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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
- 18
- 19
- 20
Title:� The Epic

Chapter:� 19/ many

Authors:� Kyo-chan and
Koko-chan

Genre:� Shounen-ai

Disclaimers and notes:�
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:� Eyes and the
other Blade Children make their way to Ayumu's rescue, but they're not quite
prepared for what they find when they get there.

Notes:� // = flashback

~*~

// �� That place
between early and late found Eyes Rutherford wide awake, gazing out the window
at the velvety haze of sky and stars.�
This hour of the night and the silvery musician were constant companions
of late, when stillness offered him time to think, to contemplate changing
everything.� When the rain started to
fall, Eyes could no longer lay still with his thoughts, the pattering of
wetness on the windowpanes, the soft earth, drew him up from the pillows.� He cast his sapphire gaze down to the
sleeping boy beside him, something in his eyes softening, betraying his
turmoil.� Then he was sliding carefully
from beneath the covers, getting to his feet and drawing his discarded shirt
off the floor to drape around his pale shoulders.� When Kanone didn't stir, he moved silently to
the balcony doors of their bedroom, pushing one open to move outside.� The wind caught his hair, showered him with
rainy kisses, and he didn't care about getting wet.�

��

�� I can't stay here, he thought to
himself for not the first time.� He had
spent his life in London
at Kanone's side, learning what it was like to survive as he was.� One of the Blade Children.� Even now, just before his sixteenth birthday,
Eyes knew how to kill, how to defend himself, and most
importantly of all, what was predetermined for him.� Memories of his mother were his vivid past,
his father had paved his future, and Kanone very skillfully handled his here
and now.�

�� "I want you to choose for
yourself," Anna Rutherford had told him so many times as they sat at
her old piano, plucking chords from the ivory.�
"Be who you want, do what you
want with the time you have, Eyes."�
He had thought that his choice was to be with Kanone, the only one
that he could trust, until the time came for them to live out what was Fated
for them.� But as time went on, the Blade
Child yearned for more.� He wanted to see
the world outside of London,
know the existence of other people in his life beyond Kanone's steady
hand.� And what he ached for the most was
to live.� He wasn't 'living' here anymore, and he knew
that if he followed Kanone, he wouldn't be allowed to live past a certain
point.� He hungered for a life
unencumbered by destiny or a path that he didn't carve himself, in spite of all
Kanone's training and guidance.� Eyes
knew that there was something wrong with that too, for the German boy that had
grown up alongside him like a brother had once been too gentle to speak the
commands he had Eyes follow, and much too kind to enforce them the way he did
now.� It made the pianist sad, for he
loved and missed that part of Kanone that had seemed to disappear with age and
an unwavering belief in the Fate of the Blade Children.�

�� He also
remembered another, Kiyotaka Narumi, the memory as vague as the man
himself.� Eyes had fallen sick, that was what the old Kanone had said, almost
died.� And Kiyotaka had been there when
he'd woken up, smiling down at him in that mysterious way that seemed fitting
for one such as him.� "I'm sorry, but it's not going to be me
that stays the hand of Fate.� But there is another�and he will do what I
cannot if he proves himself strong enough."� Eyes wanted to find that other, but Kanone
wanted nothing of it, said that if Kiyotaka wasn't strong enough, then no one
was.� Fate was a Blade Child's only
recourse, the purpose worth living for.�
For awhile, Eyes sadly believed it, even more so when Kanone started his
training, but lately these precarious moments between darkness and dawn showed
him another path.� Surely he couldn't be
the only one that wanted to live this life without the violence and bloodshed
set before them.� Could the hand of Fate
really be stopped?� He had to know, had
to try�

�� "Eyes."

�� The
musician tilted his head away from the sprawling landscape of the manor,
looking over his shoulder.� Argent hair
was stuck to the sides of his face, and he had no chance of hiding the very
slight hint of rebellion in his gaze before it melted away into something more
pleasing.� "Kanone�"

�� Kanone's
lips turned into a slight frown as he stepped onto the balcony, displeased at
finding Eyes awake, and standing in the rain no less.� He reached out and tipped the other's chin a
little more fully towards him, flicking strands of silver hair away from those
fragile, amazing eyes.� "What are you
doing out here so late, Eyes?"

�� Eyes took
an unsteady breath, strengthening his resolve, shoulders tense and ready for
the consequences. "Thinking�" he murmured, then
said the last thing that Kanone ever expected to hear.� "I'm going to leave."//

~*~

�� Kanone
flipped a page in the book he was reading, enjoying the quiet. It had been
rather busy since yesterday, just with getting Little Narumi patched up enough
that he didn't die. The only healer they'd had was not terribly powerful, and
Narumi had woken up in the middle of it and reacted in accordance with his
programming against Blade Children. In other words,
violently. The healer was still alive, but only barely. Kanone was
actually rather pleased by this, even if it did mean they had to bring in a
normal doctor from the Saviors. Ah, well...it was an imperfect universe.

�� The empath that had come to see him when they had broken Ayumu
appeared in the doorway to his study, giving a bow to be excused for
interrupting what Kanone was doing. "Master Kanone?"

�� Kanone
looked up from the novel, raising an eyebrow. Usually, everyone knew not to
disturb him when he was reading. "What is it, Justin?"

�� "You
have a visitor, and it looks like he has plans of staying for awhile." His
expression was concerned and a little confused.

�� Kanone
blinked, putting down his book. "Oh? Who?"
He couldn't think of anyone he was expecting. Even if it had been a new Blade
Child that Hizumi wanted sent to him for some sort of special training, there
would have been warning.

�� "Eyes Rutherford."

�� Kanone's
eyes narrowed. "That's not funny, Justin."

�� "That's
exactly what I was thinking, Master." Justin waved his hand out in the
hallway. "He's waiting to see you in the main hall."

�� Kanone
still looked doubtful, but he knew Justin had no cause to lie to him. So he got
up and headed out to the main hall. Still, he was genuinely surprised when he
did in fact find Eyes there. "Eyes? What are you
doing home?" he asked, startled into a simple honest question for once.

