Disclaimer: I don't own neither X or The Phantom Of The Opera. But I own this combination of them :)

Chapter 9: The Man Behind The Mask

It took a few long moments for Arashi's eyes to get used to the darkness surrounding her. All she could feel in this time as the tension of the two men by her side, and the extremely fast beating of her heart.

After those few moments, the soprano singer noticed that thin lines of light mere penetrating trough the ceiling of the so-called chamber they were in, which provided a chance to examine their surrounding.

"Watch out!" suddenly called Sorata behind her, and she saw as he pushed Kamui aside, saving him from a sword attack that could have pierced the viscount's chest.

The attacking sword disappeared into the darkness, and it was only then when Arashi noticed that the room they were in was filled with mirrors, just like a mirror-maze.

"We have to get out of here!" she said in a sharp voice "This is a trap!"

"I'm not going anywhere until I kill this bastard!" declared Kamui is an angry voice, waving his sword around like a mad man, attacking every mirror he could reach.

"Stop him," said Arashi to Sorata "he will only hurt himself"

Sorata nodded in understanding, just when a loud laugh filled the ears of all three of them. "You are in my kingdom, now!" the voice laughed, and Kamui's attacked became even more wilder.

"I can't reach him!" hissed Sorata toward Arashi, as they both escaped another sudden attack of the phantom.

Suddenly, a hand came out of the darkness and grabbed Kamui's shoulder, forcing him to turn around. Sorata and Arashi ceased to breathe, fearing the worst, but they relaxed as they saw the owner of the hand stepping out of the shadows- it was madam Karen.

"Come," she said to all three of them, looking quite worried "this is no place for you" and she turned around and walked into the shadows, lighting a candle for them to follow her.

"How did you know how to find us?" asked Kamui, walking behind her.

"Please, monsieur, I know nothing…" started Karen.

"It's a lie, madam", mentioned Sorata, looking frequently behind, as if he was expecting the phantom to attack them for behind.

"I really don't know anything!" declared Karen, looking a bit desperate, her expression being reviled to the three of them, as they climbed hidden stairs and found themselves at one of the dormitory's hallways.

"Please, madam Karen", Arashi asked softly "for all of our sakes"

Karen turned around slowly to them and looked for a few moments at their faces. "Very well", she finally said with a deep sigh.

They kept following her, until they eventually entered her room, closing the door behind them.

"It all started many years ago…" the ballet mistress begun speaking "When I only discovered that I was crying a child. I was very young, and it was dangerous in my kind of occupation back them. So I decided to leave Paris and visit the only men who could protect me and help me. His name was Monou, and he was my music teacher once. He was a violin… and a good man"

"Kotori's father?" asked Kamui "I knew him"

"Yes, indeed, he was Kotori's father." Confirmed Karen "He and his wife took care of me during that time, when I knew that no one else would. But the most interesting was that his wife was also carrying a baby at that time. I was a few months a head of her, but our condition was the same"

"She was carrying Kotori, her only child?" asked Sorata.

"Yes and no", replied Karen "She was indeed expecting for miss Kotori to be born, but she already had a child. They already had a child"

A sharp silence spread trough the room, as the three of them tried to understand the meaning of what they heard.

"Go on", asked her Arashi eventually.

"They had a boy, named Fuma. He was very little but already the fate was cruel to him- you see, when he was only three, a fire spread in the house, and he was caught in the middle of it. He survived and his wounds recovered, except for one large scar on his right side of face. You must understand how terrible this is for a child- this scar frightened anyone who saw him, and made him eventually stay closed inside himself"

"That's an awful fate for a child" agreed Sorata.

"But what?" asked Arashi, sensing there is more to the story.

"But for some un-understandable reason, he seamed to react different with me. I can't seam to figure this part out, but he somehow connected to me. Not like a parent-child bond, but as a human being t another. Eventually, after I gave birth to Yuzuriha, the Monous convinced me to return to Paris. We decided that it'd be better for Fuma to come with me, instead of remaining there. And so he did. We returned to Paris and I started working at this opera house, but the surrounding men and women couldn't treat Fuma like a normal person. They made him angry and depressed, and so I decided, for both his sake and the others, to place him at the catacombs below the building"

"The catacombs?" asked Kamui in disbelieve.

