AN: Welcome back to a new chapter of Shadows of Our Past. This chapter can be disturbing at some points - I also had to change a scene entirely as in the original version it was pretty heavy. I do hope you enjoy the chapter nonetheless, and the next one will be more comfortable to read, buuuut I'll tell y'all straight up: there will be more heavy stuff. At least two more chapters that will have the same dark tone like this one. You'll see it when we come to this point. For now, enjoy reading. You could turn on some kind of "Rain ambience" sound while reading as it will be raining the entire chapter. :) Have fun now!

(The track for this scene is "Madison Paige Theme." You'll hear this song probably a few more times. I highly suggest you listen to it while reading, it fits very well to this entire opening.)

A thunder rings out. Outside, the rainfall is extraordinary strong. A clock ticks in the background. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. And then, noticable loud and light steps sound up. It's getting dark outside.

"Harime, you're staring out of the window for more than two hours already. You should go back to your room. Your meal is getting cold." Hoomaru orders the little, thirteen year old Nui. Nui stands in front of a huge window wall. Outside is a large forest, and on the far end of it, the lights of Nagoya are visible. The little girl looks up to Hoomaru. Nui wears a nice white dress with a yellow bowtie on her neck, and there is a yellow belt that tighten up the dress so that it fits even better. And she also has little ponytails on her left and right that reach up to her shoulders. Hoomaru wears her usual white suit.

"You are stupid, Hoomaru." Nui answers sassy. Hoomaru ignores the comment and walks up next to Nui, looking out of the window like her.

"I like rain. It just falls on the ground. It really is strong." she mumbles and smiles slightly.

"Me too. Rain can be comfortable to look at. Where I come from, there is almost no rain. Only the desert." Hoomaru reacts. Nui looks up to Hoomaru.

"So that's why you are so boring?"

"No. Now go up and get your meal before Mr. Kuroido finds out you stand here. Kuroido doesn't like you."

"Kuroido is fat and ugly." she answers stubborn. Steps are audible behind them, above the floor on a overpass three meters above them. Hoomaru and Nui are in the living room of the huge Kiryuin-Manor. The fences of the overpass are made out of glass. The living room has a huge TV, a couch, flowers, a drawing of Satsuki and Nui, shelfs and other usual stuff you can find in these rooms. Two halls on the upper left and right corner connect the living room with the entrance hall of the manor. The fourteen year old Satsuki is on the overpass. Satsuki wears a white sailors uniform with blue stripes. She looks down to Hoomaru and Nui briefly.

"Hoomaru?" Satsuki asks precisely and calm.

"Yes, Lady Satsuki?" she answers and looks up to the daughter of her CEO.

"I'm expecting my mother for an hour already. When will she arrive?"

"Your mother should arrive at home in a few minutes."

"Thank you." Satsuki answers and walks away.

Briefly after, Ragyo's loyal servant and butler Takiji Kuroido walks into the living room. Hoomaru looks at him with an slightly annoyed face expression. She doesn't like Kuroido either. The sinister servant looks at Nui and walks up to her.

"Lady Harime! Wasn't it clear enough that I told you this morning you are not allowed to linger in the living room, not even with your oberservant , Miss Hoomaru?! I heard in the other room Miss Hoomaru ordering you to go back to your room. If Miss Hoomaru orders you to do something, you will obey to her!" the evil Kuroido threatens and drags Nui to her. Nui punches his arm.

"Don't touch me, you are ugly and you smell!" Nui reacts disgusted and chuckles then.

"Go to your room. Now! Otherwise, the Director will be very angry!" he continues. Hoomaru walks in front of Nui and speaks up.

"I'm afraid that you have forgotten that Lady Ragyo does not care for your hate towards Nui Harime. Yes, Nui is a very mean girl and she does a lot of stupid things, HOWEVER: YOU are not entitled to speak up for Lady Ragyo! Now go and work!" Hoomaru orders evil. Kuroido grins ugly.

"You should be careful with your words, Miss Hoomaru." he threatens and walks out of the room. Hoomaru shakes her head in disgust.

"We can agree that this man is annoying, yes?" Hoomaru asks Nui. Nui nods.

"Yes. You're still dumb though." Nui smiles.

"Right. Now please, go back to your room. Your food is getting cold." Hoomaru asks. Nui smiles as a reaction.

"Well... if you ask so kindly, I'll do it just for you." Nui smiles and dances away quickly, leaving the living room via the hall in the upper right corner. Hoomaru then sighes.

"If it wouldn't be for your... tendencies." she mumbles annoyed and watches Nui entering her room in the second floor, which is near the overpass and visible from the window wall Hoomaru stands next to. Hoomaru then walks through the various halls of the giant manor. A huge entrance hall connects the entire manor with the various rooms - an incredibly large kitchen with dozens of fridges where servants work, connected with an likewise huge dining room and of course the two halls that lead to the living room. Two steps, built like a half circle, lead up to the second floor. They are next to the two halls that lead to the living room. The living room leads to the huge garden which is connected with the forest, and there is a little hall made out of window walls that lead to a fairly huge tower - it serves as a relaxing space for Ragyo or Satsuki, and it's also the place where Satsuki's personal servant Soroi works and lives. Lastly, the living room and the second floor both have a connection to the huge bath halls.

The building also has besides the second floor , where Satsuki, Nui and Ragyo's sleeping rooms are, also a third floor that leads to Ragyo's personal office in the manor. And this is "just" the main building of the entire complex - the Kiryuin manor is 2x2 kilometers huge, due to the primordial life fiber residing under the manor which however only a few people are aware of, like Ragyo, or Nui. Kuroido lives in a different part of the manor, just like the many other servants and guards that are allowed to live here. Hoomaru also has an own room which is on the other side of the manor. She has an own little house with two rooms. The walls of the manor and the interior are rather minimalistic, however, the things that are in the manor are impressive to say the very least. Red and white colors everywhere, and in the halls that lead to the living room, there are even little showcases with various nice flowers, like roses, or even thistles.

Hoomaru enters her office in the third floor next to Ragyo's office which is far larger though. It's pretty much everything you can need in an office, folders, a desk, a chair and so on, and a nice view onto the street and the parking lot of the manor. Working on a few folders, Hoomaru searches for a certain document, and eventually, she finds it.

"Ah, there it is. The certificate of ownership for the island of Honnô." she says quietly to herself. Hoomaru puts the certificate aside and continues cleaning up her office a bit, until she hears a limousine parking. Servants walk up to the limousine, all armed with umbrellas. They walk to the door at the limousine and hold up their umbrellas. One of them opens the car door. A light shines slightly out of it, fighting the darkness of the evening, since it's 6:30 PM. And then, Ragyo Kiryuin leaves the car, wearing a black coat, and under that, a robe with white colors that shines below it. Hoomaru quickly goes back to the entrance hall and takes out her pilot glasses, which she always does when she talks or see's Ragyo. The servants take off her huge and beautiful looking coat as she enters the manor. Ragyo looks around with an calm, but cold face expression, while Hoomaru walks to her, carefully.

