Thanks to all who reviewed:)
The whole story takes place about 8 years after DF ended. REVIEW!!!
" " - speech
* * - thoughts
There might be slight OOC on Takuya's and Junpei's parts, but you have to remember they got older, and attitudes changed, etc.
Disclaimer - I do not own Digimon, no matter how many pounds of candy I send to Toei everyday with a "Please let me own Digimon" card. *sniff*.
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Denial of the Heart
Chapter 6 - The Love
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
*IZUMI'S P.O.V.*
I woke up a bit late. My eyes where still a bit hazy from the sleep, but I went and took a quick shower, and did the rest of the usual morning stuff. That left me 10 minutes to get to class, it seemed easy enough.
When I got to the university, my first class was Physics, so I went there and took my normal seat next to Takuya. He seemed to be absorbed in his own thoughts so I decided not to disturb him. He kept mumbling something and planning something on paper. He drew something, then took the paper and threw it out, and restarted the process again.
Class was halfway through when Takuya finally noticed me.
"IZUMI! We have to talk," he almost yelled. I gave a confused nod.
"It's about Kouji," he said. I sighed and shook my head.
"I don't want to hear it then."
"Trust me, you do," he pressed. I decided to just hear him out at least.
He went on to explain to me everything Kouji had apparently told him in the early morning. Up and down to the part about him having about 63 hours to live. I finally understood everything that went on here. I had to see Kouji.
"What are we gonna do about this?" I asked softly, thinking that we had no chance in all the world to take down a whole group of assassins.
"You, nothing. I don't want to put you in danger," Takuya said firmly. I narrowed my eyes.
"Just because I'm female does NOT mean I'm any weaker than you," I said dangerously. Takuya sighed, and withdrew that last remark.
"Well, I guess the plan is like this. Since these are low-ranked assassins of the Rose Mark, they are still very good by other's standards. But we've fought against much stronger than other humans before, right? Right. Even though now we can't use the Spirits to fight, we have all the knowledge of their fighting skills even without all the special attacks. So using the few smoke bombs Kouji gave me, we can probably disorient them, and attack them from another side, or something similar. How is that?" Takuya finished. I wasn't sure it was possible to predit anything the other assassins might use to fight, given their nature, but I kept that thought to myself.
"We'll see, Takuya. Meanwhile I've got to find Kouji."
*KOUICHI'S P.O.V.*
I was in the school. *Where would I be if I was Kouji..* I chuckled softly at the childish thought. I hadn't seen him for eight and a half years or so and wanted to know what classes he was taking. Fat chance.
By pure stroke of luck, I saw his bandana fluttering in the wind on the basketball court. I observed him for a few seconds, making sure he was the right person. His clothes were different, baggier, but there was no doubting that this was Kouji.
I breathed deeply and started walking toward him.
*KOUJI'S P.O.V.*
My plan was just to be in class right now, but I knew I was too nervous about my predicament to pay attention to anything the teachers said. So against all my better judgment, I went out to shoot a few hoops. I heard it was great to soothe the nerves.
After a few shots, I saw a man of around my age approaching me. I took a good look at the person.
No way.
This can't be who I think it is, can it?
Kouichi. I knew it was him.
"Hey, bro," he called quietly to be.
"Sup," I replied softly. I didn't know what to do. Here he was, my brother whom I've wanted to see for the last few years, and now that he was in front of me, I couldn't even talk properly. It seemed it was the same with him.
"We need to talk."
"Yeah, I guess we do," I replied.
*TAKUYA'S P.O.V.*
62 hours, 54 minutes and 39 seconds.
I wondered what I honestly could do to an experienced assassin. Yes, due to my spirits i was good, but I haven't had any serious fights in the last 8 years. Guess I'd have to learn extremely fast.
Plus, I had to keep an eye out on Izumi. I couldn't live with myself afterward if something were to happen to her.
