“A piano?” asks Apollo.
“He can swap with objects, too?” asks Kian.
“I didn’t know he could… But this piano, it can’t be…” Kaito panics, “Apollo, you go get help for Kareem, Zachary, and Kye. Kian, you come with me.”
“Alright, leave it to me.” says Apollo.
“Okay, but where are we going…”
“No time to explain. We have to go. Now!”
Kaito and Kian sprint off, and Apollo informs some nearby Warriors of the situation.
“Can you please tell me where we are running to?”
“To Kenshin’s house, I’m pretty sure that was his Piano…”
“What, are you kidding me? You're saying he teleported right into his house.”
“I don’t know for sure, but Kenshin could be in trouble. We have to get there quickly.”
Meanwhile…
“I’ll be in my room if you need me.” Kenshin informs his mom.
“Done spend so long on the piano, dear. Dinner will be ready soon, though.”
“I won’t be long.”
Kenshin walks upstairs and heads to his room for his daily piano practice. He opens the door and sees Dani standing where his piano should be.
“D.. Dani?”
“Hey, Kenshin.”
“So you’re alive after all. What are you doing here, and where have you been?”
“Straight to the questions, huh?” Dani walks forward, “I can’t pay an old friend a visit?”
Kenshin raises his hands and sticks down three fingers, sending out a bust of air that pushes Dani backward.
“Power Keys.. you’re still using this sad excuse of an attack?”
“Don’t come near me. You can answer my questions from a distance.”
Dani raises his hands in defense and sits on Kenshin’s bed. “Okay, fine. Ask away.”
“Why are you here?”
“I already told you. I’m here to see you and Kaito.”
“Why the hell are you so beaten up? You’re bleeding everywhere.”
“I’ve been through a lot since I’ve been gone, you know.”
“That didn’t answer my question. Don’t play stupid.”
“I was in a fight before coming here.”
“With who?”
“Look, that doesn’t matter. Can we speed this up before I bleed out or something.”
“You’ll survive. I’ll heal you after you answer all my questions.”
“Damn, man, you like seeing me like this or something?”
“I’m asking the questions here.” Kenshin says sternly, “So, where have you been all this time?”
“Traveling, training, killing. Next question.”
“Admitting to murder isn’t so smart.”
Dani laughs. “Who said it was murder? They’ve all been self-defense so far.”
“So far?”
“Until he gets here, that is.”
“Who? Stop beating around the bush and be more clear.”
“No need. It sounds like he’s here.”
Kaito and Kian burst through the front door, scaring Kenshin’s mom half to death.
“Dear Lady Una, boys! This is no way to enter someone's home!”
“Sorry, Mrs. Sharp.” Kaito apologizes. “Where’s Kenshin?”
“He’s upstairs. Is something the matter?”
Kaito sprints upstairs, ignoring Kenshin’s mother. “Kian, keep her downstairs.”
“What.. but shouldn’t I come with you?”
“You’ll just get in the way right now. Please, let me handle it.”
Dani stands up and walks to the farthest wall from Kenshin.
“What are you doing? Sit back down.”
“Can’t sit right now. It’s time for the main event.”
Kaito enters the room shouting. “Kenshin, are you-”
“Switch..” Dani switches places with Kaito and pulls a knife from his back pocket. “It was nice seeing you two again. Farewell.”
“Kenshin!”
Kaito tried to warn his best friend, but it was too late. Dani had stabbed Kenshin a total of 8 times in the back and chest before turning and running out of the room.
“Kian, stop him! He’s running your way!”
Kian stops blocking Kenshin’s mom, allowing her to run upstairs. Then he jumps in Dani's way and tries to grab him.
“Pitiful.” Dani scoffs, reversing Kian’s grab attempt and flipping him to the ground. “I’d kill you too if I didn’t need to heal so badly.”
Dani escapes successfully, and Kian stands up and limps upstairs. As he enters the room, he sees Kaito and Kenshin’s mom hunched over Kenshin in a pool of blood.
“Mom, relax…” Kenshin whispers and coughs up blood.
Kenshin’s mom continues to scream and cry. Not even able to muster an audible word.
“Kenshin, get up... I’ll get you to a hospital…”
“Don’t be stupid… Kaito… I’m going to die.”
“Don’t say that, man... Shut up… You don’t be stupid.” Streams of tears flow from Kaito’s eyes. “Get up, man.”
Kenshin’s mom gets even louder.
“Hey… Kian…”
Kian wipes tears from his face. “Yeah?”
“Can you… take my mom… back downstairs...”
“Sure… I can do that..”
“Thanks… I love you, Mom… no matter how hard you and dad were… don’t forget that… okay?”
“C’mon, ma’am. Let’s go…”
Kian has to drag Kenshin’s mom out of the room. Although she didn’t respond, her screams got louder, and Kenshin took them as “I love you too.”
“Stop talking as if you're going to die. Get the hell up, Kenshin..” Kaito orders.
