Chapter 13

The world was a blur.

He could faintly hear voices until they eventually grew louder. "PEI… JuN… JUNPEI!"

Slowly, his eyes opened again. His body felt as if it were on fire still, he couldn't move. "Hey…" he said weakly. "What… what happened?"

The brothers were in tears. Junpei was startled as they all suddenly piled on top of him in attempt to do a family embrace…they nearly smothered him! "GET OFF!" Suiryu snapped at them as they were quick to remove themselves. Suiryu peered down. "Fuck, who did you piss off?!" he demanded.

"I… I don't even remember what happened."

"No shit you wouldn't. You got shanked! Someone stabbed you in the gut with a poisoned knife. Problem was, this poison wasn't curse poison, it has no effect on you… it was Divine. It explains why you have been out for a few weeks."

"A few weeks?!" Junpei demanded as he tried to sound shock, but his voice refused to allow it to go any higher.

"Divine?" asked Choso. "Who of the divine would want Junpei dead?!"

"Taka-chan's handlers." Junpei whispered weakly. "I've been getting confronted by them, last ones… actually tried to warn me. The ones… Gah!" he moaned as he tried to remember what happened. But their words began to slither into his head once more. "They said, they would make my death look as natural as possible… I think the stabbing was to stage a robbery…"

"Fucking bastards…" Suiryu muttered.

"Is little brother going to be okay?" Eso asked.

"I think so, from what I can tell, the poison has already been countered somehow… huh…" Suiryu got uncomfortably close to Junpei's chest. His finger ran over a small, and yet tender area on the left side over his heart. He hissed in pain as Suiryu touched the wound. "Someone acted before me…"

Junpei peered about oddly. "Where… am I?" he asked.

"We couldn't move you, of all the places we kept you it's the modeling studio I go to often. D'angelo has rooms set up in this place for such an emergency. We couldn't let anyone take you to the hospital." He explained. "None of the brothers have left here by the way. They refused to leave until you woke up…"

A knock was heard, and then he entered. "Sorry darlings, the media is about ready for you… I still can't believe… who would do something like this?" D'angelo asked aloud.

Junpei however paused. 'Why would someone like D'angelo not take him to the hospital or appear all that worried?' he thought oddly enough.

Suiryu shook his head. "We got an idea, however we have to make the attackers feel as if they won. Let's do this press conference to confirm that Kechizu was attacked, but…" he paused for a moment.

"But what?" D'angelo asked.

"I wonder if we are doing the right thing at the moment. Would they be anticipating a press conference? Or would they think we would keep quiet about it…"

"Why would you?" D'angelo questioned. "Besides, they know something is going on, why keep this quite for a few weeks?"

Junpei then saw this look on his face, one that mimic Yuuji's 'I messed up' look. "We… just did a concert… it may startle the fans that I was attacked so suddenly at the venue…" Junpei said weakly.

Suiryu sighed with relief that he covered for him. D'angelo however sighed aloud. "At the moment you should be looking at this as an attack on you. We shouldn't hide this, if the jerks who did attack you anticipated on you not saying anything, then they have won. If it is reported, then they have to watch their step. You have fans everywhere, remember? They will watch out for you."

Suiryu paused to consider the notion, but then nodded. "Let's go make them sweat… and feel that their hell is just starting!" Suiryu announced.

#

The media was out in full. Sitting at a table, with a very stone cold look was Suiryu and all around him were the Death Paintings. He kept a pair of sunglasses on, a hoodie over his head and yet, that look on his face. Every reporter shuttered at the sight of him. D'angelo handled most of the talking as he explained what happened. "We want to officially report that Kechizu was attacked a few weeks ago after the concert. We have no other information at this time, the wound was deep as he was stabbed in the stomach. However, we were unaware that the weapon used as in fact tainted."

Whispers began to echo through the conference. "Tainted? You mean, poisoned?"

"Who would go through the trouble?"

"Why on earth go that far?"

"Our brother… is in a critical state at the moment." Said Eso. "Not only that, but the cowards did this just after a show. He was going to get us something to eat… and…" he paused as he began to break down. He was clenching his own stomach. In fact, the Death Paintings all were as if they felt the pain of their brother.

"Ryomen, do you have anything to say?" one reporter asked.

His head turned oddly, slowly he reached for the hood of his sweater and brushed it off, then, he reached for the sunglasses and removed them, yet his eyes kept closed oddly enough. "I will only be saying this once." He said in a low, gravelly tone. Yet the moment his eyes opened, the room froze from his glare. "Whoever did this, better have started running after the incident. I don't care who you are, who you think you are, or even if you have done shit like this before. Pray… pray the police find you… before me."

Not a soul moved, not even the Death Paintings said a word. He stood up from his chair and announced. "This conference is over." And stormed off shortly after.