A/N: Hey all,

March 28,2022: Thank you all for checking out this month's chapter of Who Knows What Fate May Hold For You. It has been really wonderful to see how many people from all over the world still read and support this story. When I first started posting again at the start of this year I never expected to see the influx of views that have come in. I really appreciate each and every one of you! You all are amazing. I would love to hear from all of you and get your thoughts on this fiction. If anyone feels like leaving a review, I would love to read them. Reviews really help me motivate to keep writing this story, though I will continue regardless of if I receive reviews or not. Just knowing that there are people out there who are reading and enjoying this story makes me so happy. I hope that you enjoy this month's chapter and I look forward to seeing all of you again next month for chapter 38 of Who Knows What Fate May Hold For You. Stay safe, everyone!

Your ever grateful author,

Spiral of Destiny

Chapter 37: Ultimatum

It was early morning when Akito heard sounds coming from the rest of the apartment. Rolling onto his stomach to look at the door from his place on the bed, he settling his cheek against his pillow and listened.

"He's home early…" He mumbled, glancing at the small clock beside his bed. The hour had barely crossed over to 4:00am. Naoki should still be at work for three more hours before he would even be thinking about coming home. Akito looked at the door again. Since confessing that he would no longer stand with the "Hunters", Naoki had refused to speak to Akito. It was isolating, but he knew that Naoki needed some space to process. Still, it was frustrating to not know what was going on with his roommate.

"Maybe his schedule was changed?" He thought aloud, watching the door. He briefly entertained the option of getting up to greet the older man, but he dismissed it as he heard footsteps make their way down the hall and the soft click of Naoki's bedroom door. The soft shuffling of the blond man moving around soothed Akito. The movements were even and calm. For the moment at least Naoki didn't appear agitated. He listened until he heard the shuffling fall silent and quiet settle over the air once more.

"He must have gone to bed." Slowly, he wrapped his arms around the pillow beneath his head and closed his eyes again. "I'll talk to him later." Focusing on the silence, Akito allowed himself to drift back into the abyss of sleep.

oOoOoOo

Naoki lay awake for many hours staring at the ceiling. He had claimed illness and left work early, but as he lay staring at the ceiling, he was beginning to regret not staying at work. He was tired, but his mind refused to settle enough for him to welcome the embrace of sleep. The longer he lay there; the longer he focused on the silence; the more agitated he became.

He had been dwelling on Akito's decision for the last two days, and the choice left him bothered by how the new dynamic had left them. He felt as though he was living with a stranger. While Akito hadn't changed, their relationship had. Naoki could no longer talk to Akito about the "Hunters" and that, Naoki realized, was 90% of what they talked about. He was angry when he saw Akito; he was angry at work. He was angry when he was meeting with the "Hunters". For the last two days Naoki had experienced nothing but frustration and anger; and at the core of it all he felt sad. It wasn't something he would ever admit aloud, but he felt as though he had lost Akito. The person he worked alongside and relied on to be the voice of reason was no longer accessible to him. Despite the fact that they were right beside one another, Akito now felt untouchable.

Naoki sighed heavily. He was beyond tired. Several sleepless nights were taking their toll. Yet sleep wouldn't come.

"What are we going to do?" He mumbled, casting his arm over his eyes in an attempt to block out the soft glow brought on by waning night. Lifting his arm, he looked up toward the wall that met his headboard; the one he knew met the head of Akito's bed as well. He set his jaw.

"Why did he have to go and leave the "Hunters"?" Naoki questioned silently in his mind, his gaze fixed on the far wall. "He ruined everything! Sai's pulled back and given Yan full control, and I can't focus on what's going on with the "Hunters", the Blade Children, or any of this. I just keep hearing his weak defense of those demon kids." His eyes narrowed darkly and he sat up, placing his hand on his forehead as he hunched forward to rest his elbow against his leg. "What messed up logic is running through his head that he can even consider them redeemable?" His fists clenched in his lap, his hand having fallen from his forehead. He clenched his jaw in building anger until the presence of pain caused him to take notice of the action and loosen his hold. He released his fists to rub at his eyes wearily.

He didn't honestly believe what he was saying. While the Blade Children needed to be eliminated, they weren't demons any more than Akito or any stranger on the street. The entire situation was clear cut, but Naoki's anger was making him think things that were baseless and cruel toward both parties and he hated it. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as his head dropped forward and his shoulders slumped in exhaustion and defeat.

