Soon after Sakura and Tigress left, Viper thought she heard a noise outside the derelict mansion.
She stopped in the middle of securing a bound mercenary. "I think I just heard something. It might be more mercenaries."
Several feet down the corridor, Mantis looked at her. "We should check it out. The Iron Tail warriors should stay here and keep an eye on these thugs." Nodding, Viper glanced coldly at the paralyzed Izumi, who had been chained up beside Sutoraiki. As for Buruto, who was chained right next to them, her expression was slightly softer. She'd had a slightly better opinion of the gorilla ever since they'd found out that it was he who had foiled Izumi's attempt to have Su murdered.
"Best be careful." Viper and Mantis cautiously made their way towards the front doors as the Iron Tail warriors stood over the bound mercenaries. They reached the doors. Being larger than Mantis, Viper reached up to the handle with her tail and slowly pushed the door open.
Keeping their eyes and ears open, Viper and Mantis went outside. It was still dark. Dawn was not approaching any time soon. It was also quiet.
"Are you sure you heard someone?" Mantis asked softly.
"Not someone. Something. It sounded like a bell."
Mantis gave her an odd look. "I don't see any bells. Or people. Let's go back inside. If there's someone out there, they'll probably show their faces soon, anyway."
"I don't know..." Viper said.
"Besides, they could be trying to lure us out here. Away from the others."
Viper and Mantis looked at each other the moment the insect said this. They raced back inside.
Their jaws dropped. The Iron Tail warriors were all sprawled on the floor, out for the count. The mercenaries were still chained and leaning against the wall, also out cold. So was Buruto. Izumi and Sutoraiki on the other hand...
"Where are they?" Viper spoke, her heart sinking. "Where are they?!"
Suddenly she started feeling dizzy. Her vision doubled. She felt Mantis pulling at her tail. "Let's get out of here, quick!"
Once they were back in the fresh air of the forest, Viper's head slowly started to clear.
"Drugged." Mantis said. He was blinking a lot more than usual, trying to shake off the dizziness himself. "Someone must have used some kind of drug that mixed with the air. That's what knocked them out. We should probably stay out here 'til it clears."
"Could Izumi and Sutoraiki have done it to escape?" Viper asked.
Mantis shook his head. "If they'd escaped, the first thing they would have done was get rid of the chains. I didn't see any chains on the floor."
"Meaning..." Viper was still feeling slightly dazed.
"They didn't escape. They were taken." Mantis said. "Tigress is not gonna like this."
"And neither is Ginka." Viper said, slightly stunned at the implication of what Mantis said. "I hope he's okay."
Ginka felt the last dregs of the sun's energy leave his body as he reached the top of the stone steps and ended up back in his dead father's office. He had a strong urge to fall asleep. Maybe it was a side effect of the sun's power wearing off, or maybe he was just tired. Either way, he couldn't face the others just yet.
He spied the chair behind the desk. Maybe if he sat down for a few minutes, he'd feel better. But first, he had to make sure the whole mess couldn't start again. He turned around and prepared to push the secret door back into place. It would keep Hoku imprisoned until the others could come and put him in the cell. He put his hands on the door and started to push.
"Oi!"
Ginka nearly drew his sword, but hesitated. That wasn't Hoku's voice. Three seconds later a battered wolf with no tail emerged from the passage, with the unconscious Hoku slung over his shoulder. Ginka blinked at him. "Who the hell are you?" A thought came to him. "Was it you who told the clan about the scarf?"
"Yes." The wolf said. He was looking down at Ginka with a mixture of relief and empathy. "Let's just cut to the chase. Hoku's coming with me. Since your friend informed the authorities about Hoku's crime, there's been a price on his head. I hope you appreciate me taking this murderer as far away from here as possible."
Ginka realized quickly that he couldn't care less. He just wanted Hoku gone. He never wanted to see him again. "Just get him out of here."
The wolf nodded. "I saw your sensei. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about your father, too."
"Thank you." Was all Ginka said. The wolf seemed to understand that Ginka didn't want to talk anymore, and left without another word.
Ginka stood there for a moment. There was now complete silence in the room, just like he wanted. He went to the chair behind the desk and sat down. He propped his elbows on the desk and rested his head on his hands, just like his dead father often did.
He put the Silver Fang on the desk and gazed down at it. Three crystals his father had hidden in the hollow hilt for him to find. He'd taken one. He'd kept the second for Yoko. The third he'd failed to find. Not that it mattered. He opened the secret compartment and took out the tiny glowing crystal sphere. He held it between his fingers, taking comfort in its warmth.
"It guess that's it." He whispered to himself. "I should probably get this to Sakura san."
He should be happy. Hoku had been stopped, and Ginka was going to be able to save Yoko after all. He should be smiling to himself.
Instead, tears started streaming down his face. With his troubles over, Ginka was finally allowing his heart to break. Yoko was alive, yes, but his father and his teacher weren't. They weren't across the sea waiting to be cured. They were already beyond curing. They weren't coming back.
Masuta... Dad...
He leaned over the desk and buried his head in his arms. As always, he never sobbed. He merely cried, soaking the silk of his sleeves with his tears.
He was still crying into his own arms when Yojin warily entered the room, clutching his wakizashi blade, and discovered him.
"Ginka san." Yojin slowly made his way over. Ginka didn't look up. "What happened?"
