Every Flower Has Its Thorns v2
.::Skye Leto::.
When she opened her eyes, all she could see...
Was blood.
Blood was everywhere, dying the dirt from the earth a dark red. It was splattered liberally onto buildings, trees, and bushes...
Soon her other senses began to regain function. A peculiar scent hit her nostrils, one that smelled of burning flesh and putrid metal.
As Kaeko's vision began to refocus, her eyes scanned the area around her and she gasped sharply at the sight. Corpses littered the majority of the ground, buildings were set aflame, and ruin seemed to be present wherever she turned. This was a massacre! But... who could have done such a thing?
A strange sensation began to linger down her arms. Was... water running down them? No, it felt too thick to be water... Slowly, she tilted her head down to find the source and her eyes widened at the discovery.
Thick, dark red blood coated both of her arms. She was positive that it belonged to all the deceased that lay before her. Panicked, she examined the rest of her torn clothing and body, only to discover more blood splatters and pieces of flesh. Her breathing became erratic and her heart felt as though it would explode out of her chest. She felt like a fish out of water, floundering on land while struggling to gasp for a breath.
She was the one who did this.
And that single truth caused her to produce the most heart-wrenching scream of her life.
"Kaeko! Kaeko!"
"Oi! Wake up!"
Kaeko's felt her eyes snap open in response to the voices and looked around feverishly, only to find that she was in a cozy hotel room with Killua kneeling in front of her on the mattress with his hands placed firmly on her shoulders. Gon stood to the side of her bed, staring down at her with worry in his eyes. She sprung up quickly into a seated position, feeling sweat drip down her forehead as her heart pounded rapidly.
Seeing that Kaeko was now conscious, Killua removed his hands from her shoulders, glad that he and Gon managed to wake her.
"It was... just a dream." She whispered as she tried to steady her breathing.
"Yeah... just a bad dream." Gon reiterated, placing a reassuring, comforting hand on her back. "We're here."
Without another second to spare, Kaeko wrapped her arms tightly around Gon in an attempt to soothe the fear that had manifested in her mind. Gon didn't seem to mind though, and he rubbed his hand against her back in slow, soothing circles, helping to calm her down. She gave Gon one last gentle squeeze before releasing him, feeling her heart rate slowly return to normal ranges.
After pulling away from the hug, she raised her forearm up to her head to wipe off the remaining sweat, sighing as she did so. "S-sorry... I woke you guys up didn't I?"
"You probably woke up the entire floor with that scream, banshee." Killua retorted with a half smirk, attempting to lighten the mood. After seeing that she had relaxed, he adjusted his position so that he was now seated more comfortably on the bed.
"Sorry..." Kaeko rubbed her right eye with the palm of her right hand and looked back at the two boys. "I'm okay now. Thanks for waking me up."
"Oi." Killua grabbed a cup of water and shoved it into her hands. "Drink that."
Kaeko nodded and graciously accepted it, chugging it down as she brought it to her lips. She set the empty cup down on the table beside her and blinked a few times, finally asking, "Thanks... what time is it?"
"It's 5 in the morning." Killua answered as he stretched an arm up to the ceiling and yawned. "So we should try and get some more sleep."
"Un." Gon nodded and rubbed Kaeko's back to comfort her. "Are you okay now?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." Kaeko forced a smile and Gon nodded in understanding, giving Kaeko one last pat on the back before making his way back to his bed. Killua swung his legs over the side of the mattress and stood up, giving Kaeko's shoulder a gentle squeeze as he did so.
He burrowed into the covers beside Gon and shifted himself to face Kaeko, whispering, "Hey. Whatever you saw, it wasn't real. So try to get some more sleep... banshee."
Killua flashed another smirk at her and she returned the favor, burying herself in the covers and closing her eyes. Although she appreciated the sentiment, it did little to stop her mind from wandering.
I really wish they weren't real. Kaeko thought, bringing the blanket up to her face.
She knew better than to assume the nightmares she had were just nightmares. No... They were flashbacks from the day of the massacre. She was sure of it, even if she couldn't remember what she had done.
I need the strength to control my own powers. Kaeko gripped the sheets tightly between her fingers. I can't let that happen again. Not ever.
And Skye... she still needed to find out what happened to her.
Seagulls squawked overhead as they flew around the foggy, grey sky. Ocean waves gently rolled by and filled the air with its scent.
