"Eiji? Why are you still awake?" His voice sounded emotionless, but it concealed a greater plethora of feelings within it, only audible to his brother's well-trained ears.

"I guess it's the full moon. Look, Shou, I've seen nothing like it before! Its rays seem to penetrate the darkness and invade the pond," Eiji replied excitedly. Aside from his brother, one of the things he took pleasure in was the moon's brightness, which always kept him awake on the first night of the harvest. The comfortable smell of the marsh, the summer's night air, the scent of Shou's incredibly long hair evoked emotions of supreme happiness and love.

"You should still try to get some sleep, anyway. Tomorrow, father has a rather grueling lesson for us," Shou replied, his gentle voice soothed the excitement in Eiji's mind, bringing it down to a lower, more relaxed level. "Why not channel your energies to help you sleep?"

"I didn't learn that yet."

An expression of embarrassment came over Shou Shinjo's face as he recalled that his sibling had only learned a miniature version of the Rekkuzan technique that day. "Gomen nasai, brother. I forget your power levels all the time, even though I can see the energy burning in your eyes. You are destined to become a great warrior someday, perhaps even stronger than I," he joked as he poked Eiji in the ribs.

"No fair, Shou! You didn't fight fair!" He protested as he pinned his brother's arms down and looked at him squarely in his surprised, violet eyes. "Haha! This time, I got you pinned! The great Shou Shinjo, pinned by his little brother of fourteen years of age!"

"Shut up! Damn you, Eiji! I'm getting mad!" The older sibling could feel the color flood his otherwise pale cheeks with chagrin as his younger, much weaker brother pressed him down further. Looking up into the light brown pools of his own blood, he managed to distract Eiji long enough to snake his legs around his waist and flip Eiji over in a perfectly-executed hold.

"Look! See! You did it again!"

"Did what?"

"You cheated !"

"So?"

"You bastard !" Shou's bemused expression was the only recompense he received for insulting his brother. "There he goes again, show off," he thought as the hold on his body seemed to grow almost tender.

"For a fourteen-year-old, Eiji, you look my age and seem to possess my maturity," said Shou as he lowered his face closer to his sibling's. "I wouldn't be doing this to you if you were immature." Maneuvering his lips to his brother's, he kissed them gently.

"Shou....," Eiji could only sigh his brother's name as he felt himself succumbing to the various feelings that flooded his mind.

"What is it, brother? Is my behavior so debauched to you?"

"No...it's just that...."

"We're brothers, right? That very concept is what bothers you, ne?"

"Hai."

"Well, Eiji, if you consider what you and Kayin did last summer, this is small peanuts," said Shou, his face becoming expressionless as it was before his embrace. "This relationship, as well as yours with Kayin isn't so abnormal. Think of it like this: our love takes a different form than most." Despite his obvious modesty, Shou was always ready to impart some sage advice to his little brother at random moments. This not only pleased Eiji, but slightly unsettled him, as it proved his brother was much more mentally advanced than most sixteen-year-olds.

"You're right, as usual," he thought as he looked up into his sibling's expectant eyes. They were so familiar in their sincerity, their strength, and their maturity, that Eiji's mind instantly locked onto what Shou was feeling. "Ah...this is only difficult because of the common blood....I should take something this good," he pondered as his arms encircled his brother's waist. "I love you," Eiji yawned, falling sleep in the reassuring arms of his sibling.

"Goodnight, Eiji," whispered Shou, moving off to the side, his arms fastened protectively around his small brother; locked as so until the next morning.

Stopping the throbbing engine of chrome and propane which propelled him, he dismounted the machine and killed its powerful motor. Reaching up with two very certain hands, he pulled of his helmet, exposing his pokey hairstyle, detained from inevitable collapse by a solitary white headband. Eiji reverently walked into the remains of his home, he made his way to the blackened windowsill that was once his portal to the celestial bodies and the full moon. Standing quizzically for a moment, he knelt down and rubbed one of the planks with his glove, revealing the carving which Shou had etched in there with his sword: "Shinjo Eiji, fourteen years; Shinjo Shou, sixteen years; brother's forever." Eiji grasped the zipper of his wind breaker and pulled it downwards before reaching in and removing a single, long stemmed rose, and laid it lovingly across the memorial.

