Fifteen Rose Blaze

Disclaimer: liahime doesn't own Digimon... she never has, and never will..

Priscilla's scream hung in the air, echoing in the silence. The air seemed to vibrate with the shrill sound. Not a person moved- they hung in position, frozen like pale marble statues in the darkness. The only sound was leaves crackling, rushing to eat the resined mountain of needles. Fire rushed up from Itachi's dropped torch, crawling up to light the darkness.

The pine trees were ringed with fire. The smoke rushing into the clearing brought them all back to their senses. Itachi pocketed the knife and as easily as a magician pulling a rabbit from a top hat, drew two long and silver swords from his dark cape. In the name of fair play, he could have given his brother one of the swords- but then again, he was an assassin, and they weren't there to enforce justice and fairplay, after all.

He swept forward, metal whistling through the air. He had always preferred fighting in night. It was all going as he had ever dreamed it would be. His helpless brother's destruction coming to a climatic end. Fire burning, chaos reigning- his arms rushing forward, lunging-

and it was over. He stood on the other side, unharmed. It was over. Years of pent up revenge and anger, ended in one quick swipe. It was so easy- all the years of waiting and building up everything to this moment- was this it?

The twin blades he held clashed with another, weaker one. He flowed to an attack position, blocking out his brother's attacks as easily as if they had been from a blind man wielding a toothpick. It wasn't the challenge that he had built it up to be- it was simple.

With a quick cut through the air, he snapped the blade in half, leaving Ryo weaponless once more. He wouldn't miss this time. Inches away, he found his hand stopped.

The little princess glared up at him. His brother could wait, after all. He sent his dark sword down on to the shorter, rusty blade, only to find it's point swept up to his aw.

He flowed from one lunge to the next cut, waiting for her to fall off balance. But no matter how quickly he cut or how complicated the sword tip moved, Rika's sword always stopped his. Their bodies were linked and separated by the blade. At times they came close, until momentum rushed them apart. Action followed by reaction- a chain of movement and change. It was time frozen and yet so rushed his breath began to grow ragged. Her flaming hair flew out behind her as he cut up and over and under. And for a moment, Itachi wished this moment frozen in memory so he could take it out, thaw it and relive the fight over and over again.

In fact, one would almost think he was in love with her.

But it was impossible. This girl was his brother's ally and thus against Itachi. She was part of the enemy his brother had become.

After all, he was an assassin. A murderer who had and would spend his life, from first breath to last, living for gold and blood. He was supposed to have a heart of stone. Black as coal. Hard as granite and just as cold.

Ignoring the crack growing wider and wider in the icy shield surrounding his heart, he closed his eyes and threw himself back into the attack.

It's better this way. If you have no one to lose, you will never lose anyone, his brain told him.

But his heart had a different story.

-

Priscilla marched towards Ryo, pulling his arm nearly out of it's socket. She slapped him, her gloved hand leaving a stinging red print on his face.

For a moment, she thought to herself that it must have been a trick of the light- something there was no possible chance for. After all, shouldn't she the person who had sacrificed this much- handbag, shoes, and the hem of her dress were past all hope- love her back too? He couldn't love another... It couldn't be.

"Are you out of your mind?" She hissed.

Ryo ignored her, searching the ground for another sword, without much luck. "Probably. Yes."

"You kissed that dirty little ruffian! I can not believe you! She's disgustingly ugly...she's rough and unmannered- she's just plain filthy!" Tears sprung up in her eyes, waiting for his sympathy. Priscilla vented off frustration inwardly. She couldn't keep this up much longer- her mascara was beginning to fade and threatened to run down her cheeks.

Ryo turned to face her, face icy cold. "Not a word."

"What!"

"Not a word. I've put up with you this long. But not a word more about Rika." His eyes were gem-hard, glinting like iced over sapphires.

"Ryo-chan.." She reached out, smiling. "I know you must feel bad about it, but I'm perfectly willing to forgive you for that... incident."

He stared at her, eyes boring into her for a long moment. She waited.

There was no answer. He turned away, disgusted, as if there was some colossal stupidity in her life that she hadn't discovered quite yet. She waited a second more.

No response.

She stormed up to him. "Well, if you're not going to forget about her, then I'll just steal the memory of that kiss from you!"

Barely tall enough to reach his chin, Priscilla stood on tiptoe, and before he could break away, kissed him.

-

And in that moment, Rika turned. Her gaze caught and traveled upwards.

Her eyes, taking it all in with murderous clarity, stabbed her heart that still didn't want to believe. In the split second that she had looked, Ryo Akiyama had been in the process of kissing- kissing- Priscilla.There was no way of mistaking it, however much she wanted to.

