"Hey, if he's smart enough, he's not going to get killed," Resshin shot back.

Homura sighed. "Madoka, your mother hen instinct is starting to come through again." Kokuu, checking another gimmick nearby, snickered when he heard that. Madoka gave both of them a withering look before slunking off.

Resshin watched him go. "Thank you," he said with a sigh of relief. "Although a head of caution is a nice thing to have around, Madoka's a bit too much at times."

"His life would explain that," Homura replied reasonably. "That is quite a test you have lined up for Recca, though."

"It is pretty difficult," Resshin acknowledged, nudging one of the triggers with his foot. A barrage of sharpened bamboo came sweeping forward with a deadly silence, ready to drain the blood away from the unfortunate victim. "But this is no worse than what the Ura Uruha will set against him. Besides, his level should have increased so that his ninja capabilities will have the seven of you woven into the mix."

Nadare gave them a severe glance as she came over and began resetting the trap. "Will you stop playing with them already? This is the third one I've had to set up again, and you know this one is the worst to redo," she growled in mock-annoyance. Resshin only grinned. "Are you sure he can handle this, though?" Nadare sounded a bit anxious.

Resshin shot her an amused look. "Are you doubting my judgement, Nadare?"

Nadare laughed. "No, of course not. I'm not doubting Recca's ability to handle this either. I just don't want anything to happen."

"I'm the last person to want something to happen to Recca, so you needn't worry," Resshin told her. "This is fair, don't you think?"

"Not my kind of thing, but I guess it's alright." Nadare carefully replaced the last bamboo shoot and walked off. "And don't you set it off again! I know I did it right!" she called over her shoulder.

Homura watched her go, then turned back to Resshin with a serious look. "Madoka is right in a way," he said quietly. "You don't want to get Recca killed. You've set quite a few lethal traps that with the slightest mistake will be fatal. There's not much room around these. I know he's very talented, but talent can only go so far. Nothing makes up for experience."

"I know." Resshin rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking stressed. "But unfortunately, time isn't something he has. If he's going to attack the Ura Uruha, my traps will be a piece of cake compared to what they'll throw at him."

"Easy or not, fatality is one consequence that is irreversible, Resshin." Homura sighed. "But, like you said, he might as well learn here than at the hands of a group of sadistic torturers."

"I never said that," Resshin said, a smile quirking on his face. "But that's around what I meant."

Homura nodded. "Has Kokuu gone to meet the Hokage yet?"

"I wouldn't know," Resshin admitted.

"He just left," Rui called. She patted her hands on her robe, trying to get rid of the dust. "We're pretty much set, so if you want to go meditate a bit, Resshin-sama, you're free to."

"Thank you, Rui. I'd appreciate that." Although he didn't show it, Homura could tell that Resshin was relieved to have some time to himself.

"Homura, let's go," Nadare called. "We don't want to set off these obstacles again."

"Heavens forbid," Homura said with a slight laugh. His eyes twinkled with good humor as they began to walk off. "If I did set anymore off anymore, you'd come after me with a butcher knife."

"Am I really that terrible?" Nadare questioned good-naturedly.

"Of course not," Homura reassured her. "I've just never had a way with words, I suppose."

Madoka chuckled. "Everyone has their shortcomings."

"You'd know better than most," was Saiha's usual obtuse contribution.

"That's because Madoka observes far more than you do," Rui said sweetly. "Of course, you'd also be quite familiar with that little fact, Saiha."

Saiha shrugged. "So what?"

Rui shook her head, but a smile played on her lips. "Do you think Recca will be alright?" she asked Madoka, changing the subect.

Madoka thought about it. "If you asked before the tournament, I would have thought you'd lost your mind. But now, his senses have gotten sharper, and he's gotten much more strategic about using our powers. He definetely has a good chance."

"He'll do fine," Homura said shortly. "He's a fine young ninja." That was a high compliment from Homura, who was sparse with words and even less so with praise.

"In the meantime, we should be the welcoming committee," Rui suddenly decided.

"What?"

"Well, Recca's got to have some encouragement, shouldn't he?" Rui waggled her finger. "Here you all are, talking about ways to help him, but you're missing the most direct way of helping him. Why, he'll lose heart halfway through!"

"He doesn't exactly strike me as the type with low confidence," Madoka said with a roll of his eyes. "I don't think anything we say, if we said anything at all, would make a difference in the least."

"Well, it couldn't hurt," Nadare conceded. "And sometimes nice words can help."

"Unless the person's being insincere and flattering," Saiha interjected.

They all looked at him. "What?" he asked.

Nadare sighed. "Incorrigible as ever."

