Darkness; impenetrable and concealing surrounded the tall figure perching on the roof of the Shibuya Psychic Research building. The figure had a purpose for being there, and oh what a grand purpose it was. The figure, who was distinctly male, identified himself as Kanon- an alias of course, and a flimsily chosen one at that, but it was enough to make him at least appear human.
Kanon had been spying- no stalking his prey for hours- studying their behaviors and habits with a trained eye. He had only saw two of them for a long while, however. The third had not returned to the research building until rather late, after the rest of the people in the building had already fallen asleep.
This had not been an inconvenience to Kanon, for he had learned much about the two men that he had spent several hours watching. Not that knowing his prey would come in handy for this particular killing. In fact, the three men- including the man who had not long since gotten to the research building, were simply technicalities in Kanon's master objective.
His true prey was not present at the research building. His current residence was at the hospital; where he had been taken to recover from his injuries after being in an 'accidental' car crash. His name was Lin- Lin Koujo to be precise. The name caused a vile taste in Kanon's mouth, and he grimaced in irritation.
He wanted the world to be rid of the likes of Lin Koujo. As much as he detested all of the cowardly individuals in the class of spiritualist that Lin identified himself as part of, the injured Onmyodo himself was Kanon's primary target.
Kanon had for years wanted nothing more than to utterly destroy Lin. However, he had never known what was most important to the Onmyouji, who's adeptness in being stoic make him rather difficult to read. But now, Kanon knew that Lin did not have a single most important thing to him, because in reality, what Lin cared about the most was a collection of people, not simply a single mortal.
This truth made Kanon's job all the more fun; he had more time to draw out Lin's torture. He had the utterly irresistible opportunity to prolong Lin's suffering more than he had ever hoped to have the power to do. He could slowly, methodically, harm or even kill everyone that the Onmyouji had ever interacted with. By doing so, he could quite literally break the black-haired man's mind.
And then, after he had his fill of emotionally and physically torturing Lin to the point of collapse from a mental breakdown, Kanon would strike the final blow. He would mercifully end the life of Koujo Lin.
Kanon's mouth turned upwards at the corners. His lips opened into a wide, sadistic looking grin, accentuated by rows of snow white fangs. Kanon laughed dementedly. He could hardly wait to carry out his grand plan.
He reveled in the fact that Lin would know complete despair soon enough.. But for now, he had to start with the three men in Shibuya Psychic Research. They were siblings of Lin's; the three that had been left alone when they're only sister had been kidnapped.
The kidnapping had been Kanon's doing- the first step forward in his plan. He had realized in past observations of Lin that he seemed to have a close relationship with his sister. He had hoped that the act would send Lin into a spiral of depression- maybe even one severe enough for Lin to attempt to take his own life.
No such luck. The damned Onmyouji had not taken his own life, and had not spiraled out of control. Though he seemed to very much be worried for his sister's safety, he had retained his sanity throughout the ordeal.
No matter; Kanon had many, many more tricks up his sleeve, and he was excited to use his entire reservoir of tools whose purpose was to thoroughly torture Lin in as many ways possible.
But for now, Kanon had to remain entirely focused on the task at hand; he could cause grief about his sister's disappearance as much as he wanted later. It was Lin's brother's time to shine, and Kanon wondered how they would do.
Ready to move, Kanon used the power of intangibility- one of the many tools of his trade, to phase through the roof of SPR. He landed in a low crouch inside the darkened reception room- as expected, not a single light was on in the vicinity.
The absence of light did not affect the dark-haired infiltrator's ability to see. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect. Kanon's eyes were equally adept at seeing in either light or dark conditions. The darkness simply shrouded him from the eyes of the mortals whose sight was limited to only having full visibility in a well-lit area.
It was just another way that Kanon surpassed the humans who he had come to kill. He could end their lives easily, before they even realized he was there. And by time they did, it would be far too late for them to save themselves.
Scanning the area, Kanon smiled wickedly. The coast could not have been more clear- his intended victims could have at least attempted to make his infiltration more exciting. But no matter. Plenty of excitement would be in store for Kanon after his plan succeeded.
