((Warning: Many much more feels ahead...proceed with extreme caution))
Hakaija sat in his
darkened penthouse, sipping sake and staring out the window. He
didn't sense Amaya's presence until his son thudded on the table,
causing him to spill his sake and curse in Japanese. “Amaya! I
have told you about that! Neither the sake nor my clothing is cheap!”
He growled, glaring at her. She regarded him with a cold stare.
“It matters naught to me...” She murmured softly ,motioning to
Takeru. “Here is your son. How would you like for me to finish
this?”
Hakaija sighed again.
“Did they find out anything?” He asked, glancing at Amaya. The
girl nodded slowly. “They had a very powerful psychic...of which I
haven't seen in a millenia. He cut right through your son's defenses
and found out your plan. He will most likely try to convince Hikaro
of his teams' real motives.” She replied, watching the wheels
turning behind Hakaija's cold, calculating expression. He nodded
slowly, smirking a little. This was better than he could imagine.
“Go back to Hikaro
with this...” He said, handing her a human heart in a box. She
accepted it without question and Hakaija smirked. “Let us see how
this plays out...just make sure that you guarantee they destroy each
other...” He muttered softly.
Amaya nodded as she
bowed silently and vanished into the night. Takeru groaned where he
lay, looking up at his father questioningly and going pale as he saw
the crazed grin on his father's face as he cackled maniacally. What
have you done? He thought as he
stared up at his father.
The
night was crackling with energy as Amaya returned to Hikaro's “throne
room”. She knew it would end here...she could feel it. She took a
deep breath as she entered, glancing around to see where her master
was. He was standing in an upper window, silhouetted against the
moonlight as he stared out into the darkness....waiting. She knew he
could feel it too...but he didn't know who's end it would be. She
allowed herself a cruel smile as she watched him before he spoke
without looking at her and she returned to her impassive expression.
“Is it done, kitten?” He said, taunting her. She grit her
teeth, closing her eyes and opening them before answering. “It is
done...I've brought his heart as proof.” She said, holding out the
box.
Hikaro turned and
dropped down from the window, hitting the ground without a sound and
sauntering over to her. “Good girl...” He purred, grinning
softly as he accepted the box and opened it. “Wonderful...I wonder
how Hakaija will take it when he hears that his precious heir is
dead...maybe I can hang it around my brother's neck and watch Hakaija
destroy what's left of his team.” He said, cackling wickedly as he
took out the heart and crushed it in his bare hand. Amaya watched
quietly. “Maybe we should put an end to this...playing cat and
mouse with Raiden only gives him hope that you will somehow come back
to him as his brother. Kiss and make up, I believe is the term.”
She murmured, watching Hikaro. She had to orchestrate this and
stroke his ego just right to get him to the breaking point.
Hikaro smirked softly.
“What a silken tongue you have this evening, kitten. Are you that
thirsty for blood?” He asked, running his finger down her jawbone
and drawing a line of blood with it. Amaya shuddered inwardly, but
endured it as she met his eyes. “Maybe. You brought me here for a
purpose didn't you? I'm just waiting for the moment to fulfill that
purpose.” She purred in response. She had him right where she
wanted him.
Hikaro cackled softly
as Tsuyoshi materialized out of the darkness behind him, fully
mended. “I like your enthusiasm...very well...but since they have
seen you and know who you are and what we are planning...they will be
coming to us.” He replied, looking out into the darkness then
taking his spot on his throne. Amaya and Tsuyoshi took their places,
flanking him on either side as they waited. Tsuyoshi had a sick
feeling in his gut that something was going to go seriously wrong
tonight...he glanced at Amaya but she stayed facing forward so he
returned to his position, mulling over the overwhelming dread he felt
as he awaited this final showdown between Hikaro and his brother.
Raiden was preparing
for facing his brother with his team, Kai talking strategy with him
quietly. They had the advantage of numbers, but Hikaro would be
expecting them and he had the power of both Tsuyoshi and Amaya. Kohl
was very apprehensive of this as a lunar eclipse had been predicted
for that night and would give rise to a blood moon...a very bad omen.
There would be much bloodshed and heartbreak this night. It would
be the end...he was sure of it...but of whom, he did not know. He
only prayed that Raiden wouldn't be the one to pay the price.
Raiden saw his
friend's troubled expression and sat next to him. “What is it?”
He asked. Kohl shook his head. “I fear that we are in for it
tonight...it's a blood moon which is a bad omen...there will be more
death before the end.” He murmured forbodingly.
Raiden watched Kohl
and felt his blood run cold. Kohl was never wrong, but if that was
the price they had to pay to end this...then so be it. Raiden nodded
quietly, looking up at the sky.
“It's a steep price
to pay to end this...” He murmured softly, accepting their fate.
Kohl sighed softly.
