Seichorou the Ninth watched the clear potion hungrily, body tense with anticipation. Slowly, tantalizingly slowly, as if each drop were taking its own sweet time, the wavering, almost unreal-looking liquid covering Midori's picture turned a deep crimson red, dark as blood. Heart's blood. When the change was complete, Seichorou carefully placed the jar containing his ex-girlfriend's heart in the center of the pan and lit the candles placed around it. He surveyed his handiwork, then picked up a small knife and nicked his finger over the pan, waiting dispassionately while three scarlet drops fell into the potion. Stepping back, he nodded in satisfaction and drew his hands into a triangle before his chest, closing his eyes and beginning the first canto of the chant. As the complicated, almost scientific Aklo phrases tripped flawlessly from his trained tongue, Seichorou wished fleetingly that this spell would have been as easy to cast as that which had placed Ki's heart back in his chest. The college student smirked mentally, wondering if Ki had yet realized what had been done to him, and if Midori's cousin appreciated the "reward" he had been given for his information. ******************************************* Dark Heart High Netherworld Educational Institution for the Universal Propagation of Evil established by Mads ******************************************* Part Fifty: Discussions! by Sharyna Tran ******************************************* The scene could have been plucked from an American film noir. In the conference room of the ancestral Steel Thorn home, twenty men and women of assorted ages sat around a large table, clad in simple shades of grey, black and white. Every face was calm and poised, every set of eyes focused politely upon the door in an attitude of quiet anticipation. No one spoke. Finally, the door opened and Keiko Tamaida, currently the de facto head of the Steel Thorn clan, walked into the room. Her eyes swept over the occupants, noting with approval the number of people present and stopping at the empty bank of seats next to her youngest brother, drawing her brows down in faint criticism. "It seems the Blue Winter Roses are late." "As usual," snorted Ayane Watanabe, acting head of the White Sun Whispers branch. "I don't see why they had to be invited anyway." "It is a family issue," her sister Hanako reminded her. She shifted in her seat, adjusting the bladed fan on her belt, the primary weapon used by that branch of the family. "Although I do wish they'd try to be more punctual." "Not gonna happen," Hanako's eldest son Kenji muttered to his brothers. "Why d'you think all their kids are home-schooled? Too good for Dark Heart? I don't think so..." Makoto, Takeshi and Shiro snickered quietly, as did Ki, Midori and Ayane's twins Erika and Emiko, sitting across from them. "So, is Father going to join us?" Midori's father Daikuro asked. Keiko looked at her younger twin brother and shook her head. "He and Uncle Akifumi are checking over the children's progress downstairs, with the spouses. He's trying to get us to start running ourselves." "Self-determination, at last!" the next oldest Steel Thorn brother, Hiroji, proclaimed sarcastically, throwing his hands in the air. Keiko quirked an eyebrow at him, and moved to her seat at the head of the elliptical table. "In any case, I think now is a good time for us to star-" The door banged open, interrupting her, and a group of people dressed in shades of blue from pastel to neon traipsed in, taking their seats between the members of the primary Steel Thorn branch and the White Sun Whispers. "Sorry we're late, Koko," Tetsuya said offhandedly, his back to her as he took his seat. The head of the Blue Winter Roses stretched, the joints in his back popping loudly, and turned back to his cousin. "So, what did we miss?" "Nothing much," Keiko answered, looking at him coolly. "We were just about to get started with a little of the background behind this." "Hey, Ki," the youngest Winter Rose, Wataru, whispered across the table as he sat down. "I heard about your little girlfriend at DHH. Is she hot?" Ki sighed. It was going to be a long meeting. ***** Saturday, two days previous... Midori glared at Ki. "I can't believe that you were so unbelievably stu-" Ki shushed her quickly, indicating the crowd of students around them leaving school. "How was I supposed to know that the hammer was magic? I was just going to throw it away. It's not like I *planned* for the blessed thing to possess me." "Watch your language, cousin," she told him as they walked. "Just because you're a fool is no reason for you to start tacking the b-word onto everything." He rolled his eyes. "Look, I didn't tell you this so that you could yell at me. You do that enough anyways. I need your help." "You're becoming a bit too free with your appeals to me, Ki." The Steel Thorn scion almost tripped, staring at his future rival in consternation. "You mean you won't help me?" Midori pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I'll think about it." "Uh, Midori? It's not like we have a lot of time before the clan meeting..." "Come now, have a little patience," she scoffed. "Honestly, you're acting almost as if..." She stopped in her tracks, trailing off, and slowly turned to stare at her cousin, who looked back in poorly- disguised panic. "Oh, no...don't tell me that..." Her hand flew to his throat, seeking and finding the pulse that she dreaded. She paled and backed away, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Ki Tamaida...why do you have a heart?" He gulped. "Well, it's...uh...a long story..." Her cousin crossed her arms, gazing at him steadily. "Spill." With no alternative, Ki told her everything, leaving out only the contents of his conversation with Seichorou. "I should kill you where you stand, and our duel be damned." Midori's eyes flashed in anger. "How did you manage to get yourself into all of this? And how *dare* you involve me in your little plots?" "It was *your* boyfriend that dragged me into *his* business," Ki shot back. "*Ex*-boyfriend," Midori corrected automatically. "Whatever. At any rate, that part of things has less to do with me and more to do with you." "It's not exactly my fault that he's obsessed with me. All that means is that I did my