Chapter 3: News

Hot Springs-
Omi-

Omi woke up to the strangest thing - the smell of eggs.

"Thank you for your time, ma'am. I'm sure the children will appreciate breakfast." It was the voice of Kazuma, a sound that was growing increasingly familiar over the past few days. He was just outside the door, a paper door, of all things, through which Omi could see Kazuma's silhouette facing that of a kneeling figure on the floor. "I'm sorry our arrival last night caused you such trouble, but…the children."

"I understand, Kazuma-dono." The woman who spoke had a soft, even voice and bobbed her head as she spoke. "It was no trouble at all and your arrival wasn't really all that late." Then how late was late to her? It had been well into the night, so late that Kazuma had called ahead while they were bused to their destination to apologize before they'd even arrived. "Mycousin has begun breakfast. You did say that the children had a tendency to wake earlier, did you ntot?"

"I did and I'm sure they'll appreciate it. I must warn you to be cautious with the children. They aren't like any other children you've ever met."

"Yes, Kazuma-dono." The shadowy figure rose from the floor and bowed, but before she'd gone, she hesitantly asked, "If I may be so bold as to ask, has there been any sign of Ritsu? Or of your Kyou?"

A pause. "No. I'm sorry. I've heard nothing of either of them since Shigure left the Main House. All of the Zodiac seem to have just walked away without a word to anyone. I'm sure that whatever they're doing, it's important."

"Did they tell you about Akito? The whole nasty mess outside the front gates?" She gave a little shudder. "It's too awful to think about. A respectable family like ours getting involved with such goings on. The children are safe, I suppose. They must be. Hatori-sensei is with them and Shigure-san. The young masters wouldn't let anything happen to the children." The shadow of the woman showed her wringing her hands together. "Only…only my Ritsu's ankle is still sprained and he gets so timid around people he doesn't know. And here I am keep prattling on to you and…and…I JUST CAN'T FORGIVE MYSELF!" The wail had been so loud that everyone in the room with Omi had woken and now, like him, stared at the shoji screen door. "I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT RITSU A CELL PHONE SO HE COULD CALL AND I'M THE WORST MOTHER ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET, MAY THE GODS WRECK THEIR TERRIBLE VENGENCE UPON ME!" All of a sudden, she stopped and took a deep breath. "I'll just go see to breakfast, shall I?"

Interesting.

Omi lay his head back down at the pillow and stared at the ceiling after she'd gone. He was still trying to figure out what to make out of this new situation and wished that Kureno would return. Kureno had seemed to understand them. Kureno hadn't kept asking foolish questions like,

"How old are you?"

"Do you remember the names of the people who hurt you?"

"Where did you get this awful scar?"

"Have you ever been to school?"

"What's your family name?"

Why Kazuma-dono kept asking question, Omi had no idea. It wasn't as if any of that mattered. All that mattered was survival.

The shoji screen door slid open and Kazuma-dono smiled at them. It seemed a strange thing to call anyone, but everyone who had met Kazuma had referred to him with such great respect. The man was like no one Omi had ever met. Of course, they had all assumed that nothing would really change once they'd left the Pit. To exchange one owner for another was no terrible thing - it was done all the time and Omi himself had been prepared for a new owner when the monster had attacked the Pit with Kureno and killed all the owners. 'Do I still have to go with the other one?' But when the owner changed all the rules, that caused trouble. 'Will the other one find me here?'

"You're all awake. Good." Kazuma-dono entered the room with his hands tucked inside his long sleeves and casually made his way around the room. He did that every morning when he came to greet them, making a habit of it. "Breakfast will be ready very shortly so I hope everyone has a healthy appetite today. "

At first, Omi had suspected that the morning inspections were just Kazuma-dono looking for someone to have sex with or deciding who was the strongest. There was no issue about that. Omi was the strongest and he was prepared to prove it for Kazuma-dono when the man asked. He could kill any of the others. But, unlike everyone other adult Omi had ever met, Kazuma just looked. He smiled softly and would speak now and again, but never touched.

It was a good thing. Kazuma-dono didn't know who was a fighter and who was a toy, how could he know who to chose? Kazuma did have the strangest priorities and one of those seemed to prohibit sex, so maybe that was the reason why he didn't touch them. He'd turned the funniest shade of purple when he'd walked in on two of the children having sex and immediately decreed that there was to be no sex. They were to find other ways to occupy their time. The two he'd walked in on had immediately been separated and ordered to stay, for the time being, away from each other.

Seeing that Kazuma-dono was expecting some kind of answer, Omi sat up and looked around. Everyone in the room was awake, though most of them had elected to stay laying down. It wasn't often that they had such a comfortable place to sleep.

'Clean. Warm. Everything smells clean.' Omi's fingers clenched around the blankets of the futon. 'I don't want to get up.' But he did stand and face Kazuma-dono, keeping his eyes properly lowered. "We would be grateful for food. What would you have me do?"

"How about wash up? We were so late last night, I didn't have time to show any of you to the washrooms." He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I'd like to know if you have any questions about anything. You must be curious."

Why did it always come back to questions? No. Omi didn't have any questions. He didn't need to know anything other than what was expected of him. He was getting flustered by not knowing what to do, but it was something Omi could deal with until he was given a mission. They'd always promised that one day, soon, he would have a mission.