“It is indeed.”
The night was quiet
and not a sound disturbed it or betrayed the passage of Rai and his
team as they moved through it swift and sly as foxes. Hikaro was
seated on his throne, staring into the darkness as he awaited their
arrival. He was a tracker and even though his sanity was long gone,
his senses were not dulled so he knew they were coming. He looked
up, tilting his chin and smirking.
“You are quite bold,
brother...coming through the front door.” He said to the darkness
before him. Moments later Raiden materialized in the moonlight,
regarding his brother with steely eyes. Hikaro cackled.
“My, my. What is
this? Finally given up on me, have you? I warned you that anyone
you brought in would suffer the same fate as you...Kurai was no
different. You should never have brought him into this and you paid
the price for your foolishness.” He taunted, smirking wickedly.
Raiden stiffened,
gritting his teeth as he took a step forward and Kohl's hand stopped
him as he materialized beside him. Raiden clenched his fists,
looking at Kohl in protest then looking in the direction Kohl nodded
to as Tsuyoshi and Amaya materialized beside Hikaro. Both were
crackling with raw energy and Kohl shivered at the feeling as the
rest of Raiden's team stood silent behind him. There was a pregnant
pause where Rai's team seemed to all hold their breath like the
moment right before you plummeted down the first big drop of a
rollercoaster. Hikaro then nodded and his weapons launched
themselves at Rai's team. The group dispersed, engaging with their
assigned targets as was discussed before. Yoshi, Sijuu, and Mai
would take Tsuyoshi. Kohl and Kai would take on Amaya while Rai went
to finish this with his brother once and for all.
The battle started out
with the clash of metal and rubble crumbling around them as the
psychic's sparred. Yoshi and Sijuu used their psychic abilities to
try and break away at Tsuyoshi's defenses and counter his telekinetic
attacks while Mai used her speed and agility to make quick attacks
that kept him off balance so that the twins weren't completely
exposed to the raw force of the more experienced psychic's abilities.
Amaya was more of a challenge, which was why Kohl had paired with
Kai to take her on rather than Kohl going after his rival. Amaya was
volatile and unpredictable so it took a cool, calculated
counterattack to keep her at bay while Rai was left free to settle
his score with his brother. A flash of steel brought Rai's blade to
bear, catching the blow from his brother as he leapt from his throne
with the speed of a wild cat to slash open his abdomen and spill his
guts on the floor. His eyes and grin were wide as he laughed with
insane glee at the beginning of their final battle.
“Oh, brother...long
have I waited for this night to come. By the light of the full moon
did this war begin...and by the light of the full moon it shall end!”
He cackled, breaking their sword lock and attacking his brother with
such ferocity that it nearly made him fly backwards into the wall.
Raiden held fast
however, gritting his teeth and looking for an opening then taking it
and lunging at Hikaro to put him on the defensive. It was his
brother so he knew his style even when he had lost his mind. He was
predictable...always left an opening somewhere and if he could just
keep him on the defensive, maybe he could wear him out enough to
start being able to talk to him...he had to warn him! He had been
betrayed!
Meanwhile, in the
darkness behind Hikaro's fortress, Hakaija was waiting with his men
for the signal from Amaya for the beginning of the end. He swallowed
as he heard the intensity of the fighting from inside and wondered
again if he had not indeed unwittingly sold his soul to the devil in
making this deal with this woman who had lived longer and seen more
than she should. He saw the flash of lightning strike the clouds
above as the lunar eclipse began with a sliver of the moon beginning
to turn an eerie blood red. The hour of the blood moon would soon be
upon them and Hakaija could only hope that Amaya would remember the
bargain he had struck with her to spare him and his family before the
end as he set his men in position.
“Hikaro!” Rai
shouted at his brother as Hikaro's attacks became more erratic and
his breathing became ragged and labored from exertion and mania.
Hikaro's eyes met Raiden's with a hint of recognition that his
brother was looking for. “You've been betrayed by your own team!
They still work for Hakaija, they've set you up!” He warned in
between blows, warding him off as it became more and more difficult
because of how erratic his attacks were becoming. Hikaro shuddered,
shaking his head as if to clear it then returning back to his
previous state as he continued to attack. “Ha! You lie! You
won't fool me that easily! The only one who has betrayed me is you!
You're the one who sent me on that mission to die! You wouldn't dare
send Mai because you loved her more than me! You brought this on
yourself!” He snarled, angry now and drawing new strength from
this. Amaya was doing her job well, keeping him deceived and manic
so the brothers would destroy each other.
Raiden grit his teeth
and snarled in frustration. “Yes, Hikaro! I was wrong to send you
alone! Yes, I wanted to protect Mai and she was very upset that I
showed such favoritism...Yes, I brought this on myself! But you have
to listen to me before it's too late! Hakaija is laying in wait for
Amaya's signal, she's going to bring about the end but not for you!
