6.

Present Day,

Londinium,

Kingdom of Britain

_

'We are being followed.'

Yuya thought she might have a heart attack.

They had been roaming for almost fifteen minutes, out and about the manor, in complete silence, savoring the simple night, when Hotaru made the announcement in a totally nonchalant way.

'Followed?' Yuya whispered out of the corner of her mouth, her eyes darting to the sides nervously as they continued to plough through the dirty snow on the cobbled streets.

'Yup,' he said, nodding his head forcefully, 'back th –'

'Ok, ok I get it!' she hissed hastily, preventing him just in time from pointing out.

'I think we should act like we've not noticed her at all and continue on our way,' Hotaru said wisely.

'Her?' asked Yuya sharply, 'It's a woman?'

Hotaru replied, 'I don't know.'

'Then why did you say her?'

Hotaru shrugged and mumbled, 'If I would have said him then you would have asked if it's a man. So it doesn't matter really because I don't know. And it could be an it too.'

Yuya didn't know what to say to such twisted logic so she asked instead, 'Who do you think could it be? We haven't drawn much attention to ourselves, well, except for the pub-thing, anyway.'

Hotaru did not look concerned, 'It could be the man whom you insulted earlier in the bar. He must be looking for revenge'

Looking quite aghast, Yuya mulled over the matter before brightening up and pointing out, 'And what about you, huh? You were the one who had to butt in and start the fight. He might as well be coming to beat you up, you know.'

Hotaru rolled his eyes as if to say, yeah, right and I should be worried because?

'Well anyways, what should we do? We can't go around the manor now we know someone is watching and might get suspicious.' Yuya asked him anxiously. She hadn't planned to get involved in any trouble when she had come this close to her purpose. She just couldn't afford to. But as always, her striking looks and perplexingly reclusive manner had made sure she got to be the centre of attraction for all the hassles.

Hotaru was quiet for a minute and Yuya could almost see the question being processed in his brain and his mind slowing pondering over the problem.

There, it looked as if he had come to a conclusion. No, he lost himself in contemplation again, his brow lined uncharacteristically.

'We'll trap him/her/it.' Hotaru said abruptly, 'we'll lead him/her/it to a dead end and then I'll jump over him and close his/her/it's escape route.'

Yuya didn't think much of the plan of course since it involved her getting caught in between their pursuer and a brick wall but since she couldn't think of anything else (she blamed it on the disturbing cold), she gritted her teeth to stop them from chattering and gave a curt nod.

'Let's do it.'

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The man following the duo saw the girl stumble and catch the boy's arm to stop herself from falling. The boy firmly clasped her hand as they continued walking, the girl's head on his shoulder.

The man snorted at the obvious display of affection and continued to follow them at a distance, occasionally stopping to tie his shoe lace or light his pipe.

All of sudden, the couple slowed down and as if caught in some urgency ducked in an alleyway.

Cursing under his breath, the man sped up, aware that they could escape unnoticed into a nearby lane if he didn't hurry even as alarm bells rung in his head that he might be intruding into something clandestine.

The nerve of young!

Reaching the offending entrance he silently slipped into darkened alley way which turned out to be –

The girl slowly turned about to face him, her mouth set in a harsh line.

– a dead end.

The man whipped around.

The boy stood at the opening of the blind alley, his silhouette strangely impressive against the glare of the falling snow outside. The man couldn't see his face in the darkness but his eyes burned brilliantly, and a thin naked blade gleamed in his hand.

'What do you want?' the boy asked.

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'What do you want?' asked Yuya in English.

The man was dressed shabbily, his face sporting a day's old beard. He had not moved a single inch.

'Why are you following us?' Yuya demanded, moving away from the wall.

The man looked over his shoulder at her. To Yuya's disquiet, he didn't look like a man cowering for his life. He merely looked surprised.

Before he could open his mouth, Yuya said to him unkindly, 'You can start cooperating by throwing away your gun, mister.'

The man unbuckled his holster and flung it away. It was made of fine leather and decorated richly.

