ヒカリ の シイド
Hikari no Shiido
T H E S E E D O F L I G H T
“Mother?” echoed Mizu.
“Our mother died shortly after Yami kidnapped me. He sent his men to kill her, under the disguise of terrorists. He wanted to weaken Fujin… to get more pleasure in eventually killing him,” explained Yuni.
“Is Fujin really the Hikari no Shiido?” Aisu asked suddenly.
Yuni opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by a voice from behind her. “Yes, and no.”
Yuni froze. “M-mother?” she asked tentatively, turning to face the woman behind her. “Mother! It’s you!”
Rei smiled. “Hello, my beautiful daughter.”
“’Mother’?” asked Aisu. “I thought that your mother was dead!”
“I am,” replied Rei.
“Ghost!” shouted Kogasu. “Stay away from me!!”
“There’s no need to be afraid of me,” Rei said serenely. “I’m a benevolent ghost.” She touched her hand to Kogasu’s cheek. “See?”
Kogasu calmed down. “O-oh.”
“Mother, how are you here?” asked Yuni. “Don’t dead people stay, y’know, dead?”
“Normally, yes,” answered Rei. “But the worlds are getting weaker. The barriers between the realms of fear, reality, and the afterlife… they’re faltering. Fujin’s getting weaker. We need to save him.”
“How?” asked Aisu. “We can’t touch him.”
“Our magic’ll hurt him,” added Kogasu.
“We’re screwed,” finished Mizu.
“Can’t you do something?” asked Yuni.
Rei shook her head. “If we want to defeat Yami, we’ll need Kanji as well as Fujin.”
“Why?” questioned Aisu.
“It has to do with your question. Fujin is the Hikari no Shiido, but at the same time, he isn’t,” answered Rei.
“Excuse me?” asked Mizu. “I don’t understand.”
“When Yami sent his lackies to kill me, Fujin was nearly killed as well, which was not Yami’s original goal at that time, I might add. Fujin was… the word would be ‘absorbed,’ I think. Fujin was absorbed into Kanji’s body… they became one, but Kanji was in control. The magic that was invoked has the power to save a life, but at a price,” explained Rei. “If two people are joined for too long, they’ll stay as one. Even if they’re joined for a short time, such as Fujin and Kanji, there are some side effects. Their magics combined, so that both have water magic as well as light magic. Lightmages naturally have some light magic, but this greatly increased Kanji’s power. Both of them can be considered one half of the Hikari no Shiido, meaning that they need each other to invoke the full powers of the Hikari no Shiido. Because Kanji’s dead, it will be impossible to defeat Yami.”
“This can’t be!” protested Aisu. “We can’t lose, we’ve come so far!”
“Mother,” began Yuni thoughtfully. “You’re here, aren’t you? Couldn’t Kanji be around here? Couldn’t you find him?”
Rei shook her head. “No… if he had made it to the afterlife, I would have known. Whenever a close relative or friend of someone in the afterlife dies, the person will be able to find their dearly departed… but, when Kanji died, I couldn’t sense him. Something happened… I just don’t know what.”
* * *
His eyes opened. He tried to move, but the darkness bound him tightly. Fujin…, he thought. I can’t leave you… I promised I’d take care of you… I promised…The darkness binding him weakened. Fujin… I have to save you… I have to keep my promise… Suddenly, the darkness binding him disappeared altogether, leaving him standing in a dimly lit space, with a small figure in the distance. “Fujin!” he shouted.
* * *
“We’re screwed. We’re screwed, we’re screwed, we’re screwed!” said Mizu hopelessly.
There came a shout from behind the group. “Fujin!” shouted Kanji, barreling past them, throwing his arms around Fujin. Despite the electricity flowing through his body, he kept his grip.
“Kanji, no!” shouted Yuni, alarmed. “You’ll be killed… again!”
“I don’t care!” shouted Kanji back. “I made a promise, and I have to keep it.” Then, to Fujin, “Fujin, I’m here. You can wake up now, I’m here, don’t worry! I promised that I’d protect you, and I’m keeping my promise!”
Fujin sat on the stairs, crying. Kanji entered the foyer and crossed to him. “Fujin, what’s wrong?”
“We-we’re all alone… Mother… Father…Oneechan… they’re all gone…”
Kanji embraced Fujin tightly. “We still have each other. I won’t leave you. I promise.”
Fujin’s eyes opened, glazed over. “Oniisama…?” he whispered.
“Fujin, I’m right here, I’m right here!” insisted Kanji.
“Oniisama… help me… you promised that you wouldn’t leave me… where are you…?” Fujin mumbled.
“Fujin, I’m right here! Right here in front of you!”
Aisu looked away, unable to watch. “This is awful… Kanji’s so devoted to him, but he can’t save him…”
Rei shook her head. “Kanji is the one person that Fujin has known his entire life, longer than any of us… he’s the one closest to Fujin. He’ll save him.”
“Oniisama… where are you…?”
“Fujin, I’m right here!” Kanji’s body began glowing with a blue light.
“What’s going on?!” demanded Aisu. “What’s happening?!”
“Kanji’s using his powers… his powers from deep inside of him…,” answered Rei.
A tear fell onto Fujin’s cheek. “Fujin, I’m right here! Wake up, look at me, I’m right here!” Another tear fell onto Fujin’s cheek, and suddenly, his skin returned to it’s natural color.
Fujin looked up. “Oniisama… is it really you?”
The blue aura around Kanji disappeared, and he nodded. “It is.” He hugged Fujin tighter, and there came a scream of anguish.
“NO!” came Yami’s voice.
