Jericho stomps on the ground creating a strong gravitational force. It forces Hiroyuki and Asuna in the air as they struggle to go back down. Jericho slams both of them on the ground, but Asuna lands on his hands and flips away, but not after injuring his wrist because of how strong the force is. Hiroyuki coughs up blood.
Asuna "Hiroyuki! Are you alright?!"
Hiroyuki "I'm fine."
Jericho "Not for long."
Jericho walks towards Hiroyuki and the sheer pressure of his chi and Shen force Hiroyuki to the ground making him get stuck in the ground unable to move.
Hiroyuki "Ahhh! I can't move! What is happening!"
Jericho "You're too weak, that's all there is to it. You stay put while the adults handle business."
Asuna "Leave him out of this."
Jericho "I'm not hurting him. What I will do is make this between me and you."
Hiroyuki tries to push himself up, but as he struggles you can see the veins in his arms. He clinches his teeth and tries to use all of his strength, only for Jericho to turn around and force him back down.
Jericho "Stay put!"
Asuna " He doesn't deserve this."
Jericho "Me and you Asuna, that's it."
Jericho releases his aura which causes the gravity in the area to become heavier as the weight falls on Hiroyuki crushing him unconscious.
Asuna "You said you wouldn't hurt him!"
Jericho "I tried not to. Think of his pain as your fault, if you would have trained him better and made him stronger this wouldn't have happened."
A vein appears on Asuna's forehead as he releases his aura.
Jericho "Yeah, that's it! That's more like it! Get serious Asuna! Show me why they call you the god on earth!"
Mest "You said you caught him trying to kill himself?"
Kame "Yes, and I do not know why. I am just glad I went looking for him."
Mest "This is going to be difficult."
Kame "What is?"
Mest "Everything, all of this. It's going to just be hard."
Kame "It does not have to be. I am here, so you do not have to deal with anything alone."
Mest "Thank you, but I feel bad. We trained only for like 2-3 months realistically. Everything else that has happened is all of my problems."
Kame "It is alright. I have found moments to train on my own. Whether it is pushups or attempting to meditate!"
Mest "Meditate? How successful have you been?"
Kame "Not at all, but I keep trying which is all that matters!"
Mest "I mean he's right."
Kame "Can you show me?"
Mest "That's it! Meditation can help him grow stronger. After all that is one of our greatest ways to gain strength."
Kame "Umm?"
Mest "Sorry, yes I can. What is the issue? You didn't have a problem before when we first started training?"
Kame "I can not put it into words. It is like whenever I try to now, all I see is the past and losing my family. It always snaps me back and causes so much grief."
Mest "I think it's my fault. That space of mine that I have created for training has my entire essence. Our blood, our bodies, our minds have been synced. His grief is my grief, we both suffer due to our loss."
Kame "Mest?"
Mest "Sorry, I keep blacking out."
Kame "Everything alright?"
Mest "Yes, but it seems we hit another roadblock."
Kame "It is something deeper than my mind huh?"
Mest "Yes, before we can...….."
Kame "Huh? Before we can what?"
Mest "I just realized there is a place I can take you."
Kame "A place? What is it? Where is it?"
Mest "We will cross that bridge later, for now let's work on meditation. You will need it."
Kame "I am ready."
Mest "Give me a minute, Kokiruko still hasn't awaken."
Kokiruko "Been awake the whole time."
Mest "Really?"
Kame "Why have you not said anything?"
Kokiruko "There is nothing for me to say to either of you."
Mest "I see, well since you're awake do you mind looking after my daughter?"
Kokiruko "Look after her? Are you leaving? How do you expect me to watch over a child?"
Mest "I'm going to be right here, It's just I am going to be at my most vulnerable right now. I need you to look after her, she should be your first priority. If and whatever happens to me, leave me and continue to protect her."
Kokiruko "Hmph, only because she's my sister's kid."
Mest "Fair enough."
Kokiruko grabs the baby and holds her tight, when he looks at her she starts to giggle and looks super happy. Kokiruko smiles then closes his eyes, as the baby pulls his hair and plays with his face laughing.
Mest "Well since that is taken care of; are you ready Kame?
