"Hum... Let see...", mumbled Haruka while she writes some notes.
She used the last days to take notes of the safe places that Natsuki showed her, picking some things along the way.
Zone North: Library, mannequin store.
Zone East: Some buildings that were open and the Amusement park on the corner of the city
Zone West: Cemetery
Zone South: Bridge
She shuddered when she wrote the last two, as they are very far away and she was thankfully that she didn't need to visit it.
…At least for now.
"Haru-chan?", blinked a sleepy Natsuki.
"Hey Natsuki…", she greeted with a smile, patting his head, "Wait a second, I will prepare our breakfast"
"Ok", he smiled, hugging her before she let her stand up and go to the kitchen.
He took a liking to wake up with her arm enveloping him so he asked if he could sleep with her, which she agreed as he was only a child.
"It feels nice… ", he stretched before going to the bathroom to wash his face, taking his glasses for a second while staring his reflection, which looked a bit blurred as he had bad eyesight.
'Natsuki'
"Good morning Satsuki", he smiled, greeting his reflection.
'…'
"Wow, it must be the first time in a long time since I could take my glasses of and you not switching with me", he chuckled, "It must be the effect Haru-chan has on me… I don't feel scared at all in her presence"
Satsuki stayed silent while the cheerful boy cleaned his glasses but didn't put it back, choosing to hum a song while going to the living room, where a warm meal waited for him.
"It smells delicious~"
"Thanks", Haruka smiled before she noticed that he wasn't wearing his glasses, "Hum… Natsuki, you forgot your glasses"
"No I didn't", he shook his head, chewing a piece of egg, "I just felt like taking them off today"
"Ok?", she tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
"Haha, you're too cute nee-san"
Haruka nodded her head while she took a bit of her own breakfast, trying to think of a way to tell Natsuki that she would be off today and that she wasn't sure when she would return.
"I finished!", he said, taking his plate and putting it on the sink, "Let's play!"
"Hum… Natsuki"
"Yes?", he blinked.
"I need to be off today", she said looking at him, "…And I am not sure when I will return"
"Oh… I see…", his gaze dropped.
"But don't worry, I will try to be back as soon as possible"
"Hum… Can't you take me with you?"
"No", she shook her head, "It might be dangerous"
"Ok then", he started to fidget, "W-Well, then could you promise me that you will be back before night? I-I know that I showed you were the safe places are but… I will be worried if I don't see you"
"Don't worry", she chuckled hugging him, "I promise that I will be back before that"
"R-Right"
"I will make some lunch for you so you won't be hungry if I don't come earlier ok?", she said, taking her empty plate and washing it.
"I will wait until you return so we can eat together"
"Eh? But It could take a while"
"I don't mind", he shook his head, "I don't want to eat alone"
"… Ok then, I understand".
Then everything was silent, with Natsuki staring at the back of Haruka form.
"Say…", Haruka said suddenly.
"Huh?"
"After I make our meal we can play a bit", she smiled at him, which caught him off guard, "After all who knows how long I will be out right?"
"Oh… Right", he chuckled, before giving her a warm look, "Haru-chan?"
"Hum?"
"I like you"
"I like you too"
-00-
"… Well, I will be off", she said, putting the bag full of her notes.
Natsuki nodded slowly, feeling kind of sad even if he knew that she wouldn't be off for too long.
"Hey, don't make this face", she crouched to his level, "I will pass on the library so if you want any book you can ask me to bring it so we can read it together at night"
"…"
"Natsuki?"
Natsuki suddenly hugged her, which surprised Haruka, that noticed that he was trembling, so she hugged him back.
"What's wrong?"
"… Nothing", he sniffed letting go of her, when he suddenly felt warm lips on his forehead, "Huh?"
"Don't worry, I will be back"
"R-Right", he blushed a bit, touching the place where she kissed his forehead.
-00-
"Hum… How strange, I only found one book about gemstones", she blinked, "Well, I will check the clues again"
-First, her eyes aren't purple-
-Second, all of them match her spirit-
-Third, It's a gem of the goat-
-Fourth, it's the complete opposite of her personality-
-Take the eyes and put in their place, after that, the woman as a reward, will show you the true nature of the map-
"Ok, by goat it's obviously related to Capricorn", she blinked, flipping the pages, "Let's see… Gemstones of Capricorn…"
Garnet, Onyx, Ruby, Turquoise, Blue Topaz and Lapis Lazuli.
