The fragility of all creatures had always lain within their hearts. Humans have always been seen as the weakest, for they oftentimes will wear his or her own heart on their sleeve. The supernatural viewed this as foolish. Why would anything be so stupid as to risk having their hopes dashed; to have some jerk rip to shreds the organ that provided them warmth and life? Very few supernatural came to know why, and those that did… those were the ones that found themselves marrying a human. Loving a human for the very fragility that gave them a strength unique to their kind that no lycan, vampire, demon, angel, or even demi-god could achieve, and all for wearing a heart on his or her sleeve.
Humans have always been such strange creatures. With haunting pasts, they wipe their memory clean in order to live. With broken hearts, they block off all possibilities of future trust in fear of the remnants of what love they have being ruined. With loss they lose their sanity, and reach for something no longer there for them… Interestingly enough, the supernatural refuses to admit committing similar actions. They refuse to acknowledge that where emotions are concerned, all fall to their every whim. A creature controlled by their feelings alone spiral from their own control, their lives controlled by strings skillfully handled by the puppeteer oftentimes referred to as fate. As with all inhabitants of both the earth and its components, fate always leads to one's death…
Tomoki made his way off of the arena, body shaking and tears flowing in tributaries down his cheeks. He had been everybody's fool, a pawn in all of this. He knew inside that Yamaki was unaware of what Kisei had done, but he also knew that Hinshi just used him. She had used him in order for her to be killed, freeing Eimin from Kisei's power. Although, the young Himi was also unaware of what else Hinshi had done using him. Falling from the edge, he was caught by Junpei who held him steady before gently setting him down. The others crowded him, fussing over him, as their concern for him ran deep. The young brunette turned away from them, feeling his guilt inside wishing their worry was directed at the lizard hanyou. He knew the hanyou was their enemy, but still… Eimin didn't even know he was participating in this tournament until he 'woke up.' The one he loved was killed before his eyes, and the only reason she gave was that she didn't want him to suffer. How could someone suffer in a dreamlike world where reality couldn't hurt you?
"Tomoki?" Takuya asked, his eyes worried, afraid something may have happened he did not see.
"Kisei must be regretting his first big mistake by now…" Yamaki whispered, and bent down to become eye-level with Tomoki. "Hey, listen." His voice was soft, assuring.
"What?" The young Himi croaked out, eyes downcast. He couldn't face the others… Even if he hadn't been in control, he still killed an innocent.
"If you want, you may go inside to be alone. No one is going to make you stay here," Yamaki informed him, ruffling the young teen's hair. The others in the group watched, witnessing their Sponsor care for the youngest as if he were his own child. Whispering a soft 'thanks,' the Himi began walking back to where they entered, silent. He didn't need anyone to persuade him to leave, and he wouldn't have listened to those who would try to tell him to stay. The blonde adult watched him, a wistful sigh escaping his lips.
"Yamaki…" Kouji began, eyes narrowed. "Was Kisei manipulating them?" he asked, his suspicions that had developed from when he saw the teeth marks on Kaishi's back at the train station all those months ago finally being voiced.
"It appears that way," Yamaki replied, grunting as he stood upright once more.
"Manipulating them…?" Izumi inquired, gazing at the two with a curious yet threatening look.
"Kind of like how you used that mind thing when we were back home to make me go to bed?" Takuya grumbled, eyeing Kouji with irritated eyes. Everyone's eyes landed on Kouji accusingly.
"It's not like that!" The now flustered vampire scowled. "He wouldn't go to sleep on school nights!" This explanation was then followed by a multitude of irked remarks from the speaker.
