"Okay, so the rest of you can go back to the hotel, I'm going to go check on Nico." Everyone agreed and left me alone. I hurried across the hallway, speeding past nurses and doctors and patients.
I was worried. Worried that Yuuto was going to find out about our situation and burn my arms again. I shuddered at the thought of feeling the rod on my arms again.
Speaking of the devil, as I turned to a corner, I was slammed into a wall by Yuuto himself. "What the hell happened back there?" He growled. He started to choke me. "I told you to catch him, and what do you do? You let him escape."
"I-I couldn't catch him w-with the state were i-in. " I stuttered. His grip got harder on my neck.
"I want this man caught immediately, understand?" I struggled with a weak nod to him. "Good." He let go of my throat. I fell to the floor and started a coughing fit. "I gave you the new recruits because I wanted you to show me that they are useful." I stopped coughing a little. "If you don't find them useful by the end of the mission, I will kill each one of them in front of you, slowly and painfully for both of you." Every part of my body froze at those words.
"I will check in a few days to see if you've taken my words to heart." He disappeared as soon as he came. I quickly got up and ran to find Nico's room again. Now I wasn't worried.
I was terrified.
I finally found his room and lightly knocked on it. "Come in." Someone said behind the door. I opened to find Nico in bed like I expected, but Skai was here too.
He saw me and beamed. "Hi Vanitas!" He grinned at me eagerly.
"How did you . . . ?" I was so confused.
"I heard you say something about coming to Mexico, so I made my way here a day before you did, to surprise me. Instead, you surprised me by getting involved in a plane crash."
"Ah, yeah, about that-"
"You also need to tell him how to deal with his problem." Nico interrupted. He sipped his water from his straw.
"What problem?" I asked. Suddenly, the room felt very cold, which was ironically strange.
"This problem." Skai said. His hair was white now, and his eyes were clouded. "It has been happening more often. What's weird is that it only happens whenever I am near you nowadays. Do you know why?"
I thought about it for a while, before answering. "I think it regards your brother, since he also controls such powers. I'm not quite sure, but I think the reason you can use your power better than normal is because your minds are connected to each other in some weird way? Again, I'm not quite sure."
Skai sighed. "Okay," He began. "So, my brother is the reason for all of this?"
"I guess?"
"Is he here?" He started getting excited.
"Yeah," I began. "But he doesn't know you exist. So, you can't see him yet."
He groaned, and fell on top of Nico's legs. Nico was still sipping his water from his straw. "Look, I enjoy being with you and you're a better 'cousin' than Oni, but you're hurting my legs. So, if you don't mind, could you-?" Nico asked politely.
"Oh, sorry." He quickly got off. He fixed his clothes and opened the window in the room.
"Um, where are you going?" I asked.
"I have to go now," He said. He stood on the edge of the window. "I'll see you guys from time to time. Bye!" He jumped off the edge and disappeared.
"Bye." Nico said. There was silence between us for a while.
"Now, where was I? Ah, yes," I said, glaring at Nico. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" I hollered. "Why on earth would you fight him? You had your chance to escape, and yet you ran towards the danger."
"Me? Think in a situation as dangerous and life threatening like that? Unbelievable." Nico smiled at me.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. "Yuuto found out about the crash."
"Not surprising." He commented.
"He said he needs me to prove that all of you are worthy of joining his 'army', otherwise he'll kill you slowly and painfully."
Nico sat there, unfazed by the situation. "I'm guessing he hurt you when he told you this?"
"No, no," I growled. "He gave me a nice, wonderful massage to help relax and get through the crisis I am currently going through with everyone."
"Wow," He replied, staring at me with amazement. "Was it really that good?"
"OF COURSE NOT YOU MORON!" I yelled again. He bursted into laughter, spilling some of his water on him. "What are you laughing for, we are talking about your lives here!"
He wiped the tears from his eyes. "Sorry. But, I doubt you'll have to worry about some of us. I mean, Jay can be used for building purposes, Mune can be used to hack government files and such, and I can use my lightning power as a means of fighting along with you all. It's just Oni and Lina you need to help."
I raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"
"Because Oni is just beginning to learn he has powers to begin with. And controlling them is a completely different topic. Lina is too shy and scared to face the world. She may seem outgoing and confident, but that's when she's not around a bunch of strangers. I know this for obvious reasons."
"So it's just them?" I eyed him suspiciously.
"Mostly Oni though but, yeah, just them." He buried himself in his bed sheets. "I'm going to take a nap."
"But you just woke up?" I noted, confused.
"Yeah, but I'm still tired. So get out and let me sleep."
I scoffed. "What are you, five?"
"Yes. Now, get out."
I hurried out the door without a word. I decided that since I had plenty of time before I went to my room, I might as well give Oni's mom a call about our progress.
I walked out of the hospital and headed to a nearby cafe for a snack and drink. I ordered my food and sat near one of the windows. I pulled out my phone and called her.
