I'm back! It's good to be back after such a long time. I'm still going through what I'm going through, but you know what, I'm actually feeling better emotionally. So, I decided randomly to start writing this story that I'd planned for years now. I hope you guys like it. Also, don't worry about my other two stories, I'm going to put those on hold for a bit and focus on this one.

This fic was inspired by Flowing Blood, written by rainieblack.

TW: A little NSFW


Episode I - Wind and Lightning


Komaki took the last bite of her jelly filled doughnut as the house went ablaze in front of her eyes.

The Enjutsushi in there must not be doing such a great job, Komaki thought.

She stood up from the tree branch, licking the glaze off her fingers and brushing away the crumbs off of her yellow dress. A moment later, smoke came billowing out of the windows; she felt the wind picking up and smiled. Of course her Kazuma had no issue with dealing with the youma. Then Komaki heard a loud, hellish screech coming from the house, the heavy energy around her lightened as the monster's presence faded.

Komaki stood up from the tree branch and lifted herself off into the air. Static blue lines sparked out and around her as she glided towards the Western-styled house and entered through the monstrous hole in the wall.

"I can tell that it's going to take a lot of money to fix this place up." Komaki said, planting her feet on the floor. Her blue sparks began to disappear from her body.

Kazuma was unsurprised to see her while a young man with long dirty-blond hair stared at her, bewildered. The owner of the house, a man in a bright red tweed jacket covered in soot and smoke, was coming out of his dazed shock.

"Yeah, more than likely." Kazuma replied, shrugging. "But whatever. At least I'm not paying for it."

"That's true," said Komaki, turning to look at the owner. "You can probably fix or buy a new house, right?"

The owner just blinked several times, "Y-yes, I suppose so." he said.

"That's good. Just remember to have your house blessed." Komaki replied, skirting around the man with long dirty-blond hair laying on the floor and grabbing Kazuma's arm with a smile. "Can we get some more doughnuts, please?"

"What? Ate all of them already?"

"Of course I did and they were delicious."

"Alright. There's a Coffee Shop nearby. We can go there." Kazuma said. He turned to the man in the tweed jacket, "Remember Oyaji, money in three days."

When the man nodded, Komaki and Kazuma walked past the Enjutsushi and towards the hole in the wall.

"Hey! Wait, don't ignore me!" shouted the dirty-blond haired man, jumping onto his feet.

Komaki and Kazuma turned to look at him. The Fuujutsushi raised a brow. "Oh, you're still here, Shinji?"

The Fire-Magic User, Shinji, grit his teeth and yelled, "Just what the hell?! You're a Wind-Magic User now? And who is she? What's she doing here?"

"It's none of your business who she is and yeah, I became a Fuujutsushi." Kazuma smirked. "I am the Black Sheep of the family, remember?"

Komaki saw the sad look in Kazuma's eyes. She didn't say anything, all she did was gently place her hands on his face and made him look at her. The look in his eyes was still there, but he did send Komaki a small smile and kissed her palm. Komaki smiled back, caressing his handsome face with her thumbs.

"Let's go, Komaki."

The wind picked up around them and the couple was out of the house, taking to the skies.


While they were walking on the engawa, Ayano listened to Ren talk excitedly about his older brother coming back to Japan.

Kannagi Ren was her second cousin, younger than her by four years. He was shorter than Ayano with still some baby fat on his cheeks, golden-blond hair reaching to the nape of his neck with a part in the middle as his bangs touched his cheeks. Ren's large, innocent green eyes were like the shade of emeralds. He was out of his Junior High school uniform and wore his Track and Field's team teal sweat-suit. Just like Ayano and the rest of the Kannagi Family, Ren was an Enjutsushi.

After calming Ren down from crying, because she could barely remember his older brother, Ayano still couldn't help but to think of him as someone unimportant.

