DarkEcoOttsel: WHYYYY...?! (sobs) I can't believe I'm writing this. I've punished myself for this. You have the right to flame me for this chapter.
Untainted Souls 2: Confessions with A Bloody Paw
By: DarkEcoOttsel
Chapter Nine
"Banzai!" Shenzi screamed in a shrill voice she never heard herself use before. Everyone stopped fighting to see what would happen next.
Zira laughed as she ripped her bloody paw from Banzai's chest, blood pouring from the fist sized wound.
"Banzai...!" Shenzi screamed again, partially in shock.
Banzai slowly turned to face her, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open.
"Shenzi..." he whispered as his legs buckled and he fell forward, Shenzi just managing to catch him.
"Banzai, hang on!" Shenzi cried frantically, laying Banzai down in front of her, his head in her paws. Ed began yelping frantically, as if he was trying to keep Banzai awake.
"S-Shenzi..." Banzai began to choke out. "I'm sorry...I can't keep my promise to you. I made this huge promise and told myself that I would never break it...and now look." Banzai glanced at Ed weakly and smirked. "Hey, Ed. I'm sorry I kept beating you up all the time, okay?"
Ed whined, as if to say that he doesn't mind.
"Banzai, don't give up!" Shenzi shouted, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"Shenzi," Banzai said faintly, his eyes closing. "I don't have much time left, but let me be cool, at least for my last moments. You know, if I had been anywhere else right now, I wouldn't have wanted to die. But I'm okay with it...since you're here."
"Banzai..." Shenzi whispered, her eyes blurring with tears.
"I love you, Shenzi," Banzai murmured. "I love you with all my heart."
Shenzi's eyes widened as tears flowed down her face.
"I...love..." Banzai trailed off as his eyes shut and his head fell to the side. With a final sigh, Banzai left the living world.
"Banzai? Banzai?!" Shenzi cried. "Don't leave me! Not yet!" she began sobbing as she hugged his lifeless body to hers. Her voice became quieter. "Please come back, Banzai. Please...."
Ed swallowed hard as tears pooled in his eyes. He tilted his head back and let out a ghostly howl—a howl that was only used in the death of a leader.
The rest of the hyenas, who all looked very saddened, joined in the howl. Their howls echoed throughout the caves and Pride Lands. Everyone would know of the death before sunrise.
Finally, Shenzi stopped crying as she set Banzai's body down. She suddenly spun around to face Zira, fury and hate quite visible in her eyes. She let out a low, threatening growl.
Simba shuddered. He hadn't heard her growl like that since he slashed her face back in the elephant graveyard.
"I can sense the fear in you, Zira," Shenzi said in an evil tone. Her eyes seemed to turn red as they narrowed. "This is it. You have killed the one most precious to me...and I will make you pay. This'll be the fight to the death and let me tell you I don't intend to lose!"
Zira was caught off guard as Shenzi leapt at her and began fighting viciously. The two enemies continued fighting, Shenzi for the most part was winning.
Suddenly, Ed began to whine and grunt, causing Shenzi to stop in mid strike.
"He's...what?!" she gasped and her eyes grew large. She yelped as Zira sunk her claws into her back, tearing a chunk of skin off. The hyena had no choice but to fight. If she didn't, Zira would kill her. And she didn't want to die. Not after what Ed had said.
Shenzi felt anger inside her. Anger, hate, fury, sadness, but most of all...she felt like part of her was missing. The good side—the side that she had fought viciously to keep—was gone. When Banzai died, that part of her died as well. The only side left was her darker, more hateful side.
Tears of anger formed in her eyes. She slashed Zira across the face and ran towards Banzai's body.
"Are you sure?" Shenzi looked at Ed, who nodded rapidly.
"What is it?" one hyena asked.
"He's still breathing."
There were a lot of gasps of surprise but no one was as surprised as Shenzi. She stared at Banzai and found that his chest was moving ever so slightly.
She shook him and called his name, but there was no response. She began to lose hope when Simba was suddenly beside her, staring down at her. She swallowed hard, trying to hold back tears.
"He's in a state of suspended animation," Simba said quietly. "You have to do something to wake him up or he will die."
Shenzi looked back at Banzai, tears threatening to fall. Suddenly she remembered what her father told her.
"Do not lose faith when things seem the absolute worst."
Shenzi thought furiously. What could she do to wake him up?
Do not lose faith...
Shenzi closed her eyes, tears seeping through her closed eyelids.
When things seem...
Opening her eyes, the salty tears sliding down her fuzzy cheeks. She pulled Banzai's lifeless body to hers and held him in a hug.
The absolute worst!