Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. The sound of water surrounded Lin as he slowly regained consciousness. It became apparent as soon as he opened his eyes that he was no longer in the hospital.
Even with the lights off and blinds closed, the room wasn't this dark. This was... unnerving, almost poisonous in appearance darkness. It encompassed the entire area. Lin could not see where he was, in the least.
He projected his senses outwards, trying to get an idea of his location. He could hear breathing nearby, so wherever he was, he wasn't completely alone.
The thought didn't bring him much comfort. He couldn't see who the other person or persons, were.
In a scenario like this, anything unknown was a possible threat. Especially when he didn't know how he had ended up there.
Thinking back, Lin remembered the altercation at the hospital and cringed. Of course him ending up in this unfamiliar place had something to do with that damned shiki.
All of the sudden, the area became illuminated by a bright glow. Lin flinched at the sudden intrusive light that made the headache that had not went away begin becoming even more prominent. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was once again face to face with the shiki.
He had literally appeared out of nowhere. There was a sadistic smile plastered on his face. Lin resisted the instinctual urge to back up using every fiber of his willpower.
"I told you Lin, you're a fool. I was going to let you go until I was ready to play, but you used that stupid sense of heroics to try and take me down when my back was turned. I don't appreciate your cowardice- in fact, I'm going to have to punish you for it,"
Lin shook his head. "It wasn't cowardice. It was pure instinct to attack you- I saw a possible advantage and took it. Its not as though you wouldn't have done the same," Lin muttered defensively.
Kanon simply rolled his blue eyes. "That's another difference between you and I, it seems. I don't rely on my so called 'instincts' to dictate my movements- everything I do is premeditated to ensure that I won't fail as you did,"
A dark smile crossed his features. "I premeditated what I'm about to do as well...I've prepared this example to prove to you that you're life will never be the same,"
Lin shivered involuntarily in the cold air of the cave. Kanon's smile became a bit bigger as he took a step back from Lin.
"I'm surprised you're not bombarding me with questions- I'm well aware that you have no idea where you are, or how you got there for that matter. I'm also surprised that you haven't asked about your female friend's fate. Did I hit you on the head hard enough for you to forget her, or was that just your natural tendency not to care about those around you kicking in?"
Lin shook his head. "No. I was intentionally not asking about Madoka. I figured you'd use her to torment me, so I refused to be the one to bring attention to her," Lin clenched his teeth together in anger. He couldn't stand the arrogant air that exuded from Kanon. The shiki knew that Lin was powerless in this scenario.
Kanon raised a surprised eyebrow. "Mhm, I see. Well you have to look no further than directly behind you to find her. I left her in one piece- don't worry. In fact, she should be waking up in a few minutes, unless she received some sort of brain damage when I blew her into the wall. If that's the case, I guess the only thing I can say is..sorry for your loss,"
With that comment, Kanon walked away from Lin. Lin watched furiously as the black haired shiki moved towards a figure lying on the ground several feet away. Lin hadn't noticed it before, but now that he did, he realized that it had to be a person.
Forcing himself to remain passive, Lin watched as Kanon knelt beside the figure. Listening intently, Lin could hear the shiki muttering something to the unknown person.
Lin's heart stopped when he heard the response in a gruff, familiar voice speaking Chinese.
"I don't know who you are or why you've brought me to this forsaken place, but you're not going to get a word out of me," Dajun Lin yelled venomously.
Lin jumped to his feet instantly. His father was here. Why was he here?! Lin couldn't think of a logical explanation, but that didn't matter. What mattered at that moment was that Kanon had his dad in his clutches.
A nervous feeling washed over him as he remembered Kanon's disturbing comment before he passed out "Now I'm going to make you watch," No. This couldn't be what he had been referring to, could it? He wasn't really going to hurt his dad right in front of him, was he? Seconds passed as Lin pondered that question. The honest answer was not one that gave Lin any hope. Yes, the sick bastard would go as far as killing his dad, hell he'd probably even use one of his mind control powers to ensure that Lin would, in full detail, see every second of it.
Unsure of what to do, Lin stared down at the ground, overcoming his fear and looking at Madoka. He was surprised to see a pair of soft pink eyes staring up at him. Madoka's gaze was full of sadness. She slowly raised her hand up towards Lin, who grasped it tightly.
Madoka stood up from the ground with Lin's help. As soon as she was standing, she leaned into Lin, wrapping her arms around his waist. She was comforting him as best as she could, he knew. But her efforts made Lin more painfully aware of what was more than likely about to happen.
