Warning: This chapter deals with depression, rape, and suicide. We are not upping the rating, but those under 13 should be advised that the content of this chapter is very dark and can be upsetting. ~DestinyBabe
Part 14: One More Round in the Emotional Wringer
-April 22nd 2000-
"It's not fair I tell you!" Mia only smiled in agreement at Mina's loud statement.
"I totally understand," Mia said; Mina just continued on her tirade.
"I mean, the others have boyfriends and they've known the guys just as long as I have! What's the difference? I don't get it!"
"I know," Mia said, "But my case is worse. I've known Ryo for far longer than you've known Cye and I still haven't gotten anywhere with him. In fact, at the rate you're going, you'll get together with Cye before I get together with Ryo." Mina gave a loud sigh and sunk further into the large couch that sat in the middle of the family room on the third floor.
"I highly doubt it, Mia. I mean, you'd think that if I loved someone enough that I'd be able to be with that person, but no! Of course not! I mean, is it too much to ask to want to be happy?" Mia smiled gently at Mina.
"You really love Cye a lot, don't you?" Mia asked. Mina nodded.
"Yeah, I do. I love everything about him, even the stuff that he does that bothers me like constantly correcting my grammar, and whistling when he knows I can't stand people who whistle. But I love him so much anyway. I want to be near him all the time and when I'm not near him, I feel like my whole world is falling apart." Mia laughed.
"It sounds like you're addicted to Cye, Mina." Mina snorted.
"Yeah," Mina said, "He's like chocolate. I just can never get enough of him." At the end of Mina's sentence, the look on Mina's face turned into one of realization and shock. "Chocolate…food…LITA!" Mina rushed to her feet. Mia's brow furrowed.
"Mina, what's wrong?" As Mina struggled to get out of the little circle made by the couches, she explained to Mia her situation. "Well, you see," Mina said, "It's my turn to go grocery shopping. Lita needs food for dinner tonight and asked me this morning if I would go down to the store and get her supplies. I agreed and said I would head out right away, but I got sidetracked and if I don't hurry, she'll have no food and she'll kill me!" Mina finally maneuvered herself out of the circle of couches and started running down the stairs. "Bye Mia! It was nice talking to you!"
"You too, Mina! Have fun!" Mina threw a smile back at Mia before continuing on down the stairs, running at the speed of light, or so it seemed. In fact, she was so preoccupied with running down the stairs that she didn't see the person who was coming up them until she was half way down the last flight of stairs. Not even looking, she rammed right into the person, sending the two of them crashing down 20 or so steps, landing on the ground in a heap.
Cye groaned as he felt his back hit the marble floor. I'm going to have a couple of bruises. Now, who did I run into? Cye thought as he felt the weight of someone on top of him, someone light. Mina pushed herself off of Cye and looked down at him. She gasped and said, "Cye! Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going and I didn't see you coming up the stairs. Are you hurt?" Cye smiled at Mina and pulled himself into a sitting position.
"I'm fine, Mina. But, what's the rush?" Mina sighed and stood up, extending her hand to Cye to help him off the ground; after all, he did hit the ground the hardest.
"Well, I totally forgot that I had to go grocery shopping for Lita so she can make dinner tonight and if I don't go now, I'll never get back in time for dinner and she'll slaughter me. So, I have to go now." Mina ran over to the hallway closet and grabbed her shoes from inside. Slipping her shoes on, she was just about to rush out the door when she remembered that she didn't have her purse and therefore, no money. "Oh god! I don't have my purse and it has all my money in it! I don't have time to find my purse; it'll take forever to find it and I don't have forever."
Cye let out a deep sigh and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Here, how about you borrow money from me and pay me back when you get home, all right?"
Mina smiled and walked over to him, taking the money from his hand. Standing on her toes, she gave him a kiss on the cheek in thanks, causing Cye to turn a light shade of pink. "Thanks, you're a saint." Mina rushed off towards the door when Cye called after her. "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.
"Nah," Mina said, "I should be fine on my own. I'll see you when I get back, ok?" Cye nodded and smiled.
"Sure. Bye Mina."
"See ya, Cye!" With that, Mina was out the door, headed off to the grocery store. Cye chuckled slightly. God, I love that girl, he thought to himself as he started walking up the stairs, being extra careful this time around for people who might come flying down them and send him crashing, once again, to the bottom of the stairs.
