Chapter VI

Failure

Under the dim new moon light, Ryou and Asuka talk on the lighthouse, from afar, Edo crosses his arms, observing the two as they seem to argue about something, a deep frown on Ryou's face and a saddened curl on Asuka's brows.

"So the two of them were searching for her brother this whole time, huh? I can get her, but why is the Kaiser also doing it? I really don't understand those two…"

His mind drifts into theories for a second before he sees Asuka parting ways with Ryou. Is she going back? His eyes squint, trying to find out the truth. As much as he'd like to know, his eyes flash forward, to the blue-haired teen standing still at the rock bridge.

"He's the one I should be worrying about. If he finds out why I came, he will stand in the way…"

A startle occurs on his aloof face when Ryou suddenly starts walking, into the woods. A drop of sweat rolls down his cheek, that isn't the pathway to the dorms, for sure.

"I should follow him…" his feet skid onwards making almost no noise, intrigued by what the other one would be doing alone.

He thought Ryou and Asuka were working together in an investigation, or that was what they told him and Rie, but what if he also has his own goals there? A tense feeling spreads inside him, making his heart beat faster and louder. He keeps a safe distance from the blue-haired, where is he going?

As he approaches slowly, nervousness building up, accentuating his scowl, his phone vibrates on his pocket, scaring the hell out of him as he quickly answers it very low.

"Saiou? I'm busy now…" his eyes scan around to ascertain he was not heard, a discreet sigh escaping his lips, he straightens his collar, a bit more uptight than he usually was.

"Edo. You should stop here tonight."

"Stop? What do you mean?" His eyes open wide in surprise. "I'm investigating like you asked."

"Whatever it is that you're doing, stop and go back to your dorm for the rest of the night."

"Did you see something?" He guesses, there wouldn't be any other reason he can think for his friend to interrupt him abruptly like this.

On the other side of the line, Saiou's eyes sharpen as he flips the last card of the line for the tenth time, Death. The other two cards already flipped up on his glass table are: the world reversed accompanied by a previous flip of the fool, also reversed.

"Yes. I saw… your failure and also… Your end."

His blood runs gelid for a moment, the wind suddenly feels colder than before, his skin losing slightly its color, his lips gaped for a second before they move again:

"What do you mean by 'end'…?"

"If you go wherever you are going tonight, someone will catch wind of our purpose there… Thus, the ones involved, those who like you want to find the cards, will get you and you'll be consumed by absolute darkness… It means death, Edo. It's not a physical death, but whatever it is you'll go through, will reap your mind completely and you won't be yourself anymore by the end of it."

"Someone…?" He sweats profusely, a bewildered furrow on his eyebrows "Is there even someone this dangerous in this school? That can brainwash or manipulate minds?"

"I'm not certain they are someone from the school, but they seem to have connections enough to find you out… So I suggest you proceed with… Caution."

"Saiou… What in the world did you see…?" He can't help but inquire more, he wants to know.

"Our enemy isn't someone common… I don't quite understand myself, but they're intimately related to our pursuit for the cards. Their powers are amazing, also terrifying. No matter how many times I read your destiny today, it always ends in failure and death for you. As if they were darkness itself, engulfing everything in their way, including you. Whoever they are, be attentive to your surroundings, the island has eyes and ears everywhere, Edo."

"I… I understand…" he stutters, astounded by the predictions.

"Now, go back safely and rest for tonight. I will contact you again soon… We mustn't let this destiny of failure befall us now that we're so close…"

When he flips the phone shut, his hand holding it trembles, he uses his other hand to cover it and stop the shaking. Was he afraid of death? No, that's not it, but that coldness he felt upon hearing about death, he has the impression he felt it before… When was it?

What would even be worse than a physical death? He said something about changing minds, could it be that the enemy would be able to mess up his head and make him do things he shouldn't or doesn't want to? He can't fully grasp the situation, but if his destiny was so horrid, he should step back for the moment being.

"I don't get it… I was just following the Kaiser Ryou… So, is it true he's involved with perilous people? Or is he also… Walking into a bottomless pit?" His head starts aching "Regardless, I should listen to Saiou or I'll end up in trouble…"

Branches crackle softly as he leaves the place, he stops a last time, looking back, where he saw Ryou walking before, a worried twist on his lips. Well, if he's going somewhere shady, that's on his own account, right? He dismisses those concerns, he should follow his destiny or he too won't be able to fulfill his objective.

That night, he goes back to the dorm in defeat, his mind and body cannot rest as he lies on the bed, his eyes transfixed on the ceiling, his hands supporting the back of his head. Many thoughts fly by as the night dashes past him.

