Dead Cherry Blossom

Out of pity, the crowd that shunned him as a fool made way for the young outsider. He proceeded to the shrine, into one of the rooms where he recognized the first portal that sent him to his world. At in solitude within the room and the portal, only perceiving the laughter across the other side, Kotaro ignored all of them and progressed further. His sight blinded his continuation, drowned in drops of salty liquid, and nasal mucus formed under his nose. He jerked his tears as hard as he could, but soon he succumbed the humility.

Under the night sky as the flakes of snow fell upon the world, a lonesome boy wept in embarrassment. He walked back home, increasing his movement upon every step before sprinting his way. While running, Lulu's words came to mind--the foretelling of his future unveiling his past were bound to happen. His fists clenched tightly, his teeth gritted, and he announced his presence to the world with a roar.

"It's all a dream! There's no such thing as monsters, and Densetsu doesn't even exist! I'll never learn about my past, and I'm perfectly fine living like this!" He gasped for air before continuing his progression. Large clumps of snow entered his shoes, bedewing through his socks and into his feet. Returning safely home, he shivered in sheer cold. He reached for the door, but the knob had been twisted--he was met with a worried mother.

"Where were you, mister?"

"I--,"

"Do you know what time is it?" He searched his mobile device, learning his presence had been missing until midnight in his world.

"You said you were going to buy milk, but since you were taking so long, we decided to buy it. When we returned, you weren't home. We even called Rocky and Ging's parents in case you decided to not buy us milk, but none of them knew where you were. And now, you come home late like this!"

Amanda sheltered her son with welcoming arms, holding him close to her clutches. Reminisce of her wailing reminded him the harsh memories when he first met Amanda. Kotaro returned the hug, wrapping his arms close to hers, and his soul had been at peace.

"Don't make me worry," she whimpered. "You know I care about you a lot. If you're going through some issues, please let me know."

"I know, mom..." He assured his mother with a comforting smile. "I'm really tired for the day. I'll be going to sleep now."

"Okay, good night, Kotaro!"

He walked to his safe space, dropping his entire body into his bed in the darkness, and he forced himself to fall asleep with peace at ease. Sudden screams caused him to wake up, only to find himself in an area he hardly recognized. The houses fell in ruins, and vivid corpses were stacked into a pile. Green children sniffed the area before spotting the lonesome boy, then even larger creatures appeared, and further menacing monsters had joined the party.

Kotaro shrieked in fear, knowing he couldn't defend himself, but soon he realized the monsters ran past through him almost like they didn't see him. He turned around to catch a glimpse of a lonesome warrior much like Kotaro. This particular warrior wore a crimson armor with a goldenrod trimmings to the chest and lower; both his wrists, kneecaps, and anklets were the same golden color, followed by a straight gold trimming in his ruby pants down to his anklets. He observed closely for the face, but it seemed the warrior's face was concealed under a horned mask, which resembled a stag-beetle, with large glowing red eyes. The solitudinous warrior proceeded to retaliate against the monsters that threatened him, overwhelming them with his mighty strength alone.

Kotaro watched in astonishment to see this unknown fighter combating a horde of monsters all by himself. The seclusive warrior reached for his helmet, revealing ebony hair, but a strange light blinded Kotaro--and he was transported back to his room.

"Why was I dreaming about that?" He performed his daily routine before he headed his way to school. More of those visions flashed into his sight, the crimson fighter punched his enemies after another, and Kotaro halted his progression. "It almost feels so real too..."

"Are you daydreaming about smooching with Mimi?" The young man turned around, encountering Rocky. "Should I tell her about this dream of yours?"

His cheeks flushed in scarlet, attempting to explain his soliloquy. "R-Rocky, it's not like that at all!"

However, Rocky seemed unconvinced. His eyes squinted in suspicion, processing the overheard self conversation. "So you weren't thinking about Mimi, huh? Was it Noel then? It has to be!"

"Rocky!" He raised his voice, but Rocky retaliated with a mere chuckle.

"Kotaro Nishiki,"

"Huh?" An unfamiliar voice caught his attention. Searching around his surroundings, his eyes failed to see the one who called his name.

"What's going on with you, Koty? You look like you heard a ghost or something!"

Turning around, he met a white, bowl cut haired man in a jaded kimono, carrying two weapons wrapped around his waist. His eyes, shining clear like the snow, glared intensely into Kotaro. "I have been summoned to extinguish your existence unless you come with me. Further actions will be decided if you have chosen poorly."

"Who are you?"

"Hey, Koty? You alright there? You're kinda spooking me out here in the cold!"

"Rocky, when I count to three, we're going to run! And don't ever look anywhere, just keep your eyes straight forward!" said Kotaro.

"But school's that way. And what if we slip on ice?"

"Please listen to me for once! We're running!" His heart raced briskly. The best decision was not to involve his friends with his quarrel, and this man whom he failed to recognize obviously came from that other world. It was more intriguing for Kotaro to learn Rocky didn't understand what was going on, so he could only come up with one conclusion.

"An outsider like you is not allowed to exist in this world, so it is best you come with me. You know I can sense it in you, and you're aware of it too."

