Um… I apologize if people receive two emails alerts for this chapter (author alerts). I uploaded it twice because Fanfiction.net was acting weird the first time and one person I know said they never got a notification. ^_^
This is a long chapter! They won't all be this long. ^_^ But it is one reason it took so long to get out. I was determined to get all the way to the end of my idea. That, and finals and holiday stuff and social engagements, etc; you know the drill. I delayed filling out my grad school application to write this, so I hope it is appreciated. Please let me know by reviewing. Thanks and happy reading!
Evermore
Chapter 13
By Zapenstap
"Kyo?"
In the underground prisons of Cabadan, his name sounded like a tiny silver bell struck in a lead box. Kyo's ears pricked forward and he quickly scanned the hallway, trying and detect where it had come from. The prison cells were shut tight, the sound of his name swallowed by the stale air as soon as it had been uttered.
"Kyo, is that you?"
Half frantic, he picked his way along the prisons lining the stone hallway, knowing that someone was there, that Tohru, one of his cursed cousins, or one of Tohru's friends was nearby. His heart sped up involuntarily. He wanted to find Tohru most, not only because of the way he felt about her, but because of what Belduine had said about handmaidens and the danger of being a girl in a place like Evermore. He had to find Tohru, but if he was honest with himself, he wanted to find everybody, anybody, and he couldn't tell who the voice belonged to; it was difficult to hear through the thick wooden doors and stone walls. He leaned his ear against the rock hoping to detect the source of the piping voice that had called his name. This deep below the surface, the rock walls sweated, the moisture gleaming eerily in the ruddy orange glow of the torchlight that wavered in sconces along the walls. When he touched them, he expected to feel water, but all they felt was strangely smooth. The voice had come from near here, he was sure, but he couldn't hear anything now.
Behind him, Belduine shouldered his spear and turned his head in the direction they had come, anxiously watching the other end of the hall as if expecting to be discovered at any moment. When he turned back, his bright dark eyes seemed to be pushing for speed.
Kyo knew time was of the essence. "Who's there?" he said in as soft a voice as he could manage wherein he thought he would still be heard. He whispered first into the stone and then more loudly down the hallway. "It is Kyo. Hello? Tohru? Where are you?"
There was a moment of hopeful silence before the reply drifted back to him through the wall, excited and desperate now. "Kyo, over here!"
His eyes widened. "Kagura."
He recognized her voice now. At first he was concerned that it was not Tohru, but in a moment he was simply relieved that someone had been found. He trotted down the line of cells to where he had distinctly heard Kagura speak, the tones of her sweet personality sounding like the smothered cheeps of a bird in a sack. He ran his hands over the heavy wooden door of her prison, his eyes searching for the lock. "Kagura," he whispered. "Hold on. I'm going to get you out."
He thought he could almost feel her hands pressing against the other side of the door and imagined her kneeling in the dark, breathing anxiously as she waited. Briefly, he wondered if his rescuing her would complicate their relationship, but he never considered leaving her for a moment. As chaotic as Kagura had been in her obsession with him, he loved her when it counted, if not the way she always him to.
Kyo reached into his coat pocket for the ring of keys Belduine had tossed to him in their own prison room only to discover that they were gone. Just when he was about to make an exclamation, Belduine himself slipped suddenly between Kyo and the door, elbowing him out of the way and shoving a key from the same ring into the lock and jerking it sharply to the left.
"Hey!" Kyo seethed, clenching his fists. "If you're going to steal from me, don't! It creeps me out. Just ask!"
The door swung open and Belduine tossed the keys at Kyo without looking back. Kyo fumbled in catching them as Belduine rescued Kagura, grasping her by the arms and pulling her out of a prison cell that was smaller than a broom closet and dark as pitch. Kagura was trembling in Belduine's grip and there was dirt in her hair and on her clothes, but other than that she seemed to be in perfect health. She even had the cat backpack she had made still strapped to her back, complete with all the supplies Belduine had filled it with from Shigure's house.
"Glad to see you!" Belduine said brightly. "I'd give you a hug, but that would probably only complicate matters."
Bewildered, Kagura disentangled herself from Belduine and sprang at Kyo. "Kyo!" she wailed and he braced himself before she collided with his chest, flinging herself so hard in his direction that he stumbled. The force of her charge knocked him down and they both collapsed in a pile. He took the brunt of the fall, landing heavily on the stone floor with Kagura in his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck so tightly he almost couldn't breathe. She sobbed into his ear, exclaiming in wild cries all her woes and worries since she had arrived in this strange place. After the initial shock and pain faded, he was sympathetic to her fears, but after a moment he began to feel annoyed. Tohru was still out there, in a dark cell like this one, and the others too.
"Get off me, Kagura! We have to find the others!"
She sat up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, her dark hair streaming down on either side of her face, stringy and tangled. "You don't care about me? Even after this? After I've been locked in a dark room with only my hopeful thoughts of you to comfort me? Kyo, you're so mean!"
"There just isn't time, peaches," Belduine said, and even as Kyo rallied for a second shouting volley, he felt Kagura's weight being lifted off of him. Belduine had picked her up by the waist and she stopped crying with the unexpectedness of it, blinking large gray eyes as he pulled her to her feet. She stood still while he dusted her off and then circled around her to inspect the bag on her back. "Oh good, you've still got everything," Belduine said, sounding relieved. "That makes things a little easier, but we haven't a moment to lose."
Kyo scrambled up off the ground, glaring at Belduine for no reason he could identify. Kagura seemed content to stand silently, having already blown off her emotions in one fitful burst and now simply looking lost. "Where is this place?" she whispered.
"Prison," Belduine said cheerily. "In Cabadan. Do you know where any of the others are by any chance?"
Kagura looked around her. "I don't know," she said. "Not too long ago a man came to me and said all sorts of strange things. I think he came from that direction," she pointed and then turned, "and went the way you came."
Belduine picked up his broken spear from where he had leaned it against the wall to wrestle with Kagura and started off. "Good. There isn't any time to waste. Are you guys coming?"
*****
Shigure sat up in the corner, leaning his head against the wall adjacent to his back and tried to think his way out of this dark box.
Except for a small crack in the wall that let in only the thinnest trickle of light, Shigure's prison was completely dark. He could only make out dim shapes, his very hands merely shadowy forms before his eyes. Some time ago he had been awoken by a strange visitor, and had since been left alone to explore this new confinement. Locating the door by touch hadn't yielded him any answers. The tough wood seemed to be permanently lodged in stone and the lock was some twisty, heavy metal thing he couldn't get a handle on. The crack in his wall told him only that somewhere beyond there was at least one source of light, and from the amount of light that seeped into his cell, only one. It was too high up to look through.
His sense of hearing was more useful. Now and again he heard rustlings and suspected there were other cells on either side of him, possibly occupied by members of his family, but so far he had refrained from speaking or making much noise himself. He didn't want to endanger anyone needlessly. He didn't know whether or not there were guards at the doors or who else might be locked up in these dungeons. If there were guards, he wasn't sure what they would do to prisoners who tried to communicate.
