Dream of Crimson – Part XII
By Vikki
Disclaimer: I write better stories than Koyasu, but he still owns them! Boo!
Flame Policy: If you haven't flamed me by now, then you're not going to flame me at all, are you? ^^x
Pre-Author's Notes: I updated this section b/c Silver Angel pointed out that it moved too fast and that the part with Aya in it was … awkward and rushed. It's (hopefully) fixed now … enjoy!
* * *
"The Gladius Deum," Yumi said quietly, "Is a sword at the Kami no Kaze shrine to the northwest, in the mountains. It is a demonsbane artifact."
I had estimated it was about dawn now, but the dreary grayness of the sky, pouring its tears, betrayed nothing. (Nice bit of poetry there, I should try publishing it.) Yumi was sitting at a pew next to Kenji, allowing the Necromancer to listen to her discourse as she explained to me the weapon to be used against Bel'uah. Kenji watched dispassionately from his supine position. Youji and Omi, not far away, were silent as she spoke. She had Weiss' rapt attention.
Yumi glanced frequently at Kenji as she continued, "This may seem to be great lengths to you, but we have … we have reason to believe that Bel'uah is a demon, and not a weak one at that. The only weapons we have against such an opponent are banishment or demonsbane artifacts."
Kenji's teeth clenched. "Oh, so Babaa finally swallowed her pride, did she?" he snapped.
I blinked, taken aback. Yumi looked distressed and uncomprehending. "Kaori spoke of this only this afternoon! We attempted a banishment, but—"
"Waste of time!" if Kenji could have moved, I was sure he would have been practically strangling the witch. "I warned her, dammit!"
Yumi's features sharpened slightly, comprehension dawning. "You're the Kenji Yamamoto, aren't you? You're the Necromancer who—"
"Stoppit!" I broke in. "We're not talking about stupid feuds! We're talking about Bel'uah! Remember? Bethany? The one who's taking over Tokyo tonight?"
Yumi's head snapped around. "Tonight?" she gasped.
"Haven't been checking your astrology charts lately, have you?" Kenji asked dryly.
"What has that got anything to do with—"
"Urusai!" I snapped, but the two superhumans were on a roll.
"Night of the Dead. Sound familiar to you?"
A quiet gasp. "Not even Bel'uah would be able to control the dead that night! Kaori herself says that is so," Yumi said sharply.
"Kaori," Kenji drawled, "has been wrong before, regardless of what she might tell you, you mindless sheep!"
Yumi began to rise to her feet. "How dare you—"
I jumped to my feet. "Yamero!" Finally, I got their attention; Kenji and Yumi both turned to stare at me. "Dammit, we're on the same side!" I snarled, pleaded. "We have, oh, 18 hours before Bethany does whatever the hell she's doing to Tokyo, and we're sitting her shouting at each other!? I don't care how fucking stupid our allies are, the enemy is Bel'uah!"
There was a dramatic pause after I finished my little speech, and I felt the heat of embarrassment flooding to my face when Youji said, with a voice that was a ghost of his former self, "You tell 'em, Kenken."
My breath came out in a rush, almost a laugh, and I sat down again. "Don't call me that," I said quietly.
I heard Omi sort of chuckle, and practically felt Youji's smile.
Kenji was trying to sit up, and I propped him up. He nodded gratefully. "Ken-san is right," he said apologetically. He took a deep breath. "The Kami no Kaze shrine – that's a long drive away, isn't it?"
Yumi accepted the truce gracefully. "Almost seven hours, regretfully." She looked at me expectantly.
"What?" I asked, frowning slightly. "My motorcycle's back at the apartment, don't look at me for transporta—" Comprehension dawned on me. "Hey, that's Youji's car! Ask him," I jerked a thumb at Youji.
"Whatever," said the psi-vampire, tired voice speaking volumes.
I flinched.
"Well, that settles that," Yumi said in her authoritative voice, but the tiredness that I felt, that seemed pervasive of the entire atmosphere, hung over her as well. It wasn't the sort of tiredness that was cured by sleep (but did I ever need it). It was the same sort of tiredness I felt for weeks after killing Kase. I was tired of life.
There was only one thing left to do, and that was kill Bethany. And maybe Persia, for making us chase the vampires in the first place.
