14 A Better Future? To Nevada! (Movie Saga)

What I heard from Mom and Dad... I wasn't sure what to think. I don't think I would ever experience the amount of pain and sorrow that my Dad went through. I couldn't really sleep because of it, I know I had no control over it neither could I have stopped it, but I feel terrible. Dad's youth was pretty much taken away from him so early, although nowadays he gets so much positivity, I don't think that it'll ever fill that void he has in his heart. What will it take to fill it? What exactly needs to be said? With that evil version of Dad running around, I'm not sure if I can think or even get the time to wonder about that answer.

I sat up in my bed and looked at my door, I wanted to do something about it, but what exactly could I do? I didn't even have a definitive answer yet. I texted Mom that I couldn't sleep, after a few minutes, she walked into my room.

"Is everything alright, dear?" Mom asked.

"I guess so." I replied.

Mom sat down next to me and put her arm around me, "You can tell me, what's the matter?"

"Would... If I was in Dad's shoes, would you have done the same thing to me?" I wondered.

"No, I would never do that to you, Mabel. I don't think I could bring myself to do it." She reassured me.

"If that's the case," I responded, "Then why did you let it happen to Dad? Why him? He's been so upset by it for the past decade now, hiding all of those scars from us, and I can't do anything about it because I don't know what to do. He could've had a normal life but it was stripped from him, how is anyone supposed to make things better for him?"

Mom remained silent as tears of frustration fell down my face. I didn't want to say anything else, I was afraid that my frustration might make me say something I'll regret.

"If I did try and stop it... I would've been removed from U.A. High all together, I wouldn't have been let back into the school neither would I have been able to set foot on the premises unless I wanted to be arrested. I didn't know who to turn to, I thought that the teachers were all in on it." Mom confessed.

"Is that really why, Momo?" Dad chimed in.

Dad was leaning against my doorway, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Dad walked to Mom and gave her and I a hug. I heard another pair of small footsteps and a yawn, I wiped my teary eyes to see that Ashi was rubbing his eyes while holding his Red Riot plushy. He walked into the room and wiggled his way in between all of us.

"Mmm... Huggy time." He happily mumbled.

"I think we need a vacation." Dad sighed.

"Would you like to go on one?" Mom wondered.

I looked up at her, "Huh? What do you mean? We don't have tickets purchased for a flight neither do we own a boat."

"Darling, I do in fact own a multi-billion Yen company, I have a plane of my own you know! It's been something I've wanted for years!" Mom giggled.

"You bought a plane?!" We exclaimed.

"Yes indeed! It only cost me exactly ¥32,689,499.12! Not to worry, it's merely pocket change after all!" Mom told us.

"At least that doesn't come out of my pocket..." Dad muttered.

Ashi looked over at Dad, "Papa! What... What if we... We would... We could do that you would you know if you could..."

"Slow down, Ashi, let your words catch up with that noggin of yours." Dad chuckled.

"Nevada!" Ashi bubbled.

"Nevada? I haven't been there in years! I guess it would be a good idea to see how Sheyenne, Joshua, and Karson are doing. We can leave once I address... Well.. This." Dad agreed.

I wonder what Nevada is like? I've only heard stories about it from Grandma and Grandpa whenever we visit.

[The Next Day...]

"Alrighty, do we have everything?" Dad asked.

"Yeah huh! Mama, did you get my blankey?" Ashi nodded.

"Yes, sweetheart, I've got your Deku blanket in my bag. Come on now, let's get going!" Mom responded.

We boarded Mom's private jet to head to Nevada, this was gonna be super fun, I could already tell! The jet took off, I made sure to tell everyone where I was going since I wasn't going to be at school for a few days. At least we didn't have to get up early for this, so I actually got some sleep in. Several hours in, right as I was about to doze off, I heard Ashi fidget around in his seat.

"Mamaaaa... I'm thirsty..." Ashi whined.

I heard her unzip a bag and she handed him his cup that was designed after both Mom and Dad's hero personas. I finally got the chance to take a nap after Ashi sat content in his seat. I suddenly snapped awake in the Seventh Plane or... At least I think? I was sitting in some sort of courtyard, this definitely felt like the plane, but where exactly?

