An Unlikely Bond

by: Lilaclight

Chapter Seven

On Chikyuu...

Jadeite carefully surveyed the crowded room in the hopes of seeing someone who resembled a warlock or mage. Zoisite was copying his movements, his gaze lingering on the few good-looking men present. Jadeite's lip curled in disgust and he cursed Endymion for pairing him up with the fag. Every mission he was given that needed partnership he ended up sharing with Zoisite. He knew that the honey hair man was interested in him from past flirtation but fags filled him with a rage. All he wanted to do at that moment was strangle the ass to death.

Zoisite scanned the crowd with a hawk's eye. Nothing seemed untoward until his gaze flitted over a handsome youth. Reversing directions, his gaze zoomed in on the young man and stayed. He looked to be 24 summers of age and had the tall, smooth muscled build of a runner and hair in a waist long brown braid. His clothes, when compared to that of those around him, was clean and without the wear and tear that was evident in the rest.

Looking at his eyes, Zoisite was surprised to find him starring straight at him. Trying to divert his gaze elsewhere, he found himself unable to break the potent eye contact and fear mixed with dread traveled through his being. His brain was shouting out warnings of danger that could not be ignored. The power in the gaze by far surpassed his and he guessed that it also surpassed Jadeite's. Backup was mandatory.

Finally the youth dropped his gaze and turned his attention to the barmaid who was approaching him. Relief washed through him like a cleansing wave and his fear dissipated like it had never been but the feeling of dread remained.

"Psst." He called to Jadeite.

"What," snapped the irritated general.

"I think we may have found our guy but his aura's not one of a warlock." Zoisite said in low tones as not to be overheard by others.

"If he's a warlock then he can change his aura or hide it. Point him out to me." commanded Jadeite.

"A little bossy, aren't we? Maybe I should leave you in the dark." Zoisite teased thoughtlessly.

A flash of red in his eyes signified that Jadeite was close to his breaking point. The urge to torture and maim his fellow general was getting stronger as he glared at him.

"Just spill it. We have a duty to our Ouji-sama to return Tsuki. This was a simple search and destroy mission. Nothing more, nothing less." he growled out.

"I don't think that it's that simple anymore." Zoisite commented, a frown marring his smooth skin.

Jadeite was surprised and worried by his frown. As far as he knew, Zoisite hated to frown because he claimed it gave him wrinkles and would have him looking years older before his time. The simple action alone spoke volumes, conveying more than the general could have with words.

"The guy I say has power, lots of it. He may be, no, he is more powerful than we are. Taking him on could mean the death of us and personally, I'm too handsome to die young." Zoisite explained.

"Hmm. Is that right?" mused Jadeite. "Show him to me. One of us should follow him while the other reports back to Endymion-sama. Hopefully Nephrite or Kunzite will be free to return and dispose of the opposition."

"Seven o'clock, the tall one all in black." Zoisite said succinctly not bothering to look himself.

Jadeite turned slightly to ensure that the area indicated was within his range of sight. Alas, he saw no one who fit Zoisite's description.

"There's no one there! Baka!" Jadeite exclaimed angrily when he saw no one.

Startled, Zoisite looked back to where he saw the youth and found himself staring straight at an empty table. Cursing vividly under his breath, Zoisite scanned the room once more, turning in his seat slowly so that he could look at the whole room. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a tall figure that matched the youth's profile slip into the shadows near the corridor leading to the kitchen. Indicating the form to Jadeite, he got up and followed.

Groaning at his partner's foolishness, Jadeite had no choice but to stand and follow. Doubt that the man was as powerful as Zoisite forewarned, he concluded that Zoisite just wanted the victory to be his own. Unfortunately, so did he.

Kage smirked inwardly as he sensed the two generals had begun to follow him. The fools. Did they really believe that they could follow him without being lead into a trap? What he had seen in Zoisite's eyes while he had been staring into them had been repulsive. The general did not deserve to live. He would soon be paying a visit to his otousan if he had any say in things.

Moving hastily and quietly, he winked at a serving wench and put his finger to his lips to shush her. The pretty young wench giggled amusedly and returned his wink with a bright smile before going back to the bar room. Grinning impishly, Kage thought to himself,

'Yup. I still got it. No let's just hope that I get some before the night is over. '

Ignoring the disgruntled looks the cook and her helpers were giving him, he went straight to the back door and found himself entering the alley behind the inn. Closing the door behind him, he grinned wickedly as the alley was cloaked in shadow from the various buildings lining it. The faint moonlight was of no use there.

Exerting his powers, Kage used an old trick that he had learned a few centuries ago. The shadows visible grew and deepened until the entire alley was cloaked in shadow. No light could be seen and any man entering would have the sudden displeasure of experiencing what a blind person went through. The sound of scurrying vermin hinted of a hidden danger waiting in the darkness to pounce and devour unfortunate souls.

The sound of the door opening alerted him to their presence. The light of the kitchen pierced only the shadows that he allowed to be pierced. The illusion of safety had to be kept until the prey was in the trap. Standing still in the very center of the alley, he moved not a muscle as anticipation of a fight pumped adrenalin into his bloodstream and from there throughout his body. His sole focus was the pair in the doorway.

"Are you sure that he came this way?" asked one of them.

