Dragonslayer9907 signing in.
AN: Well this is my first Kekkaishi fanfic. I finish watching the anime and thought it was awesome and I am also currently reading the manga. Anyway this will be a very sad, angsty, and long one-shot. If you don't like character death and heartbreaking moments then please navigate away from this page. Anyway enough with this random rambling.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kekkaishi. Though I must say whoever thought of the idea was a genius. :)
General POV
It was a cold night, winds howling continuously without end. At the Karasumori Academy two people, one girl and one boy, sat on the steps waiting for any signs of invading Ayakashi. One might ask what they were doing there, so I'll answer that question. They are Kekkaishi, elite casters of barriers and the eternal protectors of the land of Karasumori.
Yoshimori POV
There was a lingering darkness in the air today, yet I didn't sense anything malicious near Karasumori and most importantly Yukimura Tokine, the girl that I love. I, Sumimura Yoshimori, swore to protect her and everyone else, because I don't want to see anyone get hurt again like the time when I was inexperienced and weak.
Flashback
"Ketsu!"
I had created a kekkai around a tree that an Ayakashi was hiding behind. I walked up to the tree and was about to cast a Metsu and destroy the Ayakashi when I thought I heard crying. I looked at the Ayakashi that I had trapped and was surprised to find that it was a wounded little girl that was sobbing.
"I'm sorry! I was told that my wounds would heal faster if I came to Karasumori. I'll leave right now." the little Ayakashi "girl" sobbed, "never mind, it would be better if I was ended here. I would only get eaten if I went back anyway. It's because I'm weak."
And being the nice guy that I was, I hesitated in casting the Metsu and then Tokine arrived and all hell broke loose. The girl transformed into a huge bug like Ayakashi with scythe-like claws and slashed through my kekkai. When Ayakashi decided to try and slash me, Tokine jumped in front of me and blocked the slash with her left arm before destroying the Ayakashi. She fell ill after that day and got scarred for life, I felt like the most useless person on the earth. I didn't know how to make it up to her, but after I heard that she wanted a cake castle of sweetness, baking cakes became my lifelong passion. Though she had probably forgotten that she had ever wanted that, I would never forget.
End Flashback
Anyway, today I had finally completed the cake castle for Tokine, I had a kekkai placed around it so that Shige-ji wouldn't destroy it, and had been planning to give to her tomorrow on the way to school. I had a little batter leftover, so I baked a smaller version of the castle and brought tonight so that Tokine could try it. I had brought in my backpack and took it out as soon as I got to the Academy.
"Tokine! I brought some more cake. Here try a piece." I said happily as a pulled out the cake and handed her the mini castle.
"Yoshimori, now really isn't the time for us to be eating cake you know." Tokine said as she took a bite into the cake. In her mind, she couldn't help but wonder why the cake tasted as of it came from the heavens, but on the outside she had to keep her co,d calculating persona or else Yoshimori would have a chance to tease her. She calmly put the cake back into the wrapping, wrapped it, and then formed a kekkai around it, making sure that she would be able to come back for it later.
"So? Tokine how was it?" I asked anxiously hoping that she liked it.
"It's alright," Tokine replied lying through her teeth.
At that moment, we sensed an invading Ayakashi and rushed to engage it in battle. When we got to the scene, we saw a cockroach-like Ayakashi that freaked Tokine out, pretty much completely putting her out of commission.
"Get it away from me! Kill it Yoshimori, kill it!" Tokine said before running to the nearest pillar and hiding behind it.
Normally these low level Ayakashi wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that this one could become invisible as well.
"Ketsu!"
"Ketsu!"
"Ketsu!"
After running around for what seemed like hours on end and trying to catch it. I ran out of energy. I dropped to one knee in exhaustion, while I tried to sense where the Ayakashi was. When I was finally able to lock on to where it was, I freaked out. I immediately sped forward and jumped in front of Tokine, before I felt a searing pain come from my chest, arms, and stomach. Tokine looked up at me with big, round, scared eyes as I appeared to be suspended in midair by claws before I fell to the ground as the Ayakashi withdrew its claws. The Ayakashi materialized before us and laughed.
