A/N

A Merry Late Christmas to you all,

I apologize for the failure to publish on Christmas day like originally planned. I explained what happened in a note on my profile but I will restate again here for those who didn't yet see.

I attempted to publish on December 25th as scheduled, but the docs manager was down on the site, preventing me from saving any new documents. Without this manager, it was impossible to get the chapter published. The issue has been resolved now so, a few days late, here is the promised December 25th chapter of Who Knows What Fate May Hold For You. I will also release the normal monthly chapter tomorrow, so look forward to that as well.

Also intended for Christmas, I have decided to set up a page for this fanfiction on Fanart Corner, a small site for fanfiction artwork. On this page I will display images of all the original characters present in Who Knows What Fate May Hold For You. This way you can see what each original character looks like, just like you can imagine the original manga characters. While there are only a few images so far, I will continue to update the page as I finish drawings for each character.

Thank you all for standing by me and remaining faithful to this story. I truly appreciate it and can't wait to spend the next leg of this story with you.

Please review, comment, or send me a pm to let me know your thoughts on this story or the character images on the linked site. I love feedback of any kind and look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

Respectfully,

Spiral of Destiny

the spiral continues. wixsite fanartcorner

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.

Makoto gently placed the phone back on the receiver. He had just finished speaking with Tatsui concerning the Blade Children encounter that had occurred the previous day. His finger rested thoughtfully against his lips as he leaned back in the large plush chair that stood in the center of the room. He could hear Sai's condescending voice in the back of his mind, reprimanding him for not having control over the men under his leadership. His teeth clenched. Daiki had always been a liability to the "Hunters". He wasn't a bad fighter and made a decent team leader when he followed orders, but his countless rivalries toward the other members made him less than useful for most tasks. Makoto sighed. Tatsui said him that the older man had been shot, but had not been forthcoming with many more details other than that he hadn't wanted Makoto to know and than he was treating his injuries himself. He grit his teeth harder. Daiki's blunder would no doubt cause problems moving forward and it was inevitable that he would have to find a way to work with one less team leader to direct the "Hunters" from now on. He lowered his hand from his face, the clenched fist slamming into the ornate arm of his chair. Before anything else, he needed to determine the extent of the "Hunter's" injuries and whether he could still be used in the game. Frustrated, Makoto sighed and rose to his feet. Without a word he left the room.

oOoOoOo

Kirie Tsuchiya stood next to the window in her office, biting rather aggressively on a slender sucker stick. She wanted a cigarette terribly but refused to sabotage her latest efforts to quit by caving. The Blade Children had been acting strange lately and appeared to be breaking down in terms of group cooperation. It was concerning to say the least. Eyes appeared to be the one in charge this time around, but his involvement didn't seem to be aiding the situation. Couple that with having the two most dangerous Blade Children under the same roof, and Kirie could only wait for the inevitable disaster that would unfold. Despite her prodding, Eyes would not reveal any information to her and she knew better than to try and question the other Blade Children. Rift or not, those Children were fiercely loyal to one another. Trying to penetrate their lines would be suicide and Kirie knew it.

Slowly her mind traveled from the Blade Children to the man who seemed keen on destroying them. She hadn't heard from Kiyotaka Narumi lately, which was another oddity, given the current actions of the Blade Children. Was it possible that he had pulled out of the game? Kirie didn't think so, but the man's strange absence was more that a bit peculiar.

Her mind wandered back to the "Hunters" and what Sai had told her last time they had spoken. Too many players were getting involved in this demented game and it was only a matter of time before a large number of people ended up dead. Which side it would be from was still unknown.

Her eyes drifted to the desk standing behind her. What currently perplexed her the most was a strange letter that had arrived at the beginning of the week. She had read it over countless times since then but still couldn't make much sense of the meaning behind the words. Though only a few lines long, it still put her on edge. Walking over to the desk, she picked up the piece of parchment and looked over the lines that she had long since committed to memory.

Hello Ms. Kirie Tsuchiya,

As you are a member of the Watchers and undoubtedly up to date on the current situation surrounding the Hunters and Blade Children, I feel it is only right to contact you.

