[Sadrain]

November 22nd, Chicago.

Punch. Punch. Block. Kick. Round kick, backflip, block, punch.
Leila paused and wiped forehead. There was slight dull pain, stabbing in the base of her head and piercing her temples. They were remainders of previous encounter with Elek. He indeed was as strong as he was rumored, truly one of the best. But the distortion chip had worked well.

Although the meeting had not gone according to her plan, Leila was rather pleased with the outcome, not counting the nagging worry that churned in the pit of her stomach. She was trying to work it out of her system now in her personal training room, while she thought the plan over and over. The girl knew she had to be sure of every detail and worry or doubt had no place in her. Long ago, she had been taught that the hard way. Gritting teeth, Leila launched a fierce attack on the dummies.

Too quickly she ran out of breath and a sudden painful coughing fit made her double over. Gasping in air, she suddenly felt a metallic taste in her mouth and her hand colored red. Leila's eyes widened as she realized that she was coughing up blood and, staggering back, she slumped down on the floor. It was second time in two weeks...

"My lady, may I again be so bold and suggest dropping the chemicals?" a soft voice spoke in her ear, but Leila shut her eyes tight, clenching the clean hand.
"No!" she practically shouted. "I can't. They will devour me the moment I become weaker."
"But my lady, you are becoming weaker this way..."
"I know... It just means I have to achieve my goal quickly," the girl replied, wiping her hand and trying to ignore the shaking of her own voice. Leila was not afraid of death, but the thought of not finishing her mission, it scared her. It was all she had left, all she was living for.

Yet even for it, she was unable to end the chemical treatment. If she was addicted to it, or the power it gave, Leila did not know. The hollow, heavy feeling spread trough her, reaching each corner of her soul and she let her thoughts wander down the darkest of paths. The girl wrapped arms around her knees and hid her face, loneliness and darkness slowly creating unbreakable cocoon around her.

OO C: Just a filler. This happened around 2am in the morning.