It was all Rei could do to keep from crumpling to the ground. Even through the ringing in her ears she could clearly hear Zero's audible gasp. How could she have been so utterly foolish? The stupid assumption that because Zero had been identical and the cursed twins had been identical, that it meant her twins too had to have been…
As the thoughts flooded her head, she recalled the research she and Kaien had found in the Kiryu archives about the original twins. So little information had been available about these cursed witches… They'd even had to fill in some of those gaps with more assumptions...
Still processing, Rei gave the laughing witch a firm stare. "And you…"
The witch paused, a look of amusement dancing across her face as she leaned in towards Rei.
"Yes, dear? What about me? Is there something more?"
Rei took an angry step forward. "You're an original cursed twin…"
"Hmmm? Yes, I feel like we've already covered that topic, and quite thoroughly may I add." The witch leaned back and feigned a yawn, her eyes still sparkling with wicked mischief. "What of it?"
Rei took a deep breath, her shoulders lifting with the force of it. She could see Zero from the side of her eyes, still silent and presumably shocked in place nearby.
"Were you actually born a female… or male?"
"Oh my!" The witch pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and pretended to faint. "What a thing to ask! Have you no manners!?" She paused and pressed a finger to her lips in mock thought. "Though I guess you really didn't have any parents around to teach you any…" She grinned, again leaning her face towards Rei's.
Rei narrowed her eyes. "You called the other one your sister, and so once again I've been assuming-"
"Well, If you're asking if the original cursed twins were identical twins or not. The answer is… no!" The corner of the witch's mouth curled up. "We were born just as your twins were. A boy and a girl- the first of our kind in the Kiryu clan, and -until your children came along -the only fraternal twins to be born in the clan under the curse". At this Rei noticed the smile subtly slip for just a moment from the witch's face. "However, at this point, we've been alive so long that gender isn't something we really concern ourselves with any longer. I go only by the name Saiu now. The rest of it really doesn't matter."
A serious look formed on Saiu's face. "You may have thought differently, but the truth is, that since the curse, never in the history of the Kiryu have identical girl twins been born to the clan. I believe this is because the power of the girl twins is too formidable. My sister was by far stronger than I." She sneered distastefully at Rei. "Truthfully, had you not caught her unaware and killed her in the manner that you did, there is no way that someone like you could have ever hoped to have taken her life in any other circumstance….the twin girls are very special you see. Even your daughter…" Saiu paused and grinned. "Why she has power unlike any I've ever seen before."
"Enough." Rei said darkly. The shock of the revelation had finally worn off and it was high past time to end the games. "Boy or girl, it doesn't matter. Where is my child?"
Zero wanted to move and stand directly next to Rei, but his battle sense told him the best strategy would be to keep the witch between them as best they could. Her last attack had caught him off guard, but he'd reacted with more intensity than it had actually caused him. He was carrying the Souma pendant and it seemed to act as a sort of protective talisman against her. The last attack hadn't affected him nearly as much as the show he'd put on. Still, he wanted her to think that she still had the ability to inflict major damage. They needed to keep that advantage.
As he moved stealthily to the side, he continued to process the recent news. All this time they'd been looking for a boy, but in reality he had a daughter? It was unheard of for a twin in the Kiryu clan and he couldn't blame Rei at all for not considering the possibility. He belonged to the clan and he never would have begun to search for a missing twin girl. From the side of his eyes he carefully watched the remaining bystanders in the room. Vampires. Not all of them, but a good handful. He wasn't sure how Saiu had managed to collect them-there were so few left after the Association's purge- but he was fairly certain that's what they were. Zero didn't think any of them seemed to be very powerful or much of a threat. Even still, he'd have to be careful. The witch was a master of the dark arts and there was no telling what she had taught them or what powers they may have. Not to mention that the rest of these people could still be innocent and caught up in something that they weren't even aware of. He didn't want to put them in danger.
As he moved he couldn't see Saiu's face any longer, but he heard the witch laugh.
"Where is your child? Why, you make it seem as though I'm hiding her from you or something?"
Zero froze and his stomach tightened. Another game. He disliked this immensely. What would the punchline be this time? He could feel the heat radiating off of Rei and knew that they needed to move quickly. She was emitting dangerous waves and he was pretty sure that if this continued, she was going to lose it real soon. If that happened, things would get bad fast. He needed to find Hisachi before something went terribly wrong.
Saiu scratched her head. "I wonder… is 8 years too long for a mother to be able to recognize her own child?"
