Leaves in the Wind

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Crippled Swallows

It had been days since Matsuhara Tekki had slept. Since the invasion of his mind by his kinsman, he had been prone to nightmarish visions each time he shut his eyes. The shredded faces of his staff and patients haunted the darkness of unconsciousness. He could feel the madness encroach on the barriers of his thoughts as the hours passed. When he attempted to force voices and images from his head, they would come back even nastier, pervading with greater force.

After several interrogations, he'd been left in the holding room under heavy surveillance. It was a small, bare gray walled room with only a cot as furnishing. It was an inner room of the building, so there were no windows and the only light given was the dim florescence streaming through the small barred window on the door. On the outside of this window was a small metal plank that could be pushed over the bars to block out light completely. They had done it once before. The only exit was this metal door.

Tekki involuntarily shivered though he took no notice. A few days of frigid air on his skin left him well adapted by now. Cool air was being pushed inward through a high vent. They liked to keep the air cold to keep their captives on edge.

The former medical ninja had nothing against Ibiki. His fellows were doing what they were ordered to do- what was best for Konoha's safety. He couldn't begrudge anyone of their loyalty. Except for his clan, Tekki noted. He hated his clan…It was no small wonder the interrogation team had never heard of the Kazahaya. Up until the point of the revolt, the clan had been 'collecting' anyone that had discovered their bloodline limit. When the news of the destruction of the Kazahaya Clan had reached him, he'd been ecstatic. Partied all night, as a matter of fact.

"Matsuhara Tekki-"

Tekki tensed at the guard's voice. Though tonight he had turned up a little late, the man was normally on time with the regular meals. They treated Matsuhara well enough, considering what he had done. At least, his status as a healer and calm cooperation kept him out of way of torture and submission to the Konoha High Security Facility. It wouldn't keep him from death, as traitors faced, but he couldn't ask for much more.

"-It's been a while." The guard's figure in the dark hallway could be seen shifting into view through the little barred window. Tekki's jaw slackened as a faint golden gleam immediately caught his eye. "See, Yasuo-kun? Very easy. This jutsu, this is my Bird Song. I can effectively mimic any voice I've ever heard. In my lifetime."

"Kazahaya…" Tekki said breathlessly.

"Tekki-san?" Lips curled into a happy smile.

"You IDIOT!" The ex-med nin leapt from the cot and pointed an accusatory finger at the door. "What the hell are you doing! You, boy, why are you following this maniac!"

A second dark form shrank to hide behind Isamu.

The cool darkness held fast to a silent moment in the still building. "I wanted to see you…" Isamu murmured.

Tekki's face was suddenly at the barred window and a fierce glare was directed upon the oldest intruder. "I knew I should have stitched your mouth shut that time you were drunk in Gokuro."

"Don't be that way-"

"And stop talking like the guard. Use your own voice." The man backed away. "What suicidal scheme have you concocted this time? And don't lie; I know you, Kazahaya."

Isamu laughed lightly, waving a hand at Tekki. "No, no, I really just wanted to see-"

"Shiiit." The low hiss made Yasuo visibly stiffen and Isamu blink with mild surprise. "Damn horrible timing," the voice continued. "Why can't things just go my way for once? Is that so much to ask?"

The two Konoha ninja turned their heads towards the origin of speech, but a couple of identical figures dashed forward to their other side. Yasuo turned back and audibly cursed when his eyes landed upon the Harogami twins. He had known everything was going to go wrong. It was just part of his luck as of late.

"Apparently not Kuro-kun." Elder Kuro grinned and leaned forward. They were like a pair of ghostly shadows in the dark hallway. "Hello, Yasuo-kun! Hello, Isamu-san!"

Tekki brought both hands to his neck and squeezed; perhaps he could strangle himself. Why couldn't they have just killed them when he was in interrogation? Why did he have to deal with these idiots? His hands fell back to his sides. "You…"

"…you." Isamu finished. He studied both brothers, brows furrowed in confusion. They were staring at him as well, the eldest twin reflecting his expression.

