Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or This Bites. These belong to their respective owners, I'm merely taking inspiration from the two and adding my own characters to their worlds. I hope you enjoy.
Flashback
Sakai looked up in terror at the man in front of him. He had a gash in the left shoulder of his expensive suit, and he smiled at the two of them while casually having a hand in his pocket.
Lawrence smiled at the two as he stepped inside, causing the two kids before him to back up.
"Now then, maybe you two can be of more help. Where are the swords?" He asked, questioning the kids. Sakai didn't answer, he just grabbed Maria and ran to try and find someplace to hide. Lawrence grinned. "I'm not usually one for games, but okay, I'll play. Let's see if you can get away before I catch you both." He said as he waited, a few moments. "TIMES UP!" He said as he started to explore the house himself.
Sakai and Maria were running, they had to find somewhere to hide. That was his thought but then he thought about it more for a second. If what he said was true there would be no way for him to hide from him. He had to do something…With that in mind he ran with Maria to his parents room. Maria looked at him scared, and started to tear up. "B-big bro, what are we gonna do?" She asked softly, making Sakai stop. "You have to find somewhere to hide Maria." He said as he looked at the girl. Maria looked back up at her brother, and nodded. "I..I know..but what are you going to do?" She asked worried, and much to her concern as the two made it to their mother's room.
Maria frowned as she saw Sakai go into his mom's closet as if he was looking for something. "S-Sakai?" She asked, as her brother finally found what he was looking for. A case that was a little bigger than him. He placed it on the ground, before opening it, and Maria tilted her head at what she saw. Two blades, one a sky blue and the other a crimson red.
Sakai gently reached down and grabbed them both. Not bothering to take the sheathes. He looked at Maria. "Whatever happens, don't leave the house." He said before running out into the hallway. He sprinted down the halls, and made it to the backdoor, but he wasn't quick enough as Lawrence saw him exit the building. He frowned as he saw that the boy was holding on to two distinctly unique blades.
"Damn brat!" He said as he ran after the boy as he ran into the forest surrounding the house. He just had to get away from this man. He had to keep his sister safe, and he couldn't let these fall into his hands.
A sharp rock hit his shoulder, but that didn't matter, as he kept running. Lawrence frowned as she saw this. "It's no use brat! I'm going to take those swords even if I have to kill someone pathetic like you." He said with a grin, as he continued the game of cat and mouse.
For his part, Sakai knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up. He had to do something, he had to figure out how to protect his sister. That's when he noticed something, the swords in his hand started to glow a soft gentle blue, and a bright crimson red respectfully. "W-what is this…it feels…warm…" He said unsure of what was happening. It was like something was filling him, some strange warmth. He looked at the blades and they seemed to be glowing brightly now.
For his part Lawrence saw the glow from behind a group of bushes, his eyes narrowing. 'What is that?' He asked himself as he slowly approached the bushes. He suddenly felt like he needed to move as he dodged out of the way. Just in time as a cross shaped slash shot out from the bush. Lawrence looked over at the bush wondering who had arrived. Only to be shocked as he saw the boy standing there. He held the swords aloft and Lawrence saw the blades were glowing. What was more alarming than that though, was the look in Sakai's eyes. Where once there was fear, now there was now a look of determination.
Lawrence had to quickly pull out a blade from his Vault to block a swing that came from in front of him, and before he realized what had happened, the man was shocked that the boy was able to keep up with him at the speed the two were moving. He screamed, as he tried to counter, but Sakai somersaulted over the blade Lawrence was using and slashed him across the back.
Sakai for his part was sure what was happening, it was like the blades were guiding his every move. He quickly dodged to the left of a blast of fire that erupted from beneath him, and rolled to the right as a group of icicles struck the ground where he had been. Lawrence couldn't believe this was happening.
"ENOUGH OF THIS! I WILL NOT LOSE TO SOME BRAT LIKE YOU!" He said as he quickly opened his Vault, and Sakai watched as multiple weapons appeared from what appeared to be holes in the air. Sakai quickly dodged out of the way of a barrage of the weapons before he felt a blade slash across his shoulder, he winced and screamed in pain as he clutched his shoulder, staring up at the man.
Lawrence smirked, but that smirk faded as he felt two slash marks form an X across his face. "AGHHHHHH! YOU BITCH!" He said as he punted Sakai into a tree making him drop his swords…He slowly started to fade out of consciousness, with a female voice calling out his name.
"By the time I woke up, the man had disappeared and my mother was holding me with tears in her eyes. I'll never forget that day." He said as he looked at the two of them.
Sora and Cynthia for their part were amazed by what they heard. Sakai's mother sounded incredible, and the fact Sakai was able to keep up with his attacker for even a second was beyond impressive.
