The throbbing pain in Shintaro's jaw and torso was momentarily forgotten as he blinked at Nanami in dumbfounded shock. His panic slowly ebbed away into shocked bewilderment as Nanami sucked in a deep breath. To Shintaro's surprise, the girl looked just as shocked and confused as he felt, her mouth hanging open slightly as the angry and panicked frown gradually shifted to wary confusion and her gaze dropped down to her fingers.

"How did you do that?" Thorn asked in a low rumble, breaking the silence that had fallen over the large room. He was staring intently and questioningly down at Nanami, his red eyes following her every movement. Shintaro noticed that the wound - if that was what you could call it - in his side was still there, shadowy magic almost crackling at the edges. His posture suggested exhausted pain, and even his voice was hiding a hint of weariness. 

Rachel, thankfully unharmed but looking overwhelmed, hurried over to Nanami's side and touched her shoulder gently. "Are you alright?" she asked, and Nanami tipped her head back to look up at the taller girl with a bewildered look. 

Shintaro was aware that his body was still in panic mode - trembling shoulders, short and shaky breaths, heart hammering against his ribs and throat, incapability of rising to his feet - but his confusion was outweighing the terror as he stared at Nanami. 

He couldn't wrap his mind around the reality of what had just happened. How had Nanami used magic? Had she been magical the whole time? Why hadn't Shintaro sensed the Light Magic inside her? Why did Nanami look just as surprised as everyone else felt? 

"Nanami, are you alright?" Rachel asked again, a little firmer this time. Her brown eyes were full of concern and confusion and eagerness, but she was doing the right thing by making sure Nanami was okay first. 

Slowly, Nanami nodded her head twice. She took a shaky breath, swallowed, and nodded again. "I-I'm okay," she replied in a small voice. She looked like she was going to say something else, but closed her mouth around it and dropped her gaze back to her hands, which weren't glowing with magic anymore. 

"Seriously, how did you do that?" Thorn pressed once more, tilting his head to one side with a thoughtful frown as he took a few heavy steps toward Nanami. He and the rest of Shintaro's friends had been huddled in front of the nearest shelf, but Thorn walked toward Rachel and Nanami cautiously - but his steps were heavy and slow. 

Thorn pressed his hands against his knees and stooped downward a little to peer at Nanami's bewildered face, his eyes narrowed in concentration. "I couldn't sense your magic before, but now I can. That shouldn't be possible, especially since your magic is Light. How...?" 

"I don't know," Nanami said quietly, her voice bordering on shameful guilt. Her eyes were still locked on her hands, which she opened and closed rhythmically. 

Shintaro's eyes fell on Moon, whose expression wasn't even the smallest bit shocked. One corner of her mouth was tipped up slightly, barely noticeable, and her silvery eyes were full of knowledge and triumph - even a little guilt, Shintaro noted. 

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, Shintaro pressed his hands onto the floor beside him and still his shaking shoulders. After another few long deep breaths, he steadily rose to his feet. His gaze sailed across the room, making sure his friends were uninjured, until it latched on Nanami again. 

Shintaro walked forward with faltering and lowered himself onto one knee in front of Nanami as calmly as he could. He was very aware that his father was still here, merely stunned momentarily. He had to stay vigilant - but he also had to know. 

Gently, Shintaro touched his fingers to Nanami's knuckles, drawing her attention away from her hands and up to him. He waited until her green eyes met his before asking, "Did you know?" He didn't put any context behind the question, but he was sure that Nanami understood was he was asking. 

Nanami shook her head without speaking, but her green eyes didn't leave his. 

"Do you know how you did that?" Shintaro asked quietly, trying to be patient with her. She was only a little kid - he didn't need to be harsh in the rush to know what had happened. 

"I- No," Nanami stuttered, but her voice was strong. "I just... I don't know. He shouldn't have been hurting you like that. I wanted him to get away from you, and ... it worked, I guess." Her eyes flicked to the side, over Shintaro's shoulder, for a split second; but they quickly returned to Shintaro's face again. 