"You're important, Omi. You'll have to obey, always obey. The jobs you will do are vastly important. Keep doing as you're told and you'll survive to a ripe old age."

But Kazuma-dono didn't seem to know about any missions.

"Where's the monster?"

The question made Omi and Kazuma-dono look at one of the other occupants of the room. He was called Ran, a small boy with hair the color of straw. It was Ran who'd been shot days ago at the Pit when they'd gone from the showers to the arena and he still looked worse for wear.

'He would have been killed at the Pit. The owners wouldn't feed someone who couldn't fight and very few of the guests would want to use a toy that was in such a pitiful condition. Some might have liked it, though.' But, considering Kazuma-dono's unease with that sort of thing, it was a wonder he kept Ran alive.

"Monster." Kazuma-dono didn't make it sound like a question, but he looked at little Ran with a curiously sad expression. "He's no monster."

"We saw him." Ran tried to sit up but found the strain too much and laid back down. "We saw that boy fall from the seating and while he fell, he changed. He hit the sand and screamed, but when he stopped screaming he was a monster. Taller than any man, like one of those bugs we always find in the corners of the showers. His ears were very long and stood straight up." Ran's eyes widened just a little. "He was very good at killing. Better than I'll ever be."

"My Kyou is really a gentle boy." Kazuma-dono met Ran's eyes., though he didn't smile. "Whatever you saw, he did it out of necessity. I believe that."

My Kyou? Then the monster was owned by Kazuma-dono. 'The owners would have loved to buy him. They'd have put him in the arena with a dozen of us to kill.' Even Omi, who thought himself hardened and immune to fear, was taken aback by that thought.

Ran blinked at Kazuma-dono. "If I was that good at killing, I wouldn't have to be a toy. I don't like that much."

"You don't have to do it, anymore." Kazuma-dono moved to stand near Ran, then knelt down next to him. "You're safe here. No one will hurt you."

"What is this place?"

Omi decided that it would be best to simply watch as the other boys were doing, rather than interfere in the conversation. Why should he when that might only anger Kazuma-dono? They had all been kept together in kingly comfort and it wasn't hard to see that it was Kazuma-dono who had arrange it all from the warm food to the clean beds. He didn't want to take the chance of angering their benefactor. Experience told only too well that a benefactor could easily turn into tormentor.

"Why don't you come out and see?" Kazuma-dono smiled, again. "The hostess is anxious to have her guests see what fun things are available."

Ah. So that was the game. "Are her guests expecting fighting or sex?" Omi asked.

"You do keep bringing that up." Kazuma-dono gave Omi another of his sad looks. "You don't have to do that sort of thing anymore. YOU are the guests and the fun things I was talking about include table tennis and lovely gardens to walk in. Now, why don't you all get up and take a turn in the washroom then join us all outside for breakfast." He slid his arms under Ran's back and knees and easily lifted the boy. "You, young man, are going for another visit to the current doctor before you do anything."

"Current?" Omi asked.

"Yes. Our regular doctor is…away. As soon as he's available, he'll give each of you an examination."

"Why?"

Again, that sad look. "Because I want to make sure all of you are healthy."

"Why?"

Kazuma started for the door. "Just…because. Humor me, boys."

Kazuma-

After nearly two weeks of living at the Hot Springs with the children, Kazuma had a phone call late in the afternoon and was both pleased and surprised to hear Shigure's voice. "Shigure," It felt like it had been such a long time since they'd last spoken at the estate. "What's going on? Why haven't you called earlier?"

"Sorry." Shigure sounded tired over the phone, like he hadn't slept in days. "It's been rather…hectic. You'll forgive me, I'm sure. I just wanted to let you know that Kyou's alright. We found him and I'd say he's better than ever. Certainly happier."

"How happy?" Shigure always liked to talk in circles, everyone knew that, so Kazuma knew there was something going on. Despite how much he sounded like an idiot, Shigure usually had something important to say when he spoke.

Shigure's smirk came through in his voice. "Well…he just got finished kissing Akito."

"Ah."

"And here I was hoping for a bigger reaction."

How, exactly, was Kazuma supposed to react? "Is he alright?"

"Akito? Oh, yes. I don't think he minded at all."

Kazuma felt a twitch in his eye. "No. I'm talking about Kyou. Did Akito hurt him?"

"Nope. Right now, I don't think anyone could hurt Kyou. Look, I have to go. I expect Kyou will be by soon and he'll have a lot to tell you. I'm really calling about those kids Kureno brought home. Have you taken them somewhere safe?"

"We're at the hot springs." To all Souma's, there was only one hot springs. "I'm very curious about all this. They've been saying the oddest things and I've never seen children who behave like they do. I need Hatori."

"I'm sure he'll be by as soon as you call him at his office. He won't be there for about a half and hour, though."

"Half and hour? Where are you?"

"That's hardly important. Just…be careful. Have Hatori take their memories."

"Yes. They've already mentioned that they saw Kyou change."

"Yes, but there are other things."

"You mean about the Black Scorpion? I've spoken with Ayame's friend, Orcot-san. He told me everything he knows. That's why I took them away from the estate."