"So what?" Recca's eyes were smoldering with a flame that would no doubt become a conflagration as soon as he got within striking distance of anyone who looked to be a good target. "Mori said he'd become one with Hime! There isn't any time to spare! She's in danger!" He strode off, only to bump into someone. "Move…Kokuu."

Kokuu inwardly sighed. Recca had no patience at a time like this. Well, the young fool would have to learn eventually. "I understand my master's feelings well," he said, speaking more to the Hokage than the infuriated Recca. "But still…"

"You--you--"

Kokuu turned on him with all the quickness and ferocity of a striking tiger. "At a time like this, you must keep your heart calm!" Otherwise, Recca would probably be flayed alive. Kokuu wanted nothing more than to shake some sense into Recca. Rage might inspire extra power, but it was suicide for a ninja, who valued caution and strategy above everything else.

"Recca…I'm sorry," Fuuko said softly. Guilt lined her face. "When Yanagi was captured…if only Domon and I were there, this might not have happened…"

Recca's posture went rigid. "Fuuko…"

Fuuko took this to mean anger. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. It was obvious that she thought her apology was horribly inadequete.

Kokuu watched the scene with mixed feelings. On one hand, he admired all the Hokage's courage to be truthful in the face of rage, scorn, or anything. On the other, he hoped desperately that Recca would realize that none of this could have really been prevented, except through sheer luck. He knew Recca loved his friends dearly, but compared to what he felt for Yanagi...

Recca turned to face his childhood friend. "Don't say that, baka. It's my fault…we didn't contact you," he said quietly. "I'm the one who should say that I'm sorry."

He's grown, Kokuu realized. He'd forgotten to take into account the hardening the Ura Butou Satsoujin did to anyone that participated. Recca had learned a great deal-- not only in fighting, but in leadership. He knew, just like Kokuu did, that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent a situation like this. What mattered now was what they could do to get out of it. There's still time to strike! he thought. "Since Yanagi-chan is still alive!"

"Some gurantee to tell us!" Recca shot him a scowl. "Do you know something or what?"

Kokuu hadn't realized he'd even spoken the words out loud, but rose to the occasion and drew himself up to his full height, which was still unimpressive. "Of course I do!" He took a deep breath. "I made madougu!"

Reactions varied, from jaw-dropping shock to dumbfounded speechlessness. "You're kidding…"

Well, that went better than I expected, Kokuu reflected wryly. He had half-expected them to laugh their heads off. The other half had expected murderous impulses. "Fuujin…Ensui…Kougan Anki…Dosei no Wa…" He named the madougu with a certain pride. "Everyone holds one of my creations! Kaima and I, we competed in making madougu that are complementary-- for death, for life. Because we had different values, the powers of the madougu changed. Raijin and Fuujin, for example…one is inclined towards darkness, the other towards light. But all the madougu we made have one thing in common-- they have magical powers."

Understanding was slowly dawning on their faces. Kokuu watched their comprehension with some unease. But no hostility appeared on their faces. They didn't blame him for this.

He continued. "And then there is the secret behind the women who heal-- Yanagi's power. Like Fuujin and Raijin, there is an opposite power. A precedence exists that says there is an opposite mutual power, a black to counter the white."

"A precedence?" Recca's eyes narrowed.

"Which I know of," Kokuu hastily reassured him. "In other words, it's not as simple as it seems. Mori can't just go, "I'll eat her!", and he knows it. Well, Mori doesn't really know, but the man inside him, Kaima, knows that." An oddly harsh glint appeared in Kokuu's eyes. "Kaima knows it very well."

"Then…" Recca clenched his fist in determination. "Hime can be saved! She can still be saved!"

He's so much like Koheita. But Koheita had been calm, observant, and patient. Recca was easily excitable, impulsive, and rash-- in other words, Koheita's exact opposite. Yet there was an uncanny resemblence between the two, one that Kokuu could not quite place a finger on. It ran deeper than physical traits, or even personality; it was almost as if it were embedded within the soul.

"True…she can be saved," he began. "But-- perhaps this fight-- perhaps, it will be the final fight." He paused to let his words take weight. "The past of the Hokage ninja is stained with more blood than this world could ever spill…and the Hokage are the cursed of the cursed. The history of the Hokage will be severed, once and for all, by an apocalyptic battle, where the madougu of light and dark will at last clash."

Kokuu suddenly whirled and faced Recca, his glare fixating Recca to the ground with its strength. "Seventh head of the Hokage ninja," he thundered in a deep voice that rumbled ominously. "Hanabishi Recca! There is someone who wants to meet you…" Kokuu's eyes seemed to glow. "The leader of the Hachiryu-- Resshin!"

"Always one for dramatics, Kokuu is." Rui laughed, watching the action through the portal. "That took him long enough."

