Chapter 16: Threats Lurking
Did I… did I hear those words right…? I'm imagining things, right?
An uncomfortable shiver crawls its way down my spine. The icy winds taunt me, its breath inching closer to my neck.
"I really am sorry, Kaito-san." Gakupo murmurs almost inaudibly, and while there's a hint of regret slipping through, I'm not sure it's enough to convince me entirely.
I'm probably standing here gawking all wide-eyed at him right about now. My lower lip is quivering, but probably just from the harsh cold beginning to seep into my body all over again. "I… How am I even supposed to dignify that with an answer?" After a long pause, that's all I can come out with.
"I don't know," he says, breaking eye contact and glancing off to the darkening sunset. "Most of my memories regarding the trials are blurry. On that first night, I… I remember Dell-san told you to put your team's planning sheets on his bedside table, under his lamp or something…" He screws his eyes shut in that moment, as though straining to recall.
"Unbelievable..." I scoff, in utter disbelief. My gut instinct, naturally, is burning frustration. Damn it, I'm so… so stupid…! I feel betrayed, even though we aren't that close to begin with. Had that been his plan all along? To split our friendship group up back at school, and mess everything else up from there? Wait, but… That can only mean… Narrowing my eyes, I sharpen my glare and growl in a low tone. "How do I know you and your friends aren't the ones messing with dark energy? You, your green-haired girlfriend, and those uptight twin friends of yours." Without really thinking, those toxic words spew straight from my mouth – the most vile demeanour I've displayed in all my life being set loose. Cold and cruel, like a completely different person has taken over me.
"H-Huh…?" A shaky gasp escapes his lips.
That faint hint of shock is enough to shatter it and pull me back to reality in a split second. Gaining some control over myself, I look to him, seeing nothing but fear reflecting in his now watery eyes. "Wh-Whoa, I..." I slap a palm over my mouth, stunned. However… There's a strong urge nagging away deep inside me, telling me to keep going. Don't tell me… this is what the control is like…? A drop of sweat trickles down the side of my head.
"No, I… I swear, I don't know what compelled me to do it…!" Gakupo's usual calm, composed facade drops, revealing that he's normal and he's scared, just like everybody else. There's a flash of what I can only describe to be terror both in his eyes and on his face, but despite getting a glimpse into his mind like that, the little voice in my head wants me to break him down even further.
Shit. Focus, Kaito. Don't let the darkness into your head… Don't let it win… My breathing grows shallow. There's a splitting pain in my head the more I resist.
"K-Kaito-san…?" Gakupo must've taken notice of my strange switch in behaviour. It's funny. I can acknowledge every little thing happening around me, but for the life of me, I physically can't snap out of it. I can only clamp my hand down harder against my mouth, knowing if I don't stop myself, I'm going to say some seriously hurtful things. "Hang in there, Kaito-san!"
The world around me is starting to get a bit blurry. I can't keep this up – fighting it is too much. The dark energy must be concentrated somewhere around here, but it's impossible to tell where exactly it's coming from… And it's even harder to stop… "Nngh…!" Another quick, sharp pain in the head. I can't feel my toes. They've grown numb, frozen on the spot, and my fingers feel like they're about to drop off.
Gakupo grabs hold of my shoulders, providing a slight bit of warmth, which helps me from slipping any further into total mind control. "I got you, Kaito-san. We need to get back indoors, away from here. C'mon… Lean on me..."
His words are muffled. I can vaguely understand what he's telling me, but the voice in my head is increasing in volume with each passing second, not to mention the incessant ringing in my ears. I think I'm starting to understand what he means. Pursing my lips together tightly, only taking in small breaths through my nose, I collapse forward, planting my forehead against his chest. For some reason, the remaining rational part of me seeks his warmth to feel safe.
I allow him to drag me out of the freezing cold, leaning against him with all my dead weight. It's weird… The closer we come back to entering the strange palace, it's as though someone ignited a spark deep inside me. I should be shivering, teeth chattering and all, but there's a gradual warmth spreading through my body.
I can feel Gakupo trudging forward, wobbling ever so slightly from side to side with me. All I can do is stare straight ahead, lifelessly, waiting for it to pass. He's able to open the door with his free hand, ramming his shoulder against it to speed up the process. "Haah…!" A weary huff escapes him.
I believe the toxic thoughts have finally passed. However, it still feels like I'm on fire. Squinting my eyes, I take in the deepest breath I can to try and steady myself, but it's no good. There's a fire burning a hole in my chest or something, and the feverish sensation only worsens. Eyelids drooping, I mutter some jumbled nonsense that closely resembles, "S-Stop… I need… to rest for a sec..."
Gakupo stops in his tracks at that, with a trace of hesitance. "We should head back down to the others. You're in bad shape."
I don't think my legs can carry me much further just yet. "Just… go along with what I'm saying… for once," I hiss.
"Alright, alright," comes his compliance. "Here, you don't mind resting on the floor, do you?"
I shake my head once, and with his help, he lowers us both down. I end up sort of plopping onto my knees; it's uncomfortable, but it can't be any worse than what I experienced outside. The dizziness and blurred vision is starting to pass, and the strange voice in my head has faded into a mere memory.
He sets himself next to me, crossing his legs in a more comfy position. When I'm able to bring myself to finally flick a glance at him, I find that he's already staring intently at me. An intense, concerned stare. "There must be dark energy here, too." With a gulp, he speaks.
I'm sweating like crazy right now. My forehead's probably all sticky, not to mention other places. Now that the control is subsiding, I'm left perplexed. "I… I'm sorry if I acted like a dick out there..." To be honest, I can't even remember what I said. It's buried away deep in the corner of my mind now. All I currently know is that I can't stand the leftover fever.
"It's the same thing that happened to me," Gakupo responds, in a weak mutter. He pulls his eyes from mine, linking his fingers and starting to fidget with them. "I didn't want to believe what Xingchen and her friends told us. That's why I stormed out. But… Witnessing the way you spiralled out of control in an instant..." His words trail off, and he lets out a half-hearted little chuckle.
I press my palms against the cool floor, slowly shaking my head, speechless for a while. "I… was kinda scared..." Narrowing my eyes slightly, I glance straight ahead past his shoulder, letting my raw emotions slip out. After such a powerful negative experience, there's no hiding the after-effects even if I tried.
