Tegoshi runs, dragging Ayu with him. They must reach Masami's house soon before the last of his energy leaves him. In this kind of state, he can't protect Ayu anymore, the only thing he can do now is to run fast and take Ayu to safety. He hoped that Yamapi will protect Maki too. The spell that he made earlier took most of his energy and right now he can feel the weakening of his body, he hope that he can make it in time.
He learned that spell from his mother. No, he heard his mother used that before but his mother forbids him to use that spell or any kind of spell that he knows. No moonchild is allowed to use any kind of spell. No one, except if your the chosen one like his mother. For those spells requires a great strength, a great energy and sometimes some spells takes a moonchild's life. He knows the danger in doing that, but he must do that to save both Ayu and Maki, that's the only way he knows. He prays for the Moon Goddess to guide them, to save them, if not him maybe Ayu and Maki.
He runs through trees and thick bushes taking Ayu with him. He doesn't care if the branches scratch his face and arms, he must not waste time. They're almost near when Ayu suddenly stops and fall to the ground. Tegoshi worriedly turns to her.
"are you okay?" Tegoshi ask her
Ayu didn't answer him, her breathe heavy and eyes almost close
He touch her cheeks, her skin is burning hot. He remembered what Maki said, Ayu is sick.
"Ayu, can you hear me? please bear it with me, we are almost there."
Ayu can only nod
He just hope that she will be okay after running almost a mile under the rain.
He carries her on his back.
"just grip on me tightly okay?" he said to her
In which she did, her face in his neck.
He runs, willing himself not to give in. He almost slip somewhere but he still doesn't care.
He felt relieved when they reach a clearing and saw a small house. He can see the light and the shadows of people moving inside through the window.
He hurriedly knock on the door. A pretty girl opens it.
"Tegoshi?" said the girl, behind her he can see Shige, Massu and Koyama.
"Ma-chan" he said as Massu and Koyama immediately went to him and help him take Ayu off his back.
"save her" he said before letting himself fall into darkness
The last thing he heard is Massu and Masami shouting his name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yamapi watch the massive blue fire in front of him. The big black mass in the middle of it was Yuihiro and his men.
Revenge is a bitter-sweet kind of thing, he thinks. But atleast they managed to kill the man who took Uchi's life away.

Earlier, he arrived just in time to see Ryo slaying all of them. Jin and Kame helping him. It doesn't help that Ryo was furious enough seeing the man who kills one of his closest friend. Yamapi just stand there and watch, giving Ryo what he wants, to take Yuihiro alone.

"Finally, that's minus one in our enemies." Jin said who is standing beside him.
"how in the hell did they found out about the school?" Kame said
"Apparently Aoi tipped him" Yamapi said
Ryo turns to him. "Aoi? that b*tch is still alive?"
"Ryo, you know that woman, she is a cunning demon" Kame said
"He said that Aoi wants me maybe she sent him to take you and you know Yuihiro, he really wants your gift." Yamapi said to Ryo
"that girl, she sent someone to do the dirty work for her" Akanishi said, smirking at Ryo
Ryo grins wickedly "as if Yuihiro could beat me"

Yamapi thinks about that girl, Aoi. She's returning again. She's one of the most dangerous enemy they have to encounter. Unlike most of the Hollow People who forms a group to support each other, that girl operates alone. She is known to have been killed so many people, humans and moonchildren and sometimes one of her own, a Hollow People. That girl is not just powerful but cunning as well. Many times they have encountered and she always escapes. The last time they see each other is the one involving Ayu.
She knows, and they know too, that if she managed to get him or Ryo, then that's the start of the fall of his group.

