Conrart
My relief over seeing Kazumi wake up must have overwhelmed me, because I suddenly lunged forward, covering her lips with my own. I knew it was wrong, I never should've done that, but I just couldn't help myself. And even after I'd sworn never to get close enough to a person in that way, well, that oath just flew out the window, didn't it? Kazumi tensed up and I began to regret my action. I pulled away, looking away shamefully.
"S-Sorry… I never should've done that…" I stuttered, looking away. Only a coward would look away from the person they were in love with after kissing them, and that's just what I was. Kazumi was bright red in the face, her eyes wide in shock. Maybe that hadn't been the brightest idea.
"Conrart… Is everyone else okay?" Kazumi asked, sounding hoarse. She'd used up a lot of her energy just to fight that monster. I looked around, seeing everyone else slowly picking themselves up. I turned, nodding, seeing the relief wash over her. She really was too easy to read sometimes.
"Kazu-chan? Are you alright?" Miko asked, running to us and kneeling beside Kazumi. Kazumi nodded, causing Miko to suddenly hug her tightly. I let her go, letting her mother hug her tightly. Shoma approached, giving me a grateful look.
"Thank you for saving my daughter, Conrart… I nearly felt my heart stop when I saw her hanging onto the rollercoaster railing. Thank you" Shoma thanked, offering me his hand. I smiled, nodding as I shook his hand.
"It was no trouble at all, I only wish for her safety and happiness" I replied, seeing the smile on Shoma's face grow.
"I know now… At first I was hesitant when I heard Kazumi was engaged to you, but now I know that it'll be okay. You have my blessing anyway" Shoma stated, making me chuckle. We weren't even an official couple and I already had the father of the bride's blessing? What was wrong with this world?
"So what's going to happen to the festival now?" Shori asked, catching our attention. He had a good point.
"And what do we do now? Should we leave? We'll have a hard time explaining to the police…" Yuri asked as well, holding his arm in pain from his injury. Hisako nodded.
"Yeah, leaving would be the best bet, the police would never believe our story anyway" Hisako stated, looking serious. Wolfram nodded in agreement. Just as we all stood, about to turn away and leave, a voice made us halt in our tracks.
"And just where do you think we're going?" asked a sinister, yet extremely voice. I turned, feeling horrified at the thought of who the owner was. When all of us had turned, we froze in shock, seeing another Kazumi standing there. She was wearing the exact same thing the real Kazumi was wearing, and was even the same age as her. She was completely identical! I gasped, my gut twisting into an unbearable knot.
"Two Kazu-chan's?" Miko asked, looking more amazed than confused. The fake Kazumi laughed, showing a sinister smile on the copy of that beautiful face I'd fallen in love with. How could she? How could she make such a beautiful face that was always smiling, look so horrid?
"Kazumi!" Wolfram called out as I turned in her direction, seeing Kazumi walk out towards her fake.
"Kazumi…" I whispered, unsure if I should try and stop her. But what could I do? I had no weapon, no magic… nothing. The most I could do was offer words of support, what good was that going to do? Zilch.
"Kazu-chan?" Shoma asked, looking confused. Kazumi frowned, glaring at her face twin.
"I had a feeling you'd show up soon. Your warnings were getting a bit repetitive…" Kazumi stated, making me gasp. Warnings? What warnings? I hadn't seen any warnings, and I was normally very perceptive. Could it have been in dreams or visions? The fake smirked, grinning at her evilly.
"You like them? I'm about to do so much worse to you than what happened in them… I'm gonna make you feel so much pain, since you ignored me for so long!" She yelled, swinging her arms in frustration. Kazumi sighed.
"You keep saying that I've ignored you and shut you away… but how? How have I done such a thing?" Kazumi asked, genuinely curious. It really didn't make any sense. The fake smirked again.
"Let's see… Back when you guys were in preschool and some bullies were picking on Yuri… then suddenly they were in the corner crying… ring any bells?" the fake asked, making Kazumi gasp suddenly. She was frozen in shock, completely paralyzed.
"Kazumi?" I asked, worried about her. Was she all right?
"You're… that part of me I struggle to keep under control when I'm angry?" Kazumi asked hesitantly. The fake suddenly began laughing, sounding almost insane.
