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Morrigan frowned. "How? What happened that changed him, darling?"

Kaguyo smirked. "Can't. Wouldn't want to anger my charming husband after all..." she chuckled, taking the keys from her robe once more. "And you know, I really should be returning these to him. I doubt you could even follow through with that threat."
She turned around, walking towards the door. She had forgotten her whip. "You're nothing more than a weak, pathetic coward, Ainsu... you feared being tied down more than hurting me, so don't play me otherwise. My loyalty is with Aled now."

Alright.
Now Kaguyo was absolutely #%(!ing livid.
"Well you never fought for me." she snarled, elbowing him with both arms upside the head. "You fight for Ashuri, you fight for Shinsu, but you wouldn't fight to save me. Why should I care?! Hmn?!"
The whip had, and still did, surprise her. She never expected Ainsu to be very good with her weapon of choice; she needed to get the whip free from him, fast.
One hand went to the weapon in his hand, the other tried to loosen it from her neck. Her adrenaline was pumping.
The keys. Quickly, she stopped worrying about the whip around her neck, trying to tuck the keys out of his reach.
In quarters this close, the last thing she needed was Ainsu to be free of the cuffs.

Morrigan frowned. "I wonder what happened..."

Morrigan nodded. "Might be a good idea." she sighed. "What a gloomy subject."

The pain that Kaguyo felt, while noticeable to Ainsu, was not apparent in her actions or her words at all.
He had hit a very, very deep nerve with almost deadly accuracy, but she could only express her pain with anger, attacking him outright.
Whip around her neck or not, she didn't care. If she didn't subdue and disarm him before she passed out, that would be a huge problem on her hands she didn't want to deal with from Aled.
She punched his face, stomach, anywhere she could with all the force she could muster; the woman had considerable spirit when it came to fighting, for as cold as she normally was. "Whose fault do you think it was that I was cold and depressed?!" she demanded, using his words. "You selfish, stuck up ******** b*****d! You think I would have ended up this way if you hadn't left me to die?! I had no one to trust for years! YEARS, Ainsu-kun, A FULL DECADE!!"
She rushed him into the wall, pinning his arm to the stone and trying to loosen his grip. "Do you know what it's like to know that to open up, even just a little bit, means you will be absolutely wrecked and ripped apart?!" she demanded.
Inside she could have been crying.
"I didn't even realize I could trust Aled-kun until today... Ten damn years, Ainsu, TEN! When you go about life completely alone, you don't usually end up like some bubbly, air-headed t**t! How could you even expect that of me?!" she demanded indignantly, slamming him against the wall. "That's like expecting someone to stay alive breathing water! THIS is why I would want to torture you, for when you say absolutely f#^king imbecilic bullshit like THAT! But YES, I am cold, and I am depressed----but rocks are smarter than you are, and you're utterly ******** heartless! Aled won't abandon me the way you did.. He hasn't yet, and I doubt he wil now that I'm Queen." she snarled. "How the hell do you get it in your head that even apologizing to the woman you absolutely destroyed will hurt her? Maybe I should rip off your arm with the whip, here, and then leave you to heal on your own, because you obviously won't bleed yourself to death."
She let him have a few more punches to the face before speaking again. "But Aled-kun will heal me. Did you know I smiled today, Ainsu? I smiled for the first time in f^#ing YEARS!" she yelled angrily, kneeing him in the gut. "You saw the damage you caused, and you were simply too afraid to take any responsibility for it... I let you try to atone for it..." she glared, "But instead you just left things half-finished, only to bleed, fester and rot. At least Aled had the compassion to suture the wounds you caused... He won't let me bleed another drop if I so desire."

"It concerns me." Arashi replied stubbornly. "This piece has been in my family since the early ages of Japan... and I will not allow you to tell me what to do with it."

~~~

Po-ar smiled slightly. "True... but it could provide a potential weakness."

~~~

Anger, rage... emotions that Ainsu hadn't even known he possessed were flowing through him at Kaguyo's words.
He succeeded in blocking many of her hits, but not all.
When she had finished speaking and the Tarnb-jin was pinned against the wall, did he finally speak.
The whip fell from Ainsu's hand, but it was clear that he had thrown it down instead.
"I tried to atone for it. But you believed Aled's words over my own." Ainsu spoke, his voice calm once again. "I can't help it if you're too stubborn to realize what a b*****d and a liar he is."

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Ainsu carefully wiped the blood from his mouth, but he did not look amused nor angry.
"How can I make good on my own promises, when you have yet to give me the chance?" the man asked seriously. "I tried, Kaguyo. If you hadn't come back, you'd be safe now. Yes, I would still be here, but you would have been safe from Aled. And now, without even realizing it, he has turned you against me... against everything we once fought side by side to protect."

~~~

"Aren't I always?" Po-ar asked with a slight laugh.

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Kaguyo shook her head. "You've shown me everything I've needed to see yourself, Ainsu." her eyes met with his.
She was blocking herself from him now. "It's my fault that I'm a cold, bitter woman." she glared, "I apparently need some protection from my selfless husband... You speak of those things we protected as if I was somehow helped by all of that! What did I get for fighting for that cause, hmn?! I got sacrificed to the machine, and once we achieved everything, I was still as worthless as before!"
She couldn't hide her hurt---her hatred, her distrust---from Ainsu anymore. It just seemed like he had a talent of saying the wrong things. "You speak to me as if you actually took the time to treat me well... as if it's some big surprise that I chose Aled over you..." she trembled, her rage making her laugh even.
He had her in utter disbelief that he had the audacity to say anything he was. "I couldn't do anything to make myself worth your time before... and I have given up now, Ainsu. I went to the one person who hasn't screwed me over, surprisingly, even though I've been fighting against him all this time...!"
She moved her hand quickly, lashing the man up the torso, across his neck and face as well. "I've had enough of your words! That's all you ever are, Ainsu----nothing but meaningless, frivolous, empty words!"
NOW she intended to leave, before the possibility emerged that she might kill him.

Morrigan grinned. "I think we went over this already." she chuckled, nuzzling him. "I know you will be this time though. You'll be fine."

"And who are you to be telling her who to ally with or not?" Garren countered, crossing his arms. "I won't give you a single fragment, Fianna---and we certainly won't be taking orders from you, threats or not."

Kitaria cocked her head slightly as Arashi drew her blade, seeming more amused than bothered by the weapon, despite the fact that it was obsiouly made of steel.

She looked back to Garren. "Ah, so that's why she's here then. And you should at least infrom her than Fianna do not make threats, only promises. You stole pieces of the Cauldron, Garren. She may have a right to carry one, but you do not."

And suddenly Kitaria's twins blades where in her hands as swiftly and as suddenly as if they had appeared thre by magic.

"One more warning, Garren. Give me the pieces you stole."

While Ainsu had easily blocked her other attacks... the kick to the cheek did send him flying.
Pushing himself up off the stone floor, the Tarnb-jin's eyes glared up at her.
"Then I'll kill him." the man whispered, standing and facing Kaguyo with a certainty he had not possessed earlier. "I'll kill Aled and free you... I'll prove myself to you one way or another."

~~~

"But I did deserve it." Po-ar conceded.

~~~

Arashi moved to stand between Garren and Kitaria. "Leave here." the Japanese woman replied angrily. "Leave here and forget about the cauldron."

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