Suddenly, he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder, which promptly caused him to drop the Shinto prayer beads his brother had given him. Wheeling around, expecting the hand to be attached to someone who would dare desecrate the shrine to his deceased sibling. It wasn't Vermillion, nor Uranus, not even Master! It was Kayin Amoh.

"Hello, Eiji," he said simply, scooping his childhood friend into a reassuring embrace.

"Kayin...," Eiji choked as the sobs welled up in his throat. His friend brought relief, comfort, and love. It was he that held him when Uranus' man-machine production facility was bombed from the foundation up by Shou's meticulous plans. Kayin clutched onto Eiji as they witnessed the elder Shinjo vanish into the bowels of The Organization's hideout. Had he survived the final blast?

"Shh...it's okay, Eiji. I'm here," whispered Kayin as he tightened his embrace around his best friend, gently pressing his head into his shoulder. "I won't let you go...I promise."

"I....I couldn't save him, Kayin! He died before I had the chance to tell him how I felt!"

"That's not true!" For a moment, Eiji seemed to stop crying and regarded him cautiously, eyes awash with liquid sadness. "Shou does know that you love him, but he needs his time. When I was training with him, he'd often vanish for several days to cope with something that was bothering him. He'd always come back, though, so I really don't think he was killed when he firebombed The Organization."

"You don't?"

"No."

"Thanks, Kayin...," said Eiji, straightening up and wiping his eyes on his wrist, watching as the last few salty drops were taken in by the material of his shirt. Suddenly, his face twisted into a grimace as the audible sounds of a stomach without food made itself known. "Can we get something to eat? I've been riding all day and I'm really hungry."

"Me too. Do you know any places?" Asked Kayin, digging the toe of his boot into the ground at his embarrassment that he wasn't at all familiar with the Goyoko area. "Anywhere will do, I really don't care."

"I know a few places. Depends, though.."

"On What?"

"If you can keep up with me, Amoh!" Eiji sprinted past him and pulled on his helmet before mounting his bike and revving it's engine.

"There are always other days to die," replied Shou, dodging the attack while unsheathing his katana. Closing his eyes momentarily, he channeled his chi into the cold surface of the sword until it pulsed with a flashing red energy, the very extension of his soul. "Not to mention other ways." He maneuvered his instrument towards its target and slashed into the air, releasing a perfect orb of arcane energies. "Rekkuzan!" Shouted Shou as the sphere flew forward, engulfing the screaming assassin before charring his remains beyond recognition. "It seems The Organization is falling apart in its old age," he said, laughing as he sheathed his blade and walked off towards the crumbling town in Goyoko.

"You were responsible for training that pathetic gigolo?"

"Y-yes sir...I trained him myself."

"How can you expect a successful mission if you employ idiots to do the work for you?" Sneered the voice of the red haired man. "It is you who should be dead, and not your charge."

"But he outranked me in skill and precision!"
"That is not of my concern."

"You asshole! Shultz was the best!" The irate commander rushed at the taller man with animalistic fury in his eyes, hands balled into fists that gleamed with the brass knuckles he had donned. Just as he was about to smash the facial structure of his employer, Vermillion withdrew a small, gold-colored handgun and shot the man in the forehead, stepping gracefully out of the way as the body fell to the ground. Reaching over to the nearby marble wall, his fingers grasped a telephone receiver and pressed three digits on the keypad.

"Hello, security? This is your loving and generous employer speaking, requesting 'removal' services of one. Thank you." He spoke with clipped speech that was devoid of humanity. Indeed, it was by the very magicks and technology of The Organization that he was made manifest; created for the purpose of resurrecting The Master, who had fallen prey to the Toshin fighters at the last tournament. Replacing the receiver on the cradle, Vermillion walked over to his desk, sat in the chair, and spun around to face the expansive city outside his immense windows.

