Ian, Chazona, Kaeda, Foxy, and Sankarea were all running together in the base of Stormclaw. Chazona couldn't stop staring at Ian. Ever since he touched her frail body Chazona could never stop staring at him.
Ian ran up besides Kaeda. She was the most quiet of the girls and Ian was starting to worry about her.
" Hey, Kaeda, are you alright?" Kaeda didn't answer Ian at first and just continued running with the rest of the girls. Kaeda didn't answer Ian at first and just continued running with the rest of the girls. " Kaeda?" Ian shaked Kaeda and held his mouuth to her right ear. " Kaeda!"
" Ah!"
Kaeda was undergoing a state where her mind drifted to her past. She looked at Ian and saw the face of her mother. Kaeda kicked Ian to the ground, and took her two swords out. Like scissors cutting paper she was preparing to cut Ian's head off.
" Kaeda, stop," Ian said as calmly as he could hoping Kaeda would wake up from his voice. " It's me, Ian. Don't you remember me?"
" I-Ian?"
Kaeda was woken up by the memory of Ian. When Kaeda returned to reality, she saw the sight of her swords touching Ian's neck, and gasped.
" Ah! Ian, I'm sorry!"
Kaeda took her swords away from Ian's neck and sheathed them. Kaeda grabbed Ian's hand and helped him to his feet.
" I'm really sorry, Ian. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's just this whole fighting. I-It's-"
Ian had to grab Kaeda before she fell. In his hands KAeda's head felt warm and her tears felt wet. In his hands...Kaeda was crying.
" I'm possessed. Every part of me is possessed. Ian, please help me. I-I feel so cold."
Ian was compliant with Kaeda's wishes. He stroked her hair and said soothing words in her ears. As he was comforting her, Chazona, Foxy, and Sankarea all stared silently at him.
" You're not possessed, Kaeda. We all have times when we feel troubled, but feeling is part of life, Kaeda. It's one of the building blocks that make us human."
" (sniff) Ian, do you really think I'm normal?"
" Of course. Though there are times where you scare me, I enjoy spending time with you. Just like I enjoy spending time with every other house resident."
" Do you like me, Ian?"
" Of course. Rina, Yui, Kimza, Chazona, Foxy, Daisuke, everyone of you- minus Ichiro since I don't count him- are very important to me."
" I mean... do you like-like me, Ia-"
Kaeda sensed something heavy rushing towards her. She quickly pushed Ian on the ground while something heavy swinged above their head.
" Ian, hold onto me as tight as you can!"
Kaeda took control and rolled while holding Ian in her hands. Ian rolled with her as heavy metal clashed besdie her.
" Look out!" Chazona shouted. " It's heading to your left!"
Kaeda reacted just in time. More metal came clashing on the ground on the left of Kaeda, but she pulled Ian out of the way with her ampled strength. Only while she pushed him was Ian's face pushed betweeen her clevage. And his mouth was gagged by her breasts.
" Interesting..." A voice echoed inside the room. " The way you saw my attack... Could you possibly be her?"
Kaeda's instincts sensed heavy metal clashing towards Ian. And to protect Ian she unsheathed her two swords and slashed them at the heavy metal. Ironically, Ian's face was still stuck between her clevage.
" A-Ah..." Ian finally fell down. His face was red, he had a lecharous look on his face, and he moaned through his mouth as he fell on the ground. " I touched them. I really touched them."
" Foxy, Sankarea help Ian to his feet," Chazona ordered with a harsh tone. " He won't be able to move for awhile."
Foxy and Sankarea did as Chazona said and grabbed Ian's arms as they dragged Ian through the long hall. They stopped however as Foxy noticed Kaeda still clashing her swords with the annominous assailant. The person of whom she was looking at was Kaeda.
" Wait, Chazona, shouldn't we help Kaeda as well? She's going to die if we don't-"
" Keep moving! I sense no shadow of death on her. She's safe. Just keep moving!"
Chazona ran as fast as she could down the halls. Foxy was the only thing slowing her down. After a short pause of Foxy looking at Kaeda awaiting her to break free and follow her and Sankarea, she ran with her sister down the halls and dragged Ian along with them. Leaving Kaeda all alone...they had no idea what would be waiting them in the road ahead.
