Chapter 29: Strings (1/5) – (Yuuna’s Route)

 

 

 

I stood by the door, debating if I should listen to Yuu Yuu and stay home… or defy her and find out what's truly going on. In the past, when she was being bullied, I defended Yuu Yuu… and what happened? She ran… and I didn’t see her again. What if… she ran today and vanished tomorrow? Would I be willing to let her go because I decided not to chase after her again?

“I’m coming this time, Yuu Yuu…”

I accepted that I was going against her wishes, but equally, I promised that I'd protect her from here on. With a promise like that, it's only reasonable that I, her protector, find out just how to keep Yuu Yuu safe.

I put on my clothes and made my way out the door. With my katana at my hip, I made sure I was ready for a battle if need be. As it turned out, Janova skillfully got into my home and attempted to attack me. Someone who would brazenly do something like that isn’t to be played around with.

When I stepped outside, the air was cool, but my body was warm. My mind and body melted into the shadows as I danced in Yuu Yuu’s direction. As I pressed on, weaving in the shadows as quietly as I could, I thought about everything that’s been happening when Yuu Yuu was with me.

 

 

“How does Janova contact Yuu Yuu?”

That was a starting point. When I first went out with Yuu Yuu, she took me to the lake. We played and had a great time. Everything seemed like it was perfect that day…

As we spoke about the light camp… and questioned if we knew each other from the past, Yuu Yuu suddenly stood up, looked behind her, and screamed those haunting words that were in the tone of the timid loner I knew…

 

 

Yuu Yuu said, “I NEED TO GO.” As if someone was calling out to her… but I couldn't hear anyone. I… couldn't catch the voice of Janova telling her that she’s in trouble for whatever reason.

“Why was that? How could she contact Yuu Yuu without me even being able to sense or hear her?”

As my feet kept moving in the night; I could feel a shadow running about. That had to be Yuu Yuu in the far distance of the forest. For all the years I trained with Maxwell, the night was the time I moved at my finest. The world in the darkness was my light as I began to reach higher in the branches above. If I stayed on the ground, there would be a better chance for someone to spot me. So, I jumped from tree to tree in the shadows.

At this vantage point, I would have full range to hear or see anything suspicious. All I had to do was find Yuu Yuu and trail her until she met with Janova.

“Hmm…”

I thought back to the second time we hung out together. The time when the rain hit, and we found ourselves in my home. When we… had our first kiss. But the first thing she said after we separated was… "It's over now…."

 

 

It was then that she suddenly stood up and began leaving in a panic. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but all Yuu Yuu said was that her mentor was upset and needed to go home. I wanted to come with her, but she insisted that she was in trouble. Yuu Yuu said that she had to take her punishment.

I recalled what happened just a moment ago. Yuu Yuu's voice was in that same eerie tone as tonight. While embracing each other, she spoke in a hushed tone and said… “Fine then.” Before screaming and pushing me off of her.

These three instances of Yuu Yuu running from me had to do with her mentor being upset at her… 

“How does Yuu Yuu realize when Janova is upset? Is she speaking with her? Or could it be something else?” 

There were too many questions in my head regarding the timid loner. I just couldn't see myself waiting for her to come back and try to explain them to me. Something deep inside me is telling me that… Yuu Yuu might try and keep this secret. That… wasn’t going to work for me if I wanted to keep her safe.

“I… I will find out what’s going on, Yuu Yuu.”

If I want to be with the person I've grown to like… the girl I have romantic feelings for… I have to make sure she’s safe. I have to confront Janova and find out what’s going on.

As I traveled deeper into the forest, the shadows became thicker. This only helped me conceal myself better. It was easier to move as I began speeding up, following the pink bunny's trail. It was then that I heard Yuu Yuu’s voice.

“Yuu Yuu should have listened! But… Yuu Yuu stopped listening! And because of that, Feo was going to be hurt as Yuu Yuu’s punishment!”

I heard Yuu Yuu yell in the distance. She was referring to herself again, but it also sounded like she was scolding herself for her actions. I wasn't too far away, so I slowed down and melted into the shadows of the trees.