***
Mina's eyes roamed over the street she was walking on in nervousness. Twilight
was descending upon the city of Tokyo and Mina was out on a practically deserted street,
the clicking of her heels on the ground one of the only sounds that accompanied
her trek home. Off in the distance, Mina could hear a dog barking faintly and
she shivered involuntarily; there was something about that sound that just
spooked her. A light spring breeze fluttered past her and she hugged the
grocery bag that she was carrying close to her chest, holding onto it as if for
dear life.
"I hope Lita appreciates this," Mina growled. There was something amiss on the street and Mina didn't like it at all. Her instincts were telling her to run, but Mina could see nothing that was out of the ordinary. Maybe it's the fact that the street is, for the most part, abandoned, Mina thought. As Mina walked, she could see things lurking in the shadows in every corner she found and she suddenly wanted to be at home right that instant. But, she found no evidence that anything was actually there. "Maybe my mind's just playing tricks on me," she whispered to herself. After convincing her self that her imagination was running away with her, Mina's expression turned from scared to resolute as she continued walking. It's just like I told Cye. I'll be fine, Mina thought.
No sooner did that thought pass through her mind did she feel a pair of rough hands grab her arms and manhandle her into a small alcove in between two of the buildings. She dropped the grocery bag and the bag fell to the ground, its contents being spilled across the sidewalk. Mina tried to scream, but a hand covered her mouth, preventing such action. Even if she had been able to scream, the street was so deserted that no one would have heard her.
When Mina's eyes were able to focus again, she found herself surrounded by 5 burly-looking men who were all looking at her like she was the main course at a banquet and they were starving diners. She froze in fear as the ringleader laughed and traced a finger down her cheek. "My, my, aren't you a pretty one?" he said, his voice rumbling deep in his throat, "Just what us fellas were looking for." He gave her a lecherous grin and Mina wanted to die. "You'll serve our purposes just fine. Right guys?" he continued, addressing his gang of four men. They all smiled and nodded, their eyes traveling up and down Mina's young body.
Mina shivered as she felt their eyes on her body; she prayed for the moment to end. "Guys," the leader said, "Hold her down so I can have the first go at her."
"Sure thing," one of the lackeys said.
"Yeah, we'd be glad to. Just as long as we get a turn too," another one said as two of them moved to hold her down while the other two watched. The two that moved each grabbed one of Mina's hands and held them up against the wall behind her while they used their feet to pull her own feet apart, spreading her legs. Tears started running down Mina's face as she struggled to get loose from their grip, but they were too much for her. The leader moved his hands from her shoulders down to the front of her shirt, where grabbed the fabric in both hands and pulled roughly, tearing her blouse open and sending the buttons of her shirt flying every which way. "Please, stop," Mina begged silently as the dark-haired man groped her breasts roughly.
"You like that, don't you, you little slut?" he said. When Mina shook her head in response, he became enraged and slapped her hard, causing Mina's head to jerk violently. Mina could feel the beginnings of a welt forming on her cheek. After the leader had finished feeling her breasts roughly, his hands left her chest and moved down where he placed one hand on each thigh, slowly moving up to the apex of her thighs. Mina began to struggle uncontrollably, trying to break herself free from the clutches of the men who were holding her in place. The leader found that he could not get his hands up Mina's skirt, so he simply tore her skirt, creating a long slit on the right side. Now given better access, his hands continued their journey.
He had reached her panties and, after brushing up against the fabric lightly, was about reach inside with Mina screamed, throwing her whole body and soul in to the tortured-sounding scream, her Venus symbol surfacing on her forehead. Her powers were reacting to the feelings Mina was experiencing and in a defensive move, the symbol on her forehead began to glow and created a huge orange beam of pure power, aimed at hurting the people who were harming Mina. The 5 men all yelled out in pain as they tried to back away from Mina, the hot orange light burning them inside and out. They collapsed to the ground as the beam faded, which left Mina still standing, her body being supported by the building's wall behind her.
Mina saw this as her opportunity to flee the scene and with tears streaming down her face she did just that. She held her shirt closed and ran with all her strength, determined to get home as soon as possible to the warm security of her room. She carefully avoided any people she saw on the streets on the way home and she ignored their questioning glances; she didn't want their sympathy or their pity, she just wanted to go home.
