Yet again, sorry for the delay. The first third of this was completed last week, the last third was finished two weeks ago but the middle third was only completed today when I decided I had time to write before I went out.

So here is the final chapter of Kage. I hope you enjoy and I will hopefully have the next story out soon I was going to post the very end of this as an extra chapter but that would be too mean XD

Thank you so much for people who have stuck with this. I hope you join me next time for the next instalment of this series.

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and plot

Chapter Eighteen: Shi (death)

Drew was lounging on the beam rather than sitting upright like he was supposed to. There wasn't anything coming or at least that's what the reports said. He was clutching a small flat pebble in his hand which relayed messages to warriors in the area. If there was trouble coming then Drew would know.

"He looks almost brooding up there," May whispered to Misty.

"Shut up," Misty moaned, very bored at the constant chatter from May about Drew.

"Are you sure he likes me?" May asked.

"For the love of Arceus!" Misty snapped.

"Keep it down, Misty," Drew called without looking at the pair.

"Up yours Drew," Misty retorted. She turned to glare at May, who shrank back in her seat slightly. "This is not the time for this. Got it?"

"O-OK," May mumbled.

"Hey, when you've stopped picking on the crazy pregnant lady don't forget to leave some sugar for us," Drew remarked, grinning down at the two girls.

"When are the bad guys going to get here?" Ash asked. As he said this, Drew felt the pebble in his hand start to burn announcing the latest news. He quickly looked into his palm and turned the pebble round so he could see what news was coming through.

"Forgive us."

Drew was confused by the message and got to his feet slowly.

"Drew, what's wrong?" Kenny asked.

"Drew?" May asked quietly. Drew ignored them both since he was too busy staring up at the ceiling.

"Is it bad news?" Ash asked. "Is Paul alright?"

His head shot up as realisation hit him head on. His grasp round the stone tightened as he inwardly cursed himself for being so stupid.

"They're after the wrong people," Drew muttered. He jumped down from the beam and ran towards the door. The two sentries who were stood waiting for any sign of trouble turned to look at Drew like he was completely mental. He turned to the tallest of the two. "I need you to take a message to Kiboji right away. We need Paul back here, now."

"Yes, sir," the guard said. He rushed off to relay the message to the leaders while Drew closed the door.

"What's going on?" Misty asked, getting to her feet and putting her hands on her hips.

"Something bad's happened, hasn't it?" Ash said.

"Something's happened to Akiko," Drew mumbled.

"What?" the other four yelled. May got to her feet slowly and walked over to the group which was now crowding round Drew.

"Not so loud," he scolded them.

"How do you know that?" May asked quietly. Drew showed them the pebble in his hand but with the confused expressions on the faces of his friends, he realised they did not know what was going on.

"It's just a feeling I have," Drew explained to them urgently. "Look. When Akiko's mother died she left a message to her children saying 'forgive me'. It's weird that we would get a message like that."

"But forgive us would mean-" Kenny started.

"The only people who will know are Huyuko and Paul," Drew said. "But it's likely that if Akiko's gone so is Isamu."

"We're so dead," May squeaked. She put her head in her hands, her eyes incredibly wide. "This really is the end of the world."

"But now both of Paul's parents are dead," Drew went on. "I've got a horrible feeling about this. I think we might have walked straight into a trap."

~K~

Paul stopped dead in his tracks as he felt something alien flash through him. It was an odd feeling like he suddenly found he had lost something. He checked his person finding that he had got everything he came with: his sword, his dagger and his Pokémon. Everything was accounted for.

"Ray?" Luxray asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Nothing," Paul replied. "Let's go on."

He walked down the final stone steps and found himself at an archway. He gave the tiniest of pauses then walked onwards.

"Paul, something's not right. Come back to base," Dawn's voice flickered in his head. Paul stopped again.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Drew says you should come back," Dawn told him. "He's worried about something. We're all worried, we got a strange message on the pebbles."

Curious to what she meant, Paul dug into his pocket for his own pebble. He ran his thumb over the words 'forgive us' wondering what on earth they meant.

"I don't see what this has to do with me," Paul muttered.

"Please, just come back," Dawn pleaded with him. Paul nodded and smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm coming back now," he told her. He turned to Luxray who nodded his consent at leaving. "Let's go."

