Chapter 7

Sugizo waved out the window as Chirolyn went to take Toshiya home. Kiyoshi handed him a cigarette and Sugizo took a long drag. "How much of what he told Yoshiki did he tell you?" Kiyoshi asked, retrieving the cancer stick for a drag of his own.

"He told me much more then he told Yoshiki." Sugizo replied with a slight note of satisfaction. "He actually admitted to bending the truth on Yoshiki to cover his own ass, at least what he thinks he needs to cover." Sugizo shook his head. "He's smart, and good natured, but his life's been shitty."

"Why did Mana single him out?" Kiyoshi raised a brow.

"He must have glowed with potential energy. You must have seen the extent of his abilities while you were teaching him. If Mana hadn't abandoned him we would have had a much bigger problem."

Kiyoshi nodded and there was a moment of silence. "So what do we do?"

"Wait for His plane to arrive."

"What about Yoshiki? He's going to try and get to Mana first."

*

Sugizo's cell phone ran in the death march and he quickly answered it. "Its me."

"He made another." Announced the other side calmly. "I’m just touching down."

"Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Mana's crypt…" There was a moment's pause. "Looks like Toshiya needs more practice on his shielding. The clouds are already gathering." And the line went dead.

*

Toshiya waved goodbye to Chirolyn's car and made his way up the front step. When he reached for the door it pulled open and Kaoru stood there with a guarded expression. "Yoshiki wants to talk to us."

Toshiya's smile vanished at the coldness that had returned to Kaoru's countenance. "What's wrong? What have I done?"

"Nothing." Kaoru stepped outside past Toshiya. "I'll meet you there."

"Kaoru! What is it?"

"I hope you had fun at Sugizo's." was the called reply as Kaoru got into his car and sped away.

Toshiya's jaw dropped before he stormed angrily into the house. "That shit head!" he screamed, throwing his coat on the floor. "He thinks that he can treat me like nothing, hurt me and then get mad when I manage to find a one night fling?" Taro's raven followed him downstairs. "Well fuck him! He's got you so he doesn't need me around!" The raven trilled softly as Toshiya dug out his helmet. "Mana was at least somewhat honest with me!" Kissing his bunny once on the head he stormed back upstairs. "Here's the plan Taro! You finally die and I'll get the Maker to make you a demon and then you and Kaoru can be together again! How's that sound?" Angrily brushing a tear off his cheek he stormed out of the house to collect his bike, unaware that the raven followed him out.

*

Kaoru made his way into Yoshiki's living room where the older vampire sat with a longhaired man. Yoshiki looked up and stood at his arrival. "Where's Toshiya?"

"On his way." Was all Kaoru would admit.

Kaoru nodded and the longhaired man glanced up, his expression taking Kaoru aback. The nearly unphasable Pata's eyes were blood shot and his face haggard. Kaoru didn't know what it meant but something was very wrong.

"Mana kidnapped Pata's partner." Yoshiki announced angrily. "We think he's got them all at his old crypt."

"How do you know he has his…"he glanced at Pata, not wanting to upset the man further.

"Mana changed him this morning." Yoshiki looked at the floor.

The front door slammed closed and Yoshiki moved to the window to watch Toshiya mount his motor cycle and ride off. "Shit! He's going there alone!" Yoshiki cursed as the clouds grew darker in the sky. "There's no telling what Mana will do."

"So let's follow him." Kaoru moved for the door.

"Take Pata with you, I'll meet you there." Yoshiki made sure Kaoru understood before making his way upstairs.

Yoshiki quietly peeked into his bedroom, spotting his partner seated at the desk on his laptop. Satisfied he gently closed it again. Quickly locking the door from the outside he returned down the stairs, ignoring the angry cries and the rattling door.

*

"Damn it Yoshiki! Open the fucking door!" he screamed, pulling on the handle and banging his fists against it. Only when the house rattled slightly at the closing of the garage door did he cease and sit down. Frustrated he put his face in his hands.

