Ayumu woke up early that morning and was surprised at how well he had slept. He thought he would be more upset over Hiyono, and it kind of depressed him that he wasn't sadder. Everyone seemed to be better than yesterday, and Ayumu walked downstairs to find them all eating breakfast. This amazed him; not so much because his friends were pigging out on really good smelling food, but... "Who cooked?" Ayumu wondered as he found his way to the stove where the food was. He looked from the food to Kousuke and back again. Then another thought entered his head, "Did I cook in my sleep again?" Yes, Ayumu had indeed cooked in his sleep once. He knew it was unlikely for it to happen again, but he didn't know who else could have made the food. It looked so good.

Kousuke noticed his boyfriend staring at the food on the stove like it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen, "Hey, Ayumu, you know it's not polite to stare." At seeing Ayumu's blank expression Kousuke chuckled, "It's not poison or anything. Grab a plate and sit down."

Ayumu decided to go for it and did as he was instructed. One bite of his food and he felt like he was in heaven; whoever cooked this was his new best friend. Ayumu had never had the pleasure of eating such good food unless he had first cooked it; and Ayumu knew all too well that food didn't taste near as good when you had spent hours preparing it. After a while he looked to the three seated around the table, "So...who cooked this? I highly doubt it was any of you. I don't think you guys can even cook cereal." It was true, right after Ayumu had moved in with the Blade Children he had gone downstairs to cook breakfast, only to find Rio and Ryoko sitting in a milk and cereal covered kitchen. He never found out the whole story, but truth be told he didn't want to know.

"Hey!" Kousuke objected, "I didn't have any part in that. You know damn well I'm a good cook."

Ayumu chuckled, it was true. He remembered Kousuke cooking him breakfast; and he also remembered how surprised he was to find that his lover was a good cook, "That's true, Kousuke. I never said you were a bad cook." grinning at Kousuke's smug expression, Ayumu added, "However, you're way too lazy to cook something this extravagant this early in the morning."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kousuke complained, and then sighed; Ayumu was right, "Yeah, okay. I didn't cook breakfast."

Ayumu smiled victoriously and then frowned, realizing he was getting nowhere, "So who did cook? If none of you did it, then who else is here? More importantly who else is here that can cook like this?" Ayumu asked in between bites of food.

"I did, of course." A voice said behind Ayumu, "Who else could rival your culinary skills, Ayumu?"

Ayumu turned around, food falling out of his mouth, "Kanone?" He whispered. He knew Kanone was coming today, but he hadn't known it was this early; in fact he had been told that it would be several hours later when they would all go to the airport to pick up Kanone and Eyes. Ayumu stared at his former lover a second more before he shook his head of the rush of emotions he got just by hearing Kanone talk, "I really need to get over him. It's just so hard...he was my first time, so maybe it's good that I don't get over him that easily." Ayumu turned his attention back to his ex, "So, Kanone, where's Rutherford? I thought he was coming with you."

"Don't get too excited, I'm right here, Little Narumi." Eyes said, emerging from behind Kanone, smirking, "You don't think that Kanone would leave me behind, now do you?"

Ayumu smirked in return, "Well, I'm here. What else would he need?"

Eyes narrowed his gaze slightly and put a protective arm around Kanone's waist, "If I remember correctly, he left you for me. I'm the only one he needs."

Kanone sighed and wondered how much more childish these two could get before they started calling each other names and spitting at each other (you know...like little kids do). To be honest, Kanone enjoyed watching them fight over him; it was comforting to know that he was loved so much. But he also realized that things could get violent if Ayumu said the wrong thing, so Kanone decided to break it off, "Eyes, don't start this early in the morning. We're guests in their house, so be polite and don't fight with Ayumu." Eyes just glared at Ayumu some more, gave Kanone a rather long kiss, and left to finish unpacking. Kanone blushed slightly when he realized everyone was looking at him, then realized that Eyes and him were married and there was no reason to be embarrassed. And that would have been convincing enough if it weren't for the slightly hurt look Ayumu got on his face before he turned and took Kousuke's hand, leading him upstairs. Kanone just smiled and turned to Rio and Ryoko, "So, ladies, what are you two up to today?"

Ryoko was just about to tell him there was nothing particularly interesting going on today when Kousuke ran downstairs with Ayumu and Eyes in tow. "Kanone, we've got a problem." Kousuke said, holding out his cell phone.

"Huh?" Kanone took the phone and read the message:

Come to the abandoned warehouse to meet your fate.

It was short and simple, yet it shot chills up Kanone's spine; something that's not easily done. Kanone looked up at his friends and husband, "Hunters." He said, dreading the response he would get.

Kousuke, Eyes, and Ayumu nodded their heads. It was all silent for a minute until Kousuke spoke up, "Do you know what warehouse they're talking about, Kanone?"

