Chapter 10: A Philanthropist

A thunderous set of roars hurt Marille's ears as three manticores charged into the fairgrounds, leaping up to glide over the partially-constructed booths and landing just opposite Genji's mob. She saw her father swing from the back of the largest one and stand there in his blue warrior's garb, taking everything in at a glance.

"Marille, are you all right?"

Unable to say much because of the weight on her back, she gave a wincing smile and nodded. Her injury was shallow enough that he didn't need to be distracted worrying about it.

Reassured, he turned his attention to the wolves, staring at each one with a piercing green gaze. "Go."

They cringed back, confused. All they knew was Genji, but this man they had never seen before wielded an authority over them that they had no will to resist. Duchess was the first to move away, and the sudden release of pressure on her lungs was a blessed relief. She looked up to watch the orion and fenrirs slink away guiltily, then she noticed Genji and the open hatred on his face as he surveyed Emil.

"I didn't expect to see you until after I'd killed this girl."

His hand slashed downward, signaling to his remaining monsters who had no pacts with Ratatosk. In a group they all pounced forward trying to reach Emil. His sword was out in an instant, lopping off the head of the last standing ogre while his manticores ripped into their opponents. Injured as they were, the vipers and treants fought with the savagery of creatures who know they are about to die.

But no sooner had Emil fended off a branch-like hand than he had to turn away from the monster to deflect a blow from Genji. He leaped up for a Demon Fang and was knocked back by an unfamiliar circular attack, though he managed to keep his feet. His next attack was rebuffed, and the next. Every arte he tried was blocked by his opponent so well that he grew suspicious.

Emil darted back to give himself room, sword held at the ready. "So you've been observing me to figure out how to counter my moves."

Genji gave a nasty grin. "It took me years. Extremely difficult to do when I can't test my theories, but I am patient. You have no idea how long I spent collecting foxweed so that I could distill it. I could have simply killed Marta but instead I decided to let her die slowly. A gift for you, if you will."

Emil's face darkened further. "What did you do with the antidote?"

"Watered your wife's grave," he replied with a smirk. "Since you won't be making it back to her, she'll be dead soon. At least hers is a painless end."

For the first time Emil smiled. "Except that Raine gave me an antidote when I saw her two days ago. Marta is recovering as we speak."

Marille let her head fall back to the ground, limp with relief as well as weakness. Knowing her mother was going to be alright was a great weight off her mind. She could see the manticores had taken down the last of the wild monsters and now they returned to stand behind her father, awaiting further instructions.

A look passed over Genji's face; one that could only be described as disturbed. "That was the worst thing you could have done. Now Marta will truly suffer. I would have spared her the knowledge and pain of losing you and this child. The likelihood that I'll get away with destroying you is slim enough that I long ago gave up any hope of escape from this situation. I have no choice now but to let her experience the deaths of those she loves most. "

Marille pushed herself up onto her elbows, blinking to clear away the glittering that was starting to play along the edges of her vision. "You mean you're giving up your life just to kill us?"

He turned to look down at her and suddenly she realized that attracting his attention had been a bad idea. "Lloyd-sama and Sheena-sama are not fools. No matter how I cover my tracks they will find out the truth. I've waited seventeen years for this moment and it won't be taken from me. Now—" Genji's katana whistled keenly through the air, stopping an inch from the vein in Marille's throat, "—call them off."

The concern on Emil's face showed clearly through his anger. A second later he said, "I can take care of him alone."

His monsters wasted no time, trusting their master's judgment implicitly as they ambled away. The wolves who had been hiding among the carts trailed behind them, sensing somehow that if the manticores obeyed Emil too then it meant they were all allies. They still seemed lost, but they went willingly.

"Satisfied?"

"Hardly," came the ninja's reply.

With a flick of his wrist Genji tossed the Sorcerer's Ring into the air and sliced it clean in half with his sword. There was a crackle of magic that fizzled away and Emil stood staring in shock.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?!"

