brandon hesitated before answering. "Yes, but so long as you can answer one question."

"Just one?"

"Yes."

"Fair enough. What's the question?"

"What was your relationship with this Aki person who seems to be popping up a lot?" Brandon asked. When Zarame didn't answer immediately, the gunner turned to face the samurai. He met a fist instead, a hit hard enough that he stumbled back to the wall in the room. He rubbed his face and barely heard Zarame's response.

"She was my first friend and the only demon I've ever loved. The feelings I had for her, though, were not returned, so nothing came of it." It was Zarame's turn to avoid his friend's gaze and he once again began to walk away from his problem.

Brandon called out, "Is that why you act as distant as you do?"

The samurai stopped and turned around, a smirk on his face now. "Only one question, Brandon. Or do you want a second hit?"

"Ah, no I'm good."

~*~

Adell and Rozalin were waiting with Tink when Zarame showed up. Adell grinned the way he always did, oblivious to the problems Zarame was having. He wasn't an idiot, he just never noticed what wasn't in front of him unless he tried. If Adell was seeking out the issues of his teammates, Zarame was sure Mr. Chivalry would've gotten more than just one answer from him.

"So, I was just talking to Mr. Chivalry here and we decided that you two would make a good team," Rozalin announced.

Zarame couldn't help but chuckle for a short moment. "My nickname's going around?"

"Well, if ze shoe fits, no?" Tink replied, letting out his 'oh-ho-ho-ho' laugh afterwards.

"Hey, you guys just haven't realized that helping your team out a little bit is just the way things should be done," Adell replied.

"Yeah, your team not your enemies." Zarame rolled his eyes.

"A good deed goes a long way," Hanako added, standing at her brother's feet. "At least that's what Adell used to always say when Tardo and I were younger."

"Anyway, I'm surprised Zarame. You seem to be accepting the word 'team' a bit more," Rozalin stated. "What brought this change about?"

"I could say the same to you, you're not as vicious about fighting being here with Adell," Brandon muttered, but his comment was ignored.

"As much as I hate to admit it, it was the battle with that idiot in the first round that made me realize I did need allies." Zarame sighed. "He was like a cockroach, he just wouldn't die and that left me unable to take out their fighters farther back."

"Yeah, I know another cockroach," Adell stated.

"Axel?" everyone else asked.

"Duh," Adell replied.

There was a bit more of friendly conversation between Adell, Rozalin, and Zarame that surprised everyone else since the three seemed to so different. Hanako, Taro, and Tink all left when Adell mentioned they needed a little bit more fairy dust for when Miriam ran out of energy to cast spells. They figured they'd kill two birds with one stone: get prepared for battle and escape the random conversations the three had about how to battle. Hanako explained to her younger brother that while Adell was still great, those three were too much of "battle and strategy junkies" to be able to handle normal things when around each other. At least they all found something they had in common.

"But I can only throw so far," Adell noted, crossing his arms at a particular comment Zarame had made.

"That's why if you can't throw as far as, say, a warrior then you try to throw the ones who can move more afterwards. Like Kuno or Zane. It's actually ideal," Zarame explained.

"I think it's better for the ones who can take more hits to hold the weaker ones so that they can live," Rozalin argued.

"Except that the two who can take the most beatings are Fenrir and Kuno, both of which can't lift anyone," both Zarame and Adell countered.

"Besides, you just want to avoid taking damage yourself. If you don't wanna get hit, stay back like a good gunner," Kuno cheered, jumping over to the rest. She sat down immediately, sparing only a glance at Zarame.

The samurai realized belatedly that he had just forced Kuno away a second time, though this last one was not on purpose. While he and his boss were getting along, the Nekomata probably wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

"Feeling better, Zarame?" the cat girl asked, still not looking at him.

"Eh? Uh, yeah I am," Zarame replied.

"Oh right, you had pretty nasty wounds. That's why you sat out last battle. I take it you can participate in the next one," Adell said.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

They heard the announcement for the group to once again head to the arena and all got up to go. Kuno waited behind, staring expectantly at Zarame, but when he didn't notice anything she followed after them.

The young ninja girl, Yukimaru, appeared once more as well. Evidently she'd won all her fights by default so she was still going strong. With a few moments where "zam" came at the end of everyone's sentences, they all went on their merry way until Tink commented on that girl being the one who turned him into his frog form.

