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Post by Jagger on Dec 11, 2012 15:28:36 GMT -5
Jagger didn't even bother pursuing the true story, mostly because, in that moment, he would rather have her think of him as evil than pathetic. A vampire chasing redemption, he thought as Amaya prepared to leave, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor. Like a villain trying to write a fairytale.
"Jagger?" Yasakazu asked. He hadn't taken the emotional beating that Amaya had from all this -- though he was certainly not unscathed by the loss of Daisuke and the turmoil suffered by his close friend -- so his vision was less clouded. He still didn't want to believe it.
Jagger started when his name was said and looked at the slayer-mage, his face expressionless. "If she's able to believe that about me, I've been wasting my time anyway," he said shortly. "You had best get going. You know she'll leave without you if she must." The slayer-mage opened his mouth to speak, but Jagger turned his back on him to indicate the conclusion of the conversation.
Yasakazu withheld a growl of frustration before chasing after Amaya for the secret passage. He didn't wish to alienate her by insisting that they not jump to conclusions, but something about this didn't feel right to him. He had always had a certain intuition. He had attributed it to the fact that he was a mage. Because of this, he looked into Amaya's face and saw something more troubling than betrayal. He saw heartbreak. His stomach churned with jealousy and he suddenly could not wait to get Amaya away from Jagger.
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Post by Amaya Ashikawa on Dec 11, 2012 16:17:04 GMT -5
Kazu wasn’t the only one who wanted Amaya to get away from Jagger; she couldn’t get out of the room fast enough. The slayer was attempting to suffocate the heartbreak beneath layers of anger and betrayal, but it wasn’t quite working; her heart ached and it only got worse with every step she took further away from Jagger. Lies, it was all built on lies; as long as she remembered that she could cling onto the anger which was keeping her alive…maybe.
She didn’t pause to wait for Yasakazu, already having uncovered the secret passage and slipped down into it by the time the slayer-mage joined her, the laces on her boots flopping about all over the place because she had only stopped for long enough to slip them on; tying them could wait. “We need to move fast. He knows where the tunnel comes out and we don’t have long before dusk.” Her pain was obvious, both mental and physical, but both of them could wait. Survival was more important than comfort. “Mask our trail with magic if you can. We’ll steal horses from at the outskirts of town and ride. It will be faster than travelling on foot.” They didn’t stand a chance, she knew they didn’t stand a chance, but they had to keep moving. She wouldn’t lie down and die.
“We need to find somewhere to lay low for a couple of days, just while I work out what to do next. I think maybe a ship would be our best option…” She mumbled, half to herself, thinking about anything to keep her mind busy. [/size][/font]
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Post by Jagger on Dec 12, 2012 12:39:05 GMT -5
Yasakazu was barely listening to Amaya, too troubled with his own thoughts to focus on much else. Envy boiled in his stomach. Images of Amaya and Jagger together were branded on the back of his eyelids,so that every time he closed his eye he felt betrayed and repulsed. The idea of Amaya giving her heart to someone else was infuriating, to a vampire doubly so. He decided he was glad to be rid of Jagger after all. And if he ever comes back, I'll light him up like the sun, he thought vehemently, flexing the fingers on his right hand.
Lost in his own thoughts as they exited the tunnel, he nearly forgot to cover their trail. He remembered with a start and began using the spells needed immediately. He was not skilled enough to remove the scent or tracks completely and still retain energy for the journey, so he merely cloaked them in an illusion that would last several days as he went. It was a process that required a lot of concentration and even with Amaya's injuries slowing them down he had to rush.
They had walked for several hours in silence when Yasakazu stopped. "Amaya, we have to rest," he announced. "We haven't ate anything, you're injured, and this non-stop casting is exhausting. Let me get us something to eat before we both collapse and give them a free meal." He really hoped she would listen to him. Sympathy was sneaking back into him despite his earlier frustrations and watching her limp forward for hours in severe pain was unbearable.
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Jagger listened to them leave, then lied down on his bed and buried himself in his thoughts, doing everything in his power not to submit to grief. He had promised Amaya that, one day, she would be happy and the fighting would end. Maybe this was fate's cruel way of helping him fulfill his duty -- she couldn't have ever truly been happy with him and he'd been a fool to think otherwise. Maybe it would be easier for her living in a world where everyone was either good or evil. Still, something inside him yearned to chase after her and try to explain things. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was the memory of her painful accusations. He found himself growling, angry with himself for winding up in such a mess.
