Chapter 16: Interest

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.

After the latest Hunter attack, things began to move quicker for the Blade children. As the prospect of disorganization among the Hunters began to sink in, the theory having been shared with the other Blade Children in the group, the Blade Children had determined that action was likely the best choice. With two of their members injured within Eyes' first three weeks in the country, albeit only receiving minor damage, Kisame was no longer willing to simply sit on the sidelines and wait to see what the Hunters' next move was. Kanone and Kousuke were in agreement and Rio saw the logic in taking action. Only Eyes was reserved about starting a war between the Blade Children and the Hunters. There was still a lot that he wanted to know about the potentially divided nature of the Hunters, as well as the outside distractions that were making themselves more prevalent around him and the others.

Asura had already proven his social outcast status within the school and had managed to pick out Kanone and Rio as killers as well. By some miracle Kisame had gone undetected by the teen, likely a result of the "Savage Gun's" affinity for lying in whatever aspect of his life he chose. A master of deceit, it was rare for even those who knew him to be able to read or see anything that he didn't wish them to know. Kisame took great pleasure in the transfer student's apparent ignorance, as did the rest of the Blade Chidren. Ryoko had also gone undetected, though this didn't surprise anyone, as she didn't give off the same dangerous aura that the other Blade Children did.

In the past week the hostile teenager had been seen on more than one occasion watching one or multiple members of the Blade Children that he had picked out as killers. Eyes and Kousuke were his most common focus due to the number of classes that they shared with one another. Asura had even taken to procuring a new desk location several seats behind them in the row that stood between them so as to have the best vantage to watch them without danger to himself should they make use of the killing intent he sensed from them. This new position put him at a greater advantage over the Blade Children and this fact did not go unnoticed. Both Eyes and Kousuke were now constantly vigilant and aware during any of the classes that they shared with the dangerous stranger.

"This is ridiculous!" Kousuke complained at the end of the week as they walked away from their last class of the day. Both he and Eyes had already confirmed Asura's location, the teen having been kept after class by the instructor for some matter that didn't concern either teen, so Kousuke felt able to speak. "That guy has to be a Hunter. He's been hounding us ever since he got here!" He looked to Eyes for support and receive the pianist's blank, emotionless gaze for his comfort.

"It's true that he is aware of our presence here but that does not confirm that he is a Hunter." Eyes responded calmly.

"Tch." Kousuke looked ahead again, burying his hands in his uniform's pants pockets in irritation at the stoic teen's unwillingness to at least feign frustration for the current situation. "How long are we going to wait before we do something about this, Eyes?" Despite better judgment, the red-haired teen again looked to Eyes for some sort of reaction. He was given nothing as Eyes continued to look forward as they walked.

"He's not our most pressing concern at the 'll keep an eye on him, but nothing more for the time being."

"Gah!" Kousuke threw his arms up dramatically at Eyes' indifference before returning them to his pockets and slumping his shoulders.

"Maybe little Narumi's girlfriend might know something about him. I mean, that newspaper club president seems to know something about everyone at this school." Kousuke suggested, more thinking out loud than addressing Eyes. He looked to his right when he heard the pianist speak.

"There's no need to involve anyone outside the Blade Children. This situation has not moved out of our control yet."

"Come on, Rutherford! We can't just do nothing. Even if its just a possibility that he could make trouble for us, we should still at least know what we're up against."

"We'll deal with him if the need arises. At this point we need to be focused on our main problem." In all honesty Eyes did not feel much of a threat from the new student. While it was true that the teen had spent the majority of his time at Tsukiomi observing the Blade Children, Eyes did not believe that it was due to a knowledge of who or what the Blade Children were. He had no intention of simply letting Asura do as he pleased, but he also didn't feel that Kousuke's desire to confront the teen was a good idea. He was working on a way to deal with the teen but was not yet ready to share his thoughts with the others. "We should hurry and meet with the others. We don't want to keep them waiting." Having effectively shut down the conversation for the time being, Eyes fell silent and continued forward. Kousuke begrudgingly followed behind.

oOoOoOo

Neither Kisame nor Kanone waited to meet with Eyes and the others at the end of the day. From the shadows, they watched as Eyes and Kousuke left their last class and headed toward the exit.

"Should we let Eyes know?" Kanone questioned, watching his friend departing.

"No." Kisame stated, typing a message into his cellphone as he turned and walked away, heading deeper into the school in the direction of the younger year classrooms. Kanone watched Eyes a moment longer before a ping from Kisame's phone caught his attention and he turned to follow his companion.

