To the Readers: Sorry for not updating for a while, we are kinda got stuck in some of the stories! Enjoy and Review Please!
Disclamier: We DO NOT OWN Blood Plus but we do own the OC's, which means we own ourselves hahaha!
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The hours until Diva was resurrected were winding down and they were all getting nervous. One final ingredient and it was all over, the hunt would be done and they would have to face their destinies, whether it was fulfilled correctly or not was up to the Chiropteran Warriors. A daunting task indeed.
They'd been in London now for three days and still couldn't find the Lily of the Valley; they looked in all the places David had suggested but still nothing. It was starting to get rather annoying searching for only one thing for such a long time and being unable to find it.
"What should we do? We've looked in all the right places!" Corissa complained as she threw her bag on the table and plopped into the chair behind her. David shook his head and shifted his eyes to the door when it opened up to Kai.
"Found the plant." Corissa frowned in confusion.
"Where?!" She demanded as she stood walking toward him and yanked the bag from his hand, looking inside. He shrugged.
"There's a nice little flower shop by the Houses of Parliament, I just asked for the Lily of the Valley and the flower girl handed it to me." Corissa pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. Kai handed David the plant and he pulled off two leaves.
"Corissa go get Danielle, Haji, Nathan and Riku for me." She rolled her eyes and stormed out the door; Kai followed her and shook his head.
"Stop throwing a fit just because I found the plant and you didn't."
"You used the easy way!" She muttered and knocked on Danielle's door, Nathan's and Riku's door before she turned back around and walked back into David's room.
"Will you get me a small glass of water?" She narrowed her eyes but nodded and filled a small glass half way up and handed it to him, they glanced at the door when Riku, Haji, Nathan and Danielle walked in. He set down a shallow Tupperware container and set both leaves inside, he brought forth a spoon and held the edge of the first long oval dark green leaf and scooped out the flesh like an artichoke leaf. He did the same thing with the other, leaving two large scoops of leaf flesh inside the container. He poured most of the water inside the Tupperware and used the spoon to mix it together, making a paste. "There, done. Now we add this to the other things and mix it together!" He smiled and grabbed the vial that he had sitting on his dresser and brought it over to where they were, he carefully added the paste and gently stirred it together. "Finished, we just need Diva's blood and it'll work." Corissa nodded and frowned at it.
"So all we have to do is slather this on our swords and Diva dies?" David nodded. The phone rang surprising them all, he picked it up. His eyes widened and he cursed as he threw the phone back into the cradle.
"Damn it! The vial of Diva's blood was broken! We don't have the final ingredient to kill Diva!" Danielle frowned.
"What are we going to do now? We can't quite, we'll all die and the world will be set in turmoil." David sighed.
"You're just going to have to get her blood somehow."
"How?" Kai demanded. "It's dangerous." David raised his brows at Kai's obvious observation.
"Of course it's dangerous! We have no other choice though." Corissa put her hand on Kai's shoulder as a sign of comfort but noticed it didn't help.
"So what do you think we should do? We don't know when Diva will raise up-" She cut off with a cry when the window to their left shattered and a brick came through with a note strapped to the top.
If you think you can save your pathetic race from Diva's reign then try and stop us. We're in an abandoned subway under Trafalgar Square. She will be alive in exactly one hour, come and join the party because I know you will not prevail over us.
XOXO Carl
"Do we go?" Danielle asked as she reread the note, feeling anxiety rise in the pit of her stomach, the time had wound down to only an hour. In an hour they would know their fate.
"You have to go." David said though he didn't sound comfortable with the idea. "Give me a minute and I'll give you a map of the Square." Corissa and Danielle nodded stiffly as they clenched their sword hilts subconsciously. Their hands shook slightly as they reached for the print out map. "The entrance to the old subway is under the front lion sculpture at Viscount Horacio Nelson's sculptures left. Bring up the tile near the base and you should see a ladder leading down into the old subway system. I want you both to bring lanterns, flashlights, the works. Anything to keep you illuminated and out of the dark where you can be ambushed easily and killed." They frowned in terror but nodded as they took a deep calming breath. "Haji, Nathan I want you to keep them safe no matter what." Haji and Nathan nodded firmly and sternly, understanding how crucial and serious the situation was. Riku and Kai frowned.
"What about us?" They demanded angrily, David stared at them oddly.
"What about you? You're staying here, let them deal with this. We don't need unnecessary casualties; I don't want to have to tell George his sons are dead, don't put me through that." Kai grabbed David's gun.
"My dad taught me and Riku how to fire a gun, we'll be fine." Corissa glared at Kai.
"I am not bringing Riku down there where he can get killed, I refuse to do that!" Riku growled at them.
"I do not want to be treated as a child; I'm part of the team! Just let me come!" Both girls shook their heads firmly.
"We don't want you to die." Danielle muttered as she looked down. Riku rolled his eyes.
"I won't die, I promise." Corissa bit her lower lip and pulled him into a tight hug.