"Are you really the legitimate heir? Such a weakling isn't suited to bear the title and honor of legitimate heir."
"Don't get too cocky, you low level, unworthy Ayakashi. Just because you managed to scratch me doesn't mean that I've lost!" I said as I stood up, blood spilling from my wounds as I uttered one word, "Zekkai!"
My Zekkai formed around me, in a purple sphere of energy, before I leapt at the smirking Ayakashi completely obliterating it from existence. After the Ayakashi disintegrated, my Zekkai collapsed and I fell backwards bleeding out of my multiple wounds. I crashed to the ground on my back and looked up to the sky. I heard Tokine shout my name, but I was too weak to answer. Why am I so weak?
Tokine POV
Today's Ayakashi was a cockroach and well I have this thing with those little creepy crawlers and this one was huge. I ran away of course. Yoshimori was trying very hard by himself to capture the black six legged monster and well he was having a hard time because it could become invisible. I remember that he was at one point taking a knee and resting before he suddenly appeared in front of me. The next thing I knew Yoshimori was in the air with three claws sticking out of his back in mid air. His blood came raining down on me as I looked up in horror. It took a while but I soon realized that he had taken a fatal blow that was meant for me.
The Ayakashi retracted its claws and Yoshimori plummeted to the earth, bleeding heavily from his wounds. But after the Ayakashi taunted him, he simply stood up before using his Zekkai to completely erase the Ayakashi. I watched in awe and wonder as I saw him there in midair as if he were an angelic knight in shining armor, before the sky darkened even more and he fell out of the sky.
"Yoshimori!" I yelled frantically as I sprinted to his side as he landed on the ground. I kneeled down beside him and put my hands on the holes that were present on his chest trying to staunch the blood that was streaming out.
"Why did you do it, you idiot? Why? Why are you always so reckless?" I said, tears streaming out of my eyes.
"Because, I love you and I don't want you to get hurt again like that one time. Besides I don't want to see anything happen to anyone, even if it means that I must sacrifice myself. You know if I survive this, I'll always be there to protect you. I'll never leave you." Yoshimori struggled to answer.
"You idiot! Don't you know that there are people that are going be hurt when they see you get hurt? Did you even think about how I would feel if I lost you? Come on, I'm going to get you some help. You're not going to die on me today!" I said as I lifted Yoshimori onto my shoulders and supported him on my back. I ran as fast as I could, with the deadweight known as Yoshimori, to the Sumimura residence. As soon as I reached the door I struggled to knock on the door before screaming at the top of my lungs to get the attention of the Sumimura family.
"Shuji-san, Shige-san! Yoshimori's in trouble! He needs help!" I yelled loudly, not really caring if I disturbed the neighbors.
Moments later Yoshimori's dad opened the door and looked on in shock at what Yoshimori looked like and immediately took him from me. He carried him to the house before turning toward me and saying, "Tokine, go home. You won't be of any help here anyway."
I wanted to say something about staying but when I opened my mouth nothing came out. I walked back to my house, gave a small greeting to my mom and grandmother before i ran to my room. I slammed the door behind me and fell to my knees, tears that I had been holding back streamed from my eyes as I remembered how disgusting and sick the wounds Yoshimori had taken looked. I didn't understand why, but even though I knew that he probably wasn't going to make it, I just couldn't believe that he would be wounded. I was confused. Many different emotions were circulating and I just couldn't make sense of any of it. I remembered that time when Yoshimori saved Julia and pissed me off, but when he tried to reproduce the event, I started to see what Julia was talking about. It was a weird feeling, but I think I am in love with Yoshimori. All these random emotions and thoughts were too much for my mind and it shut down, sending me into blissful sleep.
