Ice Chronicles

Chapter 71: Purgatory

"Let's go! I want to see those arms moving!" I shouted and glared at the two soldiers doing push-ups. As they worked out, I took it upon myself to make sure something special waited for them after the workout is done. "Come on, I want to see you sweat! I want those arms moving and those legs pushing!"

"Ugh…Kai?" Ren called out.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" I shouted. I didn't care if I was disturbing the peace. I will make sure these wimps are whipped into shape. I didn't get them up at four-thirty in the morning to laze around; it's time to get these bastards into shape. I was even debating on abducting Ryan out of the hospital, but I recalled his broken leg and left him to study the plan. Since he can't train physically, he will have to settle for mental training. From what I gathered with Ryan's sekirei, he already trains every day so he's good right now. Ren, while already potent in brains, needs more work on his brawn. The opponents he's faced are complete trash compared to what we're preparing for. He could handle, somewhat, my level one training. However, there was another problem.

"SIR Kai SIR! Jason is dying!" Ren shouted back with more respect and authority. I looked towards the weak link, a rude thing to call him, but I'm a direct person. Jason's arms wobbled uncontrollably as he tried to push himself up, but he couldn't keep it together and collapsed on the floor.

"I can't…go…on," he panted vigorously. I walked towards him and placed a foot on his back.

"Come on soldier; you've barely passed fifty push-ups. Do you know how many I can do with weights heavier than my foot? Now keep going!"

This time, I stood directly on his back and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty," I counted after the soldier managed to continue. "Too easy! Fifty more!"

"WHAT?!" He gasped. I stepped off him.

"I'm just messing with you. I won't kill you…yet. You can rest for now. Ren, you can rest too," I said. Jason collapsed again on the ground.

"Phew, thank you," Ren responded.

"After you give me twenty laps around the yard, without using your abilities," I finished my sentence. His eyes stared at me in shock. "Come on, get running, or do you actually wanted more to do."

He was already running after my question. Jason on the other hand, looked like he was about to melt.

"Hey…Kai…what's…with the…giant holes?" He breathed heavily.

"Oh! I was digging your graves in case you two die on me. I was planning ahead," I responded and admired my work. Ren's grave was bigger than Jason's since he's bigger than Jason. I started them out with basic warmups while I dug the holes. Our respective sekirei were inside the out, using that Carmen or whatever her name is. The hard part was getting Jason's sekirei up in the first place, but I have my ways. Ren's sekirei weren't as hard, seeing as their own ashikabi gets up regularly around four-thirty. He had to get them moving though. After that, I dragged the ashikabi, literally, outside and began their torture.

"Not cool," Jason commented on the graves.

"You say that, and yet you're the one eagerly crawling towards it," I pointed out the ashikabi using the last of his stamina to get to his bed in the ground. He let out a groan.

"That's because I'm dying!" Jason yelled. His arm dropped just a couple of inches away from the grave and a heavy breath escaped his tired lips. I just shook my head.

"If you go up against MBI with that attitude then you might as well die!" I yelled. I stomped my foot right beside his face, making him flinch badly. "If you're just going to lie there and complain then you're better off dead!"

Jason looked up at me with perplexed eyes.

"You can't fight if you keep complaining. People don't get stronger by complaining, they work for it. Nothing is gained by sitting on your ass and complaining every damn second; you get up and work until your limbs falls off. You will fight, or you will fall!"

He didn't responded and looked at the ground beneath him. I could tell my words stung, but I only speak the truth. Jason needs to learn that the kid games ended when he first entered this piece of shit they call a game. There is no such thing as leniency here; you either become strong or waste away with the weak. But it looks like I'll have to drill that into his head.

"I…I'm sorry," Jason apologized. He continued to look at the ground.

"No harm done, but you've rested long enough. Get back to work!" I roared and saw him scramble to his feet. He took off running, doing the twenty laps I assigned Ren, who just now finished and wobbled right towards me.

"Twenty… laps," he panted. He looked like he was about to collapse too, but frowned upon seeing the two graves I dug. "Oh you are evil."

"What? I was planning ahead," I responded. "Jason was about to crawl into his."

"I…see," the taller ashikabi breathed. Sweat covered his skin, creating a fine layer that gave off Ren's musky odor. I could smell him from where I stood and tried not to pinch my nose. We have been working since five when we managed to get everyone going and it's ten now so five more hours passed.

