Dreamweaver; The Seven Stones Of Virtue

Episode 3: Missing Zan

Note: In this chapter as well there's supposed to be images. Not sure if they were uploaded when I pasted em.

EPISODE 3: MISSING ZAN 

Ayumi sat by Ai‟s bedside feeling sad and regretful. She thought Ai was beginning to enter the final stage of the Ultimate unconsciousness so she stayed by Ai‟s side feeling miserable. It was dawn and Ayumi had not been able to sleep throughout the night.

"I‟m sorry sis. I let my guard down. I didn‟t protect you like I promised. I‟ll make Zan pay, I promise" Ayumi said sadly. Boy was I in trouble or what! I tell you, it‟s not a good thing at all to be on Ayumi‟s hit list. I mean, Ayumi is mean when she means to be nice. So you can imagine how mean she is when she means to be mean. She‟s really, really mean and I mean it.

Ayumi placed her hand on the bed and wept. She was holding Ai‟s hand. She felt a light squeeze and looked up. Ai yawned and sat up.

"Why are you crying Ayu?" she asked tiredly. Ayumi stared at Ai in surprise.

"Ai! You‟re still alive a-a-and you‟re sitting!" Ayumi exclaimed in joy.

"Of course I‟m alive" Ai pretended to be offended by Ayumi‟s reaction.

"DAD!" Ayumi called and Mr Kirisawa rushed into the room.

Ai got up from the bed much to the surprise of Ayumi and Mr Kirisawa and walked to greet her father.

"Ai, you‟re walking!" Mr Kirisawa seemed to be more excited.

"Of course I am, didn‟t Zan tell you? He helped me fight the Nightmare king and break the curse and...he took me out to have some fun. I haven‟t had that much fun in a long time. I‟m still tired" Ai yawned again.

"Z-Zan did?" Ayumi stammered as she realized her mistake.

She stared at her father who seemed to be more ashamed.

"By the way, where is Zan? Why isn‟t he here? The house is so quiet" Ai said.

"Z-Zan left" Ayumi said in shame as she tried to avoid eye contact with Ai.

"Left? On an errand or something?" Ai asked.

"No, he‟s gone for good" Ayumi said sadly.

"He left? Of his own free will? Is there something you‟re not telling me?" Ai asked.

Ayumi turned away.

"Dad and I threw him out of the house. We fired him and threw him out" Ayumi struggled to say.

"You did what?!" Ai exclaimed in shock.

"W-we thought h-he was taking advantage of you and we thought...you had died" Ayumi said sadly.

She felt guilty admitting these things.

"Why? That‟s crazy! Did Zan ever take advantage of you?!" Ai asked.

"N-not really no" Ayumi admitted.

"Do you really see everyone as an enemy Ayumi?!" Ai yelled.

"Don‟t be angry with your sister Ai. I‟m responsible as well. I feel so ashamed for not trusting a fellow Dream Knight" Mr Kirisawa confessed.

"It seems like you and Ayumi are determined to make sure that there is no laughter in this house!" Ai accused them as she walked out of the room and slammed the door.

"What are we going to do dad? Ai hates us now and we really...mistreated Zan.

"Now I understand why he looked so hurt. Poor guy" Ayumi said sadly and hey, even I the narrator am shocked to hear Ayumi feel as sorry as she does now.