Chapter Twenty Nine

You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ - Isaiah 14:13

* * * *

The soft soothing classical music of Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons: Winter reaches Yuri’s ears the moment that she had stepped through the door, with the heavy door slamming shut behind her, giving her a slight start.

The room that she was in was nearly three times the size of the meeting room of the Phantoms back at Hati headquarters. It also seems to have been used as some sort of tea-room by the previous owners of the mansion several decades ago. Heavy blue silk curtains were drawn across the windows of the room, preventing the sunlight from streaming in fully.

Several oil paintings of scenery sat in golden frames, hung on the walls. The walls were painted a peaceful peach colour, with a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the crystals hanging from it shimmering with colours every now and then.

A black stereo player was set against a corner of the wall, with the soothing music of Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons: Winter being played from that very player.

But Yuri was focused on none of these things.

Her main focus was on the man leaning against the only window in the room that didn’t have the curtains drawn across it. His right arm was supporting his chin as he looked out of the window, either not noticing, or ignoring Yuri’s very presence.

The man was handsome in a way, despite being in his mid-forties. His black hair fell down to his nape, with his fringe covering his forehead. He wore a high collared black coat with silver buttons adorning it over a white shirt, the coat left opened, the ends of the coat fluttering around his lower legs. He also wore a pair of black trousers, along with a pair of black combat boots, and Yuri’s sharp eyes noticed a golden wedding band adorning the ring finger on his right hand.

Just as Yuri was about to take a step further into the room, the man, otherwise known as Kami, the leader of Raven’s Gate, spoke without moving away from his position next to the window, looking at seemingly nothing.

“Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons: Winter,” he said, finally straightening himself up and turning around to meet Yuri’s eyes. “It had always been your favourite piece of classical music ever since you were little, wasn’t it? You always used to listen to it with your mother.”

Yuri’s right eye twitched visibly, but she said nothing.

That was true, as she always used to listen to this piece of classical music together with her mother. Hitomi Yagami had always been a fan of classical music, though her favourites were actually the piano pieces composed by the South Korean piano music composer, Yiruma.

Yuri clenched her hands into fists by her sides, not showing any emotions outwardly.

“How many people have you threatened or killed in order to attain that piece of information?” Yuri spoke blandly, betraying nothing in her voice at all.

Kami ignored that snipe at him, and smiled a small and grim smile at Yuri. “It’s been a long time, Yuri-chan,” he said. “You’ve grown up.”

Yuri’s right eye twitched visibly before she glared at Kami, her hands still clenched into fists by her sides. She gritted her teeth together with slight fury before she forced herself to loosen her muscles, and met Kami’s eyes fearlessly.

“So it’s true then,” she stated without betraying anything in her tone, not looking away from Kami. “I didn’t want to believe it when I learned it from Miki, kaa-san and Selina. But I can’t deny the fact that more than one person had said the same thing to me throughout this past year.” She closed her eyes briefly before opening them again, a look of hatred and anger in her eyes, her right hand resting on the holster that held Odium. “Why are you still alive, tou-san[1]?”

* * * *

Tohya let out a grunt as he was sent flying across the ground of the courtyard, feeling slightly dazed and dizzy for a few moments, as Hugin had literally knocked the wind out of him.

Both Tohya and Ren had become Hugin’s punching bags, as the guy’s strength is almost insane! Just one hit from him is enough to break their bones. Tohya thought that he must have already suffered a concussion from all the punches that he had been on the receiving end of.

A low grunt from Ren caught Tohya’s attention, and he immediately sat up, holding onto the side of his head, only to see Ren being pinned by Hugin to the wall, with the latter gripping onto his neck. Ren’s face was slowly turning blue due to the lack of oxygen, and he was grabbing onto Hugin’s hand with both of his hands, trying to loosen the grip around his neck, and to get some oxygen into his lungs.

“Let…Ren go!” Tohya threw one of his spinning knives towards Hugin who managed to dodge the knife as it spun past his face, the spinning knife returning to Tohya’s hand. But that small distraction was enough for Ren to get free as he collapsed to the ground, coughing harshly, cradling his throat with his right hand.

Hugin smirked to himself as he looked from Ren to Tohya and back again.

Tohya can only glare as he spun one of his spinning knives in between the fingers of his right hand, trying to think of a way to best this guy. There is such a huge difference between this guy’s power compared to the other Apostles. He can see just why Hugin is the leader of the Apostles, as well as the second-in-command of Raven’s Gate.

Is there truly no way to beat him?

“You might as well give up now.” Hugin taunted. “There is no way that you can beat me. If this is the power of a Phantom, I don’t have to worry even if one of the Phantoms manage to reach Kami.”

Tohya and Ren glared.

And as one, the two boys got to their feet, dusting themselves off. No matter how dire the circumstances, they couldn’t afford to fail here now! There is too much at stake. Not only are the lives of all the Phantoms at stake here along with Hati’s very existence, but Japan’s fate as a nation is at stake here as well!

“We made a promise!” Ren growled, clenching his hands into fists. “A promise to return together! We…won’t lose here!”

