A/N: And with this chapter, we have officially caught up to the point where the fic last left off. I hope you all like the changes I've made to it overall, and look forward to continuing it. Almost all of the following trials that occur after this one have been just about finalized, so updates shouldn't be that infrequent, especially with my recent history writing Veil. I pushed out more than 20 chapters of that in the span of 2 years, unheard of for me.

I will be updating the old Saw fic with an addendum of sorts soon as well. It has more favorites and follows than this reboot of it does, so I feel it's only fair to notify them all enmass to give them the opportunity for a refresher on matters.

Hope you all enjoy!

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Gloves Off: Part II

Haihane compulsively swallowed, eyes immediately seeking reassurance from Minato, only to have the words of Benitsubasa slam down on her like one of the brawler's punches,

"Oops," Benitsubasa mocked callously, "Looks like someone made a boo boo. Better hurry up, hun. Time's a wastin'." There was an ugly smirk on the girl's face, even if her eyes seemed much less certain of what she was saying.

Minato stared at her as he'd never seen her before, even on the bridge she hadn't been this vindictive, "How can you be so damn cruel?!" Minato's fingers clench to the flesh of his palms, as he turned back the valves on his side, "You know what, fine. I'll do it without you!"

Minato had to go to one knee to reach the valve, grasping the wheel firmly in the anticipation of turning it. It was hot, but not scaldingly so. Minato was morbidly certain that would change before long.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing, pipsqueak?!" Minato took no comfort in the smidgen of concern that laced Benitsubasa's demand, as the vast majority of her tone was of skepticism,

"Why do you care?" he called back to her as he started cranking the wheel to the left, a rusty squeak denoting the state of the device, "I'm not letting anyone here die and you made it clear I was on my own!"

A jet of searing hot steam bursts into his chamber not long after, its force pushing him back and causing him to scream as his flesh was assaulted by the scorching liquid. He momentarily let it go to use his arm to block the steam from his face, but quickly regained composure, keeping his grip firm and turning the wheel further despite the broiling temperature now filling the corridor. The gate to the next valve started to ascend, albeit at a snail's pace, forcing Minato to step up the pace.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Benitsubasa clamored from her new position of pressing herself against the links separating them, astonished at what the ronin would put himself through for someone who once threatened to take his life. Just like he did for me she thought to herself guiltily, unconsciously biting her lower lip in worry, but not enough to fully consider joining him in the effort.

Minato ignored his hot-headed compatriot and continued winding the wheel, causing the steam and heat to grow even more, and his body to be drenched in both water and sweat. The gate leading to the next valve was almost up though, so Minato considered it a small price to pay. He looked over to the Blue Sekirei, who was more or less paralyzed, and braced himself and the valve so that neither would slip back as he called out to her,

"Haihane, please! You have to start moving!" Minato urged, ignoring Benitsu's inventive swearing going off in the background, "If you don't, you'll die! Please, for Natsuo if not for yourself, fight to live!"

That snapped her out of her daze and she took heart in the encouraging words of the scraggly stranger, "R-right!" I'll do it!"

She advances toward the first series of vents, now barely giving off 3 inches of plumes, only to realize the cable attached to her collar strangled her more with each step she took. She reached back to pull at the cord linking her from life to death and found that while it gave, it would take much of her strength and endurance to pull along.

No wonder he gave me so little time to do this, Haihane thought to herself as she began to slowly inch her way forward, Fucker set me up!

Blood trickled to the floor and formed a path in her wake as she clenched her hands harder around the cord. She had to hold back yelps of pain as she pushed onward, refusing to let this Minato's sacrifice be in vain.

After 25 seconds of gut-wrenching and heart-pounding effort, Haihane finally reached the vents. She was panting from the exertion but didn't let her momentum stop, the idea of being pulled back to the chair and being decapitated urging her forward. The vents were almost completely off, the heat coming off them enough to make her uncomfortable but thanks to her higher tolerance for heat Haihane wasn't hurt by the heated metal.

Hauling her load like a burlap sack, she glanced up to try to see Minato again but the angle was too extreme for her to see him next to the valve and it caused a new sliver of worry to worm its way into her awareness. Jigsaw said that the vents up there would only be tolerable if both sides turned theirs and 'Beni' was being her stubborn self and not doing anything...Haihane hoped he was ok or that her partner got her head out of her petite ass and helped him. Haihane didn't know whether or not she could handle someone sacrificing themself for her, the concept being alien after all her time in MBI and with Natsuo. She turned her gaze back ahead of her and kept pushing her way to the next series of vents, their geysers just as ominously tall as they had been when the game had started, boding ill for Minato's current state...