A young, slender woman with short, brown hair made her way through the port town nearby. She donned a green cape that draped over her body and sported a full face mask that covered everything except for a single eye, which glimmered with a brilliant green hue. Her presence and attire however, earned many judgmental stares from the locals. By the port, she glanced over and saw an old fisherman, seemingly struggling with his catch.
"Oohhh! Looks like I got a big one!" The fisherman exclaimed, pulling his fishing rod back forcefully. Out of the water came a girl with platinum blonde hair wearing a beanie, with her teeth firmly locked down on a wriggling fish attached to the other end of the fishing line. Surprised, the fisherman let out a light yelp and dropped his fishing rod, allowing the girl with the beanie to steal the fish and backstroke away with it in her mouth. The old fisherman groaned and stared at the water's surface in disbelief, ruffling his hair as he did so.
Unamused, 19 year old Skye Leto turned her attention back to the road ahead of her and continued on. She couldn't care less about what people were doing or what people thought of her. She came here for one thing, and one thing only.
An airship to take her to the Heaven's Arena.
She strode on through the town, making her way over to the airship station. Upon arrival, she was greeted by a few workers, one of which asked her for identification before she would be allowed into the boarding area.
Skye reached into her bag and pulled out her hunter's license, handing it over to the woman who then scanned the license for verification on a nearby computer.
"Miss Leto?" The woman looked up at her and smiled, "Would you please remove your mask so that I may confirm your identity?"
Wordlessly, Skye lifted her right hand up to her face mask and pulled it slowly off her face. As she brought the mask down and revealed her features, she saw the attendant's eyes widen in shock.
She smirked at the reaction and retorted coyly, "Doesn't look that bad in the picture, huh?"
"I-I'm sorry miss." The attendant quickly handed Skye's license back to her and bowed her head apologetically. "You may place your mask back on now. Please..." she gestured her arm down one of the hallways. "Gate X10 is down this way. They'll be departing in 20 minutes."
Skye nodded curtly and placed the mask back over her face, making her way towards Gate X10.
Heaven's Arena... She thought to herself as she took a seat in the waiting area. It's the best place to train and see how strong I've gotten.
She clenched her fist and felt her eyes narrow. Over the past two years she had placed herself through intensive training and was eager to see where she fell on the food chain.
Skye took a deep breath and closed her eyes, allowing memories from years before to flash through her mind.
She could remember everything so clearly – the times she and Kaeko would climb trees for fruit and when they would wander off to the outskirts of the village, laughing and smiling. She remembered the times they would curl up next to each other at night and the times they would hold each other for comfort.
Then there was the memory that overshadowed all the rest – the time that Kaeko unleashed hell onto their village and slaughtered the people they knew and lived alongside. Skye's head began to throb from the memory and her heart ached painfully, longing for those better days. She lifted her right hand to her temples, attempting to soothe the oncoming headache by rubbing it in gentle circles. There was no question about it... ever since that day she knew that she had changed into a different person entirely. The Skye Leto before the massacre and the Skye Leto afterwards were two different people as far as she was concerned.
And she knew she couldn't go back to who she was before. Not ever.
Smoke filled the air and fire flickered over the crumbling buildings, coating the night sky with flashes of orange and wisps of grey.
It was never supposed to happen like this...
The two girls were supposed to leave the village together. They were supposed to go on an adventure to find Skye's brother. That was always the plan.
So when news came around that Kaeko was chosen as the next sacrifice, Skye immediately leapt into action to make sure she wouldn't lose her dearest friend to the ritual. The plan was simple... to cause a distraction during the ceremony and to save Kaeko so they could both escape.
She had set up a homemade flashbomb at the opposite end of the village where the ceremony was to take place. The idea was to climb up to Kaeko's restraints and free her while the villagers ran to investigate the noise from the bomb.
But everything went so wrong.
So... so wrong.
The flashbomb didn't set off and the villagers had begun to cut into Kaeko as she was paralyzed. Skye could see the look of panic and dread encompassing the entirety of her friend's purple eyes. And without a second thought, Skye ran behind the ceremonial area and started to climb up the structures. She was going to free her friend no matter what. She didn't care about being shunned for life, about being banished or hunted... and she knew that it might mean never seeing her mother again... But she was ready for all those consequences.
All she wanted was to leave with Kaeko and go on that adventure they always talked about.
But as she clambered up the structures, she began to hear the villagers scream. The wooden pole she hung onto was beginning to collapse as well. What was going on?
Skye leapt off the falling structure and landed on the ground with a light thud, feeling her knees and ankles buckle underneath the combination of her weight and gravity. She winced from the impact and glanced up, discovering an unrestrained Kaeko with bright red flowers completely surrounding her.
