Chapter 20: Split Hearts
Ama ran, his head down, his body bent as he pumped his legs madly, fully prepared to go down directly onto his face if his legs failed to move fast enough. The ground tilted back and forth as he rushed from the dumpster toward the alleyway. He knew what would happen if the sniper, God, had expected the ploy, a quick shot would slam into his back, spinning him around and halting his rush, laying him flat on the ground, helpless against follow-ups. The alley loomed closer, and his own breathing sounded harshly in his ear, as he had never been good at meter dashes. The air cracked with the sound of a gunshot, and pain burned harshly on his right cheek as the bullet missed the back of his neck by inches and knocked a chunk of brick out of the wall about the size of a small dog. Panting, nearly stumbling with pain and fear, Ama ducked into the blessed cover, collapsing to the ground and putting his back against the wall. Gingerly, he touched his cheek and winced, glancing down at bloody fingers. A graze, maybe a scar, but nothing more. If that bullet had caught him squarely instead, the spirit energy behind it would have burned through him in no time.
Of course, if they caught him, it would be a lot more then a graze. With a groan, he forced himself to his feet, and ran on.
***
"There are a lot of places to hide here." Suzaku pointed out, eyes taking in the nearly deserted dock. As sunset fell, the boats tied up to the docks were emptying and the shops along the wharf were closing down for the night, "Is all this truly necessary?"
"Human endurance doesn't allow the option of swimming wherever they wish to go." Kurama commented reasonably, "And certainly not carrying items of trade with them. In a city of this size, there is a significant amount of demand for their services, though recent advances in air travel are beginning to hurt them. Perhaps that's why this place is so quiet."
"No. It's an application of spirit energy...don't you feel the need to leave? I used a similar process to clear out the hospital before I made my wish...but I don't know how they would steal it..." Suzaku's face stood up quizzically in the fading light, "I have been seriously underestimating them."
"We all have. Perhaps they simply discovered a similar method, rather then actually stealing-."
"Enough talk." Hiei snapped. He turned to Suzaku, his face devoid of emotion, "You said you've used this technique before. Can you tell where it's coming from?"
"It would take me a minute, but yes. I can."
"Good. Do it."
The former Saint Beast closed his eyes, clasping his hands together. Kurama, meanwhile, ran his fingers through his red hair, standing behind Hiei and laying a hand on the short Yokai's shoulder.
"She'll be alright Hiei. Don't do this to yourself."
"Do what, exactly?" Hiei intoned, reaching up and gently removing the hand from his shoulder.
"Go back to the old way. You've made so much progress. Don't lose it all now."
"I never lost her before I allowed myself to become human." Hiei muttered, turning away, his body language clearly announcing that the conversation was over. The three stood silently, the stiff ocean wind rustling their clothes as they remained motionless. After a time, Suzaku's eyes opened and the former Saint Beast stood quietly, pointing at a dilapidated building with boards over the windows.
"Are you certain?" Kurama inquired gently, "With your problem it could-."
"It does not extend to that." Suzaku muttered firmly, "I have all that I did before, it is extending it outside of myself that is the problem. That is the place."
"Looks like a warehouse." Hiei commented softly, his voice a deadly whisper. Without waiting, he strode toward it, leading the other two.
"Looks like it was converted in a restaurant before it was abandoned." Kurama mused quietly, "An Oyster bar. Obviously a sick sense of irony."
"Hnh."
***
As Ama ducked around the corner, a sizable chunk of the wall exploded with a gunshot, sending countless bits of gravel and fragments into his eyes, stinging his cheek with the heat and irritating the wound all the more. Around him, doors slammed shut as residents decided they wanted no part of the gunfight on the street. Ama put his back to the wall, gasping for air as he tried to regain his breath. Judging by the size of the hole, the sniper was starting to put more energy into each blast, probably hoping to disable him with a lucky shot or a close miss. From the angle of attack, he knew where the sniper was, and was taking care to keep thick buildings between them, darting through open ground as quickly as possible. By moving upwards past the airport and then doubling back, he could present the sniper with tracking shots where the target moved from one side to the other quickly, the most difficult to land a hit on.
Of course, if he sat here thinking about it long enough, whatever forces they were sending to back up the sniper would reach him, and then he would really be SOL. With a grunt, and one final gasp, he threw himself to his feet and continued on.
"Come'on guys, I really need your help.."
