"I know it hurts. I know that. But if you give up now, you may be missing something greater than you could ever have imagined. & no one wants to miss something that will change their life forever. Just keep holding on, and I promise it`ll get better."
Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME.
Chapter 29 – Last one standing
The sound of the large footsteps had stopped as two dangerously flickering red eyes became visible in the surreal obscurity of the silent forest. Nao could see that Shizuru got tense and couldn't repress a gulp. She felt like she couldn't move at all. When Shizuru shortly turned around to check on her Child Kiyohime, she was glad to at least have proof that time didn't stand still. It somehow encouraged her to summon Julia. When the Spider appeared beneath her, it made sure to slowly rise from the ground for not putting its owner through any unnecessary pain as it lifted her up in the air. The deep and vicious growling of Duran left no room for doubt that the wolf might attack the two remaining HiME in the next seconds.
Shizuru frantically searched for a figure in the shadows, but the surreal mixture of the purple light that was radiated by the star mixed with the darkness of the forest made it difficult to see anything at all. Only the menacing eyes of Duran stood out like shiny diamonds between the endless rows of trees. And suddenly everything went very fast. Duran shot out from its cover as fast as a torpedo. If Kiyohime wouldn't have blocked the first attack against Shizuru the battle would have already been over. The chestnut-haired girl wanted to thank her Child, but she knew better than to get distracted so easily. And she was right. Almost in the same second she could hear the familiar sound of a gunshot. The burning bullet came from the right, flying mercilessly into her direction. She quickly raised her naginata in front of her eyes. The metallic sound of the bullet hitting her weapon echoed through the night. The slender figure of Natsuki was slowly coming out of the shadows. The expression on her face was still empty. It was hard for Shizuru not to get swept away by the emotions that were battling on the inside, but she knew that she couldn't afford to get side-tracked. She had to think as clearly as possible. Her vision had been clouded long enough.
For a second, Nao thought that her heart had stopped beating as she saw the lifeless face of Natsuki emerging from the shadows. Nothing seemed to be left of her childhood friend. It was as if somebody had opened the box of Pandora. She had hoped it would be easier to fight Natsuki if she didn't appear to be herself anymore, but somehow it wasn't. In the corner of her eye she saw that Kiyohime made itself ready to lunge for the crazed girl, and knew that she had to hold Duran back as long as possible. She could feel a cold tear rolling down her cheek when she tore her gaze away from the raven-haired girl. "Julia...," she whispered with her eyes closed. The spider instantly jumped behind the big wolf firing threads on the ground. When Duran attempted to move he fell down, unable to escape the sticky mass.
With a loud hiss Kiyohime attempted to encircle the raven-haired girl, but Natsuki had become much too strong to be defeated so easily. She dodged the attack of the Hydra and managed to knock one of the heads out with her pistols in one quick movement. When Shizuru saw the speed and power of Natsuki, she got terrified. How should I get close enough? She searched her surroundings for something helpful, but all she found was the evil white haired boy sitting on a branch a few meters away. That's it! She'll do anything to protect that little monster! "Kiyohime..." The hydra instantly changed its attack course and rushed towards the now very surprised boy. For a short moment the raven-haired girl was irritated about the movements of her opponent, and that was exactly the moment Shizuru was looking for. When Natsuki started to chase after the snake, Shizuru for the first time used the full power of her weapon. The red naginata swung open, releasing the chain-like extension almost soundlessly. She lunged out and aimed for the body of the running girl. Luckily, Natsuki was distracted enough by the sudden blow against her master that she didn't notice the sharp coils reaching for her. Before the crazed girl understood what was happening she was trapped in the fangs of Shizuru's weapon. The chestnut-haired girl didn't waste any time, and quickly pulled the naginata back with all her force. The moment of surprise was on her side and so Natsuki was sent flying backwards. Shizuru swirled around diving under the chain of her weapon, catching the stumbling girl before she could fall in one graceful movement. She raised her right hand and entangled them both tightly with the coils of her element before she rammed the hilt deep into the forest ground. She was now directly facing the younger girl, who was unable to move anymore. Feeling the sharp edges of the coils in her flesh, she didn't have time to get lost in the moment. It was now or never.
"Nao! Now!" Shizuru's voice was weak, but the pink-haired girl had heard her quite well. She already had her gaze fixed upon the two HiME who were bound together by the naginata. She could see that Natsuki was unable to move and knew what she had to do. Shizuru had made herself quite clear before the battle had started. But it seemed so impossible now that it had become real.
"I know it sounds crazy, but you have to hear me out." Shizuru's voice was shaking as she tried to explain her plan to the already upset girl. "I think if we're able to distract Natsuki for a slight moment, we might be able to win this fight."
"Distract? How?" Nao wasn't sure where the chestnut-haired girl was going, but she could feel that Duran and Natsuki were coming closer with every second.
"I am certain that she's not completely gone by now. She has such a strong personality and somewhere inside this vessel there is still life. I know you feel that too. If I can get close enough I might be able to bring her back for a moment. Kiyohime should be strong enough to help me with that. But I need you and Julia to keep Duran occupied. You have to distract him. He's become very strong, but Julia is fast." The moment she explained her plan, the Kyoto-beauty wasn't so sure if it would actually work. It sounded so easy but in reality it might be impossible.
