I.

Pain.

Pain and an undeniable sense of wrongwrongthiswasAllwROnG!, were all Hibari Mitsuru could feel as he lay prone on the icy, hard, foul cement floor. His hands bound behind his back

Sky Flames - enticing, intoxicating, revolting Sky Flames- surrounded him, engulfed him, made him bow his head and knee to the man they originated from.

Mitsuru's own Flames tried to lash out, tried to force back the invading – exquisite, lovely, wonderful – Sky Flames that were slowly, but surely, overwhelming him, chaining him to a man he did – not, did nOT! - want to be Bonded to.

Uncle Fon had told him and Kyoya about the dangers of straying too close to a Sky that was without any or missing some of their Elements; had told them that they, as powerful as they were, were young and inexperienced Flame Users and be more susceptible to fall under the irresistible, alluring thrall of Harmony and Balance that Skies emitted.

Like a puppy-dog crush, the attraction would be instant and, if they weren't careful, could develop into a Bond that would only cause heartache and misery later on in life for one, or both, parties.

"Skies," his Uncle had said, a faraway look in his eye, "are the most dangerous of all the Elements, especially strong Skies who have been Active for many years."

Mitsuru had wondered if his Uncle had been thinking of Luce and her betrayal when he gave that warning to them.

He hoped that he would be given a chance to ask his Uncle the reason behind that warning.

"My, my~ Quite the stubborn one, aren't you, Mr. Hero~ You should just hurry up and give in to Lord Yoshida's Flames already. Once you're His, everything will feel so. Much. Better~"

Gritting his teeth, Mitsuru raised his head off the freezing ground and stared up at the one that had betrayed them all.

"Y… You…! Y-You… weren't one of… the… victims… after all…"

"Heehee… nope~ I was just a plant ordered to keep an eye on you brats until it was time for Lord Yoshida to begin Harmonizing with you brats! …Really, Lord Yoshida~ I know so~me of the Brats had potential, but, none of them are worth being Bonded to a glorious, wonderful Sky like you~!"

"Silence, Yumiko, your incessant chattering is irritating, Yoshida-sama."

Mitsuru twitched at the new voice.

Damn… he had forgotten that there were other people in this room other than the supposed ringleader of his whole debacle, Yumiko, the terrified, dark-haired girl who had cast suspicion on him earlier that day, and himself.

Rolling onto his side, which took far more effort than he was anticipating, Mitsuru craned his head to peer up at the man that had managed to subdue him a few hours ago.

The man was tall and older-looking, appearing to be in his late fifties or early sixties. He had long, graying hair that was combed back and was wearing a simple, navy-blue yukata and geta-sandals.

He was also a Master Mist User.

'What's up with Clouds and Mists not getting along?' Mitsuru thought, watching the man cross the room until he was standing next to the person who Mitsuru was assuming to be 'Yoshida'.

A large, overweight man with a protruding belly, balding head, who looked to be the very definition of gross, disgusting, and slimy all rolled into one unappealing, unpleasantman whom Mitsuru could most definitely see as the ringleader of such a disgusting, vile operation such as this.

"Come now, Mitsuru," Yoshida crooned, sending out another – heady – wave of Sky Flames, watching with evident delight as a full-body shiver racked Mitsuru's prone form. "Flames are a construct of our emotions, and I know just how you feel about me based on your powerful Cloud Flames alone. While you may find me deplorable now, once you accept me and Harmonize with me, you'll see just how benevolent and kind I can truly be to the things I possess."

Mitsuru gasped, writhing on the floor as the – enchanting – Sky Flames surrounded him, pressed down on him, whispered to him of acceptance and serenity and Home. He tugged on his restraints, trying to remember the things that the Triads taught him about escaping, but the memory of it kept on slipping away; like trying to capture smoke with his bare hands.

He wanted to make it all easier by enhancing his muscles with his Flames and then ripping the bindings apart, but, it was taking all of his concentration and willpower – the entirety of his resolve – to resist the allure of Yoshida's – magnificent, incredible, brilliant – Sky Flames.

He pressed his forehead against the cold, concrete floor, trying to even out his breathes and heartbeat, trying count the seconds that went by, trying to focus on something, anything, other than the Flames that were trying to suffocate his own.