He began losing the adrenaline rush that had made him forget about the migraine pulsating in his temple. He gritted his teeth together tightly in attempt to block out the pain. He had to be on his toes- he had no choice but to charge through the pain.
"Kanon. What are you doing- Why did you bring my father here?" Lin asked as calmly as he could. He felt Madoka's grip on his waist tighten.
Kanon turned around to face Lin. "I told you what I'm doing- I'm making an example you won't soon forget. As far as how I got your father here- he did most of that on his own. From what I gleamed, he was unable to contact any of his children in Japan. Naturally he began to become worried, and eventually took a flight to Japan to see what the issue was. He happened to make my acquaintance soon after he left the airport. I escorted him to a secluded location, then knocked him unconscious much as I did to you," The shiki gestured towards Dajun who stood shakily on his feet. His blackish-gray hair was disheveled, and his stark gray eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't been getting enough rest. Even though his appearance suggested otherwise, his expression remained strong.
Lin met his father's gaze for the first time in over a year. Dajun didn't break eye contact. Neither said a word to each other- they simply stood there locked in a silent standoff.
The silence was finally broken by a harsh laugh coming from Kanon.
"You haven't see each other in more than a year if I recall correctly, yet neither of you have anything you wish to say? Seems your relationship is even worse off than I originally assumed,"
Dajun looked at the shiki coldly. "What would you know of my relationship with my son?" he asked, still speaking Chinese. Dajun understood English, Lin knew for a fact. He was simply trying to be complicated to rile Kanon up. It wasn't the smartest move, but it was brave.
Though brave, the plan failed when Kanon smiled. "I know more about your son than you do, I assure you. I also know that you were under the impression that I was blind on how to speak the Chinese language. That's where you're wrong- you see, I'm fluent in several languages. Nothing you say to your son will go unnoticed to me, so don't even consider trying to speak in some sort of code,"
Dajun chuckled. "Speak in some sort of code? What are you, a child who still believes in playing foolish spy games?"
Kanon didn't smile in return. Instead, he grabbed Dajun in a headlock, as he had done to Nazuke days before. The older man fought, but couldn't break the grasp clasped firmly around his neck.
"I'd advise you to not antagonize me with your thoughtless jokes if you want to prolong your life long enough to say a proper goodbye to your wayward son," Kanon hissed, applying more pressure to his victim's throat.
Dajun didn't attempt to break away, instead he waited restlessly until Kanon released his hold on his neck.
Mere seconds later, Kanon did and stepped away from his predetermined victim.
"Speak fast. I'm being lenient giving you any time to have a conversation at all. Use it wisely so that you have no regrets," the shiki muttered before walking towards a far wall of the cave and leaning against it.
Once he was gone, Lin stared into his father's eyes again, but this time, he addressed him in Chinese.
"Dad. It's.. good to see you again,"
Dajun nodded solemnly. "Its been awhile, son. I haven't spoken to you since I called about your sister." a pained look flashed across his face, but it was gone in an instant. "Its good to see you in person, though you're not looking very well."
A harsh laugh escaped Lin's mouth. "I'm not looking well? I was in a damned car crash with-" Lin paused as Madoka stroked her hand across his back in an effort to soothe him. "Madoka." He finished.
Dajun eyed the woman wrapped around Lin's waist for a moment. "This is that Madoka? The one you began a relationship with not long after you left for England?" a strange look passed his face as Lin raised a questioning eyebrow- he had never told his father about his involvement with Madoka. "Your mother told me about her. She was rather upset when you stopped seeing each other." the abashed father defended himself, looking anywhere but Lin's face.
Lin sighed irritably. Of course his mother had been unable to keep any sort of secrets regarding his romantic escapades. He wouldn't be surprised if she told all of the people she met when she traveled to the local sauna.
Ignoring how the thought made him feel, Lin nodded. "In that case, yes. This is the very same Madoka. We very recently.. reconciled our relationship."
Dajun smiled genuinely for the first time since seeing his middle son. "Ah, that's good. Make sure you tell your mother that. It'll bring her joy- she's been lacking in that department lately." the smile turned sad as his expression became far away. Lin coughed, and Dajun was brought back to the present. "I apologize for spacing out. By the way, I had heard that you'd been in an accident. I simply meant by my earlier comment that you don't appear to be recovering yet,"
Lin stared at the ground. "Stress. Its making it.. difficult for me to properly recuperate,"
"Koujo, there's something you're avoiding telling me. I'm not blind, I can see when I'm not getting the complete picture," Dajun cut in coarsely.
