Disclaimer: Sakura wars and it's characters do not belong to me. They shall stay in my heart forever. If you sue me you'll only get my old school books.

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Title: The last 600 seconds.

Author: Hayashi11 Aka Uchiha-chan

Summery: Has death ever freaked you. Have you encountered death before? What do you think of the word called fate? Have you ever wondered weather you can extend your expiry date? Shouldn't you tell of your love before you die? I'll tell my story.(Kanna's POV)

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Napping after a round of tedious training is the first thing i thought i should do. Staying on the roof is the best place to be because the noise from the bustling city and the consistent chanting of insults from that cactus lady is completely shut out from there. The warm sun changed my tired eyelids into a pair of pink curtains, allowing me to slowly seep into slumber.

The shade of pink before me flickered, i opened my eyes slowly thinking that maybe i can catch a glimpse at the little sparrow on my head. To my surprise, the sparrow spoke:

"Kirishima Kanna, I've come to take your life."

I sat up in horror and stared at a new face. It was a girl in her teens and she look calm and collected. She is short for her age but she looks swift and light. The black hakama let out a chilling appearance while the katana in her obi gave off a chilling aura, an aura of dead souls. But what scares me the most was the eyes of an assassin.

"What are you? What's with this life taking thing?"

I still managed to savage some words from my blank mind.

"Haven't i said it clearly? I'm the shinigami assigned by the soul society technology development group, quality check division. My name is Xenon. I'm here to take your life."

I have never felt this before, the most I've had was a spine chilling sensation when i fight a tough enemy in an disadvantaged situation. The last time i felt my heart skip a beat was when some really bad news was reviewed to me. This is completely different, all mechanisms in my body seemed to have stopped.

"Why is my time up? What did i do to deserve this fate? Why?..."

"It's not your fault. You are picked from the many millions around you to test out our new system which will be effective when the world changes in to a horrible place. In the future people will attack other people for no reason, illness and virus will spread worldwide and natural disasters will strike. This system is to let people enjoy painless death at the brink of end times."

I stared at the deep blue sky, i sigh at myself and wonder why. What is fate to me? Is it just a script written by the Kami from above? Should i fight fate or should i let it play itself out? I tried to stretch out my hand to feel her, gosh tell me it's all a dream, don't let me feel anything. I grabbed her shoulders hoping that it's just air but her swift actions and the hard smack from her onto my hands shock me back to reality. This is real, this is all too real. This is the end of me, oh damn it i still have so much to do. I can't go, not yet.

" I'd rather you keep your hands to yourself or else i would have to immobilize you."

She said these cold words without any emotion and patted her sword.

"Okay, let me start with the instructions, go to the briefing room that is on third door at your left."

"Door? What door?"

The surroundings evaporated before me and i felt my self sink into darkness. A corridor materialized before me, there were countless of doors on both sides and all of them leaked out an eerie glow, this strange brightness is so out of place, it seems that it should not be here. I stumbled forward, a step at a time, hoping to buy more time for me to think. My footsteps echoed through the empty corridor, the light leaking from the first door flickered. There is someone here, I'm not alone. This thought calmed me a little but the second door is enough to spook me.

"Let me go please, my wife is sick and my children are still young, please spare me!"

"I'm sorry, the game said your time is up. You can meet them in soul society."

"No.. please...Noooooooooooooooooo..."

The victim of death ran and tried to open the door. Banging and screaming, he soon slumped against the door and cried helplessly for mercy.

"Have a nice trip, Hisashi Yousuke"

The sound of a sword being pulled out was heard.

"Rest in peace."

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..."

The dying scream rattled through the air. The bloody tip of the blade pierced through the door , blood seeped through the bottom and grew into a puddle. I took a step back, without having to look at the mirror i know my face is contorting with and fear. This is it, this is what they call death knocking on my doors.

"Requesting for cleanup crew to north wing, level3, room 302."

I stood rooted on the spot, all i can do is pray that I'll die a peaceful death. I stared at the door which I'm supposed to enter. The very next step will soon seal my fate. My legs felt weak, i leaned against the wall for support. I focused on the handle and reached for it. Oh gosh my hands are trembling, this has never happened before. I expected the handle to be icy cold but surprisingly it felt strangely warm. I pushed it down and felt the lock click, it opened a bit and just as i was about to push it open, a voice boomed from the inside.

"Hurry up with that door Kirishima Kanna, you don't have much time."

