Chapter 9: A Rendezvous With Destiny
Eiji had been searching for Hiro, harder than anything he's ever tried. He had accepted that he wouldn't find her first. He just prayed she was okay...
Please Hiro... Please hang in there. I am so scared.
At least ten kids have tried to kill me. I don't understand... Why are they doing this!? I just want to talk to them... If they would just listen, then I could stop running! What's wrong with this place!?
Eiji was still looking. It was dark, and he could hardly see five feet in front of him.
He ran into a girl, she flinched, and hid next to a hedge.
She looked at least three years younger than Hiro. She started to cry.
"H-Hey... Come here, it's okay, really."
She backed away further from Eiji, so he tried again.
He knelt down, and lifted his hands. She looked at him curiously.
"See? I've got no weapons. I won't hurt you, I just want to help..."
"Y-Y-You... You promise?" She said in between sobs.
"I promise..." He said.
He crawled next to the girl, and wrapped her in a hug. She began to sob violently.
"Shhh... Hey... It's okay now. I won't let any of them hurt you... What's your name...?"
"A-Ami..." She sniffed.
"Ami, have you seen a girl with black hair and a broken arm?" He asked.
She thought for a moment. "Yeah... She was fighting the others. She didn't really hurt any one really bad though..."
This was good.
"She's my friend." He said. "And she got hurt pretty badly. Where did you see her last?"
She furrowed her brow. "I... I don't know. I saw her almost when I saw you. She went that way..."
Ami pointed straight ahead. So he was close...
...Close, if he moved now.
"Ami, I'm going to carry you, because we're going to be running fast."
She put her arms up. "Okay... It's fine."
He picked her up, and started running at top speed. It was fast.
"How old are you Ami?" He asked while running.
"F-Five... Um... Almost five."
She was just under five, wandering in a place like this? How awful!
"Your parents must be really worried!" He exclaimed.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"No... They got killed..."
Eiji's heart ached for her. That was just horrible... He felt he needed to make it right, no matter what.
"You can stay with me then." He said. "Hiro would probably love you!"
She smiled. "Really...? You think she would?"
An arrow flew past his head.
He set down the girl, and stood in front of her.
"I don't want any trouble." Said Eiji.
A boy laughed. He sounded about twelve or thirteen.
"Sorry kid, that's just too bad!"
Some one jumped out from a hedge behind him and tackled Ami.
"No! AMI!" Eiji tried to pull him off, but he had already unsheathed his knife, and slit Ami's throat.
Eiji tried to reach for her and stop the bleeding, but the boy held him back.
"Let go of me, LET GO! AMI!"
She had disappeared.
They shoved Eiji on the ground, and started laughing. They skidded their feet across the spot where Ami was. Eiji shook with anger.
"What? Do you think this is funny?"
The older boy got in his face.
"Yeah, come on! Did you see the look on her face!?"
Eiji had seen it. It was horrible.
"You find joy in butchering small children?" He asked, his tone low.
"What about it!?" The younger boy yelled.
"Yeah!" Said the older boy. "If you were smart, you would've killed her first! The manipulative little bitches..."
Eiji froze, as he felt a darkness cross him.
"What did you just call her..." He said monotone.
"Look at this kid... He's such a-!"
Eiji stood, and puppeted the older boy. It was a spell that he knew... A talent he was unaware of. One that he could not fully comprehend in his rage.
It was a spell that required an even group of subjects, of which Eiji could control half. Eiji hadn't realized it, but he'd done it every time he played chess with Hiro...
...On the half of the board that was his.
It was how he was able to move the chess pieces, and how he controlled the boy.
The older boy tackled his friend, taking his knife and stabbing him in the chest. The younger boy let out blood curdling screams until he was finally dead.
Eiji felt a smile crossing his lips.
"That's what Ami would have done, if she could have screamed.
He forced the older boy to walk toward him.
"L-Let me go!" He screamed.
Eiji laughed. "Are you scared...? Do you know how Ami felt now!? I DARE YOU! CALL HER THAT AGAIN!"
"MERCY!" He screamed.
Eiji froze.
Mercy... Always... Always show mercy. THAT is how I was raised.
(He didn't show Ami any mercy! A four year old girl. Just a little one... Butchered like an ANIMAL!)
Mercy... Take the higher road.
(He'll just try to kill me if I release him! I have every right to butcher him like he did her!)
To take a life? That's not my right.
(Just kill HIM!)
Do you find joy in this Eiji...?
DO YOU!?
He let the boy go as Kaihn's voice screamed in his head.
"G-Get out of here." He said.
The boy was gone.
Eiji looked at his hands. They were clean...
...No. NO! THEY WERE RED!
I...I just. I just killed someone!
I'm the reason someone suffered...
I'm the reason someone's child is dead...