Taking care to walk silently, Kanon walked towards Lin's office where his brother's had set up futons to sleep during their stay at SPR. He quickly phased his entire body through the wall, landing inside the room. He became solid again- remaining immaterial would drain his energy rapidly he paired it with any other energy draining attacks.
It was dark inside the office as well. The sounds of relaxed breathing could be heard from the center of the room, where Kanon's three targets slept. His first task was to buy himself some time. There was no way in hell that the commotion that attacking three men while they slept would not wake up everyone else in the vicinity. Kanon needed a diversion. This diversion came in the form of a basic time manipulation spell. The spell was not powerful enough to stop time in its entirety, however it was able to slow it down where minutes crept along.
Though terribly basic, the technique would drain Kanon's energy drastically in a short amount of time. He had mere minutes before the spell would become too much and he would have to allow time to return to its normal pattern. Kanon closed his eyes briefly, focusing on the area around him. Seconds later, the illusion was cast over SPR's vicinity.
Kanon felt slightly lethargic, but that meager detail couldn't be allowed to slow him down. He had too much to do, and very little time. Glancing around the office again, Kanon randomly chose his first prey; Draidyan, the oldest of the children of the Lin family.
Draidyan slept on a futon directly in front of Lin's desk. He laid on his stomach, with a blanket covering his lower torso, leaving his bare, except for various tattoos, upper back exposed. His glasses laid on Lin's desk.
Kanon couldn't help but notice how utterly vulnerable the oldest brother looked. His task would likely be over before he had time to thoroughly enjoy it.
Thinking carefully about what his method of disposing of Draidyan would be, Kanon decided on giving the thirty year old one of the most painful deaths that he knew how. He would have to enjoy Draidyan's death- he would likely not have as much time to dispose of the other two brothers once Draidyan had been finished off.
If such a thing were to happen where Kanon would not be able to kill Lukida and Nazuke in a glamorous way like he had intended for Draidyan, he would be forced to kill them in other, less supernatural related ways.
The black haired infiltrator had a black pouch strapped to his side. The pouch contained several needles filled with drugs and poisons that could be injected into a victim's bloodstream. He also had a small knife concealed in the pouch. It would do serious damage if wielded by the correct person. He didn't expect to have to resort to those means, but he always came prepared.
Those two methods were agreeably less engaging than using his powerful mental and physical torture methods on the three unsuspecting brothers, however Kanon's primary objective was getting the job done, not worrying how to accomplish his task. In reality, it didn't matter how the job was done, as long as it was indeed done.
Grinning sadistically, Kanon closed his eyes, which were the color of the purest ice, and focused on his hand. He clinched his fist together twice, willing his extremity to heat up. After a few seconds of fierce concentration, it did, and bright orange fire welled up inside Kanon hand. The intense heat was in stark contrast to Kanon's chilly white-blue eyes.
To ensure that the sudden brightness did not awaken his targets, Kanon focused on the fire in his hand again, willing it to dim. The bright light all but vanished, and Kanon smiled in satisfaction.
The infiltrator silently approached Draidyan, who still slept on his futon. Upon closer inspection, Kanon realized that the oldest of the brothers did not look at ease at all. In fact, he appeared as though he had not relaxed after falling asleep. His lean muscles were tense; he looked like a cobra ready to uncoil and strike.
Kanon was far from afraid of Draidyan, however. He was not afraid of any member of the team of researchers in SPR. None of them knew what he was, or what his purpose for being here. He was, in all sense of the word, a ghost. Or maybe if you preferred, a demonic spirit.
The technicalities didn't matter just then. All would be explained in one way or another later. What did matter then was Draidyan. Determinedly, Kanon took the last few steps towards the sleeping thirty year old. Kneeling down to his target's level, Kanon focused on the fire in his hand again, willing it to become excruciatingly hot.
It caused minor discomfort in Kanon's fist, even after years at becoming adept in the art of element manipulation. He could only imagine how the heat would feel against Draidyan's exposed back. He hoped it burned like the hottest pits of hell and would make Draidyan wish that the Devil himself would save him from his agony.