***
The place was dusty and very very old. Paint colors that had once been bright shown sickly with brown dust in the hazy light. The fact that the door was boarded up hadn't slowed them at all, in fact it probably sped them up given that Hiei could slash down the door faster then he would open one, and the air was alive with dirt and the effects of time long undisturbed. Tiny spiders skittered out of the party's way as the dim light invaded their home for nearly the first time.
"I think it's safe to assume this place hasn't seen human occupation in a while." Suzaku noted, looking over the dusty table top and the broken mirror behind it, "Not for a few years at least."
"Obviously." Kurama responded, "The question is, where is our enemy hidi-."
"Can I get you gents something?" A soft voice asked from behind. All three apparitions jumped despite themselves, Hiei's sword becoming a silver blur that arced toward the noise and completed its swing before the other two demons had managed to turn themselves around. The owner of the voice blinked quizzically at them, a buxom young girl filling out a waitress uniform and carrying a notepad. Hiei slowly extended his sword, passing it through the girl's torso without visible effect, as if she were made of smoke.
"An illusion." The demon sniffed, sliding his sword back into his scabbard with a half uttered growl.
"A lot of illusions." Kurama corrected gently, looking around in surprise. What had before been a deserted restaurant was now bustling with life. Every table was packed with people, and pretty young waitresses hurried from table to table to take orders and offer steaming plates of food. The cracked mirror behind the counter was whole once more, shining with multicolored lights and sending reflections of light cascading over clean glasses tabletops. At the bar, a man with an unruly mop of brown hair stood, and turned toward them. His brown skin clearly showed some middle- eastern ancestry, though his eyes belayed his Asian origins. His jumpsuit was nondescript, and darkly black. They had met him once before, when Hiei, Kurama, and Yukina had been captured, and it had been his name on the message.
"Ah, Specialist Fortune. Isn't that what Blaze called you?" Suzaku put in, being the only one still conscious for the final round of introduction on that night.
"You remember well enough." Fortune smiled, an irritating smile that was almost a baring of fangs, "And don't bother getting your sword out, demon, I wouldn't be stupid enough to come out here personally."
"Another one of your illusions, I see." Kurama growled harshly, and Suzaku blinked in surprise at the anger on the Kitsune's face, "I must say, recreating a scene like this hardly requires artistic talent, Much the same as copying someone's face is hardly an impressive skill."
"Ah, still angry about my stabbing your boy there?" Fortune grinned, chuckling under his breath, "Forgive me, I guess that's supposed to be a secret, but I guess we all know it anyway. Regardless, if you want to see the ice bitch again, you're going to have to play my game for a while."
"Of course, you realize that once we finish this, your life is forfeit." Hiei put in darkly, watching the man with wary eyes. With a theatric wave of his hand, Fortune gestured to three doors that, literally, appeared out of nowhere against the far wall.
"No sense playing when there's nothing on the line." He grinned annoyingly, "You see before you three different doors. They all lead eventually to the place where the prize is. Of course, I'm not going to make it easy for you, and I absolutely must insist that only one demon take each door, which, coincidentally, leaves one for each of you. Now then, I'll see you at the end." With a waver, Fortune vanished, leaving the room as bare and lifeless as when they had entered. For a moment no one moved, and then Hiei crossed to the first of the doors.
***
Hiei strode down the dark corridor, trying to bring his shattering anger under control. He could sense Yukina nearby, but he could not pinpoint it precisely, and that irritated him. He was more then happy to be on his own, he didn't want Kurama or that damned Saint Beast to take his revenge for him, he had promised himself to make the man responsible pay, and he would. Almost before he realized it was there, he came open a wooden door blocking the corridor. He considering opening it slowly then dismissed the idea and kicked it off its hinges with his boot. As the wood splintered and fell aside, he smiled to himself, envisioning Fortune instead of the door. A kick like that would send the human to the Spirit World for certain. Pushing what remained of the door aside, he took a long step into the room.
The room was round and large, at least forty feet long and circular. The floor space was uncluttered with furniture, and the ground was covered with light padding, as a dojo might be. Along the walls, torches were liberally placed, and all were lit, casting sufficient light over the whole of the room. Directly across from him, a steel door reflected the light dimly. The only other two things in the room was the large clock above the steel door, clicking away the seconds loudly, and the man standing within the circle at the center.
Blond hair tied into a ponytail, the man bounced on the balls of his feet rhythmically, holding a heavy rapier loosely in his right hand. From the way the man moved, he knew that the sword was not merely a decoration; the man knew what he was doing. As Fortune, they had met him only once before, at the same time. Hiei, however, was conscious for that encounter.
