Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ To Remember ❯ Sister Jo ( Chapter 11 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Cousin D 
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.15.2005 | Pages: 7 | Words: 10.1K | Visits: 299 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.15.2005 | Pages: 7 | Words: 10.1K | Visits: 299 | Status: Completed
Chapter 11: Sister Jo
Rajura-
When it happened, Rajura lost all his senses for a moment. He felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach and bludgeoned over the head. He fell to his knees and found himself unable to breathe. He felt frozen, but too hot. His lips were numb and his hair tingled. Everything just felt wrong. It was an end-of-the-world sort of wrong. So unbalanced, so insanely wrong that Rajura was sure, when he hit his knees that he thought he would shatter. The void where Anubisu had been consumed him. Like having his insides suddenly disappeared, the shock near overwhelmed him.
The shock did overwhelm Kayura and she fainted dead away.
ANUBISU?
His voice just echoed around inside his head, tickling against Naaza like a butterfly. WHERE IS HE?! Naaza choked out the words. He was still at the hospital, but in no better shape than Rajura. WE CAN’T LOSE HIM! NOT AFTER SH’TEN. NOT SO SOON… He was leaning heavily against a wall and having trouble focusing. The colors around him were swirled in surreal patterns until slowly reorganizing themselves into the shapes of the hospital’s hall.
GET HOLD OF YOURSELF! Rajura snapped, though he still couldn’t quite manage to get to his own feet. It was dangerous and he found to get control of himself. Breath, Rajura told himself. Just breathe. HE’S NOT DEAD. Indeed, there was no wound as there had been at Sh’ten’s death. That wound was still raw and throbbing, bleeding around the edges. But where Anubisu had been, there was nothing but emptiness. FIND THOSE BOYS, WE’LL NEED THEM.
THEM? Naaza sounded disgusted at the thought of them. AT A TIME LIKE THIS? WHY CARE ABOUT…
BECAUSE WE’LL NEED THEM. GO, NOW.
Naaza wanted to argue, but he wasn’t feeling well enough and just stumbled down the hallways again, but not before he pushed Rajura away. SEE TO YOURSELF, OLD MAN. YOU’RE NOT IN FRIENDLY TERRITORY.
Oh. Yes. Abraham.
If he’d noticed the distress of Rajura and Kayura, Abraham didn’t show it. Still sitting in the armchair that looked much to big for him, Abraham gripped the armrests and was muttering under his breath. “I have you here, Rajura. You’ve lost him, but I can still touch Kuj’s mind. He’s in contact with Ryou. They’ve bonded very closely, much more closely than is safe. He didn’t intend it. My poor little Kuj…no.” He blinked, as if disoriented. “He’s gone too far. To deep...too deep…”
Deep? Rajura pushed himself up so he was kneeling on only one kneed and put his hand under Kayura’s neck. Naaza was right. Abraham was very dangerous at the moment. From Anubisu’s memories, there was no doubt that he’d feared Abraham even though the elder vampire had showered him with favor in the past. Rajura forced himself to calm and repeated what he’d told Naaza - Anubisu was not dead.
Abraham was on his feet at once, his little hands were fists at his sides and his eyes shining just a little too brightly. “Kuj!” He screamed, his little boy’s voice turning harsh and shrill with his anger. He stomped his foot, grabbed the nearest thing at hand, a floor lamp, and flung it across the room where it crashed against a wall and broke into pieces. “How? How!” It turned into a howl, the screamed question. The next thing that came to his hand was the chair he’d been sitting in, which Abraham tossed through the living room’s big window.
The glass shattered and Rajura had to throw himself over Kayura’s still body to protect her. Part of him wanted to curse Abraham, but he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Stars danced in front of his eyes and he felt sick to his stomach. ‘Not dead. He isn’t. He wasn’t in any danger. He was with the wyrm and…the wyrm. He’s still with the wrym. He must be.’ But…he wasn’t. There wasn’t even the faintest hint of Anubisu.
“He’s gone.” Rajura finally found his voice. He sounded tired, even to himself. “He’s just…gone.” bent to pick up Kayura, but stopped when he found the furious little vampire standing over him, his little foot suddenly on Kayura’s throat.
Threat - instinct told him. Threat to family.
“I can only see what Kuj sees.” Abraham told Rajura. “I can only know what he knows and right now all he knows is that he’s hurt and has managed to switch places with Ryou. Don’t you understand? That’s never happened before! It shouldn’t happen, it can’t! But,” He paused and, for just a second, looking frightened. “But it HAS happened. He might never be restored to his own beautiful body. The shame of that is too much to think about. Worst of all, more dire than his mind switch with Ryou - that I could deal with - the fae have him. Why? Why would they hunt Ryou?”
“What makes you think I have any answers for you?” Rajura, down on one knees with his hand frozen in the act of lifting Kayura’s arm, raised his face to look up at Abraham. Not for the first time, he found himself resenting the fact that a child - no matter how old Abraham was in reality - had such a sever control over his family. “Take your foot away.”
“Tell me what’s going on?” Abraham surged down and seized Rajura’s helmet, holding him by the antler-like horns and shaking him hard enough that Rajura thought he might vomit. “What do you know about this?”
There was a moment when Rajura hesitated. He would not be seen as weak for anything. His reputation was his most valuable asset and he couldn’t afford to have someone as hatefully powerful as Abraham to see him as vulnerable to anything, even threats to his own family. “Get your foot off my sister’s throat or you’ll never hear from Kujurrou again. I‘ll bury his memories so deep this time, you’ll never uncover them!”
Abraham didn’t move for a moment, but then stepped back and allowed Rajura to pick up Kayura. He wasn’t happy about it. “Cruel.” Abraham snarled. “Sh’ten was nothing compared to you! You’d keep my beloved grandchild from me just for that,” He waved his hand at Kayura. “It’s…it’s just not fair.”
Rajura suppressed a hysterical laugh. If life were fair, he’d have lived a long, happy life and died of old age a thousand years ago in Scandinavia. What was fair about life? Destiny? It was all cruel, one long path of pain until the bitter end. For Rajura and his loved ones, the path just went on longer for them than it did for most people.
“Well?” Abraham crossed his arms and aimed a black glare at Rajura. “Where is he? Tintagel, I presume. Why? Why did they take him?”
“I have no idea,” It wasn’t entirely a lie. The fae had taken Ryou because they found some connection between Ryou and Rajura, that was obvious enough. “But I can tell you he’s…separated from us.” And there was only one place that Rajura could think of that had any connection to what had been going on lately.
“Tintagel.” Abraham let the word out slowly, like it was vile for him to say. “My Miko said there was a report of a fae at the hospital where the boys are being kept. I didn’t take it seriously. A mistake. Stupid, hair-brained mistake.” Abraham got that familiar distracted look of one looking into themselves, an expression Rajura was used to seeing on the faces of his brothers when they would speak mentally to each other. “Damned fae have him! They’ve hurt him!” Abraham burst out, nearly screaming in ire. “War they want, war they shall have! Take what is mine! Hurt what is mine! The fae will be destroyed if I must raze Tintagel to dust!”
He wanted nothing better than to leave Abraham to his ravings. There was a way to get into Tintagel, but first he had to see that Kayura and Naaza were safe. ‘I can’t leave them in the Youja Kai like this. They’ll be easy prey for any demon that happens along. Kayura’s completely helpless unless she wakes up and I don’t know how long this shock will last. She’s had the bond for a shorter time than even those trooper boys. She just can’t handle it.’ Of course, Rajura blamed himself. If he’d been more sensible and started her training as soon as possible, she might have been able to stand the loss a little better. ‘Naaza isn’t taking it well, either. He hasn’t even recovered from Sh’ten’s loss. Even he might not be able to defend himself like he is let alone properly defend Kayura.’
BRING HER TO ME. Naaza said, faintly. I’M NOT UP TO A FULL BLOWN BATTLE, BUT I CAN’T PROTECT ONE CHILD. I’LL EVEN STAY IN THE NINGEN SEKAI.
It was quite the sacrifice, coming from Naaza. STAY AT THE HOSPITAL. YOU’LL NEED TO LOOK AFTER THOSE BOYS, TOO. I HAVE A FEELING WE MAY NEED THEM TO GET THIS MESS SORTED OUT. He didn’t add that he felt some bizarre twinges of sympathy for the children. True, they’d never suffered the death of one of their own, but having Ryou taken from them so suddenly had probably been more painful for them than it had been for Rajura to lose touch with Anubisu. The war was over, so there was no reason to continue being enemies. Allies were more valuable, anyway.
AND YOU, ‘JURA? WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING?
YOU’VE BEEN LISTENING IN, HAVEN’T YOU? ABRAHAM’S QUITE RIGHT. I DO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON AND I KNOW HOW TO GET TO TINTAGEL.
ALONE?
I DOUBT IT. ABRAHAM’S READY TO CALL UP HIS FULL FORCE AND THERE’S ANOTHER WHO WILL HELP.
Just as Rajura had said that, who should appear in the living room but the Wyrm, bearing in its arms the limp from of Anubisu and holding tightly to an ornate sword Rajura that looked familiar. He didn’t have time to examine the sword because the Wyrm fairly threw Anubisu at him. “They’ve hurt him.” The Wyrms were not an undefeatable race, but, like Abraham and the fae, it was terrible in its anger. “You can draw them out.”
“And you,” Rajura replied as he shifted Anubisu’s body to settle him over one shoulder. “You know how to open the way, don’t you? I’ve heard tales of the Wyrms and you should have more than enough power.”
“Only for myself.” The Wyrm was proud when he spoke. “My power extends only to myself for such things. There is no need for anything else, though.” He looked at Abraham in what might have been a smirk. “I will need no assistance in dealing with the fae.”
What reaction should they have expected? Abraham glowered. “I’ll face down the fae with or without your allegiance. Kujurrou is mine to protect.”
“Then you can do your protecting from here while I bring him back?”
Rajura, a little surprised to see them so antagonistic, took the opportunity to transport himself, Anubisu’s body, and Kayura away. No matter what was about to happen, whether it was the Wyrm opening a doorway to Tintagel or Abraham attacking the Wyrm, Rajura didn’t want to be in the way.
He followed the last connection he had to Naaza. The firs thing he noticed was the awful smell of antiseptics.
Magic Bus Hospital
Naaza-
He stood in the doorway and watched the old man. He was a venerable man, distinguished and proud as he sat by the bedside of Korin. He was too pretty to be a warrior, Naaza thought. The boy didn’t look nearly so threatening as he had in battle, wearing Korin.
Date Seiji, the nameplate on the door had read.
Naaza remembered the Date family. He’d met them once. Not that he’d been all that impressed with them at the time. They were humans and , like all humans, despised. He had no hair on his face, but long white hair and small round glasses. His hands were folded on his lap and, for all the world, he looked as if he were sleeping. ‘Beast.’ Naaza stared at the old man for a long moment, angry beyond sense that a human was tending to Korin when it was perfectly clear that no human could take care of him. He needed his own kind to protect him. What good was a human against a youja or fae? What good would this old man be if Naaza decided he wanted to disregard Rajura’s orders and just kill the boy on the spot?
“Come in or go out, young man.” The old man raised his eyes and met Naaza’s. He showed no surprise that he might have felt at Naaza’s hair or his unnatural eyes. Surely, Naaza thought, he can’t see well. If he could see the scales, he wouldn’t be so calm. “You’ll be a friend of my grandson’s?” He made it a question. “He’ll be glad for the visit. The others aren’t able to come yet. They’ll be here soon, I expect.”
