Can't Escape Your Nature

He pointed to the last one. It looked quite recent. "This frees me from slavery to Master Kage, but it doesn't mean I'm not a slave. Kage's used that as an unofficial excuse to keep me in his service. I'm with him until I die, and once a slave, always a slave. You have long, long a while to go yet, lad."

"I'll get away. He will not break me. I will not be broken." Dante said solemnly.

"Sure you will." Stark said disbelievingly, but hopefully.

It was late morning when Stark and Dante emerged from the complex through the menagerie gate. Stark knocked on the door of the small cottage and swept into a perfect full court bow when a scowling La'liel emerged. "My Lady," he said, averting his eyes.

"Stark." She replied brusquely. "You may leave now."

"Yes my Lady." Stark turned to Dante, "Kage will be back tonight, and he has an erratic temper. Act like you should to your slave-master, or you might have a few issues with his fists." A shadow of a rather- forgotten memory passed over his face. "He'll be back for you later, but he might have other things on his mind first." He said as he walked away. La'liel stiffened.

When Stark had gone Dante turned to her and smiled helplessly, then winced as his neck twinged. He put a hand up to his wound, and instantly regretted it.

"He's branded you." It wasn't a question. Dante plucked the bandage idly in embarrassment. "Hell. I didn't think he'd do it so early on. I'm so sorry. I suppose... something was seriously wrong with him that night. I've never seen him like that. He was distraught... gentle with me."

He looked away. "It doesn't even hurt that much," he lied pathetically.

She snorted, "I'm an herbalist you know. Do you want a paste or something?"

"No. Thanks. Kage'd just confiscate it."

"I see. Well if you need one, don't hesitate to ask. I've been making medicines for ten years. I see your withdrawal symptoms are gone too."

"Yeah. He's really drugging me up. I can't do anything about it."

"He'll continue to. I'm not going to lie to you. Any day now he'll give you your own room in the complex to do with what you want, and a supply of the serum. The only advantage here is that Kage will never enter your own room. It's your own bit of privacy he won't intrude on."

"Great." Dante said sarcastically.

Dante and Mistress La'liel spent that day working hard at knife-to-knife combat and unarmed combat, inwhich Dante almost defeated Mistress twice, much to his delight. He finished the final practise round early afternoon breathless and exhilarated. Then, they rode in to town together so that La'liel could collect some herbs and supplies. The busyness of town had died down in comparison to how it had been last time. The gentle humming of a warm afternoon was pleasant. It took about two hours for her to collect many strange herbs for her medicines, and then the two of them sat on a nearby bench in a busy little courtyard. La'liel nibbled on a pastry while Dante sat alert, staring all around him intently. Passersby seemed to hold him in threat. Many stared accusingly as they edged past and others hurried determinedly by, only to stop and stare afterwards. Dante felt awkward being so heavily armed with blades in a public place, and did his best not to look menacing, but it was very difficult being his height and build. He was very aware of how unnerving his black eyes were to people.

A man's feet stopped in Dante's field of vision as he stared at the floor. He followed the body up to red throwing stars, then a red scarf, and blonde hair. Dante sat up abruptly and glared at the young man he'd seen the other day, standing over him. La'liel jumped up to her feet, shocked and curtseyed. "My lord. What a pleasant surprise it is to see you!" He nodded silently and continued to watch Dante with an amused, and unwavering gaze. He stood with his gloved hands in his pockets and his rolled up sleeves revealed a multitude of black and red dragon-like tattoos winding up his arm. "You are Dante Hatake." He said, his voice as clear as a winter morning. It seemed to ring in the air.

"Yes, sir." Dante said, standing and bowing to the stranger. "I'm afraid I do not know who you are."

"I'm Lord Heinako. Leader of Syndicate Sector 1 and Master of House Protection. I understand you are working under Lord Kage Sector 2 leader?"

"Umm... yes, my lord."

"Wonderful. Mercenary La'liel. Have you carried out my contracts yet?"

La'liel stiffened. "No, my lord. Two are on their first course of..." she paused, shifting her eyes to Dante, "..poisons," she said ashamedly. "The other three, I'm still working out doses."

"Let's go up to your home and carry on this conversation there. I'd like to know why you have failed to meet my deadline, and get to know young Dante here." Lord Heinako said levelly, his eyes glittering murder. Dante shivered and La'liel blanched.

"Ah... yes of course, my lord."