"Lady Ragyo..." Hoomaru greets in an calm and submissive way.

"Hoomaru." Ragyo reacts ice cold.

"I've put the contracts regarding Shimazu Inc. in a new folder as you wished. I also searched up the certificate of ownership for the island of Honnô since you wanted to take a look at it again." Hoomaru explains. Ragyo nods and walks up the stairs. Hoomaru follows her.

"May I suggest that we build a few more factories on Honnô? We could also build some kind of stadium for fashion shows."

Ragyo doesn't react. She appears rather apathic about Hoomaru's suggestions.

"Your daughter, Lady Satsuki, wanted to talk with you as well." Hoomaru continues. Ragyo stops all of a sudden and nods slowly.

"I will be available in ten minutes. She can meet me at the observation tower." Ragyo orders calm, yet resolve and cold.

"Of course, Lady Ragyo." Hoomaru answers and walks up to Satsuki's room while Ragyo walks to her quarters. They must be pretty large... at least that's what Hoomaru assumes.

Satsuki sits in her room. A huge, impressive room with a white bed, other than that however it appears rather calm and minimalistic. What is noticable though is that there are a lot of sketches and papers on the desk in the room, as well as a blade resting next to the desk - it's Bakuzan. Satsuki hears Hoomaru knocking on the door and opens it.

"Hoomaru?"

"Your mother has arrive. You are allowed to talk with her in ten minutes. She will wait at the observation tower."

"I see. Thank you." Satsuki answers and closes the door. Hoomaru turns around and walks next to Nui's room. The door is slightly open. Hoomaru decides to take a little peek and see's Nui sitting on her desk, writing or drawing something apparently. She is definitely working with a pen at the moment. Looks like Nui enjoys whatever she is doing. Hoomaru knocks at Nui's door. Nui looks to the door and see's Hoomaru. She doesn't give an answer and continues. Hoomaru looks around briefly.

Nui's room is rather cute and playful. A lot of soft little puppets lay around, with one of them being actually her. Little scarfs and gloves hang at the wall, and they do look really good. There is also a stitching machine in the room with a dress the little girl started. Hoomaru see's how Nui draws a little image of stickmen hurting each other, and one of them laughs at the other. There are also open books with foreign languages - Hoomaru recognizes them as french, german, and italian. She grabs the french book. Vocabularies everywhere. Nui seemed to learn a few new words apparently.

"Not bad, Nui." Hoomaru compliments Nui and smiles. Nui looks up to Hoomaru with a confused face expression.

"As if I take compliments from you." Nui reacts uppish and smiles, then she continues.

"Tzz... you and your big mouth. With a behaviour like that, you will have huge problems in your life." Hoomaru answers.

"What do you know? Go away and talk with the fat Kuroido. Or annoy Satsuki."

"I know a lot, young Lady."

"Leave my room if you have nothing special to say, silly." Nui says mean. Hoomaru closes Nui's french book and lays it down next to her.

"You could at least thank me for protecting you against Kuroido's annoying breath."

"Nope." Nui answers. Hoomaru sighs and leaves the room, closing the door carefully.

"Shouldn't think so high of herself." Hoomaru mumbles to herself and goes back to her office to continue working.

Ten minutes later, Satsuki leaves her room and walks with calm steps outside into the garden, marching under the window roofs that lead to the observation tower. Two servants open the door for Satsuki, who then enters the building. The light here is strong. The fourteen year old Satsuki walks up the tower and passes by Soroi's little room. There is barely any space in the room, as she notices. Satsuki shakes her head and walks up until she arrives in the observation room of the about 20 meter high building. Rain slams against the window walls of the observation room from which you can see the entire manor really well, as well as the forest that surrounds it and the skyscrapers of Nagoya and the walls that are still under construction. The room is rather empty - a huge arm chair, a few flowers, a few portraits of Satsuki and, or Ragyo and a little table with a cup of warm tea for Ragyo. Soroi and Ragyo are in the room, with Ragyo looking outside and Soroi cleaning up the room quietly. As he see's Satsuki, he bows briefly before her and then greets her.

"Lady Satsuki." Soroi says.

"Hello, Soroi." Satsuki answers and nods. Satsuki looks outside the window to take a look. There are helicopters flying above Nagoya at the moment.

"An impressive view, isn't it, my child?" Ragyo asks Satsuki.

"Indeed."

"All these humans that live in Nagoya... victims of their own urge and addiction to clothing."

"Disgusting." Satsuki answers to play along.

"I agree. You wanted to talk with me?"

"Yes, Mother. Thanks for taking your time."

"What is it that your resolved heart bids?" Ragyo asks calm.

"I've put up my mind about Honnô island. I've heard you and Hoomaru talking about it every once in a while. I... have an idea that will benefit the corporation." Satsuki explains. Ragyo looks down to her little daughter and with an interested face expression.

"So young, and already interested in the corporate business... admirable. Speak up."

"I asked Hoomaru for some information regarding the corporation. REVOCS is beloved by adults and older people, however there is a huge deficit with the... younger consumers, like me."

Ragyo nods slowly. Her ice cold look is normal for Satsuki, but other people could be scared off by that cold hearted look.

"If we can convince younger people into buying our clothes, REVOCS sooner or later will benefit from it and become the Number One corporation in the clothing industry. The concept I have is simple, yet effective. Imagine REVOCS founding an academy, a... school, that focuses on Life Fiber research and strength. A school in which the value of a single student is displayed by their uniforms. Uniforms that reward their wearer, given out only to the best, smartest and strongest. By that, we can find potential candidates for experiments, and most importantly, gain new members for the corporation that have a remarkable synchronization rate when it comes to Life Fibers." Satsuki explains. Ragyo thinks briefly to find words.

"And the name of the academy?"

"Honnouji-Academy." Satsuki reacts and waits patiently for an answer. Ragyo slowly walks through the room, thinking.

"Honnouji-Academy..." she mumbles.

"Yes. Since your goals were always about spreading Life Fiber clothes around the world and less about the satisfaction of the customers, I suggest we develop a concept that rewards strong students and cull out the weak."

Ragyo nods slowly.

"Out of all the ideas Hoomaru and the vermin that my administrators are, it is your idea that is so surreal and exciting that it could make sense thinking about it. You seem very convinced about it?"

"I am. I have dozens of concept sketches and textes done in my room. They all contain information about possible designs, a hierarchy, the interior and so on and so forth. Constructing the school would take a while of course, and a lot of money, but we have more than enough, as far as I can judge."

"We do..." Ragyo answers and walks to Satsuki.

"I like your enthusiasm, even if it appears a bit naive in your age... however, I cannot speak away a certain originality... and the interest is present from my side. Show me your "concepts" tomorrow in my office. Then we will see. Hoomaru can help you sort them if you wish to."

"Yes, mother. Thank you." Satsuki answers submissive. Suddenly, the door to the observation room opens and a badly mooded Mr. Kuroido enters the room. Ragyo looks at him with an cold look. Satsuki and Soroi look at him.