With a careful step, Naaza entered the room. The old man wasn’t threatening at all. “Friend is a debatable word.” There were all manner of things set up in the room that worried him. Tubes and wires all connected to Korin…rather, Seiji. There were tubes fed up into his nose and a machine that made funny noises at the side of the bed. More machines that made pictures - a flat panel of black with a single line that kept a steady rhythm of up and down in sharp little points. At odds with the ugly technology were a handful of fresh flowers in a vase on a table at the end of the bed. “I have come to see that he lives.”
The old man nodded, sagely. “Then, sit.” He gestured to a chair on the opposite side of the bed.
There was a moment of silence and Naaza was grateful for it. There was too much to think about without adding to it the prattling of an inane human. Kayura was unconscious and unable to help in anything. If she was awake, she might have been able to do a more gentle healing than Naaza was capable of. As it was, Naaza couldn’t decide if he should start the healing while the old man was in the room or wait for him to leave.
‘I suppose I could just kill him.’ It wouldn’t be the first human death on his hands. ‘But from the looks of things, I’m going to have to live with Seiji being around for quite some time and there is a chance that he might be fond of this grandfather of his.’
Well, he’d stop that nonsense as soon as it started. When this grandfather learned how vastly different his grandson was, he’d show Seiji what vile things humans were. He’d learn, as Naaza did, that humans were nothing but vicious, shallow, cowardly things. To call them animals would be insulting to animals. ‘He’ll learn…just like I did…’
Flashback-
He didn’t know how it had happened..
“A monster! A demon!”
Inder sat on his knees at the center of the circle the villagers made around him. He’d known them forever. The old woman who helped birth him was glaring, holding her granddaughter close to her. The granddaughter, one of Inder’s playmates, was frightened and wouldn’t look at Inder. The three men who always brought back the best catches of fish were muttering amongst themselves. It went on and on, the hushed voices and open staring.
“He’s not a monster!” Inder felt his mother’s arm wrap around him. She was crying almost to the point that she couldn’t speak. “He’s our son, how can you say such things?!”
“Ours? He’s yours! How do I know what things you’ve lain with, slut?!”
Things? Inder frowned and put his hands up to touch his mother’s face. What kind of things was father talking about?
“How dare you say that?” Inder’s mother cried out. “His blood is as much yours as it is mine.”
“Do I have scales?!” He screamed at the top of his lungs. He moved forward so quickly that Inder barely had time to think before the hand struck him across the face, sending him reeling.
The world spun and he hit the ground with a resounding thud that echoed through his head. The pain was terrible, but when he opened his eyes there was no one to help him up. His mother and father were both on their feet yelling at each other. The people surrounding them were getting more and more anxious, the hushed whispers getting louder and louder. Everyone was to be staring.
“That thing is a demon, no blood of mine!”
“Don’t you blame him on me!”
Yelling.
Whispers.
Staring.
There was blood running into Inder’s eyes. He raised a hand to wipe away the blood and as he did, he saw the back of his hand. It was what everyone was gathered about, what his parents were arguing about. A tiny, faint green scale on the back of his hand. Such a little thing to cause so much fuss. The problem was that it hadn’t been there the day before. Something had changed in the night, something so terrible that it made everyone angry. It made his mother cry and not look at him. It made his father look at him with such black hate that it hurt.
“He’s not mine!”
“He is!”
A stone was thrown and hit Inder on the back.
End Flashback-
“Young man, are you feeling alright?”
Naaza blinked slowly at the old man. “I am well. Be concerned with your grandson, instead.” The old man was nothing but human. He was just like the old men who had lived in Naaza’s village, so long ago when he’d lived in the deep jungles of India, his home until the villagers had driven him out.
“I can be concerned with more than one at a time. But, if you wish.” He sat back in his chair and put his hands back on his lap, just as he’d been when Naaza had arrived. “It’s not my place to interfere…”
“No. It isn’t.” Naaza interrupted. Anything to make the old man stop talking. Anything to get out of this place and to be able to stop looking at this filthy human. He stood abruptly and leveled his strongest glare at the old man. “You should leave now.” He had better, more important things to do than to wait while an old man sat and stared. He had to help find Anubisu and, almost as important, he had to save Korin…Seiji. He had to save Seiji. ‘I’d have killed him eagerly a week ago. I’d have killed him and gloried about it.’
“I will no go where until I know my grandson is well.” He was stubborn., but didn’t get angry.
“I tell you, you must leave. I will save your grandson’s life, but you will not enjoy what I do to him, nor will he enjoy knowing that you witnessed it.” Naaza couldn’t have hoped to be more civil? Especially since he wanted nothing better than to rip off the old man’s arms and toss them out the window.
Finally, the old man turned away, but he didn’t leave the room as Naaza had hoped. Instead, he went back to his seat by Seiji’s bed and took his grandson’s limp hand. “You are one of THEM, aren’t you?”
“Them who?”
The old man’s eyes were very clear, Naaza thought. His body was frail, but his mind was as sound as any. “I’m old, child, but not so old that I’ve begun to forget all that I’ve learned. I know the legends my grandson’s become tied to. I know the legend of the nine yoroi. Nine, not five. Logic tells me that you have one of the nine.”
“Logic has very little to do with me and what, precisely, makes you think I am one of the nine?”
“Must you ask?”
Green hair. Scales. Fangs. Inhuman eyes. Did all those things scream monster or warrior? Monster. “I think I must. Why do you think me to be connected with some legendary yoroi?”
When he smiled, the old man looked even sadder than he had before. “Because my grandson has very few friends and I know every one of them. He has had no visitors since the accident, but those that I know, nor has he had any phone calls or messages. I find it hard to believe that a perfect stranger would just appear out of nowhere at a time like this.”
“Perhaps he simply hasn’t told you about me.”
“That’s unlikely. We’re a very close family. Your name, young man?”
“My affair, old man.” He couldn’t accept the apparent friendliness the old man presented to him. He couldn’t. “Stay if you must, but don’t interfere. Any distraction could end your precious grandson’s life.”
“Of course.” He didn’t let go of Seiji’s hand. “Do what you have to do.”
The problem was that Naaza really didn’t know what he had to do. He hadn’t explored the problem yet and, in truth, all the mechanical things attached to Seiji were a bit intimidating. He worried that if he disturbed them, Seiji would be in even more dire straits. There was no choice. It was either attempt to heal or leave him laying in bed, kept alive by these untrustworthy things. The second option felt far too much like abandoning a comrade and though they’d never been friendly and likely never would be friends, Naaza did respect Seiji as a warrior and value him as an opponent. He could not simply walk out the door and forget about him.
So Naaza did his best to ignore the grandfather and started to examine Seiji. He felt Seiji’s face and throat, then his hands and wrists. The most obvious physical injury was to Seiji’s head, but even that didn’t look too terrible. Just a large bruise and cut that had been stitched closed. ‘At least that,’ Naaza reflected as he ran a finger across the stitches, ‘was done with some skill. Even if it is quite unnecessary.’ He turned his finger on edge and used his claw-like fingernails to slice through the stitches then pulled them out one-by-one.
There was tension in the room, and not all of it from Seiji’s grandfather. It wasn’t his ability to heal Seiji that had Naaza worried. There was no doubt about that. While he couldn’t do so pleasant a job, Korin was able to heal and make the patient feel pleasure at the same time, he could thoroughly heal nearly any injury. It was the pace that was upsetting.
There was too much going on for Naaza’s comfort. Too much, too fast. Snakes were lethargic creatures by nature, preferring to rest in the warm sun than run around in a fervor and all this excitement - for lack of a better word - was making Naaza wish he’d never gotten out of bed.
The grandfather took instructions very seriously and kept quiet even when Naaza started rubbing the palms of his hands together, something he knew made many people nervous. Well…more to the point, it was the greenish slime that made people nervous. As Naaza massaged his hands the friction stimulated glands which produced the healing substance. From his own body this powerful medicine was produced, just as he could produce his own poison.
His fangs, like the fangs of a viper, could be used like syringes to inject the substance directly into the patient or victim’s body. However, looking down at the pale, drawn face of the half-dead warrior, Naaza decided that he wasn’t really THAT fond of Seiji. Maybe in the future, that might change, but at the moment Naaza concluded that putting his hands on Seiji without trying to kill him was the best Seiji was going to get.
“These have to go.” Naaza began pulling the tubes and wires and all the other little ‘things’ out of Seiji. There were tubes up his nose and one that went entirely down his throat. He pulled a needle attached to yet another tube out of Seiji’s arm and, when the steady beeping finally got too much for him to bear, Naaza kicked the blasted machine at the side of Seiji’s bed. “Too much…”
When he didn’t finish his sentence, the old man asked, as quietly as he could, “Too much what?”
“Everything. Too much everything. Now be silent and let me work.” Someone would come soon to check on Seiji, Naaza was fairly certain of that. Physicians did that still, didn’t they? That meant he had only limited time to work unless he were to remove Seiji from the hospital and he wasn’t entirely certain that was safe. In fact, he’d have felt much better if Seiji hadn’t been moved at all, but he supposed there had been no help for it.
As soon as all the unnecessary equipment was removed from Seiji, Naaza went to the door of the hospital room and closed it. “No time for interruptions.” He said, though mostly to himself, before he spit on the door handle and the saliva immediately began to sizzle like butter on a frying pan. It wasn’t acid, but venom strong enough that it might as well have been venom. Within seconds, the door handle was completely melted.
“One of the nine.” The old man said, sounding somewhat distant.
“I thought I told you to be silent.”
“Your manners need refining.”
Naaza considered killing the old man then, he seriously did. Really. How attached could Seiji be to him? ‘Very. I loved my grandfather till the end.’ He squashed the mutinous though and the accompanying memories as quickly as he could. So Naaza said nothing, for the fear of igniting his slow burning temper, and pulled the blankets down around Seiji’s chest.
There was some small damage, but the worst was the head. So Naaza would start there. Everything else could be allowed to heal on its own. With his hands now coated with the thick slime, Naaza lay his hands on Seiji’s skull, pushing down all that glorious golden hair.
It was going well until Seiji reacted to the treatment. His body arched in protest, stiffening with fine trembling ripping along his muscles. His eye flicked erratically and his mouth fell open as if he would scream, though he made no sound.
The grandfather stood, clenching his hands on the arms of his chair. He, too, opened his mouth but didn’t say a word. He was wise, though Naaza didn’t pay him much attention. He had to make sure the treatment affected the correct areas and left the healthy parts of Seiji alone.
Flowing.
Seeping.
He felt himself falling though Seiji, like water through a pipe. The hurts were easily found and even more easily healed. It didn’t take long, but when he did finish, Naaza found several more people with him.
“Didn’t expect you here.” Suiko said, cautiously. Three of the Troopers stood in the room, none of them looking entirely happy. “Don’t suppose you have any idea what’s going on?”
The door Naaza had locked was nearly off its hinges and he cursed himself for having let them come upon him unawares. The noise they must have made breaking down the door should have drawn him from the trance, but how could he have known that it wouldn’t? He’d never tried to heal any but his brothers and then always with the others to guard his back if they were in hostile territory.
