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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
- 15
- 16
- 17
Title:� The Epic

Chapter:� 16/ 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:� Kanone finds
the perfect souvenir to bring home, and he intends to give it all the answers
it wanted�at a price much too high to pay.�
**Spoiler warning: some elements from the manga revealed in this
chapter**

~*~

Ayumu headed home with his bag slung over one shoulder. He
was infinitely glad that Hiyono hadn't followed him, too busy writing up an
article for the school's paper. He really wanted to be alone and give himself
time to think about all that had been going on recently. And there was
definitely a lot to think about. So much that he decided to take a back way
home, giving him a little bit longer. He knew that Madoka would be home
already, but she was used to him taking a little extra time, especially now
that she knew Hiyono had become a part of his school life. He got home about
dinnertime, wondering what he'd fix to eat, and let himself in.

"Your Highness, I'm home..."

"Ah! Ayumu, come in here. One of your classmates came
to see you." Madoka called from the kitchen area.

"One of my...classmates...?" he murmured to
himself as he slipped out of his shoes and set his bag down in the hallway.
Madoka knew Hiyono's name...and Ayumu really didn't associate with anyone else
in school... except one of the Blade Children. Had something happened that
they'd come here to find him? He hurried his steps to the kitchen to see what
was going on.

It was a Blade Child sitting next to Madoka at the table,
but not one he was close to. The coffee-colored eyes of Kanone glinted at him
from across the room as he entered the doorway.

Something cold gripped his chest, the feeling that seeing
that man here in his home was terribly wrong. He advanced a couple of steps
inward. "H-Hilbert-san... What...what are you doing here?"

Kanone smiled amiably at him, but there was a dangerous
light to his eyes. "I need you to come with me somewhere,
Narumi-san."

Ayumu's breath sped up a little. Something was not right,
and he wanted to scream at Madoka for just letting someone like that in the
apartment. But how would she know any differently...? She was supposed to be
smarter than this! "Where could you possibly want me to go?"

"To my home and the center of our operations. We have
something to discuss. As for why you should come..." Kanone moved
amazingly fast, his hand almost a blur as it suddenly lashed out, sinking into
Madoka's chest. When he removed it, there was a glowing purple sphere in the
Englishman's hand, and the older woman collapsed onto the table.

"Madoka!" Ayumu rushed forward until he saw the
glowing sphere. He was shaking as he came to a stop at the table, fists
clenched. "What...have you done...?"

"The exact same thing I did to Asazuki, to get some real
answers last night." Kanone replied, totally casual as he sipped at the
coffee Madoka had served him only minutes before. He gazed at the amethyst
light in his hand, looking mildly interested. "Hm...purple. Wisdom,
nobility, and spirituality. Your sister-in-law has a rather remarkable
soul."

"I could have told you that before you stole it
from her, Hilbert!" Ayumu snapped. "However you've done this, you'd
better fix it!" He was beyond angry.. and scared. This had been the most
emotion Kanone had seen from the younger Narumi since they'd met.

Kanone merely chuckled. "Temper, Little Narumi. I will
put everything to rights...if you come quietly. If not, well, I suppose I'll
just have to destroy this pretty little soul, won't I? It wouldn't be hard.
Unlike Asazuki, she doesn't have your Web to protect her."

"What's so important about me?!" For not the first
time, Ayumu felt so out of control it made him sick. The difference between
this and any other time was that it had always been around people he could
trust. Kanone was not one of those people. "You and everyone else have
been trying to convince me that I'm not the one, that I'm not good enough! What
could you possibly want with me that you'd have to endanger her to get
it?!"

Kanone raised an eyebrow. "You were the one that
put her in the line of danger last night, Little Narumi." the older boy replied.
"Of course, I could have used one of the Blade Children you knew as
a hostage, but you gave me the impression that even if you were coming to trust
them, you had little true care for them. Thus, you might just have left them to
die in my hands, even if it had been Asazuki or Eyes. Maybe especially if it
had been one of them, because I learned from the little fool's memories that
you know of their attraction and are repelled by it. But when I spoke of your
sister, then you showed feeling. And as for not being good
enough...well, I have a different theory than the others. I think that it is
not so much that you are inferior to your brother, as it is that the two of you
just cannot be compared."

"Leave Madoka out of this." Ayumu stepped towards
him. "Are you really saying you want me to fly with you to England?"

"Yes. I think Eyes has waited too long to give you the
talk you need. So you will come with me, and I will tell you the truth of the
Blade Children. Then we will see if you can truly bear to immerse yourself in
our existence to combat fate."

"You will not harm her if I come with you?"
Ayumu's voice was softer now, trying to get back the composure he was known for
having. It wasn't worth Madoka's life to say no, and if this was just to talk
like the night before...

