Chapter twenty six

A tall man with a muscular build hid behind a tall tree surrounded by bushes. He was waiting for his prey to walk into his trap. The prey he'd been stalking for years, but could never track down. He smirked evilly as a young woman walked into the large field before him, "There you are...Kana..."

~

Nishi's hand subconsciously moved to the necklace Judar gave her. She began playing with the gold dove until she realized what she was doing. "Ugh. I need to get out of here..." She forced herself to stop playing with the necklace.

She looked down at her hands, surprised to see they were shaking slightly. "I'm going to go insane..." Nishi was never liked staying in one place for too long, the only exception when she lived with Yunan and she was too scared of the dark to want to go out a lot. Maybe it was because she had to move around a lot as Kana. Worried that if she stayed in one place for too long that someone would catch her.

Almost two months not leaving Sindria was hell for Nishi, and she was already at her breaking point. She stood up, slamming her hands on the desk she sat at, "You know what? Fuck it. I'm going out. I don't even care if Sinbad notices, I can't be trapped under this dome forever."

~

The female magi hummed to herself as she walked around a small town. There were people everywhere, but none were very happy. "What a gloomy town... There's gotta be something pretty around here..."

"Miss, Miss! Will you please buy a flower crown?" A small girl ran over and stopped Nishi.

Nishi smiled at the young, brown haired, girl, "Of course." She handed the girl a small handful of gold, much to the kids surprise, and in return got a brightly colored flower crown. "Where did you get these?"

"There's a field not to far from here! The towns sad, but that fields always bright and happy! I can show it to you if you want?" The girl beamed happily.

"Sure. Lead the way."

"It's just a few more feet, come on, come on!" Nishi chased after the young girl as she ran through a small forest.

It opened up into a decently large field scattered with brightly colored flowers. "Oh, wow." Nishi marveled at the sight.

"There you are...Kana..."

The magi froze at the sound of her old name. She searched wildly around her for the girl, but couldn't find her anywhere.

"You've changed a lot, haven't you? Even got yourself a new, young, body." A tall muscular man emerged from the bushes across the field. "That girl did a good job finding you."

Nishi's eyes widened at the large amount of black rukh swirling around this man, "Who are you? How do you know that name?" She placed her hand on her wand, just in case.

"Aw, you don't remember me? I know it's been a while, but you'd think you'd remember the man who killed you." The man smirked evilly.

"S-Shinzo..." Nishi stumbled backwards a few steps.

"Hello, Kana."

"T-That's not my name anymore..."

"Oh, I know. It's Nishi or something stupid like that, right?" Shinzo swung a machete around with no real target as he paced and talked. "The people at the organization told me all about you."

"Organization?"

"You've really cleaned yourself up, haven't you?" He continued talking, ignoring Nishi's confusion and fear. "But you know this 'nice' act is all bullshit. You're a murder."

"I've changed..." Nishi watched him carefully.

"Yeah, you're a magi now, right? Sindria's magi, even. Nice cover."

"H-How are you even here? You should be dead by now..."

"Those Al-Thamen members have some interesting tricks up their sleeves. They even gave me this thing...I believe you call it a...metal vessel?" He looked at the machete thoughtfully.

"You're a metal vessel user now?" Nishi could feel her heartbeat racing.

"Yep. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Why are you here, Shinzo?" Nishi's voice became full of anger and distrust.

"To kill you, of course. That other magi...uhm...Judal? Judar? He sent me." Shinzo stopped wandering and smirked at Nishi.

"J-Judar did?" Nishi stiffened again.

"Mhm. Let's get this over with though, I hate talking. Put up a fight this time around, alright?" Shinzo pointed his machete at her.

Nishi had many questions, but her confusion was exchanged for anger as she drew her wand. This man...He killed Rin...I must kill him.

"Heh, you really haven't changed, even if you say you have. You've got that look in your eye, Kana." Shinzo smirked. He ran at her with his machete, aiming for her vital organs, but surprisingly missing.

"Just as I thought," Nishi growled. "You're no match for my swordsmanship teacher. You're too slow!" She easily dodged and weaved around him, getting a good cut on his shoulder.

"Eh? Where'd you learn that technique?!"

"I'm not just some crazy woman targeting people who can't protect themselves anymore." Nishi ran at him again, but missed as Shinzo dodged.

"Well, you sure are crazy. I don't think I've ever seen this sword style." Shinzo jumped back several feet to stop her attacks. "Not a problem though. I'm just getting started. I'll get my payback for what you did to my family."

"Your family? How could a heartless bastard like you have a family?" Nishi scoffed.

"I had a family! A wife and little boy! He was only seven! And you killed them!" Shinzo yelled at her, anger and sadness filling his voice. "You must remember?! The Kiyoura family?!"

Nishi furrowed her brows and her defencive stance faltered, "Kiyoura...? T-That's your surname?"

~

"Mummy lookit! This girls all bloody!" A young boy pointed and pulled on his mother's clothing.

The mother paused and frowned sadly at the young girl sitting before them, knees hugged her her chest and torn, once-white, clothing covered in blood. "Sweety? Are you okay?" She approached the girl slowly. "What happened to you? Where are your parents?"

"A monster killed my parents." The girl muttered, not making eye contact.

"A monster did?" The older woman paused. It wasn't surprising that people would get murdered around there, so it was believeable. "Do you have any other family?" The girl shook her head, dirty brown locks of hair falling into her face. "What's your name, dear?"

"Kana...Kana Adachi..."

"Adachi...?" The woman instantly recognized the name. Everyone in that area knew about the man of that household and how he treated his wife and child. Looks like someone finally put an end to it... But now this girl's alone... She deserves a future, to forget about the horrors I'm sure she's lived through... "Would you like to stay with me, Kana?"

"Alright..." Kana slowly stood. Her body moved as if she was a ragdoll on stings, limply and awkward. She wobbled a bit once on her feet, the lack of food in her system affecting her blood pressure.

"Come on, I'll take care of you." The woman took the young girls hand in one hand and her son's in her other.

"Is she gonna be my sister?" The boy asked.

"Yes, we just have to ask Daddy when he gets home in a few weeks."

~