Kame "Always!"
Both of them sit down and get in their meditation state. As they begin both of them start sweating both nervous and anxious.
Mest "I can't even give him advice on how to do this properly because even I have been messing it up. Both of our minds are in the same state, broken."
Both of them enter the meditation realm and get confused.
Kame "What is this? Where are we?"
Mest "I don't even know myself. I wish I had an explanation but I don't."
Kame "This place looks familar."
Mest "It does, I think if I had to explain this I would say our bodies are in the real world, but mind and spirit we are in a space that both of us have created together as a means to cope?"
Kame "To cope? What are you saying?"
Mest "It seems both of us experienced the same type of trauma by my guess. And this is a space that will try and give us closure."
Kame "But there is nothing or no one here?"
Mest "We might have to dive deeper in these waters."
They progress forward and as they are walking through the scenery is slowly changing.
Kame "Why is it getting hotter? Where did this mess come from?"
Mest "I don't know. I can't even imagine what awaits us further."
A few more steps in and they both realize at the same time where they are.
Kame "This is…."
Mest "No! It can't be!"
It's home. Both of them realize that what are they seeing is the past. The village is being destroyed, Kame's home falling to the ground as bodies pile up and death everywhere.
Kame "What is this?! Why am I here?! What did you do?!"
Mest "Nothing! We are both stuck here, we both have to witness this again!"
Kame "Again?"
Mest "I…"
Kamina "Kame."
Kame "Is that..."
Kamina "Kame I'm sorry, I'm not strong enough without your father. Please don't cry; everything will be ok."
Kame "Mom."
Kame tries to run over there and hug his mom, but when he attempts to hug he goes right through, slips and falls but catching himself and flipping back to his feet.
Kame "What is this?! Why can I not hug her?! She is right here! Mest! What is going on?!"
When Kame looks over at Mest he sees tears falling from his mask.
Kame "Mest?!"
Mest falls to his hands and knees and just breaks down into tears. He grabs his mask and throws it off his face as it shatters. Kame and Mest make eye contact and there is silence. Even though it is silent, the tension in the space is so loud that it is like there are drums playing right behind both of them in a glass room.
Kame "You, but you."
Rai-on "I'm sorry Kame."
Kame "But you died? You were supposed to be dead? Why are you here? How are you here? What is happening?!"
Rai-on "Kame calm down!"
Kame "No! Speak to me! What is this?! How does all this happen like this?! What does this mean?! Is this even real or am I stuck in a dream?!"
Before Rai-on could say anything else, the flashback continues and both of them relive the same moment. Kamina's death.
Kame "No, I never wanted to see that again."
Kame falls to his hands and knees and just completely breaks down.
Rai-on "So that's who did it. This entire time I never knew who was behind her death. I left before most of this, but I see now."
Kame "You left?! What do you mean you left?!"
Rai-on "Kame it isn't what you think."
Kame "Then tell me!"
Rai-on "Just give me time."
Kame wipes his tears, then stands up. He slowly walks over to Rai-on and then looks at him in the eyes. Kame punches Rai-on in the stomach breaking a few ribs and causing Rai-on to vomit.
Kame "I have been waiting years."
Rai-on "K-kame I know and I'm sorry."
Kame "My entire life; where the hell have you been?! Our family, everything was taken! Yet I am left, why? Why did you make me suffer alone?! How could you know what has happened and be gone?! How could you just leave when you knew what was going on?! It does not make sense! You are telling me that you knew what I went through and chose to stay away?! Some time pass, you come out of nowhere pretending to be someone else and then trying to train me! How long were you going to stay quiet about this?! Were you even going to tell me?! Who else knows about this?! Does Jaken and Kenshi know? Does Asuna know? What was the point of this?! What could this have possibly accomplished?! All it did was make me feel a distain towards everyone in the village! Makes me wonder what I should do. That is it,I am done, but hear this. Whatever you say; if it does not sound right to me, nothing or no one will be forgiven for this no matter who they are."
