Chapter 13
Domon took a step back, and took another again. He was trembling, he tried taking another step back, and then he found that he could not move at all. Looking down, he saw that he was being held to the ground by his greatest fear. Snakes. They were large cobras, whose tails were curled round his ankles and were hissing at his boots. He was really scared. As far as he could see, more and more were crawling towards him and he was unable to move away.
" Get away!" he screamed at the snakes, frantically waving at them.
However, they still kept coming, increasing by the multitudes. Just as he was about to scream out again, he remembered what Fuko had said.
' I have to concentrate. ' Domon urged himself, and he closed his eyes, concentrating on breaking the spell. In his mind, he imagined himself facing a snake, a large snake. He imagined himself using his bare fists to punch the life out of the gigantic snake. Soon, he began to feel the cobras loosening their hold on his ankles, and soon, he felt nothing around him at all but still air.
He opened his eyes and found himself back on the rooftop of headquarters. As he turned, he saw Recca and Kaoru appear out of nowhere. They too had vanquished their fears and were now hurrying towards him.
" Good job Domon!" Recca exclaimed as he ran up to Domon " Where's Tokiya and Fuko?"
" I don't know, I just got out of the spell myself too. Tokiya must still be fighting his, and Fuko…"
" Over there!" Kaoru shouted and they all looked at the direction he pointed at.
Far away from them, in an open area, Fuko and Len stood barely five meters apart from each other. Fuko was almost down to her knees and she was holding on to her right arm. From where he was, Recca could see blood flowing down her fingers, but he could still see that she was not giving up just yet. Her eyes were still shinning brightly, full of spirit and determination. He half smiled to himself. This was not the time to think about the past, but after all this time, Fuko still had not changed.
" Come on! Lets go and help Fuko!" he shouted.
Len smiled as he consulted his orb
" Well well, isn't luck on your side…" he drawled, " It seems that three of your friends have already broken my spell, they were much stronger than I thought. Anyhow, you all will die anyway, so it doesn't really matter… pity…"
Three? Fuko thought frantically. Who was the fourth one missing? Domon? Kaoru? Recca? Tokiya???
Then, at the corner of her eye, she saw three figures running towards Len and her. She turned slightly, and the figures became visible.
Recca…Domon…Kaoru.
Where was Tokiya? Had something happened to Tokiya? Why was he taking so long? Everyone else was here except him. Had something happened to him? Had Len killed him off with the Dark Web?
Tokiya…Tokiya… where are you Tokiya?
********************************************
Tokiya gritted his teeth as he faced his opponent. His ensui was drawn. Opposite him was Fuko, or at least a shadow of her, but it had her image all right. She was wearing her fujin, and she was crying. The first time she had ever shed tears in front of anybody, much less a man.
" But why?" she asked, angrily wiping the tears away with one swipe of her hand. Angry at herself for crying and in front of a man.
Tokiya automatically opened his mouth to reply, but stopped himself and frowned. All this seemed very familiar, as if a scene from his memory was replaying itself all over again. He had to think where did this happen and when.
His brow furrowed in concentration, as he struggled to remember. It was then that it hit him. It was THAT scene. It was when Fuko had expressed her love for him and he had rejected her, because… because he had been afraid. He had been afraid to let himself be involved in the web of love, because he was afraid that he would not have been able to handle the emotions that came with it. This was something new to the cool attitude, which he had been adopting before then and he was afraid.
And he was still afraid.
He was afraid to love Fuko, and he automatically opened his mouth again to say the words he had said so long ago
" I have no more love to give, I have given all my love to my sister."
Fuko's face fell as it did before. In slow motion, Tokiya watched the wave of emotions that swept across her face before her outburst
" I hate you. I wish that I had never met you before. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you!"
And this time, she did not run away as she had done before. Instead, she shouted, " Fujin!" and almost immediately, a gust of wind was shot towards Tokiya.
Tokiya got out of the way just in time, but Fuko sent another gust of wind his way. She was quick and to the point. He wasn't even allowed a second's rest, as every time he got out of the way, he had to dodge another. Moreover, he was afraid to use his ensui, as he was afraid as he might hurt Fuko in some other way.
Fuko was screaming as she lashed at him
" Why! I hate you I hate you I hate you! Why can't you love me the way I love you!"
That gave pause to Tokiya's movements. He stopped and turned to face Fuko. With a hateful glare, she shot at him and it pierced Tokiya at his right cheek. But he didn't care. He knew the solution to his fear now. Putting his sword down, he began to walk towards Fuko.
Fuko frowned and took a step back. " What are you doing?" she called out, " Stay back!"
Tokiya continued walking.
Fuko raised her fujin at him, " I told you to stay back!"
Tokiya continued walking until he reached her. He stared into her eyes for a while, and then he put his arms around her.
Fuko gasped and struggled, but Tokiya held her tight.
" I won't let you go anymore, I promise. Even if I'm killed by you, I won't ever let go, because… because I love you."
Tokiya closed his eyes as he said this, and slowly, he felt the air around him change. When he opened his eyes again, Fuko was gone, and he was back on the roof.
Once he was fully aware of his surroundings, Tokiya inhaled the night air deeply. He was out of it. He had conquered his fear.
It was then he saw her. Fuko was facing Len. Recca, Kaoru and Domon were surrounding her. They had sustained a few injuries themselves, but they were still standing. Len was still standing and he seemed to be for the better, not for the worst. Fuko seemed to be having the worst time, and she kept clutching on to her right arm. Tokiya half suspected that it was broken.
With his ensui in hand, Tokiya ran as fast as he could to where Fuko and the others were.
One way or another, he wasn't going to lose Fuko again.
