Chapter Ten: Kana's Death

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Thanks so much for all the reviews...I've been pretty lazy lately but I'll try to focus!! I know there's still Jyuuni and it's really horrible of me for the lack of updates (sorry, Sakuya!) but I'll definitely try to finish!!

Thanks to Maho and Karuya (are you also Tenshi no Ai??) and kcarrie for catching that lil mistake of mine...I already corrected it...thanks for pointing it out!! ^_^

Please continue your support!

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"I killed her."

Hatori's words echoed endlessly throughout Tohru's head and for the first few minutes, she could only stare blankly at the tall man. "Come again?"

He blinked and his eyes turned icy again. "I said I killed her."

"B - but why? What? How? No...this can't be happening...this is all a lie..."

"Oh, believe me, I wish it was."

Tohru's green eyes glazed over in confusion and quickly turned into pain. The sound of the crashing waves reverberated in the far distance, not quite registering in her mind. She stood there, three steps away from the man who supposedly murdered her sister . . . the one who took away the last remaining member of her family. He stared back at her, his bangs drifting lazily in the breeze, brushing lightly over his left eye. [Kana...Kana...is he the one? Kana...Kana...Ka-]

"STORYTIME!!"

"EEK!" Tohru leapt back in shock as Shigure's grinning face popped up before her. Hatori looked just as surprised...although there was also weariness and irritation and frustration mixed in. "Shigure, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, yesterday, Aya kept me up for half the night; he has this interesting little method he employs -"

"Too much information."

"Ahem, so anyways, you'll think I'll be out cold for the whole morning but between the whipped cream and melted chocolate and -"

"SHIGURE!"

"Right, right...anyways, I'm just as hyper as can be and decided to follow you -"

"GURE!!" Ayame barreled in, pouting. "How could you just leave me in bed like that? You know that's no way to treat the person who - Oh hi, Tori!! Hihi, Tohru!!"

"What's with all this commotion?" Hiro walked up scowling with Kisa and Momiji in tow. Uo and Hanajima followed closely behind.

"Is there a party?" Kagura asked quizzically as she walked to them from the other side with Ritsu beside her.

Tohru's eyes began swirling dizzily as the people joined the group. [Everyone's coming out.]

"Great," Hatori muttered under his breath. "All we're missing now is Yuki and the cat -"

"Why the hell is everyone gathering here? We having a barbeque?"

Tohru turned around to see an extremely annoyed Kyou standing next to a dazed Yuki. Both looked half awake; Kyou's short orange hair stuck up all over the place and Yuki kept rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Yuki yawned, "I heard everyone walking out toward the beach so I decided to check if everything's all right."

"GOOD! GOOD! EVERYBODY'S HERE NOW!! IT'S STORYTIME!! Come along, children, sit around me and I'll tell you an interesting tale," Shigure sat down primly with his glasses on and smiled warmly, patting the sand beside him.

"What are you - Mother Goose?" Hiro retorted, but followed as Momiji and Kisa sat down obediently.

"Shigure -" Hatori began, frustratedly.

"Not now, Tori . . . she deserves to know what happened, doesn't she?" Shigure said.

Tohru looked at Hatori quickly but he turned his face away, avoiding her eyes.

"Ahem," Shigure began. "Once upon a time, there was a young, handsome, dark- haired, intelligent -"

"Shigure..." Hatori growled warningly.

"Ahem, - prince named Sohma Hatori. Now, one day, this prince happened to . . ."

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a young, handsome, dark-haired, intelligent prince named Sohma Hatori. Now, one day, this prince happened to be frolicking ("SHIGURE!"), I mean, walking calmly along the beach when he happened to find a young, beautiful, shapely ("SHIGURE!!") woman perched upon a large rock formation, staring out at the sea. Hatori's interest was instantly captured because, you know, hormones can be suppressed only so far ("SHIGURE, DON'T MAKE ME WARN YOU AGAIN!!"). So anyways, he walks up to the girl but before he could say anything, she smiles down at him and it was the most beautiful, inviting smile he ever saw in his life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . eh, Tori, you're not going to yell at me this time? ("Shut up and continue.")

She surprises him with a question. "Excuse me, but do you know what does snow turn into when it melts?"

He blinked and replied, "Water, of course."

She furrowed her cute little eyebrows. "Water? Really? Oh."

"Why?"

