Alone

Chapter Nine: Death at Hand

She opened her eyes, only to close them quickly after seeing the sunlight shining far too brightly. She forced her eyes to open again to take a look around, only to find the room had no color, yet every color known to man. As she continued to glance about, she realized she was not actually in a room. There were no walls and, to her dismay, no floor. Even with the knowledge that there was no floor, she also knew she was not falling. Fear crept silently into her as she started wondering how she had come to be here and where exactly here was. Turning her gaze to look down over herself, blood had spilled out of her stomach to cover her new white, glimmering gown. As she moved she was met with the burning of the lashes on her back, nothing but pain filled her. But the pain did not exist - yet it was there just like the non-existing floor was.

Finally, she remembered. Raiden had sent his sword through her. Fear started to diminish, and the pain faded. Where was she? Was this the end? Is this what eternity really appears as?

Slowly, time passed, or so she thought. She found where she was. It didn’t darken nor become brighter. There was no sun and no moon. In this realm there was nothing. Yet there was something. In this place, understanding did not matter. She watched this white and colourful realm with every intention of finding out where she was, hoping for some hidden clue to simply show itself, knowing she would never find the answer, for there was no answer. With patience, she waited for someone to come, but neither did any person pass, nor a creature appear. Time and time again, her mind seemed to revert to whether she was dead or alive.

In her mind, it felt as though hours had passed. Then suddenly, she could hear voices echoing in the silence. She tried to scream out to them, telling them to leave. This place was quiet and calming. It was peaceful, she wanted peace, but with the sudden sounds, this realm began slowly to fall apart. It was being slashed apart one voice at a time. There was one voice in particular that stood out from the rest, Raiden's. She listened intently, still not able to hear what he was saying. The more she listened, the more the sounds changed into words until, finally, his words broke through the barrier.

“Wake up, Ayame!” His voice filled with concern which only confused her more.

“I must be alive! But why can't I wake up?” The relief she had felt only moments before was gone in seconds. With one more c***k, the realm finally shattered.

“Please, don't leave.” Raiden's voice came as a whisper in her right ear. Then she felt something warm press against her lips. At that instant, she felt her heart as if until that moment it wasn't beating. A tear slid down her cheek, but it didn’t belong to her, it had dropped from above. The bright world was soon replaced with darkness. The kind seen before Dreamland started playing its story.

Slowly she started to open her eyes to see Raiden's face just above her own. She watched as his facial expression changed from sorrow to joy. Slowly, he placed his arms around her, lifting her upper body from the ground to his chest. She could smell the earthy scent that had always followed behind him. Pain seared through her as he placed his hands on her still-open wounds. She forced herself to refrain from screaming out in pain, trying to enjoy the moment. This feeling of complete and utter happiness, knowing she was alive in Raiden's embrace.

After he had gently laid her back down, she tried to lift herself but was stopped by pain jolting through her stomach and back. It felt so unearthly. That pain prevented her from moving. When she looked up at Raiden, he appeared apologetic, as he scooped her up and started to stand with her in his arms. He held onto her tightly, putting her tense body at ease as she relaxed further against his. This man who had, only moments before, mortally injured her, had turned back into her protector.

He turned to take her from the dark room, but as he turned there in front of the doorway stood two samurai. “Move!” Raiden's voice echoed through the stone room with rage. Still, the two men did not budge. No matter how many times he yelled at them, they didn't flinch. “Fine, I'll move you.” He started toward the samurai.

“Stop!” Ryuunosuke spoke, stepping from the shadows into the light to reveal his true height, a man of eight feet from the ground and nearly three times the size of Raiden. “I will fight you, and if you beat me, then she will be free from her punishment.” He laid his hand on his right hip where the second sword was. His hand curled around it, ready to strike any opponent that stood in his way. Ayame blinked trying to clear her vision, but no matter how many times she did, Ryuunosuke’s appearance remained the same. To her dismay, he truly was a Nopperabo, a phantom of the night. She had thought the stories of nightmarish creatures were just that, stories. But to find these creatures, or rather demons, truly existed, was difficult information to digest.

“I must admit I would prefer to watch you strike her again.” He grinned. “It was some of the best entertainment I have ever witnessed, however, I do enjoy a good battle almost as much.”

“I will fight you.” As Raiden spoke, he walked to the wall and placed Ayame gently against it, slowly moving his arms from beneath her. She looked at him, but he had moved his head so his bangs covered his emerald yellow eyes, just in time to hide the red that began seeping into his irises. From that, she could feel her heart start to pound and the hair on her arms stand on end. She knew with every bone in her body he was becoming like a demon.

