Disclaimer: If wishes were fishes...
Warnings: AU, Shounen Ai
Pairings: Touma+Seiji, Shuu+Shin, Ryo+Nasuti
Summary: Touma and his friends make up a secret group dedicated to the protection of Japan. While out one night, Touma stumbles across something that will change both his and his friends' lives...
A/N: I promised another chapter this week, and here it is. Ha! Will probably have to apologise for ending this here too... ah well, people will just have to get used to me ending things where I do.



Half-breed
by Amyeyl

------------------

Chapter 8

"Take him," Shuten ground out, pointing his scythe in the direction of the blonde boy.

Touma growled and took up a defensive position, pushing Seiji behind him.

"What about the rest of them?" Naaza asked, a slight grin on his face.

"Kill them," was the simple response.

"Get Nasuti and the boy out of here! We'll take care of them." Ryo ordered. Touma shoved Seiji in Shuu's direction and moved to flank Ryo. Shin moved forward as well.

"Ryo, are you insane?" he whispered, "There's no way the three of us can stop the five of them! Especially when one of them's Arago."

"We can at least stall 'em!"

"Ryo, Shin's right. Byakuen can take care of 'em." Shuu moved forward as well, trusting the tiger to protect his charges.

Just then, the four men under Arago made their move.

----------------------

Seiji watched the battle waging in front of him in confusion. The girl, Nasuti, was pulling on his arm and trying to get him to run so Arago wouldn't be able to hurt him anymore. But Arago wasn't here, and he told her as much, pulling his arm free.

"What do you mean? He's right there!" She gestured to the tall, white haired man who remained immobile amidst the chaos around him. Once again, she grabbed the blonde boy's arm and tried to pull him with her.

"But.. but that's not Arago!" He turned to look at her, as she tried one last time to tug him out of the room. She succeeded as he lost his balance and the two of them fell out into the hall. She scrambled to her feet and began to run, half dragging the confused boy behind her.

They nearly fell again as Byakuen rushed past Nasuti only to stop a few feet in front of her. The tiger crouched low, growling once again.

"Byakuen! Move! We have to get out of here!"

"Nasuti, no.." Seiji switched their grip so he was now the one holding onto her and tried to lead her back the way they had come. "That's... he's strong."

"Who? What're you..." she didn't get to finish her question before the three of them found themselves entangled by the sticky strands used by the man known as Rajura. He stepped out of the shadows, followed by Naaza.

"Rajura? How? You were..." The man laughed, carelessly striking the girl across the face.

"Your friends are easily fooled, as are you." He smiled and moved past her to their prize. "Arago will be pleased to have you returned to him."

"And perhaps he'll put that Shuten in his place for once. That fool couldn't stop one little boy from escaping." The green haired man murmured, more to himself than anyone else, from behind the blonde boy. He leaned in to lick the boy's cheek before dragging the flat of his sword over the wet patch. Seiji struggled, causing Naaza to hiss and pull his sword back quickly. "Wouldn't want to damage you...accidentally..."

"Get on with it, Naaza."

"Fine," the man sighed. He backed away from the intricately woven web to have more room to maneuver in. Rajura backed away as well, so as not to be affected. A moment later the air was permeated by a reddish fog.

Almost instantly Nasuti began to choke, and was quickly unconscious. Byakuen followed her into oblivion soon after. Seiji, however, remained unaffected.

"Nasuti! Nasuti! Wake up!" He struggled against his bonds once again, his head thrashing wildly. Soon, the cries for the girl to awaken dissolved into pure screams of rage.

"Naaza!" The white haired man was forced to yell to be heard over the boy's screams. "What went wrong? Why isn't he unconscious as well?"

"I don't know! Nothing like this has ever happened before." The two fell silent as a bright light engulfed the room.

----------------------

Their attackers were easily dispatched of, including Arago. The four boys stared in confusion at the unconscious bodies at their feet. When the last one fell, their shapes had changed. No longer did the resemble Arago and his four, but they were mere minions.

If these were minions in disguise, then Rajura still had to be somewhere near by. He was the only one who could baffle the mind so. But why would he bother with an illusion instead of attacking them himself? Touma looked up from the bodies in alarm, eyes widening in horror.

"Rajura..." he whispered. His teammates looked at him in dawning understanding. That's when the screaming began.

The four boys raced out of the room and into the hall. They skidded to a halt as they were nearly blinded from the intense light in front of them.

As the light decreased in intensity, they slowly lowered arms that had been raised in a meager attempt at protection. Rajura was nowhere to be found, but Nasuti, Seiji and Byakuen remained trapped in the man's web, evidence that he had been there at some point. The question was, what had happened?

Ryo began to tug at Nasuti's bonds while a more rational Shin went to procure a sword or two to aid in the task. Touma moved over to Seiji's limp form and gently moved the hair from his face. His skin was flushed and warm to the touch.

A moment later, Shin reappeared with weapons for all. With a collective sigh, they began the long, messy task of removing the sticky strands from their home. As soon as Nasuti was free, Ryo dropped his sword and carried her up to her room. He did not come back downstairs. Byakuen and Seiji were freed soon after, and Shin shooed Touma upstairs with the blonde.

"Maybe you should go up as well. You know, check on Nasuti and blondie?" Shin looked reluctant to leave the huge clean up job to Shuu alone, but the boy smiled. "Go ahead. I think they rank higher than a clean hallway." Shin nodded slighlty and stood up, wiping his hands on his pants.

He ventured into Nasuti's room first, feeling slighlty guilty at having to choose between the two. Ryo was hovering over her worriedly and barely spared the opening door a glance.

"How is she?" Shin asked softly.

"She's been poisoned."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... we've been hit with the stuff enough times for me to recognize the symptoms. She should be okay after a while though, she's tough."

"Yeah, she is."

"Shin? Would you mind..? I'd kinda like to be alone with her right now." The boy nodded, though Ryo couldn't see it, and backed out of the room. He sighed softly, hating the fact that Nasuti was hurt. At least she would recover. Hopefully, the blonde was alright as well. He crossed the hallway to Touma's room and knocked lightly before entering the room.

"How's he doing?"

"I...I don't know."

"Ryo said they were poisoned. He should be okay in a little while," Shin said, smiling in reassurance and the blue haired boy.

"No...he hasn't been poisoned. There are no signs of it."

"What?" Shin moved away from the door to see from himself. It was true, the boy's condition was nothing like Nasuti's. While she had been unconcious, she'd at least been subdued. The only redness being around the areas in which the poison had gained access to her body. Seiji's body wasn't red so much from infection, as from being overheated. His skin was definitely warm to the touch and he was covered in a layer of sweat. He was also agitated, struggling weakly and murmuring something under his breath.

"What happened to him?" Shin wondered aloud.

"I have no idea..."