Away from there,

Inside the dark room illuminated only by the dim lit screen of the computer and a small candle, Daitokuji hums a song while spinning a test tube with a transparent dark-blue liquid.

"Meow!" Pharaoh scratches his shoes, he chuckles at the cat, squatting down and petting its head.

"I'm just doing some minor experiments, don't worry." He stands up and puts the liquid inside a glass cylinder, placing it over a support, some small flame flickering underneath to cook it.

"It's done, it should be ready tomorrow…" he takes a deep breath out of satisfaction for a job done. His cat meows again, it seems worried. "You don't need to be on the edge, Rie-chan will be alright, she has the amulet, remember? She can even erase memories with it, so even if someone sees her, it can be solved easily. If many people happened to see it, though, that would be a different story."

He picks the cat up, petting it more. It makes folds on his shirt with its claws, tugging it, his meowing becoming more constant.

"Haha, you're tickling me… Hm… But you have a point, we can't expect such a young girl to do the job alone, can we? She might make one or two mistakes… Even so… I would keep it this way… I wouldn't want to give her mind to Darkness…"

His smile fades at the last sentence, a deep frown making elaborate creases on his forehead. He lets the cat down, picking up his own PDA and sending a message, unaware that the text did not get through…

In that same night, later on…

Ryou taps the walls with his knuckles, checking again for any signs of weakened parts or secret passageways, the latter being more a hopeful thought that by a miracle the witch's hut indeed hid secrets like this.

He casts a side glance across the room, the pink-haired does the same as him, trying to find an exit, her expression scrunching in distraught and weariness. Had it been many other girls, they'd be exhilarated to be stuck with the Kaiser alone and most likely, making advances, but Rie doesn't care about any of that. He's glad it's her and not any of his fans, otherwise he'd been having a ten times worse night by now.

How long have they been there? She checks the PDA's clock, it's been over one hour, but it felt much longer. After determining she won't find anything on her third search around all the possible spots, she sighs deeply, turning around, looking at him as if someone just gave her bad news.

His back is turned to her, but he feels her gaze staring at him from afar, his intuition told him so. He gives up on this needless chase for a miraculous exit and whirls back. There's a very indistinct twist at the inner corner of his eyebrows, if she knew him better, she would say he looked bothered even when his features demonstrated zero emotional signals.

"You didn't happen to find anything, did you?" His voice was covered in deception, he knew the answer already.

She doesn't waste time in typing the reply, just shaking off her head sadly, her blue eyes shining a bit more in the darkness, he had the impression they were teary, but she turns around before he can define whether that was right or not.

Much to his surprise, she just sits down on the ground, supporting her back on the bed frame, a grumpy curve on her lips as she stares idly at the planked window and the faint moonlight that struggles to come inside the hut from in between the crevices. Has she given up completely?

To be frank with himself, he can't see a solution either, a resigned and low sigh escaping his lips, he takes a seat beside her, his eyes also wandering on that same window, not that they can see much of the outside. His hands also landing on the hard, icy wooden ground, it's even less comfortable than it appears to be. His sleeve is tugged lightly, a puzzled expression as he sees the girl showing the screen's display.

"Do you think someone will come and help us?"

"No one besides the people who put you here know you are here, right? No… I don't think anyone will even notice we're jailed here… At least not until morning comes and they find out something is off… I tutor some students every morning, they might notice I'm not there, maybe…" his orbs follow the flakes of dust floating in the air, not looking at her directly, but he gazes at her silhouette after hearing she is writing yet another text.

"Now that I think about it… Why did you come to this hut? How come you appeared here exactly today and now?"

Her round blue orbs stare curiously at him, he adjusts his posture uncomfortably, his lips half open in stupor and a stressful pressure. His heart pumps more blood than necessary to his brain when he looks at her, indecisive on what to tell. Not only had she received plenty of hate letters, but she was knocked out and set up to be enclosed in this hut, worse than that, his fans went very far in their evil and crafty schemes, a boy was coming when she was completely defenseless and tied up.

When he stares into her unaware and seemingly unknowing eyes, he can't come to tell the truth, if it was Asuka, he wouldn't have the guts to tell her that either. He's not fond of lying, but… Perhaps, a white lie would not hurt now.

"I was investigating the rumors regarding this hut… I've heard strange things and I considered whether this could be related to the missing students." His gaze stands on the ground, he raises a leg to support his arm, being as succinct as possible in the topic. "The door was slightly open, so I thought someone might be in here and when I entered, someone closed it behind me from the outside. I didn't see their face."