I caused someone to beg for mercy!
I WAS CRUEL!
I BUTCHERD HIM!
Eiji ran forward. He was still looking for Hiro. She had to be close...
She had to be!
He didn't find her, and he despaired.
He his in one of the hedge walls, so he wouldn't have to kill anyone else.
"Hiro... Where are you...?" He whispered.
No answer.
He sobbed. "H-Hiro! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I was such a coward! I'm sorry I couldn't protect you! I'M SORRY!"
He slammed his fist on the ground, and...
His hand hit something.
He picked it up, and brushed it off. It was a journal.
Eiji's eyes had adjusted to the dark, so the sliver of moonlight that shone through the hedge was just enough to read what was written there.
He opened the first page. It read,
"My maze record. My name is Karo. Remember me."
Eiji continued to read, finding himself pulled in by the boy's story.
...
Hiro was roaming the maze again. She figured out that her device tracked the maze, and everyone in it.
"I really wish the dots had names..." She said softly.
"Eiji... I hope you're okay..."
She felt her arm throbbing again.
"Crap! OW! This sucks..."
She had seen some of the staff patrolling the paths. What were they doing here...?
"Hey miss prodigy, I can see you're holding up well! Damn, I must say I'm very impressed!"
Hiro turned around, and saw the man she had met before.
She tensed. "Y-Yeah. They don't really fight well at all."
He laughed. "Well, I can see you making quite the investment!"
He walked up to her and knelt down, he stroked her face.
"In fact, I think I like you enough to help you not die... What do you say? I'll give you whatever you need to win right now, and if you survive? I'll be your mentor!"
She shrugged. "I guess... I guess I could use a bat... A metal one."
Hiro had learned some close combat with her dad, but she found she was excellent with bludgeoning weapons. They were just more her style. She didn't like the idea of killing anyone, but some of the same kids she left alive were still trying to kill her.
She was running out of options, and out of patience.
He smirked. "Blunt weapons eh? I like your style!"
He pulled out a book, and muttered a summoning incantation. A metal bat appeared in his hands.
He handed it to her. "One metal bat as ordered..."
She grabbed it with her right hand.
He slid his hand up her shirt, and nuzzled her neck again, biting her ear more.
"You take care now..." He whispered.
He walked away, and turned the corner on the maze.
Hiro felt sick to her stomach.
She felt disgusting, because she let him do that.
It felt wrong, but she hated that it also felt kind of nice...
No! Nothing about that was nice! It's... It's weird... and gross... and wrong.
(Well, I mean... It felt kind of good... I was pretty uncomfortable though. Maybe he didn't mean anything by it...)
No way! He knows what he's doing!
A kid was running toward her with a knife. She saw it from the corner of her eye.
Not only had he come at her before, between that guy and the pain? She was in an extremely foul mood, and very on edge.
She turned to face him. "That's the third time!" She yelled.
She swung the bat. "Or rather, THREE STRIKES!"
She landed a blow on the boy's skull, killing him instantly.
She felt sick again, but it was a different kind of sick.
She shook her head. "I gave them all chances!"
She continued to walk, her bat readied.
...
Nina had scouted ahead of the others. She felt she could save more kids than just Hiro, and she knew they were all important.
She walked, scouting the paths and hedges. She walked around in her normal form, because she had noticed other staff patrolling. No need to make herself a target if she didn't have to.
She heard someone crying, a young boy.
She walked over to a hedge wall, and found him. His feet were sticking out.
She went into the hedge, and sat next to him.
He jumped.
"N-No! Not again!" He tried to run, but Nina grabbed him.
"No, let go! Pl-!" She put a hand over his mouth.
"I won't hurt you..." She whispered. "But you need to keep your voice down..."
She looked down at the journal he was holding.
She removed her hand. "Is that yours?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No... I found it in a hedge wall..."
He started crying again.
She rubbed his back with her hand.
"What's your name...?" She asked softly.
"It's... It's Eiji." He said.
"Eiji..." She whispered. "What a nice name..."
He sobbed. "I killed someone! I'm... I'm a killer!"
She sighed. "No... You're not a killer. Real killers don't care about being killers. They don't care about anyone."
She pulled him in closer. "Is there anyone you care about, Eiji?"
"H-Hiro..." He whispered.
Nina blinked. "Hold on, you said Hiro right!?"
"Wait! You know her!?" He exclaimed.
She nodded. "Yeah, we've got a group out looking for her."
She crawled out of the hedge, and held her hand out.
"Come on Eiji, I'll help you find her."
...
Hiro had just killed two more attackers, and spared five others twice. She figured three strikes was a good rule, and implemented some level of mercy.
She had heard a noise rising in the building, and looked up.
There was a balcony, and someone had... No, not just anyone.
Her mother was on that balcony, and something was wrong.