"Good. Good." Shigure was silent for a minute. "I should go."

Now why did that worry Kazuma? "Can I reach you at your house tonight?"

"No. I don't think so."

"At the estate, then?"

"No. You see, things are going to change. It's already started. I have to go."

"You're not telling me something."

"Have I become so transparent? Good bye. Take care of the children." Then there was nothing but the dial tone and Kazuma hung up.

There would be no point in hitting the redial button. If Kazuma knew Shigure, he'd called from a payphone somewhere and was already gone. 'Ominous. I don't like this at all.' But there was nothing he could do, reasonably. He couldn't leave poor Mako-san alone with the children, not when he knew there were dangerous people after them. If they were to come while Kazuma was away, there was no possibility of Mako-san protecting them or herself.

"Young master?" There Mako-san was, bowing to him. "You mustn't look so worried. Everything will work out with the children. They're already more relaxed than when you arrived. Was that young Shigure on the phone? Forgive me for overhearing, I didn't do it intentionally."

"Yes. Very mysterious message he's trying to give. I wish I knew where he was. But, he says Kyou's alright and if Kyou's alright, I'm sure everyone else is, too." He hung up the phone and looked at her, fondly. As a child, he'd had a terrible crush on Mako-san, despite the fact that she was old enough to be his mother. "If anything had happened to Ristu-kun, I'm sure Shigure would have told me. I think the danger's with us, now. The children. Whoever has treated them so badly will come for them Ocot-san has told me. I really wish you'd leave."

Her eyes grew wild. "LEAVE MY HOME AND MY GUESTS!" She screamed madly, so wild that Kazuma saw several small eyes peeking from around a corner to see what the excitement was. As soon as they realized they were being watched, the children disappeared around the corner. "NEVER! HOW COULD I BE SO UNPROFESSIONAL? TO EVEN CONSIDER LEAVING AT A TIME OF SUCH DISTRESS AND LEAVE YOU, MY MOST HONORED GUEST, I WOULD HAVE TO BE THE MOST UNGRACIOUS OF WOMEN, THE MOST TERRIBLE FAILURES!" Then she wilted slightly and took a deep breath. "I would prefer to stay, young master. This is my home. You and the children are my guests, no matter how odd the situation may be."

He knew he wouldn't be able to dissuade her. "As you wish."

"Dinner will be ready at about seven, young master. Will the children be ready?" It was no small feat to feed fifty some odd children all at once. The meal rooms, used to hold perhaps half a dozen people at a time, were abandoned after only a day in favor of the gardens. No matter how it worried Mako-san's cousin, there was just no other way to do it. "If I may, a bath may be in order."

"Yes. Of course. Let me round them up and we'll meet you at the springs."

Kazuma called the children all together and gone to sit on the second story porch that overlooked the bathes. It had taken a little while to explain it to the children, in the beginning. They hadn't understood why it was necessary that they be clean or why boys and girls had to be separated, but both Kazuma and Mako-san were firm on both points.

So it was that Kazuma and Ritsu's mother sat on an upper porch of the resort watching over their charges. For decorum's sake, they sat back to back with Kazuma watching the boy's and Ritsu's mother watching the girls. "It's improper for them to be together." She'd said, delicately. "Even more unseemly that they don't see anything wrong with bathing together in one great mass. Some of them are nearly adults."

"They don't know any better." Kazuma had never made any point in pressing any of the children about what their lives had been like before Kureno had led them to the Souma estate, even though he was very curious. If they wanted to tell, they would. In the mean time, one didn't have to be a genius to see that serious harm had been done to the grim faced children. Besides, the children did talk to one another - even if they were wary of adults - and Kazuma had overheard tid-bits of conversations. What he'd heard, he hadn't liked. "That's why it's better here than at the estate. Less people and more time for us to get them used to what society will expect of them."

She looked at him with her eternally tired eyes. "Tell me, what do you know of them?"

"Nothing but that they are in danger and our family with them." This he said on a cheery Sunday morning while they sat, back to back, on a high porch of the second-level of the resort and watched their respective charges bathe below. The two large springs were separated, for decencies sake, by a tall wall to separate the boys and girls.

"Two of the girls are pregnant." She said it quietly and Kazuma, though he faced away from her, it was easy to hear the frown in her words.

"I know. Kana…ah. Sorry. Yamato-sensei told me."

"It's odd that you called her. I'd heard that no Souma close to the Inner Circle would give her business, all because of poor young Hatori-sensei."

"Hatori wouldn't approve of that." In truth, Hatori was one of the most forgiving people Kazuma had ever met. His kindness wasn't a strain on him, it was simply natural. If Hatori knew that people were subtly punishing Kana for what had happened to them, he wouldn't have been at all pleased. "Yamato-sensei is the best without Hatori and I believe that these children need the best."

"True."

They fell silent for a while and simply concentrated on their charges below. The children didn't play as most children would. Even Kyou and Yuki, both notoriously stiff-necked and tenser than a stretched out rubber band, would relax at the hot springs. These children, at least the boys Kazuma was watching, just sat in the water and scrubbed at themselves with their hands. Washcloth's had been provided for scrubbing, but none of the children seemed to know what to do with them. They spoke to one another in soft tones, so low that Kazuma couldn't hear any of them.

