So who's ready to find out what happens?
I'm warning you, you might want some tissues for the end, I cry every time I read this. I'm very sensitive.
*Starts to hit one's self in the head hard* How can I be so cruel to my characters? HOW?? HOW??
Disclaimer: What's the use? It's exactly the same as the last one. I do not own YYH and I Do own Bronwyn and Zink. Quite easy to understand.
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*Chapter 13*
The tip of Bronwyn's sword came to rest gently on Hiei's cloak, but it did not move from the spot.
She listened to Zink's foot tapping impatiently on the dirt ground behind her clearly trying to indicate that he was wanting her choice NOW.
Why the heck am I just standing here not doing anything? I've been waiting for a chance to do this forever, and now here it is, all laid out for me....
She sighed, though not loud enough to be conspicuous.
Then why don't I?!?!?!
Fueled by her own anger, she lowered the sword without thinking, causing it to cut through Hiei's cloak. Realizing what she was doing just in time, she let out a small yelp of panic, pulling it back up, and was immediately disgusted with herself.
See, I'm a wimp! I didn't even hurt him and I'm already freaking out!!
She took a deep breath.
And why do I feel like I'm going to cry?
"Today, please!!" Zink cried, his anger rising considerably.
Using all of her willpower to keep herself from punching Zink in the face hard, she began to let the sword wander around Hiei's face, trying to stall for as long as she could.
He looks so innocent...I...I
I can't.
I won't.
"Are you going to do it or not?" Zink growled.
Swipe!!!
He stumbled back a few feet, both hands pressed up to his neck, which was now bleeding.
Bronwyn had spun around and slashed her sword across his neck.
"You're going to pay for that." He whispered, anger growing brightly in his eyes.
Bronwyn held her sword out in front of her defensively, but she watched as Zink's face softened from a look of burning hatred to a look of faint curiosity.
"So this is your choice." He said sullenly.
She nodded her head slowly, though still not letting her guard down.
His lips parted into a smile. "In that case, I have an idea."
She lowered her sword slightly. "I'm listening."
He held up his own sword. "I propose a swordfight. Winner may leave freely. Loser dies." He said with a grin.
Bronwyn knew why. Zink had taught her everything she knew about sword fighting and was much more skilled than she would ever be.
I can't possibly beat him...
She then glanced over at Hiei, and an idea popped into her head.
The gas couldn't last much longer...if I could just hold Zink off long enough...
She tightened her grip on the handle. "You're on."
Zink smiled playfully at her, and nodded in silent agreement. He raised his sword and lunged swiftly at her.
Bronwyn held up her sword to block, and they clashed for the first time....
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What happened?
The last thing Hiei could remember was a strange purple gas floating in the air all around him, enveloping him, choking him...
But his thoughts about the strange gas evaporated just like it had when he noticed the two people fighting in front of him.
He immediately recognized Bronwyn, as she ducked under a sword swipe from the other person, someone who Hiei had never seen before.
Even though he had no idea what was going on, he watched the two of them fight mercilessly, both apparently having not noticed that he had awoken...
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"Mind...if...ask...a...question?" Zink whispered in hurried breaths in between the swings of his sword.
"If...you...must." Bronwyn whispered back, dodging a sharp swing that instead connected with air.
"Why...would...you...rather...die...than...kill...him?"
There was a long period of silence between the two, except for the constant clanging of the two swords. Bronwyn furiously tried to keep her eyes on Zink's sword instead of on his eyes.
"What's...the...matter? Cat...got...your...tongue?"
"No...it's...just...nothing,except...I...broke...a...rule."
"Which...rule?"
"You...know,...that...rule."
It felt very odd to Bronwyn that she was having this conversation with someone who was, at this very moment, trying to kill her.
Zink thought in silence for a moment, though still not letting up with his strikes, and then a look of realization formed on his face.
"You...mean..."
"Yes."