"You finally remember? It took you long enough! Yes, I'm the psychotic part of you that you struggle to keep locked away whenever you go into your demon form! I'm the part of you threatening to come out, making your powers go berserk and kill everyone you love! I remember what you did the first time you went demon… you completely shut me out, locking me out of your very own body! You were scared of me since you were little, but what you did to me was the final straw! I'm gonna have my revenge! I won't be thrown away again!" the fake screamed out, cackling insanely. I blinked in shock. I had no idea she'd been struggling with something like this all this time.
"Don't let her beat you, sis! You can kick her ass!" Yuri suddenly yelled, looking at her in determination. Kazumi gasped, turning to look at Yuri. Her eyes were hesitant, and she looked afraid. I couldn't bear to see such expressions on her face and not being able to help her.
"Yuri… I – I don't know…" Kazumi muttered hesitantly. I gasped suddenly when the fake dashed forward, hitting Kazumi, knocking her down. Kazumi looked up at her in fright, seeing the fake laugh as a small knife appeared in her hand.
"Kazumi! Just think of her as a normal opponent! Imagine it's Adelbert holding that knife! Run!" I shouted, seeing Kazumi gasp, jumping up and springing away out of reach of the blade. She looked up, still terrified, but at least she could move now. The fake stopped, turning slowly to look at her as she smirked wickedly.
"I'm gonna have some fun after all" she whispered, but Kazumi frowned, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.
"I'm sorry… You're right… it was wrong of me to reject you. After all, you're a part of me… I won't ever do it again… So please… return to me" Kazumi apologized, holding out her hands for the fake. The fake gasped, looking shocked as tears began falling down her face.
"I... I've been waiting… so long to hear you say those words…" she stated, dropping the knife and running to Kazumi, hugging her tightly. Kazumi hugged her back, smiling gently as a gentle, warm light enveloped them. All of us covered our eyes, then looked out to see just Kazumi standing there. She was looking down at the ground, her arms limp.
"Kazumi? Is it over?" Hisako asked, taking a cautious step forward. She continued to walk towards her as Kazumi remained silent, looking down at the ground. Hisako waved a hand in front of her face, calling out to her again. The next second made me feel like being sick. Kazumi's hand lunged forward, wrapping tightly around Hisako's neck as she gasped, beginning to gag.
"Kazu-chan?" Miko exclaimed. I looked horrified as I saw Kazumi lift her head, the insane grin on her face. She was giggling insanely, then she tripped Hisako's feet out from under her, kneeling over her as her hands tightened around Hisako's neck.
"Hisako!" Wolfram yelled, hesitating between running to them or staying put. What could he do to intervene anyway?
"Kazu-chan! Let Hisako-chi go now!" Shori yelled. Yuri looked terrified and Shoma was just about ready to faint.
"Kazumi… please…" Hisako pleaded, gagging more as the grip around her neck tightened. She coughed, wincing and trying to lift her hands up to pull Kazumi off her. Her strength was clearly leaving her.
"Kazumi!" I yelled, trying to snap some sense into her. Kazumi laughed more, looking up at us, her face twisted wickedly. I was completely frozen, I couldn't do anything. Just as Hisako's arms began to fall, a sudden blast hit Kazumi, making her scream as she was blasted away. Hisako inhaled deeply, coughing as she struggled to sit up. We all looked for the source of the blast, seeing a boy with black, spiky hair and black eyes.
"Murata!" Yuri called out, sounding relieved. Murata frowned, glaring at Kazumi as he walked to Hisako, kneeling and helping her sit up.
"Looks like we have our work cut out for us, don't we, me?" he asked, making Hisako smirk, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, let's do this!" she stated, accepting his hand and being pulled to her feet.
"I'm confused… what's going on now?" Miko asked, looking clearly clueless.
"Ken Murata, the second half of the Great Wiseman of Double Black… You see, the soul of the Great Wiseman of Double Black was suddenly split into two. One half became Hisako, the other half became Murata." Yuri explained, making Miko gasp. She suddenly looked very delighted for some reason, rambling on about being soul mates or something. I don't think she really understood what Yuri had just told her.
"Need any help, guys?" Yuri asked, stepping forward with Shori not far behind.
