http://clampfix.fanworks.net/kenichi/essen11.txt </head><body><pre> "Ph'nguli mglw'nafh Cthulu R'yleh wagh'nafl fhtagn." [In his house in Ryleh dead Cthulu lies dreaming] -Call of Cthulu Chapter Eleven I felt the sweat drizzling from Rio's back onto mine. We were huddled tightly, Rio, Kenichi, Richmond and I... Facing the four poles, surrounded. And that awful monotone chanting... I doubt that any of us were afraid. We were far too terrified to be anything but. Rio leveled his rifle, but then lowered it... as a pack of the robed men, with dark, unseen faces, aimed their weapons at him. A silent, nervous curse emanated from the big man's lips as he gently set the weapon down. Richmond's aura of bravado was entirely gone; He was almost pathetic in the way he shuddered at the sight of these apparitions of dread. I was thankful, however, that he did not collapse in fear right there and then. Spirits know how I want to just drop to the floor and hide. Away from the mind-numbing chants. From the hooded sights of these unknowns, whoever they may be. Away from everything... I wanted Hokuto. She always had something witty to say, something that made me feel less afraid. It was indeed, her good humor... that which tides me over my doubt and fear. Oneechan... I heard a tightening of fists, and looked to my right side. The young boy Kenichi... Should I really refer to him as a child? Ken looked sternly at the crowd of robes... Unafraid... Indeed. Far too angry to be the slightest bit afraid. Too angry to give in to the weakness of fear. Yet thankful was I; he made no move to aggravate the situation. The way Kenichi looked at them... It chilled me to think that someone so young could look so vicious... The hooded ones seemed in conversation, what language they used I understood not... Yet it would seem they were quite interested in Ken, in particular... But why...? The robes flowed as the larger members swarmed over us all. Rio and Ken fought, while Richmond was too horrified to make a single gesture in his defence. Although I tried my best to pry loose from the maddened frenzy, the greater numbers overpowered me. Soon, I, Richmond, and Rio were being dragged like lambs to the slaughter... The succeeding turn of events happened so quickly that I recalled nothing between our abduction to the time I found myself tied to a tree... I looked to see the group huddle around, chanting as they viewed the sea which lay ahead of me... I attempted to rise, then recalled that I was bound. Tied... like a spirit bound to a plane... Richmond and the unconscious Rio were similarly bound, adjacent to me in a disturbingly ritualistic manner. Ritual... I swallowed hard and gagged on my own spittle. Richmond was pale, almost ghostly so. His eyes nervously darted from figure to figure until he looked at me. What I saw was not the cocksure Gaijin I had alternately despised and admired... It was as if he was shorn of all courage, as close to being a ghost as a human being could possibly imagine... As if listening to the knell of death coming for him... Oh yes... I heard speech... English, probably... Whatever they were saying, it was frightening Richmond. And I wasn't at all sure I wanted to find out what it was. Ritual. Yes, that's it... The three of us were privy to some odd ritual, one I was unfamiliar with... It all seemed to come together now... The horrifying events of Richmond's childhood, the deaths of the Miskatonic University research team, the strange creature Rio's friend had so strangely and suddenly become... A magic it was, totally unfamiliar to me, alien in technique and purpose... And beyond a doubt, it was evil... Seishirou... An irony, isn't it, Sei... Sakurazukamori...? That I would meet my end not by your hand but someone else's... "Subaru." Voice... Familiar intonation in Japanese... A woman's voice, gentle... Gentle yet cold... My eyes traveled from my feet to the robed one standing in front of me. Something... Familiar... "Subaru." Familiar somehow... My muddled head sought recognition of that voice. The figure knelt in front of my position. Please, let us go, I wanted to say. But the truth is, I was far too bitter to admit it. Hands... White, Gaijin hands... Hands that slowly slid the hood back to reveal a face... A face that was all too familiar to me... I wondered about trust as I looked at that single face in disbelief. Julie. She... "Subaru..." A smile, not unlike Seishirou's. Gentle, and yet cold... Like a cold steel knife wrapped in the most delicate of silks... Ready to strike... Softly her hand caressed my chin, as if in appraisal of my worth... "My dear Subaru... I will indeed be sorry to let you go..." I looked at her in stony silence. Betrayal strikes me once again in the form of one whom I trusted... "...But