Hugin grunted as he eyed Ren with a look that suggested that Ren is something that ought to be scrapped off the bottom of his shoe. He then shook his head. “What a persistent guy.”

“I…” Ren panted heavily, taking one unsteady step forwards. The lack of oxygen earlier had apparently affected him more than he had thought. “I’m…not giving up!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Tohya caught something silver glinting before Ren threw his right hand forwards, and silver wire immediately wrapped around a surprised Hugin, trapping his limbs together. Ren immediately grabbed hold of the wire with the fingers on both hands, tightening the wire as much as he could, not allowing Hugin to move even a single inch.

Until now, Ren had not used Elvigar in battle against Hugin, sticking to hand-to-hand combat. This maneouver had allowed him to take Hugin by complete surprise, thus enabling him to bind Hugin with his wire.

“It’s…over, Hugin.” Ren breathed heavily.

Hugin growled as he struggled with the wire, but Ren had enhanced the strength of the wire from his Elvigar as preparation for his battle against Raven’s Gate. Thus, the more that Hugin struggled, the tighter the wire bound him.

“You may have caught me within your wire, but you can’t move either,” said Hugin with a low growl. It seemed like this may actually turn out to be a test of endurance and strength, and that is the one thing that Hugin won’t lose in.

To his surprise, Ren smirked as well. “That’s not a problem,” he said. “You haven’t forgotten that someone else is here with me, have you?” Hugin’s eyes widened in shock just then. Ren then smirked, and shouted. “Now, Tohya!”

There was a black blur before Tohya appeared right in front of Hugin in a crouching position, his fringe falling into his eyes, and Zeus in either hand, a strange smirk on his face. Hugin’s eyes widened in horror as Tohya thrust the spinning knife in his right hand upwards and towards the side of Hugin’s neck, as the spinning knife in his other hand aimed for Hugin’s heart.

Zeus connected with the desired vital spots at the exact same moment, and Ren released his hold on Hugin just as blood spurt out like a fountain as Tohya pulled both of his spinning knives out, taking several steps away from Hugin.

Hugin staggered on the spot, his left hand clutching the left side of his neck, whilst his right hand was grabbing onto his chest, crumbling the clothes beneath his grasp, with the blood stain growing in both intensity and size, staining his white shirt red.

“It’s over, Hugin.” Tohya breathed heavily.

That had been a heavy gamble on both their parts.

Getting in the finishing blow on Hugin like this.

If it had backfired, Tohya would probably have died.

Crimson blood spilled from the ends of Hugin’s lips as he stumbled backwards before collapsing to the ground, still trying to take in great gasps of air. Ren and Tohya both approached him cautiously, both still with their hands on their weapons.

Even at this point in time, Hugin was still fighting.

Ren would have admired him for his perseverance and his fighting spirit if he hadn’t been an enemy.

“Hugin…” Ren muttered, kneeling down by Hugin’s side. Even if he is an enemy, he still deserves respect. Tohya knelt down by Hugin’s side as well next to Ren, saying nothing, a look of understanding in his eyes.

Hugin turned glazed and unfocused eyes to the two Phantoms before coughing harshly, hacking up some blood even as he tried to take great gasping breaths.

“Damn it…” Hugin coughed. “I…really hate Hati.”

Ren and Tohya exchanged looks before turning towards Hugin. There was something in his tone that they didn’t understand. Sure, all members of the Raven’s Gate organisation hates Hati the same way Hati hates Raven’s Gate. But Hugin… There is something about his own hatred for Hati that differs from the other members of Raven’s Gate.

“Why do you hate us so much?” Tohya wanted to know. “Why do you hate Hati so much?”

Hugin turned hate-filled eyes towards Ren, eyes filled with so much fury that Ren was almost taken aback by that strength for a second, even with the man on the brink of death.

“You killed my brother.” Hugin rasped.

Ren blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

Brother?

“Tatsuya.” Hugin rasped, and at the sound of that name, Ren’s eyes widened in shock. “You killed him. My only brother. My baby brother.”

Ren almost didn’t recognise his own voice when he spoke, sounding strangely spooked. “T-Tatsuya? You…” He swallowed a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. “You’re…Tatsuya’s brother?”

“I…left home when Tatsuya was pretty young.” Hugin rasped, hacking up blood with every word that he spoke. “And when I learnt that my parents passed away six years ago, I went searching for Tatsuya. Then three years ago, I finally tracked down his whereabouts. And when I went looking for him, I found out that Tatsuya was dead.” He glared at Ren. “You killed him.”

Ren shook his head slowly from side-to-side, a look of pure agony on his face, and Tohya glanced worriedly at Ren. He knew that the topic of one Tatsuya Fujiyama is pretty hard for Ren to talk about. Even Yuri had seemed reluctant to talk about Tatsuya.

“I…didn’t! I didn’t kill Tatsuya!”

“You may not have been the one to do so, but you as good as killed him.” Hugin accused. He then coughed harshly. He then turned his head away from Ren so that the teen couldn’t see the tears flowing from his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. It’s…all over.”