Ghosts, humans who've lost their lives and haunt the human world, although the naked eye couldn't see them, ghosts were capable of allowing the human eye to physically see their presence.

"Three...two..." His heart pounded every second that he counted. "One! Let's run!" Rocky began running the other direction while Kotaro remained in place. His friend continued dashing, avoiding to look back, and he disappeared into the distance. Meanwhile, Kotaro reached for his pockets to pull out the stick given to him. Sorry, Rocky, I'm not risking your life. I guess that other world wasn't a dream after all. "Now answer the question! Who are you? Why do you care so much about taking me to Densetsu?"

"My name is Gouki Yamato, sent from one of the Legends who requested that I bring you back to Densetsu, so I'll fulfill that right away."

His brows furrowed. "I'm not going back! Power Sword!"

"It is pointless fighting back. You cannot avoid your destiny." He slowly drew both swords, wielding a katana to his right and a wakizashi to his left, and he engaged into a posture.

The young man grunted as he charged forward with a downward slash, but Gouki evaded the predictable attack. Immediately, the swords- man stopped any movement from the young man with a simple steel blade near the throat. If he wanted, he could've ended the fight by applying more force which would've sent his head flying--but he chose not to. "You will listen to what I will say. It is Master Yuuki's wish that you must stay alive."

Hearing that name reminded him about his humiliation among the crowd. Made to be a fool to all of the new faces, he tried escaping his own reality by denying it. Kotaro released a deep breath.

"He wants to apologize."

"Apologize?"

He sheathed his wakizashi into its scabbard, and he searched his pockets--a tiny button that glowed violet. Pressing it opened a rift to the world, and they were sucked into it. Pink petals blossomed into the violet skies, ghostly wisps floated airborne in a squiggly pattern, and hordes of cherry blossoms were inhabited by phantasmal animals.

"Where is this place?"

"The Netherworld, the land of the dead."

Kotaro felt a cold presence. His curiosity searching around himself spotted the wisps shapeshifting into their former selves as they gathered around the lively flesh, but they quickly scrammed away by Gouki's presence coming closer to Kotaro. "Stay very close to me if you feel uncomfortable. None of them will hurt you so long as I am around."

"Why are they scared of you?"

"I'm just a gardener, but I am more or less a reaper here in this world."

The two reached the top, stopped by an enormous gate embedded with a wisp emblem. Opening the gates unveiled a playground of composed of rock arrangements, a small bridge to cross over a violet colored river stream, and to the left of them, a lady dressed in a pink, floral patterned kimono along with a hat sat peacefully under the roofs of the eastern mansion; her wavy, pink hair swayed in the air as wind blew about the world, and her skin was as pale as a ghost.

A portal opened in front of them, and Yuuki dropped down from it. Two petals danced in the sky before separating and falling into Yuuki's hand and the other landing on Kotaro's: one of them lost all color while the other petal retained its beauty. Their eyes gazed upon the hue of each other, violet and chestnut, but Kotaro soon gave up the staring contest.

Yuuki scoffed, "You're probably angry at me which I completely understand. It is in my nature to be mischievous, but sometimes I can get a bit overboard. So I'm sorry for pushing the boundary too far." No words came out of Kotaro's mouth. "And the promise, you can forget about it. I wouldn't want to waste your energy on finding a friend that I made up."

"Hmm? Why is Yuuki apologizing?" The pale lady stood up as she hovered in the air towards the men. She inspected the outsider closely. Her presence alone released a cold tension that caused Kotaro to shiver a little. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"I-I'm Kotaro Nishiki,"

"Kotaro Nishiki?" she gasped. His brows raised by her reaction. "No wait...I'm sorry if I'm a bit of a scatterbrain, but I think I might've mistaken it for Kotaro Fuma!"

"So you don't know me?"

"Your face is new! Who are you again?"

She's not kidding when she said she was a scatterbrain. He gawked in silence. "Kotaro Nishiki..."

She gasped again before mistaking his name to another person, and she returned to introductions. Quickly, Yuuki interrupted their exchange of words with a simple portal--and he smacked the ghost across the other side. "Ow, Yuuki darling, I'm trying to make new friends."

He sighed heavily, "Kotaro, this right here is one of the Legends just like myself. Her name's Miharu Sakurai."

"My name is Miharu Sakurai, princess of the dead, and I am proud to be one of the Legends of Densetsu!"

Yuuki sighed again, "she's a bit of an airhead as you noticed, but ignore all that, and she makes a good friend."

Two hands were on her waist, parallel to each other, and her brows furrowed. "I am an evil friend!"

Yuuki opened a portal for her, dragging her by the wrist, and her ghostly presence was no longer around. "I actually meant it, just letting know you, Koty!"

For the first time, he saw a genuine smile before the world faded to darkness. Many phantasmagorias flashed into his sight, from the crimson warrior, to the children climbing up the top, and Yuuki's smile. At last, he found himself in the shrine--Riku and Noel were around. The shrine maiden welcomed him with a warming smile, and Kotaro walked towards them.