8 Dreams

Mikumo Kushinada.

She is in all sense of the word the strongest woman in the world, one of the few advanced grandmasters, and a war veteran, the thing she saw, will forever scar her mind.

But today she snapped, the moment she saw her son being stabbed, something clicked in her mind, the anger, nervousness, hate, all evaporated, all that was left was a calmness.

And so, began what could only be described as a massacre.

._._._._._._._._._._._._.

I know for a fact that mom was supposed to be a Katsujinken practitioner, the saving fist, I mean she fought against Yami with dad. However somewhere along the line her mentality changed, and she became a Satsujinken, the killing fist practitioner. The theories said that it was what she saw in the Eternal Sunset.

That theory does not apply to where I am, for all intents and purposes, today was that day, as I opened my eyes, from falling unconscious, only for a few minutes judging by my surroundings.

All I see is gore; bones breaking the skin, dismemberment, and broken necks.

And there in the middle of the slaughterhouse that once was a park, stood mom, not a drop of blood in her clothes, and a calm face, holding a man by the neck with one hand.

Snap, like the sound a big branch makes when it's broken, greets my ears.

I flinch and try to look away, while blood was never an issue for me in my past life, death smells, not like anything I´ve smelled before, as if smelling emotions, fear, anger, hopelessness, regret, denial, too many to name.

She throws the corpse away like trash and starts walking towards me, the calm woman that I saw when I opened my eyes disappear, her calmness replaced with fear.

The closer she gets, the slower her steps, probably afraid I´m dead, I don`t think she can see my face, probably hasn´t realized I´m awake, I try to move a little to show I´m alive.

The moment I move, mom disappears, in an instant, she is in front of me, I try to take a closer look at her face.

She is crying.

While picking me up, almost as if afraid to break me, my vision blurs, before I start to worry, I realize we are simply moving fast, incredibly so.

I hear sobbing, as I look up, mom´s face is filled with tears, with the most distressed look I could imagine.

Weakly I said. "Hey mom, I´m fine…"

I try to touch her face, to assure her everything will be alright, but I feel my consciousness leaving me.

No, no, no, no, don´t lose consciousness now, it will only make things worse, is all I can think.

Regretfully I fall unconscious, to my worry not before hearing her sobbing grow.

._._._._._._._._._._._._.

Hayato was having a good day, his son was practicing in the forest, reaching the expert class at fifteen.

And his other son´s birthday was coming up, finally, they could meet again and soon meet regularly.

Yes, Hayato´s day was great, so he decided to take a walk in the forest, he hasn`t met the animals in a while.

He started walking, walking soon turned to running. This is what he liked, freedom, the freedom having strength brings.

Don`t misunderstand Hayato, as kind as he is, his equally prideful, the difference between him and others is the fact that he has the right to be prideful.

What started as a simple walk quickly became a full reminiscing of his youth. His reckless and violent behavior will always shame him, although only a little.

Deep into his walk, his mind wanders to Azuma, the little guy he has with Kushinada.

This always will be a sore spot for Hayato, he undoubtedly loves his son, but the regret exists, not of his existence, never, but of the actions that lead to his existence, he loves his wife, so, the thought that he cheated on her, even after her passing, eats his soul.

:-:-:-:-:-:

It was almost the end of the war, Hayato and Kushinada were attacking the last known Yami base, the mood was jovial and the adrenaline high, it didn´t help that Kushinada never shied away from her advances, there was never love, only lust and desire, so one thing lead to another, and we have Azuma.

The guilt he felt after the deed was overwhelming, he immediately ran away, headed toward his late wife´s grave to apologize, there he bowed for three days straight, swearing to never accept anyone else in his life, but also stating that should a child be born from it, he will not shy away from him, the child wouldn´t have done anything wrong and would not deserve the guilt that consumed Hayato.

One could only imagine his emotions once he discovered Azuma´s existence.

Eventually, meeting Azuma was the third hardest thing Hayato would do in his life, three parts shame, one-part guilt, for missing his early childhood. Good thing everything turned fine.

The first being his wife´s death.

And the second telling Saiga about Azuma. He did not talk to him for weeks.

:-:-:-:-:-:

After reminiscing for hours, Hayato hurries towards his house, it is almost nighttime. Seems the always twenty Elder is getting old if he loses track of time by thinking about his past.

"Dad…...!" There is a shout in the distance.

"Dad…!" It´s Saiga, he sounds distressed.

"Dad!"

"What son, what happened?" Hayato asks worryingly.

"It's Azuma, he…."

._._._._._._._._._._._._.

I`m having quite the weird dream, an infinite white void.

I´m not dead, I´ve died before and this is not death.

Wait, I´ve died before? How? When?

Before I start contemplating why would I know how being dead feels, I hear whispering.

"So that's it?" A voice asks.

That is what, what is it talking about.

"It seems so," Another voice says snickering.

"Hahahaha, quite weak" Another voice

"I wonder why she talked about him before?" Another voice asks.

"She did say he was not special" A voice answers.

"Clearly" Another states.

Who is she, these voices keep referring to?

"Such lack of conviction," One says, sadly.

"A disappointment"

WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT!

I feel like I am forgetting something important.

I need rest, my mind is in chaos.