Correspondence with a Demon

Chapter 31 – Madness

Complicated feelings turn into complicated situations.

That was what Naminé thought of as she stood before this terrifying being. It was Roxas and yet…not. It was certainly his body and his face, but the way he stood there looking at her with those bright yellow eyes…

It was very eerie and demonic.

When he let out a roar, it resonated throughout her entire body, and she felt a deep pang in her heart that she could not describe. It throbbed and ached before gradually subsiding.

Her instincts told her to run, but somehow, she knew that she wouldn't make it if she did. He can outrun her and overpower her. No matter what she would do, he would be on her in an instant. So she did what she could only do at that moment: stayed completely still, frozen in place.

The demon before her took a step and wobbled, his arms swinging at his sides. His yellow eyes stared straight at her, never looking away for a second.

The wind picked up, making Naminé's hair dance all around her. It carried her scent to Roxas who paused to lift his head and sniff the air. His nostrils flared as he took in all the smells. His eyes grew wider, and his head slowly tilted from left to right, watching her. He crouched slightly with his arms hovering at his sides. His claws were extended, ready to strike at any moment. He was like…like a predator watching his prey for any move, any opportunity to escape.

She wouldn't escape. More like, she couldn't escape. Not with those frightening yellow eyes on her. Not with the corners of his mouth pulled back to bare his teeth. Not with his body looking so tense as if ready to attack the moment she moved.

Her lip quivered in fear, and she bit down, trying to stifle the movement. Her hands began shaking really bad, but she could not bear to move. Tears began to well in her eyes, and some had finally cascaded down her face. She felt so guilty for coming back when he so clearly told her to run. But she felt even more sorry that Roxas ended up in this state. Before she could even stop herself, a word escaped from her mouth.

"Roxas," she barely whispered, her voice slightly shaky.

His head snapped straight.

Then with a burst of energy, he lunged right at her. His claws were out, still dripping with what was left of the dragon's black blood. The blood disintegrated and flew up into the air as black specks with each step he took.

Naminé could not close her eyes even if she wanted to. She was paralyzed to the spot as if she had been struck and turned to stone. Her breathing seemed to halt in its place inside her. Her heart beat loudly against her chest.

Suddenly, everything seemed like it was in slow motion. She could make out every single detail. The way Roxas' yellow eyes shined with hunger and malice. The way his claws were extended out to slash at her. The way his torn and frayed clothes whipped around him as he sprinted towards her. The blood from the slain dragon that was disintegrating from the snow all around them. The darkness of the surrounding meadow with the sun just setting behind him. The subtle scent of pine from the trees around her.

It was a beautifully haunting picture.

So this…this was her ending?

After all she had been through, after all the effort Roxas went through to protect her…it was going to end like this? It was so quick and yet…

She didn't want to die. There was still so much she had to do, so much she had to say…

She supposed this was one of the crueler ways to go, to die by her protector without having done anything. She did nothing at all and couldn't contribute to anything. After all this time, after all the thinking…

Her ears barely picked up someone yelling as she was suddenly tackled face first into the fresh snow, barely inches from a pool of blood. Time had resumed its course, and it seemed her hearing was the first to recover. Her heart thumped wildly, and she found she was breathing again. But the snow was suffocating her, and she struggled with the heavy weight on top of her. She finally managed to lift her head to take in a gulp of air when she heard a voice yell that came from on top of her.

"You idiot! Do you wanna die? STAY DOWN," the owner of the voice pushed her head down again.

She struggled against the figure on top of her until she was able to angle her head so she could breathe. She tried to look through her periphery to see what had happened to Roxas, but all she could see were blurry shadows. There were four or five shadows in front of them, and two were moving about swiftly. She heard snarls and roars along with loud thuds from either punches or from landing on the ground too roughly. She couldn't make it out.

She blinked and looked to her side to make out the figure on top of her and the one to her side. The person holding her down was a man with a black bandana wrapped around his head, almost covering his eyes. Long blond hair peeked out from beneath his bandana. His eyes were set straight ahead at the fight and didn't convey any emotion on how the fight was going. He didn't loosen his hold on her.

The figure to her side was a woman crouched next to her. She had bright red hair fixed into pigtails and excessive accessories peeking through the long coat she wore. She looked more nervous about the fight and was more expressive.

A gasp from the woman tore Naminѐ's eyes back to the fight. The man's hold loosened so she could see what was happening.

There were three figures standing a few yards in front of her. Their backs were facing her, and their attention was most likely on the fight. From their backs, she could see…a man with dark skin and an afro…a tall woman with shoulder-length wiry hair, and…a young boy with silver hair.

