FicWad

Lamentation of Orochi
An original story
Written by: Cereal_junkie
Rated: PG-13 for possible language and suggestive comments. Possible violence
Warnings: Possible V,
Additional warnings: None as of yet
A/N: I know there have been stories like this one before, but I liked the idea and I wanted to write on it, so anyone who has a problem with it can suck it. Take it up with someone who cares. For those of you who wish, read on. BTW, if I ever do get officially published, I will still write fanfics and post them on the net because I love writing them and god knows you can't get fanfics published. ^.^


Ch. 1: Armageddon

The man, just awakened, opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around the room in curiosity, his gaze falling upon a painting that held the picture of a man with short, golden blonde hair and cobalt blue eyes. He wore nothing but a loose pair of pants, and he was bandaged across the chest and around his left wrist. He had black, intricate markings, and they seemed to stretch from the left side of his face all the way down the left side of his body. He looked away from the life like painting and stretched.

A pain shot through him so quickly that he didn't notice that when he moved, the painting did as well. As he clutched his chest, crouched down somewhat, the pain seemed to ebb away after awhile, but he seemed to have reopened a wound of some kind, because when he pulled his hand away from his chest, there was blood upon it. He looked down at his bandages and was distracted by something odd. He seemed to have the same markings as the man in the painting, but they were on his right side.

He also realized that he had been bandaged in the same places. Then something struck him. He looked at the painting again only to realize this time that it was not a painting, but a mirror. He studied his reflection for a bit, trying not to move his mid section too much to avoid opening any other wounds he might have. He wondered how he'd gotten into this condition. He wanted to ask someone, but there was no one around. He didn't know why, but he felt that he shouldn't stay for too long.

He felt that if he did, something horrible would happen, and whether or not he remembered who he was had nothing to do with that. He may have no memories, but he knew he didn't want anything bad to happen to whomever it was that had helped him out. He started to try to climb out of the bed, but when he tried he found himself falling to the floor promptly. He had misjudged the distance of the floor from the bed. When he fell, he had to bit his lip just to keep from screaming in pain.

It felt like he had a thousand little deep cuts in his skin and they had all just opened back up. To make matters worse, his lip was bleeding now from biting it so hard. He hadn't meant to, obviously, but he hadn't realized at the time because the other pain was distracting him. He wiped the blood away, and it seemed that the bite mark wasn't very big, because after a few wipes, it stopped bleeding. He tried to stand back up, but he found it to be rather difficult now.

His nervous system was acting up, and though he tried and tried again to stand, his legs wouldn't do it. He was beginning to feel uneasy. No matter if he had his memories or not, any human his age should be able to stand, right? It was a basic and very necessary function, and he couldn't get his legs to cooperate. He began to think that maybe he hadn't misjudged the distance of the floor from the bed. Maybe it was the fact that his legs just wouldn't let him stand, hence he fell to the floor when he tried.

'Damn it! If I can't use my legs, how am I supposed to leave this place? I can't stay here. Something bad is going to happen; I just know it.' he thought, trying over and over to get his legs to move.

And tell me, dear Edward. What exactly is it that you think is going to happen? What is it that you're afraid of?

"Hello? Who are you? Where are you?" he asked aloud, looking around the room.

Oh, you can talk out loud. Be my guest. Just don't blame me if they think you're crazy. I'm only in your head, Edward. Only in your head. Now, since you don't remember, and I don't feel like explaining it to you, all that means is that you don't need to know who I am. The only reason I'm talking to you is because I couldn't help but notice your current situation. Now that I've answered your questions effectively, would you be so kind as to answer mine?

'I apologize, but I do not remember what it is that you asked.' Edward thought, not noticing the sounds outside the door of the room he was in.

I asked you two questions. 1.) What exactly is it that you think is going to happen? and 2.) What is it that you're afraid of?

'Well I don't know what I think is going to happen. I just feel as if something bad is going to happen, and soon. To answer your second question, I'm afraid of not being able to protect whoever it is that's helping me when this bad thing does happen.' Edward thought, still trying to get his legs to move though it wasn't working.

Ha ha. Same as always. I guess you'll never change. Memories or not, you still want to play the hero. Well, hero; do you want to know the reason you have no memories? Do you want to know why your head is devoid of an actual sense of identity?

'For one thing, you say there is a reason I don't have them, which means it could be a good reason and telling me now would only mess that up. I might not want to know.' he thought, shaking his head.