All of the air left Zero's lungs. He could sense Rei's movement come to a halt. They both had the same realization. Hisachi was somewhere nearby. Could they have seen her in the town already or come near her? Zero's eyes darted around. There were quite a few kids scattered throughout the room, and as he scanned he noticed the ones he'd seen running away earlier. He studied them carefully, uncertain if he might be missing something. There tucked in a corner was the little girl with the black hair who had brought them to the house. She peeked shyly out from the shadows, looking thoughtfully at him. He'd completely discounted her earlier, his mind focused on finding a little boy, however…
Rei's brows furrowed and she summoned all of her will just to hold herself back from stepping forward and taking Saiu's pale neck in her hands. A daugher. Her daughter. This whole time, being a captive of this psychotic monster. Rage and fury was bubbling up and Rei was struggling with all of her might to quash it and keep it down. Saiu, on the other hand, seemed to be taking great pleasure in Rei's turmoil. She snapped her fingers and summoned Ulma to her side. Still looking worried, the woman left her place among the other attendants and stood by Saiu. The witch gave a devilish grin, her eyes never leaving Rei.
"I think it's time that we present Ms. Shihoin with our proposal. Let us show her the price it costs to have her child back."
Ulma's face went white and she slowly nodded. However, before she could move from Saiu's side, Rei had already darted forward, the hunter's knife she wore on her thigh unsheathed and pointed between Saiu's eyes.
"I said I've had enough. We'll be taking our daughter now."
Saiu stared at the knife with disinterest.
"Are you moving into threats now? Really? Without even having your daughter in hand?"
The witch grinned and taking a lone finger pushed the knife from in front of her face, seemingly paying no mind to the cut it elicited from her finger and the deep blood that began running down her hand.
"I'll tell you what- if you can find your daughter in this town in the next 5 minutes, I'll let you have her. Deal?" Saiu, glanced quickly towards Zero who was staring into the crowd, frozen.
"You'll only get one chance, so choose wisely. Time starts… now!" Saiu leaned back in her chair, obviously not waiting for a response, and not caring whether Rei would take her up on her offer or not.
It didn't matter. While Zero moved, almost as if in a trance, toward the young girl with the black hair, Rei had already darted over to stand in front of her pick.
"She's right here."
Rei dropped to her knees in front of the girl, reaching out to her as the child narrowed her eyes and shrunk back.
Shocked, Zero stopped dead in his tracks and watched as the laughter immediately died on Saiu's face. Quickly, he looked from the girl in front of Rei to the girl that he had been walking towards. Surely that couldn't be right? But Rei… If she was there, then she was certain… Confused beyond belief and actually feeling the beginnings of fear creeping up, Zero knew he had to stand with Rei. Swiftly, he ran towards her and the girl, just narrowly dodging Saiu as she sliced something sharp across his path. Zero didn't slow, and he didn't stop until he too stood in front of the girl, trying to see if he could find in her what Rei seemed so sure about, and what had clearly knocked the wind out of Saiu's sails.
"Get back from her!" Saiu was now standing and her face held no trace of humor. Zero could finally see her for what she was. The glamour was gone, and now she looked more monster than human. A being held together only by magic and mystic arts.
Rei was still kneeling on the ground and wouldn't take her eyes off the girl, so Zero instinctively stepped between the two of them and Saiu. He looked briefly to the little girl with the black hair, still standing in the corner, her eyes affixed to scene in front of her, and then he took one quick glance at the child that Rei had chosen instead.
Ulma's daughter. That was Rei's pick. The dirty little girl who had greeted them as they first arrived in the town.
"Rei," he said worriedly without looking back. "I won't ask if you're certain, I know you wouldn't say it if you weren't, and this monster's response is enough to confirm it.. but still… how can you tell?"
Rei's voice was gentle and trembling. Zero could tell she was crying even without looking at her. "I know Zero. This is her.. This is Hisachi. I felt something when we first saw her, I don't know how I missed what it was then. All you have to do is look Zero. Just really look at her."
Zero reluctantly took his eyes from Saiu. If Rei told him to look, he knew it meant that she would cover his back. Turning to face her, he ran his eyes over the spiteful girl who was angrily glaring at the two of them. He looked first at the matted brown hair that had covered her face. Now though, without the haze covering his vision, he could tell that the brown he'd seen before was actually just the dirtiness of her hair. Underneath it he could see that her hair actually had a grey silvery tone. As he peered closer at the dark eyes boring into his, he realized that they weren't as black as he originally thought either. The hue was instead a deep dark….violet? They were Rei's eyes. Zero clamped a hand to his mouth and stumbled forward. Rei was right, how could he have not seen it? She had stared the two of them in their faces and they'd overlooked her while she was right in front of them…
Saiu was furious, and her rage was shaking the room. Shaken from his own horror, Zero turned abruptly to face her again. Many had begun to flee from the room, as debris began to fall and the room was destroyed. Zero suspected those left were the more powerful vampires that Saiu kept under her control. As he looked around, he noted that there were more of her henchmen remaining in the room than he would have liked.
