Battle Wounds

It sounded to Grace like Toji would have possible trouble with his family for killing one of his own, even if it had been an evil version of himself. Hopefully, they would understand.

Grace's own mirror was now sitting in a prison, cut off from her powers. She had been hesitant about leaving the mirror alive, much less in the hands of strangers. The prison director had finally assured her that M-Grace wouldn't be able to use her powers to escape. That concept scared Grace. There was a way to cut off someone's power? Oh well, better that mirror than Grace herself.

"Yes. I buried his ashes in the way you requested. Your burial custom was not that different from my own, although I have never heard of a Koori being burned into ashes."

Grace hesitated. "Toji. This might sound strange, but why are you good?"

Because he had suffered so much? Grace had heard of people being tortured into becoming monsters, but could the opposite also happen? Had Toji rebelled against evil because of his suffering?

Grace had always thought that demons were innately evil. At least, that had been her experience with them. They had attacked her town, killing and torturing mercilessly all of her life. Why was this one different? The Mirror Toji had been evil, and the older version of Toji from inside his soul had warned that he had the capacity to turn evil.

Whatever the reason, Grace was happy that Toji was good. He was her little brother, now.

"So, when are you going to marry Brianna?"

"Of course she's ready to marry. She's 16 years old, after all."

Koori women were expected to marry on or before their 16th birthday. You were considered unfortunate if that wasn't the case. If it weren't for Necati messing things up, Grace herself would have been married long ago.

What was Toji finding so hard to understand? Why was he so worried?

"I believe the proper procedure is to find someone of authority to perform a ceremony," Grace said as she wiped the sprayed water off of her face. Thinking back, Will had told Grace she was the team leader during the HIVE conflict. Did that mean she was still team leader? And did that mean...she had the power to marry people?

"Don't be so nervous, little brother. I'm here to help you out. As temporary team leader, I should be qualified to perform a marriage ceremony, right? I can have you two wed by nightfall." She reached for her communicator. "Now, where is Brianna right now?"

Toji's eyes widened."Waiso!!!" He cleared his throaght."Er, I mean, wait. I just remembered, in this country we cant be wed till we're 28!!" Actually, he didnt really know if that was the proper age, but he had to keep this from getting even more akward."I think...theres a certain process to follow....Ill just go on dates for now."(Waiso: Okami for 'wait')

"Actually, the legal age of marriage in this country is 18. You can get married earlier if you have the permission of your legal guardians. Trust me, I looked it up the first day I stepped foot in this country."

Grace narrowed her eyes. "You're hiding something, Toji. I don't know what it is, but I don't like it. Never lie to me again. I'm your big sister, remember? I'm only trying to help you here. I have heard of this 'dating,' and I think it is a shameful practice. Why would you waste your time on dating when you could simply get married?"

These Southerners had always aggravated her. If it were not for the most unfortunate of circumstances, Grace would have been married long ago. However, the thing she wanted most was cast aside by these people as if it were a bad thing. Didn't they see what they were missing? They had told her it was a difference in culture, but Grace only scoffed at that answer. Didn't people want to be happy in this culture?

Toji winced."It's just...well, I haven't really lived yet!!!And I mean, I'm not ready for marriage!I still gotta turn this world around, and turn the clan back to the side of Light!There's so many things I have to do!!And what if, after we marry, she finds out the things I did under Corgi?!"He shuddered."I-I don't want to be looked at as a monster, sister, not by her, not the girl I love. This way, at least we'll be able to het to know if we are truly right for eachother."He covered his face with his hands."The things I did in my past, Sister. Oh god the things I did...if only you knew.....He even made me enjoy it...I enjoyed it,sister!Each limb I broke brought happiness to me!!!"His shoulders start to shake."I was a monster, sis..."

(Srry for not posting, a writers block...(sweatdrop))

Grace slapped Toji hard across the face. Her face had become quite stern, and her narrow eyes glared at the half-demon. How dare he speak of such things. The Koori tribe had suffered the wrath of rampaging demons for years, just as the rest of this world had. She had seen her family and friends be devoured by the cruel creatures.

And here Toji sat crying, admitting that he took pleasure in breaking limbs and killing the weak and innocent.

"You're not the one who had your limbs broken. You have no right to cry about such things. I know what you've done, Toji. Your deeds are like a constant stench in my nose. When I first met you, I wanted to kill you then and there. But you're a curiosity. You now want to defend the weak, as though you were denying your very lineage. You claimed that you're good because you suffered so much, but you weren't the one suffering. You have suffered nothing, Toji Okami, now stop whining and act like a man. I don't know why a beast like you has become a man in the first place, but I intend to find out."

Grace did not let up. She glared at Toji until he left the room. How dare he claim that his life had been harder than hers. Two years of killing innocents versus an entire life of fear? Grace wouldn't dignify such a statement.

Five minutes later.

Grace could sense that Toji was on the roof. What was he doing there? He was supposed to be recovering from his wounds. Based on his mood, Grace assumed the worst.

"Toji," Grace said, suddenly landing behind him. She hadn't even dismissed her ice flight armor yet.

What was she supposed to do now? Sure, Grace was angry at Toji, but she didn't want him to die. Grace pressed her knuckles to her forehead to think harder.

"Toji, when are you going to stop being so selfish? You won't do accomplish anything by killing yourself. You'll just make everyone on the team sad. Jump City will have one fewer hero, and Brianna...Brianna won't have anyone to take care of her. Do you honestly think I'll try to comfort her at your funeral?"

Grace stopped for a second. She felt like she was doing a really bad job at this. Oh well, if he tried to jump, she would simply freeze him in mid-air and float him to safety.

"The world isn't all about you, Toji. You think you have the right to kill yourself because you feel guilty? Stop crying and do something about it. You need to make amends for what you've done, and you need to be alive to do that. I'll go with you Toji. You can apologize to the families of your victims. You owe that to them. Now step away from that ledge before I make you really want to die."

Grace was confused as Toji started laughing. Had he gone insane? Then he said that he had never even killed anyone.

"WHAT?"

A demon who hadn't killed anyone? Such a thing was unheard of. Grace's jaw dropped in sheer surprise. She was going to ask him what he was actually feeling guilty about, but then decided to leave it alone. He wasn't a murderer. He hadn't killed the innocent. With that admission, Toji had redeemed himself in Grace's eyes.

He called her big sister again. Grace wasn't used to such a title. She couldn't help but feel that Toji had chosen a bad big sister.

"Anytime. I'm the only one allowed to be selfish around here, and don't you forget that. I don't care what those mirrors said. They were far too weak to be right about anything. Anyways, you should go back inside now and rest. I'll tell you stories to pass the time, if you wish."

Toji grinned, hopping off the sill."Sure.I'm kinda curious about the myths in your culture..."

5 minutes later......

Toji glanced at grace, back in bed."Big Sister....will you really accompany me to say sorry?They.....probally hate me.....I tore down their houses, and....Well, I was Corgis thug. Sure, I was literally a puppet...but still...I'm as guilty as he is..."Shaking his head, Toji tried for a mischeivious grin."So....Have you cooled down yet?"He joked.

(Yhe journey for Toji to say sorry well be in "Going back", k?)