"The girls," Kazuma spoke at last. "How many of them have the scorpion tattoo?"

"Four. The boys?"

"Eight."

Twelve of them in total, then. "I'll guess that the four girls have taken up positions around the edge of the hot spring. That's what the boys have done."

"They have. It looks like they're guarding the other children. I just don't understand it. Why protect each other? They can't think that anyone here would hurt them."

"Their lives have been destroyed. No matter what the life they come from was like, it must be frightening for them. I suppose they're doing the best they can to find comfort." But that didn't seem right. Why give comfort to those whom you would have had to fight or kill? There was no answer for that and Kazuma didn't tell her of his other worries. More than one child had casually mentioned killing. There was no enmity between any of the children, no grudges or malice that Kazuma could see and he was normally very perceptive.

"Orcot-san told me about the Black Scorpion when he came to see me with the children. I suppose he didn't want me to be caught unawares. He says the scorpion tattoo is a brand of the child assassins, that each one of them is marked to become a professional killer. I find it frighteningly easy to believe it." It was then that Kazuma happened to look up - away from the boys - to see a bus approaching. Kazuma raised his voice for all the children to hear. "Bath time is over." He stood and put his hands on the railing to watch the approaching bus, barely noticing that all the children got out of the water immediately upon hearing his order.

"Who is it?"

"Visitors. The family shouldn't be visiting, now. They know you're closed until the matter of the children is cleared up." Kazuma thought of the other danger that lurked near the children. The people Orcot-san had said would come for them. People who would treat helpless children so monstrously… "They're slowing down."

She stood with him and tensed at the sight of the bus. Daily, a bus pass by the resort, but every day, both Kazuma and Ritsu's mother had watched the bus, hoping for their missing children. It seemed that they're hopes were finally being answered. Then again, instead of the children, Kazuma knew very well that it could be the people Orcot-san had warned him about. But why would anyone who would do such terrible things to children ride the bus instead of their own car?

The sad fact was that Mako-san hadn't even known that Ritsu was back in Japan until Kazuma had mentioned when he'd arrived with the children. The fact that he'd come home, but hadn't made any effort to contact her had hurt Mako-san unbelievably. When she, too, looked at the approaching bus, her hand went to her mouth before she turned away and started walking. "I'll go greet them - whoever they are. You, please, get the children decently dressed."

"Be careful." If it was the enemy…

The children, as it turned out, didn't need much encouragement beyond being asked to get dressed. For their own comfort, Kazuma didn't think it mattered much. Not one of them seemed the least bit embarrassed about their nudity, but Kazuma wasn't going to give in on that matter. He waited until they were dressed in the hand-me-down clothes - gifts from generous Souma's whose children had outgrown them - but even he found it more than a little odd to see them in normal children's clothes.

"What do you want us to do, Kazuma-dono?"

They gotten that from the other Souma's who insisted on giving him the respectful title. At least the children were polite, he had to give them that much.

Kazuma, standing in the back gardens with the children, looked to the corner of the building. He knew if he peeked around the corner he'd see the bus and who'd gotten off. "You have free time to play." It was a requirement that they play. It worried Kazuma that none of them seemed to know how to play simple games. But, he looked at Omi's dark eyes and an idea hit him.

The smaller children went to play - it seemed that the younger they were the easier it was for them to adapt to a normal child's life - but the older ones were hesitant. They only moved a short distance away from Kazuma and, Kazuma noticed, every child marked with the black scorpion stayed exactly where they were. It was nearly impossible to get them to play. Five boys and three girls, one of the girls whom looked barely twelve and had her auburn hair chopped off close to the scalp. Why not use their talents?

"May I use you?" Kazuma asked, motioning for the tattooed children to gather closer to him. There was no reason to frighten the younger children, as far as he was concerned. "We're going to have visitors in a few minutes," He told them quietly. "If you hang about, I may need you. Tell me, do any of you want to go back to where Kureno found you?"

Omi answered after a moment's hesitation. "No. I didn't like it there. This place is much better. It smells better, here." The rest agreed by shaking their heads, no.

"Good. Well, I've been warned that the people who had kept you at that awful place might try to take you back. They'll try to take you away from us. I don't want that to happen. Will you all fight to stay here?"

"I thought you didn't like us fighting?"

"This is different. It's not fighting just to fight, it's fighting to protect yourselves."

"Why?"

"My family can help you and the others find new families, people who will care for you and protect you…"

"I don't need protection."

"Then families who will care for you. You'll have a safe place to live and you won't have to fight or kill each other anymore." That seemed like the worst part to Kazuma. All of the children got along so well, how hard must it be to kill your friends? "But I don't think I can do it on my own. Will you help?"

A terrible scowl slid over Omi's face and his brow bunched up in thought. "You want me to fight…the owners?"

"You haven't got owners, anymore. I'll do everything I can to protect you and your friends and I can do a lot. You're free, Omi-san, but you have to fight for your freedom."

Omi looked unconvinced, but nodded warily. "It wasn't nice at the Pit. Suki, my friend, she told me once that it was different outside the Pit. She told me…she said she used to wear new clothes bought at a store, just like the customers. Suki said a lot of things about the outside." Omi's eyes scanned around at the gardens. "I didn't believe her, then."

