When the End Comes
Ichigo released a big sigh of relief when he saw her sitting on the sand near the water's edge. He had woke up in the middle of the night to find out that she had disappeared and had no idea where to find her. During his search it finally occurred to him that she might return to the place where they had first made love which was the beach. She had a sentimental side that she hid quite well.
"I-I'm sorry," Faylinn apologized again when he walked up to her.
"About what?" Ichigo asked, looking down at her.
"It's my fault he killed her," she answered, standing up beside him. She sighed when he took her into his arms.
"Honey, don't take this the wrong way, but you're giving yourself way too much credit. He hated her. He killed her because he wanted to. You were just one more reason on a long list. You weren't THE reason," he explained, holding her close to him.
Faylinn was quiet as the words sank in and he patiently waited for them to have their full impact. She took a deep breath and dared to ask the question that had been rolling around in her brain since he told her what happened. "Did you allow him to do it? Did you even try to stop him?"
Silence was the answer she received and silence was all she needed to know the answer. She wanted to ask why, but she left it alone. How could he let that happen? She was beginning to regret the night she ever took the good looking orange haired man home. He was a two for one deal with one being a homicidal sadist and the other being a sensitive caring man. Even the Mr. Perfect side wasn't so perfect after all. She believed that the inner evil named Hichigo couldn't totally suppress Ichigo without his permission otherwise he would have taken over long ago.
"Wildcat, you betrayed me," a familiar raspy growl filled her ear as his lips grazed her earlobe.
Well, think of the devil and he arrives. "How so, asshole?" she asked with a defiant tone in her voice.
"That's twice I've found you in his arms," Hichigo answered, raking his fingernails across her neck blazing a trail of stinging cuts. "You're not irreplaceable you know."
"What are you going to do? Kill me too?" she taunted with a smirk. She really did not care if he did kill her. "Bring it on, asshole."
Hichigo turned her to face him, grabbing her by her long hair, and pulling her head back. His lips claimed hers painfully and violently as was his style. He let go of her hair and held her hands in his as he looked into her pretty green eyes.
Faylinn allowed a scornful, mocking grin to curl her lips as he searched her eyes. "Don't you dare try to connect with me emotionally. We both know that isn't going to happen," she hissed, brushing her lips across his in a suggestive manner. "You're incapable. Or should I say, impotent that way."
Hichigo smiled in a cold, cruel way as he slid his hands up her arms. "You know me too well. You're the only one who has ever truly understood me. You're the only one who could ever feed my appetite and satisfy me. You were the woman meant for me."
Faylinn closed her eyes as his long fingers curled around her neck. A tear slid from her eye as she accepted her fate when he whispered in her ear, "I will miss you."
It hurt. It felt as if he was crushing her windpipe, and she was unable to even struggle against him from the immediate and profound lack of air. Her body began to feel numb while black seeped into the edges of her vision signaling unconsciousness would be coming soon which would probably be quickly followed by death.
"NO! YOU BASTARD!" Keigo yelled, bum rushing the murderous fiend and shoving him away. He brought his hand down on the back of the other man's head as if he had punched him in the skull.
Faylinn coughed and struggled to breath as she rubbed her sore neck. She took Keigo's hand when he offered it to her, looking back at orange haired man lying in the sand. She wondered why he didn't move. Her answer came when the sand turned red with his blood at the back of his head. "What did you do?" she asked, trying to pull away from him.
"I used a weapon that was available," he answered, showing her the big, bloodied rock in his hand before he threw it toward the ocean.
"Did you kill him?" She was unable to free herself from the iron grip he had on her wrist. No amount of pulling or twisting even loosened his firm hold on her.
"So what if I did? He was trying to kill you." He was dragging her along behind him as if she were an unruly child.
When had life gotten so out of control and become a living nightmare? It was supposed to be so simple. Two lost souls had found each other and complemented each other perfectly. Infatuation, lust, jealousy, hatred, and anger – most of all, obsession – had unleashed a dreadful series of events that was rushing like an incoming Tsunami destroying everyone in its path.
Faylinn screamed when she was grabbed from behind with a strong arm around her waist. She threw back an elbow, catching him in the nose. A well placed kick landed on his mark right between his legs causing him drop her into the sand on her belly.
"Faylinn, it's me," Ichigo panted, his face a mask of unbearable agony. He was on his knees with his hands between his legs and blood was running from his nose over his lips. It was the most pitiful sight to behold.
"What the hell are you doing?" Keigo asked when she went to the bleeding pathetic creature who moments before was choking the life out of her. Confusion could not even describe what he was feeling. Baffled, bewildered, a bad case of what the fuckitis. They might be strong enough words to describe it.
"You don't understand!" Faylinn yelled, gingerly touching Ichigo's face.
"Yes, he would. He knows about Hichigo," he panted, looking up at Keigo who was glaring evilly at him.
