Takatori Reiji sat staring at nothing. He had been silent and motionless since the news of his eldest son’s death had reached him that morning. Crawford didn’t like this silence one little bit. He had seen horrific visions of what would or could happen when this long period of calm came to an end. The longer Takatori brooded, the worse things would be.
/Schuldig, warn the Vessels. I’ve just had a vision about them and they need to be away from their shop when Takatori sends his samurai./
/I’m on it, Brad. Is our lord and master still sulking?/
/Yes but it won’t be long now before he decides on his course of action./
/Rather you than me there with him./ Schuldig’s mental voice was honestly relieved.
/Thank you so much. Now contact the Vessels. We need them alive!/
He cut the link and continued to wait patiently. Takatori finally focused on his surroundings. His eyes immediately sought out Crawford. "I want to speak to my brother. Get him here."
Crawford nodded and went to the door. He exchanged a few words with one of the samurai on guard duty then turned back to see what else his employer required. Takatori, however, remained silent until his younger brother entered the room.
"You wanted to see me, Reiji?" Shuichi sounded nervous. Crawford sighed very quietly. The man had good reason to be nervous.
"Yes, Shuichi. As you know, I’ve lost two sons in a very short space of time. I need to think about posterity and who exactly is to follow in my footsteps. I know you rescued Mamoru all those years ago. So tell me, what did you do with him?"
Shuichi visibly paled. Sweat stood out on his brow and he swallowed hard before licking dry lips. "I took him to an orphanage, told them I’d found him begging for food, and gave him an assumed name."
"What name?"
"Tsukiyono Omi."
Takatori rose to his feet and approached his brother. "Who do you think should follow me, Shuichi? You, or your son? Did you honestly believe I didn’t know about you and Kikuno? Fool!"
His hand moved and unsheathed his katana in one fluid motion which continued on until Shuichi’s head hit the floor. Takatori nodded in satisfaction then turned to Crawford. "Get that mess cleared up."
"Did you want me to find the orphanage?"
"I know exactly to which orphanage he took the brat. I’ll deal with that!" He strode from the room and all Crawford could do was hope Schuldig had convinced the Vessels and arrange for the remains of Takatori Shuichi to be removed. He was beginning to feel like a glorified messenger boy.
* * * * * * *
Schuldig had deliberately stayed near to the flower shop. Sooner or later Takatori Reiji would link the place, and the four young men who ran it, to the deaths of his sons and his revenge would be swift and bloody. So, when Brad sent his message, all he had to do was cross the street and enter the shop.
The Water Vessel looked up from the arrangement on which he was working as he entered. "Welcome to…oh, it’s you."
For once Schuldig didn’t smirk or make any smart remarks. The Vessels had to take his warning seriously. "You need to grab what you can and leave the shop."
"Takatori after our blood, is he?"
"You’d better believe it! He’s pissed as all hell and, like most of his damned family, his sanity is questionable at the best of times. Besides Brad had a vision."
The other Vessels had appeared in the shop as he had spoken. Their link was obviously as good, if not better, as the one he shared with his fellow Adepts. He immediately watched for the Fire Vessel’s reaction. The other’s would follow his lead.
"Do you have any idea how much time we might have?"
"An hour, two at most. It won’t take him long to figure out who the Air Vessel is and…" He stopped abruptly when another message from Brad reached him. Then he smiled at Omi.
"Perhaps now isn’t the time but Brad thinks you should know. Takatori Reiji is not your father. Takatori Shuichi, his brother, is your real father. And believe me, kid, he’s not the monster his brother is."
"Thank you," Omi whispered.
Schuldig smiled, then shrugged and sighed. "We need to get moving. I left Jei and Nagi in the restaurant across the street. We would be happy to help you."
Aya nodded. "It would be appreciated." Then, with a sense of shock, Schuldig saw him smile for the very first time.
* * * * * * *
The samurai galloped through the city, raising great clouds of dust in their wake. The Vessels watched from the entrance to an alleyway as they passed.
"Somehow I get the feeling that Takatori is really pissed," Yohji muttered.
Aya rather hoped that was the case. He wanted the man to suffer, just a little bit, before he killed him. The loss of the warlord’s family might just make him realise how Aya had felt when his own had been mercilessly cut down but somehow he doubted that. Takatori was a monster who had bred two monsters. There would be no room for emotion in such an evil man.
"Oh no!"
Omi’s distressed cry made him snap out of his reverie, look round and stare at the Water Vessel in surprise. "What’s wrong?"
"They’ve stopped at the orphanage. That means he must know about me."
Aya nodded. "And the adepts helped us to get out of the shop. That will probably be their next visit."
