The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard."
Gaylord Nelson

Chapter 17

"How long have you been working for me Christoph?"

Christoph Grayson stood with his hands behind his back and his legs apart as he stared at his boss, Dmitri Baranovsky. Slender-faced and brown-haired, Dmitri was looking down at him from his seat at his throne. Why he had that custom made was a mystery to him. The throne was on top of a podium; it looked like it was made of gold.

Christoph just thought it looked uncomfortable. Noticing that he was still waiting for a response, Christoph dragged his green eyes upward and answered, "Almost three years sir."

Dmitri's lips curled slightly as he looked at him. "Yes that's right. And all the while you've done everything I asked of you. No word of complaint whatsoever." He gave him a lazy smirk. "I think it's time I let you in on what is really happening."

Christoph inclined his head and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean sir?"

Dmitri smiled and stood up before making his way to the door. "We're going on a trip."

Christoph had no choice but to follow after him. As he closed the door to the boss's study, he walked down the hall and down the large stairwell. Along the way, he gave nods of greeting to some of the men that lined the halls. They were there for guard duty, it seems they would be staying though.

As he made his way outside, he noticed his partner Chad leaning on the limo. As soon as he saw them both, a hateful smile curled his lips. "We're finally going to show him?" the question was directed at Dmitri. His boss merely gave Chad a firm nod before the latter opened the door for Dmitri to step inside.

Once Dmitri was inside, Chad turned to him and placed a hand on his back. Christoph wanted to rip that hand off his person but refrained. Just because he had to work with the guy didn't mean he had to like him. The guy was always doing drugs and steroids, just look at that muscled body, and the way he looked at the girls they caught…disgusting.

"You're going to love this!" Chad said, clapping him on the back. "When I first saw it, I was blown away."

Christoph's' stomach twisted. Whatever he was about to be shown couldn't have been good then, if Chad loved it. Christoph schooled his features to something that resembled interest and murmured, "I can't wait then."

Chad gave him a devilish grin that split his face, making his teeth gleam in the sunlight. Christoph tried not to shudder at the sight and climbed in after his boss as Chad closed the door and moved to the drivers seat.

In seconds they were moving and Christoph looked out the window. They had come back to Hope City two days ago, still two weeks away before their next target started school again. Christoph balled his fists and tried not to show his anger. He was almost done paying for his daughters' treatment; as soon as he was done he would go straight to the police. Even if it meant that he'd have to go to jail as well. What they were doing…it wasn't right.

Before that though…there was something he had to do before he went to the police. He'd recently discovered that a handful of girls were missing. When Chad and he had gone back to Towa City all those weeks ago, he'd gotten a list from one of the men there that had the list of all the girls that were sold, to who they were sold, and how much they had been bought for.

He'd read that list three times but no matter how much he re-checked, there were twelve girls who were unaccounted for. The chart said they hadn't been sold, but he didn't know where they were. When he asked about their whereabouts, the guy had just shrugged and said the boss had taken them. Just like he does every time a girl isn't sold at one of his auctions.

He asked two other men before he went to Chad to ask him. The bastard just gave him a secret smile and told him not to worry about it. He'd find out soon enough. Christoph wanted to snarl at him and demand answers but he'd already made himself stand out by asking all those questions so he had simply nodded and left.

Perhaps he'd find out now he thought. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice when they entered the forest. The whole place gave of a creepy aura, but Chad just kept whistling a random tune as if he was strolling through the park.

The forest seemed to never end, the tall silhouettes shadowing the ground. The sound of ravens circling overhead could be heard; their screeches could be mistaken for screams that seemed to echo throughout the forest. Christoph did not like this place at all. He looked out the window and could have sworn he saw beady eyes looking back at him, but then he'd blink and they were gone.

"Scared?" Chad taunted from the front. He was looking at him from the rear mirror, a glance to the side showed that Dmitri was looking at him with an amused smirk.

Christoph didn't let his cool mask falter as he answered. "No. Just curious to where this path will lead."

A low snort.

Christoph glared at him, but Chad just snorted again before he dragged his eyes back to the road. Dmitri leaned back on the cushion and crossed his leg over the other.

They sat in silence for minutes. The wind seemed to be howling, and Christoph braced himself for whatever he was about to see. He couldn't let his mask fall, couldn't let them see the deep loathing he felt for the two of them. So Christoph breathed in through his nose and let out it with a sigh.

"We're here," Chad announced as he cut the engine.

A second later, he opened the door for them and he let Dmitri get out first. When Christoph emerged from the car, he noticed that they had stopped in front of a huge mansion. Bigger than the one they usually stayed in. A glance to the back, and he noticed the gates surrounding the place.

