Here with the Enemy

Royal Highness stopped cold in his tracks when he saw Duke. The sigh of his leader waiting for him in the hallway was intimidating. If he had headed to his room sooner he might have avoided this. It was too late to go back now though since he had been spotted. If he bolted it would be rather obvious he had something to be ashamed of. He hoped he would not be angry that he had not done everything he was instructed to do. His gray eyes met the floor. Duke should have sent someone else for such a malicious, person-to-person deed. Doing things like that . . . it seemed so distasteful to him. He preferred to fight an enemy at a distance; his style was more a range fighting. Mind games were fine, but if it came to things like that he would rather stand back and let the others do it. There had to be something about the person he had strong feelings of hate toward before he could find it in himself to torment them on a personal level.

He had been told to make the girl suffer as much as possible but he just could not bring himself to torture her. He was not fully sure why he could not hate her. It was normally not that hard to find a reason to hate someone but he found nothing in her. Once she started crying he really lost his nerve. He could not quite hate that girl, she was too innocent. That girl was even a bit like him. There were things about her that reminded him of himself and his own inner feelings. She was different from normal humans, just like they were. She understood what it was like, he could tell. When he went after the Mew Mews it had always seemed less personal and he just refused to think much about it. When they fought before it did not seem so personal, they were just enemies he was supposed to kill. If he was going to do something he found it easier to us others – Personally harming someone was so . . . difficult unless he hated them.

When he hypnotized people and made them do his bidding it felt like he was separated from the ill deeds even though he ordered it. He hated humans so that was easy to do but when it came to someone like himself it became more difficult to separate himself from it. Duke and the others would call him weak for that most likely. He wished he could be better, more like he always made people think he was, more like the others. It would be better if he could be more like Duke. Their leader was the strongest of any, he had no weakness at all. That man was the idea leader, perfect, and he accepted them all for who they were. If Duke really wanted to have her tortured and afraid he should have sent Happy Child, he was the best at it out of the group. Yuzen sighed as he moved closer to his leader. He really needed to become stronger in order to be useful. It always surprised him that Duke took even him into the group. The others he understood since they were better and stronger. He really owed Duke so much for allowing him to stay. It made him feel worse when he failed, knowing he let him down, and he hated that. The Mew Mews were not allies, so they were enemies that needed to be destroyed; he had to keep that in mind next time.

Duke pushed away from the wall and strolled toward him, "How did it go?"

"It went alright . . ." He hated it when Duke wore that mask, it made it impossible to read his expression.

"Really? You did not do very much to her though, did you, Akizuki?"

"I did! I just . . ." He remembered his composure, "I could have done more to her but she was boring me. She was so pathetic it was uninspiring." Royal Highness crossed his arms over his chest.

Duke leaned closer, "It's fine, I expected as much. Did you think I would not anticipate this considering I know you have such a soft nature in matters like that? I already knew you would not be able to do as I asked this time," He draped an arm over Royal Highness' shoulder, "But I know you will do better next time. You don't ever make the same mistakes twice, after all."

He cringed, "No, I will not fail you again, I swear! I'm sorry! I know I made a mistake . . ."

"It's fine! I told you I already knew it would go that way, so I'm not angry. I did not expect it to end differently." Duke's arm slid away as he began walking, "I must attend to something now though, so I will see you later."

Royal Highness clutched his chest, not daring to watch him walk away. Failure! He failed and Duke knew it! Soft nature. What that really meant was "weakling." Duke had been kind not to put it that way but it was impossible to miss in what was said. Receiving a beating would have felt better than that. He wished he had yelled at him. Duke was so forgiving of him that it made his failure to obey even worse. Saying he knew he would not be able to carry out the order was nearly like saying Duke expected failure from him.

No, no, no! He was not weak, he would not be weak! This would not happen again! He would not disappoint Duke again, not ever! Next time he would not show mercy, he would do as he was told! He did not want to be weak because weakness meant he was useless. He did not want to be useless to Duke! If he was useless he could not stay in the Crusaders . . . and this was all he had! He was nothing, had nothing without them. Fear pricked at his mind. What would he even do if Duke decided he did not want him here anymore? Yuzen bolted for his room.

