Memories and Reality

All of the scenery turned black, Yami's vision fading of the memories that had just come unto her. Her mind was full of flashes of thoughts; take-backs; confusement, sadness, anger, questioning. Where was she even? Where was reality? Would she be stuck in nowhere…forever? However, suddenly, she could feel her body and her eyes opened up, revealing a cloudy sky with screaming and shouting. When Yami could finally focus in again, she noticed that Akuji, Sachiko, and Katsu were at their knees, surrounding her. When they noticed she had started to move, they suddenly burst out loud with questions and worried expressions.

"Yami, are you okay? What happened? One second, Ophelia was talking out loud to us about exchange groups, then the next second, she was on the ground, in pain. Then, I saw you had fallen too…after that, both of you didn't speak for at least thirty minutes!" Sachiko rushed, slow tears running down her cheeks. "Then, your heartbeat slowed down…we thought you were going to…you know…" She trailed off silently, looking away into the screaming crowd.

Yami was at lost for words. Was that really what happened? It had felt like she had been in that memory for years…as the time had been realistic. She had gone through every single second of the headmistress Ophelia's life…all down to that one, unexpected secret that Yami had almost forgotten. Her mother was actually Ophelia. But was it…true? Was that just a muse, a silly joke? Well, it couldn't be…could it?

"Yami! Are you going to answer?" Akuji pleaded, while consistently looking back at the crowd. "Wait…tell us inside the school, we need to get in or we will not be able to later on." She grabbed Yami's wrist, pulling her up. Katsu seemed to be speechless, as the whole group (except for Yami, of course) did not know what had really happened.

As they were slowly walking away, with curiosity, Yami decided to turn her head to face the exact spot Ophelia had been standing on before they had both fallen. She could see assistants and workers, like Mei, helping her to her feet. Ophelia looked pale and shaky, her white gown crumpled and dirty from the dirt she had collapsed onto. Her eyes suddenly connected with Yami's gaze, and the two stared at each other intensely, but it was quickly broken when a student walked in front of the two, hustling quickly, as if hoping not to be the last one in.

"Wait a second! Where's Kirai?" Yami inquired, a worried expression plastered onto her face. Usually he would be with them, but not this time. Not expecting Yami to speak, Katsu answered quickly with a smirk.

"Oh, so we ask what all the recent fuss was about, you didn't answer. But then you suddenly spoke about Kirai…? Heh, seems you've got a bit of a—" Katsu was cut off by Sachiko, who shook his shoulders furiously.

"Enough with that! We have to get into the school, remember?!" She asked, and Katsu sighed, and rolled his eyes. "And Yami, Kirai went inside before us. He's alright." Sachiko said without a hint of lying. Yami smiled faintly and began to walk again, with her friends, to the academia. The crowd had cleared out and not much other students remained. It was only them, really.

"I am worried," Akuji stated, her eyes full of fear and anxiety. Yami smiled lightly.

"Don't be!" Yami said delightfully, but Akuji surprisingly shook her head. The blonde girl sighed and continued looking that sideways way she had been staring like, and then that's when Yami noticed the dark splotch in the lighter blue sky. It seemed that Katsu and Sachiko were deep in an argument and did not notice what was coming towards them. Yami panicked slightly.

"Uh…guys! Do you not see that?!?" Yami's voice rose into an annoying high-pitched screech as she tried to speak louder and louder than the erupting argument that Katsu and Sachiko were engrossed in. "GUYS!" Yami screamed as they finally made it into the academy, the black cloud still in the air, most likely. Now that they were inside, all of the students stared at them with disgust…and some fear mixed in, of course.

Sachiko finally listened to Yami and ended her argument. "What is it, Yami?" She asked unconventionally. Yami's lower lip trembled in fear as the group sat down.

"There's a—"

Yami stopped speaking when she heard a large explosion, coming from the Light Academia.

"Well, that can't be good!" Katsu said uncomfortably. The group shuddered.

"We have to go see what happened!" Sachiko said, despite all the chaos around and the seeping smell of smoke. Yami nodded, as well as Katsu and Akuji.

"Alright. We might as well be breaking some rules…and we might be being just plain stupid…but we're doing it! I think it has something to do with the…nevermind!" Yami huffed and the group nodded together.

"We're probably just stupid," Katsu grinned. The trio smirked and ran ahead to the chaos.

"Wait…you all think you could go ahead into this situation without me? I thought you all cared about me…" A serious but playful voice rang from behind them. Yami turned her head to see Kirai, his silver hair blowing across his face from the impact of running full speed. His expression was plain and emotionless, but what he said still made Yami smile.

"Hah, we care about you, we just have to go! I was wondering where you were, anyways!" Yami winked and they all continued towards the Light Academia, until one certain student stopped them.

"Stop! It's not aloud!" A squeaking voice hollowed from behind. The group had to turn and stop running. (Which they were doing quite dramatically, by the way. It takes time and great effort to look perfectly amazing! And this girl just—)

"Misato?" Yami inquired, staring straight at the girl who had once been striking, confident, funny, teasing and most of all, kind. Her red hair, the same yellow eyes. Just different now. "What are you trying to do?" Yami added. Misato sighed.