"Conner Boone." He nodded quietly, never taking his eyes of Boone's, or releasing his grip on his katana, "Am I to imagine that your job is to prevent me from crossing the room."
"Hiei." Boone nodded back, rolling his shoulders to loosen them up, "You imagine correctly. I must say, I've been looking forward to seeing exactly what you can do."
No further words were exchanged, as none were needed. The two men eyed each other cautiously, waiting for the telltale tightening of the eyes or tensing of the muscles that would signal a sudden rush. They stood silently, warriors facing off in a battle of concentration and focus. On the wall, the second hand of the clock completed its journey, and the hour hand snapped cleanly onto the six. In a blur of motion, Boone rushed forward, his rapier whistling with the promise of death. A quick trio of jabs were twisted aside by the katana, and the counter attack began. The rapier was a lighter weapon, but Boone twisted his wrist at the hilt, intercepting the blade with his own, taking the power out of the swing before bringing it to a halt. The two swords rang shrilly as they bounced off each other, Hiei's quick slashes parried expertly by a master swordsman.
As the duelist began a furious barrage of overhead blows, Hiei extended his foot forward, entwining his boot around Boone's heel and pulling sharply, hoping to throw the other off balance. Boone, his face impassive, quickly leapt upwards on his good foot, impacting the center of Hiei's chest with a high kick that knocked the wind out of the short demon. Using the momentum from the kick, Boone completed a full back flip and nearly disabled Hiei with a quick slash from an uncertain stance, barely blocked by the Katana blade. Hiei, taking advantage of the lapse, pressed forward, driving the man back with six strokes, all parried, before his opponent regained his footing, and jumped back a half foot.
The two eyed each other warily, and Hiei glanced over at the clock on the wall. Five seconds past six o clock. Not bad. Spinning his sword with blinding speed, Hiei charged his enemy.
***
Kurama continued down the hall, glancing at the walls, trying to catch any imperfection that would signal a poorly made illusion. Nervously, his fingers played with a seed held in the palm of his hand. Those who relied on trickery seldom fought directly, but at least it made him feel better. His slow and cautious approach was brought up short by a wide drop- off in the ground. The hole trailed off into inky darkness and seemed quite deep. Kneeling, Kurama put his hand out into the hole...
And encountered a hard surface, consistent with the flooring he had been walking on. Kurama sighed to himself; clearly Fortune's talent only extended to senses other then touch, true illusions. A few prods of the foot, and Kurama was over the non-existent hurdle. The Kitsune continued down the path, passing over a similar illusion in much the same way.
"No doubt the first two are here to lull one into a false sense of security." Kurama mused to himself, "So the third one is likely real, spilling an overconfident foe into whatever unpleasantness is at the bottom." And, sure enough, Kurama came upon a third hole in the hall, and strode toward it quickly, preparing to check it physically before crossing.
And unexpectedly, at least four feet from the hole, his foot passed through the floor without resistance.
Kurama snarled something vile under his breath as he fell forward, the trap snapping into place in his mind. If illusions could make the floor appear to be a hole, it could make a hole appear to be solid flooring, keeping one's attention on the illusionary hole beyond it rather then thinking about the floor in front of them. The seed in his hand sprouted, arcing upward as he fell, eyes casting around desperately for something to hold onto. His eyes snagged on a projection off the left side of the wall, and the growing plant stretched towards it, barely reaching it...
...and passed through the illusion cleanly, catching on nothing. Kurama didn't have time to even be impressed by the well-thought out trap before his head impacted against something hard. The world faded to black, and he tumbled through the air. .
***
Suzaku listened to his shoes echo loudly on the metal flooring as he strode down his hallway. He didn't like being split up, not while the powers were failing him, and certainly not while he couldn't trust anything he saw for reality. The former Saint Beast crept down the hall carefully, ready to react instantly if something happened unexpectedly.
But nothing did. The hallway seemed to stretch on endlessly, each stretch exactly the same cold, impartial walk as the one before it. Suzaku was nearly to the point of being prepared to walk backwards a step to ensure that he WAS in fact actually covering any ground, when the hall opened up into a room.