The fight finally began. Ryuunosuke drew his sword, appearing behind Raiden in seconds. But to his dismay, Raiden never flinched, as if he knew exactly where the man was going to be before he did. Raiden swiftly swirled around to catch Ryuunosuke's sword with his own. Continually, the man tries to ensnare Raiden, using agility and swift indecisive movements, allowing himself to appear as an unskilled swordsman. To Ryuunosuke's misfortune, Raiden did not fall for such foolish tricks.

Finally, he figured out that every time he made a move Raiden was one step ahead of him. No matter how many attempted attacks he made, they were blocked. As Ayame watched she noticed that neither of them could make contact with the other. Then it happened, she heard a grunt from one of them. Contact had finally been made. It was Ryuunosuke's blade scratching through Raiden's right side. Tears began to come to her eyes and panic rose up inside her as she watched Raiden fall to one knee clutching his side, blood running through his fingers and hitting the ground. He looked up with bloodthirsty eyes shining red in the moonlight and a solemn expression across his face. Gleaming with delight, his opponent leaned forward to strike the last deadly blow. But Raiden vanished from his view, reappearing above him with a knife held to his throat. He was breathing heavily, his entire body trembling with excitement. His eyes were completely red, almost glowing in the darkness.

“When they called you 'the red demon' because of your speed, I never would have guessed you would be this quick. Now I know you truly are worthy of such a name.” Ryuunosuke had a hint of happiness and peace hidden deep in his words. “You are indeed worthy to protect her.” Ayame turned her gaze only to see the shadows of them on the ground. She watched the shadows to see a knife go straight through Ryuunosuke's throat. He toppled over moments later. A sickening sound came from him after he struck the stone floor.

Raiden leapt to the ground, making his way slowly to her, clutching his right waist as he walked, blood splashing to the ground as he walked. Reaching her, he started to bend over to pick her up. As his eyes met hers, “I can do it.” She whispered. Slowly she pressed her back against the wall, using it as a cane to regain her balance. The cold stone cut into her wounds, but she remained silent and continued to get to her feet. In a matter of moments, she stood in front of Raiden, holding fast to the wall. She tried to catch his gaze, but something was wrong. He wouldn’t look her in the eye. He allowed his bangs to shield them like curtains.

“Raiden?” she asked.

“Yes?” he responded, trying to keep his breathing steady.

“Why won’t you look at me?” She feared he was injured far worse than what the eye could see.

“I’m fine. Just in a little pain, that's all.” Somehow she knew, without further questioning, there was more, but she was afraid of the eyes lurking behind his disarrayed bangs. She took a piece of her own tattered clothing and ripped it. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, she forced her shaking legs to step forward. Gently, she lifted his hand from his wound, pulled his shirt carefully from his injury, took his hand and had him hold the shirt up. Then she proceeded to wrap the ripped cloth over his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Looking up after she tied the knot, she finally got a glimpse of his eyes. Blood-red eyes looked back at her, but all the fear that had been spreading through her body had diminished. Those demon eyes could not frighten her any longer.

As she gazed up at him, she felt his arms wrap around her and in a whisper, he said, “I am truly sorry for what I did.”

“I'm alive, so there is no need to apologize anymore.” Her heart pounded hard against her chest. He was so close to her causing her to feel an overwhelming feeling, one she had never had before. Was this what love felt like? She couldn’t remember. She feared it was, yet at the same time, she feared it wasn’t. Was it possible this was simply admiration for someone who would risk their life for hers?

“I really thought you would have known better, Raiden.” Ryuunosuke’s voice boomed from behind them. Ayame turned just in time to see the large man’s body sit up and grab its head to reattach it to its shoulders. “I mean, I gave you the perfect opportunity to finish the job, but it appears you still refuse to kill.” He cracked his neck, picked up his sword and stood to his feet. “Honestly, that vow you took is going to be the death of you.” His eyes shone as he looked at Ayame. “I should just tell this little girl the whole story… what do you think?” His grin widened as he played with the thought. “Wouldn’t you like to know who he really is?” He took a step closer.

“You are f*******n to tell her.” Growled Raiden.

“And you were supposed to protect her, but we can both fail at the same time.” Ayame grimaced as she watched Raiden step toward Ryuunosuke. “O dear, the real reason you are here and how your family died is mostly…” Raiden bore his fangs, raised his claws and in one swift motion severed his head from his shoulders once more. “Are you going to do it right this time?” The man chuckled as his head rolled across the floor. Before he could say another word, Raiden drove his own sword through his heart and the dagger through his brain.

