Chapter 12: Pressure

The night was cold and at the music event uptown, people walked through the frosty air in coats and heavy jackets. Some of the musicians had to keep using hand warmers just to stay nimble. The market square had been filled with all kinds of music for several hours, with the occasional announcement and high pitched mic feedback. Christmas lights had been hung up early to decorate the event. People sauntered from one performance to the next, carrying fliers, memorabilia, and hot food. Photographers could be seen by every stage, kneeling down and taking promo shots. Some musicians who had not been able to afford a stage, sat on blankets.

Kotonoha and Eiichi were on their way home, carrying a few CDs, fliers, and hot taiyaki. They had spent most of their evening at the event and lost track of time, not really wanting to leave. The cool mist of their breath escaped into the night air as they talked and let out the occasional laugh.

"Wasn't that wonderful?" Kotonoha said.

"So much beautiful music!"

"How was your head Eiichi?"

"I was fine. When people listen to good music it creates some positive waves. Though that one guy banging on the drum and shouting wasn't getting a lot of good vibes."

Kotonoha laughed, "I think he just needed some more members. Oh! Those two guys with the wood guitars that kept tuning and playing while thumping on them, it was like a tiny symphony!"

"I never thought I could hear so much sound come out of one instrument."

"I don't really like rap, but that one guy was pretty funny."

Eiichi laughed, "Yeah, all that stuff he put together was pretty clever. He could do comedy."

"Right? Oh, and that one traditional song that woman did, about a mother's son going off to war…I thought I was going to cry…"

"I know, you wouldn't stop digging your face into my shoulder…"

They laughed together as they crossed an empty street. It was about ten o'clock on a Saturday night, and the traffic was strangely nonexistent for such an overpopulated city.

Eiichi started getting a bad feeling. It had crept up on him as they were walking a downhill curve. They passed under a street lamp and were in the shadows again, that's when it started getting worse.

He became very aware now, his first priority was Kotonoha. At first he couldn't tell where it was coming from. He peered around and behind them, but couldn't see anything. He looked ahead again. Kotonoha was talking, but he didn't hear. The feeling kept getting worse. Something was approaching.

He could hear footsteps moving quickly behind them. He picked up the sensation of rage.

"Kotonoha!" he turned immediately while shoving her out of the way, just as a body collided with his, and he felt something sharp force its way into his abdomen.

There was hair by his face, it was about shoulder length, draped over a pink parka. It was Sekai.

She pressed harder and he could feel something tear inside his body. He looked down and could see a kitchen knife sticking out of him.

She was beyond emotionally distraught, the hatred in her he had noticed earlier that week had consumed her mind. Her thoughts had become so intense he could see images of Makoto struggling underneath her as she was stabbing him with the same knife. He saw Makoto's body lying in his living room, blood was everywhere.

She had killed Makoto because of a broken heart, but she had come after them out of pure vengeance. She thought they were responsible in some way. She had already taken a life, what would be the harm in taking two more? If Setsuna had not already left for Paris, Sekai would probably be after her as well.

If things had been somehow different, if she had been reluctant at first, Eiichi would have tried to talk some sense in to her, but she was under the control of her own darkness. She had attacked him first because he was the most likely threat. With him out of the way, she wouldn't have much trouble with Kotonoha. She saw her as weak, and an easy kill.

"Eiichi!" he heard Kotonoha scream.

Sekai jerked the blade out, her eyes narrow with madness.

Eiichi clutched the wound subconsciously and staggered. All the blood left his legs, the emotions and adrenaline made him dizzy, and he collapsed on his back, the night sky met his eyes. He was cold again, just like before, he felt so cold…

Sekai looked over at Kotonoha, lying in the grass off the sidewalk. If she decided to attack her now, Eiichi didn't know what he could do to stop it.

"Now you'll know what it feels like…" her voice was twisted with a crooked smile over white teeth. It was that pity and joy, coming out of a different mouth, but it was the same voice.

Sekai knelt over him, leaving Kotonoha to watch. She raised the blade, Eiichi lifted his hand to try and protect himself.

There was a scream. A blur appeared in front of Eiichi, and Sekai disappeared from his sight. Kotonoha had tackled her and was wrestling her in the street.

There was a metallic clattering, he looked and could see the knife had been knocked out of Sekai's hand, it was laying out of reach on the pavement.

