A/N: Wow, sorry it's been almost an entire year since I updated. I had lost the drive to continue this story a long time ago and I lost my files to it so I decided to give it up. That is, until I started co-writing Sirens with Miss Hanamura, I felt like I wanted to continue this story again and revamp it majorly. So after lots of planning and picking up the mess from where I started, here is the new beginning! Also, if you've read up to here before this updated, I recommend checking out the past chapters as there have been some major and minor changes in all of the chapters. Enjoy!
Three days had passed since the ordeal with Ryo's nightmare. Yuna and Momoko were still stuck in there, which worried Ken but he couldn't do anything because Ryo was still recovering. Rumors had begun about the strange disappearances of those two, claiming that they had gone missing because of "The Nightmare".
Today, he decided to check up on Ryo after giving him some space. As he was about to knock on his door, it had opened suddenly and standing there with a big grin on his face was Ryo with auburn hair.
"Surprised? I decided to go back to my natural hair color now that I feel…free," he explained, using hand motions to exaggerate his sentence.
"It looks good on you, Ryo-san," Ken said with a smile on his face. He was starting to get used to his silliness now and was beginning to somewhat enjoy it. Ryo raised a brow at the mention of his last name. He gave a light chuckle and patted Ken on the shoulder.
"Drop the honorifics, man. We're friends now, aren't we?"
Friends…It was nice to have one here, especially since it was finally a person who's his age and not seven years older.
"Yeah," Ken replied with a smile and together they headed off for school.
Sorayume Academy
Lunch had begun, and the two went to the spot they first ate together at. They enjoyed talking about random topics, until a familiar face had walked up to them with a worried expression on her face.
"Hey, you're from Yuna-chan's class, right?" It was Asami, Yuna's older sister who was in the high school section of the school. Ryo nearly choked on his food, shocked to see that one of the popular girls had talked to them. Ken on other hand brushed it off and ignored his reaction.
"Yamazaki-san? What about her?" He asked, feigning an innocent face. He knew the truth of her whereabouts but it wouldn't do any good to worry her sibling.
"It's just…," She bit her lip and averted their gazes. "…Have you seen her? I've tried knocking on her door several times but I haven't gotten an answer. I'm worried that...-"
Suddenly, Ryo stood up, startling both Ken and Asami. He struck a dramatic pose, his hands clenched tightly into a fist. He looked at her with fierce determination on his face.
"Do not worry, Yamazaki-san," he said with an incredible try-hard deep voice. "We will find and bring Yuna back safe and sound in no time!"
Ken couldn't bear to stare at the painfully unfunny scene that unfolded before him and even saw passing bystanders smirking and giggling at them. Asami furrowed her eyebrows slightly with a crooked grin on her face, obviously showing she was uncomfortable with this.
"Err…please do so, then. I really care about my sister and I hope that nothing bad has happened to her. It was really troublesome getting away from them…" Ken raised a brow at the last part of his sentence.
"Them?" Asami looked surprised and had let out a small gasp. "Ah, I'm sorry. I better get going now." With that, she departed the spot and went off somewhere else. There was a brief silence before Ryo looked at Ken with a smug look.
"She will totally want me after we go and rescue Yamazaki-san and Fujihara-san."
Ken rolled his eyes and continued eating his lunch. Speaking of those two…
"Ah!"
"AGH!"
As Ken had let out his shriek of realization, Ryo was startled by it and fell, tumbling onto Ken.
"Get off of me!" Ken pushed the poor boy off him to the side quickly before anyone could see them like that. Just a moment like that could get other people to have the wrong idea…
"What was that all about? Geez," Ryo asked sourly as he rubbed his pained head.
"We have to go tonight! We've left them in the other world for too long and they might be in even more danger by now," Ken explained and felt panic rising in him, his stomach feeling as if it were churning in worry. Ryo shared the same reaction.
"Okay, okay, we shouldn't panic. We just go in at midnight and get out with the damsels in distress, right? It should be a piece of cake!" Ryo said with a seemingly confident voice but Ken knew that he was feeling the same. The bell for class rung and they decided to head back to class while planning their trip to the forest tonight.
