Author's Note: Next chapter. Be warned, this one is really long. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :)

-Additional note:

-The rabbit on the moon: A classic Japanese folktale with many variations...and sure to be a familiar story to fans of various anime/manga series, including Salior Moon. :)

Chapter Twelve—The Sacrifice—part two

Ryo groaned and blinked his eyes a few times in an attempt to focus and discern his surroundings from the darkness that enveloped him. He was disturbed; however, when he discovered that no matter how much he strained his eyes, the blackness remained. It took him several moments to realize that there was some kind of cloth covering his face.

'What's going on?' he wondered. 'Wait…I was on a mission. I was trying to find Norester and oyaji. And then that man appeared….'

Panic coursed through him as he remembered someone grabbing him and sticking a needle into his neck. Ryo tried to get up, but found that his wrists and ankles were bound tightly together, making it nearly impossible to move. He struggled for several minutes before finally giving up and lying still on his side.

"Ah, Saeba, I see that you are awake."

Ryo stiffened as he recognized that voice as belonging to the same man who had attacked him earlier. Seconds later he felt hands hover near his head and the blackness abruptly disappeared as the hood covering his face was ripped away. Ryo blinked again as his eyes adjusted to the light, and he saw the same man standing over him with a large grin on his face.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the man said. "I am Captain Maceno."

"Maceno?" Ryo slurred out, nausea overtaking him as the light continued to shine in his eyes.

"Good, I believe that you remember me," Maceno said. "I was hoping that you would, considering what you, Norester, and Kaibara did to my squadron last year."

Unable to control himself any longer, Ryo turned his head and vomited onto the floor. He continued to gag long after emptying the contents of his stomach, and Maceno laughed at the sight.

"I suppose I might have given you a little too much of my special 'cocktail' earlier," Maceno chuckled. "It is disagreeing with you, yes? I'm afraid that I do not have any experience with using it on children, so there are bound to be some miscalculations on the proper dosage."

Ryo coughed a couple times and tried to wriggle away from the mess on the floor. Maceno watched him inch along the floor for a minute before kneeling down and grabbing him by the shirt so he could haul him upright into a sitting position.

"Shall I tell you why you are here?" Maceno asked. "You see, you and your comrades caused me to lose face with some of my friends in the military. I was on my way to a promotion and an even larger battalion of men under my command. That was until the so-called 'Angels of Destruction' got in my way, killing most of my squadron. Granted, most of them were inferior soldiers, but still the incident caused me a great deal of embarrassment. It took a lot of maneuvering on my part to get to my current post at this base."

Maceno paused and studied the neutral expression on Ryo's face for a minute before suddenly slapping him across the face and letting loose with a series of blows all over Ryo's body. Ryo closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind away from the pain, determined not to cry out.

"It's because of you, because of you, Norester and Kaibara that I was deprived of what should have been mine," Maceno shouted as he continued to hit him. "Now it's time to make all of you pay for what you did."

Almost three agonizing minutes later, Maceno stopped and chuckled as he sat Ryo back up and tilted his head toward him.

"You are tough, I will give you that," Maceno smirked. "Just what I would expect from Kaibara's protégé. But I wonder how long that will last. I have never tried to break down a prisoner as young as you before. I foresee you giving me an interesting challenge along with a considerable amount of enjoyment before I end up killing you."

Maceno pulled out a long knife from a sheath on his belt and held it up near Ryo's face.

"Understand this, Saeba," he said. "You are going to die. And there is nothing that anyone can do to change that. The only questions left at this point are when it will happen and how much you will suffer before then."

Ryo swallowed hard. Even though this was not the first time his life was threatened, it was the first time that it happened when Norester and Kaibara were not somewhere nearby. He did not want to show any weakness, but the pain from Maceno's beating, along with the drugs he had been injected with and the fact that he was completely alone made it impossible for him to not react. His eyes grew wide with fear and became watery, but he managed to hold his tears back before any of them could fall.

"Good," Maceno smiled as he put the knife away. "I see that you are finally starting to appreciate the situation you are in." He pulled out a couple of strips of cloth from his pocket and wadded one up into a ball. Maceno then reached over and forced Ryo to open his mouth.

