Me: not much ranting right now… All I have to say is that this chapter's gona be a bit sad for Nori… and I'm high on sugar.
Kaitsu: never bother a teen when she's hyped up on sugar.
Me: NEE! (runs off)
Kaitsu: …
Takari: Merielle does not own Kingdom Hearts. …And I don't get paid enough for this…
Destiny's Punishment
Chapter 15—The Third Battle
It came back. For some reason, the stupid creature wouldn't leave him alone. And for some bizarre reason, it was sitting on his head again.
Squirrels were the most annoying creatures on earth.
Kaitsu sighed, trying to ignore the evil little creature on his head.
"Get off…" he muttered. The squirrel chose to ignore this and continued its little nap. Kaitsu drifted to thought, realizing that it had been about an hour, and still no one had come. That freaky hooded man didn't even come to torture him. Something was definitely wrong.
…That, and the squirrel on his head was bugging him.
"Stupid squirrels…"
The squirrel opened its eyes and jumped onto Kaitsu's shoulder. The boy's eye twitched as the squirrel began playing around with the chains hanging on the wall. ((The squirrel is completely ruining the depressing mood… XD))
After a few more minutes of the squirrel annoying Kaitsu to his wits end, it jumped to the ground and left through the window once more. Kaitsu sighed, looking up to the ceiling.
'If they don't get here soon, I'll bet the squirrel's going to drive me mad…'
"You failed us, Nori."
The silver-haired boy looked up from the ground at the hooded man. Blood red eyes glared down at him, showing no sympathy at all. He took a deep breath as another spasm of pain shot through him.
"Master, please…"
"That gem was your life source, and since you lost the match, you lose it. That's what we all agreed on. Yuri had already lost, and look what happened to her."
"Then why didn't Nori die yet?" asked Sanyu.
"The gems give energy and support your lives. Once it's removed, your energy slowly drains away until you die. That Heartless boy not only took the gem inside Yuri, but also her heart."
Tamorei unconsciously placed a hand over his heart. "So, if we lose to them… We die?" The hooded man nodded. Sanyu growled, a sense of injustice rushing to him.
"But this isn't right--"
The hooded man raised his hand to Sanyu, interrupting his sentence. A red glow emitted from his hand and Sanyu choked in mid-sentence, his breathing becoming shorter. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
"No--Don't--"
The man lowered his hand as Sanyu took in a deep breath, his hand tightly clutching his chest.
"Damn you…" cursed Sanyu. A smirk appeared from under the hood.
"Don't forget, Sanyu. I resurrected you three and inserted those crystals into your hearts so you could live. And you have to obey every command I give you, otherwise I'll remove the gem. You're under my control."
Silence rang through the room at his words. The man turned to Nori, his red eyes narrowing. The boy took shallow breaths, a puddle of blood beginning to form around him.
"Please… Let me live…" He looked up at the man pleadingly. The man turned his back on him, his icy words ringing through the room.
"No. You're going to die, so deal with it. Have fun in hell."
And with that, he disappeared, leaving the three standing there in shock at his words.
Seika stood underneath the tree, looking at the ruins surrounding them. She glanced at Ryu and Ken, who were arguing over something that didn't seem really important right now. A smile appeared on her face as small black squirrel appeared behind some rocks and scuttled up to the three.
"Hey, you two, he's back!"
The two boys stopped talking and looked at the small little creature. It began jumping up and down, chittering something at them. Ryu grinned as a small card appeared in his hand.
"Okay, time for you to go back to normal." He placed the card on the squirrel's forehead and a cloud of smoke engulfed it. After the smoke cleared away, a very ticked off Takari was standing, his red eyes twitching in annoyance.
"Never…ever…do that again."
"Aww, but you looked so cute when you were a squirrel!" giggled Seika.
"Well, you try climbing up a very tall castle and trying to get past tons of security devices to get in!"
"It was the only way we could check on Kaitsu," said Ken.
"The little brat called me a 'devil'!" shrieked Takari. "He freaked out and slammed his foot right into my friggin' head!!"
"Maybe you should have been a bird instead of a squirrel," said Seika. "I don't think Kaitsu takes well to squirrels…"
"No shit, Sherlock," snapped Takari.
"That's enough." They fell silent as Ken spoke. "Now's not a time to argue. Takari, you're going to stay a squirrel and check on Kaitsu as much as you can. Got it?"
"But--"
"No objection. Just do it."
"I hate this job…" Takari grumbled as Ryu placed another card on his forehead and began chanting. In a few seconds, he had turned into a squirrel once more.
"He looks so cute!" cooed Seika. The squirrel growled and, after throwing an acorn at Ken, ran off towards the castle once more.