She is shocked and concerned at the same time, her brows trailing an uphill line, she stares into the distance, processing the new information and making some theories out of it before texting:

"That's strange… If the girls wanted to trap me here, why would they leave the door open? And why would they trap you in here with me if they were truly your fans?" Her head tilts slightly, confused at the thought "This doesn't make any sense, wouldn't they be crazy if they found out we're here together and do anything to be in my place?"

His shoulders tense up, he was wishing she was as brain dead as his fans about now and preferably that she wouldn't delve too much on the matter. It wouldn't be easy to explain it after he already started with a lie.

"I don't know…" he replies, almost nervous at all the questioning "It's possible the person who locked me in here is different from the ones you saw, I didn't see them… When I noticed I was locked, it was too late…" His eyes become hazy at the last part.

Her expression demonstrates she'd be ready to ask other million questions, her finger already raising to make a point, despite the indifference stamped on Ryou's, she can tell he is unsettled, given the situation, he could be bothered by as many things as her, the ship is sinking all the same for both. Her hand closes and she recoils, casting her gaze at the window, leaving him be, much to his surprise.

If that was a topic he didn't want to talk about, maybe she should give him space, tabbing on the same spot wouldn't do any good and it could raise his suspicion around her, there will be other times to ask.

"It's fine…" she concludes with a message "Did you find anything that stands out about this hut? Besides its creepy looks and the fact it's on the tongues of everyone in school, I mean."

"It's just an abandoned looking place…" he looks into the dark ceiling, his gaze lost in the natural patterns of the wood "There isn't anything special about it. I can get why people would make rumors, it's a very closed off space and it has this ghost-house vibe to it. Of course, there are no actual ghosts, as expected. I just don't see who would own this and for what purpose."

A curve up forces it way on her lips, internally relieved he did not analyze too much into the house, she wasn't mentally prepared for his next question:

"What do you think, Rie? Are you not scared of this place?"

She shakes her head briskly, intriguing him. Was she really not afraid or was she trying to not show she was afraid? Whichever one it is, she's an odd one. They share a moment of silence, the frogs outside and some grass bugs compose a symphony. She asks something else, as if bored with the quietness of the night, using a single hand to hold the PDA while not looking at him, dwelling into her own mind:

"Was Asuka not with you when you came?"

"I sent her back to the dorms before coming here..."

"Why?" She finally casts a glance at him, raising a brow.

"I thought I could quickly check this place on my own, surely I was mistaken, but I didn't want to risk another case like the one with the abandoned dorms. We have enough missing students as it is…"

His voice lowers on the last part, he crosses his arms, squeezing the sleeve of his coat unconsciously, his expression darkening as recalls why he was even out at night all those months, he flinches and wakes up to reality when he notices her fidgeting to say something as she types, almost dropping the PDA on the process.

"I'm sorry for bothering you." She turns around dejectedly, a bitter gulp.

A low grumble coming out of his throat, he can't figure out girls. Was he having too much of a harsh expression? Or was he too unattentive? Perhaps he should be leaving out some details to not scare her?

The words Asuka told him before about being too unapproachable echo in his mind. What a great time to be remembering this, he growls to himself. His voice coming out louder as he restarts a conversation, the topic was not one of his brightest ideas, but his lips just move on their own, without giving it much thought:

"Why did you never settle scores with those girls who were bullying you with the letters, Rie?"

She is startled at the inquisition, there is no vestige of scorn or even of a known emotion on his expression, a genuine question, she takes in a deep breathe, preparing to respond, but her eyes wander on the ceiling, collecting the right words to communicate:

"I don't know… I thought they would stop if I ignored them, but it only got worse… I'm sorry, I should've done something about it before…" she closes her eyes, a certain discouragement in her expression.

"You shouldn't be apologizing to me. But Rie, with those people, if you let them be, they will just trample on you more, the letters, all the gossip, now this absurd trap to lock you here. You have to stand for yourself too, and show them you're not willing to accept what they're trying to do. It… It may only get worse, do you understand?" The last sentences were jammed in his throat, coming out raspy.

The harshness of his expression was enveloped by some sort of compassionate feeling and also, honesty as he spoke his mind and she had to agree with him. Ignoring the elephant in the room just made it grow bigger, but she would have to face it eventually.

The way she looked down at the ground, a saddened glint on her eyes sent his senses into alert. Did he again say something he shouldn't? Maybe he was coming off too forceful or cold?

"I understand what you mean…" she replies after a long pause, then looks at him again "How did you know about the gossiping?"

