Chapter 33
"Yuko? Really?!" Nobara was stunned, and yet thrilled for her. After Kiyoshi, Wasuke and Ai, she is going to have another?!
She was thrilled to know, and yet, Yuko wasn't excited, she appeared worried. "What's wrong?" Nobara asked as she picked up on her expression.
"Bro can't help her." Suiryu said gently. "Look at him."
Nobara wasn't really paying attention to Itadori, yet the moment her eyes came upon him, she froze oddly. "He looked like he swallowed a beach ball! I wouldn't put it past him at this point…" she muttered.
Suiryu snorted a small laugh but quickly stopped himself. "No… that's Kiyoshi in him." he explained.
"HUH!?"
"It's a lot to take in right now, however, the matter is this. He cannot take in Yuko if she gets cold, and she will. So, I need to ask you. Nobara, are you pregnant right now?" Lady Tiamat asked of her.
"No," she said flat out. "Suiryu and I held off for a while, I mean after the twins, my hands were full enough as it is!" she protested, but then caught to tone of her voice. "Why do you ask?"
"Are you going to have more children in the next few months?"
Nobara's arms crossed. "Lady Tiamat, stop beating around the bush here and ask me!" she protested. "The answer is no, why?"
She appeared relieved. "Suiryu, will need to be a surrogate for Yuuji. He can't tend to her, so I am going to have Suiryu do so in his place."
"Wait, we can do that?!" Suiryu demanded. "I thought dragons are VERY territorial here… he would rip her out of me if I did that, wouldn't he?"
Lady Tiamat shook her head. "You are not stealing his mate, as well, he knows very well he cannot tend to her needs in his condition. Suiryu, please, look after Yuko in his place, it will take a great deal of pressure off of him."
He sighed aloud and nodded. "Yes mom," he said. Turning to Nobara he looked so apologetic.
"What's with that look on your face? You think I would get mad or something?" she demanded of him. "What kind of a woman do you take me for?"
He smirked a little before scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry…" he muttered. Looking to Yuko, she appeared relieved at the news. "So, are you cool with it too?"
"I'm relieved to be honest with you, I want my son safe, at the same time. I worried that if I couldn't keep warm during this pregnancy…"
"It's all fixed now," Lady Tiamat insisted. "I do have to speak with Sukuna though about his knowledge of this…"
"So, this has happened before?" Nobara asked.
"In truth… no." Lady Tiamat said bluntly. "In fact, the only dragon that was capable of taking in young like this was known as a nursery dragon. But they are long since gone, as well, if one did live, my uncle would hunt him to the ends of the worlds." She explained.
"Then…" Suiryu began to ask with worry.
Lady Tiamat smiled to him. "I hope that the notion given to me, is going to work out for everyone in the end…"
#
Within Kiyoshi.
He suddenly gasped and sat up.
However, he found himself in the field where he and Sukuna sparred during the winter. It was covered in snow and he was up to his hips in this. "YOU STUPID BRAT!"
He jumped as he saw a rather… deranged man standing before him. He was strong looking and yet, appeared unhinged at the same time.
"Raynn?" he whispered.
Yet, why was he human? What does he gain from being in this form?
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE YOU BRAT! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS DIE SO I COULD HAVE A BODY!"
Kiyoshi froze.
"You really were trying to kill me… Raynn… I didn't do anything to harm you, why would you do this to me?!" Kiyoshi asked.
He sneered at him. "My whole life has been nothing, I thought I was the luckiest dragon on earth to be adopted by Lady Tiamat… but then… I saw her son…" he sneered.
'Her son… didn't dad mention he had a dragon in him named Ryujin?' Kiyoshi thought.
"Lady Tiamat only bore a single son… from the only dragon she loved at the time… I was merely a spare. It was rare in itself for Lady Tiamat to only have one son… but the fact remains… he was the strongest any dragon had ever seen before. I though for certain I could hide behind him. ALL dragons would target him before me… instead he bailed! Abandoned me as the other dragons were going to attack him! Why… WHY COULDN'T HE HAVE JUST DIED THEN AND THERE!"