Lin rolled his eyes. "Yes, well I'm not completely blind. But I can usually tell when I'm not 'seeing' the full picture. You know, because I can only see using one of my eyes?" he knew full and well that he was only making the half hearted attempt at a joke to stall before telling his dad the truth. He should have known that his father could see that there was something being kept for him. He had after all passed his hawk-like vision onto his eldest son, Draidyan.
As expected, Dajun was not amused by his son's attempt at humor. "You've been blind in your right eye since you were born, son. I don't think about it anymore- its something that we couldn't change, so it simply is. Now tell me the truth- what are you hiding from me?"
"Dad, Draidyan, Lukida, and Nazuke were all involved in separate accidents from mine. Draidyan and Lukida should recover with time, but Nazuke," Lin paused as Madoka held him as tightly as she could upon hearing Nazuke's name mentioned. "Nazuke is dying, dad. His internal organs were brutally damaged. He'll need an organ transplant if he's going to survive,"
Dajun closed his eyes eyes as they began welling with tears. "I see. I understand why you were... hesitant to outright tell me. That's a difficult thing to be made aware of.. especially when you hear that your youngest son is near death,"
Dajun didn't think. He simply stepped towards Lin as Madoka slipped behind the Onmyouji. The distraught father wrapped his arm around Lin's shoulder and held him tightly.
Lin stiffened slightly in his father's embrace, but didn't push him away. Instead he wrapped one of his arms around Dajun's torso. The two men stood like that for several seconds, unwilling to separate until a crackling sound could be heard echoing from the cave. Lin froze against his father as he listened intently for the source of the sound. He was unable to locate it, however he heard his father's sharp cry of pain a second later.
Dajun leaned completely into his son as agony shot through his leg. He couldn't put it down and certainly couldn't put any pressure on it.
"Dad!" Lin yelled in shock as his father began sliding towards the floor. Lin couldn't stop his descent so he tried his best to coax his father to the floor of the cave as gently as possible. He instantly fell to his knees beside the injured man. His gaze traveled towards his father's legs. There was no question of what had happened.
The wound on his father's left leg was obviously from electricity. The previously beige pants had been singed to a dark black color, and the skin matched. Lin looked up to see Kanon standing a few feet away, a menacing look on his face.
"I told you your time was limited, did I not? That was my warning shot so to speak. The next one will be fatal,"
Lin cringed as he clasped his father's hand in his own. Dajun had his eyes closed and teeth gritted against the pain shooting up and down his injured leg.
"Son. Just accept it- I'm not getting out of here alive. Whatever that creature is, it obviously has powers beyond the reach of what science can explain. I was wrong to doubt that you and your siblings had supernatural powers. I was too hellbent on believing in my dense superstition that there is a reason for everything. I was a fool, Koujo. I know that I'm the reason that we've been... awkward towards each other for quite a long time. I was so wrong, forgive me." tears were sliding unfettered down Dajun's face. He made no effort to wipe them away.
Lin, shocked and saddened, lowered his head. "I forgive you dad. I do. The only thing that I ever wanted from you was to hear you say that you believed us."
Dajun relaxed against the ground, content with being forgiven, though one thing still plagued his mind. "I wish I could see your sister one last time. Alive and well but-" he was cut off by a shrill cry. Lin recognized the sound immediately and felt his heart stop.
"Koujo! Daddy!" Lifen Lin yelled as she charged out of another pathway in the cave.
Lin felt a force knock into him from the front before he saw the source. Relief and terror filled him when his sister's arms closed around his neck in a tight hug. He almost didn't believe that she was real. If he hadn't been able to feel her against him, he would have been fine believing that she was just a convincing illusion.
"Lifen." He muttered as he wrapped his arms around his baby sister. "You're okay." he added, barely able to speak above a shocked whisper. Lin brushed her long black hair out of her face as she peered up at him with her deep blue eyes. Her face was tear streaked and dirty, but she was still beautiful, and most definitely his sister.
"I'm fine, Ko. I'm sorry that all of this has been happening. I've tried to get Kanon to stop, but he won't, or can't listen to me. I've tried to protect you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The nineteen year old girl was in tears as she laid her hand on her brother's shoulder. Lin held her tightly and kissed her forehead gently.
"Its alright, Life. Everything's going to fine. You're going to be okay, and so is everyone else. Just stay strong for me, promise?" Lin requested , beginning to rock back in forth with his sister halfway in his lap.
Lifen nodded against Lin's shoulder. A moment later, Dajun moaned as the pain in his leg began getting worse. Lifen shot out of Lin's lap and to her father's side. She sat on her knees, hovering over the dad who had always judged her, but she had never stopped loving.