"Yes, my lord. I soon discovered that this was a wise decision. You see, he is a genius- an architect, a musician, a composer…. You name it! He has a remarkable speed of grasping ideas and developing them. So he built himself a so-called kingdom beneath this building. This is his playground… his way of amusing himself"

"The it would seem that this geniality you speak of has turned into madness" mentioned Sorata.

"Wait", said Arashi suddenly, her expression making her look as someone who knows that there's something wrong, but can't say exactly what.

"That is it?" asked Kamui.

"Then you mean that he has been here during all these years? He never left?"

"Well…" begun Karen, not knowing is it'll be right to answer the question. But she gave up eventually. "He has been all these years, except for a few months of absence"

"When was that?" asked Arashi.

"I think it was eight or nine years after we came here. He told me that there is something he must do, and at the next day he disappeared, returning after months of complete absence, with this white mask and a… a…"

"A what?"

"A sword. It looked a bit strange, like it was alive…"

"Was there something else?" asked Kamui.

"No, monsieur. It's just that I recall accepting a letter for Monou at the time of Fuma's absence. He wrote that his wife died for a failed surgery, or something like that"

"And you didn't connect it to Fuma's absence?"

"There is not a slightest chance that he did it!" declared Karen in an angry tone "This is just a coincidence!"

Another silence spared at the room, which was interrupted by Sorata's voice.

"Does miss Kotori knows that she has a brother?" he asked.

"No. Neither her parents or I told her"

"Why not?"

"If they didn't tell her, I don't think it's my place to do so"

"Then we should do so. It's unfair fro her not to know" mentioned Arashi.

"Very well" surrendered Karen.

Kamui, Sorata and Arashi stood up and walked to the door, thanking the ballet mistress and saying good night (or at least, what's left of the night) wishes. They left her alone in the room, her bright brown eyes staring at the flame of the candle in front of her.

The flame flickered slightly, as if trying to cheer the woman, but she just breathed heavily and stared back with a sad look at the flame. The flame realized that the woman's pain is to strong, and so it flickered once more and them disappeared.

The unaware of anything, Kotori sat on her bed in her room, looking boringly outside her window on the falling snow. At first she worried about Kamui and the others, who jumped at the secret passage, following the phantom, but after madam Karen assured her that she will find them and that they will be all right, Kotori stopped worrying. Before she left, the ballet mistress ordered her to go to her room and stay there, and so Kotori found herself sitting alone in the dark and cold room, with only her imagination to comfort her.

After a few hours of pointless wondering around the room, the young woman felt that if she won't leave the place at once, she would probably suffocate to death. And there was only one place that came to her mind, which had the ability to calm her down.

With quick moves, Kotori grabbed her black warm cloak, opened the door and fled from her room, rushing down the stairs to the stables. She detected the carriage boy at the far corner, and approached him.

"Hello, mademoiselle", greeted her the young man "having a hard night?"

Kotori nodded in reply. She didn't remember it was so cold at this time of hour.

"Would you like me to take you to some place?" The man asked politely.

"Yes, please" she answered and gave him a few coins.

"There's really no need in that, mademoiselle" the man said with a kind smile "you look like you need to clean your head. It'll take me a few minutes to prepare the horses. I'll be outside"

"Thank you" hissed Kotori in response, hoping she won't freeze. She though of the place she is about to visit, and realized that she wanted to take something with her.

Again, with quick movements- that was now meant to warm her up- she returned to her room and picked a bucket of flowers from her desk. The young woman also took another warm shirt, and after decided that she was ready, she went back downstairs.

At the meantime the carriage boy prepared the carriage. He didn't noticed the man sneaking behind him, thus he was quite surprised to feel a heavy hit on his head, which knocked him out. The silent attacker took the man's cloak and wore it above his black suit, using the hood to hide his white mask.

The still unaware of nothing Kotori exited the building and approached the carriage, climbing quickly inside.

"To my father's grave, please" she said to the carriage boy, knowing that the man took her there a few times before, therefore he knows the way.

The man posing as the carriage boy ordered the horses to move, and he made his way to the cemetery. In fact, although Kotori didn't know, but he did know where her father's grave was. Once he followed her to there, thus he had pretty much a good idea of its location.

