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The Epic	By : kyochan Category: +S to Z > Spiral Views: 1747 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Spiral, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Title: The Epic

Chapter: 13/ many

Authors: Kyo-chan and
Koko-chan

Genre: Shounen-ai

Disclaimers: We do
not own the characters or the series.
They belong to Kyo Shirodaira and Eita Mizuno. This fanfiction is written by fans purely for
the enjoyment of fans.

Summary: The
connection among Ayumu, Eyes, and Kousuke yields another surprise just before
Kanone begins a duel of words with the Hope�

~*~

Ayumu
kicked at the door to Eyes's suite, his arms loaded with bags and containers
for that night's dinner. He was apprehensive about this meeting with Kanone,
but figured that as long as it didn't involve guns or Hunters, he could handle
it for the time being. Right now, all it seemed to be was a harmless dinner and
some talking. Ayumu knew that he wouldn't want to be too loose with his words,
since everyone seemed to be so edgy about the whole Kanone issue. Blowing a
lock of hair out of his eyes, he waited for someone to answer the door.

The first
sign that anyone was home wasn't the door being answered, but rather a whisper
at the back of his mind, coming through the Web. It sounded like...lyrics...

I may run and hide

When you're screaming my name, all right

But let me tell you now

There are prices to fame, all right

All of our time spent in flashes of light...

The brunet
tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he concentrated on the lyrics. He didn't
readily recognize them, since they were in English, and he'd only begun to
learn that in school.

The door
opened a moment later by Riku, who let him inside with his load of dinner
stuff.

The
elevator ride up was peaceful, but the first thing Ayumu heard when the doors
opened was Rio's frustrated shriek.

"EYES!!!
Kousuke's doing it again! Please, get him to stop!!!"

Audible
even over her voice was the song that Ayumu had been hearing in the back of his
mind. It seemed Rio hadn't been kidding when
she warned the brunet about Kousuke's unfortunate obsession with foreign music.

Eyes
sighed, glancing up from some sheet music he'd been looking over on the couch. Rio's protests had brought him back to reality. He'd been
trying so hard to forget that Kanone was sitting next to him [read: practically
in his lap] and he hadn't noticed the loud music. Now the warmth of the brunet's
body was startlingly apparent. "Is it really bothering you that much, Rio?" he asked over the din. He honestly didn't mind
it for once.

"It
does when he's been doing it for the last twenty minutes, and grabs at anyone
who's too close in the hopes of a dance partner! He's blocking the bathroom,
dammit!" Rio sounded more than a little
ticked. She'd probably been the one grabbed at some point.

Kousuke may or may not have heard her. All that he did was start singing along
with the chorus. His voice was accented, but surprisingly pleasant.

"All you people can't you see, can't you see

How your love's affecting our reality

Every time we're down

You can make it right

And that makes you larger than life!"

Like Rio, Kanone was less than amused. Yet another distraction
as he tried to get Eyes alone. He had half a mind to give up on being subtle
and just doing something permanent to both the redhead and the purple-eyed
girl."

Eyes rose
up from the couch, heading over to where Kousuke had been singing, even though
it was probably a dangerous venture.

"Hey, Rio, why don't you forget about Asazuki and come get your
dinner," Ayumu called out to her over the music.

There was a
pause, then a squeal as Rio ran over to
collect the priceless treasure that was Ayumu's cooking. Though once she was
with them and out of immediate earshot, her harried expression turned to
something a little more...crafty? "Operation: Distract Kanone is still
going fine. Riku, it's your turn to get 'accidentally' sucked into Kousuke's
music craze. Otherwise, Eyes really will end up stopping him, and there won't
be an excuse anymore."

Ayumu was
already a step ahead of them, placing out the containers of food that had
already been pre-made for Eyes's group. He knew that he'd never get away with
making Kanone food and not having anything for them. So he'd thrown some
homemade curry together for them and had the fresh ingredients for Kanone's
dinner in one of the bags. He was now walking over to the brunet Blade Child,
hands shoved into the pockets of his snug blue jeans. "You must be
Kanone," he engaged the other into an introduction. "Ayumu
Narumi."

Kanone
nodded, giving a charming smile and ignoring Riku's squawk as she was suddenly
grabbed by Kousuke as a dance partner for the next verse. "Kanone Hilbert.
I've heard a great deal about you from Eyes, Narumi-san. It's quite thrilling
to finally meet you."

