Part Ten: Self-Destruction
"Nh…"
Lavi looked up from the book he was reading. He grinned and nudged Lenalee, who was sitting beside him, drinking her tea. "I think she's waking up."
Lenalee looked across from them at the other couch and smiled as well. "Oh, good."
Sayaka rolled over, about to wake up anyway, narrowly avoiding falling off the couch and onto the floor. She gasped, her eyes snapping open immediately. "What?!"
Lavi and Lenalee laughed at her reaction. She blushed and sat up straight as Lenalee pushed a cup of tea towards her. She took it and brought it up to her mouth, taking a small sip.
"…It's bitter." She said.
"That's nothing new." Lavi replied, resting his book on one leg and slugging down the rest of his own cup, "Besides, what do you think sugar's for?"
Sayaka shrugged. "I dunno…I've never had tea before."
"Eh?! Never?"
"Nope. I haven't drunken much of anything except water. I wasn't sure if I could handle it."
Lenalee tipped her head to one side slightly, confused. "What do you mean, 'handle it'?"
Sayaka put her cup down on the table. "I was told that my body wasn't entirely stable, so I was advised not to go near certain foods or drinks."
"So like," Lavi leaned forward, "You've never tried anything alcoholic?"
"Nope."
"Does your not being entirely stable apply to other things as well?"
She paused for a moment, mulling that one over. Thrax hadn't really told her much past what she had just told them, so she couldn't be too sure. "Maybe…your guess is as good as mine."
"Somehow I doubt that it applies anywhere else," Lavi put in, "Because if that were the case, wouldn't injuries do more damage than normal?"
"That's possible, but I haven't gotten too many injuries so far," Sayaka held up her hand and stared at it, "So I can't be sure." There was a very faint scar where the Mugen had pierced her palm. It seemed so long ago now.
We were bitter enemies then… she thought.
She didn't realize that Lavi was looking over her shoulder until she heard Lenalee giggling at her. Then she looked behind her and freaked. "Ah! When did you get there?!"
Lavi grinned. "Took you long enough. What's this mark on your hand?"
Sayaka hesitated. She hadn't really mentioned it, because there had been no point. "It, uh…happened before I became an exorcist." But Lavi kept staring. "…Kanda did it."
"He stabbed your hand?"
Lenalee came over. "That seems a bit brutish, even for Kanda. He's usually tolerant of girls."
"We were fighting at the time," Sayaka replied, feeling a grin of her own coming on, "So I guess that tolerance doesn't apply when he's fighting a girl."
"Wow, I'm surprised you don't hate his guts," Lavi said, choosing his words carefully.
The ex-fairy shrugged. "He only did it out of concern for Sayo. That's the only reason that I let it slide."
Lenalee sat beside her. "It's still funny that Kanda happened upon an accommodator like Sayo before anyone else. I mean, they're so opposite."
"But Sayo's little bro was right up Yuu's alley, I bet." Lavi replied.
Sayaka shook her head. "Doubt it…Hoshino's a whiner and a self-doubter. The killer intent is there, but…" she leaned back against the back of the couch, "I dunno…he's just not as similar to his father as people like to think."
"His father?"
"Yeah…"
Suddenly, Section Leader Reever walked in. "Oh, Lenalee, there you are."
Lenalee turned to see. "Were you looking for me? Komui should've told you that I was here."
anger mark "Oh really? He conveniently left that part out."
The three exorcists sweatdropped. Although, thanks to the interruption, their conversation on Hoshino's father was quickly forgotten, much to Sayaka's relief. She was afraid of getting into that.
"Anyway, he wants to speak with Sayaka."
Thrax locked the door to the dilapidated building right before the flames started devouring it. His three dolls stood behind him, fully clothes and fully armed. The four watched as the entire building became a pillar of fire. Everyone was locked inside but them. Screams filled their ears.
"Did we really need to burn them?"
Thrax looked over his shoulder at the doll that had spoken. "They served their purpose. After that, I had no use for them."
He turned all the way around and walked through them, walking to the outskirts that lead to the highway. The dolls followed him. "We're clear on what we're doing next, right?"
The blonde doll nodded. "Yes, Master."
"I'm surprised you made another girl, Master," the brunette spoke next, "Were we not good enough?'
