Chapter Ten- Forgotten Past

Chapter Ten

Forgotten Past

“Angel, I need to talk to you.”  He stated while taking a step forward.  Ryo glanced over at Angel and squeezed her hand.  

“It can wait.”  Ryo replied as Kai narrowed his eyes.  

“It can’t.”  Kai said taking another step.  “Angel, it’s important.”

Why won’t I agree to talk to him?  Is it because I don’t want to show my selfish self?  I don’t want Anna to be with Kai.  I don’t want things to change between us all.  I’m afraid to lose them.  

“She doesn’t want to talk to you right now.”  Ryo stated as he blocked Angel.  

“Let her tell me that.”  Kai said looking at Angel.  

“Not tonight…”  Ryo stopped when Angel placed her free hand on his arm.  

“It’s okay.”  She stepped around Ryo while still holding onto his hand.  “I’m sorry, but I don’t…”  

“Angel, please!”  Kai exclaimed suddenly.  “I wouldn’t be standing outside of your house if it wasn’t important!”  He grabbed his hair and groaned.  

“Alright.”  She bit her lip and looked up at Ryo.  “Thank you for walking me home.  I have it from here.”  She released his hand and walked towards Kai.  Ryo frowned and gave a sigh.  

“As you wish, but if you need me I will come.”  He said as he turned and walked away.  

Kai waited until Ryo had walked out of sight and walked to Angel and only stopped when they were inches apart.  Angel slowly looked up at him and continued to bite her lower lip.

“The explosion, did you do it?”  he asked bluntly.  Angel blinked.

“Of course I didn’t!”  she exclaimed.  “Did you come all this way just to accuse me?”  

“No, I didn’t mean it like that.  I…”  he closed his mouth and looked away.  

“Ryo said kerosene must have exploded.”  She said in a much quieter tone.  “That had to be the cause for it.”   

“No, kerosene wouldn’t cause a light like that.”  Kai dropped his arms to his side and sighed. “There so much I wanted to talk to you about.  I don’t even know where to start.”

“I don’t understand what there is to talk about.”  Angel whispered as she closed her eyes.  

Please don’t talk about Anna.

“Look, I saw you watching us at the booths.”  He said.  Angel closed her hands and squeezed hard.  “I don’t know why it happened, but you did something that caused that explosion.  I saw it.”   “What did you see?”  she whispered.  Her throat felt tight as she tried to control her breathing.

“You glowed.”  He stated suddenly.  Angel snapped open her eyes and looked up at him.

“Glowed?”  

“A pink light formed around you then a wave of energy caused the explosion.  I saw it, and I’ve seen the light before.”  He finally looked at her.  “The light came from a girl that fell from a castle in the sky.”  

A castle in the sky?

Suddenly, a piercing pain hit her head.  She reached up and grabbed it.  A glass tube, a bedroom, a small boy who face was darkened by shadow, and a castle that floated above the ocean.   What are these images?  

“I don’t understand.”  Angel whimpered as the images faded with the pain.  

“Look there so much to talk about.”  Kai stated as he reached for her hand.  She instinctively jerked back and looked at him.  “Please, Angel.  Can we go somewhere private?  I can’t talk about this right here.”  

“I don’t know, Kai.”  She took a step back.  “It’s late, and mom will worry.”

“You’re mom is at work.”  Kai pointed out with a firm voice.  Angel looked at him then at the windows of her house.  “I’ve been standing out here for awhile waiting for you.  No one has come, gone, or moved since I’ve been here.  Do you trust me?”

An image flashed in her head of a boy with shadow blocking his face.  His hand reached out as he stood by an open window.   

“Yes.”  She blurted out before she could think about it.  “Where do you want to go?”  She took a deep breath and waited.  

“Let’s go back to the train station so I can take you to my house.  I promise it won’t take long.”  He said and started walking towards the station.  She followed him until they got to the station and waited for the train.  

Who was the boy I keep seeing?  His face is completely covered in shadow.  

She glanced over at Kai.  His body was tense, and his eyes kept looking around as if expecting something to happen.  

The train arrived, and they boarded.  The train was empty.  In silence, they rode until it came to the last stop.  Kai got off the train with Angel.

In front of them was a path leading up and over a hill.  There wasn’t a single building or person in sight.  Kai began climbing and, after a moment, Angel followed behind.  As they climbed over the hill, Angel gasped at the view.  Below was a large mansion with vines climbing the walls.  The windows were mostly broken, and the pillars in the front were cracked.  The once beautiful mansion was in need of serious repair.  

“Where are we?”  she asked as Kai started down the hill.

“This is my home.”  He stated going towards the mansion.  