He waited for what seemed like hours, listening for sounds beyond his confinement, for talking or movement or anything that might indicate danger. But whoever it was who had visited him after he first woke up did not return and gradually he began to feel that their captors were content to leave them alone. Taking a deep breath, Shigure shifted his weight and touched the wall beside him, thinking how best to convey a message. Not by talking, to start at least, not until he was sure.
He hoped there was not a great risk, but even if there was, something must be done. Perhaps the magicians were used to prisoners being defeated, and perhaps it was best to behave accordingly, but Shigure could not sit still and do nothing while there was still hope. He had struggled against his family's curse for years, trying to do the impossible in the face of disapproval and danger, but he believed his defiance was worth something then and had to believe it was still worth something now. In situations like these, someone had to do what needed doing, whatever the cost. It would be him, of course. No one else was willing to shoulder the burden.
Cautiously, he knocked on the wall beside him, a familiar call that had an answer someone from his world would know. Silence followed for several moments, but after a few seconds of listening to his own heart beat in the darkness, Shigure tried the knock again. When he was about to try his voice, he heard a response, two beats that lacked strength and surety, but definitely an answer. It was followed by a call, a whisper of a voice he could barely hear. Closing his eyes, Shigure pressed an ear to the wall.
"Hello?" a timid voice whispered.
The voice calling was faint, weaker even than the knocks, but elation swept through Shigure at the sound of it. "Momiji," he breathed aloud. He forgot to be quiet, his urgency raising his intended whisper to a clearly uttered sound. Momiji's voice had sounded thick and quiet, but he was conscious. "Momiji, it's Shigure. Are you all right?" He remembered the boy's head wound, the blood on his curls and Hatori's grave face.
"Shigure?" The voice responded lightly, almost airily this time, as if its owner were half asleep. "Shigure, what is going on? Where are we? What happened?"
"Everything is all right for the moment. How do you feel? You had a nasty wound on your head."
"It's… it's all right," Momiji said after a moment's hesitation. "I think I'll be okay. I'm just a little dizzy when I try to stand." The way he said it made Shigure think it was probably more than a little dizzy, because he knew Momiji's tendency to present things in as hopeful a light as possible, but he did not ask questions. He was conscious and that was a good sign. Ultimately, it sounded like he would be fine, though his injuries might keep him immobile for awhile. "I thought that I was dreaming," Momiji continued after a minute. "Where are we?"
Momiji's voice was that of a small and uncertain child, and in this dark world, Shigure couldn't blame him, but a certain amount of brightness glistened in its tone, blossoming from some reservoir of optimism that never ran dry in the boy. It brought Shigure a feeling of hope that was almost akin to joy, something he was afraid to admit for himself, but which he coveted in other people. For a moment, the darkness of his life and the tasks he had set before him seemed less daunting. He pulled himself up to his knees and touched the rocks dividing him from his young cousin. "Momiji, listen to me."
He explained as well as he could all that had happened since Belduine was taken prisoner and brought before Akito. He kept some matters to himself, his speculations about their enemy and their prospects, and spun the recent events in as positive a light as he could contrive. Momiji never could abide in darkness after all, but he had to know the basics of what was going on. He had always sought light places, and though his sensitivity enabled him to confront many evils, Shigure would not burden others with his personal fears and disillusions. The most important thing, he told the boy, was that the family stick together and keep their heads on straight. He would take care of everything else.
"I'm worried about Tohru," Momiji said quietly when he was finished. "She shouldn't be in a place like this."
"No," Shigure agreed. "She shouldn't be."
"And Akito. It must be hard for him to be alone. He's not used to that. I can tell things about him, you know, even though he hates me."
Shigure closed his eyes. In some ways they were all alone, all the time, everybody in the world, but he understood what Momiji meant and it worried him too. Still, if nothing terrible happened, perhaps these new experiences would be good for Akito; perhaps they would lend him some perspective. Only, Shigure didn't think Akito had the maturity to learn from bad experiences. He was underdeveloped, even by the standard of children, and seemed incapable of thinking beyond his own misery. Perhaps if anyone knew Shigure darkest secrets, they would say he was equally as selfish, but Akito seemed to have no conception of choice. Where Shigure chose his path, Akito didn't seem to see other alternatives. Did that make Shigure a worse person than Akito, for actively choosing his evils? The thought sometimes kept him awake at night. Surely intentions must count for something.
"Do you think we will be rescued?" Momiji whispered.
He wanted to say yes, to assure Momiji that there was always hope as long as freedom was worth fighting for, but he couldn't think of anything concrete to say that would be of comfort. Just like with the curse. He always hoped it could be broken, but he didn't dare believe in it fully. He tried to smile and think of a joke to ease the tension so that the situation would not sound so serious, but laughter fell dead on his lips. Instead, he could only listen to his heart thud loudly in his chest as he knelt in the shadows, divided from his wounded, younger cousin by a wall of cold, hard stone. In the darkness where no one could see, he allowed the distress he felt to show on his face. "Who would rescue us?" Shigure asked at last. His voice was quiet and he tried to keep his tone as straight-forward as possible, but it quavered at the last, and he sucked in air to stop the sound.
"I don't know," Momiji said. "But don't be sad, Shigure. Everyone is going to depend on you, you know. Maybe someone will escape this prison and we will all be rescued and go home. Can't you believe that?"
He couldn't answer, overcome by a feeling he couldn't describe. "Momiji…" He began, but then something occurred to him.
Maybe someone would escape, if not the way Momiji envisioned it. But if so, would he rescue them? And if he did, could they trust him?
As if his revelation was in concordance with a higher Providence, it was at that moment that he heard voices from the hallway. Momiji didn't speak but Shigure knew he had heard them too and was listening.
"Kyo," a voice he recognized said brightly, "I'm scared. Hold my hand!"
"No, damn it, I'm not going to hold your hand!" Softer. "I thought we already talked about this?"
"But it's not like that. I just want to hold your hand. Can't we be friends anymore?"
"Hey, I think someone's here," Belduine's voice broke in over the conversation.
Getting to his feet, Shigure crossed the short distance in his cell between the far wall and the door and banged upon it just loud enough to be heard. "Kyo! Kagura! Belduine!"
To his surprise, his call wasn't the only one to sound in the din. A garble of other voices rose in a tumult of exclamations from further away than he had heard the voices of Kyo and Kagura. For a moment Shigure was baffled, but then it dawned on him. There must be more cells on the other side of the hallway!
"Hey, Orange-top, is that you out there?"
"I told you I felt them coming, Arisa."
"And it was simply amazing that you did, though not as amazing as myself, I suppose. Still, I appreciated the information. Although the pleasure of such a lovely audience—as you two lovely ladies have proved to be—is a privilege not to be spurned, I was starting to fret about the condition of my clothes in this hellish little hole. It was most comforting to me when you told us of impending rescue, inspiring even, though you did interrupt one of my favorite stories about myself, about one of the best capers during my High School years. The Student Council secretary was most offended by that little stunt I almost had time to explain to you, but I assure you I grew on her over time."
"Aya!" Shigure exclaimed almost as soon as the litany had begun, and his despair was forgotten in a sudden upsweep of elation.
"Shigure!" Ayame shouted back through rock walls. "My long lost love! I didn't even know you were over there!"
"Aya! My sweet! The sound of your voice is like a ray of sunshine in these pits of despair!"
