Chapter 45 - Oxygen Red

A/N: This story has hit over 400,000 words. That's nuts! Haha and each chapter just becomes more of a dramatic mess. Enjoy!

Happy New Year! If anyone is interested, I've made a playlist for this fic on Spotify. The link is on my Tumblr, or you can search Ticking Timebomb on Spotify (or my username, 1nerdygurl).

. . .

The world spun as awoke. I prayed it had all been a dream. Just one big stupid dream and not the shit show that was my life. I should have known my prayers wouldn't be answered. The gods didn't give a damn about Morimoto Kasumi.

I was still on the floor of that tiny closet and I must not have been out for long. The blood loss is what had done me in. It was embarrassing all the same. I shifted to a sitting position pushing Yusuke's hands off me when he tried to help. I looked around wildly for the other two, panic seeping into every fibre of my being.

But I didn't need to look far. Caius was still standing in the doorway, his hulking form taking up the entire space. And Hiei…

"Are you alright?"

I was so disoriented I hadn't noticed he was on my right side, opposite of Yusuke. His hands were at my hip, where the skin had knitted closed but not completely. I was still wounded, if Caius hadn't been interrupted I might have been fine.

"You're not fighting…" I said instead of a proper reply.

"The giant backed down after you fainted like a sissy."

I glared at Yusuke and gave him the finger. Then I turned to Caius. The situation wasn't any less grave and I wondered why Hiei hadn't gutted him on the spot. The dark skinned man gave me a knowing look, his eyes flicking between the two men.

"The people you needed to protect," he said. Yusuke and Hiei's gazes shot towards the other man.

They hadn't realized what he was...that's why he wasn't dead. But earlier...he'd said Hiei was a dragon too. That interested me just a bit more at the moment.

"What the hell did you mean earlier, that a dragon hadn't challenged you in a long time?" I asked him.

"You cannot feel it like I can. The roiling, serpentine, hungry power the resides inside him."

"You speak nonsense," the fire demon snapped.

"You can try to hide it youngling. But you command something vast and ancient. That deserves respect." Caius bowed his head to Hiei and then turned back to me.

I was sure my mouth had fallen open. I had no doubt I looked like an idiot. This was not how I had expected things to turn out.

I struggled to my feet, already missing the feeling of the fire demon's hands on my skin. I didn't deserve any kindness from him. Why the hell was he even here?

Needing an answer to that question, I whirled on him. "What are you doing here?!"

He gaped at me for a moment before spitting, "I came to retrieve your sorry ass."

"I don't need saving," I snarled. "You both need to leave."

"What the hell Kasumi?! You can't tell me you wanna stay here?" said Yusuke.

I turned to Yusuke and said, "Of course not. But I have unfinished business to take care of."

"What unfinished business could you possibly have here?" snarled Hiei.

My eyes flicked to Caius. It was confirmed now that they didn't know. That statement he'd made earlier had passed right over their heads. Hiei was too caught up in the fact Caius sensed...whatever it was he had under his control.

My gaze darted back to the fire demon, recalling something. That bandaged arm…

I should have known. Tattoos weren't always what they seemed. Takahiro was a testament to that. And Hiei had a giant black dragon down his right arm. That's what Caius had meant. Hiei controlled the power of a dragon...not that he was one. No wonder he'd been so invested in finding the dragon heart. It wasn't to help me at all.

"Kasumi, time is of the essence," breathed Caius. He was in the doorway acting as a guard. Soon enough they would find Konstantin's dead henchmen.

"How did you two find me anyway?" I asked.

"The blood trail you left behind like a fool," said Hiei.

I hadn't even stopped to consider that. I'd hidden my energy but not the physical evidence. I was such an idiot.

"Why did you run in the first place?" asked Yusuke.

I hesitated, not knowing how to answer. I didn't want to lie to them...but I didn't see another option. I couldn't just let them kill Caius or his sister. Hiei would not listen to reason, I knew he wouldn't. How could I explain this without upsetting him?

I realized there just wasn't a way when he growled at me. "Kasumi?"

The sound of my name from his lips, even filled with anger as it was, sent shivers down my spine. I was in so deep. This was pathetic.

"I have no good answer," I said. "I just can't leave this place yet. Please give me time."