The mansion itself was huge; it looked more like a palace than anything. The garden itself was absolutely stunning. A total difference from the forest they had to cross to get here. Animal figures made out of leaves could be seen around the fountain in the middle of the driveway. The mansion was gold and red and as all the three of them headed for the door, Christoph couldn't help but gap. The door was big enough that even giraffes could fit with ease.

Dmitri pulled out a large key that looked heavy from his coat and inserted it to the keyhole. The floors were polished concrete, the furniture looked like something from the Victorian era. Nice to look at, but not comfortable enough to sit and read a book on.

Dmitri led them down a long hall before they came to a door that was hidden by the stairs alcove. Once inside, they were led to another hall that at the end led to a long stairwell that they took to go down.

The whole time, Chad seemed to get more and more excited while Christoph was growing more and more weary. There was little light down here, only a few torches lined the walls as they descended the spiral stairwell.

When they finally reached the bottom, they were in a huge room that had a few doors. Dmitri led them to the biggest door in the middle and turned to him with his hand on the knob.

"What you're about to see, I've only showed to a few. Only those who I find truly trustworthy have been told about this." He narrowed his green eyes at him, "Do not disappoint me, Mr. Grayson." And with that, he opened the door and all three of them stepped inside.

Whatever thoughts he had before entering the room completely disappeared as he took in his surroundings. The whole place looked liked a coliseum, complete with rows for audience members to sit in as well as the giant podium in the middle of the arena. There were four small gates around the middle of the podium.

Chad whistled beside him. "Beautiful isn't it?"

"It took me a few years to get it built, but I think it came out pretty nicely," Dmitri said as he began to walk down the aisle to where there were other doors.

Christoph found his voice. "What do you use this place for?"

Dmitri and Chad shared a secret smile amongst themselves before they led him to one of the doors. As soon as they stepped inside, Christoph covered his mouth and nose with his hand and resisted the urge to vomit as they passed a few cells.

"What is that smell?" he asked.

"Its from them. One of the guys must have forgotten to clean up after them." Chad pointed at one of the cells and Christoph's' eyes widened.

Huddled together were a bunch of girls covered in grime and vomit. Christoph squinted his eyes before recognition hit him. These were the twelve girls whose whereabouts had been unknown; what were they doing here?

One of the girls there, a small blonde with curly hair sent him a pleading look. Christoph's gut twisted.

With barely retrained rage he said, "Why are they here?"

Chad snorted and grabbed a stick to poke one of the girls. The small girl moved away with a small cry and Chad just smiled in delight. "For the ritual of course."

"Ritual?" he asked, while taking the stick from Chad's hand and tossing it to the side.

"Yes, ritual." Dmitri Baranovsky said stepping in front of the girls to leer at them. "You see, when I was a young boy, my family and I, along with some of my fathers bodyguards got shipwrecked in an island. My parents didn't survive, but I did. So did most of the bodyguards surprisingly enough. We were on the verge of dying when a voice spoke to me." Dmitri closed his eyes and smiled at the memory. "It told me what to do. Where to find food, where to find shelter, how to survive. The others began to hear its voice too so we did everything it asked of us, but it demanded a price you see. It required human sacrifice."

Christoph's eyes widened and he stifled the gasp that was wanted to come out.

Chad clapped his hands in delight.

At the front, Dmitri continued with his story. "It didn't want just anyone though, it wanted girls. Young girls. The kind that were loved by all, the ones that soothed everyone by their mere presence. Naturally, we offered up the young girl who wanted to be a nurse that survived the shipwreck. She screamed and begged the whole way to spare her, but our god had spoken. It demanded a price, and we gladly offered her to him. However, she was the only one that fit the criteria and that's when our god spoke to us again. It told us that the one that could truly appease it was out there in the world, and if we could find her for it, it'd gladly keep us rich and healthy for all our lives."

These people were crazy. Human sacrifice? My god.

"And so it showed us the way off the island. We built a ship and sailed away; by the third day another ship found us and we were rescued. It took us to Hope City, and that's when I met her. I was having a bad day and I let myself be drenched in the rain. I was having trouble gaining my parents fortune and had stormed out when I didn't get my way. So I walked around for hours until it started raining and I just slid on the floor and leaned on it. That's when she appeared." Dmitri took a shuddering sigh. "While everyone passed by me without even a second glance, she didn't. She must have been six or seven years old, but she stopped in front of me and offered me food and her umbrella. She was completely drenched in seconds but she didn't seem to notice. That's when the voice in my head spoke again. It wanted her. She was the one it claimed. I was about ready to snatch the girl away when it told me to wait. Confused, I mumbled a small thank you to the girl before I watched her disappear. Once she was completely gone, it spoke and said that she was too young; give her a few more years to mature so it could gain more power from her. I agreed."