Even though he didn't say anything more, his look of pure astonishment clearly explained that this had never happened before. After a few seconds, however, this look was replaced with a smirk.
"I...thought...you...abandoned...your...human...feelings...years...ago."
There was another moment of silence, the air filled only with the clangs of metal.
"I...thought...I...did...too,...but...maybe...I...could...care...about...someone...again...after...all..."
Bronwyn surprised even herself with this statement, but knew that she couldn't take it back.
Because it was true.
"I'm...sorry...to...hear...that." Zink said sullenly, "You...could...of...been...someone...great. You...heard...what...I...said...about...how...everyone...wants...him...dead. If...you...were...the...one...to...kill...him, you'd...be...famous."
"If...that's...what...it...takes...to...be...famous...then...I...don't...want...any...part...of...it!!" She screamd angrily, and lashed her sword out so violently that Zink just narrowly dodged it.
He immediately ceased his attacks and backed away, the look of astonishment having returned to his face.
"You are not the same Bronwyn that I knew three weeks ago. The Bronwyn I knew would give up anything, ANYTHING to be known, to be a legend among demons!"
Drawing her sword back also, she stared at the ground. "Well, maybe not anything..."
"I don't believe it. You, of all people. Don't say that you're going to give up that for him?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying. Something wrong?"
"Heck, something's wrong! He's just a stupid demon!!"
Zink found himself staring at the sharp tip of Bronwyn's sword.
"Don't insult him." She growled.
"And why do you care if I insult him or not?"
"Well, because...I...It's kind of hard for you understand." She said quietly, backing away a few steps.
"Why is that?"
"YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND."
"Aw, is Bronwyn afraid?"
"NO....You just don't know how strongly I feel about him!!!"
There was a sudden awkward silence, with Zink staring at Bronwyn with a very surprised look, and the realization of what she had just said was sinking in fast.
"And out of curiosity, what kind of feelings would those be?" Zink asked, his eyebrows raised.
"Uh...that came out REALLY wrong...I didn't mean...what I meant to say...I don't feel anything like that...I just...oh...um..." She stuttered , her face a light red color.
Zink just stared at her for a few more moments, and then began to walk slowly around her, as if he was surveying.
"You know, when you first said you had broken my rule, I thought you had meant that you felt like he was too good a friend or something like that, but now...hmm..."
"It's not like that!" She cried, clearly upset.
Zink stopped his slow pace right in front of her.
"Whatever you say." He said with a playful tone. He held up his sword once again, which had been loosely gripped for quite a while.
"So you're going to stick with this choice still?" He said quietly, looking over the sword carefully.
"Yes." She whispered, holding up her sword also, bracing herself for another swipe.
Zink took his eyes off his sword for a moment to glance at Bronwyn's fighting stance as she awaited his attack. He grinned.
"I hope you know that you just made the worst choice of your life. And, unfortunately, the last choice that you'll ever make."
Before Bronwyn had time to comprehend this statement, a lightning-quick swipe from Zink's sword knocked her own out of her hands, sending it clattering across the ground.
Her attention on the fallen weapon, Bronwyn didn't even notice that Zink had pulled his sword back, in a way where it looked like he was going to launch the point at her, until it sliced through her chest.
Now all she could think about was the excruciating pain searing through her body.
As Zink pulled the blade back out of her body and looked it over, coated in blood, he smirked.
"Won't be long now."
She collapsed to her knees and lifted her hand to the heavily bleeding wound, feeling it carefully. She then lifted her hand up to her face and stared at it in disbelief, covered in deep red blood. It was getting increasingly difficult to breathe, to even think.
She suddenly felt a sharp jab in her stomach, causing her to fall over backwards. Zink had kicked her.
"I don't know why I ever made you an assassin in the first place. You're a weakling and you always will be." He sneered, kicking her again in the head, causing a low cry of hurt to escape her lips.
There was only the low whispers of the wind and Bronwyn's raspy breaths for a few seconds, and with each moment that she remained with the living, Zink grew more and more angry.