My two companions shared an incredulous look. They were going to refuse me. I couldn't allow that.

I took a step towards Caius. He reached out a hand and gripped my arm. The look Hiei gave the two of us could have flayed the flesh from my bones.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Please just trust me."

"Trust you! Don't make me laugh."

"Hiei…"

"You will come with us onna...so help me - "

"What? You'll kill me? Knock me out? Drag me?" I glared at him. "Let me show you…" I paused, my next words a little personal and full of an emotion I would never dare tell him aloud.

"What?" he snarled.

"Let me show you that I'm worthy!" I yelled. "Let me show you that I am worthy of your respect! That I can stand on my own two feet!"

"Kas…"

"No Yusuke! This is something I need to do. I'll tell you everything...when I can."

Hiei scoffed, clearly not understanding what I was so desperately trying to tell him. I loved him. I loved every cold, dark, horrible but beautiful, strong, and honorable thing about him. I didn't know if the love stemmed from our bond...or from my own heart. And I didn't care. The feeling was pure, genuine. It hurt and burned and made me want to die. But it was there and it wasn't going away and I needed to know that in my final days I would have been worthy of that same feeling in return.

Hiei could never love a human. He would never love someone he considered beneath him. So I needed to prove - to him and myself - that I was worthy of anything he'd be willing to offer.

I'd made a mistake with Ren. I had acted irrational and stupid, as par the course with me. I would spend whatever time I had left making up for that if I had to. But I couldn't go off to die without at least an ounce of his respect.

It shouldn't matter so much. I had so many other things to worry about. But that's what love was - irrational, crazy, wonderful in its terribleness.

I didn't think I would ever have the guts to tell him how I truly felt. But I at least needed to know...that I was worthy of those feelings.

"Please…" I begged.

"You must hurry Kasumi," said Caius, his voice an urgent whisper.

Hiei looked so angry. Those cherry eyes I'd fallen so hard for bored into me. Until finally…

"Fine. Three days. If you are not finished by then I will take you by force."

I was about to thank him, maybe even kiss his feet, when he added, "And I will be watching the entire time." He tapped the Jagan, closed at the moment.

I was about to argue. If he was inside my head the whole time...and I'd grown so used to his presence there I wouldn't notice...he'd see what I was trying to hide.

"Kasumi!" Caius hissed.

I was out of time. I turned to Yusuke and Hiei. "Hide here, leave when you can. Don't make a scene."

Yusuke nodded once but Hiei's eyes only narrowed and he sneered at me. It had felt like so long since I'd seen him…I wanted to kiss that look off his face. But I just shook my head and let Caius pull me from the broom closet. He shut the door softly behind him, let my arm go, and in perfect tandem we began to walk away as if nothing had happened.

I kept my face blank, my emotions controlled. Caius looked as he always did - bored, perhaps annoyed to be escorting me.

I was glad for it. He'd been right to rush us. Headed straight for us was Konstantin. If we'd been even a minute longer…

"Ah, there is my tiny fighter." He smiled, those sharp teeth glinting. "I've been awaiting your arrival in my chambers."

I came up with a quick lie. "I apologize. I was injured. I delayed so I could be tended to."

He accepted the lie, especially when his eyes darted to my hip to see the half healed wound there. His gaze still disgusted me.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and blathered on about my spectacular abilities. Caius walked behind us. I was surprised Konstantin couldn't feel the other man's scathing glare.

I was led down the hall, away from that closet...away from the man I loved.

And I hated Konstantin even more.

. . .

I lay awake that night in my shabby bed. Konstantin had rewarded me. He'd given me back my bag, which his goons had stolen, sans weapons of course. But most everything else was intact. My clothing, contacts, food, and first aid kit were all there. It was a small reward, but it had made me happy nonetheless. I had thought it was long gone.

I stared through the darkness, keeping my mind as blank as possible. I wanted to talk to him so bad. This feeling...it was...I didn't know what it was. I'd told Hiei once before what love felt like. I'd told him it was ridiculous. And it was. There was no explanation for how I felt. I just knew that it was real.

I didn't care that we were bonded by fate. I didn't care that he was a demon - not anymore. At first, both of these things had weighed heavily on my mind and my heart.

