Hey, y'all! Sorry for the long wait, but if you visited my page, or kept up with my other story (From Rivals to Lovers), you would know that I was on vacation for three weeks.
And, in those three weeks, plot bunnies decided to attack me left and right.
I got back from the airport a couple of hours back, and this couldn't wait. Just popped in my Zelda 25th Anniversary CD... let's see how this goes.
**Oh, the beginning of this chapter is kind of horror-ish. It isn't that scary, but then again, I don't find much to be scary. Btw, this goes differently than planned. Be prepared.
Disclaimer: No, not mine. Yet.
The door swung open, yet nobody came in. I blinked twice, and then looked at Len. The shrieks had stopped. "Neh, R-Rin. It's 12:00, r-right? You said we have to spend the night. Its morning right now. Let's leave," Len said, jumping at any noise he heard. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"Onee-San, Nii-san," a small voice, like a girl's, said from behind me, but when I spun around, nothing was there. Len was staring at me, fear written all over his face. A small scamper of feet, and I felt something warm in my hand. I pointed my flashlight (which was the only light source in the area), to see what was there.
Blood. Lots of it.
Stifling a scream, I tried wiping it against my pants, but to no avail. I tugged on Len's sleeve, wanting to show it to him.
No one was there.
"L-Len?" I asked, now totally freaked out. "Len, this isn't funny," I said, as if he were playing a trick on me. I've always wondered why people would say that, while I watched a horror movie, but I know realize that it's because you want it all to be a trick, nothing more, nothing less.
"Onee-chan," the same voice said. I looked down, and saw nothing, but something—someone—took my hand.
When I pointed my flashlight downwards, there was no one there, yet I could feel the weight of it, the inhuman coldness to it.
"Where's Len?" I demanded, fearing the answer.
"Len?" The girl asked, her voice holding confusion. "I know not of Len. All I know is that Onee-chan must leave, now. Before S-Sensei comes."
"Sensei?" I asked, then remembering the old legend of this place. "Does he come here often, or something?" The girl didn't answer; she just remained shivering. "Well, I'm not leaving without Len," I said in a loud voice, as if to prove that I wasn't afraid.
"Nee—" The girl tried to protest, but I shook my head, despite the fact that she couldn't see me.
"I'm going to go and find him."
"...If you insist," she said, and then suddenly the cold weight in my hand was gone, leaving me alone in the darkness.
So I leave the room we were staying in, leaving behind our sleeping bags and supplies that were supposed to last us through the night. All of it is easily replaceable, so I don't think Len will mind. I decide to 'take' the left wall, meaning that I'll hold the flashlight in my right hand, and trace the wall with my left, thus meaning that I would be able to retrace my steps if needed.
It's quiet, and I hear no one. At first. From what I can tell, I'm walking down a long hallway, leading up to somewhere. There are doors on either side, but only one has light seeping out from the bottom of it—the one at the very end. Of course.
A giggle.
My speed, as well as my heartrate, increases, but it seems like no matter how fast I walk, the door just doesn't get any closer. I must have imagined that, right? Of course I did.
A shriek.
...I did not imagine that. For sure. Was it that little girl I meet earlier? I feel guilty, even though I didn't leave her behind, or anything. Is Len okay?
A moan of pain.
And, suddenly all I can think about is Len, what's happening to him, what that supposed Sensei could possibly be doing to him. I'm sprinting, by this time, not even caring about my own safety. Len. Where's Len? I need to find him, and get out of here.
Are those... hooves I hear?
But, why would a horse, of all things, be here?
I finally reach the end of the hallway, and I throw the door open.
The room is small, with nothing in it, save for a small Phonograph in the corner of the room. A sweet melody—something completely out of place—begins playing, and I stand there, watching the pin move closer and closer to the center.
Len. I should be looking for Len.
Yet I can't move from that spot.
The melody goes faster and faster, until suddenly, it just stops, although the pin is only three-fourths of the way to the center. I wait, wondering if there will be anymore.
A scream, blood curling, comes from the Phonograph, as the pin finally reaches the center. As if by magic, the pin picks itself back up, and puts it back to the beginning, so the music begins once again.
A cold laugh behind me. I whip around to see red, along with a flash of silver that comes straight for my head. Instinctively, I close my eyes and wait for impact—but none comes. I peer an eye open, but there is nothing, no one, there.
