The streets were busy with foot traffic as they all looked for someone who had seen Konoka or Fate. Most of the shop keepers Setsuna spoke to hadn't seen anyone that fit the description of either fate or Konoka. Kotaro was getting slowly more and more pissed as each shop he went also had nothing. Kaede was standing at the center of town with Chizuru trying to feel out Tsukuyomi's chi. Setsuna was about to give up when she decided to go into one more shop before joining Kaede and Chizuru. The sign over the doorway into the shop read 'Kikyo's Gifts'. Setsuna sighed as she walked in.

The shelves were lined with all sorts of the odds and ends type of gifts. She made her way to the counter and stood in the short line waiting. The shop owner finally spoke as Setsuna approached the counter. "Is there anything specific you are looking for miss?" Setsuna spoke quietly, "I was wondering if you might have seen someone. One of them would look to be no older than twelve. He has bright white hair. He would have someone with him. She is my age with long brown hair. Have you seen either of them?"

The shop keeper smiled and replied, "I have seen a few who would fit that last description, but I have only ever met one individual who fits the description of the white haired boy you spoke about. He stopped here a few hours ago. He bought one of the few cosplay outfits I carry. It was a costume for a girl so I guess it was not for him but he did not have anyone with him. I guess he could have left her outside but I'm not sure. Does that help miss?"

Setsuna smiled and thanked her. "It does a little bit. At least I know he hasn't left town altogether. Thank you for your help." Setsuna left the shop to go tell everyone else what little the shop keeper had told her. She made her way to the meeting place and saw Chizuru sitting next to Kotaro on a bench and saw Kaede sitting on the ground. Setsuna smiled as she walked up and then said, "I got a bit of information form a shopkeeper. Fate is still in town. He stopped by that shop a few hours ago. Chances are he's still in town and most likely waiting for us. Did anyone else find anything?"

Kotaro was resting his head in Chizuru's lap, his eyes shut. He spoke without bothering to open them. "I found absolutely nothing. No one I spoke to has ever heard of a kid who looks like that. Sorry I didn't find anything Setsuna." Kaede spoke next her voice a touch quieter than normal. "Tsukuyomi is masking her chi signature. I can ballpark where she is within a few hundred feet but I would have to be closer to pinpoint her. I say we go with what we have and track down Fate. I do have one question though. Setsuna, when we do find Fate what is it you wish to accomplish? You cannot defeat someone that much more powerful than you."

Setsuna nodded, "I know I can't beat Fate. I don't plan on that. I do hope to create enough of a distraction to steal Konoka out from under Fate's nose. It's gonna be risky but we'll have to fight Fate. I'll fight him while you and Kotaro distract Tsukuyomi. Chizuru, I hate to involve you in all of this but you're going to have to be the one who steals Konoka back. You'll have to wait until I signal you to do so though. Fate is sure to be expecting something like this. Fate could care less about his partner, so capturing Tsukuyomi in hopes of trading her for Konoka would be useless. There's only one real plan that will work and if that fails we'll have to retreat and think of something else. If that happens I'll probably try to do something irrational, please prevent me from doing so. Is everybody clear on what we're doing as far as the plan goes?"

Everyone quickly agreed. They knew what was at stake here. Getting Konoka back was something that had to be accomplished. Kotaro stretched and got up. "This is gonna be a hard fight considering we know we can't possibly win let alone hold our own. Fate is inhuman in terms of pure power. He knows spells that are unbelievably powerful and I think he has yet to actually get serious in a fight. We have to try though. We can't give up on this just because he's so powerful. Negi wouldn't want us to do that if he were here. We have to fight with everything we've got. Let's get going."

Setsuna smiled at Kotaro's words. They brought her a bit of hope in this seemingly hopeless situation. He was right though, the fight would be impossible. She knew that trying to beat him was an impossible dream. Still, her plan had to work and for it to work she would have to fight Fate. Despair filled her mind for a moment as she contemplated the fight. Her mind flickered with images of herself being killed by one of Fate's many spells. Even in her own mind she couldn't win against him. Her thoughts were broken as Kaede put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We'll get your loved one back safely. Don't worry." Kaede said with a smile.

Setsuna was cheered up a bit by this as they headed to where Kaede said was a likely position for Fate's location. The hike brought them ever closer to an unavoidable fight and a confrontation none of them were prepared for. Everyone felt like they were walking right into Fate's trap and they could almost feel it closing in around them. A glint of steel and a blur was all that gave them warning as Kotaro was almost cut in half. A timely shundo was all that saved his life. "Hello Sempai. So nice to see your lovely face. I do hope we can continue where our fight last left off. I'm not holding back either. Fate doesn't want you to get any closer than you already have. So, you will be turned away here and now if you value the life of your lover." Said the voice of Tsukuyomi as the dust from her attack cleared. She was smiling.

