Chapter 21

Hirato took a deep breath of the cold autumn air. His nose was slightly red as were his cheeks, but he showed no signs of noticing. He couldn't help but wonder if this was all for the better. He was risking his team and though he hated expressing it, he did hold them close to his heart. He didn't want to put them in any danger and this whole rescuing mission was practically screaming danger. It didn't sooth him.

He was on the small balcony that extended from his office where he had originally been working. Then he had decided he needed some fresh air to clear his mind that wouldn't stop giving him the worse possible situations. Hirato wished Tsukitachi could be here.

Sighing, he turned around to go back inside when a whirling sound made itself known. He looked up and pushed his glasses up, stricken.

"Well, well, don't you look surprised," a voice smirked and Hirato smiled pleasantly. Maybe wishes could come true occasionally.

"On what business are you here for?" He asked. "You said you were dropping the girl off."

The red haired man nodded sagely as he floated towards the ship. "So I did."

"Answer me, Tsukitachi." His eyes narrowed minutely. "I don't have time to play your games."

"I see." He landed lightly besides Hirato. "Tsubame came across some peculiar information and thought you might want to know. Though you seem like you're preparing to go to war with that grim face of yours. How about we talk over some tea."

"That sounds delightful." He agreed and closed the door to the balcony behind the captain of the first ship.

Maybe he could relieve some of the stress that had been accumulating as of late.

.

With shaking hands, Kya slowly lifted the knife that she had stolen from the kitchen when she had gone to eat a piece of cake. She tested its grip and gave a few example swings. The knife seemed sharp enough. It would have to do.

A knock at her door caused a flurry of movements to happen. Startled, she dropped the knife onto the bed and yelled out with a high voice. "J- just a moment. I'll be right there."

Quickly and a bit guiltily, Kya shoved it underneath the covers of her bed and stood up with a pop as her joints slid past each other. She rushed to the door and blinked at the sight of Eva and Cas. She hadn't expected the both of them. "Can I help you guys?"

"I don't know, can you?" Eva asked. "We know you sold us out last time and that caused Gareki to get then. Can we trust you this time? Or do they have more leverage to use?"

She flinched and avoided eye contact. "You can trust me. You can, I p-promise! They can't have anything more… my dau- they were all I had besides them." Kya gestured desperately to Cas.

"Fine. I'll trust you for now but if I see anything suspicious, I will act first and ask questions later." Eva continued. "Cas I expect you to keep her line the whole way through."

She left with one last warning glare aimed at Kya who wilted under its power. Cas nodded, his face stern.

"Kya," he started, "I need you to promise me that you won't do anything crazy. I know that's two promises in a row, but you need to. If you do something right now, you're going to regret it later."

"How do you know?" She snapped back, anger rising from within her.

He seemed to shrink before he squared his shoulders and faced her head on. "You're depressed and I get it. I get it, Kya. But you can't just act up like this. You would never hold a gun, and yet I can bet right now that if someone offered you one, you wouldn't refuse it. So I need you to promise me that if the time comes, you won't pick up that gun."

"I… I can't promise anything." She hesitated. Her plans couldn't go down the drain despite what Cas thought.

"Yes, you can." His face grew hard and angry. "I won't let you leave until you promise me."

She fidgeted under the force of his stare but before she could be pressured, the announcements went off.

"We have reached our destination. Get ready to disembark." It repeated itself once more. "We have reached our destination. Get ready to disembark."

He turned towards the hallway to find a bunny and she took that opportunity to rush back to her bed. Reaching underneath the covers, she found the knife and gave a small yell of triumph. Cas looked back and his eyes widened, but she had already shoved him out of the way.

"I'm sorry Cas, but I have to do this." She whispered. "For my daughters. For Gareki. For you."

And with that, she took the knife and angled it downwards, hitting him in the temple and knocking him out. She pushed his body into her room and closed the door. His limp body was left on the cold floor as everybody save the bunnies ran out of the ship to save the lost boy.

Kya wondered if she would do something she regretted afterwards like Cas said, but she couldn't find in her to care. She would get her revenge and if she had to die, then die she would.