Shintaro nodded with a small, grateful smile. Thorn had been right - Nanami's magic hadn't been strong enough to be sensed, but now Shintaro was aware that it was a large amount of Light Magic, powerful and bright. 

"Is everyone alright?" Falte's voice asked from somewhere behind Thorn, and Shintaro saw him peek out from Thorn's shadowy wing. Falte's eyes immediately darted over to his son, but Kai wasn't paying attention to him. He was frowning at Nanami in thoughtful concern and confusion. 

Shintaro looked away from Nanami, raising his eyes to meet Moon's. Slowly, he rose to his feet again, grateful that he wasn't wobbly anymore. He straightened to his full height and tipped his head down at Moon with a frown. 

"You knew," he guessed, but made sure that his tone made it sound like he knew she'd known. He simply wanted confirmation from Moon, to make sure that he wasn't mistaking her strange expressions for foreseeing knowledge. 

Thankfully, Moon nodded her head as her grin widened a little. "Yes, I knew. It wasn't hard to tell, given that both of her parents were Lights as well." 

Shintaro held back a frown of surprise and instead raised his eyebrow skeptically. He had been aware of something strange about Nanami's father when they had met him, but he hadn't been able to place it. That meant that the man's magic hadn't been as strong as what Shintaro was used to. He hadn't met Nanami's mother, so he wasn't sure how powerful she had been. 

"What does that have to do with anything?" Gabriel asked skeptically from his position beside Rachel. He looked alright, other than the fact that he wasn't putting his weight on his right leg from the previous wound, and his left temple had a small scratch running along it. 

Moon clicked her tongue with a disapproving smile toward Gabriel. "I didn't expect you to know," she sighed with a small shrug. "Most magic is earned or gifted to you when you're young, and everyone should know that." 

Shintaro knew that was true. He was only a teenager - eighteen - when he'd managed to escape from his father. During that time, he'd met a man with powerful Light Magic. Shintaro, upon learning what Light Magic was and what it stood for, had begged for the man to share the gift with him. Thankfully, the kind man had obliged and agreed to train Shintaro. Three years later, exactly on Shintaro's twenty-first birthday (which made Shintaro suspect that Brethren knew where he had been the whole time), Brethren had returned to claim his son - and had killed Shintaro's mentor in the process. Some time later, Shintaro had managed to banish his father to the Abyss, using the gemstone that was now inaccessible. 

"But," Moon continued, holding up one finger, "when one's parents are both magical and have the same magic, usually, their firstborn has that same magic - only enhanced." 

Shintaro fought back another frown of confusion and surprise, frowning at Moon thoughtfully. Why hadn't he known that? 

"Nanami was born with her powers," Moon said with a tilt of her head. "Which means that she was born with Light Magic. In some cases, the bearer of the magic isn't aware of the abilities they have, usually because their parents haven't given them proper training or didn't tell them - or both, in Nanami's case. Because Nanami has had this magic for so long, it's been bottled up inside her and growing more powerful because it hasn't been used. Her magic was ignited and released by her rage and panic for Shintaro." 

She paused, and then a guilty expression washed over her face. "That's... why I killed your parents, Nanami. When I needed Shintaro to... set his father free, I couldn't have any more Lights getting in my way. I figured you had your magic, but because it wasn't triggered, you wouldn't be a threat." She hesitated for a moment. "And... I guess I just couldn't kill you. I'm sorry that I ... killed your parents."

Everyone was looking at Moon now, even the few Darks that were still standing. Nanami was blinking up at her with curious and eyes and a small forgiving smile, and Thorn was frowning deeply and thoughtfully. 

"Well-played, little one," Brethren's strained voice chuckled from behind them, and Shintaro whipped around. His father was rising to his feet stiffly, leaning heavily against the wall with  furrowed eyebrows. Nanami's blow must have done more damage than she thought, because Shintaro had never seen Brethren struggle to get up before. 