"Isamu-san," Kuro had finally figured it out, "where is your kimono?"

"Kuro-kun," Isamu eyed the glowing orange dot in the dim hallway. The air was laced with the stiff smell of burning tobacco. "I didn't know you smoked."

Younger Kuro brandished his cigarette at Yasuo and Isamu, obviously ignoring the statement. "Get out of our way."

It was moments like these when Yasuo wished he had never decided to become a Ninja. Perhaps the idea of becoming some humble shop owner that never did anything in his life beyond selling a few random goods to a nice Samaritan was a better idea. However, he had been idealistic as a child, and now he was here, with a psychotic sensei and even more psychotic enemies. Yasuo's body radiated distress; he couldn't help but feel that Isamu had known this would happen.

"I'm afraid we can't step aside," Isamu said pleasantly, shifting one foot so he was a more prominent figure in the hallway.

"That's right," Tekki growled from inside the holding room. "They're not moving and I'm not leaving this room. So go hang yourselves, you bastards. You lost my 'friendship' when you attacked that hospital."

"But we didn't do it, Tekki-san!" Elder Kuro took a step forward. "Sensei-"

"Shut up, Kuro-kun. We don't have much time." Kuro shot a look past his enemies to the hallway beyond. "Ibiki's team's prowling the area. We've got to do this quickly."

Isamu stilled. "You cannot free Tekki. Konoha law states-"

"Isamu-kun, you realize we're not following Konoha law?" Younger Kuro deeply inhaled the smoke rising from his cigarette as if it were the only gasp of air he would collect all day. He let the breath out through his nose, smoke pushing and twirling around his head like a fine mist. His golden eyes, brimming with a mutinous gleam, swiveled back to the man.

Isamu turned to Yasuo with vague discontentment. "Perhaps I should have let you bring your weapons."

This displeased Tekki. "You didn't even let the kid arm himself!"

"Please, Tekki-san," Yasuo muttered. His foot automatically slid to the side, transforming his posture into a defensive stance. "I'm not stupid. I have them anyway."

The prisoner grunted. "You've been taking orders from Isamu. You are an idiot."

"Tekki-san! Don't insult my pupil. While it may be true-" Isamu then aimed a polite smile at the Kuro brothers, "-he is still a very good Shinobi."

"Move, both of you," The youngest Harogami demanded.

"We cannot."

Elder Kuro reached forward and placed a gentle hand on Yasuo's shoulder. It gripped lightly and felt a slight tremor. "Please move."

Yasuo's gaze fell to the hand. He gulped and looked back to the glinting golden eyes. They carried an almost pained, begging expression. "I'm sorry," Yasuo whispered. "I can't let you take him."

The man sniffed. "But…but that means…"

"Oh, just slit his throat!" Younger Kuro whipped out a kunai knife, brandishing it threateningly.

Matsuhara Tekki promptly retreated into the recesses of the dark holding room. He immediately noticed three of the men were masking their chakara. The boy had little reason to at this point, and his wouldn't radiate abnormal readings like the other three would have. Of course, if they started fighting, it wouldn't matter if it was abnormal or not. "If you're going to fight, do it outside," Tekki grumbled.

Kuro lunged at Yasuo.

Oh, how he missed his days at the hospital when people listened…

Yasuo ducked downward as the swipe sliced air where his neck once was. His leg switched around and kicked at Kuro's ankles, making him stumble but not trip. Yasuo rolled to the side and sprang to his feet, kunai at the ready in each hand. In this narrow hallway, it was wiser to spar rather than use any special technique. The boy was nervous, it emanated from every pore in his body, but along with the nervousness was a strong sense of determination.

Isamu watched his pupil's fluid motion with interest. He paused, decided, and grabbed the back of the boy's shirt, narrowly avoiding the kunai that Yasuo automatically swung at him. "Go to the roof."