"You pinky swear?" She said softly, he nodded and chuckled. She pulled back and held out her left pinky, he locked his right one with hers and smiled.
"Pinky swear." She took a deep breath before she nodded; suddenly she turned harsh and serious eyes on Kai. "You are in charge of him." She said as she pointed a finger at him, he grabbed her finger and smiled at her.
"I would never let my brother die, I love him too much." She pouted for a moment and nodded.
"I love him too." She muttered, Kai chuckled and pulled her into a hug.
"We'll all be fine, don't worry. We'll save the world, Riku won't have even a scratch on him and we'll get to go home." She smiled and kissed his cheek.
"Sounds good to me." They walked toward the door and David stopped them before they were out completely.
"Be careful of Diva, she's strong and cunning." They nodded in unison and walked out.
With crowbar in hand they walked around the statue of Nelson and found the lion David talked about. Danielle handed Haji the crowbar and allowed him to do the grunt work, breaking away a large square around the side of the base. Below and behold there was a ladder in front of them but oddly enough it was well lite inside, a bad sign that made them all uneasy. Corissa and Danielle swallowed hard and looked at the group.
"Well it's now or never…" Corissa said and paused. "Nathan do you have the spell?" He nodded and patted his pocket where an easily distinguished bottle shape bulged out. She nodded though a bit uncertain and jumped from the bottom step to land on an old platform. "What do we do now? Wait?" She question as she looked up but it wasn't Danielle and the others she saw but a Chiropteran flying down at her, she screamed and rolled out of its way. "Shit!" She muttered and struggled with her sword, finally getting it pulled out only to have it smacked out of her hand. 'Oh great start!' She growled to herself and dove to retrieve it but was stopped by Carl.
"Wait my dear, what's the big hurry?" She growled at him and kicked his feet from under him as she dove again for her sword; she grabbed it and stabbed him in the hand as he went to grab her again.
"Get the fuck away from me!" She screamed and quickly got to her feet, glancing around for somewhere to hide to regroup herself. She let out a short scream when Carl dove at her with his clawed hand, he pinned her by her neck to the floor, his index and pinky on either side of her neck.
"You cut this arm off, do you remember? You felt it wasn't worthy to touch you so you took care of the annoyance, that's what you told me as you laughed callously at me." She stared up at him with fear.
"That was someone different." She whimpered as she worked her sword at the right angle, finally she got it to the angle she was satisfied with and thrust it up. His eyes widened and he rolled off her, staring down at the sword lodged in his breastbone, she glared down at him and yanked her sword brutally out. "I'm much worse then her." She muttered as she rushed down the shaft of the subway, Carl snarled and took off after her, his wound healing as he ran.
Riku and Kai wondered down one shaft casually, hearing faint metal clanking together and grunts from somewhere off in the maze that was the subway. They paused however when they saw a strange looking girl standing in their path, they frowned.
"You shouldn't be down here, there are monsters down here." Riku warned, the girl smiled wickedly and ushered her hand forward. Suddenly three Chiropterans rushed at them both, their eyes widened and they took off the opposite direction as fast as their legs would take them. Kai occasionally looking over his shoulder to shoot at the monsters as he pulled Riku along.
"Oh little boy, come back I wasn't through playing yet." The creepy voice echoed all through the shaft, making them shiver. "I'm looking for a king, would you like to be my king?" They turned a corner and came onto a platform; they could see old subway signs on the walls. They whirled quickly to see the same strange girl standing behind them with a creepy grin on her face, Kai raised the gun to fire it but in a blink she stood before him with her hand firmly on the barrel. She ripped the gun from his hand and slapped him hard across the mouth, knocking him to the ground. Riku gasped and put his hand on Kai's shoulder but let out a yelp when she grabbed his arm and yanked him into a standing position. "Hello." She whispered seductively.
Danielle slashed her hand and whirled on the Chiropteran behind her, slashing it across the stomach. She kicked the crystals at her feet and glared at the next one that came at her; in a matter of minutes she had killed the other two that tried to kill her. She grinned happily to herself, pleased with her progress and speed.
"I'm getting the hang of this." She chuckled and sheathed her sword; Haji came to her side and motioned with his head toward the shaft in front of them.
"I heard Riku and Kai's voices coming from this direction, shall we go look for them?" Danielle nodded happily.
"Wonderful idea!" She took off down the ledge way and giggled as she turned the corner. "Hey Riku-" Her voice and breath caught in her throat as she stared at the sight before her. Her sword clashed to the ground as it fell from her fingers, her hand instantly going to her mouth as she tried to keep her tears at bay. She shakily pulled some hair behind her ear and frowned in confusion.
"Oh I see Diva has picked a King." She turned to see Solomon standing next to Haji with a passive expression on his face, she felt her body begin to shake from rage and she had her sword against his throat in the matter of a second.
