-4- Quick Reunion and Danger
The Seventh Treasure, Amu tried to recall, but nothing came to mind at all. Never in her life has she heard anything about this treasure, this was her first time hearing its name and existence. But a treasure of some kind was within this Tower? Furthermore, a high level witch such as her is after this treasure. Interesting, Amu couldn't help but think, however first she needs to find a way out of this messy situation.
Amu's grip on the witches hand tightened, "at least let the kid go…"
"Quite the demanding one aren't we?" the witch giggled. She clicked her tongue and from the corner of Amu's eyes, she saw that Yoru was moving; "now you can face death at ease."
Able to move again, Yoru quickly turned on the witch that was still strangling Amu from behind. He was about to grab the witches arm and bite it but Amu shouted loudly and he stopped in his tracks.
Amongst the excitement and shouts from the rest of the room, Amu's voice seemed to penetrate through and there was silence after the words she had shouted out. The lights from the stage were immediately shinning in her direction and the bidders all turned to stare at her with disbelief. Yoru let out a small sigh seeing the witch hastily let go of Amu and backing away from the light and centre of attention.
"C-could you please repeat that?" the presenter hosting this auction on the stage said into his microphone.
"50 000 Gold," Amu shouted clearly again.
Whispers were starting to go around the room now and the presenter simply stared at Amu shocked.
He stammered a bit but announced, "well, anyone… anyone willing to bid a higher price than 50 000 Gold for this young man?"
The bidders remained silent. Seeing the room of bidders had no intention to pay such a high price for a mere prisoner, the announcer quickly stated, "This prisoner will go to that young lady over there." He took the wooden hammer hanging from his trousers and whacked the chair with the prisoner tied on it hard, "deal closed." The curtains fell down on the stage and the crowd of bidders, though still shocked by the exceptional high price clapped their hands as Amu, taking hold of Yoru's hand, made her way out of the auction room. The witch who had slithered away from being the attention of the room was nowhere to be seen.
Yoru clutched onto Amu's hand as they followed the Tower's guard up the stairs to the second level and into a room.
Amu saw the guards curious eyes on Yoru so she said, "I just bought this little one a few days ago. I'm quite fond of him so I couldn't resist bringing him along."
"A very young one," the guard prompted, "but so are you madam."
"I'm rather spoiled by my father," Amu lied, keeping up her act of a rich young girl, "though most purchases are done for my dear papa."
"This prisoner tonight too?"
"Why of course," Amu replied with a smile, "I believe you know enough now. Satisfied Mr Guard?"
The guard looked uneasy, perhaps afraid that he had angered an important guest tonight. He simply nodded with a weak smile, "then would you like me to take care of your property madam whilst you enjoy your new product."
"No need," Amu declined, "as I've said already. I'm very fond of this little one."
"As you please madam," the guard said stopping before a door. He gestured for Amu to wait. "Let me check the room first madam for your safety and that everything is prepared."
"I don't particularly mind," Amu began, "with you and the other guards around I doubt there is any danger. How about letting me in now?"
"No," The guard strictly said, "please wait for a few minutes. There was a false prisoner escape before so we're cautious."
"False?"
"Yeah, the prisoner who we thought had escaped, we recaptured him or rather there was a mistake," the guard started to explain, "one of our people took him to the auction and forgot to note him down was all. The so called accomplice turned out to be an important guest to the auction who was lost." The guard disappeared into the room.
Amu tapped the tip of her umbrella on the floor, making a tapping noise. False escape, accomplice, Amu thought, what drama? Too much stuff is happening within this creepy Tower tonight.
"Hey…" Yoru hissed, tugging at Amu.
"What is it?"
"Why, why did you suddenly become a bidder?"
Amu frowned, lowering her voice, "how else do you think we could've gotten out of that situation. It's killing two birds with one stone. That old witch can't lay a finger on either of us if it's in the open. It's the rule of all witches that we can't use magic before commoners and we're not to get involved either if possible. Breaking the rule could mean expulsion from our world." Amu paused a little, "plus… that guy being sold…is your brother right? If I bid for him then you two can be reunited…"
Yoru smiled and that simple smile seemed to warm Amu's heart. She hadn't really seen Yoru smile and she had to admit, a child's smile was the purest thing in the world.
"Thank you Amu," Yoru said.
Amu found herself flushing a little, not used to Yoru's sudden nice attitude towards her. No, this was probably the first time that someone besides Dia had shown appreciation for Amu being there. It somehow made her feel more important. Something touched her heart. "Hey, this is the first time you called me by my name," Amu muttered.
"Yep, it'll be the only time," Yoru said cheekily, "it's only polite I be nice to you, since this time around you really were trying to help and save me from that old hag. But you are still a big hopeless idiot. 50 000 Gold, no matter how I look at you, your too poor to have that kind of money. You just blurted it out on a whim to save yourself without thinking of the consequences right? Thanks to you, I'll need to come up with a new escape plan."
