Enjoy!

Shika:

I basically did the same thing I did when we got back from rescuing Estela and Meiah: lay in bed and shut out the world. There was yet another death I had a hand in. Killing Amanda hadn't been my intention, but I still did it.

Oh, wow. The room just got really hot. It felt like the temperature had risen ten degrees. What the?...

Lifting a lazy hand, I closed my eyes and focused. A small flame ignited in my palm as I let out my pent-up power. I had eaten a lot recently, so I had to release my abilities in a controlled manner every now and then, or else they make me spontaneously combust as L had put it.

Come to think of it, my insides had been feeling funny lately. It started right after I kil- .. er, bit Amanda. No, it went back further, to the time I fought Blake. It was subtle, so much so that it didn't register until now, when it increased so I had to recognize it. I sat up, squeezing my hand into a fist and putting out the fire. I then placed my other hand under my rib cage.

The air stiffened; sparkles shined and floated around, suspended all around me. Everything took on a blue hue. Laughter echoed in my ears, and then the glitter formed into a solidified figure. Shun stood before the bed, a wide grin etched on his face. He gave a mock bow, black irises full of amusement.

"How do you do, oujo-sama?"

In response to his presence, I glared at the ravenette who took on a human appearance for the sake of my mind. He once said that if he showed up in his real form, my brain would liquefy and melt out of my ears.

"Cut the crap. Why are you here?"

If it wasn't obvious, I held him slightly accountable for my killing her, and also myself. Mainly myself. But that didn't mean I couldn't be mad at him, too.

"I didn't get to explain why I wanted you to bite that troublesome girl."

Debating in my head, I stopped glaring, but kept my guard up. He didn't, did he?

"It better be a good fucking reason."

"Oh, it is. Blake hasn't attempted to shape shift, has he?"

"..No."

"Have you?"

"Have I what?"

"Tried to shape shift, silly girl."

"..Uh, no."

"And why not?" He seemed upset like a spoiled child talking to his mother who was refusing to let him have ice cream for lunch.

"Because my injection didn't give me that power. It hardly did anything at all."

He shook his head, tsk'ing me.

"I should have known you'd think that."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing. Why don't you try turning into something? Perhaps a person or an animal. Oh, I know! Why don't you morph into your old half-demon self? I liked you better that way. You weren't much of a human then."

"Arra Hemlock? Really?" He nodded rapidly, so I sighed. "Sure, fine."

I closed my eyelids again, imagining how I used to look like in Inuyasha: My hair was a royal purple and was in a pixie-cut. My eyes were as silver as the moon or unicorn blood. My shirt showed my belly button and only had one strap that was 3 inches across. My skirt was short, only reaching halfway down my thighs. I had no shoes and a swath of material that made up my other clothes covering my right forearm. Everything I wore was made out of black scales from some kind of large reptile I later found out was some dragon-like demon. The Mark on my hand had only one symbol at the time.

Shun let out a wolf whistle. "Much better~"

Rolling my orbs, I went up to the mirror. There stood Arra, my second trips' persona. After escaping the Axlum the first time, I Jumped into the feudal era. For some reason, I had fallen asleep in the portal, and woke up on top of a hill. I found a river after being chased out of a small village. I looked in the water and saw the girl I saw now: a half-breed Dire Wolf demon. My demon senses were exactly like my vampire self's'. Resting a hand on the glass, I turned back to Shun.

"But how?.."

"You took the black serum, right?"

"The one you said was for me? Of course."

Satisfied, he let his gaze travel up and down my body, lingering too long in certain places for my liking. Nodding his head, he dropped down in the desk chair. His posture was easy-going, not at all acting like he bullied Neches into doing something he didn't want to do, but I didn't have room to talk. It was hard to hold a grudge, though. Shun saved my life, so I owed him everything.

"Blake took the blue one; Amanda, the green. You, however, took the black one. Plus, you gave them half the full dose -which was rather smart- but you took all of yours. It was that color for a reason. You see, black is made as a combination of all of the colors put together. Your serum can absorb the others. The tricky part was finding a way for you to extract said serum and have it dispersed throughout your bloodstream."

I understood a few things better.

"You wanted Rido to turn me. That way, when I bit one of the Axlum, I'd get their abilities like a pureblood killing and drinking form another pureblood. It wasn't an accident you told me Yuki was on the roof. You knew!"

"Yes, I did. We both know how much he likes to eat. Surely, he'd try to drain all of your blood in one setting, and how you would fight back. I was hoping you'd resort to biting him back in self-defense. It was quite a risk, but you did marvelously, I must say. You even managed to get enough of his blood in you to complete the change. The fact you regained consciousness & Jumped right afterwards showed me you were almost ready."

The last sentence sent anxiety down my spine.

"Ready for what?"

"Well, I was going to wait to tell you, but there's no point in delaying any longer. There is a contest coming up –a tournament of sorts. Since you are my pick, you have to compete amongst other humans. Each compotator is selected by a Xucmbij, and are sent through four dimensions to train them to adapt to anything and everything that could be thrown at them. That Mark on your hand symbolizes your successes so far."

"But I'm missing one," I piped up.

"Because there's still a problem you haven't solved yet, but you're pretty close. In fact, there's only one thing in your way."

"…Zeke."

"Exactly."

"Wait, if the contestants are Xucmbij choices, does that mean I have to fight Estela?"

"Only humans are allowed to enter," he reassured. "She's a witch."

I sighed in relief, then found yet another problem.

"But, I'm not a human either. I'm-"

"-a vampire," he finished. "Yes, BUT you can be human now. If you imagine it –Poof!- instant homo sapiens."

"Look, this sounds fun and all, but why are you guys making people do this gladiator battle? What's the point?"

"It's to waste time. We've lived for eternity, and we get bored easily. Traveling through an infinite number of dimensions got old a long, long, long time ago. Humans have been a part of our amusement since they first developed. They fight each other not only to survive, but for pleasure or power as well. They might be just as greedy as Xucmbij are. They refuse to give up, too, no matter how their chances look. Someone could be pointing a gun at them, and if they thought they would die regardless, then they'd charge head-on just to go down with a fight. You don't have to worry, though, Veronica. You're much stronger than any of the others. I've ensured that. You'll win hands down."

"And if I don't want to?"

Shun tilted his head –a habit he picked up from me. He couldn't force me to do it, regardless of what I owed him.

"Sweat girl, you don't have a say in the matter. You'll participate, whether you agree or not. Do you remember what I told you when you were in Cupviji the first time around? I replaced something inside you. I took away your free will. Sure, you can make decisions and plot all you want, but in the end, you will comply."

The reality of it all set in. Everything he had done and given me was for his benefit, not mine.

"I should have figured you had your own plans for me, but I can't believe I couldn't see that sooner. You saving me, giving me 'gifts', and trying to keep me pacified; it was all to prepare me for this mêlée."

"Of course it was. I told you from the beginning that what I wanted didn't matter 'at the moment.' That moment has come, for good or for worse."

"You fucking bastard," I yelled, rushing at him.

There was a blinding burst of sparkles before I collided with Shun, which left me sightless. By the time my eyes adjusted, he was long gone. My fists balled up tightly as I glared at the carpeted floor, which I was laying flat on my stomach since I literally had nothing to stop my momentum. The room returned to its normal colors, the blue tint wearing off. The air regained its lightness, and I stood back up, dusting my cloths.

I had been cheated and lied to, and there was no choices left for me. I would be made to fight one way or another. Why did life suck so much?