SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 3 out, this is Chapter 4 of this fic. From henceforth, I'll be following the manga.(Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review other than just simply putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?
Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot and pairing.
Chapter 4: Where It All Began
"Over here!" in town, a group of Exorcists were chasing after their target. "There it is! Corner it!"
"An Exorcist?" Satoru's mother mused outside the safety barrier. "Has something happened?"
"Yes..." the guard replied. "This entire area is dangerous, so please head back to your rooms."
"Come along, Satoru." the boy's mother pulled him off.
"An Exorcist?" Satoru gushed. "I wanna see an Exorcist fight!" he pulled himself free and ducked under the safety fence.
"Satoru!" his mother screamed when a black cloaked figure grabbed the boy.
"Stop!" the group of Exorcists ordered. "It's taken a hostage!"
"Let go of that kid!" Todo Saburota demanded. "It's a dead end! Doing something like that... won't do any good. Stop...!" he stammered, seeing the black figure pull out an eye-shaped vial.
"What's ahead is very dangerous!" the guard told the gathering crowd. "Stand back, everyone!"
"Alright." Rin grinned. "Let's do this."
"It's bloody hot." Shura complained. "Let's go back home already. Wow... there are a lot of spectators."
"Good work." Yukio took the lead.
"Oh, thanks for coming, Okumura-kun." the guard let the group in.
"Sorry I took so long." Yukio approached Todo. "I'm a Middle First Class, Okumura Yukio."
"Yeah, I'm Upper First Class, Kirigakure." Shura introduced herself.
"I'm..." Todo trailed. "Who's the kid?" he noticed Rin.
"Me?" Rin grinned. "I'm Okumura Rin, Esquire. Here to kick some ass."
"You...!" Todo gasped. "Is he safe?"
"While your concern is understandable," Ami assured. "This was decided by the 'Higher Ups'. I'm Himura Ami, by the way; an Arc Knight."
"We'll going be keeping him in check." Shura added. "So just trust us, yeah?"
"To begin with," Ami took over. "We'd like an explanation of the situation. Who is currently in charge here?"
"That would be me." Todo replied. "I'll explain the current state of affairs. Please let me explain. I'm Todo Saburota, the Director of the 'Saishinbu'. I'm an Upper Second Class Exorcist. What started this whole incident was that we discovered that the 'Left Eye of the Impure King' had been stolen from inside the Academy's 'Saishinbu'."
"Seriously?" Shura exclaimed. "How did that happen? Even though 'Saishinbu' is inside the Academy, wouldn't the toughest magical barrier have been set up to protect it?"
"We have no idea!" Todo insisted. "They got in and stole it! The 'Saishinbu' elites, including myself, had cornered the masked man up until here, but then he took a child as a shield. He... he escaped with the child into the building over there and is currently besieged. In addition, the miasma is being spread around... at the moment, there are 31 'pollutants', including civilians. But there aren't enough doctors to treat them all. The child was directly exposed to the bottled dark miasma. To be honest, it's every likely that the child was killed instantly. What's more, that coupled with the stolen 'Left Eye'... this is the worst fiasco in the history of the True Cross Knights!"
"Please calm down." Yukio assured. "Let's just do what we can, okay?"
"About this masked guy you mentioned, is he strong?" Shura asked.
"We don't know that either." Todo admitted. "It hasn't attacked us back yet, only run away... it could either be demon or human."
"At any rate, we need to hurry." Yukio interjected. "First off, Kirigakure-sensei and I will..."
"Excuse me," a voice sounded. "What's happening to my son? Please help him."
"Are you the mother of the kidnapped kid?" Rin asked. "Don't need to worry now that we're here. I swear we'll save ya kid no matter what."
"We cannot guarantee the safety of your son." Yukio cut in. "You'd better prepare yourself, just in case."
"Oh god!" Satoru's mother gasped.
"Oi!" Rin snapped.
"Nii-san can't do this mission." Yukio added. "I'm counting on you, Shura-san."
"Okay," Shura muttered. "I just remembered I had some business to take care of. C'mon Rin."
"Bullshit!" Rin pulled his sibling back. "I'm also..."
"Exorcists are not omnipotent." Yukio retorted. "There are times when we can't save everyone. So you couldn't promise that we can!"
"Don't go around deciding things like that before you even try it!" Rin glared. "You scaredy cat!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Shura pulled Rin off. "That's enough."
"Jutsu Shiki," Ami chanted after she had completed the rune writings on the floor of the hall square that served as a healing center. "Level Six..." she slammed both palms onto the floor. "Purification!" at her command, four walls of runes erupted from the scripture wordings.
"Okumura-kun," Todo voiced as Yukio donned on a safety suit.
"Todo-san?" Yukio blinked.
"Please let me accompany you." Todo requested.
"But what about your health?" Yukio asked.
"I've been inoculated." Todo assured. "As the person in charge, I want to participate."
"Alright." Yukio relented. "Let's go."
"Yukio," Ami voiced, as the bespectacled teen walked past her back. "Keep an eye out for Todo." she warned. "You understand what I'm implying, don't you?"
"This is an inside job." Yukio came to the same conclusion. "And with Todo-san as the Director of the 'Saishinbu'..."