The cigarette hissed as it burned out, snuffed beneath the foot of its user. With the orange glow gone, the hall seemed all the more dangerous. "We won't bother following you to-"

"I'll be staying here, guarding Tekki-san." With a poof of smoke, Isamu's appearance changed to that of a black-clad, short-haired man that Kuro recognized as an interrogator. In the event someone came, they would see this form, not Isamu directly. "You can fight me or you can fight my pupil. Either way, you won't be getting what you want."

"Kuro-kun!" Younger Kuro snapped at his brother.

"Yes, Nii-san?" Elder Kuro shifted, and Yasuo's eyes were instantly drawn to the man's hand. Something glinted, but the heavy darkness concealed it all.

"Deal with Isamu." The twin ducked, half sprang across the floor, and swung a leg out at the same time he swung an arm. The leg connected with Isamu while fingers slashed along Yasuo's arm.

The boy shouted and grabbed his upper arm, feeling warm liquid seeping through sliced clothing. That's what he had seen- the brothers were wearing metal claws. It was in that instant of pain and realization that Yasuo decided it was best to listen to his sensei and leave for the roof. He shot Isamu one glance for confirmation, his image blurred, and he disappeared.

Younger Kuro stayed in the hallway, muscles coiled and ready to spring.

"So you don't think he's worth fighting?" Isamu inquired, pressed up against the wall.

"He's not." The man nodded to his brother. "We don't have time to mess with your playthings." His eyes narrowed as he grinned maliciously. "And by the way your knees are quaking, I'd say you have twenty minutes left. We can wait."

"Can't we just knock him unconscious now?" The eldest Kuro hovered near his brother nervously, stalling for time. "Or use Blind Man's Blanket?"

"Sensei told us to kill anyone who inconvenienced us. Therefore, you go to the roof and take care of the brat."

"But Nii-san!"

"Now."

The man hung his head and vanished, wisps of smoke rising from the ground where he'd once stood.

"Alright, Isamu-san." Apparently, Kuro was ready to marginally shift the topic now that his brother had gone. "I've heard so much about you. I want to know if those rumors are true."

"What rumors?" The man murmured lowly.

"Those about the ninja who drove a thousand men to madness in just one night."

---

Yasuo dashed around the outside of the building, easily evading any guards that were stationed in the area. His training with Isamu had consisted of a tremendous amount of disguise and disappearing in plain sight. When he masked his chakara, he was nearly invisible, one advantage of being a shinobi with about average chakara limitations.

He slipped into the shadow of the building, stilling his breath as a posted guard walked by. Yasuo pressed his foot to the wall and pushed off, toggling between the two ally building walls. He grabbed hold of a window ledge, and then pulled himself up. His heart pounded in his head. Yasuo pulled out a small knife and drew a circle in the glass. With even pressure, the glass popped out, and his hand shot through the hole into the air and caught the circle before it clattered. Yasuo then unlocked the window, and slipped back inside the building.

There was a second entrance to Tekki's holding chambers that Yasuo had noticed before. The air vent, though small and inconvenient, lent a possibility for escape.

He pressed himself against the wall, listening and waiting for anyone who may be prowling in the hallways. Luck offered a clear passage. The boy expended a minimum amount of energy to stand against the wall and kneel down so he could shift the ceiling tile. In an instant, he had disappeared into the roof without a trace.

Yasuo had considered getting someone from Ibiki's team to help or inform ANBU, but that would also involve explaining to them that he'd turned directly against the way of Konoha and broken in with Isamu to… well, actually he didn't know. If the Kuro brothers hadn't come, what was Isamu-sensei going to drag him into? Yasuo justified his reasoning by deciding that more people would probably complicate the problem now taking place, and so telling no one was not only the best option, it was his only option. He had felt his sensei's shift in chakara too. At this point, the man probably had eighteen minutes or so to figure out how to get Tekki out of the holding chambers before the Kuro brothers did.

And they would probably kill Isamu once he was unconscious. The very thought made Yasuo's heart leap and he quickened his pace, shifting through the ceiling to the air-conditioning passage ways. He swiftly knocked out the screws, pulled out the vent and entered, sliding carefully down the black tunnel. It was pitch black, but that couldn't stop the boy. Moving through the vents could easily become loud and unconventional, but he owed his stealth to Isamu-sensei.