Something changed. It took him a moment to realize that it was just his instincts responding to night's call. Vampires would be here soon, a lot of them. He wouldn't be able to fight them all off, but perhaps he could keep them from pursuing Amaya for at least a little while. He unsheathed his katana and walked to the kitchen, bending over to recover the passageway's opening.
"So that's where the humans have went," a woman's voice said. Jagger spun around to find himself nearly nose-to-nose with a raven-haired vampire. Her piercing blue eyes glimmered with amusement as surprise broke across his expression. How had he not sensed her earlier? "A young one, aren't you, Jagger?" she said, reaching up to pinch his cheek. He stepped back and swung his katana, but she easily ducked under it and jumped lightly back, not making a sound as she landed.
Jagger knew she was an old vampire and that he could not beat her. She was stronger and swifter with keen senses and centuries of fighting experience, likely. Still, he saw no other option.
"What's the tart paying you?" she asked. "What price have you put on your immortal life? This is a senseless battle anyway. You honestly think you can keep this up? The older vampires, the ones like myself, are becoming more interested in this chase. They're coming from all over just for the chance to be the one that rips that pretty throat of hers open." She smiled, then hissed, "You are no match for me. You wouldn't be even if she were here to help you. There are more than ten others just as strong as me in Idaitokai right now with more on the way." Jagger glared at her silently, iron-faced though her words terrified him. Amaya... He let her talk, hoping to buy Amaya all the time he could.
"End this," the woman said now, extending a hand to him. "I have no intention of killing one of my own kin, for that is what you are, though it seems you've forgotten. It's not too late, brother. It's never too late for the immortal." She flashed him a fanged smile. Jagger shifted his right leg, preparing for a fight. Her smile faded and was replaced with confusion. Then she suddenly threw her head back in laughter. "You love her, don't you? How horrific!" Her chortling subsided. "It's too bad, really. You won't even get to watch her grow old and die a hag, for she dies tonight. Such a pity. I was hoping to take you back to Avoir with me. I've no idea how I'll spend all this money by myself." She shook her head, then drew two daggers from her belt. "But who knows? Maybe he'll let me keep you after the slayer's dead."
Before Jagger even realized she had moved, he felt the blade burning in his chest. Silver. He growled, the pain overwhelming his senses. Every nerve in his body felt white-hot. He froze in agony for a few seconds that felt as hours, unable even to scream, before he lost consciousness.
When he awoke, he was in a cell, chained to the wall by his wrists. His shirt was gone and his wound had been treated, though it still ached terribly. His body was on fire, making him reminiscent of fevers from his mortal years. He trembled with pain, blinking in hopes that his blurred vision would go away. The cell was small with walls of thick stone. There were no windows save for the small barred one on the iron door. Jagger started as his senses came to him, his nose detecting that someone else was in the cell with him.
"Amaya?" he rasped weakly.
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Post by Amaya Ashikawa on Dec 12, 2012 13:50:16 GMT -5
The silence was all consuming, the sound of her footsteps and his breathing the only things that kept them company as they walked. Amaya had no idea where they were going, the pair currently moving through the forest, winding their way back towards the mountains. They would have been too exposed following the coastline; the mountains offered more cover and were more familiar to Amaya. Anything familiar was welcome now. They had been following an old game trail for hours, the path disappearing here and there amongst the undergrowth only to appear again a little further along the way. Progress was slow and difficult, but they had left the city, and hopefully all of its dangers, far behind them.
It took her a delayed moment or so to realise that he’d spoken and stopped, Amaya falling to a stop and turning to face him. Her eyes were dark and red from lack of sleep, skin looking paler than usual. “We have nowhere to rest…” She pointed out quietly, her feet throbbing painfully now they had stopped, her injuries screaming in pain. “We have no food. I don’t know if we can afford to stop here…” She mumbled, looking around them slowly without actually taking any of it in; she was too tired to really register anything right now. “If they come we have no defences…”
No sooner had Amaya spoken than they came. Even in the state she was in her swords were in her hands in seconds, the first vampire which threw himself at her lay dead on the ground at her feet before her mind even caught up with what was happening. “RUN KAZU!”
Attacking an Ashikawa, even an injured and exhausted one, was an operation which required a certain degree of planning and power. The lesser vampires died quickly, though not without consequence for Amaya. Her last reserves of energy were depleting rapidly. When she sensed the power rolling from the last one she knew that she was done for. He was different, obviously much older than the rest; a monster in a suit, circling Amaya like an injured animal. She fought tooth and nail, but it wasn’t enough.
