Chapter 7: Storm
Two days pass and the rain finally stops, just as the mysterious figure had said so. I hadn't had the time to confront Kukai about it. Yesterday we had a small memorial for Yaya. All we could do was mourn for her around the fire all day in silence. Kairi is still very upset, but not as before. Kukai took the news hard, from what Utau told Kukai hasn't been talking to anyone except Utau occasionally.
While he was outside for a few minutes, checking on the rainwater bucket, I could've sworn he was crying. To Kairi, Yaya was the love of his life. To me, Yaya was my sister and best friend in the whole world. To Kukai, Yaya was his baby sister. To Kukai, losing Yaya is almost like losing your own daughter. The three of us are taking her death the hardest, but no one will know how each of us individually feel.
I can't say who missed her more, because that's not fair. We all love Yaya with all our hearts, and choosing one of us that loves her more is impossible.
Today, we're packing up and heading the rest of the way to the place Nikaido marked for us. We decided to split what's in Yaya's pack in each of ours so it'd be fair. We take flight around noon.
Kairi leads the way as always while the rest of us hand back. I try not to think about Yaya, but how can I not? It's not the same flying with a smile and looking over your shoulder, seeing your best friend no longer there smiling along with you.
The scenery soon changes to a small beach and then the ocean. I ask Kairi if it's safe to fly over the ocean.
"Don't worry. It may take us a while to get to land, but we should have no difficulty," he says.
Kukai seems to be hanging back, not really into flying today. I fly back to fly with him. I give him a small smile. There's a connection between Kukai and me. We don't need any words to describe what we want to say to each other. A smile, eye contact, a nod of the head, or any other slight motion and we can understand what the other one is thinking.
However, I'm greeted back with a frown and he turns his head away from me. Daring myself, I put a hand on his shoulder and give it a slight squeeze. He still doesn't react the way I want him too.
"Hey," I mutter.
"Leave me alone," he says coldly. I don't like it when Kukai's mad (especially at me). What's worse is that I don't know why he's mad(at me).
"Kukai," I say above a whisper. "What's wrong?" His body stiffens.
"What's wrong? You're what's wrong," he says in a huff. He flies a bit ahead of me, but I just follow. "You could've saved her." I think about it for a moment before glaring down at him.
"No, I couldn't have. What could I have done Kukai? Fly down there and get myself killed, too. She knew that if I went to go get Ikuto, she would fall and would never be able to get a chance to tell me her last words," I say, no matter how much it hurt. We veered off from the rest of the group, but I don't think either of us care.
"You could've done something! Anything! It's Yaya we're talking about!" he shouts at me. "It's your fault she's dead!" He flies off in a huff. I float there, in complete shock. I've stopped blaming myself for her death and let it be that whatever happens happens. Hearing it from someone else is a very big blow to me. I fly off to catch up to Kukai.
"Hey!" I feel a hand tug me back. I look over my shoulder and see Utau.
"Let him go," she says softly. "He just needs to blow off some steam."
"I don't see why he's blaming me for Yaya. There was nothing I could do; honest," I say the last word the quietest that I wonder if Utau heard me. Apparently she did because she hugs me for a long time.
"I know you did your best, and I know Yaya is in a better place now, but you have to accept that all you can do is move on," Utau says. I know Utau's right. I thought I convinced myself of that already. "I'll go get him."
"Don't go too far," I say, and go back with the rest of the group. Soon, Kukai and Utau are back. I don't try to help Kukai this time when he lags behind.
"Kairi! The winds are changing," Amu calls. "I think it might rain."
"It's been clear all morning, not a cloud in the sky," Ikuto points out. "Maybe it's just a small after shower."
"I don't think so," I say. "Look."
We've been surrounded by blue waters for hours. The sky has been clear with only small white clouds hanging in the air. However, far in the distance, dark clouds are coming our way; fast.
"Kairi! How far is land!" I shout.
"Not for a while," he answers. I sigh.
"We have to keep going. Hurry up, we have to get to land as soon as possible," I command. The team starts flying faster. I look over and see the clouds are coming faster. "Amu, calculate how long it'll be until the clouds reach us." She gives me a slight nod.
"About an hour, two tops," she estimates. I bite my lip.
"Look for small areas of land, maybe there's something we can land on for the time being," I say. However when I look down, all I can see is water. The storm is coming faster than I expected. There's nothing I can do. Unless there's a way for me to push a storm back or magically create land, we have to keep flying until it hits us.
"Less than an hour," Amu reports. I curse and clench my fists.
"Keep flying, it's the only thing we can do," I say. "Kairi, where are we?"
"We're close to land," he answers. As if by magic, I see a dark strip of land toward the horizon. It's still pretty far away, but at least I know we're close to land. However, the storm takes it's toll and sneaks up on us.
I feel the first drop on my head, then on my leg, and then a lucky one hits my right wing. It twitches slightly. The big plops of water turn smaller until it's almost a mist. I feel my wings starting to jerk this way and that, as I try to control my flight patterns. I notice everyone else is struggling to keep their balance as well. I also see that we've gotten relatively closer to the ocean below us.
I gulp. I don't think I've ever been more scared of the water.
As the rain starts to pelt down harder, I feel more feathers fall to the ocean below us. I push against the wind, but the liquid keeps weighing me down. I see the land coming up, and fast. I roll onto the muddy ground with gasps of air. Quickly putting my wings away, I look around. Kairi and Ikuto land next to me. I don't see Kukai, Utau, or Amu.
I get worried and gulp down the lump in my throat, trying to see through the rain.
"Kukai! Utau! Amu!" I shout against the wind, but the words are just thrown right back at me in an echo. I call out into the storm again, but the same answer comes. The wind is pushing against my face, making the rain slap me around. My hair is clinging to my face, body, and wings. It's very thick and weighs a lot. At this moment, I regret having long hair.