Deep breaths, Rin. Deep breaths.
I turn and race out of the room, running down the hall as fast as I can. I end up in the foyer. "Len?" I call. "Len, where are you?"
Another sickly giggle comes from the hallway I just came from. Light pours out from the door the Phonograph was in, and although I see no figure, I see the shadow of one, coming closer to me, swinging a butcher knife as it goes.
I don't even pause to think. The first door I come across, I open it, causing a rather loud bang, and race in, my heart going about a billion miles per hour.
What the hell was that?
A moan comes from the corner of the room, and next thing I know, something's biting me.
What the actual fuck.
I scream, punch my arm out—it hits open air, first, but when I punch again, it hits something—and then race out of the room again, only to wind up in the kitchen of some sort.
It's old, and falling apart, but that's the only thing that appears to be wrong with it. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, and then see the sink. Water. Maybe there is still water, maybe that will help calm me down.
It's not water that comes out of the drain, though.
It's hair.
Do I even need to bother telling you about how I scream and then running into the living room?
I don't even bother to explore here; one look around tells me that Len isn't here, so I open the first door I find, and walk through, forcing myself to take deep breaths.
It's okay, Rin. It's okay. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
"Is—" A voice from behind me starts, clearly a girls one, although not the same as before.
"—It—" A different voice says, this one being male.
"—Really?" They finish in harmony together, and I don't even bother to think. Instead I take off, falling as I go, but getting up quickly, never looking behind me. From behind me, I hear both a giggle and a small sigh.
I burst into a study, where I see a man standing, knife in his hand. He looms over two shadow things that I can't see properly. His hair is purple, his figure is tall. I see bandages wrapped around his body. His back is turned to me, but he turns to me as I scream "STOP!"
He lowers the knife for a millisecond before lumbering towards me. His eye's—eye, since one is covered in a bandage—is a dark, sinister purple. And, I don't know why, but at that moment it occurs to me that purple really is the color of madness.
He raises the knife above me, and I close my eyes, my heart pounding.
So, I die here, rather than a hospital bed?
Does it really make a difference?
And, suddenly I'm being pushed out of the way, pushed so hard that I hit the wall with a painful thud. I see a flash of gold, and I know that's it Len—thank god, he's okay, he's okay, I chant to myself.
Wordlessly, he grabs my hand and pulls me to get up. We run past the teacher, past the doors, through the hallway, and into the foyer. He doesn't even hesitate to push the door open, and we sprint out into the cold night, not looking behind, not looking ahead, just wanting to get away from there as soon as possible.
Eventually, when we are far enough, Len pulls me into a small alleyway. There are people at the end of it, smoking something that probably isn't legal, but I don't care.
I'm alive.
Only for a week or two, or three, but I'm still alive.
And so is Len.
He looks at me, and even though I can tell that he's terrified, he manages to give me a small smile, along with a watery chuckle. "Had your fun?"
Normal P.O.V
"Where you really going to kill them?" A snide voice asks from behind where the purple man is. He's sharpening his knife, and ignores the question. "Taito, look at me."
"Did you say something?" Taito asks, turning to look at the girl with long, flowing red hair. In her hand she carries the butcher knife, but it's been years since she's used it for something other than scaring people. It only takes a series of various tricks to pull off what they did tonight.
"I said, where you really going to kill them?" The red head asks while sliding onto the desk, so that she can sit down.
He gives her a strange look. "Why would I kill them, Kiku?" She shrugs innocently, but a smirk plays at her lips. "I'm serious, why would I? I just wanted to scare them off." Her answer is another shrug.
"COME DOWN TO THE KITCHEN, NOW!" A girl screams. Taito offers his arm, which Kiku accepts, and then begin walking. They walk straight past the kitchen Rin stumbled into, and open a small door, where a staircase going down awaits them. Into the basement.
The basement holds a normal kitchen, normal furniture, normal everything. There stands a girl with brown hair and sweet brown eyes. She's peeling potatoes, along with a boy with golden hair, a sailor hat covering it. Much like Taito, he also has a bandage over one eye.
"Oliver, Yuki," he greets, but they both ignore him. Yuki, the girl, just points to the pot, where he immediately leaps to, and begins to stir it. Kiku begins chopping onions with her knife.
