Author's Note: Well…I know it's been a long time truly. I actually had trouble finding the written copy of Tainted Hearts. So…here I present to you, the original copy of Chapter 7 of Tainted Hearts!

Tainted Hearts

Chapter 7-Release

Treno Slums

Lei:

          We were all quite content after our midnight feeding, especially me. It was just a matter of time until Kajin recovered enough to tell on us. Lei and I knew that perfectly.

          "We should have killed her, Lei. She could have us burned."

          I shrugged.

          "Maybe so. But I doubt she will get that far," I replied.

          Wei glanced at me calmly.

          "You have something up your sleeve, don't you?"

          "Of course. I took the liberty of alerting Doctor Tot about her mental condition. There will be guards swarming her house any minute now."

Zoe:

          "Zoe, woke up."

          "Huh?"

          My eyes slowly opened to reveal a very worried Zidane.

          "Get up, get dressed. I'll get your child ready for travel. Once you get dressed, wake Kajin up."

          I sat up and stretched.

          "What's wrong?" I asked.

          "Treno guards are coming here to take Kajin away."

          I slipped out of bed and put on some pants.

          "But if she goes, she'll never be cured. The Mental Hospital would kill her," I protested.

          "Exactly. That's why we must get out of here."

          I slipped my shirt on and sighed. I couldn't believe how foolish people acted. Kajin wouldn't hurt anyone, regardless of what people thought. I walked out of my room and down the hall to Kajin's room. Kajin's door was slightly open and I could see the outline of a shadow on the side wall. I would have thought it was Kajin, but that was impossible since she was asleep in her bed.

          I entered the room, prepared to scream my head off. The shadow on the wall was caused by a girl sitting in a chair next to the window. She looked just like Kajin only there was hatred behind them. Not only that, but they were blood red. Was this…

          "Ryuujin?" I asked.

          The look-alike turned and stared at me calmly.

          "How do you know my real name?"

          "Zidane told me."

          Ryuujin got up and stretched.

          "We are in trouble, aren't we?"

          "Yeah…the Treno officials are trying to seize Kajin to go to a mental hospital."

          Ryuujin flinched.

          "Kajin does not need that."

          "I know."

          I nudged Kajin softly and opened her closet. Kajin rubbed her eyes and stared at us blankly.

          "Get dressed," Ryuujin said roughly.

          Kajin reluctantly got out of bed and walked into her closet. She fished out a one piece body suit, a traveling long cloak and a pair of boots and put them on fairly quickly.

          "Hurry up, Zoe!" came the shout from down the hall.

          "Do you have a cap or something?" I asked as she threw some stuff into a bag.

          She grabbed a skull fitting hat and tucked her hair under it carefully.

          "Ok, I'm ready," Kajin said as she slipped the bag on her back. All three of us ran into the hallway to meet with Zidane. He handed me my daughter and a small pouch.

          "Go out the back door and head for the nearest gate. Ryuujin knows the way. Garnet and I will catch up."

          I took my baby and the pouch and sighed.

          "Where's Kuja?"

          "He was sighted near Alexandria. Here's some stuff for the baby. Now go."

          He handed me yet another bag, this time it was larger. Ryuujin took it from Zidane and placed it around her shoulder. We reached the back door within a matter of seconds and opened it. Kyuuden's 'backyard' was pitch black and well out of sight of the guards.

          "Follow me," Ryuujin whispered.

          We followed her to the edge of the compound where a metal fence lay. Ryuujin took my child and motioned for me to climb over the fence. I was still kind of hurting from the birthing process, but I would be ok. I climbed up and over the fence easily and waited on the other end, low to the grass. Kajin came over next, holding my precious child in one of her arms and Ryuujin followed after. The sound of voices drew closer, prompting us to withdraw in the shadows.

          I watched Kajin with concern, noting how pale and tired she looked. Many guards passed our hiding place, intent on finding their target. Ryuujin waved her hand patiently and moved off into the darkness.

Morning

Kajin:

          The sight of the rising sun wasn't much comfort to us. We managed to make it to the gate that housed the trams. I preferred to ride by dragon, but my whistle was in Treno. Knowing Amaranthine, she was in the dragon's grove near Shimmering Island. Given my current location, my calls would never be answered. I was feeling pretty low when we arrived at the station. I felt hungry, but whenever I ate normal food, I threw up. That made Zoe and Ryuujin try to comfort me for over an hour.