Kanone nodded. "I will give her back her soul, and she
will wake up in an hour with no memory of this. If anything, she will merely
think she fell asleep at the table. Though you might want to leave a note
telling her that you'll be gone a few days." He reached out with his free
hand, brushing a few strands of midnight hair away from the empty blue eyes of
Ayumu's sister-in-law. "We wouldn't want to put worry lines in such a
lovely face, now would we?"

"Keep your hands off her." Ayumu walked stiffly to
the little table near the kitchen, where the two of them usually left their
keys and the mail. He scrawled a note on the tablet that was kept there. He
left his back to Kanone in the hopes that the other wouldn't see his hand
shaking as he wrote.

Kanone saw it anyway, and the smile he gave was not
pleasant. "Are you scared, Little Narumi?"

"If you already know the answer to something, why ask
the question?" Ayumu countered, setting the pen down firmly.

Madoka...

"I don't really see what good it's going to do you to
take me all the way to another country to be disappointed."

I need some time to myself to figure a few things out.
Don't worry about school or homework; we already know I can handle it.

Ayumu stepped back over to the table, taking a deep breath.
"But if you insist."

Don't worry about me. I actually know how to find my way
home. Take care until I come back. Love, Ayumu...

"You will see when we get there." Kanone replied
calmly, gently lifting Madoka so that her chest was reachable. Once more his
hand disappeared within, and when it receded, it was empty. He closed Madoka's
eyes and laid her back on the table. "Shall we go?"

The entire procedure was disturbing to watch, but rather
much like a train wreck. Ayumu couldn't look away, and when it was all over, he
reached out to touch her throat, making sure that Kanone hadn't lied about the
trade of her life. Her pulse was strong, and her breathing even.� "I guess we shall."

Kanone stood up. "As I said, she will be fine. However,"
his eyes grew hard, "I also have insurance. I've added a small spell,
nothing more than a tiny packet of my power. It would act rather like a bomb if
I activated it. It fades after a day, but if you try anything to get away
before we're on the plane, I will set it off."

Ayumu swallowed. In the grand scheme of things, he was
getting tired of bombs. He had no interest in this lunatic using one on his
sister's very soul. "Fine," he grumbled.

Kanone nodded and walked out the door, not needing to look
and see if Ayumu would follow. After all, it would mean the loss of Madoka's
life if he didn't.

Ayumu took a long deep breath and stopped long enough to put
his shoes back on. Glancing over his shoulder at his sleeping sister, he
resigned himself to whatever was ahead and followed Kanone out.

Kanone led him down the block to where a car belonging to
one of his Japanese associates waited. Admittedly, it wasn't the taxi he had
told Eyes of, but at least he was bringing home a souvenir, so to speak. He
opened the door and waited for Ayumu to get inside.

Ayumu spared the other brunette a hard glare before sliding
into the backseat, pressing himself as far against the opposite side of the car
as he could. If he had to travel with Kanone, he wanted to do it with as much
space between them as he was able to get.

Kanone, however, had other ideas of how he wanted Ayumu to
travel. Kanone was a cautious sort, and Ayumu was blindingly intelligent, even
if he did have confidence problems. There were still too many ways the boy
could cause trouble. So when he'd settled into the car, he reached over and
grabbed Ayumu's jaw, forcing those angry golden eyes to meet his own sepia
ones. And he began to force his will on that incredible mind.

"What the--?!" Ayumu felt something like the
pressure of a migraine headache seize the sides of his skull. His eyes widened,
which only seemed to drag that pain in and spread it further.

"Sleep, Narumi Ayumu," Kanone murmured, his power
wrapping around the younger boy's mind in binds stronger than steel,
"sleep until I tell you to wake."

"They'll....know what's going on...." Rutherford... Asazuki.... He began to slump
towards Kanone as his eyes fluttered shut.

"But not in time to save you. Sleep well, Hope of the
Blade Children."

~*~

Kanone sent away the courier with the package for Cassie
with a sigh. Five strands of dark brown hair rested in that envelope, and he
hoped she had fun with them. After all, she'd actually asked nicely for
those, and how often did that happen within a lifetime?

He closed the door and looked around the room. It was mostly empty, the walls
bare and painted white, and only a chair and a tiny couch furnishing it. He
nodded to the two Blade Children currently standing on either side of the
couch. They were large for their age and amazingly strong. Kanone vaguely
remembered hearing that they had come from Oni stock. There were others waiting
outside to be called upon, too. After all, they had to shatter the Hope.

And there was said Hope, lying in slumber on the couch, his
hands cuffed together to make sure that he wouldn't try anything foolish. Not
that Kanone expected him to. He already knew that Narumi Ayumu was no fool.