Tamorei paced up and down the hall in front of a black door. His thoughts were a big mess and there was nothing that could calm it down. The cold words of his Master were still ringing in his head. 'I can't believe he did that…' He stopped as the door opened and Sanyu stepped out.
"How's he doing?"
Sanyu shook his head. "Not so good. We're lucky we even had some potions, otherwise he would have lost a lot more energy than now."
"How much longer do you reckon he'll live?"
"About a day or so… I'm sure Nori wouldn't just give up his life. He'll hold on. Anyway, I'd better get ready for the next battle…" Heaving a sigh, he walked down the corridor. Tamorei opened the door and looked at Nori's sleeping form. Cold sweat was covering his forehead as he breathed shallowly, a pained expression on his face. Anger swept through Tamorei as he thought about the hooded man once more.
'We've already suffered enough… Why does he have to make it worse?'
After a few minutes, Kotoro and the others reached the third floor of the castle. A loud creak echoed from the door as they entered the dark room. The door closed behind them and the chandelier above them lit, revealing the contents of the room.
Everyone's eyes widened. Kairi took a step back, covering her mouth, as Sora and Riku gaped at the room. Kotoro stared in horror while Mickey, Donald, and Goofy stared at the room wide-eyed.
"My god…" muttered Riku. Sharp swords, knives, and other devices hung on the stone walls. Dried blood covered some parts of the room. The room looked even more menacing with the flames of the torches on the walls. It was the most disgusting sight they saw.
"It's a…torture chamber," said Kotoro.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," whispered Kairi. "We should get out of here."
"I'm afraid I can't let you."
They looked in front of them and saw a boy about seventeen standing before another door. He had shoulder-length black hair with blonde highlights and black eyes.
"Just great. Another one to fight," said Riku as they summoned their weapons.
"Wait a second. Who said I was going to fight you?" said Sanyu.
"You're not going to fight us?" asked Sora, lowering his Keyblade.
"Of course not. Instead… let's play a little game instead."
"A game?" asked Kotoro, completely caught off guard by the statement.
"Yes," nodded Sanyu. "Here are the rules…" Three cards appeared in his hand and he placed them face-down on a desk by the wall. "All three cards have a different symbol… Salvation and Chaos. They will remain face-down, and you have to choose one. If you pick the Salvation card, I'll give you my gem, which will allow you to continue to the next floor. If you pick the Chaos card… you'll die."
"What?!" exclaimed Kotoro.
"The Chaos card has a virus inserted in it. If anyone touches it, the virus will enter into their body and begin to tear it apart, piece by piece, and within a few minutes, it'll kill them," explained Sanyu, a sinister smile on his face.
"You twisted maniac…" murmured Sora.
"And to make the game more fun, I'll choose a card too."
"What? Why would you want to risk your life?" asked Kairi.
"It's the risk that makes it challenging," smiled Sanyu. "And besides, I am a 'twisted maniac' after all." He turned to Kotoro, a smirk on his face. "Do you accept?"
Kotoro hesitated, wondering if he should risk his life like this. 'I've already lost my life once. I don't want to go through that again... But, I have to save Kaitsu, too. I guess I have no choice…" Sighing heavily, he looked up at Sanyu.
"I accept."
Sanyu smiled. "Alright then. You choose first."
Kotoro looked down at the two cards. 'If I chose the right card, I'll be able to pass through unharmed. But if I chose the wrong card…' He sighed. This was definitely a game of luck, and he'd need a lot of luck to win this.
Making his decision, he extended his hand and chose the card on the right. Sanyu smiled, choosing the card on the left. Both of them raised their cards and looked at them, eyes widening at what they saw…
Me: nyahaha! This is the most climatic cliffhanger ever! I bet you all hate me for doing this! nee! XD
Kotoro: Okay, now I'm scared…
Me: You better be. Hehe…
Kotoro: (sweatdrop)
Takari: And now for review replies.
Kai- Yeah, I feel sorry for Nori too. I added the squirrel part for comedy, since it was getting depressing. At first I wanted it to be a bird spying on Kaitsu, but then I changed it to a squirrel. Hehe…
Ninja Mage- The squirrels for humor. It was supposed to be a bird, but the squirrel was funnier. Yeah, my e-mail alerts are wacking out too. (kicks computer) stupid thing… Anywho, you updated! Yay! (runs off to read and see Kadaj) hehe…
The Keyblade Master- Go randomness! (waves flag) Yep, random is what I am. I added the squirrel part for comedy. And I said that about five times now…
Me: That's all for now! Read and review!
Merielle
