Alone

Chapter Seventeen: Power of Hope

Her eyelids fluttered open with the sun shining down on her. Slowly raising herself to sit up, she looked around. The mansion was all but rubble now with no signs of life. Her comrades were either dead or escaped her fury. She looked frantically around trying to find any sign of Raiden or Katsu, but she couldn’t. “I killed them,” she whispered, despising herself for losing control so easily. “How could I?” Standing to her feet she began to go through the rubble in the hope she was wrong and they were both somehow alive and well.

For hours she searched, but to no avail. She couldn’t even find the smallest trace of their bodies. She continued to search until her fingers bled and her tears created lilacs and white carnations with every drop. Her heart ached. She couldn’t do this anymore. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and hope welled up inside her, but when she looked back it was Tsubasa. He gazed down at her with a strained smile.

“Ayame, we better go.”

“No, I can’t leave. I haven’t searched this area yet.” She arose, her mind was in a haze. They had to be alive. They couldn’t be dead, they just couldn’t be.

“Ayame, I know it’s hard, but they’re gone.”

“Please, Tsubasa, there has to be a way to know for sure. I can’t live with wondering if they were still alive or not. If we leave and they are alive, then I have truly killed them.”

He let out a long sigh. “There is one way.” He scratched his head trying to come up with a way to say it. “I really don’t think you should use it though. You are already weak and this could kill you.”

“I don’t care. Just tell me what to do.”

“Yumi said, in cases where you have to search for something or someone, you can use your power of creation to search large areas. Meaning you can call on vines and other plant life to move the rubble from around here, but there is a price to pay.” He hesitated to continue. “It could cost you your life if you have already used a vast amount of energy.”

“Yumi told you all of that?”

“Yes, she read into her vision as far as she could go.”

“I’ll do it. Tsubasa, get everyone away from here in case something goes wrong.”

“They have already fled, but I can’t just leave you here.”

“You saw what happened last night. I can’t control it.”

“I know.”

“Please go. If I hurt anyone else I’ll never forgive myself,” she pleaded with him.

“Fine, but I will be within earshot.”

“I’ll save him.”

“I know you will.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

With that, he walked away. She waited until he was nearly out of sight before starting the process. Calming herself, she willed herself to think of the happy times. Her fingers began to tingle and blue sparks began to fly, her heart started to beat faster. This time she would save their lives instead of them always saving hers. She opened her eyes suddenly and vines sprang up from beneath the rubble. Swaying her hands around, moving the vines to do her will, she began to pick up and throw the bricks and walls away from where Raiden and Katsu once were. Fighting her fears, she continued to think happy thoughts. She couldn’t lose hope, not yet. More and more vines sprang up and began to move the furniture. Slowly she neared the floor. Time seemed to halt as she cleared away the rubble. Her heart raced, her fingers tingled and her eyes searched.

Soon, vines began to collapse. She was losing energy, but she pushed herself all the more. This was her last chance to save them. They had to be alive. Lifting a door up and shoving it ten feet away, a noise arose from the hole the door had been covering. Her legs would not obey her, but the vines did. Reaching down into the hole, they wrapped around a body and pulled it out.

Her heart stopped. “Katsu! Katsu!” Her vines brought him to her and set him down at her feet. Bending down over him, she placed her ear on his chest, trying to find a heartbeat. It was slow and quiet, but she could hear it. “He’s still alive,” she whispered to herself. “Just one more to find.” She stood back up and refocused herself.

Forcefully she pushed aside all the rubble, but with every sweep of her arms, they began to ache more. Sweat started to bead on her forehead. The pain started to become unbearable, but she knew this was no time to quit. First one knee smashed to the ground and then the other, but she bore the pain. Her vines went toward where the fireplace once stood, lifting each brick and throwing them to one side. Slowly, her vines cleared the area, but Raiden’s body was nowhere to be found. Finally, her powers diminished and exhaustion took hold. She collapsed on the ground.

