Help Me

"Why. Why do you try so hard?" 

We all stood in a stunned silence for a moment, as we digested her words. Or more the fact that she had spoken at all. 

For the entirety of this attack, for this battle. For the entire time she was murdering and causing carnage in the courtyard, she had not bothered to speak. I had just chalked it up to her being a cold-blooded killer, one who had no care to speak to those that she planned to murder. But now, she shocked all of my-and our-expectations. 

"Why, do we try?" I repeated, more confused at just what she was trying to ask us. We were being attacked. Our lives were on the line. What kind of question was that! I was starting to get a bit angry at just what she was asking. 

"Why, do we try?" Suijin also repeated, however her tone was much darker. It was fueled with much more anger, much more venom. Her expression was blocked off by a shadow. Her tone was so cold and hateful, that it made even me jump. I turned to look at her with a bit of shock on my face, but she was staring dead on at Aergia. 

"If not try, then exactly what are we meant to do? What are you suggesting?" Suijin asked these question as she began to walk over to her. Every step was heavy, every word was forced out through grit teeth. I turned to look at Homura, who also turned to look at me. A brief message was shared between our eyes. 

"She's angry. Very, angry." 

That couldn't have been a good thing. 

"What is your aim? Both of you. All of you! Attacking out of nowhere! Just how many friends did you bring! What did you even come her to do? To trample on the lives of others? To trample on the hard work of others? To kill, slaughter, destroy? You did all of this, and then, have the audacity to ask, why we try?" 

Suijin was only getting angrier and angrier as she spoke, and as she considered the situation more and more. 

All the while she was having this outburst, Aergia did not speak. She continued to lazily stare at her. 

Suijin's fists were clenched tightly at her sides, and she was breathing heavily. 

Aergia remained silent for a moment. Then, just as she opened her mouth-

A spear made of water flying at such a high velocity that it left sound as a afterthought was launched at her. 

Just before it pierced her in the eye, it was sliced in half.

Just barely having time to react, Aergia had flicked her finger, and sent out a slash which split the spear in two. 

The two edges of the spear maintained a majority of their moment, tearing straight through the wall of the ice palace and flying away.; it provided a first-hand example of what would have happened had Aergia had not reacted in time. 

I flinched at the speed and force of the attack. Without a doubt, had that attack landed, it would have ended with fatal injuries. 

Was she really trying to kill her? I thought, with a bit of fear. No doubt, this murderer deserved much worse, however the way Suijin was going about it, this would hang on her conscience much heavier than she believes it will now, with her judgement blinded by rage. 

Was it just the sight of the dead students that made her this angry? I thought to myself, and Immediately I knew, there was much more to what made up the depths of her anger than that. When she arrived, she had told us that the explosion we had seen belonged to Wrath. He was the one who had destroyed the roof of the magic academy. 

All of those students inside at the time, there was more doubt that there was more than just a handful of casualties. And it all happened right in front of her eyes.  She must feel guilty for it. She must feel bad. Guilty? Responsible? 

"Sui-" I began to shout out her name, to try and say something, to tell her that it wasn't her fault, however I was cut off.

"Kami. Homura. You two should head outside and help the others. You guys have done well enough here. I should handle the rest. Or else..." 

She didn't finish her statement. Immediately after, she rushed into to battle, not even giving us a second to argue. 

Firing of a series of water spears, she went on the offensive and the defensive at the same time. Using absolutely Zero to neutralize Aergia's attacks, she continued her approach. 

Both me and Homura stood, shell-shocked. However, that sentence, that request from her, had given me the final piece for this equation. 

Her request that we go help the others, it came from a place of fear, and guilt. She was scared more than anything. Scared of what exactly? That's where the guilt came in. She felt solely responsible for all of the lives that had been lost. Because she was the student council president. Because she was the student council president, she was responsible for everyone's lives, she was responsible for the safety of everyone. And so, because of that responsibility, she was scared to have to watch any more students die in front of her. 

That was Suijin's thought process. That was why she had come to the conclusion that she needed to handle it alone. So that she would be responsible for no one else's death. 

"You say responsibilities, but that's a vague term. Where do those responsibilities end?" Yuri Asked.

"As far as I can go." 

I remembered the week before today. Before Shindo had appeared, Suijin and Yuri were arguing. Suijin was trying to shoot Yuri down, but he refused to let up. It was because he cared. That much was clear. 

The other clear part was that he was right. He called Suijin a hypocrite for trying to take every bodies burden unto herself, while saying it wasn't okay to push burdens unto others. 

Just like Yuri had said then, these burdens weren't only for her. They belonged to all of us. We were all into us together. Suijin couldn't just try to take all the burden unto herself because she didn't want others to be hurt. 

Her thinking was so extremely similar to how I knew Raiden thought, that I couldn't stop the anger that began to encompass me. It was not only that, but the thought was selfish, inconsiderate, a bit cowardly.

Everything that Suijin was the opposite of. 

During the time that I was thinking, Suijin and Aergia were still locked in a fierce battle that showed no signs of letting up. 

Suijin was making massive progress and now found herself only a few feet away from Aergia. 

All the while she was making her approach, she was simultaneously firing a massive number of magic attacks at her opponent. 

Water spears, animals, and dragons all were launching themselves towards Aergia, clashing with Aergia's crazy powerful blasts. 

Once Suijin was close enough, she made an alteration to her spells, because now, anytime that they detonated, they would explode into a plume of smoke. Soon, nearly the entire floor of the ice castle was covered in smoke. 

Just as soon as the smoke appeared, it was blasted away by a large gust of wind. 