"What he said was true, though," Madoka said seriously. "The Hokage are a shadow in a garden of light. And all the signs are pointing towards this battle as the final one."

"Bah. That's old news," Saiha scoffed.

"Not to them, it's not," Homura returned reasonably.

Nadare shrugged. "Well, whatever Kokuu did, he managed to get Recca to come here."

"It's a good thing he was tactful," Madoka remarked. "Resshin didn't say he'd give Recca his power."

"Kokuu has always been careful about what he says," Nadare agreed. "But Resshin's just making sure Recca isn't in over his head."

"I hope he isn't," Homura said grimly. "If he is, he'll probably end up losing his head as well."

Rui squinted in the distance. "Oi, Homura."

"What is it?"

"Shut up, or keep the attitude in. Recca's here."

Homura looked mildly exasperated. "I was simply stating the truth."

"Okay, but the truth isn't the most important thing here."

Saiha scowled at no one in particular. "And you guys say I'm incorrigible."

"Hush," Rui hissed. "Come on. You guys can gripe at me later."

"I'm looking forward to it," Saiha muttered.

Recca stepped into the world with more than a little nervousness playing on his nerves. He saw the familiar scenery, complete with omnipresent sand and random objects scattered at sparse intervals.

He blinked as four figures came into view.

"You guys!"

The surprised exclaimation did nothing to dampen Rui's enthusiasm, who looked almost as if she were on a playground with her lively expression. But it was Nadare who spoke first.

"Truly, Recca, you are ambitious," she said solemnly, her eyes a myriad of emotions thrown together. "And now, at last, you will speak with Resshin."

Saiha smiled slightly. "Gaining Resshin's power is essential to what you need to do," he said shortly. "Through you, we saw what was necessary."

"To destroy the Tendoujigoku, your heart must be strong," Rui said, her play attitude disappearing as quickly as a cobra strike. Her eyes had become hardened amber. "You should get moving, Recca. Resshin is there--waiting for you."

Recca nodded tightly and turned to follow Kokuu. Somehow, he sensed that even though he was in the realm of the flame dragons, he could still call upon them as needed. They were his dragons, after all, and he was their chosen master. They would follow him to the ends of the universe and back if they had to. Such was the extent of the loyalty between the Hokage and their madougu, and between Recca and his dragons.

As they watched his figure disappear, one by one, the flame dragons turned to each other.

"Well, there's nothing left we can do now, except wait," Madoka concluded.

Several hours later…

"He made it," Nadare announced, breathing a huge sigh of relief.

"He's not bad for a boy," Madoka remarked. "Very good, actually. I was impressed."

"So now, he and Resshin are talking, right?" Saiha asked. Madoka nodded. "Then let's listen in!"

"That's eavesdropping," Madoka objected. "That would hardly be right, to intrude on such a private moment. Resshin-- or rather, Ouka-- and Recca have never technically met before."

"Don't be such a priss," Rui teased. "You want to hear just as much as we do; you might as well just admit it."

Madoka glared at her before finally giving in with an exasperated growl.

"I'm pleased with you, Recca," Resshin's deep dragon-form voice intoned. "As a reward, I'll show you my human form." The mass of flame and fire coalesced into a thick-featured man with a piercing gaze.

Recca looked a bit disconcerted. "You're--you're--" He didn't seem capable of forming a whole sentence, let alone making it coherent.

"Hokage Ninja, sixth generation leader, Ouka. Your and Kurei's father." No pride marked Ouka's speech. "And now, I exist within and through you, as the leader of the Hachiryu, not as Ouka, but as Resshin."

Recca didn't look terribly reassured. In fact, he looked downright bewildered. His face was twisted in a comical combination of curiousity and consternation.

Ouka sighed. "You're still confused about the situation, aren't you? I don't blame you." A big smile suddenly appeared on his face as he opened his arms wide. "What the hell…It's been a long time since I've met my son! Come here, Recca! Come into your father's arms!"

Recca didn't move an inch. His expression now as scared as a rabbit, with a bit of confused disgust mixed in. Finally, after a moment, his muscles relaxed a bit, having decided that this weird guy was really his father. Unfortunately, Ouka took that for a lapse in Recca's guard and decked him on the head.

"Foolish!" Ouka pointed at the now extremely irritated Recca and began to laugh with a truly crazy look on his face. "This isn't the time to let me into your heart! That's negligence, and that means death! In normal times, you can let me into your heart!" He began to laugh harder.

"And this guy is our leader?" Saiha asked in disbelief. "He's losing his mind!"

"Well, he's probably just excited to see his son again," Madoka reasoned.

"But he just gave his son a bump the size of Japan!"

