Disclaimer: Lyrics to Fear of the Dark belong to Iron Maiden.

1

Have you run your fingers down the wall And have you felt your neck skin crawl When you're searching for the light?

Sometimes when you're scared to take a look At the corner of the room You've sensed that something's watching you...

Have you ever been alone at night Thought you heard footsteps behind And turned around and no one's there?

And as you quicken up your pace You find it hard to look again Because you're sure there's someone there...

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark... I have a constant fear that someone's always near...

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark... I have a phobia that someone's always there...

2

Renkotsu always did hate going down there. The lights never seemed to work, but after all it was a cold dark cellar and lights never worked in one of those. He had been appointed the task of taking care of the captor that they had down there, locked in a makeshift jail cell. Months ago they had fought a great army of ice demons, but managed to take them all out in the end. All but this one. They still didn't know what to do with him quite yet. Since the past few weeks his behavior had begun to get a lot better. He was doing as he was told and not trying to fight back anymore. This was good; he was beginning to give them a sense of trust. But when the bad guys start giving a reason to trust them...

"Hey," Renkotsu called out into the dark, "You awake?"

"Yes," the voice of the captor growled from the darkness.

Renkotsu walked over to the jail cell very slowly. He had done this several times before, but each time he was scared. He could not get over it. "I've got some food for you."

"Great," the voice said in a sarcastic tone, "More bread and water for the prisoner of war."

"Now, hold on," Renkotsu said angrily, "We've been treating you with lots of care! You're being well looked after!"

"Oh really?" the voice said, his tone of voice dropping to a whisper. His chilling quietness mixed with the pitch black of the old cellar sent shivers up Renkotsu's spine. "Do you really call this being well looked after? Locked in a jail cell in pitch black, being served scraps of food through steel bars?"

"We let you out of there for walks and stuff," Renkotsu muttered. "For fresh air-"

"I don't give a damn about 'fresh air'!" the voice boomed so loud that Renkotsu nearly dropped the tray of food that he was carrying. "Look," his voice started to calm down, "Being kept down here, in all this silence and darkness and solitude," he paused, then began again, "can have a traumatizing effect on someone, don't you agree?"

Renkotsu did. They had kept him down here for so long, and he was behaving well now. Maybe it was time to... "I'll go have a talk with Kikyou," he began. "Maybe we can work something out."

"Thank you," the voice said from within the blackness of the jail cell.

Renkotsu left the tray of food and ran as fast as he could back up the stairs.

3

Kikyou's house hadn't really changed much since that time, who knows how long ago, when she thrust the piece of paper that had the Battle of the Bands schedule on it into Inuyasha's hands. It was a modest three level house: first floor, second floor and basement (like most Zelda dungeons). The living room was actually quite cozy. There were two big armchairs and a comfortable couch facing towards an average sized television set. A coffee table was set in the middle of the arrangement. The living room entered into the dining room and kitchen areas opposite the front door. The kitchen was again your average little kitchen, perfect for baking up a storm (and that was literally the case for some people). And finally the upstairs was where all their bedrooms were. Kikyou had sublet her house to the Shichinintai when they joined together to form their band, Yogore no Yurikago.

The door to the cellar was underneath the staircase that led upstairs, which was just beside the front door to the house. It was here that Renkotsu came bursting out. He closed the door, locking it of course, and headed towards the kitchen. He opened the kitchen door and-

"Could you please knock first?" Bankotsu exclaimed as his girlfriend Sekka leapt off of him in embarrassment.

Renkotsu took a step back. "Sorry, Bankotsu," he muttered sarcastically, "But usually I don't open a kitchen door to find people making out." Bankotsu and Sekka got control over themselves again. "So," Renkotsu continued, "Where is Kikyou? I need to speak with her."

"She and Jakotsu took the kids to the park," Sekka explained. "Just left a few minutes ago. Why? What's up?"

Renkotsu looked down to the floor. "It's about," he said, lowering his voice. He pointed down towards the floor.

"What?" Bankotsu asked. "Does the floor need retiling?" He looked down and saw that it was fine.

"No, you moron," Renkotsu exclaimed. "I'm talking about... him." He pointed down again.

"Oh boy," Bankotsu said shaking his head, "Renkotsu's seeing imaginary people again..."

Renkotsu looked helplessly at Sekka. She smiled at him and batted Bankotsu on the back of his head. "No," she laughed, "He's talking about Fuyuka." She looked back at Renkotsu as Bankotsu rubbed his head. "What's going on, Renkotsu? Is he misbehaving?"

Renkotsu shook his head. "Just the opposite actually. Which park did you say they went to?"

"The Estelle Getty Memorial Park," Sekka answered.

"Great," Renkotsu said, taking his leave, "Thanks." He was out the door.

"What do you think that was about?" Bankotsu asked. Sekka shrugged, then looked at him slyly. "I'll lock the door," he smiled at her and leapt off his chair and dashed to the door, locking it.

4

Renkotsu arrived at the park a few moments later and searched around for his friends. He saw Hamaya playing soccer with some other kids in the field, but he couldn't see Kikyou or Jakotsu anywhere. "Where are they?" he whispered to himself, still scanning the park. He walked towards the soccer field, thinking they might be over there watching Hamaya play. Just as he got to the field, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. He had the strangest feeling that something was following him. He saw nothing, shrugged it off and continued walking. And then...

"HEY RENKOTSU!"

He leapt maybe six hundred feet into the air. He fell down, stood back up and looked at whatever it was that had just yelled at him. "Hello, Jakotsu," he grumbled.

Jakotsu had managed to sneak up behind him and ducked out of sight when he turned around. "What are you doing here?" he asked, a huge grin on his face.

"I need to speak with Kikyou," Renkotsu answered. "It's really important."

"Oh," Jakotsu inquired. "What about?"

"That guy in our basement." Renkotsu said this with a whisper.

Jakotsu scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Look, Renkotsu," he said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder, "It's not like Fuyuka is gonna appear behind you holding a cleaver if you say his name three times." He put his hand back at his side. "What's this about? Has Fuyuka done something?"

"No," Renkotsu said, "No not exactly."

"Then what?"

"Well," he began. He proceeded to tell his friend of Fuyuka's behavior since the past few weeks. "He wants to be let out of the cellar," he continued, "We don't have to actually release him or anything. Just let him out of the cellar..."

Jakotsu put his hand up to his chin. "I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "Fuyuka's been a bad boy, you know that." Renkotsu nodded, but then shook his head. "My point is I don't think we're ready to let him out yet."

"That's Kikyou's decision, though," Renkotsu pointed out.

"What's my decision?" Kikyou had managed to stroll up to them without even being noticed. She was holding her baby boy, Kotake, in her arms.

"Renkotsu thinks we should let Fuyuka out of his cage," Jakotsu said. Renkotsu nodded.

Kikyou looked at both of them blankly, then she began to think. Letting Fuyuka out of the cellar would be good for him. They only ever let him out maybe two or three times a week for exercise. But still, they could not fully trust him. She sighed, signifying that she had made her answer. "Sorry, Renkotsu," she said, shaking her head, "But we just can't take that chance."

Renkotsu narrowed his eyes. "I see." He sighed himself. "You're going to be the one who tells him then."

"Fine by me," Kikyou muttered. The three of them headed towards the soccer match to watch Hamaya's team score the winning goal. But it never came.