"Lady Ragyo, Lady Harime causes an enormous amount of trouble once again, I, no, we can NOT allow this anymore. Since Lady Harime will not obey to my orders, I'm afraid that I have to ask you to deal with her." Kuroido explains annoyed and disgusted about his own words, as he is not able to control a little girl.

"This is the ninth time in three days that Harime causes trouble." Soroi comments. Ragyo walks away from Satsuki.

"It shall not be your mistake, Kuroido, as Harime, while a young girl, has... special needs which you cannot comprehend. Follow me." Ragyo answers and leaves the tower with Kuroido. Soroi and Satsuki look at each other.

"How do you feel today, Lady Satsuki? I haven't seen you up to this point."

"I'm alright, Soroi, thanks for asking. Would it be too much of a trouble if you could bring me a tea before I go to bed?" she bids Soroi. Soroi nods.

"Of course, young Lady Satsuki."

"Ah... one more thing. You mentioned that you wanted to visit your nephew? Shiro Iori, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"I will be at home around the evening again. Kuroido and the other servants will keep the manor clean. I allow you to visit him tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lady Satsuki." Soroi answers grateful. Satsuki follows Ragyo and Kuroido briefly after who already left the tower.

Meanwhile, Ragyo and Kuroido see Hoomaru trying to deal with Nui once again.

"You will not destroy the TV just because you didn't liked the meat!"

"I prefer fish, I always did! How can these silly cooks seriously expect me to eat their meal if it's not one I like?" Nui answers stubborn and smiles.

"I apologize that the cooks haven't cooked the right thing for you, however, as your personal observant, it is my duty to at least make sure that you will not destroy anything. Destroy the TV and you will experience the consequences which I do not want you to experience." Hoomaru explains.

"Oh look, the little Hoomaru pretends to like me! Haha! You are funny." Nui smiles. Then, Nui and Hoomaru hear Ragyo's heel click and instantly look up to her.

"Hello, Lady Ragyo!" Nui smiles happy. Ragyo looks at Nui with a cold face.

"You seem to cause trouble again, Nui?" Ragyo asks.

"Trouble?! Uh, uh! The others are just real fun brakes! Hoomaru is always super serious, Kuroido is fat and ugly and Satsuki is boring and ignores me! That is so mean! All I want is to watch the rain falling down and looking down to Nagoya! It looks so fun over there!" Nui smiles although some frustration is clearly audible.

"Nagoya..." Ragyo mumbles.

"Kuroido. Bring me a parasol." Ragyo orders her servant who then walks out of the room with an despicable ugly grinning. Hoomaru waits at the wall and leans at it.

"This burning passion and curiosity that lives inside and defines your character is admirable. You want to spread out your wings. See the world with your own eyes. I understand." Ragyo explains, with Nui nodding curious, while Hoomaru constantly switches her look between Ragyo and Nui. Kuroido comes back with a nice pink parasol. He gives the parasol to Ragyo, who then looks at it.

"However... curiosity can lead to the death of a predator like you." Ragyo continues and gives Nui the pink parasol carefully. Nui's eyes shine brightly as she investigates it, and then she smiles happy.

"This is my gift to you. Your own parasol. It will serve as your haven for this cruel, strange world we live in. Do not trust humans, do not talk with them, and do not show the few emotions that reside in you, for emotions make us weak. Your parasol will protect you, and you will protect the parasol. A pure, perfect being like you shall not be stained by the environment of this disgusting world." Ragyo explains.

"Lady Ragyo..." Nui mumbles grateful as she looks at the parasol.

"Nagoya, it is, yes?"

Nui nods.

"Then go. This world wants to be discovered by you. However, soon, it will show you that this world will only allow the strongest to live. Whatever happens out there... you will rise up and fight, for this is the purpose you have been born for. You serve me... and then only yourself. And now... go. Protect your parasol. It will protect you." Ragyo explains, and following up, Kuroido opens the window wall doors. Rain falls into the room. Happily, Nui walks outside and opens the parasol. She looks back at Ragyo once more and waves at her kindly, then she walks into the forest. Kuroido closes the door again, awaiting Ragyo's orders. Hoomaru looks at Ragyo.

"If I am allowed to ask... what was the purpose of sending out Nui to Nagoya?" Hoomaru asks confused.

"Kuroido." Ragyo says and looks to him.

"Give Harime one hour to get to Nagoya and take a look at the city. Then send a group of men. Tell them to kill her." Ragyo orders ice cold. Hoomaru raises her eyebrows. Kuroido grins sinister and rubs his hands, then leaves the room. Satsuki enters the room via the second floor and looks down from the overpass.

"That is an... interesting idea." Hoomaru answers, not sure what to think of it.

"The idea is to trigger Harimes latent psychopathic tendencies."

"I see."

"Harime was born as a tool and she shall serve as such. I cannot use her if she stands around and does nothing except causing trouble. By this, Harime will be motivated to cause even more, and with a few words here and there, she will obey my every order, even if I tell her to sacrifice herself for the greater good." Ragyo explains and leaves the room with Hoomaru. They seem to walk back to their offices again. Satsuki looks disgusted to Ragyo who didn't noticed Satsuki's presence.

"Disgusting whore." Satsuki thinks and walks back into her room. She continues working on her sketches while hearing the strong rain outside.

...

...

...

"Oooooh, a frog!" Nui smiles and watches a frog jumping around. She kicks him away, and so, the frog rolls down the hill she is trying to walk up. The kick wasn't too hard though, seems like the frog is still doing fine but it's mean nonetheless. Then, Nui continues walking through the deep forest of Nagoya, with only a few paths around to get a slight orientation of where to go. Bushes and trees are everywhere, but her sweet parasol protects her from the strong rain. Sure, her lower dress gets a bit soggy but that is totally okay for her, as long as her hair isn't stained, everything is alright. Nui is just happy to walk around freely. She spent her entire life in the manor, the REVOCS-HQ or in the main manufacture of Nagoya. There was never a chance to have the kind of fun a normal human being should receive in it's young years... then again, Nui isn't a human being, but a true Life Fiber. Arriving on top of the hill, she looks down at Nagoya. Huge walls, from which parts of them are still under construction, lock out the city from the rest of the world. Red and white lights enlighten the skyline of the city mostly consisting of huge skyscrapers. Nui gets a big smile on her face.

"Woooooowwwwww..." she smiles happy. Her eyes shine happy. Impatiently, she runs down the hill, almost falling on her nose if it wouldn't be for her parasol that actually lets her fly in the air. She flies above the many trees of the forest and looks around. Even with the rain, the view is beautiful. This is a once in a life time view for her.

"This is so fun!" she laughs happy and genuine. After a minute in the air, she gently lands on the ground and continues walking. Her yellow boots are a bit muddy already, but it's kinda fun to walk around in the open. Nagoya is relatively close now and the forest ends here. She's curious to find out how the humans live in big cities like Nagoya.

...

Hoomaru meanwhile walks through the mansion and to Ragyo's office, which Satsuki notices. It's 9 PM now. Satsuki follows her secretly. Interested, she listens to both of them talking by standing next to the wall.