"Well...it's just very anticlimactic, you know. Water just doesn't seem to be . . . right. I've always wondered about it . . . it's so beautiful as it drifts down and disappears into oblivion. I thought I finally came up with the perfect answer . . . spring, the season of rebirth. Mind you, I've began making observations for a long time now and I've always noticed that once the last traces of snow melts . . . you'll know spring is here. Isn't that the most perfect answer?" She grinned down at him.

He smiled back softly. "It may be the perfect answer . . . but it doesn't always mean it's the right one."

She sighed, "I suppose." She stretched her arms out and laid down across the hard rocky surface, staring up at the blue sky.

Hatori asked finally, "So what's your name? I'm Hatori, by the way."

She turned her head lazily, her short brown hair falling down across her face. "Kana."

And that's how the boy met the girl. They were really happy and comfortable with each other, always at ease . . . perhaps it was because neither really knew the other's background. But that all changed on one certain cloudy day . . .

Hatori laid sprawled along the sandy beach, staring up at the gray clouds. Kana giggled lightly as she used his chest as a pillow. "What are you laughing at?"

"Oooo, do that again!!"

"What?"

"When you talk, your chest vibrates . . . it feels so funny . . . and so very intimate, you know?" She twisted her head awkwardly to look up at him.

He could feel himself flushing but forced himself to reply in a composed manner, "Baka."

"Hai, hai." She smiled and closed her eyes lightly. He sighed and did the same, unconsciously pulling the girl closer to him. [She'll be the death of me . . .]

* * *

He wrinkled his nose as a drop of cold water fell across his face. Opening his eyes, he groaned. [Great, it's raining.] Rolling over to his side to wake up Kana, he was quickly pushed away. "Huh? Kana?" He sat up straight to see the girl sprinting toward the ocean. "Kana!" He leapt to his feet and ran after her.

Kana panted as she raced against time but as the rain turned into a downpour, she finally stumbled and fell. "No," she moaned.

Hatori's eyes widened in alarm and he rushed to her side. "Kana, what's the -" he faltered as he reached the girl.

She stared up at him apprehensively as his eyes lowered to her golden tail flipping dismally against the wet sand.

"Oh my god," he whispered. "What - what are you?"

Her eyes fell as she replied stubbornly, "I'm Kana, you idiot."

His eyes turned cold. "Stop playing with me. You know what I mean."

She winced at his harsh tone and answered, "A mermaid."

Hatori closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Oh god. How is this possible? I've been associating with a fish for the last month without knowing it. Oh god -"

FWAP! "Oof!" Hatori fell to the ground hard as Kana whipped her tail against his legs. "What did you do that for?!"

"I'm a mermaid . . . not a fish . . . not a freak," she snapped. "I'm still a living being. I'm still Kana. But don't worry about "associating" with me any longer. I won't be bothering you anymore. I'll leave and never ever come see you ever again . . . just give me a moment until the rain stops and I dry my tail off," Kana folded her arms in front of her and stared off into the distance.

His eyes softened and he reached touched her shoulder softly. "Hey . . . look, I'm sorry. I was just shocked . . . and I turn into a really big jerk when I'm shocked. It isn't everyday your girlfriend turns into a mermaid in front of you."

She grinned reluctantly. "So I'm your girlfriend?"

"Well yeah . . . unless there's a special term merpeople have for it . . . what will you call it? Mermate? Fishyfriend? Oh wait, I'm sorry, you guys have a thing against being called a fish . . . as I just learned the hard way," he grinned insolently at her.

She laughed, "Shut up before I whack you again."

"Well, since we're sharing secrets today . . . I might as well tell you I'm actually a prince," he smiled ruefully.

Her eyes widened. "Oh my god."

He laughed.

Then the fairytale ended.

"What do you mean you want to marry her?" Akito's icy words echoed throughout the hall.

"I love her. She loves me. We want to get married," Hatori replied in an equally cold tone.

The king laughed bitterly. "So you think you'll all live happily ever after? That's just a fantasy, Hatori. You two are completely different. You're royalty and she's, well, a freak. Where will you live? Under the sea where all the fishies play? This is just delusional."

"We've talked about this and we already planned everything. You need not worry."

"Not worry?!" Akito bellowed. "Not worry? Come on, Hatori, I was planning on making you my heir . . . if you're going to insist on following this fool's plan of yours, I might just have to think otherwise."

"Be my guest," Hatori replied and he walked out with the king screaming angrily after him.

