Awakening!

Chapter 5

Everything had gone just as he had planned and just after she changed they both found themselves strolling through the streets.

The route he had decided on them taking wasn't the busiest nor was it lonely; he simply wanted somewhere where not many people would recognize nor disturb him.

It was a place where he had been before and a couple of times as well.

" Hey," he said, calling her attention, " have you ever heard of a sorcerer's first demon hunt?"

" No. What exactly is that?"

" Oh, never mind. I overheard my mum talking about it yesterday and was hoping that you might know about it."

She kept quiet after that and simply continued to walk by his side with her right hand firmly fitted into her right pocket while she stayed a good distance away from him.

" I'm still waiting you know." She said in an attempt to remind him of their main reason for coming out.

He chuckled slightly as he looked at her with his glimmering eyes and said, " Well you agreed to wait right? We'll be there soon just trust me."

She knew already off where they were headed since he told her beforehand and it was the only reason why she hadn't turned around and walked back home before they could even start walking.

Being from the Fujiboma household, her family wasn't very significant; her father did not have any high standings before his death and they had been living with their grandmother ever since then.

Megumi's interest in her could only mean that there were benefits he was trying to reap from her and she couldn't figure out what it was.

He had been nice so far and easy-going but other than his name and family there wasn't anything else she knew about him.

" Come on, we're almost there."

She quickly ran forward seeing that he had gone very far past her and was now standing by the edge of a cliff.

She stood by her side and looked towards the same direction he was, the bottom of the cliff.

There was a small stream of water down there and it was radiating with a bright pink glow for some reason.

Her eyes kept on darting around the place, trying to figure out what it was that could be causing the bright glow but she couldn't find anything.

He lightly tapped her shoulder and pointed towards the torii gate that stood by the side.

She paused for a moment as she looked at him with a disturbing expression on her face, knowing fully well what the red entranceway meant.

" Are you crazy? How sure are you that it's okay for us to go in there?" She asked in a very low tone.

" Sheesh, I wouldn't have brought you here if I knew it wasn't okay. We just need to pass the bridge before we arrive at the shrine. No biggie."

" I don't know if it was my overwhelming sense of curiosity or mere stupidity that made me even agree to come here with you. But, you have to listen when I tell you that this is as far as I've ever gone each time I come here. You're probably gonna be the same as everyone else but I've seen people go there and not come back." She warned, turning away.

" The fog I see... You have to know as well that it only works on weak sorcerers and only those who have awakened their external energy. We'll be fine as long as we don't wander too far in and my big sister has a tracker on me so she'll come get us if we happen to get into trouble." He assured her as he slowly took a step past the gate.

She contemplated on whether or not to follow him and her mind was flowing with many thoughts; there were many mysteries she had heard about the place and how it could help one awaken their external talent faster.

Megumi sounded sure of everything he had just said and it seemed that he had gone farther than her into the shrine as well.

" Fine." She mumbled under her breath as she slowly followed behind him.

They went past the shaded bridge and arrived at the pathway that led straight towards the shrine.

The place felt eerie; many sounds and creaking of animals; especially the sound of crows and crickets.

" Just tell me if you start getting any hallucinations." He said, slowly walking forward.

Although he wanted to get everything done, the current state of the young girl had him worried; she was trembling in fear and sticking as close as ever to him.

It was clear that she was afraid and saw him as her only protection.

Though being almost of the same age, he saw her as a much younger child who needed his protection and his consciousness overwhelmed him knowing it was his fault they were there in the first place.

The fog he had spoken off slowly began appearing as they ventured further towards the shrine and the sound from the animals only continued to get louder.

" Ahhhh!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she jumped towards him, pulling him down with her.

"Ugh." He groaned, slowly getting up from the ground.

" I'm so sorry." She apologized, getting up from the ground as well.

" Yuki, tell me what it was you just saw. The fact that the effects are working on you means that you possess eternal talent somehow. Have ever tried focusing on that energy?"

She paused for a moment as she dusted herself up. The embarrassment she felt from what just happened was still lingering.

" For a moment I... I-I felt like I had just seen a demon coming up from behind me." She said stammering as she looked around the place but her gaze was now greatly limited.

That was when he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him as he said,

" Close your eyes for a moment and try to focus on whatever it is you're seeing."

Although he was able to see her well, the same couldn't be said for her; the fog had gotten worse to the point that she couldn't see her body.

There wasn't anything else she could think of other than turning around and heading back to where she had come from but she was far too terrified to do that.

" I guess here's not like in some stories I've read where kids are taught how to suppress their emotions. Even now I can hear her heart thumping." He thought, pulling her even closer to him as he placed his right hand over her eyes.

" There, just like that, open your eyes slowly and imagine there's nothing before you other than my hand... You should be able to notice that there's no moisture present in the fog, keep that in mind and you should be fine."

" Wow, you sure know so much for someone who hasn't even felt the presence of external energy." She said rather calmly.

It seemed that his hand was doing a good job of calming her down.

" Yeah, too bad you had to feel it before me."

She chuckled slightly at his statement as he slowly removed his palm from his face and that was when she realized that the fog had gone away.

Although that was a great surprise, that wasn't close to the shock that resulted from the realization that they were currently present in the shrine.

" Well, it seems that you passed the test." He applauded, looking at her with a smile on his face.

She paused for a moment as she looked around the place and proceeded to slowly walk towards him.

He was scared by the blank expression she had as she slowly walked towards him and stepped back slightly but she grabbed hold of his hand.

" Damn you!" She yelled at him as she sent a slap across his face.