The room was of medium width, duplicating the dimensions of the restaurants front room that was on the other end of the hall. Chairs were scattered around, almost at random, and several sections of the wall seemed damaged or scorched with some sort of marking. Suzaku stiffened, halfway inside the room, as he slowly took in the room and realized that he was not alone. Sitting at the north half of the room, three shapes loomed darkly in the inky blackness, one thin, one muscular, and one incredibly large. Suzaku probed them with his spirit energy, the group was so familiar..
The former demon gasped, his mind refusing to accept the facts. It couldn't be...
"Well. If it isn't our wayward 'leader'." Seiryu scoffed, lighting the candle on the table, and illuminating the three demons faces, "We've been waiting for you... 'sir'."
***
"What did you say?" Boone panted, holding his rapier in a ready position. The two fighters were both breathing heavily, and the floor was marked heavily with imprints and cuts of weapons gone astray, as were the walls. In one corner, a torch had been cut free from its support, and smoldered quietly against the apparently flame retardant padding.
"I said, I have a hard time believing a bunch of kidnappers managed to receive your service." Hiei hissed quietly, face dripping with sweat.
"Your friends are all fighters, dangerous to the world and the innocents. I hardly consider it kidnapping to keep them restrained."
"And your bargaining chip? She's not fighter, what gives you the right to threaten to kill her, to get a me?!" Hiei demanded, his voice rising in pitch, "She's never raised a hand or a voice to anyone, and probably never will, and you people use her in this sick little game."
"I see. Well, you are right." Boone smiled thinly, sliding his sword into the sheath and turning around unconcernedly, "I don't support kidnapping willingly. If that's what this is about, go get your friend. I've waited my entire life for a worth opponent, and when we fight I don't want you to have any distractions, understand?"
"Yeah. I understand." Hiei conceded grudgingly, putting his katana away, "Of course, I could be lying to you."
"You aren't. I can see it in your eyes."
"Hnh."
Boone stopped at the door back into the hall, calling over his shoulder,
"Just make sure you keep in shape. Next time we fight, it's to the death, got it?"
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
***
Come on Ama, One last run
With a burst of speed, the hacker sprinted across the last opening between him and the airport. Silently, he prayed that the sniper would not prove as good as he had claimed to be, and miss just one more time. The harsh crack of the gunshot made him stiffen, certain that his luck had run out. But he cleared the edge of the wall, and collapsed against the airport building, which creaked threateningly, unharmed and nearly unscathed. Yusuke and the others would be there shortly, and they would be able to take care of the sniper and whoever else was following him. Laughing nervously, releasing the pent up stress of the life and death situation, he extended his senses to find the sniper. He wanted to feel the man's consternation when he realized that was his last chance to stop Ama.
His mental energies extended out behind him, searching until he found the menacing presence of the sniper. His enemy was nearly a hundred yards away to the south, on top of a tall building overlooking most of the area. The energy that he used was...strange...like it wasn't supposed to be used that way. Smug anticipation colored the aura, until it...
Suddenly vanished completely. Reeling in surprise, Ama stretched out his senses again, searching madly for the sniper. His mind snagged on the sense of presence, zeroing in on the hostility it emanated. Fifty yards to the north..
"That's not possible!" Ama exclaimed, snapping his head around toward the north and beginning the first step toward cover. Dimly, he felt something impact against the upper part of his left shoulder, and something warm splatter across his face. And then, pure pain. The youthful hacker screamed, his legs dropping out from under him, dumping him against the wall sprayed with his blood, and dropping him to the floor. Ama fell against the wall, ending up lying against it fully, with only his head propped up by the wall itself. Bright arterial blood oozed redly onto the cement, and he detachedly noticed his arm lying a foot or two away.
"I'm sorry...Koenma...I.....tried...."
***
"Ah, Hiei, good of you to join me." Fortune called over his shoulder as the short demon entered the room, "And no, I'm not really here, before you start flaying around with your little toy."
"I passed your swordsman." Hiei snarled shortly, "Give me my...my associate."
"Your sister, actually." Fortune correctly knowingly, "And all in due time, all in due time. All you have to do for your sister in make a choice...Romeo's choice.."
"What choice?" Hiei demanded. Fortune grinned vilely, and clapped his hands. Two spotlights sprang into existence, and Hiei's eyes narrowed. One of them illuminated Yukina, bound with heavy cord and gagged with a scrap of cloth. The other lit up a small area of floor, and the similarly bound Kurama, unconscious with a thin stream of blood running between his red hairs.
"Romeo's choice, my dear boy, as I said." Fortune intoned, raising his hands, "Love or Family. One of them dies, the other lives free. Their lives are in your hands."