Rei disappeared with a smile. “Good luck…,” came a ghostly whisper.
In front of the group appeared the black cloud that was Yami. It twisted itself into a devilish monster.
“We aren’t afraid anymore,” said Kanji.
“You can conjure images of our parents,” continued Mizu.
“Our powers getting out of control,” added Kogasu.
“The thing most important to us getting taken away,” continued Aisu.
“Or the deaths of our loved ones,” said Yuni.
“But you can’t scare us any longer. We are more powerful than you… our experiences give us power. We will defeat you,” Fujin finished determinedly. Fujin and Kanji joined hands, and their bodies began to glow with the aqua-colored light that was their aura.
The Elementals held out their hands. Kogasu began glowing with his red aura, Aisu with her white aura, and Mizu with her purple aura. Yuni stepped forward and put her hand on Fujin’s shoulder. Fujin’s and Kanji’s aura enveloped her, and she stepped back. Kanji’s and Fujin’s aura grew brighter.
The jewels from the Elementals’ necklaces appeared, floating in front of them. Fujin’s necklace began to glow as well. It unclasped itself and turned into a sword made of pure silver, with a golden hilt. In the hilt, set in each of the limbs were the jewels. In the center, directly below the blade, was the blue jewel.
Kanji and Fujin gripped the sword with their free hand. Their auras, as well as that of the Elementals, intensified. The Elementals’ aura’s began flowing through each other, twisting into a multicolored rope and encircling the sword.
Yami raised a claw in front of its face, shielding itself from the light.
“Hi,” whispered Kogasu.
“Kaze,” whispered Mizu.
“Aisu,” whispered Aisu.
“Ai,” whispered Yuni.
Kanji tightened his grip on Fujin’s hand, as well as on the sword. “Mizu,” he said.
“Light,” finished Fujin.
Kanji and Fujin raised the sword into the air. “Mizu, Kaze, Hi, Aisu, Ai,” they said in unison. “We call upon your powers, help us to banish this evil. Erementaru no Supairaru!”
They pointed the sword at Yami. A spiral of light, an aqua-colored light surrounded by four different colored beams, one color for each of the Elementals, as well as a deep blue forYuni, shot at Yami.
As the light approached Yami, it returned back into its cloud-like form. The light shot through the cloud, dissipating it.
The sword disappeared, and the necklaces returned to everyone’s necks. Fujin’s hand slipped out of Kanji’s, and he slumped to the ground.
“Fujin!” exclaimed Kanji.
Yuni and the others rushed to Fujin’s side.
Kanji shook his head. “No. Stay back,” he commanded.
The space around them turned into Yami’s cave. Aisu began to step forward, but Yuni said, “Stay right here. We’re here, near him, and that’s enough.”
“Fujin…,” repeated Kanji. He gripped Fujin’s cold, clammy hand. “Fujin, wake up.” There was no reply. “Fujin!”
Aisu looked away. First Fujin had to deal with Kanji’s death, now it’s the other way around…
Mizu looked at her feet sadly. Kogasu clenched his fists angrily. Yuni put a hand on Kanji’s shoulder. “Maybe it was just his time to die,” she suggested softly.
“His time? His time?” repeated Kanji, “That wasn’t the evil that he was supposed to defeat! He wasn’t supposed to die! I promised that I’d protect him!” He punched the ground with his free fist. “I promised, and I failed!”
Several fingers with a slight warmth brushed against Kanji’s cheek, brushing away a tear. “It’s alright, oniisama…,” Fujin said weakly. “You didn’t fail… I… I didn’t mean to be a burden… I would’ve never let you promise that if I knew that you’d beat yourself up over it…” Several tears rolled down Fujin’s cheek. “I’m sorry…”
“Quit it,” replied Kanji, crying as well. “You’re always sacrificing yourself, and I won’t tolerate it. I always feel so helpless, I need to do something to help you…”
Aisu shifted uncomfortably and shoed Mizu and Kogasu to the other side of the cave, where they watched from afar. “Family moment, and we aren’t family!” said Aisu.
“Oniisama… maybe it’d been better if I had never been born… I don’t want to be such a burden…”
Yuni shifted uncomfortably as well. “This is between you two,” she said, joining Aisu and the others across the cave.
“No, it wouldn’t have been better. I wouldn’t have had a little brother to take care of, I would’ve been alone now. It was destiny that you were born, and I’m glad of it,” answered Kanji.
“Oniisama… I’m sorry that I can’t stay with you…”
“You’re not going to die,” insisted Kanji. “You’re staying with Yuni and I, and even the Elementals, if you want.”
“Really? Oniisama… thank you so much… I finally have friends… thank you…” Fujin’s hand dropped from Kanji’s cheek, and his eyes closed.
“Fujin… you’re going to stay with us, remember? Fujin, wake up… open your eyes…,” cried Kanji. A tear fell onto Fujin’s cheek, restoring a slight tinge of color to his face. Kanji continued crying. “Fujin…”
Aisu stifled a small laugh as she approached. “Not to be rude… but there’s no need for hysterics. Fujin’s breathing.”
Kanji’s eyes widened. “Fujin!” he said in disbelief. “He is breathing! He’s alive!”
Mizu smiled, relieved. It’s good that Fujin’s okay… but Kanji sounded like something out of a horror movie…
“How do we get out of here?” asked Kogasu. “We used up the last of the powder stuff getting here.”
Kanji looked up at the group. “We’ll just have to wait for Fujin to wake up so he can take us. I’m too weak to try.”
Fujin opened his eyes slightly. “Someone say my name?” he asked groggily, then fell back asleep.