But I only had one life to live...and it would soon be over.

How was I supposed to make the best out of such a terrible situation. How was I supposed to be better, do better? I had so little time.

And I'd made too many mistakes.

If I reached out to him now...would he answer?

I never got the chance to find out. A rumble through the keep had me shooting up in bed.

That energy...what the fuck kind of energy was that?

I bolted for my door, reefing on the handle when it wouldn't open. I'd been locked inside! But Caius...he was always out there...he was always there! Where could he be?!

There were no wards here, nothing to confine me. I brought my energy to my fist and smashed through the wood. It blew outwards, creating a hole large enough for me to wiggle through. I landed on cold stone, having forgotten my boots. I didn't care.

The keep was full of panicked demons. None of them paid any attention to me. The energy was coming from outside. And they were all bolting further in, as far from it as they could get.

Don't tell me...Hiei and Yusuke had come back to start trouble?

I ran in the direction of that horrifying power, pushing my way through throngs of people. The huge double doors that led out of the keep stood open...and water was pouring into the keep's proper.

Water…?

My barefeet splashed through the water as I ran down the stairs leading to the courtyard. There were two people there…

At the bottom of the steps I stopped. If I took another step I would be waist deep in dark, grimy looking lake water. Where the hell had all this come from?

"You thought you would steal her away into the night, did you?" a voice yelled.

There weren't two people...but three I realized. I hadn't seen the tiny girl held in the crook of what could only be Caius' arm...but the way he looked…

Those were wings sticking out of his back! Large, leather like black wings...and he had horns...and obsidian scales covering most of his skin. A ring of golden fire hovered above those twisted, pointed horns. His fingers had elongated into claws and his teeth into fangs. There was no denying what he was now.

And the other man, the reason for all this water, was Konstantin. I'd wondered about his power as well. Looks like I had my answer.

Caius' eyes were wild...he was afraid of Konstantin...and that girl. It could only be his sister. She was dark skinned, had short cropped obsidian hair and molten gold eyes just like her brother. They could almost be twins...if it wasn't for the fact she was so young. Even for a demon you could tell she was a child. I doubted she'd even had her first bleed.

My disgust with Konstantin doubled ten fold. To keep a child as a consort…

My power rose in an unbridled rage. Caius turned to stare at me, sensing a new threat that had entered the game. But I held no animosity towards him. I knew why he was trying to escape now. He'd spent years carefully planning an escape with his sister and I had ruined everything. When I'd asked about the dragon he had known what I wanted. What he didn't know is that I couldn't kill him, not as I was now. I hadn't lost enough of my soul to outright murder someone who was only trying to help a person they loved.

My power flickered, rising around me. I didn't need the three days Hiei had promised me. I had only needed this moment. This one single moment in time.

I turned to Caius. "Run."

He stared at me, stunned. But I didn't give him time to think.

I stepped into the waist deep water and gave him a single warning - my power crackled around me turned to electricity in my anger. If he didn't move now, I would fry them all.

He took flight, hovering just long enough to watch me explode.

Bright pink sparks flew across the water, electrifying the entire courtyard. Konstantin jumped from his water just in time, settling on the high wall that surrounded the keep. He glared up at Caius. "I will travel the ends of the world to find you and kill you."

"Not if I end you first," I snarled.

With a great roar and a mighty flap of his massive wings, Caius took to the skies. He flew with great speed, becoming a speck in the sky in mere seconds. I would be punished for allowing his escape. But right now I didn't care.

I turned back to Konstantin, wading further into the water. "You disgusting prick. She was a child!"

He laughed. "You say that as if it matters. Would you like to take her place, pet?"

Something inside me snapped. A flood of energy streamed outwards, gold and pink and magnificent. The water around me began to boil, the electric flashes blinding.

A new weapon formed in my hand. Not a bow. Not an arrow. But an unbreakable, dazzling crystal sword. It was made up of whorls of pure energy - a god's power.

Konstantin's eyes widened and his lips turned up in a smirk, "Oh ho?"

"Kasumi…?"

His voice barely registered. I was focused solely on my target. My lips turned up into a wicked smile. This would be fun.

Konstantin should never have let me out of that warded cell.

Shouting behind me alerted me to the arrival of his henchmen. They came rushing out of the keep in droves - twenty...thirty...