It was a sign of hope, if nothing else.

"Just let me take a look." Kazuma peeked around the corner of the house and let out a sign of relief at what he saw. It seemed his worry was unnecessary. There was Kyou, safe and sound, and Ritsu cuddled in his mother's arms. "Thank you." Kazuma breathed, willing to thank anyone at all just to have Kyou back home. There wasn't a trace of blood on him or the dazed, frightened look that had been on his face the last time he'd seen Kyou.

"Who is that?" It was the first time Omi had asked a question without being spoken to first.

"My son." Kazuma answered. "He's been missing for some time, but I'm glad he's safe."

Omi kept watching Kyou, though his eyes shifted to Ritsu, in monkey form, in his mothers's arms. It really didn't make any difference. He'd already seen Kyou's transformation, so what was one more? If Omi was amazed or at all curious, he didn't show it. He just watched. "The monster."

"I'll thank you not to call him any such thing. We've already been over this. Kyou is not a monster."

"Yes, he is."

"No. He's no monster. He's my son." Then he turned a corner to greet Kyou, but when he saw Kazuma, Kyou had an odd reaction.

"Master." Kyou kept very still and had his head slightly hunched down to his chest. He looked like he was afraid.

Kazuma moved forward and embraced Kyou. "I was very worried."

"I'm sorry. It was kinda confusing and I felt really weird." Kyou didn't move to get out of the embrace, but neither did he return it. Unmoving, Kyou just kept talking until his words ran together so fast that he was almost unintelligible. "I mean, I have to tell you, but I don't think you'll like it and you wouldn't understand it, that's for damned sure. But it's all the truth, I swear! You can talk to Hatori and ask him, if you want. He'll back me up."

Kazuma patted Kyou's hair, then pulled away and smiled. "I believe whatever you tell me. I know you wouldn't lie to me. Calm yourself down. While you've been gone, a lot has happened around here. I'm afraid I've been pretty busy." He moved to stand next to Kyou and slid and arm over his shoulder. They walked a few paces until they came to the corner of the house and whatever they saw must have been astounding. Kyou froze dead in his tracks and his eyes widened.

"What the…? Where'd all they come from?"

Kazuma had half-expected Kyou to remember the children, but he didn't seem to. "Kureno rescued them. Do you remember?"

"Some things are kind of fuzzy, master. But I remember seeing Kureno. They were trying to hurt him and…there was a kid. A little girl." He swallowed hard. "They killed her, master. I didn't do anything to stop it. They just shot her."

"Kyou," Kazuma put his hand on the back of Kyou's head and wished there was some way he could make all Kyou's troubles just disappear. He wished…but there was no point in wishing. Life didn't work out that way. "You didn't do anything wrong. Come in and tell me what's been happening."

Kyou looked nervous at that, but smiled, shyly. He raised his left arm and let the sleeve of the kimono fall down to his elbow. What Kazuma saw then nearly made his heart stop. No bracelet. "How…?"

Shigure-

The family hadn't gone far from the petshop when Yuki and Kyou came to blows. Not too surprisingly, it was Kyou - for the first time - who send Yuki flying. Kyou didn't look nearly as pleased as Shigure had thought he would and that alone made Shigure think that Kyou would do alright.

As the family had walked along, most of them silent until Yuki began baiting Kyou, Shigure let his steps slow until he was walking behind the whole family. Carefully and slowly, he let himself fall further and further behind until he was far enough behind that he could just casually disappear. It was easy. As usual, no one was paying any attention to him. While the family watched Yuki be pulled onto Ayame's back, protesting weakly that he was just fine, and listened to Hatori snap orders, Shigure stepped to the right.

Alright, so it wasn't much of a disappearing trick.

The alley he'd stepped into was good enough and it wasn't as if anyone would go looking for him, anyway. He was the betrayer…worse than any of the cats could ever be and, according to the dog's diary, the first traitor in the Zodiac history to come from within their own ranks. Why would they look for him?

Shigure just stood around the corner with his back against the brick wall of the building, listening. He listened to everything they said and listened when Kyou and Ritsu took off for the Hot Springs to look for Kazuma. That was the last detail Shigure wanted to check on. Everything else could be taken care of by someone else.

He didn't move until the rest of the family started walking again, after the arrival of Tohru's two friends and after the departure of Kureno, Uotoni-san, Tohru-chan, Hanajima-san, and Hatsuharu. The family looked depleted when Shigure peered around the corner, but he accepted that it was for the best. After the last of the Souma's had rounded a corner and Shigure watched the last of them disappear he came out from hiding and went to find a payphone.

The phone rang for a little while before a familiar voice answered. "Moshi, moshi."

It was starting to get dark and there was a chill in the air. "Hello, Kazuma-sensei How are things?" Always best to start a conversation off on a positive note. 'I'll probably never see him again. Pity. I've always rather liked him.'

"Shigure, what's going on? Why haven't you called earlier?" Of course he was worried for Kyou.

"Sorry. It's been rather…hectic. You'll forgive me, I'm sure. I just wanted to let you know that Kyou's alright. We found him and I'd say he's better than ever. Certainly happier." But for how long ? Kyou may have been physically mature, but emotionally, he was still a child. His outburst at Yuki's prodding had proved that. If Kyou understood the curse of eternal youth, another curse to replace the other one, Shigure would have eaten his shoes.

