Chapter Five

Rikuou didn't know the people who stood before them, but he knew who they were. He had seen those black clothes and Noh masks before. They were members of Ship of the Moon, the cult that had taken Tsukiko.

They were amongst the cult members who had ambushed him earlier that day, and had tried to kill him.

Kazahaya was breathing loudly and rapidly behind him, and he was clutching the back of Rikuou's shirt with tight fists. Rikuou reached behind him and tapped Kazahaya's right hip with his hand, wordlessly telling him to move fully behind him and out of sight of the cult members. "What do you want?" he asked the members tersely.

"Step out of the way, please," the man in the front said. "We are here for Kudo Kazahaya."

"Well, you're not getting him," Rikuou said, glaring at him. Though he had the outward appearance of calm, inside his heart was racing and so were his thoughts.

Ship of the Moon. They took Tsukiko. They attacked me. Kazahaya's sister attacked me. These people are here now for Kazahaya. That must mean…

"Yeah. It was like…some religious group…or maybe a gathering of mystics…"

Shit. Rikuou clenched his jaw as the memory of Kazahaya's words flooded his mind. Ship of the Moon. And the cult who kept Kazahaya and his sister hidden away in a mountain village…they must be one and the same.

Rikuou gave a light nudge to Kazahaya and the pair started moving backwards away from the members of Ship of the Moon. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from us," he called out.

"You are in no position to threaten us, thief," a woman called out to them. The cult members, though standing in different positions around the park, began to converge upon them simultaneously. "Give us the child of Kaguya-hime."

Kazahaya let out a strangled noise muffled against his back. He was curled into Rikuou and shaking so violently that Rikuou was concerned they would both topple over. Rikuou reached around Kazahaya and pressed a reassuring but protective hand against the other boy's lower back. "Kaguya-hime?!" he responded to the woman. He tried to make his tone as mocking and disbelieving as possible. "The lady from the moon from a story? A legend and not a real person? That Kaguya-hime?!"

There was a hum of anger emitted from the cult members at Rikuou's disrespectful tone. "The ignorant words of a child," someone scoffed.

I'm eighteen, Rikuou retorted, but decided against saying it out loud. "Where is Tsukiko?" he demanded. "What have you bastards done with my sister?"

"Tsukiko-san?!" Kazahaya exclaimed behind him. He started to move to Rikuou's front, but Rikuou held his arm firm. "Stay behind me," he said sternly.

"We no longer need Himura Tsukiko," the man who initially spoke said. He raised his right arm. "And we do not need you, either."

Before Rikuou could react he was suddenly hit in the face with a burst of hot air. His knees turned to jelly and he collapsed upon them hard, the pain singing through his already sore body and making him cry out in shock and pain.

"RIKUOU!" Kazahaya wasn't affected by the blast but fell to his knees beside him. "Rikuou, are you all right?!"

Rikuou tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn't move from their kneeling position. He pressed his hands against the ground and yelled as he strained, but his lower body wouldn't budge. "I…I can't stand up!" he growled.

Kazahaya grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up, but he could not get Rikuou to budge. "W-What did you do to him?!" he shrieked, glaring at the members of Ship of the Moon. Rikuou could see tears streaming down Kazahaya's cheeks, and the sight angered him.

"We prevented the thief from interfering," the first man said. "He has caused us enough trouble as it is. Now." He held out his hand to Kazahaya. "Kudo Kazahaya, son of Kaguya-hime. Please come back home with us and take your rightful throne—"

"I'M NOT A SON OF KAGUYA-HIME!" Kazahaya shouted, hugging his arms.

"Yes, you are," another man spoke up. "Everyone born of the Kudo bloodline is a descendant of Kaguya-hime. That is why everyone in your family has special abilities. And you must accept, Kudo Kazahaya—you are a direct descendent of Kaguya-hime. You are the inheritor of the Moon…and we as the Ship of the Moon will guide you to your rightful throne not only there—" he gestured to the night sky. It must have been a new moon that night. "But also your rightful throne here on earth."

