Chapter 48
The sun was dipping low in the sky to signal evening was soon to set in. Which meant the arrival of cold winds despite the thick summer air. The day had dawned unbearably hot making the loose shirt Len wore defy it's purpose and cling to him. He sat in another of the Megurine's vehicles with the others as he stared up at the sky tinted in nature's palette. They were parked on a curb in the most inconspicuous vehicle that the Megurine family owned, a silver Land Rover. They were waiting outside of a high school , a tidy and quaint building with gleaming tinted windows, while Luka made a call and pulled necessary strings to get them inside. Len had been the first to suggest they merely march into the building but Luka had disagreed with the plan. They couldn't simply barge in and ask questions about a student who used to attend it. He was starting to wonder if simply barging in and demanding something was ever handy. An odd sort of moral reflection as a delinquent.
They were following up on their second lead as their search efforts for a man named Yuma had led them nowhere. Ted Kasane had also turned up no matches until they'd finally been able to match a Kasane who had graduated a few years ago from a high school in their area. So here they were, with Luka coolly negotiating on the phone outside the car and Len seated in the car with Miku and Mikuo. The car was silent as Len leaned back in his seat. Mikuo was watching Luka's every step and Len felt Miku's gaze brush over him like fingertips every other second.
It had nearly been a week since he had seen Rin, and the discomfort brought on by her absence proved tricky to keep out of his expression. The girl had disappeared and left no real trace behind. Luka had sent endless men to scour the city in search of the agency in question but none had come back with any findings. She had been surprisingly reliable about following up on everything he'd had to offer in an effort to find Rin. Though he was sure that she was merely participating to feed her own ego. She didn't believe that Rin, Luki, or Yuzuki possessed any supernatural abilities. Didn't fathom that anyone existed who could do such things as they'd spoke of, and conjured a logical excuse for any past event they claimed supernatural. Meanwhile, she still insisted they were all drugged to the nines. Though Luka was utterly wrong, Len still commended her for her resilience in the face of the unexplainable.
Luka swung the door open, and the cool air outside seemed hot and suffocating in comparison to the air conditioning of the car. Luka's rich pink hair was caught up in a knot at the back of her neck. She wore an airy white blouse tucked neatly into dark jeans and secured with a belt. Len noted vaguely the dark red tights and brown boots that went with the rest of the outfit. Nobody in the car moved to leave. Luka lifted her shades with visible irritation, her face pinched in a hard expression that made her no less beautiful.
"We're allowed inside, but do try to act civil," she said, only to shoot a look in Len's direction. "You're here as guests under the Megurine name." As they all exited the vehicle, Luka offered Miku a hand in getting out, only to be ignored. Len didn't miss the brief wounded expression on Luka's face before she flicked her shades back down over her eyes. Just as Len opened his mouth to comment, he noticed Mikuo shooting him a look of warning. He caught the drift, and promptly let the comment die on the tip of his tongue.
They walked in silence towards the high school entrance on rough stone steps. Len noted the lack of graffiti and profanity sprayed on the walls, as well as the absence of trash and various undesirables that would've been otherwise scattered about the grounds if this were his own school. He remembered with a chill that the building he was reflecting upon fondly no longer existed. As they made their way inside, they were greeted by an escort, a man dressed in a gym uniform who was almost certainly a faculty member. He quickly guided them toward the board room, then just as quickly dismissed himself. As he looked around at their surroundings, Len found himself idly wondering if, when it had still been standing, his school had possessed a room such as this one.
There was a man with dark hair standing in front of a board at the very end of the room. He wasn't bad to look at, with broad shoulders and boyish brown eyes set behind square-framed glasses. His eyebrows were heavy and solemn as if he were in deep thought, which proved to be the case, as he jumped when he saw them. He welcomed them with a mixture of shyness and pleasure, though Len noticed underneath the façade he was visibly distressed.
"I'm Kiyoteru Hiyama, but due to the personal matter we're discussing feel free to call me Hiyama," the man introduced himself with the confidence belonging to those with years of practice. Hiyama glanced around the room and everybody introduced themselves. Len only gave his first name. If this offended Hiyama he gave no clue that it had.
"Well, for what it's worth it's very nice to meet you all. However, you're clearly here to discuss something far more important than simple introductions," Hiyama went on. "Ted, for example."
"How did you know him?" Miku asked as she settled into her chair. Len watched Hiyama's expression soften as if reflected on something fondly.
"I had the pleasure of teaching him science," he said with a smile. "He was certainly the most brilliant student I've ever taught. He always loved to be challenged and so I was always throwing difficult questions his way. He had a way of handling everything and often threw me off as a teacher. Though he never did it obnoxiously or to gain praise or superiority. He simply did it and then if I asked him to explain he could." Hiyama stopped abruptly. "Which is why if affected me so greatly when he went missing. All of the Kasane family in fact."
