"Hey, Akame?"

"Yes, Hinowa?"

Hinowa fumbled around in her pocket before pulling out a familiar item. An item that Akame was all too familiar with. That distinct shape of a raven's skull that was tied together by a thick black string so it can easily be wrapped around someone's neck.

A very precious memento to the raven-haired woman.

"I found this on you when I first found you and your daughter on the beach. Sorry that I kept it for so long," Hinowa sheepishly apologized.

Akame simply smiled and shook her head. "No, it's quite alright. In fact, I'm quite thankful that you kept hold of it. I feel at ease, knowing that it's been safe this entire time."

"Oh..." Hinowa had sighed in relief. "Good."

"So? What was the question?"

"It's just... I have the same one as well, if you couldn't see the one hanging from my neck."

"Go on," Akame says, raising her eyebrow.

"You see... I got this one from my mom. And she said she received this one from her best friend, who is my aunt. Apparently, my aunt and her sister were of descent from an ancient clan of sorts, or something like that. And this little necklaces are kind of a cultural thing."

"Oh? I didn't know that."

Hinowa nodded. "Yeah. It usually has different meanings between families, but for my aunt's interpretations, it's about protecting those you love dear. Even if it means sacrificing something."

"Are there any other families like these?" Akame asked, tilting her head slightly.

"As far as I'm concerned... My aunt and her sister were the last remaining ones. Though I did have a cousin, but... No one knows where they've gone..." Hinowa looked down.

Akame simply smiles again. "I'm sure you'll find them again."

"Right..." Hinowa then shook her head. "Oh! I got completely off topic. Anyway, I was wondering where you got that? Apparently, mom told me that my aunt only gives those to those they really care about or their future children."

"Simple. Someone dear to me had given it to me," Akame said with a fond smile, her eyes trailing down to her left hand where a beautiful ring lay upon her ring finger. "My husband."

"That's... A really beautiful ring," Hinowa marveled as she stared at it.

Akame giggled. "Thank you. He's a very kind man. He may come off as a cold person, but... Once you get to know him, he is a very lovely person. Trust me."

"I'll take your word for it," Hinowa said with a nod. "Um... Is it alright that I ask what he's like?"

"Are you sure? It's quite the long story."

"Please. I really do want to hear it, but if's fine if you don't want to."

Akame simply smiled again. "Well... It all started when..."

--: 2 | Reunited Family :--

Three days before Akira and Yomihime had set off for battle, both he and Chelsea had been captured by her and her army, a few days beforehand after their ship crashed. And with these unknown soldiers told to interrogate him by a mysterious Commander Mizuchi, already Akira wished to essentially kill everyone here and get Chelsea and get out so he could search for his wife and child.

But he couldn't leave. After he had found out that Yomihime was actually his cousin. Needless to say, he was quite surprised that he still had family in the first place. When he had first heard that there were others like him in the land of Jinwa, now known as Wakoku that has been split into different countries, he was quite skeptical. According to Rongo Rongo, the last known sightings of these people with supernatural powers were nearly three-hundred or so years ago. So when Yomihime had introduced herself as his cousin, he was quite suspicious of it, only to realize that she too had similar powers, those being ones of flames, the polar opposite to his ice ones.

And that's when he learned of his mother. But Yomihime herself didn't know much about her as well. According to what she had been told, his mother, Miyuki being her name, she had been branded as a traitor to the Tenrou Nation, defecting to the enemy nation known as Soukai. Now, Akira didn't know the reason as to why she had done so, but he wasn't going to blindly assume the reason, unlike the past version of himself, who would most likely blindly believe that his mother was a traitor. But now, he would most likely think rationally about it and possible delve deeper into as to why she had done so, but he had other pressing matters.

For now, Yomihime was leading him up the great steps, a large staircase that led up to the giant palace that sat upon the mountain, which contained the ruling lord of the Tenrou Nation. Zuou.

"Why must I accompany you?" Akira annoyingly asked his cousin.

Yomihime only looks at him with a small smile. "That's because Zuou wishes to meet you. Despite Mizuchi's protest, upon learning that you are family to me, he was quite interested. Excited, even."

