^^ Tojo Shinzo (younger brother 16) ^^

--- Fallon Ira's POV ---

"I told you you walked on Crumbling stones... you should've changed paths." The dream version of Wren said, and swung his sword.

My head fell from my shoulders, but paradoxically the vision didn't end. I stared up at him as he raised the bloody sword, and then my head, in either hand, and roared out his victory.

"Pa-la-din, pa-la-din!" Chanted through the Arena, and he threw my head into a brazier. I woke up to the vision of flames eating my flesh.

---

I sprang awake, drawing my sword, and shivered, dropping it. "Why? Why am I dreaming these things? Why... why do you haunt me, Wren? Your spirit lingers, makes me see things, makes me feel things... fear. I haven't felt fear in so long the taste of it is foreign to me... and yet Familiar."

His voice entered my mind, and spat poison. "Know this fact, My Perfect Enemy. When I become more powerful than your kind, I will destroy you all. You will feel the Primal, Savage Fury of an patient man, and you will fear it, for in me, it will be, without question, the single-most destructive weapon in history since Man's Greed. I will bring down around your ears the cathedrals you have wrought in your own Image, Deifying yourselves, Brick. by. Brick. But I won't lower myself to simply kill you, no matter how satisfying the thought tastes upon my minds tongue. You will exist as victims of your own greed and pride. Poor, hungry, afraid to look up from the bowl you beg with. Fighting for scraps thrown carelessly into gutters, just to survive another pointless, painful day. And when you are cold, sick, hungry, and truly alone, you will know my Revenge, and Despair."

---

I shivered in the dark for two days after that, pale, afraid, paradoxically at peace. I'd always had the Sight, just pale, shimmering glimpses of my future, but... this was different. This was pure, clean, and oh so clear.

Wren Polisavich was going to kill me, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

--- Wren's POV ---

I stood, and followed the woman at her beckoning over her shoulder. "It's my knowledge that you've seen my daughter naked, and that she told you to take responsibility by marrying her?" She smiled.

I halted. "I despise lies, Mei-Fan, you know this. How dare you lie about me?" I snapped.

"So that report was false?" The mother hummed. "Damn. I'd wished she'd find someone. Ah well. Mei-Mei. Shame on you, lying to your mama." She chuckled. Then she sat down in a seemingly random room. "Here. Sit, please. You are my guest, and I will see to all the proper greetings. Have a drink with me."

I nodded and sat down in front of her table, and hummed, looking at her legs. "So do I have to sit like that, because that looks... contorted."

She smiled. "No. This is simply a traditional stance. You are not Japanese. We do not expect you to conform to our standards of respect."

I smiled. "Finally. But I will attempt, anyway. Mei is my best friend on the Academy, I'd rather not insult her family." I hummed and sat down in the same position, kneeling, and then keeping my feet under me as I sat down. It wasn't as uncomfortable as it looked, actually. I smiled, and looked at her. "Like this?"

She nodded. "Well done, for a foreigner. Keep your hands on your thighs if you are not using them, though."

I nodded and copied her once more. "Good?"

"You learn quickly. Good. Now, drink with me." She poured two cups of tea, and I grudgingly picked mine up, again mirroring her posture. "You do not like it?"

"I was raised in the Tinker Clan Style, milady. I do not like tea at all, though I'm sure this is brewed excellently. But when you said 'Drink with me', in Russian, I hear 'пить со мной, товарищ', which means 'drink with me, comrade', and usually shots of vodka follow, and a blessing on the other persons health and that of their families." I explained, setting the now-empty tea cup down softly.

She hummed. "Interesting. Yes, I remember the Tinker Clan ways... I wasn't aware they had a son like you."

"Yes. I am one of the last Branch Clan Sons, Wren Niklaus Polisavich. My father was Robin Adamja Polisavich, Grand Knight candidate and scion of the first, and last, Tinker Branch Clan." I introduced myself, and bowed my head gently, straightening my spine.

She smiled. "I am Shinzo Masa, Matriarch of the Lu-Kong Clans of Gong-Hui, mother of Shinzo Mei-Fan and Shinzo Tojo. My husband is Shinzo Ten Kuro. I am also the Grand Knight of our Order, and I have been known as 'Thunder God' for a very long time."

I blinked slowly. "Ну... ебать..." I said softly, shocked. (Well... Fuck...) "My apologies... I... wow. Mei, how could you not tell me I was meeting your Grand Knight? I thought I was just meeting your mother! This is the fastest Knight in the planet!!" I hissed at Mei.

