Kurenai pulled Kurei by the hand towards their destination. "Well? What do you think?" she inquired.

"A picnic?" he asked, blankly.

"A leisurely picnic," she corrected him. "By the fountain. On the grass. Nice and calm and peaceful. You've been having such a horrid time of things recently, you need a chance to unwind." Kurenai smiled proudly at her handiwork: a blanket spread on the grass by the fountain, a small cooler containing sandwiches and drinks, and a frisbee handy in case he got restless from too much tranquility. She stepped behind Kurei and wrapped her arms contentedly around his waist. "I did it for you," she reminded him gently, burying her face in the back of his sweater.

"Thank you," replied Kurei, smiling. He squeezed her wrists in acknowledgement, and they stood there peacefully for several moments before sitting down to enjoy their picnic.

They had left campus in favor of a nearby local park. Kurei thought that it was a little too close to the high school for comfort, but refrained from saying so. Instead, he asked if she was going to miss any classes because of this. She laughed and shook her head no. "My next class isn't for two more hours. So don't worry about a thing. Relax and enjoy yourself."

A figure was watching from the bushes. Unlike the two he was spying on, he was missing his class. But it didn't matter. This was more important. That was the man who had tried to kill two lowerclassmen for their madogou. That was the man who had injured his deceased sister's lookalike in the process. His eyes glittered angrily, and he tightened his grip on a short, pointy handle which he carried in one hand.

He waited for his opportunity. The girl he was with probably didn't know how dangerous Hanabishi Kurei was. Otherwise, why would she allow herself to be alone with him? Perhaps she, too, had a madogou which he was willing to kill for...

His chance came.

Kurenai stood up, brushing stray blades of grass from her skirt. "I'll be back in a minute," she promised. "I have to go back to the car... I forgot the brownies for dessert."

Kurei shook his head. "Don't trouble yourself right now... it'll be a little before I have enough room to eat them."

Kurenai laughed. "I'll get them anyways. And then we can play with the frisbee until we're hungry again." She hurried away towards the car.

She was barely out of sight before Kurei felt something sharp and pointy pricking his back. His shoulders stiffened imperceptibly.

"What?" Kurei asked dully. He didn't feel like dealing with this now. Not only would it give him a stomach cramp to try and fight so soon after eating, but he didn't want Kurenai's peaceful picnic to turn into a battleground. The quiet and solitude had been so pleasant... he could feel the fire welling up inside his hand, waiting in anticipation.

"Stand up. Turn around. Face me." The commands were uttered in a cold voice.

Kurei did so, grudgingly. He was surprised-- and yet somehow not surprised-- to see that this was another high shool student. He seemed to wear the uniform of the school which the others had attended. And he was carrying a strange-looking object, which seemed to be a sword with a strange blade. Glass? No... almost like... water? He made his observations, then coolly averted his eyes and fixed his gaze on an interesting tree over to one side. "A kid like you shouldn't be playing with a thing like that," he advised. "You might hurt yourself."

Mikagami shook his head. "I'm not the one to get hurt," he replied, refusing to be ruffled. "You're the one who should be worried. For what you did to Yanagi and the others."

Kurei's eyebrow twitched, but he refrained from beating the truth into the boy, as he would have desperately liked to do.

"You seem to have your facts confused," he said, stepping back a pace. Kurei extended his arm. His bracelets clinked together as he summoned his flame. It leapt from his fingers, flared up a few times, and then settled down into a small, steady fire, hovering over his upturned palm. This Flame was almost second nature to him by this time. During the last fight, he had made great progress in learning how to control and manipulate it. The flame itself had subtle fluctuations and moods which, once he had attuned himself to them, made it much more efficient to use. In addition, he could now easily create and control flames that were much bigger and much more powerful.

Mikagami wasn't daunted. Kage Houshi had warned him of this. Instead, he slid into his favorite stance with a shout of, "Hyomon ken!"

****

"A girl. We get to kidnap a girl." Mokuren's ugly face twisted into a sadistic grin. "Recca wouldn't be so mean as to deny us the pleasure of torturing her? Just a little bit. Just enough to make her scream."

Koganei was facing away, so Mokuren missed seeing his scowl. Ecchi, he thought scornfully to himself. Aloud, he replied, "I think Recca wants the girl in good shape, to find out her secret. So you'll have to wait until he's finished."

"If I did make her scream, just a little," pressed Mokuren, "You wouldn't tell Recca, would you?"

"Recca's orders are Recca's orders," replied Koganei, pleased at the easy way out from this thread. "And if you go against them, you deal with the consequences. Would making her scream-- just a little-- be worth, say, being disciplined by Recca?"

Mokuren looked disappointed. He knew that to be disciplined by Recca meant being murdered instantaneously. "I've seen her picture," he mused, almost to himself. "It wouldn't take much at all. Perhaps she'll scream for me without overstepping the bounds." He brightened at the prospect.

Koganei sighed and clutched his Kougan Anki. "Get yourself ready. We'll catch her after school."

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