"Mizuchi?" Akira narrowed his eyes. "Is that the asshole that ordered the interrogation on me?"

"Yes. But you need not worry, dear cousin. I will take care of him."

He scoffed and mutters. "Better take care of him before I do. I'll rip out his spine and beat his corpse with it if I have to." He then took notice something on Yomihime's left hand, on her ring finger. "Is that...?"

"Oh? This?" She raised her hand up. "I am--Er, I was betrothed."

"What happened? Did the fucker do something wrong?"

"No, he did nothing of the sort," she said as she quickly shook her head, Yomihime soon gaining a frown. "I suppose we can say... A difference of opinions."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"...He didn't necessarily agree with Zuou's approach on trying to unify all of Wakoku. So... He left."

"Without you?" Akira raised his eyebrows, a questioning gaze appearing.

Yomihime sighed, "He had offered me to take his hand, but... I have sworn fealty to Zuou. I couldn't leave."

Akira scoffs again. "If you ask me, you should've taken it."

"What are you implying, dear cousin?"

"You mean you haven't gotten the gist of it? This place reeks of corruption and something dark. I don't like it. Not one bit."

"And why do you think that?"

"...Not the first thing I've dealt with this sort of thing," Akira simply said, briskly walking up the stairs. But not before giving her a single side glance. "Besides... Call it a hunch."

Yomihime stared at the blue-eyed man, hurriedly walking up the steps, leaving her behind. She soon sighed, reaching a hand up to grip her own raven skull necklace, clutching it tightly as she gained a sorrowful gaze. The face of her aunt flashed in her mind, her pale face as she had a close-eyed smile when she killed her.

'...You said something similar, Aunt Miyuki.' She then remembered the face of her betrothed, extending a hand out to her. 'Perhaps... Things may have been different had I joined you...'

With a shake of her head and another sigh, she continued up the stairs, following after her cousin.

---

Akira sighed as he sat down in the room he had been given in Yomihime's home. A rundown, family home, apparently. 

Settled deep in the mountains, but not too far from Zuou's castle, he had settled himself in this furnished area like it was home back in the other continent he once stayed in. While it wasn't as nice looking as the other, it was still somewhat livable and still gave off a homely atmosphere, despite the rundown appearance.

But right now, he was exhausted. Exhausted at the fact that his meeting with said king went about expected as he thought it would. But there was one thing that was very unexpected.

Hours Prior...

"Very well," Zuou hummed. "I will allow you to make do with your decision, Yomihime. Because you have always been one of my most loyal soldiers."

"Thank you, My King," Yomihime bowed in an appreciative manner.

Akira stared up at the man, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever, along with his face. Zuou was a tall and stalwart man, a large build with his bulging muscles showing his strength. Not only that, Akira could feel the intimidating pressure coming off of him. But he wasn't intimidated in the slightest. If he were to be honest, he thought his previous teacher, Esdeath, was much scarier than him. There nine others with him, but all their faces were covered with shadows.

According to Yomihime, these were the Ten Stars of Tenrou, she herself being one of them. They were essentially the ten elite commanders of Zuou's army, possessing powerful weapons known as Meihous, which were weapons comparable to that of Teigus in his continent. In fact, the Meihous are crafted from high level Danger Beast materials, or Freaks, as they are called here. Apparently, being one of his ten elites grants you special privileges and his favor among Zuou, just so long as you perform your duties well and get assignments done, he would do anything you desire. He was similar to Esdeath in a way. Like him, Esdeath would grant anything to her soldiers, just so long as they followed her orders and got their work done. He clenched his hands, which were unnoticable to all of them. Zuou was a terrifying man, indeed.

"But..."

"Hmm?" Yomihime looked up at him, puzzled.

Zuou had gained a slight grin, leaning his head onto his fist as he sat on his throne. "I will allow him to stay should he prove himself worthy. Worthy of my respect, at least."

"But, My King. I have--"

"Fine," Akira finally spoke, interrupting his elder cousin.

"Akira...?"

"Just what do I have to do to earn your favor, 'Oh mighty, king,'" Akira said, mocking him a little.