She ran for what seemed like forever until she reached Celia's house, where upon she opened the door quietly and slid in. As she took off her shoes, her tears still falling down her face, she realized that she had no strength left in her. She collapsed onto one of the benches in the foyer and drew her knees close to her body, burying her face in her hands and sobbing uncontrollably. Mina only had one thought as her tears flowed from her eyes: Cye, I need you. Please, help me.
***
At about the same time that Mina arrived at home, everyone else was gathered in
the den on the first floor, waiting for something. "You guys, I'm worried,"
Lita said, "Mina's been gone for way too long. I mean she left…when?"
"At around 2:00 this afternoon," Cye said, his face full with worry.
"And it's now 6:30," Lita continued, "She's never gone this long. What if something happened to her, you guys?" No one responded as they all pondered what could have happened to Mina, Cye especially. His imagination was running away with him as he thought about all the terrible things that could have happened to her. What if she's in trouble or hurt or…dead? How will I live without her with me? Cye thought sadly. He was trying to stay on the positive side of things, but the more time that passed without word from Mina, the more worried he got and the harder it was to stay optimistic.
"I'm sure everything will be fine," Celia said sagely.
"Yeah," Margot agreed, "Mina will be fine. She probably got sidetracked and is at the arcade right now. Nothing to worry about."
"I agree with Margot," Julie said right before her stomach rumbled. Everyone gave her an odd look.
"He, he," Julie laughed sheepishly, "Guess I'm a little hungry. Hey Margot, wanna come get something to eat with me?"
"Yeah, sure Julie," Margot said and the two girls started leaving the room.
"Hey!" Kento called out, "Bring me back some too!" Julie threw Kento a look over her shoulder.
"No problem Kento," she said before she and Margot exited the room, closing the door behind them. They made their way through the large ballroom and were just about to turn to go into the kitchen through the dining room when they heard a faint sobbing coming from the foyer.
The two sisters gave each other confused and worried glances. If everyone was in the den, then the only person who could be in the front hall was… "Mina," the two whispered at the same time before rushing out into the front hall, both of their gazes immediately locking onto Mina. They moved over to her quickly. Julie kneeled in front of her on the floor and Margot sat next to her on the bench. Margot put an arm around Mina as a sign of comfort, but Mina quickly shrugged off the arm, like she didn't want to be touched.
"Mina, what's wrong? What happened?" Margot asked the
sobbing girl. Mina lifted her head out of her hands and looked at Margot, then
at Julie. Both of them got a good look on the welt on her right cheek in
immediately gasped.
"Oh my god, Mina, who did this to you?" Julie asked. Mina didn't answer them. She only lowered her knees, showing Margot and Julie her torn clothes. The twins knew immediately what had happened. Margot gasped and said, "Mina, are you ok? Were you…I mean, did somebody try to rape you?"
"Yeah," Mina said softly, "They tried, but they didn't succeed. I used my power against them and ran away. I…"
"Shh," Julie said, "Don't try to explain; you don't have to. Mina, is there anything that we can do for you?" Mina nodded.
"Yeah, could you find Cye for me? I really need him right now." Julie nodded and straightened.
"Sure," she said, "I'll go get him. Margot, you stay here with Mina." Margot gave Julie a look of acknowledgement and Julie ran back to the den, opening the door, and entering. The rest of the group turned to see Julie enter the room.
"Hey, where's the food?" Kento asked, his finger currently playing with a strand of Lita's hair. Julie shot him a look that told him to forget about the food; there were more important things at that moment.
Redirecting her gaze at Cye, Julie said, "Hey Cye, can I talk to you for a moment? There's something I need to tell you." Cye's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Sure, I guess so," he said, rising to his feet from the couch he was sitting on. Cye followed Julie out of the den and when the door was shut, he said, "Ok, what's going on? Is everything all right?" Julie gave him a saddened look and shook her head.
"Come with me," she said to Cye before grabbing his hand and leading him out into the foyer. Cye was confused until he saw Mina sitting on one of the benches with Margot. Cye and Julie stood at a distance as Cye look at Mina, his eyes taking in what had happened; he, too, figured it out.
"Who did this?" he said in a fierce whisper, his hand forming into a tight fist.
