Chapter Fifteen: Hate For One's Self
"How long do you think it's been really? A few months?" Drake leaned back against the chair he was sitting in, his eyes focused on the woman in front of him. They were sitting down in an Italian restaurant in downtown, waiting for their food.
Kirani shrugged and picked up her glass of water. She took a careful sip before she answered. "Seems to be about that. It's pretty amazing to have things so calm after all that." The two of them shared a smile over that, thinking back to bygone days.
"I made the joke before to Serenity, but it still seems funny to me. I mean, Dalin saved the entire universe...by winning at a card game. Doesn't that seem kinda weird to you?" Kirani blinked and then tilted her head to one side in thought. Then she started laughing.
"It is pretty funny. But really what makes me laugh is the fact that Taichi or Kevin or whatever he was did all those things. It seems to me that he was powerful in the end to easily crush any of us. In fact, he was probably strong enough at the beginning. So how come he didn't take the power he needed using force?" This brought a pause in the conversation as they thought about it.
"Honestly, I think the answer is that he was locked in a cycle. He had been created for the purpose of manipulating human beings and getting the power needed. The Hand was what did things by force, he just did things through manipulation. No matter what he said he couldn't change that. He was as stuck in a cycle of repeating events as Apep. It's almost sad." They sat silent for a second...and then burst out laughing.
"Oh yeah! Sad my ass!" It took them about a minute to calm themselves and stop laughing, but they still had big smiles on their face. They locked eyes and Drake turned away slightly. Finally he sighed and looked back at her.
"I was wondering if...umm...damn it. I'll just say it. Would you be willing to say...go on a date some time?" He gulped and closed his eyes for a moment, praying that he would get the response he was hoping for. When his eyes opened he found himself staring at a pair of bright green eyes. Green eyes that were definitely not Kirani's.
He jerked backwards at the sight of a girl with long black hair styled in a loose ponytail. She was good looking, but she was dressed in street clothes. A black skin tight t-shirt with the word 'Bitch' on it in red, and a leather jacket hanging over her shoulders. She smiled darkly and leaned across the table, giving Drake a view down her shirt. "You know it kiddo. I'm always with you, no matter what."
"Yumi?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Drake jerked awake, his body covered in sweat. He hung his head, breathing heavily from the dream. It had started out so positively, but at the end it had changed. He raised his hands at stared at his palms, his eyes boring into the nail shaped scars there. "Get a grip Drake. That was just a dream. Yumi is gone, she's in jail. No need to even think about her."
"You awake already?" Drake's body froze in place at these words. Gulping he slowly turned his eyes to look to his left, the other side of the bed he was sleeping in. A bed that existed in the apartment he had in Domino, which he hadn't been in since right before Battle City.
Right next to him, mostly out of view thanks to covers, was the highly naked form of a very familiar woman. His eyes locked with those green orbs and he felt a familiar twinge in his chest, a mix of pain and something more. "Yumi you...but...you're in jail."
"Was is the word. Don't tell me you're unhappy to see me. You certainly weren't before, and we had such good times." She sat up so she could really face him and the covers fell to her waist, leaving her bare above that. Drake gulped and turned away, so that he wouldn't be looking.
He heard her throaty laugh, which sent shivers down his spine. He felt her hand rest on his shoulder and he immediately jerked away. "What's wrong kiddo? You've never been the shy type. We've had such fun in the past, so how come you're giving me the cold shoulder." He grimaced, clenching his fists.
Leaping out of the bed he whirled on her, his face twisted into a snarl. "Get the hell out of my life! Don't you get it? I escaped you and everything related to you! I'm not part of that anymore! I'm free, finally free! I left it all behind and now I have a new life, a third chance to make things work!"
Yumi chuckled and slid out of the bed, following him. He backed away slightly, not wanting to be near her. He kept his eyes locked on hers, avoiding looking at the rest of her. "A third chance? You think dying gives you a new lease on life? You're the same Drake I've always known. The same Drake that I made. And if you think your so-called new life worked, then why don't you look at what you've caused so far?"
"What do you mean?" He shook his head, trying to clear away stray thoughts. He rubbed the bridge of his noise as pain flared up in his mind. Like something was there waiting to escape. "There's something I'm supposed to remember. What is it? I need to remember!" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"You're going to be okay aren't you Masue? Aren't you?" A young boy with combed back reddish-brown hair stood at the side of a hospital bed. In the bed was a man with similar colored hair and brown eyes. He smiled down at the young boy, his eyes showing that though he was in pain he wanted to remain strong in this moment.
