Eternity

Impossible Choices

"You've got to be the stupidest, most immature brat that ever lived. And that means a lot coming from me, you're stupid games are going to get us all killed!" said Yusuke. At least it was now ultimately understood between the pack that the boy would die if he were defeated. At least, San hoped so.

"Nah, once the tunnel is done, I'll throw the game and lose. Then you'll all be free to go," said Amanuma in an off hand manner. That just made things worse. The pup had no idea that if he lost, he would die. She looked over at her mate, who most likely had caught onto this himself. He was no fool, and San wasn't sure that any of them realized just how much his intelligence got them through. If he were to be unable to use his mind with the distraction of this child's death, what would the outcome be? His green orbs remained calm, possibly preparing for what they both knew could happen in the next little bit.

"Yeah, and what are we going to be free to go to if the whole world's turned into a demon parking lot? We've got to find another way out of this," said Yusuke.

"It's no use. I tried, and look what good that did us," Hiei intervened, "We're in the child's territory, and just as it was with Kaito in that ugly mansion, we're bound to the rules he's set, no matter how ridiculous," and with that, he began to walk away.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"I know as much of games as I do of hugs and puppies, and care for them even less. Wake me before the end of the world," declared Hiei, sitting against the wall and appeared to be sleeping instantly.

"Kurama is there any way you could whoop this kids ass?"

"Actually," Kurama hesitated. He never did that, which meant that he knew, "I'm more afraid of defeating Amanuma than I am of not."

"Want to translate that?"

"As Hiei said, he's made it so that everybody in this territory are to follow the laws of the game. Thus, our fate is the same of the challenger in the arcade. As long as we choose to continue, we can go on indefinitely. If we quit, our lives are over. However, as Kaito demonstrated, Amanuma is not immune to his own territories logic. I'm afraid this young boy is naive when it comes to the dire consequences of his own power. If he loses, he too must follow his game's counterpart's fate."

"Alright, the game is three-seven," said Amanuma, "There's only three of you left, and one of you's actually sleeping. Not that I couldn't beat you at three-seven in my sleep."

"I'll do what's best," Kurama sighed. San grabbed his wrist first, seeing momentarily the flicker of anguish. He was anticipating this, knowing that he would ultimately have to do it. She wished that she could help him, but their enemy had given them an impossible choice. She kissed him softly, trying to show him the support she'd give him after all of this. He walked away, the ghost of his lips faintly on hers.

"Pardon my ignorance, but what does three-seven mean?" asked Mitsunari.

"It's a test of your physical reasoning, mathematical prowness and hand dexterity. It's fun. Various combinations of the numbers zero to seven drop, and you must arrange them so that the sum of three numbers vertically or horizontally is equal to seven, eliminating those blocks. You can also get rid of blocks by, as the title suggests, lining up three sevens in a row. The object of the game is to clear as many blocks as possible which becomes increasingly difficult as they fall at faster speeds. If the blocks fill up all the way to the top, you lose," Kaito explained.

"How in the hell did you manage to get that all out in one breath?" asked San.

"I got a migraine just from listening to the instructions," said Mitsunari.