Julie looked at Cye with fear; he looked ready to kill. Julie gulped and said, "We don't know. But, who ever did this paid the price; Mina used her power on them. Don't worry, they didn't rape her, but they tried. But, it doesn't matter. It doesn't make it any less traumatic for her right now. She needs you, Cye, more than she's ever needed you before." Cye could feel tears filling his eyes and blurring his vision. Who could do something like this? Cye wondered. At that moment, Mina turned her head and spotted Cye. With a loud sob, she went for him and ran into his arms.
Cye, whose angry look quickly transformed into a worried one, gathered her into a tight hug, holding her close to him, reveling in the fact that she was safe and unharmed. He tucked her head underneath his chin, dwelling briefly on the fact that she fit perfectly into his embrace, before concentrating wholeheartedly on Mina's sobs. "Oh Cye," she said, her voice blurred by sobs and ragged breaths, "It was horrible. I thought I was never going to get out of there alive."
"Shh," Cye said, "Don't worry. You're safe now. I'll never let anything happen to you ever again." His kind words only made Mina cry even harder and she held onto him tighter. He was her anchor, her savior, her prince and she knew he would never do anything to hurt her.
"Come on," Cye said, scooping her into his arms, sweeping her off her feet, and cradling her close to his chest, "Let's get you upstairs and into bed." With that, Cye began moving upstairs. Julie and Margot only watched.
"Well, what do we do now?" Julie asked Margot. Margot turned to Julie
"Julie, why don't you go and tell the others about what happened. I'm going to go and help Cye with Mina." Julie huffed slightly as Margot ran to catch up with Cye.
"Aww man," Julie said, "Why do I always get stuck with the hard jobs?" She was really dreading having to go and tell the others about what happened, but she knew she had to. Turning around with a sigh, Julie slowly made her way into the den. She opened the door and walked into the room slowly and depressingly, catching everyone's attentions.
"Julie, what's wrong?" Ryo asked, "Is everything ok?" Julie shook her head in a negative response.
"You guys, I have something to tell you. Something happened to Mina…"
***
-April 29th, 2000-
It had been a week. One whole week. And Mina's life was still in ruins and she was showing no signs of cheering up or even a slight improvement, even with Cye's help. Cye had devoted his whole being to caring for Mina, more for her own safety than anything else, even though he was genuinely worried about her. He wasn't concerned about other people hurting her, but about her hurting herself. Cye knew of Mina's great lack of self-esteem and figured that she would be prone to suicide, especially in her seemingly unending depressed state. He had taken to spending every moment, waking and sleeping, by Mina's side, just to make sure that she was ok and if she needed anything, he could be right there to help her. He was the only one who Mina would let help her. She didn't want anybody else to touch her and she shied away from anyone else who touched her but Cye so it was all up to Cye to help her if she needed anything, which mainly consisted of a shoulder to cry on.
Because of Mina's depressed state and the fact that Cye was the only one who could take care of and help Mina, the two of them had been skipping out on school, having Celia call them in sick; Mina was in no condition to go to school. At this particular moment, Cye was watching Mina as she slept. She was taking her daily nap and Cye, for one, was glad. While she slept, he could watch her and know that she couldn't hurt herself in her sleep.
He smiled; her saddened look disappeared from her face while she slept, leaving only her peaceful beauty behind. She looks so calm in her sleep, like what happened to her last Saturday never happened at all, Cye thought, his hand hovering gently over her cheek; he could feel the radiating warmth of her skin even though he wasn't touching her. He knew he could touch her and she wouldn't be alarmed, but he didn't feel right about touching her in her sleep without her permission; he was too much the gentleman to do that. He pulled him arm away and stretched, feeling the popping of the joints in his back, a very uncomfortable feeling.
His eyes drifted towards the source of the problem: his makeshift bed on the floor. He had declined Mina's offer to let him sleep on the bed because he didn't feel it was right, despite her point about how there was plenty of space on her bed for two people. He didn't trust himself alone in a bed with her. He settled himself back in a sitting position on her bed and was about to get comfortable again when the door burst open.
"Cye!" Serena exclaimed as she burst into the room. Cye immediately put a finger to his lips and shot Serena annoyed look. She looked at Cye sheepishly and said quietly, "Cye, there's a battle and we could use as much help as possible. Are you coming or not?" Cye looked at Mina briefly and then looked back at Serena with a sympathetic look.
"Sorry, I would come, but someone has to watch over Mina. There's no telling what she could do if she were left alone." Serena nodded understandingly and backed out of the room slowly, closing the door behind her as quietly as possible. Cye, assured that Serena was gone, turned back to Mina, who was now looking at him with a disappointed look on her face.
