The Dream Shifter

Chapter 119

"Well let's get this party started!" Seiji shouted with a smirk pulling up across his face. "It's been a while since I've had a worthy challenge!" He tightened his fists as he looked out among the horde of undead that was gathered in the front of the shrine. It seemed that they could taste the living hold up in their home. They were not going to be leaving until they made it inside. The sight that he faced made Seiji apprehensive. He had no clue what he was going to do and was pretty certain the whole idea was a mistake. Mistake or not though, Seiji had already committed to it and he was not going to back down now that he made such a big show in front of everyone.

Their grandfather stepped out grabbing Seiji's wrist as he had begun to leave. "What do you expect to do, boy? We don't understand what's going on or how something so unnatural is possible!"

Seiji turned his head over his shoulders to look down at him. "Hey old man, weren't you just saying something needed to be done?"

"Yes, but we need a plan! Going out there on bravado alone will get you killed!"

"Didn't know you cared so much about my well being," Seiji sarcastically commented back to him.

Hearing the way that Seiji had talked back to him made something snap in their grandfather. He stood in front of Seiji blocking his path. Seiji was about to go around him when he reached up and slapped him hard across the face. "Never joke about family like that again, Seiji! You're my grandson!"

It took Seiji back a step surprised more by the way that their grandfather was acting than the slap he had received. He touched his hand to his cheek where the dull sting lingered. '…family…that's a funny thing to say considering you're part of the reason mom left…' Seiji tried to push pass the thoughts and emotions that were trying to surface. The threat they faced was more important. "Well thinking things through isn't my style, old man! You sit here and think your brain dry." Seiji stepped around his grandfather and approached the barrier that protected them. His fists pounded together to push away any fear he had. "While you're doing that, I'll fight in my own way!"

Seiji pressed through the barrier, not waiting for it to be opened. Before he had much time to consider his next action a swarm of undead charged for him. "Like I said!" He threw out his right fist hitting what seemed like a zombie in the head sending it flying free from its neck. "I don't need to think!" Next was his left fist connecting loudly with another zombie knocking it backwards into a couple more behind it. "About my fighting!" Seiji took the next two in a charging tackle dropping them both to the ground as he buried himself into the crowd.

Watching from the safety of the house Shoji, the ghost and their grandfather could not help but sweat a little at the sight. "He really is all brute strength and no brain," the woman commented.

"No one's tougher than my brother!" Shoji declared with pride. He had turned his eyes up towards the woman.

She smiled back at him sensing the bond between them. "Think he'll be able to deal with them?"

"Definitely!" Shoji returned back to see Seiji barreling through the mass without being held back. "Seiji can do anything!"

"Stupid boy…so head strong, just like his mother…" Their grandfather walked away from the stairs and back into the house. The door slid behind him with a punctuated slam.

Seiji was grinning to himself as he knocked down anything that stood in front of him. The thrill of the fight had been something that he had been missing for so long. Ever since Yuki had changed fighting had never been the same for him. It was always a release for him, a need to vent his emotions in the only way he knew how. Yuki had changed that for him. There was something that he felt drained away his anger when he was around Yuki. He felt like he had been given a purpose when he fought with Yuki, even if it might have just been an excuse. However, the purpose disappeared leaving him lost. He thought that he could just fight in Yuki's place, but he could never get close to him. An awkward wall had been built between them that left him abandoned without direction.

The brief time he had in high school had not given him anymore purpose. A fight would easily break out for him, but it was an empty feeling each time. He would eagerly step forward for the fight seeking what he had lost. Each time he could never find it. Yet in the moment, while he was taking down the strange creations of Yuki's mind he felt something. There was a sense of drive in each punch and kick that felt so familiar to him. It started as a distant feeling that grew into an avalanche within his chest.

A few minutes had quickly passed leaving an unsettling mess of various undead thrown about the front of the shrine. The last one in the area went down with a screaming punch. Seiji looked about the grounds feeling a little pleased with his results. He raised his hand up throwing out a victory cry along with an accompany victory sign. "Oh yeah!"

"You do realize that there are ghosts still," remarked the woman.

Seiji's face turned into a blank expression when the comment made it through to him. The empty look had not lasted long as fear poured over him. He turned his head back like a rusty knob when he realized that there ghosts starting to close looking to feed off his soul. "Ghosts?!" Seiji was gone from sight in an instant speeding away from them as they gave chase.

The woman followed him briefly before stopping feeling embarrassed watching. "…guess not…" She looked over at Shoji with a questioning look. "What's with him and ghosts?"