"Soon, Master," he silently promised himself. "Soon I will have the power to erase Uranus' failure and reanimate you to accomplish our goal of eternal life."

"Yeah, he did. Are you jealous, Kayin?" Smirked the spiky-haired martial artist as he emptied the bottle. "Or does it turn you on?"

"Hell yeah! If I had a brother that gorgeous, I'd never let him out of my sight!" Shouted the blonde, raising his glass resolutely. "So, why didn't you take what was offered to you?"

"Keep it down, will ya! For all these people know, the Shinjo family had been wiped out by that fire, and I don't want any undue attention. Besides, I was only fourteen at the time, so what did I know about sex?"

"I bet he knew a lot."

"Well, Kayin, you're right about that," whispered Shou, approaching the table. "But there's no time to talk about sex.....not now, anyway."

"Brother?!" Exclaimed Eiji with glee as he leapt into his sibling's arms , clutching him tightly.

"Eiji...," he sighed, completely mesmerized by his younger brother's boyish good looks, determined eyes, and a musculature that rivaled his own. "I've missed..."

"Sh....not here. The walls have ears. Let's go back to the house, ne?"

"Very well. Kayin, are you coming?" The response he received was a loud belch followed by a volley of hiccups. A slightly reddened face punctuated by two crystalline eyes peered up at the elder Shinjo brother, scrutinizing him questioningly.

"I...think I've had a bit too much...," he murmured. "Lemme jest sleep it off...kay?"

"You always were too fond of that damned sake." Shou bent over and slung the blond haired bounty hunter over his shoulder and strode out the door, sibling firmly in tow. "Eiji, how often does he go for the bottle?"

"Ever time he visits Japan...I guess he'll only drink sake because he likes the taste," replied the younger of the two, pointing towards the two high-octane motorcycles. "You know how to ride one, right?"

"Of course, though how are we going to get Kayin on?"

"Guess we'll just have to tie him to you."

"Why me?"

"You're the bigger one, niisan," smiled Eiji as he mounted his bike and pulled on his helmet. "Besides, I think he likes you!" At this point, Kayin Amoh had begun to wriggle his hips against Shou's shoulder while moaning softly.

"If I got anything on my clothing, Eiji, I am going to make you wash it out," he snarled, straddling his own bike before flipping his passenger into the seat behind him.

"I haven't the faintest idea of what you are talking about," shouted the younger Shinjo, guiding his bike towards the dirt road.

"Eiji, you haven't changed a bit."

Five minutes after leaving the small restaurant, the three men arrived at the burnt remains of the Shinjo residence, which was illuminated for but a moment as their headlights flashed upon the beams, as if to pay homage to a once-great family.

"Eiji...you're dead, brother! Look what Kayin did to my shirt!" He gestured at the trickle of white which oozed further south before dripping off the hem.

"Uh-uh! I am not cleaning up my best friend's semen, even if he is my best friend!"
"Ughnn?"

"Kayin? You awake?"

"....."

"Kayin? Are you all right?" Asked Eiji, venturing forward to place a comforting hand on his companion's shoulder.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" Replied the blond, turning a ghastly chartreuse color as he cupped his hand to his mouth. "Outta my way!" Kayin leapt off the bike and sprinted towards the thick foliage; which he promptly retched into several times as both of his friends ran up beside him. Shou wrapped his forearm around the bounty hunter's stomach, holding his form steadily as his brother slowly and methodically rubbed his back.

"Now do you see what happens when you grow to fond of sake, niisan?" Asked Shou as he continued to support his student's heaving body.

"Kayin, how much did you have?"

"Way too much....I'm not going to be touching the stuff for a long time." Kayin's speech was greatly slurred, as was his balance. "Oooh....I need to lie down."

"You gotta take a shower first, pal," said Shou as he pulled him towards the bathing pond. "Otherwise, you're gonna feel miserable tomorrow."

"Not the pond, Shou! It's freezing!"

