Chapter Seven

 Koyonagi's funeral was held three days after the battle. A man Marino had never seen before showed up. He was a large man with muscles, and by himself, lifted the coffin and funeral barge. The coffin was placed inside the funeral barge and placed on a river not far from the training grounds. The wound in her stomach was covered, and her orange, flowing hair was wrapped in a ponytail. The boat was pushed off, and the large man, producing a bow, fired a flaming arrow directly into the deck of the ship. Within minutes, the boat was aflame, and it drifted out of sight.

 After the funeral, Marino, the stranger, and Uyeno went to retrieve Takashi's body. While they were walking, Marino turned to the stranger and asked who he was. The stranger looked down at him, and muttered, "Matsushima. Koyonagi was my sister." Matsushima didn't talk for the rest of the excursion.

 Once they got to Takashi's resting place, they searched, but could find nothing. No signs of a fight, no body, nothing. Once they thoroughly searched the area, they figured Noda and the other trainees, whom Marino had not seen before, buried Takashi. It'd been a while since Marino had seen Noda, so he went to check on her in the Sanctuary. It took a while to get to the massive building, but once he did, he found it in a state of destruction. Marino stepped inside, dodging a trainee rushing out, carrying an unconscious trainer. Marino forged onward, finding the path to Thor, and he entered the room with the large door. It was off its hinges, and Marino stepped inside.

 Noda was lying next to a body, whispering. The man was breathing heavily, and Marino inched closer. It was Thor. A pool of golden blood was growing around his stomach, and his beard was shaking. Marino walked up to Thor, and Thor's eyes rested on Marino. Marino, acting under an impulse, crouched down, and Thor placed his palm on Marino's chest. Marino felt a sense of relief, and Thor tapped on Marino's chest with his forefinger. Thor breathed out, and dissolved into golden dust. Noda's eyes filled with tears, and she muttered a blessing. 

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 After Thor died, Noda confessed. Tho had been her father. She described what had happened: when she ran inside, she went to Thor's quarters, and he had comforted her. She lied down to take a nap, and when she came to, the doors had flown open, and a metal-suited figure had walked in. Thor had stood up, and the figure quickly attacked him. It seemed heavy, yet it could move with amazing speed. Thor had nearly killed it, but it had stabbed him before he could stop it. Uyeno rushed up to him, bruised and battered, and between gasps, he said, "Uemura—Uemura's gone! She's been kidnapped!"

 After Marino processed this, he nearly passed out from the amount of anger that swallowed him whole. He stormed out of the gate, looking for any signs of struggle. He spotted something in a thicket about 300 yards ahead. It was Uemura's jacket. He picked it up, shaking, and tied it around his arms. He thought about when he was fighting his bastard uncle, Takashi, and when he had flown. He channeled his Awakening into his legs and jumped so high, he could nearly touch the clouds. Then, he came back down, slamming into the ground about four miles from where he'd jumped, and he came down hard. Standing, he grunted and decided he'd try again later. He looked down at his feet and saw red spots in the snow.

 Blood.

 He followed the trail until he found a clearing. In the clearing stood a huge building. On the very top of the building, a flag was flapping in the breeze, the pattern one Marino did not recognize. It looked like a hyena with a sword crossing its neck. He waited there for about fifteen minutes, biding his time for Noda and Uyeno to arrive. He grew impatient and finally approached the building, following the trail of blood to the gate. An alarm sounded, and he groaned in annoyance.