There was another scream and groaning as Kotonoha held Sekai down. Sekai's hands pushed her face back. She tried to work one of her fingers into Kotonoha's eye, but Kotonoha used her arm to force it away. Sekai clawed at her face. Then, Kotonoha dug both hands into the sides of her head. She lifted up, and pushed down. The back of Sekai's head smacked against the pavement. She was disoriented, but still trying to fight. Kotonoha lifted again and shoved her head down as hard as she could.

"Stop doing this! Leave us alone!" she did it again, and again.

She was screaming inside, she didn't want to be here. She wanted to be home with him, curled up on the couch together, watching their favorite shows. He knew it was her and not It. It would be having a fuckin' party. It could not think of any other place it would rather be. There would have been laughter inside.

Sekai's arms fell limp. Kotonoha kept smashing her head until her eyes stayed open and didn't move. Her blood leaked out onto the pavement, a black pool reflecting the lamplight.

Before she stopped, Kotonoha had already been crying, she sobbed over the lifeless body. In her, Eiichi could see images of a better time, before any of this had happened.

She stood up, all the energy drained out of her, he could hear her.

'Eiichi, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. She's dead…Oh my God, she's dead…'

"I know…you don't have to apologize…" he muttered. "You did what you had to…"

"Eiichi!" she knelt down beside him.

Eiichi writhed, "Pressure…put pressure on the wound."

Kotonoha quickly placed her hands on top of the hole in his gut, it was wet and warm in the cold air, her palms now stained with his blood.

"Mm!" Eiichi moaned in more pain.

"Please, just try to relax!" She was on the verge of more tears.

He could feel her thoughts spinning in circles. She kept coming back to the thought that she had just killed someone that was once a friend, and that he was dying.

He felt his head being lifted, and then something soft underneath it, between him and the concrete. When he looked back up at her, the scarf she had been wearing was missing. Her face had red marks on it from Sekai's nails. She was ashen with fear, but his vision was becoming fuzzy.

"Kotonoha…you are so brave…and so strong…"

She had taken a life and now was trying to preserve another. He could only imagine, for all of the shit she had been through, and everything that could have happened to her, for her to have kept her composure took a loyalty and resilience beyond understanding.

"Don't…don't…" she whimpered.

He was having trouble keeping his focus, before he knew, his vision would drift away her and he'd have to reset it.

Eiichi had a coughing spasm and writhed under her hands, "Oh…well, I always wondered what it felt like to get stabbed…Now all I have left is getting shot and I can finally be happy."

"If you ever get shot, I'll kill you."

Eiichi laughed, but it turned into a wet cough. The irony of it is what amused him the most.

"I'm sorry! Please, just rest and don't close your eyes."

Eiichi looked at her. He admired the blurred outline of her face and stared into her amazing dark eyes, "Why would I ever do a thing like that…"

"I've called the police, there's an ambulance on its way. Just hang on, please hang on…"

"Kotonoha…" he couldn't see very well, but he reached out to the void of bleeding colors.

He felt her hand clasp his. He tried to squeeze, but it was weird, his fingers twitched and he could barely move them. Right now, her grip felt stronger than his.

"Yes? I'm here."

"I'm…I'm glad you chose me…when you could have walked away and been done with everything…started fresh…"

"I did start fresh. I was stuck and you pulled me out of it."

"Yeah…but you did not have to…you could've found someone light-years away from me…who could treat you right…and not put you through so much hell…"

He felt her cool touch on his forehead as she brushed his hair back. He didn't notice how hot his skin was until she did. It felt nice.

"Where did you ever get that idea? Compared to everyone, you are light-years ahead. I couldn't be happier with anyone else."

As she spoke, she focused on images from the past. She knew he could see them.

Eiichi could see himself holding her arm, keeping her from falling to her death, him shouting the words "I love you!" He could see his hands on her face, his eyes just inches away, and the fear in them. He could see himself standing next to her, laughing.

"That's just not fair…" he coughed.

"Please…stop talking…"

A shadow cast over him, and he felt her lips on his forehead.

When she leaned away, he could see red lights reflecting off her face. Things around him were getting fuzzier. He tried to keep his eyes open, but without realizing it, they had closed and he opened them again. They were so heavy. He could hear voices around him now, muffled, drifting away.

"Miss, I need you to move…is he…are you hurt…what happened…"

He could feel hands on him, more voices. He could feel cool air on his chest and around his wound. He must have spaced out because suddenly he could feel himself being lifted up and set back down. He was being moved now. He was pushed under a white light that got brighter, and brighter.