A/N: Yo! So it's been quite awhile since I last updated, hmm? Thank you all for the continued support, it really makes me glad new people are getting interested into the story! -smiles- At any rate, since it's been awhile, I do hope that I haven't lost the feel for it, and that this chapter came out fine -sweats in nervousness-

This chapter's title means "Dust to dust."

For sweetsweetsorrow43 on youtube!

X: Staub zu Staub

Kamui jumped back ten feet from his opponent, landing gracefully down onto the wreckage of glass. The fight had gone on longer than he expected and he was shocked to see that Envy was nearly on par with him. Both of them had gotten in their fair share of beatings, but… A man, able to hold his own against a pureblood vampire! He wiped imaginary dust from his shoulders, giving the creature in front of him a long, piercing glare.

"Ah, what's with that look, Kamui?" asked his enemy, arms spread in an inviting gesture. The voice was different now, feminine. "You look like you've seen a demon. What would Subaru say if he saw you with such a dark look?"

"Don't say his name," hissed the vampire immediately, eyes glowing and pulsing with supernatural power. Baring his fangs, Kamui tilted his head down, glaring at Envy beneath his brow. No, rather…the thing that used to be Envy.

What stood before him now wasn't the piece of the prince's soul. Instead of wavy blond hair there was short, razor-sharp black strands framing a heart-shaped dollesque face. And Kamui knew this face well. It haunted Kamui's heart, one of many that tethered him to this line of sanity and madness. How Envy had donned this appearance, the vampire wasn't sure, but he knew it was a trick, an illusion.

"You're being so mean, you know!" huffed the girl, putting her hands at her hips.

Kamui growled deep in his throat, getting into a fighting stance once more. Yet how can this illusion seem so perfect? To even sound like her, act like her… "What sick joke are you playing at?" he demanded.

The illusion smiled, laughing. "You never did like my jokes, Kamui. But calling them sick, have you no sense of humor?"

"Stop that."

"Eh?" Long black lashes fluttered. "Stop what?"

Kamui reigned his patience in. "That. Stop sounding like her. Stop being her. You are not her!" Even now, so many years later – but when did illusions age? – Hokuto Sumeragi looked exactly the same as the day when Kamui saw her die. The mere flash of memory was enough to send Kamui over the edge.

Hokuto appeared startled, almost hurt. But quickly, she recovered, Envy's boots clicking as she paced back and forth before the vampire. "What are you saying, you big silly? Haven't you missed me at all? You had to, right – your life must be so empty without me." She halted then, turning her head sharply to meet Kamui's glare.

Her expression darkened, her eyes taking on Envy's green gleam beneath straight black bangs.

"Or at least, I know Subaru's is."

Souma nearly stomped down on her next step, hesitating to halt completely before shaking her head and pressing forward to follow Subaru and Nakuru. Her companions noticed her disquiet however and looked back in concern at the kunoichi. "Souma?" Subaru questioned.

Souma put her hand over her chest, gripping the clothing that covered it as she continued to bury herself in her looping thoughts. "We're at a disadvantage, you realize," she finally let out with a half-smile, gazing not at the two in front of her, but at the looming darkness ahead.

Both Subaru and Nakuru exchanged a look, Spinney letting out a small mewling sound as he flew around.

Not caring whether or not she received a response, Souma continued, "Syaoran is the one who knows the history within these castle walls and even though Kurogane-sama hasn't been here, he…" He seems to be connected to all this somehow, she finished silently. And for a while, that had been her fear. There were threads tangled around her master and friend that she didn't understand. He was involved in something huge and so far no one seemed to have a clue as to what that meant.

But I can't falter. I have to be strong. I have to keep fighting. Kurogane-sama might not realize it, but he's in trouble, and I want to have the power to protect him, with all my might! Nodding resolutely, Souma walked with a new purpose in her step, expression determined.

Subaru smiled as she walked by and Spinney made an approving sound, flying over to perch himself on top of her head. Souma had to admit, the action did comfort her and reinforce her determination. Yes, she wouldn't give in to fear. It wouldn't help her now. She would destroy it and whatever else hinged her efforts to protect Kurogane.

I became a kunoichi that served our kingdom in order to protect our country, but also to protect you as well. I will not give in to uncertainty, to the unknown. Because I will be by your side the entire time, together or apart.