Reasonably sound argument, except for one thing. I never said I was going to reveal your missing memories to you, because even I am not that stupid. No. I asked if you wanted to know the reason why you had your memories taken in the first place. I won't even tell you whom it was that took them. Only why, if you want to know.

'I'm not so sure, but okay. Fine.' Edward thought, hoping that it wasn't going to screw him up more somehow.

I thought so. Well, the reason that they were taken from you is simple. They would have killed you, Edward. You would surely have died as a result of them. That is why you must remain how you are now. You must stay alive for both of us to survive. Not having a recollection of your past is a small price to pay for survival.

'You said for both of us to survive, right? Do you...live inside me or something? What's going on with that?' Edward asked silently, not noticing the person that came up behind him until she spoke.

"Oh, so you're awake, huh? Honey, come in here and help me! Our guest fell off the bed!"

His head whipped around so fast he had whiplash as he looked up at a woman with a stomach bigger than a watermelon. He rubbed the back of his neck and he saw a big, rather burly man enter the room through the now open door. He swiftly picked Edward up and gently set him back down on the bed.

I'll tell you about that later. You seem to be in the middle of something now.

"Oh no! You've opened all of your wounds again! I'll have to re-bandage you now!" the pregnant woman said, leaving the room. The big burly guy was left standing beside the bed.

"You're lucky, you know. My wife is an expert healer. You were damn near dead when we found you, all covered in blood. What on earth were you doing to end up in that state, lad? Looks like a youkai got a hold of you." he said, shaking his head.

"I...honestly don't remember what it is that I was doing. I might have hit my head." Edward said, trying to make up an excuse for losing his memories though they wouldn't know about that yet.

"It was more like it got bashed into something, you ask me." he said, sitting down in a chair beside the bed.

"What do you mean? Do I have a head wound? I don't feel it." Edward said, feeling around his head.

"Well...it's kind of hard to explain, lad. You had one when we brought you here, and my wife was worried that it might cause you permanent brain damage, but when she went to clean it and heal it as best she could, the wound was gone. It was there. I saw it myself. Then it was gone, no scar or anything." the man said, not looking at Edward anymore. Edward could say nothing. It bothered him a bit though. He didn't know, but he was pretty sure that wasn't a natural human ability.

He thought about something the man said earlier. He had said that it looked like a youkai had gotten a hold of him. He still knew what a youkai was, just as he knew what anything else like animals or food were, but he didn't know what the man meant when he said that. He just had to ask.

"Sir. What exactly did you mean earlier when you said that it looked like a yokai had gotten a hold of me?" Edward asked, and as he asked this, the pregnant woman came back into the room not only with medical supplies, but a whole meal too.

"You were all torn up and bloody. You had small but deep wounds in your chest that looked like claw marks." the woman said, answering for her husband.

"Weird..." Edward said more to himself than anyone else.

"So. What's your name then? We need something to call you by." the woman asked, and that gave away the fact that they hadn't met him previous to this.

"Edward." he said, his stomach growling at the sight of the food she carried.

"So, Edward. Do you have a last name?" she asked, setting the tray down on a table and picking up only the medical supplies for now.

"No, ma'am. Honestly, the only thing I can remember is my first name. Nothing else." he said, shrugging as she came toward him with the bandages, a cloth, and some odd colored liquid in a clear jar. Both the husband and wife looked, at first, shocked at this statement.

"Oh dear. That's not good. Maybe that head wound did leave your brain damaged, though you seem to understand basic language enough to hold a decent conversation and you remember your first name. Those are a couple pluses." she said, starting to un-wrap his bandages.

"It's too bad that you can't remember. I kind of wanted to ask you about those markings you have on you." the man said, but the woman quickly silenced him.

"Be quiet now. He doesn't need to hear about such nonsense right now. I'm trying to change his bandages." the woman said, having him lift his arms as she continued to unravel the bandages.

"I won't take long, darlin'." he said, scratching his chin.

"Oh fine. Go on then." she said, sighing as she finally got the bandages off.

"Well, before I tell you this, I want you to know that it is just a legend. There is no conclusive proof that it happened or that the man in the tale even really existed." the man said, and his wife nodded as he said it.

"Okay. I got it." Edward said, wanting to hear the story.

"Okay. Well, about 500 years ago was when a man first appeared like this, with markings like yours all down the right side of his body. It is said throughout history that this man had kept being reincarnated and that the reincarnation would have these marks at birth, as proof of the awful burden he had to bear." the man started, looking at the marks that were upon Edward's body with interest.

"What exactly was the burden?" Edward asked, unconsciously touching the marks on his face.