“Ayame…” Katsu croaked and coughed. “Ayame, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine. Are you okay?” She slowly moved her hand over his forehead from where she lay.

“Just a few bumps and bruises, that’s all.” He started to cough again.

“Doesn’t sound like it.”

“Oh, this cough.” He chuckled, “This is nothing, I’ve been meaning to get it checked out.” He paused a moment before asking, “Is Raiden alright?” Tears began to trickle down her cheeks. “I take that as a no. Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” she sniffed. “I can’t even search for him anymore. I’ve used up too much of my power.” Her fingers started to go cold. Slowly she pulled her hand from his forehead. Tsubasa was right, she was losing feeling in her body and soon this would spread.

“I’m sure you’ll find him. He’s not so weak as to die so easily.” He responded, his voice calm and reassuring. Then she felt his hand over her own. It sent warmth through her body. For a short moment, she thought she could stand again, but the feeling soon vanished.

“Yes, I’m sure.” The feeling of her arms and legs slowly left her. She didn’t know how much longer she could stay awake. “Katsu..” she whispered.

“Yes?”

“Can you find Raiden for me?”

“Why? What did you do?”

“I used too much power finding you and shaking the mansion to the ground. I’m starting to lose feeling in everything. Just find…” She didn’t have the chance to hear his response but knew he would find him. The darkness came again, but as it did the last time, all at once there appeared the brilliance of all the colors of the rainbow, yet the room was white. The world without a ground or sky, she remembered this. The last time she was here Akira had nearly killed her.

This was it, her world was ending and she would never again see Raiden or Katsu, but at least she had stopped Master Tadashi. Her heart finally stopped beating. As she looked around, her pain had left her sitting there looking into the brilliance of this space. She knew she was dead, but what she didn’t understand was where she was. This place couldn’t be what was after death, could it? She felt like she was sitting in this place for days before voices started to echo around the space. She knew these voices but tried to ignore them. At this point, she just wanted to stay dead. If she never entered the world of the living again, no one could be hurt by her. She raised her hand to her heart, feeling a pounding in her chest. It felt as though someone was pressing down on her and air was being forced into her lungs. “Stop it!” she screamed, only to hear her own voice echo back at her.

“Ayame!” Her name echoed loudly around her. She didn’t want to wake up. Her will to live had vanished. It left the moment she couldn't find Raiden.

“Ayame!” She knew that voice well, thinking at first it was Katsu’s. But this was a different voice. It sounded like Raiden’s. “Ayame! Wake up!” His voice came thundering into the blank space, the white started to c***k. Something pressed against her lips and her eyes flung open. Raiden pulled away, looking down at her. “Thank the heavens you’re alive.” He drew her into his arms, holding her tightly.

“Raiden,” she whimpered, tears sliding down her face.

“I’m right here.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“No, don’t be. I’m fine.” He bent over and kissed her again. “You stopped Master Tadashi.”

“Katsu, is he okay?”

“I’m right here, Ayame.” She looked over to see if he was truly fine, but his expression was tight and sorrowful.

“I was afraid I had killed you both.” She dried her eyes.

“My fair lady, we are both strong and very capable of holding our own.” She smiled for the first time in what seemed weeks. As she stared over Raiden’s shoulder at Katsu, there was a crushing feeling in her heart.

“What do we do now? We have no place to go?”

“We can go anywhere we want,” Raiden replied.

“We should search for Daichi, with your father.” She smiled the best she could.

“My father?” He looked at her with a confused expression. “He died with my mother years ago.”

“No, he’s over there.” She pointed the best she could to where she had last seen his father. Turning her head she realized he wasn’t standing there anymore. “He was right over there before I started searching for you two.”

“Are you sure it was my father?” She nodded. “I guess I could take a look. Katsu, can you take care of her for a bit while for me?”