Tohya studied Hugin with some pity in his eyes. “Hugin…”

Hugin coughed harshly, turning his head to face Tohya. His once white shirt turning red quickly, and the area beneath his head had a pool of blood forming around it. His skin complexion was also turning a sickly shade of pale.

“Seiran.” He rasped. “My name is…Seiran. Seiran Fujiyama.” Tohya looked on wordlessly. The newly acknowledged Seiran then laughed humourlessly, coughing up some blood as he did so. “I can’t believe that kids like you could defeat me. What a joke.” He coughed harshly. “But it doesn’t matter now. No matter how much Hekate tries, she can never defeat Kami.”

Tohya narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like the way that Seiran had phrased those words. There was a resigned tone in his voice; almost like Yuri’s fate was already sealed.

“What do you mean by that?” Tohya demanded.

Seiran chuckled weakly. “You’ll…soon know.”

His eyes then slid shut, never to open again.

A long silence fell between Tohya and Ren both before they both fell to the ground on their behinds, panting heavily. The realisation that they have just managed to defeat the leader of the Apostles by the skin of their teeth, had only just begun to sink in.

Ren breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath back. “The rest is up to you, Yuri,” he muttered, looking in the direction where Yuri had headed hours ago.

Tohya nodded wordlessly to himself, suddenly feeling extremely exhausted. “Don’t go dying on us, Yuri,” he muttered.

* * * *

Yuri didn’t remove her hand from the holster that held Odium as she looked straight at Kami, not taking her eyes off of him.

“That’s right, I haven’t told you my name, have I?” said Kami with a slight smirk. “Every child should at least know their father’s name, shouldn’t they? I’m Ryuou. Ryuou Kitagawa.”

Yuri snarled at Ryuou. His words had just struck a nerve in her.

“Your child, huh?” Yuri chuckled humourlessly. “I didn’t want to believe it. I never wanted to believe it! How much I had wished that I was my uncle’s child rather than yours! The child of an insane murderer!”

Her voice echoed throughout the entire room.

Feeling tears pooling around her eyes, Yuri wiped them away with the back of her left hand. She then glared at Ryuou with all the hatred that she could muster. “Kaa-san. Miki. Michio-nii. Michiru-nii. Yuuki. Selina. And Uncle Kenji.”

Yuri glared. “How many other deaths have been attributed to you? How many other people have you killed? Uncle Kenji was always there for me even when I was a child. He was the only father figure in my life, and he had always been like a father to me!”

A brief look of jealously flashed through Ryuou’s eyes, but Yuri ignored it. “Despite being a Phantom, I have never enjoyed killing. The Phantoms of Hati are named as such for a reason. We exist in the shadows to protect the people and the order of the world. It’s rather unfortunate.” Yuri removed Odium from her holster and released the safety catch on it, narrowing her eyes at Ryuou. “But I’m going to have to kill you, as this is my mission.” A grim look entered her eyes. “After all, I’m Phantom XIII Hekate.”

A smirk appeared on Ryuou’s face. “Spoken like a true Phantom of Hati,” he said mockingly. “I see that that man has trained you well. But if the Chosen One can’t see the true ideals of Raven’s Gate, and walk on the path that she should walk, then Kami shall strike her down.” Ryuou unsheathed a Japanese katana by his side, revealing a gleaming silver blade with rubies and silver dragons adorning the black hilt.

Yuri resisted the urge to snarl.

Him and his God complex.

“You can try.” Yuri stated, readying Odium. “Try to kill me if you can. I am not a Phantom for nothing! And you’ll also do well not to underestimate me!”

There was silence for several moments before Ryuou moved forwards with alarming speed and without any warning.

Yuri’s eyes widened a slight fraction at that alarming speed, before she immediately fired two shots from her gun which Ryuou dodged with relative ease. The leader of Raven’s Gate then took a swipe at Yuri with his sword, which would have connected, had the girl not dodged his attack by literally throwing herself in the air, and landing behind Ryuou nimbly on her feet, Odium trained on Ryuou’s back.

Ryuou Kitagawa smirked a small smirk to himself without turning around to face Yuri, still with his back to her. Yuri privately thought to herself that Ryuou must either be very confident or very stupid, as she could easily kill him with his back turned to her.

“I see,” said Ryuou, betraying nothing in his tone as he turned around to face Yuri, and the girl took several steps backwards, with neither her eyes nor gun leaving Ryuou Kitagawa’s frame. “So you really are trained by Kenji.” Yuri narrowed her eyes at Ryuou as the man smirked a self-satisfied smirk to himself. “You move just like he did.”

Yuri narrowed her eyes. She moves just like her uncle did? How does he even know that? Did he face her uncle before?

“I haven’t told you yet, have I?” Ryuou stated calmly, almost like he had just read Yuri’s mind. He smirked a smirk that made Yuri decide immediately that she didn’t like the look of it. “I’m the one who killed Kenji Yagami.”

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Yuri thought that her heart would stop beating, and her eyes widened a slight fraction.

“…what?”