"I wouldn't hug your sekirei when you see them," I hinted to his smell.

"Huh?" He said. "Oh! Yeah, I guess I do smell bad, but I bet we all could use a bath, except you. You haven't done anything," Ren retorted.

"I can train later on; it's all of you who needs it," I said with a shrug. "And I can't trust you to push yourself so I'm doing that for you."

"Keep in mind that your training is WAY more intensive than our previous training," Ren pointed out.

"If by training you mean spending time with your harem and having sex all the time, then that's even more training than I've done in my whole life. If you trained ten times more than you had sex with your sekirei, taking on MBI would probably be much easier, and that's a big if," I retorted. "I see eight more children in your future; that's if you survive until then."

"Can I work on my mind now?" He asked back.

"Hell no, you're not finished with physical training yet," I strictly denied. He sighed heavily and lowered his head. "It's time to turn it up a notch."

I retrieved my duffel bag and zipped open the biggest compartment, where I pulled out two leg weights. They weighed about twenty-five pounds each, a good start to be honest. I tossed them to Ren, but the fool was already tired that he nearly fell after catching them.

"Weights?" He said. I nodded and explained what I wanted him to do. Since he's a speedster like me, I will have to create regimens that will increase said speed. His endurance, if I'm right, is perfectly okay. He would wear these weights from now on; the frequent wear would strengthen his legs and increase his base speed. Jason's weights would be a little bit different; and Ryan has again yet to unlock his ashikabi abilities. I still needed to figure that one out, but hopefully, he'll unlock it soon.

Ren put on the weights and took a couple of steps, but found it hard to move with the heavier weights on his legs.

"Okay, I got the weights on; you said you want me to wear these from now on," he repeated. I nodded to him, but then smiled mischievously.

"How big is this block?" I asked. He looked upwards to think about it.

"Uhh, about a mile," he responded. He looked back towards me. "Why do you…"

I nodded to him, causing him to shake his head.

"No."

I nodded again.

"No, you can't be serious," Ren said.

"I'm always serious," I responded. "Three laps, in those weights, and don't come back until you finish."

"That's three miles you want me to run," he stated. "My legs are already tired from the twenty laps just made me do."

"Yes but now you have weights and you need to get used to them," I pointed towards the fence gate. "Now, off you go; and if you want, I'll even let you take a companion with you."

He let out a big groan and sulked away. "I'll go by myself."

"No you won't," I stated back. Ren stopped and turned his head to give me a confused look. "I don't trust you to do the exercises so I actually will be sending a companion with you."

After figuring out how to communicate with her, I asked that AI of Ren's, who's name I still can't remember, to send Tsukiumi with the ashikabi. However, no one told me that only Ren and Matsu could give her commands. So I just wasted ten good minutes figuring out how to communicate with her and another five trying to recall her name. Ren's mistake however, was laughing at me. As revenge, I added another lap and had Tsukiumi blast him with water every time he slacked off. That got him to groan again and walked off with his sekirei following behind.

After he left, Jason fell, literally, in and panted vehemently. He reached up and grasped my ankle.

"K-Kai," he whispered as loud as he could. His back rose and fell rapidly. "K-Kill me."

I blinked a couple of times at him. Did he just say kill him?

"Pl-Please…kill…me."

"Jason you're being overdramatic," I replied. Jason released my ankle and began crawling to the grave I dug for him. Again, he tried to enter his grave. He was pretty good at acting though.

"Uh, Kai? Can you tell me why my fiancé is crawling towards a hole in the round?" someone asked. I remembered the voice as Jason's sekirei, or fiancée Ikki. I was about to answer, but Jason's head suddenly shot up and red eyes glared at us, causing Ikki to jump in surprise. Jason changed course and crawled towards us instead, but his speed suddenly increased and he was like a zombie ready to infect his prey. Ikki screamed and tried to run, but Jason latched on her leg, keeping her in place.

"Ikki, please, you must hear me," he stated.

"Jason? What's going on?" the sekirei asked. I was still trying to figure out what just happened. A second ago, Jason was ready to fall in the grave, but he just obtained a sudden burst of speed and dashed towards his scared fiancée.

"Ikki, please kill me," he begged, reaching up to her. "Please… spare me… this… pain."

To say Ikki was confused is an understatement. She absolutely had no idea whether or not Jason was faking or not. She looked as if she was about to break down, her face worried about her ashikabi.