job a little too well." She eyed him. "But I suppose that that's not going to keep you from using Seichorou's involvement to pressure me into helping you, right?" "Of course," Ki answered, not suppressing his smirk. "I may have had some...setbacks recently, but if I let that chance slip by, I deserve to have you slit my throat right here and now." "Now that's something we can agree on, at least." They walked in silence for a few more minutes, before Midori spoke again. "I'll mull over the situation tonight. We'll talk tomorrow." "I don't think that gives us a lot of time," Ki frowned. "I don't think you have a lot of choices, dear cousin." "Isn't that 'don't think *we* have a lot of choices,' Midori?" he smirked. She rolled her eyes. "Nice comeback, Ki." "Why thank you, cousin dearest." ***** Sunday afternoon... The actual process of heart removal and storage, as practiced by the members of the Steel Thorn clan, was a complex ritual spanning three days and involving a myriad of complicated spells and meta-spells. Being a procedure that required spell-casting, it was barred to all but the leaders of the clan, the founders of the separate branches, by clan law as well as simple ability. The process of disguising one's heartbeat proved to be just as complex and confusing, although perhaps not quite as long. After a few false starts, Midori and Ki had settled upon the simple-sounding expedient of covering the veins on his throat with several layers of gauze and stage makeup. "Quit squirming around, you're rubbing it off before I even finish putting it on," Midori commanded. Ki grudgingly stopped twitching against his cousin's ministrations. "I feel like that bodysnatcher Ryuji," he grumbled. "Aren't people going to notice when my neck is about twice as wide as it usually is?" She stepped back and looked him over critically. "Hmmm...no, it doesn't look *that* overthick." "Are you sure?" "Yes, actually," Midori said, putting down the makeup. "Just make sure to wear something with long sleeves tomorrow, to cover up your arms. Oh, and try not to get too agitated." Ki ignored the quip. "So, are we ready for the next part of the plan, then?" ***** Sunday night... "I am...exhausted," declared Troi Mikagami, throwing himself onto the couch. "Look on the bright side, honey," his wife told him, snuggling into him. "At least the house is clean again." The roiling black mass that was Troi shuddered melodramatically. "The pies! Those pies! Never have I seen such pies! But it was a glorious battle, and in the end there was no question that we were victorious." His wife laughed. "Indeed not, love." She turned to Yuri. "Yuri, it's not that I don't like letting you have your friends over, but the next time you do, would you try and get a little advance warning, please? It's rather embarrassing to have all these people at the table without being prepared ahead of time." "But Mom, I didn't plan to have all of those people over! It just kind of happened...anyways, from now on, I'll let you know early whenever I know that friends are coming over." Just then, the doorbell rang. Troi Mikagami looked at his daughter with sardonic eyes. "So...friends of yours, Yuri?" "Eh-heh....I'll get it!" Yuri dashed off to the front door, wondering who it was this time. From the living room, her parents could hear her surprised "Uh? Hi, Ki. Hello Midori, nice to see you again. Um, I wasn't expecting you guys to drop by..." "I suppose I'd better get to the kitchen," Yuri's mother sighed, preparing to rise. "No, don't," Troi told her, holding her back. "Maybe we'll get lucky. Maybe we won't have to give them food. Maybe they're in the middle of a fast or something." "They're probably not," his wife protested. Red eyes glinted in the darkness. "If they know what's good for them, they are now. Otherwise I'll eat them, cholesterol or no." "Troiii..." "Mom, Dad?" Yuri interrupted, sticking her head back into the room. "Is it okay if I go over to Ki's to help him out with something? His cousin's going to be there, too..." "Well, I suppose so," her mother said. "Just make sure to be back by dinner time, all right?" "After all, we wouldn't want you to have *too* much fun with your boy...companion, now would we?" "DAD!" Yuri complained, blushing furiously. "Ah, yes," Troi chuckled. "It's good to be evil..." Yuri stuck out her tongue and returned to the front door. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting; my dad was being weird again." "Oh, that's quite all right." Ki smiled winningly at her. Hopefully if he played his cards right he would still be able to come out of this situation on top, pun intended. "So, what was it that you needed help with anyways?" Yuri asked as they walked. This was the part that Ki had been iffy about. Considering the fact that she had been of practically no use the last time he had come to her for help, he hadn't been too thrilled with the thought of having to ask her again, but as far as the hammer was concerned, they had pretty much run out of alternatives. "Well, you know the problem I mentioned to you on Friday?" "Yes? You having a heart, right?" "That too. I've taken care of the heart issue, at least for the time being, but what I need you for is the hammer issue." Yuri giggled, subsiding at Ki's frown. "I'm sorry, it just sounds funny. I can't see why you think I could help you there." "Well, you did survive the purity grenade. And, from what you told me, the former owner of the hammer was unable to use it against you. I know that a lot of people at school think that you have some sort of weird immunity to that kind of stuff...but most of all I just have nowhere else to turn. I can't ask anyone else to do this, Yuri, and I trust you," he said, looking into her eyes. Behind Yuri's back, Midori made gagging motions at him, which he primly ignored. Yuri blinked, the memory flooding back past her efforts to block it off. 