Legends of Cubarlos

Chapter Ten

Yuuna opened her eyes as she regained consciousness and noticed the sun was barely rising in the distance. She heard movement and moved her head to the side to see Yamato and Katsu packing up the bags and Daichi stretching as he got up. At least I’m not in pain anymore, Yuuna thought as she slowly sat up. Daichi looked over at her and smiled warmly.

“How are you feeling Yuuna?” he asked gently and Yuuna nodded to him, returning his warm smile.

“Much better. I’m sorry for always worrying you.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault you’re suddenly being turned into another being,” Daichi said with a laugh. Yuuna just smile at him as he got up to help pack. Her eyes fell to the ground as she knew what was happening to her. At the last temple, she stopped getting sleepy and she hadn’t slept at all since then. Now with this temple, her appetite had vanished; she was no longer hungry. Yuuna was afraid to try to force herself to eat, but she didn’t want the others finding out either. Her mind wandered back to Yuuki and she remembered that she said she is connected to Yuuna. Does that mean this is happening to Yuuki as well? Yuuna shook her head violently. Why was she starting to consider what Yuuki had said? Surely all of it was a lie; at least that’s what Yuuna was hoping. Yuuna looked up at Megumi, her mind filled with conflicted feelings.

“Say, Professor,” Yuuna said quietly and Megumi looked over at her. “Do you think what Yuuki said is true?”

“Are you thinking about that?” Megumi whispered and Yuuna nodded. Megumi sat down by Yuuna and took her hands in hers and looked Yuuna in the face. “Some part of me tells me that Yuuki is telling the truth. Last night you were unconscious; so was Yuuki. She suffered from the same pain you were.”

“How do you know that?” Yuuna asked curiously.

“I treated her,” Megumi said and Yuuna’s eyes widened. “Saizo was panicking because he couldn’t get her fever down. She was actually running a higher fever than you. To put the facts straight; she does look exactly like you. That you cannot deny. She does have the same power as you, just in the opposite sense and she suffers just like you do. To me that is no coincidence.”

“But to have me stop the journey would lead to the destruction of the world. I can’t agree with that. The world has suffered enough,” Yuuna said as she looked away from Megumi’s eyes.

“Yuuki knows something that she’s not willing to share,” Megumi pointed out. “Remember that she struggled to reveal her identity to us. Perhaps she is choosing not to share this information for a reason.”

“I would like to hear more about this though,” Yuuna said as she removed her hands from Megumi’s and stood up. “I don’t plan on stopping my journey. I gave my word I would complete it no matter the cost, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“We will do whatever you wish. You are the Sylph after all,” Megumi said as she stood. She clapped her hands together and started to order Yamato and Katsu around as they made the final preparations. Daichi walked up and put his arm around Yuuna.

“Don’t think too much on it,” Daichi said quietly. “Yuuki has her reasons. She has saved us from time to time so I don’t think she wants you hurt. We’ll find out once we reach the next temple. I said earlier I won’t let anyone hurt you, so don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you Daichi,” Yuuna whispered as she smiled. She walked over to the others and picked up a bag. She looked ahead at the vast deserts that lie ahead of her. Now that she knew Yuuki was out there, she was curious as to what her twin was like. Yuuna walked along the sand, following the trail they made from the previous day that was still imprinted into the sand.