~ ♕ ~

What Nichkhun found on the top floor was not what he had expected. Lee Sooman lay murdered on his wide desk, his blood seeping down the mahogany table and on the lush Persian rugs underneath. Over him stood someone Nichkhun had recognized from long ago. Jung Yunho, one of Lee Sooman’s underlings.

“Well, looks like you made it in time,” Yunho said, patting his katana dry on SM’s suit. “I thought you wouldn’t make it past the guards, pity I had to lose them though.”

“You’re behind this?” Jay demanded for an answer, and he meant to get one.

Yunho was silent for a moment as if to choose his words carefully. “You flatter me, but no. Someone greater is behind all this, surely by now it should be obvious to you. Unfortunately, of course, I can’t really let you meet him. It would ruin all his plans.”

Nichkhun gripped the hilt of his Krabi tighter, his knuckles already white. “Just another pawn? You let yourself be used like that?”

Yunho laughed. “Of course not,” behind him another shadowy figure appeared. “I have my own gains,”

Raijin, Koujin, and Fuujin all tensed as Kazuki appeared behind Yunho. The office was wide enough, but not for eight people fighting all together. Rai felt the ground beneath her shift the slightest, and she turned to Kazuki. “You’re just another pawn too.”

An uneven smile split his face. “Better a pawn towards a perfect world where we no longer have to hide in the shadows, than a pawn with no other life than reaching his focus.”

Yunho briefly turned towards Kazuki. “Well said. Hell is in our way of a perfect society. Their imperfections need to be cut down.”

Nichkhun sailed across the room and rammed straight into Yunho, knocking the other down onto the floor. Kazuki disappeared, followed by the shinobi, and Wooyoung and Jay followed after Nichkhun. Yunho kicked Nichkhun off of him before running out of the work office and towards the roof deck.

Ignoring the pain on his shoulder and chest, Nichkhun strained to listen to his surroundings. However, his hearing was impaired with the loud droning of the full-scale exhaust system. Solar panels and other fixtures complicated the terrain, and the Thai trod carefully on the concrete floors. He could fairly make out the sound of footsteps, but not enough to distinguish to whom it had belonged. Underneath the moonless sky, he moved stealthily along the walls as he searched for Yunho. He had been one of his seniors, always just lurking in the background, Nichkhun had no more recollections of the other man.

Wooyoung and Jay had disappeared from behind him, perhaps undertaking the same caution as he. The shinobi were sure to engage Kazuki as well, jugding from the faint sound of a sword fight a short distance away. It was going to be a bloody scene. He didn’t think Yunho would be involved, seeing him here now was a complete surprise. There was nothing in the past clues that even linked to him. Now Nichkhun doubted this was the end. It appeared that what Hell believed to be the end, was just another stepping stone. Someone was behind Yunho too, and that was what he needed the other man to reveal.

He heard footsteps getting progressively louder behind him. Hard, and heavy, Nichkhun knew they didn’t belong to anyone he knew. He turned around quickly, sword raised just in time to block Yunho’s assault. His arm muscles strained under the pressure, but he followed up immediately, landing several strikes, clashing against the enemy.

The piercing sound of metal on metal was music to his ears, but every exchanged parry and riposte led nowhere. Yunho was first to back up, keeping his guard as he took steps circling Nichkhun.

“What exactly is it that you’d gain? You’ll never build a perfect society,” Nichkhun said, catching his breath and relaxing his arm.

“It’s possible,” Yunho answered, rolling his shoulders. “It’s very possible. It’s so near, I can taste it.”

“You can’t, people will remain people, you know that.”

Yunho laughed. “People are useless, the world needs to be rebuilt from scratch.”

“Fortuna has been run down Yunho. You’re the only one left.”

Yunho’s reply was a hard overhead slash of his sword. Nichkhun leaped backwards, avoiding the attack and skidding down the concrete, before running forward. He slashed to the right, cutting the flesh on Yunho’s arm. Pain shot through him, and Nichkhun staggered back, clutching at his bleeding sides. Yunho had struck a dagger into him.

Nichkhun breathed heavily as he pulled the dagger out of his flesh. “Once a cheater, always a cheater,” he muttered before charging forwards.