Shivering in anticipation, Kanon was about to set to work on his first task, before he remembered that when Draidyan cried out in pain, as with the extent of the injury to be inflicted on him, he most definitely would, which would cause him to unintentionally alert his two sleeping brothers.
Rolling his eyes in frustration, Kanon focused his attention on Nazuke and Lukida. Using one of the tools in his reservoir of mental abilities, he used a spell that would put the brothers into a dream state until his task was complete. Neither would be able to awaken unless Kanon specified that they were allowed to.
Satisfied, Kanon reached towards Draidyan with the hand that held the fire. He placed his hand against the oldest brother's cold, exposed flesh. A sizzling sound ensued as Kanon traced something into the raw flesh of Draidyan's back.
Seconds later, a strangled scream initiated in the office, and if it had not been so loud, Kanon would have smiled in pride at the pitch of the noise his fire elicited. Instead of smiling, Kanon remembered the other researchers sleeping in the vicinity. They would storm the room soon enough- Kanon was in a rush against time to finish off the other two victims.
Leaving Draidyan writhing in agony on the futon, Kanon made his way over to Lukida, who was still sleeping on his back. He too was shirtless, and Kanon smiled; they were making his job far too easy to be thoroughly enjoyed.
Only slightly discontent at having having to switch to less engaging means, Kanon extended the long fingernails protruding from his right hand.
Poising the tip of one sharp nail at one side of Lukida's ribcage, Kanon began cutting the man's flesh into the shape of words that would not be tangible enough to read until the blood was washed away. But then and only then, a small hint of Kanon's objectives would be revealed.
Lukida, under the influence of the dream state, did not awaken even after the wound began pooling blood rapidly. His eyelids twitched but did not open. At that point, the dream state was probably a mercy as he did not have to feel any pain from the newly inflicted wound.
That dissatisfied Kanon more, however he did not allow his spirit to be dampened. He still had one more target to handle, and he could hear groggy footsteps as people got out of bed all around SPR's base. Kanon merely had minutes- maybe even just seconds to finish off Nazuke.
He was about to get to work when an agonized voice stopped him cold in his tracks.
"Don't touch Nazuke. You hurt Lukida. You hurt me. I'm assuming that you're the one who caused Koujo to be in that wreck. Hell, you're probably even the bastard who took Lifen. Leave Nazuke out of this,"
Kanon turned around slowly- methodically, and met the cold silver eyes of the oldest Lin brother. His face was sweating exceedingly, most likely due to fever from the wound. He could barely hold his head up, and his complexion had a sickly pale pallor to it. Even with all of those factors in play, Draidyan still looked fierce, like a wounded cobra hellbent on striking. Despite the gruesome injury on his back, the thirty year old still possessed the strength to fight the time manipulation spell, as his voice was not slowed when he spoke. He was truly a strong being.
Kanon couldn't help but feel the slightest amount of respect for the man. He knew, without a doubt, that the burn had to hurt worse than anything else that Draidyan had ever experienced in his life. Regular cooking burns could be exceptionally painful. With burns inflicted via supernatural means, you could safely amplify that pain by one thousand to reach a close estimate of how much Draidyan's burn had to be affecting him.
Even so, he did not seem in the least bit worried about himself. Rather, he was worried about what torture would be inflicted on his youngest brother. It took strength to manage such a feat- it seemed that Draidyan had no deficit of that trait.
Kanon offered a slight grin in Draidyan's direction. Chills shot painfully up the injured man's spine, but he managed to avoid flinching. He met his adversary's eyes coldly, portraying ever ounce of strength in his body in that one look.
Kanon shook his head. Draidyan was in far too bad shape to do anything to protect Nazuke- yet he insisted on trying anyway. Kanon thought he knew the word to that action. It was... devotion.
A useless human emotion if you asked him, but one very strongly felt all the same. Kanon could not feel the emotion himself, however he could observe the mortals who did feel it.
Draidyan obviously wanted nothing more than to protect Nazuke, even at the cost of his own life, which with the grave wound across his back, might be hanging in the balance anyway. Realizing this, Kanon smirked coldly.