Kanone nodded but Eyes was the one to answer, "The one in which I was shot." He said solemnly.

Kanone nodded and went to stand by his lover and life long friend. He laced his fingers through Eyes' and looked at him, "It'll be okay." He promised, "There's no way I'm going to let them hurt you again; no Hunter can stop us."

Ayumu longed for that kind of comfort but when he looked to Kousuke, the redhead just snickered and looked away. Ayumu sighed and then decided to get back to business by asking the question that was on everyone's mind, "So what's our next move?"

Kanone sighed, knowing that everyone was now looking to him. After all, he had been in alliance with the Hunters, so he knew them best. The good thing about these assumptions was that they were true; he could predict almost every move they could and would make with deadly accuracy. He looked back up to his friends, "We should tell Rio and Ryoko first, where did they go?" Kanone turned around to find the two girls gone. He lead the other three into the living room to find the two asleep on the couch with the T.V. on. Kanone went over and shook them awake. After the two were up and semi-coherent, he filled them in on the recent turn of events, "I know they'll try to trap us somehow. But one thing they probably won't be expecting is Eyes being there. I'm almost certain they think he's dead." Kanone looked to his partner who only nodded his head in agreement. In tense situations like these, Eyes always reverted back to his old days when he showed little to no emotion. It was always for the best, though, seeing as how he did his best thinking and planning when he was emotionless. Kanone smiled at how well he knew Eyes, and regretted how much of his friend's life he had missed out on. But there were no times for regrets right now, there were more important matters at hand. Kanone thought a minute about how they should attack this, "We can use Eyes as an advantage, but we can't rely on it. Rio and Ryoko, I'll leave you two to search the perimeter for any traps or bombs they may have set up."

Ryoko nodded and Rio smiled at being given the responsibility, "You can count on us, Kanone!" The small girl piped up.

Kanone smiled warmly and nodded back, then he turned serious again and looked to Kousuke, "You will be the one to go and meet the Hunter..."

"Wait a minute!" Kousuke yelled, standing up and drawing everyone's attention to him, "This is just like last time, and I didn't like how that turned out. How do we know you're not still on their side?"

Kanone looked hurt, but he understood where Kousuke was coming from. He had been back less than an hour and they get a message from the Hunters; something that hadn't happened in three years, ever since Kanone left, "I guess you don't have much reason to trust me, Kousuke. But I can honestly tell you that I'm not in alliance with the Hunters. However if you don't want my help..."

"No." Ayumu stated. Everyone looked at him, surprised by his commanding tone, waiting for him to explain, "We can't afford to suspect each other. That's just what the Hunters want. But Kanone, you're probably wrong about them not knowing about Eyes. It's true they left him for dead, but don't you think it's a little suspicious that as soon as you two came back, the Hunters called us out?"

"Yeah, a little too suspicious if you ask me." Kousuke glared at Kanone.

Ayumu put a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, "That's not what I mean, Kousuke. They've probably been watching you. Which also means they know that Eyes is alive, I don't think we should count on that element of surprise."

Kanone listened to all this and everyone looked to him to see what he thought of it; he had always been their leader, and they all trusted his opinion. Even Kousuke would eventually go along with his plan, even though he would complain the entire time. Now was no different and Kanone nodded in agreement, "I agree, Ayumu. Maybe we should be looking to you for what to do." Kanone joked, "However that does raise an interesting question."

Rio caught onto Kanone's meaning and spoke up, "Yeah, why would they wait until we were all together. Wouldn't they think that would make us stronger?"

Kanone pondered this and then shook his head, "No, there are three possibilities of having us together that could work in their favor."

Kousuke nodded, "Yeah, they could assume that it would look suspicious with you just coming back and that we would turn on you; like I did." Kousuke said, a little regretfully.

Eyes was the next one to speak up, "They might also be counting on the fact that we think we have the element of surprise with me not being dead. If we relied on that too heavily they could overtake us easily."

Kanone nodded, "Right, but the last option is the most likely."

Ayumu sighed and looked at his friends, his cursed friends, "They're planning on taking all ofus out in one fell swoop. They're sure that whatever they have hidden up their sleeve will overtake us, no matter how much we plan and no matter how many precautions we take."

Kousuke agreed with his boyfriend, "Those bastards are planning on us figuring all this out. What could they gain from us knowing all of this, though?"

Kanone thought about this and sighed, "The only thing I can think of is, like Ayumu said, they're so confident that they will beat us. It doesn't matter how much we figure out, even if we knew their secret weapon, they would still win."

Kousuke was taken back by this revelation, "But...they're really that confident? You're absolutely sure on this?"

