One Second to Breathe

Initially, while Yumi ran away she was too afraid to look around. So many terrible things already traumatized her. She didn’t want to see them again. However, the longer she ran with Yuki the more certain she became that things were different. The camp no longer surrounded her, she was certain.

Everything looked different from what she experienced. She never wanted to see it again, but at the same time wondered what happened. It was all moving so fast for her. She still tried to catch up with the last moments. Like everything else before, she didn’t understand what happened. It made as little sense as what she saw in the camp.

All she knew was Yuki held her hand to take her away from all of the terrible things. She thought that she could fight and protect him, but in the end, she was useless. It made her a little sad to think she needed to keep relying on him. She wanted to show him the strength he gave her. But Yumi didn’t know what horrors she saw or how it happened. Her mind couldn’t forget them, even though it tried to push them off as nightmares.

However, one thing bothered her still about the whole situation. It seemed like a small minor issue and considering what happened, she shouldn’t complain. Yet, she felt it was strange. She needed an answer to the question. The uncertainty kept nagging her until she relented to its force.

Yumi pulled away from Yuki, breaking their grip. She slid back a little, closing up the space she consumed by wrapping her arms up against her chest. “What’s going on, Yuki? Why are you here?”

“Huh?” He stopped and turned his head confused. Yuki started to approach her, but she stepped back. The fact she looked scared of something made him hold his position. “What are you talking about?”

Her mind already experienced so many things. The moment she had a chance to feel free from all of the horror her mind started to question things. It seemed too convenient for Yuki to appear to save her. She feared he might be another part of her delusion to torment her. Too many things happened already that were impossible.

Yumi needed some answers. She wanted to trust Yuki, but things still felt weird to her. “You’re supposed to be with Ayumi and Saki heading to the Capital. Ayumi promised me she’d keep you on the path you’re supposed to be on. You shouldn’t be here!”

Yuki looked away, appearing a bit guilty. He crossed his arms tightly withholding his words for a while. His silence left Yumi hanging on the edge. A fact he understood, but still hesitated on responding. Tilting back to Yumi, he fixed eyes with her. “I know I shouldn’t be here. Ayumi’s still pretty mad at me for abandoning it, but when I woke up I couldn’t accept it. Yori’s one of us too. He is one of my friends and I’m not going to leave anyone behind, even if it does ruin other things. Nothing is more important than my friends to me.”

“But I…you’re…”

He took a couple cautious steps forward checking to see how Yumi felt about him. She didn’t back away, giving him some comfort. “I had to use my powers to stop Ayumi. Saki was easier to convince. So we turned back around and came back for you. I’m sorry that I arrived so late.”

It felt genuine, real. She wanted to believe it. Her heart was already jumping in without a second thought. Only the images of what she saw before kept her from fully accepting Yuki’s words. It seemed real. Yuki was someone that put his friends before everything.

Everything made sense. All of the horrible things never happened. Yuki would erase that all for her. She could be happy again. Taking slow steps, Yumi closed the distance between them. Her hand stretched out to his tunic holding the fabric near to his stomach. “I’m sorry. Does it hurt?”

A few moments passed for Yuki to understand her question and apology. He waved his hand dismissing it. “Don’t worry. I’m tough.”

Yumi looked up at Yuki. Her heart finally stopped pounding. It calmed for the first time since the weirdness began. “Sorry…”

“Hey, you don’t need to keep apologizing to me.” Yuki patted Yumi on the head. He grinned down at her to reinforce his point.

It took a bit for Yumi, but she managed to return his smile. “Thank you.”

Chapter 156 – One Second to Breathe

With answers settled, they rested for a minute. Things remained fairly quiet between them. It created an awkward mood for Yumi. The night still dragged on reminding Yumi of all of the events. She felt like days passed in all of the confusion. She was just glad it was all over.

Yumi looked around trying to see through the darkened air. “Where is everyone else? Are they all safe? Where’s my brother?!” By the end of her questions, Yumi found herself leaning in towards Yuki. It made her quietly fall back, a little red in the face.

Roughing up his hair, Yuki looked a little embarrassed, forgetting about them at the moment. He quickly came for Yumi. It left them to deal with everything else. “Right! They’re all helping out the others that went with you to get out. Knowing Seiji, he’s probably having too much fun fighting strong opponents.” A weak laugh came from Yuki, knowing Seiji’s nature too well. “But hopefully Saki will be able to convince him.”