"I wonder how much pain you're in at this very moment- I'm well aware of the heat of my inferno. In fact, after being subjected to a burn like that, its extraordinary that you're still conscious,"
Draidyan sweat dripped. It was true that he was in excruciating pain- so much pain that his vision was going blurry. But despite his pain and veiled fear, his words came out strong.
"Its because of sheer force of will that I haven't passed out. I won't pretend that I can't feel the burn. Honestly, I can feel it radiating throughout my entire body. Though I have something strong then my body's reaction to pain. I have the desire to protect someone that I love dearly. I failed at protecting two of my brothers, and my sister. I sure as hell won't fail at protecting Nazuke,"
Kanon was tiring of Draidyan idiotic sense of heroics- couldn't he see that this fight had been over before it had begun? Kanon had always been the predetermined winner, and the Lin family the loser. There was no way out of the cycle except for to let it continue until Koujo Lin was dead, or mentally unstable enough where he was a shell of himself who was just begging for his pain to end.
"Do you really think that you can do anything to protect your brother?" Kanon began condescendingly, not waiting for Draidyan to answer. "You're hyped up on adrenaline, not your own stupid sense of bravery. Once that adrenaline flees your system, you'll die, or at the very least lose consciousness. You won't know until much later what tortures that I inflicted on your dearest baby brother,"
Draidyan's face paled What could he do to protect Nazuke? In his condition, the answer was blatantly clear.
"I know you're right- there's not much that I can do, but-" Draidyan began, but stopped as a frantic look appeared over Kanon's face. The black haired infiltrator's energy was getting low, and the slow time spell was already weakening. He had only minutes left to accomplish his task, and he had another choice to make; whether or not to remove the dream illusion from Lukida and Nazuke. The potent spell drained extreme amounts of his energy, and paired with the time manipulation spell, could cause Kanon to uncontrollably collapse from exhaustion.
On the other hand, removing the spell would cost him valuable seconds that he would need to escape. But if he didn't remove at least one, if not both of the active spells, he'd most certainly not leave SPR. Despite the possible time repercussions of removing the spell, the choice was an obvious one.
Kanon raised his hand, clenching it into a fist and focused on the two unconscious men under his illusion. He brought the fist downwards, and felt a snap in his mind as the illusion was broken. Feeling motr lethargic then earlier, Kanon turned towards Nazuke, who had been released from the dream spell. The youngest Lin brother's sapphire blue eyes were open, and he met Kanon's icy gaze.
Realization dawned on the twenty-two year old, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Who the fu-" Nazuke began to ask, but a glare stopped the profanity before it could roll of of his tongue. Kanon was starIing at the sapphire eyed man with a dark eyebrow raised and ice blue eyes calculating.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from using that kind of language in my presence, if you value the life of your precious younger sister. She asked me about you, if you weren't aware." Kanon managed to threaten and taunt Nazuke at the same time.
Nazuke flinched reflexively, and the curse died on his lips. He was in the presence of the man who had taken his sister. The thought made his blood boil, yet he could not bring himself to stand up from the floor.
It took Nazuke a few seconds to realize what the unknown force that held him to the floor truly was. The truth made him bite his tongue in rage. He was afraid- afraid to get up and fight for the fear of being killed. He was a coward, and he knew that Kanon could sense it. Maybe he could even detect it in his mannerisms.
The thought made Nazuke sick to his stomach. When exactly had he lost the courage he had possessed during his younger years? He was only twenty-two- did one's sense of courage and confidence in themselves begin to deplete with age?
No. Nazuke knew that couldn't be the case- Draidyan, Lukida, and Koujo were all solid years older then him, and al three had immeasurable amounts of courage. So the sudden deficit of courage had to be the product of the impossible odds precariously stacked against him. Subconsciously, he had sensed Kanon's power, and his sense of self preservation had kicked in, coercing Nazuke not to initiate further conflict with Kanon.
Being afraid was a natural reaction in his circumstance. It had nothing to do with his courage, or seeming lack thereof. The thought brought him little comfort, but it gave him an explanation to ease his mind.
Nazuke met Kanon's eyes again. His adversary smiled slightly. Nazuke fought back the grimace that wanted to form on his face. Instead, his face remained perfectly stoic, even though his reflexes were on high alert. The expression on Kanon's face was far from friendly.. it was calculating.
