I've never classified myself as religious, continuing across preordained paths feels almost undermining towards my own innate abilities. However, the essence of spirituality, the divine construct within all things animate or inanimate remains unquestionable. The staunchest of atheists and agnostics abstain from comprehensively denying the absolute existence of divinity, (regardless of magnitude), within mother nature's all-encompassing beauty.

Thus, parts of Shintoism inevitably resonated within me; tugging towards my heart strings like the calming movements of waves nearing the shores, though with the aura of familiarity synonymous with meeting a beloved childhood friend. Years spent in silent meditation within Kyoto's numerous temples would have me incorrectly labelled, "a devout worshipper," yet an underlying selfishness tainted my actions. Accepting divinity within my surroundings only served to heighten belief in my own boundless divinity, thereby fuelling my unquenchable thirst for power.

I recall a particularly strange dream, occurring during a lengthy night indulging in nirvanic meditation. The lines separating reality and spiritual divination becoming infinitely blurred beyond recognition: Stood perfectly still, all alone on the soft soil beside an unknown temple, bathed in the familiar warming glow of candlelight; all of a sudden, the flames of the candles unattached from their wicks, moving carefully into position as if following in-line behind an invisible guide until the tiny torches fully encircled my body. Merely acting as a silent bystander whilst the previously tiny flames instantly roared into life, reaching unfathomable heights before enveloping me completely. However, fear and pain remained eternally absent, replaced by a tender warmth, reminiscent of a mother's comforting embrace.

Upon waking my heart-rate remained untarnished but most importantly, the delicate warmth remained. An immensely powerful force had awakened within me, a timeless bond far surpassing the simplistic ideologies of life and death. This was my calling, my birth-right and nothing less than I deserved. Beware world, the birth of the Flame Princess is nigh.

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Sienna hastily trundled inside, sheepishly closing the door before taking a seat directly across myself onto one of the wooden planks situated within the small box steam-room. Recent events notwithstanding, I had been optimistically praying for a few moments alone following a no-holds barred sparring session with that muscle-freak Riley.

As my eyes wearily draw to a close; the mental image of a nameless golden-haired bitch appears, typically spouting off about the necessity of both physical and mental recovery, inevitably inducing a small trickle of vomit down the back of my throat.

"Sashiburi Rea…." (Long time no see).

"I see those long hours spent indulging in trashy Japanese manga haven't gone to waste after all Sienna. Anatawa nante yasashiino." (How kind of you).

The thick steam encircling the room began to dissipate as the generator came towards the end of its 30-minute cycle; preventing Sienna's exasperated actions involving crossing her legs and puffing her cherry-red cheeks, from remaining hidden. My intention hadn't been to react in such sharp-tongued fashion towards my fellow SoL veteran, recently however, my temperament had become increasingly volatile.

A heavy silence suddenly blanketed the room; two ignorant souls bound by fate's twisted thread, purposely ignoring one another's existence. It was as if within this cramped room quietly filling with steam, we resided in completely alternate dimensions. The three flashes of red light and simultaneous short bursts of sound signalling the end of the generators cycle, may or may not have occurred…. I remained inattentively oblivious. A heavy sigh escaping my moist lips as I raised purposefully to my feet, restarting the generator situated directly above my head, before taking a seat slightly closer to Sienna. The reduction in physical distance, a metaphorical olive branch outstretched towards my fellow SoL compatriot.

Sienna was well known for her jovial attitude and welcoming demeanour; the hint of a smile finally returning, as a single word quietly escaped from her plush lips:

"Thanks."

Silently nodding my head in appreciation, whilst smoothing my luscious long black hair behind my ears; I focused my gaze downwards, staring directly through my loosely wrapped towel whilst throwing a few sneaky comparative glances towards the Portuguese beauty sheepishly rubbing the back of her hands. Though unable to compare to my firm 32DD boobs and peachy rear-end, Sienna's impressively slim physique, silky shoulder length brown hair and delicate features had been known to raise the Testosterone levels within the room on more than one occasion. Her fastidious training and intense workouts were a testament to her work-ethic, in similar fashion to my own.

"Training with Komugi again were you??" The multiple visible bruises across Sienna's exposed arms and legs were the quintessential signs of a training session with the Japanese master. My countryman remained the one physical specimen I held in the highest regard within the WFA. His unashamed discipline and daunting physical abilities stretched far beyond the scope of any normal human I had ever laid eyes upon. However, I remained unable to shake the feeling that Komugi's outright refusal to utilise (or even trust) Artemesia, felt ominously reprehensible.

"Well…. I have to keep pace with you guys somehow."

The pangs of irritation began churning within the pit of my stomach; Sienna was anything but weak, her physical prowess, experience, cool-headed nature and an unerring resonation towards elemental water made her overwhelmingly formidable. Subsequently Sienna's incessant need to downplay her own talents bordered on pathetic. There remained however more pressing matters to tend towards at this particular moment in time.

"Sienna what do you know about the new recruit?"

"You mean Shu? The guy Felicity decided to spare for some unknown reason?"

"Yeah…. What does he look like?"

"I've only seen him once: Average build, substantially tall, curly black hair, most likely East-Asian origin, piercing dark-brown eyes and he's also quite handsome." As expected of the SoL veteran; once Sienna's sparkling emerald green eyes cast their spotlight in your direction, your image was burned within her impressive memory for all eternity.

"Damn-it Shu I told you not to come." Immediately admonishing myself internally as the words I held dear, involuntarily slipped out under my breath. Gulping as I gazed apprehensively in Sienna's direction:

"I didn't catch that; did you say something Rea???"

"Nandemonai. (Never mind) Thanks for the info Sienna….. Remaining here any longer will definitely land me a one-way ticket to la-la land, I'll see you around." Promptly raising to my feet once again; I respectfully bowed towards Sienna before turning to leave.

"Maybe… We can spar together soon Rea?" Sienna's voice was a far cry from when she first entered into the steam-room, annoyance and irritability having been replaced with curiosity.

"Sure…. But I hope you know…. I never take it easy regardless of who my opponent may be Sienna."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

The gleeful undertones in Sienna's voice and playful twinkle within her glowing green eyes reaffirmed my initial observations, our relationship was on the road to recovery. Subsequently, considering the SoL's stringent policies involving two member teams for missions, partners lacking synergy would inevitably culminate in a significantly shortened lifespan.

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Closing the door carefully behind as I exited the room; my gaze fell towards my left hand, currently clenching and unclenching into a fist whilst visibly trembling. Doushite??? (Why??) Was it an overwhelming sense of responsibility? Anger? Sadness? Guilt? Betrayal? Perhaps deciding on one emotion was far too simplistic, after all humans are diversely emotional creatures, able to process multiple emotions almost simultaneously. The sudden burst of adrenaline currently surging unabated through my veins was initiated by a multitude of emotions threatening to boil over. I suppose everyone's method of dealing with loss differs; mere days after lifting Ami's mangled body off the floor and helping bury it 6 feet und...…

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I've seen this image countless times. Luminescent streaks of fire flickering majestically off its ginormous supernatural body; oscillating up and down in masterful fashion, whilst emanating a frankly justifiable arrogance. Opening its mouth to its fullest extent, exposing its vice-like teeth whilst a tremendous heat begins rising from the depths of its throat. Unable to construct a worthy nickname for this God-like being, my feeble mind merely refers to this mentally-conjured beast in the simplest forms of perception: Ryu.