Rai-on "I don't know where to start. There is a reason for what I did, but when I think about it; there is no possible way I could have changed anything. Our entire clan was being hunted, I was told to escape and take on a new name. You were to be the only survivor protected by the village and Asuna himself. My mission was to find the man who did it, up until this point I've had no clue who it was. At all times there was so much going on. You were protected by Asuna's name, in my head it still wasn't enough for me. Your power needs guidance, something I didn't have. This was the only way for me to train you and show you our power without giving away my secret. As you know the village is constantly being watched, there was no telling what could happen at any given moment. Me and Asuna thought it would be best to keep the secret, even from you. That way it ensures more time for me to train you. There are still enemies searching for me, we are running out of time. Kame I am sorry, I know that this doesn't help anything or really put it in into perspective for you. Just understand that this is what father wanted, for me to survive in order to make you stronger. It is not me that will avenge our clan, it is you. The Chikara clan is powerful we have tremendous power, but what is all this power without guidance and experience? You don't have to forgive me, but for your sake; allow me to help you and get you to where you are supposed to be."
Kame "I hear you, but what does this all mean? Why me and not you? You are far stronger than I am, if not you alone we can do it together."
Rai-on "Obviously you are not going to know my history, but I've been in countless fights over the years. The amount of damage to my body is immeasurable. Yes I am strong, but the last fight we were in took too much of a toll. Here let me just show you."
Kame just stares at the mark on Rai-on's body.
Kame "What is that?!"
Rai-on "Whatever this is, it is attacking my organs. Damage like this means my years are limited. If I had to guess I'd say I have 2 years left."
Kame "2 years?! Then why are we still here?! We can take you back to the village and they can help!"
Rai-on "That is true, but we can't pass up this opportunity Kame. We are so close to where I want to take you. There is no gurantee that we'll be this close again."
Kame "What place is more than your health right now?! It does not matter, we can make our way back here after you are better!"
Rai-on "No! This place is more important than my life and you have to go!"
Kame "What place in this world is more Important than someone's life?"
Rai-on "I just need you to understand the situation we are in. It's just us Kame! I understand how you feel, and I am to blame for that but you have to realize if we miss this opportunity we don't get another! Say I get better and we try again, but we are not able to make it back here then I will look back on this moment as one of my biggest failures! We need you to get stronger, and the best way for that is for you to learn how to use all of your strength that is within you! If you can't get stronger and become a true Chikara that makes me a failure, to not only the village, but our clan, and our family."
Kame "I have not had a family in years. I did not even know you were alive until some moments ago. All of this gets dropped on me at once, and now you come and try to demand things like an older brother. You have not been around enough. You have not earned that right to call shots like an older brother. As strongly as I feel about this, I feel it is best to listen. Not for you, but for our parents. Seeing mom again, it hurts. I will follow you, but only cause our parents wanted this."
Rai-on "That is fine, I am not mad at your response. In fact I respect it, let us figure out how to end this and head out."
Rai-on and Kame both close their eyes, but when they open them back they are still stuck.
Rai-on "This isn't good."
Kame "What happens if we can not leave this place?"
Rai-on "I don't know. If we can't make it out, our only hope would be Kokiruko getting us out."
Kame "What would he have to do?"
Rai-on "He would just have to touch us."
Kame "Touch? Really?"
Rai-on "We are just in a space created by our own minds, it doesn't take much on the outside. The reason it is difficult from the inside is because our minds have been disconnected. We were in sync and now we aren't and at the start you had trust in me."
Kame "So we are stuck because of me? My feelings towards you changed and that changed our fate inside this place?"
Rai-on "Basically, but I don't fault you for your feelings. You are free to feel however, you don't have to force anything because of circumstances. We can wait for Kokiruko."
Kame "If that is what we have to do."
Kame just sits on the ground with his palm to his chin. Pondering his next move and whether or not they will actually get out.
Kokiruko "Why are you crying?! What's wrong?!"
Kokiruko starts panicking because he doesn't know why the baby is crying and what to do in order for them to stop.
Kokiruko "Is it your dad? Is he ok in there? What can I do? Damnit! You can't even talk, why am I asking you questions? I need to figure this out."