Kazuma is his name. Ayano reminded herself. But most importantly - or unimportantly - Kannagi Kazuma was a weakling, especially compared to her. He didn't even put up a real fight during the Successor Ceremony for Enraiha. That she could remember. One fire spell from her and he was defeated, laying on the ground covered in sweat.

Heh, showed who was the strongest out of the both of us.

Ayano slid open the shoji door of the Meeting Room to greet her father, but before she could, all eyes were on her and Ren. He was sitting with Cousin Genma and Cousin Shinji of the Yuuki Branch, his face more stoic than normal.

Her father, Kannagi Juugo was a tall man with some wrinkles on his rectangular-shaped face, lightly-tanned skin, long graying-white hair and sharp grayish-green eyes. He wore his favorite kimono in different shades of green. Right next to him was his red Fritz-styled cane. Her father was the current Head of the Kannagi Family, which meant that he was a man of the highest importance and deserving of the utmost respect. Her father was a picture of serenity, always emanating a calm air around him.

Tense couldn't even begin to describe what Ayano was feeling within the room. She noticed that her Cousin Shinji was trembling on the tatami mats, sitting in dogeza, his forehead planted so deeply into the floor that Ayano believed for a second he was stuck. Yuuki Shinji was one of her many cousins, either fourth removed or fifth removed. Hell, he might have been sixth removed. Truthfully, Ayano couldn't for the life of her remember how she was related to so many people, a lot of marriages happened throughout the Kannagi Family History with other Fire-Magic Using Families. This is the reason why she called most of her family members 'cousins,' unless said otherwise.

Cousin Shinji looked a lot like his older brother, Shingo, to the point it was an inner joke within the family that they were actually twins. The brothers both had shoulder-length, dirty-blond hair and ember eyes with square faces. Cousin Shinji was shorter than his brother and wanted to act more of a thug, or 'gangsta' as he liked to clarify. In Ayano's opinion, he was a decent Enjutsushi who can hold his own against a youma, but not able to win in a fight with her.

Ayano made eye contact with Ren and knew that he thought the same thing as her.

Something happened. And whatever it is, it can't be good. Ayano gingerly took a step inside, leaving her shoes out on the engawa. She asked, "Otou-Sama, what's going on?"

Her father only said, "Sit down Ayano. Ren. We have much to discuss."

"Alright." Ayano sheepishly said, stalking towards a zabuton that was directly in front of her father. Ren was trailing behind her.

He proceeded to tell her and Ren about her unimportant second cousin Kazuma. Not only did he become a Fuujutsushi, he was also traveling with a strange woman named Komaki.

"It's unbelievable." Ayano blurted. "So he's a Wind-Magic User now? And that woman. Do you know who she is, Otou-Sama?"

"Not necessarily, but I have an idea of who her family might be." he said. He glanced down at Cousin Shinji. "Describe her again, Shinji."

"Yes, Sousho," Cousin Shinji said, "The woman he was traveling with had black, spiky hair; blue eyes. Her eyes, though, reminded me of the color of lightning. She had foreign features. European, I believe. But you can still tell that she is Japanese. Her accent was a bit strange. It was a mix of Eastern European and Hokkaido-ben. And..."

"And what, Shinji?" Cousin Genma pressed.

Cousin Shinji lifted up his head, only slightly. The tatami mats left indented markings on his forehead. His cheeks were tinted pink.

"And she was beautiful. Very beautiful." he finished, then his forehead touched the soft woven floors once again.

Ayano rolled her eyes. Men.

"Oh!" Cousin Shinji said suddenly. "She also had sparks coming from her body. It looked like electricity."

"Electricity?" Ren wondered.

"That does sound familiar." Cousin Genma said to her father. "She sounds like she's apart of the Inuzuma Clan."

Her father nodded. "Indeed she does. Shinji, you may go and get some rest. You'll wake up early in the morning to start your training."

"Yes, Sousho." Shinji then turned and bowed to Cousin Genma. "Genma-Sama." Cousin Shinji left the Meeting Room, leaving alone the members of the Main Family.