Sorayume Dormitory
Ken returned to his room, hoping to rest up for tonight. He was lying down on his bed, gazing at the white ceiling before him, daydreaming about how events had transpired up to now. Turning his head to the side, he saw the ruby amulet sitting in the now open box glisten in the sunlight.
"It's all because of you," he murmured and recalled the day he ran into the mysterious lady. A knocking on the door had abruptly interrupted his train of thought and he sat up, walking towards the door to see who it was.
Nakashima was standing there, looking to the side worriedly and was fixing his tie, not realizing Ken had already opened the door. To grab his attention, Ken faked a cough.
"O-oh, sorry!" The man fixed himself quickly and regained his composure. "Amada-san, I regret forgetting to inform you that here in Sorayume, we require our students to join a club or extracurricular activity in order for them to have chances to develop bonds with each other and become closer."
He took out a neat signup form with activities listed on there, ranging from sports to art-related clubs. Ken took it from him and gave a small bow.
"Thank you, Nakashima-san. I'll be sure to sign up for one soon." With a grin, Nakashima departed and Ken closed his door with a heavy sigh.
He looked at the sheet of paper and read some of the activities listed there.
"Art, archery, basketball, music, photography…wow, they have a really wide variety here," he said to himself as his eyes followed the words until "Soccer Club" had caught his attention. He pondered whether or not to join it. He did like the sport after all and sometimes he would play soccer with Koromaru in his free time. As he continued down the list he saw "Ballet" which gave him a sudden uncomfortable feeling in his chest.
He placed the paper onto his desk and sat down with a grim expression on his face.
"We have to save them…"
…
"Ready, friend?"
Ryo held the baseball bat from before, the long part of it resting on his shoulder. He smirked at the approaching Ken holding the disassembled broomstick and a frown on his face.
"Don't use it like that or I won't consider you as one anymore," Ken replied dryly to which Ryo exhibited a panicked face.
"You're so cruel! I was only joking!" Ken grinned slightly as he walked past him onto the bridge that was now glowing. Ryo pouted and puffed his cheeks before following behind, his comedic act finally dropped.
The two both stood before the ivory gate that appeared before them, its height towering over them. They looked at each other with a serious hard look before nodding as they pushed the gate together, engulfed in a bright light once more.
?
"Ugh, where…are we?" Ken opened his eyes after having been blinded momentarily by the bright light. Rubbing his eyes, he focused on being alert of his surroundings and was looking around quickly.
That's strange; he was back in the classroom from Ryo's nightmare. But this time, Ryo was beside him and was experiencing his own wakeup at the moment.
"Huh…Uwaagh!" Ryo shrieked when he finally took notice of the dark classroom once more and looked at Ken with fear and confusion. "What's going on? I thought we were already done with this place!"
Ken immediately ran up to the window and looked outside at the campus everything seemed to be the same as it was before except…
…There were glowing flat blocks that resembled a staircase spiraling up into the nether sky.
"H-hey, does that lead to somewhere?" Ryo asked, joining him at the window. A growling sound could be heard not too far, sending a cold chill down the two boys' spines. They both exchanged a panicked look, their eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"We have to get out of here!" Ken shouted urgently and they both dashed out of the creepy gray classroom right as an explosion from the other side of the building had mingled with the end of his sentence. As they raced down the staircases to the ground floor, they could hear the growling sound coming closer and muck-like sounds crawling on the ground.
"AaaAAGGHH! What is that THING?!" Ryo's scream echoed throughout the abyssal world as they escaped the building and towards the stairs. Ken looked back, his eyes widening at the sight before him. It was a black swamp-like muck with claw-like hands and a red mask, resembling one of the shadows he'd fought before. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, glaring at the approaching shadow as it attempted to attack him.
This should be easy, then.
"HYAAAH!" Ken cried as he jabbed the stick into the ground and grabbed it tightly, swinging himself as he delivered a swift kick to the shadow, the enemy falling upon impact. Pulling the broomstick out of the ground, he quickly made his way to the staircase along with Ryo who was staring at him in awe.
"Woah, I had no idea you were able to that. I guess you're less boring than I thought!"
Ken ignored his comment as they raced up the spiral stairs that were disappearing after each step. Looking down, he saw that the weak shadows had populated greatly as a horde attempted to reach towards them but were unable to.
