“NO!!!” Yuki screamed in horror. He was unable to do anything, but watch as his friends and classmates were all consumed in the explosion. His hands began to shake violently. The view was too much for him to look at and he turned his head away burying it his knees. “W-Why?! They were innocent…”

At his side on his left appeared a faint image of him from a year ago. ‘I killed her! It’s all my fault! I killed mother!’

Yuki dug his face further into his knees not wanting to hear the truth any longer. The images of his mother on her dead bed haunted him making him want to close his eyes even more than they were already. Wrinkles along his eyebrows grew with the pain of hearing screams of his friends. “I killed mother! And now I killed my friends too!”

‘Everything’s my fault! I’m the cause of everyone’s pain!’ The ghost of himself was becoming frantic throwing his arms out. There was nothing it could do to save itself.

“I don’t deserve to keep living when all I do is take…” A slow resigned breath escaped his lips as he let the thought sink in. He had thought that he was living for his promise, but it had become so heavy. All he brought with him was sadness no matter how much he smiled. It had to end.

Chapter 58 – The Soul of my Brother

‘That’s right!’ Another partial image appeared by Yuki on his right as a child from when he was younger.

The view of the outside faded away from him leaving him in darkness with only the two selves to be with him. In the blanket of the void that he hid his heart only sank further with each thought only reaffirming his own worthlessness. “They’ll be better off without me…”

‘Yes, they can stop protecting you!’ the boy said to him again.

“Protecting?” said Yuki dully having to think. As he recalled with each assassin that had come after him someone was always protecting him. “Always protecting me…” The portal to the outside returned shining a bright light on Yuki forcing his gaze up towards it. However, unlike before there was no view of the school grounds with his friends. When the light faded away he could see a scene from his memory; the first assassin that attacked him had him cornered and would have killed him.

The man charged in with his sand surrounding the high jump mat and pole quickly staring down Yuki. Yuki did not try to flee. He drew up his sword from the sand once more pulling it back with both hands to thrust through Yuki for the final blow.

Yuki closed his eyes waiting for the blade to strike. It was over. The blade came in for the kill and time passed on. Yuki winced in pain, but he then looked around to see someone in front of him. Someone had actually come to save him. It took him a moment for him to stare at the person’s back to realize who it actually was.

“You?!” Yuki eyes widened in surprised to see that it was her that came to save him. He did not think that there was anyone near that saw them. “Ayumi…why?” Ayumi struggled with the assassin’s strength using a sword of her own to hold back the attack that would have kill Yuki. While she held her ground against the attacker she divided some of her attention to Yuki. “I told you before that I will be here to protect you. While I’m here no more harm will come to you.”

Yuki nodded to himself as the memory faded away leaving the portal empty. “Ayumi saved me that day. She’s always saving me. It’s her job…” Seeing the memory did not help him making his mind feel heavy still. He wanted to turn away, but there was something new playing for him. It made his eyes widen in shock and pain. “That night…NO! Don’t show it to me!” The night that the second assassin attacked and hurt his family began to run for him. Momoko was forced to stand up for him that time fighting the man that threatened them because Yuki was unable.

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. 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. A moment later she stood up to her feet feeling the blood that she was soaked in dripping from her clothes.

“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!!”

“No more!” Yuki shouted getting up to his feet. The memory was gone, but it seemed to be relentless. He tightened his fists together becoming angry. “I should have been the one! Not her!”

“But you’ve done nothing!” the child said to him again. A new memory surfaced in front of Yuki. It was the plant assassin that had kidnapped Saki and her friend. “Your friends still kept protecting you even when you had the strength!”

“Yuki lookout!”

Yuki turned his head catching that the attacks had suddenly changed from Ayumi to him. There was several vines flying straight at him and Ayumi was caught up by some other vines keeping her from being able to intervene. His eyes widened in shock as he knew that he was not going to be able get out of way in time. All he could do was protect himself with his arms bringing them up to take the hits with the fairy flailing in his hand panicking.

Blood and the slicing of flesh echoed around Yuki’s ears as he was knocked to the ground losing his hold on the fairy, which flew away to safety in the rafters. Yuki took a moment, but realized quickly that he was not hurting. He opened his eyes seeing Saki in front of him with her arms bleeding from being hit by the vines. “Saki!?” Yuki leapt to his feet to get to Saki in time, but she put her arm out stopping him. He was taken aback by her endurance to be standing still.

“Yuki… I made you a promise. I’m not about to break it now!” Saki narrowed her face staring down at the man in vines ready to challenge him.

“…Saki…why…you don’t need to remember that promise we made! I’m not worth it!” Yuki shouted to the fading memory futility. Each memory was making him angrier than the last. His fists were shaking at his side barely held together.

“Yet they keep saving your life!” came the child’s voice once more. Seiji was standing on the portal in front of Yuki drawing up another unwanted memory.