Cynthia looked at Sakai as she saw him start to tear up. "And what happened next?"
Sakai frowned. "My mother slowly grew more and more distant, and one night, I heard her yelling at the old man." He clenched his fists. "That's when I found out the truth. I found out that Cob was the one who killed my father."
Cynthia frowned as she heard this, but Sakai continued. "Shortly after that, my mother became more distant from me and Maria and it was only a few months later when I found out that she was gone… Cob told me…he said she killed herself, racked with grief of not being able to live without my father."
The twin hellhounds looked shocked as they heard this news, and before Sora commented. "Survivors Guilt."
Sakai looked at him confused. "What's that?"
Sora looked at the more experienced swordsman. "It's a type of guilt a person feels when they survive while someone close to them died, usually a term used when talking about soldiers in battle. It's a term from where me and Cynthia come from."
Sakai listened but frowned as he heard this, before Cynthia asked.
"So what happened after that?"
Sakai looked at her before letting out a sigh.
"After that I don't remember much, I just remember waking up on a boat with Akai Kumo in my hand. From there, you know the rest, I went out to see and found Daryl. I've been sailing the sea for the last 5 years, hoping to get revenge on him for what he did."
Sakai looked at the two "Now do you see? The man who saved you isn't as benevolent as you think he is! He's probably just using you! He has to pay for what he did!"
Sora wasn't sure what to say as he heard this, and for a moment, he considered what the man in front of him was saying. Was it true? Did Cob really do something like that, and was he just using them?
"You're wrong Sakai."
Both swordsmen looked at Cynthia who had spoken up and had a sad look on her face. Sakai in particular had a look of anger as he glared at her, standing up.
"WHY DO YOU KEEP SAYING THAT!? Even after everything I've told you?! How can you keep defending him!"
Sora also wanted to know that, and it looked like he would get his wish, as she looked at the man. "You're right, Cob is the one who killed your father." Causing Sakai to frown.
"Then why did you say I was wrong?"
Cynthia looked at Sora. "Sora…do you remember the Poneglyphs?"
Sora heard this and almost fell back in shock, before he suddenly looked very mad and much to Sakai's confusion he looked at her in anger. "You mean the stones that the World Government would do anything to hide the truth about."
Cynthia nodded as Sora turned to Sakai and spoke for the first time in awhile.
"Sakai, how much do you know about them?"
Sakai for his part was confused. "What are you talking about? I've never heard of those before." He said looking uneasily between the two of them. Making Sora scratch his head in frustration.
"I thought as much…Sakai, Cynthia is right. Your father didn't kill your brother." He said before his fists clenched. "Or at least, he didn't want to kill him." He said as he looked at the man.
Cynthia looked at Sora and frowned. "So you figured it out?" To which Sora nodded,
"Doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Sakai for his part was through with being ignored.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT!?" He screamed as he looked at the two.
Cynthia looked at him, and frowned. "We're saying your father wasn't killed by the Cob. Your father was killed by the World Government." Shocking Sakai to his core.
"B-but that doesn't make sense. Why would they do that?!" He asked, looking lost for the first time since Sora had met him.
The other swordsman frowned. "It's because your father found out about something the World Government has been hiding from the world for years. He found out about the Poneglyphs."
Cynthia cut in at this point. "More specifically your mother found out about them and told the rest of the crew. After that the Government found out and put bounties on everyone involved. Your uncle, Daryl tried to make a deal with the marines to remove the bounty. They didn't agree and locked him up, forcing your father and the rest of his crew to try and rescue him."
Sakai looked more and more lost, like his whole world view was crashing down around him. Cynthia continued to tell him what Daryl had told her. "They got cornered though, and we're tricked. Cob was forced to kill your father because he was the captain of your crew. From there, Daryl and Cob escaped along with your mother and the rest of the crew."
Sakai was looking down at this point. He wasn't even listening at this point, his sword glowing more red by the second. Sora and Cynthia didn't notice this as Sora spoke to his childhood friend.
"Do you know what was on the Poneglyph?" He was worried about what it would mention.
Cynthia frowned at the question. "I do…something about Saturn…but I don't know what that is…Have you heard of-" She looked up to ask Sora and saw he was gripping his sword so tight she thought she saw blood coming from them.
"S-sora…what is it? What is Saturn?"
Sora looked up at her and frowned. "A weapon…or more specifically a demon in human form…We just stumbled onto something huge…Cynthia…if this got out, you and I would both be dead for it. You can't mention this to anyone."
Cynthia took a step back suddenly and was very nervous. "I-is it really that bad?" To which Sora looked at her.