Beyond the three figures in front of her was a woman with pink wavy hair wielding a sword. She alone was engaged in the fight while the others stood by, tense as if ready to jump in if need be. The woman with pink hair dodged Roxas' attacks and countered with a slash from her blade. Roxas jumped back to dodge and then lunged at her. She held her sword at an angle in defense and swung him away with a defining yell. He landed on the ground and lunged at her again. This time, she jumped high and held her blade with the broad side before her. She came crashing down on top of Roxas.

A puff of snow flew into the air, clouding the two. Naminѐ could make out some shadows, but there wasn't any indication of what was happening. She could hear inhuman roars and groans.

Almost at once, the figures in front of her jumped in through the puff cloud. She could hear them yelling directions at each other.

"Hold him down for as long as you can!"

"Hurry up! I'm almost losing my grip on him!"

"Dammit! He's strong! Why don't you just…stay still!"

The puff cloud cleared, and Naminѐ could see the three people holding Roxas down by the arms and legs. Roxas was lying face down in the snow. He thrashed wildly about, snarling. He almost knocked them off, but they grounded themselves and held tight. The boy with the silver hair looked like he had the most trouble as he tried holding down Roxas' legs.

The woman with pink hair stood above Roxas, her sword's blade pointed directly to his back. Roxas looked at her from the side of one of his yellow eyes and glared fiercely at her.

Naminѐ tried to yell out a plea to spare him, but the man holding her down covered her mouth.

"It's all right," he said lowly, "They're not going to hurt him. Just watch."

Her voice came out in mumbles as she was trying to ask what was going on, but the man shook his head.

"If you yell right now, you'll distract them. They're going to give him something to calm down."

True to his word, the woman with pink hair stabbed her sword into the snow beside her and knelt above Roxas. She brought a small vial to her mouth and uncorked it with her teeth. She grabbed his head from under his chin, quickly averting her hand when Roxas tried to bite it. She held Roxas' head and forced his head to tip back so she could raise the vial to his lips. He thrashed once more in a vain attempt to throw his capturers off, but they held on tight.

Once the contents were drained, the woman threw away the vile and quickly held Roxas' nose and mouth closed, forcing him to swallow. Once he did, the three people holding him down jumped back while the woman with pink hair gracefully flew to the side, grabbing her sword on the way.

Roxas jumped from his position. He crouched and snarled, his yellow eyes surveying the area. His eyes landed on Naminѐ which sent a chill running down her spine. There was no recognition of her in his eyes. Only a wild and insatiable hunger was present.

Their contact broke when he jumped away from the sword that swung down in front of him. The woman stood between him and Naminѐ as if to divert his attention back on her. He bared his teeth which grew sharper, and his claws grew larger. Black smoke was starting to billow out of his body.

The woman leaped toward him with sword raised. Her sword connected with his claws, and she kicked his arm away when he tried to swipe at her from the side. They both landed on their feet and then leapt at each other once again. Roxas continued swiping at her, and each swipe was either dodged, countered by her sword, or kicked away.

He took a swipe at her leg which had just kicked his other hand away, and he was able to make contact. She jumped a few feet away to gain distance and took a quick glance at the wound. There were three small cuts, but blood poured from the wound. The woman clenched her jaw, and her brows furrowed. Although Naminѐ could only see her side profile, the woman looked more serious than before.

Roxas stood and gave a roar as more black smoke billowed around him. His ragged breath came out in great big huffs of fog, and he seemed more tired than before. He lunged toward the woman, although he seemed more sluggish. The woman, on the other hand, seemed to become faster as Naminѐ wasn't able to track her movements. It was all a blur.

All of a sudden, there was a roar filled with agony that shook Naminѐ to the very being of her body. It echoed into her heart, and she suddenly felt a twang of pain. She cringed and kept her eyes closed until the roar died down, and the pain in her heart died with it. Shortly after, she heard a loud thud.

When she opened her eyes, the woman with pink hair stood with her back toward Naminѐ. Roxas' body lied face down in a heap at her feet. Naminѐ was so afraid that she had killed Roxas but was relieved to see him breathing as the woman turned him over with a rough kick of her boot. His eyes were closed, and his claws began to recede. He was clearly unconscious, and whatever that woman did had worked.

The pressure on top of Naminѐ lightened, and she found herself being helped to her feet. She looked to the man that held her down and saw that his serious gaze was on the woman.

Then she noticed that everyone was watching the woman apprehensively. Almost as if they were fearful of her.

"Lightning, you all right?" the man next to her had asked.

Naminѐ looked to the woman with pink hair. She was slightly out of breath from the fight and was looking at Roxas through half-lidded eyes before turning towards the group. Her eyes were what startled Naminé the most. One was blue, and the other was yellow.

There was a pause in the group, and no one dared to move.

"Lightning?" said a hesitant voice to her right.

The woman held up one hand towards them to stop anyone from talking. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths as she rested her unsheathed sword by her side. When she opened them, both eyes turned blue. She slowly lowered her hand, and her eyes wandered over to Naminé who stood looking in awe. Her eyes passed over the group and then gestured to Roxas with a tilt of her head.