"Oh great. Here we go again." his wife sighed, but he ignored her.

"The burden, young man, was a powerful youkai. The man born with these marks was destined to walk alone, with only the youkai as company for the entirety of his life." the man said, still looking at Edward.

"But...what does that mean?" Edward said, now starting to dread the answer.

"What it means, Edward, is that the man who bears these marks also bears the soul of that evil youkai. The body, soul, and fate of that man is tied to the youkai's forever more. Never to be separated. Never to love or be loved, because of the fear the mere sight of the marks produces in people. In other words, this man's body contains not only his soul, but the soul of the evil youkai as well. They are said to fight for control over the body, and if the youkai gains complete control, it could mean the end of all things. This man is called Armageddon for that reason." the man finished with a dark look on his face.

"But of course, as my husband said, and I would like to remind you both, this is just a story. No human body could be strong enough to harbor the powers of a youkai like that. And to think that the man is reincarnated when it would have been hard to find even one infant in all those centuries that could harbor the power is just going overboard, my dear. This is just a tale; A fable. Nothing more." the pregnant woman said as she dipped the cloth into the jar. She let it drip over the jar a few times.

Thinking about everything he heard, he looked back at the woman as she was ready to press the cloth to his wound.

"Now get ready. This will sting a bit." she said, pressing the cloth to one of his larger wounds. Sting was an understatement. He almost screamed in pain when she pressed the cloth to him. It felt like she was dabbing acid on his wounds. Of course, he didn't scream. He just bit down on his fist until the pain went away. Then he had to do it a few more times as she dabbed the stuff on the rest of his wounds. He was breathing heavily by the first few, and he almost asked her to stop by the next few.

When she was done, she looked satisfied with herself.

"Now that your wounds are cleaned, I can wrap you in fresh bandages again." she said, picking up the bandage roll and unrolling part of it.

"That was cleaning?!? It felt more like torture!" he said, backing away defensively.

"Now, if you don't let me do this we'll have to do it the hard way." she said, a grin spreading across her face.

"What do you mean?" he asked, not really wanting to know.

"You've seen my husband, Edward. You know how big he is, and you know that he could hold you down. Don't make me ask him to do it, Edward, because it would only hurt you more." she said, and with that he straightened out.

"Fine! Fine. Just...please be gentle." he said, letting her apply the bandages. After a short amount of time and no pain whatsoever, to which Edward was surprised, she was done.

"See. You were being a big baby for nothing. The worst part of that is the cleaning, and you'll thank me later when your wounds heal faster than you ever thought they would." she said, winking at him.

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked, confused now.

"The cleaning solution I used on you was one of my own design. It not only cleans your wounds. It also makes them heal at 3 times the usual rate. Pretty cool, huh?" she asked, setting the medical supplies aside and bringing the tray of food to the bed.

"Yeah. That's awesome. But...I have to ask you one thing. You're a healer, so you have access to a lot of different chemicals and drugs and what not, right?" he asked, looking at her seriously.

"Yes. Why?" she asked, looking at him uneasily.

"Did you give me anything that might...make my legs not work right?" he asked, getting to the point.

"Huh? No. Why? Are you having trouble standing?" she asked, setting the food aside once more and picking up one of his legs.

"Not only that. I can't get them to do what I want. I can't stand or walk or anything. My legs just won't listen to me. I can feel them, so I'm not paralyzed. I just...can't use them." he said, trying to lift his legs once more and not succeeding.

"That's...very troubling. Let me go check something. Hun, would you come with me?" she asked, looking at her husband.

"Yes dear. Now don't you go anywhere." the man joked, looking at Edward before leaving the room and closing the door behind them.

Well, it seems as if the question you asked me earlier has already been answered, so I won't bother.

'So you're...the evil youkai?' Edward asked, trying to lie back down for a bit until the woman and her husband came back.

Yes, and no. I am a youkai, but I am not evil. The story that man told you was somewhat twisted over the many years that it has been passed on. They only sealed me away in the first place because I went against the heavens in doing what I wished.

'What was it that you were doing, exactly?' Edward asked the youkai silently, thinking he wouldn't get a response.

I was increasing my power. The gods feared the power I already had, so when they learned that I was increasing it more still, they decided it was best that I be sealed away.

'Increasing your power when the gods had already feared it to begin with? Why? What was your purpose?' Edward asked, shaking his head at the absurdity of it.

That...doesn't matter anymore. I can't do what I set out to do, because what happened has already happened and cannot be taken back. I have no real use for my power anymore.