Duke could not help but smirk when he heard the door slam closed. Poor Akizuki. It was a bit of a shame to be cruel to him but it had to be done. That boy was so easy to manipulate it was almost sad. He always played right into the palm of his hand. The teen's emotions were so easy to manipulate and alter to suit his purposes. Playing his fears was quite a simple but amusing task. Tormenting him was as fun as tormenting the new dolls. He had to be careful with Akizuki though. Working with him was like walking a fine line – Pushing too far would cause the boy to shatter the way Utamaro almost did the day he first showed himself to them. Had he not stepped in that day the boy would have died by his own doing.

It was fortunate he had been there to watch them as he always did. None of them had any idea how long he had watched them – They did not even know that much of the misfortune that befell them had been his doing. Not all their suffering had been caused by him; quite often he merely had to sit back and watch life take its toll. Humans were so wicked to anything they did not understand. Those with power were seen at first as a tool but eventually became viewed as a threat. Humans naturally tormented each other and that fact was only amplified by those they saw as "different." Uniqueness was not valued it was crushed. Humans deserved anything they got and it would be his pleasure to plunge the world into suffering. They asked for it. They deserved to be punished.

As he moved past a window he stopped – His fingers wrapped around the cold metal handle and he bolted it. This was no time for unbolted windows now that they had a guest that could fly away. He moved ahead swiftly, black coat billowing around him like a long cape. The sound of a table hitting the stone walls made him chuckle – He had a hunch what he was about to find.

He turned the corner and entered the main room in time to see Blue Bayou send the alien to the floor with a hard blow to the jaw. Chains clanked as the aliens body jostled wickedly from the impact. Happy Child floated over the scene with a gleeful grin on his face. There was a clear hint of annoyance on Blue Bayou's face. Tatara had so much rage inside him. That might have been part of what gave him so much strength. The only thing that ever seemed to perk him up was fighting, the only time he had the chance to work out a bit of that anger and hate he bottled inside himself. Duke glanced around the room for Sweet Juliet but she was not here. She must have found this display either distasteful or boring and had gone to her room. It was rare that he did not find her with Blue Bayou. Though he tended to be the one that followed her, they were almost always together. The lovely Yura Yamashita might have been one of the only people Takenori felt any real feelings toward.

"I see he is trying to awaken. It has not been a problem, has it, Takenori?"

Tatara looked up and shook his head, eyes only slightly less than bored, "No, not really. Nothing I can't handle."

Duke moved in beside them to gaze over it all, "Not to worry, even he won't be able to shake off the effects of the drug I gave him a few minutes ago."

The alien struggled against the chains, eyes glazed over like murky water. He could not have been fully aware of his circumstances, surroundings, or much else with the power of the drugs flowing inside him. Still, he was stubborn, fighting hard to sift past the drug to regain clarity. Though he knew very little of his circumstances he clearly knew he wanted to get at them. The inner struggle was practically visible inside him as he struggled to stand again. It was a pathetic spectacle. He finally gained a little ground as he floated a little ways from the ground but he could barely manage to stay upright at all. His orientation had to be off and Duke would wager he could not even see clearly.

Utamaro floated up beside the near catatonic creature, "Do you want to play that much, alien?" He grinned, "I'll play with you, if you like!"

Happy Child directed a mild ultrasonic wave around Kisshu, giggling wildly. The alien cried out, body twisting and contorting with pain. To sensitive ears like that even a mild attack would have been excruciating, not to mention it would unbalance his equilibrium even more radically. Kisshu crashed to the ground and tried to cover his ears but the shackles made it impossible, especially since his mind was hardly capable of much reasoning. Duke could tell Happy Child was also using his ability to speak into the creatures mind and he was mildly curious as to what he was saying to him.

Duke knelt beside the two and placed a hand on Happy Child's shoulder, "That is enough for the moment. If you keep going much longer you will shatter his eardrums."

"Oh, right, I guess I should stop then." Happy Child relented.

