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《 CHAPTER 16: Truth Revealed 》
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Yashiro was finally back at school again.
It felt great to be able to see Hanako and Kou again after she finally recovered from her flu. According to Hanako, it was apparently caused by a lot of evil spirits that have gotten ahold of her life energy, which freaked her a bit when she thought about it. Though for some reason, everyone seemed on edge when she came back to school.
Hanako suddenly became distant, and Yashiro literally couldn't find him anywhere she looked. He was most definitely avoiding him, and she was confused as to why that is. She tried summoning him with the ritual once again and even tried looking harder for him than last time, but she couldn't find him anywhere.
Kou, on the other hand, was always jumpy when she talked to him, and always excused himself immediately under her presence. It was like something happened during the time she was gone since even he was unsettled when she brought up Hanako.
Yashiro didn't like this one bit.
So, she was currently on her way to visit a certain teacher whom she knew she could always depend on for answers.
On her way to the Science Prep Room, she looked out the window of the hallway and noticed that the clear, blue skies that she saw just moments ago were now clouded with black clouds.
'That's weird,' She thought, 'I'm sure that the weather forecast definitely said that there was a 100% chance of no rainfall today.'
Though, she brushed it off and continued to make her way over to Tsuchigomori's place.
Knocking on the door, she felt nervous for some reason. It was like there was really something that was happening. It was definitely her gut screaming at her that something was most definitely wrong.
'Even the hallways were completely empty, even if it's clearly dismissal, there's bound to still be students around here for club activities,' I wonder why that is,' She thought to herself.
"Tsuchigomori-sensei, may I come in?" She asked.
"Come in," She heard a raspy voice from behind the door. Yashiro slid the door open to see Tsuchigomori leaning on the windowsill, looking out of the window to view the cloudy skies. He wasn't smoking or anything, he was just standing there.
He seemed odd.
Closing the door behind her, Yashiro nervously looked at Tsuchigomori. He was definitely acting differently than how he was before, it really made her nervous.
"You came because you wanted answers as to why Number Seventh and the kid are all acting weird, am I right?" He asked, still facing the window with a blank stare. Yashiro gulped.
"Y—Yes..."
Finally, he looked at her with a blank stare. There was literally no emotion in his face whatsoever, and that was much scarier than the menacing look he gave her and Kou the first time they met at his boundary. Yashiro much preferred that face rather than the expression he had on his face right now.
"Or maybe, would you rather want to see Honorable Number Seven's past?"
"H—Huh?"
Yashiro was confused. This wasn't like Tsuchigomori to suddenly suggest to her. Usually, he would act all mysterious with her in order not to say anything about one's life from the books he's read. So, why was he doing so now?
Then again, Yashiro's curiosity continues to grow each time she learns something new.
"Do you?"
"H—Hai..."
Tsuchigomori removed himself from the windowsill, still staring blankly at Yashiro. He knew what he had to do, and began to walk over to the door. Sliding it, he turned back and faced the high schooler.
"Follow me then."
• • •
Hanako didn't like this one bit.
Unusually, the clear skies were suddenly filled with black clouds that swirled in the skies. The wind was growing rapidly stronger and stronger as the clouds ushered in. There was also no sight of students in the area.
Something was definitely going on.
He stood on top of the school rooftop, spectating the rapid change in weather and the emptiness of the school campus. He immediately summoned his hakoujoudai and used his full power, now having his cape on him. He tried to feel all of the energies around the campus.
That was when he realized it.
There was such an imbalance at the Misaki Stairs. It was as though a large number of supernaturals were about to burst out from the boundary. There also wasn't much response in the other boundaries of the Seven Wonders. It was like everyone's connections with each other were broken or cut off.
No, it was more like they were forced to stay put in their own boundaries because of a rumor change.
Hanako tried to look harder into the energies around the school and felt both Yashiro and Tsuchigomori's energies moving. However, they were moving right into Number Two's boundary, where a large source of the imbalance of energies came from. It finally clicked.
'Shit,' Hanako cursed to himself, 'So both Tsuchigomori and Yako went rogue on me? This definitely was a planned attack.'
A very familiar voice behind him giggled, sending shivers down his spine.
"Have you finally figured it out, Amane?"
Lightning struck near the school, resulting in a large boom of thunder following soon after. Hanako faced his brother with a menacing look, his grip on his knife tightening.
"Just what do you plan on doing, releasing an army of spirits onto the near shore," He growled, "Tsukasa?"
Tsukasa put his hands behind his neck as another streak of lightning hit a spot near the school, resulting in another boom of lightning. He had this smug look on his face that Hanako hated so much.
"Well, my main goal is to revive the Seven Wonders of Occidents, of course," He told him, before floating up to Hanako and touching his feet on the ground. He began to walk around in a circle around his brother.
