A/N: Welcome back to The Call For Blood! Sorry, I got too caught up in writing a Higurashi fanfic, which I'll upload sometime after I finish this one. Anyway, enjoy Chapter 10- Back to Death!
Chapter 10- Back to Death
After Adam and the two girls had embarked to tell the rest of the class, they had split up to clear each side of the right building, with Adam checking the rooms, and Yukari and Yumi checking out the game room.
"You still sure we can trust Adam?" Yumi asked her partner, who shrugged. "Does it really matter?" Yukari asked, before Yumi sighed. "I guess not. If we can survive tonight, I guess we can at least tolerate him." She said, before Yukari nodded. "While we're here, I noticed you never answered me earlier." She said, before Yumi looked to her. "When I asked you how close you were to Adam." Yukari said, before Yumi said, "Oh." Looking down at her feet, Yumi said, "I'm… not too sure how I feel about him. He's done a lot for me, but I'm not too sure if the Adam I met was the same guy.", before Yukari walked over to her. "And… what were your personal feelings about that Adam?" she asked, before Yumi blushed and looked down. "Did you love him?" Yukari asked, before Yumi nodded. "You did as well, didn't you?" She asked, before Yukari nodded. "And as much as I shouldn't, I still love him." She said, before Yumi nodded in understanding. "You should tell him." She said, before Yukari smiled. "Yeah, I probably should." She said, before Yumi embraced her. "Good luck." Yumi said, before Yukari smiled and returned the hug. As the two broke apart, they didn't notice a shadowy man enter the room, and point an assault rifle at them.
As the man's finger started to tighten on the trigger, he was grabbed from behind by Adam, who said, "You picked the wrong girls, mate!" Grunting, the man threw Adam off, before sliding a knife into his hand and slashing at Adam, who dodged the blade, grabbed the man's arm and disarmed the knife, before throwing it to the side and tackling the man backwards, both of them landing next to a pool table. "You two, get back!" Adam yelled to Yukari and Yumi, who nodded and ducked behind a table. As Adam got back to his feet, his opponent tried to throw a punch, but Adam blocked the punch, and slammed the man's head onto the pool table, holding him down. Looking up, he saw another man enter the room. "I found you, Assassin!" the man yelled, running towards Adam, who kicked him backwards. Using his free hand, Adam grabbed a pool ball, and slammed it into the head of the man he had pinned, sending him to the ground, before grabbing a pool cue and slamming it into the arm of the man's ally, snapping it in half. As the man threw a punch, Adam raised an arm, but the man threw another punch, cracking Adam right in the jaw, sending him staggering. Seizing his opportunity, he threw another punch, but Adam grabbed his arm, spun him round and slammed the remaining half of the pool cue into his back, sending him to the ground. Tossing the cue backwards, Adam breathed heavily, before saw the man pull a knife out and stab towards him. Dodging to the side, Adam grabbed his arm, and bent it backwards, making the man fall backwards onto the pool table, as well as point the knife at himself. As the two struggled for a couple seconds, Adam succeeded in driving the knife into his enemy's neck. Standing up, and regaining his breath, Adam let the body fall to the floor, before saying, "Well fought."
As Adam struggled to regain his breath, Yumi and Yukari came up from behind the table. "Are they…dead?" Yukari asked, before Adam looked to the first man, who had regained consciousness was reaching for his knife. Kicking him in the face, sending him onto his back, Adam pulled his own knife from a sheath, and stabbed him in the heart. As the man bled out, Adam said, "Yes, Yukari. They're dead.", before he noticed a metal chain round his victim's neck. Pulling out a necklace, his eyes widened. "Templars. Son of a bitch!" he growled, looking at the red cross necklace. "You mean the ones the Assassins fight?" Yukari asked, before Adam nodded, pocketing the necklace. "Exactly. And if the Templars are here…" he said, before getting up. "We need to get everyone out, now!" he said, before running to the door. "What's going on?" Yukari asked, making Adam turn back. "I'll tell you what's going on. You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's Volcano Day!" he said, before leaving the room. Looking to Yumi, Yukari nodded, before following him.
