"Never!" Tarja screamed. "You've tormented me long enough you bastard!" She leapt into the air and nearly slammed into Claudio on the way down. The wolf leader barely dodged her attack.
"You've gotten faster," he chuckled. Tarja growled.
"Stop toying with me," she snarled at him. "I'm serious. I will kill you."
"You would honestly take that boy over me?" Claudio's eye flashed with rage.
Nikolas came forward suddenly. "There is another that she loves, master. A doctor named Hatori."
Tarja gasped. Suddenly, Hatori was lunged forward out of the darkness. Claudio smirked.
"Well, this one is a bit better," he admitted. "But no match for me." He stepped toward the doctor, who had a terrified look on his face.
"Leave him alone," Tarja demanded. "Fight me now!" She pulled herself into wolf form and lunged for Claudio. It was Hatori's first time seeing her change and he stared in amazement.
She was going to die for him. He knew it. That Claudio would tear her to pieces. Akito stumbled to Hatori and he put his arms around the boy who was nude and freezing.
Tarja and Claudio rolled to the ground in a pile of fur. The leader sunk his monstrous fangs into Tarja's side and she howled. Her claws dug into Claudio's neck and the male wolf sent her flying into the wall.
She returned to human form and grinned at Claudio. "You really think I'd come back to you? Over my dead body!"
"Then so be it," Claudio roared and charged her. She was lifted and slammed against the wall. Large claws dug into her throat as he began to strangle her.
She looked to Hatori, offering him a small grin. It was over and they both knew it. Blood poured from her wounds.
"Eat shit and die," she choked out. Claudio growled and slammed her harder into the wall. She felt the concrete crumbling behind her. The pain was unbearable and she felt herself slipping away.
Suddenly, Claudio howled. Tarja squinted her eyes open just enough to see Hatori standing behind Claudio with a steel pipe. The other half of the pipe was sticking out of Claudio's chest.
He let Tarja drop, who used the opportunity to escape. Claudio sent Hatori flying and he landed on the ground hard.
"Hatori!" Tarja screamed. She felt an adrenaline rush hit her and knew she only had a moment to do this.
Claudio never saw it coming. In a moment his throat had been torn wide-open, blood gushing from the wound. He stuttered, trying to scream. He ended up choking on his own blood and Tarja watched as the life seeped away from the man who had tormented her for centuries.
She sank against the wall, completely drained. She'd be lucky if she lived through this. Akito approached her slowly, sitting next to her. He had Hatori's coat wrapped around him.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Tarja shook her head. She knew she wasn't.
"Even you're doctor probably can't save me now," she whispered. "We share the same fate now. Death is on the horizon for us all."
She rose from her spot, stumbling over to Hatori. She pulled him up into her arms and wiped away the blood that was running down his face.
Must have knocked his skull on impact with the concrete, she diagnosed. His eyes opened slowly and he looked up at her.
"Hey," she smiled.
"Is it over" he asked quietly. She nodded.
"I get to be free now," she told him. He grinned, too. Then he noticed the blood all over her.
"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked. She nodded again.
"Go help Akito," she chuckled. "He's more shaken up than I am." Akito had been watching this display of affection with a bit of envy. He had wanted her.
Hatori stood shakily and found his footing. He approached the boy and made sure he was all right.
Tarja sat against the wall again, closing her eyes. It would be all right to sleep for just a moment, right?
"Hatori!" Akito's eye went wide as he looked at Tarja. Hatori's eyes followed the boy's gaze and he froze.
"Tarja?" he said softly. When he got no answer, he moved to the wolf girl. She was cold and unmoving. "Tarja!" he said a bit louder, panic sounding in his voice.
She didn't stir. Hatori hung his head, not wanting to let tears fall, but fall they did. He pulled her into his arms and sobbed.
"I'm sorry, Hatori," Akito put his hand on Hatori's shoulder. "She's gone."
"No," Hatori sobbed. "You can't die. Not now."
She was dressed in all white. They brought her back to her homeland, the entire Zodiac tagging along.
Tohru put her head on Yuki's shoulder, crying softly. He held her hand. Kagura had her arms wrapped around Kyo, who didn't seem to care so much. Shigure and Ayame stood together solemnly. Akito was wrapped in the arms of Kureno. Kisa and Hiro stood together.
Everyone was with someone. Except Hatori. He stood alone, staring down at the body of the woman he had come to love.
The lights from the fire danced across his face, etching eerie shadows as he watched his lover burn.
A wind moved through his hair, and a voice carried with it. He turned to it and found a figure dancing through the trees.
"I'll be back," he muttered, to anyone who cared to listen. He staggered lifelessly into the forest, mesmerized by the figure that kept moving just out of his range of sight.
He came to a clearing, opening into a beautiful lake.
There she was. Tarja.
"You're here," his voice broke.
"I love you, Hatori," she sang. He saw her as she would have been before she became a werewolf. Lovely locks of red hair hung down her back and she was clothed in white.
"Don't leave me," he broke. She approached him slowly, a sad smile on her face.
"I'll wait for you," she whispered, placing a kiss on his forehead. Then she was gone.
"Hatori?" He turned to find Shigure staring down at him. "Are you alright?"
The doctor stood and stared out over the lake. "I will be," he said. Then he and Shigure went back through the forest, to observe the rest of the funeral.