"You can choose to follow me or you can back out. You have to make your decision now. If you chose to come with me you will not be the same when you are done. It’s your choice,”Ryuu's father told us before he turned and headed back into the house.
“Well I’m in, there’s not really much I have to lose,” Ryuu shrugged his shoulders before looking at me to see if I agreed with his decision. Not that that would matter much. Once he put his mind to something, there wasn't really very much I could do to change it.
I nodded my head. "I'm in, too. I mean, if we're gonna have to fight or even defend ourselves, we need to start training." I shoved my hair out of my face before I grabbed a ponytail holder and pulled my hair back, securing it high on my head.
"What better way to learn all that we can than from a demon lord himself?" Puck agreed.
"Let's do this," Aisling agreed.
"I don't trust him," Ariana mentioned. "He's a demon lord. Never mind that he's your father. He could be trying to get close to us all before he kills us." Christian stood at her side in agreement.
"What harm is there in just seeing what happens? You might actually learn something," I replied as I started for the house, following Asa into the back yard. Ryuu was right behind me, followed shortly thereafter by everyone else. Training seemed to be our best option.
"About time you guys got your asses back here," an all too familiar voice cut through the air, piercing me through the heart. It felt like a lifetime since I had heard the voice. "I was beginning to think I'd have to take care of this myself."
"Elle?" I asked, turning around and seeing my cousin, older and more beautiful than she had ever been. I couldn't help myself. I launched myself into her arms. Not so much because I was glad she was here or that I was glad she was okay. I was. But, I really wanted to just hold onto something that was still the same as it had been when this mess had all started.
Her long black hair was braided in the back and was just passed her hips. Her eyes, which had always been hard and gentle at the same time, were piercing and hard. She had been fighting for survival this whole time. Without us. Probably thought we'd abandoned her. That I had abandoned her.
She hugged me back for only a moment before she pushed me off of her. "You've been gone for a few years and you grew soft on me? Well, don't think you're gonna survive if you've become a pansy. I'm not gonna watch your ass the whole time."
"I don't get it. How are you here?" I asked her.
"Long story short? Asa here found me when the world started going to hell. Promised to train me to defend myself. He said you guys might even come back to help. I was a little skeptical on that last part, but it looks like he hadn't been lying this whole time," her smile was no longer a smile. Now, she was always smirking.
"It'll be good that you've been trained already, Elle. You can help me," Asa nodded.
"Wait, she's gonna train us?" I practically sneered. Elle was a model. The type of girl that didn't want to get dirty or do any hard work of any kind. And here he was saying she was a better fighter than me? I don't think so.
"Look, Emiko, I can kick your ass right here if you'd prefer. Show you what I've learned if you want," Elle placed her hands on her hips, waiting for me to accept her challenge.
"Alright. Prove it." As close as Elle and I had become through all the shit we'd gone through lately, Elle never belonged in the group. I'd much rather have sent her back home. Maybe then she'd have been saved having to go through all this suffering.
"Gladly."
I barely took a step forward, and already, Elle had grabbed my arm and spun me around, bending my arm at the elbow and pushing it up my spine, hurting me. I gasped in pain. Jumping into the air, I kicked my left leg back, catching her in the stomach as I spun my arm out of her grip. I let the gravity pull me back to earth. Still holding her arm, I ducked under her legs, and because I was still holding her arm, it flipped her onto her back.
She jumped to her feet gracefully, grabbed my outreached hand and used it as leverage to perform a spin kick that knocked me on my ass. Groaning in pain, I rolled to my side, ready to get up again. Ryuu knelt at my side. "Enough," he said. "Elle's proven she can hold her own. What we don't get is where you learned to fight like that."
I stopped short, I hadn't even been thinking. I had just done those moves in fluid motions as though they were second nature. I knew some self defense, but nothing extravagant. I shook my head as Ryuu helped me to my feet. "I have no idea how I did that."
"It seems your bodies have matured in the years that have passed. It wouldn't surprise me that special abilities that you would have acquired are laying dormant until you can figure them out," Asa answered. "Hopefully the training will pull them all out."
I stared into Ryuu's eyes. More abilities? Seemed like training was going to get just a little bit more interesting.
