"Hey Vanitas!" Someone yelled behind me. I stopped to see Nico catching up to me.
"What is it now?" I said with a sour tone.
"We have a problem." He informed me after catching his breath. "It's Oni. I'm pretty sure it's become obvious to you that he knows who we are."
I glared at him. "Where is he?"
"Ash took him somewhere."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Did you try to stop her?"
"No..?" Nico answered weakly.
I cursed underneath my breath. "Come on. You and I both know that she'll tell him the truth. We can't let that happen." We ran to our rooms.
Nico tried to open the door. "Shit!" He cursed.
"What now?"
"She's locked it!" He let go of the handle and took a few steps back. I followed his actions. I glanced at his hand to see a spark of lightning growing. "There better be no one on the other side." He murmured.
He threw it at the door, causing it to become splinters. There were sounds of coughing in front of us. When the smoke cleared, we were shown Nico's friends, Oni, and a furious Ash.
"What the heck did you need to do that for?!" She yelled at us. As she scolded us like little children, I glanced at the five of them angrily. This is going to be one hell of a mission. I thought. In the midst of it, Nico snapped.
"Why are you throwing all the blame at us? We didn't encourage you to tell him the truth! We didn't ask you to show him bits of our past!" He paused to take a breath, and then pinched his nose in frustration.
"How much do they know?" I whispered to her.
"Only that I'm really a girl and you two are hiding something." She said.
I raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Really? So Nico is right. You are blaming us for everything."
"Ahem." Someone announced behind us. Mune stood, glancing at us. "So," he began. "When are we going?" He asked. "To Mexico, I mean."
"Tomorrow morning." I informed him. "Be at the garage at 6:00 am. Jay knows where that is."
He nodded, and the trio left, leaving me with Nico, Ash, and Oni. I scanned the room and began to worry. Oni wasn't here.
"Ash?" I whispered. "Where is Oni?"
"Behind you with a knife." He answered. "Why? Did you finally get a heart?"
I kicked someone behind me. Oni flew across the room, passing out as he made contact with the wall.
Nico pinched the bridge of his nose again. "What the heck was that for?!" He yelled. "Did you seriously have to kick him into the wall?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," I answered, looking down, embarrassed. "It was just a reflex."
"Now I know why you two are cousins." Ash grabbed the nearest thing and threw it at Nico's head. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Sorry, it was just a reflex." She answered sarcastically. Nico growled at her, but still continued to wake Oni up.
I sighed. "Just get Crimson. She'll know how to wake him up."
"Yeah, but then he won't ever sleep." Nico argued.
"Is he always late for school?"
"Yes…?"
"Then he'll always make it on time."
"Really? That's your excuse if you gave him insomnia?"
"If. Not when."
"Would you two stop it?" Ash scolded at us. "No one will go through insomnia, alright?"
We both stared at her for a few seconds before turning our heads to Oni, who chose to wake up.
"Ugh…" He groaned. "Why the hell did Vanitas kick me?"
"Because I still don't have a heart." I glared at him.
"Where did everyone else go?"
"They went to get ready." Nico answered.
"You three should do the same, you know." I began, throwing my clothes back into my suitcase. "Remember, we're leaving tonight, so I suggest you back your things."
As if on time, The rest of the elites entered the room. "I'm pretty sure there is a good reason why the door is broken, why my clothes are on my bed, why Ash looks pissed, and why Oni is clutching his stomach." Zane said nonchalantly.
"Aren't you calm for once." I mumbled underneath my breath. "You'll get your answers. Just not yet." I turned to look at them. "Flight's at seven. We leave at six tomorrow."
I left the room and decided to go to the abandoned shed near the building. On my way, I felt as if someone was watching me.
By the time I reached the shed, the feeling grew to the point where I almost could feel their breath on my neck. I turned around and bonked my head into someone. I was dizzy for a few seconds, before going into a defensive position.
"Ow!" They groaned. "Calm down Vanitas! It's just me!"