Oh hell. There's no way out of this maze; the only way to go is forward.
"Okay, then," I said. "Let's go."
* * *
I stared morosely out the window of the passenger seat of Youji's car at the rolling foothills and drizzling rain. Yumi drove; Kenji was staying with Youji and Omi at the church. I had left the shotgun with Kenji and taken his Magnum with me (my Smith & Wesson was out of bullets and we didn't dare attempt to collect some more) after asking Kenji why he wanted to stay. "If Bel'uah does … what she plans to do, I want to be here," Kenji had said slowly.
"Why?" I asked.
"I can help here. I can't help at the shrine."
"You … can't?" I inquired.
"Necromancy fails on blessed grounds," Kenji replied gently.
"Oh." Well, that explains everything.
Miraculously, we escaped Tokyo without incident. However, it was a long ride ahead, with nothing to do but wait …
"Are you all right, Hidaka-san?" Yumi asked, bringing me back to the present.
"Please. 'Ken' will do," I answered tiredly, rubbing the bridge of my nose.
"Ken-san …"
"I want to sleep, but I can't with a witch within sniffing distance," I snapped irritably.
"Are we that bad?" Yumi's voice was laced with worn-out sarcasm.
"Just tough on my 'sense."
"I'm sorry."
We drove on in silence.
It was a long, long seven hours and twenty-three minutes.
* * *
"Here it is," Yumi said as we climbed out of Youji's car. "The Kami no Kaze Shrine."
I looked up the two-story-high set of stairs to a courtyard full of stone rubble and a temple in disrepair. The sky was an angry gray, and occasional rain spatters promised a future downpour. "It's here, then?"
"No. I drove you out of Tokyo seven-and-a-half hours to show you a ruined shrine," Yumi said flatly. "Yes, it's here!"
In retrospect, it was a stupid question, but I wasn't in the mood to apologize or make conversation. I wanted to sleep so badly … How long has it been now? The last time I slept was … in the hospital. It's only been about 30 hours. I groaned inwardly and jumped the entire stairway.
It had once been a Shinto shrine. The gateway had rotted and collapsed. The tiles were falling off the roof; the shouji were askew in their tracks and the wood rotting.
"It's been abandoned for nearly 10 years," Yumi said, coming up behind me. "The Gladius Deum is in the inner sanctum. No one has touched it for over 100 years."
"What makes it a demonsbane?" I asked, looking over the rubble-strewn courtyard. My tiredness was deserting me as my adrenaline began pumping. Something was here; I didn't know what – yet. I swallowed quietly and shifted on my feet, clicking the safety off of my gun.
Yumi walked past me, her head tilted back to look off into the distance over the shrine. She cocked it a little to the side. "No one is sure. The Gladius Deum is among the most mysterious of the recorded demonsbane artifacts; the only thing for sure is that it has been used to banish demons in the past."
"'Banish'? Not 'kill'?" I asked nervously.
Yumi smiled slightly. "Ken-san, your naïveté is showing," she said teasingly. I opened my mouth to snap at her and she continued, "Demons can't be killed; at least, not so we can tell. They can only be forced to return to whence they came – wherever that may be." She rocked on her feet like a child.
"How long does this banishment last?" I approached her, looking beyond her to watch whatever she was staring at. There was nothing to see but the blue sky of midafternoon.
Yumi shrugged. "Who knows?"
That was the last straw. Yumi was acting very strangely. "Yumi-san." I took her shoulder and turned her to face me; she looked down. I tilted her chin up, forcing her to look into my eyes. Tears glistened in hers. "What happened?"
Yumi was silent. "Tell me!" I said sharply, scowling. "Snap out of it! You're acting dazed. I don't know a thing about this demonsbane thing, and if you get yourself killed, that's it!"
She held her peace for a moment longer before sighing and turning away. "Ken-san … they're all dead."
"Who?" I stared at her, bewildered.
"My coven is gone. Everyone … they all died. The rest died last night."
I chewed my lower lip. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. What could you have done?" She laughed shortly. "I never thought … I never thought we were up against a demon. A real demon … a centennial event. How could we be so unlucky?" Her voice hitched on a sob.
I had no answer for that; instead I put my hand on her shoulder. "Do you need a shoulder to cry on?" I asked gently.
