Death No Obstacle
by cultnirvana

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Chapter Four - Tragedy

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Misty found herself as Kasumi again. She wasn't sure how much time had passed between this and her last dream. It always seemed like her subconscience was only showing her the most important events in this romance story it was creating for her. She thought again of the last time, the erotic dream her mind had produced, the feeling of having his arms caress her, kissing her soft skin with his delicate lips. It seemed that Kasumi was thinking of the same night, and Misty was able to tell, from the memories she was able to access from her, there had been many more such nights. She was also able to discover that it had been three months since then, and something had changed for the better.

Over the past few months Kasumi hadn't been well. She was constantly nauseous and often found it hard to keep food down, but Kasumi was glad of this sickness, and Misty could tell why.

She was pregnant. She wasn't sure at first, but now it was definite.

The nausea passed over her again, but quickly subsided. Kasumi placed her hand upon her belly, which was now beginning to swell, though was still almost unnoticeable. I have to tell him.

She walked to their temporary camp, where Satoshi was cooking over the fire. She came up behind him, embracing him with her loving arms, resting her head upon his shoulder.

"Satoshi, my love?"

"Hai, Sumi-chan?"

"I have something to tell you." A sudden wave of nervousness overcame her as she moved to knell before him, staring straight into his dark eyes. She brought his right hand down to touch her abdomen. "You're going to be a father."

Instantly, she saw his eyes fill with shock. He looked down towards her belly and started to stroke it with his hand. He lifted his face again, his confused facade being replaced by a smile. " Kasumi," he whispered. He pulled her into a tight embrace. "I cannot believe this. This is...this is amazing. We are going to be parents." The words came out at a mumbled pace.  "Oh, gods! I cannot believe it. A baby! Our baby!" he laughed, reflecting the pure joy that had overtaken him.

Kasumi began to echo his laugh, wrapping her arms around his neck, bringing him down into a passionate kiss.

This must be shortly before that first dream, Misty thought.

Ash sat in the living room, Misty next to him upon the couch, Pikachu in his lap, and Brock in one of the other chairs.  He was trying to concentrate on the movie that was flickering upon the television screen, but his mind continually drifted to his dreams and his feelings for his travelling partner.  However, these musings were interrupted by a tender pressure upon his shoulder.  He looked down to see Misty, her eyes closed, resting her head gently on his shoulder.  She looked so peaceful, so serene, just like an angel, bangs of intensely red hair covering her alabaster skin.

"Is she asleep?" Brock asked.

"Yeah."  Ash loved the contact, but he knew that if she stayed like this for long, her neck muscles would ache.  It would be better for her to get a decent sleep.  It was after one am anyway.  "I think I should carry her up to bed, let her have a good rest, and I may turn in as well."

Brock gave Ash suggestive glance, to which Ash just smiled.  After placing Pikachu on his other shoulder, he gently rose, making sure not to allow Misty to fall over, no longer having him for support.  He then placed a hand on her back and another under her knees, lifting her up, though not easily.  She was a lot heavier than he thought she would be, probably on account of her fascination with desserts.  Misty thought that the only reason for eating dinner was to get to the dessert that usually followed it, especially if it contained chocolate.

As he exited the room, he felt her stir a little in her sleep, unconsciously putting her arms around his neck for support.  Her face was mere inches from his.  He could feel her tender breath upon his cheek.  Fighting off the urge to kiss those perfect, pink lips of hers, like he had done so many times in his fantasies, he started to walk.  God, she's such a temptress, he decided.

After struggling up the stairs, he softly placed her upon her bed, pulling the blanket up to her neck. He brushed the last strands of hair from her face, wanting to take one long last look at her before he retired to bed, now that he could stare without anyone knowing.

He could see the bulge of her irises and pupils roam under the surface of her eyelids, and a small smile rise over those lips.  She must be dreaming, he reflected.  On the spur of the moment, entranced by her beauty, he bent down and placed a delicate kiss upon her forehead.  For a second, he regretted the action, as it seemed to rouse her further, but luckily she did not wake.

He motioned towards his own bed, but his attention was drawn back entirely to her when he heard her utter a single whispered word.  "Satoshi."

What? his mind screamed at him.  How did she know that name?  That was the name of his character in his dreams.  Why had she just vocalised it?

But why wouldn't she know the name?  It wasn't as if the name was solely resigned to the realm of his reveries.  She could have heard the name anywhere, and could be saying it for absolutely any reason.  And was he even sure he had heard the correct word?  She could've said ‘biscotti' for all he knew.

Satisfied that his tired mind was most likely playing tricks with him, he walked over to his bed, setting a sleeping Pikachu upon his mattress before continuing out to the bathroom to get dressed.