He walked over and sat down in the chair opposite the couch,
making himself comfortable. "Wake up, Little Narumi. We have much to
discuss."

Amber-gold eyes snapped open, and Ayumu gasped like one who
had been shoved out of sleep by a loud noise. He moved to sit up and almost
threw his own body right off the couch with the way his hands were bound. He
flopped back down a moment to take stock of his situation. From head to toe, he
evaluated. Everything would have seemed perfectly fine...if it weren't for the
handcuffs. Before moving again, his eyes swept around the room, finally landing
on Kanone. He glared, but slowly sat up, hoping to retain some dignity this
time.

"I'm impressed. It took more effort than one would
expect to put you under, and you threw off the effects in seconds once I'd
unlocked your mind." Kanone remarked casually.

Ayumu was no fighter, he knew this, and with his hands
impaired there was even less he could do physically against Kanone. He supposed
he should have taken those words as a compliment. It seemed like his mind was
all he had at the moment. Once he was fully righted, he spread his knees,
leaning forward on them so that his chained hands rested between them. He
squared his shoulders and fixed his gaze on Kanone's face, letting that casual
expression fuel him to the challenge.

Kanone smiled wider, as if pleased by that challenging
expression. "So, what would you like to know first, Little Narumi? This
time, the talk will be unencumbered by secrets. Especially since I have already
taken the knowledge of your Web from Asazuki's soul." He sighed. "A
pity I had to restore him. He really was better as an empty doll. Far more
quiet."

Ayumu frowned. "There's a big difference between
stealing his voice and stealing his soul, Hilbert." For some reason,
hearing Kanone call him what the others did seemed to taint the nickname. He'd
gotten used to it from them, but really didn't like it coming from this Blade
Child. "Tell me why I'm really here. If it was just to tell me what I
wanted to know, why all the effort to get me to this place?"

"Because you're a threat to our Fate, of course."
Kanone replied. "And if I can't persuade you to abandon your path
willingly, it's easier to use force here. Besides, I think that here, what I
tell you will be that much clearer."

"How do you mean?" Ayumu asked, narrowing his
eyes.

"Let me ask you this, a question for a question. Are
you afraid of the Blade Children?"

"It depends on the situation. I concur with the Hunters
in that the Blade Children are dangerous, but I get the impression that it's
more of a survival instinct than a life's choice. Humans have that same will to
survive, so I would be afraid of any human that posed the same type of
danger."

Kanone shook his head. "It's not quite the same thing.
You should be afraid of us, Little Narumi. Even the ones who come to you and
act as friends or even possible lovers. We're a monstrous breed."

Ayumu shrugged his shoulders lightly. "I'm not stupid
enough to be fearless towards the Blade Children. But how I decide to treat
even the monsters is my own concern. The fact that you want me to step away
from what you think yours is only inclined to make me believe that you're one
of the monsters of the breed." That and the memory of what he'd done to
Madoka.

Kanone chuckled, not offended in the least. "Oh, we're
all monsters. The scale of which just depends on whether we've lost ourselves
to our Fate or not. We're a created race, you see. An experiment set up by a
large group of people and led by one man, our creator, Mizushiro Yaiba, known
as the Devil."

"Define...'created'..." Ayumu leaned forward a
little more, wanting to hear this. After all, whatever Kanone would tell him
was likely going to be part of the answers he'd been asking Eyes for all this
time.

"I suppose the best way to describe it is as
'mass-produced'. One half of our genetic makeup comes directly from Yaiba. The
other half from our mothers, who were volunteers from his organization, known
as the Knights. In essence, we're all half-siblings, thus you'll rarely see a
straight couple among Blade Children. Bad for breeding. One of our ribs is
removed at birth to mark us as from his seed."

"That sounds cruel. What reason did he have for making
so many children?"

"Why, to kill mankind and replace them as the new human
race. What else would he use us for?"

Ayumu rolled his eyes. "You don't need to say it like
it's the answer I should have been expecting. I don't appreciate being made to
feel any more ignorant of this than I already do."

Kanone chuckled. "My apologies. But you must admit, in
retrospect it is horribly clich�. I'd be laughing in Yaiba's face myself, were
he still alive."

"So, the elimination of the human race...is that what
Fate is?" Ayumu thought back to the things that Kousuke had been telling
him as repayment for saving his life. "And do the Blade Children have
their minds when it happens?"

"The elimination is only half of it, really. The rest
is that, no, we aren't in control of our minds anymore. What makes us
individuals vanishes, leaving only an empty shell and a mere illusion of a
personality, but the rest is more of a hive mind, controlled and operated in
accordance to Yaiba's plan."

