Here is chapter 3. ^^ Link to chapter 1:
And the link to chapter 2:
Chapter 3
“This is the girl who defeated Yaburu? He should be ashamed of himself,” she heard.
Yaburu? That guy she just killed? But that just happened not too long ago! How did they know about that already? It should have been impossible for anyone else to have known what happened! “Who are you!? Show yourself already!” she shouted again. Where did the chains appear from anyway?
Two guys appeared in front of her, and one of them were holding chains! At least she knew where the chains came from, but unless he let go then she was in trouble.
The one with the chains had short black hair that was very similar to Kodoku's hair. His eyes were different than Kodoku's, though. He had silver eyes, not the blue eyes that she found so beautiful. He wore a white jacket, and had black jeans. He had a sword, but it was in the sheath. He looked a lot like Kodoku; if it weren't for the eyes then she would have called him Kodoku. Was that guy his brother?
The other guy was scary looking compared to the chain guy. When she looked at him it sent a chill through her. He looked like he belonged in a haunted house, especially with the black wings. They looked so real, but wings didn't exist, did they? If magic existed then that meant there was a possibility that wings existed too. He had spiky black hair, and spiked hair was so old school. Nobody had spiked hair unless they were trying to pretend to be cool, which never worked. His green eyes looked like he finally found his prey after he chased it for hours. Then he had black armor everywhere, except his head and shoulders. Then he had a blue sword that had no sheath located on his body. The sword seemed like it was glowing from the magic it was releasing.
She would have to be careful of the winged guy. Even though he wasn't the one with the chains he had wings and didn't have a sheath for the blue sword. It was faint, but she sensed the magic the sword was releasing.
The one with the wings started to walk toward her staff.
“Stay away from it!” she exclaimed in a panic. She didn't want them to discover that the magic they wanted was hidden in the staff.
“What can you do when you're chained up like that? Do you want me to end this now by taking the magic that we deserve?” he asked, and then he started to walk toward her.
She tried to break free from the chains, but they wouldn't even budge. “No! Don't come closer!” she yelled. She didn't know what to do! She had to break free, but the chains wouldn't move! She didn't want to end up like her Mom and Misa!
She heard the winged man laugh, but it seemed more like the wind with the chill that went up her spine.
He grabbed his sword, and then held it straight up so it was between them.
She was terrified, mainly because the sword was pulsing, and a white mist was coming out of it. There was no way the sword was a normal magic weapon! Something was telling her it wasn't normal!
“Looks like this is the end. We'll finally have the strongest magic in the world!” he exclaimed.
“Stop it, Kikai!” a familiar voice said. Why did he always show up whenever she was in danger?
Kodoku came running out of the forest. He was breathing hard, but that didn't hide the glare that was aimed at the chain guy.
“Not now, Kodoku. We're busy,” was all the chained guy said.
“Kikai, we don't need the magic power!” he shouted. “Kuroi, don't try it! Put your sword down!”
Did Kodoku really care that much? How could he care when he didn't care after she killed Yaburu? How could he go from being cold to caring?
'It's because he's trying to trick you. Kill him!'
That voice again! Why did she hear it when it didn't belong to anybody that was at the lake? It seemed to hate Kodoku, but she didn't understand what it wanted! She wouldn't kill Kodoku! She would never harm him, even if he was cold to her. That was how much she cared for him; she would ignore all his flaws. She didn't even understand why she ran away from him earlier. It wasn't his fault at his brother was evil.
“Kodoku, you know we need this magic power. We tried getting it years ago, but her Mother got in the way!” the winged man yelled.
“Kuroi, her Mother had the power back then! She was able to transfer it, so I doubt the power would be here!” Kodoku exclaimed.
She couldn't believe that Kodoku was trying to save her. What happened to the guy who said that being alone was better for her? She was happy that he was trying to save her, but she couldn't help but feel sad. He had to get involved because of her and because of her brother, and he probably only wanted to be normal.