No, don't get me wrong, I don't like her like that. It's just that she's been a really good friend after the adventure we had, and she helped me a lot through a few tough times.
62 hours, 53 minutes, 59 seconds.
*KOUICHI'S P.O.V.*
I told Kouji everything. From being sent to kill him, to denying it, and to being chased by my Mark. Apparently Kouji wasn't in a much better position, as he soon explained.
"Well, we're brothers, right? We stand up for each other. How bout we try and help each other out of this...err...problem?" I said, not-too-enthusiastically. I wasn't a pessimist, just realistic. What could 2 assassins, even if they were the best at their craft, do against 2 powerful...well...armies?
Kouji nodded glumly. I was sorry to burden him with my problem, but I had a feeling he'd need my help as well to escape from the Scorpion Mark.
*KOUJI'S P.O.V.*
A dagger flew through the air. I saw it a split second before Kouichi did and moved out of the way. The dagger thumped down in front of us.
"The Scorpion Mark is here, apparently. Could be a little less obvious though," I said with dark humor.
I whipped my own throwing daggers out and Kouichi did the same. I had a huge supply of these with me where ever I went.
I noticed our would-be assasin quickly. He was in the trees, fumbling out another throwing dagger. Before he could though, my own was sticking out of his head.
"It's true what they said about you," Kouichi remarked. I didn't say anything but continues scanning the surroundings.
The whistle of air sounded as another curved dagger flew by a mere inch away from me, hitting my UFO pants, or rather, the strong reinforcements behind it. That's why I wore huge pants now, to hide my leg armor, store my daggers, and still have agility.
I picked the dagger out of the pants, and threw it into a bush which I knew it came from. A yell of agony told me I hit my mark.
Daggers were filling the air now. I knocked away as many as I could as I defended Kouichi's back, and he defended mine. He was throwing daggers at an extremely fast speed, hitting perfectly with each throw.
Another dagger flew by and hit my leg again. This one was longer then another throwing dagger so I picked it out and stuck it in my belt for close-range combat which I was sure would issue later.
The assassins were swarming now, coming closer. One threw a smoke-bomb with pretty bad aim, and I was able to catch it safely. I threw it off to my left, and charged that way with my close-range dagger with Kouichi in pursuit, seeing what I was doing.
In the smoke, I striked hard and fast, bringing 3 people down. This gave me an opening I needed to escape the closing-in circle of assassins.
From inside the smoke, Kouichi and I were throwing daggers galore, knocking out well over half the circle. Then the smoke started to dissipate, and by a stroke of bad luck, the assassins threw their daggers at Kouchi at the same time. I lunged with my own dagger and managed to knock two away, and he blocked three. The one left though, hit him in his unprotected leg.
Kouichi gave a yell of pain, but he still stood. He kept drawing his daggers and throwing. Within a matter of minutes, it was a fair fight. Two versus two. Good odds for two guys who just beat about twenty.
I threw both my daggers at the two assassins, killing them instantly.
"That was a good, good fight," I remarked as I ripped off my sleeve to put around Kouichi's bleeding wound.
"Sorry bro, bt we're not done yet. This is the manner of the Scorpion Mark. They send a bunch of low ranks to weaken the targets, then send about ten elites to finish the job," Kouichi said, grimacing in pain.
I looked up and around, and indeed saw ten men walk toward us. "That would be them right now, right?"
"Yep."
At that moment, the entrance from the gym to the basketball courts burst open, and Takuya came in with Izumi. My mind blanked.
"Takuya, are you frikkin INSANE? bringing Izumi into this?" I yelled at him. Takuya looked down.
"If she wants to come, I can't stop her," he said. Izumi frowned at Kouji.
"I'm fighting, Kouji, like it or not. By the way, who the other guy?" She said, looking pointedly at Kouichi.
"My brother," I said.
Izumi brightened up. "Oh, hi, Kouichi, long time no see. Let's do the reunion thing later, we got work to do."
