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Chapter 6

Rai fell to the bottom of a dark abyss, shadows casting over his surroundings like the black fog descending from above. The sky was a heavy contrast of grey and black, the stars disappearing and the silvery moon taken away by the black clouds. Rai shivered as the wind blew over his bare arms. He whimpered slightly as the winds blew stronger. But something was wrong! Rai's voice was lighter, squeakier. He looked at his arms and legs and realized that he was in the body of a four year old, dressed in overalls and a white t-shirt! Rai shouted and his childish voice echoed through the ebony landscape.

"Mommy?" he called out into the darkness…but all he heard was his own voice.

"Mommy!" he screamed in another direction, though never to get an answer.

Rai's eyes welled up with tears and one was slowly riding down his cheek as he helplessly fell to his knees.

"…anybody?"

His weak, final call for help was forced out of his throat between huge, choking sobs. As Kimiko described the day before he was alone…so utterly alone…

Tears were soon flowing like a river out of the small boy's eyes. He held his knees and cried silently…wishing to go home…back to his house in Brazil. His home…a simple two story house with a beautiful garden…so colorful and alive…so full of life and the love that his mother felt for it…

Mommy…

"C-Can I go home?"

As if the wind had heard his call, the mist cleared and Rai was in front of his home. At once he jumped to his feet and smiled widely, but the smile soon turned to a horrified look. Indeed he was home…and yet he wasn't…

The house was a dark ebony color and bathed in a ghastly grey fog. The garden was a mix of black and purple color, with dead leaves and flower pedals that fell to the ground and made a crisp noise when they reached it. The shattered windows and the open swinging door let out an aura of darkness...that kicked up a storm inside of Rai's chest, screaming at him not to go inside. A cold feeling swept over Rai when the wind blew in the same direction, pulling him into the house. Leaves followed at his ankles as he went inside his empty home.

The house looked as if it hadn't been used in years. The hallway was quiet and empty. White sheets covered all of the pieces of furniture and fluttered with the currents of the wind.

Rai grabbed the railing and went upstairs to his parent's room. Maybe they were there.

Once again he was right, and yet he was so very wrong.

On the floor of the room, lying in a pool of crimson blood, were the bodies of his parents. All Rai could do was stare in horror…nothing but confusion could be seen in the purity of his emerald eyes.

He moved close to his mother's body, watching her cold stare…the spark of life not in her eyes anymore…just a blank, bare look. Her eyes would never move again…he felt her white skin…it was a deathly cold…and ice cold…

He tried to say her name, but his throat and his jaws were slammed shut…he could feel her blood gushing between his fingers…was this an illusion? A mirage? Or was it real?

Rai started to get tears in his eyes, almost angry in frustration when he shook the corpse and called his mother's name countless times, but she did not reply.

As much as Rai tried to speak after that, he couldn't. He couldn't think of anything to say…gazing at the body of his mother…the open eyes would always be looking down…no matter how much he tried to move them towards him. Her mouth would never open…her body would never move…her soul would never again return to Earth.

Terrified and confused, Rai could only move back in a heart breaking glance, the tears in his eyes reducing the unbearable image to an unclear reflection.

Suddenly, Rai felt a knife dig into his shoulder, stabbing him and severing his ligaments and drawing blood…so much blood…

The little boy screamed in pain as he plunged to the ground, grasping his shoulder and feeling his own blood trickle down his arm. The stinging and screaming pain was more than he could bear, not being able to get up from the ground after that surprise attack.

Rai could hear a man's voice behind him and laughing wickedly in a hoarse voice.

"See how generous I can be, kid? You can die next to mommy!"

Raising his blade again, Rai not only felt another searing pain, but the pain of thinking too hard. Fear and panic surged through his veins and a mixture of confusion and sorrow was pouring out through his countless tears.

Stabbed another time by the cursed knife, the tears began to stop…the pain was so much that it began to numb…he had to get used to the numbed pain praying that it would be over soon…his mind was wandering to his death…how it would hurt…how he would join his mother…how she would embrace him…

Then he punched him hard in the stomach. Rai found it hard to breathe as he tried to get on his knees, but the pain in his abdominals would always send him back down to the ground, his lungs begging for air.

"SAY GOOD BYE!" he screamed, heading a final stab to his heart. Rai squeezed his eyes shut and a tear rolled down his face.

"Is this it? Am I going to die? Or…am I…already…gone?"

"EARTH!"

Suddenly, a huge landslide knocked the villain off his feet and sent him down to the first floor with the knife in his chest.

Two large arms swept up the crying child as they fled out of the house and watched the house crumble…but Rai believed that the house was already dead…

Sobbing uncontrollably in the mysterious person's huge warm chest, Rai looked up to see the face of his rescuer.