"Ray," Luxray agreed with another nod. Paul was just reaching for the Pokémon's pokéball when something flew past his nose. He jumped backwards, well aware that Luxray was growling at something.

"Fight or run?" Paul asked. "I think we should run on this occasion."

"Lux," Luxray agreed. Luxray run up to Paul, allowing Paul to place a hand on his head. Paul closed his eyes thinking about going back to Dawn and away from danger.

When he opened his eyes Paul found he was still stood in the archway.

"What-" he jumped out of the way of something sharp and metallic coming right for him. Luxray jumped to his side, glancing over to see why they hadn't returned to base. Paul met his gaze. "I don't know what's wrong. It's like I can't leave here."

He closed his eyes and tried to disappear but when he opened his eyes once more he was still on the same spot. Luxray cocked his head to one side, one eye brow raised at Paul. Their silent exchange was cut short by an array of thin metallic arrows hurtling towards them. Paul did a back flip to avoid them, cursing as his arm gave out from underneath him making him crash face first onto the floor. He looked up to see whether or not Luxray was laughing at him for doing such a rookie mistake but the blue Pokémon was eying Paul with concern. Paul looked at his arm finding that one of the thin metallic arrows had shot through his arm. The funny thing was that Paul didn't feel it, not even when he ripped it out of his arm.

"Paul?" he heard Dawn's shaky voice ask him. "Are you OK?"

"I can't teleport," Paul told her. "Luxray and I are leaving here. I don't like it."

"Are you under attack?" Dawn asked. "How hurt are you?"

Paul froze and grabbed his arm tightly, looking down at the silver arrow that had pierced his arm. He gulped once. He hadn't felt a thing but what if he wasn't supposed to. That would mean that Dawn would be the one getting hurt, not him. He tossed his head over his shoulder and stared at Luxray.

"Luxray, we're out of here," Paul ordered.

"Ray ray," Luxray agreed. Luxray bounded up the stairs with Paul not far behind him but as the Pokémon ran up the stairs away from Paul, the stairs started to crack. A large chunk fell away from the wall separating the pair.

"Someone really doesn't want me to leave," Paul mumbled grimly. He took a few steps back so he could take a running jump over the gap. "Ready?"

"Ray," Luxray replied with a nod, turning round and waving his tail around just in case Paul needed the help.

"Ready?" Paul asked. Luray gave an informative nod to show he was braced to help Paul out if he needed it. Paul exhaled deeply as he readied himself for the jump. He took a step forwards, his knee bending so he could spring him into a high jump. But before he could make another move there was another loud crack and the floor beneath Paul crumbled. He jumped backwards in an effort to save himself from falling.

"Lux lux?" Luxray yelled. Paul looked around seeing there was another way across but the gap between him and his partner had all but doubled.

"See if you can find Silver," Paul ordered. "He might be able to help me."

"Lux," Luxray agreed and sprinted off up the stairs leaving Paul staring after him. Paul let out a sigh wondering how on earth he would be able to get out of this now. It was obvious something didn't want him to leave this place. The only question was who was it?

It was only when the stairway fell silent did Paul feel a pair of eyes burning through him. He slowly turned round to find someone staring at him from the bottom of the stairs not too far away.

"It's a pleasure to meet you after all this time," the person said slowly. His voice was deep to say he was a slim man with a very young looking face. Paul put a hand on his sword as a cautionary measure. There was no doubt in his mind that this man was going to attack him but Paul was hardly going to start a fight with someone given the circumstances.

"And you are?" Paul asked.

"They call me many things, Shinji Akari or should I call you Paul?" the man said, his thin lips curling into a grim smirk. Paul bit his lip, his hand sliding further down the handle of his sword just in case of an attack. He didn't like this man at all.

"You didn't answer my question," Paul snapped.

"They call me the Great Darkness but I'm more commonly known as Makkurana," the man introduced himself. He gave a long low bow his eyes never leaving Paul once. When he returned upright Makkurana drew his sword from his belt. Paul followed suit quickly. "You're quick to draw your sword little Akari. Haven't you heard of me?"

"It's because I've heard of you that I'm so quick to draw my sword," Paul replied. "You're working with my grandfather, Ichiro."

Makkurana gave a hollow laugh, a manic smile growing on his face.