Duke ruffled the boys blond hair with his gloved hand. This boy was truly the perfect doll and he could not have asked for better. Happy Child's anguish over his rejection by the world had turned into a great deal of loneliness, depression, and self-loathing. However, he had not stopped there, more than self-loathing he had soon begun to loath the world. For their rejection of his birth he wanted to make them suffer as he had, he wanted them to pay. Over the years his feelings had turned more from self-loathing to a desire for revenge on a world that betrayed him for no other reason than that he was born different. Of the four this boy was most like him. Of all of them, Duke understood this child the best. Unlike Royal Highness, this child had nearly lost his capacity for empathy or mercy. The whole world was nothing more than a playground and people were nothing more than toys.

There was still a great deal of sadness within the boy though. He felt worthless and alone because he was hated by those who should have loved him. He did not want to be hated but knew he always would be. That sadness was something he only allowed Duke to see. Around even the other Crusaders he only revealed the side of himself that smiled and played – His anger showed through when they were around at times, but never his sadness. It was only when he was alone with Duke that he showed the sad child within himself. He managed to direct his sadness into the games he played with the lives of others, it was his outlet for his feelings. Happy Child eased his own suffering by inflicting it onto others. He was simply marvelous!

"Takenori," Duke stood, "I need you to batter him up a bit more . . . Nothing too serious yet, it just need to be visible that he was beaten. After that I want you to bring him to my room."

The boy cracked his knuckles, "Right." He moved swiftly for the alien, fist already drawing back for the strike.

Blue Bayou carried the alien as he followed Duke. He dropped the unconscious boy onto the bed and promptly left without a word. The chains rattled and slipped off the bed onto the floor, tugging at the limp limbs they were fastened to. The leader stared down at the still form on his bed. The boy's green hair glistened in the light of the candle. The bruise on his cheek was starting to become clear, the blues and purples were showing up well against the lily white pigment of his skin. There was a bit of drying blood at the side of his lip from one of the blows and a little matting into his hair where he fell against a table. One side of his face had multiple streaks of red from what Happy Child hit him with. When he awakened his body would ache from the beating. Though he let them have their fun Duke had tried to be sure they did not break any bones. It had been a mild beating and the injuries would not last long on such a creature. They would likely need to beat him many more times later, of course. He did look a bit the worse for wear already, pitiful.

Things were not as simple as beatings though. Duke knew he could not keep the alien drugged forever. Eventually Kisshu would come alive once again which meant he needed to act quickly. With this boy's ability to port away on top of his ability to fly, it would be hard to confine him. He was still for now but it would not remain that way. With such a powerful creature he would have to use a bit more than drugs to subdue him.

Blue eyes shined and then dimmed as he began delving into the alien's mind. He moved through the mist and haze created by the drugs. It took a few minutes but he finally found the boy – He sat on his knees, pointed nails digging into the ground as he rocked back and forth. The drugs created a dark and desolate place in his mind. Each mind created different spaces unique to the person. The landscapes of a mind were as diverse as the individuals, but it always turned the same once any drugs entered in – The mind always became dark and desolate, at least as long as the drug lasted. Kisshu did not look any better in here than he did in the waking world, even the glaze in his eyes was the same. It occurred to him how simple it would be to shatter this mind right now, and he would have if he was not still of use. Duke closed the distance between them and knelt on the ground in front of him.

"Tell me, can you hear me, alien?" There did not seem to be a response, "Kisshu, can you hear me?"

Kisshu's head rolled upward and he murmured groggily, "I hear you."

"Good, at least you are not totally lost to reality. At least you have a little more use of hearing and speech here."

"You . . ." The alien made a weak lunge for Duke but only managed to fall against him.

Duke chuckled, "That won't do you any good. You can fight all you like but it won't get you anywhere." He reached up and stroked the silky texture of the green hair in an attempt to calm the alien as he worked, "You should relax and listen to what I have to say."

A shaky hand grasped at Duke's throat, "Even like this, I will fight you."

He laughed and slapped the hand away, then landed a second harder strike to his face, "You could not touch me even if you were at your full strength, foolish child. You still do not seem to understand the difference between us."