Thrax laughed. "No, that wasn't what I meant at all. Sayaka was an interesting experiment. I was thinking that since she was an accommodator, that maybe you three were too. That's why I had her go out and kill akuma and get the Innocence. But in the end, I'm glad you three didn't end up being like her. You might have left me like she did."
The third doll with black hair started glaring at the path ahead. She didn't like this Sayaka person one bit.
"What about Susumu?" the blonde asked.
"I don't know where he is," the akuma replied, "and he's not important at the moment. But don't worry…his time will come soon."
"I want to do him in myself."
"Oh really?"
"…You'll get your chance. But Sayaka comes first."
All of a sudden, the brunette ran ahead of the group and stopped, causing everyone to stop. "Master?"
Thrax blinked, surprised. "What is it?"
She pointed in the distance. "Is that her?"
Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing. There was a female exorcist walking through the woods, talking into a wireless golem that was flapping around in front of her. The group stood perfectly still, trying hard not to make any noise. Thrax squinted to get a good look at her.
She had semi-short, wavy brown hair. She wasn't carrying any weapons. He could hear her saying, "Yes, that's right…I think I'll need some help with this one…of course. I understand. I'll wait here for her."
A smile grew on his face. "No, that's not Sayaka. But I believe that this will be a good place to lie in wait for her. Miina," he turned to the black haired doll, "keep an eye on that exorcist. No attacking unless I say so."
Miina nodded, disappearing. Thrax looked at the two dolls remaining. "Akesato, Yurina, you two will stay with me. When Sayaka comes, you'll be the ones to bring her to me."
Akesato looked confused. "You're going to kill her, then?"
"We can't touch her is what you're saying?" Yurina added.
Thrax nodded. "Exactly. She's mine."
Two days later, Komui decided to give into Sayaka's begging (though it still confused him). Miranda had called in while Sayaka was sleeping, saying that she needed a hand in completing her mission. The Chief had given it serious thought and, after coming to the conclusion that there was no foreseeable danger, sent Sayaka to assist Miranda. It was just going to be the two of them in the woods just outside the city. The finder who had originally accompanied Miranda disappeared not long after she had called the Order.
Now, Sayaka waited on the dock of the underground waterway for a boat to arrive.
I wonder what happened to the finder…she thought.
There was a sound from one end of the tunnel. A boat was coming towards them, but to Sayaka's surprise, it was already occupied. Somebody was returning. Seeing who it was in the boat made her gulp, and she quickly turned her gaze away as the boat pulled up to the dock.
Kanda saw her eyes look away, but he didn't pay it any mind as he got out of the boat. In his bandaged hand he held a small box.
"Innocence fragment?" Sayaka asked without looking.
He nodded mutely.
"I see…"
"Look, if you're going to talk to me, I'd appreciate it if you looked at me."
Obediently, she looked at him. "Sorry."
Kanda's eyebrow rose. "You look exhausted."
"A bit. I'm better now, though."
"…Don't tell me Komui is sending you on a mission."
She nodded. "Yeah, what of it?"
"You're not exactly in the right condition for one."
"Miranda needed backup, so Komui sent me. I can't let someone be forced into going on a mission that was meant for me in the first place."
Turning away towards the entrance, Kanda rolled his eyes and started to walk away. "Quit acting to so selfish, it makes you look like a fool."
Sayaka was unexpectedly angered by that. She assumed that it was fatigue. "What the hell do you mean by that?"
"Komui didn't make me do anything, if that's what you're referring to."
The anger faded as quickly as it came. "…You mean, you volunteered to go in my place?"
"That's right," he said with his back to her, "because you would've gotten yourself killed if you'd gone. But don't think I'm ever going to do anything like this again, because I won't. If you're going to keep acting like you're the only exorcist in the Order that can get rid of Thrax or any other akuma, then no one here is going to give you a hand if you get in too deep. That includes me."
When he had gone, the echo of his footsteps hardly outlasted the echo of his words.
Kanda walked towards Hevlaska's chamber. He hadn't been especially angry when he volunteered to take Sayaka's place on that mission. She had looked about ready to collapse when he saw her in the corridors. Sure, he had just gotten back from a mission of his own and he was tired himself, but for once he felt like giving her a break.
There was no particular reason (none that he could think of)…he just felt like it.
But after what Sayaka had just said, it made him sick to think that he'd actually done her a favor. He didn't think she'd gotten so narrow-minded about this whole Thrax thing.