"What is the meaning of this Solomon?! What the hell does that mean?" She snarled and pointed at Riku's body lying lifelessly on the floor. Solomon only glanced at Riku's body.
"When Diva picks a King she will give him her blood, which in the end kills him. In order to bring him back to life she must drink his blood." He glanced at the boy on the ground. "It looks like she's saving him for later." She let out a screeching cry and sliced deeply into his neck, pushing him as hard as she could away from her. She ran over to Riku and dropped to his side; she paused when Solomon grabbed her hand. "You touch him and he'll crumble just like a crystallizing Chiropteran. I'm sorry but he's gone to you now." Haji suddenly reached out and wrapped his fingers around Solomon's neck, squeezing as tightly as he pleased.
"Get out of my face before I truly kill you." Haji said calmly and released Solomon and watched prideful as the other Chevalier took his advice and bolted from the vicinity. He stared sadly down at Riku but looked away when he saw Danielle cover her mouth as she stared wide eyed down at the pale and lifeless face of Riku. Her eyes shifted over to Kai and finally broke down at the look he had on his face, she could see the tears threatening to fall.
"Hey guys I just killed like 5 Chiropteran-" They turned around to see Corissa and Nathan standing on the edge of the curb, Corissa's mouth was wide open and her face was ghost white. "Riku?" She whispered and took a shaky step forward. "Riku!" She screamed shrilly and rushed to him, she dropped to his side and was about to touch his shoulder when Danielle grabbed her wrist and shook her head no. "What the hell Danielle?! Let go!" Danielle shook her head again.
"If we touch him he'll crystallize." Kai crawled over toward them and stared down at his brother in disbelief.
"I have to go back home after this and tell my dad that I let my little brother die? He's gonna kill me." Danielle put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it in hopes that he might notice the gesture but he seemed numb. Corissa's lip quivered for only a moment before she burst into tears and turned her back, hiding her face in her folded up knees.
"Oh I see you've met my new King, isn't he cute?" They all turned to see Diva standing a few feet away from them on the platform with a pleasant smile on her thin lips. Danielle glanced at her sister and saw the murderous look in her eye; she moved back a bit and watched. Corissa slowly stood and cracked her neck and knuckles as she pulled out her sword.
"You bitch." She snarled and held her sword high. "I'll bleed you dry!" She shrieked and attacked Diva with murderous speed and accuracy, getting hit for hit on her. "Nathan vial!" She shouted Nathan ran toward her and tentatively held his hand out; she snatched the vial and stabbed Diva harshly in the neck, catching the spray as her jugular snapped. She got as much as she needed and mixed it with her fingers and yanked her sword out; she smeared some on the tip and raised hollow, haunting and gore seeking eyes toward Diva. "Die." She whispered and thrust her sword forward to stab Diva but in a blink Diva was done, her eyes widened and she looked around. "Damn!" Corissa growled and was about to take off after her when Nathan grabbed her shoulder and gestured over to Riku with a nod of his head, she sniffled and dropped down at his side. Danielle sadly shook her head.
"Riku." She whispered and buried her face into Haji's shoulder, Haji's eyes widened as though he suddenly remembered something.
"We can save Riku!" He suddenly said and pulled Danielle away from his shoulder. Danielle stared up at him in disbelief.
"How?" She breathed.
"David told me once that if someone actually did get killed by Diva, to have both of you pour your blood on them and that would counteract Diva's blood and bring them back to life." Danielle frowned.
"That'll never work; it doesn't even make sense." She muttered and sat back as she looked back at Riku's young face. She let out a long sigh and nodded. "Ok, come on Issa lets try." Corissa nodded and sliced an X on the palm of her hand and held it over his chest, Danielle added her blood right after her sisters and watched as they mixed. Nothing though, absolutely nothing happened. Corissa visibly deflated and began to silently cry as she rocked herself against her drawn up knees, her eyes suddenly widened when she saw the color start to come back to his cheeks.
He took his first breath and then opened his eyes a few minutes later to see everyone staring down at him; he slowly sat up and frowned at everyone.
"Why are you all staring at me?" He saw Corissa's eyes well with tears and grunted when she tackled him back to the ground, hugging him tightly.
"Oh Riku I love you! God I love you! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" He frowned again.
"I didn't do it on purpose." He paused. "Whatever it is." He muttered more to himself then to her. Corissa was pulled back by Nathan; he pulled her into a hug while she cried out her relief. Kai attacked Riku next, hugging his brother tightly. Riku pushed against Kai's arms trying desperately to get away from his brother. "Kai let go you're suffocating me!" Danielle pushed Kai away from Riku and pulled him behind her.
"Kai let him breathe; he just came back to life for heavens sake." Riku looked up at Danielle.
"What happened just now?" Danielle lowered her eyes.
"Diva fed you her blood and basically killed you, by combining my blood with Corissa's we counteracted Diva's blood." Corissa's eyes narrowed when Danielle mentioned Diva's name and she stood.
