Missing Lines

Even if it might have been something that they saw coming, it still surprised them all. It was the final sign that they needed to know that things were coming to a head. The country faced a dark hour and they didn’t know how they would prevent it. They lost against the demons already and if even more hidden ones came out of slumber they stood absolutely no chance in winning.

A hopeless battle faced them.

Saki recovered from the news the fastest and asked the immediate question. “How long do we have?”

Lord Konjo remained silent for a moment. He seemed to be pondering his answer. It was unclear if he was scared or reluctant, or perhaps something else completely. He wasn’t an easy read. “The reports still have to be verified. But if we treat it as accurate, then it’ll be less than a week.”

“A week?! Shit! That’s not very long to prepare!” complained Seiji. It surprised Yori’s sister a little to see that he didn’t seem all that bothered by an impending demon attack. She had to believe he knew it was going to be worse than what they faced before and lost against. And with Masa in the West still, there was no chance of a rescue. Though if all of the demons in the country came marching it seemed impossible for even Masa to do anything. But even with that woman out in the country, she couldn’t rely on her.

Yori’s sister tightened her hands facing the situation. ‘I’ve got to do something. But I can’t fight an army. None of us can…’ She paused with the thought as she saw Yuki and Nerine in the back. They both appeared to be trying to keep almost invisible with the current conversation. ‘Will he continue to rely on me and do nothing even now?’

“Why are you even thinking about preparing? Are you that hungry for a fight?” ask Yori. He stepped forward into the conversation already having reached his own conclusion. His eyes looked at his sister keeping his goal in sight. “We’re not staying here.”

“What the hell, man?! We can’t just leave and let everyone die to the demons!”

A hand stretched out to grab Seiji. Yori drove his piercing gaze straight into him. “Have you forgotten already that none of this is even real?!” And yet Seiji stared back at him with the same look as before. For him the reality or digital nature of the world didn’t matter to him. His hand tightened up, holding onto Seiji’s shoulder. He couldn’t believe that Seiji would be willing to risk his life for something that didn’t even exist. “All that matters is surviving! What happens here doesn’t concern us!”

Seiji pulled Yori’s hand free from him slowly and deliberately. He exercised his strength with surprising control and grace. “Can you really say that having seen this shit? Do you have no sympathy in your heart regardless of reality?”

‘I can’t believe he’s making me look like the bad guy here for not caring about something that is just a bunch of code. It doesn’t matter how well crafted their appearance and personality is, they’re still not real! This will all disappear once we’re out.’ This sort of reaction from Seiji still was within what he expected, even if he thought that even Seiji would tell the difference. Being the most driven by emotions of the group, it made sense. However, when he looked over at Saki expecting to see support, even she didn’t agree with him. Though there seemed to be something else conflicting with Saki that he couldn’t place. “Even you too, Saki?!”

She looked over at his sister, not giving him a definitive answer. “What do you want to do Yumi? It’s your decision. Stay or leave?”

‘Again looking to Yumi?! Why are they forcing everything on her?!’ He pushed through to her. The worry and concern on her face was apparent, yet they ignored all of it. Just seeing what they were doing as supposed friends to her made his stomach churn. “What the hell are you all doing?! Why are you placing all of this on Yumi? Can’t you see this is too much for her? Yumi’s not like the rest of you! Stop thinking that she is! Come on, Yumi, I’ll get you out of here.” He grabbed her hand pulling her towards the door, but met resistance.

She resisted him. Yori looked back at her. “What are you doing Yumi? Come on! We’re leaving right now. This isn’t where you belong. I should have listened to myself rather than thinking that this would work out.”

Yumi pulled her hand free from Yori and stepped away from him. His eyes looked possessed as they stared at her. Something was wrong with him. “No, I’m staying.”

Chapter 428 – Missing Lines

Stunned to hear such words from Yumi, Yori froze. He stared at her, not certain that he had heard what he did from her. With his mind slowly starting back up, he managed to speak. “What are you saying, Yumi?”

“I said I’m staying,” she reaffirmed for him, since he seemed to have missed it the first time. The confusion and doubt that she had disappeared. Thanks to him, it cleared up her mind.

She said it again. Yori couldn’t believe what she was hearing from her. Everything in this fake world must have been mixing her up. He felt certain of that. Marching over to her, he grabbed her hand once more, this time so that she couldn’t escape. “I said we’re going, Yumi. I’m your brother. You just have to listen to what I say. I know what’s best.”

“Hey man, I think you—“

Throwing his hand out to stop Seiji, Yori glared at all those that interfered. “Don’t touch her!”

“What the hell’s gotten into you?”

“Me?! I should be asking all of you! What do you think you’re doing?” He stepped in front of his sister blocking her from everyone’s view. “I’ve watched you dumping all the decisions on Yumi. Forcing her to be in charge when she doesn’t even want to do it!”

“Yori, this isn’t the time,” Saki inserted, noting that they had an outsider in the room. She tried to make subtle motions to the present of Lord Konjo.

