Shift

[Andromeda]

Green, everywhere it was green. Tatsuya never knew what to make of it. Sure, he knew that Yuki caused it after that earthquake had destroyed their school. But what did that exactly mean. Just saying that it was Yuki’s fault did not really answer anything. And saying that the city was different was just as vague. It was weird and strange, he never really what to expect around the next corner. Most people just hid themselves in their homes, a smart choice.

Why did he not follow their example? He had been doing the same mostly. School was closed, most places were closed. It was pointless wondering around. Only someone looking for trouble roaming about in their town anymore.

An unsettling thump made it through the streets towards Tatsuya. ‘Something’s coming…’ He immediately jumped over the nearest property wall and climbed up the massive twenty-meter tall tree. Such things never existed before, in a city that had no room or place. Nature no longer cared if civilization had room or could accommodate them. They just grew and everywhere. This one destroyed half of the house in the process of growing.

The unfortunate homeowners were the least of his worries. Climbing the tree served two purposes. It put him in better position to scout the noise, but also kept him out of notice hopefully. Near the top of the tree, he poked out on one of the branches. “Now where are you…” he whispered to himself. Following the noise, he tracked it back to strange boar like monster. It looked like someone crossed a boar with a lion and possibly even a dragon and them just mixed all of the parts up. Only the boar shape seem to be there, but it was nothing that used to exist before.

At more than ten blocks away, he had a long time to wait before it left the area. “Really not used to this yet. I know things I shouldn’t be able to.” He knew that his ears heard things too far away and too quiet normally that he never would have before. The slight vibrations in the earth from that boar he could feel. It was unnerving what he knew. Sure it saved his life and improved his chances of survival, but it was not something he was used to dealing with. Every time heard or felt something, he was completely convinced it was just around the corner. His mind had not adjusted to how vastly different his body had changed. “Did you do this for our sake, Yuki? Did you know that we’d need this to survive? Is that why?”

Chapter 315 – Tainted Land

Free to move again, Tatsuya arrived at his destination. The only reason he came out into the hell of their city anymore. “Hey man, still talking?”

Rows deep into the cemetery, Hiroshi lifted his head up from the grave he had likely been staring at for hours. “I’ve lost anymore words at this point.” His voice trailed off at the end almost as if trapped by an invisible hand ripping them away into hiding.

Despite the front that Hiroshi put up for Yuki, Tatsuya knew the truth. ‘He acts strong and brave in front of everyone else, but he can’t stop thinking about it. I wish Yuki was still here, it might just be a façade for Yuki’s sake, but he’s in a better state around him. He can’t be dwelling on this forever…’ Tatsuya walked up behind Hiroshi placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s hard, Tatsuya. I keep seeing him in my mind. I know the truth, but that doesn’t help things. I still have this urging, feeling…disgusting feeling…I need to blame something, someone. It’s wrong, he’s my friend and he’s not at fault.” His body was shaking. Tatsuya could nearly hear the way he was fighting with his body. “How are you managing all of this, Tatsuya? Unlike me, you’ve been friends since you were five. Compared to you I barely knew him and I’m more of a wreck here.”

‘On the contrary…I just know, like you for Yuki, the front is important. Without it we’d all fall apart.’ His room would tell Hiroshi a completely different story. In fact, focusing on the changes in his body had been the only thing that helped to get his mind off Kazuhiro. Even if it was just a distract, a way to forget, it was needed. He had lost things destroy.

Sanity was a precarious thing.

“Death happens to everyone,” answered Tatsuya, “I have my memories of Kazuhiro. So he lives inside me. In that way, he’s not dead.” It was all just a bunch of self-deceptive bullshit, but if it worked to get Hiroshi out of his depression he would say anything.

“That’s a positive way of looking at it.” He seemed to be contemplating the different perspective.

Tatsuya did not really plan to give him time to fall back. He had his attention and he was the most awake he had been in a while. “So what did you call me out here for?”

“The school. You’ve heard the rumors or seen the strange things happening, right?”

Seen might have been the more accurate option for Tatsuya. He hid himself away from the world and his city. So hearing any sort of rumor was nearly impossible. But while he came out to the cemetery it was hard not to something odd in the distance. It was the opposite direction of the cemetery, but something happened at the school. “It was a joke to think that they could just pick things up like nothing happened. You think it’s the UN peacekeeping forces?”

Hiroshi rubbed his chin in thought. He finally started to look like the friend Tatsuya knew. “It’s the only guess right now. But we know that whatever Yuki did changed us all. So maybe some thug got it in their head to try to do something.”

Since Hiroshi seemed to be aware of more of what was happening than him, he pushed for information. “What are these rumors?”

“Someone’s built an army at our school and claiming the city for their own.”

‘Explains why he thinks that it could be some thug with powers. The whole thing sort of seems like a lottery, so some probably have stronger or more useful powers than others.’ However, a rumor was still just a rumor. They hardly knew anything about what was going on their city, their home. He knew that would not set right with Hiroshi. That seemed to be the main driving force for keeping his sanity. The school just opened too, depending on when this happened a lot of classmates may have been caught up in this.”

Turning to look in the direction of their school, Hiroshi’s determination surfaced. The face that could not be turned away from a decision. It was the same reckless look that Tatsuya saw when they became friends. For all of his laziness, he had a bad habit of helping others. “Which is why we need to go find out what happened and if something has happened to our friends. We need to save them!”

‘You’ve left me with a difficult responsibility, Kazuhiro. Only one of us is left to keep our friend from blindly following he’s more stupid and idealistic side.’ Generally, any sort of trouble they got into the past was pretty minor stuff. Hiroshi did have a habit of actually make things work out when it seemed impossible for them to go as planned. He was dead set on seeing those doing wrong served for their error and making sure the innocent were not involved. “You know this sort of thing seems more suited for Yuki and his little group that he’s collected. They actually seem to have abilities and know how to use them. We still don’t know what we have, if anything useful.”

“But Yuki’s not here,” Hiroshi noted, tilting his head over his shoulder at Tatsuya. Another unfortunate truth. Neither of them knew what happened to Yuki or Saki. It had been weeks since they heard or seen them. “We both know that Saki more than any of them would have been immediately causing trouble when she learned about the school. Same with Yuki, he’d follow her if he did not go first.”

“They’re like someone we know.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hiroshi turned away from Tatsuya focusing back on the school. It was their goal, even if it was a bad idea. Someone needed to do something. “We don’t know what happened to them. Maybe their captured, maybe Yuki went to explore Japan to find a way to fix it, sounds like something he would do. Whatever the case, none of them are here. It’s just us and we will have to do.”

“Two against an entire army?”

“A rumored army.”

“Because that makes me feel any better.”

“We’re just scouting for now.”

It was his job to keep his friend safe from reckless actions. However, there was no talking him out of it. And it was not like he disagreed with what Hiroshi wanted to do. If their home was in danger, he wanted to do something as well. He just knew how Hiroshi’s plans went, usually sideways before they were successful. “You know I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks man!”

The walk to the school had to come to a stop before they could even get in range of it. They came to a stop just out of sight of a fight. Hiroshi peaked around the corner a second time. Even before they were able to see it, they heard something happening and approached with caution. “Damn! What’s going on? I’m seeing the UN fighting people from our school.”

“The UN has gone too far if they’re fighting a bunch of students!”

Hiroshi crept out slowly with Tatsuya. They had not been spotted. So if they could get a jump on them, they might be able to save their friends from being beaten up or worse by the UN soldiers. However, just as they were ready to make their move to save them the fight ended.

What neither of them realized until it was too late, the soldiers were just defending themselves. They had been ambushed and only a couple remained alive. The rest were already dead by the time they arrived at the scene. The last two died before they could do anything. It all happened before their eyes. Then the worst happened.

Once dead, the students tore into the soldiers with their powers or just through brute strength. It was a completely savage and unearthly sight like out of a horror movie. Organs, bones and blood were everywhere. It soaked their black uniforms making it difficult to read any of the gore on them.

Both Hiroshi and Tatsuya covered up their mouths and held in their urge to throat up. They were too close to the whole thing. Any sort of new noise would alert them to their position. A strange sort of fear kept them their body in check. At least until they left. Once it was safe, their bodies could not hold themselves back any longer.

“What the hell was that?” yelled Tatsuya, hoping he no longer had anything left in his stomach to toss up. His throat burned and mouth stank of acid. Worse was the image of people he knew doing such things. Remembering it again just made his stomach start to choke once more. It had nothing left and so all he had was pain. It was all he could feel anymore.

Hiroshi leaned up against the wall of a building resting his body. He did not know what he had seen. It just seemed impossible. “I don’t know. It’s a nightmare.” Rejection seemed to be the only thing that he could do to justify it in his mind.

“This is a whole hell of a lot worse than your rumors.”

“…yeah…”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hiroshi!”

“I don’t know!”

Tatsuya jumped over and pushed him down to the ground flat just as a light flashed over them. “There’s someone still here.” He looked around trying to see where the attack came from. But there was too much in the way.

“I thought they left!”

“Maybe they heard us, I don’t know! But it doesn’t matter right now!” Tatsuya dragged Hiroshi up against the building around the corner. It was the only cover they had the moment judging from the angle of attack. He looked around the corner still looking for them.

Hiroshi was shaking not knowing what to do. It only made sense. Neither of them had really been in a fight, a real fight like this. Street brawls that Yuki did or just the angry student did not have any comparison. This was someone looking to kill them. The lethal intent ran so thick it soaked through his skin. ‘Damn…what are we going to do? Neither of us are ready for this. I’m used to hiding, not fighting.’

Something suddenly ran through the wall barely missing them. Only a thin trail of light could be seen through all of the exploding brick and mortar from it bursting through the wall. It was not safe for them, even cover. They ran around trying to stay ahead of their attacker while the building turned into ruins.

Escaping to a completely different building, their former protection finally collapsed in a pile of smoke. Coughing through all of the dust and debris, they quickly became familiarized with their situation.

Live or die.

A simple binary.

Hiroshi came to the realization first and grabbed Tatsuya. “Hey man, you know roughly where they are at this point?”

“Huh?” It snapped him a little out of his paralysis, but his mind was still playing catch up.

“I’m going to be the decoy, you get around behind them.”

“What?! Are you crazy?” Another blast of light came through the building stopping any arguments. Hiroshi just stared at him. He was telling him to run. A plan, a terrible plan, but their only plan. Tatsuya nodded begrudgingly and waited for Hiroshi to make his move.

Like all of his reckless plans, it seemed to be working. Hiroshi did everything loud and easy to spot to make the enemy follow his movements. It gave Tatsuya all the time he needed to start looking for the source. All of the lights throwing across the area gave him plenty of points. He only needed a few seconds to know exactly where they were now until under fire. ‘I’ve got you…’

It took longer than he wanted to sneak around, but in a minute he was in position. The sounds of Hiroshi still playing decoy urged him forward even in his hesitation. Up there was another student most likely. Someone he knew. ‘Who is it? Someone I know or someone I passed by in the halls? What’s going on here?’

