Chapter Nine

"There."

Kokuyo was looking north of their position down the street, but as Rikuou turned in that direction he heard Hisui shout, "KOKUYO!"

He snapped around in time to see the former Archangel slam into the demon's side. If he had intended to push Kokuyo out of the way he was unsuccessful, but pain filled Hisui's face and he let out a horrifying scream of pain. Kazahaya screamed as a member of Ship of the Moon jumped backwards away from them, brandishing a long spike that was blazing red. "Hisui-san!"

Iron! Rikuou looked at Kokuyo. Tsukiko had told him before how iron had often been used in western culture to repel creatures of darkness. Since the ofudas did not work, and the Omamori had ambiguous results, the cult members had undoubtedly tried iron to see if it would hurt or kill a demon.

But instead the blow fell upon Hisui. An angel—or fallen angel.

Would hot iron kill an angel?! The thought scared Rikuou, and his fear mounted when a cloud of darkness fell over Kokuyo's face. He cradled Hisui, who was sagging in his arms. Hisui's right wing appeared to be at an angle, and golden fluid was dripping onto the ground beneath him. It looked like ichor.

Kokuyo threw his head back and let out a frightening roar. The ground shook violently and Rikuou's ears popped. Energy blasted from his body, sending cult members flying and toppling two houses on either side of him. Rikuou was nearly knocked to the ground from the force but he somehow remained on his feet. Kazahaya however could not maintain his balance and screamed as he fell over. Rikuou swept down and caught him in his arms before he hit the ground. "I got you!"

Kazhaya instinctively grabbed his arms, but then his back slammed back into Rikuou abdomen. Kazahaya gasped throatily and his eyes glazed over, and Rikuou grimly realized that he was having a vision. No, NO! Not right now!

He knew that Kazahaya had poor control over his visions and it was not his fault. Rikuou could only hang onto him as he looked towards the demon, still screaming skyward and projecting dark energy. "KOKUYO!" he shouted. "SAIGA! STOP!"

Kokuyo's voice broke off, but he still emitted dark energy. His head was still tilted towards the heavens, his eyes wide. Then a slender, trembling hand reached up to cup his cheek. "Kokuyo."

Hisui. The former Archangel had lifted his head and was looking at his lover. His face was ghastly pale and he was sweating profusely, but his expression was disturbingly calm. "Kokuyo—the children," he panted quietly. "R…Remember the children."

Kokuyo seemed to snap back into himself and he swept Hisui into his arms. "How could you do that?" he whispered, clinging to Hisui. "Why would you take that blow?!"

"Iron," Hisui whispered. "If he…met his mark, I don't know what…" he winced and leaned against Kokuyo's chest.

Rikuou looked at their surroundings. The area was eerily silent and empty. The building on either side had collapsed and were piles of splinters. The cult member who had attacked them were gone. Rikuou wasn't sure if they were even still alive.

Kokuyo quickly turned to face Rikuou and Kazahaya. "Please forgive me," he said bluntly. "I put you both in danger. That will not happen again."

Kazahaya gasped again and sagged in Rikuou's arms. Rikuou shifted him into a more comfortable position. "Are you okay?" he asked him.

Kazahaya looked at him then. The look—the expression on Rikuou's face. It was a face that would haunt his future nightmares. The fear, the horror, the…anguish in his pale and sunken face broke Rikuou's calm, and he let out a shaky gasp. "Ka—"

Kazahaya suddenly grabbed at him, and roughly patted down his arms and chest. "Are you all right?!" Kazahaya shouted. His voice was almost hysterical and his breaths came out fast as though he were hyperventilating. He suddenly cupped Rikuou's cheeks and leaned in close to his face. "Are you injured?! Where's the blood?!"

"Blood?" Rikuou echoed. He frowned in confusion. "Kazahaya, that was earlier. I'm not bleeding now—"

"I saw it!" Kazahaya cried out. "It was all over you!" He looked him over again. "I saw it, I could smell—"

Kazahaya suddenly stiffened, and he sat straight up. A look of realization dawned on his face. "…Wait. It hasn't…not yet?"

Not yet? "What do you mean?" Rikuou asked quietly.

"We should go," Kokuyo said. "Once we get to Tsukiko-san, we'll need to leave as soon as possible."