"Lady Ragyo, the certificate of ownership of Honnô, as you ordered." Hoomaru says and seems like to give Ragyo the folder she's holding most of the time. Her voice is a bit dull as Satsuki only hears them through the wall. Apparently, Ragyo starts turning the pages of the folder slowly. A thunder rings out again outside. Another page is turned. Hoomaru waits patiently.

"What an absurd idea my daughter has..." Ragyo mumbles.

"An idea?"

"A school that rewards the efficience of students with new uniforms. By making the students activate their natural strive for strength and power, they will do everything to achieve a new uniform, I assume."

"Hrmpf."

"Yet I admit... it is an approach I value... more than those my ears hear every week."

"It does sound unconventional. But I do see the potential."

"There certainly is one, indeed." Ragyo agrees.

"Your daughter is intelligent."

"She is indeed. She is stubborn sometimes... yet this isn't always a bad thing. She'd do well developing her skills with this academy. By that, she could learn more about leading, and take on more responsibility."

"I've seen a lot of sketches and notes laying around in her room recently. Sketches of a huge building and these... uniforms. There are stars on them. I suppose they display the value of a student."

"Interesting." Ragyo answers.

"I do not have the right to influence your opinion... but Lady Satsuki's idea is one we should perceive."

"Indeed."

Silence. Ragyo turns another page.

"These fanatical Nudist Beach terrorists destroyed another factory. And this man, Isshin Matoi, seems to know a lot about our corporation. I wonder how he knows all of that."

"I assume my former husband told him everything before he died." Ragyo answers calm. Satsuki hates hearing them talk about her dad.

"Isshin Matoi has to be one of the most important subjects of Nudist Beach. Do you assume they are their leader?"

"It's possible. To think an old man would lead a group of naked vermin..." Ragyo answers in disbelief.

"It is surreal indeed. I've been thinking of letting our security manager, Mr. Masaru Yamamoto, work on this topic. He'll find out where he is sooner or later."

"Yes. Tell him to start working."

"Very well." Hoomaru answers and starts walking. Satsuki quietly walks back into her room and starts thinking.

"This Isshin Matoi... who could he be?" Satsuki asks herself curious and writes his name on a little sheet of paper to keep him in her mind.

...

Cars drive around on the streets. Their lights enlighten the darkness of the night, and reveal the strong rain fall. A thunder rings out once again, and then, a lightning is visible briefly in the sky. Nui looks carefully under her parasol out to the sky and jumps up happily as she see's the lightning.

"Wow..." she reacts happy and continues walking on the street that leads into the inner city of Nagoya. The gates and walls here are impressive to the little girl.

"Are all humans living in castles?" she wonders curious. She has a bit of knowledge regarding history, apparently. Walking through the dark tunnels of the gates, she arrives in the inner city, with a speechless face. Humans are everywhere, holding up umbrellas or run around due to the rain. Cars drive through the city, and in the background, a huge water puddle is whirled up thanks to a car driving onto it. Neon lights lighten up the city. She doesn't know where to look at first.

"So many humans..." she mumbles and holds up her parasol again. She is proud of her own little parasol. It's a great gift from Lady Ragyo - she is a very kind and caring person, as she believes. Nui notices how a REVOCS employee passes her. As the future Grand Couturier, she already has some reputation in the corporation.

"The small Grand Couturier is here? You're only walking around when the Director is with you." the woman says. Nui nods.

"Yes! But Lady Ragyo said I can walk around freely now!" Nui smiles proud.

"I see. Well, don't walk around here too long then and make sure you are at home quickly. These streets are dangerous around this time, and most people are very bad towards young girls." the employee reacts.

"How do I recognize bad people?"

"... hm... if your tummy says something feels wrong, you should be very careful." she says. Nui nods slowly.

"Have a good evening now, and keep yourself safe." and shortly after, the woman walks away. Nui looks at her with a smile.

"What a stupid lady." she chuckles.

The curious little Nui walks through the rainy streets of Nagoya, with beautiful lights everywhere. Restaurants, clubs, clothing stores and wonderful buildings, all made out of concrete. There is something interesting to see everywhere. She doesn't know what all of these buildings are supposed for, but being able to find it out makes it all more fun. Following up, the little girl continues walking through the streets, carefully watching for puddles, after all, she doesn't want to get soaked up entirely. Here and there, a drop hits the skirt, but that is okay. Arriving at a huge alley, she walks into it. Dozens of people are around here, talking a bit or eat something. A few little roofs protect them from getting wet. There are also fun little vending machines, which is even more fascinating. She walks towards one of them and climbs them up as she can barely see what's inside. There are cool little teddy bears and other plushies inside. Nui jumps around happily and tries to get one of the plushies, but nothing happens. She needs a coin apparently. Disappointed, she walks away.

"Stupid thing." she mumbles and continues walking. Nui notices a window wall next to a store, with TVs inside. An action movie is running right now. Interested, Nui looks at it for a minute, while the rain falls onto her parasol. She notices a homeless person sitting on the street and under a little roof.

"Hey, you there, you look funny, why are you sitting there?" Nui asks curious.

"... do you maybe have a coin for me, young lady?"

"Nope."

"... oh..."

"Why are you sitting here? Ain't it cold for you?" she asks curious.

"... I've been kicked out of my home..."

"Why's that?"

"My family... doesn't want me anymore..."

"Oh. Well. There's only one person that likes me too."

"Who... are you, I... saw you in the TV once..."

"Hihi. Nui Harime, Grand Couturier of REVOCS."

"... what?"

"Mhm, heard that right! How about you stop sitting around and actually get a job?" Nui asks sassy.

"What...?"

"Come to REVOCS! It's amusing to see you here buuuuuuuut Lady Ragyo and I are always happy to have new workers. Now stand up and get yourself a job, we take everyone!" Nui smiles. The homeless person starts thinking.

"... and where do I do that?"

"Just go to the next facility and ask an employee, they will help you if you tell them the great and lovely Grand Couturier send you! Here, have a puppet!" Nui smiles and gives the homeless person a little puppet of hers. The puppet looks pretty good, although the future ones she will stitch look more cleaner. For a thirteen year old girl though, they are very impressive. The homeless person smiles and nods. Nui then smiles too. The person then stands up and walks to the next REVOCS clothing store. Nui smiles.

"Hehe... one more tool for Lady Ragyo." she smiles proud. Well, Nui not making too much fun of the situation certainly shows that she does have some sort of moral left. Maybe Satsuki and Hoomaru really are just boring? In any case, Nui walks to the street and next to a puddle, and then, a car hits the puddle and the water whirls up, hitting Nui's sweet clothes. She sighs annoyed.

"Eh, that's what I'm getting for being nice nice and not bad nice." she mumbles to herself and looks at her dress. She then shrugs with her shoulders and continues walking. There is a nearby clothing store of REVOCS which the homeless person already entered. Nui notices how an employee talks with them and brings them into the backroom. It worked apparently. The little Grand Couturier looks around and see's many nice clothes made by REVOCS. Cute dresses, expensive suits and neat everyday clothes hang here. She feels comfortable here, that's for sure.