"Hm? Who are you?" A man questioned.

I turned around and saw the man who asked me that question. He wore a haori that had a flame design on the bottom, his hair also resembled that of a brightly burning flame.

"Well, I was just about to ask you the same thing." I responded.

He tilted his head as he studied my features, his eyes widened and a big smile appeared on his face.

"Hang on a second, you're Alyx's daughter, aren't you? No wonder I felt that feeling of familiarity coming from you!" He beamed.

"Y-Yeah, that's me! How do you know my Dad?" I nodded.

"I trained him! My name is Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira!" He introduced himself.

I lowered my eyebrow, "Flame... Hashira? What does that mean?"

"I'm a part of an elite group of people known as the 'Hashira', we're exceptional in our field of work, demon slaying! I'm here to teach you everything that you need to know, kudos to your Father, that Total Concentration Breathing wasn't all for nothing!" He grinned.

"Teach me what? I've been practicing that Breathing pretty much everyday, even when I'm asleep I do it. What else do I need to do?" I wondered.

He put one finger up, "Just watch and learn, Mabel!"

His unsheathed his sword, all of the sudden, fire roared from the blade! He struck downward and unleashed a tiger made of fire, I couldn't believe my eyes!

"W-W-Wha?! Huh?! How'd you do that, Mr. Rengoku? That was amazing!" I exulted.

"Ho ho! That was my Breathing Style, Honō no Kokyū, that's what I'm going to teach you and then some! Which that reminds me..." He chuckled.

He handed me a sword, I took it from him, the blade changed to a crimson red color. The hilt was shaped just like Mr. Rengoku's!

"Hmm... A crimson red Nichirin Katana... I haven't seen one of those in quite some time! Alright, let's get to work, we've got all the time in the world." He smiled.

[Several Days Later...]

"There you go! The last form is precise, powerful, and only used when your certain that nothing else will work. You're a quick learner, then again, you've been wanting to practice this day in and day out. Go ahead and give one of the forms a shot!" Rengoku complimented.

I nodded before turning away from him, "Honō no Kokyū... Go no Kata: Enko!"

I unleashed the fiery tiger that Mr. Rengoku showed me almost a week ago, I took off towards the nothingness before extinguishing. I placed my sword back in its sheath before turning back around to face him. He placed his hand on the top of my head and he slightly ruffled my hair.

"You've come so far already, I'm proud to know that you're my disciple! I've already talked to your Father, your Katana is in your suitcase alongside a haori I've made for you. I should warn you, the reason why I've decided to train you was because your Father was feeling as if something bad was about to happen. He's not sure what, but just in case it was what he's thinking, he needed you to be ready." Rengoku beamed.

"Thank you, Master Rengoku! I won't take this training for granted!" I replied.

I felt myself start to fade from the Seventh Plane, "Mabel Leonidus, set your heart ablaze! Always remember those words!"

He waved at me as I waved back at him, I opened my eyes to find myself staring at a ceiling. I sat up, stretched and then yawned as I looked around the room. The door opened and a woman peeked her head inside.

"Oh, you're awake! Your Dad had to carry you in, you were out like a light the whole plane ride here! Name's Sheyenne Cortez, by the way. Quick question, your old man's taught you English, right?" She greeted.

"Yes ma'am." I responded.

"Ma'am? Huh, you've got some manners, are you sure Alyx is your Dad?" Sheyenne chuckled.

I got up from the bed and found my sword before I followed her out of the room. Dad was talking to... A bear? He looked over at me, I was shaking in my boots as I stood in front of him.

"Gosh, she really does look like Momo! It's nice to meet you!" His voice bellowed.

"H-Hi..." I nervously smiled and waved.

He introduced himself to me, his name was Karson Barr, my Dad then made an absolutely terrible pun on his last name that I will never disclose to protect my thoughts. The doorbell rang out, Sheyenne turned around to face the door, a smell of death hit my nose as I looked towards the door. Sheyenne opened the door, the man was reeking of death, I saw pale purple eyes under his hood.

"Can I hel-" Sheyenne tried to ask.

I darted across the room right before he attacked. I pushed Sheyenne out of the way as he lunged at her.