He smiled. "Yeah! Like taking out the trash!"
He tried to stand up, and Izumi noticed his wavering walk, then his wound.
"Kouichi, you sure you're gonna fight?" she asked, concerned. He nodded reassuringly.
"Well, enough talk, let's get down to business."
Three daggers were already heading my way. I ducked quickly, pulled out my long dagger, and charged at the closest elite. He threw a smoke bomb to throw me off-track but I was already too close. The throw made him lose his momentum, and my dagger plunged into his hard suit.
Needless to mention, he died within two seconds. I pulled out my blade and retreated back, blocking, ducking, and throwing my own daggers.
A few feet behind me, the rest were doing the same. Kouichi got lucky with a throw which hit another elite right below the ribs, where the suit was at it's softest. It penetrated and the man fell, dead.
The elite apparently had much more tricks. They put themselves in an eagle formation, and charged at us while throwing more smoke bombs around themselves, so we never knew exactly where they were. I tried throwing a few daggers into the mess to find them fly around harmlessly behind the elites.
No! I saw it too late! A dagger was heading right for Izumi!
The world around me seemed to go black. I started running faster then I ever could toward her. The dagger was closer. The dagger was faster. So i did the only thing I could.
Since I saw I could not reach Izumi to at least push her out of the way, I tackled the dagger head-on. I had no time to get it from the side or anywhere not dangerous. The point bit my shoulder, and blood started to flow heavily.
Takuya swore, but continued throwing his daggers, and killed an elite. Kouichi narrowed his eyes and continued his assault as well.
Izumi moaned when she saw me a foot away from her, the dagger which would pierce her neck embedded deep in my shoulder. I reached and tried to pull it out but the pain was too intense, I couldn't take it. Izumi rushed up to me, talking fast.
"I'm so sorry Kouji, about this, about before, I didn't know anything about this, and it hurt so much when you acted so cold. I had a thought at the back of my mind, but when you were still in the Rose Mark i couldn't tell you, because I thought you wouldn't care, and that would hurt a lot more then a dagger. But....you see, Kouji, now that I see who you are, and how much you really do care, I realized that...that I love you," she finished softly, tears forming in those beautiful eyes of hers.
The second I heard those last few words, it felt as I was in heaven, despite the pain i was feeling. It was numbed by her words. A flame burned faster and harder in the back of my head, when I realized that Izumi would get hurt if I didn't do something.
Her words gave me the ultimate insentive to fight. I also realized my feels for her at that moment.
"Izumi..I love you too.." I said, before I pulled myself up, and took out both of my close-range daggers. I ran forward to Takuya and Kouichi who were falling behind as the 7 remaining elites came forward.
With a howl of pain, I pulled the dagger out of my shoulder. With all my strength and a moan of pain as the wound in my shoulder opened even wider, the dagger went on a straight path right through an elite's head and hit the guy behind him in the neck. Both were dead on the ground.
But their eagle formation stood strong, throwing out daggers still. One hit me in the stomach, another one bounced off my leg. I wrenched the dagger out of my stomach, dropped it, and charged forward despite the pain, I loved the look of fear on the elite's face as my dagger slashed his throat, and my other dagger flew for the other's heart. Kouichi advanced slowly, dragging his wounded leg behind him, but slashing with his daggers all the while. Takuya threw daggers from behind us, but they were of no use as they bounced off the guy's suit.
Another dagger flashed an broke those my leg armor and ripped open the side of my leg. The pain only powered my adrenaline and I lunged for the guy who slashed me. He was dead in two seconds, with a broken face and crushed lungs.
"Kouji! Calm down, you'll kill yourself!" I heard Izumi yell. I didn't pause to consider the truth of her words but merely kept killing.
Two elites left. Kouichi took one down with a particularly strong thrust that broke the man's suit and hit his heart.
The last one's mine! I lunged for him, dodged his thrust skillfully and thrust my dagger in his neck.