"I must admit, I did not see that coming," Brethren said with a tense shrug. He straightened to his full height and grinned joyously at the group in front of him, but pain was still etched in his brow, making Shintaro fight back a proud smirk. 

Nanami wasn't looking at Moon anymore. With a glance to his side, Shintaro saw that she was frowning harshly at Brethren, her jaw tense and her eyes full of rage. Her hands dropped to her sides and clenched into tight fists. 

"I hate you," she spat, forcing the words from her mouth as if they were poison. "I hate you! You have no right to be here! This isn't your world, it's ours! You're! Not! Welcome here!" She was screaming by the time she finished, but she hadn't moved from her spot. 

Brethren blinked at her for a moment without expression, but after a few moments, he burst into delighted laughter. "You're adorable, kid, really." Then his gaze hardened and his smile vanished. "But I advise you, do not test me." 

Nanami sniffed haughtily, raising her chin defiantly. 

Shintaro was nervous for Nanami's rash behavior, but he found that he was more proud of her than scared for her. A smirk crawled onto his face without his consent, and Brethren noticed with an annoyed frown. 

"Don't ever hurt Shintaro again," Nanami commanded in a low voice, her green eyes unwavering. "If you even get near him again, I will find out what I can do - with you as my test subject." 

Shintaro felt a small shiver trace down his spine at the unusual venom in Nanami's voice. He hadn't expected a sentence even remotely related to that to come from this little girl, but here she was - threatening The Shadow King. 

Brethren didn't laugh at her this time; instead, his murderous gaze locked on her, pinning her where she stood. The malice behind his eyes was burning like a wildfire, but his expression remained an unchanged frown. His hands were clenched tightly at his sides, but he wasn't moving a muscle. 

Shintaro, knowing what was coming, spun toward Nanami and scooped her up in his arms - just before Brethren struck. Shintaro heard the slice of the Dark Magic weapon before he felt it, but he knew that it had hit him. Just as the wound exploded in raging agony, Shintaro tucked Nanami close to his chest and used the momentum he'd gained by grabbing her to roll away from Brethren. 

Nanami shrieked as Shintaro crashed to a stop on his side, sliding across the floor momentarily. She was still held close to his chest, her arms pressed against her stomach to squish closer to Shintaro. His arms were wrapped protectively around her; but as they slid to a halt, his grip loosened and Nanami wiggled free. 

The flaring pain that was searing through his right side made Shintaro want to knock himself out and never wake up again, but he knew that he couldn't give up so easily. Last time he'd done that, he'd sentenced his world to doom. 

Doom that he was going to prevent. 

Clenching his teeth against a groan of pain, Shintaro rolled onto his stomach and shoved his arms under him. He heard Nanami gasp sharply, no doubt spotting the wound on his side. Shintaro wasn't sure how deep it was, but he knew that it was probably the most painful thing he'd ever felt. 

Holding back a cry of pain, Shintaro pushed himself onto his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut against the white spots that danced in his vision, but a moment later opened them again. He turned sharply when Nanami's hand gripped his forearm. 

"Don't move," she instructed in a shaky voice, her green eyes wide with worried terror. 

Shintaro was about to tell her that he had to deal with his father, but a pained yell interrupted him before he even opened his mouth. The two of them whipped around, Shintaro fighting down another cry of pain. 

Ozai was standing readily in front of Brethren, and Shintaro could tell he was the one who had yelled in pain - a bruise was already forming on his lower jaw. Brethren had his arms up and a large grin on his face as he leaned from one side to the other. 

"Are we really going do to this, Ozai?" he asked his brother cheerfully. "Because I honestly wouldn't mind playing with you for a little while." He jolted forward and threw a punch toward Ozai's face. 

