They all sat around the fireplace. It was too late to go back to that damned inn anyway. Akagi frowned down at the flickering flames as it danced and crackled in its ridiculously short life. There was no way they would be able to find Hanamichi today. They would have to start in the early morning and comb the whole area for him.

God dammit...

"... and the last time I heard was that Tetsuo had been murdered and the rumours say that the act was done by an insider ..."

"... ah .. your news are old. I've heard that the Hall of the Brothers has already been completely destroyed. They say that the brothers have offended someone very powerful..."

Mitsui glared at the soldiers beside him, even as he straightened and leaned forward to listen carefully to their words. Kogure glanced sideways at Mitsui, then lowered his eyes.

The first soldier snorted and remarked "No.. not completely destroyed.. your news is wrong ... The Brothers are now headed by Fukuda, the second-in-command.. and they still live, albeit no longer in the Hall.."

The second soldier laughed contemptuously and smirked, "That snake? The one with that kind of reputation? Oh good, so now they have reptiles for brothers...."

Reptiles?

Like before, there was no warning ; and the unfortunate soldier was already forced onto the ground, with Mitsui dangling a dagger before his face. One wrong move and he would die. The dagger rested lightly on his neck and Mitsui's other arm held his neck in a death grip.

"I dare you to say that again." Mitsui seemed to have no expression on his face.

"... you .. are .. crazy.." The second soldier choked.

"Sumoki!" The first soldier turned furiously at Mitsui and drew his sword.

"Stop that." Akagi didn't move. He didn't need to. His voice was quiet but it bore the stamp of authority. Lord, he was tired and here they were, energetic enough to draw swords on each other like nobody's business.

"Mitsui ... " Kogure's voice was unhappy, but the plea didn't seem to reach the mercenary.

Mitsui stared down at Sumoki, who was still glaring at him.

"What happened to the Brothers?"

"... ..."

"What bloody happened?!"

"Mitsui." Kogure shook his head and got up, coming to stand beside Mitsui. One hand reached out to rest lightly on Mitsui's arm. Mitsui's shoulders tensed, then shook.

"Tell me what happened to the Brothers."

Kogure stared at Mitsui, then murmured, a hint of sympathy in his voice. "You had best talk if you value your life, Sumoki."

Akagi swore softly to himself then got up to walk over to where Mitsui and Kogure were now standing.

"Let go of my man. He had done you no harm." Again, he strove for that calm mask that would hide his frustration inside. Mitsui stood up, letting go of Sumoki and stared silently at Akagi, a challenge written all over his face.

Kogure shook his head. This was like the old tale of the two mules on a bridge and each expecting the other to give way. He gestured at Sumoki who was fingering his sore neck as he turned to his general for assurance. At Akagi's curt nod, Sumoki turned to Mitsui warily.

"I do not know much about the Brothers, but what the rumours say is that the Hall of the Brothers had been completely destroyed, and they now have a new leader."

The words meant nothing to Mitsui.

"Who did it?"

"The damage bore the mark of Kainan ... but these are just rumours ..."

"What happened to Tetsuo?"

"He died. It was said that he was murdered but the Brothers maintained that he died of battle injuries."

Again, the words didn't mean anything to Mitsui.

"That's not true."

" ... ... " Kogure looked sadly at Mitsui.

"You tell me its not true." Mitsui turned his gaze this time to the prophet. Suddenly incensed at the silence that filled the gap, Mitsui grabbed hold of Kogure's shoulders and grated, " Tell me it's not true!"

Sumoki glanced at the strange man in front of him and looked away.

"I have no idea why you are so interested in the Brothers, but I do know that their new leader is Fukuda, who was originally the second-in-command. Perhaps you may want to look for him instead. "

Akagi remained silent, his gaze contemplative as he stared hard at the distraught mercenary and the prophet who looked everywhere else but at Mitsui.

"Tell Hiko to arrange the night-watch, Sumoki." With a salute, Sumoki and the other soldier left, leaving the three alone at the fireplace.

I cannot leave Kogure, but nor can I not allow Tetsuo's death to go in silence ...

And Kainan? What stake do they play in this game?

"Tetsuo will be avenged." A promise that Mitsui swore he would die to see it fulfilled.

"He is no longer your Master."

"So are you implying that you are my Master now?" The coldness struck Kogure like a slap but he persevered.

"Tetsuo is sowing the fruits of his deeds and there is nothing that you can do to reverse that." The hurt rose up in him, but Kogure pushed it away.

"So what is justice then?" Mitsui mocked bitterly.

"You want to talk to me about justice after all you’ve did for Tetsuo as a mercenary?" Kogure gritted his teeth even as he recognised the frustration laced in his words.

A cold silence.

"Mitsui, you could never have saved him."

Almost snarling, Mitsui let go of Kogure abruptly in response, and stalked off, leaving Kogure standing forlornly Akagi's side.

Akagi gave Kogure a penetrative gaze. "Aren't you going after him?"

"He needs time alone." A curt reply.

"Ah..." It is not my place to question their relationship. Akagi merely wondered how long they would last together. He wasn’t stupid. Anybody could tell that they were bonded to each other. It was how they spoke to each other and how they stood next to each other. It was unusual for two of the same gender to be together, but he had heard of such incidents even in the city. From what he recalled, some people had denounced some relationships as belonging to the dark one while some had celebrated it.

The world was a strange place.

It was then that he heard it. He would swear on his life later that he did hear it, coming out from the young scholar beside him. The old tongue , exact right down to in its lilting accent that he himself had barely understood from his ancient teachers when he was still a trainee.

