Help from the Shadows (Open Novella Contest)

12 (Choiseung)

The video began with a video of the Original Quartet tied to chairs in some sort of cave, just like how Ayame had described it.

"Ayame-chan, don't go looking for us!" Natsume pleaded.

"Please, it's for your own safety!" Akinori begged.

"おねがい (onegai = please), don't save us," Touma spoke softly.

"I-It's better if you don't look for us Ayame-san. It won't end well," Keisuke agreed. My eyes narrowed seeing the stutter and the name mentioned. It doesn't fit in....

After that, the video faded into black.

But then, another video started, showing Shutendouji and Douketsu in their human forms as they stood in "their" house.

"We have intel on them, Himeno Ayame," Shutendouji spoke arrogantly. "If you want to get the information, come to Sakura Motomachi Elementary School at 9 p.m. sharp tonight. Don't miss it. Also, don't bring those Enma mirror wielders with you; in other words, come alone." A bead of sweat fell from his chin, causing me to note that down in my notebook.

"If you miss it, then you'll lose your only lead to them," the video ended with Douketsu's words. 

The silence that ensued after that was tense.

"...Why would they reach out to us like that in public?" Dad frowned. "This entire thing stinks of a plan."

"A horrible one, nonetheless," Akino nodded.

"However, it's a plan that we'll have to go into," Ayame replied to them, causing us to spin around to look at her, disbelief in our eyes.

"Ayame-chan, y-you're not seriously contemplating this, are you?" Jorogumo looked plain horrified.

"As much as I want to say that I don't want to, I can't. Despite their antagonistic features, they care for Natsume-chan-" "Only because she's Shuka's reincarnation," Dad muttered under his breath. I gave him a pointed look. "-and would do anything to save her."

"But are you really sure you want to trust those two? They've proven that they would resort to the worst tactics to get what they want, like when they stole the Fudou Raimei Ken (The Immovable Thunder Sword) from Touma, went to who-knows-where to get Reibashi's skull, and, just recently, kidnapped Keisuke to get the Youseiken (Holy Swords)," Uncle Chenhua put out his argument. 

"That's why I'm not going alone," Having been told of what had happened before she joined by Keisuke, she smiled softly, causing the rest of us to blink, "Huh?" 

/\/\ Help from the Shadows /\/\

"Are you sure you're completely fine?" I asked Ayame for the last time as our group stood in front of the school. She nodded while Akino looked around, making sure that everyone was in position. Rau joined in, while Dad rechecked his first-aid kit in case anyone got hurt (especially Ayame).

"Yeah, I'm completely sure of that," she confirmed. 

"Okay then, be careful okay?" I warned before we backed away to stand in the shadows. Unsan and Obonyuu, ready to transport us to Ayame's location, which would be recorded by Obonyuu using his eyes, just chuckled lowly. I could see Jorogumo trying (and failing) to hide her giggles. I frowned a bit. 

"What are you guys laughing at?" I questioned as we watched Ayame enter the elementary school. Jorogumo just smiled.

"You guys are just acting so worried over her, most people would probably think you're best friends," she joked. The 4 of us blinked. 

"Huh?" we chorused, confused over her meaning. She just laughed softly seeing this, while Obonyuu and Unsan sweat-dropped. 

"What she means is that, you 5 act as if you've known one another for so long," Unsan explained Jorogumo's words. 

"Do we?" Akino looked a bit sheepish.

"... I can't really tell if that's good or not," Dad confessed. 

"Eh? Why?" Jorogumo blinked. 

"Erm..." Rau looked hesitant.

"It's because we're from another dimension," I told them. "We're only here to help Ayame save her friends, so once it's all over, we'll probably go back." 

"Eh?!" Unsan and Jorogumo were speechless. 

"It's true. We're sorry, Unsan, Jorogumo," Rau nodded sadly. 

"Can't you guys keep in contact with us, though? I'm sure that the Original Quartet would want to keep in touch," Unsan pleaded. 

"We're not experts on sci-fi. Nor are we sure that there's magic for that, so probably no," Dad sighed. 

"But you can't! That will make Ayame-chan sad!" Jorogumo stuttered. 

"I'm sorry, Jorogumo, but we still have our own lives at Singapore," Rau smiled sadly at her.

The other 2 looked down, a bit dejected about it.

Just then, Obonyuu yelped out, "Guys, they're here! And they're staying completely still with smirks!" 

"What?!" We jumped a bit hearing that. Why are there smirks on their faces?!

"Erm, guys, was that barrier there before?" Jorogumo slowly pointed to the sky.

Our hearts were filling with dread as we looked up to the sky.

It completed its journey the moment we realised that it was surrounding our area.

"W-Wait, guys, I-I just h-had this horrible realisation," Akino spoke up, tremors helping  emphasize his terrified tone.

"W-What is it?" Jorogumo looked worried.

His next words made us go pale drastically.

"W-What if their plan was meant for us, not for Ayame-chan?"