Hunting Darkness

Chapter 19

After Akari's little tantrum, Astral went upstairs to sleep. He's probably still scared to death. I could tell that he still thought that wound was there. I sigh as I walk to my attic room and flop onto the hammock. I see that Astral's not here. He probably snuck off into the Key to discuss some things with his team. I sigh. When will he learn to just rest? Now, I start thinking. Why would Black Mist want to cause panic? Does he just have anger issues? It sure seems like it. Maybe he just wants to do it for fun. Or...maybe it's something else. Something I might not understand. Something dealing with his personal experiences.

"Yuma Tsukumo," a dark voice purrs. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Black Mist emerges out of a dark corner of the room. He smirks darkly.

I sit up, surprised he got in at all. What's he doing here? "What is it" I growl.

"I just wanna see how my little mind slave is doing," he snickers. "Can't I do that?"

Mind slave? Is he talking about me? If so, then how am I his mind slave? It doesn't make any sense.

"Oh, yes I am," Black Mist says slyly. "Of course, you don't remember. How can you if your mind has been mine for some time?"

"What are you talking about?" I retort.

"In any case," Black Mist continues, changing the subject, "where's Astral? I need to speak with him." Before I can respond, he breaks me off. "No, it can wait. It's not that important, really."

At that moment, the worst possible moment, Astral emerges. He opens his mouth like he wants to tell me something, but he spots Black Mist. He closes his mouth and narrows his eyes. They turn into ice, like Sub-Zero.

Astral hisses something, a curse I think, but then he regains his calm demeanor. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?" Astral asks in a cold voice. Too cold, if you ask me.

Black Mist responds in the same strange language from before with a smirk. It sounds like he's not even saying words, just a bunch of sounds. Nothing coherent. Astral looks surprised, but then his expression darkens. He responds in the same language.

I watch with a bored expression. Why can't they speak in our language. Is it really that secretive? I wait patiently for minutes more. I can tell that Astral's getting frustrated, and he wants this conversation to be over.

"If you are done, Black Mist, then I suggest you leave," Astral says with irritation.

"Alright, calm yourself," Black Mist pouts, sort of like a seven-year-old. He then smirks. "Just remember what I told you." Before he leaves, he waves cheerfully to us, then he vanishes into the shadows. 

:What did he want?" I ask Astral.

"Not now, Yuma," Astral responds. "On the subject I primarily wanted to talk about-" He's cut off again by another spirit emerging. This one is smaller, and she looks more like a child. She has blue (a darker shade than Astral's), wavy hair that falls up to her shoulders. She has a white robe covering her small body, and her eyes are completely green, like there are no whites. Her skin is blue, like Astral's shade. She doesn't have markings like him, though.

"12, 20 said she felt the same dark presence," she reports, her small voice shaking a bit. "Was it...him?"

"Yes, 5," Astral sighs. "It was Black Mist."

"Astral, who's she?" I ask, eyeing the girl with interest.

The little spirit turns to me. "Oh, I forgot to make myself unseen." She giggles. "Well, the other Agents call me Agent 5, but since you're a human you can call me..." She turns to Astral, and he nods in understanding. He disappears into the Key. "You can call me Asterite as long as the other Agents aren't around."

"Why when they're not around?" I wonder.

"The other Agents can't know each other's names for respect reasons. If they tell another Agent their name, it means that they trust them with their life. That creates a close bond, and our leaders don't want that happening too often, so they gave us numbers instead of us using our real names," Asterite responds.

"Hmm...I still don't get it."

She shrugs. "Me either, but I have to obey orders. The only Agent who knows my name is Agent 9, and that's because she's my sister."

Astral emerges again. "5, you are needed inside. Black Mist should not have been here, and that has altered the outcome you have predicted."

Asterite panics. "What!? B-but how-"

Astral silences her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Relax. We can handle this, 5. You know we can"

She nods and disappears. Astral sighs. "And just like that, I forgot what I was going to tell you."

"What did you mean by Black Mist should not have been here?" I ask him.

"Ah, that. He was never supposed to be here because 5 predicted that if this little visit had not occurred, our victory would have been solid. He should have stayed where he roosts." His expression darkens.

"What difference could that have made?"

Astral sighs. "We all knew what would have happened. I was powerless to stop his mental probe." He then pauses. "Though, that was when he arrived here. He could not have possibly known. To know that this visit would change the entire outcome, he would have had to know before hand. Hmm..." Astral disappears again.

I lie down again. Astral left without explaining to me how that would have changed anything. It's just one screw-up. Unless...unless. Black Mist has picked up on their plans! That might be why it was important for him not to come! I look outside. Night has fallen. I close my eyes and decide to sleep on the matter.