Regret, guilt, fear, he had lost t how many times they appeared in just the span of a week. It felt like a never ending torrent of ivity desigo crush him under heel. Like he was merely god’s py thing. He was nonist from his stories that would go punch said god in the fabsp; Super powers or not, the truth remaihat he was just a scared kid in a world he couldn’t prehend anymore.

  Life ah were just cepts that heroes gave speeches about. Death was something that he cheered for when the vilin got what was ing to them. Cried when a hero fell before their time. Smiled at the beauty of life painted on a two page spread that he would talk about for the week. All stories, all fi and none of it real.

  His own mortality felt real, but someone else. It was different. People that were supposed to be his enemies he couldn’t even find the sorrow for even as his stomach twisted aed everything. But not like this, an i fading before him. That beautiful life, a painting torn to shreds.

  “…is…she…safe…” Fumiko coughed deeply, spilling blood from her lips. It snapped Yuki out of his fears for the moment drawing him towards her.

  Yuki leaned close to her trying to uand what she was saying. “Do you mean Ayumi?”

  “…the little…girl…”

  His eyes widened when he heard her w about the safety of the little girl. He tightened his fist that rested against the ground feeling the shaking pain in his chest. Tears from his eyes were streaming down his cheeks untrolbly. “…Yes…she’s safe now…”

  “…good…” she said with a weak smile f on her face.

  ‘…why…she did nothing a…I have to do something! I have to save her! I ’t let this keep happening and do nothing, but cry!’ Yuki rubbed his sleeve over his eyes to get the tears out of his fad stood up. He looked down at Fumiko not sure how much time was left. ‘There’s no time to sed guess myself. I know what I want…that should be enough.’

  Yuki closed his eyes, trating on his singur wish. There was only ohing that he wanted from his pht now. Nothing else mattered to him. ‘Give me the power to save her life!’ The wind suddenly blew up around him as waves pulsed out of his feet making the grass blow away from him. All around him light began to appear from the grass a around him gathering at his hands.

  Opening his eyes, he looked down to see thin strains of energy being drawn towards his hands. He k down at Fumiko’s side not pletely sure what he had to do, but instinctively pced his hand on her wound. The strains of light flew up into the air blowing in the breeze digging into the skin and wound of Fumiko. All around the injury green light shoween Yuki’s fingers. Yuki held tightly to Fumiko as more strains grew up, attag to Fumiko slowly closing up the wound from the iil the skin was sealed up.

  Yuki pulled his hand away looking through the cut in the uniform to see that there was nothing but blood left where the wound was. He smiled in relief and fell ba his legs. Fumiko groaned and coughed as she opened her eyes. “Are you alright?”

  “Huh?” Fumiko pulled herself up looking around, no longer certain what was happening. The cold feeling of the void that she had felt was no longer surrounding her. A warmth carried through her givihe reassurahat she was still alive, trary to a minute ago. “How am… Is this heaven?”

  Yuki ughed a little, wiping away the newly f tears in his eyes. “No, you’re alive still.”

  “Alive? But the pain…the wound!” She looked down at her uniform seeing all of the blood that had soaked in her clothes and around her. It firmed for her that she had not dreamt of the injury. She remembered feeling the bde going through her a now there was no longer even a scar oomabsp; “It’s gone!”

  “Yes, I healed you.”

  “Healed? How?”

  As relief settled in, it broke the focus Yuki had. His awareness of the world around him struck back as voices of students poked in. He looked around to see they mao draw a big crowd. People fused or taking pictures. “I ’t expin here. You okay enough to move?”

  “Yes…”

  Yuki jumped up, waving his hand for an opening. “She slipped and cut herself oe! It looks worse than it is, but I’m going to take her to the iearby. Let us through!”

  “What was that strange light?”

  “Was it his phone?”

  “There’s so much blood…”

  He grabbed a hold of Fumiko’s hand and rushed through the crowd in the dire Ayumi ran off. They made it past the school and down the er between two buildings. “Not sure how much of that they bought, but without evide should just be crazy rumors.”

  “What was all that, Hayashi? And how am I still standing? I don’t even feel pain.” Her legs buckled for a moment before Yuki caught. “Ok, maybe a little lightheaded. So it’s all real…”

  “It’s plicated. I’m sorry you got involved with all of us. I tried to keep you uninvolved once I realized…”

  “Why is this all starting to sound like one of those trashy light novels?”

  His face went through several differeions, almost not sure which to pibsp; “Finally someohat thinks like I do! But, hey… I guess it sort of does. No, that doesn’t matter right now! I o go find Ayumi. You should be fully healed, so you return to school.” Yuki turo make a run only to get stopped.

  “I’m going with you!”

  “What?! You ’t, this isn’t something you handle. It’s best to just fet about all of this aurn to school. Knowing Ayumi, she’ll make you fet anyway…”

  Fumiko pulled on him, getting Yuki to look at her again. She poi her uniform, bloody and with a hole. “I ’t go back to school like this. They’ll think I came out of a horror movie!”