"Let's see…"
Garnet
Regarded as the stone of passionate devotion: to your family, your friends, yourself, and your own purpose in life. Believed to stimulate the senses, and increase vitality and stamina. Garnet is thought to attract good luck in business ventures.
Onyx
Black onyx is said to repel negativity and deflect the negativity of others. It is a gem thought to enhance determination and perseverance.
Ruby
Famous as a protection from misfortune and bad health, ruby is also used to open the heart and promote love. Given as a gift, ruby is a symbol of friendship and love. The ruby is also a symbol of vitality and royalty.
Turquoise
Believed to attract money, success and love, turquoise is a stone of friendship in many cultures. Native Americans associated the colors of the turquoise stone with the blue sky and the green earth. It is still seen by many today as being symbolic of mankind's source in nature.
Blue Topaz
Associated with courage and overcoming fears and obstacles. It is a traditional stone for writers, scholars, artists, and intellectuals; and used for aiding higher thinking. It is said to ease mental anguish and promote fidelity, friendship, gentleness, and integrity.
Lapis Lazuli
An ancient stone said to represent friendship and truth. Lapis is said to help bring about harmony in relationships. It is a stone of wisdom and awareness.
"Well, it's kind of unnecessary the first step as none of these gems have purple colors", she sweatdropped.
There was something really weird about the step two and four.
While the riddle didn't say anything she was sure that it was making a reference to the tale of Purple, so she kind of wondered how something could have the same characteristics of someone while being their total opposite.
"…It's better if I check the tale again"
-The Sensitive Purple was shy, and didn't stand much; she liked White the most, because White' powers went well with hers, the soul and the heart-
-She liked Red, so fiery and bright, she didn't like the morning sky or the deep ocean as the colors were silent to her-
-Black was always around her and White, and she liked him, even with him being an entity of sadness, and in the end, only Black and White were there for her, as she couldn't make a choice-
-Purple's still alive-
"So, she was shy, and White powers went well with her… I guess that her power can be of the soul or the heart", she started to write, "She didn't like the color blue as silence bothered her…"
Ok, the first part was simply, by matching "her spirit" she could guess that it meant his powers as Soul and Heart were both associated with "spirit", so she checked again the list.
"…"
Almost everything on the list could be vaguely associated with a kind of energy, excluding, maybe, Lapis Lazuli.
"Well, I guess that's one down at least", she shrugged her shoulder, "Hum… And something that contradicts? Onyx doesn't mention anything, I can exclude that, and… While I can see that Purple friend's didn't accept her anymore she seems as she still loves the dearly, so I can exclude Garnet too"
She started to risk the names, which only left three gemstones.
…Ruby, Turquoise and Blue Topaz.
"Hum… I guess both turquoise and Blue Topaz are blue and she didn't like these colors… So maybe Ruby is the answer?"
But she tapped her chin in a thought as she felt that there was something off with that.
"But if it was like that… Then why the gems' powers are emphasized?"
She decided to take a better look.
Ruby: Famous as a protection from misfortune and bad health, ruby is also used to open the heart and promote love, as a gift, ruby is a symbol of friendship
Turquoise: Believed to attract money, success and love. Turquoise is a stone of friendship in many cultures.
Blue Topaz
Associated with courage and overcoming fears and obstacles. It is said to ease mental anguish and promote fidelity, friendship, gentleness, and integrity.
"… I think I understand now", she blinked, "These three gems have one thing in common: Friendship, but the only one that is described as the one to attract friendship is Blue Topaz… So it must be the answer."
It was like the first place were she was, when she found that they were once close, so Purple must have liked both blues before she considered then too silent.
And if she remembers correctly the story mentioned that she couldn't make a choice that made the others mad at her, so she must be looking for a way to return of being friends again.
… No, it wasn't that simply, the other gems mentioned friendship too, but what made Blue Topaz so special was that it eased mental anguish and courage to overcome her fears… She was searching for a way to help with her decision.
