The Wall that Protects

The passage of time was a bit of a blur. He was fairly certain night had passed, maybe a day. Maybe another night? Was it just blending together for him? Did all of the fighting just make him tired? Or was it constantly using his powers? He was no longer certain how much time had passed. It all came back to the same answer. It was a blur.

He passed off driving duties to Ayumi. She partially insisted. It seemed she noticed. A brave front didn’t seem to fool her. Though from her story, he should have known. Her eyes were too keen not to pick it out.

However, rest gave him no more clarity. His head only seemed to get foggier. It was nothing that worried him. It was just a strange feeling he had, nothing that really affected his functions. He would push through it.

Yuki lifted his head off the hard, yet soft surface of their transportation. On his right was Ayumi and Saki at his left, Haruo remained opposite him. The breeze across his face felt good. He looked out in the direction they headed. They were still far away, he wasn’t sure what the Capital looked like, but he expected it would be easy to tell if they were close. ‘Still day,’ he commented as a mental note.

“Feeling better, Yuki,” Saki inquired, leaning in a little. She kept a watchful eye on him. It was the only thing she could do. None of it made a lot of sense to her anymore. She could only act on what she felt and trust in it.

Smiling, he nodded to her, lying. “Yeah, a nap was just what I needed.” Yuki sensed she already had enough on her shoulders, no need for more worry. It wasn’t life threatening. He would be fine.

Across from him, Haruo stared without saying a word. His emotion was as blank as always. Such a hard one to read, he wondered how good he would be at poker with such a stone face. “Something wrong, Haruo?” Yuki gave him a cheerful look to try to crack his armor. “If there’s something on your mind you can tell me. We’re friends!”

‘Then you’re probably here because you felt following him was important for you.’ Ligeia’s words echoed in his thoughts. She had as much trouble explaining the subject as he did understanding his actions. All the time in peace drew him no closer to the answer. He shook his head to Yuki. “Nothing.” Asking the source wouldn’t give him an answer, it would only invalidate things. Plus, he knew that he would only get an answer that made even less sense then when he declared themselves friends.

Yuki tilted his head a little. “You sure? You looked like something was troubling you.”

“Certain.”

Yuki sighed. “I wished you’d speak in fuller sentences more often. You don’t have to be so restricted in your speech around us. Not to mention you pick the strangest moments to actually talk.”

“He’s probably just not used to your outgoing personality,” chimed Saki with a bit of a grin. “Most people would be scared off seeing you.”

“Saki! There’s noth—“ An arrow stared straight at his eyes. He had no words for a reaction. Only a moment before everything was normal.

Chapter 220 – The Wall that Protects

Saki drew back pulling the arrow with her, caught in her hand before it harmed Yuki. She looked around for the source, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. A small isolated outcropping of trees and bushes surrounded them. It was good cover for a sneak attack. She crushed the arrow, discarding it.

The danger finally snapped Yuki to attention. It was then he realized they stopped. “Why’d you stop, Ayumi?”

“Because we’re surrounded. Seems that they were waiting for us.”

“More of those MP guys from the South Gate?”

“Probably, it’s the most likely explanation.” She looked around in search of their new enemy. Several more arrows surfaced, but froze quickly before reaching them. “Simonides is a persistent man, but I thought we were far enough away from the South Gate.”

“So it could be those people you mentioned before? Omega?”

“Yes.”

“Anyway to be sure?”

“No. Only their badge identifies them as part of Omega, but they can easily change that if they wanted.”

The transport suddenly disappeared to everyone’s surprise. Yuki’s Field activated covering everything in grass. Most of nature remained behind, a clear sign of the presence of their new opponents.

“What do you think you’re doing, Yuki?” questioned Ayumi, all of her Field and power were gone because of her proximity to him.

“If we don’t know, it’s best to assume the worst. They’re Omega members, meaning that they won’t be like the others we’ve faced. We have to face them as a group and end this quickly.” A mist surrounded everyone, protecting them from any new projectiles. He already detected disturbances within the loose barrier. ‘Glad I made it extra thick, just to be safe. This level is easily comparable to how it was with Vangelis. And who knows how hard they’re trying.’ Yuki felt certain they had to be Omega members from the initial attack.

Ayumi narrowed her eyes, staring at Yuki’s power. ‘He’s advanced his Law. Before he was wasting most of his power, but now…he’s improving quickly…’

“I’m pretty sure now that these guys have to be from Omega.” Another batch of arrows came in from multiple directions. They penetrated deeper through his mist. ‘Even being so small, it’s taking this much to stop them.’ Yuki felt the heavy atmosphere developing from his thoughts, as he understood the hidden opponents more. “They’re on par with Vangelis and I’m pretty sure they’re only warming up.”

Saki appeared in front of Yuki. “All the more reason I should handle this.”

“Saki?” Yuki tried to move around her, but she stuck out her arm to hold him back. “What are you doing? We’re doing this together I thought.”

“We’re in a hurry, aren’t we?”

