"Ronin Warriors: The Final Victor"
By Onikage
Scroll Twenty: Carry On My Friends, Carry On
An annoying buzz pounded the insides of his skull loudly. Reaching over he knocked the alarm clock off the bedside table and sat up lazily. The nearly long forgotten sounds of birds sang sweetly in his ears and he blinked at the window. He was greeted with a great yet relieving shock. He opened the window and stuck his head out. His skin met with a warmer that usual breeze. Thank goodness. It finally stopped- A large, cold, and very wet chunk of melting snow slush fell on his head. "AUGH!" he yelped and shook himself and his hair free of the snow. "C-COLD!"
"… Sage. Damn, man! Keep it down!" Rowen growled from underneath the covers. "Rowen! Get up! It stopped snowing!!"
"Hooray for the snow… Beat it…" he growled. Sage sighed and snatched his bathrobe from the chair. "For your sake, you'd better be up by the time I get out of the bathroom."
"… Great. 'Nother four hours of sleep for me," he shot back. Sage frowned.
*****
"GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!!" Sai shouted as Kento and Ryo scrambled out of the kitchen. "Hey, Sai! Calm the fuck down, man!" Kento snapped and dodged an airborne knife. Ryo caught skillfully just before it impaled itself into the wall. "Shit! He's gone postal!"
"What the hell is your problem?!" Kento demanded a little freaked that he was almost hit with a rather sharp and large kitchen knife. He kicked the door open and stormed inside. "I said, GET OUT, Kento!!" he shouted again. He snatched another knife. Kento froze at the fired look in his sad eyes. The older boy was very prepared to use the carving knife if need be. "… S-sai, c'mon, man… Put the knife down," Kento began gently.
"Get… out, Kento, or so help me I'll-"
"Tell me what's wrong, buddy…" Kento pleaded. He opened his mouth to ask again, when Torrent's eyes flooded with tears and fell down his angry face freely. "… S-sai-"
"Leave me alone, Kento!" he ordered. "Just… go!" Kento backed away slowly and nodded. "S-sure thing, man…" Ryo waited for Kento and peeked around him as the door opened. He caught a glimpse of Sai leaning over the kitchen sink. "Kento, what's wrong with him?" he whispered.
"… I dunno, man. He won't even lemme talk to him… He's freakin' out…" he replied and began down the hall towards the study. Ryo followed him after glancing back at the kitchen door. "… Y'know, I think we're all a little freaked now," Ryo said.
"Never like this… Dude, Rowen's been sleeping for like ever-"
"That's nothin' to worry about," Ryo smirked.
"After not sleeping for a fuckin' week?! Sage has been sleeping in late, you've been holed up in your room without eating or coming out to watch the hockey game, and I haven't been hungry lately… I'm not hungry, man!! That's not normal! Now Sai is throwing knives at people! Dude… this's never happened before." Kento went on ahead into the study. "What about the girls?" Ryo asked. Kento flopped down at Mia's desk and fiddled with a couple of paperclips and pencils. "They're all pretty out of it. None of them wanna do anything besides study. Domo's been training with Dais non-stop. Tori's not talking, period. Sakura, Megami, and Nasake have been just hitting the books… Cale and Sekhmet are sick… Anubis… Kayura and Mia have been cleaning all week. They waxed the floor three times in the front hall… Busted my ass comin' down for breakfast this morning…" Kento sighed. "Yuli and the kid seem to be the only ones acting the same. I don't think that they're really aware of how bad it's gotten…" he added.
"We need to get them out of the house… do something. Train. Walk. Run. DATE-"
"'Date'?? … Don't even mention that word… Sakura and Megami are all gaga over the Incredible Knife-Throwing Psycho…" he muttered. Ryo smirked went to the window. "Oh, now I wouldn't say that," he sang.
"What, what, what?!"
"I dunno…"
"Telll meee…" he pleaded.
"Oh… It's just that Megami can't stop talking about you…" Kento shot up in his chair. "Are you shittin' me?!"
"The walls are pretty thin, man. You should talk to her or something…" Kento blushed heavily. "I dunno, man… Dais said we shouldn't… you know… get too involved…"
"Since when do you listen to him?"
"Since he gave me nightmares about that bag of cookies I ate in one day," he shuddered. "… I still get jitters just lookin' at oatmeal raisins…" Ryo raised an eyebrow.
"You got issues man…"
"Hey at least I don't eat cat food…"
"That wasn't my fault! Whiteblaze ate all the other food! I was starving!"