The way wasn't long, because at that hour of the night- that was close to the dawn- no sane man was wondering around the streets of Paris. Kotori watched the deserted streets, her heartbeats increase their rate as a result from being closer to the grave of the one man Kotori needed more that anyone.

Surprisingly even to herself, a melody was stack in her mind, ringing like a sweet pray. Kotori couldn't hold it inside, so she leaned back, and sang softly to herself a few lines of it.

"In sleep he sang to me,
In dreams he came…
That voice which calls to me,
And speaks my name…"

The man driving the carriage fought himself not to revile his true identity, but when he heard her sing the song, he almost gave up. Only an unbreakable will was what stopped him from doing that.

They finally reached the cemetery, which was located at the far side of the city, surrounded by tall trees and an iron fence. Kotori climbed down from the carriage, and thanked the carriage boy, who remained silent. She wrapped her cloak tightly around her and without any further words approached to the gate, holding the flowers' bucket in her clod hands.

The cemetery was forsaken at this hour, and the branches of the trees were the only ones that moved, being shaken by the winter wind. White mist filled the graveyard, adding its colorless tone to the gray tombs and gravestones. The young woman dressed in dark, holding red roses, her brown hair being lifted lively by the wind- she looked like she didn't belong to that abandoned place. But none of the less- this was the only place she wanted to be in.

"Her father promised her that he will send her the angel of music…" whispered Kotori quietly to the tombstones, feeling as if she was a completely different person, as she walked pass the small trails. "Her father promised her…" she whispered, as if she was praying, "Her father promised her…"

Tears of sorrow filled her eyes, and every step was harder that the previous. The only thing that seemed to calm her down was a slow melody ringing in her head. She remembered that this was a song she once wrote about her father, and to her opinion, the moment was quite appropriate to sing it.

"You were once my one companion . . .
You were all that mattered . . .
You were once a friend and father -
Then my world was shattered . . .

Wishing you were somehow here again . . .
Wishing you were somehow near . . .
Sometimes it seemed
If I just dreamed, somehow you would be here . . .

Wishing I could hear your voice again . . .
knowing that I never would . . .
Dreaming of you won't help me to do
all that you dreamed I could . . .

Passing bells and sculpted angels,
cold and monumental,
seem, for you, the wrong companions -
you were warm and gentle . . .

Too many years fighting back tears . . .
Why can't the past just die? . . .

Wishing you were somehow here again . . .
knowing we must say goodbye . . .
Try to forgive . . .teach me to live . . .
give me the strength to try . . .

No more memories, no more silent tears . . .
No more gazing across the wasted years . . .
Help me say goodbye…"

Kotori found herself standing in front of stairs leading to a small structure of gray stone, the word Monou written in large letters at the entrance to it. it was her father's grave.

"Help me say goodbye…" she whispered softly and sat at the stairs, trying to gain power to enter the place.

"Wandering child so lost so helpless,
Yearning for my guidance" she suddenly heard a familiar voice singing to her, coming from the structure.

"Angel or Father-
Friend or Phantom?
Who is it there staring?" she sang in reply, standing back and looked for the invisible singer.

"Have you forgotten your, Angel?" asked her the voice melodically.

"Angel oh speak,
What endless longings…
Echo in this whisper..." sang Kotori.

"Too long you've wandered in winter,
Far from my fathering gaze..." declared the voice, raising his voice.

"Wildly my mind beats against you..." sang Kotori in resistance.

"You resist me…" blamed her the voice.

"Yet the soul obeys!" they sang together.

"Angel of Music,
I/you denied you/me
Turning from true beauty!
Angel of Music…" the kept on singing.

"My protector…
Come to me" sang Kotori.

"Do not shun me…
Your strange Angel" sang the voice in reply, making Kotori give up her defenses and climb up the stairs, looking for the man behind the voice.

"I am your angel of music…" she heard the voice from within the structure, guiding her to come in "Come to me, angel of music…"

Seconds before Kotori took a step inside, she heard a sound of a voice rushing into the cemetery. She turned around and to her amazement she saw Kamui riding his white horse, bursting from behind the tombs, looking as worried as never before.

