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Chapter 8

               A garden of cherry trees and waterways, a place of solace and peace the likes of which Raine yearned for so greatly was what awaited the fennec. Masatoshi had led the way through the palace to his garden silently even though the two of them were still bleeding. It was almost as if Toshi didn’t mind the gash in his shoulder at all anymore.

               The picturesque scene in front of Raine made him forget about the battle completely and smile. The sweet scene of cherry blossoms on the manufactured wind as well as the quiet sounds of the streams working their way along their pre determined paths sought to calm him to the core. It was almost like he had been somewhere like this before and derived a great deal of inner peace from the memory he didn’t own.

               The wind was cool and comforting like the embrace of silk sheets after a hot and tiring day. Not clinging to the skin but rather caressing it in a welcoming embrace of the most gentle in nature. Toshi stood by with his muzzle raised slightly and a small smile at the corners of his muzzle as he let the two of them share the moment in peace.

               â€I know this place… How do I know this place,†Questioned Raine after some time though not daring to lift his voice much above a whisper.

               Toshi nodded as he sat himself down on the edge of the porch that overlooked the garden he would never see before replying, â€Well… You haven’t been here before, yet you have. This place is modeled after the temple gardens in old Kitsumantra… For many of us, the city never died. For most of us… well we died with the city.â€

               Images of the white vixen practicing her swordplay amongst the cherry trees in bloom came to the forefront of Raine’s mind as he sat himself down to look out over the garden. â€I see… Then I wasn’t here but Raiden was,†Said Raine with a slight frown.

               â€You are the most unfortunate boy I have met in my long life, an unwilling bystander with no choice but to be dragged into the crossfire. Inside you is a monster waiting for its chance to drag you under and drown the life out of your very soul. I’m sure you know his name… and that your name has meaning as well,†Replied Toshi rather grimly while leaning back against one of the support posts and tipping his black straw hat forward over his blindfolded eyes.

               Raine nodded with a frown still looking out at the garden. He stayed quiet this time not bothering to voice his answer to the blind man. He know inside that Toshi already had the answer. Instead he caught a pink blossom between his finger and thumb rubbing it before giving it a sniff and dropping the damaged thing to the ground.

               â€You’re going to have to come to terms with it boy. You have to have a strength of will far beyond that which you have now so the incident we had a few minutes ago isn’t repeated… and it’s going to be harder now that you allowed his weapons to become a part of you,†Said the swordsman after a few moments of silence.

               â€I know that. I shouldn’t be here really. I should be far away from everyone. I’m a freak… even amongst the freaks and what makes it worse is I’m dangerous. To myself and other people,†replied the fennec with a soft sigh. He gripped his paws looking at the red marks on the black fur with a frown.

               Toshi let out a little chuckle before sitting up a little more and speaking softly, â€Is that what you really believe boy? That you can avoid all of this by running away? That’s what he wants you to do. Push all of your friends aside and give into him. You really think that you can face this all by yourself? Boy several thousand people died trying to stop that monster inside of you a long time ago. Just because you can’t die doesn’t mean you can beat him. He’ll just take out his sick pleasures on your body. Tortures only a man with eternal life could bare. Your body may be indestructible but your mind… That’s another story.â€

               Looking out at the garden Raine remained quiet for some time. Was he going to be twisted and shaped into a monster just like Raiden or would he simply be trapped in the deepest recesses of the mind they both shared? The fennec shivered at the thought before he spoke up again, â€Then it’s true… that you are as old as they say? If you’ve been chasing him this long…â€

               Toshi tilted his head upwards and let out a sigh. It seemed he got this question a lot and it was easy to imagine that a man that had lived as long as he had wouldn’t want to talk about his history. Especially one spent chasing around a monster like Raiden. Raine couldn’t imagine the horrors he must have personally seen.

               â€I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…â€

               â€No. It’s only natural that you’ve be curious. It’s in our nature… but I tell you that this long life has seen too much and I know the worst is yet to come. There is no way to stop what is to come. It’s how we deal with it that truly decides the future of this world. I had given thought to locking you up but I know it wouldn’t last for long. It’s best just to let you do what you will and come to terms with what you will be a part of,†Said Toshi, interrupting the fennec before he could finish.