"Cyn…this is one of things I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole while we're here. Just forget you heard that name. Hopefully it won't even matter. We're not the ones who will be dealing with it." He said as he looked at Sakai.
"Look Sakai…This is pointless, Cob isn't the one to-"
"You're lying…"
Sora and Cynthia froze as they realized something they hadn't noticed before now. Sakai's blade was glowing an even brighter red than before. His sword gripped in his hand. The two Zoan's instincts had them leap back about 10 feet as they realized something was wrong with the man.
He had an aura around him that was a deep blood red, and the two suddenly felt like they wanted to be anywhere but where they currently were.
Sakai spoke as he looked at the two. "Poneglyphs? The Government? Some weapon or demon? Why the hell should I believe you two at all!? I barely even know either of you!" He screamed as a pressure overcame the two of them.
Sora and Cynthia both returned to their hybrid states as they looked at the man in front of them. Sora quickly drew his weapon, and Cynthia drew her guns. Sora looked at his friend.
"So much for talking this out…Are you ready for this Cynthia?" He asked his friend who he saw was frowning.
"I…I don't know…I promised Daryl to help him." She said nervously, before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Sora staring at her. "Then we can help him, by snapping him out of this. He's too angry right now to think properly. We just need to knock some sense into him." He said as he watched Sakai draw his sword.
"You're both dead! I'm through playing around!" Sakai screamed as the twin wolves looked at each other.
Cynthia looked and let out a sigh before looking at Sora. "Let's do this then." She said with a grin, causing Sora to smile as he activated the wind around his feet. "That's what I like to hear."
Sakai watched as the two spread out a little, and smirked. "Hope you two can keep up with me! CAUSE HERE I COME!"
With that the mad Red Cloud swordsman charged forward in a flash, with Sora meeting him in the center. Their blades clashed back and forth as they each parried each other's blows before the two were stuck in place with a sword lock as each one tried to overpower the other. Wind protected Zoan's blade, helping him hold back the blade, but he was quickly losing ground as he Sakai pushed against his blade.
"Bastard, just die already!" He grunted as he pushed as hard he could. Suddenly he saw a strange sigil appear out of the corner of his eye, and only thanks to his experience, he was able to kick Sora in the gut, sending him tumbling before he leaped back in time, but not before cutting a horizontal slash across Sora's chest, making him wince in pain. , as a series of chains shot from the ground trying to wrap around him.
Sakai slashed at one in mid air, as he evaded the chains, making Cynthia curse as she shot her guns at the Swordsman, who successfully sliced through the bullets making her frown, as she jumped back. Sakai grinned as he looked at the her. "So that's what your fruit can do, you almost had me." He said as he ran after her, and Cynthia had to raise a wall of fire in front of herself to keep Sakai away, which worked as he stopped just in time for Sora to leap back into the fray.
With wind wrapped around his blade still, he blocked and parried Sakai's swings before countering with his own swings, the two swords man each trying to score blows on each other as metal clashed with metal. Sakai leaped over Sora's blade and attempted to perform a roundhouse kick on him, but another boot met his, this one on fire and covered in flames. He winced and broke away from Cynthia who raised her hands and started to throw balls of fire at him.
Sakai dodged out of the way the flames as he frowned. 'Damn it, so she's a mythical Zoan as well.' He thought before he suddenly felt the need to duck a slash to his back, before countering with a swing of his own, scoring a blow on Sora who dashed backwards, and skidded to a stop away from the man. Sakai smirked and turned his attention to Cynthia, who frowned and leaped at him with a fiery punch striking the ground where he had been a moment ago. Sakai had leaped back and sheathed his blade. "
One Sword Style: Bloody Slashes" He said as he launched towards her, and Cynthia had to raise her arms to protect herself as an onslaught of slash marks began to cover her body.
"AGHHH!" She said as blood leaked from the wounds over her body. Sakai smirked and went to swing at the woman who had fallen to her knees, before something cut deeply into his cheek, and winced before looking over at Sora who had used a quick blade of wind to cut into him.
What shocked him though was the look of fury in his eyes. Sora gripped his sword tightly. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" He said as he rushed at him.
Sakai just smirked and screamed in return. "Make me!" As the two locked blades once more, but this time, Sora was incorporating his own style into his swings.
Sakai dodged a slash only to receive an elbow to the jaw sending him staggering back, and unprepared for the slash of air that was sent towards him, cutting him in his shoulder deeply. Sakai panicked as he felt it cut into his shoulder, and quickly ducked down, avoiding the worst of it. He turned around shocked as the building behind him now had a large slash mark carved into the side of it.
He turned back to Sora. "Damn punk!" He said as he rushed and went for a low sweep with his feet causing Sora to jump backwards to avoid it. Sakai just smirked though and released a flying slash towards the Sora who could dodge the attack in mid air, he could only block it, and even then the slash still sent him flying into a building.