* * * *

July 2006

Unknown Area

There was the sound of a loud bang, before being followed by two crashes, as Kenji Yagami had to literally twist his body in several difficult positions to avoid getting cleaved in half by the silver blade of the katana.

Kenji Yagami seriously does not know what the hell is going on.

He had just finished up a mission after assassinating one of the higher ranked employees of some electrical company in Japan. And he was also about to make his way back to Shinjuku, so that he can make it in time to celebrate his niece’s birthday.

But before he could even make it out of the building that he was in, he was attacked by some sword wielding guy who was after his life.

Backed against a wall, Kenji Yagami narrowed his eyes as a silhouette came into view, and the moonlight shone onto his assailant’s face, revealing his identity to Kenji, and he hissed in fury.

“Kitagawa…!” Kenji hissed in fury. “I knew it!”

Ryuou Kitagawa stood before him, calmly taking a few quick swings of the sword in his right hand, the silver blade gleaming in the moonlight.

“You don’t seem too surprised to see me.” Ryuou Kitagawa remarked calmly.

Kenji growled to himself before straightening himself up. “Unlike others, I’ve never really believed that you were dead, Kitagawa. In my line, you can never be too certain of an individual’s death.”

Ryuou narrowed his eyes slightly at Kenji. His words from earlier…there was an underlying meaning to it. “So you knew that I was still alive, did you, Ani[2]?”

“Don’t call me that.” Kenji hissed, sounding like an angry snake. “You’ve lost your right to call me that a long time ago.” He glared at Ryuou with a look that is enough to send any sane person running as fast as they could in the opposite direction. But unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how one tends to look at it, Ryuou Kitagawa isn’t just anyone. “You are no brother of mine, Kami!”

The slight widening of Ryuou’s eyes was the only sign that gave away his shock, and Kenji smirked to himself. “Don’t look so surprised,” he said with a nonchalant tone. “Six years ago when Yuri told me what Hitomi had told her, I did suspect that you are Kami, the leader of the Raven’s Gate organisation. Unlike the rest of Hati and the government, I had never really believed that Raven’s Gate was truly gone for good. Anyone who had been as long in this line as I will always know this: you can never be too certain of an individual’s death, as there are hundreds of ways out there to fake one’s death.”

Ryuou narrowed his eyes. “I see,” he said. “That makes things easy then. I am here in the first place to collect your life from you. This is just an added bonus: that I get to take out someone who had knowledge of us.”

Kenji chuckled darkly. “You’ll find that my life isn’t that easy to collect, Kitagawa!” he hissed. “I am not a Phantom for nothing!”

“Well, let’s test that theory out then, shall we?”

Kenji narrowed his eyes before he moved forwards with blinding speed that anyone would have been hard-pressed to match, swiping out his Cerberus, and blocking Ryuou’s attack with his sword. The sound of the clash of metal on metal sounded again and again.

A glint entered Kenji’s eyes just then as he spotted an opening before he struck Ryuou in the stomach with his left fist, causing him to double over. He then locked Ryuou’s katana together with his Cerberus, not allowing Ryuou to use his sword.

“This is over.” Kenji stated.

Ryuou started to chuckle silently before it developed into full-blown laughter, and Kenji narrowed his eyes.

“What is so funny?” he demanded. “Do you find something amusing about your death?”

“Someone is going to die here tonight. That is a fact in itself,” said Ryuou, still chuckling away to himself, causing Kenji to wonder if the man isn’t touched in the head. “But…that person is not me.”

Kenji narrowed his eyes. ‘Eh?’

The moonlight bounced off of the steel black object that Ryuou Kitagawa had removed from within his coat, and Kenji’s eyes widened in horror at he recognised that object immediately for what it was. How could he not when he uses the very same thing nearly every single day of his life?

A gun.

‘Shit.’ Kenji thought to himself as he suddenly found himself staring into the barrel of the gun. He had made the greatest mistake of his life when he had chosen to limit his own combat prowess by disabling Ryuou’s weapon.

“Go to Hell, Kenji Yagami.” Ryuou smirked before a shot was fired which struck Kenji in the chest area, and he stumbled backwards, holding onto his chest, his back against the wall.

“Damn it…!” Kenji gritted his teeth together, bearing with the pain as best as he could.

He knew that he wouldn’t have long, even if an ambulance arrived right now. As a gunman, he knew full well that even though one wouldn’t die immediately when a bullet hit your chest, it is also the one area where you will lose the most blood.

“With you out of the picture, I’ll be able to get Yuri.” Ryuou smirked a self-satisfied smirk to himself. “She is the Child of God!”

Kenji smirked to himself inwardly. Apparently, Ryuou doesn’t know his own daughter as well as he should. “No. Yuri would never do that.” Kenji said slowly, meeting Ryuou’s eyes with a look of defiance in his own. “She isn’t that weak.” Kenji coughed harshly. “I knew that you would try to take me out of the picture one day. It was only a matter of time. Thus, I’ve already prepared her as best as I could to face you one day. No matter what, you will come after her even if I hid her under a volcano. Thus, I can do nothing but to prepare her for that day.”

