The fall of Inusaka High is the stuff of legend. The plans of the Majestics had been discovered by the one named Ryoko Pharis, and he plotted with his fellow students to overthrow the tyrannical hold the shadow organization had on the students therein. Numerous promising faces and names fell that day-- many young people that one day would have become great world leaders and heroes in their own right. They fought and died to save their fellow students from the dark hand of the Majestics, to forever have their potential silenced, and to become nothing more than a legacy among a small portion of the world’s movers and shakers. Pity those that survived can rarely speak of the events that took place on that small island where Inusaka High sat. The Majestics were not destroyed, simply… hindered in their goals. To speak of the fall of Inusaka High openly is to simply welcome that old black hand which lies in wait in the shadows, ready to strike down those that thwarted it all those years ago.

Only those close friends that survived the fall dare to utter the name “Majestic,” and only in the company of their fellow survivors. But the fall scattered most of the survivors, most of whom fled to varying dimensions, parting ways for what seemed like the last time. Best friends, lovers, and even families were divided. The Soyokaze family siblings were among those family members who thought they would never see each other again once the school walls fell…

The pounding of the beat, driving the crowd into a dancing frenzy. She lives for this, lives for every night that she steps up onto the stage and sings her heart out, gazing on as her words and her rhythm influence those in the audience.

She watches the crowd, as she always does. There’s a peculiar rhythm to the crowd tonight, one she hasn’t seen in many years. What it was, she couldn't recognize at first. The crowd flows with a much more... gentle step. It’s familiarity soothed her deep inside, but it was a soothing feeling that disturbed her at the same time.

As the song rages on, she can't help but pay heed to the odd flowing of the crowd. What’s causing them to move like this? Is it her singing? Is she having a new effect on them? She’s doing nothing different than normal. No, that isn't it. She feels someone. As the song nears its end, the feeling becomes all the more clear, the steps all the more familiar. Then with the final verse, she sees him watching from the distance....

Lynne lets the last notes of the song fade away on the flowing of the chord. She stands there, Silent, as he walks up to the stage. That same smile, that same walk.. but his eyes look different. It’s no matter...it’s time to give him something that he’s deserved for a long time. Lynne jumps down into the crowd, pulls back her fist, and in one fluid movement punches her brother Devyn in the gut.

After regaining his composure, Devyn smiles. "Just as I expected. Either that or knee to... well, you know. It is good to see you have finally found your nitch in this world."

Lynne gives Devyn a glare that would wither a rose. "Why didn't you try and contact me? For almost 10 years I've thought you were dead!" Lynne steps back onto the stage, the crowd silent in awe during the siblings’ reunion. She motions Devyn to follow her as she heads to her dressing room.

Devyn politely bows to the crowd and follows her to her dressing room. "Dead?" he laughs "A reasonable assessment."

Lynne kicks open the door and tosses off the heavy scarf she had been wearing as part of her costume. She stares at Devyn, gives a sly smile, and gives him a giant hug. "Oh god... I'm glad your alive... when you were shot I..."

Devyn merely shrugs. "Perhaps it might be best if I had died back then. Perhaps this reunion is not for the best."

Lynne sits down on her chair. "Dev? What’s wrong? I've never heard you sound so... fatalistic before."

"Things change. Rarely for the better, although from looking at you, you might be an exception."

Lynne slips behind a changing screen. Several articles of flashy clothing fly out from behind it as Lynne hops around into something more comfortable. "Dev...You’re different.."

"At least you notice. Mother and father cannot sense a thing. I am surprised they never told you I was still around... or have you not spoken to them?"

Lynne frowns. "Didn't you guess from my stage name? I haven't gone by my real name since the... incident..."

Devyn laughs. "Jasmine Monroe? Where did you get such a preposterous name from? Or was it something your agent trusted upon you?"

Lynne nods. "I... wasn't really in the mood for theatrics when he came up with it." She tries to put on a smile. "But... the Soyokaze kids are together again! You said you saw Mom and Dad... how are they?"

"Alive. Still up to their old ways, thinking only of upward mobility and image. As if they could go any higher among the wealthy elite back home. But I did give them a copy of your album the last time I saw them. I doubt they listened to it, but at least there is a chance."

Lynne smiles. "Thanks. But.. Now the big question. Why haven't you contacted me before?"

"It is probably best that you do NOT know why I never contacted you until now. Let me just say that I found what I was looking for back in our youth."

Lynne's face instantly pales as she backs away involuntarily. "Devyn..." Lynn picks up her purse. "Devyn… I..."

"No need to rush off. I will take my leave now. At least you understand the true nature of the situation." He bows to his sister and walks out the door.

----------

Devyn sits in silence, his mind filled with nothing. Staring off into the shadows, thinking nothing of his encounter with his sister, for there was nothing to think. He simply lets his mind drift off into the black void of thoughtlessness, forgetting about his sister, his quest, his life. The bliss of the void, that is what he wishes for every waking moment of his life. His life is filled with chaos and death, and it is these moments that he lived for, where nothing mattered, and it is this feeling of nothing that he longs for after his inevitable death. Freedom from his destiny, freedom from the pain, freedom from existence itself.

