Hypothermia chapter 4

Somewhere in the Awayuki Mansion----

"Kei! You're being stupid!" Go yelled.

"It may be true."

"No!" Himino yelled. "We can't do that to him! We can't abandon him!"

"If we don't know what's going on, how can we help him!?" Kei yelled back.

"We'll figure something out!" Go entered. Hayate kept quiet while leaning against a near-by wall. Shin was crying and Hajime was mad at Kei. He was gritting his teeth. When he couldn't take the fight anymore he made a dash for Mannen's room. The others followed after him.

"Hajime!" Go yelled.

Hajime reached Mannen's closed door. He tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. He noticed ice slowly crept out from underneath the door. He jumped back.

"Hajime!" Go yelled again. The others reached him.

"The door won't open." After Hajime said that, Go and Hayate tried opening it but they couldn't get it.

Inside Mannen's room---

Mannen still sat on his bed. Slowly, wings of ice and snow formed on his back. They made holes in the back of his shirt. He just stared down at the bed till ice formed around the floor in front of the bed, he looked up at this. The ice grew taller and taller and formed into the shape of a person. The ice broke off to reveal the woman from his dream.

"Who are you?" his breathe you could see still.

"Tsu...me...tai..." The woman answered.

Mannen repeated the name quietly, "Tsumetai."

"Mannen. Carry my ballad. Show me the end or the beginning." Mannen looked at her with aw. The door burst open to show his friends. They had opened the door by force, using their powers, and then stared at the woman with fear and confusion. Tsumetai dissipated into the floor like how she had come. When she was gone the others ran over to their friend.

"Mannen, you ok!?" He stared at his friends.

"Yes." He answered innocently.

"Well, now that we have a lead on what's going on, I'll go research it." Kei said arrogantly as he left.

Himino walked up to Mannen then hugged him tight.

"Himino...I'm ok." She didn't let go for a few minutes.

"We won't let her get you."

"But...you don't understand..."

Go spoke up. "Mannen, she's the one who's making you sick. Isn't she?"

"Well...I think so...but--"

"So she's hurting you!" Himino cried out.

"You don't understand!" Mannen yelled and created pillars to block them away. He stood up and created more to break the window and flew out.

"Himino! Are you ok!?" She was the closest to Mannen when he created the pillars. Hayate was helping her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said solemnly. Mannen had just attacked them...

In the sky----

Mannen was adjusting to the new wings. It was harder then it seemed. He knew what he was doing. He was searching. Without trying, he was decreasing the temperature of the entire city. He stopped to rest on one of the buildings. He leaned on his knees and folded up his wings partly. He crawled over to the edge of the building and looked over. He stayed there for a while just looking at the city and the people.

Awayuki Library---

"Find anything Kei?" Hayate and Go walked in.

"I just started looking. What do you think?"

"Why would there be information on that woman here? We don't even know her name." Hayate said.

"Her name is Tsumetai." Sasame walked in with Takako. "I came as soon as I could when Kei called me."

"Sasame!" Hayate called. Sasame smiled at them all.

"I got here just in time to hear the name. I am the knight of sound after all." Then he frowned. "But I couldn't understand the rest of what she said."

"Well, at least we have that name." Kei said searching through books. The other knights joined him in searching.

Go broke the silence though. "Why do I feel like I've seen that name somewhere?"

"Maybe you read it somewhere before?" Hayate asked.

"Maybe..."

"Wasn't it a story?" Hajime walked in holding Shin's hand. They had been listening in the library the whole time and decided to show themselves now.

"A story?" Sasame looked at them curiously.

"Yeah. I think Mannen read a book once. He read it to us too."

"Mannen reads?" Go asked, surprised.

"Apparently." Kei said.

"Now I remember! When he was really young he asked me if a story he read was true." Go exclaimed.

"You think this library has a copy of that book?" Hayate asked.

"Maybe Himino would know." Sasame suggested.

"I'll go find her." Takako said then left. She wondered the halls looking for Himino. She found her in Mannen's room. She was looking at the pillars.

She whispered the boy's name.

"Himino?" She turned at the sound of her name.

"Takako!" She instantly cheered up and so did Takako, happy to see each other.

"Himino, we are looking for a book in your library."

"Oh. Which one?"

"Actually, I don't know. But it should be a book about a woman named Tsumetai."

"I don't know. But I'll come help you look." They both walked back to the library while talking about how things have been. When they finally got to their destination, they were grated by the others who were still looking for the book. They too helped look.

On top of a building somewhere in town---

Mannen sat up and stretched his wings. It had begun to snow a while ago and was now lightly frosting the town. He decided now was a good time to try and find what he was looking for or any hint of it. He jumped off the building and used his wings to fly. He soon found out this was actually a bad time due to the snow which quickly turned from snowing lightly to very hard. It made it hard to see, so he was flying blindly in a random direction. When the wind picked up it was hard to stay in the air. He was tossed around but did not fall out of the sky.

Library---

Go stood near a bookshelf and thought of a memory.

Flashback:

"Go! I read this story. Is it true? Is it?" a very young Mannen asked the older knight. He was holding up a book to him.

"Mannen, it's a story. Besides I never read it. How should I know?" Go looked at him while he laid on the ground against a tree with one eye open. His arms were behind his head.

"Because you're smart big brother!" Mannen laughed.

End Flashback-

Go smiled and continued looking for the book when a book fell from above him and hit his head.

"Son of a--" he picked up the book and looked at the name. It read:

'The Mountain Deity'

It was an old looking book with some worn pages. The pictures in it looked like a child's book but also a very important looking book from long ago, he saw when he opened it. The words were in fancy lettering but also plain and Go gasped when he saw one of the pictures in particular.

In the sky----

The storm had turned more violent. It was also hailing now and the ice hurt Mannen's wings like a thousand tinny pins. The wind was stronger then before and it was hard to breathe with how hard it pushed against Mannen. Regardless of being the knight of ice and snow, there was just so much Mannen could stand of it. His body was still weak from sickness. Mannen blacked out and fell.

To be continued----