"You guys look like you've had it rough."
"Ah, shut up, Luca, I don't wanna hear it."
Jeremy, Niall, Morgan, and I took a seat at the table with Luca, after, of course, sending Suri and Rachel to the basement to have their wounds treated by Luca's friend—and by friend, I mean the woman he had shouted at earlier that day. Girlfriend, sister, I didn't know. Even after the many hours we had been gone, the bar was still empty, because apparently it wasn't open at all today. Thank goodness, I thought, because I wasn't at all in the mood to see other people.
"So where did you guys go anyway?"
I mentally slapped Luca across the face. "No offense, but are you an idiot?"
"Maybe."
Jeremy heaved a sigh and leaned back in his chair, lifting his arms so that he could rest his head against them. "We're back from that hellish nightmare, and just in time to crown the birthday boy and sing something stupid."
Even though he sounded rather unenthused when he spoke, Jeremy was smiling with sincerity, and oddly enough it had a contagious effect on me.
"You...certainly have gotten better at this whole 'friendship' thing, haven't you?"
"Hey!"
Morgan's sudden outburst caused me to flinch, and the second we made eye contact he kicked back his chair in what I assumed to be frustration.
Ridiculous, senseless frustration.
"Don't leave me out of this! I'm like...still your V.I.P.!"
I quirked an eyebrow. "Are you competing with him, Morgan?"
"Of course I am!"
He's not even trying to be subtle...?
"Jeremy is my rival!" He then pointed his index finger at Jeremy and began rapidly twirling it. "And because he is my rival, it is my mission to defeat him in every competition we have!" After exclaiming this so proudly, Morgan adjusted his position so that he could place his elbow on the table, and he glared at Jeremy with as much intimidation as he could manage. "Bring it on, cyborg! And I want a fair chance here, so use your real arm, not your metal one."
Jeremy crossed his arms stubbornly and pursed his lips. "No."
"Are you scared to lose?"
"Not at all."
"Then arm wrestle me," Morgan said with a smirk. "This is how real men do things, right? Sheer muscle."
One side of my mouth curved upward into a half-smile. I see what Morgan's trying to do here, I thought. He's not just trying to compete with Jeremy, he still wants to find out what's wrong with Jeremy's arm.
"Yeah, why not?" I asked in a cocky voice. The look of unadulterated irritation on Jeremy's face made me laugh internally. "What harm could a little arm wrestle do, right?"
"I know what you guys are trying to do, and I don't like it."
So we weren't fooling him.
"You said there was nothing wrong with your arm, so I don't see what the problem is," I said innocently. "Don't tell me you were...lying to us?"
"Why you little~..!" Jeremy shot up from his seat and readied his mechanical arm for a punch, but not a second later he put his arm back down and relaxed his tense shoulders, all of a sudden seeming overwhelmed by guilt. "Ah, I didn't mean to-...I'm sorry..."
I shot him a concerned look. "Uh, n-no, it's fine, I didn't mean to pry."
My eyes darted up to Luca's face as I heard him utter a sigh. "You know, Jeremy..." He began, and his tone made it sound as if he were about to lay out a long, detailed lecture. "Excuse me if I sound like a parent here, but could you tell me what good you think'll come out of keeping this little secret from him?"
"It's his birthday, and I'd rather not ruin it for him..."
My heart sank. Ruin? How...why would telling me ruin my birthday?
"And besides," Jeremy continued, "he don't need to know."
"He's got a right to know!"
"Don't raise your voice at me, you good-for-nothing reject!"
"That's enough!!"
We all turned to Niall.
"I don't like this. I don't like this at all...please stop fighting, everyone..."
His voice...is breaking...
"Niall, are you okay-?"
"No," he said abruptly. "I'm not okay. I'll be gone in just two days, and that means I don't have much time left to be...with all of you. The last way I'd like to spend those short days is listening to you all shouting at one another..."
Everyone calmed down instantly. Regardless, it still appeared to me that Niall was going to burst into tears. I wouldn't have blamed him, though. I could only imagine Reiha's voice resounding in his mind, screaming over and over that she would be coming back...for him. Of course, I had still planned to do everything in my power to stop his "foreseen" fate, but even still, I couldn't help but feel sadness as I gazed upon my friend's heartbroken face. "I'm sorry, Niall."
"Me, too," added Jeremy. "We didn't mean to make you upset like that." He placed a conforming hand on Niall's shoulder and gazed kindly at him. "Please don't be sad 'n stuff."
Niall returned the thoughtful gesture with a smile. But something was different this time—he actually smiled with his eyes, sincerely, rather than all those times before when he hid his true feelings behind a fake smile. It made me happy to see. Relieved, too.
Just then we heard footsteps from below, followed by the wine cellar door slamming open. We all turned our heads and watched as Suri and Rachel stepped into our line of sight. They were all fixed up now, thankfully. I could still see some bruises here and there, but for the most part, improvement was definitely noticeable.
"Suri!" Morgan cried excitably, once again springing up from his seat. "Are you okay now?"
Suri covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled, the ends of her eyes crinkling as she grinned with delight.
"Yes, I'm much better now," she replied, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "Thank you so much for your concern, Morgan."
I shot Morgan a suggestive look as he turned his head away in embarrassment. A light blush crept up on his cheeks and he stuttered, "Y-yeah, no problem..."
After resisting the urge to laugh in spite of my friend, I took a quick glance at Rachel. She was just standing there, silent and looking nervous. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what. That's when my good pal Jeremy broke the silence...
"Hey, ladies, why don't you come over here and join us, eh?"
The girls came over to where we were seated, carefully bringing over two chairs from the nearest empty table. I waited for them both to sit down before opening my mouth, but Morgan cut me off before I had the chance to say anything.
