Andromeda

“Yuki Hayashi...” The words echoed through Yuki’s head repeated pounding on his insides taking advantage of his weakened state to induce mental injures. He could not get the voice out of his head and all he could think of was the past in his mind. The assassin from earlier played through his memories slicing through his strength and will. This was far beyond anything that he could hope to survive.

‘Another assassin so soon…I’m still so weak from before.’ Yuki’s eyes darted around the blood plain to see his sister and brothers huddled together. They still did not seem to have the danger sunk into them, but Momoko knew all too well how dangerous this man was just by the display he made thus far. She had seen her home fall apart into a pool of blood. It was a horrific sight for her. Yuki was surprised that she had even managed to move. His body had been frozen since this began and now he was too weak to even move now that he could feel his body. ‘Ayumi is not even here to save me. She probably doesn’t even know. I’m all alone here. I’m going to die this time. I-I’m dead…’

Chapter 9 – Crimson Dance

The assassin stepped forward towards Yuki. Light from the moon had given a small look at the man’s appearance. He was covered in blood it seemed while it had a silk like cloth appearance as well. Every corner or edge of the cloth dripped blood that the pool drank. This was only the clothes that he wore that the blood flowed; the skin remained untouched by the blood. The silk like material covered his large muscular chest as a solid piece and tied off firmly at the waist by a black belt. His pants seemed to continue on as though they were uninterrupted by the belt left a little lose around the legs. Leather boots covered in black and shining with crimson went up to his knees. His head and arms remained bare with only gauntlets covering his muscular arms. The man was as well built as he was tall and menacing, but none of the muscles were to excess simply being well defined. His entire presence breathed the sight of death.

‘Die…die…die…I-I’m…’ Yuki’s mind was stuck stuttering not even aware of his surroundings anymore. The shaking from his body continued to formed ripples through the pool of blood to the feet of the assassin. He could not hear the steps of the assassin moving closer to him. The words that the man spoke rang empty on his ears. When the darkened figure in the moonlight stood over him he did not even feeling the slight tinge of his presence. Yuki did not know there was a world around him. Fear was all he knew tying him down. ‘Is there someone to save me?’

The man grabbed Yuki by the collar of his school uniform putting him face to face with him and nearly a foot off the ground. It was an effortless motion that still did not make Yuki respond to the man. The assassin’s dark blue eyes attempted to pierce Yuki, but Yuki’s head tilted at an angle away with his own eyes distant almost empty of life. “Such a worthless kid. So paralyzed by fear that you can’t even see the world around you. I thought you might actually be interesting for a few minutes from watching you at lunch.” He narrowed his eyes in annoyance rather than anger.

His free right hand pulled back a little as the gauntlet on his forearm suddenly changed its shape. It had been a simple metal guard that covered only the front of the forearm with a leather and bronze clasp holding it in place just below the wrist. The metal was altered growing up around his tightened fist as three pointed spikes along the knuckles formed solidifying in polished steel. The armored right hand was released from its tensed position digging into Yuki’s stomach pulling at his body ripping his collar and shredding the threads where the spikes penetrated.

Yuki coughed out of reflex from his body, but still remained clocked out from the world. It was then that his brothers understood very clearly what was happening. All Momoko could do was hold them back and gasp in pain for Yuki.

“Sis! Yuki’s getting hurt!” shouted Ken through panicked lips that struggled against Momoko’s arms. He did not understand why she was stopping him.

The man punched Yuki again this time drawing blood from him staining his uniform. Ken watched his sister turn away with tears in her eyes. Momoko had wanted to move from the beginning, but her body was acting on its own to protect Ken and Jun. It knew that they would try to attack the man to stop him from hurting Yuki. “K-Ken…don’t look…please…”

“Let me go, sis! I’ve got to stop that man!”

“No, Ken. You mustn’t…”

“But why is he hurting Yuki! He didn’t do anything wrong. We have to stop him!”

The man turned his face to the three children to the side of him after he finished placing another punch into Yuki. “I’ve got to break through his fear. Or how else can he see me killing his family!” He landed another punch into his chest making Yuki cough up blood and rip through his collar completely. Yuki flew back in the blood soaking through the back of his uniform. He coughed repeated from the ground lying on his back slowly moving legs. “Ah. Looks like I finally woke him up.”

