Silence was everything. Everything was black. No cold surrounded in an all encompassing smothering. Warmth didn’t drain away as expected. A strange stillness filled into a neutral state. Yet something took an iron hold on everything. Pain rammed and pierced underneath all in the most uncomfortable spots.

It all ran through Yumi in less than a second. It felt as though it was all forced through a single infinitely small point exasperating the sensation a hundredfold. Overload came next before she collapsed to the ground.

Everything was gone.

Chapter 162 – Sealing Innocence

Chiharu ran for Yumi, but felt like her body was moving too slow. The sword already ran her through. Nothing would undo it. Yet she still ran as if it made a difference. Her chest pounded out of control. Its beating felt uncomfortable and familiar. Chiharu wanted the sensation to go away. She tried to block it out of her mind, but it only forced back in stronger.

Unwanted images surfaced in her mind in the moments between her steps. Her body dragged behind. She felt something boiling up to the surface within her heart. It wrapped around her muscles restricting their movement. By the time she made it within arm’s reach of Yumi, she thought her body would collapse.

It was too late, as she already knew. The sword rested within Yumi’s breast. It ran all the way through with the blade sticking out the back. She couldn’t even lie on her back; it didn’t let her have such comfort. Yumi collapsed on her side, already gone from the world.

Chiharu stood next to Yumi just looking down, unable to move. She had no reaction for seconds. Only her body shook responding to things she ignored. Flashes of images went through her mind. She clamped her eyes shut to block everything out. ‘…not again…’ Chiharu reached out for Yumi, but the stiffness in her body kept her away. “Can’t…be…Mizuno…”

The shaking in her legs was enough to knock her over as she kept trying to stretch out her arm. She collapsed to one knee. It surprised her momentarily drawing away from Yumi’s body. “…Mizuno…” Her hand made it within reach of Yumi finally, but still fell short. Chiharu’s hand rested on the hilt of the sword. “Mizuno…wake up…Mizuno! Wake up, Mizuno!” Shaking ran through her arm making the metal of the sword rattle lowly.

Hearing the sword vibrate forced her hand to withdraw quickly. It made her realize the subconscious reactions of her body. She leaned forward pressing her hands into the ground to keep them from doing anything. Yumi was in reach, but beyond her. ‘…another…’ Her hands clenched up digging into the earth. “Mizuno!”

No reaction came from Yumi. Chiharu knew nothing would happen, but she couldn’t stop. “Mizuno!” She couldn’t let it end without doing anything. She fought through old abandoned memories to reach for Yumi. Her hand clutched to Yumi’s upper arm. “Move, Mizuno! Wake up, Mizuno!” Still nothing happened. Expectations or reality meant nothing. “Mizuno! Answer me!” Chiharu gripped tighter around Yumi. She remained lifeless.

“Yumi Mizuno!” yelled Chiharu. Her breathing turned short and haggard. Her eyes were wide and strained with darkness surrounding them. Chiharu attempted to shake her awake, but it became a feeble effort stopping before anything meaningful. “You were supposed… You’re the one…”

Chiharu retracted her hand letting it fall by her side. She tilted her head forward blocking out her entire face. “You were supposed to have the answers I didn’t… Why…Yu…mi…” Suddenly, Chiharu vanished from sight leaving only a droplet behind.

A loud crash ripped through the night. Dust and debris trailed a line away from Yumi. At the end of the path, Chiharu stood with Photine’s body held off her feet by only one arm. However, Photine looked in even worse shape with her Atlantean uniform returned and torn. Blood dripped down her body from fresh wounds.

Photine coughed up blood from the pressure put on her body. It painted Chiharu’s face a dark shade. She struggled to pull her head down to see what happened. The sight of Chiharu surprised her enough to manage a weak reaction in her face, even though it hurt. ‘A child?! I can’t feel the ground…they’re…how is this physical strength possible?! I thought it was only special abilities…’

“…you…” roared Chiharu. Her arm barely kept everything together.

Glancing at Chiharu, Photine felt oddly reassured about her situation. “You stopped her from killing me. Yet now you’re here wanting revenge.”