“Hitomi knew that fact well ever since she knew who you were. Even if she didn’t like it, she knew that it was the only way to protect Yuri. That…is what her last words to Yuri had meant. That girl is strong.” Kenji coughed harshly into his hand. “It’s too bad for you, but she isn’t as weak as you think. She is strong…both in body and mind.”

Kenji took in sharp intakes of breath, as he could feel his strength rapidly draining away from him. “I’ve trained her that way for the past six years. Hati has beaten Raven’s Gate once before. We will do it again. And when the time comes…” Kenji is finding it extremely difficult to breathe right now. “And when the time comes…I hope that you enjoy your demise…” He slid down the wall, leaving behind a huge patch of blood, as darkness slowly overcome him. “…Ryuou Kitagawa.”

* * * *

Yuri glared, trying to prevent herself from losing her cool.

“That’s the reason why you killed Uncle Kenji?” she demanded. She had thought that the circumstances surrounding her uncle’s death back then were a little strange. So that’s why… “He had never done anything wrong. He was a kind hearted person. And for this reason, you killed him?”

“He was nothing but an interference.” Ryuou stated. “I merely took out the nuisances that were in my way. It’s rather the same kind of thing that Hati does.”

“Don’t lump us together with you!” Yuri snarled. She took in several deep breaths in order to calm herself down. “You killed my mother. You killed my best friend. How many lives have been lost at your hands?!”

Yuri glared at Ryuou with ferocious intensity. And if looks could kill, Ryuou Kitagawa would be six feet under. Yuri shook her head from side-to-side slowly.

“This has got to be some kind of sick joke,” she muttered. “For years, I’ve wanted to know who my father was. I wanted to know what he was like. I wanted to know what he looked like. I wanted to know if he was a great man. I wanted to know if I take after him.” Yuri wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes with the back of her hand. “But now that I know who he is, and what he is really like, I wished that I had never known the truth! And more than anything, I wished that you weren’t my father!” Her voice echoed throughout the entire room. Yuri glared at an emotionless looking Ryuou Kitagawa. “No…” She shook her head from side-to-side slowly. “You aren’t my father!”

“You can’t change the fact that you are indeed my daughter by blood,” said Ryuou calmly. “Come with me, Yuri.” He stretched out one hand. “Together, we can rule the world. As father and daughter.”

Yuri glared at Ryuou, but didn’t take his hand. “Do you know why I choose to join Hati?” she questioned. Ryuou raised a questioning brow, but didn’t say anything. “In the beginning, I admit that I’ve joined Hati purely for the sake of vengeance. But the more that I see as a member of Hati, the more it got me thinking. For every ten people in the world, there is one who is suffering greatly. If I can lessen that suffering, it can mean something. Hati is no epitome of justice. We merely cut down those that should be cut down. But by doing so, we are helping someone in this world.”

“All of us in Hati have someone that we want to protect. Family, friends or loved ones… It makes no difference whatsoever who or what we wanted to protect. What matters most of all is that they are precious to us.” Yuri narrowed her eyes. “True strength only emerges when you are protecting something important and precious to you.”

Ryuou sneered. “Those are words of a fool and idealist,” he stated. “You are more like your foolish uncle than I’ve thought possible.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Yuri stated. She raised Odium until it is pointing straight at Ryuou. “One last battle. Our final stand. Hati against Raven’s Gate. The wolf against the raven. Night against the dark. One last and final stand against each other.” Yuri narrowed her eyes. “This is the final battle. One of us will die here today!”

Ryuou snarled. “It’s fine by me!” he said, readying his sword in a battle stance. “If the Child of God refuses to walk the path that Kami had placed out for her, then Kami will have no other choice but to erase that very mistake!”

Yuri glared. This man…has a very serious God complex.

“You…are no God,” said Yuri slowly. “And even if you are, you are no God of mine!” She narrowed her eyes. “En garde!”

Ryuou was the first one to make his move as he swung down his sword which Yuri barely managed to dodge, losing a few strands of hair as she did so. Yuri then crouched down to the ground before swinging her left leg about in a roundabout kick, effectively tripping Ryuou up. And before the self-proclaimed God could recover, Yuri followed her attack up by swinging her right hand with the gun against Ryuou’s throat.

Much to Yuri’s surprise however, Ryuou didn’t so much as budge which is what she had been aiming for. That last move that she did was built with enough force behind it to send even a grown man sprawling across the ground, and the recipient of that attack would not be able to use their vocal chords for days as well.

Yuri caught a glint of silver coming down towards her just then. Acting on sheer instinct, she immediately swung Odium up and caught the blade of the sword with her gun, effectively locking the two weapons together. Both Ryuou and Yuri were standing only steps away from each other as they each fought for supremacy against the other.

Yuri gritted her teeth together as she fought for supremacy in this battle of strengths, her mind in a whirl. That last move didn’t hurt him at all? Just what is he?

Ryuou then turned his sword around so that the blade of his sword was facing towards the ground, and faster than one could blink, he immediately smashed the hilt of his sword against Yuri’s right elbow, shattering the bone instantly.