There was
the sound of a loud clang as Kousuke's head promptly connected with the frying
pan Riku had managed to snag before she'd been snatched up.

Ayumu winced as he heard the echo from where he stood.
"I wish I could say I've heard a lot about you too, Hilbert-san, but I
can't. In any case, I guess that's why you wanted to meet with me, isn't it?
Well, I brought some things to make for dinner."

There was a
thump as Kousuke hit the ground, and then sudden silence as Rio
finally turned off the loud music with a sigh. She turned to Eyes and gave a
biiiiiig smile. "I guess we didn't need you to stop him after all. Never
mind!"

"Ow..."
Kousuke groaned, "Girls are evil..."

Kanone
nodded. "From what Rio tells me, I will
be looking forward to dinner, as well as talking with you. I'm sure we can
answer a great many questions for each other."

"Shall
we go then? I have fresh vegetables, I wouldn't want them to sit out too long,"
Ayumu said, gracefully dodging the other comment, though in the back of his
mind, he was thinking that it all depended on the questions.

Kanone
nodded. "I'm staying on the floor below us, and have a small kitchen all
to myself. It would perhaps be better to talk away from the chaos the others
bring." He glanced back at where Kousuke was only now beginning to pull
himself off the floor, arguing with Rio all
the way. "I hadn't realized just how...loud Asazuki could be. Let
me just go tell Eyes the plan, and then we'll head down."

Ayumu
nodded his head and went back to the counters where he'd placed the groceries.
He scooped them up once more, checking to make sure that he hadn't forgotten
anything for the stir-fry he was going to fix.

Eyes was
watching Kousuke get up with a bit of a bewildered look on his face. While he
could actually believe that Riku would bludgeon Kousuke with a frying pan, he
hadn't expected to see it for himself. He shook his head in mild disbelief.

Kanone
walked over to Eyes, leaning close to him and placing a hand on the musician's
shoulder as he told him where he'd be. It was possibly the farthest he'd seen
anyone get into Eyes's personal space besides Kousuke, and that had been in the
middle of the night behind closed doors. Kanone was doing this in broad
daylight in front of people.

Kousuke was
not appreciative. Though it didn't show on his face, he got royally
annoyed--and admittedly, very jealous--at seeing Kanone take such liberties. Damn
sex-crazed anaconda... he snarled to himself.

Ayumu was
startled not only by the way that Eyes let this man hang on him, but also at
the way he could just feel Kousuke's anger rise. He heard the redhead's
growl in the back of his head instead of seeing it come from the teen's lips.

I can't
believe he just said that... Eyes's voice entered, and he was looking at
Kanone as if afraid what the man would think he'd heard Kousuke's commentary.

Kousuke
blinked, anger temporarily forgotten as he thought he heard Eyes say something.
But his lips hadn't moved. Huh. Must've been my imagination. Or the
poisonous miasma of Kannie's presence has finally driven me off the deep end
and I'm hearing voices...

Eyes was
confused for a moment, and finally, he met Kousuke's gaze head-on. There had been
no words spoken out loud--no one was reacting as if they'd heard anything out
of the ordinary. If it's a deep end, I've just fallen off as well.

"Gah!"
Kousuke yelped in surprise, unable to cover the startlement. He immediately
wanted to kick himself afterwards for finally drawing Kanone's attention,
because the brunet looked his way with a raised eyebrow.

"Is
there a problem, Asazuki?" he asked.

Crap.
"Nope! Just hearing voices! I think Riku hit me too hard!"

Ayumu was
watching everything as well, knowing that his lack of reaction was likely
better than drawing attention to himself as well. His expression was locked
into that careful indifference, but he hoped that Kanone wouldn't so easily
pick up on what was happening.

"Damn
right! That's what you get for playing your music loud enough to bug the
neighbors!" Riku jumped in, well-used to distraction by now.

I hope
he'll take that answer and ignore it as your personality...

Kousuke
pouted, finally struggling to his feet, pretending to have been hit hard enough
for the room to be spinning a little. He was going to have to ask her to teach
him that trick of noisy but almost painless frying pan whacking. "What the
hell are you talking about, onna? We don't have neighbors!"