Sakai smirked before he heard a loud bang as something pierced his leg. "Son of a-" He said before turning to look and seeing Cynthia rushing at him, and trying to lash out with a kick. Sakai, unable to lift his leg in time, panicked as he saw the attack coming.
"HAAAAAAAAA!" Cynthia screamed as she put everything into the force of her kick, her leg setting on fire, as she slammed leg into his cheek sending him playing backwards like a fireball and he went crashing through multiple buildings.
Cynthia panted as she ran over to Sora. "You okay?" She asked as she looked at her friend who was picking himself up out of the debris.
Sora frowned, and winced as he pulled a splinter from his leg. "I've been better." He said looking down at the wound on his chest that was still bleeding.
Cynthia frowned as she saw it. "That doesn't look good. We need to end this soon, or we're just gonna end up bleeding out." She said as she looked at her own wounds.
Sora nodded. "What do you suggest then?" He asked his friend, who frowned and said. "Well I have something we could use, but we would need to keep him in place long enough for it to charge. I'm not as fast as I'd like to be with it just yet." She said as Sora looked at her.
"How much time do you need?"
Cynthia frowned. "Probably 5 minutes? I don't know, but the hard part will be setting it up. I need you to distract him while I place my sigils around the field." She said before both her and Sora's ears twitched as they heard something.
"DOWN!" Cynthia said as the two ducked down.
Just in time, as just above them, a red slash shot out and cut through the air where they had been 5 seconds before. They watched as it slashed through the buildings behind them, and was cut in a very large arc.
The two stared wide-eyed as they saw the building collapse under the weight of themselves.
"If we had been a few seconds slower…" Sora said as he looked at Cynthia, who was shivering. He could tell that had scared her.
"S-sora…I think I want to go home now." She said nervously, to which Sora grabbed her shoulders.
"Cyn focus! We need to stop him. Right now, whether we like it or not, this is our home and we have to protect it." He said, causing Cynthia to freeze up as she looked at him. She saw a determination in his eyes she hadn't seen before. It was comforting, and it was enough to snap her out of her worries.
She nodded at him. "Right, sorry…I'm better now." Sora smiled as he heard this and then said. "Good, now start setting things up. I'll do my best to hold him off." He said, smirking. "I've got a new trick I want to try."
Cynthia grinned, and nodded. "Got it, but be careful, don't get too reckless." She said before sprinting off to start the plan.
Sora watched her go, and his ears twitched as he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. He turned to the hole that the Sakai had gone through, and watched as the swordsman exited the hole. He frowned as he saw that Sora was alone, he smirked. "Where's the other one? Don't tell me she died in that last attack."
Sora smirked at him, and raised his blade, he inhaled and exhaled as he ran his hand along the blade, and unseen to Sakai, wind gathered along the edge of it.
Sakai frowned as he saw Sora do this motion, before Sora answered. "You don't have to worry about her, your opponent right now…is me." He said as he got into his sword stance.
Sakai smirked. "Fine then, I'll play with you a little more, then I'll go teach that girl a lesson for what she did to me."
Cynthia placed a sigil on the wall of a house, quickly darted to the next, moving fast and quietly. She glanced out and watched as the two swordsmen were about to begin their next clash. She frowned. "You better be safe…Don't die on me." She said as she placed another sigil.
Sora and Sakai stared at each other for a few more moments, before Sora launched forth with a burst of speed from the wind gathered at his feet.
Sakai smiled and ran at Sora as the two clashed swords together, each beginning to move at a speed that would be hard to track normally, as they dashed back and forth between each other.
Sakai skidded backwards as Sora sent a blast of wind pressure towards him, as he sheathed his blade. "One Sword Style: Scattered Petals" He said as he ran towards Sora who raised a wall of wind between himself and Sakai, sending the man backwards. He frowned as he saw this, before Sora leapt forward and continued his assault, Sakai dodged to the right of a swing, but was surprised when he felt something cut into him. He kicked Sora back, and tried to get some distance.
Stopping for a moment, he tried to analyze what just happened. "I know I dodged that." He said as he looked at the boy who was breathing heavily. "How did he do that?"
Sakai didn't get a chance to keep thinking about it, as Sora continued his assault on him, and once more as Sakai dodged, he found himself receiving multiple lacerations all over his body. His cheek, his chest, his sides, and even one of his legs. They were very deep but they were adding up.
It didn't take long for the more experienced to add things up. "The Wind!" He said as he parried a strike from Sora, who in turn smirked.
"You caught on quick." He said as he lashed out and launched another blade of wind at Sakai, who barely dodged this one. The more experienced swordsman sprinted and smirked as he held his sword low. "One Sword Style: Rising Clouds!"