"… Ok, now that I discovered the real gem I need to go to the museum, before it's late".
-00-
-Tick Tack-
'Natsuki…'
'…'
'Natsuki!'
"Hum?", blinked the blond, "What it is Satsuki?"
'You are sitting on the same spot for hours since she left, staring at this clock or the freaking door!', the voice said.
"Well… I'm just worried", he mumbled, looking down and hugging his legs.
'…'
"…"
'Why are you still without your glasses? She's not here'
"I know", he replied, "… It feels strange being without her for hours… Kind of lonely"
'… By now you should be used to this feeling'
"… I don't think anyone could be used to this", he replied looking back at the clock.
Satsuki, in the back of his mind frowned, being slight baffled.
What this girl had that was so special? The other times when Natsuki met other people he wasn't as affected to their disappearance even if it pained him a lot.
'What's so different about this girl? You wasn't as attached to the others like you are with her'
"… I don't know", he shrugged, suddenly looking sad, "I just… Like her… Too much… Like I never liked someone before"
'…'
"… At first I thought that it would be ok if she escaped and left me, I would survive", he buried his head in his arms, "But now… I'm not that sure"
'…'
"Sorry, you were there for me the whole time but…"
'Sleep'
"Huh?"
'Let me take control for a while', said Satsuki, 'I need to do something'
-00-
"Hum… Ok, it says that you need to place the gems in her eyes… But how?", asked Haruka holding the picture while staring at the two holes in the statue's eyes.
Sighing she sat while looking at the beautiful picture, that looked more like a photo per say than a drawing.
"It's really pretty", she breathed sliding her finger through the frame until a light started t shine.
Startled, she looked at the light with a surprised expression, before hesitantly putting her hands on it, surprised that it went through.
"W-Wha…", she squeaked, when her hands grabbed something hard, "I think I picked something"
When she looked at her hand to beautiful blue gemstones lied there.
"Oh… Right, now I need to place it on the statues eyes"
She took the small spherical object and placed on the statues eyes, which shined with a bright blue eye.
… But that's it, nothing else happened.
"Hum… I wonder if I picked the wrong gem…"
But somehow she doubted it.
"There must be something el… Oh"
She stared at the direction where the statue was looking and noticed that the wall was empty.
"Maybe…"
Haruka took the paper with the clues and found the frame where she took it off, placing both in the place where it originally was.
After she placed the picture it started to shine a bright purple light, and when it died out she saw a big tome, with an amethyst cover.
"It's like the crystal tome!", she gasped, taking the book that was floating in the middle of the air, opening it carefully.
-To escape this place there's four keys: Two acquired at night and two acquired at day-
-But before the clues are told you will be warned! The dangers that you will free have specific time, so beware to not be killed on their watch!-
-The first place is between 0 and 90, starting from 0 you go 2 to the side and 5 up after that-
-The second place… The Phoenix will once fly south, then the tigers run twice and the turtle walks three times –
-The third place is guided by Zhen, Zhen will direct you, then Gen will take your hand until you arrives at the old statue, there you must follow Xun, one, two, three steps and Dui shows the real place-
-The last place localization is y= x² - x - 2 , where x is the half (third)-
"Hum… I think I will need to go to the library again for the second and the third place"
"You're not going anywhere"
She got startled when she heard a unknown and grave voice, so she turned to see who was.
…And she froze on the spot.
'I-It can be…', her eyes widened in fear.
Standing at the entrance of the room was a tall man with blond hair, dark green eyes and menacing aura.
'He's… The same man that appeared in my nightmare!'
The man approached her slowly while she took some steps down, hitting the other side of the room.
She was cornered.
"You…", he whispered frowning while he put both arms on each side of the wall so she couldn't escape, "I know exactly what you're doing"
"W-Wha…"
"You want to escape", he hissed angrily close to her face, their noses almost touching.
She gulped, not knowing what to do.
"… Listen well", he furrowed his brows, taking a distance for her relief, "Don't dare to find a way to escape from here"
"…Why?", she asked, still shaken up.
"… I don't need to explain it to you", he turned, giving her one last angry look, "Don't dare to make Natsuki sad!"
"Who…", she stuttered, still scared, "Who are you?"