XXXXXX

Benitsubasa felt like a heel.

Yup, that was a pretty accurate summation of how Benitsubasa felt about herself at the moment.

She was still beyond pissed at Haihane and fully prepared to nurse that grudge like a very fat and angry baby, but seeing Minato flash-broil himself for someone he barely knew was too much after everything they endured. She growled at how much she was going soft with him around and turned back to see him trying to walk through the wall of boiling water vapor in front of him, causing her heart to leap into her throat,

"Great Kami Minato, you're going to kill yourself!" Benitsubasa knew that she had no sensible choice now but to help Haihane because if Minato kept this up, he would be too injured to complete any more tests. Given how determined he was during their first teamwork trial to find a second key, she could only imagine the pain he'd put himself through to save a life, as evidenced by his trying for the third time to push through highly pressured and heated steam,

"Gah! Fine! Have it your way, I'll help! But not for Haihane. This is for Natsuo's sake...as well as yours." She whispered the last part, counting on the steam to cover up her admission of concern.

"Thank you...Benitsu." Minato muttered, clearly pained as he stumbled back from his latest attempt. In the style of his luck, the steam finally petered out and left Minato free and clear to head to the next valve. He rubbed the spots where his clothes hadn't been enough to protect his flesh gingerly, hoping the burns wouldn't be too bad.

Should have used my jacket to protect my face from that initial blast. He thought.

Benitsu copied Minato's actions and spun her first wheel hard, almost wrenching it off in her haste to catch up. Since Minato had already taken the full blast of the jet, she was met with a free pass to the second one once the gate was up, feeling her stomach clench in guilt for having made him take the shot on his own.

"Hurry, Benitsu!" Minato urged, bracing himself at the second valve, hands at 2 and 8 as the clock reads, "We don't have much time!" He could only imagine how Haihane felt, standing at the next line of steam vents having to pit her strength against the pull of death itself.

"Yeah, yeah I know that." She ducked beneath the opened gate and rushes to the second wheel, practically sliding next to it like a baseball player going for home, "Alright, now on three." She heard Minato before her eyes widened...there was only one spot where there wasn't a solid wall between them right at the 'front'. This was going to make timing the valves a pain in the ass...or wherever the steam decided to assault,

Calling out as loud as she could, she counted off the time till they gave Haihane another chance to push forward, "One...two...three!"

On three they managed to both sync their turning well enough that the blasts of steam were strong but not enough to drive either of them back. Didn't mean both of them enjoyed the experience, Minato already susceptible from his previous efforts and Benitsubasa's outfit being poor defense tattered as it was.

Although given her strength it was no problem, that didn't keep the scalding, white-hot steam from causing her to jump back in pain.

"Gaaaaaaaaaah! Fuck!" she yelled, turning her head away from the hot blast as it erupted against her face like the breath of an angry god. She put her hands back on the wheel and continued to press onward, fighting through the pain like a real Sekirei would do, counting on Minato to do the same as her gate went higher and higher. Doing so lessened the steam and pressure for both of them, just like the Billy doll said it would, keeping them in discomfort but no longer in intolerable pain.

She growled as the epiphany that Minato had had earlier finally came to her. This wasn't just a 'game' for Haihane, no, this was yet another teamwork trial for the two of them to endure side by side together. Benitsubasa had the errant thought that maybe Kazehana had been in mind when this trial was created, fuck, her powers could keep them from getting scalded a lot easier if he chose her to come instead...She shook her head hard to snap herself out of the land of 'what ifs' and focused on getting the second valve turned all the way, reminding herself that they were on their own, and Minato was counting on her.

Had Haihane been able to read minds, she might have been shocked to find how little Natsuo figured into Benitsubasa's thoughts at that moment...

XXXXXX

"Don't let up, Haihane! Be strong!" Haihane started as Minato's voice called out to her, her eyes seeking out the geysers in front of her as they lowered with the release of pressure thanks to the efforts of the others. Gritting her teeth, she gripped the cord harder and hauled her way forward once more, each step paid with blood and tears. Her claws made holding on even more difficult and she felt her heart leap into her throat each time she thought she felt the cord slip.

With some difficulty, Haihane passed the second jet of steam and saw that the third hurdle was already starting to go down. Worried that Minato was pushing himself too hard, she called out to him,

"Are you okay, Minato?" She didn't ask about Benitsubasa for the pure and simple reason that if the pinkette wasn't alright...the next ward would know exactly how much she wasn't ok. It certainly had nothing to do with Haihane being bitter about her former partner's willingness to leave her to die, not at all. Minato was a human and therefore more vulnerable after all,

"We're fine." Benitsu spat, irritated that Haihane didn't bother to ask if she herself was alright, even if she saw the logic in checking on the pip-Minato. Stubborn he might be, but that was no defense against the laws of thermodynamics. She didn't like that she couldn't see him and make sure he was ok, for all she knew he was pushing himself harder to make sure the steam would mostly go to his side, it was the sort of thing she'd expect from the noble doofus.