"You turned into a tame dog rather quickly. Makes my job quite a lot more simple. If you've already been beaten into submission without even knowing what I've done to your brothers, then I might not even have to make an example of you," Kanon said, turning his head to look behind him at Draidyan, who had since closed his eyes.
Nazuke didn't think before he jumped up from the floor with every intention to run to his brother. Draidyan heard the frantic footsteps and his eyes popped open. But it was too late for his warning to reach his brothers ears.
"Nazuke don't!" the burned man yelled, but it was to no avail. He watched in silent terror as Kanon grabbed Nazuke mid-stride. The twenty-two year old was put into a tight headlock. Kanon held him in that position for a few seconds, effectively subduing him before turning his hand immaterial.
Without hesitation, Kanon rammed his hand through his victims midsection, allowing his hand to solidify inside of Nazuke's body. Nazuke shuddered as his eyes widened. Blood shot from the youngest Lin brother's mouth onto the hardwood floor, and his sapphire blue eyes rolled into the back of his head.
Kanon extracted his hand from Nazuke's body, allowing the man to slide to the floor. Nazuke Lin was still.
Lukida, who had been awoken by the commotion, yelled in anguish while clutching his own stomach where Kanon's claws had sliced into him.
Draidyan's head dropped back onto his futon. He no longer had the strength to fight. He hadn't been able to protect them. How had he failed so miserably at the task that he had put on himself?
Mercifully he didn't have much time to ponder that question before Kanon himself fell to his knees on the floor. The infiltrator had exhausted too much energy to continue using the time manipulation spell. He had to escape before the rest of the researchers bombarded the office. There was no doubt that though unable to move, they had heard the altercation and were on their way .
The thought was seconded by a loud crash. The door to Lin's office had been thrown open, and Naru stood in the entryway, dark hair disheveled and clothing rumpled.
"What the hell?" he asked, catching sight of Nazuke lying on the ground surrounded by a puddle of blood. His eyes then fell on Kanon, who instantly shot up from the floor. He ran towards the window at the far corner of the room. He proceeded to forcefully slam his shoulder through the glass, and fling himself out.
Once outside of the confines of the office, dark black wings shot out from Kanon's shoulders. Barely able to keep himself afloat, Kanon flew as far away from Shibuya Psychic Research as he could. Not longer after, the last of his energy drained.
He fell from the sky and landed in a bush about two miles from his escape point. The fall did not harm him. Even if it had, he was not conscious to realize it.
Kanon slept.
Inside SPR, chaos had broken loose. People were everywhere, trying to determine what exactly had happened. Ayako was hovering over Nazuke, trying to assess the damage done to the youth's internal organs. Her expression was grim and she shook her head sadly.
"Its bad. I'm not going to lie to you. I can't do anything for him- I'm not sure if fully trained doctors can save him," the red haired woman admitted, stepping away from the gruesome sight before her.
Nobody knew what to say for several seconds, until Draidyan's agonized voice rang through the area.
"Help me up- I might be able to heal some of the damage done to him," the oldest Lin brother said, meeting monk and Naru's gazes.
Ayako huffed in irritation.
"Are you by chance a doctor?"
Draidyan chuckled weakly.
"No. Far from it in fact. But I do have the power to heal injuries. How much I can heal them depends on my energy level, which honestly, is not very high right now. But I'm fairly confident that I can heal him the point that doctors can save him,"
Shocked, Ayako simply gestured towards Monk and Naru. Mai, who had been standing in the doorway clinging to Masako in her shock, came to life.
"Can I do anything to help?" she asked, cinnamon brown eyes filled with concern. Ayako smiled comfortingly.
"Yes. Go to the restroom and get all of the towels and washclothes available. We've got to staunch some of Nazuke and Lukida's flow of blood,"
Without hesitation Mai ran out of the room, leaving Masako to trail dejectedly behind her. After that, Naru and Monk set about the difficult task of helping six foot nine and a half Draidyan get up from the floor. Yasu stood behind them grimly, prepared to offer aid if needed.
