Fumiko tried to come to terms with what just happened. Everything froze for her at that moment. She had figured he would say something to her or be visible, but there was no one else. ‘Where is Yuki? That was him wasn’t it?’
The smoke from the attack blew out into the area blinding the three momentarily. However, the beast turned in the smoke with its attention brought on Fumiko. A deep roar sounded through the smoke announcing its intention.
Fumiko, still disoriented from her fall, took her a few moments to realize that the animal targeted her. ‘It thinks I hurt it?! But I didn’t do anything!’ The smoke began to be pulled away in sheets. She started backing up nervously with the massive creature stalking towards her. ‘It’s almost like I can feel its killing intent! I think it would have let us escape before if we were too much trouble, but now…now it’s not going to stop until one of us is dead!’
Chapter 63 – The Dreamer’s Wish
The beast clawed at the ground keeping pace with Fumiko’s uneasy retreat. It was only caution that forestalled its attack. A deep wound burned into its fur and flesh in a circular pattern that still steamed. The animal dug into the dirt before charging towards her.
‘…I’m going to die! Why isn’t Yuki doing anything?!’ Instinctively, Fumiko put out her hands and closed her eyes with the creature speeding towards her. The impact occurred immediately with a heavy pressure surrounding Fumiko. All she could manage was a prolonged scream of pain as she was dragged along.
Brick flew past her in an explosion of debris. The beast smashed her through several more dividing walls. Once it stopped her body continued through someone’s house. Stunned, Fumiko laid on her back in some stranger’s living room.
All around her furniture tossed up outlining the path of destruction. Fumiko felt lightheaded from the tumultuous ride. She slowly opened her eyes trying to take in her new surroundings. “How’d I get in here?! Where am I?” Chaos flanked her. Ruin was sewn into each corner. “How’s this possible? I should be dead!”
Fumiko cautiously walked over to hole verifying reality. A crumbling piece of wallboard suddenly fell, startling her. “Am I dead then? Is this the afterlife? It can’t be!” She turned her head around the room with a panicked expression nearly in tears thinking about being dead.
“What the hell’s going on here?!” yelled a deep voice from an adjoining room. “That you, Hajime?” Soon there were footsteps echoing from a distance as the owner of the house was coming to check on the noise.
It was at that moment that Fumiko realized that she was in someone else’s home uninvited. Everything on her froze in terror, her mouth still hung open. ‘If I’m dead they can’t see me! Right?! Right?’ Fumiko didn’t know how to act as the middle-aged man stepped in staring at Fumiko like a thief caught in the middle of a crime.
The two stared at each other only managing to blink. “Who are you?”
“You can see me?!”
“Of course I can see you!”
“Ah?!” Fumiko jumped about the wrecked room becoming even more flustered by realizing it was all real. She turned down at herself, poking herself having to check reality one more. “Seems real…and I still have feet, I must not be dead!”
“I think that’s pretty clear, Miss.” The man started to become a little impatient with Fumiko as well as question her sanity.
Fumiko pulled at her clothes trying to examine her body for any new injuries, but all she was feeling were the claw marks from earlier. “What happened to me?!”
“…more importantly…my house!”
“That’s right! I went through the house!”
“You did this to my house?!”
She turned back toward him in surprise realizing that she had trashed half his house with what she had done. “I’m very sorry, sir! I apologize for the damage that I’ve caused to your house!”
“How—“
Everything was cut off as the beast burst through the house putting an even larger hole in and plowing through the rest of the house. Fumiko had barely managed to dive out of the way, knocking down the slightly overweight man with her. Debris slammed into her back covering her as the animal cleared through the rest of the house a second later. Once the house had settled into a creaking hum Fumiko pushed herself up out of the pile of broken wood, ceramic and wallboard.
Destroyed furniture was collected on the exit hole of the house while broken pipes poured out water upon a cluttered floor. Along the walls exposed wires sparked among insulation and whining wood studs. A thin layer of dust left the house feeling foggy catching on the sunlight pouring through the exposed wall. The room that they laid in let out a loud groan that preceded the collapse of the remainder of an interior wall.