Whatever your former involvement, it is time for you to remove yourself from this battle. Neither the Hunters nor the Blade Children should be your personal concern any longer. Rest assured that I will take care of them. Things have been allowed to get terribly out of hand, so now I feel I must step in.

Keep your Watchers out of this situation and let the professionals handle things. If you intend to continue claiming to be a "Watcher", then be just that. Stop involving yourself and playing both sides. Do as I say and no misfortune should befall you. You are a smart woman so I am confident that you will make the right move in this situation.

Thank you for your contribution thus far.

Respectfully,

IM

Kirie crumpled the note slightly as her grip tightened.

"How much do we expect these kids to take?" She grit her teeth and glared at the clean characters scrawled on the page in her hand. Frustrated she tossed the note back on her desk and returned her gaze to the window.

"Is this part of your plan too, Kiyotaka?" She voiced the question aloud to no one. "Damn it all." With a heavy sigh the Watcher turned her back on the window and left the office.

OOoOoOo

Daiki was laying in the main lounge area of the small centre where Makoto's branch of "Hunters" routinely met. He had managed to get some of the other "Hunters" to aid him in treating his leg wound and was now taking his time motivating to stop moping and go home. The wound burned and the other "Hunters" had advised him to go to the hospital for treatment. He had refused and after multiple attempts at convincing him the others had relented and patched him up as best as they could. Currently, the bullet was still lodged in the blond male's leg and was causing excessive pain.

Because of this pain, Daiki was slow to respond to the sound of someone entering the room and Makoto was already beside him before he could move to see who had arrived.

"Hello, Daiki." Makoto's words were as malicious as his actions as he reached over the back of the couch and pressed his fingers firmly and quickly into the fresh bandages on the ailing "Hunter's" upper leg. A desperate scream escaped the pained man's lips as he contorted on the couch in an attempt to escape the sadistic action. The movement caused him to fall to the floor, where he lay moaning and clutching his leg tightly. Blood was visible seeping into the bandages from the now-open wound.

"What the hell, Makoto?" The man's voice was a mix of anger and a choked back sob. Makoto laughed.

"Oh come now. A little wound like that shouldn't garner such a reaction from a big man like you." Makoto's words held malice as he taunted the injured man. Daiki looked away, fighting back tears as he glared angrily at the floor in front of him.

"What do you want?" He snapped pitifully. Makoto's grin widened. Instead of answering he walked around the couch to stand over Daiki.

"What I want, dear Daiki, is to know why you went behind my back and tried to engage the Blade Children?" Daiki didn't respond, so Makoto continued. "I know I let you guys do what you want for the most part, but you of all people know that any hunts need to be cleared through me before you head out. Didn't anyone listen at the meeting after what happened to Karura?" He placed his hand dramatically to his forehead.

"I-I just thought I could kill a couple of them. They were alone and I had a bunch of guys with me, so I thought we had the advantage, but…" He hesitated, his voice sounding pitiful as he spoke. Makoto lifted his hand slightly from his forehead and glanced down at the man still lying on the floor.

"But?"

"We found the wrong guys…" Makoto dropped his hand completely, watching Daiki with mild interest. A frown marked his face. When Makoto didn't speak Daiki continued. "I thought we had found a couple of no name Blade Children from that school. They were wearing uniforms and fit the descriptions we have. We came on them from behind and managed to catch them by surprise…" It was obvious Daiki didn't want to say what came next.

"But?" Annoyance could be heard in Makoto's voice, causing Daiki to quickly continue with what came next.

"But when we got to fighting them and saw who we'd found we discovered that it wasn't the kids we thought it was."

"Who was it, then?" Makoto interrupted. Daiki swallowed hard.

"It was the "Winged" and "Savage Gun"." Daiki cringed as Makoto let out a loud cackle, doubling over in laughter. The action caused the blond man to try his best to shrink into the floor. Makoto stood over him, laughing uncontrollably. The sound made Daiki's skin crawl and he made a feeble attempt to crawl away before a hand seized the front of his shirt from behind and dragged him to his feet. Before he knew what was happening he was standing, partially dangling, in front of Makoto. The red haired man held Daiki inches from his face and looked down at him, his head tilted back in defiance.