Everything was her fault. All she did was run away when Kodoku was trying to deal with everything his own way. If she hadn't run away then maybe Kodoku wouldn't have gotten involved. Maybe she wouldn't have been chained up like a mouse in a trap.
'Don't feel guilt. Feeling guilt shows
weakness, and you shouldn't have any weaknesses. But if you join the darkness then all your weaknesses will vanish.'
What was with that voice every time she was down on herself, or questioning everything!? It was getting annoying, and she was sick of it! Why would she join the darkness when there was no love in that world!?
“What if the magic was still here though? We have to make sure since we can't tell when it's transferred!” Kuroi yelled.
“No! Kuroi, I'll fight you myself if I have to. I won't allow you to harm her!” Kodoku exclaimed. Kodoku against that guy; who she assumed was Kuroi? Kodoku wouldn't survive if he battled against him!
“It's useless, Kodoku. You can't even beat your brother, yet you think you can beat me?” Kuroi laughed.
That was it. She would not listen to their argument any longer. Kodoku was risking his life even though he didn't have to! She was blind. The passage about Misa blinded her. Misa ran away, but it didn't save her. Running away was what made her disappear. 'I won't run away anymore. I won't end up like Misa! I will end this cycle, no matter what!' she thought confidently. All she needed was her staff, and then she could fight. “Kodoku! Lets fight him together! He won't stand a chance against us! I just need one thing, and then I can find!”
Kodoku stared at her for a moment, a shocked expression on his face, and then he glanced at the staff without turning his head. He charged at Kuroi, and it looked like he was going to attack him! What was he doing!? Didn't he understand what she said!?
“I'm tired of you! This time your punishment is death!” Kuroi shouted.
As soon as Kodoku was about to get slashed at he jumped out of the way and grabbed her staff. “Miku!” he exclaimed as he threw it to her.
“She won't get it!” Kuroi shouted as he was about to strike the staff.
“Don't forget about me, Kuroi!” Kodoku shouted as he tackled him.
She knew she wouldn't be able to grab the staff; the position her hands were in made that impossible, but the magic might work if she just touched it!
When the staff was about to pass by her it barely touched her fingertips!
“Light Lunar Moon Ray!” she exclaimed quickly.
Even though the staff wasn't in her hand it still worked! The staff glowed yellow, and then the chains disappeared as the light went in all directions.
“The chains,” Kikai said.
She landed on her feet then grabbed her staff. She couldn't believe that actually worked. She thought it wouldn't work since it wasn't in her hand, and the fact that she wasn't touching it when it used the attack.
“I had enough of this! You will feel my full power now!” Kuroi yelled as he threw Kodoku off of him.
Kodoku ran over to her and grabbed her wrist. “We have to run! We can't stop the attack, and we won't survive if we get hit!” he said in a fearful tone.
Was Kuroi really that powerful? One hit and it would have been over?
“We have to stay, Kodoku. I have to end this cycle! I won't end it if I run away,” she explained.
A black aura surrounded Kuroi, and it seemed like it was expanding.
“Light Lunar Moon Beam!” she exclaimed, but nothing happened. Why? Why wouldn't anything happen? Was the staff broken?
“The staff must have ran out of magic. This is your second battle for the day, and you did use a lot of magic against Yaburu,” Kodoku explained.
She couldn't be out of magic! They wouldn't be able to escape in time! What would she do? It couldn't end like that! It was too soon for her to be defeated. It was only her second day of fighting!
'That's because light is so weak. Your feelings get in the way, but darkness doesn't have those feelings,' she heard again.
That voice really was starting to get on her nerves, but she ignored it. She had to focus on Kuroi and Kikai, not that voice.
“No more magic? What a shame. Now you have no way of defending yourself! Dark Power!” Kuroi shouted.
The aura was flying at them with great speed; there way no way they could avoid it! She was shocked when she saw Kodoku walk in front of her. What was he doing!? He wasn't planning on protecting her, was he? He couldn't sacrifice himself like that!
She looked at her staff, and then threw it to the side. It wouldn't help her if it was out of magic. “No! Stay back, Kodoku!” she yelled as she grabbed his hand. She closed her eyes; waiting for the pain to come.