Yunho shifted his sword to his other hand and parried Nichkhun’s attacks. The effects of the cuts reflected in the dull clanging of their swords, and this time, Nichkhun saw Yunho’s other hand as he reached behind him. The blonde dodged another dagger before whirling around and slicing his sword through Yunho’s chest.

His target had disappeared however, and Nichkhun grit his teeth in frustration. Yunho had rolled backwards, taunting him with that smile, “Looks like your friends are a no show-”

A blade ripped through his heart, and Yunho looked down at the shinken that skewered him. Blood spewed out of his mouth as he fell to his knees. Wooyoung pulled back his sword and flicked it to the side to rid the stains. “He still talks too much, too.”

“Where’s Jay?” Nichkhun asked, limping towards Wooyoung.

“Passed out. Poor guy. Even with the anti-serum, the poison’s hit him bad.”

Nichkhun opened his mouth to speak, but he coughed out blood instead. He staggered forwards, and Wooyoung caught him, supporting his weight. “It’s not over yet, hyung.”

~ ♖ ~

Rai’s hands were planted firmly on the concrete floor. She could feel Nichkhun’s fight with Yunho, she felt the way he staggered back and she instinctively knew he had been injured. Slight tremors on the ground shifted her attention to her brothers in the shadows. Kazuki was in hiding as well, picking out the perfect opportunity to attack. Rai hid in her own pocket of darkness in between two large exhaust vents. Her old injury still bothered her every now and then, but the thrill of the fight was slowly numbing it down.

For a moment her thoughts flew to their focus. She had yet to tell Nichkhun what she knew about Fortuna, about the Forbidden Enclosure. They weren’t done yet, Seiryuu was not the last on their list. Dust settled for a moment, and Rai’s breathing halted. It was going to be a long standstill unless someone made the first move. She hoped it would be Kazuki, but that also meant he read them better then they read him.

A flash of metal clanged in between the empty plain in front of her, and Kazuki and Koujin materialized.

“Thought you were dead, didn’t think you’d make it without Yanagi,” Kazuki teased.

There were no more doubts that he was the real Suijin, he had known them, their weaknesses, he knew things only Sujin would have known. “The feeling is mutual, we thought you died, too. Sad thing is we glorified the death of our leader. You’re no leader Kazuki.”

The fallen shinobi laughed. “Losing Izayoi doesn’t make me any less of your leader. I’m still better than you all.”

“Since when were you so cocky?”

“Since the day I realized there was a world out there our sensei kept us from. Yuu, don’t you see it? We could do so much more than this!”

“Have you forgotten our focus? You let yourself be fooled by them!”

“You’re the fool!” Kazuki jumped high into the air, the heavy gunblade overhead.

Koujin met him halfway, Hachiman in hand. Fuujin was next to him in an instant, Dojigiri ready as well. Rai watched in morbid fascination as her brothers fought one another. Kazuki’s large gunblade could easily slice through Koujin and Fuujin, and the two dispersed sensing the danger. Kazuki dropped onto one knee on the ground and sneered. His head snapped to her direction, and Rai froze.

“Don’t think I don’t see you there, Raijin. Come out and play. It would be just like the night you ascended.”

Rai didn’t want to think of that night- she had put her trust completely on Suijin, knowing that though he drew his sword against her during her test, he would never kill her. It was different now, Kazuki wanted to kill her.

Koujin and Fuujin attacked together again, but Kazuki had been waiting for them all along. He swing his gunblade in a wide arc, shots of electricity crackling off the metal blade. Though the sword did not touch the shinobi’s bodies, they both fell to the ground from the shock.

Rai stood from her crouching position and pulled out Sadame and Izayoi. “The heavens demand retribution Kazuki, I shall deliver it.”

She charged at him with full force, leading a blitzkrieg of slashes and strikes. She pounced on him, attacking him from all directions. Though they fought on a plain, Rai made well use of the terrain. Skidding down the floor and generating enough momentum to draw out her attacks and increase its strength. Koujin and Fuujin joined her after a few minutes, and Kazuki howled wildly as he fended off all three attacks against him. It was nothing new- and they attacked exactly the same as he remembered them to.

Exhaustion gripped at all four shinobi. Rai breathed heavily as she dropped to her knees. It was tiring enough to try and avoid Kazuki’s gunblade, even more having to steer clear from the electric shocks that followed. They weren’t immune to it, not even Raijin who had the thunder and lighting god watching over her.