"Even I'm not that bad…" Kento smirked.
*****
Sakura rushed halfway down the stairs at the sounds of shouting. "Hey, Sai! Calm the fuck down, man!" Kento snapped and dodged an airborne knife. Ryo caught skillfully just before it impaled itself into the wall. "Shit! He's gone postal!"
"What the hell is your problem?!" She watched him burst into the kitchen and listened intently:
"… S-sai, c'mon, man… Put the knife down."
"Get… out, Kento, or so help me I'll-"
"Tell me what's wrong, buddy…" There was a pause. "… S-sai-"
"Leave me alone, Kento! … Just… go!"
"S-sure thing, man…" Kento returned to the hall where Ryo had waited for him. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but after they left she crept down the stairs and put her ear against the door. Nothing, but the sound of running water. She opened the door and saw him leaning over the sink, gripping the edges until his knuckles turned white. His ears perked and his shoulders tensed. "I told you, Kento! Get… ou…t… S-sakura-sama," whispered as he saw her just a few steps away. He dried his eyes and frowned again. She stood beside him at the sink and touched his sleeve.
"Need some help?" she asked when she spotted the unfinished cookie batter. He opened his mouth and turned away. "… N-no… S-sakura, please… I need to be a lone for a bit," he said softly and shut off the water.
"I… I know… but I… I don't want to be alone right now," she whispered after a moment. Sai stiffened at the building tears in her voice. He turned and saw her crying into a dishcloth. "Sakura…" he began and touched her wrists. I completely forgot about them… Lord… He met with some resistance as he pulled the cloth away from her face. "C'mon, love… Put that down… You don't know what I've been cleaning," he said with a soft smile. She lowered her face and stared down at the little fish on his apron. She didn't say anything. He simply sighed and held her shoulders gently. "C'mon… Help me make dinner," he said. Sakura snapped her tear-stained face up.
"But it's only nine thirty!" she sniffled.
"And it's gonna take all day… I don't know 'bout you, but I want something solid in my stomach."
"… Yeah… I'm sick of ramen too. What are we gonna make?" she asked. Sai leaned over and flipped through a cookbook for a few moments. "Anything that looks hard… Gotta have the right ingredients, don't we?"
"Yep. We need to find a store…" she said. "Think there is one within the area?"
"Is Kayura awake?"
"Someone call?" she asked and poked her head into the kitchen.
*****
"What, what, whaaat?" Megami exclaimed. "Go out there?!"
"Yes, the snow has probably melted enough for you and Kento to drive to the little town that's just outside of the woods. He knows where it is," Sai said.
"But, but, but…. I-I don't knooow… Sakuraaa…" she whimpered.
"Oh, stop it… You said that you liked him, so what's the problem?!" she hissed.
"What? Megami?" Sai smiled. "You-"
"Oh, you have a BIG mouth, Sakura!" she snapped with a heavy flush. "Grrr, fine! What do you guys need anyway…" Sai handed her a list. "DUDE! I thought you guys needed milk or something! Paprika, cream of tartar… s-spam?" she made a face as the list got worse. "Tell them to put it on Mia's tab…" Sai said over his shoulder as he dug into the freezer. Megami sighed and turned to go. "Megami?" Sai called.
"Huh?"
"… Good luck, love," he smiled and pulled out a few things from the freezer. She blushed and nodded.
*****
Sage pulled a turtleneck on over his head as he left the bathroom. Sure enough, Rowen was passed out on his bed like he had and did one too many girls. Sage made a face as he actually remembered that from their college days. He was such a horny little bastard… he smirked. It wasn't too funny when he remembered that his last girlfriend was one of the four… or was it five girls that Rowen had slept with that night. He knew that Rowen didn't remember anything from that night and his girlfriend had been getting on his nerves so he was thankful that he didn't have to think of a lame excuse to break up with her. His friendship with Rowen was more important than drunken accidents. From then on, Rowen hadn't touched the bottle for a while. He poked the snoring Ronin in the head. "Wake up, it's nine forty… three," he announced. Rowen growled. "You've spent a day in bed all ready! GET UP!" he ordered.
"… No…" Sage frowned and chucked a pillow at him.
"Fine…" He turned on his heel and left the bedroom. You'll get up when I tell you, Rowen… if I have to force you out I will! He turned the corner of the hall and saw Domo exit her room. He stopped when she saw him. Out of habit, he bowed. "G-good morning, Domo," he said. Her eyes fell to the floor.
