A/N Chapter 21! Long chapter! (Or at least, it is to me...) I'm not very good at writing fight scenes so tell me what you think! Be nice or no more chapters for y'all.
The Punishment Island, Karin/Aruf
Karin had tears flowing down her face as she ran toward Toshiro's limp form. She bent down before him and planted her cheek on his blood covered chest, the blood sticking to her cheek as she cried her eyes out on him. Suddenly, rage towered over her sadness and she was staring at the monster who had done this to Toshiro.
One look was all it took before Karin was standing and ready to attack. The bastard had enough confidence to smirk at her as the rage she felt seemed to seep from her. She would have fun wrenching that smirk right off of his face.
When he beckoned her over to him with his index finger, she pounced and attacked him in a blind rage. Her eyes were turning red and her pupils black; she was summoning Drakus. However, when the bracelet on Karin's wrist glowed red and Drakus appeared before them, he didn't appear the same as before when Aruf had called him.
"Karin!" Aruf yelled to her as she materialized into the real world. Karin didn't seem to hear her and instead made Drakus attack Aizen.
Aruf couldn't stand seeing Karin like this; and to think she was acting this way because Aizen had attacked Toshiro. It is the right thing to do; get revenge for a loved one, but if it means losing who you once were in the process, it is a risky thing to do.
Already, Aruf could sense that the old Karin was slowly disappearing, leaving behind an empty shell built of only rage and hate.
However, there was nothing she could do. Talking to her at this point would be a complete waste of breath. Unless...An idea came to Aruf as she glanced behind her towards Toshiro's lifeless body. Aruf could sense what little piece of life Toshiro clung to as she transported herself to Toshiro's Inner World.
Toshiro's Inner World, Toshiro
He was resting in a chair made completely of ice in what appeared to be an ice castle. "Hyōrinmaru, where are you?" Toshiro called out for the serpent but he didn't seem to want to come. He finally, after a while of waiting, heard the familiar sound of Hyōrinmaru as he slid across the floor toward him.
One look at him, however, and Toshiro could tell that something was wrong with him. He was smaller, as if time had taken a step back on him and made him age backwards.
"You shouldn't be here, Master. It is dangerous for you here now. Leave while you can, Master." Hyōrinmaru said, his voice slightly squeaky and high-pitched. His red ruby eyes glimmered with alarm as the ice castle shook, tremors causing a few pieces of ice to come loose from the roof and fall to the ground to shatter to pieces on the floor.
Hyōrinmaru almost seemed to be pleading with Toshiro but Toshiro was stubborn, a trait he seems to have gotten from Karin, and he wanted to know what had caused Hyōrinmaru so much worry for him.
The castle shook once more and a huge shadow was standing in the hallway of the door which seemed to lead to the 'throne room' in which Toshiro is sitting in now. A beast with devilish horns, eyes as dark as blood, and a body the size of a giant. Toshiro knew what this was. But he didn't know why it was in his Inner World.
"Hyōrinmaru, care to explain how and why that demon is here?" Toshiro asked the serpent calmly, though to Hyōrinmaru the demon had the opposite effect. "His name is Agramon. He wants to drag your soul to the Underworld."
"Why? I haven't died." Hyōrinmaru shook his small head at Toshiro for a split second before his eyes reconnected with the demon.
"You may have not died yet, Master, but you are dying as we speak." Toshiro couldn't believe the words that Hyōrinmaru was feeding through his mind. He felt fine! So why...
An idea came to Toshiro. "If I defeat Agramon in a battle, will he let me live? I can't leave Karin alone. Who knows what she would do if I were to leave her unexpectedly?"
It was a few moment before the serpent spoke, and when he did, a ghost of a smile crossed his serpent mouth. "Yes." That one word filled Toshiro with so much hope he had trouble containing it all. "There is one problem with that plan, Master." Hyōrinmaru told him.
"What is it?" Toshiro asked him. "You have a time limit to how long you can fight him." "How long?" He knew it would be short. He could tell just by looking at Hyōrinmaru. "One hour."
Toshiro inwardly cursed. That was too short of a time. "What are we waiting for? Let's get started!" And then they both ran toward the one thing that would decide if Toshiro could stay with Karin or rot in the depths of the Underworld.
The Punishment Island, Aizen
Karin continued to attack Aizen; as did Drakus alongside her. Each time she missed him, she would get even more enraged and attack him in a childlike fit. He just laughed at her and continued to have his way with her. He could have stopped her at any time; turn the tables to his side but he didn't, he wanted to watch her tire herself out slowly so that he could make her his all the more faster.
He could see the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead and found himself even more enthralled by her beauty as they 'fought.'
He ached to touch her, to feel her body against his, to hear her screams as he made her his. Before he had meet her in person; when he had watched over her and Toshiro, he had tried to convince himself that he had no sexual desire for her, just that he wanted to ruin the Heads so that he could rule over the Vampire World alone.
Now that Toshiro was gone and no other person would be there to claim her once she knew he was dead, he knew he wanted her by his side as he slowly took over the Vampire World. Her as his queen and him the king.
He smiled at the thought and looked at her once more before he grabbed her wrist in his hand and quickly grabbed her other wrist and held them both above her head. He loved seeing her squirm under him as he held her close to him.
She yelled and fought against him but he held her tight; there was no way for her to escape. He had her right where he wanted her.
The Punishment Island, Karin
Karin was in a bind and she couldn't do anything; she couldn't protect herself or even Toshiro. At the thought of him and her eyes filled with tears. This isn't how this was supposed to happen! They both were supposed to live and spend the rest of eternity together without the thought of Aizen coming after them together.
