Fate of Pandora - Book II

Final Battle Begins

"What should we do now? We have failed... We failed our friends. We failed in our job to keep the box safe. And now..." Ayame's voice trembled. She had cried so much that she was finally running out of tears, but the pain in her heart didn't stop.

Midori heard them say how another one of their supporters was lost, and now their hopes and beliefs were crumbling. She regretted that those young people had such a burden on their shoulders. It wasn't just the fate of their friends in their hands anymore, but of the whole world.

The woman adjusted her glasses and gave them a determined look when they asked her what to do. "It's obvious what you should do: you must keep fighting until the end."

They looked at her in puzzlement. That wasn't exactly what they wanted to hear. "But this is a fight we can't win!" Coalt pointed out, "Facing Kira head-on won't work. It never has."

"Not giving up is the least you can do." Midori kept her composure. "Whether you win or lose, the result is irrelevant. What is important is that you must try."

"But then everyone might suffer–" Ayame was cut off by the old woman.

"If you don't go and fight, everyone will suffer just the same. But if you have a chance to stop him, however slight, you must take it." The woman felt bad for saying such things, but she knew they had to hear it. "Running away isn't an option. You tried to keep this situation from happening and you failed. Now you need to prepare yourselves to stop this man."

The two stayed quiet. Ayame looked at Midori, feeling confused and sick in her heart, while Coalt stared at his own hands. They had no words to argue because, deep down, they agreed with her. They were frightened of their certain deaths in a matter of hours, yet, it was their responsibility to fight. It had been their responsibility since the first day they had used the power of their rings.

Midori sighed and collected the teacups to clean them. "I'll give you some time to think." And she left them alone.

The old woman didn't leave them for too long. When she returned to her office, Coalt and Ayame were still sitting in their chairs, pale, quiet, and thoughtful, but prepared with a reply.

"We've decided to fight," Coalt said without much emotion on his tired expression, so Ayame proceeded to explain the idea they had.

"Before he escaped, Kira mentioned that he wanted to see me at Tokyo Tower; only me. He dismissed Kairi and summoned a monster that was meant to kill Coalt." She paused for a moment as the frustrating memories of that fight washed over her. "We thought about distracting Kira while Coalt appeared alone to face him. I'll stand nearby, hidden, while Coalt pretends that I died instead of him. Once they begin to fight, I'll prepare for a sneak attack to finish Kira at once."

"We're going to have to kill him... We can't risk letting him have his way," Coalt said. His eyes reflected anger because he didn't like the idea, but they couldn't think of anything better. They were risking their lives for something no one else would recognize, and Coalt sincerely didn't mind that, but he still felt bad for lowering himself to their enemy's level.

"I see." Midori also lowered her gaze. She didn't want them to notice that she pitied them – it would only make them more uncomfortable. "It's a starting point." She sat down. "So the battle will be tonight? This explains why the weather forecast is sending an alert about a coming hurricane; it looks like it will pass close to Tokyo."

"A hurricane alert?" Coalt found that oddly sudden.

"Sometimes, supernatural events are noticed by humans as some natural disaster," Midori explained. "I believe this hurricane is related to the man you're after, and, whatever he plans to do tomorrow, you two need to stop him."