"Now now, Mr. Soyokaze, life isn't that horrid." a voice echoes from the shadows. "Granted, we live in a universe filled with sorrow, pain, and everything else that makes a sentient being liken life to some sort of hellish catastrophe, but there has to be something you live for besides release." A figure steps out of the shadows, but only so far as to see an outline of their visage. A definitive masculine outline.

Devyn, seemingly still in his self-imposed trance, speaks up. "Ironic that he who wishes to see the very end of everything would be so concerned."

A smile can be seen on the face of the figure. "I destroy because it is my destiny, not because it is my desire. But you... you sit here looking into the darkness soon to come as if you want it to come. A pity you decide to not enjoy reality while you can."

Devyn's face still gazes blankly into darkness. "If you only wish to mock me with your false sympathy, then return to your own realm and allow me some peace."

"Very well." The visage says with some distain. "I only speak like this since sentient life is so.... uncommon in my current home. Rarely do I find a dark soul that has a mind one can consider human. Anyway, I come bearing gifts. Two envelopes, one for you and one for the beauty that fawns over you… A real pity. She does desire you in all the right ways, Devyn. Why do you keep her at a distance?"

"She actually has hope remaining in her, despite the fact that she denies the notion. I do not. Better I fall by myself than take her along with me any more than she must."

"Noble to the end, Devyn. I like that about you, but perhaps that nobility is just a side effect of your own madness. It really does keep you from experiencing the more... enjoyable aspects of the life you detest." And with that the figure melts back into the shadow, leaving Devyn, who still keeps his eyes fixed on the bleak nothingness before him.

----------

It is a couple of hours before Devyn comes out of his self-imposed trance. Without a moments hesitation, he takes a letter opener from the coffee table next to him and opens up the envelope given to him by his benefactor. A simple piece of white paper is inside with a few hand-written notes on it.

He has more than one student, did you not know that? You know her, if only by name. She wields brute forces as if they were a flower-- grace and finesse coupled with fierce might. A word of caution, for this is a situation where the skill of the student may surpass the skill of the teacher. But that is only speculation. I am confident, though, that if she were alive when he was studying, it would have been her that was chosen rather than him. She has what he lacks: passion for her art.

"Always with the riddles." Devyn thinks. "Does the Darkness so bore you that you have to torment me with your quaint drivel? I know who you talk of, and yes, she is quite impressive, even when she was a young child. Hopefully the last seven years have improved her as much as they have improved me."

He gets out of his chair and puts his sports coat on. He passes by the door to Kyoko's room. She is still asleep, sleeping away the anguish she felt after her fight with Yushiro. He sets her envelope down at the foot of her bed and closes her door. He has business with an old acquaintance.

----------

"Kyaaaah!"

Tymora lets out a fierce cry as she goes through her daily exercises. Her fifth straight hour of training... and it’s only 10:30 in the morning. The other students at the dojo were baffled by her intensity when it came to her training. Sure, they were dedicated students, devoting most of their spare time outside of school, work, and the like training in their sword fighting skills, but Tymora... it might have something to do with the fact that she graduated high school when she was 12 years old and has spent the last ten years simply studying the art of the blade. An intelligent girl when you got past her violent outbursts and odd obsessions, she possessed a determination that few among the truly devoted students of her dojo had ever seen.

She swings about her No-Dachi with one hand and sheaths it back onto the scabbard on her back and leans up against the tree next to her, only to have it give out underneath her. Seems that she mistakenly sliced through the tree during the final strikes of her last exercise.

"Eep!"

She falls to the ground, just as the tree crashes down, making quite a noise. Luckily she’s out in the countryside, a few miles outside of her hometown, which is the nearest town to her secluded training ground. It’s a good 100 miles away from Khazan proper, so she sighs as she picked herself up off the ground, content with the fact that no one could have been hurt in the accident.

"Quite the swordstress, are we not, Tymora."

Tymora spins around to see a vaguely familiar person standing a few yards in front of her. She strains her eyes, trying to recognize who exactly it is.

"Hey... what are you doing out here. Are you from the dojo? New student? Did Arashi-sensei set you up for this? Old geezer's probably playing a prank on a new student."

The man smiles. "No, I prefer not to use weapons. They hold you down. And besides, how can one hold their dance partner when wielding a weapon. Dance was not made to be carried out solo."

Then it clicks with Tymora. "Ah man... now I have a villain infestation. Can't a gal have a little place of her own without having pests coming and ruining things for her?"

Devyn laughs. "Cute. But please, I am not here because I want to be here. I am merely hear so I can demonstrate to your teacher that I'm worthy of his attention."

"I thought you didn't have an interest in sword fighting? Why would you want the attention of Arashi-sensei? Jeeze, you villain-types are too confusing. Shoo! Shoo!"

"No... not that teacher. Your other teacher. I believe you know who I speak of."

"Man… how can I be so stupid. And here I was, talking to him the last night on the phone. 'Watch out, Devyn Soyokaze may come after you. He knows things about me, so he might know about the connection between you and I.' God, I'm a moron. Ah... well, not that it matters now. You're here, and now I gotta deal with it the only way I know how." She positions her hand around the hilt of her sword. "Shall we dance?"

Devyn laughs again. "I would be delighted." He bows to his partner and takes his own stance...