Tatsuya could not hold. He jumped up to the rooftop making his move. The turned figure was in the perfect position. He could not tell who they were, but they were trying to kill Hiroshi. They was all he knew. He could fight, for Hiroshi.

Charging at them while still turned away, Tatsuya grabbed them from behind and lifted them off the ground. It was all just a spur of the moment. He needed a knock out. So he went with the move he knew, the one he saw Saki do a few times in class, usually to Hiroshi, a German Suplex. He figured with enough force and more on the head that he should be able to drive them unconscious.

The unplanned force actually sent the individual through the roof of the building. Cracks shot out around them before the whole thing collapsed dropping them both down on the second floor and then the first floor.

Coughing and dazed, Tatsuya tried to find his balance as Hiroshi came rushing in. “Hey are you alright, man?! What the hell did you do?”

Waving through the smoke, he tried to find Hiroshi. “Just a little thing I saw someone else do.” He then looked over at the student he attacked. Hopefully, they were out. And by the looks of it, they did not seem to be moving. However, Tatsuya froze in shock.

“Where are you?” Hiroshi called working his way through the building. Tracing through the smoke, he managed to find Tatsuya. “Hey man, what’s wrong? You hurt from the fall?” He just saw Tatsuya looking down. In confusion, he stared down and staggered back in surprise. “It can’t be…Sakura?!”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

Coughing and dazed, Tatsuya tried to find his balance as Hiroshi came rushing in. “Hey are you alright, man?! What the hell did you do?”

Waving through the smoke, he tried to find Hiroshi. “Just a little thing I saw someone else do.” He then looked over at the student he attacked. Hopefully, they were out. And by the looks of it, they did not seem to be moving. However, Tatsuya froze in shock.

“Where are you?” Hiroshi called working his way through the building. Tracing through the smoke, he managed to find Tatsuya. “Hey man, what’s wrong? You hurt from the fall?” He just saw Tatsuya looking down. In confusion, he stared down and staggered back in surprise. “It can’t be…Sakura?!”

Hiroshi looked up to stare at Tatsuya. Neither of them had the answers the other wanted. It did not make any sense. They knew her, Sakura Maruyama. She attended the same junior high school and went way back for Hiroshi. Even though she was in a different class, they were still in the same high school as well. It was someone that Hiroshi could rely on despite their history.

“What the hell is going on here?” yelled Hiroshi louder than he should. He seemed to need to shout just to make it feel like he had some grasp on reality still, because it was clear that the world had finally lost touch with it. His hands shook trying to keep his body from vent on whatever was the nearest target.

Tatsuya did not have any words. He knew her well enough from the times he saw the two of them talking. She should want to attack either of them. They were not close friends, but nothing happened to incite her.

Stepping out in front of Tatsuya, Hiroshi forced him to see only him. “You’re sure Sakura was the one attacking us?”

“She was on the roof. I don’t want to believe it anymore than you, man. There has to be a reason for this.”

“Of course there is! We’re taking her with us!”

“Got a plan?”

“Not so much a plan right now. She’s got answers and we’ve got questions. So we’re leaving for now. It’s not safe here.”

The thought of what happened to those UN soldiers resurfaced in his mind. Students attacked and killed them. None of what happened made sense. Tatsuya would just be glad to be away from it all. Hiding really was the best strategy. “Right. You want the legs or arms?” He bent down to start lifting Sakura up. Unconscious they could only carry her off.

Chapter 316 – Shattered Hopes

Carrying around an unconscious girl was awkward enough. Their homes were not an option. And since the school was already out as well, they ran out of places to take Sakura. So they wondered around the neighborhood trying to figure out a place that would be safe. If it had been any other day, they would have had cops on them almost immediately. Now no one cared about anything that happened. Even if someone did call, it was just as likely to be ignored by the police. They had bigger things going on with the UN deployment and monsters roaming. A sad truth that they were thankful for since trying to explain themselves would have been impossible.

All they could really do was find another roof. Sitting out in the open or even some alley just was too much of a risk. They did not want anyone accidently stumbling across them. It really was more questions than they wanted to answer.

Staring at Sakura, they waited on her to wake up. She did not look too worse for wear from what Tatsuya did. More scuffed up than any real visible injuries. However, she was taking a while to wake up. Hiroshi glanced over at Tatsuya. “She’s taking a long time to wake up.”

“What’s with that look, man? I was just following the plan.”

“Which involved performing a suplex on a girl?”

“Hey, I’ve only watched Saki do it. I don’t know if I did it right or not.”

“So you may have killed her with that move!”

“I didn’t and you know she’s still alive! We check her pulse. She’s just knocked out, I can’t kill someone you know that.”

“Yeah, sorry man. This whole situation is just too messed up.”

Tatsuya looked back at Sakura hoping that she would wake up. They needed answers and yelling at each other did nothing. But he picked up on something that had been bothering him for a while. “What’s with the black uniform? Ours is blue, but this looks like ours.”

“I don’t know. Someone dying uniforms now?”

“Someone’s got a bored hobby.”

Long hours passed until it was night. There was nothing they could do but wait. It took too long, but Sakura finally started to move. She slowly opened her eyes. Both Hiroshi and Tatsuya leaned in to check on her. However, a streak of light shot between them that they narrowly dodged out of the way. Only the movement of her arm gave them time to react.

They jumped back to get a little more distance. “Woah, woah! Sakura, it’s me! Hiroshi Kuroda! We’re aren’t going to hurt you!”

Tatsuya however saw the next attack coming for Hiroshi specifically. He jumped in the way trying to pull Hiroshi down, but he was not fast enough. The light slice through his forearm shooting blood up and over Hiroshi’s face.

“Tatsuya!” Hiroshi grabbed him staggering back in shock. He could see something was wrong with Sakura. The look in her eyes did not seem right. She could not tell it was him. “Sakura! What’s wrong?! Please tell me!”

“Hi…roshi…” muttered Tatsuya through the pain. He remembered too well the sort of pain. The day that changed everything taught him what pain was. This barely came close to the levels he experienced, but it did not change how much it hurt him. He pulled Hiroshi over to get him out of the way of the attack. As the light blew through the roof, he used his good arm to finish the job. Cracks jumped around the roof dropping them down into the fourth floor of the building that they tried to escape troubling people.

Unfortunately, they did not fall very far, as it was a storage room. They landed only half a meter or so down on top of the shelves. Their weight crushed the boxes they dropped upon. Of greater concern was their friend, Sakura. She stalked over to the hole in the roof. The light up from the room was all the real illumination she got other than the moon. It painted dark shadows over her face. A menacing presence stood before them.

It was not Sakura.

Grabbing Hiroshi by his shirt, Tatsuya drug them down to the floor to escape an easy shot. A smart decision since she followed up with no hesitation. The shelves they laid on a moment before were riddled with holes.

“Damn…Hiroshi, snap out of it!” He slapped Hiroshi as they huddled up against the wall.

Clutching his cheek in stinging pain, Hiroshi stared at him snapped out of his shock. “Tatsuya…”

“Get it together, Sakura’s trying to kill you!”

“Why?”

“Hell if I know! But it’s clear now, she wants only to kill.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

“This is just the reality of our situation, man! I can’t explain it to you!”

Hiroshi stood up looking towards the roof where Sakura stood. “This must be a mistake. A bad dream…” Light shot through the roof at them. Without any clue to their location, the attacks were blind. Not that they were poorly estimated. It only missed Hiroshi’s foot by a few centimeters. He staggered back. “…Sakura…why?”

“Run! Hiroshi!” Tatsuya pushed Hiroshi down just as the next attack came in. As she seemed to locked on to them, it was significantly more accurate. If Hiroshi had not been pushed down by Tatsuya it would have ran him through the head. Instead, it went through Tatsuya’s shoulder throwing him back as Hiroshi dropped to the floor.

He turned over to see Tatsuya pressed against the wall with blood dripping down his shirt and the wall. “Tatsuya!”

Covering up the wound as much as possible, Tatsuya ground his teeth through the pain. “You need to stop her, man. She’s going to kill us.”

“Tatsuya!”

“Stop shouting my name and do something.”

Hiroshi tilted back towards the roof. She was up there somewhere. He stared at the blank ceiling. It started to develop more cracks from Sakura’s recklessness. He charged forward changing a lethal blow into a grazing wound on his upper arm. “…Sakura…”

He kept running forward towards the larger hole, the one Tatsuya created. He jumped up to the shelf and threw himself out of the hole. The damage and his weight finally ended the life of the metal shelf. It collapsed in a pile of boxes half torn apart.

Tatsuya stared up at the roof wondering how he was doing. He could hear them, but it was all sounds that he was not familiar with. So he could not judge it. However, he did see lights shoot through the roof again. Which meant that Sakura was still moving around. Dirt and dust rained down harder with each of the sounds. Larger pieces started to break free until it became clear that the whole thing was going to collapse soon.

He forced himself to stand getting to the nearby door. Trying to move his arms were too much of a pain. “Damn it,” he cursed stared at his body. All he had left was his legs that still worked fine. One kick put his foot completely through the metal door rather than actually knocking it down. “This isn’t like the movies…” He leaned on the door with his door to break through the rest of the way.

Just as he did, the roof finally lost what little integrity it had. The walls broke apart from the weight of the roof breaking apart. Most of the fourth floor became exposed to the night sky. But more important was the fate of Hiroshi. Tatsuya could not see very well through the now darkened room and smoke filled air. “Hiroshi! Are you still alive, man?”

Coughing, Hiroshi’s shadow surfaced from the debris. “Yeah, somehow. Argh, damn…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Just get out of here!”

“I’m not leaving you!”

“That’s all well and good, but I’d rather here those lines from a girl.”

The smoke finally cleared along with his eyes adjusting to the dark once more. Tatsuya saw through the haze to find Hiroshi staring down Sakura. However, he could see blood all over his body. It had only been a minute on the roof, but he looked even worse than himself. Tatsuya tried to get free of the door to help Hiroshi. “Hang in there, man!”

“Stop talking and get out of here!” Hiroshi charged at Sakura only for another streak of light to shoot through. His right arm went flying completely severed. But he rammed into Sakura pushing her through the shelves and wall into the next room with Tatsuya.

Buried amongst the debris and boxes, Hiroshi sat on Sakura pinning her to the floor. “Stop it, Sakura! Whatever is going on I’ll forgive you! Just end this!”

Another light shined through. Tatsuya had finally freed himself and tried to jump for Hiroshi, but it was too late. It was a point blank attack. “Hiroshi!”

“Stay back!” he shouted at Tatsuya. The light shook as it became clear that it had missed its intended target. Blood dripped down the blade of light as it took on shape. A bare blade with no guard or hilt, just all blade rested in Sakura’s hand. A blade of light, which Hiroshi gripped in his bare hand. It cut deep and already cleaved one finger and worked on the next as he struggled. “Sakura stop it!”

