Author's Note: Well, I'm sick AGAIN! In the same way as last week on the same frickin day too!!!!!!!! grrrr. XD well I'll write this chapter while my parents set up some kind of doctor's appointment.
Chapter 25: A Vision and A Murder
"Be my queen!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP TADASE!" I slammed my phone down. Stupid Tadase had been calling me over and over and over. It was the same thing every time, and my answer had been the same as well: EVERY SINGLE TIME!
A week later I hardly even picked up the phone any more. I always checked the caller ID on my cell phone and after Tadase started calling even during Easter Missions I always kept my phone on vibrate; because it just sucks when you're sneaking up on the Cyclops you were sent to kill when suddenly your phone starts ringing.
I sat on a chair in my uncharacteristically pink room reading a book for school. It was a kind of depressing book, and I was nearing the end when Ikuto, who was lying in my bed sick as a dog, started coughing uncontrollably. He shakily tried to sit up, but I jumped towards him and pushed him down as gently as I could.
"Ikuto NO! You need to stay lying down! If you don't your condition will worsen." I shook my head angrily, "What did Easter do to you?" Damn I went to Easter to prevent this from happening! I thought bitterly.
"Don't blame yourself." he rasped. I brushed the side of his cheek with my fingertips and smiled kindly. Then I screamed as my phone buzzed inside my pocket. I hurriedly grabbed my phone and because it had been tickling me so uncomfortably I opened it without look at the Caller ID. Flipping it open I growled,
"Hello?"
"Amu,"
"Bastard, stop calling me! I don't fucking want to be your 'queen'!" I shouted at Tadase preparing to hang up.
"WAIT AMU WAIT! IT'S NOT THAT!" he cried before I could end the call. I shoved the phone back to my ear and yelled into the receiver,
"Ok, you have thirty seconds to tell me what this is about then."
"We're visiting Yaya's new house, wanna come?"
"And who exactly is 'we'?" I inquired sharply.
"Nagihiko, Haru, and myself." Tadase replied. I sighed. I really should go. I was after all the reason Yaya's brother and previous caretaker – Tsukasa – were both dead.
"Fine... I'll meet you there." I answered glancing at the pale and sickly face of my beloved Ikuto.
"Don't worry about me," his voice was hoarse and weak, "I'll be fine."
"B—" I tried to argue but he frowned,
"Go already! You're annoying, always hovering over me." Deep down I knew he was only saying that to get my to leave, but at that moment it had exactly the effect he wanted.
"Well fine!" I yelled at him, "I'll just go!"
Walking out the front door I silently thanked the sky that my father was on a business trip, taking photos of American birds and my mother was with Ami at "take your daughter to work day".
Tadase had texted me Yaya's address. It was at an apartment complex near down town. I made it there just as Tadase, Nagihiko, and Haru were getting out of Haru's family's car.
"Ah! Guys!" I shouted, waving at them. The three boys turned.
"Amu hey—" Nagihiko didn't finish because as I got closer Tadase closed the space between us and swooped me into his arms as if I were a princess.
"My beautiful queen has returned to me at last." he bent down as if he was going to kiss me. I jumped back, struggling out of his arms. Once my feet were firmly on the ground I gave Tadase a good smack in the face.
"Bastard! Stop that!" I yelled. Tadase rubbed his cheek and returned to normal. He bowed deeply to me,
"SORRY HINAMORI-SAN!"
"The hell you are." I muttered under my breath.
We went inside Yaya's new house. It was a pretty large apartment. There was a good-sized kitchen with a granite-topped island separating it from the living room area. The TV was pretty large and the long couch looked soft and comfortable. Yaya brought us tea and we all talked for a while. I didn't see Kukai though, which made me feel... concerned.
"Is Sanjo-san not home?" I asked Yaya as I helped her clean up the teacups. Yaya shook her head, her blind eyes seeing something very far away.
"She's rarely home. Her work keeps her out late, and she gets up early."
"Then why did Tsukasa-san was you to become adopted by her?" Yaya sighed,
"The note from Tsukasa said she will be very grateful soon that she has me," Yaya gulped, "her nephew is going to die." I gasped,
"She doesn't know right?" again Yaya shook her head,
"How could I tell her such a thing?" Letting the dishes clatter into the sink she murmured, "He comes over a lot... he's so nice..." Yaya choked back tears, "He's even younger than me! E-every time I see him — I just — I can't stand it! He's so smart and in his own way he's such a... a gentle spirit! I don't want him to die!"