'… How ironic… that the very same thing I did to Momo-chan is now being done to me…'

Mitsuru let out a hoarse chuckle at the unbridled thought, feeling another shiver roll down his spine at the warm kiss of Yoshida's Flames.

"This one is quite stubborn, isn't he, Yoshida-sama?" The man wearing the yukata murmured.

Yoshida hummed and leaned back into his lavish, ostentatious seat-throne that was situated on top of a raised stage area – so he could look down on anyone standing, or kneeling, before him.

"Quite." Yoshida agreed, before a fervent gleam entered his eyes. "… But think about all the power and influence I'll gain once I bring him, a young, unclaimed, powerful Cloud under my thrall and heel. No Family or Clan has a Cloud amongst their ranks… with him; I could become even stronger than the Tachibana or the Hayama!"

"Oh~ That sounds wonder~ful, Yoshida-sama!" Mito Yumiko squealed, bounding towards the large man with stars in her eyes. "I can just imagine it… You, finally gaining the wealth and power and influence you so desperately deserve! Becoming the man that every~one wants~!"

Yoshida smiled, chuckling lowly. "Yes… I'll finally gain everything that should be mine…"

"What about that other… brat from Namimori," the yukata wearing man asked. "He is the most powerful Sun in this immediate area."

Yoshida waved a dismissive hand. "Once I own Mitsuru, I won't need that upstart, brat of a Sun. I'll be able to get my pick of any Sun that I want!"

"…. Yoshida-sama, you are quite the visionary. You'll also be able to have your pick of the strongest remaining Elements you currently lack."

"Precisely, Aoki!" Yoshida crowed, throwing his head back with a bark of laughter. "Hahaha! Who would've thought I'd find such a gem in that backcountry of a town?!" He leaned forward and slapped the armrest of his throne-chair. "Just give into me, Mitsuru, I can promise you that you'll enjoy being one of my Elements… I'll even promise to take care of your ailing Grandfather and younger brother… All you have to do is listen to me and do as you are commanded."

Mitsuru stilled at those words, his Flames hovering around him like a static bubble instead of lashing out like they were doing just moments ago.

"… 'Do as I am commanded'…?" He repeated, soft. "Like some kind of… obedient pet?"

"No, no… not a pet," Yoshida begin, "pets still have some kind of will and autonomy of their own… No… as long as you are an obedient… tool, I'll guarantee your family's well-being as well as your own! You'll grow up wanting or needing for nothing! I can send you to the best colleges and academies in the world! Your Grandfather will enjoy his retirement surrounded by wealth and the best doctors! Your brother will be given the best education and job opportunities to ensure his future! You will be given money and power! You'll be able to buy anything that you fancy: electronics, cars, movies, and people! You'll be given the freedom and independence to do anything you want… so long as you obey me and me alone."

Mitsuru closed his eyes and let out a long, haggard breath. His mind finally clear and his heart calm.

"… I refuse."

Yoshida simply laughed in response. "You don't have a choice in this, Mitsuru!"

Mitsuru surged upwards, pulling his torso up and off the concrete floor until he was sitting on his knees, eyes awash in violet and Flames redoubling their efforts and clearing away Yoshida's Flames. "There is no. Fucking. Way that I'll ever Harmonize with someone like you!" Mitsuru roared, glaring up at a calm Yoshida.

Yoshida held the violet gaze of Mitsuru for a few minutes before sighing and snapping his fingers.

The doors to the hall were thrown open and the sound of many footsteps began echoing in the air.

Mitsuru turned his head to look behind him and drew in a sharp breath at what he saw.

Touma. Momo. Hiraku. Nagi and the other kidnapped students were being led – some being carried, others dragged – into the room, all bound, a few unconscious, most awake and crying.

"I really was hoping that we'd be able to settle this the easy way, Mitsuru," Yoshida lamented dramatically, accepted a gun from Aoki – the man wearing the yukata. "But, since you've so adamantly refused my, frankly, generous offer… I suppose you leave me no choice but to do this the hard way."

Instantly, Mitsuru knew what Yoshida was going to do – Ichigo's words of kidnapping and killing children – blaring in his mind.

"W-Wait!" Mitsuru cried out, about to leap to his feet now that he was of a level head, only to collapse once more under another onslaught of Yoshida's – seductive – Sky Flames.

Yoshida motioned a grunt, who was struggling to restrain a student, forward.

It was Takeyama Touma.