Yumi didn't even reply. She just spun around, grabbed my jacket and sobbed into my shirt. "Why? Why couldn't I stop her!?" she demanded. "Why …?"
I put my arms around her awkwardly and shut my eyes, bowing my head and trying to think of something to say. Sadly, all I could think was What about me? Whose shoulder do I get to cry on? And then the devastating thought: I should have stopped Bethany before this.
It took a few minutes, but Yumi's sobs finally slowed and quieted. She pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Thag oo," she said stuffily before sniffling. "Thank you." She sighed.
"Feel any better?" I asked.
Yumi turned away from me to look up at the shrine again, and I looked towards the west. "A little. But honestly … the only thing I want now is to join everyone … wherever they are," she confessed.
I spun around to stare at her back. "Don't you—"
"I can wait," Yumi said gently, cutting me off. "I made a promise." She drew a shuddering breath. "We … we have to get back to business, or this will all have been in vain." There was an expectant pause until Yumi continued, "The faster we obtain the sword, the sooner we can leave and the sooner we can get back to Tokyo. We only have until midnight, correct?"
"That was the time Kaori was supposed to be dead," I shrugged, turning my mind back to business as well. "I don't know if Bethany will act at exactly midnight."
"Well, if we're late, we'll have to hope Kaori can handle it. It's a thankful thing that you did not kill her," Yumi said.
"Could I have killed her?" I asked. I could feel myself getting edgy again. Something non-human was nearby. A …
Yumi's gentle laugh interrupted my thoughts as we approached the shrine. "Of course, Ken-san. Kaori, after all, is only human."
"A human with a lot of magic to back her up," I observed darkly.
"Hai," murmured Yumi. She shoved a broken shouji aside. "Let's retrieve the demonsbane."
Suffer!
My sixth sense jumped from a slight worry to a full-blown emergency. "Yumi-san!" I shouted, throwing myself to the left and down; "Got it," Yumi shouted back, collapsing with her hands clasped over her head. There was a crash to my right, and I rolled and came up with Kenji's gun trained in the direction of the crash. On my left I could feel Yumi's supernatural powers warming up.
The figure that emerged from the dust of crushed stone was blonde, tall, and built like a rock. He snarled at me. "I have not finished with you!"
I pulled back my lips to sneer. "Pierre."
"You know him?" Yumi sounded surprised.
"No love lost," Pierre said without looking away.
"He's a werewolf," I remarked offhandedly. "I think I killed his vampire girlfriend."
Pierre's features twisted angrily. "She was my master! I swore to her in death that you'd suffer!"
"Well, next time, maybe you should wait until your prey doesn't have the gun," I snapped. "There's ¥500,000 on your head, by the way – it'll be my pleasure to kill you." I fired.
But Pierre moved like the wind, and the silver bullet hit nothing. "Is that why you've been seeking us out? Destroying us? For money!?" he demanded from somewhere over my head. I looked up to see him leaping for the roof of the shrine.
I jumped to join him, my strength getting progressively easier to access. "To stop you from killing the innocent," I hissed. It seemed like an eternity ago that I had looked at the pictures of the college students and vowed to kill their murderers.
"What right do you have to determine such things?" Pierre stood still before me and I trained my gun on him.
"None, so it's a good thing I don't make the decisions, ne?" I fired again.
The bullet grazed his neck; he dove forward, his hand covering the gun. I fired again instinctively, backing up; the gun backfired. I cried out in pain and leapt backwards, flailing when I jumped further than I meant to and hit the ground instead of more roof. Pierre made a show of crushing Kenji's gun before jumping towards me. I scrambled to my feet and bounded five meters away to safety.
"Ken-san! Try and keep him one place long enough for me to magick him!" Yumi called.
"You think I have time to concentrate on that!?" I shouted back. "He crushed Kenji's gun! Dammit!"
Pierre was leaping towards me again, and I hopped away. It was like a demented game of leapfrog, I thought bewilderedly. All that was happening was I was getting tired; Pierre, who kept snarling words in some other language (French?), never seemed to miss a beat, even when I stumbled and had to roll to escape his crushing blow. "Pierre, Stacey wanted you to kill Bethany!" I exclaimed as I came back to my feet. "Why don't you do that first, then kill me?"