Yuki went to grab Seiji’s arm to pull him back, but he was stunned when Seiji stepped in front of Yuki standing between the assassin and him. “Seiji! What are you doing? You’ve got to run!” Yuki ran to Seiji to get around him, but Seiji put out his arm stopping before Yuki could get the chance. Yuki pressed against Seiji’s arm trying to plead with him to run. “No, Seiji! You can’t take him! Run away! Seiji!”

“Yuki!” Seiji shouted back making Yuki close his mouth and snap up quickly like he had been scolded by a parent. “Just stand back and let me handle this, Yuki.” Seiji stepped forward leaving Yuki behind to come face to face with the behemoth of a man.

Yuki rushed forward a few steps towards Seiji still hoping that he could convince Seiji from his decision. “Seiji… Please, you have to get away!”

Seiji turned his head a little to look back at Yuki. “Then who would fight him? …I’ve known, Yuki. I’ve known for a while.”

“What are you talking about, Seiji?”

“You’re different now. I know that. I’ve been trying to find a way to talk to you about it for a while, but I’m no good at these things. You can’t fight anymore. I understand that. So I’ll return the debt I owe now and for here on. I’ll fight in your place, Yuki.”

“Seiji…you didn’t…” He turned his head down for a moment trying to keep his whole body from shaking. It was becoming too much for him to hold in. “All I’ve been doing is calling for help.” Another memory was calling him and he turned up his eyes with them starting to narrow.

‘No more defenses… Nothing’s stopping her!’ The assassin pulled up her sword swinging it to cut him in two through the waist. Yuki could only watch the moments tick by seeing the sword coming for him this time with death riding behind it. His vision seemed to blur for a moment as he saw a strange shadow pass in front of him before a massive amount of blood sprayed everywhere. He suddenly knew who it was protecting him again. “Ayumi!”

“…Ayumi…you keep giving your life for me…what have I done…” He could feel his heart pounding fiercely no longer willing to keep taking it. “I can’t let this continue…” The end of his duel with Demosthenes showed up for him still being a painful reminder.

Demosthenes turned looking down at Yuki. “I respect your will to live, but will is not enough to make you worthy of his power.” He pulled the spear back up raising it above his head to bring it down for the final blow to end Yuki’s misery. The blade shined brightly as it sailed through the air spraying blood from the deep wound. The last breath of life was exhaled.

Crimson liquid flowed through like a river from a shattering wet thump. The life was quickly extinguished at that moment pierced through the heart with a long blade that was soaked in blood left held out the front of the chest. Demosthenes’ wide eyes were left frozen as he collapsed to his knees with only the blade of a sword keeping him from hitting the ground. The metal was retracted from his corpse falling slowly to the street, the field fading away.

Yuki’s eyes were held wide open in shock seeing the man that had effortlessly beat him taken down by a sneak attack. Out of the shadows of night stepped Ayumi with a cold empty expression in her eyes looking down upon Yuki. “…worthless…”

“…I have been worthless…but no longer! I can’t just let everyone keep protecting me! I have to fight for myself!” Yuki could feel the burning in his body that was agreeing with him. The shaking in his hands had finally come to a stop. He was feeling certain with the last of the memories having ended.

“No! You can’t fight!” said the younger version of him from a year before. His phantom interjected into the scene with protest. “It was your fighting that made mother sick! She died because of the fighting! You can’t fight!”

“…mother…I promised…”

The child snapped in suddenly silencing the boy. “You can’t even remember your promise clearly! It’s become blurred by your guilt!”

“What?!” Yuki said turning around facing both of his phantoms with confusion. “I know what I happened!” He leaned over toward the child lifting up his left hand squeezing his fist with certainty. However, the child looked back at him holding a stare in his eyes that made him question it.

“…Yuki…is that you?” said a shallow voice from the room. Yuki could never forget his mother’s voice and nearly became paralyzed hearing it. He turned back around towards the portal not certain what it was going to show him.

Yuki pressed himself into the entry way feeling a sense of dread crawling up into his legs. “…mother…”

“…Yuki…you can come…in…” his mother said in a weakening voice. There was little strength left in any part of her as she simply lay in the bed. It took great effort for her to move even her hand.

Yuki rushed into the room having been beckoned and seeing how much she was struggling to greet him. She was trying to pull herself up out of the bed for him. “It’s alright, mother… I’m here. You don’t need to get up for me!” Seeing how she was pained and how desperately she was struggling made Yuki feel like he was covered in needles all piercing his skin leaving it all numb.

She eased back into her bed resting her hand on Yuki’s hands at the side of the bed. She had managed a smile for him with her half closed eyes looking over at him. “How are you…doing, dear?”

