Strength.

Setsuna sighed softly, and casually watched a man pass them in the opposite direction they were walking. The stare was a pretext; as the man walked by them she allowed her head to turn enough to glance slightly behind her. The man was still following them.

"Se-Chan, are you okay?" Konoka asked. At first, Setsuna wasn't aware of Konoka's question, for she was deep in thought. Konoka simply took Setsuna's hand and squeezed it gently, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, Ojou-Sama, I apologize. Did you ask me something?" She asked. Konoka frowned slightly, both at being called Ojou-Sama, and at being ignored, although truthfully, she was only slightly bothered by the former.

"You don't have to be here with me if you don't want to." She said softly. "You seem to be upset, or distracted." She said. "And you've been like that for most of the day."

Setsuna shook her head, and stuttered out a reply. "N-no, please, Ojou-Sama, I'm not upset." She said. "I enjoyed today. It's just that someone's been following us for most of the day, putting me on guard." She said.

Konoka's first instinct was to turn and scan the crowd for suspicious faces, but Setsuna had told her to never do that. Still, the impulse was strong, and her head turned to the left slightly before she caught herself. She figured the movement wouldn't be too obvious; Setsuna was on her left, so she looked at her.

"What should we do?" She asked.

Setsuna shrugged. "So far he's staying pretty far back, it's as if he's just keeping an eye on us." She said. "However, our route takes us to a less-used street, and the sun is setting, so if he plans on attacking, then the attack will take place most likely along that road." She said conversationally, looking straight ahead as she talked.

She had long ago picked up the faint traces of the man's Ki, or Chi, and was now tracking him using the trail of his Chi. It was no longer nessessary to look behind herself, but she continued to do so, in case he was joined by another who was hiding their Chi.

Setsuna hadn't noticed that Konoka was still holding her hand, but it now finally registered that Konoka was squeezing her hand tight. She looked down, then at Konoka, who blushed lightly and swiftly apologized. Konoka let go of Setsuna's hand, and Setsuna opened her mouth to speak. She was about to ask why she had let go, when she figured it was better to keep silent.

That's no fair Konoka, I didn't ask you to let go of my hand...

They turned down the afore-mentioned less-used side street, and Setsuna shifted her sword ever so slightly, putting it in an easier position to draw and use. The sun was setting just in front of them, and they kept their eyes low to the ground, avoiding the burning sun. They slowed their walk, enjoying the heat from the sun, as a few people disappared off the road far ahead of them.

They hadn't been walking for more than two minutes, when Setsuna felt the Chi of the man who had been stalking them slide up behind them, about twenty feet behind. Setsuna felt her hands trembling as she gripped her fabric sword case, and she squeezed it tight in an effort to smother the shakes.

Konoka, knowing that Setsuna was concentrating on their stalker, stayed silent.

Setsuna sighed again, as the distance slowly shrunk to eighteen feet. Setsuna decided to confront the man if he came inside fifteen feet. They walked peacefully for a few minutes, then Setsuna felt the man creep inside the fifteen foot mark, and she stopped. Konoka stopped a second later, turning to look at her.

"What's wrong Se-Chan?" She asked.

Setsuna slung her sword case off her shoulder, and set it end first on the ground. "It seems that our tailer won't leave us be." She said, tracking him just ten feet behind her. Konoka, now turned and facing Setsuna, looked past her to see the man shuffling slowly toward them. The man's hands were in the pockets of his black suit, and his short blonde hair was spiked, his eyes hidden behind slim shades.

Setsuna swiftly untied the top to her fabric sword case, and withdrew it, turning around to face the man as he shuffled to a stop, about eight feet away. Setsuna slowly drew her sword, and pointed it at the man, wondering how to tackle this situation.

"Why've you been following us?" She asked calmly.

The man withdrew his hands from his pockets, and held them up in a shrugging gesture. "Simply to catch you unaware, so you could be killed." He said. Konoka's eyes widened at the man's sentence, and by contrast, Setsuna's narrowed.

"Unfortunately, you were always on guard, which also resulted in a pretty uninteresting day for your friend." He chided, making Setsuna glare at him.

"What of it?" She asked. "If you've come here to kill me, then draw your weapons, and we will see who dies." She said.

The man nodded, and reached into his jacket. His arms were crossed, reaching into opposite inside pockets, and when he pulled his arms out, he revealed dual kodachi's. At least, they appeared so. They were much smaller than most, however, being only about a foot long. He gripped the handles loosely, allowing the blades to hang loosely near his elbows, for he was holding them with the blades running up the back of his arms.