The door creaked open, i stared straight towards the owner of the voice, the girl called Xenon. The interior of the room was spacious, well not just spacious, it's as big as the koubu hanger at the basement of the theater. I guess it's for the victims to run around like headless chickens and the shinigamis can play hunting with them.

"Come in and close the door."

I obeyed quietly. I won't say the place is brilliantly lit up but i can see Xenon standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'll now start with the introductions, if you have any questions ask when I'm done."

All i could do was to nod.

"We will play a total of 2 games, now look at this first."

she snapped her fingers and three dice appeared before me.

"Take it, two of them is blue and the other is red. The blue ones have numbers 5,6,7,8,9,10 and the red one have the words like seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years. All you have to do is to throw the dices, in other words fate is in your hands. After round 1 you will add the total of the three dice and be sent back to your mortal world for that period of time. Look at the example on your left."

I turned to the said direction, a man in his mid forties took the three dices with a nervous look. In a swift motion, he sent the little cubes flying. The dice clinked onto the floor and resumed with it's creepy spinning dance. The first dice that stopped was a 6. The other two continued spinning a if they intentional, after 30 seconds the two collided and stopped at a 5 and seconds. A timer in red appeared above the man counting the11 seconds. The shinigami in-charge asked for the man's direction to start the timer.

"Okay, what you've just saw was a sad story of a man who have the last 11 seconds. After which he will play the second game. To save my time I'll explain the rest. If he is lucky enough to score some years, he'll live through it. But sadly speaking, there are many without luck and scored both seconds..."

"Then you might as well kill him in the first place, why make him suffer all this? This is so unfair..."

"SILENCE!"

Her voice boomed and echoed through the entire room.

"You will only speak after i finished. As i was saying, our system will give you a fair chance to live, even if it's just for a few seconds. After that you will drop dead. You mortals will call it heart attack i suppose. You will be given 15 minutes to prepare. Any questions?"

" i don't want to die."

"Honestly speaking, you are not supposed to die yet, but our development team needs to test out our new system. Your participation in this test can reflect any flaws in this game. Therefore there will be no such thing in the future as cheating death. Be proud to contribute to the future society."

"... ..."

"Are you ready?"

"... ..."

"Throw them then."

Holding the three little cubes that will soon seal my fate, i can't help but to grip them tighter, i don't want my life to slip away with my own hands. But of course i can't hold in that position forever, from that very moment i understand the meaning of gambling, especially gambling with life. Although the stakes are high, sometimes a person is really left with no choice, it's either win or lose. I stretch out my arm in full length and loosen my fist, the dices cascaded in slow motion.

'clink...clink...clink...'

They spun for a moment before bumping in to each other. The blue ones stopped first.

"it's a 5... and another 5..."

I shut my eyes and said my final prayer, oh please let it be anything but seconds. The final clinking have stopped.

"You can open your eyes now "

Slowly i refocus on the final red die which will seal my death warrant. The crude black letters stared back at me. It's minutes.

"Kirishima Kanna, you have officially been given 10 minutes to return to the mortal world. You have 15 minutes to prepare. Tell me when you're ready."

I look above me, there as expected was the ugly looking timer. I sat down and starts to plan. 10 minutes isn't really much but I'll make it be useful to me. It's much better than having 10 seconds to live. There is so much i need to think, so much i need to do but so little time. Oh my gosh, i forgot to pay the ramen uncle for the tempura udon. Eek! I promised Iris I'll bring her to the park for ice cream next week! Now what should i do? Taicho ordered me to help Koran move the koubu parts from the store room to the hanger.

That cactus woman still owes me a favor for the bet she lost last week.

"last 5 minutes"

Wahh! What am i doing? I guess i need to apologize to them and end my life beautifully. Shouldn't let them see me die in front of them, especially Iris, she will freek out. Gosh! What will the Yoneda do to fill my place in the team? I have an important task to do! I can't die just yet. I can't...

"Time's up. You're going back now. Have a nice trip. And one last thing, if you tell a soul about this I'll make sure you and the person drop dead before your time's up."

"Wait! Not yet..."

The very next second i felt the warm roof against my back again. I know my time is short, the timer above me have already been activated. I flip myself to kneeling position, lunged for the top window latch and swung into the attic. I raced down the stairs and bumped in to Koran who have just emerged from the library.

'CRASH!'

(582seconds)

"Koran! I'm so sorry, are you hurt?"

The Chinese girl adjusted her specs and was about to speak but i continued with what i need to say.

"Listen up, i going away for some time so i can't help you out. Therefore i apologize in advance. Please look after Iris and the rest of the juniors especially Sumire. Although she looks mature and tough, she is still younger than you and i hate to admit this but i really care for that silly kid."

