A Glimmer of Light in Despair

"Blood Claw" carried the unconscious Ichinose Honami through the rugged, slippery jungle as if she were a sack of cargo. He chose an extremely convoluted route, avoiding every possible clearing and patrol point, until he reached the entrance to a natural cave completely concealed by layers of vines, dense ferns, and enormous rocks. Unless someone knew it was there or had exceptionally keen senses, it would be nearly impossible to find.

He roughly pushed aside the heavy curtain of vines and ducked inside. The cave wasn't very spacious, but it was big enough to shelter in. The air was damp and cold, thick with the mingled smells of earth, mold, and metal. Several opened military ration tins, energy-bar wrappers, a portable gas stove, a small blackened pot, and a few empty water bottles lay haphazardly in a corner. More conspicuous were the weapons scattered on the other side: spare magazines, several grenades, a gleaming machete, and his signature mud-smeared submachine gun.

"Blood Claw" showed no tenderness as he dumped Ichinose onto the cold, rough stone floor. The girl let out a pained groan, but didn't wake.

The girl's simple, thin white cotton nightgown had become extremely disheveled from being dragged so roughly and then dropped. The narrow strap on her right shoulder had slipped all the way down her upper arm, exposing her smooth, rounded shoulder and a small patch of her back; the front of her gown had been pulled askew over her left breast, leaving the neckline wide open and exposing her delicate collarbones, with the softer curves below just faintly visible. The hem, which had originally reached her knees, had ridden up to mid-thigh, tracing the smooth lines of her legs. Her fair skin stood out in the dim light. The soaked fabric clung to her body, almost translucent, revealing the youthful, graceful figure that now seemed unbearably vulnerable.

"Blood Claw" panted heavily and rolled the shoulder that had grown sore from carrying her. Then he pulled a coil of sturdy climbing rope from his backpack.

He crouched and roughly pulled Ichinose's hands behind her back, binding her wrists tightly with the rope and tying a complicated sailor's knot. Then he bound her ankles just as securely. When he was done, he stepped back and examined the "prey" on the ground in the faint moonlight filtering through the vines.

After struggling earlier and being carried, Ichinose's once-neat nightgown had grown somewhat disheveled, its neckline slightly open and exposing a small stretch of her fair, delicate collarbones. The thin fabric outlined the girl's youthful, graceful curves. Her wet blond hair clung to her cheeks and neck, adding to her fragile beauty.

"Tsk..." "Blood Claw" clicked his tongue, his rough fingers absently rubbing his chin as his eyes gleamed with undisguised, predatory interest. "This little thing... she really is something." His voice was hoarse and low, tinged with raw desire. "Pretty face, hot body... No wonder she managed to make that iceberg, Kazama In, fall for her. Heh..." He let out a low, ambiguous chuckle.

But the reason he had survived so many years on the edge of death, along with Gray Owl's earlier warning, immediately smothered his rising lust. "Damn it..." he muttered, forcing himself to look away. "She's a hostage... If I touch her now, I'll only enrage that madman, the Arbiter. It's not worth it. Once I lure him here and kill him..." Cruel desire flared in his eyes again. He licked his chapped lips. "Then I'll have all the time I need to 'enjoy' her."

He took out his encrypted communicator and tried to contact Gray Owl.

[Gray Owl, hostage secured. Class B camp. Luring the Arbiter to the Waterfall Area as planned. Over.]

The message went out, but sank like a stone into the sea. There was no reply.

[Gray Owl? Confirm receipt!]

Still silence.

"Blood Claw's" expression gradually darkened. An ominous premonition settled over him. Irritably, he grabbed a military ration tin and pried it open roughly with his knife. He shoved the cold, greasy chunks of stewed meat inside into his mouth and chewed carelessly. Then he took out some instant coffee powder, poured it into a cup, mixed it with cold stream water, and gulped it down. The bitter, cold liquid barely eased his irritation.

Time passed, second by second. The communicator remained silent. Outside the cave, the wind began to rise, heralding the torrential downpour of a long-brewing storm.

