• CHAPTER 165 - DAMN STRESS

    Stress relief? Who ever invented such a thing? Whoever did was obviously a bullshitter...

    .:{{Dream in Arisa's Perspective}}:.

    Smooth, delectable, and rich. The chocolate dripped off of the end of the strawberry just as I put it into my mouth, dripping the chocolate drop on my chin. I sighed heavily and closed my eyes, in heaven. Strawberries with chocolate dip and the stems severed off; one of my favorite desserts since I was a child. A perfect combination of healthy and unhealthy; sweet and sweeter.

    I continued to take my time eating my sweet spoils in the kitchen at Matsuda and Orihime's house. The atmosphere was quiet and calm; I was probably the only one in the house. I snuggled myself in my robe and sighed again. Everything was perfect at the moment, except that Kai wasn't there. I got up to carry my bowls to the sink and stopped dead in my tracks; there were other people in the house.

    "You ate without us?" Minoru frowned.

    I looked down into my strawberry bowl and one lone strawberry sat at the bottom, though I had just finished them off just a moment ago. Minoru approached me slowly and Kaiba stayed where he was; I knew where all of this was going to lead, but I couldn't do anything about it. Minoru grabbed the remaining strawberry, dipped it into the chocolate and took a slow bite; and he repeated until he was finished.

    "Delicious," he licked the remaining chocolate and strawberry juice off his finger. "Sweet."

    My breath stuttered and I dropped the glass bowls to the ground, shattering them. Strangely, none of the glass drew any blood from my feet. The glass didn't even touch my feet somehow. My legs gave in and I collapsed onto my bottom, "G-go away,"

    "If you were too weak to hold your own dishes, you could have advised me," Minoru chuckled. "I'd have carried them for you."

    From the corner of my eye, I saw Kaiba glide over to the fancy knife display on the kitchen counter. He observed the knives, minding his own business. I swallowed a lump in my throat, "D-don't come near me or I-I'll call for Kai,"

    Minoru chuckled sinisterly, "Try me,"

    I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. I had the scream built up in my chest immediately, but I couldn't belt it out. Either my dream was turning against me, or Minoru was using a charm. I started breathing heavily and I started to back up immediately and quickly. Minoru took one step, grabbed my right ankle and pulled me harshly back to him. I started to hyperventilate severely as the tears started building up; I knew where it was going, I knew! But, even so, I couldn't do anything about it!

    Minoru pushed me harshly, causing me to land on my back with my hands above my head and I groaned. I still couldn't scream; my voice was still taken from me. Before I could think about sitting myself up, two very severely sharp pains went through the palms of my hands. I paused for a moment before deciding to look back at my hands and I immediately regretted it; Kaiba had two fairly large serrated knives right through my hands. My mouth and eyes were opened as wide as could be and I still couldn't scream. Only a few pathetic squeaks managed to get through my mouth. Kaiba dug them in a little further and more blood started to spew out.

    "That smells beautiful," Minoru grinned after he sniffed the air. "Such an alluring aroma; how could you not be fascinated by your own blood?"

    The tears were streaming down my face from the pain of my hands and the fear of Minoru. The tears acted up even more after Minoru ripped my robe open; turned out I was wearing nothing underneath it. All I could do was hyperventilate, cry and try my best to cover myself. Minoru cupped my neck with both hands and pressed his lips against my airway. I looked back and Kaiba only seemed to be concentrated on the blood oozing out of my hands rather than my exposed skin.

    Minoru licked the right side of my neck and he immediately sunk his teeth in. It was all a repeat, but with a different setting. I knew I was going to die, but why wasn't Kai around? It was the first nightglare I had without Kai staring at me in pain. I groaned as Kaiba pulled the knives out of my hands and I immediately started clawing at Minoru's hands that were still cupping my neck. I dug my nails as hard as I could, hoping I'd be capable of ripping some skin off or something. Minoru bit something on my neck and pulled back harshly, snapping my mom's necklace off of my neck. He dove at my neck again and continued, starting to press his clothed body against my exposed body. I was bleeding, crying, filthy, and dying. With my remaining seconds and strength of life, I continued to claw at his hands with the worthless hope of freeing myself.

    My eyes were still closed and I was still dreaming, but I was thrashing like crazy. I couldn't feel the pain I was causing myself; I was panicking inside. I finally woke up when Kai gripped my wrists and shook me, calling out my name. I woke with a gasp and started hyperventilating, looking up at the ceiling.