"Honō no Kokyū... Ni no Kata: Nobori En Ten!" I thought.

Flames spouted from my blade, I slashed at an arc, cleanly cutting off the arms and head of the demon. His body crumbled to the ground as his head rolled across the floor. I closed and locked the door before turning towards everyone else.

"W-What in the hell was that?!" Sheyenne exclaimed.

"From what it smelled like, that was a demon. Something's up, there's no reason as to why one would be here, there's bound to be more." Dad answered.

Mom came downstairs with Ashi, "What was all that ruckus? I was just about to head to bed before Ashi came in and told me he heard a boom."

I placed my katana back in it's sheath, the demon's body began to wither away as he turned to dust. Another man stepped out from the bathroom and I firmly held my katana.

"Woah, woah! Easy there, tiger! I'm not a threat, I live here, although Ms. 'I Can Pull Anything out of a Cup' thinks otherwise." He reassured me.

"Oh, my apologies, are you Joshua? It's a pleasure to meet you!" I smiled.

As things began to calm down, everyone except Dad and I retired to bed. I stood in the living room looking at the haori Master Rengoku made for me. It was a garnet red with a flame design starting at the shoulders and ending at the bottom of the haori. It looked similar to his own haori!

"Huh, I never thought I'd be wearing this ever again." Dad remarked.

Before I put my haori on, I created an outfit that was like Rengoku's, with my own personal flare of course. It was tinted a dark violet but matched how his uniform looked.

"Whatever's going on, it certainly doesn't smell good whatsoever, do you think there's more of them?" I wondered.

"It's either quite a few or just one main source. Either way, we're in for a long night, maybe even a long couple of nights. Let's get going!" Dad told me.

I nodded and followed Dad out of the house, this place was oddly quiet, I would've figured that Las Vegas was a bustling place at night. We walked down the street as the air began to grow cold. Before we rounded a corner, I felt a tug on my haori as Dad pulled me back behind a wall.

"Look over there, do you see that?" He whispered.

I peered over the wall and saw a woman in the middle of the street, she appeared to be crying over something, but the same smell from the demon earlier resonated off of her. I watched as some drunkard walked over to her, spikes shot out from her fingertips that pierced the man's body, hitting most of his pressure points. Within a few seconds, she killed and devoured him!

"Holy shit..." I muttered.

The demon woman's body began to change, it looked as if her body was strengthened somehow. Another man screamed out in horror at the sight, before she could react, Dad cut her arm off in a flash! His speed was insane, he was sitting right next to me and now he was several feet away from me!

*THIRD PERSON*

"Ooo, what's this? Are you one of those Demon Slayers I've heard so many stories about? I thought you were all dead!" The woman cackled.

"Well, you'd be halfway right, I'm afraid I can't let you continue terrorizing this place." Alyx responded.

"Hmph... You're going to kill me? The newest Upper Moon, Karlaya The Great? You're a goddamn idiot!" Karlaya laughed.

The formerly drunken man, now a demon, rose up to his feet and snuck up behind Alyx, ready to pounce. Mabel flew in with great speed towards the demon.

"Honō no Kokyū... Ichi no Kata: Shiranui!" Mabel muttered.

One fiery slash decapitated the demon flawlessly before it could even reach Alyx. She landed down on the ground and stood next to her Father.

"Oh? Another one of you? That Breathing Style... It looks awfully... Familiar." Karlaya noted

Mabel held her katana firmly in her hands, suddenly, her Father was blown away by another demon!

"There you are, my brother! What took you so long?" Karlaya wondered.

Her brother didn't say a word, he took off towards Alyx without a second though, leaving Mabel alone with Karlaya. She let off a devilish smile as she turned her attention towards Mabel.

"Judging by your stance, you aren't experienced, this'll be a walk in the park! Another one down the hatch as they say!" She giggled.

"I'll be just fine, I wouldn't judge a book by it's cover, neither would I get too cocky. Once I'm done here, I'm helping my Dad and I'll do whatever I need to see that through." Mabel retorted.

"Oh ho! You're too adorable, I'm sure you'll see him once you're dead!" Karlaya cackled.