The Dream Shifter

Chapter 13

A supportive hand came down on Saki's shoulder breaking her away for a moment to bring her stare up. Saki could feel a calming strength coming from her that seemed to stop her tears for the time being. However, Ayumi then pushed Saki off Yuki looking stern at her. "You're in the way." Ayumi placed her hand on Yuki's chest, but was interrupted by Saki.

"In the way?! Now listen to me. I don't care who you are and if you have crazy powers that just saved him. You aren't touching him. We have to take him to a hospital immediately!" Saki pushed Ayumi away from Yuki and started to slide her arms underneath Yuki to carry him away, but Ayumi grabbed both of her arms before much could be done. "What do you think you're doing? Yuki's going to die if nothing is done!"

"Exactly. If you stop the hysterics and let me heal him that won't happen."

"Heal him? How? What are you talking about?"

"This is an emergency, but I can create what I need to heal him." Ayumi let go of Saki seeing that she had her attention for the moment. She folded up her legs underneath her and closed her eyes.

'Heal? Create? What is going on? Can she really help, Yuki?' Saki held off from doing anything seeing something from Ayumi's eyes that spoke to her. She could not understand it anymore than the rest of the things that were happening. So many things were beyond her right now. She had been brought here by Ayumi when she was out searching for Yuki. Now she was dragged into some strange world that she knew nothing of.

Saki knew that there was something wrong with him ever since Ayumi had talked to Yuki. She could not hear what they had said and Yuki was too out of it to give her anything when she had reached him. Then he had just run off when Hiroshi arrived distracting her. 'I'm not leaving it at that.' She glared at Hiroshi in frustration for making her lose Yuki before she could really talk to him. "Hiroshi!"

She pulled Hiroshi in by his uniform once more looking down at him with a burning anger that was making Hiroshi cry like a baby not to be hurt again. "Hey, hey, HEY! S-Saki!" He did not know what had gotten into her and only hoped to be saved from the pain. "Saki?! What did I do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Saki raised up her free hand preparing to run her fist through his face only making Hiroshi turn blue again. She could not think or restrain herself anymore needing to let go of raging emotions inside her. Hiroshi was the perfect target and her fist was going to be so happy when it reached his face. Her arm let go of the tensed muscles and the fist flew through the air with Hiroshi closing his eyes to avoid seeing it.

Next to Saki, Yumi stepped up quietly looking around the grounds lost and worried. "Where's Yuki? Wasn't he with you, Saki?" she said up to Saki in mid swing.

"Huh?" Saki stopped her fist only a split second before hitting Hiroshi and let him go. Her mind finally started to be activate again thinking about what it was she needed to be at that moment. "Yuki!" She looked down at the whimpering ball of jelly called Hiroshi and turned away uninterested. Saki dashed off in the direction that she believed Yuki had gone disappearing before her friends knew what happened.

"Hey, you alright, man?"

Hiroshi could not put together two words leaving his friends a little pale as well. "That's Saki goes overboard whenever it's about Yuki. Poor Hiroshi how many times does this make?" One of his friends looked over at the other uncertain what to do with Hiroshi coming to the conclusion that it was best to leave him be.

"I don't keep track of those things. If she's so into him she should say something and quit hiding behind her fists."

"I don't think it is so straightforward as that."

"You know something? Those two have been like that since the beginning of the school year."

"I don't really know much. Just that they have some history from their last school."

Saki ran around the school almost completely before she came to a stop to look around. She was breathing lightly still with only her uncertainty speeding up her heart at this point. 'Yuki's nowhere in sight. He couldn't be this far away. But he could be anywhere.' The school was big and lunch would be ending quickly if she did not find him soon. She had to find out what had happened to Yuki to have him so troubled. "Yuki! Where are you?" It seemed like a futile effort since he did not want to be found, but she could not think of anything else.

"Saki Furukawa!" a voice from behind Saki clearly announced. It was difficult to tell if it was a declaration or a shout for attention. Either way Saki had no choice but to turn and find out what the person wanted.

The moment their eyes met Saki's features narrowed severely. "Ayumi Nishimura…" she said softly not directing it towards the girl, but more acknowledging her to herself. 'The new girl. The girl that spoke to Yuki. What did she say to him? I'll make her speak…' Saki stepped forward to close the distance between the two slowly not to alarm the girl. At her side Saki's fist was tightening held back by the need to know what had happened.

Ayumi remained unmoved from her original space looking a little different somehow from what Saki remembered from class and her introduction. It might have only been a few hours, but there was something that was leaving her unsettled. "Saki Furukawa, do you wish to protect him?"

"Protect him? What are you talking?" Saki could not hold her composure any longer now that the new girl had spoken. She stopped walking almost leaning in toward Ayumi from the distance. "What did you say to Yuki?"

"It's a simply question. Do you wish to protect him?"

"What's that have to do with anything right now? Answer me! What did you say to him?"

"He's in danger right now."

That single sentence was enough to bring a halt to every motion in Saki's body. Saki did not know what was wrong with Yuki, but there was something else that seemed to be conveyed through to her that gave her sense of dread. It was like she could feel the words. None of it made any sense to her least of all was the heavy weight that suddenly pressed on her, a pressure that pulled at her skin and slowed her movements. There was blood in the air painted with a thick brush almost like death was wrapped around her. 'Why am I getting this strange feeling from her? It's almost like I can sense death in the air. It doesn't make sense.' Saki pulled back slightly still feeling the cold blade of death at her throat laughing to itself in twisted pleasure. "Where's Yuki? Who's hurting him?"

"Follow me…"

Ayumi's body glowed once more like before releasing a blue wave from where she sat, but there was no snow this time. It seemed that Ayumi was ready opening her eyes once more and lifted up her hands from her lap. As her hands rose up there were glowing specks in the air that gathered together at the over turned palms. Ayumi continued gather these blue particles waiting over Yuki's body until there had been enough brought together.

The sight before Saki made any reservations that she had disappear in an instant. She could not understand what Ayumi was doing, but it was like before that she had seen. 'What is this power that she has?'

The blue glowing from Ayumi's hand passed from her to Yuki's body surrounding him in a blue aura that ran through every pore of his body. Soon the wounds that he had sustained from the fighting began to glow brightly emitting the same particles that Ayumi had been gathering. Threads of the mysterious energy spun and weaved together becoming visible connected to her fingers. The thin strains played in the wind and turned about diving back inside as the wounds disappeared becoming only shallow pools of blood replacing the dark crimson of the wounds.

Saki did not know what to say at the sight that she saw performed by Ayumi, but she could tell that Yuki was no longer in danger of dying. Once Ayumi pulled back and the blue energy was fading away Saki tempted her right hand to feel Yuki. She placed her hand on his chest where the wound had looked fatal and rubbed the blood away checking the wound. However, all she could do was keep wiping the blood no longer finding any sign that he had even been cut let alone in danger. She looked up to Ayumi who was letting go of a fatigued breath. Saki worked up a relieved smile for her. "Thank you, Ayumi."