Chapter 35: Outsiders

After Yume regained her consciousness, Kazekiri put them into four groups. The first group were Team Tsukida, second were Yoji, Rika, and Pana, the third was only Kazekiri, and the fourth and last was Yume.

"Once one of us finds Yori, we will return here," said Kazekiri, making a strategy.

"After we're all together, we're going back to Inyogakure, right?" Tsukida implied.

Hearing Tsukida's question, the wind spirit kunoichi hesitated and answered, "Yes. We'll return to Inyogakure after we find Yori."

Yoji knew that Kazekiri was worried about Yori and the others if Yume returned to Inyogakure with them. According to Kai's dream vision, Yori and the others will die if Yume returns to Inyogakure with the others without completing the game. He was already aware of that after having a talk with Kai.

"I never knew that outsiders will die if the challenger didn't complete the game while going with them," Yoji thought. He watched Yume with a curious and yet worry look on his face."The final stage. Could it be that Yume will be fighting Megami?"

He knew that Yume had to fight on the final stage alone and he have no choice, but to have faith in her. After Kazekiri organized the groups, they're now prepared to find Yori.

On the east side of the bamboo forest, Yume searched for her protective twin brother with her Byakugan. She tried to search for him, but with no avail.

"Yori..."

She stopped running and deactivated her Byakugan for a while. While taking a short break, she looked at her bandaged left arm. She remembered while she was unconscious, she realized that her sensei tended her.

Before they went to find Yori, Rika and Pana looked after her until she began to wake up. As she woke up, Rika noticed with surprise.

"Yume," she called her.

"Rika, Pana. What happened?" Yume asked as she stood up.

"You just passed out after Yoji-san defeated that Akuma Akumu tailed beast," Rika answered.

After regaining her consciousness, she noticed that her left arm was wrapped with bandages. Back then, she pushed Kai away and took a fatal hit from the nightmare tailed beast.

"Kaito-san tended your left arm while you were unconscious." Pana explained to her.

"He did?" Yume replied with surprise.

"Yeah, he healed your left arm and wrapped it with bandages." Rika complied. "I never knew that you saved Kaito's life. I was surprised even Pana and the others."

"I see," she replied.

She remembered that Kai saved her life from the tailed beast and she saved his as well. She looked at her bandaged left arm and touched it with her right hand.

"Kai-sensei... Thank you."

After remembering back then, she began to find Yori once again. While searching for him, she came to a lake. Suddenly, she saw a white camellia appearing on the water. She came towards the floating camellia and took it from the water.

"A white camellia?"

Looking at the flower, she wondered. Why would a flower appeared in the Akumu no Kuni? There were no people or anything in the Akumu no Kuni, only the monsters called the Akuma Akumu. It was created with many realms.

While looking at the white camellia, its petals that were white turned into black as dark, much to her shock. She dropped the black camellia that was once white all the sudden. She became confused after seeing the petals turned black.

"What's going on?"

Suddenly, she sensed someone's presence. She looked around and saw a figure coming out from the bamboo trees. A man with a blank mask, holding a cane with his right hand, appeared before her. The man Yume encountered was the Nightmare Seeker.

Meanwhile, on the west side of the bamboo forests, Yoji, along with Rika and Pana, searched for Yori. Ifrit tried to sniff Yori's scent while helping with its master and the two Inyo kunoichi.

"Well?" Yoji asked.

It shook its head.

"No luck, but don't worry we'll find him as soon as possible." Yoji stated. He suddenly noticed Rika became worried all the sudden. "What's wrong?"

"Yoji-san. There's something I want to ask you," Rika complied.

"Rika. You don't have to ask." said Pana.

"I have to, Pana." she replied.

Pana realized that Rika wanted to ask Yoji and nodded to her, agreeing.

"What is it?" Yoji asked. "Is it important?"

Rika hesitated about Yume as the challenger of the game for some reason after Kazekiri explained that Yume was the challenger and the target of the Akuma Akumu.

"Is this true... that Yume is the challenger?" she asked.

Yoji's eyes widened with shock when Rika asked him about Yume as the challenger.

