Souls to Ash

Chapter 5

7 days until the skirmish

    "Where the hell is she?" Reiko whispers beside me.

    "Be patient, she'll be here soon." replies Airi.

    "We've been here for forever, I say we should just kill the witch and bring back a grief seed instead."

    "No, she manipulates the shadows around her, so obviously she's not gonna just trot up to the entrance to the labyrinth."

    "But still..."

    "Reiko," I breathe, "Skauto's been tracking this magi for months, of course she'll show up."

    "I guess you're right." we sit in silence for what seems like forever, waiting for Yuriko Shirai, the magical girl Skauto has been tracking for months when suddenly the deafening sound of a .98 caliber rifle can be heard firing from a distance, causing us to all stiffen.

    "Guys..." Seno Yae, one of the Hageshi girls chokes, "Run! Now!" with that, she falls into a heap on the ground, her eyes dull, the yellow soul gem on her hat now shattered. We all scatter in an instant, frantically trying to find the source of the gunfire. I could've saved her! I shout to myself, why didn't I see it coming?! That's when I see it- Emi's soul gem shattering into a million pieces as the sound of a gunshot rings across the clearing. I rush over to her and jump into the bullet's line of impact, effectively getting shot in the shoulder and blocking Emi's soul gem. I fall to the ground with a sickening thud and cry out in pain, holding my shoulder as blood coats my attire and drips onto the blades of grass beneath me.

    "Kame!" Emi yells, helping me up.

    "I'm fine, I've survived much worse." I growl, "Just get to safety, take the others with you."

    "But..."

    "Now, Emi! That's an order!" she looks at me with uncertainty in her eyes and nods her head ever so slowly before running off into the woods with the others close behind.

    "You can't do this on your own, Kame." says Airi as the others race past her, "I'm staying."

    "No, you're not." I grit my teeth, "You don't know what I can do, Airi. Just go. If I'm not back by midnight, I'm dead." something seems to flash in Airi's eyes and she nods.

    "Just don't play the hero, Kame." with that, she follows the others into the woods, leaving me alone in the eerily quiet clearing just in front of an abandoned construction site on the outskirts of Kazamino.

    "It's just me and you now, Yuriko." I call, not expecting a response, "Why hide anymore? You've already killed one of us, so I'm afraid I can't let you go, but maybe we can reach an agreement." I wait a few seconds before raising my arms, fully exposing the orange gem beneath my collarbone, "If you want to, you can kill me now, however my team will continue to track you down until they kill you. If you would like, we could strike a deal, get us off of your back, you won't have to worry about us anymore. You're a smart girl, you wouldn't have made it this far if you weren't. You're powerful, too. I can see that by how you cheated my watchful eyes. But you can't beat us. There are more than just this little group you just managed to scare off. There are roughly sixty of us you'd have to go through. So what do you say, Yuriko? Is there to be a blood bath or can we make a deal and avoid all of that?" I stay still for roughly thirty seconds before dropping my arms to my sides, "I can tell you're hesitant," I sigh, "here," I get out of my magic attire and into my everyday clothes, a tank top with a vest, a blue jean skirt, and boots, "better?" I ask, shoving my hands in my pockets. A second passes, then another, and another.