Chapter 6 - The Other Home


"No one in the precinct has ever heard of you, your sister, or any recent incident at Pyrgi Street. They have no idea who those men that came to your house are."

Ms. Asakawa's words echoed inside Luka's head like a drop of icy liquid dropping down into an already spilling cup. Yet another mystery thrusted into her hands, yet another piece to a puzzle that continued to grow more and more complex. Luka turned to look at Gakupo, recalling his question about the policemen's ID. Did he suspect something from the start?

Her classmate seemed paralyzed with confusion and dread, so deep into shock that Luka could've pushed him to the ground without any resistance and acknowledgement. Her heart ached at the suffering evident in his face. She needed to reassure him somehow, but could mere words help him in any way? She was still unsure about what to do when Gakupo abruptly returned to his senses and took a step towards the door.

Luka swiftly grabbed one of his arms. "Wait!" If nothing else, she had to stop him from acting foolishly.

"I have to go look for Gumi!"

"You are not going anywhere, especially not at this hour!" Ms. Asakawa pointed to the window, where the partially closed curtain allowed a glimpse of the darkness outside.

"My sister is missing! I'm not going to just sit here!" Gakupo tried to pry Luka's fingers off his arm, but she held on stubbornly, using her weight to hinder his movements.

"Do you have any idea of where they could be?" Luka asked. As she hoped, Gakupo opened and closed his mouth, caught off-guard. "You don't. You were going to just run out there without any clues. Alone. At night."

His shoulders sagged. "I can't- I sent her away, Luka. I wasn't there to protect her," he said raggedly.

Luka hugged him. "You didn't know," she whispered into his ear.

"I don't understand what's going on," Ms. Asakawa complained more to herself than to teens. "But I do know that another missing kid is not going to improve the situation. You're not going out and that's final."

There was a moment of silence. Gakupo kept his eyes fixed on a corner of the room, biting his lip.

"Besides…" Ms. Asakawa added pensively. "The police, the real police, will want to speak to you about what happened the other night. You need to be here in case they come by."

Another silence, and then Gakupo buried his face in Luka's hair for a moment, before uttering a toneless, "Yes, ma'am."


Luka sat on the bottom step of the staircase, resting her head on her hands and her elbows on her knees. It was way past her usual bedtime, but she wasn't about to go to bed while Gakupo and the officers were still talking inside Ms. Asakawa's study. Her mother was in there as well, and she could sometimes hear her words raise above the murmur of masculine voices.

Could the men inside the room really save the missing girls? They had to be better equipped than Gakupo and her to handle this, even if this situation had some unusual characteristics. On the other hand, millions of girls and boys went missing every year without any resolution to their cases. Would Gumi and Miku become faded missing posters on a wall somewhere?

Luka began braiding a lock of her hair as she tried to bring the image of the false policemen to the forefront of her mind. The one that knocked on her door seemed normal enough, at least when it came to physical appearance. Dark-skinned, black hair closely cropped, attractive features set in a serious, almost unwelcoming expression. And what about the one inside the car? He might as well not been there, as far as she was concerned. That made her wonder: Was he purposefully staying out of sight? In that case, why? The one at the door wasn't afraid of showing his face. And Gakupo was perfectly capable of describing the one inside the car to a police sketch artist.

The door of the study opened and out came Ms. Asakawa, then the uniformed men and lastly Gakupo, absently rubbing one of this arms. Ms. Asakawa made a face when she saw Luka, but refrained from scolding her. Instead, she thanked the police for coming and accompanied them to the exit. Gakupo stayed where he was, staring at the floor.

Luka stood up and approached him slowly. She simply didn't know what to say.

"They are going to call my grandfather."

Wasn't that obvious? Even if the relationship between the siblings and the rest of the family was strained, they were minors. "This is serious. They have to be informed."

Gakupo nodded, although he looked far from pleased with the idea. "They have to."

"What are you two doing? Go to bed." Ms. Asakawa returned inside after seeing the policemen off and locked the front door. "Everything is going to be alright, ok?" She added in a milder tone. "Gumi and the other girl, they'll be fine. I promise."