"Hai," came the muffled reply of someone on the inside. Most likely one of the helpers or the cook herself.

"That looks doubtful. I can't see anyone. How would he be able to see anything in this darkness? I can't see past the areas illuminated by the light from inside." another voice declared petulantly.

"Oh damare Zoisite! Just grab that lantern over there and light it. We have to find this guy before he does any more damage." snapped the one now identified as Jadeite.

"What stick got stuck up your ass," Zoisite muttered caustically.

From the sounds being made, Kage could deduce that they had managed to get the lantern and were about to light it, not that it would matter. Nothing could pierce these shadows unless he wanted them to. The light of the lantern was added to that from the kitchen before it disappeared. The prey had entered the trap.

"Zoisite..." Jadeite trailed off warningly.

"This lantern might as well be useless. I can barely see my two feet!" Zoisite complained.

"What are you looking at your fucking feet for?! You're supposed to be looking for that warlock!" Jadeite whispered fiercely.

"It doesn't seem like he'd stick around, now does it? I could have sworn that there was moonlight before we entered the tavern." Zoisite muttered, looking cautiously around him at the sound of scurrying feet.

"Must be behind clouds then." Jadeite replied absentmindedly. He was trying to peer into the darkness around him. "Albeit this darkness seems a tad bit unnatural."

"It could be the warlock. Let's get out of here. We'll be sure to encounter the bastard again." Zoisite said nervously as the scurrying got closer.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Running already? I would have thought that generals of your caliber would have stuck around for a few rounds of torture." a cold voice taunted.

"Who are you to disrespect us?" Jadeite began arrogantly. "A coward like you, hiding in the darkness, is no match for either one of us."

"You baka! Are you trying to get us killed!?" Zoisite whispered frantically. There was nothing that he would have liked better at that crucial moment than to sink into the ground.

"Your worst nightmare." the voice said simply before releasing a cruel burst of laughter that echoed eerily around the pair.

Terror struck their hearts and their blood froze in their veins. Paralyzed by the logic consuming emotion, they trembled and tried to move away from the voice, back in the direction that they had come from. So terrified were they, that the memory of their teleportation ability fled their minds.

Kage was grinning like the demon that he was as he saw the two generals trying to find their way back in his black labyrinth. The fools had slowly walked further away from the inn, not noticing anything as they could only see far enough to keep them moving forward. Now they wanted to run back. His grin grew wider and nastier as he concentrated his power on merging himself with the shadows.

Jadeite glared at Zoisite angrily and inwardly cursed him for their plight. He was scared shitless but that was a separate emotion from his feelings towards the honey-haired fag who had gotten him into the situation in the first place. It was then that he noticed that what little affect that the lantern was having on holding back the shadows was fading rapidly. Soon the shadows converged on the two and he heard Zoisite let out a loud yelp of alarm.

The atmosphere around them changed; it grew thicker and menacing with the distinctive feel of being sentient. Zoisite was the first to feel the pressure of the shadows closing in on him, squeezing him until the only place left to go was through him, in him.

"Jadeite! Help me!" he exclaimed anxiously as the shadows slowly and painfully seeped into his skin, going deeper and deeper, consuming him.

A grunt was heard as Jadeite himself began to feel the effects. The malicious ambience that clouded his senses allowing only the sensations of intense pain through. He felt it pouring in his ears, his nose; forcing his mouth open to gain entrance. His lungs felt ready to burst as outward and inward pressure contracted around them and his heart hurt like hell. The feeling of pain persisted; his very nerves were on fire and the sound of blood vessels popping in his ears had him praying desperately to the God that he had forsaken.

Soon blood was pouring out of their ears, their skin split all over and their blood streamed downward to the ground. The strength of the shadows kept them upright and it fed on their pain and fear. Organs ruptured then burst, spewing their contents in whatever body cavity available. Horrible laughter kept echoing in their heads, driving them crazy. Their brains were slowly being consumed, turning to mush in their skulls. All the blood was disappearing, being absorbed by the shadows; they could feel their bodies going but the pain remained, filling their very souls.

The last sight to meet their eyes was the vision of a pair of pupil-less violet eyes staring down at them in wicked amusement. After that they could no longer see anything thereby multiplying the sensations tenfold. A heat was added to the feeling of being torn apart while being squashed at the same time, burning them mercilessly. Pain was their whole world now; that was all there was for the former generals of Beryl's evil army. A never ending pain; a fitting punishment for tormentors such as they in their new home called Hell.

I'm sure that this was crappy. Be honest and give me your opinion. I just gave you mine. I am definitely rewriting this fic sometime in the future. Changing a few scenes and whatnot. The ball section of this chapter will be typed out tomorrow and uploaded on Friday. I'm sorry to say that my typing will be behind schedule due to the stress-inducing fact that I have three SBAs due next week. Hard work for me and barely any sleep. Think of them as home assignments that are worth a lot of marks towards finals and need a lot of research.

Just to let you guys know, Even if I don't upload all chapters by 14 Feb., I'll have most, if not all, chapters typed out and will finish before the end of the month. That way I can hold out on you guys in good conscience because I know that I have complete it and it will be up to your feedback to get chapters posted.

Also, I will be posting a few short fics in honour of Valentine's Day. Look out for them.

Ja ne.