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[b][i]Ken Illustrious Ikari[/i][/b]

As he sought the source of the wraiths which haunted the apartment, slicing through ghosts with his magic blade as he went, Ken gradually, painfully, realized something. He did not want to abandon Reverio and Chinami. It wasn't right to do so, not after what they had gone through and what [i]he[/i] had gone through. Was it so conventionally kind others might find it boring? Yes it was. But Ken wanted to [i]own[/i] that behavior, make it his' and ingrain it into his psyche to the point where it was indelible. Why should he be afraid of them hurting him? Pain was a part of life, meant to indicate what damage needed healing and what dangers to keep away from, but it can also be a survival instinct gone wrong.

Same for Hate (capitalized); it was also a survival instinct, sometimes useful for taking out threats and disposing of truly monstrous folk, but more often than not going out of control and consuming oneself and all around them. As Ken located the glowing source of occult power which attracted ghosts into the apartment, as he sliced through that portal to the underworld with the Ame-no-Murakumo and thus ended the haunting, causing the ghosts to fade away into wisps of light and air, the boy saw that he had been afraid, afraid of Chinami's hidden strength and Reverio's open strength and the toxicity of his issues.

He breathed in and out, noticing he had been in the basement of the apartment - So cliche. Taking the stairs up to the abandoned building's ground floor, he found an unexpected gift: Several tied-up, blindfolded, and gagged Ninja from Izumo, all presumably sent to assassinate him, as well as a package which, judging by its softness, contained clothes.

There was a note attached: [i]To Ken Illustrious Ikari, if you truly have the heart of a hero, go to a nearby bathhouse, take a quick shower as you're sweaty, then put on this outfit; it's completely mundane but you'll realize how clothes make the man. After that, well, your friend from Vanquelin is in the Grand Public Library. Love, the Mysterious Benefactor E.A.N.[/i]

"Mysterious benefactor?" Ken spoke out loud in response to the letter, "More like a stalker."

Either way, he realized the gift of incapacitated assassins was the request for the trust it was, and so after calling the police to arrest the assassins (he gave an anonymous tip), the boy went to a nearby bathhouse and after a quick shower, pulled out the package, which contained a silken semi-formal suit, blazer, and necktie of crimson and gold, with layers of kevlar and trauma plates made from prototype polymers, followed up by a pair of white gloves. It made him look every bit what he claimed to be; the rightful Emperor of Izumo.

[i]Gaudy,[/i] Ken thought, [i]but it fits my goals.[/i] The boy then found another surprise, a limousine driven by a female chauffeur with long tresses of black hair. A question escaped his mouth, "E.A.N, or one of her minions? We both know that the [i]Fairy Godmothers[/i] are not as secret as they want to be."

The 'chauffeur' smiled and said, "Just let me drive you to where you need to be. Oh, by the way, I did [i]not[/i] conjure this car; I [i]bought[/i] it. I also don't know how to drive, although I do know how to use a variety of guns, including an Anti-Materiel Rifle," she then chuckled. "But -"

Ken responded somewhat snippily, "I'm going to the library to issue a challenge, not to flaunt wealth I do not have. I'm taking public transport."

In response to that, the 'chauffeur' grabbed him with surprising strength, and space [i]shifted[/i] as he was briefly pulled into what seemed to be another dimension and then deposited just outside the library. His sword sheathed and strapped to his waist through a belt, the boy entered the library room, the 'Fairy Godmother chauffeur' having seemingly left him alone except to whisper, "Show me a good story." 

He caught Darla's shout and knew that her offer of two million was not something he was interested in even though he needed the wealth. Walking towards where she, Reverio, and Mav were, the sun through the windows covering him in a corona of light (the 'chauffeur' had set up mirrors), the boy then spoke, facing the woman, "Someone who is truly in need would not need to offer cash for rescue; [i]Milady[/i]."

Pulling off his left hand's new white glove, he walked back a few paces, to a spot where [i]everyone[/i], including a handsome boy his own age (Lambda) and a scruffy-looking older youth, could see him, he threw the glove on the floor, saying, "I am Ken Illustrious Ikari, claimant to the Imperial Throne of Izumo and newly-blessed by the 'Faerie Godmothers' of legend and folklore. I seek the strongest challenger there is, one who can help me increase my strength so that I can one day free my people from bondage and stand beside my friends," he looked at Reverio, "as a peer." Then he turned to Darla and said, "Gender is no object for a challenger, only strength and determination in their many forms." 

[@AtomicNut][@MagusDream][@Dezuel][@Aqutanama]
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