"It's hard to not hear when they make sure to speak extra loud about you in the corridors." He closes his eyes disgusted in recalling just how many times he'd come across such mundane talking coming out of the mouths of those girls, much to his annoyance.

"You don't seem very happy about your fan club." Her lips twitch with a worried smile.

She strikes one in, piercing just the right amount with the words, his expression becoming graver. That was not quite right, but also not wrong. His eyes escape her sight, almost admitting he's not proud of that part of his school life.

"I don't care most of the time, but it's becoming quite out of control lately…"

He used the word "lately" to be polite, but she knows the truth that the recent events were stirred by her mere presence in the school and because she had the chance to get a locker that happened to be right near the school's most popular boy. That sounded so ridiculously cliché, yet those girls would kill each other to be in her position, both before and right now, a pointless brawl she never asked to take part in.

Her restless finger so eager to write the messages before seems to have quietened. An awkward peace installing in the air. He disrupts it again, if they're staying the whole night awake anyways, might as well make use of the time so it passes faster:

"Why did you come to the duel academy, Rie?"

She is thunderstruck for a moment, he could swear her skin got a shade paler at the sudden question, his eyes widening a bit wondering why she'd display this reaction. Did it sound that off? Maybe she understood him wrong? Before he has the chance to retreat it and clear a possible misunderstanding and clear a possible misunderstanding, she starts typing something:

"I came for my uncle."

His eyes narrow subtly at her choice of words, she said she came "for" him and not "because" of him. Did she express herself wrong or did he just not understand what she means?

"Right. Professor Daitokuji is your uncle, I almost forgot that." His voice is a remarks to himself more than an affirmation, his arms folding comfily to listen to the story "Do you not intend to become a professional duelist?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I will think about it thoroughly and consider all the options… Hopefully, I'll be able to answer this question by the time we graduate." She quickly pinches in another sentence "What about you?"

"Me?" He adjusts on his seat again, changing the position of his legs that started becoming numb. He was the one that started the interview game, he should take responsibility for it now "I just wanted to duel and had it as an option to be a professional duelist…"

"Do you have fun dueling?" She boldly risked a new question.

"Yeah… I do…" his gaze was as vague as his answer, his mind organizing some old memories, before he let out a deep, disconcerted sigh. "People had some very mean comments about you, I don't know how far the rumors go, but you should not let them swim too wildly while talking about your life, especially if they're coming at you to attack you like this."

He advised again, for someone his age he has been a very leveled person, she could conclude that by now. She blinks once before her eyes wander off in a different dimension, emptily staring at him, her hand slowly coming to her throat, practically grabbing it, her fingers twitches and suddenly, she flinches awakening from that odd state of airiness.

"Is everything alright?" He asks bemusedly.

"The rumors that I got into an accident… Not all they say is wrong." She replies, ignoring his new question, still addressing the other topic "I did get into a car crash, eight months ago…" her orbs are concentrated on the beams of light trespassing the window, as if there was something else there he couldn't see "I don't recall much of what happened, just a very bright light and when I finally woke up, I was in a hospital, but…"

An image flashes on her mind: of her looking into a mirror while having her whole neck covered in bandages.

"I had lost my voice. Apparently some pieces of the car tore my throat and it was so bad the doctors had to remove my vocal chords. I was lucky to survive, unlike the other two people in the car…"

He gulps dryly, failing to imagine how it must have been and avoiding her seemingly blank eyes for a moment, before recomposing himself. This was getting very dark and quickly.

"You could… Speak before?"

His speech is rather slow, shocked with the fact he never even considered the possibility she wasn't born like that. He inwardly reminds himself that he had been reading her messages with an imaginary voice he created as a head-canon, which made it strange to think she could speak and he wondered how it would sound. She nods briefly, not looking at him.

"I see…" the vague answer comes from the leftover sensation of shame from the misunderstanding about her muteness. "You do seem articulate enough with words… If this happened, then that's all more reason to not let people mock you."

"I don't care what they may think… They'll forget about me, or most of them will. But I'll not let those bullies take advantage of my placidness next time."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry in your life." He tries to sound as collected as possible, but an inner voice screams inside his head he should've been more careful with his words.

"It's fine. I can barely remember anything besides those two other people in the car with me, my mind just draws blank when I try, so even if I wanted to contest what those people say, not even I'm entirely sure of what transpired there… I can't deny I feel a bit out of place after coming suddenly to the academy." A wry smile spreads on her mouth.