Kaeda continued pushing on her swords, then she fell moved slow, moving one leg over the other, and breathing slowly through her mouth. It was a technique that helped clear her mind and helped her when she swinged her swords. At the sound of metal rushing towards her she made contact against the metal.
" You're pretty quick with your hands, daughter of Mitoko." From the darkness came a scary han'nya mask leaked out of the darkness. " I've been waiting for someone like you. Once I kill you I'll be one step closer to killing your mother. My name is Shik."
Shik backed up and slashed her katatan's at Shik. Shik disappeared, reappeared in front of Kaeda, and raised one of his katana's up. Kaeda sidestepped to the right, sidestepped to the left, and charged towards Shik. Shik slashed his sword, though it appeared at first to be short a large slash wound opened up on her right arm.
" Ah!" Kaeda shouted as she grabbed her hand and gritted her teeth. " (italic) How did he do that? I was sure his sword was short."
" Are you hurt? It's funny. I was sure the daughter of Kaeda would've done something at least a little better."
" Shut up! The moment I see my mother I'll kill her! YOU! How dare you make attempts to behead the man I love! I will kill you with the same moves I've harnessed to kill my mother!"
Kaeda jumped back and landed on her feet. She sheathed one of her swords and raised the other one by the hilt with both her hands. Kaeda slashed her sword at Shik. The sword created a gust of wind. The wind made contact against Shik, but he croseed his swords and stopped the wind from hitting his chest, but short wounds ripped out of both his left and right arm.
" Yes, yes, I remember this move. It's a powerful move where you use the speed of your cuts and thus create wind strong enough to push people back. Of course yours is imperfected and weak comoared to your mothers."
" Stop comparing me to my mother!"
Kaeda made more slashes with her swords that created massive gusts of wind. Shik continued to cross his swords together and stopped the wind from touching his chest. Shik then blocked with only one sword with one sword behind his head, raised the other sword up, slashed it, and created a gust of wind just like Kaeda.
" Ah!" Kaeda screamed as the gust of wind pushed her back. " How did he do that? I thought only my mother and my aunt Tsuruko could use that move."
" I bet you're probably wondering how I can use your mother's move."
" W-What? How do you kno-"
" All you woman of the Aoyama family all think alike. And you're all nothing but weak. The answer is I learned it. I learned it after your mother nearly sliced my head off with it. For six years I've been training so that I could learn her own move and use it to behead her. But now...I'll only get to use it on you, her daughter."
" NO!"
Kaeda charged towards Shik, unsheathed her other sword, and spread them both out as she charged towards Shik. However, just like last time she was striked in her right shoulder by a blade she couldn't even see. Kaeda shuddered after being striked by the cold metal, and she fell back, crying.
" Why don't you go home and cry to your mother? It's the best a bastard child like you could ever do."
" Shut up! Shut up!"
Kaeda shuddered from both her arms being slashed at. However, she charged at Shik with both her katana's by her side. She slashed left, right, left, right, but she was unable to lay a hit on Shik. Shik ducked under her and elbowed her in her chest. Kaeda lost all consciousness in her arms and knees and fell on the floor.
" You're brash, reckless, and weak. You are a disgrace to your mother. You're nothing but a bastard child." Shik raised both his swords by Kaeda's neck, like the move she nearly used to kill Ian, and prepared to cut her head of. " Any last words you'd like to say?"
" I do. There is one question I'd like to ask you. W-Why do you want to kill my mother? Why?"
" You really want to know? I guess it wouldn't hurt. But before I tell you that..." Shik looked down as his mask dropped. Shik then looked back at Kaeda. His face, once sheltered by his mask, was deformed. Every part of it was burn away. And his eyes...were white. " I want you to imagine my pain. Look at me in my moment of limbo. Because of your mother I lost my home, the kids I devoted my life to, and worst of all...the woman I love."
###
Shik was once a merry twenty-two year old man. He lived at an orphanage with four other children and a nice woman named Ai Sogeke. Shik was going through his ordinary day, sweeping the front entrance, and singing merrily to himself. That was until he heard the bickering sound of shouting.