After a few inches of raising to his full height, Draidyan gasped in utter agony, no longer able to breathe. The pain in his back was excruciating. The older man's head swam mercilessly, and he genuinely felt like he was going to lose consciousness.
Monk and Naru allowed him several seconds to catch his breath. Even after he could breathe better, his head still felt clouded by pain and fever. He made no effort to move forward, as connection from his brain to his limbs seemed to have been cut off.
It took verbal and physical urging from his two supporters to make him make him stand up straight and move his feet forward. Those few steps to Nazuke were the most painful moments of his life- never before had he felt the agony of being burned quite so brutally.
When he finally reached Nazuke, Draidyan was slowly guided to the floor next to his near dead brother. Nazuke's face was paler then usual, and his breathing was deathly shallow. The grievous wound on his stomach was still steadily flowing blood. Draidyan almost didn't know where to start. Nazuke had fallen apart, and his oldest brother didn't know how to put him back together again.
It enraged him how the man called Kanon could do so much damage to someone so young, and not feel the slightest amount of remorse. What had they done to him?
Draidyan had a feeling that the answer was much more complicated then he could grasp at that moment- plus, Nazuke's breathing was becoming ragged. He needed healing fast. Realizing that he didn't have much time if he was going to save his younger brother's life, Draidyan set to work healing him, for the moment forgetting all of his pent up rage towards Kanon's seemingly uncalled for actions. There would be plenty of time to exact revenge later, he silently hoped.
Several miles away from SPR, Kanon laid in the grass inches away from the bush where he had crashed landed. He had awoken moments later and gotten himself out of the spike filled foliage, only to collapse again on the softer ground. He barely had the energy to lift his head up, and certainly wouldn't be able to walk, let alone fly. He needed rest, but he refused to succumb to the need.
He refused to see the visions- dreams, whatever they were, that would haunt him if he slept. Dreams that he didn't understand- nightmares so much like the ones that he caused Lin to experience that he almost felt bad for using his power. He truly didn't want to admit the reason that the dreams bothered him so much.
The nightmares bothered him for several reasons- the most prominent one being that they spoke to a side of Kanon that he was not aware that he possessed. A side of him with human emotions, one that knew what he was doing to Lin and his family was utterly wrong. Most of the time when he was awake, Kanon had no problem blocking out those thoughts. They retaliated by catching him in his sleep, where he was powerless to defend against them.
But the more that he attempted to stay awake, the weaker his body got. He could only go so long without sleep before it started adversely affecting him. If he didn't sleep soon, it would take him days to regain his energy. Kanon didn't have days to waste. He was already incredibly impatient about the situation. If any more of a wait was imposed on his plans, he'd have to do something drastic to compensate.
Realizing that his impatience was slowly driving him insane, Kanon attempted to lift himself up from the ground. He had to do something other then remain laying there. His body protested violently, and Kanon fell back onto the grass, panting with effort. He was quite literally grounded.
It was in that annoying moment that the winged being 'spirit' realized that he had no choice left except for to sleep to regain his lost energy. Sighing in defeat, Kanon closed his eyes. He was asleep within minutes.
Kanon's sleep was far from restful. For some reason, it was plagued by images of what he'd done to Lin's family. He could see all of the blood, and the looks of agony on the three brother's faces as they were all injured one by one. It raised emotions in him that he didn't know how to cope with- sadness, regret, grief, but most notably, shame.
He was ashamed of what he'd done. Kanon had never been ashamed of anything before, but somehow, he knew the name to what he was feeling. It didn't matter how he knew, it only mattered that he was feeling this emotion, and it wouldn't leave him alone.
Why did he feel shame for what he'd done only in his dreams, when in his waking hours he felt to remorse of guilt for his actions? Was it because when he was sleeping that was the only time that he was not conscious enough to lie to himself?
Kanon was stuck in this never ending cycle; he had no way to answer the questions on his mind, but could not wake up so that they would stop haunting him. It was an endless, frustrating paradox that he wanted to get out of.
But alas, the only thing that would grant him reprieve would be sleeping until he could see the light again. For now, he was destined to walk the path of self discovery and pain.