“Eh?”

I felt something… like water passing through me momentarily. The sensation was brief, and it didn’t do anything to my shadow form. I closed my eyes to make sure there wasn’t a spell active around me. There was undoubtedly some spell around… but I couldn't understand what it may be. It was only me with the shadows and Yuu Yuu in the distance. However, this strange sensation was subtle but lasting.

“What is that?”

I whispered, trying to piece together this strange feeling. Instead of letting that distract me, I went back on the hunt and willfully danced from shadow line to shadow, noiseless as I did.

I saw Yuu Yuu pacing around in a clearing. She was obviously distraught as she put her head down and walked about the field. She swung her arms around and shook her head wildly. It was like she was doing a strange dance, alien to me.

“I’m sorry. I… I just heard Feodora say my name at that time, and it made me…. And I got caught up in the moment and..."

In the bright moonlight, Yuu Yuu stopped and stood in place for a moment. Suddenly, she looked over her shoulder. Her right arm lifted in the air violently as if she was tossing something off of it.

"Yuu Yuu is selfish! Yuu Yuu doesn't allow others to play with her small animals. Yuu Yuu ignored all the pleas because she’s selfish and only thinks about herself!”

 

 

I watched this odd scene with Yuu Yuu as the star in this solo performance. I started to look into her movements and words to find clues to what was happening here.

“…This makes no sense.”

I murmured. Here Yuu Yuu was, yelling and screaming about herself in the dead of night. She was acting sporadic, and I couldn’t understand what all of this was about. She looked like a madwoman as she paced about like something out of a horror story.

“Huh?!”

Yuu Yuu said in a panic.

Her pink hair flapped across her face as she violently looked towards my way. I was high up in the trees, so there would be no way that she'd see me. But it startled me for a moment.

Yuu Yuu then looked back over her shoulder. It seemed to be just a coincidence that she looked my way because she went back to looking around in all directions.

“I don’t want to be punished.”

Yuu Yuu begged.

I heard a crash that sounded like trees breaking apart from a distance. I watched from my high spot above… something terrifying.

“What the hell?”

A few massive trees fell to the ground as if someone had cut them from the bottom. They crashed, causing a loud commotion in the dead of night. The power of the spell used had to be strong if it leveled those trees in that way.

“That was a spell in the distance. Could it have been… Janova?”

Yuu Yuu… didn't even turn towards the noise. She was still speaking to herself as she paced around relentlessly.

“Ah?!”

The timid loner cried. Suddenly, she dashed away, deeper into the forest. She was heading towards the destruction as she screamed.

“Please forgive me! I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”

“What the hell is going on, Yuu Yuu?”

I went from suspicious to concerned. I followed the timid loner, trying my best to understand what was happening here. Clearly, Janova contacted Yuu Yuu in some unorthodox way that I couldn't place my finger on. So, I had to gather more information as I went about this.

“Yuu Yuu knows what she did was wrong! Yuu Yuu only thinks of herself!”

When we reached the blast site, I could see what appeared to be a multitude of trees split in half. Yuu Yuu stared at the destruction. Her legs began to shake as she looked around.

“Yuu Yuu wanted to be selfish…."

Yuu Yuu whispered.

“And now poor Feo has to die because of Yuu Yuu.”

It was then that my heart sank into my stomach. Those beautiful starry eyes of Yuu Yuu’s turned my way. But it wasn’t like last time where she stared in my direction. No, our eyes met…

 

 

“How did she...?”

I was still in the shadows and should have been invisible to her. There would be no way that she’d be able to see me, but we were staring at one another.

Yuu Yuu knew… I was here somehow.

“Don’t!”

She managed to scream before the world began to shake. I stayed hidden, just in case it was a mistake that she actually saw me. The bark of the trees scattered about began to glow a powerful silver color. They started to creak like metal without oil as their pieces violently constructed together. The tree creatures turned pure white as they formed around Yuu Yuu.

“Are those… beasts?”

I said as I touched my blade.