Naaza drew his dry hands away from Seiji’s skull, dry as all the slime had been absorbed into Seiji’s injuries. “Fae and vampires and missing memories. Does that sound about right?” He forced a smile just for the sake of seeing the anger flash across the boy’s face. It seemed that he’d taken up the leadership. “I was sent, child. You’ve no cause to be looking at me like that.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Wise.” He looked beyond Suiko and recognized Tenku and Kongo. It seemed odd to see them out of the yoroi, but not too odd. Their faces were the same. “I’m just here to help.”
As if justifying Naaza’s words, Seiji moaned and woke up. “Ryou?” He looked groggily around and raised a shaky hand to rub at his eyes. “Touma? Your mother…?”
“Don’t worry about that.” Touma stepped around Naaza, putting himself between the Ma-Sho and his friend. “How are you feeling?” He didn’t look up at Naaza as he spoke. No doubt that was because the other two, Suiko and Kongo, were watching him, guardedly. Touma put his hand to Seiji’s face and patted him.
“Fine. I think. Grandfather? What are you doing here?” He must not have guessed that he was in a hospital up until that point because he looked around in confusion and started at the sight of Naaza standing next to his bed. “Don’t cry, grandfather. I’m alright. I thought I was…lost.”
“You were.” Naaza told him. “Well, nearly lost. Luckily for you, I was forced to save your skinny butt.”
“Save…what IS going on?” He looked beyond Touma and held out his hand to Kongo. “Ryou’s gone? Oh, your poor throat. Are you alright?”
When Kongo spoke, his voice was low and gravely, hurting him just to speak. He raised a hand to his bandaged throat and held it. “We don’t know where he is.” It didn’t really surprise Naaza to see Kongo go to Seiji and take his hand. Why shouldn’t they be as close as the Ma-Sho were to each other? “I’m okay. Just tired and in need of a little luvin’.”
Seiji wasted no time and put a hand on Kongo’s throat. There was a moment’s pause until Seiji opened his eyes. “Better?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” With his voice sounding as strong as ever and no look of pain at all on his face, Kongo began to unwrap the bandaged from around his throat. There were even any scars left. “Are you sure you should have done that? Are you really better? You weren’t looking so hot just a little bit ago, but we have to go…” He paused, looking uncertainly at Naaza.
“Oh, don’t mind me. We aren’t enemies, anymore.” Naaza held up his hands, as if to show he was harmless. If they were fooled by that, then they really were fools. “Pretend I’m not here.”
“Unlikely.” Suiko hadn’t moved from his spot by the door, nor had he taken his eyes off Naaza.
Naaza smirked, rather enjoying the confrontation. “Your Ryou is missing. My Anubisu is missing. Something very odd is going on and I think you like it no better than I. A truce, at least, is in order.”
“Why?” Suiko demanded.
“Because Rajura seems to believe that the same people who took your Ryou took my Anubisu. Because they’re linked, though you don’t know it. You once did.” Wasn’t that one of the memories Rajura had restored? Yes. Naaza remembered. It was Seiji who’d forced Anubisu away from Ryou when they’d met one evening and Kongo who’d stood there, watching. They’d also both seen Rajura when he’d arrived, chastising Anubisu for his carelessness. “Those memories are gone. They won’t come back.” He debated on whether or not to tell them the entire truth. They’d know as soon as Ryou found out and, knowing cruel fate, Ryou would find out. “Anubisu, you see, is a dhampire.”
“Half-vampire,” Suiko said, sounding not as astonished as Naaza had thought he would. “and half-human. More powerful than both vampires and humans with fewer weaknesses.”
“Not many know the word.” Naaza didn’t know why the boy would know, but he was partly grateful. It saved a lot of explanations. “Anubisu and Ryou had met before the war. They were fond of each other. Anubisu was, at any rate. I can’t say how Ryou felt about the whole thing. He didn’t seem to object.”
Seiji was, by that time, sitting up and rubbing his sore muscles. “Why should we believe you?”
“I haven’t a care whether you believe me or not. It’s Ryou who’s important and to ensure that he survives, spirit and body, we had to save you. Rajura made the bargain around him, you see.”
“Bargain…?” Suiko demanded, outraged.
“Silence!” Naaza held up a hand as he felt Rajura’s voice in his mind.
I’M COMING TO YOU. KAYURA’S UNCONSCIOUS AND I HAVE ANUBISU’S BODY.
BODY? HE ISN’T DEAD.
NO. BUT…
BUT HE’S NOT ‘ANUBISU’, IS HE? JUST BRING HIM. THE TROOPER BOYS ALL APPEAR TO BE SAFE AND RELATIVELY HEALTHY.
Rajura had never been a believer in procrastination. He appeared at just that moment, behind Seiji’s grandfather. Kneeling on the floor with one hand on Kayura’s shoulder and the other on Anubisu’s chest, he looked up with a terrible expression. “Protect them.” His voice was a low rumble of thunder, not at all like his usual softness. Then he turned his head and was gone.
“Damn him!” Naaza shouted. Arrogant, insufferable Rajura! Why did he always have to be like that? Just like Sh’ten, he thought he had to take all the weight upon his own head. He rushed to the bodies of Anubisu and Kayura. Kayura woke with a little gasp when Naaza took her hand and looked around frantically.
“Fae! They took him!” She looked into Naaza’s eyes, pleading with him to understand. “That’s not Anubisu!”
“I know,” He told her, keeping his voice soft when he wanted to yell. “Calm down. We’ll get him back.”
Of course he couldn’t expect the Troopers to stay out of it for long. It was Kongo, still holding onto Seiji’s hand, who spoke. Xiu? Hadn’t Anubisu heard him being called Xiu, at one point? Yes. Xiu said, “These fae took Ryou?”
“And our Anubisu.” Naaza nodded. “So,” He looked at them and their unhappy faces. “Anyone feel up to a war?”
Tintagel-
Anubisu-
Alone.
And he’d never been more grateful for the isolation. Anubisu was still strapped to the table he’d woken on, when he had found himself in Ryou’s body. The darkness was broken by torch light, but nothing disturbed the silence. Good. That was good.
He’d been gutted. Like a fish, they’d sliced opened his, Ryou’s, chest. He’d held back the screams as long as he could, but Ryou’s body was delicate and each pain tore through Anubisu’s mind. In the end, he hadn’t been able to stop screaming until his tormentors had grown tired of the noise and stopped, giving themselves time for lunch.
While they sat across the dark room Anubisu couldn’t help the morbid fascination that led him to lift his head to look down at himself. Nightmarish. They’d split his chest open and broken Ryou’s ribs to get a clear look at the inner workings of the human body. Strangely, there wasn’t a lot of blood. He could see, in painful clarity, Ryou’s lungs inflating and deflating with every breath. He could see Ryou’s steadily beating heart and even part of the pink intestines. The broken ribs were so cleanly cut, they looked like the sharpest sword had slashed them.
‘Too much to think about.’ He lay his head down and contented himself with staring at the ceiling. ‘At least Ryou can’t feel any of this.’ But was that really how it should end? Anubisu didn’t want to die and he knew that if he stayed in Ryou’s body, that’s just what would happen. He couldn’t think of any way to escape. In his own body, he would have been able to break his bonds, but Ryou, though stronger than he had been when he’d first met Anubisu, was still too weak to even stretch at the metal holding him down. ‘Darkness enough for a fledgling vampire, but me with no connection to Yami. I could use this, if I could just reach Yami.’
There was fire, too. Plenty of fire, Anubisu could see the flames even from where he lay. At least ten torches set around the dungeon for light. ‘Torch…fire.’ It was an interesting possibility. Anubisu reached into himself searching around for Yami, but found nothing. Not even a hint of what had been with him for centuries. The parts of his mind that had once been inhabited by his brothers were gray and deserted, leaving the only source of warmth to be the link he shared with Ryou. At least that was stable and seemed unchanged, even if it wasn’t as strong as Anubisu would have wished it. Not nearly strong enough to speak to Ryou, but strong enough to tell him Ryou was alive.
Content with that much, Anubisu concentrated on trying to get his body to relax. ‘Not mine. Ryou’s body. I’m inside him.’ It was almost enough to make him laugh. ‘No EXACTLY how I wanted to get into Ryou.’ What a filthy thought. Sh’ten would have been proud. ‘If I get my own body back, I won’t feel a thing, it’ll be Ryou who will feel it. He’ll feel the pain and have to suffer the after affects. I’ll ask Naaza to help him if Seiji can’t.’ But if they could switch back, Anubisu had no idea how to do it. He wasn’t even exactly sure how they’d done it in the first place.
The worst part of the whole situation wasn’t the pain - Anubisu knew he could deal with pain - it was how weak he felt. Ryou’s body was so much smaller than his own. He felt like a child. Not that the pain was anything to scoff at. It was nearly unbearable. Bad enough that he’d almost passed out. He would have, if the damned fae hadn’t kept his awake.
“It seems just a tad cruel.” One said to the other. “Like tearing the wings off a fly just to watch it squirm around.”
The senior of the two, Anubisu had heard the arrogant, commanding tone only in people who knew they were in charge - like Rajura, scoffed at the others worry. “Really. Cruel? That’s an unnecessary concern. We‘re scientists, remember? We have only one duty in this experiment. To find out what makes human bodies function and what makes them stop functioning.” They were a short distance away from Anubisu, sitting at a small table while eating. They looked as calm and relaxed as if they were having any ordinary lunch. “We just need to study the reactions and collect the data. What it feels or thinks is none of our concern.”
Anubisu’s temper flared. Experiment? Study? If he could just move he’d kill them both and drag their corpses before the creature that had started this whole mess - the woman Ryou had been so frightened of. Fae! He’d teach them about pain, if that was what they wanted. Anubisu managed to work up enough anger to pull his head up, too look around, but the first thing he saw was the two ‘doctors’ standing up with an exclamation of surprise.
A fae woman stepped into sight, but not the same one Anubisu had seen through Ryou’s mind. She was shorter but no less lovely. Other than that, Anubisu couldn’t tell the difference between them. Fae all looked alike to him: fair and pale.
“What are you doing here?” It was the younger of the two males who’d spoken, frowning at her, but managing not to sound overtly rude.
“I go where I please.” She didn’t stop walking and strode right passed them both, barely glancing at them. “I have come to see the human. They are so rare.”
“This is restricted…”
The female turned on the two males and gave them a look that made them both stop. “Do you dare to tell me what I may or may not do?”
“Of course not,” The elder of the males answered, carefully. “But this is a special project of the Lady-Queen’s.”
She just raised an eyebrow. “Is that the reason you…men…give for spouting off orders to a lady?”
Anubisu tried to relax himself. How interesting. He hadn’t known that the fae were a matriarchal society. In fact, he was certain that, long ago, he’d heard Abraham talking about the king of the fae. No matter. Nothing mattered but getting Ryou’s body out of this nightmare and then get their minds back where they belonged. As adorable as Ryou’s body was, Anubisu didn’t want to live in it.
The males seemed at a loss and merely bowed. “No, my lady. We meant no disrespect, only to serve the Lady-Queen.”
“Then do so by staying silent or leaving. I haven’t all day.”
They looked at each other, then turned and hurried away. Undoubtedly, they were rushing to whisper in the ear of their Lady-Queen about this unpleasant visitor.
“Look what they’ve done to you?” She was leaning over Anubisu and her hard face softened to such a great degree that she looked like an entirely different person. Her eyes traveled up and down Ryou’s body, but her expression made Anubisu worry all the more. “Poor dear…”
“Who…” His voice choked. How odd to hear Ryou’s voice.