"I'll be leading the group." Yukio instructed, the caged canary in hand. "Todo-san will take care of the center, and the other two will bring up the rear. This way." he led the group.
"Okumura-kun has quite complicated circumstances," Todo remarked. "But I'd heard that you were excellent despite being so young."
"Todo-san, your family is quite famous for it's noble Exorcists." Yukio stated. "Speaking of the Todos, hasn't every generation had deep ties with the 'Saishinbu'? It's embarrassing to ask, but would you be able to shed some light on the 'Left Eye of the Impure King' that was inside the 'Saishinbu'? What on earth is it?"
"The 'Left Eye of the Impure King'..." Todo mused. "Over 140 years ago, at the end of the Edo Period, there was a demon that spread around a plague and fever which killed over 40,000 humans. About the 'Eyes' which were taken out of the 'Impure King' after it had been subdued, although they were only 'Eyes', they still emitted miasma."
"'Left Eye'..." Yukio mused. "So, does that mean a 'Right Eye' also exists?"
"Yes." Todo admitted. "But it appears the location of where the 'Right Eye' is sealed is kept secret. The only ones who know it are Mephisto and those involved."
"Nii-san!?" Yukio exclaimed, seeing Rin in front of him. "What are you doing here? Where's Shura-san?"
"Did everything I could to get rid of her." Rin replied. "C'mon, all is good. I just gonna stick with either Shura or you, remember? I promised his mother I'd save him. I can't just sit quietly and do nothing. So, should I take the bird?"
"Fine, take the canary." Yukio handed over the cage.
"He's silent for once." Rin peered at the bird. "The masked guy is probably close. There!" he spotted the cloaked figure before them.
"The kid's still alive." Yukio noted, seeing the black body drop the infected Satoru on the ground. "But he's in critical condition. We have to hurry! Stop right there!" He brandished his gun. "Stop! Take one more step and I'll shoot!"
"He disappeared?" Rin wondered, running over to Satoru after the cloaked figure vanished.
"It's a fake!" Yukio picked up the rubbery eye vial.
"Yukio!" Rin shouted when Todo landed a kick on Yukio's back.
"What a pity." Todo tsked, pulling his safety suit off. "I've been exposed. But at least I'll be able to buy some time."
"Nii-san, there's no time to lose." Yukio ordered, training his gun on Todo. "Hurry up and get that kid outside!"
"Can't let you do that." Todo chided as Rin ran past him with Satoru. "Your opponent is me!" he kicked Yukio to the ground, after Rin's flames burnt Satoru and forced the half-demon to drop the boy. "It's like I'm seeing my old self when I look at you." he secured Yukio's hands behind his back. "The realization that my life's path had been decided before I was even born. For years, I was unable to voice my doubts. Like a dog, I worked for the organization and for my family. I wanted to be like my older brother and father. But what is left for me if I lived like that? Nothing..." he adjusted his glasses. "That's why I decided I would acknowledge these feelings of mine. Despising my father... my older brother... the organization... and every single thing in this world! And you know what? It felt wonderful once I admitted it. As if all the missing pieces of me just fell into place."
"You're weak." Yukio voiced. "That's nothing more than the talk of someone who succumbed to a demon's temptations."
"There's weakness in everyone's hearts." Todo reminded. "Are you too scared to acknowledge that, I wonder? Oh, that looks like my cue." he looked at his watch. "It's time for me to leave." he released his captive. "My unexpected chat with you and your brother was rather enjoyable. Even if you don't understand right now, my words will slowly resonate throughout your body. And at that time, I shall welcome you, Okumura Yukio-kun." with that, he vanished into the shadows.
"Nii-san!" Yukio headed over.
"Yukio, what are we going to do about him?" Rin panicked. "I burnt the boils with my flames, they regenerated themselves, and then they suddenly started to multiply!"
"We don't have anymore time." Yukio pulled off his safety suit. "We'll have to deal with it here. Don't interfere anymore, nii-san!" he barked. With trembling hands, he pierced the boils with the vaccination syringes.
"Thank you..." Satoru's mother wept in joy when Yukio carried the boy out, the boils were already receding. "So much."
"It was nothing." Yukio assured.
"Just what you'd expect of Okumura-sensei." Mephisto praised. "Excellent work."
"Mephisto?" Rin exclaimed.
"My, my, we soundly lost." Mephisto sighed. "Apparently, this incident was merely a ploy to distract us. The genuine 'Left Eye' has been stolen."
"My familiar is tracking it now." Shura supplied.
"Since when?" Yukio pressed.
"Himura-chan was suspicious of that old fart, so she had me check him out." Shura replied. "It was just as she expected."
"And one more thing," Mephisto added. "We haven't gotten the details yet, but apparently there appears to have some trouble with the 'Right Eye' as well. This is a serious situation. Anyway. I'll immediately organize a force of elite troops to recapture the 'Left Eye' we must pursue them. Okumura-sensei, I want you to join them, too."
"Me, sir?" Yukio blinked.
"Yes, of course." Mephisto nodded. "Since our enemy's objective is still unclear, I want you who directly came in contact with them, to be part of our strategy. You skills are also more than acceptable. Oh yeah, grab Himura-chan too."
"Understood." Yukio accepted the order.
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.