‘Kill us!?’ Momoko thought in fear as she looked into the man’s eyes when he had said it. The cold empty eyes of a killer had stared back at her and burned into her memory. She could not see anything else but the man eyes surrounding her. ‘Yuki…why does this man want to kill us? What’s going on?’ She did not know what Yuki had gotten himself into, but she could not believe he would have been so stupid to be making some street gang angry. However, the strange things that had already happened made her wonder what exact had Yuki gotten into. This was not some angry bully from school. This man wanted more than just blood. ‘I wish you were here, father.’

The man raised his hand up at Yuki’s direction. “Now that I have your attention…” All around Yuki the blood began to bubble suddenly like it was boiling, but he could not feel any heat. He attempted to move away, but he could only manage to roll over still feeling the deep stinging pain from being punched repeatedly. A solid wall of blood rose out from the pool reaching to a height greater than even the assassin. When Yuki began to move again tentacles burst from the wall out towards Yuki. They were too fast for him to escape, even if he was not injured. The tentacles wrapped around his wrists and ankles pulling him up against the wall holding his arms around horizontally. “You can watch while I kill your family.”

Yuki, now aware, pulled at the bindings as his eyes widened in panic. ‘He’s getting them involved now!’ He struggled against the bindings that held his arms nearly getting his arm to move a few inches before it was slammed back against the wall. “NO! Leave them out of this! It’s me you want. Not them. Kill me and leave them alone.”

“I had considered it. Perhaps leaving them alone. However, they’ve seen me and I can’t allow them to live. Once they are dead I will have to kill you and then your neighbors. Anyone that saw can’t be allowed to live.”

“Leave them…alone please…”

“Begging now? You aren’t a challenge for me. So I might as well watch your heart being shattered.” The tall man in crimson began walking towards Momoko and the two she was protected. There was an eager desire to kill and lust for it burning within his eyes.

Momoko had been shaking the entire time, but once he had begun to move she felt her body return to her. She stood up pulling Ken and Jun behind her. “Run now! Get away and don’t look back.”

“But Sis!” Ken said with Jun staring mutely at her.

Momoko refused to turn her head stepping backwards in line with the man. “Don’t argue with me! Run!”

Jun took a hold of Ken’s hand and pulled him roughly until he started to run on his own drawing him away from Momoko. “Jun! Stop, we got to protect, Sis!” However, Jun’s stubborn eyes, that seemed to understand better than Ken, stared at him slowly convincing him to run together. They could see the end of the blood pool in the distance running for that as safety.

The blood bubbled and shot up several walls too high to see over in front of Jun’s path bringing them to a halt. “I didn’t say that you could leave.”

“Ken! Jun!” Yuki shouted straining at his bindings feeling helpless and desperate to do anything. ‘They’re going to die because of me…this is all…my fault…’

Momoko turned part way from facing down the assassin to see what had happened. They were trapped from leaving and every time they moved there were even more obstacles in their way. ‘What do I do? I have to protect them, but this man seems to control this area. I-I’ve…I’ve got to look forward.’ She turned back to the assassin charging towards him not certain what she was going to do. “Leave children out this!”

“Well at least you have more of a spine than him,” he said with Yuki over his right shoulder hanging helpless. Momoko slid down in the blood soaking her clothes as the man took a swing at her with his bare hands. She attempted to rise up to hit him from behind, but he was already taking his evaded swing completely around as he rotated his body to face her again.

Momoko did not see the change fast enough to react. The man’s fist connected with her face as she was coming in for her strike knocking her to the ground a few feet away. Her lip was cut starting to bleed down her chin with a deep red bruise starting to appear. She pulled herself up halfway sitting in the pool staring back while she wiped away the blood. ‘He’s fast and strong. The little amount of martial arts I have is not going to help me. I have to keep him distracted long enough to allow Ken and Jun to find a way out.’ A moment later she stood up to her feet feeling the blood that she was soaked in dripping from her clothes. She stared back at the man trying to push away the fear and shaking in her legs.

“Not bad. However…”

Momoko body arched forward as her eyes widened in shock. There was a wet dull sound from behind her that left Yuki shaking violently to break free. Ken and Jun turned to Momoko seeing her slowly fall down face first into the pool of blood. Behind her several spikes of blood from the pool that had been hardened retracted back into the pool. “K-Ken…” she said slowly stretching her arm out towards them. Her body would not move for her. “J-Jun…” Momoko gasped for air breathing desperately for one more minute to come. “Yuki…save…your…broth-“ Her eyes faded away as the last movements of her body came to a sharp stop. The last ripples from her body pushed out.