'YOU SHOULD NOT BE,' the Justicar had declared, and the shock from hearing that echoed through her as if she had just relived it. She hadn't told Ki about that part, hadn't told anyone yet, really, not even her parents. It was all for the best, Yuri supposed, as she hadn't the slightest idea what she would have said in any case. It weighed on her, having been told that she shouldn't exist. She had gone quiet. Ki looked at her with concern, trying to figure out what she was thinking. "Yuri?" he asked tentatively. She looked up, her eyes still somewhat distracted. He took her hands, trying to ignore the sudden urge to squeeze them tightly and never let go. "Yuri...please. I need your help, I really do. If the family finds out about this, they *will* kill me, and it's probably too much to hope that it's going to be quick." Her full attention was on him again, good. "Wait...you mean you were serious when you said that they'd kill you?" He blinked, confused. "Of course I was. Why wouldn't I be?" "It's just...some people exaggerate when they say things like that. Like, if I did something bad and my parents were really really angry at me, I'd say they were going to kill me for what I did, but all they do is sit me down, give me a lecture and warn me not to do it again." "Oh," he said, slightly startled. One would have thought the Hellstorm to be more...well, hellish in his disciplinary methods. "Well, I'm not lying, I swear to you. I give you my word, even." "Of course I'll help you, Ki, if I can, that is. I certainly wouldn't want you to die." Suddenly realizing that they had been holding hands, Yuri jerked free, blushing, and concentrated on walking, gaze steadily fixed on the path in front of her. "I...thank you, Yuri. Thank you very much," he told her. She nodded mutely, still not looking up. Without doing anything so uncouth as making a face, Ki looked smugly over Yuri's head to Midori, who rolled her eyes in response. ***** Back to the present... "I simply don't see why we should bother making everything difficult for everyone else just because the highest-ranking children of our so-esteemed 'premier branch' haven't been trained properly," Sayuki, Tetsuya's daughter and the future leader of the Blue Winter Roses, sniffed. A dead silence fell around the room. Then, as one, the main Steel Thorn branch--Keiko, Daikuro, their brothers and children--rose to their feet, drawing their swords in a fluid motion. The Winter Roses backed up, the staffs that their techniques were based on ready in hand and ready to fight. "If it were just a matter of Ki and Midori not being able to get themselves out of trouble, you would be correct," Keiko answered through gritted teeth. "However, this situation is a *family* matter. Someone broke into *our* manor, vandalized *our* trophy room"-and here Ki was still well-trained enough to twitch only faintly-"and stole the hearts of two of *our* family. All of these acts were personal insults to the entire clan. That makes it all of our business, and I'll thank you not to degrade it so." "Still don't see why we have to worry about this," Sayuki grumbled. "I mean, it's the elders' job, isn't it? Why are we discussing this, instead of Grandmother and Great-Uncle Yoichi and Great-Uncle Akifumi? Shouldn't they be settling this, instead of playing with the kids?" "The elders are dealing with the issue in their own manner," Keiko stated. "And the younger children will be tested soon; it is only proper that the elders see if they will be worthy." Sayuki just sighed and rolled her eyes. Keiko's eyes narrowed in response. "Is there something you would rather be doing than discussing family business, Sayuki? I'm sure that if you don't want to be a part of this any more, something can be arranged." The threat was evident in her voice. "No," the Winter Rose replied sulkily. "I'm fine." "So, what is it that you're missing on our account?" Rin, one of Hiroji's sons, asked. "A party? A concert? A *date*?" He underlined the last term with venom, and was rewarded with a guilty twitch from his target. "Ah, so that's the way priorities go nowadays..." "Leave my daughter alone," Tetsuya snarled. "Imasuke is a fine young man, and I'm proud that my daughter has managed to successfully focus on a target at an early age, unlike some seeds of a certain other branch of the clan!" The metaphor was shaky, but Rin, in his twenties and still single, pricked to the insult, as did Ki, Midori, and Rin's older brothers Ban and Gai. He opened his mouth to respond, but paused respectfully when Ayane rose to her feet. "Well, I think it's about time we take a break," she stated. Her tone was cheery, but her eyes set in exasperation. "We've been here for over an hour, after all." Keiko nodded stiffly. "Ayane is right," she said, not taking her eyes from the Winter Roses. "We'll reconvene in an hour." And with that, she turned abruptly and stalked out of the room, the rest of the family following in short order. *** Seichorou's mellow-toned voice rose to a peak as he neared the end of his incantation, and at the finish, the candles he had lit winked out, leaving the room in darkness. A soft, subtle hum rose, audible only to those who knew exactly what they were listening for. He grinned and placed his hands just over the jar containing Midori's heart, reveling in the slight tingling as his hands neared it, a sign that the spell had worked. Seichorou picked up the jar and shelved it; it had served its main purpose, and now he had other things on his mind. Eagerly, he scooped up the flat white chip that was all that remained of Midori's photograph. It would take a while for him to achieve full control, but already he would have some influence, and in time...in time he would have his revenge on her, as well as the perfect means of achieving his ultimate goal. Seichorou grinned, stroking the control chip lightly with a fingertip. ***** "I'm worried," Ki admitted flatly to Midori as they walked. The rest of the family had scattered, most of them to fight each other either as practice or revenge for remarks made during the meeting. Ki and Midori had taken advantage of this to converse privately in the one room they both knew would be empty--the conference room. "Oh?" she replied neutrally. "No-one seems to have caught on yet. And that Mikagami girl did manage to get rid of the hammer, so that's one less thing we have to worry about." "Yes, but we're not exactly off the hook yet. And besides, we didn't manage to take care of Seichorou yesterday. Aren't you worried that he'll do something with your heart while the meeting's in progress?" "Not having suffered the misfortune of having my heart back, I am