"Hmph!
And now I know why!" Riku exclaimed, hands on her hips as she glared at
Kousuke.

"No,
the reason why is that Eyes is a filthy rich bastard and owns the whole
building! If it wasn't for his built-in dislike for noisy attention, he'd
probably be on his own talk show!"

Kanone
watched the drama unfolding, not all that sure he was convinced. He'd seen the
way Eyes had first glanced at him nervously, as if expecting him to react to
something. But he decided to say nothing for now. He would talk to Narumi
first. And later, if he did not get the answers he needed, he would have a
different kind of 'talk' with Asazuki...one where there would be no chance of
secrecy.

"Hilbert-san,"
Ayumu spoke up. "Are you ready?"

I hate
letting him be alone with Kanone...

To Kousuke
and Eyes both, it felt as if they got an extra burst of confidence, Ayumu's
mindset that he would be fine. At least his brush with death had given him a
little more of an edge on believing he could overcome things on his own.

This time,
the redhead managed to hide his surprise at having another person in his head.
Sure, there'd been the connection through the Web, but this seemed more
immediate. More like a touch through the mind than through the soul.

Kanone
turned back to Ayumu, finally removing his hand from Eyes's shoulder and
nodding with a smile. "Of course. I'll see you all after dinner,
minna-san."

Eyes waited
until Kanone's back was turned to shake off the feeling of his touch and rub at
his shoulder where it had been.

Ayumu
opened the door and waited for Kanone to step out so that he could lead the
way.

You...okay?
Kousuke asked, trying to deliberately talk to Eyes this time. This was really
really weird...

I...think
so...

Kousuke
gave a mental sigh of relief, and then the thought struck him. Hey...I know
I'm just thinking these things. Since when could you hear thoughts? I can talk
through my empathy, but there's no words to that, not really. This is more like
telepathy...

Eyes shook
his head. I'm not sure what that was..or what this is. I heard you say
something about Kanone, and I was truly afraid you'd said it out loud.

Riku
glanced between them, then put the frying pan down. "They're gone, I'm
heading down to the garage to hang with Jhette."

Kousuke
nodded. "I'm going to go to my room and read more of the Hunter's files.
There's got to be some clue in there on how to help him. And it'll distract me
from wanting to try spying on Mr. Evilness."

Rio rolled her eyes. "Your nicknames for people get
cornier every day. I'm going to go finish my homework."

Eyes picked
up the sheet music he'd been looking over. "I'm going to go rehearse for
the concert coming up." He looked at Riku. "Let me know if you notice
anything out of the ordinary."

She
saluted. "Yessir!"

~*~

Downstairs,
Kanone showed Ayumu to his borrowed kitchen, and then sat down at the table and
out of the way. He knew better than to obstruct a cook at work, especially if Rio's enthusiastic claims to his skill were even half
accurate. Besides, he could watch the brunet easily from here, and perhaps pick
up small clues to the boy's personality and habits from just watching him move.

Ayumu got
straight to work, hunting down cutting boards, knives and frying pans. In no
time, he was heating oil for the stir-fry, unpacking the fresh rice from the
cooker he had at home and busily chopping vegetables. The last, at least, was
the most fascinating for the moment, especially the way his hands worked the
knife and the food so quickly it was almost amazing he didn't take off a digit
or too. His brows were furrowed, eyes watching what he did at every moment. If
there was one thing Ayumu Narumi took seriously, it was cooking.

Kanone
watched for other things. While he noticed the practiced dexterity of Ayumu's
hands, he also noted that the boy did not move in any way like a fighter. For
all the expertise he used in wielding a kitchen knife, he was probably useless
in a real fight. But then, most of what he'd been up against from Eyes and his
motley little band had been mental, not physical. And Kanone already knew from
Eyes's letters and his own informants that Ayumu was very nearly par with his
older brother in intelligence and resourcefulness.

"I
suppose it's too late to ask if you'll eat stir-fry. I forgot that I wasn't
cooking for someone who was native to Japan," Ayumu said with a bit
of a shrug. He didn't pause in the cutting to glance up at Kanone.

Kanone
shook his head. "That's quite all right. I'm always open to trying new
things."

"Spicy?"
Ayumu toyed with the idea of making it spicy anyway, without warning the other
young man. But he erred on the side of caution and thought to ask first before
he played around with the seasonings and dried red pepper.