"There now," he said as he stuffed the cloth into Ryo's mouth and used the other one to tie it in place. "I have some people coming here to clean my office, and I wouldn't want to upset them with your screams."

Maceno then grabbed the hood and put it back over Ryo's head before pushing him onto the floor. A moment later, Ryo heard two more people walk into the room.

"Clean up this mess," Maceno ordered. "Once you are done, feel free to guard him however you wish, but whatever you do, make sure to keep him alive."

Ryo heard Maceno laugh again and walk out of the room, slamming a door behind him. He then heard the other men crack their knuckles and move closer to him.

"Why do we have to clean this up and babysit this kid?" one of them growled.

"Yeah, Maceno always gives us the dirty jobs," another one said.

"Well, no use complaining about it," the first one added. "And besides, we can always take out our 'cleaning bill' on this kid here."

Ryo heard both men laugh and seconds later, one of them kicked him in the ribs. He clamped his teeth down onto the gag in his mouth and tried again to block out the pain, but as the men kept kicking him, it became increasingly difficult to do. Soon, tears trickled down his face, and Ryo squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to think about anything other than what was happening to him.

'Oyaji!' his mind screamed as the blows continued. 'Please. Please help me.'

'Oyaji!'

"No! Stop it! Leave him alone."

"Musuko!"

Kaibara's eyes flew open as he bolted upright in his bed. His breaths came out in short pants as he wiped the sweat off his brow and swung his legs over the side of his cot.

It had been the third nightmare that night. Each one of Kaibara's dreams played out with a somewhat different sequence of events, but the conclusion was always the same: he would be forced to watch, helpless, as Ryo screamed for his help right before Maceno killed him.

As Kaibara took several deep breaths to calm himself, he considered how he was unsure which part of his nightmares was worse: the fact that Ryo always died at the end of them or the fact that Kaibara had to watch his son cry and plead for his father to rescue him…all while knowing that he was powerless to save Ryo.

Kaibara put his head in his hands for a moment before standing up and walking outside to study the stars. He knew that he should probably get some rest before tomorrow, but right now, anything seemed better than enduring another nightmare.

"You can't sleep either, huh?"

Kaibara sighed and shook his head as Norester walked over and stood beside him.

"I got the reports from Tamez," Norester continued. "Apparently, Maceno managed to secure a second-in-command position at that new base, that giant one they just built."

"I am surprised that he was able to do that given his massive failure at commanding his 'death squad'," Kaibara replied.

"Yeah, well rumor is he's made a lot of friends among the top brass," Norester said. "I swear, if he hadn't gone into the military, he probably would have been a perfect fit for the political arena in this country."

"Perhaps it's just as well that he didn't," Kaibara frowned. "He probably could have done even more damage with that kind of power."

"True," Norester nodded. "Anyway, it looks like they took Ryo to that base, and that creates a problem. That place is built like a fortress, and from what we can tell, a little over a hundred soldiers are stationed there."

"That really could be a problem if the soldiers there are of a better caliber than the ones we fought today," Kaibara replied.

"And apparently they are," Norester nodded. "From what Tamez could tell, those soldiers who were sent out were ones who were already on thin ice for incompetence and insubordination. They had been sent to that base recently by the higher ups to be 'whipped into fighting shape' by Maceno. I guess Maceno, however, had other plans for them."

"So that was Maceno's goal?" Kaibara asked. "To eradicate the soldiers who he felt did not live up to his standards under his command?"

"Seems that way," Norester said. "Although, based on what Tamez told me, I think Maceno also has a bone to pick with us, and kidnapping Ryo was a central part of his plan."

"It is also likely that Maceno's demands will be ridiculous ones that he knows Galvez will never agree to, meaning that one or both of us could be forced into a vulnerable position in order to appease him," Kaibara said. "This way, he can take his revenge by either killing Ryo or by getting rid of at least one of us."

Kaibara went back to looking at the stars silently and Norester watched him for a moment before speaking again.

"Kaibara, breaking into that place will be difficult, but it's not impossible," he said. "With the right group of men supporting us, I am sure that we can make a go of it. We can still rescue Ryo."

"Do you believe that Galvez will agree to carry out an operation like that?" Kaibara said.

"Why shouldn't he?" Norester asked. "Granted, it's dicey, but if we succeed, not only will get Ryo back, we'll be able to deal a huge blow to the military's presence in this area of the country. The way I see it, the potential rewards vastly outweigh the risks."