Gakupo sneaks a quick look up, a brief flash of a sympathetic smile pulling at his lips. "Mmh… Me, too. Seeing it happen right in front of me… Fuck, I was so worried."
I kind of feel normal again. Soon it'll all be in the past, and I can forget it ever happened. I'm not sure if I should even mention it to the others. I don't want to needlessly freak them out. "This is serious, isn't it?" I hate to even acknowledge it.
A long, drawn-out sigh passes his slightly parted lips, as if going over it in his head for a moment. "I was in denial for so long about it," he says. "Guess this is the wake up call I needed. Uh… Of course, the circumstances of how I came to believe is rather… um, unfortunate."
A grin pulls at the corner of my mouth. I shouldn't be laughing at such a serious time, but the way he's tripping over himself to avoid causing offence is… cute. The way he scrunches up his nose, little wrinkles forming and all, while scrambling for something polite to say. God, what is wrong with me?
"How are you feeling, anyway?" At the end of that mini-disaster, I see a subtle grimace before he asks about me.
"Oh, uh..." Good question. I tilt my head back a bit, scanning my glance over the beautiful ballroom. No more disorientation, no more throbbing headache. Making sure that I'm able to take in my surroundings without any more weird side effects, I nod to myself in confirmation before looking right back at him. "Could be better, but y'know, aside from that, I think I'm back to normal." Except for that leftover warmth in my cheeks and weird tingling feeling in my chest. Is that normal? Maybe it's the rush of cold.
"Well, as normal as we can be on a desolate planet." Gakupo remarks, scoffing bitterly. "I can't believe this place used to be bursting with life, until some unknown threat ended it all in the blink of an eye..."
"Mmh," I grumble in agreement. It's too creepy to give it more than a passing thought. I wonder what the apparent 'great' kingdom of Wispia used to look like before all this. There must've been all sorts of foreign flowers, plants, wildlife and so much more different to plain old Earth. "That threat must've been awakened… like Una said. Although… Why do you think it's targeting us?" We're just a bunch of misfit teenagers. Hardly saviours of an entire universe.
"I say we fucked up by getting ourselves involved in Xingchen and her friends' mess that night," he replies, with a simple shrug. Right… The night of those tremors.
It has to be more than that though, doesn't it? "Uh, I'd agree, buuut..." I lift a hand, rubbing some of the tension from the back of my neck, and shuffling on my knees into a position that won't leave me with bruises. Gakupo raises a curious brow at me. "You seem to forget about the whole library thing back at Oak Valley. That woman, whoever she was, already made it clear we were chosen… for some fucking reason." I mutter that last part, exasperated. I literally couldn't be any more unqualified for the job.
"Ah…" His eyes widen a bit, seemingly as he recalls the day in question. When he realises that I have a point, he puffs his cheeks out. "Well, I guess we won't get answers just yet."
"Heh..." I can't help but giggle under my breath.
"Hm? Hey, this is serious, you said so yourself..." Gakupo tilts his head to the side, eyes glinting with curiosity. "What are you laughing at?"
"We're actually getting along." I state the obvious in a blunt manner, amused and amazed that we're able to have a conversation without tearing each other's heads off. I rest my hands on top of my lap, beaming over at him.
"Oh…? So we are..." He doesn't seem to fully be aware of that fact until I openly say so.
Maybe I'm still delirious after that whole awful ordeal, but… I swear his eyes softened in the sweetest way just now. I find myself staring right at him, for what seems like the longest time. Usually, I'd feel the weight of the intense atmosphere between us crushing my chest right about now. Well, it's definitely there, but for some reason, my head's clearer than ever compared to all the other times I've lost myself in his… dreamy… stare…
Is he slowly drifting closer to me? With just a single blink, there's less of a gap between us than there was before. And again… and again… Wait, now I'm not sure if something's subconsciously dragging me forward, or if it's all on him. My mind runs blank. I'm unable to focus on anything other than this moment, right here, right now. I dart my glance briefly to his lips, back up to his mysterious blue orbs.
"Kaito-san, there… there's something..." A light shiver runs through me upon hearing his hushed tone. Those little tingles of the cold should be unpleasant, yet that one feels… nice. Warm. My heart begins to thud harder in my chest when he suddenly places his hand on top of mine, where it rests on my lap.
All control lost, my eyelids flutter shut. I don't know who closes the remaining gap first, but before I have a chance to snap myself out of it, our lips meet. The fever I had earlier is still lingering, burning my cheeks the instant his lips touch mine. They're not soft; it's far from a flowery moment, but the reality of his cold, rough, dry lips somehow makes that little spark all the more powerful when I realise exactly what's happening.
The second Gakupo pulls away from me, my breath gets caught up in my throat as a squeaky gasp. I slowly open my eyes, questioning if that entire thing was just a horrible nightmare. His eyes flick open around the same time as mine, and that look of horror spreading across his features must perfectly mimic my dropped jaw.
"Shit…!" Gakupo hisses, tearing his palm away from the back of my hand, retracting it in pure panic.
"Uhh… I… I..." Can't get any words out. There's an immediate rush of regret, all sorts of deprecating thoughts pouring into my mind, making it impossible for any of it to pass my lips. I can't prioritise yelling at him because I want to freak out about what just happened, but at the same time, I also want to curse myself for being a colossal asshole.
"Kaito-san, I-I… I'm so sorry, I don't know what the fuck I was thinking…!" He backs away as much as he can, reeling back in disgust and disbelief.
I mirror his moves, trying my hardest to internally process how the absolute fuck it went downhill in the space of a measly two seconds. My breathing grows all shaky, stomach turning like crazy. I can't take my glare off him, as much as I want to never look him in the eye again. Despite the obvious seething anger I feel, there's another issue with what happened. It only lasted as a short spark, but something about that kiss felt… Damn it, tears are stinging my eyes. Why? "I… I… h-hate you..." I press the back of my hand lightly to my mouth after I spit out such heavy words, though it'll be hard to convince Gakupo that they're meant for him, rather than myself.
He's a wreck just as much as I am, but there are no signs of visible tears, at least. God damn it, I wish he'd stop glaring at me with such intensity…! "Ugh, don't you think I hate myself, too?!" He grunts at first, but then raises his voice to a frightening level. He screws his eyes shut, pushing his fingers through his fringe. "Sorry, I..." He's quick to apologise for losing his cool. I've never heard full blown anger from this guy before.
