Here's another one-shot dedicated to my favorite Soul Calibur couple, except this time you'll probably need tissues :(
Flashback- Two months ago
"Xianghua? Xianghua!" Kilik called out over the loud booming of thunder and rain pounding against the roof-top and window panes.
The young Oriental woman ran downstairs and rushed to his side. "What's the matter?" she asked curiously.
"Listen. There's a tornado headed our way, and it'll be here any second. No matter what happens tonight, I want you to stay calm for me, alright? Now let's try to find shelter quickly."
Xianghua nodded her head, a slight whimper escaped her lips as she listened to the approaching tornado outside, destroying everything in it's path. She knew that it would only be a matter of minutes before it hit their home, and their fate would be sealed if they didn't get to safety fast. Suddenly the lights in their home started to flicker and a giant crash of thunder sounded again soon after, then everything went completely dark.
"Everything is going to be okay," Kilik reassured her as his hand squeezed hers lovingly.
The sound of the roaring wind had now grown louder and finally it was here.
Kilik pulled Xianghua underneath a small table. "Duck down!" he shouted loudly, quickly shielding Xianghua as the house began to cave in around them. The sound of glass and various other objects shattering and being swept across the room indicated that this storm was no laughing matter, and the couple would be lucky if they both happened to escape with their lives. After a couple of moments, the tornado passed and silence fell over the room. Xianghua jerked up to see the massive damage done to their once beloved home. The top of the house had been completely destroyed and only a small part of it stood standing. Everything they had worked so hard for had now been stripped from them within the blink of an eye.
"Kilik?!" Her eyes scanned the room until they fell upon the brunette man who was lying motionless in the middle of the floor, the table now flipped on top of him. She quickly rushed to his aid, tossing bricks and other debris out of the way. She then removed the table from on top of him and crouched beside him, shaking his now unconscious body. "Kilik, please wake up!" she pleaded as she cradled the unresponsive man's head into her arms. His shirt was ripped and there was a large gash in his forehead and bruises all over his arms and body. Xianghua was badly bruised too, but thanks to Kilik taking most of the impact, including a blow to the side of the skull, she was able to get away in pretty fair condition.
"Say something, Kilik!" she half demanded, half pleaded again, but to no avail. "No! This...can't be..." Her eyes began to sting with warm tears, and she all of a sudden began to sob uncontrollably, burying her head in his chest.
Present-Day [Two Months Later]
Xianghua sat silently next to Kilik's hospital bed, her eyes studying his unconscious form. It broke her heart to see her beloved in a comatose state and she was in no way able to help. It was as if he was in an deep, eternal sleep. She reached out and took his hand in between hers and caressed it, something she always did when they would cuddle together and watch movies.
"Hey Kilik...It's Xianghua...I've missed you so much. Life just hasn't been the same without you here by my side. These last couple of months have been nothing but depressing and lonely for me. Why? Why did you have to put yourself in harm's way to protect me? Now... I'll never be able to see you again and for that... I can never forgive myself."
The rhythmic beeping of the machines and computers were now the only sounds throughout the room. The young woman gazed out of the window beside her and sighed. It was a beautiful day outside which reminded her of when Kilik would take her for long walks on the beach, or picnics in the park. Now she would never get to do those things with him again. Her heart dropped at the thought of losing Kilik for good. She didn't know what she was going to do if that happened today. These thoughts weighed heavily on her mind until there was a knock at the door, and their friend, Maxi, walked into the room. Xianghua turned her attention to the raven-haired man, greeting him with a warm, but sad smile and Maxi did the same.
"How's he doing?" he asked walking over and standing beside her.
Xianghua glanced up at Maxi then back to Kilik. "He still hasn't said anything, Maxi! He's been like this for weeks and nothing's changed! Why did this have to happen?" She dropped her head down as tears began to run down her face. "All of this happened because he was trying to protect me. I should be the one lying in the hospital, not Kilik."
"Don't talk like that. If he were up and about he wouldn't be proud to hear you speaking like this. He sacrificed himself so that you wouldn't be in this position. He did it not only because he felt it was right, but because he cares for you."
"I know," she said softly. "I just wish everything would have turned out differently."
Maxi folded his arms and nodded. "Yeah...me too."
A team of doctors finally walked into the room "Hello. I'm glad you both managed to make it up here today. There's something we need to discuss about your friend's condition," one of them began to speak. "I'm afraid we've done all we can for him and his health doesn't seem to be getting better. At this point... it'll take a miracle to help him. I'm sorry to tell you that we'll be pulling him off life support today."
Xianghua jumped from her seat and gasped. "What?!"
"You're kidding right?" Maxi added.
"You can't do that! Not after I just got here!"