For a second, Gakupo seemed like he wanted to say something. But then, he simply nodded and climbed the stairs. Luka wished her mother a good night and hurried after him.

"Hey!"

Gakupo turned to look at her with a slight frown. But Luka just grabbed his hand and dragged him to her room. Once they were inside, she sat on the bed. Gakupo leaned on her desk tiredly.

"How much did you tell them?"

"You mean, did I tell them about the man by the fountain? About those things?" Gakupo rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No, I didn't."

"Oh."

"We don't have any proof." Gakupo smiled joylessly. "All I'd get from it is a psychiatric evaluation."

Luka tilted her head slightly. Perhaps there was a way to point the police in the right direction without making it sound supernatural? But changing his story now would undoubtedly be suspicious.

Gakupo shook his head, as if he could hear her thoughts. He knelt before her and said, "Luka, I'm going to the old clinic tomorrow. There has to be some clue there."

"The old clinic?" Luka repeated. Try as she might, she couldn't kept her voice from betraying her fear.

"You don't need to go. Just help me get a backpack ready and-"

"If you are going, I'm going!" Luka cut him off, annoyed by his gentle tone. So what if she was scared, she wasn't going to desert him so easily! "We'll find the girls together!"

"Thanks." He rested his hands on top of hers for a moment, with a soft smile on his face.

It made Luka blush, and for a second she felt a strong urge to scurry away, and stare at anything else in the room but his eyes. But it was as if he had the power to mesmerize with a look, just like the mysterious man. If anything, she now wanted to stay in place, holding his hands in hers.

A door creaked and slammed closed in the hallway, and then Ms. Asakawa opened the door to Luka's bedroom. "I said go to sleep!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Asakawa!" Gakupo rushed out of the room, head lowered. Luka heard his door open and close, this time more carefully.

To Luka's surprise, Ms. Asakawa just stood there for a moment, studying her in silence with a weird expression. She was about to ask if anything was wrong when her mother rushed in and hugged her. "Don't you ever go away, you hear me?! You are all I have!"

"Mom…" Luka's eyes itched. Unlike Gakupo, the words that could ease her mother's worries were easy to find. But her promise to stay forever at Ms. Asakawa's side went unsaid when she remembered her bold declaration moments ago. She hadn't stopped to consider how her mother would feel if something happened to her, not even for a second. Even now, there was no doubt in her mind: she had to follow Gakupo, and find the truth by his side.

Luka pressed her face against her mother's body. Every complaint she ever had was now meaningless and petty. Her mother had tried her best to raise her on her own, and Luka was thankful for all the years they had shared. But that part of her life was over. The future was shapeless, perhaps even threatening. She didn't know if it would be dark like the halls of the abandoned building or warm like Gakupo's eyes. It was taking her far away from this house and the embrace she knew so well. There was no delaying or ignoring it- that was the only certainty she had.


Everything seemed normal at school the next morning. Luka and Gakupo passed by several groups of gossiping students as they made their way towards their classroom, but nobody seemed aware just yet of the disappearances. The fragments of conversation the pair overheard were concerned with the usual topics like the latest TV shows and movies, or bad-mouthing other classmates and teachers.

Gakupo barely seemed aware of where he was, as if inertia and Luka's hand around his wrist were the only things allowing him to reach their destination. He was already exploring the clinic, even if it was only inside his mind.

As for Luka, she felt so nervous that it was getting difficult to keep an stoic expression on her face. Was it too soon to be freaking out? Perhaps. But ever since the moment she opened her eyes that morning, fear had stubbornly clung to her. Something bad was going to happen at the clinic, she was sure of it. And yet, she couldn't stop Gakupo from going, not when Gumi was in danger. All Luka could was to keep an eye on him and keep him from doing anything rash.

The first person Luka saw when the pair entered their classroom was Yohio. In other circumstances, perhaps her temper would've flared up in response to his little smirk as he looked them up and down. But now he barely mattered. It was a simple matter to walk past him and approach their row of seats.

"I wonder…" Gakupo muttered two steps away from his desk. His eyes studied the room and his classmates with sudden interest.

