"Look! Over there!" Mannen cried out excitedly, running towards the gap in the barrier.
"Are you sure this is okay?" Hajime asked uncertainly.
Shin watched the two of his friends silently. Mannen grinned and gestured to the other two to follow him.
"It'll be fine! Follow me!" he cried, squeezing through the sliver in the magical barrier. Hajime followed him somewhat hesitantly, holding Shin's hand protectively. As soon as they passed through the barrier, the oppressive air surrounded them. Mannen coughed as the Leafe drained air filled his lungs.
Shin looked unhappily at his surroundings. There were no living beings in sight. All the Leafe from the trees and plants had been sucked away—and it felt like a vacuum. Hajime felt a shudder pass through his system as he felt the contaminated Leafe from the polluted water call out to him.
"I want to go back," Shin said. Mannen—who looked as scared as Shin felt—turned towards Shin in irritation.
"Stop being such a baby. We'll go back after we see what made that light last night," Mannen said, crossing his arms. Shin looked about to cry, but sniffled and nodded instead.
Hajime made a barrier around them as it began to rain. The three had heard the stories of the acidic rain that fell from the sky beyond the barrier, and they were taking no chances. Besides, if any of that rain landed on them it would be a clear sign to Go that they had gone past the barrier. And he would kick their butts if he found out for sure.
Although Mannen walked confidently forward, he was beginning to feel uneasy. True, he had seen a shooting beam of light fall somewhere around here last night—but where exactly was a mystery to him.
He thought he heard something move behind him, and he shuddered. It was broad daylight—when the creatures were said to be asleep—so it should be okay, he decided, continuing forward.
"Mannen," Hajime said in a small voice, "I think there's something behind us…"
"It's your imagination," Mannen retorted, both to comfort Hajime and himself.
Seconds later, a huge beast with a hideous mouth full of razor sharp teeth flew towards them. Mannen quickly made a wall of ice to stop it, but knew it was only temporary.
"Run!" he yelled, grabbing Hajime's hand. In his shock at seeing the creature, Hajime had released Shin's hand. Shin stood rooted to the stop, staring at the creature. Having never seen anything as terrifying in his life, he was unable to move from fear.
"Shin!" Hajime called out.
"Damn! Shin, run!" Mannen cried out, running back towards Shin. But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't beat the monster's speed. He made a slide of ice and surfed his way towards Shin—watching in horror as the monster's deadly teeth came inches away from Shin's small form.
"Shin!" another voice cried out, blasting a sonic wave towards the creature. Howling in pain, the creature turned to attack its attacker, a snow-white haired, gentle-looking teen with vivid lavender eyes.
"Sasame, get Shin! I'll handle the monster!" another male voice cried out, emitting a blast of wind from his hands. The creature felt the sharp winds keenly and rushed towards its second attacker, a deep blue-haired, blue-eyed teen that looked as hostile as Sasame looked gentle. A stream of fire added to Hayate's wind attacks.
"Don't have all the fun, Hayate," a red and brown haired teen said with a grin, "Besides, I need to beat the crap out of Mannen after this is over…"
Mannen grimaced as he heard Go's angry voice as he attacked the creature with fire. Mannen rushed forward to help the battle, but was stopped by a feminine-looking male with blond hair.
"Kei, I can fight!" Mannen protested.
"This fight is almost over," Kei replied.
He was right. With Hayate's and Go's volley of fire and wind, the creature was succumbing in a pool of its own dark, oozing blood. As the creature rasped its final breaths, Go made his way over to Mannen.
"I thought I told you NEVER to go past the barrier!" he roared, pulling on Mannen's ear.
"Ow! Ow!" Mannen cried out, trying to wriggle free from his brother's grasp.
"How is Shin?" Kei asked, as he placed a reassuring hand on his younger brother Hajime's head.
Sasame was grasping his trembling younger brother Shin tightly, his usually gentle eyes burning with anger. He averted his eyes.
"Why was there a crack in the barrier?" Hayate demanded.
"It doesn't matter. For now, let's get back and seal it back up again," Kei said calmly.
As they turned to leave, Hayate thought he saw a flash of light in the corner of his eye.
"Go on ahead. There's something I want to check out," he said.
"You'll be fine alone?" Sasame asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll be fine. Take the kids back. I'll join you," Hayate replied, already heading towards the source of the light.
As he continued towards the direction of the pulsating light, he felt the whisper of a voice in the wind. A familiar yet dangerous voice. Ignoring its entreaties, he continued forward, until he came across a globe of light. His eyes widened as he realized that there was a young girl suspended inside of the globe of light.
He hesitated, and then extended his hand towards the light. He felt a shock run through his system as he touched the orb, and watched in amazement as it flickered and shattered into thousands of tiny shards. The body of the suspended girl began to fall to the ground.
"Ugh," Hayate groaned as her weight landed on him. Heaving her off of him, he narrowed his eyes.
The girl had bright pink hair and fair skin and was garbed in some strange outfit that was certainly from some distant place. If not for the slight movements of her chest as she breathed, she looked like a corpse.
"So, it's you, is it?" Hayate said, a hand on her cheek.
And he bent down to press his lips to hers.