AN: After reading chapter fifteen on the website, I saw a few mistakes that I had thought I corrected. At the beginning of the chapter, I had written that Melinda was shot in the stomach, but later Allen says she was shot in the heart. Just in case any of you were wondering, Melinda was shot in the heart. The part of being shot in the stomach was a typo. That is the only major mistake (in my mind, at least) and the others are minimal.
Anyways, kudos to those who guess who John Doe was! I had tried very hard to conceal who John Doe, and at the same time give tiny hints on who he is. But you guys just knew anyway. Maybe next time I'll be able to conceal the killer better so no one knows who the killer is until I reveal it.
Windswept-heaven: Kiyo is Sakura's ex-boyfriend and the one who raped her. Remember? Kiyo made his very first appearance in chapter two.
Theanix: It was a woman?!? Jeez, I thought it was a man! Well, this shows you that I don't know much about Jack the Ripper if I didn't even know his-err, her gender.
Things you should know:
"Someone talking"
Someone's thoughts
~*~*~ Changing to someone else's Point of View (You will be told whose point of view). When I am changing the setting of the story and that doesn't appear, it means it is still the same point of view from the previous setting.
[Author's Notes]
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Clamp but the plot is mine and any new characters are mine
Murdering Angel
Chapter Sixteen
(Sakura's P.O.V)
It couldn't be. I couldn't believe who John Doe was. All this time, and I didn't know? But as I looked at the killer's face, I knew it was true. The murder in the eyes, the satisfaction of knowing that I was tricked into coming here and was trapped, and there was no fear on the face whatsoever. For almost eight months, John Doe was right in front of me. For almost eight months, I saw John Doe's face almost everyday. Yet, I didn't realize it. It never even clicked in my mind to suspect this person as the infamous John Doe who has killed many victims, few of which I had known. It all made sense now, how John Doe was able to get around, how John Doe was able to know exactly who I was close to and who I wasn't, and how John Doe had connections to everything. I questioned every man who I thought was John Doe.
But it never struck me to question women!
It never struck me to question Lang Amanda!
Kiyo grabbed my arms from behind and I yelled out a surprise cry as Lang pointed a gun at me.
"I should have told Kiyo to use a different weapon before he decided to shoot the girl with my gun" Lang said. "Then I wouldn't have to use this one."
"You should have killed the girl yourself instead of making me kill her" Kiyo replied.
"She couldn't" I hissed, glaring at Lang, remembering what Allen told me. "Because Lang was too chicken to."
Lang glared at me. "Shut up."
"Melinda was a little girl, and you couldn't handle it, right? Killing adults is different than killing kids, and you just couldn't bear to kill a child." Lang ignored my last statement and looked at Kiyo.
"You should have hid the gun well, and in a different place" She slightly scolded him.
"How was I supposed to know that a kid would get stuck in the same storm drain I disposed the gun in?" Kiyo replied to her earlier question.
"It's a good thing that I'm chief of police and always know all the weapons they find on streets or else I wouldn't have known that they found the gun."
"I'm still mad at the fact that you didn't let me use the little girl for my own purposes."
I tensed and took a deep breathe as anger began to swirl over me. I felt Kiyo move closer and he placed his mouth next to me ear.
"I wish I was able to fuck her the way I fucked you" he whispered.
"Bastard!" I shrieked. "You perverted son of a bitch!"
My head flew sideways, and my cheek began to sting. I knew it was stupid to yell insults at either of them because both of them were now in control. But the very thought of Kiyo touching Melinda the way he touched me made me sick in the stomach. That very comment just taught me that Kiyo was more than a rapist; he would be (if he wasn't already) a child molester.
I was breathing hard as the pain in my cheek intensified.
"Don't yell, or I'll slap you again" Lang said. "I'll enjoy slapping you again."
I smartly stayed quiet. My hair was partially covering my face, but through the strands I eyed the gun in her hand. It was then I knew where I had seen the gun I saw yesterday before. It was hers. It was Lang's own unique weapon, and I was sure of it because I remember how she would always brag about it when we first were partnered up. She would always talk about her expensive gun, and she would always talk about those initials.
"Murdering Angel" I whisper, memories that were long buried now becoming resurfaced.
"Oh, you remember!" She sounded surprised and I lifted my head so I can look at her.
"What you told me about what those initials stand for is something I won't forget, and I can't I hadn't remembered sooner. I asked you what they stood for two years ago, when I first became a PI, and you told me they stood for Murdering Angel, because that's what you considered us to be: Angels who murder in order to protect. Even back then you had a twisted mind."
