Headphone Actor - I

"I'm sorry everyone, but the world is going to end today."

     The newscaster was a grey-haired man, his eyes ancient and wise, every wrinkle showing how many years he had lived. He was in tears as he spoke the words, and as soon as the sentence ended, Takane Enomoto heard many people shrieking, screaming, or plain-out crying.

     ...Despite it all, despite all the chaos, she just simply sighed and put on her headphones.

     "So... the world really is going to end today." Takane murmured to herself, the noise now blocked out and just sounded like muffled weeping. "That's... that's..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes shot off to the window. The traffic lights were red like the crescent moon in the dusk sky, as was the blood of many from pushing and shoving. Some got ran over. Some got trampled. It was a horrifying sight, and that was even more enhanced from black crows flying in a cloud, like a black blob of squawking.

     "Haruka..." She bit her lip. The name was such a treasure to her. Haruka Kokonose was her very best friend. They were both sickly: she was always upset even with loads of sleep, and he had a severe disease. Takane knew that Haruka was going to die sooner or later, but it felt like yesterday when she found him slumping in his school seat, pale and lifeless. What was worse? She couldn't even tell him her feelings that she herself found out only recently. But he was dead now. At least he doesn't have to see this heck of a world.

     Silent tears threatened Takane, but she just blinked them away. No tears would help in a situation like this. The best thing was, since the world was going to end, was just to play her fabulous music and run around in turmoil like the others. But then again... would Haruka do that? Or would he try and help?

     "But what use is helping when our existence would end?" Takane screamed at herself, and could hear every shrill word pierce through her headphones. She calmed herself down, but the burning image of the dead Haruka remained in her eyes, closed or not. And now the tears began to pour. She hated being this half of herself with a burning passion. But... it was kind of nice instead of being pessimistic all the time. She touched her wet cheeks gingerly, trying to soothe herself with her music. Music would help. It was like the best remedy in the world. "Haruka..." What was she doing? In a time where she should've been panicking, she was whispering her little crush's name! What was this?! Madness?! "What would you..." Shut up!

     Takane sat in her room for moments of silence (well, if you exclude the screaming), listening to her music. "It was an extremely average day..." The singer sang. "Without a single obstacle in my path..." It were lyrics that seemed somewhat... obscure, but to Takane, normalcy could just preserve a bit of her mental health. Oh, what am I thinking? This "normal" has been overrated for quite some time. Maybe about five minutes or so, but still. 

     And as the lyrics continued to flow with its absurdity, something even more irrugular that day happened. Someone interrupted the song... although, it wasn't on the radio. It was a song she downloaded, and now someone was speaking!

     "You want to survive, yes?"

     Takane paused, then nodded. She knew that was none other than her own voice.

The Story about Doubting Your Eyes

Kallik's Note: Confused? Horrified? Possibly upset that I left Souzou Forest on a cliffhanger? Yeah, well, you know how I said I'd only write when I felt like writing something Kagerou Project related? I felt like writing something Headphone Actor. I promise I'll finish Souzou Forest's song this afternoon or Saturday. It honestly depends on my schedule. 

And this is where the 

<Insert Song Title Here> - <Insert Roman Numeral here> 

will come in handy. C:

Questions? Concerns? Comment below! ...or something. What. (゜-゜)

Souzou Forest - II

Mary pouted, giving herself a mental facepalm. She should've been more careful about the teakettle! Now it was whistling like a maniac, and if a human heard its infamous screeching... what trouble would she be into? Then again, she could turn one to stone... but she didn't want to feel like a monster! What good would that do? And she didn't want anyone to die either!

     With a desperate flick of the switch, the quarter Medusae sighed in relief. The whistling died down. She took a reach for the handle, and yelped, sucking on her finger. She was such a clumsy child--she had forgotten how hot the kettle was. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Oh, well. It wasn't like she could help it. She was going to be this way, whether she liked it or not.

