They agreed on leaving Skoupa, but it certainly didn’t mean that they agreed ohing else. Silence became the method for voig the distent in the group. Both sides khat the other disagreed as strongly as they felt, so not speaking turned into the simplest solution.

  Only Yori’s sister and Haruo looked like they were in a third party (though it was unlikely Haruo actually felt that way). She thought that ohey left the vilge everything would sort itself out. The arguments before she solved by taking and of the situation, but the same method didn’t work for her again. Her silence came more from unease iension and waiting until she found a solution to their problem.

  Chapter 112 – Straihoughts

  Late m finally came with the first spoken word by anyone, from Yori’s sister naturally. “…anyone hungry?” Tension among the group reached a new high as she regretted even sidering speaking. All of them stopped to look at her as though acg her of interrupting something far more important (even though they simply stared at her).

  The lohey gred the worse she became, sweating from the heat of being the entire focus for everyone. ‘…I shouldn’t have said anything after all!’ Unease dragged on even further, almost seeming like they were doing it on purpose out of malice (still making things appear worse than they actually are).

  As though the torturer had his fill, Yuki broke rank and mood with a typical cheerful response. “You have no idea! I’ve been wanting breakfast for hours!” Rather than waiting for aion from the others, he started in on the pack he carried plopping down in the grass. Not knowing what his pack carried, he searched through pulling out anything that stood in his way ht be sidered edible.

  The rest of the group fell in line almost immediately. They spoke between each other about finding the food and s out what was meant to be eaten or saved. She stood oside sweating a little in fusion. ‘What just happened?!’ Her mouth hung agape staring trying to uand what happened.

  With a stick of something like bread popping out of his mouth, Seiji leaned around seeing that she remained out of the group. “Hey why the hell aren’t you eating?! I thought you were hungry?”

  “Huh?”

  “Yeah, the food’s great, Yumi! I’m not familiar with Greek food, but if it is all like this I might have to find a restaurant whe back!”

  “W-well…yeah I…”

  “Then e and sit down with us!”

  “Alright…” Hesitating still, she folded up her legs carefully taking up an uai o her brother. All of the food id out was dried goods not needing cooking. She was certain that all of the food Eudokia picked was like that, which made more seo her as she thought about it. It still fused her watg how everyone ged suddenly. Eudokia remained distant, but ever since revealirue self that had been the way she acted around everyone. But the sense of thick foreboding disappeared. ‘Is it like they say, food washes away worries? I just hope this sts…’

  o her, Yori quietly munched on a strip of dried meat. Nothing measured fully the scale of Yori’s thought, whether the slow repetitive chewing of the difficult meat or the spaced out eyes. Most of the happenings around him went mostly ignored. He didn’t even realize that the group had a fight. The trouble in the vilge ed all of his attention, his fight with the soldier who tried to kill him and his sister.

  Yori’s mind remained fixated on what happened in the vilge. He couldn’t break free from the hold that it had on him, though no sense of wanting to stop dwelling oter id within him. Questions surfaced for him frequently causing his memories to repy the ses in the vilge by instinct.

  Long had he decided that what he saw from her had to be powers like the others. After viewing his memories so many times, it came as the only clusion. However, he realized his suspis about her even before the i in the vilge. Her unusual intuition stood out as strao him, ohat she didn’t seem to question. He wondered if the others had taken note as he had. Initially, most of it he passed off as being lucky, but the more accurate she became the more he questio. ‘I ’t deny anymore that she has some power. It was so clear back then, but I ig.’

  Chewing still on the endlessly resista, Yori’s hand tensed up a little responding to his thoughts. ‘I ig, because she’s Yumi. She’s my sister. If she was normal, she wouldn’t have to follow…him. If she didn’t have any powers she’d be out of danger. She’d be safe…’ Fighting and violence did not suit her. her of them had any experienbsp; ‘I simply agreed to go along with her… I just saw that look…’

  Finally, the meat accepted its fate and allowed Yori to finish it off. A long quiet sigh escaped Yori’s lips as his thoughts buried himself deeper. ‘…when…’ For the first time in hours, his eyes came to focus clearly for a brief moment. Only her sister filled his vision. She ughed along with the others enjoying the meal. ‘…when…’ Yori started to lose his focus on her. ‘When did she ge…from the little sister I knew?’ What he witnessed in the vilge from his sister suddenly triggered him to relive the se again.

  ‘Was really my sister back there? Is that what happens when she uses her power? She bees someone else?’ He hoped that her power never activated again. She looked ed by her own power and acted out violently. This wasn’t the girl he knew. Such a form didn’t suit her. ‘But she only did that because of me… It was because I was uo protect her… I promised her! I said that I would protect her and I failed!’ Yori ched his fists, starting to feel the numb void that had surrounded him slowly evaporating leaving behind only a deep stabbing pain in his heart. ‘What sort of big brother am I?!’