"I should've acted sooner in this." He constrains a deep sigh in his throat, scolding himself mentally, if he knew she was already having such troubles, he'd have helped before with all the bullies, but he had to ignore it until now out of a sense of not meddling in other people's matters even knowing well this was not only her problem... A pull on his sleeve takes him out of his regret.

"I'll say this again, but you don't need to feel responsible." She raises the communicator, looking at him calmly, all the vestiges of emotion she had before disappeared from her face.

He is taken back by her text, how could she know he had been worrying about that? He didn't say anything, did he? She simply smiles faintly after taking a peek at his expression and turns her face around to stare at the window.

"But this whole situation of being stuck inside an old hut is not fine at all…" Placing the PDA aside, she coils herself, hugging her own legs', her chin cupped between her knees as she sighs in dismay.

The sight of that girl's profile embracing herself in consternation evoked a pinch of discomfort. True he was smart and was the best duelist in the school, but he felt so powerless now, not having any way to settle this or to go out the door and even more for being deceived and let those people who somehow adore him cause troubles to someone completely unrelated to him. This couldn't get worse, could it?

If he could summon Cyber Dragons in real life to fight for him, he'd be doing it and crashing this whole hut down. Nonetheless, he knows he doesn't need superpowers to act right.

He supports his arms on the bed and stands up straight, she is startled, mimicking the gesture again, her intrigued orbs transfixed on him, awaiting for some sort of explanation.

"I know we checked everything in this hut, but…" he clenches his fists, his brows furrowing down concisely. "There are places we didn't check yet… We never moved the furniture to find an alternate exit… Maybe we'll find something. I won't give up yet!"

Her feet skid a step back with his sudden idea, he bends over the bed, both his hands firmly grabbing it and then he prepares to push it away, but takes a last glance at her.

"You don't need to help me with this, don't worry. But I have to try this out…"

There is a creaking and dragging noise as he pushes the bed, she can hear a grunt coming from him, the frame was all made of wooden, she can guess it's as heavy as a whole person if not more.

Despite saying that, he has difficulties doing it alone, then the weight becomes a tad lighter, his eyes run to the side, to find Rie also pushing the bed along, his eyes widening in awe for a bit until they stop.

"I'm also not giving up…" she shows, putting the PDA back into her pocket and nodding steadily and determined.

They also moved around the shelf and even the chair, but there was nothing underneath. Rie wipes her sweat with a hand, looking around tiredly and making a negative gesture with her head. It's over, there's nothing else.

He scowls indignant, there has to be a way to exit, as he walks from one side to the other, with a hand on his forehead, as if forcing his brain to think harder about it, he stumbles upon something, his whole body toppling down, until a pair of arms come under his, helping him regain his balance.

The pink-haired had good reflexes, she reacted quickly by putting her arms under his and supporting him, sweating a bit flustered with the situation.

"Thank you." He answers quickly, casting a glance over his shoulder, perplexed "I… Just stumbled over something…"

Her heart races an insane amount, she could swear it was possible to see it making her chest bulge, the extremities of her body becoming cold, her fingers clamping around his arm, quivering softly, attracting his attention. A drop of sweat rolling down his face as he looked onto her fingers becoming white from pressing his arms, she is quite strong for a girl, he takes the note mentally, unfortunately, he has to say it:

"Huh… Rie, I'm fine… You can let go of me now." He adds the last part awkwardly, trying to sound as normal as possible.

She takes her hands away in a rush, gesturing some intangible words in what looked to be sign language, he raises his hand for her to stop.

"It's ok. I just need to check this…"

Kneeling down, he touches everywhere on the ground, where his feet could've stepped. Her heartbeats get louder by the minute, growing impatient with mixed feelings between stopping him right there or just letting him be and hope he won't find anything. Much to her despair, he claims victoriously:

"I knew it! There's definitely something here!"

His fingers press on of the planks of the floor, along the lines of the wood there are parallel lines almost invisible to the eye, he uses his nails to carve his fingers onto it and force it open, in a second, they hear a mechanism as if cogs were rotating, from what they thought to be common floorboard, a trapdoor opens, leading to a stairway to the underground, only a few steps were visible, the others, covered in pitch-black shadows.

Rie steps back, gulping hoarsely, her eyes wavering with fear, not for him, but of him finding out the secret lab of her uncle. She knew it existed somewhere here, but to think he'd find this in a few hours, she must stop him from poking his nose further or her uncle might get into trouble.

His eyes are enthralled by the path and dubious of it at the same time, whatever lays ahead, he is compromised to find it out. His voice makes her body shudder scared as he asks:

"Can you light the way?"