     "Pouring tea, pouring tea, I just love... pouring tea!" Mary sang to herself, watching as her green tea plopped into the cup. She blew on the liquid for a tad bit, and then took a sip. She squealed; it was still oh, so hot. But the warmth trickled down her throat and made a funny feeling in her stomach. It was as if her mother was right beside her and gave her one of the best hugs ever. Mom... the thought left Mary feeling slightly depressed. It was because of her own foolishness that her mother died. Or was it because of her father? Either way, she was going to blame herself.

~[***]~

"Daddy!"

     Mary's voice cracked, and she thrashed wildly about, though Shion held her back. Mary tried reaching out for her father's hand, though he wasn't facing her. He was facing towards the door. He was going to leave.

     "Are you really going to leave your daughter right now?!" Shion exclaimed, effortlessly holding her struggling daughter in place. "My gosh, she's only 5 years old right now! We were supposed to spend with each other as long as possible--"

     The father turned around, staring at his wife in the eyes. "You guys... really are monsters."

     At that, Mary froze in place from shock. Then, she sat down and began to weep. Her mother was right! Humans thought they were monsters! And now, even her own dad was against them! Such a harsh, cruel, world! It made her cry more and more.

     Shion, however, held her ground. "What do you mean? I thought you accepted us!"

     "I let Mary outside for a few minutes so she could have some fresh air. And she was playing with a baby bird. And you know what she did? That poor bird froze!"

     "Only temporarily!"

   "What about you? You can actually turn people to stone and temporarily freeze people at eye contact!"

     Shion shook her head, ignoring him. "You lied. You said you would accept me on the day of your proposal!"

     The father glared at her eyes--er, or rather, forehead. "I was blind then. I didn't realize that being around you guys could be at the cost of my own life." He muttered, and walked out the door... forever. And now, as Mary hushed her sobbing, it was Shion's turn to weep. Rain began to pour outside.

     "Your father... I hope he doesn't rat us out. If he gives the people false rumors about us... they'll surely want to kill us in an angry mob." Mary's mother whispered with shuddering breath. She held Mary close to her, who was presently exhausted from crying and decided to nap. Then, the half Medusae turned to the window, streaked with the raindrops from the gray clouds. Perhaps this is similar to what her mother, Azami, went through? Except the only difference was that Azami's husband  loved her all the way through until the end of his life. Shion, on the other hand, felt utterly betrayed. She had hated her father for dying, and hated herself for giving her youthful Mary such a hard life. "Sleep well, my dear Mary. Don't look humans in the eyes."

~[***]~

Mary took another sip of her tea, this time putting the former book back and taking out a book titled All About Flowers! She smiled, looking through at the marvelous pictures of roses, lilies, daisies, carnations, and so much more. They all looked so pretty!

     As Mary put her cup of tea down onto the table, for she heard a knock, knock, knock on her door. It startled her so much, she jumped up, spilling her drink all over her furniture. However, she wasn't interested in her table getting ruined--she was more focused on the person who knocked on the door. Who was it? An ambusher? A thief? A ruffian? What did it want? Money? She had none! She could offer it some flowers or tea leaves she was growing, but she didn't want to part with that! Oh! Relax, Mary, it's probably a deer who's scratching its antlers on my door.

     And then there was a voice.

     "Uh... hello?"It was clearly a male's, and it couldn't possibly be a Medusae. It was a human! "I'm... um... hello? Anyone in here?"

     And Mary knelt on the floor, burying her face in her hands, beginning to cry.

Kallik's note: I was checking my overview thing... oh my gosh! The blog had 5(?) pageviews! Thank you so much, strangers! And on top of that, Souzou Forest - I had 2 pageviews! Thank you, thank you! Oh, also, I'm pretty sure Souzou Forest (the song) never mentioned the father, so I'm kinda making up what happened. Then again, what can you expect? This is my interpretation! Also, I guess the flashbacks could actually be known as Gunjou Rain. But, oh well.

The story about seeing eye-to-eye.

Souzou Forest - I

Everything was peaceful. The birds chirped. The soft, forest sunlight gathered in pools on the ground. The nearby stream was bubbling a watery lullaby. The breeze made the green leaves dance.

     "Mary, the outside world is a dangerous place."