"Otou-Sama, who are the Inuzuma's?" asked Ren.

Genma answered his youngest son, "I'm not surprised that you don't know who they are. Our families barely interact, if at all. We do operate on different halves of the country. The Inuzuma Clan is a family of Lightning-Magic Users. They are said to be the strongest in the East, being descendants of the Spirit King of Lightning. At least, that's what they say."

"Really? Direct descendants?" Ayano exclaimed, shocked to her core. "Is something like that really possible? To be an actual descendant of a Spirit King?"

Cousin Genma shrugged, "I don't think so. It's like claiming to be a child of Zeus. You know that families back in the day would write down that they were related to somebody important to brag and receive notoriety, but actually had no relations whatsoever. Those Inuzuma's more than likely did that, but with a Spirit King. Honestly, it's disrespectful to the Spirit King and highly arrogant of them to do so."

"But," Ren started, "there's the Omizushiya Family of Gujo Hachiman. They said that they're descendants of the Spirit King of Water."

Cousin Genma scoffed, "Of course they would. Spirit Kings making Contractors is one thing, but to actually make children with humans? That's something out of a woman's fantasy. Bedding a Godly figure."

As Ren blushed a little, Ayano frowned. While her Cousin Genma never voiced his opinion about Ayano, a girl, becoming the next Head of the Family, he, like the older men in the family, would make a few comments about women that made Ayano's skin crawl.

Kannagi Genma was her father's first cousin, making him Ayano's second cousin, once removed. He and her father had similar features: tall, lightly-tanned skin, wrinkles due to growing age; rectangular-shaped faces and sharp eyes, but instead of having graying-green like his first cousin, the other man had orangish-brown. His hair was short, tawny brown and slicked-back. He wore a simple black turtleneck with a pair of dark brown slacks. Cousin Genma was an imposing figure amongst the family as he was considered to be the most powerful out of all of them. As much as Ayano would never admit, he can defeat her in a fight.

"I still can't believe it, Otou-Sama." Ayano said. "Him. Being a Fuujutsushi and traveling with a Raijutsushi."

Her father's arms crossed over his chest, "We've heard the rumors, but we just wrote it off as that until now."

"So, you're telling me that my second cousin, Kannagi Kazuma, who left the family four years ago, truly became a Wind-Magic User." Ayano scoffed. "Are you serious? A member of the Kannagi Family has actually trained themselves in Wind-Magic? I can't believe that. That's just so-"

"It's embarrassing and shameful." Cousin Genma's deep voice interrupted her.

"...I pity him. Despite myself." her father stated, which surprised her. She knew her father was a kind man, but a member of their family became a Fuujutsushi. If it were her, she would feel embarrassed for the whole family. She does feel embarrassed for the entire family. "He'd never had an easy path. If only he hadn't been born into the Kannagi Family, then he wouldn't have anything to be ashamed of."

"But he was," Cousin Genma said, harshly. "He didn't have the ability to control fire. The Kannagi Family has been training with Fire-Magic and worshiping the Spirit King of Fire for countless generations. Our family has no place for someone who can't follow our ways."

"Genma..." her father didn't bother to hide his disappointment as it was evident on his face.

"Therefore, Kazuma doesn't have any connection to us at all." Cousin Genma continued. "And as far as I'm concerned, I only have one son."

Ren, similar to her father, didn't hide his disappointment as he dropped his head and clutched his hands into fists on his knees. Ayano feels a little bad, but only because of the look on her younger cousins' face.

Her father sighed, "Perhaps it's for the best. Wind-Magic may allow Kazuma to achieve true happiness. He does have that Raijutsushi by his side, so maybe he is already."

"...Do you think," Ren started, his voice cracking a little. "that Onii-Sama could be a part of our family again?"