"So, I can't be trusted by myself, huh?" Cye rushed to disagree.
"No, Mina, it's not that. It's just…" Mina shook her head.
"You don't need to explain it to me, Cye, I understood perfectly what you meant." Mina pushed herself out of bed and stood solidly on the floor, her eyes, full of sadness, fixed on Cye's own sea blue eyes. Their eyes locked for a moment and Mina was the one who broke the gaze, moving past Cye and towards the doorway.
Mina put her hand to the doorknob and was in the process of turning it when she felt Cye's hand rest on hers, momentarily stopping Mina from opening the door. She turned to look up at him and saw him looking down at her with a mix of anger and worry. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked in a low voice.
"I'm going to help Serena with the battle. I can at least do that."
"You are not going out to fight. You still need to rest," Cye growled. Mina glared at him.
"Cye, I was not physically broken. I am not crippled. I can still fight. Now get out of my way." With that, Mina gave Cye a firm shove, effectively pushing him out of the way so she could open the door and walk out. He rushed to catch up to her and, but the time he did, she was already in her sub-armor, ready to fight. She joined the group that was gathered at the bottom of the stairs, all of them now looking at Mina with surprise.
"Mina? What are you doing?" Serena asked, more in shock than anger.
"I'm helping you fight. Last time I checked, I was still part of this team and I can still fight. From what I heard, you can use all the help you can get." Serena looked at Cye, who was also now in his sub-armor, and he shrugged at her, indicating that he tried to reason with her, but reasoning was obviously out of the question. Serena shrugged herself, giving up the fight before it even began. She knew that once Mina had set her mind to something, diverting her from her path was almost impossible. And she looked really determined. "Well," Serena said, "Now that we're all here, let's go kick some monster butt!" The group of 18 warriors moved out of the house at a neck-breaking speed, running as fast as they could towards the battle scene.
Once they got there, they found themselves faced with an army of monsters and they were all suddenly very scared. This wasn't like fighting an army of hybrids or Dynasty soldiers, but actual monsters. Labradorite was getting more vicious and cruel as time went on and she sent more monsters at the Universal Warriors each time she attacked.
Serena, the first to snap out of the awe, started the long chain of transformations. "I call upon the armor of Moonlight. Armor of the Moonlight, TO ARMS!" The rest of the Universal Warriors followed suit, transforming into their mystical armor, all of them ready for battle.
Cye took one last worried look at Mina before she plunged into battle. I hope she comes out all right. If not, the defeat will surely kill her, Cye thought. Little did he know how true his thoughts would be in real life. His eyes leaving Mina's armored form, he too lunged into the battle, fighting with all of his might against the group of five monsters that were attacking him.
In the space of 10 minutes, Cye had managed to kill off five of the monsters using only his Yari. The other two sensed defeat, but before they could even move to get away, Cye used his attack on them. "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" The two monsters were obliterated immediately and Cye emerged victorious. Free from the pressure of fighting the enemy, Cye was able to do a mental check of what was happening at that moment.
Raye was holding her own against one of the monsters, a big, gnarly looking thing with mottled green skin and a huge set of jaws. Ami and Lita had paired up while Rowen and Kento stood by for support. Sage and Ryo were working together to destroy three of the violent offenders. Serena, Darien, and Mia combined their individual attacks to kill quite a number of them. Celia, Heather, Alex, and Michelle were all watching each other's backs while facing off against a team of 7 foes.
Cye chuckled a little at Margot and Julie. Leave it to them to bring a little humor to the battlefield, Cye thought. Margot was holding down one of the monsters while shouting at Julie, "Hit him on the head, hit him on the head!"
"I'm trying," Julie shouted, "But he keeps moving around!"
"I don't care if he's moving, just hit him!" So, Julie did. And she missed, hitting Margot on the arm instead.
"OW!" Margot screamed, "Hit him, not me, you dummy!" Julie glared, whether it was at Margot or the monster, Cye didn't know. "That's it, I've had enough!" Julie yelled, giving out a frustrated scream before hitting the monster square on the head. Once he was down, Margot let go of him and used her attack on him. "FIRES OF DESTINY!" With that, the monster was incinerated, completely gone from the temporal world. Margot turned to Julie, who was looking back with an apologetic look on her face.