The wooden monsters had mouths that were jagged and pointy and long arms protruding from their bodies like branches. Red eyes grew on their seeming faces, and the chaos spectrum began to circle around them. There were three of them.

“Is that… the chaos element?”

These weren’t beasts. They were creatures created from the chaos element using the tree’s roots as their vessels. I concluded that based on the spectrum pouring from their bodies.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, white strings appeared from the heavens. They latched on the three creatures' backs like puppeteer strings. It reminded me of the wolf I saw in the Cero Village. I found it… too eerily similar.

Yuu Yuu didn't react to them. Instead, she swung her arm out violently again like before. As if the creatures didn’t exist, Yuu Yuu began running away from the beasts that formed, deeper into the forest.

“Feodora?! Feodora!”

Yuu Yuu screamed as she raced further into the darkness. It was then that it all sank in…. That Janova was here, and I didn’t even realize it… and now she’s trying to kill me, and Yuu Yuu knows this.

One of the three treant-like creatures began channeling a spell. It was a wind spell, and in an instant, it was ready. Lightning gathered in the sky above me. I danced away only to barely move from the strike cutting the tree down that I was in. The massive tree tumbled to the ground, causing the world to shake.

“I don’t have time for you! I need to help Yuu Yuu!”

I brought the darkness into my body. My eyes went purple as I became one with the dark. In an instant, I appeared in front of a treant. I struck down, slicing one of the treant monsters with a critical blow. An aura of darkness erupted around me by the destructive craft form I used. One treant exploded into pieces, nothing like how beasts would fade into dust.

“Two more.”

I concluded as I flipped back, getting into a better position. But then the monster I just killed body parts began to shake. Horridly, they came together again as it formed behind its two comrades. I found myself facing the three of them once again in a matter of seconds.

“Tsk.”

They were all moving around as if they were being controlled by a puppeteer. All of them began channeling different spells while shaking wildly. Their red eyes shined in the darkness as their bodies radiated fantastic colors representing their spells.

“No, you don't!"

I screamed as I brought my blade behind me. The darkness of the night began to channel within my sword. I added the chaos element, amplifying my strike. I cut my way towards the three treant creatures with a whirl to the side. My blade sliced through them all, canceling their spells and causing them to fall apart. The white wood scattered across the forest, and they all laid in pieces before me.

“Get out of my way!”

I said as I raced in Yuu Yuu’s direction. But before I could move, a treant began to piece together its arms and attempted to grab me. So, to avoid them, I melted into the shadows. The three treant monsters came back alive as they began rushing after me.

"Something is wrong here…."

I couldn't understand how they saw me in the dead of night. It was as if I was a beacon that they were following. Their strings were controlling them my way. I wasn’t hidden by the shadows like I’m supposed to be… everything about this place I was in… was wrong.

I was exposed, and the one controlling these beasts knew just where I was.

“Is this your doing, Janova?”

I bitterly whispered. Something wasn't right, and it all started when I felt that sensation a while ago.

“Could I have been lured into a trap? Would it be possible that Yuu Yuu didn’t want me to follow her… because of this?”

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I tried to understand this sensation… it was foreign to me, but it was the only connection to what was going on.

“That must be it…."

I was lured into a trap… a zone or something like that Janova could detect me in. At this rate, I figured that I wouldn't be able to get away from those beasts and follow Yuu Yuu without putting her in danger too. Those treant creatures… had to be taken care of, or else they'd never stop chasing me.

I appeared out of the darkness and confronted the monsters on my tail. Their strings were tugged, and all three treants channeled their spells.

"Cutting them up isn't working. These creatures are being put back together like toys."

I confirmed the problem.

One treant shot its fire spell my way. I deflected it and pushed forwards, cutting the body into two. As expected, the beast formed back together, and the white strings appeared on it once more. It was an endless cycle that really pissed me off.

“They are coming back together… because the pieces are there.”

It clicked. I knew just what I had to do. My plan was simple: burn the pieces so they couldn't come back together. Like Maxwell did in the past, I put fire into my blade. Amplified by the chaos element, I faced the three treant creatures once more. They all channeled more spells my way.

