Chapter 9: The end is near
The school quivered as the spiritual force weakened. Two wandering spirits stopped short when a pulse of energy traveled through the building, shivering in its wake.
One spirit was a girl, wearing the female version of a school uniform. Her hair was short; a strand was tied up with two pink spheres. She glanced to the male student next to her. He was much taller than her, wearing the usual male uniform; his hair was a dark grey, and he wore glasses.
"I'm worried Shig-nii… I think… Ayumi and Kishinuma are in trouble…" She spoke out, one arm wrapping around his.
"You know what'll happen if we go against the core's orders… that creature will…" He didn't bother to finish, knowing their final fate would end eventually.
"They're our friends! We have to try to help them! We can't just stand back and do nothing! Look at what the three ghost children and Shinohara are doing…" She trailed off, looking away. He let out a sigh.
"And now… the ghost children are gone…" He replied, and her brows furrowed.
"I don't care! We're going to help them! It's the least we can do! Please… Shig-nii," She pleaded, looking at him with big eyes. He couldn't say no, especially to her.
"Alright," He finally responded, and she beamed. She took his hand, and both disappeared within a blue light. A breeze blew through the hallway at their disappearance…
In the infirmary…
Aya and Shigeru had awoken only to see their aunt sitting before them, and their little brother back in their mother's arm. Once having been fully reunited, Aya had gone to go and get off the bed, but stopped short when pain pulsed up her injured leg.
"Mommy… Daddy… it hurts," She sniffed, the pain having not subsided. Her father stepped in front of her, leaning down.
"I know it does sweetie. How about I give you a piggyback ride till it stops hurting?" He asked, and Aya hesitated to the offer. When she nodded slowly, he smiled.
With a little bit of help from Yuka, Aya wrapped her arms securely around her father's neck, her leg stinging with every small movement. It took all of her willpower to not cry again.
"If you start to get tired, I can carry her for a while," Yuka stepped in, and Satoshi nodded. He turned to his wife, who was standing by the beds with Koji in her arms and Shigeru next to her.
"Where do you think we should go from here? Now that we're all back together…" Satoshi trailed off. Their best bet was to try to find a way out.
"O-Oh… daddy…" Aya started.
"Yes sweetheart?" He turned his head slightly to her.
"Before… I was hurt from that bad man… I met a woman… she said that she knew you and mommy from school," She replied, and Satoshi looked at Naomi.
"Did she tell you her name?" He looked back at her.
"Ayam… Ayumi?" She struggled to remember her rescuers name, but her father immediately knew whom she was talking about. Naomi let out a silent gasp.
"That means… that they're probably here too," Naomi murmured.
"We'll search for them then. If we can get together, there's a better chance of getting out of this place," Satoshi replied. All earning nods from his wife and sister, the family started for the door.
Once out in the hallway, they started for the staircase leading to the first floor. Another crash of lightning and thunder rounded outside, followed by a loud roar. The group stopped short at the noise, Shigeru hiding his face in his mother's leg. Aya did the same, hiding her face as well. That roar was all too familiar to her now.
"What was that?" Yuka glanced around, fearing another spirit would appear.
"I don't know… and I don't think I want to find out," Satoshi responded, turning back to the staircase.
"Come on RuRu," Naomi muttered, taking his hand again, following suit to her husband. Yuka looked down the hallway again, before turning towards her family as well.
When the family disappeared, the female spirit from many times before appeared, standing in the middle of the hallway. She had protected her best friend's family, but something still didn't feel right in her heart. The core, as well as that creature was out there, and the family was heading right for them.
Gazing up, she blinked before growing a spark of determination. She had to warn them, no matter what. Even if her soul was destroyed in the end, at least she had done it protecting her loved one's family.
"I will help you my dear Naomi… because you never forgot me… even after all these years… What would a best friend be if I didn't protect you… just one last time?" She smiled softly before stepping forward, going towards the staircase that the family had gone down just minutes before.
"Seiko will protect your babies," Her body became that of a small blue flame, before it disappeared completely.
As the family had entered the first floor, a male scream split the air, and Aya and Shigeru let out a yelp. Satoshi was about run off, but remembered he was carrying Aya. If someone was in trouble, she shouldn't get in involved.
"Yuka! Take Aya!" He turned to his sister, in which she obliged and ran over to aid him.
When the younger girl was securely on her aunt's back, Satoshi turned and ran off...
On the bridge…
The creature, having grabbed Ami from her parent's arms, threw the little girl to the rooftop, towering over her as he neared her. In a state of panic, she started to crawl away, until she bumped into something. She glanced behind her, only to see the child spirit from before standing above her. She let out a yelp and crawled back. She gazed between the two, holding herself as she panted heavily.
"What should we do with her?" Sachiko asked the scissors tight in her grip.
"Ahh… We won't kill her… yet. She holds something precious that I need," The creature spoke, coming closer to her. Sachiko tilted her head, not having heard of this plan before.
"I thought we were going to kill all of them," She questioned, and the creature raised his head.