“What happened to it?”  she tripped on a rock and caught herself by grabbing Kai’s arm. “Sorry.”  She quickly released it and looked away.  

“My family was attacked when I was little.”  He explained as they got to the mansion.  Instead of going inside of it, he walked past it towards the tree line where a path appeared.  “I was the only survivor.”  

“Oh…”  Angel covered her mouth with her hands and stared wide eyed at him.  “Kai, I didn’t…”

“Don’t worry about it.  It’s not important.  What is important is who attacked me.”  He stepped out of the tree line to small area with the cliff’s edge in front.  The water crashed on the rocks below.  He stopped at the edge and faced her.   

“I don’t understand.”  She blinked and dropped her hands.  “What does this have to do with me?”

“Everything.”  He reached forward and took both of her hands.  “Angel, I need you to listen to everything I say.  I need you to trust me.  Okay?”  he stared into her eyes and waited.  Slowly, she nodded and stayed silent.  

“The story about the Goddess isn’t entirely false.  There was a war going on in the ancient times between humans and evil.  That evil was demons.  I don’t know the whole story by heart, but a high priestess and demon general had a child together and died for it.  The child was named Hina.”  Kai paused for a moment.  “Hina survived for years and ran for her life.  She eventually found a sorcerer who wanted to protect her.  In the end though, the demon lord found them.  Hina made a deal to protect him.”  

“He has to stay alive until I give you my power.”   Angel said quietly while thinking about the play.

“Well yea.  He made an unbreakable bond with her.  He thought that she would just give him her power, and he would just kill the boy afterwards.  Yet, Hina outsmarted him.  She separated her powers into ten fragments and sent them to ten chosen kids.  After that she disappeared.  The demon lord was angry and tried to kill the boy but couldn't.”  He released her hands and faced the water.  

“Over many years, those kids had kids who had kids and so on.  Now the powers are all over the world, but there are only ten chosen kids now called fragments.  I learned that someone with those powers reach a certain age that power becomes dormant.  Even to this day, the demon lord is still trying to find those kids and killing them if they are not the main ten.  His only goal is to take over both this world and the demon world.

“The only way to stop him is to gather all ten fragments and fight him together.  I know this sounds crazy, but you're one of those fragments.”  He looked over at her and waited.  

“Kai, this is crazy.”  She shook her head and took a step back.  

“Angel, wait.  I can tell you about your past.”  He said the words, and Angel stopped and looked back at him.  “I know about your past.  I can give you the answers you have been searching for.  I was there.”

My past?  I know it happened on this island.  Mom found me here.  Could he be telling me the truth?   

“Tell me everything.”  She said as the night wind blew around them.  He faced her and sighed.   “I was only six when I was attacked.  The demons came and took me away.  I am also a fragment.  They killed my mother and took me to the castle in the sky.  There, they did experiments on me to see if I was a fragment or lesser.  A lesser is someone with power but not part of the main ten.  When I was confirmed to be the water fragment, they allowed me to live in the castle.  A year later, I found a room full of large glass tubes.  Inside the tubes were other children going through experiments.  

“The tube in the front had a small girl in it, you.  The scientists were excited about you.  They called you subject fourteen or Spirit.  Then they released you from the tube and took you to a locked room.  I decided that I didn’t want to be a prisoner anymore, and I didn’t want that for you either.  Luckily, the alarms went off right after they locked you away, and I took my chance.  I climbed the outside of the castle and got to your window.  They didn’t think anyone would try to jump so they didn’t have it locked.  I got into the room and there you were.

Flashes of images came through her head in a rush as she tried to listen.  Everything he said brought back memories from a forgotten past.  

I remember all of this.  It’s all true!  Then the little boy was…Kai.

The shadow that covered the boy’s face disappeared and two dark eyes watched her in a plea to save her.  The boy, Kai, reached out his hand.  

 “I got you out of the castle, and we jumped.  I thought I would be strong enough to hold on to you, but I was wrong.  We got separated, and your power engulfed you until you hit the water below.  I couldn’t find you after that.  I searched for you for many years and finally had to assume they captured you again.  I never thought that you would just return on your own one day.  Then you showed the same power early today which caused the explosion.  It was then that I knew you were the same girl.”  Kai finally took a deep breath and waited for her reaction.

Angel felt tears fill her eyes and begin running down her cheeks.  

“I remember you.”  She whispered.  “I can’t believe I forgot.”

“Your mind didn’t want to remember it so it locked it away.  Angel, once we gather the others, we can finally defeat the demon lord, Akuma.  I’ve waited many years for this moment, and I thought I had failed you.”  He looked away and frowned.