"No,
please. I fear I am a horrible spice wimp when compared with most." Kanone
replied, every inch the cheerful and mostly harmless young man. Hardly the sort
of person that could inspire the wariness that he had seen in the other Blade
Children.

Ayumu
wasn't gullible enough to fall for first impressions. Even he was doing a
fairly good job himself of maintaining the image he wanted Kanone to see.
"Very well." He put the sliced chicken he'd brought over in with the
vegetables in the wok. Then he set to making another pan of filling for lettuce
wrap. "I hope you don't mind my cooking. I think it's a little more
practical than spending money out on something I could just as easily fix
myself."

The older brunet
nodded. "Sensible. I've never had to deal with that myself, but it's a
practical thing to do in your situation." Kanone continued to watch Ayumu
as he worked, trying to spot any sort of sign as to just what exactly the boy
was to Eyes. Was the boy a budding Mindbreaker? Or was he merely the victim of
Asazuki reaching out in an empathic panic? There was so much that depended on
just that one little question.

"I get
the same impression from Eyes.. that you both had a rich upbringing, am I
right?" He lifted the wok shaking it enough to toss the vegetables around
in with the meat. When he spared his gaze to look at Kanone, it was just as
calculating as the way Kanone watched him, both of them doing it under the
guise of their own masks.

Kanone
nodded, seeing no reason to hide what was so very obvious just from the unconscious
little gestures and mannerisms that he and Eyes shared. "Oh, quite. We're
both from the English royal bloodline, though different branches. It doesn't
mean all that much, these days, but the family that raised us both is one of
the more affluent."

"Which
means that you were afforded a lot of luxuries when you were young." Ayumu
didn't sound jealous, because he wasn't. He was quite happy with the way he
lived with his parents, and even with Kiyotaka and Madoka. He could appreciate
how he'd been raised, so he didn't hold it against anyone who might have been
thought to have it "better". "So what do you do now? I know that
Rutherford makes something of a living on his
tours. Is there some special talent that you have also?"

"Quite
a few things, really. I manage the estate, for one. Technically, I am the heir
since Eyes has gone. Other than that, I spend a great deal of my time working
on a network to keep track of the Blade Children. It's challenging, because
we're in residence all over the world. Kiyotaka was rather...stunned at our
numbers."

He was
expecting a reaction, Ayumu could almost sense it. So he went in the other
direction, stirring the lettuce-wrap filling and looking up again with only a
mild spark of interest evident. "If I'm to rate the mere amount of Blade
Children I've met in these last few weeks, I would say that the number total in
comparison would be a little daunting. I myself was surprised at how many
popped up after the first one appeared."

Kanone
chuckled. "That, I'm sure, was mostly Eyes's doing. He's always had the
ability to draw others to him. Especially if he thinks there's someone he wants
tested." He raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "He's told me some
interesting tales about you."

"Is
that so?" Ayumu mimicked the motion with his own eyebrow. "There's
really not much about me to tell. I wonder how much he elaborated on." He
said it casually, and most of it wasn't an act. He was still beyond believing
that he was as great as they tried to say, and half of it was because he was
still comparing himself to Kiyotaka.

Old habits
were hard to break after all.

Kanone
already knew about Ayumu's lack of confidence when it came to his brother, and
secretly thought Ayumu a bit of a fool for willfully keeping himself in the
dark, no matter how Eyes and the others had tried to make him look at something
other than his brother's shadow. "Quite a bit. Enough that you're
apparently getting dragged into our problems with Hunters." He sighed,
shaking his head. "You know, I wouldn't hold it against you if you were to
walk away from this, no matter what Eyes has told you. It's hardly fair to
chain you to our fate just because of Kiyotaka." And if Ayumu could be
persuaded to take his potentially dangerous gifts elsewhere, all the better.

"I
think you misunderstand," Ayumu said, wrapping the filling and taking it
to the table for Kanone to nibble on as he finished dishing out the main
course. "The only way that I become chained to your fate is if I let
myself. It has nothing to do with Kiyotaka, and believe me, I have
thought about getting out. I don't because this is the first time I've actually
been challenged. My teachers tell me at school that I don't apply myself, that
I don't seem to care. Why should I when it doesn't challenge me?"