That little outburst almost caused the tears in my eyes to spill out. However, I stay strong and composed, taking in a deep breath. They're threatening to release at any moment, but I refuse to give in. Parting my lips, I decide to bite down on my knuckle to stop myself from whining like a little baby, since I'm the one who fucked up. Every part of me is riddled with guilt and frustration, and as if it wasn't screwed up enough, I despise the fact that everything about the kiss felt so right and familiar.
"Nngh…!" His creased features twitch a bit when he lets out a deeply irritated grunt. Finally, he releases a breath and slowly regains his cool. Can't say the same for me, though. I watch him slowly drop his hand from his face. "I… I don't know what to say, other than..."
Nausea. That's the most prominent feeling right now. Shit, my mouth is so dry. I can't stand it. Miku is going to have me buried alive. That sinful warmth in my chest has twisted into a dull ache, guilt wrapping itself firmly around my heart, knowing I've betrayed the only one I'm supposed to love. No, no… I can't be in love with him, not after just a few days…!
Gakupo must've decided he's had enough with wallowing in his misery. Huffing heavily, he props himself up from the floor and jumps up onto his feet. "We need to get back to the others. They're going to be worried."
I don't believe him. So, he's just going to act like nothing ever happened? Fuck this pretentious Mahogany prick. I never should've tried to be his friend. If only I stayed away after the first time I was overwhelmed by a supposed 'familiar' feeling…! Lowering my hand from my mouth at last, I'm left empty, apart from a lingering bitterness. I can't go back in this state. Not yet.
"Kaito-san, I think it's best that we..."
"Save it," I interrupt him before he can give me any more of his bullshit. At the very least, he owes me a truthful explanation for why he pounced on me. Ugh… I can shift the blame onto him all I want, I still let myself be taken in by it… Miku really can't find out about this. I'll just distance myself from him before it's too late. I don't care if I'm about to act irrationally, I need to take all this pent up anger out on someone, and it just so happens it'll be this purple-headed dickface.
Rolling his eyes, a hint of shyness still plastered onto his face, he mutters, "I really don't think we should drag this out any further. It was a spur of the moment; nothing more, nothing less, and I really am sorry. I'd rather put it behind us and pretend it never happened… So it'll be less awkward when working together."
Oh, he's definitely hiding something. 'Nothing more', my ass. He hasn't seriously been crushing on me this entire time, has he…? Wait, but that means I… Ugh, no! "Working together?" I scoff, scrunching up my nose in displeasure. I really can't bring myself to be his friend. Hands on his hips, he simply stares down at me, waiting for me to hop up. I think staying here to gather my thoughts is a better option. "Look… Just because we have to work together doesn't mean I have to be all nice to you. Stay out of my way from now on, got it?"
"H-Huh… But…?" Blinking a couple times in confusion, he tilts his head to the side, seemingly taken by surprise.
Part of me does wonder if I'm doing the right thing here. Xingchen had put her foot down and made it clear we could no longer let ourselves be divided by petty matters, but this is different, right? I wouldn't exactly call my reaction petty. I gulp, refusing to answer further.
"Mmh…" His eye twitches ever so slightly. He has no right to be frustrated… After all, he was the one who pounced on me…!
Don't even think of blaming yourself, Kaito. I don't care if I'm in hardcore denial right now, I can't bear the thought of taking the blame and admitting how much of a shitty boyfriend I am. That's not who I am... That's not… "Just tell the others you didn't see me on your way back."
"Do you really think they'll buy that?" He raises a brow. "Especially your hot-headed friend who obviously hates me." He sort of sneers down at me, pushing me to say something. Well, it's not my problem if Dell wants to go off on him. "What about Miku-san? Won't she be worried-"
"Oi!" As soon as I realise what kind of bullshit he's about to say, I immediately lash out, interrupting him before he can finish. "Leave Mi-chan out of this. You don't see me pretending to give a shit about your supposed girlfriend, so how 'bout you stop acting like you care about mine?"
Gakupo lets out a huff, averting his glance from my sharp stare. "If you cared, you wouldn't have been interested in me in the first place…" He mutters under his breath.
Oh, that hypocritical, irritating piece of… "The hell did you say, Kamui?" I had heard him just fine, but if he doesn't have the balls to say it loud enough, then he shouldn't say anything at all…! I frantically shake my head, growing tired of all this. "Listen, I told you, gimme five minutes! Geez, that's not too much to ask for, is it?"
He's silent for a moment, still staring off in another direction. "Fine." When he finally answers, he relents. It seems as though there's something else he wants to say, but he simply lets out a soft tut and turns on his heels to leave.
My heart is still aching in my chest. It becomes far more prominent while he walks away, leaving me to wallow in my self-pity. I can't help but trail his movements, the weight of the guilt only growing heavier the further away, and the quieter, the tapping of his feet become. Even after that absolute disaster, part of me wants to stop him… and chase after him. To entertain the pathetic idea that I may have a crush on him. Fuck. How did this happen?
"And what exactly am I gonna tell Mi-chan…?" I groan. There's no possible way I'll be able to juggle all of this shit. I could've maybe, just maybe, only barely handled the whole 'saviour of the world' crap. But no. Now I have to face that I practically cheated on my girlfriend…! Screw being in denial and blaming it all on Gakupo. Am I really that unhappy with her? I can't be.
My mind's still a mess from the dark energy. There's a slight, leftover dull ache in my head. I need to get out of this fancy ballroom or whatever the hell this place is. Pulling myself up, I feel a light pop in my back. "Hnngh…!" My entire damn body is stiff.
I stretch out my arms a bit, loosening some of the tension and scanning my glance over the place again out of curiosity. I can't help but wonder just how simple and easygoing life would be if I were born into this world of luxury. It's a sort of passing thought while I stretch, and just as I finish up and take my leave, my eyes are inexplicably drawn over to an old fireplace. It's positioned dead in the middle of a wall, over where the dining tables are. "Huh…" Something about it is oddly compelling. Maybe my brain is starting to freeze over.
I narrow my eyes, noting that there's no leftover pile of ashes or anything. Isn't that… kind of weird? Or am I overthinking it? "If this place was abandoned out of nowhere, with no warning or anything, then…" It shouldn't look as cleared out as it is. Tracing my glance up, I catch sight of a painting hanging above the fireplace. Something feels… off.
