Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Life Through a Dragon's Eyes ❯ Chapter Sixteen: I Never Meant to Hurt You ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter Sixteen: I Never Wanted to Hurt You

 

(Okay people, this is the last chapter! I hope you enjoy it. I'm a little sad that this has to end, but everything eventually does, right? Plus…well, my friend has been bugging me to work on the Naruto fanfic she made me start…and I think she's about ready to kill me for stalling so much. I'm kind of afraid to post it here because the main character reminds me of Armatage too much, and that's what my reviewers might end up saying. But hey, it's hard to come up with a character that isn't a Mary Sue, as everyone seems to think my characters are unless they're deathly ill, but oh well. On with the last chapter!)

 

::Sasuke's POV::

 

I'm jolted awake by the sound of Armatage groaning in pain. I look around, seeing that it's already morning again. I must've dozed off while I was watching her.

 

“Tage, you awake?” I ask, touching her cheek with my fingertips just barely to see if she reacts. While I was watching her, she would mumble something in her sleep, or whimper in pain, but she hasn't woken up once since she passed out.

 

She looks around for a moment, not realizing where she is until she looks back at me and smiles weakly. She isn't screaming at me, so I guess she hasn't noticed her missing wings yet.

 

“Sa…suke?”

 

“Yeah, it's me. How're you feeling? You've been passed out for hours now. It's already morning,” I tell her, smiling as I brush a few strands of hair away from her eyes. She smiles back and tries to shrug her shoulders casually, a sudden, sharp intake of breath telling me that she's in a lot of pain still. I'll have to go ask Kurama for more of that medicine.

 

“My back kind of hurts. My wings must be numb though, I can't feel them at all. Kurama probably put something on them to take the pain away, right?” she asks, trying to look behind her to see her wings without straining her back too much. I put a hand on the left side of her face to block her view. It's better if I can tell her first, rather than her finding out about this all on her own.

 

“Tage…when Itachi shot you, whatever those bullets were doing to you was spreading fast. There was nothing we could do. If we waited too long, it would've killed you for sure. Kurama didn't have anything to cure you either. We…we had to…” I can't even bring myself to say it. Armatage just watches me curiously as I speak. I know she trusts me completely just by the look in her eyes, and I hate myself all the more for it. After this, I'll never be able to earn that trust back again.

 

“They're gone, aren't they? My wings, I mean,” she says in a surprisingly calm tone. I expected screaming, crying, anger, something, but not this. She's not mad at all, at least not from what I can see.

 

I lower my gaze to the floor and nod sullenly. She doesn't say anything after that. Maybe it's the shock of losing the one thing that made her capable of flight. I've always known that when she was flying, it was the happiest time of her life. I took that away from her. She'll never fly again…all because of me.

 

I see a few droplets of water hit the floor, and look up at her. I haven't seen her cry since…the day she told me about everything that had happened to her. That was so many years ago. How long has she been holding back tears like these for me, and for all the other things that have happened to her?

 

“Tage, I'm so sorry. I just didn't want to you d-” she cuts me off when she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down to her level, sobbing softly into my shoulder. I freeze for a moment, wondering what I should do. Tage has always been so strong, seldom needing comfort from a weak human like me. But I guess…when she does need it, then she must truly be miserable. I wrap my arms around her small frame, careful of the wounds on her back. I never realized that I had actually grown taller than her up until now.

 

“You brought me back, Tage. The least I could do was keep you from dying. You were…in so much pain, I just couldn't stand to see you like that. It brought back all the stuff you made me forget. And when I saw what Itachi was doing to you… I just…I don't think I was even that mad when Kushin killed you. I shot him. I actually killed my own brother.”

 

She gasps softly and lets me go, staring at me in shock. Armatage must not have thought to ask about Itachi yet.

 

“I'm sorry…Sasuke,” she mumbles, a look of self-loathing in her eyes.

 

“What? Why are you sorry? I'm the one that did it. I hate to say it but…I think it's a good thing. You don't have to worry about him coming after you anymore,” I say, smiling as reassuringly as I can while reaching out and wiping the tears off of her cheeks.