Dmitri opened his eyes and crouched down in front of the girls' cell. Some of the girls had started crying in the middle of his story. Not that Christoph could blame them; this man was crazy. He truly believed in all of this. A glance at Chad proved that he believed it too. The whole time Dmitri was telling his story; Chad got this dreamy look on his face.

Dmitri continued. "I looked everywhere for that girl but didn't find her until recently. Hope's Peak Academy gives out the names of all the students that are already attending or will be soon. As soon as I saw her picture, I instantly recognized her. Makoto Naegi was her name; and she was ready. Even the school had given her the title of Ultimate Hope, any doubt I had completely vanished when I saw her title."

Christoph frowned. "Why kidnap other girls then? If all you needed was Makoto Naegi, why did you have us bring in other girls?"

Dmitri shrugged. "Needed to make a living somehow. My men needed the practice too. For the girls that they took, most of them got sold and those who didn't…well they were given as a gift to my men to do whatever they pleased. All they had to do was get rid of the bodies without it leading back to us. And among the bunch that weren't sold, I selected the strongest of them and took them to the side. I did that for every bunch until I finally had twelve girls that were the most defiant."

Christoph licked his suddenly dry lips and swallowed the bile that wanted to come up. "Why twelve? I thought you just needed Makoto Naegi." He questioned.

"I left that island when I was thirteen you see, so I consider that my lucky number. Makoto Naegi will be the last and final piece. I will sacrifice these twelve girls along with Makoto Naegi, it's just a way to ensure that our god gets plenty of power."

Beside him, Chad wrung his hands together in excitement. "It's going to be a hell of a show! Those who pay the most will have the honor of killing one of the girls. Boss already promised me that I could choose one of the girls to my liking to kill." He clapped Christoph on the back. "If you're good, boss might let you off one of them too."

Christoph's thoughts were in an uproar. He had to go to the police sooner than expected. What these people were planning…it was madness. His little girl…he had to get her out of that hospital; take her somewhere safe. His parents as well, once they were all safe he could make his move.

Chad's eyes flashed. "You're excited right?"

Christoph made a show of considering then nodded and allowed a small smile to grace his features. He did his best to ignore the sudden wails of some of the girls in the cell. Chad kicked the cell twice and the girls quieted to small whimpers.

Chad and Dmitri gave him wicked grins and slapped him on the back. With their business finished, they made their way out. Dmitri halted him before they made it to the second door and gave him an assessing look. Christoph schooled his features to one of confusion.

"I hope you're all right with all of this. It'd be a shame if I had to get rid of you."

Christoph shook his head. "No, its all right sir. I'm okay with this, I was just surprised."

"Of course, its only natural. I'd hate to have to pay a visit to your little girl."

Christoph stopped in his tracks as a shudder went through his body. Dmitri continued talking. "She looks just like you, you know. That vibrant red hair is a beauty. I took the liberty of placing a few of my men outside her door. For her own protection of course."

That bastard. For a heartbeat, silence rippled through him. Followed by a wave of roaring rage that drowned out every other thought in his head. This was a threat. He had no choice but to play along. So he made himself bow slightly while he placed a fist on his heart. "You are far too kind sir. Thank you for everything, I look forward to the ceremony."

Dmitri looked at him in approval. "We will take Makoto Naegi three weeks after she returns to school. The cultural festival will take place then. It's open to anyone, which is a good opportunity for us. I'd like you to go as well; make sure nothing too bad happens to her. I want her as healthy as can be."

Christoph bowed again. "It would be my honor sir." He hesitated. "Sir, when you get her, what exactly are you going to do to her?"

Dmitri smiled so broadly Christoph could see his teeth before he shrugged his shoulders, "Why, I'm going to burn her at the stake."


When Hinata and the others came back from their trip into the city, something felt different. As the others took off their coats and hung them, Hinata kept glancing back and forth between Makoto and Byakuya who were at the kitchen making dinner apparently.

Makoto was stirring something in the pot with Byakuya peering over her shouldering muttering who knew what. Judging by Makoto's blushing face, it was probably something perverted. Hinata crossed his arms and tapped his chin. The others had taken seats around the dining table and Komaeda and Chiaki kept looking at him in concern.

Yukiko and Kazuma, Makoto's parents, kept asking their daughter if she was feeling better. All the while, Byakuya kept close to her side, one of his hands tracing idle circles on her back. Hinata's eyes narrowed. Was it just him or did Makoto look particularly shiny today?