The young boy was Daisuke Ihachi, age four. The man in the bed was Masue Ihachi, Daisuke's father. Sitting in chairs right outside the door were two women, one a girl of about nine with hair the color of Daisuke's, and the other in her thirties with black hair. They were holding hands, avoiding looking into the room.
"Daisuke...I know I told you that it was most polite to call people by their first names but...just this one time...I want you to call me papa. Is that okay?" Daisuke nodded, tears brimming in his eyes, his small hands clenching tightly on his father's big hand. Masue smiled at his son, a smile full of cheer and life.
"Yes...papa. You're going to be okay right? You said you were going to teach me how to play baseball tomorrow. You promised." Masue sighed and reached out with his other hand to place it on his son's head. He ruffled the boy's hair, making it messy.
"I'm sorry Daisuke, but it looks like it's a promise I can't keep. I know I said I'd guide you through life, but sometimes things don't work out. But no matter what else happens, I want you to promise me that you'll always fight hard for your dreams." The boy looked up at his father with tear-filled eyes, his gaze questioning. Something like that was hard for a four year old to understand.
"Just promise me Daisuke. Promise me you'll always remember that. Because we are most alive when we're chasing dreams, and I want you to be alive." The boy nodded once, gulping down a sob that was rising up. He wanted to be strong for his father. He had to be strong.
Masue pulled his son into a tight one armed hug, and he felt tears trickle down on his hospital gown. Touching his shoulder. "I promise papa, I promise." Daisuke titled his head up to look into his father's eyes as he spoke these words, and at that moment the arm around his shoulder went limp. And he found nothing in his father's eyes when he looked into them. They were just...blank.
He backed away, shaking his head in denial as the machines made loud noises, and people rushed into the room. They did things, they said so many things. But it was all so fast, all so unclear to him. All he knew was that in far too short a time the doctors left the room, and said something to his mother. She responded by breaking down in tears and crumpling to her knees.
Daisuke gulped and rushed into the room, grabbing holding of his father's hand. "Papa! PAPA! Wake up papa! You promised you'd guide me in life! You promised me!" He shook his father's arm, desperately trying to wake him up. Tears flowed freely from his eyes and his body became wracked by sobs as he realized the truth. His father wasn't going to be waking up, his father was gone. Dead.
The word had never had any meaning to Daisuke before. It was something that happened to people in stories, or in movies. Not to real people. People couldn't die, especially not his father. His father was such a lively person, such a strong person. He couldn't be dead. "It's not fair...not fair! It's not right! Papa!"
Pain flashed through him as his knees dropped onto the linoleum. He wrapped his arms around himself as he sobbed, trying desperately to understand how his father was gone. "Come back...it's not right, it's not fair, papa come back. You promised, you promised you'd always be there for me!"
A pair of arms reached around and pulled him into a warm embrace. The familiar voice of his big sister spoke to him, right into his ear as she held him tight. "I can't promise that it's all going to be okay. But I do promise one thing. No matter what I'll always be there for you. And since papa's not going to be here to guide you...I can."
Turning in her grasp the young boy looked up into violet eyes that were almost identical to his. He wiped away some of his tears to clear his vision and breathed deeply, trying to calm himself. "You'll be my guide? You promise?"
She smiled down at him and nodded once, her eyes lighting up at the look on her brother's face. "I promise. Remember, I'm your guiding light forever and always. A beacon."
"Of light?" She smiled and pulled
him back into her embrace, and he went willingly. He continued to cry,
and so did she. She rocked him back and forth until he drifted into
sleep. And they simply sat there together on the hospital floor, with
their father lying in a bed not five feet away.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"She promised me that she'd always be there...but she wasn't there. And I tried, by god I tried to bring her back. I tried everything, but it wasn't enough. She's going to die...I let her down." Drake felt a hand touch his chest and his mind jerked back to the present, where Yumi stood in front of him.
"I told you so long ago that people can never keep their promises. This world is filled only with liars. We always lie, no matter what we say different. And that's the only truth in life. So we have to take everything for our self. Depending on another as a guide is just foolish, haven't you learned that?" He grimaced and brushed her away, stepping backwards as he did so.