"So it seems," Kaibara replied. He then took a couple of steps away from Norester and focused his attention on the moon, which had a pale golden hue to it.

"That first night," Kaibara said quietly. "The first night Ryo was here, the sky looked just like this. I tried to get him to go to sleep more than once, but he started to cry every time I told him to get into bed. So, I let him sit with me instead and we watched the stars appear and the moon rise. I told him an old Japanese folk tale about a rabbit who lives on the moon and makes rice cakes, and eventually he fell asleep with a smile on his face. For some reason, I could not bring myself to move him to the bed, so I ended up holding him in my lap and watching the sky for hours while he slept."

Kaibara took a deep breath and tilted his head slightly in an effort to work a kink out of his neck.

"Looking back on it now, I remember that I had a faint inkling that something had changed on that night," he said. "I believe that somehow, I knew that my life was about to become far more complicated, but also far more…dynamic, more vibrant than it had ever been before."

Norester gulped and lowered his head as he listened to this. It was very rare for Kaibara to speak openly and frankly about the things close to his heart, and it was disconcerting for Norester to hear him share this memory with him.

"Kaibara," he said softly. "I am sorry. I am so sorry for the things I said to you earlier today. You were right. I have no business telling you how to raise Ryo in a place like this. I keep thinking about Mary, and I…I can't even imagine what you are going through right now." Kaibara chuckled and turned to Norester with a smirk on his face.

"Apologizing to me? That's quite unlike you," he said. "If I didn't know my partner so well, I would be asking what you've done with the real Stephen Norester by now." Kaibara watched Norester respond with a weak smile of his own, and the two of them shared a brief laugh before becoming more somber again.

"The fact is though, there is no need for you to apologize," Kaibara added. "You were well within your rights to say those things to me because you have also made a commitment to Ryo and have played a large role in his life."

Kaibara turned around and took a couple of steps before pausing to glance back at Norester.

"I know that it took me a while to realize this truth," he said. "And you can thank the Professor for that because, for once in his life, he said something profound, something that I apparently needed to hear."

"Which was?" Norester asked.

"That I needed to reevaluate my priorities," Kaibara replied as he walked away.

Ryo carefully cracked his eyes open and groaned. He tried to gauge how much time had passed since the men finally gave up on beating him and had tossed him into some kind of cage, but time seemed elastic and uncertain right now.

He then decided to try to find a way to escape instead. He tried struggling out of the ropes around his wrists again, but soon realized that they were just as tight as before.

'I can't give up,' Ryo told himself. 'If Norester and oyaji were here, they would tell me to keep trying, no matter how much it hurts.'

His determination renewed, Ryo increased his struggles, working frantically to loosen the ropes binding him. Eventually, the skin on his wrists was raw and soon he felt a warm trickle of blood run down his arms, but he was no closer to freeing his hands. He paused for a moment and gasped, the gag in his mouth making it hard to breathe, before trying again.

His struggles abruptly stopped, however, when he felt someone grab him by the arm and drag him out of the cage and onto the floor. Ryo closed his eyes seconds before the hood over his head was removed again, and he heard the sound of laughter from above him.

"Trying to escape, are you?" Maceno's voice sneered at him. "Pitiful. If only Kaibara could see his precious student now. He would realize how much of a failure you are."

Ryo kept his eyes closed even as he felt Maceno move closer to him, remove the strip of cloth covering his lips and pull the gag out of his mouth.

"Open your eyes," Maceno ordered. "I said open them."

Ryo pressed his lips together and kept his eyes clamped shut. Maceno yanked him up into a sitting position, and suddenly, Ryo felt the cold edge of a knife pressed against his throat.

"Open your eyes or I will open them with this," Maceno hissed into his ear. Ryo's breath stuttered as he slowly lifted his eyelids and saw that Maceno's face was only inches away from his own.

"Good boy," Maceno grinned as he backed away. "You should know now that things will go much easier for you if you cooperate and that making me angry should be avoided at all costs."

Maceno slipped the knife back into its sheath and stood up. He walked across the room and poured some water into a glass from a pitcher that was sitting on a nearby table. He then crouched back down in front of Ryo and held the glass out to him.