Fate was wondering if sending Tsukuyomi out to face Setsuna and her friends was a good plan of attack. He usually never doubted a plan he himself had made but this one rankled him slightly. He knew that Setsuna was more than powerful enough to take Tsukuyomi by herself but he was planning for not what was, but what was going to be. He knew that Setsuna would have her friends fight Tsukuyomi while she herself came after him. He took a small bit of pleasure in knowing it was an easy win. "Your foolish lover has created a plan that will fail. Setsuna will fail once more in trying to get you back and I want you to see the look of anguish on her face as she fails again." Fate said to Konoka who was tied to a post on the deck outside of the small house. Fate was waiting.

Tsukuyomi was attacking them with relentless fervor. Kaede and Setsuna were being forced into a tactical corner. Kotaro joined the fight, kicking Tsukuyomi in the side. Kaede was throwing Kunai at Tsukuyomi, trying to keep her from regaining her composure. Kaede yelled at Setsuna as she blocked one of Tsukuyomi's attacks, "Go! Konoka is not that far from here, I can feel it. We can hold Tsukuyomi off long enough." A grunt left Kaede as Tsukuyomi kicked her. Setsuna was concerned but she knew that this was her only chance to get away from the fight.

She ran, taking Chizuru with her. She could feel the sense of dread that filled her as she got closer To Fate's hideout. Setsuna and Chizuru ran as fast as they could. The hideout was a good distance from where Tsukuyomi had attacked. As they ran up to the small house, the first thing Setsuna noticed was Konoka tied to a post. She yelled out to Konoka, her voice filled with a wide range of different emotions. "Konoka! I'm here to take you back!" Konoka smiled but her smile quickly disappeared. Fate was standing behind Setsuna. "I see you managed to find a way here. Too bad this visit will be so short, I rather find your intrusions interesting." Fate spoke, almost directly into Setsuna's ear. His tone turned her blood to ice.

Her eyes went wide as she heard Fate speak. There had been no sign of him and yet here he was directly behind her. Her body reacted instantly. She pulled her sword and in the same movement turned and swung it at Fate. It connected with him but where he was hit turned to water. His apparition smiled and said, "Well done, you reacted like I knew you would. Look behind you, Shinmei girl." Setsuna turned and fate was there in front of her, sitting in a chair on the porch of the house and he was smiling.

"Face me like a man Fate! None of your stupid tricks and spells, come face me like you mean it!" Setsuna yelled at him. She was through wanting to put up with his tricks. She wanted to kill Fate for taking Konoka away. Her mind had completely forgotten the fact that Fate could easily beat her. She charged Fate and was instantly thrown by a spell he had not spoken. He smiled at her and spoke with a tone bordering on liquid evil. "You desire death if you seriously wish me to fight you like I mean it. For your sake, I hope you are prepared to lose this fight and know when to walk away. If you don't walk away I will kill you."

Setsuna knew Fate was not lying. She also knew that she had a plan. Fate suddenly used a shukuchi to close the distance between them far faster than a shundo could. The heel of his hand barely missed Setsuna's ribs as she did a backward shundo. She swung her blade and put chi behind it to generate a slicing wall of chi. Fate simply sidestepped the blow and dashed at Setsuna. A kick went out, aimed at her ribs. Setsuna barely managed to catch the kick with the flat of her sword. Her mind could barely keep up with Fate's movements. She could only anticipate the next move. She figured that Fate could figure out her next ten moves and any variations she could possibly put into them. Tactical fighting here would be her undoing. Setsuna was being forced to think outside of her training.

Fate kept pressing the attack and was trying to wear Setsuna down. He personally was finding this fight to be rather dull and uninteresting. She was so far beneath him that it was no effort to stay ahead of her movements. Setsuna used a shundo to get behind him and did something unusual. Instead of swinging her sword at him, she crouched and used a kick to try and sweep his feet out from under him. Fate managed to realize what she was doing fast enough to avoid being taken off balance. He smiled, realizing he was making her try to win.

He stepped backward a bit with a shukuchi and then said, "Well done. You've started thinking outside of your little Shinmei box. Now then, time to end this pointless fight. You will not be getting Konoka back today, no matter how hard you try. Your little friend was easy enough to capture, so that little plan is gone." Setsuna was surprised he had time to cast a containment spell in the midst of their fight and that he had done so without any indication he had done so. She listened as Fate continued, "I'll be ending this fight now. You'll survive this attack but if you choose to keep fighting afterward I will kill you."

With that Fate raised his hands up and a spell started to form in his hands. Setsuna felt a pang of sorrow roll through her as she knew she had lost this fight. Fate simply appeared in front of her and hit her with a simple attack. "Pao Quan!" He said as his fist connected with her stomach. The attack was so fast she had barely seen it coming.

(Author's note: Does Setsuna keep fighting Fate or does she walk away leaving behind the one she loves most? Next chapter coming soon. Read and enjoy.)

Shinobi of the Onyx Sands