The Dream Shifter

Chapter 9

Yuki could not believe it, but there was no denying the man above him. No matter how he wanted to think about it there was nothing holding him up. 

'That explosion just now…I would have been dead if I hadn't moved. Is he really trying to kill me? Was she…was it all…the truth?!' 

Yuki looked up after having been staring at the crater again still in shock about what happened. He could not explain it through any rational means. Yet in spite of that, he could not ignore it, it was really the injuries he took were proof enough of that.

Yuki raised up his hand that he was holding his injured arm seeing the blood that was covering and it seeing the mysterious man between his fingers staring down at him. He was not sure why he was holding off if he could easily have killed him where he was. 

The pause had only worsened the tension for Yuki feeling weaker from the injury. The familiar taste of blood threatened to push him but refused to unlock that door.

The assassin lowered from the air gradually until his feet came to meet with the ground finally standing even with Yuki across the school grounds. He stood a few inches taller than him and much older in age with the strange clothes that Yuki had never seen before. 

The cloth itself seemed normal enough, but he was wearing white baggy pants that had a strip of blue cloth wrapped around at the ankles up several times around close to the midsection of the lower leg. There was more cloth wrapped around at the waist tucking in and keeping the shirt in place. The shirt was white as well with the ends of the shirt sleeve wrapped up and an open tan vest with heavy embroidering across the surface making arching lines and twists throughout. 

He noticed now that the same linework was continued throughout the cloths in a pale off white thread blending in with the base color appearing embossed.

There was one step forward from the assassin and once the black shoe firmly contacted the grass a red wave burst out from him. Behind the wave, everything was suddenly being transformed into the sand until it reached Yuki and the tree that he was resting against. The bark of the trunk slipped and continued to fall apart as it was changed to sand, but rather than the tree collapsing with no support it seemed to only emit sand keeping it covered.

'What's going on? Where did all of this sand come from? How can the tree be sand?!' 

Yuki stumbled around trying to get his footing in the changing surface underneath him that was no longer grass. Everywhere that he looked within a ten-foot radius of the man was a sand dune. 

'How is this possible?'

'What I mean by that is that you have the power to create anything with your mind and make it become reality,' Ayumi said to him in his thoughts as he tried to comprehend what was happening to him. 

Yuki fought to get a footing in the loose sand trying to get to somewhere flat, but the incline of the sand made it difficult and he slipped falling down the slope until he came to the feet of the assassin that stared down at him. Yuki pushed on his hands in the sand attempting to stand, but only slid through unable to get a hold.

He could not believe what he was seeing. 

'Power to create anything. This is what she was talking about. I'm going to die here!'

From the sand, a column of sand poured up towards the assassin's hand. Once it was too high to hold together the sand broke revealing the hilt of a sword. He grabbed the sword up pulling it free from the ground and threw off the sand in a clean arc to his side. 

The sand blew in the wind away from them leaving the gleaming double-edged blade held flat horizontally. He looked upon Yuki slowly bringing it back ready to strike at him.

'I'm going to die! Thinking like that isn't helping me any. Think Yuki! I'm going to die!' 

Yuki's mind was blank with fear. There was nothing else in him anymore and nowhere to run. The sand was preventing him from moving all his feet could do was slide repeatedly with no traction. All he was doing was kicking up sand. 

'I'm going to die!'

The sword finally was readied no longer hesitating in its draw. The sunlight played across the sharpened steel swinging down to slice him from the shoulder through across the chest. Yuki's feet panicked moving even faster hoping to find a holding as he closed his eyes knowing that he was trapped. The blade hit the sand before his body dividing it into a forceful wave missing the target. 

At the last moment, his left leg found enough of a solid hold that it pushed him into a rotation barely avoiding the strike in time, but his back was not so fortunate. As he rolled over the sand the blade caught his back cutting through his school jacket and dress shirt allowing the tip of the blade to taste his blood ever so lightly.

Yuki came to a stop no further away from the assassin, but now on his left looking a little frustrated that he had missed. He turned around to face him again, but Yuki was ready for him thinking a little clearly. Once he had a view of him his hand that had been digging into the sand for fear pulled out throwing the sand it held at the assassin. 

The sand cloud hung around him digging into the man's eyes making him drop his sword leaving it to disappear into the sand.

'What should I do? The sword…he tried to kill me…can I?' 

Yuki looked around for the sword that dropped knowing that he could at the very least use it for protection. However, it was nowhere to be found like it had vanished the moment the man dropped it. 

'I can't stay here long…if I run…' 

He tripped a little as stood up fully in the sand and dragged through the sand. Eventually, he made it back to the top of the dune that surrounded the center and rolled over. He rolled a short distance before he suddenly dropped in the air to the hard cement.

"What the? Where's the sand…" 

Yuki could not finish his sentence as he stood up on firm ground once more staring back at the sand. It was simply cut off suddenly smoothly not moving as though it was being held back by an invisible barrier. 

"What is this? Why did it stop?" 

He stepped forward pushing his finger into the sand finding that there was nothing between it and him. It was normal sand, as normal as it could be for being created from nothing and existing profoundly enough to declare itself. Yuki put his entire hand in grabbing some of the sand and pulled out to look at it more closely. But when he opened his hand it was empty. 

"Huh? It's gone, but how? I know I was holding sand."

The sand suddenly began to advance on him, but not as though it was moving rather it seemed like the barrier that was holding it was moving revealing sand that was not seen before. Yuki attempted to back away, but there was not enough time and he was buried up to his waist in sand. 

An angry scream from where he assumed the assassin to be drilled through the sand letting him know that he must be on the move again. 

'So much for that. Got to…get out…'

While Yuki struggled haplessly in the sand digging to his legs the man wishing him to die appeared up in the air looking for his target. The sand prevented any escape for Yuki making it an easy search for the assassin. 

Yuki pulled at his legs stretching out to the open air where the sand stopped abruptly. It was just out of reach. If he could just make it free the grass would give him time to run. Unfortunately for Yuki, the sand suddenly grew out again like before and he turned around finding that the assassin was closer to him standing effortlessly on the top of the dune.

Yuki's heart sank once more feeling the heavy cold air of death staring down at him. He tried to keep his heart from pounding out of control, but it could not be helped. This was unlike anything he had ever experience. His life was nearly in the hands of this stranger. It was only by chance and luck he survived these extra minutes. 

'Why does it have to be me?'

The words of Ayumi called to him silently from their meeting again. 

'Those struggling for the power of the throne will not allow an heir to ever appear to take the throne. I've come here now because you're in danger. Assassins have been sent to kill you before I can take you back to claim your birthright.'

He had dismissed it all out of hand, but how could anyone have done anything else. This was all too crazy to believe. 

'You can't be serious. I'm dying because some crazy girl's story is actually true. What have you gotten yourself into Yuki?'