"So that's where all the clothes I make for Ragyo will be sent to." she smiles and touches a few clothes. They all feel really nice and Nui can sense the Life Fibers inside them.

"Hey, little friends." she mumbles to herself quiet as she looks at the clothes. She can hear a slight and quiet voice in a language humans cannot understand. A little chuckle leaves her and then she walks out of the building.

"Making fun of me being completely soaked, who do they think they are?" she chuckles and continues walking. The thick atmosphere due to the neon lights and the thunderstorm make up for a fun trip through Nagoya. As she continues walking through the streets, a group of five men in black suits watch her...

...

Hoomaru turns a page. She's sitting in the living room of the manor, reading a magazine about nature. Satsuki listens her turning the pages every once in a while. It's around 10 PM now. Kuroido walks through the living room, rearranging a few things Nui mistreated before - for example a portrait of a flower.

"This annoying brat..." he mumbles evil. Hoomaru doesn't react and continues reading, although she is clearly annoyed by him.

"Looking forward already when she leaves this holy building." he continues. Hoomaru rools with her eyes, then she puts away the magazine and looks to Kuroido.

"You are a sad man, you know that?"

"Say again?"

"You heard me right. You are a sad man. Being this annoyed by a little kid and actually looking forward to her leaving the manor is certainly concerning. A man like you should be able to stand above the moods of a little girl." Hoomaru says protective over Nui.

"You might stand above me, Miss Hoomaru, yet you should be very careful with your words, once again."

"I surely wont. I might be a quiet observant, however, I do have more than enough of always hearing you cry about the little Nui. Yes, Nui is annoying, and yes, Nui can be very mean, however, with thirteen, she is a small kid. She doesn't receive any love because the Director thinks she doesn't need love. That is why we have to approach and treat her different. I would prefer a kind girl too, but life is cruel, just like this world. Now keep your mouth closed and let off your emotions somewhere, but not when I want to enjoy the end of my working day!" she gripes angry. Satsuki raises her eyebrows impressed.

"Haven't expected you to be this angry." Satsuki mumbles surprised in her room. Kuroido grins ugly.

"Indeed, Lady Harime is a tool and she will be treated as such." he answers. Hoomaru stands up and walks towards him.

"Leave now!" Hoomaru orders Kuroido who then leaves the room.

"Asshole..." she mumbles annoyed. Satsuki leaves her room and looks down to Hoomaru.

"Everything alright, Hoomaru?" Satsuki asks, pretending to be worried.

"Everything is alright, Lady Satsuki. Apologies for my emotional outbreak. As you know, Mr. Kuroido is a man I despise."

"I understand." Satsuki answers, watching Hoomaru sitting down again. Satsuki notices the nature magazine.

"You read about nature?" Satsuki asks.

"Yes, Lady Satsuki."

"Interesting."

"It is indeed. I like nature in general. Living here in Japan truly is an honor. I've heard you had an idea for Honnô island?"

"Yes."

"Remarkable. You surely are more mature than other young women." Hoomaru answers impressed. Satsuki does not answer, as she doesn't care for Hoomarus words.

"Forgive me. It was not my intention to bore you." Hoomaru answers submissive. Satsuki enters her room again.

...

Nui stands in front of a theatre. People with suits stand there. Seems fun, or so she thinks. She continues walking, thinking that maybe she could visit a theatre sometimes. Hopefully without humans then. Nui is in the inner city now and speaks to a civilian.

"Hey, you." Nui says.

"Hm?"

"You guys have a pavillion or a park here? It's super boring here. I want to see flowers." she asks.

"Hahaha..." the civilian laughs and walks away.

"Buffoon." Nui reacts.

"How did you just call me?"

"A buffoon. Oh, and you can also go and die." Nui smiles. As the man approaches her, Nui hits his nose, causing him to fall into a water puddle. Nui laughs mischievous, while the man moans in the background. The group of men follow Nui, however, she doesn't notice that. There is a little vending machine. Curiously, the Grand Couturier takes a look at it. There are various snacks inside the machine - chocolate bars, granola bars, bags of chips... and popcorn. Her eyes shine brightly for a second, and her smile gets bigger and bigger.

"Ooooooohhhh, popcorn!" she smiles excited. She never ate popcorn and so she would love to try it out. Licking her mouth happily, she tries to get to the popcorn somehow by using her parasol to slam the glass open, but it doesn't work. She's disappointed by that.

" *sigh* ... that's lame." she says sad and thinks of another way on how to get the popcorn. She would need a few Yen coins, but there are none on the ground. Since there are no coins, she tries to slam the glass again, but again, no success.

"Grrr..." she grumbles and starts smiling. Now it's a riddle for her, a fun little game. And Nui likes games. The moment she tries to find a way to open the machine on another way, a man with a deeply black suit arrives.

"Hey, you." the man says. Nui turns around.

"Wow, you are a giant!" she says and smiles.

"Nui Harime?"

"The one and only!" she laughs and turns around as she tries to open the machine. Then she pouts.

"Do you have an idea how to open the machine? I want that popcorn! It looks soooooo tasty!" she smiles.

And all of a sudden, the man drags her hair as strong as he can, dragging her through an alley. Nui tries to defend herself.

"AH THAT HURTS, OW, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" she screams angry, fidgeting around. The man walks precisely through the alley. Steam rises up, and there is a trash bin too. A group of men stand there.

"That's her." a bald man with black glasses says.

"Yeah."

"Good." he reacts. The bald man seems to be the leader. Nui tries to get off from the evil man who holds her hair, but he is not impressed in any way. She's just a kid. Then she uses her parasol to hit the leg of the man, and following up, his mates start attacking Nui, kicking and punching her everywhere. Blood leaves her nose, as it has been broken. Eventually, the man who dragged Nui proceeds to kick her parasol away.

"No! My parasol!" she screams sad and disappointed and tries to reach it.

"Why are you doing that!? You are mean! Lady Ragyo will kill you if she finds out about this!" Nui threatens angry. The leader walks into the warehouse. Meanwhile, Nui's kidnappers let her go, letting her grab her parasol, and then, one of them starts attacking her with a baseball bat, slamming it on her several times. Nui moans painfully.

"Argh!" she moans, attacking with the grip of the parasol, hitting the baseball bat man at his cheek. This causes a small wound. For that, he starts to slam the baseball bat at her even more aggressive, making her bleed on her head. Her face lands into a little dirty water puddle and the hair is all wet, with dirt landing on it.

"Ewww! You...!" she tries to threaten and gets kicked into her face. The bald man appears again, and a "click" is audible. Suddenly, the men let off Nui and walk away a few steps.

"You'll pay for this! Lady Ragyo will kill you!" Nui says and tries to stand up. She's running away with her parasol, protecting it with her arms, but then, a powerful gunshot is audible, and suddenly, Nui falls down, as her right kneecap got shot away. A lot of blood leaves her severed leg.