Struggling with the light, Hiroshi’s hand tightened more over the blade. Blood flowed faster until cracks started to appear along the length. A moment later it shattered, particles raining down around them. “Sakura!”

A new blade formed, this time smaller as she moved with her other hand. It came in from his right side with no protection. He used what little remained of his upper arm to take the blade, but she pushed through. The blade was going for his heart.

She wanted him dead.

Hiroshi’s eyes shook in shock. He knew it before, but it was before him now with nothing between them. She wanted to kill him. It was all over her face. “Sakura! Stop it now! Don’t!”

“Hiroshi!” Tatsuya threw him a broken pipe from the wall.

It fell down at his side staring at him to be used. He looked back at Sakura. The completely cold and emotionless eyes that just wanted death. He did not know here. “Why, Sakura?!”

“Protect yourself!”

“I can’t!”

“Hiroshi! You’re going to die! She wants to kill you!”

“Sakura!”

“Hiroshi!”

“Damn it!” Hiroshi picked up the pipe with what remained of his hand. Her blade came closer and closer to him. It started to draw up blood. He could not hold her back for long with his arm. “Sakura!” Tears fell down his face staring at her. “Don’t make me!” He lifted up the pipe threatening her to stop.

“Do it!”

“Sakura!” The blade broke through his ribs. It plunged in deeper. He was going to die. Hiroshi threw down his arm swiftly. The pipe rammed through her chest and broke through the floor. Blood coughed up from her mouth over his face. Her light disappeared freeing his heart in the last moment.

Hiroshi leaned over staring at Sakura as her empty eyes only seemed to become darker. Tears flowed freely without restraint. He dropped his forehead against hers unable to say any words to his departing friend.

She was dead.

His friend was dead.

The dream was reality.

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

Story time over, Yuki had a few things to ponder. He willingly listened to what Tatsuya had to say, but no matter what he heard would not change how things were. Hiroshi was not magically going to be a more reasonable person. His friends would not suddenly go back to who he knew him to be before. Things were still set to how they were.

Yuki stood up and walked over to the edge of the roof. He stared out at the city with nothing particular in mind. “So you expect me to forgive him after just listening to this story?”

“Yuki?!” Tatsuya exclaimed with surprise. He jumped up to hurry over to Yuki’s side. Grabbing him by the shoulder, he turned Yuki to look at him. “This is Hiroshi, we’re talking about. He’s a good man in a terrible situation.”

“And you think I didn’t already figure out most of that on my own? I can put the pieces together well enough on my own to guess what happened. I’m still not going to help you kill people. Paint all the melodrama you want, I’m not giving you justification for your actions.”

Clinching his free hand up, he hoped that Yuki would have seen reason. The urge to punch him was very strong. He tried to be reasonable with Yuki. “You weren’t here! You haven’t had to live through what we have! What gives you the right to think you’re above all of us, when you haven’t had to experience what we have!”

“I can tell you I wouldn’t allow myself to kill my friend!”

Tatsuya grabbed up Yuki and lifted him off the ground by his shirt. “Damn you, Yuki!” He had lost his patience with him as well.

Seiji immediately leapt into the scene taking hold of Tatsuya’s arm to try to free Yuki. “What the hell’s wrong with you two?! I thought you guys were friends!”

Staring unfazed by it all, Yuki looked down at Tatsuya. It was the same sort of eyes he saw in Hiroshi. In fact, the look he saw was worse than the ones in Hiroshi. “My friends are dead. That much is clear.”

“Damnit, Yuki! You can’t just come back whenever you want and think you can look down on us! You left us to clean up after your mess!”

“Then you should have left it alone for me to clean up.”

Grinding his teeth together, he wanted to throttle Yuki for his blind naivety. The situation was impossible for them. He did not understand, but it was becoming clear to him that Yuki was never going to understand. They were too far apart now. “They were killing people! We did what we had to save lives!”

The look in Yuki’s eyes suddenly changed. In that moment, he forced Tatsuya’s hands free from himself with just a light push from his hand. He then started to float away. “No amount of justifications will change my mind. You’ve taken the wrong path and I will fix it all.”

“He hates it! Every time he has to kill someone he stays by them until the end! He’s not the man you think!” It was a late ditch effort. He knew it was fruitless. Yuki was already convinced of their guilt. Even though he did nothing to act on it. He stay looked at them as though he was the judge. He was so different from who he remembered. ‘You’re right, Hiroshi. Yuki we knew was a lie…’

Chapter 317 – Parting Ways

Forced to play catch up, Seiji hesitated a little looking at the aftermath. He was with Yuki in the agreement that they should not be killing anyone. However, he did not know any of them. They were not his friends. They were Yuki’s friends and he knew how much he valued his friends. ‘Yuki? Are you fine with this? They are in the wrong, but they’re still your friends. Are you just going to abandon them?’ Hesitation or not, he did not want to stay with them anymore than Yuki did. He did not like the feeling he got from the place.

He jumped over the rooftops to catch up to Yuki. Using the air time in his jumps in hovering next to Yuki, as he floated away, he stayed within talking distance. “You sure about this? They’re assholes, but they are people you know.”

“Yes, I’m more certain now. They can’t be allowed to settle this. It’ll just mean more bloodshed. I’ll put an end to this fighting the right way.”

“But isn’t that place set up like a fortress or something the way you described?”

“No fortress is impregnable, even more so when you have someone like me.”

Seiji stared at Yuki getting an odd feeling from him. ‘It’s good to be confident, but there’s something different about him. Is all of this getting to him? I need to keep an eye on him.’ The whole situation was a damnable one. He could swear until the sun rose and it would not make him feel any better. ‘This is worse than Atlantis and I didn’t think that was possible…’

Tatsuya walked back into Phoibe’s shop. He blood still boiled from talking with Yuki. ‘Damn, I’m supposed to be cool headed one now. I got all caught up in it.’ Sighing, he drew in a deep breath trying to calm himself. His heart stood pounded strongly even through his exercises. ‘I need to be the support that Hiroshi requires…it’s the only way he can still be himself.’

Passing by the three women keeping the shop manned, he walked inside their temporary housing. He looked around for Hiroshi. It only took him a few moments to find him going around helping with the survivors. Tatsuya remained silent, while he helped an injured man with this bandages.

“Well?” he asked Tatsuya, not blind to his presence or intention.

“I failed.”

Hiroshi paused for a moment and then finished putting the sling on. “How does that feel, sir?”

“Much better, thank you very much.”

“I’m glad to hear it. The doctor, she’ll be around to look at you when she can. Things are pretty hectic right now, so just wait.”

“I understand. There are others still worse.”

“Yes…there are…” Hiroshi stood up and began to walk away. He moved with the expectation that Tatsuya followed. “He’s too naïve. Did he leave?”

“He doesn’t know what the real world is like.”

Hiroshi grabbed out a couple of crates of bottled water. He started moving around the room handing them out to those in need. “It’s very true. The bigger problem is going to be how he reacts when he’s unable to use his naivety to hide behind. With his powers, we could be in for an even worse situation.”

“The last attack wiped out a significant amount of our fighting force. Very few actually survived.”

Take a moment to think, Hiroshi leaned against one of the support pillars that ran throughout the chamber. “Yeah, they killed a lot of us, but mostly just those that could fight. They seemed to know exactly who to kill. I wonder if this is something that they’ve been planning this whole time.”

“A little hard to believe all of their random attacks have been planning for this.”

“Regardless, the problem is Yuki is headed straight into the lion’s den.”

“And we don’t really have the manpower to stop him or Takako anymore.”

“We never had the numbers to take the fight straight to her as much as we would have liked.” Haruo and Yori suddenly approached the two of them. Hiroshi looked over his shoulder at them. They likely heard their conversation, not that they were trying to keep it private. “What do you two want?”

Yuki finally came to a stop. The school had returned in view of him, though still a far distance away. They were in dangerous territory now. Any further, they risked getting into an unwanted fight. It was not something that they could go into without a plan.

“So what are you thinking?” Seiji asked, since he already knew that Yuki had something cooked up. He got that confirmed from before Tatsuya interrupted them.

He crouched down on the roof behind a broken air conditioner unit. “It’s a twofold plan. The first is neutralizing Takako’s powers.”

“Do you know what they are?”

“I have a pretty good guess based on what I’ve learned.” A ripple came out from his feet, but did not seem to change anything. Then a strange shaped machine appeared nearby him. It almost looked like a microwave, but with more circular shapes that twisted around on the top and sides. Inside the machine, through the clear panel, something took shape. “This should negate her powers.” He pointed to what was being created.

Seiji leaned in trying to figure out what was being cooked up. “What are her powers?”

“Mind control.”


“Are you sure? That seems a little simple.”

“Based on what I’ve heard on what happens to people, it makes the most sense. It’s a pretty classic setup in stories, using mind control or brainwashing to turn friends against friends.”

He had to play Saki’s role, since she was not present. The answer made Seiji’s face go a little flat that he would bring up literature as his reasoning. “Yuki, this isn’t a book. This is reality.”

“Yes, but remember I also gave everyone their powers. So whatever people got came from my mind. It makes the most sense.”

“You’re gambling a lot on your belief that this is following one of your stories.”

Yuki looked up at him with a little bit of surprise. “You’re being oddly hesitant for someone that doesn’t like to think about things.”

“When everyone else going in has been turned, right? We’re going to save Saki and the others, not to become one of them.”

“And if I didn’t feel certain about this I wouldn’t be doing it.”

Staring at Yuki, Seiji read the resolve baked into his eyes. That was all he needed to see. He could believe in what he saw in his friend. “That’s good enough for me.” Accepting their fate, Yuki handed him the completed creation. He recalled when he made something back in the inn that they are stayed at for Yori and Fumiko. “This is what?”

It had thin wires around it with a plastic material that stretched out flat. On the ends and segments there were small disc like metal caps. The whole thing did not hold a shape well, but had a clear design intent.

“It’s what will keep you protected from Takako. If she’s got mind control powers, then this will keep your mind completely isolated. It doesn’t matter if she does it through mental telepathy, optical invasion or touch, whatever the method your mind is safe from invasion.”

He stared down at the device getting a better sense of what he was supposed to do with it. “So we put it on our head? Won’t that mean it can be damaged or removed?”

“Anything I make is going to be able to be damaged. I don’t know what sort of effect nanotechnology or medicine would have on our bodies. So this is the safest way, even if there is a risk. Just don’t go headbutting things.”

“Right…” Seiji looked down at it a little cautiously. It looked uncomfortable, not to mention stand out. “You sure this is the right way to go?”

Yuki affixed it to his head quickly and then just shuffled around his hair. He nodded back to Seiji to do as him. “Of course, just rough up your hair a little and it should blend in. I made it with some optic stealth features so it takes on the color of its surroundings. So as long as no one goes running their hand through your hair they’ll never know it’s there.”

