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

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

  Chapter 52 – Calm Before the Storm

  Once Ayumi finished healing him, Yuki pulled himself back up to his feet. While his body had been pletely repaired there was a hollow feeling inside him that he could not shake. It made his head hang, keeping a dark shadow over his eyes. He couldn't look at Ayumi. “…Ayumi…” There hadn't been a single word spokeween them since she started to heal him. Even now he was finding it difficult to speak.

  All that his mind could do was recall the st minutes of what he had thought to be his life. They repyed endlessly for him, making his body remember the ripping pain. His hand id upon his chest feeling the oist cloth soaked in his blood. ‘…I should’ve died…how many times now?’ He painfully ched his torn shirt with his hand. ‘…I wasn’t able to do anything…’

  A bck void began to surround him, removing the world around him. Any awarehat he might have had still was quickly snuffed out as he retreated into his mind. ‘…I wasn’t able to beat him…’ Like an old camera reel, the battle repyed for him. ‘…he was just toying with me…’ The g of bdes pounded out of the imagery making his eyes twit reflex. He shut his eyes. ‘…I was useless…’ Yuki turned his head away thinking that he could escape it, while the video tio py ceaselessly.

  “Please save me, Ayumi!” Yuki’s voice from the video said.

  Yuki's eyes quickly snapped open in shock at hearing the words. He was forced to look towards the image to see how pathetic he looked. ‘…I ’t do anything…without her…’ The words felt like massive weights stacked on him making it impossible to move. His eyes glued dully staring at the memories. It crushed him. He could not resist. There was nth left in his body. The world seemed to be getting further away from him. Yuki was no longer willing to chase after it.

  A sudden loud noise boomed around the void crag everywhere on the surfabsp; It beed to Yuki. The boom occurred again even more violently than before, but this time he could feel something faint on the edge. Dull ripples became sharp and stabbing. The feeling had turo pain spread across him unfocused and clearing away the darkness. “…what’s going on…”

  “I see you’re back…”

  Yuki couldn't see what was going on, but had a strange feeling about him. When his eyes came into focus he found himself in Ayumi’s house. It took him another moment to realize that he was in her room and lying on her bed. He quickly pulled himself up off of her pillow. ‘…why am I in Ayumi’s room?! And on her bed?!’ Yuki ected eyes with Ayumi findio be surprisingly close to him, leaning in from the edge of bed at him. “Ayumi! I-I…Why am…I?”

  Ayumi pulled back, rexing into a tall stah her arms crossed. “I brought you back here.”

  “By yourself?” Yuki couldn't help but look her up and down, having trouble imagining her carrying him through the street.

  She gave him a quiod, not ging expressions, as usual. “I couldn’t leave you in the middle of the street with blood c your clothes.”

  “My clothes!” Yuki looked down at his clothes, finally what ged. He had been so focused on his ge of envirohat he hadn’t takeime to notice them. One look had taken much longer for him as he was locked in gear uo reabsp; He looked bnkly over at her. “Got nothing in yellow?”

  “Laundry day isn’t until the end of the week.”

  “And your powers couldn’t make something?”

  “Between c for you at school and proteg, I’m running a little short. Besides, it's not worth the trouble.”

  Yuki turned a little in the bed showing off different sides of the white sundress Ayumi put him in. “Do I at least make it look good?”

  “I see you’re fully recovered.”

  His hand absentmindedly rubbed his chest. “I fot to thank you for saving me.” Distant echoes of the fight pou the back of his mind. Their weight hung over him, waiting.

  Ayumi stood up and walked over to the other side of the room. Leaning against the wall, she stared at him. A sigh escaped her lips. Nothing ged. “I’m just doing my job. You should focus on yourself.”

  Images of Demosthenes haunted him. The spear rammed through his chest before disappearing like a phantom. “Even when I put in the effort, I get my butt kicked.”

  “It’s not about the effort. That fight didn’t ge anything. You’re looking at the wrong lesson.”

  “What lesson? I didn’t run like you said I do.”

  “You’re missing the point. It’s not a matter of standing yround.”

  “Then what is it?!”

  “You’re afraid to fight.”

  ‘How could she?’ Yuki felt the weight on him grow even more intehan before. He couldn't hold his head up. Every part of him was shaking untrolbly. Escape was all he could think about, but none of his muscles would even budge on him. It took everything that Yuki had to summon up breath to speak. He struggled and grasped at the tendrils of memories that threateo tie him down. In a low voice with certainty he spoke, “You’re wrong. It’s not fear.”

  There was a narrowed gaze from Ayumi reading into his words and body to uand the meaning. She missed something, but the words didn’t lie. “What is holding you back then?”