The darkness that enveloped them got thicker, a black fog that engulfed them all at once that it could've been alive. Souma gasped softly, but Spinney's quiet purring calmed her. She felt Nakuru to her immediate right and Subaru fifteen degrees ahead of her to her left. She reached out for both of them, her fingers encircling their wrists, neither of them startled by the gesture with Subaru turning his hand over to link with Souma's.

The four pressed on, and Souma was starting to see less and less until she couldn't make the faintest shape out. "Hey, Subaru? Can you see anything at all in here?" True, her ninja instincts were helping her be able to sense things, but it was entirely the same as seeing. As of now, she didn't sense any foreign presences, and she was keeping an attentive lookout in case any of the prince's soul fragments came by.

"Yes," Subaru replied. "But it's strange. For a moment, everything got really…hazy."

"What?" asked Nakuru.

"We were walking down the hallway but suddenly we're in this wide, large area with a low ceiling. I didn't see us come to any openings, we just…got here somehow," explained the vampire in confusion. He stopped walking then, halting the other two as well as he made a low humming sound in thought. "This doesn't seem right. We're in a basement of some sort yet we went down no stairs or incline or anything like that, so how…?"

Souma frowned. If some magick was at work here, she certainly hadn't felt anything. And the flower that detected magick was useless here when the whole castle had been warped along with the curse. "This is no good. We have to see."

"Ah! I make fire!" Nakuru proclaimed, and in the next second a hot breath huffed and a ball of fire was floating on one of Nakuru's palms. Her face was illuminated in orange, and bathed them in soft light.

Souma smiled gratefully, letting go of her companions. "Brilliant, Nakuru," she praised. Taking a quick look around, she saw Subaru had been right about where they were. The basement was larger than any she had ever seen and might've even been confused for a dungeon had the chains not been replaced with old, dusty crates. Shelves were pushed up against the walls, full of jars and small boxes. Now that Souma had better bearings, she could definitely pick up a musty smell around them.

Nakuru made two more balls of light that followed around Souma and Subaru and the three split up to investigate. The fire blowing gently against her ear, Souma walked over to the nearest wall, glancing at the rows of containers on the shelves. Each was so layered with dust that Souma's finger came out completely grimy with one swipe. After some messy polishing, she made out a few labels – thyme, rose quartz, sage, topaz…

"I don't think anything is here except some materials used for magick," Souma called out, wiping her hands on her coat.

Subaru made another thoughtful sound. "Do you think perhaps we reached a dead end?" he asked. "We could go back, and I don't know about either of you, but I don't sense anything…"

"No, you're right," agreed Souma with a sigh, walking down the wall. She paused then walking past a pile of crates. She didn't feel anything, and yet… Something made her abruptly uneasy. Frowning, she slowly cast her eyes over the crates, searching them as if waiting for them to tell her why she felt on edge.

On the other side of the basement, Nakuru and Subaru were coming towards her. "Souma? Are you ready to go back?"

She stepped a little closer, the fireball flickering and gliding overhead. "Yes, coming…," she said distractedly. Wait, was that…? She leaned in just slightly closer, thinking maybe she heard a small movement-

A piercing scream rang in the basement, sending Souma stumbling back with a shriek of her own when the crate rattled and jumped apart, a figure dashing out between them. Rolling to get up, Souma shouted, "Stop whatever that is!"

In the next instant, Subaru moved lightning-quick, too fast for his ball to keep up but another terrified scream echoed followed by a grunt from Subaru. By the time Souma was coming toward them and Subaru's fireball had caught up, the vampire crumpled to his knees and cried out in fear, clutching his head. Standing and shaking in front of him was a young man, slightly older than a teenager, with wide fearful eyes that were surrounded by dark rings, as if he hadn't slept in a long time.

"Subaru, are you alright?" Souma choked out, gripping his shoulders.

"H-Hokuto…" he cried, trembling.

The boy whimpered, stepping back slowly. "Sc-scared… Don't kill me please… D-don't… You…" He looked over at Souma then. "You're scared, too," he whispered. "You're terrified…just like me… So scared…and weak."

Souma frowned. Had that been meant to be an insult? Well, it didn't matter, not when… "I'm not scared. Or weak. Tell me, who are you! You look like that Envy man. Are you a soul fragment as well?" she demanded, rising and drawing out her shuriken.

The blond-haired boy jumped, wailing at the sight of the weapons before running away completely. Souma hissed in disbelief getting up. "Nakuru, tend to Subaru!" she exclaimed over her shoulder, following the pitter patter of the soul fragment's bare feet. "I'm going after this one!"