From the corner of my eye i spotted Iris coming out of her room. Without greetings, i called out to her.

"Iris grow up to be a strong person, never doubt yourself or the reason to fight for justice. Live happily always!"

"Kanna-han, why are you saying all this? You sound like you are about to die."

"Never mind about that, where's the rest of the team?"

"Er...Sumire-han is in the lounge, Taicho is cleaning the back stage with..."

"THANKS!"

Without waiting for her to finish, i dashed down the corridor towards the lounge. Iris approached Koran with curiosity.

"Koran... Kanna is so weird, i came out because i felt something dark and scary nearby. I'm scared..."

"Yeah, she said a lot of weird stuff. Come on now, don't worry. Let's go"

"Okay."

(501seconds)

"SUMIRE!"

Crash landing into the lounge, i earned a stabbing stare from the purple dinosaur. (opps...)

"Kanna-san, can't you walk in instead of ..."

"Sumire, i want you to hear this carefully cos I'm only going to say this once. Although you always get on my nerve, and irritate me. I want to apologize for my part in fights. I know this may sound weird but I'm quiet worried about you. If you continue with this attitude of yours, you'll never find a husband that can stand you! As a senior this is all i have to say to you but as a teammate, i have a last wish. From now on you have to work double hard because i won't be around for a long time. With that i bid you a formal farewell. "

I know this entire conversation sound like a tongue twister but i can't slow down. I'm running out of time.

"Kanna-san...what the..."

Normally i would like to mock at her silly looking expression she's showing now but i don't have time, i need to see her...

(423seconds)

I ran down the stairs into the main lobby, this is what I'm born for, I'm destined to fight, to bring joy through my performance. To end this wonderful dream here is just heart breaking. I pushed through the heavy double doors of the theater dramatically and ran down the aisles of seats. This is where i create my dream, but now i have to leave empty handed. I hopped onto the stage and made a sharp turn towards the backstage.

"TAICHO!"

"Wah!"

'CRASH!'

"Ohgami-san, daijobu?"

I burst into the room and was surprised to find two blushing individuals namely Ohgami Ichiro and Shinguji Sakura. I couldn't care less about what happened before, right now this life and death problem is at the top of my list.

"Taicho, Sakura glad you are here. Listen up, i have to go away for a long time. Taicho please fill my gap in the battles to come and wish you two a happy end! And one last thing, Taicho you are the most outstanding leader I've ever seen. Take care."

Turning to Sakura, i placed a hand on her shoulders and gave her a little pat.

"Gambatte Sakura. He's a good guy. By the way, where is Maria?"

"Hai! Er, i heard gunshots at the basement a while ago. She must be in the basement practicing!"

"Arigatou! I got to get to her quickly, bye !"

I know the shortest path, just run down the corridor pass the dressing room and down the stairs, i was relieved. There is plenty of time to see her and then wriggle in some dark shady corner and wait for death. It's no use fighting now anymore, might as well make use of all the time i have. I shall surrender to fate. Ahhhhhh... i can't think, this is not me. I will usually fight for what is right. I know I'm right but why can't i do anything about it? What should i say when i see her? Oh gosh, i never thought about it.

With the shooting range in sight, i put on the breaks and stopped before the thick sound proof door. My heart pounded heavily, was it the running that cause it or was it something else? The fear of losing your loved ones? The fear of never seeing them again? I push the handle down hard but the door did not budge, it's locked! Where did she go?

Gosh, this is not happening.

(342 seconds)

I thought of the likely places she would go.

'The bath room? No, i just went past it, it's empty. The meeting room? No, it's usually locked. Her room? Oh darn it, why didn't i think of that?'

With my target in sight i dived straight to her room like a torpedo.

(298 seconds)

'Bang Bang!'

"Open the door Maria! It's an emergency!"

'Bang Bang!'

"She's not inside."

I turned and found the owner of the voice.

"Reni! Do you know where she went?"

"At the lobby, she's about to leave."

"Nani! Okay, thanks."

I did a mad man's dash to the stairs near the second floor platform of the theater. I suddenly remembered what i can say to the German.

"Reni! Try to smile more. You look better that way."

"Smile?..."

(211 seconds)

I leaped down the stairs three steps at a time. At the bottom of the stairs a person emerged. I can't stop in time! We're going to crash!

'CRASH!'

"Itai! Kanna-san watch where you are going!"

"Ah Orihime! Gomen, I'm in a hurry. Are you hurt? Oh ya have you seen Maria?"