"Will you two give it a rest?" Kyo snapped. "We're trying to perform a rescue."
"Just don't botch it, Orange-top!" Arisa hollered.
"Shut it, Yankee! I don't have to rescue you!"
"Hey, Shigure, could you back up a bit? This door swings inward."
Shigure blinked as Belduine's voice, much closer than Kyo's, whispered from just beyond the wall. Shigure stepped back, adjusting his robe and swiping his hair out of his eyes as the lock in his door clicked and turned with heavy, grinding protest. A moment later, it swung inward and soft torchlight flooded his cell with a red-golden glow.
Freedom.
There must have been something in his expression as he stepped out, because Belduine murmured, "not yet," before dashing to the other side of the room where Kyo was arguing through a stone wall with Tohru's ex-gang member friend. Belduine let Saki out first, opening her door with an expert twist of a ring of keys he held firmly in one hand. When the Vibe emerged, she might have been coming out of her front door for all the impression imprisonment had made on her. Her eyes were the same smoldering pools of black ink that they always had been, but for some reason she gave Belduine a slight smile when he paused, holding the door open for her.
"You okay, EC?" he asked.
"Yes," she said. "I was not harmed."
Grinning, Belduine slammed the prison door closed behind her and bounded in front of Kyo to let Arisa out of confinement. Kyo glared and delivered insults to everyone in a five foot vicinity as Belduine pulled back the door and ducked around him to move on to the next. Arisa emerged covered in dirt and what looked like tears dried on her cheeks, but her expression was all fire and audacity. She clenched her hands into fists and began verbally assaulting Kyo as soon as he came into view, who after a moment just took it with a resigned, expectant expression. Kagura looked strangely content and almost dreamy, smiling in the middle of the hallway with one knuckle pressed against her teeth and happy tears in her eyes as her family members were released one by one. Belduine let out Ayame last, tripping backward when Aya danced out of his cell flamboyantly, flailing dangerously and fixing them all with a dashing smile fit for a cocktail party. Despite his complaints, his red robes were untouched by any kind of dirt or grime and his hair looked as if he had spent his time in confinement combing it.
"Aya," Shigure said simply and fondly, and was again encouraged when his friend smiled at him with his usual, undaunted bravado. If Ayame had been afraid in his cell, he did not show it, and he had not been alone. It was fortunate that Saki and Arisa had been on the other side of the hallway near him. No doubt Ayame had had no qualms in sharing his thoughts and stories with them. All three of them appeared to be in good health and adequate spirits. A strange contrast to his own doubts and fears, unless everyone was working to hide them as hard as he was. Like Kagura, Saki and Arisa wore their school backpacks still.
"Anybody else?" Belduine said, knocking consecutively on the doors next to the ones that had held those he had already freed.
"Momiji," Shigure said in a hushed voice, gesturing to the cell beside his. "But easy, he has a head injury."
Kyo stuffed his hands in his pockets, glancing down at the ground to hide his concern, and everyone fell silent as Belduine opened the door to Momiji's prison. "Hey, Momiji?" Belduine whispered cheerily, and ducked into the darkness.
Everyone waited for a moment in silence, quiet now that the elation of reuniting had passed and they once more realized their danger. The seconds that ticked by while they waited for Momiji to emerge were slow and torturous. Kyo kept glancing around nervously and even the unshakable Saki Hanajima turned her head to watch the pathway from whence Belduine had come with Kyo and Kagura. After half a minute, Belduine returned from Momiji's cell, but he returned alone.
"We'll have to leave him here," he announced.
"Wha…?" Kagura exclaimed, jolted out of her worry. "We can't do that."
Belduine shrugged. "He can't walk with his head like that. I can only take those who can run and I prefer to take those who can also fight."
Kagura's mouth worked silently. Kyo and Ayame appeared stunned. "We can't leave him here," Kagura repeated. "Shigure?"
Belduine averted his eyes and stepped aside in deference as Shigure brushed by him and ducked into Momiji's prison. Momiji sat propped up against the back wall, his head lolling to one side and his eyes glassy. He blinked when Shigure knelt beside him and smiled weakly when he felt Shigure's hand land gently on his head. "Momiji?" Shigure whispered. "If you can't walk, I'll carry you out."
"No," Momiji sighed in a tiny voice. "It's not safe. For you or me. I'll be okay. Just leave me here and get yourselves out."
Shigure stared at him. "We're not leaving you behind."
His smile was mature, understanding, his eyes shimmering in the darkness as he bit his lip and pulled his knees in closer to his chest. The nobility in his expression pierced the soul. "I'm not going to die or anything if you do. I just can't be moved. And besides, you need to rescue Tohru! And you know you can't leave Akito here, right? So get them out, won't you? As a favor to me? You can leave me here to heal properly. I'll slow you down in my condition and you will have to make a run for it."
"Momiji…"
"It's okay, really. I know it doesn't mean anything about how anyone feels about me, and besides, I want to stay. I want to go to Evermore and meet the Esper. It sounds like a fascinating place, doesn't it? Like something out of a book. I've always wanted to see a real fairy."
"Shigure," Belduine's voice came to him. He had ducked half inside the prison cell, his eyes glinting in the light from the torch outside. "You comin' or not? If we stay any longer we will be caught. Saki says she thinks she can detect where Tohru and Akito are, and Ayame says that Yuki was taken down this way too. We're on borrowed time. We have to go."
"Go," Momiji seconded.
Shigure stood, but managed it only in distress, torn between his desire for freedom and his sense of duty to his family. To leave Momiji here felt like betrayal, even if it was practical. He had always felt protective of the younger ones, though Momiji had always been more in Hatori's charge. Still…
He found himself following Belduine in something of a daze, afraid to look back at Momiji's face. It was just starting to dawn on him the kind of situation they were in. Kyo and Kagura were watching him with grave expressions as the group converged in the middle of the hallway. Nobody spoke. Belduine pulled the sole remaining torch from the wall and handed it to Kyo to carry without words. He shifted what looked like a broken spear under his arm and gestured down the hallway. The path they were taking was submerged in complete darkness.
"Let's go," Belduine said.
Shigure followed, and as they passed down the tunnel in as quick of a run as they could manage, he realized that by taking the only torch, they had also taken the last light from Momiji's world. Guilt rent his mind like a cleaver, but he kept moving.
His mind was in torment, his contemplation so involving that he didn't realize why Belduine let out a sudden and sharp warning, dashing to unlock two cell doors side by side in the hallway.
"Everyone into the cells! Hide!"
They scrambled, Kagura yelping and Kyo hauled her sideways into a cell door with Saki and Arisa ducking in after them. At the last moment, Shigure grabbed Ayame's sleeve and followed Belduine into the cell next to it. With three or four bodies stuffed into one place, the quarters were particularly tight. At first he didn't understand the emergency, responding only to demand, but then he heard the footfalls.
Shouting followed from somewhere nearby almost as soon as Belduine pulled their cell door partially shut, careful not to close it completely. Shigure and Ayame stood near the wall while the thief knelt near the floor, his dark bright eyes staring through the small crack he had left open. Light flared as a stream of torches lit up the hallway and a cluster of heavy black boots passed by them, thudding against the stones in accompaniment to the jingling or metal. It was a stream of people, whoever they were, and they passed by in a torrent, neither pausing to check the empty cells nor seeming to care.