Ginka forced himself to speak. "It's over. I defeated Hoku. The wolf took him away. Masuta's dead."
He heard Yojin groan and drop his sword. Ginka couldn't see his face, but heard a scraping sound as the tanuki slowly pulled up a second chair next to him, sat down, and put a hand between his shoulder blades. "I'm so sorry, Ginka san."
Ginka released his grip on the precious crystal, dropping it on the desk so Yojin could see it. "Get this to Sakura san." He said. "Tell her to take it to Yoko san and have her swallow this. It'll cure her."
"What about you?" Yojin asked. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"
Ginka nodded into his arms. Yojin stood up and picked up the crystal. "Okay. I'll get this to Sakura san. I'm gonna tell the others where you are. They're worried sick."
And then Yojin was gone, and Ginka was alone once more.
After an eternity, the tears stopped and Ginka leaned back in the chair, breathing heavily. He dried his damp face with his sleeve. Get a hold of yourself. You're the head of the clan, now. So act like it.
He stood up. The voice in his head was right. He had to get back to the others, and tell the clan members to cease their search. It would take time for the Silver Blade Clan to recover from this whole mess, and it was up to him to quicken said recovery.
But how? I'm not ready. I wasn't supposed to inherit for at least another decade or so. How can I do this without my sensei?
He shook off those troubling thoughts. He picked up the Silver Fang, sheathed it, and made his way towards the door. In the corridor, he found Po, Yojin and Tigress waiting for him, along with several servants.
"Hey, buddy." Po wasted no time trapping Ginka in a bear hug. Yojin must have told him about Masuta. Tigress looked just as sympathetic. "We did it! We took down Hoku and the Brotherhood! Isn't that awesome?"
Po released Ginka. Tigress stepped forward. "Sakura has just left with the crystal you gave Yojin. She estimates that it'll be at least a week before we hear whether or not it worked."
Ginka mentally prayed to every god he could think of.
"All the mercenaries have been taken care of, and Chibiki has been placed in the cell." Tigress went on. "It's over."
"What will happen to them?" Ginka asked.
"Sakura reckoned that the mercenaries would get ten or twenty years. Izumi, Buruto and Sutoraiki will get fifty."
"Oh." Ginka replied.
Tigress's face softened. "But since Buruto did save Su's life, and he hasn't committed any murders that we know of, they'll probably bump his jail time down to five."
Ginka smiled a little. "I like the sound of that."
"There is however, one last thing." Tigress said. "Ginka, where is Masuta?"
Masuta was still in that little clearing near the river, right where Ginka had left him. Ginka steeled himself. He had already let out his pain in the privacy of the office. He would not cry again.
On their way to the place where Masuta died, Ginka and the others had reunited with Mantis and Viper, and learned to their dismay that Izumi and Sutoraiki had disappeared. To be specific, they had been taken. But taken by who, and why?
That didn't matter now. Masuta was dead. His bloodstained body was proof of that.
Ginka ignored his friends' groans of dismay as he slowly approached his sensei. It was eerie, how much Masuta's body looked like Tohru's in that moment. He looked like he was sleeping. But he wasn't. Nothing that Ginka could do would wake him,
Fighting back the tears, Ginka knelt down beside Masuta. There was a gleaming katana beside Masuta that had not been there when Ginka left. Behind him, his friends stood in silent sorrow. Viper sniffled a little.
"I did it, sensei." Ginka spoke, half-hoping that Masuta could hear him. " I got him. Rest in peace."
He saw that a dead leaf had fallen on Masuta's shoulder. He reached over to brush it off.
Masuta sat bolt upright, wrapped his arms tight around Ginka, and suddenly the air came alive with the sound of screaming.
Po shrieked shrilly and wrapped his arms around an equally stunned Tigress. Viper leaned her head back as she let out a long, terrified scream. Mantis nearly fainted from sheer fright. "FREAKIN' HELL!" Yojin hollered, clutching a hand to his chest. Ginka said nothing at all, not quite understanding why his dead master was squeezing him hard enough to hurt.
Masuta blinked at his surroundings. He scowled. "Wait just a minute. This is not heaven." He looked down at Ginka. "And you are not my wife!"
Kuroo fought back his own tears as he watched Ginka overcome his shock and tackle the perplexed Masuta to the ground with a hug as his stunned friends looked on.
He no longer regretted plucking the third sun crystal from the floor when Ginka and Hoku weren't looking. It had worked. It worked!
Kuroo watched them from his tree with a small smile. He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but it was obvious that by now their shock had turned to joy. The black and white bear was punching the air. Yojin was still clutching his chest with a huge grin. Masuta overcame his confusion over not being dead and returned Ginka's embrace.
Kuroo's heart swelled with his own joy. He had fulfilled his vow, at long lost, and returned the heirloom of his sensei's family. He thought about the little scroll he had left in Masuta's robe. He clearly remembered what he had written on the rolled up paper.
If you are reading this, then the crystal worked, and I am eternally thankful. I am sorry for not returning after I survived the fall, but I had vowed to never return until I had retrieved the sacred katana Chibiki had stolen from your family. Now I have fulfilled that vow. I have some unfinished business concerning Lord Tohru's killer, but after that, I will return to you, and explain myself in person. It is my greatest wish to return as your student... if you still want me.
Kuroo.
Kuroo leapt down from the tree, retrieved Hoku from beneath the bush, and disappeared into the darkness.