“No, no.” The female put a hand to Anubisu’s face and patted it, like someone trying to calm a favored pet. “You mustn’t strain yourself, my dear. Just rest as best as you can. I’ll do everything I’m able to do. I swear it. Can you understand? Ryou?”
In this Hell who would call Ryou’s name so sweetly? Who was she?
She must have seen the confusion in his eyes because she looked as if she would cry. “You don’t remember me. But I was different then. So different. I’ve changed everything. See?” With that word, she shifted and blurred in front of Anubisu’s eyes. Instead of the obviously fae female, she looked like a very human young woman dressed as a Catholic nun. She smiled and it was a very real smile full of love and joy at seeing him. Well…at seeing Ryou. “It’s me, Ryou. You must remember now. I was always nagging you to get your homework finished. Such a stubborn boy you were, too.”
Anubisu had no clue as to whom the woman was. He’d seen many of Ryou’s memories and had caught glimpses of this woman in soft-edged memories, her face and voice cushioned on pillows of affection in Ryou’s mind.
Sister Jo.
“I…” He tried to speak again, but what they’d done to him had damaged his throat. “I know you.”
Her hand, patting his face, stopped and she pulled away with a little frown. “You are NOT Ryou.”
Anubisu managed a weak smile. “Really?”
Ningen Sekai-
Abraham-
Cowardly Rajura wasted no time. He vanished from sight almost as soon as Anubisu had been laid in his arms. Only…it wasn’t Anubius. Trapped in the body that the Wyrm had delivered was Ryou…somewhere. Both Abraham and the Wyrm watched Rajura disappear with both the little empress and Ryou in Anubisu’s body without trying to stop him. Really, why should they? Rajura was a child compared to both of them and what concept did he have of true war? Not one-on-one style that he was used to fighting, but thousands against thousands. Pitting whole nations, whole worlds against one another. That was precisely was Abraham had planned.
Closer. They were drawing closer.
“They’ll be safe in the Youja Kai than here.” The Wyrm said, taking his attention away from where the three had been huddled together on the floor. He turned his cold eyes to Abraham and raised the mighty sword before him, staring into the ruby eyes of the tiny dragon on the hilt. “Shall we begin? Your people are our main weapon.”
“And your people?” Why should he have asked? Abraham knew the legends well enough to know what the answer would be.
“My people are not bound by blood as yours are, nor are they normally influenced by something as fleeing as affection. They have their own concerns. One minor battle such will not stir them.”
No time to waste on what might have been, but Abraham couldn’t help but think of what the outcome might have been if he’d had the whole race of Wyrms at his back. At his back…? The deceptive, devious Wyrms? No. Perhaps that wasn’t such a good idea, after all. “That’s Ryou’s sword, isn’t it?”
“A useful weapon in such circumstances.”
Abraham went to one of the living room windows and looked out into the darkness. Night had crept up sooner than he’d expected and with it had brought a great number of Abraham’s children. They weren’t the only ones to answer the call, but they had been the first to arrive. With a battle against the fae anticipated, there were many eager to take their part. In fact, Abraham knew there would be several other masters out there, waiting to here when they would march into battle.
“What does it do?” Abraham didn’t leave his place by the window, nor would he until Miko returned. He didn’t trust them at all. Not even the vampires he’d sired were trustworthy. In fact, they were probably the least trustworthy of them all. Abraham didn‘t even like having the Wyrm in his home, but he couldn‘t stop them as easily as he could stop his own people. “That sword, I mean. It’s clearly not just a sword.”
“It’s a key.” The Wyrm gave an odd sort of smirk. “Ryou didn’t know what it was. Why should he? All he knows is that his family has been searching for the mate for many generations. I think the idea of the search had become more dear to them than the actual sword.”
“Well…what does the key do? You do like to talk in riddles, don’t you?”
“Keep up that attitude and you and all your little minions can sit out here under the moonlight while I stroll into Tintagel and just take care of this situation on my own.”
The threat was enough to make Abraham look away from the window. The Wyrm would do it, too. Disregard the fact that if they didn’t get a chance at a little fae blood, the vampires outside would be VERY angry - Abraham couldn’t care less if they were angry or not - but if the Wyrm did it on his own, Abraham wouldn’t be able to rescue Kuj. More than that, he wanted to rip the face off the creature who’d taken him. “Very well. PLEASE, tell me what the sword does.”
“It’s mine.” He raised the sword to his face and rubbed his cheek along the blade. “The other was hidden to keep it away from Arago when that demon walked the Earth.”
“YOU?” Abraham exclaimed, in mock astonishment. “Afraid of a mere demon? Perish the idea!”
“Silence brat. Your age has done nothing for your intellect.”
“Well, where did you hide it? Will having the mate influence the outcome of this war?”
“Significantly.”
“You don’t seem overly worried.”
“I’m not. There is nothing to be worried about.” The Wyrm paused a moment before continuing to speak. “Rajura will be here in a moment. Then we wait for the rest of them.”
While the war would go more smoothly with as many warriors as possible, Abraham didn’t like the idea of involving them. Especially not the boys he’d lived with for the past few months. “We can do this without them.”
“Are you going soft?”
“Hardly. But inexperienced children will get underfoot.”
“Possibly. But you’ve never set foot in Tintagel, nor have you ever faced the might of the fae. They can be surprisingly. The glamour…”
“Is no different than what vampires use.”
“But it is entirely different from Rajura’s skills. Besides, all of this hinges on Rajura, anyway.”
“What?”
“They’re after him. Though you may not have liked it, you’ve had dealings with the fae. Surely you’ve heard of Ari.”
It took Abraham up short. “Ari is a myth, a delusion of that mad queen of theirs.”
“Believe as you like, but I tell you they will open their world for a chance to get at Rajura. I can travel there alone.“ He held the Ryouken close. “And my agent already works on my behalf, though she doesn’t know it. The only way you’ll get your forces to Tintagel is to wait for Rajura to be bait for you. Wait for Rajura. I go hunting, now.” Then, it was gone.
Youja Kai-
Ryou-
The pain was gone, but he was still alone. Alone until he opened his eyes and found himself looking up at the strangest scene. Naaza and Shin stood over him, glaring blackly at one-another. “You’re taking him nowhere. If Ryou’s in that body,” Shin jabbed his finger at Ryou without looking at him. “Then he’s staying here. He can stay with grandfather Date.”
“You’d endanger them both by keeping them here without decent protection.” Naaza replied. “He was taken for a reason and if they realize that something had happened to their prisoner, it is likely that they’ll come searching for him. Fae can’t get into the Youja Kai.”
“A world filled with demons? You think I’d let him be put there where we might never see him again?!” By then, Shin was nearly yelling.
“Well, it’s there or let him die.” Naaza looked at grandfather Date who stood with his hand on Seiji’s shoulder. “You’ll let them both die.”
Neither of them was willing to budge. “Why would I want to go to the Youja Kai?” Ryou asked, at last. “And why does my voice sound so odd?”
“Ryou?” Shin squatted down and looked at him, curiously.
“Yes? Why are you staring?”
Shin bit his lip. “Forgive my suspicious nature. Please tell me, what were you doing the night I found you in the park?”
Ryou felt the blood drain from his face. Blood. Ryou found himself suddenly very thirsty. “The park?” He glanced around behind Shin. Everyone was watching him. Surely, Shin wouldn’t make him talk about that in front of everyone. He leaned forward and whispered, “Do you mean the pick pocketing or the…the eating?” He couldn’t quite get it to come out that he’d been eating raw meat. Not just any raw meat, but he’d been sharing the carcass of a dog he and Byakuen had caught together.
“Ah!” Shin smiled and looked relieved. “It’s you.”
“Of course it’s me. What’s happening?! Why’s Seiji in a hospital gown?” He must have been hurt in the crash. Ryou remembered that well enough. “And why are we graced by a visit from him?” Ryou lifted a hand to point at Naaza but as he did he saw his hand. The only problem was that it wasn’t his hand. It was very big and had fine blue strands on hair on the back and running up his very hairy arm. Ryou stared at the hand in horror. “What?” He raised the hand to his face, but the features didn’t feel familiar at all. There was a scar on his cheek. “Whose face is this?”
It was Touma who brought him the little mirror and Ryou found himself staring at Anubisu’s reflection. “Oh, man.”
The room was the door opened noisily, as it seemed someone had broken it, and Shin’s okaasan stormed in, looking half-angry and half-worried. “Here you all are!” She threw her arms up. “Honestly, I’ve been hunting all over for you.” She looked curiously at Ryou and Naaza, but bowed politely to grandfather Date and greeted him. “Well, that’s almost everyone accounted for. Where’s your mum, Shin-chan?”
Shin looked blank for a minute, then his eyes narrowed. “I thought she was with you.”
“She went down to prenatal, but when I went down to look, I couldn’t find her. One of the nurses said she saw your mum down there, but I haven’t seen a hint of her. The last thing she said to me was that she’d just met a friend of yours, Xiu-kun. Some man with sunglasses.”
“It was Michael.” Shin told Xiu.
“Speaking of whom,” Xiu frowned. “I haven’t see him in a while, either. That’s weird. He’s kinda protective. Maybe he went home.”
“He didn’t.” A new voice at the door just before papa and mama Faun rushed in and nearly knocked Xiu over in a double embrace. “Boy,” Papa Faun said, gruffly. “Michael called us.” He didn’t say anything else, but looked Xiu up and down to judge the injuries and when he was satisfied that there weren’t any to worry about, he patted Xiu’s cheek. “You had us worried. When Michael called…Glad you’re alright. Never been so worried…not since…Lai.”
Mama Faun was crying the whole time, wailing that he’d better never worry her like that again. How stupid was he to ride around without his seatbelt on! Was that true? The police told them he’d been thrown from the car. How he hadn’t broken his neck was a miracle!
While that was going on, Naaza looked more and more sour, like he was going to be sick to his stomach.
“Excuse me,” Shin interrupted the happy family reunion with a strained smile. “Has anyone seen my mum, lately?” The smile faded as he looked around at the blank faces. “No one? Well, she has to be here somewhere!” Shin stormed out of the room with his okaasan right behind him.
A long while was spent in silence. Ryou had questions to ask, but he didn’t know how to ask. He didn’t know why Naaza was with them or where the other Ma-Sho were. He really wanted to know where his body was and were the fae those people that had kidnapped him? How had he gotten out of there? For the meantime, he poked and prodded Anubisu’s body and tried getting used to the feel of it. He’d always wondered what it would be like to be so big.
After a while, Shin stepped back into the hospital room. He looked like he was in shock. “My mum…she’s gone.”
“Gone?” Touma frowned.
“Okaasan and I went to look on the security cameras. She was in prenatal. Then, there was another woman. Mum fainted, I think. Then Michael was there. He fainted. Isn’t that funny. He didn’t look the sort to just faint. Then, all three of then disappeared. Just…gone.” He leaned into Touma’s arms when Touma came close enough. “Didn’t recognize her.”
“Tall?” Naaza spoke up, sounding more curious than worried. Why should he worry? Ryou wondered, angrily. He didn’t know Mouri-san. He didn’t know what a wonderful person she was. “Tall and fair?”
“Yes.”
“Fae.” Naaza spat the word. “Waging war on women. Vile.”
Shin broke away from Touma and seemed to leap away across the room to Naaza. They stood toe-to-toe and Shin snarled with his lips curled up away from his teeth, “Then we kill them!”
