Mad Love
TouchofFever
The situation was worse than any before it; the world was trembling beneath the madness, on the verge of shattering. Death Scythe was dead, and the others of his caliber close on his heels. The ugly whisper that sibilantly crooned in the back of their minds was all the same: The madness is going to win.
Jacqueline trembled in her room, arms wrapped around herself as she waited for her last call to duty. Surely it would be soon? The last stand of ShibuSen against the kishin's overwhelming power would come upon them quickly... no, would it happen from within? Her thoughts whirled with unhealthy obsession that she recognized with horror. She was losing herself. Yes, this was the other possibility; the students and teachers of ShibuSen could go mad, and in the end they would tear themselves apart. The last resistance against anarchy would cannibalize its forces, eating its own hands and feet, gulping down its own blood before dying with a maniacal laugh followed by eerie, haunting silence. She could see, even with her rusty imagination, the vision of her compatriots' blood soaking into the cobblestone streets. She could see their eyes vacant with death, being picked upon and consumed by crows. As if she stood in the empty streets alone, she felt the echoes of their screams jar her brain painfully.
No, not screams... Jacqueline realized she was hearing a soft knocking on the door, and recognized Ox Ford's voice calling her name.
Her mind was thirsty for sanity, her body dragging. Where was Kim? Where was she, leaving her partner like this? It'd been hours, hadn't it? Jacqueline staggered to the door, practically drunk on the haze in her mind. It opened so easily, so quietly despite the effort it took her to do it. There he was; Ox stood squarely facing the door, stiff and blank-faced, Harvar's shaft gripped tightly in his left hand, and in his right...
It caught her breath away, because the second she laid eyes eyes on it she knew what it was. It sent a tremor through her entire body.
A witch's soul glowed faintly on his palm.
"I managed to get one in the last raid. Harvar still needs another fifteen before he can consume a witch's soul, but you've been stuck at 99 for a while, right?"
It was such an obvious lie. It was so obvious, and yet she wanted it to be the truth because this could not be happening. It couldn't, it couldn't, it couldn't—
"Here. Take this. If you become a death scythe, we might just have a fighting chance."
Tears streaked his face. Jacqueline broke out in high, insane giggles, teetering forward as she gripped the orb. It couldn't be happening! Of course not. This is ShibuSen; it isn't the happiest place on earth, but something like this would never happen! She gulped down the soul, felt overwhelmed by power, and continued to laugh and squirm and cry and assure herself this would never happen.
Ox stared at the blood on his shoes through glasses stained with tears choking on his own tongue. Of course this would happen here. If no where else, of course it would happen here.
When the world is in danger, and the love of your life tells you to cut out her soul and feed it to her weapon for one last chance, you do. That's how mad love like this works. That's just how it goes.
AN: It's been a long time, but I managed to finish something for once. Not my usual writing fare, but it was fun in its way. Reviews always appreciated!