A boom shook the forest floor that surround the mansion that Gareki was held in, and she was reminded of the one she had been in just a couple month ago. Yogi was probably demolishing it just like he did to theirs. Some cruel satisfaction wormed itself in her and she allowed herself a small vindictive smile.

She could do this.

When the back door opened and blond man that wasn't Yogi came out, she tightened her hold on the knife. Gareki was leaning on the man who seemed to be dragging him away from the house. Blood drippled from his mouth and there was a bruise on his neck.

Anger rose up within her once more at the sight. This was unjust and it needed to be stopped. She was doing the right thing, Cas didn't know what he was talking about.

She could do this.

They continued walking as she hid behind a tree, making sure not to step on any stray sticks. She kept her breath steady even as her heart beat faster than ever. Her hair was up in a ponytail, there was no chance of strands escaping from it. She had made sure of that. Nothing could get in her way now.

Slowly, they advanced towards the trunk she was hiding behind and she raised the knife. Her reflection stared calmly back, and she was given strength. Another deep breath.

She could do this.

The world slowed around them as she moved forward with the knife slashing in a downwards motion.

She was doing this.

Her eyes closed, waiting for the impact that never came. Cas was standing in front of a dazed Gareki who had placed himself in front of the stranger. He had grabbed her arm and stopped her from reaching her target. Stumbling, Kya tried to yank her arm out of his grasp but was unable to.

"Let go!" She yelled. "Cas! Let go!"

"No! You would've hit Gareki instead!" His voice was just as loud. "You could've killed him!"

It was only then that she realized that her knife would have never made it to her intended target. Almost immediately she crumbled to the ground, sobbing. She hadn't meant to take it this far. The knife fell to her feet, and Cas let her arm drift back to her side.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She cried with her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry…"

"You're lucky Tsukitachi was watching over the ship. He found me and woke me up in time for me to catch up to you." Cas explained. "If he hadn't been there…"

He let it hang over her before facing Gareki and the unknown man. "Now, if you could please hand Gareki over."

"Gareki?" He laughed. "Why, your friends don't even know your real name."

"Real name?"

"You really thought something so ridiculous was his name. Of course not, it's Gansy."

Cas gritted his teeth, "you're lying. His name is Gareki."

"But why would I lie?" He innocently tilted his head, effectively getting on Cas' nerves.

"Shut up!" He shouted. "Just hand over Gareki, or Gansy, or whatever you want to name him."

Kya was still trembling but she managed to gather herself in a more presentable state. She had had worse things happen. "Give us Gareki. And alive."

Cas glanced towards her, but whatever he saw satisfied him and faced the man again. She briefly wondered what he saw but she was given no time to think. Hirato had appeared right behind the stranger and had raised his baton.

Unlike her, he was ready and had no one to stop him. Gareki was too slow and Cas was already tearing him apart from the man. They stumbled to create a pile on the leaf covered ground.

She watched the man fall with surprise in his eyes and Yogi walked up with a woman limp in his arms.

She hadn't been able to do it.

.

The next time Gareki awoke, Nai was at his bedside as was Cas. Kya was still wallowing in self-pity in her room and while she might have thrown him under the bus, he still classified him as one of his precious people. Hirato might have been a four-eyed bastard but he cared. Yogi made it no secret that he cared.

Surrounded by all these people gave him a warm feeling that started in his chest and spread all the way to his toes. He had an inkling of what it might be.

When sleep threatened to overwhelm him again, he didn't try and fight it. He knew that he'd be safe.

So I lied. There aren't two chapters left. This is it.

Sorry about the whole year wait, hopefully this sort of long chapter makes up for it. If you see any problems with it please tell me, it's been a while since I've worked on it so I might have forgotten something. Also if the format is a little wonky, tell me. My computer was acting up so I'm uploading this from my phone.

A huge THANK YOU to all the people who Followed, Favorited, and Reviewed. I couldn't have done this without you guys and girls. I really hope you guys have enjoyed this long ride and I encourage you to check out my other stories if you like Naruto or D. Grayman. Do keep in mind that they are probably better than this because when writing this I was still figuring out how to write and all that.

See you around, I guess...