"Thanks a lot," Margot said sourly.
"I'm sorry. But he moved," Julie said in a slight, little kid whine. Cye's gaze abandoned them, looking for one last member of the group, but not finding her.
Cye's eyes searched for Mina, but he couldn't see her. Then he spotted her. And his blood started to boil. At the edge of the battle scene was Mina and one single monster, possibly the most vicious out of all of them. It currently had Mina in its clutches and was proceeding to attack her continuously, leaving Mina no chance to fight back. If Cye didn't step in, she wasn't going to live through the battle. Cye rushed towards Mina, his weapon poised to attack. "HEY! Let her go!" The monster immediately stopped attacking Mina and turned to look at Cye, who was ready to attack at any moment. The monster looked back down at Mina, who was almost unconscious, and the back at Cye. Mina was quickly discarded, thrown to the side, as the monster found a more worthy opponent to battle.
Cye and the monster faced each other, each one daring the other to attack first. Wordlessly, they both attacked at the same time. The monster didn't stand a chance. Before it knew what was happening, it had the spokes of Cye's Yari buried in its torso. Cye yanked his weapon out and with a bloody gurgle the monster fell to the ground.
All thoughts of the now destroyed monster out of his head, Cye knelt by Mina and lifted her up into his arms, pulling her into a sitting position. "Mina…Mina," he called out softly, "Come on, Mina, wake up." With a pain-filled moan, Mina opened her eyes and Cye let go of the breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Mina, are you ok?" he asked gently. Mina shook her head.
"No," she forced out, "I hurt…everywhere."
"Can you walk?" Cye asked.
"I don't think I could even if I tried right now, Cye," Mina said dejectedly. Cye nodded and lifted her off of the ground, cradling her in his arms. "Come on, we better get you home." They joined the others, who had finished battling as well, and Cye began walking back with them.
All of them looked at Mina, but said nothing out of sensitivity. Mina had been through a lot and her personal defeat probably only made things worse. As they walked, Mina's failure only built upon itself inside of Mina's mind, seeming to be worse at every second. Nobody noticed the lone tear that slid down her cheek in defeat and helplessness.
***
Much later that night, Mina was lying wide-eyed in her bed, staring at her
clock; it was exactly 1:06 in the morning. She couldn't sleep, despite the fact
that she was physically and mentally exhausted. She couldn't get her thoughts
to quiet down and let her have the much-needed rest that she longed for.
Mina's thoughts kept circling around the events of the past week, from her attempted rape to her humiliating defeat earlier that day. She was feeling useless and hopeless, like she had no real purpose in the world. At the thought, a tear escaped her eye and slid down to the pillow below.
What's the point? I can't do anything right. I'm a warrior and I can't even protect myself against 5 mortal men. What use do I have in this world? I'm no warrior; I don't help the team out at all. I'm just a liability. I only get hurt and I can't defend myself against the enemy. I'm a burden to the Universal Warriors. I shouldn't even be here anymore; my life has no purpose anymore, Mina thought as she pulled herself into the fetal position.
Behind her, she could hear sounds of Cye's breathing. She sat up in bed and turned around to look at Cye. He was sleeping so calmly on the other side of her bed. She had offered earlier that night to let him sleep in the bed and he was too tired to protest so he climbed into bed and fell right asleep.
She got out of bed and walked over to the other side. She smiled as she looked down at him tenderly. She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. "Goodbye, Cye," she whispered softly. Pulling away from him, she walked into the bathroom and turned on the light, closing the door behind her so as not to wake up Cye. She walked over to the large counter and scanned the surface with a focused and determined, yet saddened look on her face.
Finally finding what she was looking for, Mina picked up the bottle and looked at it with almost wonderment and contemplation. Was she ready to do it? Could she go through with it? She opened the bottle and looked into it, judging its contents. Good, there's still half of it left. That should be enough, Mina thought. She tilted back her head and poured the contents of the bottle into her mouth, swallowing frequently.
Once the bottle was empty, she felt a lightness in her heart, a burden lifted off her shoulders. Shaking with relief, she walked across the bathroom and sat down on the floor, leaning against the bathtub. The cool porcelain felt nice on her back and Mina smiled peacefully. I wish I could say goodbye to everybody, Mina thought, but didn't dwell on it. As she closed her eyes and let her head fall back in a relaxed position, she allowed her hands to rest on the ground by her sides, one hand still clutching the now empty aspirin bottle.