“You didn’t fail me though.  I don’t know how much use I’ll be, but I want to help you.  I still don’t completely understand what I have to do or what Spirit is, but I want to do something. Akuma will just keep killing innocent children if we don’t do something.”  She smiled, and he returned the smile.  “Based on experience, I would have to say my emotions control my power.”

“Speaking of that, why did it go off at the festival?”  Kai asked with a smirk.

Instantly, her smile vanished as she looked away and blushed.

“Did you see what happened with Anna and me?”  he asked in a lower tone.  

“I-I didn’t mean too, but we were walking and overheard you.  I tried to leave but couldn’t.  I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been spying on your conversation.”  She said quietly.

“Why did our conversation bother you so much?”  he asked taking a step forward.  

“I don’t know.  I thought you would wait and confess to the girl you like.  I thought you wouldn’t give up on that.  I thought that if you and Anna got together then what we all four had would be gone.  You are the only friends I have ever made, and I was scared I was going to lose that. I’m sorry for being so selfish.”  She wiped away the tears that had been running down her face.  

“Angel, you will never lose me.”  Kai stated as he placed a hand on her head.  “I’m sorry that it hurt you so much.  I chose to give Anna a chance because the girl I like doesn’t like me back.  I’m not going to force that on her.”   He smiled as she looked up at him and sniffled.  “You are so helpless sometimes.  I forget that you have never had these experiences before.”  

“That’s not fair.”  She muttered as she wiped the tears again and smiled.  

“What’s not fair?”  a voice said from behind them.  Angel and Kai jerked around to see a tall boy with sandy blond hair leaning against a tree with his hands in his pockets.  Angel gasped at his appearance.  His eyes were crimson red, and his ears were pointed back.  

“Angel, get behind me.”  Kai said as he took a step forward.  

“I should really thank you.  We had our suspicions that she was Spirit but now you have confirmed it.  Once I capture the both of you, Lord Akuma will be pleased.”  The boy laughed and held his hand out.  A dark sphere formed and swirled.  

He was just talking about demons and here one is!  What do I do?  I don’t know how to fight!

Kai, suddenly, pushed Angel out of the way as the demon threw the sphere at them.  The ground where it hit exploded.  They were thrown into the air and landed near the tree line.  Kai stood back up and held out his own hand.  A sphere of blue and black started to form, but Kai was shaking from the effort.  

The demon laughed again and jumped at him.  Kai threw the sphere, but the demon dodged it with ease.  He moved fast and grabbed Kai around the throat then threw him into a tree.  Kai shouted and slid down to the ground.  

“Is this all you have, Youkai?”  the demon asked as formed another sphere.  

Youkai?  Kai stand up!  

Kai spit out blood and started to stand again just as the black sphere hit him.  The tree exploded and wood pieces went flying in every direction.  Angel covered her face with her arms and screamed.  The demon laughed again and causally walked over to Angel.  

“That was too easy.  I never imagined that Lord Akuma’s son would be so weak.  Well, now to get Spirit.”  

Son!  What!  

Angel reached for a stick and stood up slowly.  “Back off demon!”  

He stopped for a moment before giving a wide smile.  

A sudden energy surge swept the area where Kai had fallen under the debris.  At the same moment, two figures came from the trees and attacked the demon.  Angel blinked at the newcomers before she recognized them.  

It’s the two students from the martial arts competition!

Bryan, the red hair boy, had a katana in his hands as he swung at the demon.  Skyler, the blue hair girl, stayed away.  The demon jumped back and fought Bryan off.  

I have to check on Kai.  The energy that was there a moment ago is gone.

Angel ran over to where Kai was.  He was slowly trying to stand up while holding his arm.  Blood trailed down through his shirt to his hand.  

“You’re hurt!”  Angel exclaimed as she got to him and helped him stand.  

“It’s nothing.  Are you okay?”  he asked looking her over.  

She nodded and looked back the fight.  Bryan hit the demon with the sword as a red light wrapped around it.  The demon shouted and jumped into a tree with one arm missing.  Black blood ran to the ground.

“This won’t be the end!”  Large black wings formed behind him, and he flew into the air.  Bryan and Skyler watched him leave until he was out of sight then they turned and walked over to Kai and Angel.  

“B*****d got away.”  Bryan complained when they got to them.  

“Thank you for saving us.”  Angel said.  

“Sure, we have been following him since the festival.  He was there looking for something.”  Skyler said.  “Oh, I’m Skyler.  The boy that’s moping is Bryan.”  

“I’m not moping.  I just wanted to finish the fight.”  Bryan shrugged as he shoved his hands into his pockets.  

