I hold no claim to the characters from this kick-ass Anime. Only Ryu, Liza, and Reiko are mine!

Chapter Eleven

Castle of Hell, Part One

"How are you doing?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"I'm just fine. I'm more worried about the man that's riddled with holes."

"Coming from the woman that's riddled with holes herself."

Jin gave a smile at the woman beside him. Liza had returned at dawn the next morning, covered in blood and wounds, her naginata nowhere to be seen. She hadn't said a word about what had happened and so neither he nor Reiko had asked about it.

The three of them hadn't met up with the others again. Instead, when Reiko told Jin that she and Liza were headed towards what was left of Norika Castle, he joined them. He found that traveling with the two women was a lot more enjoyable that with all six of them together. Liza's flirts had come to a complete stop and Jin found out that she was quite knowledgeable in a lot of things that he normally would not expect to find in a woman's interests.

A big change had happened in Reiko, too. She had been carrying herself differently around Jin, though she still hadn't opened herself completely like he wanted her to. It was still a step in a better direction than how she first treated him. It seemed that the more he and Liza got along, the more Reiko liked him.

Though he enjoyed it just being the three of them, Jin could not deny that he missed the…rowdiness that happened when they were together with the others. They had been together for nearly a year now; it was like parting with good friends, even though he and Mugen still planned on trying to kill one another. There was no wat that that was ever going to change, in his opinion; unless Liza and Reiko were the ones that were going to do so. He was sure that they were the only two that could.

"I heal pretty fast so there's no need to fear. Besides, we're not here because of recent wounds."

Jin close his eyes. "Yes, instead we are here for old one, correct?"

Liza gave him a grin. "Think of it…as a kind of closure. After we get done with this…escapade with the Christian Dad that Smells like Sunflowers, Reiko and I will probably try to leave Japan, start somewhere new, if we can make it out. Coming here a final time is like…trying to bury the past, you know?"

Jin blinked. "Despite the fact that every port will be on the look out for you, you plan on trying to get on a ship after what happened last time?"

Liza gave a small giggle. "Well, it's either keep running here or take our chances to start somewhere new, somewhere free. Wouldn't you like that too? After all, Self-defense is still considered murder." The venomous tone to her voice made Jin frown. Her voice then turned cheery again. "Besides, I know that Reiko would like you to come along, even if she doesn't say so. So would I. You give off that reliable, big brother feel to me, you know? Ryu, too."

Jin couldn't help but give a soft smile. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should." Reiko's voice made the duo turn. They had been sitting just on he outskirts of the city, waiting while the other woman had headed into the city to scout. Jin had offered to do it but Reiko insisted that he was still healing; that and he wouldn't know the layout of the city like she did.

"How does it look?" Liza asked, jumping to her feet.

"No one noticed or said a word, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful," Reiko told her. "We should do what we came for and then get the hell out as fast as possible."

"I agree." Jin nodded.

"What about the castle?" Liza demanded.

Jin looked confused but Reiko knew what she was asking.

"They never rebuilt it."

The blonde woman grinned. "Good."

~I will keep quiet

You won't even know I'm here

You won't suspect and thing

You won't see me in the mirror~

"I don't like this."

"What's not to like?"

"It just doesn't seem right. We know the truth about what happened. Doing this…it's just…it's just wrong."

"Ahh, don't give me your honor crap again, Daichi. They're criminals."

"According to the Shogunate."

"And it's the Shogunate that hired us, is it not?"

"No, it was Kariya Kagetoki that hired us."

"Same thing."

"No, it's really not. That old bastard has been retired for years. For him to come out-"

"You also forget the reason. That one woman, the older one, Reiko, she was able to slip past him ten years ago when he tried to stop them."

"They didn't just slip by; the woman demolished him. It's unknown how, especially when you consider who she was up against. What I do know is that Kagetoki's pride was gravely injured, and not just because she was a murderer; because she was a child that had no training. She nearly killed him. She was on a set mission to get the hell out of this city before they were caught. I'm shocked that she saved the child. If it had been me, I would have left that English one to burn with the rest of the castle."

Daichi gave a sigh and closed his eyes. "She was scared for her life. Survival instincts kicked in and luck was on her side. After what happened, she deserved it."

"You're an assassin, Daichi. You can't show sympathy for those you've been hired to kill."

