|The parallel dream

“So you finally said something, huh?”

---What does he mean by that???

“He has been on the ground for a while.Seems like you hit him too hard.”

“Definitely not. It was just one hit.”

“One hit could kill a man.”

“Shirou..C’mon, we just started. Don’t tell me you can’t continue.”

“I’m…ready to continue.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Normally you just nod your head. What’s gotten into you today?”

He swept Shirou off his feet and exploited his advantage with a series of kicks from all directions. His athletic ability was spectacular and his flexibility was like that of a monkey. All his kicks landed on Shirou’s arm, chest and even his face. Shirou had difficulty dodging the attacks and absorbed them like he was used to. However, this wasn’t going to work on his opponent who was set on winning with ease.

---I can’t sit back and take in these attacks all day. My body has a limit.

Shirou segued onto the offensive, his counters were even more precise and with each exchange, his form became more and more refined. He could see the swings slow down in comparsion to that of each passing second. Now, he could fight on equal footing. Shirou also released his fists and closed his eyes. Everything was slowly coming back to him. He had no memory of this but it felt like his body could recognized the moves.

---Make your arms as light as possible. Don’t tense up.

He blocked and parried his opponent’s attacks and even struck back with a decent hit to the shoulder that pushed his opponent back.

“Time to get serious. You should do the same.”

With a mixture of light and heavy attacks, swift blows and kicks and even fast and slow movements, he was successful at overwhelming Shirou. He dealt multiple attacks while some were evaded but it was enough to claim the victory; Shirou fell to the ground, panting heavily. His opponent was not satisfied and prepared a final blow to the stomach but it was stopped by the one observing the spar.

“That’s enough, I told you to take it easy since it is his first time sparring in a while.”

“Uncle, it will be no use spoiling him. Even Yuuki is training hard. He’s the only one that hasn’t done much of anything in a while. I just wanted to show him how much work he needs to put in. You can call it motivation.”

---Yuuki?

“You just wanted to win.”

“That too..”

“Even if, I told you. That’s no way to conclude a spar. It’s unnecessary behaviour. Shirou, are you okay?”

He nodded his head slowly. He was surprised to hear that Yuuki was also in his dream.Was this a dream made from his curiosity or did it contain some deeper meaning? It wasn’t making any sense.

“You’ll surpass Shinji in no time if you pick up from where you left off.”

“Uncle, why are you telling him that?”

“His movement was sloppy, that’s why you won. Normally, you never win against him.”

“I know, I know. You don’t have to rub it in.”

His suspicious glare rested on Shirou and the tension rose like an erupting volcano.

“If you surpass me, I’ll just surpass you again. Got that?”

“Mum, are they finally done training??”

“Look who’s all fired up..I told you that you can rest up for today,right?”

---Yuuki??? Lisara??

“She just wanted to see what her brothers were up to so we finished ‘training’ early..”

She winked at Yuuki; she giggled and let go of Lisara’s hand, running over to Shirou.

“Big brother.. Why are you staring at me like that??”

“Nothing.”

---I forgot. I wasn’t supposed to speak. The size of her hands put me off guard. She’s so little.

She was 2 years younger than him so she was currently 8 years.

Her eyes lit up in extreme excitement as she heard Shirou speak and squeezed him tightly with a hug.

---Some things just don’t change.

“Hey let’s go play together..Shinji, you too..”

“Hey, hey.Hold up.These two are still in the middle of training..”

“Well, dinner is ready..”

Lisara sighed as their uncle,Yotsuba, began to salivate..

“Okay boys, let’s go have some dinner.”

“No way..I still want to continue training.”

“You’ll have lots of opportunities to train tomorrow..”

“What about the spar???”

“Well…”

With a frown, Shinji walked away.

“I’ll practice with the shurikens.”

“Let’s go, Shirou.”

Yuuki grabbed his hands firmly and dragged him away while Lisara followed, right behind them.

They all sat for dinner. There were no chairs so they sat on the floor; there was a long brown dining table with gold designs at the edges. A dragon was crafted at the middle with it’s tail spreading across it. It nearly contained the whole room in terms of length. It was so spacious that they didn’t help but feel lonely during meal time. Apart from the branch families which contained a total of five members, there were still two people absent.As they all enjoyed their meals in a seemingly awkward yet peaceful silence, Shinji stormed in, brimming with excitement.

“Uncle, I did it.”

