The Dream Shifter

Chapter 43

"What do you mean?"

Yuki said not clear why a kidnapper would release the people he took. He would not have any leverage.

The man's slow approach continued while he spoke to Yuki.

"There's no need for them when I found what I was searching for."

"What were you searching for? You knew where-"

Yuki was suddenly cut off by a sudden blur in front of him that became Ayumi standing between the two of them.

"What were you doing with the people you took?"

The man came to stop at the edge of the light only letting the sun's ray travel up to his waist turning the white pants bright.

"Hmm? Oh its you, Ayumi is it? Changing your name, huh? What do you care anyway?"

He caught the thin glaring eyes of Ayumi nearly letting out an amused laugh.

"Alright. You took out the advanced scouting team before they could report back on their location. So I was sent out to find you and let them know."

"What?!"

Yuki said having heard all of this being directed at him. Ayumi had been standing in front of him protecting it from him, but he knew who he was talking to.

'Advanced scouting team? Does he mean those two assassins?'

Yuki thought back to the assassin that tried to kill him at the school and his house.

"Seems giving them the orders to kill and report back if impossible, proved to be a mistake on the higher-ups part. You proved to be more trouble than we planned for."

"Enough wasting time, what were you doing with those people?"

Ayumi said stepping into the conversation not wanting to be ignored. The angered expression on her face was something new unseen before by Yuki.

"I was getting to that. So impatient…Ayumi…" said the man getting an amused tone again by saying her name.

"I interrogated them for information."

"You r***d their minds!"

"Tsk…such a crass word. Memories don't lie as people do. It is the most certain way to learn the truth. I let her escape when I found her memories. Seems like I calculated correctly. She ran back to you and brought you to me without needing to leave."

"You let Saki go?!"

Yuki said surprised that it was planned out. He was starting to become angered by the casual manner that the man was talking about what he had done to Saki and the others.

The man turned a smile at seeing the reactions that he was getting.

"Of course. You think I would be that easily escaped if I wanted to keep her. I just had to make it look convincing enough and here you are now."

"So there's no one but us in here?" Ayumi said.

She had been holding herself back the whole time, but could not stand to listen to the self-important man anymore.

"Most of them at least. Some of them were too afraid to leave."

'Damn…it'll have to do.'

Ayumi stepped forward bringing her field into contact with the man seeing that it was bending around his feet.

'His field's already up.'

She knew that she had to end this quickly, but his powers were unknown to her and yet he seemed to be familiar with her. She could not remember the voice to know if she had met him in the homeland or not. The disadvantage that she was at made her arm twitch in caution. Distance between them was still great with him being at the edge of her influence. Anything that she used would be weakened greatly at the range, but she could not risk getting close knowing that he controlled plants.

'I need to see his mental strength.'

Ayumi raised up her hand as the snow under it was suddenly drawn up to her palm floating just under it. The snow gathered quickly stretching out to the length of her arm and hardening becoming ice. The ice sharpened to a point that launched itself as a projectile towards the man.

The man did not move to avoid the attack from Ayumi. He seemed to be confident in it not affecting him. A vine came up from the ground grabbing the spear-like ice just before it hit the man. The shard was wrapped up completely by the plant coiling around it like a snake and tightening its grip until it shattered to pieces.

"Hrmph. Testing me, are you? Glad to see you aren't underestimating me."

He stepped out of the shade into the light from Ayumi's hole revealing his vine-covered face that Saki had described during her story. He raised his right hand up as a signal that released several vines from the ground that shot out at Ayumi.

The speed of the attack took Ayumi a little by surprise as she pulled her hand back forcing up snow into a thick wall. Vines slammed into the solid with an unseen thud to signal her safety. She exhaled a warm breath in the cold air as she prepared for her next attack. Her hands clasped together bringing her focus but were stopped suddenly when cracks could be heard in her wall. Ayumi drew her attention down to the ice seeing green plants crawling over the interior of the ice and piercing through slowly. She had to dodge out of the way as one of the exposed vines shot out at her unable to hit her.