***
Cye awoke suddenly out of a deep sleep and shot up into a sitting position. The moment he did, he could feel all of the soreness that he received during the fight earlier. Cye groaned as he stretched out the muscles in his back and cracked his neck. He glanced over at the clock and found out that it was about 1:30 in the morning. He looked over to the other side, expecting to see Mina, and was confused when he found that she wasn't there.
Fearing the worst, he got out of bed, looking for Mina. "Mina?" he called out into the darkness, "Mina, where are you? Are you all right?" Getting no answer, he continued to search for a few moments until his eyes spotted light peeking out of underneath the crack of the bathroom door.
His brow furrowing in confusion, Cye moved towards the bathroom slowly. His instinct was telling him that something wasn't quite right and it worried Cye immensely. "Mina?" he called out tentatively as he pushed open the door. He looked into the bathroom and almost started to cry.
"Oh no," he whispered, his throat constricting with tears. The sight that he was shown was of Mina, leaning against the bathtub, her head lolled over to one side and her eyes closed. Held loosely in one hand was an empty bottle. He rushed over to her and picked up the bottle. "Aspirin," he said softly as he read the label. "But, why?" he asked to himself, putting all of his questions into one simple word.
He checked over Mina and noticed that she was barely breathing. She must have swallowed the whole bottle. Why would she do this? Doesn't she know what she's leaving behind? Cye thought as he gathered Mina into his arms and shook her in an attempt to wake her up. "Come on, Mina, open your eyes. Wake up!" he commanded. Slowly, Mina's eyes opened and she turned her head to look up at Cye.
"I see you found me, Cye," she whispered, "I guess I can say goodbye to you in person now."
"Mina, why? Why did you do this? Did you feel that your life was this bad that you had to end it?" Mina nodded.
"I'm useless, Cye, I'm a weak team member. You'll all be better off without me around." Mina closed her eyes and Cye felt her slipping away this time, possibly forever.
"Oh, no you don't. You're not leaving me Mina. I won't let you die."
Closing his eyes, he reached into his deep power source, allowing the cool blue well to wash over him and calm him down. The whole world disappeared around him, leaving him being engulfed by the blue strands. He wanted to stay there forever and was very tempted do to so, but he soon remembered why he delved into his power source in the first place.
His mind focused on Mina, he pushed his power into Mina's body, using his power source, water, to purify her blood and get rid of all the poison that was floating around in her body. It was a technique that Cye never knew existed and was something that he felt he couldn't have done without the desperation of the situation. He was beginning to tire, but he couldn't stop yet; there was still some of the poison left in Mina's body. With an exhausting effort, he finally rid Mina's body of the drug and he pulled what remained of his power back into his body; he knew he wasn't going to be fighting for the next couple of days until his reserves were restored.
Opening his eyes, he took in a deep breath and let it go in relief at the sight of Mina's steady and normal breathing. He looked at her face and saw that her eyes were still closed. Her body's probably exhausted from trying to battle the aspirin, Cye thought. Gently, he shook her until she woke up.
Mina opened her eyes and Cye set her down, standing up to help her onto her feet. She looked down at herself in awe and shock for a few moments before accepting Cye's helping hand. With the help of Cye's strength, she got to her feet. "I'm alive," she said, still in awe over the fact that she was breathing and standing, that she wasn't dead.
"Yes, you're alive," Cye said with a smile on his face, thinking that Mina was happy as well. He moved in to give Mina a hug, but immediately halted when Mina slapped him violently. He looked at Mina's face and found that she was crying.
"Why?" she asked, "Why did you have to bring me back? Why couldn't you just let me die? I don't deserve to be here anymore, Cye."
"That's not true, Mina," Cye said, "You deserve everything you want and more. Besides, I couldn't just let you die. You're an integral part of the team."
"No, I'm not. All I do is cause trouble and I make battles worse. I can't fend for myself or even protect myself. I'm useless, Cye." Cye walked up to her and grabbed Mina by the arms, looking down into her eyes.
"Don't you ever say that," Cye growled, "You are not useless." Mina wasn't shaken by Cye's rough tone of voice.
"No, Cye, I am useless. All I do is stay around and let you guys take care of me and pity me. Well, I don't want to burden your lives and I don't want your pity. You guys don't need me; you'd be better off without me."
