CHAPTER 34; THE PAINFUL TRUTH

"It has got everything to do with the both of you because what is going on amongst you is not being planned by destiny or your own choices but…by Shekan" Meena said as her eyes began to fill with tears.

Ryu stared at her in surprise. Not sure of what to make of this display.

"That's crazy! Shekan wouldn't cause us to seal him!" Nadia yelled in disbelief.

"Are you really that blind? Can you not see how he is playing with your emotions?! How he keeps using you all to make Ryu's emotions unstable?!" Meena yelled angrily.

She was very furious with their ignorance.

Ryu drew back in confusion and a bit of fear.

"What are you talking about? Why would Shekan want to toy with our emotions?" Ryu asked innocently.

"Y-You don't know? Rokkan, Ryu, you two haven't been told, have you?" Meena said in surprise.

"Told what?" Ryu asked.

"Don't listen to her Ryu! Whatever she's going to say is a lie!" Atlanta screamed.

"H-How do you know that? Are you guys really hiding something from Rokkan and I?" Ryu asked.

"Rokkan, you have the spirit of Gaiden within you but you Ryu…you have a part of Shekan living within you and that's why you can both enter the Jinn State!" Meena spilled the secret.

Ryu opened his mouth in shock, eyes wide with fear. Rokkan too couldn't cope with the sudden truth.

"Gaiden?" Rokkan said as he stared at Ryu in shock.

"Shekan" Ryu managed to say.

He was even more shocked than Rokkan.

"It's the truth Ryu. You can't remember how you got out of the Wind ryu, can you? Shekan took over your body" Meena said seriously.

A bright light flashed in Ryu's mind. He could hear a bloodcurdling scream and an evil laugh, he could see fire everywhere and then he snapped out of it.

"Don't listen to her!" Atlanta screamed.

"Let him see the truth! He must know!" Meena scolded her.

"You're hurting him!" Atlanta yelled angrily.

"It's better for him to be hurt now and get over it than to get hurt when the final battle comes" Meena said.

Ryu turned to face Atlanta. There was a sorrowful look on his face. He walked towards her.

"Ryu" Atlanta called gently.

Ryu stared at the scar on her shoulder, the mark of a palm. He placed his hand there and it fitted perfectly. He opened his eyes in horror as tears began to flow down his face.

"It's true. I tried to kill you, all of you" Ryu said as he stared at Atlanta remorsefully.

"Ryu" Atlanta called again as she raised a trembling hand to her shoulder. She placed her hand over Ryu's and looked into his eyes.

Ryu lowered his eyes in shame.

"I…hurt you. I promised never to judge you, yet I did, anytime I got angry. I promised to free you from your promise, yet…I tried to run away. I'm a failure. I don't deserve you guys!" he wept and ran out of the cottage.

"You've made him regretful. You've made Shekan stronger" Atlanta accused Meena.

"No, I have made Ryu stronger. He doesn't need you to protect his feelings with lies and silence. He needs to see how willing you are to support him. He sees that now and that is something Shekan does not expect. Go to him Atlanta. Make him realize just how much of a hero he is" Meena said with a bittersweet smile.

Atlanta nodded and went after Ryu.

Do you realize what this has to do with you?" Meena asked Rokkan.

"Not exactly" Rokkan said.

"I will tell you more after you all regain your senses" Meena said as she walked to her library.

"I'm going to check on Ryu" Michael said.

"We're coming too" Nadia agreed.

Ryu was outside, watching the river which a few minutes ago had been a deep crevasse and the dwelling place of the Sun-Song Devil. He thought back to their recent training.

"DARKFIRE ELEMENT! HELLFIRE JUTSU!" Ryu recalled the unknown technique he had activated.

"It's true" he stared at his palms in despair. "How can I defeat Shekan…if I'm merely a pawn of his" Ryu said as he dropped to his knees.

"You can" a familiar voice said from behind him.

"Atlanta?" Ryu turned to look at her and then, he looked dejectedly at his own reflection in the water. "Do you really believe that…or…are you just trying to make me feel better? No matter what you say, it will be hard to believe your answer" Ryu said silently.

There was silence for a while.

"It's a little ironic. I make this journey trying to stop Nemesis from unsealing Shekan. I've despised and hated Shekan with a passion. And for what, I only discover that I am him? What difference does it make as to whether I stop Nemesis or not? What am I supposed to do damn it?!" Ryu roared and punched his reflection in the water.

