Chapter 8:  The Past Returns... Hello Pain!

'DEE!' the familiar scream made the dark haired cop turn in horror. 'JJ?' was all he got out, before he was attacked and sent flying to the pavement. 'Oh, I missed you so much!' the blue haired man grinned as he hugged the love of his life. 'You just saw me ten minutes ago! Why are you here, baka? Did you follow us?' Dee struggled in vain against his pursuer, reaching out to Ryo for help... only to find the man walking ahead with the three brats.

'Does he always do this?' Ushio couldn't help but glance over his shoulder at the strange pair. 'All the time,' Cara answered, smiling at him. 'Weird,' the boy mumbled to himself, keeping a fair pace alongside his older brother. 'It will be nice to have a quiet lunch for once... or maybe not,' Ryo smiled down at his brother who just smirked back. 'Wait for me, Ryo!' Dee called out from behind them.

CRASH!

'Idiot,' Bicky commented, turning to grin at his rival. Dee was currently bent out of shape after tripping carelessly over a table. The good news was the that table had been empty of people... but... the bad news... Dee just happened to crash into a table that still had food on it. Ew... that is going to stain.

'I'm soaked,' Dee mumbled to himself as he pulled off his dark jacket now dripping with some kind of weird mustard and pop combination. 'At least you're safe,' JJ for once was keeping his distance, yet still grinning cheekily at the other man. Dee just glared and stomped off after the group already ordering.

'Are you sure he's here?' from the shadows came a voice. 'Yes. I can feel the energy of the Beast Spear even when it is hidden away. He's close by,' came a feminine answer. Twin sets of opal eyes gleamed from their hiding place behind the wall. Their search had come to an end. Here, in this large city, at this small outdoor restaurant, they would find what they sought. He would not escape.

Ushio blinked, glancing around as he felt an strangely familiar hum come over him. Energy, demonic energy. His eyes searched through the scattered tables, filled with laughing families out for a mid-day lunch. 'Is something wrong, Ushio?' Ryo's voice drew him back to the table where they sat. 'No, just felt a chill,' the young man replied, turning his attention back to his hamburger. Reaching out his fingers, he picked it up slowly.

Ushio felt his eyes fill with the depths of the past. A strange feeling akin to sadness came over him as he sat there, caressing the warm bun. ~Tora...~ ... Ushio glanced up and sweatdropped before taking a bite. Everyone was staring at him strangely. Geeze! What was their problem?

Dee shook his head and turned back to flirting with his partner. Boy, that kid was really weird. Staring at that burger like that, like he was upset or sad about something. It was just a burger. ~I hope he isn't some weird kid who feels sorry for the moo moo cows and prays before eating to help them with their pain or something. Why does my perfect Ryo need a brother like that?~ Speaking of Ryo... sigh! The cop chuckled to himself as he watched Ryo serve the kids.

Of course, the chuckling drew everyone's attention, even the people around them. ~How embarrassing.~ Ushio rolled his eyes and forced himself to eat. 'You are a big weirdo,' Bicky commented shoving his plate closer to himself and beginning to scarf up the food as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. 'Slow down, you'll choke,' Ryo admonished, before glancing around at the rest of the scene.

It really was so peaceful here.  If you ignored JJ trying to feed Dee and the kids bickering back and forth. ~At least Ushio is quiet... but, he can be too quiet.~ Ryo's eyes traveled over his brother, watching him slowly eat his meal in silence.

A flash of movement. Tingles ran down Ushio's body, forcing him to his feet. The chair clamored loudly behind him as he searched the place once more. There was someone or something... demonic here. His eyes narrowed as he saw two figures dart across the pavement, hidden once more. ~Who?...~

'Huh?' JJ blinked as two people walked up to them, their bodies hidden in the sunlight for a moment. A woman, with a tight red dress and long black hair walked alongside... a really hunky looking dark haired man in tight jeans. ~He's so my type... No, you love Dee... but this guy is tall, dark, and delicious too... sigh!~

'Rashin... Karani... what are you doing here?' Ushio was in shock. The two weasel demons, in human form of course, were in America? 'We came to bring you home, Ushio,' Rashin announced, stepping forward. 'Ushio-kun...' Karani looked strangely emotional, almost sad. 'What happened?' Ushio forced himself to remain calm.

'Ushio, who are these people?' Ryo's voice broke the silence. Ushio half glanced at the other people around the table. 'Ushio, you have to return,' Karani insisted. 'He's not going anywhere. Who are you?' Dee frowned at the strange pair. 'That is not your concern. We've only come for the boy,' the dark man announced. 'Like I said, you can't have him,' Dee drew his hand towards his gun, just in case. The other man's eyes seemed to glimmer completely black for a moment, only a white speck for the pupil. There was a tension in the air.

'ENOUGH!' the command startled everyone. Ushio glared at the table for a moment, his hand in a fist. Rashin snapped back to normal, he knew that tone. The master of the beast spear was not one to mess with. 'Why did you come here? What's wrong?' the boy looked up at his old friends, his eyes ancient from the battles of his past.

'Asako... is dead,' Karani whispered softly. ~NANI?!~ Ushio froze in place, eyes incredibly wide. ~Asako... dead?~

...tbc...

Author's Note: Sorry, a lot of character deaths in the story. Everything will be explained in the next chapter.