Nodding in agreement, Yumi found herself laughing a little with him. “You’re probably right.” Sitting with him allowed her to forget all of her worries.

Cutting the light mood a little short, Yuki changed subjects a little. “I’m just glad I was able to get to you in time. I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you.”

His words made her hesitate a little. It took her a little bit by surprise to see him worrying so much about her. She knew he cared about his friends, but the look in his eyes told her his words came from a different place. It started her heart beating again, but not for the same reasons as earlier. Yumi took a deep breath to calm herself. “Th-thank you, Yuki. But you don’t need to worry so much. I can defend myself.”

“I know, but still…”

It was only getting worse for Yumi. She couldn’t calm her body. Her eyes darted away remembering how easily her emotions ran out of control in front of him. An image of her brother appeared in mind, the one that protested her interest in him the most, even after her friends started to accept Yuki. It immediately changed her thoughts. “Yori! I feel awful! We’re talking and I forgot all about the reason for everything I was doing. I have to rescue him still!” Yumi began to stand up.

Yuki quickly covered the distance between them and grabbed Yumi’s wrist before she got more than a step away. “You don’t need to Yumi. It’s fine.”

She turned her head back to him. Her face narrowed a bit in response to him stopping her. “What are you talking about? He’s my brother! I can’t stand around and do nothing!”

Shaking his head, Yuki paused to re-evaluate his choice of words. “No, I mean you don’t need to do that anymore. We already freed him before we found you.”

The words excited Yumi. She could see her real brother again. It was actually over. She turned her body back to face Yuki. “Where is he? Why isn’t he with you?”

His hand released her. She had no need to run away anymore. “Well, he’s still unconscious from everything that he endured. I didn’t think that you should see him while he was still out. I thought it might be too hard on you.”

Disagreeing, Yumi stepped in closer to Yuki. She fixed him with her eyes to show how much it meant to her. “It doesn’t matter if he’s asleep. I want to see him to know that everything’s fine now.”

“Alright. I’ll take you to see him.” Yuki offered out his hand to Yumi.

The thought of seeing Yori again made her excited. She could see he was no longer alone in a strange land. It gave her comfort, but she still had to see him.

Once more, the couple entered into silence. Yumi’s anxiety in seeing her brother kept her still the entire time. On the other hand, Yuki sensed the atmosphere around Yumi and kept quiet. He knew the importance it had for her. There should be no need to spoil the mood.

Far from the camp, which was almost entirely dark due to the chaos, they found Yori propped up against a lonely tree. The still look on his face seemed like he was waiting for someone to wake him up. Torn clothes with an untainted body made him look more as if he was homeless rather than tortured. However, none of it mattered to Yumi. She ran up to him, placing a hand on him.

“Yori…you’re alive…” She could feel the warmth of his body and the pulsing of life. It reassured her. However, when she tilted her head up to look at his face, something came over her. A cold touch ran down her spine that she couldn’t escape. Images of the things that the illusions of Yori she witnessed returned to her eyes. All of the horror came back stronger than ever. She turned away after only a second.

The pounding in her heart threatened to crack her ribs. She wanted to flee, but knew them to be in her head. No escape was possible. It was only made worse when Yori lowly muttered her name in his sleep. His voice made her skin crawl. Yumi stood up and fled out of the area.

“Yumi! Wait up!” The sudden reaction from Yumi confused him. It took him a few moments to fight through what happened. He ran after her, still trying to sort out what made her flee. Once she was in sight again, he called out to her. “Yumi, what’s wrong?”

Yumi froze hearing Yuki’s voice. She didn’t know how far she ran. The images kept flashing through her eyes making it impossible for her to concentrate on anything. She bent over panting heavily even though she had not run hard. “…won’t…go…away…”

Walking around in front of Yumi, Yuki rested his hand on her shoulder to get her attention. “What won’t go away? Did something bad happen?”

She pulled her head up to look at Yuki. No thoughts went through her mind when she acted, but she knew afterward why she did it. Yumi grabbed on to Yuki because he made her forget about it all before. He was the only thing she had to erase the horrible images from her mind. Once she realized it, she felt guilty using him. However, she couldn’t let go. She just wanted to feel safe again.

It took a little bit for her to calm down, but Yuki felt he could ask her again. They sat down in the grass. She still insisted on holding on to him, though not as tightly. “Everything alright now?”

