An Assassin's Respite

Another Daunting Dream

Once again, Kazuna found himself falling through a pitch-black hole until he finally lands. He groggily gets up and survey's his surroundings, but there wasn't much to look at as there was only white space as far as he could see. After he walks for a couple of minutes, a man appears in front of him. Kazuna jumps back and places a hand on the hilt of his sword in preparation for a fight.

"Now, now, let's calm down. I'm not your enemy, I only want to talk," The man says.

"Talk? Who are you? And what do you want to talk about?" Kazuna asks.

He loosens up a little bit, but he still kept his guard up.

"I see that you're still wary of me, I guess I can't blame you when a guy you've never met appears in a place you're unfamiliar with. Here, why don't I change our location to somewhere more comfortable," The man says.

He snaps his fingers and suddenly Kazuna was at his home. Not the one in Japan, but the mansion of the three dragons clan in America. He walks through the halls, taking in the familiar feel, look, and smell. He continues walking until he reaches the back door. He opens it to see the garden he enjoyed playing in as a kid. It was almost as if he was living in two different times. As he walked he could see images of him as a child running, playing, and enjoying life. His face was filled with joy, a feeling he had long forgotten.

He walks onward and stops at the center of the garden as he rests his gaze on the statue of his grandfather. His mother had it built after he had died. He hadn't come to the garden since it was built, he had blamed himself for his grandfather's death. The statue only reminded him that his grandfather was dead because he was alive.

"What a nice statue. Who's it of?" Kazuna hears someone say.

He looks over to his right and sees the strange man from before sitting on a bench.

"My grandfather," Kazuna answers.

"I see, my condolences," He says.

Kazuna just continues to stare at the statue until he shakes himself out of his daze and turns his attention towards the man. 

"So, what did you want to talk about and who are you?" He asks.

"Right, I guess I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Kan, and I was the first owner of those three swords you have there," He states.

"You're my predecessor?" Kazuna asks in surprise.

Kan nods.

"I was the one that sealed the king of the dragons, but it seems that the seal is starting to weaken. You've felt the effects of it, right?" He adds.

"Yes, he's talked with me," Kazuna states.

"Already!? Things are worse than I had expected," Kan says.

Kan stands there, deep in thought for a few minutes before he speaks up.

"Well, in any case, Kazuna, you must use Bahamut and Karma again. You cannot defeat the king of dragons with only Kirin and yourself," Kan says.

"I know, I just-" He starts to say, but he can't quite find the words he was looking for.

Kan places a hand on his shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile.

"There's no need to explain, as your predecessor, I've seen all that you have been through. You've had a hard life, one much more difficult than my own, but your strong, I'm sure you'll figure it out," Kan assures him.

"Then you must know that I am not worthy. I have spent my whole life murdering strangers and disappointing my family," Kazuna says.

"Those three dragons chose you for a reason. You are a kind person that has seen the worst parts of the world, but despite that, you are still kind. If you don't believe in yourself, then believe in them," Kan says.

"Believe... in them?" Kazuna repeats. 

"Yeah," Kan says.

The garden begins to shake and the ground cracks.

"It seems I'm running out of time. Oh well, it was a good talk. Kazuna, the king of dragons will awaken in the near future, you must tighten his seal soon so you can buy yourself some time," Kan says.

Kazuna opens his mouth to say something, but that inhuman breathing from before keeps him silent.

"I'll keep the king of dragons in check for now, so this will be the last time we speak for a while. You may still feel his influence every once in a while, but don't be afraid, you have what it takes to defeat him," Kan says.

Kazuna can only nod.

"Oh, and one more thing before you wake up, sometime in the future, you may get a chance to speak with your grandfather again," Kan states.

"Wha-" Kazuna mutters, but a blinding light started emitting from Kan.

"Kazuna, you have an amazing group of friends, you'll be just fine," He says.

"Wait, I still have some questions," Kazuna says, but the light only continues to shine brighter until he has to close his eyes. 