Yuri bit back a cry of pain as there was a sickening crack as the bone of her right arm gave way, with her right arm dangling uselessly by her side. But Ryuou wasn’t done with her yet, as a booted foot was immediately thrust into her abdomen, sending her flying across the room and crashing against the wall, causing her to slide down it slowly.

Yuri coughed out some blood from the impact of the last attack, and stood up slowly on shaky legs. She then glanced down at her right arm only to see part of the white bone sticking out from her skin, and cursed beneath her breath.

Great. Her right arm’s broken.

Ryuou eyed her. “I’ll give you credit for trying, but that is not good enough,” he said. “Kenji Yagami fell by my blade. What makes you think that you can do better than him?”

“Well, I’ll never know if I don’t try, will I?” Yuri muttered as she straightened up fully, meeting Ryuou’s eyes without flinching or looking away. She ignored the pain throbbing through her right arm, shutting her mind off to the pain. “I have come to deliver a vengeance, Ryuou Kitagawa.”

Ryuou narrowed his eyes dangerously. “You are truly more like your uncle than I’ve thought possible,” he stated. “And for that…” He took a few quick swings of his sword. “And for that, I can no longer think of you as my daughter!” A cold glint entered his eyes. “Die!”

Yuri barely dodged Ryuou’s sword strike which struck the wall behind her, knocking off a huge chunk of cement and plaster as it did so. She then dodged beneath another sword swing, losing another few strands of hair, as she grabbed her Odium lying on the floor.

Yuri then turned around once more, only to hear a whistling sound, as Ryuou’s sword swung through the air, and she barely managed to block the sword with her gun. This had the instant effect to knock her backwards several metres, with Yuri firing a single shot from Odium as she did so. The force and impact packed behind Ryuou’s attack was enough to send her sprawling into the wall, causing her to see stars for several moments.

Yuri shook her head, trying to clear her vision, as she got to her feet once more, though she felt a heavy stream of crimson blood flowing down the right side of her face from her head – an injury probably caused by Ryuou’s last attack.

Ryuou was glaring as he examined his right shoulder where there is a bullet wound, but it didn’t seem to have hurt him much at all, and Yuri cursed to herself. It definitely seems like the usual vital points where she usually aims are no good here.

She has to aim for the head with Ryuou Kitagawa, something that she usually never does.

Even though it is instant death when you aim for the head, it is also the most difficult spot to hit, as the head is the smallest vital area out of the entire human body.

“Such a weak attack…” Ryuou growled as he turned his focus towards Yuri who stood up slowly, having to keep her right eye closed because of the blood streaming down the right side of her face. “You should know that such a weak attack is of no use against someone who had become God!”

“Like I said, you are no God.” Yuri panted, trying to catch her breath back. She spat out some blood onto the floor, and a single tooth was spat onto the ground with it. “And I don’t care for any world that you create! I don’t want any part of it!”

Yuri then reloaded her gun with bullets with some difficulty by balancing the gun between her broken right arm, and the side of her body. She then grabbed Odium with her left hand once more, and fixed Ryuou with a penetrating gaze.

Yuri’s breaths were coming in huffs and pants by this point of time. But she refused to let that get to her, despite having injuries all over her person, and her clothes were all torn up and messed up. The right sleeve of her coat was barely hanging on.

With her communicator, Yuri can distinctly hear the faint sounds of battle going on with the other Phantoms, and she wondered briefly to herself if Tohya and Ren have already defeated that Hugin guy from earlier.

Yuri didn’t take her eyes off of Ryuou as she took in deep breaths.

‘Tohya… Ren… Please be alright.’

Yuri winced slightly as she moved her right arm, and a sharp stab of pain shot through her arm. That wasn’t her only injury, though she was mildly surprised that she hadn’t suffered worse with the number of times that she had been thrown into walls.

She had trained for this day. All the Phantoms have been preparing for this day for the past year.

They wouldn’t fail here.

They couldn’t fail here.

“Is that…all that you’ve got?” Yuri asked, breathing heavily, a slight smirk pulling at the ends of her lips as she did so.

Ryuou frowned disapprovingly, with the sword in his hand stained blood red– Yuri’s blood to be exact.

“Why do you deny your own destiny?” Ryuou wanted to know. “You’re the Chosen One. The Child of God!”

A bullet which zipped past his head, missing him by mere inches, was Yuri’s answer to that.

She was glaring at him with a look that could melt steel.

“You talk too much.” Yuri hissed dangerously, tightening her grip on her gun. “You are no God. And I am not the ‘Child of God’.” She tightened her grip so much that her gun looked dangerously close to crushing in her hand. “I’m the child of a murderer!”

Her voice echoed throughout the room.

Yuri straightened her posture before fixing her gun onto Ryuou. “I swear…even if I have to die here… I’m going to finish what my mother and uncle started! I swear that I will kill you here!”

“You can’t change your fate. This is your destiny.”

“I’m…not giving up here!” Yuri glared. “I didn’t come all this way only to give up here! I am never one to give up.”

Ryuou glared. “Then die!” he snarled, taking a swipe at Yuri with his sword, but Yuri pivoted around on the heel of her right foot to get around that attack, getting behind Ryuou.