"At least with their help we had time to get our things out," Ken said.
Aya nodded. "Yes. Thanks to them we can, and will, start again." The sight of smoke rising and the smell of burning made him frown suddenly. "Damn! They’ve set fire to it. Let’s go!"
He Joined them and they travelled to the orphanage in their own way, arriving in time to see the samurai galloping away and children screaming as the only home they had went up in flames. The Vessels made sure all the children were accounted for and then joined Omi who knelt sadly by the old lady who had run the place. She had received a katana thrust to the gut. It was a death wound but still she smiled at them and managed to thank them for their help.
She turned her face to Omi who was crying. "No, no, Omitchi, please, don’t cry. I’ve had a long life and a good one. Promise me that you’ll help the children, please."
"I will, I promise," Omi said and gently held her hand as she took her last laboured breath.
Aya turned away, uncomfortable with the thought of witnessing his friend’s grief over a woman who had been like a mother to him. It brought back too many memories of his own mother dying in a similar fashion.
Several neighbours had reached the scene by now, anxious to stop the fire from spreading to their own property. Aya and the other Vessels rolled up their sleeves and helped to first contain and finally put out the fire. The building was a mess but could be rebuilt given time.
Right now he had about twenty children and three helpers to worry about. Luckily several people offered to take a child or two until the orphanage was repaired. Aya could only be thankful as it was unlikely that they would have anywhere to take the young refugees.
Ken’s muttered, "bastards," brought him back to a sense of his surroundings and he saw the smoke rising from the direction of the flower shop.
"Let it burn," Omi said quietly, having left the dead woman and come up behind them. "We have a Takatori to deal with."
Yohji nodded his agreement. "It’s not as if he even holds any jurisdiction here. He just comes in and does as he likes no matter who gets hurt. It has to stop."
"And to kill old women and pick on children," Ken added, "is both cowardly and dishonourable."
Aya stared at the other Vessels. "Are you actually saying that you want to help me kill Takatori Reiji?"
"And his damned samurai," Ken snarled.
"And that bastard Kase, if we can find him," Yohji added.
"And the inhuman monster who caused all this." Omi gestured at the gutted orphanage. "Even if he is my uncle."
Aya wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve such loyal friends and he stared at the other Vessels in turn, both humbled and proud at the same time. Finally, he nodded. "We need to find a way to get to him if we’re going to succeed."
"Don’t our friends, the Adepts, work for him?" Omi asked. "They’ve helped us this far but will they be prepared to turn on their master?"
"If they’re not, they’ll be tough opponents," Ken commented. He didn’t look happy at the idea of going up against them.
"If they warned us, and helped save our belongings, why would they suddenly turn on us?" Yohji asked reasonably.
Aya tended to agree with Yohji. If the Adepts wanted them dead, chances are they would simply have let them be killed at the shop. He wasn’t sure why they wanted them alive but they didn’t seem to be especially loyal to Takatori. "I think we need to talk to them again."
* * * * * * *
Schuldig, Nagi and Jei returned to Takatori’s castle to find the place in uproar with samurai mounting up and heading for the city. Nagi’s first thought was for Nanami and he went in search of her. Schuldig’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.
/Brad and Nanami have been locked up./
/Why?/
/Brad thinks Takatori has finally gone mad./
About to reply, Nagi suddenly found himself facing the point of a katana. He resisted the urge to twist the metal into a complex knot and stood still to await developments. The three of them were herded into a room where Brad and Nanami were waiting despondently. Nagi ran forward and gathered Nanami into his arms. "What happened?"
"Takatori has decided that we are no longer of any use to him and therefore no longer work for him," Crawford told him.
"Has he gone mad?" Schuldig demanded.
"Perhaps. He is determined to find and kill the Air Vessel and any that may be with him. He was not happy when he heard the shop was deserted."
"So what does he intend to do with us?" Nagi asked still with an arm round Nanami’s waist. "Does he really believe the elders will allow this?"
"He believes himself strong enough to break his oath to them."
"Then he’s stupid!"
"Very," Crawford agreed, "not only has he made enemies of the Vessels but also the elders and therefore us. You’re right, Nagi, he is stupid."
"So, are we just going to sit here and let him terrorise the countryside until he finds the Vessels?" Schuldig asked.
"No, we’re going to sit here until the Vessels come for him."
"They are coming then?"
"Oh yes. Schuldig, please let them know what is happening here. They need to know what they’re walking into."
Nagi felt his anger grow at Takatori. His lack of control over his sons had nearly caused Masafumi to destroy the world in demon form and now he was turning against everyone. "Do we help the Vessels?" he asked
"We won’t need to," Crawford told him.
~TBC~