The Visitor

Chapter 15

Astral retracted the needle and took his normal form again. Already, he could see Akari's body fading away; what once sustained her life was now gone. The only evidence that would soon be left were her clothes, but Astral knew to hide that once she was gone for good.

And whatever happened, Yuma could not know.

~.~.~

"Hmm..." Kotori hummed when she finished hearing Yuma's story. "That's definitely weird."

"Yeah," Yuma agreed. "But Astral said that he'd tell me what he wanted to when the time came. Kotori...I'm starting to think the worst..."

Kotori shook her head. "I've heard the rumors. Don't think that Astral's behind all this; he could never do that! It must be some joker or-"

"What joker would that far for a prank?" Yuma interjected. "I'm not saying that I'm suspecting him, but I do have a feeling that he has something to do with it."

"And what proof do you have?"

"Only the time when he tried to tell me what was on his mind. That time, I passed out midway, and I don't even remember the things he told me while I was awake."

"So what are you thinking we do?"

"We watch him at night. Then maybe we'll get our answer."

~.~.~

Astral was making lunch in the kitchen when Yuma came back. He turned to the door and greeted him with a warm smile.

"Welcome back," he said. "But where did you go?"

"I went to see Kotori," Yuma explained as he joined Astral in the kitchen. His worries faded away as soon as the scent of food hit his nose.

"Oh? What for?"

The lie came easily; he'd been prepared to answer this question. "I was worried about you, so I asked what I should do to help."

Astral was genuinely surprised. He didn't show any sign that he needed Yuma to worry, did he? Well, it could have been how he acted this morning, but that was before he fully remembered. "I'm perfectly fine, Yuma. You don't need to worry."

"I know, and she told me the same thing." Yuma looked around. For some reason, the house felt a little emptier. "Say, Astral, where's Akari? Didn't she say she'd be home by lunch?"

Astral shrugged. "She must be busy with work. Who knows? Today may be the day she finally scores a story." He giggled and popped the rice out of the cooker. "But she might be back later."

Yuma grinned. "You think so? That'd be a good day for her!"

Astral nodded and set food out for the both of them to eat. They both settled down and ate, and as usual, whatever Yuma was worrying about was forgotten and gone.

~.~.~

The red dot blinked in the bushes by the house at night. Orbital stayed unusually silent, watching the window by Astral's room carefully for any suspicious activity. For the past few nights, he hadn't seen anything suspicious, but he was sure that tonight, there would be something.

He watched as Yuma and Astral bid one another goodnight. He watched as they separated, as Astral laid down to bed. Tonight, he stayed awake for a while longer, his lips moving as though he was talking with someone. Orbital's camera zoomed in.

Astral got up. He looked up for a moment before taking on a different color: white with blackish purple splotches, just like he saw before. He wasn't quick enough to save Kaito, but he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Orbital rolled over to the house sneakily. Looking up at the window, he saw a shadow following Astral. Good. Someone also realized that something was wrong. The shadow looked like Astral's brother, Yuma.

Astral came out the front door. Orbital quickly hid; he heard Yuma scurry to hide as well. Right in front of the alien, another being formed. This one was blue in color with blue and gold eyes, golden hair that reached his shoulders, and golden markings. He had on armor and a helmet; he looked like a soldier whose duty was defense.

"I've remembered, Eliphas," Astral said. Orbital could hear a small gasp from within the house. He hoped that the two beings didn't hear it.

"Good. So you know what you must do, then?"

"Yes. But I don't want to put Yuma in danger. Can I-"

"No. You must do what you need to do. It's the only way. Our world needs this."

Astral looked like he wanted to say something, but he shut his mouth as soon as he opened it. He didn't speak for a few minutes. "Very well..."

Eliphas patted his head. "Good. When you come home, you'll see the good work you did."

"Was it my work even when I didn't remember what I did?"

"Of course. Only this time, you'll be aware of your deeds."

Astral smiled, but there was sadness in his eyes. "Okay. I have to work now."

Eliphas stepped aside and let Astral leave.

Orbital made to follow, intending on catching him when no one was around to see, but at that point Yuma burst out of the house and screamed, "No!!"

Eliphas and Astral quickly turned to the boy. Shock was clear in Astral's eyes, as well as guilt and shame. In his surprise, he turned back to his blue color, and his face flushed with shame. Eliphas, on the other hand, was calmly furious.

"You shouldn't be awake," he said calmly, though his fists clenched.

But Yuma wasn't paying attention to him. He walked straight up to Astral, not caring that the night was chilly and that he was in his pajamas. He took his brother by the hands and looked him in the face even though Astral was unwilling to. "What are you doing? Are you seriously telling me you were responsible for all those deaths?"

"I wasn't aware of them at the time," Astral muttered. "But this is something I have to do for...for my home world."

"This is your home world, Astral! Earth, the place you grew up! Not some place else that you've never even seen!"

Astral tensed at this. What was he thinking? Of course this mission of his was absolutely insane! Why would he kill innocent, pure-hearted people? For the sake of his world? "It's not something you could understand, Yuma," he whispered. "It's...delicate."

"What are you talking about? Astral, please tell me!"

"I can't!" Astral exploded. "I can't tell you, Yuma! I'm sorry, but I can't!"

"Get rid of him," Eliphas chimed in. "He's only going to make your job harder."

"Don't listen to him," Yuma insisted. "Please, let's just forget about this. We can forget about all these incidents, but please come back to me."

Astral finally looked at his brother, at his pleading eyes. He knew that for once, Yuma's logic was better than his own. He knew that it was madness to defend a planet he'd never set foot into. But there was one element he couldn't ignore.

"But how can I ignore a planet that's dying?"