An Assassin's Respite

Welcome Back Kari

Kagura brushes her hair from her face and rubs dust from her eyes before she opens them. She looks at Kazuna, subsequently leading her to look over to where Ken was standing and her jaw-dropping. Starting from the edge of Kazuna's blade and stretching to the other end of the room, it appeared that the floor had been cut in half. She focuses her attention on the sphere of metal that Ken had encased himself in. As she anxiously watches the bunker, waiting for something to happen, the sphere slowly begins to split open. Ken was standing in the middle, a gash stretching across his chest.

Ken coughs up blood and falls to his knees. Kazuna stands straight and lets out a deep breath. Kazuna looks down at his sword and then over to the damage he had done.

"I wonder if I overdid it?" He says under his breath. 

"No, that was marvelously done considering we're out of practice," Karma states.

"If you say so," Kazuna replies as he begins to approach Ken.

Ken puts a hand to his chest and looks down in dismay. He looks up towards Kazuna, who was drawing nearer, and a look of fear fills his eyes. 

"P-Please, have mercy," Ken begs.

But his plea fell on deaf ears.

"Mercy? If I recall correctly, I offered to show you mercy if you gave up, but you refused my kindness, so I will show you no mercy," Kazuna responds as he continues to make his way towards Ken.

Ken's fear quickly escalated to terror as Kazuna got closer.

"No, no, please, no," Ken begs as he scoots backward.

Kazuna sheaths Karma and places a hand on the hilt of Kirin.

'Katsuchi style, 5th strike; Assassination.'

He begins to unsheath Kirin. The sound of him unsheathing his sword seemed impossibly loud to Ken. Once he fully drew his sword, the ringing continued for a few seconds. As Kazuna gets even close, everything goes silent, and Ken suddenly loses the ability to move.

"Wh-what's going on? Why can't I move? Why can't I hear anything?" He thinks in a panic. 

Soon after, he beings to hear a loud thud. 

"Wait, what's that sound?" Ken thinks to himself. Kazuna was walking in tune with the thud, but the sound didn't seem to be footsteps. He places a hand on his chest and realizes what the sound was.

"Is that my heart? Why is it so loud? Is he walking in tune with my heartbeat?" Ken wonders.

For some reason, these thoughts started to make him panic even more. As he stares at Kazuna with his mind filled with terror, dread, and hopelessness, he begins to understand what watching Kazuna silently approach him was like.

"This, this is what it's like to stare death in the eyes," He concludes. 

Kazuna was finally standing over Ken, and he slowly raises his sword. Ken looks him in the eyes. They were cold, dark, and piercing. 

"The eyes of a born killer," Ken thinks as Kazuna prepares to finish him off.

But before Kazuna could finish it, Kari puts herself between the two of them.

"Kari? What are you doing?" Kazuna asks in surprise.

"Stopping you," She answers.

"Why? I mean, after all, he's done to you and those other kids? Why stop me?" Kazuna questions.

"Because you look scary," She replies.

"Huh?" Kazuna asks.

"You look scary, and the Mr. Kazuna I know isn't a scary person, he's a nice one. He helps people when they need it and doesn't ask for anything in return. He's a good cook, and even though he's a bit awkward, he tries to understand everyone," Kari shouts.

Kazuna looks at her in disbelief and lowers his sword more in shock than anything else. Before he could respond to her, Yuu and a couple of other special agents show up. Some go for Ken, and the rest head over to Kagura and Ria, while Yuu approaches Kazuna.

"How did you know where we were?" He asks.

"The kids you saved informed us. You should have come to us for this." Yuu replies.

"I didn't have time to deal with the precautions you special agents would have to take. Also, I"m not sure what they would have done to the kids if anyone but me showed up." He answers.

Yuu sighs as he takes a look around.

"From the looks of things, it seems you took some ofmy advice to heart," Yuu states.

"As much as it pains me," Kazuna replies.

"So this is Kari," Yuu says as he turns his attention toward her.

"She doesn't look as bad as my secretary portrayed her," Yuu notes.

"Mr. Kazuna has been taking care of me," Kari mumbles as she hides behind Kazuna's legs.

"And it seems she's gotten quite attached to you," He adds.

Kazuna goes to say something, but Yuu turns his back to him.

"You can give me the rundown of what happened later, but for now, keep watching after that girl," He says as he walks away.

"I hate how he's always a step ahead of me," Kazuna thinks to himself.

Kazuna crouches down and places a hand on her head. 

"Why don't we head home," He suggests.

"What about Kagura and Ria?" Kari asks.

"The special agents will take care of them," Kazuna says.

"What about you?" She asks.

"I'll be fine," He assures her.

Kari presses gently on Kazuna's ribs, and he nearly falls over. Upon seeing this, multiple special agents rush over to provide first aid treatment, but Kazuna was still adamant about him being okay.

"Quit being stubborn and let them treat you. You did get impaled yesterday, and, despite being treated by Mrs. Kamina, you're still in pretty bad shape," Kagura states. 

"As I said, I'm fine," He says.

"Stop acting tough and get treated already," Yuu says as he punches him in the stomach.

As Kazuna began to lose consciousness, one thought passed his mind.

"I hate this guy," He thinks as he blacks out.

When Kazuna wakes, he finds himself in the same hospital he was in yesterday. He sits up and winces in pain as he reaches for his ribs.

"A couple of broken ribs. That bastard Yuu was looking for a reason to punch me," He says to himself.