"Yes." Kanone replied bluntly; if there was another reason, he couldn't see it. And with Ayumu and Eyes here as well, there's nothing they couldn't see coming.

"Then that will be their undoing." Eyes said, "Let them be as confident as they want; we will win."

Rio smiled at Eyes' determination, "Yeah, we'll show those Hunters, no one messes with us!"

Kanone smiled at the sight of all of them crowded around a table, scheming; just like the old days, "Alright then. We won't let them know that we suspect anything and just play it by ear."

Ayumu had to question this, "Are you sure? I mean, we're going to cut their communication with electronic jamming, right? How will we know what move to make next if we can't talk to each other?"

Kanone smiled, "Don't worry, Ayumu. I know at least you, Eyes, and myself think enough alike to know what the other will do. I trust the others as well, we'll be fine. Just trust me."

Ayumu nodded, "Alright, I just...I don't want to see any of you get hurt. You guys are my friends and I don't want to do something that could mean one of you getting hurt... or worse."

Kousuke pulled his boyfriend onto his lap and kissed him, "Don't worry, babe, we can all take care of ourselves. As long as we don't get separated from each other, we'll be fine. And I wouldn't let anything happen to you, you know that." Ayumu nodded and smiled, resting his head on Kousuke's shoulder.

They remained there for a few minutes until Kanone stood up with a grim look on his face, "It's time." they all nodded, stood, and went off to face their fate.

(A/N: I'm fast-forwarding a little bit here, but don't worry, everything will be explained in the rest of the fic)

Ayumu ran through an empty alley, he was panting from running for the last ten minutes. After they met up with the Hunters, and learned the rules of this little game those bastards put together, they had decided to split up so they were harder to find. Kanone suggested that he go with Kousuke, Eyes take Rio, and Ayumu stay with Ryoko; just so there were no... distractions (a.k.a. last minute sex) much to the dismay of many of the males...okay, hell all of the males, but Kanone had to be responsible.

Ayumu had somehow gotten separated from Ryoko, he swore she was right ahead of him, but she was much faster and must have not noticed that he left him behind. Ayumu stopped to catch his breath, figuring that he was lost anyhow and Ryoko wasn't anywhere close by. He sat down, resting his head on the wall behind him. He closed his eyes and after a few seconds, he heard a low chuckle. He snapped his eyes open and looked around. Still panting he stood up, not wanting to say anything incase it was a Hunter. He started to walk forward and all of a sudden fell over in pain, grabbing his stomach. There was still no one making themselves known yet, however. Whatever caused Ayumu's pain was his own doing. Standing again, this time a little unsteady, he reached out a hand and rested it against the wall and grabbed his stomach with the other one. He walked a few more steps before he head that chuckle again, he turned to look behind him and saw a glint of metal come flying at his head. He was knocked back several feet and blood started pouring from a gash in his head. Ayumu groaned and rolled over, trying to steady his gaze enough to see his attacker. It was the Hunter from earlier, he recognized him immediately. Ayumu did the only thing he could; he tried to run.

The Hunter, however, had different ideas and began beating Ayumu with his weapon, discarding it a few moments later and taking out a knife. He stuck it in Ayumu's stomach and grinned at the yelp of pain he received. The Hunter heard footsteps and ran off, so as not to be seen.

Kanone was walking next to Kousuke, who was, by some miracle, not talking. He seemed to understand the importance of the situation and thought it best to listen to Kanone for now. He was worried about Ayumu, but he knew that he could take care of himself. Kanone, on the other hand, was thinking about getting out of this horrid place. He wasn't a bit concerned about Eyes; he was so confident that his husband could take care of himself and Rio as well that he didn't need to be distracted with worrying about him.

He thought through the game that the Hunters came up with. There were six of them (the Blade Children and Ayumu) and only three Hunters, which automatically gave the former an advantage. The rules were incredibly vague, but the stakes were so high that Kanone could overlook it. The only rules were that the six of them had to reach a safe house on the other side of town and confirm, by voice, that they had made it there alive. The Hunters on the other hand, could do anything and everything in their power to make it so that never happened. The time limit was three hours. The stakes: if the Hunters won they would be able to rid themselves of the Blade Children; all six of their enemies had to be in the safe house at the same time to confirm they were alive. Once they went in, they couldn't leave until all of them had entered. In exactly three hours and one minute the safe house would explode, killing everyone inside. If someone hadn't made it to the safe house by then, they were most likely dead. However, if the Blade Children won, they would be free; they would never be hunted again. This would be assured by a treaty that had already been looked over by both sides and revised until it was satisfactory. Kanone didn't like the fact that the Hunters could do anything to stop them from reaching the safe house, but he was willing to let it slide, if it meant them being free.

