Choice of Music: One Last Wish - James Horner

Chapter 16 - I'm Alone

"Come on, Kia!" Bare feet padded across the grass, running as fast as they would allow. "Hurry, hurry!" Her kimono was a tangled mess, ripped and torn. They could hear the screams from the village, see the glow of fires burning in the distance. Men, woman, children; slaughtered like cattle or kidnapped to be sold into slavery.

"Hurry," he repeated, never once slowing down. Turning to her, she saw golden eyes filled with anger, maybe a hint of worry.

Stopping, she looked back towards her village, towards the home she had grown up in since her birth. Escaping from his grip, she ran back towards her home.

"Kia, stop! If you go back, they'll kill you!"

Vice's eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was Hana sleeping upon the bed. She had the blankets tucked neatly around her. But Kia was gone.

Standing, he felt a small twitch in his leg. It was reconnected again, and only a few of the wires needed to be fixed. Golden eyes searched the room for the black-haired girl. Nothing.

The green Douji turned towards the door, exiting the room quietly as not to wake up the sleeping child. Light flashed into his face, and he squinted. He could hear voices, quiet chatter. Or was it a discussion?

Ultimo came skipping down the hallway, and Vice groaned. It was ultimately way to fucking early to be dealing with him. "Where's Kia?" he asked the red-headed boy.

Stopping, Ulltimo shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he said. "She just got up and left around eight this morning." With those last words, he wandered off. Vice tried to think. Why would Kia go running off again? What in the hell was making her act like that?

"So, you probably aren't going to stick around long, are you?" a female voice asked him. Turning, he saw the dark eyes of Azukami.

"Stick around for what?"

"You probably wouldn't care," she frowned, crossing her arms. "I don't actually blame Kia for running off again. After what happened last night, frankly I don't trust her to be around here."

"What happened?"

"I never thought she would do something like that."

"Stop bullshitting me and just tell me what the fuck happened!" he shouted, his temper boiling.

Azukami's eyes snapped open in shock. "You didn't hear?" she wondered. "Ritsuka, Tsavera, and Lanae were all brought in body-bags last night. We weren't able to pull their souls back."

"Meaning?"

"Kia shot and killed all three last night."

Vice stared at her. Just stared. "Kia...would never kill someone," he simply stated, not sure if he should believe it.

"Fingerprinted the gun, she had their blood on her clothes, and there was no one else around to say otherwise," Azukami spoke coldly. "In my book, she's guilty. She's a murderer."

Kia sat, rubbing her hand across her arm. The joint had been snapped back into place, but it was still usable.

She could hear the sounds of children playing not to far from her. She could see parents chatting about their day or plans for their day, all the while keeping a watchful eye upon their children. One of the children tripped and fell, scraping his knee. A worried mother came to him, picking him up and inspecting the wound. She spoke reassuring words to him, and in no time he was playing again.

Jealous. Or envious, maybe it didn't matter to her. Those were children with happy lives. Children with mothers who were still there, fathers who cared for them.

Hazel eyes traveled back to the ground, shoving herself back into her thoughts and memories of last night. K had finally found her again, Risa nearly beat her to death, and three Dolls had their lives stolen away by her.

"Why am I even here?" she mumbled to herself. To her, it seemed like a good question. Why was she even being kept alive? Was it because she had a purpose? Or was it for some cruel, sick joke? She wanted peace, but instead got turmoil. She wanted to have a good life, but everything went to hell.

Didn't someone famous say that if you're suffering, you're happy?

Fuck this shit, it wasn't worth it. Sighing, Kia just stared at the ground.

"There you are," a voice said, sounding like a sigh. She recognized that voice, she knew who it was. "You do an awful lot of running lately," Vice stated. "Why?"

Kia didn't answer, she pretended not to listen. She stilled, hesitating to understand. "I know you can hear me, Kia." Again, she didn't aknowledge him. Her eyes darted around the area, search for a way to escape from him if need be. His feet shuffled, and she felt an ever so gentle tug on her hair.

"Kia? Please talk to me." His voice sounded so quiet, so...weak. Vice was never weak, not once. And now he spoke to her like he was pleading. 'It's a trick,' Kia thought. 'He doesn't mean it, just walk away.'

Standing, she took a few steps before the girl felt a hand latch onto her arm. He yanked her so she was facing him. Instantly, she cast her glance downward, not daring to meet his gaze. "Look at me," the Douji commanded. Kia could still hear the plea in his voice, no matter how he tried to speak.

'It's not true,' she mentally repeated. 'It's not true, it's not true. He doesn't fucking care, he never did give a shit! All I want to do is give him up, and he just keeps coming back! Just leave me alone!'

"Not going to even look at me?" he asked. Kia hesitated for a moment, then she slowly shook her head. "Will you at least tell me why?" Again, she shook her head.

Releasing her arms, she felt his hands gently caress her face. He tilted her head so she could see his face, golden eyes meeting her hazel. She couldn't bear to stand looking him in his eyes. So much sadness, so much pain. He had to be trying to fool her.

"Please?" Vice pleaded, golden eyes burning into hers. Kia wanted to speak, wanted to tell him everything. Every single little thought that weighed upon her mind, every emotion that trampled her heart and harassed her every passing day.

Instead, she closed her eyes and shook her head 'no' a third time.

'I will not go back to that,' she stated firmly in her mind. 'I will get over Vice. I can't keep the feelings that I have for him anymore.' She could feel the pang of her heart, hot pricks behind her eyelids, the oncoming tears. 'I will never be what he wants. I-'

Kia's thought process stopped dead in its tracks as she felt gentle lips brush against hers. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes shot open in surprise. Vice kissed her gently, holding her as if he pressed any harder, she would shatter into a million pieces.

Jumping back, Kia's heart hammered in her chest. Her breathing quickened, backing away from the green Douji quickly. Vice had a look of shock upon his face, his hands still in the air where she had been. "Kia?"

Staring, she began to shake her head again. "No," she mumbled. "No. No, no, no, no, no." The black-haired girl shook her head violently. "It's a lie, it's all a lie," she cried, clinging to her head. Tears spilled from her eyes. 'Oh God no, don't break down here!' her mind screamed at her.

"Kia, just look at me," Vice spoke, moving towards the girl. "I-"

"No!" she repeated, pushing herself further from him. "No, Vice! Just-No!" Her chest hurt, her heart hurt, her brain throbbed within its skull.

"Everything's going to be fine," he said, forcing a laugh. He touched her face, moving towards her again. "Kia, I really ca-"

"No you fucking don't!" she screamed. Vice froze, finally understanding what her 'no's meant. "You don't, Vice! You can't ever. You don't have to lie anymore. Just, don't lie to me. I hate it," she sobbed, feeling the tears stream down her face.

Turning on her heels, she ran as fast as she could from him. To her, it felt like history was repeating itself. 'Good,' she thought. 'Let it happen again. I don't want this anymore.'

Her legs burned, her arms numb. Looking around, she couldn't see anyone. She had left everything behind her, even him.

'I'm alone. Good,' she thought. 'Good. I'm finally alone.'

Propping herself up against a tree, Kia pulled her knees close to her chest. Wrapping her arms around her, she buried her face into her arms and cried her heart out.

She remained completely unaware of the trio watching her. Long black-haired girl, a blood-red haired boy, and a younger one. Each of them with their own intentions for her.

Please review while I go dry my eyes.