* * *

"Ritsu, look after her for me. I'm just going out for a minute."

The man nodded anxiously and twisted his hands nervously. "Al - alright, but hurry back soon."

Kana looked up sadly at Hatori, "Are you sure about this? I don't want to elope if it'll mean ruining your future and your relationship with the king."

"He's just being stupidly stubborn. I don't care anymore. I never really liked being a prince anyway," he smiled softly at her. "Don't worry. I choose to be with you. But what about you? Any regrets?"

She shook her head definitely. "I'm happy to be in love with Hatori. As long as you never leave me, I'll never leave you."

He hugged her tightly, inhaling the salty sea breeze in her fragrant hair. "After I get the supplies we need, we'll go and live happily ever after in a nice little run down hut along the beach."

She laughed, "Gee, you make it sound so romantic. Hurry back, I want to bring my sister up to meet you too. She's such a sweetheart."

He nodded and walked off.

* * *

Hatori hummed as he walked back through the hallways to his room where Kana was. [I finally feel free. Free of all burdens!]

"Hatori?" a soft voice directed his attention to the side. A small effeminate boy stood behind a large column.

"Yuki, what's the matter?"

The boy walked up to him solemnly. "Are you really leaving?"

The man hesitated before nodding firmly.

Yuki faltered for a second before smiling sadly, "I wish you happiness then. I hope I meet someone as nice as Kana in the future."

Hatori smiled, "You will." Hesitating for a second, he continued, "Yuki, when I'm gone . . . you'll probably be next in line for Akito's heir . . . please take care of him. He might seem eccentric and a little scary at times . . . but he's just really overprotective of his family. Try to understand."

The boy grimaced and shrugged, "I'll try."

The taller man nodded and resumed his path to his room, leaving the little boy behind.

* * *

Climbing the stairs, he froze suddenly as a scream sliced through the air. [Kana!] He dashed up the steps and tore through the hallways. Left. Right. Right. [Hurry!!]

"NOOOO!!! HATORI!!" Another scream reverberated through the halls and Hatori quickened his pace frantically.

As he turned into the last remaining corridor, he suddenly stumbled back as an arrow carved through the stuffy air toward him. Twisting his body around, he fell to the ground as it managed to nick him in the area of his left eye. Gasping in pain, he pressed his hand against the wound as blood seeped into his vision. Squinting, he couldn't make out his attacker but a whimper soon distracted him. [Kana.]

Careening against the walls, he made his way to his room and threw the door open. Nausea hit him as he turned numb with shock. His beautiful fiancé laid sprawled against the ground in her mermaid form, her soft brown hair falling into her lifeless eyes. Her limp hands still covered a bloody wound on her stomach and her golden tail was dulled to a clammy yellow. Ritsu cowered against the wall beside a broken glass of water, whimpering softly as his panicked eyes darted furiously between the dead mermaid and his cousin. Hatori closed the short spaces and gathered the girl in his arms, confirming his worst beliefs. Kana was dead. Ritsu continued muttering, "Gomen nasai. Gomen nasai. Gomen na -"

Hatori grabbed Ritsu's collar and threw him against the wall. The man gasped in pain and began hyperventilating in fear. "What happened? Who did this?!"

"I - I don't know!" Ritsu sobbed. "One minute I was apologizing to Kana for dropping the glass of water and - and the next, I was knocked unconscious. When I came to, I - I saw Kana already - already dead. Hatori, I'm so sorry! I couldn't protect her. Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! Gomen . . ."

Hatori loosened his grip limply as he stumbled back to Kana. His vision was still clouded with blood but it didn't do anything to mask the horrible scene before him. Gathering his dead fiancé in his arms, tears mixed with blood.

* * *

BANG! The door slammed open and Akito lifted his eyes in annoyance. His eyes widened as his former heir stumbled in with the lifeless mermaid in his arms. "What's the meaning of this, Hatori?"

The man laughed bitterly. "Funny, I was planning on asking you the very same thing. Why did you do it, Akito? Why? She was innocent."

"What in the world are you blabbering about?" Akito responded calmly.

"DON'T PRETEND YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! YOU KILLED HER! I KNEW YOU WERE AGAINST THE MARRIAGE BUT I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WOULD RESORT TO SUCH MANIACAL MATTERS!!" Hatori roared in anger and pain.