"Stupid stupid Daiki." The grin persisted on his face but the laughter had stopped. "You must be the most unlucky man in the world. How foolish can you be to mess up that badly?" He tossed Daiki backward forcefully, sending him stumbling into a sitting position on the couch and nearly tipping the piece of furniture with the force. "And you're the only one who made it back alive, correct?" Makoto surmised. Reluctantly Daiki nodded. Makoto placed his hand on his forehead again, turning his back on the older man and beginning to laugh once more. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Without warning he turned on Daiki, breaking his mantra and slamming his hand into the back of the couch directly to the left of the "Hunter's" shoulder. The injured man shuddered, backing as far into the cushion as he could to try and distance himself from his aggressor.

"I'm sorry." He whimpered, sinking down like a child expecting a beating. Makoto frowned and stepped away, turning his back on Daiki.

"You realize you're useless to me now, don't you?"

"What?" His voice sounded with confusion and fear.

"You can't even walk on that leg can you? You certainly can't fight." Daiki didn't dare look away from Makoto. The long haired man sighed, dropping his head melodramatically and shook it. "No, you have absolutely no worth to me anymore." These last words were said more to himself, but Makoto made no attempt to keep Daiki from hearing them. His eyes widened.

"That's not true! I can still be useful to you. This'll heal in no time. I can…"

"Go to the hospital!"

"What?" Daiki looked at Makoto's back, confused.

"I don't need you taking up space here. Go waste the hospital's time. I have no desire to let you waste mine." His tone showed irritation and a complete lack of concern for his subordinate's well-being. "I was going to use you, but that's not an option now. I'll just use Hibari instead. He's more useful anyway." All the fight went out of Daiki at these words and he slumped down into the couch, his eyes finally falling from his leader. Makoto shook his head and walked toward the door, not bothering to cast so much as a glance back. "Hurry up and get out of here." He said as he closed the door behind him.

Daiki remained in the room long after Makoto had left.

"I'll just use Hibari instead. He's more useful anyway."

Those words kept repeating in his mind and he clenched both fists in anger at their memory.

"Why?" He grit his teeth. "Why him?"

He couldn't believe that Makoto was so willing to replace him. Sure he had messed up today, but he had always been loyal to Makoto and had been one of his go to leaders whenever a fight was to happen. To be so easily discarded in favor of Hibari now was beyond frustrating. It was infuriating. Daiki had been around since the beginning. Hibari had just arrived. He was still a baby in comparison to all the experience that Daiki had. How could Makoto think that Hibari was qualified to take his place?

"Dammit!" He slammed his fist firmly into his leg, immediately doubling over and clutching the now angered wound. A string of expletives escaped his lips as he struggled to regain vision through the pain. "It's not fair." He choked, glaring at the rosette of red coloring the bandage on his leg. With difficulty he forced himself to his feet and, struggling to the doorway, left the room.

OOoOoOo

Sai made his way quietly down the street,looking into the windows of the shops he passed as he went. It was one of the rare occasions that found him out on the street without a specific destination in mind. His meeting with the other "Hunters" a few days prior had ended with unsatisfactory results. As Naoki had warned, Akito was reluctant about moving forward with the attack on the Blade Children, but he refused to let on as to where his apprehension stemmed from. Sai had tried to be understanding of the man's situation, but it had been difficult to see the younger "Hunter" so conflicted about something that was so clean cut for the rest of them. Ultimately the decision had been made to move forward without Akito. Naoki would join Yan on the front lines and Akito would sit out the fight. It wasn't ideal, but it was a safer option than the risk of having Akito falter when it came time to fight. The last thing that Sai wanted was for the younger man to get killed because his convictions weren't strong enough for the task at hand.

