Chapter Four: Zetsumei

Determination. Perhaps that was to little a word to describe the man that was currently walking down the road after someone who was problably dead. Running a hand through short, thick blonde hair, the dark eyed 22-year-old let out a sigh to shoulder his bag better. Dust and dirt irritated his nose, his eyes red from the lack of sleep and bad breath, he noted. Jesna would be sure to slap him for it, should he ever find her. She hated it when he held her close and breathed over her shoulder, causing small streams of air to tickle her ear.

"That's so annoying, why do you do that?!" she growled, shoving him further away.

He shook his head and chuckled.

"I don't really know.." He said aloud to noone in particular.

Months of searching and slamming druggies into walls had paid off. The black markets weren't hard to search once he found them, and death had been a close friend during his endless search. While attempting to retrieve Jesna, Leon had been shot at, interrogated, and accused by the dark intentioned. People that would rather be left alone then toyed with. His excuse had saved himself numerous times, and he even made friends with a few of the gangs he'd run into along the way. With his new aquiantances came valuble information. Stolen test tubes, different sleeping agents. Leon had only heard of it being done for experimenation purposes, but pregnancy by way of a planted seed was not unheard of. If Jesna was telling the truth when he had ... accused her... She was raped for the soul purpose of bearing children, and the offender had no other interest in her. She'd been cheated, he'd been cheated. It made him angry, furious, enraged. Whatever word that could express anger, whether it be a curse or not, that was precisely what he was.

His love, his life was missing. Trying to get over it was a joke. Jesna meant to much to him to just be left behind in the dust for another woman, who could never fill the void that Jesna had made. Soft dark hair strung up in a high pony with two thick chunks framing her grease lined face as she winked one beautiful blue eye at him. There was no other way to describe the feeling but as a bunch of butterflies being set free in his stomach. She set him free. Shaking his blonde hair to send it's spikes slapping against his temples, Leon tried to keep his head clear.

Questions still filled his mind, wonderings that laddened him with guilt and sent him to the brink of insanity. Why had she left without saying anything? Especially in the condition she had to be in!

'Maybe she's still hurt.' he thought. 'Maybe I hurt her beyond repair.'

Sorrow shook his soul. Even after his apology for his accusation and blame, the tension of distrust was still in their relationship. He wanted to convince himself he'd done everything to make it work, but knew he was just lying to himself. To her. Leon grimaced as he walked on. Jesna deserved so much more than that. Leon loved her with all his being and wished they had shared even one night together to let him prove it, not knowing any other intimate way how to.

"She is honored by your love in restraint."

The voice startled him, answering his ridiculous notion. Halting he glanced to the side to see a young woman. Chocolate brown hair shimmered with long curling frames and a thick brown braid still swinging softly at her rump. She looked at him with a soft smile, chocolate brown eyes sharing the same tender look that was written all over her demeanor. He looked at her with furrowed brows of distrust, refusing to admit he would problably have broken right there at the trust and honesty she subtly radiated.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned cautiously. The woman shrugged and continued her thoughtful steps.

"She appreciates you for waiting." she repeated. He stood for a moment, realizing she had answered his doubt, then followed behind her a few steps. Doubt still lingered like a growing shadow. A sigh came from her relaxed frame.

"I am talking of the one you love. You're thinking about her with such intensity it's hard to miss!" she laughed softly. Leon could feel himself relax a bit in her presence.

"She means everything to me." He admitted with a shrug. "I want to find her so badly."

They walked along in silence for a few minutes, coming along the shadowed road.

"She is waiting to be rescued. I promise to bring her one." the woman said softly. This time she stopped and turned, her smile gone and genuine sadness in her voice and face. "You are not the rescuer, Leon. Please, go no further, only death lies on this path."

Leon stopped, cold filling his limbs. What she said was like the instant death of his soul, and even through the fear that clouded him, rage boiled up.

"Who are you to say I abandon her!?" He demanded, dropping his bag. The woman let her hurt eyes fall to the ground.

"I say nothing, but wait. Patience is a virtue." she chided gently. A big red monster of anger reared its ugly head.

"An unattainable and ridiculous one!" He bellowed. "What you said is beside the point." Realization struck him.

"In any case, the way you talk of her, you must know where she is. Tell me now.." He paused removing the familiar cold steel gun before continuing and pointing it at her head. "Or I'm afraid I'll have to shoot you." He finished coldly. The woman was unaffected, pity entering her eyes.

"You must love her very much to kill for her." She commented softly, lacing her fingers together at her stomach.

"More than my life." He answered. She was silent for a moment, unmoving.

"I won't move, but it's your decision." She finally said. "Turn back now, or shoot me."