�� The man
looked as if he'd walked through hell a bit before stopping home. His head was
hung low, and when he looked up at Kanone's arrival, it was through his lashes
and bangs rather than actually turning up his entire face. What little of those
eyes he could see was clouded and sleepless. "I've come to stay... for
good." The steel that had been in his voice before was gone, as if someone
had taken something very vital from the life of it. Sure enough, a suitcase had
been in hand, now sitting at Eyes's feet.

�� Kanone
blinked, and walked over to gently tilt that pale face up, looking at those
clouded eyes with mild concern. "You haven't bee sleeping." he
murmured, his behavior an echo of something from a softer time, long past.

�� The old
ache was there, a memory of something that could have been love if Kanone had
not gone off the deep end. But that was carefully sealed with a thick, clear
wall. Eyes could sense it, but he couldn't let himself be weak to it, not now.
He made it a point not to meet those soft brown eyes. "...I can't. I'm so tired...but
I can't. I can't fight it anymore, Kanone. He left us, and I can't feel
him.� He turned us away, and he took hope
with him. I�don't want to fall to Fate alone."

�� Now that
was interesting... "What about your compatriots? Where are they?"
Kanone asked, though his biggest concern was with the whereabouts of a certain
redhead. Still, if Eyes had left him behind, perhaps he'd finally have the
opportunity to make sure the neko didn't make a
second try.

�� "They
are what they've always been...rebellious and uncontrollable. They don't want
to follow someone who doesn't want to fight it anymore." It was somewhat
true. He couldn't imagine Rio or Riku
surrendering like this, but Kanone expected to have some sort of control over
Eyes, and it would only make sense that when everything fell apart, this would
be the first and only home he would to want to return to. "So...I left
them."

�� A small
thread of suspicion ran through Kanone's mind. "I'm honestly surprised
they didn't kill you." After all, that's what you would have done, if
one of them had turned.

�� A
guilty smile came to Eyes's face. "Kousuke talked them out of it. I made
him weak, didn't I?"

�� Kanone
tilted his head. "I told you, I never doubted the passionate heart of a
cat. They love unconditionally. And love weakens. You knew this when you left
here."

�� "This
is...the only place I belong now. I..." He bowed his head again.
"After all that I've done to deny what you taught me, I don't deserve to
come back to you. But....Little Narumi failed...Kiyotaka is gone. There's
nothing left for me to believe in, except that which has always remained a
constant in my life." He looked up again. "You."

�� Kanone
slowly nodded, brushing light fingers against that pale face.� "All right, then.� Pick up your things and come inside."

�� "Kanone..."

�� Eyes waited
until the brunette had turned to lead him back inside. Instead of bending to
pick up his luggage, he reached behind him, drawing his katana with a silken
hiss. Baring it before him, the steel returned to his voice, eyes narrowed so
that his gaze could very easily felt like the chill of ice between the
brunette's shoulder blades. "It's hard to believe that once I could have
loved you. It is within my limits to understand why you would choose to follow
Fate. But it is not within the bounds of my forgiveness that you broke a child,
trampled the very core of him just to appease a shaky destiny. Face me."

�� Kanone stopped, though he did not freeze.� Unlike Asazuki, he did not temporarily shut
down at unpleasant surprises.� He did
mentally kick himself for letting his guard down, however.� �Little Narumi was a danger to our purpose,
Eyes.� I gave him the option of backing
down on his own, but he refused.� So I
had to see to it that he complied, by whatever means necessary.�� He turned, his
coffee-colored eyes once again hard.�
�And it was successful.� Your
�Hope�, as you call him, will never be able to bear the thought of being the
savior of Blade Children ever again.�

�� "Perhaps
someday, I'll discover where the Kanone of my childhood disappeared to. You
touched everything and everyone with an unrivaled gentleness. To know that you
stained your hands so deep in all that you stood to make right once upon a time
is helping me step away from what you held over me."� Eyes was frigid, the hazy cold of his aura
filling the room to a crisp chill.�
"I have always believed in free will. Whether or not Little Narumi
chooses to be our savior, I will not let him be destroyed by you any further.
Today, he leaves with me."

�� Kanone�s
eyes became just as cold, meeting Eyes�s glare unflinchingly.� �The Kanone of your childhood died years
ago.� And if you insist on going against
me, I will have no qualms with killing you as well.� I have no use for a pet gone feral.�

�� "Your
biggest mistake was to consider me a pet in the first place. Draw, Kanone, let
us see just how much stronger you have become."� Now, Kousuke.
Even his thoughts had the touch of ice. That strength that the redhead feared
he'd lose seemed more solid than ever.

�� Wotcher! Kousuke replied, a great deal of
relief in his mind voice.� He turned to the
others, grinning.� �Eyes is in.� Jhette, go
make some noise, would you?�

�� Confirmed.�� The
truck answered, and sped off.� A few
minutes later, there was the sound of a loud explosion, a huge billow of smoke,
and crazily enough, lyrics.

�� I�M A
COW, CAN�T YOU SEE, THAT I LIVE IN THE COUNTRY?�
MOOOOOO, I�M A COW!�

�� Kousuke
slapped his forehead and made a mental note to never sing in the shower ever
again.

�� Riku let
out a triumphant whoop, ready to go in. She had instructed Hiyono to stick with
her, since she was an in-close combatant, and she could shield the girl better.
Even the untrained young woman had made sure she was prepared. Instead of her
usual ruffles and frills, she had on scuffed jeans and an old sweatshirt.
Hiking sneakers replaced the girly dress shoes, which she had explained was a
result of being on track, and her braids were undone, tied back in a
no-nonsense ponytail. She did as she was told, following the other girl close
as they went in.

�� Rio and Kousuke decided not to stick close, since four
people might make too large a target.�
Even with most people running out to see what the hell was happening
over Jhette�s way, there would still be stragglers and those that decided to
stay at their post �just in case�.

�� Riku took a
longer way through the fields, thinking to get in through a lower-level window.
Prisoners were always kept in the basement, right? It was good logic. She
didn't like the fact that she could smell Pack here, wondering just how many
wolves were under Kanone's command...and why this place had the scent of a
bloody hunt...