Daichi fell silent with those words. His partner was right. It was not the assassin way to show sympathy. He was hired to do one thing and that was to kill. What should it matter to him who it was? Business was business.

But as he crouched there among the trees, watching the event before him, he couldn't help but double-think everything.

Daichi and his partner had been hired merely days ago to intercept the Terror Sisters at the remains of Norika Castle and to do all that they could to kill them. The moment the two women had entered the City, they had known. They had not expected the man to be with them, but he didn't seem like he was going to be a problem, considering the wounds that he held. In fact, the English woman seemed to be wounded as well.

Perhaps this was going to be easier than he thought.

Liza and Reiko stared at the area before them. Jin stood close behind them, taking in the grounds. What once had been a large, magnificent castle to a man named Akio Nobusani was now nothing but an area of soil. Ten years later and not even grass had regrown itself where the castle once stood. It was as though the land was cursed.

"Just give us a minute, will you?" Liza told Jin. "This won't be long."

"What about wanting him to piss on the graves?" Reiko teased. Jin blushed as Liza laughed.

"Jin's a gentleman so I won't ask him to do that for me."

Jin watched the two women walk forward onto the deserted grounds. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore everything as he remembered what he had heard in the city earlier. There had been many opinions on what had happened all those years ago.

"Norika was burnt to the ground over ten years ago; said it was done by one of Lord Nobusani's concubines and a maid. They're called the Terror Sisters now, I hear. Still causing havoc for the Shogunate."

"I hope those women are caught and pay for their crimes. Lord Nobusani was such a kind lord. I honestly can't think of any reason why someone would want to hurt him."

"In my opinion, that old bastard got what was coming to him. He thought that he could get his way just because he was a Lord, forcing women to lie with him; if you refused then you were either tortured until you complied or were killed. Of course, most will deny it; he did everything in secret and behind closed doors. I don't know what's worse, him for what he did or the ones that allowed and helped him do it. His death wasn't near painful enough."

Everyone had their own opinions, most kind, but there were a few that made him think otherwise. He knew nothing about this Nobusani and so he could not make judgement. What he could make judgement on, though, was the two women before him.

"Why are you praying?" Liza's voice made Reiko open her eyes. The woman stood beside her, grinning at the ground.

The moment she had stepped onto the soiled grounds, it was like she was right back in the castle all those years ago. She remembered the halls, the feel of the cold floor. The smell of the kitchen. The incense.

"I'm praying for those that died that should not have." Reiko answered. "Not everyone that perished in the fire deserved it."

"Bullshit," Liza replied, glaring at the ground now. "They all deserved what they got. They might not…they might not have done it themselves, but every last one of those bastards knew what was going on. They all deserved to burn. I just hope the fires in Hell are hotter than the ones in the castle were."

Reiko stayed silent, letting Liza have her words. Instead she began to focus on what she remembered from that night.

Then again, it wasn't like she could forget it.

The heavy smoke from the fire clouded her eyes and lungs. The warm, thick blood from every bastard that got in her way. The hard, cold handle of the katana she had taken from the guard. The small hand that clung to her kimono, hanging on for dear life as little legs tried to keep up in the halls as they ran. The fear that she felt. The adrenaline that pumped through her veins. The thought that this little child was counting on her to get them both out of this horrid place alive.

Castle Norika had been the Castle of Hell long before the fires had been set.

Reiko stood there in silence for a few more moments before backing away, leaving Liza laone as she rejoined Jin.

The man wasted no time.

"We're being watched."

She tried to keep her body loose. "I am aware."

"At least two from the trees, as far as I can tell."

"Again, I know."

"You knew this would happen," Liza commented.

"Yes, we just didn't plan on Liza being wounded and without a weapon." She glanced at him. "The same goes for yourself." She closed her eyes. "Liza's arm still hasn't healed completely so she won't even be able to use your blade." She opened them again. "I want you to take her and get out of here, so I can deal with them without a distraction. If there are more than two, we'll find out."

Jin didn't like that plan. To leave Reiko alone to deal with this…he'd rather receive more wounds by staying with her to help. "Perhaps they won't attack."

She gave a snort. "You know better than I do that that is not ever the case." Sadly enough, that was true. "Just…get her to safety; please."

Jin closed his eyes and, against her better judgement, nodded. "I'll keep her safe."

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