MJC: Okay guys, you better mentally prepare yourself. I almost started crying myself while writing this. Even though most of this chapter is completely unneeded, I just decided to actually come out and write something emotional, because I haven't written anything that qualifies as sad or angsty in a while.

Elsword: I think your overestimating your writing abilities.

MJC: WELL I GUESS WE'LL SEE, THEN!

Chapter Twenty-Two
The Little Hsien

Large topaz eyes gazed longingly through the distorted glass of a display case. A pretty little necklace lay strewn within. The little smile on the small girls face rang of admiration, and desire. Too bad she didn't have any money.

Sighing, Ara turned away from the spectacle, not wanting to feel the little tug in her chest. Instead, she went to explore a different area, where the rings were gathered for display. They sparkled prettily. Ara 'ooh'ed at the silver and gold bands.

"Are you looking for something?" A woman with kind eyes, and a motherly disposition queried the girl. She shook her head, a little sadly. "Oh, that's too bad." The woman smiled sweetly at the girl, despite her tone. Ara nodded before turning to wander again.

She neared the entrance, and saw through the only slightly distorted image of her brother. He was all the way across the street, looking desperate and ready for a break down. Ara cocked her head.

"Onii-chan?" She turned to peer at a pretty little hand mirror with an intricate design engraved into the silver. Frowning, however, she trotted to the door after hardly a moment's hesitation. "Onii-chan!" She repeated, this time forming a beckon.

He didn't hear her.

Pouting, the girl got closer to the road, calling louder this time.

"Onii-chan!" A truck honked, drowning the girl out.

He once again did not hear her.

Huffing, if only a little, the girl strode purposely to the crosswalk. Taking a moment to look both ways as her dutiful Onii-chan had taught her, the small girl smiled, satisfied that the way was clear, and the light signaling 'walk' was green.

Once again ignoring hesitation, she began across.

A woman screamed. People shouted. A baby cried. Another horn honked.

Taking a moment to look away from her target, the little girl turned to see face of a startled man, and the large wheels of a similarly large truck. She blinked.

Before she knew it, she was sprawled across the pavement. For a moment she thought it might hurt, but she couldn't tell. Her vision was hazy, but she knew she could see red. A pretty color splattered against the asphalt. Ara smiled. It looked just like the eyes of that little fox ornament her okaa-san used to love so much. Just like the Little Hsien's.

"Do you see that Onii-chan?" She choked out, a bit surprised at how hard it was. For some reason, the dull feeling of pain filled her stomach. It reminded her of last week when she had to get a shot at the doctor's office, and, even though they said it wouldn't hurt, it still ached for a long while afterwards.

"Ara!" Blinking, she tried to focus on the figure dashing towards her. It was hard, but she could just barely make out Aren. Her precious onii-chan.

"Onii-chan?"

Before Aren could even realize what was happening, the blaring of a truck horn, and the raucous chaos of a distraught crowd broke him from his search for little Ara. Turning to the road to see what had happened, he was immediately snapped from any sort of happy reverie that his search for the small girl had dunked him in.

I thin breeze of an exhalation somehow escaped his lungs, despite the fact that he felt his throat contracting. An immediate lump clogged it, and he couldn't feel the sensation of that breeze anymore. He slowly opened, then closed, then opened his jaw periodically.

"Ara!"

And he was sprinting forward, ignoring traffic, and the surprised pedestrians he was bumping into. By now he could feel rivers flowing freely from the corners of his eyes. Although his conscious and body felt equally numb, he could somehow feel the fatigue from running biting at his heels, and setting his throat blaze.

The lump was burned, and he threw himself down to his small sister's side.

"Ara, it's okay, Ara, look at me." He spoke rapidly, pulling the tiny child into his arms.

"Onii-chan?" She sounded tired, like she had just awoken from an afternoon nap.

"Shh, don't speak, it's going to be okay." He whispered to Ara, although it was more of a way of comforting himself.

"O-Onii-chan, c-can you tell me a b-bedtime sto-story?" She stuttered, as if she were cold. As if it were her teeth chattering, rather than his. Nodding, rather, jerking his head up and down, he bit his lip.

"Once upon a time, there was a Little Hsien." Ara smiled a little at the story. It was her favorite. "Many called her an Oni, because when she got especially angry, poof! Her hair would turn white, her eyes would turn red, and nine white tails she would grow.

The Little Hsien didn't really mind that the people called her an Oni though. She was very happy, in fact. She lived in a little town behind a little mountain, right next to little river, and everything was calm. One day, though, a great big beast came to the little town." An 'O' shape Ara's mouth made, and she furrowed her brow. She looked hazy, and weak.

"The Little Hsien did not know what to do about the great big beast, though. She was only little, after all. 'Where is the Oni who belongs to this village?' The great big beast called out, though. The Little Hsien knew she had to do something. So, she walked up to the great big beast, and stood berfore him firmly." Aren was very well sobbing by now.

"'I am not an Oni! I am the Little Hsien!' She spoke, getting angry at the great big beast. 'I do not care what you are. I was sent here to destroy you town, and you, so I will do so.' And with that, the great big beast began recking the little town. He stomped on houses, and kicked over the well. He trampled through the little farms' crops, and tossed the little livestock into the little river.

The Little Hsien was getting angrier, and angrier. She wanted the great big beast to stop. Finally, the great big beast reached her own little house, and started to tear at it. He ripped off the roof, and threw all of her furniture out." Ara let a tiny little gasp out, she was beginning to feel sleepy; like she was floating.

