When it begins to rains... it'll all fall to ruin.
Beside me, Sara scowled. She was glaring at Seiji, who was looking towards us. Since he was alone, I assumed that Kaori and Juuji were probably nearby.
"After so long, you've finally decide to show yourself !?", she had shouted. "Just what the hell were you thinking !?" The anger in her voice was genuine. I've heard that tone before. It wasn't a surprise to me when he brushed her off. "You should've known", was all he had said to her. "You should've realized that our motives were both different the moment I agreed to work with you." Sara turned away as I watched his gaze land on me. "The chaos that you spoke of a while ago", I said, trying to locate some open areas, "Where is it ? I've been waiting." Seiji smirked and looked up at the moon. "The world that you speak of lies beyond this gateway", he said, "But it won't be long. Pretty soon this world will become just like it." I smiled and looked over my shoulder to look at Sara. She was watching me, waiting for a cue. Somewhere along the lines, Azalin was also watching.
Right before Sara and I came here, we talked about our motive. Our aim was to drive them back into the fountain so that I could seal away the gateway that was on it. From there, we planned to continue in Makai.
"Nee, Seiji", I said as I took a step forward, "Did you ever consider that the Guardian that you were looking for wasn't here ? Maybe in Makai ?" "That's Impossible", he said, "If I recall, Guardian's don't leave their position." "Correct", I replied with a smile, "They don't." "Then why bother asking me that question ?" I slightly shifted my position but kept my guard down. "Because in some cases, they do", I said, "And in this case, it's happened." Seiji narrowed his gaze. "What's the point of a Guardian leaving to Makai if Makai's Guardian doesn't even exist ?"
I could feel my heart begin to stir. "How so ?"
"If the Guardian of Makai truly existed, then perhaps this wouldn't have happened", he said, his gaze sharp and cold. "The gateway between this world and Makai would have remained close. Someone would've stepped in our way." I chuckled at his response, which seemed to throw him off. "If the Guardian of Makai didn't exist, then this world and Makai would've merged a long time ago", I said nonchalantly, "But that doesn't seem to be the case, now does it ?"
"What're you going on about Shiori ?", I heard Sara say from behind me. "Why do you make it sound like you know a lot about Makai ? You're a human, aren't you ?" The uncertainty in her voice was amusing. I pointed towards the fountain. "The Guardian that you seek isn't in this world anymore Seiji", I mumbled with a faint smile. "A few days before you arrived into this world, that person went to Makai in order to investigate something. Since then, that person has not returned." "Then what does that make you ?", Sara asked. "Me ?" I smiled. "I am merely a decoy", I said.
"A trick that you've easily walked yourself into."
A red shade seemed to appear though the rain. I stared at Seiji, unfazed to see a hostile glare. Behind me, Sara had shouted. "Now that you know that you've failed", I said with a faint smile, "Will you kill me here knowing that you made a mistake ?" "It won't matter", he said, glancing down at the blade that had pierced into my side, "After all, you're just a decoy aren't you ?" I took a deep breath and looked past him to see Juuji suddenly standing by the fountain. He was looking away.
"Nee, Seiji", I said slowly, "The reason to why you assumed that I was the Guardian of this world was because of your shadows, wasn't it ? Because you saw me standing by the Seal of Makai ? Isn't that right ?" "It doesn't matter anymore", he snapped, his voice sounding irritated, "You're going to die here anyways." The sharp pain seemed to worsen but I didn't flinch. There was something I was willing to risk. I just needed the timing.
"Won't that be a waste ?", I said in a taunting manner, "Once you kill me, you'll never find the Guardian that you're looking for." Seiji pulled the blade out of my side, causing me to kneel down in front of him. I tightened my grip on the wound, trying to apply pressure. Somewhere around us, there was fighting. It was Sara, Azalin, and Kaori.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Seiji raise the blade above my head. I smirked and then elbowed him in the stomach. When he staggered back, I forced myself to stand up and kick him back, knocking the blade out of his hand. It flew somewhere, but I focused on pushing Seiji back into the fountain. I intended to push him back without any problems but he caught on and began to fight back. The rain was blinding. "What a fool", he said as we clashed, "To stand up against a demon.. You really are a bother." I blocked just as I was pushed back. "Even with a wound like that, you won't fall." "It's not good to underestimate", I mumbled as I knocked him back, "That'll be the cause of your downfall." He smirked and ran towards me. I shifted my position and waited. Just as he was about to hit me, I shifted all my weight into my right leg and kicked towards the side. I don't know how much weight I shifted but it was enough to push him back to the fountain. It was there that I ran towards him and caught him by the arm. "What the hell are you doing !?", he shouted.
There was another sharp pain on my shoulder. I discarded it and focused on Seiji. "I'm bringing you back", I hissed, trying to prevent him to leaving my grasp, "I'll deal with you on the other side of that place." And with that, I shoved him back into the fountain. He disappeared, which left me to deal with that sharp pain on my shoulder. I glanced over to see Juuji standing behind me. "Ah, so it was you", I mumbled, looking at his smiling face. "Won't you come back with me ?", I asked. "Wasn't that always your original aim ?", he said as he pulled the knife out. I slightly staggered but he caught me.
"SARA !", I had shouted, "Bring her back !" I saw a faint nod from Azalin as she placed something on Kaori and dragged her. Azalin ended up disappearing with Kaori as they went through the gateway on the fountain first. Sara stared at Juuji suspiciously. He smiled back. "Take him with you", I told her. "But what about you !?", she snapped. "What about your wounds !?" I slowly looked up at her and smiled. "I've been through worse", I said. "Don't worry about it." She reluctantly turned away and went into the fountain with Juuji. I was left alone in this darkened place.
Once the area was cleared, I pulled a bead out of my pocket and threw it at the area now drenched in red. The rain seemed to worsen it. Luckily it was night time and there were no people outside. Within an instant, it all disappeared. It was as if nothing had ever happened. I stared at the fountain and pulled out another nostalgic hair piece. However, instead of it being the one that Sotaru had given me, it was blue. I raised it towards the fountain and moved my hand. A white light appeared on the fountain. Very faintly, I could see the gateway beginning to close. And before it did, I went through it.
Stage one is complete.