Chapter 51: The Abyss of True Nightmares

After Tsukida regained his consciousness and found himself and the others in an unfamiliar place, he wondered why this place became so dark and strange.

"This place? What is this?" said Tsukida, wondering about this dark location.

Suddenly, Kuta and Seiichi opened their eyes and got up from the ground, much to Tsukida's surprise.

"Kuta, Seiichi!"

"Tsukida." Kuta noticed.

"You're okay?" Tsukida asked his two teammates.

"Yeah, we're kinda okay." Kuta replied.

Kuta and Seiichi noticed that Rika and Pana were still unconscious and went towards them.

"Rika!" Seiichi shockly surprised.

"Pana!" Kuta called her.

Seiichi cradled Rika in his arms as she began to open her eyes and saw her nii-san, holding her.

"Seiichi..."

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Rika nodded.

After Rika and Pana regained their consciousness and got off from the ground and stood up, they noticed they're in a different place.

"Where are we?" Rika asked.

"I don't know. It's so strange," Kuta replied, seeing the sky became so dark and black.

"Could be that the Akuma Akumu took us here?" Seiichi wondered after remembering that two Akuma Akumu took him and Kuta to somewhere else.

"Wait! You got captured as well?" Rika implied as she became shockly surprised.

"Yeah, you too?" Kuta asked Rika.

The ninja tool kunoichi nodded and answered, "When we kept fighting, all the sudden two Akuma Akumu ambushed us and then captured us."

"It happened to me as well." Tsukida agreed with Rika.

"It can't be just a coincidence." Seiichi stated.

"So why did those Akuma Akumu took us here?" Kuta asked.

"I don't know. I guess we should find out by looking around." Tsukida answered.

Everyone agreed with Tsukida as they were about to start walking around the dark wasteland.

Meanwhile, Yori was unconsciousness and opened his eyes as he found himself laying on the bed. He stood up and noticed when he was at Ayumu's dream shop all the sudden.

"Huh? I'm back?"

Suddenly, he noticed his twin sister was sleeping in the other bed, much to his surprise.

"Yume!"

He got out from the bed and noticed that Yume was still asleep.

"Don't worry, Yori-kun. Yume-sama's still asleep."

He noticed and turned around, seeing Ayumu and Yoji came in.

"Ayumu-san, Yoji."

"Kaito took you and Yoji-kun here even Yume-sama as well." Ayumu explained.

"He did?" Yori suddenly realized about the consequence and wondered why he's not dead if Yume returned here. "But how? If Yume's here, that means..."

"Kaito used a charm to prevent the consequence by giving it to Unmei, your manifested dark self."

Yori didn't realize that Kaito gave Unmei a charm to prevent a deadly consequence and realized why his opposing self became Yume's final opponent.

"You can look after her for a while." Ayumu convinced him.

As Ayumu left, leaving him and Yoji look after Yume, Yori began to wonder about what Kabuto mentioned the important person to Yume.

"Yoji..."

"What's wrong?" Yoji asked.

"Is this true... that Kabuto killed someone precious to Yume three years ago?"

Yoji became shocked as Yori asked him about Yume's sensei, Kai Kurosaki.

"Yeah, Kabuto killed Yume's sensei three years ago."

Yori became shocked that Kabuto killed Yume's sensei three years ago. He remembered after he first met Yume and realized that she was his twin sister. He had a chat with her about herself and her time at Konohagakure.

"Now that we're twin brother and sister, can you tell me about yourself and Konohagakure, Yume?" Yori asked.

"Well, you know that Konoha's one of the five great nations, right, Yori?"

"Yes, I know that as well." Yori knew. "So you're a tokubetsu jonin like me, right?"

Yume nodded.

"You've only Yoshiro-sama as your shisho despite not having teammates." she stated.

Yori surprised that Yume knew that he doesn't have comrades when he became a shinobi three years ago.

"Yume, how did you know?"

"Tsukida-kun told me about you." Yume answered. "When you became genin back then, Yoshiro-sama became your shisho."

"Yeah. What about you, Yume? Do you have a team?"

Yume noticed as her twin brother asked her if she does have a team. However, she became silent joylessly.

"Yume?"

"To be honest, I don't have teammates just like you. I once had a sensei back then and he was a medical-nin just like me." Yume explained. "But... before I became chunin, he was killed from his mission."