"I should have never gotten him involved. He's too soft for this kind of thing. He can't be objective because he's thinking with his heart." He threw the blankets off his legs, giving up on the attempt at sleep and quickly pulled on a clean set of clothes. Once finished, he turned and aggressively grabbed the knob on his door. He paused as he began to pull the door open and he stared at the thin crack that had been created by the action. He twisted the knob softly in his hand, though the latch had already been pulled free.

"He's going to be a liability for the "Hunters" this way. At this rate he'll continue growing sympathetic and then next thing we'll have the police breathing down our necks." His grip tightened as his hand fell still.

"I can't let that happen." He said softly as he eased the door open the rest of the way and make his way into the rest of the apartment.

oOoOoOo

It was late morning when Akito next saw Naoki. The older man had effectively avoided Akito for the last two days, so it was quite the surprise for him when he found Naoki sitting at the kitchen table so close to midday. What surprised him even more was that Naoki didn't immediately dismiss himself when Akito approached. Tentatively, Akito spoke.

"What are you doing up?" He tried. Naoki shrugged dismissively. He didn't respond, but he didn't move to leave either. Akito hoped that was a positive change. Akito sighed and shook his head before passing the blond man and continuing farther into the kitchen. He worked in silence, making himself some coffee and glancing every so often at Naoki to see if the older man had seen fit to acknowledge his existence whatsoever. He frowned when he saw Naoki continue to sit with his fingers crossed before his mouth and his eyes staring down thoughtfully at the middle of the table. It wasn't until Akito had finished his task and moved to leave the kitchen that Naoki surprised him by electing to speak.

"We need to talk." Akito turned back to look at his brother.

"What about?" Akito asked, both surprised and curious. "I thought you weren't speaking to me?" He commented. He saw Naoki's eyes narrow and he regretted the thoughtless comment.

"That's not really an option anymore." Akito watched him curiously before he nodded and took a tentative seat opposite the taller man. He set his coffee to the side so as to give Naoki his full attention.

"Alright. What do we need to talk about?"

"The "Hunters" are planning to move soon. Yan suspects it will be within the next few days." Akito watched Naoki for a moment, waiting for him to say more. When he didn't, Akito elected to speak.

"That's a good thing, isn't it? You've been wanting the "Hunters" to take action for a while now." Naoki nodded his head. Akito frowned. "This is what we needed to talk about?" Naoki shook his head, further confusing Akito. "Then why are you telling me about this? I don't mind listening, but I thought you didn't want me knowing about the "Hunter's" future plans."

"I don't!" Naoki snapped, his voice coming out more hostile than he intended. He watched Akito flinch away from him.

"Then why? Sorry, but I'm confused."

Naoki sighed heavily, tightening his hands together as he fought to keep his frustration contained. When he spoke his tone was level and each word was clearly forced into calm.

"I'm telling you 'because' the the "Hunters" will be moving soon." He took a deep breath and Akito noticed a subtle shake to it. He watched as Naoki turned his gaze to the table surface directly in front of himself. "The "Hunters" will be moving soon." He repeated, his laced fingers tightening together. "And you can't be here when they do."

"I don't understand. You need the apartment for something to do with the attack?" Akito asked, not following Naoki's meaning. A sigh from the blond man told Akito he had guessed wrong. He moved to ask after his meaning, but stopped when Naoki began to speak again.

"You are no longer involved with the "Hunters". That's the choice you made and I accept that, regardless of how stupid I think your reasoning is. But that means you don't belong here anymore. Not with the "Hunters" and not with me."

Akito frowned deeply, crossing his arms unconsciously around his frame in anxiety at the statement.

"What are you getting at, Naoki? I don't understand what you're saying."

Naoki leaned back in frustration, finally dropping his hands from his face as his gaze narrowed. He looked anywhere but at Akito.

"I'm saying you need to leave. We can't live together when my beliefs align with the "Hunters" and yours oppose them. It puts us both at risk this way.

Akito's eyes widened in understanding. "You're kicking me out?"

Again Naoki wouldn't meet his gaze.

"There isn't another option. You can't be here anymore. Not with everything that's going to be happening. You're a liability now. It's not safe for the "Hunters" to keep you close and it's not safe for you to stay close. You've chosen to end your role in this game. So now you need to go."

"I get what you're saying, but where am I supposed to go? This is my home."

"You'll figure something out."

"Why can't you leave?"

"It's my apartment."

"It's mine too."

"Not anymore!" He could see Naoki getting more and more frustrated. He was practically white-knuckled as he clenched his hands together. Akito sighed.

"Well, where do you suggest I go, then?" His tone was irritated, but the disgust quickly fell as surprise replaced the emotion. Akito flinched as Naoki suddenly stood, slamming his hands on the tabletop.

