Old World Remnants

[Zach Kaiser]

"The old world...?" He wondered what Remmy meant by that. The only thing he could think of is that he meant before the End, but if that was the case then this graveyard had been here for an incredibly long time.

As Eld was standing in front of Akizetsumei he had no idea that she was even doing anything until Remmy shouted. By the time he whirled around it was too late to prevent whatever was to happen next.

...Nothing happened.

He turned back to Remmy, confused. "What's the matter?"

[Nayt]

Remmy said nothing. He could only stand there, hand lifted, brow furrowed, and lips parted. He was frozen still, stuck in a whole body expression of mortified shock. Akizetsumei had touched the steel fan-- and though she didn't realize it, she'd gone so far as to lift it from the earth. She held it in one hand, no longer to clean it off, but to look at it-- except the girl's attention seemed empty.

A second passed in silence.

"Nhh--" Akizets whimpered under her breath. Eld and Remmy would be able to see that she was in pain long before she even began to realize it, however . . .

In the eyes of Akizetsumei of Terra, there was only darkness. It was as if she'd never opened her eyes at all. As if she were falling down some deep chasm with no end. She felt the weight of vertigo, and soon a wave of pain that rushed from her heart to all her extremities. She tried to open her eyes, but all she witnessed was that vast, eternal nothingness. An existence somewhere between reality and nothing. She shut her eyes again, clenched them tight, and suppressed the urge to scream by a sudden feeling of fatigue alone.

And in her mind, she saw something. Someone.

The woman had hair as platinum as Akizetsumei's, she wore the same clothes, and she even wore her hair in the same twin pigtail fashion-- except her hair was long, and she was older. Easily in her twenties. She held a steel fan in each of her hands.

And then, it wasn't Akizetsumei that was falling anymore, it was that woman.

"--hhhn." In reality, she let out a small breath, a shallow sigh, and shut her eyes.

Somewhere in-between, she heard a woman's voice:

You won't even know I existed
--static--
Because I was never really there.

A gust of wind picked up through the clearing; flecks of grass parted from their roots and followed the gust, and by the time it was gone, Akizetsumei of Terra was face down in the earth, unconscious.

[Zach Kaiser]

Remmy didn't answer him, and Eld was about to press him further when he heard a whimper from behind him. "H-Hey, Akizetsumei...?" She was in pain, that much was clear, but from what was the question. "Did you cut yourself or-"

A sudden burst of wind picked up in the graveyard; he shielded his eyes, but then he noticed the girl start to slump...

"Akizetsumei!" Pressing against the wind, Eld rushed forward, catching her before she could actually hit the ground. "Hey!"

This doesn't make any sense. She's out cold, but there's no injuries... There were, of course, medical conditions that could cause a person to faint, but as far as he knew she didn't possess anything of the sort.

Left with no other explanation, he turned to Remmy, cradling her in his arms. "You tried to warn her...what just happened?" It wasn't an accusation, as he'd clearly not wanted her to touch the fans (is that what caused it?) but he also clearly knew more about this place than most.

[Nayt]

Akizetsumei's hand had gone limp, and the steel fan fell uselessly to the ground. Remmy dropped his arm to his side and sulked his head and shoulders. Not the type of man to keep his emotions a secret, it appeared as if he cycled through three different feelings, all portrayed in his expression: guilt, disgust, and raw anger. He clenched his hands into tight fists, and Batou stood closer to him, attempting the only comfort he could give the man. It did little to alleviate Remmy, however, and he soon spun around, showing his back to Eld and the unconscious Akizetsumei.

"Take her to yer parents," Remmy said without at all answering Eld's question; he didn't even seem to acknowledge it. "They'll sort 'er out."

And with that, he stepped back onto the path and left the clearing behind him. Batou watched Eld and Akizetsumei for a short moment, before turning and following closely behind Remmy.

The whole scene was utterly bizarre. Remmy lost his composure entirely, and with his cool broken, he almost seemed downright cold. But there was something else to it, though, something beyond the bitterness in his voice: a faint hint of defeat.