Leon had never heard such brave words from someone before. It's like the beautiful woman before him had no fear of dying, protecting Jesna from his grasp who needed a hero to rescue her. Conflict filled him, the decision splitting his soul in two. Have faith in this one woman who claimed to be able to save her? Or get her himself and be assured of her safety without much recognition of his own. The sacrifice was not knowing what he would face once he reached her. Dread filled him at leaving her, the black emptiness of not having her and the fear of losing her forever hit him like waves of steel. His eyes were soul-less as he held the gun steady and slowly put pressure on the trigger. A loud explosion rippled across the forest, frightening nearby birds into flight from their perches.

xXx

Sephiroth turned from his meditation spot on the roof of the abandoned laboratory at a loud popping sound. Birds rushed away from a spot four miles away in a cluttered mass of winged confusion. Perhaps someone wished to play? He grinned. There had been a lover, according to the fights Mother's Prize, Mother's Ninsoku's sire had stirred with another man. Was he really fool enough to follow, even after all the obvious clues of a brutal kidnapping? Perhaps he should have left more blood on the floor. He didn't stir, the growing breeze snatching his hair around his face and leaving trails of silver tickling his nose and cheeks. The Carrier had been sleeping for months, with the occasional allowance of movement to ease the birthing and make it smoother on Mother's Shi.

A let out a rumbling growl that radiated from his chest, enjoying the vibration of the feel. In any case, the man that was Ninsoku's acclaimed lover was coming back to take her home. How very foolish indeed, he was. Sephiroth would make short work of the fly. Mother would be pleased. He rose, leather creaking in protest.

He still had to retrieve Chikara Ko for his needs. She lived a ways away, and collecting her would be no easy task.

My line..

Mother still said nothing else. He nodded his head.

"Of course, Mother. I promised, didn't I?" he answered in his smoothe baritone rumble as he dropped slowly onto the dirt. The smell of rain filled the forest around him as he headed for the thickest part. A storm was coming.

xXx

Rain began pattering on Leon's dark green jacket as he walked deeper into the woods, the pavement blending in with the dirt and rocks that lead to the abandoned Kocachi mansion he was headed toward. There was only one viable link connected his suspected rapist there, however, it was a valuble source and every last part of the earth would be overturned before he gave up. His eyes were blank, filled with nothing but desire.

She hadn't moved. There wasn't any blood as the shot rang through the empty forest around them. The gun bucked in his palm, supported by his firm grip. Before he knew it she was gone, out of his way. And that's how it should've been. The sound of weeping had filled the air for a moment, one mournful sob, before the woman's presence had left. He didn't even know her name.

Steady droplets wet his hair, soaking through his jacket. Determination. The word rolled through his mind once again, this time followed by the word love. Love. He pondered it for a moment. Wasn't love supposed to be a verb? Something he was supposed to do. Something he had to do... He had no regret, and if shooting the woman was the way to fight for the path to be with Jesna, then he would take it without hesitation.

The branches stirred. Wind bit his numb body in a desperate attempt to make him turn back and seek shelter. A rather loud rumble filled the air, thunder beginning to roll off the clouds. He continued his steady pace along the dirt-trod path. Another rumbling began, the sound of a lion roaring through the clouds. Leon looked up momentarily at the blackening clouds as they silenced themselves. Walking in silence, his skin stood on end. He stopped. Something didn't feel right. Another rumble began to build softly, but this wasn't quite a normal rumble. It started deep, like a chuckle, and grew with the thunder's dull roar. Leon swept the gun up, aiming at the trees.

"So he really did follow me, Mother. I should have heeded your warnings and killed the thing's connections before I started." Came a deep, chillingly calm voice.

"Die quickly, and rid me of the extra five seconds it takes me to land the killing blow."

Leon struggled not to shake.

"Where is she?" He growled, shoulders squared as he swept the forest's thick walls slowly in search for the predator's eyes. A rustle from two meters to the right.

"It's happily pregnant with my child." The voice claimed, taunting him, baiting him. Anger rose like acidic bile on the back of his throat.

"Why her?"

Another rustle, six meters south.

"Because it was the one Mother chose. Mother wanted that creature." The voice turned disgusted. "Don't ask me why Mother wanted it so much. Mother's business is her own."

The trees began to bend angrily with the growing wind, making it harder to locate any foriegn colors amongst the wildly whipping branches. Leon's shoulders were steeled in their position. He was waiting for his opposer to attack, vicious hatred filling him. The only sound he could hear was the deep beat of his own heart.

Ba-bump!

A treebranch swayed under a little extra weight.

Ba-bump!

Silver hair swept around him, green eyes blazing as he stood face to face unexpectedly with the man who'd stolen his love. His beauty.

Ba-bump..

It was funny. He felt so warm as some foreign dark liquid poured down his chest.