"Jason, why…I don't."

Jason didn't give her time to retort. He released his hold on her continued to crawl towards the grave I dug for him; however, Ikki grabbed his legs and began pulling him away.

"NO! I can't handle any more! Please! Release me so I may die in peace!" Jason cried, but Ikki didn't let go and pulled him inside Ren's house. I just watched and shook my head at the boy.

"I give him an A for acting and effort," I mumbled. Since it was just me now, I donned some weights myself, about a hundred pounds total, and began my basic exercises. Though I did wonder how Akira was doing, well Minato since his guise have been revealed.

P.O.V Change Akira/Minato

"And that's how I met Jun and how she became my fiancée," I explained the story. Yukari was up so I started visiting her in the hospital regularly until she can leave. What's his name, Shinka I think, was also present with her. Sadly, mom was too busy to come so it was just me, Yukari, Shinka, and Jun, who really wanted to see her future sister-in-law. Yukari's mouth hit the floor when I introduced Jun to her and called her my fiancée. After that, it was just me explaining how it all worked out for us. However, Yukari met a side of Jun that, let's just say will leave little sis with nightmares for a solid week. I had no intention of stepping in, but Jun is an avid anime lover and have a certain dislike to particular genres. For instance, she doesn't like harem genres. Scratch that, she HATES harems. Something about jackass characters and plotline.

But, the one thing that made Yukari absolutely terrified was our sibling relationship. She loves slice of life anime, because majority of the time it presents a very good lesson. However, she loves anything to do with family, more so, the siblings. NEVER, in my life, have I watched someone rant on about family problems and why things turn out like they do. When I explained my problems, I was surprised to see Jun sympathize with me so much. Unfortunately, for Yukari, she was a victim of Jun's anger stare. An angry Jun is a dangerous Jun and in the two years I've been with her, I know damn well not to cross that line. Multiple times, Yukari gave me a pleading look, but I wasn't about to risk my life like that.

"So we understand each other Yukari?" Jun asked her. Yukari simply nodded and received a hug from my fiancée, who almost crushed her to death. Shinka had no idea what to do, but knew getting in the crossfire would only hurt worse. "Great, glad to see we're on the same page."

"So um, have you and Minato… went all… the way?" Yukari asked. I didn't waste time and placed my hand over Jun's mouth. No way was I letting her tell Yukari what we've been doing.

"That's a secret between me and her and I will not tell you a word," I stated. I had to keep my face normal or it'll give it away. Jun proceeded to make gestures to explain but no one could comprehend it. "Jun, we agreed to keep matters like between us."

She giggled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Uh, riiight," Yukari said. Suddenly, my phone's ring echoed throughout the room and I sighed a breath of relief.

"Hold on I have to take this," I said and dragged Jun out as if I was kidnapping her. She waved bye as I pulled her into the hall. I took the call without even checking the ID. "Yes? Sahashi Minato speaking."

P.O.V Change Ryan

My leg continued to be a pain in the ass. I know it takes a long time for something like to heal, but having to endure the continuous aches was seriously getting on my last nerve. However, I had to suck it up; a broken leg is much better than what could've happened. I at least survived, but those who died, especially on our side, I will pray for their safe passage. We barely made it through; and now it's about to get even more extreme. I never thought I would end up fighting against the corporation that led Kaie and the rest to me. Even though Kochou is the first sekirei I fell for, Kaie just had a little more to offer. Granted, Kakizaki did some weird ass processes, which I find very complicated to explain, to give her to me, but I learned to gain her trust. She did give me a hard time, to the point where she couldn't stay in the same room with me for three seconds, but I managed to bring her around.

Speaking of Kaie, I didn't even notice her walk in the room. I was so distracted with other thoughts that I wasn't even paying attention. She still had this angry expression on her face; I guess she didn't scold me enough last time. It was really irritating me too, because she's been looking like that for a while now and I still haven't figured out the problem. She won't tell me either.

"Hey Kaie," I greeted calmly. "Man am I glad to see you."

I opened my arms up for a hug, but she didn't accept and sat in the chair Kochou normally occupied. She was still cold to me. I sighed and shook my head, lowering my arms from the rejected hug.

"I still get no love," I commented on her coldness. "I've been stuck in a hospital for a few days and I get no love? Now that's mean."

"Don't give me that," Kaie responded. "I just came to see how you're doing."