Kanone
raised both eyebrows this time. "So we are a challenge, is that it? Our Fate
and Eyes's struggles to avoid it are simply a mental game for you?"
Perhaps Narumi Ayumu was emptier inside than he had thought...

"The
Blade Children are complete strangers to me. Obviously, that was what my
brother had wanted, or he would have told me something about them before
he disappeared." Ayumu's face was carefully expressionless as he served up
the stir-fry and rice, bringing it to the table and finally sitting down.

Kanone
nodded, almost taken in by what the younger Narumi had said, except for
the fact that most of the more recent reports had shown more and more concern
towards the Blade Children, even if the boy didn't realize it. And for one as
deliberate and cautious as Ayumu, he had to know it. "Interesting
how you say Eyes and his friends are strangers, and yet this time, you actually
went out of your way to help. First with checking on young Sayoko, and then
with helping to rescue Asazuki. No, I don't quite believe that you are as
indifferent as you say you are."

"I
never said I didn't have a heart at all, Hilbert-san. After all, Sayoko
Shiranagatani doesn't even realize that she is a Blade Child, from what
I can tell. Why disrupt her life anymore than it already has been
unnecessarily?" Ayumu picked up his chopsticks and delicately picked up a
pepper, munching slowly on it. "As for Asazuki, I got in his way and got
us both snatched up. The least I could do was make up for such a stupid
mistake."

Kanone
nodded, conceding the point, but not the conversation. "However, I've been
told that one of the results of this rescue mission was a rather unexpected
mental link with Asazuki. If you were truly as uncaring as all that, he'd have
quite a bit more to say about it than he does. You must admit, Asazuki is rather...loud
when upset or annoyed." He tilted his head. "Especially since I know
he's empathic, thanks to the things the Hunter did. An empath wouldn't handle
indifference well."

"I
would think that indifference is something that an empath would handle quite
well," Ayumu contradicted with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I might not know much about it beyond theory, but I would think that
indifference would be preferable to extreme emotions."

"Perhaps,
but we're talking about Asazuki." That was really all Kanone had to say
about that matter to make a point, and they both knew it.

Ayumu
nodded a little. "True." He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't
really understand the concept of a 'mental connection'. It's hard for me to
believe that one even exists."

Kanone
shrugged. "That's what I'm here to find out, as well. Would you mind
telling me exactly what happened? I'm sure you're getting tired of repeating it
by now, but it's the best way to sort things out."

"I
suppose I'd want to know first why you're concerned about it. From what I've
seen of you, and admittedly that's a little, your interest is in Rutherford. Unless I miss my guess, you probably don't
care about Asazuki's well being in the least. So why is something that might or
might not have happened between myself and him so important?"

Touche,
the older boy thought with an inward smile. Ayumu was surprisingly adept at
verbal fencing. Still, he was hardly about to get tricked into revealing such
things. Kanone tilted his head. "I care quite a bit for the Blade
Children, but I'm not blind to how difficult it is to dodge Fate. Eventually,
Asazuki will succumb with the rest of us. Any sort of connections then would
be...uncomfortable, to say the least. And on another note, the varied abilities
and talents of the Blade Children are still mostly unknown. Even if just for
the sake of knowledge itself, I'd want to know. Who knows? It may become
important someday."

Ayumu
tilted his head. "But Asazuki's not connected to you, and you're not
fighting Fate anyway. What use is that?" He was getting the impression
that Kanone only cared about certain Blade Children, and his interest in
what was between him and Asazuki was not for anyone else's gain but his own.

Kanone
chuckled. "Part curiosity, and partly that he is connected to me through
Eyes. If only for his sake, I'll always make a point of taking care of those
around him." Just as I eventually plan to take care of you and Asazuki.
You're too intelligent, and he's too close.

"I
see." Ayumu lowered his chopsticks and steepled his fingers. He wouldn't
admit it, but he was slowly losing his appetite. Despite all appearances, he
knew better than to think that Kanone was anywhere close to harmless. "In
other words, you make it a point to see that nothing gets closer to him than
you are?" The question was so smooth, so casual; it was as if Ayumu were
asking if it was dark outside or if the flowers were in bloom.