“What is this?” Kodoku asked shockingly.
She opened her eyes to see what shocked him, but then she saw it. Something that was a silver color was all around them. It looked like it could be wind, but the area under their feet was crystallized. The silver was moving around in waves, so it couldn't have been crystal. She never seen anything like it before. It looked so pretty in the air, but what was it?
“What? How did that thing manage to block it!? What is that thing!?” Kuroi shouted in rage.
“I think that was her true magic, Kuroi. It was the first attack she used without the staff. Maybe the magic we've been looking for was in the staff, not their body,” Kikai explained.
No. He figured it out. How could he have figured it out that easily? No one would have made that conclusion that quickly!
“The staff? Her Mother didn't have a staff when we saw her. Did she know it would have been safe for a while?” Kuroi asked.
Her Mom? Did they fight her Mom? That was the only thing she could have linked to her Mom's disappearance. If they were the cause of her Mom's disappearance then she would never forgive them! They didn't deserve forgiveness!
“It's strange, though. Her magic was unusually strong. It was stronger than the magic in the staff, which was supposedly the strongest magic in the world. The staff's magic was nothing compared to the magic we just seen,” Kikai explained.
What!? What made him think there was something stronger than the ring? She had to get them to believe that the magic in the ring was the magic they were after.
“Shut up! We were told that there was nothing stronger than that magic!” Kodoku shouted with rage in his voice.
“It was a voice that told us that. We never met the voice in person. How do you expect us to trust someone we never met?” Kuroi asked.
Wait, he said a voice. She heard a voice yesterday when Yaburu attacked her! Was their voice the same as the one she heard?
“You met him though. I was the voice. I was always abnormally smart, and after you researched the magic I created the voice. I knew everything about the magic, but you wouldn't listen to me. I knew the facts, the myths, everything. I told you everything that I knew about the ring,” Kodoku explained sadly, and then he winked at her.
He told them lies? Did he tell her the same thing as them so she would have the same idea as them?
“You were that voice!? If we knew that we wouldn't have believed what you said! You were always against us from the beginning! So everything about that magic was a lie. Our ancestors were deceived too!” Kuroi yelled. “Kikai! Capture them. We have to get the truth out of Kodoku, and we must identify the magic from the girl.”
“Don't do it, Kikai!” she pleaded. She couldn't watch them fight each other like that. They were lucky to have each other. She wished she had a sister or a brother, so she wouldn't have been alone. They shouldn't fight when they were family. “He's your brother! Doesn't that mean anything to you? Don't you care about him? It doesn't matter if you're evil! You still have feelings!” She knew that it was useless to convince him, but she wouldn't give up! She would keep trying until the end!
“Chain Frenzy,” Kikai said.
Chains flew out of the sword and started flying all over the place. She was planning on running away from the chains, but they never came toward her. They were circling around Kuroi!? Did Kikai actually listen to her?
“You were a traitor after all, Kikai. What a shame. You were the best fighter I had,” Kuroi said.
“What are you doing standing there!? Run!” Kikai shouted.
Kodoku grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the staff. She picked it up, and then looked at Kikai.
“Leave it to him. We wouldn't be much help with those chains everywhere. Change back to your normal self for now,” Kodoku explained.
Navigating her attacks through the chains would have been difficult, and her staff was out of magic. She knew Kodoku was right, but wasn't he worried about Kikai?
She closed her eyes, and then she was back to her normal self. “Good Luck, Kikai!” she exclaimed before she ran away with Kodoku. But where would they run to? They couldn't return to school, and there was no way her house was safe.
“We have to get to my house! We might be safe there for some time, and it's the perfect place for us to talk about the truth,” he said. “Lets hope that a miracle happens, because Kikai needs a miracle to beat Kuroi.”
She didn't blame him for lying to her, since it was to make sure Kuroi didn't find out about the magic in the ring. It took her a while to get use to the lie. How long would it take her to adapt to the truth? Did she want to know what the truth was?