"I'm sorry Miss, but we can't hold him here forever. He may never wake up and we have other patients that really need—"
"Save the sob stories for someone who cares!" interjected Maxi. "The woman is only asking you for a little sympathy and understanding. It's bad enough that we've practically lost someone we both care for, but the least you could do is give us a little more time to pay our respects to our friend. Have a fucking heart for God's sake!"
The group of doctors looked at each other but didn't dare say a word. "Very well." The same doctor cleared his throat and spoke once more. "We will give you until the end of the day. If he doesn't wake up by then, I'm afraid we're going to have to pull the plug." Xianghua nodded and the doctors finally left the room. She was grateful that she would get to spend the rest of the day with her beloved, but of course she wished they could have spent it doing something fun together instead of sitting here counting down the final hours of Kilik's life.
"Thanks Maxi. You're a great friend."
"Don't mention it. I know how much seeing him meant to you today and I won't let anyone ruin it."
Xianghua brushed her short, brown strands away from her face and sadly smiled. "Do you think he'll wake up before the doctors return?"
"I sure hope so." Maxi said with a sigh.
Later that night
The doctors returned to Kilik's room to see that the man still had not improved. They sighed as they knew that they would have to make the tough decision of taking this young man off life support for sure now. Both Xianghua and Maxi stood up from their chairs.
"Doctor, isn't there anything, anything at all you could do to save him?!" Xianghua asked. If there was even a slight chance that Kilik could live, she was going to take that chance. Saving his life is what she felt she owed him, just as he had saved hers that very day.
The doctor shook his head, "I wish there was, but there isn't anything we can do unless by some miracle he happens to wake up in the next minute. If you would like, you can say your final farewells before we...you know."
"This is all my fault. If he hadn't been trying to shield me from danger during that storm he would still be with us."
Maxi glanced down at her. "No Xianghua, you've gotta stop blaming yourself. It was just an—" He paused for a moment. "unfortunate accident."
Xianghua stared down at Kilik. She hugged him and kissed him, brushing the faint, brown colored hairs from his sleeping face. Her voice started to tremble as she choked to get out what would be her final goodbye. "Oh Kilik...I-I love you so much and I will never understand why this had to happen to us. I will never forget how you saved my life that day and I will always be thankful for that. I promise that I will never forget you a-and I'll forever cherish the memories we have together. My only regret is that I will never get to...get to grow old with you." She placed a kiss on his lips and caressed his cheek. "Goodbye, my King."
Now it was Maxi's turn to speak. "Hey buddy... it's Maxi...I know you probably can't hear me right now, but I just wanted to say thank you for being a great friend. I'm sorry about what happened to you and if I could, I would change everything so that you and Xianghua could be together again. She misses you a lot...and so do I. As much as it hurts Xianghua and I to do this, we know that you deserve to rest in paradise. Goodbye, my friend. I hope to see you on the other side some day."
With that said, both Maxi and Xianghua placed their hand over the cord running from the wall and into the machine that was basically keeping Kilik alive.
Maxi turned his head and looked at Xianghua. "On the count of three...ready?" She said nothing but simply responded with a nod of her head, holding back tears.
"One..."
"Two...
"Three..."
A long, loud flat-line tone went off on the heart monitor. The pair watched as the team of doctors began removing tubes, cords and the IV drip from their friend's body. Xianghua turned around and cried into Maxi's chest. Maxi wrapped his arm around her shoulder, his eyes starting to become misty as well. Kilik was now officially gone. A white sheet was placed over his lifeless form before the head doctor turned around to face them.
"I-I'm...sorry for your loss." He slowly spoke. He soon stepped out of the room with the other physicians.
With tears still flowing from her eyes, Xianghua turned her attention to Kilik's sleeping figure and said, "I can't believe he's really gone! "
"Neither can I, but...we're gonna get through this together..." Maxi reassured her. A hush of silence washed over the room as the two mourned their companion.
One week later
The sun was setting just over the horizon, slightly gleaming over the burial grounds of the cemetery. Maxi stood over the grave of his best friend reminiscing on all of the good times the three of them shared together. The corner of his mouth curled up into a smile. Those were the good old days.
"I guess it's just you and me, now." A voice said from behind him. Maxi immediately recognized the voice belonging to Xianghua, who was now walking in his direction.
"Well, I wouldn't say that. It's still the three of us but Kilik's just our guardian angel now. You know nothing will ever separate the three of us, not even death."
"I miss him so much, Maxi." She said staring down at the grave also.
"Yeah...so do I... but in some form or fashion, I know he's right here with us."
The gentle breeze of the wind circulated around them as they looked up into the horizon. It was then that they knew that their bond could never be broken and they would never be alone
"Rest easy, Kilik..."
A/N- So...what did ya think? I decided to do something different this time. Review if you like.
-AngelicBeauti3