But Ozai was completely ready for it, because he swayed to the side slightly to dodge it. Almost simultaneously, his hands flew up and reached for Brethren's arm. As his fingers wrapped around the underside of Brethren's bicep, Ozai sidestepped to where he was standing next to his brother. He then lifted his left arm and slammed the side of his hand on the bend of Brethren's arm, making The Dark Lord stumble forward with a grunt of pain. As Brethren tumbled forward, Ozai bent his knees and wrapped both hands around Brethren's bicep - and then threw his brother, flipping him over through the air and forcing him to land harshly on his back. 

Shintaro was about to jump up to help pin his father down, but another wave of agony washed over him, making him double forward with a groan that he couldn't hold back. He heard Nanami make a worried sound beside him, but he ignored her and twisted to peer at the wound. 

It was slicing across his right side, a few inches above his hip and probably six inches long. Shintaro examined it further and found that it was only about an inch deep - so why was it hurting like someone was gauging out his flesh? 

Burning agony suddenly ripped through Shintaro's whole body like someone had set him ablaze, and he screamed loudly at the abruptness. He wasn't sure if he slammed his eyes shut or if his vision went dark, but the next moment, everything was black and the burning pain was slowly easing to a sharp throb throughout his chest. 

Gasping, Shintaro pressed his hands against his chest as a familiar sickening pain tingled through his limbs and stomach. He realized that his eyes were closed and peeked them open to find that he was doubled forward, folded over his legs with his arms tucked under him and his hands on his chest. His hair was pooling around him, obscuring his view of anyone around him. 

The odd, familiar sensation settled into the pit of his stomach, and his body felt alive with magic and throbbing fire. His chest was alight, crackling with the burning flames of agony. It wasn't as bad as it had been before, but Shintaro felt like someone had ripped a whole in him and sent a burning inferno into his body. 

He knew this pain.

He'd felt this pain before.

He'd banished this pain to the deepest parts of himself.

And it was back. 

Panic began to overtake Shintaro, causing his already labored breaths to quicken. His body began to shake against the terror and the pain as he stared down at the floor in bewildered realization. 

No. 

No, not this. 

No. 

No, no, no. 

No

No

NO. 

Shintaro didn't realize that his ears had been ringing, blocking out any sound, until Brethren's cackling filled his ears and echoed like an explosion in his head. His father was laughing so madly and harshly that he was running out of breath, but he wouldn't let up. 

Everyone else was as silent as the autumn breeze, and Shintaro could almost feel their fear and confusion and worry. 

"Taro?" Nanami's soft voice said tentatively beside him, but he couldn't look at her. 

He couldn't look at her. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't. 

Brethren paused only to take a gulping breath, then continued cackling, this time louder than before. But he only managed to get a few laughs in before someone either kicked or hit him, because his laughs cut off into a grunt of pain. 

Shintaro pulled together all the strength he had to fill his lungs, forcing himself to go slowly. His mind was running in circles, confusing him and keeping his panic alive. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push back the terrified realization that he was broken. 

That he was the monster that he'd tried to vanquish when he was eighteen years old. 

That he was the monster his father had made him when he was four years old. 

Shintaro inhaled sharply at another burst of pain that attacked his nerves, making his chest constrict and his stomach twist painfully. He screamed through his teeth, not even bothering to fight back his cries of agony. 

His Light Magic was going haywire inside of him, warring against the darkness he had tried to banish all those years ago. 

Warring against the demon that was threatening to take over his mind, his body, and his magic. 

Warring against the Dark Magic he'd been cursed with.

~

W

H

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

T

?!?!?!??!??!?!??!

I don't even know why the heck I do that XD. 

BUT YALL!!!

HERE YOU GO, SISTER.

I KNOW YOU WERE JUST WAITING FOR THIS!!!!

HERE IT IS!!!

AHGKJSHKFSLAJHGLKJHAHJAHLDHGKJAHKJHAJFHAKJSGJGHEWKHLWIUHSKJGDFCJHKAJGHLSAGHFAS-

THINGS SHALL BE EXPLAINED DONT YOU WORRY READERS

SISTER, YOU MAY EXPRESS YOUR HAPPINESS NOW.

P3ac3!!!~~~~~