After catching up with Adam, the two girls followed him to the other side of the building, and after encountering a small group of students, who they told to get out of the building, they continued through the building. After rounding a corner, Adam skidded to a halt, as he saw a female he didn't recognise wielding a knife. "You!" the woman spat, pointing the knife at Adam, who held his two companions back. "Adam, you know this woman?" Yumi asked, before Adam shrugged. "Never seen her before, but she seems to know me. But judging by the venom she had in her voice, this is personal." He said, before the woman unsheathed a knife, and passed it to Adam, who caught it. Turning it in his hand, Adam's eyes widened when he saw the hilt. "I know this knife." He said, as he looked at the engraving on the blade, "Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine." As he looked up, he said, "Yumi, Yukari.", causing the girls to look at him. "Run." He said, before Yukari said, "We're not leaving you, Adam!" "I'm who she wants, now go! Get everyone else out of the building." he ordered, before Yumi nodded and pulled Yukari away.
"So, just you and me, Miss." Adam said, turning to the woman. "Who are you?" he asked, before the woman said, "You still can't remember?" Looking back down at the knife, his eyes widened in realization. "You were at the base the day the Assassins stormed it. Part of the Militia." He said, before the woman smirked. "That's right. And now you must realise, why you have to die!" she spat, before lunging at Adam, who ducked under her arm, and tripped her. "I don't want to fight you, Miss." He said, before the woman lunged at him quicker than he could react, managing to crack him in the side of the head, sending him backwards. "Too bad, Robertson." The woman spat, before Adam smirked. "I'm sorry." He said suddenly, before the girl faltered. "What are you talking about?" she demanded, before Adam repeated, "I'm sorry. For what the Brotherhood made me do. To you, and to your team. You were on one side, and we were on the other. I thought we were the good guys. I'm sorry.", causing the woman to growl. "I don't care if you're sorry. Sorry doesn't change what you did. Sorry doesn't bring them back!" she yelled, before Adam nodded. "I know, but I'm trying to stop you from doing something you'll regret. I don't want to fight you. I've got bigger problems than dealing with the Assassins or Templars right now. Walk away, and maybe you can get out of this alive." He said, before the girl furrowed her brow. "Something's got into you, Robertson…" she said, sliding a knife into her hand. "And I'm gonna rip it out!" she finished, lunging at Adam…
Elsewhere…
"We shouldn't have left Adam alone!" Yukari said, ripping her arm out of Yumi's grasp. "I know, but he wanted us to leave him. He can handle himself." Yumi said, before Yukari sighed and nodded. "I know, but I still don't like it." She said, before Yumi smirked. "You really must love him." She said, before Yukari nodded. "I do, even if he is an Assassin!" the bespectacled girl said, before Yumi nodded in understanding. "Understandable, as I do as well." She said, before Yukari nodded. "Should we go back for him?" she asked, before Yumi looked back towards the hall they had left Adam in. "He wouldn't want us to go against his wishes." She said, before Yukari nodded. "Fair enough." She said, before she saw a small group of students ahead of the two of them…
Back with Adam…
Grabbing his arm, Adam's opponent spun him round, slamming his head into a window, shattering it. Growling, Adam managed to avoid having his neck opened by a shard of glass, and pushed backwards, slamming the woman into the wall behind them, then headbutted her, causing her to release him. Grabbing the hand that she was holding her knife with, Adam disarmed her, before pinning her to the wall, and pointing the knife at her. "I'm not your enemy, Miss. The Assassins lied to me. Trust me, I'm on your side." He said, before the woman faltered. "What are you talking about?" she demanded, before Adam raised his hands, and released her, before throwing the knife out of the window. "I was posted here by the Assassins to found a new branch of the Brotherhood. The only problem is that they neglected to tell me about the Calamity. I've been living at death's door for months, and I've lost a lot of innocent people." He said, before the woman scowled at him. "The Calamity?" she asked, before Adam nodded, before he glared at her. "You don't know." He said, before the woman nodded. "Alright, I'll explain everything. If, you help me get these people out of this building, before the fire gets to them first." He said, before the woman sighed, and nodded. "Alright, fine. I'll help you. Not for you, but for the greater good." She said, before Adam nodded, and pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "There's still a number of students in that side of the building." He said, before the woman nodded. "You're explaining everything after this, Robertson." She said, before Adam nodded. "I owe it to you. And, my name's Adam." He said, before the woman nodded, and took off.