"Dad! What did he do to you?" the distressed teenager screamed, as she laid her head on her father's chest, which was rising and falling slowly with each shallow breath he took. Dajun didn't answer, instead he raised his hand up and placed it on the back of his only daughter's head.
Lifen's tears cut through the dirt streaked across her father's shirt. She hadn't even realized she had began crying again. She didn't care- the only things she cared about right now were her father and brother.
After a moment of silence, Dajun's raspy voice addressed his two children.
"Koujo, come here." He began, raising the hand that was not touching Lifen and held it out to his son. Lin took it and grasped it firmly, his jaw clenched against emotions he refused to let show through. Once he had his son's hand, Dajun took a deep, pained breath and spoke again. "He's going to kill me. You two need to be prepared for that. Lin, you need to stay close to your brothers once they've recovered- I have a feeling that you're going to need their support through what you're having to deal with. Don't try to handle it on your own. That's a trait you got from me.. thinking you're the big man and shouldering the entire burden of a situation by yourself. Also, don't keep your emotions locked so tightly inside of you. That's something else you got from me.. you don't express how you're feeling. It gets locked inside of you and you'll eventually blow up. Its better to let it out and admit that you feel something than let it make you go into some sort of rage. Even now, I can see you fighting something.. grief probably. Don't fight it- you'll feel better if you let it out."
Lin lowered his gaze and shook his head. "No-" he swallowed past the thickness forming in his throat. "I'm completely fine." He was lying through his teeth, he knew. But he couldn't let his dad know how much this was hurting him. He didn't want his dad to regret their tedious relationship anymore than he already was.
Dajun smiled knowingly even though he knew that Lin wasn't looking. "You'll let it out eventually, son. Whether its to your lovely Madoka or one of your brothers. I trust that they'll watch over you, and keep you from falling apart. You can watch over them as well, while still taking care of yourself. Remember that." he paused as he heard footsteps steadily approaching from behind him. "Tell your mother and brothers that I love them.. and I'm sorry for how I've been acting...for far too long. Also.. if there is anything left of my body, I'd... like you to allow doctors to use whatever healthy parts of it there are left to see if saving Nazuke is at all possible. There is no sense in him dying because they couldn't find a suitable transplant. And one final thing... I love you both- despite everything, I'm honored to have had you as my children."
As soon as he uttered the last line, the now all to familiar crackling noise could be heard, echoing in the cave louder than it had before. Lin recognized it instantly and grabbed him sister, throwing them both backwards just in time before a bolt of perfectly aimed lightning shot into their father's chest, directly where Lifen's head had just been.
Dajun Lin gasped as the bolt hit him straight in the chest, stopping his heart. His body shuddered as his life was ended in a single instant.
Lin sat up as soon as he heard the gasp, his sister cradled in his arms. Noise roared in his ears, but he couldn't make out what it was. He could only focus on his father's corpse. His corpse.. his corpse, as in he was just a shell of himself. He was no longer.. living. He was.. dead.
"No. No. NO!" Lin roared as he fought to stand up while holding his sister. Lifen, realizing that he most likely wanted to get up and attack Kanon, pushed all of her weight into her brother.
"Koujo! You can't beat him.. you've got to let it go." Tears were flowing down her face like currents, but her expression was powerful. She looked so much like her father that Lin closed his eyes.
Lifen hugged Lin tightly as tears began leaking from his closed eyes. It was the first time that she had seen him cry in years.. in fact, she didn't remember the last time that she had seen him cry. She realized that he was finally breaking down. He had reached his limit and was finally letting his emotions shine through.
He had been close to tears before their father had.. died. Lifen had been able to hear it in his voice, but he had fought them down until the last moment. But now- knowing that their dad was really gone, it broke him.
Lifen held him as he laid his head on top of hers. His shoulders were shaking- it was barely perceptible, but she could feel it. He was fighting to regain control of his emotions.
"I find myself.. becoming rather tired of this show of emotions. I think that its very well time for Lifen and I to depart from this wretched place. Lin, I would of course escort you out, but I'm not feeling particularly generous today." a low, cold voice said suddenly. It was Kanon- he was standing a little ways away from Lin and Lifen. He was staring at the far wall, looking at nothing in particular.
He slowly met Lin's dark gaze after a moment. Lin noticed brightness in the shiki's ice blue eyes. Kanon looked away quickly, a fact that was not lost on Lin.
Could shiki's cry? Better yet, why of all things, was Kanon crying? Lin didn't understand, but got the distinct impression that he was missing something crucial- something that he had been wrong in overlooking.