“I-I’m fine! Get some rest so that you can get better!” Yuki was on the edge of pleading with his mother. It was too much for him to see her in such a condition. He was completely helpless to do anything for her.

“How’s…school?”

Those words had made him freeze stiff. The pounding of fear that had been starting to fade was renewed with even greater crushing strength. “School?” questioned Yuki weakly wishing that he could avoid the subject, but his mind was already painfully reminding him. All he could manage was to place his hand on his mother’s hand for reassurance. “…it’ll be alright...mother…you don’t have to worry anymore…I won’t fight anymore mother! So please get better!”

“…Yuki…” His mother’s eyes closed slowly followed by a long exhaled breath. It pulled him up on his legs leaning in towards her fearing that she would never open her eyes again. The shallow, quick breathing came to a rest as she opened her eyes to look back at Yuki. “Yuki smile for me just once more…” It seemed to be getting more difficult for her to even speak bringing her short of breath with each word.

Yuki hand’s were tightening up wrapped firmly around his mother’s. His fears wound as tension in his fingers through his silent prayers. “Mother! Please! Don’t talk like that!” He was dragged in towards her feeling her hand suddenly become loose. It felt as though the life was slowly being pulled away from her forced to keep her core barely alive. “Mother?! Please! I won’t cause you trouble anymore, mother!”

She coughed a couple times and coming to a long quiet rest. Her half opened eyes looked on him softly. “Yuki…please …” The labored breathing from her became further drawn out as her eyes closed once more. She struggled to open her eyes waiting for Yuki. Yuki with tears in his eyes he weakly pulled up a smile as his mother requested. She was able to see it and be filled with warmth that passed to him growing his smile until it became pure. Her eyes closed with a smile on her face.

He pulled a little at her hand tightening his hands around her hand hoping for a sign that she was still with him. “Mother! Mother…” His head hung low looking away from her. The words that she had spoke to him spinning in his mind.

The fading warmth in her body was able to smile softly to him. “…th..ank…you…” A constant ringing filled the room. There was a moment of silence as Yuki froze.

He snapped his head up towards her breaking away the tears that sprayed through the air trying to see that his mother was still alive. “Mother! I’ll keep smiling for you if you just open your eyes! So please! Please…open your eyes just once more for me…” There was no response from her apart from the lasting smile that was left on her face with the ringing in his ears. “Mother! Please just once more…open your eyes! I promise! Mother!” Yuki head fell into the sheets weeping and screaming until his throat ran dry. Yet he continued even when his voice gave out. None of the doctors or nurses dared to enter the room. After his voice had been lost and his tears dry Yuki stood up and left the room in silence. It would be a silence that he kept for a month with no one able to understand what he was thinking.

“No! That’s a lie!” the boy shouted trying to deny what Yuki had just seen.

“It’s the truth! You never made a promise with her to stop fighting! You made with yourself!”

“It was me?!” Yuki said still not able to believe what he had seen. He had thought that he knew his memories, but they had become twisted somehow. As the realization suddenly set in there a massive weight released for him and a new light shining that he had not seen in so long.

A distant voice from his past came whispering him. “You got into a fight again, Yuki? Remember your fists are to protect others. Promise me, you’ll use them to protect the ones you love, Yuki.” The voice belonged to his mother when Yuki was still young. Yuki was able to remember how she had always scolded him about his fighting and that she made him promise that every time got into a fight.

‘That’s right! It was after father died and I started fighting anyone I saw. She would always make me promise even though I kept getting into fights. When mother got sick I blamed myself; I thought that it was because I hadn’t kept that promise. But now I remember the truth!’ He could look forward once more with a clear heart and mind. “I will, mother! I have the power to protect my friends and I will use it!” Yuki shouted up to the ceiling with the ground suddenly shining. The cracks began to appear in the earthen wall that protected him. Violent waves were issuing forth from feet with each coming faster than the next. The boy held a worried look on his face before he faded away. The child faded away in silence with an almost sinister grin on his face.

Outside Demosthenes began to march forward not waiting for the dust cloud to disappear. However, he came to a stop when he felt the ground shaking suddenly. Soon beams of light burst from the cloud followed by pulsing waves. “Is it…” A wind broke from the epicenter pushing away the cloud. The stone fortress that had protected Yuki was developing numerous cracks making Demosthenes’ eyes narrow in concern. A moment later the entire field shattered to pieces vaporizing into the air as Yuki stepped out.

The wind blew up again spiraling around Yuki as a light covered him. Pulled into the center were particles that laid upon his body shining brighter until shattered away to reveal new clothes. He was wearing a distinctly more Asian inspired wardrobe that crossed between a formal robes and a fighter’s gi. Yuki had a new look in his eyes as he stared down Demosthenes with unseen determination. “I won’t let you hurt my friends any longer, Demosthenes. I promise will protect everyone!”

To be continued…