I choked as blood began to pour out of my mouth.
"Now, James. She can't speak with a sword in her chest. Not very kind of you. Just tell her." White Eyes laughed and James chuckled.
James chuckled. "You're right. How thoughtless of me." He swiftly pulled out the sword.
I screamed before coughing up the pool of blood that was bubbling up in my mouth.
"Answer, Ms. Yuna," James demanded and I heard the impatience in his voice.
I glared up at him as I spat out more blood. "Nine tails," I choked out.
He smiled, clapping his hands. "Well done. I guess your parents did teach you about our hidden history before they were murdered. How thoughtful of them. At least they won't be alone anymore," James cheered.
"A nine-tailed Kitsune with an SSS magic affinity. Damn. Hey James, what if she had that pocket watch on top of all that?" White Eyes asked curiously.
"She'd be stronger than the Emperor. Her elements are strong enough as is. I can only imagine what force would be produced if that was in her possession," James muttered.
"Can't we just kill her?" White Eyes asked.
"No. Let her die. She won't be keeping this bad boy anyways. Why don't we have some fun first?" James suggested, while eyeing my pocket watch.
He crouched down before me and placed his sword on the ground before pulling out a knife.
"I heard it's a rather painful experience to take these little jewels out. Like ripping away one's magical essences?"
He met my gaze before lifting my pocket watch in his hand and eyeing it. "Hmm. Red is my favorite color," he cheered, before digging the knife under the edge of the red crystal.
I cried out, gritting my teeth in an attempt to fight the agonizing pain that ran through me. The red animal within me cried out in agony as it began to fade inside me. NO!
"Stop!" I cried as tears tinged my eyes and blood continued to pool in my mouth. I screamed again and watched the red jewel finally pop out.
I gasped and squeezed my eyes shut as I felt something forced out of me. I opened them up to see the red animal spirit of my phoenix hover over me before it began to fade.
"NO!" I wailed, trying to fight my bonds.
James laughed. "Aww. Bye, bye phoenix familiar. I'm impressed you have five of these. Hm. Let's go for blue next." He smiled and began to take the blue crystal out.
My screams and cries echoed through the night, but no one came to help me as one-by-one, my familiars, the spirit animals that had loved me all their lives were ripped away, fading into the sky.
As the gold crystal popped out, my scream was nothing but a silent plea. I watched my eagle look down at me with sad eyes before it too, began to fade into the sky.
"One more," James sang, then paused. "Actually, I think I’ll let that one stay. It can die with her and mourn the deaths of its fellow familiars. I think that counts as torture."
He rose to his feet and threw the blue crystal to White Eyes. "When you deliver the news about this to Konashi, you can give this to him as a little gift. He'll be happy to know his position will remain his," James ordered.
"I'll put it in a nice little box for him. What about the watch?" White Eyes asked.
"Let it stay with her. It's incomplete with the crystals gone. I'll just scatter these others across Homatomashi. Maybe even gift one to the two other organizations. It would earn me a nice promotion," James considered aloud.
The magical ties that bound my hands began to fade the closer I got to death, having done their timely purpose. It was my chance to try and fight back, but seconds later, James’ sword was inside me once more and this time it didn't miss its primary target: my heart.
I stared at him with wide eyes as tears rolled down my cheeks.
"How does it feel? To watch the familiars you love and cherish fade away? At least, now you can die knowing those men are safe. Sadly, it won’t be for long. If they try and figure out who killed you, I'll hunt them down and kill them nice and slow." He licked my bleeding cheek before he yanked his sword from my chest, allowing my body to fall back to the ground that was already soaked with my blood.
I struggled to breathe as the blood filling my lungs and mouth began to suffocate me. James and White Eyes came into my line of vision, blocking the black sky above.
"Let's go. We'll be generous and give her a quiet moment to die in peace," James whispered. They both began walking away.
I fought to breathe and struggled to turn my head to let the blood flow out. I coughed, which only made the pain in my chest worse as the air in my lungs leaked out and my bleeding heart began to fail.
Tears rolled down my cheek and I looked back to the sky. I wouldn't survive this.
"Uru...fu." I choked out the word and used the remaining magic within me to summon my last familiar.
"Woof!" Urufu hovered over me and I saw the fear and sadness in those pink eyes. I smiled the best I could as my eyes glistened with tears.
I'm sorry. I can't stay with you any longer. You have to find a new owner. Someone who will take care of you and love you. Please, move on.
"Woof! WOOF!" Her barks eventually gave way to whimpers and she tried to stop the blood that leaked out of the two gaps in my chest.
Uru... please.
"Woof..." she whined and pressed her forehead to my cheek. I smiled and closed my eyes.
Urufu, my lovely familiar. Please forget this. Forget the men who killed me. You pursuing them would lead to your death too and I can't afford to lose anyone else. Find a new mistress and protect her like you would me. Love her like you would me. I love you...so much.
She howled out her pain as I let the magic work on her. She whimpered softly, taking one last look at me before running off.
I was alone in the cold night, staring at the dark sky. I reflected on my life, the good and the bad. I remembered the men who loved me, adored me, and treated me as their equal and not as some weak female.
I would miss them. They were my life and we had become a family.
I guess we won't be going on vacation. I'm sorry Akihiro, Yoshimitsu, Itsuki, Malachi, Haru, and Quillian. I failed you and now I'll leave you with such heartache.
Tears blurred my vision as each gurgling breath led me closer to death. I had to do something with the small amount magic I had left. I couldn't leave this world with a lost legacy.
I worked so hard my entire life. I didn't play with school kids or spend my childhood with a loving family. I stayed indoors and studied magic. I enhanced my skills and dedicated hours every day to become strong enough to avenge my parents.
The N.R.O. stole them from me, and now they took my life too. They would sweep the whole matter under the rug, just like they did with my parents’ death. With time, everyone would forget about me, too.
I'd be nothing but a sad tragedy and a name written on a fancy tombstone. I couldn't allow that to be my only legacy. I closed my eyes and tried to ward off the darkness that attempted to claim me. I concentrated on the pocket watch around my neck.
Let the remainder of my magic and essence remain in this watch, the birthright bestowed upon me by my parents.
Let the chosen person receive not only my magic and essence, but give her the ability to track the other stones that will make this possession whole again.
Track the familiars locked within those crystal jewels and allow them to breathe and enjoy life once more. And most importantly...
Avenge me. Don't let my life be for nothing. My struggle, pain, and sacrifice...let it all be worth it.
I felt the last threads of magic enter the pocket watch and I opened my eyes to stare up at the sky one last time. The memory of Crimson Arashi came to my mind and I realized what a fool I was.
I should have told her what she was. Maybe she would find a way to be able to fight and discover how amazing she was meant to be. She was humble and I could see the kindness in her eyes. We could have been good friends if things had been different...
I took my final breaths as a thought came to my mind.
Dear ancestors.