[Zach Kaiser]

It was clear that Remmy wasn't ready to give him any answers, and Eld wanted to get Akizetsumei to his parents too much for him to press him any further. He glanced down at her once more, and double checked that she had no injuries, before starting down the path again, somehow finding the strength to move faster than they'd been hiking.

He stopped shortly in. Remmy was gone, vanished as though taken by the wind, along with Batou. No sign he left the path, and he wasn't going that fast...it's like he just vanished. He liked Remmy, he really did but...he was beginning to think there was something odd about him, something that went beyond his profession.

He didn't have time to dwell on it. He needed to get Akizetsumei to the clinic to make absolutely certain she was alright. Without any further hesitation he made his way through the forest as fast as he could.

******

As Eld had expected, his parents had found nothing physically wrong with her. They hypothesized that she was simply a combination of exhausted and dehydrated, but he knew better. She hadn't been flagging or otherwise showed any fatigue, and hadn't been doing anything strenuous at the time. But he found it impossible to convey this sentiment to his parents--in theory, Akizetsumei just needed some rest and then she'd wake up.

It was a theory Eld desperately wanted to believe, but there was something almost...surreal...about what happened. In truth, he wasn't sure what to believe, other than that he had failed to prevent this. It didn't matter that there was no reasonable way he could predict what had happened--not that he even knew what really happened.

It was a sentiment he suspected was shared by the room's only other conscious occupant. Sometimes he could read Toushikyo just fine, but it was hard to read someone when you felt too guilty to look at them. He'd explained what happened as best as he could, and if he hated his guts right now he could hardly blame him.

So he continued to stare at his lap, turning over what happened in his head, but no matter how much he mulled over it no answers came to him...

[Nayt]

When Toushikyo learned of what happened to Akizetsumei, he was more aggressive about a situation than he'd been since Akizets fell off a horse. He rushed out of the water, snatched Akizetsumei from Eld, held her unconscious body close to him, and whispered something into her ear. He clutched her as if he were scared to death that she'd slip away between his fingers. It was the most emotion anyone had ever seen Toushikyo express. He was an older brother, terrified and stricken with the worst brand of guilt of all-- and he did nothing to hide this fact.

Though Eld wound up carrying Akizetsumei back to the clinic, Toushikyo trailed very close behind. He kept speed with Eld, while everyone else had a tougher time keeping up. The trip back to Hillcrest was filled with worries, and they all parted ways once they were back-- except for Eld and Toushikyo.

Because it was for the best for Akizets not to be crowded upon waking up from something, Etsu stayed in Eld's room. No one at Akizetsumei's house knew about what was going on, either, so her only family here was Toushikyo. Oddly enough, Toushikyo insisted that this not reach his house.

"She'll awaken," Toushikyo said after a long while of silence.

He sounded more confident than Eld's parents, actually. As if there was no shadow of a doubt for him-- and though he was clearly worried about his little sister, his concerns seemed to only reach so far. He knew she was going to be all right. He knew better than Eld's parents that she was going to be all right. It was a complete 180 from his prior demeanor regarding Akizetsumei's condition.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld looked up, startled not just by the sudden speech but the actual words involved. And then he cracked a small smile; even in these circumstances, it was a relief to hear that Toushikyo didn't blame him. Or even sound worried, which was kind of odd.

"I'm glad you're so sure, at least," he replied. "I mean, there's no reason she shouldn't wake up, but without knowing why she fainted..." He trailed off, not willing to finish the thought.

He shook his head, then sighed. "Some aspiring doctor I am. I'm the one who should be comforting you."

"What makes you so certain?" He wasn't saying he was wrong...in fact, he really wanted to be as sure as Kyo was. But now that the silence was broken he didn't want to return to it, and he wasn't exactly chatty. The only way he could surely get him to talk was to ask him a question.

[Nayt]

Toushikyo, seated next to Eld right before Akizetsumei's bedside, looked across to his little sister. She looked like she was sleeping, but she didn't look at peace. He frowned. He hated to see her like this. Even if she were awake, even if it was a different situation altogether, she'd still be laying there in a hospital gown, tucked under blankets, and stripped of her natural serenity.