“Listen…Kaito.”
“Stop talking, and let’s go…”
“I’m sorry… that I won’t be there… to see you become… the strongest.”
“Shut up… you will be there. As my second in command.”
“I’ll be watching… you don’t forget that.” Kenshin grabs Kaito’s shirt with his bloody hand. “But do one thing… for me…”
Kaito grabs Kenshin’s hand. “What?..”
“Kill Dani… he needs to be stopped.”
Hearing that sentence, Kaito’s attitude changed from sad to motivated. Until now, Kenshin has always been against killing villains, so to hear Kenshin ask him to kill someone for him struck a nerve deep within Kaito’s heart.
“Consider it done.”
“Thanks Kaito…” Kenshin smiles for a final time and then passes away due to blood loss.
The next morning, Kian, Kye, Zachary, Kareem, Apollo, and Kaito are all escorted to the police department for questioning in separate rooms. The cops recognize Zachary from other incidents and interrogate him first.
“So Zachary, what went down yesterday?”
Zachary looks visibly angry, but not in his usual hotheaded way. “Look, I told you all I know is the guy's name. We fought him, and we lost. That's the end of the story.”
“And who initiated this fight?”
Zachary glares at the two cops standing before him and recognizes one of them who talked to him after his fight with Kareem. “You think it was me, huh? Sorry to disappoint you, but it was him. That’s all I know. I’m done answering questions.”
The cop laughs. “Still a problem child, I see. I guess a couple of weeks wasn’t going to change that.”
“Can you tell us what happened, Kye?”
“So this Dani guy showed up and was talking like a lunatic. So I uh… rushed him and got knocked out… instantly… He just got a lucky shot off, though. I swear!”
“Tell us what happened from your point of view, Kareem.”
“Well, the six of us went out for training when Dani suddenly showed up. Then a fight broke out, and he took us all on, one versus six. During the battle, Kye got knocked out, and so did I. After that, I have no idea.”
“What happened after that, Apollo?”
“Well, after Zachary accidentally hit Kareem, he passed out due to exhaustion. Then Kaito finally decided to step in, so he took on Dani by himself, but when he started losing, Kian and I jumped back in, and we ended up badly injuring Dani.
“And after that?”
“Before we could finish him off, Dani teleported away. Kaito seemed to know where he went, so both he and Kian chased after him while I got help for Kye, Zachary, and Kareem. That’s all of my info.”
“And where did you and Kaito run off to?”
“We rushed to Kenshin's house. When we got there, Kian ran upstairs, and I had to keep Kenshin's mom from going upstairs. After a short time, Dani jumped down the stairs, and I tried to intercept him but failed…”
Kaito puts his head down and starts to cry.
“I couldn’t do anything. My friend was dying in my arms, and his mom was crying her eyes out. Kenshin said his final words to me and then passed away. And that’s the whole story.”
“Thank you for your time today, Kaito. All six of your stories check out. Once again, I’m deeply sorry for your loss. We in the police force will do everything we can to find Dani and take him into custody.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Kaito says sternly, “I’ll handle him myself.”
A few days later, the academy holds a funeral for Kenshin. Current students, former students, parents, and even outsiders all attend. During the entire ceremony, Kaito doesn’t leave the casket’s side once and buries it by himself, refusing the help of others.
Meanwhile…
“You did well, Dani. It seems my choice of vessel wasn’t incorrect after all.”
“I didn’t even kill Kaito, so I failed. I’m sorry, Lord Fritz.”
“Failed? No, you did quite alright. After some more training, you’ll be able to take down Kaito for good and that accident of a vessel, Kian Carter…”
“Why’d you even make him a vessel anyway? The kid is weak.”
“I had a little fight with another God, and we both accidentally made vessels during the battle. Although I don’t know if theirs was successful as they have not made an appearance yet, and she has been long dead since that fight. I believe this bastard is hiding within her vessel while she recovers, and I’m pretty sure I know who that vessel is…”
“Whoever it is, I’ll take them out. Leave it to me, Lord Fritz.”
“Good. Unfortunately, I must now hold up the end of my deal unless I wish to accept divine punishment.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you another time. Farewell.”
The Almighty Fritz leaves Dani’s mind and appears in Kian’s.
“Listen up, boy.”
“What the hell do you want?” Kian scoffs.
“Your mother, I must tell you where she is. That is if you still wish to know.”
“Of course, I want to know. Now spill it out.”
“Do not speak to me like some normal human!” Fritz yells so loud Kian’s eardrums almost burst. “I am the Almighty Fritz, Devil of the Gods, and you will refer to me as such!”
Kian stays silent.
“Now, regarding your mother, she’s being held in a bandit camp that has recently been moved closer to Ticu. I’ve heard murmurings that it might be attacking Ironwood soon. That is all I’m obligated to tell you. Farewell.”
Fritz fades away.
“Ironwood? That’s where Logan and Mr. Dean took us after Oakney was destroyed…”
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