'But...what is it that you set out to do?' Edward asked, persisting.

I said it doesn't matter! Drop it now!

That last startled Edward, and though he wanted to know, he figured it best to just forget about it for now.

'So, what's your name?' Edward asked, hoping the youkai wouldn't lash out at him again.

It's been so long now that I've forgotten. I haven't been called by my name in over 5 centuries. I've even forgotten what I used to look like.

'That's awful. I couldn't imagine what that's like. Oh wait, I guess I can.' Edward said, laughing a little at his own predicament.

At least you know your own name now. The only reason being that I knew it too, but still. And I must ask you something. Why do you try to protect people? They're all just going to die someday anyway. What's the point?

'The point is to let them live longer so they can spend more time with their loved ones. I know that everyone dies eventually, but I want to prevent that for as long as I can. If you love someone, you want to spend every moment you have with them, and if I extend the time that they have, I extend the time that their loved ones have with them. That is the point! Time! It's precious, and humans know that because of their limited life spans.' Edward thought, yawning as he felt fatigued again.

That's why you protect people? That's...so strange.

'How is that strange? Haven't you ever felt the urge to protect someone precious to you?' Edward asked, wondering if the youkai had any family.

No. Not really.

'Hey. Can I pick a name for you for now at least, so I have something to call you?' Edward asked the youkai, hoping he would say yes.

Sure. Why not?

'Alright. Let's see now...' Edward thought, trying to think of a name for the youkai.

By all means. Take your time. You're not going anywhere at the moment.

'Oh yeah. I've been meaning to ask you about that. Do you know why my legs aren't working?' Edward asked, hoping to the gods that he did.

Yes, actually. I do.

'Why didn't you tell me that earlier? Why aren't they working?' Edward asked, hoping to find a solution for the problem.

Because I'm binding them. Your body is torn up and you shouldn't be moving at all.

'You're what?!? Let me use my legs, damn it! We're going to need them soon!' Edward said, fully expecting the youkai to argue with him.

Okay. Here.

After the youkai's last word, he tried to use his legs and he found that they were obeying him.

'Yes! Finally. But wait...why didn't you argue with me? I honestly thought you would.' Edward said, confused.

Under normal circumstances, I would, but I've learned to trust your instincts, and there's the fact that I have the same bad feeling that you do. It's too quiet around here. Usually you have some kind of youkai attacking you by now, but there seem to be none near here. It just seems...odd. I could be wrong, and there could be a priestess in the village driving them away, but somehow, I doubt it. I think they may be planning something. Like, I don't know, maybe a large scale attack or something.

'That can't be good. We need to heal fast.' Edward said, clenching his fists.

Hmmmm...you said we.

'Huh?' Edward asked, confused by what the youkai meant.

Well, usually you say I, not we. It's just surprising. Maybe the memory wipe changed you more than I realized. You used to say something along the lines of "I don't need you. Just shut up and stay out of my way. I'll do this on my own."

'Wow. I sound like I was a dick.' Edward thought, shaking his head in distaste.

No offense, but you were. You always used to belive that I was evil, and you'd never take the time of day to talk to me like this. It's actually kind of...nice.

Edward smiled.

'Though I don't like the sound of who I was before, at least I'm not that way now. I think I like this me better.' he thought, yawning once again. He was almost dozing off now.

You and I both. Hey...have you thought of a decent name yet?

'Actually, I have. How do you like the name Adrian?' Edward asked, closing his eyes as he yawned again.

Sounds good to me.

Edward heard his reply just before dozing off, and he didn't know how long he had been sleeping when he was awakened by a crash and a loud scream. He bolted upward in bed. He then stepped down onto the floor quickly and almost fell over. He still wasn't used to having the use of his legs back.

Edward. Let me take control of the body.

'I...can't. You heard what that man said.' Edward thought, trying to walk around as best he could on his shaky legs.

It was a legend! The only reason they said it would be the end of all things is because they thought I was evil. I'm not evil, Edward. You know that!

'I know, but...' Edward said, still hesitant.

Look; you want to save those people, don't you? Didn't you want to protect them? Well I can! I am used to the movements of your body, so it won't be a problem for me. Plus, I have other powers that you can't even use when you fight! Just let me out to fight the youkai, then when the fight is finished, I'll let you take control again. I swear it on my pride as a youkai.

Edward sighed.

'I guess I really don't have that much of a choice. I'll relinquish control to you, but you have to promise me something.' Edward thought, sitting back down on the bed for a second.

