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The Birth Of Death
Chapter Four
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It's dark, and getting harder to see. I don't know how long I've been here, or how much blood I've lost. My mind is starting to dull, and I can't think clearly.
I can't believe they left me here to die. These wounds won't kill me. A normal human would have been dead long before now, and I'm not. I won't die. These wounds are nothing for me. I can feel them starting to heal already.
I never thought that Kakashi would use the Chidori on me, of all people. The damage won't stay, but it's still there. It's times like this that make me glad I can't feel pain.
A rustling in the trees catches my attention. My hand automatically goes for my katana, but I hear a familiar voice and I release the hilt.
"Looks like you took a lot of damage, un."
Deidara. The teammate who drives me absolutely crazy. It figures. And yet, for someone who appears so brainless, he's a brilliant tactician, and comes up with the most elaborate plans of anyone I've ever met.
"I've told you, my body is different from yours. It heals at least five times faster than a human's body," I tell him wearily. Strangely enough, I haven't lost it with him yet. Normally, by now I would have punched him out.
"I know that, but damn, that must've hurt, un," he says with a grin.
I roll my eyes at him and lean back against the tree I'm sitting under. "I can't feel pain, idiot." Actually, that's not entirely true. Most weapons and jutsu can't hurt me unless I've already taken a lot of damage, and by that time, I've usually brought my opponent down. That's not to say, however, that I'm entirely invincible. If you know what weapons to use, any demon can be brought down easily. And sometimes, the inability to feel pain is more of a curse than a blessing. More often than not, when I'm injured, I don't even know it because I didn't feel my flesh tear. But if a certain type of weapon is used on me, you can bet that I'll feel it. And then the idiot who hit me with it dies.
"Oh." He says nothing else. I'm thankful that he's stopped speaking. If it was possible for me to get a headache, I'd have one by now.
"You probably shouldn't stay out here, un."
I should have known he wouldn't shut up for very long. He never does. I sigh and open my eyes. My vision is clear again, but I stay where I am. I really don't feel like moving right now.
"Tch. Why not? I doubt the others will be expecting me to return alive," I intone bitterly.
"Of course they are. Why do you think they sent me back, un?" He asks, his grin fading.
"Because they don't want someone to find my body and get too much information on our whereabouts. Or Sasori wanted a new puppet," I suggest, prepared to list off a few more reasons. Truthfully, I'm not too sure whether to believe that the others would send anyone back for me.
He sulks and says, "Okay, fine. They didn't send me back at all, un."
"Then why the Hell are you here?" I glare at him, my annoyance building.
He shrugs, but says nothing. I'm nearly ready to put my katana through his chest right about now, but I know that our leader wouldn't be too pleased with me if I did. That's really the only thing that's keeping me from doing it.
"Come on. Those Leaf-nin will likely be back to finish the job, un." He holds out his hand to help me up, and before I can stop myself, I take it. I stand and pull my hand out of his, shooting a half-hearted glare at him as I do. For some reason, the irritation I normally feel when I'm around him isn't there. The hate is gone, too. I don't know why, but somehow, something tells me that I can trust him.
"Hey. You coming?" He looks back at me, seemingly concerned by my hesitation.
"Yeah."
I used to believe that we are all damned to something. That principle eventually ended up becoming the very creed that I built my entire existence on. My damnation was the fact that I would be forever caught between two worlds: the human world, and the demon world. That I would never be accepted as I was, so I had to change and become one thing or the other. I wouldn't be good enough for anyone until I did.
I'm unsure, but maybe my external wounds aren't the only ones that are starting to heal. It could be that I'm not as alone as I think. It's possible that to him, I'm not just another creature of the night. Maybe, just maybe, he has accepted me all along.
Bokura wa ima demo sagashiteru,
Kasoku shita SPEED wa kaerarenai.
Tsuyosa to kakugo tsunagitomete.
Hashiri-tsuzukenakereba mirai wa nai,
Tsukisusume tobira no mukou e.
((The two of us are searching, even now,
This accelerated speed can never go back.
Bind your strength and resolution together.
If we don't continue to run, there is no future,
So move forward, beyond the door.))
FIN
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Author's Note: There you have it. A brief history of the Black Death assassin. And now, out of the darkness, a ray of hope shines through.
I know that this chapter was incredibly short, but there was only so much I could do from here. Besides, I'm getting writer's block again, and I wanted to finish this before it set in.
You'll notice that this chapter was written in the present tense, unlike the past three, which were written in past. My reason for doing this was to show how Kuro's life has changed from past to present, and what she's like now, as opposed to how she was then.
The bit at the end are the final lines from FullMetal Alchemist's second end theme, Tobira no Mukou E, and the translation for it. I thought it fits, so I put it in.
Don't expect too much by way of updates for my other story. At the moment, I'm trying to convince my mother to let me get an Ichigo costume (Bleach, not Tokyo Mew Mew...oh God, no.) and I have to find a way to pay it off if I do get it. So that likely means getting a job, and that means less time to write. Sorry, guys!