"Do what you want but I'll still beat you!" He growled, eyes still murky.

"Don't you even want to hear my offer, boy?"

The alien's speech was still slurred, "Nothing you say is of interest to me!"

"Not even if I was going to offer you a bit of time with Ichigo?"

A bit of clarity returned to the golden eyes, "Ichigo?"

"Yes, if you agree to behave, I will allow you to spend a little time with Ichigo. It may be the last time you can see each other, so I will be kind to you two, provided you are nice."

"Where is she?" Kisshu's eyes were wide.

"She is here, with me. I brought you both to my house. If you promise to behave, I will bring her to you as a gift."

He crumpled against Duke's shoulder nearly in tears, "I want to see Ichigo! I want to see her! Let me see her, please?"

Duke smiled, "Of course." He pulled the boy away and stood, "You must wait here. I will bring her to see you."

He walked away, leaving the alien crumpled on the ground. It was a little surprising that kid had as much fight left in him as he did, it seemed anger went a long way, not that it mattered anymore. In the state he was now he was incredibly easy to manipulate. Had he been more alert he might have noticed what had been done to him, but he had not. Duke had just pulled the boy deep into the reassesses of his mind, a place only he had the ability to come and go from safely. The line of reality was now blurred to the alien. At this point he had no way of understanding that he was not in the real world but had been pulled deep within his consciousness. In the place he had pulled that mind time, space, reality, none of it existed.

Having the skills he possessed gave him an advantage over even the most brilliant minds. There was not a soul alive that could withstand his power over their minds. He could not easily destroy free will, but he could do it with normal humans. However, on beings like the alien or the Mew Mews, he could not simply override their freewill. No, it took more cunning than that for extraordinary beings to fall to him. Of course, that was where the fun began. He rarely used that method he just used on the alien, but it was necessary. Now he could keep him trapped inside his own mind indefinitely but he would not realize it. There was no way that boy could have known what he had been up to while he was stringing webs inside his mind. Actually, he could not hold him there indefinitely, but he could keep him there for some time before the alien was able to awaken. That bought time; it would be more than enough time to accomplish his plans for both he and the girl.

Every sound made her jump, afraid Royal Highness was coming back, or Duke. No matter how she worked she had been unsuccessful in getting the chain loose. She could not find a bolt holding them to the wall even though she knew there had to be one. All she managed to do was get a bit of the slack back that Royal Highness had taken. If only she could find a way out of the chains she was sure she could escape. The chains were the real problem. Ichigo hissed, eyes furious, tail lashing. There did have to be a way out of this! If she managed to get free she could go and tell the others about this guy.

It did worry her that his plans seemed to include her, though she had no idea why. For that matter, she had no idea what he had done to her in his lab – That had to be part of it. Since she seemed to be stuck here she might as well use the time to try to get one of them to tell her about this plan of theirs. If she was trapped here long, and she hopped she was not, she would find out something. It was hard to hear anything in this room though. Maybe if she could get them to move her she would be able to hear more.

She hissed again. This was all so confusing! She wished she understood more about what was happening. Though her fear was strong it was slowly beginning to turn into anger. These people were all crazy and there was no way she would let them get away with anything. Weak or not, prisoner or not, she was still a Mew Mew – That was something they could not take away from her.

The door swung open and her heart stopped. Seeing Duke coming in made her head spin. She would rather have seen Royal Highness if it was a choice between the two. The cold blue eyes cut into her as he moved beside her and sat on the bed next to her. The usual smile was slathered across his face. She hated that smile, it always meant bad news for her.

"I see that you are awake and alert!" Duke purred.

"No thanks to you! What did you do to me anyway?"

"I will explain that later."

"No, I want to know! I also want to know what you are so determined to have me do for you. You never told me anything at all about anything."

"You really want to know what you have to do for me?" He eyed her maliciously.

"Yes, I do!"

"Very well!" He leaned in and lowered his voice, "You will have to kill someone for me. That is your first job."