"Shut up! I have to go in there too, after what you did to my shirt!"
"What did I do?"

"Ahem," he pointed at the pale streak of fluid which was steadily drying on his tunic. "You're quite the passionate one, Amoh."

"Gomen nasai...but please, not with my clothes on!" Shou had scooped him up and was holding him high above the waters, grinning from ear to ear.

"You've got a point. Eiji, take Kayin to the other side of the house and wait there until I return from my bath."

"Yes, Shou." The long-haired Shinjo watched intently with his violet irises as the two men vanished behind one of the remaining walls of the house before he pulled off his raven shirt and cast it into the icy waters. Sitting down, he tugged off his boots and his leather pants, exposing his creamy skin to the milky rays of the moonbeams, which were instantly refracted as he slipped into the waters.

"Ahhh! I forgot how cold this was!" He thought as he glanced over at the remains of the kitchen and was greeted by the memory of the small tub of water that was heated on the stove for bathing purposes. Reaching over, Shou grasped his shirt and pushed it beneath the surface several times, scraping Kayin's emission off the gossamer fabric. He then ran his fingers through his lengthy tresses, snapping the band which bound the ends in a tight braid, allowing the unruly softness to submerge beneath the gentle waves. Sighing quietly to himself, he dipped his entire form under the waters before shooting straight up and flinging his violet-black mane over his shoulders. The moon's reflection wavered slightly in the clear tranquillity that surrounded the elder Shinjo brother, giving him the appearance of an Endymion waiting for his Selene.

"....perfect..."

"Eiji?"

"Uh?! Oh! Sorry, Kayin. Yeah, I got something in my bag you can use," he responded before resuming his peeping Tomfoolery.

"Why are you staring at your brother like that? I mean, he's your brother!"

"What's your point?" Eiji shook his head and shrugged. "Shou is my brother, but that doesn't make what I do wrong. It's just that our love takes a different form than most."

"So I'm safe in assuming that you and he haven't..."

"Kayin!"
"Well, when you look at him your eyes get kinda....dreamy. In all honesty, I thought that maybe you'd...," he teased, grinning sheepishly.

"That's none of your business. Besides, you should be happy that you were my 'first'," replied Eiji, smiling back at his longtime friend.

"Proceed as planned, Zola," responded the voice on the other end of the intercom.

Back flipping silently through the branches, the feline dominatrix made her way towards Shou's body, which was floating atop the waves in a small pool of water. She reached over and unsnapped her whip, savoring the coiled leather through her glove.

"What is your current position, Zola?" Asked the disembodied voice, it's enunciation growing more impatient with its employee's slow tactical methods.

"I'm within striking distance."

"Strike, damn you!"

"Yes sir!"

Leaping out mightily from the branch on which she was perched, the assassin twirled her formidable weapon around several times before lashing into the sky. "Flash ring!" She cried as the energy discharged from her whip, crackling as it struck Shou squarely in the chest. His body responded instantly to the projectile by flying out of the pond and slamming into a nearby tree. Looking up at his assailant, Shou wiped the lone trickle of blood that made its way down his forehead and into his left eye, tainting the flawless white cornea a ghastly pink.

"I don't know about you, Miss. Kitty, but I'm feeling so....yummy tonight!" Zola purred as she licked her forearm. "Now then, it's playtime!"
"Who are you?" Asked Shou, grasping for his katana which remained several feet out of his arm's reach. "More importantly, what are you, some kind of Halloween freak?"

"Freak?!"

"Who in their right mind goes around dressed like Catwoman?" His katana inched forward as his fingers continued to reach for the weapon's grip. Zola's masked face twitched uncontrollably at his last insult. No one called her a freak and escaped without being the victim of her ire! Dropping her whip, she flexed her fingers and revealed ten serrated claws, each capable of doing grievous bodily harm.

"Mee-oww, honey. You're going to be hurting when I'm done with you!" With that, her thin, nimble arm shot forward, talons ready to strike Shou and slice a slab of flesh from his muscular frame until....