And thus it was done.
My adrenaline started wearing off, and i suddenly felt very, very tired. I wondered if I was dying. All I knew is that I lost conciousness.
*KOUICHI'S P.O.V.*
Kouji collapsed right in front of us. He was drenched in sweat and blood, lying around a bunch of dead bodies. I surveyed the scene quickly, and noticed just how much destruction and blood there was. The image imprinted itself in my head, but I tried not to think about it as I rushed over to Kouji's side. Izumi was already there, holding his hand, and crying.
"Kouji, no, don't leave me! I just told you how I feel, and you saved my life today, and then you go dying on me? No!" she screamed until she could scream no more. And then she whispered, and cried.
"Izumi..we have to get Kouji to the hospital fast...he's lost a lot of blood, but he'll most likely live. He's not a quitter," Takuya said. Both me and Izumi nodded.
*KOUJI'S P.O.V.*
I opened my eyes. The bright light made me shut them again.
"Ugh...am I dead yet?" I groaned out to no one in particular.
"No, but you almost were yesterday, be greatful. You lost a lot of blood but you should be OK within a few days," a soothing voice said by me.
I groaned out. Then I remembered. "Can you tell me by hours how long I was in here?" I asked, opening my eyes just a crack.
The nurse who was sitting next to me gave me a weird look, but nodded. "23 hours," she said.
"Goddamnit..." I moaned.
"Why? Is anything wrong?" the nurse asked.
"Y...no, nothing. I just need to be out of here by tomorrow a the very latest," I said, my eyes finally adjusting to the bright light. I looked over my body, seeing my wounds sewn together with stitches.
"Impossible. You're not in good enough shape yet."
"Then I'll get out by myself."
"I advice you not to, sir. Oh, by the way, you have some friends here who want to see you."
"Ah. OK, bring them in," I said, convinced that seeing my friends would make me feel better.
The door opened, bringing out not who I expected. I gasped and almost yelled for security. Instead I settled for an evil hiss.
"Farran. Get out," I said, glowering.
Farran merely smiled. "Don't worry, Minamoto. I haven't come to kill you. In fact, I've come to talk."
"I don't want to hear anything you have to say."
"Oh, I'm sure you will, once you let me," she said. I wasn't overly convinced, but I had nothing to lose and shrugged.
"I've come to talk about your run-in with the Scorpion Mark. I've heard you and three friends knocked out well over fifty of them."
"And?"
"The Rose Mark decided one failed mission on your part is made up for by your slaughter of those soldiers. We accept you back into our ranks," Farran said with a smile on her sharp features.
I didn't have to think long about the offer. "Go to hell," I snapped.
Farran seemed surprised. "Well, OK, I suppose. What Mark will you join though?"
"None. I'm done killing. No more," I said coldly.
"Well, that's good. Do you want me to withdraw your death hour or would you like me to keep it?" she asked, jokingly. It wasn't funny. I merely shrugged.
Farran regarded me with respect. "The Rose Mark will bother you no more," she said and walked out.
The second she got out, I breathed a sign of relief. The door opened again, and Takuya, Kouichi and Izumi came into the room, holding gifts and food. I smiled sincerely.
Izumi smiled widely when she saw mr awake, ran over and wrapped her slender arms around me. I blushed slightly but pulled himself up a bit and hugged back.
After what seemed like a long time, we pulled apart. This was probably the only time in my life I felt happy. I loved Izumi, had a great friend, and one hell of a brother. I figured what the hell, and leaned in, kissing Izumi on the lips.
She was surprised for a second, but when that passed she kissed back.
In the back, Kouichi and Takuya watched with huge grins on their faces.
*There's no place on Earth where I'd like to be at more then here* I thought as me and Izumi broke apart. I knew this was going to be perfect.
THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END
************************************************
A/N-There! Done! and with a big chapter too! I hope you've enjoyed this story, and thanks a lot to all who reviewed(again). I love you all!:)
The whole story takes place about 8 years after DF ended. REVIEW!!!