"Forced you to decide between the door and her life, that's all. Which is more important to you?"

Her father's face was livid and he rushed Genji, but Marille saw him shift the katana to his left hand.

"Don't let him touch you, Dad!" she cried too late.

Genji had met Emil's sword, bracing against it just long enough to snake his hand in and touch his opponent's shoulder, not protected by any clothing. That contact was all he needed.

Emil's sword slipped from his fingers and he stared at his empty hands confusedly. Before he could react, Genji was gripping him by the throat, then his legs buckled and he dropped to his knees. He could see his sword a mere half-inch from his fingertips but it might as well been half a mile away. No amount of effort would make his limbs respond.

"Having trouble? You know, the mind is an amazing thing. Everything relies upon memory. I can even make you forget how to breathe," the ninja taunted, flexing his fingers as he sheathed his weapon.

"What do you want?" Emil demanded, barely able to keep his balance.

Genji seized him by the neck of his outfit and pulled him close, clenching his teeth as he said, "My identity back!"

He jammed his knee into Emil's gut, knocking him to the ground, then stood over him relishing the sight of his hated enemy helpless. Marille cried out as she watched him choking to get his breath back, but Genji's next words stunned her into silence.

"I was Emil Castagnier long before you were. I guess you thought I wouldn't mind the theft. Sorry to disappoint. You probably never expected me to show up."

"They told me you were dead," Emil said.

"So that's your excuse, is it? The dead don't care," Genji snarled. "My Munin arte will show you the truth. I want you to know what happened, but not as an observer. You've been pretending to be me so long, you might as well know what it is like to be me."

Marille saw him get down on one knee seizing her father's hand and looking very much like he would rather kick him in the face. She couldn't help wondering what he was seeing.

Emil has gained the title Emil Castagnier the Second
No matter how you look at it, he did steal someone else's identity.

%*%

The sight of his parents skewered on Lloyd's blades made Emil freeze, unable to do anything but stare in shock and horror. His father's order to run fell on deaf ears, and it wasn't until they had both crumpled to the ground that he was jolted back to the reality of what had just happened.

"Mom!" he shouted, but then the danger of the moment returned to him as he saw the murderous gleam in Lloyd's eyes.

He had hardly enough time to run a few steps when a sword bit deep into his shoulder. Emil cried out, then tripped and fell against a fiery building just as its roof collapsed. Timbers tumbled down and heat was all around him as he lay there, barely able to see Lloyd turning away to hunt down more victims.

He was trapped in a small pocket, surrounded by flames, no clear path out. But Emil knew that about twenty feet away there was a dock. Sparks flew in his eyes and he choked on smoke as the house's last remaining supports weakened.

Left with no choice, the boy gritted his teeth and threw himself at a set of burning beams. Fire leaped up his arms and onto his clothing, but he kept pushing despite every cell in his body screaming for him to get back. The space widened and he ducked under, but not before a flaming board fell against the left side of his face.

Stumbling blindly forward, Emil tried to beat at the flames crawling all over his body. He couldn't keep the cry of intense pain from tearing out of his throat. Then there was nothing beneath his feet and he dropped directly into water.

A different pain enveloped his body, like a live coal suddenly doused. The clothing that had been on fire fused to his skin and every burn shrieked at the unexpected coldness. He gave another yell involuntarily, but then he heard boots coming his way.

Emil clenched his teeth tightly together. He must not make another sound! Not a whimper no matter how much pain he was in.

He clung to the dock's wooden pile until the soldiers went on, his burnt hands trembling and growing less responsive by the second. His left eye wouldn't open, but he was able to make out a washtub above him, just a couple feet away. Stretching one arm up, Emil gripped it by the bottom and pulled. Laundry spilled out and he tried to climb into the makeshift boat. If it didn't carry his weight, then at least he would die on his own terms...