"Diva got away." She mumbled and walked away from the group, toward the ladder base. Kai got up and followed her; she paused when her hand touched the first step above her head. "Kai go back to the others, I have to find Diva." He grabbed her hips when she started up the ladder; she paused and glanced down at his hands with a faint blush on her cheeks.
"You can't do this alone." She nodded and wiggled her waist to inform him that she wanted him to let go. His grip on her hips tightened as if backing his statement.
"I'm not, Nathan will be with me. Danielle and Haji will probably join me too-" Kai cut her off by yanking her off the ladder.
"What about me?" She stared up at him with a raised brow.
"No offense Kai but you aren't much of a fighter and besides this isn't really your fight." Her mouth dropped open at the look that passed over his face and took a step backward, hitting the cool metal ladder.
"This is too my fight! She nearly took my little brother." He paused and his eyes narrowed. "Riku isn't your brother." She stared up at him with wide eyes, they dropped a few moments later and she nodded. She pushed him away from her but kept her hand firmly pressed against his chest.
"Tell your brother that I said bye." She paused and dropped her hand. "You know if you feel like it." She turned sharply and began up the ladder again; he grabbed her hips again when she was nearly out of his reach and pulled her off. She struggled in his hold but he held fast. He pulled her against him, holding her in a hug that kept her feet off the floor. She continued to struggle. "Let me go." She muttered angrily, she was hurt by his comment and didn't want to be in his arms no matter how inviting they might be at times.
"Let me explain." He insisted but she shook her head and pushed at his shoulders.
"There isn't anything to explain!" She hissed and began trying to push him away again. "Riku isn't my brother, I understand." Kai set her down on her feet but kept a firm hold on her waist, keeping her rooted so she couldn't flee up the ladder again. His solid hold only made her want to flee harder and she struggled with all her might. "Kai let me go right now!"
"I almost lost him." She paused and glanced at his eye when she heard his whisper. "I almost lost the only brother I have and the only family I have with me, I nearly lost him." She frowned and pushed against his hold.
"Forgive me for not having any siblings, I didn't mean to project my loneliness onto Riku, I know how horrible it would be for you to lose him." She muttered and closed her eyes. "But since I don't have any blood siblings Riku is the closest thing I have and losing him would crush me." She felt her tears flood back and tried to keep them at bay. "But you wouldn't understand what not having a family would do to a person." Kai sighed and let go of her waist, she lifted her head and pushed him away from her. "Nathan come on, we're leaving." Nathan lifted his head and frowned.
"Why?"
"I'm looking for Diva, that bitch isn't getting away with this." Danielle stood, picking up her sword.
"I'm coming with you." Haji picked up his cello case and slung it over his back as he stood. Kai growled angrily and pushed Corissa against the wall next to the ladder, holding her in place by her shoulder. Nathan took a step forward but Haji stopped him by clasping his hand on his shoulder and a shake of the head.
"You can't do this alone." Kai protested with a glare, she returned his glare.
"I'm going with Danielle." She paused and raised her brows. "Besides you two aren't cut out for something like this, just stay home."
"Aren't cut out for something like this? What the hell does that mean?!" Kai yelled angrily and pressed her shoulder harder, she grimaced in pain.
"Kai this is expected of us, no one expects you to save the world! Go home to George and stay there, do not make him grieve again!" Kai took a step back and released her. "George doesn't deserve the torture of the unknown; he shouldn't kill himself wondering if you two are ok. Go home and put his mind at ease." She muttered as she pushed past him and climbed up the ladder. Danielle followed her and Haji and Nathan followed her up, Kai and Riku climbed up after. Kai caught up to Corissa once they were on flat ground again.
"I want to help." He said as he grabbed her arm, she turned her eyes on him.
"Then go home, help your father by putting his mind at ease." Kai rolled his eyes.
"You keep saying that." Corissa gave a large sigh and whirled on him again.
"You don't understand do you?" Kai shook his head.
"No, I don't." She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You remember that my parents were murdered right?" Kai looked down and nodded. "My parents went missing when I was about 16 and were gone for 4 weeks before the police found their bodies in the river. It killed me waiting to hear from the police and my parents, when I found out the answer it was the final nail in the coffin."
"But we're not missing; our father knows where we are." Riku protested, Corissa threw her arms up in frustration and fought the urge to slap him.
"It doesn't matter! He'll worry anyway! I'm just saying you shouldn't give him a reason to worry! Just go home and leave it to us!" She turned her back coldly and motioned toward Nathan. "Come on Nathan let's go back to David and inform him that Diva got away." Nathan nodded and followed her. Kai narrowed his eyes and stubbornly followed after her, he was about to say something to her when she suddenly turned around and stabbed him shallowly in the shoulder. Everyone in the group gasped and stared at her, her eyes were narrowed and wild. "Go back home before I do worse!" She snapped and roughly pulled her tanto out as she turned and walked off, everyone gaped at her.