"Now choose."
Ama ran, his head down, his body bent as he pumped his legs madly, fully prepared to go down directly onto his face if his legs failed to move fast enough. The ground tilted back and forth as he rushed from the dumpster toward the alleyway. He knew what would happen if the sniper, God, had expected the ploy, a quick shot would slam into his back, spinning him around and halting his rush, laying him flat on the ground, helpless against follow-ups. The alley loomed closer, and his own breathing sounded harshly in his ear, as he had never been good at meter dashes. The air cracked with the sound of a gunshot, and pain burned harshly on his right cheek as the bullet missed the back of his neck by inches and knocked a chunk of brick out of the wall about the size of a small dog. Panting, nearly stumbling with pain and fear, Ama ducked into the blessed cover, collapsing to the ground and putting his back against the wall. Gingerly, he touched his cheek and winced, glancing down at bloody fingers. A graze, maybe a scar, but nothing more. If that bullet had caught him squarely instead, the spirit energy behind it would have burned through him in no time.
Of course, if they caught him, it would be a lot more then a graze. With a groan, he forced himself to his feet, and ran on.
***
"There are a lot of places to hide here." Suzaku pointed out, eyes taking in the nearly deserted dock. As sunset fell, the boats tied up to the docks were emptying and the shops along the wharf were closing down for the night, "Is all this truly necessary?"
"Human endurance doesn't allow the option of swimming wherever they wish to go." Kurama commented reasonably, "And certainly not carrying items of trade with them. In a city of this size, there is a significant amount of demand for their services, though recent advances in air travel are beginning to hurt them. Perhaps that's why this place is so quiet."
"No. It's an application of spirit energy...don't you feel the need to leave? I used a similar process to clear out the hospital before I made my wish...but I don't know how they would steal it..." Suzaku's face stood up quizzically in the fading light, "I have been seriously underestimating them."
"We all have. Perhaps they simply discovered a similar method, rather then actually stealing-."
"Enough talk." Hiei snapped. He turned to Suzaku, his face devoid of emotion, "You said you've used this technique before. Can you tell where it's coming from?"
"It would take me a minute, but yes. I can."
"Good. Do it."
The former Saint Beast closed his eyes, clasping his hands together. Kurama, meanwhile, ran his fingers through his red hair, standing behind Hiei and laying a hand on the short Yokai's shoulder.
"She'll be alright Hiei. Don't do this to yourself."
"Do what, exactly?" Hiei intoned, reaching up and gently removing the hand from his shoulder.
"Go back to the old way. You've made so much progress. Don't lose it all now."
"I never lost her before I allowed myself to become human." Hiei muttered, turning away, his body language clearly announcing that the conversation was over. The three stood silently, the stiff ocean wind rustling their clothes as they remained motionless. After a time, Suzaku's eyes opened and the former Saint Beast stood quietly, pointing at a dilapidated building with boards over the windows.
"Are you certain?" Kurama inquired gently, "With your problem it could-."
"It does not extend to that." Suzaku muttered firmly, "I have all that I did before, it is extending it outside of myself that is the problem. That is the place."
"Looks like a warehouse." Hiei commented softly, his voice a deadly whisper. Without waiting, he strode toward it, leading the other two.
"Looks like it was converted in a restaurant before it was abandoned." Kurama mused quietly, "An Oyster bar. Obviously a sick sense of irony."
"Hnh."
***
As Ama ducked around the corner, a sizable chunk of the wall exploded with a gunshot, sending countless bits of gravel and fragments into his eyes, stinging his cheek with the heat and irritating the wound all the more. Around him, doors slammed shut as residents decided they wanted no part of the gunfight on the street. Ama put his back to the wall, gasping for air as he tried to regain his breath. Judging by the size of the hole, the sniper was starting to put more energy into each blast, probably hoping to disable him with a lucky shot or a close miss. From the angle of attack, he knew where the sniper was, and was taking care to keep thick buildings between them, darting through open ground as quickly as possible. By moving upwards past the airport and then doubling back, he could present the sniper with tracking shots where the target moved from one side to the other quickly, the most difficult to land a hit on.
Of course, if he sat here thinking about it long enough, whatever forces they were sending to back up the sniper would reach him, and then he would really be SOL. With a grunt, and one final gasp, he threw himself to his feet and continued on.
"Come'on guys, I really need your help.."