"Why bother? You're here, I'm here. Let's finish this." Pierre bared his sharp fangs.
I bared my teeth too. "If that's how you want it," I snarled. "We can kill each other and leave Bethany alive and well, if you want!"
"There will only be one death here," Pierre snapped.
"Yours," I shot back.
"Sanguine ex animum!" Yumi's spell swelled in my mind and came from my right to crash into Pierre's side as a ball of blood-red energy. Pierre was thrown to the side, cringing in pain; I watched unsympathetically as Yumi approached. "That'll put him down," she said.
"For a bit," I replied cynically, eyeing our surroundings. I found what I was looking for; I hurried over and uprooted the stone bench, hefting it onto my shoulder, muttering, "'Bit of inhuman strength' my ass!"
"Ken-san! You can lift that!?" Yumi sounded distressed.
"What? You bugged by the fact you were wrong about my strength?" I asked in the most superior tone I could manage while continuing to watch Pierre, who was curled into a pained ball around the wound in his side.
"No," Yumi murmured. "No … Just … there's never been a Hunter before that could lift anything that heavy," she said in an awed voice. "It's as if you're a … you're a—"
"Omae o korosu," groaned Pierre, getting to his feet.
"Later," I said sharply, grunting with effort as I heaved my burden at Pierre.
Pierre ducked; the bench sailed harmlessly over his head. He picked up a piece of rubble considerably lighter than the bench and flung it at me one-handed; I jumped at Yumi and pulled her to the ground, out of harm's way. I collapsed on my back, my still-bruised ribs protesting, Yumi on my chest; big fists closed on the lapels of my jacket and hauled me upwards as the witch slipped away and out of my vision. Deadly blue eyes bored into my own chocolate ones. I was suddenly and fiercely reminded of my last encounter with Pierre and I swung my fist, crashing it into his jaw; Pierre let go. I fell on my butt and jerked to my feet, shuffling backwards quickly.
Pierre glared at me, his mouth slightly open as he ran his fingers over his lips. They came away bloody. "You're stronger than before," he observed quietly.
I put up my fists and took a fighting stance.
Pierre's features were grim as he, too, took a stance.
"Yumi-san, the sword," I said without looking away from Pierre.
"On it," she said.
Pierre glanced in her direction. "No you don't—" he made to follow her.
"Eyes front!" I snapped, leaping forward, throwing a punch. Pierre's head swiveled towards me again and he leaned back, out of the range of my fist; he blocked my next punch and took the third in the teeth. He caught the fourth punch in his hand and shoved me away. I skidded to a halt. "So you didn't follow us all the way out here just to kill me?"
"I need the demonsbane!" Pierre snarled.
"You'll have to kill me first," I hissed.
His eyes darkened. "Very well." He charged.
Pierre not only moved faster than I did, he knew what he was doing. I had been in my share of fistfights, and my ability as an assassin depended on my prowess with my fists. However, I had no formal training.
Pierre was a trained kickboxer.
I ducked his first punch, blocked the second, and took the third in the teeth. Grimacing over bleeding gums, I was almost taken by surprise by his foot flashing out towards my middle. I dodged, was thrown off-balance, tripped over his foot and stumbled under a crushing blow to my back. I staggered to an upright position just in time to block another punch, numbing my arm to my elbow.
I managed to get in a good blow to Pierre's stomach and shoulder, but I was simply outclassed. It didn't help that I was still recovering from the last time Pierre and I had met, and it was clear the werewolf remembered perfectly well what he'd done. One of his connecting blows hit me squarely in the torso.
The world went blindingly white as my stomach exploded in pain; I could have sworn I heard the stitches popping as I collapsed to my knees, wrapping my arms around myself. I never saw the knee that slammed into my jaw, knocking my teeth together and throwing me on my back, or the foot that planted itself on my chest. My abused ribs screeched in protest at the pressure; I gasped for breath and blinked rapidly, waiting for my vision to clear.
The first thing I saw (as the pressure on my lungs slowly increased) was Pierre leering down at me. "Still suffering, yes?"
There was no answer for that. I coughed and tasted blood in my mouth again, whether from my gums or my midsection I didn't know. The werewolf was slowly putting more and more weight on my chest. It was getting difficult to breathe. My vision began to dim.