"Corissa what was that?!" Danielle demanded as she rushed after her sister, when she caught her however the lecture and questions died on her lips when she saw the tears falling from her sisters closed eyes. "Corissa?" Corissa sniffled and wiped her cheeks.
"Come on." She whispered as she kept her head low. Danielle grabbed her sister's shoulder.
"What was that?" She asked again but this time her tone was soft. Corissa sniffled again and grabbed her right bicep and bit her lower lip.
"Worse could happen if they continued to follow us, I couldn't bear to lose anyone else I love." Danielle nodded and patted her sister on her shoulder.
"I understand but you also have to understand that they don't want you injured either. They just want to help out, it's their world too." Corissa snorted and pulled her shoulder from Danielle's grasp.
"Sure."
"Don't you want their support?" Corissa turned her tear streaked face toward Danielle.
"Of course I want their support but I'd rather it be from home! You saw what happened to Riku! I would die if something like that happened to Kai! I love him!" The second those words left her mouth her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, Danielle's brows rose and she smiled.
"Finally you admitted it." Corissa cleared her throat.
"As like a brother and stuff." She looked past Danielle and motioned to Nathan. "Come on Nathan, it's getting late." Nathan quickly caught up to her side and looked down at her in concern.
"Are you alright?" He asked as he glanced down at her, he could see the tear streaks on her cheeks and it made him even more concerned.
"I'm fine." She muttered. Nathan stopped them by a tree.
"Your parents' death really shook you up didn't it?" She leaned against the tree and he saw fresh tears form on her bottom lid.
"I was made an orphan at the age of 16; I was forced to grow up even before I could drive. I have no other family so I was left on my own; I refused to go to a foster family because I didn't want the fake sympathy or the feeling of being a burden to someone else, the fake love that they would give me only because they felt they had to. I was on my own and at first I was afraid but soon I realized that it was meant to be that way and I liked it, the only thing that really kept me going was George, Riku and Danielle. They were the only family I had and I love them more then anything in the world, I would kill for them." The tears fell but she brushed them away like nothing. Nathan was amazed that she could handle such pain and still keep herself together.
"And Kai?" Her mouth twitched.
"Yeah and Kai."
"You're in love with him aren't you?" She laughed and wiped the rest of the tears from her cheeks.
"I wish it wasn't so obvious." She muttered as she shook her head. Nathan glanced back at Kai and grinned.
"I'm not surprised, the boy is gorgeous." Corissa gave a faint smile and giggled.
"Thanks Nathan I needed a laugh." He put his arm around her and hugged her.
"No problem."
Riku frowned as he stared at Corissa and Nathan, watching them talk with a concerned expression on his young face. His eyes flickered over to Danielle.
"What's wrong with her?" Kai growled.
"Who cares, that bitch stabbed me!" He hissed and put his hand to his shoulder again, Riku looked torn for a moment as he looked between either of them.
"Kai stop complaining." Riku muttered, Kai shifted blazing eyes to his brother.
"Stop complaining?! She stabbed me!" Riku let out a sigh as he looked back over to Corissa and Nathan.
"Yeah but I bet you she's hurting twice as much." Kai looked shocked.
"How is that?"
"We're all she has left, imagine how hard it would be if she lost one of us." Kai looked back over at her.
"I never thought of it that way, dad must be just as worried about her and Dani as he is of us." Danielle smiled.
"Yeah I'm sure, he's much more worried about us two then he is you two. At least you're with someone us and we have Haji and Nathan so you two are safe, he's worried that we'll trip and fuck this all up." Riku laughed.
"Trip over a rock and send it all spiraling down." Corissa glanced over at them and saw them laughing and smiling, she pushed herself off the tree and took a deep breath as she ripped off the bottom hem of her shirt.
"Kai I'm sorry." She whispered as she approached him, she lifted her eyes and sniffled. "Can I wrap it?" He looked away as he nodded; he hated to see her cry. She gently wrapped his arm, remaining quiet the entire time.
"Should we go now?" They all gave quick nods before they began making their way back to the hotel, it was well past midnight before they got to David's room as expected he was up and waiting for them.
"So what happened? Is it over?" Both girls looked down in shame; David sat back in his chair and sighed. "What happened?"
"We had her but before Corissa could kill her she was gone, Solomon and Carl are alive too." Haji took a step forward.
"We had a dilemma down there; Diva has chosen Riku as her new king. The warriors brought him back using the method you told me but she has marked him." David looked grim.
"Damn it!" He muttered, Corissa lifted her head.
"That's why I'm sending Kai and Riku home so-" David cut her off abruptly.
"They can't go home now! The safest place for them is here, inside the Red Shield. Riku is a target, Diva will do everything to try and get him back. You have to stay here; if you like I'll call George and inform him of the new information." Corissa looked stunned but slowly nodded her head.
"Ok." She said softly. "I'm going to my room." She briskly walked to the door and slammed it as she left, David ignored her.