"Hey, Sage…" she greeted softly. She started to go down the opposite end of the hall. "Domo? Um… Are you busy?" he asked. She turned around.
"Not… really, why?" Sage smirked.
"Ever seen a blue-topped cutip before?" he grinned.
"A what?!" she laughed. He motioned her over and entered Yuli's room.
Yuli was busy fiddling with his army men with a giant samurai action figure. "Grr! I am Talpa! Fear me you stupid humans! Hahaha!" He stomped the soldiers with the larger action figure. He pulled out another one that was similar: painted silver and light blue.
"Not so fast, buckethead! I'm Yuli of the Wind and I'll vanquish you with my armor!"
"Yuli?" Sage called. The boy looked up from his playing.
"Hey Sage. Hey Domo…"
"Do you still have those super soakers?" he asked. Yuli smiled.
"Sure! Are you gonna-"
"Yep! If you've got two that'd be great…" Yuli dug into his toy chest and pulled out the necessary weapons. He handed Domo one and Sage the other. "How would you like to earn twenty bucks?" Sage asked.
"Really?!" Yuli beamed. "Sure!" Domo raised an eyebrow.
"Sage… what are you up to?" she demanded. He smiled.
"You'll see… Now we have to find Mia…" he said. "Come on!"
"My video camera? Why?" she asked and paused in her decrypting of the files. Dais looked over the book he was reading as he sat at the window. "Uh… Well you know how you've been wondering where your underwear has been going?" Sage began.
"Sage!" she hissed with a heavy blush.
"There is a panty raider in this house?!" Domo exclaimed. "God… Sixth period gym class all over again…"
"What about it, Sage?" Mia snapped.
"I think I know who it is, but I need the camera to catch them in the act." Mia sighed. "Fine… Be careful with it…" she said. "It's in the hall closet." They left as quickly as they came. Mia covered her head with her arms and sighed. "Dammit… These encrypted files we found are insane!" Dais shut the book and sat on the edge of the desk.
"You're working too hard, Lady Mia… Let's go for a walk," he suggested.
"Dais, thank you, but we really need to crack these files…" Dais pulled her chair away from the desk and moved in front of the screen, blocking her. "… At this point, my lady, you shall crack before they do," he sighed. Mia groaned.
"Dais…" He leaned over her and pinned her arms to the chair, leaning close. She blushed heavily. Calm down, girl… You're not that desperate… she told herself.
"Milady," he said in the same tone she used. "It's not going to kill you… besides. Halo, Korin, and the boy are up to no good. I don't think you want another headache today, do you?" Mia sighed heavily.
"All right… Let me go check on Cale and Sekhmet then we can go all right?"
"Of course…"
*****
Anubis pulled a sweater on over his shirt and ran a brush through his long hair. He frowned when he saw that it now fell to his waist from its once slightly longer than shoulder length hair. "I need a hair cut. It's longer than Mia's," he groaned. He exited his bathroom and saw Whiteblaze waiting for him. He rubbed his head on his leg. "Hungry?" he asked. "Me too…" He stood and opened the bedroom door. He stopped when he saw Sage, Domo, and Yuli creeping to Sage and Rowen's room. Whiteblaze padded over to them and nudged Yuli. Anubis shook his head and headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Good morning," he greeted and opened the refrigerator to retrieve the orange juice. He heard something smash to the floor followed by a small squeak. "A-anubis!!" Sakura yipped. "Yo-you're… okay!" He smiled softly at her and fetched the broom for her before getting a glass out of the cupboard. "… In so many words, I suppose," he replied. He turned and poured his drink, nearly spilling it when she clung to his back tightly. "Suiko?" She pulled away and dried her eyes.
"Sorry, it's just that… What the guys told us, and that wound you gave Dais… I'm just glad you're okay," she mumbled. Anubis lowered his eyes.
"I… don't remember anything that happened after the Ancient died… I don't even know what day it is. It just feels like it's all been a very long nightmare," he whispered. Sakura began to sweep up the broken pieces of a bowl. "You were like that for about five or six days… Cale and Sekhmet fell into really high fevers and Mia doesn't know what's wrong with them. Everyone's been really out of it, especially Tori. She hasn't said anything to anyone since she found out. Maybe you can talk to her?"
"… Sure," he said lowly and drank the juice slowly.
"Sakura-sama, I found the tableclo-ANUBIS?!" Sai yelped as he saw him in the kitchen. "How did you get loose?!"