"YORU," Amu shouted about to grab hold of his shirt from anger but stopped as the guard reappeared. He told them to go in so Amu ignored Yoru's cheek and went in ahead of him. She heard the door close behind them and inside the barren room where only a bed was placed, sat the prisoner, Yoru's brother. His name, it was Ikuto wasn't it? Amu recalled as they now stared at each other. There were chains on his hands and legs and Amu could see his shivering body through that thin piece of cloth wrapped around him. Cruel… there was no way he looked like a prisoner or someone who had committed a crime. What had he been through in this Tower to become like this, to become so pitiful? Even so, as Amu stared at him, she couldn't shake off the memory of that mad monster that had attacked her. Slowly she outstretched her hands towards him, just a touch, just to confirm he wasn't the same person.
"YAHHH…." Amu cried falling to the floor as Yoru simply pushed her away and leaped onto the bed.
"You little…" Amu cursed as she got up but the scene before her was so warm, so touching that she lost her anger and irritancy. Instead she put on a very soft smile, she was happy, Yoru had found his brother.
Even with chains on, Ikuto hugged the sobbing Yoru tightly, close to his chest and patted his head; all whilst whispering softly into his ears that everything was fine.
"Brother, brother Ikuto…" Yoru cried, "I was scared, I really was… I thought I couldn't make it to see you again."
Ikuto stroked Yoru's hair tenderly, "don't cry now Yoru. I'm here. We're together, we won't get separated again. I promise, we will be just fine."
Yoru nodded, crying on Ikuto's shoulder and hugging him tighter than ever.
Amu felt tears welling up in her eyes and she suppressed them. It would be too embarrassing to cry in front of Yoru. She'll get teased by him later on. But seeing the two brothers back together really touched Amu. It must be nice to be with your family. Amu never had one, the closest to a family she had was Dia. I wonder…Amu thought, I've come to care quite a lot about Yoru…is it because he's a kid or is it because I'm so lonely in this world without Dia, and he was the first one to fill in my emptiness…
"STAY AWAY!"
Amu snapped back to reality from her thoughts.
Ikuto was holding Yoru tightly and he was backing away from Amu, scared, mortified of her.
"D-don't worry brother," Yoru shouted, trying to calm his brother down, "she's a good witch. She's been helping me all along."
"Ah, that's right, I'm not evil or anything," Amu stressed, realising Yoru must've told his brother that she was a witch and he got scared. Really looking at that pathetic shaking Ikuto, how could she ever have thought he resembled the man who attacked her before? Was she nuts? "I mean no harm… well I helped Yoru on a condition," Amu began to explain, "but it looks like I was lied to, so well, I don't really care anymore. I might as well try and help to the very end."
"Hey, I didn't lie," Yoru defended himself.
"Lies," Ikuto challenged, "witches only help commoners like us, if there was something for you to gain. Stay away."
Amu sighed, "As I've said, I don't want anything anymore. Well, it's been a very short amount of time but I guess I've come to care about that brat, a little. I really mean no harm. I'm not the wicked witch you think I am. Trust me."
"Brother Ikuto," Yoru said with more urge, "I trust Amu. This silly witch isn't scary at all. Instead she's the opposite, brainless, has no sense of style and poor."
"Yoru you…" Amu hissed holding up a fist, "don't describe me like that you cheeky brat."
"But she's kind…" Yoru finished over Amu's grumble. "She truly did care for me at the time when I was in trouble. I trust her brother, so please trust me and…"
"I understand," Ikuto said loosening up a little and letting Yoru go. "I believe in Yoru."
"Ok," Amu said getting serious now, "we need to get out of here." She went over to Ikuto and using her umbrella tapped the chains tying Ikuto up and immediately they broke. "It's likely the guards are still outside. This room has no windows or any other exits but the door we came through. There doesn't seem to be anything we can use in this room either. Yoru think off a plan for us to escape."
"Useless Amu," Yoru muttered.
"What did you say?" Amu asked, leering at Yoru who was now pulling faces at her.
"As a witch can't you just use magic to help us escape?" Ikuto questioned.
Amu began to sweat now and stammered. Magic was something she didn't like to mention since her magic never really works. "Well… magic is… my magic is…"
"You see a level 10 witch's magic is very basic. They often don't work either so using magic to try and escape this Tower is asking too much."
"Exactly…" Amu sighed, covering her face with her hands, unable to take the embarrassment that she had to admit how bad she was at using magic, despite being a witch.
"So you lied to me idiot-Amu," Yoru said staring at Amu.
"I never said I was a high-level witch to begin with and hey, despite my magic being slightly useless in these kinds of situations, I did manage to get us in the Tower and…"
"I was the one who got us in," Yoru reminded Amu.
"Level 10 huh…." Yoru said unimpressed, still staring at Amu.
