The Dream Shifter

Chapter 7

"I've come for you, Yuki Hayashi. I need you to save my people and I need your power!" Ayumi shouted at him sounding almost desperate, but pulled back quickly looking away gathering herself back. 

It was enough to make Yuki jump back a couple steps taken completely back by the change once more.

He did not understand what was going on anymore. 

'Is this some joke that she is playing on me? Is Hiroshi near?' 

Yuki looked around the school grounds trying to make some sense of what was happening hoping that there might be some student laughing behind him. But he saw no one like that and anyone he did see was enjoying their lunch. 

'Who is this girl? She sounds like something out of my manga? Did she talk to someone? Is this a joke from her?' 

Yuki stared uncertain back at Ayumi thinking that he could read her for something, but she had already changed her stance and expression three times in the matter of a minute or two. He was not certain how good of an actor she actually was and what was the real her. 

'Gah! I can't tell. What does she want?'

"What's wrong with Yuki? Why is he looking so scared of that Ayumi?" Saki said gripping the window seal tightly enough that the glass was rattling and cracking a little. 

They had been watching the silent exchange between the two making guesses between each other about what they were saying. Most were simply joking filling the gaps in with silly romantic drivel. But Saki had remained quiet until this sudden change from Yuki. 

'Something troubling him. I can tell. He looks scared or confused. What did she say?'

Hiroshi was pulled away from his joking by Yumi, who had been equally quiet in her staring at the scene, to point out Saki's increasing 'Yuki Protection Meter', which happened to be reading very close to a six (out of 10, it should be noted that she launches attacks at a mere four meaning that she was restraining herself quite a bit at moment).

Yumi did not know what to do, as well as knowing full well that she could not hold her back. Hiroshi blended panic and fear together well seeing Saki putting her knee on the window looking ready to leap out of the building. He rushed to Saki grabbing her back to the waist using the room's wall for support against her, she was stronger than even him and he knew it too well. 

"Saki! We're on the second floor! You'll get yourself hurt if you jump!"

"Hiroshi? Let go of me…right now!" Saki said with that six turning into a seven now and a raging boil finally pouring out unleashing from Saki. 

Whether it was Yuki jumping back again or Hiroshi holding her down did not matter anymore, the trigger had been snapped. Hiroshi wrestled with her on the floor after his full weight had managed to pry her free of the window landing her on the floor in a very unladylike position with her skirt up close to her face. 

"Let me go, Hiroshi! This is your last warning!"

"Oh my!" Yumi said shyly and blushing turning away.

He struggled with her more on the floor with neither realizing the situation that she was in or how odd they looked at the moment. The other students needlessly were grinning to themselves before Yumi's instincts kicked in. The boys were chased out by the change in Yumi to protect whatever dignity that Saki might actually have left, which was a good question at this point. 

"I'm not letting you jump out of the window, Saki! If you want to rescue Yuki so badly use the door and stairs like everyone else."

"Huh?" Saki came to a stop a little surprised that Hiroshi was willing to let her go. 

"Fine…" Her struggling came to a complete end and she stood up once Hiroshi let go. She pushed her skirt down completely and ran out of the classroom.

Yumi watch the blur of Saki before turning back to Hiroshi confused now that she had returned from chasing off the immature boys. 

"Why did you let her go? Weren't you trying to protect Ayumi?"

Hiroshi dusted off his shirt as he stood up looking out the window at Ayumi and Yuki still talking. He leaned down against the dented metal left from Saki. 

"I know she won't kill the girl. Besides I care about my own life as well." Hiroshi let out a shuddering sigh out loud as though he was thinking about something that scared him.

Saki rushed down the stairs and towards the front of the school seeing the light from the noon sun blinding the outside. When she finally stepped outside looking around to get her bearings she found Yuki standing by the tree, but Ayumi was gone now. 

She looked franticly around for the new girl to give her a piece of her mind, but she had missed her chance. 

'I'll see her in class. She'll get what's coming to her…' Saki focused back on Yuki rushing over to him finding him staring, nearly devoid of life in his eyes, at the ground. 

"Yuki? Hey, Yuki!" She frowned looking a little frustrated, but this was nothing that she would not be able to break through, she did know Yuki forever since they were little kids. 

"Hey, Yuki its lunchtime!"

She gave a sigh of disappointment that food was not snapping him out of it. 'Must be a little more serious. What did she do to him? I'm going to make her pay for this…but I've got to get through to Yuki.' A few attempts of shaking him and knocking or possibly pounding reality into him were not working as well. 

'He's really out to lunch… guess I've got no other choice.' 

Saki stepped around putting her mouth to his ear and whispered softly to him. 

"Yuki, those bullies are burning your manga you keep in your schoolbag."

"What?! My manga's burning?" Yuki said suddenly shattering the barrier between him and the world. He turned over to Saki, who was looking a little embarrassing and sweating, grabbing her by the hands to plea to her. 

"Please stop them, Saki!"

"One track mind…" she said under her breath not surprised by his reaction. It was actually what she was expecting from him. 

"It's alright, Yuki."

"No, its not. They're burning them! You've got to stop them!" he said with panicked words beginning to shake before her.

'How many times have I used this on him and he never gets a clue…' Saki pulled free from Yuki's hold grabbing him by the shoulders to get him to stop shaking. 

"Hey, listen to me. It's alright. They aren't burning them."

Yuki stopped immediately staring at her confused. 

"But you said that they were."

"Get a clue, Yuki. You were spacing out again and I couldn't get you to snap out of it. They never were. I just told you so that you will come back to reality. You're so naïve sometimes." Saki turned away crossing her arms either angry or disappointed, neither of which Yuki was going to figure out.

"But why would you do that?" he said pulling on her arm to get her to look at him again.

Saki refused to look at him now. "I found you staring at nothing after talking to that Ayumi girl." 

She was not sure if she heard him say something, but it seemed to have triggered something in him pulling him back into that state he was before. Saki panicked not realizing that he was going to fall back in and turned around grabbing for Yuki before he was lost again. 

"Yuki! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it. Come on, snap out it!" She shuck him violently making his head rattle around to bring him back, though it only seemed to daze him now.

 "What did she say to you? Tell me!"

Yuki was left dizzy and barely able to stay conscious with Saki shaking him so hard. Once she finally stopped he could think straight, a little, on what Ayumi had told him. It had been difficult for him to believe and the story was even more unbelievable. 

He could not accept it no matter how much that he wanted. Yuki turned his head away while Saki still held his uniform by the cloth just below the collar. 

"Nothing…"

"I've known too long to let you go at nothing. Tell me what's wrong, Yuki!" Saki pulled him in closer to her so that he could not attempt to ignore her, though being held made that impossible anyway.

Yuki did not want to talk about it. He was not even sure why he was told. Nothing made any sense about the whole thing. 

"I said its nothing! Leave me alone, Saki!" Yuki pushed her back into the wall breaking her grip from her stunned reaction. She stared at him confused uncertain what to say while Yuki was breathing heavily. He could see how worried she was about him, but he turned away anyway. 

"I'm sorry, Saki. I need to be alone right now." Yuki ran off Saki not willing to follow him.

"Yuki…"