Return of the Fallen Volume 4 Chapter 23
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch23
Asuna and Danny were completely flabbergasted. They had nothing…no words. Neither one of them had experienced such an ordeal and yet Kazuki went through it twice. The pain one must feel to lose a family member due top another murdering them was something almost unimaginable.
Danny was silent for a while but thinking about it he couldn’t agree with Kazuki’s actions.
“I understand he was hurt, betrayed and alone but that doesn’t change the fact that he put us all in danger multiple times. In the end, he used us. He never thought of us as friends and never once considered how we felt. Had I known who he truly was, I would have never stepped out of Tresta and followed him.”
Shin looked at Asuna but she said nothing.
“Did he force you to follow him? Had you known who he truly was you never would have followed him then why in fact did you follow him. At that time none of us were close, except Asuna and Sam and Ryu…Kazuki. We barely knew each other, no, we were strangers through and through. Besides age and name, what else did any of us know about the other? You didn’t know him and he didn’t know you. He also told all of us he would take Nunully and leave on his own. He told us it was dangerous and yet we all followed. So if you weren’t close why then did you follow him.”
“That is…I.”
Shin put his hand in front of him and interrupted Danny’s stammering.
“You did it because of Nunully’s circumstances. Her being persecuted and facing death we all knew this wasn’t right. At that moment we knew exactly who Garn was. He would kill Nunully simply because she was different. At that moment you didn’t follow Kazuki but your heart instead. You wanted Nunully to be safe and you knew that helping Kazuki would be helping Nunully. Did he use us, yes but he didn’t even have to manipulate us, we volunteered ourselves willingly to help Nunully. I don’t hate Kazuki, I don’t like what he did or how he went about it but I can’t hate him for trying to get back at the pieces of shit who ruined his life. I can’t be upset that I left Tresta and Garn because I thought…No, I know I was doing what was right.”
Once again Asuna and Danny were stunned by Shin’s words.
“By the way, I didn’t think I needed to be the one to say it but fuck it. You say he used us but out of everyone, I believe he used Kimi, Sam, and me the most. Asuna was helpful a bit but you Danny, you were more than useless, you were downright baggage. The fact of the matter is, in all of the situations when he could have left the most useless member behind, when he could have abandoned you, he saved you instead. He saved you both on multiple occasions. Only during the recent fight with Zetsu did we actually get a chance to return the favor and Danny you weren’t even there. Safe and sound with the kids, how was babysitting by the way?”
Danny grabbed Shin by the collar and scruffed it up a bit.
“You!”
Shin grabbed Danny’s wrist and gave it a slight pull. Twisting his own body he flexed his hip and threw Danny to the snow.
*Thud*
“I what? Did I say anything incorrect?”
Danny lifted his head from the snow and glared at Shin but he didn’t stand up. He felt an overwhelming shame and was stung repeatedly from Shin’s vicious tongue.
*Whack*
Shin was hit in the back of the head with a snowball. Turning around, Asuna didn’t even try to hide her wet hand and snorted at him.
“Ok, that’s enough Shin. We get it. Kazuki is a saint and his lies and betrayal should all be forgiven as we bow at his feet. I can admit he’s had it rough and that sort of pain I don’t think I’ll ever understand it fully but that doesn’t change much now does it? He…he.”
Asuna couldn’t finish her words and her eyes became slightly red. She turned away and the slight sound of sniffles broke the silence.
Shin was naturally pissed at first but when he heard her hushed sobs he actually decided to let it go.
“I don’t hate him but that doesn’t mean I’m not angry. That doesn’t me I don’t feel betrayed and I won’t let this shit go so easily. That’s why I’m going to find him, kick his ass, and demand an apology. After that…after that, well, Nunully still needs to be escorted to a safe place right? No matter how I feel about Kazuki, I promised to help get her to the Rin mountain range.”
Shin rubbed his nose slightly and chuckled.
“Who knows, maybe we can all start over. Maybe we don’t have to be consumed by this. After all, we’re still alive and…”
“Noooo!”
A guttural scream exploded out nearby. Kimi struggled to lift herself up. An excruciating pain dug out from her shoulder where her arm had been torn away and she gripped it tightly with her other hand as hard as she could. Between the pain and the rage, she could barely speak through gritted teeth.