"Justice will cometh like the morning dawn, mine Flagbearer ; as sureth as death."

Youhei looked despondently at the horse, wishing again that he could somehow ride off to look for Hanamichi. He had only one barrier - Hiko. Which meant that he was up against an impenetrable wall. Which meant that he could only plead with Hiko until the stars fell, and he still would not budge.

They were at the other side of the camp. After Hiko had organised the men into a night watch roster, he had come immediately to look for Youhei, which was unfortunate since Youhei was already preparing to go off in secret.

It wasn't any use. Both Hiko and Akagi was too strong for him and he acknowledged it, silently promising himself that one day, he would surpass their strength.

"Come now, we will find Hanamichi tommorow. Akagi will not settle for less."

Refusing to reply to that, Youhei sat down on the grass, gazing up onto the stars instead. Hiko sighed wearily.

"You know, they didn't give him such a nice name then. They just simply referred to him as "kedamono".

The monster."

Youhei turned to Hiko, and the look in his eyes made Hiko pause.

So des ne ... Hanamichi's enemies are your enemies...

"Please continue."

Hiko grinned then. "Would you believe that I had wanted to be a bard , a wandering storyteller before all this ...?"

Youhei lifted an eyebrow.

Hiko sat down beside Youhei and gazed thoughtfully at the sky.

"Kaede, of the house of Rukawa was a mystery. It was said that when he was born, his own mother, the High Queen wanted to kill him. No one knew why, some speculated that perhaps he was deformed in some ways. He was a loner, but the ladies adored him. They loved his arrogance and his pretty face."

Youhei digested the new information then asked. "Why was he here then? What was he looking for?"

Hiko shrugged. "Everyone is playing a game."

Youhei pressed on, determined to work it out. "Then what part does Hanamichi play in all this?"

Hiko gave him a strange look, but did not say anything.

Youhei ignored that look and went on.

"Hanamichi was just a village youth. Until the day Akagi came to our village. He must have recognised Hanamichi from somewhere - there must be a reason why he is here, why I am here..."

He stopped then at the haunted look in Hiko’s eyes.

"What is it?"

"You should be going to sleep now, we have a long way to go tomorrow. Go get some rest." The look was seemingly erased and Hiko got up. "I will be taking the first watch."

Youhei looked mutely at Hiko’s back, as he brushed back his indignant frustration at the fact that no one wanted to tell them what was going on.

Heck .. I will depend on myself .. I always have.

Maki was a man who knew what he wanted and how to get what he wanted. No one dared be the one to thwart him from his chosen path. He was young but already he commandeered respect from even the elders. It was this single-mindedness, this confidence in his own ability that instilled a kind of unshakeable loyalty in his followers. No one questioned his authority. When he wanted something, he never detracted from his path.

Kainan flourished under his rule, for Maki treated his followers well and he cared for them as much like he would for his family. His enemies though, were entirely a different matter.

"Where are they?"

".. I ... I don’t know..." A ragged whisper now, after the exhaustion of screaming for hours.

"Where did they go? How did they escape?"

"... please ... I really ... don’t know ... "

A whip lashed down on the man who was tied up straight to a wooden cross, his wrists tied with rough rope to the horizontal spar. Maki motioned to his subordinate to stop the torture for a while and continued.

"I gave you what you wanted. Now its my turn ... but you failed to deliver. "

"... I tried ... I really tried ... and I’ve told you all that I know..!"

Fukuda hung his head in despair.

Maki looked down at him, expressionless.

"Pay your penalty."

That scholar had cheated him! He still recalled word for word what Kogure had so chillingly said to him on the day he brought Mitsui away, three days ago.

"Three days hence from this day, thou shalt fulfil thy secret wish and ascend the throne of thine dreams. I promise thee recognition and riches that thee hath prayed for."

Kogure had been right. Fukuda had taken the chance Maki had offered, and allowed himself to head the Brothers after the ‘accidental death’ of Tetsuo. It was easy. Just offer Kogure and Mitsui to Maki and he would have all he would dream of.

The Brothers have celebrated the rise of a new leader after Tetsuo’s hushed funeral but Kogure and Mitsui had disappeared into the Forest Kiel. It was as if someone had screened their presence from any human eyes and it had been impossible to hunt them down.

The anger of Maki knew no bounds. Kainan had destroyed the Hall of the Brothers in just one day. Fukuda sobbed fruitlessly as he recalled the bloodshed. No one knew the limits of the brotherhood they shared. Mitsui was the only other exception.

"Kill him." A soft mask of regret hung in his words but Maki knew that to keep an enemy alive was to allow your wounds to fester. It would be better for his people this way.

Fukuda closed his eyes, his breath coming heavy. For one day, for one precious day, the Brothers had acknowledged him as their leader and he had all the recognition that he wanted. But had it been worth it?

For one day, I was bright and no longer in Tetsuo’s shadow...

The axe chopped down at the feeble neck, eagerly drinking the spurts of blood that seemed to flow on and on.

Maki didn’t even look at the body that hung limply from the cross.

"Let’s go, Kiyota. We have a lot to do."

Note: Heh, this has been a fairly complicated chapter ... and well, if you hadn't read TM, please go read it ... Tm and TP are inextricably linked ^_^ Me thinks TP is getting kinda dark ... Erm, would like to get some feedback about this chapter? Please leave your comments in the forum or mail me or something ... heh heh ... Erm, and Sani, I hope I have fulfiled your wish ^_^