It's for him! He struck a deal with her first!” He shouted at him
between blows, trying desperately to get through to him. Hikaro
roared. “You lie! All you say is lies! You never loved me! You
never cared about me like everyone else!” He shouted, catching
Raiden off guard and slashing his side. Raiden reeled back, grunting
in pain as Hikaro came at him with more force.
Kohl was fighting hard
against Amaya with Kai, watching the blood red hue creeping across
the moon as they fought. At it's height, Amaya's power would reach
it's peak and that would be the end. They had to stop her before
then or they were all doomed! The earthquake then came, rocking all
involved in fighting to the ground as Amaya's eyes glowed white and
purplish lighting struck the clouds above, emanating from her aura.
Her raw, volatile aura was intensifying and Kohl was finding it
harder and harder to fight back against her. It was like getting too
close to the sun or to an active volcano...it was only a matter of
time before you got burned.
Kai was the first to
fall to the intensity of Amaya's power, crying out and crumpling to
the ground as he held his head in agony. Mai and the twins were the
next, not even Tsuyoshi being able to stand it as he was very
sensitive to her psychic presence. Kohl was left to grapple with her
alone as Rai and Hikaro battled on across the fissures opening in the
ground and Mt. Fuji threatened to roar to life as Amaya's power began
to awaken it with it's intensity. Raiden lost his footing as a
fissure opened beneath him and he caught himself just barely with a
precarious grip on the edge of the fissure opening to depths of
blackness the bottom of which glowed an ominous dull red. Hikaro
stared wide-eyed into his brother's frightened eyes. Gone was the
manic look behind his eyes and he quickly leapt forward to catch
Raiden's arm before he fell and began to pull him to safety.
Amaya saw this and
shouted in anger as she felt her control over him slip. “Fool! He
betrayed you! You would return to him to be his slave?!”
Hikaro looked at his
brother then glared up at her as they stood and nodded defiantly.
“Better than the nightmare of being your puppet!” He exclaimed,
Hakaija already taking his cue and shooting at Raiden. It all
happened so fast, first Raiden was standing beside his brother
overjoyed that he was released from Amaya's control; then he had been
pushed against a wall by his brother. His hands felt wet, warm and
sticky...blood. “Hikaro!” Raiden cried in dismay as his brother
coughed up blood and he grit his teeth. He snarled and turned on
Hakaija and his men, crying in insane rage as he brought his sword to
bear on them like the tooth and claw of a wounded animal.
Raiden watched stunned
as Amaya took this chance to attack him while he was distracted...but
she wasn't the only one with the idea. No sooner had she shifted her
attention from Kohl to Hikaro and Raiden, did Kohl push through the
intensity of her aura, gritting his teeth against the pain as he
reached her. Amaya's eyes went wide with surprise as Kohl's blade
sprouted from her chest and he used that moment of her walls dropping
to penetrate her mind and unleash the psychic maelstrom he had been
powering up since he had begun his defensive uphill battle against
her. She screamed with rage and lashed out at him with fury
unmatched but it just fueled his mental attack until neither of them
had anything left.
A wave of psychic
energy exploded from the both of them as Amaya's psychic aura
shattered, Fuji going back to sleep and the fissures in the ground
closing up as Tsuyoshi screamed in dismay and ran forward to catch
Amaya as she fell. Tsuyoshi choked on a sob as he brushed her hair
out of her eyes. “Amaya...stay...stay with me, please...don't
go...I don't know what to do without you...please, I beg you! Baka!
Why did you do this?!” Amaya looked up at him and smiled
peacefully as her eyes began to glaze over. She touched his cheek.
“You would never have been free...our love would always have been
tainted by the darkness inside of me...” Tsuyoshi shook his head
vigorously as he surveyed the damage, tears rolling down his cheeks
as he realized he could do nothing. “I don't care! I love you!”
Amaya giggled softly, coughing up blood as she wiped his tears away
tenderly. “B-baka....” She whispered with her last breath, her
eyes fixing as she faded. Tsuyoshi's eyes widened and he shook.
“Amaya! Amaya! No, no no no no no! You can't go! You can't
leave me alone! Don't go! Stay with me! Please!” He pleaded as
he sobbed brokenly while holding her limp and broken body close to
him.
Kohl was found on the
other side of the ruined fortress beneath some rubble, Yoshi and
Sijuu found him and dug him out with Mai's help. He was already dead
when they found him and the twins cried out in emotional agony as
they held his lifeless broken body between him and begged him to wake
up. Kai found his sister and the twins and held Mai close, stoic as
his sister sobbed in his arms and the twins kept trying to wake Kohl
up even though he knew it was too late. He had gone out the way he
had wanted to...protecting his family. But the hardest goodbye was
yet to come.