The two young lovers lay on the forest ground, enfolded within each others arms.  Satoshi held his hand upon Kasumi's now visibly swollen belly, pushing her top up slightly so that he could feel her bare skin.  It was the beginning of their forth month of travelling, and finally it seemed that their journey was coming to an end.

"About another week and we'll be safe.  We can get married and have our baby in safety," he promised.

"I can't believe I am over three months already," she giggled.  "I cannot wait to meet whom ever this is." She placed her hand upon his.

"We still have over six months."

"I am sorry.  I am just so exited."

He kissed her.  "I know what you mean."

They sank again into the comfortable silence, but a noise resembling footfalls broke the cessation.

Kasumi jumped in his arms.  "Did you hear that?" she whispered, clearly unnerved.

Satoshi just stroked her hair, unaffected but the noises.  "Don't worry.  It's probably just a wild Pokemon."

She let herself fall back into his arms, but after a short moment, the noise came once more.  "I heard it again."

This time Satoshi was a little more weary of the clamour.

"What is it, Sato-chan?"

"I'm not sure."

As if to answer their uncertainty, four men, dressed in military garb, each armed with a katana, revealed themselves from amongst the dense foliage of the forest, leaving the pair no avenue for escape. They both stood, unsure what to do.

All of the men stared at Satoshi, recognising his face as their enemy.  One of the men, the obvious leaded of the group, kneeled and bowed in front of Kasumi, momentarily touching his head to the ground.  "Your honourable father has ordered us to search for you, and now we are here to save you from this man.  You need not worry.  He will pay for kidnapping you," he said, his words tainted with bitterness.

"But he has not harmed me.  I love him."

The men looked on, confused at her words, all thinking the same thing, that their princess had been corrupted by this demon.  It was then they viewed her exposed belly, able to observe the bump.  "Princess," they quietly uttered, the shock evident in their voices.

Angered, the soldier who stood behind them walked up to Satoshi, putting his katana to Satoshi's neck.  "By order of Emperor Yawa, I place you under arrest for the kidnapping of Princess Kasumi.  If you do not comply I will have no option but to put you to death here."  Satoshi didn't even struggle.  There was no option of escape.

Kasumi was marched into the court, guards almost dragging her as she tried to resist them.  They lead her to a small, slightly elevated, pulpit, barricaded from the rest of the court by a wooden railing.  The royal court looked up towards her, their disdain for their once beloved heiress evident.  She studied those discompassionate faces, recognising many of them, but found herself coming across a sympathetic one.  Hoshi, tear stains upon her face, gazed at her sister with eyes of sadness and love.  Looking at her, she felt the first and only trace of guilt at what she had done.  She forced a smile through her distress, hoping to diminish some of Hoshi’s depression.  The girl was barely able to return the grin.

Their attention was distracted, however, when her father, the Emperor, entered through the double doors to the side, an entire entourage following him.  He stood directly in front of her, but didn't even wish to glance upon his daughter.  "Bring in the prisoner," he bellowed.

The side door was instantly pushed aside, and a group of imperial guards lead Satoshi in.  He was bound, shackled and had been beaten.

"Satoshi!" she screamed, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.  She turned to her father, enraged.  "What have you done to him?"

The Emperor did not even care to answer her.  "My daughter," he began, shame and hate in his tone, "though I never wish to call you so again. You have betrayed our nation and your ancestry.  You allowed this man, an enemy of your family and country, to brainwash and defile you, to impregnate you with his bastard child. No man will ever wish for you as his wife. You have ruined yourself."

"I don't care, father," she said with clear disdain. "I never wished to marry Paris. I don't love him. The only person I can ever love is Satoshi, regardless of what family he belongs to." She looked towards her lover, smiling at him through her tears.

"Kasumi, don't you see how this evil demon has controlled you?" her father pleaded. "He has been sent here to upset our throne, to ruin our family, so that his kind can take over Kanto and turn our people into slaves."

"No he hasn't! We love each other.  I know he is not an evil man.  He wishes to stop this endless bloodshed, to end this idiotic war and to save both the lives of those in Kanto and Johto.  He is an honest and true man, and-"

"Enough, Kasumi," he shouted, unable to listen to her words.  "Do you not see how he has brainwashed you?  He does not care for you.  His people are demons.  They only wish to destroy us, and he will be severely punished for his crimes."  He turned to Satoshi.  "For illegally entering our sovereign nation, kidnapping and raping the heiress of the throne, we, the royal court, sentence you to the only punishment that can truly equal the crime you have committed - death."

At the announcement,  a cheer erupted among those gathered.  Satoshi lowered his head.  The outcome did not surprise him.  It was what he had suspected and had prepared himself for.  But he didn't care about his own fate.  He only cared for Kasumi and their unborn child.