She glared at me. "And you had the nerve to give me a look when I told you, and even now you insult me! You had given me one of those 'that's stupid' looks. I'm glad you'll finally be dead so I no longer have to look at the same face that gave me that type of look."
I had to stall. If I didn't, then I would be dead, and the John Doe killing spree would continue.
"It didn't make sense, Lang. Murdering means killing on purpose: it meant that it was no accident. An angel is someone who is good, pure. Murder and Angel don't mix!" Then I realized it as I look into her eyes that held no emotions. "You were already a murderer back then, weren't you?"
She smiled. "Yes, I was. It was true I killed in order to protect, but after a certain death, I realized my destiny, and knew what I was supposed to do in life. It took years, even another death, but I finally started doing what I knew was my life, especially after I began to see your true colors!"
Her eyes then became green with envy and red with anger. "A regular Teacher's Pet. After the promotion, I saw the way people went to you for advice, for help. Not one person came to me, yet I was the one who was higher than you, smarter than you, I was in the PI business mush longer than you were!" Her hand which held the gun shook while her other hand was clenched. "You were getting attention. Just like Lin."
I was taken aback at the fact that she had said her sister's name.
"Lin was just like you. Teacher's Pet. An Angel. A Princess. An attention-taker! And what was I? Amanda. That's all I was. Just Amanda. I was never called, Princess, never called Angel! That's why I added the Angel part to Murdering Angel! If no one was going to call me Angel, then I'll call myself an Angel! Damn it, it wasn't fair how I was neglected! When I got an A, Mother and Step-dad said good job. When Lin got an A, they had a celebration! When I finally got a job and found myself as a successful PI, I was proud! People actually came to me; it was my turn to shine! Then you appeared." Tears were falling from her eyes, and she didn't bother to wipe them away. "After getting rid of one Kinomoto, another one came along."
The bottom of my stomach dropped.
"No" I whispered, and I heard Kiyo chuckle.
Lang smiled. It was a cold smile. "Yes." She glanced behind me, at Kiyo. "Kiyo, here, wasn't the brains behind the operation of killing your father. I was. I knew about Kiyo's little participation with the drug-dealers, and when I confronted him about it, he told me that the business would soon be torn down because Fujitaka was so close to catching the drug-dealers, which would soon lead to Kiyo's downfall. I knew that Kiyo was my ticket to the top. Fujitaka was the best PI, and I was second in line. I've been number two all my life and I wanted to be number one. I told Kiyo what to do, told him where to go. Mission accomplished, Fujitaka was dead, and I was number one. Then you came. Three years later, you came into the same building I was, and suddenly, I was taken from number one, straight down to number two again. And by the daughter of my rival, nonetheless!"
I bowed my head. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. My Father was her first victim, John Doe's very first taste at blood! I knew that his death was what was giving her the idea that killing people was her destiny. She got rid of her competition by killing him. And then I was her next rival. But why not kill me? Why let me live?
Kita . . .
My head shot up. "You killed Kita!" I blurted out.
She looked shocked, before smiling that chilly smile. "Yes, I did."
"Not intentionally" I said slowly.
"No, not intentionally. I had gotten into your house, having all plans to kill you. But I hadn't found you, but your maid! I don't want to admit it, but I had panicked. I feared she would expose me, and I would lose everything. I strangled her, drove her into the woods, and buried her. I dared not risked killing you again. I couldn't risk it. Two people involved with the Kinomoto's were dead. That was coincidence. But three? No. No one would consider it a coincidence. People would start looking for clues. Soon, I would be exposed. I had to leave my career. Once I saw that there was an opening with the police, I applied."
"Were you in on her killing spree for the past eight months, Kiyo?" I hissed as I glance behind me.
"Not in the beginning. I was still in jail for the first two months when she started killing. She found me, though, and put me on stand by just in case she needed my help. Don't you know it that a couple of weeks later, I became her driver for a getaway when she told me she planned to crash Mihara's and Takashi's engagement party. The only killing I did, besides little Melinda, was Matsumono Ken."
"You wanted to trick us, to lead us away from the slightest idea that John Doe was female" I say.
"I noticed the way you mistrusted men, and I saw the way you were confident that I was a man. Your mistrust in men because of what Kiyo did affected your way of thinking in this case. That was my advantage."