"I imagine that you're thirsty," Maceno said. "If you hold still, I will give you some water. If you don't…well, I don't think you want to find out what will happen to you. Now, let's see how well you listen."

Maceno moved closer and placed the rim of the glass against Ryo's lips, pausing for a moment before tilting it upward. His mouth cottony and tasting of bile, Ryo eagerly parted his lips and drank greedily from the glass.

"I see that you learn quickly," Maceno smiled as he watched Ryo drain the water from the cup. "I am glad. Perhaps this will all go much easier than I thought it would."

Ryo finished most of what was in the glass, and Maceno pulled it away, sitting it back on the table behind him. Maceno continued to smile and Ryo smirked back for a second before spitting in his face. Maceno glowered for a moment, his eyes filling with rage while he wiped the salvia from his face, but then he started to laugh again.

"So, you still have some fight in you after all," he chortled. "I think I may have underestimated you, Saeba."

Maceno's smile swiftly changed to a frown, however, and he slapped Ryo across the face several times before grabbing him and shoving him against the floor. Ryo managed to turn his head back to see Maceno take another syringe out of his pocket, and he started to thrash in an attempt to get away.

"Now now, no need to get so upset," Maceno said as he plunged the needle into Ryo's neck. "This dose won't be as strong as the last one. You should be able to remain conscious this time."

Maceno then yanked the needle away and tightened his grip on Ryo, ensuring that he could not wriggle away. A few moments later, Ryo began to feel light-headed and woozy again, and Maceno nodded and released his hold on him.

"There, now I know that I will have your undivided attention," Maceno said. "I want to discuss a proposition with you. You tell me what I want to know about Galvez, Norester and Kaibara and their fellow guerrillas, and I will give you a swift and painless death. How does that sound?"

Ryo moaned as he felt his stomach churn and he swallowed as quickly as he could to push down the bile that was rising in his throat. His vision seemed to waver, and Ryo shook his head slightly as he tried to clear it.

"Well, what is your answer?" Maceno said. "Shall I release you from your suffering or would you like me to continue this game with you?"

"I…don't know…anything," Ryo croaked out. Maceno frowned and shook his head.

"Eh, what a pity," Maceno shrugged. "Such misguided loyalty. Tell me, do you honestly think that Galvez or even Kaibara would be so loyal and would keep their mouths shut just to protect you?"

Maceno scooted over to sit closer to Ryo and tapped his fingers hard against Ryo's forehead so he would look up at him.

"I have done some research on you," Maceno said. "A good soldier always learns as much as possible about his opponents, as I'm sure you learned during your training. I heard about a plane that crashed here six years ago, a passenger plane from Japan. The official word was that there were no survivors, but I have heard stories that that was not quite true. There was one survivor, a little boy who happened to come across Galvez's guerrilla troop by accident and who ended up under the protection of the 'Angels of Destruction'. There are even whispers that one of them, Shin Kaibara, not only protects this boy, but also refers to him his own son. They say that he actually lets this child call him 'father' and that the boy practically worships him."

Maceno chuckled and smirked as he leaned back while making sure to stare into Ryo's eyes.

"That child is you, is it not, Ryo Saeba?" he added. "Interesting thing though, I have a friend in the government who was able to let me take a peek at the manifest for that flight. There were no passengers with the name 'Saeba' on the list, so I deduce that Kaibara gave you that name himself. Perhaps because the shock of the crash made you forget your real name? Haven't you ever wondered why Kaibara gave you that name instead of his own?"

Ryo blinked in surprise and Maceno laughed again in response.

"Didn't that occur to you before?" Maceno smirked. "Interesting. He is supposed to be your father, isn't he? And yet, he made sure to not give you his name. I understand that his partner, Norester, has a daughter, and that she bears his name. After all, it's part of being a father, is it not?"

Ryo's head lolled to the side as sweat poured down his face and nausea filled him. He felt himself falling unconscious, but Maceno slapped his cheek the moment his eyelids started to drift shut, forcing him to stay awake.

"That Kaibara, he is a clever one," Maceno said. "He has many, many enemies, as I am sure you know by now. I'm certain that he has asked himself many times how he could better protect himself against them. But then in an incredible stroke of luck, an opportunity just happens to fall from the sky, literally. A child comes along, a child who, as it turns out, has potential for this kind of work. A child who he could train as a soldier and who can act as a buffer against those enemies. And what better way to ensure this child's loyalty than to convince him that he's his father now."