But Toshiro is dying and Aizen will kill her as well. She doesn't want to die; not yet. Not while she has so much to live for: her family, friends. No. She couldn't leave them behind to grieve over her. She wouldn't let that happen.
She kicked him in the stomach and quickly stepped away from him so he couldn't touch her again. She would be taking a long bath after this.
He laughed as he clenched his stomach and then slowly lifted his head until he could see her. "This is going to be very interesting." then he pounced onto her. She fought against him, bring out some of her fire power and trying to hurt him with it but it didn't seem to hurt him.
Then she remembered. Both Toshiro and her are supposed to fight Aizen. Defeat him together. Toshiro was out of it so what could she do alone?
"Master! Bring him inside! Bring him into your Inner World!"Aruf said as she materialized next to her. "How do I do that? Better yet, why would I ever want to do that? He's the enemy! I would never let him into my precious Inner World!" Karin said, refusing to listen to hear the rest of the reason why she had brought this up.
"Listen to me, Master! You were meant to bring together Aizen and the demon Agramon so that you could defeat them together with Toshiro. He needs you right now. He's fighting Agramon alone. He can't do it without you." Agramon? Why would that demon want to fight Toshiro? Unless...
"Agramon wants to drag Toshiro to Hell, doesn't he? Well, I won't let him. Tell me what I need to do. I'll do anything to protect Toshiro, even sacrifice my life for his, just like he did for me."
Aruf told Karin how to do it; told her how to let an outsider enter her Inner World. It was actually easy to do; all she had to do was put a drop of blood on Aizen and chant an incantation that Aruf would say with her when she had accomplished the first step. Yeah...piece of cake.
She bit her lip and was surprised at the intake of breath that came from Aizen. "Your blood smells so heavenly. I can't wait to taste it for myself." he ran toward her with blood red eyes. He had gone wild with the need for blood. Her blood.
She quickly put her finger on her lip and when he was an inch from her, she put her finger on his forehead and muttered the incantation as Aizen fought against her. A bright white light engulfed them and then they both found themselves inside of Karin's Inner World.
Karin's Inner World, Karin
Everything seemed to have changed once she opened her eyes to her Inner World. The lake had frozen over, the bed of flowers had become flower ice sculptures, and a giant ice castle was sitting on top of the center of the lake.
This was no doubt Toshiro's doing. She had completely forgotten about Aizen and so she now lay on the cold ground with a blood thirsty vampire liking her neck. She whimpered. She didn't want to be marked by this man. Toshiro was the one who was supposed to mark her.
"KARIN!" she knew that voice anywhere. One second Aizen was on top of her, the next he wasn't. She smiled up at Toshiro from her spot on the ground and accepted the hand he offered her. "It took you long enough." she joked as she kissed his cheek. God, how much she had missed him.
He smiled, but that smile was melted away when they both heard a long and loud roar come from the direction of the ice castle. "Agramon?" Karin asked. Toshiro nodded. Soon, the whole Inner World began to shake and then before them stood the accursed demon, Agramon.
Agramon roared once more and then turned toward Aizen. He took two steps toward him, picked him up with his huge red claws, and then began to eat him.
The sight made Karin sick to her stomach but she couldn't look away. She knew something like this would happen. The truth is, she had witnessed a demon eat someone long ago. In fact, it was her mother. No, she hadn't died of what she had told Toshiro.
The demon, Jezebeth, had eaten her mother right in front of her. Karin had been hiding in her mother's room under the bed.
Karin sometimes still had nightmares about it. The whole experience had scarred her for life. (Back to reality) Agramon hadn't changed once Aizen had finally been completely eaten. However, she knew he would be twice as strong as before. She was confident that both Toshiro and her could defeat the beast if they fought together.
Hyōrinmaru and Aruf appeared before them both and stood beside their masters. "You both have special power that can only be done if you both work together. It is called the Elemental Twister. We will teach it to you as you fight Agramon." Hyōrinmaru said as they all jumped out of the way when a series of twisters zoomed through the spot where they all had once stood.
Karin laughed. "I can already tell this isn't going to be easy. Are you ready?" Toshiro grabbed her hand with his and smiled at her. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Agramon roared and charged toward them like a wild animal. They just missed him and Agramon grew angry and hit his hands on the ground of ice, creating cracks in the ice which slowly came toward them. The earth shattered under them and they jumped to another part of the ice that wasn't sinking.
Hyōrinmaru had finally begun explaining how to do the Elemntal Twister when they had landed on a new piece of ice. "Hold hands, bring out each of your elemantal powers and throw them toward your enemy. We will do the rest." They did as Hyōrinmaru said. They both watched as Hyōrinmaru and Aruf jumped toward the fire and ice in which their masters had created and began to spin in mid-air around them.
Soon, a huge tornado was in front of them, red and blue and twice as big as Agramon. The tornado sucked up Agramon, dug a hole in the already broken up ice and dragged him down to the depths of the ice. The ice closed on its own and Agramon was trapped beneath the ice.
He tried to claw his way through but soon enough, he stopped completely and then he roared and blew up. No blood appeared, but instead white smoke appeared and easily floated through the eyes. They both quickly realized that these were the souls of the dead.
"Thank you." they all said as they evaporated back to where they truly belonged, Heaven. And then the world around them too seemed to have evaporated from them and they were once again back on the beach of the Punishment Island.
The Punishment Island, Toshiro
"We did it!" Karin wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He smiled in the kiss as she released him. "I love you, Karin." Toshiro said. She smiled and said, " I love you too, Toshiro. Now let's go home." They quickly woke up Yoruichi, gave her a drink of water when she asked for it and they were on their way.
Finally, they would be going home and get married. Life was finally looking up to them. No more hiding, worrying, or crying. Finally...
A/N Too long for me! But I hope you like it. ~Bloody Ruby~