Sakai said as he performed an upward slash that cut into Sora's shoulder, causing him to curse loudly as he screamed.
The man grinned as he watched Sora go tumbling backwards. He was about to leap after him, when he saw a figure move to catch him.
He frowned as he saw that the other Zoan had returned. She gently helped Sora land safely, holding him up.
Sora looked at her. "What about the plan?" He whispered to her, panicked that she had appeared.
Cynthia smirked. "All taken care of. Now we just need to hold him in pla-" She stopped as she felt Sora push her out of the way, and gasped as she saw that Sora was standing there with another large gash on his chest. His sword, now sliced perfectly in half.
"SORA!" Cynthia said, as she lashed out with a kick, sending Sakai backwards who smirked. "That's one down." He said, but was shocked to see Sora still standing.
Cynthia looked at him and saw the state he was in. On top of the cut he received earlier he now had another vertical cut carved into him. 'He's gonna bleed out at this rate!' She realized she had to do something and there was only one thing she could think of, but she had a feeling Sora wasn't going to appreciate it.
"Sora this is gonna hurt like a bitch, but it will keep you alive."
Sora looked exhausted, but he nodded. "D-do it! We have to stop this." Cynthia nodded, and lit her hand on fire. "Grit your teeth.." She said as she placed her hand on the wound. Sora screamed in pain as he felt the heat start to sear the wound shut.
It was easily one of the most painful things he had ever felt. He didn't pass out though, the sheer determination to stop Sakai pushing him forward.
Sakai watched in shock as Cynthia performed her half assed medical treatment. She soon stopped, and looked at Sora. "There, I stopped the bleeding on the worst wound.
Hopefully that will be enough. I'm too worried to close them all because I'm not sure if you would be able to stand the pain.
Sora panted heavily as he groaned and slowly stood up. "T-thanks Cyn…I mean it, you saved my ass just now.
Sakai watched as Sora stood up. "I'm sorry but did you just cauterize his wound?!" He was baffled by how reckless the two were.
Cynthia merely smirked, and looked at him. "Damn right I did! And for our next trick!" She said as she stared at Sora, and the man smiled at her, and the two quickly shifted to the forms of two giant wolves, one sky blue with clouds floating around it, and the other a dark brown with flames licking at her jaw, and fire at the tip of her tail and her ears. The two looked at Sakai and smiled.
"We're gonna stop you!" Cynthia said, before the two sprinted towards him, one covered in fire, the other surrounded by wind.
Sakai barely had a chance to block with his sword as the two collided with him. He went tumbling and cursed as he saw the two in front of him. "This just got a whole lot more complicated." He said as he dodged away from a blast of wind pressure that Sora had launched at him that made a pot whole in the ground below him. He looked up just in time to dodge out of the way of one of Cynthia's claws as she had leaped up to try and swat him down to the ground.
Unfortunately this put him in the path of Sora who swiped at him with one of his claws, and Sakai tried to dodge out of the way, but the attack still landed, carving a wound in his chest, and sending him to the ground. Sakai grunted as he slowly stood up. He had to end this now. In one go.
He leaned down as he saw the two had grouped up and sheathed his sword, the blade shining a bright crimson.
"One Sword Style: Blade Storm!" He said before he launched forward towards the two canine Zoans, his blade glowing red with energy, as he appeared behind the two of them, deep cuts opening up on the two wolves legs as he did so. He smirked before unleashing a rapid series of slashes to their entire bodies, blood dripping down from the cuts that continued to open up all over them. Each cut was precise and aimed for some sort of vital point, but none of them were that deep yet.
The twin wolves howled pain, as they suffered the onslaught of attacks. It was just like the name of the attack implied, as it felt like the two were being assaulted by a storm of blades from every direction. Both Cynthia and Sora were forced to endure the slashes for a solid minute before they ended. It was easily the longest sixty seconds of their lives, as the two fell down, and soon transformed back into their hybrid states, slash marks covering every portion of their bodies.
Sakai grinned as he saw the state that the two of them were in. "Finally…Damn those two were hard to take down." He panted as he watched the two struggle to get up. He smirked at them as he saw them try to stand. "Don't bother, I struck key points in your body that are important for movement. You won't be standing up anytime soon." He said as he approached the two.
"You both fought well, but afraid this is where it ends. I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill Cob, and then I'm going to leave this shit island with what is rightfully mine!" He said as he lifted up his blade and prepared to run it through Sora's back. He failed to notice that Sora had smirk on his face, before it was too late. As Sakai thrust his sword downwards, he saw that Sora was holding onto the hilt of his broken sword still.