               Masatoshi Oginawa stood himself up and reached forward putting his paw on the face of the undying one. He felt along it’s feature and gave a slow nod, â€You have a kind face… I am so sorry I couldn’t stop this before you came to be…â€

               The thud of running came from the entrance to the palace Toshi and Raine had taken to get to the garden and both of the vulpine creature’s turned their heads to see who approached. It was Kit and he seemed rather excited about something. He stopped in front of the two and gave a salute to which Toshi gave and nod and spoke, â€Report Soldier.â€

               â€Sir! We have intel on the location of the team that liberated the Undying one. They are being transported via armored air transport to the arctic base in Alaska soon. It seems Roy caught sight of them being loaded onto the transport five minutes ago and they have begun fueling at the base outside of Las Vegas,†Reported the Soldier still standing at attention.

               Toshi nodded quickly and looked to Raine with a frown, â€You are indebted to those people. I want you to be a part of the team that goes to free them. We’ll be launching in thirty minutes,†Toshi turned to Kit and nodded, â€Kit, take the Undying one to the armory and arm him properly. You will be piloting the transport. Inform Crono that he will be along. We need his wings.â€

               Kit nodded with another salute before Raine even got the opportunity to object, â€Sir yes sir!â€

               Kit grabbed Raine by the shoulder but the fennec knew how this would play out if he objected. He had to follow or he would be dragged along. It wasn’t that he was afraid, fear of death some something of the past for him now, and he did feel indebted to the people that had saved him from falling into the hands of Fox Hunt, it was more that he wanted to know about the past. He wanted to know what was the start of all this.

               Toshi turned back to the garden as Kit and Raine left making sure they were out of earshot before he spoke, â€You’ve been quite quiet student but you should know better than to try and hide from me.â€

               A feminine voice replied from behind one of the sakura trees, â€I wasn’t hiding from you sensei Oginawa. I wanted to know this boy.â€

               â€Did you think it would make it easier for you pupil? I assure you, knowing your target on a level that close… It will only make you hesitate,†Replied Toshi as he nodded to the tree sagely.

               The white fennec stepped out from behind the tree focusing her emerald grey eyes on the darker figure. Her form was covered by a tight fitting Chinese style dress with two flaps covering her; one in the front and one in the back. At her right thigh was a black firearm and on her left what a polished white one. Her body was slim and while she was fairly short, just barely over five feet tall, she appeared to be powerful. A large scar showed itself on her right cheek and on the brow above the eye as she made her way to Toshi.

               â€My attachment is purely curiosity Master Oginawa,†Said the woman as she found a seat next to her sensei, â€Why did you let him strike you though? We both know you are much faster and far more powerful than what you displayed in there.â€

               Toshi chuckled softly before putting and old and gnarled paw on the woman’s shoulder. â€There is still so much you take for granted. You’re not that much younger than me and still you rush into things far too quickly. Raiden knows all the boy knows. It is best that Raiden believe me old and weak for now.â€

               â€They know you are not though. His concubines have stepped up their activities in the north. It seems they are close to the artifact,†Replied the woman as she idly counted her nine tails. There was a sense of tension in the air between them as she revealed this news.

               â€The jesters of the lord… I assume you had a confrontation then? Have they grown weak in their master’s absence†Asked Toshi hopping with every fiber of his being the answer would be yes.

               The woman looked away with a frown and shook her head. â€The generals it seems have not suffered the fate their subordinates did in the 40s… The Yamitsu are still a real threat Master Toshi… The ones left active are just as powerful as they were in the old country. Not even the new bullets could stop them. They… well,†said the vixen now trailing off. The news she had did not bode well for any living being.

               Toshi looked up expectantly in the silence but didn’t say anything. The air around them seemed to be getting heavier and heavier as time passed. The Yamitsu were still just as powerful without their Lord around. The nightmarish creatures nearly ended the world once but a legendary artifact stopped them. Now with that artifact tainted by the deed it committed they wouldn’t be able to rely on it again.

