Chapter two: Colder World Without You
Disclaimers: I still own Raven, Ki, Umi, and the (lack of a?) plot.
Summary: For Spike, this battle could mean the death of him… Nope, no real slash yet.
An unspeakable course of pain shot through Spike's body as he hit the stadium floor headfirst with a sickening crack. Ki loomed over the redhead's fallen form with an expressionless stare. Spike struggled to get to his feet again, hearing the distant screams of protest from his teammates. The shouting seemed to help as he rose to his feet with a contorted look of pain, coughing and sputtering the whole time. His head was ringing, his vision blurry, and an agonizing pain tore at his side; but he resumed his stance much to the amusement of Ki.
Spike's face was a bloody mess. His plasma sword was lying several feet away from him, and Ki was directly blocking the red-head from his weapon. Spike yelled in frustration, the sorry jackass was in the way, and the red-head was no longer in the mood to play around. He was tired, angry, and not to mention in terrible pain.
"Move, damn you!" he yelled as he shoved Ki out of the way and dove for his weapon. The moment his hand gripped the powered-down hilt, Spike sprung up much to his body's protest. He flinched in pain as he activated the blade of his plasma sword.
Spike took a deep breath before charging toward the indifferent fighter before him, and swung the glowing blade with all his might. Ki was an experienced fighter, though, and such a stunt would not hinder him as he sidestepped Spike's enraged blow. The blue-eyed boy stumbled, and that moment of ill-grace was enough of an opportunity for Ki. The grey-eyed fighter moved too quickly for Spike to react, and he received several blows to the gut with the force a freight train.
The red-head doubled over in pain, he was finding breathing to be an impossible task at the moment; and the world spun dangerously fast around him. Ki wasn't content with simply knocking out Spike's breath, he stepped forward and grabbed the injured boy around the neck. In his eyes an emotion was betrayed, a manic glint came from the grey depths. The Shushuku captain tightened his grip around Spike's neck as he lifted the boy from the ground and left his feet dangling in the air. Spike's eyes widened as Ki's grip tightened still, and the grey-eyed boy's inhuman strength gave the red-head something even greater to panic about.
Spike struggled in vain to break Ki's hold, but it seemed nothing could pry loose his grasp. He was choking for air now, his head felt light and dizzy but at the same time ready to explode from the pressure. He kicked Ki in the chest. The blow didn't faze the warrior at all, but still Spike struggled in vain.
~*~*~*~*~
Hiroki watched with growing anxiety as Spike's situation progressed from bad to hopeless. Next to him, Umi bit her thumbnail nervously as she watched her teammate struggle. Hikaru looked like he was nearly in tears as he kept screaming for Spike to kick harder, but his cries fell upon deaf ears- Spike was too busy struggling for his life to listen to one scream out of many. Spike was thrown to the ground suddenly with a thud, landing in a limp heap. Hiroki looked away, trying to fight back the stinging in his eyes.
He never stopped to think about Spike's safety. He never considered that Spike could be killed. Hiroki must have thought his friend was indestructible to have never considered the worst of scenarios. But what would life be like without Spike?
Empty. Life would be empty. Hiroki didn't have much to live for as it was. He and Spike were always best friends, Hiroki honestly couldn't recall what life was like before he and Spike knew each other. It was that long ago that they met. Spike was always there, just a part of Hiroki's life that fit perfectly and seemed absurd to even question why he was there. He just was, that was all Hiroki needed, to just know he was there. The world would be a much colder place without the blue eyes he was so used to, he'd be lost…
He would be lost.
~*~*~*~*~
Oxygen flooded back into Spike's lungs, he gasped; trying to take it in. He felt broken, weak. Spike was stubborn though, and even thought every breath felt like being stabbed in the chest he tried to pick himself up again. This time, however, it wasn't meant to be; and the boy collapsed as his eyes saw no more.
~*~*~*~*~
"SPIKE!!!!" Hiroki yelled in rage after his friend didn't rise nor move. Without wasting a second he sprang from the pit and raced to the side of his fallen teammate.
"Get up damn it!, Don't do this!" he screamed desperately. Finally, seeing that he would receive no response; Hiroki lightly slapped Spike's hand- following tournament rules- officially exchanging places.
An emotion Hiroki never felt before began to possess him; it felt somewhat like anger, but drastically contorted with rage and hate. He stood up with a placid expression, his yellow eyes revealing his true mentality. Something about the glint of pure malice in Hiroki's eyes make Ki back slightly away. At that moment, immense black wings tore from Hiroki's back, and a black aura-like energy emanated around his tense form. Ki attempted to move in; a charged shot through his body, though, and he found himself immobile. Hiroki's hair bled to an ebony colour, every feeling of hate for Ki was weaving its way through the no black-haired boy. Static crackled in the air around him. The only thoughts existing in Hiroki's mind were thoughts saying to kill Ki, saying he killed Spike or Spike could die because of him. Either way, nothing would sway the enraged Hiroki from killing the young man before him.
In a burst of black energy, Hiroki released a shadowed figure resembling him at Ki. The shadow soared towards the stationary Shushuku warrior and hit him dead center on the chest. Still wearing a mask of indifference, Ki slumped to the ground.
Hiroki's wings vanished, and the darkness that had spread over the arena now lifted as the Shinotaro fighter ran over to his fallen teammate. Umi called for a time-out and Charu agreed, it was only a ten minute intermission, though. The rest of the Shinotaro Team ran to the center of the ring, both with expression of great worry etched upon their faces.
Hiroki pressed his fingers to Spike's wrist, searching desperately for any sign of a pulse. To his, and the other two's, relief there was a flutter of life working in Spike's veins.
"We forfeit the match Charu," Hiroki told the green-haired young woman when she came over their way. She merely nodded and relayed the news to the rest of the stadium and announced that the Shushuku team won their fifth consecutive tournament. Had the situation been different, such a preposterous idea would never have crossed Hiroki's mind. His mind was focused elsewhere, however, as he looked at Spike's pained expression. Hiroki wondered if he could face reality with the prospect of losing the one person that meant the most to him.
~*~*~*~*~
A week had gone by, Spike remained the same, never improving, but never getting worse. As the had progressed, Hiroki had slipped further, and further into a depression; effectively bringing down the moods of everyone around him. Natsumi and the professor kept Spike at the Shinotaro Lab to try and stabilize his condition at first, and now they worked day and night trying to will him back to health. The red-head didn't respond to anything anyone said or did, aside from the steady pulse and other activity on the monitor; Spike was dead to the world.
To be continued in chapter 3…
A/N: Bwaha! I's evil. I suck at writing fighting sequences. For the heck of it, Spike, Hiroki, and Umi all live at the lab also. Hikaru is just staying there temporarily. Review please!!!!!!!!!!! I will be very very happy!