In a quick flash of movement Sora struck upwards with what remained of his sword, slashing Sakai's swordhand and forcing him to drop his blade, which Sora rolled away from. Sakai went to his knees and winced as he tried to get up. He realized that it was the leg Cynthia had shot earlier.
"NOW!" Sora screamed, as Cynthia placed her hand on the ground and an array of Sigils surrounded Sakai. The now unarmed swordman could only watch as chains shot from the sigils and wrapped around him. Sakai grunted as his arms were soon bound at his sides, and struggled to get free. "DAMN IT!" He cursed before looking at the two standing in front of him.
"How are you both on your feet? You shouldn't be able to move." He said as he continued to try and get free. Sora looked at Cynthia. "It was her plan. We had to stop you from moving so we could put an end to this quicker." He said before looking at his body. "As for why we can stand, I'll just chalk it up to Zoan durability." He said with a grin.
Sakai frowned as he heard this, before looking away. "Damn Devil Fruit users." He said, before looking at the two. "So what now, you gonna finish me off?" He asked angrily as he stared at the both of them.
"No, what we're going to do now is finally tell you the truth of what happened that day, a decade ago."
Sakai, Sora and Cynthia turned to the side, and were surprised to see none other than Cob, and Daryl standing there. Sakai grinned as he looked at his uncle.
"Daryl! Quick get me out of here! Then we can finish off these two and deal with C-" He stopped as he felt a punch to his head. He looked up confused and saw it was his uncle.
"You stubborn little….Sit there and listen. This is important!"
Sakai was successfully cowed into sitting still as he looked at the two of them. "W-what are you talking about!?"
Daryl looked at Cynthia and asked her plainly. "You told him right?" He asked to which the girl nodded.
"Yeah but he wouldn't listen to us, he got pissed and the fight just picked back up again."
Daryl frowned, before looking at his nephew. "Sakai, everything she said is true. Your Uncle Cob didn't kill your father because he wanted to. The Government forced him to do so."
Sakai laughed at that before looking at Cob. "Yeah right! If that was the case then why did I hear my mom say what she said! And why isn't she here now."
"I'll explain that part. It's something neither you or Daryl know about."
Daryl looked at Cob in confusion. "Wait, even I don't know it?" He frowned as he heard this. "Well what is it then?"
Sora and Cynthia were both listening as they also wanted to know what was going on.
Cob looked Sakai straight in the eyes. "The truth is, your mother is alive."
He said plainly. So plainly in fact that it took the two of them a second, to register what they had just heard. Sakai was the first one to respond to him…and he could only utter a single word.
"W-what?" He asked as he watched as Cob nodded.
Sakai couldn't hold in his anger as he watch the man respond. "B-bullshit! If that was the case why didn't you tell me when I confronted you about it!? Why tell me she's dead?" He asked furiously.
Cob frowned and looked at the boy with a tired sigh. "It's because your mother told me not to tell you that she was alive. I was sworn to secrecy of that fact. And it's because of what happened, that day…the day that man attacked the island."
Sakai was starting to piece it together, he remembered being told about what happened that day by his mother.
"B-but all she said to me was that she beat him, and he left. What else happened?"
Cob looked at Daryl and he nodded.
"Something I never wanted you to know about, and neither did your mom."
Flashback 10 years ago
Lawrence screamed in pain as he felt the X shaped cut across his cheek. He looked around for the one who had injured him, before he put up another stone wall between himself and Selene who appeared behind him. Like a feral guard dog stood in front of the collector, sword gripped in her hands.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!" She said as she lunged forward and Lawrence found himself on the defensive when it came to swordplay. He pulled out the same runic blade he had used before and launched a wave of Fire out at the woman, she dodged to the left. And turned around panicked that Sakai was still in the line of fire.
Thankfully, Daryl stepped in and grabbed Sakai, protecting him from the attack. Selene let out a breath of relief before she noticed that the man had gotten away once more.
"Damn where did he go!?" She asked, before she thought about it for a moment…
"If Sakai is here, then that means…DAMN IT!"
She sprinted away back towards the house as Cob joined her also fearing the worst. "If he touched one hair on her head, I swear to god I'll make him pay!"
Cob said as he barged into the house, and to his and Selenes's horror the man was there, and he wasn't alone.
Within his hand was the unconscious form of Maria, as the man smirked. They watched as his hand glowed a bright red and purple sigil appeared on Maria's body causing her to scream in pain. Cob saw red as he saw this. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" He said as he charged forward, and landed a punch on the man's cheek.
"Damn bastard…Doesn't matter…one way or another, she'll be the one who helps me achieve my goals." He said as he sprinted out of the door, hoping to head back to his ship.