“Saying I’m a hypocrite?” Chiharu tightened her hand causing some of the threads in Photine’s uniform to tear.

She stiffly shook her head at Chiharu. “No, just that you can’t do what you want to do.”

A narrowed expression ran through her eyes. “What are you talking about?” Chiharu did not like the confidence she spoke in her position.

“You don’t have it. The eyes of a killer.”

Chiharu lifted Photine up more in response. “You don’t know anything!”

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Coughing infrequently, Photine managed a slight grin. “I can see your eyes.”

Chiharu’s hand shook a little. She didn’t like the look Photine gave her. The knowing stare churned her insides. She reached behind her back and retrieved a kunai. “Then I guess I’ll get some new ones…”

“She was right though…I don’t have the same eyes I saw in her before…”

She had enough of Photine’s talk. Things had to change for Chiharu. The blade in her hand would change things. Nothing would ever be the same again. It had to be that way. The blade flew through the air with her hand guiding it towards its destination.

However, she stopped just before touching the neck. Something felt off to Chiharu. She narrowed her eyes at Photine. “What are you talking about?”

“That…” Photine answered, pointing her hand weakly back in the direction of Yumi.

Tilting her head around, Chiharu looked over her shoulder at the path she created. At first, nothing stood out to her. The night sky poorly lit the camp with most of the camp’s fires snuffed out from the fighting. However, something formed from the darkness. Only a shape at first, it was a figure of someone. “Eh?”

Slowly, Chiharu’s eyes adjusted and focused to make it out. They moved closer to her giving more shape. It widened Chiharu’s eyes to see them standing. She darted over to them, still dragging Photine with her. “How is it possible?! What did you do to her?” Chiharu stared down at the limp body of Photine. Her eyes turned razor sharp with accusations.

Yumi stood weakly before them. The sword that ran her through was still embedded in her chest. Her hand hung pierced on the blade unable to be freed. No blood ran from her wound as though the sword didn’t exist. “…Chiharu…I feel strange…and alone…” Yumi collapsed to the ground next to Chiharu.

Chiharu dropped Photine and reached out for Yumi. She stopped her before she completely fell to the ground. ‘What is this? How is this possible? She should be dead…but this sword…’ Staring at the weapon that lived in Yumi, she placed a hand on the hilt. “I’ll remove this and you’ll feel better.” Yumi looked up at Chiharu confused and lost, appearing very weak. The weakness she bore wasn’t like the same weakness Chiharu was used to seeing from her. It stirred ominous feelings in Chiharu. “This will hurt, but you’ll be fine.”

“Chiharu…what’s wrong with me?” Yumi felt so heavy. Her body was so distant from her. She thought it was just numbness, but the feeling went beyond a numb feeling. Something felt cut off from her. Everything was huge and empty with no sensations. She felt like she was in a large empty room with no doors or windows, locked away.

Gritted her teeth, Chiharu took a tight grip on the hilt. “It’ll be fine! Everything will be fine in a moment.” A hint of hesitation dripped within Chiharu. ‘That woman did something. If I remove this could it actually kill her? Could I be ending her life? But it isn’t natural. It must be removed… I don’t have a choice… She looks so weak, weaker than I’ve ever seen…’ She flushed away the doubt.

The sword rattled a little in her hold, but Chiharu started to pull with her strength. At first, she was gentle, not expecting to need any strength to remove it. However, it didn’t budge for her. Applying more strength, Yumi lifted up and drew towards her. The sword didn’t move. Chiharu slacked her arm, concerned about what it might be doing to Yumi’s internal organs. “It’s not releasing.”

“I can’t feel it…” Yumi lifted her free hand to the sword. She needed to touch it to know it was real. The cold steel gave her reality. “Why can’t I feel it? I can’t feel anything… Why? Why?!” A hint of panic began to set in Yumi.

‘I’m not getting anywhere with it like this. I need a different plan…’ Chiharu flicked her eyes over to Photine, still hanging onto consciousness. Taking her free hand, Chiharu pulled Photine up by her tattered uniform. She dragged the woman up to her face. “What did you do to her? Tell me!”

