Chapter Nine: The Evils Within Revealed

 

            *She sat in a daze. What had just occurred? Had Hiiro Yui- her enemy- just… kissed her? No. She physically shook her head to try to rid herself of the thought. He did not, he would not, he could not. Correction. He probably could if he wanted too. After all, he had managed to sneak into her room. He had managed to talk her into coming to a bar with him. By this time she was fairly certain Hiiro Yui could accomplish anything given the right amount of drive and determination. Then, if this theory was true, how much drive and determination would he have needed to deepen that kiss? To go just a little farther, to take it to the next level? Hell no. Forget that trail of thought. She could not allow herself to be pulled into this any deeper. Hiiro Yui was her Father’s enemy, so then he was her enemy as well. End of story.

            But what if Hiiro had been right? What if Darien was only giving the lost children of the Specters a euphemism for hell? What if Darien was only interested in the power and money that accompanied his position as their Father? No. She had lived with Darien since she was ten. Six years had to have taught her something. Darien was good and kind and forgiving. Except for that one time there was that mix up with the boy who entered Darien’s bedroom. Or that… Suddenly little incidents began to work and replay through her mind. Darien was not the most tolerant Father. But a lot of other fathers weren’t tolerant as well. Still, those parents didn’t kill their children the way Darien killed his. Darien almost used them as if they were a… dispensable commodity. But Darien saved them from the streets. He took them and trained them, gave them skill. But the skill always managed to prosper him one way or another.

Shade’s mind was cluttering with these abstract thoughts. She could not logically work and reason out anything anymore. Not Darien, not Hiiro, and certainly not herself. Her morals were beginning to reveal raw and untapped emotions on her deeds and Darien’s. But her brain told her Darien was good, and that she had an obligation to him. But Hiiro had said that it was his obligation to her that should have been his reason for saving her. She sighed. These thoughts were too heavy for a bar. Standing and grabbing her purse, she stalked out of the bar, trying to keep her mind off any and everything. It would do her no good to muddle it more tonight, she had already done enough damage.

As she lay on her cold hard mattress in the dark cell that she called a room, Shade opened her eyes. She opened them wide and tried to see. But she was blind. Everything was colorless, tasteless, soundless, and in slow motion. The world as she knew it slowed to a pace at which she hoped she would be able to make sense of it. In the slow motion she could see Crooks burning yet another new ‘brother’ into their family. The little boy was hardly seven, and he wore the look of one who was forty.  She saw Darien picking up a girl by her shirt and slamming her against the wall when she wouldn’t answer his question. She saw Shin training the recruits. Those who wished more than anything to have the honor Darien had bestowed upon her.

What honor? The honor of a great fighter? She did not need fancy clothes or a rank to tell her how good she was, she knew for herself, and that was enough. And besides the honor, who gave Darien the power to give an honor to another?  But Darien has taken care of them all selflessly and for nothing. Or was he… he was richer than any other Specter. But Darien never killed or stole the way he ordered his men to do. Within a split second Shade blinked and the world was back to the colorful, loud, and desolate way it had been before. And someone was there knocking on her door. She stood to answer it.

“May I help you?” She asked.

“Darien would like to speak with you.” The frightened girl relayed the message.

“Thanks.” Shade grabbed her leather jacket and gun before shutting her door and heading for Darien’s office. When she got there she could see the form of Shin standing in the door, shuddering in fear. Darien was in another of his fits again, she noted grimly.

            “What do you mean you don’t know where he is? You should know at all times, just like Shade!” Darien screamed at Shin. When Shade cleared her throat, Darien paused and forgot Shin.

            “Ah, my lovely Shade. Do come in and sit yourself down. I was just asking Shin were Hiiro had gone. Might you know?” Darien asked her, claming down and smiling at her.

            “He and I were together at a bar. He left and I came home. If he’s not here the he’s probably on the streets somewhere.” Shade carelessly threw Darien the answer he was looking for. To enrage him even more would be a bad idea.

            “Together? You and him? At a bar? What for?” However Shade’s words infuriated Darien even more. His cold black eyes narrowed and he scowled at her.  Then he lightened and briefly plastered a fake smile upon his face. “You know you could have gotten anything they had at that bar here with me for free.” Darien’s words dripped from his tongue like honey. Shade had never care for honey… it was too sweet.

            “Yes, I could have gotten it here. But then I wouldn’t have had such a nice conversation with Hiiro. You know he told me he was going to kill you.” Shade smirked. She had to admit, she liked Hiiro’s methods.

Hiiro smirked too. Had he been in Shade’s position, he would have done the same. Of course, he was not in her position at all. Instead he was listening in through the air vent in the corner of the ceiling of the room, a very far place from Darien. After the bar, he had come straight back, hoping to kill Darien before Shade had returned. He hadn’t wanted to have to deal with her. But if she was in the way now, he would eliminate her.

Still, when she had first walked in to the room, he had to admit his breath had caught in his through and his heart had soared. He had also noticed Darien had much the same reaction. So Darien had an infatuation with her as well. He noted this new piece of information and turned his concentration back to the conversation. He needed to wait for the proper time to strike.