Natsuo was never willing to go that for anyone except him that treacherous corner of her mind whispered before Benitsubasa stomped it down again. Natsuo wasn't gay or bitter over a dead lover, no matter what anyone said. He wouldn't have Winged her otherwise, he'd said so.

"Yeah," Haihane could hear Minato panting hard, the wavering in his voice telling her his nerves weren't doing much better, "Just keep goi-"

"No!" Haihane cut him off before allowing him to finish, "I'll handle this next jet of steam on my own, you deserve a break, Minato." She gulped at the third set of vents in front of her. She didn't know if she could pull it off, but she had to try, she felt miserable enough knowing Natsuo was going through hell because of her, but Minato, someone she honestly hadn't thought about since the time at the bridge, risking himself for her made her feel even more useless.

"There are two people helping you, you know!" Benitsu's voice clawed into Haihane's ears, making the Reaper Sekirei roll her eyes at the brawler's need for attention, "Besides, that's not going to work. You heard what the doll said, Blue, there's no way you'll be able to pass unscathed. It's hot enough to melt your skin off, and I should fucking know!" As much as she wanted to snarl and ignore Benitsubasa, Haihane had to admit that Benitsubasa wouldn't lie to her. Spit on her and leave her to die a screaming and painful death, yes, but Benitsubasa wouldn't lie...Talk about your priorities Haihane thought to herself sarcastically.

"Benitsu's right, Haihane. Trust me, Jigsaw knew he'd be dealing with Sekirei durability and immune systems and he...he made sure his shit would stick." Haihane picked up on the catch Minato's voice this time and dreaded to learn what happened to him but couldn't help being morbidly curious. She inched closer to the vents as Minato spoke to her again, "Plus the two of us won't be able to move on unless we turn the valves. They don't only direct the steam at us but open the next chamber as well. Let us take care of it. Just focus on moving!"

Haihane nodded, forgetting they couldn't see her, and then called out, "Alright then, do what you need to do Minato. I trust you." she started pulling her way to the keyhole again, "A-and thank you!" She stammered as she shuffled forward once more, praying to spirits she had never cared about before that she could make it through this.

The timer continued to tick away as progress was made, the deadline growing closer and closer with each resounding 'tick'...

03:50...03:49...03:48...

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Minato felt as if his skin was starting to peel off as the next jet hit him and the Red Sekirei. He didn't know if it was hotter than the previous 3 or if he simply was running out of flesh to cook, but either way he was reaching his limit. From the creative and extensive compilation of curses Benitsubasa was giving off, she wasn't doing much better.

Benitsubasa growled out another anatomically impossible curse as she finished turning the fourth valve, yelling out along the corridor and hoping Haihane hadn't passed out or something thanks to blood loss,

"GO!" she screamed, and right after she heard an "Ok!" in response. Moving forward she yelled out again, "Minato, are you ok? How are you holding up"

She could barely hear him, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the faint, "Yeah Benitsu, I'm alright. Let's get the last one."

"Sure thing kid, and next time you take me to an onsen, make sure it's a decent one instead of a pit like this, or the one with needles we just crawled out of!" Smirking at the joke she'd made, she made her way to the last valve, bracing herself in anticipation.

[0:41]

Haihane pulled forward again as the steam faded, her strength waning with every step and every pull of the cord. She heard Benitsubasa joke and shook her head, if she didn't know better, Haihane would have sworn that Benitsbusa was flirting.

Shaking the pure insanity of that thought out of her head, Haihane looked at the wall she had been making her way towards and gulped. At a distance, the lock seemed innocuous but as she got closer she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something...off about the way it was shaped. It didn't stop her from giving her all to reach it though, but it did set a feeling of dread as she inched her way closer with Benitsubasa's 'encouragement' ringing in her ears.

"GO!"

[0:26]

"Fuck a bear with a drunken platypus!" Benitsubasa let out a snarl. She'd heard the cry from Minato's end and then the valve got a lot harder to turn, which could only mean one thing: Minato was out of it, she had to do this one alone. Benitsubasa screamed in agony as the full jet tore into her, yet she did not fall. Minato had endured this thanks to her vindictive stubbornness and she would not be weaker than him!