Probably not. Ayano wanted to say, but she kept quiet for Ren's sake. It would be better if Kazuma stayed far away from them. They were Kannagi's. They didn't need the shame.

Cousin Genma didn't say anything to his 'only' son.


He was being burned by the fire, her fire. His second cousin, Ayano, only used one attack on him. He screamed.

"Otou-Sama! Please, help me!"

Then his father appeared behind him. He looked down at him, frustrated and disgusted.

"You're supposed to be the Heir to the Kannagi Family!" his father sneered. "This is pathetic! You have shamed me for the last time! Now leave!"

Kazuma shot his eyes open and almost jumped out of the bed. Komaki woke up immediately beside him and wrapped her arms around him, brushing her hand in his hair as he tried to control his breathing and stop his shaking.

"Kazama," Komaki said, gently. She was always gentle with him. "Breathe with me."

He did as she said and soon he was calm, but he noticed that his hands were still shaking.

"Well, so much for thinking that I put all this behind me." Kazuma scoffed to himself, but then turned to stare at the closed curtains.

"Pryanichek, it's okay if you aren't-"

Kazuma was on his feet in a second and opened the curtains, the moonlight peered in through the window. Komaki quickly grabbed a kopek off of the bedside table and stood beside him with a hard look in her eyes. Small blue sparks emitted from her body as she held up the coin, ready to launch.

The energy around them felt so dark, so unbalanced. It was unnatural. But just as fast as it came, the dark aura vanished.

Kazuma made eye contact with Komaki who looked back out the window, trying to sense something. Her frown deepens as she lowers her arm with the foreign coin.

"Nothing. Whatever it was. It's gone now." her blue eyes looked up at him. "Back to bed?"

Taking one more look out the window, Kazuma nodded, "Yeah."

Kazuma grabbed Komaki and fell on top of her on the bed. He draped the blanket on them and just held her as she did the same to him. Soon sleep possessed them and Kazuma didn't have another nightmare that night.


"Kazuma, stop it." Komaki whined, pulling away from him. "I'm trying to brush my hair."

"Hmm," Kazuma replied, softly planting kisses on the back of her neck.

While she held a brush in one of her hands, Komaki firmly pushed Kazuma away with the other. But when she saw his rather adorable pout, she let out a giggle. "Honey, I'm trying to get ready for today and I can't do that if you're acting like a starving caveman." Komaki gathered some of her hair and began to brush out the ends.

Komaki felt Kazuma's hands caress her arms, slowly and gently; his lips brushing against her hair free shoulder. He placed a kiss on a faded scar. "But you like it when I go caveman."

The young woman shivered under his touch and the tone of his voice; husky and seductive. Komaki felt him smirk against her skin.

"Komaki," The Fuujutsushi's lips traveled down on her back, kissing her spine, reaching to the low U-shaped fabric of her white dress. Komaki bit her bottom lip, keeping in her mewl.

However, Komaki pulled away from him before he could do anything else to her.

"No, Kazuma. I have to finish getting ready." Komaki stood up from their bed and finished brushing her hair. Finally, she thought while putting on a silvery hairpin. It was in the shape of a lily with a diamond in each petal.

She looked down at Kazuma, who had a bit of a muffled expression in his orange-brown eyes. She put her hands on her hips and grinned. "We're going shopping and that's final."

Kazuma groaned, falling back on the bed. "I hate shopping. You know this, babe."

"I know, but I need someone to carry my bags," Kazuma just gave her an unamused stare. She continued, "and I need help to pick out some new panties and maybe some thongs. You're the best person to help me."

After a minute of silence, Kazuma sighed, getting up from the bed. "Okay, fine. But you're modeling for me later."

"Oh, I was going to do that anyway." Komaki said, moving to sit on the couch. "Now, I'm going to sit here for a second and you're not going to seduce me."

"I know. I know. Seduce later."