"Oh no boy, I'm not working with Ichiro. Ichiro is working for me," he laughed. Paul was about to say something else but the glint in Makkurana's eye quietened him. For the first time in Paul's life he started a fight.

~K~

Dawn bit her lip nervously. What was taking Paul so long to come home? Why hadn't he arrived here yet? She hugged herself as she silently fretted about him.

"Please me alright," she kept repeating to herself in her mind wishing that he would return soon. She didn't realise how pale she had turned or how much she was shaking. She was in a literal state of fear ever since word of Akiko and Isamu had come back to them.

To her right Hajime looked down at her with sympathy. Slowly he put one hand on her shoulder and she froze. Her wide eyes turned on him, tears threatening to pour from the corners.

"He'll be alright," he told her softly. "He's just as stubborn as Akiko and as cunning as Arashi."

"I hope you're right," Dawn muttered. "I just hope he's alright."

"If he's got you to come home to I'm sure he'll be as right as rain," Hajime told her. A small smile appeared on Dawn's frightened face as she appreciated Hajime's kind words. Still the niggle of worry and fear ate away at the back of her mind.

"What is taking him so long?" Kiboji snapped suddenly. Dawn and Hajime glanced over to the Akari leader who was sat on a chair fiddling with his fingers in an annoyed sort of way. His temper was wearing thin from his worry about his youngest brother and he had become irritated by the whole predicament.

Dawn walked over to Kiboji and placed her hand over his. He glanced up at her, smirking nervously as his gaze returned to the floor.

"I know, I know," he told her. "But I'm his brother, I have to worry about him."

He let out a long sigh then got to his feet. He began pacing up and down the room, rubbing his face roughly with the flat of his hand.

"We're so pathetic," he said aloud. "If we're like this after one battle there's no way we can win a war. I'm not cut out to be a leader."

"You're doing better than most during their first battle," Hajime mused. "It's a hard game especially when you have family out on the field."

"No kidding," Kiboji snapped.

"You're father never sat in a room like this," Hajime went on. "He always fought beside his brothers and Akiko. The four of them were one amazing team."

"That doesn't help me right now," Kiboji snapped causing Hajime to laugh.

"You'll come into it in your own way," Hajime said. "You need to have more faith in yourself, like Shinji has faith in you."

"Right," Kiboji sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and let out another sigh. "I just wish he was here. What's keeping him? I can't help but feel that something bad is going to happen to him."

"You and me both," Dawn muttered. She hugged herself again thinking to herself: "Paul, please come home safe."

~K~

Paul slumped forwards, using his sword to balance him. How had Makkurana brought him to his knees so easily? From his last attack, Makkurana should be bleeding but there wasn't a scratch on him. It wasn't possible.

With all the energy he could muster, Paul looked up at the foreboding shadow of his attacker. Makkurana was looking down at his top, inspecting the gash in the material with childlike innocence. It was almost like he couldn't fathom how his clothes had been torn. For some reason this unsettled Paul but that feeling was nothing compared to what he felt when the man raised his head and stared straight at him.

Makkurana's eyes were hollow. They shone with ghostly whiteness like he was possessed by something more than evil. The shadow falling across his face only brought out the eyes more, sending alarm bells ringing in Paul's ears.

"I wouldn't run if I were you," he stated as Paul thought about disappearing. When he spoke a chill went down Paul's spine. His eyes snapped to the man's face, not even bothering to remove the look of shock off his face. How did he know? "I would drag you back here and then you'd have no energy left."

"Isn't that what you want?" Paul growled back. He began to feel the familiar feeling of the Heiwana Kokoro rise in his chest. It churned in his stomach, pushing upwards to his fingers and head.

"No," Makkurana said. "Believe it or not, I need you alive for a little while longer."

"Why's that?" Paul asked. He found he was getting to his feet through no control of his own. When was he going to lose control of his body? He knew he couldn't control his body if he slipped into the Heiwanna Kokoro so why was he still aware of everything that was going on? Makkurana seemed confused too, tilting his head to one side to see what was going on.

"Interesting," he said. "The Akari blood in you is working against the Churitsu giving you the strength of the Heiwanna Kokoro but the awareness of your consciousness. That is very interesting."

"Glad you like it," Paul replied. He started forwards with his sword raised. The man barely moved as Paul rushed past him. He swung his sword and was about to disappear into smoke when he heard Dawn's scream ring in his ear.

