Shizuka's eyes narrowed as she noticed Lin's reaction to her question. She was clutching her chest, which was something she had seen Ace do many times now. An emotional cord had been struck and there was no taking it back, the note had already been heard. Being the courteous girl that she was, she answered the question in spite of her clear discomfort. Shizuka was relived to hear that Mulan and the others were well, ever since she learned of the empire's invasion of the Land of Dragons she had feared for everyone's safety. 

The topic changed to the current plans of action on her world, however Lin did not get far before she stumbled upon a memory that she clearly did not wish to discuss. She had not seen the Emperor of China executed, yet the reality of the matter had hit her hard regardless. Even as a warrior with many deadly techniques under her belt, she had not gone through the last rite of becoming a solider in a war, she had not seen death up close. 

Shizuka smiled and took a sip of water, letting Lin know in her own way that it was okay to go on. The new topic caught her off guard however. She gulped down some water too quickly, and had to stifle a cough. "Han would like to see me?" She said, bashfully turning her gaze away and hiding her wriggling grin with the cup in her hands. As if that wasn't enough of a shock to her system, Lin kept going, mentioning marriage and just how special she could become to her brother. If she were to blush any more at the moment the water in her hand would be steaming. 

It was as good as a schoolgirl crush, but in the time that she had gotten to know Han she had grown to deeply admire him. If she could see him again, she would need to steel herself and finally attempt to ask him out, she just hoped she didn't literally turn her body into steel, she often did that when nervous. It's more embarrassing than it sounds.

Shizuka downed the cup of water and turned back to Lin with a not so flustered face. She took the empty cup from her and placed them both on a table. "I don't think you give yourself enough credit." She said, walking back over to Lin. You're Han's sister, if there's anyone he should be able to open up with it's you..." Shizuka giggled and idly scratched her cheek. "But~ I'm more than willing to help out if need be." She gently grasped Lin and hugged her into her chest. "I'd love to have a sister as cute as you, after all." She kept Lin right where she was for a moment, and for some reason she wondered if there would be a time when they could no longer spend time together. It was a dreadful thought, one she was more than happy with dispelling. "But you know, even if I didn't marry Han, I'd still be your friend for as long as I lived."

                                                       __________

There was a strange feeling stirring inside of Asahina's body. She was physically in control of her body, yet at the same time felt as if she was drifting away from behaving in a way that the being known as "Asahina" would. She could hear Alem's voice, he was giving her instructions. However, his voice was muddled, not because of faulty hearing but because she swore that her body was choosing to ignore it. She felt as if she were in that machine again, suspended in animation with no way out, only the prison was now her own body... no, as she was now the entire world felt like a prison. 

The dark beast quickly approached, and as it did she felt the presence of many more heartless sprouting up around her. The small fry were of no matter, as she was now they would refrain from attacking her. Alem noticed the other heartless as well, and choose to tell her to strike now, she was more than eager to. She sprinted forward, only to be stopped by a sudden barrier. Someone else must have arrived, odd, she could not sense the presence of a heart. With her path being blocked she grew frustrated, she did not bother turning around to see who had interfered, instead she banged on the barrier with her hands. The force was enough to topple a reinforced wall, yet the barrier showed no signs of breaking. She let out a fierce roar and jumped into the air, darkness then began to swirl around her body like a whirlpool of black smoke. She kicked her legs, and pockets of darkness formed at her feet to step on, allowing her to clear over the barrier. She charged towards the beast, a furious scowl etched upon her face. 

The beast had suddenly slowed to a crawl, thanks to Alem's magic, and she intended to take full advantage. Brandishing her claws she dashed into her target, aiming for the limbs on the left side of it's body, she then skidded to a quick halt along the ground using her claws, and charged once more from behind, taking the other limbs. Asahina wasn't sure how she was doing this, she was conscious of her actions, even knew what she was about to do next, yet she refused to believe that this was her. She stopped right next to the monster, and began to claw at it manically. Her hands tore the flesh from it's body, and she wasn't sure when, but she had begun to laugh as she did so.  

What she did next was horrifying, she began to consume the heartless. As it's body tore apart it liquefied, allowing her to devour it. Her mouth opened to grotesque proportions, and she chewed and ripped with razor teeth. Soon enough nothing remained of her victim, and with the source of her ire gone she soon regained control over her body. "W-wha..." She fell to her knees and clutched her arms, shaking.