He really could only just put it on. While he was doing that, he focused on the other part of the matter. “So what’s the rest of the plan? We storm the school?”

A holographic model materialized between them. The soft blue lights lit up their bodies. “Sort of, it’s a little bit more complicated than that. But still pretty straightforward.”

Plans discussed and agreed upon, Seiji was ready for it. They still had a little time before making their move. Yuki needed to make some final arrangements with the plan. So Seiji went off to scout around to make sure there was nothing to surprise the. At least that is what he told Yuki. Once he was out of sight, he changed his course.

He landed on the ground after leaping through the city. It was a strange way of navigating, but something about it seemed natural. Not to mention, it kept most of the trouble from following him. He did not have any time for the strange monsters that liked to come out during the night.

“Sorry, Yuki.” He walked into the building and barged straight in. “Where the hell is the one called Hiroshi?” Seiji was in no mood to search. Time was short and he needed to take care of things quickly.

His shouting dragged out the one he sought along with Haruo and Yori. Everyone that Seiji wanted was present. Hiroshi looked suspiciously at Seiji. “What do you want here? I thought you left with Yuki.”

“I’m here to help you.”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

“What did you say?” Hiroshi questioned, with natural amounts of skepticism. Neither of them had any intention of helping them or siding with them. Seiji seemed to Hiroshi just as naïve as Yuki. So he did not know what to think of him standing before.

Looking around, Seiji found that they were starting to surround him. His first impression on them was not exactly the best. So it did not really surprise him too much. Though he could not start a fight with them when he needed them. “I said I’m going to help you.”

“And why would you do that? You’re with Yuki.”

“Because I believe – or rather I want to believe that we’re all still Yuki’s friends.” He saw Yori and Haruo in back of the group pushed aside by those with greater suspicions, possibly even grudges. “Yuki’s right now planning on taking everything upon himself because he believes it’s his responsibility. That’s a complicated matter that is just going to be an argument that none of us wins.”

“What’s your point?”

‘Damn, this is harder than I expected. I figured this guy was still seeing Yuki as a friend and would just jump at the chance to help. Didn’t think he’d be so stubborn…’ A moment to mash his teeth together gave him the pause he needed to gather up his words. “Yuki’s got a plan to deal with everyone with his powers. But this is still an entire school we’re talking about. That’s more than he or I can handle by ourselves.”

Crossing his arms, Hiroshi shifted his weight a little sizing up Seiji. He only had a brief introduction to him before and it was mostly through fists. So he had not really had the chance to really learn his character. “And so you want our help? Doing what? All of them are already a lost cause.”

“Yuki doesn’t believe so.”

“Yuki’s naïve.”

“He knows what Takako’s doing everyone!”

Everyone suddenly became very still. Seiji had their attention completely for the first time. He made a bold claim. Something none of them figured out. Because they did not understand what happened, killing was their only option.

Hiroshi had to admit his curiosity in what Yuki had figured out that they were unable to do. He kept his stoic and unmoving stance to hold his strong position. “And what did Yuki figure out?”

“She is using mind control on everyone. That is her power, through it is able to make everyone do whatever she wants.”

‘That seems a little obvious, I don’t know why none of us considered it. Though we still couldn’t get to Takako to stop it anyway.’ He raised his eyebrow to Seiji as his only physical reaction to the statement. “Even if that is the case, she still controls an army. Take her out, what about the army?”

This was the part that got a little precarious when Yuki explained it to Seiji. “Yuki believes there are two possible outcomes. One, when she is shutdown, everyone is freed from her control immediately. Or two, she is unable to make new converts, but her army still is brainwashed.”

“And what does he plan to do about option two?”

“Fix them all with his powers.”

The thought of having an end and even a solution to returning peace had everyone around Hiroshi becoming visibly excited. Hiroshi almost did not recognize the looks on their faces. He saw hope in their eyes for the first time since this all began. Something that he had been unable to provide them. All he could give was darkness. Yet Yuki showed up and brought hope. ‘Even if it is all a lie or fails, this is the strongest that they’ve every looked. This might be our only chance. Yuki…’ Hiroshi focused back on Seiji. “What are you offering then, you said you wanted to help. It wasn’t just this information was it?”

“No, I know what Yuki’s plans are and how we’re going to deal with Takako.” He pulled off the shielding device that Yuki made for him. Baring it in his hand, he showed what else he offered. “And I have a way to combat her.”

Chapter 318 – Stolen Plans

“This is an interesting device,” remarked Phoibe, leaning over Seiji’s shoulder. She had followed him in, though kept largely an observer position.

“Can you recreate it?” Hiroshi asked.

“I’m a little insult you even have to that’s a question.”

“Then get it done. Yuki’s going to make his move soon, right?”

“Yeah, he’s doing some last prep work. I don’t have long before I need to be back.”

Hiroshi opened the crowd allowing Seiji in. ‘This still isn’t ideal, but I have to take the chance to finally end things. In the end, that’s all that really matters…maybe he can find a different way…one that I didn’t think was possible anymore.’

The explanation went quickly as the plan was not too complex. Some found it a surprisingly bold move, but also a reckless one as well. However, Seiji convinced them that Yuki was confident in his ability to pull it off.

As Seiji walked out, Phoibe handed over the device again. “You finish it?”

“Of course! There’ll be enough for those that are fighting.”

“Good.” He looked back at Hiroshi. Yori and Haruo stood next to him. Everyone was on different sides. It happened so quickly. He hoped things turned out for the better at the end of this. “I’ll be going now.”

Once Seiji disappeared from the hall, Hiroshi started barking out orders for everyone to get ready. The liveliness of the room quickly changed. Everyone looked ready to fight again. All they had to look forward to before was possibly finding someone that they knew trying to kill them. It was not that that changed with what they were doing. In fact, it was even more likely that they would run into someone that they knew at the school. But it was the hope that they could be changed. The killing could finally end.

Yori followed up behind Hiroshi and Tatsuya waiting until they were alone. It was just him and Haruo now. “Have you thought about what happens after?”

“What do you mean?” Hiroshi questioned, a little caught up in the positivity of everyone else. He tried to keep stoic, but it was difficult.

“I mean, those people have been killing their friends against their will. Once freed from that, what do you think will happen to them?”

“If Yuki’s correct, they aren’t guilty.”

“Ignoring whether people will actually believe that, I’m not even talking about that.”

The grave tone Yori brought sobered Hiroshi up quickly. He did not know what he was trying to get at. “What’s your point?”

“I’m talking about the psychological damage done. Not just from being control, but when their conscious catching up with what they’ve done. Even if everything works out, which seems unlikely, what happens to the people permanently tormented with their deeds? No matter how things play out, this isn’t going to be a smooth or happy ending for anyone.”

Tatsuya saw Hiroshi go quiet as the weight of it all finally hit him. He stepped in for him. “We’ll figure something out then. Right now, we’re not even there yet.”

“I’m just making sure you stay realistic, because if we do succeed. That is likely the first thing we’ll have to deal with once Takako is stopped. They won’t give you time to think.”

“We’ll come up with something!” insisted Tatsuya, trying to push Yori off. Hiroshi did not need anymore problems stacked up on top of him. Especially ones that he planned to shoulder himself. ‘You’re too much like Yuki at times, man… One thing at time though…’ Turning things around, Tatsuya needed to know something as well. “While we’re talking, why are you still here? You’re part of Yuki’s group.”

It had finally come up. Yori knew that they would eventually ask. Fortunately, it was a simple answer. “I’m only here for my sister. I was never truly part of Yuki’s circle.”

“Yuki can get you to her just as much as we can.”

“But I feel like you understand reality better than him. He’s far too idealistic.”

“And what about him?” He pointed over to Haruo, who had had met only in passing before in school. The guy was a complete mystery to him before and even now. Especially now, since he never knew what he was thinking. He just stood around.

Yori shrugged his shoulders having just as much of an answer on Haruo as they did. And Haruo was clearly not given them any answers. He succeeded better than anyone at being stoic to point of being an extreme. “He just is. I don’t really have an answer on him, though I don’t expect that you’ll get one out of him that’ll help you either. Just trust that he’s on our side.”

“I see.” Tatsuya slapped Hiroshi on the back to knock him out of his funk. He did not want him stunned for too long on the deeper meanings of what their battle would mean. It was not something any of them needed to think about. “We’ve got people willing to fight and a plan of our own now. It’s time to get moving. Right, man?”

There was a little hesitation in Hiroshi’s voice, but he nodded in agreement. “Right. We need to get moving soon.” It was more burdens. Ones that had to be taken.

Seiji landed back on the rooftop where Nerine stood. She kept her distance maintaining her position as a neutral observer. “Did he notice?”

“No. He’s been busy with his plan. Do you think all of that was necessary?”

He crossed his arms and walked out towards the edge of the roof. In the distance, he could see the movement of Yuki. It was the one part of the plan that Yuki never explained to him. He just said it was important for the fight. “Having more allies is better for something like this. As exciting as I would find it fighting hundreds of people, I need to get to Saki and the others. If they can be a distraction then that’ll make it easier for us to save Saki, Yumi and Fumiko.”

Nerine stared at Seiji’s back looking a little surprised to hear such words from him. “You’re just using them?”

“You make it sound like I’m evil or something.”

“I didn’t—“

“It’s alright. I went behind Yuki’s back on this. So I’m not exactly the best friend he thinks I am. I left him alone for a year because I was afraid. Despite everything that happened, Saki’s a better friend for Yuki than I ever have been. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I get her back for him.”

She had trouble saying anything more to him. ‘There’s a lot I still don’t know about him. He’s an idiot and yet not. He cares deeply for his friends, but is hurting himself because of them. He’s so much of a contradiction…’ Nerine walked up next to Seiji. Even though he was hurt and she could see it, there was nothing she could do for him. She barely knew him. There was nothing she could offer him. “You care. Even if you need to get a little dirty, you care. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Working to keep his status, Seiji hardened his features a little. “Such things never really bothered me. I have a code and I don’t kill, but I’ve never really thought about being much of a good person. I just like fighting and testing out my strength.” He saw Yuki starting to move back towards them. It was the rendezvous point for them. “Yuki’s a lot of things. But right now how he is, he is a light that needs to be protected. It’s started to go dim once more. I’m blind on a lot of things and don’t care about anything else. That makes me pretty selfish, the one selfless thing I have is what I do for him.”

“You don’t have to justify yourself to me.”

Seiji glanced over to her a little confused by what she was meaning. He did not really have much time left with Yuki almost on them. “I’m surprisingly chatty around you.” It was an odd note to leave off on, but he jumped away to meet Yuki in the middle. They were already spotted.

“How’d things look around the neighborhood?” Yuki landed on the roof and stepped a little towards the center to meet Seiji.

He had done a little scouting as promised to him. There was thankfully enough time to get both in after he returned from Hiroshi. “There’s a few groups out, but I’m guessing most of them are still hold up in the school.”