Setsuna lunged forward, slashing down toward him, sword extended straight out. The man blocked the strike by raising and crossing his arms above his head, allowing the blades to cross, and Setsuna's blade to land between them. As soon as he caught her blade, he shoved it off to the side, and closed the distance between them with a single step. Setsuna's eyes widened, and she realized that she had no room to bring her sword between the approaching man and herself. The man attacked her with his dual kodachis, slashing his left up her body, slicing her from her stomach to her chest, even as his right came across, narrowly missing her throat. He kicked Setsuna in the stomach, and it knocked the wind out of her, forcing her to her knees.

Setsuna gasped for breath, and didn't realize that she was bleeding. She didn't even know she had been cut. The man casually stepped back, letting Setsuna recover. Setsuna took the opportunity, standing up straight on slightly shaky legs, and pulling her sword into a basic guard.

"You missed your chance to finish me." She said, laughing despite her breath still not having returned fully. "You must be pretty full of yourself."

The man shook his head. "No, I don't have to act arrogant, after all, my skills speak for themselves." He said. "Besides, I was ordered to kill you. I can have some fun with it, can't I?" He asked.

Setsuna didn't answer, instead she attacked, bringing her sword slashing around from the right to the left, waist height. The man attempted to block it, but Setsuna's sword slipped off his, and deeply cut the man's leg.

The man backed off a few steps, and smiled. "Well, I wonder who's injury is worse...?" He asked. Setsuna felt something warm drop onto her hands, at waist level, and looked down. She then became aware of the razor thin slash that traversed her stomach and chest. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. Quickly, she pulled out her pactio card, and contacted Negi. He answered immediately, and Setsuna told him what she needed, even as she stared down the man, keeping him from coming any closer.

Will do, Setsuna, just hold on until I get there. Negi said. Setsuna slipped her card back into her inside pocket on her school uniform, and returned both hands to her sword.

"Round Two." She said, lunging forward. The man side-stepped her blade at the last second, but was still outside her zone, and unable to attack her. Setsuna continued to press the attack, lunging and slashing at the man, but unable to penetrate his small, quick defenses.

Setsuna's mind was racing, as she tried to devise a way to beat these tiny blades. There had to be a way. She knew of ways to counter longer kodachis, but these were something new...

Setsuna lunged, but it was slightly low. The man brought his left hand down, and his blade trapped Setsuna's. Setsuna couldn't withdraw her blade in time, and she couldn't bring the blade up, for the man was leaning forward, and using his weight to keep her blade pinned, with his perpendicular across hers. He moved forward, sliding his blade up hers, forcing her blade more toward the ground. Setsuna gritted her teeth, and the man lunged forward with his right hand, spinning his blade around in his hand until he wasn't holding it in reverse. He held it straight out, and shoved it through Setsuna's left shoulder. As dark red blood splashed onto the warm pavement, Konoka's gasp of horror was louder than Setsuna's muffled moan of pain. The man twisted his blade to the side, and Setsuna bit back a scream as muscles were torn, and the man's blade scraped against her shoulder bone. He finally withdrew the blade, and Setsuna moaned loudly, unwilling to let herself scream.

"That long blade of yours is defenseless against my blades." He said softly, as if he were trying to deliver an insulting truth as gently as possible. There was silence, broken only by the spattering of blood, as Setsuna tried to figure out if her left arm still moved. It did, just barely. The man then laughed, a loud sound in the warm silence.

"You aren't any sort of match for Teng's blades." He said, his voice condescending.

Setsuna heard Konoka sniffle behind her, and she knew that Konoka was crying. Setsuna shook her head, and tried to concentrate. Her left arm was useless, barely moving, and her right arm was shaking badly, from the pain. Weilding her large sword with one hand wasn't something she was proficient at, but if she wanted to finish this without gaining any more wounds, then she would have to learn.

Setsuna once again took the initiative, attacking as best she could. She slashed from her left to the right, opening his guard. He seemed unable to defend against slashes that came from the sides, one of the disadvantages to smaller blades, she guessed. With a shorter blade length, there wasn't exactly a lot of leverage for defending against side attacks, especially at the weird angle the attacks forced Teng's arms into.