The door abruptly clicked and he looked up to watch it slide open, a man leaning against the doorframe. The stranger smirked and Yoshiki's lover looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Are you done playing dead?" smiled the stranger before gesturing for him to follow.

*

Toshiya skidded to a stop in the empty parking lot of the cemetery, threw his helmet to the ground and stormed into the hedgerows. The sky above him rumbled but he refused to allow it to rain.

Running feet and a dark haired blur alerted Toshiya to someone's dash out from behind a large crypt entrance. Toshiya's eyes narrowed and he took off after the man, managing to grab his wrist and spin him around. The minute Toshiya touched him he knew their connection and his anger evaporated. Fully turned to face him Toshiya opened his mouth to speak when a quiet 'pop' put a helmet onto the frightened man's head. Toshiya recognized the helmet as his own that he'd left in the parking lot and blinked. The only explanation he could find was if he could call storms, maybe this guy could…teleport things. Still holding firmly to his wrist Toshiya flipped open the visor. "I'm not going to hurt you." He said and released his Brother.

His big eyes blinked once with obvious relief before he pulled off the helmet and sheepishly handed it back. "Toshiya?"

Toshiya nodded.

"Ryuichi." He gave a brief smile. "Are you going to help protect us?"

Toshiya frowned. "I need to speak to Mana."

Face falling Ryuichi nodded and turned to lead the way.

"Who are the others? What are their names?" Toshiya asked as they walked.

"Kirito is the older brother, Khota's the youngest. Ina is Mana's prize and…" Ryuichi hesitated.

"And?"

"And Mana brought Izam home last night, he hasn't been changed yet."

The overhead clouds rumbled threateningly and Ryuichi cringed but Toshiya continued to the doors of Mana's crypt. Pushing open the heavy barriers he stormed down the stairs and into the circular center room.

Two pairs of eyes marked his entrance suspiciously and Toshiya recognized them as Brothers. Kirito stood in a ready stance a meter in front of Khota who sat against the wall, a sleeping man's cheek resting on his leg. The sleeping man was tall with long blond hair and sweet features. By some signal from Ryuichi Kirito untensed and moved back to lean against the wall next to his brother.

"You must be Toshiya." Kirito stated flatly.

"My first and favorite." Mana purred, gliding out of the hall way which lead to his bedroom and shutting the door. "Welcome home."

"Where's Ina?" Toshiya's eyes narrowed.

"In my room, why?" Mana replied casually.

"Let me take him and Izam." Toshiya pleaded calmly.

Mana seemed to silently consider Toshiya's demand while he moved towards Khota who flinched at his touch. "You can have Ina, just changing him was enough." He nudged Izam awake with his toe. As the human stirred Toshiya found that he and Mana were dressed exactly the same including make-up and hairstyles. "Izam, however, I still need." Mana turned to smile at Toshiya as Khota helped Izam to his feet since his wrists were tied together. "What do you think? Pretty good for how little time I had." He was obviously referring to the resemblance between himself and the human.

"He's too tall and his build is thinner then yours." Toshiya replied with narrowed eyes.

"Well I didn't have much to choose from." Mana played with Izam's hair and the human flinched and looked at the floor. "The hair dye worked well, it used to be brown." Izam closed his eyes as if the mention of his former hair color pained him.

"Well, if you're here then the others will be on their way. Ryuichi, back to your post, Kirito, Khota, you know where to go." Mana waved them out of the crypt. "And Toshiya." Mana smiled. "I'm glad you've come back to help." Patting Toshiya's hand he made his way up the stairs, a hand on Izam's wrist, pulling him along behind.

"He can't turn Izam, he doesn't have the time." Toshiya reasoned with himself before heading for Mana's room. Mana's hall of dolls was as disconcerting as ever and Toshiya moved quickly through it into his sire's dark and frilly room. Ina lay asleep on the edge of the bed nearest to the door, his wrists tied together like Izam's had been. Kneeling next to the former human Toshiya gently called his name and touched his shoulder. Ina awoke slowly and Toshiya tried to smile encouragingly as the new vampire opened his eyes.