“Did what?”

“I did the complex shuriken hit. They all deflected towards the target.”

“That’s impressive. How did you do it?”

“Hehe. It was one of those rare moments where I allowed the inner beast take over. And then, boom…Perfection.”

---What the hell is he talking about?

“That’s great, Shinji.”

“Thanks, Mum. I’m the son of Yatogami Kenjiro, the living legend, after all.”

He said this loudly and examined the table once more. The seat in front of him was empty, as usual. His grin disappeared in a matter of seconds. He sat on the floor and ate his meal in silence;the room was filled with even more awkwardness than before.

“He’ll be back in a few days. The meeting usually takes a while..I did stir up some trouble the last time so he told me to stay this time.”

“You want him to train you?”

Lisara took control of the conversation.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll be able to learn a thing or two from him.”

“Gotten tired of your uncle already?”

“No..Maybe learning something different would help.”

“But your Dad told you that you can’t learn anything from him unless you pass through Yotsuba’s training first.”

“I know..But…I am strong enough.”

“No you aren’t…You have improved quite a bit and you have the potential, sure but you are not close to the level required…I’m a lenient teacher, that’s why he asked me to train the three of you. At this point, if you do move up and train with him, you wouldn’t even last a single day.”

“I’ll like to see that for myself.”

“Guys,let’s just enjoy the food.”

“You want us to be strong but you aren’t even doing anything useful..”

“I’ve told you a million times…Learning magic from the get go doesn’t necessarily make you stronger..”

“That’s a load of bull--”

“Shinji…..That’s no way to talk to your uncle..Apologize right now…”

“You’re taking his side too?I knew it…Everyone’s always against me.”

“That’s not true.”

“I’m sorry for what I said..”

“Don’t be sorry..Be less reckless. You never skip steps. Never!!!”

“I’m going to get some sleep now..”

As he left,the dreary atmosphere drowned out every other thing and until dinner was done, no word was uttered. In the midst of the argument, Yuuki held on to Shirou’s hand with a gloomy look on her face.

“Good night.Big brother..”

Yuuki clung to Shirou and gave him a hug,before holding on to Lisara who whispered in his ears before leaving.

“Please,try to cheer him up, okay?? I know this is probably something only you can do..”

Shirou nodded and entered the room they shared. Shinji frowned at the light coming from outside the room. The dark orb floating majestically on his right hand disappeared. As Shirou proceeded to close the door, his shadow split in two.

“That was quite early..”

“Yeah..”

“If you tell uncle about this, I would definitely kill you…Got that??”

He nodded his head and shut the door.The overwhelming presence of the shadow consumed him. He stood from his chair and approached Shirou with a monstrous aura emanating from him. Shirou could sense this in great detail.

“What’s so wrong with using our magic at a young age??Wouldn’t we get used to it faster?? Everyone does that..It’s common practice but for some reason,the Yatogami clan, one of the strongest clans in existence, decide to use an odd approach..That wouldn’t work..It’s nothing but a disgrace..I wonder why he has to impose such reckless methods on us and his lie is something anybody can see through..Are we just supposed to stay quiet and not question it??Because they think ‘it’s for our own good’??I’m sick of it..They are hiding something.”

Their eyes met for a couple of seconds and he took a deep breath and continued.

“But I’m sure you would be fine with anything he says. After all you don’t have a mind of your own.You are just like a dumb puppet.”

“That’s…”

“No need to waste your words on me..You were always a better listener. Perhaps it’s because you never said anything..You wouldn’t be able to piss me off by saying exactly what I want to hear or by disagreeing with me either.”

“Then what is it you want?”

“What I want????”

He lit a fire and the shadow it created held Shirou, pinning him to the door.

“What did you think you could do?Talk to me and make me feel better?”

“N-No..”

“Shut up already..If your ears are still functioning then listen well. As long as I can prove my usefulness to Father,nothing else matters..I don’t care if you and Yuuki get behind in training..You could even stop and become as useless as the members of the branch families..As long as I get what I want..I don’t care. And one last thing….”

Shirou froze as he gazed at his eyes, filled with hatred. The cold expression on Shinji’s face..It was emotionless yet filled with traces of anger..An expression that he recognized all too well.

“I hate you…”

The boy released him and got on his bed. Shirou stood there, motionless. He slowly walked over to his bed, falling flat on it and suddenly found himself sitting in a shallow lake.Two fishes beside him swam in harmony, making circles.A black and a white one. He noticed this slight detail and turned his attention to the wooden bridge that went across the lake.