“The truth is complicated, Miku. I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how to say it. Not only was I worried about telling you that, I was terrified that you were going to leave me,” he explained. “I didn't want you to find out that Kikai was my brother, and that he was evil. When you ran away from me at school I thought I lost you. I knew if you left me then I wouldn't stand a chance against Kuroi. If you weren't around then I wouldn't have stood a chance against Kuroi.”
'Kodoku,' she thought. How long did he know about Kuroi? Kuroi mentioned how years ago he heard a voice. Was Kodoku involved in this mess for years?
They were finally out of the forest after what felt like an eternity to Miku.
The only problem was she didn't recognize any of the houses. Where were they? All the houses were painted black, and you couldn't see through the windows. The curtains were closed, and it appeared the windows were tinted black. Those houses would have been the perfect hiding place! Too bad Kodoku didn't live in any of them.
“I live in the middle house there. Unfortunately, the others live in the houses around it. They thought it would be a good idea to stay close together, so we have to be quiet until we get inside,” he whispered.
He lived in one of the houses? No wonder why he said they would be safe for some time. Hiding next to the enemies was risky, but smart.
They slowly walked toward the house while looking at all the other houses. There were four houses around Kodoku's, and one was already dead. Then there would only be three enemies left, hopefully.
Kodoku slowly opened the door, and then quickly pulled her in. He locked the door quickly afterward.
There wasn't that much in the room. There was only a black couch, a TV, and computer. “Kikai only wanted what was necessary. My room is the only thing that is filled. I love books, although Kikai hates them,” he said. Kodoku really was a smart kid. How was he still a first year when he was sixteen? He pointed to the couch, and then they both took a seat. “This might be hard to understand, but please believe me. It wasn't a lie when I told you they were after an ancient magic. It was the magic in the ring, but now after what we saw they're surely going to come after the one in your body now. I told you that you might have a magic that was dormant. What we saw was that magic. The magic in your ring isn't useless though. This is the first time a magic stronger than it appeared,” he explained. “Kuroi isn't the main enemy. He use to be kind, but then he suddenly changed. He started talking about power and how it was the only way to survive in this world. Everybody followed him. They didn't think anything was wrong with him. It was also the first time I was scared. Kuroi was like a father to us, and it felt like I was alone. I didn't know how to survive, so I pretended to follow Kuroi. They had me read all the books they found, and I lied to them. I was worried about them, but I couldn't talk to them about it. I didn't want them to destroy themselves over magic, so I told them about the power your family was protecting. I felt guilty about it, but I had to send them after something! I'm trying to find out what happened to Kuroi eleven years ago.”
“Wait! My Mom disappeared eleven years ago! I know that Kuroi met her, but I don't know what happened. Can you tell me if you know?” she asked.
He wouldn't look at her after she asked the question. That probably meant she wouldn't like the answer he was about to give.
“Kuroi went to your house to get the magic, but he got an ally instead,” he whispered sadly. There were tears rolling down his cheeks.
“An ally? That's impossible! My Mom wasn't evil,” she cried. Why was her Mom with Kuroi? No, she had to be like Kodoku! She was probably pretending to be their ally!
“At first I thought she was pretending, but I was wrong. She was using Kuroi to gain information, and she left after she got it. We haven't seen her since she left, but Kuroi is desperate. He thinks it's a race now! I have to change him back to his old self before he gets hurt, but I don't know what changed him,” Kodoku cried.
Was he the same Kodoku who was about to fight Kuroi? How did he manage to go against Kuroi when he cared so much about him? It must have been hard to live with secrets like that. Was her Mom like that too? Was it the reason she turned evil?
'No. She turned evil because it was the only way for her to survive.'
That voice again!? When would it leave her alone!? She wasn't going to turn evil! She wasn't going to leave Kodoku like everyone else did.
“When did he change?” she asked calmly.
“A few days before your parents disappeared,” he replied.
Around the time her parents disappeared. The timing was too weird. It couldn't have been a coincidence that Kuroi was changed around the time her parents disappeared,
“Kodo? When did you get home?” a girl asked.