"That's not true," Cye said, "We all need you." Cye's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I need you," he continued.
"You…what?" Mina asked, not believing Cye's words.
"I need you so much, Mina. Without you, I don't know where I'd be. You give my life purpose, meaning. I can't live without you in my life. Ever since I met you, I've wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you." He paused for a brief moment and then continued, his voice full of emotion. "Mina, I love you."
"You…love me?" Mina asked incredulously.
"Yes, I love you. I've loved you since the first moment I saw you. I mean, what's not to love? You're beautiful, clever, witty, funny, sweet. You're the person who brings love and cheer into everyone's life, Mina. Without you, the house would be a lot darker. And this last week, we haven't been pitying you, we've been worrying about you. You mean so much to all of us and we were all worried when we found out what happened to you. Especially me," Cye finished, his voice no higher than a whisper.
Mina smiled a tear-filled smile, her first smile in days, and said, "I love you, too, Cye. Ever since I saw you, I knew I'd love you forever." Mina moved closer Cye and pulled him down for a kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on her toes so she could kiss him better. Cye was shocked for a few moments before he inwardly smiled and began kissing her back, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him.
Slowly, the kiss ended, leaving the two of them struggling for air. "Wow," Cye whispered.
"Ditto," Mina said as she looked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness. He smiled down at her and gave her another kiss, this one passionate and quick, before pulling her into a hug, reveling on how perfectly she fit into his arms.
"I was afraid I had lost you," he said, resting his chin on the top of her head. Mina smiled a melancholy smile as she snuggled up against Cye's chest.
"Well, you almost did," Mina said quietly, "I can't believe I did that. I mean, at the time, it seemed like a good idea, but now all I can think is how stupid it was."
"Well, how do you feel?" Cye asked.
"Better," Mina said.
"I mean about the whole situation with what happened last Saturday and with the battle earlier." Cye sensed more than saw Mina's face fall.
"I'm still feeling really down about the whole thing, but I do feel a little better." Cye smiled.
"Well, do you want to talk about it now that you're feeling a little better? You didn't want to talk before." Mina giggled.
"Yeah, I all I wanted to do was cry about it. But, I think I'm ready to talk about it and what happened. It might help me if I do. That is, if you promise to try and not freak out about the details."
"I can't promise you that, but I'll try."
"That's all I'm asking you to do." Cye nodded and pulled away from Mina.
"Well, lets go talk somewhere that's a little more comfortable than the bathroom, shall we?"
"Sure," Mina said as they walked out of the bathroom.
Mina turned off the light and worked her way over to the bed. Climbing in, she said, "Cye? Where are you?"
"Right next to you." Mina jumped and felt his hand rest on her shoulder.
"Don't disappear on me in the dark like that. You scared me," she said.
"Sorry," Cye apologized, "I didn't mean to scare you." Smiling, he scooted over to the middle of the bed, pulling Mina along with him. He lay down on the bed and pulled her into his arms, her back pressed up against his chest. "Do you want to talk now?" he whispered. Mina nodded.
"Yeah, I do," she said, feeling better than she had in days.
With a deep breath, Mina began to describe what had happened to her and Cye was happy that the hardest part was over and that she was finally beginning to open up. I don't know who to say this to, but, whoever up there loves me, thanks, Cye thought as Mina spoke to him. He let out a soft sigh and held Mina closer to him, letting her story fill his ears, relieved that she was going to be ok after all.
*********
Hi all. So, yeah, kind of a depressing chapter in a way, but it will all end happily. I'm going to try to update again this weekend (probably Sunday) so you aren't left with such a sad chapter right before Christmas. If you guys are really nice (and that means bucco reviews, peoples!), I might be convinced to give you a little Christmas treat – the last two chapters and the epilogue before Christmas. I don't mean to be all icky and everything and there's nothing I dislike more than people who demand reviews before they update. I just want to warn you – I'm going on vacation for a week after Christmas to a land with one pay telephone and no internet (and no, I'm not leaving the country!). So, if you all want this book finished before the end of the year, you should help motivate me! : ) Then we can skip on to book 4, which I know some of you have never read before (some people read the first three books on FateChica's website). Alright, must go, as I have my last exam at 8 am tomorrow and a 12 hour drive home to look forward to! Yippy Skippy! - note the sarcasm dripping on the floor. Happy Holidays all! ~Des