Maceno laughed again and put his hand under Ryo's chin, tilting his face upward.

"I can see it all now," Maceno said. "Tell me, did Kaibara make sure to praise you as his son whenever you did well in your training? Did he feed you some line about how he was training you just so that he could be sure that you would be safe? Did he even go as far as to tell you some fairy tale about how it didn't matter that you weren't related by blood, and that the only thing that mattered was the bond you shared with him? I'm sure he did. But I'm also certain that he made sure not to get too emotionally attached to you, as evidenced by the fact that he gave you a different family name from his. See, giving you his name would have been a declaration of a tie binding you together, of his acceptance of you as his family. And Kaibara, well he just couldn't have that. That wouldn't have suited his purpose for you."

Maceno moved his hand away, and Ryo let his head droop down, partially because of the disorientation he felt from the drugs, and partially as a way to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes.

'It's not true…is it?' Ryo asked himself. 'I'm not just some kid learning to be a soldier to oyaji. He calls me musuko. He promised to protect me and to always be a part of my life for as long as he could. He wouldn't do all of that if I was just a puppet or a burden like Maceno says…right?'

Ryo tried to ignore the things Maceno was telling him, but he couldn't deny that Maceno was not totally wrong in his statements. His thoughts were becoming increasingly jumbled, making it even harder to separate the truth from the lies, and the more Maceno talked, the more his ideas seemed plausible to Ryo.

A pair of tears finally slid down Ryo's face, and Maceno nodded sympathetically at the sight.

"Yes, the truth is painful, isn't it?" he said. "But that is often how life is. As much as I am sure you hunger for things like paternal love and understanding, in the end, people like me, like Kaibara, must always think of our own interests first and foremost. There is no room in our lives for liabilities like you."

Maceno reached over and touched a tear that was clinging to the edge of Ryo's chin, flicking it away with his index finger.

"You see, you have no reason to be so beholden to Kaibara or to any of them for that matter," Maceno said. "So, just tell me what I want to know, and I will put an end to your pain."

"I…I…" Ryo whispered.

"Yes?"

"I don't know…I don't know anything," Ryo said. Maceno frowned and stood up.

"I see," he said. "It looks as though I will have to be even more persuasive."

He grabbed Ryo by the collar of his jacket and pulled him outside. He ended up dragging Ryo along the ground for a few feet until he stopped and shoved Ryo in front of him. Ryo was about to ask what was going on when he whimpered at the sight of a small plane that was directly in front of him.

"I have heard that when a person undergoes a great trauma, like say, a plane crash, it can leave deep-seated phobias in their psyches," Maceno said. "Granted, I haven't experienced this first hand, but right now seems like the perfect time to test this theory."

"Please, please don't," Ryo cried, slipping into Japanese. "Please don't make me go."

"You know that I can't understand a word of your gibberish," Maceno scowled. "So just for that, I say we go for a little spin. It's been a while since I've flown a plane, but I think it will all come back to me quick enough. Just don't be surprised if the ride is a little rough."

Maceno hauled Ryo up to his feet and pushed him into the back of the plane before getting into the pilot's seat. He ignored Ryo's screams as he turned on the engine and worked the controls.

"Are you ready for your flight, Saeba?" Maceno laughed. "I promise that it will be one that you will not forget any time soon."

"Please let me go," Ryo sobbed. "I don't know anything. Oyaji said it was safer for me that way. Please stop."

Maceno drove the plane down the makeshift runway, and Ryo's screams grew louder, his heart beating wildly while his mind was consumed with terror. Soon, all Ryo could perceive were memories of screams, smoke, and a violent descent to the ground.

"Oyaji! Help me! Please help me! Make it stop, oyaji! Please make it stop!"

Ryo spent the next few minutes screaming and crying, his voice quickly becoming hoarse, until he mercifully passed out.

The next morning, Kaibara and Norester hid in the underbrush near the place where their battle took place yesterday, waiting for the delivery of Maceno's ransom demands.