"What do you mean missing?" Mikuo broke in. "His sister Teto has been going to school with us before we even knew." Relief sapped into Hiyama.
"So they're at least alive," he breathed thankfully.
"At least his sister is."
"Or was," Luka muttered dryly. Len cleared his throat as Hiyama's face darkened with renewed distress.
"What she means is Teto's gone again and we're looking for them," Len corrected.
"It would be greatly appreciated if you could tell us anything you know about the Kasane family situation," Mikuo said in a courteous manner. Hiyama gripped the back of the chair and took a deep breath in preparation.
"What you have to know about Ted is that he was brilliant and exceptionally gifted. He had recommendations from such a wide variety of people, though he was never of a gregarious nature. His moral compass was what made him so," Hiyama paused for the right word. "Phenomenal. He certainly knew how to connect with people. He worked so hard to set a good example for that sister of his. Loved her to death, that girl. I'd always been trying to get him into a fine university. The very best for his interests, I wanted to see him excel more than anything. He had everything he needed to go straight into post secondary with all the scholarships and grants he'd received, but he said he wanted some time to think on his decisions."
Len listened to every word but he couldn't stop a sickening feeling that this was going nowhere fast.
Hiyama swallowed. "It was only after graduation, when he still hung around the school as a tutor on his days off from work, that I started to notice subtle changes. He seemed stressed and tense. He kept doors open and seemed to take inventory of how many people were in the room often. Frequently Ted would look up as if he'd heard some sound that we were all deaf to. He kept asking if any of us had seen a suspicious character coming around recently and asking about him."
"Did Ted ever mention what he looked like?" Len interrupted. Luka shot him a dirty look.
"No." Len narrowed is eyes.
"And what other behaviours followed?"
"That's the thing," Hiyama began, "it all suddenly stopped. So I thought whatever it had been, Ted had finally solved the problem and he was happy. Two days later he disappeared and I could find no trace of him. Everyone I asked who'd known him simply said he'd finally headed off to university and when I went to his family home another family was living there claiming the Kasanes had sold their home and moved."
The room was silent as Hiyama finished. Len was the first to stand.
"Did you keep looking?" Mikuo questioned after noting the impatience on Len's face.
"Of course I did!" Hiyama shouted incredulously as if the fact Mikuo had dared to question him was offensive. "I found nothing. Not a hair, not an address, not a single disturbance. The entire family vanished. I thought perhaps Ted and the rest of his family was dead. It has been so many years."
"How many?" Len asked.
Dark circles under Hiyama's eyes suddenly seemed more defined. "At least a decade, if even that."
"Did you file a missing person report?" Miku broke it. Her teal eyes suddenly alight with curiosity.
"I did. Thought nothing ever became of it. They said they'd keep a look out for bodies but-" Hiyama's voice drifted off. Mikuo leaned back in his seat. The room went silent as everyone focused on Hiyama.
"But what?" Len echoed.
"The search was so brief that it felt wrong. Like they'd known in advance that he could not be found. It was only years after that I truly reflected upon how much time they'd given to the search."
"Understandable since you'd been grieving," Mikuo stated soothingly. Hiyama looked at him with something close to gratitude.
"So he is alive then?" Hiyama asked with an odd sort of calm laced with hope.
"Yes, as far as we know Ted Kasane is alive along with his sister," Mikuo said.
"But still missing," Luka said with simple directness.
"Still missing," Hiyama repeated. That was when he stepped closer to Len with a look of desperation on his face.
"Look, I don't need to know your reasons for how you're all involved in this, just please find the Kasane family. Ted is- He's-"
The one student I truly felt I taught right
Len finished for him when the words never came out.
"We'll find him," Len assured as everyone else got up and left the room. Len was the last to leave. He couldn't help but watch how Hiyama limply sagged into a chair like a doll. He buried his face in his hands in a pose Len knew he'd be sitting in as well in a couple of years if he didn't find Rin.
. . .
When Rin woke up she was not in her bed. She found herself in a alley way lined with litter and trashcans that leaked greasy liquid onto the rough cobblestone. Harsh buildings of brick surrounded her pouring thick black smoke from ill placed chimneys into the alley. She was shaken greatly until she began to be pulled along depite never lifting a foot. It took her a moment to realize that Yuma stood in the alley with her for his hair was not the luminous pink she remmbered. He'd blackened it thoroughly with soot that his hair truly looked as if it had always been naturally dark. There was nothing he could do about his eyes so he kept his eyes lowered as he stalked his way through the streets.