"No," Kasumi whispered, disbelief filling her. "No!" This time she found the strength to shout at her father. "No! I won't let you take him." She began to struggle, but the guards surrounding her held her in place.  "Let me go!"

"Also," the Emperor continued, causing near silence in the court once more, "the result of this vile rape will suffer the same fate as it's father."

Kasumi halted her struggles.  She didn't think he was heartless enough to kill his own grandchild, an innocent, unborn infant.  Shock filtered into her already weaken body, making her tremble.  "No, please, no. Don't kill our baby," she whispered, trying to find the strength to speak louder, but not finding the voice she needed.

"Kasumi!" As Satoshi was dragged from the court, he made an attempt to grasp her hand, succeeding, refusing to let them take him away, at least for a moment or so. "I promise you we will be together again. I don't know when or how, but I know it will happen. I love you and the child we created more than anything. Please, remember that."

"Satoshi!" she screamed, now able to shake some of the shock from her mind.  She broke down in tears one again, losing all the hope she held in her heart.  "Satoshi, I love you!"

But he didn't hear her last words to him.  The doors that they had lead him though banged shut, tearing the two young lovers apart.

Satoshi knew he couldn't do anything.  There were too many guards around him, almost dragging him along the dusty path.  He was lead into the town square, already crowded by the people of the city, some of whom chanted for his death, others that looked upon him with a gentle continence.

The guards threw him upon the dirt ground, and one pulled a katana from it's shield.  The man tried to taunt Satoshi with the blade, letting the sun glint upon it's smooth surface, hoping to make the corruptor beg for mercy.  But he just pulled himself from the ground, sitting upon his knees, hoping to regain some dignity.  Yes, he was afraid.  He was terrified of the death that was only seconds away, but he would not give these men or the angry looker-ons the pleasure of seeing him cry.  He closed his eyes, trying to make a final peace with himself.

It was then that he felt the cool metal push through the skin on the left side of his abdomen, and on into his flesh.

Ash almost jumped from his bed.  He sat bolt up, trying to draw a breath.  He was drenched in sweat, the sheets clinging to his body, his heart beating faster than he had ever felt before.  He clamped his hand over his stomach, so sure he could still feel the pain of the sword.  He hastily lifted his T-shirt and studied the area, but there was no mark.

He could still feel the emotions Satoshi had been experiencing, and that agony made his tears threatened.  "Oh, god," he whispered.  How could it end like that?  What was his subconscious playing at, doing this to him?  He gripped onto the sheets of his bed, trying to concentrate upon his breathing, hoping to slow down his heart rate.  After a few minutes, his body and mind began to relax.  He lay back down upon the bed, but as he tried to sleep again, a moaning noise from the other side of the room caught his attention.

He turned his head to look towards Misty.  She was shuffling in her bed, muttering in her sleep.  Ash looked closer at her and realised she was crying.  "Misty?"

They pulled her, screaming into her room, the servants holding her down on the bed, causing the skin on her arms to open and bleed. But despite the pain they caused her, she did not stop her insane struggles. With every second she fought back more viciously, biting one man's arm so hard the red, life-giving liquid spilled, scratching at another's eyes. She wouldn't let them touch her, touch her child. It was all she had left of him. She couldn't let it die. Wouldn't!

But the guards were too strong for her. Within moments they had her held so tightly that she could barely move. One of the maidens pushed a small container of purple liquid to her lips, but Kasumi didn't let a drop of the vile smelling concoction pass into her mouth, knowing the harm it would do their innocent baby. It just rolled off her chin onto her dress.

The hard-faced woman attempted to pry her mouth open, but still Kasumi resisted, although she felt the strength drain from her sore body. Giving up her futile tries, the woman moved off to the table of poisons, picking up a bottle filled with clear liquid and pouring a little onto a cloth before moving towards the bed again. The cloth was then placed upon Kasumi's face, covering both her nose and mouth, and before she could prevent it, she gulped in the polluted air.

The vapour gave it's desired effect. Within seconds she felt all her remaining energy pass out of her body. Her lids became heavy and her flailings all but stopped. She couldn't even raise her arm to stop the cup from touching her lips. She felt the poison slip down her throat and into her stomach. She knew that she couldn't win. She just lay back on the soft bed, unconsciousness overtaking her. But before she surrendered to it's warmth she looked down at her swollen belly. I'm sorry, she said to their dying child.

She awoke on her bed, weak and shaking. She didn't want to move. To move would be like confirming what had happened was real. But what was the use in hoping that it had all been a dream. She knew the truth.