          "Ok, we've got the tickets."

          I sighed and covered my head with my hand. I looked terrible now after the bout of nausea.

          "Kajin, are you ok?"

          I glanced up to see Zoe standing over me. I averted my eyes and sighed.

          "I'm still feeling sick."

          Zoe snorted and hugged her child close.

          "We shouldn't have left. It's making you sick."

          "Don't blame yourself. None of us could have predicted this. Now come on, the tram is here," Ryuujin commented.

          As I walked with the others to the tram, I couldn't help but feel watched and vulnerable. That brought up disturbing images in my mind that threatened to shatter the control over my emotions. All of a sudden, I found myself drifting to the side and falling backwards. Two strong hands caught my arms, stopping me from falling back. With one quick tug, they had me back onto the platform. Someone grabbed my head, kissing it and whispering things in my ear. I knew it was Zoe. But my eyes refused to show her.

          "We need to go back to Treno, Ryuujin. It's too dangerous for her to keep traveling."

          "We have to continue on. I'll think of something. In the meantime, let her drink this slowly."

          I was lifted up to my feet and led to some kind of compartment, the tram, I assumed, and sat down.

          "Zoe…?" I asked.

          A soft hand touched my cheek.

          "I'm here. Listen, just rest. Things will get better."

12:45 P.M.

Zoe:

          The trip to Alexandria territory was a very long, but safe one. I managed to feed my child which I named Amuro silently. We both slept peacefully, surprisingly enough, for half of the trip. Kajin was kind of restless, but she slept peacefully for the entire trip as expected. Ryuujin stayed awake, content to guard us. She believed that trouble would come soon. I couldn't be sure if she was right. All I know is that we could afford trouble with Kajin in ill health.

          It wasn't long before I discovered Kajin's tail. It was a very pale shade of red and it twitched quite erratically. She was restless. I knew that from Kuja's behavior. When the tram stopped, Ryuujin froze.

          "What's wrong?" I asked, shifting a fussy Amuro to my right arm.

          Kajin yawned sleepily and opened her eyes. Ryuujin pointed out the window at a particularly ugly set of guards.

          "Treno elite," She whispered.

          "How did they get here faster than us?" I asked.

          "My guess is airship. We've got to get Kajin away from here."

          I stole a glance at the daughter of Kirika Tribal. She was looking sickly now.

          "I'll be ok. We just need to get out of here," She whispered.

          I sighed.

          "Ideas?"

          Ryuujin hummed a little bit and smiled.

          "Kajin, your magic."

          Kajin looked up, slightly panicked.

          "I-I can cast whatever you need."

          "Fog."

          "Ok. Are we ready?"

          I had a basic idea of what fog magic was. As I basically understood magic through Kuja, I knew this was a bad idea. I got up and secured Amuro. Kajin stood up carefully, flexing her fingers.

          "Ryuujin, let's go," She said softly.

          Ryuujin nodded and slid the tram door open. Kajin flicked her hands out as small clouds of fog drifted out of her body.

          "Come on, Kajin, work harder! We don't have the time for slacking!"

          "I'm trying, ok? Don't yell at me!" Kajin snapped.

          A bolt of lightning struck the building outside, causing a huge flash of light. If I had the time to look at Kajin, I would have been shocked. However, we were too busy running down into the countryside. When we had settled down enough, I turned my attention to Kajin. She was sitting on the ground, panting hard. I knew from watching Kuja collapse after a spell that it was dangerous. But then again, I had to wonder why Ryuujin pushed her.

          "Kajin…perhaps you should rest," I suggested calmly.

          "No…I'm ok. Just a little drained."

          Ryuujin grunted and turned away.

          "Tomorrow…we'll make it to Alexandria. And I will make sure you get better."

          My promises were empty. Even someone like Kajin would know that.

          "It's not something you can cure."

          "Excuse me?"

          Kajin shook her head and lay down on her blanket.

          "Don't worry about it."

          "But I can't help that."

          "It'll make you ashamed of me. And that is something I don't want."