"School rules say no getting out of the school if something major is happening! You can't just—wait? Do you guys even have a reason for running into this chaos?" Misato eyed the huge smoke cloud that was slowly floating towards the students. "I bet you don't even have an excuse!"

"I do," Yami said, her eyes watering. "I know that right after they brought Ophelia back into the Light Academia, this dark cloud thing came and—" She was cut off abruptly by Sachiko.

"There was a what?!" She asked, tossing her head to the side. Yami breathed out, trying to calm herself; as so many things were rushed and insecure.

"Alright, I'll explain later! Anyways," Yami continued on with her speech with Misato. "I want to save Ophelia. I want to help her…my own mo—well…just please don't get in the way! We need to go!" Yami glared at Misato and turned around to wark forth, but the girl continued on.

"No! It's not allowed!" Misato angered. She ran over to Yami to attempt to land a blow, but Yami quickly dodged and non-purposefully sent a dark cloud rushing towards Misato, which sent her flying onto the ground, bruised and aching. However, Misato did not give up.

She picked herself up and sent an icicle at Yami. It almost cut Yami's shoulder, but she luckily dodged it just in time. She pulled out a blade from her pocket (don't ask, please) and threw it at Misato, who quickened up the pace. Every blade Yami threw at her, she now dodged. Yami was a bit frustrated; she just wanted to get to the Light Academia as quick as possible. Running out of patience, Yami quickly summoned all of her energy and threw her fist at Misato, who didn't see it coming. The redhead fell onto the ground, defeated. She frowned.

"Once they get me out of this place, into the Dark Academia, I'm telling them about you guys—I'm—I'm sorry. I just can't let you guys get away with this! If Mari was alive, she would be mad at you right now…you're hurting me, her sister, after all!" Misato yelled, and Yami's consciousness fell away from her.

Misato was Mari's sister? The two were…related? And then, Yami remembered that Akuji didn't know about Mari's…death…Yami had only told her that…that she was at her parents' house…for a special occasion. Her heart stopped and the pulse of her heart stopped all sound around her stopped. There was only silence. And a hard thud as she felt her face fall to the ground.

There were blurry sounds of Sachiko and Katsu and Kirai calling her name, but she couldn't. It was too much to handle, until Yami finally found back her consciousness and all of her hearing.

She stood up to face the ground and see Misato on the ground, most likely unconscious. "I'm…I'm so—"

Someone cut her off. It was Akuji, who was facing her, tears in her eyes and a furrow in her brow. "I can not believe you lied to me, Yami. After all of this time, I trusted you! You told me that Mari was just going to her parents' house—I guess that was a lie! Why did you not tell me before, Yami? So she is…dead? She is…gone? For how long…a few months? I am done with this," Akuji glared once more at Yami and walked away, her intention of ever being with them gone. Just like that. Yami's heart broke.

"Please! I can explain!" Yami ran as tears spilled out of her emerald green eyes. She grabbed Akuji's arm and turned her around, trying to help her understand why she had lied like that.

"Get your hand off of me!" Akuji yelled fiercely, unlike her usual self. She pulled her arm away from Yami's grasp and spoke once more. "Sachiko, Kirai, Katsu…are you…going to come with me?" Akuji inquired, and Yami swiftly turned around to the solemn faces of her friends. Sachiko seemed to be disappointed, and she seemed unable to look into Yami's eyes. Katsu seemed uncomfortable, and Kirai, well, he was the same.

Sachiko spoke. "What Yami did was wrong. But I'm not a fake friend enough to leave her! After all, I'm truly her best friend! I don't care if she has flaws or not, though lying about a death is possibly the worst thing someone could ever do…" She trailed off, but then continued. "I'm staying with her."

"Yeah, me too. Sorry, Akuji, I know you're hurt and that this whole situation is messed up, but we can't just leave Yami alone like this. Plus, we've always been by her side," Katsu grinned faintly and glanced at Yami who's heart was filled with both sadness and hope.

"I'm with Yami," Kirai said.

"Well, if you are staying with that witch…" Akuji snarled. Yami's heart shattered into a million pieces once more. Her eyes filled with tears and she couldn't stand it anymore. She broke down onto the ground and weeped. "You are all just some fake friends to me!" Akuji spat, picking up Misato's unconscious body and running towards the opposite academia.

After Akuji left them behind, everything was silent. Yami didn't even notice that the smoke was nearing, didn't even notice anything at all. What she did feel was her friends hugging her as tears silently flowed down her pale cheeks. Her eyes closed as she remembered all the times she'd had with Akuji Kagei; friend-not-friend.

"I'm Akuji Kagei."

"We are almost there!"

All of those memories sent Yami into something of a rollercoaster. Happiness, then dropping down to sadness again. However, once she opened her eyes, she had determination to save Ophelia and the Light Academia from total destruction. Probably.

Well, as she thought this and readied with her friends…

Another explosion filled the air, right in the center of the Dark Academia.