A painful spasm instantly erupted in her belly. She looked down towards the ache, and suddenly it struck her. They had succeeded. They had destroyed her life, taking away two of the only things she cared about in the world - the man she loved and the child he had given her.

She slowly sat up and stared at the blood-soaked white sheets. Their child didn't even have a chance. The sour tasting liquid that they had forced down her throat had caused their child to miscarriage. She tentatively touched the dampness, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "No. No!" She quickly withdrew her hand, pushing herself away from stain to the head of the bed, as if distancing herself from it would make it less real.

But she knew it wouldn't. Nothing could. The tears and pain in her mind dissipated as she realised this fact. There was nothing she could do for those two souls now, nor for her own. Now she knew she had to punish those that had punished her for falling in love with the son of the enemy, and end her own torment. There was only one thing she had left to do.

She climbed from the bed, standing on the soft rug by it's side, but her weak legs could not hold her. She collapsed upon it, grazing both knees. But the pain did not bother her. Her senses had been numbed in her desperate search for the object that held the key to her wish for revenge. She crawled along the ground until she got to her dressing table, pulled out the drawer that she kept hair brushes and other similar items in, and withdrew a mirror with a long golden handle. She slowly made her way to the bed again, and wrapped the silvered glass with it's sheets. When sufficiently cushioned, she, with all the force her frail body could muster, hit the package against the corner of her bedside table. It fractured into pieces without making a noticeable noise, ensuring no interruptions from the guards she was sure her family would have placed outside to look after here.

She enshrouded the mirror from it's material container and searched for a piece large enough for the task she would place upon it. Just in the centre was such a piece, surrounded by smaller segments. She picked it out, pulled herself upon her bed again, and sat directly in the middle, her legs pointed to the end of the bed. She looked at her pale face within the chosen fragment, a final vis a vis with herself. She saw a smiling, happy face stare back at her, one with total clarity of mind, knowing that soon all the pain would end. But also a facade of grief, depression and hate that represented the hardships she had been put through by her own blood.

She took her eyes from the familiar, but beaten, young features, and looked towards her wrists. The purple-blue life-carrying vessels stood prominent of her milky white skin, showing the distress her system had been through in the last few hours. She slowly lowered the sharp instrument to the area, every centimetre transversed adding to her happiness. The anguish would be over soon, and she would be able to join the one she loved again, whether it was in the afterlife or another possibility described in religious dogma.

The cool glass touched her outer tissue. The contact felt like the embrace of a lover, intimate and soothing. She added a little more pressure to the fragment, and felt it slice through each individual layer of skin, until it reached deep enough to provoke her blood to rise, collecting in the incision until the small cut could no longer hold the red liquid. It began to flow like a stream over her arm, dropping delicately onto her white clothes and bed sheet. She was intrigued by the beautiful sight. It was as if all pain was lifted from her mind and body, drifting away like an autumn leaf in the breeze. A feeling of pure ecstasy enveloped her body as she began to feel herself be drawn from the mortal coil.

She pushed harder into her flesh, cutting the veins in her open wrist. The blood began to gush freer. She turned her attention to the other wrist, placing the mirror piece in her injured hand. Again, she placed a sharp edge to her skin and pressed down. This time it was harder to break the skin, her weak arm not having enough strength to make the fatal gash. She pulled the makeshift blade back and forward, sawing into the soft flesh until the wrist bled as satisfactorily as the other. Her last wish complete, she dropped the instrument and lay down upon the bed, looking down to see the fresh blood mingle with the blood that had been their child.

The room before her began to fade to black, signalling her departure. She gasped as she fell further out of the world of the living. The image still remained for another moment. The last thing she saw before her blue-green eyes closed forever was two guards rushing in, no doubt alerted by her gasps, and her young sister standing behind the door, staring at her in shock. With her last remaining ounce of strength she mouthed the words "I love you, my sister," to her.

"Misty! Misty, wake up!"

The dream world vanished from her vision to be replaced by the spare room they were staying in. Ash sat over her, panic overriding his face.

"Are you okay, Misty?!"

"I...I..." she stuttered. She sat up slightly, bringing a hand to her face. Her cheeks were damp with tears. The dream, no nightmare, that she had just witnessed must have evoked enough emotion within her to make her weep in her sleep. She looked again into Ash's concerned face.

"You must have been having a bad dream or something. You were screaming and rolling about. It's taken me over five minutes to wake you. I was really worried." Ash spoke the several sentences in one breath, his worry evident, and tears in his eyes. "How do you feel?"

"I think...I'm alright," she lied. The events of the last dream continually played in her mind's eye, effecting her more than a fantasy designed by her imagination should.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," she forced a smile. "Get some sleep, Ash. It was just a..." she hesitated before continuing, "...dream."