ACE OF FATE

"Gasp..." Mirei awoke with a sudden intake of breath near the burned Daimyo Yashiki.

"Oh, finally awake?" a man said, standing nearby. His demeanor exuded wealth.

He had a large, angular face with a pronounced jawline and unusually long, stern eyebrows. His black hair was tied back into a thin ponytail, with the left side cut into a sharp 'Z' shape.

"What do you want, noble scum?" Mirei shot back, her voice laced with anger.

"You were the one who did this, right?" he asked coldly.

"Yes... because I hate noble scum who killed my mother and sister," Mirei replied, her tone fierce.

"Such raw potential. Such hatred," he said, his gaze unwavering. "Come with me, and I'll grant you the power to ensure you never suffer again." He extended his hand invitingly.

"Why would I do that?" she asked.

"Because I will grant you any wish," the man replied.

"If he speaks the truth, I could help others like me, preventing them from enduring the same fate I did." With nothing left to lose, Mirei grasped his outstretched hand.

Under his tutelage, Mirei transformed into a skilled assassin. She buried her grief and guilt deep within herself, focusing solely on honing her lethal abilities.

Unbeknownst to Mirei, Jagaimo had sold Mei into slavery before the fire.

"We got a good deal for this brat," said a skinny man with many missing teeth, wearing a red bandana.

"Yeah, she would at least sell for ten gold coins," responded a tiny man with a single hair on his head.

Mei lived in slavery for eight years. She had witnessed many horrors, but the vague memories of her mother and sister kept her alive. 

She tried to stay positive as her mother had taught her, believing that both her mother and sister would come to save her. She kept waiting until Miku and Felix finally rescued her.

"And that's the whole story. It's all my fault. If I hadn't burned that place and listened to my dark thoughts instead of searching for my sister, I could have avoided her suffering."

"So... Mama is gone?" Mei couldn't believe what she was hearing

"I... am... sorry—" Mirei's voice faltered.

"I can't even ask for forgiveness," she bit her lip.

"No... Please, Sister!" Mei exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You don't know how happy it makes me to hear you say 'sister,'" Mirei replied, her sorrowful expression shifting into a faint smile.

"Now—"

[Shing-hiss]

Miku pointed her katana at Mirei's neck.

"M-M'lady, calm down!" Felix shouted.

"You don't have a say in this; you're just a samurai. I must give her what she deserves for attacking a clan leader," Miku stated firmly.

"Well, you're not wrong. I have committed a crime and a sin against my own," Mirei said sadly.

"Please, Miss Leader, don't kill her!" Mei pleaded.

"I can't overlook this... If I did, it would shame my title as clan leader," Miku replied irritably.

"But before killing you, I shall ask who sent you here?" Miku inquired.

"Sorry... but I can't tell you that; I am in great debt to that person," Mirei replied.

"So be it—" Miku pulled her katana back to cut off Mirei's head.

[Swish] [Woosh-Snap] [Ooze]

Felix stopped the blade with his hand as Miku was about to swing it, blood seeping from the wound.

"What are you doing?" Miku demanded.

"Please look at Mei; she has been through a lot. When she finally got back her sister—"

[Kick-Crack-Thud]

Miku kicked Felix, and he collided with the wooden wall, breaking it and falling outside the building onto the floor of the shop near the inn.

"Imbecile... I told you to stay out of this," Miku whispered.

[Chhk-Plink]

"I guess I could kill you later," Miku said, placing her katana on the floor. "Besides, I need some rest; I have a meeting to attend in two hours." She laid back, facing away on the bed.

"Thank... you...," Mirei said to Miku, bowing slightly.

"Don't think this means I've forgiven you," Miku replied curtly without looking back.

"I've done some bad things, Mei. Do you still want to be with me?" Mirei asked, her gaze fixed on her hands, a hint of vulnerability in her voice.

"Yes, because you're still my sister, no matter what. We can find a way to make things right," Mei replied, her tone firm yet reassuring.

"Sis, we should go into town!" Mei shouted with enthusiasm, happy to finally meet her sister. Mei had learned to look ahead instead of dwelling on the past.

"Yes... let's go," Mirei replied, placing her hand on Mei's shoulder.

[Slide-open]

They both left, leaving Miku alone.

"Why... Why didn't I kill her? Why did I hesitate when that imbecile stopped me?" Miku contemplated. "I think it's because he used his Zor energy to heal me. Well, now I don't owe him anything."

"I guess it's because... if... my... brother or sister... was alive—"

Meanwhile, in the flower shop where Felix fell, a lady with a round face and a large, toothy grin stood before him. She had a long, beak-like nose and prominent eyebrows.

[Tap]

Felix tapped the lady's big nose as he lay among crushed plants.