"Then why bother letting you have lives at all just to
lose them?" It was more a question to himself. If Yaiba was dead, he
doubted Kanone could answer that with any real surety.

And really, he couldn't. He shrugged. "Perhaps to hide
us until we were fully in our powers? You see, none of the Blade Children are
human. And Fate comes for us when those powers have matured. When that happens,
we are fully capable of taking out hundreds of people on our own." He
raised an eyebrow. "After all, didn't Fate try to claim Asazuki?"

Ayumu's eyes narrowed. "No, a Hunter did. As much as
her program tried to simulate something like Fate, he still managed to free
himself from the mindset to be as he is now."

The older boy shook his head. "Not that. The time
after. I saw Asazuki's memories. There was one of a terrible nightmare, of a
darkness that came so very close to swallowing him whole..."

The boy remembered that night, for he'd had the very same
dream from his own perspective. If Eyes and Kousuke were to be believed, it was
because of him that Fate couldn't take the redhead with it. And that was when
they'd started referring to that connection between them as the Web.

Kanone saw the comprehension in his expression and nodded.
"That was no dream, Little Narumi. It was quite real, and you saved your
first Blade Child from Fate. I'm actually surprised they didn't tell you just
how real it was. That they let you continue to believe it was only a dream or a
warning was a disservice."

"Rutherford would
always tell me that it wasn't the right time. I started to believe it after
awhile." He wasn't too hurt by the hidden truth. He had a guess that it
was Fate that had been the villain in that dream, whether it was real or not.

Kanone's eyes narrowed at Eyes's name. "You also saved
him, in your terror after the dream. And I'm a touch annoyed with that. We are
meant to follow Fate. It's what we were born for. You disrupt that."

"Look, I didn't mean to disrupt anything. The bottom
line is that you were all born with the free will to make your own decisions,
whether it was Yaiba's intention or not. So if you choose to follow Fate, then
walk your own path and leave Rutherford,
Asazuki, and their friends follow their own." It made logical sense. If
Kanone was just going to lose his mind when Fate claimed him, he would never
know if Eyes was at his side anyway. What difference did it make, other than
the fact that he had to be in control?

Kanone shook his head. "I'm afraid that the one who
leads our Fate won't stand for that. And neither will I. Especially since the
two in your Web have become your Pillars, making you infinitely stronger than
your brother. You don't even realize what you are, do you?"

"Besides only slightly less confused, not really,"
Ayumu said casually. He knew this was important, and that was exactly the
reason why he behaved as if it wasn't. So far he was handling the conversation
better than he expected. Maybe that meant he would be rid of this mess and
going home soon.

"Well, let me show you, then." Kanone replied, and
snapped his fingers. The two other Blade Children, who had been standing so
still and silent as to be statues the whole time, suddenly took hold of Ayumu,
effectively immobilizing him and forcing him to stand while Kanone stood and
walked over to stand directly in front of the younger boy.

Ayumu growled, cursing himself for thinking optimistically
too soon. He struggled to no avail. "What's the problem?! The handcuffs
weren't enough?!"

"Hush. I just want to make sure you hold still."
And then Kanone focused his powers and drove his hand into Ayumu's chest. But
instead of removing his soul, he did something different. It felt like a touch,
but that touch drove immense pain through Ayumu's body, as if he was burning up
from the inside out.

There was no way that Ayumu stood a chance of holding his
composure with pain like that. Clenching his eyes shut, body rigid, he screamed
loudly, feeling as if Kanone had taken a hold of a presence deep within him and
was yanking it up...out... Something tore through his back, pulling another
scream from his already abused throat. He slumped forward, panting, a sheen of
sweat on his golden skin, tears dripping unwillingly down his cheeks.

Halfway across the world, Kousuke suddenly fell to his
knees, stunned by the sudden immense pain he felt through the Web.

Eyes felt a share of it, though somewhat duller since he'd
been working on his shields after Kanone left. He forced himself to keep
playing, the concert almost over now, but he felt like he had to be home
with Kousuke...soon.

Kanone removed his hand, assessing his handiwork. "I
thought as much," he said, satisfaction in his voice. "There's no way
that a Mindbreaker as strong as you could be of human descent."

The Blade Child's 'handiwork' consisted of a pair of
beautiful white wings that arched over the couch, held in that tense position
by sheer will. Ayumu had frozen nearly every inch of his body so that he could
concentrate on fighting back the pain. Every movement made more, and he just
needed a moment to regain himself, figure out what Kanone had done. Pristine
white feathers that looked softer than any silk, any cotton, trembled with the
effort it took to hold still, some of them shaken loose and drifting to the
ground like a gentle snowfall. "What...did you...do to me...?"