"Dammit, Akito! I don't care where you go. But I can't have you here anymore. I don't want you here! You've made your choice to side with the Blade Children. I can't have someone like that here while the "Hunters" are trying to put an end to this game."

Akito watched Naoki mutely. He didn't know what to say or if there was even anything to say. While it wasn't true that he had sided with the Blade Children, he had made his decision to avoid taking sides quite clear. He had expected he would be able to just stay out of Naoki's way when he was involved with "Hunter" affairs, but he couldn't deny the older man's reasoning for his leaving. While the method of approaching the subject was tactless, he couldn't argue the logic behind the statements made. Still, it hurt to hear that Naoki didn't want him around anymore. He swallowed hard.

"You really don't want me here?" He knew it was a cheap trick, but he felt a strange desperation to not leave; not while things were still so fractured between himself and Naoki. He watched Naoki sigh.

"I don't care anymore. It has never mattered what I want. I wanted you to stay beside me in this fight. But you made your choice, Akito. I may disagree with it, but it's your life to live and you have to be able to justify the choices you make. But you know as well as I do that you can't stay here and be impartial. I can't afford to be distracted by you and you can't justify the actions I'm going to be taking. The arrangement we had used to work, but it won't anymore and you know it."

Akito watched Naoki for a few moments before swallowing thickly and nodding.

"You're right. The "Hunter's" main rule is to not involve outsiders. I didn't think of myself as being an outsider in this, but I guess I made myself one." He sighed shakily and stood. "Give me a couple of days. I'll see if I can't find a new place." Naoki grit his teeth and turned his back to Akito.

"You have until tonight. Make sure you're not here when I get back."

Akito's eyes widened as he processed the ultimatum, his gaze following Naoki as he made his way out of the apartment. He didn't move until he heard the apartment door slam and Naoki vanished from view.

oOoOoOo

"Authorities are baffled by the apparent murder of two high school students: seventeen-year-old Hiyoshi Murakama and sixteen-year-old Asano Minoru. Both were juniors at the prestigious private school Tsukiomi Academy. Authorities believe they were on their way home from school when they were brutally stabbed to death. The distance between the two victims suggests that Murakama attempted to flee his attacker. Authorities are at this time unsure whether these boys were targeted or if this was simply a crime of opportunity. Detective Madoka Narumi had this to say…"

Kisame tuned out the broadcast, disinterested in the police speculation toward the nature of the killings. He recognized the two boys and, while he had never spoken to either, he had shared a class with Murakama. He rested his closed fist thoughtfully against his lips, placing his arm along the back of the couch for support. The remote was still held loosely in his hand.

"What are the "Hunters" thinking?" He questioned softly, his eyes still locked on the screen. His expression hardened as they showed pictures of the crime scene. He broke his gaze free from the screen to place the remote on the couch beside him and retrieve his phone. Dialing quickly, he raised the phone to his ear and waited for it to connect.

"Hello?" Kanone's voice sounded mumbled on the other end of the line.

"Did I wake you?" Kisame asked, his tone low and even, his frown coloring his words.

"It's fine. You wouldn't have called if it wasn't important." Kisame didn't respond for a few moments, his eyes drawn momentarily back to the tv screen as the news recapped the story of the murdered Blade Children. He switched the tv off when he heard Kanone speak again. "Has something happened?" Kisame's expression darkened in a mix of frustration and disappointment.

"Two more Blade Children were killed. It was a double murder and very sloppy. They just announced it on the news."

"Any of ours?" The tension was obvious in Kanone's voice. The reaction was slightly surprising to Kisame. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the phone curiously.

"No, none of ours. Why would you think that?"

"It's nothing. Nevermind." Kanone dismissed quickly. "How were they killed?"

"Stabbing." Kisame answered, still glancing curiously at the phone and the invisible man on the other end of the call. He heard Kanone frown.

"Do the police have any leads?"

"Not that they're advertising. They had little Narumi's sister make a statement, but she doesn't seem to be connecting it to the Blade Children just yet." Kisame leaned back in his seat, stretching his free arm over the back of the couch and crossing his right foot over his left knee.

"It's only a matter of time before that happens." Kanone mused. "Once they connect the missing rib in both kids."

"I know." Kisame agreed.

"We need to end this before the damage becomes more than we can contain. These "Hunters" aren't playing by the rules anymore."

"A good plan in theory, but we're limited in how much we can move; both by society and Eyes." He heard Kanone nod.

"Have you spoken to Eyes yet?" Kisame shook his head.

"No, not yet."

"Then we should go talk to him. These killing aren't the only thing that happened last night." Kisame frowned heavily.

"What do you mean?"

