"Hey kid put these on Morgan!"
Darren glanced towards Aaron, watching the kintaro toss him a set of leg irons and mannacles. "Those are strong enough to keep her contained and will keep her magic in check," he said. Darren nodded, placing the restraints on a stunned Morgan. With the sorceress now restrained, Darren turned towards Aaron once more. Immediately the teen could sense something was wrong as he studied the kintaro and the kitsune.
Aaron still had his pistol pressed to the back of Fukushu's skull, a grim expression plastered on his face. "Haley cover Evan," Aaron called. Haley did as instructed, grasping the wizard tightly around the shoulder while emitting a low growl. "Aaron let's go inside," Yuriko said softly, noting the troubling look on her cousins face. "The threat is over."
"Is it," he asked. Yuriko, Darren, and the others said nothing, apprehensively watching the kintaro. It was Fukushu who now spoke, a small chuckle escaping his vulpinue lips. "Tell me nephew? Do you intend to kill me?"
"Quiet," Aaron hissed, pressing his pistol firmly into Fukushu's skull. Fukushu smirked, an odd smile crossing his face as he continued to talk. "I think not nephew," he said. "Tell me, are you planning on ending my life this day?"
"I should," Aaron scowled. "After everything you've done. What you did to my mother's. You may have fooled Yuriko and this new Catalyst but I know the truth. You'll never change. You're the same heartless, evil bastard I've known my entire life. Why shouldn't I end you?"
"That is your choice," Fukushu grinned. "No one would blame you. Everyone knows you took your mother's passing harder than most. You've blamed yourself."
"What part of shut up did you not get Uncle," Aaron bellowed. Fukushu winced as the kintaro now struck him in the head before pressing his weapon firmly into the kitsunes head. Fukushu continued to smile, undaunted by the prospect of his death as he continued to speak.
"I've watched you nephew," he stated. "The only son in a family of sorceress's. Always an after thought. Your older sister was royalty. Your twin was feared. Yet, I have seen the truth. It is you who was truely the most dangerous." Aaron paused, watching as his uncle turned slightly to look him in the eye. "Of all the Harris children, you were the one I worried about the most because you very much remind me of myself."
"What the hell are you talking about," Aaron exclaimed.
"You've spilled almost as much blood as I have nephew," Fukushu continued. "Trying to prove yourself to your mother's, to your sisters. You never quite fit in, a loner even amongst your family. Is it any wonder you gravitated towards the Moreland family. You wanted to show to your entire family that you were better than they thought you were."
"Aaron don't listen to him," Haley said quickly. "His screwing with your head."
"Your brother understands I am speaking the truth," Fukushu replied. "I am speaking a harsh truth because I have also walked the path of loneliness. Never feeling accepted, burdened by guilt. You were away when I took your mother's life. You've wanted revenge ever since. You blame yourself for her passing."
"How do you know all this," Aaron exclaimed angrily.
"My life has revolved around vengeance and grief for centuries," Fukushu stated. "Do you honestly think I don't know when that is the driving force of someone's life?"
Aaron said nothing, grimacing as he cocked the hammer of his pistol. He had wanted to kill Fukushu for decades. Everything the kitsune had said was true. He had blamed himself, he had been lonely growing up, never quite fitting in in an entire family of women. The kintaro had put on a front his entire life, the cool, calculated demon hunter. Confident and more in control than his more chaotic twin. That, though, was a mask to hide his insecurities. Now, having Fukushu tear that mask away and exposing it to the world hurt more than any injury he had ever sustained. The jade green kintaro now feeling his face flush with anger.
"As I said nephew no one would blame you for taking my life," Fukushu continued. "No one would blame you for destroying Evan as well. We are quite similar, relishing in vengeance. We took your mother's from you. You wanted revenge."
"Not revenge," Aaron growled. "Justice!"
"Perhaps," Fukushu countered. "But, there is something you should understand about your justice. By taking my life are you ready to live with the consequences?"
"The hell are you talking about?"
Fukushu now gestured towards his son, Aaron noting the look of abject terror and grief etched on the young kits face. "Don't you bring your kid into this," Aaron bellowed. "Do you think me feeling sorry for him changes anything?"
"No," Fukushu stated. "And it shouldn't. What you should know though is that your vengeance will inevitably lead to your own downfall. Striking me down, no matter how justified, will only continue the cycle of violence. In time, Raiden shall grow, and when he does what do you think will be his first act?"
Aaron sighed, looking between Fukushu and his frightened son. "I spared you the pain of witnessing your own mother's death," Fukushu stated. "Imagine how your hatred would have festered if I had done that? Is that the kind of pain you wish to inflict upon an innocent?"
Aaron paused, lowering his pistol as his shoulders slumped. He had dreamed of vengeance for so long that it had become an obsession. Still, by doing that he realized he would become a monster, just like Fukushu. "No," he whispered. "No I'm..I'm not going to end up like you."
Darren watched as Aaron took a step back, the kitsune and kintaro gazing at one another. The old family wounds he was witnessing made the teen uncomfortable. The history that existed between everyone was still unknown to Darren. As Morgan was now escorted inside, Darren could see both Kari and Haley giving their brother a sympathetic look. Whatever old grievances existed could be put to rest for a moment as they decided what to do.