not excessively agitated about that. And if something does happen...then I suppose you'll just have to cover for me, now won't you?" Midori smiled tightly. "But I'm sure that-" She stopped with a gasp, then her eyes rolled back and she fell to the floor, her hands clutching at her chest and her breath coming in spasms. Within a few moments, it was over. ***** "Tamaida-kun?....Tamaida-kun?" Kurosawa glanced at Ki's empty desk and shrugged. "Ki Tamaida, absent--ah, it's excused. Huh. Well, who in the class will be taking Tamaida-kun his assignments, then?" Up with the cat charm. Fujiko noted it, as well as the lack of other volunteers, and made a note in her book. "Very well. Arigatou, Mikagami-kun." At this gesture of kindness to a rival for Yuri's attention, Amy and Bala each cast matching resentful glares at her, then caught the other at it and looked away, scowling. Yuri missed this byplay, reminded by Kurosawa-sensei of the reason for Ki's absence. She hoped that what she had done had helped his position, at least a little bit. It hadn't really seemed like that much to her, but both Ki and his cousin Midori had acted as if the hammer had been coated with poison. As guests weren't allowed in the Steel Thorn clan manor, they had smuggled it out to her in a lead-coated box. She almost giggled now, remembering how tightly panicked Ki's face had looked, although Midori had been cool as ever. Of course, it wasn't funny to him, but she had been so used to always seeing him calm and controlled that the sight of emotion on his face was incredibly comical, especially when it was something as usually alien as panic. The hammer certainly hadn't seemed like such a panic-inducing object, though. True, when she had first picked it up she'd thought it had jumped in her hands, almost as if trying to get loose, and *something* had shrieked, far in the distance. But it had, after all, been heavier than she had expected, so of course she had almost dropped it. It wasn't as if it were sentient... She had left it in her room, uncertain of what to do with it. If it really was dangerous, she probably should have shown it to her parents, but that would mean that she would have to explain how she had gotten it, and she wasn't sure if telling the whole story would get Ki into trouble. ***** Shark Eye glared suspiciously at the woman who stood before him, reeking of goodness. "A Sakura Arts graduate...with a *Visitor's Pass*? To Dark Heart High? Dear lady, I don't know how they did things at your old alma mater, but here at Dark Heart High we've failed students for better ploys than that." The woman's eyes flashed. "If you don't believe me, you can go speak to Principal Amakusa. This pass is perfectly valid, and I am here on legitimate business." "Since when is spying legitimate business?" the shop teacher sneered. "Do we set up appointments for this sort of thing nowadays? Get out of my office, woman, I have work to do and my free period is almost over." Her eyes narrowed. "Very well...but I'm pulling my daughter out of your class. *And* filing a complaint." She backed away, muttering to herself. "Arrogant, ignorant, half-trained excuse for a-" "Excuse me," Shark Eye interrupted, blinking. "Did I hear you have the audacity to claim that your daughter is enrolled in one of my classes?" "Yes, because she is. Do you have the audacity to doubt it?" she snapped back. Teaching is one of the world's oldest and most noble professions. The dedicated men, women, and in some cases things that devote themselves to showing the golden beam of knowledge to their students live for nothing more than the simple satisfaction of knowing that, simply due to being in their class, their students will step out into the world enlightened and enriched, their bright and true successors in the new age. But simple satisfaction, no matter how fulfilling on a personal achievement level, puts no beans on the table, nor does it pay the bills. Shark Eye was well-versed in this fact, and also in the fact that teachers with negative marks in their files often tended to end up being paid less than their counterparts, a sad casualty of the competitive ruthlessness of the modern capitalist society. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I think we may have started off on the wrong end of things. I don't believe we were properly introduced; I am Shark Eye, the shop teacher here at Dark Heart High. And you are...?" This was more like it. "Andrea Angeleye," she responded coolly. "You may have heard of me." In the back of his mind, the part of him that appreciated melodrama gave Andrea a standing ovation, but out of Shark Eye-sensei's mouth came only the words "Pleased to meet you, Angeleye-san. I assume that Amy is your daughter then, yes?" "Yes, that's right." She eyed the instructor, slightly surprised but not displeased to see the abruptness of his change of heart. But then, it was probably only natural for admonishments to be more...severe at Dark Heart High than at Sakura Arts, where the administration chastised faculty by revoking breakroom privileges and docking ice-cream allowance pay. "And may I ask what brings me the pleasure of your presence in my office?" Shark Eye was fully in urbane megalomaniac mode now, with no hint of his previous prejudice showing. Feng-sensei would have approved of the utterly bipolar nature of the switch. "I just want to see how my daughter is adjusting to this school. I understand she had a project in your class recently?" "Yes, a simple deathtrap group lab. In which, I might add, your daughter performed magnificently, especially on the oral presentation." This, at least, was the truth. "Would you like to see the classroom? Unfortunately we have already dismantled the traps, but I can explain how everything was set up, and show you the testing station to which your daughter's group was assigned." This last was what Andrea had been waiting for. She had a few questions to ask the shade of her old "friend's" daughter. "I would like that very much, thank you." Shark Eye escorted her into his classroom, pointing out various salient features while Andrea nodded at intervals, making appropriate appreciative comments. "And this is the area where your daughter's group was stationed. Of particular note, as far as their