"What is it?" Luka asked with a whisper.

"Do you know who started the rumor about the stairs? When did you first heard of them?"

"I don't know," Luka admitted after a second. Clearly she'd heard that absurd story long before Miki brought it up, but beyond that, she simply couldn't remember.

"Thing is…" Gakupo paused when the classroom door slammed behind them, but it wasn't the teacher yet, merely an over-enthusiastic student. He continued in the same low tone, "I've been thinking, what if there are other versions of the rumor going around? Maybe what you heard was a corruption of the original tale."

"Like in the game of telephone."

"Exactly." He eyed a trio of students chatting nearby. "We should ask around, see if anyone has heard anything useful about that place."

"Anything useful," Luka repeated somewhat skeptically. Not exactly the words that came to mind when she thought of her classmates, but she shrugged after a moment. "It can't hurt to try, I guess."

The door opened again, and this time Mr. Macne walked inside, looking as annoyed by the world and everything in it as usual. Gakupo and Luka rushed to their seats. Any research would have to wait until break time.


"The abandoned clinic…" Kaito fiddled with his navy-blue muffler, thinking. "Can't really say, to be honest. It's one of those things, all of the sudden everyone was talking about it, specially the chicks."

Gakupo acknowledged this with a grunt. Across the classroom, Luka was speaking to a bunch of said chicks with a rather stiff expression in her face. He realized that it was the first time he had seen her in a long interaction with any of their classmates. Just how isolated was Luka from everyone else, and why? But that was a concern for another day. He returned his gaze to the blue-haired boy. "Do you mind telling me exactly what you know about it?"

"Um, sure." Kaito picked up a pencil from his desk and began tapping the surface with it rhythmically. "There's this courtyard, right? You're supposed to go there at sunset, read the inscription on the fountain, walk up the red stairs before the sun completely sets, look down and-"

"Hold on, an inscription?"

"Yeah, there's something written on the inside of the fountain. Don't ask me what." Kaito shrugged. "I mean, I'm guessing the idea is that it's some kind of magic spell or something, but come on."

"...I see."

"I think it's my turn to ask questions now," Kaito said, resting his head on one hand. His expression turned slightly more serious. "Is everything ok? You've been acting weird all day. Well, both of you." He gestured vaguely in Luka's direction.

Everyone is going to find out anyway… "My sister and a classmate of hers went missing yesterday."

Kaito's eyes widened.

"And I think it has something to do with the rumor."

"What? You're joking, aren't you?!" Kaito waited a moment, then grew alarmed when Gakupo shook his head. "But, but- Wait, did you call the cops? Did you tell them to search that place?"

"I didn't tell them about the clinic, but they know Gumi and Miku are missing." Gakupo said wearily. "If I'm right about this being connected to the rumor, they won't be of much use."

"But, if the girls went to check the place, you need to tell the police about it!" Kaito said, staring at Gakupo as if he had suddenly grown a second head. "Hell, if Gumi were my sister I'd be there right now searching for them!" His voice grew louder as he spoke, earning a few odd looks from the others chatting nearby.

"Keep it down!" Gakupo whispered urgently. "You think I'm not worried?! But it's not that simple." He leaned in closer and continued, "I'm pretty sure there's something wrong about that place, but it's not like I have anything concrete to show the cops."

"Something wrong…" Kaito repeated, raising one eyebrow. He then noticed Luka approaching them and something seemed to click inside his head. "So, she was asking Meiko and the others about the rumor too?"

"Yeah. And it doesn't look like there's much to report."

"Let's go get something to drink," Luka said after nodding slightly in Kaito's direction. She looked as tired and unenthusiastic as Gakupo felt.

"Sure," Gakupo stood up, checking his pockets for his wallet.

"Hold on, you didn't explain anything yet!" Kaito stood up as well. "What did you mean by 'something wrong'?"

Luka gave him an icy look and opened her mouth to say something in all likelihood not very nice, but Gakupo interjected a quick, "I'll tell you more when I come back," then led the rose-haired girl out into the corridor. As soon as they exited the classroom, Gakupo whispered into Luka's ear. "I might have something."