     The words were from a woman named Shion Kozakura, whose eyes were as crimson as the setting sun, and long hair as white as the rising moon. She indeed had evidence of youth in her fair complexion, but in reality, she was perhaps 1000 years old or so. Perhaps even older. But one thing was certain for this woman: she was a Medusae, a race that came in only one line of family: they could freeze people's eyes at eye contact. So far, there were only three generations. The first one was from Azami, the one and only Medusa herself. She was Shion's mother. Then, came Shion herself, who was only half Medusae. She could freeze someone upon meeting eyes, but it would take a great strain upon herself. Then, Shion had Mary, a beautiful daughter who had cream-colored hair and the same traditional scarlet eyes. Mary was only a quarter of Medusae. She could only freeze someone temporarily at eye contact. But Azami, Shion, Mary... they were all considered "monsters", and monsters are to be feared.

     No, Mary, you are not ready yet to meet their "eyes". Shion thought. Perhaps later... later... when you are ready. I love you, Mary.

~[***]~

Mary was 500 years old now, and yet, she looked 15. She cracked a window open, letting the gentle wind play with her hair, and then turned to the array of bookshelves she had. Of course, she read all of them, and then reread them maybe 1000 times, and they never got old. Each book was a wonderful adventure to be on, and it told of this outside world she longed to meet. She began to wonder if such things like sleeping princesses and knights in shining armor really did exist.

     The quarter Medusae cracked open a book, flipping to a page by random, admiring the beautiful illustration of a garden. She absolutely adored flowers, and making flower crowns was something she did in her spare time. Unfortunately, they all seemed to die pretty quickly a couple of hours later.

     "I'll go make myself some tea!" Mary murmured to herself--something she was used to doing--and excused herself from the wooden, small table for two. She rushed over to the small kitchen set her Dad had gotten her. It was nothing more than a stove and a cupboard, but Mary cherished it forever, no matter how disgusted she was at her Dad. She turned the stove on with a yelp (she always was caught by surprise from the flame suddenly appearing), then obtained a porcelain teakettle from the cupboard. She walked outside (something that she found rather daring), and approached the stream gingerly, her anxious red eyes always flickering from side to side, hoping no one found her. With a swift motion, Mary scooped up water into the teakettle, closing the lid. She stood up, looking around one more time, then walked back into her house, locking the door quickly.

     "Another fortunate day of no traces of any person." She sighed to herself, and set the teakettle on the table, putting in herbal tea leaves. Shaking it up a tad bit, she placed it onto the flame.

     While waiting for the tea to boil, she looked at the book, the pages turning by itself from the breeze. When the wind stopped, Mary stared at the picture with a frown.

~[***]~

Shion bent down to the littler Mary (who was 5 years old), brushing her tears away gingerly with her thumb. "My dear daughter, you mustn't go outside yet."

     "Why, Mommy?"

     Shion sighed. "You are dangerous and a monster. You are feared. We are only a rumor; a myth. And yet, everyone is afraid to go into this forest. Do not go to the outside world, where the people thrive. You will learn later on."

     Mary's tears continued to stream down her cheeks. She wanted to go out of the forest more than ever, and that passion would not extinguish as quickly as that. "I'm not a monster, Mommy!"

     The mother sighed, and showed her daughter a handheld mirror. She focused the reflection onto one of Mary's crimson eyes--it was the reflection of a supposed monster. "Don't look them in the eyes!" Shion told her. "Or they'll turn to stone." It was a lie, but it was needed for Mary's protection. "When they turn to stone, they die. And I'm sure you don't want to be the cause of a death, right? So please, don't meet the humans. They're afraid of us; they're afraid of you."

     "...is that so, Mommy?" Mary asked, a sadness in her eyes. She seemed so mature all of a sudden, which is saying something for a 5 year old.

     "...Yes."

     Mary gripped the handheld mirror, watching herself blink in the reflection. Didn't mirrors lie? No, that was just a silly thing made up by those who couldn't handle the truth. But she didn't want to believe this truth! She didn't want to be called a monster! Just the very thought made Mary weep even more. She was now tired of this mirror, and raising the object, she threw it onto the floor, the fragments scratching the wooden floor.

