Apologies for the insanely long wait guys, many things have been going on and in the midst of all of it I completely forgot about this fic. But I am back now and hoping to make a good run of it! Hopefully you will be able to forgive me and enjoy what I have come up with. Though go easy with me it may take a while to get back into the full swing of things.

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Chapter 3 : Inescapable Fate

Aya looked up at the woman but as her vision began to focus she was plunged into darkness. The rough cloth itched against her skin but the clean smell of it was welcomed to the damp musty smell of the room. Before she could adjust rough hands grabbed her and carried her off. Out of a learned reaction of the endless time she had spent in her prison she mentally fled, it was the only thing she could do.

"Not even a little struggle?" the woman's voice sounding closely beside her, bringing her consciousness back to the surface. "Oh well, it will have to do, the feeding can wait no longer."

Feeding? Aya wondered, but the images she could muster only caused a sharp chill along her spine. 'All I can hope for now is that feeding means a quick death…' she thought grimly. But something within her stirred, striving to live, to do what it took. This feeling snaked around her core like a beast waiting for the opportunity to break free. Rough scrubbing of her skin brought her back around; she assessed her new darkened situation. The fabric on her face was different, not as constricting. She could smell a light fragrance in the air as well as fresh water; cold water her skin confirmed. Focusing more now, she could tell her restraints were no longer on and immediately she felt the urge to attempt escaping.

So she tested with a small movement of her hand, she waited for a response but only the continued rough brush and cold water against her skin. So she became bolder and moved her leg, two things happened. There was a shrill scream and her body was forced into the ground with a resounding thud. Her senses were assaulted with the odor of one of her previous oppressors and she could smell the foul stench of his breath as he breathed in her ear.

"Just because your restraints are gone doesn't mean you're free, bitch." The words dripped from his mouth like poison. She could feel him shift his weight focusing his attention to the other woman who had obviously been cleaning her, "and you get back over here and finish your god damn job we don't have all day!" He shouted.

The brusque scrubbing began once again and was shortly over she was held up and toweled off before feeling them roughly forcing her into some clothes. And they lowered her into what she could only describe as a long box. She shifted to try and get a better idea of the area she had been placed in. It was somewhat soft on the inside but was barely wide enough for her. She couldn't sense any light but that wasn't to say there wasn't any as her restrained now consisted of a full thick woolen mask and a restraint binding her wrists together. Then she heard muffled conversation realizing she couldn't understand she decided to focus on her wrist restraint. Suddenly her container jostled and she could hear that she was on the move.

Nagi had been exceptionally restless, he still couldn't get the thought that something horrible was going wrong and feeling helpless was not something he was accustomed to. Not that he had ever considered himself a knight in shining armor or anything as ridiculous as that. He was a street fighter and as far as he knew one of the best. But this feeling….. this feeling that he was so unfamiliar with that he couldn't seem to shake got to him in a way he couldn't even fathom.

"Damnit!" he punched the nearby wall getting none of the alleviation he sought from it. "If I could just see…."

"Good you're awake. Hopefully you are hungry." An all too familiar female voice called into him over a crackling intercom system. "Today you will get a rather exotic course as per your normal. Though I fear it may not have its normal spunk, but hopefully you won't mind too much."

Souichirou glared at the steel trap door he knew would open but right now some punk they found on the street to beat on might be just what he needs to get rid of this feeling. As he expected the door slid open and closed quickly only allowing enough time for a case to be slid in. The fact that they sent these poor fucks to him in coffins was morbid even by his standards, but what could he do.

Aya felt the box lurch forward quickly, fearing it might tip over. She held her breath but when she remained upright she once again tried to get her bearings. That's when she felt it, from outside the box an infuriated rage, though it wasn't quite bloodlust. Mentally she was so tired but this is exactly what the beast within her needed to creep forward and take over. Her muscles tensed in preparation for what was obviously an oncoming battle. She shifted her legs, they were loose and unrestricted, good she may not be great at other combat styles beyond swordsmanship but that doesn't mean she didn't train in them. Then there was a creaking sound and she could feel the fresh air seeping in and so she went for it all pushing forward triumphantly.

Nagi moved forward towards the box. Soon it would open and some sap would come bursting forth right onto his fists. At which point he would begin to release his frustrations on them. But something was odd about the energy coming from his "dinner box". It was a mature dangerous aura, one he recognized but couldn't quite place. But he didn't have long to think about it before a mass of black and flesh assaulted him with kicks and wide arm blows.

He dodged repeatedly but was finally caught by one of the powerful kicks to his chest and was knocked a few feet back. That is when he saw it before him stood a familiar slender body slightly more bruised than he had left it with the same long golden hair, instantly he felt relieved, she was here. "A…Aya..." his words were raspy but soft in tone and hinted with a bit of disbelief.

As she charged forward for another feeble attempt at an attack she heard something that she couldn't have heard and her body stopped stiff in its tracks. She was almost too scared to utter his name for fear she would wake up to that cold damp nightmare, "So…Souichiro-sama?"

"It is you!" He rushed forward relieved to have someone he knew back in his presence it had been weeks, maybe months sense he had been condemned to this prison.

Aya slumped to her knees unable to control the wet tears that rolled partly down her cheek before absorbing into the cloth binding her face.

He had never been so happy to see her before in the time they had known each other but as he quickly undid the bandages on her face and was able to look into her eyes his light hearted emotions fled as quickly as they came and he remembered her pain, the pain he had felt with her, and the fear and he could see all of the suffering in her deep brown eyes.

Before he had even enough time to question her, there was a shifting in the walls and 5 guards stepped in with large guns. That disgusting woman's voice rang out over the old intercom once again. "Well, well this will never do."

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Author's Notes:

Well there you have it chapter 3. They are reunited but how will they get out of the mess they are in? And with all the fighting where is the time for romance?!? Find out in the next installment. Also review because it makes me so happy and reading all the old reviews helped renew my courage to write this!

Also I would like to give some much needed credit to my editor part time muse Gun. Without you this whole thing would have never even started and would probably be horribly organized and riddled with grammar and spelling issues.

Ruckus