"NO!" she screams scared and sad, trying to crouch away, until she can hear steps again. It's the leader. He's carrying a shotgun with him, and he loads the next shotgun shell into the weapon. The empty shell falls on the ground. Then, the man drags her up and throws her against the trash bin in the alley. Nui looks up at him with a scared and sad face, protecting her parasol.

"This hurts... don't do this..." she mumbles scared. The man aims at Nui's head.

"IF YOU DO THIS I'LL KILL ALL OF YO...!"

Everything turns dark. A sound is audible, as if flesh has just exploded. Shreds fall, and blood mixes up with the puddles in the alley. Nui's hand still twitches a little bit. One of the men grab the parasol and looks at it.

"We'll take this as proof for completing the contract."

"Indeed. One of you guys stay here and make sure no one enters this alley. We'll wait for confirmation in the warehouse and then go to this tailors hut to get our payment." the bald man says ice cold. Rain falls into the alley and onto Nui's dead body.

It looks gruesome...

...

A clock is ticking in the background. The rain has gotten stronger. Kuroido enters the room. Ragyo is in her office. It's very minimalistic and cold, and it reminds of the design of the presidential office of REVOCS-HQ. A dark ceiling with circles, while the ground and the walls appear cold and lifeless, just like everything else in the manor. Ragyo sits at her desk, looking at Kuroido with a cold face expression.

"The men just killed Lady Harime, as you wished." Kuroido grins ugly. Ragyo nods slowly.

"And so, they killed the small bit of what you could call "humanity." Nui won't let them get away with this."

"As much as I despise your creation for it's personality... it is most valuable for your righteous plans."

"She will obey me. I am the only one that cares for her. Almost... like a mother and daughter." Ragyo says. Hoomaru stands next to the wall of the office, hearing them talking. Even though Hoomaru is on Ragyo's side, killing Nui in order to remove the last bit of humanity, or her moral, as Life Fibers do not know humanity of course and have an own definition, is disturbing to an certain extent...

...

Cigarette smokes rises up. One of the men stand at the alley entrance, guarding it. What he doesn't notice though is that the blood in the water slowly moves back into Nui's body. As he is done, he turns around and walks back to the warehouse. Slowly and quietly, Life Fibers regenerate Nui's leg and head. She's covered in blood. Her eyes regenerate again. Nui's cute little yellow bowtie on her neck is completely bloody. She stands up and looks around. Her parasol is gone. The men must have took it with them. Rain falls onto her hair. She's completely dirty and looks horrible. Slowly, she walks towards the warehouse and carefully opens the door while getting used to her regeneration ability, as this is the first time she had to use it. A thunder rings out again, and the sky lightens up briefly. The bald man is talking with someone via phone, while the other men wait for new orders. Nui sneaks behind a chest.

"Payment is at the tailors hut." he says.

"Always hated this piece of shit child. Always thinking so high about herself."

"Good riddance."

"Let's move out. You two wait here. We'll come back shortly, we still have another contract in Nagoya." the leader mentions. She watches three men, including the leader, leaving the warehouse and using a car. Is this warehouse their hideout, maybe? One of the men, the one who used the baseball bat, walks back to the alley, probably to hide Nui's dead corpse in the trash bin. As he passes by Nui without noticing her, entering the alley, he notices Nui is gone.

"Where the fuck is she!?" he mumbles confused. Suddenly, his leg is hit by Nui who's wielding the baseball bat from before. The man falls down. Nui starts slamming the bat onto his body which pains the man a lot. Then, Nui kicks into his face, breaking his nose, and as she lies onto his back, he notices Nui. Nui sits onto him, putting her feet onto the arms of the man. He tries to attack her with his legs, but he can't reach her. Nui smiles at him, and as a lightning appears, it looks from his perspective as if the devil would stand before him, due to the lightning behind her head, forming two devils horns for a brief second.

"Shit... shit... how the fuck is this possible!?"

Nui starts holding up the baseball bat with an malicious smiling.

"Oh god, wait!" he screams and then, Nui slams the baseball bat with all her power into his face, crushing it. He's bleeding hard, but Nui continues. And again. And again. And again. And again! With every hit she crushes his head even more, and blood flies around, landing onto her skirt. Eventually, she throws the baseball bat away and looks onto her dress and the fresh blood of the man.

"I... need to... kill more cleaner... my poor dress." she mumbles addicted and walks to the warehouse, leaving the dead man behind her. The second man sits on a chair in the warehouse, looking outside, apparently texting something. Nui slowly sneaks up on him and see's that he is writing something to his parents.

"I'll be back in two hours again, mom, don't worry." he wrote and put a little smile at the end of the sentence.

"Do you like your mommy?" Nui asks and starts attacking the man by pulling out Life Fibers out of her fingers, using them to choke him. Nui drags him back, causing the chair to lean back. The man tries to defend himself but is unable to remove the Life Fibers around his neck or even punch Nui in the face or arm. Nui tightens the Life Fibers, and blood leaves the neck, although she had to put more pressure on them to actually kill him. She knows that exactly.

"How's it feel to die? Must be pretty weird?" Nui asks curious. The man gargles around.

"Hahaha! You are dying! You are dying!" she's singing happily and enjoys him suffering, but suddenly, he moves the chair onto his left, falling down. Nui is unable to catch him and falls down herself. The man quickly stands up panickly and holds his hand onto his neck scared, then running to a car - a pickup truck. He quickly starts the engine and is about to drive, but Nui is able to catch up and jump into the truck without him noticing due to his immense anxiety. He's breathing hardly and drives out of the city. Nui carefully looks up to the mirrors on the left and right side to see what he is doing, and after a second or two, she quickly puts her head down into the truck which is filled with rain water. It feels ugly and dirty. Nui hates that. As much as she likes rain, but getting soaked up is annoying.

"... how the fuck did that happened..." he coughs painfully. His voice sounds pretty smokey and sore. For minutes, Nui waits in the car, impatiently, and then, the man stops and leaves the car scared. Nui climbs out of the car completely soaked and chases him. He notices that and starts running scared. The blood thirsting girl hunts him down with Life Fibers in her hands.

"Are we playing "catching?!" I love to play games!" she chuckles. The suit wearer tries to climb up a hill but falls down due to his missing concentration and rolls down to Nui. Nui jumps at him and uses Life Fibers once again.

"Hahaha! This is fun! I love this game! Do your friends like to play hide and seek?! I love it! Especially when I can search them! It's just so fun to see them scared and angry when I notice them." she explains while choking him, causing blood to leave the neck. The man's fidgeting like crazy, and he just wants to get rescued. He's scared, it is visible in his eyes.

"Why are you scared? Isn't it fun to play with me? Why does everyone hate me? Why does everyone only play with me when they hate me?! Do you like me?!" she asks. "

"Plea...se..."

"I can't heaaar youuu! You seem to diiiiieeeee! You can go to sleep now!" she laughs and makes a knot around his neck, then tightens it together. The neck breaks, blood flies out of his mouth, and so, the man instantly dies. Nui then stands up and kicks him down the hill with a satisfied face, although she seems to think.