"You're not going anywhere!" A female voice said and the man had only a second to lift his arm, and pull out a blade from the vault, that didn't matter though, as the blade with a sky blue and white hilt went soaring through the air, and his arm along with it.
The man screamed as he tried to get away from the woman. Selene dashed towards Lawerence ready to end the fight.
It was not to be though as a moment later, a winged armored figure landed in front of the two, pulling out an ornate blade and blocked Selene strike easily, and firmly.
'What!?' She thought to herself, before she was forced to leap back as the figure swung a second sword at her. The figure turned to the man who was now missing his arm.
"Master Lawrence, you're injured" A female voice spoke from beneath the helmet she was wearing. The man looked at her relieved. "Excellent timing Valkyrie… get me back to the ship. We've failed our objective."
Selene looked pissed as she heard this. "YOU AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE!" She said as she got down into a stance, and lunged. "One Sword Style: Moon Maiden Dance!" She said as she sprinted towards the two, before the man smirked, and the two disappeared in a flash of light. Just in time as the devastation of Selene's attack created a large clearing in the woods surrounding the area.
She cursed as she looked around. When she didn't see any sign of the man, she quickly sprinted back to the house, to find Maria being cradled by her grandfather. What he noticed was that she had some sort of runic marking on her eye. After a few moments though, it vanished, and Maria fell still as the two looked on in relief.
Selene looked at the girl. "She's asleep…thank god she's okay…" She said as she looked down at her, gently caressing her hair as she looked down at the girl.
Cob for his part had tears in his eyes and gingerly held the girl close to him, not wanting anything to happen to her.
At that moment, Daryl arrived back home, with Sakai in his arms, hurt and unconscious, but still alive. Selene immediately started to look over him to see if he was okay. She saw he was holding Nagai's swords, and frowned at this, before removing them from his grips, and setting them aside so she could look him over.
Sakai stared wide eyed as he heard what had happened to his little sister. "T-that happened to Maria?" He asked, completely unaware of what had happened to her.
Cob nodded, and said. "I know she looked and acted fine, but something happened that day that your mother was unsure about. Later, she told me about an incident that happened to her one day while you and I were out fishing.
Flashback-5 years ago.
Selene was busy reading a book when she heard it. The sound of glass breaking, and she quickly got to her feet. Was it a break in?!
She ran to the living room worried for her daughter's safety but that's when she saw it.
Maria was standing there, in a trance almost, her stare blank and emotionless. What terrified Selene the most was that she had the same runic mark over her eye as the one she received that day, 5 years ago. Her gaze soon turned to pain as she started to roll around on the floor, crying, screaming, her head on fire.
Selene quickly ran over and scooped up the girl in her arms before she could hurt herself. She could only endure as Maria tried to get free of her mother and tore at her, leaving scratch marks and slash marks all over her. Selene felt the wind pick up around the two, and fire as Maria lit her mother on fire a little.
And just as quickly the wounds began to heal, as a warmth radiated from Maria, and entered her mothers body. Selene watched, as the rune glowed a bright golden color, before suddenly it dimmed and then faded all together.
The woman stared in horror at her daughter, wondering just what had happened to her. Something was wrong, and she needed to figure out what.
Later that night.
Selene and Cob were talking about the mark that had appeared on Maria earlier that day. She was firm with Cob as she told him about the incident.
"I'm telling you Cob, something is wrong here, I don't know what, but we need to do something about it."
Cob frowned and looked at her. "What do you think we can do about it? It's got to be that man again. He did something to Maria that day and I don't know if we can undo it without him either dead or in the same room."
The two thought for a moment, as Cob and Selene argued back and forth about what to do.
Finally Cob said something he soon regretted. "I wish Nagai was still here, he'd know what to do."
That set something off in Selene as she screamed at him. "HE WOULD BE HERE IF YOU HADN'T KILLED HIM!" She said loudly. Loud enough for a young Sakai who had been listening in for the last few minutes to hear.
He ran to his room and so he didn't hear what happened next.
Selene looked at the man who she had screamed at, who suddenly looked like he had his soul crushed. And Selene simply cried as she looked at him.
"I'm sorry…I know it wasn't your fault…I just miss him…" She said as she looked at the man who pulled her into a hug.
Soon after letting their feelings out, Selene looked at Cob, and spoke the words he hadn't expected.
"Cob…I need to leave…I need to go find out what this thing with Maria is…Maybe there's a cure out there." She said as she looked at the man.
Cob looked at her in shock. "Y-you mean you're going after him!? Are you crazy? Who knows what could happen to you out there?" He asked her to which she frowned.
"I'll be fine…Look I have to be the one to fix this. It's my fault for leaving her alone."
Cob looked at her and frowned. "What about Sakai, don't you think he'd want to go with you?"