This might be an opportunity to learn more about the mysteries of this palace. Besides, I need to take my mind off all this other shit for a few minutes, so… Well, perhaps it's dangerous to explore alone, but I don't particularly want any company right now.
With a nod, I make my way over to that wall. Upon closer inspection, I find that even the painting has little to no dust covering it. Something definitely isn't adding up here. Pushing all my previous frustration to the back of my mind, I get sort of close to the wall… But instantly stop in my tracks when I think I hear something from behind.
"Mmh… mmph…!"
It's some kind of… strained grunt, echoing out from somewhere. I cautiously turn around to face the entrance to the main hall. "Who's th-! Oh…" I pre-emptively yell out before actually taking a second to see who's there, but once I fix my eyes on the other end of the hall, I catch sight of them. It's a familiar face. Kind of.
"Uwaaaah!" The poor blue-haired girl appears to have a heart attack on the spot. She… really didn't see me until now…? Her harsh shriek of terror is a little cringe inducing. Even though she's all the way on the other end of the hall, it's still shockingly loud.
"G-Gah, I'm s-sorry!" I swiftly throw my hands in the air, not wasting any time reassuring her. She's acting like I'm a sneaky murderer or something, geez…!
"Ah…! K-Kaito-san?" There's a hint of relief in her voice when she finally registers I am in fact not a ghost. There's some confusion plastered across her face, though.
To be honest, I almost thought she was a ghost, too. Or a demon. Can't be too sure when there's evil magic lying around. She starts to head my way, albeit with a timid stance, clutching at an arm with her hand, shoulders tucked in.
"Una-san, uh… I… I guess it's good to see you… and that you're healthy?" I smile dryly. So much for wanting to be alone for five minutes.
"Oh? Oh, it's nothing!" She giggles sweetly. I'm a little thrown off by how well she recovered from being almost scared to death a minute ago. I guess she realised I'm not a threat, so she can let her guard down around me.
"R-Really?" I still feel relatively freaked out. Plus, a little awkward, too. I know we're all supposed to trust each other now, but… It's hard to do so. I still need answers about the whole cheating thing back at school… Maybe it doesn't matter any more, though.
"Mhm!" Una nods, beaming at me. She comes to a stop a few paces in front of me, and she begins checking out the fireplace.
"Uh… So… What are you doing here, exactly?" She should be resting after being unconscious.
"Oh…" She raises her brows, a little distracted by the fireplace behind me for a moment, but then she turns her attention back to me. "Heh, you sound just like Xingchen…!" She snickers in delight, apparently finding great joy in that one similarity.
I stare at her, at a loss for words. This girl… Here I thought she's the dead serious type, just like the rest of her friends, but… She… Does she even have any idea about the severity of our current situation? She's not totally airheaded, right?
"It's okay," Una continues, smile softening slightly. "I volunteered to go look around."
I guess it can't hurt to get to know her a bit. "Ah. Look for what?"
"Oh, that's right… You weren't there." She seems to have only just realised that fact, but again, she answers vaguely. Yeah, don't mind my absence though, I totally wasn't doing something I'll regret for the rest of my life. "Well, nothing too major. Xingchen wants everyone to go on a clue hunt! She reckons there's gotta be some kind of way outta this ice-cream covered, cherry-topped disaster, sooo… We gotta find one."
Interesting choice of words. Honestly, if Una wasn't a part of the talent trials back at home, and I had seen her literally anywhere else, maybe passing by on the streets or something… I really would've thought she's no older than thirteen. I guess that's not a bad thing, but…
"Do you… think the magic here isn't just dark magic…?" That possibility pops into my mind at the mention of 'finding a way out'. That has to imply there being more than one type of energy. Like a miracle magical spell or something? Still… Maybe it's a bit of a silly thought, with everything Xingchen has told us about magic so far… "I just, uh, I used to think… if magic were to somehow exist, you know, before all this went down… It'd be used for good. But everything so far says otherwise."
"Ah, yes, that's a good question…" She listens intently, nodding along with my words. A troubled pout pulls at her lips for a change, however. She's the one with the magic jewel, so I figured it'd be best to direct all brainstorming her way. Yet she seems… clueless. "I guess we'll figure out eventually, mm?" She slaps on a sweeter smile, lightening the mood a touch.
"Yeah…" I shrug lightly. Not much of an answer.
"Anywaaay… Now it's my turn. What are you doing here?" A more cunning tone sneaks its way into her voice, again, catching me off guard entirely.
"E-Eh? Nothing, I…" Damn it. I stuttered. She… She wouldn't have seen Gakupo and I…? Ahhh, my cheeks are heating up…! Quick, distract her! "I-I think I found a clue, actually!"
Una's oblivious, innocent eyes dig right into me. She's too pure. There's no way that she secretly knows every little thing that's going on. Ugh… It's freezing cold, yet I've broken out into a horribly uncomfortable sweat.
"Ah… So, that's why you're standing in front of this fireplace, right?" Oh, no. She absolutely knows more than she's letting on. Great.
"Y-Yep," I mumble, with a light nod. Clearing my throat, I turn back to face that wall.
"Hmm…" She narrows her eyes, focusing her attention on it. She seems to be examining it closely, and comes to the same conclusion that I did. "I see… It looks kinda out of place, don't you think, Kaito-san?"
For sure. The entire fireplace section of the wall looks odd. Maybe it's some sort of… hidden passage…? In a place like this, though? As I reach a hand out to make an attempt at pushing on the wall, I'm stopped a few inches short by Una speaking up.
"Wait. It… It may have dark magic." There's a stern hint in her voice this time. I retract my hand straight away, remembering that she's the one with the magical gem. Not me. I can't help but momentarily think back to the voice in the library. I wonder if Una and her friends really are skilled and competent enough to handle using something so dangerous.
Taking a slight step back, I allow her to lead the situation. "Hey, just so you know, I don't feel too good about letting a young woman dive head first into danger…" I mutter, voicing my concerns. Maybe my way of thinking is a little outdated, but it's still wrong to me.
She throws a sincere grin my way. "Don't worry about it. I… I have this necklace for a reason… I have to find out why sooner or later." Huh. Optimistic. I wonder how she ended up with that thing in her possession.
Sucking in a cold breath, I brace myself for whatever we may uncover. I cross my arms over my chest, in some sort of preparation.