"What's his name?" I demanded. I simply had to know. I don't understand why, but it seemed my entire life at that moment depended on his name,
"Kairi." Yaya answer, and then
blackness. All there was and would ever be was a dark pit of nothingness. Suddenly, after maybe centuries, something came out of the darkness as if awaking from a long slumber. It crept groggily along the ground. I blinked. What was this color?
Red.
Dear lord no! "NO!" I tried to shout but my words were strangled and inaudible. I backed up, not wanting to see where the blood was coming from when a single light shoe upon a limp body. It was thin and pale. Worse than the sight of the blood covering the corpse like a blanket, even worse than that awful stench, was the fact that it was lacking a head.
Then I saw dark green hairs. They stuck out of the ground almost like grass. When I looked closer I saw to my dismay the severed head of the dead boy. His skull had been crushed and his neck ripped from his shoulders. Brain juices leaked from the squished head, mixing with the thick blood. Internal organs were spewing from the near by body.
Then I screamed as loud and dreadfully as possible when I saw his finger twitch.
"AMU! AMU!" I opened my eyes, looking around myself like a jumpy rabbit. Haru was shaking my shoulders while Yaya sobbed in a corner and Nagihiko help a wet towel to my hot forehead. Tadase tried to comfort Yaya while yelling at Haru to be careful.
"What was that?" Nagihiko demanded, looking me directly in the eyes. I just stared. I could only barely see anything. My breath was too quick while my heart was beating too rapidly. My head was on fire and I felt sweat dripping down me everywhere.
Haru gently helped me to the couch. He stared with shock on his face,
"Was it some sort of vision Amu? You suddenly started screaming bloody murder!" I was reminded of my bloody nightmare. The boy's (Kairi) finger twitched again. For a moment too long my heart stopped, and I could remember how to breathe. Suddenly I did remember and I gasped in and out desperately.
"Should we call the ambulance?" Tadase wondered.
"Idiot! What are we supposed to say!? 'Oh she just prophesized someone's death, it's no big deal, happens all the time.'!" Haru yelled.
I rolled to my side on the couch. Gripping either Haru or Nagihiko's shirt (my vision was too blurry to see clearly) I gasped hoarsely,
"It's horrible." Then a dove gray light filled my vision and I became numb.
Did I die? Or did I just pass out? Questions whirled tirelessly in my head until I heard movement in the kitchen. My eyes reopened.
Looking out the window, I realized it was much later than when I'd had my vision. I glanced towards the granite-topped island where Yaya, Tadase, Nagihiko, and Haru chatted. Each of them had a tone of concern or sorrow. A headache shot through me and then pain sliced through my spine like a katana through butter.
Dizzily, I struggled to my feet. Gripping the wall or any other piece of furniture that would support me I said in reply to worried glances,
"Bathroom." With my eyes only a quarter of the way open I stumbled into a door, and then I managed to twist the knob, somehow managing to open the door in my delirious state. My entire body ached and I was brittle like a twig and weak as a piece of paper.
Groggily I looked around. It wasn't that bathroom. I was about to turn to leave when something caught my eye and forced me completely awake.
A picture of Utau hung on the wall of what was most likely Sanjo's room/office area. When I looked closer there were a lot of pictures of Utau. 90% of them had notes scribbled on or around them. Sticky notes covered the gaps in between pictures.
I turned and pounced upon Sanjo's desk. In the drawers there was report after report on magical creatures, magic users, magic using techniques, and the like. Two of Sanjo's most favorite subjects seemed to be vampires and "The Embryo". I vaguely remembered Ran, Miki, Suu and others mentioning "The Embryo." I really wondered what he/she/it was.
Then there was a report on Utau. Under the many pages of report was a whole file dedicated to Utau. Under that was a thin file: a file with my name on it. In horror I picked it up, opened it, and flipped through some of the pages. There was a physical description, a couple pictures of me during missions, and then there was a piece of binder paper with notes scribbled onto it,
"Supernatural powers. Visions and extreme senses? Psychic powers? Attracts ghosts. Continue further study." On the cover of my file was a watermark "Easter Inc."