The fight was a blur, ending all too soon with her disarmed and on her knees, glaring up at her opponent defiantly. If she was going to die she was going to look death straight in the face and meet it bravely. Amaya Ashikawa feared nothing, not even the end.
“Not tonight little Ashikawa.” The vampire practically purred the words before flitting forward. There was a flash of stars in her eyes and a short, sharp pain before everything went black, Amaya slumping face first in the grass.
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It was the pounding in her head which awoke her, a dull throbbing in the back of her mind which punctuated every half formed thought. She was shivering, skin cold and clammy to the touch, Amaya a touch feverish, sprawled out on the hard, stone floor of the cell staring blankly up at the ceiling. Her clothes were tone and muddy, skin mottled with a whole spectrum of bruises, every inch of her aching. A lethal combination of exhaustion, pain and fever left her thoughts sluggish, the slayer having no idea how long she laid there on the floor before she heard the voice.
’Amaya’. Even in the darkness with a muddled mind she knew Jaggers voice and she silently hated herself for the spark of hope and warmth which sparked in her chest as she realised he was there. She wasn’t alone. She could say that she would rather be, but that would just be a blatant lie.
Her chains rattled as she finally moved, limbs leaden and uncooperative as she struggled to sit herself up, hissing her pain between her teeth. Well, she was alive. Being dead wouldn’t hurt this much. Being dead would have been preferable. “I’m here…” Her voice was hoarse, throat parched; she’d not eaten or drank since…since when? She had no idea how long she’d been here, and even before then she couldn’t remember. Everything was melting into one horrible nightmare. “Why didn’t they kill me?” [/size][/font]
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Post by Jagger on Dec 12, 2012 14:18:04 GMT -5
Jagger looked at her, his eyes golden so he could see. There was no light in the room at all, though a rather faint glow came from the bars on the cell door. He sighed with relief and smiled. She's alive. His smile faded as he pondered her question. After a moment's silence, it came to him.
"They want me to...," he mumbled, his voice trembling. "You sick bastards!" He roared with rage, throwing himself forward in a fruitless attempt to break his chains. The acute pain in his chest spread, causing him to cringe back against the wall, emitting a feral hiss and closing his eyes.
"Temper, temper!" a familiar voice chimed from behind the door. Jagger wheeled his gaze around to the barred window, glowering at the female vampire that had stabbed him. "Throwing a tantrum will only make you thirsty." She smiled, then looked at where Amaya lay and gave a haughty wave. Her sight in the dark was sharp enough that she had no need for infrared vision, so her eyes were still the same piercing blue as before. She looked back at Jagger. "I asked Mr. Yamazaki about taking you after you're done with her, but it seems you've caused him a little too much trouble. It's such a shame! I think you really would have liked Avoir." She mock-sighed and then gave a little wave again. "Perhaps in another life. Au revoir!"
Jagger watched her turn to leave with bared teeth, tempted to try the chains again.
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Post by Amaya Ashikawa on Dec 12, 2012 15:15:13 GMT -5
“They want you to kill me.” She finished quietly; you didn’t need to have your wits about you to work that out. Hell, they might as well have put a sign up on the wall. She closed her eyes and jumped as he yelled, her gaze barely able to pierce the darkness to see him, but she could hear the pain in his voice. They’d hurt him when they captured him too; why did that fill her with fury? They could do whatever they wanted to her, she was strong enough to take it. But the people (or otherwise) that she cared about were a different matter entirely. Did this mean that she cared about Jagger? Did it even matter when it was doubtful she would ever leave this cell again?
“Let her be.” Amaya sounded oddly calm after the other vampire’s taunts, her gaze flickering towards the source of her voice. “There is no point in arguing with the pawns when they come to gawp. Wait for the master.” She smirked up at the window before looking away, pretending that there had never been anyone at the window. Getting wound up wasn’t going to help either of them right now; it would only make the situation seem worse. Play into the vampires mind games and they would be giving them exactly what they wanted.
“The solution is pretty simple.” She nodded to Jagger. “Kill me and it won’t be long before they are along to kill you and end your suffering. I won’t die on their timetable. I won’t have my death be part of this twisted circus. Do it now and do it clean. Snap my neck and be done with it.” [/size][/font]
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Post by Jagger on Dec 12, 2012 15:52:31 GMT -5
The woman hissed at Amaya through the bars and left.