"Save that question for Eyes. He knows more than I do." Kisame hummed an agreement. "We'll continue this shortly, then." Kanone said solemnly.

"Yeah. See you soon."

"Take care."

"You too." Rising from the couch, Kisame lowered the phone from his ear and ended the call.

oOoOoOo

Eyes was pulled abruptly from sleep by the sound of knocking at the door. Blinking several times to orient himself to where he was, he sat up from the couch and, throwing the blanket off himself, rose to answer the door. He was not surprised to find Kanone standing on the other side of the door, but he hadn't expected to see Kisame and the others there as well. He looked at Kanone wordlessly.

"I asked them to come." Kanone answered the unspoken question. Nodding, Eyes stepped back to allow the others entry into the apartment.

"Hiroshume is sleeping. Give me a moment to get him." Eyes said, turning away from the group.

"Wait a moment, Eyes." He paused as the German teen called him back. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched the group. The troubled faces caused him to turn around fully. Once he had his attention, Kanone continued. "Let Hadaka sleep a bit longer. There's been another incident outside our own last night. Frowning, Eyes motioned for the others to enter and take a seat. Seating himself on the bench of his piano, he leveled his gaze on the others.

"Alright. What has happened?"

oOoOoOo

Two hours later found the group waiting in the hospital lobby. After sharing with Eyes about the new murders, Eyes and Hiroshume had shared about the additional attack on the hospital the previous night. Kousuke had wanted to leave immediately for the hospital, but the others managed to keep him in the apartment to discuss options while waiting for visiting hours to begin. They had managed to stall him for two hours before his impatience won out and they made their way to the hospital in order to appease the anxious teen.

So it was that they now found themselves seated in an empty waiting room, willing the time to move faster so they could check on Ryoko. Kanone had only left a few hours before, so the nurses recognized him, but they cast questioning looks at the group as a whole whenever they would pass. The others spoke idly in veiled conversation about what to do about the "Hunters", but Hiroshume said nothing and simply sat in the corner. His arms were crossed over his chest as though disinterested, but the level of tension was obvious to the others. Wordlessly, Eyes and Kanone rose to seat themselves on either side of the hacker. This seemed to allow him to relax a bit and join into the conversation.

"So if the "Hunters" are going after the other kids, then how are we supposed to stop them?" Kousuke's tone was frustrated as he looked at the others for options.

"They've always gone after the others, Kousuke. We aren't a special exception." Rio pointed out, sitting frustrated beside the red haired male.

"I know, but that doesn't change the fact that they've been going after them a lot more lately. I mean, they've already gotten more of us in the last few months than they have in the last couple years."

"That would make sense." Kanone commented, earning the red head's attention. "Think about it. Very shortly a lot of us will reach the age where we are supposed to lose control. The "Hunters" are quickly running out of time to finish this." The others nodded in somber agreement.

"That's why we need to finish this first." Eyes said softly, turning everyone's attention to him.

"How do you propose we do that?" Kisame asked calmly, crossing his arms. Eyes shook his head lightly.

"Let us wait to hear from Ryoko first. She may have more information about what happened last night." Hiroshume shrunk down in his chair in shame. Kanone placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Sighing, Kousuke leaned back in his chair and looked at the clock.

"Guess we have a half hour to kill, then."

Ryoko was pulled from sleep by a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." She called softly, expecting a nurse to enter. Her eyes widened as she saw Kousuke enter first, followed closely by the others.

"Ryoko!" She braced as Rio hopped up on the bed and engulfed her in a desperate, but gentle hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Ryoko gently eased the smaller girl back and looked at the others.

"What happened?" She asked, looking first from one face and then the other.

"We were hoping you could tell us that." Eyes said evenly, staying at the back of the group out of respect for the brown eyed girl's dislike for him. She looked at him first before her gaze locked on Hiroshume standing partially concealed behind the rest of the group.

"You're alive!" She called out in relief, ignoring Eyes' question. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Hiroshume wouldn't meet her eyes, his gaze fixed on the floor.

"I'm fine. He didn't do anything to me." He mumbled. Ryoko leaned back into the pillows in relief.

"What about you? Were you hurt by any of this?" It was Eyes who had spoken again. Ryoko shook her head.

"No, he didn't hurt me. He just…talked. And when he was done he knocked me out with chloroform." The others shared concerned looks.

"I'll kill him." Kousuke said through grit teeth, glaring at the ground. Kanone placed a hand on his shoulder to silence him. Kisame walked over to the bed, seating himself in the same place Sai had occupied the night before. He turned to face Ryoko fully.

"What did he say to you?"