The Price of This Love

The Price of This Love~*

By: Anime Angel ^0^

"Why are you doing this?!" Gene yelled, still crouching on the floor. He felt the blade of the knife moving up and down along his back, and so he figured that it would be best if he stayed still. Not only that, but Jim lay before him, his body limp.

"Gene Starwind, you remember don't you? How...how he promised me so many things...how he LEFT me?! And now you, you're doing the SAME THING! Only, you're leaving me for that brat." Naomi shook her head and Gene felt the knife come closer to his neck. "And Chad left me for another woman."

"Naomi, I loved you. If you hadn't of done this everything would still be normal. It's your own fault--"

"NO!" she yelled, and Gene felt her weapon press up against him, almost to the point of drawing blood. "It's his fault," she whispered, pointing with her free hand to the still boy on the floor. "Just like it was that woman's fault."

"Naomi--"

Gene was cut off by a sharp prick of pain. He grunted as he realized that Naomi's knife had cut through his shirt, and penetrated his skin. Warm sticky blood began to stain his back, and he allowed himself to slowly sink lower to the tile floor.

"Oh Gene, it could have been so easy if you had just accepted this," Naomi cooed, bringing the blood covered knife up off of his body. "But now...now the only way we can be together is if we die."

Gene, knowing that the girl would soon carry through her threat, decided to take the chance and call for help. He recalled what Aisha had said, so, taking the risk of getting impaled by his insane ex-girlfriend, he screamed," AISHA HELP US!"

"NO!" Naomi yelled. Gene could see the shadow of her arm against the far wall, ready to bring the knife down into his back. With a determined cry he rolled to the side, just as she plunged the weapon down. The blade hit the floor with a loud 'shwing' and barely missed the outlaw by inches.

"No....NO YOU WILL DIE WITH ME!" she screamed, scrambling after him. "YOU WILL!"

~*~*~*~

Aisha perked her ears in interest. She was sure she had heard something, but was it Gene?

"What's the matter Aisha?" Melfina asked, looking at the Ctarl Ctarl suspiciously. "What...what are you thinking?"

"My superior ears picked up something!" Aisha said excitedly. She listened again, but there was nothing. "Aw...I wish Suzu hadn't of made us wait in this STUPID Cafe!" she screeched, drawing the attention of everyone in the crowded room. The assassin, after departing from the apartment, had suggested that they give Gene and his ex-girlfriend some privacy. So now the trio sat in the LaBumba Cafe, awaiting any word from the outlaw. "Then I could HEAR BETTER--"

Aisha stopped as her delicate ears picked up a loud crash coming from where Gene was. Sure it could have been anything, but the Ctarl Ctarl was anxious for action. "AHA!" she yelled, getting up from her seat enthusiastically, and knocking over the table.

"What?" Suzuka asked, barely dodging a falling plate of food. She looked up at Aisha, an annoyed look in her eyes. "Aisha you need to loosen up--"

"I HEARD SOMETHIN!" the Ctarl Ctarl interrupted. She turned to run out the door, and before the assassin could stop her she was gone.

~*~*~*~

"Now Naomi.." Gene knew it was no use, but he had to try and distract her....even if it was only for a moment. "You won't be able to do this, you realize that don't you?!"

"I don't care if anyone tries to stop me," she hissed, crawling toward him with the knife in hand. "I will die anyway. All I have to make sure of is that you come with me."

"Come on....Nai!" Gene was desperate, but using his pet name for her wasn't helping. The girl was coming closer and he couldn't do anything about it. His Castor was upstairs, and he couldn't even stand up anymore. "If you really loved me Naomi you wouldn't do this!" he said frantically, knocking over a table and sending its contents to the floor with a loud crash.

"Oh Gene...poor poor Gene. You are just so confused." For a moment the girl stopped, and looked deep into Gene's dark eyes. Her own eyes were shockingly gray now, almost to the point of being white. They mesmerized the outlaw for a moment, and for some reason they seemed...unreal. Was it because the girl was so angry? Or.....insane?

"I do love you, you just don't understand that this is for the better." She continued, blowing him a kiss and then lifting the knife in the air. Naomi had the outlaw perfectly cornered. "Goodbye Gene Starwind. I will join you after--"

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW I HEARD SOMETHING!"

Gene sighed in relief as Aisha's voice sounded through the apartment. As if God was smiling down at him that moment, Noami whirled around.

"Thank the Lord," he whispered under his breath, kicking the girl with all of his strength in the side. She let out a fierce cry and doubled over in pain, the knife dropping from her grip and clattering to the tiles.

"NO!" she screeched, frantically trying to pick the weapon up. Just as her hand reached it however, Gene's foot planted itself firmly on top of the blade. "AH! NO NO NO NO!"

Naomi, in all of her rage, launched herself at the outlaw in desperation. He gasped as she closed her long fingers around his neck, cutting of his air. He coughed and struggled in her grasp, but found himself growing weaker as she began to bend his neck back. It was then, just as she was about to end it once and for all, that he noticed the enraged Ctarl Ctarl standing behind his captor. Within a second her claws were out, shining in the dim light.

"BITCH!" was Aisha's cry as she impaled Naomi in the back with her claws, causing the girl to scream out in pain and defeat. She was still looking into Gene's eyes when she fell into his lap, her body twisting so that she was face up.