“I wonder what they’re planning now?” Glancing over his shoulder, Yuki stared back at the school. It stood in silence. A strange atmosphere came from it. They all felt the ominous aura. Their destination was an unsettling place and they had only looked at it from a distance.

Seiji did not know how long he could keep up his façade for Yuki. He pushed towards moving. “You ready now?”

“Yeah, that’s excited to fight?”

“No, I just want to rescue our friends. They’ve been in there for too long.”

“Yes, I know. We’ll save them all.” Yuki started to float both of them up leaving Nerine behind. The plan had them making an aerial assault on the school. It was the easiest way to break into the school and the least amount of students or other people that they would have to confront along the way. He would be able to drill straight down to Takako’s room without dealing with anyone else.

The one thing that he did not have control over was his field. It was larger than he would want for their assault, but he could not control it that well. Their approach would be spotted quickly, but he still had the first move. Lowering down overhead, he waited for his field to collide with the school roof. He moved closer and closer.

“Yuki?”

They move closer already clearly in range of his field and nothing changed. His field did not do anything. Nothing changed. Something was wrong. “They’re blocking my power somehow.”

“What?! They knew we were coming?”

To be continued…“What did you say?” Hiroshi questioned, with natural amounts of skepticism. Neither of them had any intention of helping them or siding with them. Seiji seemed to Hiroshi just as naïve as Yuki. So he did not know what to think of him standing before.

Looking around, Seiji found that they were starting to surround him. His first impression on them was not exactly the best. So it did not really surprise him too much. Though he could not start a fight with them when he needed them. “I said I’m going to help you.”

“And why would you do that? You’re with Yuki.”

“Because I believe – or rather I want to believe that we’re all still Yuki’s friends.” He saw Yori and Haruo in back of the group pushed aside by those with greater suspicions, possibly even grudges. “Yuki’s right now planning on taking everything upon himself because he believes it’s his responsibility. That’s a complicated matter that is just going to be an argument that none of us wins.”

“What’s your point?”

‘Damn, this is harder than I expected. I figured this guy was still seeing Yuki as a friend and would just jump at the chance to help. Didn’t think he’d be so stubborn…’ A moment to mash his teeth together gave him the pause he needed to gather up his words. “Yuki’s got a plan to deal with everyone with his powers. But this is still an entire school we’re talking about. That’s more than he or I can handle by ourselves.”

Crossing his arms, Hiroshi shifted his weight a little sizing up Seiji. He only had a brief introduction to him before and it was mostly through fists. So he had not really had the chance to really learn his character. “And so you want our help? Doing what? All of them are already a lost cause.”

“Yuki doesn’t believe so.”

“Yuki’s naïve.”

“He knows what Takako’s doing everyone!”

Everyone suddenly became very still. Seiji had their attention completely for the first time. He made a bold claim. Something none of them figured out. Because they did not understand what happened, killing was their only option.

Hiroshi had to admit his curiosity in what Yuki had figured out that they were unable to do. He kept his stoic and unmoving stance to hold his strong position. “And what did Yuki figure out?”

“She is using mind control on everyone. That is her power, through it is able to make everyone do whatever she wants.”

‘That seems a little obvious, I don’t know why none of us considered it. Though we still couldn’t get to Takako to stop it anyway.’ He raised his eyebrow to Seiji as his only physical reaction to the statement. “Even if that is the case, she still controls an army. Take her out, what about the army?”

This was the part that got a little precarious when Yuki explained it to Seiji. “Yuki believes there are two possible outcomes. One, when she is shutdown, everyone is freed from her control immediately. Or two, she is unable to make new converts, but her army still is brainwashed.”

“And what does he plan to do about option two?”

“Fix them all with his powers.”

The thought of having an end and even a solution to returning peace had everyone around Hiroshi becoming visibly excited. Hiroshi almost did not recognize the looks on their faces. He saw hope in their eyes for the first time since this all began. Something that he had been unable to provide them. All he could give was darkness. Yet Yuki showed up and brought hope. ‘Even if it is all a lie or fails, this is the strongest that they’ve every looked. This might be our only chance. Yuki…’ Hiroshi focused back on Seiji. “What are you offering then, you said you wanted to help. It wasn’t just this information was it?”

“No, I know what Yuki’s plans are and how we’re going to deal with Takako.” He pulled off the shielding device that Yuki made for him. Baring it in his hand, he showed what else he offered. “And I have a way to combat her.”

Chapter 318 – Stolen Plans

“This is an interesting device,” remarked Phoibe, leaning over Seiji’s shoulder. She had followed him in, though kept largely an observer position.

“Can you recreate it?” Hiroshi asked.

“I’m a little insult you even have to that’s a question.”

“Then get it done. Yuki’s going to make his move soon, right?”

“Yeah, he’s doing some last prep work. I don’t have long before I need to be back.”

Hiroshi opened the crowd allowing Seiji in. ‘This still isn’t ideal, but I have to take the chance to finally end things. In the end, that’s all that really matters…maybe he can find a different way…one that I didn’t think was possible anymore.’

The explanation went quickly as the plan was not too complex. Some found it a surprisingly bold move, but also a reckless one as well. However, Seiji convinced them that Yuki was confident in his ability to pull it off.

As Seiji walked out, Phoibe handed over the device again. “You finish it?”

“Of course! There’ll be enough for those that are fighting.”

“Good.” He looked back at Hiroshi. Yori and Haruo stood next to him. Everyone was on different sides. It happened so quickly. He hoped things turned out for the better at the end of this. “I’ll be going now.”

Once Seiji disappeared from the hall, Hiroshi started barking out orders for everyone to get ready. The liveliness of the room quickly changed. Everyone looked ready to fight again. All they had to look forward to before was possibly finding someone that they knew trying to kill them. It was not that that changed with what they were doing. In fact, it was even more likely that they would run into someone that they knew at the school. But it was the hope that they could be changed. The killing could finally end.

Yori followed up behind Hiroshi and Tatsuya waiting until they were alone. It was just him and Haruo now. “Have you thought about what happens after?”

“What do you mean?” Hiroshi questioned, a little caught up in the positivity of everyone else. He tried to keep stoic, but it was difficult.

“I mean, those people have been killing their friends against their will. Once freed from that, what do you think will happen to them?”

“If Yuki’s correct, they aren’t guilty.”

“Ignoring whether people will actually believe that, I’m not even talking about that.”

The grave tone Yori brought sobered Hiroshi up quickly. He did not know what he was trying to get at. “What’s your point?”

“I’m talking about the psychological damage done. Not just from being control, but when their conscious catching up with what they’ve done. Even if everything works out, which seems unlikely, what happens to the people permanently tormented with their deeds? No matter how things play out, this isn’t going to be a smooth or happy ending for anyone.”

Tatsuya saw Hiroshi go quiet as the weight of it all finally hit him. He stepped in for him. “We’ll figure something out then. Right now, we’re not even there yet.”

“I’m just making sure you stay realistic, because if we do succeed. That is likely the first thing we’ll have to deal with once Takako is stopped. They won’t give you time to think.”

“We’ll come up with something!” insisted Tatsuya, trying to push Yori off. Hiroshi did not need anymore problems stacked up on top of him. Especially ones that he planned to shoulder himself. ‘You’re too much like Yuki at times, man… One thing at time though…’ Turning things around, Tatsuya needed to know something as well. “While we’re talking, why are you still here? You’re part of Yuki’s group.”

It had finally come up. Yori knew that they would eventually ask. Fortunately, it was a simple answer. “I’m only here for my sister. I was never truly part of Yuki’s circle.”

“Yuki can get you to her just as much as we can.”

“But I feel like you understand reality better than him. He’s far too idealistic.”

“And what about him?” He pointed over to Haruo, who had had met only in passing before in school. The guy was a complete mystery to him before and even now. Especially now, since he never knew what he was thinking. He just stood around.

Yori shrugged his shoulders having just as much of an answer on Haruo as they did. And Haruo was clearly not given them any answers. He succeeded better than anyone at being stoic to point of being an extreme. “He just is. I don’t really have an answer on him, though I don’t expect that you’ll get one out of him that’ll help you either. Just trust that he’s on our side.”

“I see.” Tatsuya slapped Hiroshi on the back to knock him out of his funk. He did not want him stunned for too long on the deeper meanings of what their battle would mean. It was not something any of them needed to think about. “We’ve got people willing to fight and a plan of our own now. It’s time to get moving. Right, man?”

There was a little hesitation in Hiroshi’s voice, but he nodded in agreement. “Right. We need to get moving soon.” It was more burdens. Ones that had to be taken.

Seiji landed back on the rooftop where Nerine stood. She kept her distance maintaining her position as a neutral observer. “Did he notice?”

“No. He’s been busy with his plan. Do you think all of that was necessary?”

He crossed his arms and walked out towards the edge of the roof. In the distance, he could see the movement of Yuki. It was the one part of the plan that Yuki never explained to him. He just said it was important for the fight. “Having more allies is better for something like this. As exciting as I would find it fighting hundreds of people, I need to get to Saki and the others. If they can be a distraction then that’ll make it easier for us to save Saki, Yumi and Fumiko.”

Nerine stared at Seiji’s back looking a little surprised to hear such words from him. “You’re just using them?”

“You make it sound like I’m evil or something.”

“I didn’t—“

“It’s alright. I went behind Yuki’s back on this. So I’m not exactly the best friend he thinks I am. I left him alone for a year because I was afraid. Despite everything that happened, Saki’s a better friend for Yuki than I ever have been. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I get her back for him.”

She had trouble saying anything more to him. ‘There’s a lot I still don’t know about him. He’s an idiot and yet not. He cares deeply for his friends, but is hurting himself because of them. He’s so much of a contradiction…’ Nerine walked up next to Seiji. Even though he was hurt and she could see it, there was nothing she could do for him. She barely knew him. There was nothing she could offer him. “You care. Even if you need to get a little dirty, you care. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Working to keep his status, Seiji hardened his features a little. “Such things never really bothered me. I have a code and I don’t kill, but I’ve never really thought about being much of a good person. I just like fighting and testing out my strength.” He saw Yuki starting to move back towards them. It was the rendezvous point for them. “Yuki’s a lot of things. But right now how he is, he is a light that needs to be protected. It’s started to go dim once more. I’m blind on a lot of things and don’t care about anything else. That makes me pretty selfish, the one selfless thing I have is what I do for him.”

“You don’t have to justify yourself to me.”

Seiji glanced over to her a little confused by what she was meaning. He did not really have much time left with Yuki almost on them. “I’m surprisingly chatty around you.” It was an odd note to leave off on, but he jumped away to meet Yuki in the middle. They were already spotted.

“How’d things look around the neighborhood?” Yuki landed on the roof and stepped a little towards the center to meet Seiji.