My head snapped up as I heard the front door of Yaya's apartment slam. Sanjo. Shuffling the papers back into their place and closing the drawers.
If Sanjo finds me hear she'll kill me for sure! I thought frantically. Then I spotted the bathroom through Sanjo's open bedroom door. Desperately I dashed into the hall and as quickly yet quietly as possible closed the bathroom door behind me.
Covering my mouth to muffle the sound of my breathing I listened as Sanjo's voice echoed up the hall.
"Yaaaya~chan! Work was sooooo boring *hiccup * bring me dinner!" her words were slurred. She was drunk. I opened the bathroom door and slipped into the living room unnoticed.
Sanjo, a woman in her late twenties with crimson hair and light blue eyes, lounged on the couch flipping channels and singing loudly. I wasn't sure if she noticed that Tadase, Nagihiko, and Haru were there at all; let alone noticing that they were staring at her. Haru had a disgusted expression while Nagihiko had a kind of awkward expression, which told me this situation was very uncomfortable for him. Tadase was simple gawking with his mouth slightly ajar.
I looked past the island and found Yaya busily cooking dinner. I sighed gratefully and took the opportunity to leave before Sanjo sobered up enough to realize I was there.
"H-hi... I think I'm going to head home." I told my friends. They all turned to me sadly.
"Are you going to be alright?" Nagihiko asked, and I nodded in response.
"I'll be fine, and don't worry I'll tell you about my vision later ok?" Forcing a smile on my face almost made me cry from effort. Pushing back the feeling of a headache I walked out the door.
I turned a corner on the streetlight lit sidewalk. Office buildings came into view as I traveled deeper into the heart of town. The hill that my school was on was barely visible through the growing fog. Against the cold I pulled the hood of my sweat jacket over my pink head. Cars roared past me with noise like lions battling over the last bite of caribou. People shuffled in and out of sight as they head home or where ever they were going.
Letting my feet go where they pleased I allowed my mind to wander to my vision. The horrific sight of a bashed in head and blood mixed with what was once internal organs made my flesh crawl and I almost puked. So I jumped my thoughts to something else: Sanjo's room.
"Easter..." I muttered as I thought, Surely Tsukasa knew Sanjo worked for Easter.
After a deep sigh I looked up into the just visible starry sky. Did he intend for Yaya to spy on Sanjo? And why is Sanjo spying on Utau?
I stopped dead and gasped in horror. An unknown person bumped into me and the crowd swarming about me muttered something about "crazy kids". I didn't care; all that I could think was, Does Sanjo know about Ikuto? Does Sanjo know Utau is Ikuto's sister? Panic grew and filled every crevice of my thoughts as I took off at a run.
Along the sidewalk I crashed into many people because I couldn't see where I was going, I didn't even know why I was running. Nothing in my head was making sense, but a nagging feeling kept tugging at me. Ikuto is in danger. Ikuto is in danger.
I ran past an alleyway when a dark form shot out of the alley's mouth and collided with me. I only barely stopped myself from falling. Fortunately the impact got me back to my senses. I realized by looking at the pitch-black sky that it was too late to be out. How long was I running? I wondered when I noticed that I was completely out of breath.
I jumped when something gripped my shoulder. It was a bony, pale hand. I turned my head to find a short old man with tufts of white hair growing around the back of his head and deep wrinkles in his face. He was staring at me with scared, brown eyes, and from head to toe he was shivering with fear.
"Please!" he began, "She's the devil! She's the devil!" With his free hand the man gripped my other shoulder and whispered to me, "She controls a blonde demon-girl! A bat-winged creature of evil who will lure you in then steal your soul!" his voice rose higher and higher until it was but a strained squeak, "She's going to kill me! You've got to tell someone! I've seen other monsters with her too! Dark, bloodthirsty beings are always surrounding her! One will suck you dry of blood! Demons! Demons! She's the devil!"
There was a tremendous bang that ricocheted off the sides of near-by buildings and pounded on my ears. The old man's head bent awkwardly and his grip loosened. Slowly he stumbled backward. Like a stunned rabbit I remained still for a split second, but only a split second. Then I jumped into the middle of the street.