 

“I've made you into a killer. You were supposed to live out the rest of your life as a normal human. That was what I wanted for you more than anything. You would've been so much safer…”

 

“What the hell is so great about being normal, eh?”

 

Tage stares at me curiously, wondering what I mean by that. I laugh quietly and smile at her confusion.

 

“You're not normal, not by human standards anyway. And yet, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Sure, I got killed by my brother. But Itachi was an insane ass who thought you were a monster. The important thing is that to me, you'll never be a monster. For as long as I can remember, I have always thought of you as the most beautiful girl I've ever met.” Hearing this makes Tage blush, and I struggle not to laugh. It's a rare thing to ever see her embarrassed by what someone else has said about her.

 

::Armatage's POV::

 

I can already feel my face heating up when he says that. I don't particularly like being complimented, but I don't snap at the guy as long as it's Sasuke who's giving the compliments. I still don't see what makes me worth all the trouble he's gone through. He would've been able to live a normal, happy life if I hadn't interfered with it. Then again…Itachi still would've found all of that stuff about his ancestors…he would've shown it to Sasuke…and Sasuke would've…ended up hating my kind. Maybe it really is a good thing that I came into his life.

 

“Well…I suppose there's nothing I can do about it now. What's done is done. I won't try to have your memories erased anymore, promise,” I say after a time. Sasuke smiles happily and nods.

 

“We can just pick up where we left off before all of that happened, right? I'll start teaching you what I'll be learning in school. Though maybe I'll ask Kurama to help us a little since I had to miss a few years of school too, but still, it'll work out,” he says, trying to take my mind off of all that's happened to us by mentioning something he knows will make me happy.

 

I only nod my head in reply before trying to sit up slowly. He tries to tell me to lie back down, but I ignore him and manage to sit up without hurting myself too much; at least…not enough to cry out, anyway. I actually feel a little lighter without my wings, but it's a strange feeling to have, as if I'm missing part of myself. But…it's not just physically missing, like some part of my soul was cut away along with my wings.

 

“Am I…really fit to call myself a dragon now?” I ask, the question directed more at me than at him.

 

He stops talking and stares at me for a few moments, trying to think of the best way to answer me, no doubt. Poor Sasuke, I don't think I can even fathom how guilty he must feel about all of this.

 

“…well, there are lots of demons with wings, aren't there?”

 

“Yes, that's true,” I reply.

 

“But they're not dragons just because they have wings, right?”

 

“Of course not, they're just privileged enough to have wings, though most misuse this privilege of course, as expected of lowlife demons like them…”

 

“What sets you apart from them besides just looking different?” he asks.

 

I hadn't thought of that before, but…Sasuke does make a good point. There are other demons with wings. They're not dragons like me. What does set me apart from them? I shrug my shoulders after a few moments, not able to come up with the answer. He smirks, as if the answer should be obvious to me.

“You really don't know?”

 

I shake my head in response.

 

He laughs and points at my chest. Okay...what does that mean? My heart? No…I have the heart of a demon, just like they do. What else is there? My…fire, that's it! My fire is what makes dragons different from other demons! Having this fire…makes me a dragon…not my wings. I look up at him and smile.

 

“I get it now. It's my fire. I guess my wings are just a perk, huh?” I say, shrugging my shoulders weakly and wincing in pain at the gesture.

 

“Something like that, I suppose. The point is that you don't have to have wings to be a dragon as long as you have your fire. That's how the story goes, right? (Author's Note: Story from chapter seven.) You should get some more rest, okay? I'll go get you something to eat,” he says, kissing my forehead affectionately before leaving the room.

 

::Sasuke's POV::

 

That seemed to cheer her up a bit. I'm well aware that Armatage will miss her wings a lot…but at least this way, pretending to be a human won't be quite so hard. Besides, it's like I said, just because she has wings, doesn't mean that's what makes her a dragon. I meant that, too.

 

As I walk into the kitchen, I notice a dark figure leaning against the window.

 

“Don't bother her now, Hiei. I just got her to calm down,” I warn him.

