Ren's POV:-

I was training with enrhiha by myself , alone in the kannagi training grounds behind the house . My mind kept wandering and I just couldn't concentrate .

"Dang it !"

I let out a huff and fell with my back to the ground. Sweat dripped down my face . There was no point in training when you can't concentrate , best thing to do is stop and figure out what's bothering you first , that's what nee-san told me.

' Trust me , I speak from experience ' She said with a laugh.

My fists clenched tightly . Nee-san's the one who usually helps me with enrhiha training but she said she had something important to do. I looked at the sword in my right hand as it disappeared into my soul . I flinched remembering the transfer of enrhiha from Nee-san to me .

' Why?...'

I remembered the way she screamed as a part of her soul way ripped out of her...and was placed in me.

' Why did you renounce your title ?If you never wanted to be the heiress , why did you accept enrhiha in the first place when you knew that it would be bonded to your soul?... When you knew how much it would hurt if you rejected it afterwards? ...'

I closed my eyes remembering that day , the day my life changed .

' Why ? ...nee-san.'

Flashback:-

I was waiting in the meeting-room . Today was the once-in-5-years meeting where the heads of all the branch houses and the main house would gather and share their intel and progress of their house .I usually don't attend this meeting but my dad wanted me to be there in case nee-san tries to disrupt the meeting. Apparently ,last time , she had snapped at someone when they questioned her on her progress . I could tell that dad was hiding something but I decided to ask nee-san about what really happened after the meeting. When talking about the family's progress , it is only normal that the heir to the title of clan leader must be present . We sat next to each other .The meeting went on and on and was quite boring . Each of the heads of the branch families would highly state their progress in strength and successful missions and when questioned about their shortcomings would try to justify themselves and move on to the next house. Finally it was the main branch's turn . Nee-san's face became of one who was focused on doing something no matter what.

" Jugo ,does Ayano have the capabilities to manage the entire kannagi houses?"

" Her lack of control and reasoning tends to bring chaos to the public property."

"Yes , even if she is strong , she must learn to control her emotions "

"And..."

I couldn't believe my ears ...or eyes . Nee-san always works so hard and she always does the best she can . She stopped nii-san when he lost control even though it was dangerous and she helped to hold back Belial . She's one of the people responsible for saving the lives of millions of people. How could Jugo-sama be quite about this ? I looked at Jugo-sama . His face held no emotion and when I looked at nee-san , it was the same . I was shocked to see nee-san who's usually so filled with energy ,look so...dead.

"...she even let her brothers die during the fuuga-clan's revolt."

'ARE THEY BLAMING HER FOR THEIR DEATH . HOW DARE...'Just before I let my anger get the better of me , I felt a hand on mine . I looked at the owner of the hand and saw nee-san looking at me with a loving smile on her face . She shook her head and got up .

" Everything you have said is true..." She said on a clear and loud voice.

Everyone looked surprised , even Jugo-sama . Nee-san looked at her father with a sad smile before continuing .

"...I am not suited to be the next kannagi head ..."

She summoned enrhiha .

"...Therefore ,I ,Ayano kannagi ..."

She brought down enrhiha tip-first onto the meeting-table with only enough force to make it stuck there.

"..hereby renounce my title as the future head of the kannagis"

"..."

I was so shocked and suddenly everyone in the room began to Agree with the decision ,as if it was a good one. Nee-san and her father never took their eyes off each other . Nee-san had a guilty but firm look in her eyes while Jugo-sama's eyes showed an emotion that I just couldn't place .

"Are you sure ?" Jugo-sama asked with a sigh as if he already knew the answer.

The entire room was silent.

"Yes ,I am" She said with no hesitation at all.

I saw a few people smile at that . Their smiles looked evil but suddenly fell as they saw nee-san's face . She looked at them murderously almost as if she was warning them .

"Ren , stand up"A firm voice called out.

I simply obeyed , still not having wrapped my head around everything.

" All see , Ren kannagi , the future head of the kannagi clan"

My eyes widened and my head snapped up at everyone in the room .

I looked at nee-san but she simply smiled and put her arms around me pulling me into a hug .

"Don't worry Ren ..."

She whispered into my ear.

"...you'll make an excellent clan leader"

Present:-

I opened my eyes as I felt someone's shadow over me and saw Kazuma standing above me with a simple smile on his face . I felt a bit irritated at how he could smile when it seems like nee-san's. ...AARRGG NOT AGAIN.