We probably wouldn't make it if they followed us up here…
He grimaced at the thought of that and continued forward with Ryo only a step behind him.
…
The scenery had changed abruptly as they ran past a cloud-like barrier through the spiral stairs. The atmosphere was different from the world beneath them, but it still held an eerie feeling of discomfort. A large gothic tower stood before them and at the top they could see a bit of a circling black ring above it. Though it was difficult to see due to the fog and dark nether sky, they were able to make out only some parts of what it was.
"No, I'm sorry! Please, NOOO!" A disembodied voice screamed. It sounded almost like Yuna's. Another voice could be heard along with it, this time sounding more like an older woman's voice.
"Useless! Just like your whore of a sister! Everything you do, you somehow manage to screw it all up! Nobody loves you and nobody ever will, not after what happened to your parents!"
Ken and Ryo looked at each other with a worried look on their face before changing it to determination as they charged into the large tower only to be met with shadows crawling out of the walls, taking the forms of Dancing Hands and Mayas. The monsters began to give chase as the two dashed through the spiraling staircase inside.
"H-hey, Ken, can you tell me what THOSE things are? They're really starting to give me the creeps!" Ken looked back to see an approaching Dancing Hand and turned around, proceeding to kick it down the stairs before continuing forward with Ryo.
"They're called shadows; negative thoughts and emotions from humans," Ken quickly explained as they continued up the stairs. He remembered Metis explaining that during their time in the Abyss of Time when everyone just thought they were the results of the experiment years ago.
After what seemed like a long time, they reached an empty floor with the only light source from the torches on the sides of the stone walls. A transparent image of two adults appeared with two young girls, both of them resembling the younger versions of Asami and Yuna. The four of them were smiling happily and both of Yuna's eyes were visible instead of one them being covered by her hair.
"Every day was always an exciting and fun adventure when we were together. Asami would always play with me while mom would cook yummy food for us. Father would always come home and give us big hugs and cool presents he'd bring after work. It was the best. But then…it all changed."
After Yuna's voice faded off, the image had disappeared as well leaving the two silent as they took in what they learned. Suddenly, a large shadow had appeared before them. It resembled a sorcerer wearing a jester-like cap with two giant shadow hands wrapping around its form.
"Leave," a dark and raspy voice echoed in the room as the large shadow opened its large hands, casting a spell.
"Get ready!" Ken ordered as he pushed Ryo out of the way while leaping to the side, a block of ice appearing in the spot they were in before. It shattered instantly, an explosion of ice shards flying in every direction.
"Agh!" Ryo stumbled over his feet and rolled across the stone floor, a few of the shards flying past him with little impact. He turned his head towards Ken, feeling panic arise in him.
"W-what do you want me to do? I know for sure if I get close I'm going to be a living Popsicle!" He really didn't know what to do and all he really did was try to avoid the ice attacks the shadow was casting. Ken immediately pulled out his evoker and was prepared to shoot, but was interrupted abruptly by an icicle that shot the gun out of his hand.
"Ah!" The silver gun flew in the air and slid across the floor when it landed, it being out of reach for both of the two boys. Ken shot an urgent look at Ryo as he tumbled to the side.
"Quick, summon your persona!" Around the end of his sentence, the magus had created another large ice block, proceeding to shatter it and had caused a loud noise that made it hard for Ryo to hear.
"What?! Purse owner?!" He shouted back at him after lowering his arms as defense against the ice shards. Ken grunted in annoyance. He really couldn't believe this guy.
"Per-so-NAH!" Ken repeated loudly and slower than before. Unfortunately, this drew the attention of the magus as it turned towards him, preparing another ice spell.
Oh, crap!
"Oh, I see! Okay…" Ryo called out from the other side of the room and Ken could see that he closed his eyes as if he were concentrating.
Come on, I know you want to look cool and all but you have to summon it faste-…!
A red shard appeared before him, a transparent tarot card of the Magician floating within it. It was burning a bright crimson light. Ryo stared at it dumbfounded for a moment before a smile crept upon his face.