Syaoran had been right. My past was affecting my career; my mistrust clouded my judgment and convinced me that John Doe was male. Damn, all those lives that could have been saved were now lost because I allowed my emotions take control over my head. I wasn't a good PI, then. Good PI's don't let their personal feelings get in the way of their cases. With me, my personal feelings controlled the case.
"The fingerprints" I say shakily. "Kiyo planted then there in order to further mislead us."
Lang shrugged. "Me and Bennett had lunch a week before I sent Kiyo to kill Matsumono. Bennett was drinking from the soda can, and I knew that his prints on that soda would be of great value to me."
"And it was, wasn't it?"
"It helped a great deal, Kinomoto."
I was running out of time. I knew it. I wished that I hadn't come here alone.
"What about the picture frames?" I blurted. "For victim 11 and 12, you had placed picture frames of them all over the house."
"Oh, right. Well, just in case you figured out my motive, I decided to put pictures of the victim's on the wall in hopes that you would think they were vain. I stopped doing that when you almost fooled me, but thanks to Numi, I was protected." She shrugged. "When Kiyo introduced me to that woman, I didn't like her, so I killed her and added her to the growing list of victims I was creating."
I slightly winced as Kiyo tightened his hold on me. "What was your motive for killing those people?"
She blinked. "People like you and Lin deserve to be punished and the worst punishment of all is losing someone who you never deserved to have in the first place."
That made no sense to me, but I knew that was all she was going to tell me. There was only one more question to ask.
"Why didn't you kill me after you found out what Syaoran and I had done?"
"Because that wouldn't have been fun, Kinomoto. I wanted you to suffer. I wanted you to suffer long and hard before I decided to kill you. I no longer worried about people getting suspicious over your death. And I wanted you to suffer one more time before making my kill."
"Melinda" I say softly.
She nodded. "As I said, Kiyo was the one who killed her. He decided to shoot her and after she was dead, I carved in the letters JD just to let you know who was responsible."
I ran out of questions to ask so I began to struggle a bit. "Don't try to escape, Sakura" Kiyo spoke softly.
"He's right" Lang said. "You came here alone, and the first rule of being a PI is that you must never go to someplace dangerous without backup. Oh well; I guess you must be punished." She pointed the gun at me. "Good-bye, Kinomoto Sakura."
~*~*~ (Third Person P.O.V: Syaoran)
Syaoran tapped his pencil over his notepad. He was getting frustrated. Bennett was being framed, and he was sitting on his chair trying to figure out who wanted to frame him and who had access to getting his prints. That wasn't much to go on, considering that dozens of people could have gotten his prints one way or another. He glanced at the wall that separated his office from Sakura's office. He was tempted to get up and ask her if she remembered who the gun belonged to, but didn't dare get off his seat. He knew if she remembered she would come to him. She knew that it wouldn't be smart for her to go off on her own to confront John Doe on her own.
That's what she did!
He cried out as the scream tore through his head. He placed his hands on either side of his head.
She's alone! She's in danger! Help her! She'll die! Help her! She'll die! Help her!
Syaoran fell of his chair, the screams making his head throb, pain being ricocheted through his head, the echoes being so loud he couldn't here his cries of pain.
"What's . . . going on?" He managed to say, his voice being filled with pain.
The screams then stopped. He nearly collapsed as the pain suddenly vanished. Before he can even analyze what just happened, a childish voice began to sing.
Who here knows the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man. Who here knows the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man. Who here knows the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man.
He stood up. He knew that voice. He wasn't able to recognize the voice because the screams were so loud and so painful, but now he could recognize it.
"Melinda?" He questioned as he looked around his office. The voice stopped. "Melinda, is that you?"
The muffin man, Syaoran. He didn't make the muffins, he went to a factory.
"Melinda-"
See you later. Remember the muffin man!
He was confused, more confused then ever. The muffin man? What does that have to do with anything?
He looked at the door when Tomoyo entered, her face pale. "I don't know where she went, Li! I had been sitting there for half an hour when I knew I couldn't sit there any longer. Sakura ran out!"
He didn't need any time to figure out why she ran out, since Melinda apparently just told him about it. She's going to confront John Doe. How she knew where to find him was beyond him, but he didn't care at that moment.
"Did she say anything?" He asked urgently.
"The only thing she said was that she was going back. Having some time to think about it, and seeing how I know Sakura so well, I know she went to either where Kita was buried, or to where Fujitaka was killed. The thing is, is that Kita was found on the east side of Tomoeda while Fujitaka was killed on the west side!"
"I don't have time to check both" He hissed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Kita was buried in the woods, right?"
Tomoyo nodded.