And it is probably due to the slight concussion that Yuri is probably suffering from, that she was a little too slow to dodge Ryuou’s next attack. That blow sent her into a wall with so much force packed behind it, that the cement and plaster were knocked from the wall where her body had impacted it.

Yuri cursed to herself as she tried to move, but couldn’t. Most of her strength had already been used up during the fight with Jessica earlier, and she had already used up whatever remained of her strength facing Ryuou Kitagawa.

The tip of the sword appeared in her vision just then, and Yuri glanced up with slightly glazed over eyes, only to see Ryuou standing right in front of her with cold eyes, the sword in his hand.

“No one can stop me,” he stated. “Not your mother. Not Kenji Yagami. Not Hati. And definitely not you! You refused to follow the path that Kami had set out for you, and for that, you must pay the price!” He raised his sword. “This is the end!”

Yuri cursed beneath her breath, knowing that she can do nothing.

Is this the end?

She had read books and had even seen movies that talk about life and death. And every single one of them had said the same thing: that when a person is on the verge of death, they relive every single memory that they have.

Yet, Yuri had never really believed that.

And now, the memories of her life were rising to the surface of her mind. Both the good and bad memories throughout her entire lifetime. Even the memories of her life before she had became a Phantom of Hati.

People may do wrong, but no one has the right to judge them for their sins.

If revenge is called Justice, then that Justice breeds yet more revenge, and becomes a chain of hatred.

Do you want to live, Yuri?

Yuri, I’m going to teach you how to kill.

I guess that even a legendary assassin gets injured sometimes.

Yuri breathed heavily. ‘Tohya…’

No one will think any less of you if you just let it all out.

The edges of Yuri’s lips twitched at the memory of that conversation. ‘Ren…’

I believe that with a strong will, one can overcome even death.

Yuri clenched her left hand into a fist onto the floor. ‘Captain…’

We will definitely take Raven’s Gate down!

If we let someone like Kami to do as he wishes, I don’t even want to think about what the outcome will be.

Yuri, I believe…that a strong heart and a strong belief…can be a strong weapon even against the most powerful foe.

Yuri breathed heavily. ‘Miki…’

I finally understand the reason behind Hati’s existence. We’re a necessary evil.

People are able to hold onto hope, since death is that which cannot be seen.

Please, Yuri-chan. The only one who can stop that man who calls himself your father…is you alone…!

If it’s Yuri…I believe that you can do it. If it’s you…

Yuri gritted her teeth together, her eyes half glazed over.

They’ve already come this far. Can she really do nothing now? In the end, is this really her fate?

Just then, there was a cackle from her communicator, and as Yuri’s mind focused itself, she realised that there were several voices echoing through the communicator in her ear. And the voices were that of her fellow comrades in the Hati organisation – the Phantoms themselves.

“…Yuri!”

“Yuri!”

It was Ren and Tohya.

So they were alright.

That’s a relief in itself then.

“Yagami!

The captain of the Phantoms, Riou Takeshi…

Yuri had never regretted her service under him.

“XIII!”

“Oi, XIII!”

“Hekate!”

Her fellow Phantoms…

Yuri had never known them all that well, only by face and name, but they were still her fellow comrades within Hati.

“Yagami!”

Sunny…

How is she going to tell him that his sister had died?

“…Yuri…”

That voice…

Yuri can’t help but feel that she should know that voice.

Ren’s voice cackled through the communicator then, his loud yells causing Yuri to go temporarily deaf in the left ear.

“You are not that weak, Yuri! Stand up!”

Yuri breathed heavily. ‘Ren…’

“We made a promise! We will all return together! I won’t allow you to go before I do! Don’t give up, Yuri!”

Yuri’s lips twitched slightly. ‘Tohya…’

A sound that seemed like that of a sword being struck into the ground reached her through her communicator just then, and Sunny’s voice cackled through not a moment after. He sounded exhausted, but that is a good thing in itself, as it actually meant that he is still alive, and not on the brink of death.

“I won’t allow you… I won’t allow you to give up! Stand up, Yagami!”

Yuri smiled a small smile to herself. ‘Sunny…’

“Hati’s last hope…no, the world’s last hope now rests with you! If it’s you, I believe that you can do it! Finish the mission, Phantom XIII, Yuri Yagami!”

The voice of Riou Takeshi cackled through the communicator, sounding both confident and commanding, exactly how a captain should be. Particularly the captain of the Phantoms, the strongest of the Hati organisation.

The fingers of Yuri’s left hand twitched slightly. ‘Captain…’

Yuri’s memory clicked in just then, recalling a conversation that had taken place between both herself and Ren on the night before this mission. And the promise that they both made then.

Let’s all return together. No matter what, let’s all return together after this. You, me, Tohya, Sunny and Selina. Then, let’s all have a drink again at Starlight’s Hall after this.

That’s right…

It is still too soon to give up.

She is still alive, isn’t she?

And so is Ryuou Kitagawa.

As long as you are alive, you can still try again.

That’s the whole point of living, isn’t it?

