Chapter 2 The Night of Pain

After Kaito left Eric was still trying to comprehend what he had been told. He was not only made aware of Kaito's origins, but he heard that two mercenaries from his world had come here to kill someone they knew only as The Hero of Tengoku. While Kaito's tale sounded impossible even crazy he didn't strike Eric as insane. His words had the tone of utter seriousness and there was nothing humorous about the way he described the mercenaries.

For a moment he was concerned when Kaito ended their conversation so quickly, but when nothing happened he finally let out his breath.

"Must be getting paranoid." He thought to himself.

Believing that the whole thing was just the result of working too hard. Perhaps Kaito had other matters to deal with and that was why he broke off their conversation. Breathing out a sigh of relief he said to himself, "No more long hours. I need to be spending time with Kat."

He knew Kat got lonely whenever he was gone and since her injury she must get incredibly bored. Now that he had finished his final job of the year he was looking forward to a long holiday with his sister. As if by cue Kat opened the door to Eric's study.

"Why did Mr Arashi leave brother?" She asked in genuine curiosity.

Getting up from his desk he went over to her then showed a slight smile. "He had business to take care of Kat, but we don't need to worry."

He patted her on the head making her giggle. "So you won't be working again brother?"

"I'm done for the year Kat." Eric answered in genuine sincerity then added. "Starting tomorrow we'll have plenty of time to spend together."

Kat could barely contain her excitement and she hugged her brother so tightly that if she had been a wrestler she would have broken his spine. Only when he started grunting did she loosen her grip. "Sorry brother. I guess I don't know my own strength."

He followed her out of his study and into the living room. Though before he could sit down the power went out. It was almost pitch black save for the faint glow from the lights of the city. Kat let out a slight scream cause even at 12 she was still afraid of the dark. "Brother I can't see."

"Don't worry Kat." Eric replied though he himself was rather perplexed. Occasionally the city would experience blackouts and their house was on the same power grid which meant if the city lost power they'd lose power. However the city appeared to be fully powered while their house was the only one out of power.

Before he could get around to looking for a flashlight he heard a knock on the door. Perhaps Kaito came back and wished to continue where they left off. Though as he approached the door he felt uneasy. Then he recalled Kaito's mention of mercenaries and suddenly his previous moment of relief wasn't some form of paranoia. He managed to locate a tiny flashlight then gave it to Kat.

"I need you to go up to your room and lock the door behind you." He said trying not to add to Kat's fear.

She looked at him with concerned eyes then did as Eric told her and made her way upstairs. It wasn't until he heard the door shut that he began to move toward the front door. Cautiously he opened the door just enough that he could make out the features of the man standing in front of the door. Nothing on him seemed anything like Kaito. Instead of wearing a black London fog coat this man wore a black leather trench coat over black shinobi shozoku. He wore his hair in a pony tail and he had his left eye covered by an eye-patch. There was something very ominous about him as well. Perhaps it was the way the light hit his eye making what could have been maroon colored eyes appear to be given a deep blood colored hue.

Right when Eric closed the door the man proceeded to run his fist right through the door and Eric felt as if the wind had been knocked from him as the fist also made contact with his stomach sending him backward a few feet from the door. The door was made out of an especially hard type of wood yet the man punched through it as if it were made out of paper.

"You know it's rude to shut the door on a visitor." The man spoke as if he were trying to instruct a child.

Eric was still trying to catch his breath then the man opened the door and stepped into the hallway. He stared at Eric with a dubious look, "Guess I used a bit too much force on that. Didn't think you'd be dumb enough to stand in the way of my fist."

Eric glared at the man, "Who the hell are you!?"

The man cocked his head to one side and let disappointment show on his face. "Surely your other guest mentioned something about mercenaries."

Eric's eyes widened in fear as he remembered Kaito's words. "Y-your one of the mercenaries Kaito mentioned."

"Kodoku Baisho-ken." The man answered almost in disgust. "Don't ever compare me to some amateur merc."

Managing to get up and reach for a metal bat that was hung on the wall Eric aimed the bat at Kodoku. "I'm not going to become another kill of yours you sick bastard!"

"Careful boy." Kodoku said in a menacing tone. "You're going to be my ticket to retirement and I'd really hate to end this too quickly."

Without replying Eric swung the bat hoping to score a blow to Kodoku's head. Kodoku simply grinned and before Eric could react brought his foot up scoring a kick to the chin sending him crashing into the couch behind him which broke the moment he landed. Kodoku let out a mocking laugh, "To think the Hero of Tengoku can't even fight. You can't even save yourself."