The streets were darker than Rin remembered, yet night had not fallen. This town Yuma had lived in was unusual in that way, for it always portrayed the feelings of it's citizens or changed hues based on events like it possessed a premolition. As if it too like Ia knew of things before they happened. Yet they still walked and Rin felt that she was the only one unsettled by the darkness. It was eerie how empty the streets were. Rin recalled that everyone had gathered in the plaza awaiting Yuma's execution. She could hear faint music in the distance though it did nothing to alleviate the gloom. How long would it be till they realized that Ia had not killed him as she should've and demanded justice?
It was only when they were closing in on Zedalia's residence that Yuma drifted back into the shadows of the property's many trees. A tingling swept over her neck as she realized Yuma had pulled back not because of danger but because Zedalia was chatting to someone. The man who stood with her had blue horns curling from his forehead as well as a barbed blue tail swishing idly from where it escaped a crude suit. From how Zedalia quickly ushered him away from the front door it was clear to see that she did not want him going into the house. Instead she shut the door behind her and walked swiftly towards and aloclove attached to the garden. She swept them under the thick garden arch decorated with grey vines and they were both hidden from Yuma's view. Yuma didn't move closer because he could hear them. For once he was rather greateful to his grandfather for all the harsh training in listening, which at the time Yuma had dubbed a pointless skill, but now appreciated.
"He is not here then?" A thick gravelly voice asked. Rin knew it was the demon.
"He is not. He got himself captured and the humans are hosting an event to execute him," Zedalia said calmly.
"I never knew Yuma to be so weak as to be captured by humans," the demon said with quiet amazement. "I suppose he is not as strong as we have believed him to be."
"Don't be a half-wit," Zedalia snapped. "Of course he's not that weak. He went willingly and if you dare to challenge him it will end badly for you so let the thought be banished from your mind."
"I cannot wait any longer, Zedalia," the demon growled. "I want to have what is rightfully mine."
"And so you will get the child as well as the position after I raise him to kill Yuma. However it will take time. This is something we cannot rush," Zedalia said with finality.
When Rin looked at Yuma he had gone very pale, and his knuckles were white as he clenched them. She could feel the fury radiating from him with an unbearable heat like an inferno. What Rin saw in his eyes caused her to stumble away from him in sickening fear. There was no light in his eyes. There was only darkness so thick that it billowed off him in a suffocating cloud. She remembered that Zedalia had once swore she would not betray him. How foolish he had been to believe her. Yet there was no guilt, only a collected murderous desire to ruin.
"I want my position now, my love," the demon sighed with exhaustion and for a moment nothing was said. Though Rin knew through Yuma that Zedalia and the demon had kissed.
"In due time. This child will love us so strongly that he will not even know when we kill him and seize power for ourselves." The intensity of her desire for power was rich in her tone and Yuma knew that she was lying to the demon before her. She would use them all in order to be on top. It had been the main reason she'd repulsed him when he'd first met her and Rin shared in the feeling. Though Ia would frown upon it. Though Ia without a doubt already knew what was about to happen Yuma could not stop himself. Tonight he would indulge his darker side just as Zedalia had always told him to do. The first slaughter of the night started with the demon. Rin cowered away from the memory but she still heard the sounds.
The next memory that came into focus instantly troubled Rin. She knew this room for it looked like an exact replica of the wedding room Luki had shown her. The only difference was that the room was done up in pink and black. She knew instantly that it was a wedding which unsettled her greatly. This would be the first demon wedding she actually saw for she could not remember her own to Luki. Rin stared with wonder as Yuma stood by the arch of pink and black flowers. His pink hair was neat and he was intoxicatingly handsome in a black suit with pink cuffs. It was the inherent evil, the intention to do harm in his gaze that stole her breath away. Dread slickened Rin's skin as Zedalia entered the room in a gorgeous pink dress with a long train. The arms of the dress had delicate lace that showed off Zedalia's pale skin. Rin had no love for Zedalia but she was terribly worried about her brother inside her womb. Zedalia still didn't show typical signs of human pregnacy. Yet Rin knew that Zedalia was only a week away from giving birth. Rin was filled with a fierce duty to protect her brother yet she could do nothing for this was a memory.
Zedalia reached the altar with gracful steps that flattered her figure. She gazed up at Yuma with such love that Rin briefly believed the woman did love her father. They spoke vows in a sweet language that flowed like music but Rin was not fooled. She grew increasingly more sick as the ceremony carried on. At some point Yuma kneeled and Zedalia leaned forward. Zedalia placed her hand on his and Yuma kissed each of her delicate fingers as if they were made of glass.