"How happy?"

Childishly, Shigure couldn't resist saying, "Well…he just got finished kissing Akito."

"Ah."

"And here I was hoping for a bigger reaction."

"Is he alright?"

"Akito? Oh, yes. I don't think he minded at all."

"No. I'm talking about Kyou. Did Akito hurt him?"

"Nope. Right now, I don't think anyone could hurt Kyou. Look, I have to go. I expect Kyou will be by soon and he'll have a lot to tell you. I'm really calling about those kids Kureno brought home. Have you taken them somewhere safe?"

"We're at the hot springs. I'm very curious about all this. They've been saying the oddest things and I've never seen children who behave like they do. I need Hatori."

"I'm sure he'll be by as soon as you call him at his office. He won't be there for about a half and hour, though."

"Half and hour? Where are you?"

"That's hardly important. Just…be careful. Have Hatori take their memories."

"Yes. They've already mentioned that they saw Kyou change."

"Yes, but there are other things."

"You mean about the Black Scorpion? I've spoken with Ayame's friend, Orcot-san. He told me everything he knows. That's why I took them away from the estate."

"Good. Good." Orcot-san who was a friend of Count D's and, therefore, not to be entirely trusted. But it was good that he seemed to be warning Kazuma about the dangers. Everyone knew that the same people who'd taught Kureno to be the way he was, was the same people who'd been keeping the children. Considering how deadly Kureno was, it wasn't unthinkable that all of the children were just as deadly. But, measures could be taken and how dangerous could they be, realistically? Surely, Kazuma and Hatori could deal with them, even if it was simply calling the police. Shigure was sure that it wasn't something he really had to worry about. "I should go."

"Can I reach you at your house tonight?" Kazuma sounded worried, again. Poor Kazuma. All this trouble and he still didn't understand what had happened.

"No. I don't think so."

"At the estate, then?"

"No. You see, things are going to change. It's already started. I have to go."

"You're not telling me something."

"Have I become so transparent? Good bye. Take care of the children." He hung up quickly before Kazuma could say anything else. There was no reason to delay any longer. Shigure walked away from the phone booth, never intending to see his family again.

The next morning-
Leon-

Leon woke feeling better than he had in a very long time. He was warm and comfortable with a pleasantly fuzzy feeling. There was a sweet smell in the air and a warm arm laying over his back. Arm?

It was hard to force himself awake, but Leon did it. He wasn't sued to waking up with someone next to him and couldn't seem to quite remember how he'd ended up in the same bed as another person until he opened his eyes and saw D, sound asleep, next to him. Funny. Leon didn't feel the least bit panicked.

It was the second time he'd woken up next to D in bed and Leon was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, he could get used to it. D looked so peaceful when he slept, not that Leon had seen him sleeping all that often. The man had always seemed to keep all hours, always awake no matter when Leon stopped by.

'Time to stop fooling myself.' Leon smiled and put his head back down on the pillow. 'I'd do anything for him.'

Big brother! Leon's peaceful morning was disturbed when pajama clad Chris crept into the room and stood at Leon's side. Tet-chan said you were still here. I'm hungry. Did you find those people that killed Suki?

"Not yet." Leon pulled back the blanket and hauled himself out of bed. "Find me a shirt, kiddo. Then we'll worry about breakfast."

Without waking D, Leon managed to make Chris a reasonably decent breakfast, even though Tet-chan kept biting him and irritably growling. That was explained when Chris told Leon that it was Tet-chan's kitchen and he didn't like sharing with anyone, let alone the idiot big brother. Chris blushed. That's Tet-chan talking, not me.

"Yeah. Sure. Anyway. I have to get cracking." Leon checked his watch. "Half-past ten? Geeze! Wasted half the day. Man, I'll never get anything done at this rate." He then stopped himself from getting up and looked a little closer at Chris. Still in his pajamas with hair all messy from sleep, Chris looked more helpless than ever. "How'd you sleep last night?"

No nightmares. Chris said, bravely. It's getting better, I think. I'm glad the kids all got rescued. His face fell. Everyone but Suki. Those people are gone, right? The bad people?

Leon reached out and squeezed Chris' hand. "Give me some time and they will be. I won't let any other kid get hurt. I've gotta go see some people. You gonna be alright here?"

Yup. Tet-chan's here to take care of me and I'll play with Phillip.

"Good. Don't leave the petshop without D. I don't want you alone until I get things under control. When he wakes up, you tell D I'm going to the Hot Springs, he knows where I'm talking about. I just wanna check on those kids. Then I'm going to go back to Ayame's shop and check in with Jill. I'll be home before dinner, I think."

Later, Leon found himself at the Hot Springs facing an interesting scene. All the children were in the back gardens, as they were most every day Leon had gone to visit them for the past two weeks, but there were two others. That orange haired kid, Kyou, and delicate little Ritsu.

"Hey, how's it going?" Leon slapped a hand onto Ritsu's shoulder when he drew close enough. "How's the ankle holding out?"

