Disclaimer: I do not own the tale of Eurydice and Orpheus, Nor Gosho Aoyama's works though I do wish him a very happy b-day!

Chapter 6: The Fates That Bind Us All

After the Rhodopeian bard had bewailed her in the upper realms,
He dared, that he might try the shades below as well,
To descend to the Styx by the Tænarian Gate,
And amid the phantom inhabitants,
He went

From the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice

He wasn't quite sure how he got there.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized he should have gone back and warned someone, told someone some sort of lie about where he was going- a false story so that when- if- he never came back they didn't search for his body for forever. But then he couldn't wait the month it would take for another full moon- He couldn't take another month of hell on earth, better to face Hades now and take his chance.

If it meant he could see her again, even if it were just for a moment, even if it meant he was to be condemned for all eternity, he would face anything.

So he found himself outside the museum and following the red light shining from the stone. He ran fast and hard not even sure if this was the right path to take, but fighting to reach the end of wherever its rays stretched before the sun shone her head over the horizon. He didn't think he could face another long day without shattering… much better to hide under the cloak of night and look at the cruel moon who smiled so coldly.

He had no memory of how he reached the place, no recollection of how far he'd gone and when the house tops had been left behind to reach this stretch of rocky shoreline- but the moonlight was reaching her final farewell when he came to a stop at the edge of a small cove where the stone gave a sudden flare, forcing the kaitou to look away.

As the light finally dimmed, almost like the dying moon, a solitary boat came into view from the shadows seemingly out of no where. A figure in black paddle her slowly, face hidden under a hat as Kaito simply waited. There was nothing else to do, but stand amongst the rocks and pray this is what he was searching for.

One hand on his card gun, the other wrapped tightly around the stone, he faced the man who stood fast at the small rowboats prow as it came to a stop before him. His face was a solid mask, unbreakable as he spoke to the man, "Is this the way to the gates of the underworld?"

A nod.

"Will you take me to the underworld?"

No reply.

"Will you take me to the gates?"

Another nod.

"Must I step into your boat?"

Another.

Swiftly Kaito pulled himself into the small craft. He still wore his KID gear, in too many ways it was just another heist- even if this one meant the difference between life and death for him and another. His cloak lay limp as he sat down, and when the ship began its movement he was dully aware of a chill that came over everything. A gray mist that began to wrap around the vessel as the stone pulsed with a dull light, the only thing keeping them illuminated in the wee hours before dawn.

The gates that rose before them after what seemed an hour of silence and mist, shone like two great monoliths of shadow and darkness. Black and cold they could've been anything but welcoming as they greeted the boat that slowly slid between them.

It grew darker as the stone rose around them, the entrance slowly incasing them like night. It was dark, and a small pulse of light came from the heart of the stone in his hands. If it hadn't been for the small twinkling of the red gem he would have thought he'd gone blind. There were only two sounds that he heard inside the tunnel, the dull lapping of waves against the boat, and a thin whistling in the wind that sounded like a voice wailing.

Whether hours, days, or simply minutes passed- Kaito could have never told. For him it was eternity in the small boat with the faceless shadow. Fear? If he had been himself perhaps the great thief would have been terrified, but every small movement drew him closer to Aoko- and with that lone thought he could keep it at bay. He still felt cold- frozen inside- maybe it was selfish of him but he couldn't help it. Falling into a frozen wasteland where no thoughts, no memories could touch him, where the only purpose was to step forward even if it took his life. For the first time in Kuroba Kaito's life, he simply took the easier road. Wasn't it better then knowing she was dead?

Evermore had come and gone when a dull green shadow of light started to appear through the now nonexistent mist, a dark shade that was sickly and wan, one of death. Kaito looked down to see the water was black and instead of reflecting appeared matte- devouring all light that dared to tread across the water. He felt emptier as he faced it- as though the little emotion he had retained was pulled from him and drained into the darkness.

He was shaken from the trance as the boat came to a halting stop. He blinked looking and saw steps coming down to the waters edge next to their vessel leading up to a platform and edge of apparently land- though nothing like he'd seen before. The surface was as black as the water- only reflective and made of something similar to marble.