�� Kousuke
decided to climb to one of the upper windows.�
Putting prisoners in a basement was most common, yes, but they were
talking about Blade Children here, and Blade Children were sneaky.� He waved at Rio
and pointed to the upper floor, signaling that he was going to try and get up
there.� Mind, that meant shifting to
nekojin form to get the added help of claws, and he really wasn�t looking
forward to the pain, but it was probably the fastest way.

�� Riku and
Hiyono managed to discover a ground-level window that wasn't being guarded, and
just as the older girl was about to kick the frame in, Hiyono tugged her shirt,
pointing up.

�� "Well,
I'll be damned..."

�� "How
is Kousuke able to climb a wall?" the blonde wondered, staring up at where
the redhead had begun his ascent. "And where did he get a tail?"

�� "For a
news reporter, you certainly aren't up on your current events. Come on, I'll
explain later."

�� Kousuke
also had big red furry cat ears, and he proved that they worked when he turned
to look at them and made a comical face at Hiyono before continuing his climb,
reaching an upper window and peering in cautiously before trying to open it.

�� Riku
flashed him a thumbs-up sign and forced the window open with a good strong kick
to the frame. She slid inside, and helped Hiyono in as well.

�� Kousuke
pried the window open and climbed in, then pulled out the fine but strong chord
that he'd brought from home and tossed one end down to Rio.
When she grabbed it, he pulled her up, and they began the systematic search of
the upper floors.

�� Riku moved
cautiously through the lower level, the scent of the pack getting closer as she
went. There were several wounded, some of that blood she had been able to smell
before quite obviously belonging to them. She felt sympathy for them, wondering
what might have happened to hurt them. But she also knew the taint of rabid
wolves as opposed to those in a sane pack. Making a motion for Hiyono to stay
close, her steps became even more cautious.

~*~

�� Kanone
chuckled, snapping his fingers.� In a
flash of pale orange light, a slender rapier appeared in his hand.� �I have always considered you my dearest
little pet.� And really, does loving a
pet or a person mean a difference in how much someone is loved?� It�s merely the quality of the
relationship.� The one who owns the pet
gives what affection and attention he feels is appropriate, and the pet is
dependant on the owner for that affection.�
After all�isn�t that what you�re doing with your own little kitten?�

�� "Do
not twist my relationship with Kousuke into whatever it is you thought you felt
for me. I am not like you at all, Kanone, and the fact that I never would have
broken Little Narumi just to make him serve my goals proves that rather well.
So, if you're finished talking..."

�� At least I do not call a
young man who is only a year younger than I a �child�.� Kanone replied, moving
into an �en garde� position.� �That�s hardly the way to think about Little
Narumi, if you truly are so interested in adding him to your little
harem.�� Kanone�s tone was mocking.� While it was an unlikely bet, it was still
wise to at least attempt to enrage Eyes into carelessness.� Kanone knew it probably wouldn�t work, but it
gave him a sort of angry satisfaction to see the rage flash in those sapphire
eyes.

�� And there
was indeed rage in those frigid blue depths, but Eyes knew that he couldn't
afford to be reckless. Not even when Kanone was seriously pissing him off.
"You assume far too much."

�� Kanone just smirked. "Do
I? I found out quite a bit when I visited Asazuki on that last night,
Eyes."

�� "It was also your fault
that he collapsed, wasn't it, Kanone?" Eyes asked, gliding in to take the
first strike.

�� Kanone parried it smoothly,
making a strike of his own. "Well, yes. That's usually what happens when
you remove a soul from its body. And I read a great many interesting things
from that flickering crimson flame."

�� Eyes ignored the obvious bait
for the moment, concentrating instead on the fight. Even if Kanone hadn't
always been strong, they were both skilled in the art of swordplay, and neither
of them ever had the luxury of taking each other lightly.

�� Kanone was indeed far stronger
than he used to be, his attacks having a great deal of force. But he also knew
that Eyes had always been just slightly faster, so there was still a danger.
His eyes never left the silver-haired man.

~*~

�� Kousuke and Rio
crept through the upper halls, checking each room. They had an unspoken
agreement to total silence, even if there was currently no one in the house
besides a very skeleton security crew. They wanted to do this as quickly as
possible. Though, as they checked room after room, Kousuke was beginning to
think that Murphy's Law was in effect, and thus Ayumu would be in the very last
room checked.

�� Riku
considered herself and Hiyono very lucky that they managed to slip past the
room in the basement that housed the pack, and they quickly and efficiently
searched the rooms downstairs. Turning up nothing, Riku led them upstairs. As
she passed through the hallway, she could hear the sounds of swordfight.
Silently wishing Eyes luck, she sought out Kousuke to team up with him now that
they were inside.

�� Kousuke and
Rio met them on the second floor, waving
instead of saying anything. Just because they hadn't met any opposition yet
didn't mean there wasn't any to meet. Not if the explosions and yelling that
could be heard from outside were any indication. Kousuke absently wondered just
what Jhette was doing out there to make those odd fizzing noises.

�� Riku kept
her senses alert even as she started poking through doors. The opposition that
they had been expecting came in the form of two very tall Blade Children who
happened to be guarding the room she'd just opened. Hiyono covered her mouth
the muffle a cry of surprise as one of them took a swing at Riku. With a grin
on her face, the dark-haired young woman cracked her knuckles, ducking the
attempted blow and swinging back.

�� Kousuke and
Rio took on the other one together. Someone that big wasn't to be underestimated. Kousuke
pulled the knives he'd hidden in his sleeves out, all business. If Hiyono
didn't like it, she could close her eyes.

�� Much to
anyone's surprise, she kept her gaze on it all, this entire experience a
learning process for her. Maybe she didn't' quite understand what they went
through or what kind of danger they were in, but if she had gone through the
trouble to help save Ayumu, she wouldn't hold back.