            “Kill me? Why? He swore his loyalties to me.” Darien strutted proudly. Shade was going to end this here and now.

            “Darien, listen to me. Hiiro Yui is not just another boy from the streets. He had already been taught. Who do you believe his loyalties lie with, you or his original trainer? Darien, Father,  Hiiro Yui will be the downfall of the Specters.”

            “You said that before Shade. And yet nothing has occurred to prove him otherwise loyal to Darien. Stop being repetitive, it gets old.” Shin spat.

            “ I speak only the truth.” Shade declared.

            “Enough the both of you. Shin, leave. And do not return to my sight until Hiiro Yui’s whereabouts are known.” Darien commanded. Shin scowled, but bowed and left the room obediently.

            “Now my dear Shade. Sit down, have a drink, and let’s discuss this issue of Hiiro Yui and his loyalty to our Family.” Darien smiled, only mildly humoring the girl he had come to have such an infatuation with. Shade sat, but she did not drink the brandy Darien poured for her.

            “Father, this is…”

            “Darien. How many times must I tell you, you are almost my equal. Darien is my name, use it- Serena.” Shade silently gasped and looked up hard at Darien.

            “I prefer to call you Father, sir.” She said, slightly flushed he remembered her true name. Hiiro’s eyes glanced sharply at Shade. Was she going to fall for that? Darien was leading her on, and by her glazed eyes, Hiiro could tell she was falling for it. Whether she knew it or not, Darien was slowly working her so that he would be her greatest weakness- and if he continued on the path he was on now, soon he would have more than just her friendship and thankfulness to bind her to him.

Serena. No wonder Darien made Shin change it. For the Perfect Mercenary, the name Serena would be unfitting. But for a member of the Specters and one nicknamed the Perfect Mercenary,  Shade would be the ideal match. He liked the sound of the name, and wished she had trusted him enough to tell him. Enemy. Focus! She was the enemy! He needed to stop this idealistic and selfish thinking. If he ever wanted to be able to kill her, he needed to stop this foolish thinking.

“But I prefer Darien. Please, Serena, don’t make me order you to call me Darien.” Darien moved closer to her and kneeled behind her on the low chair she was seated on. He was so close that his stomach was against her back. Shade felt the difference in the atmosphere and shuddered. When had it become so thick and… uncomfortable?

“Very well, Darien.” She submitted. No! Hiiro thought. Don’t give in…don’t let him corrupt you more than he already has. He already has your mind, don’t give him your body and soul as well. All thought of the mission fell from his mind as his heart stopped to watch the events unfolding below him.

“See? It’s much easier that way. My, my the little one is tense tonight.” Darien teased in her ear. He brought his hands up and ran them over her shoulders lightly, stopping to brush her hair from his way.

“Darien. I need to speak with about…” Shade began. Her tenseness was due to his proximity, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it. He began to kneed her shoulders.

“I know. About the loyalties of a certain new member. Does that feel good?” He asked her as he worked. All he needed to do was distract her a little longer, and she would finally be his…

“It feels fine.” She managed to gasp out. It felt great in reality, but there was something wrong, something else preventing her from relaxing completely. Something she was forgetting.

“Good. It’s called the Japanese massage therapy. It’s designed to relax and soothe the patient. It also helps increase energy levels.” He bent over, whispering in her ear. She shivered. Her mind clouded and fogged. So wonderful… but that something else still lingered…

Hiiro was clenching his teeth. His hands were balled in fists so tight his knuckles were white and he was drawing blood with his nails. But he would not interrupt. This was a test to her purity. If she succumbed to Darien, she was weaker and more unworthy than he had first judged. She would prove herself one of the corrupt, one of the evil if she turned to Darien now. But if she did not submit to him- Hiiro was going out of his mind waiting for a result.

“Serena…” Darien moaned. Just her sitting in front of him like this, just her being still and allowing his every touch and fantasy to be so close to reality created incredible arousal within him. He stopped rubbing her shoulders and came around the front of her. Standing to his full height, he bent over and pecked her cheek. Then he moved to cover her lips. This was it. She was his after so many long nights was dreaming and fantasizing.

Shade sat, allowing herself to be drugged by Darien’s touch. She couldn’t help it. It was a sure weakness she had. Though she had tried to conquered it, she knew she did not it to disappear. Her mother had rubbed her back as a child, and whenever anyone else did it, it drew her back to her memories and trapped her within them. Suddenly the touch stopped. A gentle kiss was placed upon her cheek, just as her mother used to do. Then the face came closer to her lips. Her mother had never done this… no… this wasn’t right. She opened her eyes and focused on Darien coming at her. No. No man had ever kissed her- save Hiiro Yui’s brief kiss- and she meant to keep it that way. Hiiro’s kiss… what she had been forgetting was right there all along.

“Stop.” She commanded Darien.

“Huh?” He asked, eyes still closed, face still closing in. Shade brought her hand up and shoved it into his face, pushing him away from her and forcing him to fall to the ground.

“I said stop. This isn’t right. How dare you think you can take advantage of me in such a manner?” She scolded, suddenly livid with this brut of a man for even trying it. How dare he? And how long had he been planning this?