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And the link to chapter 2:
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Chapter 3
“This is the girl who defeated Yaburu? He should be ashamed of himself,” she heard.
Yaburu? That guy she just killed? But that just happened not too long ago! How did they know about that already? It should have been impossible for anyone else to have known what happened! “Who are you!? Show yourself already!” she shouted again. Where did the chains appear from anyway?
Two guys appeared in front of her, and one of them were holding chains! At least she knew where the chains came from, but unless he let go then she was in trouble.
The one with the chains had short black hair that was very similar to Kodoku's hair. His eyes were different than Kodoku's, though. He had silver eyes, not the blue eyes that she found so beautiful. He wore a white jacket, and had black jeans. He had a sword, but it was in the sheath. He looked a lot like Kodoku; if it weren't for the eyes then she would have called him Kodoku. Was that guy his brother?
The other guy was scary looking compared to the chain guy. When she looked at him it sent a chill through her. He looked like he belonged in a haunted house, especially with the black wings. They looked so real, but wings didn't exist, did they? If magic existed then that meant there was a possibility that wings existed too. He had spiky black hair, and spiked hair was so old school. Nobody had spiked hair unless they were trying to pretend to be cool, which never worked. His green eyes looked like he finally found his prey after he chased it for hours. Then he had black armor everywhere, except his head and shoulders. Then he had a blue sword that had no sheath located on his body. The sword seemed like it was glowing from the magic it was releasing.
She would have to be careful of the winged guy. Even though he wasn't the one with the chains he had wings and didn't have a sheath for the blue sword. It was faint, but she sensed the magic the sword was releasing.
The one with the wings started to walk toward her staff.
“Stay away from it!” she exclaimed in a panic. She didn't want them to discover that the magic they wanted was hidden in the staff.
“What can you do when you're chained up like that? Do you want me to end this now by taking the magic that we deserve?” he asked, and then he started to walk toward her.
She tried to break free from the chains, but they wouldn't even budge. “No! Don't come closer!” she yelled. She didn't know what to do! She had to break free, but the chains wouldn't move! She didn't want to end up like her Mom and Misa!
She heard the winged man laugh, but it seemed more like the wind with the chill that went up her spine.
He grabbed his sword, and then held it straight up so it was between them.
She was terrified, mainly because the sword was pulsing, and a white mist was coming out of it. There was no way the sword was a normal magic weapon! Something was telling her it wasn't normal!
“Looks like this is the end. We'll finally have the strongest magic in the world!” he exclaimed.
“Stop it, Kikai!” a familiar voice said. Why did he always show up whenever she was in danger?
Kodoku came running out of the forest. He was breathing hard, but that didn't hide the glare that was aimed at the chain guy.
“Not now, Kodoku. We're busy,” was all the chained guy said.
“Kikai, we don't need the magic power!” he shouted. “Kuroi, don't try it! Put your sword down!”
Did Kodoku really care that much? How could he care when he didn't care after she killed Yaburu? How could he go from being cold to caring?
'It's because he's trying to trick you. Kill him!'
That voice again! Why did she hear it when it didn't belong to anybody that was at the lake? It seemed to hate Kodoku, but she didn't understand what it wanted! She wouldn't kill Kodoku! She would never harm him, even if he was cold to her. That was how much she cared for him; she would ignore all his flaws. She didn't even understand why she ran away from him earlier. It wasn't his fault at his brother was evil.
“Kodoku, you know we need this magic power. We tried getting it years ago, but her Mother got in the way!” the winged man yelled.
“Kuroi, her Mother had the power back then! She was able to transfer it, so I doubt the power would be here!” Kodoku exclaimed.
She couldn't believe that Kodoku was trying to save her. What happened to the guy who said that being alone was better for her? She was happy that he was trying to save her, but she couldn't help but feel sad. He had to get involved because of her and because of her brother, and he probably only wanted to be normal.
Everything was her fault. All she did was run away when Kodoku was trying to deal with everything his own way. If she hadn't run away then maybe Kodoku wouldn't have gotten involved. Maybe she wouldn't have been chained up like a mouse in a trap.
