The Dream Shifter

Chapter 54

Seiji evaded another close call from the assassin and attempted a daring move to counter straight for the man's face. He had read enough of his moves to get a feel for his style, but it was still a risk that could backfire with him being completely exposed if it failed.

'Yuki… we're friends and we look out for each other. You never needed help before, but I will pay back the debt I owe you today!'

He pushed around the long thick arm of the man in the motion of the swing and used the size for leverage to get inside the man's defenses. Seiji spun around with his free arm going straight for the chest knowing that it would be blocked and followed up immediately with a rotation on his body getting his leg extended to launch straight at the man's head.

The moments paused for Seiji as he saw his leg connect and suppress his excitement so that he follows through, but the man grabbed his arm and swung him around throwing him free into the wall.

"Seiji!"

Yuki shouted from a distance seeing him painfully slammed into the wall. He had been forced to watch Seiji fight his battle barely getting by on physical strength alone.

'Why can't I use my power? Why does it keep failing me when I need it the most!?'

While the fight had been going on for Seiji Yuki had been standing alone trying to focus on his Kasou-ryoku. Yet each time he tried the attempt failed to produce anything for him.

Now with his defenses broken, Seiji was struck again knocking the wind out of him nearly making him pass out from the impact.

'Yuki… I can't give up for him.'

The assassin turned away seeing Seiji lying on the ground unable to move anymore. He began walking towards Yuki the real target of his intent.

"I'm…"

However, Seiji was not finished and was too stubborn to give in. Seiji slid back, up to his feet with his vision starting to blur and his legs shaking from the last hit he took. Over the assassin's shoulders, Seiji's smirking look of determination stared down the man until he turned back to look at Seiji.

"That's enough Seiji! You don't have to fight anymore!"

Yuki said trying to plead with him to just accept his defeat.

Seiji could see the large shadow being cast over with the intention of putting him down for good.

"Yuki… it's alright. Fighting is all I'm good for and all I've ever known. Let me do this for you."

"Seiji!"

Yuki was forced to watch his friend get pummeled by the assassin dropping blood with every strike. Seiji was refusing to fall even though Yuki knew that he could not be able to take anymore or even defend himself. The assassin raised a final arm to put Seiji down through his defiant grins.

"Seiji!"

Yuki screamed as he began to run to Seiji in the seconds before the fist came down. In the brief moments before Yuki could see the grin still on Seiji's face.

Seiji was laid out on the ground with blood dripped everywhere around him from everything that he had taken from the man. Yuki came into Seiji's side grabbing up his unconscious body screaming his name hoping that it would wake him up.

'Seiji… We fought so many times. I hadn't seen anyone more stubborn before that I had fought. I never knew why you stuck around me when everyone else abandoned me. It didn't seem to matter to you how many times I beat you up, you just came for more. And then you started fighting with me. You enjoyed fighting as much as I did then.'

Yuki stared down at the Seiji trying to keep from crying knowing that it would not do anything and Seiji would not want it.

'Seiji…I changed and you disappeared… but you still even now… Why can't I do anything?! Why must I keep watching my friends get hurt!? Why?!'

Yuki let Seiji rest on the ground and stood up looking at the assassin holding tears along the edge of his eyes. He blinked once to clear away the blur and narrowed his features.

'I can still fight without my powers, even if it has been a long time… I can't worry about the promises when my friends are being hurt. I hope you can forgive me…'

"So you done mourn—," said the assassin before he was cut off by a sudden quick strike from Yuki with his knee straight to the chest.

Yuki flipped backward before the man had closed his hold around him. The assassin did not appear to be phased by the hit and stepped forward bringing a heavy swing down on the Yuki in a flash. Once it was over the man saw that he had missed Yuki again, now standing several steps away from him.

Yuki lowered into an offensive stance with his arms out in front ready to move at a moment's chance.

"I've seen your moves already from your fight with Seiji. This isn't going to be the same fight!"

Yuki charged in seeing a flinch in the man's movements as a sign of attack. He evaded the swing and appeared on the other side of the flash with a wild look in his eye as he threw everything he could into a punch in the man's stomach.

The assassin stepped back a half of a step from the blow but seemed larger unaffected still. Yuki pulled back seeing that it was only a feint by him to get Yuki to drop his guard with his arms coming in to grab for him. He was able to retreat to a safe distance as he shook his hand feeling the sting from the impact.