A minute of petrified silence passed before Belduine flung open the door and waved for Ayame and Shigure to follow him out, calling softly for Kyo and the others before starting down the hall again, almost on the heels of whatever hasty procession had passed by.
"Who was that?" Kyo demanded as he and the girls caught up. He had hung his torch on the wall at the last second and retrieved it now, his hands visibly shaking. "Should we be chasing those guys like this? What if they were guards looking for us?"
"They weren't," Belduine said, and his expression was grim. "I could see them and they weren't guards of the Esper or of the town. It seems we're not the only rescue party tonight. The diversion might help us, but we still have to hurry."
Their pathway came to a fork, with one main path heading directly north and a winding staircase just to the left of it descending even deeper down into the earth. Shigure blanched at the sight of that narrow, crammed staircase, already feeling the weight of the world on top of them and wondering if they would ever see the light of day if they went down there. Kyo swung the torch around, lighting first one path and then the other.
"Downstairs," Belduine said, taking a deep breath. "I know the exit is the other way, but I don't think there are any more cells before the climb upward to the landing and I'll bet my best boots that at least one of your number is down there."
"Perhaps some of us should make a break for it while others go on a rescue mission," Arisa suggested. "If it's important that some of us aren't caught, maybe that would increase our chances." She didn't say it like she wanted to escape herself. On the contrary, she seemed more determined to go down the stairs by the way she leaned toward them slightly.
Belduine seemed to consider the proposition for a moment, but then shook his head. "No. There will be guards at the door. We should stick together, or you all should stick with me anyway." He shifted his spear to his right hand and gestured for them to begin their journey down the steps. Shigure wondered why he rejected the proposition, but he wasn't willing to argue the point. He didn't know this place, and though it made him nervous, he felt he had to trust this kid.
"What if we run into those other guys?" Kyo muttered. "Who were they anyhow?"
"Soldiers of Breneth by their emblems," Belduine answered. "They aren't here for us, but you're right. I imagine there's more than one group of them, and though we probably have them to thank for not being discovered by the prison guard by now, if we run into them there might be trouble. So let's get down the steps quickly and find somewhere to hide if we need to."
Soldiers. Shigure's heart beat fast. The clanging he had heard was probably a mixture of armor and weapons, and whatever they were up to, they seemed willing to cut themselves a path. He had wondered why he hadn't seen or heard a whisper of guardsmen. Perhaps there was fighting elsewhere in this compound. Terror seized his heart, wondering what he would do if he was thrown into a fight with weapons, but he kept moving, following the other down the stairs, his hands gliding along the sweat-slick walls to either side of him. He could hardly see anything, the blackness like cold soot and the air as cold as death. It was like walking into a crypt and his breathing began to take on a rasp-like quality.
Belduine led the way with Kyo and the girls just behind him. Kyo's orange hair was a stark parallel to the firebrand burning in his hand. It cast strange lights on walls that were slick and seemed to be tinted green the deeper they traveled. Arisa, Saki and Kagura followed Kyo with Ayame and Shigure bringing up the rear. Shigure had to urge to chat to ease his anxiety, but the situation called for silence unless they were heard by guardsmen or soldiers, so he kept his own council and tried to remain calm.
The staircase was not long, but when they reached the bottom, he felt as if he were in a tomb. The prisons in this dark place made his cell seem cheery and comfortable by comparison. The doors here were metal but so caked with grit they might as well have been stone, tall and impassive as gravestones. They dotted the passage only every once and awhile, spaced out and ghostly silent. The darkness ate at Kyo's torch, suffocating the light, and everyone's eyes gleamed ghoulishly as they paced softly through the dust. Ayame looked positively spooked. Up ahead, Kagura had latched onto Kyo's arm, hugging him as they walked just behind Belduine. Arisa glanced around her and hid her fear well, but there was a strain in her eyes that battled with her determination. Only Saki seemed as impassive as ever, though what she might actually be feeling was difficult to say.
The pathway diverged suddenly at a crossroad, winding into the distance three different ways.
"I haven't been here before," Belduine breathed. His eyes were bright even in this darkness, and he turned around in a slow circle before fixing his gaze on Saki Hanajima. "EC," Belduine whispered, "do you know which way we should go? Can you sense anything?"
"Yeah, what about Tohru?" Arisa demanded in a voice that seemed half afraid to hear that the girl could possibly be hidden in this place. "Can you sense Tohru?" Kyo's eyes and expression demanded the same thing.
"The head of your family," Saki said instead, "is just down that way." She pointed with one slim finger, raising her arm at a parallel line to the ground. "His name is Akito, correct? He has a very distinct electric signal, though it is very chaotic at the moment."
Shigure felt his blood freeze. Ayame glanced at him, his expression serious for once. "We have to get him out," Shigure said, and felt like he had placed a boulder on his chest. He didn't want to rescue Akito. Or did he? He couldn't tell.
Arisa grimaced noticeably. "That guy… Hell, I say if you're going to leave Momiji, you might as well leave that jerk too. I doubt he can run or fight. Isn't that the criteria?" She seemed more like she was trying to convince herself.
The air was so thick with tension and uncertainty, he felt like it was going to vibrate if someone breathed wrong. "Well," Shigure forced himself to chuckle, and his usual joking self broke the tension like the cord of a guitar. "Ayame can't really either." Ayame gasped indignantly and Shigure managed a grin in the darkness, his teeth flashing in the light of Kyo's torch, though shadows haunted his face. "Nor can I, alas! But that isn't the reason, Arisa. Akito will doubtless be even more of a burden than you can understand, but we can't leave him here."
"You're right," Belduine said. "He's the god and the Esper…" He frowned, his face ruddy in the torchlight. "Lead the way, Saki."
She did, brushing past them and striding alone and confidently into the darkness. If she had been wearing her cloak it would have billowed behind her majestically, but even with just a school backpack, she was impressive. Shigure and the others followed her, keeping an eye on the braid that hung straight down her back, the patch of white skin of her neck the only bit of her that did not blend in with the atmosphere. As they walked, Shigure thought he could hear footfalls down one of the other passages, evidence of Belduine's soldiers calling conducting their own search.
"Here," Saki said, stopping before one of the doors and stepping aside for Belduine to kneel in front of it.
"Akito?" Belduine called promptly, and knocked twice. Shigure thought he heard movement, someone shifting in the dark behind the door, but there was no answer as Belduine knelt before the lock and began trying the keys.
"Come on," Kyo said anxiously, but when the last key was tried, the door still had not opened.
"Try them again!" Arisa said. "One of them has got to work!"
Belduine shook his head soundlessly and tossed the ring to her. "You can try it on one of the other doors if you want." Arisa took the keys but did not move. They all watched as Belduine withdrew a fold of leather from inside his shirt and unfolded it to reveal pockets of strange tools and appliances of wires and hooks and screws that Shigure did not have specific names for, though he knew they were lockpicks. Laying his spear down by his boot, Belduine leaned an ear against the door and waved Kyo to kneel near him so that the torch lit up the lock on the door. Belduine's hands were quick, drawing tools and wires and inserting them into the lock one after another, his eyes darting and shifting and he listened and jiggled and blinked steaduly. His head and shoulders blocked exactly what he was doing, but after several long agonizing minutes, Shigure heard a soft click as the door's catch released. Belduine replaced his lock pick tools back into the leather fold and got to his feet. Lifting his spear up from the ground, he stepped back and pulled the door open.