 

“Hn, who said I was here to bother her? Kurama asked me to drop off more medicine for her back, that's all,” he replies, tossing me a small bottle with the ointment Kurama had made. I nod in thanks and put it on the kitchen counter while I start making something for Tage to eat. Minutes pass, and Hiei hasn't left yet.

 

“What is she going to do?” he asks after a time.

 

“I don't think she's thought that far ahead yet.”

 

“What will you do if she decides to leave and go back to Demon World?”

 

I stop what I'm doing and glance up at him for a moment. I hadn't really thought of that. Armatage really might want to go back home once she heals…but what is there left for her there? If she did, it would be because she's still stuck to the idea that her leaving me alone makes me safer.

 

“…if she wants to leave…then I'll let her. I've always let her make her own decisions, after all. I don't see any reason why she would want to leave though. At least here, she has a home…even if it is among humans,” I reply honestly.

 

“You do realize that if you had never met her, you would never have died. You never would've had to kill your own brother, either. In essence, the reason for most of the hardships in your life is because of you having met her. But you still want her to stay… Why is that?” Hiei asks, clearly confused by this, though neither the tone of his voice, nor the look on his face reveals this fact to me.

 

“I'm perfectly aware of that…but I can't place blame on her for it. You can't change the past, so why dwell on it? What would've happened to her if we hadn't met? What if she had stayed in Demon World instead of coming here accidentally? She probably would've died, and a once great race would've become extinct. And even if she had come here, there was a pretty good chance that she would've been picked up by the police and experimented on by the government or something. Either that, or Spirit World would've taken her and she would've gotten into trouble for being around humans. So…even if bad things ended up happening to both of us…I think our meeting was the best thing that could've happened under the circumstances,” I answer calmly.

 

Hiei just stares at me silently before turning his head and looking out the window. I finish making Tage's food and pick the plate up to bring it to her.

 

“The dragons end with her, and the Izumi Family Demon Slayers with you,” Hiei says as I cross the room. I stop at the entrance to the hallway and turn back to look at him.

 

“You're right about the Demon Slayers. I plan on taking all the artifacts Itachi found and either burning them all or hiding them someplace where nobody will ever find them. But as for the dragons…well, you never know. There may be a few more out there that didn't get sick. Demon World's a big place, isn't it?” I say before turning my back to him and walking away.

 

::Hiei's POV::

 

My communicator rings almost as soon as the boy leaves. I sigh frustratedly and open it, Yusuke's face appearing on the screen.

 

“How is she?” he asks worriedly.

 

“Alive, and able to talk.”

 

Yusuke glares at me, probably angry at me for being so vague. I don't see why he needs an answer better than that. She's alive, shouldn't he be happy with just that? When we first met her, everyone hated her, including me. Why everyone is suddenly so worried about her, I don't understand.

 

“Is she mad?” the Spirit Detective asks. I shake my head in reply. I haven't heard any yelling yet, so I can only assume that she's either very sad, or too shocked to yell at anyone yet.

 

“The boy's calm, and as far as I can tell, so is she.”

 

“Botan finally caved and told us everything that really happened. Now that Koenma knows, Armatage has been cleared of all charges concerning Sasuke's death. And as for all of those humans she killed afterwards…he's decided to call it a bout of temporary insanity. So Spirit World is going to be keeping an eye on the both of them from now on, to makes sure it doesn't happen again,” Yusuke says. I can tell just from the tone of his voice that he's relieved that this all turned out for the better.

 

“If they're under Spirit World's protection, then it isn't likely that they'll ever be bothered by demons or anyone else who wishes them harm again. That's good. I'm tired of cleaning up after the dragon when she goes on a killing spree.”

 

Yusuke smirks and laughs quietly.

 

“You just wish it was you killing all those humans, huh?” I allow myself a slight smile and nod ever so slightly.

 

“I hope they'll be happy now. After all those two have been through, they deserve a little peace,” he says, saying goodbye and turning off his communicator a moment later.

 

::Armatage's POV::

 

I wince and bite back a cry of pain when I sit up on the bed as best I can when Sasuke comes back with a plate of food and a bottle of what looks to be medicine.