"Stupid…" he muttered underneath his breath, "She's so damn stupid…"
In his hand, the box containing the Innocence was becoming dented.
That evening…
Just as Sayaka arrived on the scene, Miranda found the finder's dead body lying in the woods.
"How long has he been here?"
Miranda shrugged her slightly shaking shoulders. "I couldn't say…I just found him half an hour ago."
Sayaka knelt by the body. "There aren't any slash marks…it almost looks like he died in his sleep."
"You're certain? His face doesn't look like what I'd call peaceful."
Miranda was referring to the fact that though the finder's eyes were closed, his face seemed to be holding back the obvious terror that his eyes had once shown. His mouth was frowning in such away that it could almost be mistaken for a grimace.
Gently, Sayaka turned the body over. No wounds on his back and no apparent punctures in his white coat. Then, just as she was about to lay him back down, something on the back of his neck caught her eye. She squinted. "Miranda…look at this."
"What is it?"
"There's a tiny hole right here on the back of his neck," she placed her finger next to the spot, "and…oh God…"
Miranda's soft brown eyes widened as a glint of metal flashed in the pale moonlight. "…There's something still in him…"
"Hold him for a second, I'll try to get it out." Sayaka said, waiting for Miranda to hold the finder's body, and then reaching to her hair band, where her needle-like kunai were strung.
Taking one of them off her hair band, she used it to widen the tiny hole in the finder's neck so she could get at whatever was stuck inside. A trickle of blood escaped from the hole, making Miranda look away. After a bit of effort, Sayaka managed to extract what turned out to be another needle, similar to her own. She replaced hers and held up the new one in the light.
"Miranda, are you sure that no one was following you?"
"Yes…I'm certain. There's no one else out here but me."
"I'm not so sure…this couldn't have come from an akuma, and even if it did, you would've heard it."
Miranda placed the finder back on the ground and stood up. "Before we do anything, we should bury him."
Sayaka kept staring at the needle like she hadn't heard anything, but eventually replied, "I agree…but let's do it quickly."
Since the body was close to the road, the two exorcists found a spot further away, within a thicker grove of trees, and carried the dead finder over. There was no shovel, so digging the hole took longer than expected. When they finally managed to get it deep and wide enough, they placed the finder in the ground, then began covering him up. The needle was making both of them uneasy, for they both knew that there was only one place that it could have come from…a ninja…and since Sayaka was the technically the only one visible at the moment, that meant that there was another one around here somewhere.
It sure as hell wasn't Susumu, Sayaka thought as she scooped handfuls of dirt into the grave, and unless Thrax made another one in a hurry, someone just snuck up from behind and forcefully inserted it into the poor guy's spinal cord…
"Sayaka san?"
Miranda's voice broke her thoughts. "Yes?"
"I think I heard something."
The two of them froze. Sayaka scanned the area, but didn't see any movement. A twig snapped behind her, making her jump. Miranda covered her mouth to keep herself from making a frightened squeak. Sayaka looked back at her, placing her first finger to her lips, and motioning for them to slowly get up with the other hand. Once they were standing, Sayaka dropped her hands and moved one slowly to her holster. There was definitely someone else out there with them.
There was a whizzing noise as a shuriken flew out of nowhere and hit the half-buried finder in the forehead. Sayaka threw a kunai of her own in the direction the shuriken had come from.
In response, another shuriken came out of the shadows of the trees, nearly missing Miranda, who quickly jumped to the side. She managed to escape with a slight cut on her cheek.
"Let's run!" Sayaka said, "Stay near me!"
Now the attacks became more frequent. There was no way to create a shield while they were running, so Sayaka had to catch each blade that came close to hitting either of them. They didn't know where they were going, but eventually they knew they had to stop and find some way to draw their enemy out into the open.
It's definitely another ninja…could Thrax have made another one in such little time?
Finally, the two exorcists reached a large clearing in the woods. Immediately, they stood back to back. This was going to be difficult since Miranda's anti-akuma weapon was only for defense, and there now appeared to be more than one attacker.
"I think we might have multiple enemies, Miranda," Sayaka said aloud, "Can your Time Record keep you safe?"
"What about you?" Miranda replied, looking over her shoulder fearfully, "You need to be safe too! I can activate my barrier around us both, and you can still attack from the inside!"