A bit of the color in her face drained away, "Like I would ever do that! I'm not a killer! Send one of your people! I won't do it!"

"Not even in trade for the life of someone you loved?" He leaned back, "It is an age old psychological question . . . 'The one for the many' has always been a question people wrestle over. Kill one to save many . . . a hard choice, hmm?"

Ichigo stared at him, unable to stop the thoughts of what he might be indicating – Was he really planning to barter with her? One life for another? Worse still, she wondered, if it did come to that what she would decide. Could she really stay strong if he had a knife to one of her parent's throats? Could she risk the lives of anyone she loved? Could she really let someone she loved die, or would she break and follow his orders. She wanted to think she would find a way to save both . . . but could she? She hated the kinds of thoughts he brought out of her. When he was around everything seemed darker and bleaker.

Duke reached out a hand and tenderly caressed her cheek, "Do you still believe in your friends?" He smiled gently, "Perhaps you are holding out hope that Kisshu will rescue you?"

Ichigo narrowed her eyes, annoyed by the fake kindness, "Like I told you, you have underestimated my friends and Kisshu! They are all more powerful than you think! They are better than I am, so don't think you will have it easy!"

"Really? How strong are they?" Duke crooned.

"If you think I'm dumb enough to tell you about their powers you're crazy, but just know they are strong!"

"Are the aliens strong? I at least know you and your friends had a difficult time with them. You could at least tell me if they are stronger than you, right?"
"How would I know?" She pondered what she should say, "I suppose they could be. They are very skilled and very powerful! If there had been more of them, who knows, we might have lost." She hoped that built Kisshu up enough that it might dissuade him from going after him.

"Mmm . . . I am pleased to hear that!" He beamed, "I was truly hoping for such a wonderful appraisal of them by their enemy."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo eyed him as he stood and walked to the door.

She watched in confusion as he opened the door wide. Blue Bayou and Happy Child moved into the room, chains dragged the ground behind them. Her heart stopped as Duke stepped out of the way so she could see what Blue Bayou held in his arms. She could not believe her eyes, it had to be a trick of the light, an illusion. Her body froze stiff like a corpse. Kisshu, was it really him? It could not be him! The limp, bloody, and bruised body in Blue Bayou's arms could not possibly be him. His eyes were closed but she saw that one was bruised and a bit swollen. He looked so weak and helpless; his arms dangling limp, and head hanging. Was he alive? It looked like he was breathing. Her heart all but stopped as she stared at him. No part of her mind could wrap around this. That could never have been Kisshu – They could never have caught him let alone beat him that way! They could not have gotten him, he would have been able to port away even if they had over powered him in numbers.

She gulped. That's right, he only had one sword because Duke still had one. Maybe Duke had really taken both of them leaving him without a weapon to fight with. Still, that hardly accounted for him not being able to escape. This was a trick . . . it must have been.

"It is really him! Look closely." Duke simpered.

Blue Bayou moved closer to her and held him out. Her heart twisted in her chest as she looked into his face and heard the shallow, quiet breaths. This was real, it really was him. She knew every curve of his face by heart. She knew the sound of his breathing. She knew the scar that peaked out from under the collar of his shirt. There was no question, it was him!

"You bastards!" She shrieked and struggled madly against the chains, "What have you done?"

"Don't you remember?" Duke feigned sympathy, "I told you, if you refused to listen, I would be forced to go after those you love. I even warned you that he would be first! I told you that the only way to keep him safe was by being good."

Hot tears streaked down her face, "Leave him alone!"

"I can't do that. I told you, my cooperation must be purchased." He shrugged, "I won't harm him if you obey . . . but if not . . . I can't say he will have a bright future."

She lunged at him in vain, "Don't touch him! Don't you dare touch him, you monster!"

Duke's face darkened. Her jaw burned as the back of his hand connected hard enough to knock her back. The ferocity in his eyes sent an instant wave of terror over her. Her body stiffened as she felt the chill of metal against her throat. Kisshu's sword was in Duke's hand and she could feel the sharp edge cutting in as he pressed. A warm fluid trickled down her throat. She dared not breathe or move. Nothing could have frightened her as much as those cold, terrorizing, dreadful blue eyes this close to her. She could feel his darkness as he stared into her eyes. Just maybe, she was going to die before Kisshu.