“Well, yeah, but—“

“And it doesn’t matter if they are the weakest or strongest, it’ll all be the same for me.”

“I guess so, since you don’t use a Field their strength wouldn’t be as much of an advantage.”

“Then it’s settled.”

Yuki stopped trying to push through her arm and went under it. He stood out in front of her. “No, it’s not Saki! You’re not doing this alone!”

Not accepting his response, Saki lifted Yuki up by his gi and moved him over next to Ayumi. “The discussion is over. Take care of him, Ayumi.” She tilted her head over to fully meet her gaze. Saki stared deeply into her eyes demanding the reaction she desired. The certainty.

Her eyes shrank a little with the shape narrowing. “Are you testing me?”

“I’m trusting you.”

Silence carried between them for precious moments. “I understand.” She took Yuki from Saki, accepting the responsibility. Yuki struggled against her with his powers still active, she could not do anything against him.

“Saki! Don’t do this!” he shouted, stretching his arm out towards her. “I won’t abandon you!” The mist around him responded to his desires pushing off Ayumi.

While he ran towards Saki, she disappeared. Less than a blink, she was on top of Yuki with her fist just under his ribs. She managed not to hit, just threaten. “I’ll knock you out if I have to.”

He looked down at her arm, realizing too late he was no longer moving. The control Saki displayed made him sweat a bit. However, his resolve focused his attention back on her. “You’ll have to if you plan on stopping me! But I won’t go—“ Yuki’s body doubled over her arm. A semi-transparent liquid ejected from his mouth as he gasped. “…not…again…” Yuki clung to her arm desperately before passing out.

Saki passed him back to Ayumi. “Take him away from here.” Ayumi nodded to her. The transport materialized next to her, her field restored. “You too, Haruo.” She moved forward leaving the others behind. Ayumi already started to move with Haruo silently retreating. Saki jumped out guarding their retreat as they tried to stop Ayumi. She tilted over her shoulder a little to see the three quickly move out of range.

Focusing ahead, she saw more arrows coming at her. Her arm swung through the air sharply in a blur. Back at rest, arrows filled her hand and moments later her other hand mirrored the state. She began walking forward. ‘You’ve finally found your resolve Yuki. You know what you want to do. I can’t let you be distracted anymore by these minor obstacles!’ Saki disappeared from sight. Trees ripped asunder a moment later.

Nothing happened. She looked about the destruction, her fist still embedded in the earth. Saki hoped for a sign, anything to show where they hid. All of the trees and brush made it too easy to disguise them. ‘Either they aren’t nearby or have a steel willpower to not be startled.’

Limited options gave her little to pick from. All she could do was keep it up with the hopes of finding them eventually. Dodging arrows until the end of the eternity wasn’t her idea of time well spent. She intended to end things quickly and be caught back up to Yuki in only a few minutes, unfortunately her plans had to change.

Turned to rubble and torn tree limbs, the entire area around Saki looked like several bombs had gone off. Despite the bombings, she came out with nothing still. Worse, she saw the environment repair itself. She only gave it a passing consideration, but it was as she thought. The trees, the grass, the plants, everything was part of their Field.

Saki sighed upon seeing the pristine forest patch around her. ‘I need a different approach.’ Before she could think, her pausing left her open for attacks. She didn’t bother grabbing them. They merely passed through her. More came, but the same results appeared.

“It seems we’re at a stalemate. You can’t hit me and I can’t find you. So just come out and let’s settle this in the open.” She didn’t know the direction to speak. Her head rotated to her flanks covering as much as she could. They likely heard her regardless. ‘The moment they surface I’ll have them!’ Yet she got no response. No movement and no words of reply. They left her out in the open, alone.

The pause ended. Arrows came at her from all directions. However, unlike before she lost count of the number. It easily seemed like hundreds. ‘So much for that…’ she grumbled in her thoughts. Saki immediately disappeared, avoiding the arrows rather than catching them. They seemed determined to fight her in secret. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the time for it. She came to a stop further away.

She hoped the larger view would give her something. ‘It all looks the same. I can’t find anything out of the ordinary.’ The trees appeared as if they belonged. Their arrows came from multiple directions, making it impossible to determine a source. She couldn’t stand having an invisible enemy. ‘It was like that time with the old man Yuki fought, Demosthenes Alexander. He was hiding from sight. Same as Ayumi when she slipped away from us…’

Saki’s head lifted as she realized what he meant. ‘That’s it! I’ll find them that way!’ Renewed determination dug into her face. The next round of arrows came at her. They were fewer in number and twice as fast as before. It was nothing Saki couldn’t handle. Once in range, she snatched several out of the air while avoiding the rest.

When the round ended, Saki spun in place, quickly throwing back the arrows in specific directions. The arrows soared through the air too high to hit anything. It was less than a second before they disappeared from the speed she sent them flying.

She watched carefully as each of the arrows disappeared, leaving the boundaries of the field. ‘So they’re there.’ Her eyes narrowed preparing for her next offensive. “I have you now!” In a split second, she disappeared and reappeared with an explosion of earth.