"It wouldn't have mattered…" Kiyoshi said bitterly. "From what grandma has said, my father and uncle… they would have killed you too even if Ryujin wasn't there. You can't be blaming others for YOUR choices!"
He sneered, but then, a twisted grin came over him. "Oh and yet I am being punished for this? I finally want to live a life worth doing so, and I am denied that?"
"You tried to kill me!"
"YOU'RE BUT A HUMAN CHILD! I'M A DRAGON, MY LIFE MATTERS MORE THAN YOURS YOU MONKEY!"
He froze.
Raynn had no intention on ever cooperating with him, did he? He was biding his time to see how safe the world was and how strong his father is. All this time… he was waiting to strike him.
"What happens now? What have you done?" Kiyoshi asked.
Raynn sneered. "Tsk, how would I know? But…" he peered up.
Looking to the sky, Kiyoshi saw an odd chrome sphere lingering above them. "What… is that?"
"An empty dragon soul…" Raynn's look altered. Kiyoshi could sense his blood lust from where he stood. "And the victor obtains it, the victor gets to lives as the loser… dies!"
This was it wasn't it. Kiyoshi is on the brink of death, a limbo as it were between himself and Raynn.
But, could he win?
Much to his shock as well as relief, Kiyoshi still obtained the elemental power, all the training he did with Sukuna and his father paid off, as he was able to hold his own for a little while. The legion of snowmen, the summoning and creating of creatures of snow and ice, the ability to throw snow hard enough to shake the ground. All these lessons came into play against Raynn. However, the dragon knew these tricks too. Oddly enough, he couldn't make snow golems as good as Kiyoshi. But it never stopped him from trying anyway.
The only advantage Raynn really had was his power in this strange world. After all, he is still a dragon, when Raynn did land a hit. It was a devastating blow.
The damage he received in this odd world, echoed to the outside. Those around him must have seen his nose bleed, his mouth oozing blood and yet, every so often, Raynn would be struck by something. He roared out in agony to it before going back to attacking.
"I'll finish this quickly, I am so close!"
Kiyoshi felt a strong strike to his stomach. He didn't know what had hit him but, he brought him to his knees in pain. He couldn't focus or bring himself to stand, and yet… Raynn was more damaged than he was!
"I don't know… what you have done, you monkey child… but… this is where your life ends, and mine… begins again!" He clenched his fists together and brought them up and over his head. One strike… and Kiyoshi's head would be bashed in.
But then, something shattered.
"What… what was that sound?!"
Raynn held back as he appeared terrified. "Mother…" he whispered in shock.
Kiyoshi peered up and saw long, thick spears hovering in the sky, but they took aim at Raynn. "MOTHER. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" he shouted.
Kiyoshi however, shied away as he heard the floating spears suddenly come down.
"GAH!" it was a brief shout, but as he peered up, Kiyoshi stumbled back.
Raynn was impaled from all angles.
He froze as Raynn had just enough strength to glare at him, his right arm feebly reached towards him… only to go limp.
He was dead.
The body turned to ice and then… flaked away into snow.
Kiyoshi didn't know what had happened, who did such a thing and yet… he felt scared. Weakness suddenly came over him. The wounds from Raynn had accumulated and he found parts of himself vanishing. "Am… am I dying?" he wept. "I… I don't want to die! Please, I don't want to!"
He suddenly felt strange. Peering up, the orb that lingered altered. It came down before him, shining brightly, until…
"Dad?" he whispered.
His father came out of nowhere, he said nothing to him but approached Kiyoshi. Gently, he was picked off the ground and held close. The world around grew dark as he felt his father was enveloping him.
He didn't resist, in fact, Kiyoshi felt a lot more at ease being in his father's embrace. "Don't let go of me dad, please?" he whispered.
His eyes closed, as he grew weaker and the world continued to close off to him, only to faintly hear his father say. "I will never let go of you, Kiyoshi…"