"Hey you…. I …" Amu paused in her argument with Yoru. "I never said I was level 10…I was about to but stopped…" Amu's eyes widened in horror as she stared at the door that swung open with a loud bang and a gust of wind blasted into the room.
"You didn't say anything about your level but that witch certainly did," Ikuto said, already grabbing Yoru and pushing him behind.
"So, you've added another sacrifice," the witch chuckled as she stepped into the room. With a wave of her hand, the doors closed shut again. "My name is Cindy Ashmy. I'll allow you to at least know the name of your killer, low-level witch."
"Hold it…" Amu shouted blocking the witch's attack with her umbrella. "I'm not after the seventh treasure. Please believe me. I don't even know what it is. This is the first I've heard of it."
Cindy waved her hand and Amu felt her skin rip on her hand. Her grip loosened on the umbrella. It hurts, it feels like my skin is burning, Amu breathed, this witch, Cindy Ashmy is too strong. Her level is about the same as Dia. What should I do?
Ikuto backed away from Amu and Cindy Ashmy as they engaged with each other, all whilst making sure Yoru was safe behind him. Grabbing a hold of Yoru, Ikuto headed towards the door, ignoring the fact that Amu now fell to the floor as Cindy snatched the rubicund umbrella. He fiercely grabbed at the door handle but nothing happened; the door won't move even an inch.
"Patience dears," Cindy Ashmy called out, "the door is locked. I'll attend to you two brothers once I'm done with her."
"As if I'll wait for you to kill me," Ikuto muttered. He raised his feet about to kick the door handle but Yoru stopped him.
"Brother what are you doing?" Yoru asked.
"Isn't it obvious, we're leaving this place now," Ikuto answered.
"What about Amu?" Yoru shouted, "You're going to leave her."
"She has nothing to do with us…"
"Amu's my friend," Yoru shouted with tears in his eyes. "Ikuto…please I know you can save all of us…even her too so..."
Yoru stopped in his plea and both he and Ikuto turned to look in the direction of the scream.
"ARGH!" Amu screamed as Cindy pierced the sharp tip of the umbrella into her shoulders. "Please…I honestly don't know what the seventh treasure is…."
"Don't lie," Cindy shouted above Amu's scream and she added weight onto the umbrella, pressing the metal deeper into Amu's flesh and seeing blood gush out from the wound, it excited her more. "The seventh treasure is the legend surrounding the death of the pirate king. Do you get it, what I'm after is the pirate's ultimate treasure, a treasure sought by all pirates and only meant for pirates. Even so a few witches have caught onto this tasty legend and what obtaining a piece of it could bring."
"Power," Amu gasped, "you want to obtain the power of a pirate?"
Cindy pulled the umbrella out of Amu's body, holding it high in the air, poised and ready to strike again, this time aiming for the heart. "Commoners have heard of this treasure too but honestly, no one would dare to seek it. However, witches are different; a strong witch will dare to go against pirates. Now, I only didn't expect a weak level witch like you would attempt to aim for the same thing as me."
"I'm not…" Amu breathed heavily, the pain messing up her senses, "I'm only here to help Yoru, to help him reunite with his brother. I-I know nothing."
"Oh, don't try to fool me now," Cindy said coldly, "this entire Tower is filled with commoners. There's not a pirate or witch in sight but you. It can only mean one thing. You are one of the very few people who know that man is in this Tower."
"Who…" Amu asked weakly, "I honestly know nothing…" Amu glanced away from Cindy for a moment, composing her-self and trying to figure a way out of this. She honestly couldn't care less about a stupid treasure but there was no way she would die for something she didn't know.
Cindy lowered the umbrella but Amu was already moving before her. With one hand Amu grabbed onto her umbrella and with the other she pulled Cindy by the hair down, taking the advantage of the movement to stand back up again.
There was something sparkling in the room that caught Ikuto's eyes as he stood watching the struggle between Amu and Cindy. It came from Amu's chest. His eyes widened as he recognised the object, it's that man's locket. The man I was searching for.
Gripping tightly onto the umbrella, Amu ran towards Ikuto and Yoru towards the door, knowing very well that Cindy was about to cast a spell. "Yoru," Amu shouted, holding the umbrella out towards him, "Take this and open it." At the very least if she could pass the umbrella to the two brothers and open it in time, it should protect them. Her umbrella didn't have enough magical power to shield all three of them but Yoru and Ikuto would be safe. They shouldn't have to die. It was her fault that Cindy was after them. "Sorry Dia," Amu whispered as the umbrella left her hands and Yoru took hold of it. She saw Yoru opening it and Amu stopped, backing away from the two brothers, ready to receive Cindy's wrath. "It looks like I'm going to have to break my promise. I'm going to die in this Tower."
"DIE," Cindy shouted. A strong blast of air raced towards Amu's body like a bullet. It would pierce through her flesh and bones, killing her as her body ripped into half. "That man, Clover and his secret belong to me. The seventh treasure will be mine."
Amu closed her eyes, this was the end.