Healing wounds

Chapter 2: Everyone has issues

It was the end of the afternoon when Touma woke up. He was having a hard time with the jetlag and for a minute, he wasn't sure where he was. He scratched his head and stared at the wall until his neurons finally woke up and reminded him he was home with his friends. He looked at the bed beside his and was not surprised to see it empty and neatly done.

Seiji must have been up for hours already, he thought, rubbing his right eye with the palm of his hand. He finally dragged himself out of bed, dressed up and walked out, not minding his bed hair look. He wasn't planning of going out anyway so why worry about it?

The house was awfully quiet, but he didn't notice that. When Touma wakes up, he is very methodical: one thing at a time. And right now, he was hungry. During time of peace, the dark blue warrior wasn't as alert of his environment though he knew he should. However, there was no doubt that if a Masho or a dark warrior from the Youjakai would show up, he would be surprised but that would be the kind of kick to wake him up instantly.

As he was going downstairs, he caught a quick glimpse of Azhure in the living room. She seemed to be reading her magic book. It never came back alive since her near death experience. He somewhat felt relieved to see her there and went to the kitchen, without paying attention to anyone else he met on his way there. He opened the refrigerator door and put his head in it in hope to find something quick and decent to eat.

"You don't have to worry about Azhure. I already talked to her," said a feminine voice behind him. He turned around and saw Nasuti who was smiling at him. She shook her head when she saw his confused look. "We owed Azhure an explanation for leaving her behind, remember? You promised her this morning." Touma remained silent for some seconds before blinking a couple of times, finally remembering his promise. He slapped his forehead with his palm. "Don't tell me you forgot that."

"I'm so sorry. I really meant that but I just…" he sighed. "I'm just waking up. Give me a chance here."

"Don't worry about it. I figured you would wake up very late so I took the liberty of talking to her. I know how you are in the morning. Or rather, how you are in the afternoon." She said that with a fraternal tone.

"How did she take it?"

"Well… I think she and the others are angry at me. Jealous even." She leaned against the counter and taped it gently with her fingers, her chin resting on the back of her left hand. "Though she didn't voice it, I can tell she would have liked to come."

"It wasn't a leisure trip, Nasuti. People died. She could have been among them," Touma replied with a frown.

"I know. But she's not a kid, Touma. I was against bringing Aikyo and Rin because we didn't know what we were up against but Azhure could have been useful."

"No. She was safer here."

"Touma…"

The dark blue warrior took out things to make a sandwich and started preparing his meal. He knew his attitude looked overprotective and maybe it was because of Orion's influence. However, he took a decision when she came back: he didn't want her to fight again. She suffered so much and now, her fight was over. The last thing he wanted was to drag her in his fights. She deserved a peaceful life.

"You are so stubborn," finally said the brown hair girl. She straightened up and looked at the clock.

"Waiting for someone?" Touma asked as he put some mayonnaise on the bread.

"I'm just worried about Seiji and Ryo. Seiji insisted to go grocery shopping with Shin and Ryo, well, he left at dawn and we haven't heard from him since."

Touma stopped making his sandwich and remained quiet. Two of his friends walked out of their last fight injured and no medicine in the world could heal them. Ryo lost Luna, a girl he fell in love with, while Seiji has been tortured and lured into using his armor that was used to kill lots of innocent people in the United States. He didn't know what to do or what to say to them. He felt Nasuti's hand squeezed his shoulder gently. As he met her gaze, he saw she didn't know what to tell him to comfort him.

***

"Seiji, can you get the milk? I forgot to get it when we walked in the dairy aisle," the water warrior asked the warrior of light. They were waiting in line to pay for the grocery and Shin didn't want to lose their place as the cashier lady was particularly slow today.

"Sure thing, Shin," said his friend as he walked away.

"Seiji! It has to be 2% and you need get at least 5 of them! Oh! And don't take the Soja mark!!!"

Sweatdropping, Seiji made a gesture toward his friend to show him he understood the instructions and walked toward the dairy aisle, basket in hand. It wasn't his turn to go grocery shopping but since Ryo wasn't home, he took his place and went with Shin. He couldn't stand being home, with the others constantly watching over him. At least, he knew Shin wouldn't try to ask questions while they were alone. Even if he did, he wouldn't know how to answer. Did he feel guilty? Did he feel abused? Did he feel unworthy of his armor? He couldn't tell. All he knew was that he didn't feel his usual self.

As he started to fill the basket, flashes of the brainwashing suddenly came into his mind. He couldn't stop them no matter how he tried to resist and tell his mind to stop. He put his hand over his eyes and waited for it to pass. A clerk passed and stopped besides him.

"Sir, are you alright?" he asked Seiji. The warrior quickly blinked away the visions and looked at the clerk. "You look pale, sir. Do you want me to call an ambulance?"

