Marko Tenkou

Chapter 17

Marko Tenkou Ch.17

While the heroes searched through the first floor of the mansion, the two Tenkous scurried through the second in search of Shani. Their meet nothing but the long stretches of the golden hallways, the walls that had portraits of Shani's family members, and discarded, empty rooms.

"Crap, where is she?" Marko groaned in annoyance of not having to found Shani yet.

"Don't worry, Marko," Titania assured. "It's only been ten minutes."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Marko sighed as they now began their journey around the hallways for a third time.

Though Titania could understand Marko's reason for wanting to find Shani, she couldn't comprehend why she was so dedicated towards doing so. If she had the opportunity to look for her, she would rather wait until she had calm down then proceed a discussion towards a possible friendship or treaty.

She felt a bit curious in wanting to know their past friendship, though a slight feeling of jealousy also existed along with her curiosity.

"Say, Marko," Titania finally asked after taking in a deep breath. "How far did you and Shani go?"

That question made Marko stopped instantly, with Titania following the same step. She turned with a confused look on her face, a slight blush on her cheeks. "What?"

Titania had realized her mistake. "I apologize, I worded that wrong." she slightly bowed in apology. "I meant your friendship with her." she corrected.

"Oh, well, to me it was an everyday friendship." Marko answered. "Though Shani might have felt differently."

"Differently?" Titania tilted her head at that.

"You see she never had a friend before me. I think I still was her only one to this day."

"I see..." Titania felt a bit of remorse.

"I want... to at least make sure she's okay. Even if she doesn't want me there, I feel I'm the one who should reach out to her." Marko looked at Titania. "You understand, right?"

Titania nodded. "Of course."

Responding with an agreement nod, Marko continued to walk forward. Despite her saying it was a normal friendship, Titania felt she meant more to it than just normal. Her low tone gave her evidence. Before she could walk after her, a loud crash was heard down the hall, alerting the Tenkous' ears.

With quick pace the two dashed to where they heard the crash, their eyes widen in shock by what they saw.

The ceiling above the hallway had cave in, sending debris and wreckage falling down along with it. Dust filled the air, making it hard for them to both see and smell.

"W... What happened?" Marko asked aloud. Her questioned was soon answered when she spotted Shani lying on top of the wreckage, her head slightly bleeding and weapon drawn. Above her stood Suit, who had a satisfied grin on his face.

"My, my," he gazed at her. "You really made me use some of my power, my little puppy. If I didn't hold back a good amount, you would probably be dead."

Shani opened her left eye, sneering deeply at him. "D... Damn you..." she attempted to stand, her legs shaking in pain.

Chuckling, Suit prepared to grab at her throat with his gloved right hand, but an ice shard drove deep into his forearm, making him halt. He slowly turned to meet a bright, blue light. Once the light died down, he saw Marko in her Tenkou form with an angered expression on her face.

"Ah, if it isn't Marko Tenkou." he smiled as he stood firmly, not showing any signs of pain. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Who are you?" she demanded.