As Komaki sat on the couch, she was going down her mental list of all of the things needs to take with her before leaving and the stuff she plans on buying. She had her wallet filled with Yen instead of Rubles and the hotel's keycard was in Kazuma's jeans pocket. I should also buy Kazuma some new clothes, Komaki thought, Winter is coming soon. The coat he has now is worn-out. I'll just get him something better than that old thing.

"Alright, let's go." Komaki said, rising up from the couch.

Both Magic Users grabbed their jackets - black leather and navy blue jean respectively - and left their hotel room, walking down the hall and into the elevator.

Suddenly, without looking at her, Kazuma said in Cantonese, "Someone's following us. A Fuujutsushi. So be careful."

Komaki nodded, understandingly. Then she furrowed her brows in concentration. Komaki felt her Magic expanding and saw an intricate grid of pipes and other metallic inklings in her mind.

Sharp and cool. Komaki reminded herself, still searching. Soon she found the Fuujutsushi and silently cheered.

"I found him. But he's not the one from last night." She continued in Cantonese.

"I know. Let's keep an eye out for them. We don't know what he wants with us." Kazuma said, wrapping an arm around her waist and leaving the elevator.

It was only their second day back in their home country and they already have enemies.


Glancing up sharply, a cool breeze touched the red sale sign, Kazuma tightened his hold on Komaki's waist. His eyes narrowed at the invisible tracker that was perched on the sign. The other Fuujutsushi had been trailing him and Komaki all day while they were shopping. It was hard to enjoy themselves, knowing that they were being followed.

He looked over at Komaki, who he knew could sense the person not too far from them. While the aura seemed familiar, it still wasn't the same one he felt last night. Dark and sickening is what he sensed; not this cool, calming energy.

Kazuma led himself and Komaki into a construction area when he saw two young men about to corner them. Seeing their furious faces, Kazuma nudged Komaki behind him protectively.

"KAZUMA! YOU MURDEROUS, SON OF A BITCH!" Yuuki Shingo, the Heir to the Yuuki Branch Family, roared like an unhinged beast. He appeared to be around the same age as Kazuma and Komaki with long dirty-blond hair, squared-face and angry ember eyes. Kazuma remembered Shingo as one of his cousins to bully him, always tripping him when he walked by, putting worms in his bentos, and having some of the other cousins hold him down so that Shingo could plant a big, mucus-filled spit on him. Him and his younger brother, Shinji, were always so quick to anger, but if it was more possible, Shingo was more arrogant than Shinji.

"Hey, Kazuma," said Ogami Takeya, the Heir to the Ogami Branch Family, simply like he was talking about the weather. He was also young-looking with short and choppy black hair, calming dark green eyes and sharp, pointed features. Takeya was older than him by five years. He was always level-headed like his father, Ogami Masayuki, and never bullied Kazuma, he could actually be decent to him whenever they crossed paths. However, him and Takeya weren't close due to age differences, the latter focusing on his Heir Duties and Takeya just being a distant person in general. The only person he had a very close bond with was his little sister, Misao. "It's been awhile. You remember us?"

Kazuma scoffed, "You're the Heirs to the Branch Families."

"You know why we're here, right?"

"No. Don't have a clue."

"Last night, three Kannagi Branch Family members were killed." Takeya told him.

Kazuma shrugged, "Yeah? And?"

"The cause of their deaths was Wind-Magic."

"I'm sorry, but it wasn't him." Komaki said, glaring at his former family members. "Yes, its true that Kazuma is a Fuujutsushi, but that doesn't mean it was specifically him. There are other-"

"Just shut your fucking mouth, you stupid slut." Shingo sneered.

Komaki flinched like she was just slapped. Her hand tightened around the back of his jacket. Kazuma snarled at him, his hands curled into fists. "Don't you dare talk to her that way!"

He sent a gust of sharp wind at Shingo. The Yuuki Heir dodged it, rolling on the ground in a defensive position. His arm would have been sliced completely off if he hadn't moved. Crimson blood flowed out of his arm, staining his jacket. He gripped it, grunting.

