Chapter fifteen: Capturing the Queen pt. 2

Prompt: #29 Dark

Universe: Japanese Feudal Era

Rating: T

x

It's been four months since Hikari and Shirona decided to cooperate with each other. Since then, they'd been working together in private to function as an efficient team. Maneuvers were perfected, bonds created and friendship strengthened.

It was time to take down the Emperor.

On the other sides of Sinnoh, the Great War raged on. Gen was on the front line, aiding the soldiers in taking down supporters of Akagi's regime. He prayed every night that the girls would make it out okay and dispose of Akagi before the year was up. He had faith in them.

Spinning, he ducked a blow from a soldier and struck his staff against the back of the man's legs, causing his knees to buckle and give out.

He stood, flinching from the stench of blood and rotting corpses. He rushed into the battlefield and aided his comrades in taking down a warlord.

"Please be okay..." he muttered, jumping up to slam his staff.

Elsewhere, in the rocky terrains near Eterna, Hikari was packing up her supplies. She still wore her black bodysuit, but her katana was different. The handle was now white, her blade was sharpened and inscribed with kanji. Live. Laugh. Love.

Beside her, Shirona was tying a message to a pigeon's foot. She was not dressed in robes, but in a traditional fighter's garb given to her by Gen. It was his present for completing his training, and she accepted it gratefully. Sending the pigeon out, Shirona turned to Hikari and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yep!" Hikari chirped.

With Shirona by her side, Hikari made her way to the Emperor's palace, located deep within Mt. Coronet. They entered a cave on the side of the mountain and sneaked around, wary of encountering trouble.

"Be careful," Shirona muttered when Hikari tripped over a rock.

"S-sorry.." Hikari replied, blushing in embarrassment.

They continued walking, occasionally running into guards on patrol. Hikari sliced their throats to silence them and dragged them away, disposing their corpses in various bodies of water she found. With every kill, her eyes dulled more and more. Hikari had gotten incredibly depressed by the time they reached a foggy area, and Shirona was getting fed up.

She dragged Hikari by her wrist to a small depression in the wall fit for two bodies and shoved her in. She squeezed herself beside her and glared at her.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked harshly.

Hikari glanced away. "Nothing."

Shirona sighed, but grabbed the teen's wrist. "Tell me, I can help."

"No, you can't."

"Then stop moping. You'll get us caught and you'll have to kill more guards at this rate."

At that Hikari stiffened and ripped her wrist away from Shirona's grasp. She clutched it to her chest and refused to meet Shirona's gaze.

Shirona understood suddenly and sighed, smoothing her hand down Hikari's head. "I understand now. It's about those people you... silenced." Hikari sniffed and Shirona struggled to comfort her.

"Sometimes, I forget you're still just a kid. If anything, I should be the one to do the dirty stuff, not you."

"No!"

Shirona was startled by Hikari's loud declaration and stared at the teen who now held both of her hands in one of hers.

"You... I don't want you to kill. I've.. been tainted all my life, but Shirona has remained and will remain pure. I'll stop moping if you promise me to never kill."

Shirona blinked but smiled, nodding slightly. Hikari was slightly rejuvenated and took Shirona's offered hand to stand up. The duo continued their trek through the mountain and finally reached an empty room.

Shirona grabbed Hikari's wrist and dragged her forward to a wall differently coloured than the rest. Feeling around, she pushed forward on a rock jutting slightly out of the wall and stood back, watching passively as it slid open. Hikari gaped and looked awed, something Shirona chuckled at before dragging the teen again.

The entered the cavern, appreciating the dim lighting provided by a torch Hikari pilfered from a guard on the way up. They stuck closely to each other, and Hikari could hear Shirona's staggered breathing. Shifting the torch to her right hand, Hikari reached forward and grabbed Shirona's right hand with her left one. The woman gave her a look of surprise but Hikari merely smiled and squeezed her hand. Shirona sighed but squeezed back, smiling now. Her breathing returned to normal and Hikari was flattered that her comfort brought the woman some reassurance.

They reached a wooden door and Shirona winded her foot before slamming her heel against the entrance. The wooden door splintered and it gave way. The duo quickly entered and were shocked to find themselves in the throne room of the palace.

"Why...?" Shirona muttered.

Hikari remained silent, eyes transfixed on one figure in particular. He was a man of average build, but one was not to be fooled. He was strong, very strong.