Kanone chuckled, sitting back down. "I merely brought
your true nature to light. You're of Angelic blood, Little Narumi, though I
doubt you're a Seraph like your brother. Not enough wings, for one thing. And
Seraphs are Angels of divine justice. They're not meant to oversee a large
number of people, which explains why his Mindbreaking abilities only
stretched to two people at the most. You are probably in the Virtue
class."

"You're not...making sense again..." Ayumu
clenched his teeth, letting the wings settle a little when the pain had dulled.
He glanced over his shoulder, and had to take a deep breath when he saw them.

They were beautiful things, easily large enough to grant him
flight if given the opportunity. And as they shifted, the feathers glittered
with tiny flecks of gold in the sunlight, as if speckled with gold dust.

"How am I not making sense? The proof of your heritage
is right there."

"Mindbreaking...Seraph...Virtue class..." They
felt so heavy... Ayumu fumbled with trying to settle them against his
back, and they felt like dead weights. He frowned deeply, the worry lines
settled into his brow. "How do you know all this and I don't?"

Kanone watched Ayumu struggle with the wings, knowing he'd
probably get the hang of them fairly quickly. It was instinctive, after all.
"That's right, being Japanese, you're not so steeped in what are
essentially Christian terms. Seraphs and Virtues are ranks of Angels, and I'm
sure you know what an Angel is. Seraphs are the highest rank, with the most
power and six wings. They're the ones who carry out the supreme justice of
their god. Virtues are lower on the scale, and normally manifest as sparks of
light. They oversee large groups of people. As for Mindbreaking, that is
a very rare gift that only a handful of humans, some Angels, and a few of
Yaiba's original tribe can claim. And only the latter two with your
strength."

Ayumu managed to work his wrists in the cuffs so that he
could put his face in his hands a moment. He took several long breaths, rubbing
at his temples and attempting to make sense of everything. "So
this...Mindbreaking..." he began, threading the fingers of one hand
through his bangs. "...is that what makes...the Web...? And is that what's
strong enough to fight Fate?"

Kanone nodded, shifting in his chair to get more
comfortable. "Mindbreaking, despite that rather violent name, is really an
ability to induce a bond of love between yourself and just about anyone in the
world, and form a soul-to-soul connection based on that bond. There are, of
course, many different types of love, including that of a friend, family,
teacher and student, lover. It can also encompass darker aspects of the
emotion, such as possession and domination.�
And you wouldn't have the strength to hold all the Blade Children on
your own, not really, except that your type of Web includes the two Pillars,
the Empathic and the Telepathic. Those are what give you the strength that threatens
Fate...or to be more precise, the Web of Fate."

Silently, Ayumu drank it in, remembering how he had heard
Eyes and Kousuke in his thoughts before going down to dinner with Kanone. Those
two always seemed to be the closest Blade Children to him... that must have
been where the Pillars were. Gods above...it was starting to make sense and yet
had just gotten more complicated at the same time. He didn't know what to do or
say, so he idly wondered how he would get the wings to disappear. It wasn't
like he could have them at school...

"Of course, in most cases with Mindbreakers, the
Pillars are those you're destined to be with..." Kanone murmured, his
expression growing more than a little stormy.

"'Be with...'?" Was Kanone...jealous? "But
I'm not..."

"Gay? Little Narumi, I've touched your soul. You can
lie to yourself all you like, but lying to me just gets you trouble. You don't love
them, not yet, but that doesn't mean the desire is not there, no matter how you
fool them to keep them away." He sighed, suddenly giving a very predatory
smile. "And that is one of the reasons why I'm going to have to ask you to
remove your hold from the Web. You are the center. It will collapse without
you, even if the Pillars manage to hold it for a short while."

Ayumu sat up straight again, lowering his hands. That dark
expression made him feel chilled, but he held his ground. "So are you
asking me this because you really believe that despite free will, every one of
the Blade Children should follow Fate?" His eyes narrowed, the corner of
his mouth twitching upward. He couldn't feel the desire, not now. Even if it
was there, Ayumu wasn't all that convinced that he could love them or be with
them. It was too sudden to even consider, especially since he was still trapped
here. But Kanone knowing what he had felt and so openly challenging it was all
the ammunition he needed. "Or is the real reason you want me out of the
way because you can't stand the thought that he'd hold me more willingly than
he'd hold you?" Kanone didn't have to guess who he was.

Kanone's eyes narrowed and he flicked his fingers. A small
ball of orange light appeared and shot towards Ayumu, slamming into his
midsection with the force of a mule's kick. "It's truly not wise to anger
me, Little Narumi."