"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about. My sister...what about my sister? There's something there, something about my sister...something recent...something I have to know. What's wrong with me? What am I forgetting?" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Daisuke Ihachi, age eleven, was waiting anxiously for his sister's return from a date. At age sixteen she was very popular, and often didn't have as much time for him as she used to have. He had friends, but he always enjoyed being around his sister the most.
It was for this reason he was waiting at the corner of the bus stop where his sister's date would be dropping her off. Then he'd get on the bus with her and the two of them would go home. "Looks like it'll rain tonight. Oh well."
His eyes lit up as a beat up car that he recognized came around the street and stopped next to a street lamp. A boy of seventeen stepped out of the driver's side and walked around to open the door. Out stepped a sixteen year old girl with reddish brown, Daisuke's sister. "Awww man. They're gonna kiss. Gross!"
Sighing he leaned back against the brick wall, waiting for them to get it over with so he could wait with his sister for the bus. But instead of kissing, they seemed to just be talking. And her boyfriend seemed upset about something. As Daisuke watched his sister reached out for the boy, and he brushed her off.
In that moment her balance was off set. Her feet slipped and she went tumbling backwards. To Daisuke's horror he heard a distinct cracking sound as the back of her head hit the lamp pole, and then she went limp, sprawled out on the ground. He stood there, numb with shock as the boyfriend screamed something, shook his head and then ran off, leaving his car where it was.
Daisuke rushed forwards as fast as his feet could carry him and dropped down beside her. He shook her lightly, trying to get her to wake up. "Come on, you can't die, you can't die." He kept up this mantra as he moved her head a bit to check. It didn't look too serious, but her condition obviously was making it worse.
Despite his horror Daisuke was able to think clearly enough to grab her cell phone from her jacket pocket and dial the emergency number. He didn't remember what he had said, nor did he remember most of what followed immediately. The ambulance came, took her and him into it, and began to immediately work on her.
She seemed to drift in and out of sleep as they drove, medical caretakers constantly hovering around them. She whispered a few things to Daisuke, most of which didn't make much sense, and held his hand tight, giving him a reassuring smile whenever she could muster it up.
"Don't worry Dai-kun, I'm going to be just fine. I've had worse, remember that fall I had back when I was thirteen?" Daisuke gulped and nodded, his hand still gripping hers. They were in the hospital now, and the doctors were gathered in one corner. It was nearly nine o'clock now, and the doctors had been hush-hush about something for awhile.
"I remember. But you didn't hurt your head then, and the doctors were never so nervous and quiet back then. They told us what was going on. You're going to be okay right? You promised." He knew that he sounded childish, but at the moment he didn't care. He just desperately wanted his sister to be okay.
"I promise you right now that no matter what I'll stay with you. So you know it's true, I'll give you collateral. Take the necklace I bought in Egypt, keep it always as a part of me. It's a promise between adults. A promise that we'll always be there for each other, no matter how bad things get." She reached up and slid the golden pendant on its chain off her neck and laid it over Daisuke's shoulders. He took it between his hands and could have sworn he saw it glow golden for a moment, specifically the little eye in the middle.
"A promise between adults...okay. I'll make my very own promise. No matter what happens, I'll always make sure you get better, I'll always take care of you, just like you've taken care of me." He looked into her eyes, the eyes that had for so long been filled with life, and he found nothing. They were blank and faded, staring lifelessly past him, like he wasn't even there.
"Sister? Somebody! Somebody help, something's wrong!" He was ushered off to the side as the doctors moved in around her. Being so much shorter he wasn't able to see what was going on, and after trying to push past a few times he was pulled out of the room. Back and forth he paced as he waited for someone to tell him something.
A big hand touched his shoulder, and he turned to see who it was. It was one of the doctors, and he was looking down with a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry son, but your sister has passed into a coma. So far there doesn't seem to be anything we can do to bring her out of it. There's no telling how long it will last, but we'll have to keep here her while she's in the coma. Don't worry, Buddha is watching over her now."
Daisuke's eyes were filled with fear, anger, and hate. "I hate Buddha! I hate you! It's all your fault, you should have done more! She should be here, she's worse than dead now! She's just...gone. I HATE YOU!" Tears filling his eyes he turned and ran, barely hearing the shouts of doctors and nurses as they called for him to be stopped.
