Just Give Up

I wonder where I am all alone, Yami thought as she looked around. She wasn't in her dorm, she was in a forest full of mist, snow, and dangerous creatures. The moon could not be seen and it was rather frightening. Why am I here? Someone, explain! In a few minutes, she felt it was deathly cold. She wrapped her arms around her legs, sitting down on the dense snow. She was panicking inside, and felt that perhaps this was the end. Her legs had started to shiver from the cold, and she was numb all over. She could barely move her feet nor her mouth. It was almost as if she was frozen.

In just ten minutes, her head was spinning and she felt very light-headed. She collapsed onto the snow and stared up at the mist which concealed the night sky. "I guess it's over," She whispered, and closed her eyes, giving up. However, she thought about her friends; her family; her life. It encouraged her to never give up. Opening her eyes once more, she shakily stood and tried to flex her legs. Luckily, they were getting warmer because she was moving. She looked at her bare arms, which were getting hot red. She balled her hands in a fist, full of grit and inspiration. "I'm not giving up quite yet!"

She stepped forward in one mighty step, pulling her forwards a foot or two. She grimaced as the icy pain stabbed through her leg, but she did not stop. She continued on, using her arms to pull forward if she had to. Her head was still dizzy, but she managed to pull through. In a few minutes, she had spotted an orange tint. She widened her eyes as she realized that it was a fire. That meant warmth!

Knowing that if she continued on she would make it, her steps became larger. The distance she walked became faster at the minute. Her legs could move. Her arms felt normal again. Her breathing was more natural and concise. When she could finally see the flames moving, she reached out her arm to finally make it, but she instead fell and tripped on her arm. She was only moments away from getting to safety. Why…I'm…I'm so close…I still can't give up!

Just as Yami was about to reach the fire, it suddenly diminished. Her breath was taken away, dumbfounded and scared. "H-how…b-but—h-how…I-I—I w-was r-right t-there," She muttered, lucky to even be able to speak. "H-how d-did it…w-what d-did I d-do?" Her teeth were starting to chatter, and she had started to shake tremendously. Her breath quickened and her heart beat sped up with adrenaline. She started to sob as she remembered all of her family members, her friends. Her mother. Her deceased little sister, Koku. Kirai. Katsu. Akuji. And possibly Sachiko. She couldn't just leave them like this…but in this case, it almost seemed like she couldn't escape this problem.

"Stop trying," A stern voice came out above. With the last few minutes of consciousness Yami had left, she looked up with teary eyes to see a woman floating gracefully in the mist, right over the dead fire. The woman, or so Yami thought, had milky white eyes and light blue hair that was long and flowy. She wore a navy blue dress that was rippling like water but as if it was in slow motion. She had a stern glare and her eyes were pouring into Yami's mind. She looked…rather beautiful. Perhaps even more beautiful than Ophelia. "Stop trying to win all the fights. Stop trying to do anything at all," The woman continued, and Yami stared intently, not knowing what to do or say.

"B-but…why?" Yami could ask, tears still flowing down her cheeks as her body stiffened. Her eyes started to close, but she resisted the urge and tried to listen and look and hear. "W-why is t-that t-the c-case?" She added, and waited for an answer while shaking tremendously.

"If you keep trying you'll just have a more brutal consequence," The woman stated, and still stared right into the teary eyes of the Yami girl. "You were dying there, in the snow, the first time you woke up. You knew it was over. It didn't hurt as much, did it?" Yami nodded and kept listening. "But you decided to go on and try to make it out, but you ended up with a broken arm, even worse hypothermia, and me," Yami looked down at the snow, feeling her hands go numb. "Trying makes things even worse than they already are. Trying can ruin everything,"

"Y-you're wrong. T-trying g-gives us s-something to believe in, something to cherish. T-trying gives us h-hope, and i-inspiration. T-trying is t-the reason I'm e-even at an a-academia. I-if I hadn't t-tried to throw that s-stone into t-that fire, I w-wouldn't h-have met s-so many people, nice or r-rude. E-even if I'm i-in the D-dark. E-even if my o-old f-friends h-hate me n-now. T-trying is e-everything," Yami said, getting upset. Her body was going limp and unconscious, and if she didn't do anything, she would, most likely, die. She balled up her fist for the last time and summoned up all of her strength to get up. Attempting this, she just fell over again, hitting her chin against a tree.

"See? Trying just hurts you more. You must understand now," The woman laughed, and continued trying to convince Yami that she should give up. "Believe me, I'm the right one here," She whispered, and lowered down to place a hand under Yami's chin, mother-like. Despite this 'kind' gesture, Yami slapped the woman's face and glared.