It took a while. She wouldn't answer any of them at first, but I eventually came through. "Hello?" A man asked on the other side.
I hesitated for a moment. I was unsure of what to say, I mean this was Oni's dad on the line. At least, I assumed he was. I've never met the man, let alone speak to him. "Sir, this is Vanitas Tohajima. I am a friend of Oni's. Is it possi-"
I was interrupted by someone yelling on the other side. "VANITAS WHERE IS MY SON?" Now we're back to "find my son" mom. How fun.
"He's in Mexico like I told you. He's fine, if you're wondering. A little banged up but he's fine." I kept the phone at a distance and began to eat my pastry I ordered. "He really hates Sholto. He doesn't want to stay near him."
Kettō sighed. "Not surprising. He's never seen his pet cat in human form before, so it's fine. He'll warm up to him eventually." Pet cat? Sholto was Oni's pet? This family truly was crazy.
"We don't have enough time for 'eventually'," I explained. "I met Yuuto earlier. He told me if Oni and the others don't show potential by the time they finish the mission, he'll kill them all."
There was silence on the other side. "Did he hurt when he told you-"
"Of course he hurt me, what do you think he did?" I whisper-yelled at her, sipping on my black coffee. I grimaced at the taste. I probably forgot to add sugar again.
"Sorry. Do you still have that spray I gave you a long time ago?"
"The one that helps hide my physical features so no one finds out about our people and experiments on my body for anything unusual about my insides?" I asked nonchalantly.
"Yes! That's the spray."
"Hmm," I thought aloud. "I ran out of that." I lied. It was in my coat pocket, incase of emergencies.
"I-I see," She acknowledged. I hear her begin to panic.
"May I ask why you're so concerned about that?"
"The effects of that spray will wear off of Oni if he isn't given it on time."
"Really?" I asked sarcastically, leaving the almost empty cafe and towards the hotel I was staying at. "That's such a shame. Guess I'm going to have to tell him the truth."
"Vanitas, what are you-"
"The moment the effects of that spray wear off, I will spill everything to Oni. Everything." I grinned maliciously.
"Vanitas-"
"You took your chances. Now I'm taking mine. Goodbye." I hung up and entered the building. I walked past the secretary and bell boys and entered the elevator. I made my way towards my room once I reached my floor. When I got there, I wasn't really surprised at what everyone was doing.
Zane was hiding under the covers while Eli and Sholto were having an intense pillow fight. Crimson and Lina were enjoying their time trying on different types of makeup and were trying to convince Zane to join them. Mune was typing at least four laptops and three phones-an amusing sight, since he just got out of the hospital-and Ash was hanging off her bed.
"Twenty minutes." I said, catching everyone's attention. "That's how long I leave you. Twenty minutes. How you managed to destroy this entire room in such a short time, I will not ask. But, I suggest you clean this up immediately. I have news for you guys."
Everyone hurried and cleaned up the place. Eli and Sholto cleaned up the feathers on the floor, Crimson and Lina were putting away their makeup, Ash sat up and fixed herself, Mune was putting all the devices away, and Zane slowly came out of the covers.
The six of them sat on any of the beds in the room and waited for me to speak. I took a deep breath. "I met with Yuuto earlier." The atmosphere got really heavy. I took another breath to stop myself from shaking and explained what he told me.
After that, Mune held his sister close while everyone but Sholto murmured to one another. "So," I began. Everyone stopped talking and listened. "I have decided to give you all jobs once those three idiots get out of the hospital. 'Till then, get some rest."
Ash raised her hand. "Did he hurt you when he-"
"OH MY GOD YES HE DID WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL?!" I screamed. No one asked anymore questions. Soon, they all fell asleep, the girls and boys separated in different rooms. I chose to walk around instead, since I couldn't get any sleep. I walked past many buildings and stores, maybe grabbing a few snacks here and there. Skai met up with me at one point and walked with me.
"So, I went to see my brother earlier-"
"Please tell me you didn't traumatize him." I panicked.
He shook his head vigorously. "No, he was asleep. I doubt he'd be traumatized by that."
I sighed in relief. "Okay, then what happened?"
"Well, I walked by the hotel you're staying at-"
"-Should I be concerned for my friends and I?"
"No. They didn't notice me. Then, I went to the bar you used to work at-"
"Why were you at that bar specifically?"
"Will you stop interrupting me?" he stopped and looked at me, frowning.
"No, why?" I smiled.
"It's annoying." He retorted.
"So are you but I'm not complaining now am I?" I smiled even more.
"I think you ate too many snacks, Vanitas."
"No I didn't." I said confidently. I checked my watch. "Welp', I'm going back. See you later, Skai!"
With that, I headed off back to my room. I silently made my way to my bed, and jumped onto the covers. I fell asleep instantly. The next morning brought something more interesting than I expected.