Filled by the power of his feelings his feet were lighter than air and no orderly laid a hand on him. Soon he was out of the hospital, running through the streets. He barely noticed that it was raining, the water trickling down his shirt and in front of his eyes didn't affect him. "I hate...I hate everyone."
'There's one person above all to be hated isn't there? The one responsible for this...take revenge, she would have wanted it.' Not bothering to question the source of the thought he pushed onwards, soon finding himself in front of the car that had belonged to the one responsible. And sure enough he was there, just now turning on his car.
The car started to drive away, and Daisuke instantly lashed out with his hatred and anger, hearing a roaring sound all around him and words whispered into his mind. All he truly saw and knew was that the car wasn't moved, and was instead surrounded by a golden glow. As was he, including a burning golden eye on his forehead. "NO! YOU WON'T GET AWAY! I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET THE DAY YOU MET HER, I'LL KILL YOU FOR LAYING YOUR HANDS ON MY SISTER!"
Smoke poured out of the hood of the car, and the frightened teenager bolted out of the car, running as fast as he could from the crazed super powered kid. He didn't know what was going on, but he did know that if he stuck around he'd die. "I SAID YOU WON'T GET AWAY! I HATE YOU, SO DIE!"
The teen felt a burning sensation as something slammed into his back, hurling him into an alley. He hit face first, and then pushed himself back up, trying to get back going. But what he saw was the little kid from before, standing over him with rage filling his eyes, and a massive golden aura surrounding him. "I want you to feel her pain. I want you to die...now die!"
Daisuke's mind was blank as his power rushed into the boy, cutting at his flesh, pulling him up and stretching his body to gross proportions. There was the popping of bones, and finally the boy's eyes went out, and his life was gone.
In a stupor Daisuke stumbled out of the alley and into the darker depths of the streets. His body was battered and drained from the energies that had surged through him, and his mind was fuzzy. He couldn't focus, couldn't understand what had just what happened. Unable to comprehend what he had just done, Daisuke wandered the city in the rain until he could no longer move. And when he couldn't, he collapsed.
He wasn't aware of how long he lay there, only that time passed, and that the pain he felt wasn't diminishing. "Well well, what do we have here?" Daisuke struggled to raise his head at the sound of the voice. It was deep and had a cruel edge to it.
The source became clear as a hand grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up. It was a big man with a scarred face and a leering grin. "Left in the dirt huh? But by your clothes I bet you're just some dumb lost kid. Well kid, this is just your unlucky day. Anything you got that's worth money you're gonna have to hand over. Do that and I won't hurt you, otherwise..." He left the threat in the air for Daisuke to contemplate, and his grin never faded.
With an astounding amount of spunk Daisuke pulled his head back and spit directly into the man's face. "Go to Hell." The man snarled and slammed his fist down into Daisuke's face, sending him crashing down on his back. Daisuke wasn't an expert on pain, but he was pretty sure by the pain and the blood that his nose had just been broken.
"Little fucking brat! I was gonna be nice, but now I'm gonna have to tear you in half!" Daisuke's breath left him in one huge blast as the man's boot slammed into his stomach, and cracked his sternum. Daisuke curled up into a ball and coughed, trying to get his breath back. All that happened was blood dribbled down his chin.
He didn't make it any farther than coughing, as the pain became too much for him he passed out. When he awoke he was in a warm room, and there were people all around him, talking. "The kid is really beat up. He looks like he's been through a lot, more than just a beating. He's got that same lost and hurt look that all of us had at one point. I say we take him in."
"You sure have a thing for taking little kids Yumi. Looking for a son like what you could never have?" This comment brought a pearl of laughter, all of it masculine. He also heard someone snort, and then a hand came to rest on his forehead. He groaned and brushed it away, blinking his eyes to clear them of the fog of sleep. What he saw was a pretty woman with black hair and bright green eyes, probably about his sister's age or older.
"Looks like he's awake. This kid is sure tough as nails, for a runt that is." Daisuke looked around the room, and saw that everyone there was dressed in rough and coarse clothing, looking like it had been taken from wherever it could be gotten. The room looked like it had been in use, as a fire was burning in a corner. In fact, it looked like it was an abandoned apartment room.