Makoto looked at Byakuya and smiled, a blush adorning her face. Hinata then looked at Byakuya. The heir had a small smile on his face and he was…blushing?

Hinata's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh crap," he whispered in awe. Everyone turned to look at him in confusion, and Chiaki put her hand on his forehead.

"Are you okay Hinata? You seem a little off." That look of worry was seriously cute he thought.

Everyone was still looking at him so he cleared his throat and went up to Makoto before he started pulling her to the restroom down the hall. "Just need to talk with Makoto for a bit. Nothing to worry about."

Byakuya looked at him with narrowed eyes but he ignored him as he dragged his friend to the restroom and locked the door. Makoto was looking at him in concern.

"You guys had sex!" he blurted out. He internally winced, he didn't mean to blurt it out like that. He'd wanted to be a little more delicate.

Makoto snorted. "What?" she gave a little laugh and her eyes darted to the side. "What makes you say that?"

Hinata snorted and gestured to her face. "That! All of that just screams i-had-sex-with-my-boyfriend, please notice the suddenly shiny aura I'm giving off!"

Makoto made the mistake of blushing and Hinata screamed, "Ha! I frickin knew it!" his face suddenly turned to one of horror, "Oh my god! You guys probably had sex in the room I'm staying in!"

Makoto bit her lip and looked to the side. Hinata looked at her like it was the first he'd ever seen her. Suddenly, his head shot up and his eyes grew serious. "Did you guys use protection?"

Makoto swallowed. Well…they hadn't. At least not the first time. Before she could answer the door opened and in walked Komaeda, Chiaki and Byakuya.

As soon as Makoto's eyes met Byakuya's she pointed at Hinata, "He knows!"

Byakuya's eyes widened before they heard a small gasp from Chiaki. "Oh my…"

Komaeda's eyes widened before he took a step closer. Chiaki looked her over and turned her face both ways.

Komaeda looked at Byakuya for a long while before he hugged him and squealed. Yes squealed. Byakuya stiffened in shock. "You guys are spreading the seeds of hope! I see you're already in the process of making the next generation! Congratulations!"

Makoto wanted to sink into the floor as Hinata started roaring with laughter. Chiaki wiped a few tears from her eyes and congratulated them both.

Byakuya caught his girlfriends eye. "Get him off me or I'm going to hurt him," He warned. Komaeda let go of him in a flash.

"So?" Hinata said, an eyebrow raised in Makoto's direction, "Was he good?"

Makoto covered her face with her hands and Byakuya slapped Hinata upside the head.


All in all, their friends had taken it rather well. Komaeda kept prancing around the two of them, saying how much their love had grown as well as their hope. Hinata had demonstrated how to put a condom on a banana once they'd told him that they hadn't used protection the first time Makoto was never going to look at the fruit the same ever again

Thank god the grown-ups were already sleeping. They'd all crammed together in Byakuya's room, to his displeasure, as they tried to wring out more details from either of them. Whenever Makoto or Byakuya looked at each other, Chiaki would blush at the two of them. Its not like they were going to get down and dirty in front of them or something. She did whisper to Makoto that she wanted a few more details though.

Komaeda said that he was going to go to the store the next day and get them a present for the occasion. Makoto was pretty sure he was going to give them a hallmark card or something and practically begged him not to go through the trouble.

Hinata, it seems had developed a sixth sense or something. Whenever Byakuya gave Makoto a certain look, Hinata would turn to him in a flash and say, "My perv-senses are tingling! Quit it!"

Byakuya was tempted to strangle him but Makoto convinced him to let him live. Komaru had burst into the room around two a.m. and demanded they tell her what was so important that they had to talk about it at this hour.

Hinata had just smirked before he told her to take a good long look at Makoto. Confused, Komaru had done just that. After squinting for about a minute, Komaru's eyes widened as she squealed and wrapped her arms around her sister.

"I'm going to be an aunt!"

Makoto and Byakuya blanched.


That night, everyone minus the adults all slept in Byakuya's room. Hinata made sure to place himself between Makoto and Byakuya, to the latter's displeasure. Hinata claimed he didn't want them to do anything kinky in front of him. Komaeda, Chiaki, and Komaru had pulled in futons and had all placed themselves around the bed.

Once everyone else had drifted off, Makoto reached across Hinata and gave her boyfriends hand a squeeze. Byakuya gave her a squeeze back before his eyes found hers. Makoto giggled and blushed.

"Do I need to separate you two?" Hinata grumbled in between them.

Makoto and Byakuya promptly grabbed a pillow and threw it on his face.