project was concerned, is the fact that they captured and used their own victim in the lab, which shows excellent initiative on their parts." Andrea walked around the testing station, looking over everything carefully as Shark Eye hovered. "Ah...so, Angeleye-san, how long were you planning to stay? I have some tests to grade for the upper-level classes, but Jojo should be able to help you, should you need assistance." At a whistle, the simian assistant entered the room, ook'ing curiously at the sight of Andrea. "Jojo, this is Angeleye-san, Amy's mother. Do be a good monkey and help her around, hmm?" "Ook eek eek!" Jojo chirped cheerfully. "It was a delight to meet you, Angeleye-san," Shark Eye said, bowing floridly as he exited. "I look forward to our next meeting." Andrea stared after him, unsure whether or not to be insulted at his leaving her with a monkey, then shrugged off the monocled instructor and his eccentricities. She had another purpose here. "Lily? Lily, can you hear me?" she called softly, not wanting to attract Shark Eye's attention. Jojo eek'ed curiously, but was ignored. Over the skeleton that the janitors had left in the station (why waste good decor, after all?) a faint image appeared, wavering in the air. "...Angeleye-san...? That is you, isn't it?" The soft whisper was barely audible in the large room. "Yes Lily, it's me." "Did my mother send you? Are you here to free me?" The voice was hesitant, hopeful. It was probably wrong to lead the poor thing on, but after what Amy had told her about the girl, Andrea Angeleye really didn't have much pity for her. Then again, pity had always been in short supply for Andrea in any case. "I have to ask you a few questions, Lily," Andrea said, avoiding the direct lie. "Do you know why you're bound here?" A pause. "No...no, I don't. But I don't want to stay here. The classes are scary and the monkeys throw things at me." A choked sound that could have been a stifled sob. "And my hair is a *mess*! I thought ghosts were supposed to be romantic and always look as pretty as they did when they were alive, but I look just the same as I did when they killed me! It's so unfair!" Any shred of pity Andrea may have felt for the shade vanished. With her idle curiosity satisfied, Andrea got to the meat of her mission. "Lily, I need to ask you some questions about your mother..." If she could neutralize Ringoshima through blackmail, there would be no danger to either Amy or her friend, and no sudden uproar to muddy the waters and risk having yet another enemy rise to power in Sakura Arts. All in all, a much better solution than picking a fight with the Mikagamis or skulking around trying to sabotage Amy's friend. And besides, she'd never really liked the two-faced Violet much anyway. ***** Midori took a long, shuddering breath and slowly rose to her feet, grasping the edge of the table for support. She closed her eyes for a few moments, retreating into a basic meditation-and-focus exercise, then opened them again, meeting Ki's worried gaze. "Ah...are you all right?" he asked. "I'm fine," Midori managed, her voice breaking. Irritated, she cleared her throat and repeated herself. "Felt like someone grabbed me by the chest and shook me like a rag doll," she muttered. "What happened?" "Seichorou," she answered flatly. "I'd bet my favorite sword on it. Whatever he was planning to do, he's done it, and that was the first sign." Ki frowned. "Why would he choose to do something with such an obvious effect, though?" Midori shook her head slowly, the spinning gradually subsiding. "Either he didn't know, which I doubt--Sei's always been careful with that sort of thing--or whatever he cast is so powerful that he doesn't much care, which is much more probable." "Do you know what it was?" She shook her head shortly. "I'm guessing compulsion, but I'm not sure. It couldn't be love; anything that strong would require replacing the heart, and that's not what it was." "I wonder why he didn't just replace your heart too, in the first place..." Ki mumbled, thinking out loud. "I have no idea. Presumably he needs me to be able to stay detached, or perhaps he needs it with him for the spell to work." They stood in silence for a while, immersed in their separate calculations. "I'm going to kill him," Midori fumed finally. "He's so fond of hearts; I'll rip out his and feed it to him with my bare hands. I don't think I've ever felt so angry in my entire li..." she trailed off, eyes widening. "Ki...I've *never* felt so angry. I've never felt so *much*." They stared at each other, then shouted in unison. "Weakening spell!" "Probably mixed with compulsion as well, knowing him," Midori muttered. "There's no other choice; I'm going for him right after the meeting ends. The longer I wait, the more control he'll have." Ki opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the entrance of a set of young twins, a boy and a girl. "Hi Ki, hi Midori," the boy said. "How are you two-" "-doing today?" the girl answered, overlapping her brother slightly. "Hello Hanku, Nanko," Midori nodded, once again the picture of composure from the instant the twins had opened the door. "We're fine. How was your assessment training with the elders?" "It was all right," Nanko shrugged nonchalantly. "Piece of cake," Hanku agreed, a smug look on his face. "What brings you to the conference room, anyway?" Ki asked. "Looking for someone?" "Not really," Hanku said. "We were-" "-just looking around. It's been a long time since we were-" "-here," they finished together. "That's right, it has." Silence fell yet again, Steel Thorn children, like their parents, able to engage in yet never feeling quite comfortable with casual conversation. "Oh!" Nanko said, remembering. "Yachiyo's dead." "Just now, eh? What happened?" asked Ki. "Well," Hanku answered, "She mouthed off to Emiko, something about how the White Sun Whispers were sissies for fighting with what she called 'pointy fans,' so Emiko challenged her and won." "Emiko-chan sugoi!" cheered Nanko. "Well, that's one less Winter Rose to deal with," Midori noted. Yachiyo, Sayuki's little sister, had been in some ways even more obnoxious than the heir. It wasn't surprising, really; somehow each of the Blue Winter Roses was worse than the one before. "The less of them we have