"Jigokumon!" Eiji's high-flying attack slammed into Zola's back, sending her leather-clad frame high in the sky. "Brother! Are you okay?"

"Eiji! Watch out!" His elongated arm pointed into the air, where the dominatrix had managed to swivel around and launch a sky attack on his sibling. Upon coming into range, she kicked one of her legs out and began to gyrate rapidly upon one toe.

"Golden ballerina!" Zola cried, her onslaught mimicking that of Sofia's "Aurora Revolution". Instantly, her appendage made contact with the younger Shinjo's head, sending him spiraling backwards before he crashed into a nearby tree, unconscious and bleeding profusely.

"Eiji....," Shou whispered, two very small tears coursing down his pale face. It was then that all of the memories had returned in which his brother was injured or hurt, all the results of his actions. Images of burning down the Shinjo domicile, abandoning a confused Eiji in favor his training, and breaking both their hearts as he vanished from the decimated hideout of The Organization. "I will not have you hurt again!" He resolved, taking advantage of the distraction by picking up his katana and assuming his stance. Zola heart the familiar metallic "shkk" sound of a sword being unsheathed.

"Ah...a new pretty! And 'dressed' to play, how nice!"

"Playtime's over, bitch. Big mistake attacking my brother," he snarled, face locked in a contortion of anger and range. "I'm gonna trim your claws, kitty cat!" Dashing forward, he charged his sword with his own crimson aura and thrashed into her lithe flesh. "Byakki-mosyuken!" Cried Shou as he completed the last thrust of his weapon, lancing it through Zola's dead body and withdrawing it, as if he meant to staple her body to the same tree trunk as she had flung his brother against.

Making sure his opponent was thoroughly dead, he walked over to his injured brother and picked him up, cradling him gently in his arms. "Kayin! Come here!"

"But I'm not wearing anything!"

"Neither am I, but Eiji's hurt, so our nakedness is irrelevant now."

"How bad is it?" Asked Kayin, stepping out of the shadows. His lightly tanned skin did not catch and bewitch the moonlight as Shou's did, but rather it seemed an anachronism, as his flesh exuded a sheen as golden as the sun's rays.

"He's just got a bump. I'm going to have to patch him up, seeing as he's really gotten cut up by that assassin," he mumbled, disappearing momentarily to gather some supplies from his small bag. "Don't dally, Kayin. Go gather some firewood and build a blaze."

"All right."

"I don't know yet, my Master, but you have my word that I'll send someone stronger to take care of it...," he sulked apologetically.

"I want you to take care of it personally."

"But I'm no match..."

"Oh no? You seem to forget that your body and soul are merely vessels created as antennae to my powers. Now that I have been banished to the nether realm by those accursed Toshin warriors, my energies of the art of necromancy have increased substantially."

"You mean...?"

"Yes. In a sense, you are my body until you are able to secure the relic that will reincarnate my form into the mother realm," Master said. "There shouldn't be a problem with killing the Shinjo brothers any more than that blasted Kayin Amoh."

"It is done."

"Ughn....I know...," he slurred in response. Suddenly, he struggled to sit up and face the man responsible for keeping him alive, only to meet with two gentle hands that restrained his shoulders.

"You shouldn't try to walk around, niisan. You've sustained a nasty concussion and you were lacerated in many places by that feline's whip." Shou's arms began to gently wrap around his younger brother's torso, securing him in a protective embrace.

"Shou...you're hurt," said Eiji, pointing up at the thin line of blood that dried on his brother's face.

"It's nothing. Besides, you're my prime concern now."

"You're not gonna...?"

"No, Eiji," he shook his head in solemn response. "This time, I'm not going to leave you. The Organization made its mistake by attacking my younger brother, and for that, they will pay with their lives."

"Good...."

"Sleep now, small one. You need your rest." Shou whispered, kissing the sleeping Eiji on his lips; softly, tenderly. As his brother dreamed of crushing The Organization in a coup de grace, Shou kept watch, promising himself that he won't fall asleep.