" " - speech
* * - thoughts
There might be slight OOC on Takuya's and Junpei's parts, but you have to remember they got older, and attitudes changed, etc.
Disclaimer - I do not own Digimon, no matter how many pounds of candy I send to Toei everyday with a "Please let me own Digimon" card. *sniff*.
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Denial of the Heart
Chapter 6 - The Love
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
*IZUMI'S P.O.V.*
I woke up a bit late. My eyes where still a bit hazy from the sleep, but I went and took a quick shower, and did the rest of the usual morning stuff. That left me 10 minutes to get to class, it seemed easy enough.
When I got to the university, my first class was Physics, so I went there and took my normal seat next to Takuya. He seemed to be absorbed in his own thoughts so I decided not to disturb him. He kept mumbling something and planning something on paper. He drew something, then took the paper and threw it out, and restarted the process again.
Class was halfway through when Takuya finally noticed me.
"IZUMI! We have to talk," he almost yelled. I gave a confused nod.
"It's about Kouji," he said. I sighed and shook my head.
"I don't want to hear it then."
"Trust me, you do," he pressed. I decided to just hear him out at least.
He went on to explain to me everything Kouji had apparently told him in the early morning. Up and down to the part about him having about 63 hours to live. I finally understood everything that went on here. I had to see Kouji.
"What are we gonna do about this?" I asked softly, thinking that we had no chance in all the world to take down a whole group of assassins.
"You, nothing. I don't want to put you in danger," Takuya said firmly. I narrowed my eyes.
"Just because I'm female does NOT mean I'm any weaker than you," I said dangerously. Takuya sighed, and withdrew that last remark.
"Well, I guess the plan is like this. Since these are low-ranked assassins of the Rose Mark, they are still very good by other's standards. But we've fought against much stronger than other humans before, right? Right. Even though now we can't use the Spirits to fight, we have all the knowledge of their fighting skills even without all the special attacks. So using the few smoke bombs Kouji gave me, we can probably disorient them, and attack them from another side, or something similar. How is that?" Takuya finished. I wasn't sure it was possible to predit anything the other assassins might use to fight, given their nature, but I kept that thought to myself.
"We'll see, Takuya. Meanwhile I've got to find Kouji."
*KOUICHI'S P.O.V.*
I was in the school. *Where would I be if I was Kouji..* I chuckled softly at the childish thought. I hadn't seen him for eight and a half years or so and wanted to know what classes he was taking. Fat chance.
By pure stroke of luck, I saw his bandana fluttering in the wind on the basketball court. I observed him for a few seconds, making sure he was the right person. His clothes were different, baggier, but there was no doubting that this was Kouji.
I breathed deeply and started walking toward him.
*KOUJI'S P.O.V.*
My plan was just to be in class right now, but I knew I was too nervous about my predicament to pay attention to anything the teachers said. So against all my better judgment, I went out to shoot a few hoops. I heard it was great to soothe the nerves.
After a few shots, I saw a man of around my age approaching me. I took a good look at the person.
No way.
This can't be who I think it is, can it?
Kouichi. I knew it was him.
"Hey, bro," he called quietly to be.
"Sup," I replied softly. I didn't know what to do. Here he was, my brother whom I've wanted to see for the last few years, and now that he was in front of me, I couldn't even talk properly. It seemed it was the same with him.
"We need to talk."
"Yeah, I guess we do," I replied.
*TAKUYA'S P.O.V.*
62 hours, 54 minutes and 39 seconds.
I wondered what I honestly could do to an experienced assassin. Yes, due to my spirits i was good, but I haven't had any serious fights in the last 8 years. Guess I'd have to learn extremely fast.
Plus, I had to keep an eye out on Izumi. I couldn't live with myself afterward if something were to happen to her.