"What g-gives you the r-right to touch me, or hurt me in any way, emotional or physical! Who are you even anyways?!" She yelled, her eyes tearing up. Her senses finally came back to her, and she started to get riled up. This woman was not her mother, nor her headmistress. She would never be above Yami, because she could not understand the meaning of trying and not giving up! "People who don't believe in trying…are just losers to me!"

The woman smirked, and tapped the spot on her cheek where Yami had punched her. It suddenly turned back to normal and was immediately uninjured. "If you don't know already, I'm currently Dark Goddess Tsubasa Saito. You most definitely are not over me, but it is a fact that I am above you!" Yami's draw dropped. She was standing in front of the Dark Goddess Tsubasa. It was a rare experience, and her mind was full of awe. However, her anger filled up that awe and she got aggressive again, not caring where or not this was the 'Dark Goddess Tsubasa Saito.'

"I don't…care!" She yelled, and tried to land another blow at Tsubasa, but ended up punching air. She fell onto an ice patch that could crack at any moment. She frantically tried to make it out of there, but she kept sliding, which resulted in no way of ever making it out of the ice, which would soon crack and the water would consume her. She glanced at Tsubasa, who was watching with her hands pressed against her chin. She looked partly amused. "Agh!"

She suddenly noticed the cracks were getting deeper and the sound was getting louder. In a few seconds, the ice had broken and Yami plunged into deep, below-0 temperature water. She now knew it was hopeless. Truly hopeless. Perhaps she should've listened to Tsubasa…if she had, she wouldn't be drowning right now. She wished she could cry, but there was no way. She wished she could scream, but you can't scream underwater, can you?

She felt her heartbeat slow down as she slowly was anchored to the bottom. When she felt her back press against cold sea-ground, she thought about Tsubasa and the things she had said. If you keep trying, you'll just have a more brutal consequence. You know, maybe the goddess was right. Yami had no idea how she was here or why, but she knew that she had messed up. Trying really did ruin everything. So much for Yami's "inspirational speech."

Just as her last breath was about to fade away, she suddenly felt herself get pulled out of the water violently. She widened her eyes as she began to breath, her stomach quenching. Her eyes stung from the water that had seeped into them. She pressed a soaking wet hand against her heart and breathed. However, she suddenly realized that she was at least seventy feet in the air. Looking around, she saw a boy. He was holding her, and he had white hair and re….

"KIRAI?!" She screeched, and he turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything had gone by so fast. One second, she was drowning, another second, she was here, rescued by Kirai. Except…she hated feeling like she was a damsel in distress. "Uhm, please explain," She added, and Kirai nodded, still flying through the air, a dark black trail following behind him.

"Well, we noticed you were gone, so I was allowed to go out and find you. I saw you with that…woman, and then I started to panic once you fell into the ice. The woman had disappeared, so I decided it was the right time to come and, uh, help out," He explained, slightly blushing. Yami smiled faintly and looked towards the Academia, which was near. "We have no idea how you got here, but—" Before Kirai could finish, Yami's head hit a tree's branch and she conked out. Kirai's eye twitched. "So much for saving her!"

"Just a few broken bones, and a mild case of hypothermia. Not too much," Yami heard a voice as soon as she woke up. She was in a different hospital this time. It was secluded and painted all black. The hospital beds were just like the ones in the Between Hospital, though. "She'll be fine, young man! Don't overreact!"

"Okay, it's just…I want her to be alright…because I…" He was cut off when he noticed Yami was awake. She raised an eyebrow, and he smiled. "Hey, Yami. Feeling alright?" He asked. She nodded.

"I'm fine!" She tried to get up, for she had a cast, but then remembered what Tsubasa had told her. Inches from her feet touching the ground, she stopped, and her foot hovered there for a second, then came back onto the bed. "Everything's fine with me, where is Akuji and Katsu?" She added.

The nurse woman answered instead. "Well, you have one special guest," She stated, and continued looking over different medicine types. "She's about to come in…"

In a few seconds, a girl with dark brown skin and red cornrows stepped in. It was Sachiko! She looked at Yami with sorrowful eyes and slowly walked towards her best friend. "I'm sorry I ignored you, I just was mad at you for lying. I forgive you know," She said quietly, and the two embraced in a hug. "Just remember, I'm always there," She looked at her watch and widened her eyes. "Oh, Yami, I'm so sorry…but it's time for me to go! Class is starting up in a few minutes!"

"It's okay," Yami said, understanding. She smiled as Sachiko left. At least she still had Sachiko with her. They weren't ex-best friends at all!

All of the sudden, Yami's eyes felt droopy as she laid on the bed. She fell asleep fast, and in her dream, one haunting phrase appeared.

If you keep trying, you'll just have a more brutal consequence.