My thoughts were foggy, but I was able to grasp what Pierre was after. He was going to break my breastbone, collapse my lungs, and leave me to asphyxiate here on the grounds of the Kami no Kaze Shrine.
When he promised to make me suffer, he didn't lie.
The fear that gripped me as I thought this was enough to ignite my adrenaline with a passion. I grit my teeth, my eyes wide, and flung my arms up to grab the werewolf's leg.
The audible crack of Pierre's leg breaking was as much of a surprise to me as it was to him.
The werewolf made a choked noise that sounded suspiciously like a whining dog and collapsed forward. I scrabbled against the ground and scooted out of his way as he hit the ground palms-first. He flipped over onto his back and clutched at his leg, his eyes squeezed shut and his fangs digging into his lower lip. I watched dispassionately, breathing deeply and coughing. After a moment I spit blood and resisted the temptation to kick Pierre viciously. It was cowardly; it felt … wrong to kill him when I had such a huge advantage.
Or maybe I was just squeamish about killing him with my bare hands.
"All right. All right, this is over," I said slowly when Pierre's eyes opened and focused hatefully on me.
But Pierre grunted and struggled to his feet. "I can't accept that!" I took a wary step back and twisted to the side when he suddenly lunged at me, teeth bared and a wolf-like growl emerging from his throat. He leapt harmlessly by me and landed with a howl of pain.
"Stop this!" I snapped. "You can't fight!"
"Like hell," he growled drowsily, throwing himself clumsily at me. I dodged easily. He collapsed again. "Didn't you want to kill me!? Fight me!"
"I don't kill cripples!" I said automatically, baring my teeth.
Pierre grimaced (I suppose it was a grin). "Oh?" he said shortly. "'Cripples'? What about murderers?"
"Do you want me to kill you?" I asked slowly, my face set.
Pierre grinned like a demented man. "You tell me." He jumped towards me again. I dodged again …
And cleared the way for Pierre to crash headfirst into a stone bench.
The crunch was audible and horrible. I gasped instinctively and shuddered, barely able to look and at the same time unable to stop myself.
The crown of Pierre's head was caved in and bled slowly. His eyes were open and blank; his large body was limp. His lips moved. "Daddy? I love her," he said shakily.
He died.
As if a vacuum had been created in the supernatural space, I felt Pierre's presence leave his body. I shivered and cringed, shutting my eyes and drawing a slow breath to keep from retching. When I was sure I wouldn't cry or throw up, I opened my eyes, knelt down, and drew my fingers over Pierre's eyes, closing his eyelids. "You loved Stacey, didn't you?" I said quietly. "You're an idiot."
And so ended the coven of Stacey.
Strangely, Pierre's abrupt death left me feeling as if there was an empty place inside me.
* * *
"Ken-san?"
Yumi's voice drew me back into the time stream. "Yes?" I asked, looking up to see Yumi approaching me, pale-faced and lacking the sexual swagger she usually added.
"I … I saw the beginning of the fight," she said slowly. "Ken-san … you fight like … you fight like a …"
"Like a what?" I asked impatiently, getting back to my feet.
"Like a werewolf," Yumi finished regretfully. "You fight with the strength and abandon of a werewolf."
I opened my mouth to scoff and froze as the more-than-a-bit of inhuman strength suddenly gained a new meaning and my dream in the hospital a new significance. "I … I was bitten by a werewolf … but I didn't transform with the full moon …"
Yumi gave me a skeptical look. "I don't know what sort of effect a werewolf bite would have on a Hunter," she sighed. "I'm sorry I can't help, but it doesn't matter right now. I found the Gladius Deum."
"Well, that's great," I said eagerly. "Where is it?"
Yumi looked away. "I … I can't lift it," she confessed ashamedly.
I blinked at her. "What?"
"It's too heavy," she grimaced, smiling apologetically. "I'm not entirely sure that even the car will support it safely."
I blinked again. "So … we have the demonsbane, but we can't get it to the demon we need to use it against!? That's just great!" I threw up my hands in disgust.
"Ken-san, you can lift it with your strength!" Yumi exclaimed.
"And carry it by foot all the way to Tokyo?" I snorted. "I don't fly, you know!" I paced away as reality slowly sank in.
There's no way to stop her. Goddammit, there's no way to stop Bel'uah, and she's going to destroy my hometown!