I would slaughter them all.

With a newfound speed, I shot from the water. I took out five of the men before they could even scream a warning to the others.

"Kasumi!" that voice snapped.

I shoved the crystal sword through another's chest, gutted the next bastard and beheaded a third. The water was dyed red, the scent of copper and death and decay thick in the air.

I had never considered myself a killer…

But I found pleasure in these deaths. I reveled in the feel of hot blood on my hands, my face, my skin.

"Kasumi!" he screamed again.

I sliced my next opponent's throat open, blood spraying through the air. "Do not interrupt me," I snarled back.

I felt his incredulousness. I felt the panic erupt into his mind and filter outwards.

I had tainted my soul. A blackness festered there and with each kill it grew. I felt nothing but the joy of the kill.

Was this what it was like to not be human? Was this what it felt like to care so little about another's life?

Or was I just that angry?

I killed another and another and another. I murdered and maimed and took the blows that were thrown at me without even blocking. I was covered in blood so thick it was black, my own mingled in with the rest.

The smirk on Konstantin's face had faded. I could see desperation in his eyes as I slaughtered his men without a care.

He'd stepped over a line. And there was no turning back. He'd broken something inside me alright...but not the piece he'd wanted.

I didn't need Chronos. I didn't need Hiei. Or Yusuke. Or Takahiro. Or my sister.

The only person I needed...was me.

I would become worthy. I would walk to my death with my head held high. I would close the door to purgatory. And I would do it without the aid of others.

I didn't need a dragon's heart, I told myself. I could become powerful enough on my own if I just tried hard enough.

The final guard stood before me. He backed away, tripping and falling into the water. He begged for his life, holding his hands up as if to ward me away.

I stabbed my sword straight through his skull.

I wondered what my face looked like then, as I smiled up at Konstantin. I pulled my sword free, swiping it through the air to flick the blood off its glowing surface.

Konstantin's eyes hardened. "What did I tell you about killing my men?"

He jumped from the wall, landing in the blood filled water. I was covered from head to toe, not an inch of my skin wasn't painted red. And as Konstantin waded toward me, I held my sword aloft ready to face him head on.

He laughed again, flashing those razor blades he called teeth. "I think you have forgotten what you're standing in."

I hadn't forgotten, I just wasn't prepared for the magnitude of Konstantin's true power.

The blood darkened water rose around me, as if I was trapped in a churning sea. I was knocked over by a giant wave, unable to hold my footing, it threw me into the cement walls surrounding the keep. It buffeted against me, as if I was caught in a storm. I choked on the blood of the enemies that I'd killed. Their corpses, still floating in the water, slammed into me.

Shit!

I pushed back with all the force that my power held. It blew a hole through the water and gave me a moment's reprieve. I used that brief second in time to jump from the water to higher ground. I was back on the stairs of the keep, my sword gone. I powered up my bow, looking around wildly for where Konstantin had disappeared to.

"Over here, pet!"

I whirled around to find him standing on the roof, his cornsilk hair billowing behind him in the brewing storm of his youki.

He called more water with a raise of his hand and that blood red water transformed into spears. He sliced his arm through the air and they came flying towards me.

I dodged two. Shot an arrow at the third and watched the water fall apart and splash to the ground, harmless once more. But the fourth I hadn't seen coming. It struck me from behind, straight through my shoulder.

It fell apart, leaving an open wound with no evidence.

Ignoring the pain, I shot three arrows at Konstantin. He dodged, jumping from the building and back into the water. He disappeared there...as if the water had swallowed him. But I knew better. He didn't just control water - he was born of water.

That fucking fishy bastard.

I dodged just in time as he came shooting out of the water towards me. He'd tried to gut me with his bare hands. He countered with another punch, hitting me in the stomach. I doubled over, breath gone. He took the chance to sink his teeth into my shoulder, tearing my flesh as he leapt away.

I dodged again when he aimed a kick for my head. He was trying close quarters combat now, thinking I wouldn't be able to use my bow. Sure, I wouldn't get the chance to shoot off an arrow...however…

I smashed the bow into the side of his head. My energy left a sizzling welt there. He stumbled back, stunned. I leapt forward and hit him again, splitting open his lip.