In the waking realm, about an hour and half had passed since Kanon's attack of Shibuya Psychic Research. The three injured brothers had been loaded into ambulances and taken to the hospital. Nazuke was very loosely stable according to the EMT who had loaded him into the ambulance.
He hadn't question how the injury hadn't killed Nazuke, and Draidyan hadn't given him an answer to his silent question. It was a silent agreement between the two men not to question things that could not be explained.
Naru was walking towards Lin's room, and grim but determined expression on his face. He had to deliver the news to Lin that his brothers had all been brutally injured. It was not a task that the young researcher wished was on him, but he was well aware that he was the one that Lin would want to hear the news from.
Reaching Lin's room, Naru knocked briefly before pushing the door open. Lin was laying on the bed, his head turned to the right. His eyes were closed, the black fringe normally situated over his blind right eye flipped messily backwards.
Upon hearing the heavy door close, Lin's eyes popped open. The expression on his face was cold as he stared at the teenager standing in front of him. Realization dawned on him, and his expression warmed slightly, but his eyes still remained heavily guarded.
"Noll, what are you doing here at this hour?" he asked, staring out the blinds of his room to the darkened early morning sky.
Naru sighed heavily before rubbing his temple- something that he did subconsciously when nervous. Lin quirked a curious eyebrow in response. Naru decided against any sort of sugar coating of what he had to say to his bodyguard- he knew Lin well enough to realize that Lin wouldn't appreciate the effort.
"Lin, SPR was attacked. Draidyan, Lukida, and Nazuke were all injured," the teenager announced carefully. Lin's expression instantly changed to one of complete shock, then to utter rage.
"What the hell do you mean SPR was attacked?"
Naru shook his head warily.
"I mean just that. Someone broke into SPR and attacked while we were all sleeping. From what I saw in the moment before the attacker fled, he had black hair. It was dark in your office, so I wasn't able to see as much as I would have liked. He crashed through the window before we could capture him- I'm assuming he could survive the fall,"
Lin closed his eyes as he began shaking uncontrollably. He couldn't take this- he couldn't take this much pain. Seeing everyone he loved get hurt was too much for his already overworked brain. The Onmyouji laughed, though it came out as more of a moan. Naru stared at his bodyguard in shock, but said nothing.
"They were attacked too? In my office, while I was here, unable to help defend them at all. Its the same damn thing that happened when Lifen was taken. I was here, not there, where I should have been. I could have protected her, just like I could have protected them," Lin's eyes popped open and he grabbed the television remote on his bedside table. He proceeded to throw at at the far wall. It shattered on contact, and the broken shards fell to the ground like the pieces of Lin's sanity.
"I could have protected them!" he yelled, anguish written across his face. "If only I had been there. Why wasn't I there?" he asked, but Naru realized that Lin was asking a rhetorical question and was not really expecting an answer. It was beside the point that he did not have one to give.
Lin relaxed back on the bed. After a moment, he stared at Naru, who had not spoken or moved an inch during his outburst.
"Will they be alright?" the question came out more gently then Naru had ever heard his normally stoic bodyguard speak.
Naru didn't want to give the honest answer, though was well aware that Lin would see through the cracks in his facade if he attempted to lie.
"Draidyan and Lukida are in recovery- their injuries were severe but not near as severe as Nazuke's were. Nazuke's internal organs were damaged by the attacker. Somehow he phased his hand through Nazuke's stomach, then solidified it inside of him. The doctors say that he's stable for now, thanks to Draidyan's healing ability. However, if he does not get an organ transplant to replace the damaged organs within a few days...he won't make it,"
Lin's face paled instantly. He tried to speak, but no sound came out. He felt like he was being strangled. Difficulty breathing was an understatement. Lin realized that he wasn't being strangled- he was drowning. He was continuously being dragged under the water and he could no longer keep his head above the icy current.
Sensing Lin's supreme shock, Naru walked to his bodyguard and stood next to him. Not sure of what else to do, he placed a cautious hand on Lin's shoulder. The twenty seven year old turned to meet his charge's gaze. His eyes hardened slightly, and his body stiffened.
"Noll, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to be left alone for the time being," he stated bluntly.
