ONE WAY STREET, PT. 2

"Victory… is mine alone!"

A silver clad figure shouted at the top of his lungs, raising his voice to the heavens. His sleek, mirror-like armor glimmered brightly under the evening sun. It was a beacon of hope.

His visor, reminiscing a moth’s wings, sparkled as he approached those vile villains ever closer.

One step…

Two steps…

Three steps…

The hero, defiantly, struck a pose and raised his hands at those monsters. They cowered at this act, barely comprehending what the man was doing.

Lights.

His fingers came together to form a frame.

Camera…

He continued, announcing his judgment upon the sinners before him.

"And your fate… is mine to direct!"

Action!

.

.

.

Junpei’s smile was wider than ever before. He watched intently as his beloved hero declared to the monsters that their judgment rested solely in his hands. The youth yelled in excitement, his face still dotted with crumbs, and raised his hands in tandem with the man.

He cheered and cheered, mimicking his hero with every action. He called upon him, as if giving him the go ahead to defeat those evil doers!

"Go! Get them, Kagami!" Junpei called out, engrossed. His eyes were practically glued to the curved monitor of the old family CRT.

Hikari, brushing her light brown hair to the side, waltzed into the living room. It was rather small, as if stuck in a bygone era with its furnishings.

A warm smile made itself known on her lips as she crouched down next to Junpei. He looked up at his big sister, almost a bit annoyed that she would dare interrupt his favorite show. She couldn’t help but giggle and caress his soft, black hair.

In her offhand, she presented the youngster with a bowl of candy. His eyes widened in disbelief before he leaned up, kissing her on the cheek.

"Thank you, Hikari onee-san!" beamed the boy, and Hikari could only nod. Her smile was bright, yet her eyes harbored a hint of sadness.

"No problem, Jun-chan. Keep watching, I hear it’s a double feature today, okay? The girl sighed, to which the boy nodded. He turned away, already lost in his own world of fantasy.

The girl only walked away, leaving him be.

Having now entered the kitchen, Hikari saw her brother, Masahi, on the phone. She stood there silently, waiting for him to finish up.

Masahi swallowed, nodding at whatever was being said over the phone. His eyes were glazed over, staring off into the distance.

"Right…" he choked out, biting his lip. He nodded again, continuing, "I understand. One more month, I’ll go tell the others…"

Masahi remained silent before nodding once more, signaling the end of the call. Slowly, he lowered the flip phone and closed it in a single motion.

The boy lightly tossed the phone across the kitchen counter, with it sliding nearly off the edge. He could only let out a deep sigh, leaning against said counter.

Hikari cleared her throat, approaching her brother. His eyes lit up, not having realized she was there waiting.

"Did everything go well?" inquired the girl, her gaze fixed on the teetering phone. As she went over to pick it up, Masahi bowed his head and clicked his lips.

"Yeah. They said she’ll be there for another month…" The response raised an eyebrow from Hikari, but Masahi tilted his head towards the direction of the living room. "How’s Junpei?"

"He’s fine. Lost in his own little world as always, talking about Kagami…" Hikari looked down, fidgeting her fingers across the phone’s tactile buttons.

"I see…" Masahi’s voice grew quiet. He ran his hand through his short hair, exasperated. "Yuuki. Have you heard anything about him recently?"

Hikari shook her head, continuing to hold the phone close.

"No, I haven’t. He’ll call eventually, y’know- "

"Hikari, it has been days. If he were with that Marshal kid we’d have heard from him by now."

"He always calls back, you know! Like always…"

Masahi stood straight from the kitchen counter, reaching out to grab his phone. His hands met Hikari’s as she held the phone, not letting go.

Their eyes locked.

"He’ll call. Trust me." The girl protested. Any harder and she would have broken the phone.

Masahi heard enough. He let go and admitted defeat, raising his hands in the air.

"Fine. Fine, I’ll trust you on this one…" The boy leaned up against the kitchen counter once more, gazing past into the living room.

"Hikari… how long can we keep this up for Junpei? You know how he acts whenever Yuuki isn’t around for a while…"

The girl turned her gaze towards the young boy, observing him from a distance so vast. If it weren’t for that show, he would surely be pestering the two where his big brother Yuuki was…

Silence was all she could give to Masahi.

Junpei sat there, content for the very moment. At least, for an hour a day, he could focus on something else. As he popped another candy into his mouth, the show went on ad-break.

On the screen flashed an advertisement for Rokudou City’s own technical research institute.

***

Yuuki’s hands continued to grip at his chest. His fingers sank into his skin, threatening to tear it all apart. The boy’s chest rose and fell in nothing short of a robotic fashion.

Kouren, watching this unfold, gripped Yuuki’s hands and forced the boy to look him in the eyes.

"Yuuki."

Nothing. Yuuki wasn’t responsive to the man’s calls.

"YUUKI!"

The disoriented youth’s grip against his own flesh lightened, and Kouren took Yuuki’s hands into his own. He kept looking into his eyes, gently nodding his head.

"Yuuki… Please, my boy, calm yourself." The older man begged, lowering Yuuki’s hands down before letting go. He rose from his seat and inspected the entrance shoji, making sure it was shut tight.

The room they were in was an old temple lodging, filled with the scent of incense and decorated with mystical, reverent relics.

He sat up from the bed he was lying on. The past few hours felt like a blur to him…

"Kouren… What happened to me? Why- Why am I at the temple? Last thing I remember, I was heading my way here, but…"

Kouren waved his hand at Yuuki, commanding him to settle down. Yuuki could only blink.

Sitting by the bed, Kouren adjusted the faintly burning incense sticks and moved them to the side. He began to speak in a rather shaky voice.

"Yuuki… Something happened on that highway. That much, I’m sure. I know you’re aware too…" Yuuki raised an eyebrow at what Kouren was saying. "You see, there was an accident. Many people were involved, and unfortunately, you were caught up in it… Now, I- "

His voice trailed off, becoming but a distant howl of the wind to the young boy. He sat there, half listening to the man’s explanation.

An accident? Yes, he remembered there being an accident. So many people…

Instinctually, he grabbed at his chest once more.

Kouren paused, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yuuki? My boy, what’s wrong? Tell me- "

"Kouren… I… I can’t breathe? I can’t feel anything, Kouren, I- " Yuuki squeezed, his nails digging into his chest.

A deep crimson seeped down his fingertips.

The old man recoiled at this grisly sight, before raising his hands up to gain Yuuki’s attention. The boy softened his grip on himself, staring up at Kouren.

The priest could see the sheer confusion in the young boy’s eyes.

He relented, using the sleeves of his own robe to wipe the blood from Yuuki’s chest. His eyes met the boys, and he looked away.

"Okay… I’ll tell you everything. Just, please… Don’t hurt yourself any further." Kouren pleaded.

The room grew silent, with only the dim crackle of the incense sticks cutting through.

"Luminites, Yuuki. Five days ago, you were attacked in the outskirts of Rokudou City by one of those fiends."

Yuuki’s ears began to ring.

"There were so many people just… sleeping there, Yuuki. You know what happens when one of those… ‘things’ gets a hold of you. You don’t wake up." The old man choked out, fighting back tears as he spoke.

Yuuki could only stare at Kouren, his hands resting on the bed.

"I did what I had to… I took you from the hospital and… performed a ‘ritual’ on you. N-now, Yuuki, we’re family, and I just couldn’t let you sleep forever, and I- "

"Kouren? What do you mean by ‘ritual’? How am I awake at all, this… shouldn’t be happening?" Asked Yuuki, his voice a mere whisper as Kouren stopped speaking.

Incense swarmed the air.

Silenced, Kouren simply grabbed a small, ornate hand mirror and passed it to the boy. He took it and swallowed his apprehension, taking a good look at the mirror.

He saw himself, the same as ever. But...

"My eyes…"

Yuuki’s eyes were a bright, unnatural shade of green.

They cut through the dim lighting of the room.

Kouren continued to speak, going into detail about what exactly he did to Yuuki, how he saved the boy. But to Yuuki, it was nothing but white noise.

He continued staring deep into that mirror, lost in its haunting gaze. He stared and stared, until…

"- you were changed." Kouren’s voice reached Yuuki.

Crack.

Flash.

Yuuki saw lightning crash through the mirror, laying eyes upon a terrifying visage. It was a grotesque, disfigured beast. It had spiked antlers sticking from its head and a green, iridescent shine engulfing its body.

The boy screamed in shock, throwing the mirror down. It shattered into thousands of pieces, the frame snapping in two.

Kouren stood up, alarmed. He reached out to Yuuki, who only looked at him in fear and contempt.

The room went silent. As the two stared each other down, not a single decibel was raised. Yuuki’s hands trembled as he clenched his fists.

The temple bell rang, echoing throughout the tomb the two stood in.

Kouren approached Yuuki and began speaking...Yuuki was unable to make it out. He couldn’t hear what he was saying, nor was he too worried about that fact.

The boy pushed Kouren out of his way, with the old man stumbling upon the bed. His bright green eyes flashed a dangerous, luminous shade as he slid the shoji open.

He ran. He ran faster than he could ever imagine. Rain was trickling in from the heavens as he stumbled out of the temple courtyard, with the old man hobbling in pursuit.

Alas, as soon as Kouren stepped out, he saw no sight of Yuuki. He clutched his head in pain, unsure what to do next.

***

He ran as fast and far as his legs could take him.

The rain beat up against his skin.

It was cold.

It was dark.

Yuuki collapsed onto his knees, lost deep inside the thicket. The boy heaved, trying to take deep breaths that kept being stolen from him.

He leaned over the mud, laying eyes on a puddle. Rain droplets rippled the puddle, distorting Yuuki’s reflection.

Crack.

Flash.

Yuuki saw that monster once again, its crimson eyes piercing through the dark.

He grabbed his head and screamed to the crying heavens, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

The puddle quickly froze over, as with the rest of the surrounding ground. Ice crystals danced along the mud.

His body sparked and lit on fire.

He screamed and screamed as the flames crawled up his body before wrapping him whole.

The flames shattered into thousands of tiny pieces reminiscent of glass, dancing in the rain as Yuuki emerged from his cocoon.

A sleek, green, and black form was what he saw.

And those very same crimson eyes were finally his own.