Coughing, Photine couldn’t even manage a satisfied grin. Her body felt torn to shreds. She had never felt her body so crushed by such pressure. She wanted to scream in pain, but felt her body would collapse.

Examining the state of Photine, Chiharu realized why she seemed worse than before. She hadn’t given it much thought about how it would affect a normal human. Her hand tightened around the cloth she held. “If you don’t want me to take you running again, tell me what you know. Your body can’t take another time at my speed.”

Photine stared into Chiharu’s eyes. She measured out her words through her expression and knew the truth. “You…” Another painful cough escaped from Photine. “…you…won’t…”

Chiharu started to stand up. “I don’t need to keep these eyes.”

“…but…” Photine paused again. The strain on her chest from talking made things worse. She knew she should shut up, but she couldn’t. “…but…that doesn’t mean…I’m not…going to…tell you what I…did…”

The words stopped her motion, but her hand tightened even more onto Photine. She pulled her back in towards her face. “What was it?”

“I sealed…away everything…that makes her…special.”

“Sealed?” questioned Yumi, starting to take part in the conversation. She leaned over to Photine wanting to know more. “Is that why I feel so strange? But how is that possible?”

Photine glanced over at Yumi. “…I intended…to capture you…so I needed…to prevent…a future…escape…” Her mind went back to when she began. “…that was…my next…move…” The platform she raised from the earth eventually formed the sword she needed. It was a gamble, but it paid off for her.

“If it’s just sealing her powers. Removing it would restore it. Your plan is flawed.” Chiharu gripped the sword tighter. She just needed to remove it from Yumi. The explanation was all she needed to know it wasn’t a fatal attack.

Another cough came from Photine. It did the job she wanted of interrupting Chiharu from her action. “…no…you can’t…remove it…”

Chiharu glared over at Photine, not interested in her pleas. “Just try me!” She dropped Photine and took both hands to the sword. ‘I just need more strength…it's nothing I can’t fix!’ Her eyes moved over to Yumi to provide her reassurance. She didn’t intend to let things go their way.

The sword pulled on Yumi. It brought her almost on top of Chiharu in the first attempt. She used most of her strength and reflexes to try to remove it quickly before Yumi’s body could react. However, it only backfired on her. “Damn…” She grabbed Yumi’s wrist connected to the hand embedded in the sword. A slow forceful push on her hand didn’t budge on the sword. Blood didn’t appear, but Yumi still looked unsettled.

Regrouping her thoughts, Chiharu glanced over at Photine. ‘Did she make this sword special?’ Her hand rested on the sword. It only moved when Yumi moved. It was attached to her, deeply attached. ‘She thought that far ahead? She made it so it can’t be removed…’ Chiharu didn’t like where her thoughts took her.

She turned back towards Photine. More answers were needed. “You made it so it can’t be removed by anyone. Didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Chiharu came to the only remaining conclusion. The one she should have taken at the start. She didn’t know why she didn’t consider the option before. ‘Why was I so slow in thinking of it?’ Chiharu lifted up Photine and raised her fist. “If you created it with your powers, then I just have to knock you unconscious. Then it will disappear.” Chiharu pulled her arm back.

Photine finally managed a crooked grin for Chiharu. It pained her a lot, but she succeeded. The pain she felt would pass in time. “…that won’t work…I made sure…of it…”

The words froze her fist in mid swing. Chiharu read Photine’s face trying to detect the lie. She only needed a flicker of a falsehood to finish her strike. Yet nothing showed to her. Only truth covered her pale features. “What do you mean?” Her fist relaxed.

“…it’s not…sustained…by my powers…”

“What do you mean?” snapped Chiharu, tired of the ragged voice.

“…I used my…powers…to create it from…real matter…so it's…real…”

The words made Yumi sink backwards. She suddenly felt even heavier than before. ‘I’m useless…I’m really am useless now…’ Deep despair sat inside Yumi as reality settled in for her. She could do nothing.