And just as
smoothly and casually, Kanone smiled and shrugged. "I have no idea what
you're talking about. Hm...unless you think there's something that Eyes hasn't
been telling me?" No one had known that Kanone knew about the relationship
between Eyes and Kousuke. Ayumu had just put that secret into an area easily
discovered.

Ayumu
hadn't meant 'close' as in a relationship; in fact, he'd implied the total
opposite. That Kanone was looking for a reason to make that an issue told the
younger Narumi that he was right on the mark with the question, in both what he
did and didn't imply. "Rutherford doesn't
appear to have any feelings for anything other than his own existence. He
speaks of fighting fate, avoiding Hunters, and the power to believe. If it
weren't for his talents, I would say that he's let the foretold life of a Blade
Child consume his life. I doubt there's much room for anything else, especially
another of his kind that doesn't believe that Fate can be changed."

Inwardly,
Kanone growled at the implication that Eyes didn't have time for anyone,
including him, outside his mission. Still, there were ways to get around that,
he knew. "True enough, but one never knows where such hidden sentiment
leaks in. After all, is that not what happened with Kiyotaka, that he left his
remaining family behind to learn about us...and even assist us, never mind the
situation it may put his wife in?"

Madoka..
Ayumu's brow twitched and he turned his attention back to the food, though he
really had no desire to eat it anymore. "Kiyotaka's involvement with the
Blade Children is a secret, even to me. Funny how every Blade Child I've ever
met knows quite a lot about my family, yet none of us except my brother knew a
single Blade Child until after he was gone. I wonder why that is."

Kanone made
a note of the tiny furrow along Ayumu's brow. It seemed the younger Narumi's
sister-in-law was a weakness. "Hm. Kiyotaka invested a great deal of care
and effort into trying to find a way to help us fight fate. Though he spoke
about you a great deal more than his wife. Almost like he intended to include
you from the start."

"It
was nice of him to tell me of that intention. Then again, it might not have
been so challenging to me if I knew what to expect, now would it?" Ayumu
chewed a bite of rice and chicken very slowly to make sure he could swallow.
The fight to keep his composure was a lot harder than he thought it would be,
especially since this game was one of masks and words, worse than any of the
tests that Eyes's Blade Children had thrown at him, and only slightly less
comfortable than being poisoned.

And Kanone
still looked as calm and collected as ever, just eating quietly during gaps in
the conversation. "No, but I'm rather startled that he would just drag you
in without a second thought when its quite well known that you are, at best, a
pale imitation of him. I'm honestly not sure what he thought you would
do." He tilted his head, as if in thought. "Perhaps he was planning
on his wife following you?"

There it
was, that feeling of cold heat that forced its way down Ayumu's spine. And just
when he'd thought he was speaking to Kanone as if they were equals. So it
seemed the reputation of being in the shadow of his brother hadn't been
dispelled. "What do you mean, 'following' me?" he asked, only the
tiniest bit of an edge in his voice.

Got you.
"Why, learning about the Blade Children because of your involvement
with us, of course." Kanone said out loud, looking astonished that he
hadn't thought of that. "She is part of the police like Kiyotaka,
correct? Naturally she would be suspicious that you so often end up crossing
her trails. And I've heard she's a remarkably smart woman. Maybe she was the
one he wanted here, and not you."

"If
that were the case, then why isn't Rutherford
testing her?" Ayumu asked, forcing himself to take another bite, each move
deliberate. "He's not stupid. If there was a chance she was the one they
were after and not me, they wouldn't be wasting their time. Too many steps were
taken, too many promises made."

"But
if Kiyotaka wanted all attention kept away from her?" Kanone suggested.
"If he hoped for her to work unopposed, the best way to do that is to have
something flashy around to catch the eyes of those that might be watching. And
what could be more so than the ever-so-slightly-less-gifted little brother?
Eyes tests you and everyone's attention is on you and off her. I'm fairly sure
that most don't even remember Kiyotaka's married."

"That
means that everyone's attention is where it should be." Ayumu's voice was
tight, firm. If it was true, he'd rather that everyone have the wrong idea. But
if that were really the case, the younger boy thought that it was possible he
could hate his brother for putting Madoka through that. If things had
backfired, they might have killed her all those times they were trying to kill
him. Ayumu felt a headache coming, and his appetite likely wouldn't return now.

