edelweiss - &team

26

At the crack of dawn, Euijoo and Fuma were up and about, Fuma was checking the little kitchenette that Harua had and Euijoo had prepared hot tea. As he sipped from a mug, he softly stepped through the tangle of legs and blankets, before he froze.

Yuma had fallen asleep and left the television on, which was still at the news site. The volume was turned down low, the news caster's words turned into mumbling but Euijoo was unable to take his eyes off the screen.

"The stove kinda works but everything else is a little funky-" Fuma reported to Euijoo, then stopped when he saw Euijoo frozen in front of the screen. "That..." Euijoo couldn't choke out the words, but Fuma's face went stark white as he took in the news.

An earthquake of 8 magnitude has struck a portion of Seoul. This was unusual, as this region has not experienced earthquakes in the past. Investigation of the situation has commenced. Most affected buildings are storefronts and the University of

Euijoo's head jerked to watch Fuma as horror spread across his face. "That's my university..." Fuma whispered.

-

"Why did you create humanity?"

Life's hand stopped curling above the swirling little sprouts in the garden. She was in charge of taking care of the children today, Death had things he wanted to do. Hence, the children were clustered in a group as she worked on expanding the garden. In response to Fuma's question, she smiled and said, "Because I wanted to create."

The children were baffled, so she continued with a laugh, "Isn't humanity fascinating? They're delicate and fragile yet push themselves to extremes. They're so simple, yet the art, music and literature they produce is exquisite. Aren't they lovely?"

Maki scrunched his nose, "I guess."

"What about us?" Jo asked, his innocent doe eyes bright. Life tenderly slipped her fingers through his hair, "You all must help me protect them as well. They're so full of life and love."

"But they're violent and aggressive too," Yudai argued, "Death says humans do everything selfishly."

Life's face visibly fell, "Everything is about balance. There is good and evil in everything. But it's not black and white, okay?"

Yuma blinked at Life's pure white dress, more enamoured at the brilliance and spotlessness than the subtle comparison.

"If you created humanity, that means you created us, didn't you?" Fuma suddenly asked.

Life laughed, "Well, I suppose so."

"Then what did you create us for?"

A pause, and Life's features were flooded with warmth. "My children, you are all destined to be my most perfect creations."

-

Yuma woke with dried tears at the corners of his eyes. The dream he had was so bittersweet, it filled him with nostalgia and longing. That pleasant feeling didn't last long, he quickly realised he was the last to wake. The others gathered standing together, looking grim.

Noticing that Yuma was up, Riki managed a wan smile, then raised his eyes carefully to look at Fuma, who looked shaken and worried.

"Did something happen?" Yuma asked, concerned.

"There's been an earthquake in Korea. In a region that never experiences earthquakes," Yixiang replied, pursing his lips. Yuma felt his heart drop. "It's his doing, I know it," Fuma said, his voice shaky, "I know everything about that city, and I know there isn't a single tectonic plate that could cause something like that "

"Death's promised events," Harua mused softly, "If you met Hikaru first, then he must have triggered it."

"Damn it, he's smart. This is a win-win for him, he gets to kill people and get under our skin," Yudai scowled.

Fuma finally sank to the floor, still mulling over it. Then he said, "Do you think he's going to start targeting us one by one?"

"Think about it," Maki suddenly said, "First Euijoo's shop was burnt down, we can assume it was Hayate or Death himself. Then you bump into Hikaru and suddenly there's an earthquake at Fuma's university, out of all the universities in the goddamn world."

"If we were to look at the pattern," Euijoo laced his fingers together tightly, his voice hoarse, "He is going for those that Life turned."

Even though Life was the one who had hand-picked all the children that were turned into immortals, she had only turned five out of the nine; Euijoo, Fuma, Riki, Jo and Harua.

"That leaves two more, three if he counts Harua, but no offence Harua, since you don't have material things or human connections, it's likely he won't..." Yixiang trailed off.

Harua waved his hands, "I'm not eager to have something devastating happen. So...It's between Jo and Riki now."

Riki's head hung low, evidently he was pondering over the possibilities. "My dance troupe," He suddenly said, "And the people in the slums I live with. I know it, he'll go for them."

"Can't we stop it? Can't we stop him?" Jo asked, mildly panicked, desperate.

And for once, the immortals were left completely helpless and silent.

Yudai looked like he needed a drink, so he disappeared into a different room to calm down. Harua dropped down to the ground, burying his head in his hands.

Fuma was massaging his wrist, as though it was aching. "What's wrong?" Yixiang asked worriedly. Fuma managed a smile to try and placate Yixiang's worries, but said honestly, "My mark hurts. It feels like it's burning." He dropped his head low, "I know why. Those were my people, obviously. My responsibility." My promise.

an: my geography is dog shit. i made this up btw. i dont know anything about tectonic plates except for the song