And what is that?

'You have to promise me that no matter what, you won't hurt the pregnant woman and her husband. No matter if they become a threat or not, promise me that you'll run. Before you say anything about this, I only mean that they might feel threatened once your powers are revealed, and if they do, they might try to take up arms against you. No matter what, no matter how angry you get, you must promise me that you'll run away.' Edward thought, not yet relinquishing control of the body.

Okay. I promise. Now let me have control!

'Fine.' Edward said, closing his eyes and relaxing his whole body. Somehow, he still knew how to let Adrian take control. When his eyes opened, they were no longer blue. They were a bright emerald green. Adrian smiled and tested his limbs out, checking out his fingers and everything else.

Hello! Rescue mission! Come on!

'Alright, Edward. Just hold on.' Adrian thought, whistling a strange note and holding out his hand.

What are you doing?

As Edward asked the question, a sword appeared in Adrian's hand. He put the strap over his shoulder, putting the sheath over his back. He then tightened the string on the pants he was wearing and tied it to make sure they didn't fall off or at the least, down in battle. After this, he rushed out the door and down a hallway, zipping through the open front door to witness the scene in the front yard. One of the youkai was holding a dagger threateningly to the pregnant woman's stomach.

He was telling her husband to bring the youkai-human out or else he would gut her and the child.

"There's no need. I am here now. Unhand the woman and you will not die painfully." Adrian said, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at the youkai.

"You think that you can beat us all, you filthy abomination?!?" the youkai with the dagger hissed, motioning around him. Adrian looked around, and indeed there were a great many youkai around, but not nearly enough to take him down.

"I don't think. I know! Now let the woman go! The humans have nothing to do with this! Have you no mercy, you beast? She is with child!" Adrian said, motioning toward her stomach.

"Indeed she is, and I am not without mercy. I will let her go unharmed...if you don't fight back." the youkai said, a malicious grin crossing his features. Adrian faltered. He didn't have too much of a choice. He knew that Edward would rather die than have the woman harmed, and since the only youkai that seemed to have a weapon was the supposed leader, he knew he could take a few punches and kicks. After all, he said he couldn't fight back. He said nothing about blocking and dodging.

After he thought about this, he re-sheathed his sword and walked toward the leader. Though the leader looked calm, fear flashed in his eyes as he saw Adrian walking toward him.

"What are you doing?!? Did you forget that I still have my hostage?" the youkai asked, waving his dagger threateningly at the woman.

"No, I haven't forgotten. I would like you to release her right now. I will hand her my sword so I will not be able to use it. Just let her go back to her husband." Adrian said, still walking toward the woman who noticed the different color of his eyes and gasped.

"So...it's true? You really are...the man from the legends? You're Armageddon?" she asked, suddenly horrified.

"That I am, ma'am, If you would like to call me that. I assure you that the story is twisted in many ways, and I am not the end of all things. If I were, would any of us be here right now? I think not, but if you don't mind, I would rather you call me Adrian than Armageddon. When you call me that, I really do sound like the end of the world." Adrian said, now only five feet away from the youkai leader and the pregnant woman. He kept walking until the dagger was pointed up at her throat.

"What? Finally remember that I was here?!? What are you going to do? Will you accept my terms?" he asked, pressing the edge into her skin enough to draw a fine line of blood.

"Only if you accept mine. The humans go free and you must let them flee from here if they wish, unharmed. I will give the woman my sword. I will not fight back. If I go back on my terms, I will let you take my life." Adrian said, taking his sheathed sword off his shoulder.

"Alright. Fine." the youkai said, removing his dagger from her throat and pushing her forward. Adrian caught her before she could fall and handed her the sword.

"Run from this place. Take your husband and flee, dear lady." he said, letting her go and watching her run back into the arms of her husband. He put his arms to his sides, ready for the immanent attack.

"One more thing! You cannot flee, block, or dodge either. You must take every hit. My men are without weapons, and I shall not be joining them, so it's no problem, right hero?" the head youkai asked, the smirk back on his face.

"I accept." Adrian said, damning his luck that the youkai remembered that. The leader laughed and motioned his men forward. All at once, they came rushing forward. The first punch to hit him was one to his gut, and though it hurt, he didn't double over. After that, it was hard to tell which order they went in as he was pummeled from all sides.

'Are you happy now?' Adrian asked Edward, cringing as a single youkai in particular kept ramming his fist into Adrian's gut. With a particularly hard punch to his face, he went down. Through the sounds of the fight, he could not hear the woman gasp as he went down. He didn't stay down for long, though. Through the rain of punches and kicks, he stood back up and was assaulted yet again by a hard blow to the face. This time, however, he only wavered a bit, catching himself before he fell backwards.