"Where was Fujitaka killed?"
"Near the beach in a warehouse. The warehouse is gone now, and a factory is now built there."
"Damn it, that doesn't help-" He paused as he remembered what Melinda said. "Is the factory related to muffins?"
Tomoyo nodded, a little confused at why he was asking such a question. "The factory makes muffins. It's called Little Muffin's Factory."
He knew right then that Melinda was warning him, giving him a little push to where Sakura was.
And he if didn't help her, she would die,
"She's there" he said as he grabbed his car keys and gun. "Tell Bennett to send backup there."
Tomoyo nodded as he ran out the door. He couldn't believe Sakura went off to face him on her own! He can't lose her. Not now, not ever!
(Sakura)
Sakura had somehow been able to elbow Kiyo in the stomach just as Amanda pulled the trigger. Sakura ducked and looked at her side as she heard a 'thump'. Her mouth went dry as Kiyo's glazed eyes glared at her. She looked at the hole on his shirt that was now soaked in blood. He was dead. No question about it. A shiver ran through her spine knowing that it could have been her if she had ducked a second later, that she would have been the one shot.
She stood up shakily and faced Amanda. Amanda's face hadn't flickered, giving no hint of regret or sympathy for accidentally shooting Kiyo.
"He should have held you tighter" was all she said. "Oh well." Amanda never really cared for Kiyo. She didn't even have faith in Kiyo, but she needed him to trap Sakura. But Amanda knew that Kiyo would hesitate if she told him to take her here. A killer's first lesson: never return to the scene of the crime. It was just too risky. But this was the perfect place because she knew Sakura would come when finding out where Kiyo was being held "hostage". So that's why she pointed a gun at him and demanded that he drive her to where he old rival was blown to pieces. Of course, he had calmed down when she told him her little plan. He was very eager to help in killing Sakura.
"Are you a coward, Lang?" Sakura asked suddenly.
Amanda's hand clenched on the handle of the gun she held. "You know I'm not a coward" she whispered dangerously.
"Then why are you hiding behind that gun?"
Amanda's face twisted with anger. "I'm not hiding" she spat.
"Then get rid of it and fight me by hand." Sakura knew this wasn't the best thing to do, to convince her to fight against her. But to Sakura it was either kick her ass, or get shot. She believed she would have a much better chance fighting her than she would with a bullet.
Amanda, never one to even allow someone to think of her as a coward, tossed her gun. "Fine, Kinomoto. You asked for it. Now I'll teach you that I'm no-"
She was too late to see the attack. With a shriek of outrage, she fell on to the floor with Sakura on top of her. Outraged, she took a swing at Sakura face with her hand.
Sakura let out a startled cry as Amanda's nails scratched her skin on her face. Eyes blazing, she slapped her across the face. Amanda let out her own cry before clenching her hand into a fist and punching Sakura. The force was strong enough to push her off, and Amanda stood up in time to see Sakura hit a piece of machinery. Amanda gave a battle cry as she ran forward and swung out her leg.
Sakura moved to the side and Amanda's foot hit the machine. Sakura swung her arm out and hit her face with the back of her hand. Amanda fell on a table and it broke from under her. She rolled on her back and pushed herself up. Sakura started running through the machines that were lined up to make aisles. Amanda went after her and released a cry of surprise when Sakura threw a box at her, striking the chest. Amanda stumbled back and Sakura took it as her chance to kick her in her stomach.
Amanda saw the foot and she grabbed it and quickly bent her left knee as she used her right foot to knock Sakura off balance. Sakura fell backwards and painfully landed on her back. A nanosecond later, she pushed herself up and, in a crouch, struck out her left leg just as Amanda was moving towards a box that she was going to use to hit Sakura with. Amanda tripped over the extended leg and fell to the ground. Sakura hopped on top of a machine as Amanda stood up.
Amanda saw the controls of the machine and pressed the 'on' button. The machine immediately roared with life and she watched as Sakura tried to keep her balance as the rubber she was standing on began moving. She jumped on the machine herself and lunged at her.
Sakura glanced back and saw that the strip of rubber she was standing on was heading straight towards another machine, which she knew was used to cut the dough into pieces. If she didn't get off, then she would be cut into pieces herself. Sakura looked forward and was barely able to duck and avoid the punch that was aimed for her. She did an uppercut, making Amanda stumble back a couple of steps. Sakura spun around and used her right leg to kick her in the stomach. Taking a couple of steps forward, she spun around again, bending down in the process, and tried to trip Amanda again using her outstretched leg. Seeing the move, Amanda jumped up and avoided it and when Sakura stood up, she blocked the punch that was aimed at her stomach.