"So, mercenary. Tell me why you have so failed at my task." Lord Heinako and La'liel were sat outside the cottage on the bench, deep in conversation while Dante stood respectfully to one side as a slave was expected.

"My lord. I apologise gravely," she said desperately, "Poisoning is an art- it takes a long time to prepare, so that it is perhaps... a convincing suicide or a heart attack. I cannot kill five men in a week, it is simply impossible. Please understand."

Dante narrowed his eyes. Herbalist indeed. Mistress La'liel was a poisoner. Not a healer.

Lord Heinako sighed, "Yes, I suppose I shall have to. And you, Hatake. What brings you to work with Master Kage?"

"I assure you, it was not of my choice." He said earnestly.

"You have a bandage. What happened? Or... I think I may have an idea. Master Kage branded you. You are a slave. I wouldn't expect anything better from your so-called master to be honest with you. I am terribly sorry, Dante. I want to protect you from him, but even though I am one rank above Kage the Syndicate Overlord wouldn't have any of it. If anything, he isn't even aware of his... habits."

"I don't need your help." Dante snapped, suddenly angry.

"That's fine." He replied, lifting his hands.

It was dark when Kage rode up the track and into view of the cottage. Lord Heinako was still with them, and when Kage saw him he stopped. Lord Heinako stood abruptly and locked eyes with him.

"Heinako." Kage said. "Tell me, have you been fucking my whore?"

"Lord Kage! Unlike you, I wouldn't dream of doing anything of the sort. The fact that you believe I would do such a thing is an insult to me and my Sector!" Heinako exploded, his eyes flashing.

"Oh really?" Kage shouted back, his voice wavering slightly. He'd been crying again. "I'll give you insult!" He grabbed two knives from his belt and savagely drew them.

"You dare? You dare draw arms against me?" Heinako said quietly.

"No. No, I don't." Kage said, and suddenly he ran forwards. Towards La'liel.

Dante stood completely transfixed, unsure what to do about this fight between two of the most dangerous lords he could possibly meet.

"No!" Lord Heinako cried, appearing between Kage and La'liel in the blink of an eye, two knives drawn in a cross-handed block. Heinako lifted a booted foot and kicked Kage back across the yard with inhuman strength. Kage smacked bodily into a tree with a crunch. He sat back and grimaced, then coughed as blood from his lungs choked him, sending it spraying out in a crimson shower.

"Oh, so you do bleed, then?" Heinako taunted, enjoying himself, then he strode across the yard to him and forced him to his feet, slamming him back against the tree. Lord Heinako had pulled his red scarf down off his mouth and nose, but had his back to the others, and was speaking in low tones to Kage, whose eyes had grown wide with horror, and tried to avoid eye contact. "This isn't your world," Kage spat defiantly and angrily.

"No, it isn't. But it isn't yours either and neither are any of my assassins or mercenaries. They work for me, so I suggest you keep yours, and leave mine alone. Including La'liel. There will be consequences, you'll see tonight." Heinako said dangerously.

Kage replied softly to a question, looking down, and then Heinako left him, pulling his scarf up over his face again.

Kage stayed in the shadow of the tree for a few minutes, glaring across the yard as La'liel made her final farewells and Heinako his final threats to her and Kage. When he had disappeared through the gate and into what Dante could only assume was his own complex, Kage emerged, limping slightly but breathing easily. "Hatake," he snapped, "We're leaving for a Syndicate meeting. Now." Dante nodded, refusing to bow to the bastard. "Whore I want brandy. I'm not talking to Heinako or Overlord Howl or any other Sectarians sober. And you," he said, pointing at Dante while La'liel went inside, "You will bow next time, and you will make me look damn good infront of the rest of the Syndicate. And take that bandage off." Dante gritted his teeth and bowed elaborately as he had been taught working with the Guild, though he'd never put it into practise as he'd never worked in other worlds like this. His bandage was easy to remove and his brand pretty much healed, much to Dante's relief.

Kage downed half a flask of brandy like it was water and then wheeled on Dante. "You need to tidy yourself up. Follow me, and shut up." Kage led Dante through the menagerie gate and back to the complex, then through a winding series of corridors that Dante didn't know if he'd been down or not. Kage half-dragged Dante into a chilly room with stone flooring and plain white walls. The only piece of furniture in the long rectangular room was a glass cabinet to the right of the door, and inside were about 50 Serum injections, and there were no windows.