“Ha!”

I dodged a great wave of sharp water, attempting to cool my blade, from the first treant’s attack. Another treant shot lightning my way, but I spun, deflecting the lightning to a nearby tree. The spell caused the world to shake as another tree collapsed behind me. The last one attempted to strike me down with a lightning strike from above. I melted away, dodging the bolt of lighting. I appeared above them with my fire blade in hand.

“Burn!”

 

 

I screamed as I cut the one in the middle. My blade hit the ground, and fire erupted around the monsters using the shadow craft from before. The heat caused my body to blaze hot as I amplified the strike using the chaos element. The beast cackled like wood in a fireplace. The strings snapped, and they all died in a blaze of hellfire.

“Bastards…”

I ridiculed them as their ashes danced in the wind. The night air picked up and lifted what was left of those creatures. 

“Yuu Yuu!”

I ran through the dark forest in her direction. As an expert tracker, I could see the signs of where she was going. By looking for bent grass to the broken branches, I followed her like tracking down an animal.

“Yuu Yuu saw me… and even stared into my eyes… I still don't know how…."

I can only imagine that it had to do with that strange sensation. Most likely, I did something, and Janova caught on. That would be the only way I could have been tracked by those treant monsters.

“Janova told Yuu Yuu I was here… and where to see me, didn’t she?”

Whoever Janova was, she clearly was strong in the chaos element. Those beasts were made by using the chaos element. And Janova likely used the chaos to entrap me into a zone that she has dominion over. Knowing that she may have these powers… could that be how she hid from my senses?

Besides speculation, I didn't have much to work with, but I was learning more about this mysterious mentor. She knows who I am and is willing to kill me for whatever reason as a punishment to Yuu Yuu.

“I’m going to find you tonight, Janova. We need to talk.”

I whispered as I continued dancing through the shadows. That sensation was still there, which warned me that I was still within Janova's domain. Likely, Janova knew just where I was… but that didn’t matter.

"I need to find Yuu Yuu..."

I continued to follow her tracks. Everything in me needed to catch her and make sure she was safe. Even with all this evidence, I couldn’t confirm that it was actually Janova who attacked me with those treant monsters. But what I did know was… that Yuu Yuu looked to be in danger.

As I approached a clearing, a lone cabin stood there. The house was smaller than mine. As I walked up, I looked around, but the tracks stopped there.

 

 

“Did she go inside?”

I concluded that this must have been the place that Janova and Yuu Yuu lived. I appeared out of the shadows and approached the door. Cautiously, I looked inside the window to the side. The lights and everything were off, but I could see what was inside. It looked to be a humble cabin. Two cups were sitting on the table. 

“If this is the place… then that’s Yuu Yuu’s and Janova’s dining room.”

But there was no sign of Yuu Yuu anywhere. The tracks stopped strangely too. When tracking an animal, one can see where the clues stop and assume they are somewhere around. But these tracks made their way up to the door, but before reaching them… they vanished unnaturally.

“What the hell is going on here?”

I closed my eyes and couldn’t sense anyone. This strange sensation still was in me, but my body was beginning to adjust to it…

“Could she be… masking her and Yuu Yuu from me somehow?”

As I searched the tracks once again, they just vanished a few feet before the door. That indicated that someone stopped here, looked at the door, and, like magic, disappeared into thin air.

“This is too strange.”

There was nothing else to do, so I walked up to the door and touched the doorknob.

"Sorry, Yuu Yuu.”

I felt it was necessary to check inside, to make sure she wasn't hurt or anything. I was trespassing, and I felt a bit guilty. But then I thought about how Janova did the same thing, and my guilt quickly subsided. I went from feeling guilty to pissed just thinking about it.

“Huh?”

I didn’t expect it, but the door wasn’t locked.

"It's not locked? That's strange…."

It swung open as I cautiously walked inside. As I looked about, the cabin was small. I saw the dining area from the window and two cups sitting there on the table. As I approached them, one was full of what appeared to be water while the other was empty.

