Pipevine✅

Ch11

Everyone was in full panic.

"What do you mean you lost Juza? You can't just lose him!" Aoi fussed, shaking Tien by his shoulders.

"Still no sign of Kazu!" Lune reported and Rina nodding in agreement.

"We all go searching for one and end up losing another in the process." Aoi muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Alright, lets switch up and start searching again."

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Kazunari woke up and found himself in a small crevice in the side of a cliff. The walk was surprising reinvigorating. He looked out and found the area not recognizable. How far did he walk? He started moving, worried that he was worrying his friends. A creature jumped down from up on the cliff, landing just in front of Kazunari. It slowly approached as he tried taming it. It wasn't working.

Kazunari quickly took flight only to be brought back down from a swipe of the creature. He couldn't lift his wing as blood dripped from the wounds. It was serious about making him its meal.

"Well, being eaten would certainly be better... the dream won't come true." said Kazunari making himself open.

The creature stopped advancing. They had a staring contest, the beast backing down first and taking a seat. The second Kazunari moved, it was prepared to pounce on him again. It went back to sitting down once he stood still.

"Are you going to eat me or no...?" asked Kazunari in confusion.

He didn't know what to do. Movement put him in danger, but he couldn't stand forever. He slowly sat down while the beast watched. Kazunari opted to humming a song, seeing it as a pastime until the creature decided to let him go.

Some time had passed and the create finally rose to its feet. It walked over to him then leaned its head forward, closing its eyes. Was it giving him permission to touch it? He slowly reached out his hand then immediately drew back as it opened its eyes.

"Uh... oh!" he said as the beast rubbed its head against him. "I'd really take a liking to you had you not crippled me for a few days."

Kazunari stood up and walked away. The creature followed. He didn't see any point in sending it away as he couldn't fly away from danger like he usually did.

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Juza found himself back in front of the tree. It was like a maze to him. He had gotten separated from the others and was unable to make his way out for some reason.

"Are you trapping me here?" Juza fussed, glaring at the tree. "I demand you release me! I have to find Kazunari!"

Naturally the tree didn't respond. He marched off in a huff, knowing for sure this time he'd escape. Minutes later he found himself in front of the tree again.

"What is it? Do I have to pass some test or quiz? Fight a boss or something?" asked Juza, looking around. "I'm waiting!"

Nothing. He sighed heavily then sat underneath the tree. He was probably trapped forever.

"You know, I've had dreams about you. You were hurt by some white light. Then you absorb my friend and send out strong magic pulses. Why?" Juza asked, seeing he couldn't be shamed for talking to a tree if no one was around. "What do you need my friend for?"

Silence. He didn't expect much. He drummed his fingers against his thigh then looked up at the pink leaves.

"Don't you want to be helped? Why not tell Kazunari what you need? That way everyone's happy and I can go home. Not to say I don't like it here. I just feel like my family misses me..." Juza said, thinking of his younger brother especially. "Shion probably misses his too."

Juza looked down at the ground, finding all of this ridiculous. He resorted to conversing with a tree. Was he that desperate?

"I've done some thinking... mostly about what everyone's been talking about lately. Romance. Asking if Aoi was in love with me, if I favored another butterfly over my own, if there was something about said butterfly having something better than my partner. Considering the current situation, it's a stupid thing to worry about. The world could be in danger." said Juza, seeing no point in dwelling over whether he was sane or not for talking to a tree. "But now that I thought more about it, it is pretty relevant. Falling for someone during a time like this could be detrimental, especially if people like the same person. Discord would be created and it'd be hard to get along... things wouldn't get accomplished and plunge plans into ruin. Love is a dangerous weapon."

The leaves rustled in the wind as Juza's hair was tousled. He wasn't certain if what Aoi was feeling for him was romance per se, but his actions since Kazunari came into the picture was the proof in the pudding. He certainly felt something towards him that's he'd go to such lengths to separate them. The question was, how did Kazunari feel? How did he feel?

"I'm glad to have made new friends, especially Kazunari. I wish we were able to meet in better conditions. He's pretty interesting to be around. I sometimes feel guilty for opening his old wounds, but it's cool to hear about his people. It's like finding a lost civilization." said Juza with a smile. "He does mean something to me, so after seeing he'd be swallowed up and eradicated from this world... it hurts. I'd be willing to switch places with him. He has to rebuild his kind from the ground up. Me? I'm just another human."

The leaves rustled again. Juza sighed and stood up. He was going to try again. He jogged towards the west, hoping to make it back to Aoi and the others. A few of the leaves on the tree turned gold.

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Kazunari yawned then felt the creature nudge him from behind. It sat down, waiting for him to ride on its back. He quietly climbed onto its back, genuinely surprised by its sweet nature despite being so hostile before. The night was starting to come to an end as his body was feeling sluggish. He scooted forward and draped his arms around it's neck before closing his eyes.

The creature continued to walk, often shifting to keep Kazunari from falling. Kazunari found himself sitting at the table sharing a meal with Juza alone. Music was playing in the background and set a rather romantic tone. He couldn't hear what Juza was saying, but he could definitely feel his touches.

Juza was practically teasing him as he always jumped from his sudden touches on his hands and arms. When they had stopped eating was beyond him, but he was secretly living for it all. It was when Juza kissed the palm of his hand that he realized what the hell was going on. He ran away. He was dreaming of such a cliche romantic scene not to mention with Juza.

It was unheard of. It was stupid. Here he was, the center of a crisis and felt it was okay to aimlessly dream of something sweet and heartwarming. He was going to die. He didn't have the time to indulge in fantasies.

"Hey... could you... eat me?" Kazunari whispered, not wanting to be absorbed by the tree. "I can't let that tree have me."

The creature stopped and looked back at him. Was it considering it? It turned around and kept walking. A bit of his hopes were crushed. At least he was given a chance to say his farewells before he perished.

"You know, I want to be reincarnated into a creature like you. You seem cooler than most I've met. Maybe you could teach me the ropes if it happens?" Kazunari said, already past his death and looking into a future as another being. "Ha, with my luck I might end up a blade of grass."

He chuckled to himself before realizing the scenery seemed familiar. Did it know? He really couldn't escape his fate no matter how much he resisted. His eyes traveled upwards and his pupils dilated. Gold leaves were appearing alongside the pink. He covered his head and screamed. He didn't want to die. Where was the key? What was the key?

The creature growled along with his screaming, creating an awful melody. A wave went through the ground, silencing the beast unbeknownst to Kazunari. He stopped screaming, having regained his composure. The creature let Kazunari off its back before fleeing back into the forest. This was it. It was only a matter of time before the white light came.