Yuki screamed in shock pulling against the arms that bound him. He could only watch as his friends and cssmates were all ed in the explosion. His hands began to shake violently. The view was too much for him to look at aurned his head away burying it in his knees. “W-Why?! They were i…”

  At his side on his left appeared a faint image of him from a year ago. ‘I killed her! It’s all my fault! I killed mother!’

  Yuki dug his face further into his knees not wanting to hear the truth any longer. The images of his mother on her dead bed haunted him. Wrinkles along his eyebrows grew with the pain of hearing screams of his friends. “I killed mother! And now I killed my friends too!”

  ‘Everything’s my fault! I’m the cause of everyone’s pain!’ The ghost of himself was being frantic throwing his arms out. There was nothing it could do to save itself.

  “All I do is take…” A slned breath escaped his lips as he let the thought sink in. All he brought with him was sadness no matter how much he smiled. It had to end.

  Chapter 58 – The Soul of my Brother

  ‘That’s right!’ Another partial image appeared by Yuki on his right as a child from when he was younger.

  The view of the outside faded away from him leaving him in darkness with his two selves. “They’ll be better off without me…”

  ‘Yes, they stop proteg you!’

  “Proteg?” Yuki thought back to the moments. As he recalled with each assassin that had e after him someone was alroteg him. “Alroteg me…” The portal to the outside returned shining a bright light on Yuki f his gaze up towards it. However, unlike before there was no view of the school grounds with his friends. When the light faded away he could see a se from his memory; the first assassin that attacked him had him ered and would have killed him.

  Reted memories showed Momoko beaten in their house. His body tensed up and a hand around his heart squeezed. Then Saki fought for him in the warehouse. Injured and exhausted, she battled the same as well. Weights pressed all around him. Even Seiji, gone for a year, stood up for him. And now his , people that only saw him as a fool, the way he wished.

  And worst of all, Ayumi bloodied and battered every time because of him. Unknown battles in the dark pyed out to keep him safe. Everything to save his life. “…Ayumi…you keep giving your life for me…what have I done…”

  He could feel his heart pounding fiercely no longer willing to keep taking it. “I ’t let this tinue…”

  “…I have been worthless…but no longer!” Cracks appeared along the arms that tied him. “I ’t just let everyone keep proteg me! I have to fight for myself!” It no longer felt impossible to breathe. A burning grew inside him.

  He had to ge.

  “No! You ’t fight!” said the younger version of him from a year before. “It was yhting that made mother sibsp; She died because of the fighting! You ’t fight!”

  “…mother…I promised…”

  The child version of him snapped in suddenly sileng the boy. “You ’t even remember your promise clearly! It’s bee blurred by yuilt!”

  “What?!” Yuki turned around fag both of his phantoms with fusion. “I know what happened!” He leaned over toward the child. However, the child looked back at him holding a stare in his eyes that made him question it.

  “…Yuki…is that you?” said a shallow voice from the room. Yuki could never fet his mother’s void nearly became paralyzed hearing it. He turned back around towards the portal not certain what it was going to show him.

  She eased bato her bed resting her hand on Yuki’s hands at the side of the bed. She managed a smile for him with her half closed eyes looking over at him. “How are you…doing, dear?”

  “I-I’m fine! Get some rest so that you get better!”

  “How’s…school?”

  Those words made him freeze stiff. The pounding of fear that had been starting to fade was renewed with eveer crushing strength. “School?”

  Yuki pressed himself into the entryway feeling a sense of dread crawling up into his legs. “…mother…”

  “…Yuki…you e…in…” There was little strength left in any part of her as she simply y in the bed. It took great effort for her to even move her hand.

  Yuki rushed into the room having been beed. She tried to pull herself up out of the bed for him. “It’s alright, mother… I’m here. You don’t o get up for me!” Watg her struggli needles all through his skin leaving it all numb.

  She eased bato her bed resting her hand on Yuki’s hands at the side of the bed. She had managed a smile for him with her half closed eyes looking over at him. “How are you…doing, dear?”

  “I-I’m fine! Get some rest so that you get better!”

  “How’s…school?”

  Those words had made him freeze stiff. The pounding of fear that had been starting to fade was renewed with eveer crushing strength. “School?”