"Similar, but not quite," Yamaki chuckled, answering the brunette's question (despite it having been directed to Kouji). "Our vampire just used a mild mind manipulation, something that could only be used for simple things… like putting prey to sleep and such." Takuya twitched at Yamaki's choice of words. "Kisei used a more advanced version of it. He bit and spliced the blood of those he had bitten, which in turn made them somewhat slaves of his. I'm not sure of just how far he went with it, but judging by how much difference has become apparent in Eimin's personality… it was alarmingly extreme. Thus, he had full control over them, like a puppet-master with his marionettes," he explained, and glanced up to view the occurrences between Kisei and his group.
"Tch, shows an evil man can only get what he wants through force…" Izumi snorted.
"Have to admit…" Junpei said, a hint of regret in his words, "A successful evil man is a powerful man if he uses force to control more than one person." The blonde girl couldn't say anything to that. As they exchanged words with each other, perhaps to ease the tension, Kaishi was talking quietly to Eimin; meanwhile, Zanshi paced and made wild arm movements. A small, unusual cloud was beginning to form around the young hanyou.
"Junpei, you wanted to fight Eimin, right?" Yamaki nonchalantly asked, watching the events unfold on the other side.
"Yeah, why?" The lightning demon peered at the Sponsor.
"Because whether Kisei likes it or not, he has to send in Eimin this round," Yamaki explained.
"The winner of the first match was Tomoki, with Hinshi officially dead," Cursed announced. She had to double-check the body of the shape-shifter, for doubts filled her mind of whether or not the dead woman was really dead. "Now… Yamaki, send in your contestant!" she ordered, paying no minds to Angelics rushing to the platform to grab the dead body and cart it away.
"Right," Junpei nodded to what Yamaki said, and walked up onto the arena with determined eyes. Even if Eimin was not in his right mind, he had still killed one of Junpei's old friends. He would extract vengeance for the death of Mizu, while also reclaiming her honor. She died for love, and now he would ensure her sacrifice wasn't in vain.
"Wait…" Eimin called to them, reaching out for Hinshi's hand. The Angelics rushed away, sensing the rising energy levels in the lizard hanyou. His hand shook when they simply left with his dearly departed, as his orange eyes clouded with rising tears. He had just wanted to touch her, to determine if this was real or not. The line between dreams the actuality of a situation was gone, and he could not find it. He searched and searched but between doubts, desires, and knowledge, the answer could not be found. Kaishi watched the actions and reactions, silent for the moment.
"Kisei, send in your contestant," Cursed snapped, and the vampire looked up from his conversation with Villiyan. He glowered at her, got up, and finally roughly grabbed an alarmed and afraid Eimin from Kaishi. He tossed the hanyou onto the arena, and resumed his seat near his 'wife.'
"He came to consciousness." Villiyan stated, a cruel smirk playing on her lips. She was right, and he was wrong. Then, she felt her insides burn. "Ah—!" She twisted in her seat, trying to escape the internal burning.
"I know," Kisei growled, now lessening the internal combustion of her stomach until it faded into a feeling of cold steel.
"…" She said nothing, but gave a glare at him speaking words she longed to say but dared not to.
"If fate chooses, then Eimin's moment of emotional deterioration will wipe out the Lightning demon. That would work in our favor, and the physical deterioration following afterwards will just save us the time of removing him ourselves. If fate decides otherwise, however…" Kisei gritted his teeth. "There will be problems. Hinshi used that illusionist's abilities to utterly ruin the remnants of the spell on Kaishi and Zanshi."
"Like there'll be a difference in Zanshi," Villiyan snorted.
"Oh, you'd be surprised," Kisei told her darkly.
"All right!" Cursed proclaimed, whirling around to see the audience as she spoke. "It's Junpei of Sponsor Yamaki against Eimin of Sponsor Kisei!" She dashed out of the way, the Angelics immediately raising a new barrier to protect onlookers. The Lightning demon faced the crumpled and crying heap of a hanyou, now unsure of what to do. His opponent wasn't attacking him… and certainly wasn't in any condition to fight. He felt like a cheater, even if the rules said nothing about attacking someone incapable of fighting.
"H-hey…" Junpei awkwardly began. "We're supposed to—"
"Why'd she die?" Eimin asked.