"That... was better, but I need... to be quicker." she mumbles. Nui climbs up the hill. She knows this area very well. There is a good sight to the Kiryuin manor from here. She can see Lady Ragyos Silhouette behind her office windows. Seems like she's looking down at Nui.

"Lady Ragyo... watches me..." she mentions almost in an honored and admiring way.

Arriving on the hill, she can see the tailors hut. It's about 15 minutes away from the manor. Nui see's one of the men walking through the forest. He's probably about to go to the street to start the engine of their car. Nui walks in front of him and looks down to him with a smile.

"The fuck!? How are you alive!?" he asks loud. Nui chuckles and walks towards him. Angry, he runs towards Nui and tries jumping onto her, but Nui dodges and grabs a branch on the ground, aiming precisely on the man's neck. She even hits him once. Blood leaves his neck, but due to the adrenalin output, he continues fighting as if nothing happened. Nui is surprised by that, and pushed into a water puddle, falling into it. Following up, the man aggressively punches Nui, trying to break her nose, but Nui holds her hands onto his face and tries to pop his eyes into his head with her thumbs. Unable to see, the man tries everything to hurt Nui, yet he only is able to rip off her bowtie, throwing it into the puddle. The man screams painfully.

"noooOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOU WONT YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT!" he screams and punches her arms away. Quickly, the man grabs the branch and tries to ram it into Nui's chest area, where her heart is located, and although he pierces her body slightly, Nui continues easily and laughs. Suddenly, her arms transform into blades. She rams them into his heart and then rips it out across the body, splitting the upper body in half. The man looks at Nui in disbelief.

"Stupid little human, thinks he could survive me." she grins and kicks him away. He tries to walk to the hut but falls down and dies, rolling down the hill.

Nui stands up and walks over the dead man, arriving at the hut. Her entire body is full of blood, but it feels amazing. It feels right. As if she was made for that. Made to kill. Nui notices the both men that are still left, talking in the hut. They haven't noticed Nui's presence, and so, Nui opens the door calmly and enters the hut. The men look shocked.

"Bold of you to use the hut I learned to tailor as a hideout, human vermin." she smiles, removing the blood on her face with her hand. Quickly, the bald man runs to the shotgun that lays onto the table, next to the parasol. He unlocks the weapon and tries to attack Nui, but Nui can throw the weapon against a corner. Then, she is attacked by the second man from behind and slammed against the work bench with the stitching machine. Blood splashes out of her head.

As the second man tries to attack Nui, Nui grabs a few items that were on her work bench and throws several needles against him, which all hit. This attack is followed up by Nui ramming the needles even deeper into his body by punching them into it. Lastly, her arms transform into arms once again, and so, she slashes the mans body open. Blood lands onto the window, slowly flowing down. Suddenly, a shot rings out, and an ear deafening sound is audible due to the shotgun shot the man just commenced. Nui laughs as she watches his mate miserably bleeding out.

"You stupid worthless girl! How the fuck did you survive a shotgun shot?! I BLEW YOUR HEAD OFF!" he screams like a maniac, aiming at Nui once again. However, Nui leans her head up, touching the shotgun barrel with it, smiling at him. Carefully, she moves her hands behind her back.

"I'm not a ordinary human, silly..." she grins.

"I'm a superior life form... chosen by the Life Fibers." Nui continues, holding her weapon of choice ready.

"... and you can't hope to beat me." she concludes and attacks with a sharp measuring tape. With that, she is able to rip off a part of the bald man's head. Blood spreads, and the skull is visible if you take a closer look. Scared, the man shoots once more, missing Nui though, and an ear deafening sound is audible again, which Nui doesn't mind though. The bald man rams the wall behind him, and then, Nui starts attacking him with the measuring tape more and more, harder and harder, with blood and skin flying through the room, all with unbelievable precision and speed. Eventually, Nui throws the measuring tape against him and grabs up a needle as big as her hand, ramming it into the man several times. With an euphorical laugh, she rams the needle into him several times.

"YOU HAVE LO-HOST! YOU HAVE LO-HOST!" she sings happy.

"This is SOOOOOOOOO much fun!" she laughs. Lastly, she rams the needle into his head, ultimately killing him. Satisfied, Nui falls back and looks around. Blood is everywhere. On the wall, the interior, the stitching machine. And then there are the corpses. She stands up.

"They only played with me because they disliked me..." she realizes and leaves the hut.

Nui walks back to her bowtie but she notices it's completely soaked and bloody. Because of that, she throws it away and walks back to her home. On her way home, she finds a large water puddle. She walks up to it and looks into it. It reflects her face, with all the blood, and a smile.

And so, she laughs...

...

It's 11:00 PM. Satsuki passes by Hoomaru as she walks back to her room to get ready for bed after taking a quick bath. Satsuki's still wearing her sailors uniform, since she prefers to wear her pyjama only in her room. Hoomaru leaves the living room.

The window door to the living room opens slowly.

Satsuki rearranges her sketches in a few folders. One for the academy, one for the Goku uniforms, and then there are a few folders about the hiearchy and the subjects for the school. Someone knocks on her door, just as Satsuki was about to take out her pyjama.

It's Nui. She's full of blood and smiles. Satsuki looks at Nui unimpressed.

(The track for this scene is "KILL la KILL IF Nui Harime Theme. Listen to it on YouTube while reading if you like to.)

"Hello, Satsuki." Nui smiles. Satsuki doesn't answer and watches Nui calmly, but serious.

"Do you want to play?"

"Leave." Satsuki says and tries to close the door, yet Nui holds it with her bloody right hand.

"You will play." Nui threatens and walks into the room. Satsuki stands there, ice cold and resolved, until she and Nui's noses are almost touching each other.

"And you better play well, or I will kill you." Nui smiles and takes out her bloody measuring tape. Satsuki keeps eye contact to Nui the entire time and walks to her desk, grabbing Bakuzan carefully and calm. Then she walks back to her, unlocking Bakuzan. A "kling" is audible.

"You are disgusting." Satsuki reacts. Both opponents look deeply into each others eyes. Satsuki notices something in Nui's eyes. Devils masks. Her normal eyes are gone. Why? It doesn't matter.

Suddenly, Nui attacks with the measuring tape. Satsuki throws out Bakuzan out of the sword scabbard and parries the attack, then hitting Nui with Bakuzans grip. This slams Nui against the overpass fences. She falls down onto the living room. Satsuki calmly walks to Nui and jumps down. Glass shards are everywhere. Quickly, Nui stands up and grins, attacking with the measuring tape once again. Satsuki parries the attacks once more with ease.

"Hahahaha! I knew it! It works! You like me!" she laughs.

"Pathetic." Satsuki mumbles, and so, Nui throws needles towards her. Satsuki deflects all of them in the air, and walks slowly towards Nui who has gone wild. Nui tries to attack with the measuring tape again by performing several over head attacks, yet Satsuki is able to wrap around the tape onto Bakuzan and drags Nui towards her. She punches Nui into her face with a fist attack, who then falls on her back and against the couch.