"Huh?" The lady was dumbfounded.

[Tap]

"What are you doing, boy?" she asked in her heavy voice.

"A sawfish," Felix replied.

[Smack]

The old lady punched Felix's face with thunderous force, leaving his cheek puffy with a red mark.

"Anyways... what are you doing here?" she asked.

"How did you fall from the sky?"

"Uh... a friend of mine got angry with me," Felix lied.

"Oh... I see your girlfriend kicked you out," she concluded.

Felix thought to himself, "I just said my friend kicked me out, but it seems her hearing is bad."

"What was this girlfriend again? It is so easy to remember these battle tactics but not things about the world," Felix thought with a tired expression. "I remember Kai saying his girlfriend was a special woman."

"I get it now; it's a title granted to women of higher power!"

Suddenly, the old lady shouted, "Don't worry! I will help you!"

"By the way, my name is Kokoro; what's yours?"

"I am Felix," he replied.

"Okay Felix, I will give you free flowers but first clean up the mess you made!" Her happy expression turned into a scary one.

[Swish]

She then gave him a broom and left the shop. "Take good care of the shop," she said before departing.

[Sweep-Sweep]

"I know that if I hadn't met that stubborn woman, I wouldn't have left El Verde. But I had to become a samurai and now a shop caretaker—what will be next? A butler? A school student? A ru—"

Suddenly, a playful sound interrupted his thoughts.

"Ooh-ooh!" A mischievous monkey swung from a nearby shelf, eyeing the displayed flowerpots.

"You again!" Felix exclaimed as he looked up to see the little creature near the pots.

With a swift motion, he pushed one of the flower pots.

[Crash-Shatter-Shatter-Crash]

The pot toppled over, triggering a cascade of others to fall. Felix stared at the mess with a deadpan expression.

"Calm down... calm... down... I won't let this happen again," he muttered under his breath.

The monkey laughed, its eyes sparkling with mischief.

"You are so stupid, kid!" the monkey spoke.

"What do you want with me?" Felix asked.

[Swish]

The monkey glowed.

"Honestly, I knew following you would be fun," a woman's voice chimed in.

The monkey transformed into its true form; every beastman had the ability to shift into their animal form. The monkey woman was tall and muscular, with long yellow-brown hair that flowed down her back and round eyes that matched her hair color. Her ears were positioned like human ears.

"Huh?" Felix said with a deadpan expression.

"You were following me?" he asked incredulously.

"And I thought you were an old man," Felix added.

"Yeah, people often mistake me when I transform into my animal form," the monkey woman replied.

"And also you're naked," Felix stated firmly.

"Oh beans!"

"You pervert!" she screamed.

"First of all, I'm not a pervert; second, it's your fault for transforming in the middle of the shop!"

The monkey beast woman covered herself with her hands while Felix thought about how to help her. He went inside the shop and rummaged around until he found an old nagagi and handed it to her.

"Now you have to help me," Felix said as she put on the clothes.

"I see! You require the help of the almighty Nohara!" The woman said dramatically as she moved her hips and tail.

[Smack]

"Yippee!" Nohara squealed as Felix lightly smacked her head with his hand.

"What was that?" Felix asked in amazement.

[Smack]

"Yippee!"

[Smack]

"Yippee!"

[Smack]

"Yippee! Hey! Stop that! It hurts, you muffin!" she finally screamed.

"What do you think you're doing? Do you think I'm a fool? Am I just some good-looking guy? I followed you because you're so stupid! If you were in my territory, you'd be put in prison or even killed! Are you listening to me? Are you deaf? Look at my ears! I can hear everything! You look so funny when your day is ruined; maybe that's why people hate me. But why are you so stupid to talk to me? You should be angry!!!"

"Wait!" Felix shouted at her, finally cutting through her rambling.

"Gasp... Man, I thought I was going to lose my mind for a second," Felix sighed in relief.

In the loud marketplace:

"Hey sis, are you really strong?" Mei asked, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she swung their hands back and forth.

"Yes! Your sister is very strong," Mirei replied, a hint of pride in her voice. Yet, beneath her confident facade, doubt gnawed at her.

"But can I defeat him although he doesn't possess Zor energy, but he's faster and stronger than me," Mirei thought.

"He said that I shall not show my face if I lost. I guess that means I am useless to him now."

"But I can't go back either way, because my new goal has been set, and that is to protect my sister with my own life. I won't let her go ever again," she mused as she slightly tightened her grip on Mei's hands.

"For now, I guess I will help Lady Miku. She saved Mei from slave traders after all."

"Look sis, there's sushi! It's very tasty!" Mirei's thoughts were interrupted by Mei.

"Even after all this, she has a smile on her face. She is more like Mother than I am."