"Rika, how did you..."

"When we came to save you and Yume, a ninja tool kunoichi, who was with a summoning technique shinobi, called us outsiders. You know about this, right, Yoji-san?" Pana implied.

Yoji became silent, thinking the Inyo shinobi as outsiders.

"Look, I—"

Suddenly, a voice interrupted Yoji's words.

"Us, outsiders? You can't be serious."

All the sudden, Yoji and the two kunoichi heard a voice. The three saw two of them coming out from the bamboo trees. As they came out, Rika and Pana became shocked. The two figures who just came out and were actually their nightmare selves. Their appearances were the same except their eyes were red like the others such as Tsukida, Kuta, and Seiichi.

"I never knew you can't find out why you and the others are outsiders. How disappointing," Rika's nightmare self complied, chuckling.

"What? Who are you?" Rika asked with confusion.

"What did you expect? I'm you, you silly girl."

"That's impossible. You're us?" Pana implied.

Yoji realized that Rika's and Pana's nightmare selves were created by the Nightmare Seeker.

"The Nightmare Seeker created you two, am I right?" he asked.

"I never knew you realized about we're created by the Seeker himself." Pana's nightmare self commented.

"The Seeker? Who are you talking about?" Pana implied.

"That's none of your business." she replied to Pana with a pitiful look.

"Yeah. To think that you and Pana wanting to know why Yume's the challenger, you also wonder why we're outsiders as well." Rika's nightmare self stated. "After all, you heard what the ninja tool kunoichi said to you two. You're outsiders, interfering the game."

"What are you talking about? What game?" Rika confused.

Yoji became shocked as he shockly realized that Rika's and Pana's nightmare selves knew about the Seven Stages of Nightmares.

"You know about the nightmare game?"

"Of course we know about the game. For three years, we were still Akuma Akumu, we only killed challengers who failed to complete the game. We kept killing them until we stumbled into another realm. A realm created by someone." Pana's nightmare self explained. "After that, the Seeker created us, your nightmare selves."

"Under the Seeker's orders, we have to kill the originals. That means you." Rika's nightmare self pointed at Rika.

"But why? Why do you want to kill us?" Rika became bewildered.

"We know that saving Yume is futile. You can't save her! If she returns back to Inyogakure without completing the game, you'll all gonna die!" she exclaimed.

Rika and Pana became shocked that they'll die if Yume returns back to Inyo.

"We'll all gonna die?" Rika replied with a speechless look on her face. "You're lying! That's not true!"

"I'm not lying. I'm telling the truth. That's why you shouldn't save Yume." Rika's nightmare self answered.

"You understand this reason? Blinded while trying to save your comrade." Pana's nightmare self stated.

"I don't understand. Why did you tell us?" Pana asked.

"Why? You already know why. We're you and you're us." she replied to Rika and Pana, pointing at them and then to herself.

"No... No..." said Rika, shooking her head.

Yoji shockly realized that Rika was about to refuse the fact about their nightmare selves and the reason they can't save Yume.

"Rika, don't!" warned Yoji, trying to stop Rika from saying. However, it was too late.

"You and Pana... You can't be us! You're not us!" she yelled.

All the sudden, true darkness surrounded the two nightmare selves. Rika's nightmare self began to laugh with madness and Pana's nightmare self felt stronger with true darkness. As the true darkness engulfed the two nightmare selves, they turned into dark nightmare selves. Their appearances and attires were darker as well.

"We are the nightmares... The true self," said Pana's nightmare self and Rika's nightmare self altogether.

"Why are you so desperately trying to save Yume? No matter how you tried to save her, your life ends here!" Rika's nightmare self ranted.

Yoji and Ifrit began to protect Rika and Pana.

"Yoji-san..." Rika realized that he and Ifrit were protecting her and Pana.

"I won't let you hurt them." Yoji exclaimed.

"Do you really think you can protect us? Then you shall be the first to be killed!" Pana's nightmare self replied to Yoji.

As the battle between Yoji and the two nightmare selves, will he defeat them while protecting Rika and Pana?