He had done a little scouting as promised to him. There was thankfully enough time to get both in after he returned from Hiroshi. “There’s a few groups out, but I’m guessing most of them are still hold up in the school.”

“I wonder what they’re planning now?” Glancing over his shoulder, Yuki stared back at the school. It stood in silence. A strange atmosphere came from it. They all felt the ominous aura. Their destination was an unsettling place and they had only looked at it from a distance.

Seiji did not know how long he could keep up his façade for Yuki. He pushed towards moving. “You ready now?”

“Yeah, that’s excited to fight?”

“No, I just want to rescue our friends. They’ve been in there for too long.”

“Yes, I know. We’ll save them all.” Yuki started to float both of them up leaving Nerine behind. The plan had them making an aerial assault on the school. It was the easiest way to break into the school and the least amount of students or other people that they would have to confront along the way. He would be able to drill straight down to Takako’s room without dealing with anyone else.

The one thing that he did not have control over was his field. It was larger than he would want for their assault, but he could not control it that well. Their approach would be spotted quickly, but he still had the first move. Lowering down overhead, he waited for his field to collide with the school roof. He moved closer and closer.

“Yuki?”

They move closer already clearly in range of his field and nothing changed. His field did not do anything. Nothing changed. Something was wrong. “They’re blocking my power somehow.”

“What?! They knew we were coming?”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

The one thing that he did not have control over was his field. It was larger than he would want for their assault, but he could not control it that well. Their approach would be spotted quickly, but he still had the first move. Lowering down overhead, he waited for his field to collide with the school roof. He moved closer and closer.

“Yuki?”

They move closer already clearly in range of his field and nothing changed. His field did not do anything. Nothing changed. Something was wrong. “They’re blocking my power somehow.”

“What?! They knew we were coming?” Seiji looked over at Yuki hoping to get something from his face on answers. It seemed impossible. However, Yuki did not look as shocked as he expected for their plans being ruined. “How is this possible, Yuki? Nothing can stop your powers other than another like you right?”

“That’s not completely accurate.” Yuki continued to watch the school for any sort of signs. Even with any further clues, he already had a pretty good idea what was going on. It was a little concerning for him.

Moving over to Yuki, he did not want to left in the dark any longer. Things were not right. “What can stop your powers?”

“A specifically crafted array. There is method of negating our powers influence on an object by carving a very specific pattern. I don’t know why that is, but it works. I’ve seen in used by Ayumi before.”

“Do you know how to do it?”


“Not completely. I never asked Ayumi about it and my time in Atlantis was spent on other matters. So I never really took the time.”

“But it’s only Atlanteans that know how to do it, right?”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember, Saki, Yumi and Fumiko are with them now. I don’t know what all they learned from their time in Atlantis, but it’s possible one of them learned it.”

“So you’re saying they foresaw your plan and took this counter measure. What do we do now? A sneak attack like you’re planning is out of the question.”

“That’s right.” Yuki looked around at the neighborhood suddenly. He then retrieved a device from within his cloths. It was a simple rectangular box with a series of ten buttons on it. “I expected something like this might happen.”

Seiji noticed the thing that Yuki had retrieved and remembered there was some time that he did not know what Yuki had been up to. ‘Right, he said he had some prep work to do. So this is it? How did he know this sort of thing was going to happen?’ It relieved him a little to see that Yuki still have backups to count on. If he was out of options, Seiji was determined to just make a direct assault ignoring any sort of further planning. Foresight be damned, he did not plan to let this be the end. “What are you doing?”

“Since our friends are with Takako, I expected that either Takako or our friends would figure that I’d come to rescue them. It’s only natural and being that I’m a very large risk to them, I figured that they think about ways to counter me. Though I’ll admit that I didn’t think that they knew how to draw those arrays. This will be a little flashier than I want, but it’ll work all the same.”

His finger ran over the buttons finding the one he needed. Pressing it quickly, Yuki looked in the direction he expected something to happen. However, it was not what he was planned on. An explosion lit up the area. Yuki’s face narrowed a little watching what he set up go up in flames. “They foresaw even that…” He quickly pressed the next series of buttons only for them all to blow up as well. “Damn…they’ve got themselves a really good tactician.”

Nothing that happened really made much sense to Seiji. It was clear all of their plans were falling apart. But he did not know what Yuki had planned on. All he saw were random explosions that signaled Yuki’s plans failing. “What’s going on Yuki?”

“Seems someone knew where I’d place my lasers I had planted around to take out the walls. Either Takako is smarter than we realized or someone she’s got knows how to plan a battle.”

When Yuki mentioned that he immediately had a single thought in his mind. He remembered the fight with Simonides. “Yumi!”

Glancing back at Seiji, Yuki did not know what he was going on about. Afterwards, he looked down towards the roof thinking that he might have seen her. There was nothing. “What about Yumi?”


“Right, you weren’t there. But you remember us telling about the fight with Simonides right, before he came to our side?”

“Yeah, I recall it vaguely. Yumi was able to do something strange and ended up turning things around for you.”

“Yes, she had everything planned out and accounted for all of us. This could be her.”

Rubbing his chin, Yuki thought about the new information. Everything had been thrown off. Any planning he might be able to make seemed to be countered easily. ‘This isn’t good. I hesitate to make any further plans if this really is Yumi and she’s as skilled as it seems. Anything I do going to be accounted for.’ He looked over at Seiji as his last option. ‘Even whatever he has come up is probably accounted for, he has very simple and straightforward thoughts when it comes to combat. It’ll be easy to account for Seiji. But we’re out of options. This is just going to have get nasty…I hate what will come, but this looks like the only way.’

Yuki started to lower themselves. The course had been committed. Turning back was not an option. “Seiji, you’re up. Just know, that we’re going to be fighting almost immediately upon crashing in.”

A grin came across his face. This was the sort of plan he liked. “I already expected that. We’ll teach Takako that she can’t take our friends from us!” Seiji dropped down from the invisible platform that supported them in the air. He started to fall with gravity immediately grabbing hold of him. Wind blew around him as he sped towards the roof.

His arm wound up with his fist all ready. A slight glow came from the twin scars along his arm. Seiji put everything he had into the punch as he crashed into the roof. Massive clouds of dust and debris flew everywhere as a shockwave ripped through the air from his impact. Shards of the wall from the school rained down over the entire school grounds.

Attack on their school began.

Chapter 319 – Shaken Assault

Small clumps of earth rained down around everyone. They were all closely gathered up in a tight formation. So the minor quake that they felt left them all a little unnerved about their situation. Sure they trusted her, but it did not erase the worry that she miscalculated something. None of them were structural engineers, especially not her. So who knew what mistakes might have been made.

“Looks like Yuki’s started his attack,” Tatsuya remarked as a guess to what the quake was about.

Yori agreed with the assessment, but still found it a little worry some. “That’s a far bigger attack than the claims Tsuji made for Hayashi’s plan.”

“Something must have come up.”

“We should hurry,” ordered Hiroshi to Phoibe next to him. They were all gathered around her as she tunneled them through the earth. It seemed like a terrible plan that she came up with. Yet, they all agreed any sort of frontal attack would just slow them down and create unnecessary fighting. It was also so absurd that no one would even consider it a line of attack. So it gave them the chance of surprise.

The middle-aged Atlantean woman kept a smile on her face as though she was disregarding Hiroshi demanding toning. She kept the same pace moving forward using her powers. The control she had removed a good chunk of earth from existing while still providing them a place to walk. “We’ll get there. The young man will be making a good distraction for you to make your attack.”

“But we can’t arrive too late either.”

“You won’t.”

Hiroshi ground his teeth having to still wait. They were getting close he knew if they felt the attack. But it was still too far away. He needed to end this nightmare. This was going to be their only chance. Such thoughts kept circling around in his mind.

The direction Phoibe moved with her tunnel finally shifted. They started their ascent. Everyone in the party held tight. Tension spread through their ranks knowing that they would finally be going into battle soon. People that they might know could be who they faced. It was an unknown for them.

Worse none of them knew what to expect on the inside of the school. It was a complete unknown. No one that entered ever left. So they had no intel on it other than the layout. Though not all of them had actually been to the school before. Not everyone was students of their high school or even students.

Turning around to get a look at all of them. Hiroshi took a moment to gather himself. “We’re about to begin our assault on Takako’s base. There is a lot of things that we don’t know. Don’t think about the uncertainties, only focus on the goal. We’re here to end Takako’s tyranny and save who we can. Don’t take risks, I want you all to come out of this alive! The advance team will be handling Takako, just keep the rest busy while we do the fighting! This battle is for the future peace of everyone!”

“Getting better at those motivational speeches,” Phoibe teased softly for only Hiroshi. He only gave her an indignant expression before turning his head up towards the ceiling of their tunnel. It would not be long before it was open space once more. “We’re just about there.”

‘I’ll find you, Yumi.’ Most of the matters did not concern Yori. He ignored a lot of what they did. His goals only aligned with them, but he had no interest in their war. Yumi was the only thing on his mind. Though he worried what he might have to face to reach her. Fighting still felt foreign for him.

The first breaks of outside light broke through. It did not take long for the hole to expand and start to reach them. Phoibe had surprisingly perfect positioning getting them inside the school and in the hall. It was just wide enough for everyone as they raised up.

However, flames suddenly erupted from all sides of them. None of them could react to escape before it was upon them. Fire washed over the entire group swallowing them up whole. Excess flames burst out from the center cracking and melting the wood of the school. Unable to be held back, the glass shattered in an explosion of fire as it leapt out of the school.

Even up on the third floor, the flames were felt as a rumble through the tiles. The sound of the explosion carried as a follow up.

Yuki looked down in the direction. Broken pieces of the roof strewn about the floor broke up the formerly clean pattern of the tile. “Something is happening on the first floor.”

‘So they’ve made their move,’ Seiji thought, but tried to keep them away from his face. He did not want to reveal his hand in all of it to Yuki. Thankfully, there was a more pressing problem before them. “We need to focus on the immediate issue, Yuki.”

“Yes, this is expected, but still not something that I want to have to face. Katsumi and Kaede…”

“So you know them? They have your school uniforms, but black.”

“Yeah, they apparently did a slight redesign on them. It’s not a very subtle meaning.” Like everyone else in Japan, he knew that they had to have received powers from him. Unfortunately, he did not know them very well and only really spent the one time with them going to Phoibe’s shop. It gave him no clue to what sort of abilities that they might have. “They are Yumi’s closest friends. They mean a lot to her.”

“Well I’m not any happier about fighting them than you are, but this is a necessary thing.”

“I know. We’ll just knock them unconscious. That’ll be the fastest way.”

“Wouldn’t Yumi have already planned for you trying that?”

“I won’t know until I try. We need to avoid fighting as much as possible.”

The flames surrounding Hiroshi’s group suddenly blew outward. Enough force was sent out to snuff out the flames. A black tinted barrier came down from around the group. Yori sighed a little as he barely managed to get a defense field up in time to protect them all.