I bit my lower lip and the corner of my mouth twitched. It's hopeless. It's finally, truly hopeless… I giggled. "I guess that's it then …" I murmured. "Bye-bye, Tokyo …" I smiled widely and chuckled hysterically.
"Ken-san," Yumi said, but her voice sounded like it was far away.
I ignored her, flinging my arms wide and throwing my head back and laughing with abandon. "Goodbye, Tokyo!" I shouted to the sky. "Sayonara!"
"Ken-san!"
I didn't care what Yumi had to say anymore. I was free. There was nothing left to care about because I was helpless. Useless. I felt tears leaking out of my eyes, but I couldn't stop laughing. I didn't want to stop. In less than 12 hours everyone I knew would be dead, and I couldn't stop it. What more was there to do than laugh at fate and die myself?
Something hit my side so violently I was carried to the ground. I rolled onto my back, my laughter cut off, but giggles escaping me anyway. It was Yumi who was dredging herself off of my chest. She glared down at me and slapped me hard. I just grinned. "It's over," I said pleasantly. "Everyone's going to Hell. Let's go to Hell together."
"Ken!" Yumi snarled.
She bent over me and kissed me.
Hard.
And it wasn't for a short time, either.
It shocked me right out of my hysteria, and when I was just beginning to wonder if I was going to pass out from lack of air she let me go. "I'm not dying just yet," she said breathlessly, "And neither is anyone else." She sat up and pushed her hair back. "Feeling better, Ken-san?"
I coughed, sitting up. "Um … what was that for?"
Yumi smiled slowly. "To get you out of your little episode," she said primly. "It worked, didn't it? I guess it's just a bonus that I've wanted to do that since I saw you in that little leather number at the Club."
I couldn't believe it, considering the circumstances, but I found myself blushing.
* * *
"I might be able to put a featherweight spell on the sword. Or, if that doesn't work, I might put a strength spell on the car."
I nodded, unable to look away from the Gladius Deum. It was a long, double-edged sword built in the European style, with a long hilt to allow for a two-handed grip. The blade itself, un-nicked and appearing entirely new, was black but seemed to have cobalt highlights; the cross guard was gold (or at least gold-plated) and the grip sturdy metal wrapped in leather. The pommel contained a jewel the color of amethysts. The whole sword had probably once stood on a stand, but the stand had long rotted away; it lay on the stone mantle in the inner sanctum.
"Well? Why don't you pick it up?" Yumi asked, her voice hushed.
I reluctantly leaned forward to touch the hilt. The sword seemed to demand reverence, and … "Can you sense it? It's almost as if the sword's alive," I said quietly.
Yumi nodded. "I do," she whispered.
I nodded, swallowing, and wrapped my hand around the hilt slowly. Just as reluctantly I followed it up with the other hand.
The sword was singing.
I nearly let go in surprise. "Did you hear that!?" I asked sharply.
Yumi gave me a bewildered look. "Hear what?"
I shook my head slowly and listened to the wordless voice in my head. It wasn't frightening; just … strange. Actually, it was comforting.
I bent my legs a bit, squared my shoulders, and hefted the Gladius Deum from where it had laid for 100 years.
It was heavy, but not unexpectedly so. It wasn't half as heavy as the stone bench I'd picked up, but I could see why Yumi couldn't lift it. "Wow," I whispered in awe.
"Yeah," murmured Yumi.
"Don't … don't magick this," I said reverently. "Put that spell on Youji's car. I don't think that it'd be right to … well, to put anything on this."
"I think you're right," Yumi agreed. "Let's … let's get going."
I followed her out of the ruined shrine towards the sound of pattering rain. The occasional drizzle had finally settled into steady, light rain.
Yumi stopped short at the 'door' – the shouji we'd broken earlier. "Oh no …" she murmured, bringing a hand up to her mouth.
I came up behind her and poked my head out to look. "What?"
"You didn't really think I'd die that easily, did you?" snarled the figure standing in the rain.
I caught my breath.
"Aya."
* * *
It was indeed Fujimiya Aya standing there, his bright red hair darkened to an auburn shade by the rain. I could sense his inhuman presence. His glare was the same as always; his katana was in his hand.
"It took a while to heal from the silver," he said, as if it explained everything.
