Seiji:
This is a dream. It SHOULD be a dream ..... and yet, why does the gaping hole in my abdomen hurt so? My deformed yet eerily familiar hands reached into the crevice, each touch of my fingers causing searing pain from my bloodied cavity. My claw-like hands desperately tried to hold in my blood that was beginning to gush out of me like a cracked dam. Blood? No, can this purple viscous blood oozing out of my inhuman body even be considered "blood?" I slowly moved my head towards a purple puddle, mere inches away from my spindly tail.
"That's not me." I kept repeating that in my mind while gazing upon my reflection in the purple puddle which was being mixed in with the rainwater. I was a purple panther-like being with what appeared to be scales. Blood-red eyes stared back at me behind the scaly mask that was now my face. One gaze was all I needed to see all the emotions that were etched into my eyes. Anger, fear, sadness...… DESPAIR. What….. am I? What have I become?
A flash of sparking cyan-blue light just over my head caught my attention, only to be face to face with a robed figure. A woman. Her eyes were the color of aquamarine crystals, making it pop out even more against her pale, almost paper white skin. It was like staring into a vast ocean of mysticism, the unknown... or maybe it was the tears streaming down her face that made me think of that comparison.
"Why....." Her voice came out hoarse and raspy, as if it was taking all of her willpower not to scream or lash out at me. Reading her facial expression, she had look of someone who had been betrayed. The look of dependence and trust, only to be ruthlessly shattered into millions of unrecognizable pieces. I know that expression all too well. She had her fingers up in a similar fashion to the Rei-Gan from YuYu Hakusho, pointed directly at my face. The cyan-blue light from earlier coalesced into the tip of her thin and pale fingertip.
"I'm going to die," I thought to myself. It was a dreadful thought that would make any person who value their own life to shudder in fear and yet I strangely felt..... nothing. No, that can't be right. Resignation is the proper word that I was racking my brain around for. Despite the piercing gaze of my soon-to-be killer, my own eyes were full of different emotions - sadness and guilt..... I was at peace.
The woman's mouth popped open, her face contorting in sheer fury. "Why did you let yourself fall into despair!!!???" On cue, the marble-sized blue orb at her fingertip flashed so bright that it blinded my eyes. It was like staring into the sun, only now it was concentrated into a miniature orb only a few feet directly in front of my face. A crackle of lighting burst my eardrums, followed by a burning sensation and then...… everything went to black.
-
Soon after, another tingling sensation jolted me back to my senses. The first thing I noticed about my surroundings was the tiny monitor that was staring back at me, playing the newly released Tenki No Ko in all its watery glory. Still bewildered, I glanced to my right to see clouds and the occasional ocean just below them. A dream. It was all just a dream. I sighed, crumpling in my seat. Why do I keep having these vivid-
"Hey maaaan, what's up with that purple rock?" Performing a double take, I came face to face with what I could only assume was a demon- But not just any type. He had reddened, blood-shot eyes that gave the Sharingan from Naruto a run for its money. The smile that was plastered over his dusky face made me feel particularly uncomfortable and strangely nostalgic-Before uncontrollably coughing out clouds of smoke like a dragon with asthma. Yep, I knew his kind all too well. The litter the halls of universities- terrorizing teachers and students, especially the sororities alike! The mythological 420 demon.
I just gawked at the toasted Hispanic man clad in plaid before turning my attention towards- The rock. The purple, fruit-shaped rock that always seems to appear in my hand without me ever realizing it.
"What IS up with you?" I internally condemned the glowing stone before shoving it back into the confines of my satchel.
"Haha, nice purse bro!" The demon laughed uncontrollably.
"Goddamn it, Andre! Stop harassing the poor guy- It's too early in the day! Chastised the Asian man who sat two seats away from me. Andre, however, just kept on laughing his butt off.
"I'm so sorry man, my frien- *Cough Acquaintance is a complete retar-" Whoa, let's not say things we're gonna regret.
"It's fine." I smiled as I raised my hands in peace. Hopefully my English sounds decent. "There's no need to start an argument over it."
"Yeah, Tsubaki. There's no need to start one~" Andre cooed, taunting his friend in the process. Tsubaki, now red in the face, attempted to point out his hypocrisy but Andre just kept on rambling. "Sorry that my acquaintance is a complete ret-"
"Oh hell no, don't you dare copy me!" His friend snapped back. Before I knew it, they began bickering like a bunch of school children- Throwing slurs here, and name-calling there. Effectively making my attempt at peace, a bust. What….. just what am I supposed to say here?
"Therefore, you're the idiot!" Andre boomed, taking another hit from his vape. Aren't capes prohibited on planes?
Shaking his head, Tsubaki retorted with, "Says the moron who believes that elves exist! There ain't no other continent and there never will be!"
Oh, they're having that conversation. I mean sure, we've never been able to record the full scope of the Earth but doesn't mean we should get all Tolkien with our theories. If only humanity was able to send someone to space without it always ending in failure. Then we could finally put these theories to rest.
"You ain't looking at the facts! That researcher-dude found historical evidence, bro! His name was like... You-Key? Y'all Japanese have some weird-ass names."
I understood who Andre was talking about. The man in question was a famous archeologist whose discoveries led to many believing that there was more to our world than what we were led to believe. A man so influential that he even inspired my master- Err, former master to follow in his footsteps. That is, until he disappeared from the public without a trace. It remains one of the biggest mysteries of our generation.
"Professor Yuuki Zakuro." I corrected him.
"Yeah, yeah! Zaku... Jackie! Jackie Cha-" Aaaand, he's gone. Andre gurgled in his sleep as his friend shook his head in embarrassment. I gave Tsubaki a face that read "let's pretend none of this happened," which he readily agreed with a smile.
I glanced once more at the scenery next to me, mesmerized by the clouds. The beautiful scene before me made me wonder if- If the past two weeks were even real. That last expedition in the catacombs of Jerusalem, Godai-san's final moments, and the discovery of purple stone. Well, it doesn't matter now. Now I'm returning home to my friends and family. Where I belong.