Red liquid poured quickly into the ice shaft. Time disappeared from her clobsp; The pounding of her heart returned. Pressure smmed on her body. A decision had to be made. No time remained for pnning uesses.

  Eudokia braced herself against the paneling behind her. Closing her eyes, she focused tightly on her Field. Ice everywhere disappeared allowing the fluid of Dareia’s Field to rush faster towards her. Seds ticked by as it gathered around her boots burning once more. Then finally her ice Field returned driving back the enemy Field. “Only one ce…”

  Chapter 38 – Gushing Imagination

  With Dareia carving out ks of the park, ice pilrs shot up out of the utility shaft. The now red and green liquid Field shrank away with the expansion of ibsp; Standing atop the pilr, Eudokia looked down with ons in hand once more.

  Dareia turo face her now holding a halberd tinted green. Sweeping the on through the air, aire half meter k of the ice pilr disappeared instantly following the motion of the halberd. Ice remains started to fall when it stretched out into a ramp straight for Dareia.

  Sliding down like before, she hurdled towards Dareia with eveer speed. She threw the chakram in motion. attached, it stretched out adding new links as the disk on ed itself around Dareia leg. The on froze to the ground sending frost up the assassin’s leg. It wasn’t enough to pletely catch her off guard, but the sword pierced her shoulder.

  However, Dareia still had one unhindered arm and swung the halberd down. It sliced through Eudokia, erasing half her body from shoulder to hip diagonally. Blood spttered everywhere released from the tainer of her body.

  The ice Field remained.

  Realizing the trap, Dareia looked quickly around to locate the real Eudokia. The around her leg suddenly refed in a different dire. It pulled taunt f the sword along with Eudokia speeding back to the chakram. The woman couldn’t move in time as the sword pierced her heart spraying blood over the liquid Field.

  Dareia coughed and staggered on her feet. Eudokia's sword ripped up through her chest and shoulder, hastening her end. “So you did find a way…good girl…” The woman fell bato the shattering Field as ice took over everything.

  Eudokia panted colpsing to her khe battle finally over. “Goodbye…” Everythi numb for her. Her body fell over as the world went dark.

  A dull shaking woke her mind back up. The pain sc her body had disappeared with only fatigue left. “Yuki…” she whispered, opening her eyes. Her mind still pieced together the gap in time.

  “Ayumi? How do you feel?”

  “Better…” She leaned on Yuki getting back to her feet. Ayumi looked around at the state of the park. It didn’t make it unscathed this time from her fight.

  “Should you be standing?” Fumiko immediately went around to the other side helping her.

  Ayumi o her looking over at Yuki like she had something on her mind. “His power healed me. All that’s left is rest.” She sed the park for a sed check before breaking away. Limping over to the body, she stared down at Dareia.

  “This the real assassin?”

  “Yes. Yoing to o step up.”

  A nod in agreement came from Yuki. He wahings to be different. The sidelines wasn’t his idea of how to participate. ‘Perhaps things are improving, I was able to heal Fumiko without too much of a struggle…’ It gave him a little hope that Ayumi’s lessons made a difference.

  Suddenly, the dead woman disappeared, making Fumiko jump back to hide behind Yuki, which didn’t really work in practibsp; “Where’d she go?”

  “Ayumi removed the body. It’s like I said, this is all a big secret.”

  Ayumi’s expression narrowed from tired to serious. “You told her everything?”

  “Well she got stabbed, nearly killed and then healed. Not going to start trying to lie at that point.”

  “She looks really scary, Hayashi. Nothing like the girl I saved from those boys.”

  “Yeah, Ayumi’s like that. This is the real her.”

  “Right…” Fumiko looked betweewo for things to make more sehan just things being magic or some such thing. That didn’t happen. “I’m not going to pretend I uand any of this. This whole power system seems a little too ve.”

  “See Ayumi! She gets it! But I knht? It’s like really OP, but it’s got all these rules at the same time. So it be really gss on-y, but also not.”

  “Feels like something you’d give a vilin for the hero to fight against.”

  “Yea-yea-yeah!”

  “But what’s stopping you from just like erasing breathable air?”

  “Huess, though, sihe assassins use the same power. It wouldn’t wainst them, their Field would cel the effebsp; But I guess if you were overwhelming the other person maybe?”

  Ayumi sighed, not feeling up to the nerdy energy of Yuki and not being hit in stereo. She looked through half closed eyes over at Fumiko. “ you just knock him out already?”

  “Huh?” Fumiko stepped back, being fused by her request.

  “It’s alright, Fumiko. It’s normal at this point… Just hit me hard.”

  She panicked even more with Yuki being on board with it. “What?! This isn’t one of those things is it?”

  “Huh? Oh! Oh! N-no-no, it’s not like that. I’m still learning. So while I activate my power…I ’t deactivate right now. And it interferes with Ayumi’s power.”

  “Right…” Fumiko looked bad forth betweewo of them. They were both looking pletely serious and ear about what they were askio do. Ayumi was hardly in the shape to be doing much physically. “Five me…” She closed her eyes as her arm went flying hoping it would all work out.

  “It’s ok,” said Yuki as she unched her fist at his fabsp; The impact bounced his head around a little, but it went by otherwise unnoticed. Yuki looked over at Ayumi for firmation, but only got a head shake.