"No....no no no no no no," she moaned, blood running down her neck and onto her hair. Soon it began to drip down her forehead and into her eyes.

The Ctarl Ctarl was about to hit her again, when Suzuka held her back.

"Aisha, that's enough. She's down now." The assassin, assured that Aisha was under control, released her hold. Aisha let out one more growl before withdrawing her claws. Both bent over Gene, assessing his injuries.

"Suzu, Mel...help me here!" Gene yelled, coughing in-between words. He remained on the floor as his friends lifted Naomi off of him.

"Oh Gene," she whispered as they lowered her down. "Gene, I really did love you. But...but I guess love wasn't meant for me? WAS IT GENE?!" The girl's eyes clouded over, and soon she was crying. Blood mixed with the tear-drops and fell freely down her face, staining her shirt with large red splotches.

"Aisha, help me up," the outlaw whispered, ignoring Naomi's piercing stare. The girl began to babble as the Ctarl Ctarl lifted him off of the floor. She kept calling his name, along with her former lover's... Chad, the one that had promised her marriage. The one who had left her standing at the alter in her wedding dress, sobbing for him to come back -- just like she was sobbing right then.

Soon, the girl lay still, her eyes still open. Gene shuddered and forced himself to look away from the body.

~*~*~*~

"Is she...?" Melfina began. She had seen death before: Hilda, pirates, and other enemies... but never so close. She fell silent as Gene's eyes began to widen, focusing on something behind the three.

The outlaw pushed last the assassin and Aisha as best he could, and landed on his knees in front of his partner. For the first time since the girls had entered the building, they noticed the still boy lying on the floor a few feet away.

"Oh...oh my..." Melfina gasped in horror. Blood soaked the once white tiled around Jim, and his night shirt was red as well. Melfina felt a knot tightening in her throat. She had never seen anything so bloody, and the sight sickened her.

"Jim...Jim?!" Gene bent over his partner and, with help from Suzuka and Aisha, lifted him onto the couch. "Dammit!"

No... the outlaw thought. No I can't lose him! I already had to save him once...DAMN! This is all my fault! If only I had made Naomi leave sooner... But no. Gene just HAD to be soft on the girl. But why? Why had it been so hard for him to believe that she was insane? Was it the love they had made those nights? Was it the fact that she had been so beautiful...so mysterious? So good to him...? No. It was the fact that she was the first one that I ... I ever truly loved... But that wasn't important. It was all over now, and Naomi had turned out to be more of a nightmare than anything else. Gene had to focus on something much more important now....his partner. As if jolting back into reality, the outlaw realized that the girls were trying to talk to him.

"--he's bleeding all over everything! Look at all of it! This can't be good.." Gene heard Aisha say. Suzuka had said something as well, but he wasn't sure what. Now the two were on either side of him, trying to pull Jim out of his arms.

Ignoring the pain that he himself was in, Gene pushed away the assassin and Ctarl Ctarl that were trying to help him and lifted up his best friend's shirt....only instead of getting an eyeful of gore, there was only blood. In fact, the wound that his younger partner had obtained was a lot like the one Gene now had on his chest: a large slash.

Gene replayed the image of Jim and the knife over in his mind; Naomi grabbing the boy by the shirt, tossing him onto the blade...

"IT WAS SIDEWAYS!!" he suddenly yelled, sighing in relief. The knife his partner had landed on had been face up, but just on it's side. Jim hadn't been impaled, but rather cut.

"Wha...?" Aisha, Suzuka and Melfina only gave him confused looks. Slowly, the assassin began to discover what the outlaw had just realized.

"The knife was sideways," she said softly, pointing out the large cut running along Jim's stomach.

Gene couldn't help but smile a bit as he looked around the room for something to patch the blond up with. Though the boy was losing a lot of blood, he was sure that Jim was going to be all right. At least...that's what he hoped.

"Here," Aisha said, handing the outlaw his cloak. For a moment he hesitated, remembering when Jim had given the thing to him on their first Christmas together, but what was more important? It or the person who gave it to him?

Gene ripped the fabric into strips, and carefully applied them to his friend's wounds. Then, without a word he lifted the boy up into his arms, supporting the limp child's head and pulling him close to his warmer body.

"Come on," he said, leading the group out the door. He didn't care if they didn't have any money...or insurance. He was taking Jim to a doctor.

As they all left, Melfina couldn't help but take one more look at the dead girl behind them. Naomi would never again live; she would never eat, sleep, laugh, cry, or love ever again.

Melfina shuddered. She was just beginning to understand what death really was.

To be continued...

Whew! That one took a little longer to write, but hey...I got it up right? Anyways, I am over my insomnia. *sweatdrop* You wouldn't believe he fic ideas that come to mind when you don't sleep. I am just glad that writer's block didn't get in the way. ^_^ More should be up soon, and I am thinking of writing an alternate ending starting from the point where Naomi smothers Jim. Lots of people e-mailed me regarding what they thought should happen, and a few HAVE requested an alternate ending, so I think I might put one up! Thanks for the wonderful reviews everyone! And don't worry...the rest of this should be up soon. Maybe one more chapter...or two? I dunno. Keep checking back!