Yumi turned a little red with embarrassment for her actions toward Yuki. She managed a quick nod in her stifled silence.

“What happened?”

“…I-I…” Her hands tightened around the bits of Yuki’s tunic for safety. All of the images faded already, but the impression remained. She couldn’t go into details with him, but he deserved an answer. “I remembered something…terrible…”

“While you were with Yori?”

“…yes…” A second later her body started to shake and her pupils shrank. The realization hit her hard after her words. She understood what it meant. ‘I’m afraid of my own brother!’ Yumi’s mind ran quickly through the implications. She couldn’t believe it at first, but her reactions with him told her otherwise. The thought of being scared of him made her body go into a cold sweat. ‘What do I do?!’

“Yumi? What’s wrong?”

She looked up at him trying to hold herself together. ‘I can’t say it to him… I can’t…’ Yumi shut her eyes for a moment. Her mind worked to push as much as she could away. She needed to show Yuki a better face. ‘He’ll keep worrying about me… I can’t let him…’ It took her a lot of effort, but she managed a small smile and happier appearing face. “It’s nothing! Just a faint memory, but it’s in the past now.”

Yuki looked a little uncertain. She still shook a little in his arms. The determined eyes she gave him made him want to know more, but also felt like he should let her have space. He got the feeling he shouldn’t press her. “Okay…I’m here though. For you, you know, right? I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you again. I’ll protect you forever!”

“…Yuki…” Hearing his words made her expression genuine. He kept her safe. Nothing bad would come to her with him around. She knew he would be true to his words. All she needed to do was stay with him. Yumi rested her head on his shoulder. Her body felt calm again. “…thank you…”

Suddenly, Yuki pressed against her and knocked her back into the grass. His hands propped himself up keeping him from lying on top of her. A weak grin of embarrassment painted across his lips. Yumi never imagined Yuki being so bold. She felt torn between resisting and accepting his advances. However, the expression on Yuki’s face changed again. “Yuki?” He looked in pain and his blood dripped from his lips. His hand moved weakly over to Yumi’s face touching her.

Yumi quickly realized something wrong had happened. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open wanting to scream, but her voice was empty. Horror painted across her face again. She didn’t understand what happened to him. It all happened too fast, but then she felt a terrible pain in her stomach. Blood entered her throat and an all too familiar feeling returned to her. ‘…no…no…NO! Not again!’ She stretched out her hand for Yuki, the last person that made her feel safe. The light of his eyes faded away and she felt her life to follow him.

Tears dripped down the side of her face. Everything was over. It was all a lie. She couldn’t be safe anywhere. All of the images flood her mind in her last moments. Again she wanted to scream, but could not. Her mind overloaded itself at the sight, stopping all movement in her body. The last pieces of her sanity slipped away. She couldn't take it anymore.

Yumi just wanted nothing.

Yuki’s body fell on top of her. The last thing she felt was Yuki’s blood soaking into her. The last thing she saw was her brother’s dark face standing over them. And, the last thing she heard was his words. “Now you can be together forever,” Yori spoke with laced disdain.

Yumi disappeared. She was nothing.

Her body collapsed at the feet of the Atlantean boy. He looked down at her, not surprised by any of it. It all went as he planned. “That took a little longer than I expected, but the result is still the same. The Captain should be pleased to have another one caught.” The boy started pulling out large metal cuffs with special inscriptions carved through the surface. “He should grant me another visit with this reward.”

The boy bent down to bind Yumi, but a new wind suddenly burst from her. A reddish glow tinted her skin. It made the boy take a step back cautiously. “I thought I knocked her out. She shouldn’t have any more will.”

Yumi’s body stood up, but held still. It had fluid movements as though in control. She didn’t appear to be reacting by impulse or instinct. However, her eyes remained closed and her head tilted down darkening her face in shadow. The wind gathered up some of the hue coming from Yumi painting the environment an unusual red pigment.

The Atlantean stepped forward with his Field still active. He raised his hand up to her forehead again. If she could stand, he needed to finish his job. However, her hand grabbed him by the wrist before he could get close enough. “What?!”

Her head pulled back bringing light to her face. A harsh and sharply carved feature covered her face. Yumi was the same, but looked completely different from before. She opened her eyes revealing them to be light blue rather than the usual medium brown. “You made a mistake putting her to sleep. I’m not so kind as her…”

A stream of blood rose into the air. The blood painted the boy’s face in shock as his eyes widened. “How is…this possible…”