"I think we have already had talks about that attitude of yours!" He his voice was nearly a growl.

The sword moved away but his fingers took its place, winding around her neck. His grip tightened until she could not breath. His strong grip hurt – It felt like he was crushing her trachea. Ichigo gripped his hand trying to pull it away at least enough to breathe.

"Do I need to teach you more about your position here, Ichigo?"

The world was starting to darken.

"Let's not forget to check that attitude next time, little girl." His hand released her throat and she choked as she inhaled a breath. "See you later, Ichigo. I will be back in a while."

Duke tapped gently on the wooden door and waited. Royal Highness slowly eased it open but did not look up to see the face of his visitor. He moved past the teen and strolled into the room. This room was decorated in much the same way as his own. Akizuki had several more lights in the room though. There was a desk lamp, one by the chair, and one by the bed, all on. His shoes crushed into the large floor rug as he walked to the chair. Akizuki flowed behind him and dropped onto the edge of his bed. Duke leaned back and linked his fingers under his chin and waited for those gray eyes to finally look at him. After some time of silence the boy finally looked up.

"There is a job I need you to do for me." Duke said evenly.

"What job?" Yuzen's composure had finally returned in full, back to the usual mannerisms.

"I have to be in the alien's head and in the girls head at the same time. Kisshu is already so far under the influence of the drug I gave him that he is not a problem, but the girl still will be."

"You have never gone into two minds at the same time? Why do you need to be in both at once?"

"It is to accomplish one last goal. I have to link their minds for a short time. I will be the link between minds."
Royal Highness frowned, "What on earth are you linking them for?"

"I am going to let them see each other one last time, but it must be done in the confines of their minds."

"Why? If you are going to let them see each other, why not just wake the alien and put them together."

"I have a reason, don't worry. I am not merely doing it for the fun of it." Duke grinned.

"Have you ever done this before?" The boy was not convinced.

"Yes, I have. It is a pain and very tiring, but simple enough to do. I just dislike that it tires me, so I don't often do it."

"Well," He frowned again, "alright, if it is what you want. What do you need me to do?"

"I will need you to put her under very deeply. I can only accomplish this feat if you ensure she is as deeply under hypnosis as possible."

Royal Highness nodded, "Of course, that is not a problem."

Duke smiled and stood. The freewill, the nature of a person was hard to get around in the cases of highly skilled people. Eradicating freewill was only ever temporary anyway, even in normal humans. The mind had a propensity for unpredictability. However, when he was inside a mind he could twist and manipulate them until they felt as he wished them to. He could create things in their minds that they truly believed was real. Though it was difficult, he could even create false memories – Though he preferred to manipulate people rather than simply dropping in a memory he spun. While he was in a mind he could all but completely remove the unpredictable nature of the mind and lead it where he wished. He could twist the doubts, fears, desires, needs, or anything else until the mind was his. It was marvelous!

Still, it was always the thrill of the hunt that got to him, even over the fun of twisting a mind. He did not intend to plant memories, or even shatter their minds though. There was something more fun he intended to do. He would keep them busy while he did a bit of searching through their minds though. Just letting them interact would keep them busy enough. There were a few more pieces of information he wanted to look at. That was on top of the little game he planned to play with them, of course. His trip into their minds would be a very busy one indeed. He would start it in the morning after he had taken the time to rest properly.

AN: I gave the Crusaders a few new tricks as well as NAMES. A few of them had names, but Blue Bayou and Sweet Juliet never even got a name in the manga. I gave them names because it was annoying and hard to write characters that have no real names. I basically just made them what I wanted to see them be in the manga, but I never got what I wanted in the manga... thus here is a fic.

So you can keep track if you're not familiar with the names:

Duke - No duh, right
Yura Yamashita- Sweet Juliet
Takenori Tatara- Blue Bayou
Akizuki Yuzen- Royal Highness
Utamaro- Happy Child