Jagger had a hard time listening to Amaya. He was in an extremely foul temper. The only thing that appeased him in the slightest was imagining ripping that awful woman's throat out. He glared after the other woman venomously up until Amaya's request. His head snapped toward her then, eyes gleaming.
"No," he growled. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't!" He jangled his chains. "They're keeping me tight against the wall. These chains won't be able to hold me when the thirst takes over, though." He leaned his head against the wall, staring emptily at the ceiling. Then a sudden pang of worry struck him. "What happened to Yasakazu?"
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Yasakazu was running as fast as he could, dodging low branches and stumbling on bushes in the dark. The starlight was of little assistance since the forest had grown thicker. He was covering his tracks with magic as he went, using the real spell now. The vampires must have seen through his illusion, but how? He'd been so stupid.
When Amaya had shouted at him to run, he had cast a teleportation spell on himself and put his hand on Amaya's shoulder, hoping to take her with him even if the overuse of his powers killed him. The vampire she was fighting had known to come between them -- he must've had magical training himself. By the time Yasakazu realized what was happening, the spell had been cast and he had been yanked away from her.
The spell had only taken him a short way and it had sapped much of his strength. Yasakazu's abilities lied mostly in light and fire -- the arcane did not come so easily to him. His steps became slower and his breathing labored, but he carried on for two full hours before he collapsed against a tree and submitted to exhaustion, muttering tiredly as he fell asleep. "Daisuke-sama, help us."
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Post by Amaya Ashikawa on Dec 12, 2012 16:17:25 GMT -5
Amaya had managed to sit herself up against the wall, though her chains didn’t let her get very far. The cell was only small, but she couldn’t get to Jagger and he couldn’t get to her…yet. “Then you need to stay in control until we find a way out of here.” She told him as though it would be easy, busy trying to squeeze her hand out through the manacles, tearing her skin in her attempts. They were too tight, her thumb wouldn’t fit through and already she was dizzy from the effort of trying to escape.
“Yasakazu ran when I told him to. Magic, I think. He tried to take me with him, but he was tired and the vampires stopped him. Yasakazu got away.” She murmured, at least sounding pleased about that. “It can’t end like this…” She sighed heavily, closing her eyes and tilting her head back against the wall, her cheeks glittering with tears in the darkness. “I won’t die here in the dark…” She whispered, sounding like she was trying to convince herself. Give in and they won, fight and they won. No matter what she did there was no way she could win this fight.
“When the thirst takes over you break those chains and you snap my neck. No teeth, remember Jagger? I can’t be a monster…” [/size][/font]
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Post by Jagger on Dec 12, 2012 16:43:18 GMT -5
Jagger was relieved that Yasakazu had escaped, at least. He tried to relax, but what she said next made him uneasy. He shifted against the wall and looked at her, his eyes green now so that all he saw was her silhouette. He stared at her for a while.
"I can't promise not to bite you, you know that," he said quietly. "And I can't promise to kill you when I regain my wits, either." His voice gained a hard edge and he looked away. "I'll find you something sharp and you can do it yourself. I'm sure you don't want to die by the hands of the monster that bit you." It was easier to be the old Jagger again, now that everything that'd made him anything resembling a human had been taken away. His thirst was growing as his body struggled to heal a silver-infected wound.
If I was a monster, I'd be outside that door looking in, he thought. If I was a human, I might not be here at all. As much as he tried to regret getting wrapped up in this madness, he could not, and it irritated him.
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Post by Amaya Ashikawa on Dec 12, 2012 16:58:47 GMT -5
“You will be dead as soon as you have bitten me, I doubt you will have the time to get me something pointy, and I assure you that they won’t allow me to kill myself.” She snapped at him, nerves frayed. “I’d rather know that the thing that bit me at least had the balls to finish the job rather than leaving a mess for me to clean up. If you are who you claim to be then my father will have taught you that it is plain courtesy to kill a slayer who’s been bitten.” Yes, she was aiming to hit a raw nerve there, lashing out at the only person she could. All feelings around Jagger were jumbled right now, fluctuating rapidly between hatred and…well…something the opposite of hatred. The latter she didn’t want to admit.