Waiting, especially when you didn't know whether your companion was alive or dead, was fertile ground for negative emotions. Irritation, unease, fear of the unknown... and the beast called desire, forcibly suppressed but stirred by the silence and darkness, began to grow restless.

"Blood Claw's" gaze drifted uncontrollably back to the bound figure in the corner. Moonlight occasionally filtered through the vines, falling across her fair skin and curving figure like a silent temptation. Even the chill of the cave couldn't dispel the heat rising inside him. His heavy breathing sounded especially loud in the stillness.

Just then, the girl on the ground let out a faint groan.

Ichinose Honami's eyelashes trembled violently. Like a sinking ship, her consciousness struggled up from the depths of darkness. The soreness in the back of her neck, the pungent smell lingering in her nostrils, and the sharp pain of rough rope biting into her wrists and ankles dragged her back to reality in an instant!

Her eyes flew open! Confusion clouded her blue eyes as she came to, then overwhelming terror filled them!

An unfamiliar, cold cave! The heavy stench of mold and metal! She was bound tightly and couldn't move! But what made her heart seem to stop was the towering figure seated not far away, as massive as a mountain! He stared at her with eyes glinting eerily in the dark! That gaze... was filled with undisguised, nauseating lust and... murderous intent!

"Who... who are you?! What do you want?!" Ichinose's voice trembled and broke with fear. Instinctively, she curled backward, but the cold rock and tight ropes left her nowhere to go. A vast terror swept over her like an icy tide! She remembered Kazama In's warning, remembered their farewell before that rainy night... Was this... the "extreme danger" he'd meant?!

"Heh, awake, little beauty?" "Blood Claw" rose to his feet, his towering figure casting a huge, demonic shadow across the cave. He walked toward Ichinose, each heavy footstep tolling like a death knell in her heart. "Don't be afraid. As long as you behave and help us lure your little lover here... I won't do anything to you." His voice was taunting and malicious. He bent down, and his rough fingers, their touch making her shudder, playfully traced Ichinose's cold cheek.

"Don't touch me!" Like a frightened little animal, Ichinose jerked her head away, tears of humiliation and fear filling her eyes. Kazama In... Kazama In, where are you?!

Amid this terror and despair, a sudden, cold sensation came from the index finger of her right hand!

The ring!

The dark ring Kazama In had given her! It was still there!

Like a drowning person grabbing the last lifeline! A powerful, instinctive will to survive instantly overwhelmed her fear! Kazama In's words rang clearly in her mind: "If... you ever feel you're in extreme danger... press your thumb firmly against this crystal and hold it for three seconds!"

There was no time to hesitate! That demonic figure was right in front of her! His gaze was growing more dangerous by the second!

Ichinose's heart pounded so hard it almost leapt into her throat! Fighting back her terror, she seized the moment when "Blood Claw's" attention still seemed to be lingering on her face. Her hands, bound behind her back, moved with extreme difficulty and stealth. Her right thumb trembled, yet searched with unwavering determination for the cold ring on her index finger. At last, it touched the tiny, deep-blue crystal!

Press it! Press hard! Three seconds!

She screamed the words in her mind, summoning all her strength to press down on the crystal. Time seemed to freeze in that instant!

But "Blood Claw" had the instincts of a beast. He didn't miss her tiny, uncontrollable finger tremor, brought on by extreme tension, the sudden tautness of her body, or the strange glimmer in her eyes—a mixture of hope and determination!

"Hmm?" "Blood Claw's" gaze instantly sharpened like a blade! He seized Ichinose's bound right wrist and roughly yanked her hand in front of him!

The moment his eyes fell on the ancient-looking, dark, icy ring on Ichinose's right index finger, and her thumb pressing hard against the deep-blue crystal, her knuckle already white with the effort—

"Blood Claw's" pupils contracted sharply! The fury of being fooled and a murderous chill instantly overwhelmed his reason!

"Trying something?!" He roared like a wounded beast, his voice making the cave vibrate! His huge hand clamped around Ichinose's slender wrist like an iron vise, squeezing so hard it nearly crushed her bones! His other hand shot toward the ring!

"You're asking for death!!!"