Bitter Revenge

~ Murder, I Wrote! ~

Chapter Six ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Blood For Breakfast

~Deling City Hotel; Midnight to Monday Morning~

The room was full of fog-like smoke, so as the messenger couldn't breathe. A mask would do, keeping his lungs from the gas-like poison that he, himself, had filled the room with. This mission would be difficult; he must not wake the others. A room of three made if very hard to get to just one person. They were getting smart, too smart. He knew his time was low. Just two more murders…he was saving the most straining, the biggest wound to create, for last. And it made him smile!

The task at hand was difficult. The gunblade expert was heavy. If he hadn't so heavily sedated them, it would have been impossible to drag his muscular, leather-clad body from the room. He strained for nearly an hour before the task was done. The effects of the poison would wear off soon. If luck was on his side, which it always was, the others would continue sleeping when the poisonous gas wore off, but he would wake their leader, he would wake the lion.

The messenger was quick to bind the lion to the gated entrance to the city. It reminded him of a crucifixion. He was quick to gag him so that no one would hear his screaming. And he was quick to clean his still-bloody knife. Tilmitt had made quite a mess. No matter.

Soon enough, the lion was moaning, a signal that the poison had stopped working. The messenger was quick to be at his side, slapping his cheeks until he was fully awake.

Squall saw his face. He saw the glint of the sharp knife in the moonlight. He saw his death coming.

"Mmmphf!" He cried through the gag (It's you…! Why?! Why you? I can't believe it's… I must tell the others, before it's too late! Shit! I can't move!)

The messenger laughed, heartily. "What's the matter, Leonhart?" He chuckled. "Cat got your tongue? Or rather, a lion?"

(…………?!)

"Typical of you. The Angel told me you were like that."

(…Angel? It's a nutcase…)

He brought the blade close Squall's face, and Squall's eyes widen considerably. "You know what this is for, right, Leonhart?" He laughed yet again, "Of course you do. You know, I always admired how, right before I took each victim's life, they're eyes got so wide; so big. Just like yours are now. Raijin's, Zell's, Quistis's, Irvine's, Selphie's…" He breathed in the night air, replenishing his lungs. "But none as wide as yours, Leonhart." He pointed the knife's tip dead center on Squall's forehead. "Take your last look at the moon, Leonhart, because you'll never see the light of day again!"

Ending words said, he smiled at the squishing sound the blade made as he plunged it into Squall's eye, then twisting it around in circles. The sound reminded him of slime, something he could put his hands in and squish around. He laughed at the thought and pulled the knife out of his left eye, then trust it into the other, repeating the ritual, laughing all the while. Squall, still, alive, squirmed and twisted, making as much noise as he could through the gag. Any normal human would have passed out because of the pain long ago, but Leonhart was no normal human.

"Don't be mad at me, Leonhart," he said, pulling the knife out of the bloody hole in Squall's head. "I'm just the messenger." The knife made its final dive, right into Squall's heart.

With his paintbrush, the messenger dipped his brush in the quickly forming pool of blood. A smile touched his lips as he began the elegant script of his next message.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Curling, turning, whirling burning…

Seifer was running. It was out to get him, and he was alone.

Sinner! It called him. Murderer!

He thought she was right by his side. He swore she was there, running beside him. He thought she'd be safe, but she wasn't.

Slipping, scrawling, twisting, falling, shrinking, fleeing, twisting, seeing…

He saw in the distance, the small figure. He kept running towards it, he must get there! The figure had its back to him, but Seifer could see what he had in his hands. A knife…

Screaming, crying, bleeding, dying…

The figure was quick to turn, and for a second Seifer thought he would see its face…

Slash!

It all went red. It poured over his eyes; he could feel it running down his hands. (Shit! I think I'm…)

~Deling City Hotel; Monday Morning~

Seifer Almasy sat straight up in his bed, shaking his head violently from side to side. A nightmare! It had been a nightmare…

Fujin wasn't in her bed. For a split second panic raced through him, and then he remembered what she'd said to him the night before, and dismissed his worries. She was in the shower; she was fine. Not that he cared.

Fully dressed, trench coat included, he strolled out into the morning sunlight. For a second he stood, absorbing it, deciding that he'd like to go on a walk. He could only stand so much of Leonhart, Rinoa, and ever-optimistic Cid in one week. Not to mention the cyclops albino bitch who thought she knew it all…

There seemed to be a big fuss down the road a ways, and he was almost going to go in the opposite direction, but something drew him to it, some memory he'd almost forgotten.

Oh, yes, he remembered it. The inaugural parade, the first time he realized he'd have to fight his good SeeD buddies when he'd sided with the sorceress, Edea. The gate they'd closed them in…

The people of Deling seemed to be in a state of delirium. They passed him by, staring, and it made him wonder what the hell was wrong with them.

It was all too soon that he found out.

The banner was a huge white sheet, and written on it in that all too familiar crimson red script:

"I'VE LEAD YOU THIS FAR, ALMASY, AND YOU'RE SO CLOSE, BUT NOW I'M BLIND. THE BLIND CANNOT LEAD THE BLIND."

Squall Leonhart's body was hanging underneath, tied to the bars so that he looked like a broken 'X'. Seifer walked all the way up to the closed gate so that he could see exactly what had happened. Blood was all over Squall's chest, and Seifer could see that he'd been stabled multiple times, but worst of all was his face. Seifer couldn't even see the scar that he'd given the boy oh so long ago under all the blood. No longer did Squall Leonhart have eyes; they'd been gouged from his body like nothing.

