Chapter 8: A Friend's Pain Part 1

Chapter 8 is up! This is the re-edited version!

Disclaimer: Dark-Flame Alchemist does not own Kaze no Stigma or the song Wedding Dress.

Karai's Point of View

We were eating lunch in the Kannagi household. Father was sitting in his spot as usual while there were two rows of people that sat across from one another. The row on the right of Father was filled with all Kannagi members─ the one closest to Father being Misao's father, Masayuki.

I sat closest to Father on the left row. The seat to my left was empty because Kazuma wasn't here yet. Next to him would be Ayano, Ren and the two other members. There were a few women serving drinks to people, including Misao, who went to the other room.

I sighed, 'And I thought I was the one who was always late,' I thought, shaking my head a bit as I continued eating.

"While everyone is mostly here, we should all thank Lady Karai for her help with dealing with the Fuga clan. After all, the Uchiha family figured out that the Fuga clan was responsible for the deaths of the previous head, his wife, and several members of their family, but weren't able to get evidence. She also had a suspicion that the Fuga clan also killed some of our members as well so she deserved to take care of them, along with Ayano, Ren and our other guest Kazuma who isn't here yet," Jugo said as everyone clapped and I nodded.

"Also, all four of them have already found out that Karai is my daughter so she should be given an even more upmost respect than just being the head of her clan," Father revealed. They bowed their heads at me in respect. I nodded my head at them.

"Since she now knows that she is part of the head branch of the Kannagi family as well, shouldn't she fight for her right as heir?" One of the members asked.

"That is true. She would make a much better head than your other daughter, no offense to her though," the member next to the one who talked said.

"Yes, especially with the current status as head of the Uchiha clan," another member said.

Ayano cringed as she looked down with shame, knowing that it was true, but I was beyond pissed, "I'm sorry, but I will do no such thing. I am fine with being just the head of the Uchiha clan. I don't think it would be fair to Ayano if I was head of both sister clans. She may seem unfit, but she is more than capable of leading your family as the head. In the years to come, with training, she will become a great leader just like I am trying to be," I calmly argued, "You should apologize for being so disrespectful to your future head."

"We are sorry for offending you Lady Ayano. What we said was rude," one of the ones who spoke out said as they bowed.

"You are forgiven. You were just speaking out your opinions," Ayano said calmly as she looked at me with a grateful look. I gave her a look that said 'no problem' as I was really surprised that she was able to stay calm and nonetheless, forgive the members. She would usually yell out at those who insulted her, but what she just did proved that she was indeed capable of handling situations without acting impulsive, but she would need lots of practice since she is more of a hot-head.

Jugo smiled, "It seems both my daughters will be great heads in the future, although one of them is mainly a head already," he said looking at me and then at the members, "You should all be grateful for having promising leaders in this room right now, especially since they are younger than us all. Now let's continue eating while we wait for our other guest."

Everyone started chatting and eating again, like the conversation never happened. I was still pissed though.

"Karai."

I looked to see that it was Ayano who said my name, "What's up?" I asked with, trying to calm myself.

"Thank you for sticking up for me like that," Ayano said smiling at me.

"I'm your older sister. That is what they do," I told her.

Ren somehow appeared behind me and started squeezing the living daylights out of me, "Yeah Nee-san! You were awesome! You were… were amazing! I think deep down, you put fear into their hearts!"

"Ok, ok, Ren. I know. I am awesome! Now let go of me!" I said trying to pry him off me. He eventually did.

As I ate, I noticed Ayano was very slowly eating her food, like something was on her mind. Before I could ask her, Ren beat me to it, "Is something wrong Ayano? You look kind of mad."

"Yeah, is something bothering you?" I asked her with concern.

"What? No, nothing's wrong! Are you kidding me?" She said trying to be all cheery. I didn't believe her though.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Positive! Although, I'm wondering why you aren't that mad," She said.

"Well, I still am pretty pissed off at these guys for disrespecting you," I said quietly so that she and Ren can only hear.

"I wasn't talking about that, but it's nothing! Don't mind me!"

"Ok then, whatever you say," I said, not believing her. 'Maybe it's because Kazuma isn't here yet?'

One of the women spoke, "We have a visitor."

I heard a door slide open. Everyone looked towards the door and saw that it was Kazuma, 'Speaking of the devil.'

"Well it's about time," Ayano said with relief. 'So it was because Kazuma was late,' I thought.

"There you are Kazuma. Come in. Please sit down," Father said as he walks in with his hands in his pockets and takes the empty seat next to me.

"I guess I'm kind of late, huh?" Kazuma said.

"No, we are very happy that you have decided to join us," Father told him.

"Who's the late one now?" I said grinning as I drank some tea.

"At least I wasn't late most of the time when we planned to meet," he said back at me.

"Hmm, touché," I said with surrender.

Jugo started speaking once again, "As you know, this man is Kazuma Yagami. We must all thank him like we did with Lady Karai for his invaluable assistance in dealing with the Fuga clan."