"Mother, don't worry, I will protect her. Just keep watching me from the heavens."

Meanwhile, in Midono, the Kaals scouted the area from the shadows while Leonardo blended in as an ordinary citizen. Max was on the outskirts of Midono, in a rundown neighborhood, searching for any advanced security measures.

"They don't have many soldiers here; this place is ruled by local gangs that the shogun doesn't bother to pay attention to," Max thought as he walked past the dilapidated houses.

"Please give a nickel coin!" begged a ragged man.

"Please help a blind person!" shouted another.

"Please be nice and give me some food," another voice pleaded.

Max's heart tightened at their suffering. "Once this world ends, their suffering will also end," he reflected grimly.

Suddenly, he heard a woman's voice coming from a small house. "Please! Don't!"

"Wonder what that's about?" Max turned his head and sensed something was amiss.

[Clatter-Clink-Clatter-thud]

He heard multiple objects being thrown from inside the house.

"Wait, that woman can use Zor energy," Max thought. "If the other three men can't, then why isn't she using it? Is she foolish or what?"

"Please, sir, don't! I will pay you once I get enough money," the woman pleaded.

"We don't care; today was your payment day," shouted a burly man with long black hair and a scraggly beard. "Besides, why would we trust a weak woman who can't even move?

[Ptap]

A hand landed on the man's shoulder—a gesture both calm and commanding.

"Sir, please take this." Max extended his hand, offering a purse of coins.

"These are ten gold coins; I hope it's enough," Max said softly, yet his tone felt threatening.

"Ten gold coins?" The man was shocked.

[Smack]

The man struck Max in the stomach and snatched the purse from him. "It will be fine, but next time be careful," he sneered as he walked away.

Max straightened himself and replied simply, "Thanks a lot, sir."

"I shall be off now..." he said and just as he turned to leave, the woman called out to him. "Wait! Mister!"

He paused and turned back to her. "Yes?"

"T-Thanks... a lot!" she stammered, her cheeks flushed with gratitude.

"It's okay, miss. I was just here at the right time," he replied with a gentle smile.

"Please let me express my gratitude by offering you tea at least," she said shyly, her gaze dropping to the ground as if afraid to meet his face.

"Now where did my wooden sticks go?" she whispered to herself as she searched around.

[Swoosh]

"Eepp!" She gasped as Max effortlessly lifted her into his arms.

"I am sorry for this... but I would like you to repay your gratitude faster," Max said to her.

The woman couldn't even hear him; she was too embarrassed to think straight as the world around her spun.

They entered her house, and Max gently placed her on a chair near a small table. She remained dazed for several minutes, still processing that he had picked her up.

[Clunk]

"Here," Max said as he set down a tea bowl beside her.

The woman finally snapped out of her haze. "Wha...?"

"B-but I was supposed to make tea!" she exclaimed in confusion.

"Sorry, but I couldn't let a lady who can't walk go through the trouble of making tea for someone like me," Max replied.

"I... see..." Her voice dropped to a whisper tinged with sadness.

"My name is Max, by the way. What's yours?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"That's a wonderful name," she said softly. "I am Hope."

"What a curious name, Miss Hope," Max said with a smile.

"Please don't call me 'miss'; I am nobody," Hope replied quietly.

"A person's worth isn't determined by their status or wealth; it's about what kind of person they are," Max stated firmly. "If you live righteously, your worth exceeds any material possession or status."

Hope's eyes sparkled with admiration. "Wow... you speak such wonderful words."

"Please refrain from calling me 'sir,'" he replied gently.

"But I have a question for you," Max continued thoughtfully.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you use Zor energy against those men?" Max asked curiously.

"How do you—?" Hope was taken aback by his insight.

"Because I don't like hurting people... it doesn't matter who or what they are; I just don't like it," Hope explained.

"And I really admired how you didn't retaliate when that man punched you," she added.

"I see... then... Miss Hope, I must be going now," Max said reluctantly.

"Okay... but you have to come back so I can repay my gratitude myself," Hope insisted earnestly.

"Hmh..." Max chuckled lightly.

"What are you laughing at?" Hope asked with wide eyes.

"Oh... it's just that you remind me of my sister; she wouldn't let me leave until her wishes were fulfilled," he replied fondly.

"Anyways... may fate reunite us." With that, he left her home.

"I can't believe what happened today... someone helped me... talked to me... and didn't make fun of me..." Hope whispered to herself.

"I wish someone like him could stay with me forever so that I wouldn't feel this loneliness and my heart wouldn't hurt..."

"But I need to remember that no one would want to love a woman who can't even walk," Hope thought sadly.

As Max walked away from Hope's home, he pondered deeply about their encounter. "Why did it feel like I was talking to Naomi?" The memory of his sister washed over him.