               It took time before the woman spoke again in a soft tone, â€They have tech beyond what we expected. They are armed with some tech I have never seen before. It’s obvious they have a significant backer but I was unable to find out who it is. I was tracing the lead when I intercepted the transmission about Cretila’s team I’m afraid…â€

               The two kitsune sat in silence at this news for some time before the female put her hand softly on Toshi’s cheek. The male lifted his own and placed it on the paw closing his eyes behind the blindfold as a smile crossed his face for the first time. They shared the moment for some time but both of them with a deep feeling of dread inside. The worst was yet to come and it was doubtful they could stop thousands of years of momentum. Armageddon was coming.

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               â€Right, we need you… Jesi is on that transport as well as Columbia and Cret. You owe them Crono,†said the husky as he dragged Raine in tow though the fennec at this point knew there was no point in resisting. He was trying to keep himself composed for now though thoughts of revenge for Jericho’s death were near the surface of all of his thoughts.

               Raine was still filled with fear of awaking the monster inside of him. He felt trapped just below the surface of an icy lake when Raiden first came out. Regaining control was difficult to say the least and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to pull it off again, especially if Raiden was growing in strength. Every moment since the incident he could feel the beast inside struggling below the surface and hear it whispering into his ear.

               â€mwehehehehe,†Giggled the bat behind the armory window snapping Raine rather quickly out of his trance. The creature was wearing a pair of swirled and most likely completely useless glasses while it’s green and pink hair was anything but styled. That was all of the thing Raine could see behind the shatterproof glass.

               Kit frowned slightly and rubbed the back of his head slightly with a small look of annoyance in his eyes, â€So Ami isn’t in today… er… well Zeltren this is Raine… He needs a firearm. Toshi himself assigned him to this mission.â€

               The bat giggled again before grabbing a smaller firearm. It was larger than a pistol but not white a rifle. Kit nodded picking up the weapon and looking it over before shoving it into Raine’s hands, â€A good weapon for someone small like you, careful though it’s a bullet hose. It’s called a…â€

               â€RCP-90,†said Raine as he looked over the weapon before he folded his ears back slightly in embarrassment, â€Err… I play too many video games… that and dad used to work with the military a lot. I was exposed to a lot of weapons…â€

               Kit chuckled softly before ruffling the fennec’s hair slightly and patting him on the back. â€Don’t worry about it. It’s not like you can die or anything.â€

               The fennec frowned as he put the shoulder strap of the firearm on. He couldn’t take the treatment anymore and so he just let it all out, â€It’s not about not dying! Other people die around me wherever I go! Jericho and how do we know the team is still alive!? You’re all in danger because of me being here! I almost killed your leader and you’re all ready to throw me right into the fray where something worse could happen!â€

               Raine closed his eyes and clenched his fists taking a few deep but rather angry breaths. Everyone in the armory had stopped and were staring at the fennec now. With a quick shake of his head Raine opened his crimson eyes and frowned a bit deeper, â€You know what fuck it… it doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s just get this done with… Hell why don’t you just give me all the weapons and ammo you can spare and send me right into FoxHunt HQ! That’s what I am to you people isn’t it! I’m just a fucking super weapon! Hell I’m so big and scary you are all afraid of me!â€

               The fennec turned quickly away and began to march off towards the exit before tossing the door open and walking out into a large area that looked like an underground airstrip. The sounds of jet engines drown out his scream as he simply couldn’t hold the pain and rage inside anymore. Was he even his own person anymore or was he just the tool he thought he was?

               Someone touched his shoulder and he swung around with his claws at the ready tearing into the fur and flesh of the husky before the larger canine could grab the fennec’s wrists and look him in the eyes. He just shook his head slowly and used his free arm to pull Raine in close as he rested his chin on Raine’s head.

               Raine’s eyes went wide as he felt them burning and his breath was becoming short and rapid. The fur under his eyes matted as he just let it all out. All the emotions that had built up over his journey so far came out all at once as the husky embraced him and all Raine could do was cry into the fur of the larger canine’s chest.