He hit the back of the couch hard, his wings rustling
outward awkwardly, forming a half circle around his shoulders. Ayumu coughed,
the blow enough to knock the wind out of him. He rubbed the place where the
ball had hit, knowing there'd be a nice bruise soon. "I only asked a
question. That's what I'm here for, right?"

"You're also here to learn. And one of those things,
like I said, is that Blade Children, including myself, are dangerous. Yes, I do
believe that all of us should follow fate. So do most of us. Eyes's
little group and a few isolated others are the only exceptions. And towards
that end, we cannot allow you to continue. If you will not step back yourself,
we will force you to see why you must."

Ayumu stood his ground despite his obvious disadvantages.
"But you also have other reasons why you're doing what you're doing. And
so do I. Nobody... not Rutherford or even
Asazuki understands what all of this means... to me. You can't just force me to
lose the only chance I've ever had to prove myself to anyone. I won't let
you."

"Is that so? Then let me give you a taste of what we
Blade Children are truly made for."

He nodded to the two large men on either side of Ayumu. Once
more, they grabbed him and pulled him up, but instead of just holding him, they
dragged him out from behind the couch and slammed him hard backwards into the
wall.

Ayumu's wings, fragile like a bird's, shattered with an audible crunch.

Back in Japan,
Kousuke screamed, the pain from the Web suddenly a thousand times worse.

Eyes stumbled through the front door, his skin even more
white than normal. He counted his blessings that he hadn't been in traffic
still when the next burst of agony went through the Web.
"Kousuke...!" he called out, wanting to scream as the redhead had.

Ayumu fell to the floor, screaming, too overwhelmed by the
pain to even try to catch himself with his bound hands. His face pressed to the
cold floor, wings limp around him, feeling heavier than ever. Amber eyes were
open, but unfocused, the pain occupying every sense he had and then some. It
was as if some of him shattered with the wings, but down further than that, he
could feel rage in the pit of his stomach.

Kanone walked over to squat down by Ayumu's suffering form,
smirking at the picture he made. "Hm...your blood is a lovely bright red
against the white of your feathers. It's a pity I can't feed from you, but
Angelic blood is known to be quite toxic to those of Vampire stock."

"What...a shame..." Ayumu growled, his voice
hoarse from screaming. "I...should have...poisoned you...when I had the
chance..." He could feel the blood dripping from the feathers, on his
skin. It was like a trickle of sensation against a wall of aching. His hands
flattened to the floor beneath him, pushing up.

Kanone caught hold of Ayumu's jaw, tilting his face up to
look at him. The eyes Ayumu stared into were by no means human, and very much
those of a predator. "Are you scared yet, Little Narumi? You should be. As
I said before, Blade Children are monsters, and massacre is our fate. Most of
us would be quite happy to destroy you."

Ayumu used that hold to brace himself enough that he could
lean up on his hands, keeping himself upright. He let himself lock gazes with
Kanone, already feeling spent, tired, and indeed afraid. But there was the
anger too, and it boiled under his skin. "Would it fan your ego...if� ... I said yes?" he demanded. "Does
it make you...feel better about yourself...if I'm terrified? You're a monster
because you choose to be, because it's better than being a man that's scared to
lose his mind."

"It's better than fooling myself into thinking that
Fate can be changed. We were engineered specially for one purpose, and you seem
to be able to block that purpose with your Web. I won't have it. And I won't
allow you to steal away my Eyes, either."

"You did that for yourself, Kanone Hilbert. You and
this stupid Fate you've embraced with everything you've got. You deserve to
lose your mind and Eyes Rutherford!" Ayumu's senses were wild with
adrenaline, a harsh combination of fear and pain. They overruled his common
sense, filled him with the need to get away, to tear past whatever was in his
way and go home. He could barely focus on Kanone's face, the fiery sepia of
those dangerous eyes only making him angrier at his situation, what
circumstances had forced on him. He'd never asked for this... and why was the
one time he accepted something in his life as his own did it have to be yanked
away from him?

Perhaps the scariest thing was that Kanone didn't strike him
for his outburst. Instead, he smirked, as if watching a particularly amusing
bug that he'd just torn all but one of the legs off of. "You know, your
loud mouth is rather similar to Asazuki's. You both lose any type of caution
when upset. I'm a little disappointed in Eyes for letting his interests wander
so far below his station. I tried to have that nekojin fool removed, of course,
but Samantha failed me. Ah, well...there will be other chances."