There's an intense expression on Una's face as she sticks her palm out. Inching closer, with apparent hesitance yet greater bravery, she finally places her hand onto the wall just beside the fireplace.
"Woah…!" A soft gasp passes my lips. The exact second her palm makes contact with the wall, the ruby hanging from her neck lights up, emanating a warm red.
"Oh…" She also whispers to herself, stunned. It's like she wants to rip her hand away in confusion, but she stops herself before nerves take over.
Witnessing this up close is fascinating… and still a little hard to believe. Silence hangs in the air; I'm sort of holding my breath in anticipation. I'm eager to ask what on earth is happening, but I don't want to break her concentration.
"This… hasn't happened before…" Her soft, bubbly tone is now full of concern. Oh man. It's strange to see her personality flip like that in such a short time. Makes me want to ask about just how much shit she's been through before all this, because of those gems. She's… had this responsibility for a long time… hasn't she?
"What is it?" I quietly speak up, taking a step forward at her side. That gentle light is currently static. At this point, I've answered my own question with just one look.
"The pendants usually only react to negative energy…" Una mumbles, forehead creasing. She must be racking her brains, trying to think of a way to make some sense of this. "They only vibrate, depending on how strong… Well, Xingchen could probably explain it better…"
"So, this… uh, reaction… is new?" I choose my words carefully, not wanting to come off as totally incompetent. She doesn't need to know I barely took in a single thing Xingchen said.
After a short while, she drops her hand from the wall and pulls it back to her side. "Hm…" She nods. Narrowing her eyes, she scans the wall once more; she then reaches out and taps at it with a closed fist. "Oh!"
Damn. I definitely heard that slight echo. Subtle, but there. That wall is…
"There's a secret passage here! Ooh, this is great!" Again, she flips that serious atmosphere on its head, excitement pouring out.
Well. Let's hope this secret passage gets us out of here, somehow, otherwise there's no point in jumping for joy yet. I resist the urge to grimace. I could never say such pessimistic crap in front of this pure soul.
"Alright…! If that's the case…" Una's words trail off. Oh. I guess she's formed a plan in her head, already.
I can only watch, left to think about what may happen next. See, I guess I figured as much, that it'd be a hidden passage… But that's as far as my brain took me. I'm not sure how we'd be able to enter it. "Uh… we… don't have to squeeze through the fireplace, right…?" I pose that dumb question in a joking manner to the best of my ability, hoping she won't pick up that I'm being serious.
"Oh, no, of course not!" She dismisses that thought with a casual wave of her hand, still intently focusing on the wall. Her eyes are practically glued to it.
"Ah…" Kaito. You dummy.
Una huffs, prepping herself up. The ruby at her neck still has a slight glow to it, but not as evident as before. Out of nowhere, she shoves at the wall with a surprising amount of strength. No, not because she's a girl. But because… she's tiny…! Where the heck has she been hiding all that muscle?
"Ooh! Kaito-san…!" Something seems to budge in that moment. A light click echoes out.
"Holy…" The wall has become… unhinged, or something like that. As if it's just a simple door that's been pulled open.
"This must be the way in." Una says, before letting out a whistle, impressed by the sight. Not gonna lie, me too. "Lemme just…" She cuts one train of thought short, pushing on the wall a bit more. Her nose crinkles up from the pressure she's exerting.
"Uhh, do you…?"
"I got it!" comes her strained, slightly breathless answer of determination. Well, I was about to offer to help, but apparently it's all good. "Hah!" She lets out an accomplished snort.
"Wh-Whoa…!" I had been so caught up in wanting to help… When I look back over at the fireplace, I see that it's now at a completely different angle, facing inwards to reveal a whole other area beyond. A blast of cold air shoots out at record speed, causing me to stumble a little; maybe that's what has left me breathless… or maybe it's the utter shock. How could something like this go unnoticed, especially in a presumably populated palace?
"Should we check it out?" Una inquires, with a proud grin. It's obvious which answer she's leaning towards.
Eh… This reminds me of when Rin and I discovered the palace, not too long ago. It had been an easy 'yes' back then to take the risk and enter. But now that all of us are reunited, maybe we should…
"Don't you think we should tell someone else first?" I respond with another heavy question.
She glances over her shoulder, pulling a pouty face. "If Xingchen is out exploring, it'll be hard to find her and let her know… Mmh, then again, I don't want her to miss out on this… Ah…"
On second thought, I don't want to face Miku quite so soon. I flick my glance between the door to the main hall and the hidden passage. "I… I guess it can't hurt to check it out for a few minutes…" I sigh, deciding to give in.
Her eyes light up with pure excitement once more. "Yeah, yeah! A few minutes is all we need." She nods happily along with what I say, eager to get going.
"I'll… go first, I guess?" Her bright, puppy-dog eyes is all the approval I need to go ahead. It's another narrow passage that seems to wind downwards. After contemplating what could possibly be at the end, I take the plunge and squeeze myself between that gap in the wall. It's a tight fit, but there's just enough room to comfortably breathe.
Una inhales all dramatically behind me, presumably following up right away. I suppose she can be trusted, for now. After all, if she truly was an evil being and only faking being nice until now, I think she would've slammed the wall behind me and trapped me in here, instead of coming with me. Well, that thought is horrifying. Thanks for the visual, brain. "Waah…" Good thing she's all overcome with awe and amazement, so she doesn't notice the split second my whole body shudders.
I can feel gravity slowly yanking me down the tunnel already. It's strange to think that someone would've dug out the interior of the wall and then randomly decide to carve out the floor and make a whole passage. I suppose we'll find out their motive when we reach wherever this ends. Or maybe I should say, if. The wall could've collapsed further in somewhere, after all.
Silence hangs between the two of us, but mostly because Una is too busy taking in her surroundings to the last detail. I throw a glance over my shoulder to check out what she's up to; all she's doing is gazing around with wide eyes. I don't get what's so interesting. It's a dirty, musty passage. With a light huff, I dig my hands into my pockets and keep treading forward. The further we go, the more that disgusting stale air burns my nose.
This is kind of awkward for me, though. The more I think about the tense atmosphere, the more it bores a hole into my chest. I barely know this eccentric blue-haired girl. What can I even say to break the ice…? Oh, here I go with the ice similes again. Why couldn't we have landed on a tropical planet instead, darn it? With a light sigh, my mind wanders to the events back at school. "Hey, Una-san."