"Take me in to what? Where am I, and who are all of you?" The woman with black hair who had first spoken put a hand on his back and helped him sit back. Then she smiled at him and pointed to each of the people in the room in turn.
"I'm Yumi, the big idiot with no hair is Nobuyuki, and to his left is Sosoro. Continuing in that order is Etsuki, Aotome, Damer, and Ferutsukai. We happen to be one of the tougher gangs roaming these streets, all of us once lost in our lives. We help give each other purpose, give each other strength. We fight, we steal, and we fight some more. It's a chance at a new life, of finding new things. And we're good at it, because Etsuki over there is the best fighter in the city." Daisuke nodded, barely noticing that it caused him pain. He brushed a hand through his wet hair and looked around at them again.
"I'm Daisuke...did you guys save me?" They all nodded, and laughed a little. He registered their comments, comradely jokes about the brief fight they had. Apparently they had beaten the hell out of the guy who had been beating on Daisuke, and then taken him here to recover. "This can be my second chance? I...I want to have a second chance."
Yumi smiled at him and gestured with her arms in a broad motion to all of them. "Then welcome to the group. We don't have some stupid name, or that many rules. But one thing comes first. This is your second chance at life, and in life there are only two chances. When you start the second one you leave behind who you were previously. So if you're with us, you aren't Daisuke anymore, you'll need a new name."
He nodded, only partly understanding. One of the bigger fellows, the one she had called Damer, made the first suggestion. "This little guy has a lot of guts, and some real fire to him. He's like a little dragon. So why not call him Ryujin?" This brought a laugh to the group, but a considering look to Yumi's features.
"No, dragon man doesn't work. He's such a little guy right now, but besides that I think an English word would work. We could call him what they call a fast smaller dragon. It'll be a sign of that fire he's got. So kid, how does Drake sound as a new name?" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Drake shook his head to clear away those thoughts, knowing that those weren't the right memories. He couldn't understand what was wrong with him, why he was seeing these memories. These were some of the lower points of his life. "What's going on Yumi? I don't understand."
"It's called pain. Everything you hate is right in front of you, all the cause of your pain is there. And I'm here, I'm your everything, don't you remember? We were the perfect pair." She moved in closer, smirking up at him, pressing herself against him. He back away, trying to put a chair between the two of them.
"All I remember is that I was young, and you apparently had a thing for that. You're seven years older than I am! When I was fourteen you showed me things I never thought of, you did things to me that I never dreamed of. But it was just you being sick, and disgusting. I didn't understand, I didn't know better. And I got addicted to it, but I'm a different person, and I don't need you!" She laughed at this comment and moved in past the chair, getting his back up against the wall.
She traced the scars
on his chest with her fingers, grinning as she did it. "Don't need me?
That's a laugh. You'll always need me. Say, how did you get these scars
anyways? You didn't have them last time I saw you." Once more Drake
found himself falling backwards into his own mind, stuck in a loop of
memories of pain. And he didn't know why.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Chaos Sorcerer, destroy his Skull Knight#2. Then Invader and Hades will follow up with a direct attack. Finish Taichi off once and for all!" Invader of Darkness and Dark Ruler Hades flanked the Chaos Sorcerer as it charged its chaotic energies and cast them out to destroy, the two demons waiting for their chance to strike. The attack committed everything Drake had to this single strike, because if it didn't work then he'd have two monsters open to an attack by the stronger Invader of Darkness.
"Chain with By Demons Be Driven! I sacrifice Skull Knight#2 to negate your attack, end your battle phase, and destroy all non demon sub-type monsters on your field! So say goodbye to your strategy!" One of Taichi's two face down cards flipped up, revealing a human grimacing as it trudged forwards under the lash of a whip carried by Dark Ruler Hades.
A giant whip erupted from the card and swept across the field, stopping the three monsters in their tracks. Skull Knight#2 grabbed up the whip and then snapped it sharply, creating a whip-crack sound as the whip broke the sound barrier. The Chaos Sorcerer grunted as it was destroyed by the lash, and moments afterwards the skeletal knight followed suit.
The pain hit Drake hard and fast, so fast that he didn't even know it had struck until he found himself struggling back into consciousness, blood dripping from his mouth. He drew further upon the power of his disc to give himself the strength to stand, even as his body continued to weaken. What was worse was that his power reserves were almost completely drained, and using life energy would just quicken the process. He was in a jam, and there was no way out of it.