"Enrhiha's seriously pushing your emotions , isn't it ?"

I simply nodded , not getting up from my position. Nii-san sat down beside me . When I looked up, I saw him staring into space with the moon behind him .

"You've really grown , haven't you ?" He said in a quiet voice as he turned towards me . I propped myself up on my elbows .

"...I guess...sorry"

He seemed surprised and I quickly corrected myself.

" Um , not for growing up but because I ...I just..."

I felt so pathetic , I know that it's not his fault or anything but I still...

I felt his hand on my head as he patted my head.

"Don't worry , I understand"

"..."

We sat in silence , it wasn't uncomfortable , it was nice being near my brother.

" I really missed you , nii-san."

He let out a small chuckle before replying .

"Missed you too , Ren "

"Will you treat me differently ?"

He looked at me , confusion in his eyes.

"Since you're my bodyguard now ,...will you treat me differently from how you used to treat nee-san?"

Understanding my question , My Real Question, 'Do you think I deserve it ?'he gave a sad smile and said

"Ayano never wanted to be heiress..."

My head whipped towards him in a flash . He was looking at me with a face that clearly said ' just listen'...so I did, My eyes never leaving his and his never leaving mine.

"...in fact , her plan was to purposely loose the fight for enrhiha ,...but unfortunately , I was too weak for her and that failed."

The look of slight shame made me smile a bit . But that face was soon replaced by a serious one .

"Ren , do you know why Ayano became the heir?"

I shook my head , sudden interest seized me. Nii-san let out a sigh and said in a quiet voice.

"She's gonna kill me for this."

He then looked at me and said

"Ren , do you remember how Ayano was when she was young?..."

I nodded enthusiastically remembering those days.

" Of course , she would visit me every evening since you were banished . She said that even though my brother had to leave , she would always protect me ...no matter what."My eyes softened at that memory but when I saw nii-san's eyes , I could tell that he was rethinking about telling me something .I grabbed his shoulder and looked into his eyes with desperation.

"Nee-san was always there for me and ...I want to be there for her too...so please "

"Ayano wouldn't want you to know." My resolve faltered ,'nee-san's been keeping things from me?' But this time , I managed to control my emotions.

"She's protecting me from something , isn't she?"

"Something like that..."

I looked straight into his eyes

" Tell me ...but...don't tell her that you did ."

A smile filled with pride crossed his face before it was replaced with seriousness.

"Fine then ,in exchange , try not to rat me out"

"Deal."

Kazuma's POV:-

I told him everything , except the continuous torture, Misao's presence in a snapshot and about how I knew this . I told him about the kannagis trying to force her into submission , and threatening to do the same to him if she refuses to become the heiress . Ren listened without making a single sound but I could tell that this was eating him up inside . His entire body was shaking and tears began to form as well . I considered stopping but I didn't . Fact of matter is that he needs to stop feeling guilty about having enrhiha or else he'll never make it , and the best way to do that is to show him that Ayano never wanted it in the first place. When I finished ,I noticed him struggling to control himself as one tear fell down his cheek. I put my hand on his head and pulled him into a loose hug and said

"Go ahead , let it out "

and he did . His arms wrapped around me as he buried his head in my chest . Tears fell down like small rivers as he kept saying about how she would come home injured but would tell him she was fine , how he never noticed how much she must have hurt ... He blabbered and cried and eventually ...he fell asleep . His shoulders weren't as tense as they were when I saw him first and a small whisper left his mouth as his lips curled into a sad smile

" Thank you ...nee-san, nii-san ...Thank you."

In response to some of my reviewers , Sorry if it's too complicated or doesn't make sense . This is the first time I'm writing a story and though I basically have the plot set up . I still have problems on bringing it all to light in the proper manner . I hope that the story is entertaining to all who read it and if there is anything wrong or off-base , please tell me and I will try my best to include an explanation to the storyline.

To ZeroO:-

Basically , Ayano doesn't want Kazuma involved with the team as he abandoned her and her teammates know that so Steph was afraid she upset Ayano by saying that but Ayano wasn't really upset at Steph wanting to bring Kazuma on the team , she just acted that way to get her to stop shouting and do the mission , Taichi was worried about Ayano at first but realised her was just playing Steph when he saw the over-hurt pretence Ayano was putting up and realised it was all a joke.