An Assassin's Respite

Tightening the Seal

It had been a couple of days since the students from BA toured GA's campus and Kazuna was eating breakfast with Kari and RIa.

"So how long are we going to be watched?" Ria asks.

"I'm not sure, it's just something that we have to deal with for the time being." Kazuna answers.

"So annoying." She groans as she goes back to eating.

Meanwhile, next door Kagura had much more teenage-appropriate problems.

"What seems to be on your mind?" Her mom asks.

"Oh, Uhm, nothing." She stutters in response.

"Is that so?" Her mom pries.

Kagura is silent for a moment, but her mom's pressing gaze made her c***k.

"It's just that Kazuna and Ria are so comfortable around each other and they live together like a family. She's known him longer than me and is open about how she feels about him, how am I supposed to compete with that?" She wonders.

"It's true that she does have an advantage in her ability to talk with and understand Kazuna, but she also has the disadvantage of being seen as part of the family. Besides, you seem to be able to talk to Kazuna more easily now anyway." Her mom points out.

"Well, it's gotten easier to talk to Kazuna since I've realized how I feel, but I'm scared to tell him how I feel." She says.

"You can keep on putting it off, but if you don't make a move on Kazuna, then you'll lose him to someone else. There are an awful lot of beautiful young girls around him. Who knows how long he'll be able to hold them off," Her mom says as a parting word of advice before leaving the subject alone.

Kagura just stares at her food. She had lost her appetite. She already knew that Kazuna wouldn't be available forever; she just liked things the way they were. They were able to talk to each other freely, and there wasn't any awkwardness. She felt that if she told him how she felt and if he rejected her, then things would be awkward between them and wouldn't be the same. Besides, the thought of him rejecting her pained her in a way she had never known. She shook her head and pushed these thoughts to the back of her head and continued to eat her breakfast.

Later during homeroom, Kagura found herself staring at Kazuna, so she tried to divert her attention.

"There isn't anything between those two, and even if there was, it has nothing to do with me," She says to herself.

Kazuna was staring out the window with a dazed expression. Something was nagging him, but he wasn't sure what it was. He couldn't really explain what it was. There wasn't any type of immediate danger that he was wary about or anything personal bothering him. It was something else that he never felt before. 

Just as he was about to chalk it up as him being paranoid, his heart suddenly felt like it was going to burst from his chest. The shock from the feeling made his eyes go wide, but he quickly fixed his expression before anyone could notice. He places a hand over his chest and steadies his breathing. 

"What was that?" He wonders.

But his period of unawareness was short-lived as he could hear his swords humming. It was almost inaudible, but he could hear it clear as day. If someone else heard the sound, they would probably think that they were just losing it, but it was enough of a hint that he knew why he had that nagging feeling and what that feeling he had was. 

"So it's finally time," He says to himself as he gazes out the window.

Kazuna was out of it for the rest of the day, barely paying attention in class and performing terribly in their training. It was so bad that Kagura steeled herself to confront him about it, but she couldn't find him at the end of the day. She ran into Yua during her search and decided to ask her about it.

"Hey, do you know where Kazuna is?" She asks.

"He said he had something important to do before vanishing," Yua answers.

"Did he go and do something dangerous without telling us again?" She asks herself.

Yua could see the worry on her face and decides to try and ease her fears.

"Don't worry, I don't think he's doing anything stupid," She states.

"How can you be so sure?" Kagura asks.

"Hmm, I can't say for certain, but he said he was going to talk to the special agents that are watching over him," Titannia adds.

"Is he asking for their help?" Kagura asks.

"No, I think he said he needed to explain what he was doing. So he's probably not doing anything that could put him in danger, or he wouldn't bother talking to them," Yua adds.

"I guess that makes sense," Kagura responds.

"Right. So why don't you have faith that he isn't always doing something dangerous," Yua says with a smile.

"You know, you're really nice," Kagura points out.

"Just helping out a classmate," Yua replies as she walks away.

Kagura watches her walk away before deciding to head home herself.

"Kazuna, don't be doing anything dangerous without asking us for help," She says to herself.

Kazuna awakens to the sound of a plane landing. He looks out the window and gazes at a mountain range that was all too familiar. He reaches over and wakes Ria just as the plane finished landing. The pair leave the airport and head towards the mountain range via a chauffeur that was waiting for them outside the airport. After a few minutes of driving and heading down side roads that were basically hidden, they arrived at the front of a massive mansion. They exit the car, and Kazuna takes a long, deep breath. 

"I'm home," He says under his breath as he enters the mansion of his clan, the three dragons.

He walks through the halls a little wary of his surroundings. It had been years since he was here last, but the last time he saw the place was in his dreams. 

"It really hasn't changed after all these years," He notes mostly to himself.

"You can thank your mom for that," Ria states. 

"I see," He mumbles.

"Are you going to see her?" Ria asks.

"No," He replies.

"But I"m sure she would be glad to see you," Ria states.

"I know, it's just that I'm not sure what I should or even would say. I still need to figure some things out before I see her again," He responds.

"If you say so," Ria concedes.

They finally arrive at the dojo that was inside the mansion. Kazuna approaches the mural on the far wall and runs his hand over it. He stops his hand over the figure of Kan, his predecessor, and he pushes. The room shakes as a section of a wall rises, showing a hidden passage.

"Let's go," Kazuna says to Ria as he enters the passageway.

They walk down a long, spider web-filled corridor. It was dimly lit, although Kazuna wasn't sure as to how since there weren't any torches or lights to be seen. They walk for a couple of minutes before the passageway opens up to a massive room and sitting at the end of the room was the altar he had seen in his dream. Kazuna's breathing becomes labored, and he begins to sweat. He starts to second guess his being there, but Ria grabs his hand. He looks over to her, and she gives him an encouraging nod.

Kazuna swallows his fear and smiles at her. She lets go of his hand, and he approaches the altar. He stops in front of the altar and takes a long, deep breath and starts the ritual.

"Born during a thunderstorm that ravaged the lands. The king of the lightning dragons, Kirin," He says as he unsheaths and stabs Kirin into the ground in front of him.

"Born during a hurricane with winds that could blow continents away. The king of the wind dragons, Karma," He says as he does the same with Karma.

"Born from a volcano that scarred the land forever with its immense heat and intensity. The king of the fire dragons, Bahamut," He says as he stabs his final sword into the ground.

Kazuna stood in the center of the swords for a few seconds before the swords began to glow. Soon after, the altar began to shake, and a cloud of black smoke began to emit from it. Kazuna sits and begins to meditate. The room starts to shake as Kazuna starts to tighten the seal on the king of the dragons. The smoke circled him as spread throughout the room. He had been at it for several hours now and as they were reaching the endpoint of the ritual, Kazuna could hear a voice.

"You continue to fight and struggle like a fly stuck in a spider's web. It's futile, just stop struggling and let me devour you," The voice bellows.

Kazuna falls forward, and blood drips from his nose.

"Kachi!" Ria shouts in concern as she begins to make her way towards him, but he raises his hand to stop her.

He refocuses himself and continues to tighten the seal.

"You may succeed in tightening the seal, but that will only buy you some time. I will break out of here, and I will kill you and everyone you've come to know. But don't worry, I'll make sure to leave you for last so that you can live in your failure for a while," The voice warns.

"As if I would let you," Kazuna says with blood dripping from his nose.

"That's exactly what Kan said. The next time you talk to that bastard, ask what happened to his family." The voice growls as the shaking begins to stop and the mist dissipates.

The shaking finally completely stops, and Kazuna's swords stop glowing. Kazuna goes to stand up but falls over instead.