She slashed again, and broke his guard, thrusting her sword forward. The blade sliced into Teng's side, but the man didn't even flinch. As the thrust brought Setsuna closer to Teng, he took the chance to attack. He used his left arm to slash down at her right arm holding the sword, and she was unable to dodge the slash, with her arm stretched out. The slash cut her forearm deeply, and she felt her grip on her sword weaken considerably. Setsuna withdrew her sword, and formed a sloppy guard, wondering just how deep the cut was. Her wonderings were answered when she felt the feeling in her fingers start to fade away slowly. She cursed, and wondered why she was getting beaten so badly.

"Ahh, the paralysis circulates, eh?" He asked. Setsuna's eyes widened, and she wondered what he meant.

"I always coat my blades in a strong paralysis." Teng said. "From the first cut- in this case the one on your stomach-, the paralysis circulates, and slowly weakens your body." He said. "Of course usually I don't tell my victims, so the effect is that they eventually slow, and wonder why their skills are lagging, why they are getting beaten by two steak knives." He said. Setsuna's eyes widened, as she realized what the man was weilding. He was absolutely right! She was getting beaten by a man weilding two thin, long steak knives.

"The effect is that the victim starts to doubt themselves, and as they slow, they think that their skills are less than they really are. By the time they realize they're being poisoned, it's too late." He said. For the first time, Teng smiled. "It's such a wonderful sight to see the expressions of disbelief as many professionals are done in by a cheap poison and steak knives worth only a few dollars."

Teng took advantage of Setsuna's shock, and kicked her in the face, hard. Setsuna felt herself reeling back, then a sharp pain erupted near the base of her skull as her head smashed onto the concrete.

"Well, now that you know my secrets, I guess it's time to finish this." He said. "I've grown bored. You're not even trying anymore, are you?" He asked. Setsuna tried to rise, but was kicked back down by Teng. Setsuna could feel the blood streaming down her face, from a gash on her forehead, and a split near her right eyebrow. Her cheeks were bruised, and she wouldn't be surprised if they were already starting to darken.

She tried to rise again, realizing how hard it was when one arm didn't work, and the other didn't move like it should. Teng stepped over her, and leaned down, stabbing her in the stomach with his knife. Setsuna's eyes widened, and she could faintly hear Konoka screaming her name.

Funny, she thought, her mind a jumble. Konoka's voice should be a lot louder...Wait, aren't I in a fight? Thoughts unclear, she struggled again to rise, but the second knife joined the first, and a searing pain erupted in her abdomen. Blood was now everywhere, flowing out of her wounds, over her stomach and onto the pavement.

Konoka's voice should be a lot louder... She thought, unable to focus on what she was supposed to be doing. Konoka's...Konoka!! She realized that Konoka was in danger, and she cursed herself for letting herself get so beat up.

"Now, for the killing strike." Teng said. He withdrew his knives, and raised them high, aiming for her throat. He brought them down as swiftly as he could, aiming for her slender throat, intent on severing it.

Setsuna blinked blood out of her eyes, and saw him raise the knives. She knew she couldn't let him kill her; it would leave Konoka unprotected. She summoned her strength, and as Teng sliced down toward her, she applied all her strength to her torn and shredded left arm, knowing she could afford to do more damage to it. She brought her hand up, and shielded her throat from the blow. Both of Teng's knives sliced easily through her left hand, and blood spattered down onto Setsuna's cheek. Teng was surprised at her movement, and stopped, the blades halfway through her palm. Setsuna grimaced, and pushed her hand further upward, forcing the blades through her hand. As her hand moved toward the base of the blades, the blades got wider. Setsuna felt the knife slice through something in her hand, and suddenly, her fingers stopped responding. A few more inches she pushed toward the handles, and the widening blades pushed a bone in her hand out of alignment, before snapping it. Setsuna breathed in sharply, determined not to vocalize her pain, and got her hand to the base of the blade.

"Y-you shouldn't even be able to move that arm..." Teng said. "I don't understand...Where is all this strength coming from?" Setsuna grimaced. "I don't know." She said through bloodied lips. "And I shouldn't be able to do this either."

She swiftly summoned all her remaining strength in her right hand, and lifted it as fast as she could. Teng saw the movement, and tried to avoid it, but he was still clutching his knives, and they were both still through Setsuna's left hand. He leaned back as far as he could, but that only served to open him up more to Setsuna's attack.