"What?" Luka stopped on her tracks, but after a moment followed Gakupo. They headed towards the stairs and joined the steady stream of students going down to grab lunch.

"Did anyone mention an inscription to you? Like, carved on the fountain or something like that?" The look of puzzlement on her face was enough to serve as an answer. "First time you've heard about that, huh?"

"Kaito mentioned that? Did you ask him where he got it?"

Gakupo rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't. Sorry."

"We should ask him as soon as we get back. It's really odd that he's the only one that-" Luka trailed off when Gakupo froze. He was looking at a small group of figures crossing the school grounds. Two of them seemed familiar: the principal and their headroom teacher. Among the others, one immediately reminded her of the boy next to her, though heavier-set and older. The man scowled at everything, from passing children to the teachers escorting him.

"He's already here," Gakupo muttered. He took a deep back, forcing a younger student carrying a stack of boxed meals to swerve violently to avoid bumping into him and dropping his cargo. He completely ignored the boy's protests, staring at the man in the distance with evident dread.

"Who's that?" Luka asked, after the younger boy huffed and went away.

Gakupo visibly struggled for a moment before replying, "My uncle." More hesitation, then he added, "Luka, I need to go."

"What?"

"He's not- He won't let me search for Gumi, I just know it." Gakupo's eyes travelled downwards, and he took a deep breath. "I can't let him take me back, not now." Without any further explanation, he took off running, presumably towards the main gate of the school.

"Wait!" Luka rushed after him, fighting to make her way past the groups of students moving back and forth. She grabbed his right arm and forced him to stop as soon as she could catch up to him.

"Luka, please!" Gakupo eyed her with a hint of irritation. "You don't know what he's like!"

"You can't go out the front in the middle of the day!" Luka replied. She leaned in closer and whispered, "I know a better way out." Not that she wanted to sneak out of school, specially without her backpack, but at least they could try and be a smidge more subtle about it.

Gakupo seemed less than convinced, but after a moment he nodded. Luka led him towards the perimeter of the school, where the vegetation might serve as additional cover for their movements. They quickly passed the packed cafeteria and approached the long and narrow construction at the back of the school. That unattractive building housed the arts and crafts classes, the theater club and some storage rooms. Luckily for them, no one paid too much attention to the pair. The few students that seemed to notice them looked away uninterested or just smiled knowingly, likely assuming they were looking for a quiet place to spend lunchtime together.

Sometimes, people used the paved space behind the auxiliary building as a place to smoke, but luckily at that moment no one was around. Luka and Gakupo walked past props, some costumes hanging from clothes lines and rows of pottery until they reached their destination: a bunch of boxes and discarded materials from the last school festival piled against the fence. Soon, they would be removed and disposed of, but for the moment it was a great way to get out without attracting the attention of a teacher or janitor.

Gakupo made an inarticulate sound of approval when he saw the messy mount. He flashed a smile at Luka and immediately began the climb the nearest box.

"Are you sure you can't talk things over with him?" Luka asked abruptly. Now that she was moments away from freedom, she couldn't help but fret about breaking the rules so boldly.

"Very sure," Gakupo replied, smiling even wider. He helped her up, then examined the alley beyond the fence. It was deserted, thankfully, though the ground looked frightfully far to Luka. Her thoughts must've shown in her face, since he pointed to the building and asked, "Are there any gym mats in there?"

"I think so, but- Oh!" Luka interrupted herself and pointed to a smaller pile next to the back of the building, this one covered by a tarp. "We can use those!"

After that, things were almost too easy. With Gakupo's help, Luka easily went over the fence and landed on the foam pads without issue. He dropped by her side a moment later, looking rather excited by the whole thing. Breaking school regulations wasn't all that exciting to Luka, but she found herself smiling back at him nonetheless. She could worry about consequences later.


Was Rosetta Junction always like this? The street seemed deserted and sleepy, though it was earlier in the day than Luka's previous visit. Perhaps it made sense, since the residents were still at work. But the girl couldn't help but find the extreme stillness of the environment somewhat unnerving.