His eyes land on her, a sharp, confident glint on them, she opens her mouth, an instinctive reaction proving she wanted to say something, but couldn't. Her feet slide closer to him, but instead of fulfilling his request, she clasps her hands around his hand and wrist, he gapes in awe, her head swinging quickly in denial, her lips trying to form some sort of sentence, even without words, he can comprehend she doesn't want him to go in there at any cost.

His hand is clutched under her tight grip, she tries to pull him back, he anchors his feet carefully to not be pulled, resisting the attempt. Why is she so nervous?

"Rie… What are you doing? I need to go in there…"

Her grip on his hand strengthens to the point he is again amused by how much power she has, she could break his arm if she tried. Her eyes squeeze together, she shakes her head even more recklessly, completely refusing the idea of letting him go in there.

"I need to calm her down somehow…" he thinks to himself as he feels her fingers growing colder "She seems frightened… But why? Not long ago she said she wasn't scared, and she even helped push the furniture around, then why now…? Is she afraid of the darkness after all…?" his orbs avert to the opened hatch, his blood vessels pumping more blood around him so he can solve the issue. "No, Ryou, what are you even thinking? She has been locked here even before you, not to mention she was attacked and tied up, and after searching for hours for an escape route, we've failed, that has to have impacted her somehow, perhaps she is worried about waiting here alone…? Let's not be insensible now…"

His eyes come back to look into her face, he can see all the tension and anxiety coming from her not only in her grip but in her expression too. Steeling his nerves, he puts up a cold and stoic face, placing his other hand above hers, much to her surprise.

"Listen, Rie. I don't know why you're so afraid, but if there is a small chance we can find a way out down there, I'm taking it. However, you have my PDA now, and I can't see without any light, I mean, I could just touch my way down there, but it would be better if you could help me and light the way, you don't need to wait here, we can both go down there and come back once we've checked it, alright?"

She closes her mouth, feeling cornered by his words, if she doesn't accept he will be suspecting her and if she accepts, she will be willingly taking him to her uncle's secret lab. Her grip lessens, she hesitates. He can see it and all he needs to do is to give her a final push:

"You don't need to be afraid, it's unlikely there's anyone in here, you also don't need to come down all the way with me, just lighting the way is enough. I promise it will be fine and we will be back fast, this is an old, abandoned place, and the worst that could've happened… Well, it already happened, we might try and search for an exit, right? I'll be back soon, don't worry. And even if there's nothing, it will be fine too, We will come up safely. Someone will notice we are missing…" he says the last part a little less hopeful than he wanted to.

He is set free from her grip, she lowers her oscillating gaze, unsure if that is the best decision, but for now, she has to roll with the plan. Taking out the PDA from her pocket, she texts before activating the flashlight:

"Let's be careful."

A sour curve down on her lips, unwilling to accept the plan. He takes a deep breath, relieved she rested her emotions at least a bit for the time being. With the light showing the way, he walks downstairs, it's not a long path, he hears her light footsteps following behind him and the light reaching the inner parts of the new place they are in: a small room.

It has shelves on all four walls, and it's very cramped, a desk in the middle with just enough space around it for about two people to walk beside each other, some books are haphazardly strewn on the ground with strange symbols that looked like occultism to him, making him raise a brow. Calling it a "witch's hut" was not as far-fetched as he initially thought.

Across the desk there is a single chair, covered in dust and spider webs, just like the rest of the room, and on the surface of the wooden desk, there are some papers and a small and artisanally crafted iron cauldron that looked very heavy from the thickness of the metal and had deformities all over its shape. What tingles his curiosity is the fact the shelves contain mostly flasks and some of them have books.

He inconspicuously approaches the glass flasks, his hand wiping a bit the dust to see there were some name tags under each flask. His eyes narrowing to read the yellow and worn out paper under one of the bottles that contained some deep red liquid in it: "Charm".

"What does this even mean?"

A slapping sound occurs when Rie suddenly grabs his wrist, panicky shaking her head while trying to alert him to not touch anything. He raises his hands in surrender while blinking confusedly at her message:

"Please, don't touch anything! We don't know what those things are and what could be in there!" her brows angling up expressed more unrest than anything else, even though the message was meant to reprimand him.

"I won't." He is short and puts his hands down, still looking around, half curious and mostly bewildered while surmising "Who would have a place like this? Why is it a secret room? The layout and the things inside here… It's really like some sort of witch was living here… Or at least, using this space for experiments… Regardless of who it was, there's dust everywhere, so they might have abandoned this place long ago… Still… It worries me that people knew some rumors about this hut and related it to a witch… Who started spreading those rumors… and for which purpose?"