"Yuri… you're hurt… how're you going to be able to fight?" I asked, seeing Yuri turn to me with a smirk on his face. He winked at me, grinning.
"I'm counting on you to get everyone out of here if we fail, you hear me, Conrart?" Yuri asked, making me gasp in shock. What? Wolfram, Miko and Shoma stood nearby me, as we watched them activate their powers.
"This is it! We need to knock her out! Hopefully by then the two halves of her soul will have joined back when she regains consciousness" Murata explained, earning nods from them as they saw Kazumi pull herself back up, grinning madly.
"More play toys?" she asked, giggling. She dashed forward, snatching up the knife and suddenly appeared in front of Yuri, making him gasp.
"Yuri!" I shouted, seeing her slice the knife down as Yuri tried to jump back to dodge. The knife hit the top of his head, making him cry out as he fell down, clutching the top of his head in pain.
"I don't think so!" Hisako yelled, shouldering Kazumi away from Yuri. Shori knelt by Yuri, helping him sit up as he saw all the blood begin running down the side of Yuri's face. Shori growled, glowing blue as his powers began to activate. Yuri opened his eyes, wincing when some blood dripped in his eye, but managed to stand regardless. They both looked at Hisako and Kazumi fighting. Kazumi was swinging her knife randomly and wildly, making it almost impossible for Hisako to dodge. Murata growled, sending out a small blast that Kazumi dodged, giggling as she threw the knife, hitting Murata in the shoulder. Kazumi burst out into laughter, jumping and easily dodging Hisako's attack, swinging her leg and kicking Hisako in the back. Hisako fell onto the ground in a heap as Murata cried out in pain from his wound, kneeling and pulling out the blade. He dropped the blade, covering his shoulder with his hand as he tried to stop the blood from pouring out. His white shirt was now stained red.
Why was this happening? I couldn't believe what was happening before me. It was as if the Kazumi I knew was gone, completely gone. What on earth was going on? I just didn't know any more… Kazumi turned to face Hisako, seeing her struggling to stand. The grin on her face spread out to her ears almost.
"Aww, did we all fall down?" Kazumi asked, giggling insanely. I grit my teeth, I couldn't stand to see her like this any longer! I took a step forward, seeing Yuri turn to look at me. He nodded in approval, motioning for me to continue walking.
"Only you can snap some sense into her… You have the combat experience and the strongest connection to her at the moment… Please, either knock her out or bring her back" Yuri pleaded. I nodded, thinking of what I could do. Kazumi heard the exchange, turning to look at me, grinning again.
"A new playmate?" she asked, beginning to walk towards me. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my own heartbeat. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, so I guess I'd have to resort to knocking her out. Kazumi suddenly dashed at me, making me take up a defensive position, deflecting her hit. She grinned in approval, her pupils becoming even smaller as they darted around madly. I was losing her, she was slowly becoming more and more insane. I had to help her, quickly.
"Kazumi… I swear I'll save you!" I mumbled, deciding to take to the offensive. I launched a hit, seeing her barely dodge, jumping back. I darted forward, not giving her any time to recover. She gasped, seeing me suddenly appear in front of her. Her eyes began returning to normal as fear took over her rather than madness. Instead of punching her like I'd intended, I suddenly wrapped her up in my arms, hugging her tightly. She froze, trying to pull away.
"Kazumi… return to us…" I whispered, seeing her try to glare at me, but I covered her lips with mine again. Luckily I was at an angle were only Murata and Hisako could see. Kazumi froze, trembling a little as her eyes began to revert back to normal, and then she suddenly went limp in my arms. I pulled away, holding her in my arms. I knelt, laying her on the ground.
"Kazu-chan? Is she…" Miko asked, approaching with everyone else. I shook my head.
"She's just unconscious. She should be fine" I stated, seeing Murata smile at me in approval.
"You did a good job, Lord Weller. None of us would've been able to do that" Hisako complimented, giving me a grin.
"We should get back home and get you all fixed up before the police show up" Shoma suggested, earning nods from all of us. Home was a place we were all looking forward to after this horrible turn of events. I lifted Kazumi up into my arms, beginning to jog after everyone as we returned back to the Shibuya's. But I just prayed that when Kazumi awoke, she'd be back to her old self…