"Well as you can see, I'm doing fine, except for my leg. So I guess you're job is done now," I told her. She shot me a glare. "Hey I'm just telling you my condition. You're the one coming up in here all moody and stuff when I've done nothing to deserve such hate. I don't know what's wrong with you, nor do I know why you're so angry with me."

Her frown deepened as she crossed her arms and looked away. I don't what's wrong; she's never acted this way towards me before, except when we first became partners, but that was a long time ago. Why is she so angry?

"How long are you going to keep glaring at me?" I asked more softly. She turned her head slightly, looking at me through her peripherals. "Kaie; I really don't know what the problem is. I know I haven't done anything wrong, and yet you're acting as if I committed the most heinous crime."

"Did my scolding not tell you?" she responded.

"Oh it told me a lot of things, but the whole ordeal is over now," I reminded her that we won, barely. "Do you still hate me?"

"And who ever said I did in the first place?" she frowned again. I gave her that 'really?' look, causing her to turn her head once more.

"We really need to talk about this," I pointed to her. "YOU need to talk to me about this."

She let out a big sigh. "Fine, I'll tell you."

She finally spoke her mind, but it only did more harm. She was even angrier after telling me, but it was basically venting about Higa's madness. I thought it was me she was angry at, but it was just how much she despised Higa. She didn't get the chance to see the man die so that made her even more angry. Though, at least it was relieving I wasn't the target of her anger. Another thing I was relieved for was not being in Ren and Jason's shoes at the moment. I at least can strengthen my training, but those two on the other hand, are in for a world of hurt if Kai is training them. I don't know what kind of training he's been through, but from what I've seen of his abilities, it must've been very intense.

"Ryan, are you listening to me?" Kaie fumed with fire in her eyes.

"Yeah I'm listening," I responded. "You keep saying how much of an evil bastard Higa was and how you wanted to see his death with your own eyes."

She frowned at me again.

"It's over with now; he's gone. The Ashikabi of the East is no more."

Kaie sighed and nodded her head, her expression calming down.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Now can I please get a hug from you?" I requested. "I mean I get no love now."

She stood up and wrapped her arms around my neck in response.

"Happy now?" She questioned back.

"Very," I replied and pulled her closer, kissing her lips.

P.O.V Change Ren

I couldn't go on; it felt as if my life was slowly deteriorating with every step. Everything was sore, especially my legs. That bastard Kai made me run four laps around my neighborhood, which is basically a mile long. He's making me run four miles with Tsukiumi, who wouldn't let me rest for even a sec, following behind. Her job was to make sure I didn't slack off, which means I had to dodge dragons again. My legs were screaming out in pain, begging me to stop their never-ending torture, but no matter how loud they screamed, I had to keep going. I was on the last lap, thankfully, and on my way back home.

"Tsukiumi…I…beg you. Please…let me rest," I stated. A Celebration dashed past my head, telling me hell no. I couldn't even get Tsukiumi to help and I know how to make her melt in my palm. Also, I had these damn twenty-five pound weights around my legs. Now twenty-five pounds is child's play, but when you have to run four miles after doing a million other activities, lead, jelly, or anything else in relation isn't enough to describe the way my legs felt.

My house was coming up. I put on a final burst of speed, speeding further away from my blonde haired wife and her water attacks. A great big smile spread across my face as I ventured closer and closer to my home. When I entered the backyard, I fell right on the smooth, cold grass and collapsed. I never knew grass could feel so good; it was like a soft pillow cradling my body.

"Ugh, I made it," I panted hard. "I finally made it home."

I nuzzled the grass and relaxed on the ground. Then I felt someone's hand rest on my back and rub it gently.

"I nearly died back there Tsukiumi," I told her and requested I stay on the ground. "I nearly died…and you…kept firing Water Celebrations and Dragons at me. I thought…we were…in this together."

"I never said I would go easy on you, husband. I need thee in shape as well."

"I'm a thinker not a fighter," I pointed out. "You can't hold this baby back," I referred to my beautiful brain. "That's bad parenting."

Before one of us could continue, the sound of metal striking against one another grabbed our attention. Wearily, I lifted my head to see where the sounds emanated and gasped in shock. I thought I was the only one, but I swear that there were two Kai's going at it with their swords in hand. Both were completely identical, making it impossible to figure out which one is the real one. They've been going at for a while, as both their clothes ripped to shreds and cuts covered their bodies. Sparks flew everywhere as both swordsmen danced around the yard, their swords colliding over and over again, screeching metal crying through the air, and the battle cries filled our ears. I thought I was the only one who could make doppelgangers, but now I've seen it all.

