"I-I want to learn how to defend me like you." I mutter.
Her face goes stern after my statement. No emotion crosses her face at all besides the hard look of consideration. "What did Orochi say?"
"Orochi wasn't happy with the thought of me doing something that could bring me on a path of death. Tomoko agreed if she was there beside me."
Aiya's head shakes with a chuckle, "Of course that troublesome boy wouldn't agree. He is just as stubborn as his father before him. If anything, he should be worried that you won't do well enough to protect yourself."
I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out in regards to her comment. Would I be able to protect myself by getting better or will it become a failed dream?
"So what do I have to do first?" I ask.
A smile widens across her face like a wildfire, "Have you met your demon yet?"
Silence.
"Huh?" I stare at her with a blank expression.
"Please tell me Sanyu at least told you this." Her eyes roll at the thought of my father.
"I didn't even know a demon world existed until I was with Orochi." I cringe back away from her in case she would get mad at him.
"Ugh! How this line has fallen! I've I was still alive at the birth of my son than everything would have been different from this shriveled image of the clan!" Her hand smacks the tree behind her with a very loud crack.
I flinch and see that a large chunk of the bark has been ripped out of itself and Aiya's hand is filled with broken chunks of bark.
My eyes go wide at the sight, "Did you just-"
"Yes, I did just do that. You could to if you tried being your true self for once." She walks towards me and helps me up from the ground.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you are half-demon. Not just a human with demon blood. Demon blood is the key to the Lotus clan and unlocking all our greatest strengths. To become a good warrior you must know yourself first."
"Like?" I ask.
Her eyes roll, "Like being in control of your demon inside you. You are half-demon. Not a full human. Our demon blood is our greatest ally and our greatest enemy."
I think about what she said for a moment. Is it possible that I don't have a demon?
"If your thinking that you ever have seen your demon-self before then you probably have never even felt its presence."
We suddenly enter a darker part of the forest that didn't let much of the sun through making it cooler in temperature.
I shiver at the dark vibe it gives off.
There is a giant wooden flat stage that stands in the middle of the clearing. "What's that?"
"Where you going to find out who is your inner demon." She walks ahead of me and I stand there still. Inner demon?
I catch up to her and right as I do she tells me to lay down.
"Why?"
"Either claw yourself to pieces or don't get hurt in the process. Your choice duckling."
I shiver again and lay on the floor. I suddenly feel a heavy pressure again my hands and feet, as if they were being held in place by some unseeable force.
"Now, you have to carefully tell me everything you see hear, touch, or anything that happens to you. Communication at this moment is crucial to these next steps."
She looks down at me from her sitting right next to me.
I nod and wait for her next instruction.
"Have you ever felt an uncontrollable feeling whenever you get upset, angry, depressed, or confused?" She asks me.
I think for a moment back to the night where Beliath told me what happened to my family. The uncontrollable rage I felt towards her at that moment made my body boil in such anger.
"Yes, the night Beliath told me what happened to our clan. I felt so hot and I couldn't control it." I admit to Aiya but when I looked over to her, her face seemed to be concerned.
"Did your temperature rise?"
"Yes."
Her face clouds with worry, "Ren, I don't think you should do this."
"Huh?! I thought you said you would help me!" I try to move but the invisible restraints hold me down.
"It's because your demon is the worst! You could get killed!"
"What do you mean?" My eyebrows furrow at her explanation.
She sighs in defeat, "Every warrior in our clan as a different demon given to us by the curse. Mine is a kitsune spirit of strength in spirit. Everyone has something different. Yours, unfortunately...." She trails off into silence leaving me confused.
"Okay, so what is mine? I have a right to know." I ask worryingly.
She stays silent for a moment considering something before she speaks again. "You have the demon Akuma."
I pale at her words. Akuma? Do you mean the demon of anger towards humans and the one who caused great destruction? The evilest spirit of them all was inside me?
"Aiya... You must be joking right? There is no way that a demon spirit... I could be hosting inside me." I frantically ask her.
"It's completely possible Ren. Your first female since me in the clan. It could be possible that you have been gifted the spirit out of protection. Or maybe a challenge for yourself. Maybe your father knew that Akuma was inside you."
I shake my head, "He never said anything to me about it. If there was something that dangerous he would tell me... Right?"
Aiya's head shakes, "Ren, he more than likely knew and did it to protect you. The lack of knowledge would bring you peace."
I lay my head down against the wood behind my head and stare at the dark canopy above. "Aiya, what am I going to do then?"
She frowns at the wood below her and then meets my eyes, "You have two choices. Proceed with this or to go back to Orochi and tell him what I told you."
I consider her words for a moment. If I stayed here and continued further there is the highest possibility of me getting hurt and if I go back to Orochi, then we would all be sitting ducks waiting for Beliath to come for us.
The thought of the powerful Akuma inside me terrified me. It was almost the worst possible demon that could be inside me. If I have to confront him, it could mean the worst for me.
"Well?"
"Let's continue."
Her eyes stare back at me, "Are you sure, Ren? After this, there isn't any time to back out."
I nod my head assured, "This is the only option to survive."
Aiya's head nods and she puts her hand on my hand gently.
"Okay, I need you to imagine all that anger you felt towards Beliath. Let it fill your body and take control. Give your anger full permission to take over your body."
I nod again and close my eyes visioning the night Beliath told me what happened to my parents. Her words echoing in my head about my father and mother. How my mother burned into nothing but a black pile of ash on the floor.
My body started to heat up and blood rushed into my cheeks making my face feel hotter. The image of Beliath's wicked smile flashed behind my eyelids. I started to feel anger bubbling in my chest with the hottest sensation in my hands.
"Ren! Are you alright?" Aiya's voice was barely audible to me now as she ripped her hand back from my forehead. The vision of my father heartbroken from his lover being killed before my eyes was a stab to the heart.
I felt my body jolt upwards and the urge to break my restraints was pestering me. My eyes wouldn't open by my command but my hand was aching to get free of the bounds.
Behind my eyelids, I could see a red and orange glow starting to grow bigger and bigger. Warmth consumed my body and I felt like my body was on fire.
"Ren! Stop!" Her plea was the smallest of my worries.
The heat was so unbearable that my mouth opened up and spilled out screams. The glow becomes so bright that my eyes felt like they were going to explode.
Make it stop! Was the only thing I could think of right now.
I could feel myself withering in pain and terror as my body was burning alive.
"So the human has finally come to see me." A deep voice pounded inside my ears, giving me a throbbing pain against my head.
I screamed at the top of my lungs again in pain, "Make it stop! Please!"
A demonic chuckle rang through my head, "Stupid girl. Only you can."
My body thrashed again, "How?!"
"Sacrifice yourself to all my desires. Allow me to become part of you and let me live freely as you have."
Another scream billows from deep in my chest and up my throat, "Fine!"