“If you ever cared one iota for me you would kill me and spare me what’s to come.” She scowled, fists clenching at her sides. [/size][/font]
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Post by Jagger on Dec 12, 2012 17:32:13 GMT -5
Jagger laughed uncontrollably, though his laughter was staggered with pain. "Oh, look at you! Now you believe me?" A low growl stirred in his throat. "You turned your back on me, or has it been to me this whole time? Did you think if maybe you strung me along a little I'd be less likely to turn on you in your sleep? Well, last time I checked, monsters are under no obligation to follow slayer etiquette!" He winced as his wound burned, waiting for it to pass before he continued in a lower voice.
"Pick something to believe and believe it. Either I'm a monster or I'm not. I don't know the answer any better than you do anymore." The last sentence was almost a whisper. He shook his head and turned away, as if she might see his sad expression and he wanted to hide it. He shifted uncomfortably and closed his eyes.
"I showed up that night to redeem myself and pay my best friend a debt," he said slowly, eyes still shut. "I stayed because I loved you. Believe it if you want. It doesn't matter anymore." He loathed being so helpless. After promising her happiness, it would be him that took away what scarce chance she had of it. He cursed fate, he cursed the gods, and he cursed himself.
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Post by Amaya Ashikawa on Dec 13, 2012 15:46:34 GMT -5
“What?” She snapped, narrowing her eyes across at him dangerously as he laughed. The chains rattled as she struggled against them to free herself, blood dribbling down her arms where she tore at the skin on her wrists. “You needed to worry more about me killing you in your sleep.” She wished that her tone was cold and empty, but she knew that he would hear every ounce of pain and heartbreak in her voice as she spoke. At least the darkness hid the state she was in; bloody and bruised and trapped, crying freely as she tried in vain to free herself.
“Strung you along?” She snorted, obviously offended by the mere suggestion of it. “Please, Jagger, do you really think I’ve had the time or the energy for those type of games with everything that’s been happening. I’ve been busy trying to survive, if you’ve not noticed. All you’ve been doing is complicating things.” She gave up her struggling and slumped against the cold wall, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against the rough bricks. “I wish I knew if you were a monster or not, it would make everything so much easier. The slayer in me says I should have killed you on the spot, but the woman in me…” She trailed off and scowled at herself, refusing to finish her sentence.
“You loved me and now you are going to kill me. You can’t have loved me that much.” [/size][/font]
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Post by Jagger on Dec 13, 2012 15:59:59 GMT -5
"I'd rather you'd killed me in my sleep than turned your back on me like you did," Jagger hissed. "If I killed you, I'd be doing something for you that you should have done for me." His eyes were open now, but his head was still turned away. "But you won't die by my hands. There's no way you can change my mind, either. Throw whatever insults around you like; I've nothing to lose anymore." He tugged on his chains again, though the attempt was half-hearted. He knew they wouldn't give no matter what he tried. Then again, I'm a sucker for lost causes. He chuckled to himself, half-mad in his despair, pain, and growing thirst.
"I can hold off for a couple days, I think," he murmured. "Let's hope Yasakazu finds out how to cast miracles. Then we can get out of here and I can go back to Idaitokai and stop complicating your life so damn much." He really had no intention of going back to Idaitokai, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of his real intent. He froze in pain as his chest stung again, waiting for it to pass before shifting uncomfortably again.
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Post by Amaya Ashikawa on Dec 13, 2012 16:37:48 GMT -5
*******************SKIP A FEW DAYS*****************
Time lost all meaning. It was always dark and it was always cold. Amaya was curled up against the wall staring blankly into the darkness, shivering violently. The chill had settled into her bones, every inch of her aching. The pain had become her constant companion. Well, it was her only companion. Since the argument she’d refused to say a word to Jagger, leaving her alone in the darkness waiting to die. Vampires came and went outside the door and window, attempting to taunt them, but she barely even heard their words anymore. She would not rise to them and give them that satisfaction. They could kill her but they weren’t going to break her.
Death was on its way and she planned to meet it with as much dignity as she could scrape together. It was an inevitable eventuality and Amaya had come to terms with it. Yasakazu wasn’t going to come. She wasn’t going to find a way out. Jagger was going to drain every last drop of blood from her body. It might even be nice for it all to be finally over and to be able to rest. Her parents would be waiting for her; at least in death she wouldn’t be alone.
It had to almost be time now, the slayer stirring, her limbs creaking and groaning as she shifted, stretching her legs out. “It must be time to die soon.” She whispered to herself, her voice hoarse because she was parched. Well, feeding and watering a prisoner on death row was a little redundant. [/size][/font]
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