As she weathered the storm, she half wondered if her hair was turning yellow...Shaking her head in annoyance and pain she resolved to burn all of the shonen crap Haihane loved, it was starting to infect her brain at this rate. Give her a good rom-com like the first season of Tenchi any day.

Speaking of the anime buff herself, Benitsubasa hollered one last time and put her trust in a person who up till now she'd been all too willing to write off as flakiness personified, "I got the last one, Minato's out. You better make it 'cause if you die and take us with you I'm going to kill you!"

[0:11]

"I'm almost at the holes!" Haihane cried, ignoring Benitsubasa's illogical and rather hard-to-pull-off threat. After all, it's the thought that counted right? she sourly observed,

"Then finish it!" Benitsubasa's shout came echoing down, her voice taunt with pain and worry. Haihane herself felt the same way, pushing herself harder so she could see if Minato was alright, her muscles tense with the pressure she was putting on all of them and her face running with sweat instead of tears.

Damn it, why does he have to be so noble? He didn't know her at all and yet he'd just given out trying to save her. She just didn't get it, she wasn't worth it so why did he do it? She hoped it wasn't just to have another warm body to throw at the games.

Haihane lurched forward the moment the last of the steam turned to wisps, uncaring of the way her feet grew too hot for comfort...she only had moments to go,

[0:05]

"You can do it Haihane, don't give up." Her eyes bulged as she heard Minato's voice, almost causing her to freeze in shock. It was faint, so incredibly so that if she were human she wouldn't have been able to pick it up, but it was there and so was he. Tears of relief dewed her lashes as she made another step closer to the lock, Minato's words boosting her like a second wind,

"Only five seconds left! Open the lock before the game kills you! Please! DO IT!" Minato loudly urged, with Benitsubasa's relief-filled voice echoing the sentiment,

[0:04]

"Yeah, listen to the pipsqueak!" Benitsubasa added, "Don't let all our pain be for nothing! Put your damn fingers in there already!" Haihane let go of the cord when she was within two steps of the lock and was nearly ripped off her feet by the pressure and pull on her neck. She kept her balance though through sheer muscle control and determination although she knew her neck would be aching later, assuming there was a later.

[0:03]

"Alright I'm doing it!" Haihane responded, voice shaking thanks to the force being placed on her throat. With that she put the 'keys' into the lock and begins to twist them, her stomach roiling with nervousness and dread anticipation. As the locks began to turn, her fingers began to bleed anew, the crimson liquid dribbling out of the holes as though Haihane had wounded the building itself.

[0:02]

"Almost...almost..." Just another millimeter and they'd all be free she told herself, pushing through the agony shrieking through her nervous system, she couldn't fail them now...

[0:01]

With one final, wrenching twist Haihane finally heard that magical sound,

*Click!

"I-I got it...!" She cried out in amazement...right before she felt her fingers being sucked deep into the keyholes and the collar on her neck yank her off her feet.

[0:00]

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BEEPBEEPBEEP!

Minato picked himself off the floor and staggered back to the end of the hall, the beeping noise and rapid winding of Haihane's cord urging him on as visions of Haihane's head flying from her shoulders flashed through his mind's eye, not knowing Benitsubasa was doing the same and making better time.

Benistubasa had bulled through the moment she'd heard Haihane's victory crow get cut off, and with how fast she could go, was able to see the middle and end of Jigsaw's twisted 'catch and release program.

The strength of the cable, coupled with her claws being locked inside the mechanism made it impossible for Haihane to escape. Haihane took several strained gasps, her feet scrabbling at the slick ground beneath her and causing her blood to make thick splattering sounds as she kicked it up. As the cable wound back, her nails began to slowly pull out from the flesh of her fingertips, increasing the anguish Haihane was going through immeasurably. She choked on her screams as her instinctive struggles aided the torture, and before long they were pulled out entirely. The cable, now no longer having to fight against the lock, yanked Haihane so hard that the force turns her into a flailing rag doll.

"No! Haihane!" Minato screamed as he made it to the fence, watching her helplessly being dragged back to her demise. His sight flinches away from what he was sure would be Haihane's final moments. A *snap* a *clink* and a *thud* later, he raises his gaze, fully expecting to see another victim of his weakness and incompetence.

Instead, he took a breath of horrified relief as Haihane rose to her knees, staring into her mutilated hands as she held them before her eyes. She looked high upwards into nothing and gave out a heart-wrenching wail.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

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A/N: If all goes well I should have the next chapter up and ready by Halloween. Just need to finalize the next test Minato and the group face and it's off to the races!

Oh, and by the way, mordreek is back! He's currently combing over and working his wordsmithing magic on my other chapters starting with the Lockdown arc. I'll be updating them as frequently as they come in. Great to have you back!