    "Arisa," Kai stared at me, barely visible through the night. "Arisa, what happened?"

    I hyperventilated even more until my sobbing reflexes kicked in. I stopped crying for a moment and stared at my blood-coated fingertips, "Wh-what happened to my fingers?"

    "Don't move," Kai demanded as he disappeared.

    Without sitting up, I lightly touched my neck and winced. A sharp sting jolted me, causing me to groan. I pulled back my hands and noticed small dots of blood on my hands. Kai reappeared with a few medical supplies and sat next to me on the bed.

    "What happened?" I panicked. "Why am I bleeding?"

    Kai drained some peroxide on a washcloth and wiped the blood off of my fingertips before moving to my neck and throat, "You were clawing at your throat," he mumbled. "What were you dreaming of?"

    I was attacking myself in my sleep? I could have sworn it was Minoru's hand I was attacking. I pursed my lips and closed my eyes, "I'd rather not say," I winced at the pain of my neck.

    Kai leaned down to kiss my forehead, taking a small break from cleaning my neck, "You scared me to death, Arisa. You wouldn't answer to me."

    "I can't really scare you to death if you're already dead," I replied coldly.

    Kai paused for a moment and continued healing me, "I suppose,"

    I gasped and stared at Kai, "I-I didn't mean that," I bit my lip. "I'm sorry."

    "It's fine," Kai shook his head. "You've ventured through a lot of stress for the past few days; I don't blame you for being angered with me."

    I sat up after he was finished bandaging my neck and the tears started gathering again, "How could you do this to me?" I hissed, crying. "What did I do to deserve this?"

    Kai stared at me in shock and it soon turned to apathy, "Nothing," he sighed. "You did nothing."

    "And you did everything!" I shouted. "You should have just killed my parents yourself and you wouldn't be tangled up in this s**t! Maybe I wouldn't always be sick from worrying too much!"

    Kai stared at me for a long moment and I started crying. I laced my fingers through my hair and buried my face in my knees. I sobbed and leaned against Kai, breaking myself into pieces. Carefully, Kai wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head.

    "I-I'm sorry," I sobbed. "I do-don't know why I said that..."

    "You possessed every right to," Kai whispered. "You're stressed."

    "It-it's not that," I shook my head. "I honestly think I'm star-staring to lose my sanity..."

    Kai held me a little tighter, "That's nonsense,"

    I shook my head again, "I honestly don't feel like myself anymore," I cried. "I'm not the same; I'm saying and doing things I don't want to do or that I normally don't do."

    Kai never said anything, but he held me yet closer and buried his face in my head. I continued to sob and lean against Kai. I felt secure in his arms, despite I was infuriated with him for leaving four days ago without a call or anything. Did anybody else even know he was back?

    My head was spinning; I had another horrible nightglare and I was probably losing my sanity. Matsuda had said not too long ago that I could eventually lose all sanity if the nightglares continued. But since I had a nightglare that meant Minoru and/or Kaiba were nearby, right? Matsuda said that nightglares were caused by the enemy if they were up to a mile away...

    "What's going through your head?" Kai asked.

    I shook my head once more, "It's nothing,"

    "Again, Arisa," Kai mumbled, "if anything is bothering you, please, I beg you, advise me."

    "I-I just need time to calm down," I cried.

    Every second that went by, every minute, every hour, every day, I knew my time with Kai was shortening dramatically. The day of doom was approaching and all I had to protect myself were a gun and the clothes on my back. Kai couldn't do anything; he couldn't kill Minoru or Kaiba or Hisao. I didn't know what kind of power the contract had over me, but I could have killed Minoru back when he returned my mom's necklace to me. I had the opportunity to freely pull the trigger when I had it depressed against his throat, but I couldn't do it.

    "Go to sleep," Kai advised. "You'll become sicker."

    I shook my head, "I'm never sleeping again,"

    "You've said that numerous times," Kai chuckled halfheartedly. "I'm right here."

    "But that doesn't mean you can stop the scary," I cried. "You can't stop the nightglares."

    Kai stiffened a little and kissed my head, "I can't stop them, but I can interfere with them,"

    We both laid down and Kai snuggled up behind me, resting his chin on the top of my head. I closed my eyes for a moment and waited for the nightglares to start up again. But a nightglare never happened; Kai was transferring something into my head. Old memories, back from when we first met until now. Every good, loving, fun, momentous memories were played. Even though it cheered me up a little, it still made my heart sink rapidly. It was making my reminiscing habit worse, and counting down the days we had left together.