I stared at him, torn between fear and anxiety and horror and elation. He wasn't dead! Yet … where Aya was …
Bel'uah couldn't be far behind.
"Ken-san, he's a psi-vampire," Yumi said with an amazed tone. "Is … is this why you wanted to know about psi-vampires …?"
I ignored her. "Aya …" I croaked. "I-I don't know what to say …"
"You don't have to say anything. Just lie down and die!"
He attacked.
Yumi shrieked and flung herself to the side, but I have never been so grateful for a sword as I was at that moment. I automatically brought up my arms to defend myself, and Aya's katana clanged harmlessly against the metal of the Gladius Deum. There was a shower of sparks and Aya was literally thrown backwards. He barely retained his footing; his blade was smoking.
The demonsbane sword in my hands was neither made hot nor scratched by Aya's crippling blow.
I lowered the sword slowly. "Aya, please," I begged, not even sure what I was asking for. "Please don't …"
Aya didn't even seem phased. "Bethany-sama has ordered you dead," he said in his monotone voice. "I will kill you."
"Just because she told you to?" I demanded, swallowing convulsively. "Dammit! I don't want to fight you!"
Aya charged. This time I sidestepped him, mortally afraid of killing him. Again, I thought morbidly. He swiped his katana around to strike me even as he passed, and it took a fancy bit of acrobatics to avoid the blow. On a dime he spun back to face me, moving with inhuman speed and agility and bending his body in ways I didn't think possible as he stabbed, swung, and cut at me while I came up with increasingly creative dodges as fast as I could. "Yamero, Aya! We don't have to kill each other! We can break this thing!"
"Break what?" Aya didn't miss a beat, and I performed an amazing back flip over Aya's head to escape the blow.
"Your connection to Bel'uah! You don't have to be her slave!" I pleaded. "Please, stop!"
Aya's eyes narrowed. "I do not want to leave Bel'uah," he said.
Something inside me shattered at those violent words.
"That's a lie," I choked. "You just think you like working for her!"
But Aya's words had slowed me down just a little too much, and his accompanying stab took me in the soft flesh on my far right side, just above the pelvis. I drew my breath sharply and cried out with pain; Aya jerked his sword free and aimed for my chest. I stumbled out of the way, clutching at my bleeding side, letting the tip of the Gladius Deum trail on the ground before collapsing there myself. "Shut up, Hidaka," Aya snarled, "And keep your nose out of my business!"
I was vaguely aware of Aya standing over me and Yumi, further away. I was far more aware of the pain from my pelvic region. I had to get up. Had to get up, had to get up so I wouldn't get killed. It wasn't as bad as getting shot. I would be okay. I tried to convince myself that all this was true as I rolled onto my side to get to my feet.
Yumi's presence was slowly swelling in my mind, though … it was vaguely … familiar …
"Matre ex Deum!"
It was a spell.
"Yumi-san! Yamero!" I screamed, but it was far too late for that. I did the only thing I could think of.
I clutched Aya's legs, knocking his knees together and bringing him crashing to the ground. His katana stuck in the ground, inches from my chest. The spell struck the wall and dissipated harmlessly.
I felt Aya sit up, and when I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was Aya's fierce glare at the same time as his hands fisted in my hair. He dragged me up to look at him at eye level. "What the hell was that?" he snarled.
"I – what was what?" I stammered, wincing.
"You just saved me!" he sounded pissed by it, but also … disappointed.
"I. Don't. Want. To. Kill. You," I said haltingly, angrily, painfully. "It was a mistake the first time!" And now Youji and Omi's lives aren't at stake. "You—" I gasped at the pain, using both hands to staunch the flow of blood from my pelvis. "Aya! You're my friend. You're Weiss. You weren't the enemy until you chose Bethany over us, and that wasn't your fault!" Not entirely, anyway. "Goddammit, Aya! Will you let go of my hair at least?"
Aya's fists only tightened. "I am not leaving Bethany-sama!" he snapped. "She's my provider!"
I winced violently and forced my eyes to open and focus on the violet ones only a decimeter from my face. "Aya, did Bel'uah ever make you onigiri to eat in the morning?"