"Good, now to find Yukari and Yumi." Adam said, before running in the direction the girls had ran off in. Eventually, he saw a group of students running down the central staircase, towards the front door. Smiling, he went to walk away, but he stopped when he heard a crash. Running back to the railing, he saw that the students were trapped under a chandelier, which had fallen on them. Vaulting over his railing, Adam landed on the floor below, and rolled to beside the chandelier. Immediately, he grabbed the chandelier, and exerted all of his strength, slowly lifting the chandelier. After trying for a minute, Adam was surprised when he felt the chandelier move even more. Looking to his side, he saw Mr Chibiki standing beside him. "Keep lifting!" the man said, before Adam nodded, and continued to lift, eventually making enough space for one of the students, Kenzou Kawahori to crawl out. "Can you give us a hand?" Adam asked, before Kenzou scoffed. "Yeah, right. I'm out of here!" he said, before running off. As Adam growled, he saw a pillar come crashing down, straight onto Kenzou's head, killing him instantly. "Idiot." Adam said, before he continued struggling to lift the chandelier.
After another minute, both Adam and Chibiki were tiring, but they had managed to rescue all but one of the trapped students. "I'm going to help her out. Can you keep this up?" Adam asked, before the man nodded, but they were surprised to feel the chandelier lift even more, giving Adam enough crawl space. Looking to his other side, Adam saw that the woman he had fought earlier was helping them. "Go." She said, before Adam nodded, and slid under the chandelier, and reached the trapped student, a girl by the name of Sayuri Kakinuma. "Sayuri, give me your hand!" Adam said, before the girl nodded, and took his hand. Exerting his strength, Adam pulled her out from under the chandelier. After releasing the chandelier, Mr Chibiki, Adam, and the unnamed woman got the students outside the inn, where Mr Chibiki's car was stationed, surrounded by a number of students, with Daisuke safe in the back seat. "I had to eliminate a number of my fellow Templars to get some of these students out of there. This better have been worth it, Robertson." The woman said, before Adam nodded. "It was. Trust me." He said, before Mr Chibiki cleared his throat. "Mister Robertson, who exactly is this?" he asked, nodding towards the woman. "She's my…partner." Adam said, looking to the woman, who hesitated, before she nodded. "Yeah. Partner." She said, quietly. "Very well." Mr Chibiki said, before the woman looked to Adam, who nodded, and looked round the students. "There's still people trapped inside there." He said, his eyes widening in realisation, when he saw Yukari, Yumi, Izumi, Kouichi, Misaki, Takako and Kazami were absent, along with a couple more students. "I'm going back in." he said, before the woman nodded. "I'm going with you." She said, before Adam nodded in agreement. "Let's go."
After fighting the fire and entering the building, Adam and the woman started to run through the halls, eventually running into two girls. "Adam!" one girl said, in a voice Adam recognised as Yukari's, before embracing him. Looking over her shoulder, Adam saw Yumi standing there. Releasing Yukari, Adam gently embraced her. "I am so glad to see you two are okay." He said, before Yukari noticed the woman accompanying him. "What is she doing here, Adam? She tried to kill you!" she demanded, before Adam said, "We've came to an understanding." Nodding, the woman asked Adam, "How many more people are left in here?" Counting on his fingers, Adam replied, "I'd wager, about 7 or 8, along with Miss Mikami." As the woman nodded, Yukari tapped Adam on the shoulder. Turning to her, Adam saw she was holding a bag out to him. As he looked to her in confusion, Yukari said, "I believe this belongs to you." Confused, Adam opened the bag, his eyes widening when he saw his equipment, more specifically, the equipment he had told her to watch over. Nodding, he said, "Thanks, Yukari.", before zipping the bag shut, and slinging it over his shoulder. "Alright, let's go." He said, before his companions nodded, and allowed him to lead them through the halls.
