Zephyr Edge: Then and Now

	I am dead. Or, really, I guess the proper term is "off the grid".

	Lemme back up.
	I died from a real hard crash into something. It was a monster. They call 'em Hellhounds, last I checked. Walking home, watching traffic pass by, I end up not noticing that the guy just smacks me into the side of an alleyway. And man, lemme tell you, you do not want a head concussion from that. Blood gets everywhere. I had a real bloody awakening. It was not fun.
	Speaking of blood, it turns out that I'm descended from a bloodline of women that use air magic and a katana- Zephyr Edge is the title. I'm like, the fourth one now, apparently. That's what that talking cat who revived me- Shiro was his name, I think- told me.

	So, why am I saying any of this? It's because I am face-down, right now, in an alleyway, with my only company being that cat. I've met a lot of people, since then. Mrs. M. and that Veronica gal especially.
	Oh, Kuro's pecking me now. Kuro's my Familiar, a creature bound to my being. She's a bird.
	"You really are in for it, this time," I can FEEL the venom pouring out of Shiro's voice. It's like one of those tired old men voices, who's tired that he has to keep telling you to not stab the fork into the plug- Which, honestly? Was nothing like what I did.
	"I just want to get stronger," My hand almost instinctively gripped the black, metal disc in its palm. "Isn't that what you want? For me to be strong enough to eliminate all monsters?"
	"And it wouldn't do, if you were another target."
	"To hell with that! I'm already a monster inside, aren't I? I keep running away from everything, yet all I fight for is just to get bloody, and I LOVE IT!" Blood's beating against my head, yet I just can't get it into me to do it, right now. "What's the harm, if I use this to get even stronger, that we can kill 'em all?"
	"That's the problem- It's not a matter of where you draw the line, but now WHEN you do it," Shiro walks right where I can see him, so I can hear real well. "And that's why I can't let you use it. You'll risk not only yourself, but also your own heirs."
	"As if I asked to be born with this power! I'll do everyone else a favor, and off myself, too. I bet Mrs. M.'s kids could do just fine by themselves, without my assistance," For all of my whining, he was kinda right: I might be doing something real stupid, with this Black Coin. Something I couldn't go back on.

	Oh, right, before I forget, I left a note on her fridge the other day. Didn't really wanna stick around the house for too long, so it ended up getting pretty messy, but it went like:

Dear Mrs. M,
	I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly the other day. There's been a lot on my mind lately, and I feel like I'm going to do something really stupid. If I do, please stop me. The cat will know what you're talking about.
	There are so many nice people out there. I want to protect them all, but I'm not strong enough to do so. If only I could get stronger! But they can help themselves plenty, and so I'm left to chase after my own rush, my own lust, my own desires.
						Love,
						Kazue