CHAPTER 5

Yuuhi sat silently on the moonlit porch. He hadn't been sleeping well because of an amber-eyed girl who was constantly on his mind. Since the night of that fateful confession, he couldn't think of anything else.

"Hey," Aya said before sitting beside him.

"Hey."

"Still worrying about her?" she asked.

"Not at all," he lied which caused Aya to burst in a fit of giggles.

"I find that hard to believe," she chuckled.

"Here," someone said from the doorway, handing him a strip of cloth.

"Tooya! When did you come back?" Yuuhi asked.

"Just now. We'd better get going if you want to save your princess," Tooya replied.

Yuuhi looked at the piece of cloth. It was the headband with the tennyo's symbol that Suzumi-san and Chidori had sewn for him. "She's not my princess," he declared as he stood up and headed into the house.

"He is so stubborn," Aya told Tooya as they followed him in.

~o~

"Seiyo.Seiyo." a voice whispered in her subconscious.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Iris," came the reply. An image of a woman with long blond hair and ocean-blue eyes popped in her mind.

"Are you.?"

"Yes. My blood has been passed on from generation-to-generation in the Ellington family."

"Why me?"

"I don't know, but fate has undoubtedly chosen you so you must end all this. Put a stop to your grandfather's madness, Seiyo," Iris said and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I will help you."

Then, all became quiet.

~o~

Ellington went to his office and settled himself in the armchair. He had told his staff to alert him when Kamino takes the bait so there was really no hurry. He laid his head back on the chair and closed his eyes. It seemed only yesterday when he revived the C-Project.

A year ago, he noticed that Seiyo was exhibiting signs of healing power. He knew that their family descended from a tennyo bloodline but he never imagined that it would manifest itself in Seiyo's body. He realized then and there that his dream of creating a race of ideal individuals wasn't a lost cause. He made contact with his former associates and decided to lead the new project himself.

They used Kamino as the primary subject because of her ability to absorb energy and to adopt her host's power. They brought her a girl of tennyo lineage every week. They intended to clone her and develop the embryos in the laboratory. It was a flawless plan, but Kamino grew too strong until they couldn't contain her anymore. They had arranged to present Seiyo to her as the final test specimen but she escaped from the facility. Then there was also the subject of Seiyo's transfer to Japan.

Despite the drawbacks, Ellington didn't give up. He tracked his granddaughter down and devised a plan to trap Kamino. 'Now, everything will be perfect,' he thought.

~o~

Yuuhi made his way through the maze of corridors. "Damn! How come this place is so big?" he muttered. He decided to go in by himself while Tooya stood guard outside.

"Found anything?" Tooya asked through the earpiece.

"Not yet."

He proceeded to examine each room with caution. 'That's strange. How come it's so quiet?' he thought. He was checking the last room in the hallway when, all of a sudden, the ground shook and a blast echoed through the whole building.

"Guess I spoke too soon," he said and headed towards the direction of the explosion.

~o~

Seiyo's eyes fluttered open, however, her line of vision seemed a bit hazy. Someone had untied her bonds and was helping her up.

"Can you walk?" her savior asked.

"Yes."

He slung her left arm around his neck and supported her by the waist. "Okay, let's go."

~o~

"What the hell is going on?!" Ellington shouted into the intercom.

"S-sh-she's here, s-sir."

"Tell me something I don't know," he said sarcastically.

"An-and your granddaughter has gone m-mis-missing."

"What?!" he exploded. "Damn it! Do I have to do everything around here?!"

"I-I'm sorry, s-sir."

"Never mind, I'll go search for her myself," he decided.

"Don't bother," an eerie voice whispered. "I'll get her for you," Kamino said before setting his body aflame.

Ellington shrieked in pain and fell over, terror clearly etched on his face.

~o~

Seiyo felt the scorching heat of a fire as they moved out of the room. Once they were safe, the stranger seated her on the cold floor. His face slowly came into focus.

"You're Tooya! What are you.?"

"I wanted to return a favor."

"Oh, thank you. Where's Yuuhi?" she asked, disappointed that it wasn't he who had come to get her.

"Just around, probably still looking for you," came the answer, which sent a flood of color rushing to her cheeks. "You okay?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then we should get going. It won't take long before they catch up to---," he was cut off as a ball of fire hurled him against the wall.