Ayumu's too-wide golden eyes were bright as they stared at
Kanone and his expression. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever make it
home...or who would find him when he didn't come back. Would Madoka search for
him as earnestly as she did for Kiyotaka? Would Hiyono just find another
story..? Would Eyes, Rio, and Kousuke give up
and surrender to Fate... NO! He couldn't let that happen. He took a deep
breath. "Caution would do me no good here, Hilbert," he reasoned, his
voice calmer, almost flat compared to what it had been a moment ago. "You
and I both know that."

"Perhaps, Little Narumi, but it may have served you
better if you had never stepped into our lives. You're a weak little child,
afraid to even contemplate that you might be an entirely different case from
your brother. How could someone like you save the Blade Children? Looking at
you now, I somehow doubt you'll even be able to keep hold of the ones you've
let yourself care for. Eventually, they will be embraced by our Fate, and then
they will be just as monstrous as the rest. Though some of the Hunters might still
receive anonymous tips, just to weed out the weaker ones. The one who directs
our Fate has no use for machines or those that freeze when startled."

Glaring, Ayumu shook his head. "I hope you're the first
one they kill. Believe what you want about me, but I don't think you can
control what will happen any more than they can. We'll just have to see by
believing in our own causes and not blindly fumble for Fate."

Kanone continued to smile, as if amused by his defiance.
"So you won't step down from being the anchor of your Web?"

"It. Belongs. to ME."
Ayumu wouldn't give up something so important; he'd decided that even when
Hiyono was asking him about backing out. Whatever he invited upon himself for
standing his ground, he didn't feel like a coward. He wouldn't run like he had
before. This was what they had wanted, right? For him to believe...?

"You're stubborn like your brother, too. You could
almost be clones. Very well, then." He stood, raising his gaze to the two
taller Blade Children. "Bring him outside. The pack will be waiting
there."

"Pack?" Ayumu blinked, wincing as he was hauled to
his feet. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"That can be answered a couple of ways," Kanone
replied, walking out the door, knowing that Ayumu would be brought close
behind. "It is a group of Blade Children with Okamijin or Inu blood. They
like to stick together, so they're known as the pack. As for the other way to
answer...have you ever heard the story of the Wild Hunt, Little Narumi?"

Whatever it was, it certainly didn't sound pleasant. Ayumu
was glad that the other two Blade Children were holding him up as he walked.
His broken wings hurt as he took steps, and he knew his equilibrium was off
with them in tow. He grit his teeth for a moment, trying to think about the
fall of his feet rather than the limp weight of the wings. "No."

Kanone nodded. "I suppose you wouldn't. That is from
the lore of this country, not Japan.
Well, to put it simply, there are a king and queen of the Fae, or magical
spirits. In this country, it's mostly things like Elves, Faeries, Brownies, and
such. Oberon and Titania had one particular hobby, known as the Wild Hunt. When
a human had insulted them, or committed some sort of crime that the Fae could
not ignore, they would snatch up that human in the dark of night and place him
in the woods of their lands. Then, they would let the human run, as fast as he
could, while the royals and their court hunted him down like a deer or fox.
They used magical Hounds, of course, but the pack will serve in their place for
you."

A sick feeling settled in the pit of Ayumu's stomach, the
fear now a stark reality as he easily put himself in the place of the
unfortunate humans in that story. He paled, taking a long, deep breath.
"There's something I don't understand..."

**

Kanone looked back at him, his body turned to a dark
silhouette by the sunlight from outside. "Because you are useful in
other ways, Little Narumi. It just takes being broken."

Ayumu gasped and yanked back, trying to pull free from the
two that held him. "I won't..."

Eyes had never thought he'd feel fear like this. Something told him that it
wasn't his that he was feeling, but that only made him more afraid of it. He
stumbled through the hallway, passing Rio
along the way. "Rio....call.....Little
Narumi..." He opened Kousuke's bedroom door.

Kousuke was on his knees, hugging himself as if afraid he'd
fall to pieces otherwise. Unlike Eyes, Kousuke was an Empath. Feelings and
emotions were what he sensed the strongest, and his shields were a great deal
weaker in response to that. The pain, the fear, the anger...it was making him
lose focus on reality, and he wasn't able to tell what was coming from himself,
and what was coming from outside.

Discovering Kousuke, Eyes knew that the other had to be
feeling what he felt. He wondered if it was something wrong with Kousuke,
thinking that perhaps it was a reaction to something the Hunter had done. Kousuke...
"Kousuke...!" He dropped down and took hold of the redhead.

Mentally or physically, Kousuke barely noticed that he
wasn't alone, so buried in the overwhelming emotions he was receiving. He
couldn't find his center, and that made him scared and even more off balance.

Kanone walked out into the daylight, looking far more beautiful in the golden
rays than someone as demonic as him ever had a right to look. "Oh, you
will. You won't be able to help it. And just think, it will be from the same
people you are so very interested in saving. Another thing about us monsters,
Little Narumi...we're not a terribly grateful bunch."