I could hear Ayano whispering to Ren, "Invaluable nothing! We had to pay him." I saw her notice that Ren wasn't even at his seat anymore. He was hugging Kazuma, who didn't even react to what his brother was doing.

"Hey! Kazuma! I'm so happy you're finally here!" Ren happily said. Ayano had an annoyed face from looking at him and I just sighed.

"Do you want anything to drink?" "I didn't come here because I was thirsty." Ren had a sour face after Kazuma said that, but kept on asking him if he needed anything.

"You're going to eat with us though, right?" "I didn't come here for food either." Ren had a very unpleasant face as Kazuma said that.

Ayano held the sensitive Ren and rubs her head on his motherly, "You're acting like a real jerk! Is that what you came here for?" They just kept arguing as I just kept sighing.

Baby!

Listen to your heart, won't let you down

Cause you should be my Lady!

Now that we're apart love will show how

Life carries on…

I've never felt so strong

Life can lead us to a happiness never ending

If we just know that we belong to each other

Never worry, grow as we go

See you in your wedding dress

When the song started repeating again, my eyes widened as I realized that that was my ringtone. Everyone looked at me as I embarrassingly laughed, "Umm I better take that. Sorry, continue what you were doing. I'll just be a minute," I said as I got up and went to the other room.

Misao passed by me with a smile as I gave one back. She then went into the room I was just at. I checked who was calling and it was Ichiru.

I answered, "Hello?"

"Hi Karai."

"Yes hi, now what is up?"

"Just wondering how you are doing."

"Are you kidding me? I'm doing ok! I'm at a luncheon right now. Is that all?"

"Grouchy much, aren't we?" I could see the smirk on his face as he said that. He's lucky he isn't with me or else I would have smacked his head.

"Whatever, now can you tell me what you really were going to say?"

"Haha, all right. To lighten up your mood, you have the rest of the week off as Uncle Daichi said that he will take care of the matters you were supposed to do so that you can take a break from all the stress. Isn't he such a wonderful Uncle?"

"Really? That is so nice of him. I do need a break right now. Thank him for me right now and I'll do it again later, okay?"

"All right Karai."

"By the way, how about you and I go to that café that we used to go to? You could use a break as well."

"Sure, I need as much a break as you do, especially since I'm like your assistant."

I laughed, "Ok then, I'll meet you at the café later on. See ya then."

"Bye Karai." I hung up my phone. 'That was a very nice thing of Uncle to do. I'm glad that I get a break,' I thought.

Suddenly, I heard a scream. 'That sounded like Misao!' I thought while panicking. I rushed into the room to see the backs of Kazuma, Misao, Ayano and Ren. Misao was standing behind Kazuma while Ren and Ayano stood a few feet away from them. Everyone was looking at Misao and Kazuma while Father kept drinking his tea. I was confused by the whole situation.

"No!" Ren said with concern and Ayano said, "Kazuma! Are you all right? Say something!"

Kazuma turned his head to look at Misao, "Feel better now?" he asked her.

I finally was aware of the knife Misao was trying to stab into Kazuma's back as his wind magic was deflecting it.

She pulled back, looking surprised that she couldn't injure him.

I decided to speak up, "What the hell is going on? I leave the room for a few minutes and I find that Misao is trying to kill Kazuma!" I demanded.

Ayano looked at me, "Kazuma said that he was the one responsible for the death of Misao's brother and she went all crazy!" I was bewildered by what I heard. I never knew Misao would do such a thing.

Ayano then turned to Father, "Father, this would probably be a good time for you to step in and do something!"

Father looked at Kazuma, "Kazuma?" He looked at Father, "If you are unwilling to punish Misao, then it becomes necessary for us to take appropriate action."

I didn't say anything as Father continued, "Masayuki, I ask you as her father, do you approve?"

"Yes. As a member of the Kannagi family, Misao will accept full responsibility for this as I'm sure she is prepared to," Misao's father replied.

"Don't you think that you all are kind of overreacting?" Kazuma said as everyone looked at him, "It's not like she killed me. She couldn't hurt me if she tried."

"Then if you do not wish to punish her, we will respect your decision. However, we cannot permit such inexcusable behavior and therefore I am afraid we will have to suspend Misao for the time," Jugo said.

"It's not fair! Why couldn't it have been you? Why did this have to happen? Why did my brother have to die?" Misao yelled.

"Because he was weak."

Everyone was shocked by what Kazuma said.

"Kazuma," Ren said.

Ayano got mad and pointed at Kazuma, "If that was supposed to be some kind of joke, then you got a really sick sense of humor. How can you say something so disrespectful? Have you already forgotten how weak you were and how it felt like before you discovered how to use wind magic?" I shook my head, 'There goes her impulsiveness again.'

Kazuma turned his head slightly with his eyes closed, "Are you done? Because I am." He turned towards the door, slid it open and closed it once he was outside. Everyone started whispering in the room, although I couldn't hear what they were saying. Ayano was talking to Ren at how Kazuma was behaving badly.

I was kind of upset myself with the way Kazuma had acted, but I couldn't blame him. Kazuma's weakness was much different from Misao's brother. Still, he didn't need to say something like that.