He shifted further along, peering down the vents as he came across.

'What rumors?'

'Those about the ninja who drove a thousand men to madness in just one night.'

It was Isamu-sensei and Harogami Kuro speaking. Yasuo peered down the vent to see Tekki standing in the most defensive position in the room, directly below him. "Psst," he whispered. "Psst."

Tekki, being a ninja himself, had the sense not to shout 'what the hell?', but he wanted to. Instead, he glared at the eyes peering down at him through the air vent and mouthed 'What the hell?'

'I have no idea what you're talking about.' Isamu's voice continued the conversation. Yasuo was only vaugely aware of the actual words. As long as Isamu spoke, he would have time to break Tekki out of holding.

'A thousand men in one night. They all went to their graves two days later. Killed themselves, all of them.'

'No, I can't recall anything like that.'

Yasuo grinned and quickly unscrewed the vent with the tip of his kunai knife. Konoha architects were intelligent and had made the gap small enough that the average adult couldn't fit through. However, Yasuo and Tekki were both ninja posessed enough skill to get around such a simple inconvenience. "Henge," he whispered softly.

"And where are you going to go with a Konoha traitor?" He raised a brow. "I'm not leaving."

Grunts were heard outside the room. They could hear Isamu gasp for breath, followed by a pained shout from Kuro.

"Listen to me, Tekki-san." Yasuo's voice rose a fraction as the scuffling grew more intense. He was running out of time. "You're either leaving with me or your leaving with the Kuro brothers. It's your choice, but I'm sure you have a better idea than I do about what'll happen if Kuro-san gets a hold of you." Yasuo's eyes disappeared for a moment as he looked over his shoulder. He looked back down and the paranoia was apparent. The second brother was quickly closing the gap. "We don't have much time. Isamu is going to pass out and the eldest is on my trail already."

They heard the ripping of cloth and the thud of body hitting tile.

'What are those-?'

Both flinched as Isamu screamed.

'Nothing! It's nothing!'

Tekki glanced up. "Alright, fine." The man closed his eyes, muttered lowly, and where a middle aged, hawk nosed medical ninja once stood, there now stood a little boy of about ten, cross eyed, angry, and missing one tooth. "Well, help me up." Small, grasping hands shot up into the air.

Yasuo reached his arm as far down as he could and the child jumped to grab his wrist. He pulled Tekki up through the vent, and not all too quietly. Fortunately, the fight in the hallway covered any noise that would have otherwise been suspicious. Yasuo thanked god for his small shoulders as he quickly shifted along the tunnel to the vent he had pulled out. They both moved into the ceiling area, balancing along the metal bracings, careful not to step on any wires or foam board below them.

They progressed further along the wall before Yasuo reached down, listening carefully then shifting the ceiling tile to the side. There was no danger in sight. Two ninja jumped down with the grace and silence of cats. They dashed to the nearest window and Yasuo opened it, glancing down into the alley below them. They jumped and landed, immediately stepping into the shadows.

A third presence leapt down with them from a higher height. "Sorry, but you were moving so fast it was hard to keep up."

Tekki slapped his forehead and gritted his teeth. "Damn…I forgot, that stupid jutsu…"

"See No Evil," Kuro corrected, flashing a bright smile through the darkness. "Tekki-san, you really must come with us or Sensei will be very displeased."

The henge was released and a full grown Tekki took a single step backward to distance himself. "Not my problem anymore," he muttered.

The ivory skinned man chanced a glance at the windows of the building they'd just escaped. "Isamu-san doesn't have much longer."

Yasuo stepped in front of Tekki and pulled out a kunai. He would have to fight if he couldn't think of anything else sooner. As for Isamu-sensei, he would have to pray the man could escape before he was killed.

With the boy's challenging gesture, Kuro turned a sad gaze upon him. "Please, Yasuo-kun, I don't want to fight…Please, just let me have Tekki-san."