"When the great big beast was almost done destroying her little house, and all of the little town, he found something. A little ornament in the shape of a white fox with nine tails, and red eyes. Laughing, he began to crush it. 'No, stop!' The Little Hsien cried. It was her precious possession. The great big beast continued, however." Sirens called in the distance, calling a song of urgency.

When he would not stop, the Little Hsien's anger reached it's peak. With a great big cry, the Little Hsien's hair turned white, her eyes red, and nine white tails emerged from her backside. In her hand was a spear, and she charged to the great big beast. 'Stop!' she shouted one last time, and swung her staff with a great big force.

The great big beast laughed again, saying, ' do you think you can defeat me? I am a great big beast, and you are only a Little Hsien.' However, she had already begun her attack, and in only one more second, she struck the great big beast. With only one hit that held the great big force of protecting the whole town, the great big beast was defeated." Ara's eyes had closed. Sirens blared, and flashing red and blue had filled the street.

"The Little Hsien smiled, but she did not turn back to normal. The people of the town cried, 'Oni! Oni! Oni!' and that day, they celebrated the Little Hsien., and her nine white tails, and her long white hair, and her deep red eyes." Ara's eyelids fluttered as she managed to take one last look at the world. The was a lot of red, but Ara was happy. It was just like the Little Hsien. The Little Hsien and her nine white tails, and her long white hair, and her deep red eyes.

Aren cried. He cried for a long time, even when his limp sister was taken from his arms, and the paramedics told him that it was too late. But It wasn't fair, he realized. Ara was just a little girl. A tiny, innocent little girl. Why did she have to...?

Was it his fault? She had been crossing the street to get to him when she was hit. It was his fault. If only he had found her sooner. If only he had seen her before she crossed the street. If only he could have pushed her out of the way, at the very least. If only he could have given his little sister a chance to live her life.

It was your fault. You didn't get there quick enough. It was his fault, it was all of his fault. But do not worry, do not grieve. But why? If you allow me to, I can help you get her back. What? How?! It's very simple, just let me in, and I'll explain it to you. Aren, although reluctant, nodded.

"Wait!" A strange voice called. Aren looked up. Purple. That girl. "You can't let him in!" She cried urgently, pushing and shoving her way through people. Outstretching her hand towards Aren. He paused in his stride. Could she hear him, too? That voice that had plagued him ever since his father died. That smooth voice that was so pleasant, and so convincing.

"What do you know?!" Aren cried, fury engulfing his conscious. This purple haired girl didn't know a d*mn about him! She didn't know how it felt to lose a sister like Ara! She didn't know anything about him or his sister or the voice!

But her eyes pleaded, and her voice shook. For some reason, her voice rang louder than his.

"Just don't listen to him!" Even though she only whispered. Even though she barely made a squeak. It was so clear. His face scrunched up a bit in interior agony, and he screamed. A short, clenching scream, that could in no way relieve him of his pain. Ara. Poor Ara.

And yet, the girl smiled, even though her own small bit of grief shone through. The smile still struck something deep in him.

"She's a Little Hsien, so it's okay." He knew that smile. It was just like his okaa-san's when she explained his otou-san's death. He bit his lip, and tasted copper. What was this? This wasn't happening. Not again. Not again. Who was this girl? How could she interfere so easily?

Wait, Aren, your sister! Aren couldn't stop himself from falling to his knees. His poor little sister. His poor Ara. Aren grieved.

Aisha Ostrum smiled a small smile, but she could feel tears pricking at her own eyes. She realized that Ran was normal. Ran was Aren, but filled with a grief that was never allowed to be felt. Ran just wanted his little sister back.

She recognized the little Ara when she had first seen her. Even if that was only moments ago when they had carried her off to be placed into a body bag. She knew that the dead girl in Ran's lair was that little girl's other self. After a moment of pondering, she realized that it was bound to happen. she supposed that, although the other Ara was older than this Ara, they were still the same person, so they were both bound to die.

She realized that this same girl was either dead, or going to die soon in the dimension of Eli, too. How sad, she though. But she also thought that maybe with this new information, she could help other Aisha and Elsword with their own fight against Ran.

Without caring about the people around her, she summoned her staff. The flashing blue and red lights seemed to attract so much attention that no one appeared to notice her.

"Angkor?" She spoke shakily to the staff.

"Yes, Miss Aisha?" He replied obediently.

"Are you with other Aisha?"

"Yes, why?"

"I need you to tell her not to kill Ran, and to wait for me. Where are you?"

"Well, we are in a separate dimensional space. I'm not sure where, though."

"Is there any way for me to get there?"

"Um, I think so. I heard the one who brought us here say something like an incantation."

"What did he say?"

"It was something like..."

MJC: Okay, I know that technically a Hsien and an Oni both mean demon(if I'm not mistaken) but they come from different cultures. Right?

Aisha: You should've done more research. And how did I know who Aren was?

MJC: Intuition? Maybe Ri-Aisha told Os-Aisha about him. Well, whatever, I don't care about the holes in this story anymore. I'm just gonna assume that "Little Hsien" was just a title, and "Oni" was an actual demon. Does that work?

Aisha: You're just too lazy to do anything about it.

MJC: THANK YOU ROSAMANELLE FOR REVIEWING. As per usual, you seem to be my only super loyal reader QuQ

Aisha: What's with that outdated emoticon?

MJC: SHUT UP, IT PROPERLY REPRESENTS MY CURRENT EMOTION AT THE MOMENT!

Toodle-loodles,

~My-Joyful-Chaos