***
The place was dusty and very very old. Paint colors that had once been bright shown sickly with brown dust in the hazy light. The fact that the door was boarded up hadn't slowed them at all, in fact it probably sped them up given that Hiei could slash down the door faster then he would open one, and the air was alive with dirt and the effects of time long undisturbed. Tiny spiders skittered out of the party's way as the dim light invaded their home for nearly the first time.
"I think it's safe to assume this place hasn't seen human occupation in a while." Suzaku noted, looking over the dusty table top and the broken mirror behind it, "Not for a few years at least."
"Obviously." Kurama responded, "The question is, where is our enemy hidi-."
"Can I get you gents something?" A soft voice asked from behind. All three apparitions jumped despite themselves, Hiei's sword becoming a silver blur that arced toward the noise and completed its swing before the other two demons had managed to turn themselves around. The owner of the voice blinked quizzically at them, a buxom young girl filling out a waitress uniform and carrying a notepad. Hiei slowly extended his sword, passing it through the girl's torso without visible effect, as if she were made of smoke.
"An illusion." The demon sniffed, sliding his sword back into his scabbard with a half uttered growl.
"A lot of illusions." Kurama corrected gently, looking around in surprise. What had before been a deserted restaurant was now bustling with life. Every table was packed with people, and pretty young waitresses hurried from table to table to take orders and offer steaming plates of food. The cracked mirror behind the counter was whole once more, shining with multicolored lights and sending reflections of light cascading over clean glasses tabletops. At the bar, a man with an unruly mop of brown hair stood, and turned toward them. His brown skin clearly showed some middle- eastern ancestry, though his eyes belayed his Asian origins. His jumpsuit was nondescript, and darkly black. They had met him once before, when Hiei, Kurama, and Yukina had been captured, and it had been his name on the message.
"Ah, Specialist Fortune. Isn't that what Blaze called you?" Suzaku put in, being the only one still conscious for the final round of introduction on that night.
"You remember well enough." Fortune smiled, an irritating smile that was almost a baring of fangs, "And don't bother getting your sword out, demon, I wouldn't be stupid enough to come out here personally."
"Another one of your illusions, I see." Kurama growled harshly, and Suzaku blinked in surprise at the anger on the Kitsune's face, "I must say, recreating a scene like this hardly requires artistic talent, Much the same as copying someone's face is hardly an impressive skill."
"Ah, still angry about my stabbing your boy there?" Fortune grinned, chuckling under his breath, "Forgive me, I guess that's supposed to be a secret, but I guess we all know it anyway. Regardless, if you want to see the ice bitch again, you're going to have to play my game for a while."
"Of course, you realize that once we finish this, your life is forfeit." Hiei put in darkly, watching the man with wary eyes. With a theatric wave of his hand, Fortune gestured to three doors that, literally, appeared out of nowhere against the far wall.
"No sense playing when there's nothing on the line." He grinned annoyingly, "You see before you three different doors. They all lead eventually to the place where the prize is. Of course, I'm not going to make it easy for you, and I absolutely must insist that only one demon take each door, which, coincidentally, leaves one for each of you. Now then, I'll see you at the end." With a waver, Fortune vanished, leaving the room as bare and lifeless as when they had entered. For a moment no one moved, and then Hiei crossed to the first of the doors.
***
Hiei strode down the dark corridor, trying to bring his shattering anger under control. He could sense Yukina nearby, but he could not pinpoint it precisely, and that irritated him. He was more then happy to be on his own, he didn't want Kurama or that damned Saint Beast to take his revenge for him, he had promised himself to make the man responsible pay, and he would. Almost before he realized it was there, he came open a wooden door blocking the corridor. He considering opening it slowly then dismissed the idea and kicked it off its hinges with his boot. As the wood splintered and fell aside, he smiled to himself, envisioning Fortune instead of the door. A kick like that would send the human to the Spirit World for certain. Pushing what remained of the door aside, he took a long step into the room.
The room was round and large, at least forty feet long and circular. The floor space was uncluttered with furniture, and the ground was covered with light padding, as a dojo might be. Along the walls, torches were liberally placed, and all were lit, casting sufficient light over the whole of the room. Directly across from him, a steel door reflected the light dimly. The only other two things in the room was the large clock above the steel door, clicking away the seconds loudly, and the man standing within the circle at the center.
Blond hair tied into a ponytail, the man bounced on the balls of his feet rhythmically, holding a heavy rapier loosely in his right hand. From the way the man moved, he knew that the sword was not merely a decoration; the man knew what he was doing. As Fortune, they had met him only once before, at the same time. Hiei, however, was conscious for that encounter.
