The Dream Shifter

Chapter 128

Evening had already set in before Yuki had made it back from the cemetery. The distant rumbles of strange animals mingled in with chirping birds left an uneasy silence through the neighborhood. However, the uneasiness for Yuki had to deal with something more frightening than fantastical animals and super humans running about the dark corners of the city. It kept him in hesitation on the stoop of his house trying to get his hand to move to the door. Yuki had been in the halfway position for nearly thirty minutes while he tried to get the image of Momoko out of his mind. He shook in his head again trying to force it out.

A loud cracking noise burst from the door in front of him followed by flying pieces of wood splinters as an angered hand pierced the front door. "If you're here come inside, Yuki!" shouted Momoko in a dark voice that easily penetrated through the wood. It was the only warning he had before he was pulled through the hole in the door as though it was alive and had just eaten him.

Before Yuki knew what was going on he was dropped onto their living room couch very roughly. He quickly scrambled to right himself and seek out Momoko. She was standing before him casting a heavy shadow over him while remaining silent leaving him to start to shake in fear. Suddenly out of the shadows, Jun and Ken appeared at Momoko's side with equally dark expressions half blanketed by careful shadows. The permeating presence from his siblings made Yuki tried to stand up to explain himself in the best way possible.

Momoko did not grant him any words as she snapped her eyes to her sides quickly signaling Jun and Ken. Both of them leapt forward taking hold of Yuki's arms and pinning him down into the couch. Their older sister still stared on at Yuki for a moment longer before she swiftly moved forward grabbing him.

"Momoko! I'm sorry!" began Yuki reflexively almost shouting in surprise before catching his volume. "I can explain…" He tried to continue until he realized what was happening was not what he was expecting.

Momoko was hugging him tightly along with Jun and Ken. The ominous air was completely gone from them. "I'm so glad you're safe Yuki!" Momoko managed through battling her emotions.

Feeling exhausted from the stress Yuki did not argue with what was happening. 'Why is everyone acting opposite of my expectations today? I don't know if I can take much more of this…' Yuki sank into the couch pressed by his family. It took him a bit to realize that he was having trouble breathing and tried to fight them off him. "I can't breathe! Guys! Help!"

Once everything had calmed down for them Yuki explained to Momoko alone what had happened. She had some trouble believing everything that he was telling her at first, but with what had happened recently she did not have much choice in accepting it. Yuki wanted to keep his brothers out of the problems he was in so they had been left out and Momoko agreed with him.

After he had finished explaining everything and Momoko accepted what she had been told, she remained silent for a while deep in thought. When she was ready she looked back at Yuki. "So what's going to happen to Japan?"

"Huh?" Yuki said quickly not completely catching what she had asked him.

"Can you fix it? Undo whatever you did?"

Yuki held his reply not wanting to answer it. It was an issue that he had questioned himself in the three days that he had been alone. There had even been points he had tried to use his Kasou-ryoku to turn things back. He could make it like things had been before, but only within his field and even then it was only so long as his field was active. The power that he had used seemed out of his reach. Once he had come to that answer he tried to bury everything. He did not like the feeling that he found from the hopelessness. "…I don't know…"

"Yuki?" Momoko began to step towards him away from the kitchen counter she had been leaning against. She stretched out her hand wanting to place it comfortingly on his shoulder.

There was a sharp flip of Yuki's head up towards her when he saw Momoko getting closer to him. "I can't! I can't…"

The incomplete words had been more than enough for Momoko. She understood well enough from Yuki. Momoko finished closing in the rest of the distance putting her arms around Yuki. It had been too long since she had seen such honest emotions from him. She knew all she could do was be at his side. "…Yuki…"

"What am I doing here?" Yuki droned out flatly looking over at Ayumi. The night he had at home had not been unpleasant for him, but having his brothers following him everywhere he went made it difficult to relax. They were insisting on watching him so that he did not disappear on him again. Yuki had repeatedly told them that he was not going anywhere, but it did not seem to convince them. In fact, he could not leave the house without the escort of Ayumi or Saki. It happened to be the both of them today and unfortunately early despite there being no school.

Ayumi smiled back at him Yuki with an innocent look on her face. "We're here to help! I told you that before we came, Yuki!"

The unsettling warmth coming from Ayumi's face left Yuki a little off. He was still not used to seeing her new act or whatever it happened to be. If he had just been the Ayumi act it would have been one thing, but he could tell that it was not the normal act. It seemed more honest, but it was so foreign. "Yes, but that was all you told me…" Yuki gave a long sigh finding Ayumi annoyingly chirper attitude grating on his still waking eyes. "And why are you wearing a hard hat?"

