Over the next few days, the being inside of Lee continued to be in control, though there were periods that Lee seemed to be his former self. During those periods Sakura was always close by, but she began to lose hope that he would return to his old self and began to avoid him; this was especially difficult during school since he was in most of her classes.
One day soon after the initial cold shoulder, Sakura was walking home, when Lee pulled up to her. He smiled at her and spoke with his old tone of voice, “Hey Sakura. Want a ride?”
She looked at Lee for almost a full minute, trying to figure out if he had returned to his former self; she assumed that he was fine and got on the seat as he hit the gas and drove off towards Sakura’s house. As she sat behind him with her arms around his waist, she began to fall asleep. She didn’t want to sleep, but she felt as if someone was forcing her to sleep.
Sakura glanced up at Lee with a blurred vision, but saw one clear and distinct feature before she passed out: a sinister smile on his crooked face.
*****************
Sakura felt herself slowly regaining consciousness. Her head was throbbing and she tried to clutch her head, but her arms stopped short. She looked down, her vision was still blurred, and made out that she had been bound to a chair.
“Well, well, well. It seems that the b***h has finally woken up,” a dark voice spoke out.
Sakura looked for the source of the voice, her vision slowly improving. The only source of light was coming from a small, dusty window opposite of her. Out of the darkness below the window stepped Lee with an evil smirk on his face. His eyes focused on her as he slowly walked up to her.
Sakura was finally able to see clearly and she looked up at him. “Y-you’re not Lee,” Sakura said with fear in her voice.
Lee just cackled and responded with a voice that was not his own, “Of course I’m not! That Lee was a pathetic boy, though he was quite useful in making sure that I came back.”
Sakura spoke louder, “If you’re not Lee, than who the hell are you?!”
He stepped in front of her and ran his finger along her jaw. “I’m the one who brought Lee into existence,” he whispered evilly. Sakura turned her head to get his hand off of her.
Lee reached behind his back, pulled out a knife, and put the flat of the blade against Sakura’s neck. “If I’m going to stay here, I need to keep Lee under my control. Whenever he’s around you, he tries to break out. So if you’re gone, he’ll be shattered and stop trying to regain control,” he spoke as he twisted the blade so the sharpened end laid on her throat. Lee then spoke as he put a little more pressure on the knife, “I’ll let you give Lee one last message before you die.”
Sakura looked into his dark onyx eyes and saw a crying Lee within them. A tear streamed down her cheek as she softly said, “Lee… I love you.”
As the words reached his ears, Lee dropped the knife and clutched his head. Sakura watched on as he was stepping backwards and a black mist was being released from his body. After a minute the mist stopped, but then pure darkness was released from his body and engulfed her.
*****************
Lee stepped through the front door of his house with an unconscious Sakura laying in his arms. Roseline, Rahatani, and Nyoko were on the couch in the living room and saw Lee walk in. He went up the stairs, into a room, and closed the door. Roseline and Rahatani got to their feet to confront him, but Nyoko ran and threw her arms wide, effectively blocking their path up the stairs.
Raha glared at Nyoko, which wasn’t very often, and coldly said, “Nyoko, get out of the way or Lee’s going to do something that he’s going to regret.”
Nyoko shook her head from side to side and spoke strongly. “No. I won’t let you hurt him. My brother is finally home and he wants to help Sakura. Not hurt her.”
Raha looked at Nyoko for a few seconds and nodded after seeing a truthful expression on her face. Nyoko smiled and led the two back to the couch.
*****************
Sakura shot up and began to look around. She was in someone’s bedroom,and judging from the black and red colors and a shelf with a copy of every Shakespearean work, it must be Lee’s room. She was sitting on his bed and had apparently been sleeping on it.
“Hey there,” said a familiar voice.
Sakura turned to the door and saw Lee leaning against it. She was scared at first, but she calmed down upon seeing him closer. His hair had returned to its normal red shade, his eyes were their bright green color, and the most significant change was his smile: it was warm and welcoming instead of cold and sinister.
Lee walked over to her, sat on the edge of the bed, gently held her hand, and said, “I’m sorry for what happened. I wasn’t myself and I---”
Sakura cut him off by throwing herself into his arms and burying her face in his chest. “It’s all right. I forgive you,” she said as she felt the feelings of protection and compassion from his arms.
Lee held her close, but was worried that the darkness in his body would come out again. He replayed the dream of the night he changed.
Lee was continuing the dream before he had first met Sakura. He was hanging there in limbo between the light and the darkness.
Suddenly, the darkness overtook him and completely engulfed him...
There he floated, in the never-ending black, cold and afraid... until a being appeared before him.
The resemblance between the two was startling, but Lee was not given enough time to process why this was possible before he was consumed by the entity, who said his name before overtaking Lee’s body...
Shuyaine.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Community Member