Zuou's grin faded a little. "You'd best watch your tongue, boy. You are easily at my mercy and I can have you killed."

"And?" Akira crossed his arms, remaining unwavered by such a threat. "I've heard worse before."

Staring at the blue-haired man for a moment, Zuou grinned again before he began to chuckle lowly. Akira furrowed his brow a little, looking a bit confused. He found it odd that Zuou would respond with a laugh after his rejection of a threat from him.

Zuou soon calmed down, his previous smirk on his face. "I do admit, you have an interesting way with speaking, boy. I suppose you should have a little bit of spunk against an enemy. You truly are interesting."

"Uh... Right..." Akira raised an eyebrow. "So? What do I have to do to prove myself?"

"Nahashu," Zuou simply said.

'Nahashu?' Akira thought. 'Why does that...'

Both Yomihime's and Akira's heads turned to where they heard echoing footsteps of sandals. But that was when his eyes had widened in complete surprise. The person known as Nahashu had walked down from his podium, his once spiky, blonde hair now looking a bit unkept, a singular golden yellow eye as the other was covered by an eyepatch and his outfit no longer that familiar white soldier's uniform he always wore. No wonder he looked familiar and that name sounded like something that he hadn't heard of for years.

Nahashu was none other than Najasho, the former No. 1 of the Elite Seven. The specialized assassin unit he was once a part of. Both of them.

'Najasho...!?'

To say he was surprised was expected. Now that he thought about it, Akira hadn't seen Najasho for years now, the last time they saw each other was when they were both under the mind control of Mudi, the now deceased leader of the Retribution Group, a collective group of members that were victims of the Elite Seven.

Once Najasho (now known as Nahashu), he stopped in front of the icy blue-eyed man. No words were spoken, Akira beginning to feel awkward as he scratched his cheek.

"So... What's going to--"

The black-haired man was then cut off, a fist met to his face as Nahashu had simply punched him straight up. Yomihime's eyes widen while Zuou had looked at the two with a grin, the rest of the Ten Stars already laughing to themselves as they think the icy blue-eyed man had lost that easily. In a pathetic manner, as they would've worded.

Nahashu soon scoffed. "You talk big, but you couldn't back up your words with actions. Pitiful." He began to turn around, "Next time, pick fights that you know you can win. Shrimp."

Turning around, Nahashu was about to walk back to his spot, only for him to jolt forward as he tumbled onto wood flooring. Zuou's mouth simply crept up into a smirk, the remaining of the Ten Stars, including Yomihime, letting out surprised noises as they see Akira, having gotten up and kicked Nahashu in the back of his head. With a click of his tongue, the blue-eyed man wiped the blood that was dripping from his noise, gaining a slight scowl.

"That hurt, you damn bastard." 'Tch. That punch of his still as powerful as ever, I see.'

Nahashu slowly got up, his one good eye glaring at the man as he wiped the blood away from his mouth. "Interesting. I don't know who you are, but maybe you can offer me some entertainment."

One of Zuou's Ten Stars looks to him. "My King, shouldn't we--"

"Do not interrupt, Akugetsu. It's beginning to get interesting now. Besides... Let them entertain me," Zuou curtly replied, his grin remained unwavered.

"Forgive me, My King."

"To withstand a punch from Nahashu," one of them said, Gundari, muttering to himself. "Interesting boy."

One of the women, Amateru, giggled. "Ara?~ What an interesting young man.~"

The other woman, Moegi, mirrored that laugh, gaining a sultry grin. "And quite the looker and catch too... Mmm.~"

'I wonder what kind of stylish clothing would fit him?' The priest-like man, Shamon, thought.

Mizuchi, one of the younger Ten Stars, scoffed. "This is simply a waste of time."

"Come now, Mizuchi," Zuou says, not batting an eye at him. "Let the boy prove himself. Besides, I'm simply granting one of Yomihime's wishes."

"Fine."

Nahashu put a hand on the handle of his blade at his hip. "Ready to be mopped the floor with, Shrimp?"

"Likewise, asshole," Akira replied with, holding his hand out as he conjures a simple ice blade.