�� Riku's
hands were bloody before long, her eyes now a golden color as she quite
literally beat down the Oni Blade Child that had
taken the first swing at her. She was vicious at hand-to-hand combat, and she
too was making no secret of how serious she was about surviving.

�� Kousuke and
Rio were just as vicious in their own way. Rio had pulled out her little pistol and shot out both
the Oni's legs. As he fell, Kousuke took the opening
to leap onto their attacker's shoulders and drive his dagger into the tall
man's skull, spraying blood all over his hands and jacket.

�� Hiyono
flinched, feeling as if her own hands burn when the blood spilled. Something
prickled at the base of her skull, as if there was something she should be
doing, but she knew she had no place here. There was nothing she could do when
the other three seemed to know how to handle themselves.

�� Riku rose
up from the body of the fallen Oni. "That was
unnecessary. We just dropped in for a visit..."

�� "Tell
me about it. Whatever happened to greeting people at the door with a smile and
a box of Twinkies?" Kousuke replied, grinning at her.

�� Rio rolled her eyes. "That's an American holiday, baka."

�� "Yeah,
yeah..." the redhead muttered, peeling off his formerly green jacket and
using it to wipe off his hands."And thus another
outfit bites the dust, ne Riku?"

�� She slid
out of the sweatshirt she'd been wearing, under which there was a halter top.
"Good thing I didn't like the color of that one much." She grinned
and then turned to Hiyono. "You okay? We warned you that this wasn't going
to be pretty."

�� "I...I'm
fine. Let's just find Ayumu."

�� "Well,
I'm thinking that those big guys were here to guard something, let's have a
look around, shall we?"

�� "Kousuke
can do that." Rio said, and gave Riku's
appearance a significant look. "You need to wipe off your hands, at least.
You might scare Little Narumi if the first thing he sees is you all bloody. Kousuke,
can you--Kousuke!"

�� The redhead
had sunk to his knees, suddenly very pale, but he forced himself back to his
feet and shook his head. "I'm okay," he growled softly. "It's
just...I just found out the answer to my question about whether I'd be able to
kill while having an empathic ability. It...takes some
getting used to, is all. I'll be fine."

�� Rio looked unconvinced, but knew better than to argue
when he had that particular stubborn set to his mouth. "Okay...would you
take a look around while I help Riku clean herself up some?"

�� Kousuke
sighed melodramatically. "And thus I'm left to slave away all
alone..." He looked around, but the door they'd opened just led into a
tiny room with a chair, a desk, and a bookshelf. What was so special about
that? He huffed, walking farther into the tiny room, wondering if they'd just
accidentally wandered in on two guys who took exception to having their reading
interrupted.

�� Deadly exception. Riiiiight.

�� Still,
nothing seemed out of place...until he got to the bookshelf, and smelled the
scent of blood and satsuma.

�� It was as
he neared it that his sensitive hearing picked up the sound of labored
breathing, joining the out of place smells. Hiyono had followed behind him, led
not only by her own curiosity, but by the tingling in her hands. After the two Oni had gone down for good, that
burning sensation had receded, yet hadn't completely gone away. Now that she
was behind Kousuke, it was as if it were getting stronger again.

�� Kousuke
stepped back, glaring at the bookcase. The scents and sounds were coming from
behind it, so there was probably a hidden door. He ignored the aching of his
abused empathy, forcing his mind to work. Where would the catch be...? "Yuizaki,
it looks like you're gonna be some help after all.
Help me find out what triggers the door."

�� "Right!" She ran her hands along the shelves and
book titles. How would Ayumu figure it out...? Surely there had to be some sort
of logic to it.. She wondered if it was maybe like
those moves where the wall rotated into another room, so she pushed on one side
of it to see if it had give.� It did, but
only a little before there was the familiar rattling sound of a lock.

�� Kousuke
glared at it. "Wonderful. Somewhere in this room, there's a hidden catch.
If it's got a keyhole, we're going to be screwed." He was tempted to just
burn the damn thing down, but...what if he hurt Ayumu? You're getting soft,
Asazuki...

�� Hiyono
stepped back and looked at it a moment. "A key would take too much time if
whatever's behind it was important. There has to be a more technological way of
locking and unlocking it..." She ran her hand along some of the book
spines again. "Check the desk..."

�� Kousuke
nodded and went to do that, checking the drawers and their contents thoroughly.
At the back of one of the tiny side drawers, he found a button.
"Gotcha..." he murmured. However, feeling mildly paranoid considering
this was Kanone's home, he used a pencil to push it.
Sure enough a needle that was most likely poisoned spiked the writing utensil.
However, the lock on the hidden door gave a loud click.

�� "Nice
work, Kousuke!" Hiyono praised, turning to press herself against the
bookcase again. It began to move with her weight, grinding against the floor.

Riku and Rio joined them, the taller of the
two tipping her head and sniffing the air. "What did you find?"

�� "Secret door. And a now very sick pencil." Kousuke
answered, tossing the stabbed piece of wood over his shoulder as he walked over
to help Hiyono shove the door open. "Isn't this the sort of thing that you
find in those really bad horror movies? Like Frankenstein?"

�� "I
certainly hope that's not what's on the other side of this thing..."

�� When it
wouldn't budge anymore, Hiyono stepped inside, though it would be noticed that
she moved much more cautiously than she did when they first arrived.

The room there were in had been painted a soft blue in color, making it appear
both small and cozy, but with the slight suggestion that one shouldn't stay too
long, lest they feel the underlying chill. There were two chairs near the
window, and one table between them that housed a pitcher of water and a single
purple iris. On the far side of the room was a very simple futon. It was what
was on the futon that was far less than simple...

�� Kousuke let
out a surprised hiss at the still form on the floor, and ran over to kneel down
next to him. "Ayumu..."

�� The boy lay
on his stomach to accommodate the almost shielding spread of white, feathered
wings. The image might have been breathtaking, were it not for the obvious
abused way that they curved, the bits of dried blood that the medics hadn't
been able to clean or had simply missed altogether. Ayumu had been bandaged in
one way or another nearly from throat to ankle, some of them tinted a very
light shade of pink, indicating that some of the wounds were very fresh and
would need more tending soon. The flush of his cheeks spoke of a fever that had
just barely been broken before it became dangerous, the half naked form
trembling slightly as he breathed. One arm was tucked under his head, the other
curled into the bedding on the futon as if he clung to something for dear life.