as it may... You who had the foul luck of being a powerful magician... We must sacrifice your blood in order for HIM to live." My throat was dry as I stammered... "...Him....? A sad stare from her eyes... Like that of... The face of whom I trusted drew closer... Closer... To... Kiss... I felt... A warmth as her lips met mine... Warm. Gentle. Teasing. A sensuality that exuded from her, one that I had not come to expect... I hated it... It was like being lied to from the soul. Something within me fought back, and I struggled. Julie drew herself away from me voluntarily, shaking her head as if in disappointment. The soft hand ran across my cheek as she spoke. "Such a waste..." The blue, expressive eyes almost seemed regretful. "...I would have wanted you to be one of us... To forget the pain..." Somehow, I found my voice within me. "Is that why your husband was killed... To relieve him of the pain...? Why are you doing this for, Julie-sa..." I cut myself off at the honorific. She looked balefully at me, and I noticed the other members of the group had similarly uncloaked their hoods... Charles... and Anna... The General from the base was there, as well... All of the people here... the same as those who worked on the base... I was stupefied. "They... You... were..." Julie allowed herself an even sweeter smile as she spoke. "The University was suspicious of us from the start... No wonder they insisted Richmond coming along..." The blue eyes flashed with a cold, heartless fire. "I'm afraid he, the Marine, and you will have an unfortunate disagreement... and kill each other..." Me? I wouldn't... I scolded myself as I suddenly realized what she had meant. It was so convenient... Julie and her coven would kill us, then with the general's help, cover their tracks by claiming we three murdered each other. Case closed. Very clean... Except... My voice reacted before the thought. "Where's the boy...!?!?!?" Julie smiled... But now it seemed cold, distant... Heartless... "Gentle Subaru... You pay too much attention to others..." "What?" I heard curses and spits and wails as four cultists dragged Kenichi Kaeda to my view. The boy was ragged, clothes torn and slightly bloodied... He reached vainly for Julie, death in his eyes. "BITCH! I'LL TEAR YOUR HEAD OFF!!!" Ken's struggles of reminded one of a violently twisting contortionist as he fought vainly to break free of the four figures trying desperately to restrain him. Eventually the four succeeded, fighting to keep a grip on the young boy as they tied him to the ground not a good few feet away... "His blood is powerful, like yours..." I whipped my head around to face her. "McCarthy-San!!!" I bit down at the habitual honorific. "...Leave him out of this, he's just a boy...!!!" A smirk came to her lips. "That 'boy', as you say... It took twelve of us to subdue him... He broke the bones of four before that... " She closed her eyes in an ecstacy, and I then noticed the book she held close to her chest. The Necronomicon. No... She produced from her robe a small dagger and spoke once again, in a sing-song pattern of voice. "The ancient Babylonians and Egyptians believed in the coming of the man from the underworld... Cutha... They said his coming will signal the return of the Old ones to the Earth..." Julie looked to me, a dark, meaningful look. "Subaru... understand me... When the man of Cutha returns to the Earth, all of mankind will be free..." "FREE...?!?! FREE OF WHAT?!?!?" The small curved blade of her dagger glistened in the brightness of the moonlight. Sharp as the sure smile on her face. "Of destiny." The mass chanting began anew, as the four cult members fought to pin Kenichi down on the ground. I wondered why he seemed to have no fear as he raged, still trying valiantly to strike at his captors. "Flthfk hgnuil thflak..." She looked to the sky, and then to the sea. "Tbwlf ukkhdgh... CThulha!" I shut my eyes as Julie approached the flailing Kenichi. What could I do...? Spells... I gnashed my teeth as tried to think. Hands tied, couldn't throw Ofuda... Fat lot of good that would do... These were human beings, not spirits whom I could easily ward... Chants... Their chants driving me mad... I... I start chanting as well... But not their chants... On... On makayakisha... On makayakisha bazalasataba... Damn... what were the words...??!!?? Have I forgotten already...? The blade poised in air as Ken raged... His scream... one of anger... I can hear the rage... "SEISHIROU, YOU BASTARD!!!!" Sei... Seishirou...? My eyes flickered a moment... and I noticed then that the Cult had silenced themselves... The shrill cry of a falcon as it cut the night sky with its edged wings... and circled, coming to rest on a tall man's shoulder... Then the crowd stood, struck dumb