  Fumiko opened her eyes looking at her hand still toug Yuki’s cheek, but he looked a little disappointed. “I’m so sorry!”

  “You o hit me harder than that.” Yuki sighed a little to himself trying to think of another way of doing this seeing that she probably didn’t have enough strength to knock him out et anywhere close. But she went to hit him several more times with the same effect all while keeping her eyes closed. ‘This isn’t w…’

  He started to move thinking that he had an idea when there was suddenly a shadow over his head giving him a sinking feeling that something bad was about to happen. Yuki turned his head towards what was casting the shadow to see a school bag flying through the air at him. “No! Wait!” Yuki filed his arms at Fumik to get her to stop, but it was already in motion and smmed in his face loudly dropping him to the grass.

  “Oh no! I hit him too hard! Hayashi!” Fumiko rao him cheg to see if he was still alive, filing her arm about at Yuki’s lifeless body. “Hayashi! Stay alive! I’m so sorry!”

  Yuki coughed and began moving revealing a rge red mark on his face from where the bag hit him. “Ugh…I’m still alive, Fumiko…”

  “Oh! I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, please five me!”

  “It’s alright!” Yuki stood up slowly pushing ba Fumiko a little to let her know that he was fine. He pressed his hand against his head feeling the soreness and crag his neck feeling a little better. “What you got in that bag? Bricks?”

  “Just all of my fantasy books I read and a textbook,” she said, showing him the tents of her bag.

  “Oh awesome! I’ve heard of that one! Is it any good?”

  “Definitely, I’m re-reading it right now! I love how the main character bravely faces down the ugliness of the world. Fighting the temptations of morality and struggling with bd white binaries! And the wizard!”

  Left out of the alk, Ayumi watched them lose several minutes. ‘I thought she might be different, but it seems she’s just like him…’ Processing her owions took a bit for Ayumi. Eventually, she returned needing to hurry things along. “I’m gd you two are all friends now, but I o erase your memory now.”

  “What?!”

  Yuki was quiove his feet gettiweewo of them. He had seen this with his family. “Stop! She’s accepted what she saw. You don’t o erase her memories!”

  “Ahat sees ’t be allowed to remember. It’s for their safety as well as yours.”

  “But Saki already knows. ’t you make an exception?”

  “The more that know the worse this will get. It’s bad enough half of your css is probably suspicious or questioning their sanity each time before I wipe them.”

  “I know...”

  Fumiko watched the twue over her leaving her uain about what was happening. She stepped forward around them looking at Ayumi directly. “If you want to erase my memory, fine. But I keep this a secret. I won’t tell anyone. It’s not like anyone would believe me anyway, right?”

  “That’s not the problem. People are after him and anyone around him is at potential risk. It’ll be better this way.” A ripple came out from where she stood. Ayumi raised her hand towards Fumiko and a brief fsh of light washed over her fabsp; “You helped me meet my little sister. Afterwards, you returo your club tent with the oute.”

  A dazed Fumiko stood still until they started esc her back to the school. They left her a little ihe gate to match with her new memories. The third year walked on auto-pilot for a strettil everything came back to her and she hurried off.

  “You could have left the friends part.”

  “Like you need any more influence for your powers to ma. I saw the way you two acted.”

  He pouted a little walking back to the gate. “What about that big hole in the park?”

  “I patched it up enough, but the city will have to do the rest.”

  “Not worried about people figuring that out?”

  “We both used Laws that prevented outside observation, so it’ll just be an unexpined mystery. I don’t have the energy right now to repair everything.”

  Yuki caught a direg eye from Ayumi, which turned his head towards the track field. “…Saki…” He straightened up and tried to shake off the nervousness. A usual fake smile came over him for her.

  “Yuki… Another assassin?”

  “Yeah…”

  “You seemed to keep it private.”

  “I’m sorry, Saki.” Yuki could feel the uneasiness in his stomach from before, but it wasn't holding back his words this time. “…Saki…I’m…I…I know that you never liked Seiji…” Part of him hoped that Hiroshi smoothed things over for him. She seemed to be talking to him. “I’m sorry, Saki. I know that I must have hurt you…”

  “Yuki…just stop…” She could see the fusion in his eyes. Some fort came from his words. Each line of their argument had echoed through her mind. It left her in an unknowil now. “It’s alright, Yuki. I know. You don’t have to say anymore.”

  “But Saki…I-I… I don’t want to lose you because of Seiji.”

  “Yuki!” Her words o stop him before she pced yet another boulder to his burden. ‘That smile carries so much…’ She stepped forward, reag out to stop him shaking. “Idiot… Our friendship’s strohan this, Yuki. I’ve stuck it out with you through it all and this isn’t going to break me. I’m sorry I over reacted.”

  “No…I…Saki…” Yuki hung his head down feeling some relief, but sad as well.

  Saki looked down at him, developing a little smile to see that they were finally able to talk ahe air cleared between them. “Just promise me, Yuki.”

  “Huh?” Yuki began to lift up his head.

  “Promise me that you’ll stay the same. I know you ’t help it with assassins after you, but don’t let it e you please. Promise me not to fight because you want it.”

  “…Saki!” Yuki's eyes widened as memories came flooding ba that he tried tet. Of painful times that were in his past.

  ‘Promise me…Yuki…’