No, don't get me wrong, I don't like her like that. It's just that she's been a really good friend after the adventure we had, and she helped me a lot through a few tough times.
62 hours, 53 minutes, 59 seconds.
*KOUICHI'S P.O.V.*
I told Kouji everything. From being sent to kill him, to denying it, and to being chased by my Mark. Apparently Kouji wasn't in a much better position, as he soon explained.
"Well, we're brothers, right? We stand up for each other. How bout we try and help each other out of this...err...problem?" I said, not-too-enthusiastically. I wasn't a pessimist, just realistic. What could 2 assassins, even if they were the best at their craft, do against 2 powerful...well...armies?
Kouji nodded glumly. I was sorry to burden him with my problem, but I had a feeling he'd need my help as well to escape from the Scorpion Mark.
*KOUJI'S P.O.V.*
A dagger flew through the air. I saw it a split second before Kouichi did and moved out of the way. The dagger thumped down in front of us.
"The Scorpion Mark is here, apparently. Could be a little less obvious though," I said with dark humor.
I whipped my own throwing daggers out and Kouichi did the same. I had a huge supply of these with me where ever I went.
I noticed our would-be assasin quickly. He was in the trees, fumbling out another throwing dagger. Before he could though, my own was sticking out of his head.
"It's true what they said about you," Kouichi remarked. I didn't say anything but continues scanning the surroundings.
The whistle of air sounded as another curved dagger flew by a mere inch away from me, hitting my UFO pants, or rather, the strong reinforcements behind it. That's why I wore huge pants now, to hide my leg armor, store my daggers, and still have agility.
I picked the dagger out of the pants, and threw it into a bush which I knew it came from. A yell of agony told me I hit my mark.
Daggers were filling the air now. I knocked away as many as I could as I defended Kouichi's back, and he defended mine. He was throwing daggers at an extremely fast speed, hitting perfectly with each throw.
Another dagger flew by and hit my leg again. This one was longer then another throwing dagger so I picked it out and stuck it in my belt for close-range combat which I was sure would issue later.
The assassins were swarming now, coming closer. One threw a smoke-bomb with pretty bad aim, and I was able to catch it safely. I threw it off to my left, and charged that way with my close-range dagger with Kouichi in pursuit, seeing what I was doing.
In the smoke, I striked hard and fast, bringing 3 people down. This gave me an opening I needed to escape the closing-in circle of assassins.
From inside the smoke, Kouichi and I were throwing daggers galore, knocking out well over half the circle. Then the smoke started to dissipate, and by a stroke of bad luck, the assassins threw their daggers at Kouchi at the same time. I lunged with my own dagger and managed to knock two away, and he blocked three. The one left though, hit him in his unprotected leg.
Kouichi gave a yell of pain, but he still stood. He kept drawing his daggers and throwing. Within a matter of minutes, it was a fair fight. Two versus two. Good odds for two guys who just beat about twenty.
I threw both my daggers at the two assassins, killing them instantly.
"That was a good, good fight," I remarked as I ripped off my sleeve to put around Kouichi's bleeding wound.
"Sorry bro, bt we're not done yet. This is the manner of the Scorpion Mark. They send a bunch of low ranks to weaken the targets, then send about ten elites to finish the job," Kouichi said, grimacing in pain.
I looked up and around, and indeed saw ten men walk toward us. "That would be them right now, right?"
"Yep."
At that moment, the entrance from the gym to the basketball courts burst open, and Takuya came in with Izumi. My mind blanked.
"Takuya, are you frikkin INSANE? bringing Izumi into this?" I yelled at him. Takuya looked down.
"If she wants to come, I can't stop her," he said. Izumi frowned at Kouji.
"I'm fighting, Kouji, like it or not. By the way, who the other guy?" She said, looking pointedly at Kouichi.
"My brother," I said.
Izumi brightened up. "Oh, hi, Kouichi, long time no see. Let's do the reunion thing later, we got work to do."