"Akagi is an arrogant fool, who thinks he can handle all intruders. That's why he purposely created an entrance to his throne room, because he seeks thrills from assassination attempts," Hikari explained in a low voice.

Shirona nodded and let go of Hikari's hand crossing her arms. She followed Hikari's gaze and gasped to herself slightly, trembling in anticipation and fear.

Akagi sat on his throne, wearing black robes with a hood over his face. His arms rested on the sides of his throne and only his crazed grin showed from the shadow of his face. He stood and descended the steps elevating his throne, stopping on the last one. He pulled his robes off and the girls gasped upon seeing the face of the man. It was scarred, most likely from so many attempts on his life, and he had dull turquoise hair spiked up. His eyes had shadows underneath them, and his cheeks were hollow. What was most terrifying were his eyes, which glowed with excitement and even fear. They flitted about one way and another, and it looked like he was having a hard time trying to keep still.

He was trembling and his grin was wide and crazy. His eyelids twitched, aching to cover the iridescent blue orbs that were filled with agony and pain. Underneath his robes he wore a fighter's garb, complete with two swords strapped to his hips.

"Come," he announced, voice filling the room, "allow me to dispose of you, daughter of the Professor, Shirona, and traitor Hikari."

Overwhelmed by fury, Hikari unsheathed her brand new katana and rushed Akagi, stabbing his abdomen. Surprised her attack was successful, she looked up at Akagi's face but was disturbed by his grin. Her sword protruded from his back but he seemed unaffected.

"What the..."

He pulled an arm back and Hikari had no time to pull out her katana and dodge the powerful punch he delivered to her jaw. She flew back, katana clattering by her side.

"Hikari!" Shirona cried, turning to Akagi and running to him. She raised her leg and delivered a strong roundhouse kick to his side, knocking him back. She ran to the teen, kneeling by her side and raising her head up.

"Are you okay?" Shirona asked, worried.

Hikari sat up and rubbed her jaw. "Yeah.. ow, that really hurt. But, that attack didn't even bother him at all... why is that?"

"He seems to have gone completely mad. The pain probably doesn't bother him anymore," Shirona attempted to explain.

Hikari nodded. "That makes sense. Okay, let's try again.. this time two on one!" The two ran to Akagi, who had recovered from the blow, and pulled off a combination together. Shirona held her hands stiffly behind her, palms raised up and arms stretched out. Hikari ran behind her and jumped on her palms, bouncing off and performing a somersault. She raised her katana, brought it down, aiming for Akagi's head. He dodged, Hikari only managing to nick his shoulder. She cursed but nodded when Shirona appeared behind Akagi and dropped kicked the small of his back. With a grunt, Akagi flew back again, flying into his throne and destroying it.

It was too early to celebrate, as he rose from the rubble and unsheathed his double swords.

"My turn," he whispered, running forward. With a shout, Hikari met him and blocked his two strikes with her blade horizontally, bending back slightly from the power he displayed. She relied on Shirona, who ran forward and jumped, hands on her shoulder and vaulting over her head. Shirona spun vertically to gain momentum and landed her heel on the back of Akagi's head. Hikari jumped back and Akagi landed face forward on the concrete, a crater underneath his face.

He pushed himself up and laughed. Hikari stood next to her partner, glaring in disgust at the man she used to work for. He was completely mad, and his face reflected it. His nose bled ferociously and appeared broken. His chin was smashed in and his forehead was bleeding. As a matter of fact, his entire face was covered in blood. He looked even more terrifying than before.

He quieted all of a sudden and glared at Shirona. He pointed one of his swords at her and snarled. "You... I'm going to kill you and complete the mission this worthless tramp failed. I will destroy the Professor!" he exclaimed, eyes darting back and forth.

"Not if I can help it!" Hikari yelled darting forward.

"Hikari, wait!" Shirona yelled. She ran to join her but stopped at Hikari's warning glare.

"Don't interfere!" she warned, slamming her katana against both of Akagi's.

Hikari was engaged in a sword fight with Akagi and was losing. With every strike she gave him, he gave two more. She was nimble and swift, but he was very calculating and accurate. For every five strikes she dodged, she received a cut on her body. Soon enough, her body was bleeding all over, and she was starting to feel the effects of blood loss. She grunted with the pressure it took to fight Akagi and tried her hardest to push him away from Shirona. She promised, damn it...!

With a shout she swiped at Akagi's kneecaps and he yelled in pain, falling to his knees. Hikari backed off, panting lightly. She stood quite a way from Akagi but slowly started to approach him.