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“Are you hurt, sir?”
“My house!” He jumped out moving quickly about his house looking at the damage. Each part only made him even more depressed than the last.
“Sir! It’s okay! You’re still alive, but I think—“
“What’d you know?! You don’t know anything!”
“But sir! It isn’t safe—“
“I only got five years left on the house before it’s paid off!”
His remarks stunned her for a moment. “Your house isn’t safe anymore! And that’s what you’re worried about?!” Fumiko started to pull on his arm trying to get him out of his house before anything happened.
“You’re not a homeowner! You’d never understand!” He threw her away from him storming back into the center of the house until another series of groans were heard around them. The situation was made even worse by the piercing growl of the beast outside of the house. “What do you think you’re doing out there you dumb dog!?” He threw a part of what used to be a chair through the hole at the beast, which it dodged skillfully.
The fearlessness or perhaps the obliviousness left Fumiko staring blankly. She tried to make a run for the middle-aged man, but the animal leapt forward crashing into the house. It had taken her actions as a sign of attack. Fumiko debris came flying at her in a whirlwind with the large gaping mouth of the beast charging straight at her. It looked like it was trying to bite down on her as it was attacking her.. She couldn’t help but close her eyes in fear. Fumiko held her hands out in weak defense of her body.
A high pressure feeling surrounded again as she broke through walls. While it continued Fumiko began to question what was happening to her. She could understand that she wasn't being hurt somehow. Fumiko tempted her fate just to see what was happening. A stunned gasp came from her lips as her face grew wide in confusion and panic. “What’s happening to me?!” Her body glowed a purple hue with a sphere enclosed around her. The sphere was rapidly being spun continuously by ribbons of light covered with deeply intricate lines and letters.
When the beast could see that it failed to reach Fumiko it came to a stop once more. The momentum carried her through a stone wall before the sphere disappeared. She beheld the destruction behind the animal through several homes feeling for what had happened. The beast started approaching her, not sparing her time for sympathy.
“Is this not Yuki’s doing?” It began to fit into place in her mind. ‘That was…me? All of it?’ Fumiko tried to search through her body. She moved around and flexed her muscles to see if anything felt different to her, yet nothing seemed to be out of place. “It’s not…possible…”
Possible or not was not a question that the animal asked. Its roar alerted Fumiko to the incoming attack. The massive feet were extended out bearing the claws to go for a straightforward attack.
In Fumiko’s mind, she couldn’t think as panic washed it all blank. She threw out her hands towards the bounding creature. ‘If it’s me then please… Please! Attack!’ A warm white glow from her hands burst forth expanding until it turned light blue. It drew from her body as thin threads of blue light spun around her arms like ribbons.
The light gained form as a blue flaming orb wrapped tightly in ribbons of light embroidered with delicate designs of line work and characters. There were only moments left to spare when it launched from her palms. An explosion of light blinded Fumiko when the orb crashed into the animal’s chest.
The breaking and tearing of the nearby house came through the flare. Fading light allowed a shadowed figure to be seen being flung away causing an even louder crash. Fumiko blinked once, still trying to understand what had happened in that moment. A broken path of gouged dirt ran through the grass. In the distance there were low moans from the animal in pain. “Is it over?”
As Fumiko cautiously approached the loud wheezing of the wounded animal, the hind legs twitched quickly making her stop. Her anxiety mounted with her own breathing becoming shallow and quick following her pounding heart and sweating skin. She pursed her lips in hesitation.
‘Come on, Fumiko… Just a little—‘ The thought was sharply cut when the body of the creature flung itself up. Blood poured out of its gaping hole in its chest showing off exposed bone. Seeing it was enough to make Fumiko throw up if terror had not gripped her.
“You’re still alive?! What are you?!” Fumiko backed herself away slowly from the animal hoping that she could escape without drawing its attention. The hope was quickly dashed though as it caught sight of her and started into a full blind rage run at her.
Fumiko immediately began to run away with only seconds of a head start. She threw her arm back towards the charging beast hoping that it would happen again. Nothing came leaving her in silent embarrassment. Running was the only thing left to her as she was able to dodge to the side of the charge in time leaving the beast to turn itself around. It gave her enough time to try again and fail. “Dammit! Why isn’t it working now?!”
