(Reflections - Present)

Part Thirteen

She sat exhausted next to her punching bag, her head resting against the blood covered leather. Despite her current physical condition however, she still sensed when he stepped into her workout area, always aware of her surroundings. One of the things he always found so attractive about her were the eyes, the way green specs seemed to swirl in her other wise blue orbs. Only an idiot would think she was done, Light charging for another round.

Grabbing a medical kit, he walked over to her and knelt, taking each knuckle and putting soothing ointment on each abrasion. If she felt it, she said nothing, her gaze locked onto an empty space in the room. Most people wouldn't have endured as long as he had, but then again, most people didn't understand how close someone can get to the brink of madness with no way to turn back; Snow did. She had brought him back, given him hope again, and he could do nothing less.

Just as he was wrapping the first hand, she exploded with rage, flipping him solidly to his back and placing an arm against his throat. "Light," he warned, sensing the storm, knowing there was no way to avoid it this time.

"Always the hero..." she hissed; "...how can you promise to keep me safe when you've never even been able to best me in battle? I've always wondered who the better fighter was, but always... always... I'm left with out the answer. Opportunity after opportunity passed us by; in the Vestige, Lake Bresha, Pulse... the 'End of Days Celebration...' YOU WERE ASKING ME TO KILL YOU! AND YOU WANT TO PROTECT ME?!

"Light..." he growled, a spark of raw power lashing out. She might have brought him back from becoming a Cie'th, but the power gifted to him remained. One didn't get as old as he was, have the power that he possessed, without reaching limits that surpassed the concept of normal, even for a god. "Prove it," she snapped, her arm nearly choking him. "Prove that you're not just throwing out more empty promises... Bhunivelze has taken everything from me; and I don't have the strength to fight that kind of battle again. Prove it! Prove that you can best me in battle, or I end it right here, right now."

"Wha-?"

"You're the one thing, that if you die, it will destroy any and all my resistance to him! If you can't even beat me; how the hell do you expect me to survive when he destroys you! I CAN'T! I WON'T!"

"Fine..." Gathering all his power, he slammed it into her, watching her fly across the room and against the wall. Not missing a single beat, she was already rushing back, her eyes blazing with equal determination. He didn't have a choice, not if he wanted to keep her, and Light was right. Without taking into consideration what his death might have done to her, he had almost handed her to Bhunivelze on a silver platter. Never again. Light belonged to him, and this was one promise he was going to keep. He just hoped he didn't kill her in the process. In a single burst of energy, they collided, and the very foundation trembled at the intensity of their battle.

Light kept seeing the battle across the Hanging Edge, of losing her sister as she turned to crystal, and all she could think about was how powerless she had felt. She didn't want to lose Snow like that, knowing Bhunivelze would go for him first, her true weakness. It hadn't been Serah... no... it had been this man all along. He either had what it took to defeat her, or she had no choice but to leave in order to save his life. She loved him that much, and it took understanding the fate she was destined for to come to realize that she'd rather live an eternity alone, than lose him and still live an eternity alone.