"Well Julia might be fast, but I'm not. Look at my stupid leg." Pointing at her blood-stained thigh, Nao made clear that she wasn't very fond of the idea so far.
"You will have to have Julia carry you around during the battle, which will make it more risky I know. But we don't have many options here."
"How exactly are you going to distract Natsuki?" Suspicion could be heard in the low voice of Nao, but Shizuru didn't want to explain every detail since she hadn't thought of a sure way yet.
"Trust me. I have my ways," she said, not answering the question directly.
"What if it doesn't work?" Nao snorted already being familiar with some of the Kyoto-girls ways.
"It will..." Shizuru's gaze drifted off into the sky. The HiME star had stopped moving.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I see no other way..." She made a slight pause to take a deep breath. "So, when I have her distracted Duran will be distracted too, which gives you the opportunity to..." She stared directly into Nao's eyes. "…end it."
"You mean..." The lime-eyes became wide in terror.
"You have to kill her, Nao. If she comes back to her senses for a second, she'll be devastated. It might be the only chance to stop her." The bluntness of Shizuru's words let the anger rise up again in the pink-haired girl.
"Why don't you kill her?" she shouted in the face of the crimson-eyed girl.
"Because I'll be going with her..."
"You mean..."
"Yes, you heard me right. As soon as I have captured her you need to order Julia to end this madness. I have made so many mistakes during my last life. I have sinned. And still, Natsuki was there sacrificing herself to free me. This is the chance to repay her. This is all I can do. But I'm afraid I won't able to if I lose myself in her eyes. I know you can do it. I know you're stronger than me." She made a pause and materialized her weapon. "I'm ready to let go. Are you?"
A falling tree that had been chopped off in the battle between Duran and Julia tore Nao out of her thoughts. The words of Shizuru were still ringing in her ears. She knew the moment was close. When Duran finally stopped its attacks, her heart started to crumble. She let her gaze wander towards the spot where Shizuru had Natsuki wrapped up tightly. The chestnut-haired girl turned around to check if Nao was ready to end this battle and to free the world, but she could see that Julia still had troubles in keeping Duran under control. She shortly locked her eyes with the pink-haired girl and gave her quick nod.
Turning back to Natsuki, she once more tried to find the lost girl in the dull gray eyes.
"I know you're still there. Please, come back to me. Let me look into those stunning green eyes of yours one more time before everything ends. You brought me back from my madness, so let me free you from yours. Forever, Natsuki..." Shizuru brought her hand up to softly cup Natsuki's cheek, and without any resistance she pulled the girl in. Their lips met as quietly as a falling feather, but the impact was much bigger than expected. Duran instantly collapsed and fell down to the ground completely. Shizuru didn't notice any of her surroundings as she softly parted the lips of the raven-haired girl with her tongue. A warm feeling shot from her mouth throughout her whole body, and she could literally feel how Natsuki was finding her way back into her body. She was almost choking when she finally broke the kiss, and although she was afraid to open her eyes she couldn't keep them closed. Everything seemed so far away right now, and she couldn't tell if she was already dead or not. Only the deep green eyes in front of her kept her believing that she wasn't dreaming.
"Wh... what happened? Shizuru..." Natsuki's gaze was still a bit clouded and she had no idea where she was.
"Shh... It's alright now." Shizuru embraced the girl tightly, once more glancing over to Nao, who had watched the moment quietly. She could see that the girl was shaking, and was afraid that she might give in. But when Nao turned away from them with a pained expression, Shizuru knew that everything would be alright. "Natsuki, I love you." The words were low, and although Natsuki didn't know anything at all right now, they felt right to her. She wanted to lift her head to smile at the crimson-eyed girl in reassurance when a sharp pain cut through her stomach. She heard the distant echo of a very familiar voice. Her eyes caught sight of Nao, who was sitting on top of her Child Julia. Her vision became blurry, and so she wasn't sure if the pink-haired girl was really crying. As she followed the figure of the mechanic spider, she could see that its scorpion tail was disappearing behind Shizuru's back. She wanted to turn to see what was going on, but her body wouldn't move. Her head became heavy, and when she let her gaze wander to the ground, she saw a pile of blood beneath her feet. With her last remaining strength she lifted her head up once more, and found herself lost in another shade of crimson again. For the first time she realized that the scorpion tail hadn't disappeared behind them. Shizuru tried to smile at her, but the pain was clearly visible in her expression. Blood was dripping from the mouth of the Kyoto-beauty, and Natsuki tried to summon all her strength to lift her head a bit further.
"Shizuru, I..." She could feel her body giving in to the sharp tail that was going through her and Shizuru. Her mind wasn't ready to let go, but she couldn't voice anymore sounds. The sounds started to disappear and her vision slowly went black.
A/N: Well, I got to finish this story before the reviews go down to zero. And since there were only three for the last chapter I better hurry. Next Saturday the last chapter will be up.