"Are you afraid?" Yuma said tenderly but Zedalia merely smiled and met his gaze with challenge. Rin tensed and stepped closer so she could take in every action that happened between them.
"I'm not afraid of you or anyone be they man, demon, or angel," Zedalia declared. Rin watched Yuma bite down hard on his lip so that it bleed. Zedalia gazed at him hungrily before she did the same. Yuma's eyes were a taunt. The rage in them was no longer on the surface. There was only sadistic amusement. Rin wondered if this was the moment that had changed her father into the demon she knew today.
"But you are afraid of some things, my darling." Her eyes taunted him right back.
"Then what am I afraid of?" Zedalia seemed smug. Then Yuma rose and drew her in close. So close she could see the glint in his eyes that hid something darker. His breath was hot on her face and tinged with the metallic smell of blood.
"Me of course," his whisper was soft, but possessed no shortage of rage. It was a whisper like a vise and Zedalia froze.
Rin saw that Zedalia was trapped in Yuma's gaze as darkness roiled through his eyes with sinuous life. She seemed suddenly self concious of each breath she took as Yuma tangled a hand in her long, black hair. Rin knew that he couldn't bear looking at her. Rin couldn't bear to watch Zedalia so trapped like a deer in the headlights. She could feel Zedalia's life being threatened as well as her brother's and she felt a stab in her chest. She did not want this woman to die no matter how treacherous. Rin did not know her brother so she knew that on this night Zedalia had died.
"You fear me enough to plot my destruction."
Then he traced her cheekbone and Zedalia said nothing. Yuma looked at her with such loathing that Zedalia flinched as if she'd been struck. She stood speechless and exposed. Multiple expressions flickering through her gaze as she tried to sort out how Yuma had discovered her plot, as well as how to assure him that what he'd heard were rumors and lies. Even if it were the truth. Yuma grasped her chin, forcing her head back so that he could see every detail of her beautiful, traitorous face.
"You know, my dear," he stated calmly, "I thought you'd at least plan something far more crafty." Zedalia swallowed visibly; her voice came in a weak whisper.
"Yuma, what are you talking about? I don't understand," she gasped as his grip tightened on her chin and her expression settled on confusion. "Please, you're hurting me."
"You haven't even begun to learn what hurt is if your pain capacity only stretches this far," his voice cold and full of contempt. There was a promise of violence so sure that Zedalia trembled fiercely and tried to break free of his grasp but to no avail. Nausea roiled in Rin's stomach and made her throat burn.
"Yuma please, you're frightening me. This is a happy day. Our wedding day," she articulated. Yuma laughed. A dejected evil sound.
"Even in peril you still thirst for power. Well then, I shall give it to you."
The next thing Rin knew, Yuma was kissing Zedalia. He kissed her fiercely, but there was no true passion. Not a single trace of love that should be commemorating this day. He forcefully fed her his blood with his kisses and took hers in though it burned like poison going down. All of Zedalia's fear was drowned out by the lust that arose in her. Yuma was no fool. He knew that she did not love him. She was in love with the power he represented. That was what aroused her. From the very beginning there had been no Yuma to her, merely a means to an end.
Yet his hands sank possessively into her skin and blood dribbled down Zedalia's chin. Her every breath was choked off and her moans were muffled. The flowers on the arch behind them bloomed and hummed with life, Rin watched as the velvet black flowers withered and the pink flowers were radiant as they glowed in the moonlight. Rin watched Yuma's hand sank into Zedalia's chest and only then did Zedalia's eyes shoot open with horror. Rin screamed though Yuma could not hear her. This memory was ugly. This memory was tainted and she didn't want to see anymore. She couldn't break away, the connection was painful, intense, it seared her chest and her legs slipped from underneath her. It was a memory and she could not interact. Could not stop what was happening as it had already passed.
Yuma gripped something vital and Zedalia thrashed violently but could not free herself. He yanked his arm back viciously and Zedalia went limp instantly. In the next instant, Yuma shoved away from her as if he couldn't stand to touch her for another moment. Yet even as Yuma held Zedalia's beating heart in his hand she still breathed and lived. His hand curled around it and his thumb brushed gently against it's erratic pulse.
Zedalia reached out for him but Yuma kicked her hand away with indifference. Rin's throat was as dry as bone.
"I need yours," Zedalia said breathlessly she reached out a hand to him and there was a harsh lurch in Yuma's chest as his heart tried to complete the ceremony. "I need yours to-"
"Except you won't get it," his tone was matter of fact. Rin's eyes darted quickly between them and she realized Zedalia the ceremony wasn't going to be finished. Yuma had other plans buried underneath all the blood lust bleeding into Rin from him. Rin watched as the woman choked on a laugh. A sneer distorting her face.