Tekki snorted.

"I can't." Yasuo shook his head. "Tekki belongs with Konoha." He had to think of another way around this. Yasuo knew he would die if Kuro got serious. How much could he trust Matsuhara? He didn't risk looking away from Kuro to size up the other man. Tekki obviously wasn't willing to go along with their plans, but that didn't mean he didn't have an agenda of his own or that he wouldn't be recaptured later on if he ran.

"Yasuo-kuuun," Kuro wailed. A few birds landed on the wires above them, not masking their curious watch. "Oh, please, don't make me…" He held his hands before him and they watched as, with a deft flick of the wrist, each slender digit was covered with a hard steel claw.

Tekki leaned into Yasuo, "I can't do much beyond heal you, and that in itself requires time. Most we can do now is escape when we've got an opening. Neither of us can kill this man."

At the sight of the blades, both other ninja immediately felt Yasuo's heart rate rise. He turned his head slightly and whispered, "Hey, Tekki, how fast can you run?"

"Pretty damn fast," Tekki grunted. Without another word, he hoisted Yasuo off the ground and leapt at the wall beyond Kuro, scaling it like a squirrel would a tree.

Elder Kuro sighed piteously.

---

"Just die you freak!" Kuro bashed Isamu's head against the wall for the fifth time. Blood splattered and dripped down the white wall, leaving crimson lines to mark its decent. "If you want to save yourself, use your jutsu! Go on!"

"Use…you'll use…" Isamu took in a strained breath as his hair was let go. He slid down the wall weakly and then rolled to the floor, foggy eyes closing to a crescent state. His henge had long been let go.

"Yeah, yeah I will." Kuro slammed a sandaled foot into the man's temple, watching Isamu bodily flinch and cough up blood. Most of the man's uniform and skin had been shredded by the finger blades. He hadn't done much to protect himself against Kuro's assault and when the irate missing nin demanded why, he'd only answer with, 'Because I don't want to'. "Fight, dammit!"

"No…"

Slam! Kuro flipped Isamu over, instantly noticing and glaring down at a pattern of scars marring his pale back. "What the hell are these? What are they, Isamu-san?"

"Scars…"

He delivered another powerful kick then weaved his hands in Isamu's hair, lifting the man off the ground and shoving him into the wall. "You've got nine minutes until you're dead. You going to try to save yourself or are you just giving yourself up for dead? You either fight or you answer me or you die."

"I choose none." Isamu groaned as he slid into a pool of his own blood again.

"What is this on your back?"

"Sc-"
"Not an answer!"

The former Jounin withdrew into his mind. He couldn't feel the pain, but his body was succumbing to fatigue from blood loss. It wasn't the kick or punch that bothered him but the merciless eyes watching him flinch and cough. This wasn't the man he'd been introduced to two years ago. Kuro was often prone to sarcasm and small fits of complaining, but he'd never been so homicidal before.

Again he was met with wall and then cold, wet tile.

"Answer!" Kuro screeched

"Shouldn't you…be…Tekki-san?"

"After you're dead. Then I'll deal with him." Kuro wrapped his hand around the delicate neck and yanked the man bodily off the floor. "What is that mark?"

Isamu's vision was blurring, turning dark in his peripheral vision. "No idea what…" he gagged, "you're…"

Kuro flexed his claws, digging one into Isamu's arm. A new stream of blood ran down pale flesh. "Don't give me that shit! I- want- to- know!" His words were punctuated with a knee repeatedly driven up to Isamu's gut.

"Nggh…" Isamu answered.

The man glowered, tossing Isamu away with disgust. "Useless." He flexed his claws again. "I'm not waiting any longer. You're presence is keeping me from completing my mission." Kuro knelt beside the prone ninja, taking the man's neck in his hands. "I remember you mentioning one time that strangulation was the worst kind of death. How odd a thought for a Shinobi." Kuro leaned forward into his grasp, tightening it with harsh accuracy. Loose, white strands of hair streamed downward, dangling like a web-like canopy. Silent chimes swayed near the Harogami brother's waist.