The two swordsmen didn't notice us and just focused on the other. It was like looking into a mirror.

The battle soon came to an end, but one of the Kais vanished in a bright flash. The other one panted vigorously as he sheathed his sword and wiped the sweat from his forehead. After closer inspection, I could also see more weights wrapped around his limbs. Two on both arms and legs, and yet he seemed unfazed by them.

"You're finally back," he spoke up, finally acknowledging me. "I was wondering how long it would take so I decided to resume my own training. Took you long enough, I thought you would've finished much earlier."

"Well excuuuuse me for having to run four miles around my neighborhood!" I exclaimed. The grass started calling my name, whispering that I should calm down and let them comfort me. I didn't deny their wish and rested my head back on the soft bed.

"You're dismissed for today, but we'll resume tomorrow," Kai stated. I didn't respond but nodded to signify I was listening. I didn't want to leave the comfortable bed my backyard provided; it was too soft and cool to pass up, but Tsukiumi had other plans.

"Come husband, we must cleanse our sweaty bodies," she stated.

"You girls can go ahead and clean up, but I'm staying right here until I can feel my legs again," I denied adamantly. I wasn't moving from this spot and didn't care what anyone says.

"What if I said one of us will give you a massage?" Tsukiumi suggested. Even Kai was surprised by how fast I got to my feet. I didn't have the energy to walk, but Toyo owes me a massage anyway and it's time to cash in. I threw Tsukiumi over my shoulders, causing her to blush brightly and pound my back, begging to be put down.

"Thanks Kai, we'll see you tomorrow," I walked to my door and entered my air-conditioned house. The first area I entered was the kitchen and then the living room, where I saw the rest of my girls reclining on the sofas and chairs. Even Jason and his sekirei were lounging around, but Kai's sekirei and somehow Matsu was completely okay. I could understand why Matsu isn't exhausted since she was most likely controlling Carmen in the War Room. Kai's sekirei has him for an ashikabi but I was amazed by how much energy they had left. Even Musubi was exhausted. Chiho went around and gave the reclining people drinks to help cool off.

"Well you all worked hard," I set Tsukiumi on the floor. Stares focused on me.

"How?" Uzume asked. I was confused.

"How what?" I said back.

"How are you still standing after everything you did?" Yomi questioned. I placed a hand on Tsukiumi's head.

"Because this beauty here promised a massage and it's time to cash in; Toyo, you owe me a massage," I explained. The green haired sekirei and everyone else stared at me in confusion, but then it hit Toyo like a truck and she face palmed.

"Crap! I forgot all about that," she stated. "Who said it?"

"Stephanie," I answered back. Toyo threw her head back and groaned.

"Damn it Stephanie," she cursed. I couldn't even laugh I was in that much pain. I looked over at Jason and saw him passed out cold. He was even snoring too.

I let the girls take their baths while Jason, Kai, and me stayed downstairs to relax. Luckily, my uncle's plans came through; the bathhouse was large enough to accommodate every female in the house. Even I was amazed at the fact, but I know it was my uncle's way of saying to enjoy the pleasure.

"Hey Kai; I need to know, but how did you do that whole clone technique?" I asked the silent ashikabi. He didn't look at me and just kept his eyes closed.

"I've been training for a long time and one of the moves I've created in a multi-form technique. You see, there is an aura inside all of us, but we don't know that until we learn about it. Anyway, after some major training and almost killing myself numerous times, I figured out how to evenly distribute my aura into more forms of myself. At first, it took a VERY long to get right, but now I've managed to create several copies; however, they won't be as strong as I am. The more I create the weaker they are," he explained. I nodded my head.

"I see. That's really incredible though; I thought I was the only one, but you're way seems more effective, because I just used my ability to make some, but they don't last long and one good hit will take them out."

Kai didn't respond back; he was too deep in thought.

Nighttime finally came and I couldn't have been happier. Jason was too tired to go back to the inn so he just stayed downstairs to sleep. I on the other hand, had Toyo give me that massage she owed me. Now we're in my room with her walking on my back. She seemed to be enjoying for the most part; I know I was, but I may need her again tomorrow, as we all have to do the same thing over again.