"Alright…but if you start to get tired, let me know and I'll back you up with my shield."
Miranda's hand moved to her shoulder where her Time Record was and then moved it swiftly along the trail that went down her arm to her hand. "Innocence…activate!"
A dome-shaped barrier surrounded both exorcists, covered in ticking clock shapes. From the inside, Sayaka could see what was going on around them. That meant that the enemies probably wouldn't be able to see inside from out there.
"Their weapons can't get through this, right?"
"I'm not sure," Miranda replied, "Usually my Time Record keeps out akuma and their attacks, but these are human weapons."
"We'll just have to be careful, then."
They got their answer quickly as another wave of kunai and shuriken came flying towards them from the sky. Sayaka took out her sword and used it to deflect the ones that actually came close enough to come through the barrier, but not break it.
"Don't move, Miranda!"
She stood completely still as Sayaka ran around her inside the barrier. If she got hit, it would weaken the Time Record. Suddenly, she looked up to see a black shape in the sky above them.
"Sayaka san, up there!" she cried, pointing.
A figure in shinobi attire descended upon them at great speed, aiming to land on the top of the dome. Sayaka automatically threw a kunai in their direction to knock them off course. But as that figure was deflected, another appeared on the left. The second figure tried to run inside the dome, but was repelled, knocking them onto the ground. That gave Sayaka time to survey their enemy.
To her great surprise, not only was it a human shinobi, but a woman with black hair. She hadn't made a sound when she hit the ground, but merely glared at Sayaka as she pulled herself back up. The first figure, also female, came to her companion's side, this one with brown hair.
"Well, it seems like there's no question as to which one of you is Sayaka," she said.
"Who are you? How do you know who I am?" Sayaka asked in reply.
The woman smiled. "The name's Yurina. My mute companion here is Miina."
A third voice answered the second question. "As for how we know you, let's just say that we're well informed."
Sayaka looked behind her to see a third, blonde woman standing on the other side, looking right at her past Miranda.
"I'm Akesato," she added, smiling.
Miranda backed up a couple of steps, her hands clenched together over her heart. Sayaka got closer to her, hand clenched tightly around her sword's handle.
"So this is what the Innocence can do?" Akesato walked around the dome towards the other two, looking fascinated, "It can keep us out, but our weapons can still penetrate?"
Yurina spoke to her, "I think if we kill the taller one, the dome will go away."
Sayaka pointed her sword at her. "You so much as motion to hurt Miranda, and I'll run you through."
"Ooh, she's got a nasty mouth on her, doesn't she?" Akesato laughed, "Well then, come out here, and we'll have no reason to hurt your friend. All we want is you."
"Why do you want me? I don't even know you."
"But we know you, and that is enough," Yurina replied as Miina produced a long chain from thin air, "Now either you come out on your own, or we'll drag you out."
But Sayaka wouldn't move. "I'm not coming within an inch of you until you tell me how you know me and what exactly you want."
Miina's eyes slanted into irritated slits. She swung the chain around her head and threw it, wrapping it around Sayaka's wrist, and began to pull. But Sayaka saw it coming and acted accordingly, taking her sword and stabbing it into the chain.
"Hah! Our chains are stronger than that!"
Sayaka smiled at them. "But my Innocence is stronger than your chain!"
Her blade was surrounded by the familiar green aura as she spoke. Then she performed a horizontal slice, breaking the chain to pieces. Miina drew back in surprise. Yurina gaped at her.
"So it's true…it's in your hands, isn't it?!" she shrieked.
Sayaka's would-be reply was cut off by a scream from Miranda. She whirled around to see that Akesato had her by the neck with her own chain. She was dragging her closer to the edge of the dome, which was beginning to faze in and out of existence. Miranda gasped, trying to keep the Time Record activated.
"Now, now, little exorcist," Akesato hissed, "don't forget, if this woman goes, the barrier goes with her."
"Let her go! Miranda's not a part of this!"
"Oh, but she is now. You decided that when you refused to obey."
The former fairy gritted her teeth. This was getting them nowhere fast. At this point, these three shinobi had the upper hand. Taking these three on by herself was the only way to keep Miranda out of danger.
"Fine, fine! I'll come out of here if you let Miranda go." She said.
Miranda gasped in protest. Akesato grinned, satisfied. "That's more like it. Resheathe your sword and go towards Yurina and Miina. Then I'll release her."