"Do you really think nobody will notice my absence?"
"Believe me my dear, I know they will come. Let them. I'm almost tempted to keep you around so you can bear witness as I drill it into them that they cannot escape me, have even the proudest of your kin beg for their lives, and then have you watch as I slaughter them all." He said the words with a malevolence that made Zedalia waver. Her eyes were huge and gray in the moonlight.
"You would not anger my entire clan by killing-" The white hot flare of his dagger slicing savagely into her heart broke her sentence off in an animalistic scream. Rin recognized Ein right away by the angelic fire that seared the heart. It struggled to heal and Rin nearly wretched as she watched the muscle that did not heal blacken and crumple like paper. Zedalia heaved. Her delicate skin breaking into bulbous masses of scaled skin that folded thickly on itself. Her eyes were the color of human blood and bulged in her face. She struggled to retain her human visage and flicked in and out of it like a glitch.
"Yu...ma..." she choked on his name. "Even if I do not survive there are others." The words didn't have the desired affect on Yuma. He merely smiled with the kind of sickening glee only killers have.
Only the flourish of blonde hair so bright it was almost white stopped Yuma's next attack of cruelty. Ein had materialized and Yuma no longer gripped his blade. She gaze at him worriedly from beneath alluring long lashes. Her eyes didn't have their usual paleness in accordance to her fair skin. A flattering emerald dress hugged her figure.
"Master Yuma, your soul," she cautioned with her melodic voice. Yuma offered her the heart but she gazed at him with no less concern.
"Destroy this, Ein," the command was cold and hard. Zedalia attempted to crawl towards them but she slithered dreadfully slow.
Ein's eyes flashed their pale red. "Destroying this female's heart during this ceremony will kill her. If you kill her-" Yuma turned his lethal glare on Ein and she bowed. "As you wish. And your son, Master Yuma?"
"Him too." He said it without any emotion, not even a flicker. He spoke with the surety of someone who was not filled with remorse for what was about to happen. Nor was he going to be haunted by it.
Zedalia clutched protectively at her stomach. Rin tried to grab her father. Tried to force him to change his mind but she went through him and bit her tongue as she fell to the ground.
"You can't!" Zedalia hacked. He felt Ein's gaze upon him as he stared at Zedalia with indifference.
"Yuma-"
"Harvest their power but destroy their hearts." He turned to Ein, eyes as unforgiving as black ice. "That is an order, Ein."
Rin's face felt wet and as she reached up she felt hot tears. She could do nothing but watch as Ein stepped forward and gripped the screaming Zedalia. Zedalia sobbed viciously
Ein muttered something as she vanished
"Even though you gave him a name."
Then the room was silent.
Rin's face was wet with tears once she was awake. She had a scream stuck in her throat, and her heart beat so hard it threatened to burst through her chest. Frightened on the deepest level as she was her tears wouldn't stop. Rin searched frantically for a light as her panic continued to escalate. She felt sick. What had Yuma done? She'd had a brother and he'd killed him. He'd coldly murdered his own son before he'd really lived. Light burst forth into the room but her scrabbling fingers had not touched the light.
The soft warmth illuminated the room and she took in her surroundings. Her room startlingly assuring to see after she'd sat in the darkness. Rin shook her head. There was no way Yuma had actually killed- yet when she really thought about the merciless man she knew, her mouth went dry. With a vicious desire to know she pushed off the sheets and stumbled into the hall. They were still lit despite the hour and the hall spun in a kaleidoscope of colors. The lights shook until they were doused and the hallway was bereft of light, she felt stabilized.
How could Yuma have killed her brother? How could she have not seen such a thing coming? Why had she forced herself to forget so many important things? Her fiance, her dead brother, her mother, her father, her childhood, why? Why? She knew her next move. She'd simply search her father's office. There had to be something in there that told her something about him, about her brother. The large doors opened silently but Rin still felt nervous as she entered the office. It felt like uncharted territory. It was dark and ominous here, with Yuma's desk thick and oppressive. The room wasn't sick with his presence. It didn't suffocate her with his power. And it was empty.
With clammy hands she went to the desk and started pulling open some of the drawers. Her sweaty hands on the crystal handles of the drawers oddly left no fingerprints. The items in his drawers were sparse and unimportant. Nothing but unimportant office supplies. Rin sighed but she kept looking. A flicker of movement caught her eye. She looked around frantically but saw no one. Her eyes did spot a journal that she would've overlooked had she not been sitting in his chair. It was in her hands a moment later and she hadn't even crossed the room.