"I . . ." Toushikyo trailed off. He seemed prepared to actually give Eld an answer to this question, but it would have to wait for another day . . .

The first sign of Akizetsumei's awakening was a shudder of her shoulders. Toushikyo spotted this before anything else. He cut himself off from speaking and leaned forward, brow furrowed and eyes focused upon his little sister.

"Mn-- nhh--" a meek whimper escaped her.

Her fingers twitched, curled into a weak fist, and flared out again. Her eyelids fluttered in distant succession, and her heart rate began to rise dramatically. And yet, for all the gradual signs of awakening, when she actually awoke, it was fairly violent. She gasped loudly as she heaved up with her chest and shoulders. Her eyes snapped open and did not shut; she wound up sitting, breathless, staring wide eyed across the room. Rather quickly, she looked white as a ghost.

[Zach Kaiser]

All interest Eld had in hearing Toushikyo's answer was temporarily spirited away when he heard the groan. Like her brother, his eyes were glued to Akizetsumei. But rather than come to peacefully, she woke up as though she'd been having a nightmare.

"Whoa, easy there, easy," he said soothingly. He leaned forward, placing his hands behind her back and on her shoulder and easing her back down to the bed. "It's alright, you're fine."

And then he backed off to give her a bit of breathing room...save for his hand, which he rested on the bed near hers, for her to take if she wished--Toushikyo's presence be damned.

[Nayt]

It didn't seem as if Toushikyo really minded Eld being there to comfort Akizetsumei, even if he intended to be close and hold her hand-- or any of the sort. But Akizetsumei, on the other hand . . .

When Eld touched her-- that was when the first tear fell.

She shuddered all over and recoiled from his touch. Akizets pulled away quickly, took in several shaky breaths, and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She lifted her left hand up to her shoulder and clutched where Eld once set his hand as if she were suddenly pained by it.

Shaky breaths soon turned to heaves. She breathed from her nostrils, quick and disjointed and panicked. Tears flowed freely and continuously. She half hung off of the bed to put distance between herself and this feeling, but the feeling wouldn't go away-- and the longer it lasted, the more she cried. It wasn't long before Akizetsumei was sobbing. Eld had seen her cry before, though. He'd know what it was like when she was crying out of guilt and for fear for someone else. She was crying now just as she had been when Eld faced down a wolf to protect her, except this time, all the roles were swapped to a morbid degree.

The way she reacted to Eld's touch . . . it was as if she were scared to death of him . . .

[Zach Kaiser]

For several seconds Eld froze in place, stunned. That was not simply panic from having woken up from a nightmare...she was terrified. Terrified of him. Reeling from the realization, he slowly backed away and sat back down in his chair.

"H-Hey...what's the matter?" He was clearly a bit shaken and hurt, but she'd just woken up from being unconscious--something that was a lot less pleasant than sleep. If she was a little...emotional, that was understandable.

He glanced at Toushikyo, silently suggesting he go to her instead...well, assuming she wasn't just going to react like that to everyone.

[Nayt]

Promptly, Toushikyo stood from his chair and approached the bed in Eld's stead. Akizetsumei opened her eyes slowly and hesitantly, and the second she saw that it was her brother standing by her bedside, she leaned in towards him. Toushikyo set one hand upon her shoulder, which in turn prompted Akizets to thrust her face into his chest. She sobbed harder then, once she buried her face into his chest and clutched his shirt for dear life. Toushikyo frowned and wrapped his arms around the girl's shoulders.

"It was just a dream, Akizetsumei," Toushikyo said soothingly.

Akizets shook her head quickly. "N-noitwasn't," she cried.

"It wasn't real," he whispered. "You don't have to be afraid."

"B-but-- but everyone--" she had a brief moment of hesitation between sobs, "Mommy and daddy and Reru and you and-- Laina and me-- and-- and-- w-we all-- we were all-- ki-- ki--"

She couldn't bring herself to say it, though it was very clear what she was about to say. Instead, she broke down into sobs once again.