To his credit, Touma was making it quite difficult for the man holding onto him, kicking and bucking and doing everything he could to throw the man off. "LET GO OF ME YOU GODDAMNED, FUCKER!"

But the man was simply too big and strong for a child to escape from.

The man silently brought the cursing Touma to Yoshida before throwing him to the ground and stepping on his back, his sheer weight not giving the Mohawk teen any room to move around.

Yoshida stood from his throne, took a few steps forward, and pressed the barrel of the gun against Touma's forehead, all the while maintaining eye contact with a frozen and aghast Mitsuru.

"… One thing you should know about me, Mitsuru," Yoshida began, softly, cocking the hammer of the gun back, "I can be quite benevolent and kind to those that pledge themselves to me and do as I say… as to those that decide to defy me-"

-Mitsuru tried to lunge forward, eyes wide in panic, fear, anger. "NO!"-

-Touma had gone stock still, mouth working silently at the sudden realization that he was going to die-

"-sometimes they need a hard dose of reality in order for them to see what's truly best for everyone."-

-Yoshida pulled the trigger-

-"NO!"-

-the gunshot rang out-

-the other captive kids began to cry and wail in pure terror-

- "... Oh?"

Green electricity crackled and arched across Touma's forehead, the bullet shot from Yoshida's gun incased in a dancing bubble of green and white.

"… Lightning, just like we predicted, Yoshida-sama." Aoki said.

"Indeed, how fortunate for you Takeyama Touma," Yoshida said, gesturing to the grunt stepping on Touma.

The grunt hauled the petrified, gaping teen up by his arm before depositing him next to Mitsuru.

"Touma! Touma! Are you okay?!" Mitsuru asked once the other teen was close enough.

Touma didn't respond. He simply started straight ahead with a distant look in his wide, unblinking, eyes.

"Touma!"

"Bring the next one," Yoshida commanded.

Mitsuru swung his head back towards the captured students. "S-Stop!"

"I'll only stop once you've Harmonized with me, Mitsuru," Yoshida replied, brushing a speck of dust off his pants.

Yumiko let out a laugh, shrill and tinged with a touch of hysteria. "HAHAHAHA! This is s~o much fun~! Seeing all their crying, pleading faces is just too~ hilarious~! It makes me remember when I was just like them!"

Another lowly grunt tugged his captive forward.

It was the girl from Mitsuru museum group.

"NO!" Mitsuru resumed his struggle, pouring out more of his Cloud Flames in order to combat Yoshida's Flames.

WHY COULDN'T' T HE DO ANYTHING?!

He was strong, the strongest recruit of the Triads, a student of Fon the Storm Arcobaleno and World's Strongest Martial Artists, he had powerful Cloud Flames and knowledge on how to use them, he had the resolve – the desire – to save everyone in this room that meant that his Flames should be strong! Powerful! A stronger desire meant stronger Flames!

And yet they weren't.

So. Why. Couldn't. He. Do. Anything?!

WHY WAS HE SO WEAK?!

The girl – Mitsuru's classmate that he did not know the name of – was crying silently, mouthing words, a prayer; a plea.

Yoshida pulled back the hammer of the gun and pulled the trigger.

… This time there was no appearance of colored fire.

No miracle occurred.

Mitsuru stopped breathing, stopped struggling, stopped thinking at the sight of his classmate's undeserved death.

… He had seen corpses before. He had been the cause of many dead bodies so far and, in some cases, was tasked to dispose of such things during his times in the Triads.

He had extracted his parents' corpses from that bloodied, violated house all those years ago and dug them a grave with nothing but his bloodied hands and tears and laid them to rest.

He had killed that pervert who wanted to take Momo earlier that day!

He had disregarded that pervert's corpse like one disregards trash.

This… was different. Wholly and completely different.

His classmate… died… because of him.

All because he didn't want to Harmonize with Yoshida.

It was his fault.

And he didn't even know her name.

"Hosokawa Sakura, thought to have possessed Sun Flames," Aoki intoned.

"Bring me the next one," Yoshida commanded.

It was an older teen, high school age, and wearing a uniform that Mitsuru couldn't identify.

Again, Mitsuru didn't know his name.

A cry of mercy.

A single gunshot.

No Flames.

"Kitazawa Junpei, believed to have possessed Storm Flames."

"The next one."