"Tsukiko!" Rikuou shouted, jumping up and pulling Kazahaya up with him. "You said—"

"Down that road," Kokuyo said, nodding north of their position. "The fifth house on the left."

"It's really her, though?!" Kazahaya spoke up, stepping forward. "T-They put Tsukiko-san in a house in the village and not in the mansion?! Why?!"

"I can't say why," Kokuyo said calmly. "But I can tell human souls apart and Tsukiko-san's human soul is right here, down that street."

Rikuou didn't feel the ground under him. He sprinted down the street towards the house Kokuyo said she was at. He was dimly aware of Kazahaya running behind him as he counted down the houses he past. Two—three—four—FIVE!

"TSUKIKO!" He screamed. He pounded his fist on the doorframe. "Tsukiko, are you there?!"

"Rikuou?"

That voice. Hearing that voice almost made Rikuou's knees give and tears stung his eyes. He let out a growl of anguish and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge. He focused his mind and broke the lock, and nearly tore the door off his hinges as he ran inside. "TSUKIKO!"

The "house" was just a single room. No furniture, a discarded tray with a plate and cup on it, and a chamberpot in the far right corner. But against the wall…against the wall facing the door…

Rikuou's mind went blank. She was dressed in a black kimono, her black hair was knotted and wild, and her arms were strung up by chains. He ran into the house, not even taking off his sneakers, and broke the chains around her wrists. Unable to hold herself up she fell to the floor, but Rikuou caught her. His heart was pounding and his eyes were wide and almost unseeing as he sat on the floor with her in his lap. He brushed the hair out of her face and cupped her cheeks between his palms. She had been beaten within the last few days; bruises and cuts were slowly healing on her face.

"Tsukiko. Tsukiko. Tsukiko." He couldn't speak above a whisper. He was afraid he would start screaming…or sobbing. "Onee-san, it's me. Rikuou. I'm here. I'm going to take you home now."

Tskiko opened her eyes, and she went still in his arms when she saw him. She frowned briefly, but then a smile rose to her lips as tears filled her eyes. "Rikuou…I thought I heard you."

Rikuou couldn't suppress it then. The tears spilled out and he clung to her for dear life, burying his face against her collarbone as he began to cry. "Onee-san—Onee-san!"

Despite her weariness and the trauma she had undoubtedly suffered for the last year, Tsukiko moved to comfort him. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders and cradling the back of his head, rocking him like he was a scared child. "It's all right, it's all right." But her reassurances only made Rikuou cry harder, and he squeezed her so tight that he was certainly causing her pain. But if it did, Tsukiko didn't let on that it bothered her. His chest ached so badly, but in his core…deep in his soul he felt that he could finally relax.

I did it! I found her! I found my sister!

Kazahaya had never seen Rikuou cry before. He had always seemed so unflappable about everything, and when he had nearly died earlier that day he had comforted Kazahaya when Kazahaya was upset. Seeing him cry now…seeing Rikuou cling to his older sister like a frightened child clinging to their mother, made his chest ache so terribly that tears sprung to his own eyes as well. He hugged his arms as he witnessed the reunion of long-lost siblings, separated for so long by outer forces.

He was so happy that Rikuou found Tsukiko, but…but Kazahaya felt a churning in his stomach. A churning that made him hate himself. Because despite the fact that he was glad to see that they had reunited, ugly thoughts whispered into his mind. Thoughts that he could not easily push away.

" I'm here. I'm going to take you home now."

Rikuou had said that. Now that he has found Tsukiko-san…there is no need for him to stay at the Green Drugstore. He will leave.

They were involuntary and inappropriate thoughts, but he couldn't stop them from surfacing. Kazahaya closed his eyes and turned away from them. I'm awful. I'm the worst! How can I think these things, when Rikuou has finally found Tsukiko-san?! What is wrong with me?!

"Kazahaya-kun?"

Kazahaya flinched and swiftly turned around. Rikuou and Tsukiko were standing now, though Tsukiko was leaning on her brother. Rikuou's eyes were slightly red, but otherwise his face was stoic once more. If he hadn't witnessed Rikuou crying before, then he wouldn't have guessed that he had cried.

But Kazahaya was looking at Tsukiko, because she was the one who called his name. "Ah…" he let his voice trail off. Tsukiko gestured for him to move closer, and he complied.