“I’m Angel.  This is Kai.  What were you doing to Bryan?”

“Minor healing.  I can’t do damage to a demon.”  Skyler replied.

“Are you fragments or lessers?”  Kai interrupted suddenly.  

“Fragments.”  Bryan stated firmly.  “You?”

Kai nodded with Angel.  

I have to be dreaming.  A real demon fight, people that can do magic, and a secret war!  This can’t be real, but it is!  

“Great!  We haven’t seen another fragment before.”  Skyler smiled then yawned.  “Let’s meet up again soon.  Do you have a phone?”  After they exchanged numbers, Skyler and Bryan left without looking back.  

“You must be lucky.”  Kai said as they started walking back.   

“Depends on who you ask.”  Angel mumbled.  Kai looked over at her.  “I couldn’t do much to help.”

“You will.”  Kai patted her head as they climbed the hill.  “You just don’t know how to control your power yet.”  

“I want to be strong like you.”  Kai frowned and stopped at the top of the hill.  “I’m not strong.  At least I’m not strong enough to fully use my powers.  My body can’t handle it as you saw.”  

“I thought you were very brave.”  Angel whispered and looked away with her cheeks burning.  “I hope Anna doesn’t worry about you when she sees the cuts all over you.”  

Kai blinked and smiled.  “I’ll just tell her I fell.  We can’t talk about this to anyone who isn’t involved.  They would get hurt.”  

Ryo wouldn’t be happy if he found about this.  He would be worried all the time.  

“Kai, I need to ask you something before we continue.”  Angel stated suddenly when something the demon said came back.  

“What?”  Kai glanced over at her, and stopped midway down the hill.  Angel hadn’t moved from the top and was staring down at him.  The wind blew around them for awhile before Angel took a breath and blurted it out.  

“Is Lord Akuma the demon lord we’re fighting?”  she asked quickly.

Kai’s eyes narrowed.  He frowned and nodded slowly.  

“The demon called you Lord Akuma’s son.”  She gulped and waited.  Kai watched her then turned away.  

“Does it matter if I am?”  he asked in a low tone.  “I can’t control who my parents are.  Regardless if he is, I’ll still kill him the first chance I get.  This doesn’t change anything.”  

Kai’s angry.  I didn’t mean to upset him, but I have to know these answers.

“You’re a demon then?”  she blurted out when Kai started to walk away.  

Kai stopped again and glared at her.  “I’m a half demon.  Do you really want to know my past?”  He started to take off his shirt.  The lights that lined the path, to the station, gave a soft light over him.  Angel had to move closer to understand what she saw.  Across his back was a complicated tattoo that reached from the top of his back to the bottom.  Symbols were mixed in the tattoo.  However, it was under the tattoo that made Angel gasp.  Raised skin from the multiple scars could be seen.  They were different sizes but looked to be made from the same thing.  

“This tattoo is a spell that binds my demon side away.  Yet, the side effect to that is my powers are also partially bound.  My father didn’t like the fact that I refused to support him even as a kid.”

“I’m so sorry.”  She reached out to touch the scars but stopped herself.  

Kai shrugged and put his shirt back on.  “Isn’t it time I get you home?”

He doesn’t want to talk about this anymore.  The first step for me to be stronger is to be emotionally stronger and fight for myself.  I have to stop depending on everyone else.  

She nodded as they finished the walk and waited for the train.  It came after ten minutes, and Angel climbed on.  Kai was about to follow her when she put out a hand to stop him.   

“Thank you for everything.  I can get home on my own.”  As the door started to close, Kai stared at her, blinked, and opened his mouth slightly as if words had formed but couldn’t escape.  “You don’t have to protect me.  I promise I will get stronger.”  The door shut between them, and Kai reached out then stopped as the train started moving.  He said something, but the words were lost to the sound of the train.  

Angel stood there and suddenly felt something wet.  She reached up and touched her face and felt tears falling down her face.  Her hands were shaking, and she bit her bottom lip.

I really do cry too much.  How can I be strong when I’m so scared?  I want to be protected.  I want someone to tell me it’s going to be alright, but that would just be asking for too much.  

The train came to stop at her station after a while, and the door opened.  Angel’s eyes grew wide as she stepped off the train slowly and saw Ryo sleeping on the station bench.  His dark hair had fallen over his eyes.  

He was waiting for me all this time.  

She smiled and walked over to the bench.  

He looks so peaceful.  Maybe I can just sit with him for a bit then wake him later.

She sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulder.  

“Thank you.”  She whispered as her eyes grew heavy.

As the sun started to come up over the island, Angel had already fallen into a deep sleep.