"Alright, let's do this! Persona!" Ryo swung his bat at the shard, proceeding to shatter it into pieces as it floated up above him and taking the form of the warrior, Ares. Taking a stance, he swung the bat back as he lifted one arm up and pointed straight at the magus who had turned around to see the large knight hovering over the young boy.
"Go, Ares! Cleave!"
The plate-armored knight began soaring forward as it dodged most of the icicles that were sent at it, the ones that did made impact simply broke off with ease. Ares lifted the sword up high in the air and swung it down with all its strength, slicing the magus into two. The shadow gave a shrill cry before it exploded into a cloud of reddish black smoke. The battle was over.
Ken sat in place and stared at him with wide eyes as the boy walked towards the evoker on the ground. He picked it up, stared at it for a moment before looking at Ken.
"Looks like I won't need this," Ryo said with a smile as he threw it to the dumbfounded boy who later found himself scrambling on the floor trying to catch it. After giving a light chuckle, the room began to shake heavily, startling the two boys. The boy who was just cool and level-headed for a moment returned to his silly comedic self as he yelped and tripped over his feet while trying to run away from the sudden movement of the wall. Ken found it difficult to stifle his laughter.
"A-alright, we should keep going," Ken said as he accidentally snorted. Ryo gave him a weak glare to which he ignored as they walked towards the entrance where the wall used to be. It led to another staircase, though this time it was outside and was attached to the side of the tower. They both began to run up it, seeing how they weren't too far now.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Yuna's voice shrill scream echoed. At that moment, a boulder began tumbling down the staircase at a frighteningly fast rate.
"W-w-woah!" The two turned quickly and ran back down as they tried to evade the boulder. Ken noticed a depression in the tower and immediately jumped into it, pulling Ryo in to his surprise in the nick of time as the boulder rolled past. They were both gasping for breath, feeling adrenaline rushing in their bodies.
"I...was definitely…not expecting…that," Ryo said in between breaths, his body noticeably shaking slightly. Ken took a deep breath after catching his breath and peered outside slightly. No sign of dangerous boulders. Good.
"We better keep going," he said after waiting a minute and the two began running up the staircase once more, seeing the black moving ring closer in sight.
When they reached the top, they saw a large flock of ravens flying in what they perceived as the black ring. Yuna was in the middle and was clutching her head, shaking in fear.
"No…no…" She whimpered and when a raven had dived towards her, she screamed and scrambled around on the ground as she tried to avoid it.
We have to get her out of here!
"Yamazaki-san!" Ryo called out to her as they ran to protect her but had stopped in their tracks when they heard a malicious laugh echoing above.
"You'll always be alone, you runt. You've been abandoned and you'll never have anyone help you. Not even that whore who disappeared to who knows where? She probably did the right thing and ran away from here. She didn't even belong here anyways, just like you."
An image appeared before them again, this time in an old ruined house with an older woman and man who were standing over the younger Yuna who was lying on the ground with serious bruises and scratches all over. Only whimpering cries could be heard from her. This had obviously agitated the woman who proceeded to stomp on her. Yuna had let out a louder cry and she went into fetal position as she took the hits.
"Tch, you're starting to piss me off, you whiny little shit," the woman grunted as she grabbed Yuna by her hair and began dragging her violently outside. The poor girl's screams were much louder as she struggled to escape the woman's tyrannical grasp. The door had shut, and the cries of ravens could be heard mingling with her screams.
"AAHHhhhh…," Yuna's wailing had died down as the horrifying scene disappeared, her visible eye wide open. Ken and Ryo felt a chill down their spine as they watched it all; the reason for her nightmare. Even so, they attempted to run towards Yuna to take her away.
Suddenly, the tower began trembling again as a cylinder-like platform erupted from beneath Yuna, taking her higher up into the sky.
"Yamazaki-san!" They both cried out as the flock of ravens began soaring upwards and began circling around her, closer than before. A hoarse and loud deep screech could be heard from above. Looking up, the two boys couldn't believe their eyes; in the air was a humongous raven with two human heads that resembled the two abusers. A dark gray cloud hovered over it, creating thunderous sounds and sent bolts of lightning down towards the tower. It began to dive straight at Yuna with their sharp ebony beaks.