"I…was about to introduce him," Rikuou said hesitantly. "But you know him already, Onee-san?"

"I do," Tsukiko breathed, her smile widening. "This is Kudo Kazahaya-kun."

Without warning, Tsukiko pulled away from Rikuou and lunged at Kazahaya. Kazahaya gasped in shock when Tsukiko threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight. Despite her loss of strength, her hug was still powerful. "I'm so glad to finally meet you, Kazahaya-kun!" Tsukiko said, her tone gushing. "I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!"

"What?" Kazahaya quickly responded, and he looked at Rikuou. Rikuou however looked as confused as he felt. "Ah…Tsukiko-san—"

"Everyone here?"

The trio looked up as Kokuyo swept into the house and quickly sliding the front door shut behind him. He was still carrying Hisui in his arms. Hisui looked to be unconscious. "Ah, good," he said with a smile as he moved deeper into the house. "I'm pleased to finally meet you, Himura Tsukiko-san."

"And I'm pleased to finally meet you, Kokuyo-san," Tsukiko said. "Or is it Saiga-san?"

Both Kazahaya and Rikuou gasped but Kokuyo laughed loudly. "So you saw us, eh? That's incredible! It's to be expected of a woman whose precognition abilities are stronger than my Hisui!"

"H-How is Hisui-san?" Kazahaya asked, gently pulling away from Tsukiko as Kokuyo set Hisui on the floor and propped him against the wall. "That hot iron—"

"It grazed his right arm," Kokuyo reassured him. He slid off his jacket and covered his lover with it. "Just a flesh wound. Believe me it looks worse than it actually is. Once I calmed down I could see that."

Kazahaya knelt down on Hisui's other side. "B-But his wing—"

Kokuyo gave a huge wince. "Yeah…he's grounded for awhile. He won't be flying for some time until he fully recovers."

Kazahaya swallowed thickly and looked up at Kokuyo, but Rikuou spoke before he could. "We need to go. Ship of the Moon—"

"Yeah, they've gathered at the mansion," Kokuyo said. "But I'm afraid we're going to need to stay put for a little bit. When I had my…outburst earlier, something happened to the earth."

"'Something'?"

"A mountain range literally erected around the village," Kokuyo said. "There is no possible way to leave this place on foot right now. And with Hisui grounded only I can fly, and I cannot realistically fly with four people clinging to me."

"H-How did a mountain range just suddenly form a barricade around the village?!" Rikuou shouted. He looked at Kazahaya. "What kind of magic is here?!"

"I-I don't know!" Kazahaya exclaimed. "I only know about my own powers, and Kei's powers!"

Rikuou looked between Kokuyo and Tsukiko. "And why in the hell did these bastards want Tsukiko in the first place?!"

"I can explain that," Tsukiko said softly. She started moving towards Hisui, but Rikuou took her arm and guided her over, setting her down on the floor beside the angel. He took off his own jacket and gave it to her. "Thank you, Rikuou."

"Tsukiko-san, what happened to you?" Kazahaya asked, slowly standing up.

"Before I start," she said, looking at everyone. "I want you all to know that the only people I blame for what happened to me are the people who hurt me."

"That's fair," Rikuou said. "But what happened? You refused to tell me what was going on before your disappearance."

"I had an office job," Tsukiko said, hugging Rikuou's jacket to her. "But most of my income came from…helping the police. If they were looking for a missing person, or trying to find a criminal, they would reach out to me and pay me to see if I could find these people. In many cases, I was able to see murders before they were committed, and police were able to go to the place where the crime would be committed and stop it from happening. That is how Ship of the Moon found out about me.

"About a year ago, they…" she hesitated for a moment, and looked at Kazahaya. Then she casted her eyes downward. "I was approached after my office job. Two men dressed in black wearing Noh masks. They asked me one question, but it was a question I couldn't answer for them."

"What was the question?" Rikuou asked.

"Where is Kudo Kazahaya?"

Kazahaya stiffened in shock, but everyone turned to look at Hisui. The angel lifted his head and was smiling, and though some of the color had returned to his face he still looked awful. "Ah, Tsukiko-san," he breathed. "I'm very pleased to finally meet you."