Another older teen, a girl this time, her long hair was styled into a long braid. She was biting and scratching at the man carrying her forward, her legs swinging out in an attempt to unbalance the man.

"No…" Mitsuru whispered, eyes impossibly wide.

Another gunshot.

No Flames.

"Anzai Keiko, believed to have Mist or Rain Flames."

"Next."

Another older girl. She was wearing the Kokuyo uniform.

She was crying as the gun went off.

Nothing.

"Shimizu Arisa. Thought to have Lightning Flames."

"Bring me the next one."

Another girl, this time around Mitsuru's age, though she wasn't dressed in a uniform. She wore a black track suit and had her auburn hair tied into a high ponytail.

She didn't struggle, instead, she shrugged off the grunt's hand in a surprising show of strength before walking forward, her head held high, and kneeling in front of Yoshida of her own volition.

"You have guts, I'll give you that," Yoshida commented, before pulling the trigger.

Mitsuru saw the bullet enter the girl's forehead, yet, not a second later, the bullet was pushed back out and the entry wound sealed up in a flash of sparkling, yellow.

"Jeong Sun-Bok possessing Sun Flames like you predicted, Yoshida-sama."

"I will not submit to a man like you," Sun-Bokdeclared, staring up at Yoshida even as she was pulled away and thrown next to Mitsuru and Touma.

Yoshida threw his head back with a bellowing laugh. "We shall see about that, Sun-Bok. Bring me the next one!"

This one was clearly a foreigner, older, with blonde hair and bright green eyes. He opened his mouth and began speaking in English.

Mitsuru understood was he was saying, what he was pleading for, begging for.

Yoshida still fired the gun.

No Dying Will Flames appeared.

"P-Please, wait!" Mitsuru cried out, lifting his head off the cold ground and reducing his Flames to garner Yoshida's attention. It worked. "I-If I Harmonize with you… will you let everyone go?"

"… Of course not, Mitsuru." Yoshida stared at Mitsuru like a parent who was disappointed in their child. "I was going to do this anyway… it's just because you refused me and my generous offer that I'm doing this in front of you… Listen up children! Think of this as… a demonstration of what could happen if you ever disappoint me." The large man shrugged, leering down at everyone with a self-satisfied smirk. "… Who knows…? Instead of your classmates and veritable strangers getting killed… it may be your parents and loved ones!"

"Y-You bastard!" Someone cried out in righteous fury.

"Bring me the kid that said that," Yoshida commanded.

It was, surprisingly, Hiraku who was bring led forward with a fierce glare and determined scowl. "You will not get away with this!" He said, body trembling but voice strong.

Yoshida laughed once more. "Oh? And who's going to stop me, Little One?"

The doors to the hall suddenly swung open and in walked a large group of teenagers wearing the Namimori Middle school uniform with a few high schoolers and adults sprinkled in. Some were carrying baseball bats and rusty pipes (cliché) while others had boxing gloves on and one kid was even carrying a metal folding chair.

A lanky teen Mitsuru's own age with tanned skin and dark-brown eyes with short, spiky, obnoxiously bright and obviously dyed blonde hair brushed backed with a white headband on his head strutted forward, approaching the stage with his hands in his pockets and a large grin on his face.

"Yo, Fat Bastard. Ya got any room for more people in this little get-together of yours?"

Mitsuru blinked once, twice, three times because he simple could not believe who was standing in front of him.

"K… Kubota Asahi…?"

Double updates will most likely not happen again.

It's just when I was finish writing Chapter 10, I began adding to Part I of this chapter and boy did I get inspired all of a sudden.

Mitsuru is arrogant and prideful. He thinks he's the shit with all his *prior knowledge* and *powerful Cloud Flames* and *martial arts training* but he needed to realize that he's may have the memories from a previous life, but in THIS lifetime, he's still a kid. He still has to grow and mature and go through life all over again despite being a bit more mature and responsible than his peers.

He also needs to know that he's just a small fish in an ocean. He's only had the Triads, Fon, and Kyoya to gauge and test himself against. One of which grossly underestimated him, one of which is waaay above his level, and one of which is his baby brother.

And yes, Asahi was the 'upstart Sun' I mentioned back in chapter 8.

I don't know when the next update will be for two reasons: one, I'll be going on vacation soon and two, it's almost the holiday season which means more work for me. Yay.

As always, let me know what you all thought via PM or Review.