"A-Are they gone?" A small voice asks from the staircase. A woman is walking down from there. From waist up, she's human.
From waist down, she's a donkey.
Behind her comes one body, with two heads. One giggles, one sighs.
And, behind them comes a man, thinking about the girl he bite earlier.
"They're gone," Oliver confirms with a nod. "Sit down," he says, beckoning them to the table. They do so, and in a few minutes, the rest join them.
"Why were they here?" the half-donkey girl asks.
"I don't know. Probably for something stupid," Kiku says with a giggle. "We had to scare them off. Like always."
"Well..." Taito starts.
"We rescued you from Dark Woods Circus," Yuki continues.
"And we promise to never let anyone take you back."(***)
Rin's P.O.V
We don't say much that night, don't speak about whatever the hell that had happened. Len just warmed up some instant ramen for the two of us- which I accepted, even though I wasn't hungry- and then we both sat on the couch. It was quiet, and rather awkward, for neither of us had much to say to each other. The scenes of what had happened there kept on replying in my head, and then I realized that I had forgotten something.
"Thanks," I said quietly to Len. He stiffened for a second, and then relaxed.
"Um, no problem," he says after a moment. He looks uncertain for a moment, but then slides his arm around me, his hand reaching for my waist. I let him, and he uses his other hand to take mine.
Unlike the hand in the mansion, this one is warm, and actually alive.
I snuggled into him, finding comfort in his warmth, and we sit there for a long time, doing nothing other than enjoying each other's pretense. My thoughts eventually slip from that mansion to Len, and only Len- about how he smiles softly at me, and me alone, how he often flirts, yet is caring at the same time, how he helped me when I needed it...
And, now I most definitely need help.
My hands shake as I bring them up to my ears, as if to stop the words from ringing around in my head.
Dying.
Death.
Gone.
It won't stop. A choked sob emerges from me, as I bring my legs closer to myself in the confined space, trying to make myself as small as possible. My teeth chatter through my muffled sobs, but it won't stop, it won't stop. My knees knock together, and I bury my head into them, still shaking, still thinking.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
It's going to happen no matter what.
I'm cold right now, and I remember how cold that hand was. Will I be like that, after death. My teeth chatter once again, and I feel myself just wanting to slip away into sleep, into dreams, even into nightmares. This panic attack I'm having won't stop, and I can't calm myself down. I need to, but I can't.
"Rin? You still awake? There's some more ramen if you want it," Len asks while knocking on the door and entering my room, despite the fact that it's something like three in the morning.
I feel another sob coming up, so my hands slip from my ears, and cover my mouth. I don't want him to find me. I don't want him to see how pathetic I am right now.
"Rin?" Len asks, this time a little more desperate when he sees that I'm not in my bed.
I can't breath properly, so I have to move my hands from my mouth. Just then a sob erupts from my throat, and I know that he's heard it from the sharp intake of breath I hear from him. I hear his steps as Len comes closer to the door, and then he slides it open, turning the light on as he does it.
I'm sure I'm a sight to behold, sitting in the closet like that. He stares at me, I can tell, but I'm don't look at him. I choose to turn my head and stare at the wall.
"Rin," he says for the third time, except he sounds a lot more gentle. Suddenly one arm slips around my back, the other under my knees. I gave the protest of "mmm!" but he ignores that, and picks me up. I hesitate for a moment, and I'm still crying.
I hate crying like this. It make me feel weak.
But truthfully, I am, aren't I?
He shushes me softly as he begins walking, causing a slight rocking motion. He doesn't drop me off on my bed- nope, he goes straight past, and walks out of my room. The rest of the apartment is lite up, but he turns the lights off as he walks over to his room. I pay no attention, I just sob into his chest, holding onto his shirt numbly.
He lays me onto his bed, tucking me under the covers, and then joins me a second later. I lay there, still shaking, as he wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer. Hesitating for a second, I allow him to draw me in, allowing the human warmth and comfort. His chin rests on my head, and I lay under the covers, not one inch of me out of them. He shifts for a second, and then allows me to cry into his shirt.
He says nothing, nothing about how everything is 'going to be alright.' Because those false words of pity or sympathy isn't something I want to hear. We both know that isn't true.