"What happened to your arm Kai?" Kai looked down at it and shrugged his uninjured shoulder.
"Nothing." Haji spoke up again.
"Corissa stabbed him when he refused to go home." David's brows raised in a concerned manner.
"How is she taking this mission?" He asked as he locked eyes with Nathan.
"She's dealing." David's right brow rose.
"How well?"
"Well enough, she'll be fine." Kai glanced at the door.
"I'm going to go check on her." David nodded.
"Good idea." Kai walked out of the room and slowly down the hall, he paused to listen at her door. When he didn't hear her crying he knocked.
"Come in." She said with a sigh, he opened the door and smiled at her.
"Hey." She frowned at his cheerful façade.
"What?" He sat next to her at the end of the bed.
"Why'd you run off?"
"I was tired." She muttered, he frowned.
"Don't snap at me." He said angrily, she glared at him.
"What are you doing in here?"
"I just came to see how you were doing."
"I'm fine." She snapped again as she drew her knees against her chest, he stared at her.
"Oh yeah you sound just dandy." She shot him a fierce glare.
"Get out if your going to mock me."
"I'm not mocking I promise." She frowned and let out a deep breath, staring at her toes. "I don't like it when you're gloomy."
"I'm not gloomy."
"You're upset about something."
"I am not!" He nodded.
"You are too and I'm going to stare at you until you tell me." He fixed his eyes on her and waited, her brows drew down and she glared at him.
"Kai knock it off!" His stare didn't waver, she growled and looked away. Within a few minutes the stare was getting to be too much for her and she glanced back at him. "Stop it!"
"Tell me." She shook her head.
"No." She muttered as she looked away again, soon she growled though when his stare continued. "I don't want you to die, ok?!" She felt her eyes well and looked down.
"I won't die." She let out a hollow bitter laugh.
"You don't know that." He nudged her with his elbow; she looked back up at him.
"You're right I don't know for sure but I have a good idea; I'm not going to die." Her lower lip quivered and she bit it to keep it in check.
"You don't know what it would do to me if you died." She whispered, more to herself then to him, he frowned.
"What do you mean?" Her tears fell and she shook her head.
"It's nothing; I'm going to take a bath." He grabbed her arm when she stood up.
"Tell me." She shook her head and pulled at her arm.
"It's nothing, let go." He tightened his grip.
"Tell me or I won't let go." She gave a childish stomp of her left foot and grunted angrily.
"I don't want to." She said and pulled on her arm. "Let go." He tugged her wrist gently.
"Please tell me?" Her chin began to quiver as new tears formed in her eyes.
"It would be like losing my family all over again." She whispered, feeling the hot tears leave a new streak down her cheeks. 'I'm getting sick of crying, this is wrecking havoc on my emotions.' She thought as she pulled her wrist. "There I told you, let go." Instead of letting go he tugged until she lost her balance and sat in his lap, she stared at him in surprise as a blush bloomed on her cheeks. His arms circled around her and pulled her close to him in a warm hug, her eyes drooped and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You think of me like you think of Riku huh?" She felt her heart give a lurch and she fought the urge to pull away from him.
"Yeah something like that." She muttered. 'I guess I should be happy that he doesn't know I'm in love with him, that would complicate things too much.' She pushed against him. "Kai I want to take a bath." He nodded and let her go.
"Go take your bath." She stood up quickly and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Taking a deep breath she leaned her back against it and closed her eyes. 'This is all falling apart. Why is it you have to face an impossibility to realize you have feelings for someone?! If we never had to stop Diva I would have been blissfully unaware of my feelings for Kai, something I wish for now.' She sighed again and turned to the tub, turning on the warm water. Feeling the water with her hand she began to disrobe when she felt the water was warm enough for her liking. A few seconds later and she settled herself in the warm water, sighing as she leaned her head back a content smile on her lips. 'Oh this is nice.' She thought as she began to absently rub soap on her arms. She was jerked from her idyllic thoughts with a knock on the door; she blushed and turned her body to look at the door. "Um…who is it?" She said meekly.
"Nathan, I'm coming in." She scooted down further into the water, bringing her knees up to her chest in hopes of covering herself a bit better. The door opened and Nathan walked quickly inside, closing the door behind him. Her blush darkened as she curled a bit closer into herself.
"Nathan what are you doing in here?" He grinned and sat on the floor next to the tub.
"I just wanted to see how you were after your talk with Kai." She nodded and uncurled her legs from her body, her embarrassment and nerves gone, it was only Nathan.
"I love him but at the same time I hate him for making me feel this way." She paused and sighed. "I guess its better this way. I mean it would be undeniably awkward if he knew how I really felt, right?" Nathan gave a nod and sat up on his knees, looking down on her. She puckered her lips and blushed a bit. "Wash my back?" She asked, Nathan nodded and grabbed the loofa from her hand, getting behind her. He grinned and peeked over her shoulder, catching a quick peek before setting to work.