�� "A-Ayumu..."
Hiyono whimpered, the burning almost a tangible thing, tears stinging the
corners of her eyes.

�� Riku shook
her head, hanging it sadly. "So he was what they were hunting. That
fucking Kanone...."

�� "What
do you mean, Riku?" Rio whispered, unable
to make her voice work any louder. She may have seen death and violence in many
forms throughout her life, but seeing them on Ayumu seemed criminal.

�� Riku turned to her with the
gold still mostly dominant in her eyes and looked a little guilty. It was
obvious she had been hiding a detail about herself until she was sure she was
welcome and trusted. "There are Blade Children here that were born from Okamijin; I sensed them when we went through the field. It
seemed like there was some sort of hunt, and...I think...Ayumu was what they
were hunting."

�� Kousuke bit
his lip, and tried to touch Ayumu's mind with his empathy, thinking to merely
soothe what were obviously bad dreams.

�� Ayumu
shifted slightly, letting out a soft protesting sound in a whimper. What
Kousuke touched, if he tread carefully, was not merely a strain of bad dreams,
but the chaotic flutter of a mind that had been torn through with psychic
force. The resulting fear and anger was a heady thing, the two most prominent
emotions Ayumu could seem to feel. Something a little deeper seemed twisted,
like a slightly off-centre shadow on his mind.

�� That...can't
be natural... Kousuke then made the beginner's mistake of trying to probe
deeper without first setting up any sort of mental defense.

�� The moment
he touched upon that darkness, it backlashed with
enough force to take down any tampering without mercy. It triggered the
emotions and fears with a kick-start, making Ayumu's body jerk, his nails heard
clawing at the bedding. "Stop...!" he gasped, the sound of his voice
a cross between a demand and a plea.

�� Kousuke
gave a cry as his own mind was promptly blasted back into his own head, and
toppled over, clutching at his skull, trying to get the pain to stop. And once he was able to think about it, trying to get the pain to
stop from reaching Eyes, who was still probably in the middle of dealing with
Kanone.

�� "Kousuke! What did you do?" Rio
gasped, running over to help him sit up and looking worriedly at the brunette
he'd been kneeling beside.

�� Riku
sighed. "He probably tried to get into Narumi-kun's
head..." She watched as Hiyono slowly approached to take Kousuke's place.
The girl had been acting strangely since they'd fought the Oni,
and she wondered if she would be all right.

�� Hiyono was
trying to rationalize why she felt she had to be so close. She was afraid to
touch Ayumu, afraid that she'd hurt him, but all of her instincts were telling
her that he needed her...that she needed to do something. Her pale brown eyes
were wide as she hesitantly reached out to touch one fragile, broken wing.

�� Kousuke
watched her, ignoring the pounding in his head. Despite the pain, his empathy
could feel something from her that he didn't quite understand. It was almost
like the heaviness in the air before a huge thunderstorm.

�� By now, all
of their eyes were on her, both in confusion and a little wariness. After all
that had happened, they had every right to look at everything that touched
their damaged Hope with suspicion, even the one that claimed to be his friend.

Hiyono didn't seem to notice their scrutiny as much as she noticed how soft the
feathers were under her hand, and when she smoothed her palm over them, a
ripple of ache went through her. Wincing, she pressed a hand to her chest.
Somehow, she knew that she wasn't feeling her own pain, but rather Ayumu's, and she didn't understand. All she wanted to do was
make it go away....go away...

�� A soft
ivory glow spread out from her fingertips.

�� Rio's eyes went wide at the glow, and she almost pulled
Hiyono away, except that

�� Kousuke
grabbed her arm to stop her.� "Don't,"
he whispered, "I think she needs to do this."

�� Riku had
been about to stop Rio as well, sensing no
real danger from Hiyono, and if there had been any signs of it, she would have
torn the other girl back long before now.

�� The blonde's
face went slack, eyes now half-lidded. Her other hand moved away from her chest
to join the first in petting the soft down of Ayumu's wings. The glow enveloped
them, making the gold flecks shimmer before they were blanketed by white
energy. When Hiyono's hands dropped away, Ayumu shifted slightly, the wings
stretching out to their full length, fully healed.

�� "...whoa..."
Riku murmured. "They're so...beautiful...." So this was what Hope
looked like...

�� Kousuke
looked at the whole picture, and gave a lopsided smile. "I don't know
where the hell they came from, but the wings suit him."

�� Rio nodded. "Should we wake him? It would be easier
for us all if he could walk out of here under his own power.

�� Kousuke
wondered. He really hoped that if they did wake Ayumu up, he didn't get blasted
again. That had not been pleasant.

�� After a
moment, the wings tucked against Ayumu's back, then vanished altogether with a
slight rush of air. Hiyono blinked. "Wh-what
just happened?"

�� Kousuke
raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember? You did some sort of glowy-thingy with your hands, and the wings got fixed up.
Then they went poof." He looked contemplatively at the small mound of
gold-flecked feathers left behind. "Hm...I
wonder if these would make good pillow stuffings..."

�� "Kousuke!" Rio
admonished.

�� "Hey,
come on! I don't get paid that much! Even a free pillow is welcome!"

�� "Worry
about it later, guys. We're damn lucky that we haven't been discovered yet.
We've got to get Ayumu out of here and still get Rutherford-san away from
asshole downstairs." Riku approached Hiyono and laid a hand on her
shoulder. "Don't worry, Yuizaki-chan, you did a very good thing for Ayumu,
so don't let Kousuke bully you about getting in the way again, okay?"

�� Hiyono
giggled softly, wondering why she felt so tired, but she nodded.

�� A soft
groan came from Ayumu, and he shifted again on the futon, brows furrowing as he
was roused from unconsciousness. Kousuke began to feel that shields would be
necessary, because the closer to awake the boy became,
the more wild and chaotic his emotions felt. He was scared... being conscious
meant being fully aware that he was in danger.