"Akito," Shigure whispered softly. "It's Shigure. Are you all right? Can you walk? We need to hurry."
The door groaned as Belduine pushed it, but it opened. When Kyo held the torch aloft, light flooded the cell.
Akito sat on the ground with one hand raised to cover his eyes, his robes pulled around his shoulders and dirt smudging his face and hands and clothes. His fingers were scraped, as if he had scuffed them along the rock walls of his prison. He glared up at the people looking at him, slowly drawing his hand down as his eyes adjusted to the light and he was able to make out their faces. For a moment he looked fragile, like a child who had been lost and afraid and was unexpectedly found by loved ones, and something like a smile decorated his face when he saw Shigure and Ayame leaning in over him worriedly. But his eyes hardened when they landed on Kyo, passed over Kagura disdainfully, and narrowed with undisguised hatred when Arisa and Saki came into view. Belduine had hid behind the door, out of the way and silent, waiting impatiently and nervously.
Nobody spoke.
"Well?" Akito's voice said harshly. "So you've come back have you?" His lips twisted.
Ayame stepped forward and Shigure did not have time to wince. "Akito-san," Ayame exclaimed, pressing a hand over his heart. "It is with the deepest honor that we have come to rescue you." Grandly, he entered the cell and extended his hand. "Please, take my arm and I will support your triumphant exodus from this stifling dungeon. Before it ruins your complexion."
Akito's eyes widened and something like contempt curdled his face, but he reached up for Ayame's arm and stood, rising to a full height before slumping over Ayame as if he were an old man in need of a crutch. He refused to look at the rest of them, and when they met his eyes accidentally, he glared with a visage that could crack stone.
"This place suits me," he rasped once he was in the hall, still leaning on Ayame and glancing around at the rag-tag group with obvious distaste.
"We can't stay here," Shigure said. "We must go."
"Yes," Akito said. "Yes, we must go. You," he pointed to Belduine with a savage, angry thrust of his finger. "What are you doing here?"
"Um, I'm your guide," Belduine said promptly, bobbing into view, and the way he stood made it clear that he was addressing Akito as a superior even if there was little in his countenance to suggest it. The tone was an appeal, a touch of reverence crisping the words. "I'm going to see that you escape, but we're going to have to do some sneaking. Can you sneak?"
Akito's eyes shifted scornfully away from Belduine to the others. "Where are the others? Where is Hatori? Where is Yuki? Where is Haru?"
Shigure didn't know what to say. He wondered too. He tried to think about it.
"We have to leave them here," Belduine said. "There isn't time to save everybody and we can't go back. We have to take the North exit or none at all. There isn't much time now but we will save them later, I promise you. When they are transferred to the Holdings at Evermore, it might prove easier. If we can get there undetected." Shigure closed his eyes. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving anyone, but it made him feel a little better to hear Belduine make that promise. He wasn't sure how far someone like Belduine could be trusted, but the kid wasn't so bad in his own way, harmless really, and what he said made sense. Some of them had to escape if there was to be a chance for any of them.
"Leave them here?" It was difficult to tell whether Akito was pleased or furious. Slowly, he smiled, but his eyes glittered dangerously. He shoved Ayame away from him and took a few steps on his own, hunched in his robe and staring at nothing. "I suppose," he began, "that all of you expect me not to care about what happens to them. Well then you're right, I don't care." He smiled then as if he had said something funny.
Belduine sweated. "Um, okay, but we need to go. Stealthy, remember? You can sneak? We'll have to run too."
"I can't run," Akito said dismissively.
"Well, walk fast then," Belduine altered. "But we have to keep going."
"We still need to find Tohru," Kyo said adamantly.
"We're not saving anybody else?" Arisa breathed, as if it had just struck her. "Tohru? Or Kureno?" Her heart was in her eyes when she said Kureno's name. Shigure marveled, wondering how they had met for her eyes to glisten like that, but what worried him was that Akito saw it. Shigure swallowed, wondering what he was thinking when his god's eyes became heavy, as if he was drugged or half-asleep. His hands curled into claws and he sneered to himself, but did nothing. Arisa didn't see it. Her eyes were on Belduine.
"We can't," the thief said apologetically. "Anyone who isn't down here…"
"Yuki is," Akito broke in suddenly, and all traces of malice were gone, his tones as smooth as silk, eerily convincing. "I know it. I saw it in a dream. He was crying in the dark, alone and abandoned. He is down here and we will not go without him."
There was a moment of silence in which everyone shifted uncomfortably. Shigure wasn't sure if perhaps Akito had not made up this dream, pushing his own thoughts and experiences on other people and claiming their authenticity. But Akito would hold to it if he believed it and they could not afford a screaming fit right now by disagreeing with him.
Saki broke in unexpectedly. "He's right," she said. "Yuki's electric signal is pulsing down one of the other passageways."
"Then let's go," Belduine said, and broke through them, trotting back in the direction they came.
Taking a deep breath, Shigure put a hand on Akito's shoulder and urged him forward, following the others. Akito's expression still had not changed, but he seemed content to be led, however he glared holes in the backs of those retreating before him. Ayame stayed with them, careful not to touch Akito unless he requested it and occasionally glancing at Shigure with concern. His old friend clearly wanted some direction and encouragement, but Shigure did not know exactly what to tell him.
He still could not conceive of what they were about to do, escaping into a strange world and leaving half of their numbers behind. He couldn't stop dwelling on it. He thought of the others, wondering if the kids Kisa and Hiro were all right, and how they would hold up being taken to the Holdings of the Esper. What was that place like? There was Hatori to take care of them, but Hatori was not known for cheering anyone and Shigure feared for personalities like Kisa and Momiji and Ritsu. Dear God, but Ritsu was probably fit for a heart attack. Haru and Rin were both capable of keeping calm under pressure, but what of Kureno, who had only been outside the Main House on rare occasions?
He escorted Akito after the others in silence, his thoughts churning like the spools and gears of a clock, never ceasing to count the seconds as they added up numbers. It was against his nature to abandon his loyalties to the family, even in exchange for his own safety. He wasn't sure he could go through with this.
*****
Yuki's rat left him in a spook of terror as boots crashed down the hallway outside his cell. The animal scuttled off his hand and disappeared into the wall, squeezing through some crack Yuki couldn't even see. Yuki got to his feet slowly, rising against the wall behind him and using his hands to feel his way toward what he thought was the door in the darkness. Whispers rose just outside, and two thoughts struck him simultaneously so that he wasn't sure what to think: one, that the magicians had come to haul him off to the Holdings of the Esper in Evermore, and two, that he was going to be rescued.
It turned out not to have anything to do with him at all.
"Temien!" several voices whispered urgently in the darkness.