She needed to exit the maze in order to get there, but there was no time...
No time... Unless...
She climbed on top of the hedge walls, and started running across them.
She passed by some staff.
They jumped. "Is that against the rules?" One asked.
"I don't think so...?" Said the other.
"As long as they don't try and escape... I guess."
Hiro continued to run closer to the end jumping over the spaces between walls.
"Hiro!?" Eiji yelled.
She stopped. "Eiji!? Eiji! And NINA! Come up here, I think mom's in trouble!"
Nina flew Eiji and herself up.
"We're right behind you!" She said.
They continued to run, and Linn seemed to be decimating the upper floor. She looked almost monstrous!
"We gotta hurry!" Hiro exclaimed.
"Hiro!? HIRO! Oh my GOD! Your arm!" It was her dad, and the others were with him.
"No time for that Dad, we gotta hurry! I think mom's in trouble!"
They all climbed up, and saw her.
"Yeah she is!" Said Kuhn. "Come on, let's go!"
They were all running across the same hedge wall, and all landed at the end.
"Linn! What are you doing!?" Kuhn exclaimed.
She looked down at him, and stopped. She started clutching her head and screaming.
The sound was half Linn, half monster like growl.
Kuhn froze.
He knew what was happening. She had caught the taint, and had begun to half reject it.
"Kuhn! GET OUT OF HERE!" She screamed.
"Not without you!" He yelled. "Come down Linn! We'll figure of out!"
She looked over, and saw Hiro.
"Linn!" Karo yelled. "I know what you're thinking, and don't!"
Linn pulled out something.
Shisuta gaped. "Those are my explosives! Linn, NO!"
Linn had tears streaming down her face, which was now changing.
"It... It's too late. I'm sorry."
She looked at Kuhn. "Thank you for saving Hiro, you kept your promise."
She was about to detonate the bomb...
...The world had slowed, and Karo had a decision to make.
She was up high, and he was bad at flying. That was putting it lightly.
He might be able to heal her, but only if he could reach her...
He would try!
He launched himself in the air, and tackled Linn away from the explosion. He saw someone's leg fly out of the explosion, and get swallowed by flames.
They crash landed on the ground, and Linn was still intact.
He felt all of his magic ignite at once.
"PURGE!" He screamed.
The magic burst out of him, and all was dark.
...
I couldn't believe my eyes...
For such an advanced purge to be cast by a single Lumina... It was unheard of.
His leg had been completely blown off by the blast, and the wound had cauterized.
Linn was out cold, bit seemed to be better.
A group of armed men arrived, their swords ready.
"What do you think you're all doing!?" One yelled.
"Yeah, this is private property! And you've destroyed it!" Yelled another.
A man walked up to Hiro, and tried to grab her. Kuhn grabbed his face, and pulled a Linn.
"Anyone else feel like EVER trying THAT AGAIN!? HUH!?"
"Those kids are our property!" They yelled. "ATTACK!"
There were a lot of them, but they would all fight to the death to protect Hiro. All of them...
...Though this time? Maybe they wouldn't have to.
A war cry had sounded from behind them.
They turned to see an army of well armed children charging.
They surrounded the men, holding their shields up, and spears out.
This event directly triggered Luna.
"Good timing!" She cheered. Her katana had formed into a spear.
"We caught wind of this mission." Said the older boy.
"We figured we should stand at attention until trouble stirred. This is one of the Kurayami's main Headquarters after all!"
Shisuta shook her head. "Really, your timing is impeccable..."
"I take it you know these ones?" I asked.
She smiled. "Yes, I do."
Boh turned into a giant. "I could be of use here! Well it's about time!"
Battle broke out between the two sides, and our side was winning.
This was fantastic.
"K-Kahn..." Said a familiar voice.
I looked over, and saw Eiji.
I sighed. "You got stuck here. I'm sorry we didn't find you sooner Eiji..."
He looked down. "It's okay... At least Hiro... What!?"
We looked around, and we didn't see Hiro.
I grabbed Kuhn. "Kuhn Hiro's gone!"
He looked down. "What!? NO! She was right HERE!"
...
Hiro had been taken by someone. He had grabbed her and left headquarters! A hand was held over her mouth.
"Sorry about that!" Said a voice. It was the Man's voice.
"That place was going down, and fast! Well, at least I grabbed you in time."
She was shaking.
"I know it's scary." He said. "But you'll get used to it! Hey, did you know you won!? Yeah! Every one else is dead! All killed each other off... and that idiot was probably disqualified!"
He was talking about Eiji, wasn't he?
"Yeah... Don't worry, I'll take you somewhere real nice... It's where the round winners go."
Hiro didn't even want to know, she just wanted desperately to go home...
...but that wasn't possible right now, and Hiro sensed a long road ahead of her.