It had been the first kiss- for it was, after all the first, and probably the last as well, that she thought, that she'd ever experience. She had trusted him, and the moment her back was turned, and he had apparently gone off and had become attached himself at the lip to the first blonde princess in a skirt on his path.

She turned her head away, not sure of what to think. Itachi's sword was flashing downwards over and over again, leaving her with no time to think

Her head buzzed with exhaustion. In the smoky, choking darkness, she was forced into fighting, defending herself. Rika wanted to scream, wanted to cry, wanted to rewind time and go back to that moment to see if it had been lie or truth.

Her mind swayed, and her vision flickered. The sword felt like burning lead in her hands, weighing them down. Every sense she had seemed to dull, slowing her reaction.

There was a shriek behind her. Priscilla fell to the ground, tumbling through the pine needles. It seemed so far away... Her eyelids drooped and fell, as if they were cast in metal and had grown too heavy for her to pick up.

Her knees slowly collapsed as she dropped to the ground. The world spun around her, shaking the ground she stood on. Her vision danced with the flickering firelight. Only a thin barrier of self control kept her awake. Rika's head drooped, the curse-spell overwhelming her.

Itachi's swords flashed. The curved metal made it's way closer and closer to Rika's neck. Ryo was already up and running towards them.

Her consciousness crumbled away.

Itachi's sword came down in a full sweeping arc.

Rika fell.

-

She wasn't dead.

Couldn't be dead. There was no way. Ryo repeated it to himself over and over.

Yet as she lay there, still as a corpse on the dark ground, even the strongest optimist would have had doubts.

There was no blood. Head firmly attached to her neck, Rika lay on the ground. Scarlet hair littered the ground around her like a strange and exotic plant, leaving Rika's own hair cropped short.

Ryo sighed out in relief. Ignoring his waiting brother, he watched her body move up and down in short, shallow breaths fighting for air. Rika slept, between death and life.

-She had started to run out of the courtyard, tossing her helmet aside. It landed near the door of the office, and with it's absence, her hair came out- a flame of hair much longer than the average guy's.

And she kept running, never knowing about the boy watching her run all the way.-

She was running away again now. But this time, there was no chance of getting her back. She was dying in his hands, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

-He pulled her awkwardly to shore. "Don't talk. Breathe"

"I was fine-" She stood up, freezing in the breeze maliciously blowing past them.

"Perfectly fine drowning, I know." He shook the water off his hair, letting droplets scatter. "You need to get your leg bandaged up. Come on."-

She had stood there, trembling and bleeding that day, about to collapse. There had been something about her that made her seem eternal and otherworldly, as if the fairy gifts she at birth had changed her into something else.

-Rika!" He had called out from the dark night. "Scared?"

"No, not really." Her voice echoed, followed by the bobbing of the candle light.

"Nervous? Worried? Think that you'll fall?"

"I don't fall." The voice was matter-of-fact, as if stating an obvious fact known from the start of life. "No stumbling, tripping..." An arc of fire flame flowed from jump to jump. Her voice was wary, as if expecting something nasty from the other end. "It just happens."-

If she had expected a question, she didn't hear one. "Ah. You must be blushing then

He smoothed the hair away from her pale face. She was dying, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. Just wait, and watch. The curse unfolded inside of her, slowing her lungs and heart to a sluggish pace. Gripping her hand tightly, he rubbed it, making the blood flow through the veins and arteries.

And- though rare- Akiyama Ryo was put helpless against the enemy we all eventually meet. There was nothing he could do. He could only sit there, waiting, watching, and pleading for her life. It seemed as if it had been years ago, when she had still been able to leap and run.

He knew he could-and should- leave. Dawn was coming quickly, the sun staining the sky pink. He could get away, to a different country where he'd live a normal life, outside of a dungeon. The future called to him, telling him how wonderful life could be if he only just left now.

-But then, he remembered. Rika, on the lantern lit path, soaring past him in the full light of moonrise, past white flowers, cutting through the grass to rush by, almost on wings. A crying Rika, a laughing Rika. He could remember her, barely- when they were just little kids, she had still fought with the same inextinguishable spirit then. And there was the empty Rika, dying cold and sad, alone-.

Undoubtedly, he was the crazy, stupid, king of fools, and he'd be in chains for it the next day... gallows meat the next.

But he couldn't let Rika die alone.

-

Itachi stood there, ignored and torn. He could let the girl die, kill his brother off, and walk away with a satisfying end to his anger. If he assassinated a princess, a king, and his own brother, he'd rise above the hall of infamy. The gold would come rolling in. He'd be unchallenged, legendary. Richer than every monarch in the realm.