“Yes!” Naaza agreed, eagerly holding his fist in the air. “War!”
To be continued…
Rajura-
When it happened, Rajura lost all his senses for a moment. He felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach and bludgeoned over the head. He fell to his knees and found himself unable to breathe. He felt frozen, but too hot. His lips were numb and his hair tingled. Everything just felt wrong. It was an end-of-the-world sort of wrong. So unbalanced, so insanely wrong that Rajura was sure, when he hit his knees that he thought he would shatter. The void where Anubisu had been consumed him. Like having his insides suddenly disappeared, the shock near overwhelmed him.
The shock did overwhelm Kayura and she fainted dead away.
ANUBISU?
His voice just echoed around inside his head, tickling against Naaza like a butterfly. WHERE IS HE?! Naaza choked out the words. He was still at the hospital, but in no better shape than Rajura. WE CAN’T LOSE HIM! NOT AFTER SH’TEN. NOT SO SOON… He was leaning heavily against a wall and having trouble focusing. The colors around him were swirled in surreal patterns until slowly reorganizing themselves into the shapes of the hospital’s hall.
GET HOLD OF YOURSELF! Rajura snapped, though he still couldn’t quite manage to get to his own feet. It was dangerous and he found to get control of himself. Breath, Rajura told himself. Just breathe. HE’S NOT DEAD. Indeed, there was no wound as there had been at Sh’ten’s death. That wound was still raw and throbbing, bleeding around the edges. But where Anubisu had been, there was nothing but emptiness. FIND THOSE BOYS, WE’LL NEED THEM.
THEM? Naaza sounded disgusted at the thought of them. AT A TIME LIKE THIS? WHY CARE ABOUT…
BECAUSE WE’LL NEED THEM. GO, NOW.
Naaza wanted to argue, but he wasn’t feeling well enough and just stumbled down the hallways again, but not before he pushed Rajura away. SEE TO YOURSELF, OLD MAN. YOU’RE NOT IN FRIENDLY TERRITORY.
Oh. Yes. Abraham.
If he’d noticed the distress of Rajura and Kayura, Abraham didn’t show it. Still sitting in the armchair that looked much to big for him, Abraham gripped the armrests and was muttering under his breath. “I have you here, Rajura. You’ve lost him, but I can still touch Kuj’s mind. He’s in contact with Ryou. They’ve bonded very closely, much more closely than is safe. He didn’t intend it. My poor little Kuj…no.” He blinked, as if disoriented. “He’s gone too far. To deep...too deep…”
Deep? Rajura pushed himself up so he was kneeling on only one kneed and put his hand under Kayura’s neck. Naaza was right. Abraham was very dangerous at the moment. From Anubisu’s memories, there was no doubt that he’d feared Abraham even though the elder vampire had showered him with favor in the past. Rajura forced himself to calm and repeated what he’d told Naaza - Anubisu was not dead.
Abraham was on his feet at once, his little hands were fists at his sides and his eyes shining just a little too brightly. “Kuj!” He screamed, his little boy’s voice turning harsh and shrill with his anger. He stomped his foot, grabbed the nearest thing at hand, a floor lamp, and flung it across the room where it crashed against a wall and broke into pieces. “How? How!” It turned into a howl, the screamed question. The next thing that came to his hand was the chair he’d been sitting in, which Abraham tossed through the living room’s big window.
The glass shattered and Rajura had to throw himself over Kayura’s still body to protect her. Part of him wanted to curse Abraham, but he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Stars danced in front of his eyes and he felt sick to his stomach. ‘Not dead. He isn’t. He wasn’t in any danger. He was with the wyrm and…the wyrm. He’s still with the wrym. He must be.’ But…he wasn’t. There wasn’t even the faintest hint of Anubisu.
“He’s gone.” Rajura finally found his voice. He sounded tired, even to himself. “He’s just…gone.” bent to pick up Kayura, but stopped when he found the furious little vampire standing over him, his little foot suddenly on Kayura’s throat.
Threat - instinct told him. Threat to family.
“I can only see what Kuj sees.” Abraham told Rajura. “I can only know what he knows and right now all he knows is that he’s hurt and has managed to switch places with Ryou. Don’t you understand? That’s never happened before! It shouldn’t happen, it can’t! But,” He paused and, for just a second, looking frightened. “But it HAS happened. He might never be restored to his own beautiful body. The shame of that is too much to think about. Worst of all, more dire than his mind switch with Ryou - that I could deal with - the fae have him. Why? Why would they hunt Ryou?”
“What makes you think I have any answers for you?” Rajura, down on one knees with his hand frozen in the act of lifting Kayura’s arm, raised his face to look up at Abraham. Not for the first time, he found himself resenting the fact that a child - no matter how old Abraham was in reality - had such a sever control over his family. “Take your foot away.”
“Tell me what’s going on?” Abraham surged down and seized Rajura’s helmet, holding him by the antler-like horns and shaking him hard enough that Rajura thought he might vomit. “What do you know about this?”
There was a moment when Rajura hesitated. He would not be seen as weak for anything. His reputation was his most valuable asset and he couldn’t afford to have someone as hatefully powerful as Abraham to see him as vulnerable to anything, even threats to his own family. “Get your foot off my sister’s throat or you’ll never hear from Kujurrou again. I‘ll bury his memories so deep this time, you’ll never uncover them!”
Abraham didn’t move for a moment, but then stepped back and allowed Rajura to pick up Kayura. He wasn’t happy about it. “Cruel.” Abraham snarled. “Sh’ten was nothing compared to you! You’d keep my beloved grandchild from me just for that,” He waved his hand at Kayura. “It’s…it’s just not fair.”
Rajura suppressed a hysterical laugh. If life were fair, he’d have lived a long, happy life and died of old age a thousand years ago in Scandinavia. What was fair about life? Destiny? It was all cruel, one long path of pain until the bitter end. For Rajura and his loved ones, the path just went on longer for them than it did for most people.
“Well?” Abraham crossed his arms and aimed a black glare at Rajura. “Where is he? Tintagel, I presume. Why? Why did they take him?”
“I have no idea,” It wasn’t entirely a lie. The fae had taken Ryou because they found some connection between Ryou and Rajura, that was obvious enough. “But I can tell you he’s…separated from us.” And there was only one place that Rajura could think of that had any connection to what had been going on lately.
“Tintagel.” Abraham let the word out slowly, like it was vile for him to say. “My Miko said there was a report of a fae at the hospital where the boys are being kept. I didn’t take it seriously. A mistake. Stupid, hair-brained mistake.” Abraham got that familiar distracted look of one looking into themselves, an expression Rajura was used to seeing on the faces of his brothers when they would speak mentally to each other. “Damned fae have him! They’ve hurt him!” Abraham burst out, nearly screaming in ire. “War they want, war they shall have! Take what is mine! Hurt what is mine! The fae will be destroyed if I must raze Tintagel to dust!”
He wanted nothing better than to leave Abraham to his ravings. There was a way to get into Tintagel, but first he had to see that Kayura and Naaza were safe. ‘I can’t leave them in the Youja Kai like this. They’ll be easy prey for any demon that happens along. Kayura’s completely helpless unless she wakes up and I don’t know how long this shock will last. She’s had the bond for a shorter time than even those trooper boys. She just can’t handle it.’ Of course, Rajura blamed himself. If he’d been more sensible and started her training as soon as possible, she might have been able to stand the loss a little better. ‘Naaza isn’t taking it well, either. He hasn’t even recovered from Sh’ten’s loss. Even he might not be able to defend himself like he is let alone properly defend Kayura.’
BRING HER TO ME. Naaza said, faintly. I’M NOT UP TO A FULL BLOWN BATTLE, BUT I CAN’T PROTECT ONE CHILD. I’LL EVEN STAY IN THE NINGEN SEKAI.
It was quite the sacrifice, coming from Naaza. STAY AT THE HOSPITAL. YOU’LL NEED TO LOOK AFTER THOSE BOYS, TOO. I HAVE A FEELING WE MAY NEED THEM TO GET THIS MESS SORTED OUT. He didn’t add that he felt some bizarre twinges of sympathy for the children. True, they’d never suffered the death of one of their own, but having Ryou taken from them so suddenly had probably been more painful for them than it had been for Rajura to lose touch with Anubisu. The war was over, so there was no reason to continue being enemies. Allies were more valuable, anyway.
AND YOU, ‘JURA? WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING?
YOU’VE BEEN LISTENING IN, HAVEN’T YOU? ABRAHAM’S QUITE RIGHT. I DO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON AND I KNOW HOW TO GET TO TINTAGEL.
ALONE?
I DOUBT IT. ABRAHAM’S READY TO CALL UP HIS FULL FORCE AND THERE’S ANOTHER WHO WILL HELP.
Just as Rajura had said that, who should appear in the living room but the Wyrm, bearing in its arms the limp from of Anubisu and holding tightly to an ornate sword Rajura that looked familiar. He didn’t have time to examine the sword because the Wyrm fairly threw Anubisu at him. “They’ve hurt him.” The Wyrms were not an undefeatable race, but, like Abraham and the fae, it was terrible in its anger. “You can draw them out.”
“And you,” Rajura replied as he shifted Anubisu’s body to settle him over one shoulder. “You know how to open the way, don’t you? I’ve heard tales of the Wyrms and you should have more than enough power.”
“Only for myself.” The Wyrm was proud when he spoke. “My power extends only to myself for such things. There is no need for anything else, though.” He looked at Abraham in what might have been a smirk. “I will need no assistance in dealing with the fae.”
What reaction should they have expected? Abraham glowered. “I’ll face down the fae with or without your allegiance. Kujurrou is mine to protect.”
“Then you can do your protecting from here while I bring him back?”
Rajura, a little surprised to see them so antagonistic, took the opportunity to transport himself, Anubisu’s body, and Kayura away. No matter what was about to happen, whether it was the Wyrm opening a doorway to Tintagel or Abraham attacking the Wyrm, Rajura didn’t want to be in the way.
He followed the last connection he had to Naaza. The firs thing he noticed was the awful smell of antiseptics.
Magic Bus Hospital
Naaza-
He stood in the doorway and watched the old man. He was a venerable man, distinguished and proud as he sat by the bedside of Korin. He was too pretty to be a warrior, Naaza thought. The boy didn’t look nearly so threatening as he had in battle, wearing Korin.
Date Seiji, the nameplate on the door had read.
Naaza remembered the Date family. He’d met them once. Not that he’d been all that impressed with them at the time. They were humans and , like all humans, despised. He had no hair on his face, but long white hair and small round glasses. His hands were folded on his lap and, for all the world, he looked as if he were sleeping. ‘Beast.’ Naaza stared at the old man for a long moment, angry beyond sense that a human was tending to Korin when it was perfectly clear that no human could take care of him. He needed his own kind to protect him. What good was a human against a youja or fae? What good would this old man be if Naaza decided he wanted to disregard Rajura’s orders and just kill the boy on the spot?
“Come in or go out, young man.” The old man raised his eyes and met Naaza’s. He showed no surprise that he might have felt at Naaza’s hair or his unnatural eyes. Surely, Naaza thought, he can’t see well. If he could see the scales, he wouldn’t be so calm. “You’ll be a friend of my grandson’s?” He made it a question. “He’ll be glad for the visit. The others aren’t able to come yet. They’ll be here soon, I expect.”
