Sara stood rooted to the spot. She was close to tears, not being able to make a decision. She wasn't going to harm Takuma. She loved him too much and she had waited too long for him. She had to call out to him and throw Tamaki out.
"TAKUMA!" She screamed, "TAKUMA! DON'T LET HIM DO THIS TO YOU!"
"It's no use, Sara-hime," Tamaki sneered, "He can't hear you."
Sara wasn't listening, she just kept screaming Takuma's name "TAKUMA!" she cried. Tamaki chuckled darkly and advance on Sara, who had fallen to her knees. Tamaki grabbed Sara by her hair and flung her at the wall like a rag doll. She left a dent in the wall and she fell to the floor. Her whole body ached. Bruised and battered, she staggered to her feet, angry tears streaming from her eyes.
"Please...Takuma...I love you..." she whispered desperately. Sara looked up and was shocked by what she saw. Tamaki was his knees, trying to suppress Takuma's consciousness. Sara stumbled over to him and knelt in front of him.
"Sa...ra..." Takuma was trying fight Tamaki desperately. Sara cupped his face.
"Focus on me, Takuma, focus on me!"
Takuma tightly gripped Sara's wrists, trying to focus on the girl he loved so desperately. He buried his head in her shoulder, breathing in her floral scent. Sara tilted her head and rested it on his. "Please don't give up, Takuma," she whispered, "Don't give up. You can do this."
"I love you, Sara," she then felt the tension leaving his body. Sara turned her head and saw him smiling at her. Sara cried tears of happiness and brought him in for a passionate kiss, a kiss which relieved them of all their pent up passion for each other. Takuma held her tightly, desperately. When Sara raised her head, to her horror, Tamaki stood there in his own body and more powerful than ever.
"Did you think it was over, Sara? I think not." Tamaki smirked. Takuma and Sara scrambled to their feet and ran out the door into the forest. Tamaki chuckled darkly. "I'm coming to get you, Sara," he said before following them out.
Meanwhile, Takuma and Sara ran for their lives, quite literally. They tried their best not to trip over anything, knowing that it would slow them down. Takuma knew that they probably wouldn't out run Tamaki for very long, but this would buy them some time at least. They held each other's hands, keen not to lose each other. But Tamaki was hot on their heals.
They kept on running until they came to sheer cliff. Sara nearly ran off until Takuma had caught her. But now there was nowhere to run. Tamaki had followed them and found them.
"There is nowhere to run now, Sara," Tamaki said menacingly. Takuma held Sara to him protectively by her waist. But Sara broke free and stepped forward.
"I'm not afraid of you!"
"No, I'm sure you're not," he said sarcastically, "But it won't stop me from killing you though."
"I won't let you kill me," Sara said seriously. She closed her eyes and all the damp in the air froze, making shards of sharp ice. They all felt the chill in the air as the temperature dropped. Sara sent the ice shards flying at Tamaki, who easily deflected the icy shards. Sara tried again and again until she was worn out. She dropped to her knees.
"Ready to die yet, Sara?"
"Far from it!" Sara cried weakly. Tamaki raised his hand and an excruciating pain ran through Sara's body. She cried out as she writhed in pain. Takuma could look at her while she was in such pain, knowing there was nothing he could do against Tamaki. Sara's blood curdling screams pierced him like a sword.
"STOP IT!" Takuma screamed, "SHE'S DONE NOTHING TO YOU!"
Tamaki smirked and carried on. Sara carried on screaming and was in excruciating pain.
"Tamaki...please...stop..." she was on her last breath. She was ready for death. "Just kill me..."
"Sara...don't give into him!" Takuma cried. Tamaki chuckled darkly.
"No, no...I must adhere to a girl's wishes. He bent down and put his large hand around Sara's neck and lifted her up. Sara started to choke and splutter. "I could snap your puny, little neck with a single squeeze of my hand." he said smugly.
"Put. Her. Down," Then, to Sara ad Takuma's relief, Kaname had appeared, his eyes glowing an angry crimson. Tamaki's grip on Sara's throat tightned.
"No, I don't want to, Kuran," Tamaki said smugly, "I'll kill your precious little queen and you won't be able to do anything about it."