�� Kousuke
scrambled to get them up, layering them as thick as he could. And he was
perhaps the only one expecting the reaction they got when Ayumu opened his eyes
to see three Blade Children within a foot of him. Worse, they were ones he
knew, ones that the little voice in his head insisted would eventually betray
him. Especially ones like the redhead, who had expressed interest in more than
friendship.

�� A growl
rose up in that slender throat as he pushed up to his hands, eyes narrowed and
hard as he took in what surrounded him. The look on his face promised he
wouldn't just idly sit back if one of them got too close. It was very much the
same face he had when the pack had tried to take him on, and he was not going
down without a fight.

�� It was
also, Kousuke noted with a great deal of trepidation, not entirely sane. "Rio, Riku, Hiyono...everyone take a giant step
back." Kousuke had only just noticed, but...there was dried blood under
Ayumu's nails. And it wasn't his.

�� Riku
immediately did as she was told, knowing that if he caught even the slightest
notion that she was as canine as his predators, she would be one of the first
he'd go after, just on sheer principle.

�� Hiyono was
a little more hesitant. "A-Ayumu..." She scooted away a little, but
he had to recognize something besides all this anger and insanity.

�� It was
almost eerie the way he slowly turned his head to look at her. He had to take a
good minute to properly focus on her and realize who she was.
"Hiyono..." he murmured, voice raw underneath the whisper.

�� Hiyono
broke out into one of her sparkling-wide smiles the moment Ayumu acknowledged
her there. "The one and only!" she stated proudly, getting the
impression that the more she acted normal, the calmer it might make him.
"I'm here to take you home!"

�� Ayumu
processed that, watching her the whole time as if he knew there was more going
on under that carefree exterior she had put on for him. "So why are you
with them?" His tone when he indicated the Blade Children had such an edge
to it that it almost felt tangibly sharp when he spoke of them.

�� A laugh
bubbled up from Hiyono's throat, but it was more nerves than real humor. She
wondered how exactly even the brilliant Eyes was going to get Ayumu back to Japan if he
didn't seem to trust the lot of them anymore. There was little she could do
without them and she knew it. "Don't be silly, Ayumu! Do you really think
I could have made it out of the country on my own? I don't even have a
passport! Besides, they wanted to help you too! We're so glad you're all
right!" She made a bold move, going forward again to carefully embrace the
cautious boy. Her hold was gentle, both so that she wouldn't hurt him and so
that he could get free if he wanted.

�� Ayumu
flinched in her arms, but he didn't pull away. Nor did he return the embrace.
Over her shoulder, he still looked rather viciously at the three Blade
Children. Most particularly, the images of Eyes and Kousuke doing as they
pleased were still very fresh in his mind, and the redhead got a look that
promised Not Good things if he got too close. He could allow himself to go
along with things so long as Hiyono stood as buffer, but there were no promises
for when she wasn't there.

�� Kousuke
shuddered, and the press of Ayumu's emotions was so heavy on him that he had to
look away, unable to meet those accusing golden eyes. The anger, the fear, and
the hatred in Ayumu's heart burned against him, even through the shields he'd
put up, only it was worse this time. Before, the emotions had been strong, but
vague and without focus. Now, however, they had found their focus, and all of
those negative emotions were stronger for it. The anger and fear had settled
like a funeral pall to cover all Blade Children, which was bad enough when he
was the only one who had a chance of saving them from Fate, but the hatred had
sharpened until it was almost a weapon on its own, and it was directed at Kousuke.
Already aching from feeling the death of the two guards and
getting struck while not shielded, the force of Ayumu's irrational hatred
burned like acid on Kousuke's mind, his shields suddenly seeming as flimsy as
rice paper.

�� Rio felt her own worry grow as all color bled from Kousuke's
face and he turned away and she saw the slightest flickers of malicious
satisfaction in Ayumu's eyes. Before today, 'malice' was not a word she could
have ever applied to the brunette. But now the word seemed to embody his existence,
as he looked at the three of them as if they were something horrible that he'd
rather see dead than find anywhere near him. It was terrifying to think about,
and it took Rio a moment to find her voice.
"Little Narumi�" she whispered, then cleared her throat and tried
again, forcing herself to speak normally. "Little
Narumi, can you walk? It'll be easier if Kousuke doesn't have to carry you
out."

�� Kousuke
glanced at her, suddenly apprehensive. He didn't think Ayumu would submit
peacefully to being carried by him right now. In fact, the redhead had a
sinking suspicion that the brunette would most likely grab at one of the
various knives hidden on his person and attempt to slit his throat if he even
tried.

�� "I can
walk on my own," Ayumu insisted, never mind that he wasn't entirely sure
he could. It just seemed the better alternative to being carried, especially
since it would likely be Asazuki that would have to do it. "Hiyono, help
me up."

�� "Sure!"

�� Hiyono
grabbed the blanket that had been kicked to the foot of the futon, releasing
Ayumu so that she could wrap it around his body, saving him some dignity. Then
she carefully helped him to his feet. It took a few moments of struggling,
Ayumu's body uncooperative thanks to the wounds he'd sustained and his
exhaustion. Even when he was upright, it was obvious that he was leaning
heavily against the girl, but she didn't seem to mind, arm tight around his
waist.

�� Riku picked
up the slightly nervous undertone before her ready enthusiasm, and she glanced over
at Kousuke, thinking that he might have noticed as well. Things were very very wrong, and it made her want to barge right downstairs
and put a knife in Kanone's back. She walked over to the redhead and put a hand
on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

�� Kousuke
gave Riku a wan little smile, the best he could do,
and even that was obviously forced. The situation was now even more
complicated. What would happen to them all now, he wondered, with Ayumu being
so hostile towards even those that wanted to help him?

�� We've
found Ayumu, Eyes. We're going to get outside and meet up at the rendezvous
point with Jhette. Do me a favor and give that fucking bastard you're fighting
a couple of really BIG scars.