"Souma, wait!" Nakuru cried, but Souma was already disappearing into the darkness. Soon even her fireball was nowhere to be seen. The brunette stared off, listening out but receiving nothing. She glanced at the winged cat on her shoulder. "Go after her," she murmured in her native tongue. Without a sound, Spinney nodded and flew off after the kunoichi.

Now that that was taken care of, Nakuru bent down to brush Subaru's bangs aside. "You okay?" she asked in concern. "That man. Very…how do you say…very weird."

"He just ran off," Subaru murmured, equally confused. "But that could be because of the soul fragment he is. And based on what he just did, I think I got an idea of who he is…"

"What happen?"

Subaru patted Nakuru's shoulder, reassuring her he was okay to get up. As he got back on his feet, he explained, "When I caught him… He slapped his hand onto my forehead, and then… This…memory. It came back to me out of nowhere. It came back so…so intensely…" Subaru looked down at his hands, lips twisted in discomfort. With a quick shake of his head, he said, "Come on. We have to go after him with Souma."

"…Oh, you're leaving as well?" droned a monotonous voice.

Nakuru and Subaru got into fighting stances, their balls of fire illuminating the pale, gaunt face of a small boy. He seemed to be only half the age of the other, and every movement seemed to be a huge effort on his frail body as he climbed out from between the boxes. Completely dead eyes gazed up at the two companions, and even the fire's light did not seem to shed light on those abysmal orbs.

"Fear left and so did that lady. Now you two. Well, everyone leaves," continued the boy, dragging his feet as he walked toward them. "But…maybe I don't want you to leave. Maybe I want you to stay here…with me."

Another freak, thought Nakuru with a dirty scowl.

Subaru took a step forward. "Who are you? And are there others in here, too?"

"No one, no one, no one," answered the boy mechanically like a broken record like he couldn't stop once he started. "Only me. It's always been always me. And me… I'm Emptiness. Will you tell me your names, too?"

"Subaru."

"…Nakuru," replied the brunette with more reluctance.

Emptiness tilted his head sharply, loose enough that it was as if he were a puppet who's string snapped. "Don't care anymore. You won't help. You're not even here for me," Emptiness droned, eyes falling closed. "You just want to kill me."

Slowly, Subaru relaxed. "Well, maybe it doesn't have to be like that. If you give yourself up willingly, it would save a lot of pain of yourself, don't you think?" he offered lightly. "We don't want to kill you."

"…No, I know what I said," Emptiness replied. "You want to kill me. Because…I'm not giving myself up. You'll only leave. And…since I want you to stay…fill this hole inside me…" The next instant, the boy melted into the shadows, pulled in into the abyss.

"Play with me."

Bending down to pick up another shard of glass from the pile on the floor, Hokuto asked casually, "Hey, Kamui, so how is Subaru?"

"That's not for you to know, you damn demon," cursed Kamui, eyes glittering as he circled around her, waiting. In the second it took Hokuto to straighten up, Kamui had moved and lunged his hand forward, aiming to slit her throat when Hokuto dodged at the last second. The vampire's nails only grazed her cheek and he jumped back as she quickly moved to stab him.

Blood trickled down Hokuto's cheek and she wiped at it, staring at the stain of red on her finger. "How mean," she ridiculed, her trace of humor gone.

"I will say this. I didn't know demons could bleed," said Kamui. "Envy, you tell me now, how did you do this?"

"Stop calling me that. I'm Hokuto. Hokuto Sumeragi," the illusion insisted. "I was born in Nihon to two human parents and I also have-"

"Shut up!" Kamui shouted, drawing in for attack again, but in a blink of his rage, Hokuto had disappeared. The vampire's eyes widened, about to jump back again when a delicate hand gripped his bicep, lips whispering against his ear,

"And I also have a twin brother named Subaru."

Kamui let out an animalistic cry of pain when glass cut deeply into his back, and he twisted, falling to the ground with a new wound gushing out blood. He reacted quickly, rolling away and then jumping back right as Hokuto decided to strike once more. The cut seared in the open air, stretching from his movements, but Kamui ignored the pain. He had endured worse before.

This had gone on for a while now, and even though Kamui was getting roughed up, his wounds would close within seconds. It shouldn't have troubled him, but at the same time the mere fact he was even getting hit made him distressed, though he kept his stance firm. He had underestimated Envy, and Kamui believed that even more so by the new ability he just displayed.