After seeing numerous empty halls, Adam saw Kazami walking through the halls, carrying a knife. Looking round him, Adam saw two girls from the class, Aki Matsui and Kyouko Kaneki, walking down the corridor, and his eyes narrowed when he saw Kazami raising his knife. Leaping forwards, he grabbed Kazami's arm, and slammed him into the wall, startling the two girls. "Drop it." He warned, before Kazami growled, and headbutted him, sending him staggering, before rushing at him, and trying to stab him, but Adam blocked the blade. "I will send the dead one back to death!" the crazed boy yelled, before Adam managed to throw him off. "So, what's your plan, Kazami? Keep killing everyone until you kill the dead one?" he asked, before Kazami shrugged. "If I must." He said, before Yukari screamed, "Kazami, stop!" Grunting, Kazami looked from Adam to her. "I will finish this, Yukari!" he yelled, before Adam looked to her. "Stay back, Yukari. I've got this." He said, reaching down and unsheathing his knife. "I'm not gonna kill you, Kazami. I ain't built like that. But, I am going to make this hurt." He said, before the boy scoffed, and lunged at him. Unfortunately for Kazami, the sheer skill difference between the two meant he received numerous slashes, making him drop his blade, before he was pinned to the floor. "I win." Adam said, before he raised his fist and knocked Kazami unconscious. "Alright, let's get him out of here." He said, before he hoisted Kazami onto his shoulders. "I'll take him, Adam." The Templar woman said, before Adam nodded, and passed Kazami over to her. "Alright, I'm going to find Kouichi and the rest. You lot get outta here." He said, going to head off, but Yukari and Yumi ran up beside him. "We go together." They said, before Adam sighed, and relented. "Alright, let's go." He said, before looking to his partner. "Take care of them." He said, before she nodded, and lead the others off. "Alright, then. Avante!" Adam said, leading Yukari and Yumi in the other direction.
Eventually, they reached a staircase, where they saw Kouichi and the rest of their friends were engaged in what seemed to be a heated discussion. "Is there a problem, you lot?" Adam asked, as he and the girls joined them. "I don't fully trust Misaki, that's the problem!" Takako said, before Adam sighed. "And?" he asked, before Izumi glared round at them. "We gave Misaki a chance, but we haven't found the dead person. So, we're doubting whether she was telling the truth, or if she was spinning a story to keep herself alive." She said, before Adam growled slightly. "Look, she's our best method of staying alive. So, quit arguing." He said, before Takako growled. "You don't order us around, Adam." She said, before Adam smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry…" He said, flicking his wrist, activating his Hidden Blade. "Were you saying something?" Looking at the blade, Takako stepped back. "You wouldn't." she said, before Adam raised an eyebrow. "Wanna bet?" he asked, before Takako scowled. "Alright, you've made your point." She said, before Adam nodded and withdrew the Blade. "Alright, we all chill now?" he asked, before he saw a flash of lightning outside. "Shit. That's gonna be a problem if that gets closer." He thought, before another flash occurred, even closer than the last one. "Guys…" Adam said, before the group looked to him. "You all might want to move." He said, before the group looked at him quizzically. "Take a look outside." He said, pointing towards the window. Looking out, the group's eyes widened when the window exploded in a bright flash, sending glass shards flying towards the group, who managed to get out of the way, but Izumi was too close. "Izumi, MOVE!" Adam yelled, before running forwards, and barging the girl out of the way, putting himself in the way of the glass. Since the group were blinded by the flash, they didn't see what damage had been done, but when they could see again, they were shocked by what they saw…
Adam, thanks to the angle he had been at when he pushed Izumi, had only his arm in the way of the glass, but the shards had pinned him to the wall by his hand, causing him to slump over from the pain. "That's not what I had in mind." He said, before Izumi ran over to him. "Why did you save me? You put yourself in danger." She asked, before Adam smiled. "Trust me, if you had stayed where you were, you'd be dead. I figured this was the lesser of two evils." He said, before he looked to Misaki. "Alright, Misaki. Since this might be the last chance I get: Are you sure you know who the dead one is?" he asked, before the girl nodded. "Kouichi. Takako. Izumi. Go with her. Put them down." He said, before the three nodded, and followed the girl out of the room, leaving Adam, Yukari and Yumi alone.
"You…idiot, Adam!" Yukari said, kneeling down beside Adam, her face in tears. "For what? Saving my friends?" the boy laughed out, before Yumi scowled. "This isn't the time for jokes, Adam." She said, before Adam smirked. "Look, I'm pinned to a wall by my hand. I'll be honest, this hurts like a bitch, but if I ignore it, not so bad." He said, straightening up, regretting that decision instantly, when a shot of pain ran up his arm. "Well, at least I did the best I could." He said, before he grabbed Yukari's shoulder. "You want to help me out?" he asked, before Yukari nodded immediately. "Then I need a long piece of fabric." He said, before Yukari nodded. "Why?" she asked, before Adam said, "I'll need to stop the blood flow somehow.", and Yukari nodded. "Activate your Blade, Adam." She said, before Adam nodded and complied, springing the blade loose. Taking a hold of his arm, Yukari guided it to her shirt sleeve. "Do it." She said, before Adam nodded, and sliced right through, severing a large piece of fabric from the sleeve. Afterwards, Adam sheathed his blade, before turning to his hand. "Alright, now for the tough part." He said, before he grabbed his wrist, and breathed heavily. "I am so going to regret this." He said, before he started to pull his hand off the wall, leaving a large bloodstain on the glass shards. Eventually, he pulled his hand free, and took the fabric from Yukari, quickly wrapping it round his hand. Tightening his makeshift bandage, he flexed his fingers a couple of times, before smiling. "It'll do." He said, before looking to the girls. "What you standing there for? Let's go." He said, before running off up the stairs.
