Fai woke an hour later. Kurogane was still out, so he decided to go and look for him. It was his fault that the ninja was stuck down here. He picked up the mirror and stared into its face.
…Even if he was the one who followed me to the sea.
He put the weapon back down and swam out to the market, asking random passerby if they'd seen him. A young mermaid pointed into the messier part of the shopping area, saying that she had seen him not five minutes ago. He thanked her and set off.
He found Kurogane fighting an old woman. Neither of the fighters had noticed him yet, he was hiding behind a large boulder by a door on the side of the street; peeking over the top to get a view of the scuffle. He knew not to get in the way just yet.
The woman cackled, sending a chill down Fai's spine. She quickly backed away from Kurogane, turning and looking to where Fai was hiding.
"Well! It looks like I won't need you after all! He's here right now!" She said triumphantly, and then Fai understood.
What?... It's Ashura! This woman is the Queen!
Fai flitted into the door next to him, looking for a place to hide. Ashura and Kurogane smashed through the doorway, each trying to beat the other in and get to Fai.
"Come to me, Human!"
"Get the hell out of here, you idiot!"
Ashura shot into room after room, dodging attacks from Kurogane. All of the rooms she had passed were empty of life, and all too soon, there was only one small room left.
The architect of the building clearly had never been the brightest star under the sea. He or she had designed it to have wooden floorboards towards the back, where the last room was. Or maybe they had planned it to become what it was; free of protective spells and currently rotting away.
Fai had chosen the room at random without knowing what was inside; so he was surprised when he found a huge hole in the floor. He slipped in and found himself in a cavern.
Ashura and Kurogane were equally confused at the hole, and they struggled to beat the other in. Ashura threw an unfair punch at Kurogane's stomach, winding him for a second. She shot in, mad with rage.
"Show yourself now!" She shrieked.
Fai leapt out of his hiding place when she began to advance in his direction, slashing his hand out at her. Five lines of blood blossomed across her shoulders and neck. The wounds were deep enough to cause her to cease the hunt and howl in pain.
Fai drew his claws back, preparing for another attack. Kurogane yelled out.
"Not now! You have to wait!" He glared into Fai's golden eye until the man retracted his claws.
Ashura floated in place, bent forward and silently gasping. Fai nodded and swam past her to Kurogane.
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"God damn it!" Kurogane roared from within the safety of the borrowed home. Fai glared over at him.
"It's not my fault." He shot at him, a glare on his usually happy face. The ninja slammed a fist against the wall.
"You shouldn't have gone there!"
Fai's eye began to glow golden angrily and he looked away, prepared to ignore the man.
"The battle is only a few hours away, and you decide to just go out alone, when you know how vital you are to their plans?" He stopped to glower at the man.
"And you revealed to that bitch your vampire abilities!"
Fai growled, rising from where he had been sitting.
"What other choice did I have?" He yelled back.
"Your magic! How about that?"
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Subaru and Kamui waited outside Maecenas's house, neither wanting to go in. They could hear the humans shouting.
"We should stop them before they kill each other." Kamui muttered. Subaru nodded.
They opened the front door, interrupting and ending the argument. Kamui sighed.
"We can't let silly little quarrels go on like this. Not right before a battle."
"Follow us back to the cave." Subaru said. "Bring your weapons."
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An hour later, the humans were standing alongside a group of people dressed to blend in during the ceremony. Kurogane simmered down quickly and was now eager for a fight. He was at the front, his sword was gleaming; he had left its sheath back home. Fai was in the middle of the group, still a little angry, wearing a disguise. His staff was strapped to his back, and the mirror was attached to a belt around his waist.
En masse, the group left the cave and headed out to an ancient theatre.
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The theatre was cut into an underwater mountainside, and held room for hundreds of spectators. It was a little more than halfway full. The rebels split up and sat in three different locations: near the front row, the middle, and the outer edges. Fai and Kurogane were placed near the front. A merman sat next to them.
"They'll show a play or two, and some other stuff, before Ashura shows. We'll be here awhile." He explained. Kurogane nodded.
"I hope it's not too long. I wouldn't want to get bored."
The man laughed.
"That's the spirit!"
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Ashura grinned as the first act began. An actor cried out in false anguish, but to her it sounded real. The Queen was currently high up above the rest of the audience.
The way it should be.
In the privacy of her private viewing box, she was pouring over scrolls and tomes, searching.
"…The greatest weaknesses to one of such stature, is loss of control." She muttered to herself, already knowing a spell.
"This is too easy."
She sat back, turning her attention to the stage, where actors were performing in masks.
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The first performance finished, and a break was allowed before the start of the next act.
Fai rose to swim off and stretch his tail; he was stiff from sitting for so long. Kurogane was lightly dozing.
As the blond began to turn around, after stretching his back, Kurogane grabbed his arm.
"Stay here. The bitch is around here somewhere, and it would be stupid for you too leave." He stopped to stretch a little himself, and Fai smirked.
"Are you saying I can't take care of myself?"
"No." But the last time you ran off alone, you almost died. The ninja thought to himself. Fai sighed, flopping back into his seat.
"The break is almost over anyway." Fai glanced over to the merman as he swam back to his seat next to them.
He had never seen him before.
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The second play was proving to be very romantic and over practiced. Kurogane snorted.
It was so stupid he couldn't not watch it.
An actor cried, rushing into the arms of another actress.
"My love!" He whispered dramatically for the crowd to hear. "I cannot stay with you; for I am nothing but a monster!"
The actress boldly drew him closer. "It does not matter, darling! We'll make it work! I can become like you! I am not afraid."
Her lover shoved her away sadly, and she raced back to him.
Fai's eye twitched.
This was entertainment?
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As the spy had said, the target was near the front. Now, all she had to do was set the spell, and let the filthy rebels handle the rest.
AN: Sorry about the shortness of this chapter! I had it right where I wanted it though, so I'm just going to post this…I didn't want to reveal too much at once!
If you caught the Twilight rant/joke…you win! I'm not really good with writing humor, but I thought I'd give it a shot! Hope it wasn't too distracting from the story!
Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed!