You Always Build It Better the Second Time Around

Chapter 38 - Overcome (Your Demons, And I Shall Set You Free)

I had thought we were prepared.

I had thought we were strong enough.

The truth is cold, bitter, and harder than a train of bricks crashing down on you. That fact is that I went to war with the desire to find Yuichiro, my only meaning, and then that desire to save turned to the desire to kill Nikolai for the things that he put him through. I knew it was manipulation, but I could not even fight it. I became so fixated on that desire to the point I was willing to throw away all other emotions- including my love for Yu. Looks like it's not completely unwavering after all- my love. Shiho even warned me to not let it go to waste, but that is exactly what happened.

And because of this truth, I am- no, we are in this situation; trapped like mice. Unable to escape like the old on the visitor's list for Death to come and wipe them from existing in the land of the living.

I never wanted this to happen, much less to Yu.

I shouldn't have allowed him to come- to slip out of my grasp before a decision was made. We wouldn't be in this mess if we had been patient. But patience is something I know Yu doesn't have when it comes to supplying justice to the ones who deserve it- and especially to Nikolai, who has harmed him and others. We both had gotten too involved.

Nikolai still wants him even after knowing the truth that I am the one who survived the Hyakuya Sect's tests and experiments. My blood was even tested in the Heavens long before I met Yu, and it's been proven I have a part in the Hyakuya bloodline due to my father being half from that lineage, too. Or, at least, this is what I have been told. At this point, I'm not sure what I can believe anymore.

Pushing a few bigger pieces of debris consisting of shattered tree bark and large chunks of the earth, I begin to move as close I can to Yu, trapped between two large tree trunks and sheets of earth stopping me from getting close enough to him to help him get out of the tight spot he's in.

"Yu," I call his name, or attempt to, that is, for I end up coughing the dust and dirt out of my throat and lungs. I almost begin gagging because of the lingering taste of dirt left in the far back of my mouth and on my tongue.

"Nnh." Yu has stirred back to consciousness, his face contorted with pain and confusion. I give him a moment to reflect on what has led up to us being trapped here. I know not of how the others are doing, nor what has happened to Nikolai and his creations. "Ah, fuck- this hurts like hell," Yu groans, not yet acknowledging my presence (or he hasn't noticed me at all yet). He attempts to sit up, be he stops mid-action, moaning in great pain as if the mere action of moving at all is painful. "Why the fuck am I not dead, yet?" Yu mutters, spitting up blood and wiping it from his chin. "Not good," he mutters, though I don't wait to find out what it is he's worried about.

"Yu," I try again to call his name with better success at grabbing his attention. Wide with shock and surprise emerald-forest green eyes find me in the dim light. "Are you alright?" I mutter above the faint crackling of flames somewhere nearby, though out of sight. We can't stay here for long, for Yu has no power nor strength to control said power left, and he is bleeding out again. Attempting to move more rock and debris for me to reach his sigh, I sigh with satisfaction when a thick branch of one of the trees snaps off the trunk, allowing me to move it out of the way. Yu has the complete opposite reaction, however. His lips forming into a frown as he attempts to suppress a cry of pain.

"Mika, stop!" he begs, voice warning of drastic consequences if I continue to try and move this that is separating us. "Move anything, and I'll surely die." He isn't being dramatic. A piece of the branch is penetrating his body, and any movement will surely rupture some major organ or artery, or whatever the hell human anatomy says. He doesn't have the strength to heal such a major wound, not to mention his previous wounds as well- and we're nowhere near getting help.