YUKAN AND ITE LEFT THE RESTAURANT they stopped at before they began heading home, keeping up the conversation they were having prior where Ite was listing out her schedule, planned out to the very minute. Afterward, they began once more toward Yukan’s house. Once their vehicle approached the more populated area of Shirotaun, the two of them saw a flame in the distance.

“Hey, Yukan?” Ite began.

“Yeah?” Yukan replied.

“I know you wanted to head back to your place for the night,” she continued, “but maybe we can stop by this bonfire before then.”

“I don’t see why not-” Yukan started before suddenly stopping.

“Is something the matter?” Ite asked.

“That’s not a bonfire, Ite,” Yukan answered bluntly.

“What do you mean-”

“We have to help them!”

Yukan did not give Ite time to respond, pressing harder on the gas pedal as Ite began to dial up emergency services. It was only once they reached the location of the house and began reading out the address did Yukan realize why the building was so familiar.

“Shit!” Yukan yelled out as he exited the car, barely parking it before throwing the door open. “Mom! Dad!”

He began to rush toward his house. Ite rushed to try to stop Yukan, but her boyfriend was fixed in his task in saving his family. Before he could get in, however, a flaming beam obstructed his path. Inside of the house, he saw his mother, father, and brother at the opposite end of Shirei’s sword.

“Listen here, bitch boy!” Lars exclaimed, trying to get this adversary to stand down. “I’m gonna beat you up so hard that bullets will feel like tickles in comparison, you eggplant!”

“Shut up and be quiet, you pathetic fool!” Shirei demanded of his hostage, unphased by Lars’ threats.

“You’re the fool!” the eldest son of Oto Kenshi continued. “Your boss doesn’t even have the balls to come and face me himself!”

As he said this, Kunshu burst through the flaming roof of the house, just behind Shirei, a pair of black wings folding back into him as he landed onto the floor. Lars, once so confident in his quips and sly retorts, had found himself speechless, seeing his fate slip from his grasp.

“Well, well, well,” the tyrannical emperor said, “it seems we have a feisty little doggy.”

“This puppy is all yours, my liege,” Shirei responded. “I believe he needs a muzzle.”

Lars’ mouth moved, as if he was trying to make a snarky reply, only for his voice to fail him. With nobody able to voice a protest against him, the emperor’s blade made its wielder’s desires realized.

The heads of Lars, Oto, and Hana raised for a moment before collapsing onto the floor, just as the rest of their bodies would soon after. Their blood began to flow violently from the plateau upon which their skulls once rested.

Yukan saw this all from his position just outside of that room. All of the tender memories he had with his family, those moments that shaped him into the boy he had become, now mocked him. Ite had seen this all go down and was frozen in her place. How was one supposed to prepare for this? She tried in vain to calm Yukan down as his rage exploded outward.

“You bastard!” he yelled out. “You’ll regret this. I’ll make sure you rue this day! Mark my words, I will bring about your end, even if it kills me!”

“Yukan!” Ite protested as she grabbed his shoulder, trying to get him out of this situation. As Kunshu turned his gaze toward the last surviving Kenshi, Yukan’s anger gave way to fear.

“Well, there will always be more cockroaches to deal with,” Kunshu groaned, clearly annoyed to learn that his task was not yet completed. “I’m sure I could trust you to finish this pest off, Shirei. Do with him as you please.”

“As you wish, my lord.”

Finally realizing the true extent of this error, Yukan and Ite broke from their stupor and began to flee. Kunshu’s wings reemerged and Shirei destroyed the wooden beam that blocked his path to his victim. After a brief chase, he caught Yukan in a tackle and began his onslaught.

“You’re useless!” he yelled at Yukan as the young man struggled to land a blow on him. “A pathetic excuse of a man!”

Yukan had not known how to defend himself and felt that this mistake would be his last. Every single blow Shirei dealt out seemed to be strong enough to shatter a bone in his body. One strong blow to the sternum later, and Yukan collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Ite, regaining her confidence, began to rush toward Shirei and hit him with the strongest right hook she could manage. Although she had put all of the strength she could muster into her right arm as it connected with the commander’s jaw, it did little but throw off his balance.

“Get the hell away from him if you know what’s good for you!” she yelled toward the beast before her. Shirei diverted his attention to her, but she stood her ground. This sight, his opponent showing confidence against him, had been one he’d nearly forgotten.

“If you weren’t a girl,” he huffed, “I would kill you where you stand.” Even still, Ite remained vigilant. He turned to Yukan’s bruised body.

“And you,” Shirei continued. “You’re a lucky bastard that she’s here.” Getting these remarks out, Shirei, Aotoshi’s lead commander, walked off to return to his post. Once he had turned his back, Ite turned over to Yukan, seeing the tears still fresh on his face. She held him close in her arms.

“Come on, Yukan,” she began to cry as she feared the worst had happened. “Hang in there. Please! Don’t leave me here…” Yukan’s breath was jagged, but still present. She continued to weep for, although he was not dead, his fate was still uncertain.