Yusato vs Leo

“Leo,” Yusato said. “Hey, Raidos. Can you let me talk to him?”

“Why?” Raidos snickered. “From where I’m standing, doesn’t look like he wants to do much talking.”

Leo shrugged. “Honestly, I had higher hopes for you, Yusato.” He narrowed his eyes with a wide grin. “To think you’d let yourself be consumed by power like this.”

Consumed by power? No, that’s not it. He had only wanted to protect his friends. That was why he had to keep using the Spirit Call. Because it was only choice. His only way to be able to defend everybody.

Scratching his neck, Leo looked around at the lava. “And you were so close to the end too. What a shame. Well, it was interesting for a while I suppose. But man, you really let me down. Oh well. It is what is.”

For the first time ever, Yusato thought Leo actually looked mad. His eyes were cold and ruthless, piercing right through his soul. “I’ve grown bored of you.”

Puddles of water pooled up around Leo’s feet. They rose up off the ground, taking on the shapes of dragons head. The dragon heads launched forward, baring their fangs at Raidos.

Raidos quickly leaped back. He gasped as the dragon heads opened their mouths, releasing several blasts of fire.

A wall of dark energy appeared in front of Raidos. Sweat rolled down his forehead. “He’s tough.”

Rock pillars shot up from underneath Raidos striking him in the chin. Sharp winds tore away at Raidos’ body.

Leo appeared right in front of Raidos and slammed his fist into his face, sending him spiraling. “Is that all you’ve got, Yusato?”

Ice erupted from the lava striking Raidos on either side. He swung his sword at the ice, but barely managed to make a crack in it.

Lightning crackled around Leo’s arms as he dashed forward, bulldozing right into Raidos. Raidos planted his feet into the ground before he fell over into the lava.

Vines and wood shot up from under Raidos’ feet, wrapping around his ankles. They yanked him to the ground and lashed at him without restraint.

Dark pillars appeared behind Leo. Leo threw his first back and the pillars shattered into little triangles.

Dozens of light orbs flickered around Leo’s face. The light orbs traveled across the air and then exploded as they reached Raidos.

Ice spike continued to burst from the ground as Raidos kept on the move. He ran and ran, avoiding all the ice spikes as much as he could.

A wave of fire washed over him and he summoned forth a quick darkness shield to protect him. Opening his palm, Raidos sent over several dark tendrils.

The tendrils drilled through the air. “Honestly,” Leo said. “Disappointing doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

Leo rose his hand and watery hands grasped over the tendrils, holding them firmly in place. “You really let this spirit take a hold of you? You let it abandon the others and go off to do its own thing. And here I thought you cared about protecting those three.”

With each one of Leo’s scathing words, Yusato felt his gut twist and turn more and more. He was right. He didn’t want to admit it, but Leo was absolutely right. He used the spirit’s power in spite of knowing the risks.

He knew what would happen, but the thought of being useless and ending up in a situation like with that dragon was the last thing he wanted. At the end of the day, that was what it all boiled down to.

He could try to hide behind the excuses of it being the only way to protect his friends. And he did truly want to protect his friends. But deep down, he always knew the truth. He wanted the power.

And that was why, each one of Leo’s words was like a stab to the heart. Yusato had no shield to defend himself with.

“What a miserable existence you are,” Leo said. Water and fire spiraled around him on both sides as Leo’s chin dipped into his chest. His eyes were empty and lifeless. “Time for you to die.”

Yusato strained all of his muscles to try and reach out his hand. He had to fight it. He had to fight against Raidos’ power. Leo was right. He couldn’t just leave his friends behind like this.

Raidos’ arm twitched, but it didn’t move. He snarled and shook his head. “It’s pointless, kid. Your body belongs to me now.”

Even so…he still had to fight against. Mira, Azalea, and Saria were counting on him. They were a team. He forced his muscles more and more, but still the arm wouldn’t budge.

The fire and water spirals came hurling at him at a rapid pace.

“WAIT! DON’T HURT HIM!”

“Mira?” Yusato’s and Raidos’ voices overlapped with one another.

Just as the attacks were about to connect, a bright golden light shimmered around the entire floor. Yusato realized he and Raidos were inside that same familiar golden barrier. He breathed a sigh of relief realizing he was safe.

Golden chains wrapped around Leo, locking him to the ground.

Mira bumped into Raidos, wrapping her arms around his waist. As he watched, Yusato found himself missing Mira’s warm hugs.

She buried her head into Raidos and sniffled. Her tears stained his shirt as she cried. “I miss you. I miss you so much. Please come back to me.”

Yusato smiled within Raidos’ mind. While it hurt him of course, he did feel happy that Mira was finally reunited with Raidos. She had been searching for him for so long after all. A journey of one-thousand years. He was happy for her. Though couldn’t help but feel a bit of pain in his chest.

“I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll tell you everything. Yusato.”

His heart jumped as he heard his name. Did she really just call his name? So then, she was talking to him and not Raidos?”

Mira continued to sob into Yusato’s chest. “I miss you, Yusato I don’t want you to be gone forever. Because…I love you.”

Raidos’ eyes shot open at that. “You love him?”

Her shoulders quaked, still holding her arms tight around his waist. “Yes, I love Yusato. Just like how you loved Francessa.”

Raidos’ shoulders drooped. And a small bitter smile rose to his face. “You care about him that much, huh?”

“I do!” Mira kept sniffling.

“I see…” Suddenly, the black skin retreated, revealing Yusato’s old skin color. His eyes returned to normal and he found himself back in his own body.

He could feel Mira’s warmth.

Smiling, Yusato slowly wrapped his arms around her back, returning her hug. This soothing warmth filled Yusato with bliss. He never thought he’d get to feel it again. But he was so incredibly happy that he did.

“I’m back, Mira.” He gently stroked the back of her hair as she continued to cry.

Azalea made her way up to the two of them along with Saria and Azumi. Yusato turned his head to face them. “Azumi’s here too?”

“We needed a fourth person after you left,” Saria said. “Don’t worry though. We’ve been keeping a very close eye on her.” Saria got close, invading Azumi’s personal space as she said that. “Isn’t that right?”

“Maybe a bit too close,” Azumi muttered under her breath.

Leo broke free from the golden chains and sat up, rubbing his head. “Man, those rocks are really uncomfortable. Would it kill them to make them a bit smoother?”

“They’re rocks,” Azalea said, shaking her head.

“So they can’t be soft rocks?” Leo strode over to Tomoki who was lying unconscious on the floor. He peered down at him, rubbing his chin.

“What’s wrong, Leo?” Yusato asked as he separated from Mira.

“This one’s an Obsolete?”

“He is? I never knew that…”

Leo nodded and crouched down. He pulled down Tomoki’s collar, revealing several large black patches across his neck and chest. “I thought I sensed it. He’s like me. Right on the cusp of turning into a Sirhix.”

Yusato gulped. Even now, he still couldn’t get the Litsuria Festival out of his head and everything that it entailed. Along with the fact that he had killed some Sirhix himself. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to live that down.

“Speaking of that,” Azalea said rubbing her arm. “There’s something I need to tell you guys. Since I’m no longer a part of the Black Moon, I also need to tell you guys everything. On the ninth floor…The kingdom is planning a Sirhix extermination. Led by King Aster himself.”