Selene frowned and shook her head. "It's too dangerous, I can't take him with me. It would only put a target on his back."
Cob looked like he understood. "And what do I tell him?"
Selene thought for a moment, and she grimaced. "If you said that I left he would likely try and find me…you need to tell him I'm dead."
Cob looked at her in horror. "Are you crazy?! Can you imagine how hurt he would feel if he heard that!?"
"I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!"
Cob froze as he heard Selene break down into tears after her exclamation. He watched as she cried.
"I should have protected Maria better, and I should have gone with Nagai when he went to help you. I knew I should have, but I didn't. I regret not being able to protect him, and I don't want to lose the one thing I have left to remember him by. Sakai is too important to me…he's my son…What kind of mother would I be if I put him into danger like that?"
She cried as Cob listened, and waited for her to finish.
He looked at Selene after she had calmed down, and frowned. "A-are you sure there isn't another way…?" He asked but she simply rubbed her eyes.
"I..i'm sure…I want Sakai to grow up strong and healthy. I want him to be strong enough to protect Maria if he needs to. I want him to grow up and be brave like Nagai…Please…promise me you won't tell him till he's an adult."
Cob looked at her, conflicted by the choice he was being given, but eventually he nodded.
"I promise…I won't tell him till he's older." He said, causing Selene to smile sadly, as she and Cob left the room to help her pack.
As Selene was packing, she noticed the sword that Lawrence had left behind, and decided to take it with her. Perhaps she could use it to find the man responsible for this.
Come morning, she was already out at sea, with a mission in mind. She would find the man who did this to his daughter, and he would end whatever curse he placed on her.
Sakai stared at his Older Uncle in shock as he heard this news. In fact, everyone was surprised by this. There was no one way they couldn't be.
Cynthia for her part was pissed. "Why the hell wouldn't she tell her own son!?" She was pissed on Sakai's behalf, who could only sit there in the chains that bound him.
Cob backed up a step not expecting this.. "That's what I said… She could have just said she went missing…but doing that would put him in danger, just like she said…" He finished as he looked at Sakai. "So I became a scapegoat. I let you take your anger out on me, so you wouldn't know the truth. That's how we got here today." He finished as he looked at Sakai, who was now unsure how to even proceed.
"T-then are you saying all these years I spent getting stronger, to get my revenge…they've been for nothing?" He asked his emotions in turmoil. He started to cry as he looked at the ground below him.
Cynthia, seeing that things had finally ended, released her chains, but not before catching the young man in her arms, as she hugged him.
"Of course not…Now you have the strength to protect your sister…" She said as she listened to Sakai weep in her arms..
Cob and Daryl smiled at one another, as Daryl was the next to come and comfort him. Grabbing him a large hug. "You're finally ready to move on from this. I'm proud of you boy." He said with a big cheery grin, with tears in his eyes.
Cob just stood back looking ashamed, and not feeling like he should join in. When a figure with blond hair darted past him.
"SAKAI!" Maria said as she leaped at her older brother, and pulled him into a hug, crying into his chest, for all the years that she had missed him.
Sakai could only cry with her, as the two hugged, Cob was about to walk away, when Daryl pulled him towards the family and had him join in the hug. Sakai saw this, and hugged Cob.
"I…I'm sorry pops…" He said as he just cried into the older man's chest, surprising Cob, who relented and just decided to hold his nephew in his arms.
Sora and Cynthia watched all of this, before they felt the adrenaline finally leave their bodies as they fell backwards. Only for Terra to catch them before they hit the ground.
"You guys were amazing!" He said as he held the two, who smiled weakly at their friend.
The reunited family watched on as the other three individuals all celebrated their victory.
Sora and Cynthia though, found themselves falling unconscious and it was Daryl and Terra who decided to help the two, one being lifted up and carried the other being held up on their shoulder.
Terra looked at his two friends frowning. 'There's got to be a way I can help them too...I'm stuck here just like them...I need to work on catching up.' He thought to himself as the group made their way back to the house.
Maria helped Sakai to his own bed, while Daryl and Terra helped Cynthia and Sora into their own beds as well.
Terra left the room the two were sleeping in, vowing he would find a way to get stronger and join them in their next fight.
End Scene.
Wow, this was fun to write.
We got to see the conclusion of the incident, The conclusion of the fight between Sakai and the twin hounds, and finally the truth about what happened to Sakai's mother.
Sorry the ending was a little rushed, I'm not that good at writing the feelings scene's yet.
Let me know what you think about it in the reviews, and thank you again everyone for all the followers and favorites. I'm really glad some people are enjoying the story.
Next time, the aftermath of things and maybe the conclusion of this arc.