I feel the wind trying to take me along with it. Ikuto notices and wraps his arms around my waist and pressing me to the ground, keeping me from the howling wind. The winds are blowing this and that, in random directions.
"Try to stay still," he groans. I see his navy hair look pitch black and pressed flat against his face because of the rain. There's also a bruise on his cheek. The crack of thunder makes me quiver a little, and I can feel the heart of the soon coming towards us. In the distant, if I squint, I can see flashes of light; lighting.
I turn and see Amu. Her figure separates from the gray storm. She's forcing the wind to her will, which is probably using a lot of energy, to move away from her. I notice two large objects she's carrying in each hands. I notice those objects are actually Utau and Kukai, and they're unconscious.
I break away from Ikuto's grasp and rush to help Amu to land, along with the precious cargo she's carrying. She tumbles to the ground and doesn't move. Ikuto is immediately at her soaked body, trying to help her up.
Meanwhile, Kukai and Utau are both drenched and unconscious. After much difficulty, I manage to lift Kukai on my back, and kind of drag/carry Utau in my arms. Kukai and Utau's weight combined force my knees to the ground.
The rain is pounding harder and I gasp for breath, shouting for Kairi or Ikuto. I can't see anything except for Utau and Kukai's lifeless bodies which are tangled in mine. I scream one last time before I feel Kukai's weight being lifted from my shoulders.
Turning, I see Kairi. He says something, but the wind is making everything very difficult to hear. Then he just makes a motion with his hand to just follow him. I nod, and standing with what energy I have left, I follow Kairi to a shielded cave.
Inside, I gently place her on the ground and then lean against the cave wall, panting. Kairi places Kukai against the cave wall and I see Ikuto and Amu coming into the cave. Kairi, Ikuto, and I just stand there, hearing the storm outside making it's mark on the landscape.
Thunder and lighting crack outside, lighting up the area in a creepy light. A nearby tree gets hit by lighting and is on fire. The winds just make the fire grow stronger. The thunder booms loudly outside, mirroring my heartbeat.
"Let's set up camp," I finally say. Another crack of lighting, and I see the two boys nod. Ikuto manages to get a small fire going without having the winds blow it out. I change Amu and Utau's clothes real quick, dry them the best I can, and give them the extra pair in their bags to keep her dry. I'm surprised they didn't lose them. Ikuto helped get Kukai cleaned up and we put the wet clothes next to the fire.
We put our unconscious friends towards the back where it's warmer and the driest part of the cave. It isn't as big as our last cave, and we are all kind of smushed, but we have to make do with what we have.
I'm surprised only my jacket's soaked, and my pants of course, but my shirt is almost entirely dry. I just take off my jacket, and immediately shiver at the coldness that hits me. Ikuto and Kairi aren't as soaked as me, and don't have to take off anything to dry.
I silently start to cook something in a pot. I'm not the best cook, but I don't think Kairi or Ikuto are any better than I am, and they deserve a good rest.
The only sounds are from the crackling fire, soft snores of my friends, and the demon storm outside. My breathing is back to normal, but my heart is still beating wildly in my chest.
The rain seems to be only stronger. The wind howls and sends shivers of coldness, and fear, down my back. At each lighting strikes, I wince. Every time thunder explodes the sky, loud or small, I'd jump. My wings are completely torn apart. I've lost a lot of feathers and there are dark patches left here and there, where whole sections of feathers of a wing have been blown off.
I conclude I will not be able to fly for a long, long time. I sigh. A harsh win blows in and I shift my body to protect the fire from going out. I feel something hit the back of my neck and look through my mess of hair to find it.
It's another note from the mysterious figure. The same format is there, but this time it's a bit wet. It was probably in the rain for a bit. "There's medicine outside. Enough to help all of you. Your Welcome."
I immediately run outside with a second thought. The wind seems to be blowing me back towards the cave, but I stand my ground. The wind pelts down on me, soaking me once more.
"Hey! Whoever you are come out!" I shout. I'm only answered by the wind. "Hey! Come out here and show me who you are! Why are you hiding!" The lighting flashes in front of me and throws me off my feet. I feel something hard on the ground when I try to get up. I see it's a box. I take it, which is pretty heavy, and drag it to the cave. I successfully get it inside. I open the lid of the box and see a lot of ointments, medication, pain relievers, and gauze wrap. I thank the mysterious person silently and crawl over to the injured group in the bag.
As I start to treat my friend's wounds, my suspicions of the mysterious person grow. Who could it be? Kukai can't be it obviously. None of my friends can. I'm the only one up. The fear starts to build in me, but I don't show it. Not like anyone is awake, but it's more for me. Hiding the fear so I doesn't show later.
Right now the only thing that matters is that this person is helping me, and I'll take it. For now.
Hey all! Guess what...today's my birthday! :D May 6!
In honor of my birthday I am posting you guys a new chapter!
I think I've really grown a lot as a person and as a writer for the pass years of being on FanFiction, and i would like to thank you all for inspiring me to write and I probably have the best readers in the world. So, this is for you!
R&R
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I hope you guys like it an enjoy!
SIDENOTE- well this is embarrassing...I thought I updated but apparently I didn't. Haha, I'm such a spazz. It only took me nine days to realize this xD. Thank you to all who have corrected me on my mistakes. I do make them a lot and usually read it over before i post it. I didn't last time so whoops. haha.
Thanks again!
BTW for any other info on what I'm up to or how the writing's going or anything you want to ask me; go/follow my twitter: HalfAngelHalfEvil H_A_H_E
There's a link on my profile, which i will check to make sure it is working. If not I will fix it asap. If it still doesn't work, someone can tell me in a review or PM.
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