Takeya ran to him, checking on his wound. Shingo pushed him away, shaking in anger.

"I'm going to kill you, Kazuma!" Shingo snarled. "You're going to pay for what you did to my brother! To our family!"

"Our family?" Kazuma mocked. "In case you've forgotten, I'm not a part of the family anymore. I'm not at Juugo's Beck and Call either. You can go tell him I said that."

Just then Komaki sent three bolts into the ground from her hand, the blue static lines circled beside her, streams of black-looking sand had risen and surrounded him and herself.

"W-what is that?" asked Takeya, wide-eyed along with his cousin.

The black sand gathered into Komaki's hand, forming a long weapon that looked like a sword without the hilt. "Iron sand." Komaki said simply. She flung her arm out, the tip of the black sword extended like a whip, cutting the crane off. The tracker jumped off and knelt down beside Takeya.

"So, its been the Fuuga Clan tracking us." Kazuma said.

"This is your last chance," Takeya warned. Shingo stood beside him, summoning a fireball. "Come quietly with us now, or else, Kazuma."

"Can you believe this, babe," Kazuma asked Komaki. "They can't even say please."

"I know right," Komaki said simply. "That's so rude."

Shingo growled, holding up his fireball. "DIE! YOU BASTARD!"

Kazuma easily sent a strong slash of wind, causing the fireball to explode, knocking the Branch Family Heirs down on the ground.

Both men groaned. Takeya lifted his head, only a few inches off the ground. "W-what in the world?"

"Even the invincible has their flaws." Komaki explained, keeping her eyes on Takeya, refusing to look at Shingo. "You Kannagi's might be immune to the heat of an explosion, but the impact is a lot harder to deal with."

Kazuma's eyes widened when he felt it. The same dark, sickening, unbalanced aura from last night. In a flash, a dark purple blast of wind came from behind, slicing pieces off of the crane and metal structure. Komaki shot an arm out, her blue sparks came out, racing towards the structure, but the beams crushed the two heirs. Blood seeped under the beams. Komaki lowered her arm, her sparks disappearing.

"Kazuma..." she said, her voice wavering.

"It's not your fault." Kazuma reinsured. "That was Wind-Magic."

A deep, menacing laugh billowed in the sky, Kazuma and Komaki looked up to see a grotesquely green hand surrounded by tiny Wind Spirits before vanishing.

"What in the world is going on here?" Kazuma asked, frustrated. "Spirits of the Wind, what the hell is-"

"Kazuma," Komaki interrupted. "It wasn't the Wind Spirits. It was the same aura we felt last night. So, don't blame them. They'll just get angry at yo-" she whipped her head around to see someone appear before them in a bright flame.

A young girl wielding a long, wooden-looking sword.

Kazuma looked at the sword, "Enraiha. Ayano?"

"Ayano? That's your cousin, right?" Komaki asked, keeping an eye on the teenage girl. Ayano just stared at the bodies of Takeya and Shingo.

"Yeah." he answered. "She's the next Head of the Kannagi Family."

Kannagi Ayano has grown since the last time Kazuma saw her. She was much taller, but still shorter than him and only had a little roundness to her face. Ayano had long, flowing reddish-pink hair with bangs that reminded him too much of the typical Tsundere and Himedere characters from way too many anime to count. Her ember eyes were brightly lit, her skin was clear and fair with a heart-shaped face. Ayano wore a teal-colored school uniform. In Kazuma's opinion, Ayano was probably the most spoiled girl he had the displeasure of meeting. Even though they hardly interacted during their younger years, she would always have her nose up in the air, constantly bragging how she was going to be the Head of the Family. Kazuma remembered just how smug she looked when she defeated him during the Successor Ceremony.

Jokes on her. I'm stronger now.

In a flash, Ayano snapped her head at them, her sword went ablaze and she charged at him with her arms raised up high.

