Sweet Burden (54 page)

“Hitomi, come back!” Guri shouted after her as Rediisu fired off another shot.

She ran as fast as she could, hoping that Kooisan was enough to keep them both occupied. The darkness of the night did not help her in her search. She had no idea where she was going or where Deiman and Domitori might be. Even through her fear and exhaustion, she continued to run. Her legs burned as her eyes scanned every direction for any sign of Obi. Her lungs strained as she stopped for a second to compose herself. A knot grew in her stomach as she realized she was surrounded in silence. She did not hear any yelling or shooting. There were no swords clashing or objects buzzing through the air.

The silence was almost more frightening for Hitomi. Was the battle over? Was one side victorious? Her body trembled thinking of the possibilities. Then there was a loud shot in the distance. She rushed out to a spot where she could see through the tree branches and looked up into the sky. A dark figure stood out against the grey clouds. She watched as the figure fell from the sky.

Obi.
Despite her gasping breath and stinging legs, she started towards the direction where she thought the figure had fallen. She used the trees as leverage as she curled her fingers around the moss covered trunks pushing her forward. It was hard for her to think about Obi being even hurt more, but if he was she could heal him again. Maybe with more time she could draw the poison out. She had to save him because she knew now that she could never live without him. As much as he’d been created for her, she knew that she was also meant for him.

Hitomi pushed her legs harder running further and further into the unknown. Eventually her exhaustion caught up with her. Her foot caught on a tree root sending her flying forward. She landed on the ground with a hard thud. Already dirt and blood covered, she pulled herself up and didn’t bother to dust anything off. She didn’t care about another skinned knee or bruised shin. Unfortunately her legs did not cooperate with her intentions. Her knees buckled and her legs gave out underneath her. She plopped back down onto the soggy ground as the rain continued its downpour from above.  

She rubbed at her legs trying to get rid of the numbness when she heard something moving through the forest behind her. Her body froze with trepidation. Hitomi was able to make out the sounds of heavy breathing and the crunching of the wooded ground stopped. Biting at her bottom lip, she fought with herself over whether to turn and look or to try to get up and run. Knowing that her legs were aching with pain, she slowly turned her head as the moon crept out from behind the clouds for a few seconds. She could see Domitori holding his chest as he staggered around a tree only a few feet from her. She put her hand over her mouth and watched him as he settled against the trunk.

He coughed as blood trickled from his lips to his chin. Domitori was weakened and possibly dying. A shiver ran down her spine. She needed to confront him. She needed to know where Obi was. Tugging at her jeans, she forced her legs to support her weight as she got up. She straightened herself up trying to look as strong as possible. She didn’t feel strong, but she needed to appear as though she did. Forcing her feet to move, she turned facing him and took a few steps towards him.

“Where’s Obi?” she demanded.

Domitori lifted his head with his eyes half open and managed a snide grin. “You’re still alive,” he remarked with disappointment.

Hitomi took a few more steps closer to him. “I asked where Obi is. Tell me now.”

Domitori rested his head back against the tree and let out a laugh that made Hitomi shake. “Last I saw, your precious Obi was falling from the sky.”

Her jaw clenched. “You’re lying,” she spat as she inched closer. “It was you I saw falling.”

“Maybe so.” He chuckled and then winced at the gaping hole in his chest. Hitomi could see the blood pouring out of his chest turning his blue shirt into a dark purple. She knew that he was dying.

She tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes. “Why doesn’t Laebosu want peace? Why couldn’t everyone just get along like before my father was killed?”

“No one ever got along. Everyone just tolerated each other. Besides, power is intoxicating. Once you have it, you don’t want to let go.” Domitori coughed again and blood dripped down from his chin.

“I
will
restore the Heavens. And I will bring balance,” she commented looking at him more sympathetically. She realized that Domitori was merely a pawn. He was bred to kill and not by his choice. This wasn’t his war. He only did what he was told. “I can save you.”

Even dying, Domitori was able to let out another laugh. “You’re not prepared to fight this war you’ve started. You’re only a little girl.” He sunk down further on the tree landing on the ground.

Kneeling down in front of him, she let out a sigh. “I’m stronger than you think. You could join us. You don’t have to let things end this way.”

He clutched at his chest and then held his hands up inspecting the blood. He huffed and dropped his hands down to his sides. “They always tell you that you’re immortal. I knew it wasn’t really true, but I never thought I would die. I mean, die again.”

“You don’t have to Domitori. I can save you. You can help us.”

Domitori shook his head and the grin from his face faded. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with. Your father left you with an impossible task. You’re all going to die and Laebosu will plunge everything into entire darkness. You cannot beat him.” He winced as he shifted his body. “I can either cease to exist now or later.”