"Kotori! Wait!" he yelled to her "Don't go in there! Wait!"

"What is it? What are you doing here?" she asked him as him jumped from his horse and run towards her.

Alas, the young viscount didn't hand the chance to explain himself. A dark image jumped from the roof of the structure behind them, landing between them, pushing Kamui roughly down the stairs.

"Fuma!" called Kotori in surprise, as she recognized the image as the phantom of the opera.

Fuma jerked his head in her direction, looking at her from the angle of his dark eye. He was wearing a black suit, his black-gloved hand holding his long sword, which Kotori didn't had the chance to examine before. As usual, his white mask was the only bright thing about him.

"I'll be right back with you" he hissed to her in a thrilled voice, as his blood begun to race as a result from the approaching battle. The phantom gave her an amused smile and jumped after his rival.

Kamui met Fuma with a well-calculated strike of his sword, which was banned with a loud sound of crashing metal by Fuma's sword. Only then, when the two men were staring hatefully at each other, pressing all their strength against the sword, only then they saw the remarkable resemblance between their swords.

"Where did you find that sword?" asked Kamui sharply, docking to his right and sending another hit toward Fuma's left hand.

"I could ask you the same thing!" declared Fuma, avoiding easily Kamui's attack and waving his sword in a wide arch-shaped strike.

"You could say…" hissed Kamui as he jumped backwards and dodged the attack, "that it was a gist from my mother"

"Interesting," mentioned Fuma, jumping after Kamui in a new course of attack "you can say that about my sword as well!"

"Then you did killed her!" yelled Kamui in rage, striking to his left with full strength, surprising Fuma and weakening his grasp of the sword. he then kicked Fuma's chest, knocking him to the cold ground, his blade attached to the phantom's right side of chest.

But all Fuma did was to smile sarcastically. His hand closed on Kamui's lade, and he moved it to the right side of his chest- the spot where was his heart.

"Your aim," he said as if he was instructing Kamui "should be here"

Kamui looked at him with an amazed look, trying to understand what trick was that. But it was not a trick at all.

"What's wrong?" asked Fuma in the same tone "If you strike here, I will die"

Kamui kept staring at him, calculating his ways of reaction to the new situation. It was the smartest and the easiest choice to strike the man while he still had the opportunity, and Kamui knew that. If he will kill the phantom, all his troubles- and many others'- will be gone. Kotori will never find out about her mad brother, they will be free to announce their engagement fearlessly and the opera house will be redeemed from it's constant terror. The viscount was cretin that he should kill, and his arm already closed it's self harder across the sword, ready to take the final strike, but then-

"No!" called Kotori in a desperate voice, stopping both men from moving. "Not like this…" she said to Kamui in a soft voice.

"This was your chance," said Fuma, moving rapidly, "Kamui!" he yelled as he knocked the other man down, grabbing his sword and fleeing the graveyard.

"It will not repeat again!" his voice threatened as he disappeared from the couple's sight.

ME: The end of chapter 9! Hope you enjoyed it :)

Preview for chapter 10: Kamui, fearing for both his and Kotori's sakes, develops a plan to defeat the notorious phantom. But he doesn't know that the angel sees, the angel knows.

Unicorn'sWhisper: That's it, now it official that Kotori and Fuma are siblings, so nothing naughty should be expected. I'm glad to hear you like the story!

Chenya: Sorata is good in any chapter, episode or position ;) Hope the story I made for Fuma isn't too complicated and that you like it. And the naughty grin was about Fuma and Kamui fighting (or the paragraph when Fuma looks at Kotori before fighting).

Sakurazuka-chan: Are you all right? Too much Coffee? Hope you're better now. Hope you liked the update! What about you story?

DarkFusion: Action, mystery and Kotori/Kamui chapter just for you ;)

X rocks!: Yeah, I like writing chapters with many characters… it comes out funny! Don't be so scared from Fuma's actions- I don't like torturing characters. I'm, happy you enjoyed Seishiro and Sorata- they were fun to write!

Neferseba: Yes, the story must go on and so it does! Hope you liked the chapter, although there were only two songs in it… the next chapter will also be with few songs, but I'm currently working on an idea, so I hope it'll turn out to be ok.