  The words whispered through his ears tinuously making him want to run away, but it had left his body too weak to move. All he could manage was to pce his hand on his mother’s hand for reassuranbsp; “…it’ll be alright...mother…you don’t have to worry anymore…”

  “…Yuki…” His mother’s eyes closed slowly followed by a long exhaled breath. It pulled him up on his legs leaning in towards her fearing that she would never open her eyes again. The shallow, quick breathing came to a rest as she opened her eyes to look back at Yuki. “Yuki smile for me just once more…” It seemed to be getting more difficult for her to even speak, bringing her short of breath with each word.

  Yuki’s hands tightened up ed firmly around his mother’s. His fears wound with tension. Silent prayers muttered through his mind. “Mother! Please Don’t talk like that!” He dragged in towards her feeling her hand suddenly bee loose. It felt as though life slowly pulled away. “Mother?! Please! I won’t cause you trouble anymore, mother!”

  She coughed a couple times ing to a long quiet rest. Her half opened eyes looked at him softly. “Yuki…please…” The bored breathing from her became further drawn out as her eyes closed once more. She struggled to open her eyes waiting for Yuki.

  Tears came down his fabsp; He weakly pulled up a smile for her, fighting his emotions. A warmth filled her seeing his smile. It passed to him growing into a genuine smile just for her.

  Her eyes closed with a smile on her face.

  “Mother! Mother…” His head hung low looking away from her. The words that she spoke to him spun in his mind.

  The fading warmth in her body was able to smile softly to him. “…th..ank…you…” A stant ringing filled the room. There was a moment of silence as Yuki froze.

  He snapped his head up towards her, breaking away the tears. “Mother! I’ll keep smiling for you if you just open your eyes! So please! Please…open your eyes just once more for me…” There was no response from her apart from the sting smile. “Mother! Please just once more…open your eyes! I promise! Mother!” Yuki's head fell into the sheets weeping and screaming until his throat ran dry.

  None of the doctors or nurses dared to ehe room. After his voice had been lost and his tears dry, Yuki stood up ahe room in silenbsp; It would be a silehat he kept for a month with no one able to uand what he was thinking.

  “No! That’s a lie!” the boy shouted trying to deny the truth.

  “It’s the truth! There was never a promise! You made it with yourself!”

  “It was me?!” The arms pletely crumbled. He dropped down, staring at the middle distanbsp; Shock cimed his body and mind. The self delusions began to strip aiece by piebsp; Fake memories ay became clear.

  Everything that he twisted out of his guilt id bare before him. A massive weight released for him and a new light shining that he had not seen in so long.

  A distant voice from his past whispered to him. ‘You got into a fight again, Yuki? Remember your fists are to protect others. Promise me, you’ll use them to protect the ones you love, Yuki.’ The voice beloo his mother when Yuki was still young. Yuki was able to remember how she had always scolded him about his fighting and that she made him promise that every time got into a fight.

  ‘That’s right! It was after father died and I started fighting anyone I saw. She would always make me promise even though I kept getting into fights. When mot sick I bmed myself; I thought that it was because I hadn’t kept that promise. But now I remember the truth!’ He finally looked forward at the se.

  “I will, mother! I have the power to protect my friends and I will use it!” Yuki shouted up to the ceiling with the ground suddenly shining. Cracks began to appear in the earthen wall that protected him. Violent waves issued forth from feet with eaing faster than the .

  An array of blue and gold appeared around his body. Partially broken already, it vibrated with the shaking waves. A thunderous quaking started to build from within him. The array shined brighter. In a fsh of light, it shattered like gss.

  His personas watched on with their essences fading away. The boy held a worried look on his face before he faded away. The child faded away in sileh a sinister grin on his face.

  Outside, Demosthenes began to march forward, not waiting for the dust cloud to disappear. However, he came to a stop when he felt the ground shaking suddenly. Soon beams of light burst from the cloud followed by pulsing waves. “Is it…” A wind broke from the epiter pushing away the cloud. The stone fortress that had protected Yuki developed numerous cracks makihenes’ eyes narrow in . A momehe entire field shattered to pieces vaporizing into the air as Yuki stepped out.

  The wind blew up again, spiraling around Yuki as a light covered him. Pulled into the ter were particles that id upon his body shining brighter until shattered away to reveal new clothes. He wore a distinctly more Asian inspired wardrobe that crossed between a formal robes and a fighter’s gi.

  The old man re-examihe ges that came over Yuki. Demosthenes could almost feel the difference from the first time they met. The fear disappeared, repced with resolve. “He finally broke the King’s seal…”

  Yuki had a new look in his eyes as he stared dowhenes with determination. “I won’t let you hurt my friends any longer, Demosthenes. I promise to protect everyone!”