'Damn it...I don't know if I can stand this...how long until he's satisfied? How long will this go on?' Adrian silently asked, taking two blows to the face and almost falling over again.

Until we're dead.

'I guess you're right, Edward. I...I don't want to die here damn it!' Adrian thought as a hard punch landed on his chest and knocked the wind out of him. With the next punch to the same area, he heard a crack and it felt like part of his chest had caved in. Suddenly, it was much harder for him to breathe. With a few more punches to the same spot, he doubled over and he was kneed in the face. The knee to the face had him down again.

Though he got right back up, he didn't feel like he could take much more. He wanted to just lie back down and die, but his pride wouldn't let him. Another blow to the chest, whether it was hand or foot he didn't know, had him coughing up blood. He wasn't sure how much more of it he could take, but he felt the youkai ripping at his bandages and tearing his skin all over again.

'Please just make it stop.' Adrian thought, the pain almost overwhelming him.

I will. Just give me control. I can stop the pain, and you won't have to feel it anymore.

'Okay.' Adrian said, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, they were once again cobalt blue.

Wait! What the hell am I doing?!? You can't do this Edward! You'll be killed! If I die, it means nothing, but if you die then we both do! You idiot! Why'd you have to go and do that?!?

'Because you said you wanted the pain to stop. Now you don't have to be in pain anymore.' Edward said, smiling inwardly though he was cringing on the outside.

No! That doesn't matter! Send me out! You can't die like this! I won't let you! It won't kill me! Those were just weak thoughts! Give me control!

'No. I...refuse.' Edward thought as he fell. Unlike Adrian, though, he didn't get up.

Get up! Get up Edward! You have to get up or else you're dead! Get up now!

'I..can't...I can't get up. I can't breathe. I can't...' Edward thought, lying there as the blows still rained down on him until they suddenly stopped. He suddenly heard the voice of the youkai leader. He was getting closer, but what was he saying?

"So...you're just going to give up? After all that talk, you're going to die here like a dog? Even if you are only half, where's your youkai pride?" the youkai leader asked, crouching down by Edward and pulling his head up by the hair to look at him. The youkai leader was pissed when he saw the color of his eyes. He knew the youkai inside the one everyone called Armageddon had green eyes, yet right now they were blue, which meant that this was the human, and not the youkai side of him.

"Hey! Human! Let the youkai side take control again! It's no fun killing a mere human!" the leader said, scowling at Edward.

"No. I...won't let him endure any more pain. He's had enough." Edward said weakly, which really pissed off the leader.

"I said let your youkai side out!" he said, knocking Edward across the face.

"No." Edward repeated, spitting in the leader's face. Even more pissed now, he wiped the spit away.

"Fine then. He went back on his word so I guess I'll just have to go back on mine." the youkai leader said, releasing his hold on Edward's head and letting it drop back to the ground.

"What are you...ngh...talking about. We didn't break any of the terms!" Edward said, trying to sit up.

"Oh, but you did. You see, since you now have control of that body, that means that he can no longer feel the pain, and by giving you control of the body to escape the pain, he has violated the terms by fleeing." the leader said, sounding smug.

"No...he...it wasn't fleeing!" Edward said, finally succeeding in sitting up.

"Oh, well then what was it?" the leader asked, looking smugly down at Edward.

"...I...volunteered. He didn't flee. I just stepped in." Edward said, cringing as he stood up.

"Oh, you volunteered to take the beating for him? What a good friend! Boys, continue. It appears our little game hasn't ended after all." the leader said, and once again, the youkai swarmed in on him. It was then that Edward remembered the exact wording of the terms, and none of them ever said that someone else couldn't step in and fight for him. He smiled and cracked his knuckles, downing one youkai after another. They went down rather quickly, actually.

His smile widened when he saw that the only one left standing was the leader himself.

"Now wait a minute! You just went back on our terms!" the leader said, the fear on his face for the whole world to see.

"Wrong again, dumb ass! The terms were that Adrian could not fight back, block, dodge, or flee, and he did none of those things. I just happened to step in for him, and the terms said nothing about a replacement, therefore did not apply to that replacement. Now shut up and go down!" Edward said, punching the surprisingly weak leader in the face and knocking him out cold. Right after that last punch, the pain from his injuries finally overcame him and he fell unconscious once more.


End Chapter