"Maria-san? She 's getting the car in the garage. She said she need to get a book from the bookstore."

"Thanks!"

The garage huh? I can make it there in a minute and a half,... no make it a minute. I need to see her.

(148 seconds)

Yes the garage! Oh wait a car is coming out. Don't tell me it's her! There was a flash of blond from the glistering windows. It's her. I have to get to her before she reach the gate. Can i dash a distance of 400 meters in 30 seconds? I'll make myself do it. There's no use conserving energy now.

(115 seconds)

How do i stop a moving car? Break the glass? Jump on it? Jump in front of it? Right! Shinigami said I'll live till the next meeting. I need to get in front of the car! The car starts to speed up.

"MARIA!"

The steam engine continued to rumble, she can't hear me over that noise. I guess there's no choice. Maybe i can try the sliding to the car like stealing bases from baseball? No i can't risk getting crushed under the car. I have to run no matter what.

Ever since young I've only acknowledge a person to be the most important person in my life, and that is my father. But ever since his death, I've only managed to find another important person, and that is you Maria. You are the first one who showed me friendship, partnership, trust and faith in others. Without you teaching me that, i would have lived a very different life now. So let me at least have the chance to thank you before i die.

Just 5 meters behind the car, i know i can make it. I just have to run along it, hopefully she will slow down. I quicken my steps, just a little more and i will be in line with the car. I chose a timing and leaped before the car. Both my hands are on the radiator of the car, i dug my heels into the ground.

"Stop the car, Maria!"

The impact was great, the driver was shocked and applied the breaks. I can feel the friction on my boots, it's burning. The door opened and the driver stepped out.

"Kanna! Abunai desu!(That' was dangerous!) what are you trying to do?"

The car same to a stop, i knelt down in exhaustion. I did it.

(087 seconds)

"Kanna are you alright?"

A warm hand rested on my shoulders. This is it, i can see her at last. My final dying wish...

"Kanna did i hit you? Are you alright?..."

"I'm fine. I just want to say thankyou... i had a lot to say... but now i feel so speachless..."

Maria knelt beside me and looked into my eyes.

"What are you talking about? You almost got yourself killed..."

"Thank you."

"huh?"

I don't know why I've lost all my words but i felt that if she is alive this is a good place to be in. it's her that filled every gap, there are so many things, memories that links to her. I just can't forget her. The seconds ticked away, i know i don't have time anymore. All i want is to stare at her for a little longer, oh please let me... ...

"Don't scare me like that, what's wrong with you? You look weird, are you sick? "

"No, i just want to see you."

"Do you have any important matters? Why are you being so silly, you could have waited for me inside.?"

"No, i don have time. I need to go now."

"Hey, wait a minute..."

I couldn't let her see my dying look. I can't bare to die before her. I ran. I ran from reality, I ran from fate, I ran from her but I can't run away from death. The timer starts to blink, i need to hide. Where should i go?

(035 seconds)

"Kanna where are you going now?..."

I ignored her, it's painful even to ignore her. I really want to tell her what happened, but i can't risk her life. Why do i have to be this unlucky? Why did i have to meet Xenon? Why was i chosen for this experiment? Where can i hide and wait for death to come? Back inside? Maybe the back yard will do, but i won't make it. I'll collapse before i reach it. Maria will see it. But it's still better than dropping dead before her. I can't risk it, what if i get seconds for my second round? This is terrible, i can't stand it. I need to run till the last second. I'm now half way across the front yard. She shouted and started chasing me. I can't let her catch me. The timer is running down to the last 10 seconds.

Goodbye Teito, Hanagumi, Maria. Maybe i can see you in that place called soul society...

"Kanna!..."

(000 seconds)

I don't know what happened next. All around me was darkness, strangely enough i can see where am i. Everything felt so light, there was a distant humming in the background. Xenon appeared before me.

"Welcome back! Has a nice trip? We will play the second game here."

"Why did i have to die?..."

I said emptily, hoping to know some truth before i die.

"I've told you before. Are you ready?"

Once again the three cubes appeared midair before me. This time they felt like ice cubes. I don't want to go, I'm afraid of the truth. I'm afraid of death. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the humming. Is it my imagination or did the sound grew louder? Yes it's definitely louder than before. They are voices...Voices of who? I can't remember. They are clearer... it's a girl's voice. It's getting louder...there's two...no, three voices...

"Hey, throw the dices already. I don't have all day."

The voices grew louder. I can't seem to reach out to them. I felt so week, i can't call out, i can't even cry. I know this voice, i've heard it before.