Tatsuya patted him on the shoulder roughly in a congratulatory manner. “So you’ve got some other things at your disposal.”

“Yes, I don’t plan on being useless this time around.”

“Good, we need that sort of determination.”

Glowing red magic circles formed in the air as the next round of attacks looked to be starting. Yori shifted to the front in anticipation of the attack. He knew what to expect and who it was now. “Fumiko…” However, to his surprise, Haruo walked out in front of all them. “What are you doing?”

Pulling on Yori to get him back in the group, Tatsuya directed everyone towards Hiroshi. Hiroshi already started to order everyone out into different attacking groups. “I think he’s telling us he’ll handle her. The two fought back at the base, so he’s probably got a score to settle with her.”

Yori looked back at Haruo getting the silent feeling that he was confirming Tatsuya assumption. ‘That doesn’t really seem like him. He’s not emotionally invested in any of this…so why?’

Battle lines already began to be drawn within the school. Yuki and Seiji raced against time with Hiroshi to reach Takako. The fate of everyone hung in uncertainty.

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

Since Fumiko blocked the nearest way up to the second floor, Hiroshi led them back towards the center of the school. However, they quickly began to run into more problems. Students started to spill out from the classrooms. Their numbers kept increasing.

It brought them all to a halt while Hiroshi considered his options. ‘This a lot more than I was thinking, but I keep forgetting that Takako managed to capture most of the student body the day the school opened. I could use my power, but then what about Takako…’

Before he had any more of a chance, Miyako leapt out in front of the group. The sheer force of behind her fist seemed to create streams of wind sailing off her. “You won’t stop us here!” Her voice screamed through hall pulling out the attention of most of the students.

A percussive wave ripped through the hall sending cracks through the paint as Miyako’s fist cracked against the face of one of the students. The first year boy went tumbled back gathering up several others with his fall while others blew outward from the blast. She wasted no time diving in deeper widening out the gap in their numbers.

The first strike made by Miyako managed to shatter the ranks of Takako’s army. However, they were already started to spill back in. All of the extra people that Hiroshi brought with him jumped to Miyako’s aid moving without orders. They seemed to be feeling the same thing as her. No thoughts were needed to know what they needed to do.

Miyako crushed an incoming fireball in her hand and decked the would-be attacker. She then turned back towards Hiroshi and the others, Yori and Tatsuya still inactive. “Get going, Commander! We’ll hold them off here!”

“But—“

“You’ve got somewhere else you need to be! Let us handle this!”

“Miyako…”

Tatsuya dropped a hand on Hiroshi’s shoulder to support her decision. “Come on, man. She’s right. We need to get to Takako and put an end to this. It is something only we can do.”

Reluctantly, he nodded to his best friend. “Yeah…” Hiroshi rubbed his hands together trying to focus on the task. It was hard not to think about what he carried in his hands. The value of that which was dropped in them. ‘This is the course, the plan… I can’t hesitate because things aren’t perfect… This is going to be messy and dirty…an ugly mission, but I must see it through!’

Hiroshi slapped his legs out of their stiffness and went straight into a sprint. All around him he saw people he worked closely with and even rescued fighting against familiar faces that he saw all the time in school. It was no different a sight than he had seen in the past, yet it seem to pull on him even more than usual. “Make sure you all come back alive! That’s my only order to you as your Commander!”

“Yes, sir!”

Chapter 320 – Un-united Fronts

Another rumble came up to the third floor. It made the lights flicker almost threatened to throw the whole place into darkness. Yuki had to support himself against the wall so not stumble. He looked down again, away from his staring contest with Yumi’s two friends. “What the hell is going on down there? We’re up here.” Yuki looked across the way to one of the classrooms. Outside in the darkness of the night, he could only faintly see some of the city. “Hiroshi didn’t make a move did he?!”

‘Damn, Yuki’s too observant. Even though he doesn’t know, he still makes the leap…’ Seiji kept his attention forward at Kaede and Katsumi. It was under the guise of him needing to be sure that they did not try anything. Rather, he did it because he could not look Yuki in the eyes. He knew Yuki would tell something was wrong pretty quickly. ‘I just need to keep him focus on the immediate problem… Which we really do need to handle… These distractions aren’t helping…’

No one knew what they were thinking. Staring at them as long as they did revealed nothing. Seiji was used to being able to feel a little of the intent from his opponent. Yet they just seemed dead almost. Sure they had the looks, but there was nothing really behind them. It was just emotions that seemed to be fake and put on display. Seiji did not understand it at all. They were weird.

The worst of them was Katsumi, who seemed dead and alive at the same time. She did not look like Kaede at all. It seemed like she was being burned alive and yet unable to actually die. So she was just left caught in an endless cycle of misery. It was very unsettling to see.

Seiji tightened up his hands to focus on the more important matter. He could not let himself be unnerved by them. “Yuki, we need to focus on this problem first. We can think about what’s happening below later.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Seiji. There’s something to be said for that straightforward attitude of yours.”

“Hey! This isn’t about me!”

“I know.”

“So you going to try it?”

“Yeah, we need to figure out if we can avoid these fights. I don’t see how they could have disabled my power on people, but if they can, this will become significantly more complicated.”

“We never said this was going to be easy.”

“I know, just want to avoid what we can.”

“You’re stalling, Yuki.”

“Right…” Yuki stared at the back of Seiji. His presence seemed larger than he remembered it being. ‘Seiji’s being surprisingly pushy. I wonder what’s bothering him… Probably the whole situation, this isn’t the sort of fight he likes… I’m honestly surprised he’s willing to do all of this, but I guess he’s probably just looking at Takako and not thinking about the innocents mixed up in all of this… It’s the only way…’

Hardening up his resolve, Yuki focused on what he needed to do in the in the moment. Dealing with Kaede and Katsumi however was not going to be simple. They both charged at them when it became clear that Yuki was attempting to do something.

It was not something that he could react to. They did not move nearly as fast as Saki, but they were still swift. But he had Seiji with him. He saw them long before Yuki’s brain reacted to it. All three clashed just in front of Yuki. The force of their collision pushed Yuki back a little. “Seiji?!”

“Don’t stop, Yuki! I’ll keep them off you while you work!” He suddenly felt small cuts across his arm that blocked Kaede. “Damn…get back!” Pushing both girls back, he charged after them to plow them into the class through the wall.

The attack threw Yuki off his concentration. He had to refocus to get his field setup the way he needed. It would have normally been simple, but he had Seiji mixed in. So he had to craft it very specifically for only Kaede and Katsumi.

It finished up just as Seiji flew out of the classroom and back into the hallway. “I’m done! They should be affected!” He looked over towards where Kaede and Katsumi were last. Part of the wall still remained preventing him from getting a clear view.

A few seconds passed before they got their answer on if it was successful. Both girls walked through the opening completely unfazed by whatever Yuki put into motion. Seiji stood up and glanced over at Yuki for a judge of his reaction. It was about what he expected. A mix of shock and stoic confusion carved through the corners of his mouth. ‘Damn, this ain’t good…’

Seiji wiped away the blood from his lips. “What was it that was supposed to happen to them? You were trying to make them unconscious right?”

“They should be asleep, but that’s clearly not the case… They have somehow managed to prevent my powers from affecting them…”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know. As far as I know, it shouldn’t be possible at all. I gave it a possibility, but not a very high one.”

“Well, that possibility is reality now!”

“Yeah, I know… This is not the way I want things to go… We have to fight.”

Back down the first floor, the rest of Hiroshi’s group had made it to the stairwell finally. All the fighting behind them pushed them on to keep fighting. They did not seem to run into any further troubles. But it seemed to easy. Neither Yumi nor Saki had shown themselves yet. They kept expecting to see them on the first floor, but that did not happen.

They started pushing to the second floor. “I guess Saki’s waiting on us up here,” Tatsuya commented on what everyone was already thinking. None of them know what either of them planning or even Takako. Even if Yuki’s theory turned out to be completely accurate, it still did not explain anything for what it was happening to begin with.

It seemed that their next opponent knew where they were coming. “Just the three of you, as I expected.” At the top of the stairs, like a gatekeeper, stood a familiar and strange person. Ignoring the black uniform and other alteration, in the face and body, it seemed to be Yumi. Yet, unlike Yumi, she had bright red hair almost as if it was on fire and an equally bright pair of green eyes. What’s more, it did not look like a dye or something to fake the change. It was completely natural.

Yori jumped out in front of everyone before the others could even react. “Yumi?! Is that you?” She did not look like the sister he remembered. Appearance and hair notwithstanding, she had a far harsher appearance in her face. Like she could kill with just a look of her eyes. His sister had no such severe expression. “Who are you?!”

“It would seem you’ve figured some of it out already.”

“You’re that other person inside my sister!”

“I’m not who you’re referring to, but you’re not wrong either.”

“Make sense!”

“At present, it’s not within my purpose to explain myself. Since I knew that the forces that we had available would not be enough to stop you all, I’m here. Sometimes it is necessary for the General to fight at the frontlines as well. Such is the way of war.”

“What are you talking about?!” Yori’s whole body was shaking. He had trouble holding in his emotions. Every time he opened his mouth the words screamed out of his throat ripping through his insides. His sister was in his reach, but outside of it.

Yumi stared at Yori unfazed by his emotional state. “To put it clearly, if you want to move past me then you must defeat me. It’s that simple.”

“You’re saying I must fight my own sister!”

Tatsuya walked up the couple steps to Yori. “Hey man, one of us can do this—“

“If that’s what you want, fine!” Yori charged at Yumi with a black field coming up around him. It quickly charged into a sphere firing point blank at her. Smoke exploded out in all directions completely blinding everyone. All around the building shook violently from the explosion.

“Damn!” yelled Tatsuya, unable to see anyone in all the mess. “I didn’t think he had it in him…”

“The strength of siblings…”

Wind suddenly started to blow through the hall and stairwell clearing out the smoke. Quickly, he was able to locate Hiroshi, but the siblings were not in front of him as they had been. In fact, there was a lot that was not in front of him anymore. “Hell…there’s not going to be much left of the school at this point…” Only pieces of the stairs remained and the floor. Most appeared to have been destroyed in Yori’s blast.

Also tore away was the classroom that stood at the top of the stairs. All the walls were gone along with the floor and ceiling. Even parts of the first and third floors were not present. As the cloud fully cleared out, the night of the city could be seen beyond.

Yori had blasted both of them out of the school into the courtyard below. However, Yumi seemed to know it was coming and used her barrier to block all of the blast from harming her. Only the environment was damaged. “…Yumi…”

Whatever it was that stood in control of Yumi stared across the ruined field at Yori. White particles hovered around her looking ready to act. “Would appear you’ve begun to hone your power that you awoke recently. This still is within my forecast.”

“I don’t give a damn about your forecast! I want my sister back! And if I have to do so by force I will! None of you are stopping me until Yumi is normal again!”