Taichi's amused grin reappeared as he drew his two cards, Invader of Darkness now back under his control. The source of his amusement wasn't obvious to Drake until his foggy mind was able to wrap around the concept Taichi had mentioned earlier. Life point damage was the most painful of all under the ministrations of the device, and he was about to lose a monster and life points.
"I'll set a card face down, and then I'll go in for the kill. Invader of Darkness, Blades of Blood!" Drake gasped as the cloaked monster slashed its sharp claws across its belly, drawing black blood to drip down the claws. The creature pulled back its arm and slashed with it, sending arcs of that black blood towards Dark Ruler Hades.
A golden barrier burst up in front of Drake as the blood blades sliced Hades into gruesome little quarters that dropped to the ground with a messy sound. The blades hadn't stopped after Hades' death, and they were coming right for him.
Drake pushed his last energy reserves into the barrier, knowing that those blades were real enough that they could cut him down if they hit. The blades struck the barrier and stopped...for about a second. Then his energy ran dry and the blades slashed through his barrier and surged right towards him.
Drawing on his own physical strength he reacted and hurled himself to the side, desperately hoping to avoid the blades. He was mostly successful, as he avoided nearly all of them. However one of them managed to catch him in the side, slicing straight through the flesh. The force of it sent him into a spin as he tumbled through the air.
He crashed down on his side, shoulder shifting with the impact. Drake's scream of agony as his shoulder blade broke and a few of his ribs shattered was enough to let all the other people in the tower that the duel was not going well. Drake's agonized screams only grew louder as the device tortured him with a new level of pain beyond anything that he had encountered so far. It was utterly beyond description. (DLP: 3550)
Taichi announced the end of his turn, and waited, watching Drake lie there. But there was no response. Drake was completely out of it, and it was doubtful that he was alive. In a few minutes he'd be sure, and then he'd be able to declare himself the winner. This had been all to easy.
Taichi's breath left him as Drake started moving. Worse yet, surges of energy were sweeping into the room and into Drake's body. He sent his senses out and traced those bits of energy, finding where they originated. He grimaced as he found all those who knew him, whether friend or not, supporting him with their feelings, displaying their trust in him, their confidence. Their power and their emotions surged through the Millennium Disc, giving strength back to Drake.
The punk duelist slowly pushed himself up off the ground, ignoring the pain that lanced through him as he did so. He was able to do so because of the huge amount of energy that was surging through his body, creating a golden glow that surrounded him, giving him a heavenly appearance. He was regaining his power, regaining his will to continue.
Taichi grimaced as he saw Drake move to continue the duel. This wasn't supposed to happen, Drake couldn't just suddenly recharge himself and continue on. The end was supposed to be the end. If Drake wasn't willing to admit that, Taichi would just have to make him lose hope.
Drake's mind flickered with faint voices, voices of those he knew. Serenity, Kensai, and others, all of them. They told him that it was hopeless, that if he continued to duel he would lose, and if he continued to duel he would die. There was no chance, he should surrender while he still had the chance. He had to face the music and admit defeat.
Drake grinned, revealing teeth stained by his own blood. He stood tall and strong, the golden glow that surrounded his body expanding as his determination settled in, giving him the full strength provided by those that had feelings for him, that trusted him to win this. That knew he could. And with their help he knew he could win as well.
"It may seem hopeless to some Taichi, but not to me. A real man faces the music, even if he doesn't like the tune. The question is, are you a real man, or just a walking corpse? I guess I'll find out when the final note is played. Now lets duel!"
Drake confidently drew a card from the top of his deck, trusting that whatever the card was it would allow him to recover and help him move towards victory. His friends, his opponents, even the person he could possibly call his rival, they were all there, adding their strength to his. With their supportive power he could accomplish anything.
Drake opened his mouth to announce his move, and discovered that the air he had used to speak just moments before was now no longer there. He tried to draw in breath, but discovered that all he could do was gasp as air passed into his body, but didn't remain. His draw had also reopened the wound on his side which had closed briefly because of the power he had drawn from his friends.