Once he opens his eyes again, he finds himself in a room he had never been in. He groggily gets up and looks around the room. He feels something moving on his leg so he moves the blanket and uncovers Kari.

"What the?" He mutters.

He goes to wake her, but then he remembers how she almost passed out earlier. He could only assume that she had used his power and managed to save both of them. He sighs as he just brushes her hair out of her face.

"I'm going soft, aren't I?" He whispers to himself.

He sits in silence going over all that happened in his dream until the door opens and Kagura walks in.

"Oh, you're finally awake," She says. He couldn't tell if he was imagining it or not, but it seemed like she was really annoyed.

"So you were the person I saw before I passed out. Where am I?" He asks.

"You're at my house and Yes I was, and once again you got yourself into some trouble without telling anyone," She bites.

"It's not like I intended to handle this alone. I went to Yuu's agency immediately, but he was out for business so I had no choice," Kazuna says in defense.

"That doesn't explain why you didn't come to me for help," Kagura says.

Kazuna avoids her gaze. She had a point, not only did he not ask for her help, but he also kept her in the dark.

"Honestly, you go on about how you trust us, but you fail to show that you actually do. If you truly trusted us you would have told me or anyone of us about the situation you're in," Kagura states.

Kazuna just sat there in silence. Everything she said was right, he could make the excuse that he just wanted them to be safe, but that implies that he didn't trust them to take care of themselves. Even looking at the condition he was in now, it was like he felt that he didn't trust them to watch his back.

"Do you really want to keep this girl safe?" Kagura asks and almost as if waiting for an entrance, Kari pops awake.

"You're wrong," She states.

"Huh?" Kagura says more surprised by her suddenly popping up over what she said.

"Mr. Kazuna is trying his best to protect me. He's fed me, bathed me, given me clothes, and when those guys tried to take me away, Mr. Kazuna fought them off even though he wasn't feeling good," Kari says in his defense.

"He wasn't feeling good?" Kagura repeats while giving Kazuna a glare.

Kauzna sighs knowing that he couldn't pretend he was fine anymore.

"Although physically I'm mostly recovered, I can't fully use my power, or to be more precise, every time I use my power my stamina is drastically drained. And, to top it off, my stamina is being drained from my body attempting to restore my power's strength," He clarifies.

"And still you thought it was a good idea not to clue any of us in?" She prods.

"I-" He starts to say, but Kari shouts out.

"You just don't understand him!" She shouts.

"What do you mean?" Kagura asks.

"Mr. Kazuna's doing everything he can to keep everyone out of danger. Even when he was hurt from fighting those bad guys, he didn't want to go to that lady's house to get help," She says. 

"Does she mean Momo?" Kagura asks.

"Yes, I took Kari there for a check-up," Kazuna replies.

"But even so, he should still come to his friends for help," Kagura responds.

"Well, I don't know much about friends and what they do, but you shouldn't say mean things like he doesn't trust you," Kari snaps back.

Kagura looks at Kari in shock. She had lost an argument to a kid that didn't know her and barely knew Kazuna. 

"It seems Kari has a better understanding of things than we do," Kazuna states while patting Kari on the head who gives him a smile.

Kagura sighs.

"It seems we both still have some learning to do. So, with that being said, why don't you clue me in with what's going on," Kagura says.

"Honestly, I don't know much myself. All I know is that her parents were probably murdered and she was kidn*pped, most likely so they could make use of her power which allows her to copy the powers of others," Kazuna explains.

"She can copy powers?" Kagura repeats in surprise.

Kauzna nods.

"When I was fighting those guys earlier, the last guy almost did me in, but Kari was able to use my power to activate Kirin's lightning and knock the last guy out," Kazuna states.

"So that's why she seemed so tired when we got to my house," Kagura notes.

"I'm not sure what they were using her power for or planning on using it for, but I know it can't be any good," Kazuna states.

"Do you know where Yuu is or when he'll be back?" Kagura asks.

Kauzna shakes his head in response.