She shrugged. "She is just my mother."

I sighed. "I apologize-"

"Calm down, I do not care. My husband is the one who worries about such things, but he is not a Knight. Now. If you're going to be my Son-In-Law-"

"I hate to interrupt... but I'm not marrying Mei. I hold no romantic feelings towards her whatsoever, and honestly, I'm not looking for marriage." I said simply.

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? What about your revenge?" She smirked.

I smiled. "I am fully capable of getting my own revenge."

"Do you even know who it is you must get vengeance on?" She asked.

I tightened my fists. "No."

"I do." She said simply. "If you become part of my family, I will assist, and you will be very much welcomed here. We have many bastards of the Lu-Kong here, as my children, adopted. One Tinker marrying into my clan would be no problem." She shrugged.

I grinned. "I thank you for the offer. But I'm not marrying Mei-Fan."

"Oh? What about her do you not like?" She asked, lounging back.

"She is female, and decidedly so." I stated simply.

She blinked slowly. "She's... too girly? Or is it the fact that she's female in general, and you like men?"

"She's too girly, and I am Bisexual." I waved a hand dismissively.

Shinzo Masa grinned savagely. "Good. What about my son, Tojo? He is very feminine in looks, but androgynous in action... and he's very strong, for a boy his age."

I sighed. "Why must I marry someone? You said you adopted people, I really don't care, but if you want me that badly, you can adopt me. I'm an orphan anyway."

She hummed. "Oh... I'd forgotten... my apologies. I remember your father. Good man, but a bit too sneaky for me to really like him. He had good morals, though, at least."

I smiled. "That he did."

She sighed. "But no. I can legally adopt bastards of my clan, but no one else. And the reason I am so adamant about this, is because I must bring new blood into the Line. Ours is getting Thinner, and weakening us."

I sighed again, and leaned on my elbows. "I see..."

"Yes. So. Agree to mix your blood with my children's, give me adorable grandchildren, and we will assist you in your quest for vengeance." She said.

I smiled. "How about a compromise. If you tell me who my revenge is pointed at, and I decide I actually do need your help, I will agree to think about marrying this 'Tojo', but that all bets are off if we don't mesh. If that happens, I will donate my sperm and platonically marry Mei for appearances, and Mei can have as many babies as she wants. I love children, so that's not a problem. Agreed?"

Mei raised a hand. "Do I get a say in this?"

"No." We snapped at her.

Masa rubbed her chin, thinking, and smiled. "Alright. I agree. If you think you need our help, you will see where the dice lay with Tojo, and if that doesn't work, you'll platonically marry Mei when she turns 18, and have many beautiful babies for me to spoil." She held out a hand, and I shook it.

"Alright."

"Your enemy is King Tolfdir Romani of the Royal Council Family, and also Lord Marcus Gala, his servant on the Council." She said simply, and poured herself a cup of tea.

I shivered. "The royal family is my enemy? The entire Council?" I asked softly.

"Correct. See, it wasn't just over diamonds. Your father fought to be Grand Knight and won, but then forfeited after (hilariously) embarrassing his adversary, and scoring himself a powerful enemy." She smiled.

"Who?"

"He fought Prince Victor Romani, and beat him soundly, gained first blood and total victory without a scratch on him, but then forfeited when his opponents helmet came off, and revealed the prince... if he'd have just beaten him, it wouldn't have been as bad... but that he forfeited after seeing who he'd just humiliated... that was a blow to the princes Psyche. He couldn't let it go, and now..." She said softly.

"Isn't the Prince Dead, though?" I asked. "Assassinated almost 25 years ago?"

"Yes... and the King believed it was your Father, per Lord Gala's false words, because he was a mercenary at the time." She explained.

"Fucking little... I see." I calmed myself, breathing deeply.

"He is the Councilmen from the Arielle Islands, the Frenchmen. The richest archipelago in all the world, even above the Knights. And the King is his personal backer. So do you still believe you can win on your own?" She asked.

I smiled. "Yes. But imagine the look on his face when he sees me... ahh. That'll be great. I accept your proposal."

She bowed her head. "Perfect. Let's go meet Tojo, then. He's training as of now, I believe." She stood easily, and I clumsily stood from the leg-numbing stance.