Yori became shocked after hearing that his twin sister's sensei got killed from his mission three years ago.

"It's all right. Right now, I got Rika and Pana as my teammates. So I'll be fine." she smiled at Yori.

"Yume..."

After remembering Yume told about her late sensei, Yori became speechless after finding out that Kabuto Yakushi killed the person who was important to his twin sister.

"Kabuto killed Yume's sensei..."

During their conversation while looking after Yume, Kai stood behind the wall outside of the room, listening. He moved his head down to ground, staring with a reluctant expression. After staring at the ground, he left them alone.

Later, Kai, along with Seirin and Shaolin, had an important meeting about the other shinobi and Yumekui, who were captured by Akuma Akumu.

"I can't believe those monsters kidnapped Rika-chan and Seiichi." Seirin became worried about his children.

"Do you know where are they, Ayumu?" Shaolin asked.

"I'm not sure. These Akuma Akumu who kidnapped Tsukida-sama and the others aren't controlled by Megami-sama. They're controlled by someone else." Ayumu stated.

"But who?" Seirin implied.

"Kai the Nightmare Seeker."

Kai answered who kidnapped the six shinobi of Inyogakure as the two shinobi became shocked, knowing that the latter was saying.

"You don't mean..."

"Yes... My only nightmare self." he nodded.

"Then why he would kidnap the others?" Shaolin asked.

"All he wanted is make me to feel despair and sorrow..." he explained.

"By how? How would he do that?" Seirin asked.

"After Yori and the others went on the mission to save Yume, I had another vision. After the Nightmare Seeker kidnapped six outsiders of Inyogakure, he may... kill them in front of me."

Seirin and Shaolin became shocked what the Seeker's intention to kill Yori and the others in front of Kaito.

"No..." Serin became speechless.

"Is there any way to prevent it from happpening?" Shaolin asked Kaito.

"All I have to is to retrieve Tsukida and the others. They're now in the Abyss of True Nightmares." Kaito explained.

"The Abyss of True Nightmares." Ayumu replied. "Now that I think about it, that location wasn't created by Megami-sama herself."

"My nightmare self created that abyss after I came to the Akumu no Kuni and left when he was created."

"If you're sure that Rika-chan, Seiichi, and the others are taken to that abyss, please bring them back." Seirin begged desperately.

"I will," Kaito replied. "I'll bring them back safe no matter what."

"I'm going too!"

Suddenly, Kaito noticed Yori came along with Yoji after hearing the conservation about the Abyss of True Nightmares.

"Yori-kun." Ayumu noticed.

"Take me with you, Kaito-san. I can't sit back and wait for Tsukida and the others return." Yori plead Kaito.

"But Yori, you're the only target the Nightmare Seeker needs to capture. I can't take you with me."

"I know, but I'll try to be careful. Tsukida and the others are my friends. I can't be worried if I don't go with you. So please!"

"Yori..."

"I'm going too." Yoji stated.

"Yoji." Seirin surprised.

"He already captured Yumekui and I have to save him as well. I'm also responsible for looking after him."

Kaito knew that he don't have a choice and accepted their requests.

"Very well. You can come with me. But let me warn about the abyss, that place is filled with Akuma Akumu the Nightmare Seeker already captured and controlled them."

"Got it." Yoji understood.

"Be careful. Bring Pana and Kuta-kun back as soon as possible." said Shaolin, counting on Katio, Yori, and Yoji to save them.

"Don't forget about Rika-chan and Seiichi as well."

"Just bring Tsukida-sama and Yumekui-kun back also." Ayumu stated.

"We will." Kaito replied. "Let's go."

"Right." Yoji and Yori responded.

Kaito summoned a door to the Abyss of True Nightmares and entered as the door itself disappeared.

"I'm counting on you." Ayumu prayed for them.

Later, somewhere in Yume's dream world, Yume kept following the crimson butterfly in the dream world of Inyogakure until it stopped to its destination and suddenly disappeared. After chasing the butterfly, she began to notice that she was on the red bridge with a big lake.

"This is... the Sun Moon Lake." Yume noticed. "That's where Yori met Megami three years ago..."

Wondering why she came here, she noticed a familiar figure standing on the water of the lake, much to her surprise.