In spite of everything he was, in spite of everything he stood for, Seifer Almasy dropped to his knees in front of the dishonorable display, mouth dropped open, and eyes wide with fear. He'd stood through the other deaths and watched coldly, hurt that someone would do this to him, to everyone. To rip the lives of so many people to shreds all over the simple matter of revenge.

And he'd accused Fujin of all this. Had it really been her? Could it have really been her? She'd had the opportunity, hadn't she? She'd still been awake when he'd drifted off to sleep. No, it couldn't have been her…

He remembered his dream. He'd been running, at first from someone, but towards the end, looking for them. Everyone had been alive, running with him, but then Raijin fell back, and slowly, everyone else disappeared. In the end, it had been only him and Fujin, and suddenly, even she was gone. Ahead of him was a thin, worn figure, and at its feet, Fujin's body. Dead.

Dead!

"Seifer!" A voice broke through his thoughts; it was Rinoa. "Oh, God! Seifer! Why? Why did this have to happen?!" She flung herself into his arms, and out of his own dazed state, he held her gently and let her cry. "Why Squall, why Squall?"

Seifer felt rotten. He felt rotten, because out of the group of six friends that lived in Balamb Garden, only one was left, the most fragile of them all at that: Rinoa. It almost reminded him of his own group of friends. Raijin was dead, and Fujin was…

…Fujin…

He'd left Fujin alone in the hotel room. Would she be okay? His heart was beating at an alarming rate; he was terrified for her now.

Rinoa was still talking to him through her tears. He hadn't been paying attention to her. "…You've got to stop him, Seifer, you've got to stop him before he kills Fujin!"

"What?! What do you mean, 'before he kills Fujin?'" He drew her back an arms length and stared at her in baffled shock.

"You didn't see the last clue?" She asked shakily.

He stared a minute, and then asked, "The blind cannot lead the blind?"

Rinoa shook her head and pointed to the ground below them. Seifer had to step back to read it, and it sent such a sudden rush of fear through him he thought he might throw up.

"I COULD'VE KEPT TRACK OF YOU EVEN WITH JUST ONE EYE OPEN. TOO BAD YOU DON'T HAVE GODSPEED."

Wings were drawn underneath it, but he paid them no mind.

…With just one eye open… It echoed unendingly in his mind. Fujin had one eye. Every clue had lead them to the next target, not the killer. Fujin was the next target. He closed his eyes for just a second, and her face flashed before him. He was probably too late all ready. He'd lost everything.

Suddenly he broke away from Rinoa, running as fast as the wind Fujin was named for, trench coat flying up behind him. He had to make it there on time; he had to!

(I cannot loose…I will not loose everything!)

He barged into the hotel, not taking notice of anyone who might be staring at him. He stormed up the stairs and burst into the room.

Empty. The shower wasn't running anymore. Her bed was still unmade. The light was still on in the bathroom. Fear shivered through him like never before. No battle had ever gotten to him like this. He pulled out his gunblade from inside of his coat (so much can be held in there!), and crept towards the bathroom soundlessly.

He couldn't hear anything. His hand shook as he reached for the doorknob, afraid that when he opened it he'd find her dead on the floor, blood everywhere. Finally he took a great breath and swung the door open.

Fujin was kneeling on the floor, dressed, clutching her neck, straining to breath. Behind her he stood, obviously strangling her with some kind of cord. Her good eye was clenched tightly closed, but her other eye was exposed, the scar standing out like a threat of death. She was loosing her breath quickly, her struggle starting to end with alarming speed.

In a split second, the man had seen him at the door, and was jerking up on the cord to finish her off quicker.

Rage spread through Seifer's veins like wildfire, and he'd smacked the man away. The man fell backwards into the shower and was promptly knocked unconscious by hitting his head off of the tile wall.

Fujin had dropped to the floor, passed out. Seifer quickly slipped the Hyperion back into his coat and picked her up in his arms. He carried her out and set her on the bed, where she lay in a motionless ball.

Without thinking, he picked up the phone to ask for the police. He was told to wait patiently while they came on their way.

He sat on the bed by Fujin while she slept a dreamless sleep. With a gentleness he hadn't thought he possessed, he brushed silver strands of hair from her face, his heart beating in his ears, but not loud enough to block out her ragged, slow breathing. He realized he much of himself he'd loose if he lost her. He'd all ready lost so much in everyone else…

Seifer hardly noticed when the police came in the room, looking for the killer of Squall, as he'd told them on the telephone. He merely pointed to the bathroom and let the rest buzz around him. When they came to ask him questions, he was still in a trance.

"Did you know the person murdered?"

"Yes, he was… he was a student at my school."

"His name?"

"Leonhart, Squall Leonhart."

"What happened to her?" They nodded in Fujin's direction.

"He had a wire. Tried to strangle him. She passed out just as I walked in."

"She'll be okay," a medical officer assured him.

Relief…

"What's your name son?"

"Seifer. Seifer Almasy."

"The Almasy the threat was directed to...?"

"Yes…"

"Why did the murderer want to threaten you?"

"Honestly, I have no clue."

"We'll get it out of him when he wakes up, don't worry. We're sorry about all the grief this has caused you. We'll be contacting you soon; most likely we're going to need some more information from you and your friend here, when she wakes up. We're taking the man down to the jail…"

He didn't really hear any more of it. He hardly noticed when they'd left. The buzzing in his ears was growing deafening, and he felt completely unnerved.

Fujin stirred just barely on the bed, and her eye flickered open. He looked down at her, and smiled just the tiniest little bit, and she read it in his eyes.

It's over…it's over…