Ba.. Ba-bump.

'That shouldn't be there...' he thought, looking down at the silver steel bar that had been shoved through his stomach, scents of acid and rust filling his nose.

tha-tump...

The sound began to fade. Thick salty rust filled his mouth. He felt pathetic for letting any liquid drip down his chin in public, noting it's bright red color.

tha- The sound was interrupted by a loud, sickening squelch and his body jerked forward as Masumune removed itself from it's lodging in his abdomen. It was about then that Leon finally realized what the woman had said was right. Only death lay on this path. And what he was experiencing must be it. A chuckle tried to voice itself as a loud spray of crimson came from his mouth as he coughed it out. Funny. It felt hazy, almost good.

"At least you weren't much trouble." The man that had stolen he love and life from him came into view finally. Silver hair, flashing green eyes, taught black leather and steel shoulder gaurds. Cold, expressionless, unfeeling. Leon couldn't collect much else about him, because that was about the time that a white cloud fell over him.

'I told you not to, silly boy.' the woman laughed, sorrow still marking her voice.

xXx

Seven Months, Six Days

She could feel the water draining around her. Was she being freed? The chemicals in her blood's system began to wear thin and she came back to consciousnes. A strong grip invaded her arms, bruising the touch deprived, sensitive skin. For the first time in weeks, she let out a small cry that reverberated off the walls of the laboratory. The deep chuckle that entered her watery cage made her skin stand on end as he forced her to rise.

"I do need the child you carry healthy." he said smoothely as he hauled her out of the tubing. Jesna was not one for sacrifice, and treasured life as a rich woman prized her diamonds and gold, if not much more. But as of now, she prayed for another misconception, miscarriage, death. Perhaps another failed try would rouse doubt and allow this shinigami to finally allow the inevitable. Her soul was already, and it was only a matter of time before her body died.

He had left her in a concrete room, nothing but a futon covered in white cotton, to 'stretch'. She would only stay here for a few days. So far, it had only happened twice or three times.

Sleep evaded her in this state, seeing as there would be very little time awake in the tubing that she would spend another three months in before the birth of the next child. As of now, she was passing the deadline of her last pregnancy, and knew this time would be a success. It scared her, not just for herself. She began to run her hands delicately over her bulging belly and wondered what he wanted the child for. Only the clomping of heavy black boots acknowledged his entrance. The moment she turned he was there, in her face with that inhuman coldness. He studied her face blankly for a moment, then let his eyes wander to protruding abdomen. Her grip tightened protectively in a motherly instinct that had only suddenly been awakened by his prying gaze. A steel grip wrapped around her fingers clenching until she gasped in pain, then surprise when she felt fingers invade the soft cloth covering her stomach. The child inside her noticed her discomfort and kicked with vengeance at the intruder.

The silver-haired man seemingly flinched in wonder, hand jerking back momentarily. A pleased smile came over his face as she let out a slow, painful sigh. He placed his hand over it again, feeling Mother's Shi, Mother's Line kick and struggle in the creature's stomach, longing to be free.

Seven Months, 17 Days

The woman had deserted her in her crystaline prison. Pain was unavoidable in pregnancy, but her surroundings made the second bearable. The water comforted her tensing muscles. It was the seventh month of her pregnancy. Nightmares were unavoidable, and now that she knew that this was no dream, it was hard to forget and pretend never happened. Jesna wanted to cry, but the water made it feel like nothing as it caressed her cheeks. She struggled for hope, reaching out for something that might hold her sanity together, one strand of something until it hit her like a ton of steel bars.

'If someone was going to save me, they would have done so by now...'

That was when the darkness of reality, the cruelty of what was happening swarmed in. Her body's buzzing stopped and it felt cold. Like, she had lost something on accident. 'God won't save me now...' her mind whispered. 'I am deserted and that is what my life was destined to be.' She thought bitterly. No, bitterly was too much emotion to put to it. She felt nothing. Nothing but the pain of her circumstances and the unfairness of it all. Why had she been chosen? Why had it just had to be her that the disgusting silver monstrosity would take? The questions flitted away as she realized there would be no answerings to her questions, and that now all she was waiting for was to die.

Zetsumei- end of life. Death.

A/N: Oi, too much death and hopelessness. Although I did get a bit of a shiver when Leon shot our dear... Heck Cookie to the first person to get it! Or maybe I should give you a free pic? Naww, thats too much work for so few reviewers.. However, I will give kudos to my two best reviewers, revenrebecca and Kei-Ten for there lovely reviews! A million cookies to you! hands cookies.. I can't wait for the next chapter.. Spoiler? Sure.. We meet Chikara Ko, and if you weren't paying attention... Reread the chapter! LAWL!

Godsspiker! .