It All Turns to Gray  -|| By Jessie C. 
         Short Story

"It had to be done." A voice, remorseless and sly even as he watched the young man cry. "She was worthless, a distraction at most. She was holding us back, we could afford that no longer."

"You murderer! You are no better then any of them!" Anger building, thoughts a jumble, standing up quickly only to stumble. "You promised to protect her! You swore on our friendship!"

"In this world, friends do not exist, Dekado.." The sound of metal clashing as sword meets sword, an enraged attack for a friend’s broken word. "Stop this idiocy at once, you are better then this! She was a foolish little girl that didn’t deserve a second thought from you!"

"You are the one who never deserved a second thought! She deserved everything!" Swinging again only to meet a block, more aggressive now, mind recovering from the shock. "She didn’t deserve to be killed by someone like you!"

"She didn’t deserve to live in the first place!" Another temper flaring, another swing of metal, this one connecting and in a shoulder does settle.

A scream of pain and a muttered curse, another swift movement, and the situation is reversed. "You.. You were no better then any of them." A guilt-stricken voice for decisions made, as he slid from his old friend’s stomach the end of his blade. "No… You were worse..."

The betrayer as he meets his end, curses once more at who he once called friend. "Your sentiments will get you killed eventually.." A heart stops beating, cold and covered with frost, leaving another to grieve over the lost.

"Hell is where you belong.." A blood stained weapon clatters to the ground, and the young man’s sadness echoes within the sound. "I should have seen it.. I should have been here.. I should have.." Knees buckling as he falls to them once more, tears come streaming, as the pain becomes worse than before.

Looking up to the sky, grief coming in waves, the anguish and sorrow of what he could not save.

Life flashing at fading hopes last ray, and then in silence, it all turns to gray…

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Betrayed by a friend, his anger causes Dekado to strike out and kill. He had sworn to protect Tamenshi with his life.. and now.. now she is gone. The shades of gray in the world seem to become more complex, and one begins to wonder who can be trusted and what a friend truly must be. Who can we trust in this life? Is anyone really worthy enough to be called a friend? Is it right to exchange one life for another and to condemn the actions of one who believed what they did was for the greater good? Only one thing is for certain.. Dekado’s life will never be the same...