“Hm…”

I looked around and saw a desk sitting by a single bed. I approached, and the floor creaked as I made my way over. There was a stack of what appeared to be medical papers. It was excessive as there were mountains of pages all around. I picked up one and read the front page.

[How to Treat Victims of Poisoning.]

I skimmed the page, and it talked in great detail about all the steps to find out various toxins that could be affecting the victim in question. It was all handwritten, and the notes were neat and orderly.

“Yuu Yuu is a doctor, I guess.”

I put the page back where I found it.

Everything was strange here, though. There was no Yuu Yuu… no Janova… it was as if this cabin was staged here just for me to find. There were no clues, no pictures, nothing that would tell me who Janova was so far.

“Hmm?”

I smelled something like iron touch my nose as I walked about. It was brief, and the smell went away in an instant. That scent was familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

“… Damn it.”

I whispered. It was obvious… I failed to find Janova, and she was probably hiding Yuu Yuu with her somewhere, so I can't find them. I… can only imagine what is going on between them because of me. 

Trying to push away my self-loathing, I looked around a bit more.

“What’s this?”

There was a note hanging up next to the bed. I took a look at it. The font was dark and chalky as it read,

 

---

 

"LAWS OF THE LIGHT CAMP" 

1)   We are family. Blood is thicker than water. Always do what's best for the family. 

2)   The family comes first. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is a deceiver and a liar. 

3)   Mother is always watching.

 

---

 

The laws stopped there suddenly. The dark and chalky font made my skin crawl. The feeling of being watched came over me after reading the 3rd law, “Mother is always watching.”

I stepped away and looked around a bit more, but there were no clues. It was clear that I wasn't going to get anything staying here.

“I’ll meet Yuu Yuu tomorrow at the lake. If she asks about me following her, I'll tell her I was too worried to wait."

The pit in my stomach was getting heavier. Not knowing what happened to the girl I had feelings for was starting to cause me anxiety. I shut the cabin door and began shadow walking my way back.

As I danced in the night, I thought about Yuu Yuu.

That pink bunny was terrified, and I couldn't find her to comfort her. I shadow walked for a while until suddenly that strange sensation cut off.

“What the?”

I turned around, and there were trees as far as the eye could see. It looked no different from how I was already going… but that feeling while being there was the key to my failure.

“Damn you…”

That confirmed it… Janova likely had some kind of spell around this place. Yuu Yuu mentioned that nobody could meet her. This was probably her way to keep tabs on anyone within a radius of their cabin.

"There was no way I could have found her… was there? The element of surprise was taken away the moment I breached this barrier."

I didn't know what kind of spell it was… but it had something to do with the chaos element, if I had to guess. I've never dealt with anyone strong in that because it's such a rarity. This only confirmed that I needed to research what the abilities of a level 2 chaos element user are capable of.

“Maybe I can use the library at the Barons to research? That or ask Jade if she knows what a level 2 chaos user can do.”

I learned more than I knew before tonight but not enough to solve any questions I had. I was one step closer to understanding this elusive Janova, but she was still an enigma all in the same.

"I swear… if Yuu Yuu is hurt in any way tomorrow… I will find you, Janova.”

 

 

I said to nobody as I glared into the trees behind the barrier.

But strangely… it felt like someone was watching me… laughing at me… like I was a plaything to them.

 

---

 

That night I lay in bed, thinking about what happened. The fear in Yuu Yuu's eyes wouldn't help me sleep tonight. I reached out my hands and grasped at the air above me.

"I wish I could have held you… and protected you as I promised."

It felt like Janova was keeping her away from me… and that made me angry. This person I've never met separated me from Yuu Yuu… and I didn't even understand why.

 

 

There is so much that I want to know about Yuu Yuu. Even her cabin left me with more clues than I had before. Why was it that the more I tried to find out about Yuu Yuu… the less I felt like I knew about her? But out of all the chaos of tonight, the central question on my mind as I drifted off to sleep was…

“Why is Janova keeping us apart?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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