"Kala-Nemi!" The deafening sound of glass shattering was heard as the shards took form of the orange colossal entity once more. Kala-Nemi charged at the monstrous raven and upon severe impact, the raven shrieked, obviously caught off-guard. Ken spun his head towards Ryo who gave him a curt nod as the glowing red shard appeared before him once more.
"Ares!" The knight appeared before him once more and took an offensive stance. Ryo himself imitated him and he sent his arm out, pointing directly towards the Shadow.
"Cleave!"
Ares glided to the shadow and swung his sword, only for him to miss and strike only a part of the talon. The raven rose up higher and began flapping its wings faster. A barrage of ice shards appeared before its wings and aimed at the entire top of the tower.
"Yamazaki!" Ken shouted as he balled his hands into fists. Kala-Nemi immediately hovered in front of her, taking majority of the hits as the rest of the ice shattered into tiny pieces before Yuna who stared silently in awe. "Zionga!"
A bolt of lightning struck the body of the monstrous creature and it yet again let out another shrill cry. As it landed onto the tower, shaking it considerably with its weight and how much momentum it had, it roared once more towards the sky before staring directly down at the two boys who were in a defensive stance.
"This girl deserves to be alone! She's nothing but a burden on everyone's shoulders and there's nothing she can do about it. Isn't that right?" One of the heads exclaimed in a raspy hoarse voice before it swung its head towards the girl who stared at it back with fear.
"I…I…," She whispered and looked down guiltily. "…I am a burden. Everyone I know always leaves me because of it and I'm just...alone. Nobody really cares me about me."
No, you can't believe whatever that creature's saying!
"You have to fight it, Yamazaki-san! That isn't true!" Ken turned his head in surprise to see Ryo really fired up. He had a determined expression on his face, similar to how Ken had acted before. Ken began to feel the intense feeling of courage rise in him as well as he looked up at Yuna who was staring downwards in pity.
"He's right, Yamazaki-san. If we didn't care, we wouldn't be here in the first place to rescue you," he said and emphasized on the 'you' in hopes of making her realize. There was only silence coming from her and she remained still as if she were frozen.
"Don't believe a word they say! They're lying to you! They're only going to hurt you again like that slut, Asami! They'll abandon you! Despair! Despair at your loneliness!"
Ryo growled as he swung his fist back in anger. "Yamazaki! Whatever this monster's saying is a lie! Your sister truly cares about you! She's worried about you! Wasn't she the one who took you away them?!" Yuna made a slight movement, a light gasp escaping her lips. "…Asami…"
"Urgh…I'm getting fed up with this," one of the heads said as the two-headed raven launched itself off the ground, sending a strong wind below. The two boys struggled to keep their ground as they felt the powerful wind push them back slightly. They looked up to see the raven sprawl its wings out as the two heads were raised up to the sky. It let out a loud cry as the ravens from below began flying up and merging with the Shadow.
No! She's going to die if we leave her up there!
"Kala-Nemi!" The orange robotic entity grabbed ahold of Ken as he ran towards the cylinder-shaped platform and threw him up in the air, only a couple feet above it. As he landed, he immediately dashed towards Yuna who lowered herself further to the ground and held her head as she shook in fear. Above, the Shadow had summoned large ice swords that were levitating before it.
"Now, die!" The shadow screeched as the swords were instantly propelled towards the two. Ken fell to his knees by Yuna and held her, his back facing the incoming blades and he braced himself for impact.
"Maragi!"
…Huh?
He heard combustion directly behind him and warm water splashing against his back. Turning around, he could hear and see the steam forming up in the air and the ice blades nowhere in sight. Instead there were only puddles of water surrounding them, much to his surprise.
"What?!" The raven couldn't believe it as well and was dumbstruck by the sudden turn of events. Ken peered down to see Ryo looking up at him and giving a thumbs-up.
"Don't worry about it, man! I've got it all covered!" He then focused his attention on the raven that was obviously targeting him this time. "Let's go, Ares! Agi!"
Meanwhile, Ken loosened his embrace over Yuna and saw her slowly sit up. He couldn't really see the expression on her face since he was on the side of her where her face was covered.
"…You protected me." Ken seemed taken aback by this, not expecting her to reply to be this.
