Spectacle
"So small."
Junichi's knees buckled. He fell to the ground as his legs gave out. His hands were clammy and visibly shaking. The fear choked his voice for a moment; there was nothing he could think of saying in response. Yoh tilted his head and exhaled. His emotionless stare was frightening. The men surrounding them were afraid but stood their ground. They had to protect Junichi with their lives if necessary.
"Release him at once, or we will strike you down!"
Yoh had no idea who said it. The voice came from behind, and he would not bother turning around. Junichi lifted his head, but the demon blocked his line of sight.
"Stand down," he said. "All of you...leave the clearing at once!"
"We can't do that, Sir." Another man stepped forward, his sword clutched firmly in his hands. "We won't leave you here to die."
"Don't attack him." Junichi's face was puffy and red with fresh tears spilling onto his tunic.
They're not here.
"It doesn't matter," he said with a slow growl.
It matters.
Junichi stared at the demon with confusion and terror as he cracked his knuckles and rolled his eyes.
Wait.
He sat on the ground in front of the boy with his legs folded and rested his eyes on his face. Junichi looked away toward some of the armed men and was greeted with a sea of befuddled expressions.
"What is he doing?" he heard a few of them whisper.
"He's...surrendering! Arrest him!"
Yoh closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. His face flushed red with irritation, but it quickly subsided.
"What do you want?" Junichi asked, directing his gaze toward Yoh's neck. "Why are you doing this?"
He was distracted. The men behind him were whispering a plan of action. Waiting would not only be annoying but eventually impossible.
"Just kill him! This is the best chance we'll have!" The man who declared it swiftly raised his sword. He tightened his jaw as he advanced. Five other men followed his lead, running toward the demon at full speed and even uttering a battle cry.
Yoh could hear them advancing but relaxed. Junichi called out and waved his hands but was ignored. They were close enough to sever the demon's head and end it for good, and the leader would be the first to stain his blade. The rest of the men stood back, waiting for the inevitable.
But the inevitable was unexpected.
It was fast but decisive. Junichi flinched when he heard the unmistakable sound of shattering bone and loud screaming. He lowered his head to Yoh's shirt, lacking the will to observe. The swords belonging to the five men dropped to the earth beneath their feet. It was involuntary. One by one, their limbs were grotesquely twisted into unnatural forms, forcing the marrow inside to break. The leader, who was the closest to the demon, fell to the ground in a fetal position as a few of his ribs tore through the skin of his torso and were exposed to the air. He tried to scream, but blood filled his mouth and he gagged instead. The rest of the group could not aid him. Every extremity pulled and twisted without their consent, and they wailed in agony as the forced ruptures pulled them to the ground.
There was a long pause. The flanked men who did not participate in the attack froze. Many of their faces were wet, their weapons unsteady. A light wind fluttered through the field and spooked them.
"Stop," Junichi pleaded through thick tears. "Please stop."
Yoh loosely clasped his hands together in his lap. He stared at the boy with eyes of mixed indifference and cruelty. Junichi gasped as the men hovered in the air above their heads. He was amazed at the impossible feat, but Yoh's silence and stillness shook his resolve.
"Please," he repeated.
Stupid.
His movement was so subtle Junichi barely saw it. Yoh merely cracked his knuckles and lightly exhaled. The men above them screamed until they no longer had voices. Their arms and legs were ripped from their bodies. Some torsos spun slowly until the organs and muscles inside ruptured from the pressure. Others were severed from the heads. A few recognizable organs fell onto the ground between them, and after only minutes Junichi found himself covered in their blood.
"RUN!"
Someone from the flanks blurted it out, but the men obeyed as if it were an order from their captain. Junichi stared at the stained ground with wide eyes and a gaped mouth as they scrambled, but none of them left the field. The earth shook violently and pulled apart, cutting them off from the surrounding trees. The large crevice encircled them, too wide to jump over and too deep to survive a fall. They huddled together toward the center but were careful not to step within feet of the demon and his hostage.
They're coming.
Yoh closed his eyes.
"What the hell is that?" Ryu arrived there first, breaking into a full sprint and pausing a moment to catch his breath. The others were close behind but stopped short before approaching.
The rift in the ground was too wide to get closer. Tamao clutched her hand over her chest and held her breath. She cleared her throat a few times and swallowed.
"Yoh? Yoh, listen to me! No one has to fight!"
"Shut up," Kiyomi said. "It's too late."