Aergia had cleared away the wind in an attempt to pinpoint Suijin's location, however it was too late. 

Coming from her opponents left side, Suijin raised her hands over her head and summoned a blade made of water.

Bringing it down in a slashing arc, it seemed like she had caught her opponent off guard. 

However, I noticed the movement that Aergia made, hidden from Suijin's vision. She flicked her finger. 

Reacting faster than even I knew I could, I used the ice from the ground under Aergia to reach out and grab her fingers, trying to stop the snap. 

However, I ran into the problem that I had told Homura about. Aergia's aura was so strong that the spikes of ice that reached out were reduced to tendrils almost instantaneously. However, they didn't dissipate. I pushed forward, and the tendrils latched onto her fingers, freezing them a bit. 

Still, the power of the blast released by the snap was still unreal. The ground under Aergia literally shattered and cratered. My efforts weren't in vain, however. Because the attack was slowed down just enough for Suijin to get up absolute zero, nullifying the power of the attack even more. 

The attack still hit, however instead of completing blowing off the right half of her body, as I imagined it would have, it just left a deep scar in her shoulder. 

Immediately, Suijin dashed away, avoiding another to flicks aimed for her neck. 

As soon as she slid back towards us, I grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at me. 

I could still see the anger in her eyes, however now that I had figured out what her thought process was, the fear in them became more evident than ever. She was more scared than anything. Of course she was. Just because she always but up the front of being the strong student council president who was always calm, she was still just a 16-year-old girl. 

I opened my mouth to give Suijin a piece of my mind, to tell her what I really thought about her actions, when I paused. I hesitated momentarily. 

A hypocrite telling someone else that they're being hypocritical. 

It was because Suijin's thinking was so similar to Raiden's that I was reminded of my argument with him. 

If you couldn't help him, what makes you think you'll be able to help her?

I almost let that small seed of doubt take root in my mind, but Homura tapped me on the back. 

When I turned, she gave me a small smile. 

I nodded and turned back to Suijin. Then, I laid things out. 

"Suijin, I hope you do realize that you aren't responsible for everything that happens here, right?" 

Immediately, I could see the denial in her eyes, the will to argue, however I did not give her the chance. I kept speaking, not giving her a chance to try and justify her actions. 

"Just because you're the student council president, does that give you the right to take on all the burdens for yourself, selfishly?" 

"No- not at al-" She was cut off once again. 

"Is it because you're the student council president, that you feel able to give orders like leave me to fight alone, because you don't trust your fellow students?" I continued to ask Suijin rhetorical questions that were meant to make her think. Meant to make her realize the stupidity of what she was doing. 

"Kami, I-" 

"Oh, then is it because of the fact that you believe yourself to be strong?" I said cynically. 

"No, that's not i-" 

"Because your strong, you believe that your better than everyone else?" The killing blow. Her eyes widened. Her mouth hung open. I had asked her a question that was completely against her belief. From our very first meeting, from the time in the auditorium, she made it clear that she believed power did not make you better than another. Being stronger did not make you better. 

By likening her actions to the one thing she wouldn't stand for, inequality, I made her see just how outrageous her actions were. 

"Suijin." I spoke softly, leaning in. "You don't have to do everything alone. That is the biggest recipe for disaster. When you take on more than you can chew, when I situation threatens to overwhelm you, it's okay to ask for help. Thats what your friends are here for." 

Suijin had realized that I was right, but she still shook her head. "I-i can't show weakness. I'm the president after all." She argued, but it was weak. It lacked conviction. She was showing weakness. 

Just like she had done to me, that day after the entire coffee shop attack, I pulled her into a hug. I could feel Homura also join in. "You think asking for help is weak?" Suijin didn't respond, she seemed on the verge of tears. "Well people are weak. No matter how much power one possess, it means nothing if they burn out before using it. Just continually trying to fight things on your own, without asking for help when its available, is not strong, no. It's just being stuck up, too prideful admit that you can't do this by yourself. Being able to ask for help, that makes a person truly strong." 

I told Suijin a similar thing that I had told that little girl. In fact, it was the exact same format, just with a different message. Back then, I had been exposed for being a hypocrite. I couldn't even take my own words into heart. So, it made me a bit hesitant to tell Suijin these words. Could my own words really be able to motivate someone. To snap them out of a trance. 

I awaited my answer as Suijin wiped her face. "Kami." She spoke. 

I looked at her with anticipation. "Yes?"

"We really need to work on your delivery." She chuckled a bit. 

My own eyes widened. The anger was gone, but the fear was still there. But that wouldn't leave until we had dealt with the obstacle in front of us. 

My words, the actually had an effect. I had helped her, I had convinced Suijin to not do this alone. 

However, before I could celebrate, Homura placed her hands on SUijin's cheeks, forcing her to look up. 

"Ask." 

Suijin, looked at her, a bit confused. But I realized what Homura meant. She wanted Suijin to internalize my words. To not just understand them, but to take them in, to believe them. 

"Ask us. Ask me and Kami, for help." 

Suijin's eyes widened a bit, and I could still see tears there. Her eyes travelled from Homura to me; from me to Homura. And then, she put her head down and placed a hand on each of our shoulders. 

"I- I can't do this alone. It's just too much. It's always felt like too much. But I never let it show. I was scared of being seen as weak. As an inadequate leader. I was scared, really scared. So much that I let myself break my very own rule. The one I preached. And still, when those who cared, when Yuri, when they tried, I just pushed them away." 

Tears started to fall down her eyes, and she turned to face us. 

"Kami, Homura. Please. Please, help me!"