He is in deep thought until his sleeve is jerked abruptly, it was Rie, she still has the same unquiet semblance from before, repeatedly tugging his sleeve, her eyes yelling to him she doesn't want to be there any second longer. His lips unglue slightly, taking a bit of air, thinking on how to best answer her, but after considering for a moment, it's true that place didn't have a single exit and he promised they'd get out if there was nothing there…

As much as he would want to stay and scrutinize the whole room and define whether this is just a random hut for someone's experiments or if it's related to Fubuki and the other missing students, he feels pressured by the fact Rie is there too. He neither would want to get her involved or more troubled than she already was. An inward sigh of disappointment comes from him as he gives up on the place.

"I will try to come back here later…" he vows to himself.

"Let's go up, Rie."

She puts a hand to her chest, more relieved than he thought she'd be. Was she really this scared of this place? Considering the objects and what they imply, he's not surprised, someone could be doing some black magic here for all they know.

She whirls around and goes ahead to light the path, before he fully leaves, he takes a last glance at the table, from the dim side light still in the room, he can see some strange symbols and a different language he couldn't recognize written, but what made his eyes open wide and flicker was the last word at the right corner of the paper:

"Fujiwara."

Without a second thought, he grabs the paper and folds it, tucking it in his inner chest pocket, his gaze landing on Rie's back with apprehension, she didn't seem to have noticed his little stealing act. They both go up, she sits down, leaning her back on the bed that is now out of place, he again takes a seat beside her, they both look at the opened trapdoor that stands out.

He's happy he found a small clue and he can research more about this place later too, but likewise he is unhappy about having to wait yet again for more information. He finally got another hint that can be related to his pursuit, but it feels like it's slipping away in between his fingers.

Rie hugs her legs again, casting a narrowed side glance at the Kaiser who sits in an erect, elegant posture, he's more clever than they say, she should be happy he was the one inside here with her, given others could have tried to harm her, however, she can't pretend she isn't afraid of what he might find out. If he somehow gets a wind of what's going on with her uncle and what this school is about to go through… A shiver runs her spine.

His eyes flash to the side, meeting hers again, she almost jumps on her seat, wriggling slightly at how he can tell when he is observed, she takes the PDA to write an excuse.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking… We didn't find an exit in the end."

"I would like to say it's not a problem, but we might just end up waiting here the whole night… We should be patient, I suppose."

He takes out his deck from his pocket and starts checking it to spend time, they both engross in their own activities, their minds at different stances and places, each one worried about the other getting a gist of what they're hiding or trying to do. Secrets again building walls between them.

Next morning,

Chronos sits up straight n his bed after hearing strong slams at his door, two boys shouting his name, his body swings around a bit until he is fully awake, he mumbles some complaints under his breath while still dressed in his full pajama set to check whatever is the problem.

As soon as he opens it, he sees the worried faces of two first-year obelisk students, they look at each other as if deciding who would tell it. One of them starts, gulping nervously:

"Professor Chronos, it's the Kaiser… He isn't around…"

"Panini, why did you call me for such trifle matter? He has his own matters to take care of, no?"

"No! He always is waiting for us at this time in the morning for our tutoring and he never once missed, also his room was unlocked and he wasn't anywhere there. No one saw him around since yesterday after classes…"

The teacher is about to contest it once again that he could be anywhere else, but a call to his PDA turns the tides, it's the girl's dorm representative, Ayukawa.

"Professor Chronos, I request that you come here immediately, this is urgent! One of our students is missing! I'll explain more when you arrive!"

She ends the call, a shiver spreads in his stomach, Kaiser is his best student, certainly he wouldn't… Would he? Without giving himself more time, he quickly changes clothes and rushes out of the dorm.

Edo almost stumbles onto him when he comes out of his room, Chronos ignores him and hisses while casting a glance meaning "get out of the way, pro-boy!".

The silver-haired hears hectic whispers flying all over the corridors, tapping a shoulder of one of the nearest students, with a raised brow:

"What happened? What bit him?"

"Actually, one of the obelisk students was out the whole night it seems."

He scoffs, of course some of the students would have night escapades, he can imagine as teens they'd be meeting girls secretly sometimes or just breaking the rules for fun. He asks for the sake of it:

"Who was it?"

"Ka-Kaiser Ryou…" The boy answers reluctantly, almost afraid of saying it out loud.