She complied, reluctantly, still not sure of what to do from there. She then turned on her heel and walked slowly out of the barrier. Once she was outside, Miranda was released, dropping to her knees and gasping for breath. Akesato came around to Yurina and Miina.
"There. Now come with us."
But Sayaka didn't move. "You haven't told me what this is all about yet."
"Oh? The little traitor hasn't figured it out yet?"
"'Traitor'?"
"You have something in common with us," Yurina replied.
"And that is…?"
Akesato leaned near her and whispered, "We were all created by the same person."
It didn't take long for Sayaka to realize who they were talking about. "But how…how could he have made you three so quickly? There's no way!" her voice shook along with her body.
Yurina threw her head back and laughed. "The girl thinks she's older than we are!"
"What a fool!" Akesato added, "I'm surprised Susumu never told you! And here I thought he'd taught you everything!"
Sayaka's mouth dropped open. Susumu knew about this and never told her? How could this be? Why would he keep something so important from her?
If Thrax had made these three along with Susumu, then where had they been all this time? There appearance could only have meant one thing…that Thrax was serious now. Taking back the Innocence from him was the last straw.
Without thinking, Sayaka did a quick draw and lashed out at the three women, who were conveniently surrounding her in a half circle. The women jumped out of the way, widening their half circle. Then they lunged at Sayaka, grabbing her arms and her weapons.
"S-Sayaka san!" Miranda shouted, starting to come forward, when a kunai landed at her feet. She looked to see Miina glowering at her.
"Miranda, run!" Sayaka screamed, "Run and get help!"
But the elder exorcist's body trembled with terror and she could not will herself to move. She watched as Sayaka struggled with the three women, kicking and flailing about wildly in an attempt to free herself.
The women got this foreboding gleam in their eyes as they stared down at Sayaka, taking out a kunai each and slashing Sayaka across the face. Akesato tied her arms behind her back as Yurina forced a burlap bag over Sayaka's head. Then Miina took the thrashing exorcist and threw her over her shoulder.
As the three women began to retreat, Sayaka made one last attempt to call out to Miranda. "Miranda, please! Get help! Hurry!"
She screamed as they disappeared into thin air, leaving Miranda all by herself with Sayaka's weapons.
All she could do was run to the nearest telephone, which was back in the city, and call the Order for backup. She had no choice but to run.
Susumu heard the scream even before he reached the highway. He saw four black shapes leaping into the air and vanishing before his eyes. Even though he knew that it was too late, he pushed his legs to go faster.
As he crossed the asphalt and started through the trees, he could sense that someone was coming towards him. He skidded to a stop, taking a kunai from his belt and holding it in front of him, waiting. Perhaps the dolls were coming this way.
He didn't expect Miranda to show up.
"Oh!" Miranda jumped back, tripping and falling to the ground, raising her hands up in front of her face in fear.
Susumu lowered the kunai. "Another exorcist?"
"Please!" she cried.
"I'm not an enemy," he replied, "But if you're here, that means that you were with Sayaka. Why didn't you stop them?"
"I don't have an offensive weapon!" she replied, "Sayaka told me to get help! Please, I need to get to a phone!"
"Your golem isn't wireless?"
"No…who are you? You're not with them?"
Susumu shook his head. "I'm a friend of Sayaka's. I can take you to a phone, if that's what you wish. But first, tell me, do you know where they are taking her?"
Miranda shook her head furiously, "I couldn't tell…they disappeared so fast! Oh please, sir, help me!"
He pulled the exorcist off the ground and picked her up bridal-style. "Hold on. I know where there's a phone."
BRRRRRING…BRRRRRRRRING…
Komui lay down his pen and picked up the telephone. "Yes?"
The force of the voice on the other end made him pull back the phone from his ear. When the yelling finally stopped, he brought it back and replied, "Miranda, calm down. Tell me again, slowly. What's the situation?"
"Komui, send help! Please, Sayaka's been taken by the enemy! I think they're going to take her to Thrax! He may try to kill her!"
The chief nearly dropped the phone in shock. He hadn't seen anything like this coming. He looked up to see Reever entering the office.
"Section Leader Reever, what exorcists are available in the Order right now?" he asked without hesitation.