"He's not with them." Yoh's tone was bitter and low.
Shumei? Save him for last.
He smiled. Junichi swallowed.
"We have to figure out a way over there!" Tamao jogged a few steps near the rift and glanced down the surface.
Their silence was deafening. She turned around, shooting an irritated frown that quickly faded when meeting their eyes. Ryu eyed the trapped men. Sweat covered his forehead; his face turned red. Ren and Lyserg shared the same vagueness, and neither of them spoke. Kiyomi grabbed her dress with a tight fist and clenched her teeth. Manta's eyes were swollen with tears. He blinked a few times but quickly looked away.
She spun around to find Yoh in the crowd and dropped her hands limply at her sides. "There has to be something we can do."
"Even if you could get to them, there's no way you could stop the demon." Kiyomi tightened her jaw when she said it. Her face swelled with rushing tears. "There's a barrier anyway."
"I don't see anything," Lyserg said under his breath.
"My Lady..." Satoshi nervously scratched his brow and lowered his head. "I should take you somewhere safe and wait for Captain Shumei to arrive."
"There's no time," she replied. "He knows we're here; he won't allow us to leave now."
Kiyomi was distracted by a large dust cloud that filled the clearing with a suffocating fog. Their line of sight was now completely blocked. The dust swirled in the air like a fierce storm, shooting rocks, broken tree branches and other particles into the clearing. Ryu, Lyserg and Ren backed away and shielded themselves from the debris but Manta's shock kept him from moving. Tamao pushed against them with a burst of wind but it was quickly suffocated into the storm, leaving her hands pale and shaking.
"He's going to kill them," Satoshi said with a frightened whimper. "And then he'll kill us."
Tamao opened her mouth to dispute his claim, but she was immediately disarmed when she glanced over her friends. Manta whimpered something incoherent and buried his face in his hands. Ren, Ryu and Lyserg were staring into the dust cloud with expressions nearly too vague for her to interpret. There was no longer anger or frustration but a new, overwhelming emotion she had never seen from them before.
Paralyzing. Suffocating. Fear.
"No one move," Kiyomi said with a defeated sigh. "He'll attack if we attempt to flee."
"Where are we going?" Pino bent over and rested his hands on his knees as he stared at the swaying blades of grass beneath their feet. Anna had been in a great rush to get outside, forcing him into a short sprint.
"This is far enough." Her back faced him. Although her voice was calm and nearly soothing, he felt no comfort.
"What is your power?" he asked with a reluctant frown.
"Make sure no one comes out. Hold them off as long as you can. I can't help you until this is done."
"Until...what is done?"
"Stay back." She raised one hand in the air. "Don't come any closer."
"What is this?" He backed away. "What are you doing?"
"I'll explain, but I don't have time now. Please be quiet."
Junichi shivered beneath the swirling dust cloud. The spinning sucked the heat away, and darkness prevented him from seeing any of Shumei's men there. Yoh was still in front of him but now standing. A grainy outline of his figure was visible, increasing the boy's panic. After minutes of silence the movement stopped; dirt and other various particles that made the cloud impossible to penetrate fell into the large crevice. Tamao and the others were now able to see the clearing, but no one moved.
The men that were trapped by the crevice were sprawled on the ground. They were moving, struggling to get back to their feet, but something invisible was keeping them pinned. Junichi took a deep breath, satisfied they were still alive, but his weak smile faded when he saw the demon again. He had a loose stance, his arms limp at his sides, his face, hair, arms and clothes stained with their blood. His eyes were open but cold, filled with malice and hatred he made no attempt to hide. Junichi knelt in front of him, touching his hands and face to the ground. There was no real plan. He was unsure of what to say or do. But pangs of horror pierced down his throat as he swallowed and he tightly closed his eyes when he heard a menacing laugh.
Yoh's laugh was brief but terrifying. Every man in the clearing trembled at the haunting sound. He ended it abruptly, almost impatiently, and blankness resumed over his expression.
Yoh?
He frowned.
I know you can hear me.
She appeared in front of him as a hazy mirage. Her long, blond hair flowed in the wind and gently against her back and shoulders. Regal, embroidered linens covered her body in sweeping layers of silk and gold. Her almond eyes were pained despite the angelic glow of her skin. He blinked his eyes with stunned wonder and was unable to turn away.
Junichi lifted his head and watched the demon with confusion. He scanned the clearing to catch a glimpse of what could have caught his attention so completely, but he found nothing.