"Mm?" Looks like she isn't as distracted as she makes out. She must've been attempting to hyperfocus on stuff so that she didn't have to make small talk either.
"I feel like I should apologise for what I did… back at Oak Valley." Honestly, this feels a little insincere, considering I'm staring straight ahead and not even bothering to look at her. But it's not like I can stop in my tracks or anything. Still, just saying those words, after all this time… A huge weight has been lifted off my chest. Uh, one of the many crushing weights, that is.
"Ah…? D-Don't worry about it." Even though she plays it off like it's no big deal, I definitely can hear her stumble over her words a bit.
I remember the way her eyes sparkled with tears back then. The way she snuggled up close to Xingchen, completely overwhelmed... I can't really get over how confrontational I was. She must've thought of me as some kind of monster, and I don't blame her at all. "I just-"
"That's all in the past now… Okay?" She interrupts me, but speaks in a gentle, reassuring tone.
I sneak a shy glance at her over my shoulder. The bright smile she wears is infectious – I can feel a relieved grin pulling at my lips. I guess that's that, huh. Still... To avoid letting that dull pang of guilt gnaw away at me, I pull my eyes from hers and keep going. "I just kinda wanted to… make amends… Can't believe I got carried away with all that rivalry bullshit," I scoff, releasing a bitter laugh. Funny how I only notice how badly I got swept up in all that just now. Maybe being sentenced to potential death makes one… mature…?
"The dark energy that enveloped the school didn't exactly help," Una says, with a hint of sympathy in her voice. "I got emotional, too, y'know. I think we can all move past this eventually, once we start working more as a team."
"I bet it feels nice to have some more people on your side, hmm?" With a bit of a brighter tone, I shift the conversation to something more positive – while simultaneously coming to a bit of a narrower gap in the tunnel. "Ugh, careful here, it's a bit tight…" I grunt, turning my body and sucking in a deep breath. I push my shoulder in first and begin to awkwardly shimmy through.
"O-Oh, yeah, totally…!" She gives a strained response, somehow managing to talk while making her way through with me. I suppose she's a bit smaller than I am, so…
I can finally see a crack up ahead. It might lead into yet another undiscovered room, but even when I squint my eyes to try and figure out what's on the other end… It's useless. The light from the surface only travels so far. It's quickly getting darker, and the chilly air is seeping into my bones at this point.
Unable to make any more small talk for the time being, I pour all my energy into making it through to the other side. All this crap is making me understand why some people get claustrophobic. "Nngh… just a little… bit… Haah!" With a small grunt, I'm out of that mess, at last. "Huh…?" Perhaps a moment or two too late, I acknowledge and register that we've indeed ended up in some kind of… secret room?
"Hngh… Oof, this is… d-difficult…!" Una's complaints squeak out from behind, snapping me out my state of curiosity, for the time being.
"Oh…!" I spin around on my heels, met with the sight of her wiggling her shoulders in an attempt to make an escape. "Here, I gotcha." I hold my hand out for her, and her fingertips just barely brush against my palm. I move in as close as I can, and with a firm, supportive grip, I'm able to pull her out.
"Whew!" It only takes a couple of seconds, but she eventually stumbles forward with a heavy sigh of relief. "Thank you, Kaito-san. I kind of freaked out for a sec there, thought I was stuck…" She plasters on a bashful grin.
"It's no problem. Are you sure you want to keep going?" Maybe that's a dumb question, since she won't want to turn back right this second, but… Still, gotta be sure she's cool with continuing.
"Y-Yeah, I'm good," she nods. When she trails her glance down, I can't help but also do the same… And that's when I realise…
"Sorry!" I blurt out, yanking my hand back from hers, after way too long. Oh, fuck. Good job on making it even more unbearably awkward, Kaito.
"Oh, no, I'm the one who's sorry, I totally forgot!" She rubs at the back of her head, spitting out an exaggerated apology and grinning widely – probably to hide and downplay her embarrassment.
Hehhh… It's weird. I totally forgot I was holding her hand, too. It almost felt… natural. Not in some twisted romantic way, though. Like I had a duty… to protect her or something. No, I don't know… It's hard to describe what went through my mind in that moment, but I suppose it doesn't matter any more.
Those traces of lingering embarrassment are fading away now, anyway. What's more important is this little secret we've uncovered. As I trail my glance over this room, I take note of the short ceiling and a thin coating of ice stretched across the walls. It's a little bigger than the library where everyone else is resting, which makes sense. Whoever dug all this out probably wouldn't have wanted to put in more effort than necessary, especially if it's some sort of… safe room? That's my guess.
"Hey, check all this out…" Una directs my attention to a line of boxes and barrels on both sides of the room. That kind of confirms my suspicions about it being a storage room of sorts. Although, if it's hidden all the way down here… She trots over to the right side of the room, pressing her palms to her thighs and leaning close to get a better look at the boxes.
While she does that, I find that my gaze is being drawn toward the back of the room. There's a bunch of haphazardly layered bricks that make up a 'wall', as if something is being kept hidden on purpose. Just as I'm about to begin making my way over, Una stops me by calling for me.
"Oh my goodness, look at all of this, Kaito-san!" She exclaims in disbelief.
"Hmm…?" I figure she's just getting worked up over something small and non-consequential, so I don't really rush to turn around. But when I do, I set eyes upon a box that she managed to pry open. "Wh-What the…?" Eyes growing wide, I rush over to Una's side, gawking at the contents.
"Is… is it real…?" With slight hesitance, she sticks her hand into the box and pulls out what appears to be a fresh, shiny red apple.
I can only stare, lips parted. In that moment, my stomach growls, desperate for food. The last time I had something to eat… I don't even know when that was. "D-Does it… I dunno, does it feel real?" Wait, what kind of question is that? My brain is too distracted by hunger now…!
"Umm…" Narrowing her eyes, she holds the apple out and starts squeezing at it with quite a bit of force, which only adds to how dumbfounded I currently feel. An intense expression takes over her features, her hand lightly trembling the more pressure she applies… And then, a strange mix of a crunch and squish hits my ears. "I think it does!"
"Did… did you just…?" I thought nothing could surprise me at this point, but I hadn't accounted for the fact that a girl may possibly bust the surface of an apple with her fingernails. My bad for not taking that into consideration and preparing for it.
