Disclaimer: I do not own this. Spiral: The Bonds Of Reasoning is the property of Kyo Shirodaira and Eita Mizuno. The only ownership I claim is for this story and the OCs involved.

A/N: I know it goes against the manga, but in this story the school fight with Kanone goes differently, as do the events surrounding him that follow that battle.

Chapter 5: Death hides behind many faces: Enter "The Savage Gun" Kisame Hoshagi

"Hello Eyes Rutherford. It's been a while."

As Eyes looked at the man before him, his body language relaxed and he left his battle stance.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show yourself." Eyes said calmly, his tone returning to the soft and rather emotionless way it usually was. The black haired man smirked.

"You didn't honestly think I would miss the opportunity to welcome you back into the country, did you?" He questioned, his tone hinting at sarcasm and his smirk reinforcing the fact that the man before the young pianist couldn't care less when or if he gave the performer a 'formal' greeting while Eyes was in the country. Eyes smiled slightly, allowing the rare expression to remain on his face as he watched the man before him. The grin was returned with a darker gaze in the other man's eyes as he pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to the performer.

"It's good to see you again, Eyes. Sorry I missed your visit last time you were here in Japan." He said, placing his hand on Eyes' shoulder in a friendly manner as he spoke. Eyes nodded.

"I've been wondering about that? Where were you when everything happened last time Rutherford was in Japan?" Both Eyes and the strange teen turned their attention to Kousuke as he spoke. Ryoko and Rio were also looking at the red-head. They turned their attention to the black haired teen as well.

"I was wondering about that too. Was it because it was Kanone who was involved that you weren't?" Ryoko chimed in, her gaze and tone accusatory as she looked at the dangerous man before her, her arms crossed over her chest. The others looked as well, having wondered if the connection between their ally and this man had anything to do with his absence in a situation that could have greatly benefited from his aid. Even Eyes turned to face the man, having wondered the same thing in the past. The black haired man remained silent for a moment, turning his attention to a group of students conversing on the opposite side of the street.

oOoOoOo

The black haired teen, seventeen year old Kisame Hoshagi was one of the most lethal of the Blade Children. His skills were on par with those of Kanone Hilbert's and he was quite possibly feared even more than the Winged Gun by the Hunters. Much like his German counterpart, Kisame had earned the nickname, Savage Gun by the Hunters because of his deadly efficiency and the speed with which he was able to annihilate his enemies. He was also a far more cold-blooded killer than Kanone, further adding to the truth of his given nickname.

Kisame and Kanone had been friends for years, not as long as Kanone and Eyes, but fairly close in comparison. It was a known fact to Hunter and Blade Child alike how similar the two were and how deadly efficient they were, both together and apart. In most situations, if one was to be found, the other wasn't far behind. If it concerned the Blade Children, one of them would be found nearby.

It was also a known fact among the small Japanese group of Blade Children that Kanone kept very few things from Kisame, and was about as open with him as he was with Eyes. Given this knowledge, the fact that Kisame had been absent during the time of Kanone's betrayal was extremely strange, and caused the aforementioned group of Blade Children, who were directly involved in defusing the incident, to question the reason behind their ally's absence.

oOoOoOo

All eyes were on the golden-eyed teen as he stood silently watching the students standing on the other side of the street. No one spoke, waiting to hear the long-withheld reason for his absence. After a few moments, the black-haired teen spoke.

"The fact that it was Kanone had nothing to do with why I wasn't there. I was simply indisposed at the time. Kiyotaka had given me an assignment in Madrid, so I was out of the country at the time. Even if I had known when Kanone was going to move, I wouldn't have been able to get to you in time." Kisame stated, his tone not allowing for questions. In response, none were proposed.

The other Blade Children had nothing to say to Kisame's revelation. Although the answer did not appear to be anything magnificent, there was far more meaning behind it for the five people convened in front of the academy. The fact that Kisame had not been in the country because he was on assignment from Kiyotaka meant that the man upheld as a god had played them against one another, much in the same way that he had with Kanone. Not only had Kiyotaka managed to temporarily turn one of the Blade Children's greatest assets into a ruthless enemy, but he had also separated Kisame from the rest of them. They all knew the reason for the separation, as having Kisame present would have made it impossible for things to have progressed as far as they had with Kanone, but the knowledge of the reason did not help the truth to sit any better with any of them.

After a few moments of reticence Kousuke broke the silence once more by clearing his throat.

"Speaking of Kanone, does anyone know when he'll be coming to Japan?" He questioned. The others looked first at each other and then at Eyes.

"He should be landing in the country tomorrow." Eyes spoke in his usual apathetic manner, but his words caused a silent sense of excitement and apprehension to travel through the rest of the group. "Starting the day after tomorrow, he will be joining us here at Tsukiomi as well." Eyes continued, pausing after he had spoken to wait for the flood of questions and concerns that were sure to follow the announcement.

"How's he going to pull that off?" Ryoko was the first to speak, her inquiry silencing the ones yet to be voiced by Kousuke and Rio. The pianist didn't respond. He had been wondering the exact same thing. In their last correspondence, Kanone had made his plan known to the performer, but he had neglected to fill in the celebrity on how he intended to do it.