Edo's flabbergasted at the statement, he knows for sure Ryou was up to something last night, but he also knows it was nothing silly like meeting girls. What if Saiou's predictions were true not only for him? A dreadful sensation stirs inside his chest. What if this could have been avoided? What if something awful happened?

At the girl's dorm, the situation was not very different, Asuka walks down the main stairway puzzled with all the chit-chatting that seems louder than usual, she meets Junko and Momoe at the main hall.

"What is going on?" Her eyes spot a circle of girls surrounding Ayukawa, many curious eyes.

"A student is missing… Or so some girls said…"

"Who?"

"The new girl, Rie-chan."

She gasps, approaching the crowd rashly and squeezing herself into it to overhear the conversation, she has a bad feeling. What if someone disappeared again like Fubuki? From inside the gossiping, she hears the teacher discussing with two girls.

"We saw her message, teacher! She was scheduling a late night meetup with a boy!"

"Yeah, we're sure! And they were going to some hut! We can show you the way, we know where it is!"

"Then, come quick!"

Ayukawa frowns and darts out of the dorm, to the entrance, the two girls grin satisfied their plan is going smoothly and high five each other excitedly before tagging behind the teacher. Asuka can only see as Chronos arrives wheezing as if he'd run the Olympics and raises his arms high after hearing some words from the other teacher. The two adults and the two girls hurriedly leave the place.

In the hut

Ryou's awakes in a flinch after feeling his own weight making his head topple down. A faint sunlight beam crosses the crevices of the planks on the window, his eyes are a bit blurry from the drowsiness, he can hear birds chirping far away outside.

His hand massages his nape, his neck hurts. His other hand is supported on the lukewarm ground, a gift from the sunlight. For how long has he been in that position and for how long did he sleep? He can't answer any of those questions.

All he remembers is entering and being locked by that first year student and finding Rie inside. A sigh of dismay escapes his lips after ascertaining it was not a dream. Speaking about it… His shoulder also feels heavy, maybe he fainted in a bad position.

He glances at his own shoulder, a startle occurring as he sees the pink head using his it as a pillow. He adjusts on his seat, his cheeks prickling a bit with the scene. It seemed as if she'd faint and tumbled to the side at some point with how her cheeks were flatly pressed by his shoulder bone.

"Rie, wake up…" he pronounces, unsure if he can be heard, his hand hovering over her shoulder, fearing coming any closer.

His hesitation builds up some sweat, he finally lands a hand on her shoulder, shaking it gently, her eyelids open slightly, she sits down properly, leaving his shoulder alone and rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Her unfocused vision stops at his face, he seems concerned about something, she wakes up fully, looking around impatiently and standing upon a whim, gaping at the fact they're still inside. He stands up too, folding his arms.

"It's already morning…" he lowers his head in some sort of defeat for not being able to leave the hut until dawn.

"Ryou… What do we do? The sun's out and nobody has come yet… Will we really be… Here for longer?"

She bites her lips with the bitter message, her eyes start tearing up and he can see it clearly now. His brows arch up in pity, indeed, what do they do? They're both worn out, sleeping on the ground wasn't the most pleasant experience, whether someone finds them here or not might be a luck game with low odds of winning.

"It will be easier for people to notice we're missing now…" his hands land on her shoulders to comfort her, albeit he was not seeing any easy solution out of this, there's no point in causing more distress.

As they both stand still depressed, looking at each other, their minds drifting apart seeking for an answer they'll never find, they hear a clank as if someone moved the planks outside, both their eyes speedily are cast unto the entrance of the hut, widening in expectation, the door is opened from the outside, the bright sunlight invading the place and shining upon them too.

The person opening the door is none other than Chronos, his jaw drops almost to the ground seeing his best student in there as he was warned, he slaps his own face in astonishment upon seeing the two youngsters inside, his skin turns white and he freezes while exclaiming:

"Mamma mia!"

From behind him some shocked gasps soar, Ayukawa covers her mouth with both hands, her eyes wavering; and the two girls who tricked Rie before petrify with the sight, stepping back, their eyes bulging out as they see who was in there with Rie was their beloved Kaiser, trembling in disbelief, how did it end up like this?

Ryou quickly removes his hands from Rie's shoulder, trying to avoid more misunderstandings. His mouth opening at loss for what to say, he and Rie exchange a concerned glance, their brows angling up in consternation, they can already see the trouble looming ahead. But how can they explain this?

He clicks his tongue in annoyance, averting his gaze to the ground, her lips curve down in some sort of disgruntlement, staring afflicted at the people paralyzed at the entrance. If they thought the night was long, this day is gonna be even longer.