Kokiruko puts the baby down and starts panicking even more. Pacing back and forth, grabbing his hair and pulling it. He hits his head on the tree, and just starts squeezing the skin on his arms. Nothing is popping in his head, he isn't able to stop the baby from crying. The crying starts to annoy him because he can't put an end to it. Kokiruko's head starts to hurt, he looks over at the baby and the crying starts to sound muffled. At one point Kokiruko doesn't hear anything anymore and just sees something that he wants to hurt. The baby continues to cry as Kokiruko walks over to them. He stares at the baby, but as he staring into their eyes, they stop crying. The baby and Kokiruko just end up making eye contact and staring at each other.
Rai-On "Kame! Do you feel that?!"
Kame "No, feel what?"
Rai-On "We have go get out! Now!"
Kokiruko puts his hand in the air while picking up the baby. Electricity starts to emit from his hand as he slowly puts it over the baby's face. The baby starts laughing and smiling, after seeing that Kokiruko begins to fight his urge to hurt the baby. His hand starts to shake barely hovering over the baby's face. The last thing he hears is a giggle from the baby, before his body pulls his hand down. Before it can make contact, Rai-On grabs his hand, grabs his baby, and then pushes Kokiruko to the ground.
Rai-On "What are you doing?!"
Kokiruko "What do you mean?"
Rai-On "You were about to hurt my kid. What has gotten into you?"
Kokiruko "I don't know, but stop talking to me. You left me out here with the kid. I did my best and that is all there is to it."
Rai-On "And yet I had to save them from you."
Kokiruko "Shutup! I wasn't doing anything!"
Rai-On "Kokiruko I had to stop you just now. Why are you being so hostile about this me and Kame saw you."
Kokiruko "You didn't see shit! I was protecting them!"
Rai-On "There is clearly something wrong with you. What happened while we were gone?"
Kokiruko "Nothing."
Rai-On "I can't overlook this, but I also need to further Kame's training."
Kame walks over to Kokiruko and puts his hand on his shoulder.
Kame "It is ok, just calm down."
Kokiruko "Don't talk to me, don't touch me. Just do what you two have to."
Rai-On "I don't know what is wrong with him, but I can't put my child in his care right now. That hinders my ability to train Kame further."
Kame "Let us go to this place you were talking about "Mest"."
Kokiruko "I'm not going. I will stay here."
Rai-On "No you will not."
Kokiruko "Don't think you can tell me what to do! You're not my father! You're not my sister! And you for damn sure have no authority over me!"
Rai-On "Your sister meant everything to me. Before she passed we were fortunate enough to have a child who I would die for. Not only the child, but you as well. Your sister placed it in my hands to take care of you as much as I can. If I let anything happen to you, I would never be able to live with myself. The promise I made to your sister is one that I will never break. And I'll be damned if It breaks because you want to be stubborn. You will come with us, because your sister would want you to."
Kokiruko "You don't know what my sister would have wanted! Don't give me that bullshit! You think you are the only one who loved her!"
Rai-On "No, but I am the one who promised her. And I'll be damned if you're the reason it gets broken! I get you never liked me, I understand there was much more I could have done to prevent her death. I know how you feel about me and it's justified, but this child is all we have left of her."
Kokiruko "Stop talking to me!"
Rai-On "No! Because I need you to understand that no one feels worse than I do!"
Kokiruko "How could you say that?! You're saying you feel worse than me?! Her own brother! Who even gives you the right? You don't know what we've been through, you don't know just how much she meant to me! You keep saying you wish you did this and you wish you did that, maybe if you stopped wishing and actually handled what you need to people wouldn't die! She needed you! We needed you! And you weren't there."
Rai-On "As insensitive as it sounded it's the truth. Hear me out, no one will know the pain of having adequate strength to prevent death, but you fail. This hurts me the most because I have to live with the decisions I made. I have go live with the consequences of my actions. I have to live with one day having to tell my child why her mom isn't here. I have to live with the pain of my daughter wandering why me, her father, could not protect her mother. The way I lived was catered to helping others. Making sure I can do what I can to help those who wanted to be stronger. I'm not perfect, no one is. In fact if I was being honest the closest person to it would have to be Ziku. I wish I had his mentality. Cause maybe, just maybe things would be a bit different. Nothing I can say will bring her back or reverse what was done, but at the end of the day we have to live with this. I honestly smile at the fact that our paths have crossed and our time together was special. There was just too much that has happened in the past year for me. I will apologize for not being there, but if you choose to not accept it then that is ok. Like I said before, me and you have to get it together for her sake."