Sai paused in front of one of the shops along the street. He looked lazily at the items displayed in the window, but his mind was on other things. Yan had decided to delay the attack a bit due to the loss of Akito from their team, so for now they were on standby until the appointed date arrived.

His mind shifted to Makoto. He had heard that not too long ago an attack had been launched, leaving a number of casualties in its wake. He shook his head. The way that Makoto was conducting things just didn't make sense to the seasoned "Hunter". For all of Makoto's brains, he didn't seem to have a knack for leading others. While the younger man was certainly a sadist, this simply didn't translate into the necessary qualifications to lead a killing force. Despite the long haired man's bragging about making the "Hunters" a useful force against the Blade Children, Sai certainly wasn't seeing the results he'd been promised.

Beginning to walk once more, his mind shifted to the Blade Children. It wasn't that he hated the children. Rather, he felt sorry for them. It wasn't their fault that things had turned out as they had. They hadn't asked to be born with this cursed fate.

Sai had always sympathized with the Blade Children. Not enough to join one of the other factions that believed in not eliminating them, necessarily, but enough to wish for a quick death upon them. Before anything else he was a human being. He wasn't supposed to feel a desire for another's death without at least feeling a bit of remorse in the process.

He paused on the sidewalk again.

"It's too bad." He mumbled. Unknown to the other "Hunters", Sai often contemplated whether it was right to kill the Blade Children, much in the same way that Akito now was doing. In that way he could relate to the younger man. But Sai had seen firsthand what the curse could do. That was what separated his convictions from Akito's. Unlike the younger "Hunter", Sai had been present for the change that had occurred in Yaiba Mizushiro nearly two decades before. The difference he had seen and the danger that had arisen from the whims of that man had been nothing short of murderous. To see that occur again within the Blade Children was something Sai wasn't willing to allow. He pitied the Blade Children, but he put the safety of the masses before the lives of some unfortunate individuals who should never have existed to begin with. Slowly Sai turned his attention to the sky. He was feeling unnaturally calm in the cool air of early evening. The sound of people bustling around him caught on the edges of his senses, but he was able to block it out without much difficulty. Not wishing to head back to his apartment yet, although he knew that Yan would likely be arriving shortly, he redirected his path away from the city and toward a small park that stood near his current location. The sun was just beginning to set as he reached it and seated himself on a small bench. He closed his eyes as a gentle breeze picked up and blew through his hair. At times like this it was difficult to believe that there was anything wrong with the world, or that in the next moment someone could be dead as a result of his actions. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. The clouds were colored a light pink accented against the gray of the thicker clouds beneath and the light blue above. In the background he could hear a few people approaching but he paid them no mind. He was content to be alone today.

It wasn't long before Sai determined that he had better return home before he irritated the female "Hunter" further by making her wait. Glancing at his watch, he doubted that she would still be waiting, as Yan was one to knock only once and if no one answered, she left. Still, he decided he had better make sure and prepared to rise from his place on the bench. As he rose, he noticed another individual approaching from his right. Unlike the others that had passed him, this particular individual caught his attention because of the long red hair that was so uncharacteristically seen on a man. Frowning, Sai moved forward slightly to intercept him. The man stopped when Sai entered his path, having almost walked into him. When he lifted his eyes from the ground he had been glaring at they widened in surprise.

"Hello Makoto." Sai said calmly.

OOoOoOo

Makoto walked quickly through the park on his way back to his apartment. Still irritated by the stunt that Daiki had pulled, his mind was on other things so that he didn't notice another person blocking his path until he had nearly walked into him. Turning his attention to the stranger in order to yell at them, his eyes widened as his gaze fell on an individual he hadn't seen in over a decade.

"Hello Makoto." The voice was the same, although the features on his face had aged considerably. The man before him didn't look old, necessarily, but his features had lost the youth they had held when he had been working on the Blade Children project all those years ago. Thinking about it, Makoto assumed that Sai was likely nearing his forties, so it wasn't unusual to see that time had changed him. He took a step back to place himself at a conversational distance.

"Well hello Sai. I didn't expect to run into you of all people." His tone was neutral, unsure of the nature of the unexpected meeting.