"This is your room. You can do with it what you want. This room is part of a brothel the Syndicate owns, and you have easy access to the city of Tymeria, the largest city in my home world of Rievendal and Sector 2's HQ. Now make yourself look presentable. You have five minutes, and your cloaks are on the peg by the fireplace."

Kage left, and Dante took the silk black hooded cloak from a selection of about 7 different colours and styles, and ventured into the brothel. Dante's room was in the cellar of the building, it seemed, and he quickly found a set of stairs and stumbled out into the common room, where beautiful women in silks and chiffon glided amongst mainly empty tables. Dante guessed it was about midday here, then. These time changes were confusing to Dante. He didn't even know where of when he was most of the time.

A young golden-haired lady approached Dante and pressed herself against him seductively. "You're Lord Hei, a friend of Master Kage. Am I right?"

Dante was confused for a moment, but then smiled. He took her by the waist and looked deep into her hazel eyes, bringing his face close to hers. He was enjoying the attention and couldn't help it. "I am indeed, and you're very beautiful. Can I have a basin of warm water and a cloth please? Right now. Master Kage and I are currently on business."

The lady looked Dante up and down and licked her lips. "I'll bring it to your room. Two minutes."

"I'll get it here thankyou." Dante said nonchalantly. She pouted and skulked away for a moment, reappearing with the basin. "I'll be back for you later." Dante said. She grinned and sauntered away.

Dante took the basin to his room, washed his face and swept his hair over, and had finished just as Kage knocked at the one door into his room.

"Do you have all your weapons?" Kage said.

"Of course."

"Good. Let's go. We'll be driving- there's no other way to the meeting house. I'm afraid we'll have to blindfold you for the first twenty minutes or so." He said insincerely.

Stark was by the door with his blindfold when they came out, and he roughly grabbed Dante and blindfolded him as he closed the door. As he walked up a steady incline, and out of the secret complex, Dante could feel a knife jabbing his kidney. Stark still wouldn't trust him. Once they were back at the cars, Stark took the wheel and Kage sat in the back by Dante. With a knife. Dante sighed miserably.

True to his word, Kage removed the blindfold after a while. Dante looked out of the front window. They were back in Dante's normal time and world, alright, but he didn't recognise anything. Neither Kage nor Stark had spoken throughout the journey, and still after 40 minutes no one spoke. The journey seemed to be going on forever. Dante realised where they were at the same time as Kage seemed to realise he shouldn't be letting Dante see his surroundings. "Shit! Stark, pullover now!" Kage turned to Dante and grabbed him by the throat to drag him into the seat face down as Stark swerved the 4x4 sharply sideways and came to a stop. Kage opened the door and roughly dragged Dante onto the grass verge by the side of Sideway road, heedless of the passersby that would see. He slammed Dante up against the car and held him still as he silently stared into Dante's eyes. He sighed violently, frustration clear in the way he swiped his forearm across his face. "If you were just anyone, I'd kill you right here. Right now. I want you to understand that I'm not allowed to do that, but that doesn't mean I can't hurt you very very badly. You know where we are. And no doubt you'll know our destination when we see it, and if you go squealing to anyone you meet as to where it is, I will come very close indeed to killing you. I'm warning you Dante. Keep your mouth shut." Kage hissed. Dante nodded, terrified. When Kage released him he staggered forwards slightly and then straightened. He climbed back into the car.

The meeting house of the Syndicate was in the centre of Manchester. Dante recognised the building, but didn't know what it was. They entered a back door in an alleyway and then immediately descended a set of steep stairs. As the darkness became deeper, Kage seemed to become more and more at home. He wasn't shifty and suspicious like he normally was, and his brisk jaunty pace became more graceful. He was in his element. Dante, on the other hand became more and more uncomfortable. He felt like he was being suffocated by the narrow staircase. It was a relief when they reached a set of double doors and they entered into a round room. There were about twentyfive people in the room. Six groups of three were sat at curved tables around the circumference of the room. They made the seventh. Kage sauntered in lazily and took the largest seat at the mahogany table. Stark sat to his right and Dante followed, sitting to the left and slightly back from the table. At the focal point of the room, a raised platform beheld a grand table, at which another three people sat. The man at the centre was old and owlish. As Dante entered his eyes had locked onto him and looked into and beyond him. He wore a grey cloak with silver trimming, and a white clasp at his throat bore a panther sigil. His grey hair looked silver and seemed to shine in the dim light of the lamps at each desk. "Overlord Howl," Kage said to the central man, bowing his head, smiling drunkardly. "High Councillors." He said to the two other lords on either side of Overlord Howl.