Yuya's suspicions deepened instantly and she repeated, 'What do you want?'

The man spoke with an amused expression, still facing Hotaru, his eyes never leaving the blade,

'I heard him the first time, miss.'

Yuya staggered.

In front of her Hotaru gripped his sword tighter, his eyes widening in shock.

The man had not spoken in the native language of the island.

He had spoken in Japanese.

_

Present Day,

The Mibu Castle,

Japan

_

Shinrei glowered down.

He had been tapping the floor of the huge cavernous underground hall for hours now, looking for hidden cavities or secret shelves without breaking apart the whole place.

He knew everyone was counting on him.

Shinrei-sama will find the cure. Shinrei will save the Mibu. We trust you, Shinrei-san.

They had faith in him. The only problem was he didn't trust himself.

Like now, he didn't know if he was right spending his time exploring the secret library or not.

'Forget it Shinrei, you won't find anything else there,' Akari-san's voice echoed in his head, 'Finding the records was a fluke. You should be looking for Rourou's mother like everyone else or at least help me in carrying out the tests on Rourou, instead of poking around this musty old room.'

He had even missed the day's council meeting.

Maybe she was speaking the truth, thought Shinrei glumly; he hadn't seen proper sunlight for days now, considering he had spent almost all his time in the Former Aka No Ou's hidden library, searching, searching, and searching. Searching for anything that might help them discover the Cure.

It was he, who had discovered the old documents and evidence of the disease; it was he, who had made the connection between Aka-chan and Rourou.

And he was the one, who was going to find the Cure.

Scowling he shook his head. Of course he was right in trying to investigate the covert hall.

Confidence rejuvenated, he snorted in derisiveness. How dare the people criticize him?

And since when had he started paying attention to what that transsexual said?

Shinrei distinctly remembered opposing the Aka No Ou's decision of giving the last place to Akari-san in the Elder Council because she was not a Mibu and his slow change of heart as he witnessed how she strived and slogged to help the Mibu people, despite the fact that she didn't need to. In the end even Shinrei was forced to admit that the position couldn't have gone to a better candidate. Akari was all that Hshigi-sama had been and much more.

But that didn't mean whatever she said made it right. If she didn't like his spending his time in the library, she'd have to live with it. After all, Shinrei was still annoyed at her for babbling about the Cure in the council without consulting him first.

Shaking his head, Shinrei checked the time against the hourglass and decided to call it a day. Standing up he dusted himself, sub-consciously making excuses for Anna as to why he was late for dinner.

With a jolt of guilt, he realized that he hadn't been going to Yuan's home since the last council meeting when they had got to know about the Disease. He remembered Yuan's hopeful expression when Akari-san had so excitedly told everyone about the Cure and how his face fell down when Shinrei was forced to bring them all back down to earth.

Perhaps Yuan understood.

Maybe he understood how impossibly difficult it was for them to find Rourou's mother. Perhaps, he was the only one beside Shinrei who truly knew how bleak their prospect actually looked, how thin their hopes had been stretched. Both Shinrei and Yuan knew the bitter truth.

And both knew that the other knew that they knew.

Shinrei sighed and returned back to work. He couldn't face Yuan. Not now. Not today.

He put in another hour of hard work, completely making sure that there was nothing under the tiled floors of the entire hundred by eighty foot hall, before he allowed his mind to wander again, as he slipped down against a wall in respite.

Yuan and his siblings had welcomed him into their 'small' family, just as they had 'adopted' Keikokou.

Keikokou.

It still bothered him to think that he, being the legitimate son had never really understood what it really meant to be part of a family until now, whereas Keikokou, who had been disowned at birth, had had a great family and even greater friends for his entire life.

Strange how fate had dealt with the two brothers; fire and water, yin and yang, polar opposites in their views and behavior.

Shinrei vaguely wondered where the bastard of a half-a-brother he had, currently was; probably driving the people of some faraway country as crazy as himself.

The corners of his mouth twitched as he thought about how he was so much better than Keikokou in everything.