The gates of the old clinic were closed again. Three big padlocks hung from heavy chains twisted around the bars. A thick red and black string was tied to each shackle, forming a misshapen triangle. Gakupo reached out to touch the string with a finger, but then stopped and let his hand drop. "That's a bit weird, isn't it?"

"Yeah…"

Gakupo shook his head. "No matter. You said we can climb a tree and get inside?"

"Yes, this way."

Everything was the same as before in the unused space next to the clinic. Or perhaps there was a bit more trash. It made no difference. Soon they were studying the old clinic and gardens from the same thick branch Luka used in her previous visit to drop down.

"I wish we'd brought the bag," Luka whispered. And she had felt so smart putting it all together! But the pink tote with rope, matches, heavy-duty gloves and more was far away, next to her desk. And she wasn't even wearing a scarf to tie it to the branch like last time.

"Best laid plans and all that," Gakupo replied and jumped down. To Luka's surprise, he avoided the dumpster below and instead opted to land directly on the ground with a skillful roll.

"I hope you don't expect me to do that!" And he made it seem so easy, too. Instead of replying, Gakupo just smiled and stood right under her with arms raised. Luka slowly lowered herself until she stood on his shoulders; then she managed to sit down. Gakupo carefully knelt so she could jump to the ground more easily. The whole process only strengthened Luka's resolve to leave acrobatics to other people, whenever possible.

"So, where do we start?" Gakupo asked after Luka's feet touched the ground. He was making his best effort to seem relaxed and confident, but Luka guessed it was an act, at least in part.

She craned her neck to observe the top of the fire escape. Just like the dilapidated space with the kiosk, it looked pretty much the same as she remembered. Whoever had closed the gate and added those chains hadn't bothered to block the obvious entrance. She looked away after a few seconds, pressing her lips together.

"Maybe we should check the fountain," Gakupo suggested, noticing her indecision. He took Luka's hand in his and they slowly approached the back of the property.

As they walked, Luka realized she couldn't hear any birds chirping. With the lack of traffic and no breeze, it meant that the only sound was their steps on the gravel. The background noise that accompanied their existence as city kids was abruptly gone, and with it reality seemed incomplete and strangely intimidating.

Upon reaching the slender fence at the back, it was clear once again that the owners of the property hadn't made much of an effort to impede the passage of uninvited visitors. The fence gate was closed, but it whirred open with barely any resistance after a push. The pair stepped inside the garden, looking around carefully for any signs of trouble. The scene was as peaceful as it could be expected: the fountain, the curving paths circling overgrown grass or long-dead bushes, the fragile-looking benches covered in discolored paint. Everything before their eyes gave off the same sense of loneliness and neglect.

"I guess we'll know soon enough if Kaito's inscription really exists," Gakupo commented. He let go of Luka's hand and began to circle the fountain, looking intently at the inside of the basin. Luka went in the opposite direction.

"Do you think the inscription is at the bottom?"

"If that's the case, we won't see it unless we drain the fountain." Gakupo seemed about to add something else, but all the sudden he stopped on his tracks and narrowed his eyes.

"Do you see something?" Luka went to stand by his side.

"Maybe… Do you see that? On the underside of the second tier?" He pointed to something Luka at first dismissed as an smudge or an imperfection of the stone. Having said that, she had been expecting a long, noticeable carving on the stone, when there was nothing on Kaito's version of the rumor to support something so elaborate.

"I can't-" Luka crouched. It was a better angle, but the distance and light conditions weren't helping. "No, I can't tell what it is."

"I'll have to get into the fountain and take a closer look." With that, Gakupo sat on the rim of the basin and began to untie his shoes.

"What?! No, that's disgusting! You're gonna catch something!" Luka felt nauseated at the very thought of stepping into that deep green liquid.

"I don't have any scratches that could get infected, it's fine," Gakupo replied in his usual easygoing tone. He slung his shoes over his shoulders, then rolled up his trousers.

"Gross." Luka paced back and forth, but didn't try to stop him. Truth be told, it's not like they had any other clues.