Or he could give it all up to save the girl, with hair the same fire-red his mother's had been, and eyes that sparkled like living amethysts that made him catch his breath each time. Reveal the antidotes that were hidden in Priscilla's kidskin gloves, spend the rest of his days penniless, with the knowledge that he had missed the perfect chance.

It was the first decision, the hardest decision, that any assassin makes.

Gold? Or life?

Itachi exhaled, worry lines creasing his forehead. He looked down at Rika, skin growing paler as he stood there. Her breathing grew ragged and forced. His little brother, the object that his hate had grown up targeting, was kneeling by her, looking smaller and more scared than he had ever looked before.

Pink clouds had already started to stain the sky. The lines on his forehead deepened and grew. "The antidote." Heads turned. "It's in her gloves. A back up, just in case something backfired."

Kami, he knew he would hate himself for this for years after...

But there were some things that just had to be done.

He pulled the beadwork off of the kidskin, revealing two tiny vials of glass, filled with liquid. "Have her drink this."

Dawn clouds gathered on the horizon, like a cloud of ridiculously pink sheep. The curse would break off any moment now. People would find themselves waking up- soldiers included. It was a matter of minutes now. Night was fading into sunrise.

Ryo anxiously poured the vial's contents into Rika's mouth, forcing her to swallow.

Priscilla looked smug. . "There's something else, but I'm not telling you." Her lower lip stuck out.

"What is it! Tell me!" His brother was frantic, practically begging.

Itachi sighed. "Two bags of gold."

Priscilla frowned. "Too little."

"Three bags, and a diamond."

"Nope!" She was astonishingly cheerful.

"Then name your price, brat!"

"I want him." She pointed one gloved finger at Ryo. "He becomes my personal servant for life. The little imposter down there lives. And there's no 'I prefer the dungeon' either."

Itachi turned to Ryo. "Your choice, Ryo. Her? Or the princess?"

Priscilla bristled. "I'm a princess too, thank you very much!"

Itachi's warning glare was enough. She quickly bit her lips, vowing not to talk.

Freedom or Rika?

Life called to him in the South Kingdom, where he'd be happy, safe, away from snotty princesses.

Could he live that way, knowing that he was there because he had let Rika die?

He looked up at Priscilla. "I accept your demand."

-

Anna- I will never get tired of hearing from my reviewers! (It's my motivation.. And also makes me feel bad when I'm being lazy, so I get back to work.) Thank you

Strawberry'd- Thank you for reviewing read whenever you want to... and if you're busy, don't.. Thank you again!

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Madd the sane- Thank you! I'll review your story eventually.. (I'm typing and also studying American history notes at the same time..)

DD6- Thank you tons for reviewing!

My Dream's Shadow- Glad you love it! Thank you!

DigiChick- yay! Glad you liked the fluff.. Sorry for the long wait..

Crystal Luna Starr- ah.. I hope you get un-stressed.. (I'm stressed too, lately..) Thank you for reviewing.. I'll try to make this more clear..

danchoo- thank you! Sorry for loong wait.

Dolce Saito- Thank you for waiting patiently.. I'm adding more romance soon, I hope..

Kari Minamoto- Itachi is in the not-in-US-bookstore manga. Um.. He is for sure in the Japanese manga and probably the anime (not dubbed, just sub-titled...) Thank you!

lady-snow- glad you liked the chapter.. Thank you for reviewing this..

Whitezetsu- Thank you for reviewing! Sorry for loong wait..

Lil' Lilo- thank you so much for reviewing!

craziestanimefan- thank you for reviewing the chapter.. You waited for such a long time.. I feel bad...

Lisha- yes.. Violence isn't the answer... but I did need a plot, so it came in! Thank you for reviewing!

HelloMimmy- My first reviewer for this chapter.. And the person who had to wait longest! I'm so sorry... DemiDeemon! (And DemiDevee too, of course..) Ok..! glad you like Priscilla.. I'm glad you like Priscilla.. (ok.. Kinda.) But.. It's nicer to have all of your characters liked at least a tiny bit! Thank you!

authoress note:

I am terribly sorry for the long delay... but liahime had SEVERE work load and writer's block. (I had to disconnect my internet just to get this done!...). So I'm terribly, terribly sorry everyone! BUT! To get this done, I worked on it during the school counselor's (extremely boring) lesson on bully-proofing and didn't get caught yay!

AUGH.. I need to go to Seattle in a few hours..(boring award ceremony..) so I'm sorry that I couldn't make this chapter better.. Imight rewrite this chapter when I get back.Please tell me what you think!

- rushing rushing not editing at ALL (that's a horrible habit. Never ever do that..)

.. liahime