Returning to his work, he continued to inspect each and every nook and cranny of the gigantic library.

All the books, papers and tables had already been taken out, taken apart and inspected under his strict supervision without producing much result save for the papers concerning the Project Holy Destruction.

Now only the colossal room remained intact, unwilling to give up any secrets it might have.

The sun went down outside.

Disgruntled at the lack of a result, Shinrei stretched up and yawned.

It was then that he felt the faintest sensation of moisture on his head.

Bringing his hand to his scalp, Shinrei touched his hair. Yes, there it was! A few strands of wet hair where a tiny drop had apparently fallen.

Shinrei frowned. He was aware that the library was located just below the castle hot springs. So there was bound to be some water seeping in through the ceiling. Then why did the single drop bother him so much?

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

He touched his head again.

Cold.

The water was cold not hot!

Suddenly some of the earlier suspicions he had had, on discovering the library, returned.

Why would the Former Aka No Ou build his library somewhere, thought Shinrei excitedly as he climbed the staircase to the ground floor, where there was the greatest chance of spoiling his books? Surely there must have been something, something to prevent the ceiling from leaking at all costs.

Quickening his pace, he crashed into the bathing halls, ignoring the cries he elicited. Going over to where he knew he had been standing a level below a few minutes ago, he ordered everyone to clear away.

When the last of the disgruntled bathers had shuffled away, clutching their towels, Shinrei finally let the anticipation show on his face.

Raising his curved blade he whispered a short command. Immediately, water began draining out from the pool in front of him. A few seconds later, Shinrei was down on his knees, examining the bottom of the pool.

Hollow. Hollow. Hollow.

It was entirely hollow!

Shinrei didn't even need his blade. He smashed open through the flimsy foundation.

The stone broke and fell down, revealing the true depth of the pool.

As the dust cleared away, Shinrei leaned forward straining his eyes to see in the darkness.

His breath caught in his throat.

_

Present Day,

Londinium,

Kingdom of Britain

_

The man moved.

Before Yuya could as much as touch her three-barreled gun, the man had jumped up into the air and attacked Hotaru from above.

Attacked?

Hadn't she just seen him throw away his gun?

Raising her eyes she stared in pure shock at the slender rapier that had appeared in the man's hand from nowhere.

Hotaru caught the man on his own blade and thrust him away. Before he could even look surprised, the man rebounded on the wall and slashed downwards. Hotaru stopped his attack again and retaliated with a jab of his own which the man easily parried. Leaping over him Hotaru drove his sword down until he met his opponent's weapon with a clang and pushed forward. For a moment it looked as if he could cut through, but the man blocked his sword and turned around, taking the boy off his feet.

Both of them crashed into the wall as momentum carried them forwards and Yuya screamed.

The man was bulkier and larger than Hotaru. Even as he stumbled to his feet, Hotaru was already hacking him left and right, each of his blows being surprisingly blocked.

With a grunt the man dug in his feet and refused to move back any further. Yuya saw Hotaru's eyes narrow in that rare concentration when fighting a worthy opponent that she was so well acquainted with as he drew back from the man.

His eyes radiating strength, Hotaru called up his power. Dazzling yellow flames ran up and down his blade, illuminating the entire alley.

Yuya gasped. Never in their two years of traveling together had she seen him call up his power so quickly in a fight. He always used it as a last resort or when the opponent was too stubborn to give in. This man must be strong.

She gulped and moved backwards into the wall. One wrong aim and she could as well get cooked.

Perhaps Hotaru realized it as well at that moment for his eyes lost their anger and met her own for a fleeting moment before he resorted to attack the man with his sword, without using any technique.

Yuya looked at him, dodging and sparring with the unknown man. She had to do something! She couldn't become his weakness.

Cocking her gun in front of her she tried to aim for the man but it was impossible. Not only were they moving so fast that it hurt her eyes just to follow their progress but her hands shook badly so that she couldn't hold her gun straight. What if she hit Hotaru?

Breathing down her panic, Yuya tried to think. She couldn't leave the alley without getting caught in between the fight, she couldn't climb the wall behind her and she couldn't even help Hotaru.