The third blow I aimed for his nose but he lurched forward and snapped his teeth down. He held my reiki bow in his jaw and I was forced to dissipate it.

I put some distance between us, wary of the water surrounding me.

He stalked towards me, his face a mask of anger. "You are a lot more trouble than you're worth. You could have become something great...now I have to end you." He shook his head, holding his arms up as if disappointed. "What a pity."

"Fuck you," I spat.

"How vulgar," he said with a sneer.

He raised his hand again, calling more water spears to his aid. Five of them shot towards me all at once.

I called my bow again and dodged as many as I could. The rest I swiped my bow through, causing them to fall apart.

A wave came crashing down over me. The spears had only been a distraction. I felt as the water collected and coalesced around me, creating a sphere. I was trapped inside, unable to breathe. He planned to drown me in here!

I smashed my fists against the bubble but try as I might it didn't cause it any damage. I had minutes at most. I could hold my breath for awhile...but I was positive it wouldn't be long enough.

Konstantin stood outside the sphere, his face smug. It caused nothing but my rage to fester. I wasn't afraid of him. I wasn't afraid of dying here.

I called on the power I had stolen from Chronos and merged it with my own. Appearing as electricity once more, I used the ball as a giant conductor.

I watched as Konstantin's face turned to stone.

I should have done this in the first place instead of screwing around.

Lightning struck from the ball to the ground. It reminded me of one of those miniature lightning induction balls, except triple the size. Konstantin dodged the bolts as best he could, but I saw one singe his heels. He jumped back into the water, disappearing beneath its surface.

The sphere fell apart. I had distracted him enough for him to lose his concentration.

I fell to the ground, gasping for breath but wasting no time. I called my bow again.

And this time, when Konstantin jumped from the water like a giant marlin, I was ready. I pulled back on the string, using a single mighty arrow. He didn't have time to dodge.

It struck him in the chest, blowing his lower half apart. His face was stuck in a permanent look of shock.

All that remained of Konstantin the slave trader was his head full of cornsilk hair.

I waded out into the water. I was cold...detached. The kill should have made me feel something - joy, pride...anything.

But I felt nothing.

I distantly heard when the giant door to the keep's courtyard was blown open. The bloodied water flowed out like a river. I picked up Konstantin's head by a fist full of his hair and held it aloft. I stared into those now dull white eyes, transfixed.

"Kasumi!"

That voice…

Why was that voice here?

"Jesus christ...Kas…"

I felt water stream down my face. When had it begun to rain?

I reached up a bloodied hand to wipe it away. I was still holding that bastard's head, like some kind of trophy.

I flicked my eyes up and away, though I still couldn't force my fingers open to put it down. I stared across the courtyard at the two men there. One, his face blank, impassive...emotions hidden. And the other with his mouth hanging open, stunned.

"Am I worthy now?" I asked him. My voice sounded distant and not like my own.

His eyes narrowed. The first hint of emotion he'd shown since arriving making them darken. They looked just like the blood covering me in this light…

When he didn't answer I repeated the question, "Am I worthy now?"

Yusuke turned to Hiei, "What the hell is she talking about."

But he didn't answer him either. The fire demon stepped through what remained of the water, coming closer.

I backed away, clenching Konstantin's hair in a heavy fist.

That look he was giving me…

It was as if he was approaching a wild animal. It was as if I had turned into some kind of beast without realizing it.

It was then I dropped my captor's head. It splashed in the water, his face half sunken beneath it.

What the fuck had I done?

I looked around, half crazed. The carnage...I couldn't have done this! I couldn't have! It wasn't possible…

What had I become?! What the hell had I become?!

I fell to my knees and wretched then. I didn't stop until my breaths came in great gulping sobs. My throat burned, my heart ached. I was a monster. A gods damned monster.

"If you are a monster...than what of me?"

Hiei was kneeling beside me. His face held no pity for me. And no fear. Just understanding.

And in that moment I fell even more in love with him than I already had.

And then promptly threw up all over his boots.

Kasumi...you are such an idiot.

. . .

A/N: Ah, reunited at last! This chapter was a bit of a doozy to write, lots of action scenes. They always make me nervous. Let me know if you loved it, hated it, whatever! Thanks for reading!