The very air that surrounded Yuki seemed to be unsympathetic to the problem that weighed on him. It pressed against his shoulders keeping him from rising. He had no will to stand at the moment. His head just held down brushing the side of his face with his hair. The streetmp above him cast a heavy light that darkened his eyes until it just seemed like there was a void present.

  Yuki’s mind was stuck as memories of the past flooded with the present transposed over the other. ‘I almost hit…’ His eyes widened when he heard the words in his mind. ‘But she…it wasn’t like…’ Even with his eyes closed he could still clearly see the moment repying in his mind. ‘I didn’t…no…I didn’t…wasn’t me…’

  He held his hands against his head trying to snap out of the images that were t him. However, there was nothing that he could do to escape the endless looping that worked to break his sanity. His eyes darted around quickly in his attempts to lose the hold, the feeling in his body started to go numb.

  “A pathetic sight…Yuki Hayashi,” said a distant voice that rang clear through the air. A man slowly walked out of the shadows of the night into the pool of light from a streetmp. He stared across the street at the turned away Yuki. His blue eye held an almost disappointed look while his other remained darkened with a browch ed around his head.

  Chapter 51 – Bd Blue

  The words didn’t reach him, but the voice seemed to tap into the er of his mind that was still listening. He had a sudden untrolble fear pass over him that covered him i. ‘What’s going on?’ He began to be pulled away. Yuki stared at his shaking hands not uanding why he couldn't stop them. He tried to warm his own body that had run cold as ibsp; ‘This feeling is so familiar…why?’

  “e…face me, Yuki Hayashi,” said the middle aged man once more from the light.

  Everything was violently ripped away from him as Yuki heard the words spoken to him. His mi pletely bnk with fear. Now the fear was uood. ‘Another assassin already?! Ayumi just killed one! Are there that many after me?’

  Yuki slowly turned his head over his shoulder catg a look of the man that beed him forward. His eyes grew wide when he was able to firm that it was an assassin. The man wore clothes like all of the others, that Ayumi had called their military uniform. However, there was something different about this man, age notwithstanding. Yuki felt pelled to turn and stand on his feet to face the man as though deserved it.

  There was a look on the man’s face that seemed to ret innumerable experiences within each wrinkle, yet the man didn’t appear to be weighed down by age. In fact, the man looked to embrace his life with a tall and proud stanbsp; He towered over Yuki by more than a head, but it wasn't the height that made him look like he was superior.

  ‘His shirt thing is blue… I’m not sure if I like that significe.’ He tried to evaluate the man before him. ‘Why did he announce himself and just wait for me? He doesn’t even have his Field up.’ Yuki flexed his firying to keep himself from getting stiff. It helped to break the paralysis over his body. ‘Damn, my Field won’t respond… This guy doesn’t seem like the rest that have e after me. I won’t survive without it! e on work!’ The fading hope fell through his grasp, tightening the tension that strung around his ned limbs.

  “I’m gd to finally meet you.”

  Yuki raised an eye, fused by the formal feeling and somehow casual speech from the man. ‘What’s this man’s angle? Is he not that strong after all or maybe he’s not here to kill me?’ He held his lips shut, partially from fear. The part came from doubt as to what to say. The uneasy stare between them left Yuki feeling as though he was being told to answer babsp; Hesitation held his words longer drawing the awkward sile. “…Who are you?”

  “I haven’t introduced myself have I? I am Demosthenes Alexander.” The decration had a strong air of pride in it. He stepped forward keeping his eye on Yuki.

  ‘He introduced himself? This is the first assassin to greet me and give me his name. Why?’ Yuki took a half step back seeing the tall fner walking slowly towards him. “What do you want?”

  Demosthenes came to a stop out of the light, disappearing slightly in the curtain of night. “I’ve e to see what the trouble is about. Thus far I’m disappointed.” He began to walk again until he ehe light that Yuki stood under. His head tilted down looking at Yuki, but not making any further advances.

  Yuki took aep back feeling the urge to flee, but sensing that it would not make any differenbsp; “Do you always greet the person yoing to kill?”

  “Don’t give in to fear, child. It only weakens you.”

  It started to sound as though he was beiured, making his eyebrows twist in fusion. The tone didn’t approach as an insult, which was what really threw Yuki off. He almost felt like he had been advised. ‘What’s with this old man?’

  “Now e! Let’s see if you’ve truly ied the King’s power. Show me your Meso Presecho!”

  Yuki didn’t like the sudden ge that the man had. He jumped back, going on the defensive. ‘He’s not going to like it when he finds out that I’m not able to…’

  “What’s the hesitation?” The old man narrowed his eyes as he looked at Yuki reading him. After a moment he leaned back with an expression that ged to uanding. “I see…I’ll just have to force it out then!” Immediately following his words, a blue ulsed out from his feet altering the street into grass while leaving the houses alone.

  Ohe field had been summohe man no longer wore his uniform. In a medium blue, he wore a loose pair of pants and long sleeve shirt tucked in at the waist. The appearance seemed surprisingly modest when pared to some of the assassins that Yuki had seen. However, Demosthenes’ look didn't ge, serious as always. In his hands was a long spear that he held prepared to fight.

  o Yuki was a straight long sword stu the ground. He looked at it out of the er of his eye, but knew better than to take it. It would serve him no purpose to try to fight with their on. ‘e on, I really need yht now! I’m going to die without you!’ Yuki made his sed attempt t out his Field, but the same result. He forced himself to step back to keep distaween them praying that he could hold out long enough on his powers.

  The old man straightened out his back standing up fully, resting his spear in one hand at his side. “Take the sword. I don’t fight unarmed men.”