Ayumu was sure he had his balance now, at least temporarily.
Panicking wasn't going to do him any good...but unfortunately, he had the
sneaking suspicion that logic would do him about the same amount. He watched
Kanone, uncharacteristically wishing he had his hands free to hit the older
teen. "Some of you aren't, that's for sure."

Kanone chuckled. "Sticks and stones, Little Narumi.
Sticks and stones." He walked over to where a group of about nine were
standing, all young men and women the same age as Kanone, and all with hard
cat-slit eyes. There was something...empty about those eyes, like what
was staring through them wasn't really something that could be called either
human or humane.

Kanone was addressed by only two of the nine, one boy and
one girl, obviously the leaders.

"That him? The one that Master Hizumi wants us to
hunt?" the male asked.

The female looked Ayumu up and down, her eyes bloodthirsty.
"Tell me we can play with this one. He's a lot more attractive than our
usual prey. And his blood smells absolutely heavenly, if you don't mind the
little pun."

Kanone chuckled. "The orders are quite simple. You've
got free reign so long as he's left alive at the end. The other
requirement...well, you already know that's the job of your beta male."

Ayumu tried to take a step back from them, gazing around at
all of their faces and swallowing hard. There were too many of them, and only
one of him. He wouldn't be able to outrun them for long unless he could come up
with a plan quick. He barely heard what they were saying, his eyes darting
around the spacious landscape, searching for his options.

Eyes tried to seek him in the Web, though it felt like something had shaken it
so that it was a bumpy path to Kousuke's mind. We have to get control...
Kousuke.... it's me. Answer me...

Kousuke heard Eyes, but only barely. He couldn't find
him, but he could hear him. He whimpered, just trying to reach out with his
spirit, hoping that the other could find him instead. Help me...!

Eyes held him tighter, pressing his forehead to Kousuke's,
his eyes clenched shut. I'm here... He reached out with all the strength
he had to latch onto the restless, fearful presence of the redhead's spirit. It
felt like embracing a flickering flame, and he fashioned his own aura as if it
were a shield to block the wind from blowing the tiny spark completely out.

Eyes... Kousuke's spirit settled, but not much. There
was only so much that Eyes could block. He whimpered, clinging to the musician
desperately, as if afraid he'd be swept away if he let go. I can't control
it...it's too strong...someone...someone's hurting...

I thought it was you... Eyes wouldn't let go.
Whatever this was that had them trapped in the thoughts and emotions, he
couldn't lose Kousuke to the storm of it. There was too much out there, who
knew if he'd be able to stay afloat.

Kousuke shook his head in the negative. Until the pain had
suddenly torn through the Web, he'd been just fine. Times like this, he really
wished the Hunter had left him well enough alone! It's not coming from
me...but...if it's not coming from you either, then who...?

"Eyes?" Rio
called from the door, holding her cell phone. "I called Little Narumi's,
but got his sister. She says he's vanished somewhere for a few days."

Whispers... Ayumu heard them, but he couldn't make out any words, couldn't
reach who was saying them. He was too far away...

Kanone turned back to Ayumu, that predatory smile still on
his face. "You're under a bit of a handicap with those wings of yours, and
I don't want to make this too easy for the pack. They'd never forgive me if I
took the fun out of their hunt."

"Damn straight," the alpha male said. "Easy
prey is boring."

"Besides, they scream more if they're able to put up a
fight." the female alpha added.

Kanone nodded to them in acceptance. "So...we'll remove the handcuffs,
perhaps? And a ten-minute head start. Does that sound fair, Little
Narumi?"

It was about as fair as someone like Kanone and a bunch of
hungry Blade Child wolves could fathom, and he knew that mouthing off wouldn't
get him anything better, so he nodded silently, holding out his hands. He'd
taken stock of the area...the trees would be very difficult to climb with the
wings. He'd either get tangled or not be able to haul that much weight upwards
in the first place. He had only two options and he wondered how long he could
stay running and if he'd be able to make it off the property. He'd been
unconscious since before leaving Japan. Even if he was up on his
geography, there'd be no way to tell where exactly he was or where he'd end up.
He hated it...and he hated the way they talked about him like some defenseless
little animal. He supposed it was true, but that didn't make him like that any
better.

Kanone pulled the key to the cuffs out of his pocket and
took hold of Ayumu's wrists, unlocking the cuffs in a quick movement. They fell
to the ground, and Kanone stepped back, lifting his wrist to check a watch that
had been hidden under the long sleeve of his jacket. "Better get going.
I'll set the pack loose as soon as ten minutes have passed."
- 15
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