"Likewise. But fate has a way of setting things in motion." Sai responded calmly. Makoto looked at Sai skeptically.

"Did you need something from me?" He asked, recognizing that the older man had intentionally stopped him. He frowned when Sai shook his head.

"No, not particularly. But since we've found ourselves in this situation, indulge me for a bit?" Sai stepped slightly to the side, turning his body so he was at a right angle to Makoto and gestured before him with his hand.

"…Sure." Makoto said hesitantly, walking up next to Sai and falling into step beside him as the dark haired "Hunter" began walking as well.

"I heard that you recently had some losses." Sai began, glancing over at Makoto who walked at his left. The long haired "Hunter" stood at the same height as Sai, so it was easy to make eye contact with the currently confused man.

"Perhaps." Makoto didn't deny the claim but didn't agree either. Sai looked forward again, internalizing an amused smile.

"It seems as though you've been experiencing quite a few losses." Sai commented again, prodding the younger man to see how far he could push. "I thought you were planning to destroy the Blade Children. The opposite seems to be occurring, however." Makoto grimaced at the clear jab and was quick to snap back.

"At least I'm acting! That's more than can be said for you and your pitiful excuse for "Hunters". Sai kept his expression neutral.

"Your acting isn't getting you anywhere faster than me, though. You've just lost more people whereas I still stand strong." Makoto glared at him. Sai continued. "From what I've heard you've made two attempt to get rid of the Blade Children now and have sustained total or heavy losses each time. You said that your grandfather wasn't leading your branch well, but I can't say that you're doing a better job."

"Shut up…" Makoto glared at the ground and Sai looked over at him curiously, not expecting such a calm response. "Daiki's such an idiot." The words were mumbled under his breath, so Sai couldn't quite catch what had been said.

"Did something else happen?" Makoto was silent. Sai allowed it. The two continued walking together for several minutes and Sai could see the irritation building in Makoto's frame. Normally the younger "Hunter" would have left long ago if he had even been willing to humor Sai at all, but whatever was on his mind seemed to be distracting enough to keep him walking alongside the man he had deemed his enemy. Finally, as they exited the park and made their way out onto the street Sai heard Makoto curse.

"That stupid Daiki!" This time the words were loud enough for Sai to hear them and he turned his attention back to his companion.

"Did something happen?" He asked again, feeling like the redhead would likely speak now that he was aggravated enough by whatever was bothering him.

"That idiot tried to go off on his own and ended up royally screwing up."

"What happened?" Sai was beginning to feel like a broken record.

"Why should I tell you?" Makoto fell silent suddenly, casting a glare at Sai and remembering who it was he was talking to. Sai shrugged.

"You have no obligation to. But if you want advice I'm not opposed to giving it. I have nothing against you as long as you stay uninvolved in this game."

"I don't need advice from you!" Makoto snapped.

"Suit yourself."

"Damn you're annoying!" Makoto ran his fingers angrily through his hair, resting his hand momentarily on the back of his head before letting it fall to his side. Sai chuckled.

"What did I do?" The smile could be heard in his voice. Makoto stopped and Sai followed suit. Neither spoke for several minutes, Makoto focusing his gaze on the ground to his left and Sai turned so as to face him. "Did you have something you wanted to ask me?" Sai questioned, seeing that something was preventing Makoto from leaving.

"No, I don't need anything from you." He turned his glare on Sai. "Sorry, but I've spent enough time humoring you. Unlike you I don't have time to waste."

"Unless you learn to control your "Hunters" I'd say that will continue to be a very true statement." Makoto paused and glared over his shoulder at Sai, having started to walk away.

"Keep your mind on your own "Hunters". It won't be long and I'll be coming for you as well." The threat was real enough, but Sai doubted that anything would come of it. Makoto had always been the type of man to make threats, but it was 50/50 whether anything would come of them. Even if something did, Sai was confident that he was prepared to handle it. Makoto may be a threat, but his main focus was the Blade Children. He leveled his calm gaze on Makoto.

"I look forward to seeing you try."