“Damn it…” Yuri muttered to herself as she picked up Odium which wasn’t lying too far away from her, and the eyes of Ryuou Kitagawa narrowed itself. “I don’t need them to tell me that.” She got to her feet shakily. “I won’t give up.” Yuri released the safety catch on her gun slowly. “It is still too soon for that. I’m still alive.” She steadied herself on her feet. “And as long as I’m still alive, I will still continue trying.” Yuri turned to meet Ryuou’s eyes with a determined gaze, and a burning fire of determination within her eyes. “And I do believe that I’ve told you once. I’ve told you that I’m not giving up until I’ve killed you!”

Yuri winced slightly as a sharp stab of pain went through her right arm, and she glanced down at the broken limb only to see the white bone jutting out of her skin, and she cursed to herself. She then turned her attention back towards Ryuou Kitagawa who had a look of fury on his face.

‘Damn… I’m nearly at my limit.’ Yuri thought to herself. ‘My right arm’s all messed up.’ Yuri breathed heavily, her breaths coming in huffs and pants. ‘One more shot. Just one more shot. That’s all that I can manage right now in my current state. If that one bullet doesn’t take him out….’ Yuri glanced at Ryuou with a wary look. ‘Then I’m as good as dead.’

“I…I’m Hati’s Phantom XIII Hekate!” Yuri was relieved at least that her voice didn’t come out shaky, but was firm and steady. “I won’t lose here!”

She then dodged beneath Ryuou’s attack as her feet slid across the floor of the room, pointing Odium at Ryuou Kitagawa, her left hand shaking slightly as she does so.

“That’s the spirit, Yuri.”

Yuri’s eyes widened as she heard that voice from earlier, when that very same voice was among the others that had shouted for her moments prior. She had felt that she should know that voice. And now, she recognises the voice.

Turning her head slightly to the side, Yuri could have sworn that her mind must be playing tricks on her. Especially since she could see a pearly transparent figure of her uncle standing in front of her with a smile on his face, looking just like he did when she had seen him for the last time that day three years ago.

A ghost?

Kenji Yagami winked at her with a small smile tugging at the edges of his lips.

Yuri can only stare. ‘U-Uncle Kenji? How could this be?’

“You’re sure hopeless, Yuri. You really can’t do anything without me, can you?” Her uncle said teasingly.

Yuri managed a small smile. “Uncle…”

“I shall impart one last lesson to you. Now…let’s go.”

Yuri closed her eyes briefly before opening them again. “Yes. Let’s go.” She echoed her uncle’s words before walking towards the direction of Ryuou Kitagawa fearlessly, Odium trained on him. “Let’s end this.”

A pearly transparent hand gently steadied Yuri’s shaking left hand, stopping the shaking completely.

Kenji Yagami smiled and winked at Yuri.

“You’ve already learnt all that I could teach you, Yuri. You’ve already long surpassed me,” said Kenji solemnly. He then smiled and tilted Yuri’s hand holding Odium slightly towards the right, aiming the gun at the forehead of Ryuou Kitagawa as he stared at Yuri with wide eyes, looking slightly afraid for some reason. “The way that the Phantoms of Hati handle things… Let’s show him how it is done!” Kenji smiled before he removed his hand from Yuri’s left hand. “Now Yuri. Fire.”

He then disappeared into thin air.

Ryuou Kitagawa snarled at Yuri, a look of pure rage and hatred reflected in his eyes. “So even in death, Kenji Yagami still remains with you,” he snarled.

“That’s right,” said Yuri, not knowing whether she is replying to his question, or if she is just muttering to herself. “This is the way that the Phantoms of Hati do things.” Her gaze hardened. “This is what I’ve been trying to tell you right from the start. This…is our Justice!” Yuri pressed her index finger against the trigger of Odium. “What I’m fighting for…what we’re all fighting for…is for the future!”

A gunshot rang out.

There was silence for several moments as Yuri stared, breathing heavily, her left arm falling by her side, and Odium clattered to the ground by her foot.

Yuri watched as Ryuou Kitagawa stared blankly in front of him, looking at nothing in particular. His sword then slipped out of his hand, and clattered to the ground. And even as Yuri watched, a trickle of blood flowed from the gunshot wound in the middle of his forehead, before he collapsed to the ground, blood slowly pooling around his head.

“And this is what I’ve been telling you right from the start.” Yuri said, seemingly more to herself than to Ryuou Kitagawa. “You aren’t my father.”

A long silence reigned after that.

Yuri breathed heavily as she looked at the dead and motionless body of Kami, the leader of Raven’s Gate, staring at the body of Ryuou Kitagawa for several long moments before slowly falling to her knees, her eyes closing briefly.

It is over.

This is the end.

It is finally over.

The nightmare is finally over.

She had finally gotten her revenge.

Yuri then spoke two words into her communicator.

“Mission accomplished.”

----------------------------------------

[1] Tou-san: A form of address to one’s own father within Japanese families

[2] Ani: A more casual and shorter form of address for an older brother, or in the case of married in-laws (people who are married into the family), it is a more casual form of address for their brother-in-law