I'm...working on that... Eyes felt sore and his skin
tingled with sweat. He'd shed his trench coat long before, trading blows with
Kanone in an intricate dance of force that would be dangerous to anyone who got
close. He was fixed on the battle, not willing to lose to the other Blade
Child, not now. The clang of their swords was a deadly musical chord, echoing
throughout the main hallway along with their labored breathing.

�� Kanone's
breathing was just as heavy, and he grinned ferally.
"You've gotten better, Eyes."

�� Eyes
managed a grim smile of his own. "You're not so
bad yourself. I remember when you couldn't keep your hands on your own
hilt." He danced away from the first swing and parried the second one. He
might have actually enjoyed this if the situation weren't so dire. He hadn't
been challenged like this in a very long time.

�� "That
was around the same time as losing both my pride and my dignity to the peanut
butter jar, I believe." Kanone replied, moving smoothly out of the parry
and taking a lunge, making a swipe across Eyes's face. It was only a shallow
cut to the cheek, but it was still a hit. "First blood goes to me."

�� It stung,
and Eyes spared himself only a brief second to think about how close that swing
had come to taking his head. "A very skillful move,
Kanone. I commend you." The wound only fueled him to fight that
much harder, his steps like a whirlwind as he launched himself into a kata move, aiming the blade for Kanone's midsection.

�� Kanone
moved instinctively to parry it, but the katana was a far heavier sword than
the slender rapier. The blade snapped the sword in two, but was still diverted
just enough that Eyes only got a light graze along the midsection. He stepped
back, glancing down at the light wound in annoyance. "Drat. I rather liked
this shirt..."

�� "Without
a weapon, this match is over. Consider yourself rid of me, Kanone. The power
that you had over me no longer exists, and my real home is far from here."
He stepped back.

�� Kanone was
outwardly calm, but his eyes were hard. "For now.
I shall probably appear for a rematch at some point." He glanced out the
window, as if hearing the din from Jhette for the first time. "A diversion? Clever. But even
if you take Little Narumi back with you, he will never become part of the Web
again, and all of you will eventually fall to fate."

�� "Once
more, you don't listen to what I tell you. Whether or not Little Narumi becomes
our Hope once more is irrelevant. He does not belong here with you or those
that you have chosen to associate with." Eyes didn't dare turn his back,
taking graceful steps to the side to retrieve his coat, slinging it over one
arm. Like the fighter he was, he kept the sword drawn until he had made it to
the door. "Farewell, Kanone."

�� Kanone
nodded. "Farewell, Eyes. Do give my regards to the infamous Huntress
Cassandra, when she finally finds your little group. I will not help you
against her, now."

�� Eyes paused
at the door and gave a very dark smile. It almost didn't belong on his face,
but it proved that he was not as pure and innocent as he looked. "I have
seen the truth of what you are, Kanone. The only way you would have helped me
is if I would have let you fuck me. I was only a pet after all." With
that, he was left, threatening bloody damage to anyone that got between him and
the rendezvous point.

�� Finding the
rendezvous point was easy. He just had to follow the trail of burnt landscape
and corpses. Kousuke had decided that the quickest way to both get rid of the
opposition and take his mind off the dark cloud of emotions he was picking up
from Ayumu was to just go nuts with the fire and clear a path. And if anyone
was dumb enough to try and stop them...oh well. By the time they met up with
Jhette, Kousuke was exhausted, but thought he might have gotten the hang of
shielding himself from people who were dying. Trial and error was a wonderful
process...at least that was what he kept telling himself as he leaned against
the hood of the jeep and tried to catch his breath.

�� Ayumu had
been settled into the back of the truck, pressed against the door, while Hiyono
had been strategically been placed between him and Rio.
Riku had chosen to put even more distance between herself and Ayumu by sitting
in the driver's seat, lest Ayumu catch on what she was and things got even uglier
than they already were. She caught sight of Eyes while Kousuke was catching his
breath.

�� "Hey,
he made it!" There was a smile in her voice, even though it was tired.

Eyes looked less like the pampered musician at this point, and more like some
kind of warrior spirit. The hair that had been tied back had somewhat come
undone, framing his face in no particular pattern or curtain. Crimson painted
the side of his face, almost looking tribal and exotic on his white skin. With
the black leather and the naked blade still in his hand he looked very
different than most were used to seeing him.

�� Kousuke
looked up from where he was slumped, and gave the silver-haired Blade Child an
admiring look and a tired smile. "You know, for all that I don't like it
when you get into enough trouble to bleed, you look a hell of a lot better than
you did an hour ago. I prefer fierce to fragile."

�� Eyes's
smile was grim. "I should have figured you would think so." He
finally sheathed his sword and went over to lay his head on Kousuke's shoulder.
"But this fierce one is tired..."

�� Kousuke
wrapped his arms around Eyes, burying his face in the silver silk. "We all
are, Eyes." he sighed, relaxing now that his beloved was safely back in
his arms. The only sign that there were still things on his mind was the
slightly anxious twitch of the crimson tail behind him and how his ears stayed
perked and alert, even as the shoulders slumped.

�� How is Little Narumi? He lifted his gaze without moving his
body, peering into the truck to see the boy staring out the window with an
unreadable expression on his face. His eyes still had a wild quality to them,
but not as much as they had at first. He would be all right as long as he could
watch the outside and try to ignore those that were in close proximity of him.

�� Even the
mention of that brought a shudder to Kousuke's too-thin frame. Instead of
saying anything, he used his empathy to share just the slightest fraction of
what Ayumu had been sending his way ever since they'd found him. It was
exhausting him just to try and keep it blocked out, it
was so strong, and thus he had to be careful just how much of it to pass to
Eyes.

�� Eye's head
tucked a little further into Kousuke's neck. I was afraid that would be the
case. Kanone said that he would no longer choose to save the Blade Children.
And now we know how that is possible. He clung to the redhead, wishing they
could have known what was going on sooner, prevented Kanone from taking Ayumu
away from them.