They had arrived almost two hours earlier than what Maceno had appointed for the drop-off time just in case Maceno was planning on setting some kind of trap for them. After surveying their surrounding for almost an hour, Norester and Kaibara were satisfied that nothing was amiss and took their positions so they could watch and wait.

"You think Maceno is actually going to give us his demands?" Norester asked.

"He will," Kaibara nodded. "It's part of the game for him."

Seconds after he said this, the two of them watched as a soldier crept out into the open, his rifle sweeping the area around him. After a couple of minutes of this, the soldier pulled an envelope from his jacket and carefully sat it down on the hood of the truck that had been abandoned. He then ran away and Norester and Kaibara waited for a few minutes after he left to go out and retrieve the envelope. Norester grabbed it and tore it open.

"What does it say?" Kaibara asked.

"Well, Maceno doesn't think small, I'll give him that," Norester scoffed. "He wants Galvez to send him a list of the locations of all the guerrilla groups in the resistance, along with information about their members and battle capabilities. And he wants this list delivered by either me or you. Preferably by both of us. We do that, and he'll release Ryo into the jungle."

"Is that all?" Kaibara smirked. "And here I thought that he was going to be unreasonable."

"We need to talk to Galvez," Norester said. "According to this, we only have until noon tomorrow before he drops Ryo's head at this same spot."

Kaibara nodded and the two of them began their journey back to the village. As he walked, Kaibara tried to think of what he could use to argue his case to Galvez.

But he could not shake a sinking feeling that nothing he said would matter.

Two hours later, Kaibara saw his worst fears come to life as Galvez listened to Norester's plans and soundly rejected all of them.

"I told you yesterday that we will not make any deals with the military," Galvez said. "And I'm certainly not going to play into Maceno's hands with some cockeyed deal like this."

"Sir, we are not suggesting that you give in to Maceno's demands," Kaibara spoke up. "We are simply asking for a group of men to take with us to retrieve Saeba from their base."

"Are you mad?" Galvez said. "You want to storm that place? That fortress with over a hundred well-trained soldiers guarding it? What on earth makes you think that I will agree to this fool's errand?"

"We are not like the military, sir," Kaibara replied. "We do not abandon our own."

"A noble response, just what I would expect from you, Kaibara," Galvez nodded. "But we both know that this is not just about protecting a comrade, not for you."

"That is irrelevant," Kaibara said. "The fact is that Saeba is a highly trained soldier whose skills are increasing exponentially. It will only be a matter of time before his abilities will exceed those of almost everyone else here. He is a great asset to our troop, an asset worth fighting for."

"He might have been an asset before he was captured," Galvez said. "But now he is a liability, and I hope that you and Norester remember what I said about not letting him become a liability."

Norester frowned and gritted his teeth while Kaibara's expression became completely impassive as Galvez's intent became clear.

"Kaibara, I am not without sympathy," Galvez continued. "Saeba was a good child and an excellent soldier in the making. And I understand that you might feel a sense of loss…but that is the nature of war."

"Sir, you speak as if Saeba is already dead," Kaibara said.

"That's because there is a good chance that he already is," Galvez replied. "A fact that I am sure has not escaped your mind. If he isn't dead by now, he will be by tomorrow. It is regrettable, but I'm afraid there is nothing we can do."

Both Norester and Kaibara had many other things they wanted to say, but the two of them knew that it was useless to argue at this point. They left Galvez's quarters and Norester went off to talk to some of the men while Kaibara retreated back to his hut.

As he walked, Galvez's words ran through his mind, and Kaibara found that he couldn't completely disagree with them. He himself had lived by similar imperatives. Years of fighting and warfare had taught Kaibara the bitter truth about the price people often had to pay for freedom and liberation, but it had not been enough to make his belief in the importance of these things waver in the least.

This was the first time, however, that Kaibara began to question the very causes he had spent years fighting for, and the thought of that did not sit well with him as he approached his hut.

Once he was there, he sank down onto his cot and stared at the empty space in Ryo's side of the hut for what seemed like the umpteenth time in the last day or so. He then pulled out a small, leather portfolio from his pocket and opened it up to gaze at a photograph of him and Ryo. In it, Ryo was grinning, his hands flashing victory symbols at the camera while Kaibara stood behind him, his hands on Ryo's shoulders and a smile of his own on his face.