"Well, you know I'm not a patient demon, so why don't I save you from the prolonged agony and end this now?"
Raising the sword above his head, he smiled cruelly. "I guess this is good-bye."
And with a small chuckle, He then launched it downward, aiming for her neck. But then something strange happened.
There was a bright flash of silver and a distinct clash of metal, causing Zink's sword to fly wildly into the air.
As he watched it hurtle toward the trees, his mind was racking furiously. What just happened? I could of sworn that I...
But as he turned back around to face Bronwyn's body, everything suddenly became clear. His sword had clashed with someone else's sword.
Hiei's sword.
He was standing in front of Bronwyn protectively, a glint of contempt in his eyes.
"I don't know who you are, but you better get away from her." He growled, holding the sword out in front of him, the tip of it pointing to Zink's head.
"I'm not scared of you."Zink said quietly, even though his knees were shaking.
"Don't...lie...Zink," Bronwyn's small voice whispered in between short breaths, "You...know...that...you're...afraid...of...Hiei. You...told...me...yourself." This was followed by a coughing fit. Her head slumped over to the ground.
"You're just a lying bitch." Zink cursed angrily, starting to slightly back away. He glanced at Hiei again.
"Couldn't we just talk this over?" He said in a slightly wavering tone.
In a split-second, Hiei had Zink by the collar.
"You won't be able to talk much longer."
Zink, who was clearly panicking, looked over Hiei's shoulder and suddenly, a slight smirk formed on his face.
"I guess it doesn't matter that you blocked that last strike." He said loudly, smiling smartly at Hiei. "She's not breathing."
What? Hiei turned his head to look at Bronwyn's body, and Zink was right. Her chest wasn't rising or falling anymore, her eyes closed tightly.
It couldn't...be...she can't be...dead...
Him...Hiei felt his anger mounting considerably and turned his head to look back at Zink, but to his surprise, he was now only grasping air. Letting his fist unclench, he glanced around wildly, but Zink was gone.
Suddenly, though, a voice that was unmistakably Zink's seemed to float into the clearing, as though it was part of the wind...
"You'll probably be seeing more of my assassins soon." He laughed quietly. "Have fun burying her body."
And then it was gone. Just as strangely as it had arrived.
Lowering his sword, Hiei sullenly slid it back into it's compartment and turned to Bronwyn's body.
Carefully kneeling down beside her, he inspected her wound. It didn't matter that his hands were now covered in blood, he just wanted to find out if she was still alive. But as he placed a hand over her heart, he couldn't feel anything. He was going to have to face the realization that she was...was...
He couldn't accept it. She had died because of him. Why?
Still refusing to give up hope, he grabbed her wrist and began to search for a pulse. But after a few minutes of nothing but clammy skin and no beats, he started to realize that....
Wait a second, what was that?? He carefully moved his hand back to a certain spot and felt again and pushed his finger against it again. He felt a small wave of relief wash over him.
It's faint, but....she's still alive. Barely, though. She needs help.
Maybe Kurama can heal her....
Trying to be as careful as possible, he lifted her body up off the ground, supporting her head, and began to walk slowly in the direction of Kurama's house.
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*Is crying*
*blows nose loudly*
How incredibly sad was that???
I feel...so...awful...
*sniffs*
Okay, now that I've regained my composure, some of you are probably wondering why I didn't have Hiei kill Zink.
Zink will return in the sequel, but he might not actually appear, even though people talk about him, but he is a key part in it, so he needs to live.
What's awaiting next chapter you ask? *silence* Okay, so maybe you don't ask, but I've become accustomed to doing this, so here it goes.
1. Saying someone's name in one's sleep
2. Nadine, Bronwyn's twin sister, makes an appearance. Yes, I know she's dead...
3. AND TWO CONFESSIONS!!! To Kurama, for some unknown reason.
REVIEWS!!!!
