To Break the Chain

Chapter 8

Kohari: I'm sorry those of you who read the crappy version of chapter 7. No paragraphs? I was PO'd when I found out something had screwed up. I typed it in paragraphs. What went wrong? Who cares. Hopefully it's fixed now. I'm sorry for the confusion. Here's chapter 8.

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Chapter 8

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Her feet pounded rapidly against the pavement as she rushed to the pavillion. How could she have doubted Todd? He was strong. And he had a promise to keep. Dmitri was no longer around to protect her, and now that Todd was the last close friend she had from the village, he'd never let her down.

Kohari shifted the pack that was slung across her shoulders. In it were various potions, herbs, and medical supplies. Yes, there were even some poisons and venom samples. But she never used them. Good thing she had thought to bring along some of the stock from what had once been the village's hospital. There were a few various plants that only grew in that region. Very useful plants.

As she ran, she inspected the confines of her backpack to check and make sure everything was still there that she'd need. Todd would need serious medical attention if he had survived a confrontation with Hiei.

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Todd stumbled into the pavillion, grasping the pillars for additional support. It took everything he had to stand, so walking wasn't exactly an easy feat.

He plopped down on the bench of one of the picnic tables. The clock mounted between the restroom doorframes and above the water fountain claimed it wsa only two o'clock in the afternoon, but who could tell anymore?

The leader of the Blitz sighed. He hurt all over and he was so tired, so worn out. What he would give to sleep for one week. But he had things he needed to do. He let his head fall sleepily onto the hard, ages wood of the picnic table. Just five minutes' rest. Then he'd be ready for battle, should it come. He felt himself gradually slipping away from consciousness. But someone didn't want that.

He awoke from his trance as he heard boots step onto the concrete floor of the pavillion behind him. He jerked his head up, not wanting to see who was behind him. He tensed up, ready to defend himself. Slowly, he turned around.

Boom! Someone stuck him and he landed on the floor, wiping blood from his busted lip. "Hiei," he whispered with hatred, bloodlust dripping from the name he had pronounced. He would pay for what he had done to Kohari. To the one Dmitri, his best friend had loved, as well as himself. There was no excuse for murdering a young woman. This man/boy had no morals. The apparition sneered at him.

Todd got to his feet. "I'll kill you," he vowed, his voice low, but dangerous. "You'll pay for killing Kohari."

"She's not dead, you insolent bastard," came the reply. There was no longer any expression on the face of Todd's opponent. It was impossible now to tell if he was lying. "She's alive. And headed this way, I believe."

"I heard you destroy her. I refuse to believe you!" Todd declared. Hiei shrugged and tossed him a dagger.

"It is unsporting to attack an unarmed opponent. Though, I don't think that'll help much," Hiei taunted. Todd glared at him. He had sworn revenge. First, this flames-master had assassinated someone very close to him. And now, he was lying about it. Morals? As he had thought before, this new "ruler" had none.

"Since when do you care about etiquette and courtesy in the face of battle?" Todd spat at the koorime (hope I got that term right). "You have no honor, only pride! You have no pity, only boredom! What do you know about sport?"

Hiei ignored this. He readied his signature sword. "Attack me if you wish."

"Oh, I wish," affirmed Todd, and he charged.

While this clash took place, Kohari raced toward the pavillion. The park was pretty big for the city. By the time she had reached the pavillion, the fray had already begun. She hid behind one of the pillars, watching with horror, not daring to step in as the final move was made. The blade belonging to the forbidden child had made contact with the body of her leader, never to breathe again. She clung to the support in shock, moving as Hiei walked past. Somehow, she was aware that he knew she was there.

As soon as he was gone, she ran to her friend, positioning him the same way she had Dmitri in his dying moments. But this time, the unfortunate had enough life in him to speak a few last words.

"I'm...sorry..." Todd breathed, with visible difficulty.

"Don't be. It's okay. I'll...Maybe I can help on, don't die on me...you can't leave me!" she pleaded.

"No...it's too late...but...I'm really...sorry..."

"Don't speak or it will be too late...you'll be fine. Please! There's nothing to be sorry for."

"No...there is. I...was jealous..." his words were getting harder and harder to hear. He was fading. Fast.

"Of who?" Her curiosity was aroused. There was something he really wanted to tell her. Something important in his eyes. Something he was going to tell her even if the effort killed him.

"Dmitri..."

"Why?"

"I...you loved...him...and..."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I never told you...but...I..."

"What?"

"I love you." His final words. His body grew limp as he passed from this world. She wished so badly she could cry now. But her eyes remained dry. She wanted so badly to release the poison of sorrow from her body with those salty drops of water we call tears. But she couldn't. She rose.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and she fled. She couldn't bear to be around his body anymore. It was no longer Todd. It was just an empty shell, and she couldn't stand being in its presence any longer.

When she had run as far as she could go, without looking back, she flung herself on the ground, head in her hands. No tears came, no matter how hard she willed them to. An hour passed of just sitting there, wrapped in self-pity, trapped within the barriers of her mind, on the borderline of consciousness and unconsciousness. Then, it finally dawned on her what Todd had said. He had been jealous of Dmitri. He loved her. Only one person had ever said those three words to her. Dmitri. Now, both of them had been taken from her. Hiei had deprived her of her happiness. And he would regret this. She was not going to let him get away with this.