Yuki touched the inside of the door, wishing that they had called his name, that someone had come to free him, but he knew he had to make the best of whatever situation came his way, and so tightened his lips and cleared his throat. "In the cell beside me," he called out. "I think he fell asleep."
Whoever was out there had obviously not expected others to be locked up down here. They did not answer him directly, but he heard them shift over to Temien's cell. He listened as they opened the door, not wondering whether they had stolen keys, bashed it in, or picked the lock. The sound of the door opening was a sweet torture, one that he savored for his own time. He knew they would be moved eventually.
"Hey," Temien's voice came to him from the other side. It was the voice of a freed man. "Yuki Sohma. Do you want to come with us?"
He thought about it. He could escape with Temien and maybe have a shot at freeing the others. Only, he didn't know this world, and he didn't really know Temien, and something told him to wait and be patient, though he couldn't be sure what it was. Besides, he could not leave Tohru here. "It's okay," he said. "I don't think I can go alone and abandon my friends and family. Something might yet happen."
Temien was silent for a moment. "All right. I wish there was something I could do for you, but I understand your reasoning."
Yuki lowered his head and passed a hand over his eyes, wondering if he had made the right choice. Perhaps he was just afraid to be burdened with the responsibility of freedom while the others remained captive. Maybe it was easier not to have them depend on him if they did manage to free himself. He wasn't fit to be their rescuer, and if he was the only one free, he would be their only hope.
"The best of luck to you, Yuki Sohma," Temien told him. "If all goes well, we may meet again in Evermore. I will remember what you said about your girl, Tohru Honda, and do what I can to assist her."
One of the men who had come to Temien's rescue spoke urgently. "We must hurry, Prince."
Yuki raised his head and was about to reply when he realized that whoever had spoken could not possibly have been talking to him. He heard Temien respond, though he did not catch what was said, and in a moment they were gone, vanishing in a flurry of footsteps pounding lightly on stone.
Yuki backed away from the door, pondering what was said, straining his ears in the darkness now that he was even more alone. Was that a real prince he had met? A strange destiny. His rat friend reemerged a moment later, squeaking as it poked its nose out of its hole cautiously and then skittered along the floor to stand by Yuki's left shoe. Yuki pushed his hair out of his eyes and felt the cut on his face again, wondering if it was going to get infected without care. It throbbed dully, a pain that was a welcome distraction in the loneliness that grew as all sound faded away.
It was awhile later, waiting in the darkness and dreaming of his doom in Evermore, that Yuki heard something else moving outside his door. He couldn't believe it. Nothing had happened for so long, and now everything had to happen at once. He had been looking to time spent alone in the dark, indefinitely, and already new voices were penetrating the thick curtains of his loneliness. It could not have been that long since Temien had vanished. At first he feared it was the magicians come to take him to the Holdings in Evermore, but comforted himself with the thought that at least he might be reunited with Tohru and his family. But listening, he slowly realized that he recognized these voices. Hope flared in his breast, and with it a strength he didn't realize he had. "Hello?" he shouted, and pounded on the inside of his door with the flat of his hand.
"Whoa, hang on, you're jolting the lock. Stand back a bit."
Belduine.
Amazed, Yuki stood back, his shoes scuffing the dirt. The little rat at his feet let out a squeak and vanished again, disappearing back into its hole. Yuki hardly gave it a second thought. Of all things unlooked for, he was being rescued.
The door swung open and faces he recognized greeted him in a half-blinding torchlight. He squinted into the flames rising from the torch Kyo held aloft in one hand and hastily turned his face aside so he could withstand the glare. He heard those standing before for him gasp and knew he had revealed his wounded cheek. He wondered how bad it looked after sleeping in the dirt.
He turned back again, smiling gratefully, and stepped out of his cell.
"Yuki!" Ayame exclaimed. He couldn't have done anything to stop his brother from throwing his arms around him in a hug surely meant to squeeze all the air of his lungs. He coughed and leaned weakly against Ayame's chest, shaking from sudden hunger and fear and thirst, all of which assaulted him the moment hope came that he might live and be free again. "Let me see your face," Ayame commanded and Yuki felt his head being lifted and examined by his brother's uncritical eye. "I wish Hatori was here. I haven't the slightest idea what to do about this. I'm sure it will be devilishly handsome with the right attire, though."
"Stop fussing over me," Yuki said, jerking his head back and stepping out of his brother's intrusive embrace. He looked around at all the faces assembled. "I'm fine. Really. Thank you. What of the others?"
"We have to leave them," Kagura said. Yuki stared, aghast, and turned to Shigure for confirmation. The dog's face looked troubled and he refused to meet Yuki in the eye.
"We still need to find Tohru," Kyo said stubbornly. Arisa emphatically agreed.
"No," Akito said with a menacing bite. "We can leave her here. She isn't any use!"
Kyo looked like he had been punched, averting his eyes. Yuki's gaze swung around, his mouth working silently.
"This prison is extensive," Belduine said. "If she's on the way out, we'll rescue her. But we're out of time. Akito's right, though I don't feel good about leaving her here either." He looked almost as troubled as Shigure, his hands caressing the wooden shaft of what looked to be a spear in agitation.
Kyo knuckles turned white on the handle of the torch, his eyes flaring under his red hair. Kagura bit her lip. Arisa looked like she wanted to hit something.
"Wait," Saki interjected calmly, holding up a hand, and everyone turned to her. "I sense her somewhere close by. Not down this path, but I feel her somewhere close, back the way we came."
"Perhaps in the third corridor then," Belduine muttered. "Well, let's try it, but then we have to get the hell out of here."
Akito gave Saki a withering look, which, if she noticed, she ignored.
Kyo passed his torch off to Kagura and bolted ahead, not waiting for the group. Yuki pushed Ayame aside to chase after him, not to catch him, but because he wanted to find Tohru just as desperately. With the others trailing behind on their heels, they raced down the corridor side by side and step for step. Shigure shouted after them to slow down and stick with the group, but neither of them had ears for it. Time was of the essence and it was ticking against Tohru. They couldn't leave her here!
"Which corridor haven't you tried yet?" Yuki gasped as they came to a stop at the crossroads.
"I dunno," Kyo said, "I can't remember."
Yuki felt a flash of irritation, but it cooled instantly. They panted in silence, waiting for the other to catch up. Finally, Kyo took a few steps near one of the corridors, putting his hands to his mouth to make a funnel. "Tohru! Tohru, are you down here?"
"Miss Honda!" Yuki called out. He wished he could use her name the way Kyo did, but it had just never felt right somehow. He couldn't bring himself to do it. Kyo's eyes looked panicked when there was no answer, and as they waited, the others caught up, Arisa running after them at the front. She shouted Tohru's name too and they all listened to it echo off the walls.
"Quiet! You'll bring the guards down on us!" Belduine said in a panic. "I said we'll try the third corridor, even though we do not have the time! It's all I can do."
"I don't care if we're caught if it means leaving her here!" Kyo shouted. Yuki said nothing, but the sentiment in his heart echoed Kyo's cry even if he would have refrained from shouting it.
"The stairs," Saki said suddenly. She pushed between Yuki and Kyo and began climbing them before anyone could protest.
"Hana!" Arisa shouted after her. "What about Tohru? Are you going to leave her here? Hana!"