I feel something wet on my forehead, and I realize that Len must be crying, too.
The next morning, neither of us talk about what happened last night, which I'm grateful for. Len hands me a cup of coffee, which I accept, and take a tender sip. Urg, no, I still prefer tea. Coffee is too bitter.
"What do you want to do today?" Len asks me, and I shrug, not exactly sure.
"How about we go and visit Miki, to see if she's okay?" I suggest after a short silence. He nods, and thirty minutes later, we leave.
Piko gave me his address when he took Miki that night, and, after getting lost about three different times, we manage to make it to his house.
It's big.
The yard itself looks bigger than my old house that I lived in with my parents. I wonder what happened to that- note: must ask Piko.
I ring the doorbell, ignoring the strange feeling of somehow being nervous. Why I'm nervous, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the size of the house.
A tall women, with brown hair and matching brown eyes answers the door. She's wearing a red dress, knee-length, and looks important, and busy, and stuff.
Wait a minute... do I know her?
When she sees me, she freezes, looking a little freaked out. However, she recovers, and asks pleasantly for our names. "Um, I'm Len, and this is Rin," Len introduces. "We were wondering were Miki is? Along with Piko?"
She gives us a strange look, and says, "They're at school. You should be, too, you know." Len looks at me as I face palm.
Right. We forgot it was Tuesday morning, meaning that most normal kiddos have to go to school.
"Ai," I say. "Sorry to bother you." I'm turning away as she says, "Wait!"
Turning around, I see the lady biting on her lip hesitantly before saying, "You've already come all this way. Why don't you come in, and we can have a cup of tea. I'll tell you about Miki."
I'm a little wary- STRANGER DANGER!- but then again, Piko lives with her, so...
I walk into the house, Len following me. It's just as big and as grand as it looks on the outside. I don't bother to hide the fact that I'm looking around in awe- I doubt I'll meet her again, so why does it matter?
"My name is Meiko Sakine," she introduces. "As you may know. Rin, are you Leon and"- she gulps right, before saying my mother's name- "Lola's child?"
"Yes, I am. And, I'm guessing you're Piko and my own's aunt. It's nice to finally meet you." I say it with a smile, but it's cold, and I can tell that she can tell.
"Same to you."
Meiko fixes us up some tea, and then joins us in the living room a few minutes later. "Miki's okay," she says. "The police searched here, too, but they didn't find her because I have a few rather good hiding places. Piko's in a state, with her refusing to not go to school. He thinks the police will get her then, but they have this plan. They'll be home at eight, now days."
I nod my head, as we sit in silence. A question forms in my head, begging me to ask it. Finally, I comply. "Why did you send me away, like that?" I ask, finally. She freezes, and stares at me upright, not bothering to hide it. Len takes my hand, but I barely feel it. I just stare back, waiting for her answer.
When Meiko does, her voice is shaky, and she seems breathless. "Oh, um... reasons, I suppose?"
"M'am," I say, unfazed. "I'm going to die in a month. I would prefer to now why I was locked away for four years, if you don't mind." My expression- a fake smile- doesn't change, but my grip on Len's hand and the tea cup becomes harder. She stares at me, clearly unaware of this information. "Tell me," I say softly. I can't hide the desperation in my voice. "Please, tell me."
After another long pause, Meiko finally answers. "I suppose it all started with a simple One-Night-Stand. With your father."
"What?" She says the next words coolly, unblinking, unwavering.
"I am your true mother."
(***)Okay, I was extremely iffy about writing this part. I was sure how people would react to the whole Dark Woods Circus thing, or if they would even understand (basically, Taito, Kiku, Oliver, and Yuki rescued those, um, people, from DWC, and pretends like this is a haunted house so that people will stay away). I also know that they are all supposed to be insane, and stuff, but just go along with it for the sake of the story, please.
Whoa! Finished this in time to listen to "Ballad of the Goddess" for the third time! But... CLIFF HANGER, YEAH?! Don't hate me: all shall be told! Just btw, I currently have two endings planned, one good (Rin lives), one bad (Rin dies). Ehehe, I know exactly what I'm going to do, though... Although I have a few things planned to through you off your game. If you're wondering because of that holy scene earlier in the chapter.
Anyways, reviews are much appreciated. Please and thanks in advance!