Naru removed his hand from Lin's shoulder, nodded, and left the room. Once he was gone, Lin relaxed as much as possible, trying not to think about anything. He didn't even realize that he'd fallen asleep.
Lin stood in a place surrounded by white lights that that continuously rotated up in the air. He didn't recognize the place, and was positive that he'd never been there before. In reality, the place was gorgeous and a had a very... peaceful and soothing atmosphere. As if it were a place to rest, and be free.
No sound could be heard throughout the area, however Lin got the impression that he wasn't alone. Going on instinct, he turned to his left and saw a familiar figure. Naru- but what was he doing here?
Naru turned and met Lin's gaze. A rare smile formed on the researcher's face. Lin realized that something wasn't right about the scenario- Naru never smiled like that. However...
"Gene?" Lin asked uncertainly, his gaze flickering over the frame of the man standing in front of him- he noticed the slight height difference after a few seconds of observation. Despite Gene being the older of the Davis twins, he had always been a few inches shorter than Oliver's six foot height.
Gene's smiled turned into a grin, and he nodded. "Lin, its great to see you. Circumstances aside, you look like you're doing well,"
Lin smiled slightly in response. "As good as I can, I suppose. I assume you're already aware of the events that have happened of late?"
"I am. I'm sorry about what's been going on with your family- the only advice I can offer you is to keep being strong. You're in great trouble, but you can win," Gene replied earnestly.
Lin stared at the spirit of his dead friend for a moment. "You know what my enemy is, don't you?"
"I do, but so do you. You don't need me to tell you, because I think you already know. Think back to when you were younger- something happened that you only told me about, because you thought I'd understand what happened. I didn't, and gave you some horribly faulty advice," Gene sighed despondently. "I'm sorry that I don't have time to explain more. Think back, Lin. Also, I'm sorry that its my advice that gave you the confidence to let down your guard so much,"
After Gene said that, his body began to swirl in and out of view as Lin returned to the waking realm. Lin wanted to ask him more questions, but realized that his time in the spiritual realm had come to an end. He had astral projected there because his mind was so stressed out due to recent events. He had just received a solution to said events- there was no more reason to remain where he didn't belong.
Lin's eyes snapped open and he was once again in the carnal dimension. Immediately he thought back to all of the past conversations he could remember having with Gene.
One stood out in particular, and it made Lin cringe in realization. When Lin had been sixteen years old, he had began his training as an Onmyouji, capturing five shiki. After that number of shiki has been captured, no other shiki's revealed themselves to Lin.
That was until Lin was nineteen years old. A shiki began tormenting him after a long day of classes at Cambridge. Not knowing what else to do, Lin had bound it to him. For a long time, he had no issues with his six bound shiki.
That was the case until Lin's heart was broken. He had made a mistake with the woman he loved, that had caused her to end their relationship with him. He had been in a bad place emotionally at that time, and his powers had not been under control. He had not understood that if an Onmyouji bound more shiki then he physically had the power to bind, that they could develop their own consciousness- a near human awareness of their surroundings, and break away and kill their masters.
That terrifying thing had happened to Lin; he had asked Gene, as a powerful medium, what had happened to his shiki when he realized that he could only call up five of the six. The one that had seemed to be missing was the first shiki that Lin had bound. It had been Lin's most powerful, complete with a much more adult form then the rest of his Shikigami.
It had broken away somehow, and Lin had been too mentally distracted to feel the mental bond break. Gene had never heard of shiki's breaking away from their masters. Though very young, the medium had been wise, but lacked the knowledge to help Lin. In order to compensate, he had told Lin to ignore the issue unless something happened in particular that he could help with.
Lin hadn't cared either way. He had been plenty powerful with only five shikis- a sixth was not needed. Lin had not known until much later in life what had happened to his shiki. Although he still hadn't understood the danger that he was in, as his shiki had not made an appearance until now.
Lin had no idea why the shiki had decided to show up now, but he knew could take an educated guess as to what its primary objective was.
It was coming after Lin.
A/N Possibly confusing chapter, but I do promise that Kanon's goals will be explained later, as will what happened when he broke away from Lin. I do have a plan for this story, and can't wait to carry it out.