“Jeez, Mom said no pushing each other off the bridge.”

“Relax, okay? I’ll go help him.”

“No, I’ll be the one to do it.”

She jumped in and pulled him out while Shinji watched from above.

“Big brother, what games do you wanna play???”

“I don’t want to play any games.”

Yuuki tilted her head slightly to the left and grinned.

“What are you talking about, big brother?”

“Yuuki???”

“Why don’t you want to play??

Play…

Play…..Play

Play……Play…..Play…..

Play…….Play…….Play……..Play……”

Those words kept echoing in his mind, like a broken record.Everything around him continued to slow down. He took a look around him and the lake was filled with blood, his two siblings laid in the lake, motionless with blood surrounding them. At the corner of his eye was the white fish that had thicker blood pouring from it’s sides.His eyes trembled upon seeing this ugly sight and he screamed in fear but the image did not go away.The reflection in the lake brought out Shirou’s true ugliness.. His face smeared with blood and a disturbing smile…A sardonic smile…He covered his face and closed his eyes, hoping by the time he opened his eyes, he would be somewhere else. He kept hearing the words “Raijin” over and over. His ears could tell the distance apart and it became closer and closer until it vanished. He then heard a different voice.. A soothing voice with a bit of desperation blended in.

“Yato.Please wake up..”

---This voice..It’s……

He opened his eyes and found himself in a room that was not his.He laid on a white bed. The walls were a mix of white and brown. His eyes wandered around the room as the unfamiliar setting made him uncomfortable. On his right was a girl, dressed in her silver silk pajamas, sitting calmly on the side of the bed. They were short pajamas and they complemented her soft skin and her blonde hair.

“Yato-kun, are you okay?”

“Brent…”

He nearly got up from the bed but she stopped him midway.

“What are you doing?Can’t you see you’re hurt?”

“Where am I?”

“You’re at my place. I brought you here after seeing you unconscious in the dumpster.”

“Really? That explains why I’m not in my school uniform.”

“I had it washed and dried so it’s all good now.”

“Wait, you removed my clothes??”

“N-No, of course not.”

“It’s no problem, though. How did you find me?”

”Love fever.”

“Huh?”

“I saw it on the floor then it clicked.I remembered you reading that book back on the roof. Also,I heard the vibration from your phone. You were quite lucky.”

---Lucky??

“I was really worried about you. At first I thought taking you to the hospital would be a better choice but it’s further and the ti--”

“Thank you.”

His subtle, warm smile left her puzzled.“His smile is so bright”, she thought to herself as she couldn’t stop staring at him. Upon realizing that, she turned away with her flushed cheeks.

“You look better when you smile.”

“This is your room, right?”

“Yeah.Don’t get the wrong idea. The other rooms were a bit stuffy so I used my room.”

---This room looks normal compared to that of Yuuki.It’s still cute in it’s own way and has a special kind of appeal.

”By the way, how long have I been here??”

“About 2 hours.”

“Where’s my phone?”

“Oh it’s here.Your sister called..”

“She did??”

“Don’t worry, I told her you were at an arcade.”

“Thanks for covering up for me.”

The vibration of his phone cut through the conversation in timely fashion.

“It’s your sister..”

“I’ll speak to her.”

He inhaled and exhaled calmly and picked up the phone.

“Hey…Yeah..Still out, I’ll be home in a bit, I think……I know it’s confusing but she doesn’t have to worry, I’m fine…Yeah…..Bye…..”

“Wow..”

“What??”

“Just your choice of words. They were so vague.”

“Oh….I try to avoid telling lies if I can.Lying breaks trust after all.”

“You’re right.”

“I think I should start leaving.Thanks for everything.”

“Don’t..You can barely walk right now.”

“You have a point but then what can I do??”

“You could always stay for the night…”

“For some reason I’m glad that although you know next to nothing about me, you are willing to trust me enough to offer me a place to stay for the night..I feel special.”

“That’s another way to look at it.It’s really not a big deal. My…My heart just told me that it was the right thing to do so I did it. Besides, we have lots of room so I could always stay in the guest room after tidying it up a bit.”
”Also…I’m sorry.”