"Oh, I forgot that wasn't your true form. It fits you too well," Zarame had joked, which resulted in laughter from most of the group. However, Rozalin and Tink glared at him and he chose not to continue to pick on the flying frog.

The battle started with a smug comment that proved the Dark Hero had it in for them. Of course, that wasn't a surprise, especially when compared to the next group of enemies being even more girls than Mr. Undefeatedable's group. There were two cat girls, three plant-like girls, and three succubi, though one stood ahead of the rest. Obviously she was the leader.

"Elenor?" Adell gasped.

"You know her?" Rozalin questioned, showing a hint of jealousy. Adell turned away, but he didn't respond.

"An ex-girlfriend?" Hanako asked.

"I wouldn't put it past him, if she was once human that is," Zarame added.

"No! Our relationship wasn't like that!" Adell barked.

"But wasn't it, Adell?" Elenor responded.

"No, it as not. Elenor is the reason why I hate girls," Adell replied, crossing his arm.

Zarame saw a look in the succubus's eye that reminded him of something else. A look Kuno gave him and a look Aki gave her brother. He held his breath, trying to figure out what it meant. No matter how much he thought about it, he came up with no answer.

"Zarame, we're getting ready for battle," Brandon whispered.

"Oh, right, sorry," the samurai muttered.

Adell, Kuno, and Zarame took the direct front, while Zane and Fenrir chose to explore the sides. According to the strategy, Rozalin would remain behind to guard the spell casters: Miriam, Hanako, Nagi, and Whisper. More organized now than they had been the previous two battles, the fighting ensued quickly. Hanako did a constant "buff and run" since she required to remain close to her allies. Consequently, Fenrir and Zane never received their buffs.

The women were defeated quickly, and Adell found himself face to face with Elenor, already so weakened that she knew she lost. "You've improved, Adell," she coughed. "I've lost."

"You'll never beat me again," Adell said confidently. Zarame and Rozalin moved up beside him, all ignoring Axel as he announced in a rather disappointed voice who the victor was.

"Well, maybe you're still interested in our deal? I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"I don't care anymore. I have my family right here, and my friends also here. I don't even think about them anymore."

A vague answer. Zarame glanced at Adell, but he showed no sign of what he was talking about. Who? Zarame wanted to ask, but knowing how it felt to be asked about something painful. Instead he kept quiet.

However, the succubus said something else that brought realization to him. "You don't know how to treat a lady, do you Adell? It is a pity, you'll have a long road ahead of you." The last sentence was directed at Rozalin.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Rozalin stammered.

"Oh, you know what I mean very well." Elenor sighed and stood up. "Adell, just remember to say 'thank you' and 'sorry' at the right times and a girl like that will fall head over heels."

Instantly Zarame spun away from the duo who were now fighting in vain to say they weren't a couple. He hadn't told Kuno sorry. He hadn't told anyone sorry except Brandon and Adell was a different case altogether. Kuno, though, he had been rude to at least twice. And it didn't hurt that now he couldn't help but compare her to Aki.

Only by appearance, though. He didn't hold the same feelings.

"Kuno!" Zarame called, running up as Kuno was finishing up bandaging the wounds that Miriam didn't manage to heal in battle.

"Zarame?" the Nekomata asked.

The swordsman hesitated. He never said sorry, not since he became a mercenary. And even if she did remind him of Aki, he was trying to throw away his past. But she was gazing at him now expectantly. Taking a deep breath, he finally spoke. "I wanted to say thanks. You are a bit of an idiot, for doing it, but you keep going at trying to make nice with me. And on that note, I apologize," he stated, pausing only for a second as he realized he insulted her while trying to apologize. "I apologize for being rude to you so many times, especially this last time. I didn't do it on purpose, I was just unnerved from some events earlier."

Kuno's eyes widened as he spoke. She scratched her ears and thought for a few moments before finally responding. "Yeah, I believed I was an idiot too, since I thought you would never make friends with anyone. I thought Brandon was a friend in name only. However, when we fought that other samurai, you accepted us and I thought I was one step closer to making friends with you." Kuno looked around and then grinned. "I'm not sure why you're apologizing now, but I accept your apology." She wagged her tail and then heard Aerin not too far off calling for her. "Hey, I gotta go, but you take care Zarame." She trotted off and called back when she hit the end of the hall. "Does this mean we're friends?"

Zarame nodded. "Yes, we are."

Kuno's tail swayed faster and she giggled. "Thanks! You're not as bad as everyone thought!"

At least not anymore, Zarame thought.