Fate of Pandora - Book II

Final Battle Begins

Ayame woke up when the sunlight entered the apartment. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep, nor did she know how long she had been sleeping. She looked up and noticed Coalt sleeping beside her, still holding her close to him. They were so exhausted that they had fallen asleep on the floor with the same clothes on from yesterday.

Shortly after, Coalt woke up and they looked at each other with sore eyes. For a moment, Ayame wanted to believe that yesterday was just a dream, but the memory of their fight was engraved in their bruised bodies.

"What should we do?" Ayame asked Coalt in a low, hoarse voice. He shook his head slowly.

"I don't know."

If only for a moment, Ayame wanted to run away from her memories of last night. Right now she had no will to stand up, she had no courage to face the outside; she was scared of their future. "What about work? It's Monday already; we are late."

"Forget about work. We need to survive Kira first."

His response made Ayame feel a slight relief. He was always the one with the harsh reality-check replies, so that meant he still had a grasp on his own sanity at least. Still, he made a good point there – the fate of the world was going to be settled on a common and boring Tuesday, and it would depend on them if there would even be a restaurant to go back to or not.

The girl sighed. "We look awful."

The couple wished they could simply pass time on fast forward, or sleep two days in a row and wake up after the end of the world. They didn't want to face their destiny, but they soon began feeling the weight of anxiety growing in their chests as the minutes kept slipping away. They simply couldn't ignore it, and even through the pain and fear, they stood up to face their last day.

Like Coalt had suggested, they first phoned their workplaces and explained that they would be absent for the next few days. It didn't matter what excuse they gave, or if the bosses were angry – no one would be around to care if they failed. Then, after a necessary shower and a change of clothes, they decided to go to the orphanage to catch up Midori on the terrible events of the day before.

It was almost midday when they arrived at the old house. They rang the bell and Midori opened the door with a mask of a smile on her face, expecting a neighbor. When she saw that it was them, her smile dropped and she embraced them both.

"I'm glad to see you. I was so worried!" The lady only knew about Kairi's fate, so for the last hours she had been worried sick about them.

"Midori, I'm sorry!" At the sight of the good old woman, Ayame's chest felt heavy, and she began to sob again.

"Now, now, my girl. Your eyes are tired of crying. Go to my office; I'll prepare tea for both of you." Midori hurried them in, and they waited in the small room she called her office.

As promised, Midori came back with the tea to warm the devastated teenagers. The old woman was experienced and she knew they had been through difficulty; even the strong-headed Coalt was visibly shaken. She still didn't know what they were going to tell her, and she didn't rush the subject as she kept their attention on the hot drink warming them from the inside out. She wanted them to grasp on this feeling to ease their hearts, even if just a little.

When Ayame felt a bit better, she finally told Midori what had happened the day before. The shaman had guessed the right location of the box and the ring bearers found its hideout. However, so did Kira. They tried to stop the brute man, but he beat each one of them and escaped with the box. The two were alive only because Kairi had used her last strength to protect them.