"You're good" Amanda growled as she stepped back.
"No, not good. Better."
Still aware that they were moving towards the machine that would surely kill them, Sakura got into a stance. Sakura waited for Amanda to strike first. That was one flaw that Amanda had- her impatience to start a fight.
"I'll kill you" Amanda hissed as she began to throw punches. Sakura blocked every single one with her arms, and when Amanda tried to kick her, she blocked it with her own leg. Amanda, with her hand open, struck Sakura in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of her as she fell on her back. Quickly getting her breathe back, she rolled off the machine and landed on the hard ground with a thud. She glanced back when she heard her opponent land behind her feet. Sakura used that to her advantage: She closed her feet around Amanda's ankles and turned around so she was facing up right.
Amanda tried to pry her feet from Sakura's grip but wasn't able to in time before Sakura sent her to the ground again. Amanda was getting frustrated, and she was unhappy of the sore places on her body, knowing those sore places were signs of bruises that were bound to appear. Anger that her beautiful body would have ugly bruises she picked herself up at the same time Sakura did and without thinking grabbed her shoulders and did a head-butt.
Sakura's head flew back at the blow, and the pain was so strong that she covered her forehead with a whimper. She never did a head-butt and had never had someone do it on her before because she knew it would hurt, and she was right! If the pain wasn't so strong, she wouldn't have let her guard down. She felt two hands close around her throat and a gurgle sound escaped her.
Instinctively, Sakura put her hands around her throat, covering Amanda's, and began trying to pry the fingers off her throat. She opened her eyes and stared at Amanda's face, filled with rage. She was a murderer, and she was determined, and she was going to kill her rival no matter what. Sakura opened her mouth in a silent scream as her attempts of releasing the hands around her neck became futile. Realizing this wasn't working, Sakura grabbed a loose curl of Amanda's hair and yanked hard. Shrieking, Amanda released her, her nails scratching her skin, leaving four streaks of blood on Sakura's throat. Sakura began to gasp as she tried to breath. She almost died! She had felt herself slowing down, her chest burning from the lack of air. She knew that if Amanda hadn't released her when she did, she would be dead.
Sakura looked up at Amanda and without thinking, tried to aim a punch. A little too late she realized that the pain from her head and the pain in her throat, literally made her attack slow, and Amanda was able to catch her wrist. Amanda, holding Sakura's wrist, put her other hand on Sakura's shoulder.
Sakura cried out as Amanda's knee made contact with her elbow, and she heard the sickening crack as her arm began to surge with pain. She was thrown back when Amanda kicked her in the stomach again, and she landed on the ground. With a groan, Sakura rolled onto her side and grabbed her arm. Never had she felt such tremendous pain; her head was throbbing, her throat was in pain, and now her arm was most likely broken. She looked at Amanda as she walked across the floor and grabbed the gun. With a smirk, Amanda approached her.
"Well, well, well, Kinomoto is down. I would call for assistance, but I can't risk you living and telling everybody who I am." Sakura wanted to close her eyes; her lids felt like hundreds of pounds of lead, and it was taking an effort to keep her eyes open.
I can't lose, Sakura thought and slowly picked her self up. She swayed on her feet, and looked at Amanda with fury.
Amanda shook her head and slapped her across the face. "You can't win." Sakura stumbled back as she punched her. "You'll never win." A round house kick to the stomach made Sakura stumble back more. "You'll always lose." Amanda did a high jump kick that made Sakura spin around in the air before landing on the ground.
Sakura's heart almost stopped, and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Something was in her. Hunching her back, she looked down at herself and saw a stick of wood sticking out from her body. She couldn't tell where it entered her, but she knew it was above the stomach because above her stomach is where she felt the most pain. She saw the blood pouring out of her, warm and hot, and collapsed on the floor again. She gave up. It was hard for her to think that, but she had no choice. She was defeated, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She felt Amanda use her foot to roll her over on her back. Sakura felt weak and exhausted, and even though it was a battle to keep her eyes open before, it was now a losing war.
"I told you" Amanda whispered as she pointed the gun at her. "John Doe takes her sixteenth victim, and the Murdering Angel within her is cheering her on."
"You're crazy" Sakura said, and she coughed out blood. "You're unstable."
Amanda smirked. "And you're dead."