I patted Mei's head as we all walked away, though her husband, Ten Kuro, was off somewhere. We entered the gardens, and I blinked as a wooden sword came hurtling at me. I caught it easily, and looked up. A beautiful person with long, blue-black hair standing in a tree, holding the swords twin. I only knew he was male because I could see his chest through the thin robe he wore, and it was flat, and well muscled.

I decided that he was a good match, despite my lack of true attraction to him, and decided to do what I did best, and act like I wanted him.

He disappeared, and I caught the second sword, still connected to his hand, and pulled him until our chests were together. "Well Hel~lo..." I smiled, viewing his assets. He was decently muscled, but still cuddly, and had an extremely feminine look, but would grow out of that soon enough, if I was any judge.

He blushed, and tried to punch me, but I caught his other hand, dropping the wooden swords, and grinned. "Is that any way to greet a guest, much less a suitor?" I chided him gently.

Masa laughed. "I take it you like him? Good. Toro, meet Wren Nicklaus Polisavich, your first suitor, from the-"

"Tinker branch clan. I know. I was listening." He blushed.

I smiled. "If I'd have known you were this beautiful... I don't think I would've thought my decision through as I did. Would you like to court me, Shinzo Tojo? Or would you prefer I court you? A mixture of the two?" I asked.

He blushed even more, and I grinned, meshing our chests and hips. He gasped, and I smirked. "I'll court you, then... a first gift makes quite an impression." I swiftly hung the Jade pendant I'd made around his neck, and smiled when he gasped again.

He touched it, and looked at me. "Wow... you have a wonderful sigil... how do you control it? It's not... doing anything, even when I push magic into it."

"Do you know what it does?"

"No..."

"That's why. It lets you glide on the wind, like you have a pair of fixed wings on your back. You can't fly, and neither can I, but you can fall with style. Also, if you're falling from great heights, it will soften the landing. The last, and perhaps most useful use, is to place pockets of compressed air under your feet, and use them for acceleration." I explained.

He smiled and stepped back, slipping it into his robes to contact his skin. Then his Sikh Runes on his feet and shoulders activated, and he disappeared for real this time. I had no idea where he was, until he appeared, his sword against his mother's very surprised neck. Her hand was wrapped around his, but that he'd surprised her was implication enough.

"Oh! And my dowry." I snickered, and held out the box I'd filled with the pendants and also the tiger statuette for her.

She smirked and opened it, then surprised me by literally purring. She pulled out the Jade Tiger, and smiled at me. "Now that is a beautiful piece of art..." She placed one of the pendants around her neck, and tossed the third to Mei, and then walked away with the box and tiger.

I looked at Tojo. "Okay. I'm Wren. Nice to meet you." I held a hand out. He shook it, and I bowed, kissing his knuckles. "я очень рад, что я встретил вас." I smirked at his confused look. (I am very glad that I met you.)

"You speak Russian... okay. I'll have to learn." He grinned.

"And I'll learn Japanese. I will read you poetry in your native tongue by the weeks end, I promise you." I smiled, and then picked up the wooden sword. "But for now... I'd like to see what you've got. Are you a student at an academy?" I asked.

He nodded. "This is my first year at Uruk. I left yesterday, after class, instead of this morning." He explained.

"Oh?" I smiled. "Good... so much easier to court you if you're close by..."

He blushed, and readied his sword. I copied Arthur's form, and came at him as fast as I could, the shuffling steps as fluid as water, (this time,) and he simply disappeared from my line of sight, and his sword tapped my neck. "Dead."

"Not even close. Strike me, go ahead."

He swung, and his sword simply shattered in his hands plunging splinters into his palms. I blinked and began removing them gently after he got done yelping, holding him still. The last one wouldn't come out with my fingers, so I bit his palm, gently sucking the splinter out of his skin, and spitting it to one side.

He proceeded to faint into my arms, just as Masa returned.

She blinked, then smiled. "Perfect!! Grandbabies!!" She giggled, and patted my cheek, then hummed. "Now for your training. Set him down."

I set him on the wooden walkway.

"Now strip." She commanded, the mischievous air gone. I hummed and obeyed, figuring she wanted to see my runes. "Ooh... very nice. You are Russian..." she smirked.

"Don't be perverted, Бабушка." I warned her, not bothering to cover myself. Mei started bleeding from her nose, eyes wide as plates.

Masa twitched. "Granny?"

"Don't start what you can't finish." I smirked.