Zuou's eyes widen a little before he narrowed them. He didn't think it was a possibility, but there was really only one person he knew that had that kind of ability. A woman that had betrayed her, a woman he held great admiration for and shared his plans of ambitions with her. But ultimately abandoned the life of luxury she had for the simple one. Regarded as a deadly warrior and a demon of the battlefield, once one of his top soldiers, she abandoned that pathway... All because she met a man that had changed her life.

'So this brat is your kid, huh, Miyuki? Very well. Let us see if he lives up to your prowess and impresses me. Just as you once did.'

Staring at each other for what felt like years, both their eyes staring into the other as the memories and flashbacks began to appear in his mind. Akira closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

Back when he and Najasho were kids, along with the rest of the Elite Seven, he and the blonde were often sparring with each other. And each and every one of those times, Akira would lose. Again, and again. Even when he came so close to victory in some of their spars, Najasho would somehow get the upper hand and win the match, with it ending with Akira on his face or on his back, facing the sky. Those losses, gave him the drive to continue trying and surpass his former leader. But of course, that never came to pass, ever since his presumed death when the hideout of the Gravekeepers collapsed, falling into a black abyss after throwing Poney onto the other side for safety. However, it was then revealed, after he disappeared as well and thought dead, that Najasho was in fact alive, just brainwashed and in the service of former Gravekeeper, Mudi. But Akira was as well. That was something he could never forget.

Opening his eyes back up, he sees Nahashu rushing toward him, his sword unsheathed and in hand as he goes for an overhead strike. Akira raises his ice sword up defensively, blocking the strike as their blades grind against each other, steeling themselves as they gritted their teeth. Nahashu had clicked his tongue in annoyance, thinking he had previously had this fight in the bag. But with the way things were now, he honestly thought it was troublesome, knowing that Akira wasn't going to go down without giving him a well-rounded fight. But for some reason... Deep down... He couldn't help but feel excited. This sense of nostalgia welling up within him began to burn brighter. Why is that? Did he know this person? Was this person somewhere belonging in his past, hazy memories? He wasn't sure, but... He couldn't help but want this duel to continue as it is.

"Who are you?" Nahashu asked.

"Why should I tell you?"

"...So be it."

With a loud panging clang, the two backed off, Akira's ice blade shattering into small shards and pieces, sparks flying off of Nahashu's blade as a light shimmered off it. No reaction was shown whatsoever on both their faces, both of them keeping a neutral expression as both their shoes skid across the wooden flooring. Dashing off of it, they rush back toward each other, Akira creating another ice sword with ice daggers being created in his other. A simple tactic, the former Ice Cold Reaper throwing the daggers, the ice weapons making a small whistling sound as they quickly traversed through the air, just narrowly arriving in front of Nahashu's face. But it was futile, the blonde man quickly halting himself as he steeled his katana, drawing his Meihou from it's saya (sheathe of the katana), swiftly cutting down the throwable ice weapons, turning them into mere mist and dust. 

Again, his eyes showed no emotion whatsoever, both of their eyes staying neutral as Akira closed again. Once more, sparks flew into the air along with small ice shards, the two trading blows and strikes, clashing as Akira would create numerous ice swords, breaking after a few strikes. The remaining Ten Stars, along with Zuou, watched with great anticipation. Especially, Zuou. So far, the boy hadn't really shown anything impressive to him. But what did impress him was that he was able to last this long against Nahashu. Before Nahashu had become a part of his Ten Stars, there was another. But when he had found the boy, he had taken him in and took care of him, while also teaching him, giving him a home and all that. But Zuou was quite surprised when he had challenged one of the spots for the Ten Stars. While he did train him, he didn't think he'd actually win, but he did, defeating his previous Ten Star and gaining the position of Commander of Guerilla Forces. So for Akira to last this long did exceed his expectations.

