Chapter 7: Giriko vs. Justin and Arachne

"So where exactly are we going?" Rael asked while he struggled to keep up with Giriko as they hurried through the forest. His legs were quite a bit shorter than his taller brother's. "Slow down," he panted as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Ugh, how can you stand this climate?"

"You just get used to it."

"Oh yeah, forgot you've been here the whole time I was in prison. Gonna ask you again though, where are we going?"

"Baba Yaga Castle, or what's left of it," was the curt reply.

"Guess that's as good a place as any," Rael said with a nod.

They walked in silence for quite a while. The air was humid and oppressive, and if that wasn't enough to keep them from wanting to speak, they were still angry at one another. What was there to say to someone you hated so much?

Eventually, Rael naturally, was the one to break the stalemate. He'd never been comfortable with silence. It was just one of his little idiosyncrasies. He had to talk or be listening to someone else. He generally preferred to do the talking though.

Putting a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun, he cleared his throat. "So… uh… what have you been up to all this time?"

Giriko glanced over at him with a smirk on his face. "Couldn't take the silence anymore?" He chuckled as he continued. "Not much. Been moving around from place to place and…"

Rael cut him off. "Wait a second. How did you escape? I was at the same battle but I got caught by Death's troops. What gives?"

Giriko's face became twisted into an angry scowl but it quickly resolved itself into a neutral expression as he shrugged. "Strategic retreat. That damn priest got scared and made a break for it. I saw that things weren't exactly going our way so I got out while the going was good."

Kess saw the flicker of anger cross his brother's face. It was clear there were some hard feelings between Giriko and this priest. He had to chuckle as the chainsaw tried to downplay everything. It was obvious to Rael that his brother was lying about the priest running away. Perhaps someone had actually been able to defeat Giriko or at least fight a battle that ended in a draw. If so, this man was one amazing fighter!

"So who is this 'damn priest?"

"A death scythe. Think his name's Justin or something like that." Giriko shrugged casually.

"Wait a minute. You mean Justin Law? The boy who was the youngest to ever become a death scythe and doesn't even need a meister? Never takes his headphones out? That Justin?"

"Sounds like him. How do you know him?"

"He's the one that captured me and turned me over to Lord Death." Rael was blushing bright red. How could Giriko escape the same man who had defeated the card-blade wielding Kess? It wasn't fair!

Giriko burst out laughing with delight. "That kid beat you? He's just a blue-eyed baby! Ha ha! Little Rael got his ass kicked by a boy in a dress!"

Ace rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "He got the jump on me, caught me off guard, and then he turned out to be a lot tougher than he looks. You can't tell me that the first time you fought him you didn't underestimate him."

"Not enough to lose to him."

"Alright alright. So I lost to him, but I'm certainly not the first one. He wouldn't be a death scythe if he wasn't pretty damn kick ass!" Rael cleared his throat and did his best to will the pink in his cheeks to disappear. "Enough about me anyway. Let's go back to my original question. What have you been doing since you managed to oh so cleverly evade Death's army?"

"Not much. Moving around from place to place."

"How do you survive? You got a job?"

"Sometimes I win at cards or that sort of thing."

"Gamblin's not exactly a career. Besides you ain't that good of a card player. You have to do something else," Rael said chuckling softly.

"Well if you'd shut up and let me finish a thought for a change I might tell you." Giriko's face was tense. He was still angry with his brother and Rael was continuing to push his buttons. Would this kid ever learn when to shut up?

"Oh sorry. Go ahead."

"People are willing to pay for power like mine. If the pay's good enough then I help them out."

"You mean you're just a gun for hire, well a chainsaw for hire." Rael said with a smile. "You just rent yourself out to anybody who'll pay you?"

"I guess you could say that," Giriko said with a little shrug.

Ace nodded. "Guess that suits you." Rael paused and took a moment to look Giriko up and down. Then he locked eyes with his brother. "Don't you ever get lonely? You seem like you're on your own out here."

"Of course not. What the hell would I want someone following me around and getting in my way for? It'd be kind of like being out here with you. Some annoying idiot talking all the time and asking me stupid questions. Besides, haven't you figured out by now that people hurt you and use you? You can't trust anybody. Even that old hag, Arachne, that I… we…" Giriko paused and confusion and frustration showed in his brown eyes.

Rael wasn't sure whether to laugh or to feel sorry for him. It was comical, or at least satisfying to watch a man who was so obnoxious and full of himself looking so pathetic. On the other hand though, it was how pathetic he looked that made Rael feel a bit sorry for him. It was always hard to feel like a fool in front of someone else. Besides, Giriko's pride and strong will, though infuriating at times, was just part of what made him… well, Giriko.

Kess sighed, not really wanting to be nice to this man who had hurt him all his life, and yet feeling compelled to say something, he said quietly, "Don't worry. I know what you mean. Sometimes it's hard to know how much of you is really you. All these memories and junk from so many ancestors along the way. It's crazy! I get it." He smiled weakly. "Well never mind all that. What about Arachne?"

"Waited 800 years for to show herself and lead the fight to overthrow that shinigami son-of-a-bitch. Then when the battle finally starts I'm going head to head with that priest. Things are going just fine until there's this big explosion nearby. He says that they're just firing indiscriminately…"

"That's a big word for you."

"Shut up! Anyway, the point is they don't care where I am. I'm not important. He says that I'm expendable! Can you believe it?! I waited all that time for that witch bitch and she'd just leave me to die! What the hell!" Giriko turned his back and Rael could see from his hunched posture that though he wasn't crying he was still really upset. Wow! Even when they were kids, Rael didn't remember ever seeing his brother get so shook up about something. Then again, he thought, this was something quite serious. This was what Giriko's whole life had been about. Arachne's return had been the purpose for his existence. To be brushed aside with no thought at all must have been crushing! It sure as well was when… oh never mind, he thought to himself. The point was that his brother must be hurting.

"Giriko, I… I…" Rael struggled to find the words. He was still so angry and yet seeing the demon chainsaw so pathetic touched something in him. "I'm sorry," he said at last. "I can't believe she did that to you."

"I don't need your pity!" Giriko spat as he spun around to face Rael. "What the hell do I care about her anyway? She sold me out. Well then she can rot in hell for all I care!"

"That's probably where she went," Rael agreed quietly. "But look, relax Giriko. Don't blow a gasket. It's over, right? You gotta try to let it go. Get yourself a new goal, somethin' else to focus on."

"Oh you mean like sawing you into a million little pieces when we get to the ruins?" The ugly blood-thirsty look in his eyes and the toothy sneer had returned to his face and Giriko looked every bit the part of a demon weapon, or perhaps just a demon.

Rael groaned and shook his head. His brother really was determined to kill him. Fine, if that was the way he wanted it. The gray-eyed young man could feel his own anger returning. He'd been stupid to feel sorry for Giriko in the first place. The older weapon certainly didn't need his pity or his help. All he wanted to do was kill and at that particular moment there was a part of Rael that wanted the same thing! Someone was going to die that day. It was just a question of who.