Ritsu looked up from where he'd been sitting on a large rock, watching Kyou and the rescued children, and smiled brightly. "Oh! Orcot-san! My ankle's fine. You mustn't worry about me." He hadn't changed at all except for the fact that the bruise on his face was nearly gone and his limp didn't seem nearly so bad as it had been the last time Leon had seen the boy…ah…girl. "How are you? Welcome to the resort, mother will be pleased to see a new face." He looked around, then leaned a little closer to whisper, "Kazuma-dono says that because of the children, we aren't open, but I'm sure it's alright to have you here. Kazuma-dono has said that you'd visited before when we were all gone."

"Thanks." Leon looked around at the children again and saw that a great many of them were watching him. The younger ones were too involved with chasing the balls Kyou threw for them, but the older kids watched Leon either from the corners of their eyes or boldly staring. Two of them, Omi and Hikari, were children Leon knew for a fact had the black scorpion tattoos. "How's everyone doing?"

Ritsu hesitated. "Ah, well. Kazuma-dono says that he thinks they're doing well. Last night we all ate outside, Kazuma-dono says there just isn't room inside for everyone to eat together. We're waiting for Hatori-sensei - I think you met him at the airport - to come and see the children. One little girl…ah…Natsu. Yes, she said her name was Natsu. Her foot is very badly hurt and she can't walk. He's told us everything about the children. Isn't it awful?" Ritsu wrung her hands together and looked around. "Kazuma-dono is inside. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you. Please, go right in."

"You worry for them?" Kazuma asked with a gentle smile when Leon found him sitting in a large room with the television on. Everything about Kazuma seemed gentle and peaceful. In a way, he kind of reminded Leon of D, though D had an undercurrent of potential violence. No matter how sweetly D smiled, Leon knew that D was dangerous. He was more than dangerous. D was deadly. Kazuma didn't seem like that type at all. He was just too kind to really hurt anyone. "I'll do my best to take care of them. I wouldn't let any child get hurt."

Leon looked back at the yard full of children and thought that it didn't matter how much Kazuma wanted to protect the children. The fact was that it was nearly an impossible task for anyone, let alone one man.

"Hey." Leon raised a hand in greeting when Kazuma turned to face him. "Ritsu told me you were in here. How's it going?"

Kazuma didn't answer, but his face was grim. He nodded towards the television, indicating that Leon should take a look.

Curious, Leon came further into the room and sat next to Kazuma on the floor with his attention on the news reporter on the screen. She was a beautiful woman - the reporter - but looked like she was going to be ill. That was explained when Leon realized where the woman was and what she was talking about.

"We're reporting live with a horrific story so grisly that we advise a parental warning. Please, send your children from the room as the following images are highly graphic and disturbing. Just a short time ago and anonymous source alerted police of nefarious doings in this, it can only be called Hell Hole. The police force, however, remains silent on this issue. The same anonymous source who got to action from the police then called out news station, which is what brought us here. How the police could ignore such a nightmare is beyond this reporter's understanding."

The camera showed the open, sand filled arena Leon had seen at his visit to the Pit. There were no longer any bodies there, but the sand was still stained with blood.

"The smell is sickening and this is only a fraction of the carnage. Dead men, women, and one child were found in this one room, all of them apparently killed by violence. The child - a girl no more than twelve years old - was shot, as were many of the adults. However, at least one man had died from his head being crushed. It looked as if a heavy machine of some kind had crushed his skull. Many other people looked like they'd been torn apart by wild animals."

The news reporter looked faint, like she would vomit as soon as the camera turned off. Leon couldn't blame her. He wanted to throw up just thinking about it.

"From our short investigation it seems that these murders aren't the first nightmare to have occurred in this place. This building was used in a child slavery ring where children as young as four were bought and sold for the purpose of watching them fight and kill each other. Yes, that's right. Kill. They taught children to kill. Like a dog-fighting ring or cock-fighting, innocent children were used as entertainment. Our unnamed source, who remains anonymous for their own protection, tells us that the surviving forty-three children were rescued after all this and that they are in a safe location. For the safety of the children and their benefactors, their location will remain undisclosed. The families of the children will be sought out, but as they seem to have been the ones who sold the children, the likelihood of them stepping forward is not very promising."

The reporter began to walk and the camera followed her, out of the main pit and into one of the hallways Leon remembered walking down. It was like reliving a nightmare.

"There are many more rooms within this building and some are more monstrous than the one you've just seen. A communal bath and shower room is so filthy that there's no telling what kind of diseases the children who were forced to endure using it have contracted. Both boys and girls, many of them teenagers, used these showers and toilets together. There are confirmed cases of many of the children being raped by the same customers who paid to see them fight. In fact, it was discovered that the children themselves were encouraged or forced into sexual intercourse with each other." The reporter turned darker green when she said that. "It appears that this was used as a reward for the successful fights. Perhaps, worst of all, this place is found to be a training camp for the infamous Black Scorpions, a world-wide organization which uses children as assassins. If anyone has any information about this, we plead with you to step forward. If the police won't listen to you, then come to channel 8 news and tell us your story."

The report ended with that and Leon turned to face Kazuma. "Sorry you had to see that."

"My son was there."

"Kyou?"