“But of course, you know I wouldn’t mind in the least.” He winked at her. She smiled briefly at him ‘till she passed out from exhaustion.

This time, instead of Katsu and Raiden panicking, they allowed her to sleep in peace. Time passed and the darkness of her mind began to clear. The memories she once held so close were slipping away, replaced by new memories she considered to be happy ones. Her family may have passed on, but now there was a new family here for her. Now she had dreams of what life might be like when things settled down.

Ayame woke up two days later inside Tsubasa’s house in the woods. Looking around the room, she found she had been left alone. She got up out of bed and went to the washroom, taking a long hot shower. Getting out of the shower and putting on her clothes, she went outside, trying to find out where Tsubasa, Katsu, and Raiden had gone off to. Yuuki greeted her at the door.

“Ayame, are you looking for someone?” she questioned.

“Yes, I woke up to find no one in the house.”

“Raiden and Tsubasa went out to the waterfall some time ago. I think they were getting in some training and bonding all in one.” She sat down purring. “Katsu went off into the forest.”

“I see.”

“We could always continue your training since your powers have come back.”

“I suppose, but why do I need to train?”

“You should learn to control them whether you are planning on using them soon or not.” She nodded, agreeing.

“Yuuki, are you sure we have to train now?”

“At this very moment, I think we could wait, but you will have to do it as we travel.”

“Travel?” She sat down on one of the steps leading up to the house.

“You wanted to help Raiden and Tsubasa find Diachi, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. I just didn’t know when we would be leaving.”

“They decided we would head out once you woke up.”

“Are you and Katsu coming along?” She felt something strange at the thought of Katsu remaining here, leaving her. She pushed the emotion aside.

“I thought you would have known the answer to that question. Yes, we are both coming.” Ayame smiled happily, knowing the people she had begun to hold dear to her heart were planning on staying with her on the journey ahead.

“Ayame, you won’t be getting away from me so easily.” Katsu stepped out from the woods into the clearing around the house, smiling. “I’m glad to see you’ve finally awakened.” His voice was soothing, causing her heart to beat faster. There was something in his gaze. Quickly, she redirected her thoughts.

“Thank you. When do we leave?” She needed to think of something, anything else, not him. Not these odd emotions. They were only going to cloud her mind. Yes, they were a distraction, nothing more.

“I’m unsure of this at the moment, but since you have awakened I would assume we are leaving soon.” Just as Katsu took a seat next to her on the steps, there was a sudden crash coming from the direction of the falls.

Without a second thought, Ayame was on her feet heading quickly toward the sound with Yuuki on her heels, followed by Katsu. Nearing the clearing around the falls, she saw Raiden thrusting a sword toward his father’s heart, his expression telling of his rage. “Stop!” she yelled out to him, but instead of relying on him to listen to her, she allowed her powers to take control of the situation. She brought forth the growth of vines, wrapping them around his hand and stopping the blade in its tracks. “What are you doing?!” The vines wrapped tighter around him, pulling his body further away from his father.

“He abandoned my brother and me. He never tried to find us, and let us believe he had died with our mother,” He roared. “He can’t just walk back into my life as though nothing happened.” His anger began to change him as it always did, his eyes changing from emerald green to shards of red seeping in.

Ayame stepped in front of Raiden, looking him straight in the eyes. “I forgave you.” Then she turned to Tsubasa. “Tell your son the whole truth now.” Without another word to either of them, she went and sat down on a fallen tree.

“Ayame, there is a reason his mother didn’t want him to know.”

“Tell him and do it now.” She had never been so demanding of someone before, but she also knew that allowing Raiden to remain in the dark would affect everything. She watched as Tsubasa began to turn from his son, showing her how much he believed in his own words. Without a second thought, she drew out her powers again to wrap vines gently around him forcing him to face his son again.

“I am not releasing either of you until you two work this out,” she said in a huff, angry at how Raiden was willing to destroy a loving father so easily. “With words,” she quickly added.