Yoshimori POV
I lost consciousness after Tokine came over and yelled at me. I'm pitiful aren't I, not being able to stop the girl that I love from crying. During the time in the darkness of unconsciousness, I did a lot of thinking of everything that I hadn't done, all the regrets that I had. Everything seemed to happen so quickly I remembered waking up once to find myself in my room before before I fell into what I thought was unconsciousness, but what I didn't know was that death had taken hold. The next time I "woke up" I looked around and saw that I was still in my room but what scared me the most was that I was staring at my own body. I had been dead for a few hours now but know one seemed to notice as I seemed to be sleeping peacefully. The wounds on my body had miraculously been healed, but I suspected that Karasumori had something to do with it. I walked out of my room and toward the dining room where everyone seemed to be. I floated in through the door and was greeted by the smiling face of my little brother Toshimori, who hadn't realized that I was a spirit and not a real human anymore. My dad, Shuji, looked up in confusion as he looked around to find a trace of me, while my grandfather, Shigemori, looked up in horror as he realized what was happening.
"Toshimori, what are you talking about I don't see Yoshimori anywhere. Father do you see him anywhere?" Shuji asked confused.
"Yes, we have a big problem here. You can't see him because, because well you aren't a Kekkaishi and can't see spirits. It seems that he has decided to move on and leave us for good. He was supposed to be the legitimate heir, but I guess the Yukimura really are better than us. We need to preserve the body of Yoshimori and after 49 days of ritual before we put him into the ground to rest but the most important thing right now is to help Yoshimori move on. I really wonder what is keeping him from moving on." Shigemori said.
I floated around aimlessly throughout the house, trying to figure out what was holding me back from passing on. I floated out to the front of the house, remembering that today was still a school day. I floated around and saw that Tokine was walking to school and yelled, "Hey Tokine!"
Tokine turned around are said, "Stop following me you idiot!" before walking forward yet again. After a few seconds, she turned around and looked at me as if I wasn't supposed to be there and realized that I was supposed to be fatally wounded and stranded at home. She stared at me for a few seconds and then suddenly screamed before running at me.
"Yoshimori! No! NO! This can't be happening. You were supposed to be there protecting forever, never leaving my side. Didn't you promise me that you would always be there to protect me?" Tokine screamed out as she shook my spirit. "Yes, I did." I replied simply. "Then, why? Why did you leave me?" Tokine screamed as she held onto my spirit, tears streaming from her eyes.
"I don't know. I just don't know." I replied, "I don't know why and I don't remember why I can't pass on either."
"Then don't. Don't remember that way we can always be together." Tokine said with desperation as she clung onto me.
"Tokine, you know I can't do that. If I stay here too long I'll turn into an Ayakashi and then you'll have to erase me before I hurt anyone." I said trying to snap her out of her unreasonable thought path.
"As long as you don't go to Karasumori then you'll be fine. Yoshimori, please, please stay with me. I love you and I don't want you to go!" Tokine said in the same desperate tone.
"Fine." I said as I gave in to her pitiful pleas. I didn't want to hurt her anymore and maybe staying behind for just a bit longer would help.
I followed her all around the school and even managed to catch one of my time honored naps on the roof before we went home. I floated home, after school ended that day, and went straight into the kitchen as I had always done. I remembered that I was always in there trying to perfect a cake castle that I was making for Tokine. I wandered around the kitchen for a while reminiscing about all the times I had been in the kitchen when I suddenly saw something in a kekkai on the counter. I stepped closer to the object and realized what I had forgotten all along. The missing piece that brought everything together. I had finally figured out why I couldn't move on. The reason was that I had yet to actually give Tokine her precious cake castle. I stayed afloat in midair staring at the marvelous cake that I had created and wondered if Tokine would like it or not. Hopefully she would and then I could move on.
Tokine POV
Yoshimori was dead, yet his spirit was still here. It could still be like the old days when they were together. I didn't really see the difference, I love him and I didn't care if he was Yoshimori or just the spirit of Yoshimori. As long as he was here with her than she wasn't going to let anything change that. Though I know that it was a little far-fetched and selfish for me to try and keep Yoshimori's spirit here in the real world. Besides Yoshimori was a stubborn idiot and he was always there so it didn't really matter because this was obviously a very sick nightmare. He was so strong and well he would never die, even if he was wounded that bad he would just
"Tokine!" I heard my grandmother, Tokiko, call.