"Because that's the rules…?" Junpei blinked, noticing a cloud rise behind the hanyou.
"…The rules?" The hanyou looked up at him.
"Yeah, we're in a tournament… a fight to the death. Ah… ehh… what are you…?" Junpei began, backing up. The cloud was darkening, solidifying into a form with glowing orange eyes.
"Hmm… interesting," Kisei chuckled, watching.
"Ah hell," Kouichi winced, watching from the stands. The others turned to look at him. "Leave it to Kisei to get himself someone from the Tokage Clan." He cursed beneath his breath.
"And…?" Miyako asked, worry in her eyes.
"They're known for their quick-thinking and calculative mannerisms… as well as strength and summoning." He flinched, despite being an apparition.
"That won't be too bad for Junpei," Miyako mumbled, her faith apparent.
"It will be if Eimin summons a lizard demon… you do realize some of them have scales resistant to lightning, right?" Kouichi asked, grim. The others were silent, putting their attention (and worry) on Junpei.
"The entire reason we are here, is to kill each other?" Eimin asked, eyes glazing.
"Yeah…" Junpei answered, eyeing the hanyou with distrust. Maybe he shouldn't be telling the other this? That cloud's form was beginning to become menacing in appearance. Eimin shakily got up.
"Why?" The hanyou asked.
"So… so the winner has the chance to ask for anything," Junpei explained, and froze. He really shouldn't have said that.
"…You mean, if I win… I can ask for Hinshi-san to come back…?" Eimin asked, his mind already working to find a way to repair the body.
"Ah fu—" Junpei didn't finish his sentence before the cloud finalized its form. A large komodo dragon snarled before him, with a fan of the spikes along its joints and a hiss of its breath. Eimin adjusted his glasses, staring coldly at Junpei.
"I hold nothing against you, for you've done no wrong. I'm terribly sorry, but if that's the rules and there's a way to retrieve my Hinshi-san…" Eimin explained, and sighed as the large reptilian demon crawled to stand protectively in front of him. "You must understand, if there's someone you love whom you just lost and there is a possibility of having them with you again…" The hanyou's eyes softened. "I'm sorry," he apologized. Junpei was taken aback. Without the control of the ever-so polite Kisei… Eimin was far more considerate than he was previously. Figures.
"I suppose I understand what you're saying, but that doesn't mean I'll let you win." Junpei grinned, his body charging up inside.
"You must have your reasons then," Eimin nodded, feeling that perhaps Junpei wanted to save someone close to him as well. The Lightning demon began his approach to the other demon, though he faltered in his steps some. What exactly were his reasons? Because, one: Izumi wanted to save the humans, and two: he wanted her to be happy. Did that justify him, though? The lizard demon barreled at him, snarling and hissing along its way. Weaving a disc of lightning, he threw it like a spinning saw at the lizard, and it released a shriek as the lightning fired through it. Startled, Eimin felt the burning of his now charring scales.
"I don't have reasons as good as yours… but…" Junpei whispered, releasing his strike as powerfully as he could. If Eimin survived it, he'd just summon a lizard demon immune to electrical attacks. He had to take advantage of the hanyou's lack of knowledge and take him down with the chance still available. "But you did kill my friend, no matter how I look at it!" What they got in the end didn't matter to him. So long as he had Izumi and she was happy… nothing else mattered. Not a scream escaped from Eimin's throat, but as the last waves of the electrical attack died and he fell, soft words did.
"Oh… I'm still seeing you, Hinshi-san… You're right there…" Eimin whispered, eyes becoming blank. Due to his scales, the outside damage was minimal to severe burns. Unfortunately, also because of his scales heating so quickly and easily, his blood was boiling to degrees, which meant a quick but still painful death. Hitting the ground with a 'thump,' he made no movement other than trying to reach for someone that wasn't there…
"The winner is Junpei!" Cursed shouted from her speaker box, and the side with Kouichi and the gang cheered. "And my, that was a fast battle!" she commented, alarmed by just how short it was. Very unusual indeed. Junpei got off the platform, apathetic, paying no mind to the gripes of the Angelics removing the dead body. For healers, they certainly didn't sound too caring.