"You make me sick, you really do," he roared with fury. "You two are completely insane. You deserve each other."
Faylinn watched as he shook his head and turned to walk away. Maybe he was right. They did deserve each other. Each one had a sickness no one could cure. One person was damaged beyond repair and had become an emotional and sexual predator. The other was two complete entities that shared one body; a fractured existence for which there was no hope. One was in danger of being devoured by the other proving that good guys don't always win.
"I want to end this. I'm so tired of being this way," Ichigo said, his voice sounding weak and weary.
"What? What do you mean?" she asked, kneeling down in front of him.
"I want to die, Faylinn! If I die, he dies and I don't have to worry about him hurting anyone else!" he yelled, leaning forward onto his hands. "I don't have worry about being too weak to stop him."
"Ichigo, please don't talk like this. You're just still in shock and depressed. Just give it time and –"
"And what?" he demanded, cutting her off. "Time heals all wounds and all that crap? I've been living with this psycho in my head for years. Do you have any idea what that's like?"
Faylinn bit her lip as he looked up at her with tortured eyes full of anguish. "No. No, I don't," she answered, helping him stand up. She leaned against him to prop him up as he put his arms around her.
"I love you," he admitted, squeezing her briefly. "That's why I chose not to stop him. We both wanted you so I let him have his way."
"You can't leave me. You can't do this to me," she cried, hitting him in the chest with her fist.
"I never said I would leave you behind," he murmured menacingly with a sinister grin plucking at the corners of his lips.
"Shit," she muttered under her breath. They were beginning to merge into one.
"We'll die together. All three of us," he added, taking her by the hand as he walked toward the benign looking waves lapping at the shore.
Faylinn stepped into the water with him, shivering as the cold water circled around her ankles. She allowed him to lead her further into the frigid water. Maybe he was right. Maybe it would be better if they all just died together. They would be out of their misery and no one else would get hurt. The water swirled around their calves and they still kept moving in deeper. It was getting difficult to move through the waves by the time they were thigh deep. The freezing water had already started working on their muscles making them feel cramped and stiff by the time it swirled around their waists. They moved forward in silence stopping only when the cold water was up to his chest and her chin. Ichigo pulled her into his arms. He looked down at her with the saddest smile that tore at her heart as she wrapped her arms and legs around his torso. He kissed her briefly before he continued on. Soon the water was over their heads.
"Tell me just one time that you love me," he requested, holding her gaze as he tread water.
"I love you. I love you enough that I won't let you die alone," she stated in a voice stronger than she was feeling right now.
Ichigo pressed his lips to hers, holding her against him as he pulled them both beneath the waves. They stayed in each other's arms as they were enveloped in a watery grave. Even when their lungs screamed for air and the survival instinct prompted them to push toward the surface, they tightened their grip on each other instead. Death came surprisingly easy after that. Once that last panicked effort of the body to fight for life was done it simply came over them, like falling asleep.
Without poison and without daggers, Ichigo and Faylinn died a tragic lovers' death just like in a centuries old play.
A few hours later...
"It's a crying shame really," the coroner remarked as he looked at the dead bodies of the two young people on the sand at the water's edge. They had not been in the water long from the looks of it. It almost seemed as if someone had dragged them to the shore. An anonymous phone call had been made to the police department about the bodies.
Asmall crowd of nosey onlookers gathered, adding to the number of police officers and crime scene investigators in the area, but no one noticed the crouching figure on the nearby rocks. Why would they? He was virtually a ghost. He had white skin, not pale, but white like snow just like his hair which was hidden by the hooded sweatshirt he wore. His eyes were his one defining feature which he hid behind dark sunglasses. His unusual eyes with the black sclera and golden pupils were bound to get noticed if anyone could see them. A grin of evil delight turned up the corners of his mouth. He was free. The horse had thrown the rider and taken the crown. He did regret killing the woman who had captured his imagination and brought his body so much pleasure; however, some collateral damage could not be avoided. He had grown bored with the tragic seen before him. After all, he had been there during the whole damn thing to begin with. He jumped off the rock he was sitting on and headed to town. It was time for him to start his own life now. He was sure it would not be long before he became someone else's darkest obsession.
Author's Note: Yes, the ending is overdramatic because I wanted it that way. It would have been more pathetic for this story to have a happy ending. It began with a heart stopping moment, why not end with one? (No - that pun was not intended.) I'll admit this is an ending that leaves one thinking WTF just happened. Think Romeo and Juliet (hence the allusion to the play on the last line). They didn't have feuding families keeping them apart but they had a jealous hollow that would never let them be together instead.
Just a note of interest... "OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, ... Obsession was once more common than it is now… A chaplain in Cromwell's army exorcised a soldier's obsessing devil by throwing the soldier into the water, when the devil came to the surface. The soldier, unfortunately, did not." ~Ambrose Bierce~ From the Devil's Dictionary