He smiled. "Yeah! Like taking out the trash!"
He tried to stand up, and Izumi noticed his wavering walk, then his wound.
"Kouichi, you sure you're gonna fight?" she asked, concerned. He nodded reassuringly.
"Well, enough talk, let's get down to business."
Three daggers were already heading my way. I ducked quickly, pulled out my long dagger, and charged at the closest elite. He threw a smoke bomb to throw me off-track but I was already too close. The throw made him lose his momentum, and my dagger plunged into his hard suit.
Needless to mention, he died within two seconds. I pulled out my blade and retreated back, blocking, ducking, and throwing my own daggers.
A few feet behind me, the rest were doing the same. Kouichi got lucky with a throw which hit another elite right below the ribs, where the suit was at it's softest. It penetrated and the man fell, dead.
The elite apparently had much more tricks. They put themselves in an eagle formation, and charged at us while throwing more smoke bombs around themselves, so we never knew exactly where they were. I tried throwing a few daggers into the mess to find them fly around harmlessly behind the elites.
No! I saw it too late! A dagger was heading right for Izumi!
The world around me seemed to go black. I started running faster then I ever could toward her. The dagger was closer. The dagger was faster. So i did the only thing I could.
Since I saw I could not reach Izumi to at least push her out of the way, I tackled the dagger head-on. I had no time to get it from the side or anywhere not dangerous. The point bit my shoulder, and blood started to flow heavily.
Takuya swore, but continued throwing his daggers, and killed an elite. Kouichi narrowed his eyes and continued his assault as well.
Izumi moaned when she saw me a foot away from her, the dagger which would pierce her neck embedded deep in my shoulder. I reached and tried to pull it out but the pain was too intense, I couldn't take it. Izumi rushed up to me, talking fast.
"I'm so sorry Kouji, about this, about before, I didn't know anything about this, and it hurt so much when you acted so cold. I had a thought at the back of my mind, but when you were still in the Rose Mark i couldn't tell you, because I thought you wouldn't care, and that would hurt a lot more then a dagger. But....you see, Kouji, now that I see who you are, and how much you really do care, I realized that...that I love you," she finished softly, tears forming in those beautiful eyes of hers.
The second I heard those last few words, it felt as I was in heaven, despite the pain i was feeling. It was numbed by her words. A flame burned faster and harder in the back of my head, when I realized that Izumi would get hurt if I didn't do something.
Her words gave me the ultimate insentive to fight. I also realized my feels for her at that moment.
"Izumi..I love you too.." I said, before I pulled myself up, and took out both of my close-range daggers. I ran forward to Takuya and Kouichi who were falling behind as the 7 remaining elites came forward.
With a howl of pain, I pulled the dagger out of my shoulder. With all my strength and a moan of pain as the wound in my shoulder opened even wider, the dagger went on a straight path right through an elite's head and hit the guy behind him in the neck. Both were dead on the ground.
But their eagle formation stood strong, throwing out daggers still. One hit me in the stomach, another one bounced off my leg. I wrenched the dagger out of my stomach, dropped it, and charged forward despite the pain, I loved the look of fear on the elite's face as my dagger slashed his throat, and my other dagger flew for the other's heart. Kouichi advanced slowly, dragging his wounded leg behind him, but slashing with his daggers all the while. Takuya threw daggers from behind us, but they were of no use as they bounced off the guy's suit.
Another dagger flashed an broke those my leg armor and ripped open the side of my leg. The pain only powered my adrenaline and I lunged for the guy who slashed me. He was dead in two seconds, with a broken face and crushed lungs.
"Kouji! Calm down, you'll kill yourself!" I heard Izumi yell. I didn't pause to consider the truth of her words but merely kept killing.
Two elites left. Kouichi took one down with a particularly strong thrust that broke the man's suit and hit his heart.
The last one's mine! I lunged for him, dodged his thrust skillfully and thrust my dagger in his neck.
And thus it was done.