Reever shut the door. "Er…Lenalee, Lavi, and Allen, I think…they're the ones who aren't busy with a General at the moment—"
"Go get Lavi and send him to Miranda's location immediately! The enemy's taken Sayaka captive!" he then said into the phone, "Miranda, go back to where you were before. We're sending Lavi your way."
Both men felt weight in the pits of their stomachs.
Finally, they had stopped moving. Sayaka felt Miina put her back on the ground. Her feet buckled underneath her and she fell to the ground in a heap. She heard the three dolls laughing at her. Then she heard a voice that filled her with dread.
"Ah, finally. Good work, ladies." Thrax said.
Was he coming towards her? It felt like he was coming closer. She wished they would take the damn bag off.
"Sounded like you put up quite a fight out there, baby," his voice was much closer now, "and I understand that Susumu didn't tell you about the lovely ladies that were created right along with him."
She couldn't think of anything else to say. "H-His sisters or something?"
Thrax chuckled. "No, not exactly. But I had created them much earlier, long before I even met you."
"Why?"
"I was testing my newfound abilities. However, I decided that, for a time, I would put them to sleep until I had a more meaningful use for them…this being a good example."
Sayaka couldn't believe he was saying that right in front of them. "And you three are okay with that?"
To her right, Akesato snickered. "Our only purpose is to serve Thrax. We willingly underwent hibernation."
"Yes, she's right." Yurina (on the left) agreed, "We're not as ungrateful as you turned out to be."
Thrax pulled Sayaka up by the front of her jacket so that she was standing. "You do realize why you're here now, don't you?"
Sayaka didn't answer. She didn't have to, because she knew he'd answer for her.
"First you abandon me, and then you steal from me. You dug your own grave here, baby, and no one's going to get you out. Not me, not Susumu, and certainly not your boyfriend."
He didn't know that Kanda was still alive. Sayaka felt a smile coming on and didn't try to stop it, since Thrax couldn't see it anyway. But it quickly faded when she felt Thrax sliding two of his fingers underneath the bag to grasp her face.
Thrax pulled her so that his face was mere inches away from hers. "I told you that I could easily unmake you. I already made you suffer when I infected your boyfriend, but apparently it wasn't enough. It seems that killing you is my only option."
"Kanda…isn't dead…"
His eyes widened. "What? What did you say?"
"He lived. What's more, he's not infected anymore. You don't know as much about exorcists as you think you do." She knew she wasn't making this easier on herself, but she didn't care. She wanted to rub it in his face.
Thrax knew it, he knew what she was doing. It just made him angry. He shoved her backward and slashed her side. The dolls advanced forward, thinking that it was their turn next, but Thrax gestured for them to stay back. Sayaka was too surprised to scream. Instead, she stumbled backward, wincing at the sudden rush of pain to her right side.
"H-Heh…that's it? W-Was that your only—" she started to say. Thrax cut her off by delivering another blow to her left side.
"You shouldn't interrupt me," he growled, "And no, that wasn't it. I'm going to kill you nice and slow."
He didn't pause and give her another chance to speak again. Instead, he went into a continuous streak of slashing her. Sayaka couldn't see anything, so there was no way to dodge. At one point, her bonds were cut, but by then it didn't matter. Her weapons were gone and she had barely the strength to stand, let alone activate her Innocence. All she could do was scream until her throat went hoarse. When the blows finally stopped coming, it seemed like hours had passed. Maybe they had, for all she knew. Her legs gave out and she collapsed against the trunk of a tree.
The dolls came closer, still staying behind Thrax, who was also advancing on Sayaka. He knew she wasn't dead yet. She may have been rapidly losing her entire body's worth of blood, but she wasn't as close to death as he would've liked.
"Still alive, then, baby?"
Sayaka didn't answer. She couldn't even hear Thrax's voice. Someone else's voice was filling her ears and echoing in her mind.
No one here is going to give you a hand if you get in too deep.
Don't say that…she thought, please…don't talk like that…
That includes me.
I've been so obsessed with my own problems…I didn't realize that I wasn't the only one that was being affected by what Thrax had been doing…I realize that now. So please don't say things like that…please help me…
Kanda hadn't been lying. He hadn't made a word of that up. She didn't have to be a mind-reader to know that. But even so, knowing that pained her. In a way, he was probably right. It wasn't helping her right now. She was begging for someone to show up.
"Are you listening, Sayaka? 'Cause it looks to me like you're off somewhere else."