�� Tell me
about it. Just make sure you're shielded when you get close. There's
something...off about his mind when one of us gets too close to him. I
only see it as a sort of wrongness, but if it has to do with the mind instead
of the heart, you'll probably catch whatever it is full in the teeth. He
sighed, pulling away just enough to inspect the cut on Eyes's finely-boned
face. As for Kanone, I'll just chalk this up with all the other things I owe
him a beating for. Or maybe I'll just send this address and a picture of your
cut to all your fans and let them do the work. I'm feeling sadistic
enough...

�� That
might be crazy enough to work... He closed his eyes and let Kousuke turn
his head to look at the wound. It didn't hurt anymore; in fact he'd forgotten
about it until Kousuke had brought it up again. Perhaps I shouldn't lower my
shields around him, not until he's at least back home.

�� Be
careful with that. It's bad enough to feel the hatred. I can't imagine hearing
it in words inside your head being any better. Kousuke leaned down,
beginning to gently lap at the cut, the nekojin instincts insisting that he
clean the hurts of his Mate before doing anything else.

�� Eyes made a
startled sound at the damp flicker against his skin, suppressing a shiver at
the roughened sensation. It almost tickled, and he let out a soft sigh a moment
later. He couldn't say that he didn't enjoy it, the more primal instinct new to
him, but definitely appealing to the vulpine side of him. Kousuke....we're
being watched...

�� Sure
enough, Riku's grin could be felt even from the inside the truck.

�� I don't
care. You're more important. Kousuke had the oddest notion that there
should be something else about that cut, but he had no idea what that could be.
In the end, he just shrugged mental shoulders and ran with it, letting his
intuition and instincts lead him. He reached out, both with a gentle hand and
with his empathy, but instead of using his powers to give something, he was
using it to take, letting his will and his Gift sink into Eyes's skin. It was
not easy by any stretch. If anything, it was probably the most difficult mental
and physical exercise Kousuke had ever attempted in his life, but he was
stubborn and kept at it, wanting to see where this would all lead. Slowly, the
cut faded away, and the redhead felt a sharp sting, then wet warmth as it
reappeared on his own face, and then slowly faded away, leaving nothing but a
smear of red against one high cheekbone.

�� Eyes
blinked out of the warm, hazy feeling looking at the smear on Kousuke's cheek
with confusion. He reached up to touch his own face, feeling that the cut was no
longer there. What....did you just do...?

�� Riku's
giggle had roused Ayumu out of his distant thoughts, since there was very
little to be found funny in this entire situation. What he saw made him press
his lips together tighter. Rutherford and Asazuki. They
made such a perfectly ...cruel couple, showing such tender affection to each
other, but taking no real consideration about his own feelings. They had
expected him to be so close to them, even wanted him to be a part of
this...thing they had together. He had been made to realize that had he made
the mistake of going that far, he would have been hurt even more. He hated
their contradictory actions. His hands curled in the blanket that was wrapped
around him, body tense as he forced himself to sit still.

�� Kousuke
shrugged, even more tired than before, but satisfied with himself.
Dunno. I just felt there was more I could
do, so I did it. But since you're no longer sporting a cut that would doom
Kanone to death by fangirls, I'm guessing I healed you somehow. I swear this
whole empathy thing gets weirder every day. Kousuke didn't seem to notice
the blood on his own face, probably because it had been a normal occurrence
during certain periods of his life. He was a little too jaded to think of it as
that big a deal.

�� I'm
stuck into thinking that our lives just get weirder every day. I want to go
home. He almost pouted when he said it, giving a look over his shoulder in
the direction that he came from.

�� Me too. Let's get in the truck and go, then. We've
got a long and very tense flight ahead of us. He leaned down to brush a
light kiss against pale lips before finally letting Eyes go and reached up to
wipe the blood off his face. He didn't want to give Ayumu any ideas in his
current state.

�� Meanwhile, while the angry little voice in Ayumu's head whispered
of betrayal and revenge and killing, another deeper part of him questioned the
need to have even more blood on his hands. He'd already killed, why not
again...?

�� He turned
his head away with a snap, squeezing his eyes shut. Being at war within himself
was a hard thing to keep to himself. A sick feeling settled in the pit of his
stomach, and he was infinitely glad that he hadn't eaten in a few days. The
clench of his throat at the thought of how he'd cut down actual living things
making him almost violently nauseous. In opposition, the darker thoughts
reasoned that he'd done what needed to be done in order to survive. Even if he
didn't like the circumstances, he could go home to Madoka and try to forget
what had happened to him, go back to living life as it had been. He didn't have
a connection to the Blade Children anymore; he saw no reason to continue
disrupting his life with them.

�� The softer
side argued that Madoka would be so unhappy if she knew, and how it wasn't fair
to condemn four Blade Children who had come to his rescue, even bringing
Hiyono. They hadn't done anything to him, they whispered.

�� Yet, sneered the darker voice. It was all a matter of time...

�� Ayumu sank
lower in his seat, almost wishing he were still unconscious. As much as he
appreciated his way of thinking normally, he wanted to turn his mind off now.
It didn't seem to know which direction it wanted to go, which only reminded him
of all the things he'd been through, all that he'd seen and done. He just
wanted to forget..

�� He was
distracted as Kousuke opened the truck door and climbed into the seat in front
of Ayumu, scooting over enough to give Eyes room as well. "Home, Jeeves!" he said in his best impersonation of the
wealthy British.

�� "Identification
does not match. Subject 'Jeeves' does not match any
file in my current databanks."

�� Kousuke
sighed and slumped. "Never mind! Jeez, we have gotta figure out how to unlock some of your
memories. You don't get any of the jokes."

�� "Negative.
There is no joke, there is only Zool."

�� Kousuke
gaped at the dashboard while Rio smothered a
giggle.

�� Eyes wasn't too proud to slump against Kousuke as they
settled into the truck. The next several hours were going to be tense, and he
only hoped that things would stay civil enough for him to take a nap on the
plane ride home. "Jhette....please take us out of here and back to
Japan."

�� "Request
confirmed. We are now going home."
- 18
- 19
- 20
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