'Don't feel guilt. Feeling guilt shows
weakness, and you shouldn't have any weaknesses. But if you join the darkness then all your weaknesses will vanish.'
What was with that voice every time she was down on herself, or questioning everything!? It was getting annoying, and she was sick of it! Why would she join the darkness when there was no love in that world!?
“What if the magic was still here though? We have to make sure since we can't tell when it's transferred!” Kuroi yelled.
“No! Kuroi, I'll fight you myself if I have to. I won't allow you to harm her!” Kodoku exclaimed. Kodoku against that guy; who she assumed was Kuroi? Kodoku wouldn't survive if he battled against him!
“It's useless, Kodoku. You can't even beat your brother, yet you think you can beat me?” Kuroi laughed.
That was it. She would not listen to their argument any longer. Kodoku was risking his life even though he didn't have to! She was blind. The passage about Misa blinded her. Misa ran away, but it didn't save her. Running away was what made her disappear. 'I won't run away anymore. I won't end up like Misa! I will end this cycle, no matter what!' she thought confidently. All she needed was her staff, and then she could fight. “Kodoku! Lets fight him together! He won't stand a chance against us! I just need one thing, and then I can find!”
Kodoku stared at her for a moment, a shocked expression on his face, and then he glanced at the staff without turning his head. He charged at Kuroi, and it looked like he was going to attack him! What was he doing!? Didn't he understand what she said!?
“I'm tired of you! This time your punishment is death!” Kuroi shouted.
As soon as Kodoku was about to get slashed at he jumped out of the way and grabbed her staff. “Miku!” he exclaimed as he threw it to her.
“She won't get it!” Kuroi shouted as he was about to strike the staff.
“Don't forget about me, Kuroi!” Kodoku shouted as he tackled him.
She knew she wouldn't be able to grab the staff; the position her hands were in made that impossible, but the magic might work if she just touched it!
When the staff was about to pass by her it barely touched her fingertips!
“Light Lunar Moon Ray!” she exclaimed quickly.
Even though the staff wasn't in her hand it still worked! The staff glowed yellow, and then the chains disappeared as the light went in all directions.
“The chains,” Kikai said.
She landed on her feet then grabbed her staff. She couldn't believe that actually worked. She thought it wouldn't work since it wasn't in her hand, and the fact that she wasn't touching it when it used the attack.
“I had enough of this! You will feel my full power now!” Kuroi yelled as he threw Kodoku off of him.
Kodoku ran over to her and grabbed her wrist. “We have to run! We can't stop the attack, and we won't survive if we get hit!” he said in a fearful tone.
Was Kuroi really that powerful? One hit and it would have been over?
“We have to stay, Kodoku. I have to end this cycle! I won't end it if I run away,” she explained.
A black aura surrounded Kuroi, and it seemed like it was expanding.
“Light Lunar Moon Beam!” she exclaimed, but nothing happened. Why? Why wouldn't anything happen? Was the staff broken?
“The staff must have ran out of magic. This is your second battle for the day, and you did use a lot of magic against Yaburu,” Kodoku explained.
She couldn't be out of magic! They wouldn't be able to escape in time! What would she do? It couldn't end like that! It was too soon for her to be defeated. It was only her second day of fighting!
'That's because light is so weak. Your feelings get in the way, but darkness doesn't have those feelings,' she heard again.
That voice really was starting to get on her nerves, but she ignored it. She had to focus on Kuroi and Kikai, not that voice.
“No more magic? What a shame. Now you have no way of defending yourself! Dark Power!” Kuroi shouted.
The aura was flying at them with great speed; there way no way they could avoid it! She was shocked when she saw Kodoku walk in front of her. What was he doing!? He wasn't planning on protecting her, was he? He couldn't sacrifice himself like that!
She looked at her staff, and then threw it to the side. It wouldn't help her if it was out of magic. “No! Stay back, Kodoku!” she yelled as she grabbed his hand. She closed her eyes; waiting for the pain to come.