He hears the sound of someone breathing and notices that not only was Kagura sleeping in her chair with her head resting on the left side of his bed but that Ria was on the bed asleep by his legs. Kazuna lets out a sigh as he wakes the pair.

"Good morning," Ria says while yawning.

"Uh, I-It's not what it looks like, I-I was j-just resting m-m-my head," Kagura stutters.

"Yeah, yeah, how long was I out for?" He asks.

"Only a couple of hours," Ria answers.

"Tch, he didn't need to hit me so hard," Kazuna grumbles.

"You should have let me kill him," Ria says.

"No," Kazuna says, shutting her down immediately.

"Although I do agree that he was a bit excessive, you didn't leave him with many choices," Kagura points out.

Kazuna remains silent, unable to refute what she was saying. As he sat there, he started to realize that someone was missing. He looks under his blanket, looks over the side of his bed, and around the room.

"What are you looking for?" Kagura asks.

"Where's Kari?" He asks.

"Oh, she's getting looked at by the doctors. They're trying to see if they can find any living relatives of hers and doing a physical," Kagura answers.

"Oh, that's good," Kazuna says halfheartedly.

The sadness he felt from the possibility that Kari was going to be taken away was evident through his voice.

"Isn't it ironic that when you wanted to get rid of her, you couldn't, but now that you want her to stay around, you might lose her," Kagura says.

"Yeah," Kazuna agrees.

"Whether she gets to stay or go doesn't matter to me anyway," Ria says.

"Didn't you always take baths with her?" Kazuna asks.

Ria lets out a squeak, and her face reddens.

"Well, in any case, all we can do is wait and see what happens," Kagura says.

So, that's precisely what they do. The three sit in silence in Kazuna's hospital room, waiting to hear whether Kari would be living with relatives, staying with them, or if a special agency was going to take her in. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Kazuna says.

The door opens, and an older lady walks in.

"Are you Kazuna?" She asks.

"Yes," He answers.

She had to be in her 60s and was quite fickle. 

"I am Kari's grandmother, Katari. First, thank you for looking after my granddaughter," She says with a bow.

"No, there is no need to thank me. I was only doing what should have been done," He says in an attempt to avoid praise.

"On the contrary, it's because of you being able to protect her that you deserve praise. From what I've been hearing, the people that had her in captivity were quite dangerous," Katari states.

"If you say so," Kazuna says.

"Although I am happy to be reunited with my granddaughter after all this time, there is no way that I will be able to protect her properly. I am old and fragile; she needs someone young and strong," Katari states.

"Unfortunately, that is probably the best solution. Although she may be safe for now, there is a possibility that she could be targeted once again," Kazuna agrees.

"Yes, that is why I would like for you to continue protecting her," She says.

"Huh?" Kazuna chokes in surprise.

"Really?!" Ria exclaims.

She realizes that she let out an uncharacteristic outburst and quickly calms herself.

"Well, it does seem like the best move. You have done an excellent job of protecting Kari so far, and she has grown quite attached to you," Katari explains.

"But, I let her get captured," Kazuna says.

"True, but you also rescued her without her getting so much as a scratch. Besides, I'm sure she would be fine facing a little danger as long as she got to stay with you," Katari adds.

"You think so?" Kazuna asks.

"Yes, just ask her yourself," Katari says as she waves Kari in.

Without hesitation, Kari runs to Kazuna and hugs him.

"Mr. Kazuna I was so scared, and then when you showed up I was so happy, but then when you and Kagura, and Ria started to get hurt I got scared again, but then you all beat that guy up and rescued me and were okay and I was so happy," She says as if the words were just spilling out of her mouth.

Kazuna, unsure of what to do at first just stares at her in shock before placing a hand on her head and smiling.

"Glad to have you back, Kari," He says.

Kazuna, along with Kagura, Ria, and Kari, was discharged from the hospital. As they were leaving from the front entrance, they were greeted by their usual group of Shiba, Matt, Akeno, Ayame, Emiko, Haruka, Haruna, Yua, Chiyo, and even the student council president.

"What are you all doing here?" Kazuna asks.

"Well, it was a beautiful day, so we all decided to take a stroll over by the hospital," Matt jokes.

"I called them here," Kagura clarifies.

"But why?" Kazuna asks, still confused by the event.

"Because you keep getting yourself into dangerous scenarios without telling us," Shiba says.

"Exactly," Matt agrees.

"As student council president, it hurts me to know that one of my underclassmen and fellow student council members is always putting themselves in dangerous situations and doesn't trust me enough to ask for my help," Ayanami says.

"As you can see, they all are worried about you," Kagura says.

Kazuna looks between all his classmates, and a feeling that he had long forgotten filled his heart. For the first time in a long time, he truly felt happy. 

"I'm sorry for worrying you," Kazuna says as he bows in apology.

"If you're really sorry, then the next time you find yourself in a pinch, come to us for help," Matt says as he gently punches Kazuna's chest.

"But that'll put you all in danger," Kazuna says.

"So? You're always putting yourself in danger for the sake of others, and as your best friend, I can't let you take all the glory," Matt says.

Kazuna's usual calm, somewhat cold expression softens, and he smiles.

"Since when were you, my best friend?" Kazuna asks.

"Don't worry about the small things," Matt says.

Everyone laughs, and they walk from the hospital together.

Meanwhile, somewhere in America.

"So, Ken failed. What a useless lackey. Whatever, I got all the data I needed anyway thanks to him sending it over before Kazuna stopped him. Soon everything will be set into motion, and there will be no way you can top it, Katsuchi," A man says with a maniacal laugh.