"Ayumi!"

Yuki shouted running to her side seeing the attack. He tried to help her up to her feet, but she pushed him away with her arm.

"Ayumi?"

Ayumi stood up with her back turned to Yuki.

"Go be useless somewhere else if you aren't going to really help!"

She walked forward breaking down the ice that she had made to protect her seeing the vines retreated back to close proximity of the man. They hovered at his feet awaiting a command to strike. "I won't let you touch him!"

Yuki staggered back from hearing her harsh words. He turned his head down looking at his hands hearing in the background Ayumi charging towards the man. The battle between the two had begun and he was left out.

'Go be useless somewhere else if you aren't going to really help!'

Her words pounded against his head knocking him again.

'Useless? Ayumi's out there protecting me from that man trying to kill me. I-I…'

His hands were shaking knowing already without needing to be said.

'I've already tried! I want to help, but I can't! It won't work!'

A pained groan from Ayumi snapped Yuki out of his internal dilemma. He looked up seeing Ayumi bleeding from her right arm slightly taking a shallow hit from a vine that she had been unable to cut down with her sword. It did not seem to be slowing her down as she charged forward again using the ice to block vines coming at her as she cut away those she could not.

"Ayumi…"

Yuki stepped forward a little, but held himself back when he realized that he could not do anything to aid her.

'She would only scold me again. Ayumi's in there fighting and getting hurt because of me.'

He tightened his hands into fists frustrated by his inability to control his power.

'I don't want to be helpless. I have to do something!'

Yuki closed his eyes trying to remember the feeling that he had before when he had his power and clear out his mind of thoughts.

'I must. I'm sorry, but I have to break my promise mother.'

He focused on when he was desperate before when his family was in danger. The feeling was familiar that was coming to him warming up through his body.

'This is it. I can feel it! Come on. I've got to help, Ayumi! I need power!'

Yuki shouted up to the ceiling in blind desperation.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing screaming? It's killing my ears!"

a high pitched voice to Yuki's left said before it kicked him in the face.

Yuki was rudely snapped out of his trance and blinked his eyes looking over to what had hit him. "What?!"

When his eyes finally focused together the fairy, from before that he had summoned accidentally with Saki, was floating in front of him looking very annoyed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I don't know you called me."

"What?!" Yuki shouted widening his eyes and stepping back in disbelief. "No I didn't! I was trying to use my Kasou-ryoku!"

"Don't shout at me, mister!" the fairy said kicking him in the face again leaving a second red mark.

"Stop kicking me! If I summoned you, don't kick me!" he shouted leaning in on the fairly losing any manners of decency that he had before.

The fairy pressed up into his face not pleased by the loud obnoxious treatment that she was receiving from Yuki.

"You can't order me around. I'll kick you as much as I want!" Upon which, she kicked him again to prove her point to him.

Yuki held his sore cheeks in his hand glaring at the annoying little fly.

"Get back in my mind now!"

He grabbed the fairy in his hand and threatened to do exactly that. However, before he was able to do anything Ayumi shouted to him.

"Yuki lookout!"

Yuki turned his head catching that the attacks had suddenly changed from Ayumi to him. There were several vines flying straight at him and Ayumi was caught up by some other vines keeping her from being able to intervene. His eyes widened in shock as he knew that he was not going to be able to get out of way in time. All he could do was protect himself with his arms bringing them up to take the hits with the fairy flailing in his hand panicking.

Blood and the slicing of flesh echoed around Yuki's ears as he was knocked to the ground losing his hold on the fairy, which flew away to safety in the rafters. Yuki took a moment but realized quickly that he was not hurting. He opened his eyes seeing Saki in front of him with her arms bleeding from being hit by the vines.

"Saki!?"

Yuki leaped to his feet to get to Saki in time, but she put her arm out stopping him. He was taken aback by her endurance to be standing still.

"Yuki… I made you a promise. I'm not about to break it now!"

Saki narrowed her face staring down at the man in vines ready to challenge him. She was not going to let him hurt Yuki anymore.