“Huh??”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. When we met on the rooftop.The last time something like that happened to me, I ended up hating them and myself even more so I wanted to make things less confusing. I thought you wanted to get closer to me because I saved you. What you said.It made me think a lot. Despite me not caring about what the others thought of me, you were one of the reasons I didn’t join the Archery club.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.. It would have been too awkward.”

Her heart began racing and pounding, these were unusual palpitations that she just wasn’t used to.

“I couldn’t tell if I made the right choice or not but I probably hurt your feelings in the process. I didn’t think I would get the right chance to apologize but thanks to this situation, I did.”

“I wish it didn’t have to be due to something like this. Wait, that wasn’t what I meant by ‘Lucky’.”

“I know you didn’t mean it that way.”

“By the way, do you know who did this to you?”

“No, but the main question should be ‘who wouldn’t want to do this to me?’ ”

“You’re right. You’re hated by tons of people.”

“If I had to pick a main suspect, it would be Akate.”

“You think it’s Eric?”

He nodded his head and she jumped up and walked around the room in circles.

“I should have known.”

---What is she doing?

She remembered the words of Claudia….“Being inferior”.The words seemed to have a link to Shirou too.

“He seems like the illogical type, don’t you think?”

“This is not funny.You are being bullied…”

“I know that.But then occasionally I choose to look at the positive side of things. Is that out of character?”

“I don’t know yet.I don’t know anything about you, remember?”

“Well, that’s true..”

“But once I do, I’m going to answer your question.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You aren’t as complex as you think you are. When you said those things on the rooftop,I thought to myself ‘Isn’t he doing the same thing people are doing to him?’ but then later, I figured it was probably a defence mechanism.What you said earlier proved that. You act like you don’t want people around you but I know you would like to have people you can lower your guard around, people you can call friends.You’re just afraid of getting hurt. It’s not strange.Try trusting people more. Not everyone is who they claim to be so it’s not everyone that will think of you as a real friend.”

“So what are you trying to say? Your points are clashing.”

“That’s because they are meant to clash and bring forth a conclusion and it’s this. Don’t let your past determine the present.”

---She’s right.My past has been interfering with the present. Ryosei..Tadao..You guys really messed me up. I will never forgive you for that.

“Eric’s definitely going to pay for this.”

“Hold on, there’s no need for that.”

“But what he did to you…”

“I’m not 100% sure and even If I was, I’ll love to avoid as much trouble as possible. Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Do you live alone?”

“No. I just have a workaholic mother, that’s all.”

“You don’t like that??”

“Hmmphh..She can do anything she wants, I don’t care that much.”

---Liar.

“Oh, another thing I forgot to mention.”

“What’s that?”

“Never mind. Do you read books?”

“I read a few…Mainly romance.. Wait, I do delve into other genres too but--”

“The first thing that came to your mind was romance so you can’t convince me it’s not your main one.”

“Is that how it works?”

He dipped his hand in his bag and pulled out the one and only “Love fever”.

“There you go..It looks a bit messed up though..”

“That’s my fault.”

“Anyway, this is my sister’s book..I’m done with it so you can read it and give me back once you’re done with it.”

“Really?? Thanks a lot.”

“Since you love romance I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

She opened up her wardrobe and searched endlessly till she finally struck gold.She turned back with a smug look.

---What the hell is she keeping in there?

“Wanna see something cool?”

He hesitatingly nodded his head.

“Too bad you’ll have to guess what it is..You only have 30 seconds..The countdown has begun..”

---You must be kidding me..Well,from all the posters everywhere, looks like she’s an…..Cut it out..You’re being creepy…But maybe that’s just the right answer..I’ll give it a try..

“Anime related stuff.”

“Wrong..”

“Non anime related stuff..”

“You’re being too vague.”

“So what was the right answer?”

“Wrong.”

“Huh?”

“You’re being a loser.”

“Time’s up. I lose. Now, tell me.”

“That’s quite the tone you have..Considering your loss but well, have a look and decide for yourself.”

She pulled the book out and slowly rubbed it.

“This is it.”

It was a rainbow coloured book with a clash of various drawings from the front and back. There were two knights trading blows, a princess spinning her purple Tiara, a magic wand at the center and some wings at the back.Without further ado, he opened the book and was left astonished.

“What do you think?”

“Wow..They’re so amazing..”

“Really?”

“You must be talented at this.”

He flipped each page slowly, admiring the art and special theme each one represented. He eventually got to the middle page and saw a “demon slasher” sword drawn in black and red.

