Feel The Wrath Disclaimer: I don't own Tenchu or Escaflowne An: As you may have noticed some chapter titles are Iron Maiden songs. I don't own them. I don't own the Ginger Beer Trick either. People who have read Night Watch by Terry Pratchett will know what I mean. Haha.

Chapter Three: The Evil That Men Do

Van ran from the Echigoya estate for an entire night. He didn't stop once because he knew the second Rikimaru and Ayame became conscious they would come after him. After he reached the place he called home he stopped running. He barricaded the door and created a giant wall of ice in front of and behind it. He decided to call it a day and went to bed. As he got undressed he saw a painting of a girl. He saw it every day but tonight it meant something to him. It was the anniversary of the time his girlfriend, Hitomi Kanzaki, had been killed in an attack during a war. He remembered it vividly and dreamt about it every night. He could hear the screams, smell the blood, and feel the heat of the fire. They had been sleeping in this very house when they had come. Van had been a soldier, so it was no surprise when they attacked him. Some friends were staying with them, Dilandau Albatou and Celina Schezar. When they attacked Dilandau had run into Van's bedroom and told him. Celina and Hitomi were killed, but he never found out what happened to Dilandau. All he knew was his clothes and weapons were gone, but since a pair of Van's gauntlets was also gone it just meant the survivors of the attack just helped themselves. There weren't many survivors though. It had been the first time Van went into his Battle Rage. Everyone who had seen it referred to it as The Frenzy. Whenever something or someone that meant something to Van was destroyed, it happened. He suddenly felt really strong, his eyes glowed a deep shade of blue, and his weapons started to glow. Also, strange black wings sprouted from his back. The last time he used it was when he was fighting for his life after being captured by the enemy. It happened because they took a knife Dilandau had given him once and snapped it. It was the one of two things Van had had to remember him by. Now he had one thing, a scorch mark on the wall from where Dilandau had first used his powers of fire. He got into bed and fell asleep.

Rikimaru and Ayame were walking through the forest searching for Van when they heard a strange, cold laugh. Thinking it was Van they drew their weapons. Then a large ring of fire surrounded him. A figure jumped down from a tree and shouted, "You're on the right track, Azuma, but to get to Him you have to go through me!" He drew a long katana and started to chant something. In a few seconds the sword as engulfed in bright orange flames. He ran forward and Rikimaru realised with a start that his eyes had turned bright red. Ayame couldn't see properly because of the heat haze but she ran at something clad in red and black armour. He had his back to her but he knew she was coming. He stuck out his elbow and it hit her in the chest. Then he lowered his forearm and hit her in the stomach, then raised it and hit her in the face. She fell to the ground, knocked out cold. Rikimaru shouted, "You're going to pay for that!" He ran at the attacker, his sword high above his head. The attacker jumped above him and ran away into the forest, shouting "Dilandau Albatou! Remember the name!"

It had taken a while but Dilandau had finally found Van's old house. Dilandau had used to be noble, but then Celina and Hitomi were killed, and Van went missing, and he had lashed out at the world, killing people he didn't think deserved to live. In the past few days he had realised Van had done the same. Maybe the house would give him some clue about Van's whereabouts. He reached the house and saw the door. He ran up to it but saw that it was covered in ice. He put his hand on it and a jet of fire shot out of his palm. If the door was covered in ice, maybe Van was there! He broke it down because it was locked and started looking for Van's bedroom. He found it and went inside, where he felt a knife at his throat.

"Who are you?" Van said, pressing the knife against Dilandau's throat. "Van?" Dilandau said, uncertain. "Dilandau?" Van said, realising, whose throat his knife was pressed against. He released Dilandau and said, "I can't believe it's you! I thought you were dead!" "I thought the same about you!" Dilandau replied, starting to smile. Then he remembered something. "I think these are yours, old friend," he said, handing Van a pair of gauntlets with claws on the fingertips. The claws had strange carvings on them. "The wind claws! I thought these were destroyed in that attack!" "No, I took them when I left so that wouldn't happen." Van stood, looking at the gauntlets. The Wind Claws gave their wearer the power to control the wind. You could change he direction and force of the wind. Or use it to make yourself fly. "These will be really useful to me. I suppose you've heard about my recent trouble with the Azuma." "Yes, and I'm glad you've finally come to see the world for what it is." "A place full of despair, hate and lies. I don't suppose you'd want to come along with me?" "I would be honoured to work alongside the great Van Slanzar de Fanel." "Good." And with that, they set off into the night.

Rikimaru carried Ayame back to their house on the outskirts of the forest and set her down on the bed. She seemed to have burn marks on her head, stomach and chest, but that wasn't possible because their attacker had only hit her with his elbow and fist. He applied bandages to her wounds and then his. He got into his own bed and slept.

Rikimaru woke with a start around 2.00 am. He heard something outside, like quiet footsteps. H quickly got dressed and put on his weapons. He silently went outside and climbed onto the roof. He drew his sword and heard a sound like metal on stone. He crawled over to the edge and looked down into the darkness. Suddenly, it became fiercely bright as a huge jet of flame came from the round at him. He jumped into the air but was caught by surprise as an immensely strong gust of wind hit him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. A figure came flying at him and punched him in the face, sending him flying towards the earth. He never landed though, as someone kicked him at the base of his spine, sending him into the air once more. He fell into the arms of one of his attackers and saw his face. It was Van. "Night, night Azuma," he said, and Rikimaru passed out.

When Rikimaru woke up he was shackled to a cave wall. His head was pounding and there was a light so bright coming from the other end of the cave he couldn't see. Then, suddenly, the light went out, leaving Rikimaru in complete darkness. He could hear strange whispers coming from all sides and a strange mist began to twist itself into mysterious shapes. He thought he could see faces, but then he blinked and they were gone. The whispering grew louder until it was actually quite loud and no longer whispers. He could hear what they were saying. Things like "Please, don't hurt me!" and "Oh, please God, NO!" Then there was a brief flash of light and candles lit all around the cave. He saw various implements of torture around the room, from fiery pits to bottles of ginger beer. Then a trapdoor opened and something fell from it. A mocking voice said "Some company for you, Azumaaaaa!" There was a loud thud and Rikimaru saw a female body lying on the ground. "Ayame!" he shouted. She sat up slowly and turned her head towards him. "Rikimaru," she said. "What's happening?" and fell back down again.

An: Woah, long chapter! Reviewwwwwwwwwwww!