Upon hearing the title Eric somehow managed to get up then sized Kodoku up with a look of shock and anger. "I'm not the Hero of Tengoku!"

"Here's something to consider about me." Kodoku spoke without humor. "When I'm on the job I always find the right target."

Enraged at this point he got back onto his feet then readied his bat. "You're just like Kaito! There is no Tengoku. You're just a man hired to kill for profit."

Kodoku's eye narrowed, "You still don't believe we're from another world?"

Holding up his hand which appeared to be clutching something he added. "Let me show you just how extraordinary I am."

Eric watched in surprise and horror when he saw a bright orange flame manifest in Kodoku's hand. It's light filled the room with orange that made everything visible including Kodoku's cruel grin. "Lets see how cocky you are when you're set ablaze."

Within the fraction of a second Kodoku unleashed a blast of fire which Eric narrowly avoided. The blast that would have left him scorched hit the wall behind him and left a flaming hole. Eric barely had time to react before Kodoku launched another infernal blast which hit his shoulder burning his shirt then touching his flesh. He screamed in pain then grabbed a glass of water sitting on the table and used it to put out the fire which left a second degree burn.

"Now that you know I'm not joking." Kodoku said readying two more balls of fire. "Lets see how long you can avoid becoming barbecue."

-

Kaito could sense that something was wrong. He barely entered the city before he felt an ominous presence coming from the direction Eric's house was. He hoped he was wrong, but there was no mistaking why he felt so uneasy. The Junketsu mercenaries were here and they had found their quarry.

"Looks like I was closer then I thought." Kaito thought to himself as he made his way back to the house. As he approached the house it seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary. The lights were off as if Eric and his sister had gone to bed. Of course that was how it was supposed to look to those untrained in sensing energy. Kaito assessed the situation then he grinned slightly. "What a clever little illusion."

Moving forward he noticed that the area before him began to fluctuate. When he finally got within 50 meters of the house he saw smoke rising and the real state that had befallen the house. He only got 40 meters closer when a wall of energy halted his process. Shimmering before him was an energy field that covered the entire house. Within the field he saw devices placed around the house.

"What have we here?" Kaito mused as he analyzed the devices before him.

They were about the size of small dishes and appeared to be sending out signals. Kaito couldn't help being impressed as he recognized the devices before him were standard issue Reality Augmenting devices which put up a double defense mechanism. If a Junketsu mercenary were on a job on a world they'd rather not draw attention to themselves these devices would project an image of the area as if it were undisturbed. Usually this works however in the event one got curious and walked through the projection an energy field was erected around the area the mercenary was executing his or her contract.

"That kid better stay alive." Kaito said to himself then added, "Taking out these devices is going to take time."

-

He may as well have been in the thresh hold of Hell with all the flames surrounding him. Too many times had Eric nearly burned to a crisp with more portions of his body covered in injuries. Kodoku had been relentless in his pursuit. He delivered several kicks to Eric's chest causing two ribs to break, sent a fire ball that scorched Eric's side, and delivered a punch to Eric's face causing him to bite into his cheek drawing blood from his mouth.

Despite Eric's few attempts to attack Kodoku he looked more dead then alive, but he didn't let his injuries stop him. If he died he knew Kat would be devastated and he had no intention of bringing her such pain. Plus he also intended to protect her with everything he had.

The pursuit lead them up stairs and Eric just barely managed to dodge another fire ball shot from the bottom of the stairs. "Run run run little rabbit." Kodoku shouted in a spine chilling voice.

"You're out of your damn mind!" Eric shouted.

"Are you seriously going to burn this place to hell just to get me?!"

Kodoku had finally gotten up the stairs then eyed his prey with a look that made Eric stiffen. "Who would question that you died in an unfortunate accident?"

The bat in Eric's hand had suffered quite a beating, but he was certain it could withstand a few more hits. "I don't care how strong you are or what kind of power you have I won't give up. You won't get my sister-"

His voice caught in his throat when he heard a scream that filled him with horror. There was no mistaking who made that noise. Something had happened to Kat.

Kodoku growled in frustration, "Damn it Yokubo! You just had to do it didn't you."

Eric felt his heart sink like a stone. Turning he saw the door that lead to his sister's room. It was partially open and Eric took long and heavy strides toward it. "Please don't be true!" He yelled in his head the closer he got to the door.

Slowly he began pushing the door open and when he entered he dropped to his knees in horrified shock. Before him covered in blood and stab wounds was the body of his beloved sister. Tears began falling freely then for a moment there was a silence. Soon enough the silence was broken by the most horrifying scream coming from the depths of Eric's primordial fear.

End