"For many decades, it has always been the humans who dominated us spirits and supernaturals. It was always us who were bound by laws, who were cursed and tested by the gods," He waved his arms around, expressing everything he was just saying. Hanako stood still, listening to each thing he had to say.
"But now, if I revive them, we will finally be able to do whatever we want," Tsukasa walked up to Hanako's front and gave him an innocent smile, "The Seven Wonders of Occident will grant every spirit's wish!"
Hanako wanted to avoid looking at Tsukasa's face, but instead, he faced his brother head-on with a straight face. His eyes widened in fear, and his heart dropped when he finally saw his brother's lifeless, enigmatic, dull eyes.
There was literally no emotion present on his face whatsoever. It was just this dull smile and his lifeless eyes. Tsukasa was like a lifeless, emotionless mannequin right in front of his brother.
After all, this was who Tsukasa was now.
A lifeless mannequin.
"But if you want to know my own personal goal, it's to make you suffer." He chuckled darkly, the dull grin still present on his face. Hanako stood strong and glared harder into his brother's eyes. Neither of them wanted to move.
"What did you do to Number Two and Number Five?"
Tsukasa's former expression disappeared and was once again replaced by his 'innocent' demeanor. He put on a cute pout and rose his brows, his eyes enlarging like a cute puppy.
"It was simple, I pushed Tsuchi-sensei into a corner where he had no other choice but to obey what I say, otherwise the fox would die."
Hanako scrunched his nose in anger.
"You're sick," He spat out, vilely.
"That's mean, Amane," Tsukasa pouted and whined, before flashing a large grin, "But aren't you that different from me?"
Hanako fell silent, feeling sick to his stomach. Of course, he had to just bring up the past. Tsukasa began to chuckle darkly.
"On the day that we both died, it was supposed to be the turning point of your life. Policemen would finally go to our apartment after our neighbors had reported seeing signs of abuse, and Aunt Yuka would take you in. Our relatives would all do their best to send you to school, and you would finally get the life you deserved," He started having fits of giggles, which turned to a roar of laughter. Hanako began to remember his mistakes, the past, and everything that haunted him to this day.
"But instead, you cursed the gods and lost faith in them. You conducted a ritual, and tried to use me and father as the sacrifice, didn't you?" Tsukasa provoked, "Isn't that disgusting?"
"You're wrong..." Hanako began to break, "I didn't mean to... that day... I—"
This was obviously taking a huge toll on Hanako's emotional and mental state of mind, and Tsukasa knew that. Hanako was going to be pushed into a corner of guilt-tripping. It's happened almost all the time, and even after all these years, Tsukasa always wins.
"Whatever excuse you say, it doesn't matter," Tsukasa shrugged his shoulders while slowly approaching his brother, "You killed me, and now I'm here to get back on you for that."
"I love you so much, Amane," Tsukasa began to walk closer and closer to his brother, who stood frozen with fear. He reached out to touch Hanako's cheek, rubbing his thumb on the seal on his brother's cheek. Hanako's hands began to shake at his brother's touch; his hands were as cold as ice.
"So much that I want to make you suffer." Tsukasa grinned, the same, void expression on his face. Hanako saw beyond his eyes to see nothing but black.
There weren't any remains of the boy who his brother used to be.
It was just like that night.
"Stop it," Hanako screamed, pushing Tsukasa away from him and looking away from his eyes, "You aren't my brother anymore."
"That's mean, Amane," Tsukasa frowned, "I mean, it's your fault that I'm like this now, isn't it?"
Another lightning strike struck a tree that was just right outside the school campus, resulting in a roaring boom of thunder. Strong, dark energy began to emit from the Misaki Stairs, and a heavy feeling began to weigh on Hanako's chest. Tsukasa looked up at the swirling black clouds in the sky with a smile.
"Ah, looks like Radish-chan is about to enter the forbidden boundary," Tsukasa giggled. Hanako's ears perked up at what his brother had just said, and his eyes widened in fear.
"What?"
Tsukasa continued to giggle, "I wonder what she'll find out when she gets there?"
Every little ounce of fear for Tsukasa immediately disappeared and turned into anger. All this time, he didn't want to show Yashiro his vulnerable, weaker side. He feared that when she saw what he did in his past life, she'd hate him forever.
She'd resent him.
She will leave, and he'll be left all alone again.
Hanako was furious.
"You little—" He screamed, unleashing more power than he's ever done before. His cape now shielded his back, and his knife was now tightly gripped on his hand.
"Ah, and it seems like everything's been set to release," Tsukasa happily clapped with joy as the weather condition worsened. Strike after strike, strips of lightning rained down from the heavens. Booms of thunder rang around the whole school like a taiko drum being played with no rhythmic pattern.
"Ichi, Ni, San..." the rat counted, "Release!"
