Hitori turned and peeked from over the sofa. His hand slipped off the floor and he landed hard on his butt when he heard a piercing scream.
It was the scream of a person outside– then all they heard for the next minute were the screams of the men outside.
At first, he was relieved to know the trees were attacking the men outside, but after fifteen seconds of the screams, he thought something was wrong.
Reon came closer to him and grabbed onto his shirt. "What is this? The plants were never this vicious!"
Hitori could barely hear her with the screams in the background. "I do not know. It seems like they are being tortured," he said.
His eyes had adjusted to the dark room, he could see Kakashi standing beside the staircase. He opened his mouth, but closed it immediately when he realized Kakashi was not controlling the trees– even Kakashi was staring with fear in his eyes.
Hitori put his hand over the sofa and pushed himself off the floor. He felt a tug around his shoulder, he looked down and saw Reon clenching his shirt.
"Where are you going? Stay down!" she insisted.
"I- I- I will be back. I need to take a look at what is happening." She was not willing to let go of his shirt, but she had to. Hitori saw it on her face– she was scared and now upset.
He lifted his eyes and looked to the left, the coast was clear, so he ran. Kakashi's eyes fell on Hitori, he slid and created some space for Hitori.
Hitori strode to the other side, he pressed his back against the wall and lowered his wand. "What is happening?" he asked. Hitori clenched his teeth to apply tension while talking and stress his words.
"The spirit, he is doing this." Kakashi lifted his forearm and showed it to Hitori.
Around the corner of his forearm display was the black shade. It was hard to see, but not impossible. He saw a branch crawl and grab a man's ankle and when he pulled, his ankle fell off.
He stumbled and landed flat on the grass– but the torture did not end. Smoke from his back, he started throwing his legs and arms in the air to stand, but it was in vain.
The smoke from his back intensified and so did the sizzling sound. His scream faded just like his flesh did. Like ice cream, the man's body melted on the grass.
Hitori's eyes widened as clod sweat dripped down his neck. He suddenly felt his neck area turning warm.
A vine grabbed a man's arm, he struggled, then suddenly his arm fell off and he screamed. A man from behind jumped to help his mate when suddenly a vine grabbed this man's neck.
With a twist, as soft as cutting butter, the vine pulled off the man's head. The man's body dangled in the air for a second before falling on the grass and melting away.
Hitori pulled himself away from Kakashi's forearm. Kakashi looked at Hitori, then pulled his forearm away. "I thought you took these things well."
Hitori was feeling heavy around his chest region. He wanted to throw up and let it all out. "This is too much. It is not a game, nor a movie, and not a novel– it is happening for REAL. This got too real."
"I know. But I can not control him. I think I lost every connection—" His sentence was cut short by the firing outside.
Hitori ducked and grabbed Kakashi on his way down. The firing lasted one minute! When it stopped, Kakashi's screams took over.
Hitori panicked, the sudden scream pushed him away from him. Hitori was out in the open. He glanced at the door, and the firing started again, but he realized it was not aimed at him.
The sound seemed distanced. "Forget it," he said and jumped near Kakashi who was now lying on the ground, grunting in pain.
Hitori walked on his knees and grabbed Kakashi's arm. It displayed a few men firing at the woods. Hitori bit his lip.
"That bastard…" He thought of the Guardian. "You took the control from him, why don't you take the pain too?" Hitori glanced at Akira, and he shrugged.
"We need Eya-nee, only she can do something."
Hitori glanced over his shoulder. He saw Reon sitting tight in one corner of the sofa. She was not going to leave that place, he knew that for sure. He just hoped Kakashi's screams had caught their attention.
Hitori pulled the legendary wand close to his mouth. "Eya-nee, Kakashi is wounded. We need your help." He waited, but Eya did not reply. He tried again.
"The trees? I know. We heard him," she said, "just hold on."
"How the hell am I supposed to hold on?"
"It was your freaking plan to do this! Take the responsibility and stand your ground."
The wand slipped from his hand, he grabbed the tip somehow. He was startled– he had never seen her get angry. He did not know Eya was holding the barrier, the moment she lets go, the bullets will be on them.
The screams finally came to a stop and the firing noise took over the background. Then the thud on the defense shield. A quarter of the people were dead, the remaining half was firing at the trees while the other half were hitting the defense shield.
He wondered what Tengoku was doing. Then he heard the snap of the fingers.
He raised his head at the staircase. Fire blazed in the torches, and the lamps hanging on the side burned with fire.
The sudden brightness startled Hitori and hurt his eyes. He pinched them close and rubbed them for a moment.
"I can't believe you…" That sassy voice. "What did you do since you came down? Hide? Unbelievable."
Hitori opened his eyes. He saw a few flashes before his eyes got used to the brightness. He stepped back to look at the staircase.
"If you are going to do it, Hitori, do it with class, son." Kyoryu drew his wand.
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