He tried to force the words out, to announce his move, to get the air he needed. He drew on the power given to him by the people he cared about and the people who cared about him, but still nothing. He tried again to speak, but all that came up was blood, bubbling forth from his throat, welling up from his gut.
Eyes widening in shock the once confident duelist looked down at himself, discovering dozens of little red dots peeking through his shirt, quickly spreading to turn his gray shirt red. The wound on his side was making it work quicker. He gulped, trying to gather air, and discovered the pain in his ribs as the power started to fly from him.
Things were becoming blurry, the power was becoming hard to hold onto, he couldn't focus. He tried again to speak, then tried to draw air. Still all that came up was blood, and the pain that followed it. Steadily the pain increased as the power left him, his body no longer able to support it. He felt the weakness and tried to hold strong, but his knees couldn't support him.
He didn't notice falling, but he suddenly became aware that he was doubled over, clutching his stomach with his knees on the ground. A small pool of blood was forming around him, some of it dripping from his lips, other parts of it coming from the various wounds in his side. As the pool grew things became foggier and foggier.
Taichi's insane laughter cut through his foggy brain, straight to the most aware parts, the parts that still drew upon the remaining power that had been provided to him. "Don't you understand? That fall you took shattered your ribs, and the pieces of bone ripped through your flesh and punctured your lungs. All that power you were getting from your friends? Useless! Not even a million times as much power as you had been given could undo the fact that your body is mortal. Its all over!"
Drake found himself face down in a steadily growing pool of his own blood, the world going dark around him. He could no longer hear Taichi's laughter, he could barely remember his own name. He had only time for one last thought before the world went dark. 'Kirani...forgive me, but I tried. At least I tried.' XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Get out of my head! You're doing this Yumi, I know it! Now stop, I know it's you! You said all that I hate is in front of me, and it is! I'm looking at every ounce of my hate!" She shook her head, laughing as she pressed her body against his. She tilted her head up and captured his bottom lip with her teeth, pulling, biting.
Blood flowed, and Drake pushed her away. "You know you want it Drake. You've always wanted me, this is what you like. Rough and tough. Going for that sort of sweet and innocent act just isn't you. It's me you want, not that little slut Kirani."
Something inside Drake snapped in him at that moment and his eyes filled with rage and hate. "DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO!" Snarling he grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her down on the ground, going down with her. Grabbing hold of her throat with his left hand he acted out on his anger.
"BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU! EVERYTHING I'VE EVER BEEN THROUGH IS YOUR FAULT! EVERYTHING I HATE IS YOU! YOU SAID IT YOURSELF, SO JUST FUCKING DIE!" Every word was punctuated by the impact of bone against bone as he slammed his right fist into her face over and over again. A red fog covered his vision, clouding her from view. All he knew was hate and rage, and he just kept lashing out over and over again.
About a minute or so later he stopped, and pulled his fist away. Slowly the red fog lifted from his vision and he got a good look at the damage. The fact in front of him was barely recognizable as a person's face at all. It was completely ruined, covered in blood. His fist was also covered in blood. "I hate you...I hate you."
"You're right...I'm everything you hate." Drake froze completely as his eyes met the eyes in that ruined face. Those eyes weren't green at all. They were a very familiar color. They were eyes that he had seen so many times. Eyes that he saw every single day in the mirror. They were his eyes. And that was his voice.
Drake stumbled backwards, grabbing his head
between his hands. He threw back his head, and then he screamed. It was
a scream of agony, because now he understood. The one thing he hated
above all else...was himself.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Author's Notes: By god I had terrible luck with this chapter. It took me forever to get past my writer's block on it, but I finally did. And this is the result. Huzzah!
Time Mage: Nope, only three Knights of Order. But don't think that's all the bad guys there are.
WolfGeneral: I like cutting people down, particularly unimportant secondary characters like those four. Oh, and I had that intention with the chapter name.
G.O.T. Nick: Duh, of course it makes sense to you. He's your character originally.
VoidTemplar: Ummm...Taichi was the Second Knight of Order, and Nick was the Third. I already showed the first one. That's D'harim, Knight of Darkness.
The White Mage: Just look above you, that's who the other knight is.
Character Votes So far
Drake: Leading with three.
Dark Spirit: Second with two votes(I'm counting The White Mage's twice since he couldn't decide)
Dalin: Tied for second with his nemesis(kinda funny) with two votes.