to deal civilly with at the meeting, the better." "Then here's some really good news," Nanko said. "Uncle Tetsuya got so mad about Yachiyo being killed that he's pulling out of the-" "-meeting, and Uncle Chikashi and Uncle Otoyoku aren't going to go anymore, either. And of course their kids have been trying to get out of going since before they even got here." Hanku paused. "Is it true that-" "-Sayuki actually said she'd rather be on a date than at the meeting?" "Well, she didn't exactly admit that, but that's certainly the impression she was giving," Ki told them. "So are *all* of the Blue Winter Roses going to leave, or is Great-Aunt Natsumi going to stay?" "Well, they can't all actually *leave*," Hanku pointed out. "That'd be an insult to the elders, remember?" "They're just not going to be at the meeting anymore," Nanko finished. "And without them there, the meeting shouldn't take too much longer..." And the sooner the meeting finished the better, Midori thought to herself. ***** "So Yuri, I thought you were mad at Ki. Why start being so nice to him again all of a sudden?" Leilei asked at lunch, spooning another mouthful of mashed potatoes into Bala's mouth. "Well, I got to thinking about all of the stuff he's done for me, and, well....he's not really that bad of a person. And what he did was an accident, after all. I guess it wasn't fair of me to be so angry at him, before. Besides..." Yuri trailed off, remembering that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone what Ki had told her. "Besides, he's still pretty cute, eh?" Leilei winked, but then turned away at the sound of wood breaking. Bala, whose fist had been slowly tightening around the edge of the table, had snapped off a corner. "Aww, Bala! Why'd you go and do that? You know I was only joking..." "Is he okay?" Yuri asked, concerned at Bala's recent dark mood. "Yeah, he's fine. He-" As Leilei was speaking, Bala stood up and quietly left. He had some thinking to do. He glanced back only once, accidentally meeting Yuri's worried gaze. His promise to Yuri to try and contain his bloodlust had, oddly enough, not been too hard to keep. Of course, there had been that magical girl whose explosive compact he'd knocked back into her, but that had been her fault more than his; if she hadn't attacked with that sort of weapon, it wouldn't have hurt her, now would it? At any rate, Yuri didn't seem angry with him about that one, so maybe she shared his reasoning on that matter. And before that...well, it had been Yuri who had captured the magical girl in the first place, and Amy who had activated the deathtrap, so he considered his hands clean on that one, physically as well as spiritually. But on the whole, the past few murder-free days had actually not been too bad. Perhaps self-control was something that got easier after time. Ki certainly didn't seem to have a problem with it, or hadn't before he'd gotten his heart back. Bala's eyes narrowed at the thought of Ki. He had thought that, with Yuri so angry at the Steel Thorn boy, Tamaida was out of the running, but apparently she still harbored feelings for him, at least of friendship. Well, Yuri had the right to choose her own friends, but the sword-wielding upstart would have problems getting as close to Yuri as he had before, if Bala had anything to say about it. And as for Amy... "You bumming about her sudden happy-friends attitude with Ki too, huh?" Amy herself said, walking up to him. Bala glared at her; it wasn't too hard to interpret "What are you doing here?" from his look, and also possibly a "Go away and leave me alone." Any other day, she would gladly have walked off, but Amy was feeling rather off today. "Yeah, I thought he was clear out of the picture too." She sighed. "If she wasn't so nice, things would be a lot clearer...but on the other hand, if she wasn't so nice, she wouldn't be Yuri. Gotta take the good with the bad, huh?" Blink. "I know you're wondering why I'm here. The thing is, we're both Yuri's friends, right?" Suspicious blink, slow nod. "And as her friends, we want to look out for her, right? Make sure she has what's best for her." Another nod. "And I'm sure you agree with me that what's best for her is certainly NOT having that puffed-up, lying, manipulative Ki Tamaida hanging around her all the time, trying to get into her pants. Am I right?" Angry glare at wall, cracking of knuckles. "So...what d'you say we call it a truce, join forces? We can get rid of Ki together, and then Yuri will be m--er, free of his unhealthy influence. And that'll make her happy!" She figured that last time she had tried to get Bala out of her way, the "keep Yuri happy" schtick had worked. If it wasn't broken, why fix it? And with Bala on her side, rather than against her, it would be so much easier to eliminate Ki. Then, following traditional evil principles, she could turn on Bala and rub him out as well. She watched the bandaged boy eagerly, waiting for the nod she knew would come. Nod--no, wait, that would involve killing him, and as tempting as the thought was, Bala didn't want Yuri to be upset with him again--shakeshakeshake. Besides, the idea of an alliance with Amy turned his stomach. Not to mention that she would probably stab, or in her case, shoot him in the back the second Ki was out of the way. "Wh-what d'you mean, no? This is a perfect opportunity!" Bala got up and walked away, leaving Amy to fume at him alone. "Just what kind of a jealous wannabe boyfriend is he, anyway?" ***** As Midori had predicted, the removal of the problem-causing Blue Winter Roses had sped up the pace of the meeting by quite a lot. So much so, in fact, that she and Ki found themselves going back to school before classes were over. As neither of them were stupid, they were walking slowly, in the hopes that by the time they arrived, they wouldn't be back in time for class after all. "Aren't you worried that someone on the fact-finding team will find out that it was you who trashed the trophy room and ratted to Seichorou?" asked Midori. In the end, with the approval of the elders, the clan had decided to concentrate on finding a motive for the attack, under the "once we know why, we'll know who" theory. Not blind to the mutability of physical evidence, however, they had assigned some members to