Clay was staring down at him affectionately, wiping a tear away from the child's face and gently bringing him back into his arms.

"Shh…it's ok…I won't let anyone hurt you…"

And that's when Rai woke.

Rai saw a blinding flash of white light and he was awake at last.

He felt fresh tears stain his cheeks and the same two arms that he thought were fantasized in his fucked up mind were real.

Clay had Rai strongly in a tight embrace. Rai could hear himself breathe in a shaky pattern and he found his own arms clamping tightly around Clay's shoulders.

At first, Clay didn't say a word. But when he did, Rai felt his heart jolting upward then it felt like it was touching the floor.

"Rai…you're ok…" Clay said in a mellow whisper.

Raimundo looked deeply into the eyes of his friend…a beautiful vortex that sucked up his inner strength. Clay's look of pity had stripped him of everything, until nothing was left but fear and weakness…Rai was opened like a book, waiting to be read. He could not hide anything.

He felt a tear of shame come down his eyes when he left the warm sanctuary of Clay's arms.

"…I'm sorry…what…what…happened?"

Clay himself winced as he felt a pang of his own fear of remembering the horror that was imprinted on Rai's face…what he imagined what Rai must have been feeling…the scene of his friend enduring so much pain in his sleep was so utterly insufferable.

"You were thrashing around on your mat, bawling and grabbing your shoulder, howling in pain. I started to panic. I didn't know what was wrong with you. It was almost as if you were being attacked! I tried everything to wake you up: shouting, shaking you, the Orb of Tornami…it even got to the point where I was so desperate that I punched you in the stomach!"

Rai started to feel sick when he remembered the image of the killer hitting him in the same fashion that Clay described. He also realized that he was soaking wet; his shirt and pants started to stick to him.

"I tried literally everything…it hurt so much to see you in pain…and yet I caused more of it!"

Clay's eyes were red.

"I…I'm so sorry Rai…" he whimpered.

Clay's shoulders were twitching in hatred for himself and he clenched his fists so hard that if he wasn't wearing gloves, he would've drew blood. But as if his life depended on it, he did not dare cry.

"Clay…"

Rai looked at Clay in sincerity and placed a hand on his shoulder, ending the tenseness.

"…if you're going to understand one thing in the entire universe that's held together by duct tape…it wasn't your fault. I just…had a nightmare."

"But Rai, you were shouting out and crying hysterically…it must've been a scary nightmare."

Rai closed his open emotions while puffing up his chest and folding his arms. Holding his chin up high and looking away, he had to lie to Clay to not make him worry anymore.

"Hmph. I wasn't scared." he scoffed in a cocky and manly tone.

But once again, Clay worked his magic on Rai; destroying his 'shield' of fake bull-headedness and brought Rai close to his chest and held him once more.

"……I was afraid…"

Hot pain prickled at Raimundo's eyes as he moved closer to Clay, wrapping his arms around his friend. He could not lie to Clay…it was like taking candy from the Sweet Baby among Us!

After a moment of great silence, Clay finally spoke up; choking out the words that he was meaning to say for some time.

"I know what that dream was about Rai…that's why I got scared."

Rai looked up in shock.

"Y-You do? What is it about then?" he asked painfully looking away, regretting he ever asked.

"…you were screaming and crying for your mother…this was about your parent's death, wasn't it?" he whispered.

Raimundo started to cry again. It came like a waterfall…and once again he was too weak to stop it…

"…I…I couldn't save her…"

Clay held Rai tighter...gently stroking Rai's hair as he continued to bawl quietly. Rai cried for minutes…which led to hours…he cried till the sun began to rise…

But by that time, the two boys were asleep on Rai's mat, cuddling and embracing each other…holding each other for comfort and warmth.

As the sun's multi-colored rays shot out from the circle-shaped window, Clay began to stir. He opened his eyes, straightened his hat and stood up, looking down on Rai who was not thinking about moving until noon.

Clay couldn't help but smile; Rai was so cute when he slept…peacefully.

His breath was steady and small, his face was streaked with tears, but he was not having any nightmares.

Clay got down to his knees to get a better look at Rai's face. He stared at his closed eye lids and then he moved down to his lips. They were slightly parted…cute and moist…ready to be kissed…

"AAAH! STOP IT!"

Clay hollered, banging his head on the wall and waking Rai up in an instant.

"Clay! What's up? Why are you banging your head against the wall?"

Before Clay could answer, Dojo slithered into the room. He was panting and looked like he had seen the devil.

"G-Guys! Get to the courtyard quick! Jack Spicer got through the wall and brought reinforcements!"

Without a moment to spare, Rai and Clay ran to the courtyard as fast as their legs could carry them.