"He stumbled across it. That's why he ran away, he told me. What he'd seen there had shocked him so badly…"

"Shit." Leon crossed his arms and looked out the window where he could see Kyou still throwing balls for the smaller children to chase. "Poor kid. He's lucky they didn't kill him. You know, there's still danger. We're working on getting the police to act on the information we have, but my partner thinks the police commissioner might be in on it, too. We've got the information we need, we just have to sort through it and get it into the right hands. If we can act fast enough, maybe we can shut them down for good. Have you found out what's happening with the children?"

"Not yet. I'll keep them, if I must."

"I'm just afraid those Black Scorpion people will try to get the kids back. If they've got friends in the police, then I'm not sure how we could stop them, legally."

Kazuma smiled, reassuringly. "I wouldn't worry about that, too much. They may have friends in high places, but those friends owe debts to the Souma family. We can get pretty much anything we want. Gods help them if they make Akito angry."

"That scrawny kid?" Leon thought back to the kid he'd tried to help. "He didn't look like such a badass to me."

"If Shigure were here to restrain him, Akito wouldn't want to hurt anyone. Now that Shigure's gone…" He paused and looked out the window at Kyou, laughing when the children ran to fetch the balls. "I'm not sure what Akito will do."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"I don't know."

Hong Kong-
Lung Po Sin -

The television glowed in the dark office, the voice of the reporter rang loudly in the silence. For two hours it had been the same thing on nearly ever major news network. The same story over and over, told by different reporters, but perhaps that was only to be expected. Once the story had been whispered to one journalist, they'd all gone for it like wolves at a carcass.

"Do you wish the stories to stop, sir?" She was a goddess. Tall and glorious with bronze skin and eyes like black pearls. Impassively, she stood at the left of the desk, also facing the large television. Her face betrayed no emotion, a mask of perfection.

"No." Lung tapped his fingers against the black surface of his desk and wished for a cigar. The doctors had told him to give them up or they'd be the death of him. "No, the public has gotten hold of it. If the news stations were suddenly silent, it would look all the more suspicious. I think our dear friend, Mr. Sakko, will have a sadly fatal accident, however. What was I paying the police commisioner for if not to avoid this sort of…unfortunate delay in profits?"

Indihar didn't reply, but Lung didn't really want a reply. Instead, he wanted to hear the reporter and focused in on the screen with growing displeasure.

"We're here in Tokyo, on third and fifth, in front of the old Tonka factory where a nightmarish story has been played out. In this area known for lawlessness, a massacre has taken place. Police received an anonymous phone call several hours ago and, when they came to investigate, dozens of mutilated bodies were found. Some people looked as if they'd been half eaten by some wild animal, others appear to have been beaten to death by blunt objects. No murder weapon has been found and no sign of the murderers. Police have informed us that this crime must have been committed by a group of people, most likely one of the many gangs in the area. Most horrifying of all, was the bodies of a young girl, about thirteen years old, found in the building. There is more to this story than just murder. It appears that people, children, were living here. They lived in squalor and filth."

The television was the only light in the room, making it stand out in stark contrast to the darkness. The television showed a woman with her hair done in a elegant style, standing before a large building that was taped off with police tape. She spoke into a microphone with a professional detachment.

The reporter's professional demeanor did nothing to improve Lung's foul mood. Two weeks and not a word from the Tokyo office. Two weeks and the newest boy hadn't shown up along with the others he'd been promised by Kuno-san. He'd been assured that Omi - the pride of the Tokyo branch - was ready for field work and he'd been looking forward to seeing him. Not only Omi, but the doll-like girl, Hikari, was supposed to be delivered, also. This sort of delay was simply inexcusable.

"Indihar."

"Yes, sir?" Indihar, the secretary, walked in with a pad of note paper in her hand and a pen poised to write whatever Lung needed of her.

"Any news from Tokyo?"

"Your men in the police department have only just gotten off the phone. It seems that the training facility has been compromised. There is no word of who is responsible, but when they went to investigate, the facility was abandoned. There were multiple deaths in the main training arena, mostly the guards and Koto-san himself. There was one subject, but the rest are missing."

That information was useless! He'd learned as much from the news report. "At least Koto is dead. One less loose end I'll have to deal with. The subjects? You said they're missing?"

"Gone. There are several possibilities about where they've gone. They might have rebelled and simply run away. Due to training guidelines, this is extremely unlikely. However, your men in the police department have taken all the surveillance tapes and are sending there. They should be here in the morning."

"Have the tapes viewed them?"

"No, sir. They apparently thought it best that you be the first to look at them."

"Good." Lung pressed his fingers together and turned his chair so he was looking over the horizon of Hong Kong. "When those tapes get into your hands, bring them to me immediately. I don't care if you have to bring them to my home and wake me up."

"Yes, sir."

"Did I give you permission to leave!" Lung thundered when Indihar turned to leave the office.

"No, sir." She stopped without any indication of being offended or frightened. She just turned back to look at him with those marvelously cold eyes.

"Gather all the information you can find, I want you hunting through the databases, call anyone you need to, but find out who has the subjects." Despite all her sterling qualities, Lung would like Indihar to be frightened of him, just once. "Find out why notified the news networks about this incident. There must be some clue. I want to know who is responsible."

"Yes, sir."

To be continued…

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