"Well, this is where getting help from friends can be useful seeing as you know Yuu's daughter," Kagura points out.

"I could just ask his secretary," Kazuna states.

"W-Well, that's not the point. The point is for you to get help from your friends," Kagura states.

"I know, I know, just a joke," Kazuna says.

"Ha, ha. Anyway, has she been living with you?" Kagura asks.

"Yes, but for only the past day," Kazuna answers.

"Does she have her own room?" She asks.

"Yes, but she seems to have trouble sleeping alone in the dark so the first night she slept with me," Kazuna states.

"W-With you? And Ria's okay with this?" Kagura asks.

"Who knows, she's not at home," Kazuna says.

"Wha- but I thought she was sick," Kagura says.

"No, she was summoned for a mission," Kazuna explains.

"Then why did you tell me she was sick?" Kagura asks.

"It was easier than explaining the details," Kazuna answers.

"That was a surprisingly normal and simple response," Kagura says.

"Somehow I feel like that was an insult," Kazuna notes.

Kagura laughs a little but stops once she hears the sound of someone's stomach growling. She looks at Kari who had an embarrassed look on her face.

"I guess, we better go home so I can make something for us to eat," Kazuna says.

Kazuna gets out of the bed and nearly falls over but Kagura catches him.

"Just as I thought," She says while sitting him on the bed.

"Look, you can't tell me that your condition has been worse than you told us and then expect me to not know that you haven't recovered from the fight you were just in," Kagura says.

"That doesn't change the fact that I have to cook for me and Kari," Kazuna replies.

"Actually, you're going to stay here and have dinner with us, my mom made some extra food once I brought both of you here," Kagura states.

"Well, if you don't mind us intruding," Kazuna says.

Kagura and Kari help Kazuna down the stairs and sit at the dinner table where Kagura's mom had already had the food set out for all of them. 

"Ah, so you decided to have dinner with us. Good, I would have hated for this food to go to waste," Kagura's mom says as she sits at the head of the table.

"Thank you for the food," Kazuna and Kari say in unison.

Ms. Itsuki watches Kazuna and Kari for a moment. She watches Kari continuously look over to Kazuna and copy his actions and Kagura who was stealing glances at Kazuna. 

"You know, the three of you look like parents and their kid," She says with a smile.

Kagura nearly chokes on her food and has to wash it down with water.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What are y-y-you t-talking about?" Kagura stutters, her face a bright red.

"Just a passing thought," Her mom says with a smile. 

"What a weird thought," Kazuna says.

"How so?" Ms. Itsuki asks.

"The idea of someone like me having a happy little family doesn't seem to fit me," Kazuna answers.

"I don't think so," Kari says.

"Why is that?" Kazuna asks.

"Because you're really nice to me, and you cook for me, and protect me and take me shopping. It's just like how my daddy used to treat me," Kari notes.

Kazuna smiles sadly.

"Me have a family?" He thinks to himself with a smile.

They finish eating and Kazuna and Kari help with the cleanup before they leave. As they were heading out the front door, Kagura stops them.

"I know I can't stop you from doing anything reckless, but I can be there to help you. So next time you find yourself in trouble, make sure you come to me for help," She says.

"Yeah," Kazuna replies.

"Promise?" Kagura asks.

Kazuna pauses for a moment.

"Yeah, promise," He finally answers.

"Good," She says. 

She wasn't sure if the pause was due to him actually choosing to promise or lie about it, but she was going to hold hope that he trusted her enough to make and keep that promise. She waves goodbye to them anyway as they leave.

"Why don't you go ahead and clean up. You can clean yourself, right?" Kazuna says.

Kari gives him a nod as she runs up the stairs towards the bathroom. Kazuna heads to the kitchen and grabs a drink. He sits in the living room and stairs at the ceiling, his mind stuck on the thought of him having a family but more on what Kari said.

"She had a family that cared for her and treated her well. For someone to ruthlessly take that away for their own selfish desires." The thought angered him more than he was used to.