The Five

15. Twin Shadows

The days passed by slowly. Hardly anyone got any sleep to speak of. Mostly, they stayed in their rooms except for meal times. All of them practiced their magic or took cat naps. Some of them simply laid there with their eyes on the ceiling letting everything that had happened so far sink in. The only ones to roam freely around Cindermere were Sara and Joe, and only because they had to patrol. Morale was at an all-time low. Everyone was worried about things to come.

Finally, after three days of it, Freya had enough.

She got out of bed and got dressed early. When she came down to breakfast, Akashi and Takuma were the only two at the table. Neither one of them was eating. She looked around, a frown twisting her delicate features.

"Where is the rest of the crew?"

Akashi's head popped up at the sound of her voice. He hadn't seen her in days for more than half an hour. "They're not coming. Lunch is the first meal we're going to have today. Joe and Sara left for Ignis early this morning."

Freya took a seat in between her brother and Akashi. "Oh." She paused for a moment. "I think this whole demon thing has gotten everybody spooked. I was for a little while."

"It makes sense," Takuma said. "You felt its presence, heard it speak. Even I'm completely freaked out."

She smiled. "You don't have to be. It'll be The Five taking care of Kusa. Not you."

"Oh I'll be there," he declared. "Whether it's on the sidelines or right in the middle, I'm there. There's no way I'm letting you guys go out there on your own. None of you have battle experience."

"I do," Akashi spoke up. His words were quiet and bitter. "I've told Freya this before. My father raised me like a warrior. I knew how to battle since I found out about my power. Strategy, speed, and concentration are the keys, according to him."

Takuma was slightly impressed. He wasn't wrong. Akashi would probably do just fine on the battlefield. It was Freya and the others he was worried about. They were coddled by today's society. They lived in a peaceful world just like he had growing up, which was all well and good as long as it lasted. But working as an undercover agent for Ignis had taught him a lot. He knew what danger was; what went bump in the night while they were nestled in their beds. None of them had ever had to fight for their lives. Now they were all going to have to fight.

"You'll have to watch out for them, all of them, Akashi. You'll have to be the one to watch their backs."

Akashi nodded. "I can do it."

Takuma smiled. "I believe you."

"So do I," Freya agreed with a smile. A weary sigh escaped her. "How are we going to prepare for this? I've been using my powers all this time, making objects fly across the room and such, but it doesn't seem like it's enough. We need a real threat. Something dangerous and unrelenting like I know Kusa is going to be."

"It would help if we could figure out the demon he's going to be conjuring, too. If we knew which one it was, maybe we could find out its weakness before going into battle," Akashi said. "Then we'd have somewhere to start."

"Hmm," Takuma said, his forehead creased deeply, "I think you might be onto something there, Freya, Akashi." The wheels in his head were turning.

"We are?"

"Yes." Takuma suddenly got up from the table. "I think we're going to have another round of practice."

"Moon Ball isn't going to prepare us to fight a demon," Freya declared.