The Demon Within

Chapter Twenty-Two

Mei sat alone on the outskirts of what use to be the village of Urager. The town was destroyed, and there were no survivors out of the village. From old to new born babies, everyone ended up dead. The rest of the demons Mei had thought were survivors died from their injuries; their bodies couldn't handle it enough to heal. Mei had reverted back to her human form, for there was no longer a need for her to be a demon at the moment. She sat twirling a stick in her fingers as nighttime settled across the land, the night darker than ever before since Certo was summoned. The sun had vanished, and all that was left in the sky were black clouds, the blood red moon and the red stars. Mei was at a loss of what to do next. All but two of her demons were gone from their battle at Urager and there were only two of her samurai friends remaining. It's only a matter of time before I get them killed as well, Mei thought. There's no telling what fate will decide to do next. Mei sighed loudly, hating herself for letting things go as far as they had.

If she had just killed Osamu when she had the chance, it would all be over now. Mei looked over her shoulder and saw Kazuma and Taichi talking calmly to Takashi and Kalik around the small fire they had built. She watched as they smiled and laughed at each other, clearly making rude gestures and comments. Kazuma and Taichi had also resumed their human forms since Mei had decided it was no longer needed. Mei smiled to herself as she watched them. Catalyst, Kutara, Celestial. Catalyst, Kutara, Celestial. Mei put her hand to her head, wanting the voice whispering in her head to stop. She didn't know what the voice wanted, it only stopped whispering when she transformed into her pure demon form. Mei was confused, and it irritated her she was unable to think about the matter clearly. Maybe I still haven't gained the rest of the memories. It's like my body is trying to tell me something. Mei laid down on her back, looking up at the moon. Mei started to get drowsy, so she turned over and closed her eyes. Mei opened her eyes so find everything calm and still. There wasn't even a breeze in the air. Mei sat up and saw the campfire had gone out, and her friends were all asleep surrounding it. Mei. Mei looked around as she heard her name being called. It was the same sweet, soothing voice that had been echoing inside her head. Mei got up and started to walk down the path, looking around for any sign of life. Mei. Mei broke into a run, the voice getting louder. She was determined to find the voice; for some reason, it sounded oddly familiar. She ran around trees and bushes and ended up in a clearing, with trees surrounding her on all sides. Mei.

"What do you want?" Mei said desperately, trying to find the voice. As she turned in circles to locate the voice, her eyes landed on a figure. Mei stopped and looked closely at it. Mei gasped as she saw Hintani standing just feet in front of her. "Hintani..." Mei began but her breath caught when she saw Setski walk out from behind him and stand at his side. Mei watched in wonder as Mizuki and Kaito appeared on the other side of Hintani, with Ryou leaning against a tree, Sakura and Masaru standing on the other side of Setski, and her mom and dad. They all appeared like apparitions. Mei couldn't believe her eyes in what she was seeing. Mei blinked a couple of times to make sure she wasn't imagining, but the figures still stayed.

"So, you finally figured out who you were, huh sweetheart?" Ryou said with a cocky smile, looking at Mei from the corner of his eyes. Mei looked down at the ground, feeling ashamed of herself at the moment.

"Ryou, I never knew—"

"Don't sympathize with me, sweetheart. I knew I'd end up dead sooner or later."

"Mei, you've grown up a bit," Hintani said with a smile. Mei started to tear up. She couldn't figure out if this was real or not. There were whispers and then Hintani and Setski parted and Mei's mouth dropped a bit and her eyes widened. Walking towards her was a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes like hers use to be and a warm, loving smile on her face. The woman stopped in front of Mei, tears forming at the base of her eyes.