The Dream Shifter

Chapter 10

His escape to the grass disappeared from his grasp with even more sand between him now. The assassin began to step forward drawing out his sword from the sand once more. Yuki could plainly read the intent to kill that was colored over his face. 

It made him sweat knowing that he did not want any more interruptions from his task. Yuki flailed his arms around in the sand hoping to kick sand back up at him to get free and blind him. However, the assassin was not affected this time standing looking almost disappointed at the same trick being attempted.

"This is my sand. I can control it and when it ceases. You can't blind me again. Now end this struggling Yuki Hayashi!" 

The assassin charged down the dune using the slope for more speed holding the sword firmly in his right hand angled down as though to go for decapitation.

Yuki tried franticly to free himself, but could only get one leg free before the charge began. He kicked up more sand just at the moment that the assassin had closed the distance creating enough of a cloud to make it impossible to see. 

The blade sliced through the cloud making a dreadful sound filled with uncertainly. There was blood sprayed across the sand's surface and the blade had drunk more. The assassin stared at the cloud seeing it fade away upon command.

There was blood brushed in drops and puddles where Yuki lay, but he was still breathing, heavily. He had pulled himself back in the sand enough for the sword to miss his neck, but it had gone through the front of his uniform now much deeper. 

The blood that he was losing was being to affect his head making everything fuzzy, but he fought to keep himself focused as the assassin brought down the sword once more. This time out of force of will to live Yuki pulled his entrapped leg from the sand free and rolled away in the sand just in time.

Yuki pushed himself up feeling the adrenaline kick in for him and the pain pass. It gave him the extra strength to press on into a full run for the edge of the sand and the grass he could see insight. He did not look behind him, but the assassin was not moving to leave the sword in the sand. 

On his left, a long column of sand burst up quickly to be taken in his left hand revealing it to be a lance with a wooden shaft. His left arm tensed back quickly and released it immediately aimed straight his back. The lance sailed through the air quickly closing the distance between them with Yuki only a step away from the grass once more.

Misfortunate struck again for Yuki, his ankle twisted in the sand tripping him and threw off his run causing him to rotate as he fell in motion. He suddenly was granted a view of the lance coming straight for him. The lance met him before the edge running through his chest and disappearing into him not to appear on the other side as though his body had eaten it. 

Yuki collapsed to the grass dropping blood on the grass. He could not feel the lance anymore but was certain that it struck him. He lifted himself up quickly painfully drawing in his injured arm to pat down his chest finding that he actually did not have a new hole through his chest. 

"What happened? I know it hit me."

The assassin stepped forward and the sand returned to Yuki's feet drawing out the dunes. Yuki pulled himself away and ran to his feet scrabbling for the storage shed that kept the sports equipment mainly. He hid behind the corner looking around seeing the man in white charging forward with the sand out in front until it met the shed. All of the brick suddenly poured sand out from the surface covering Yuki's hand making him drawback in surprise. 

'It's all sand now! This isn't going to protect me. He'll be able to knock it over easy. I've got to find somewhere else.' 

Yuki looked around quickly, but he was in the worst possible spot with this being the track and field section. There was no cover just open grass or track ground.

Once more Yuki was ducking from an attack by the assassin as the lance he was using now sliced through the air. Yuki backed up dropping blood at his feet from the stress he was placing on his body to move and function. 

A horizontal swing caught his uniform and then stopped suddenly in the brick wall of the shed to Yuki's surprise. He used the moment to back away and get to the grass for safety. 

'I thought it was all sand, but I heard the metal hit brick. Does that mean he can't transform existing objects into his sand? But how does that help me?'

His moment was over and on the defensive again fleeing from the encroaching sand, but losing ground. 

'He's faster than me. I can't outrun him and his sand seems to move with him everywhere. What is it?' The thoughts going through slowed him down even more bringing the assassin within striking distance. Yuki danced around awkward leaving blood on the sand as he narrowly avoids the swings.