A strange game of chase and dodge began between the two as Fumiko’s frustration increased. There were a few close calls, but she was somehow able to keep ahead of it. She pulled up her hand while she was fleeing and began to yell at it. “Why aren’t you working for me?! I’m going to die here! Help me!” Silence only rang out at her as she came to an unfortunate realization (she was yelling at her hand). ‘What’s wrong with me…’
The dire situation pressed her through the embarrassment and back to trying to make it work for her. She casted out her hand attempting it another time. “Maybe I need to say a keyword… It sort of looks like magic.” Her eyes narrowed seriously as she focused on it. “Blue Fireball!” Nothing came. “Fireball! Fire! Blue orb fire thingy!” Still nothing happened. Sweat quickly followed up as she panicked. “Nothing’s working!”
Fumiko’s panic was spreading through her body as the beast was catching up to her. It looked like it wasn't going to miss her. The terror poured through her limbs making them feel like lead. Paralysis had set in for Fumiko.
However, the beast suddenly turned directions away from her and fell over sliding through the grass leaving bent stems as it came to a stop. Fumiko had to blink and check herself to see if she was dreaming it. “What happened?” She rushed over to a safe distance to look at the animal. “It’s dead? Just like that?!” Approaching the beast carefully, Fumiko could see that it stopped breathing. Away from it there was a long trail of blood.
Once it was confirmed Fumiko collapsed to her knees with relief. “Mieko!” She remembered the reason that she had done everything. It gave her the energy to move one last time and begin running down the grass street feverishly searching for the house that she had been left at.
The sound of wood and metal collapsing pulled over Fumiko’s eyes. A house coughed up a cloud of smoke revealing a darkened figure inside. “…Big Sister…”
“Mieko!” Fumiko ran over to the smoke without thinking. The little girl fell over coming out of the gray cloud, an exhausted expression on her face. Panic subsumed Fumiko as she examined Mieko followed with relief finding she was just unconscious. Fumiko carried her back to her house. ‘I’m so happy that she’s safe now!’
The house seemed to be far more alive than when Fumiko had left. When she entered carrying Mieko with her both of Fumiko’s parents were standing in the hallway looking across at her trying to hold back their fears. “Fumiko! Are you okay?!” her mother quickly shouted in the process of running over to check her over. Fumiko held her back a little, making insistence that Mieko’s care came first.
They all moved over to an empty bedroom that was still lightly furnished. Mieko was given the bed to rest on while Fumiko’s parents turned back towards Fumiko. “What happened out there, Fumiko?” asked her father trying to keep up a stoic appearance.
She turned away looking towards the corner of the bedroom looking guilty. Her hands were shaking at her side trying to keep herself together. “I don’t know…”
“You’re hurt too!” Her mother tried to reach for Fumiko to help her. Fumiko forced herself back away from her parents. “You have to tell us, Fumiko! Was it the strange plants outside?”
“…No! I don’t know!”
Fumiko’s father stepped around to get in front of her, forcing her to look at one of them. She tried to turn from him, but his hand reached out for her. The stress that he felt pulsed through his palm connecting with her. “We’re worried about you! So please tell us what happened!”
She walked around them going for the door before interrupted again. “Please, you don’t have to tell us, but at least let us tend to those injuries, Fumiko!”
“I’ll do it myself!” Fumiko marched into the hall and to her room. The door slammed behind her as she dropped against the door. ‘Why’d you have to use her room?’ She slid down the door until the floor stopped her. Tears were already streaming down her cheeks with her face being buried in her legs.
Images of Mieko flashed through her mind as she remembered a new wound on Mieko when she carried her back. Part of her clothes had looked as though they had been burned away and the skin was blister severely from at least second degree burns.
Fumiko dug her face deeper into her legs wishing for it to go away. ‘…why me… …because of me… …I hurt…’ Her hands tightened around her legs as she thought about what she was thinking. ‘…Mieko… …just like Kimiko…’