“As a kid, I was really shy and didn’t talk much so I always had my book and pencil to kill the boredom.It was really fun and after a while, it just stuck.I couldn’t forget my technique even if I wanted to.”

“Must be nice…”

“What about you?”

“Apart from reading, I’ve got nothing.”

“I’m sure you do. You just don’t know yet.”

---What’s the value in something you don’t know you have. It’s hidden and will probably remain hidden. In other words, useless.

“After listening to what you said, maybe you’re right. Maybe it will be better to trust people more. I’ll try putting my trust in people worthy of it.”

“If that’s the case then let’s be friends, Yato.”

“I would love to.”

“Great.”

“It’s getting really late. I should probably be heading home now.”

“But you still look like a mess.”

“I’ll just have to act like nothing happened.I don’t want my mum to find out.You see, she’s really effusive.”

“How’s that like?”

“To be honest it feels nice but also very problematic.Well..”

“Since we are friends now, why don’t we exchange contact info?”

“Okay.”

“Done.”

He stood up and grabbed the phone, dragging his clothes neatly arranged on the bed.

“It’s not that bad.. Where’s the way to the bath---”

{thud!!!}

His wobbly legs gave way and he landed on the ground. To his surprise, he wasn’t the only one. His arms were there to stop him from getting too close but that wasn’t enough. In front of her, his body obstructed the light above them. Their faces both beet red; their eyes were locked on that of the other and as much as they considered this situation unlucky, they didn’t hate it either. Their lips were centimetres away from touching.

---What am I doing??? This is wrong of me..Although it’s an awkward situation, I want it to last a while longer.

Once again, the vibration of his phone cut through this unexpected awkwardness and he gathered all the strength he could muster and jumped off her.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.You didn’t do anything.So uhh I sent you a message..”

“R-Right..”

She picked up his phone and saw a notification with the name “Misaka” popping up.

“Something wrong?”

“N-No. Here’s your phone.”

After he got changed, she led him to the door and stopped at the front entrance.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home?”

“I’m not a child. Besides, who would do that in a pajamas?I’ll use a taxi. Well,bye.”

“Bye.”

She shut the door, ran to her room and jumped on the bed, burying herself in her pillow.That still didn’t stop the sound of her heart beating violently. She wasn’t a child but she didn’t believe in the concept of “love at first sight”. Infact, in this case, the reverse was more logical, so she was more than convinced that this rare occurrence wasn’t under the influence of love.

“What just happened? What if his hands slipped?? We would have...”

“I’m home.”

“Who is she?? Is she the black haired-flat one?? I’m sure she’s the black-haired flat one. Why didn’t you tell me it was the black-haired flat one??”
”Mum, I’m pretty tired so I’m going to bed early.”

“Oh, you’re not hungry??”

“Hey, you’re ignoring me!!!!!”

“I already ate..”

“Once you’re done with your bath, give me your dirty laundry.”

“Sure.”

“Your face looks a bit swollen, did something happen?”

“I tripped when I was walking up the stairs in school.”

---No helping it.

“Does it hurt?”

“Just a little.. I already took care of it so I’ll be going to bed.”

He turned to Yuuki and rubbed her head with the palm of his left hand.”

“She has a name and it’s Misaka.”

---Flat is justice.

He walked up the stairs, carefully dragging his feet to avoid suspicion.

“Two girls. Well Shirou isn’t a ladies’ man so a messy love triangle would be unlikely but the possibility is what makes it so exciting. Hey mum.”

Her playful tone vanished and was switched with a calm,flat one instead.

“He’s definitely hiding something.”

Lisara sighed sharply.

“I know.”

---Honestly…I’m so pathetic.. Why does my body keep acting up??If I decided to fight back, I have a strong feeling I would have sent the three of them to the hospital.From everything I picked up from that weird dream,it had a really weird environment..Colder than usual..Then the people I saw. It was a dream but it felt so real. Is there any hidden message I didn’t notice?

He tossed a pillow in the air and watched as it landed on his face.

---I know mum and Yuuki but who were the other people?Just because I can’t remember them doesn’t mean they don’t exist..After all, my memory is as reliable as a parachute in a car accident.What do I do??

( “---” represents the thoughts of the main character. “--” represents the thoughts of any other character. “[]” represents an important event, most likely past events. “{}” represents various sounds made.)