“After what he did you still want to follow after him. My arm, he… it’s his fault. All of this is his fault. We should have never left Tresta. We should have never believed a single word from his lips. Kazuki…Kazuki, I’ll kill him. He should lose an arm, he should suffer even more.”
Kimi gripped her wound so tight that it began to bleed again. Asuna ran over in a panic and tore her hand away from the wound. Asuna laid Kimi down and wiped the sweat from her face. Kimi started to pass out from the pain but even while she was fading out of consciousness she continued to curse Kazuki.
“Bastard, that bastard should die. Fall in a dark hole, consumed by snakes and devils like a worm.”
Sam woke up at this time and slowly crawled over to Kim’s side. He grabbed her hand and got her attention before he whispered a single word into her ear.
“Rest.”
Kimi’s face softened hearing Sam’s voice and her eyelids fluttered shut, she was out. A strained expression on her face from the pain, Sam held her in his arms, a tear rolled down his cheek.
Asuna wiped the sweat off of Kimi’s brow and Danny as well came over to support them.
Shin didn’t know what else to say at this point. He never thought he would be the one to sound reasonable in all of this. Even though he said everything so matter of factly, he was still feeling mixed himself. He knew though from experience the last thing he should do is hold everything deep down and suppress himself.
He didn’t know about the others but he knew it was better for him to confront the person and get everything out in the open. It was fine to sit and contemplate things but it was also good for him to let everything out in the open. Unleash everything at its rawest form to get to the root of it all and then work from there.
He couldn’t say what the others would do but that was what he was going to do. Otherwise, things just wouldn’t sit right with him.
*Whoosh*
A large gust of wind swept over everyone before a low thud was heard a few feet away.
“Hmm, that girl has an interesting way of cursing at people.”
All at once, Sam, Danny, Asuna, and Shin snapped there heads over towards this new voice. As soon as they saw who it was that had just spoken they were all filled with indescribable horror.
Reya had been feeling quite desperate a moment ago but as soon as she found Asuna and the others she felt a wide grin spread across her face and she felt things began to look up for her once again.
“Why is everyone so quiet all of a sudden? Just before I got her, that girl was cursing Kazuki so loud, right?”
No one said anything but Shin did try to get closer to Asuna and the others. Although he was only about 15 feet away from the group, he felt isolated like he was on an island all alone. Reya didn’t know what he was trying to do but she didn’t want anyone making any sudden moves.
She took a single step forward and her body blurred from her speed. Before anyone had even blinked, she appeared directly in front of Shin like a ghost.
“Where are you going, care to take me with you?”
Shin’s nerves were tense as it is but when Reya popped up in front of him on reflexes alone his moved without his control. His fist came flying forward. Reya found no point in moving and stood as still and unmoving as a tree as Shin’s punch slammed into her face.
*Thud*
A dull thud rang out as Shin’s blow landed squarely on Reya’s nose. Two lines of purplish-black blood flowed out. Shin pulled his hand back in a panic and looked between his fist and Reya’s nose in blank confusion. It was as though he couldn’t believe what he had just done.
Reya’s red eyes seemed to glow in excitement as though she had just found a new toy to play with. Her nose was barely damaged from Shin’s full force but in less than a second, the little bit of damage that was done was already healed. The two lines of blood that ran down from her nostrils, before the blood even touched her upper lip, as though it had a mind of its own, it flowed in reverse and reentered Reya’s nose.
Reya grabbed Shin by the shoulder and held him in place. Shin instinctively tried to pull away but found her strength impossible to escape from. Reya held her own fist up in front of Shin.
“That wasn’t a punch was it?”
Reya chuckled before her hand moved like lightning.
*Whack*
Shin’s body left the ground. His nose caved in and blood spurted out everywhere. His eyes rolled up into his head and he was sent flying away like an arrow.
*Bam*
His back slammed heavily into a tree a few dozen feet away. The impact to his back awoke him like a bolt of lightning but the pain was too great and his mind again slipped into darkness. His body slumped down from the tree like a broken puppet and he didn’t move.
Reya turned to Asuna and the others, her grin even wider.
“Now that is how you throw a punch.”
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