Saki didn't turn around but kept climbing, racing up faster than Yuki thought a girl like her could run. The others waited at the bottom, torn in derision, Belduine seeming almost panicked by the delay caused by their indecision.
And then they heard it, a small voice calling out from above, at what sounded like the very top of the stairs, drifting down to them from on high. "Yuki? Kyo?"
Yuki didn't think about how it was possible. He fought for space with Kyo as he launched himself up the winding steps, breathing deeply of the dank air, straining his eyes for the sight that would warm his heart. He heard the others coming up behind them, panting and muttering under their breath, and it occurred to him that Akito was watching. He hoped that Tohru would not pay for his zealousness on her behalf later, that rescuing the girl from prison would not offend Akito's delicate psyche, but he couldn't stop himself.
At the top of the stairs, clasped in Saki Hanajima's embrace, was the collapsed form of Tohru Honda, crying with her face pressed into her friend's shoulder while Saki smoothed her hair and rocked her as she might a baby. Yuki and Kyo stopped side by side, staring in utter disbelief at the sight they beheld.
A man Yuki had never seen before stood just outside inside the entrance to the stairwell, both hands resting on the hilt of an inverted sword, the blade pushing into the ground. He was armored from head to toe, a blue cloak slung over his shoulders, half-obscuring a breastplate decorated with scrolls and signs. Yuki slowed to a stop, staring at this stranger with disbelief.
"My Lord Temien sends greetings," the man said. "Which of you is Yuki Sohma?"
"I am," Yuki said. He was startled, but even as he tried to process consciously what had happened, he understood.
The man stared at him for a moment in silence, sizing him up in face and form. Slowly, his lips curved into a smile. "My name is Ranok. His Highness's orders were to deliver the girl called Tohru Honda safely to Yuki Sohma if she might be found. We studied the prison grounds well ere we came. I expect I can trust you to take care of her?"
"Yes," he said. "Thank you."
Belduine pushed suddenly through to the front. "Glory to Breneth and Lord Temien," he said with a bright grin and a hasty bow. "What is the best way out of Cabadan?"
"There's rioting in the streets," the man replied, eyeing Belduine with an amused smile. "Our raiding party has taken the East exit in order to rescue our Lord but we won't hold them long. The upper levels of the prison are crawling with magicians. Lord Temien will be making their retreat even now, while the town is still in chaos. However, the North gate is just down the right passage and up the stairs. If there is still any guard at all, it is a light one. The lot of you should be able to overwhelm it. Take to the foothills and our affairs will cover your crossing."
"Many thanks," Belduine said, and ducked past him into the hallway.
"Yuki," Tohru cried, and suddenly he found her head buried in his arm, tears leaking from her eyes. He wanted to hold her, but he couldn't, and it wounded him. "He said you were here! I…"
Kyo's face looked broken as Tohru clung to Yuki's arm, quiet envy of Yuki as clear on his face as the longing for Tohru that was in his eyes. Yuki touched Tohru's hair, his most important concern, smoothing it the way Saki had done, and tried to say something reassuring. Tohru hiccupped when he spoke, as if realizing that what was happening was real, and rubbed her eyes, wiping away her tears. She then turned to Kyo and took his hand, holding it tightly in her own. Kyo's mouth parted but neither of them spoke.
"Come on!" Belduine shouted. Everyone jumped.
Sharing a glance, Yuki and Kyo mutually hustled Tohru out of the corridor. The others followed on the heels of the three of them. Yuki nodded again to the soldier as he passed, wondering at the strange occurrences that had aided them tonight. Why hadn't he asked for all his family members to be rescued? Why had he been so selfish as to specify Tohru? His heart went out to Haru and Rin, Momiji and Hatori, Kisa and Hiro, Kureno and Ritsu: all those who had been left behind. But then, it might not have been possible for this one rearguard of Temien's to have found everybody, and if he were to choose one person to rescue from a dungeon, it would have been Tohru. Perhaps she had just been nearby. He was glad that she was close to him again, glad that he was taking her out of this place. He just wished he knew what lay beyond it.
The party made a break for it down the other corridor that led to the North exit, coming almost immediately to a stairwell that led straight up. They climbed laboriously, but Yuki felt wind on his face, fresh air from a world outside, though it might be a strange world, and it gave him strength to run faster and harder. Tohru's feet stumbled on the stairs, but she kept up, and so do Saki and Uo and even Akito with the help of Shigure and Ayame, though they were last. Kagura was right up in front near Belduine, charging forward with an expression that should worry anyone who happened to be in her way.
When they reached the landing, it was like stepping out of an airport into a cool evening in some far away place. The stairs ended in a small room with only three walls. The fourth wall was open, facing a field that stretched into a countryside that rose into hills spotted with woods. Strange stars glittered in the sky above the land, twinkling with a familiarity that was still unfamiliar as he recognized none of the shapes they made.
Between them and the open air was a single guard, but he was armed. He had been sitting in a chair by the open wall, looking outside at some sort of commotion that must be taking place in the town near the prisons, presumably the riots the soldier who had delivered Tohru had mentioned. The guard at the door wore a strange crest on his breast, something like a star that was made out of crystal, a badge that clasped a scarlet cloak around the front of his body. He held a spear in his hand, and opened his mouth when he saw them emerge, lowering the blade toward them.
Yuki grasped Tohru and meant to shove her safely out of the way, not sure how they were all going to get past a man with a wicked, long range weapon aimed to kill, but before he could move or speak or say anything, Belduine ducked under his arm and twisted, the short-hafted spear in his hand spinning expertly. Yuki stopped moving, all sound going dim in his ears as the blade of that spear sliced through the neck of the guard. He turned to Tohru only to see Kyo gaping, one hand clasped over Tohru's eyes. She grabbed at his hand, crying words Yuki couldn't hear in his sudden deafness. Belduine's face did not change as he backed out of his victim's range, flipping his weapon into a position preparing for a second attack. But there was no need. The scarlet-cloaked guard choked, blood running in rivulets down his severed throat and out of his mouth as he tried to breathe. He staggered and collapsed, his staring, sightless eyes glazing over like glass as he hit the ground, blood continuing to pool out from underneath him.
"Oh, my god."
Arisa was the only one who could speak, and her words were thick in her throat as she grasped her own neck in shock. Maybe she had seen some things during her gang years, but it was clear that she had never seen this. Yuki felt cold inside, his heart ceasing to beat and yet drumming loudly in his ears. Murder.
Belduine shook his spear and wiped blood out of his eyes. It smeared on his sleeve but he only blinked. "Come on," he said. He seemed unaffected, though his breathing was heavy. "Come on."
Kyo ushered a protesting Tohru passed the scene, his hand still over her eyes, shielding her from the sight of the dead man on the ground. She kept saying his name over and over again "Kyo? Kyo! Kyo?" demanding to know what had happened, that she should be able to see, but Kyo's face was grim and he would not let her look.
"Hurry!" Belduine shouted at the rest of them, and they bolted passed both him and the guard he had killed in fear. "Make for the hills," Belduine called after them. "Don't look back. We were lucky Prince Temien was here. The whole place is in an uproar. Just run."
But Shigure didn't.