Taking a deep breath he stared up the steps that wound upward. He looked back to the shade whose faceless cowl was watching him before asking in a whisper, "This is where I leave you?" It echoed off the walls as though he had yelled- the thick silence penetrated for the first time in who knew how many centuries.

The apparition nodded.

"Alright. Thank You" he said standing and then heading to the steps when the spirit reached out, his hand out stretched as though waiting for something.

Kaito frowned looking at it before nodding, "I must pay you something don't I? Never free-" the ghoul nodded and he frowned. "Well… I don't know what I have- you won't take money-" he pulled out a stone from his pockets. One he hadn't had time to return that night and looked at it, "Will this do?" He handed it to the creature before it shook its head. "Of course… it isn't mine to give-" he scowled and replaced it looking for something else.

His hand touched another gem and he swallowed- difficultly as he pulled it out hesitantly. He looked at it for a moment and sighed, "What about this one?" It was the stone he had stolen the night Aoko had been killed- he'd never returned it. True it was stolen… but then the heist had caused him to pay the highest price possible, and it seemed that it was only fair the jewel was by right his.

He dropped it into the shade's hand, and cowl looked at it for a moment and nodded as the stone turned to dust in his hand. Kaito gave a last bow before he turned, taking the first step onto land before the boat turned and slowly drifted away back through the water and darkness.

Looking up the steps he began heading up to the land. Carefully he moved up towards the land, he didn't hesitate but instead headed up without a second thought. He wouldn't stop now, no matter how ominous it looked- he was here and it was his turn to step over to find her.

Silence filled his footsteps, years of training as a thief and here was the greatest test of it all. Slipping in and out of shadows as he raced up the steps to reach the final ground- only to find a great hallway, with another gate at the end. Black marble shone on either side, carved with strange symbols that looked almost like hieroglyphics, then changing to foreign tongues, ancient Japanese, languages he had never seen or heard of scattered by pictures that could almost pattern out the history of the world.

He heeded little as he continued to walk- trying his best not to let the silence unnerve him. The green light turned more to a shadowed glow, color undistinguishable, simply light in a never ending darkness.

The gate came closer, wrought of black metal that was shaped to look like two trees on both sides twisted and gnarled. It wasn't barred to him but it was in every essence a gateway, and just as foreboding as though it were locked and closed.

He approached it, the pictures and words sketched in the wall growing more frantic and chaotic- now instead of chariots and trees and swords there were guns and buildings soaring along. When his attention turned slowly to the gate- keeping eyes out for traps and triggers- for anything that may be guarding the mammoth structure, he never saw the rest of the wall reveal its secrets.

He never noticed the riddles written in the wall, the pictures of a young boy acting to a shadow watching two men in black and woman with pale blond hair. He didn't notice the little girl that followed the child, and he never noticed a faint outline of a picture of a phantom flying on wings over them both. A fallen woman laying on the ground lifeless-

And as there was a loud roar- one that sounded like the earth giving way and rolls of thunder in the fury of storm- a roar that encompassed all his attention and had him on guard with a card gun he knew would do little good-

He never saw the thin red flicker embedded in the wall like a ruby in the darkness… a thin line almost like a string that encircled two lone figures carved in the face.

A young woman limp in the arms of a young man…

Hands connected by the barest of red threads that glittered in the wall.

Connected even in death-

Unseen as the thief readied himself for whatever awaited at the gate-

A/N: I GOT THE CHAPPY DONE! In honor of Gosho's b-day… AND Kaito's! Though I think it won't appear until too late but meh XDXD It was finished on their b-day! So anyway! Happy Bday to them! And erm… no promise on the next chappys release XD The wall was slightly inspired by the threads of fate said to be woven together by the three hags/fates/lilum/witches whichever fable you wish to call them… and the gate was inspired by fma…

I'd also like to add... spzzed for like 2 days XD I swear... only spazzes when I try to upload chapters XD (And be thankful I managed this... we're in the middle of mega moving... not to mention just graduated... and lots of family crises so- wasn't the easiest thing to finish but I did get this one up ;; )