Kazuna's Secret
1624 Words
Mrs. Itsuki was in her laboratory. She was researching powers, how they worked, and where exactly they came from. However, her research was interrupted when she heard a loud crash in the room next to her where her husband was working. She rushed to see what had happened and was shocked by what she saw. On the floor lay her husband, headless and dead.
“Wha-what's going on?” She asks, confused and in despair.
She scans the room looking for who or what was responsible and stops her eyes on a child. His eyes were like daggers and his sword was coated in blood. As hard as she found it to believe, this young boy was the one responsible for her husband's death. The young boy being Kazuna.
“I am not one for killing women, however, I cannot allow you to live. So I will allow you one request along with your final words.” Kazuna states. Mrs. Itsuki just continues to stare at Kazuna, unable to say a thing.
“Either say something or die silent.” Kazuna says while making his way towards Mrs. Itsuki who falls to her knees. Kazuna raises his sword.
“I’ll ask one last time any last words or a final request?” He asks. Mrs. Itsuki raises her head and looks him in his eyes.
“Why do you look so sad?” She asks him. Kazuna, surprised by her question, lowers his sword a bit.
“What do you mean?” He asks.
“Your eyes are so cold and lonely looking. As if you trust no one and you're all alone in this world.” She answers. Kazuna tightens his grip on his sword.
“Tch, what do you know about me?” He asks raising his sword once more.
“Nothing. But even I can tell you have lived a life in the shadows and have grown to not trust anyone and have already suffered great loss in your young life.” She states.
“It’s ok, at some point you’ll meet people you can trust and make some friends. Life may be hard and unfair at times, but it’s also long and forgiving. Even if you get lost, fate will always keep the right path clear for you whenever you wish to return to it.” She says. Kazuna lowers his sword and closes his eyes.
“I thank you for the advice and will take it to heart.” He says, reopening his eyes.
“Now, do you have a final request?” He asks.
“Yes, I wish for you to look after my daughter. She’s pretty tight-laced, but she’s sweet and always tries to do what’s right. She’s probably around the same age as you actually.” She replies. Kazuna’s eyes widen in shock.
“Y-You’re daughter. What’s her name?” He asks.
“Kagura.” She answers. Kazuna’s whole body begins to shake.
“No, no it can’t be.” He says out loud.
“What’s wrong?” Mrs. Itsuki asks confused.
“You’re daughter’s name. It’s not the name I was given. I was also told that your daughter had died years ago due to your research.” Kazuna answers.
"Do you have a picture of her?" He asks.
"Yes." Mrs. Itsuki replies while frantically searching her pockets.
“Why would they give you false information?” Mrs. Itsuki asks while handing him the picture.
Kazuna comes to a dark realization once he sees the picture. Without a moment's hesitation, he grabs Mrs. Itsuki, blasts a hole in the wall, and makes a break for it.
“H-Hey, what are you doing?” Mrs. Itsuki asks. She hears an explosion and turns to her lab to see that it was on fire.
“Huh?” She squeaks. “Why? How did you know?” She asks dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
“This… This is what my grandfather warned me about.” Kazuna answers. Kazuna ran for several minutes before finally coming to a stop. He sets Mrs. Itsuki down before dropping to his knees.
“Are you alright?” She asks. Kazuna turns towards Mrs. Itsuki and throws his head to the ground.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He cried and continued to cry for several more minutes. He wipes the tears from his eyes and looks at her with a serious expression.
"Your daughter is in danger." He says.
"What do you mean my daughter's in danger?" Mrs. Itsuki asks.
"They want to tie up any loose ends, so they're going to go after your daughter to make sure I don't find out that she was actually still alive although, they're a bit late for that. Hurry up and take me to your car. We're going to have to hurry if you want to save her." Kazuna says.
Mrs. Itsuki nods although she's still very discombobulated. They get into her car and speed towards her house. They arrive and see her house up in flames.
"Kagura!" Mrs. Itsuki shouts. She tries to run into the house but Kazuna stops her.
"Don't you'll get yourself killed. I'll go in and rescue her, you stay here until I get back understood?" Kazuna orders. Mrs. Itsuki hesitates for a second before she nods in agreement.
Kazuna rushes into the burning house and searches frantically for Kagura. The whole house was creaking. He rushes upstairs and enters a room. There he sees a younger Kagura trapped under some rubble that fell from the roof. She was unconscious and burned a little. He cuts the rubble to shreds and picks her up. She opens her eyes a little.
"Who... are you?" She asks before she losses consciousness again. Kazuna carries her outside to where Mrs. Itsuki was waiting.
"Kagura!" Mrs. Ituski shouts in relief as she rushes to her daughter.
Kazuna sets her down and Mrs. Itsuki holds her tight. As she was holding her she begins to cry. It was as if she had just realized what had happened. Kazuna just stands there clutching his fists to the point where they were bleeding. He had fallen into the same trap his grandfather had warned him about. He gets on his knees and places his swords in front of him.
"What are you doing?" She asks once she notices what he was doing.
"I have done something even more terrible than what I normally do and I have put your family in danger. Your daughter was almost murdered and I killed your husband. I am offering you my head." He answers.
He sat there for a few seconds before he gets slapped by Mrs. Itsuki. He puts a hand to his face with a look of pure shock on his face.
"Why would I want the head of a child?" She says in disgust.
"But, I killed your husband and your daughter was almost killed because of me." He notes in confusion.
"But you also saved my daughter. That's a debt that I can never repay. Besides, death isn't a way to atone. You atone through your actions." She answers.
"How do I do that?" He asks.
"You live and save just as many people as you killed and then some, and don't forget my final request, you have to watch over my daughter. Without her father here, she'll need someone to protect her." She replies.
"I thank you for showing someone like me mercy." He says while bowing his head.
"So what are you going to do now?" She asks.
"I think I'll have a talk with the person that gave me this mission and then... I don't know. I've never had a goal that didn't including killing." He says.
"Why don't you travel the world. That way you can see new people and get a better feel for how the world works for everyone else. Maybe that will help you decide on what you want to do in the future." Mrs. Itsuki suggests.
"Once again, I thank you for your advice." Kazuna says as he stands and grabs his swords.
"Don't worry about the cost of a new home. My clan will give pay for any house you wish to move in, or if you prefer, we can build a new house on top of your old one." He says.
"Thank you." She says.
Kazuna nods and he disappears from in front of her. As he vanishes, Kagura starts to wake up.
"Mom? What happened?" She asks in a daze.
"I have some bad news for you." She says as paramedics, special agents, and firefighters show up.
“And that is how I met Kazuna.” Mrs. Itsuki finishes.
Everyone in the room had stunned expressions on their faces, none more so than Kagura whose eyes were wide open.
“But why did Kazuna kill your husband?” Shiba asks.
“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like something he would do.” Emiko adds.
“I can answer that question.” A new voice said.
Everyone turns their attention towards the back door where a woman was walking towards them.
“Oh, Ms. Katsuchi, I was wondering when you would show up.” Mrs. Itsuki says, answering one question while also giving birth to so many more.
“You’re Kazuna’s mom?” Chiyo asked in surprise.
“Yes I am, and I have the answer to your questions.” She answers.
- Writer