Isamu squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel his throat constricting and his breath hitching as Kuro's grip tightened. Vaguely, he could hear a soft, manic voice mutter in his ear the seconds as they passed. It went on for far too long…time seemed to drag, his body was protesting. He almost wished he could feel pain…perhaps if only to experience it just once. The hands around his throat were unrelenting; at one point, he thought he might have automatically started fighting the man, weakly clawing at the vice grip. When Kuro reached two minutes, he was already burning inside. He wanted air. God, he wanted air.

"Freedom comes to those who fly for it."

Isamu went deaf. He knew he was gagging and gulping, but he couldn't hear it. Maybe Kuro was laughing, maybe he was just complaining about strangulation taking too long. It seemed like something he'd say…

Isamu willed himself to hold on. Just a little longer. Just…longer… He was mildly surprised that he hadn't passed out already. Odd…very odd…it was all so strange…

"Forty-three."

Ah, Kuro's voice. He could hear again. Was his heart slowing or racing? Could have been slowing…

"Thirty-five."

Why did dying have to take so long? This is why he preferred a kunai knife to the heart or gut.

"If it wasn't worth it, I'd just stab you right now," Kuro sneered. "Twenty-eight."

A few more seconds went by, according to Kuro. Isamu could definitely feel his heart slowing. Coherent thought began to slip away. His mind was shutting down.

"Twenty."

Down, down, down. He never did like going down.

"Sixteen." Kuro sounded annoyed.

Isamu was vaguely annoyed now. He didn't feel like dying yet.

"Twelve."

Mind shutting off…

"Nine."

Wondered where Yasuo-kun was.

"Seven."

Did he get Tekki out of that cell?

"Five."

He wanted some tea.

"Three."

He…really….wanted….some…tea…

"Two."

Black.

"One." A final, numbing whisper in his ear. "Goodbye, Isamu-san." Kuro released the man as he felt Kazahaya Isamu's heart stop.

---

Long hours trailing down longer hallways in the Konoha Hospital taught a medical nin patience. Dashing down these long halls, turning sharply at corners in order to reach the room of a dying patient taught them speed and precision. Hauling patients in and out of bed gave them strength. Tekki praised whatever gods he could as again he turned a corner, hefted Yasuo and scaled another wall. Damn, but the kid was light. At least he wasn't carrying someone of Asuma's structure.

"Stop trying to see him, you're not going to!" The med nin dodged an inconveniently placed laundry wire. "See No Evil allows the user physical invisibility for up to ten minutes. He can use it multiple times per day if he uses his chakara wisely. Which he is. Just look ahead and tell me if you see anywhere we can save our sorry asses."

Yasuo wished he knew that Jutsu… His original plan had been to try to get to Kakashi, who was the only person Yasuo knew the brothers wouldn't mess with. However, the plan had been spoiled by Kuro directing their dash in the opposite direction of the apartment, which was probably the point. "People." Yasuo murmured, eyes flickering as he gathered a good, solidly logical idea. "We've got to get to a restaurant, a club, a bar, someplace with a lot of people. It's obvious they're trying hard not to direct attention towards themselves."

"I can see that! Where are we right now?" Dodge, run, skitter. Tekki saw flashes of avian above, and he accelerated.

Yasuo looked up at the birds. There were three of them soaring after them with determination. "Go left here, there's a karaoke club just down the street."

"And I'm sure you've never been in there before," The med nin muttered sarcastically. "Alright, alright, Karaoke it is. Don't expect me to sing." He wheeled and drew on a last spurt of speed, practically throwing himself and Yasuo through the door. Yasuo was promptly dropped to the ground with a startling thud.

The drunk on the stage paused in his rendition of some ridiculous love ballad long enough to send them a nasty glower. The rest of the audience looked on them as saviors sent from heaven, liberating their souls from eternal hell.

"Drinks! Get 'em drinks!" A woman in the crowd roared.

"That one looks like a minor," someone pointed out.