"No, I'm fine," he replied with assurance. Once the clerk was reassured, Seiji finished filling the basket and went back to Shin.

"You surely took your time. It's almost our turn," his friend said with a small grin, teasing him. "What kept you?"

"Nothing," was all Seiji was able to answer.

***

The owner of the Rekka armor was not able to sleep after he went to bed. He watched over Jun who fell asleep in the bed next to his and once he was sure the boy and everyone else were deep asleep, he quietly walked out of the house and ran into the woods in search of his white tiger. Byakuen was always near the waterfall behind the house and without fail, this is where Ryo found him. Seeing his furry friend made him feel like his burden was lightly lifted and that made him smile.

He spent the whole day with the tiger. He told him everything about his trip in the United States: about Seiji, about Korin, but most of all, he talked about Luna; the girl who couldn't forget; the girl he failed to protect. The guilty feeling was impossible to shake away. He spent the entire day trying to figure out how to deal with it.

He wished he could go back in time to save her. Wouldn't that be easier? He could stop her from coming with them or prevent her to try to kill the mad scientist. The other option would be to prevent Touma to find the reporter. That way, she wouldn't have any reason to help them or be near them. She would be safe. But it was impossible…or was it?

The idea came to him by the end of the day. He doesn't really how he made the connection but he hurried home in hope it could work. As he arrived, Seiji was parking the car in the alley and got out with Shin, ready to take the grocery in. He quickly ran past them and after an unofficial greeting, he quickly opened the front door of the house. He tossed his shoes aside and started looking for Azhure. The search was short as she answered his calls immediately and he stopped his running once he got in the living room. He didn't notice Touma and Nasuti rushing after him, worried that something happened to him. The magician was sitting on the couch, her knees near her chest and her magic book on the arm of the couch, in the dim light the window was still providing. Ryo was standing in front of her, his back facing the door and his friends.

"I need to ask a huge favor," he started to say to Azhure. The girl blinked a couple of times, but he didn't give her the time to answer. "I want you to cast a spell that will take me back in time."

"What?" she asked him after some minutes of awkward silence. "Why would I do that?"

"I need to save someone. It's very important, please."

"But…I thought you already saved Seiji." The magician never knew the whole story about their adventure in the United States. When Nasuti came to talk to her, it was just to explain why she wasn't part of the trip. Azhure was actually too mad at the time to ask to know the whole story, so Ryo's request didn't make sense to her at all.

"Not Seiji! Luna! I have to save Luna!"

"Who's Luna?"

"I couldn't protect her. She came along with us to save Seiji and to avenge her brother but she didn't make it. I failed her. You have to take me back in time so I can save her!" It was hard for Azhure to see Ryo in pain because of the guilt he was feeling. She knew this pain all too well and the answer she was about to give him was not going to ease it.

"I'm sorry Ryo but…I can't do it," the girl replied as gently as she could.

"What do you mean you can't do it?" almost screamed the black haired young man. "You're a magician! A spell caster! Surely there's a spell in that book of yours that can do it!"

"Don't you think I would have used it by now if such a spell existed?" she told him with a small glare.

"Maybe you just didn't find it or didn't have the proper ingredients to do it! I'll help! Please, Azhure, you got to help me save her!"

"Ryo, my magic has nothing to do with your own definition of magic. I don't make magic potions or move a wand around to cast spells. My incantations are more complex than that and you have to understand they have certain limitations. Just because it's magic it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with it."

"No! There has to be a way! There has to be!" Ryo punched the wall out of anger and punched it again to feel better, but it didn't work.

"I know it's hard," Azhure told him with a painful expression. "I, too, thought I could find a spell to go back in time and save my brother and everyone else. To stop Silver before he could even reach my home was my dream during the first year. But to change history has its price."

"I'm willing to pay it!" the red warrior responded without a hint of hesitation.

"No, you're not. And few people are," she said as she closed her book.

"That's not true!"

"The only spell I've found to make it back in time requires a blood sacrifice. Death of countless souls just for a chance to change a little detail in your past to have the outcome you want." She looked at him straight in the eyes when she said that and a heavy silence fell in the room. Seeing she got all his attention, she went on. "And there are things you cannot change, no matter what. There are things like destiny, Ryo. And destiny needs balance. If you were to kill enough people and perform the ritual to go back in time to save her, you will lose someone equally important to you nonetheless."

"Stop it," Ryo said as he looked away. But Azhure didn't listen to his wish.

"It could have been someone of your family. It could have been Nasuti or Jun. Or it could have been Seiji! How would you feel, if he were to die instead of her? After everything you've been through together…"

"I said stop it!!" He couldn't believe his ears. Was she lying about the spell or about the balance destiny requires? Or was it all true? Whether it was true or not, it was too painful for him to listen anymore. The thought of trading someone else's life for Luna's just made him sick inside. "I get it…" he finally told Azhure with a broken voice. He walked out of the room and without a word, went to his room. As she couldn't bare the gazes of Nasuti and the other Troopers, the white magician also escaped to her room.