"Sai!" she hissed. "He doesn't know what happened…" she whispered.
"Ho-how do you feel?" he asked.
"Ever been impaled into a wall by a spear as big around as a lamp post, burned, broken, and bleeding, not to mention having your heart mentally ripped out of you?" Sai shook his head and swallowed hard. "N-no."
"It's like that," he said softly.
"Do you want something to eat? I bet you're starving," Sakura said. Anubis shook his head. "No thank you, Suiko. Do you know where I may find Tori?" Sai scratched his head. "Uh, I saw her outside in the back yard with Lady Kayura just now. Ryo is out there too." Anubis nodded and left the kitchen.
*****
"Let me look in on Cale and then we can go, okay?" Mia whispered to Dais before she opened his bedroom door. She poked her head inside and was about to call his name when she spotted a tuft of snow white hair curled under a blanket beside Cale. She carefully pulled back the blanket and saw Kiku curled up beside Cale's chest asleep. "Dais," she called in a whisper. "Go get my camera," she said. "It's in my room on my dresser…" She sat beside Cale and reached over to touch his forehead. She smiled when she felt no abnormal warmth. Good, his fever's gone. Mia stared at the man for a long time and simply stroked his bangs as she waited for Dais to return. Her heart skipped a beat when she remembered he had kissed her. Cale murmured softly and gripped the blanket tightly. Reflexively, she curled her hand around his and touched his cheek. Surprisingly, he calmed and fell back into deeper sleep, but not before he left her with something that would greatly bother her for the rest of the day. "… Mia… no," he called out pleadingly. He gripped her hand before he relaxed. She covered her mouth and stared wide eyed at him.
"What did you need it for?" he asked as he returned.
"Ah!" she jumped and swung at the man behind her. Dais caught her arm and gave her a look of shock and slight admiration. She had responded rather quickly for her talents. "Easy… it's me," he whispered.
"Sorry," she whispered. Mia stood slowly and pointed to Kiku. "Isn't that sweet?" she smiled and adjusted the lens. "She must have gotten lonely last night… She has no idea what happened to Kaos," she stated softly. "He's probably the only father she's ever known…" She snapped a few shots and sighed. She left the room and Dais followed shortly after and shut the door behind him. "How is he doing?"
"He's fever broke finally… I was beginning to get worried. Sekhmet's fine too. They should be awake and fine by dinner time." She capped the lens and retreated to her room, well aware that the larger man was following closely behind. He stopped in the doorway and watched her movements. His eye narrowed slightly in the change of her behavior. It had been cheery and motherly on the way to Cale's room. It had now progressed into an edgy, nervous, and inconsistent in accordance to her own usual behavior. What had happened in the two minutes he was out of the room? She was fidgeting.
"Lady Mia… Are you all right?" he inquired softly. Shocked again when she jumped at the mere presence of his voice. "Oh! Wh-what? Yes! I'm fine!" she replied quickly and struggled with the film. "Dammit," she muttered to herself. Dais approached her slowly. "… Milady?" he nearly whispered against her ear. The air around her even stiffened. He laid his hands lightly on her arms and stilled her. She was quivering. "You are shaking!" he gasped.
"I'm just cold," she managed to say and pulled away. Her flushed cheeks stated otherwise, however, she pulled on another sweater over the one she wore. Dais leaned against Mia's bedpost and watched her more. Interesting… He slipped behind her again and slid his hands up her back and onto her shoulders lightly. She jumped and whipped around, slapping him rather hard across the cheek, no meaning to. "Oh!" she gasped. "Dais… What are you doing?!" she demanded in a shaken voice. He clutched his face.
"Forgive me… I was going to give you a back rub," he lied. "You are so tense that the air around you is so!" he said. Mia held her arms and put herself a good distance away from him. "I-I know…" she mumbled and lowered her eyes to the floor. "I'm nervous and I," she paused, "I-I don't know why…" Dais sensed a hint of deception in her words. And he thought she hadn't the gall to lie to him. However, despite the real truth, he simply smiled. "… It has been a long week for all of us, I suppose… If I frightened you, then I am sorry," he said and left the room. Mia followed and caught up with him in the hallway. She stopped him by Cale's door. "Dais… I… It's all right. I'm just jumpy about Anubis being chained up, the Ancient dying, all this other… bullshit that has been occurring. I shouldn't have hit you…" She held her hand to her chest defensively and lowered her eyes. Dais curled his fingers around it and brought it to his lips. "On the contrary… that was quite a hit! There is a warrior in you yet!"