With a careful step, Naaza entered the room. The old man wasn’t threatening at all. “Friend is a debatable word.” There were all manner of things set up in the room that worried him. Tubes and wires all connected to Korin…rather, Seiji. There were tubes fed up into his nose and a machine that made funny noises at the side of the bed. More machines that made pictures - a flat panel of black with a single line that kept a steady rhythm of up and down in sharp little points. At odds with the ugly technology were a handful of fresh flowers in a vase on a table at the end of the bed. “I have come to see that he lives.”
The old man nodded, sagely. “Then, sit.” He gestured to a chair on the opposite side of the bed.
There was a moment of silence and Naaza was grateful for it. There was too much to think about without adding to it the prattling of an inane human. Kayura was unconscious and unable to help in anything. If she was awake, she might have been able to do a more gentle healing than Naaza was capable of. As it was, Naaza couldn’t decide if he should start the healing while the old man was in the room or wait for him to leave.
‘I suppose I could just kill him.’ It wouldn’t be the first human death on his hands. ‘But from the looks of things, I’m going to have to live with Seiji being around for quite some time and there is a chance that he might be fond of this grandfather of his.’
Well, he’d stop that nonsense as soon as it started. When this grandfather learned how vastly different his grandson was, he’d show Seiji what vile things humans were. He’d learn, as Naaza did, that humans were nothing but vicious, shallow, cowardly things. To call them animals would be insulting to animals. ‘He’ll learn…just like I did…’
Flashback-
He didn’t know how it had happened..
“A monster! A demon!”
Inder sat on his knees at the center of the circle the villagers made around him. He’d known them forever. The old woman who helped birth him was glaring, holding her granddaughter close to her. The granddaughter, one of Inder’s playmates, was frightened and wouldn’t look at Inder. The three men who always brought back the best catches of fish were muttering amongst themselves. It went on and on, the hushed voices and open staring.
“He’s not a monster!” Inder felt his mother’s arm wrap around him. She was crying almost to the point that she couldn’t speak. “He’s our son, how can you say such things?!”
“Ours? He’s yours! How do I know what things you’ve lain with, slut?!”
Things? Inder frowned and put his hands up to touch his mother’s face. What kind of things was father talking about?
“How dare you say that?” Inder’s mother cried out. “His blood is as much yours as it is mine.”
“Do I have scales?!” He screamed at the top of his lungs. He moved forward so quickly that Inder barely had time to think before the hand struck him across the face, sending him reeling.
The world spun and he hit the ground with a resounding thud that echoed through his head. The pain was terrible, but when he opened his eyes there was no one to help him up. His mother and father were both on their feet yelling at each other. The people surrounding them were getting more and more anxious, the hushed whispers getting louder and louder. Everyone was to be staring.
“That thing is a demon, no blood of mine!”
“Don’t you blame him on me!”
Yelling.
Whispers.
Staring.
There was blood running into Inder’s eyes. He raised a hand to wipe away the blood and as he did, he saw the back of his hand. It was what everyone was gathered about, what his parents were arguing about. A tiny, faint green scale on the back of his hand. Such a little thing to cause so much fuss. The problem was that it hadn’t been there the day before. Something had changed in the night, something so terrible that it made everyone angry. It made his mother cry and not look at him. It made his father look at him with such black hate that it hurt.
“He’s not mine!”
“He is!”
A stone was thrown and hit Inder on the back.
End Flashback-
“Young man, are you feeling alright?”
Naaza blinked slowly at the old man. “I am well. Be concerned with your grandson, instead.” The old man was nothing but human. He was just like the old men who had lived in Naaza’s village, so long ago when he’d lived in the deep jungles of India, his home until the villagers had driven him out.
“I can be concerned with more than one at a time. But, if you wish.” He sat back in his chair and put his hands back on his lap, just as he’d been when Naaza had arrived. “It’s not my place to interfere…”
“No. It isn’t.” Naaza interrupted. Anything to make the old man stop talking. Anything to get out of this place and to be able to stop looking at this filthy human. He stood abruptly and leveled his strongest glare at the old man. “You should leave now.” He had better, more important things to do than to wait while an old man sat and stared. He had to help find Anubisu and, almost as important, he had to save Korin…Seiji. He had to save Seiji. ‘I’d have killed him eagerly a week ago. I’d have killed him and gloried about it.’
“I will no go where until I know my grandson is well.” He was stubborn., but didn’t get angry.
“I tell you, you must leave. I will save your grandson’s life, but you will not enjoy what I do to him, nor will he enjoy knowing that you witnessed it.” Naaza couldn’t have hoped to be more civil? Especially since he wanted nothing better than to rip off the old man’s arms and toss them out the window.
Finally, the old man turned away, but he didn’t leave the room as Naaza had hoped. Instead, he went back to his seat by Seiji’s bed and took his grandson’s limp hand. “You are one of THEM, aren’t you?”
“Them who?”
The old man’s eyes were very clear, Naaza thought. His body was frail, but his mind was as sound as any. “I’m old, child, but not so old that I’ve begun to forget all that I’ve learned. I know the legends my grandson’s become tied to. I know the legend of the nine yoroi. Nine, not five. Logic tells me that you have one of the nine.”
“Logic has very little to do with me and what, precisely, makes you think I am one of the nine?”
“Must you ask?”
Green hair. Scales. Fangs. Inhuman eyes. Did all those things scream monster or warrior? Monster. “I think I must. Why do you think me to be connected with some legendary yoroi?”
When he smiled, the old man looked even sadder than he had before. “Because my grandson has very few friends and I know every one of them. He has had no visitors since the accident, but those that I know, nor has he had any phone calls or messages. I find it hard to believe that a perfect stranger would just appear out of nowhere at a time like this.”
“Perhaps he simply hasn’t told you about me.”
“That’s unlikely. We’re a very close family. Your name, young man?”
“My affair, old man.” He couldn’t accept the apparent friendliness the old man presented to him. He couldn’t. “Stay if you must, but don’t interfere. Any distraction could end your precious grandson’s life.”
“Of course.” He didn’t let go of Seiji’s hand. “Do what you have to do.”
The problem was that Naaza really didn’t know what he had to do. He hadn’t explored the problem yet and, in truth, all the mechanical things attached to Seiji were a bit intimidating. He worried that if he disturbed them, Seiji would be in even more dire straits. There was no choice. It was either attempt to heal or leave him laying in bed, kept alive by these untrustworthy things. The second option felt far too much like abandoning a comrade and though they’d never been friendly and likely never would be friends, Naaza did respect Seiji as a warrior and value him as an opponent. He could not simply walk out the door and forget about him.
So Naaza did his best to ignore the grandfather and started to examine Seiji. He felt Seiji’s face and throat, then his hands and wrists. The most obvious physical injury was to Seiji’s head, but even that didn’t look too terrible. Just a large bruise and cut that had been stitched closed. ‘At least that,’ Naaza reflected as he ran a finger across the stitches, ‘was done with some skill. Even if it is quite unnecessary.’ He turned his finger on edge and used his claw-like fingernails to slice through the stitches then pulled them out one-by-one.
There was tension in the room, and not all of it from Seiji’s grandfather. It wasn’t his ability to heal Seiji that had Naaza worried. There was no doubt about that. While he couldn’t do so pleasant a job, Korin was able to heal and make the patient feel pleasure at the same time, he could thoroughly heal nearly any injury. It was the pace that was upsetting.
There was too much going on for Naaza’s comfort. Too much, too fast. Snakes were lethargic creatures by nature, preferring to rest in the warm sun than run around in a fervor and all this excitement - for lack of a better word - was making Naaza wish he’d never gotten out of bed.
The grandfather took instructions very seriously and kept quiet even when Naaza started rubbing the palms of his hands together, something he knew made many people nervous. Well…more to the point, it was the greenish slime that made people nervous. As Naaza massaged his hands the friction stimulated glands which produced the healing substance. From his own body this powerful medicine was produced, just as he could produce his own poison.
His fangs, like the fangs of a viper, could be used like syringes to inject the substance directly into the patient or victim’s body. However, looking down at the pale, drawn face of the half-dead warrior, Naaza decided that he wasn’t really THAT fond of Seiji. Maybe in the future, that might change, but at the moment Naaza concluded that putting his hands on Seiji without trying to kill him was the best Seiji was going to get.
“These have to go.” Naaza began pulling the tubes and wires and all the other little ‘things’ out of Seiji. There were tubes up his nose and one that went entirely down his throat. He pulled a needle attached to yet another tube out of Seiji’s arm and, when the steady beeping finally got too much for him to bear, Naaza kicked the blasted machine at the side of Seiji’s bed. “Too much…”
When he didn’t finish his sentence, the old man asked, as quietly as he could, “Too much what?”
“Everything. Too much everything. Now be silent and let me work.” Someone would come soon to check on Seiji, Naaza was fairly certain of that. Physicians did that still, didn’t they? That meant he had only limited time to work unless he were to remove Seiji from the hospital and he wasn’t entirely certain that was safe. In fact, he’d have felt much better if Seiji hadn’t been moved at all, but he supposed there had been no help for it.
As soon as all the unnecessary equipment was removed from Seiji, Naaza went to the door of the hospital room and closed it. “No time for interruptions.” He said, though mostly to himself, before he spit on the door handle and the saliva immediately began to sizzle like butter on a frying pan. It wasn’t acid, but venom strong enough that it might as well have been venom. Within seconds, the door handle was completely melted.
“One of the nine.” The old man said, sounding somewhat distant.
“I thought I told you to be silent.”
“Your manners need refining.”
Naaza considered killing the old man then, he seriously did. Really. How attached could Seiji be to him? ‘Very. I loved my grandfather till the end.’ He squashed the mutinous though and the accompanying memories as quickly as he could. So Naaza said nothing, for the fear of igniting his slow burning temper, and pulled the blankets down around Seiji’s chest.
There was some small damage, but the worst was the head. So Naaza would start there. Everything else could be allowed to heal on its own. With his hands now coated with the thick slime, Naaza lay his hands on Seiji’s skull, pushing down all that glorious golden hair.
It was going well until Seiji reacted to the treatment. His body arched in protest, stiffening with fine trembling ripping along his muscles. His eye flicked erratically and his mouth fell open as if he would scream, though he made no sound.
The grandfather stood, clenching his hands on the arms of his chair. He, too, opened his mouth but didn’t say a word. He was wise, though Naaza didn’t pay him much attention. He had to make sure the treatment affected the correct areas and left the healthy parts of Seiji alone.
Flowing.
Seeping.
He felt himself falling though Seiji, like water through a pipe. The hurts were easily found and even more easily healed. It didn’t take long, but when he did finish, Naaza found several more people with him.
“Didn’t expect you here.” Suiko said, cautiously. Three of the Troopers stood in the room, none of them looking entirely happy. “Don’t suppose you have any idea what’s going on?”
The door Naaza had locked was nearly off its hinges and he cursed himself for having let them come upon him unawares. The noise they must have made breaking down the door should have drawn him from the trance, but how could he have known that it wouldn’t? He’d never tried to heal any but his brothers and then always with the others to guard his back if they were in hostile territory.
Naaza drew his dry hands away from Seiji’s skull, dry as all the slime had been absorbed into Seiji’s injuries. “Fae and vampires and missing memories. Does that sound about right?” He forced a smile just for the sake of seeing the anger flash across the boy’s face. It seemed that he’d taken up the leadership. “I was sent, child. You’ve no cause to be looking at me like that.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Wise.” He looked beyond Suiko and recognized Tenku and Kongo. It seemed odd to see them out of the yoroi, but not too odd. Their faces were the same. “I’m just here to help.”