However, none of that mattered to Yori. He snapped immediately on Saki next. “No! I’ve been letting things slide and gone too long! Yumi’s only in the mess because all of you! I’m not letting you make my sister do anything like this!”

“What the hell do you even know about me?!” yelled Yumi from behind him, finally snapping. Veins of anger appeared on her forehead as she fixed him with a dark piercing stare that he was unfamiliar with seeing. Taking up her position, she quickly disarmed Yori with a move that she learned from Saki.

Almost frightened by what he saw in his sister, Yori staggered back, almost tripping over the wall as she walked through him nearly. ‘What have they done to her?! My sister…’

Yumi stood amongst her friends staring at Yori with unmoving determination now. Her path was set and firmly built. She knew now it was what she wanted. “You’re stuck in the past. The Yumi you think I am isn’t here anymore! I’m not the person that you think I am. I fight and kill. I’ve slaughtered demons. I’ve killed people that weren’t even part of the fight. I used the secrets of my friend to twist them. I’m stained and dirty and ugly, but that’s who I am! I’m standing right here. Go look somewhere else if you’re looking for your sister.”

“Y-yumi…”

“If you can’t accept the reality then leave!”

Seiji leaned over to Yumi worried about what she just declared. “Are you sure about this Yumi? He’s just a little shaken and hot on emotions. But he’s still your brother.”

“If he’s just going to keep trying to dictate my life, then he should leave.”

“Do you really mean this Yumi?”

“Yes, I’m my own person and I’m going to make my own decisions on my life from now on.”

The echoes of that annoying woman that he fought during the school battle came back to Yori. “On the contrary, you’re more in the dark about your own sister than you seem to think me to be.” She whispered the words in his ear making it impossible for him to mute it. He couldn’t make it stop. It churned his stomach having to hear her voice and knowing that it was in his sister’s voice that it was spoken.

He stared in silence at all of them. A wall presented itself to him. His hands clenched up seeing how things were now. There was nothing he could do. His sister stubbornly refused to see things his way. Yori turned away from him with the door ahead. ‘I need to come up with a new plan... I’m not going to let that woman win! I know what’s best for Yumi.’ Upon his determination, he walked out of the room leaving everyone behind.

“You sure about this Yumi?” Seiji asked, still shocked that the siblings had a falling out.

“He needs to understand. I’ll be fine.”

“He hasn’t been his usual self since facing one of Yumi’s persona. He’s been getting more unstable and erratic,” noted Saki recalling how single minded he was with Yumi’s unconscious condition before this latest situation. It seemed time away from her had done nothing to cool his emotions.

“Sure he’s been batshit crazy, but it’s only because he’s worried about her.”

“What he’s been showing has been unhealthy. This might be exactly what he needs right now to wake up.”

“But he’s still our friend. We need to help him if he’s going through shit.”

“You’ve seen him lately. He’s a wall right now. We’re not getting through that no matter what we do. He needs to cool off.”

“He’s had a month.”

Yumi stepped forward, breaking the line of sight with Saki and Seiji. “Enough about him. We’ve got bigger issues right now.” Now that she resolved to stay and confront the situation, she jumped in ready. However, they still lacked enough information. “Sorry for that scene, Lord Konjo.”

“Y-yes, it’s alright.”

“What can you tell us about this report on the demons?”

The Lord straightened up, returning to the original matter in which he came. “I haven’t seen the report yet, since that’s part of the meeting. I’ve only been slipped little details of it. Given the nature of it, they’re trying to keep it secret. But the other pieces that I’ve been told is that there is a Demon Lord leading on the frontlines and the clans are supposedly all gathering under this Lord.”

The thought of a Demon Lord leading the army made Yumi’s body run cold. It still clearly remembered what it was like feeling the power of the one she met, a power beyond imagining for her that she could never hope to defeat. Such a power led the demons. ‘What can I do against something like that? Is everyone doomed?’

Yuki touched her shoulder, breaking her out of the cold prison of her memories. “We still don’t know the certainty of the report. Lord Konjo mentioned it needing to be verified, right?” It seemed like a small hope in Yumi’s mind to pin their hopes on. That there wasn’t really a Demon Lord leading the demon army. Even without a Demon Lord an army of demons still wasn’t something that they could defeat.

“That’s true. We’re waiting for confirmation from other teams, but we’ll be making plans based on it being true.”

“That’s wise to do,” agreed Saki, “The city’s defenses are going to need to be strengthened to deal with a demon attack.”

Nodding in agreement, Lord Konjo walked over to the window of the room looking out at the city. “It’s been more than a century since any demon has attacked the city and several more since any real assault. Even with a month we might not have enough time.”

Thanks to Yuki, she could remember the resolve that she found. She couldn’t ignore or be frightened by the things she could not see. Taking action was all she could do for now. “Lord Konjo, I want to go out to verify the report.”