“You would rather die now than help us?”

“Yes,” Domitori nodded. “I would rather die now.” His eyes turned upwards and then there was a hard thud behind her. Hitomi promptly turned around to see Obi tucking his wings away. He stood up from his crouch and raised his gun.

Pointing the barrel directly at Domitori’s head, Obi stared down at him and smirked. “Hitomi, move away from him.”

The glare in Obi’s eyes scared her, but she didn’t move. “I could heal him. He could help us.”

Obi’s jaw went rigid and he spoke through his teeth. “He’ll never want to help anyone except himself. He would turn on any of us in a second. Besides, he tried to kill you and now I am going to finish him. Now, get away from him.”

She bit on her bottom lip and stood up, but positioned herself directly in front of Domitori. “Obi, the killing needs to stop somewhere.” Hitomi moved forward and placed her hand on his arm. She slowly lowered his arm. “It has to stop now.”

Obi turned his eyes from Domitori to Hitomi. “You don’t get it. He was going to kill both of us. Killing me, I can deal with. But killing you? He wouldn’t have stopped.
They’re
not going to stop. Every day, every hour, you are going to be at risk. And I will not let anything happen to you. Hitomi, the killing can’t stop now. It’s only just begun.” His eyes sparkled a bright crimson red. “I’m sorry.”

He gently pushed her to the side and raised his arm back up. She turned away and dropped to her knees as a shot echoed through the woods. She covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Hitomi? Hitomi?” Obi’s voice was muffled.

The shot stopped ringing in her ears and she slowly opened her eyes. Hitomi looked up to see a hand outstretched to her. The curve of the hand and every line was recognizable. She glanced at Obi and placed her hand in his. His fingers curled around hers and he pulled her from the ground. He wrapped his arms around her and tightly embraced her as she buried her head against his chest. She couldn’t bring herself to look back at Domitori and she wasn’t even sure he’d be there if she did.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she mumbled.

“Yes, I did.” He ran his hand down the back of her head and along her hair. “And the sooner you realize that, the more prepared you’ll be for what is about to come.” Obi let out a sigh. “You also need to understand that I will do anything to protect you. Even if that means sacrificing myself for you.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“I’m only stating the truth. And you should never have come after me. You put everything in danger to save me and you can’t do that ever again.”

Hitomi pulled away and looked up at him. His eyes were closed and every breath he took seemed staggered. “And I would do it all over again to save you.” She reached up resting her palm against his cheek. “When are you going to realize that I love you as much as you love me?”

His eyelids slowly lifted. “Never.” He slid one of his hands from her back and brought it up to her shoulder, and then brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face. She shivered and he quickly pulled her tight against him again. “I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to hold you like this again.”

Hitomi pressed her head against his chest listening to his heart beating. She could feel the rythym of her own heart as is seemed to synch up with each thump of Obi’s. It was at this moment she couldn’t remember ever being happier. Even though there had been chaos and death, she was content and relieved. She now knew the truth of who she was, Domitori had been stopped, and Obi was safe.

She wanted to stay in his arms forever and not have another care in the world besides him, but there were others she was concerned about. Rediisu and Guri were still somewhere. There was also the mystery man to consider. Hitomi tried to block out her other worries but they swirled around in her head creating little tornados of fret. She was just about to pull away and say this to Obi when he cleared his throat and pushed away from her.

“We need to go find the others,” he sighed. It seemed as though he had been having the same thoughts as her.

“I agree.” She nodded as she wiggled her fingers in between his. He gave her hand a squeeze and they started moving through the forest. The rain had stopped and the only sound audible was the trickle of drops hitting the leaf covered ground. It was eerily silent and it made her uneasy. The sounds had gone from one extreme to the other. They moved through the trees and branches quietly and slowly. She tried to see Obi’s expression, but he kept his eyes focused ahead. “How are we going to find everyone? Can you still smell them with that poison inside you?”

“No. But I know where we were.” He stopped and looked down at her. “We need to be quiet. Deiman or Kooisan could still be lurking around.”

Hitomi mashed her lips together and forced a slight grin. She hadn’t thought that Deiman and Kooisan might still be around. Her thoughts had been focused on Guri and Rediisu. They continued forward as he tightened his grip on her hand. She became more concerned about who might possibly be around them and she found herself scanning the woods trying to find any figure.

They walked for quite awhile. Hitomi hadn’t realized how far she had actually run to try to find Obi. Suddenly Obi stopped and he almost yanked her arm off as he pulled her against him.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered.

“Shh.” His eyes widened as he glanced around. She kept as still as possible against him while he surveyed the area. She swore she started to hear the faint sound of footsteps crunching in the distance.