How annoying. Kamui never encountered a shape-shifter before. "…You…how do you know these things? How are you Hokuto? Envy, tell me…" Kamui turned around, straightening up. "Tell me how you know them! How dare you wear her face like this!"

Subaru…Subaru would be so upset if he were here…

Hokuto smiled, bringing her shard of glass up to her lips, where Kamui's blood was stained. "Isn't this how you did it, Kamui?" she said in a deadly whisper. "Isn't this how you poisoned my dear brother…? Tried to make him your own, as you always wanted him to be?"

Kamui's eyes widened as his wound finished healing. Memories, sharp and painful, pierced into his mind at the sound of those words, like Envy's phrases held a magickal sway over him.

There was Kamui, lost, frightened, betrayed – wandering the streets of Nihon… Kamui snapped out of it, wordlessly and coldly reaching out and thrusting his hand forward to Hokuto's stomach. Hokuto gasped, jumping to the side but unable to dodge Kamui's other hand that swiped across her chest. Fabric and flesh tore, blood flying onto the floor as Hokuto shrieked.

"Now that," she huffed, splaying her hand over the leaking slash as she flipped her bangs back, "was rather unnecessary. But I shouldn't expect Kamui Shiro to be civil, right? Especially when he can't handle something like his memories. Or rather," she smiled, "his envy."

"You need to care about something to have envy. You told me that yourself," Kamui pointed out, straightening to crack his shoulder. "I don't care about anyone."

"You try not to, at any rate," Hokuto corrected, slowly putting her bloodstained hand down. "What about Subaru, the one you so care for? Or what about those two, the ones who drove you to find me and my brother one chilly night? You remember, don't you? Never before had I ever seen a more pathetic looking vampire!"

Ah, but it had been such a low point in his life… Going through that with his best friend, being so alone until he came across two young individuals, both with soft-lined, angular faces and short black hair…

"Hey, Hokuto. There's a boy over there. Hokuto! Hey, are you alright?" asked the young man of the two, barely into his teenaged years. He reached out to Kamui, and the vampire recoiled away from him. The human blinked in surprise, but he smiled gently. "It's okay. We'll help you."

"There's nothing wrong," Kamui hissed under his breath, getting to his feet and walking away – more like dragging his feet with the lines he was cutting into the snow.

The boy was following him though, and soon enough there was a girl who looked just like him trailing after, calling out. "Subaru! Subaru! Oh… Who's that there? Friend?"

Kamui resisted the urge to cut them both. He was no one's friend – not anymore, anyway.

"Ah, that is something I'm hoping for," the boy, Subaru, replied with a nervous chuckle. "Please, you look really out of it. Where do you live? Is your family nearby?"

"You don't have to play dumb with me," Kamui snapped, spinning around to glare down at the black-haired human. "I know you know what I am. I can practically smell the magick radiating out of you. You're like exorcists, aren't you? If you're going to kill me, get to the point." In an instant, Kamui was making a fighting stance, pressing his sharp nails against Subaru's neck.

The girl, Hokuto, gasped. "Subaru!" Her energy manifested outward as she honed her magick in for an attack. Kamui was ready, ready to slice the boy's neck, let his blood paint the snow a vivid red.

"No, Hokuto, don't do anything," Subaru said calmly, meeting Kamui's gaze head on.

Not in the mood for any games, and annoyed that the boy wasn't retaliating, Kamui snarled and grabbed his collar to toss him down into the snow. "Whatever you wanted to do with me, if it's not a fight, you're of no use to me. Stay out of my way."

Hokuto ran over and bent down next to Subaru. "You okay, brother?" she asked, dusting him off and giving Kamui a guarded look.

"I'm not going to fight you," Subaru protested, frowning. Rising back up, he ran after Kamui, reaching out for him, grabbing his sleeve. "I just want to help you."

Kamui jerked his arm back. "I don't need anything from a human!" he growled, baring his fangs.

Subaru wasn't intimidated, still holding the vampire's stare. Slowly, he pulled his sleeve back, exposing his bare arm. Kamui was about to ignore him and walk away when Subaru brought the naked flesh to his mouth and bit down onto it – hard. There was the sick tearing of flesh and when Subaru pulled back, his eyes were filled with watery pain – and his lips were lightly dotted with his blood. Widening his eyes, Kamui stared down at the warm droplet of blood that began to ooze out from the bitemark Subaru had just given himself. Behind the boy, Hokuto cried out her brother's name in alarm. Kamui only barely registered Subaru's response of, "I know what I'm doing, Sis," because his senses were all honing in to that blood and oh, he was starving, hadn't fed in so long and after the fight with him…

"Subaru…," whimpered Hokuto as Kamui drew nearer.