"Of course we are. If you are so desperate for bloodlust, kill the man that is her good-for-nothing father," He gestured to the blonde that was struggling to climb to the top of the roof. Sachiko grinned, agreeing with him.
"Alright," She replied before walking down to the roof towards the blonde. Oh, how she had wanted to kill this human from before, his strength was bugging her to no end. He was also the assailant to her cousin that appeased the ghost children.
Yoshiki would start climbing the side of the building, the poles holding up the bridge covered in vines; but one vine would snap, and he would fall back to the ground. Ayumi had jumped the fence, running over to him in worry.
"Yoshiki, are you okay?!" She went on her knees as he pressed a hand to his head. He panted heavily as he focused back to the rooftop. He could just see the creature walking forward, probably towards Ami. The thought of his daughter getting hurt sent a new spark of determination in his veins.
"I'm fine… Go into the trees to stay hidden from that thing… and Sachiko. I don't want you getting caught with them either," He demanded, and she nodded, getting to her feet. Right as he was sitting up, Sachiko appeared before him, the scissors opened up towards him.
"I've always wanted to play with you…" She spoke before lunging forward, the scissors closing. In a moment, he grabbed her hands, trying to hold her back from slicing his eye open, the sharp, bloody blades right in front of his right eye. He wasn't expecting her to be so strong, even for being a child. However, he knew she was powerful, her ghostly background giving her powers beyond those that were alive.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning and crack of thunder went across the skies, and he didn't see her put more energy in the struggle. Within seconds, the scissors came forward, and a new pain shot through his brain as his right eye was cut. The cut went right across his pupil, and he shot back, letting out a scream of agony as his hands went over it. Blood pooled over the right side of his face, dripping down and staining his shirt and covering his hands. Through his agonizing pulses, he could hear Sachiko giggling as she brought the scissors forward again.
"Yoshiki no!" He could hear Ayumi scream to him from the tree line, and closed his uninjured eye, readying himself for more pain.
Only, no pain came. All he heard a clunk as metal against metal hit each other.
Opening his eye, he saw a figure standing over him holding Sachiko back with a pocketknife.
"W-What?! You!" Sachiko looked up to figure and growled, before throwing him back with unknown forces. Whoever the person was, they weren't giving up the fight, landing back before shooting forward again.
"Stay away! Don't get in the way of my work!" She demanded, the knife shooting forward and catching the scissors blades again.
"Even I can see through that creature's plans. Why can't you?!" The figure had the audacity to fight, and further deepened his fate as he flung the ghost girl back. She landed on her back, but sat up quickly.
"He's making Heavenly Host a better place," She responded, and the figure only growled. Yoshiki sat back, watching the two quarrels between each other when his eye caught the creature again. Clenching his teeth, he rose up, withdrawing the sword from his shoulder. With Sachiko distracted, his slipped past them and made his way to the side of the building once again.
"Bullshit! You know better than this Sachiko! He's destroying the spiritual force! He killed your acquaintances right in front of you! Why are you so blind to his real purposes?!" The figure yelled at her, and her anger only grew.
"Go back to the science lab where you belong, Kizami," She retorted, but he didn't move.
"I no longer follow you… neither do the rest of us. We're no longer following your command," As the model spoke, spirits started to appear. What was once thousands of lives has now dwindled to a few hundred. The spirits surrounded Sachiko and the model, and the girl looked around her.
"N-No… you're wrong," She muttered out.
"We wouldn't lie to you," Yuuya spoke, and she stepped back. The scissors that were once strong in her grip fell from her hands, and landed on the wet grass below.
From the tree line, Ayumi had been watching the whole thing unravel. Her head started to ache suddenly when hundreds of spirits appeared, standing behind the anatomical model. Never in her life had she so many souls lost to the school that took her friends- wait… we're they among the group? She couldn't see well, the spirits transparency making it difficult to make out features.
Another crack of thunder went over the skies as the creature got closer to Ami. The little girl was a shaking mess, backed up against a building wall. She couldn't escape.
"Hey! You bastard!" A voice rang out, and the creature turned. Another flash of lightning and thunder crossed the skies as a figure stood there, the legendary sword in his hand.
"W-What? You should be dead!" The creature roared, and he smirked.
"Sachiko is battling her own demons. But right now… You should be so kind to give me my daughter back," He spoke, and the creature cackled.
"You can't even hold the swords true powers. How are you going to fight a sorcerer like me?" He inquired.
"Like this!" Yoshiki ran forward, and swung the sword, catching the creature's face. He screeched out as the swords magic burned his cheek. He shook his head, backing away. Yoshiki ran over to Ami, holding her close as he held the sword forward, ready to strike.
"You really are the stubborn one… never giving up on those that you love… even when you're badly injured," The creature growled as he stared at the blonde.
"Just because my eye is out doesn't mean I'm down," Yoshiki replied, holding Ami closer to him. The girl was frightened out of her mind, watching the creature step closer.
"Let's see how far you really can go…" The creature spoke, stepping closer…
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