"That was amazing…" Izumi breathed, looking at Junpei in awe. Apprehension was on her features, however, once his expression became clearer to her. "…What is it?" She asked, walking over to him.
"When we win this tournament… then what?" he asked.
"We celebrate…?" Takuya asked, offering a suggestion.
"Now isn't the time for jokes," Ruki snapped, but the brunette ignored her.
"We'll decide when that time comes. Until then, let's worry about our remaining combatants," Yamaki sighed, and looked up. He watched Cursed ask Kisei to send in their next contestant, and Villiyan walked onto the arena with a hard look. "Who wants to fight the bitch?" he asked.
"I'm menstruating, pissed off that Kisei would manipulate like that, and not to mention someone needs to avenge Junpei's friend Kagami. I think my bitchiness right now can beat the blood vomit out of hers," Izumi declared, giving the blonde man a thumbs-up.
"Izumi…" Junpei sighed, grabbing her shoulder. She smiled at him.
"Don't worry. From what I can tell, Villiyan is doing everything of her own free will. I'll have no regrets ridding the world of someone like that." Izumi gave a sly grin after saying so. "Besides, I need to give you something afterwards. I'm not dying." She winked, and ran up the stairs to the arena where an irritated Cursed waited for her.
"Now that we have both contestants…" The referee coughed, and ruffled her hair, glancing between the two. "Izumi versus Villiyan, rea—AHH! YOU DON'T ATTACK UNTIL I SAY SO!" Cursed shrieked, scrambling off of the arena to escape the immediate attack from Villiyan. The vampire had taken out a large scimitar, and charged directly for Izumi, not caring that doing so meant plowing through a startled fox spirit. Now nursing a sliced stomach, Cursed glared angrily at the two females, one striking and the other dodging. Holds her arm over the large gash, she waited for her magic to set in and heal it.
The blonde teen had moved just barely in time, and was continuing her avoidance of Villiyan's ongoing attack. Growling, her ears began to develop into a more pointed fashion as her teeth sharpened. Her nails grew and extended, hard claws developing from the flimsy cuticles that belonged to a once fully human body. Her hair on her arms and legs stood straight up, while her eyes slanted with the pupils slitting in the light of the coliseum. It was difficult to avoid the strikes and at the same time morph into her were-cat form, with her bones snapping in the wrong areas and forcing a rushed healing process that was wearing her energy down. Not one to be downed by the minor details, Izumi continued this process, knowing Villiyan herself wasn't aware of what she was getting into.
The vampress flipped backwards, her high-heels slicing at Izumi's chin as the blonde had begun bending backwards to avoid any tricks the blue-clad woman had. She just barely missed that trick. The small cut trickled lightly, and Izumi wiped some of the blood away, glaring. Standing nearby, Villiyan turned her head just slightly to give a side-view of her face upturned to the moon in the distance. The two glowered angrily at one another, Izumi's transformation completing it's process finally. Her eyes bent backwards, her mouth frowned in a snarl as fangs slid over her lips. Villiyan merely grinned in return, her own vampiric fangs hanging over her parted lips. A split second after the exchange of imposing threats through mere facial expressions, they clashed, Izumi using her claws to hold back the steel scimitar. Pushing forward with both her strength and bodyweight, Villiyan hoped to knock Izumi back and take advantage of the were-cat's stumble to make a fatal slash.