Her eyes locked on the towering mansion in the distance. She rose, vengeance reflecting in the sky-blue orbs, not taking her eyes off the evil apparition's stronghold. She had all the weapons she needed. It was time she took on the mastermind behind the world's misery.

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Hiei was sprawled out on a couch in one of the many lounges in his castle, cleansing his favorite sword of potential bloodstains. He smirked. So the little wench behind the Blitz thought she could take him on. This should be amusing. He was wondering how many people he'd have to kill before she'd finally rise up to his challenge.

The bitch appeared as silent as a shadow in the doorway, eyes practically glowing with fury. If you could see her, you'd swear even her eyes were a wine-red color. Blood-red.

"You finally decide you're ready to fight me?" The creator of her pain didn't look at her, proof he disrespected her. He smiled as he did so, knowing this was annoying her. He wanted to get her as angry as possible. It would make the brawl more exciting.

"Excuse me?" Confusion mixed with her hatred. "You're the one refusing to fight me!"

"One would think you'd figure out that you were too weak to even think of challenging me. You'd have to have a bloodlust to stand even a sliver of a chance of surviving an encounter with me."

"So you killed them...just so you could piss me off?" His only response was a defiant sneer. "Bastard..."

Before she knew it, the apparition was in front of her. His speed was...indescribable. She gasped in surprise, involuntarily taking a step back. He held out two swords to her. His...and another one. "Take your pick."

"Either one?" she made sure. He nodded. After a moment of thought, she reluctantly clasped her hand around the hilt of his signature sword, not taking her eyes of him. She was skeptical, and she didn't bother to hide it.

"You know it better," she explained, malice in her tone. Would it give her an advantage? When she had taken its full weight into her hand, he withdrew, poising his weapon, ready to strike. Was he that impatient to take her life? In his eyes were playfulness, like this was just a game. Like he knew she couldn't win. This ticked her off further. He jerked his head, telling her she was allowed the first move.

She wasted no time. Though she wasn't as advanced as Hiei, her agility and speed (there IS a difference, folks) were impressive as well. He dodged, barely a blur as he moved, missing the blade by inches. Taunting her. They were both hardly visible. Kohari kept attacking, and Hiei kept dodging. Wearing her down.

Suddenly, she collapsed. Her right knee had buckled, and her other leg couldn't support her weight. There was a huge gash in her leg, blood beginning to pool inside the cut. He had attacked her and she hadn't even noticed. Faster than she would've liked, she found herself against the wall, Hiei's sword close enough, just touching the surface of the skin on her neck.

"Time!" she gasped. "Please." She hadn't predicted this. She hadn't predicted any of the actions they had taken. "A minute to rest." Her eyes were pleading. She had been lowered a notch. Hiei knew he was the one with the advantage. His eyes lowered, as did his sword. He had granted her her request.

"ONE minute," he emphasized. She didn't waste any of her precious seconds. She fled into the next room, and leaned against the window, clutching her leg. This shouldn't have been possible. There had been a flaw in her strategy. Something had been holding her back. She should've at least had some sort of standing against the apparition, but Hiei had held control of the fight the whole time. What had gone wrong?

She couldn't fight him. She knew it. There was something there. Something she hadn't felt...since...She didn't want to think about it. Should she tell him? It wouldn't change anything. She knew that as well. She had dropped the sword long before. She was unarmed. Defenseless. She took out a pistol from its attachment on her ankle. It was so tiny. It only had enough room for ammo that gave her one shot. Emergency situations only. And you couldn't find the ammo anymore. It was that rare. All she needed was one shot. Her aim was the best in the Blitz. She could end all this.

It slipped from her hands. She couldn't do it. She couldn't fight him at all. Tears came flooding to her eyes. She couldn't stop them. Why? Why wouldn't they stop? But she needed to tell him. She decided she would. She stumbled back into the room, breathing uneven, as she had this whole time. Her time was draining quickly, if not already gone. He was back on the couch. He raised his eyebrows as if to say, "You're still alive, wench?"

"Can I confess something to you?" she asked. He looked her over, as if looking to see if she was concealing something from him.

"Whatever." It was emotionless and heartless.

"I know this may not change anything," she started, voice broken from crying. This was all I had left. "But..." She almost didn't want to tell him the truth. She was having a hard time believing it herself. She took a deep breath. Here goes. "I love you." He remained emotionless. "I have since the day I met you. You had me from...instead of hello...you had me from 'hn.'" I wanted to laugh at the joke, but the pain was too much. I could only smile. "I don't want to die, but if you feel that's what you have to do, then more power to you." She sunk to the ground, the already spilled blood mingling with the fibers of the carpet, staining it. She could no longer look at him.

"Good," he said in an evil voice, as though he didn't care. She looked up at him. "Because your minute's up." He prepared to strike, and she froze, knowing she could never fight back and win.

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Kohari: Could you call this a cliffy? Dunno, Don't care. Review for me! And this chapter's dedicated to...dramatic music, please, or a drumroll or something...--drumroll--...there we go...This chapter is dedicated to...Astarte Katz! --cheer-- Yeah, cuz she reviewed almost every chapter I've written for this. Thanks for the support! WOOHOO! Okay, review time! Remember, review every/most of the chapters, and you get one dedicated to you! Yays! Anywho, Byes!