"What did I miss?" Orion said as he walked through a wall. All he received for an answer was a collective sigh.

***

No matter how much she ran, she felt like she didn't move. The darkness around her frightened her but it was the shadow lurking in the darkness that truly struck fear into her heart. She could hear him laugh all around her. He was so close and yet so far at the same time. It took all her strength to not fall on her knees and cry.

"What's the matter, princess?" said the familiar voice. "You thought you could get rid of me so easily?"

"Shut up! You're dead!" she screamed.

"If I was, I wouldn't be here. What makes you think that my death wasn't an illusion?" Azhure took out her sais and randomly slashed the space around her in hope to hurt him. But Silver only chuckled at her weak attempt. "The ghost of your brother might also be an illusion that you created for yourself, to keep you from going insane."

"He's not! The ghost is real! It is my brother!"

"And those so-called friends, the Samurai Troopers and the two human girls, what makes you think they won't also turn against you like the others did?"

"They won't! I know they won't! If they hated me, Touma wouldn't have bothered to steal my sai from me and hide it to keep me here."

"Ah! So you're one of those girls huh? You like to be desired."

"Don't talk like you know me. I'm not like that!"

"Then, why did you leave in the first place? You KNEW your place wasn't here with them. What if I was faking my death? I could go back to them and use them to get you."

"I had my own reasons."

"Ah, playing the righteous heroine again. You know, this doesn't suit a cowardly princess like yourself. You should have died back then…with your brother!"

"NO!!!" Azhure yelled as she sat up in her bed, breathing heavily. Soft rays of light were passing through her curtains and 5:37am was flashing on her alarm clock. The songs of the birds reached her ears and once she realized it was another nightmare, tension vanished from her face.

If someone asked her when the nightmares started, it would be impossible for her to say. She felt like they were haunting her since the beginning of her adventure. However, the nature of those nightmares changed when Silver died. Moreover, she didn't have them every night at first. But now, there wasn't a night where Silver wouldn't come in to her dreams and torment her.

She pushed the blankets aside and realized how sweaty she was. Luckily, the guys weren't up yet so she was able to take a quick shower before proceeding to the dining room. To her surprise, she saw Seiji at the table, drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

"Good morning," he said casually to her. "It's a surprise to see you up at this hour. You usually sleep a lot, though you can't beat Touma on this," he continued with a faint smile.

"Good morning, Seiji," she replied politely before sitting in front of him. "I thought you would still be affected by the jetlag like the others."

"I'm alright. My morning routine is very important. It's always a good start for me." Azhure just nodded to his statement and both of them went silent. Although Seiji presented her his apologies about the things he said to her after Touma lost his orb to Silver, their relationship always felt awkward. He didn't know how to act with her because of how he was acting toward her brother and as for her, she didn't know what to think of him.

"You're not eating?" he asked her as the minutes passed and he noticed she didn't move from her chair. Azhure just leaned on the table and closed her eyes.

"I'm not hungry," she replied before falling fast asleep. This reaction surprised even more Seiji. First, she was up way before her usual hour and then she fell asleep in front of him on the table. Something was wrong with her. The owner of Korin put his tea cup on the table and went to check a closer look on her. He frowned.

"I know you're there. Show yourself," he said without looking behind him. At those words, the ghost of Orion appeared.

"How did you know I was there?" the big brother asked.

"I can easily sense evil," Seiji replied with a glare to the ghost.

"Awww… Don't be that way with me. I'm not evil. I already told you. I couldn't let Touma see me when he went after my sister so I helped him by giving him the right hunches. That's all."

"And what about her? What proof do you have to make me believe you are not using her or controlling her for your own desires?"

"You are the paranoiac of the bunch, aren't you?" Just like his sister, Orion couldn't stand to be accused of something he wasn't but the bearer of Korin seemed to firmly believe he was a threat. Even if Orion was getting along fine with Touma, he could sense that the blue hair teenager was keeping his distances because of the warnings Seiji gave him. Everyone in the house seemed so, except Azhure. He gave up trying to convince them he was a good person and hoped somehow that his actions will speak louder than his words.

"I'm just cautious, that's all," the blond told the ghost with a cold tone.

"Seems to me that you don't know WHEN to be cautious." Seiji slowly turned his gaze toward Orion and stared hard at him. He knew what the ghost was implying and he knew that he wouldn't apologize for it even if it was uncalled for to say that.

"Mind your own business," was all that the green warrior said before taking Azhure in his arms and bringing her back to her room.