My adrenaline started wearing off, and i suddenly felt very, very tired. I wondered if I was dying. All I knew is that I lost conciousness.
*KOUICHI'S P.O.V.*
Kouji collapsed right in front of us. He was drenched in sweat and blood, lying around a bunch of dead bodies. I surveyed the scene quickly, and noticed just how much destruction and blood there was. The image imprinted itself in my head, but I tried not to think about it as I rushed over to Kouji's side. Izumi was already there, holding his hand, and crying.
"Kouji, no, don't leave me! I just told you how I feel, and you saved my life today, and then you go dying on me? No!" she screamed until she could scream no more. And then she whispered, and cried.
"Izumi..we have to get Kouji to the hospital fast...he's lost a lot of blood, but he'll most likely live. He's not a quitter," Takuya said. Both me and Izumi nodded.
*KOUJI'S P.O.V.*
I opened my eyes. The bright light made me shut them again.
"Ugh...am I dead yet?" I groaned out to no one in particular.
"No, but you almost were yesterday, be greatful. You lost a lot of blood but you should be OK within a few days," a soothing voice said by me.
I groaned out. Then I remembered. "Can you tell me by hours how long I was in here?" I asked, opening my eyes just a crack.
The nurse who was sitting next to me gave me a weird look, but nodded. "23 hours," she said.
"Goddamnit..." I moaned.
"Why? Is anything wrong?" the nurse asked.
"Y...no, nothing. I just need to be out of here by tomorrow a the very latest," I said, my eyes finally adjusting to the bright light. I looked over my body, seeing my wounds sewn together with stitches.
"Impossible. You're not in good enough shape yet."
"Then I'll get out by myself."
"I advice you not to, sir. Oh, by the way, you have some friends here who want to see you."
"Ah. OK, bring them in," I said, convinced that seeing my friends would make me feel better.
The door opened, bringing out not who I expected. I gasped and almost yelled for security. Instead I settled for an evil hiss.
"Farran. Get out," I said, glowering.
Farran merely smiled. "Don't worry, Minamoto. I haven't come to kill you. In fact, I've come to talk."
"I don't want to hear anything you have to say."
"Oh, I'm sure you will, once you let me," she said. I wasn't overly convinced, but I had nothing to lose and shrugged.
"I've come to talk about your run-in with the Scorpion Mark. I've heard you and three friends knocked out well over fifty of them."
"And?"
"The Rose Mark decided one failed mission on your part is made up for by your slaughter of those soldiers. We accept you back into our ranks," Farran said with a smile on her sharp features.
I didn't have to think long about the offer. "Go to hell," I snapped.
Farran seemed surprised. "Well, OK, I suppose. What Mark will you join though?"
"None. I'm done killing. No more," I said coldly.
"Well, that's good. Do you want me to withdraw your death hour or would you like me to keep it?" she asked, jokingly. It wasn't funny. I merely shrugged.
Farran regarded me with respect. "The Rose Mark will bother you no more," she said and walked out.
The second she got out, I breathed a sign of relief. The door opened again, and Takuya, Kouichi and Izumi came into the room, holding gifts and food. I smiled sincerely.
Izumi smiled widely when she saw mr awake, ran over and wrapped her slender arms around me. I blushed slightly but pulled himself up a bit and hugged back.
After what seemed like a long time, we pulled apart. This was probably the only time in my life I felt happy. I loved Izumi, had a great friend, and one hell of a brother. I figured what the hell, and leaned in, kissing Izumi on the lips.
She was surprised for a second, but when that passed she kissed back.
In the back, Kouichi and Takuya watched with huge grins on their faces.
*There's no place on Earth where I'd like to be at more then here* I thought as me and Izumi broke apart. I knew this was going to be perfect.
THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END THE END
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A/N-There! Done! and with a big chapter too! I hope you've enjoyed this story, and thanks a lot to all who reviewed(again). I love you all!:)