As if justifying Naaza’s words, Seiji moaned and woke up. “Ryou?” He looked groggily around and raised a shaky hand to rub at his eyes. “Touma? Your mother…?”
“Don’t worry about that.” Touma stepped around Naaza, putting himself between the Ma-Sho and his friend. “How are you feeling?” He didn’t look up at Naaza as he spoke. No doubt that was because the other two, Suiko and Kongo, were watching him, guardedly. Touma put his hand to Seiji’s face and patted him.
“Fine. I think. Grandfather? What are you doing here?” He must not have guessed that he was in a hospital up until that point because he looked around in confusion and started at the sight of Naaza standing next to his bed. “Don’t cry, grandfather. I’m alright. I thought I was…lost.”
“You were.” Naaza told him. “Well, nearly lost. Luckily for you, I was forced to save your skinny butt.”
“Save…what IS going on?” He looked beyond Touma and held out his hand to Kongo. “Ryou’s gone? Oh, your poor throat. Are you alright?”
When Kongo spoke, his voice was low and gravely, hurting him just to speak. He raised a hand to his bandaged throat and held it. “We don’t know where he is.” It didn’t really surprise Naaza to see Kongo go to Seiji and take his hand. Why shouldn’t they be as close as the Ma-Sho were to each other? “I’m okay. Just tired and in need of a little luvin’.”
Seiji wasted no time and put a hand on Kongo’s throat. There was a moment’s pause until Seiji opened his eyes. “Better?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” With his voice sounding as strong as ever and no look of pain at all on his face, Kongo began to unwrap the bandaged from around his throat. There were even any scars left. “Are you sure you should have done that? Are you really better? You weren’t looking so hot just a little bit ago, but we have to go…” He paused, looking uncertainly at Naaza.
“Oh, don’t mind me. We aren’t enemies, anymore.” Naaza held up his hands, as if to show he was harmless. If they were fooled by that, then they really were fools. “Pretend I’m not here.”
“Unlikely.” Suiko hadn’t moved from his spot by the door, nor had he taken his eyes off Naaza.
Naaza smirked, rather enjoying the confrontation. “Your Ryou is missing. My Anubisu is missing. Something very odd is going on and I think you like it no better than I. A truce, at least, is in order.”
“Why?” Suiko demanded.
“Because Rajura seems to believe that the same people who took your Ryou took my Anubisu. Because they’re linked, though you don’t know it. You once did.” Wasn’t that one of the memories Rajura had restored? Yes. Naaza remembered. It was Seiji who’d forced Anubisu away from Ryou when they’d met one evening and Kongo who’d stood there, watching. They’d also both seen Rajura when he’d arrived, chastising Anubisu for his carelessness. “Those memories are gone. They won’t come back.” He debated on whether or not to tell them the entire truth. They’d know as soon as Ryou found out and, knowing cruel fate, Ryou would find out. “Anubisu, you see, is a dhampire.”
“Half-vampire,” Suiko said, sounding not as astonished as Naaza had thought he would. “and half-human. More powerful than both vampires and humans with fewer weaknesses.”
“Not many know the word.” Naaza didn’t know why the boy would know, but he was partly grateful. It saved a lot of explanations. “Anubisu and Ryou had met before the war. They were fond of each other. Anubisu was, at any rate. I can’t say how Ryou felt about the whole thing. He didn’t seem to object.”
Seiji was, by that time, sitting up and rubbing his sore muscles. “Why should we believe you?”
“I haven’t a care whether you believe me or not. It’s Ryou who’s important and to ensure that he survives, spirit and body, we had to save you. Rajura made the bargain around him, you see.”
“Bargain…?” Suiko demanded, outraged.
“Silence!” Naaza held up a hand as he felt Rajura’s voice in his mind.
I’M COMING TO YOU. KAYURA’S UNCONSCIOUS AND I HAVE ANUBISU’S BODY.
BODY? HE ISN’T DEAD.
NO. BUT…
BUT HE’S NOT ‘ANUBISU’, IS HE? JUST BRING HIM. THE TROOPER BOYS ALL APPEAR TO BE SAFE AND RELATIVELY HEALTHY.
Rajura had never been a believer in procrastination. He appeared at just that moment, behind Seiji’s grandfather. Kneeling on the floor with one hand on Kayura’s shoulder and the other on Anubisu’s chest, he looked up with a terrible expression. “Protect them.” His voice was a low rumble of thunder, not at all like his usual softness. Then he turned his head and was gone.
“Damn him!” Naaza shouted. Arrogant, insufferable Rajura! Why did he always have to be like that? Just like Sh’ten, he thought he had to take all the weight upon his own head. He rushed to the bodies of Anubisu and Kayura. Kayura woke with a little gasp when Naaza took her hand and looked around frantically.
“Fae! They took him!” She looked into Naaza’s eyes, pleading with him to understand. “That’s not Anubisu!”
“I know,” He told her, keeping his voice soft when he wanted to yell. “Calm down. We’ll get him back.”
Of course he couldn’t expect the Troopers to stay out of it for long. It was Kongo, still holding onto Seiji’s hand, who spoke. Xiu? Hadn’t Anubisu heard him being called Xiu, at one point? Yes. Xiu said, “These fae took Ryou?”
“And our Anubisu.” Naaza nodded. “So,” He looked at them and their unhappy faces. “Anyone feel up to a war?”
Tintagel-
Anubisu-
Alone.
And he’d never been more grateful for the isolation. Anubisu was still strapped to the table he’d woken on, when he had found himself in Ryou’s body. The darkness was broken by torch light, but nothing disturbed the silence. Good. That was good.
He’d been gutted. Like a fish, they’d sliced opened his, Ryou’s, chest. He’d held back the screams as long as he could, but Ryou’s body was delicate and each pain tore through Anubisu’s mind. In the end, he hadn’t been able to stop screaming until his tormentors had grown tired of the noise and stopped, giving themselves time for lunch.
While they sat across the dark room Anubisu couldn’t help the morbid fascination that led him to lift his head to look down at himself. Nightmarish. They’d split his chest open and broken Ryou’s ribs to get a clear look at the inner workings of the human body. Strangely, there wasn’t a lot of blood. He could see, in painful clarity, Ryou’s lungs inflating and deflating with every breath. He could see Ryou’s steadily beating heart and even part of the pink intestines. The broken ribs were so cleanly cut, they looked like the sharpest sword had slashed them.
‘Too much to think about.’ He lay his head down and contented himself with staring at the ceiling. ‘At least Ryou can’t feel any of this.’ But was that really how it should end? Anubisu didn’t want to die and he knew that if he stayed in Ryou’s body, that’s just what would happen. He couldn’t think of any way to escape. In his own body, he would have been able to break his bonds, but Ryou, though stronger than he had been when he’d first met Anubisu, was still too weak to even stretch at the metal holding him down. ‘Darkness enough for a fledgling vampire, but me with no connection to Yami. I could use this, if I could just reach Yami.’
There was fire, too. Plenty of fire, Anubisu could see the flames even from where he lay. At least ten torches set around the dungeon for light. ‘Torch…fire.’ It was an interesting possibility. Anubisu reached into himself searching around for Yami, but found nothing. Not even a hint of what had been with him for centuries. The parts of his mind that had once been inhabited by his brothers were gray and deserted, leaving the only source of warmth to be the link he shared with Ryou. At least that was stable and seemed unchanged, even if it wasn’t as strong as Anubisu would have wished it. Not nearly strong enough to speak to Ryou, but strong enough to tell him Ryou was alive.
Content with that much, Anubisu concentrated on trying to get his body to relax. ‘Not mine. Ryou’s body. I’m inside him.’ It was almost enough to make him laugh. ‘No EXACTLY how I wanted to get into Ryou.’ What a filthy thought. Sh’ten would have been proud. ‘If I get my own body back, I won’t feel a thing, it’ll be Ryou who will feel it. He’ll feel the pain and have to suffer the after affects. I’ll ask Naaza to help him if Seiji can’t.’ But if they could switch back, Anubisu had no idea how to do it. He wasn’t even exactly sure how they’d done it in the first place.
The worst part of the whole situation wasn’t the pain - Anubisu knew he could deal with pain - it was how weak he felt. Ryou’s body was so much smaller than his own. He felt like a child. Not that the pain was anything to scoff at. It was nearly unbearable. Bad enough that he’d almost passed out. He would have, if the damned fae hadn’t kept his awake.
“It seems just a tad cruel.” One said to the other. “Like tearing the wings off a fly just to watch it squirm around.”
The senior of the two, Anubisu had heard the arrogant, commanding tone only in people who knew they were in charge - like Rajura, scoffed at the others worry. “Really. Cruel? That’s an unnecessary concern. We‘re scientists, remember? We have only one duty in this experiment. To find out what makes human bodies function and what makes them stop functioning.” They were a short distance away from Anubisu, sitting at a small table while eating. They looked as calm and relaxed as if they were having any ordinary lunch. “We just need to study the reactions and collect the data. What it feels or thinks is none of our concern.”
Anubisu’s temper flared. Experiment? Study? If he could just move he’d kill them both and drag their corpses before the creature that had started this whole mess - the woman Ryou had been so frightened of. Fae! He’d teach them about pain, if that was what they wanted. Anubisu managed to work up enough anger to pull his head up, too look around, but the first thing he saw was the two ‘doctors’ standing up with an exclamation of surprise.
A fae woman stepped into sight, but not the same one Anubisu had seen through Ryou’s mind. She was shorter but no less lovely. Other than that, Anubisu couldn’t tell the difference between them. Fae all looked alike to him: fair and pale.
“What are you doing here?” It was the younger of the two males who’d spoken, frowning at her, but managing not to sound overtly rude.
“I go where I please.” She didn’t stop walking and strode right passed them both, barely glancing at them. “I have come to see the human. They are so rare.”
“This is restricted…”
The female turned on the two males and gave them a look that made them both stop. “Do you dare to tell me what I may or may not do?”
“Of course not,” The elder of the males answered, carefully. “But this is a special project of the Lady-Queen’s.”
She just raised an eyebrow. “Is that the reason you…men…give for spouting off orders to a lady?”
Anubisu tried to relax himself. How interesting. He hadn’t known that the fae were a matriarchal society. In fact, he was certain that, long ago, he’d heard Abraham talking about the king of the fae. No matter. Nothing mattered but getting Ryou’s body out of this nightmare and then get their minds back where they belonged. As adorable as Ryou’s body was, Anubisu didn’t want to live in it.
The males seemed at a loss and merely bowed. “No, my lady. We meant no disrespect, only to serve the Lady-Queen.”
“Then do so by staying silent or leaving. I haven’t all day.”
They looked at each other, then turned and hurried away. Undoubtedly, they were rushing to whisper in the ear of their Lady-Queen about this unpleasant visitor.
“Look what they’ve done to you?” She was leaning over Anubisu and her hard face softened to such a great degree that she looked like an entirely different person. Her eyes traveled up and down Ryou’s body, but her expression made Anubisu worry all the more. “Poor dear…”
“Who…” His voice choked. How odd to hear Ryou’s voice.