"Dais!" she giggled and followed him down the hall.
Cale narrowed his eyes and he lay watching and listening to them through a crack in the door. They narrowed further upon the cool smile that was etched on Dais' lips.
"Dais… I… It's all right. I'm just jumpy about Anubis being chained up, the Ancient dying, all this other… bullshit that has been occurring. I shouldn't have hit you…" He watched Dais take Mia's hand and kiss it.
"On the contrary… that was quite a hit! There is a warrior in you yet!" Cale gritted his teeth and restrained himself from snarling. It had better not be you, Dais or so help me…
*****
"Okay, 'Blaze… When I count to three, yank as hard as you can, okay? If you do a good job, you'll get extra dessert tonight," Sage whispered. Whiteblaze licked him over and over for thanks and prowled quietly into the bedroom. Whiteblaze poked his head over the lump of blankets and peered at Rowen's sleeping face. He raised his eyebrow at the small ever-growing puddle of drool. He took the bed sheets gently in his teeth and waited. "Yuli? Are those guns loaded?" he asked.
"Cold, icy, melted snow just like you told me!" he smiled. Domo peered around the door and saw Rowen snoring loudly tangled in his sheets. "You guys are just plain mean," she smirked.
"Oh, it gets better. You should see us when the air conditioning quits. Everybody's naked then." Sage grinned and switched on the video camera.
"Uh, I don't, Sage," Yuli said. Domo closed her eyes and winced.
"That was a little too much information, Sage."
"Smile guys. Operation Blue-Topped Cutip is now underway."
"Sage, wait. Why do you call him that?" Domo asked.
"You'll see… Okay Whiteblaze… One, two, three!!" he yelled. Whiteblaze yanked the sheets and Domo and Yuli began to fire jets of ice, cold water at a very naked Ronin. "SAGE!!!" he roared and scrambled off the bed wrapping his waist with the sheet. "I'm gonna fucking kill you!! Gimme that camera!" he ordered and leapt toward him. Whiteblaze snagged the sheet in his teeth and yanked it off as he dashed past. Rowen yelped and let Sage go into order to retrieve the much-needed sheet in an all out tug of war that he was definitely loosing. "Whiteblaze!! Bad cat! Bad cat!!" His back screamed when the ice water stung it. "DAH! DAMMIT!" Whiteblaze began to circle Rowen and tangle his legs in the sheet. He fell to the ground and Whiteblaze proceeded to drag him down the hall and into Nasake and Domo's room. "AHH!! NOO!!"
"Atta boy, Whiteblaze!" Sage cheered. This was making excellent blackmail footage. He caught Domo and Yuli racing after them and into the room where Nasake's surprised screams rang out into the hall. "ROWEN! You pervert!!" she yelled and began to throw whatever she could at him to get him to leave. Sage thought he saw a couple of books and a lamp. Rowen managed to scramble out on all fours, blushing like mad, and soaking wet. It was then that Sage noticed that he wasn't naked anymore. Domo and Yuli stopped squirting him with the water and began to back away. "Okay… now what Sage?" Yuli asked. "He's wearing his armor now…"
"Well, Yuli… We do what any normal person would do," Domo began. "We run like hell!!" Both bolted for Yuli's room and slammed the door behind them. Rowen shook his hair dry and glared up at Sage. He slicked his hair out of his eyes. "You have two seconds to give me that camera," he whispered.
"I think not… You have more important things on your plate today," Sage smirked. "Like what?!" he snapped.
"YOU PERVERT!!!" Nasake shouted and began to beat him senseless with her pillows. "Ahh!! 'Sake!! Stop! I'm sorry! It wasn't my… fault!! Ow! Quit!"
"Jerk!" Sage took the liberty to make his grand escape and hide the video camera and tape for future reference. Life is good sometimes.
*****
Ryo stopped her sword with the gauntlet on his undergear. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… Cool it, Tori!" he exclaimed. "Don't go overboard…" Her eyes scanned his face then Kayura's as she looked up at her from the still snow-covered ground. She relaxed and dropped the sword absently. Kayura stood quickly and rubbed her neck nervously. "N-nice match, Rekka," she mumbled. She received a slow nod and silence.
"Wanna go again?" Ryo asked. Kayura shook her head quickly.
"N-no, Ryo… I think that I'm finished for today." Ryo caught her hand and stepped close to her. "Hey… I wanna talk to you later," he whispered against her ear. A blushed smile etched on her face and she nodded. "Sure…" and she left.