"He's twenty-one." Tekki grunted roughly, jerking Yasuo to his feet.

"Thanks," Yasuo muttered, brushing himself off. He looked over his shoulder once, brown eyes landing on the door. Kuro wasn't charging in after them. This was, perhaps, the best idea he'd had all night…. Drinks were shoved in their hands, and they were immediately assimilated into the crowd.

They took a seat at a table, surrounded by men and women of various ages. An adrenaline flushed Tekki raised his glass of sake, stared Yasuo in the eyes and said sincerely, "Kanpai."

The boy let out a deep breath of relief. "Kanpai," Yasuo tipped his glass towards Tekki and they both nodded, drinking down a long gulp.

---

"T-there's blood on your hands, Nii-san…is… is Isamu-san alright?"

Kuro was shoved out of the way and he watched, distressed, as his younger brother fell over on the futon in the apartment they'd broken into. The room was kept dark and untouched as if no one was there. If there was anyone, god or human, looking out for them, then hopefully sensei's birds didn't know their current location. It was a slim chance, but hiding was the best thing they could do for themselves at the moment.

"Nii-san…?" Elder Kuro asked softly, hands gripped nervously in front of his chest. Worried eyes were trained upon his brother.

"Why do I do it, Kuro-kun?" Kuro uttered.

The bedroom door was shut tightly, locked and scanned for anything suspicious before the elder cautiously stepped toward the futon his brother lay on. Younger Kuro's hair was unbound and streamed around his slender scared body. His mesh shirt was torn in places; all over his torso were thin trails of blood that had long ago congealed. Elder Kuro reached out hesitantly before withdrawing his hand. He didn't like emotional pain. That was something he could feel, and Kuro-kun's internal turmoil was sickening him. "Nii-san…"

"This sudden urge to kill…" his brother whispered, "is it Sensei? Is this the freedom he promised?"

"What did you ask for, Nii-san?" Still moving slowly, careful not to set the man off, Kuro sat at the edge of the strange bed. "Sensei gave me what I wanted. Didn't he give you what you wanted?"

"He twisted it, that's what he did…"

A flash of black at the window alarmed them both, and Kuro leapt at the window, yanking the curtains tightly closed. "What happened?" His voice trembled. "Tell me. Show me, Kuro-kun…"

"I killed Isamu-san…"

The eldest Harogami whirled around and stared blankly at the shivering figure on the bed before him. "Killed him?"

"What did you think would happen, idiot!" A pillow knocked Kuro against the wall. The younger brother quickly jerked back and buried his face in the sheets. "I said I didn't want to fear death." His groan was muffled by the sheets. "I said I wanted to control it. I wanted power over it, that's what I wanted…"

"But-"

"I didn't mean I wanted to cause it!" Kuro shouted.

"Nii-san…"

The missing nin lurched to a sitting position, hissing at the darkness. "What now, Kuro-kun? Shall we go back to our home and have sensei punish us like we deserve?"

"Nii-"

"Look at you!" Kuro threw gestured to his brother in disgust. "Did you ask to be reduced to the mentality of a child?"

"N-no…"

Harogami Kuro glared until the older man burst into tears. Irritated at himself, he shot another pillow at the sobbing wretch. "Just…shut up, and sit down. We'll track Tekki tomorrow. Part of our mission was to free him. We got that far."

Pale arms flashed out of the corner of his eyes as his sibling lashed at him, enveloping him in a warm embrace. "We asked for separate things, but didn't we also ask for something together, Nii-san?"

"Gimme my cigarettes." Kuro ignored his brother's tearful question. "I know you stole them."

A small package was placed in younger Kuro's trembling, outstretched palm. "I…" the elder whispered, "I think maybe I don't want that kind of freedom anymore…"

Still locked in a hug by his brother, Kuro ignored the man's speech long enough to pull out a lighter and take a long, calming drag. "Yeah…well…there's nothing we can do about it. Look at how we've changed in the past two months."

Kuro fell silent.

They both feared it. The day when even the warmth from their own bodies couldn't be felt.