The vampire smirked, lightly wrapping his fingers around Subaru's wrist. "Pathetic," he scoffed under his breath. "This…is how a proper bite is done…"

Kamui screamed when a glass shard sprouted from the right side of his chest, jagged edges sawing into him as his blood stained the reflective surface. At its angle, he saw his own agonized expression, his eyes still having the glazed look of delirium – and right behind him was Hokuto's smirking face with Envy's poison-green eyes.

"Remember now?" Hokuto said, pressing her cheek right beside Kamui's. "The so-called brother you hold so dear, was actually mine, a human boy named Subaru Sumeragi. And you, after my death, turned him into a vampire!"

Kamui gasped for proper breath, but hacked a cough instead, blood dripping down his chin. "S-Subaru…" he whispered brokenly.

Sensing the vampire's slipping power, Hokuto giggled deeply in her throat. "He took you in. Took care of you and loved you. Even when you could've left or killed us at any moment, he chose to trust you. But Subaru has always been like that, hasn't he? Always ignoring Sissy, even with that man as well, and look what happened to me, hmm?"

Hokuto twisted the shard of glass and Kamui struggled, coughing again. His body worked to heal itself, but couldn't with the shard still sheathed in him. Calm down, Kamui!

"Of course, that's not the point," continued Hokuto in a low voice. "All that matters is that Subaru never loved you like he loved me. Not like a sibling. You've always been alone, haven't you, Kamui? Even your two best friends had one another, didn't they?" Hokuto reached out to the tip of the sharp, wriggling it around until the tip broke off. "It wasn't fair, was it? You wanted to protect Subaru too, as a brother. You cared about him that deeply. But you couldn't. Only I could. That," the tip pressed to his neck and Kamui got the faintest hint of déjà vu when he had done this to Subaru, "that was the day your envy was born."

Aah. And of course Kamui knew it. Why else would have had the nightmares while he was here. Nightmares…that he killed Hokuto with his own hand, only to look up and smile at Subaru, embrace him… "Don't worry, your brother is here now."

"I didn't kill you though," rasped the vampire firmly, slowly inching his hands forward.

Hokuto didn't notice the movement. "Maybe you're not the reason I'm no longer here, but still, in your dreams and in your mind… You've always secretly wished it, haven't you? You always wanted me to die!"

"NOOO!" screamed Kamui, grabbing her quickly and tossing her to the ground. Glass still embedded in him, Kamui ran back, huffing and coughing up more blood. As soon as his feet touched the ground again, he tentatively wrapped a hand over the shard and yanked it out from his front. He could feel bits and pieces of it break off inside of him, but that was fine – his body would push them out when he healed. Although…

I doubt I can heal properly fast enough before Envy is after me again, even if I am pureblood.

Hokuto was picking herself up from the ground now, but she looked less herself now. Stray strands of blond were mixed in with her black locks, and her physique was more lanky now. Kamui couldn't believe he thought for a second that this illusion was ever Hokuto. The real Hokuto, he remembered, was kind. Daring. She…was annoying, but…I never disliked her. I did think sometimes, what if I could protect Subaru, but…

"You are really a pain, you know that?" snarled Hokuto, voice deeper, more like Envy's now. The green hue of his eyes was unmistakable now, practically having a sulfurous glow. "That's not fair, how can you still be standing!? Is it because you're a vampire?"

True as that was, Kamui could also tell the stab had taken a lot out of him. He parted his blood-stained lips, tongue flicking out to lick up the crimson fluid. "That day Hokuto died… I was not happy because that was…the day I first saw Subaru cry. And although I have…wanted to protect someone, wished I could protect Subaru like Hokuto always did for him…"

He took steps forward between words, standing as tall as he could, meeting Envy's wide-eyed gaze. Envy shook his head, lip curled in disgust. "No, get the hell away from me!" he shouted. At the same moment, a mirror fragment rose behind them and stabbed into Kamui's shoulder.

The vampire was stunned for a second, but he didn't back down. He dragged himself on and looked down at Envy, smiling with blood-stained lips. "That day…I wished I could've been there for her. I wanted to have been there for her. Because…I loved both of them. Like brother…and sister."

"I finally saw you smile!"

"What do you mean, Hokuto?"