He fell into the shoulder of the man, feeling his sword fall out of his hand. It clattered on the floor somewhere away from them.

Dawn let out a cream as she collapsed into the arms of Kiboji, a dribble of blood pouring from the corner of her mouth.

"What's going on?" Hajime snapped as he rushed towards them.

"Shinji," Kiboji replied worriedly, trying his best to keep Dawn from falling onto the floor. He held her tightly into his body, trembling as he did so. "He's hurt."

"She's hurt," Hajime said, kneeling down to help the Akari leader support Dawn. Her eyes had gone unfocused, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"Pa-Paul," she muttered.

"You feel that, don't you?" Makkurana asked Paul, too close to his ear for comfort. There was something menacing in his voice. With a fluid movement the man withdrew his sword from Paul's chest, pushing the boy to the floor. Paul fell backwards, having no idea how he managed to stay in an upright position as he grasped the area just under his heart.

"The pain you feel isn't just yours," Makkurana said. Like a predator stalking his prey, the man began to circle Paul, his eyes still glowing. "She is hurting too. How near death both of you are. Churitsu are horribly pathetic beings. They cling to that one person – their soul mate – and when they die so do they.

"Perhaps the most fun I ever had was killing Seiko Churitsu. She had too much control over Seichi and had to go. I thought her daughters would fall into place and two of them did. The last of them began to stir up trouble. I had to get rid of her," the man said. He produced a cloth from his robes and started to wipe his sword clean. For a moment the only noise being made was Paul's shallow gasps of air.

"Akiko. Haruko. They were obedient in my plans, sticking to their clans throughout but Natsuko," here Makkurana made a disgusted snorting sound. He shot Paul a glare. "She had to warn you, didn't she? She had to tell you about the two people who would destroy me. But it all worked out in the end, for me."

Paul glared up at the man, clenching his teeth tightly as he tried to pull what little energy was left from his body.

"You understand I would never let you die, Shinji," he went on. He then turned and began walking as if he was reciting some poetry or something to the air. "He is a boy of no ordinary upbringing, the favourite of his father. Gifted with everything he ever wanted but ignorant to the thing he needs. The plans set out for him will be undone by his parents who will have perished before the darkest day. The other is a girl of no value but worth her weight in diamonds. She will have lost everything on the darkest day, even half of herself. If she does not die, the world will fall."

Makkurana turned sharply on the spot, sizing up to Paul with a sadistic expression on his darkened face.

"Did you know that your mother threw herself off a cliff this afternoon, Shinji?" he cackled. "Along with your uncle. They committed suicide. They ran away from battle and left you. Your father too, threw himself in front of a sword to protect Sayuri so he could die. He knew it and he still gave up."

"And if you kill me," Paul gasped. "You'll… lose. If you kill me… Dawn will die too."

"True," Makkurana agreed with a nod. "But if I killed Seiko how come Seichi did not die?"

Paul's eyes widened. With only a few steps Makkurana was beside Paul, grabbing him by the hair and pushing him roughly forwards. Paul let out a yell and attempted to turn his head to see what he was doing.

"It's rather like a piece of string," Makkurana taunted. "You snip it and you'll lose it forever."

Paul let out another yell as a blade shot through his heart but it wasn't just that. He felt something snap behind him and the yell of Dawn's screams died in his ears. Paul fell back onto the floor, eyes wide as he felt blood flow out of him. He couldn't feel Dawn anymore. The niggling worry in his head was gone. The warmth of having someone there had disappeared.

Tears formed in Paul's eyes as he realised just how scared he was.

"Well done, Shinji Akari," Makkurana said as he leaned into Paul's view. "You just killed the whole world but I doubt you care about that. As for your little wife, she'll have a life worse than death. She'll be a body without a soul, dead and rotting inside. Isn't that a cheery thought? Perhaps you should have listened to her."

"Bastard," Paul growled weakly, his eyes trying to focus enough so he could glare. He couldn't manage it though. His throat was clogging up with blood causing him to wheeze and splutter. Makkurana gave him one last sadistic look and disappeared out of his line of sight. Paul could still hear his footsteps leaving him to die alone.

All Paul was left with was the slowing sound of his heart beat and the horrid feeling that he had just lost the love of his life forever.