I noticed Misao's hand clenched on the knife she was holding. 'She must be very mad right now,' I thought. I walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked my way as I indeed saw her with an angry face.

"Don't worry about what Kazuma said. He's had a rough childhood," I tried to assure her.

She hid her face so I couldn't see it and muttered, "I won't forgive him for what he did…" She then shrugged her shoulder so that I would let go, turned around and left the room where she came from.

I stared at the door that she left through. I was kind of suspicious by what she said.

"I am sorry that Misao disrespected you like that Lady Karai," I looked at Masayuki who said that, "She should be punished along with her previous behavior with our guest."

I held up a hand, "There's no need to do that. One punishment is enough. Although, I think that I will keep an eye on her today. Just to make sure she's ok." '…And doesn't do anything stupid,' I thought. "Do you mind?" I asked Misao's father.

He shook his head, "Not at all milady. Misao should be grateful that you are treating her with such kindness and looking out for her."

"Thank you. I have to check on a few things back home first. I'll go check on her right when I get back," I said.

"Very well Karai. Thank you for joining us today. We hope to see you again soon," Jugo said as everyone bowed their head.

"Goodbye Father," I said before bowing. I turn to Ayano and Ren, "I'll see you guys later," as I smiled at them and waved a bit.

"Bye Karai Nee-sama!" They both said as they waved.

~…~

I was almost at the Kannagi household after going home for a bit. I even passed by Uncle Daichi and thanked him for giving me a break for the week. When I was halfway there, my phone rang.

Baby!

Listen to your heart, won't let you down

Cause you should be my Lady!

Now that we're apart love will show how

Life carries on…

I grabbed my phone and looked to see that it was Ayano. I answered.

"What is it Ayano?"

"Nee-san, I need your help with something! Can you meet me right now?"

"Sorry Ayano, I'd really like to help you, but I got something to take care of right now."

"What?" She yelled before sighing, "Fine, I was going to ask Ren to help me anyway."

"Sorry again Ayano."

"It's all right Nee-san. See ya."

"See ya," I hung up the phone and put it back in my pocket. Once I got to the Kannagi house, I didn't see Ren around so I assumed that he left to meet Ayano.

I was heading in the direction of Misao's room. I walked and stopped in front of her door and was about to knock until I heard her voice on the other side, talking to someone on the phone. I listened to what she was saying, but couldn't get the whole sentence.

"You know… to do… Make sure… him… I'll be leaving… few minutes… Goodbye," I heard her no more, just the sound of movement and shoes being put on.

I was a little concerned with what I heard. 'Who could she have been talking to?' I thought.

I stepped back a few steps very quietly. I then walked forward normally and knocked on her door. I heard a "Come in," and entered the door.

I was shocked to see Misao dressed up nicely. She was wearing a red short dress, a dark red coat that was like mine except it had long sleeves, no hood and wool parts on the end of the sleeve covering her wrists. She also had pink shoes with short heels and even wore makeup. She had a small pink purse that hung over her shoulder.

"Wow Misao, you look really pretty," I said still admiring how she looked.

"Thank you Karai, I have a date to go too today so I wanted to look nice," She replied with a smile, "By the way," she said as she turned around to get something to put in her purse, "I'm sorry for being so rude earlier. I was just mad, but I still shouldn't have done that."

"It's all right Misao! All's forgiven," I assured her, "It was understandable. Are you all right now?"

She turned around once again, "Of course I'm all right." She looked at her watch, "I should be heading off already to take care of some business."

I raised my eyebrow, "I thought you were going on a date?" I asked, trying not to be suspicious.

She flinched a bit, knowing that she had made a mistake, but was quick to fix it, even though I had already noticed, "Yeah and that too."

"Ok then, how about I walk with you there? I have a day off today." 'And for the rest of the week as well… but she doesn't need to know that,' I thought.

"Sure, it's at Star Box Coffee," she said nervously like she didn't actually want me to come.

"Yeah, I know the place. I just need to make a quick call first. How about you meet me at the entrance?" I said with a smile. She nods and goes out her door.

My smile disappeared as I grabbed my phone and dialed Ichiru's number. It rang a few times before he answered.

"What's up Karai?"

"Change of plans… I have something to take care of right now. We can go to the café tomorrow. Is that all right with you?"

"Sure, it's fine. What kind of issue do you need to take care of?"

"Misao has been acting strange and I need to keep an eye on her. I have to go now. Bye."

"Ok then. Be careful."

I hung up and put my phone in my pocket. I walked out of the room, closed the door behind me and started walking to the entrance.

'I hope Misao isn't going to do anything irresponsible…,' I thought as I saw her waiting for me.

"All set? Let's go," she said as she began walking.

"Misao..."

Misao pauses and looks at me.

"Don't do anything that you'll regret," I told her before walking past her. She didn't say anything and just walked beside me as we headed for the train.

There you go! Chapter 8! ^^

Karai's ringtone is called Wedding Dress by Taeyang. You should listen to it, it's a really good song. There's a Korean and English version =]