~[***]~

The picture on the book was in fact, a supposed illustration of a woman with long black hair, scaly cheeks, and scarlet eyes, raising her arms up in a ceremoniously way, snakes surrounding her in a spiral. She was none other than her grandmother, Azami. Is that what she looked like? Where was she, anyway? But curiosity killed the cat! Mary shouldn't try asking any more questions.

     "Mom..." She whispered under her breath, shutting the book closed. "I miss you..."

     And that was when she realized the teakittle was screeching its whistle.

Kallik's note: Yay! Kagerou Project! So... I'll post new chapters when I feel like writing something Kagerou Project related, so, don't expect a new chapter every single day... which is probably how it'll be in the first few days. Anyway, I hope you think my writing is improving! By the way, the story might not necessarily go in order, which is why it's called "Souzou Forest - I", meaning that more chapters related to this will come. Confusing, I know, but it might make sense later on.

The Story about seeing eye-to-eye.

Chapter XX

Ally






   As I began to walk closer and closer to the hole, the Fire Spirit waved her hand and a glowing blue platform slowly moved closer and closer to the middle of the crater. It shone a brilliant orange, and flat rocks appeared as steps from where I stood, all the way to the middle platform.
   I felt a hand be placed on my shoulder. It was Will, who's eyes were filled with sorrow. "Please, no."
   "Oh! So you want me to become that wolf thing again? No way!" I said softly, then moved his hand off my shoulder.
   "And you want to leave us?" Keesa added gently, and she was beginning to tear up again. "You're the only real friend I ever met."
   I paused, and there was silence, if you didn't count the gentle breeze swaying the grass down. "Maybe I'll awaken when it isn't too late into the future. Maybe it'll only be a month."
   "Hopefully," Will said.
   Keesa and Will followed me up the steps and onto the platform. The Fire Spirit turned into her original form again, and carried Rina onto the platform. Keesa and Will took a step back, and the platform seemed to grow brighter.
   "Well... it's time." Rina said in a very quiet whisper. "You've done a good job."
   I opened my mouth to say something, then turned to Will and Keesa, full of regret. I'd miss them. I'd miss everyone who I probably won't see because I could be sleeping for a long while.
   "Look in the center, Ally." Rina said, and began to say a single word with lots of energy. "Kurisutaru!"
   The lava instantly turned into a glowing blue, as if the lava somehow magically turned into water.
   It did.
   Great, big columns of crystal erupted from the water, then circling around the platform like thick vines. A bright light began to shine from my fingertips. I turned to Keesa and Will, then saw that Keesa was turning red, as if she was going to explode with tears. As I began to rise into the air, Will grabbed my hand, visible drops of water coming from his eyes. He began to hold my hand for so long, my feet began to rise higher than my head.
   "Don't go!" Will cried. "I'll miss you... terribly."
   "We." Keesa corrected, giving me a weak smile.
   I began to say I'll miss you too, but my hand slipped out of Will's. Will tried to grab it again to know what I was saying, but I was rising higher at a fast pace.
   I finally stopped when I was like 5 or 6 feet above the ground. I tried to fight my tears, but a single one fell slowly to the ground. The crystal vines grew twisty, skinnier ones until they touched me. I suddenly felt drowsy and calm, and saw a bright light enter my eyes.