Atlanta stared at Ryu silently, painfully. She walked slowly and sat beside him.

"It does not hurt" she said.

"What?" Ryu turned to face her.

She was staring into the river.

"The scar, it doesn't hurt. It never did" Atlanta said as she drew some water with her right hand and let it flow down the scar.

She showed no expression of pain. Ryu stared at her in surprise.

"I don't remember anything except for a bright light…and then I think I saw your face" Ryu said.

"That light was the miracle of our friendship, the bond we share as friends. We used it to force you out of the Chaos State" Atlanta said. "You may not remember Ryu but Shekan nearly destroyed us all. He was about to use a fatal technique but…" Atlanta paused.

"No! You can't do this!" Atlanta remembered her desperate cry.

"But what?" Ryu asked.

"When I called to you, you hesitated. You didn't use that technique and you fought against Shekan in your heart and mind. If you hadn't, none of us would have been alive today" Atlanta said.

"I don't remember, Atlanta. I do remember saying that…" Ryu stood up and turned his back to Atlanta.

"… 'I hate you' and those were my own feelings, my words. I wanted to say them. I wanted to burn the Wind ryu to the ground. I wanted to kill you all!" Ryu scowled as the edges of his hair began to turn red.

"Ryu!" Atlanta called.

Ryu sighed and his hair turned blue again.

"Did you ever say something like that? All I remember was Ryu telling me that he would free me even if it was not my choice, Ryu telling me that I am not evil and he'd never judge me, Ryu telling me that he would never allow me to feel lonely. And then, I hurt Ryu. Ryu, if you said something like that, I would understand because I realize how much I hurt you. But please…do not feed Shekan. Your insecurities make him stronger" Atlanta said earnestly.

Ryu let out an exasperated sigh and let himself drop to the ground.

"You're such a hothead" Atlanta said as she playfully tapped him on the head. "Maybe you forgot so I'll say this again. Listen carefully because I may never repeat myself…'You are Ryu'" Atlanta said as she placed her head on his shoulder. "I'm supposed to hate you am I not?" she asked with a playful smile.

"All of you should hate me" Ryu ignored her.

"Then why do you hate yourself when we do not hate you. We wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of hiding the truth from you if we didn't care about you" Atlanta said as she stared into the water.

"Then you all knew? Even Ken?" Ryu asked.

"Everyone except for Rokkan and yourself" Atlanta said with a gentle nod.

"Even still, how can I accept…" Ryu was about to say.

"You said this once to me so let me repeat those words to you. 'You are a good person Ryu'" Atlanta cut him short. "Remember who I was before I met you? I was Nemesis' right hand. I understand what you're feeling, I've felt it too. But you kept telling me that I was a good person. You even fought a dragon saint to prove it to me and now I believe. What can I do to make you understand that you are a good person?" Atlanta reminded Ryu. "You are a lot like your mother Ryu. She gave her life to protect you. You gave yours to protect me. I owe you my life. Don't fail her by falling into your own darkness" Atlanta coaxed Ryu.

Ryu smiled a wavering smile as tears came into his eyes. He stared into the sky as a clear image of his mother filled his mind.

"I remember her face clearly now. You're right Atlanta. Even though I'm a part of Shekan, I'm not him. I have my own ideals and my own life, my own feelings and my own friends. I'll definitely defeat him. I'll fulfil all my promises. Until then, I'll never lose to myself! I promise you once again Atlanta, I won't allow you to return to the darkness of loneliness!" Ryu declared as courage burned within him.

"Wow, looks like someone's already in a good mood" Michael's voice sounded from behind.

"Michael, guys, don't worry, Ryu's in the zone!" Ryu said with a smile.

"Don't pull a one eighty on us and return to your moodiness" Michael said with a mocking smile.

"I don't think I'll ever do that but if I do, you guys will always be around to bring me back to the light with a group hug" Ryu said as he hugged his friends.

"We will" they promised.

"Though I think Nadia would prefer to bring me back with a punch" Ryu joked.

"You've got that right hothead" Nadia said as she punched her palm.

"What do we do now?" Ken asked.

"Let's dragon race!" Ryu suggested as he raised his ring.