Takuma saw this as an opportunity to attack Tamaki when his back was turned. Takuma drew his katana from his sheath and ran forward. But Tamaki was too quick for him and with a swipe of his hand, sent him flying off the edge of the cliff. Takuma held on for dear life as he tried to get his footing. Meanwhile, Kaname advanced on Tamaki, wanting his wife back. Sara tried to pry his hand off her throat.
"Ka...na...me...help...me..." Sara choked. Kaname blew a huge chunk of flesh from Tamaki's shoulder, causing blood to go everywhere. Sara felt his grip slacken and she saw this as an opportunity. She ripped Tamaki's hand from her neck. She dropped to the ground, panting, wheezing, coughing and spluttering. She stood up and ran over to Takuma, helping him to climb back up. "Are you all right, Takuma?" she asked.
"Yeah, thanks," Takuma said. Tamaki turned towards them and he conjured a glowing ball of power. He ran towards Sara with a blazing fury. But as he did so, Kaname ran in front of Sara and Takuma.
That was it.
The power ball went through to Kaname's heart and rebounded on Tamaki. With a scream, Tamaki exploded into icy shards. Kaname fell back into Sara's arms. Sara was pale with shock.
Kaname had taken it for her.
She lowered him to the ground and cradled him against her chest.
"Kaname...no...please don't leave me..." Sara sobbed. Takuma put an arm around her shoulders, but it was shrugged off. "Kaname..."
"I love you, Sara..."
"Drink my blood...please...Kaname..."
Kaname shook his head.
"No...as much as you love me...you love HIM even more..." he choked. Takuma flinched at the iciness of his voice, even when dying.
"While, it's true that I love him, your are my husband." Sara whispered. Kaname smiled faintly as the cracks started appearing in his face. Sara bent down to kiss him. When she pulled away, Kaname shattered into a million pieces. Sara screamed in sorrow, inconsolable tears streaming from her eyes. Mayumi and Aidou came running towards them and they stopped dead in their tracks.
"Sara-sama..." Aidou whispered. "What happened?" his eyes widened when he saw Takuma kneeling beside Sara. "Ichijo...what are you-" Sara glared fiercely at him and he shut up. Sara brought Kaname's clothes to her face, breathing in his scent.
"Oh...Kaname..." she sobbed. Takuma didn't know how to comfort her; she wouldn't let him touch her. Aidou and Mayumi fell to their knees.
"Kaname-sama..." Aidou whispered. Mayumi didn't know what to say. She watched her mistress cry, not knowing what to do.
After a long moment, not sure how long, Sara stood up. "Hanabusa...?" Aidou looked up at her and stood up.
"Yes?"
"Please escort Ichijo out of the Kuran estate."
"Sara-" Takuma tried to speak, but Sara held up her hand.
"No, Ichijo," Sara said coldly and Takuma flinched at both the use of his surname and tone of her voice, "I want to be alone." she picked up her husband's clothes and walked back to the mansion and Mayumi followed her.
"Sara..." Takuma whispered sadly. Aidou turned to Takuma.
"Ichijo, I thought you were dead."
"Yeah, I was Sara Shirabuki and Tamaki Tanigawa's hostage."
"I'm really sorry, Ichijo," Aidou said sympathetically. Takuma didn't reply, he just stared at the floor. "What will you do now?"
"Set my affairs in order and take my place as the council head," Takuma said, "I'm going back to the Ichijo mansion."
Aidou nodded and they walked to the gate in silence. Meanwhile, Sara and Mayumi had arrived back at the mansion. Although she loved Takuma, she needed time to mourn her husband who had taken up such a large chunk of her life. No matter how covered in blood his hands were, she had still loved Kaname, no matter what anyone said. She only hoped that, one day, she'd learn to love again.
THE END
A/N Yes, unfortunately, this story has now ended. BUT, there will be a sequel, that's the reason why this ends so abruptly. It will be called "The Pursuit of Happiness". I'm not going to tell you the plot line, but Sara Shirabuki will be in it. Now, if you haven't already, you should put me on AUTHOR ALERT (not story alert) That way, you will get to read it immediately and it will be up tomorrow.