Ryo turned around and saw Tori staring at the sword blankly. She fingered the edge of it and cut herself by accident, but did not react to pain. "Whoa, hey! Careful with that!" he exclaimed. "Look what you did…" Tori found his eyes and just shook her head. "You gotta start talking sooner or later," he said. Again she shook her head. She pulled away from him and sat on a stone wall surrounding the garden a few feet away. She started sharpening it.
"Not talking to anyone, is she?" Anubis asked as he stepped out into the snow. Ryo nodded and ran his hands through his hair. "She won't even make a sound. Not a laugh, a cry, hell, she's not even talking to Kiku…" he said. Anubis looked past Ryo and saw Tori sharpening. "Determined as ever to still practice, eh?"
"Like clockwork… She's been like this day and night. It's the same with Domo, but she's talking… I don't know if we'll be able to count on them-"
"Have faith, Wildfire… The Ancient did," he said with a small smile.
"… How did you get free? Dais had you chained, just in case you'd go crazy again…" Ryo asked.
"… I… guess the spell wore off," he lied. "I'm fine now, I guess. Everything is still fuzzy to me," he paused. "Where is the Ancient One?"
"Oh… uh, it disappeared he whispered."
"It disappeared?!" he exclaimed. "How?!"
"Sh!! I dunno, man! One minute Kay was doing some kinda cleansing ritual and then he vanished!" Ryo hissed. "Keep your voice down!! She doesn't know what happened to him. She thinks that we buried him…" He gestured to Tori who finally had taken notice of the new visitor. She stood quickly and stared at Anubis with an unreadable emotion in her eyes. Anubis pushed past Ryo. "Go inside…" he ordered.
"What? Why?"
"Do it!" he snapped and gave Wildfire a glare that left no room for argument. He approached Tori slowly and stood before her eying the sharp blade in her quivering hand. "… H-how are you?" he asked in a soft voice. No reply or even a notion that his question registered. She just stared blankly up at him. He reached for her arm. She evaded him quickly, eyes becoming angry. "Tori-" Cold steel bit at the flesh on his neck and stiffened as she pressed it a little harder. He held up his hands defensively and swallowed hard. "… I… I am so sorry," he whispered. The blade grew hot and she swung hard with a pained cry. Anubis, taking advantage of those years in India, used full use of his flexible body and dodged the red hot blade before back flipping with one hand and latching on to her ankle. He pulled her to the ground and pinned her roughly. "What is your problem?!" he demanded. She struggled and balled a fist that caught fire. She latched on to his arm, burning through the jacket and to his skin. He grimaced, but did not lessen his hold. "Stop! Stop this!" he ordered and grabbed her arm and submerged it in the snow. His forearm sizzled loudly. She thrashed about and snarled wildly for a few moments before reducing to tears. She stopped struggling and lay under him crying. "You lied! You lied to me!!" she shrieked. "You killed 'Jiisan…" she gasped and struggled again. "You killed him…" Anubis shoved her into the ground roughly.
"That's not true!! It's not true, do you hear me!?" he snarled through his teeth.
"You did, you did-" she repeated in rambling sentences, shaking her head.
"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" he cried over her. "I didn't!" he gasped, tears falling on to her cheeks. She continued to repeat herself over and over until he struck her across the cheek. "Dammit woman!" he cried. He tore open his jacket and shirt, exposing his chest that was now riddled with fresh scars and still healing gashes. "Look at me!" he ordered as he yanked her upright by the collar of her jacket. "This and more is what I endured to try and save him. I fought on the edge of my insanity… something that I have fought against my whole existence and tried to suppress! And still I failed! The only person on this earth that has treated me as a human is dead and I failed him! If that is not enough for your forgiveness and, if anything, pity, then I am sorry! I'm sorry that I could not uphold my promise. I'm sorry that I was not strong enough! I'm sorry that I hurt you!!" he cried. He latched onto her and buried his face in her neck. "Kaos is gone… and you are all that is left besides Kiku…" Her back hitched as a cry escaped her mouth. He rocked slowly. "I tried… I tried…" he gasped and looked up at the morning sky, blue as ever. She clawed at his back and fell silent. She gripped her arms around his neck and shuddered. "… Thank you," she whispered.
You lie there on the swollen ground
Deserted in your heart
Still longing for what yesterday's lost
And for all that tomorrow might bring.
And for all that tomorrow might bringSarah McLachlan~ "Mercy" ~ Solace