“It's time for us to go.” He took her hand and moved slowly toward the door. But the samurai remained in the doorway. The one on the right lifted Ayame up while the one on the left took Raiden's arm and put it over his shoulder, helping him to walk, taking them to Master Tadashi's room, where he waited patiently for their arrival.

He stood up from his velvet red chair as they entered, clapping his hands slowly. “You fought well, my son.” He smiled at Raiden.

“What do you mean?” Raiden hissed at him, forgetting his place.

“We knew, in the end, you would not allow Miss. Ayame to die. So we sent another to oppose. Now don't look so shocked. He knew he would die, and was proud to die at your hands.” Master Tadashi seemed more than just pleased with himself. “We knew she would bring you to fight the way you used to fight for me. It just took a little.... push.”

He turned his gaze to Ayame. “And to you, my dear, I am very sorry we had to go so far as to put you in so much danger. However, it was necessary.” His face changed to an apologetic look. “Since you managed to bring the red demon back to us, we will reward you. I have the best doctor in all of Japan coming to take care of you. We have also prepared gifts to lavish you with.” He smiled again. “I hope you were not too frightened. I swear you really weren’t in any life-threatening danger. After all, you are my most prized possession.”

“No, I didn’t know that. And no, I don’t want gifts or doctors!” Ayame said with a stern voice, looking from Master Tadashi to Raiden and then back again. She had a feeling this demon he spoke of was the last thing Raiden wanted.

“But, why my dear?” He appeared shocked at her turning down the gifts and the doctor.

“Because Raiden doesn’t want to be that way, and I don't want a reward for bringing that out in him.” She could feel tears on the edge of her eyelids. She fought hard to reject them. These tears are nothing but a weakness.

“We still wish to thank you, so no matter what you say, these things will await you in your room.” He informed her, displeased with her disrespect.

“If you wish to thank me, then give Raiden his freedom.” She looked toward him, seeing his eyes widen at the very suggestion.

“I'm sorry, but that is something we cannot afford to do.” the master shook his head as he walked toward them.

“Why?” she shouted.

“I am finished talking about this. Guards took her to the doctor. He awaits her.” The guard that was holding her turned and walked out of the room.

“Stop!” she screamed. “What about Raiden?” she questioned. But the guard did not appease her with a response the entire walk to her room, no matter how many times she pleaded with him for an answer. He slid her room door across to reveal the doctor along with a nurse at his side awaiting her arrival. Lying before them was a white mattress, with an old blanket on top. On the side was a box holding all the necessities for healing wounds.

The guard placed her on the white mattress and then left the room. She turned her gaze to the doctor and nurse, leaning over her, placing their hands on her side to roll her over onto her stomach. The nurse lifted her shirt, revealing at least twenty slashes across her back. The blood had dried, but with the sudden movement, many of the cuts reopened. As she lay there in the silence she felt a cold cloth dabbed onto her back. She clenched her jaw at the pain, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Nearly twenty minutes passed before she felt bandages being wrapped around her body. The nurse continued to wrap her, purposely missing the sword wound, stopping at her underarm. By this time, the doctor had left the room, leaving the nurse to care for the wounds on her back. When the nurse had finished, she stood and walked to the door, allowing the doctor back into the room. He came in slowly after a few whispered words from the nurse.

“Ayame, I know this may be uncomfortable for you, but I am going to have to take a look at where the sword hit you.” She nodded, trying to roll herself over, but without success. “Please try and remain still. You will only open your wounds the more you move.” Sighing in frustration, she relinquished her power. He knelt down, looking at her back. Carefully, he cleaned out her wound and sterilized it. Then, with the help of the nurse, he turned her over to clean her stomach. “I believe you aren't in immediate danger, but you will have to rest for some time. I will be back to check on you in a few days to make certain you are healing properly. Until then do not move.” He smiled faintly, trying to put her at ease.

“Hana, here, will be staying to take care of your medical needs.” With one last awkward smile, he bent down to gather his tools and left. Ayame eased herself back into her bed, trying to get comfortable. By the sound of it, she was going to be staying here for a while. Over and over in her mind played the scene of Raiden stabbing her, and then when he had slashed Ryuunosuke's throat. She wondered if Raiden was all right, but no one would answer her.

“Do you need anything before I leave?” Hana asked as she stood, starting to move toward the door.

“No, you can go.” She half smiled.

“If you need anything, I'm just across the hall.” She turned to the door and walked across to her room. Ayame waited until she heard the door close, then she attempted to lift her now frail, torn body, but it was impossible. With all her might she wanted to cry out. She wanted to know if Raiden was well, or if they had done the unthinkable to him.