ヒカリ の シイド
Hikari no Shiido
T H E S E E D O F L I G H T
Ch. 11
The vortex led to a pitch-black room. Mizu and the others fell into the room in one large heap.
“Get your foof ouf of my mouf!” yelled Kogasu from the bottom of the pile.
“I can’t!” replied Aisu. “Kakera-chan, get your rear end out of my face!”
“I can’t move! Fujin’s sister is on top of me!”
“Sorry!” exclaimed Yuni, jumping off of them.
“Hey… Fujin’s sister, are you alright?” asked Mizu. There was no answer.
“Ufly old haf, get youf foof ouf of my mouf!” repeated Kogasu.
“I would, if-“
“Sorry!” Mizu blushed, climbing off of them. She said no more.
“Kakera-chan?” asked Aisu. “Kakera-chan, you okay?” There was no answer.
“Youf foof!” insisted Kogasu.
Aisu sighed, frustrated, and got off of Kogasu with no comment.
Kogasu stood up. “Hey… hag, where are you?” he asked the emptiness. “Hag?” There was no answer. “…Aisu-san? I’m sorry for calling you an ugly old hag! Come out already! This isn’t funny!” Still no answer.
Suddenly, he was surrounded by flames. “Aisu-san? Mizu-chan? Fujin kun? Anyone?” shouted Kogasu, frightened. The flames intensified. “Help!”
A voice spoke, as if it was Kogasu himself thinking. Your power is out of control. You will be burned to death.
Kogasu huddled down in the center of the flames. “My power’s out of control… I’ll be burned to death…,” he whispered.
* * *
Yuni peered into the darkness. “Fujin?” There was no answer. “Fujin?”
A strange light shone several feet away from Yuni. The light shone on the bodies of Kanji and Fujin. Yuni fell to her knees. “No… it can’t be true!” she cried. “You guys can’t be dead!
It’s your fault. You couldn’t save them.
Yuni covered her face with her hands. “It’s my fault… I couldn’t save them…,” she whimpered. “It’s my fault… I couldn’t save them…”
* * *
Aisu tried to see through the emptiness, but all she saw was darkness. “Fujin? Kakera-chan?” There was no answer. “Anyone?”
In front of her, a balding man in a business suit appeared, an eerie glow surrounding him. “Principal?” asked Aisu.
“You’re fired,” the man said simply. “You’re the worst teacher ever.” With that, the principal disappeared.
“No!” exclaimed Aisu. “I’m not a bad teacher!”
He’s right. You’re a horrible teacher. You don’t deserve to work.
“I’m a horrible teacher… he’s right…” Aisu fell to her knees. “I’m horrible…”
* * *
Mizu felt her way around. “Fujin? Kotoba-sensei?” she spoke into the darkness. “Kogasu-kun?”
In front of her stood a man and a woman, eerily glowing. “Mom? Dad?” asked Mizu. “But… I thought you were… dead…”
Her father smirked. “We aren’t dead. We never could stand you.”
Mizu stepped back. “No… it’s not true… I saw your bodies… you can’t fool me! You aren’t my parents!”
Suddenly, the darkness shattered around her, leaving her in a space of pure nothingness. Several feet away from her kneeled Aisu, glowing with a dark light.
* * *
Fujin was suspended in the middle of a dimly lit space. Where am I? he thought.
You’re in fear’s domain, answered Yami’s voice. Your fear. It… I… will consume you. You will not get out of here alive.
Help! shouted Fujin, or so he thought. I… I can’t speak… someone… help me… anyone…
Dark tendrils, fear, wrapped around Fujin’s legs. Help! Fujin screamed again. The darkness, his fear, was enveloping him. Slowly, but surely, enveloping him.
* * *
“Kotoba-sensei!” shouted Mizu.
“I’m horrible…. I’m horrible…,” whispered Aisu.
Mizu shook Aisu. “Wake up! Kotoba-sensei, snap out of it! You aren’t a bad teacher!”
Aisu heard Mizu’s voice, as if from far away. She looked up to see Mizu. “Kakera-chan…?”
“Kotoba-sensei, it’s just an illusion! You may not have always been the nicest teacher, but you’re the greatest I’ve had! Please, snap out of it!”
“I….illusion…?” The dark aura around Aisu disappeared. “Illusion? How dare he?!”
Mizu smiled. “I think I get what you meant… I think I know what Yami is. Let’s find Kogasu and Fujin’s sister, then we can find Fujin.”
“How can we find Kogasu and the others, though?” asked Aisu. “How did you find me?”
“Well, when I got out of my illusion, I saw you right there… maybe Kogasu’s close by!” answered Mizu.
Aisu looked around and immediately saw Kogasu huddled on the ground, a dark aura surrounding him. Mizu reached down to shake him, and immediately withdrew her hand. “It’s hot!”
Aisu studied Kogasu. “He’s sweating a lot… we have to get him back, or he’ll dehydrate.”
“But how do we get him back? He’s too hot to touch!”
“Perhaps… perhaps I could use my powers to cool him down,” reasoned Aisu. “That should work. You have to somehow get him back, though.” Mizu nodded.
As Aisu cooled Kogasu down, Mizu shook him gently. “Kogasu… wake up. Whatever you’re seeing, it isn’t real!”
Kogasu looked up with dazed eyes. “Kakera-chan… you aren’t being burned… how…?”
“There is no fire!” answered Mizu. “It’s just an illusion!”
The aura around Kogasu disappeared. “Wow… that was intense…”
Aisu rolled her eyes. “Let’s go. We have to find Fujin and his sister.”
* * *
The fear enveloped Fujin to his waist. I’m going to die… no one will save me…
* * *
The group strained their eyes, trying to see Yuni and Fujin. “I don’t see them,” remarked Kogasu.
“Then you aren’t trying hard enough,” replied Aisu tersely.
Mizu stretched her arms and yawned. In the distance, she saw a small figure, shrouded in black. “Is that her?” asked Mizu.
“There’s only one way to find out,” answered Aisu. The group approached the figure.
Yuni looked up at the group, tears in her eyes. “I couldn’t protect them… it’s my fault they’re dead…”
Aisu kneeled to face Yuni. “They aren’t dead. It’s an illusion you’re seeing, nothing more. Listen, Yami has the power to bring our greatest fears to life, and that’s what he’s doing to you. Snap out of it, and let’s go save Fujin and Kanji!”
The aura surrounding Yuni disappeared. “An illusion…? Yami’s more powerful than I thought… let’s go.” Ask if her words triggered something, the group suddenly stood in a dimly lit space, with no visible landmarks to demonstrate how far the space went on. They couldn’t see the light-source. Instead, the only thing they could see besides each other was a small figure floating in the air. “Fujin!” shouted Yuni, dashing to him, the others close behind.
Fujin’s skin had taken on a dark tint, and his eyes were closed. Yuni reached to touch him, there was a zapping noise, a small bolt of electricity went up her arm, and she quickly withdrew her hand. “Ow! Something shocked me!”
“Lemme try,” commanded Mizu, reaching to touch Fujin. She immediately withdrew her hand. “Ow!”
“How do we help him?” wondered Kogasu aloud. “I’ll burn him, Mizu-chan’s wind’ll cut him, Aisu-san will freeze him, and shoujo here can’t touch him!”
“My name isn’t shoujo,” protested Yuni. “It’s Yuni!”
“Whatever,” replied Kogasu.
“Kogasu-kun’s right, though.” Aisu shifted uncomfortably. “Have we come this far just to lose?”
“If only Mother were here…,” said Yuni. “She’d know what to do…”