You're veering off course.
"...Anna?" It was a whisper, and no one else heard it.
I'm sorry.
Yoh's right eye twitched and his head suddenly tilted with a hard jerk. The movement was awkward and disturbing. He fell to the ground on his back and although his eyes were still open, his body was stiff. Junichi held his breath and waited. The men were now able to move. They stood quickly and grabbed their swords, surrounding Junichi and the demon.
"She stopped him." Kiyomi said it with shock and relief.
"What...happened?" Ren asked.
"I don't know." Tamao stepped closer but the men surrounding Junichi and Yoh blocked their view.
Satoshi ran as close as he could to the clearing and stopped at the edge of the crevice. "Where is he?"
"He's...unconscious," he heard one of the men say.
"Satoshi!" Junichi pushed his way through the crowd and emerged at the opposite edge of the crevice. "I want him taken to the infirmary. We can't move him. There's a...shield."
"Shield?"
"She doesn't want us to kill him," Kiyomi said and cleared her throat. "Tamao, can you move him?"
"Yes. I'm...sure I can."
"Get them all out of there, then." She abruptly walked away from them.
"Wait," Manta called. "Who are you talking about? Who is 'she'?"
Kiyomi did not turn around but said sternly, "The Ice Queen."
Matilda walked slowly down the long hallway with her hands in tight fists. Anger and sadness overwhelmed her. She was unsure if she could handle another lecture from Hao. His door was open when she entered, but the room was empty.
"Master Hao?"
She took a few steps and noticed bare feet sticking out behind a large table.
"...Hao?"
He was unconscious. His nose bled, his eyes wide open. She ran to him in a panic, screaming for help. Luchist and Kanna were not far behind, and they ran into the room. Matilda tried to sit him up but failed. Luchist assisted, and they managed to prop him up against the wall behind the table. Kanna pushed the table out of the way and knelt in front of him. She briefly reached out her hand and grabbed one of his feet.
"They're ice cold," she said with worry.
"What happened, Matilda?" Luchist asked.
"I found him like this. What should we do?"
Kanna disappeared into a small bathroom nearby and returned with a wet towel. She passed it to Matilda, who cleaned the blood from his face. Luchist checked his pulse and placed his hand over his forehead.
"I've never seen him do this before," he said. "I don't know."
"Master Hao? Can you hear me?" Kanna waved her hand in front of his face. "Blink if you can hear me."
He remained completely still and his eyes did not move.
"It's Anna!" Matilda sat beside him against the wall and punched her hand with a fist. "I know it! He was fine until she came here!"
"If she did this to him, we may need Jeanne to wake him up." Luchist said. "But it would be a risk. She could kill him."
"How could Anna have done this? She's not powerful enough...is she?"
Kanna's question prompted uneasy silence. They simply had no answer.
"We have to kill her before it's too late!" Matilda blurted.
Luchist scratched his beard and stared at Hao's uncomfortably blank face. "If Anna indeed has the power to subdue Hao like this, how could we possibly harm or...kill her, as you suggest?"
"So she's learned a few new tricks over the years. We have as well."
"Captain, I don't think you understand how serious this is." Kanna whispered it like she expected to be attacked. "If Anna can disarm Hao by herself...without Yoh...we don't stand a chance in this fight."
"Take me inside. I need to get back to my room before he wakes up."
Pino stared at her with an expression of curiosity and fear. "What? Who?"
"Please. Let's go."
"What did you do? We were just standing here doing nothing. What are you talking about?"
Stop asking questions. Take me back to my room.
He grabbed her hand and dragged her away as if his life depended upon it and said nothing else. The passageways were empty as they jogged through them, much to her surprise, and they reached her holding cell much faster than she anticipated. Fatigue ravaged her body as they entered. He released her hand, and she sat on the edge of the bed with labored breathing.
"Are you...okay?" He sat in a chair across from her and frowned. "Do you need water?"
"No." She took a deep breath. "Thank you for helping me, Pino. You're a good friend."
"We're not friends."
"Fine." She sighed.
Silence filled the room. He watched her face with worry. Her eyelids grew heavy. She clutched the blanket beneath her with both hands.
"Yoh is in Kiyomi's village as we speak," she said. "Hao wouldn't have stopped him from leveling it. I had to."
He slowly tilted his head but didn't speak.
"I can speculate what Hao's plans are for Hana, but I honestly don't know for sure. I know for certain he wants his brother back. He wants all of Yoh's memories to return so he can move forward with his master plan to destroy life as we know it…"
"…What?"