 

“Hiei dropped this off for Kurama. Turn around, I'll help you put it on,” he says as he sits down on the chair beside the bed and opens the bottle. I nod and turn around, lifting the back of my shirt up slightly. Sasuke starts putting the medicine on my wounds and I whimper softly in pain when it starts to burn.

 

“The stuff Kurama makes really is amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if you were all healed up in a few days.”

 

I nod silently and try to stay quiet. He knows that I'm in pain, no matter how well I manage to hide it, so he's trying not to press too hard. I feel…oddly light, without the extra weight of my wings. I suppose it's just something I'll have to get used to. Sasuke's never had wings, and it doesn't bother him. So I don't see why I can't get along without them…eventually.

 

Sasuke finishes applying the medicine, and I manage to do most of the bandages by myself. He was blushing so much at the thought of trying to do it himself that I offered to just do it without his help.

 

He sits down on the bed beside me and hands me my plate of food once I've finished. I'm not really all that hungry, but I eat it anyway. Sasuke will only tell me that I need to keep my strength up, after all.

 

“Armatage…you remember what happened that day, right?” he asks after a time. I can tell by the tone of his voice that he means the day he was killed.

 

“…what about it?”

 

“Well, I'm not really talking about that part of the day. I meant earlier. You know…when we went out?” he says. I blush lightly and nod.

 

“Of course I remember. Why do you ask?”

 

“Well…you see…there was something that I had wanted to do back then that Itachi kind of interfered with…” he says. I turn to look at him and see that he's blushing and staring at the floor in an attempt to avoid eye contact with me.

 

“What was it?” I ask. Sasuke looks up at me for a moment before moving closer, putting a hand on the back of my head and pulling me closer to him until our lips meet. My eyes widen slightly in surprise before slowly closing as I kiss him back.

 

I can't honestly say that I haven't been kissed before now. Kushin kissed me before, after all. But that was way different than this. He was only doing it to trick me into giving him my fire. And even though he had looked like Sasuke at the time, he sure didn't kiss like the real Sasuke does. I can feel how much he cares for me through this one simple gesture of affection. And I know for sure now that when he's said that he loves me, he truly meant it every time.

 

He pulls away and stares into my eyes, blushing as badly as I know I must be. On our first date, (we were reluctant to even admit it was that), we had just wanted to see what it would be like, to be more than friends, I mean. We had both agreed that if it was just too awkward, we'd forget it ever happened and continue with just being friends. I can still remember…that whole time he had looked like he had wanted to tell me something, but he was scared. I wonder…

 

“That day…” he says, “I had it all planned out in my head. We were going to have a great time on our date. Then, when we went home, I was going to stop you at the door so we could watch the sunset. I remembered how you used to say that you thought the way the sun set was prettier here than in Demon World, so I knew you wouldn't think it was stupid to admire it for a few minutes.”

 

I smile and nod slowly as he tells me this. Sasuke always seemed to remember the most miniscule details of everything I told him. Sometimes it was annoying, like when he was reminding me of things I was supposed to do. But at times like this…it was a quality he had that I really liked.

 

“I had planned on kissing you right as the sun finally went down, so you'd be happy enough from seeing the sunset not to kill me for it.” He laughs and I shake my head silently before he continues. “And…before you could get mad at me…I was going to tell you something, and pray that you wouldn't reject me, or that our friendship would be ruined by it at the very least.”

 

I blush again and stare at him curiously for a few moments before asking what he had wanted to tell me. I have a feeling I already know the answer, but it always sounds so much better when I get to hear him say it.

 

“I love you.”

 

I'd heard Sasuke tell me that sometimes when we were kids, and I'd say it back. But back then…it wasn't really that personal. We were young enough only to be able to think of each other as brother and sister, in a way. When you say you love someone at that age…you don't mean it nearly as much as you do when you're older. When I hear him say it now, I know Sasuke means it in much more than a brotherly way. He doesn't see me as a sister, or just some girl staying with his family that he has to watch out for anymore. I smile and hug him, the pain I should feel from my back doesn't come, and I wonder if hearing those words from him has anything to do with it.

 

“I love you, too, and that will never change.”