"Let Kai walk in right now and I bet you two will settle your misunderstandings." He didn't have to see her face to know she was blushing; her neck had suddenly flushed the healthy red color. "You have a great body." She giggled.
"Thanks but that would be even more awkward." Nathan nodded absently and sighed. "What's the matter Nathan?" She asked as she glanced at him over her shoulder, she felt his hand pause.
"I don't know…I feel almost like I've let you down." She turned completely this time, not even worried about her state of undress.
"What do you mean?" His eyes never drifted from her own.
"I mean you have Haji who's like the perfect chevalier; he would die for Danielle in a heartbeat-" She frowned.
"I don't want you to die for me." She said softly, the whole idea making her heart lurch. She was beginning to understand that getting close to someone was going to eventually hurt, no one could live forever.
"That isn't what I meant, I'm just saying Haji is there for Danielle in every sense of the word and I feel like I'm not." She smiled softly.
"I wouldn't say that. You make me laugh, smile and feel better when I'm upset. When I talked about my parents and confronted Kai were you there for me. You contribute to me more then you think." Nathan smiled and suddenly hugged her, nearly falling into the bath water as well. She giggled and pulled back from him. "Don't doubt yourself again, I love you just the way you are." He laughed and nodded.
"Alright I'll remember that." They paused when there was a knock to the door; Corissa suddenly became ridged and dove down into the water. He chuckled slightly before he walked to the door and opened it only wide enough to peek his head through and see who it was. Riku stared up at him with a curious expression on his face.
"Nathan what are you two doing?" Nathan frowned.
"We're just talking, why?" Riku blushed slightly.
"She's in the bath, right?" Nathan gave him a blank look but nodded. "Naked?" Nathan nodded again.
"Yeah." Riku made a face and Nathan laughed, he pulled his head back in for a moment. "I'm going to talk to Riku real quick, I'll be right back." Corissa peered above the edge of the tub enough to see over and nodded. The moment the door was closed she sat back with a sigh and closed her eyes, she heard the window slide open and frowned.
'Is Nathan back already? I didn't hear the door open...' She frowned and slowly opened her eyes. her eyes widened and she jerked back quickly bringing her knees to her chest in a sad attempt to hide her body when she saw Moses standing in front of her, this time cloak free. She glanced out the window and saw it was pitch black outside.
"Jesus Moses you scared the shit out of me!" She mumbled as she placed her hand on her heart and pulled the shower curtain over her body.
"Sorry I didn't know you were taking a bath." He said with a deep blush on his cheeks. She nodded and blushed also.
"Yeah I am. Can you turn around so I can get out?" He nodded and quickly turned his back, she got out and nearly got the towel wrapped around her when the door flung open and Kai rushed in. She let out a short scream and wrapped the towel around her the rest of the way. "Kai what the fuck?!" She screamed as she tried to cover her body the rest she could, blushing like a tomato. He blushed and held up his hands.
"Sorry I heard you scream, I was just making sure you were ok." She rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Well I'm fine, you can leave now." Kai bit his lower lip and glanced at Moses.
"How long has he been here?" She rolled her eyes and glared at him.
"A few minutes-" Kai's eyes hardened.
"He saw you in the bath tub?" He asked harshly, glaring menacing at Moses. Moses shook his head.
"It was on accident and I didn't see anything, really. I promise." Kai could tell from the blush on Moses cheeks that he was lying.
"You're lying." Corissa rolled her eyes again.
"Of course he saw something he caught me off guard. It doesn't matter, it was an accident-"
"You kissed him and he's seen you naked the next step is for you two to sleep together, how far off is that?" He could tell it was the wrong thing to say by the look she got, a glazed look in her eye that told him he needed to put salt on his foot.
"What did you say?" Her eyes sparkled angrily. "Do you want to level the playing field Kai? I'll open my towel and show you what he saw if you want to see so badly." She threatened though she was beyond terrified of him saying yes, nothing would embarrass her more then if he agreed. His face lite up like a flame and he quickly shook his head.
"No I don't want to see! I was just saying-" She cut him off by stepping closer.
"Don't just say…" She mumbled as she pushed him out the door. "Get out we're going to talk." Kai snorted.
"Yeah talk." He muttered placing an emphasis on talk, indicating he indeed felt they were going to do more. She rolled her eyes.
"Shut up and get out, oh and if you heard heavy panting and moaning don't come near my door. You know what we're doing." She pushed him all the way out of the door and locked it to ensure he couldn't bust back in. She turned toward Moses and secured the towel tighter around her and looked down to the ground.
"Sorry about that." She paused and cleared her throat. "Is there a specific reason you came?" He nodded.
"I came to see you." He took a step forward and caught her mouth in a warm kiss, her eyes closed quickly and she sighed in content. This was what she needed to keep her mind off Kai, the perfect distraction. She grinned to herself.
'Moses could distract me all day long if he wanted.' Moses pulled back before the kiss turned to heated.