“How dare I? You were just as I was, completely lost in our emotions.” Darien spoke. He took up her hands and held them. “We were so close to perfection. You and I, Serena, Shade. We are one. We are both fighters. We both strive to make a better world for orphan such as yourself. Both of us. Why not be together as one in the body and soul as well as our minds?” His voice was heavily laden with desire and want. Shade stood from her chair and backed away from him.

“No. I was only lost in memory. We are not one, Father. Nor will we ever be one. I fight for you. That is as far as we will ever go. You saved my life by taking me in and caring for me, I stay only out of obligation. I have no desire to be one with you in either body or soul, and certainly not in both.” She told him, making the move to grab her jacket.

“Shade! Stop!” Darien cried angrily. “You are mine! I order you to stay! I order you to stay the night with me!” His words fell upon empty ears.

“No. I will not sacrifice my innocence to you any more than I already have. Good night.” She replied coldly, slamming the door behind her. Stalking all the way to her room, she ran the last few feet and quickly opened and closed her door. Leaning against it heavily she sighed. Her own Father, betraying her like this.

How many more? How many more before her? And after? Who else would Darien go after? If she was the strongest, the weak were still out there, sitting and unable to stop him. God. What if she had been unable to stop him? Oh God… what if she hadn’t woken up? He would have… Oh God! Shade broke down on the floor, sobbing and holding her arms around her, trying to warm her icy skin. Tears fell, unchecked as she wept for herself, for the predicament she could have been in, for the others who had or might have the same thing happen. Tears of fear fell, for the first time in so many years.

“He can’t hurt you. Not anymore. Let him go.” Strong and warm arms closed in around her waist and pulled her into an equally warm body. Burying her head in his chest, Shade let the soothing voice shush her sobbing into a silence.

“He is the evil. Darien is the evil.” She stated softly. Tears still ran down her porcelain cheeks.

“And you are no longer bound to him. You’ve beaten him, Serena. You don’t have to go back to him.” Hiiro murmured into her hair. It as had to believe someone so innocent as the young woman in his arms could be tempted by such an evil fate as submission to the devil. But she had beaten him. The moment she had uttered her one word: ‘stop’, Hiiro had known he would never be able to kill her. No matter whether she worked for the enemy at one time or not, she had been offered power, greatness, and still she had seen the immorals of the offers and been able to refuse them. Now she was on his side, thank God. He would not have to kill her. Still. It did not make the transition through purgatory any easier on her.

“Hiiro. Were you there?” She asked him gently. He had to have been. Otherwise he would not have known what had come to pass. But she didn’t understand how he could have been there.

“I was in the air vent.”

            “You were there to kill him.”

            “Yes.”

            “Then why didn’t you?”

            “I was watching you. I knew what he was going to do, I could see it in his eyes.”

            “You were watching me? Then you could have stopped it. Why didn’t you?” She raised her voice slightly in anger. To think he knew what could have happened yet did nothing to prevent it thought he could have!

            “I could not have stopped it. What if you had wanted it? I would have interrupted you for no reason.”

            “You were testing me.” She quieted down into his arms again. Then she looked up and through her tearstained cheeks and watery eyes, she smiled. “Did I pass.” Hiiro couldn’t help it. He laughed. A clean, light and resounding laugh that filled the dark room with a lighter atmosphere.

            “Yes you passed.”

            “Are you still going to kill me?” She asked him, this time smirking.

            “Only if you get in my way of killing him.”

            “I don’t think that will be a problem.” She lowered her head.

            “What’s the matter?” He asked, confused.

            “Even if he is a creep, he is my Father, and he has taken care of me for so many years… I almost feel sorry for him.”

            “Justice has a way of it’s own. Come on.” He stood, taking her with him. Leading her to her bed, he sat her down. “Go to sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

            “Darien knows the code to my room, I can’t stay here. He’ll come and…” He pushed her to a laying position on the bed. Then he dragged her covers over her.

            “I’ll watch over you. Go to sleep Serena.” Leaning over, he kissed her forehead.

            “Hiiro?” She asked before he stood.

            “Hnn.” She snaked an arm out from beneath the covers and pulled his head towards hers. Meeting his head half way, she gently crushed her lips to his. Softly teasing him, she kissed him a few short times before he pulled her in for a more rougher, passionate kiss. As they broke for air, both took with them a quick beating heart and spellbound eyes of the other.

            “Good night.” She softly sighed before laying back against the pillows and letting sleep envelope her. Hiiro watched her for a moment more before getting to work. He quickly and effortlessly tapped into the door code that locked her door and changed it. Finishing with a long encryption, he closed the door and looked around the room. No windows to worry about, nor were there any air vents large enough for a person to come through. Finally relaxed enough to let his guard down, his shoulders drooped. Removing his heavy guns and shoes, he sat on the bed. A warm arm lightly touched his neck, and he looked down to she Serena, eyes still slightly blurry, staring warmly at him.

            “Come to bed.” She whined gently, a teasing smile playing at her lips. He too, smiled lightly before letting her pull him down to a laying position. Sleep fell upon them both quickly while they felt safe within each other’s arms. *