"…You honestly believe that," Rikuou said incredulously. It was a statement and not a question. "You lunatics honestly think that Kazahaya was born—"

"DO NOT SPEAK TO THE SON OF KAGUYA-HIME THAT WAY!" one of the women shrieked. She surged forward but another cult member caught her shoulder to stop. "How dare you, you unworthy, thieving—"

"Enough," the first man said sharply. "We're wasting time; they will be here soon."

"If Kazahaya's so important, then why were you going to kill him?" Rikuou demanded. He didn't actually care, but he knew who the "they" was that they were talking about, and he knew it was important to buy time until "they" got there. "Kazahaya ran away from you guys for a reason—"

"We weren't going to kill Kudo Kazahaya," someone Rikuou couldn't see retorted. "Why would we kill the one child of Kaguya-hime who embodied everything that she was? Why would we want to spare the child who controlled and terrorized us, and who murdered without restraint and remorse?"

"So…you were going to kill Kei?" Kazahaya whispered. His tone was sad and full of horror. "Y-You were going to kill my sister?"

"Kudo Kei is dangerous and must be stopped," another woman said.

"You mean you can't control her and so she must die," Rikuou said.

"You experienced firsthand what she is capable of," the first man said. "After all, she spilled your blood to find Kudo Kazahaya."

So that's why she did it? Rikuou wondered, but the man glanced over his shoulder. "We're out of time. Go and grab Kudo Kazahaya so we can finally get everything back on track."

"Kazahaya, RUN!" Rikuou yelled over his shoulder.

"I'm not leaving you here, Rikuou!" Kazahaya snapped at him.

Rikuou was really not in the mood for Kazahaya playing heroics. "They don't care about me, they only care about you! They—don't touch him!" he suddenly shouted when a cult member lunged at Kazahaya.

"But they'll kill you if I leave you!" Kazahaya jumped away from the cult member but otherwise didn't flee.

"And if you don't leave they'll take you!" Rikuou growled when the cult member lunged at Kazahaya again, but this time successfully grabbed his arm. "I SAID DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

Rikuou didn't know what else to do; he focused his mind on the cult member's wrist. He was aware of a small bone in a human wrist called the "trapezoid". He remembered reading about how the trapezoid was wedged-shaped and that despite its small size it helped give structure to the palm. When that hand squeezed Kazahaya's arm harder, Rikuou concentrated on the spot where he knew the bone was and unleashed his power.

"AAH!" The cult member let Kazahaya go and clutched at his wrist. "My hand! MY HAND!"

"Careful! The thief has powers too!" Another shouted.

"But I thought he could only destroy small objects!" The injured one wailed.

"Kazahaya, GO!" Rikuou snapped.

"NO!" Kazahaya shouted back to him. He stumbled backwards, but the arms of a cult member awaited him and they grabbed Kazahaya from behind. In one of their hands they held a white cloth that they smothered Kazahaya's face with.

Chloroform! Rikuou thought in alarm. "Get away from him!"

"Kill the thief!" the first man shouted.

Kazahaya let out a muffled scream and swung his foot backwards, catching the cult member in the groin with his heel. The other man shouted and abruptly let Kazahaya go. Kazahaya looked dazed, and stumbled forward and fell upon his knees. He coughed and gagged, clutching at his throat with his still bloodstained hands.

"Kazahaya, breathe!" Rikuou shouted, still struggling where he remained frozen in his kneeling position. "Don't lose consciousness!"

He heard a 'click' and quickly turned, focusing his mind as he saw the barrel of a handgun. The moment the cult member pulled the trigger the barrel imploded in the center, sending shrapnel flying. The end of the barrel flew across the playground, while the main body recoiled with the shooter's arm back into the shooter's stomach. The man screamed and collapsed to his knees in pain.

Rikuou turned to see that Kazahaya had been seized again by the cult members; one hugging his calves together so that he couldn't kick, and the other hugging his torso. Kazahaya was still coughing due to his brief exposure to chloroform, and his face was red. They quickly carried him to the waiting van.

"NO!" he shrieked. Rikuou strained and screamed against the spell that bound him, and bright patches of white filled his vision. No, NO! I CAN'T LOSE HIM!