Will






   I saw my hands trembling, seeing a bright light come from Ally's heart. It flashed extremely bright, bright enough I thought Bondrum could see it, and I closed my eyes shut.
   When the light faded away, I felt extreme sadness. There was a crystalized Ally, wrapped around in the skinny and twisty vines. Her eyes looked sad and happy. A flame appeared in her heart, and the idle Ally floated lower and lower until it touched the platform again.
   I ran over to her, immediately. "Ally! Wake up! Please!" My eyes watered up, and i banged on the solid crystal with my gun. I began to shoot the crystal, hoping to get her out of there. "You said you'd wake up soon! You said so!"
   I looked up, seeing the Fire Spirit and Rina looking solemn. Then, they faded away, leaving behind something shiny and blue. I walked over to it, and felt my throat swell up. It was Ally's tear.
   I wrapped my hand around it, then slipped it into a pocket. Keesa knelt down before Ally, as if she was saying thanks for something I didn't know. I felt a ringing in my ears, and knelt down too.
   Will... are you ok? I'm sorry I couldn't stay human... but I didn't want to be a wolf thing either! I heard, remembering the familiar voice.
   "You're forgiven," I murmured back. "I'm sorry I threw a tantrum just because I wanted you to stay here."
   Oh, it's fine. No worries!
   "Seriously?" I almost said it really loud, and Keesa raised a brow at me. I looked down. "Ally? Will you ever forget about us?"
   No! Are you crazy? You guys are the best friend I've ever had!
   There was a long pause.
   "Ally? What were you gonna say before you rose into the air?" I asked.
   Another pause.
   I was going to say that I'll miss you guys. I only have a short amount of time before I fully go to the sleep. Anything else? 
   I thought for a moment. I had so many things I wanted to say! "Listen, I just want to say--"
   Sorry, I'm afraid........
   And that was the last time I ever heard her speak.

8 months later....


   I sat in my old home, where Ally got her necklace. I sat in the kitchen, all alone, chewing on ramen and watching the birds outside sing, free from demonic evil. Then, I heard a voice speaking.
   At first, I thought it was Ally's voice, but as I looked out the window, it was just a lost villager.
   I slumped back into my seat, continuing to eat my noodles. The soup was cold, but I ate it anyway.
   Suddenly, I heard a knocking on the door. I opened it, and saw Keesa, gasping for breath.
   "What happened?" I asked, alarmed.
   "Nothing bad.... but we have to go to the volcano! The light is shining!" She asked, and in all the past months, I finally smiled.

             ❂The End❂

You may listen to this song while reading this chapter... I DO NOT OWN THIS!:

Chapter XIX

Ally




   "No." Rina said, then turned to me. "Now, shall we get you ready? Or do you want to wait 10 minutes?"
   "10 minutes, please." I squeaked.
   Keesa, Will, and I all moved away from the volcano until we were halfway down the mountain. We sat down, and Rina threw a large box at us. Will caught it, then opened it up.
   He took the food out: butter-cakes and three packets of unicorn tea with a hint of raspberry. We took one each, and slowly snacked on it.
   "Too bad you couldn't stay with us..." Will said, while sipping the unicorn tea. He threw his butter-cake away. "It would've been awesome."
   "I just wanted to see my mom and dad again.... I miss them terribly." I said, and sipped my packet of tea until it shriveled up.
   Keesa ripped her butter-cake in half from anger. "It's not fair!"
   "What's not fair?" I asked. "Is it that I can't stay human?"
   Keesa's face softened, then felt something in her pocket. I saw string peep out of her pocket, but she pushed it in quickly, hoping that no one saw it. But I did.
   "The boy... I'm sure he's fine." I reassured her. "He's free of Aku, and he's in that good place Up There.
   Keesa remained quiet, and I only let her be.
   "Ally?" Will asked, and took out his gun. I tensed. "Kill yourself. Now."
   Keesa and I froze. Keesa angrily pulled out her knife, and knocked Will to the ground, trapping him with the sharp blade.
   "Who do you think you are, first helping Ally and then telling her to shoot herself?"  Keesa said, gritting her teeth.
   "Why not kill herself now, so you'll just be put out of misery instead of waiting in that crystal?" Will said. I became angry too, but as I took out my sword, Will pushed the knife away from his neck, then cut my forehead.
   "At least I won't die!" I snapped. "And when I'm back from my idle stage, hopefully my you'll be there so I can rip your throat out for telling me to go suicidal!" I paused, waiting for a comeback. Will couldn't speak. "Some friend you are."
   I drew out my sword just in case, then began to eat my butter-cake. Will snatched the knife from Keesa's hand, then pierced me butter-cake, then threw it away.
   "You think you can eat your way through problems?!" Will exploded, his face turning bright red. "NO!"
   I grabbed my sword and Will took out his gun, but before I did my attack, Keesa somehow stopped it with her bare hands. Keesa first glared at Will, then at me. She threw my sword down at the ground, clenching her hurt hand.
   "And we shouldn't let Ally turn crystal with a fight. Enough said." Keesa said.
   "2 more minutes, guys!" I heard Rina say.
   I only stared at Keesa's hurt hand. She didn't even look like it was bothering her! And how could she stop my sword if it was going so fast? I closed my eyes, then took a deep breath.
   "I think... I should give you guys something. Just before I turn... into the ice." I said, and untied my hair, using the necklace's old chain. I gave that to Keesa. I turned to Will. His eyes were still mad, but he seemed to try and let go of the argue. I took out a weathered, kind of red chef hat. It was Chef's.
   "How did you...?" Will said, his eyes beaming.
   "Let's see that I took it from Chef's head, just before we ran into the lich." I grinned.
   "Time's up. Come on."
   We all slowly walked up the mountain again. We stopped at the peak once again, and it was time to say our good-byes.
   Keesa was breaking into tears. "Please... please awaken again. You're like my younger sister."
   "I promise." I said, and we gave each other a tight hug.
   I turned to Will, and his nose was a bright red as if to run away from his tears. I shifted position awkwardly, since we just fought.
   "I'm... I'm sorry." Will said. "I didn't want you... I mean, a human, to leave... the people again."
   I took this in, wondering why Will was turning red and stammering his words. Then, Will gave me a hug too. A heartwarming hug.
   "Let's... just start the process now." I said, looking down.