“Momoko!!” cried Yuki as tears poured from his eyes. His head dropped down only held in place by his shoulders. The world was fading from his view leaving only his ears to visualize what was happening. He saw the echoed of the assassin’s feet marching towards his brothers. His heart was beating harder and louder nearly over everything else. It was pounding in his head. It felt like there was a shutter on his mind only giving him brief glimpses of what was happening around him. His brothers screamed for him. There was the sound of blood being released into the air from a cut. A sinister laugh echoed across the plains of blood. ‘He’s killing them. Momoko…Momoko…Momoko…’ Ken cried out for Jun as another echo of blood rang out stabbing Yuki.

‘They’re dying because of me…’ The void of black sorrow wrapped its warmth around him turning his eyes dark. ‘It’s my fault. I can’t do anything. I’m worthless.’ His arms stopped struggling in futility against the chains that held him. ‘I-I watched them die. Momoko…Ken…Jun…’ His body went limp on the wall with the last of the echoes of the world fading from his ear’s sight. ‘I killed them…it was me…I couldn’t…’

His heart pounded in his chest echoing its beat through his mind as he passed into the abyss. ‘I couldn’t save them…’ He collapsed to the ground crying unable to hold back his tears. ‘I’m worthless…’ A beat pounded through his mind again. ‘If only Saki was here…’ The beat pounded again. ‘She would have saved me.’ The beat pounded again breaking him into a paused hesitation. ‘No…she couldn’t…’ A thump came through his head echoing in the empty world. ‘Shouldn’t…shouldn’t save me…but…’ The world grew darker losing what little color it had becoming a gray toned plain. ‘Always saving…’ Shadows disappeared leaving any definition remaining flat. ‘Me…’

The beat pounded, but faded away quickly. ‘Useless…I can’t do anything…’ The sound became softer no longer fighting with fierce determination. ‘I should…just die…’ Gray faded away from the plains leaving only darkness to surround him. ‘I should…death should just come…’ The void began to swallow him.

“Yuki! Yuki!” Saki’s voice said suddenly in his mind.

Yuki lifted his head up from his hands that had been holding them soaking in his tears. “Saki?! What are you…”

“You going to let them keep bullying you?”

“But Saki I can’t…”

“You’re a man right?”

“Huh?”

“Stand up! You hear them shouting for you don’t you?”

“Yuki!” Momoko and Ken’s voices rang out around him as though they had always been there calling for him.

The beat pounded stronger once more returning from its silence. ‘But what can I do?’ His heart shouted again this time cracks formed along the world he was in. ‘I must…I need…’ The sound pounded out again growing the cracks as some of the world started to fall down into dust. ‘I need to save them.’ The beat echoed around fiercer drawing cracks up to the top. ‘I need power…I need the strength…’ Yuki blinked his eyes cutting off the tears and stood up turning his head above him. “Give me the power to protect my family!” His heart pounded excited sending out shockwaves that cracked the entire world until it crumbled to pieces.

“AH! Give me power!” Yuki screamed through the plains of blood where his family lay helpless at the mercy of the assassin. The assassin turned in surprise to see Yuki suddenly awake again. He was screaming as loud as his lungs could withstand sending waves of vibrations through the wall that he was mounted to and the field of blood. The assassin stared on in full attention in awe of what he was bearing witness to now.

‘I don’t care what it is just allow me to save them!’ Blue waves continued to issue forth from Yuki violently responding to his desire. The walls had come crashing down and the seal was scattered to pieces. Everything that was bound within was being released. The blood wall that shackled him shattered to pieces dropping him to the ground. A bright light exploded from his body as an array of sealing that bound around several times fell to pieces. Once the light had came to pass Yuki stood in the blood pool no longer wearing his school uniform, but a strange gold armor that covered him completely except for his head. He slowed his breathing closing his eyes. A moment later he opened his eyes quickly shooting out a wave from his feet throwing back the blood plains in a massive wave. Behind the wave was a blowing field of tall grass and flowers that spread for as far as the eye could see.

The assassin’s face wrinkled in frustration knowing what had just happened. He looked down at his feet to see that the only area of blood that remained now was at his feet. It looked like his feet were emitting blood where he stepped. This changed everything now. “Your powers have awakened.”

“Yes, I shall protect my family!” Yuki shouted as he threw out his arm as though to grab something. The wind blew up around him dragging his cape and the grass. The grass was pulled free changing to green energy that gathered at his hand building in length until it shined as a whole. As the light faded away a massive sword appeared in Yuki’s hand far longer than he was. “I will end this now!”

To be continued…