"As am I, Hisui-san," Tsukiko said. She smiled briefly but then her smile faded. "But…yes. That was their only question for me; "Where is Kudo Kazahaya?""

Rikuou looked at Kazahaya, but Kazahaya was gaping at Tsukiko in stunned silence.

"They had…stuff that belonged to you, Kazahaya-kun," Tsukiko said. She didn't look at him. "Trickets, a shirt. One of your socks. They gave them to me to try to help me find you. But I refused. I did see visions of you, Kazahaya-kun. Wandering forests, washing your face by a river, nearly falling off a cliff…but I did not tell them where you were. They didn't believe me, and would not stop approaching me asking me where you were. But I would not tell them. I could not tell them, because I sensed that they had malicious intent, and I did not want to help them. But then…"

"But then…?" Rikuou gently prompted her.

Tsukiko looked up at Kazahaya then. "Then one day…I saw a vision. A vision that I misinterpreted. I thought—I thought I saw your future death in the vision, Kazahaya-kun. I saw you laying in the road, and the wreckage of a car that had hit a light pole. I-I thought—I thought the car would end your life, so I told the members of Ship of the Moon that you would die. I-I thought—I didn't know where you were," she quickly added. "I-I only knew that you were somewhere in Japan. Somewhere rural. But I thought that you were going to die, and that is what I told the cult members. I thought it would make them leave me alone, a-and it did. For a bit. The following morning, I—I dreamed of you, Kazahaya-kun, and I saw that you were unhurt and I was so…happy to see you alive. And I t-thought that I had spared you from the cult. But…"

"But the graffiti," Kokuyo said grimly. "They sprayed your apartment building with graffiti. Occult symbols. Curses. They were not happy with you."

"I remember that," Rikuou said, shaking his head. "So they were trying to curse you for saying that Kazahaya was dead?"

"And perhaps scare me," Tsukiko added. "But they did not approach me. Not until…that day."

That day. They all knew what "that day" was.

"They came to the apartment before I could go to work," Tsukiko said quietly. She fidgeted her fingers. "They told me…They knew that I had not spoken the complete truth when I told them that Kazahaya-kun had died. They knew this, because…because of Kei-kun."

The air suddenly became very cold. "Kei-kun knew that Kazahaya-kun was still alive because of their twin connection, but she didn't know where Kazahaya-kun was," Tsukiko said. "They demanded that I—that I tell them where he was, or where he was going to be. B-But I didn't want to cooperate this time. I didn't want them to get to Kazahaya-kun. But then—Kei-kun…" her voice trailed off.

"…What did she do?" Rikuou quietly asked.

"They took an item of yours, Rikuou," Tsukiko quickly responded. "Your wallet. And Kei-kun—she read your future. She did that…I believe she meant to threaten us both. B-But…" she quickly shook her head. "Whatever she saw…whatever Kei-kun saw in that vision…she did not like. She wouldn't say what it was, but she became so angry and…"

"And she attacked you?" Hisui said.

Tsukiko nodded. "The power she unleashed…I have never seen anything like it before. I-I thought it would destroy the whole building. Two members—two people from Ship of the Moon tried to pacify her, but whatever she did—they e-exploded! Nothing was left of them but blood and gore splattered everywhere! Not even flesh! Then everything just—" she pressed a hand to her face and trembled violently. "My mind…will not allow me to completely remember everything that had happened. But I remember screaming, and—and pain! After the two…the next thing I remember is laying on the floor injured…covered in blood…and Kei-kun…she was standing over me with this—this smile! T-There was so much blood on her that it had stained her blonde hair red, but she…she was wearing this serene smile. And she said…"Anyone who stands in my way must die. Anyone who keeps Kazahaya from me must die." And the next thing I remember…I woke up in this room. And I haven't left this room."

"So that is what happened to you," Hisui said softly. He reached out and took one of her hands. "You have suffered so greatly, Tsukiko-san. And all because—"

Kazahaya let out a loud, painful cry and slammed his hands against his eyes. Hysterical, shrieking sobs ruptured from his throat as he fell down to his knees hard. "Kazahaya!" Rikuou knelt beside him and grabbed his shoulders. "Kazahaya, what—"

"My fault!" Kazahaya screamed, pulling away from Rikuou and hunching forward. His forehead nearly touched the floor. "Everything that happened…it's all MY FAULT!"