by a presence... Silenced, viewing a stranger in awe... Seishirou... He's here... The smile of a cold, heartless creature was on his lips. That single smile, of the smiles I have seen or ever hoped to see on that face... He smiled the one smile that frightened me... "Human beings... You are so foolish to think you can control what you do not understand..." Still smiling, he shook his head, and I found myself mesmerized. The one eye glowed silently as he essayed the view. Calm, the voice of he whom I once trusted went on. "...I am afraid I cannot let any of you live... Your belief has defiled the Sakura... and ensured you your own graves... A playful grin on his face... "The Sakura are very hungry tonight..." Seishirou pulled a cigarette from his trenchcoat and lit it. I gasped in horror at what I noticed only then. In the dim light of the lighter, I saw the trees... All of the trees... Every last tree surrounding us... All of them were Cherry Trees... The manner with which they swayed in the wind... Like they themselves were chanting... Demanding tribute. Demanding death. The braver, more foolhardy cultists, charged at him. The Sakurazukamori shut his eyes and began his work... "On asanmagini unhatta." Chants... Familiar chants... "On asanmagini unhatta." Cult members, raging and storming... Unmindful, they made the mistake of ignoring the winds. "On asanmagini unhatta... On asanmagini unhatta." They were young Gaijin, most of them. Soldiers... "Onbazalatoshikoku." They were preared to die... The winds shredded into white flesh and silken robes. I felt empty as I saw fragments of bone and skin color the night air with the red tinge of blood... The first in the series of deaths that were to follow... I sat and stared at the killings, doing nothing... One by one by one... One shredded by winds, another suffocating in tender pink Sakura petals... Still another torn apart as his colleagues, maddened by the sight, took to their knives and hacked their compatriot to death. Every one of them, killed brutally. And Seishirou... He merely smoked and watched as the thronging mass whittled itself down... Anna... She was hacked to death by Charles, who in turn flung the same blade into his skull. Madness, all of it... And somehow, it felt eerily appropriate. I stared on, dumbly acknowledging ever death. Seishirou... <Whether I break an arm... Or shatter a glass cup...> He stared at me from the distance, as the remainder of the hooded cultists slew each other in their mad orgy of blood and death. <It's all means the same to me. Nothing.> "........ Seishirou...... san........" I sat, defeated, as the blood continued to water the soil beneath my feet... I cringed, as I could almost feel the Cherry Trees' roots greedily drinking up all of the red fluid... The Sakura will have exceptionally beautiful blooms this year... I felt sick at the end. Two remaining cultists... They both were torn apart by the force of the winds Seishirou had produced... Then there was but one... Julie. Alone. She alone was spared, among the cultists. She looked to Seishirou, then to me. "Nyarlahotep..." I wondered what she had meant, as she walked with her back toward me. Looking... Smiling, even... Looking at Seishirou... Sakurazukamori... with awe... Awe and a frightened form of respect... Seishirou took silent steps toward her, as I still remained tied to the tree. His smile became even more macabre by the decomposing mass of bodies left behind... Julie's back was to me as Seishirou stood before her. Her robes flowed slightly in the winds... Oneechan...? <Oneechan was standing with her back turned to me, facing a tree.> Why were you wearing my robes, Oneechan...? Dream... Not that... Oh, no... Not again... Julie's voice... sounded oddly like Hokuto's... "Take me, O master of Death." A hand, like a blade point, burst out of her back. Blood and flesh spattered across my face. No.. Not again.... I tried to scream. No sound came out. I couldn't even whimper. Her body fell to the ground like a swan struck from its flight. Revealing the killer. Seishirou. Sakurazukamori. I was frozen as he strode toward me. Fear, anger, hate, love, all were weapons with which he tormented me. His right hand, caked with blood, reached for me. Like in my dream... He killed Hokuto... He killed Julie... He killed everyone... "Subaru..." I looked at him as the emotions within me warred. He gently caressed my face in what I mistook for concern. "You are... alright, I trust..." I was still frozen as he proceeded to paint my face with my sister's blood. Marking. Like the time my sister and I played with face paints when we were children... And yet his smile was so gentle, so caring, so... "Subaru-kun honto wa kawaii desu...!" The grin he shone was gentle. And I wore a mask