Colors of our Souls

12. You Understand?

Pandora:

I'm sitting on the bare ground as Kari sleeps the morning away.

Dumbass, using so much magic power at once.

"What time is it?" Kari asks, voice completely alert even though she was just sleeping.

"Around noon," I reply.

Kari stands, somehow completely steady on her feet again.

"I guess it's time to head back," her voice is even less emotional than usual.

Well she seems completely unfazed by last night, heartless much Kari?

"Alright, but I have no idea where I'm going, so lead the way."

Kari starts walking away through the forest down a path only she seems to be able to see.

~~~

After about an hour of walking in silence, Kari and I encounter a small, village like thing. With white and tan houses lining a large, clear grassy area.

Without warning, Kari once again takes off running in a seemingly random direction.

"Wanna share with the class Kari," I shout after her, although I know it's hopeless. Once she gets like this, there's no stopping her.

Damn that woman and her super hearing.

Ikari:

I heard it, a sound I am all too familiar with...

The sound of abuse.

I once again leave Panda behind as I run off without explanation. She'll figure it out.

I even use my sky magic to run faster, my feet hardly touching the ground as I dash full tilt toward the sound, cloak billowing behind me in the wind I'm creating.

Seconds later, I reach the front garden of an enormous mansion.

This must be the Heartfilia estate...

My mind quickly connects the dots. Layla Heartfilia, who passed away recently, and Jude Heartfilia had a daughter didn't they? Mr. Heartfilia is very devoted to his work and definitely will not tolerate any distractions. If I were him, I would probably view a teenage daughter as a major distraction.

I run straight up to the front door, twisting the expensive looking knob.

Locked, oh well, guess I'll just have to let it go.

Ha, as if.

Abruptly, I twist the knob harder, breaking the mechanism inside.

The door pushes inward soundlessly. I close the door behind me with a quiet click as I listen for the source of commotion.

Suddenly, I see two guards walking out of the hallway on my right. They are talking, so they don't notice me. Quickly, I analyze their armor. Well, their temples are unguarded thanks to the quite stupid armor design. I whip out two of my single bladed throwing knives, silently throwing them and nailing both guards on the head with the butt of each knife. They fall to the ground unconscious before either can say another word. I retrieve my fallen weapons before stopping to listen again.

I can hear muffled sobbing to my right, probably a few rooms over. Smoothly, I walk silently down the hallway decorated with tasteful paintings of landscapes, objects, and famous people, but no pictures of the family.

Soon I reach a door that is cracked open slightly. A low conversation takes place within, with an older male, probably Jude's voice, and a sweeter feminine voice, most likely the Heartfilia daughter.

"Dad, I just.... I don't want to marry him! I don't love him-" The feminine voice sobs.

Love? What is that really? I know what it is, but the dictionaries' definitions seemed quite vague.

The man's voice raises in irritation, "Love doesn't matter! This is your duty to the family, just imagine all the money we could bring in with this deal."

"But I don't care about getting more money! You have plenty of it already."

Just one moment passes in total silence before I hear a sharp slap from inside the room.

In one smooth motion, I kick the door open, a little too hard apparently because it flies off its hinges and straight across the room, crashing through the window and landing on the ground a couple of feet below.

My four of my shurikens are already out, two in each hand, spread out like razor sharp, deadly fans. With precision to the millionth of an inch, I throw them at Jude, who is standing in front of the wall next to his fallen daughter in shock.

The first two shurikens snatch the shoulders of his coat, followed by the other two that catch his sleeves farther down, securely pinning him to the wall.

I notice a small, baby blue backpack underneath a chair. The girl is looking at me with a mix of fear, shock and awe. Her features are soft, with large, brown eyes and relatively short, golden hair.

Wait, brown? Gold,? How is she important to me?

I speak to the girl in a soft voice, "Get your bag and wait outside, if you see someone waiting out there, tell them that Kari sent you."

She looks more shocked, but she complies, hesitating slightly at the door.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt your dad."

She still hesitates. Sighing, I slowly pull my hood back and stare at her calmly for a moment. She must see something in my eyes, because she nods and leaves almost immediately.

Turning back to Jude, I walk up to him, standing about a foot away. Before, he was too shocked to call for help, but now, I can see him take a deep breath in preparation to scream for the body guards that I already took out.

In a flash of black, I have a knife pressed against his throat for just one short moment before I put it away equally fast. He seems to get the main idea of 'if you try anything, you're dead.'

I can feel my hair cool slightly as my dark streak spreads, making Mr. Heartfilia tremble slightly in fear. I glare furiously up at him with what Panda calls my 'death glare.'

I begin speaking, voice low and threatening, "so you believe that money is more important than your own family's happiness."

He does not answer, which is fine because I already know the answer. I continue my angry speech.

"You should have cherished them, your family, but instead, you selfishly continue to serve only your own wants. You already lost one person that you claimed to love, and now you have driven the other away with your greed."

Jude looks like I may have just pierced his heart, which I would believe if I thought he had one to pierce.

"A daughter deserves to be cherished by her father and mother, she already lost both of those, or rather, she lost one and the other never really counted as a parent."

I am at least a foot shorter than him, but Jude is clearly intimidated when I lean forward, fists clenched and barley restrained at my sides.

"I hope you understand, because you certainly didn't before today," my voice comes out in an angry snarl.

He nods slightly, eyes clenched tightly closed.

That's not enough for me.

Anger flaring, I punch the wall just inches away from his side, fist going straight through with a loud crash.

"ANSWER ME!"

"I-I understand," he stutters quietly.

I back away, snatching my shurikens out of the wall quickly as Jude flinches away from me. I pull my hood back over my head swiftly.

Silently, I walk away, eerily calm, as if nothing happened.