Ark 16 Episode 47: Becoming a man



Discordia: Kyoko tossed and turned through the night as her dreams were plagued with glimpses of monsters and darkness. Eventually, she gave up on sleep and rose from the bed, relocating onto the stoop of the shrine where she sat next to her son and watched his eyes dart back and forth beneath his eyelids as he dreamed. Her head fell into her hands, eyes never leaving his slumbering form, as her mind wandered. Something had changed in her son, and as a mother her mind automatically went to the worst places. Sometimes, she wished that she would have been able to shelter her children more from the cruel ways of life in Kasaihana. However, deep down she knew that they would have been restless and miserable with such a life. Still, her children were her most prized possession. Seeing her son in such a state, it troubled her more than she let on. As he slept there, she could not help but see that more of his father had started peeking through his features. Even though he looked more like her, he started emitting this vibe that reminded her of Keyth. It seemed so long ago that she had met him in that video game at the arcade on Sora street. Keyth was just about the same age as Kin was now. A soft smile had settled onto her lips as she remembered that encounter. Then like a bolt of lightning, it hit her. She made her way inside and began pulling bottles of herbs and dried plants from the shelves till she found a small glass jar filled with dried reishi mushrooms. She began to grind them up mixing them with other herbs and a hint of mint for flavor. When she was finished, she started boiling a kettle of water for the potent tea that would help restore chi and speed recovery. When she returned to the porch, she had a steaming mug of tea in her hands as she waited for Kin to awaken.

Thunrian: "So what now? Are you really gonna sleep here this whole time? " Kins lifeless body had been floating in a world of pitch black darkness. " I killed... All those people..." Kin said out loud, his voice carried. Echoing almost. " I did that...Don't take credit for what I did, you don't have the balls to do half of the things that I do. " Said the voice. " And who are you supposed to be..." Kin said in a smooth, tired voice. The voice began to cackle with sinister laughter before something solidified infront of Kin. It had been a Young man. Who looked a lot like his father when he had been around his age. Except it had hellish red eyes. And a long black mane of hair, and to accompany this. The creature had two large dog ears, and one horn in the middle of his head. " I am... The last remains of Onigami Okami.. Your father and grand father killed me. But I will forever live on... In this family. I will forever be a burden. With The remains of my soul... I've used it to curse your family. It was easy... I connected my genes with the genes of my uncle Tsukyomi. It was blessing that foolish mortal Keyth mated with your mother. It was if fate had given me the power to get my revenge. After you... Your family line will forever be cursed with this demonic curse that you have. Always will you be a beast of burden. Doomed to kill... And murder. " "Your wrong... Because I'm going to stop you..." Kin said in his response to the old demonic soul. He began to drift away and as he did. Kin had woke. His eyes blasted open and he woke up in a cold swear, with his mothers blanket around him, as if to piece together what he had been seeing. Looking up at his surroundings he soon turned his head over to see his mother. A smile on his face. "Mom!" He said lunging at her. Wrapping his arms around her waist to hug her tightly. "I had a dream mom... That I turned I to this monster... And I hurt so many people... So many people died. I was just so mad... I was tired of it. Getting picked on. Just everything!"

Discordi It tore at Kyoko’s very soul to hear her son so distressed. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, letting him rest as he was, half in her lap that had been to small to hold him for several years. “Kin, I am not able to say anything that will change what happened. That is something that no matter how many times you hear it was not your fault, you will only truley believe that it was not your fault when you are ready to.” As she talked, her hand ran through his hair, playing with the strands in a maternal fashion. “I know you have always admired your sister for being strong and thought yourself to be weak. But you know, there are different kinds of strength son. Keyomi has a strength that all the world can see. You, however, you were blessed with a much more introverted strength. The life you and your sister were dealt, it was almost unfair. You never really got to be children. You witnessed cruelty and other awful horrors first hand. However, you, you never let all those forces corrupt you. You stayed strong in who you were and pure, while surrounded in darkness.” Kyoko cupped his face in her hands so that she was staring into his golden Tasanagi eyes as she continued to speak. “That strength against corruption and that purity, it is exactly what you need now.” She sighed and hugged him tightly. “This darkness that has found you, it is not something that I am unfamiliar with. While not to this extent, your father once was caught in a similar situation. The oni inside you, he preys on weakness, however, he does not understand things properly. Else, he would have chose your sister over you. He is going to try to corrupt you and blacken your soul. You must never let that happen no matter how much he tugs on you. You have always had a resistance to corruption and as you become a man and surround yourself with people who care about you, and people you care about and want to protect, that purity of soul will only grow stronger and more sturdy.” She met his eyes again a soft smile on her lips. “It is a very difficult road ahead of you. I did not let Okami have your father and I surely won’t let him have you. I am always here for you if you need me and this shrine, it will always bring you peace of mind and reflection. Tsukuyomi has graced this place with his presence and guided me here when I was a small child. It will always be a sanctuary for his descendents. Now lets go inside, I will make you breakfast…. and drink that tea. It will help you.”