of my own sister's blood... NOOOO!!! It's NOT Hokuto...!!! I looked at Julie's lifeless corpse, blood spilling from the gaping hole left in her chest. Not Hokuto... Damnit, she's not my sister... She tried to kill me... Kill us... But still... "No!!!" I turned away... No, this was too much like my first dream! It can't... "I told you I was not your enemy for this moment, Subaru..." I looked as he slowly untied the ropes... Bringing me to my feet... His smile seemed genuine now... But his next words turned my soul cold. "I didn't want the hunt to end that way... We still have a few years left, don't we..." The falcon reappeared on his shoulder. The evil smile... I froze as I looked at him... From the Seishirou I cared about, who I thought cared for me... To the Sakurazukamori, destroyer of lives... I felt like crying... You cannot have one without the other... Seishirou... Why don't you just kill me and get it over with...? A pained, angry scream cut the night and tore me back to my senses. "SEISHIROU!!!" I felt something knock me off my feet, and I was on the ground in seconds. Something...? Someone... Struggling...? Kenichi...!!! Like in my dream... Ken tore at Seishirou, desperately trying to hit his face. Seishirou was obviously caught off-guard by this sudden attack, as he tried to break free. Ken... He was angry. That was why he had no fear. He was far too busy being angry to be afraid. Kenichi, who was so much younger than I was. Young... And so full of rage. They broke contact as Seishirou rose to his feet. I was still frozen, by what reason I do not know. Seishirou's face, normally one of calmness, was twisted. Almost... angry...? "What are YOU doing here!?!" Ken had a twisted, almost malicious grin on his face as he stared Seishirou down. "Heh... I live around here, you ugly one-eyed bastard... What's your excuse...? Other than the fact that while my mother was getting killed, you were standing by all the time... never lift a finger to help, do you....?" Seishirou wiped some blood off his lips. "...I don't know what you're talking about, Kaeda..." Ken smirked, and the smile reminded me of Seishirou... "Yeah...? Well, let me Refresh your memory!!!" I felt something... It was like the power of the earth drained for a moment... Kenichi threw a fist to the ground and yelled something unintelligible as he struck... A sudden gush of water from underground knocked Seishirou off of his feet. Surprised and off-balance, he was unprepared for the beating Kenichi Kaeda heaped on him next. The boy was like a dynamo, striking with every joint in his body, each blow landing on Seishirou's larger frame. I could see the tears in his eyes as he struck. His screaming and babbling made no sense as he attempted to batter Seishirou down using brute force; an ant trying to kill a lion. Good as he was, he was still no match. Seishirou flicked his hand upward, and I heard Ken yelp in pain. He was then grabbed by the collar and thrown meters away. Blood... I saw tiny specks of blood in the air as Ken was hurled forward. The little figure landed on his feet like a cat, but collapsed onto his knees a second after impact... Whimpering in pain. He stood, the Sakurazukamori... As if none had dared ever touch him. The single good eye flashed at Ken. "A surprising and unexpected little trick, Kenichi...? You will need more than that to kill me... You should try harder next time..." Seishirou then turned to me. The dark figure smiled grimly, and I froze in place as he approached. "If you think you can handle him Subaru-Kun... He is yours." He began to walk away. But before so, he whispered in my ear. "Kenichi Kaeda has more courage than you... He might actually kill me someday... Unlike you..." He disappeared in a shower of sakura petals. I felt my cheek. The blood still felt fresh. Unlike me...? It was a challenge. Seishirou wanted to play a new game. Daring me to kill him. Maybe... Maybe I'll do just that... If... My attention went to Kenichi... I strode quickly toward him, wondering what it was that made him cease his attack. He was on his knees, his face buried in his hands. Crying. I walked slowly, avoiding any movement to startle him. As I knelt next to him, I heard his words mutter grief and defeat. "Why...Why am I always too late to protect everyone...?" I put a hand on him gently and rolled him over. "Ken... I..." I stopped and looked at him in horror. There was a huge tear on the left side of his face. From his forehead to his chin. A huge, bloody pulp where his cheek should have been. <Why...Why am I always too late to protect everyone...?> I wondered, as I tried to comfort Ken. Why am I always unable to protect anyone...? I stayed with him until the dawn.</pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>