Reacting a little self-consciously, Ayumi grabbed the bright yellow hat catching it before it slipped off. She actived her power without the field suddenly appearing in blue jean overalls and a white tank top with her hair tied up. "How's this better image? Do I look cute now?" Ayumi spun around for him quickly to give a full her newly made costume.

Yuki nodded stiffly not sure what to make of it. "…uh…yeah…"

"Ah Yuki Hayashi. You made it," called out a smooth voice from behind.

"Did she say cute?" There was a slow stunned reaction in Yuki that block him for a moment. Responding to the voice Yuki turned sharply finding a high student aged boy in street clothes. "Yes…I did, umm…" Yuki was still unclear about why he had been called out from his home so early to stare at his ruined school.

"I'm Student Council President Yori Mizuno. You probably saw me at the entrance ceremony."

"Mizuno?"

"Yes, you know my sister, Yumi."

"Sister!?" Yuki took a step back when he saw Yumi walking out of Yori's wake and standing next to him.

Yumi politely bowed to Yuki in apology before even speaking to him. "I'm sorry I never told you, Yuki! I didn't mean to hide it from you! Honest!"

Yuki quickly tried to catch Yumi's overly apologetic manner. "N-n-no! It's alright! Nothing to be sorry about! I was just surprised!" When Yumi finally stood upright again Yuki suddenly took note of many of the student body behind them gathered in a loose group. Confusion began to set in painfully for him as he looked around. "So…what's going on?"

"We're all very grateful for your volunteering to help restoring our high school, Yuki!" Yori declared politely. It was difficult to tell whether he had ignored what Yuki had said or not, but he had left Yuki in little position other than to accept.

There was a quick moment where Yuki turned to look over at Ayumi next him. She simply smiled back to him looking like there was nothing wrong. 'Manipulating little…' Yuki sighed trying to adjust himself to the situation. "Right! Volunteering! But isn't it dangerous for us to be going near the school? We're just teenagers and none of us know anything about construction."

A light pat on his shoulders came from Ayumi as she joined the conversation. "That's why we're here!"

"Huh?"

"The student body won't be approaching the building. I can't risk the safety of them no matter how much they want to fix the school. I'll be directing the efforts to cleaning up the school grounds and clearing away what debris is safe for us." Yori maintained a very polite and even tone throughout his words. Speaking was something that suited him. "We'll do whatever we can to make it easier for you."

None of the words were helping Yuki understand what he was supposed to be doing. He was starting to tire of listening to Yori speaking without getting to the point related to him. "But what am I suppose to do? I don't know how to fix the school. Do you Ayumi?"

"Nope! But that doesn't matter!"

"You lost me."

Ayumi gave a disappointed sigh to Yuki. She had hoped that he would have picked up on what she was intending for him. "It's quite simple. We use our Meso Prosecho—"

"Kasou-ryoku…"

Trying to ignore Yuki she continued on. "…to create what we need to fix the building."

"If you're going to do that why not just make it all better with the field immediate."

"Because our power doesn't work that way and you know it. We can't cause direct change to the environment, but we can cause indirect change."

"Even if I made a crane and construction equipment I still can't use it." Yuki extended his flippant attitude out to his hand waving off Ayumi's idea. He did not understand what Ayumi was thinking that they could accomplish without any expert knowledge of construction. It was an impossible project.

Ayumi narrowed her eyes at Yuki becoming annoyed by his simpleminded thinking. "I thought you had a creative mind. You should be able to figure it out. You're thinking too narrowly. You need to broaden your scope."

Yuki crossed his arms staring down Ayumi. He could tell that she was insulting him, though it was a little more indirect than he was used to from her. There was some comfort in hearing himself being put down by her even if he hated hearing it. "Too narrowly? I can't do construction! What aren't you understanding? The only way it'd work was if you used some highly advanced artificial intelligence controlling all of the machines so that they did the work for us instead!" A slow pause came out of his mouth as he retraced his words. All of it was starting to fall into place and Ayumi's smug smile did not help him.

"See! Even someone stupid like you can figure it out with a little help! Think of it as training!" Ayumi slapped him on the back and skipped off towards the school. It left Yuki questioning the paradox that he saw from her and if he really wanted to bother trying to understand it.

After a moment he turned about to find the entire group of volunteers staring at him eagerly and wide eyed as though he was some animal in a zoo that was about to do a trick for them. The excitement in their faces became too much for him and he ran off for Ayumi. "Wait for me!"