Chapter XVII

Keesa








    There stood our past savior of Lynara. I never knew that Bondrum's shaman was... Rina's ghost.
   We all bowed down, the Fire Spirit standing next to Rina.
   "You mustn't bow to me, for I am long dead. Once I bring Ally alive again, you must bow to her, for she will defeat evil." Rina said, and we all stood straight.
   "Ah, Rina." The Fire Spirit said. "It has been long before we met again,"
   Rina nodded. "Yes. I was killed as I killed the shadow. But a part of it must've survived, from the looks of it." She turned to us, her dark blue hair wrapping around her yellow sun dress. "It is time to heal Ally."
   Rina took Ally's paw. She paused. "Because she was cursed by fire, healing her would grant her the ability to conjure up fire." We all nodded.
   Rina smiled, then whispered words that I couldn't understand. Then, Ally rose into the air, a red light coming from her, blinding all of us. It dimmed after what felt like an hour, and there lay Ally.

  Will






  Ally looked different somehow. Maybe more royal? I could only watch Ally laying on the ground, wearing a red sweater and maroon shorts. I grinned as Ally's eyes began to flutter open, showing her crystal blue eyes once again. She groaned as she stood up, but her face lit up as she saw all of us... and that she saw her skin again.
   "Hey!" Ally said, beginning to run toward us. But she winced, clutching her stomach, showing the wound she had obtained.
   Rina floated to Ally, and took out a bowl that was kept in her shawl. She picked a fire blossom and mashed it up with a rounded stick, then took out a pouch that was magical. She took out a bottle of boiling water, and added it in the bowl. Then, Rina took dried leaves and sprinkled them on top while saying murmured words. The water began to glow dimly, and Rina fed it to Ally.
   "This... tastes horrible." Ally grimaced. I saw that her wound had faded away.
   "Ah, but you feel better now. And aren't you ready to continue the battle with the greatest evil in Lynara?" The Fire Spirit asked, her eyes shining.
   Ally shrugged. "I guess."
   Rina took out Ally's sword, and laid it out in front of her. Ally took it willingly, then looked around to see where the shadow could pop out at any moment.
   "We'll help you," Keesa said, before the battle began.


