[Epilogue: Day 6]
[The following occurs around noon of Asuka's sixth day on the island, in the hall of Obelisk Blue White Blue, beginning shortly after Manjoume's duel against the Light of Destruction concludes. (Why no, I haven't figured out how exactly that's going to go yet, but suffice it to say Manjoume won, barely.)]
The Light's life points hit zero, and It let out a shrill cry of blind fury - not with Saiou's voice, but with a high-pitched dissonant sound like nothing Manjoume had ever heard before, or hoped to hear again as long as he lived. There was no time for Manjoume to even realize completely that he'd won, however, as a tremendous wind picked up, and from Saiou's now-unconscious form, a formless mass of white energy - the Light of Destruction Itself, defeated, weakened, but still one of the most powerful forces in the universe - arose and, like a bullet, made Its way toward the two humans in the viscinity. If It couldn't have Saiou, It would have a different host.
"Asuka!" On instinct, Manjoume dove in front of the singer, using his back to shield her from the Light's intentions. If it was going to try anything, he would rather it happen to him for a third time than let Asuka take it instead. Not that he was going to let it do anything to him, but still.
There wasn't time to even think as everything around them became a blinding white. Asuka watched, stunned and unable to do anything, and Manjoume braced himself for yet another intrusion into his mind...
Which never came. And after a few moments, when Manjoume realized that it hadn't happened yet, he opened his eyes tentatively and looked backward over his shoulder.
There was Fubuki's ghost, arms outstretched and facing the Light in order to protect his living charges. His outfit, even, had changed, somehow - he had been wearing just a simple black shirt and black pair of slacks, what he had died in. Now, however... it wasn't quite the coat he had worn while possessed by Darkness, different in that its tails were arranged in such a way as though they fluttered like wings - as though he were some kind of black-feathered angel looking for justice.
'Kept a part of it inside him' indeed. If anything, one would think he'd been sent by the guy.
"Leave here, Light!" Fubuki said in a commanding (possibly slightly on the needlessly-dramatic side) tone. "Manjoume defeated you, and the conditions upon his victory were that you would leave!"
The Light hissed, but It knew the conditions It had agreed to, not thinking that It would be defeated by a mere human, even a human It had been interested in since Saiou had met him in the forest that night. And with that, It was gone.
"Brother..." The two males in the room - one alive, one dead - turned toward Asuka, who had stood up and was staring, her eyes tearing up, toward the ghost. She hadn't gained the ability to see spirits suddenly - perhaps this was a side-effect of the amount of energy Fubuki had just spent protecting them, perhaps it was a residual effect of the sudden shift in the balance of the immediate world, perhaps it was just a mysterious scenario as rare and short-lived as a coin standing, balanced on its side* - but she could see him now.
Before that sudden moment faded, Fubuki smiled warmly and said, "I'm glad you're all right, and I'm proud of you, Asuka."
And then the level of light was back to normal - nowhere near blinding, but just enough to see by - and Fubuki was gone - well, he was there, but only Manjoume could see him. With a slight groan of exhaustion, Manjoume collapsed to his knees, but even as the Ojamas appeared and fussed over his condition - he could hear them talking, but wasn't paying much attention to what exactly they were saying - all he could do was smile, slightly, with relief.
He'd done it. He'd won.
Author's Notes: *This refers to an episode of The Twilight Zone, actually. There was this guy who gained the ability to read minds temporarily when a coin landed on its side, and lost it when it tipped over. In case anyone was wondering/cares to know.
The Light's life points hit zero, and It let out a shrill cry of blind fury - not with Saiou's voice, but with a high-pitched dissonant sound like nothing Manjoume had ever heard before, or hoped to hear again as long as he lived. There was no time for Manjoume to even realize completely that he'd won, however, as a tremendous wind picked up, and from Saiou's now-unconscious form, a formless mass of white energy - the Light of Destruction Itself, defeated, weakened, but still one of the most powerful forces in the universe - arose and, like a bullet, made Its way toward the two humans in the viscinity. If It couldn't have Saiou, It would have a different host.
"Asuka!" On instinct, Manjoume dove in front of the singer, using his back to shield her from the Light's intentions. If it was going to try anything, he would rather it happen to him for a third time than let Asuka take it instead. Not that he was going to let it do anything to him, but still.
There wasn't time to even think as everything around them became a blinding white. Asuka watched, stunned and unable to do anything, and Manjoume braced himself for yet another intrusion into his mind...
Which never came. And after a few moments, when Manjoume realized that it hadn't happened yet, he opened his eyes tentatively and looked backward over his shoulder.
There was Fubuki's ghost, arms outstretched and facing the Light in order to protect his living charges. His outfit, even, had changed, somehow - he had been wearing just a simple black shirt and black pair of slacks, what he had died in. Now, however... it wasn't quite the coat he had worn while possessed by Darkness, different in that its tails were arranged in such a way as though they fluttered like wings - as though he were some kind of black-feathered angel looking for justice.
'Kept a part of it inside him' indeed. If anything, one would think he'd been sent by the guy.
"Leave here, Light!" Fubuki said in a commanding (possibly slightly on the needlessly-dramatic side) tone. "Manjoume defeated you, and the conditions upon his victory were that you would leave!"
The Light hissed, but It knew the conditions It had agreed to, not thinking that It would be defeated by a mere human, even a human It had been interested in since Saiou had met him in the forest that night. And with that, It was gone.
"Brother..." The two males in the room - one alive, one dead - turned toward Asuka, who had stood up and was staring, her eyes tearing up, toward the ghost. She hadn't gained the ability to see spirits suddenly - perhaps this was a side-effect of the amount of energy Fubuki had just spent protecting them, perhaps it was a residual effect of the sudden shift in the balance of the immediate world, perhaps it was just a mysterious scenario as rare and short-lived as a coin standing, balanced on its side* - but she could see him now.
Before that sudden moment faded, Fubuki smiled warmly and said, "I'm glad you're all right, and I'm proud of you, Asuka."
And then the level of light was back to normal - nowhere near blinding, but just enough to see by - and Fubuki was gone - well, he was there, but only Manjoume could see him. With a slight groan of exhaustion, Manjoume collapsed to his knees, but even as the Ojamas appeared and fussed over his condition - he could hear them talking, but wasn't paying much attention to what exactly they were saying - all he could do was smile, slightly, with relief.
He'd done it. He'd won.
Author's Notes: *This refers to an episode of The Twilight Zone, actually. There was this guy who gained the ability to read minds temporarily when a coin landed on its side, and lost it when it tipped over. In case anyone was wondering/cares to know.