"Kanna...are you...Kan...answer...me..."

"How ...is... she?"

I don't know what's happening; Xenon didn't seem to hear it. I concentrated harder.

"Kanna...wake...up..."

"...doctor?..."

Wake up? I'm about to die...wake up from what? What is happening? I can feel a warm presence. It seems inviting, i feel so comfortable and soothing. What is this?

"Ah!...mire-san...NO!"

All of a sudden i can't feel the emptiness anymore. It's not dark, Xenon is fading... she's shouting at me...My head hurts, i felt all weak and tired and very cold...

"Kanna-san...?..."

"Didn't... i ...tell...u...it works..."

"Kanna-han?..."

I want to open my eyes but I'm afraid of the truth. I can hear them much clearer now. I want to answer, i want to know who is talking to me... where am i? Where am i?

"Kanna...you are... here...in the...tegeki..."

Tegeki? How on earth did i appear here? Don't tell me Xenon threw the dices for me and sent me back! I need to open my eyes, i need to see the clock. How much time do i have this time? Yes i see a slit of light. I need to open my eyes! Time is ticking again! I can't waste it anymore! A shadow flickered in the light.

"She's coming ...around!"

"Iris, Sakura you can stop now. Thank you so much!"

"Get her some water!"

My eyes once again adjusted to the lights. Yes, i see the familiar and worried faces. They are all staring at me, i can hear those that are out of my field of vision. I touched my head to sooth the pain. That's funny, why is it wet?...I don't remember falling into the pond while running...

"Kanna can you hear me? Can you at least answer me?"

"Ya, i can hear you. Loud and clear."

I want to sit up but i can't feel any strength. Maria came into my field of vision and held me up to sitting position.

"Kanna! Are you alright? You had a heat stroke."

Heat stroke?...From the corner of my eye, i saw Sumire with a bucket. She placed it down and crossed her arms.

"How can you sleep on the roof in this summer heat? No wonder you turned into sizzling bacon there."

"Sumire..."

Iris was sleeping on Sakura's lap peacefully, Sakura sat in meditating position. Maria explained.

"Iris can reach into people's dreams and memories. I begged her to do it. Sakura helped out with her energy to let Iris concentrate. I guess she is exhausted now."

"Arigatou Sakura."

"It's okay, Iris kept saying you are having a bad dream."

A bad dream? No it couldn't be! All this shock and horror! I look above me. No there's no clock. It's a dream? Unbelievable….

"Kanna now that you are awake why don't you rest in your room?"

Ohgami spoke with concern. Out in the shadows in the corridor i see another shadow. It's a person. She's in a familiar black attire with a sword in her belt and had a smirk on her face. Oh No! It's her. She mouthed the following words...

'Krishima Kanna, we have some unfinished bussiness...'

The End.

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Haha pple, this is a one shot fic. I've finished my exams and now taking a big break. To be honest I had a terrible writer's block for 2 months. This is because now in HK, my English usage have fallen to 4. Kanna1/2 is still half way done. Please forgive me. I do have some explanations to make.

1. The name Xenon was so familiar to me so I used it. When I counter check with my friend before publishing, I discovered that it is actually a name of noble gas in the periodic table. Can you imagine my horror! Gosh it is so embarrassing 3 months away from school and this happens …sigh.

2. Did you noticed I tend to write sad stories about Kanna? No, not that I hate her, in fact she's my favorite. I just don't understand why I have to be so sadistic…

3. I know it's not really appropriate to write about death on new year's day but… I simply can't help it. I've been dragging for a long time…

4. I wanna thank the two reviewers for putting up with my grammar and spelling errors. They are dillian and Greyhound Master.

5. I do apologize to sumire fans about the purple dinosaur thing. It just came so suddenly and I just typed it.

6. About Xonon's explanation I used blabla. Actually I couldn't think then so I left it there. I forgot to edit it. So sorry.

7. This is dedicated to my friend D who just got well. Sorry D, it's a story bout death. No bad intentions.

I can't think about anything to write now so please read my bio for updates! I wish everyone a happy new year! Akemashite Omedeto'z!

And oh ya to answer dillian. I actually thought of 2 endings. One is die in the crash. Two is that she wake up and found herself mumbling all those embarrassing last conversations. The whole team heard it and in the end it will turn into a comedy. Three is this one, dark and shady. My first attempt in writing a non-comedy.

To be honest I thank those who regularly read my fics. It gave me so much hope to continue writing. I'll try to finish my Kanna1/2, chapter6+bonus soon.

Happy New Year!