Two days later, things were set into motion. It was time to storm the Black Knight's checkpoint. The day before, Hiei's father had explained the battle plan, as well as the task he requested from Hiei.
"So, are you ready Hiei?" Koray asked his son.
"Yeah, but I still don't see what's so special about this task of mine."
The task that Koray requested of Hiei was simple: He had to enter the checkpoint with his father, the both of them disguised as Black Knights. Koray would then determine who is in charge there, and kill them all quickly so as to send the low-ranking and inexperienced members into panic. While that was going on, Hiei was supposed to go behind the bar counter and burn any paperwork found there.
"Why do you want whatever's there destroyed anyway? Wouldn't it be better to have it in your possession?" Hiei asked.
"This is just the way I do things. The Black Knights gather information on many sorts of forbidden magic, and I would rather that kind of stuff not be in anyone's hands. And I can't just keep them to myself because I would rather not be associated with the Black Knights in any way other than taking them down."
"Whatever you say...." Hiei replied. "So are Kurama and the captain in position?"
"Yep. All they're waiting for is for me to take down the shield surrounding the checkpoint."
Earlier, Koray introduced Hiei and Kurama to the captain of his army. Being a General, he commands one of four armies on the Island of Wind, and each army has a captain who can act as a substitute when commanded to do so, or when the general is unavailable. Koray left Kurama in the care of his captain, since it would be senseless to bring a large group into the Black Knight's checkpoint.
"Alright, it's just about time.... Here, put this on." Koray tossed Hiei a black scarf. "Cover all your hair and your face with it."
Hiei did as instructed, and his father did the same.
"Oh, yeah. I have a gift for you that will probably help you out a lot." Koray said as he took a sword off his belt and tossed it to Hiei. "I heard your old sword broke, so I had a better one forged for you on the Island of Fire."
"Thanks...." Hiei said as he drew the blade and tested it with some simple movements. It was actually extremely high quality. He'd rarely seen such a good weapon.
"Now listen," Koray said. "We need to tell them a believable story, so I'm going to say that we're from the Island of Fire, and Lord Kyo sent us here to receive a job. You're going to be my apprentice. And while we're in there, don't speak unless spoken to. Is that clear?"
"Yeah."
"Make sure to follow my instructions. If we mess up, things will get really bad." Hiei nodded in response. "Okay, Let's go."
**********
Hiei followed his father through two villages that didn't pay the two demons any mind. Upon reaching the third town, Koray led Hiei down a dark, narrow alley. He opened a door and went inside, where they immediately came across a set of metal stairs. They descended and came into a square room that was completely empty except for one man standing on the far end of the room. He appeared to be human, had thick black hair that went to his shoulders and he was very muscular. Like all the other Black Knights Hiei encountered, he wore all black.
"What d'you two want?" He said with an intimidating tone of voice.
"We're here for a job." Koray replied.
"Hm.... Your eyes are red.... Not a common feature on the Island of Wind." The guard said, examining the two of them carefully.
"Of course, we're from the Island of Fire." Koray explained. "Lord Kyo sent us here to receive a task from the Black Knights who operate on the Island of Wind. Here is our proof." Koray then took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to the man standing in front of them.
The guard read the document, then said: "I see. Well, then the Island of Wind welcomes you." With a motion of his hand, a portion of the wall disappeared to reveal a doorway. Koray walked through and Hiei followed. The doorway became a wall again as they exited the previous room. The place they were in now seemed normal enough. Just like Koray said, it looked like a bar. There were dozens of round tables occupying the majority of the space and a large counter at the back where drinks were being made and served. The people there also seemed normal; some were drunk, some simply chatted with each other, and others were hitting on the flirty waitresses.
Koray walked over to an empty table and sat down. Hiei did the same. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, until a tall bald guy came over to them.
"Hey, newcomers. How can I help you?"
"We've come from the Island of Fire upon request from Lord Kyo to receive a job." Koray responded.
"Heh. I could figure that much on my own from your eye color to the document you gave our guard in the other room. What I meant was what kind of drink do you want?"
"Well, I guess a drink would be nice...." Koray said. "Though unfortunately I'm unfamiliar with what you serve. I'll have whatever you're having, and the kid will have something non-alcoholic.
"Alright then...." The bald man said as he left to get the drinks.
Koray said nothing in the time their host was gone, and thus Hiei was silent as well. Their host returned shortly with three drinks. He passed one to Hiei and the other to Koray, and then sat down.
"I'll bet neither of you have ever seen any place like this on the Island of Fire. So, what do you think?" The man said.
"It's rather odd to see so many different races here....But I guess that's to be expected." Koray said with a sigh. Hiei had no idea how fire demons here were supposed to act, but from what he could tell his father was doing a good job at playing his part.
"Heh heh. I guess that's to be expected from you fire demons." Their host said as he took a sip from his drink.
"Whatever." Koray said as he removed the scarf covering his face only and took a drink. Their host stopped for a moment and got a good look at Koray's face.
"Those'r some pretty nasty scars...." He said, obviously inquiring as to where they came from.
"Yes.... They're battle wounds." Koray replied calmly.
"I see, so you're a veteran." The man said. "Then this kid must be your apprentice."
"That's right." Koray said. Hiei remained silent. He didn't know what to say, anyway.
"Ah! Forgive me for being rude, my name is Hengist. What are yours?"
"What, you don't already know? It was included in the document I gave your guard. Can't the almighty Black Knights read?" Koray replied, challengingly.
"Heh.... Alright, you got me there...." Hengist said. "And as one of the Black Knights, I would also know that fire demons absolutely never come to the Island of Wind to receive jobs."
Damn it, Hiei thought to himself. He'd figured them out..... And so fast. Hiei expected his father to be nervous, but Koray just stared at Hengist intensely.
"On top of that, did you know that we are always made aware of who is coming for jobs, but two fire demons were never on the list?"
Koray continued to stare. Hiei just got more nervous.
"How long did you honestly think you could pull off this act?!" Hengist exclaimed loudly to the two of them.
Finally Koray smiled. "And how long did you expect to play the fool?" He said calmly.
But before Hengist could say anything, he had been sliced in half by a seemingly invisible force. Both pieces fell to the floor, spilling blood everywhere. Hiei had just barely caught a glimpse of his father's movement. To the untrained eye, it would have seemed that Koray never moved at all. The attack had been one fast swoop of Koray's hand, which quickly released his aura to slice the Black Knight in half.
Koray removed the scarf covering his hair and said: "This is where the fun begins."