Gakupo dipped one feet into the fountain. "Oof, refreshing." He made a face, then added with a crooked smile. "It's like a thick broth or something."

"So gross."

"It feels really weird, I'll grant you that," Gakupo said, moving closer to the center of the fountain. He leaned in to examine the stony surface. "...I don't think this is it, Luka."

"What does it say?" Luka leaned on the border of the fountain.

Gakupo straightened up. "Just some initials and a date. As far as magical inscriptions go-" He trailed off abruptly and his eyes widened. He looked downwards.

"What's wrong?" Luka asked anxiously. "Did something bite you?" There couldn't be anything aside from bacteria inside that stillwater, could it?

"No." He chuckled nervously. "For a moment there… No, the bottom is really slippery, that's all."

Something about his voice made Luka think that he was reassuring himself as much as her. It made her fear grow in intensity. "Here, grab my hand!"

The next seconds seemed to slip by very quickly. Gakupo reached out for her, but once more his face reflected surprise when his whole body leaned forward, as if he had stepped on an incline. Without thinking, Luka let go of the rim and stretched both arms forward to grab hold of his hand. She did so, but his weight pulled her into the fountain with him. They sank into the water.

And kept sinking.

Only at first Luka felt the water around her to be as putrid as she expected. After that atrocious first taste, it quickly grew clear and deathly cold. The light over their heads dissipated and the pair was left slipping further and further into darkness. Soon, Luka couldn't see anything. She gripped Gakupo's hand desperately, even as the freezing water began to drain her strength.

Suddenly, a grey light shone from above. At the same time, Luka's left knee and elbow bumped painfully against something very hard. A moment later, the rest of her body bounced against the stony bottom and her head rose above the water. Luka coughed and heaved, fighting to get air back into her lungs. Another raspy throat echoed her efforts nearby, then she heard splashing and a couple of incoherent, panicked syllables. Worried, Luka pushed her hair out of her eyes and started to turn in Gakupo's direction-

The fountain was gone. Gakupo and Luka were inside a low, rectangular pool of clear water. The clinic and its gardens were nowhere in sight. Instead, a one-storey house surrounded the pool on three sides. The remaining side was blocked by an imposing gate, as tall as the house itself. Beyond the bars, Luka could see a grey, blurry landscape with sparsely-planted trees and a dirt road heading into the fog. The sky above was completely featureless aside from its steely tone.

Gakupo stood up clumsily, shivering. His teeth were chattering so hard that for a few seconds he struggled to get a few words out. "W-What is this place?"

Luka didn't even attempt to speak. The word seemed more and more icy with each second. Her fingers, her face, every part of her body felt both foreign and painfully raw. She closed her eyes for a second, hoping to wake up in her bed. But Gakupo made her stand up and began to pull her towards the edge of the pool.

"In there!" Gakupo had to repeat the words a couple of times before Luka's sluggish brain could decipher them. He pointed towards one of several doors in the wine-colored walls.

So cold…

Before she could register what was happening, Luka found herself crumpled in the ground next to the pool. The connecting tissue from one moment to the next was gone. Then just as abruptly, Gakupo was there dripping all over the stone work and forcing her up again. A small whine escaped her lips. She just needed a second to rest. But the boy was merciless, barely giving her legs time to move.

Luka eyed his deathly-pale profile, then the door he was so desperate to reach. It wasn't fully closed: the tiles next to it shimmered slightly with a golden glow, the reflection of a fire or at least candlelight. Whatever it was, it was a complete departure from the dead hues that dominated the landscape. "Fire…?"

"Must be." Gakupo replied, sounding like this throat was tied into knots. "Almost there."

But we don't know who owns this house, Luka thought, then immediately decided it didn't matter, as long as she was allowed to sit by that fire and warm up.

Gakupo threw open the door and dragged them both into the room. Not the most stealthy of intrusions, but the air inside felt so pleasant in comparison to the courtyard that Luka found it difficult to care. The room before them was almost twice as long as her bedroom, with doors on every wall. The fireplace was to their left, flanked by a two-seat chair and a footstool. To their right, they saw a queen-sized bed surrounded by built-in shelves, a chest and a small desk with a chair. All the furniture looked out-of-date and a bit dusty, but aside from that, the space looked fairly normal and cozy. Best of all, there were no mysterious men or beasts around.