  ‘What?! Why is he doing this?’ Yuki reached out cautiously with his hand toward the hilt of the sword. It felt like it would disappear the momeempted to grasp it. ‘Is this a game to him?’ He pced his hand on the sword’s hilt, finding it to be solid. His fingers ed around the sword as his eyes stared up across at the old man trying to uand what he was thinking.

  ‘Your powers are random and unfocused. Luck has been your only stant and that’s no way to fight. So I keep the threats I at bay.’

  ‘I’m alone here…’ It had been because of him that she had been forced into so many situations. ‘It’s because of me that she had to fight that pnt guy and almost died because of me.’ The images of the fight with the pnt assassin came ba. He just wao be able to help, but she had stepped in to protect him. ‘I’ve been useless… She nearly died proteg me from the woman that attacked the school st week too… She’s been taking it all for me…’

  He felt a shaking through his body that built his hesitation. Every fiber of his body told him to run. The mere presence spoke volumes. He was out of his depths. His legs weakened under his weight as the sword became a crutch for him. All he could feel was the pounding in his head that threateo move into his heart as it beat ever slower. ‘…alone…’

  Yuki narrowed his eyes seeing the expression on the old man. He got a weird feeling from him again as though he was gently pushing him towards the sword rather than f him. ‘…what’s with him?’

  ‘You’re just running away. You’re being a child.’

  It felt like she was standio him yelling in his ear. His hand shook just out of reach of the sword listening to Ayumi’s tirade weakening his strength. ‘…running huh… …yeah maybe… …but…’ Yuki stepped forulling his hand forward to take a hold of the hilt. He quickly removed it. Across the length of the bde stood Demosthenes waiting. Determination in his eyes had resurfaced with the narrowing in his features. ‘None of that matters right now… I have someoanding before me! I have to take this on!’

  “Gd to see you’re ready.” Demosthenes returned his spear into both of his hands. The expression ged on his fabsp; It was serious like before, but now a tint in his eye said that he was focused solely on Yuki. The look said only ohing, he would strike him down. Ahe emotion wasn’t hatred er ing from him, rather almost a warmth of aowledgement as only two warriors standing before each other could experienbsp; This was the first time Yuki felt a sehat his oppo wasn’t belittling him. “Now let’s begin!”

  Yuki charged forward with his sword in hand, meeting the spear with a spark. The longer rea the spear meant that he would have trouble getting close. It felt like that was done on purpose to put him at a disadvantage. However, he tried to focus his mind as the swipe from the spear came at him. He jumped backwards a step to avoid it. The sword Yuki had was a single edge bde allowing him to use his off hand to support the back of the sword wheook a strong blow from the spear.

  ‘He’s got good reflexes.’ Demosthenes pressed the attabsp; The several strikes were even faster, knog Yuki off banbsp; Yuki quickly tur around, rotating to try t himself ihe reach of the spear. ‘…and he fast on his feet to think of a way to turn things around…’ The ter from Yuki never made it to the old man using the back of the spear to knock him away.

  He followed up by knog Yuki back with his shoulder. Yuki rolled over the grass to evade the swings from the spear. While he was on the grouried to take a swing with his sword at the man’s legs. However, the old man's agile body leapt up using the spear thrust into the ground to stop him.

  Then as he came down he brought his leg across Yuki kig him iomabsp; He tried t up his spear for a sed strike, but Yuki rolled with his swainst him. The bde of the spear dragged along the sword sparking loudly. Yuki leapt back up to his feet pulling in his sword breathing quickly to recover himself. Demosthenes returned his spear back to his side in an attack stanbsp; ‘…alright…now I know the child’s skill…’

  ‘I’m barely able to keep up with this old man… What am I going to do?’ Yuki tightened his hands around the hilt of the sword trying to keep his resolve to fight. The shaking in his muscles came not from fear, but reverberating from the strikes. While he looked like he was holding his own, each attack left him nearly dazed only held together by determination.

  The moment the air suddenly seemed to ge. Demosthenes’ spear traced through in a motion that left it appearing to skip or jump ahead. All of the movements became faster and difficult to follow. Moving faster than Yuki thought a man his age could, he was nearly behind Yuki leaving him in awe. Yuki couldn't even maurn before the spear came at him. It barely left him enough time to dodge a fatal strike.

  Blood sprayed into the air as the spear pierced through Yuki’s side scraping painfully against his ribs. Yuki stumbled backwards, l one eye in pain. He pressed his off hand to his left side into the lengthy wound. ‘He’s so fast! I couldn’t even follow him! Is this it?’

  The deadly strike came in with the blood coated spear bde shattering the sword attempting to blobsp; It had saved his life though, defleg the spear away, but digging its hungry metal into his right shoulder. Yuki could feel the blood dripping down his arm and chest soaking into his clothes. His arm started to go numb as the remaining part of the sword fell from his hand.

  Yuki didn't even know it had happened. A rippiore into his chest. The spear pierced his heart and lung dropping him to the ground quickly bleeding out. ‘What’s happening to me?’ His eyes widened, shaking from the shobsp; He could feel almost no pain, but he couldn't feel his body either lying in the grass. Yuki could not keep his eyes open any longer.

  ‘I ’t feel anything! I ’t move! This ’t be it! Over so quibsp; I didn’t stand a bsp; Momo…Jun and Ken… I ’t leave them alone! No!’ His eyes snapped open quickly as he stretched out his hand trying to push himself back up. Blood was dripping out of his mouth as he coughed. He was so numb that he wasn't certain if he was moving and simply acted on instinct.

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