"Conner Boone." He nodded quietly, never taking his eyes of Boone's, or releasing his grip on his katana, "Am I to imagine that your job is to prevent me from crossing the room."
"Hiei." Boone nodded back, rolling his shoulders to loosen them up, "You imagine correctly. I must say, I've been looking forward to seeing exactly what you can do."
No further words were exchanged, as none were needed. The two men eyed each other cautiously, waiting for the telltale tightening of the eyes or tensing of the muscles that would signal a sudden rush. They stood silently, warriors facing off in a battle of concentration and focus. On the wall, the second hand of the clock completed its journey, and the hour hand snapped cleanly onto the six. In a blur of motion, Boone rushed forward, his rapier whistling with the promise of death. A quick trio of jabs were twisted aside by the katana, and the counter attack began. The rapier was a lighter weapon, but Boone twisted his wrist at the hilt, intercepting the blade with his own, taking the power out of the swing before bringing it to a halt. The two swords rang shrilly as they bounced off each other, Hiei's quick slashes parried expertly by a master swordsman.
As the duelist began a furious barrage of overhead blows, Hiei extended his foot forward, entwining his boot around Boone's heel and pulling sharply, hoping to throw the other off balance. Boone, his face impassive, quickly leapt upwards on his good foot, impacting the center of Hiei's chest with a high kick that knocked the wind out of the short demon. Using the momentum from the kick, Boone completed a full back flip and nearly disabled Hiei with a quick slash from an uncertain stance, barely blocked by the Katana blade. Hiei, taking advantage of the lapse, pressed forward, driving the man back with six strokes, all parried, before his opponent regained his footing, and jumped back a half foot.
The two eyed each other warily, and Hiei glanced over at the clock on the wall. Five seconds past six o clock. Not bad. Spinning his sword with blinding speed, Hiei charged his enemy.
***
Kurama continued down the hall, glancing at the walls, trying to catch any imperfection that would signal a poorly made illusion. Nervously, his fingers played with a seed held in the palm of his hand. Those who relied on trickery seldom fought directly, but at least it made him feel better. His slow and cautious approach was brought up short by a wide drop- off in the ground. The hole trailed off into inky darkness and seemed quite deep. Kneeling, Kurama put his hand out into the hole...
And encountered a hard surface, consistent with the flooring he had been walking on. Kurama sighed to himself; clearly Fortune's talent only extended to senses other then touch, true illusions. A few prods of the foot, and Kurama was over the non-existent hurdle. The Kitsune continued down the path, passing over a similar illusion in much the same way.
"No doubt the first two are here to lull one into a false sense of security." Kurama mused to himself, "So the third one is likely real, spilling an overconfident foe into whatever unpleasantness is at the bottom." And, sure enough, Kurama came upon a third hole in the hall, and strode toward it quickly, preparing to check it physically before crossing.
And unexpectedly, at least four feet from the hole, his foot passed through the floor without resistance.
Kurama snarled something vile under his breath as he fell forward, the trap snapping into place in his mind. If illusions could make the floor appear to be a hole, it could make a hole appear to be solid flooring, keeping one's attention on the illusionary hole beyond it rather then thinking about the floor in front of them. The seed in his hand sprouted, arcing upward as he fell, eyes casting around desperately for something to hold onto. His eyes snagged on a projection off the left side of the wall, and the growing plant stretched towards it, barely reaching it...
...and passed through the illusion cleanly, catching on nothing. Kurama didn't have time to even be impressed by the well-thought out trap before his head impacted against something hard. The world faded to black, and he tumbled through the air. .
***
Suzaku listened to his shoes echo loudly on the metal flooring as he strode down his hallway. He didn't like being split up, not while the powers were failing him, and certainly not while he couldn't trust anything he saw for reality. The former Saint Beast crept down the hall carefully, ready to react instantly if something happened unexpectedly.
But nothing did. The hallway seemed to stretch on endlessly, each stretch exactly the same cold, impartial walk as the one before it. Suzaku was nearly to the point of being prepared to walk backwards a step to ensure that he WAS in fact actually covering any ground, when the hall opened up into a room.
The room was of medium width, duplicating the dimensions of the restaurants front room that was on the other end of the hall. Chairs were scattered around, almost at random, and several sections of the wall seemed damaged or scorched with some sort of marking. Suzaku stiffened, halfway inside the room, as he slowly took in the room and realized that he was not alone. Sitting at the north half of the room, three shapes loomed darkly in the inky blackness, one thin, one muscular, and one incredibly large. Suzaku probed them with his spirit energy, the group was so familiar..