The next thing he knew, hands were pulling him out of the washtub and people were talking to him. Emil opened his one good eye and saw a group of five ninjas. They asked him questions but he felt too faint to answer and decided to rest for just a few moments…

All he knew was pain. His shoulder was stiff from the wrappings and poultices constantly applied to its deep cut, and every other inch of his body varied between levels of serious and mild raw tenderness. He could not move without causing pain to streak across most of his body.

And yet his resolve not to make a sound continued to be his mantra. No matter what he felt or how much it hurt, he underwent it with silence.

The ninjas fed him soft foods until the burns along his neck and jaw healed enough for him to chew more easily. They seemed impressed by him for some reason, and one night when he could not sleep yet again because of the crushing pain, he overheard them talking around the fire.

"I've never seen anyone put up with injuries like those and not make a fuss. He just sits there acting as though it's the last thing on his mind."

"But you can tell it hurts him. Haven't you seen the way his eyes close for whole minutes at a time? All he ever says is that he's lucky to be alive."

"Would you say that if you had been set on fire and got a sword wound in the shoulder that deep?"

"That kind of self-control is rare. Do you think Sheena would object if..."

"He's much older than any fosterlings I've ever heard of, but surely if anyone deserves a chance it's him."

"Don't say anything to the boy until we get word from her."

Over the following weeks, the pain receded by degrees. It was always there but Emil thought more about the loss of his parents and home than anything. He knew he couldn't go to his relatives. They had resented his mother's marriage to Reysol and their subsequent move from Luin to the point that they wanted nothing to do with the Castagniers. His father's family had been kidnapped by Desians when he was a boy, leaving him orphaned...and now Emil seemed to be following in his father's footsteps. There was no one he could turn to and it left a cold, lonely feeling deep inside.

The Mizuho inhabitants never asked him his name. Once they learned he had nowhere to go and had no desire to return to Palmacosta, one of them cautiously asked if he would consider an entirely new life...

%*%

Marille was surprised to see the exact same expression of pain on their faces. Whatever her father was experiencing, so was Genji. After a few seconds he closed his eyes and stood up, perhaps trying to compose himself.

"I knew the moment I met Lloyd-sama that he was not the one who killed my parents. He trained me personally when he found out I was from Palmacosta. He's also the one who convinced Sheena-sama that I should be tested to see if I could learn the Munin arte, only taught to the most trusted members of Mizuho and only one or two each generation. Shortly after is when I saw you for the first time. Hearing my name attached to you made me realize that I could never reclaim it even if you disappeared and were never seen again."

Emil started to speak, but Genji's boot was suddenly on his throat, applying just enough pressure to keep him quiet.

"I always wondered what you were up to, befriending the most powerful people in the world and marrying a human. Using us for your own ends. Weaseling into the confidence of Lloyd-sama and Sheena-sama to get your monsters working alongside everyone in Mizuho. One command from you and every single one of us could be wiped out. And your daughter..."

He looked over at Marille, his eyes cold and merciless.

"I never planned to harm her eight years ago. It was simply to see how you would respond; whether you cared enough to go after a child you claimed as your own or if you would leave the chase to others. Or even abandon her. It has always been your humanity I sought to authenticate. But once I realized she was half a demon, my test was pointless. Of course you would go after a creature you intended to use for some sick end. All I have ever seen is you serving your own self-interests, sparing some of your efforts to preserve an appearance of goodness."

Genji stepped back, holding up his fist and watching the knuckles whiten.

"If only your existence was not necessary for our world's survival... I can't kill you—which is the reason I have gone to so much trouble—but I can erase all your memories except the fact that you must guard the door. I will protect humankind from you permanently."

Genji has gained the title Longwinded
Why is it all antagonists get a chance to monologue?

A/N: First off, I agonized over the revelation part. I'm still not satisfied, but it's definitely better than the original version. I didn't mean to make him into such a sadist, but the character I created simply wasn't interested in hearing Emil's opinion; he'd had enough of lurking in the shadows and wanted to take his anger out on somebody. Also, I picked the name Genji because it's supposed to mean Two Beginnings which I thought was appropriate. This certainly sheds some light on the story's title, doesn't it?