Thunrian: " Hold on.. Are you saying.. All of that actcualky happened!? " He says standing to his full height. " No! I couldn't have... Did that... It had to be a dream! No! No! " kin still had his pants on. Shaking his head as he took out his cellphone, clicking an App which projected the news. " Last night, a creature from unknown orgin. Decimated over 45 high schoolers from Kasaihana high, along with 10 civilians. Please, everyone be on the watch out for this creature. It's vicious and extremely dangerous. " ...so it wasn't a dream.." He said dropping to his knees. "So I did kill those people... I killed them all... I'm a monster. " He said digging into the dirt, shaking his head in disbelief. " What's wrong with me!? What's a Okami!? The hells going on with everything! This kind of stuff isn't supposed to be forreal damn it!" Kin said breaking down. He'd stand sliding his fingers through his hair. " Everyone I killed... Bullies. I can remember there faces now... They all bullied me. And everyone I killed them. I ripped them to shreds!"

Discordia: “No Kin, you did not do this.” Her voice had no hints of doubt in her words and was rather firm. “Your body was merely used as a tool, fed by your anger that you have locked inside you.” She reached a hand out to him before pausing, afraid he would reject the touch in his current state of self loathing. “Okami, he is a powerful Oni. A demon, he has possessed several members of your family, including your father and grandfather. Given your recent injuries and your body shifting to adulthood, he was given an opportunity to surface. When I first met your father, shortly after he was possesed by Okami, and I almost lost him in the world of Fumei. He was in such a state that he would have killed his closest friends without any idea. Your grandfather Keyome, Uncle Xiao and I, as well as a few others fought to reclaim your father’s soul for his own. The things done while in that state, they are not your actions. However, do not brush them off. Use that guilt you are feeling to help you remember what will happen if you give in to Okami’s corruption. Let it fuel you and lead you to overcome him. Do what you are able to to make amends with what has happened and pay for it not by being overcome with guilt but instead use it to empower you and protect the weak. Everything that Okami says will be a lie or a negative version of the truth meant to unsettle you and help him gain a deeper foothold on your soul. The minute you give in he WILL take control and the massacre from last night will be nothing more than a prelude to the hell that will reign down on Kasaihana in his wake.” Kyoko looked at her son with sadness and solemness clinging to her eyes. She wanted to desperately  protect him from all the pain that was consuming him, taking it all into herself and giving him peace. However, deep down she knew that this pain he was feeling would help him. It would give him something to fight for and now more than anything her gentle and pure hearted son needed to learn how to fight. True, the battle was not a physical one where he was fighting hand to hand with opponents, but it was a fight none the less, and it would likely be a battle that would consume most of his adult life as he struggled for control of his very body and soul. “I love you more than you will ever know son, and you will always have my strength to lean on. However, now you must find people who love you and that you love and will go to great lengths to protect. They will also lend you strength without even knowing they are helping you through such a battle.”

Thunrian: Kin turned his attention upwards towards his mother. "Ha.. So it..falls back to my original goal... " Kin said sitting up, looking back at his mother with a confused expression on his face. "Mom.." He said clenching his fist. " I saw dad... Last night. He isn't dead. He saved me... He was able to see through whatever I had become. And he saved my life. I think they took him away from me..." Kin said looking up at his mother with a stern look on his face. " I don't want to go back to school. Not till I know I'm ready. And when I get strong enough... I'm gonna go get my dad back. " he said staring at the grass infront of him. Rising up to his feet he'd make his way over to the area him and his sister used to train together when they were kids. " I have to be strong... Like you said. But in order to do that... I have to be able to use my powers given to me for the greater good. Give me sometime.. To stay here. With you. A few weeks... I need to train myself. Train this... Monster inside of me so I don't hurt anyone else. " looking over at Kyoko with a scowl on his face. " please..."

Discordia: A look of pride shone on Kyoko’s face as she watched Kin take the first step to becoming a  man. It may have been slightly biased, but she had a feeling that Kin was going to be one of the greatest Tasanagis the world had and would ever see. Her eyes followed as he walked over to where him and his sister trained as kids. She almost could see them going at it, Keyomi with a fiery passion and Kin trying to keep up with her. “Kin, even though you do not live here, this will always be a home to you. You are always welcome here for as long as you like. You needn’t ever ask such a thing. You are able to come and go as you please.” Figuring that he would need a few moments to gather his thoughts, she turned and headed into the house. A few thoughts were directed at what he had said about seeing Keyth. Could it be that he had returned. Kyoko had seen with her very eyes, Keyome and Kiken return from death… but that was in Fumei where different laws applied. Could it be possible that he was really alive and well after so many years? Kyoko pulled out a pan and got ingredients from the fridge, dumping several eggs into a bowl and scrambling them. She sauted a dollop of butter in a pan and mixed the eggs in. The scent wafted through the air as she cooked. By the time she was done she had made eggs, toast, bacon and sausage and had set it all out on the small table with plates and silverware.