When the sleep cleared from his eyes Ina's brows drew together. "You were at Yoshiki's party." He whispered.

Toshiya nodded. "I'm Toshiya. Come, let's get you out of here." And he began untying his wrists.

"Toshiya? But Mana said you'd come to help him." Ina sounded both bewildered and suspicious.

"I just want Mana to stop hurting people." He replied quietly, getting Ina to sit up and lending him his coat, Mana's preference for silk pajama bottoms extending beyond Toshiya. "Now come, Pata's on his way.

*

Sugizo landed quietly among the hedgerows and let his wings fade, searching for the figure he'd spotted from above. Hooking his thumbs into his beltloops he strutted in the general direction of Mana's crypt.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" announced a black haired man, stepping into view. Sugizo noted the slight quaver in his voice. Judging by the physical he decided this was Ryuichi.

"Who me?" Sugizo replied cheerfully. "Well I'm here to visit my…"he squinted at a nearby gravestone. "Uncle Momoshi!"

Ryuichi squinted at the same stone. "Loving wife and mother?"

Sugizo coughed into his hand to hide an untimely laugh. "Good old Uncle Momo…the family didn’t care for him much."

"Why don’t you quit lying and get it over with?" Ryuichi's eyes narrowed and the slight quaver returned.

Sugizo's playful attitude dropped away at the implications of that sentence. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play. Go on, kill me!" Ryuichi closed his eyes and Sugizo was shocked to see him begin to tremble. Angrily he wondered what Mana had been telling his Children.

"If we didn't kill Toshiya why would we kill you? You can't help your heritage."

Ryuichi opened his eyes but still looked suspicious. "When you took Toshiya there weren't any indications Mana would do it again. It's easier to kill us then accept us."

"Well that would make sense if we were all under the command of Count Dracula!" Sugizo countered sourly. "Sure, Yoshiki's a tight ass, and a little over protective, but he's not going to burn you at the stake or anything." Sugizo's frown deepened. "Is that what Mana told you? That we were coming to kill you?"

"Isn't that what you're going to do?" All remnants of Ryuichi's tough attitude crumbled to show just how frightened he really was.

Sugizo had the urge to tear Mana limb from limb but he knew he couldn't if Ryuichi was going to trust him. The little bit of protective nature Sugizo usually reserved for the Maker and a select group of demons abruptly extended to Ryuichi and Sugizo moved to put an arm around the vampire. "No Ryuichi. I'm not here to pass judgment." He said it gently in an attempt to end Ryuichi's trembling.

Sugizo's cell phone rang the death march and startled them both, Sugizo quickly answering. "It's me."

"Let me talk to Ryuichi."

Sugizo blinked and offered the phone to the vampire. "It's the Maker."

Ryuichi went even whiter but managed to speak without a quaver. "Hai?"

"Ryuichi, I need you to do something for me. Mana still has you and your Brother's familiars. I need you to take them."

Ryuichi bit his lip. "But I've never 'popped' a living thing before. I don't know what would happen."

"Have you ever 'popped' something incompletely?"

"Well no. Not really."

"Then you should be fine. Once you have all the familiars you won't have to worry about Mana hurting you any more. I promise." There was a finality in the Maker's tone that send chills through Ryuichi. "Now let me speak to Sugizo."

"Hai." Assuming that Sugizo was the pink haired man at his side Ryu handed the phone back.

"It's me."

"Sugizo, find the brothers and Ina and keep them in one place till I phone and tell you what to do."

"Where are they?"

"The brothers are just outside Mana's crypt and Ina is inside with Toshiya. Keep them all out of the way."

"Hai. You call me if you need me." Sugizo tried to sound stern.

The Maker just laughed. "I'll be fine. Just keep an eye on those vampires." And the line went dead.

Sugizo slipped his cell phone back into his pocket as Ryuichi spoke up. "Is the Maker really as bright as the story says?" he asked so innocently Sugizo couldn't help but smile.

"Well, he isn't the brightest angel because he's a genius. And it's not what you'd call a 'holy glow'. It's more of a 'neon glow'." Smiling at the confusion on Ryuichi's face he asked, "So what did he ask you to do?"