"I came to give you information also." She licked her lips and nodded.
"Ok." She said softly, he smiled at her and gently kissed her again. She smirked into the kiss and tilted her head, deepening the kiss. His hands encircled her waist and pulled her close, she pushed her hands under his shirt raking her fingers over his warm flesh. He pulled back slightly but only to allow her to pull the shirt over his head, she had really only been joking about sleeping with Moses to get Kai angry but the idea was getting better and better as she thought of it. Quickly they slipped out of what they wore and got into the tub, she grinned and leaned back against the tub.
"Wait I had information…" He said slightly dazed, she frowned.
"You did?" She blushed when she remembered that that was the reason he originally came. "Oh…what was it?" He grinned and kissed her again, pressing her closer to the back of the tub.
"I'll tell you later." She grinned and nodded.
"Sounds good." She mumbled.
She sat in her room staring at the floor, a sense of foreboding and fear filling her. Moses had informed her that Diva was waiting for them at Christina Island, ready and willing to finish their little fight. It wasn't really that information that set her on edge it was everyone else; she knew that the rest of the group didn't like Moses except for an informant and their little fling was going to pit them against her. Nathan was going to hate her, Kai was never going to speak to her again and Riku- she didn't even want to think of how Riku would punish her.
'Danielle snuck around with Solomon behind our backs and no one reprimanded her for it. But I'll get shunned.' She suddenly felt herself growing bitter. 'That's bullshit I was only doing something to make myself feel better, I-' She paused once again and sighed deeply. 'I'm nothing but a slut, no longer than an hour before that I was complaining about loving Kai and then I turn around and sleep with Moses.' She fell onto her stomach and curled herself into a little ball, feeling despair and anger fill her. She shot into a sitting position when there was a sudden knock on the door and she felt her panic rise into the form of tears, showing her absolute guilt. 'If no one ever finds out then everything will be fine, right?' She didn't believe it but the need to believe over powered her and she sank into the denial like silk sheets.
"W-who is it?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from sounding strained. Her guilt became an uncontrollable monster when she saw it was Kai and her tears burst from her like a fountain, she curled up and cried into her blanket. Kai was so shocked about her outburst; he rushed to her side but frowned when she flinched from his touch. "Don't touch me." She whispered she didn't want to him to touch her after what she did; it made the guilt eat at her faster.
"What's the matter?" Kai asked her, completely thrown with her reaction to him. She sat up and wiped her face regaining some composure.
"I found out some new information." She said softly, Kai frowned at the quick change of topic.
"Ok…what is it?"
"Diva is at Christina Island."
"Christina Island?" She nodded weakly.
"She's waiting for us there." Kai frowned.
"Tell me what's wrong right now." She shook her head.
"It's nothing." She whispered, pulling away from him further keeping a good distance from him.
"It's not nothing, tell me."
"No." She mumbled and flinched when he grabbed her.
"What's wrong with you?!" He hissed, she was starting to make him nervous. Ever since Moses left- his eyes widened. "Did Moses hurt you?" She let out a bitter laugh.
"Not in the way your thinking, I am a bit sore though." His hands released her and he slowly stood.
"What?" He asked, she giggled a sob and nodded.
"Yeah we slept together." She said and bit her lower lip, she could see the flush of red fill his face. He was angry.
"You did what?!" He screamed, she flinched at his harsh tone this time. Like she didn't feel back enough already? "Why would you do that?!" He yelled, she shrugged.
"Because I was so starved for human contact? I'm severely pathetic? I don't know!" She lied, she knew exactly why she did it but there was no way she would tell him. How do you tell someone that you slept with someone else to forget the fact that you were so head over heels in love with them it was drowning you? Not only did it not make sense it was rude.
"I can't believe you did this!" She glared at the comforter. He made it seem as though she cheated on him even though it was painfully obvious to everyone that they were not together.
"I'm sorry Kai but I just wanted a little attention!" She yelled back, which was true. She had begun to feel as though they had all fallen into a rut, she wanted something different for at least a split second.
"You get attention! You get it from Nathan, Danielle, Riku, me, David, Haji-" She growled in frustration and shook her head.
"No Kai! Attention! I wanted to be held, kissed and told everything was going to be alright! Danielle got it from Solomon and now probably from Haji and I have no one! It was getting a bit difficult after a while, I just wanted something." She cried, trying not to blurt out that he had been the something she wanted.
"So you go and sleep with Moses?!" She clenched her hands together tightly and grabbed her hair with a short frustrated shriek.
"I can't have the one person I want so I went to who I could have." He frowned at her.
"Who you want? Who the hell do you want?" Her tears began to fall more rapidly and she fought to keep from sobbing in front of him.
"Get out." She whispered, glaring at him. He frowned.
"No! Answer my question!"
"Get out!!" She screamed and threw her pillow at him. "Just get out!" He stared at her as though she had gone insane but did as she demanded and left the room, leaving her to her despair and anger.
