Kuri held Kaliza in a close embrace, her tears were dampening his shoulder. "Why do you have to go?" she asked him, knowing full well why he needed to leave. "You know that we don't want you to leave, so why are you?"
"I'm sorry Kaliza, but I just have to. I cant stay, I just cant." Kuri stepped back, his hands lingered in hers for a moment, before falling to his sides. "I hate this as much as you do, but I cant help it."
"Promise you'll come back, for me." Kaliza's eyes pleaded with Kuri's, it was a look that he'd never seen on her face, one of utter helplessness, as Kuri tried forming a reassuring smile a bolt of lightning shattered the ground a short distance from the base
"I'll be back if I can, I promise." Kuri bent down to pick up the duffel bag beside him, containing all the belongings he'd had with him when he arrived with the team. It seemed like yesterday he'd left his parents house in that large scorpion-type he'd named Forte.
"I love you." Kaliza's eyes pleaded with Kuri to stay, even for a short time, but Kuri knew that wouldn't be possible. Kuri simply closed his eyes and turned from her, a tear following the contour of his face. "I know." he whispered before he started slowly walking away. It's funny, he thought, I've walked this short path a thousand times, but never looked at it, not once. As he walked away he could hear her muffled sobs, and that made it al the harder to leave. By the time he was far enough away that he couldn't hear her anymore he was drenched. What a perfect setting, he thought bitterly as another building bolt of lightning struck not 300 meters away.
"You're really going, aren't you?" Kuri snapped his head up to the one other person he didn't want to see on this night. Boy, I'm a lucky one, aren't I? His ex-captain and best friend, Imoen, was leaning against Flashfire, his crimson zoid.
"I left you a note, I cant stay." Kuri couldn't bear to look at her face, the fact that his wet hair was obscuring most of his vision helped this. "Flashfire, Lets go." he called up to his zoid sullenly.
"Damnit Kuri! You're just going to leave the team, leave Kaliza, and not even tell us why! Damn you Kuri, You know what I've been going through, I need you here, I cant do this alone!"
"You have Doros." Kuri tried to show no emotion to her, he hoped it had worked.
"And Kaliza? How do you think she'll handle this?" Imoen snapped back, not angry, but annoyed.
"Don't you think I've thought about that! Why do you think I wanted to leave without a word! I'd rather her hate me for being an asshole then have her miss me and break her heart!" Kuri yelled, an anger in his voice that he'd never shown to anyone. "You know that I cant stay, so just let me go! You don't need me, Neither does Kaliza, so why try to stop me!" Imoen was taken aback by this sudden outburst, facing a rare moment in her life when she could think of nothing to say. Kuri walked to the lowered head of Flashfire, the cockpit opened as he approached.
"Fine." Kuri didn't even look towards Imoen, most of the men in her life had hurt her. Ryu, Naz, and now him, and he couldn't bear to look at her. He could tell what her expression was by the defeated sound of her voice. "If that's how you want to be, leave. I wont stop you." Kuri finished climbing into the head of his zoid, tired in more ways then he could count. As the cockpit sealed itself Kuri thought he heard Imoen screaming at him, followed by a dull thud, like that of a fist hitting metal, but he ignored it. He ignored the voice in his head telling him to go back, he ignored the thoughts of Kaliza, Imoen, and the rest of the team, no his family.
"Flashfire, lets go. You know the way." A sad sounding snort erupted from the bull, the last obstacle to Kuri leaving. The two were partners, and they thought very much alike, except Flashfire didn't like to lie. She knew Kuri wasn't going to be back, and neither was she. She knew they were going to their death. "Damnit Flashfire! Don't you start! I know your feelings about this, and I have to say I don't like it either, but I have to! They'll die if we don't. I asked you if you wanted to help me, you agreed, so don't back out now! I promised him!" The zoid was completely still for a moment, then burst away. Several minutes later Imoen went back into the building. As she walked into her room she silently hoped that Kuri would be in there, ready to burst out laughing, knowing that one of his occasional cruel jokes worked. Then she'd punch him, and kick him, and maybe throw him around a bit, but he'd be laughing still. Then the rest of the team would come through the door, enjoying the joke as well, and Imoen could join the laughing, after tending to Kuri's wounds. Unfortunately it was empty, and a tear rolled down her cheek. The tear slid into her mouth and when she tasted the salty water she dropped to her knees and started slamming her fist into the ground. Cursing, she watched as dozens more tears landed onto the carpet.
One room over another person was mourning Kuri's departure. Kaliza's sobs were directed into his pillow now. The night before she'd been in that room and Kuri was telling her how much he loved her, how he'd do anything for her, but now he was gone. Something about what Kuri said made Kaliza think that he wasn't coming back, something about the way he just wanted to sneak out in the night alone, without telling anyone, how he wasn't even able to tell her that he loved her. Kaliza stopped crying into the pillow long enough to send a prayer heavenwards. Let him come back to me safe, please.