"Subaru, look, that guy is finally smiling! Heehee, do it again, Kamui, come on! You look so handsome!"

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Aah, Kamui is being a meanie again!"

Kamui righted himself, pressing a hand over his stab wound, feeling weak… Just about as weak as he had that night he met Subaru and Hokuto for the first time… Just a little more. Just a little more. I can take him. Because unlike him…I am not using my envy to stay in one place. I am…a lucky person. This jealousy…had given me something to aim for. And now I protect Subaru with all my might…!

"And you, Envy? Aren't you tired of staying in that same place?" asked Kamui.

Envy's eyes widened, breathing heavily as he gripped the front of his bloody shirt. "N-no… NO!" he shouted, and more shards and glass rained down upon Kamui, stabbing him all over his back, his legs…but still the vampire inched forward until he was close enough to murmur in Envy's ear,

"Ever stop to wonder why you're in a room of broken mirrors?"

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

"You could protect someone too. Like you should've been all along," Kamui said calmly, losing focus in his vision.

For a second, Envy hesitated, seeming confused at the notion. "Why should I protect him? He's always been the most loved one," he asked quietly.

"And you? You can honestly say no one has ever loved you?" Kamui prompted. His legs were shaking now, his body aching with trying to heal around sharp fragments of glass, all cutting up his insides too…

Envy slowly looked down, seeming as though he really was wondering this same thing, desperately seeking a face in his memories that smiled at him as kindly as Hokuto and Subaru smiled for Kamui… A small gasp left the now fully-blond boy. Not a trace of Hokuto's appearance remained now when Envy sank to the floor, looking up at Kamui with a renewed sense of self.

"Memory," was all Envy said. "B-but I… I stabbed him in the back. N-not literally, I just…"

Kamui recalled what Envy had said before the soul fragment had declared a fight. "You could still do the right thing. Envy, you said something before… About how you wished…that you could fight like I do. But I only fight like this…because I know I have to do whatever it takes…to make Subaru safe. You…can still do as Memory asked…"

The green eyes that looked up at Kamui had lost their glow, and were wide and full of hope. "I…could be like you then," Envy said quietly, almost a question.

"Yeah…"

With a trembling grin, Envy nodded. "Y-yeah…"

Kamui stirred when Envy began to glow, a soft radiance of green light that slowly drifted upward, an invisible force pulling Envy's essence away. The blond didn't seem to be in pain though. If anything, he appeared…content. A soft smile was playing upon his lips as his form got fainter, melting into the light until he too drifted up – fading back into the existence of the prince.

The glass stabbing into Kamui also faded away, leaving the vampire with open wounds, but nonetheless grateful he wouldn't have to individually take them out. After a moment of pause, Kamui staggered to his knees. Harsh breaths left him and his eyelids felt heavy. To have a pureblood such as I...reduced to my knees. You were, in the end, quite a formidable foe, Envy.

His body rushed to repair the damage done to it, but his healing wasn't going as fast as it should. Blood continued to drip out from him. Blood…he needed some blood desperately… But he doubted he even had the strength to move.

Subaru... Kamui looked down and fell into the shard of glass and mirror, his blood staining their reflective surfaces.

Hokuto…

"How much longer is this walk going to be?" growled Kurogane, cracking his neck.

Ahead of him, Syaoran didn't break his stride, answering simply, "Our aim is to get to the prince as soon as possible. In order to do that, we have to find the correct way to get to the tallest tower."

"That's what I'm saying pisses me off!" Kurogane snapped, an outburst Syaoran also ignored with ease. The ninja crossed his arms, all but stomping down the hallway. "Why do we have to look for that guy when we'd just have to take down his soul fragments first?" He was itching to unsheathe Ginryuu sometime soon, and that damn Kamui already took the first prey!

The ninja had plenty more to say for sure, but a pain, quick, precise, and sharp, pierced his mind then, making his vision go white.

With a patient breath, Syaoran turned to Kurogane, only to find the ninja had collapsed, clutching his head as a shout of pain left him.

"Why...?

"Why...?"

Ending A/N: I actually never finished Tokyo Babylon (the CLAMP work that Hokuto appears in), but I knew enough of it to write out this chapter. I really want to finish it though, fwaaah... Anyway. Yay. One battle down...six to go -dies a little on the inside-

Well, it's New Year's Eve right now, but I really was determined to update this one more time this year! Reviews would be a great way to bring in the new year -smiles- Happy 2013, everyone!