"Who do you think you are that you are allowed to face me, Harime?" Satsuki threatens and attacks again, yet Nui blocks with the measuring tape.

"You only play with me when you dislike me! Hahaha! Why does everyone play with me when they hate me?! Is that how love works!?" she asks curious and attacks once more by jumping off the couch and attacking from the air. Satsuki hits Nui with Bakuzan and slams her against a desk. Hoomaru runs into the room as she noticed the battle sounds, visibly surprised and shocked.

"What are you doing!?" Hoomaru asks surprised. Realizing what is going on, she runs up the stairs to Ragyo's office. Arriving in the third floor, she opens the door to Ragyo's room who seemingly expected Hoomaru.

"Lady Ragyo, your daughter and Harime are fighting for their lives in the living room and I can not stop them! Forgive my failure, yet you have to intervene!" Hoomaru says stressed. Ragyo stands up calm and interested, leaving the room, with Hoomaru following her.

"Always so mean and uppish, Satsuki! Just you wait!" Nui smiles happy and throws a plate against Satsuki. Satsuki destroys the plate with Bakuzan easily. Once more, Nui attacks with the measuring tape, and again, Satsuki wraps it around but kicks it off her after she got close enough to her. Nui searches for a weapon but can't find one. Satsuki aims with Bakuzan at Nui.

"You are pathetic. Your borderless selfishness and your hate towards everything that is not you causes your failure in this battle. Have the manners to give up!" Satsuki orders, awaiting Nui's answer. Nui smiles and removes some blood on her body. Then she sniffles.

"I love it when you talk with me. You are always so kind and attentive when you don't like me." she grins and grabs out a few more needles from her back slowly.

"You always talk with me when you hate me. You never talk with me otherwise." she continues and holds her needles ready.

"I just want to play!" Nui explains and tries to attack, but Satsuki noticed her attempt and counters with Bakuzan, punching away the needles. Then, Satsuki performs an uppercut with Bakuzan, throwing Nui into the air. Next up, Satsuki sprints towards her, performing a few, but very powerful and precise slash attacks into the air. They seem to miss. Seem, because suddenly, blue waves appear in the air, flying towards Nui and hitting her after Satsuki stands with her back to Nui, not granting her a single look. Eventually, Satsuki puts back Bakuzan into the sword scabbath.

SECRET ARTS - LOSS OF LIFE FIBERS

Suddenly, Nui's clothes explode, and she falls down completely naked and beaten. Nui inhales and exhales quickly, and as she notices that she is completely naked, she is ashamed. In this very moment, Ragyo and Hoomaru appear. Hoomaru shakes her head, while Satsuki looks unimpressed to Ragyo, who does the same to Satsuki and then to Nui.

"You seriously dare to DESTROY MY CLOTHES, you stupid idiot?!" Nui screams evil. Satsuki then turns to Nui.

"Weakling." Satsuki mocks Nui.

"Weakling... I'll show you, Satsuki sweety... just you wait. I'll make sure you hate me... my playtime has just begun..." she threatens angry. Satsuki leaves the room and walks back to her's. Ragyo looks interested towards Nui.

"Hoomaru. Bring Nui new clothes to the bathing halls. I think we have her dress in purple as well." Ragyo orders. Hoomaru nods submissive and leaves the room. Then, Ragyo softly touches Nui's face. She's ashamed and disappointed, it seems.

"Lady Ragyo, I..."

"Shhh..." Ragyo reacts quiet and caring. She holds her creation warm and kindly and pets her upper body carefully while Nui just appears disappointed.

"Come, Nui. You need a bath."

"Yes... Lady Ragyo." she answers. Both of them enter the bath halls.

The bathing halls appear extremely impressive and huge. The water is wonderful and clear, and the little water fall that comes out of the statue in the middle of the room is quiet, yet wonderful to look at. The rain is not audible here. Only the nice water. Ragyo takes off her clothes and walks into the bath. She helps Nui get into it, after all, Nui isn't as tall as she is in the future. The water feels nice and warm, and it gives a good feeling. Nui sits down next to Ragyo and turns her back to her, and by that, Ragyo is able to start cleaning her slowly.

"What did you learn, my dear little Nui?" Ragyo asks curious and interested. Nui hesitates first. Ragyo starts cleaning her by collecting little hands full of water who she then drops onto her blonde hair. Then, she moves her hands through the hair to wash off the blood.

"They... attacked me... I killed them, because I was stronger... but why did they attacked me, Lady Ragyo?" Nui asks curious. Ragyo hesitates and cleans her hair some more. She seems to enjoy it. After that, she takes some water again and cleans Nui's face. Carefully, and soft. Not rushed, but slow and comfortable.

"Humans... are not like us, Nui. They are weak. They hate beings like you and me." Ragyo begins to explain. After the blood on Nui's face is gone, Ragyo slowly moves her hands down to the shoulder area.

"They are afraid. That... is why they do everything to destroy us. It's the price we pay for being the most superior life forms. Humans fear the strong, as they cannot defeat them, like you experienced." she continues and cleans off the blood on Nui's shoulders.

"Do not doubt yourself, Nui. You are superior. You've felt it. It felt good, yes?" she asks rhetorically and starts cleaning Nui's personal areas. Nui twitches up briefly.

"Just like me. That's how it feels. Liberating. Welcoming and comfortable. And it is fun, isn't it?"

"It does, Lady Ragyo." Nui answers smiling briefly.

"Joy up, Nui, for you are the one who will end humanities suffering. Humans were only able to develop by you - the Life Fibers. Without you, they wouldn't stand a chance. And so, it shall be you who will be allowed to rule over them. They owe you everything. Their lives are in your hands. Humans are your toys, and the world is your sandbox, until it shall end." Ragyo mentions and leans her head next to Nui's ear as she starts cleaning Nui's hips. Nui can feel Ragyo's body.

"Lady Ragyo..."

"Tell me, my dear. How good is your german?" Ragyo asks calm.

"I practiced every day, as you wished. Just like french and italian, Lady Ragyo. I... prefer french the most."

"Do you know... what the germans mean when they say "Blumenkranz?"

"It's... a floral crown, it... consists of withered flowers. They are dead."

"Indeed... now... try to sing along. You will like this." Ragyo smiles.

"Ich möchte stärker werden..." - I want to be stronger...

"Ich möchte... stärker... werden..."

"Weil unsere Welt sehr grausam ist..." - for our world is cruel...
"Weil unsere... Welt... sehr grausam ist..."

"Es ist ratsam, welke Blumen zu entfernen..." - it is advisable to remove withered flowers...
"Es ist... ratsam... welke... Blumen zu ent...fernen..."

AN: Thanks for reading once again. Oh boy, Ragyo's singing Blumenkranz to Nui to corrupt her even further. What do you think of the chapter? I think it was pretty heavy to write, although I had fun. ^^ I'm german by the way, so uh, you can trust me that the translation is correct. :D See ya again in chapter 11 when Ryuko, Satsuki and Nui get back to Ôsaka... followed by Neo-REVOCS units and Masaru himself... If you like to, leave me a review, I'd highly appreciate it! :D