Sure enough, some juice drips down her fingers. We must both have the same, doe-eyed, bewildered look slapped onto our faces right now, wondering how on earth there's actual, fresh food available right in front of us. Well… Then again, this isn't 'earth', is it? That's still absurd, though! "I… uh…" At a loss for words, suddenly she retracts her arm and promptly sucks on a part of her finger, like an actual child.
"Una-san… What are you…" Those words trail off. I no longer have the energy to question such things.
Ignoring my deadpan eyes and judgemental questioning, she lights up. "Mm! It… It's real, it's real! Oh my gosh, and the juice… So tasty…! It's somehow even sweeter than a regular ol' apple back at home!" She gushes over how good it is, causing my stomach to growl again, in jealousy.
I rub at my tummy with a shy smile, eyeing up the box again. There's a whole pile of apples, ripe for the taking. As I lean down to swoop one up, I can't help but pause and wonder if this is some sort of sick test or something. If a God exists in this place… Please don't punish us for taking the fruit, we're just so frickin' hungry…!
"These boxes… If they're all filled with food, we should get the others to help out and bring them to the surface," she says. It's certainly a good idea, but there's an issue with that.
"What about the, uh… obstacle on our way back up?" It's easy enough for scrawny teens like us to move back and forth through it, but there's no way in heck those things will fit.
A pout pulls at Una's lips, her nose crinkling up as she apparently tries to come up with a way to work around that. I think I know what she may suggest; it crossed my mind as soon as I realised the boxes were too big. Folding her arms over her chest, she lets out a huff – a small, misty cloud follows as she exhales. "We'll have to just carry what we can. Stuff it into our pockets, or wrap it up in blankets and bring it back up. It'll be tedious, but… The food should stay fresh for at least a few days after we disturb it. And… hopefully we'll be outta here by then…"
I can't help but feel all glum again, with the way she lowers her eyes in an almost pessimistic way, as if she doesn't truly have hope that we'll get out. Just gotta… push those horrible thoughts aside. Offering her a sincere smile, I continue after that brief pause. "How about we go tell the others what we found? We should get it up there as soon as possible."
"Good idea. Let's take a few of these apples, too. They can get their strength up a bit and then get to work," she suggests, with a grin. With that, she begins to pluck up a few more, stuffing some of them under her arm.
When I bend over a bit to join her, I stop just as my fingers land on one of the apples. Before I made contact with it, I could've sworn I had seen it… vibrating? Of course, it stopped as soon as I touched it. But I felt something, for a fraction of a second.
"Mm? What's up, Kaito-san?" Una notices my sudden stiffness.
"Nothing… I just thought…" I lose my track of thought in that moment, unable to finish my sentence; I can both feel and hear a much stronger vibration coming from somewhere. It's hard to tell – it's beneath my feet, shaking the box of fruit much more vigorously, and… Oh, fuck, the wall at the back of the room…!
"Ah!" Una gasps sharply. I dart my glance over to her, instantly catching sight of the ruby hanging from her neck going haywire with a dazzling red light and intense warning tremors. "Kaito-san, get behind me-!"
I don't even have any time to react. When there's a harsh banging from behind the crude brick wall, where any sort of gap or living thing shouldn't even fucking exist, there's only a couple of seconds before a whole monstrous being comes crashing through with a terrifying amount of force. I'm paralysed on the spot, only being able to gawk straight ahead like an animal caught in the cross-lights, heart racing.
"Raaaaarrrgghhhh!" Whatever the hell it is, it's woken up on the wrong side of the bed or something – it lets out a deafening cry of anger.
"Oh, holy fucking gods…! Wh-Wh-What is that, Una-san!?" I practically squeal, only just able to get something remotely coherent out. Any fight I may have had in me before this vanishes in an instant. I clench my fists and cower, pulling my arms in close.
"I… I'm sorry, I don't know…!" she whimpers, just as panicked as I am.
There's no way I can fully take in what this thing looks like, but it reminds me of the disgusting, sneering goblins I'd see in Miku's fantasy illustration books. Except it's about ten times more horrific and utterly nightmare inducing; its skin blue and rotting away, especially around the eyes and mouth. In fact, it's even missing an eye – a bulging, infected remnant of a socket in its place. It wobbles toward us, struggling with just one foot and a stump of where the other should be, thrashing about wildly and shouting something unintelligible. Is it a curse? Oh, please no, no curses…!
Okay, okay. Stay calm. It's slow. It can't hurt us as long as we keep our distance. The only thing we can't do is defend ourselves, since it's covered in some sort of thick, icy armour.
"I… We… We gotta get out of here, Kaito-san…!" Una is quick to come up with some sort of plan. Not much, but it's a start.
Nodding frantically, I muster up some courage and urge her to get behind me and escape first. Throwing my arms out all wide, I shield her from the thing that's coming closer and closer. "Hurry, into the tunnel!"
She stays frozen on the spot, looking between her necklace and the monster. "I-I… No, no, you should go first! It's my duty to defend you!"
When she tries to force her way past my arm, I firmly hold her back, not daring to allow her to do something so crazy. "Una-san, we really shouldn't dawdle. This thing is out to get us, and it's closing the gap as we speak…!" Without raising my voice, but being sure to portray a sense of urgency, I order her once more to start moving in the other direction.
She seems to be having one hell of an internal struggle right now. With a gulp, and a sparkle of tears growing in her eyes, she finally nods and gives in, swiftly turning to the narrow gap behind us. As she moves and squeezes herself in, I take slow steps back to ensure that thing can't reach her.
"Hrrghhh… Gaaaaarrrrr!" Again, it croaks out another sort of battle cry. However, this time, it stops in place for a moment and makes a grab for its armour.
My heart is still pounding like mad in my chest, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I have to wait for Una to be at least halfway through before I can go. I was afraid at first, but… The urge to protect her has skyrocketed out of nowhere. Taking a more appropriate, defensive stance, I hold my fists out in front of me. I'm an idiot for thinking I can take this unknown being, but I'll at least try!
With a deep grunt, it effortlessly tears off a chunk of ice from its torso, breaking off a part that had been sort of sticking out. It doesn't ruin the armour in the slightest, making me realise very quickly that it intends to use the ice as a makeshift shiv – of course, the fact that it's raising its arm and about to charge is a pretty big indicator that I'm in big fucking trouble!