As the fighting continued, so did Akira's stamina continue to deplete. As he kept conjuring his ice weapons, his energy and stamina was depleting rapidly. He would mostly conjure small things, like daggers and knives, the more expensive usage being swords and the explosions of ice spikes. Thanks to his training and spars with Esdeath in the past, his usage of it had been greatly extended, but that didn't mean he could do it infinitely. However, he still had energy and stamina to spare, bringing his head back to dodge a slash from Nahashu's Meihou, soon grunting and coughing, flying backwards a little as he crashes onto the wooden floorboards, Nahashu having kicked him in the chest. Yomihime gasped, wanting to step in so she could save him. But she knew she couldn't, knowing that this was Akira's trial to pass for himself so he could earn his place here. Even if he lost, Zuou would still grant her wish... Just he wouldn't allow him to stay in the family home, and would instead put him in a cell where he could rot. Or maybe do something else. Zuou's plans could be a mystery sometimes.

The icy blue-eyed man forces himself up, letting out a small yell in the process as he sees Nahashu running toward him. Nahashu jumps, taking his blade into both of his hands as he prepared to thrust it down into him. But Akira was able to quickly avoid it, rolling to the side before recovering and launching himself forward. Landing a punch on Nahashu's face, he disarms him, throwing his Meihou off to the side as the two were now engaged in a good old fashioned fist fight, hand-to-hand combat. Exchanging blow after blow, blocking and parrying each other, the two seemed to be an equal match. But even still, Yomihime couldn't help but look on in worry. She didn't want to lose her cousin, right after she had just gotten him back. As far as she was concerned, Akira was the only surviving family she has. 

Jumping a few feet back, Nahashu slides next to his Meihou, taking it by the handle and raising it up to the side of his face. At the same time, Akira got into his own stance, putting his hands out to the side as he began to conjure up something. The people in the room thought he was going to conjure another ice sword, only this time, it would be larger. But much to their surprise... It was something else.

They soon see something else form... A long handle being held into his two hands, being an icy blue. Up near the top, the top area being slightly taller than him, a large blade began to form. The distinct large blade began to curve, almost giving it a more menacing look to it. It was a scythe. And along with Akira's visage, the mysterious black marks over his skin, his icy blue eyes glowing slightly, Zuou even noticing it to flash a slight grin. He leaned forward in his seat, intrigued a little. He really did find him interesting.

As the two stared at each other... Yomihime kept staring at the two, her eyes darting back and forth from each other. It was then her eyes had widen a little. Something had flashed in her mind.

She saw something appear. What she saw was a younger Akira and a younger Nahashu, standing at opposite sides of each other. Instead of the wooden flooring they were standing on, instead it was bright green grass in the middle of a clearing, surrounding by forest as the sunny light shined down on them. Could this be a memory? How was she seeing it?

Yomihime quickly shook her head and blinked a couple of times. Once she opened her eyes, she could see everything return to normal. With the two staring at each other for a couple of more seconds, they soon moved. With battle cries of their owns, the two rush and run forward at each other, gripping their weapons tightly. If he were to be honest, Akira wasn't sure if he had made do with his promise of surpassing Najasho. If anything, he thinks he's grown soft and weakened over the years he hadn't picked up a weapon for battle. So when he was running forward to engage him... He hesitated a little.

But he kept running, going onward to meet Nahashu head on.

So when the two met, Nahashu thrust his katana forward. Akira moves his head to the side, Nahashu's blade just graving his cheek, the cold steel of the Meihou cutting his skin as blood slowly began to drip down the wound. He grunted, but showed no signs of stopping, swirving his body, using his momentum to twist himself around as he moved around the blonde man. Nahashu sees him moving with his one good eye, trying to move his body around so he could strike again. Seething his teeth, Akira responded with his own action, quickly lifting his foot up and kicking Nahashu in the shins, causing the blonde man to grunt in pain as he jolts forward, falling onto his knees. He had fallen for Akira's slight bit of deception, the black-haired man wanting for him to rush at him. There was that taunting motion in Akira's eyes when they were staring at each other, for some reason making Nahashu twitch in annoyance. Why did he let that get to him?

Now forced onto his knees, Nahashu grunted in annoyance. He held his tongue, feeling the coldness of the ice blade being pressed up against his neck. Akira panted, his breath slightly heavy as he gripped the handle of the scythe tightly.

Akira then looks to Zuou. "Well? Were you entertained, asshole?"