Nadare shrugged. "Come on, Saiha, Resshin's just overreacting a bit. You can't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing."

"I couldn't tell you," he said, his tone slightly bitter. "I never had any kids."

Nadare flinched slightly. "Sorry." Saiha only grunted in reply.

"I think Resshin's reaction is just a bit over the top, though," Homura commented. "I certainly would act differently if I were meeting my son for the first time in four hundred years."

Rui suddenly chuckled. "Everyone's different, I guess. That's what makes the world turn. Resshin just turns it a bit more than necessary."

Recca face stretched into a grin, not evil but not wholly pleasantly either, and snickered. "You're kind of like oyaji…" he mused. "Got rid of the tension between us." On a whim, he stuck out his hand, the grin still plastered on his face. "I'm your kid! Nice to meetcha!" he said, his voice slightly satirical.

"Oh-ho? You've got guts," Ohka marveled in the same tone.

"My, my," Kokuu drawled from the side. "This is far from the open tears I expected in a four hundred year reunion."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Recca exclaimed. "Why are you here?"

"I just am," Kokuu returned casually. He turned to Ouka. "You only wanted to see your son, didn't you? That's why you called him here. I could see it-- you had the face of a father just a minute ago."

Ouka's ears turned red. "Of course not!" he protested, nervously scratching his arm. Just like Kokuu to make a emotional fool out of him, he thought sourly. Well, there were plenty of chances to get back at him. "When I saw him as a baby, you see, I thought he would be normal, but…I mean, yes, it's happy, but really, all I wanted was to see his natural internal stupidity!" A flurry of wildly flailing fists temporarily interrupted him. "Ow! Ow! Be kinder to your father's face!" he yelled at Recca.

"Then watch what you say, you--"

"I'm your father, you idiot! You're supposed to obey me!"

"Like hell I am--"

"You ungrateful--"

Kokuu watched the brawl with an ever-growing sweatdrop on his head. This isn't even a bit sentimental…

Sweatdrops also appeared on the other five dragons' heads.

Nadare hit her forehead to the palm of her forehead. "All that work, from all of us, just to see them get black eyes and broken noses…" she groaned. She didn't kow whether to laugh her head off at the irony of the situation or go out there herself to strangle both Recca and Resshin.

"What a family reunion-- wish mine were that exciting," Madoka said with a chuckle.

"Do you think Resshin will give Recca the power to unite us?" Rui wondered in a rare serious moment.

Homura's mouth twisted into a slight smile. "I'd think so," he said. "Resshin and Recca have met-- our job is done for now. There's nothing left that we can do. We can only let father and son work things out between them now."

"Unless one of you want to go out there and break those two up," Saiha said with a snort. "They're really going at it."

They looked at each other. "Nahhhh."

"We've worked enough," Madoka said. He sat down on a nearby couch. "Let Resshin do some work for once." He stretched and then reached for a cup of water nearby.

Nadare flopped down on the armchair. Rui sat down next to her on the floor. "So what do we do now?" Rui asked her.

Nadare just laughed. "Nothing. Resshin and Recca are technically talking, and Resshin will guide Recca through his past. All we can do now is wait."

"For the Ura Uruha?"

"Yes. And for Resshin to join us."

"I hate waiting," Rui complained. "Haven't we waited enough?"

Nadare shrugged. "Well, that's what we're going to have to do."

"I can't believe that our master is acting like that-- getting into a fistfight with one of his own dragons!" Saiha muttered. "Let's ditch him."

"I don't think you'd want that even if you could ditch him," Madoka remarked insightfully. "Admit it. We're stuck with him because we want to be. We're his dragons, and we'd follow him anywhere he goes, even if he tries to go down to the pits of hell."

"That's probably where we're going," Homura murmered.

"But at least we're going there as one flame instead of having one dragon splintered off," Nadare pointed out. "Doesn't that feel a whole lot better?"

"Much more comforting," admitted Madoka. Homura nodded his agreement.

"Now, if only Resshin will get some direction sense," Rui began.

Nadare shook her head. "Rui, that's one thing we'll never be able to do anything about. Just hope Recca didn't inherit the same direction sense."

As they talked and laughed and conversed, they all knew that what Homura said was true. They were going to get dragged down to the bottom of hell. But hell also knew that they were not going to let it take their master. They were the Hachiryu. They were one flame. And they would not let themselves-- or their master-- be defeated.
 

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 Author's Notes: Well, that's it! Flame dragon introspection is finished. I can't believe I actually finished this story-- nor did I think it would turn out this long. I had fun writing it though. I'm always open to ideas, so if you have a good one, let me know.

 Ja ne! --Katanashi
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