Koujin and Fuujin were a few steps in front of her, both weary from the fight. The gunblade was heavy and it strained their lithe and wiry arms. Koujin rolled his shoulders to ease some of the tension, and the usually cheery Fuujin was quiet and serious.

They faced each other, and Rai knew they had some kind of message between them, some kind of plan she wasn’t a part of. Her lips pulled into a frown.

Kazuki laughed again, and he heaved his gunblade high in the air. Koujin and Fuujin were up in an instant, as was Rai, and all three scattered into the air taking on Kazuki on three directions. Rai dropped down on the ground as Kazuki went up again. She put both her swords together and twisted her knees, spiraling up into the air. Kazuki swung the heavy blade under him, pulling the trigger and sending a large shock of electricity towards Rai. The sparks surged into her small frame and she convulsed on the floor, rolling and screaming.

Kazuki raised his sword once again as he walked towards Rai. Koujin and Fuujin were behind him, but static crackled and pain shot through their bodies leaving them crumpled on the ground. Rai couldn’t breathe and her eyes widened at the sight of the large gunblade over her head. She didn’t want to go down like this, and as Kazuki pointed the sword downwards, Rai kept her eyes open.

In one swift motion Kazuki drove the sword down, piercing through flesh before staggering back. He reeled from the kick to his face, and he wiped the blood off his lips with the back of his hand. Wooyoung pulled the gunblade out of the pile of bodies and threw it across the floor.

Koujin and Fuujin lay lifeless on top of Rai. Too shocked to speak, Rai let the blood of her brothers soak her as her own erratic heartbeat echoed across the empty chests of her comrades. Wooyoung pulled the bodies away from her and held her up, but she remained blank.

Kazuki ambled towards his gunblade, intent on one last attack before making his leave. Rai picked up her swords and slowly turned towards him. Tears spilled from her eyes and she shrieked as she ran at full speed towards him.

With a smirk Kazuki blocked off all of her attacks, kicking her down and slicing through her arms and thighs. Wooyoung was on his other side, more a threat than Rai was. Kazuki didn’t have time- he too was tired, and this was hardly the last time they would meet. With one last swing of the gunblade, he jumped off the building ledge and to his exit.

Blinded by the sudden loss of Koujin and Fuujin, Rai followed after Kazuki. She teetered towards the edge of the roof deck, her swords dropping in a loud clang on the floor, and she pulled herself over the ledge and let herself fall.

But she didn’t fall, and her old wound burned as her muscled pulled. Wooyoung held onto her wrist as she dangled over the high rise building, and with a grunt he pulled the unconscious Rai back into the deck.

…

Wooyoung dragged all three bodies with him down the elevators and into the lobby where he found the rest of Hell in various states of consciousness. Jia and Suzy were both slumped together, nursing cuts and gashes, Chansung and Junsu limped around as they checked on the girls and each other. Junho took Rai off his back and the other two men helped him with a partially conscious Nichkhun and Jay. Mai stood unsure in front of him, and Wooyoung chose to walk past her. He had heard of the attack on the Main Office, but nothing more on it.

Nichkhun pushed himself off Chansung, and he wobbled unsteadily on his own two feet. “It’s not over.”

Wooyoung nodded and slung Nichkhun’s arm over his shoulder to support the older’s weight. “You need to rest first.”

Nichkhun shook his head. “June. I need to see her first.”

“She’s fine hyung, you need to-”

The building doors barged open, and Wooyoung was afraid for the first time. Hell too, was suddenly on guard, but the fear dissipated instantaneously as Amihan and Jung Jihoon walked in. Both carried a disquieted air, and it did nothing to lighten the mood.

“The Main Office has been breached, JYP is dead,” Rain reported. “We’ve gathered those who managed to evacuate, but the casualties are high.”

“Also,” Amihan’s addition was dreary, “Nichkhun, someone broke into June’s room. She’s gone. Someone took her.”

~ IV ~

end scene

Two unknown flowers blooming alone beneath the darkness

Growing from tears and rain, they are lost facing the truth

In the valley of dreams their hearts sway further

With only each other to protect, two crimson flowers bloom out of season

- Kurenai no Hana, Yui Murase & Noriyuki Asakura -