"It's time!" Saiu screamed. "Time to pay your dues if you want your daughter!"
Her eyes were mad and Zero suspected that things were about to get much worse for them. Especially considering the fact that he was pretty sure he now had to count Rei out. She hadn't moved from the girl since she'd reached her, and he wasn't sure there was much that would tear Rei from her now.
"Shoiyu!" The witch screamed and the girl looked towards her in anticipation. "It's your turn now!"
The girl looked puzzled for a moment, then she turned to Ulma. "What they're saying… what do they mean?"
"Are you questioning me!?" Saiu screamed and the girl turned back to her, shaking her head quickly.
"No mother, of course not"
Rei stiffened at the endearment. So it was true, Saiu had been raising her as her own. All of this about her being Ulma's daughter, was just to hide the truth from them. The fury bubbled up inside her again, but this time there would be no stopping it. She didn't even plan to try.
"Her name is Hisachi." Rei growled through tightly clenched teeth. Saiu was going to pay, Rei would make sure of it.
Saiu smirked, almost as if she could read Rei's mind, "Then it's time Shoiyu. Now!"
Rei reached up and released the bindings in her hair. Swiftly she reached behind her to grab the dagger they had retrieved at the Souma hold. Suddenly, before she could take hold of it, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. It was sudden and hot. She couldn't call out, just a small grunt as she dropped her hands to catch herself before she could fall to the ground. As she looked down she saw the silver blade sticking from her chest.
Even injured, Rei immediately understood the situation. She coughed up a lungful of blood and turned slightly to see the young girl standing mesmerized behind her. She was in shock, Rei could tell. It relieved her. It meant this was her first time. She hadn't killed anyone before, and that knowledge made Rei happy. Besides, if she had to die, it would gladly be at the hands of the child she'd lost. Tears dropped from her eyes. The pain in her chest was unbearable, this was definitely not an ordinary blade. It was something special- pain from the wound was radiating outwards burning her from the inside out and making her weak.
"It's alright" She said softly to the girl, who now had tears streaming down her face as well. 'She's only 8 years old', Rei reminded herself, she'd talked a big game when they came in, but she was just a little kid. "You don't have to worry… don't be upset."
Zero had come to Rei's side and was kneeling next to her, helping to hold her up. He touched the hilt of the blade protruding from her back.
"Don't pull it out!" Rei commanded, emphasizing her command by coughing up another small lungful of blood.
"I'm not dumb. Besides, it's enchanted or something, it burns to even touch it." Zero, hadn't come across anything like this before. Pulling it out would obviously cause her to bleed out but leaving it in also seemed like a very bad idea. He didn't plan on telling Rei, but the skin around her wound in the back, had turned pitch black and that black was spider webbing away from the wound towards the rest of her body. Whatever had been done to this blade, it was definitely bad news.
Rei nodded, it made sense. The blade had been enchanted, but Hisachi had been able to wield it and strike her with it. Hisachi would also be the only one able to remove it.
"It hurts doesn't it?" Saiu said calmly as she circled the three of them. "Nothing less than what you deserve for what you did to my sister. A life for a life am I right?"
The girl turned a tear-stained face to Saiu. "What they said.. it's true isn't it? I can see it now. I can tell. They are my actual parents aren't they?" She sobbed as she said it.
Saiu was unfazed. She continued to circle, ignoring the weeping girl and her cries.
Angrily Zero turned to Saiu, "I thought your deal was that if we picked the right one we could take our daughter?"
Saiu stopped walking and looked at him. "Hmm.." She said, looking skyward. "I suppose I did say that…." She dropped to the floor on her knees in front of Rei and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"You know the girl was supposed to stab you through the heart, but even so, I made this little toy so that you wouldn't die immediately. I wanted you around just long enough to really suffer."
Laughing, the witch jumped back up to her feet and gave a wink to Zero, who by now had retrieved the sacred Kiryu dagger that Rei held and was determining the best way to launch his attack.
"Well Zero dear, you know you're completely right, I did say something to that effect. Though I believe I also said 'a life for a life', right? You really should ask for the details if you intend to hold me to it you know. I don't believe I ever said whose life… and I don't think I ever said that I'd return your daughter… alive."
Before she finished her sentence, Saiu had stepped forward, coming up behind Hisachi, and using the same hidden blade that she'd attempted to slice Zero with earlier, she ran it swiftly across the girl's neck.