She knew Hotaru hadn't even thought of using his power when they had talked about entrapping the man in the alleyway because neither of them had ever expected the man to be so strong.

So, it's his fault for underestimating his opponent, Yuya thought haughtily even as she realized that the only reason Hotaru wasn't using his power was that it might put her in danger. So, I'll be the one to blame if he dies in this dingy alley tonight. Well, if he does die, Yuya couldn't bear to think that something like that could happen, I won't last here much longer.

Her mind screamed at her to move, shoot, do something to get them out of this predicament.

Closing her eyes at her own helplessness, Yuya slid down the wall, her back scraping against the hard bricks.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"The girl slid down against the tree, her breaths coming in short gasps. In front of her dead bodies sprawled about the ground and the air reeked of blood. The lone man standing in the middle of the carnage looked up and noticed her for the first time. His crimson eyes met her emerald ones.

Yuya tried to swallow back her fear. The man standing in front of her was the legendary Demon Eyes Kyo.

She tried to move her body but her muscles refused to obey and she involuntarily let out a frightened squeal.

Now the man was walking towards her.

Run! Run! Her mind shrieked but she didn't, couldn't move. Fear had paralyzed her.

The man loomed over her as he slowly turned his eyes down on her. Red, shining, dangerous eyes that sent shivers down her body. The eyes of a demon.

'You're…Demon Eyes Kyo…' she whispered almost unwillingly.

'Yes.' The man snarled arrogantly.

Yuya found her voice, 'Where…where is Kyoshiro?'

She saw a momentary flash of anger in the man's eyes before he answered unpleasantly, 'Him? He was in control for a long time. Right now, he's here.' He smiled cruelly, pointing to his chest.

Yuya struggled with words but before she could say anything, the man said in a low spiteful voice, 'Don't be mistaken. I didn't save you. I don't intend to save you.'

Yuya forgot to breathe as he thrust the hilt of his sword in the bark of the tree, less than an inch from her face.

The man smirked in amusement and said, 'If you understand, beg me to let you live. Kneel down and say 'save me' and I'll think about it.'

His voice was like poison, malice dripping from each word as he glared at Yuya in morbid delight, asking her to give up all her pride.

Yuya hung her head down, almost bowing before him. She was going to die here anyway. She knew that. Why not try to save herself by pleading for her life?

A tiny spark kindled within her. It took her a moment to realize that it was cold fury.

She would NOT beg! She had always lived her life on her own terms. If she had to die then she'll die on her own terms as well.

She arched up as high as she could and her head cracked against the man's, who was leaning over her.

'I WON'T EVER TELL YOU TO SAVE ME!!' she yelled.

The man growled in surprise more than anything else as he drew back, massaging his chin.

'I, I don't have any time to waste!! If…if you want to kill me, then just kill me!! But…I have to search for the man who has the cross-shaped scar on his back!!' Yuya continued to scream.

'I have to find him and…AND I WILL KILL HIM NO MATTER WHAT!!! Until that happens I'M NOT GOING TO DIE!!' She finished in an angry tirade, panting.

The man cocked his head, 'Is that all you've got to say?'"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yuya's eyes focused back on the fight in front oh her.

She was NOT going to give in to the circumstances.

She had faced Oda Nobunaga and Mibu Kyouchirou and other foul things; and most of all; she had confronted and been stuck with none other than the Demon Eyes Kyo and come out alive.

She had faith in herself.

Taking a deep breath she got to her feet and took careful aim. The barrel of her gun continued to change its angle as the combatants whirled around each other in an unceasing dance, their swords flashing and striking against each other.

Her eyes followed the man's progress as did her aim. Up, slash, right, parry, block, left, up, block, left, hack.

Her hands turned white as she gripped her gun and pulled the trigger.

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Hey readers! I know this took a lot of time in coming. Actually I wrote this whole chapter in about two hours. The ideas were already there, I just had to pen them down. Hope you enjoy! Keep reading and reviewing!