The pair drew closer to the fireplace with a less than graceful gait, leaving wet footprints on the wooden floor. The fire was fairly low, so Gakupo threw in a couple of logs from a nearby rack while Luka sank to the ground with a happy sigh. Gakupo sat next to her and stretched out his hands towards the flames.

"We should check what's behind those doors," Gakupo muttered reluctantly after a few seconds.

"That'd be the smart thing to do," Luka replied with a whisper, though she felt incredibly disinclined to move.

Gakupo laughed a little, then stood up with a little groan. "I'll do it." He went around Luka and opened the door opposite the one they used to enter, this time more cautiously. It lead to a terrace delimited by a tall hedge. Luka was surprised to see how dark it was outside, as if dusk had arrived the moment they stepped into the room. After a moment, Gakupo closed the door again and locked it. Next, he tried the door to the right of the fireplace. "Hmm…" He said, after the light of the fire revealed a tiled floor and what appeared to be brass and porcelain. His fingers located a light switch near the threshold, but nothing happened when he tried it. "No electricity." He tapped his chin pensively, then grabbed a matchbox from the mantle. He lit a match and examined the room more closely. "Yep, it's a bathroom."

"Good to know."

"Uh-huh." Gakupo crossed the room and turned the knob of the remaining door. He lit another match and waved his arm around.

"What do you see?" From where Luka was sitting, all she could see was Gakupo's silhouette surrounded by a perfectly black rectangle.

"Books and… Have you seen any Hammer Films?"

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nevermind. It's some sort of home laboratory, I guess. Test tubes and glass bottles, that sort of thing. Lots of papers on a desk…. Damn it's cold!" Gakupo closed the door and returned to the vicinity of the fireplace.

"I hate to say this, but we need to change out of this clothes," Luka pointed out.

"Yeah." Gakupo looked around, thinking. "Can you check that chest, see if there's something we can use? I bet there's some towels in the bathroom, I'll get a couple."

"Ok." Was it a good idea to riffle through these people's personal belongings? In all likelihood, probably not. But at least the place looked mundane enough to hope it belonged to regular people. Luka knelt in front of the chest and examined its contents. There were some bedsheets and blankets and assorted wintery clothes, including two long wooly capes Luka put aside. Finally, lying at the very bottom, the girl saw an ivory garment wrapped in tissue paper. She pulled it out gently to take a better look, with an odd sense of anticipation. As she expected, it was a cream-colored wedding dress. She caressed its delicate fabric with two fingers. This dress had never seen the inside of a factory, that much was clear. Someone had spent hours upon hours on the elaborate embroidery of the bodice and hem. "It's so beautiful."

"Not what I had in mind given the weather outside," Gakupo commented from behind her. He was carrying a pile of towels in his arms. "Are you going to try it on?"

Luka shook her head, suddenly feeling nervous. "I, it must be very important. I can't just..." She took a few steps, looking away from him, and her gaze landed on one of the shelves. It was decorated with a jar of dried flowers and three metal photo frames arranged in a semicircle. "Hold on." She stepped closer, feeling something close to nausea.

"What is it?" Gakupo approached her, then looked at the photographs. The towels fell from his hands.

The photo on the left was of a group of smiling children in antiquated clothes sitting on the steps of a building. Luka easily recognized Gakupo and Gumi, surrounding by six other girls and a little boy with green hair. The photo on the right depicted an elderly couple that seemed vaguely familiar, though she couldn't quite place them. And the photo in the center…

To any other observer, it would've been a nice, but unremarkable scene. A young couple on their wedding day, standing near the front door of their new home. The man in the grey suit had his arm around his wife's waist and was smiling at her with so much genuine affection and joy that Luka felt some of that emotion reflected towards her, as if the frame wasn't enough to contain it.

Then again, it made some sense for her to feel like a participant of their love. The bride was wearing her face, after all.