find clues in the wreckage. "There's really nothing we can do about that, is there?" Ki sighed. "If they find out, they find out. I think there's really nothing else we can do, except hope that I was careful enough not to leave any clues." "That's a pretty shaky hope, seeing as you don't remember much of that night." He nodded. "I know." "Ki! Ki!" The two Tamaidas whipped around to see a pretty magical girl running towards them. Reflexively, they drew their swords, preparing for battle. The magical girl skidded to a halt. "Ki, don't you remember me? Tomoyo, Pretty Princess Snow Crystal! You rescued me..." She trailed off at the sight of the self-assured girl standing next to her savior. Dreams of her mysterious bishounen, turning away from the path of darkness out of love for her, crumbled to dust. Midori quirked an eyebrow at the girl's recognition of her cousin. "So, this is the piece of fluff that you saved? Really Ki, you need to find a new gimmick. The 'valiant rescuer' bit is *so* out of style these days." "Ki...who is this? Your...your sister, right?" Tomoyo pleaded. "Not your...*girlfriend*?" Both Midori and Ki burst into laughter. "No, no," Ki assured her, "This is my cousin, Midori. Midori, this is Tomoyo, also known as Pretty Princess Snow Crystal." What was left unspoken, the additional description "evidence of my 'good' deeds," rang in the air between them. Midori narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Tomoyo." "Er...likewise, I guess," Tomoyo answered, a little nervous. She had been so sure of herself when she had set out to find him, but now that she faced Ki himself--and his intimidating-looking cousin--her confidence dissipated, and the question she had wanted to ask died on her lips. "Uh...do you go to Dark Heart High, too?" "Yes," Midori replied. "Yes I do." She watched her cousin carefully. Now that he was free of the cologne and the possession of the hammer, and aware of the influence his heart could have on him, she was curious to see if he would be able to function normally, at least as far as the definition went for a member of the Steel Thorn clan. "Is...there a reason you wanted to see me, Tomoyo?" Ki was well aware of his cousin's scrutiny, as well as its reason. The problem was, he wasn't sure that he *could* deal with the girl as he knew he had to. "Well, I have a kind of a school problem, and I knew you go to Dark Heart High, and...well...I was wondering if you could help me." She supposed it qualified as "kind of a school problem." "You want me to tell you where to find Yuri so that you can kill her, is that it?" he asked tonelessly, his hand tightening on his sword hilt. Perhaps this would be easier than he had thought. "Yeah...you see, the vice-principal of our school gave us this assignment, and no-one's managed to do it so far, and I know it's unfair since she goes to your school and all and maybe you even know her and and and..." She burst into tears, Ki's sudden forbidding stance and Midori's cool gaze having discomfited her out of all measure. Ki regarded her dispassionately, almost moved to pity by her similarity to Yuri. Ironically, it was his...attention to Yuri, which Midori derided as his weakness, which returned the strength necessary to just not care to him. "Sorry," he said casually. "I don't think I can help you." "You...you mean you won't?" Tomoyo's sniffles subsided, anger rising in place of the tears. He shrugged. "Whatever." Her eyes narrowed. "Then you're just like all the others! You're just as vile and cruel and dishonest and MEAN...and that's why I'm a Sakura Arts student! I'm here to rid the world of nasty people like you! I....I..." She had forgotten the rest of her speech, but Tomoyo didn't care about that. She raised her delicate rapier. "VENGEANCE BLIZZA-" She crumpled to the ground, Ki's sword through her chest, having suffered the magical girl's final indignity: being killed while shouting her attack name. "Ki...why did you...save me...to k..." With a final sigh, she was silenced. Ki withdrew his sword from her body and wiped it off, not meeting his cousin's eyes. "Good job," she noted. "For a minute there I didn't think you could do it." He didn't reply, turning back to the path to school. For some odd reason, Tomoyo's death bothered him, but he shrugged it off. Likely just another of the inconveniences of having a heart. By the time they arrived, the speed--or lack thereof--of their pace and the encounter with Tomoyo had slowed them down enough for them to indeed miss the rest of school. Ki and Midori separated, each with a different purpose. Scanning the crowd exiting the school gates, Midori caught sight of a boy in black armor trudging along. "You are the younger Maimsworth, correct?" she asked him, falling into step alongside him. "Er, that's right, sempai," he answered. "Is there something I can help you with?" "There might just be, at that," she told him. "I hear your brother had a certain guest at his house recently. Is that guest still there?" "You mean his batchmate? I think so," Craig answered uncertainly, unsure of why this girl looked so familiar. "Good. Thank you, Maimsworth-kun." "Er, no problem, sempai..." ***** Seichorou lounged on his chair, thoughtfully stroking the chip he had made into a pendant. She was coming, he could feel it, and he grinned. "In five, four, three, two..." The window behind him shattered, and a lean form leapt in, gracefully landing behind him, and held a sword to his throat. "Hello, Seichorou." "Hi there, Mimi-chan," he stretched, hiding the pendant in his sleeve. "What brings you here?" "You stole my heart, you bastard. And I don't know what you did to me, but let me assure you that it's not enough to keep me from killing you." Seichorou chuckled. "What a romantic thing for you to say, Mimi-chan! It's nice to know that you care. Believe me, you stole my heart as well, from the second I met you." "Very funny," she hissed. "Before I slit your arrogant throat, where is it?" "Don't tell me that you want it back? I thought you Steel Thorns were beyond that sort of thing." Deftly, he slipped out of her hold and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her hair as he pinioned her arms. "Mmm...brings back memories, doesn't it?" Midori stood absolutely still, her breathing