TNG: Iblis, the First Hero

Episode 27: Honor

Honor

            Cid was awakened by a loud crash in the house.  Instinctively jumping out of bed, he slowly twisted the doorknob and quietly stepped into the hallway.

            There was another loud crash, causing him to pause in his tracks.  He could hear the sound of voices downstairs.

            “I told you I don’t want any trouble.  Just tell me where Cideion Rodgers is,” a male voice stated quietly.  He knew he recognized the voice, but for some reason he couldn’t remember who it belonged to.

            “I told him I would protect him from people like you,” a female voice that Cid immediately recognized as Celine’s, retorted.  There was an audible weakness in her voice.

            He inched his way closer to the steps.

            “Again,” the male voice commanded.  Cid heard another loud crash, followed by a scream that could only be Celine’s.

            Leaping into action, he threw himself down the stairs and around the corner.  As if someone had been expecting him, he found himself immediately restrained.

            Unable to move, he analyzed the room.  There were no fewer than ten Yakuza in the room, blending into the walls of the family room as if they were the walls themselves.  In the center of the room stood Hidate Hirigazawa, standing next to another, large man holding a baseball bat (Cid immediately recognized as one of the men who killed his parents). 

            Laying at the man’s feet was a bloody mass of person.  Cid tried to get a closer look, and it wasn’t until he met the dark green eyes of this mass that he began to recognize it.

            “Oh… Hey Cid…” Celine muttered casually, as if they were having a normal conversation.  “Told you I could protect you,”

            Hirigazawa turned his attention towards Cid.  “This is what happens when you cross me, Cideion Rodgers.  People get hurt,” he explained.  “Finish her,” he calmly commanded, motioning to the man with the bat.

            Cid screamed in horror as the man with the bat savagely brought the bat down several times, causing blood to splatter all over the room.

            The Yakuza restraining him began to shake him, as if trying to get him to stop screaming, but the screaming wouldn’t stop.

            “Wake up, Cid.  Wake up!” One of the goons shouted.

            “Wake up!” The voice was slowly becoming feminine.

            All of a sudden the room was dark.  He was back in his bedroom.  Celine had been the one shaking him, and both of her parents stood nearby.

            “You were having a nightmare,” she stated.

            He surveyed the room around him.  “I see,” he muttered quietly.  He could feel the sweat covering his body.  It was just a dream… He told himself.  But why had it felt so real?

Ω

            “Are you going to tell me what that dream was about?” she asked the following morning as they made their way up to the school doors.

            “I don’t want to talk about it,” he muttered curtly.  The sooner he could forget the dream, the better.

            “I see.  Well my parents have scheduled a ‘family meeting’ of sorts for this afternoon.  Prepare yourself,”