"Well, yeah," he said as he changed his position and stood in front of her. He could get a better view of her this way and he saw her staring down at the ground with a sad expression on her face. "You won't be alone anymore, Yamazaki-san. That's because we're here for you now, especially your sister."
She slowly raised her head up to look at him; her eye was wide in surprise and her face gaping open slightly. Ken extended his hand out to her, and she stared at it before returning her gaze to his.
"…Really?" She asked, still in disbelief. Ken nodded, a warm smile forming upon his face.
"You're important in our world, Yamazaki-san. That's why we'll always be by your side from now on."
She continued to stare at him in silence, a tear forming in her eye before she shakily reached for his. As their hands made contact, he helped pull her up and together they both looked at the monstrosity who was currently distracted in a battle with the knight.
"Y-you're right…I'm…I'm not alone anymore," Yuna repeated, her voice rose higher with confidence at the end of her sentence. The raven stopped abruptly in the air and spun around as it faced Yuna, completely baffled by this sudden declaration.
"What?! No, you're alone! You will ALWAYS be alone!" The shadow kept attempting to coerce her back into that belief, but its attempts were becoming futile as Yuna shook her head in response.
"That was in the past. I've always been alone in the past because I refused to accept help from anybody when I needed it! But it's all going to change now."
"NO! NO! NO!" The raven screeched in defiance as it sent another barrage of ice shards towards them only for them to be melted by the fire Ares had created.
"Ken, get ready! It's starting to get weaker now!" Ryo called up at him. Ken nodded in affirmation as he pulled out his evoker once more. Yuna's eye widened in shock, but before she could do anything, he had already pulled the trigger, repeating the process.
"Ares!" Ryo shouted in command as they were about to deliver the final blow. The knight pulled back his sword as he prepared to launch it, aiming straight at the raven's heart. The monstrous shadow let out another wail as the sword had become deeply plunged into its chest and began flapping around in hysteria.
The colossal entity appeared above Ken, waiting for his command. Yuna stared up at the large persona in awe before looking at Ken who had a determined expression on his face. The boy glared at the weakened shadow as he swiftly swung his arm to the side, releasing his hand from a fist.
"Zionga!"
A surge of electricity raced up the sword and flowed into the raven as it screamed in agony.
"AAAAAGGGHHH!"
A bright spark was created where the sword had been plunged and soon a bright light had engulfed the entire area, forcing everyone to shield their eyes for a brief moment. When they opened their eyes, they saw only ebony feathers showering down upon them.
A small red glowing entity flew its way down to where Yuna was and she instinctively opened her hands, allowing it to rest on her palms.
"I am the feeling of loneliness. I've always been in solitude for so long, but now…I want companionship. I want to be in the company of others."
Their surroundings had radically changed; the ground had changed into a large and wide crystal lake that they were able to stand on, and the sunlight beamed down upon them. A woman in a white tutu was dancing gracefully and alongside her was a smaller girl who looked like a little version of Yuna.
"I remember when my parents were alive we would go to the theatres sometimes and watch plays. One of them involved ballet and because of how infatuated I was with it, I made it my goal to be one of the best ballerinas," Yuna stated as she watched the smaller her dance with the woman in bliss.
Above the shard was a golden girl in a regal ballet tutu decorated with gems of the same shade with small golden wings sprouting from her back. A large golden egg shell slightly encased her, allowing her body to be fully seen and her eyes were completely closed. With her soft and gentle voice, she introduced herself as Coppelia before disintegrating into the heart shard.
"Another heart shard recovered. Well done, mortal. I see you're beginning to exceed my expectations."
The three turned around to see the slightly large creature again, this time with Momoko on her back and unconscious.
"W-what is she…?" Yuna asked, frightened by this sudden appearance. Ryo had let out an awkward chuckle as Ken tried to think of the right words to say.
"Well…you see, she's sort of like a guardian of his place," he said, trying to sum it up as best as he could. He looked at Iris who only gave him a blank stare before tilting her head down slightly.