"It's not like they'll let him back into the school after what he did last time." Kousuke commented, voicing his thoughts. The females of the group nodded in agreement.

As the conversation continued to recount the events of Kanone's previous attendance at the academy, Kisame stood a few steps removed from the group, watching the other students leaving the campus. As the conversation began moving into topics more personal to the Blade Children, Kisame made eye contact with Eyes, who nodded in understanding.

"We shouldn't be discussing this here. Let's take this somewhere more private." Eyes suggested, agreeing with Kisame in regards to the public location. The others fell silent and looked at Eyes before Ryoko looked at her watch and shook her head.

"Actually, I have track today. I need to go. Come on, Kousuke." She said quickly, noting how much time had passed since they had left the campus. She took off back inside, Kousuke following diligently behind her. As they left the group, Kousuke cast a farewell wave at them. Once they were gone, Kisame and Eyes looked to Rio.

"I should be getting home too. There's no real reason to speculate on how Kanone's going to pull this off because it's unlikely we'll be able to figure it out. We'll just have to wait and ask him tomorrow." She said, closing her eyes and flashing the pianist a smile before turning and skipping off down the sidewalk. "See you tomorrow." She called as she joined with the crowd and disappeared.

Once she was gone, Eyes turned back to Kisame, who smirked and turned to walk away down the street. Allowing a faint smile to once again cross his face, Eyes turned and headed home as well.

oOoOoOo

Kisame walked into his third story apartment and tossed his leather jacket on the back of his black leather couch before walking out onto the small balcony that attached itself to his apartment. He stood with his hands resting far apart from one another on the railing. He leaned onto his arms, sinking slightly into his shoulders as he watched the bustling city below him. He remained this way for a few minutes, enjoying the evening breeze before turning and walking back inside.

He returned to the couch and retrieved the discarded jacket, depositing it in its proper place upon a hangar in his closet. He then returned to the couch and seated himself on the expensive leather before withdrawing his phone from his pocket and smirking.

"What are you planning?" He questioned, his tone amused as he pressed speed dial six and waited for the call to connect. When he heard the call go through he grinned, his eyes darkening.

"I was wondering when I would hear from you." The voice on the other end of the call said.

"You should stay in better contact, Kanone." Kisame said with amusement.

"I take it you've spoken with Eyes?" Kanone questioned, figuring that Kisame wouldn't be contacting him without a reason. Pleasantries were not something that the seasoned killer usually used with people and Kanone knew that.

Kisame remained silent and merely smirked. Receiving no response, Kanone continued, the inquiry only having been a formality.

"So you have questions for me, then?" He asked. His humor could be heard through his voice. Kisame leaned against the arm of the couch, resting his hand against the side of his face and looked out the large window that stood opposite his couch.

"I'm just wondering what you have planned. From what Eyes knows, it seems that you're being pretty reckless. I'm curious to hear how you intend to pull off this scheme you've concocted with Tsukiomi." He said, his good mood reflecting that of the German man on the other end of the line.

"Actually, I don't have to do anything. Kiyotaka had already decided to place me back within Tsukiomi, so I didn't have to waste any effort getting in. With the Watchers having such a strong control over the academy, it wasn't that hard to get me back inside. For whatever reason that man wants me back in Japan, so who am I to argue? Placing Eyes there was my own decision, however." The smirk could be heard in Kanone's voice as he spoke and Kisame chuckled slightly.

"That was very clever of you. But be careful how you handle this situation. No one can go against 'god'." Kisame said sarcastically, referencing the great detective by the title he had gained from most of the people involved with the Blade Children. Kanone laughed on the other end.

"We'll all be playing somewhat into his hand. The challenge will be to see if we can outsmart that man. I refuse to blindly dance for him any longer."

Kisame nodded in agreement, vocalizing the motion with a small grunt.

"So, what role do you intend to perform in this game?" Kanone questioned, his amusement evident in his voice. Kisame responded in the same tone.

"Well that depends entirely on your intentions. This is a game you started." His grin turned savage as he spoke and his eyes darkened with cold amusement. Kanone laughed.

"I look forward to working with you again, then. I have to go for now. I'll talk to you tomorrow. You know how to reach me if you need me before then. Goodbye, Kisame." He said. Kisame nodded.

"Take care. Don't get yourself killed." Kisame cautioned as he went to end the call. Before he ended the call, he heard Kanone chuckle.

"Likewise."

oOoOoOo

The sun was beginning to set as Eyes re-entered his apartment. He headed straight into the apartment bedroom, where he deposited his book bag on a plush chair that stood opposite the queen sized bed. He changed quickly out of the school uniform, donning his usual black attire. After placing the uniform on a hanger for use the next day, he deposited it in the closet and left the bedroom.

Once back in the main room of his apartment, he took his place at the piano. The school day had been tedious and boring, causing the young performer to recall exactly why he had never missed the public educational system. Sighing softly, he pushed aside the thoughts of the day's academic endeavors and gave himself over to his practice.

The piece he had chosen as his focus was an emotional Nocturne composed by Frederic Chopin. The composition was called Les zephyrs, more notably known as Chopin's Nocturne No. 4 in F major.