~K~

"What happened?" One voice demanded in a sharp tone with a tired undertone.

"We're not sure. We scoured the area but all we found was this," replied a stoic voice. There was a slight pause where the stoic person must have given something to the sharp one.

"That's Shinji's," the sharp person said sounding pained.

"We know. There was no body just that."

"There's a lot of blood on it," a fresh voice commented gravely. "If that is his then…"

"But she's still alive," the sharp tone snapped.

Slowly she opened her eyes, grimacing at the bright sunlight pouring into the room. It hurt at first but she soon found her eyes adjusted to the light. She was laid in a large four poster bed in a lavishly decorated room but she couldn't see any people.

"Will she be alright?" a female voice shrieked.

"She has to be," another replied.

"I'm not sure," the sharp tone said slowly. "Shinji…"

"He's dead," the stoic voice stated. "I know he would be here if he wasn't."

"I agree," the third male agreed.

"But he can't be dead!" one of the girls yelled.

She sat up in bed slowly, glancing to her left as she saw the head of a strange blue creature raise so its large yellow eyes were staring at her. Deciding that the creature wasn't going to eat her, she shuffled out of her bed and got to her feet.

Standing felt weird. She was sure she had never stood up before but it felt so natural. She took a few steps marvelling how easy it was to walk even if she couldn't remember doing it before now. She stepped towards the door, not noticing the curious stare of the blue creature. As she fumbled with the handle, eventually opening it, the hinges squeaked making the babble of people outside her door fall silent.

Once stood in the open doorway she stared at the faces of six people who seemed to be staring back her with strange expressions etched into their features. She was in awe at the people before her. They looked so strange but normal looking. What did she know? She'd never seen another person before.

"Dawn? You're up," one of them said. It was a tall person with purple hair. He looked male but what did she know? She tilted her head to the side not recognising the first word he said to her.

"Dawn. Yes I am," she replied.

"Dawn?" one of the girls asked. She looked at the orange haired girl expecting her to say something else but when she didn't she got confused.

"Dawn what?" she asked.

"What is she going on about?" the stoic voice asked. She looked round to stare at a red headed boy stood with his arms folded. The purple haired boy stepped forwards, putting an arm round her.

"That's your name: Dawn," he told her softly.

"What's a name?" she asked.

"It's what you are called," he explained. His tone remained soft and calm but the way he was staring at her made her think he was going to burst into tears any second. "I am Kiboji."

"And I'm Misty," the orange haired girl added.

"I'm May," the other girl said. "Don't you remember?"

"Do you think this could be related to Paul's death?" the red head asked.

"I'm not sure," Kiboji replied, shooting the red head a warning look. Once again she became confused.

"What's a Paul?" she asked.

The room fell into silence. Kiboji visibly flinched while May gasped. Dawn watched as the other two boys, who had remained quiet until now, looked at each other. The green haired boy turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Drew!" May called, running off to find him.

"You don't remember Paul?" Misty asked.

"What is a Paul?" she asked. "I don't know what one is."

Kiboji slowly let go of her. He seemed to withdraw from her like she was diseased, making sure to keep as far away as possible without being too rude.

"What's a Paul?" she asked. "Is it something important?"

Kiboji grimaced, slinking further backwards until he gave up completely and left the room in a hurry. The red head lingered for only a second later before following him leaving her alone with Misty and the remaining black haired boy. When she looked back at Misty she found that the orange haired girl was crying.

"What's wrong?" she asked innocently, greatly confused. "What's a Paul?"

"Please," the boy said in a croaky voice. "Please just stop asking that."

"OK," she replied. "Why is water coming from your eyes? Are you alright?"

"No, Dawn," Misty said. "No I'm not and you shouldn't be either."

"But I'm fine," she said. "Why should I not be OK?"

"Dawn," the boy snapped, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Just… Please… Stop talking."

Dawn nodded dumbly and ceased her questions, instead putting her hands behind her back, watching the two people cry silently.

~K~

"Shinji Akari is dead. We are sure of it. For some reason Dawn wasn't killed along with him, she's still alive. What should we do now?"

Black eyes opened slowly. A smirk appeared on a face.

"Perfect," was the reply.

Look out for Owari which should be coming very soon!

Thank you once again to all of you, my brilliant readers ^_^

RSx