Suddenly, a dark aura exploded from the Misaki Stairs, surrounding the whole school. A purple miasma began to fill the halls of both the old and new building of Kamome Academy. Pressure began to fill in Hanako's head as the huge imbalance of the energies of the near shore and far shore entered his head. He could feel the life energy of the whole school get sucked out by the roaming spirits.
There were about a thousand around campus.
Hanako breathed in, trying his best to block out the pressure in his head and chest. He pointed his knife to Tsukasa, a glint of rage in his eyes.
"I'm not letting you go easily, Tsukasa," He growled, "Someone needs to put you in your place."
"Aha!" Tsukasa laughed, "And you think it's you?"
Tsukasa's eyes completely turned black, signifying that he was using the power of the Curse of Aeipathy. Black shadows began to surround Tsukasa as he giggled to himself, a large smile on his face.
"Not a chance," Tsukasa spoke in an inhuman voice, almost demonically in three pitches at the same time, "I'll kill you before you even get the chance."
Hanako takes another deep breath as he closed his eyes, forcefully peeling off the seal of the Minamoto Clan which sealed off the curse's powers.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Opening his eyes, his right eye was now purely black, similar to that of Tsukasa's eyes. His right hand that gripped the knife was now also covered in the black shadow of the void of Aeipathy. Hanako knew he had to be careful not to overuse the curse. He was currently now using at least 75% of its power – any more would be a risk.
Right before the battle, Hanako prayed that Yashiro was going to be okay. He knew that Tsuchigomori would definitely take care of her even if he was currently forced to be on Tsukasa's side. His sensei knew what he was doing. Soon, the mysteries will also break free from Tsukasa's hold and help in restoring the balance.
Everything was going to be alright, he just had to trust the gods and his allies.
Yashiro was now going to battle with herself over the guilt and sadness, but right now Hanako can't think of that.
He had his own battle to face that has been held back for so long.
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"Tsuchigomori-sensei... Where are we going?"
Yashiro was confused as to why they were at Yako's boundary if it even was that right now. It looked very different compared to how she remembered it to look like. The beautiful shrine scenery was gone and now replaced with a wasteland of flesh-like meat and a black sky. It reeked of blood and gore, sickening Yashiro to the core.
Even Tsuchigomori looked like he didn't like it.
The teacher decided not to answer her question and continued to walk to the deepest part of Yako's boundary, the gate to the 'forbidden boundary'.
"You want to know more, don't you?" He dug his hands into the pockets of his lab coat, "Well, the answer lies right in front of you."
They arrived in front of a dead-end, which confused Yashiro. They stood in a platform which led to nothing. Before Yashiro could even get a chance to ask where the portal was, a ripple of water suddenly appeared right before her, revealing the portal. It was like any stone arch with cracks in the boundary, however, it was covered in dried up, thorned vines.
However, what captivated Yashiro the most was the portal itself.
It was a galaxy of stars with a full moon positioned right in the middle, aligned with the keystone of the arch.
"Ano... what exactly is this portal?" Yashiro asked the spider, who stood silently next to her as she gaped over the portal. Tsuchigomori lowered his head.
"This is the portal that leads to a small space that lies within the border of the near shore and far shore," He informed her, "Also known by many as 'the forbidden boundary'."
Yashiro tilted her head in confusion, "Forbidden boundary? Why so?"
Tsuchigomori sighed, "The forbidden boundary is a place that no man or spirit should ever go to. It's a place that recently formed after one changed their fate. Neither supernatural nor humankind can enter in such a void. Though, there is an exception to that, which is why you're able to go inside."
"So, if I go inside the boundary, I'll learn everything about Hanako-kun? But, why though?" Yashiro looked back into the galaxy portal, "Didn't you say that it's better if it came from him?"
Tsuchigomori looked away from Yashiro's gaze.
"It's probably much better if it's like this," He continued to look away, lowering his head, "And besides, everything will go well either way."
"I see," Yashiro looked back at the portal, nervous, "So when I enter this boundary... What will I see?"
"Why don't you find out yourself?"
Yashiro gulped, a bit nervous. Beyond this boundary was going to be the person who Hanako used to be. It was one of the questions that always stayed with her ever since she met and started liking the boy. Though, now that she was given the opportunity to do so, she didn't know what to expect.
All that she really knew was that he had a brother whom he killed.
Slowly, she began to walk nearer into the portal. Taking a deep breath, she touched the galaxy-blanket with her finger, resulting in the portal rippling.
She was ready to see who Hanako was.
No matter who he was or what he did, she has to accept him for who he is.
After all, answers were what she wanted.
So with a beating heart, Yashiro entered the forbidden boundary.
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Word Count : 2,960
Yesterday, I spent around 5 hours writing sixteen (this was written 5/19), and I'm still not done. So, I split it into two parts. This part is around 2900 words long, while the other is probably around 5000 words long.
And I haven't started seventeen.
So, I'll be busy cramming.
Moirae x