“What is this?” Kodoku asked shockingly.
She opened her eyes to see what shocked him, but then she saw it. Something that was a silver color was all around them. It looked like it could be wind, but the area under their feet was crystallized. The silver was moving around in waves, so it couldn't have been crystal. She never seen anything like it before. It looked so pretty in the air, but what was it?
“What? How did that thing manage to block it!? What is that thing!?” Kuroi shouted in rage.
“I think that was her true magic, Kuroi. It was the first attack she used without the staff. Maybe the magic we've been looking for was in the staff, not their body,” Kikai explained.
No. He figured it out. How could he have figured it out that easily? No one would have made that conclusion that quickly!
“The staff? Her Mother didn't have a staff when we saw her. Did she know it would have been safe for a while?” Kuroi asked.
Her Mom? Did they fight her Mom? That was the only thing she could have linked to her Mom's disappearance. If they were the cause of her Mom's disappearance then she would never forgive them! They didn't deserve forgiveness!
“It's strange, though. Her magic was unusually strong. It was stronger than the magic in the staff, which was supposedly the strongest magic in the world. The staff's magic was nothing compared to the magic we just seen,” Kikai explained.
What!? What made him think there was something stronger than the ring? She had to get them to believe that the magic in the ring was the magic they were after.
“Shut up! We were told that there was nothing stronger than that magic!” Kodoku shouted with rage in his voice.
“It was a voice that told us that. We never met the voice in person. How do you expect us to trust someone we never met?” Kuroi asked.
Wait, he said a voice. She heard a voice yesterday when Yaburu attacked her! Was their voice the same as the one she heard?
“You met him though. I was the voice. I was always abnormally smart, and after you researched the magic I created the voice. I knew everything about the magic, but you wouldn't listen to me. I knew the facts, the myths, everything. I told you everything that I knew about the ring,” Kodoku explained sadly, and then he winked at her.
He told them lies? Did he tell her the same thing as them so she would have the same idea as them?
“You were that voice!? If we knew that we wouldn't have believed what you said! You were always against us from the beginning! So everything about that magic was a lie. Our ancestors were deceived too!” Kuroi yelled. “Kikai! Capture them. We have to get the truth out of Kodoku, and we must identify the magic from the girl.”
“Don't do it, Kikai!” she pleaded. She couldn't watch them fight each other like that. They were lucky to have each other. She wished she had a sister or a brother, so she wouldn't have been alone. They shouldn't fight when they were family. “He's your brother! Doesn't that mean anything to you? Don't you care about him? It doesn't matter if you're evil! You still have feelings!” She knew that it was useless to convince him, but she wouldn't give up! She would keep trying until the end!
“Chain Frenzy,” Kikai said.
Chains flew out of the sword and started flying all over the place. She was planning on running away from the chains, but they never came toward her. They were circling around Kuroi!? Did Kikai actually listen to her?
“You were a traitor after all, Kikai. What a shame. You were the best fighter I had,” Kuroi said.
“What are you doing standing there!? Run!” Kikai shouted.
Kodoku grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the staff. She picked it up, and then looked at Kikai.
“Leave it to him. We wouldn't be much help with those chains everywhere. Change back to your normal self for now,” Kodoku explained.
Navigating her attacks through the chains would have been difficult, and her staff was out of magic. She knew Kodoku was right, but wasn't he worried about Kikai?
She closed her eyes, and then she was back to her normal self. “Good Luck, Kikai!” she exclaimed before she ran away with Kodoku. But where would they run to? They couldn't return to school, and there was no way her house was safe.
“We have to get to my house! We might be safe there for some time, and it's the perfect place for us to talk about the truth,” he said. “Lets hope that a miracle happens, because Kikai needs a miracle to beat Kuroi.”
She didn't blame him for lying to her, since it was to make sure Kuroi didn't find out about the magic in the ring. It took her a while to get use to the lie. How long would it take her to adapt to the truth? Did she want to know what the truth was?
