Hey! I have Study Hall now so I can sit around for a luxurious Silent 45 minutes and write as much as I want, thus a double release on the chapters! I have WAY too much free time now. Hope you like the romantic direction it's going in. Enjoy! — Sh34k4

Kisses Before Death – 10

Yoyo Irvine Zidane Rikku Cloud Kurumi Leon (Squall)

For every metal scorpion that was taken down, two more advanced to replace it. Cloud, Irvine and Zidane were slowly clearing a path for themselves, but the little bastards weren't making it easy. The metal armor that made up their backs wasn't easily pierced by Zidane's double-edged knife or Irvine's standard bullets. Only Cloud's heavy broadsword made critical amounts of damage so the battle plan took an immediate swing. Zidane and Irvine went from offense to support, with Cloud leading the attack and them finishing off anything stupid enough to still be moving. The scorpions seemed to be endless in number and the stupid dust cloud they kept plentiful didn't help at all.

"Shit!" Zidane swore as he hacked at a scorpion trying to creep up on their left side, "How many of these things are there?"

"Damn it all! We shouldn't have left in such a rush!" Cloud spat dirt from his mouth as he took on the scorpion that had burrowed underground to try and surprise him, only to madden him with a mouth full of desert sand. "I wish I had my materia right now."

Their comments gave Irving a bit of a guilty feeling. If they hadn't been rushing after his fool hide, they wouldn't have forgotten important things like their materia. Hell, if Cloud did have it, he would have used his Wind techniques to get rid of both the scorpions and this infernal dust cloud.

Well, they were holding their own . . . for now. At the rate these idiots kept coming, it was only a matter of endurance. Which would fall first, them or the scorpions? He prayed to God that it wasn't any of them. He knew, no matter what happened, that this was his fault.

Back at Camp

Yoyo lifted her hefty Katana and secured it in its sheath on her back. Her movements quick and efficient, she checked the rounds in her gun and the materia she always carried.

It had been far too long.

Wherever those three had gone, it couldn't possibly take this long to return. Something was wrong, she could feel it. The most she figured, if she went to check and met them halfway only to find nothing amiss, then she was paranoid. But—and this was a big 'but' in her opinion—if things did prove to be wrong, she'd feel better that she didn't ignore her gut feeling.

"I'll be back," she turned to head off in the general direction Rikku had pointed out between sobs. Whatever the problem was with those two, she'd have to find out when they weren't so occupied with themselves.

Leon rose as well. "I'll go with you."

Before he even finished speaking, yoyo was shaking her head. "You can't just leave those two here by themselves." She indicated the two sobbing girls and the look Leon gave them said he'd be glad to get away from their tears for a bit. "I'll be back soon," she reassured as she began to run.

Dessert Battle

"Dude, we can't keep going on like this," Zidane yelled as he labored against a large scorpion. Its pincers whipped forward and almost reached him, but Irvine shot it off before it could make contact.

"I'm running low, guys. I'm gonna have to reload soon," Irvine turned to shoot an advancing scorpion in the eye.

The dust was clearing up a bit now, he could tell because his eyes didn't feel like coarse sandpaper every time he blinked. If they just kept going for a bit longer, they could get out of here. Mentally, he checked his bullets.

The chamber only had 2 or 3 left . . . reloading in such an open place would be a bitch and then he'd be on his last round. Using one hand, Irvine shot his last two bullets at the closest scorpions before backing up so Zidane and Cloud could cover him.

"Reloading," he shouted as he ejected the clip and tossed it aside.

The scorpions weren't fools. The bullets Irvine had fired into their eyes kept them wary and had them attacking to the sides more than they did his general area. Now that Irvine was preoccupied, they came in one great swell.

"Shit!" Irvine cursed as he tried to get the clip in. The damn thing was jammed! Fleetingly, he remembered that he'd meant to take the gun apart and fix that problem before going to bed tonight . . . great deal of good that did him now!

The scorpions were closing in and Cloud and Zidane were furiously trying to hold them off. Shit, shit, SHIT! Irvine's mind yelled as he ejected the clip again before forcing it into the chamber. Yes! Raising his gun, he quickly took aim but before he could pull the trigger, three shots pierced through the closest scorpions' hearts killing them instantly.

A figure stood to the far left, killing everything in her direct pat. One shot, clean and no waste. Yoyo.

"Clear!" she yelled as she unsheathed her katana and quickly ran her finger down the dull edge. Excited little thunderbolts began to dance along the blade and Irvine knew what was coming next.

"Get the hell away from them!" The trio moved quickly until they were back in the middle of the ringing scorpions and clear of their metal bodies.

Yoyo raised her katana until the tip pointed to the heavens and yelled, "Thundaga!"

Multiple bolts of thunder jumped from the sky to the vulnerable metal scorpions and a torturous chorus of pain rang out as the affected scorpions bawled their pain. Not wasting the chance, the three men quickly cleared a path for themselves until they joined Yoyo on the outer edge.

Irvine walked up to her and didn't stop until he was but a few inches away from her. If he'd dared, he would have pulled her close, but instead he opted for smiling down into her face.

"I knew you'd worry. I tried to get back before you could but," Irvine sighed, "I got a little held up."

Yoyo didn't know why, but she felt a blush rising in her cheeks and a pleased warmth rush through her chest. He'd thought about her feelings. Actually, it shocked her that he'd remembered that small flaw in her character. Something so insignificant, said so long ago . . . she hadn't thought he'd care much less remember it.

With false bravado, she scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about." To cover her embarrassing reaction, she turned to shoot a couple of scorpions.

Gazing at her tense back, Irvine simply smiled and moved to her side. "Thanks for being a worrier," he whispered in her ear as he guided her suddenly motionless gun hand to another scorpion and helped her pull the trigger. "I'll be taking this one and a few rounds." Without waiting for a reply, he slipped the other gun out of the holster and a clip from her thigh holder.

Yoyo wasn't very sure, but for a second it felt like it took him an eternity to retrieve the clip. But as the thought came, he moved away and began releasing specialized lightning element bullets on the scorpions.

Snapping back to reality, she shifted into the center of the men's triangle formation. That first Thundaga had knocked a good number of them unconscious. Unfortunately, it had also depleted most of her MP as well. It was the best choice against these metal monsters but also the most costly. If she used it again, it would shoot her right down to zero and it wasn't even a certainty that they'd all get hit this time.

She looked at her wrapped hands. The knuckles were still bruises and splotches of blood were starting to seep through the bandages. If she his zero, she'd be three-quarters close to useless. Her gun didn't require that much energy but her katana was more efficient and faster. She was in somewhat of a bind and suddenly found herself cursing her earlier burst of anger and how stupid it had been to damage her valuable hands.

To hit Absolute Zero or to continue fighting longer?

The guys were tiring and bullets wouldn't last forever. A smile crossed her lops.

"If we have to go out, might as well go out with a bit of flash," grasping her katana, Yoyo focused all her remaining energy. Pointing the katana to the heavens once more, she took a risk and yelled, "Thundaga!"

END

I wrote the entire chapter during my study hall, in which there is NO talking cuz I got lucky and got the most hated teacher in the school . . . Hope you enjoyed it, PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW! Tell me what you think. — Sh34k4