Part 5
Quiet.
At the receptionist desk of a hospital, a woman was typing away on a computer keyboard.
Reiko Matsumoto.
She let out a loud sigh.
The lobby hall was empty.
At the moment, she is filling out a report on the girl Haruko rescued.
"Hair...um, Blue and black. Eyes. Blue. Weight 109lbs. Distinguishable features scar on left cheek," Reiko said to herself.
As Reiko was typing away on the keyboard, she heard the hospital doors slide open with a bell. She paused when she felt a cold chill hit her skin.
"Where is this cold air coming from?" Reiko said, looking around as she was rubbing her arms.
"Excuse me, I believe that you can help with a situation that I am in"
A deep voice startled Reiko, which caused her to look up.
She saw a large man looming over the counter, staring down at her.
The man had long black hair, and his shoulders were covered with a dark blue cloak that trailed down just below his knees, revealing his white dress pants and dress shoes.
"From my sources, I have reason to believe that this certain individual is currently within this facility.
He pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on the counter, pushing it forward toward Reiko with his left index and middle fingers.
Reiko carefully looked at the paper.
She noticed that the paper had a photo in the center.
"...…." Reiko's eyes widened as she recognized the person in the photo.
Aoi.
The girl that Haruko rescued was in the room on the second floor.
(What is this paper?)
"Judging by your response, you are familiar with the girl; that is fine and all, but it is imperative that I speak with her"
Reiko looked up at the man.
His red eyes gazed into her brown eyes.
(Who is this man?)
At a quick glance, the man looked like nothing special, but there was a small feeling about him that she couldn't fully explain. Something in the back of her mind was telling her to trust this man.
"If you will, could you point me to her?"
(No) her inner voice rang out.
Something about the man she could put a finger on.
(There are some people after her.)
Haruko's words rang out in the back of her mind.
(Is this person one of the people who attacked Haruko trying to get to this girl?)
If so, she needed to do something.
She cracked a weak smile.
"While I have no doubt that what you want to discuss with the patient is important, our visitation hours have ended. You are welcome to try again tomorrow at the proper time. I am sure someone should be able to help you"
Nereus looked at the woman.
He sighed.
"I see, very well," Nereus said as he removed his hand from the desk.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused by hospital rules"
"I'm sorry too" Nereus said in a calm tone.
Reiko stared at the man.
As he stood there, she noticed that small white orbs began emerging from his body.
Upholding the rules of the old is a horrible way to die; would you not agree?"
"What do you mea-"
BOOOOM!!!!
A shockwave broke out in the room as a suffocating pressure hit her.
A droning noise rang out in the room.
She tried to stand up by placing both hands on the desk and pushing herself up, but the overbearing pressure made it nearly impossible to do so. She had a hard time breathing as the pressure in the room felt like she was being physically choked.
There were several thuds in the room, which caused her to slowly glance over to the source of the noise.
Her heart sank when she saw several bodies lying on the ground.
Every pained movement and every painful breath felt as if it were taking everything from her to do so.
She glanced at where the man was standing, only to find that he wasn't there anymore.
Reiko let out a groan as she felt lightheaded.
She let out a painful exhale before falling out of the chair and onto the ground.
She was struggling to breathe, but it felt as if her lungs were on fire.
She felt her body go limp.
"H….Haruko"
Everything went black as she passed out on the floor.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Aoi was sitting in her bed, looking out the window.
She looked away from the window to the city and glanced down at her open palm.
A small blue light of energy began to illuminate in the shape of a small blue flame.
She stared at it for a few seconds before the blue flame-like energy fizzled out completely.
There was silence in the room.
"My energy is nowhere near the level I need it to be for me to leave"
She jumped out of bed onto the green tile floor and began to look around the room.
BOOOOM
The hospital room shook at its very core.
A suffocating pressure had spread out in the room, causing Aoi to fall to her hands and knees.
"....."
It was as if a dense, suffocating pressure was pushing her to the ground.
She groaned as she tried to move.
The air was dense as she struggled to breathe.
Aoi closed her eyes as the pressure continued to hit her.
(This is a restrictive energy field, but how? And this amount too. Someone is releasing their energy out into the open)
She struggled as she extended her left arm to the mattress to try and pick herself up.
She needed to escape.
Her body began to illuminate with energy as she began slowly moving toward the room door.
(If this person is releasing their energy, then if I release mine, I should be able to escape)
With every slow step, she felt herself losing consciousness, and her breaths became heavy as she grabbed the door handle.
The energy that surrounded her body broke off and disappeared into the air.
Her energy was gone.
There was a loud thud as her forehead slammed into the door.
Her exhausted body rested there. She lost the strength in her legs as she fell to her knees.
The ear-piercing, droning noise began to increase.
As she sat there, she closed her eyes.
Black.
(If he wouldn't fall here, then neither shall I)
Suddenly her body began to illuminate once again with energy as blue flickering flames. She slowly began to stand up as she felt weighed down by the pressure.
It was barely enough energy for her at the moment.
With her right hand, she slowly slid the door open.
There was a small click as she opened the door as far as it could go.
She kept staring at the green tiled floor, as she didn't have enough strength to keep her head up. She took a single step forward, which felt as if she were walking in quicksand.
As she took another step forward, her head bumped into something.
Black.
She could see black dress shoes and a black cloak.
"I guess even I could be lost for words in a once-in-a-lifetime situation like this"
Through the chaos surrounding her, a deep voice pierced her ears, causing her to slowly look up with an exhausted look on her face.
"But whoever would have thought that two Crystal Guardians of the same element, of two different generations, would have come face to face like this in 5000 years?"
There was a loud thud as Aoi fell to her knees.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Outside, it was a quiet night.
The sound of screaming could be heard descending from the night sky.
The screaming came from Haruko Matsumoto as the trio of Haruko, Antonio, and the unconscious body of Elora landed in an open yard with a loud thud.
Haruko stopped yelling as Antonio released his arm, letting Haruko drop to the ground.
As Haruko landed on his hands and knees, he started rubbing the concrete ground.
Antonio stared at the hospital.
"Oh god, the sweet, sweet ground, how I missed you. Never again shall I take you for granted."
"Mr. Haruko" Antonio said in a stern tone.
Antonio's voice startled Haruko, causing him to stand up straight.
"Prepare yourself"
Haruko stared at the man.
Huh, what do you mea...."
Haruko's voice trailed off as he took a glance at the hospital.
The hospital was surrounded by a dark blue cylinder barrier with a hexagon grid pattern on its walls, which reached the sky.
"What the hell is this? What is going on?" Haruko questioned.
"If what she said is true, it would seem the leader of their group has made a visit while we were away"
Antonio sighed loudly.
"It really seems like it's going to be a long night"
Chapter 4: END