"That would be mostly correct. I try to protect your kind from falling to the nightmare's power, though…," she trailed off as she glanced at the unconscious Momoko. "I was able to rescue her physical body in time, unfortunately however, her soul had been possessed by the negative emotion she carried and is now stored away with the Nightmare's forces. The only way of getting her back is to reach the core, though you would be obliterated instantly if you tried to go there now. I suggest gathering more allies before you reach that step."
Ken nodded. He understood that it was just the beginning now and while it does bother him, he must wait until he's ready to fight whatever is causing this.
"W-wait so does that mean she's in a coma right now?" Ryo asked out of curiosity. Iris nodded much to their dismay.
"We…we'll be sure to rescue her then as soon as we can," Yuna exclaimed with determination in her voice. Suddenly, her movements became wobbly and she found herself nearly fainting of exhaustion.
"W-woah, there!" Ken reached out quickly and held her before she fell to the ground. Her eye was very droopy and he could tell she was about to pass out at any moment.
"It has been yet another exhausting ordeal for you all. I will allow you to return to the safety of your home world now," Iris said, noticing the condition Yuna was in. The surroundings changed once more and they found themselves back in the forest, the ivory gate slightly open. She crouched down and allowed Momoko to gently slide off of her as Ryo held her from falling.
"Until we meet again," she said before returning to her world, the ivory gate disappearing along with her.
The group was silent for a moment before Ryo had let out a sigh.
"Well, we might have some explaining to do; two boys with two unconscious girls? That's definitely not suspicious at all," Ryo exclaimed sarcastically before lifting Momoko up. Ken turned around and allowed Yuna to climb onto his back as she wrapped her arms weakly around his neck and him holding up her legs piggy-back style.
"It's better than to leave them out here where someone who's truly suspicious could get them. It's probably best if you take Fujihara-san to the hospital though," he replied. With a nod, the two went their own separate ways; Ken to the Girl's Dormitory and Ryo to the local hospital in Sorayume.
"…A-Amada-san?" Yuna's weak voice murmured into his ear. He lifted her up once more, as he felt her falling down slightly.
"Hm?"
"…T-thank you…for saving me. No one's ever…protected me like that except…"
"Shhh, Yamazaki-san. You deserve to rest now. We're almost there," Ken interrupted her but had said it with a gentle and sympathetic tone in his voice. He could hear a small giggle escape her lips which made him smile.
Time had stopped once more and he could hear the disembodied voice speak to him again.
Thou art I…And I am though…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to a new life…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Priestess Arcana…
Time continued and soon, he found himself standing in front of the girl's Dormitory. He was rather hesitant to knock, since it's very uncommon for the opposite sex to visit the other but before he could really make his decision, the door had opened suddenly and standing there was a very relieved Asami who gasped in surprise and hugged Yuna while hugging Ken too in the process.
"Yuna! You're back! I'm so glad…" She exclaimed in pure happiness, tears flowing from her eyes. Ken gave a small nervous laugh as he turned around and allowed her to grab her from his back.
"Thank you so much, Amada-san. Though I don't want to admit it, I am forever in your debt." She gave a very deep bow before carrying the unconscious Yuna inside and had closed the door.
"Well, I guess it's time for me to go to sleep too."
…
After a couple of days had passed, everyone talked about how Yuna had mysteriously returned and how Momoko had fallen into a coma. Some people claimed that it was all Yuna's doing but there really wasn't any concrete evidence of it, so the thought of that had faded away. Yuna had returned to class and was fully recovered.
The lunch bell had rung and Ken and Ryo planned to eat lunch together again as usual. As they were about to leave the classroom, they saw Yuna who was about to leave by herself like she normally did. Ryo and Ken looked at each other and gave a nod. As they approached her, she noticed them coming and she stiffened, showing signs of discomfort.
"Hey, Yamazaki-san—"
"I-I'm sorry, I won't bother you!" She exclaimed nervously and was about to dash for it, but felt something grab ahold of her. "…Ah!"
Everyone in the classroom turned their heads toward them after hearing Yuna's gasp. Ken had apparently grabbed ahold of her wrist, which the act had startled all three of them as a surprise.
"Err…s-sorry about that, Yamazaki-san!" Ken apologized shakily, not wishing to attract any more attention as he pulled away immediately. Yuna remained still, her back facing towards the two boys. "We just wanted to know if you'd like to have lunch with us is all."
