<h4>Chapter 411: Monster in the Doorway</h4>


    Kat and Kamiko were sitting down at the dining table and having some water while rxing. Boss had been more than a little scary at the end there. Kat had nced over at Kamiko a few times but she''d just shook her head. Kat got the implied message, that it was something they really shouldn''t talk about.


    *I just wish I knew at least a little more. Boss seemed very surprised to see it, and the look on Kamiko''s face, while scared, was one of at least some understanding. She clearly doesn''t want to talk about it either though so I guess I can leave it. Maybe it''s something like the Angels where you can''t talk about them if the others don''t know.*


    Suddenly the door mmed open, and Kat went intobat mode before she even registered what was going on. Kat''s mind slowed to a crawl as she pushed against her chair. It would fall down eventually, but time was on Kat''s side. When Kat looked to the door, she saw arge figure that took up the entire entryway.


    It was covered in blood with tworge ram horns attached to the head. What little she could make out of the person''s face was mostly ignored in favour of the bone white teeth that looked like they belonged on a shark that were currently grinning at her. Long hair that was matted with blood hid the rest of the details that weren''t obscured by even MORE blood.


    The figure might have been wearing an outfit at some point, but now it looked more like they''d been painted with a ckish red blood that wasn''t dark enough to be a demon''s. Kat watched as the figures red eyes widened and mouth opened sucking in a deep breath as Kat moved.


    On Kat''s end she was now in front of Kamiko wings red and tail coiled but ready to strike out at the target. Kat stared whatever wasing into the doorway and set her hands alight for the intimidation factor, whatever that was worth against the shark toothed monster.


    While time was slowed, a deep rumbling like crashing boulders was emanating from the thing''s throat as it started to shake. Kat bared her teeth and let the world return to normal speed so that she wasn''t wasting energy only for the sound to transform into…ughter?


    "Ahahahaha"ughed the figure with a voice that would give a more feminine Boss a run for his money. "Little Kamiko finally got a friend and she sure is a feisty one. I''d call her a keeper."


    "El! What did Mum tell you about visiting covered in blood." Groaned Kamiko from behind Kat.


    That''s when it all clicked. The red eyes, the ram horns. The WINCE when she mmed the door open. Kat felt her face growing red to match her hair as she folded her wings up and bowed. "Sorry about that… I uh…"


    Elmony justughed again and rolled her eyes. Kat at first thought that was a little weird, but as she did so, all the blood on her started to shift and move, following along the path her eyes travelled. A few rotations and most of the blood was gone. Of course, this revealed a new problem. Elmony wasn''t exactly wearing much.


    She had underwear to cover the more private areas of her… but that was it. A strip of cloth above and a second below. Kat was actually surprised to see therge scar that wound its way around her stomach, as if she''d nearly been sliced in half by a wire or something. Her legs also had smaller cuts in them, that looked recently healed. A faint pink outline of them all.


    Elmony''s hair… didn''t fair quite as well as her body. It just seemed to whip around a bit and held tight to the blood that had made its home there. Kat assumed it was pink, based on the picture and all, but it was still too hard to tell. "Well, I''ll just dump this all in the garden." Mumbled Elmony as she turned around.


    "Make sure you only water the blood roses!" yelled Kamiko at the retreating back of her sister.


    *Well… that''s…* Kat looked around awkwardly for a moment before picking the chair back up and sitting down. "Ah… sorry about that."


    Kamiko gave Kat a big grin and hopped over to Kat''s chair to give her a quick hug as she said. "It''s fine. Honestly it''s really nice to know you''d jump in and help me. El should know better, she''s been told off for it enough. She probably thought she wouldn''t get caught because Mum isn''t home."


    "I can hear you, you know!" came a shout from the backyard.


    Kamiko turned to face the ce Elmony''s voice had toe from and retorted. "You were meant to! It''s not exactly a secret!"


    A few secondster, Elmony came back in through the front door. Now she had an outfit on that was very reminiscent of Kamiko''s. The main difference was the light blue colour scheme which Kat thought actually paired well with her pink hair. The outfit was a long kimono longer then Kat''s, which covered Elmony''s impressively long legspletely.


    It did not do as much for her chest, which poked out through the gap the two ovepping sides of the outfit left. Her pinkish white sash was tied tight underneath that, much higher up then Kat''s own and seemed to be there specifically to further draw eyes to her assets. Elmony''s long pink hair worked well with the few pink flowers and vines that could be found hidden under the sleeves of the outfit.


    "So, how''s the punishment going." Said Elmony ncing between the two of them.


    "Honestly it''s been pretty good. Kat could really do with a little more shame though." Said Kamiko.


    "Oh do tell?" asked Elmony baring her teeth slightly.


    *Yeah do tell actually. I have no idea what I should be ashamed of.*


    "Kat just… she just keeps getting hurt and shaking it off!" groaned Kamiko.


    "I don''t see the problem" said Elmony, giving a small thumbs up she''d ''hidden'' from Kamiko''s view.


    Kamiko groaned. "I should have known you''d think it''s normal. I''m talking about Greed. We just got done testing a bunch of items, probably half of which where weapons, and the main Guinea Pig for them was Kat. She just had a pain nullification amulet on and her regen to get through."


    Kat shrugged, before speaking, but wanting to get her own thoughts out there. "I really don''t see what has Kamiko so concerned.? I have Subus regeneration. I always made sure I had energy before getting stabbed, and the amulet made it so the only time I felt pain was that one sword specifically for cancelling those out."


    Kamiko gave Elmony a look as if to say ''see what I mean'' but Elmony shook her head and gave a nod to Kat before saying. "Honestly I don''t see the problem. No pain no gain and all that, and you could even skip the pain part. Sounds like Kamiko''s the one who got hurt the most doing the stabbing."


    Kat nodded and Kamiko groaned. "Crazy people the lot of you."


    "Hey, it''s not my fault I got an ability that increases all of my physical attributes the more blood I have on me. Do you even know how gross that was at first? People can have sorts of horrible shit in their blood." Stated Elmony calmly.


    Kamiko rolled her eyes. "You know as well as I do that nobody gets an ability they hate."


    "You can still get ones that you dislike though…" said Elmony with a tone of voice that told Kat they''d had had this conversation before. "I stand by the idea it''s a carry over from… Her."


    "Um… who is that?" asked Kat


    Elmony nced between Kat and Kamiko for a few seconds. "You did tell her about me right?" when Kamiko nodded, Elmony sighed and continued. "I''m talking about the person I used to be. She… she was NOT a good being. No matter how much Grandma, or Mum? Depends on how you want to think about it. No matter what Grandma says though, I was not a good person before and sometimes those stories scare me."


    "You aren''t her though" said Kamiko softly. "You''ve never been her."


    Elmony just gave Kamiko a resigned grin. "You know that isn''t true. It always amazes me that you''re physically capable of saying it. It''s the same body, and the same soul, I''m just down a few memories."


    Kat considered that a moment and said. "Do you really have the same soul?"


    "Well of course?" replied Elmony with a raised eyebrow. "Why wouldn''t I?"


    "Well, I don''t know how you all think of a soul. But I don''t think of it as a static unchanging thing. It''s just like the body isn''t it? Shaped and changed by the actions you take? Fighting, building reflexes, working out, resting, getting weird blood powers." Said Kat finishing of with a grin.


    "What I''m trying to go for… I guess, is that, you might have had the same soul at the start, or maybe you didn''t. Maybe some of the other Elmony''s soul got shaved off and you got left with the good parts. But as soon as you started to do other things your soul was changing."