Using her own force, Izumi was the one to knock Villiyan back, and the vampiress barely stumbled before retaining her balance. With the snap of several bones in her spine, she did a sidekick and her heel sliced past the blonde's cheek, making the were-cat jerk away. Exchanging a glare and smirk, the two clashed again. This time, however, it was in a frenzy of claws scraping against steel and knees mashing into soft flesh, heels digging into weak spots, toe claws ripping skin. The turbulent attacks were quick, over before the blink of an eye, but the damage remained clear. Izumi was sustaining gashes, bruises, and cuts all over her body, yet Villiyan's body healed its wounds almost as fast as they appeared. Yet the progressive loss of blood was certainly having its effects, as the blue-clad woman's movements slowed.
Their flurry of exchanged attacks moved them all over the arena, oftentimes barely managing to avoid falling off the edge from the dive. 'Shit,' Izumi thought, stabbing her claws through Villiyan's gut, only to have the scimitar slice through her right foot. Wincing as she ignored the pain, she used her other hand to get a tight grip on Villiyan's bloodied hand and wrench the sword free from her foot and the strange cement beneath them.
'I need to kill her… but how?' Her agitation was growing, the internal predator of the cat getting progressively more restless about the fact its opponent was still alive and moving. She knew from Kouji that light would do the trick, or even fire. However, she was not Takuya, who could light things with his bare hands, nor was she Junpei, who could summon lightening. Not even Kouji, who could bend and control artificial light! She seriously doubted the whole 'stake through the heart' trick would work. Vampires were dead; they didn't need their heart. They may have still had one, but that didn't mean they used the organ, except in the metaphorical 'I love you' manner.
The blows being exchanged between the two dangerous women were developing into more critical and thought-out, each wishing to end this almost infinite trade. As such, they both knew they had to defend themselves better, and so, often these hits did very little damage. Having an idea, Izumi spun and used her tail to knock the scimitar out of Villiyan's grasp. It was only with sheer luck she managed this, only achieving it because the blood pooling around the vampiress's hands made the handle too slippery for her to hold. Both females snapped their attention to where it landed. Looking at each other, they both returned their attention on the blade and made a wild dash for it. Izumi slid towards it as the unusual cement scraped her skin, and she snatched up the scimitar before Villiyan's hand reached it, and whirled around. The last visual before her blue eyes was that of the vampiress's eyes widening in horror. The revolting sound of scimitar tearing across Villiyan's neck resulted in Izumi's stomach churning, and the warm blood raining down upon her of reeked of victory and metal.
A smash was heard, and Izumi snapped her eyes open to see what it had been. Blood was still raining down upon her, but that wasn't what the smashing had been. Her eyes flicked around before she spotted it—half a head stared at her, a jaw slack and skull bones poking through the side that appeared to be broken off. Near it, bits of ash rolled around as they were drenched in the red liquid, and shattered remnants of the skull lay nearby. How it came to be that Villiyan's head came to be that way was a mystery to Izumi. Wanting to know why it poured blood still, she turned her head to the side, trying to avoid the droplets from getting into her eyes. There, before her, was the jerking body of Villiyan's—the utterly headless body. The arms flailed around wildly, the legs twisted and snapping as they tried to balance a dying body. Blood sprayed out of the neck where the vampiress was decapitated, the life of it draining and draining and draining…
It at last fell backwards, spasms wracking it. The hands clawed at something, anything, to keep it going. Without a head there was nothing to control it, and Izumi had a feeling Villiyan's very soul was trapped inside the body. Nails snapped off completely as they scraped the cement, and flesh tore to create more bleeding wounds. No longer able to handle watching this, Izumi stood up, still clutching the scimitar. Raising it above her head, she swung it down once, cutting the body twice, three, four times.
"Die already!" she screamed, tears forming in her eyes. What kind of soul would want to remain in a headless body? Who would want to live forever so badly? What kind of life did Villiyan lead up until then to want to continue living? Cutting up the twitching body, it took several minutes before Izumi realized she hacked it up to nothing but mush that was progressively turning to a black goop. The body still twitched, churning in its rapid decay. The soul was still inside; someone still strived to live.