I ran faster than I'd ever run before, my heart raced with adrenalin and terror. Honks from passing cars sounded behind me, but, as my feet met sidewalk, I didn't care. Now that an entire street was in between me and the old man, who now lay dead, I saw the one who had shot that gun.
No mistake about it, the killer was a girl. She wore a gray rain jacket that easily blended in with any crowd or any city background. She wore a deep gray hat too. But just as she slunk back into the alleyway from which she had come, the wind picked up and I saw a lock of crimson hair peek out from behind her popped collar.
Sanjo... I began walking again as if nothing had happened. I weaved along my path and crossed the street many times. Eventually I would go home, but I purposely made my trail round about and strange. Too long had I been working for Easter to not know those simple tricks.
It had been my working for Easter that had saved my life just then, and it was because of working for Easter that I was able to think about what had just happened with clarity.
That man had said, "blonde, demon-girl", "She controls a blonde demon-girl." Obviously that's Utau, who else is being possessed by a demon and is connected to Sanjo? But Sanjo controls Utau? A blood sucking creature... he mentioned that... a vampire? Not Ikuto! Not Ikuto! I begged. Surrounded by evil spirits, well if she works for that side of Easter then of course she is. Damn, I hope she hadn't seen me... Why hadn't I sensed that death? Was it not supposed to happen? Are all the deaths I see... "fated"... "destined"? I don't want Kairi's death to be destiny!
I shook my head, forcing my thoughts back on topic.
If Sanjo is controlling Utau I'll have to talk to Utau about her position in Easter... I need to find out more without bringing attention to myself.
After about an hour of walking around I finally reached my house. I dug into my pocket and found my cell phone. Turning it on I waited on my doorstep until I could see the time. According to my phone it was 11:00 pm.
"Mom might not be home yet... if I'm lucky." I muttered digging around for my key. Suddenly my phone broke the silence by buzzing wildly. I dropped my key in a bush and with a grumpy huff I grabbed my phone and answered.
"Amu here." I muttered, wishing I didn't sound so loud compared to the quiet night. Without being able to see past my nose I leaned down to search for my key, as a familiar voice rang in my ear.
"Hello, Amu." I found my key, but then dropped it again.
"U-utau?!" at the last minute I strained to make my voice sound unsurprised and relaxed.
"Yes. And if you want to learn more about Easter meet me at the abandoned warehouse downtown by the wharf on Sunday. I'll be there until midnight." There was a click and then I was alone in the darkness.
Finally finding my key I opened the door and walked into the hall. Flicking on the lights I realized Nikaido, Miki, Ran, and Suu were all waiting for me. Their faces were grim as if they already suspected something bad had happened.
"Where were you?" Ran inquired. I took a deep breath and carefully explained the situation. I kept my voice down for fear Ikuto would hear me. I couldn't stand if he worried.
"Sanjo, eh?" Nikaido chuckled once. It was bitter and humorless.
"Do you know her?" I asked.
"She was my girlfriend. She broke up with me just before my death."
"I see..." I uttered quietly, then Nikaido looked me straight in the eye with an extremely serious expression,
"Be careful Amu. I don't know what game Sanjo's playing, but she always plays to win."
"I-I'll be fine." I tried to brush off his ominous comment.
"No," he shook his ghostly head, "You'll need help. Please, tell Ikuto-kun or one of the Guardians about this. It could save your life."
"I'll be fine!" I insisted.
I can't tell anyone. I decided as I headed upstairs. The reason I joined Easter was to protect my Ikuto! I'll protect the Guardians too! My mind traveled back to my vision of Kairi, and then Yaya's crying face. Then I saw Ikuto's face twisted in pain and Nagihiko's solemn sorrow when he remembered his sister. Tadase's expression as he struggled to keep down his other side today, too, came into my thoughts. I also saw Haru's screaming face as he cried for the death of his sister, Mikan. Then the laughter fading from Kukai's features as I saw again for one horrific moment the scene of his death. Then I saw Dia's face. The face of the person who's death that had started it all. Ran, Miki, Suu, they died because of me. I won't cause anyone else any more grief!
Author's Note: I kinda took the opportunity here to basically recap the whole point of this plot... cuz I don't know, I just hate when things stray from the plot, so I obviously hate it when I stray from the plot. Well I hope you liked it, please review.