"What... what a bluff?! I am reading it. How am I presumed to be dead?"
I crooked my nose.
Suddenly I heard some rapid steps airy, I was worried, I took the pen in my hand and plugged the book and grasped it tightly.
"Kahuna... The ring..."
My eyes were wide open, I could infer every single air packet, I could even feel her breath. Afraid and heavy, I could discern her, my body was pierced, she was covered with blood, scarcely subsisting at the door.
I was cornered, I didn't know what to do. My whole body was frosted.
"the ring...it...they want it back...."
Barely words were popping out with the frightening vibes.
"What happened to you, the blood....., who?"
The only thing my mind was loaded with, that time.
"Run...They will find you, Kahuna run..."
She neared me, tugged my hand, and ran as if that was our last breath.
Am I reliving my past, is she the same, why are you running, the ring! what about it?
The man then, now Karin, are they the same, my hand which had grasped the man then was now grasping of Karin.
Is she gonna end up the same way...
"No...?" I forcibly pulled my hand.
"No...I don't want to run..."
I couldn't let that happen, the same transpired to that unknown man.
"Kahuna, don't be a fool...they will kill you anytime."
She was right, I was a jester then, I was a dumb head. So then what? I just sat down and inquired her.
"What happened to you, why is there blood, and most important, who did it to you...?"
"Kahuna, there is no time, run, they will be here any time..."
"Who...I won't move until you tell me everything."
"Ok let's hide then first, is that all right?"
We ran a little and saw a small passage, actually a gutter. It was small but was enough to conceal.
"Karin sit here and don't move..."
"Where are you going?"
She pinched me hard.
"Ouch just a sec, if you wanna live..."
I ran a little further, circled for about half a minute. I grabbed my shoes and stepped back through the same stride.
"How did you learn that..."
Even at that time, she was asking that.
"I was not just lingering my whole life...Ok...!....Lie low, let's see who the hell are they..."
"Bullshit, where are they, find them fast...you dumb heads... I need them anyhow..."
My body was shivering just hearing his sounds.
He was the same one-glassed man whom Karin's mom had come with. Four guards were coerced, I could feel them. I suddenly took a stone and threw it with all my force yet passively toward the bush, precisely about 15 meters far.
"Ahh haa, you can't hide."
Fortunately, they took the bait.
We followed the gutter, it was rather long but stingy at the same time. The humans are worse than I had thought.
On the other hand, Karin was tired.
"Karin are you ok? Let's take some rest..."
"No...no...lets walk...little further...."
She could barely even breathe. I hate how people resist but at that time I would have done the same.
I sat down again the same way as before.
"I am tired, I wanna take rest, you can go ahead if you want..."
It was an effective way though.
Afterward, Karin also came a little close and sat beside me. She started to take a long breath and suddenly punched my face.
"Hey what are you doi..."
Her eyes looked deep and saddened, tears were rushing down.
The moment I turned my head away and sat still.
It had already passed about 5 minutes and yet we didn't talk a single word.
So I started first...
"Why was he chasing us?"
"They want their ring back, the ring that we had sold."
"It meant you hadn't stolen that, it was yours after all."
"Not mine, It was of her that woman from that day."
"Your mother!???...woman??...What are you babbling, I didn't understand."
"I don't accept her as my mother nor that family."
"So you left the house stealing that ring."
"I didn't lie, I stole it after all."
She was right but at that time, it was not applicable for us to argue on that.
"So, if I am true, they are responsible for this condition, of yours."
She didn't speak but her fave was obvious. I took out my small first aid box from my bad and did some primary cleaning as much as I could.
"You bag, ...does it have any food, I am hungry."
Looking at her condition, I was somewhat outraged but still hidden it. Surely she hadn't eaten from that day.
I had some food and thanks to Karin, it is empty now.
With a sudden surprise, I turned my head looked into the eyes of Karin.
"How did you find me...Karin..."
As I was speaking I threw my bag a little further into a dustbin with the assurance that Karin hadn't seen that.
"Not again Karin, are you kidding me..."
"Karina...look you are of the same age as me, we can be killed or kidnapped anytime, it's for your own safety...."
"Shut your mouth, you..... what age do you think you are....."
Was she thinking of me? No never, if she would have then this would never be the outcome.
Am I that much easy to be deceived? I asked myself.
"Let's go home together, let's live as a child, which we are born for."
Her every single word tempered me as if I wanna flatten her face.
"What about the ring, was that all bluff..."
"That had been given to me, but that's not the point here think further..."