" Shik! Shik!" Shik's small whining ten year old orphan Sasko shouted. The sound of running was heard as he and the other orphan boy Ti. " Shik! Shik, help! Ti's being mean to me!"
" I am not! Your the one who started this!"
Sasko ran behind Shik and grabbed his legs. Sasko stuck his tongue out at Ti, Ti stuck his tongue out at Sasko, and Shik being worried about them looked down and tried shaking Sasko off him.
" You two really shouldn't be fighting. If Ai finds out about this she's going to have a fit. Do you want Ai to have a fit?"
" Nah!" was the sound Sasko made when he stuck out his tongue. " Your breath smells like ants!"
" Nah!" was the sound Ti made when he stuck out his tongue. " At least my breath smells better than yours, garbage breath."
" Nah! Shik likes me more."
" Nah! Shik likes me more."
" Actually, I like you both the same. There's no need to keep on fighting."
" Nah!"
" Nah!"
" Nah!"
" Nah!"
" Nah!"
" Nah!"
" Would you two stop acting like children!" Ai shouted. Shik, Sasko, and Ti all looked at Ai. She was wearing her summer kimono-a kimono with white fringes, purple flowers intricately on the design, and had a yellow ribbon in her hair. Ai had the two girl ophans Uwa and Kagora holding her kimono." I can't stand your childish rants! Why can't you act like adults?"
" Duh, because we're kids, Ai."
" Yeah, Ai, we're kids. But I'm sure your fat head couldn't understand that."
" What did you say?" Ai's hair stood up. Her whole body burned orange with flames. And her eyes...turned red. " I don't think I heard you clearly? What did you say to me?"
" I said...your head is fa-"
Ai bonked Ti on his head, walked behind trying to get Sasko, fell into Shik's arms, blushed at how warm they were, then the color faded and she chased after Sasko trying to make a run for it. But Ai dashed towards Sasko and bonked him on his head. Ai grabbed both Ti and Sasko by the ears, dragged them into the orphanage, and threw them on the ground.
" Now you two stay there until you think about your actions. " Ai closed the door on Sasko and Ti and walked towards Shik. At first she gave him a scornful look, but then she returned to normal when she saw how frightened Shik was. " Shik, you really need to be harder on them."
" Yes, I'm sorry, Ai. Maybe if you give me a day or two I can scare them."
" Jeez, Shik, you say that every day. Why do you think the kids keep coming to you?"
" I don't know. Maybe it's because I spoil them. "
" No, they keep coming to you because they look up to you. Your like a role model to them."
" What about you, Ai? I'm sure they look up to you two, Ai."
" No, I'm like their den mother. I'm suppose to be the bad guy to them."
" Ai, how long are we going to be in here?" Sasko whined. " I want to go outside and play."
" YOU'LL GET OUT WHEN DINNER IS READY!" Ai stopped shouting and turned back to Shik. " Shik, what are we going to do? Ever since last winter most of our crops have been destroyed. I had to get a loan for food. If we don't pay off the loan they're going to seize our orphange. What are we going to do?"
" I wish I could help you, Ai, but I just don't know what to d-"
" I know what we can do," Uwa said. " Shik, you and Ai should get married."
" W-What?" Shik gasped at what Uwa said. " What are you talking about, Uwa?"
" I agree. You two should get married," Kagora said.
" Think about it. There's a place marriage couples can go and live happily. And we can live if you and Ai."
" Uwa, that's not how things work. Shik and I aren't romantically involved. And even if we did get married, things wouldn't change."
" Aww. That's too bad. You two would make a cute couple."
" Yeah. I can see it too."
Uwa and Kagora both sulked as they walked away from Shik and Kagora. The moment they left Ai's cheeks started to blush and she kicked her chaffs together.
" Sorry about that, Shik. You really didn't need to hear that."
" That's okay. I love the idea of getting married one day. But that won't be until I managed to keep you happy and worried free, Ai. Oh. I better get dinner ready. Those kids like to eat."
Shik ran away from Ai and ran into the door. The moment he opened the door Sasko and Ti both jumped on his legs and kept holding him as he dragged them along with them. Ai found it to be funny and held her hand over her mouth to hide her laughter.
" Shik, you dork. Always thinking about others. What woman wouldn't want to have you as a husband?"