Mizuchi growled as he stood up. "Why, you--"

He was then interrupted when Zuou held up his hand. Mizuchi looked at him, shocked. As much as he was loyal to his lord and king, there were times he would be utterly confused and questioning of his king's actions. Zuou then lowered his hand, chuckling deeply before he got up and clapped his hands a few times.

"Indeed. I was entertained, boy," the large man said, soon sitting back down onto his throne. "I was impressed. Not many have lasted that long against Nahashu."

"Yeah, well. Glad to have given you a show," Akira replied, keeping his position.

"You can release Nahashu now, boy. You have earned your place."

Akira scoffed. Letting his scythe dissipate, Nahashu leans forward, a single hand being placed onto the floorboard to support himself up. He panted as he dropped his sword, the Meihou clattering onto the ground. The blonde man then peers his head around, his golden yellow eye narrowing itself at the black-haired man, his expression showing that he was scowling at him. Akira simply rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he looks back up at Zuou.

"I believe you have no objections to the outcome of the match?" The man asked, referring to his Ten Stars.

Amateru fans herself with a paper fan. "No objections, My King.~"

"Mm-hm," Moegi hummed, eyeing the icy blue-eyed man with her sultry smirk.

Akugetsu said nothing with Gundari nodding, keeping a very stern expression. The last Ten Star, his face still hidden in the darkness, made a slight shuffle. But Zuou knew what he meant, nodding at the decision. Looking to the man dressed in monk clothing, all he could see was Shamon holding a very pleased smile. Seeing that was the answer he needed. Zuou then finally turns to Mizuchi.

"And you, Mizuchi?"

Begrudgingly nodding with a growl, Mizuchi looked away. "As you wish, My King."

"There you have it," Zuou said with a grin, standing up once more. "Nahashu, please take yourself and our esteemed guest to the infirmary. There, our greatest healers will treat you well."

"No, thanks," Akira denied, turning around as he held a hand to his face, covering the scars. "I'll take care of the wounds myself."

"But, Akira--" Yomihime started, only to be interrupted by him.

"I said, I'll take care of them myself," he says resolutely, walking off through the large open gates.

Watching as her cousin descended down the stairs, Yomihime turned to Zuou. Bowing in an a brisk, appreciative manner, she turned onto her heels and followed after her cousin. Nahashu growled, grabbing his Meihou and sheathing it into his saya that rested on his hip. Soon after, an auburn-haired girl had darted from the side, rushing toward him.

"You okay, Chief?" She asked worriedly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He shoves it off. "I'll be fine. I don't need your concern. Damn, weird girl."

Nahashu then makes himself off down the hall, presumably heading to the infirmary. However, the auburn-haired girl seemed to have paid no mind to his response, only shaking her head with a smile as she follows after him, skipping along as she proceeds to talk to him. The blonde man only looks at her annoyed, but did nothing to shoo her off. It honestly seemed like an odd dynamic between the two that even Zuou was confused slightly. But seeing as Nahashu didn't seem to be bothered by it in the slightest, he usually lets the girl follow after him.

Though speaking of Zuou, he only leaned his head onto his fist as his grin only began to grow wider. He chuckled to himself, closing his eyes as he took in a deep breath.

'Heh. Another pawn added to the board, waiting to be used. My victory has been shot forward by a great step. Now, all that's left is to take down the common rabble that stand in the way as obstacles. I will unify this land... No matter the cost.'

Present Day

Akira sighed as he leaned back in his bed, his back resting against the headboard. He raised a hand up to touch his cheek, still feeling the oozing blood. To think he would find Najasho here... Now known as Nahashu. What were the odds, huh?

The icy blue-eyed was soon knocked out of his thoughts. Swinging his legs to the side, now sitting on the side of his bed, his gaze focused on Yomihime as she walked in with a medicinal ointment and bandages.

She soon sat next to him and grabbed his face, a stern expression appearing. Akira hissed in slight pain, due to the way she had roughly grabbed his face to have him face her.

"That was quite reckless," she scolded. "Had you continued like that, you would have seriously gotten more hurt anymore than you would have."

He pushes her hand away slightly. "I had things handled. I'm not that easy to take down, you know. I can take care of myself."

"I know that, Akira. But being reckless doesn't make you invincible," she chided.

He rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. Right."

Yomihime sighed. "Now sit still and let me treat your wounds."

"They don't hurt. Besides, there's not that many. I can take care of them myself."

"Akira... There's no need to act tough around me. It's okay to let your guard down. I know you can take care of yourself, but... Please... Let me."

Akira let out a deep sigh. Hesitantly, he relaxed and slumped his shoulders, looking at her and nodding. Allowing himself to relax, he sat still as Yomihime began to apply the medicinal ointment to the cuts along his face and arms, though he'd recoil a little and let out a small hiss in response as she done so. But he put up with it.

Soon, a few minutes went by and Yomihime brought her hands down, having finished applying a few bandages onto his face to cover up the cuts.

"There. All done," she said in a soothing tone.

"Thanks... I guess," he muttered, looking away.

Yomihime frowned a bit, but soon looked at his arm. She took one into her hands, trailing them along the black markings.

"What are these, if I may ask?"

He looks at her annoyed, but didn't make any movement to retract his arm. Akira let out another sigh.

"It's a reminder."

"A reminder?" She questioned, looking at him confused.

He could only look away sadly. "A reminder of what I've become. The truth of what I am."

"And what is that?"

"...A monster... A demon."

She let out a wry laugh. "Then I guess we're one in the same. I, too, have been called one. By those on the battlefield."

"By your enemies, sure... But do you get those looks?"

"'Those looks'?"

"It's nothing," he responded with a shake of his head. "...You can go now."

She pursed her lips. Yomihime wished to get to know him more, but what was she to ask? It felt awkward conversing with him. Despite being family, it had been so long since they had last seen each other. Years. Many years, in fact. But like him this morning, she soon catches notice of the ring that sat upon his ring finger on his left hand. She soon took it, making him look at her annoyed but his expression soon softened up, seeing her looking marveled and curious at the sight of his ring.

"You're married?" She asked, her tone showing how curious she was.

"I am... To the most wonderful woman in the world," he said with a fond smile, remembering his wife's smile. That warm smile he loved so dearly.

"May I ask about her?"

"Why are you so curious about her?"

"I just wish to know more about my family, dear cousin," Yomihime says with a smile. "Please... May I know more about her?"

He soon sighed. "It's... A really long story if you want to hear it. We'll be here for a long while."

Her smile still remained. "And I'll be here for every second of it. I won't leave your side, Akira. Never again."

"Okay..." He said with a deep breath, turning to her. "It all started, when..."

The remainder of that night was nothing but his brief telling of his past. But it felt like a great weight was lifted off his chest. As he told her... He felt happy. So happy.

Happy that he was speaking to another family member of his. Akira had truly thought there would be no one of his blood family that loved him. He was wrong. There was someone there... And she vowed to remain by his side, never leave him again and remain as his loving family member.

Yes... He was happy.

---

At the time of posting this chapter, I had decided I would do two chapter uploads of this book before putting it back on hold so I can figure out what to do and finalize the actual, concurrent plans I have for this fic. Again, I mostly have things figured out for these beginning chapters, somewhat figured things out when we get to around the middle, but still in the midst of planning things for the more later chapters.

Especially since the more later chapters will most likely be comprised of total, original scenarios. If you've been living under a rock, as the news have been out for months now, the serialization of the series ended at around chapter 53 of the manga (if I remember correctly), meaning that there are no more chapters after that as the creators have decided to put it off to work on something new. There are a multitude of reasons as to why they cancelled the series, the most prevalent one being mentioned (again, could be wrong) being money problems. Now, there is a chance that the manga could be continued in the future, but that seems to be a real long shot and it may happen in a very long time, and I'd rather not wait like twenty or so years to see the end of the manga, having this fic collect dust as I wait.

So, this is the first chapter to be uploaded out of the two I have planned to upload. Next one, not sure when it'll come out, all I ask is you be patient for it. After that, the book will be put on hold and maybe get updates as I continue to figure out what the hell I want to do with the very later chapters. But in any case, that's all I really have to say. Again, if you do have questions regarding this fic, just DM me or post a comment here and I'll respond ASAP.

I do hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading, everyone!