She hungrily opened the journal. Desperate for knowledge, desperate to know. All that was in the journal was slanted text and symbols. Harsh strokes that echoed anger, desperation, and sorrow. It hurt to look at. It burned to read. She dropped the book but it merely floated in the air and returned neatly to the shelf. A photo fell out of the journal as it returned to the shelf. The photo floated over to her and she couldn't look away from it. She recognized her father instantly: his hair fell perfectly, he looked younger with happiness evident in his eyes as he stared at a woman. Something caught in Rin's throat as she stared at the woman. Her mother was the same delicate beauty Rin remembered.
Clutched in her mother's arms was an even more fragile babe with delicate blonde hair. Rin's breath left her in a gasp as her eyes swept over herself in her mothers arms and settled on a boy who clutched her mother's hand. His hair was a luminous bright pink that matched her eyes. He looked away shyly in the photo with a slight blush to his cheeks.
"He's alive...?" Rin whispered to herself. "How? What exactly..." She leaned forward and absorbed every detail of the photograph. Biting down on her lip she stared, trying to focus. His name was Lucarious. Rin shook her head, no, Lukirious. She had to concentrate. This boy who was still alive in the picture. Her brother that had somehow survived. Lukirious...Lukirious... Rin's eyes shot open. Luk-
"Are you finding what you need?"
Rin's blood froze.
Jerking, she looked up to see Yuma standing at the office door. Her held the door open, was barefoot, and wore silk sleep wear. Rin wasn't sure if he'd been sleeping, but his hair wasn't as neat as it could've been. His skin gleamed in the pale light as he walked from the door to the front of the desk. He moved with a grace that Rin knew could turn lethal at any moment. His hair gleamed sliver in the moonlight and added to the effect though he didn't seem angry. Rin was undecided on whether to run or stay.
"Ah," he said as he leaned over and gazed at the picture in her hand. "I see you found a family photo."
The room suddenly felt several octaves colder, but Rin held her ground. Her father's gaze was as piercing as always. Taking measure of her. Examining her as if she were a specimen on a slide. Rin forced back a shiver. She felt like a gazelle in front of a lion.
"What do you want with me?" Rin asked and was surprised her voice didn't tremble. Yuma's smile was not kind.
"The better question is what you'd like from me, Rin."
Yuma couldn't give her back her memories. He wouldn't shut down the agency or release any of his workers. She wasn't free to leave. This place was a prison even though she was free to walk around. There was one thing. One single thing he could do for her.
"Where's my brother?" Yuma seemed startled all of a sudden, but also generally confused.
"What?"
"What did you do with my brother," Rin shouted, the chair rocking as she stood. Her anger and disgust clashed in equal caliber and swirled about her.
"You have no brother, Rin."
"Liar," Rin whispered. She thrusted a finger at the boy in picture. "Who's this boy? If he's not my brother then why isn't Yuzuki in this photo as well." Rin felt tears rolling down her cheeks, they weren't of her own volition. "I saw you kill her. I watched you give the order for Ein to kill Zedalia."
She saw Yuma's eyes widen and then he smiled. His smile was perfect and merciless...and horrifying.
"Do you think I'm sorry? I'd do it again if I had the chance. Far slower this time." She barely slipped free of the sickening glee in his eyes. She was already on her way out and he simply let her walk. She heard his voice behind her and it lashed at her skin like cold metal. "The doors to my office can only be breached by those who can use their powers, you kno."
Rin was desperate to get to her room again. She could still feel the frost of Yuma's voice and ached to curl up in bed where it would be warm. Each step she took caused her to wobble in a dazed manner as she thought about what Yuma had told her. She had no brother because he'd been killed by Yuma. Yet the boy in the pink picture looked far too much like Yuma to not be of importance. Suddenly Rin was yanked sharply aside. Her response was subconscious. Rin ducked under the arm that had grabbed her so that she was in front of the figure, her own arm crushed against the stranger's throat.
The figure slapped at her arm and choked out a sentence, "Ri-Rin let go."
Rin's arms were instantly at her sides. "T-Teto?"
"Shut up, we need to go."
And then she was hurrying behind Teto on a path that had seem selected for both of them.
"Teto, what's happening?"
"Ted said we needed to get outside," Teto said with pragmatism as she flashed her hand. "He threw something on my wrist and it hurt like hell. Then he made it very clear that we had to get outside." Rin's head swirled.
"Is he coming?" Teto nodded. Rin felt uneasy. She felt as if she should pursue the matter further. That this thread was attached to something Ted had deliberately not told Teto. Rin knew Yuma was up. This couldn't be right. As they made their way outside Rin yanked on Teto's sleeve. They stopped in a part where dense trees met the agency walls. Teto came to an abrupt hault with obvious irritation.