  Sitting at what seemed kilometers apart, his sister tried to keep up an outward appearance of nothing being wrong. However, a persistent fusion hovered over her head. Ign it worked for her when she had more pressing troubles immediately at hand, the group’s unity. Breakfast and the brief, hopefully sting, reprieve from the tension gave her mind time to wander away from her.

  So much of st night seemed to have happened in a short amount of time that it had turned into a blur for her. She struggled to put the night together for her. Everythi sn. Even seeing Yuki fight in front of the school and witnessing all of the destru, the chaos in the vilge still weighed on her. It mixed up her thoughts, fusing her.

  Waking up in Yori’s arms came as her first clear memory. She remembered deg to follow after Yuki to help him when the vilge came utack, but everything iween turned into a haze for her. She hoped that while they walked they would fill in the bnks that she had questions about, but in everyone’s silence she only remained in turmoil. Yet she uood the importance of them needing to leave the vilge when she woke up. The certainty amidst her fusion stacked upon her like a poorly banced pile of chopped wood waiting for the worst possible time to colpse.

  She took a small bite into a baked bread filled with nuts. The others arouill seemed oblivious for the moment and enjoying themselves. ‘Yuki has so mu his mind already and I feel that the others have their own simir problems that make them dwell. I shouldn’t bother them with my problems. I o sort it out on my own.’

  Out across the fields of grass, Simoood in front of the small group Abeiron had under his and. A pair of binocurs rested over his face getting a view of the band of intruders that they chased. He reized Yuki and Seiji out of the group, but half of them had their backs to him. So he had no clear sight oire party. ‘Nine in total. I was right in my feeling that there were more. How many are MP users?’ He lowered the binocurs down and turned back to his soldiers.

  Amongst the group were three White uniforms this time and ten Biforms. He knew quite well that the squad stood no success against the intruders if a fight dragged out. It had to be swift. No hard facts proved him to be correbsp; His impression told him not to believe in what he saw simply with his eyes. However, the battle was important and very necessary. His men knew well the dahat they faced.

  Abeiron stood in front of his team, the extra Whites added for the mission, but otherwise all his team from the initial searbsp; During their march, he got briefed oure of the Captain’s pn. The young ander looked ready aermio carry out the iven to him.

  Simonides returhe binocurs back to their specially fitted leather pouch at this lower babsp; “The enemy is within sight, breaking for a meal. We’ll use this opportunity while they’re resting off guard to strike.” Slowly stepping forward, he impressed his authority upon his men. He carried himself with strict, fident steps to instill strength to them. Fear had to be removed.

  “You all know what you face down there. Never uimate them for a moment. They may appear like children to you, but remember what they were capable of doing to Skoupa. We know more about the ehis time. The same mistakes will not be made. Use what we’ve learned against them. Make them uand that their rebellion will not succeed! You are all soldiers of the South Gate and we always catch our prey! Be proud of who you are! I expect you all to e back alive!”

  “Yes, sir!” echoed everyone’s voi trained unison. They all came to quick attention and saluted their Captain.

  “ehe operation! Move out!”

  All of the soldiers fanned out into their assigned groups passing around Simonides with their destination down the pins. Once his men began to grow more distant to his ears, he turned around to follow the lines of battle beginning to form. With his eyes, he sed the field setting up marks in his mind of the pn and tactibsp; He retrieved his binocurs once more turning into a spectator. ‘The first stage begins…’

  “Don’t you think you’ve had enough already?!” snapped Saki. She ripped the dried fruit piece out of Yuki’s hand just before reag his mouth. The fruit found its way back to the small tied poubsp; “We ’t over indulge. Do you want to keep making trips into vilges for food and risk getting them caught up in our troubles?”

  “…no…” Yuki pouted a bit with disappoi.

  Fumiko let out a tiny ugh amused with the se betweewo. “You sounded like his mother for a moment, Saki!” The others smiled a little as well before most of the group broke out into ughter, especially seeing Saki’s reddening face reag to Fumiko. She tried to deny it, but fell upoy ears.

  Suddenly, the light mood shattered like gss crashing to the floor. Blood sprayed up everywhere from all dires. It all happened so quickly that they stared in fusion not uanding what happened. Pain pierced them all as they found bdes pierced through their chest. Yuki colpsed first, his eyes turning lifeless as blood pooled out. Yumi fell st desperately reag out for Yuki as she felt her own life fading, g as the empty shell of Yuki before her.

  Appearing from what seemed like the very air, Abeiron and his men with dripping swords looked down pleased at the quipletion of their mission.