"He almost got me though?" Yamapi said, still looking at the black mass that was Yuihiro
"how?" Kame said
"he hostaged Ayu and tries to kill Maki."
"He knows your weakness ne Pi~" Jin said
"Pi, just how many times do I have to tell you to be careful?" Ryo said. "It doesn't matter if they got me but please not you. It will be a great loss to us if we lost you. Remember you are the last one of your kind."
Yamapi didn't say anything
"How did you guys get away anyway?" Ryo said
"Something silver flash in our midst, blinding him." Yamapi said
"silver?" Ryo said
"Yeah, silver. I wonder what is that though, its the first time I've seen that" Yamapi said
"silver? isn't that the color of the temple?" Ryo said
"temple? what temple? a silver temple?" Akanishi said
"Baka! have you forgotten the meanings behind the colors? like the one in our wings? Silver is for the ones in the temple, light blue for the commoners, purple for the nobles, black for the warriors and white is for-"
"we know, we know" Jin said. " but we are now living in a barbaric era not the civilized time that it used to be, so don't blame us if we forgot those things."
"what about the silver?" Kame said
"The thing is, I thought they managed to kill all of the people working in the temple but if something like that happens, that silver flashing thing then that means that one or some of them is still alive. Isn't that a good-"
He stops on talking when he sees 2 girls coming their way.
"Erika!" Ryo shouts
Yamapi, Jin and Kame turn around
"what are you doing here?" Kame ask them
"thank god your alive" Erika (Toda) said, panting
"Masami got worried so she sent us here" Meisa said
"don't worry we managed to finish them all" Ryo said
"by the way, is Tegoshi already there?" Yamapi ask them
"Tegoshi? no, no one comes there yet that's why Masami got worried" Erika said
Yamapis heart starts to fill with dread
"have you seen two girls? Ayu? you remember Ayu right? have you seen her?"
"No, I haven't seen anyone" Meisa said
"Ayu? Ayu is here too? and who's the other girl?" Erika said
"one of our classmate" Ryo answers her
"Tegoshi is with them." Yamapi said
"No, we haven't see anyone" Erika said
Yamapi starts to run to the forest

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Maki! Ayu!" Yamapi shouts in the middle of the forest
"Tegoshi!" Ryo shouts
They've been searching for them for almost an hour now. Jin and Kame is helping them too
what if something bad happens to them? Yamapi thinks.

Then he spotted something move just ahead of them. He immediately runs to it.
He reached a clearing with a big stone lying in the center of it. There lying on the ground is Maki.
He kneels beside her and touch her forehead, he check her pulse. She's fine though. Then why? what happened to her? Where's Tegoshi and Ayu?
Ryo came "what happened here?"
"I don't know" Yamapi said
"Quick! take her to Masami" Kame sid
He starts to lift her up
Then he hears someone calls his name. Its Erika
"We're here" Jin said
Erika finds them
"you found her?" she said "I've been to Masami's house. Tegoshi and Ayu is already there."
Yamapi sighed in relief
"Masami wants you immediately there. Ayu is sick and Tegoshi is in critical condition." Erika said
Yamapi's eyes widen in horror. He lift Maki up and immediately runs carrying Maki with him. Jin, Kame and Erika went too.

Ryo's about to go when he notice something lying on the ground. He pick it up, it's a silver orb. What is this thing doing here? he thinks
Despite the horrifying things that happens tonight he feels a tiny ray of hope. His assumptions is true, one of the people in the temple is still alive. But how and why Maki got this?

He have seen this kind of thing before, this silver orb. He have seen this when his father takes him to the temple when he's still a child.
And he knows that the silver orbs were used by the Maidens of the Moon Priestess.

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to the people who comments.. thank you so much.. thank you for boosting my ego up!! LOL!! ^_^ joke... I'm not putting myself down... its just that the thing i write is different from what i imagined it, so it leaves me really unsatisfied... it doesn't help that my english is not that good, i can't express this freely (i cant even write this in my own language)
But thank you so much... you're giving me energy in writing this.. eventhough its getting harder and harder to write this... gambarimasu!!!

___ more of tegoshi and maki's past in the next chapters... and maybe Yamapi too...

and i'd like to ask.. what do you guys like? a happy ending or a sad one??? many ideas runs in my head yesterday.. so what do you think?? ^_^