  The threshold had been broached releasing a taste of memories held behind a wall in his heart. It all came in a fsh that shook his body making him sweat. An undesired past crept in his chest. He had to stop quickly before he was lost in the sea. Yuki ched his fists fighting to keep himself. ‘I ’t say it…but she’s not going to leave me alone…’ There ush that came from his body allowing him to look at Ayumi once more. “…I…I made a promise…”

  ‘…a promise? Why’s this so important to him that he’d rather die than break?’ Ayumi stepped towards Yuki giving him her full attention. Curiosity wao know what it was that shackled him and prevented him doing what he needed. “A promise? What was this promise?”

  “I ’t…I ’t say anymore!”

  “I o know, Yuki! If you don’t face this now—“

  “I said no!” Yuki pushed himself away and rushed past Ayumi pnning to leave the room. However before he was able to reach the door the entire room turo ice, sealing him. “Thought you didn’t have enough…” He rotated back looking at Ayumi’s back.

  She pulled around to look at him determio pry the secret from him. “You’re not leaving until you answer my question.”

  ‘…this isn’t right…’ Yuki checked the door out of the er of his eyes, seeing the thick ice that e. He had no ce of breaking it. “This doesn’t you, Ayumi!”

  “We’re partners, Yuki. I o uand!”

  Each word backed further into a er. There was o run or escape from her room. “It was…” A dark room suddenly appeared in his mind briefly holding a foreboding feeling of familiarity. The beep of medical equipment crept into the fringes. “…It was…I-I promised that…” There was a bed in the room with the curtains drawn. “…I wouldn’t hurt anyone again…” Resting in the bed was a covered figure darkened by the ck of light in the room.

  Yuki had spoken so broken and softly through his choking that Ayumi couldn't uand him. “What?”

  The fshes that he received felt like they were each pg weights on his chest making it impossible to breathe. He knew what he was seeing, but he couldn't admit it. He would not admit it. “I said I promised I wouldn’t fight anymore!” Ayumi held her words simply staring at him leaving Yuki to the pressures he held. “So now you know…” Yuki began to move back to the door with the expectation that he would be let go.

  “Who?” The distaween them seemed to be growing in spite of it not physically ging.

  The question came as a strange one for Yuki as he didn’t know the text. All he did was tilt his head back towards her. “Huh?”

  “Who?” Her question was repeated with the same tone as before to Yuki.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Your promise. Who did you make it to?”

  The room returo his sight once more, making him blink. A frail hand was reag out from the bed towards him being him, calling him forward. Only the head and shoulders of the person in the bed could be seen weakly looking at him.

  ‘…Yuki…promise me…’

  Yuki jerked away from the vision snapping back to reality. He was caught staring at Ayumi bei with nothing but to answer her question. “…it was…my mother’s st wish…”

  The ice faded away from the room returning it back to how it had been. Ayumi allowed Yuki to leave the room. He was qui reag the door, wanting to be freed from the atmosphere of the house that exhumed memories. The house’s door en and Yuki half way down the sidewalk before Ayumi stood ohreshold. “You’ll end up dead holding on to that promise.”

  Yuki stopped in his step, but refused to face her. “I thought it was your job to protect me so I save your people.”

  “They’re your people too. You don’t belong here.”

  “I don’t even know where they are. They aren’t my people.” He started to walk away out to the street, but was stopped once more by Ayumi's voibsp; It hadn’t been the words that halted him; it was the weakhat trailed through her tone. Everything froze for him. He felt emotion ing from them like he was not familiar with Ayumi.

  “How you say that to them?!” Ayumi shouted back at him, nearly choking on her words looking like she was on the verge of tears. “They’re suffering! They need you!”

  He had bee pelled to turn to face Ayumi. When he saw her face it left him stunned in shock to actually see her in such a state. There was never a moment that he had seen since he met her that he could feel such passion aion in her voibsp; “A-Ayumi…I…” Yuki had to pause just to collect his words, not certain what he should say. “I don’t know…my family, I ’t leave them.”

  Ayumi came running down the sidewalk falling into him looking into his eyes. The pained look of reje reflected in her eyes that stared at him. “How you say that?! You belong with us, we’re your family!”

  Yuki didn't know what to do any more with how hysterical she was ag in front of him. It was so out of character for Ayumi that Yuki was left paralyzed and started to have empathy for her. “But Ayumi…they—“

  “They aren’t your real family!” Ayumi shouted in desperation, no longer able to keep fr into Yuki’s clothes.

  Hearing Ayumi say that would normally have upset him, but he could not be angry with her seeing her now. He could only hold on to her in silence feeling so empty at that moment as though he was guilty of being ung aless.

  Across the neighborhood between the light of the streetmps a darkened figure walked away. When they had finally stepped into the light it could be seen as Demosthenes. He casually left the neighborhood not looking babsp; “…Eudokia… This could be more difficult than I thought…”