They made their way to the second floor of the school where Hiroshume stood waiting, leaning against the pillar that supported the stairway. The hacker gave a noncommittal glance toward Kisame as the two Blade Children approached, snapping his phone shut and returning it to his pocket. He ignored Kanone's presence completely as he watched Kisame with masked apprehension. The message he had received moments before had stated that the "Savage Gun" needed to meet with him, but the nature of the meeting had not been expressed. Seeing Kanone accompanying his dangerous acquaintance refreshed the memory of his last encounter with the two of them and provided a healthy sense of unease to mark his thoughts.

"Thanks for meeting us." Kisame greeted out of obligation, his tone even.

"What can I do for you both?" Hiroshume turned to face them fully, slipping his hands into his pants pockets lazily. His apprehension over why both had needed to speak with him sounded as mild curiosity in his voice, but his features only showed calm. He had managed to create a functional relationship with Kisame, serving as his underground informant, so he hoped that the nature of the meeting ran along that particular line and Kanone was just along for the ride.

"We need information on someone at this school." Kisame said. Hiroshume relaxed.

"Who?" Hiroshume turned to walk down the hall, motioning for the Blade Children to follow him now that he knew he wasn't in immediate danger of bodily harm.

"Asura Noragami." Kanone supplied, earning a thoughtful nod and a quick glance from Hiroshume as they walked.

"I'm not familiar with the name. Do you know anything about him? Something that gives me a starting point?" Hiroshume's voice was cool and serious. He didn't bother looking back at the Blade Children as he heard them respond.

"He's sixteen and came from the United States. He's also transferred into a year over his age here. That's all Eyes has told us." Kanone reported. Again Hiroshume nodded.

"So not much, then." His tone was not condescending, but matter of fact, almost as though he was speaking to himself, thinking over how he would find the requested information and by what means. He paused at the entrance to one of the music rooms on that floor and opened the door to allow Kisame and Kanone to enter first. Once all three were inside he walked over to the first row desk and slipped his laptop out of his bag. "Let's see what we can find on him. I should at least be able to find his school record from here. I can dig deeper later, as I doubt you both have a lot of time to waste on this." He mumbled, his eyes glued to the screen as he began to pull up the necessary programs for the task at hand. It didn't escape Kisame's notice as the hacker quickly closed down a file tagged as "Naoki S.".

"How's research on that other matter coming?" Kisame asked as he stood next to Hiroshume and leaned over him, his eyes watching Kanone looking at the grand piano in the room. It had been a while since he had made the request, and while the file proved that the hacker was still working on it, he felt that it was taking longer than needed.

"Nearly finished. I should have it for you soon." Hiroshume responded noncommittally. His gaze didn't break from the screen as he spoke, his eyes scanning the rapidly appearing and closing documents as he searched for what he wanted. His voice was almost mechanic as he answered, causing Kisame to smirk. He nodded in favor of speaking and amused himself by watching Hiroshume work. Kanone soon joined them and the room fell silent until Hiroshume stopped typing and sat back with a perplexed look on his face.

"What's the matter?" Kanone questioned, catching the expression.

"What indeed…" Hiroshume commented softly, his eyes still glued to the screen as he reached forward and tried a few more actions before leaning back again, placing his hand palm down on the desk beside his computer. "There's no information available on this guy in the school's system. He has the bare minimum needed to get admitted to school but any personal information that would normally be found in a student's record is gone. No former schools, no health records beyond his most recent vaccinations, no academic record, basic physical description and statistics, or even current address. Essentially, all that's available is a name, age, and a quick section that he was born in Japan but has been in the United States for the last eight years. Nothing on where he was over there or what he was doing. There's not even a birth date listed; just a year." Kanone and Kisame looked at each other with a serious expression before turning their attention back to Hiroshume as he spoke again. "Hang on. Let me check some other channels. Maybe I'll hit something from his criminal record." The sound of typing filled the room once more. Neither Blade Child spoke but each had deeper reservations about their newest classmate as a result of what they had just learned. "Well, look at that." Both Blade Children turned their attention back to the hacker.

"What is it?" Kisame leaned forward to get a better look at the screen. Hiroshume sat back to allow both teens to see, gently sliding his finger along his laptop's track pad to move the screen down to show the information.