Thrax's voice became audible. Sayaka started to cry.
Akesato laughed. "How cute."
"Is she crying, Master?" Yurina asked, "How can she cry at a time like this?"
"Because," Thrax replied, "She knows that she's done for."
He knelt down in front of her and lifted the front of the bag slightly so he could see the tears running down her face. They glistened in the moonlight, disappearing into her shadow. She was biting her lower lip, her teeth breaking the skin so that small drops of blood appeared. Thrax smiled, swiping the blood off of her face and licking it off his finger.
"It's too bad…you always did look especially cute when you cried." He whispered.
Suddenly, he looked to see Sayaka's hands moving slowly up to his face. He felt the wetness of the blood as they touched him. Thinking nothing of it, he snickered again. Her hands started to glow green and she mouthed something, her voice going hoarse. When Thrax had pieced together what she had said, he let out a shrill shriek…a true akuma shriek…right before his head exploded.
"Innocence…activate!"
The three dolls cried out, covering their faces as blood, ash, and quite possibly eyeballs, flew into the air.
"Master!!"
When the ash blew away, Sayaka's hands dropped to her sides, splashing in a pool that had formed all around her. Had she really bled that much already?
Akesato snarled. "You little bitch! How dare you kill him?!"
Miina took a kunai out and went right up to Sayaka, kneeling down and dragging the blade through her flesh, just below her collarbone. Sayaka couldn't scream, so instead she let out gasps and whimpers.
Yurina put a hand on Miina's shoulder. "That's enough."
"Enough? Are you insane?" Akesato turned sharply on her.
"Master's dead…and soon enough, she will be too. Let's retreat….and bury his remains."
Those were the last words Sayaka heard before going unconscious.
"Here! They went this way!" Susumu yelled.
Lavi and Miranda were behind him, doing their best to keep up. Even for a spy, he was very quick on his feet.
"How can you tell?" Lavi called up to him.
"Can't you smell it by now?"
Miranda looked at him, "Smell what?"
"The scent of blood. Human blood."
All of a sudden, they could smell blood. It made them feel uneasy. Why was it so strong? Had Sayaka killed them all? A metallic, rusty smell was mixed in with the blood scent.
Lavi coughed. "There's an akuma there too…or at least, there was…"
Suddenly, Susumu stopped dead in his tracks at the entrance to the clearing. Lavi halted, grabbing Miranda before she crashed into him. The smell was overwhelming now.
"Susumu? What's wro—" the words caught in Lavi's throat before he could speak.
Miranda covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my god…oh no…!"
A female body was slumped against a tree, in a pool of blood. A ring of ash lay at her feet where an akuma had been. A bloody kunai lay on the grass, dripping crimson onto the ground. Her coat was shredded. The two exorcists and the former spy were almost afraid to get closer. Lavi willed himself to go over and see if she was still alive. Miranda and Susumu followed behind him, standing a few feet back to give him room.
Lavi got down on one knee, ignoring the fact that his knee was now soaked in blood, and placed two fingers on her neck to check her pulse. He had to search around for it.
"Lavi…?" Miranda spoke softly.
After a moment, he looked over his shoulder. "Found it. It's pretty weak, but there."
Susumu removed his outer coat and went over to Lavi's other side. "If you lift her up, I can wrap this around her."
"Yeah…okay."
Carefully, Lavi moved Sayaka forward by her shoulders and nearly dropped her when he felt her shudder. Quickly, Susumu wrapped the coat around her and scooped her into his arms, standing up. Lavi and Miranda followed suit, then all three of them started walking slowly back to the city, where a void (portal) was waiting to send them immediately back to the Order.
The two exorcists wondered if Susumu was going to come back to the Order with them. It would constitute a problem, since the Order never allowed outsiders in. Once they reached the void, Susumu turned to Lavi.
"Here, take her back to the Order." He said.
"You're not coming with us?" Miranda asked.
"I have a feeling I won't get past the front gates if I do," he replied, smiling sadly, "and besides, those three dolls might still be around here somewhere."
Lavi took Sayaka from him. "We won't let her die, I promise."
Susumu nodded. "I have a feeling she'll live. She's always been pretty stubborn."
With that said, he turned, leapt into the air, then disappeared. Lavi stared at the space where he'd been standing. "Stubborn…"
"Eh?"
"Oh, nothing. Let's hurry and get back."