“The truth is complicated, Miku. I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how to say it. Not only was I worried about telling you that, I was terrified that you were going to leave me,” he explained. “I didn't want you to find out that Kikai was my brother, and that he was evil. When you ran away from me at school I thought I lost you. I knew if you left me then I wouldn't stand a chance against Kuroi. If you weren't around then I wouldn't have stood a chance against Kuroi.”
'Kodoku,' she thought. How long did he know about Kuroi? Kuroi mentioned how years ago he heard a voice. Was Kodoku involved in this mess for years?
They were finally out of the forest after what felt like an eternity to Miku.
The only problem was she didn't recognize any of the houses. Where were they? All the houses were painted black, and you couldn't see through the windows. The curtains were closed, and it appeared the windows were tinted black. Those houses would have been the perfect hiding place! Too bad Kodoku didn't live in any of them.
“I live in the middle house there. Unfortunately, the others live in the houses around it. They thought it would be a good idea to stay close together, so we have to be quiet until we get inside,” he whispered.
He lived in one of the houses? No wonder why he said they would be safe for some time. Hiding next to the enemies was risky, but smart.
They slowly walked toward the house while looking at all the other houses. There were four houses around Kodoku's, and one was already dead. Then there would only be three enemies left, hopefully.
Kodoku slowly opened the door, and then quickly pulled her in. He locked the door quickly afterward.
There wasn't that much in the room. There was only a black couch, a TV, and computer. “Kikai only wanted what was necessary. My room is the only thing that is filled. I love books, although Kikai hates them,” he said. Kodoku really was a smart kid. How was he still a first year when he was sixteen? He pointed to the couch, and then they both took a seat. “This might be hard to understand, but please believe me. It wasn't a lie when I told you they were after an ancient magic. It was the magic in the ring, but now after what we saw they're surely going to come after the one in your body now. I told you that you might have a magic that was dormant. What we saw was that magic. The magic in your ring isn't useless though. This is the first time a magic stronger than it appeared,” he explained. “Kuroi isn't the main enemy. He use to be kind, but then he suddenly changed. He started talking about power and how it was the only way to survive in this world. Everybody followed him. They didn't think anything was wrong with him. It was also the first time I was scared. Kuroi was like a father to us, and it felt like I was alone. I didn't know how to survive, so I pretended to follow Kuroi. They had me read all the books they found, and I lied to them. I was worried about them, but I couldn't talk to them about it. I didn't want them to destroy themselves over magic, so I told them about the power your family was protecting. I felt guilty about it, but I had to send them after something! I'm trying to find out what happened to Kuroi eleven years ago.”
“Wait! My Mom disappeared eleven years ago! I know that Kuroi met her, but I don't know what happened. Can you tell me if you know?” she asked.
He wouldn't look at her after she asked the question. That probably meant she wouldn't like the answer he was about to give.
“Kuroi went to your house to get the magic, but he got an ally instead,” he whispered sadly. There were tears rolling down his cheeks.
“An ally? That's impossible! My Mom wasn't evil,” she cried. Why was her Mom with Kuroi? No, she had to be like Kodoku! She was probably pretending to be their ally!
“At first I thought she was pretending, but I was wrong. She was using Kuroi to gain information, and she left after she got it. We haven't seen her since she left, but Kuroi is desperate. He thinks it's a race now! I have to change him back to his old self before he gets hurt, but I don't know what changed him,” Kodoku cried.
Was he the same Kodoku who was about to fight Kuroi? How did he manage to go against Kuroi when he cared so much about him? It must have been hard to live with secrets like that. Was her Mom like that too? Was it the reason she turned evil?
'No. She turned evil because it was the only way for her to survive.'
That voice again!? When would it leave her alone!? She wasn't going to turn evil! She wasn't going to leave Kodoku like everyone else did.
“When did he change?” she asked calmly.
“A few days before your parents disappeared,” he replied.
Around the time her parents disappeared. The timing was too weird. It couldn't have been a coincidence that Kuroi was changed around the time her parents disappeared,
“Kodo? When did you get home?” a girl asked.