"KAZUMA!" Ayano cried, swinging Enraiha.

Kazuma smoothly dodged Ayano's attacks with his arm around Komaki's waist. Using the wind, Kazuma lifted himself and Komaki on top of a metal beam.

"Listen, you got it all wrong. I didn't do it, I swear." Kazuma stated.

"He's telling the truth." Komaki told the Heiress.

Ayano ignored their words and sent fireballs at them with her sword. "I won't forgive you for this!"

Komaki shot out bolts of electricity on the ground and a large wall of iron sand blocked the fire attacks.

"What the hell is this?!" shouted Ayano, shooting more fireballs at them.

"Kazuma, should we try to talk to her?" Komaki asked. Ayano was still blasting out her fireballs.

"She won't listen to us." Kazama said, while he heard Ayano screaming, "Kazuma! Get from behind that weird wall and fight me like a man!"

"She has her mind set and stone in believing that I'm the killer." Kazuma continued. "She just saw two dead members of her family and we're the only ones here. So, it's going to be pretty hard to knock some sense into her."

Komaki looked back at the black wall of iron sand, frowning, "You heard what the other Kannagi's said. Members of their family were murdered last night and now two others are dead hours later."

Ayano was still screaming as Komaki continued, "She's the next Head of the Family, right? Ayano-Chan probably feels that it's her responsibility to find the murderer. While I don't approve of her attacking you, I see her view. However, she should work on her listening skills. That could help her out a lot."

Kazuma snorted, "Yeah, she could use a lot of it."

"Don't misunderstand me, pryanichek. I still don't like the way they treated you. Especially your parents. I'm just trying to understand both sides, you know."

Kazuma sent her a reassuring smile and connected their foreheads together, he'd caressed her hair, "Yeah, I know. You always try to understand others. That's what I love about you."

Komaki blushed, "Really?"

"That and a billion other reasons."

Komaki covered her beet red face and pushed Kazuma away. "Kazuma, stop."

Smirking, Kazuma said, "Alright, alright. Let's check on the Princess. She probably tired herself out."

Just when Komaki made a hole to look through, a war cry was heard from above as Ayano jumped in between Kazuma and Komaki. Ayano swung Enraiha at Kazama, who dodged and knocked the sword out of her hand. He held her wrist.

"Wow, you sure did grow up, didn't you?" Kazama asked, nonplussed. He saw that she was panting rather harshly, covered in sweat. Huh. And she's still able to fight. The kid's got spunk, I'll give her that.

Ayano sneered, "Flattering me will get you nowhere, you murderer!" Enraiha came back in her grasp, surrounded by flames.

She raised her sword to strike again, but electric blue lines hit her. Ayano yelped and twitched, the lines of static moved around her body. She lost her balance and fell off of the beam. Ayano landed on a soft gust of wind and was placed on the ground, still twitching a little.

Kazama landed on the ground easily with Komaki beside him.

Kazuma side-eyed Komaki, "How much voltage did you give her?"

Komaki tilted her head, "Not much. She'll be fine. In fact, she's getting up."

Ayano was on her feet as the electric lines were fading away. She glared at the two, getting into a defensive position. Then Kazama burst out laughing.

"What's so funny, huh?!" screeched Ayano.

"Y-your hair. It's everywhere."

"Huh?" Ayano touched her hair and shrilled. It was standing up everywhere. Big and poofy all around. She looked like the Bride of Frankenstein.

The Kannagi Heiress growled, "Stop this now!" she got into a defensive position with her sword and called forth the Spirits of Fire. "You have no idea who you're messing with, Kazuma! Inuzuma Komaki!"

"It's Amane Komaki." Komaki's eyebrows reached her hairline, surprised. "How do you know my name?"

"That doesn't matter now! Fight me!"

"If you insist." Kazama said, calling forth the Spirits of Wind.