"I don't know. He's never told me. I just know that he's scared of ghosts and doesn't like talking about it."

"Hmm…"

The chase had soon come to an end when Seiji found that he was out numbered on all sides. Many of the unholy creatures he had thought that he destroyed were back. They had all seemed to be gathering together to deal with him. "So you think you can beat me with numbers, huh? You're all weak!" Seiji took out the first one that approach, but forced to evade a skeleton that was wielding a heavy club. While the skeleton was off balance Seiji took the opportunity and yanked on its legs. The force was enough to dislocate the joints in the hip giving the entire left leg.

A smirk came across his face as he saw that his idea worked. He hefted the bones up so that they were held firmly in both hands. Once the next undead creature came at him he swung the limb. There was a loud c***k as bone collided into rotting flesh and struck bone itself. Seiji carried his momentum on through into the next wildly swinging at anything that came in range. "Come on! I'll take ya all on!"

The woman poked her head out of the house, having been searching for Seiji, smiling a little before seeing the scene. "He really just does whatever comes to mind…" She pulled herself out of the building the rest of the way. There were several ghosts moving in around him along with the countless zombies, skeletons, ghouls and other types of creatures. "He's pretty single minded, doesn't know there're ghosts near." A staggering zombie near Seiji caught her attention that was out of his sight. She bent over seeing a stone carving near her to grab, but when she tried to take hold of it her hands passed through. She tried again with no more luck than before. "Why can't I grab it? I can touch him…" Out of the corner of her eye she saw that the creature was on almost upon Seiji making her rush forward. "Look behind you!"

Seiji flipped his head around with his body barely catching the zombie that trying to whack him with a rock it had in hand. He looked around once he was safe trying to figure out where it had come from. "Hmm?" Unfortunately, there was little time for him to waste as they were pushing in closer on him. His space was running out as they crowded him. Seiji fought through them desperately to get free, but more just continued to add on top with arms clung over him. They immobilized him leaving only his cursing voice to fend them off.

When Shoji had heard his brother's shouts he ran around the porch to the side of the house following the voice. "Big Brother! He's in danger!" Shoji did not even think as he leapt over the railing through the barrier. As he began to run to his brother's aid a white glow expanded around him. "Let go of my brother!" He raised his hand towards the mob of undead huddled over Seiji. A sharp flash around his hand dispersed the glowing. Immediately after, a beam of light shot down from the sky crashing to the ground creating a dome of white light expanding outwards quickly.

The expanding light turned the nearby creatures into dust continuing in a chain reaction until the light faded. Seiji pulled up his head looking around with surprise to discover that the area was clear. "Huh?"

"Big…Brot…her…" Shoji was smiling back at Seiji with his eyes half closed. The shine in his eyes had started to fade before he collapsed to the ground.

"Shoji?!" Seiji rushed to Shoji's side not certain what had happened to him. "Shoji! Wake up!" He pulled him up into his arms trying to figure out what was wrong with him. The stillness of his body sent a bolt through his body as fears over his thoughts. "Hey! Come on, Shoji! Wake up! What's wrong with you?" He had to settle his concerns and quickly checked for a pulse. The slow beat of his heart was still presence providing some relief to him. "He's only unconscious, but what happened?"

A deep moan from approaching undead pulled his attention away for a moment. "There's still more of you?!" Seiji lifted up Shoji and carried him back over to the barrier out of the reach of the things that invaded their home.

Seiji marched back out to the side of the house staring down at the massive horde that was still gathering. His head was tilted down towards the ground blocking out his eyes. There was shaking in his arms as he simply stood there unchanged by the looming danger. "You can hurt me all you want…" A wind had suddenly blown up around Seiji pushing back leaves and dust towards the column of death. The burning presence that Seiji began to give off made them halt in uncertainty. "But when you hurt my little brother…" White light began to build around Seiji. Small particles sparkled around him rising into the air slowly forming waves that were pushed around by the wind. "I won't let you live to regret it!" All of the light exploded away from him shaking the trees. The force was enough to knock back the first row of undead.

He raised his hand clinching it tightly into a fist. It soon began to glow brightly as his body shook with rage. Seiji charged into the mob throwing his fist at anything that moved. The moment it came into contact with one of the undead a sudden dark light grew over it until it vanished. He continued the process yelling as he went like a berserker.

The woman ghost appeared behind at a distance watching the scene unfold. She raised her hand to her chin thinking intently. "For being a priest, he really doesn't act like one. Shouldn't he be using something other than his fists?" A thud of another zombie being clocked by raging Seiji made the woman sweat a little. "It works I guess…"