"Rin, Ted said-"
"Don't you think something's wrong?" Rin stressed. "Don't you feel it in the air?"
"Ted told me we had to get out right now," Teto hissed. "He said he's right behind me."
Then Teto took one of Rin's hands in hers and pressed the other firmly to the invisible wall that hummed and kept those who were marked by Yuma inside the agency walls. Rin gasped as fire shot up her arm where it connected with the field. The barrier parted to her with a sigh of liquid and her hand sank through the barrier. Bright lights flashed through her vision and visions flashed through her gaze. Her energy took a sharp drain but she didn't wobble. She pulled Teto through with her and they both fell into the brush once they passed through the barrier. Something with great force pushed them the remainder of the way. Rin bore most of the impact and Teto was left unharmed.
"Rin, Ted said you'd know what to do from here," Teto's voice came but Rin heard it as if she'd been immersed in water. The landscape outside the agency building that led up to it glowed with sharp clarity. Everything in her vision was saturated in blue and she felt it. Her heart throbbed and the air in her lungs escaped in a woosh. She felt detached from her body and gasped as if icy water and struck her back. It swallowed her under, as vicious and unforgiving as the sea, she heard Teto's muted gasp before she was swallowed. Felt the brush of her own fingers as her other self tried to stop her from falling. All were to no avail.
Rin saw herself as if she were a camera looking in. A haunting tune played as she began to step forward. Her own hair a striking white-gold whip away from her face as if a harsh wind had blown. Something else inside her made her stand with Teto's hand still clasped tightly in her own. Her vision acelerated forward at an incredible speed. Her blue eyes lit up with impecable blue neon light that seared their image into her mind. Rin panicked as she watched herself and her mind throbbed in agony until the images cleared and made sense. he could suddenly see the direct route out of the agency.
Her body didn't move. Not until she gave an order. She watched herself suddenly move forward with feline, and lethal grace she hadn't known she still possessed. She moved as if she knew the landscape's every flaw and she never fell. That's when she saw a gorgeous wedding dress with an untainted trail running unburdened and untouched by her vision. There was no mistaking the fair hair of her mother as she ran from the agency. Rin reached out for her but as soon as her hands brushed against the delicate lace it crumbled. Thick wet blood shot up the dress and her mother's run became jerking motions in a struggle for life. Rin's vision shattered and a scream ripped from her throat.
Rin was slammed back into her body and Teto's hand was firmly over her mouth to smother the scream. Rin trembled enough to shake Teto on top of her. Her panic raced wild through her veins and the next voice she heard only served to ignite it further.
"Now now girls, I know you haven't yet left the yard. I we would all be far less troubled if you came out of your own free will. I will not force you. Please show yourselves before this evening has to get...unpleasant." Yuma's voice came calmly but there was warning in it.
Teto's eyes narrowed and she went still. Rin was back to herself and she'd never been more thankful. Her hair had been radiate as a beacon. Yuma's sigh seemed to surround them.
"Very well, girls." Rin saw him through a small part in the trees. He stood in the courtyard with a warm expression the total opposite of his voice. It took her a moment to notice everyone else who was gathered in the courtyard. "Ladies and gentleman, may I make known to you a man I'm sure all of you already know well. Luki, if you would please."
Rin's eyes shot open with horror as Luki guided a groggy Ted into the center of the yard. A small sound left Rin as she saw the cuts on his swollen face. Ted dropped to his knees and Rin heard Teto whimper as Luki gently kicked Ted down: Ted's hands were bound. Yuma walked around Ted in a circle making grand gestures. Rin's grip tightened on Teto's hand. She would go to her brother otherwise.
"This is Ted Kasane. My most trusted advisor though recently he hasn't proved to be all that trustworthy." Rin felt Teto twitch. "This is the Ted Kasane you are all aqquainted with," Yuma declared. "And yet he is the same Ted who is willing to sacrifice you all for his own personal gain. He was willing to let my unstable daughter free upon the world without so much as a care."
Yuma going suddenly silent let it sink in.
"Teto Kasane and my daughter are out here in this yard," Yuma said with a smile. "Girls, I will not force you to come to me. I am a forgiving man. However if you do come willingly I will not harm Mr. Kasane. Now girls, I'll give you till the count of three to step out into the open. You will not be harmed and neither will Ted: I am forgiving. Nobody needs to get hurt here and I'd hate to make an example out of Ted whom I hold so dear."
Rin heard Teto swear and mutter something about Yuma not caring about anyone. Rin didn't disagree. Though Teto itched to go to her brother the two girls stayed still. Neither saying anything anymore. Afraid a single breath would give away their position.
"If you held me so dear, why did you kill my parents?" Ted choked out before he spat blood on the grass. It was thick, sticky, and sank away from sight.