"Satsuki", said the man, "Natsuki's guardian"
-00-
Haruka stood there for a while still shaking.
"What he meant by Natsuki's guardian? Of what he's protecting him?"
'…Could you promise me that you will be back before night?'
She shook her head, now it wasn't time to think about that. It was better if she returned home before the sun set.
-Toc Toc-
"…I'm back", she mumbled, falling back when someone tackled her to the ground with a hug.
"Haru-chan! I'm glad that you're back!", said Natsuki with a smile.
"Uh…", Haruka froze on the spot when he saw his face.
"…Haru-chan? Is something wrong?", he asked concerned when he saw how her body trembled.
"N-No, I'm fine", she shook her head, trying to stand up while Natsuki got out of her, "Now, it's better if we enter as it's almost night"
"Ok! I will pick the plates!"
-00-
"Ah… I was very hungry~", he munched the food happily.
"I told you that you could eat if you were hungry right?", she shook her head with a half smile.
"Nope, I said that I wanted to eat with you right?", he chirped taking another bite.
"I see… Thanks for waiting me"
"You're welcome!", he grinned, "I would wait you for as long as it needed if it means that you will be back"
"Really?", she chuckled.
"Yes", he nodded, "… But I would prefer if you don't take too long, as it was lonely here"
"…"
"Haruka-chan", he said looking really determined, "I really, really like you"
She stayed in silence as she didn't want to interrupt him.
"... You plan to escape right?"
'It's the same question that Satsuki asked'
"…Yes", she replied, not seeing sense in lying to him.
"I understand…", he dropped his gaze.
"… But I don't plan on abandoning you"
"I don't want to escape", he said, looking her in the eyes, that looked pained.
"…Natsuki, what you fear so much? To be whiling to live in a place so deserted?"
"… I can't tell"
"Then I will wait", Haruka said going to him and hugging the boy, "I will stay with you until you feel confident enough to get out of here"
"… Couldn't you stay here if I asked?"
"I can't", she shook her head before she crouched down, "I… Made a wish to save someone, and I can't save him if I don't escape from this place"
"…"
"Please, don't be mad"
"I'm not mad", he shook his head, "I could never hate you"
"…And I will never abandon you", she gave a reassuring smile, "If you ever feel the need to talk to me be free to ask, I will try to help you as much as I can"
"… Tomorrow you will go out to find a way to escape right?"
"Probably", she nodded, "But even if I find a way I will wait for you"
"… Why do you want me to escape so badly?"
"Because you look sad and lonely", she said holding his hands and touching foreheads, "I don't want you to feel like that, a nice and cute boy like you deserve more friends"
"… I won't find anyone like that outside of this place", he shook his head, "the world is filled with bad people, I wouldn't be able to find someone like you"
"You will, I'm sure of that"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because you exist", she whispered, "If there's someone like you in the world then it means that there's a chance for a nice person to exist"
"…"
Natsuki let go of her hands and ran to his room, covering himself with his blankets.
His heart was beating too fast!
"I-It's scary…", he mumbled, his face beet red, "I thought that I liked her a lot but somehow I feel like I like her way more than before… H-How's that possible?"
It was very intense… The feelings he had made him feel like telling everything about him and blind believing in her kindness, which was very scary as he felt very vulnerable now.
… And there's her warm… He couldn't get enough of it, and in these hours of absence he became painful aware of how cold it felt.
…
He felt hopeless in love with her.
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I SWEAR THAT I'M NOT INTO SHOTAS, but I won't spoil anything, just going to say that I may tear everyone's heart apart in this arc and laugh as you cry! :D*Headshot*
Satsuki won't be pleased though to be ignored after he told her to not try to escape~ But MWHASAHSAHS, sorry Satsuki, you gonna be snatched by her charms too KUFUFFUUUFFUF
...
Kufufuf, now REVIEW TIME!
GlamGurl17 – Hum… Maybe I should make gaiden chapters to show how he's hehehe, yeah, heard it a lot, I was sleep deprived and my thought wasn't clear when I wrote this story XD
Brandnewmelody- I know, it isn't as long as before ;w;
50?! Ok, I don't think this story will be that long! Just a bit more than 24, but not 50 XD