"Get him back to base."

Without a word, two people – the man and the young boy – walked over to Roxas' body and lifted him up. The boy seemed to be having trouble gaining balance but was able to maintain his ground. The woman – Lightning, one had called her – was walking towards the rest of the group. As she was walking, she opened her coat and tore off a piece of cloth from her shirt. She wrapped it around her leg tightly, and the wound was already bleeding into the cloth.

Naminѐ opened her mouth to thank her, a million questions going through her mind, but her voice became stuck in her throat when Lightning gave her a scathing look. She stopped before Naminѐ and looked down, seeming to tower over her. It made the difference in their height glaringly obvious.

"What kind of a fool are you to return here? Do you think you could have helped him, human? Do you have any power like us to help him?"

Shocked by the confrontation and the scorn in her eyes, Naminѐ looked away and made herself small.

Lightning's eyes narrowed in a searing glare that could have cut her in two. "Next time, do what that mountain lion said and run. Don't even think that you have any power that could match ours. Thoughts like that are what will get you killed. Both. Of you." For a brief moment, her gaze slid to the man beside Naminѐ. Then the woman brushed past both of them and walked into the forest. The others followed, but the man stayed next to Naminѐ, whose legs finally gave way and crumpled to the ground from utter shock and exhaustion.

Powerless.

That's all she was. A powerless and helpless human.

How could she ever have thought that she could fight with demons? What kind of super power would she have to get in order to fight alongside them? That woman was right. It was foolish to come back here where she could have gotten easily killed by Roxas.

Who was she kidding? She resolved to help Roxas and to support him, but how will she be able to do that if she can't even protect herself? She caused this mess, and now look where it had gotten her. If this group wasn't here to save them…if they had gotten here a moment later…

Tears fell on her hands as she came to terms with what just happened. She just wanted to do what she could instead of regretting what could have been. But without power and without a plan, she just made more of a mess than it had to be.

A fool was what Lightning called her.

A fool, she kept repeating in her head as more tears fell into the snow.

The woman called Lightning couldn't have been more right.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

Well...uh..hello there! Hello, to all the remaining readers! :'D It's been...a long time, hasn't it? It didn't feel that long for me, but then again, I was super concentrated with my coursework and getting my degree. If you've read my profile lately, then you'd know that I safely passed all my classes and fieldwork, graduated from my program, and passed my boards exam. So I'm currently working as a licensed professional. In what, you ask? I'd rather keep it a secret.

I have to apologize for keeping you all waiting. I always intended to finish this story, but I was – how do you say it? – uninspired. Not that I had writer's block. I knew how I was going to tackle this chapter, but I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to write it. You see, it had been a while since I wrote something, and I had forgotten how to do it until recently. I really apologize for leaving you guys on a cliffhanger for so long, and I also apologize for the message on my profile about updating back in October 2017. I honestly thought I was going to post it in November, but I got some setbacks. But now you know...that the FFXIII characters make an appearance! I had planned that before when I was still writing...I think I was still writing chapter 26 or 27. But what kind of animals do you think they turn into? Take some guesses!

Just so you guys know, I plan on ending things in 10 chapters (or more in case I need to fill things in). This story will definitely be less than 45 chapters. That's my plan, at least. Hopefully I won't be leaving you guys in another 3-year hiatus before the next update. D:

AS ALWAYS! I'd like to thank all you readers for sticking by me and waiting ever so patiently for updates. I'd ESPECIALLY like to thank all my reviewers. Your words and comments give me strength and keep this story alive. Without you guys, this story would have been abandoned long ago. I keep writing this story because I don't want to let you guys down by leaving it unfinished. It's not fair for you who waited all this time, and it's not fair for me who put all this effort into writing it. So without further ado! Many, many love and thanks to: DuelRoxas16, Evea79, Q-A the Authoress, Ultima13, Madhatta51, AlyssTwilight1784, xjillvalentinex, Polymoly, Satyrykal, Innocence and Instinct, Alice-in-chucks, x3eloved, WaywardWayfinder (Thanks! But please make sure to read my story when you're not in class. :P Wouldn't want you to get in trouble because of me.), Mina Arellano, aftermoon, The Dark Flair, Twilight AngelDemon, XBlack. BlazeX, vivek, AninhaGamer, Colorslander, ShatteredLions, Imagamerchic, creepypie, AFinaLR3play10, R013, Andean Avocet, MooBiN, Guest, Ayumu-chan3513, DarthR0xas, Lolololol, 3, KKGirlReturns, shinigami vani, Sugarcoated, Kryztal, AnarBaniniBoo, Maka22alburn33, TT, probsmy10thname, Freddy, Chirithy564, and KeyKidCerilia.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your patience! And by the way, HOLY COW! 700 REVIEWS!