Ryuichi frowned and glanced at the ground. "He wants me to 'pop' everyone's familiars to me. Mana has them all in a crate."

Sugizo assumed Ryuichi referred to his vampiric ability. "So go for it."

"But I've never 'popped' a living thing before!" he renewed his protest.

"Hey, He's the Maker. He thinks you can do it, right?" Ryuichi reluctantly nodded. "Then do it and we'll find your Brothers."

Nodding apprehensively Ryuichi closed his eyes. "If I do this Mana can't hurt us anymore." He whispered. Sugizo watched him hold his arms out in front of himself and waited as he closed his eyes. Shortly after, and with a definitive 'pop' a gangly black Labrador puppy appeared in his arms and Ryuichi's face lit with delight as the puppy excitedly licked his chin. Passing the puppy to Sugizo he began the process again until a rabbit and two black cats had joined them.

"There." Ryuichi said with obvious satisfaction as the cats looked at each other and ran off, the bunny in hot pursuit.

"Perfect." Sugizo patted Ryuichi's shoulder. "Now let's follow them and find the others."

*

Kaoru and Pata made their way through the headstones towards Mana's crypt. Not far from the crypt entrance sat a huge stone sarcophagi currently occupied by two figures. Slowing to a stop they found the two brothers waiting for them. Kirito leaned against the stone and Khota sat atop it with his knees drawn up and a cigarette in his hand. The blond was the first to see them and he snapped his fingers to get the others attention.

Kirito looked up. "So how long to we have?"

"Till what?" Kaoru asked, not trusting Pata to speak or act rationally until Ina was recovered.

"Are you going to wait till you have Mana or just get rid of us right away?" Kirito explained calmly, taking the smoke from his brother.

Both Kaoru and Pata were taken aback. "We're not going to kill you." Pata spoke up.

"We didn't kill Toshiya." Kaoru agreed.

"Toshiya was one mistake, easily swept under the carpet." Kirito passed the cigarette back. "Now we are many mistakes. How else can Yoshiki save face?"

"By ending this with the least possible loss of life." Kaoru frowned at Mana's ability to brainwash them so completely.

"Is that so?" he clearly didn't believe him. Pushing away from the stone to a standing position he spoke to his brother. "Khota, you get away from here and I'll hold them back."

Khota quickly jumped to the ground and grabbed his brother's shoulder shaking his head 'no'. Kirito angrily brushed his brothers hand aside. "Damn it Khota, you start speaking again and then I'll listen to you." Khota gritted his teeth and lowered his eyes but remained silent. "Exactly." Kirito snapped. "Now go. It's you or me and I'm older."

Kaoru and Pata watched the exchange in bewilderment as the brothers moved into similar stances of concentration. When the hair on the back of Kaoru's neck raised with static charge he realized how much trouble he and Pata were suddenly in.

The thunder and the lightning occurred simultaneously but in mid strike the lightning curled harmlessly back into the sky. The brothers gaped at the sky before turning to regard the two figures approaching from Mana's crypt.

"They aren't going to hurt you!" Toshiya said angrily, obviously the one that aborted their attack.

"How do you know?" Kirito snarled back.

"Because the Maker said so." Ryuichi interrupted, he and Sugizo stepping into view shortly after the familiars that rushed their physical forms.

Only when Ina stepped out from behind Toshiya to scoop up his lop-eared rabbit did Pata see him. Whispering his partner's name he moved and pulled Ina into his arms. Ina held onto Pata and his familiar tightly and whispered, "You promised it wouldn't hurt."

Kaoru watched the conflicted scenes with a growing hatred of Mana and his treatment of his Children. The brothers reunited with their familiars with obvious relief and joy while Ina reminded him of a normal change compared to what Mana had done.

"My name is Sugizo." The demon announced, grabbing everyone's attention with his tone. "The Maker has asked me to keep an eye on all of you till everything is taken care of."

Kaoru glanced around then spoke up. "Where's Toshiya?"