"Apparently Noragami was connected to eleven different murders that occurred across New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut in the last four years. He was also suspected in two murders across Washington and California a year before that. He wasn't convicted for any of them but there are police statements that place him as involved." He switched windows to display the statements. "They just didn't have enough evidence to prove it." Hiroshume leaned forward and began typing again, looking deeper into some of the cases that Asura was involved in.

"Well that's interesting to know." Kanone commented thoughtfully. Kisame nodded.

"Oh it gets better." Both looked back down at Hiroshume. "Apparently all of the murders that this guy was allegedly involved in were found to be committed by a certain hired gun association that's established all over that country. In all but two of the cases it was proved that the organization was involved but a perpetrator was never determined and arrested. Apparently this association refers to themselves as "Assassins" and have been causing problems all over the United States and Mexico. It seems that they are suspected in over one-hundred and twenty murders within the last eight years. Looks like Noragami has quite the backstory." Kanone and Kisame were silent at the revelation of this new information, each processing the weight that it held. "Looks like thats everything thats out there on him. I'll keep looking but I doubt there's much else I'll be able to find. I could get you more information on this killers association, but I doubt that's what you were looking for when you came to me."

"No, this is plenty." Kisame said, turning to leave, his business concluded. Kanone gave Hiroshume a gratful smile and moved to follow Kisame.

"I assume you don't want knowledge of this meeting getting back to Eyes?" Hiroshume called after them. Both nodded without looking back. Hiroshume smirked."I'll let you know if anything else comes up on him." Hiroshume added, closing his laptop and rising to his feet. A second nod of the head was all he received in response.

oOoOoOo

Hiroshume delayed a while longer at the school after Kisame and Kanone had departed. He sat in the courtyard where Kirie had met with Sai earlier that week, an amused smile on his face as he stared at the trees just starting to lose their leaves.

"For allies they sure do a lot behind each other's backs." He mused with calm amusement. "Sides are certainly developing, aren't they?"

"Indeed they are." Hiroshume looked to his left at the vaguely familiar voice. "But then, everyone always chooses sides before a war begins."

"Has the game progressed that far, then?" Hiroshume's tone had grown serious, but not hostile, as he shifted on the bench so as to face the visitor. His arms lowered to his sides as he spoke. The visitor smirked.

"That depends on how you look at it."

"That's rather cryptic."

"You enjoy codes. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Hiroshume grimaced at the visitor's tone and he stood to face the speaker. "I warned you about staying in the game. Very shortly the time will come where you'll be at risk of losing your life. Do you still intend to play? This is likely your last chance to distance yourself from everything. You haven't the slightest idea what you're getting into or how it could irreversibly alter your life." Hiroshume's expression remained neutral. Despite the nature of the words, the speakers tone was anything but concerned. Rather, it was sickeningly sweet and fake, further increasing Hiroshume's dislike for the individual before him.

"Based on the last time I spoke with you, I assume that you can't be bothered to share how my fate will be changed by staying or departing from the game?" The man smirked. Hiroshume mimicked the expression. "Tell me, Kiyotaka," The stranger's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "Why have you come to see me today? You already know my answer, so repeatedly extending the option to back out of this game is not only pointless, but also a bit foolish on your part. Your record shows you to be far smarter than that." Kiyotaka's eyes narrowed slightly at the jab.

"Yours doesn't do you justice." Kiyotaka stated. His face and tone was still the picture of calm and control, but his eyes showed that something about the situation had slipped slightly outside his calculations. Hiroshume disregarded the comment and continued, holding up a single finger to silence Kiyotaka. A smirk crossed the other's face at the action.

"Unless," The single word was stressed almost dramatically to show its importance. "You have an alternative reason for coming here." Kiyotaka smiled. "So," Hiroshume motioned toward the bench, indicating that Kiyotaka take a seat. "Why have you really come here?" A devilish glint came into Kiyotaka's eyes as he suppressed the amusement that threatened to come into his grin. He was back in control. Everything was going according to his plan again. Without a word in response to Hiroshume, he turned and calmly walked away, leaving the hacker to stare with mild confusion at his retreating form.

A/N: Hey all,

Thanks so much to everyone who has waited through this latest hiatus and is still reading Who Knows What Fate May Hold For You. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to post chapters regularly yet, as life is still monopolizing the majority of my writing time, but I wanted to release a new chapter now that I have some time, to assure everyone that I haven't forgotten you and fully intend to finish this story. I hope that you enjoy this latest chapter and I would love to hear your thoughts or comments on it and the story overall. Reviews are always appreciated. I hope to see you all again next month!

Your appreciative author,

Spiral of Destiny