"...but removing those barriers have devastating consequences. When Yoh arrives here, Hao will make his move. And when he does none of us will survive it."
Pino's jaw dropped as he gawked at her, unable to give any coherent response.
"My only guess is that he needs Hana's power to serve as a buffer. Hao's not strong enough to defeat Yoh if he becomes hostile."
"Yoh is...stronger than Hao? Is that possible?"
"Yes, because their powers are different. Hao manipulates elements and is telepathic. Yoh's physical power mutates. He's not telepathic."
"Mutates?"
She took a deep breath. "He adapts to the resources available."
"Matilda told me he manipulates metal."
"He can manipulate any solid matter, from the metal in your weapons to the muscles and tendons in your body."
"How do you...fight that?"
"You can't."
His face was pale, his eyes widened. She knew he was afraid.
Forget everything I just told you.
"Are you going to explain your power or not?" he asked.
"You should leave, Pino. You're a good person, and you shouldn't be in a place like this."
She yawned. He frowned.
"You know I can't. That's a stupid thing to say."
"I have telepathic abilities. I can hear thoughts, whether I want to or not."
"But it's more than that, isn't it?"
"Yes."
He groaned. "You won't tell me."
"I trust you, Pino. It's not that."
"I didn't say...what the hell?"
Her wrists suddenly went cold. Large bands of ice formed around them and pulled her back against the wall like magnets. She had no strength to resist herself being thrown. Hair covered her face, but he could hear her heavy breathing.
"Is that your power? This manipulation you're trying to do with me right now?"
"No."
"I don't believe you. This has been one big game for you right from the beginning!"
"No," she repeated.
"What do you want from me, Anna?" He crawled onto the bed and grabbed a portion of her hair. "Tell me what you want!"
"Stop," she said with a weak huff.
He slapped her and clenched his teeth, but his anger quickly diminished. The blow was light but enough to make her face bleed, and that scared him.
"I'm sorry!" The ice cuffs melted. He moved the hair away from her face to get a closer look at the wound. A small cut covered most of her cheek. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and slowly patted the blood away.
"I'm fine," she said.
Pino checked her wrists and then her neck for bruises. She politely smiled but did not stop him.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you."
"You didn't."
"I just want you to be safe."
It was an unexpected statement. Anna's eyes were vague. Pino peered into them with deep longing and sadness. His hands trembled as he rested them on her shoulders, and for a moment he was unable to breathe.
This was all too familiar. She relaxed her posture. He kissed her lips with delicate hesitation, but because he felt no resistance his confidence quickly recovered. Her eyes were open as he pushed her back against the wall, her hands limp as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his head on her shoulder to catch his breath and released most of his weight on her. Anna remained perfectly still in her position and expression.
"You don't love me," she said. "You're confused."
He held her tighter and closed his eyes.
"Hao will kill you if he sees you like this. You have to pull yourself together."
"What did you do?" he whimpered. "What did you do to me?"
"Pino..." She sighed. "You've been here too long. I don't need your protection."
Leave this place while you still can. Forget about me.
He quietly left the bed and exited the room, slamming the door behind him. She gazed at the door for several moments. Fatigue took its final toll, and she curled up against the blanket with her eyes closed.
Luchist and Kanna paced back and forth in front of Hao's still body as they contemplated a plan. Matilda sat beside him, holding one of his hands and watched as they deliberated.
"It's been over an hour. We have to get Jeanne," Luchist said finally.
"You said she could kill him." Kanna folded her arms and stopped her pace. "She's not in her right mind, is she?"
Matilda closed her eyes and squeezed his hand. If Luchist had no real plan…
"Bitch."
Her eyes shot open. He had said it under his breath.
"Hao?"
He slowly blinked his eyes and pulled away from her as he rose to his feet. Luchist and Kanna stared at him with silent, dumbfounded expressions. Matilda stood behind him near the wall.
"You were unconscious," she said.
"I'm fine." His voice was bitter and stern.
"Nosebleed," she continued.
"I said I'm fine, Matilda."
"But–"
"Finish the preparations. I'll be back."
He left the three of them there, all too afraid to follow.
"He's angry," Luchist said. "Give him space, and don't ask him about this unless he brings it up."
Kanna nodded in agreement. Matilda stared at the floor like a reprimanded child. Her eyes filled with tears, and she clutched her hands into tight fists.