Kanone
decided to end the talk while he still had the high ground. He finished his
food and gave another of those guileless smiles he was so very good at.
"You're an amazing cook. Have you ever considered using it for world
domination?"

"Asazuki
wondered the same. I don't want the world." I just wish it would make
sense.

Kanone,
once again compared to Asazuki, had to stifle a growl. Even when that idiot cat
wasn't here, he was getting on his nerves. And since he'd gotten damn few
answers out of the younger Narumi, he was definitely going to have a quick talk
with the redhead tonight.

Ayumu,
never the rude guest, stood up to pack away the leftovers and bus the dishes.
He felt as if he'd gained a tiny bit back from the conversation if the
tightness of Kanone's lips was any indication. "Hilbert-san.."

"Yes,
Narumi-san?" Kanone asked, gracefully getting to his feet.

"I may
be the 'slightly-less-gifted' little brother of Kiyotaka Narumi, but I'm not
stupid," he replied, leaning on the counter and meeting Kanone's coffee-colored
eyes. "The purpose of you meeting me was to learn things about me that you
couldn't get through your normal channels. And you have channels. The fact that
you know so much about what happened with the last Hunter prove that quite
effectively. It might do you good to know that no matter how much you try to
break down my indifference, you can't get answers from someone who doesn't know
them himself, and Madoka knows less than I do. The real question here becomes,
'what does someone who won't deny Fate care about the tiny handful of those
that do...unless he was threatened by them?' I'm nothing to be afraid of. After
all, I'm just a pale imitation of the great Kiyotaka Narumi, right?"

Kanone
gazed at him with those imperturbable honey-brown eyes, then smiled. "So
long as you believe that, you never will be any sort of threat, Narumi-san. If
you are so intelligent, perhaps you should consider that. After all, why do you
think Kiyotaka loved irises so much? And if you can't grasp that meaning, even
after all the tests that you've been put through, no amount of sudden gifts you
might show will help you or us."

"My
intention was not to be a threat in the first place, it's all a matter of
perception. And what will you stand to gain by any gifts I might obtain?"

Kanone
raised an eyebrow. "How can I say, when you tell me little about what
those gifts are?"

"All I
know is that I'm expected to save the Blade Children from fate. Is that what
you want from me too?"

Kanone
chuckled. "Of course, if only to make Eyes happy. He's the one who truly
worries about it, after all. I don't personally think our Fate is that big a
deal." It wasn't a lie, not completely. And since Ayumu didn't have the
full story on what the Fate of the Blade Children was, he'd be left confused
and off-balance.

Ayumu
stared at Kanone for a few minutes, as if trying to decipher the truth of that
for himself. "It's contradictory, how you speak. Which works to your advantage
since I have an obvious handicap. Until I learn otherwise, I have only to
assume that the Fate means different things to different Blade Children."

Kanone
chuckled and shrugged. "I can't tell you anything about that at this point
in time. Eyes would be upset, since he's doing his best to find just the right
moment to explain it all to you."

Ayumu's
laugh was dry. "Is there a right time?"

"That's
up to Eyes, now isn't it?" Kanone asked. Though if Ayumu became a threat,
Kanone just might have to take matters into his own hands, and he knew it.

"That's
not what I'm asking, but I guess if you're going to just let him have that
control, then it's up to you." Ayumu had no idea how effective those words
might have been when he said that, the full impact on how carefully Kanone
tried to hold Eyes unknown to the younger teen.

It annoyed
Kanone, but not as much as some of the other things said tonight. After all, he
had always allowed Eyes a certain amount of freedom, because it gave Eyes the
illusion that he was in control of himself. "Saa, everyone needs to have
control of something in their lives, Narumi-san. It's human nature."

"I
suppose you're right," Ayumu conceded without much protest. He didn't want
to argue, nor did he want to lose such an argument because he knew he was on
the uninformed side of things.

Kanone
nodded, and decided it was probably best to end the evening here, while he
still had the upper hand. He hadn't gotten his answers, but he had other trails
he could follow. "It's getting late, so I'll leave you to pack up and get
home. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Ayumu only
wished he could share that sentiment. "The same. I'm sure our paths will
cross again before you leave Japan."

Kanone
smiled. "Perhaps. It all depends on Fate, I suppose." And it did.
Because if he found Ayumu to be a threat to fate, Kanone would naturally have
to do something about it.
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