Akito's eyes darkened and his hands clenched tightly. "So you find your beloved dead and the first person you'll assume to be her murderer is me?"

"WHO ELSE WILL DO IT?"

"HOW WOULD I KNOW? MAYBE THE FISH HAD ENEMIES FROM HER LITTLE SEA WORLD!! YOU DON'T HAVE ANY PROOF THAT IT WAS ME!" Akito screamed back.

Hatori gritted his teeth. "If you had the nerve to commit murder, then you should have the guts to admit to it."

Akito's eyes flashed in fury. "Fine, Hatori. I did it. I killed your little wife. So what are you going to do? Lock me up and throw me in prison? You forget that I'm the king and you forget that I'm your family -"

"Not anymore, Akito," Hatori spat out. "Not anymore."

He stormed out of the hall, leaving the king infuriated once again.

* * *

He sat on the rocky ledge of the cliff, closing his eyes as he pressed Kana's small body against him. He breathed in the familiar smell of the sea . . . mixed with the unpleasant coppery odor of blood.

"You've been sitting here for hours," Shigure spoke up from behind him.

"Tori . . . please don't be like this," Ayame pleaded.

Hatori ignored them and hugged the girl closer to him.

"Let her go, Hatori," Shigure said gently.

"No," the man snapped. "As long as I'll never leave her, she'll never leave me. I can't leave her alone."

"Return her to her home," Ayame said cajolingly. "She doesn't belong here. The sea is her home."

Tears seeped out of the corners of Hatori's closed eyes. "I can't. I need her."

"You can't do this, Hatori. What will Akito think? He'll win. He would have successfully turned you into a lifeless, grieving entity," Shigure responded harshly.

"What will Kana think? The man she fell in love with isn't like this," Ayame continued. "She'll be so disappointed, so shocked, so -"

"Enough! Alright, alright. I'll live . . . but I won't like it," Hatori growled.

They nodded, relieved. Shigure paused and said quietly, "The first step is to let go . . ."

Hatori's arms tightened reflexively but he sighed and clenched his eyes shut. Pressing one final kiss on Kana's soft cold lips, he released his hold and allowed her to fall. As he watched the water envelope the mermaid, welcoming her back home . . . he resolved to one day bring her justice.

* * *

Shigure finished and was rewarded with complete silence.

"I still haven't though . . ." Hatori broke the stillness. "I still haven't been able to find evidence that Akito is her murderer." He clenched his fists. "If I hadn't insisted on eloping with her . . . if she had returned home that day . . . if I hadn't been so selfish . . . she would still be alive. I killed her."

"That's bullshit. She loved you and chose to be with you . . . it's all part of fate that she would die that day. It wasn't anybody's fault . . . except for that jerk of a king you have." Kyou said gruffly, "But I don't know how you're able to bear it and continue to live under the same roof with that murderer. I would have killed him already."

"Oh believe me . . . I want to," Hatori said dryly. "But something tells me that my being executed for treason wouldn't be the right kind of justice for Kana."

Hanajima spoke quietly, "How did he do it?"

"Eh?" Everyone turned to look at her.

"Mermaids are nearly immortal . . . their ability to heal their wounds are nearly instantaneous. To kill a mermaid, you have to have a large knowledge of dark magic. He must be really powerful . . ."

Everyone was really quiet with this new realization. Hanajima continued, "And why would he injure Hatori? If his main motive is to keep Hatori by his side . . . he wouldn't want to hurt him, would he?"

Hatori laughed coldly. "The physical pain wasn't anything compared to the emotional damage he inflicted that day."

Ritsu nodded furiously, "He must have wanted Hatori to feel a little pain for going against his wishes. I'm so sorry, Hatori! So sorry! If only I was on my guard that day, GOMEN NASAI!!"

Yuki suddenly spoke up, "Honda-san?"

Everyone turned to face the quiet girl. She stood there in shock and horror. Images of her sister kept flashing before her. Her smile. Her winks. Her hugs. Her lifeless body entangled in the green web of seaweed. "I was worried. She didn't come home for days. I went looking for her . . . and I found her. She looked so peaceful . . . sleeping among the plants . . . except her skin was all pale and she wasn't moving . . ." Tears began rolling down her cheeks. "My sister . . . Kana . . ."

Kyou and Yuki both moved toward the crying girl but Uo and Hanajima pushed them aside. They hugged the girl and patted her back soothingly. "It's okay, Tohru . . . it's okay . . ."