“No, no.” The female put a hand to Anubisu’s face and patted it, like someone trying to calm a favored pet. “You mustn’t strain yourself, my dear. Just rest as best as you can. I’ll do everything I’m able to do. I swear it. Can you understand? Ryou?”
In this Hell who would call Ryou’s name so sweetly? Who was she?
She must have seen the confusion in his eyes because she looked as if she would cry. “You don’t remember me. But I was different then. So different. I’ve changed everything. See?” With that word, she shifted and blurred in front of Anubisu’s eyes. Instead of the obviously fae female, she looked like a very human young woman dressed as a Catholic nun. She smiled and it was a very real smile full of love and joy at seeing him. Well…at seeing Ryou. “It’s me, Ryou. You must remember now. I was always nagging you to get your homework finished. Such a stubborn boy you were, too.”
Anubisu had no clue as to whom the woman was. He’d seen many of Ryou’s memories and had caught glimpses of this woman in soft-edged memories, her face and voice cushioned on pillows of affection in Ryou’s mind.
Sister Jo.
“I…” He tried to speak again, but what they’d done to him had damaged his throat. “I know you.”
Her hand, patting his face, stopped and she pulled away with a little frown. “You are NOT Ryou.”
Anubisu managed a weak smile. “Really?”
Ningen Sekai-
Abraham-
Cowardly Rajura wasted no time. He vanished from sight almost as soon as Anubisu had been laid in his arms. Only…it wasn’t Anubius. Trapped in the body that the Wyrm had delivered was Ryou…somewhere. Both Abraham and the Wyrm watched Rajura disappear with both the little empress and Ryou in Anubisu’s body without trying to stop him. Really, why should they? Rajura was a child compared to both of them and what concept did he have of true war? Not one-on-one style that he was used to fighting, but thousands against thousands. Pitting whole nations, whole worlds against one another. That was precisely was Abraham had planned.
Closer. They were drawing closer.
“They’ll be safe in the Youja Kai than here.” The Wyrm said, taking his attention away from where the three had been huddled together on the floor. He turned his cold eyes to Abraham and raised the mighty sword before him, staring into the ruby eyes of the tiny dragon on the hilt. “Shall we begin? Your people are our main weapon.”
“And your people?” Why should he have asked? Abraham knew the legends well enough to know what the answer would be.
“My people are not bound by blood as yours are, nor are they normally influenced by something as fleeing as affection. They have their own concerns. One minor battle such will not stir them.”
No time to waste on what might have been, but Abraham couldn’t help but think of what the outcome might have been if he’d had the whole race of Wyrms at his back. At his back…? The deceptive, devious Wyrms? No. Perhaps that wasn’t such a good idea, after all. “That’s Ryou’s sword, isn’t it?”
“A useful weapon in such circumstances.”
Abraham went to one of the living room windows and looked out into the darkness. Night had crept up sooner than he’d expected and with it had brought a great number of Abraham’s children. They weren’t the only ones to answer the call, but they had been the first to arrive. With a battle against the fae anticipated, there were many eager to take their part. In fact, Abraham knew there would be several other masters out there, waiting to here when they would march into battle.
“What does it do?” Abraham didn’t leave his place by the window, nor would he until Miko returned. He didn’t trust them at all. Not even the vampires he’d sired were trustworthy. In fact, they were probably the least trustworthy of them all. Abraham didn‘t even like having the Wyrm in his home, but he couldn‘t stop them as easily as he could stop his own people. “That sword, I mean. It’s clearly not just a sword.”
“It’s a key.” The Wyrm gave an odd sort of smirk. “Ryou didn’t know what it was. Why should he? All he knows is that his family has been searching for the mate for many generations. I think the idea of the search had become more dear to them than the actual sword.”
“Well…what does the key do? You do like to talk in riddles, don’t you?”
“Keep up that attitude and you and all your little minions can sit out here under the moonlight while I stroll into Tintagel and just take care of this situation on my own.”
The threat was enough to make Abraham look away from the window. The Wyrm would do it, too. Disregard the fact that if they didn’t get a chance at a little fae blood, the vampires outside would be VERY angry - Abraham couldn’t care less if they were angry or not - but if the Wyrm did it on his own, Abraham wouldn’t be able to rescue Kuj. More than that, he wanted to rip the face off the creature who’d taken him. “Very well. PLEASE, tell me what the sword does.”
“It’s mine.” He raised the sword to his face and rubbed his cheek along the blade. “The other was hidden to keep it away from Arago when that demon walked the Earth.”
“YOU?” Abraham exclaimed, in mock astonishment. “Afraid of a mere demon? Perish the idea!”
“Silence brat. Your age has done nothing for your intellect.”
“Well, where did you hide it? Will having the mate influence the outcome of this war?”
“Significantly.”
“You don’t seem overly worried.”
“I’m not. There is nothing to be worried about.” The Wyrm paused a moment before continuing to speak. “Rajura will be here in a moment. Then we wait for the rest of them.”
While the war would go more smoothly with as many warriors as possible, Abraham didn’t like the idea of involving them. Especially not the boys he’d lived with for the past few months. “We can do this without them.”
“Are you going soft?”
“Hardly. But inexperienced children will get underfoot.”
“Possibly. But you’ve never set foot in Tintagel, nor have you ever faced the might of the fae. They can be surprisingly. The glamour…”
“Is no different than what vampires use.”
“But it is entirely different from Rajura’s skills. Besides, all of this hinges on Rajura, anyway.”
“What?”
“They’re after him. Though you may not have liked it, you’ve had dealings with the fae. Surely you’ve heard of Ari.”
It took Abraham up short. “Ari is a myth, a delusion of that mad queen of theirs.”
“Believe as you like, but I tell you they will open their world for a chance to get at Rajura. I can travel there alone.“ He held the Ryouken close. “And my agent already works on my behalf, though she doesn’t know it. The only way you’ll get your forces to Tintagel is to wait for Rajura to be bait for you. Wait for Rajura. I go hunting, now.” Then, it was gone.
Youja Kai-
Ryou-
The pain was gone, but he was still alone. Alone until he opened his eyes and found himself looking up at the strangest scene. Naaza and Shin stood over him, glaring blackly at one-another. “You’re taking him nowhere. If Ryou’s in that body,” Shin jabbed his finger at Ryou without looking at him. “Then he’s staying here. He can stay with grandfather Date.”
“You’d endanger them both by keeping them here without decent protection.” Naaza replied. “He was taken for a reason and if they realize that something had happened to their prisoner, it is likely that they’ll come searching for him. Fae can’t get into the Youja Kai.”
“A world filled with demons? You think I’d let him be put there where we might never see him again?!” By then, Shin was nearly yelling.
“Well, it’s there or let him die.” Naaza looked at grandfather Date who stood with his hand on Seiji’s shoulder. “You’ll let them both die.”
Neither of them was willing to budge. “Why would I want to go to the Youja Kai?” Ryou asked, at last. “And why does my voice sound so odd?”
“Ryou?” Shin squatted down and looked at him, curiously.
“Yes? Why are you staring?”
Shin bit his lip. “Forgive my suspicious nature. Please tell me, what were you doing the night I found you in the park?”
Ryou felt the blood drain from his face. Blood. Ryou found himself suddenly very thirsty. “The park?” He glanced around behind Shin. Everyone was watching him. Surely, Shin wouldn’t make him talk about that in front of everyone. He leaned forward and whispered, “Do you mean the pick pocketing or the…the eating?” He couldn’t quite get it to come out that he’d been eating raw meat. Not just any raw meat, but he’d been sharing the carcass of a dog he and Byakuen had caught together.
“Ah!” Shin smiled and looked relieved. “It’s you.”
“Of course it’s me. What’s happening?! Why’s Seiji in a hospital gown?” He must have been hurt in the crash. Ryou remembered that well enough. “And why are we graced by a visit from him?” Ryou lifted a hand to point at Naaza but as he did he saw his hand. The only problem was that it wasn’t his hand. It was very big and had fine blue strands on hair on the back and running up his very hairy arm. Ryou stared at the hand in horror. “What?” He raised the hand to his face, but the features didn’t feel familiar at all. There was a scar on his cheek. “Whose face is this?”
It was Touma who brought him the little mirror and Ryou found himself staring at Anubisu’s reflection. “Oh, man.”
The room was the door opened noisily, as it seemed someone had broken it, and Shin’s okaasan stormed in, looking half-angry and half-worried. “Here you all are!” She threw her arms up. “Honestly, I’ve been hunting all over for you.” She looked curiously at Ryou and Naaza, but bowed politely to grandfather Date and greeted him. “Well, that’s almost everyone accounted for. Where’s your mum, Shin-chan?”
Shin looked blank for a minute, then his eyes narrowed. “I thought she was with you.”
“She went down to prenatal, but when I went down to look, I couldn’t find her. One of the nurses said she saw your mum down there, but I haven’t seen a hint of her. The last thing she said to me was that she’d just met a friend of yours, Xiu-kun. Some man with sunglasses.”
“It was Michael.” Shin told Xiu.
“Speaking of whom,” Xiu frowned. “I haven’t see him in a while, either. That’s weird. He’s kinda protective. Maybe he went home.”
“He didn’t.” A new voice at the door just before papa and mama Faun rushed in and nearly knocked Xiu over in a double embrace. “Boy,” Papa Faun said, gruffly. “Michael called us.” He didn’t say anything else, but looked Xiu up and down to judge the injuries and when he was satisfied that there weren’t any to worry about, he patted Xiu’s cheek. “You had us worried. When Michael called…Glad you’re alright. Never been so worried…not since…Lai.”
Mama Faun was crying the whole time, wailing that he’d better never worry her like that again. How stupid was he to ride around without his seatbelt on! Was that true? The police told them he’d been thrown from the car. How he hadn’t broken his neck was a miracle!
While that was going on, Naaza looked more and more sour, like he was going to be sick to his stomach.
“Excuse me,” Shin interrupted the happy family reunion with a strained smile. “Has anyone seen my mum, lately?” The smile faded as he looked around at the blank faces. “No one? Well, she has to be here somewhere!” Shin stormed out of the room with his okaasan right behind him.
A long while was spent in silence. Ryou had questions to ask, but he didn’t know how to ask. He didn’t know why Naaza was with them or where the other Ma-Sho were. He really wanted to know where his body was and were the fae those people that had kidnapped him? How had he gotten out of there? For the meantime, he poked and prodded Anubisu’s body and tried getting used to the feel of it. He’d always wondered what it would be like to be so big.
After a while, Shin stepped back into the hospital room. He looked like he was in shock. “My mum…she’s gone.”
“Gone?” Touma frowned.
“Okaasan and I went to look on the security cameras. She was in prenatal. Then, there was another woman. Mum fainted, I think. Then Michael was there. He fainted. Isn’t that funny. He didn’t look the sort to just faint. Then, all three of then disappeared. Just…gone.” He leaned into Touma’s arms when Touma came close enough. “Didn’t recognize her.”
“Tall?” Naaza spoke up, sounding more curious than worried. Why should he worry? Ryou wondered, angrily. He didn’t know Mouri-san. He didn’t know what a wonderful person she was. “Tall and fair?”
“Yes.”
“Fae.” Naaza spat the word. “Waging war on women. Vile.”
Shin broke away from Touma and seemed to leap away across the room to Naaza. They stood toe-to-toe and Shin snarled with his lips curled up away from his teeth, “Then we kill them!”
“Yes!” Naaza agreed, eagerly holding his fist in the air. “War!”
To be continued…