The feeling stumped him. What was his missing about his former shiki? Realizaation hit him like a tidal wave; he realized he knew next to nothing about Kanon. His stated intentions were not hard to understand, but his true motive was still a mystery to Lin.
Suddenly Kanon let out an exasperated sigh. "Koujo. Stop- I can practically hear the gears turning in your head. You're trying to draw connections, fill in the blanks and connect the dots. But whatever conclusions you come to at this moment in time will be wrong. You can't..or refuse to see the truth. As soon as you open your eyes, you'll see everything that seems to be hidden from you. Ther- there's no point in trying to understand me right now."
"You're too damn cryptic. Nothing you say is ever completely straightforward. There is always some hidden meaning. Can you for once directly tell me what the hell you're talking about?" Lin said, his voice a low hiss.
Kanon snorted. "Are you asking me to be reasonable and cut you some slack? Be lenient with you and spell out what I want- what I I hope to gain from this endeavor?" His face became a stoic mask. "No. You won't receive any such mercy from me. You have to play my game to solve the riddle. If you refuse, everyone you love will steadily begin to... vanish."
The unspoken threat was the last straw. Lin moved away from Lifen and shot towards Kanon, throwing his weight into the shiki, who was surprisingly, caught off guard. The two crashed onto the ground in a pile of limbs.
Kanon landed on his back, but quickly rolled over so that Lin was on the ground under him. Rage flashed across the shiki's face as the flame in his hand was extinguished. He stared at his attacker coldly.
"I have but one thing to ask you; what in the hell do you think you're doing?!" Kanon spat through clenched teeth. He was more annoyed than hurt- he had already had enough of his game for today.
Lin said nothing. However he quickly raised his hand and jabbed it into the side of Kanon's neck.
The demon was momentarily stunned. Lin used that to his advantage, pushing him backwards and sliding away from his reach.
By the time the kyusho-jitsu practitioner had gotten to his feet, Kanon was also standing, absently rubbing the place where Lin had attacked him.
Lin clenched his jaw and sighed in frustration. The attack he had used would have knocked almost anyone out for five hours straight. Though it seemed like that only applied to humans. Demons were evidently an entirely different case.
A sadistic glint appeared in Kanon's eyes.
"Tsk tsk...you truly felt like you could keep me down with something like that? I'm not human Koujo. Your martial arts training has next to no effect on me." he paused and offered Lin a slight smile, his pearly white fangs gleaming in the near darkness of the cave. "However..."
And with that, Kanon ran behind Lin quicker than the Omnyodo's eyes could follow. He grabbed his target around the waist to prevent him from dodging out of reach. Lin tried to squirm away, but found himself unable to move.
Kanon leaned over Lin's shoulder until he was level with his ear.
"You can't harm me with your 'kyusho-jitsu' training because I'm not human.." Kanon said, chuckling softly. "But you are human. If I chose to pull the same stunt you did, I am more than capable enough to do so. Only..when I do it, it will produce the desired effects." Without hesitation, Kanon jabbed his hand into the pressure point on the side of Lin's neck.
Lin was unconscious instantly. His eyes rolled back into his head as Lifen and Madoka, clinging to each other for comfort, screamed.
Kanon, not attempting to hold up the incapacitated Onmyouji's weight, allowed Lin to fall to the cave floor.
With his hands free of the burden, Kanon stepped over Lin and approached Lifen and Madoka. Lifen buried her face in the older woman's shoulder, terror causing her to shake violently.
Madoka held her and gazed cooly at Kanon.
"You're not taking her back with you." She stated firmly.
Kanon rolled his eyes.
"I don't desire to take her back. A few minutes ago, I would have. But now I realize that I have entirely no reason to. I've already dealt a large blow to Koujo by murdering his father.. what would taking Lifen back really do other than give me more trouble to deal with?" he took a step forward, reaching towards Madoka. He grabbed her chin and lifted it up, forcing her to meet his penetrating gaze. "But you my dear, you are a different story. If I took you.. well, can't you just imagine Koujo's reaction?"
Madoka jerked her face away.
"You're a bastard." she stated bluntly.
Kanon laughed- the sound echoed throughout the cave, amplifying the menacing sound.
"Though you obviously think that your childish insults will be enough to empower you, you'll never be able to defeat me." Kanon narrowed his eyes, though did not cease laughing. "Don't let your guard down, Madoka. I will come back for you, and when I do, I can't guarantee your survival."
Without another word, Kanon walked towards the wall of the cave and made his body immaterial. He proceeded to walk through the wall without looking back. He left Madoka and Lifen to handle the mess that he had left behind in his wake.
They had a lot of cleaning to do.