"True... Mei, take your brother to his room. Now... alright, so your Urn Rune is the same as your Fathers... good. That Idiot was almost indestructible. But you have two decent Rukh and an Ankh that's... honestly frighteningly evolved... Good..." she walked around me, and hummed, pinching my ass. "And this is still quite plump. Good."

I sighed. "Бабушка."

She hissed. "Stop that."

"Then get your claws off of my ass." I shrugged.

She stepped back. "Alright... you can dress in these." She threw me a set of clothes like hers. A skin-tight body suit, from the neck to the ankles, and a pair of silken gypsy pants.

I dressed quickly, and stretched, checking them. "Interesting..." I commented.

"Mm. Now attack me."

I activated my sigil, and removed all the breathable air in the garden around us, creating a bubble of carbon dioxide.

She gasped for air, and I let breathable oxygen return. "My sigil." I explained.

She regained composure, and grinned. "Interesting. But I meant-"

I compressed air under my feet, and then removed all the air resistance, darting forward as fast as I'd ever moved, but then took to the shuffling steps through muscle memory, without slowing down, and followed her when she dodged.

My right foot crashed into her stomach, halting, and she grinned, unaffected. "Interesting. Good technique. How's your swordplay?" She gestured to my discarded sword belt.

"Pathetic." I admitted easily.

She raised an eyebrow imperiously, and I shrugged. "The first time I ever held a sword was two months ago. I'm still learning. Right now, I'm a newborn with a stick, but my unarmed fighting is highly affective. And my knife-skills are spectacular. I bled Paladin Arthur in my first battle with her, and won her sword off her." I pointed at the Copy.

She smiled. "And your claws?" She gestured to my fingertips.

"Incorporated in my unarmed fighting." I nodded.

"Alright... I have some ideas as to how to train you... but first, a bath, and dinner! You've come at the perfect time." She walked me towards what I assumed was the dining room. I laced my sword belt on, and folded my clothes, attaching my emblem to my chest under one of the three layers of cloth, and carried my satchel with me.

"Oh! Your room." She opened a seemingly-random screen, and inside was a small, plain room with tan tatami matts woven from rice-straw.

I grinned. "Wow... I always wanted to sleep on a Tatami, ever since Mad Max told me his family had them, back before." I nodded.

"Mad Max?" She raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"He's the best thief in the entire planet. A bastard of the Lu-Kong... his sigil allows him to walk through walls and turn invisible through Manipulation of Light and his bodies density." I explained.

She blinked. "Interesting. And where is he?"

"He is on Hel Island, or dead. Who knows? That Bitch Menai put him there like he planned to do to me." I waved a hand dismissively.

She nodded. "I see. I'll see about retrieving him. Now, leave your things here, and we'll go to the baths, then dinner."

I smiled. "I figured you'd say that... hmm." I placed my bag down, and stepped out, following her to the baths.

They were massive, like the one I'd made, but ten times bigger, and made of granite and jade-flecked andesite, not marble. I stripped and cleaned myself off at the washing stands, then stepped into the steaming water.

"Whoa... that's amazing..." I relaxed.

I think she expected me to freak out when she entered the bath after me, dragging Tojo, but I just smiled, and beckoned him into the bath. "Come in, Tojo! The water is amazing." I smirked.

He clutched the towel that covered him, and his mother simply yanked it off and kicked him into the bath. I caught him by his scruff, and settled him on a bench in the water, next to me. "Relax. No one is going to violate you, except maybe your mother." I assured him.

He smiled. "True. The old lady likes to embarrass me."

Mei came in, and sighed. "Mother!" She complained, but slipped into the giant bath next to her mother.

I closed my eyes and leaned back, ducking my hair into the water to slick it back, and then sighed. "Amazing... to think we had so much in common."

"Ha! You like Bathhouses as well?"

"Didn't Mei tell you about the one I built for her out of pure marble?" I asked.

"No she did not, tell me more..." she grinned, swimming over and settling next to me.

"It's quite simple, about a tenth of the size of this, made of pure white marble... the water is great." I smiled, and then stood, wringing out my hair as Tojo froze, trying and failing to not stare at my waist. I hopped out, and then used my fire Rune to dry myself off immediately, except my hair, which I puffed dry with air, and brushed it back with my hands.

I dressed, and looked back at the perfect time. I got a perfect view of Tojo as he climbed out, and whistled gently. "Well then. I'm definitely impressed." I smirked.

He squeaked and dove back into the water, while I laughed and walked out, letting the ladies dress. I found Ten Kuro in the dining room, and helped him set out dinner at his directions.