Aya stared at me. "What has that got to do with—"
"Did she ever try to make you laugh, you stiff bastard? Or help you with your problems, no matter how tightlipped you are?" I drew a breath. "Aya, she's a lying bitch. She's a demon! And whatever she promised you for your service, you'll never get from her."
Aya's eyes flashed dangerously and he struck me across the cheek, flinging me to the ground. I heard him get to his feet and pull free his sword. "Shi-ne!" he snarled.
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the end.
It didn't come.
I opened one eye cautiously. Aya's sword was pointed at my neck, but he had frozen, his features twisted with hatred and something else. His hand shook and his katana shook in it. "A-Aya?" I stammered quietly.
Aya didn't move. His lips formed soundless words. Then, very suddenly, he screamed and thrust his katana towards, sticking the point in the ground mere inches from my throat. Hands going up to grip his temples, he howled with agony … and began to have a conversation with himself. I stared at him, wound forgotten as cold, quiet Aya snarled at thin air, "No! No! I—Urasai! I won't—you can't—"
"Aya?" I inquired hoarsely, struggling to get to my feet and collapsing again. "What – who are you—"
But if Aya heard me, he gave no indication. He just kept talking. "No! He's right! I … no, please, goddammit, no!"
And before he could say another word, Yumi was pinching his neck.
Aya's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.
"Pressure point," she explained calmly as she laid a bloody palm on my wound. I could only nod, my breath stolen from me. "This is deep, so I can only stop the bleeding," she said quietly. "Atsui."
There was a sensation of searing that made me shiver and whimper, and when she pulled her hand away her palm was clean and dry and my wound was cauterized. "Arigatou gozaimasu," I managed, sitting up slowly, still feeling as if I'd walked into Wonderland. I glanced at Aya's slumped form and looked back to Yumi. "What … Aya was …?"
Yumi scowled at me. "Is this the psi-vampire that made you inquire after them at the hospital?" she asked sharply.
"Um—" I began, taking a moment to recall the conversation she was referring to. "Um, yeah. Yeah. Aya. He's under Bethany's control … or was, or something … I-I think they had some sort of psychic connection—"
Yumi cut me off. "He was arguing with her."
"… What?"
"They had a psychic connection, you said. Didn't it occur to you that maybe they can talk back and forth along this connection?" Yumi shook her head. "Shimatta! One of Bethany's subordinates … she must know exactly where we are. She'll come after us – after you. We've got to …" She looked around as if the shattered courtyard would answer her questions.
"No. No. We've got her," I said quietly. I slowly and painstakingly regained my feet. "Aya … Aya's unwittingly acting as bait. She knows … and she's coming … right into the arms of the Gladius Deum." I walked the few paces to the demonsbane and bent over to pick it up. Immediately its gentle song comforted me, and I sighed. "We've got to get Aya someplace safe."
Yumi looked up at me, apprehension and understanding in her gaze. "Will you be able to handle it?" she asked worriedly.
"No," I shook my head irritably. "No. I never could. But …
"I don't think that I have any choice."
* * *
Author's Notes: Look. Look. It's the second-to-last part! YAAAAAAY!!!!
Okay, okay, so I wimped out and didn't kill Aya for real. Yet. Bwahahahahahaa! If I don't get around to telling about Aya-chan, Ran, and Bethany, I'll explain in the final footnotes. And Pierre's death … well, I want to talk about Pierre a bit.
Pierre is a werewolf, plain and simple. Yes, he was in love with Stacey, in case you didn't guess. His big beef with Ken is that he has to fulfill Stacey's last orders – to make the rest of Ken's life a living hell, and to kill Bel'uah. When Ken breaks his leg he realizes he can't fulfill either order and wants to die. Ken, on the other hand, suffers a guilty streak about killing someone who's essentially helpless. Since Pierre can't get Ken to kill him, he basically kills himself. You asked about his last words? I guess he was flashing back to his childhood. His head was caved in, and honestly, I can't claim credit for writing that scene. Pierre and Ken took my initial ideas and just ran with it until the end.
Silver Angel, I told you I'd get my act together and talk about Ken being a werewolf. ::sticks out tongue at you:: AND! I updated, of course … if you read it … ^^x Hope you like!
Well, that's about it. A pleasure, truly … can't wait for feedback from y'all! ^^x Thank you soo much for all your reviews and helpful comments!
~~Vikki