'It was like…I was hitting steel…'

The next attack came in taking Yuki to the defensive for several strung together attacks that he had not seen previously. The spinning backhand took him off guard forcing him to block and jump to make the weight behind it send him back without knocking him down like it would had he been standing still. Yuki slid to the ground ignoring the stinging bruises on sides of his forearms from the man's assault.

'I still have it… I thought being buried would have dulled it, but I can't let it control me… I'm fighting for someone and not myself… Seiji…'

"Seems I won't settle this without Meso Prosecho," the behemoth said as he began to glow brown issuing forth waves from his feet.

Dust, dirt, and debris from the unkempt alley were kicked up and blown away at the man's Kino expanded to Yuki and beyond. When the dust had settled the man stood looking unchanged, but a little larger, if it was possible.

Surrounding the man all of the concrete had been changed to rock or earth like something from a desert mountainside. The earth Kino was affecting all of the building's walls as well as turning to solid stone with distant echoes of people screaming.

"Pull out yours and let's settle this!"

'I would if I could already, but I can't. What am I going to do? He doesn't look any different and aside from the rocks everywhere.'

Yuki was suddenly reminded of something that Ayumi had told him the night before as he stared down the hulking mass.

'We are normal human beings with only our physical abilities to protect us. So it is important to always protect yourself from the enemy because even a normal human with a g*n could kill you if you don't have defenses.'

'Even with his powers, he's still as vulnerable as before. So I might be able to take him depending on what powers he has now.'

Yuki returned to his previous attacking stance waiting on a move from the assassin. He was not willing to go blindly into the lion's den not knowing how sharp his fangs were.

"You think you can beat me without your Meso Prosecho?"

The man charged towards Yuki taking a swing at him that seemed to be a little slower than before. Yuki was able to dodge it, but the man followed through with his other fist with Yuki already against the wall from the last. He was able to evade it, but the man's fist continued pounding into the stone wall of the building making it c***k and crater a little.

Yuki rolled out of the way when he evaded, but was assaulted from a hail of stones that he had to protect himself against. When the storm cleared Yuki stared in shock at the crater that was left in building from the man's strike.

'What's going on? How can he have that sort of strength? Ayumi said it's not possible to increase strength, but then how did he leave that crater!?'

Yuki narrowed his shocked eyes seeing that the man was still slowly recovering and took the chance to strike while he was wide open. He threw his body into the punch aimed straight for the man's face hearing a c***k from the impact.

Yuki was pleased hearing that he got through the defenses and struck a blow, but he suddenly felt a sharp pain through his entire hand. He jumped back holding his hand to look at it seeing it bloodied and bruised almost unable to move without it hurting.

'What?! I know I hit him, but… Damn! My hand! It's like I was hitting stone! I think it might be broken…'

The assassin stood towering over Yuki looking down at him.

"You see the difference now? Now use your Meso Prosecho before I grow tired of humoring you."

Yuki stood up and ripped open his school uniform pulling his dress shirt free. He tore a long strip from his dress shirt and wrapped it around his broken hand. When he was finished he stared back at the assassin giving him his silent answer.

"I see…"

The man threw his fist again with Yuki dodging it but surprised Yuki when his knee came up in mid-movement knocking the wind out of Yuki and spraying saliva.

The assassin grabbed Yuki by the leg and swung him around against the building walls as they changed in form to spiked points of rock that pierced through his back and chest dripping blood in lines on the wall. When the pounding was finished the assassin threw Yuki back towards Seiji.

Yuki slid roughly along the ground with his uniform being torn to shreds until he came to a stop against Seiji. He coughed as he tried to get to his feet seeing Seiji lying behind him.

'I've got to protect him. He protected me! I wish we could have fought side by side again! Seiji!'

Dust was suddenly kicked up around Yuki as he began to glow green pulsing waves from his body as he looked around in surprise. The waves pushed back the stone cracking it as grass pierced through blowing a wide field of grasslands over all of the ground, but leaving the buildings as they were.

Yuki stood up with a determined look in his eyes as he had thick metal armor surrounding him and a massive sword stuck in the ground at his side. He picked it up feeling its lightweight, the sharp blade that shined in the sun overhead.

"I'll protect him with my life!"

"I thought that was my line, Yuki," Seiji said from behind him standing up.

"Seiji?"

Yuki said in surprise as he turned to look at his friend, but stepped back when he saw that he was no longer wearing his school uniform. Seiji was in the traditional robes of a Shinto Priest that Yuki had seen Seiji's grandfather wearing all the time.

"Seiji?!"