Growing Pains

Chapter 34

"I wouldn't tire yourself out Shinrai," Seishin said with a smile as he watched the young teen struggle.

Shinrai struggled to break his restraints as he kept his eyes on the unconscious figure on the floor. He pulled with all his might, but the metal wouldn't budge. Seishin continued watching him with a small smile, amusement written clearly on his face. After a couple minutes of struggling the teen slumped to the ground, panting. A giggle caused Shinrai to look up, and his green eyes widened.

"Aw, looks like the lover boy is finished already," Kazoku said as she walked up towards the panting teen.

"Kazoku...? What...?" Shinrai started to say, but was cut off when Kazoku grabbed a hold of his chin, forcing his face up.

"I'm here to rule the world," she grinned.

Kazoku gave a harsh laugh as she dropped Shinrai's chin and walked over to Seishin. She draped herself over Seishin's lap, cooing in his ear. Shinrai sat still, eyes wide in confusion. The woman who showed him so much kindness and helped him find Araile...was just doing it so they could rule the world. His green eyes went to Araile's still-form and he bit his lip. He didn't know if she was alive or not. Shaking his head, Shinrai tugged at his restraints again. Araile was still alive, he just had to get to her.

Seishin snapped his fingers, and two figures suddenly appeared from behind him. Shinrai's eyes widened even more when he noticed the two figures: two tall people with dark blue hair with white streaks.

"Meiyo...Taiyo..." Shinrai whispered.

The two people he thought he would never see were standing behind Seishin and Kazoku. Except their eyes weren't red...they were black. Black and dead. Seishin was controlling them!

"We must eradicate this one on the floor. You know what to do," Seishin said to the two siblings behind him.

They nodded in unison and walked forward. Shinrai tried to lunge forward to stop them, but the chains held him back.

"No! Stop! What are you doing?" he yelled as he continued struggling.

The siblings picked Araile up by her arms and sat her up. They took chains and brought them to her, barely batting an eye as they chained her wrists. Araile's head rolled to the side; her bangs covering half of her face.

Kazoku smiled evilly and got off of Seishin's lap as Shinrai continued struggling. Shinrai's ears caught the slight sound of a small groan coming from the girl in the centre of the room. Her eyes fluttered and opened slowly. Gold orbs blearily looked around as Araile slowly came-to.

"Araile!" Shinrai called as he struggled again.

Her ear twitched slowly as Shinrai continued struggling, the chain rattles echoing throughout the room. She blinked again, and she looked up.

"Shinrai? What...what happened?" she said groggily.

Her head rolled to the side, and her eyes landed on the siblings who were standing off to the side. Her eyes widened as she took in her best friend all those years ago.

"M-Meiyo?" she breathed out, mouth open in shock.

Seishin cackled as he sat up straighter.

"These two are marvellous demons. Too bad this is the last time you see your friend Meiyo," Seishin said.

Araile glared at Seishin as he stood up from his stone chair. He stalked over to Araile, reminding her of a predator playing with its prey. He walked around Araile with a large smile on his face, and stopped in front of her. With a wide and crazed smile he placed a hand on top of her head, gripping her hair. He pulled her hair back along with her head, causing her to grunt in pain.

"Sweet Araile, I'm afraid I will have to eradicate you from the face of this earth," he said softly in her pointed ear, causing her eyes to widen.

He stood up and walked towards his stone throne. He sat down as Araile began struggling in her restraints. With a single hand sign, chakra-like ropes burst from Seishin and raced towards Araile. They wrapped around the struggling girl and began to squeeze her. With a snap of his fingers, the ropes sizzled with electricity.

White-hot pain raced through Araile, and a scream burst out from her throat. Shinrai watched with wide-eyed fear as the chakra ropes continued constricting and electrocuting Araile, and he renewed his struggles to break his restraints. Araile's screams echoed in his ears as he continued struggling. If he didn't get out of these cuffs soon, Araile would surely die.

The seconds ticked by and the screams became more desperate and piercing. Shinrai gritted his teeth as he began to get desperate. Blood began to flow from her wounds and puddled on the floor. A gush of blood spurted from her lips, and her gold eyes squeezed shut from the pain. It felt like someone was stabbing Araile with one million shuriken and kunai at the same time. Blood continued pouring from her lips as the torture continued, much to Seishin's pleasure.

"Araile!" Shinrai screamed in desperation.

A loud cackle sounded as Kazoku watched the teen struggling. Araile suddenly began coughing and spluttering, and her breath began to gurgle. Shinrai's eyes snapped to her form as she struggled to breathe. The chakra ropes squeezed around her body again, and Araile let out another cry before slumping forward. Blood ran down her chin from her mouth like a small river, and Seishin sat forward, his eyes intent on her form. He made the single hand sign, and the chakra ropes retracted from her form and the electrical shocks ceased.

"Let's see if we have successfully eradicated the weak link," Seishin mused as he stood up and walked towards Araile's still form.

"Araile! Don't touch her!" Shinrai snarled as he watched Seishin kneel down beside Araile.

Seishin reached towards Araile's neck and pressed his index and middle finger to the side of her neck, checking for a pulse. After a moment of silence, Seishin stood back up and turned towards Kazoku. Shinrai's eyes widened when he saw a large smile across Seishin's face. His heart stopped when he turned his gaze towards Araile's slumped body.

"It's done, my dear Kazoku. Now that the weakest link has been eradicated, we can continue our plans," Seishin said as he walked towards Kazoku.

Shinrai's entire body felt numb as he gazed at the slumped form. Seishin snapped his fingers, and Meiyo and Taiyo walked over to Araile's still form. They took off the restraints, and let the chains fall to the floor with a dull 'clunk'. Araile's body leaned to the side, and Shinrai watched with wide eyes as her body fell to the side. Her eyes were closed, and her skin began to grow paler and paler.

Shinrai bowed his head and clenched his teeth, tears threatening to come out. His fists clenched tightly as his body shook. If he was there for her...they would still be out together in the air.