By doing this.. what do you hope to accomplish ?
The shadow that loomed over me didn't move. I looked up at the person with a faint smile. Above my head, a blood stained blade. "Do you not fear of what could happen to you ?", he asked, his voice low. The sternness and hostility reflected in his eyes. "Tell me..", I mumbled, not looking away, "What am I to fear ? Should I beg for my life ? Should I cry ? Tell me Seiji, what am I to fear ?" That unfazed expression remained on his face. I could tell he was observing me. "Or could it be, that I'm supposed to be afraid of dying ?", I asked softly. Seiji didn't move. Neither did I.
A few moments before, we encountered each other on accident. Well, at least that's what it seemed like to me. I had no intention of finding him. It just.. happened. Like my original plan, I didn't intend to fight. I merely wanted to avoid. However, due to my curiosity and his persistence, I allowed myself to get hurt. Stabbed on the right shoulder. A large cut on the side of my left leg. Minor bruises to my stomach and sides. My arms covered in cuts from trying to deflect the blade. The side of my head was bleeding. To summarize, half of me was free of blood while the other half wasn't. You just weren't able to see it because of the black clothing that I had decided to wear. Along with that, it was night. There was a plus and a minus to this plan.
"Kill me then Seiji", I said, "Allow me to fear the thought of dying.. Allow me to beg for this life of mine." "What good will it do if that's what you're expecting from me ?", he asked. I shrugged. "I don't know", I replied with a faint sigh, "Isn't that what you wanted ? For me to die ?" Seiji slightly lowered the blade to beside my neck. "If my plan was to kill you, I would've done it the night we first met", he had nonchalantly said. "Then why didn't you ?", I asked. I could see a moment of hesitation. Reluctance. "I had better things to do than to waste my time on killing a worthless human." "Jah, then why didn't you let Tsukiya kill me ?", I asked, "Why did you stop him ?" I could feel the sharp edge of the blade on my neck. It slowly slid, then stopped. I kept my attention on Seiji. "You know what I'm here for, don't you ?", he asked, changing the subject. "Perhaps", I replied. "And perhaps, I don't." He smirked. "Don't play a fool", he said, "I'm well aware of your capabilities." I slowly smiled at him and looked past him to stare at the stars. "Are you ?", I mumbled softly. "Are you really...?"
"Tell me Shiori, do you know why I'm here, in this damned world ?", he asked. "From what I am aware of, you're looking for something", I replied. "Someone", he corrected. Again, I could feel the blade slide. I could feel that stinging pain worsen, but there would be no use in reacting. I was already covered in other painful things. There was no need for me to react to something so small. "Who ?", I said. "You", he said after a momentary pause. "I was looking for you." "Why", I asked. "You're that person", he said slowly, "You're the guardian of this world, aren't you ?" "If that's what you'd like to believe", I replied, "But I must tell you that your assumption is incorrect. I am nothing more than just another pathetic human being that you look down on. How could something so weak and fragile be the strong and skilled guardian that you speak of ? If I were the guardian that you spoke of, then we'd be in a different situation. I wouldn't be covered in these wounds." Seiji smirked. I expected him to say something, but instead he removed his blade from the side of my neck. "You act like a fool now", he said to me as he took a step back, "But surely, you've seen someone lingering around this place." I could feel the tension around me rise. "A familiar face perhaps ?", he said. I slowly pushed myself up and gingerly placed my hand over the wound on my shoulder. It was still bleeding, which was somewhat problematic for me. "I don't know what you're talking about", I said sternly.
"There have been no familiar faces ever since this entire scenario has occurred."
Seiji turned away from me, probably ready to leave. "We'll meet again", he said, his back turned towards me, "And when that happens, it'll finally happen.. The world that you see now, won't be the same." I looked up at the stars and sighed. "I'll look forward to this 'world' that you speak of", I said. However, the next time we meet, I will surely close that gate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"YOU MET SEIJI !!!?????"
Azalin moved past Sara to get to me with bandages in her hand. There was a towel on her shoulder, but I didn't know what it was supposed to be used for until she used to to clean my wounds. I swear, Azalin used alcohol instead of water on the towel or something. It physically hurt, but the entire time, I was focused on Sara's reaction. Right after Seiji left me alone in that dim lit area, I ate one of my sweets, the one from my pendant. The bitterness reminded me of the bitterness that I had tasted when I was sick. It was.. disgusting. At the moment, I was just trying to distract myself.
"How did you meet him !?", Sara continued to say, "Where !? How !?" "Sara, shut up for a second will you ?", Azalin said as she began to bandage my leg, "If you keep doing that, Hanamura-san won't be able to answer you at all." I chuckled before looking down at my hands. "It was a merely a coincidence", I mumbled, "I didn't intend to meet him. I was just passing through the area when something was aimed at me from the other side. At first, I ignored it to see if I was able to draw it out, but after a while, I realized that it had been Seiji." "Did he say anything to you ?", Azalin asked as she looked at my other wounds. "He told me to look forward to a world that wasn't like this", I replied. Sara turned away and sighed. "Jeez", she said as she walked over to the window, "So he's really gone down that path... What a shame." Even if she was turned away, I could see her hands tighten into a fist. When she looked back at me, there was an uneasy expression on her face. "How in the world can you manage to keep a stoic expression on your face when you're covering in wounds like that ?" "Easy", I replied, slightly tilting my head, "I just go around and distract myself." I could see her eyes scan over me. "I think that amount of blood that you lost has gone and made you crazy", she said with a look of disbelief, "You can't just go around and easily distract yourself when you're covered in wounds like that ! You're crazy ! That's not possible !" I grinned at her. "Maybe I am", I said.
There was a pat on my shoulder which caused me to turn to Azalin. "There", she said with a nonchalant expression, "I'm done. Is it difficult to move ?" I reluctantly reached forward. "Somewhat", I replied when I paused midway. Sara crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.
"Good grief."