The sound of the gun being fired was loud in Sakura's ear, and she mentally winced. It never sounded so loud, but at the same time it sounded oddly distant. Almost as if the sound was further away from where Amanda was standing.
"Oh God, no. Please no."
Sakura felt an arm go under her back and then she felt herself being hugged. Her face was buried in fabric and with almost no strength she looked up.
"Syaoran" she whispered tiredly.
"Yeah, sweetie. It's me" he whispered back.
"Lang-"
"Don't worry about her" he said as he glanced at Amanda's limp body that was on the ground, blood oozing out of the bullet hole in the back of her head. "She's dead. I shot her." He looked back at Sakura whose eyes were starting to close. "No, Sakura, baby, keep your eyes open."
Her lids lifted. "I'm so tired."
"I know, but keep your eyes open." He held her in his arms as he sat on the floor, not believing what was happening. "Please Sakura, I don't want to lose you, please."
Sakura looked up into his Amber eyes which were now moist. She then realized that it wasn't Melinda she was holding in her dream. She wasn't holding anybody.
It was her who was the one being held.
The sounds of two shots in the dream made sense now; the first one was when Amanda shot Kiyo, and the second one was when Syaoran shot Amanda. The reason why the setting in her dream was the house they were living in was because since she was sleeping in that house, her mind conjured that setting. She had never been in this factory, so her mind couldn't use something she never saw as the setting. And the blood covering the walls showed just how much blood would be spilled today, in this very factory.
She had seen herself holding someone and crying that she lost that person. She realized that she was losing someone, but not because that person was dead. She was losing Syaoran because she, herself, was about to die. When she saw herself holding that figure, it was sign telling her she was involved with the death; and when she had closed her eyes and opened them only to see that she was now holding that person, she was looking at it through someone else's eyes.
Through Syaoran's eyes.
She began to cry.
"I don't want to die" she cried.
"Then don't, please."
"I don't have a choice. It hurts!"
"Back-up is coming; just hold on and we'll take you to the hospital. Then it won't hurt as bad." Syaoran held her tighter, his expression twisted with anguish. "You can't die Sakura. You can't. You know why?" He caressed her cheek with one hand. "Because I love you" he whispered as he lowered his head and pressed his forehead against hers. Her eyes had widened slightly. "I don't know when I started loving you, but bottom line is I do. When I slept with you, I poured my love into it. When I asked you out, it was because I loved you. When I planned to surprise you with Melinda, it was because I loved you. Everything I did for you was because I loved you." He grabbed one of her hands. "So you see, you can't die on me. I'll never meet anyone like you." He lowered her back on the ground and lay down next to her, his head resting on her belly. He didn't really care that her blood was there. All he cared about was Sakura. He closed his eyes. "If you die, I'll follow you."
Sakura began to cry harder. "No, Syaoran. No." She raised her hand and ran her fingers through his hair. The pain was now taking over her body, and it was taking a lot of effort to speak. "Don't die . . . because of me. I wouldn't . . . be able to bear . . . the guilt." She coughed. "I wouldn't . . . be able to . . . handle making the . . . man I love . . . kill himself."
Her confession went through him a bolt of lightening. "You love me?" He questioned quietly.
"Y-Yes. I . . . love you. I love . . . you so much . . . that I would . . . protect you with . . . my life. I'll die . . . for you. I'll do anything . . . for you because . . . because . . ." She began coughing again, more blood being coughed out.
"Because you love me" he said. "Because you love me" he repeated again, and tears began to fall from his eyes. Her saying she loved him were the exact words he wanted to hear, the exact words he had wished to leave her lips since the day he realized he loved her.
And now he was going to lose her.
"Please don't leave me" he begged, his tears hitting the skin on her belly. He heard the wails of sirens, but ignored it as he heard and felt her breathing slow down.
"I love you" he heard her whisper.
Her breathing stopped, and his heart shattered. "No" he cried as he buried his face into her belly. Not again. He couldn't lose her, too. "Please, no!" His shoulders shook and he pleaded for her to come back, to talk, to move, to do something that showed him that she was still with him.
"Late at night when all the world is sleeping" He began singing a few minutes later.
"I stay up and think of you
And I still can't believe
That you came up to me and said "I love you"
I love you too!
Now I'm dreaming with you tonight
Till tomorrow and for all of my life
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
Than here in my room dreaming of you endlessly . . ."
AN: Just one more chapter. Do not kill me just yet, or you won't read the final chapter. And I apologize for that poorly written fighting scene. I'm not much experienced in writing fighting scenes. Review, please!