Pipevine✅

Misplaced Hate

"Hey, where are you going!?" she shouted, chasing after him.

"Don't follow me! There's something I need to know!" Kazunari responded, flying faster.

She came to a stop as she watched him leave her sight. He was being foolish. Going back to Villa after all this time was sure to cause problems, mostly for him.

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Aoi snuggled into Juza's lap as they listened to Shion's report about how dreams and shared dreams worked. Soon a shriek could be heard outside. They all headed out and saw people running and flying away from the entrance of Villa.

Juza hurried ahead then stopped as he saw what they were running away from. His body acted before his mind could catch up.

"H- Hey! Where are you taking me?" he asked, trying to pull Juza off of him.

Juza jumped off the edge with Kazunari. Kazunari's wings instinctively opened and kept them from falling to their deaths. Kazunari let go of Juza once his feet touched the ground.

"What the hell was that about?" he asked, allowing himself to land.

"Why did you come here? Aren't you the one who wanted to forget everything? Yet you came strolling in like you still had a home." fussed Juza, completely baffled by his thought process. "What if the officials were out and about? They'd kill you on the spot!"

"I'm confused okay!? With that horrid voice in my head, that dream the night before, everything! What am I supposed to do? Who am I?" Kazunari shouted, his peaceful state of mind now disturbed by numerous questions.

Juza silently grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into a blind spot as people had started searching for them. He turned his attention back to Kazunari who covered his ears as he silently cried. The voice that only plagued him during sleep was now doing so in broad daylight. Why wouldn't it shut up? What was it? Juza took his hands and had him meet his eyes.

"Try breathing with me. Focus on me and only me, okay?" said Juza, having faced a similar situation back home.

Kazunari breathed along with Juza, never breaking eye contact. The voice in his head became quieter with each deep breath before he couldn't hear it anymore. Did Juza have magical powers?

"There they are!" a voice said, causing Kazunari to pull away and flee.

"Wait, Kazu! They aren't bad people!" he shouted, chasing after him.

Kazunari stopped and saw Aoi among them. He lowered himself back to the ground. He fell on all fours, worn out from all the flying he's had to do since leaving the comforts of home. Juza gently patted his back as he regained his breath.

"So this is Kazunari... His wings really are splendid." said Shion, gently feeling his wings. "He finally experienced the dream with you, right?"

"Right... I don't know what changed, but that just confirmed he was the one I've been seeing in my dreams." said Juza, letting Kazunari use him for support.

"I don't know what's going on... I honestly don't. I just... I know nothing..." said Kazunari, holding his head.

"Relax. Take your time in remembering." said Shion with a smile.

"Do they really have that kind of time? Never know when that white light will hit." said Yakumo with a smirk.

Shion scolded him as Kazunari had started becoming jittery again. What was his connection with the flaming tree? What did he need to find? Why was his subconscious desperately asking for help? What was the voice in his head?