Setsuna sliced the sword across his throat, and the man coughed as blood sprayed from the wound on his neck. Setsuna didn't have the depth of blade nor the strength in her arm to make it a critical strike, but the damage was done, and Teng released his blades, jumping away from her and stumbling backward. Setsuna attempted to stand, but the paralysis had taken effect, and her legs no longer obeyed her.

It didn't matter. Teng, fearing that the slash was life-threatening, turned and ran, throwing his weapons down as he held his bleeding neck.

Setsuna gasped, as she looked down at herself and realized the extent of the damage. Her left arm was mutilated, a large bloody hole in her left shoulder. If she could see the inside of the wound, she would realize that much of the muscle now resembled bloody ground beef, torn to shreds. Her left hand had two long gashes right through the hand, and the bone connecting her wrist to her middle finger had been forcefully pushed out of alignment, ripping it off the knuckle, before snapping it. There was a slash on her right forearm that was deeper than she thought. Like the others, this one bled profusely, although she could see the white of bone through the river of red. The wounds in her stomach were equally terrifying. They had gone right through, and the points of his knives had peirced her back, the tips digging into the asphalt beneath her.

Konoka rushed to Setsuna's side, her hands shaking wildly as she saw the damage.

"S-Setsuna...!" Konoka's eyes scanned her body, wondering how much damage was done. Setsuna's face was now pale, having lost so much blood.

Konoka took Setsuna into her arms, cradling her as the tears streamed down her face.

"God dammit Setsuna, why did you...?" She didn't even finish her sentence, not sure what she was asking. She knew Setsuna had fought to protect her, and the guilt was starting to hurt.

Setsuna smiled slightly as Konoka hugged her. "Don' worry Kono-Chan." She whispered, her confused mind resulting in her more relaxed speech. "Everything's gon' be fine...Negi's on the way, and you're safe." She said. She closed her eyes, and Konoka touched her cheek. "Setsuna, you're not going to...are you?"

Setsuna was silent for a second, before humming. "I don't know." She whispered, eyes still closed. "The pain's fading though, s'ppose that's a good thing...maybe...not sure." She said. Konoka grabbed Setsuna's hand, and squeezed it tightly. "Se-Chan..."

A tear dripped off Konoka's cheek and landed on Setsuna's cheek as Konoka leaned over her. This caused Setsuna to open her eyes, and stare at Konoka.

"Hey now..." She whispered softly. "I was strong enough to hold back my pain, you shouldn't have to cry over me." She said. Konoka shook her head.

"Please be okay..." She whispered, tears coming freely now. "Please be okay..."

Setsuna closed her eyes for a second, before opening them. She looked up at Konoka, and smiled weakly. She reached up with her right arm, the only one that was still somewhat able to be controlled, and touched Konoka's cheek. As her fingertips slid across Konoka's cheek, they left behind a bloody streak.

"I'm sorry Konoka." She said. Konoka shook her head again. "For what?"

Setsuna took a deep breath, then winced as a new pain flared up in her abdomen. It was a few seconds before she attempted to answer. "I...I made you cry." She said. "I didn't want to make you cry." She said. Then she smiled. "But I protected you." She said. "I protected you just like I promised. All the way to my death, just like I promised. I just wish that I could still protect you some more." She said, before closing her eyes again.

Konoka's eyes widened, and a look of fear spread across her face. "No. No! Se-Chan, don't say that!" She said, her voice loud, but strangely quiet, almost distant, to Setsuna.

"Don't talk like that, it isn't right!" She said. Her fingers clutched Setsuna a bit tighter, but neither of them noticed.

"Please Se-Chan, don't say that...take it back..." She whimpered.

Setsuna never answered, and something in Konoka told her that she never would.

"No, not you, Se-Chan...please..." Konoka pleaded with her friend, refusing to believe that she was gone. "Please...take it back...I still need you to protect me..." She whispered. "Please protect me..." Konoka felt the tears slide down her face, but she never noticed. She was focusing on Setsuna's bloody face, and broken, frail human body. Konoka still held her hand tightly, unaccepting of Setsuna's stillness.

"Please wake up Se-Chan, I still need you...still love you..."

Konoka refused to believe that her words fell upon deaf ears. Despite her denial, nobody was listening.

A/N: Awoo. Don't know what compelled me to write that, other than the fact that sometimes, the good guys don't always win, and that not everyone lives happily ever after. Reviews, comments and critisizm is appreciated. Poor Se-Chan...