Interlude #2: Kill You

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"Unto this unholy alliance with death that has been made through my body…"

Kuroko grew to abhor the mercy that was given to him. He did not want to be pitied, but rather praised for his ability. No one gave him that love…

In time, he grew to embrace the pain and call it his own, to live with the disability that it gave him as well as the awesome strength. He grew to hate, to kill, to destroy everything that he saw fit. He grew up far too fast, bearing within him a maturity that surpassed even the age of his elder brother. One could not see it at first, in this small child’s body, in this boy who should have been playing games with other children his age instead of meditating for hours on end. But then he would look into his eyes and stare into the wizered visage of an old man who had lived through war and death, who had experienced every perverse fetish of failure that existed on the face of reality, who had been raped time and time again by an ugly truth that disguised itself with lies. He sought nothing more than [justice], and through a distorted honor he found his reasons to fight. He saw the world through eyes of back and white, and the only person willing to fill in the void was Kazega.

When Tsukiyo Hikoken, the man of the burning flame, sought to kill his brother, Kuroko lent no mercy. Even the spirit embued within the fiery warrior--- Shogi--- fell before his might. The young boy’s sword never even left its scabbard as raw energy flowed through the his arms, his stolid face never moving as he pounded his foe with torrents of crackling blue force. He did not stop until Tsukiyo was beaten and bloodied, his bones broken, his pride shattered. Only then did his small katana flash forth from its shealth; to administer a death proper of a samurai upon this broken man. But Kazega would not let him.

"Naze?" ("Why?") said Kuroko coldly. "He is your rival. He seeks only your death. Better to slay him now than to allow him even an attempt at the same task again."

"No, Kuroko," said Kazega. "He has done nothing wrong. He has only come to seek my hand in battle in a fair fight, and there is no shame in that. He did not fall until he was physically unable to stand and even now he still seeks to pull himself up upon broken legs. There is valor in that, and that means he has merit. It is not worth it to kill such a man."

"You are foolish, Ani," ("big brother") sneered Kuroko. "To let your enemies live, to turn your back to their open blades, that is a fool’s choice. Maybe I should have let him kill you."