"Please… just… just die already…" the blonde whimpered, before her knees buckled beneath her and she fell to the ground, not noticing the pain searing through her own aching wounds.
"Izumi!" Cursed yelled. "The match is over, Villiyan's dead! She's dead! Get off the damn arena!" The referee hollered. That wasn't the first time she had seen someone freak out because they thought a body was still alive due to the nerve convulsions.
"It's… it's still moving…" Izumi said, so quietly it should have been to herself rather than the fox spirit. Cursed rolled her eyes, and hopped onto the arena. Grabbing Izumi's bleeding arm, she roughly pulled the were-cat off of it and tossed her down to Junpei to catch.
"It's called 'nerves.' That happens sometimes when you decapitate a body," Cursed hissed. Her intention wasn't to be cruel. It was to be fair. She had done that countless times to other participants, and she would not lighten up on someone just because she was secretly rooting for them. Turning on her heel, she returned to the center. "Sponsor Yamaki! Send in your next combatant!" she ordered.
"It's my turn," Ruki hissed, and stormed up to the arena. The others looked at each other, confused.
"It seems Ruki has finally gotten her chance to do what she came here for," Yamaki sighed, adjusting his glasses.
"And that is…?" Takuya asked, letting the sentence hang so Yamaki could finish it. The blonde man gave a grave grin.
"The biggest motivator known to man: vengeance."
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. This goes for all previous chapters that I made the mistake of including this. SO DUN SUE ME! Please! I need money to try and get to college... please...? No... suing... at all... ;.;
A/N: Hey you guys! I CAN LOGIN AGAIN! OMG! Let's hope this time, it doesn't stop working! Again! Sadly though, this still doesn't mean faster updates (I bet all of you just thought, "YOU BITCH!" didn'tcha? XD Nu worries, you have every right too. This thing has been going for a friggin' year and it's STILL not done). See, I got this freaky thing called a "job". For some reason, this "job" decided it needs to distract me with free cookies and lemonade. EAT MORE SUBWAY YO! XD Anywho... the Private Message feature actually seems pretty cool. X3 Mind you, I still think it's a frivolous way to compensate for taking away our privelages of replying to reviews on the actual chapters. Really. What if you don't have an account? Not everyone feels safe giving their e-mail out. Silly admin.
Shitza: Well... everyone CAN live. It all comes down to my mood at the moment. Like, let's say I just broke off one of my arms, blood is gushing everywhere... I'll be a smidge saddened and someone in this may die. XD J/k... seriously though, who knows? And uhm... who may I kill that won't involve a chainsaw being revved up as a wake-up call? o.o Just curious.
Angel Born of Darkness: Heh, I hardly rock. This needs to be updated FAR more often, ne ne?
Lalalala-FUJISAKI-Lalalala: It was confusing? How so? o.o Dodn't mean to give you a head ache, gomen gomen!
takuya: XD Glad you liked that chappy! Hope this one gets an as enthusiastic reply!
GemmaniGirl: Ne! Tanya-san, dun hit GG-san! Kisei versus Takky... ah yes... -Chapter mocks HP- ...Kouichi! STOP HAUNTING HER HOUSE! Dun make me get Serlio! Or worse... the... WHO YA GONNA CALL! GHOSTBUSTERS!
silverkaze013: Sad things are saddening and very bad. u.u
Largo-sensei: Know what? I AGREE! And I LOVE YOU! -Hugs-
The New Shinigami Hikari: Limited computer time bites! Let's protect it by eating pocky! Ready? Steady? GO! XD Nya, glad you likies the way the charries were portrayed in this. Usually people don't take so well to it. Arigatou! -Hug-
Sailor Epyon: Everything you just typed in that review has just made me one very happy Subway worker. -Hugs- I MISS TALKING TO J00! -Sniffle- And yesh, you spelled Eimin correctly! Yay, PixLea-san ish TEH PWNER!