"I've been raised by you, taught by you, and tortured by you," she started, voice quiet, "I've suffered under your rule for years. My childhood is nonexistent, my father dead and my mother traumatized. My best friend is the person I was ordered to kill, by you, and the man who changed me four months ago almost died by my hands.

"I did not agree with your ideologies, your dreams or your methods. But I did what I was told, because I feared for my life and my mother's. You are nothing but a coward, who makes the innocent do your dirty work. I may not be perfect, and I may screw up a lot, but I know if there's one thing I can do right, it's killing you."

Akagi smiled cruelly, a sneer on his face. "Oh? Then, what would you do if I killed the person you swore to protect?" He raised one of his swords and aimed it at Shirona, who stood still, staring. He was deadly accurate... it wouldn't be hard for him to hit a moving target.

"No!" Hikari exclaimed, raising her katana, "I won't let you...!" Akagi threw his sword and Hikari threw hers, knocking it off course. But then Akagi turned to her with an evil grin and launched his sword at her, stabbing her through her chest. Hikari fell back in shock.

"Hikari!" Shirona screamed. She rapidly approached Akagi and raised Hikari's katana.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I broke my promise." She decapitated Akagi and rushed to Hikari's side, blood on her hands and clothes.

Hikari panted, feeling the overwhelming pain spreading through her breast. "Ah... it hurts," she moaned, putting her hands around the sword.

"No, don't!" Shirona cried, kneeling next to the teen. "Don't take out the sword; you'll bleed to death!"

"Shirona..." Hikari murmured.

Shirona put a hand to Hikari's face and allowed the tears to stream down her face. "Don't leave me... not when we just started to get along and like each other!"

Hikari giggled slightly, but coughed out blood. "I'm sorry, Shirona. Maybe in another life we'll be together. We're good friends, though, right?"

Shirona smiled, and closed her eyes. "Yes. Friends," she whispered, disappointment lacing her voice. Whether it was from the word or their situation, Hikari couldn't tell.

"I broke my promise," Shirona confessed.

"What?"

"I killed Akagi."

"Shirona, no.."

"I'm sorry! I couldn't let him live after what he did..."

Hikari said nothing in response and shuddered. "I can feel it coming, Shirona... I'm scared."

"Don't be, I'm right here with you."

Shirona treaded her fingers through Hikari's hair, sobbing. She gasped and choked, while Hikari gurgled and tried to breathe normally for Shirona's sake. Closing her eyes, Hikari decided it was time to come to terms with her feelings. Did she like Shirona simply as a friend, or more? Those four months they spent together was fun. They learned many things about each other and Hikari grew to like Shirona as a friend. They had a bond, a strong bond. Sure, at first Shirona refused to make pleasant conversation, but Hikari learned that the Professor was a subject they could talk about for hours.

Hikari found herself developing feelings despite their gender and age differences. The way she laughed, the way she smiled; those instances were very rare, and Hikari tried pulling them out as much as possible. Shirona was beautiful, and had a wonderful and caring personality if she allowed you in her bubble. She had a few weird quirks, but Hikari found those to be endearing, much like how Shirona teased her about her crazy morning bed head. Hikari had forced them deep down, so as to not destroy their friendship, but now, on her dying breath, she needed to confess. She needed to know if Shirona felt the same, or if she never had a chance.

"Shirona?"

"Yes?"

"...nevermind."

Coward; she was a coward. This was her last chance and she blew it. Shirona would never like, or love, a coward like her.

Shirona simply smiled, understanding what the teen wanted to say. It was obvious in the way she looked at her, blue eyes darkened and nervous. At first, she saw the girl as a nuisance, someone who would keep her away from what mattered. It was hate at first sight, she couldn't bring herself to like the girl, despite the moment they had at her old home. But after getting to know her better, and fighting with her and spending more time with her, it was rather simple to piece together how she fell in love.

"I know. You don't have to say it."

Hikari opened her eyes and met Shirona's. Suddenly gaining courage, she leaned forward, ignoring Shirona's gasp of protest. She pressed her bloodied lips to the blonde's and pushed with all her might. Shirona moved her lips against hers and Hikari moaned. They pulled back for air, flustered and eyes hooded.

"I love you," Shirona whispered, blinking back more tears.

"Me too.." Hikari whispered back, closing her eyes and leaning over Shirona. Her breathing slowed, and with one last shudder, she ceased to live.

"In another life," Shirona muttered, grabbing the katana by her side.