  Ally






   I can't help but show off how better I was, now that I could do better blows and such. The shadow--Aku--seemed way more better than when I was a wolf. He fought more faster and agile, while I counterattacked his blows.
   "You make me laugh," Aku said in his creepy, warped voice. "When is your real strike?"
   I gritted my teeth. "Right about..."
   I jumped way up and drove my sword through his head, which had a feeling of stabbing extremely thick jell-o. Then, I lost grip of my sword and flew into the volcano's crater, just barely holding grip at the edge. I looked down and saw bright molten rock, while my feet were dangling. I tried to pull myself up, but I sensed the ground would get too crumbly from applied pressure.
   "Help!"
   The first person I saw was Keesa, followed by Will. Keesa took my left arm while Will took my right. They tried pulling me up, but a part of the seared ground began to shift, and we stayed in the same position.
   "Hang on, Ally!" Keesa told me, using her free hand to remove the ribbon in her hair and tie it around her thigh and around a sturdy rock. She stood up and began to pull with her arm and leg.
   Will turned around. "You better help us!"
   "I'm coming!" Said the boy who had used to be the leader of all Unbornes. But then, I heard a cry coming from him. Keesa finally hauled me up, and we saw the boy being thrown far by the shadow, and tumbling down until he used his hands to slow him down.
   "No!" I yelped.
   Aku only sneered at us, as if he thought that I was foolish. I wasn't.
   I threw myself at Aku, jabbing my sword into his heart. His face went pale. I jumped off, and turned on my heels.
   "Don't think it ends here!" Aku said, breathing heavily. "My blood will go over this land!"
    Then, Aku's eyes turned dull. I knew he was definitely dead, even though his eyes were still open.
   We all took a deep breath, one that was extremely quiet, just as a gentle breeze blew.

Chapter XVIII

Ally






   I could only watch the shadow dissolve until he was so small, you couldn't even see him, leaving behind my sword. I carefully picked it up, and Keesa gave me a pat on the back.
  The sky was an orange purple... the perfect color for sunset. Pink clouds seemed like floating cotton candy. The grass below was a deep green; the color of jade. The flaming forest seemed to glow from the fire, while the regular forest looked more serene. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen... it seemed like a curse was lifted.
   "Ally... the boy." Will pointed to a limp body on the steep slope, covered in scratches and cuts.
   We slowly walked over to him. I looked a little closer, then gasped. That was the boy in my vision! The blackness around him must've been his initial Demon Lord self, and he was waiting to get out!
   Rina and the Fire Spirit, who were hiding in the volcano, came out, then studied us. Rina could only touch the boy's face, which was extremely pale.
   "Is he.... dead?" I asked in a small voice.
   The boy opened his eyes, and his breathing was ragged. "It's ok," He wheezed. "At least, I'm free from Aku."
   "Can we help him?" Keesa asked.
   "Put his suffering to an end," Was the only words Rina could speak.
   The Fire Spirit held up a long, woven cloth. Keesa took this, knowing it was the boy's weaved life. She wove some more, then tied it up with a large yank. At that moment, the boy's breathing stopped, and he stared blankly at the sky.
   For once, I took pity on him. All this time, he was just a puppet for Aku. When he was finally free, he just... died. He didn't have a chance to recover. Aku just used him, then threw him away in the trash, like someone ditching his favorite toy for a new one.
   "Let's go." I said, standing up.

                                                                  ~❂~


    "No, we can't go." The Fire Spirit said, and Will, Keesa, and I turned our heads in surprise.
   "Why? We defeated Aku! Ally's human again! Wouldn't that break her spell?" Will snapped.
   "Yes, but sadly, that doesn't make the curse go away. Making her human again only gave her one more day." The Fire Spirit.
   I checked my palm, and gasped, seeing the marking seared right on my skin. I balled my hand into a fist, feeling frustrated. Then, I felt my eyes water up, but I blinked them away. Ugh! I had to turn into that ice thing!
   "But..."
   "I'm sorry. I wish you could stay with you friends, but you can't. Rules are rules." Rina said.
   "Can we find a loophole of some sort?" I asked.
   "No,"
   This time, I really did begin to softly cry. I didn't want to gain eternal life! All I wanted to do was at least go home to Oregon again and see my mom and dad. They're probably worried sick about me!
   "Please," Will said to the Fire Spirit and Rina, while giving me a soft pat on the back. "Isn't there another way?"