"S-Stay back, you… you gross, ugly… th-thing!" Have I suddenly become a god damn five-year-old or something? Work on your insult game, dude! "Shit, this thing probably doesn't even understand English- What is wrong with- AH!"
In the midst of my downright stupid babbling, it hurtles toward me and near enough closes the once sizeable distance between us. However, as soon as my brain catches back up with reality and I notice it's getting ready to swing the ice shiv, instincts I didn't know I even had kick in; I promptly lift my right leg and throw a harsh kick right at its stomach, sole connecting right on the mark. "Woahh…!" The rush of shock knocks the air right out my lungs. Somehow, it works well, setting that nasty goblin-thing back a good few paces. I stare down at my legs in disbelief, palms trembling.
Wait… While it's disoriented… Shit, this is my chance. I can't waste another second!
Throwing my arms up in front of myself to act as a brute-force shield, a strange feeling overcomes me, as if I've somehow done this before and already know what must be done. I don't even linger or hesitate for a single millisecond – using the goblin's own tactic against it, I rush forth and bash it with the full weight of my body. "Shit…!" I hiss. Even though it leaves my arms aching and raw from smacking right into a barricade of ice, it works, knocking it flying. I guess it didn't expect me to retaliate. The shard of ice clamped in its hand drops to the floor a short distance away, with a light clink. "H-Haah, it… it worked…"
I slowly lower my arms, with a bit of reluctance, wondering if the monster is unconscious or just temporarily immobilised. I peer over at it, taking in a deep breath. It appears lifeless. "Thank god… Now I can get back to Una-san and warn the others…" Even though I had taken a breath to try and calm down, I can still only get my words out through shallow breaths and a mumble. My heart feels like it's about to burst out of my chest at any moment now. That… was intense… How the fuck did I do that?
I slowly shake my head. I have to contemplate it later. Spinning on my heels, legs still like jelly, I take a step toward the gap that leads back up to a semblance of normality. But without any sort of warning, only being able to take a mere single step, something wraps itself around my legs, instantly restricting my movements. "Huh-!?" Time slows… and when I try to process what's going on, it all happens in the blink of an eye.
"Augh…!" A half-wheeze, half-cough forces its way out. I had seen the floor speeding toward me, getting closer and closer in such a miniscule span of time. But now that's a fuzzy memory of something that happened a few seconds ago – all I recall is cracking my forehead and now I have the worst headache.
I press my fingertips against the hard floor, eyelids growing heavy. "F...Fuck…" Just as I make an attempt to pathetically pull myself up and defend myself further, I'm far too late. A grip as strong as steel latches onto my shoulder and throws me aside, flipping me from my stomach onto my back. And that's when I see I'm face to face with… that horrible monster, and it looks and smells even worse up close. I can't give in here, even if I'm growing sleepy…
When I lazily swat at what I think is its head – hard to tell when I'm seeing double – it's easily able to deflect by grabbing my wrist and sinking its long claws into my skin. "Aaagh…!" My whole body jolts at what I can only describe to be the most agonising pain I've possibly felt in all my life, tears surfacing straight away. That sure brings me back to my senses, dizziness fading, but that's not a good thing.
It's straddling me, leaning in close. It's just… staring at me. I can't bring myself to look at its face for long. The sight makes my stomach turn, and plus, it's difficult to concentrate between sharp, shallow gasps of air.
"You… die now…"
My eyes grow wide as it lets out those few words. No, no… I can't die here… I can't… "Nngh!" It leaves me no time to fight back; before I know it, that monster's hand slams against my throat. I would choke and gag out in pain if I could, but it tightens its grip around my neck, claws digging right into me. All that comes out is a spray of saliva from my mouth.
The adrenaline in my body kicks it into high gear, amidst a whole mess of panic. Knowing I must act, I do the first thing that comes to mind – shoving at the goblin's large arm to try and get it off of me, obviously to no avail. It's half-dead and rotting away, but the strength it has in comparison to my own is too much, not to mention I'm slowly running out of air. Panic and fear consumes my mind further. I flail my body around the best I can, but the only thing I'm able to do is send weak, frantic kicks to its torso, not affecting it at all.
Do something, Kaito, do something! For fucks sake, anything! My mind screams in desperation, and I begin to dart my eyes around the room for something I can use. Please. Anything. More saliva spills out of my mouth, running down the sides of my cheeks, breath degrading. This can't be the end. Una has to come back for me, right? Right?!
That's when I catch sight of it. My only ticket to staying alive. As dazed and weak as I'm growing, the hunk of ice from earlier is still on the floor. Just an arm's length away. It's a struggle to move. The best I can manage is scraping my nails against the floor as I stretch. I need to reach it… I need to… I can't leave Miku all by herself…!
With what little my mind can register, I'm definitely able to feel my fingertips brushing up against something cold. Using the last of my remaining strength, I'm forced to do something I never thought I would. With a wild, blind swing of faith, I squeeze my eyes shut and… The ice lodges itself into something. Something squishy. A terrible stench fills the air, and the death grip around my throat finally goes limp. "Haaaahh…!" To my relief, I'm able to breathe. It's rough, and it takes multiple short gasps to become accustomed to breathing once more, but I'm fucking alive.
I keep my eyes screwed shut a little longer, hoping the anxiety and pure terror subsides even a little. My entire body is trembling like crazy, my mind blank. There's a dead weight slumped on top of me, though. Grimacing, dryly swallowing down the urge to gag once more, I'm only just able to lift that weight and shove it off myself.
Preparing myself for what I may see the second I open my eyes, I scrunch up my nose and finally take the plunge, but only after I've sat up. My heart drops as soon as I set my tired gaze upon the body of that goblin. Naturally, my attention is drawn to where I struck in fear for my life. A small, ice shiv sized hole, deep enough to penetrate the… "Fuck," I mumble, slapping a palm over my mouth. I feel like I'm going to throw up at any moment now. Just acknowledging that I was the one to do that… to take a being's life…
I shuffle myself onto my knees, tears beginning to uncontrollably spill from my eyes, shaking all over again. I've never felt more broken or alone than I do now. Everything that's happened leading up to this… It is all too much to even begin to process. My only option now is to cry. Cry hard, and unleash all the horrific, scarring emotions I've kept bottled up until now.
"...ito-san…! Kaito-san…!"
Someone is distantly calling out to me. But I'm far too tired.
"...shit, what the… ...Kai-kun…!"
Please. Just let me sleep.
…