"Kahuna...you should listen to her...you know she had thought for you and your future. Don't you think so Karin...I mean Miss Ohana."
I looked at Karin. The innocence and terrifying expression of her, of course, she was brainwashed. I didn't know why but that time I had a feeling that something bad will happen, I could sense it, it was like a nightmare.
I rolled my eyeball toward the one-eyed, he, who was engaged in his own conspiracy, it was pretty sure that the whole thing was not for the ring but something else, something more valuable.
I was cornered, I had the only choice, to be captive. But, not to worry that the place awaits me. Confrontation to the place was already confined.
I was caged in a room, with my hands tied back be, fortunately, I had my legs freed.
Karin could live like a princess, here in this huge castle. But why did she chose to flee, why did she choose to be strayed?
I was in the Inagusa Family, of course, the whole family was ruled by the sole King Yatohori Inagusa, father of Karin I mean Ohana Inagusa.
The mansion was huge, the whole walls and floors were full of antiques. The pendulum was oscillation with its own rhythm, I kept looking at it for half an hour.
It's not like I couldn't flee if I tried, but with no reason, I withheld. These past ten years I had been running, hiding, and just enduring. Is this my limit?
"Ohh you are still intact, are you afraid, I am not a monster you know I am not gonna torture you." I could feel his expression.
"One-eyed..."
"Ahh, it seems your vitality is soft..."
He tilted up his spectacles and gawked at me.
"Why am I here, if you are looking for the ring I don't have that?"
I tried to draw him.
"Don't you think, for a child of your age, abnormality has cursed you?"
"Cursed, I don't think so...but if it cursed you then I may count it."
He didn't speak for a moment but just with a smile, that disgust.
"Kahuna...if I am correct...Who are you?"
"I am 1, I have 0, I am infinity..."
"Sorry..."
I smirked and then embroidered...
"Big people, their interest always lies in numbers rather than emotion...so I made you easy..."
He stood up and walked out.
I took a long breath and eased myself, I could have been smacked any time, he was that angry. Goosebumps were irresistible.
I stood up. Since my legs were free, I could easily untie my hand, did so.
There were about 10 windows in a single room, the whole room was like a single house for me. He could be here any time so I have to be haste and passive too.
I peeked out of the window, like hell I would get out, I was on the top floor, but I was surprised that the mansion was surrounded by trees, only trees. A haunted house, just like that.
Soon I get to know, it was only behind, I saw a village ahead, quite like a town, in front.
"It is quite beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah, so lively, love it...What?"
I suddenly turned back...
He was there standing, his pressure, it was shivering my heart, I felt crushed.
He might be him, no he must be him, Yatohori Inasuga. Well known for his pressurized presence but a moment ago he was flawless.
I am sure, the door was closed and still is,
I didn't sound, not even a bit so how is he in?
I had freed my hand, the window beside.
"Don't worry, I won't even touch you..?"
The calmness was beyond.
His words were compelling me.
"I should be straight, where is the pen? More importantly, where is the blood?"
"I...I...Don't know..."
I was scared, of course, he must have predicted my falsehood.
"You don't know its true power, do you?"
"True power...?"
He was lethal.
"Your age...?"
"10"
"I may know your parents and their whereabouts."
"My parents...? What are you talking about, I don't have parents.."
"A child after all...Let's have an exchange, precisely a deal. Blood and parents..."
His eyes were almost cold and dead.
"I don't know...What blood?... Parents?"
I tried my best to pretend.
"Follow me.."
He just spoke, turned around, and started to walk, I was unknowing following him, my legs were on their own.
The whole mansion was bright and lightened, the portrait aside, of the entities, maybe! I just followed, down the stairs, more than a hundred, if the amount to something.
"Where are you going?"
I forced my mouth.
"Patience, do you think you have it?"
We soon reached the basement, the door was huge and looked heavy, locked.
He did something with a single palm on the door, it opened.
We went in.
A sphere called the world was rolling in between two rods, green and blue. Tall books and dim light, sketches of script scattered around throughout the floor, a feathered pen, and a pot of black, maybe an archeologist.
"The blood you had seen, is something beyond your imagination if spoiled around, would tremor the humanity. It could lead to your death?"
"How do you know all this?"
"You are alive under my jurisdiction since your birth. That aside, you have that book as well right?"
It was useless to hide now, so expelled it.
"Yes, so what...?"
"Don't worry, I would never take that, I am just interested in blood. To be honest the book is all yours."
"What do you mean by yours?"
"It was written by your father..."