With a cry, Ayano launched a huge fireball from her sword, Kazuma sliced it in half with his wind. The force of wind caused some fire to flare at Ayano, who shielded herself with Enraiha.

When the flames and the wind were gone, Ayano looked at the two, who weren't preparing for an attack. She lowered her sword hesitantly.

"Listen," Komaki started. "Kazuma didn't do it."

With one swing, Enraiha vanished in a burst of flames. Ayano scoffed, "Do you really expect me to believe a word you're saying?"

Kazama shrugged, "That's up to you. I really don't care if you believe us or not."

"Somebody killed them. If it wasn't you, then who else?"

"Somebody who probably wants revenge against your family." Komaki answered. "Somebody who is also a Wind-Magic User. Perhaps a Fuuga?"

"How dare you try to put the blame on them?! They have been serving the Kannagi Family for years! They would never betray us!"

"Well, from what Kazuma told me about your family is that you had the Fuuga Clan serve you for about 300 years. Actually, serving is the wrong word. Your family enslaved them."

"No we didn't! We helped them! The Kannagi Family gave them a better life than the ones they had!"

"Do you know who also said that?" Komaki asked. When Ayano didn't say anything, she continued, "Every other person who has oppressed another group of people. Often saying that their way of life was more civilized while the others' were inferior. And guess what? The oppressed fought back, tired of their oppressors mistreating them. I'm surprised it took the Fuuga's this long to rebel against the Kannagi's."

Komaki crossed her arms, "Tell me something, Ayano-Chan, have you ever looked at a Fuuga Clan member and thought, 'Wow, the Fuuga's are powerful. I think they can fight me on an equal footing.'"

Ayano opened her mouth, only to close her lips a second later.

"When was the last time you were ever interested in learning about their history and culture; listening to their perspective on the Kannagi and Fuuga feud?"

"Um, well-"

"Or when was it that you spoke to a Fuuga without them kneeling on the ground next to you?"

Ayano went silent with widened eyes. She shook her head and sneered at Komaki. "Shut up! You're trying to trick me! Kazuma did it! I know he did!"

"No, another Fuujutsushi did." Kazuma said, coolly. "You're going to have to find out who did. But to be honest, what I've seen tonight, I don't have much faith. So much for being the next Head of the family."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Ayano gritted her teeth. "You are the last person to be talking about family! I mean come on! A Kannagi that practices Wind-Magic, aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

Komaki sighed, shaking her head. Kazuma steadily built up wind beneath their feet. He pulled Komaki closer to him by her waist. "Not really. We'd love to stay and chat, but we have to go. We'll continue this another time."

Komaki waved at the Heiress, "Goodbye, Ayano-Chan. I'm sorry that I can't say it was a pleasant first meeting, but hopefully we can talk on better terms. Also, think about what I said, alright?"

They propelled upwards with the wind swirling. Kazuma cloaked the both of them, leaving a screaming Ayano with a gust of wind.


Komaki gazed at the glittering city of Tokyo as she floated in the air with Kazuma hugging her from behind, his chin on top of her head. The wind playfully blew in her hair. She smiled, tucking in a strand behind her ear.

"So, does this mean we're at war with the Kannagi's?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it could be fun." Kazuma replied. She didn't need to see his face to tell that he had a wicked smirk on his face. "Although, I don't want us to be manipulated by whosoever is pulling the strings behind the curtain."

"Just when I thought it was going to be quiet and peaceful."

"Yeah, one thing for sure though, it's about to get interesting." Kazuma released her from his hold and took her hand. As always, her hand fitted perfectly into his like a puzzle piece. "You want to go get some doughnuts? I'm actually hungry for one."

Komaki grinned, her eyes sparked, "Yes!"


The scene where Komaki is just sitting on the couch thinking, it's a Russian thing to do before traveling. It's not only to bring good luck, but to also remind yourself of what you need to bring with you, like your passport and money. Even though Kazuma understands this, he still finds it weird and has only done it a few times to be respectful.