Instantly, Yuna's back straightened and she turned around, her visible eye slightly widened. The two boys exchanged a worried look and though maybe it wasn't the right time yet.
"I-If you don't want to, then you don't have-"
"O-Okay!" Yuna exclaimed, her voice slightly shaking but her face had brightened with high spirits at the invitation. The two boys were astonished by that reaction but nonetheless were glad that she was able to talk to them now.
Sitting on the small hill, they had prepared a cute little picnic, all three of them enjoying their lunches and talking about random subjects.
"H-Hey…" Yuna murmured when they were all quiet for a moment. Ken and Ryo turned their heads towards her, listening to what she wanted to say. "I-I don't mean to be a bother to you guys. If you don't want me around, it's fine—"
"Now that's one of the silliest things we've heard so far," Ryo chuckled and had a sly smile on his face. Yuna looked at him dumbfounded before turning towards Ken who was also grinning at her.
"Like I said before, Yamazaki-san, we're here for you because we want to be. You don't have to keep pushing anyone away anymore." Yuna sat there with only a look of amazement, not really knowing how to react.
"So, we're friends now. You alright with that, Yuna?" Ryo asked, looking at her with a big grin as well as Ken. She merely blinked at them before she gave a swift nod.
"I am definitely okay with that," she replied with a bright smile on her face. The three shared a heartily laugh together as they continued chatting. Ryo stopped suddenly as if he had come to a realization.
"Ah! I forgot to mention this earlier, but we need to discuss about the gate in the forest," he exclaimed. "Why it mysteriously appears at midnight and why it shows people's worst nightmares and fears." Ken really didn't want to think about it much, but he did know it was important. They couldn't continue on like this and not know the reason why this mystery is happening. Ryo abruptly stood up, startling Yuna and Ken as he struck one of his silly poses again.
"So, since we're the only ones with a...what's it called again?" He looked at Ken who groaned in reply.
"Persona, Ryo."
"Right, right! What he said!" He said with a sense of pride in his voice. Yuna couldn't help but giggle at his silliness while Ken rolled his eyes.
You used it just a few days ago and you forgot what it's already called? Ugh, whatever.
"We're the only ones with this power, so the fate of Sorayume lies on our shoulders, The Nightmare Fighters!" He announced proudly, gaining attention from passing students who gave him a look of confusion. Yuna giggled and applauded joyfully at his speech as she stood up with him.
"Nightmare Fighters...it's a funny but cool name!" She commented. Ken furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't really believe he was friends with people like this.
Nightmare Fighters? That sounds like something off of a superhero show or something...
But somehow, being friends with them felt...refreshing. It was different from when he had forced himself to be more mature than he needed to be back in Iwatodai. Instead, it felt okay to be a child now and enjoy the silly fun with people his age. He stood up along with them with a grin on his face.
"Right, we're The Nightmare Fighters now!" He said with approval in his voice. They extended their hands in the middle of the small circle they created and on the count of three, threw their arms up in the air and laughed as they shared this cheerful and encouraging moment together. Suddenly, Ken could hear the familiar disembodied voice echo into his head once more.
Thou art I…And I am though…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to a new life…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana…
The school bell rung soon after and the students began returning to their classrooms. The three however stayed in place for a little longer before going back.
"Hey, Ken," Ryo exclaimed as he looked at the boy with an expectant expression on his face. "As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think I'm cut out for being the main man. Y'know, taking all the responsibility and making decisions for us and all." Ken blinked in response. What was he getting at? He looked at Yuna who was fidgeting slightly before her trembling mouth had finally let out a sound.
"I-I would feel much better if you could lead us as well. I doubt I'm capable of doing so. You're also much more mature than the both of us," She said, averting her gaze from his and instead stared at the grass below. Ryo looked shocked by this admittation and began squirming around comedically.
"H-hey, I'm mature too!"
I see...so they want me to be their leader.
Ken closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he opened his eyes, a fierce and determined expression formed on his face as he gave an absolute nod.
"I will take up the role as leader then."
A/N: And this chapter has come to and end at last! I will do my best not to drop this story again! So please, continue reading and review!