"Shh . . . it's okay. We're alive."

[Zach Kaiser]

As they talked, Eld suddenly realized he was an outsider here. Whatever happened had shattered the trust she'd had for him and replaced it with fear--his presence was only going to make things worse. Maybe it was just a dream, a nightmare, but that didn't change the fact that right now, in this moment, she was terrified of him.

"I'll go tell my parents she's awake," he murmured, exiting before anyone could object even if they would.

His parents, of course, were too distracted by her awakening to notice his dour mood, or perhaps they noticed and just knew they had other duties to perform. Etsu would no doubt be in his--their now, he reminded himself--room, and the last thing he wanted was a stare of accusation. She'd probably think he did something perverted.

So he went outside and trekked into the woods a bit, back to the hill. The beautiful day was turning gray quickly, and clouds were rolling in. As he stared up at the sky, he knew he was missing something--it felt like there was something on the edge of his vision, and every time he tried to look at it it flitted away...

Akizetsumei was awake. Chances were that in a few days if not hours she would come to her senses enough and probably stumble over herself apologizing to him. Things should have been hopeful.

And yet he couldn't shake the feeling that there was a storm coming, one that had nothing to do with the incoming clouds...

[Nayt]

That night, two silhouettes met at a cliffside overlooking the lakeside graveyard. One had been there first, waiting. The other was late. When he arrived, the first glanced over his shoulder just once, flashed a smirk, and looked down upon the graveyard once more.

"Roight on toime."

The second man scoffed. "'Tch, whatever."

He sounded reasonably upset, somewhere between guilt ridden and violently angry. This came out as a seething melting pot of emotions. The first man didn't seem to care in the least.

"You did the deed, roigh'?"

The second man crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah. I did. And it's for null."

"Whassat?"

"The kid ain't got what it takes. No grace under pressure. So forget about 'im an' let's leave that whole fuckin' group be, 'kay?" He insisted. It was clear in his voice that any stern disagreement was going to be met with his fist against the first man's skull.

The first man smirked and suppressed a chuckle. "You're lyin'."

The second man dropped his arms to his side and took a sharp step towards his compatriot. "What was that?" He demanded aggressively.

The first man tapped his index finger upon the side of his skull. "oI already saw this. oI already knew you were gonna lie to me."

"Oh yeah?" the second man spat, "Did ya already see me kickin' yer ass, too?"

This time, the first man couldn't suppress a chuckle. "Heh. Nah. Loooook, it's foine, don't bloody well get your panties in a bigger knot. She already found a better candidate."

The second man stared, dumbfounded. "A better candidate? Who?"

"Dunno. oI guess we don't meet 'im 'til after the Stop . . ."

The second man folded his arms over his chest again, deliberating. "At least two more days, then . . ."

"Yeah," the first nodded, "So le's just 'ope the world don't explode, 'cause we damn well botched this investigation."

"But you already knew we would, right?" Said the second sardonically.

"Yeah," the first shrugged. "Sad thing is, even knowin' that, oI was still koinda 'opin' we moight pull it off . . ."

[Nayt]

It'd been three days and there was still no sign of Akizetsumei. She'd gone home with Toushikyo . . . and that was it. That was the last Eld heard of her or anyone from the Terra clan in general. Akizets hadn't even made an attempt to come see Eld. Or it looked that way, at least.

With Eld in a pretty depressed state right now, Etsu didn't bother him. She at least had the decency to keep her loathing on the inside right about now. Though, she didn't talk to him too much. For the most part, she quietly read in his room, answered his questions with single words (whenever he actually said anything to her, that is), and kept to herself. He might think of it as a pretty decent change of pace when he was in his room and all-- but it wasn't permanent. The second Eld was feeling less down, Etsu was more than willing to return to an antagonizing state again.

Today was bound to be boring. It was guaranteed at the get-go. Just like the last couple of days, nothing was happening. No one was visiting and no one was leaving. Even Etsu was starting to get a little stir crazy after three days of nothing but quiet reading . . .