The former demon gasped, his mind refusing to accept the facts. It couldn't be...
"Well. If it isn't our wayward 'leader'." Seiryu scoffed, lighting the candle on the table, and illuminating the three demons faces, "We've been waiting for you... 'sir'."
***
"What did you say?" Boone panted, holding his rapier in a ready position. The two fighters were both breathing heavily, and the floor was marked heavily with imprints and cuts of weapons gone astray, as were the walls. In one corner, a torch had been cut free from its support, and smoldered quietly against the apparently flame retardant padding.
"I said, I have a hard time believing a bunch of kidnappers managed to receive your service." Hiei hissed quietly, face dripping with sweat.
"Your friends are all fighters, dangerous to the world and the innocents. I hardly consider it kidnapping to keep them restrained."
"And your bargaining chip? She's not fighter, what gives you the right to threaten to kill her, to get a me?!" Hiei demanded, his voice rising in pitch, "She's never raised a hand or a voice to anyone, and probably never will, and you people use her in this sick little game."
"I see. Well, you are right." Boone smiled thinly, sliding his sword into the sheath and turning around unconcernedly, "I don't support kidnapping willingly. If that's what this is about, go get your friend. I've waited my entire life for a worth opponent, and when we fight I don't want you to have any distractions, understand?"
"Yeah. I understand." Hiei conceded grudgingly, putting his katana away, "Of course, I could be lying to you."
"You aren't. I can see it in your eyes."
"Hnh."
Boone stopped at the door back into the hall, calling over his shoulder,
"Just make sure you keep in shape. Next time we fight, it's to the death, got it?"
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
***
Come on Ama, One last run
With a burst of speed, the hacker sprinted across the last opening between him and the airport. Silently, he prayed that the sniper would not prove as good as he had claimed to be, and miss just one more time. The harsh crack of the gunshot made him stiffen, certain that his luck had run out. But he cleared the edge of the wall, and collapsed against the airport building, which creaked threateningly, unharmed and nearly unscathed. Yusuke and the others would be there shortly, and they would be able to take care of the sniper and whoever else was following him. Laughing nervously, releasing the pent up stress of the life and death situation, he extended his senses to find the sniper. He wanted to feel the man's consternation when he realized that was his last chance to stop Ama.
His mental energies extended out behind him, searching until he found the menacing presence of the sniper. His enemy was nearly a hundred yards away to the south, on top of a tall building overlooking most of the area. The energy that he used was...strange...like it wasn't supposed to be used that way. Smug anticipation colored the aura, until it...
Suddenly vanished completely. Reeling in surprise, Ama stretched out his senses again, searching madly for the sniper. His mind snagged on the sense of presence, zeroing in on the hostility it emanated. Fifty yards to the north..
"That's not possible!" Ama exclaimed, snapping his head around toward the north and beginning the first step toward cover. Dimly, he felt something impact against the upper part of his left shoulder, and something warm splatter across his face. And then, pure pain. The youthful hacker screamed, his legs dropping out from under him, dumping him against the wall sprayed with his blood, and dropping him to the floor. Ama fell against the wall, ending up lying against it fully, with only his head propped up by the wall itself. Bright arterial blood oozed redly onto the cement, and he detachedly noticed his arm lying a foot or two away.
"I'm sorry...Koenma...I.....tried...."
***
"Ah, Hiei, good of you to join me." Fortune called over his shoulder as the short demon entered the room, "And no, I'm not really here, before you start flaying around with your little toy."
"I passed your swordsman." Hiei snarled shortly, "Give me my...my associate."
"Your sister, actually." Fortune correctly knowingly, "And all in due time, all in due time. All you have to do for your sister in make a choice...Romeo's choice.."
"What choice?" Hiei demanded. Fortune grinned vilely, and clapped his hands. Two spotlights sprang into existence, and Hiei's eyes narrowed. One of them illuminated Yukina, bound with heavy cord and gagged with a scrap of cloth. The other lit up a small area of floor, and the similarly bound Kurama, unconscious with a thin stream of blood running between his red hairs.
"Romeo's choice, my dear boy, as I said." Fortune intoned, raising his hands, "Love or Family. One of them dies, the other lives free. Their lives are in your hands."
"Now choose."