  “Good point…but you ’t follow me either!”

  Chapter 36 – The Little Things

  No one around her made any moves. If they were hidden in the crowd they were extremely patient. She followed the trail to the interse, cheg in subtle ways with her field. Faint snow hung above out of most people’s sight and cut off abruptly to the east. They were nearby, but moving away. It was her only clue.

  Two streets ter, she stopped at a park. ‘They’re waiting ihis’ll be less up…’ She lowered her Illusion Field briefly before rest it once more. Snow stretched out everywhere over the park, except for a rge cirear the ter. “There’s no hiding.”

  The same child as before appeared in view as though a curtain opened iy. “I’m not hiding, unlike you, Eudokia. Pying yames in a high school?” She rested the nearly meter long bde against her shoulder like it was cardboard.

  She caught the narrowed look in Ayumi’s eyes. “Oh that’s right. Yoing by Ayumi these days aren’t you? Having fun pying a Japanese school girl for that boy?”

  Ayumi stared at the girl, tinuing to be cautious of her movements. The real fight had yet to start. They had her at the disadvah their identity cealed. “I’m keeping a low profile.”

  “Making good use of your skills. But you really have fallen, breaking away…”

  Sensing the shifting tides, snow whipped around Ayumi’s body quickly. Her school uniform ged out for her battle attire. She held out her bde towards the girl. “I’m still loyal, uhe rest of you!”

  The girl smiled at Ayumi and held out their own sword. “Not taking this seriously?”

  “You aren’t being serious in the form.”

  “I guess not,” said the girl shrugging, ag like she did not have a care in the world. The girl swung the sword down from above her head ung an energy beam from the tip of the bde. Snow came up blog the attabsp; Ayumi sliced her sword through the wall of snow creating ice projectiles. The assassin swung her bde horizontally. A trail of energy traced a thick line in the air that widened quickly. All of the ice impacted on the semi-opaque wall of energy causing small waves as they were vaporized.

  Ayumi sprinted forward to close the distah the girl with her sword held babsp; The child matched Ayumi’s movements. Metal cshed together eg through the park grounds. Id energy sparked around their collision.

  ‘I’ve got to end this quickly, but…’ Ayumi summoned up her ice to go after the legs of the girl, but she pushed ba Ayumi. The child created space as Ayumi’s ice attack approached. They swung in a smooth motion, cutting off the advang ibsp; The girl jumped back a step throwing out another energy beam from the tip of the sword.

  Ayumi k down, pg her hands in the snow to reinforce a barrier. Even with the strength that she provided, it carved through the snow burning over her shoulder narrowly missing. On her back, Ayumi pressed her hands into the snow. Spikes of ice extruded out of the snow. One shot out in terattack, followed by more in sequence.

  The girl dodged and cut off the spikes, but it sooo exceed her capabilities. The ice attacks forced her back as she was cut through her dress, avoiding a wound. The tearing cloth flew through the air as she came to a safe nding. She effortlessly drew the sword through the grouing a light field from the energy that the ice impacted on. Ice assaults tinued as she could see thin pieces of the ice making it through. “Well if yetting serious…”

  Suddenly the ten year disappeared from the assault. Ayumi sed around the park looking for the real body. ‘I k was a fake still, but I couldn’t pinpoint the real body.’

  From where the girl had been was a colored mist that pulsed outward. It fell into the ground expanding to ge the grass a into a pool of liquid-like multi-colored energies. A mark of her strength, the Field covered a vast area, exceeding the park limits. The ges eliminated everything in the park. Anything on the edge of the Field was carved out like an arched cross se.

  Ayumi watched her own field disappear further than previously. It ate through more of her snow field reag dangerously close. The ge made her tighten her grip on the sword. Tension mounted in her body with the appearance of the real assassin.

  Out of the fading mist came an adult woman with blonde hair and medium blue eyes. She had a surprisingly calm ale expression on her fabsp; She had strains of hair from the side of her head twisted and pulled back to be tied behind her keeping her medium length hair in pbsp; C her entire body was a gray body suit that matched her figure pletely. She stood taller than Ayumi and the sword that the little girl had been using looked almost small in her hand now. “Ready, Eudokia?”

  A small gasp escaped Ayumi as she reized the woman. She quickly trolled her rea and narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t expect they’d send you…”

  “You did kill everyone else they sent. Naturally, the cil would turn to the ohat knows you best.”

  “I’m not the same girl you knew.”

  “No, you’ve bee quite famous sihe st time I saw you.” The woman raised up her sword to point it at Eudokia. “But e, stop hiding behind this lie. I might have taught how to do it, but it’s wasted energy.”

  Ayumi pulled herself together, narrowing her eyes and trolling her features. She raised her sword up releasing the chakram from the hilt in her off hand. “I have everything I o kill you, Dareia.”