Alone [CRACK]

Chapter 14: Minoru Akira

"Ayumi..." Ryuichi spoke softly. My eyes snap to his as tears threaten to spill.

"Don't." I quietly reply, closing my eyes.

'There was so much sorrow in his eyes... Why? Kami.. I feel so damn pathetic right now.' My thoughts are broken when I felt Kyoko nudge me a little. I look up at her.

"Child... I understand this is hard but, as you said not long ago, we don't have time. I'm offering my promise, as a dragon of my word that Ryoku and I will explain to you why things happened the way they did but first, we must stop the enemy." Kyoko explains. I stare at her for a moment, then at Ryuichi and Ryoku. I nod slightly.

"Very well Kyoko. I trust you. Not like I have much of a choice." I mumble the last part, Kyoko nods, lowering herself. Ryoku copies her and I wipe my eyes before getting on Kyoko's back.

Ryoku and Kyoko nod to each other and we take off back to where all the fighting was.

We arrive just in time to see Sayomi get stabbed in the back. She was in front of Sakura with her arms stretched out. The enemy wasn't far, he'd thrown three kunai. All three had struck my sister.

"Ahh!" Sayomi cried out in pain, attempting to pull out the kunai.

I wanted to shout but, I know I cant. "R-Ryuichi. We have the element of surprise... What should we do?" I take a quiet it deep breath and ask.

"Well... You haven't learned anything with Kyoko yet. If you can allow her to merge with you and your chakra then maybe.. Maybe we could win. You'd have to allow Kyoko, nearly 100%. You need to keep a little control still though. If you don't, things'll get bad really quick."

Taking another deep breath, I reply, "Alright, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. So let's do this."

Ryuichi nods, "One last thing Ayumi... Even though you're 'merging', you could say, you may not have Kyoko's powers. It depends on your heart. I suppose you could say, that Ryoku and Kyoko bring out our spirit animal. I also wanted to say I'm sor-"

With my gaze on the ground, I nod and cut Ryuichi off. "Alright, I understand. Let's hurry. They're in trouble." Ryuichi sighs and nods back, beginning to make several hand signs.

"Quickly, copy them exactly." Kyoko whispers in my ear. I nod and begin doing what Ryuichi does.

"Chakra Merge: Ryoku!" Ryuichi shouts.

"Chakra Merge: Kyoko!" I shout as well.

All of a sudden the dragons are gone. I turn to Ryuichi to ask what happened but, I stopped myself when I saw him clenching his teeth, the rest of his face contorting in painful expressions.

"Ryuichi, what's happeni- AHHHH!!" Before I can finish my question, I feel sharp pain all over my body. It's incredibly painful. I try to clench my teeth so I won't scream anymore. The less screams equal less attention which in turn equals best.

I glance over at Ryuichi to see if he's still hurting. It didn't seem like he was hurting to bad, he did look exhausted though. Panting hard, unable to catch his breath at the moment.

Ryuichi slowly made his way over to me and sat in front of me. He held his hand out and I hesitantly grab it. Ryuichi lightly pulls on my hand so I sit up with him.

"Is it lessening at all?" Ryuichi asks in a soft and caring manner. That. That is what I've missed most...

"A- A little." I respond quietly.

He nods, "Alright. Don't worry, the pain will be over soon."

After the last word left his mouth, a piercing and painful scream nearly left mine. Thankfully it didn't. Ryuichi squeezed my hand and I squeezed back as well. Tears made their way down y cheeks.