As they headed towards the main entrance, they heard a creaking sound of above them. "Watch out!" Adam yelled, before the three dodged out of the way of the ceiling as it came crashing down, narrowly missing the three of them. After they got to their feet, Adam saw that both ways they could go were blocked off by flaming wreckage. "Great, we're trapped!" Yumi said, before Adam smirked. "There's always a way out." He said, before walking over to the window. "Fuck my life." He said, before elbowing the window, shattering it. "Yumi, come here." He said, before the girl joined him. Detaching his Hidden Blade from his left arm, he tightened it onto Yumi's arm. "After you connect, press the button I do to release. Make sure you connect with your legs." He said, before the girl nodded. "Why?" she asked, as Adam helped her aim her arm. "Cause if you don't, your neck will snap on contact with the tree trunks." He said, before he fired the grappling hook, which connected with a nearby tree. "Ready?" he asked, before the girl nodded. "Well, good luck." He said, before placing a hand on her back, and pushing her out the window. As he saw the girl connect with the tree, and detach, he smiled. "Good on you, Yumi." He said, before walking over to Yukari, who was huddling in a corner.
"Yukari, let's go." He said, before the girl shook her head. "I can't, Adam." She said, before Adam kneeled beside her. "Look, Yukari, if you don't move, we both die." He said, looking back at the fiery hallway. "What do you mean, we both die? Save yourself. Forget about me." She said, before Adam shook his head. "Can't do that." He said, before looking back at the hallway. "Look, all you have to do is trust me. I'll do all the work." He said, before the girl looked at him. "Yukari, do you trust me?" he asked, holding out his hand. Hesitating for a second, Yukari took his hand, and stood up. "I trust you, Adam." She said, before Adam smiled, and said, "Hold on.", pulling her in closer, before aiming his grapple out to the same tree. Firing the hook, he connected with the tree, before he looked to Yukari. "Let's go." He said, before leaping out of the window. Swinging towards the tree, Adam connected with his legs, as he had instructed Yumi to do, wincing as he felt his legs get dislocated. Releasing the grapple, Adam and Yukari fell a short distance to the ground, where Yumi was waiting.
"You okay, Adam?" she asked, as Adam had fallen to the ground when the two landed. "Slight miscalculation." He said, before he grabbed his legs, and pushed them back into their sockets, wincing at the slight pain. "Alright…" he said, flexing his legs. "Let's get back to the others." He said, before getting up and leading the two girls towards the entrance, but they came across the shed where Adam had stored his bike earlier, where Misaki, Kouichi, Izumi and Takako were gathered round a large pile of wood. Limping over, Adam asked, "What's up?", before he looked down to the body trapped under the rubble, and his eyes widened. "No. Fucking. Way." He said.
Trapped under the rubble was Miss Mikami, but her face, which was usually done up with makeup, was that of Reiko, Kouichi's aunt. Turning to Sakakibara, Adam asked, "Your aunt's the dead one?", before the boy looked to Misaki. "According to her." He said, before Misaki nodded. "She is. I can see the colour of death on her." His eyes flicking to Misaki's glass eye, he saw that Mikami was covered in a strange hue. "Alright, then. Kouichi…" he said, picking up a pickaxe on the ground, and passing it to Sakakibara. "Do it." He said, before Kouichi's eyes widened. "I can't." he said, before Adam nodded. "Believe me, Kouichi, it's best if you do it, since you're family to her, but if you don't, I will." He said, flicking his Hidden Blade free. Nodding, Kouichi stepped up, and raised the pickaxe. "I'm sorry, Reiko." He said, his face in tears, as his aunt struggled. Looking up, Reiko said, "Kouichi…"
The pickaxe came down, and there was nothing, but dead silence…
A/N: And I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next up, Chapter 11- Aftermath. See you all then. Madman out!