"I'm afraid all lives require certain sacrifice at times," Yuma stated sadly. "I did not do such a thing with malice in my heart, Ted. I truly cared for them. They received the prettiest graves."
"Rin, take Teto and run!" Ted shouted.
"Right then," Yuma said with a hard sigh. "I suppose I'll have to begin a rather cliche and childish count down." Rin was as solid as obsidian as Yuma gazed in their direction. Her throat was instantly raw. He knew exactly where they were but would not come get them. He preferred to torture Ted till they gave way.
"You have till the count of three before this situation heads in a direction I did not want it to proceed to," his voice was detached from all feelings of guilt and mercy. It was a cold, hard order. Teto hesitated.
"One."
Teto stared at Rin urgently. She was panicking and Rin had no answers.
"Two."
"Rin-" Teto hissed.
"Luki said they won't kill him, Teto. We have to go," Rin stressed.
"But we won't away now, they've got us."
"Teto we have to run."
"Three." Rin focused on slowly getting up. She had to get Teto out of here. "Ah, what a shame, Ted. Seems the girls don't value your safety as much as they value their petty escape."
"Girls, go alread-" Then Yuma hit Ted: hard. Rin heard the sickening crack and watched the vicious force Ted hit the ground with. He wasn't dead but Rin knew from the way the punch was thrown. Ted's jaw was broken. Teto screamed and moved to run to her brother but Rin's grip was a vise.
"I didn't want it to come to this, Kasane," Yuma sounded greatly disappointed. He yanked Ted by his hair and a cry came from Ted. Teto jerked again. Then Rin watched with horror as Yuma hit Ted's already swollen face again and again. Each hit sprayed frash blood over her father's bed clothes. Teto's fingers dug into Rin's flesh but Rin didn't feel it. Teto thrashed violently and gave away their position.
"He's going to kill him!" she shrieked.
"Luki said he wouldn't!"
"And you believed him?" Teto screamed, her voice a hoarse inhuman cry. "He's a liar! Ted! Ted!" But Rin didn't let go, even as tears leaked down Teto's cheeks. Yuma just kept hitting Ted. It never ended, his grip never slackened, but Ted did. It startled Rin when she found herself jerked into the open courtyard.
"Stop! Please stop..." Teto cried. A gurgle came from Ted and Yuma's smile on them was dark. Rin felt like she was looking into the abyss. Yuma's knee connecting with Ted's face was the last hit.
"There you two are." Yuma chuckled before Lily stepped forward and handed him a handkerchief and he cleaned his hands like he'd just finished dinner. Rin glared at him but his smile never broke. Teto rushed over to her brother and sobbed as she surveyed the damage.
"Girls, inside if you would," Yuma said with a casual gesture.
"Oh, what has he done to you," Teto sobbed. Tears rained down her cheeks as she pulled her brother close and was soaked in his blood. "Ted, god, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm not strong enough to separate from you."
Yuma's cold gaze surveyed the crowded employees. They were huddled together and mortified like weak cattle before a predator.
"For those of you Ted has sparked hope in, treachery is unbeneficial and is utterly unfathomable. You will not succed. Let this be a lesson to you all." New ice brewed in Yuma's voice. "I know all that goes on inside this agency. There is no escape. I will adapt things to your liking because none of you shall leave it. Do I make myself understood?" By the time he finished he was glarin. Everyone remained silent. Yuma's expression darkened and the earth around them began to shake violently. "Do I make myself clear!"
Everyone nods and there is a chorus of yes's.
"Return to your duties," he ordered and everyone fled from the courtyard but not without the occasional glance at Ted. Rin didn't speak as she was escorted back to her room by Luki. Her glare was all that spoke for her. Finally Luki turned to her.
"You got something you want to say to me?" He asked.
"I thought you said he wouldn't kill Ted!" Rin shouted
"And he didn't." Rin's expression darkened but tears also welled in her eyes.
"Is that your answer? Simply because we came back?" There was an emptiness in his eyes that angered Rin.
"You asked me if Yuma would kill Ted and I told you he wouldn't. Yuma wouldn't have killed him. He would've reduced Ted to nothing but a puppet in a vegative state mentally and Yuma would've been the puppeteer. So tell me which Rin, do you think is the lesser fate of the two?" She rose her hand to slap him but he caught her wrist. "There are worse things in this agency than death." He dropped her hand then and stalked away from her.
"The taking away of free will isn't a kind of killing to you?" Rin shouted in an accusatory tone but Luki didn't stop. She entered her room and trashed it. She ripped everything to intelligible pieces and only then did she allow herself the cry that lulled her into sleep.