After nearly two hours of walking in silence, Kanone spotted their destination. He nudged Kousuke and they walked quickly, but silently to the door. Kanone walked in first and saw that it wasn't that bad of a place. Even though it was basically just a living room, with a couch and several chairs, it was cozy. Kanone spotted the voice box and walked over to it. He pressed a button and stated his name, then a second later heard a chime and a voice confirm that he was off the list. Kousuke went next and then they waited impatiently, knowing the others had less than an hour to get there.

Eyes walked a short distance ahead of Rio, even though it was an extremely short distance seeing as how she was clinging onto his coat. The short girl looked up to her friend, "Eyes, the others will be okay, right?" Eyes looked down and nodded, but didn't say anything. He wanted to concentrate on getting to that safe house before they ran across a Hunter...Oops, too late.

A short distance ahead of the two grey haired Blade Children, stood a man, grinning quite evilly at them. Eyes narrowed his gaze for a second before he took a step back and gasped, "You."

The man just grinned even wider. "Ah, Eyes Rutherford, so you do recognize me. I've been thinking about you ever since our last meeting." Mr. Mystery Guest taunted Eyes, "I guess since I didn't kill you last time, I'll just have to do a better job of it this time." Yes, it was the Hunter that had shot Eyes all those years ago. Then the fool made a terrible mistake, he grinned at Rio, "And then maybe I'll have some fun with your girl there." That was his last mistake. Showing a rare burst of pure rage, Eyes lunged at the Hunter and made quick work of him. (I know you all were probably expecting more with that, but I'm tired and want this chappy to end. So, sorry, but you've still got a cliffy to look forward to.)

After reassuring Rio that he was fine for about the hundredth time, Eyes finally saw the safe house. The two walked in the door to see Kanone and Kousuke already there. Kanone looked up as Eyes walked in and ran over to him, "Eyes, I knew you would be here soon." Kanone kissed Eyes and held onto him for a minute before Eyes and Rio went over and confirmed that they were alive and well. The four made small talk until Ryoko burst through the door carrying a ragged looking Ayumu, exactly five minutes before the bomb was set to explode.

At seeing his boyfriend's bruised and bloody form, Kousuke ran over to Ayumu and took him while Ryoko said her name into the box and walked off, sitting next to Rio, "Did you make it here okay, Rio?"

Rio smiled and hugged Ryoko,"Yeah. Oh! But we ran into that Hunter that tried to kill Eyes."

"What?" Kanone asked, looking at Eyes, "What happened? Are you alright?"

Eyes smiled slightly to show Kanone he was fine, "Yes, I'm alright. He didn't do near as much damage this time around." Seeing the uncertain look on Kanone's face, Eyes leaned over and kissed him.

Kanone decided that was enough to convince him and turned his attention back to Ayumu. He had been the last to confirm that he was alive, which he was, just barely though. Kousuke saw the concerned look on Kanone's face and said simply, "We need to get him to the hospital, now." Kanone nodded in agreement and they all got up and left for the hospital.

At the hospital, the five Blade Children waited in the waiting room for the doctor to come out and tell them everything was alright. Finally after several hours, Kousuke saw Ayumu's doctor emerge from the elevator. Kousuke ran over to him and looked at him, scared of what he was about to hear. The doctor smiled comfortingly, "Don't worry, Mr. Asazuki, your friend is just fine. You can see him now if you want." Kousuke motioned for the others to follow him, but the doctor stopped him, "Sorry, only family can visit him now. I'm only allowing you to because of your close relationship with him." Kousuke had informed the doctor earlier that he and Ayumu were together and that he wanted to be informed the second he could see his boyfriend.

Kanone heard all this and walked over to the doctor, "We are his family. We're the closet thing he has, and you don't want to try and stop us from seeing him. We've all had a very long day, and would appreciate it if you would let us see him." The doctor looked at all the Blade Children at once and just nodded his head.

"Okay, sure, follow me." He led them to Aymu's room and waited for them to all ask if he was alright and get situated. After that he gave them the diagnosis, "Nothing too serious, a sprained wrist, slight concussion, his seventh rib was damaged, but it will heal with time..." He was cut off by the smirking and giggling that that comment earned him. He looked confused, not knowing the irony that now the entire group had a problem with their seventh rib. "Anyway, Mr. Asazuki. I'm sure you'll be glad to know that your little girl is just fine."

Kousuke glared at the doctor, "What the hell did you just call him? My little girl?"

The doctor blinked, "Yes, that is what I said. Is there something wrong? Oh, she...she isn't a boy is she...er, it?" The doctor flipped through the files he was holding then looked back, more confused than ever, "It says here that it's a girl."

"A girl? You idiot, he's a boy! Just look at him!" Kousuke yelled, and this guy was a doctor?

"Oh..." the doctor trailed off, "You...you don't know?"