The Dream Shifter

Chapter 2

His house was finally behind him now making Yuki feel a little more relaxed and at ease now sliding his lunch into his school bag and strapping the flap back down. He tossed it over his shoulder letting it tap against his back and slide his free hand into his pants' pocket taking a short easy step to resuming his walk to school. It was still a little early so he would not have the other students walking around him just yet leaving him to enjoy the street alone.

'She's always going on about that like I haven't heard it countless times before. You'd think she'd get tired of repeating herself.'

As much as Yuki wanted to relax he was still distracted partly from Momoko's bothersome reminder. He did not have anywhere better to go, that was true, but he did not want to always be watching his brothers.

She was always leaning on him with them and he tried to crawl away as fast as he could. He did not want to be their parents, just a brother and one that wanted to have his own time not weighed down by so many responsibilities. He was still in high school after all.

'Why does she get to me? I need to focus on something else.'

Yuki looked forward down the street seeing the cars parked along intermittently narrowing his eyes for a moment. He pulled his arm up looking at his free hand stretching his arms out a little before tightened them slowly. Each finger slowly closed creating a fist as a sound escaped his lips attempting to mimic his knuckles cracking.

There was a thin smile from his lips as a building excitement within him began. Once he was satisfied he thrust his hand out with his palm flat and opened. He continued to walk while focusing his mind on his palm allowing a blue glow to gather from the ambient air.

Numerous tiny particles continued to gather in thin countless streams to his palm all the while he continued to smile.

'Yes…this is it.'

He would not be normal, not for them. Once enough had been pulled together there was a small orb floating just away from his hands shining a bright blue that began to tint the environment around him the same hue. He lifted his hand to stare at its beauty directly letting it wash its blue paint over his face. It made his excitement grow in his mind even more. His muscles tensed up along his arm that was struggling to keep everything whole. The stress was tolerable for him. For this, it was nothing to him. He began to pull at his fingers feeling the stretching along his forearm of the muscles against the pressure.

Slowly the orb was surrounded by his fingers while it fought desperately lashing out with blue beams of light that pierced harmlessly through the sky. His fingers clashed with the orb as though it was a solid object that he was taking hold. It was cool to the touch even with the fierce light that he had drawn out.

He pulled his arm back quickly and then thrust it straight crushing the orb in his palms just as suddenly. The particles were pulled into his hand making his fingers and then his entire hand glow blue. He could feel it coursing through his skin and bones with the cool touch to give him strength.

As he continued to walk down the street he raised his hand, as it glowed brighter, and pulled it down in an arc unleashing a stream of energy from his fingers that beat at the ground. He moved his hand around several times seeing it dig through the concrete of the street as he walked. A path of cuts along the ground trailed forward as he viewed the effects.

He sliced his hand through the air in a flat horizontal arc as though striking at something invisible, but rather producing a blue arc of energy that cut through a tree bringing it down upon a car. Within his mind, he could hear the sound of glass shattering and metal groaning under the weight.

"Hmm…what's that?"

Yuki said detecting a slight presence as the tree came to a rest on the ground. He whipped around staring at the wrecked remains of the car and tree. The air was still with a strange feeling through the wind that made his hair stand on end. Yuki could taste it making his skin sweat a little for a reason that he could not understand. His body knew something that he did not.

"Something's not right. Who's there?!"

He moved his eyes over the ground and houses looking for anything that would narrow in on the ill-feeling that was building up inside his body. It was churning his stomach and drying his throat until it seemed like there was no water inside him. He attempted to moisten his lips, but they just stuck together. The very life seemed to be drained from him.

'Who is this being to cause such a thing to me?'

All he could do was feel the tension in the air as he turned his body still seeking his opponent. His muscles tightened through his arms making his shoulders ache with stiffness. Even the end of his nerves was ringing at him shouting out through his body.

'Got to calm down…I won't find them like this.'

Yuki attempted to breathe but found it strain even his chest feeling the heavy pressure against him. He tried to walk forward grasping at the air as to take hold but nearly fell forward. This sensation was unlike anything he had experienced before. He had never felt anyone like this before to be able to do this to him without even touching him. There was not going to be a chance for him like this. He was wide open.

He heard a noise behind him of the enemy approaching, but he could not pull his body to turn. His eyes widened in surprise at his legs unwillingness to listen to him. He was going to be struck without even seeing who it was.

"So I have found you!"

A dark mysterious voice said to him.

Yuki suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder roughly snapping all of the tension in two leaving his body weakened.

"So I have found you!" a girl said to him.

Yuki turned now that his body was his again to see that it was Saki Furukawa standing behind him smiling. He let out a sigh of relief letting the frightened look that he had the moment before fade away.

"Oh, Saki it's you. You scared me."

Yuki bent over feeling the aching of his body, a little still, from nearly jumping and the stress he had put on it.

Saki changed her smiling expression to confusion before she understood, somehow.

"You were daydreaming again weren't you, Yuki?"

She leaned in at him making sure that she had his attention looking like she was ready to scold him.

"Daydreaming?"

Yuki said looking a little sheepish. He knew what she was talking about. He gazed over her shoulder looking at the street that he had just been down it was normally unaltered by what he had done to it. It had simply been him making an otherwise boring walk more interesting. But he became serious for a moment thinking to himself.

'There was something strange about it though. It was unusually real this time. A little frightening. Guess I don't know the power of my mind.'

"Are you listening to me, Yuki?"

Saki said grabbing him by the arm and pulling him on track to school.

"Honestly Yuki, I don't know how you can tell reality from fantasy with how much you are daydreaming. You need to focus on reality and what's in front of you."

Yuki rubbed the back of his head a little laughing innocently at Saki.

"I'll try, Saki."

"You can't laugh it off, Yuki."

Saki turned her head looking back down the street seeing the school in the distance. She let go of him and jogged up ahead of him for a moment before looking back at him. The frame paused for Yuki for that moment as the wind blew up around them.

Saki Furukawa, the same age as him, was his closest and longest friend that had stuck with him through everything that he had been through. She had shorter black hair now that stopped at her shoulders and a gym bag for her track team clothes.

Yuki rushed up pulling her along forcing her to recover her balance to join him.

"What're you standing around for we've got school soon," he said with a wide smile.

"Hey! I'm going to fall! Yuki!"

Once the two disappeared behind the slope of the street a tree finally after all of it's struggling to stay up fell over hitting the car underneath it set off the alarm. The passing students pulled back in fright not certain how the tree had just mysteriously fallen out of nowhere.