I looked carefully at them. They had navy blue hair that covered most of their left eye, a black suit that contrasted their porcelain skin, and bright yellow eyes. I would've mistaken them as Oni, if I didn't notice their blue horns and tail. I sighed.
"Skai." I greeted him. He gave me a lopsided grin.
"Glad you still remember." He shook my hand and glanced at my features. "It seems you've barely aged."
I rolled my eyes and opened the shed to find millions of garden snakes, slithering around.
I glanced at Skai. "Get rid of them before they become serpent soup." I ordered him. "Now."
He scoffed at the idea, but got rid of most of them with a snap of his tail. He sat down in the center of the shed and let the remaining snakes slither all over him. One even made his hair a nest.
I shivered at the sight. I grabbed one and clung onto its neck. It curled and wriggled in my grasp, but eventually accepted its fate. I glared at Skai. "Get them out. NOW."
He flinched at how I acted, but listened properly this time. As the last snake slithered out of there, he glared at me. I put the dead snake on a nearby table.
"Don't look at me like that. This-" I pointed at the snake. "-is your fault for not listening."
"When were you going to tell me I had a twin brother?" He asked angrily. How did he- "The snakes told me." Oh yeah. I forgot he could talk to reptiles.
I hesitated, before answering. "I thought you already knew! Your parents never told me about him, so how was I supposed to know?"
He scoffed. "I don't believe you." He climbed onto one of the closets in the shed. He curled himself into a little ball and pretended to sleep.
I rolled my eyes at the scene and proceeded to do what I was supposed to do here. I checked through each of the cabinets and drawers, looking for the cell phone I hid earlier. I heard Skai shuffle, but paid no attention to it until he threw something at me.
"Ow!" I grumbled. "Why'd you do that?" I asked.
He pointed his tail to an object on the floor. "You were looking for this?" He stated arrogantly. I muttered a few curses to him before picking up the phone and contacting Kettō, Oni's mother.
One ring, two rings. . . "Hello?" A woman asked on the other side.
"Hello, this is Vanitas speaking-" I began.
"VANITAS WHERE IS MY SON?!" Kettō yelled over the phone. Skai jumped from his place. Wow, after all these years she still worries for the son she gave up. Or is she asking about Oni?
"Calm down, Kettō. He's alright." I glanced at my friend, who tried to go back to sleep.
"May I ask as to why Skai didn't know about Oni's existence until now?" I quietly demanded.
There was silence on the other side. ". . . I couldn't let either of them know the truth yet." She answered hesitantly.
"Yeah, well that doesn't seem to matter anymore," I bickered. "Thanks to Ienzo's gifts, he's beginning to learn the truth."
"I see . . ."
"'I see?!' Kettō, we are talking about your sons! Lorian-human hybrids! You and your husband knew Yuuto when you were young adults, you know what he's capable of! If he finds out what Oni truly is, god knows what will become of him."
"I know, I know," I could hear the fear and worry in her voice. "But I can't do anything about it until I get a location."
I sighed. "Sonora," I finally answered. "Mexico, Sonora. If you don't tell him during our time there, then I will. And believe me when I say I will." I ended the call before she could protest.
By then, the young Lorian finally fell asleep on top of the closet. I punched the piece of furniture. "Wake up you demonio perezoso!" I yelled.
A screech erupted from Lorianion's mouth as he fell onto the cold floor. He growled at me, his once sun glowing eyes now dark with anger.
"And that's my que to leave." I say, sprinting out of the shed and back into the building, knowing full well that Skai couldn't get in without getting caught.
"You jerk!" I heard him yell in the distance. I managed to reach my room just in time for dinner.
"You okay, Vanitas?" Crimson asked me. I nodded my head and began to eat.
Nico leaned near my ear. "So are you going to tell him the truth?" He whispered.
"Not yet." I answered. "Until we get to Sonora. Then I might."
"I'm guessing you're not gonna sugar-coat it like his parents?" He leaned back into his original spot.