Kokiruko "Our lives were already bad before you came. It got worse with you. At this point I don't know if that baby is a gift or a curse. My sister loved you for some reason, and I loved her. I will never like you, but for her sake.....For her sake I accept your apology. Just leave it at that and let's move on."
Rai-On "Right, let us go?"
Kame "Lead the way."
Kokiruko "I still don't know who the hell this kid is. It's pissing me off."
Kame "How far do we have to go?"
Rai-On "Not that far. We're actually pretty close."
Kokiruko "Can I hold the baby?"
Rai-On "Of course."
Kokiruko "What? Even after what I did, you still would trust me with the baby."
Rai-On "She's your niece, why wouldn't I."
Kame "Neice?"
Rai-On "Yeah, yours too Kame."
Kokiruko "What?"
Rai-On "Yeah, Kame here is my kid brother."
Kokiruko "Your brother?"
Rai-On "Yeah."
Kokiruko "I guess everything kind of makes sense now."
Rai-On "We can talk about it more later, for now let's just go."
Kokiruko "It's fine, we don't have to. We can go."
After traveling for some time, they finally arrive.
Kokiruko "Holy temple!"
Rai-On "Yeah, it's huge huh."
Kame "This is the place?"
Rai-On "Yeah, do you feel anything?"
Kame "I feel, overwhelmed. There is so much to take in. I feel a connection with this place. Even when the only time I have seen something like this was in a dream."
Rai-On "A dream?"
Kame "Yeah, this place is very familiar. I don't know what it is or why, but this place has definitely been in my dreams. I can't remember exactly, but I know for sure I dreamt about this."
Rai-On "He's already in tune with the temple. This could be promising."
Kame "Why are we here exactly?"
Rai-On "This is the Chikara Temple. My purpose was to lead you here and see if it is you that can enter."
Kame" You want me to go inside?"
Rai-On "Yes, I came before, but it wouldn't budge."
Kame "Why would it open for me?"
Rai-On "It might open, it might not. Only one way to find out. It's just you and me Kame, if not us then who?"
Kame "Oh."
Rai-On "Read the Hieroglyph."
Kame "~Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. ~True strength is in love, True beauty is in Kindness, and True happiness is in peace. ~Thou who seeketh strength as a means of desire shall turn the other way; as greed in thy heart will keep doors closed."
Rai-On "I thought that these Hieroglyphs described me. I guess I was wrong."
Kame "I do not understand, are they describing me?"
Rai-On "That is something we have to figure out. I can't go in, I've tried."
Kame "Neither can I Rai-On! The doors are still closed."
Rai-On "I see that, just calm down Kame."
Kame "What exactly did you bring me here for?! I see no true value in this!"
Rai-On "I was more so hoping that this temple would help unlock your dormant power. I'm not sure if that is the case anymore."
Kame "Dormant power? Like more strength inside of me that is yet to be used?"
Rai-On "With what's approaching I feel you will need every boost you can get. Well if it was possible I guess."
Kame "All my life I've been training. I used to train for myself, until I met Ziku. Seeing who he was as a person really changed who I fight for. I no longer train for just me, I train for everyone. Before, the idea of awakening power I have inside would leave a bitter taste in my mouth, because I would rather train hard and reach that level on my own. As of now it would be selfish of me to continue thinking like that. Because if they need me to be at my strongest then I will do what it takes. I do not want anyone to have to go through what I did. It took someone like Ziku to help me realize this, but I am glad I met him. It was hard to do because my brain and body was not wired that way, but now I have realized that it is best to fight for others and not just myself."
Rai-On "I see. It seems Ziku has made an impact on us huh."
Kame "Yeah, but obviously I would not tell him that."
Rai-On "Of course not."
Kokiruko "It's glowing."
Rai-On "What?"
Kame "What?"
The doors glow, making an elegant and beautiful sound. It blinks 3 times and opens up.
Kame and Rai-On look at each other as they both realize that he has already grown.