Rai picked his way
through the debris, numb and with only one resolve. He had to find
his brother...he couldn't lose him again...he had just gotten him
back! He thought to call out his name, but couldn't make the
syllables form on his tongue so he continued in silence. It wasn't
until he saw the body that he finally found his voice. “Hikaro!”
He shouted, his voice cracking as he stumbled over to him and fell
to his knees beside him.
Hikaro coughed and
opened his eyes, looking around dazed before focusing on Raiden and
smiling a little. “I...was hoping you would find me...before
everything faded away...” He breathed, Raiden smirking shakily.
“What are you talking about, bakyaro...you're going to be
okay...we'll take you back and get you fixed up good as new...” He
said, examining his injuries as Hikaro watched him. Hikaro saw his
brother's expression and shook his head. “It's worse than you
thought...you won't be able to move me...” He said between labored
breaths. Raiden shook his head vigorously, tears forming again.
“No! You're going to be okay! You have to be okay! I just got
you back, I can't lose you again!” He pleaded, not knowing if it
was to Hikaro or to the gods. Hikaro touched his brother's hand. “I
know...I just...I just wish I had more time....I lost so...much under
her control...I thought I would...have more time...to apologize...”
He gasped out, wincing as he fought to stay awake as long as he
could. Raiden felt hot tears running down his cheeks as he watched
his brother fight a losing battle.
“I wish we had more
time too...I don't know what I'll do without you by my side...” He
whispered, tears falling on his brother's blood-soaked shirt. Hikaro
chuckled softly, coughing up blood. “I would imagine not...but
you've been without me there for a while and you're still alive.”
He replied. “See?...You don't...need...me...” He managed,
smirking weakly as his eyelids became heavy.
Raiden let out a
half-hearted laugh that ended in a sob. “B-baka...say hi to mom
and dad for me...” He replied. “And...no matter what you
say...I'll always need you. You're my best friend.” He added.
Hikaro laughed, coughing up more blood and shaking. “H-heck
yeah...” He managed, clasping Rai's hand in one last gesture of
affection before his eyes fixed and he went limp. Rai stared at his
brother's lifeless form, closing his eyes slowly and shaking as he
finally succumbed to his grief and wept bitterly as he held his
brother close. He kept wishing that they had had more time, wishing
that he had been there for all the happiness that he had missed, for
his wedding, for the laughs...the joy in between the fighting and
death. He wished for the pain to go away...
The small group of
friends sat in a huddle in the early morning mist, waiting for their
leader to return. Tsuyoshi sat off to the side in front of the mound
of freshly turned earth that served as his beloved's final resting
place...waiting. Kohl had been buried as well, the twins still
clinging to each other and breathing slightly raggedly as one does
after weeping. Mai watched for her husband as Kai stood stoically,
staring at the grave of his friend and wondering what Rai would have
them do with Tsuyoshi.
Rai's silhouette
appeared in the fog. He was carrying his brother in his arms, his
face tear-stained and expression weary as he approached them. Kai
glanced at his friend, meeting him quietly and helping him dig a
grave beside Kohl for his brother. No one would ever know what
happened that night of the blood moon...and the price that was paid
to let Tokyo rest easy another night. Raiden smoothed the dirt over
his brother's grave, Kai making the marker and placing it at the head
in silence.
Rai sat there quietly
for a while, thinking of everything that he had wanted to say to
Hikaro when he was alive and no longer could. He felt Mai's hand on
his shoulder and he placed his hand on hers, his grieving tears spent
for now as he stood and hugged her tightly. Kai nodded to Tsuyoshi
and Rai nodded slowly after a while, approaching the boy and feeling
the apprehension radiating from him as he met Raiden's gaze. Raiden
smiled sadly.
“There has been
enough death and sadness already...won't you put your differences
aside and join us? Kohl would have wanted it...you have been
wandering in darkness for too long.” He said gently, holding out
his hand.
Tsuyoshi was taken
aback and eyed Rai's hand suspiciously before swallowing hard and
looking away. “I cannot accept...the darkness in me has a hold too
strong to be easily broken. Maybe someday I may be able to walk in
the light as you do...but not for a long while yet...” He
murmured, laying a single lotus blossom before the marker of Amaya's
grave before standing quietly and leaving as silently as he had
arrived.
Raiden watched him go
quietly. Is it okay that I let him go? Will he really be okay on
his own? He thought as Tsuyoshi
disappeared in the mist. Kai rested his hand on Rai's shoulder,
nodding. “You did the right thing...who knows...maybe we'll see
him again some day.” He murmured. Rai nodded, looking at his
second in command. “Let's go home.” And Kai smiled. “Yes,
sir.” He replied as he turned with Rai to return home with the
others.