Domon took a step back, and took another again. He was trembling, he tried taking another step back, and then he found that he could not move at all. Looking down, he saw that he was being held to the ground by his greatest fear. Snakes. They were large cobras, whose tails were curled round his ankles and were hissing at his boots. He was really scared. As far as he could see, more and more were crawling towards him and he was unable to move away.
" Get away!" he screamed at the snakes, frantically waving at them.
However, they still kept coming, increasing by the multitudes. Just as he was about to scream out again, he remembered what Fuko had said.
' I have to concentrate. ' Domon urged himself, and he closed his eyes, concentrating on breaking the spell. In his mind, he imagined himself facing a snake, a large snake. He imagined himself using his bare fists to punch the life out of the gigantic snake. Soon, he began to feel the cobras loosening their hold on his ankles, and soon, he felt nothing around him at all but still air.
He opened his eyes and found himself back on the rooftop of headquarters. As he turned, he saw Recca and Kaoru appear out of nowhere. They too had vanquished their fears and were now hurrying towards him.
" Good job Domon!" Recca exclaimed as he ran up to Domon " Where's Tokiya and Fuko?"
" I don't know, I just got out of the spell myself too. Tokiya must still be fighting his, and Fuko…"
" Over there!" Kaoru shouted and they all looked at the direction he pointed at.
Far away from them, in an open area, Fuko and Len stood barely five meters apart from each other. Fuko was almost down to her knees and she was holding on to her right arm. From where he was, Recca could see blood flowing down her fingers, but he could still see that she was not giving up just yet. Her eyes were still shinning brightly, full of spirit and determination. He half smiled to himself. This was not the time to think about the past, but after all this time, Fuko still had not changed.
" Come on! Lets go and help Fuko!" he shouted.
Len smiled as he consulted his orb
" Well well, isn't luck on your side…" he drawled, " It seems that three of your friends have already broken my spell, they were much stronger than I thought. Anyhow, you all will die anyway, so it doesn't really matter… pity…"
Three? Fuko thought frantically. Who was the fourth one missing? Domon? Kaoru? Recca? Tokiya???
Then, at the corner of her eye, she saw three figures running towards Len and her. She turned slightly, and the figures became visible.
Recca…Domon…Kaoru.
Where was Tokiya? Had something happened to Tokiya? Why was he taking so long? Everyone else was here except him. Had something happened to him? Had Len killed him off with the Dark Web?
Tokiya…Tokiya… where are you Tokiya?
********************************************
Tokiya gritted his teeth as he faced his opponent. His ensui was drawn. Opposite him was Fuko, or at least a shadow of her, but it had her image all right. She was wearing her fujin, and she was crying. The first time she had ever shed tears in front of anybody, much less a man.
" But why?" she asked, angrily wiping the tears away with one swipe of her hand. Angry at herself for crying and in front of a man.
Tokiya automatically opened his mouth to reply, but stopped himself and frowned. All this seemed very familiar, as if a scene from his memory was replaying itself all over again. He had to think where did this happen and when.
His brow furrowed in concentration, as he struggled to remember. It was then that it hit him. It was THAT scene. It was when Fuko had expressed her love for him and he had rejected her, because… because he had been afraid. He had been afraid to let himself be involved in the web of love, because he was afraid that he would not have been able to handle the emotions that came with it. This was something new to the cool attitude, which he had been adopting before then and he was afraid.
And he was still afraid.
He was afraid to love Fuko, and he automatically opened his mouth again to say the words he had said so long ago
" I have no more love to give, I have given all my love to my sister."
Fuko's face fell as it did before. In slow motion, Tokiya watched the wave of emotions that swept across her face before her outburst
" I hate you. I wish that I had never met you before. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you!"
And this time, she did not run away as she had done before. Instead, she shouted, " Fujin!" and almost immediately, a gust of wind was shot towards Tokiya.
Tokiya got out of the way just in time, but Fuko sent another gust of wind his way. She was quick and to the point. He wasn't even allowed a second's rest, as every time he got out of the way, he had to dodge another. Moreover, he was afraid to use his ensui, as he was afraid as he might hurt Fuko in some other way.
Fuko was screaming as she lashed at him
" Why! I hate you I hate you I hate you! Why can't you love me the way I love you!"
That gave pause to Tokiya's movements. He stopped and turned to face Fuko. With a hateful glare, she shot at him and it pierced Tokiya at his right cheek. But he didn't care. He knew the solution to his fear now. Putting his sword down, he began to walk towards Fuko.
Fuko frowned and took a step back. " What are you doing?" she called out, " Stay back!"
Tokiya continued walking.
Fuko raised her fujin at him, " I told you to stay back!"
Tokiya continued walking until he reached her. He stared into her eyes for a while, and then he put his arms around her.
Fuko gasped and struggled, but Tokiya held her tight.
" I won't let you go anymore, I promise. Even if I'm killed by you, I won't ever let go, because… because I love you."
Tokiya closed his eyes as he said this, and slowly, he felt the air around him change. When he opened his eyes again, Fuko was gone, and he was back on the roof.
Once he was fully aware of his surroundings, Tokiya inhaled the night air deeply. He was out of it. He had conquered his fear.
It was then he saw her. Fuko was facing Len. Recca, Kaoru and Domon were surrounding her. They had sustained a few injuries themselves, but they were still standing. Len was still standing and he seemed to be for the better, not for the worst. Fuko seemed to be having the worst time, and she kept clutching on to her right arm. Tokiya half suspected that it was broken.
With his ensui in hand, Tokiya ran as fast as he could to where Fuko and the others were.
One way or another, he wasn't going to lose Fuko again.