Return of the Elementals

Chapter Four

A few days after we received the weapon crystals, the professor and Dayon did in fact depart from Japan, to god knows where, leaving us on our own if anything were to happen. He didn't tell us anything about the crystals, only that they would activate "when the time came", whatever that meant. Todomatsu had accused the professor of lying about the crystals having use, saying the activation thing was a lie to cover up that they were useless.

As for the rest of us, we believed that they would activate during a fight, possibly at the site of the temple's ruins. However, we didn't want to test that. So what the crystals did and how they would spring weapons from their simple forms were unknown for the time being. But that didn't stop us from wondering.

With nothing to really do since training had been called off, we were bored out of our minds daily. Part of me wondered if there would ever be another threat. Not that I wanted something to threaten our lives again, one time was enough for me. I'd turned to lazing around or taking walks during the day, boredom clouding my brain and just eating away at me. 

I could tell my brothers felt the same, as they were also lounging the days away. Today would be different. Today, I had a plan, and had to execute it alone. It was more or less normal. Jyushimatsu in the corner, balancing his body on his exercise ball. Todomatsu had his chin resting in the fold of his arm, using his other to scroll through social media on his phone. Osomatsu was napping under the kotatsu, only half of his body peering out.

Choromatsu was sitting by the bookshelf, flipping through pages of what on the outside seemed to be a book on jobs, but knowing how he used to be in high school could easily have concealed a rather raunchy magazine. Karamatsu was laying on his back, his thumb and index finger curled against his forehead. As for me, I was rising from the couch, stretching my arms to the sky. I made my way across the room, and grabbed my jacket from its resting place.

Todomatsu lifted his head, his hawk-like eyes boring into me. "Where are you going, Ichimatsu-niisan?" he inquired, his voice carrying hints of cool malice. "Out," I shrugged, pulling on the left sleeve. He raised an eyebrow at me, as if he suspected something. "Where to, exactly?" he said, narrowing his eyes. I shrugged once more. "Who are you, Mom? Why do you need to know where I'm going? I'm just going out, for fuck's sake," I shot back, and for a moment, a look of surprise and regret danced across his face.

He shrugged, returning to his phone. "Fine, whatever," he grumbled, waving it off with a flick of his wrist. Zipping my jacket halfway, I trotted downstairs and out the front door into the chilled afternoon. The sun was lazily hanging in the baby blue sky, its warmth sweeping over the city. The air wrapped around in a warm cocoon, and it leaked into my bones. Not wanting to let the weather distract me, I started on my way.

I kept my eyes to the sidewalk passing underneath my feet, subconsciously retracing my steps from that fateful day. I wondered what people around me were thinking, or if they remembered who I was. The master of ice who had taken down the big bad dragon. Shoving it to the back of my head, I continued on my way, one goal in mind.

Eventually, the forest loomed ahead, the trees curled into an oval shape a yawning entrance. The barrier of cement that had been positioned here merely a few months beforehand was no longer here, no longer trapping the Destruction Dragons in. It was strange. Months beforehand, me and my brothers had crawled up the cement barrier to rescue Jyushimatsu from the temple looming deeper into the wild. Now, the temple was nothing more than ruins, and there was no threat, nor reason to be here. Except for one.

As I ventured deeper, the sounds of wind whipping and dancing through the leaves, and animals going about were abundant, a sharp contrast to the last time I'd been here. The dirt path continued to wind infinitely, and widened into the field. I continued, taking in everything that was both so familiar and not. The grass continued to tickle at my legs, and I wondered for a brief moment if it had grown in length.

The grass continued to wave in the breeze until it fanned out into dirt, and the ruins of the temple loomed overhead, the forest behind it more obvious than before. The stone, vines and steel of the temple lay in a heaped mess, reminding me of the battle that had taken place here prior. However, I wasn't here to sightsee or revisit the events. I was here for something else.

I approached the crumbled mess of rock, placing my palm to the rough yet cool stone. "Akira? Are you there?" I whispered softly, picturing the dragon in my head, with his glimmering white and gold scales, his golden mane weaved with rainbows of flowers. His gentle blue eyes.  Nothing. I frowned. Was I speaking too soft? I spoke again, raising the volume of my voice. "Akira?" I asked, hoping the white and gold dragon would appear. 

Nothing again. I was beginning to feel a rush of both worry and disappointment. Where was the gentle creation spirit? Hadn't he said we could contact him here? He hadn't specified how, which was what puzzled me. Did he just unanimously retract his statement? If he had decided he didn't want to talk to us, wouldn't he have told us? Did he change his mind about us? Worries fluttered through my brain like the butterflies drifting on the wind through the peace of my surroundings.

Silence, save for the faint whistle of wind and chirp of birds. For a moment, I wondered. Was this not the right place to talk to the ancient dragon? I stood in place, pondering, with my palm still glued to the chilly rubble. Minutes dragged on like hours, and I retracted my palm, shoving my hands into my pant pockets, disappointment flooding through me. Had Akira abandoned me? Had he abandoned us, after everything he'd done for us?

As I trekked away, all I could think was, Did Akira abandon us?

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I returned home, almost... furious at what had happened. Where was he? What was happening? As soon as I slid open the door to our usual room, everyone's eyes met mine, like a hawk trained on its prey. They turned away, their interest satisfied, but not Todomatsu. His eyes narrowed briefly at me before deflecting back to his phone. "Oi, where were ya?" Osomatsu asked, having fully awakened from his nap since I left.

"Walk," I lied, shrugging and taking off my jacket. Silence. I flopped back onto the couch, just tired from the experience. I couldn't rip my mind away from Akira's lack of response, even through the rest of the snail's paced afternoon, not even through dinner. My mind wanted to say he was perhaps busy, or sleeping. Maybe he was spending his time rebuilding the temple. Whatever it was, all I could hope was to make contact with him again.