"You're late, Master Kage." Howl said, biting off the end of each word.

"As usual. Surely you can't expect any better from me?"

"And you're drunk. Master Kage I am sincerely considering downcasteing you to Sector Three leader."

"No, you're not." Kage said, suddenly deadly serious. "I'm the only man who can possibly keep control of all the madmen you keep sending me to train."

Overlord Howl drew back and closed his eyes, muttering under his breath. Suddenly Kage's chair shoved forwards, trapping him between the fixed desk and the chair back. Kage coughed and leaned forwards on the desk, grimacing. The chair continued to push forwards into the desk until a bone in Kage's chest cracked audibly and Kage yelped. Then the chair went limp again and fell over backwards with the amount it had been pushed in. Kage pitched over backwards and laid on the floor, panting. The room was silent until he stood again and righted his chair. He was hunched over forwards in pain. "Overlord Howl, apologies. I don't know what came over me."

"I have heard that apology too many times from you, Kage. Good afternoon, Sectarians."

"My pledge is with you, Overlord." The seven group leaders echoed, including Kage. Master Heinako was sat opposite to Kage's table, and staring across at Dante. He was leant forwards on the table with his masked chin on the heel of his hand. At his sides sat two men completely dressed in black. Both wore silk masks, with only a slit for the eyes and over their right shoulder was the hilt of a katana. From the hilt hung a red silk ribbon, designed to put the opponent off during a fight.

The other desks were occupied by other Sectarians and their men. One of the Sectarians was a lady, dressed practically in knee-boots and black clothes. They flattered her slim figure. Her eyes were red, Dante saw, and the two men at her sides also had red eyes. Dante shivered.

"The first issue that needs addressing is one that has been raised by Master Heinako, who feels strongly that you, Master Kage, have been breaching rights of those in Heinako's employ. What say you?"

"I say that it's true, and I don't give a shit." Heinako stiffened.

"Kage, keep your place!" The Overlord snapped, "You are now under strict orders to not interact with any of Heinako's men.... or women. If you are found to be breaching these orders I may have to get rid of you. Permanently. You are getting out of hand, Sectarian."

Kage smiled and stood slowly. "Lord Heinako. Sir. My sincerest apologies. I'll just have to allow my men to take your dear servants. Over and over again. How does that sound, Stark? Hatake?" Dante stiffened, and didn't reply. "I'm sure I can find someone out of my own sector to quench my thirst."

Dante looked across to Stark, incredulous. He was grinning. Kage's hand brushed the tabletop in front of Dante. He felt sick.

Heinako stood suddenly and drew a crossbow. "This is an outrage!" he roared. The crossbow was already loaded, but he didn't aim it at Kage. He turned it on Dante.

"Lord Heinako. My lord, I'd never do anything of the sort. Never. Please stop threatening me, sir." Dante said as calmly as he could, his heart in his mouth.

Kage had gone very quiet indeed. "Now now, Heinako. There's no need to act so rashly. Put it down, my lord. I don't think it would be a good idea to kill Dante Hatake before Overlord Howl even gets to meet him." He looked terrified.

"That's Dante Hatake? The Guild assassin?" Overlord Howl said in disbelief. "Heinako, put your weapon down. Now." Lord Heinako lowered his crossbow slowly. Dante breathed a sigh of relief.

"Apologies, my lord." Heinako ground out, staring down Kage.

"Dante Hatake. I didn't think we'd ever get our hands on you. Stand there."

Dante got up and went down the step to the centre well of the circular room. He felt eyes on him from all around the room. "Do you have the scar I have heard so much of? Take off your shirt."

Stiffly, Dante complied, removing the knives on his back, his cloak and black shirt and standing bare-chested. The Overlord gasped. "The Hellscar from your father? So it's true. The Guild have been using Hellstone for more than ten years now, and we didn't even know. Tell me Dante, when did you last kill?"

"A few weeks ago. Two of Kage's men, but assassinations? Years ago. I've retired."

Kage laughed, "Not while I have anything to do with you, you haven't."

"Look at you," the Overlord said in wonder. "You're perfect. Built to kill. You're as lean as a pike. A smaller target, and muscled like a panther."

Dante masked a bitter smile and dared, "Thankyou, my lord. May I be released now? I assure you, sir, you will see nothing of me again. I do not work for the Guild. I do not work for anyone."