Kaibara ran his finger along the edges of the picture, and contemplated how the photo could never truly convey how effervescent Ryo's smile was, how infectious his cheer was, or how disarming his charm tended to be.

'He has the heart of an angel inside of him. I can see it in his eyes and in his smile.'

Even though it had been months since Leticia had died, Kaibara could still remember every word she said during those last days they spent together, including the ones she said about Ryo. Kaibara found that he completely understood what she meant by that on the day that he had received the news of her death. Despite the fact that Kaibara lashed out at anyone who came near him that day, Ryo chose to stay with him and comfort him as best he could. He hadn't been able to appreciate it at the time, but Kaibara did not forget about it either. As he thought back to the years he had spent raising Ryo, he realized that there had been numerous times when he had been stunned at the generous spirit Ryo possessed, a spirit that frequently offered forgiveness, mercy and kindness freely while asking for little in return.

All of these memories did not prepare him, however, for the overt display of love and familial devotion Ryo had shown him that night. Kaibara was all too aware that even his own parents had not cared for him as much as Ryo did, and it had left an indelible impression on Kaibara's heart.

It eventually became the part of the reason why Kaibara pushed Ryo even harder during his training. Kaibara knew that there was no way that he could extricate himself from the bond he had with Ryo, so the only option that remained for him was to make sure that nothing happened to his son. It had been part of an all-consuming need to make sure that he would not have to experience that kind of pain again. He had been so focused on this goal; it did not occur to him what he could lose by neglecting his son in other aspects of his life.

Unable to contain his emotions any longer, Kaibara dropped the portfolio onto the floor, and put his head in his hands while tears brimmed in his eyes. Before this moment, he didn't think that anything could be worse than losing the woman he had loved for years, but now he was faced with the terrible realization of just how wrong he was.

It was then that Kaibara was forced to admit the truth that he had been trying to dodge for over a day now: that if Ryo died, a large part of him would die too. That thought made his heart ache and constrict painfully, but it also gave Kaibara a sense of clarity that he had not expected.

He picked up the portfolio from the floor and stuffed it back into his pocket while taking a deep breath. He then pulled out his gun and began to load it while Norester walked into his hut.

"Damn Galvez," Norester growled. "Maceno has got him so spooked, he's scared to take any sort of chance against him."

Kaibara did not respond and continued to load his Magnum. Once he was done, he checked it over and placed it in its holster before pulling out his rifle to inspect it.

"Kaibara, I…I 'm so sorry," Norester said. "I know that means next to nothing right now, but I….Damn, I miss the kid too. I don't think I'll ever get over him."

"Norester, I need you to do me a favor," Kaibara said softly.

"Anything."

"I need you to take a couple of men and position yourselves in that spot we use to spy on that new base," Kaibara said. "Make sure to be there by early tomorrow morning and be on the lookout for me and Ryo. There's a good chance that we will not be showing up by ourselves."

"Kaibara? What are you saying? Are you actually thinking of going there alone to get Ryo?" Norester asked, incredulous. "What on earth are you thinking? Since when do you go with insane ideas like this?"

"You said it yourself once," Kaibara replied as he finished loading his rifle. "Fatherhood changes a person. I simply cannot stay here and do nothing while Maceno has Ryo."

"Kaibara, listen to me," Norester said. "What you're planning, it's suicide, plain and simple. Besides…as much as neither of us want to say it…we both know that Galvez could very well be right about Ryo already being dead."

"Norester…if it was Mary, if Mary was the one being held by that butcher, what would you do?" Kaibara asked, quietly. "Would you simply give up or would you be willing to face anything, even death, if there was any chance that you could save her?"

Norester opened his mouth to reply but remained silent. He knew that there was only one answer that he could give to a question like that, and he was certain that Kaibara knew exactly what he would say.

Kaibara finished checking all of his weapons in silence and walked outside with Norester close behind.

"Kaibara," Norester said. "Just in case I don't get another chance to say it, I…"

"I know," Kaibara smiled at him. "And thank you. I feel the exact same way. Oh and one last favor: please thank for the Professor for me. He will understand why."

"I will," Norester nodded. "Anything else you want me to tell him?" Kaibara paused and then looked back at Norester with a smirk.

"If he asks where I'm going, tell him that I'm going to get my son back."