Shadow of the past Pt. 2

Having been pulled from that place, Mew was ejected at the other side of the tori gates, seeing Tomoe and Mizuki there, but no Nanami or Akura-oh. Tomoe and Mizuki had been there for a while and they were getting frustrated. It was clear that they were worried as not long after, they entered the gate meant for Nanami.

As Akura-oh hadn't appeared either, Mew didn't wait for an invitation as he too went inside the gate, Akura-oh's gate to be precise. What he saw was the mundane life of a young teenager, but one that was a bit cold to his parents.

The scenery changed to Kirihito's body bending over a few shikigami eggs, while two egg on the side were hatching into full grown shikigame.

'Oh yeah, maybe I should look at my own Shikigami eggs. I wonder what happened to those?'

Getting his attention back on the scene playing out in front, Mew immediately became confused as the whole world became dark. Not even the surroundings could be seen.

'Weird. Has he lived beneath a rock or something?'

Not one to question other's tastes (Though he did that quite often), Mew went to look for Akura-oh. It was a bit hard as he couldn't really see where he was going.

"Get me out of here, It's dark. I don't know where I am. Get me out of here!"

Mew could hear screaming coming from the distance, the same sentence being repeated and repeated. He could hear the desperation in those words.

Quickly arriving in front of the source, Mew used Flash to light up the surroundings, showing a terrified Akura-oh on the verge of losing his mind.

[You okay?]

Mew asked, patting Akura-oh comfortingly on the back.

Akura-oh shivered as he covered his face with his hands, tremors shaking his body from head to toe.

[Want to get out of here? It's really gloomy.]

Mew waited for Akura-oh to reply, but he didn't answer. Waiting for Aura-oh to calm down, Mew began to play with his bubbles, putting Will-o-wisps inside to light up the place in multiple colors. The lights chased away the darkness and rendered as faint sense of security.

Not long after, Akura-oh stopped shivering. He fell down on his back as a faint laughter was heard, while tears streamed down his face.

"I'm so pathetic."

Mew sat on Akura-oh's chest and continued to watch him grumble about himself.

"Truly pathetic. I can't even remain calm in te dark anymore. I bet Tomoe would die from laughter."

[I don't see why it's funny. Everyone is afraid of something.]

Mew responded, while tilting his head. It really was strange how people hated themselves for being weak. There was nothing wrong with being weak, was there? If you're too strong, other things will become boring after all.

"I can't be afraid of anything. I won't allow myself to be weak."

[But being scared isn't the same as being weak. It shows you can appreciate life. If you're strong, you'll become rash and gamble with your life. There is no way you can enjoy yourself like that.]

Mew rolled on his back, his tail tapping in a steady rythm on Akura-oh's head.

[Is there even something you enjoy, or even like to do?]

Akura-oh remained quiet, seemingly lost in thought.

[I don't really think there is anything fun to do here. I guess there are a lot of funny gods, weird yokai and a lot of food. But that isn't really interesting. Everything gets boring. That's why I travel to different worlds. I take a piece with me when I go and move on to somewhere interesting again. What about you?]

Glancing at Akura-oh, Mew waiting for him to answer.

"None. There is nothing fun here. I used to kill a lot, destroying whatever I wanted, but I felt so empty. There was no purpose, no excitement. I didn't feel anything."

[Then what do you want to do when you go back? You want be my familiar for that long anymore.]

Akura-oh grimaced.

"I don't know what to do. I thought I did, but I really am lost at how to go on."

[Then... You want to go with me. There are a lot of interesting guys at my Garden. In addition, it keeps growing when I travel around. There are even other planets now.]

Akura-oh glanced at Mew through his fingers, seeing the innocent yet excited glimmer in his eyes. This pink cat really is like a child, Akura-oh thought.

"If you want me too."

Akura-oh muttered, though he wasn't sure if he was in the right mind to make such a decision.

[Great! As soon as we get out of here, I'll show you around in my Garden. Not killing allowed, I'll have you know. It's a peacefull place. If you do something bad, I'll put you in a time-out.]

Akura-oh had no idea what Mew meant with a time-out, but he didn't really want to know either.