The piece started off slow and soothing, filling the room with clear and soft notes that drifted like slow waves through the air, creating a quiet and contented feeling. The music pealed beautifully from the piano under the careful direction of the seasoned performer. He skillfully drew out the soft and slow tones before the composition suddenly erupted into a wild and powerful fanfare of sounds that moved down to the lower register of the piano before disappearing as quickly as its arrival, returning the piece to its muted and rhythmic tune. The sound permeating the air with an almost sad calm. The feeling of the overall piece could not be described as evoking any sort of warm feeling from the performer, as it would have with most listeners, but its calm, soothing notes did a great deal in calming his mind.

As he skillfully concluded the short composition, he drew out the final notes, causing the sound to linger lightly on the air, as if the sound was trying to keep from fading away. The final notes were drawn from the piano so quietly, that they could just barely be heard as they were carried away from the great ebony instrument.

Once the piece had been brought to a close, Eyes sat motionless at the piano, his right hand still resting its fingertips on the keys of the F scale. He sat staring at the keys for a moment before softly lowering his pointer finger onto the F key. The single clear note rang through the silent room, though it hadn't been depressed with enough force to cause the sound to be sharp and intrusive. The young musician closed his eyes and listened to the clear note slowly fade away and the room return to silence once more.

Slowly opening his eyes, he looked around the massive main room of his apartment, noting the floor to ceiling windows that made up not only two and a half of the four walls of the room, but also the ceiling as well. His gaze traveled over the empty space that dominated the room, save the piano at the center and the couch, small table, and large potted plant that made up the rest of the décor.

His eyes lingered on the plant a moment, wondering why he had kept it. It had been a welcoming present from the owner of the apartment complex, but Eyes was unsure of why he had kept the plant. Shrugging subtly to himself, he turned his attention away from the plant and focused on the keys again.

His mind was on other things than his practice as he began to play a Mozart Sonata, shifting from the Romantic time period to the Classical. As he played, his fingers dancing over the keys in time with the quick notes of Mozart's work, he thought about Kanone. The older man's plans were still largely a mystery to him, but he trusted his childhood friend to know what he was doing. However, that didn't stop the musician from being concerned.

Eyes continued to practice until a soft pattering sound caught the performer's attention and he turned away from the piano to look at the window to his back.

A light rain had started, speckling the glass surface with tiny droplets of water. Against the waning light of early evening, the droplets appeared to sparkle on the shiny surface as the light was slowly drowned out by steadily growing storm clouds. Solemnly, Eyes watched as the rain slowly picked up until it was a complete downpour, the clouds blacking out the evening sky and bathing the area in darkness. Eyes stood silently and walked to stand before the great window in the dark apartment. He could see the street lamps far below him begin to illuminate as the weather worsened.

He watched with blank eyes, no emotion evident on his face. He remained this way until the soft buzzing of his phone pulled him back into reality. Looking away from the window, he walked to the piano once more and picked up the small flip phone. What had disturbed his thoughts was not a call, as he had originally thought. Rather, it was a single text message from Hiroshume. Opening the message, a short two lines of text could be seen.

"Plans changed with your friend's flight. He should be in Japan sometime early tomorrow morning. If the storm doesn't cause a delay, he should be landing in Japan within the next 14 hours. Thought you'd want to know."

Eyes read the message over carefully before closing his phone and sitting down at the piano again, commencing to play. "So he's getting in early." Eyes mused to himself as he played. "That's fortunate." He thought as he closed his eyes and gave himself over to his practice, ignoring the darkness that surrounded him and the storm that raged in the world outside.

oOoOoOo

"So the 'Gun with Wings' is coming back to Japan?" A slimy male voice questioned in a snide manner. The owner of the voice, a Hunter, absently wiped the blade of a knife as he spoke.

"Yeah, and not only that, the 'Savage Gun' is back in action as well." A second Hunter commented from where he stood leaning against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well that should make things more difficult." Remarked the first.

"Not necessarily." The two looked over at a third Hunter who sat before a chess board. He was engaged in a game with another Hunter and didn't look away from the game board as he spoke. "There's no reason why their presence should concern us. We knew they would likely show up once we started this game. We've got ways of dealing with them. Those two won't be a problem this time, will they, my dear?" He said, turning his response into a question and directing it at the Hunter sitting across from him.

Said Hunter, a female, nodded her head in response, her eyes bored as she surveyed the game board calmly before taking her opponent's queen and refocusing her attention on him.

Grinning, the man leaned back in his chair and smirked. "Looks like the game is beginning. We can't lose this time. They'll realize that soon enough. We're going to send those cursed children back to the darkness where they belong. This time they can't escape." He said calmly, closing his eyes.

Behind him, the other Hunters chuckled.

A/N: Hello all. Here is the next chapter as promised. Sorry for publishing it so late in the day. I realize I'm running a bit close to missing my deadline, but here is the chapter as promised on the day promised. I hope that those who read it enjoy it. Comments and reviews are greatly appreciated. I would love to know what you thought of it and if there was anything I missed that should have been included in the story or that doesn't make sense. See you all next month.