shallow. "Get away from me," she commanded through gritted teeth. This close to him, whatever spell he had cast was even stronger. She was fighting a two-front war, trying to focus on Seichorou even as she battled her new weakness. Seichorou rested his head on hers, his grip not loosening in the slightest. "Hmm...no, I don't think so. I think I like you just fine where you are." She tried to struggle, but found that every movement she attempted made him that much closer to her, and the dizzying effect that much stronger. "Let go of me this instant, you arrogant fool!" Against her best efforts, her voice had lost some of its conviction. He laughed. "Arrogant, am I? Actually, I think you're the arrogant one. You thought you could control *me*? You're a talented fighter, Mimi-chan, and almost to graduating, but you still have a lot to learn before you could even come close to playing that game with me. Little bro talked big because he was powerful, but I don't have to." He swung her off her feet, setting her down in the special ward-protected area he had prepared for her arrival. "You see, I'm much more powerful than Sakazashi was. And I don't need to brag to others to know it." "No, you capture ex-girlfriends to satisfy your lovesick delusions," Midori snarled. "So, what are you going to do now, make me your unwilling love slave? If that's what you want, the red light district isn't too far away." "Ah, but none of the girls I can find there are half as fiery and promising as you," he smirked. "As it turns out, however, that isn't exactly what I had in mind. Let me just say that it's part of my final exam project. I know the end of the year's a long ways off, but when you major in Empire you get these assignments earlier than other people. Anyways, I think you would be the perfect person to help me out with it," He traced a finger down her cheek, relishing the barely-contained fury in her eyes, and smiled. "Willing or no." He lowered his mouth to kiss her, drawing out the pendant as she backed away. "It seems you're still clinging to the illusion that you have some control over your position in this situation. Let's disabuse you of that, shall we?" With a deliberate motion, he dug his nail into the pendant, just enough to make a mark in the soft material. Midori doubled over, mouth open but refusing to scream. "You know Mimi-chan, in some ways we're a lot alike," he told her, watching her attempt to regain her composure. "I never loved you, any more than you loved me. What I saw in you was potential, raw and powerful. It's greater now than it's ever been, and I'd be a fool not to take advantage of it." He smirked. "Don't hate me for playing your game better than you could--that's just the way things go." Midori started to straighten up again, then with a sudden movement whipped out her sword and thrust it at him. Of its own accord, her arm stopped short of its aim, scant inches from his head. Seichorou laughed again at this evidence of his spell's success. "I see you haven't given up yet. Which is good, mind you; I've always admired your spirit." He leaned forward, pendant clutched tightly in one hand, and kissed her while she stood shaking with rage at her spell-induced inability to act against him. "I'd love to stay and indulge in this dramatic posturing some more, but I have errands to run, and a brother's murder to solve. Ta!" And with that, he left her. ===== Author's Note: Yes, name inundation time. @_@ Don't worry, these new people can be tossed aside and forgotten (should be, actually. Die, character bloat! DIE!). I'm really sorry for the shortness of this part, doubly so because it's part 50. It would've been nice to be able to think coherently while writing this, but that's what burnout does to you. An incredible heap of thanks goes to Lafing_Cat and Mae for hurried prereading, Bradley Wilton for very helpful brainstorming/prereading, Nic Juzda for being an awesome brainstorming partner, prereader and friend, and Lawrence Chu for being very kind and granting me this extension, which I *really* needed. Oh, and apologies for the mixed timeframe of the part, and all the scene changes. I actually hadn't planned to go that many places with it, but then I realized how many things needed to be wrapped up, brought back into play from the wayside of forgotten plot threads, explained and...yeah. If nothing else, I hope this part helps pull things together at least a *little* bit. I know that this piece was a little (okay, very) Tamaida-heavy, but it really couldn't be avoided. I wrapped up some things and opened others, but I really do want the focus to be less on them in the future than on Yuri herself, even if it doesn't look that way from this part. Oh, and for those of you who'll need to get the Steel Thorn clan members straightened up, I'll send in a guide as soon as I can get it formatted. -Sharyna ===== "Hi, Ki!" Ki blinked. "Yachiyo? I thought you were--oh. Let me guess, Ryuji, right?" The form that had belonged to his erstwhile second cousin nodded. "I went to pieces at lunch, so Amakusa let me out early to find a new body. It was a stroke of luck to find this one, so close by, and barely even cold, too!" Ryuji scratched his current head, looking down at his female self. "Although I seem to be getting stuck in female bodies a lot lately. So, I take it you knew this one? I hope you're not offended by, y'know, the whole me-taking-her-body thing." The Steel Thorn boy shrugged. "She was my second cousin. Yachiyo. In a lot of ways, I actually find you less irritating than the previous occupant." "Cool, thanks!" Ryuji responded. "Wow, you Steel Thorn people are really in shape, aren't you? This is almost as great as when I had Mandy's body." He did a backflip, landing neatly and drawing the staff that he had found beside the body. "Whoo, look at me! I can do cool martial artsy things!" Confidently, he twirled the long pole around. "Wha-ha! Ha! Woh-pah! Ow..." He rubbed the spot on his head where he had just hit himself. "Hey, this stuff isn't as easy as it looks, is it?" Ki snickered and clapped him on the shoulder, being careful not to dislodge it. "Have fun." And with that, he walked off. "See ya!" Ryuji said cheerfully, still messing with the staff. "Hi-ya! Fwah! Fear my staff-swinging skil-ow!"