The flowers all possessed sharp sets of teeth and hung around Kaeko in all directions; and each flower seemed to move by its own will, snapping and hissing at any villagers that got too close. They were protecting her.
Then, almost a second later, the flowers began to grow larger, screeching and gurgling as they increased in size. They now towered over Kaeko's small frame and began to go on a wild rampage, smashing the buildings around them and snatching up the villagers running for their lives. Skye had to stop this madness!
But...
She was scared. So scared.
Her body shook and quivered from the sight of the blood red flowers surrounding her best friend, but she took a breath and summoned as much courage as she could muster, forcing herself to stand tall. After all, there was no way that Kaeko would ever hurt her. She just had to believe that.
"Kaeko!" Skye shouted hysterically as she ran towards her black-haired friend, avoiding the debris falling around her. "Kaeko you have to stop, this is enough!" She reached out and grabbed Kaeko's arm with her right hand, only to be immediately shoved back after their skin made contact.
Her body smashed against the dirt and she slid a few inches soon after the impact, creating a small dust cloud in the air. As Skye's mind began to process what had happened, she felt her heart throb painfully – she swore she could feel it drop down into the pit of her stomach. She couldn't understand it... Why would Kaeko shove her away so harshly? Wasn't she glad to see her there?
Maybe... Maybe she was just scared. Yes! That had to be it! Kaeko was just as scared as she was. Surely a little encouragement from her would be enough to bring Kaeko back to her senses!
Stumbling back to her feet, Skye whipped around and stopped in front of Kaeko with both arms outstretched. "We're free now. Look around you!" She gestured to the ruin around them. "We can still leave together like we always said we would! Please... stop."
Kaeko slowly turned her head towards Skye to face her, but what Skye saw chilled her to the bone. Kaeko stared at her blankly, almost nonchalantly; and Skye could see that there was no trace of emotion in her eyes.
It was then that she finally realized no one was safe from this outbreak – not even her.
And before Skye could take another breath, one of those deadly flowers had appeared directly in front of her with saliva dripping down its razor-like teeth.
Her belief was instantly shattered.
Skye could feel the rage building up inside her as she tried in vain to shake away those horrid memories. She couldn't understand why...
Why did Kaeko do all those horrible things? In all the years Skye had known her, she couldn't fathom that she was capable of that level of destruction. Kaeko had always been so full of child-like wonder and brightness. Nothing in her personality screamed "murder" or "rampage."
You think you know someone... Skye thought bitterly, feeling nausea rise through her body.
Kaeko was her best friend, and she felt sick knowing that someone she had loved and cared for like a sister held no qualms about destroying their home and hurting her.
She opened her eyes and looked out the window, staring out at the airship she was going to board in a few minutes.
She had made up her mind prior to her arrival – she wouldn't leave the Heaven's Arena until she had defeated a floor master. Of course, she wasn't in it for the glory. No...
She had much more on her mind than that.
Upon hearing the intercom announce that her flight was to be leaving soon, Skye stood up and unclipped her cape, letting it slide off her body as she grabbed it with her right hand and slung it over her shoulder. She made her way to the airship and glanced back at the empty space where her left arm should have been, feeling her hate continue to fester. She couldn't falter on her mission and the scars on her body kept her focused on the task at hand. They reminded her why she was here, doing what she was doing.
And she was here to become strong enough to take down the monster that had massacred her village. The one who murdered her mother and robbed her of her left arm.
Skye vowed that she was going to kill the girl she once called her best friend and beloved sister.
Kaeko Sepheru.
And as she ascended up the steps into the airship, Skye looked at her right hand – the same hand Kaeko had shoved away so brutally two years ago – and thought:
"The next time I grab you with this hand, it'll be around your neck."
Author's note: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I figured it was time to introduce the mysterious Skye, heh. Let me know what you all think, and thank you to those who have reviewed!
Aphelion: I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to hear that. I definitely strive to post chapters that have solid character development/growth, but of course I don't wanna make them boring xD I'm really happy to hear that you've been enjoying the story so far. Again, thank you!
Rinrikapyon: Whooohooo! I'm glad the chapter didn't bore you and that you enjoyed the development. Thanks for your review!
xhunterxhunterx: I'm honored that this is one of your favorite fics, and I'm glad I was able to make you so happy~! Thank you for your support!
Squeaks: Thanks for giving my fic a shot and reading!
Much love,
- Moofeen