"Yep." I glanced at Oni. "That's the plan."
~~~
I stared at the ceiling for what felt like the millionth time as I waited for the clock to strike six. I sighed, and closed my tired eyes.
"If you're going to take us to Mexico, you might as well do it today?" A voice said in the next bed.
I glanced at Crimson, her red bangs covering most of her eyes. "I thought you'd finally get some sleep."
She smiled and glanced at the ceiling. "You of all people know why I can't sleep." She pointed at her head. "You've seen the shit that lives in here."
"A curse and a blessing…" I began.
She nodded. "I'm able to scare even Yuuto by just looking at him, as long as I don't have a soul." She chuckled softly. "God, we were so reckless when we were younger, weren't we?"
I nodded. "I was jealous of Ash because of her powers. They would always praise her for her talents and such."
Crimson turned to face me. "How was it you managed to convince me?"
"What?"
"How was it you managed to convince me to go with you to 'find a way to gain powers?'"
I shrugged. "No idea." We both silently laughed at that.
"I think I do. Something along the lines of a book and knowledge and all that mythological crap." She guessed.
"Whatever. You and I went to this weird cave and met this crippled looking hag after that, right?"
"Witch. We're not talking about you, remember?"
I lazily put my hand on my heart. "Ouch. That hurt my 'non-existent' heart." I asked.
Crimson bursted into a laughing fit just as my alarm clock buzzed. I sat up and walked around the room. "Rise and shine que los drogadictos! We're going to Mexico today!"
Everyone groaned. "Vanitas, bud, now isn't the time to be yelling at us in spanish." Zane remarked.
"Would you rather have me wake you up in German?�� I smirked.
Everyone but Oni was fully awake now, screaming at me to not. "No! Please, for our sake-well, maybe not Oni's but still-do not speak German." Eli begged. And with that, everyone started gathering things. Even Oni managed to wake up this time.
I chuckled. It wasn't that they feared the Germans when I spoke the language, it was how I pronounced the words. Last time I tried speaking German, I sounded like a broken gramophone to Eli. Since then, I have never spoken the language again.
Ash tied her hair into a ponytail before grabbing her things and walking out the newly made door with the others, Oni in the rear. We all went to the garage and met up with Oni's friends.
"Look who it is!" Jay growled. "The infamous elites!"
I glanced at Mune. "Not enough sleep?" I asked.
Mune shrugged. "You could say that." He turned to see Lina counting how many items she had with her. "She's been doing that for ten minutes now."
"Hey, I need to make sure I have what I need for the trip." Lina said defensively.
I turned to the elites. "Okay! So here's how it's going to go during our drive. Oni, Nico, you guys are going to go with your friends in the minivan, alright? Everyone else will go with me in the SUV." I point to the vehicle they would be staying in temporarily. "If anyone needs extra time to sleep, be my guest."
Most of them sighed in relief at the sound of that. Oni and the others went into the grey minivan, Nico driving, while the rest of us went into the pastel green SUV, me being the driver. "Remember," I told Nico. "Stay behind us at all times. If you need to contact us, there's a walkie talkie attached near the steering wheel."
It hadn't been half an hour when I started to hear snoring in the back. Crimson chuckled in the passenger seat. "Boy, have I missed being the one doing that." She said.
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Too bad you died as a kid, huh." I mentioned.
"Do you remember when the witch told us to read everything that was in the room, but to never follow the shadow?" She questioned.
"Yeah, but you followed it nonetheless." I replied. I turned to her. "How does it feel?"
"Hmm?" She asked absentmindedly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, like, being dead and all. Does it hurt?" I mentally kicked myself for asking such a question.
To my surprise, she shrugged. "Meh. Sometimes I forget that I don't have a life inside me? But no, it doesn't hurt. In fact, it feels as if my body is numb, you know?"
I shook my head. "I still don't understand how I also got powers. I mean, I was simply reading about the brain and its parts when all of a sudden, I can see people's thoughts, dreams, memories, emotions . . . I would say it was all your fault, but in the end, the only people we can blame is ourselves."