'He is slowing down? Something doesn't feel right, it's almost…'

The assassin looked like he was becoming enraged upon frustrated that this was drawn out for so long. He thrust in at Yuki with the lance to pierce him through the heart, but Yuki avoided it and clamped his still good left arm on the shaft of the lance ripping it free from the surprised assassin. 

Yuki, a little surprised himself, stared at his good fortunes, finally. After eying the lance he turned it on the assassin pointing down at him narrowing his eyes. 

'I can't let it…it has to remain locked. I promised…' Yuki shuck his head fighting between thoughts trying to control him. 

"I have your lance now. Now, why are you trying to kill me?"

Yuki stared down the assassin defiantly, but the man seemed unimpressed by the reversal. The momentary surprise had faded away and he was walking towards Yuki once more. There was a smirk drawn upon his mouth like he still had more secrets to play. 

"Why should I tell you when you don't have a weapon?"

"What are you talking about? Stay back!" said Yuki thrusting the lance forward a little to make his point, but there was nothing in his hand anymore. 

He looked down bringing his hands into clear view. The lance was gone and now back in the hands of the assassin. 

"Huh?! But I had your weapon! How did you…"

"I told you before I control the sand, but that is not all. I control these weapons as well. You can't use them against me. I'll just make them fade away before you can even swing." 

He stepped forward raising the lance up high catching the sunlight on his blade. Yuki's eyes had widened in shock unable to react to the coming strike. A deer caught in the headlights; Yuki stood as the lance came down slicing through his shoulder and across his chest digging up blood sending him flying across the sand landing at the outer edge his head limply knocking against the drop off of the sand. 

"Now it ends." The assassin let the lance fade away into the air and stretched out his palm until it began to glow red.

Yuki could barely feel anything and his body would not move. He could not even lift his head from the ninety-degree angle it sat at now. His head began to lose focus making him think he could hear a crackling sound. The red glow from the man grew to fill the entire area of sand around him drawing together to become an orb. The energy pulled together sparked and fought against each other clashing angrily to be let free. Time passed slowly drawn out with Yuki unable to perceive what was happening. 

'This is it? I'm going to die now…Saki…she always protected me…can't believe I'm thinking about her now…'

'Your life is in danger, but I will be here to protect you and keep you from harm,' Ayumi said to him from their meeting. She looked serious, but there was no one here to save him.

Yuki could almost laugh if it was not impossible for him. 'No one's going to save me. This is the real world. It doesn't work like that…I-I…don't want to die…' 

Yuki suddenly felt something warm near him and then he fell over in the sand sliding to the grass at the moment he felt a scorching pain all over his legs. When he opened his eyes to see what was happening there was a red glowing explosion at the perimeter of the sand throwing sand everywhere. Yuki felt his body return to him making him pull away in shock and fear for being caught in the explosion, but as time passed nothing happened to him. 

He cautiously looked back to see that the explosion was cut off immediately at the edge where the sand stopped as well. Yuki pulled himself back up leaning heavily against the pole for the high jump practice.

He wrapped his blood-stained left hand over his injured arm again breathing heavily while watching the red explosion finally subside away. The explosion now and the lance before that did not run him through made him think back. He remembered the sand that he tried to pull out and saw nothing. 

'Is that his limit? Can he not maintain his reality beyond the point? Is that his weakness?' 

Now that the explosion was gone it meant that the assassin could see him again. 

'Weakness or not, I can't use that to my advantage. He is faster than me and I'm about to pass out. I can't survive anymore.'

The man charged in with his sand surrounding the high jump mat and pole quickly staring down Yuki. Yuki did not try to flee. The man seemed to understand that he had given in to his fate now. He drew up his sword from the sand once more pulling it back with both hands to thrust through Yuki for the final blow.

'Saki…Momoko…Ken…Jun…I'm sorry…' Yuki closed his eyes waiting for the blade to strike. Time paused for him seeing his family smiling at him one at a time. 

'I couldn't…' It was over. The blade came in for the kill and time passed on. Yuki winced in pain, but he then looked around to see someone in front of him. Someone had actually come to save him. It took him a moment for him to stare at the person's back to realize who it actually was. 

"You?!"