Yuki stopped when he realized that not everyone had agreed, letting Kyo carry a stumbling, blind Tohru out of danger. Arisa and Saki went after her, but Kagura, Ayame and Akito paused, staring back at Shigure.
"I can't," the dog said. His eyes were glued to the dead body on the ground, but that didn't seem to be what was holding him back. "I can't leave them in a place like this."
"Shigure!" Akito shouted.
"Take him!" Belduine yelled at Ayame and Kagura. Ayame grabbed Akito gently by the arm, whispering something Yuki couldn't hear. His response was a snarl, but Akito turned to go. Yuki could not look away from the man dead at Belduine's feet. Belduine was looking at Shigure, standing over a man he had killed, that impish, incompetent thief that Yuki had just thought harmless only minutes ago standing in a pool of blood he had spilled without warning or hesitation. "Are you sure?"
Shigure nodded, looking pale.
"Okay. We'll see you in Evermore. Don't lose hope."
The boy turned, brandishing his spear, and shoved Yuki hard in the shoulder. "Run."
"You killed a man," Yuki breathed in a hollow voice.
"Run!"
Wrenching his eyes away, Yuki ran.
To Be Continued…
(If you want it to be, reviews are very inspiring!)
A/N:
Okay! Before anybody panics, let me explain that the scenes of this story are going to shift between those who escaped and those who are going to the Holdings in Evermore. So if your favorite character got left behind, don't worry about; they will still be a significant part in the story! The Holdings are not structured like the prisons in Cabadan. More will be going on there, but that's all I'm going to say about it for the moment.
And now I will spend a page thanking everyone again! Because I desperately need responses to keep writing this story and the reader pool for Fruits Basket is much smaller than for Gundam Wing. If you're reading, please take a moment to review!
Grrl N: Well, Tohru and the girls are safe, but others are going to the Holdings. And yes! There just might be some comedy with Ritsu, but you will have to keep reading to see! I'm glad the last chapter was easy on the eyes. This one was more actiony, so maybe it was more difficult, but tell me what you're thinking!
Calendar: Lol. Well, Tohru is safe from being a handmaiden for the time being, but that doesn't mean there aren't other things to panic about! Ha ha. Ooh, it's really hard not to give stuff away. Hope you are still reading! Please tell me your thoughts. ^_^
Mizaya: I stayed up all night and slept all day again. Lol. Sorry about Haru! I know he is your favorite, but I promise you will see more of him. And yes, Tohru is quite innocent, and yes, there will be more Kyoru moments. Heh heh.
Niana Kuonji: *squeals* Actually, I almost had Belduine say that exact line from the Last Unicorn because I like it so much, but I was afraid it would be too much like copying, even though the characters and circumstances are different. Actually, Azaren quotes a line from the Last Unicorn too. Can you spot it? Lol. Anyway, Yuki is safe for the time being. As for the quotes, they aren't my property! They are real proverbs, from different languages and cultures, which was the idea.
SAL-chan: You crack me up; I love it. Glad you liked poor little caged Kyo and smoking Hatori. Sadly, Hatori was not rescued, but he will still be in the story! As for characters dying… you will have to wait and see. ^_^
Merryday: Well, usually my angst is emotional, but I have been known to maim, wound, rape and otherwise kill main characters in my own stories, both mine and those of the fandom. Sorta. But don't worry. This time, danger of that sort is minimal. Or so Belduine thinks. Property of the Esper and all that. ^_~ Still… you will have to wait and see…
Sarlinia: Yay! So glad you are still reading b/c I enjoy your reviews. Thank you for reviewing both chapters! I hope you are still enjoying the story and that it will seem progressively more real to you. It's actually really hard to get into it because it's kind of a cross-over (very 'kinda') or AUish so that makes it difficult. But as long as I get feedback on it, I will try harder and harder. As for Momiji, I'll let him explain it sometime, but it's not that mysterious. He got hit hardest because he was the first.
Tri: I love it when you review! Sorry for the delay this time. I was busy with finals and holiday stuff. I love your reviews because they respond thoroughly to the past chapter and also take stabs at what I haven't said (or haven't said yet). Lol. I really enjoy reading your thoughts. I don't want to give anything away, so I'm going to shut up now, but please keep up the stellar feedback!
Absent one: Wow! *is so excited* Thank you so much for your feedback! I'm sensing that you are a Kyo fan? Me too, but I always like Yuki. It makes it hard to shift between them. Anyway, they're rescued, but the suspense has just begun. Please keep reading and reviewing if you enjoy the story! ^_^
Nonsequitur: Yay! Welcome back! That last chapter was a bit of a cool down after a storm. I've stepped it up again with this one. I hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think! ^_^
T-c3: Glad to hear from you again! I'm so happy you have chosen to review. It really helps get me excited about the story! Yes, it would be a pain to go into EVERY character's head last chapter, so I just hit a couple. Thank you so much for the feedback. What did you think of this newest chapter?
Kyra Rivers: I always wait in breathless anticipation for your reviews. And I love the babbling, lol. You are reading Wheel of Time?!?! I've been reading it since 6th grade! Welcome to the addiction. It gets good after the first book and it's always exciting to talk to new fans. It makes me laugh that you like Perrin so much. I like him too, but it just makes me laugh. As for Belduine, yes, everyone should question his motives because he's not the natural angel Tohru is! He's a fun personality though. I hope I convey him well in the writing. And yes, I love Yuki, though things have taken a dramatic twist for him in the actual Fruits Basket series (the manga). If you're not keeping up, you should! As for putting Kyo in a swinging cage… I dunno, I just imagined it and wrote it as I saw it. I mean, why not? As for Hatori, Mizaya suggested it as a segue into what Ranlath was doing, and also because he is the only character whose head you get into that ISN'T rescued. It kinda shows you that those people are all right. Okay, I'm going to stop blithering now and let you review!
Emmi-Chan: Wow! That's quite a compliment. I hope it is still true. It makes me exceedingly happy; like all of this work is worth it. The more readers I get, the happier I am and the more motivated I am to write. Thank you!
Melinda: Well, I guess we can be on a first name basis then! I hope you are feeling better. Your analysis of Akito is gratifying. I'm glad that came through. And good guess on Kagura, because you nailed it! Yes, there are a lot of characters and sometimes I get lost keeping track of them all, but it's good practice. ^_^. As for Temien, he won't be traveling with them, but yes, lots of characters! There will be more… And I bought that magazine! ^_~
Miaka Mouse: I demand that you review! *glares* Okay okay, I won't be pushy, but I respect your opinions and I've known you a long time so if you're going to read anyway…. Then please? *eyes wobble anime style*. Lol. Thanks for your review! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you are enjoying the story. As for Ranlath… *snicker*. Remind me to tell you later!
Mirtle: *gasp* And I adore you for reading! I am so happy to have a new reviewer, and right before a post too! Does this mean my story is not forgotten? Thank you very much for the feedback. I am glad you are liking the story and I hope you review this chapter too. I'm tickled that you read Way of Love also, because *psst* I really think the actual Fruits Basket story will work out something like it. *winks and then ducks to avoid yukiru flamers* As for Evermore, it could be different, but keep your kyoru hopes alive! ^_^