"Since when have you become Shakespere?" She asked me.
"Shakespere was a poet, not a killer." I commented.
"He still spoke wise words, did he not?" She countered.
"Meh. I don't know, nor do I care."
"It's funny how you guys think we're all asleep." Someone spoke in the back.
The car skidded across the road before going back to its original place. I spun my head to face the culprit. Everyone laughed in the back. "God, you actually thought we were asleep? Ha!" Ash exclaimed.
"Hey, you okay in there?" Nico's voice crackled.
I ordered everyone to be quiet. "Yeah. We're fine. Just wasn't looking on the road." I lied, glaring at the elites.
"Alright. How long is it until we get there?" He asked.
"In about half an hour or so. Don't worry." With that, we continued the trip in silence. Mostly.
"I still can't believe you two thought everyone was asleep." Eli spoke through giggles.
Crimson glanced at him from the rear-view mirror. "Shut up, you moron."
"No, but the way you changed the topic just-" Zane began before erupting in giggles.
"How is that funny?" Crimson asked. "It was just Shakespere."
"Nah, that wasn't funny. What was funny was how calmly you guys were talking about your death, Crimson." Everyone but us laughed at that.
I turned my attention back to the road. "You guys are crazy." They laughed even more. Even Crimson began to chuckle with them.
"I'm bored." Eli yawned.
I rolled my eyes. "Then go to sleep."
"Nah, that's too boring."
"Oh! Why don't we play 'Frypan?'" Ash suggested.
I shrugged. "As long as I'm not playing."
"Party pooper." Crimson said. I playfully stuck my tongue out.
"Alright! Who goes first?" Zane asked.
"Hold on." Crimson said. She took off her seatbelt. "Let me in the back with you guys."
"I will." Ash said. Eli handed her a lie detector and Zane a frying pan.
Zane held the frying pan-yes you use an actual frying pan in this game moving along-and asked her a question. "Do you plan to tell the others about your true form soon? Like, with the ears and tail and such?"
"Yes. Maybe when all the dust settles, but soon." She answered. The detector did nothing.
"One point for Ash, zero for Zane!" Eli wrote.
"'Kay, now it's my turn." They switched the items. "Are you going to tell the others about your true form?"
"No. Wait-" The detector beeped. Ash raised the frying pan. "Ah! Wait! I didn't mean to say that!" Zane pleaded, but got smacked in the face with metal. Everyone laughed at the sight.
"How about you guys play 'Llama-dama-ding-dong,' ay? You guys don't have to fight each other." I suggested.
Everyone shrugged, and decided to play the game. Eli brought out the cards and a cowbell. For a while, it was quiet. I glanced to see them all but Crimson sleeping, the cards sprawled all over the place. And they said they weren't tired, I thought.
By the time we got to the airport, everyone, including Oni, managed to wake up and get their things. I was just about to give everyone their tickets when Lina dropped her things and ran back to the minivan.
"She forgot her heels." Jay answered, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Why on Earth would she need heels on a mission?
"This is why I'm glad I grew up learning how to kill a man rather than to impress one." Ash commented.
I looked around the area to see if Oni's parents came or not. As I did, someone tapped me on my shoulder.
"Excuse me," They began. I turned around and saw what looked like a snow tiger-human hybrid. Judging by how calm he looked, I was guessing he was using some kind of spray, like me. "Do you know who Vanitas might be?"
"I'm Vanitas." I answered. "And you are. . . ?"
They stuck their hand out. "My name is Sholto. I'm Oni's guardian. His parents told me to inform them that they couldn't come to reveal the truth to their son."
I smirked. "I suppose you're here simply to take care of him?"
He nodded. I chuckled. "Oh boy. This is gonna get interesting."
"Oni!" I yelled across the sea of people.
He came to me after a while. "What is it, Vanitas?" He glanced at Sholto. "Who's this?"
"This is Sholto. He'll be your caretaker from now on."