"Yes!" I answered quickly.
"Shuji-san has asked for you to come over and he said something about being able to help Yoshimori move on." Tokiko said.
"Eh? Okay I guess." I answered as I tried not to think about the possibility of accidentally making Yoshimori pass on.
I walked over to the Sumimura residence and walked into the house where I was greeted by the spirit of Yoshimori and Toshimori.
"Hey Tokine! I finally remember what is keeping me here! See it's that Cake castle on the counter." Yoshimori's spirit said as it led me to the kitchen.
On the counter, with a kekkai protecting it, was the most intricate and lovely cake that I had ever seen. It was a lovely western style castle with a chocolate bar drawbridge, that went across an icing filled moat. The castle itself had five towers, one on each corner and one in the center, and battlements with a gate. The gate was made of chocolate and the everything else was made of vanilla cake. The towers were roofed with chocolate and a gumdrop at the top. The walls were sprinkled in different sweets that probably were imported from other countries. The cake was finished with magnificent coatings of chocolate lines in many beautiful patterns.
"What?!" I asked in disbelief, "why did you make a cake castle and why the hell is it the only thing that is keeping you from leaving?"
"You must have forgotten but when you were still feverish after that time when the Ayakashi attacked you, you said that you wanted a castle of sweets. I made you that Japanese style castle and you ate it with joy, but after I gave it to you, my dad gave me some western cake and told me that you probably wanted the western style cake. After that making that cake castle has been my life's ambition. You were probably wondering why I was obsessed with cake and well it's all because of you. Go on take a bite!" Yoshimori's spirit explained to me.
"No! I won't take a bite of that cake! If I do you'll move on and I won't ever see you again!" I yelled at Yoshimori's spirit only to see him already fading away through my tears.
"Tokine, it doesn't matter anymore. The thing that was keeping me here was that you hadn't known about the cake castle that I had made for you. It was the feeling of not getting any credit for all of that hard work and not seeing the smile on your face when you saw it. Tokine, I will always love you!" Yoshimori's spirit said as he passed on to the spirit world.
"NO! Don't leave me!" I screamed as Yoshimori's spirit dissolved into yellow light and dispersed. "I never got to tell you that, I love you, too."
Real World POV
Tokine was in her room twisting and turning after a long work session at Karasumori when Yoshimori sustained a few gashes on his chest because he was protecting her from a bug-like Ayakashi that brought back memories of the one that scarred her for life. She suddenly sat upright and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Yoshimori!"
She looked around and saw that it was already morning and it was time for her to get ready to get to school. She tried getting the image of Yoshimori getting stabbed through the chest out of her mind as she got ready for school. She walked out of the house and when she turned around, she saw a healthy Yoshimori carrying a box walking towards her.
"Hey Tokine! I have something for you!" Yoshimori said happily.
Tokine ran up to Yoshimori and immediately stared at him making sure that he was real and wasn't a spirit. "Tokine are you alright?" Yoshimori asked as he felt a little awkward getting stared at by Tokine.
"Huh, oh yeah nothing's wrong at all." Tokine replied, relieved that Yoshimori was okay, "Are you wounds better, should you be walking around right now?"
"Huh, oh those. They're nothing to worry about, I'll be scarred but besides that there's really nothing that serious. Anyways, I wanted to give this to you." Yoshimori said as he handed Tokine the box.
Tokine opened the box and stared in wonder at what was inside it. Inside the box was the same exact cake that she had seen in her dream. The beautiful castle of sweets that she had always wanted. She cried tears of joy.
"Why are you crying? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have given it to you." Yoshimori said, feeling a little depressed at the fact that Tokine was crying.
"No, no! It's the best thing you could have ever given me." Tokine said as she gave Yoshimori a smile before leaning in and giving Yoshimori a small kiss on the lips.
AN: HAHAHA! I wonder how many of you I got with that dream scene of mine. Anyways back to the important stuff. I really hoped that you all liked it.
Please Review. I love all your comments and take into account any form of constructive criticism that you give.
Thank you for reading!
Dragonslayer9907 signing out.