“That may be an impossibility for you.”

Black blades materialized in Yori’s hands. He did not think about possibilities or logic when it came to Yumi. She was his sister and his family. That was all that matter. “I will make it happen! I am her brother!”

To be continued…

[Andromeda]

“If that’s what you want, fine!” Yori charged at Yumi with a black field coming up around him. It quickly charged into a sphere firing point blank at her. Smoke exploded out in all directions completely blinding everyone. All around the building shook violently from the explosion.

“Damn!” yelled Tatsuya, unable to see anyone in all the mess. “I didn’t think he had it in him…”

“The strength of siblings…”

Wind suddenly started to blow through the hall and stairwell clearing out the smoke. Quickly, he was able to locate Hiroshi, but the siblings were not in front of him as they had been. In fact, there was a lot that was not in front of him anymore. “Hell…there’s not going to be much left of the school at this point…” Only pieces of the stairs remained and the floor. Most appeared to have been destroyed in Yori’s blast.

Also tore away was the classroom that stood at the top of the stairs. All the walls were gone along with the floor and ceiling. Even parts of the first and third floors were not present. As the cloud fully cleared out, the night of the city could be seen beyond.

Closer to Yuki and Seiji, the blast from Yori rocked the entire school. While still on opposite sides of the building, it was impossible to ignore what was happening. The school felt like a giant picked it up and shook it about trying to peek inside the windows.

Seiji fared better than Yuki with the explosion. Yuki fell up against one of the doors to a classroom and dropped inside it. He rubbed the back of his head feeling what would likely end up turning into a bump in a few hours. “Damn, what the hell is going on? Someone’s bringing down the whole school!” Yuki started to get back to his feet mumbling in annoyance. “I just put this place back together not too long ago!”

However, in his distraction, Yuki did not notice until he fully stood up to take stock of his situation the classroom. The sight froze him in an instant. It was like walked into scene from one of his anime that went for a dark and edgy feel by showing something gritty and horror filled. Yet, on TV he would be spared from it with some well placed black bars or darkened areas to hide everything. He was not so fortunate. Any hope for censorship was gone, he saw everything even though he did not want to see it.

And then the smell hit him like one of Seiji’s punches. His knees buckled on the overload. Throwing up seemed like the only possible reaction, but even doing so seemed impossible. The paralysis was complete. Even his body could not react. He had to experience it all without any hope of relief.

With the violent shaking coming to a rest, Seiji managed to pull away from Kaede and Katsumi to see that Yuki disappeared. “Yuki?! Where are you?” He jumped back to where he last saw Yuki. ‘Did they grab him?’ Worry started to build up inside as he could not locate Yuki. “Yuki! Answer me!”

A faint voice crawled into Yuki’s ear. He did not recognize it immediately, but it soon became clear. Seiji called for him. His body unlocked and reacted quickly. ‘I can’t let him…’ It was now no longer about what he saw, he had to be sure that Seiji did not stumble inside. “I’m coming out!”

“Where are you?!”

“Just stay…there! I’m not harmed.” It was difficult for him actually to say that to Seiji. Yuki never thought just a sight could harm one’s sanity so thoroughly. He never wanted to see it again, but knew that he would carry that with him for forever. It could not be forgotten.

He poked out of the threshold of the door to see where Seiji was as well as Yumi’s friends. They were still in a threatening situation. Unfortunately, he did not expect Seiji to just pop out in front of him like a ghost. Either it was his swift step like Saki or he really did not notice him until it was too late, but Yuki grabbed onto the threshold as he fell back. Only his desire to protect Seiji from the horrors behind him kept his hand firmly in place. “Seiji?! Damn…don’t jump me like!”

“What happened to you? You disappeared!”

The visible worry carved into his brow was the first thing that Yuki noticed. “I got knocked off my feet from that explosion. Remember, I’m not built like you guys. I don’t have the reflexes like you.”

“Right, it’s hard to remember with everything you do.”

“Yeah, but that’s not the most important thing right now. Something is going on in the school. Whatever that was, it was enough to make the whole place jump. We need to handle Yumi’s friends quickly. I don’t like the feeling I’m getting here.”

‘Hiroshi and the others aren’t being very subtle. I guess when I leaked our plans to them I didn’t really think about the fact that if we’re all attacking the same place we’re probably going to run into each other. I can’t undo things now…’ Parts of the ruined wall from across the hall snapped as a foot pressed down. The sound turned Seiji immediately back on alert to their opponents. “You two…”

Chapter 321 – Clashing Swords

Back at the blast site, Hiroshi and Tatsuya were shimmying their way through what remained of the hall. All around them the school crumbled a little more. Sounds of fighting around the school rose and fell to their own beat, yet the effects of their fighting reverberated through the building. It made the suddenly frail seeming building quake and wilt.

Rumblings reached one of those peaks just as Tatsuya lowered a foot. The floor already only had a few centimeters left and his weight and cracks surrounding broke the rest of the barely there integrity. He quickly gripped the wall putting his fingers through just to get support back. “Damnit! Why couldn’t he have done things in a more subtle way!”

Hiroshi played the more silent partner to Tatsuya chatty act. He focused the situation buried in all the weight that he bore. “Just keep moving. We’re almost to the other side.”

“Yeah I know. And another thing, why the hell didn’t Yuki give us something more useful like flying. You know in those anime they always can fly. It’d make this a lot easier.”

“I don’t think any of us know what’s going on in his mind. I wonder if we ever did.”

Tatsuya fell silent after Hiroshi last remark. He remembered how surprised they were in learning how different Yuki was from what they knew at school. Learning about his past as a delinquent came as a bit of a shock. They always knew that Yuki had a history before high school, everyone did. But it was impossible to have guessed how much history he had before them. And then things only got worse with Takako. It was hard at times not to just dump all of the blame. It would be freeing. Though as they all came to the realization, it did not change their situation. Not that everyone was always so understanding. Others wanted a target for their troubles and Takako made it very easy at the moment, but they kept a secret from everyone. The truth was not something the world was ready for, especially Yuki.

Landing on what looked like solid ground, Tatsuya came up beside Hiroshi. The weight of his body made the floor crack a little. It was only a few steps away from the drop off to the first floor. Sure they would not have been hurt by the fall, but it would just slow them down. Not to mention, their minds still treated such heights like they were normal humans. It left them with the gnawing feeling in the back of their head that it would really hurt falling down. Convincing their brains it was not a problem was not so simple. Fear was a powerful emotion.

But thankfully, the floor held for them. “Safe…not that I can say the same for the school…”

“Or ourselves…”

“Hey man, no need for pessimism again. We’re going to—“

“No, look ahead.”

Tatsuya turned back to where Hiroshi looked to know what he concerned him so much. “Oh crap…not what I need right now.”

It was the last of the unaccounted for of their friends, Saki. Wearing the black school uniform like everyone else, though she had her track spats underneath her skirt as well. She stared down at them more of a wall than the those that surrounded them.

He quickly remembered how their fight went last time. It might have seemed like he held his own against Saki, but it was not an easy fight. The whole thing was a stalling tactic at the time too. He really did not have time for her. But someone had to deal with her.

However before either of them could act, a sudden blast from the ceiling created yet another hole in the school. Behind Saki debris rained down almost as though she used it to prevent anyone from reaching Takako.

A voice from above made it clear that it was not Saki’s doing. “What the hell?! What the hell, Seiji! Stop putting holes in my school! I know you don’t go here so you don’t have any attachment to the building, but can you think about what you’re doing?”

“You know I’m not interested in thinking.”

“Yes, you’re the weird mix of blind idiot and conveniently deep.”

“Enough about me, down the hole! I’ll handle them.”

“But it’s two of them! You can’t take them both on by yourself!”

“And I said you need to get to Takako! Stop this!”

Hiroshi and Tatsuya glanced up sweating a little at the two arguing while in the middle of a very tense situation. Judging from the look on Saki’s face, she did not seem to be amused or care about their lack of awareness. She already began to turn around planning on dealing with the threat.

“Yuki!” Hiroshi shouted, though his voice did not through to the two.

“You got your powers up right?”

“Something basic to deal with general situations, yeah.”

“Good! Then get going!” Seiji lifted Yuki up by his collar. Aiming him over the large hole in the floor he created, Seiji waved to him as his only send off before dropping him.

“Damn you, Seiji!”

Turning back towards, Kaede and Katsumi, Seiji mounted his determination to stand for Yuki. “It’s now just the three of us. Yuki’s got business elsewhere, he doesn’t need to be held up fighting Yumi’s friends. That’s not something he needs on his shoulders too.”

Down on the second floor, Yuki landed on his back, though cushioned by the fall with the help of his mist. He still felt some of the impact through him, but it was more like falling really far on to a mattress. It did not knock the wind out of him, but made him groan. “Seiji…I can’t believe him dumping me like that.” Yuki began to stand up trying to get his bearings after the rough treatment. “I thought we were going to fight together…”

“Look out!”

“Hu—“ Yuki could not finish his question before a kick came around at his head. If his mist had not been up still protecting him it would have instantly killed him. Instead, it pulled him around and threw him back at Hiroshi and Tatsuya. His body sped through the hall like a bullet completely blowing out the far back side of the school finishing off Yori’s fine work.

Hiroshi and Tatsuya both turned to look where Yuki disappeared into the night. Neither knew if he was alive after taking such a kick. Unfortunately, they did not really have much time to think about it. Saki made her stance clear. She held the line keeping anyone from advancing past her.

They stared a little awkwardly at each other not completely sure what they were going to do. But Saki made their decision for them. She saw them both as threats, naturally. So she turned her attention to them. Her body disappeared and then popped up in between them. Spinning out, she took them both out with a kick to Tatsuya’s stomach and punch to Hiroshi’s face.

Being more resilient than Yuki, they only flew back into the placed classrooms. Tatsuya saw it coming a little better than Hiroshi. He made quickly in mid-air and land on top of a desk, though his force did cause it to slide backwards. When it came to a stop he heard a strange moan pop up from behind him. The thought that he might be surrounded by more of Takako’s army put him on edge.

Such a thought immediately left his mind once he took in the classroom. “What…the hell?!” A strange odor wafted through the air. He quickly tried to shut his eyes, but he still heard the sounds of all of the different voices coming from around him. ‘What did Takako do to them…to make them do THAT?!’ He really started to believe in Yuki’s theory that it was mind control. It was the only way to explain something so impossible.

Tatsuya jumped off the desk wanting to return to the hallway immediately. He could not take all of the sounds coming from the room any longer. Saki stood waiting for him, likely knowing that it was not enough to take him down. She already had another fist ready for him. But he slipped around it with very little effort.

Saki glared over at him, her left arm still fully extended. “Tatsuya…you won’t escape me this time.”

“I’m going to have to be a little more serious this time around if I’m expecting to live through this.” He pulled up his shirt a little after it had been pulled down from all of the rough treatment. Their fight resumed.

To be continued…