Rikuou heard someone shout, but it sounded far away. As he strained with all his might, he suddenly felt a rush of power down his body. His body launched forward, and he sprawled forward facefirst against the ground.

"He…He broke the spell!" someone shrieked. "HOW?! That should be impossible!"

Rikuou's breathing was ragged as he struggled to catch his breath and he rose onto all fours. It took him only a couple of seconds to notice. I can move my legs now.

"GO!" the first man shouted.

The pair carrying Kazahaya had reached the van and were trying to drag him inside. Rikuou lunged from his kneeling position and sprinted towards them. "KILL HIM!" another person shrieked.

"That's enough."

Rikuou stopped dead in his tracks. The voice sounded familiar to him, but it…it came from above him. The tone immediately set him at ease. The members of Ship of the Moon quickly looked skywards, and Rikuou did so as well, just in time for a powerful gust of wind to sweep across the area.

Cult members screamed, raising their arms to shield themselves. Some were even swept off their feet and went flying through the air. Rikuou raised his arms in defense, but he quickly realized that though the wind stirred around him that it wasn't blasting into him like it was blasting into the cult members. The two cult members who held Kazahaya clung to him for dear life, but then energy blasts that were pitch black struck both individuals, sending them sprawling into the dirt. Kazahaya fell to the ground, and Rikuou tried to lunge to catch him but sparks of pain filled his body and he collapsed again.

"You really should know your limitations, kid."

Rikuou's head snapped up as he struggled for breath. This voice he did recognize and he felt relief flood his body. "S—" His voice died in his throat when he saw the person standing before him, cradling Kazahaya in his arms. Or…was it a person, even? The person who stood before him appeared to be male and they were dressed in black with spiky black hair, but his eyes…his right eye appeared to be dark with a pupil that was…slit? Like a cat? And his left eyes was blank and milky white, like there was a empty shell inside the sclera where the iris and pupil should be.

But the biggest indicator though that this was not a person was the giant black wings, resembling a bat's wings, sticking out of its back.

Who is this? WHAT is this?! Is he—he looks like a demon!

Kazahaya's breathing calmed inside the demon's(?) arms, and he lifted his head. His complexion was still bright red from his excessive coughing, and Rikuou felt his stomach clench with worry. "W-Wha…" Kazahaya looked towards the demon's(?) face. "S…Saiga-san?"

Rikuou gasped. The demon(Saiga?) threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Aww, you ruined the surprise! You got me, kid!"

Saiga?! Rikuou's eye widened in shock. But before he could speak he felt a 'whoosh' of air behind him. "I was careless."

He looked over his shoulder and saw a beautiful humanoid…person (perhaps male? He didn't know) dressed in white behind him. They had long blonde hair in an elaborate ponytail and deep green eyes, and from their back were bright white wings. Like…angel wings?

Angel?!

"I blew most of them away," the angel(?) said in a cheerful tone with a cheerful smile. "But there is one still conscious." He pointed to the leading cult member, who lay groaning on the ground.

"Well, he can give us more precise information," Saiga(?) said, carefully setting Kazahaya down. Kazahaya rushed over to Rikuou's side. "Are you hurt?!"

"No," Rikuou reassured him, but he looked between the demon-looking humanoid and the angel-looking humanoid. The demon…he confirmed that he was Saiga. Then this angel…?

"…Kakei?" he asked uncertainly.

"Correct," the angel(?) responded cheerfully. "I'm so glad that we can show you both our natural forms now."

"Natural…" Rikuou let his voice trail off as Saiga(?) pulled Kakei(?) into his arms and they started cuddling. These two only looked very slightly similar to the Kakei and Saiga that they knew. But he believed them when they said that it was who they were.

"…Who are you both, really?" Kazahaya said.

Saiga(?) and Kakei(?) pulled apart to face them. "Allow me to introduce myself to you both," Kakei(?) said, gesturing to himself. "I am Hisui, the former Archangel of the Wind of Heaven."

"And I am Kokuyo," Saiga(?) said, gesturing to him. "I am a demon of Hell and a Son of Satan."

Rikuou and Kazahaya gaped at them both in shock. "We have very little time," Hisui said. "And a lot that we need to discuss."