"So, Rachel, tell us about yourself..."
"Morgan, don't put her on the spot," I scolded. Then, with a much more considerate voice, I asked, "Rachel, would you care to tell us where you're from? Or maybe, how you ended up in that mansion?"
Rachel's head fell, and she shifted anxiously in her seat, intertwining her fingers. "Charis was my guardian."
Silence struck like a bullet. I could hear my own heartbeat, and as I gazed at the expressions of everyone around me, I found that they were all identical. I tried to look Rachel in the eye, but she was still hiding her face from me. And from all of us.
Charis...was her guardian...? But he...he treated her so harshly. Why is that? The rest of the Midnight Legion seems to have a profound bond with their partners. Even Reiha was kind to Lucy. I clenched my fists in frustration as I pondered these thoughts. It must have been hard on her...to be rejected and beaten by Charis like that. This just makes me despise that man even more...
"I'm so sorry, R-"
Jeremy was unable to finish his sentence, for Rachel was quick to interrupt him, and with a very mysterious statement, too.
"They told me what they were planning, and shortly before I met you, Hanako, Charis had informed me that...it's almost complete..."
"Wha-"
"She's coming back early."
Dead silence, once again. But I refused to allow it to last. "What are you talking about, Rachel? Be more specific."
"Reiha, of course!" She yelled, lifting her head finally to look at me with her stern gaze. "They found a way to bring her back early! Today! She'll be back today!!"
Niall let out a quiet, fear-induced gasp, and he nearly fell out of his chair. His hands shot up to take hold of his hair, which he then began tugging furiously in a rage of confusion. Jeremy's attempt to calm him down was to no avail.
"But-...but how? How is that possible?"
Suri's voice was quiet, but I could hear it wavering in fear nonetheless.
"Just what exactly...did it cost them?"
"...."
"Rachel, tell me!!"
Without uttering a word, Rachel hid her face behind her hands again, and soon after she began to weep.
No one said a word after that. We all just sat there, helpless and confused, as we listened to Rachel's quiet sobbing.
But then my attention was diverted.
My whole body tensed up at the sensation of my phone buzzing in my pocket. I couldn't move. Unwelcome fear acted as a tranquilizer, insisting that I be afraid of picking it up. However, as the phone continued to ring, I felt an irresistible urge to answer it. And so I did.
Or at least, I was about too.
"...It's good to hear your voice again..."
Niall was still, completely unmoving, arms stiff at his sides, head tilted with an unidentifiable expression.
"...Don't ask how I got your number, just let me get straight to the point..."
Suri leaned in toward Niall, tilting her head in a questioning position. "Niall? Are...are you okay?"
"...It was a trick...I said three, didn't I...everyone thought it was three...they thought it would take three...but just listen...listen to my voice...and know, Hanako....it is not three but one..."
The way Niall's voice sounded just now was oddly familiar to me. The fact that it sounded familiar scared me even more. My phone's ringing only seemed to become louder at this point (although this was just my imagination), and my anxiety pushed me to the edge of my seat. Alas, I couldn't take it anymore. I flipped open my phone and hastily pressed the 'answer call' button.
"It's good to hear your voice again."
+++
It sounded as though I were listening to the voice of a dysfunctional machine, so I couldn't recognize who exactly I was talking to by way of hearing.
But I knew. After all, it was quite obvious by now.
"Reiha, I'm hanging up."
And so I did. I ended the call immediately and casually slipped it back into my pocket, all the while receiving astonished glances from my friends. Well, in Morgan's case, I suppose it leaned more towards 'confusion' than anything...
"Hanako, did y-"
"I'm through hiding behind you guys for protection," I said indignantly. "It's my turn."
Jeremy tilted his head and blinked repeatedly, seeming to expect this unexplained bravery of mine would fade within seconds. "Where is all this coming from?"
Truthfully, I had expected myself to be panicking like crazy by now. I assumed that a thousand blurred images would be jumbling themselves in my head now, my brain desperately trying to bring at least one of them into focus. Instead of this, I heard a voice screaming, and I was convinced it was loud enough to make my ears bleed. Yet somehow, I managed to kwep a straight face through the suffering's entirety. I figured that turning the tables on things would make for a nice change of pace. And after all, I would be doing this for Niall.
"Hanako."
Niall lifted his head slightly and gazed at me with a pained expression.
"You don't have to do this, Hanako," he said, voice nearly inaudible. "In fact, I don't want you to do this. Reiha will be much stronger this time around, now that she is driven by increased motivation."
"And just what exactly is her motivation?"
"Me. She plans on taking me with her. To Hell."
I felt my heart stop for a second. Niall wasn't even saying this figuratively, but rather with unadulterated sobriety. I glanced at everyone's faces, curious to see what their reactions were. Jeremy and Morgan looked equally distressed. Suri's eyes were flooded with heartbreak, almost as if she knew there was nothing she could do to stop Niall's coming fate. Rachel was hiding her face again, and Luca had his eyes closed, deep in thought.
"Don't...don't say that..." My voice cracked. I clenched my fists and tried to avoid shedding another tear. "Please don't say that, Niall."
My words only seemed to have puzzled him. So I went on the explain myself.
"After all we've been through...after all you've done for me...please don't give up so easily. We can get you through this, I know we can. You're not going to die today. Not on my watch."
Suddenly there was a loud rattling coming from the front door. After exchanging worried glances with everyone, Luca rose from his chair and cautiously approached the source of the noise. With each step he took closer to the door, the voice in my head screamed louder, as if in warning or fear. I winced, biting my tongue forcefully to prevent myself from screaming back at the voice.
Luca placed his hand on the door.
Once it had been fully opened, we were greeted not by a flesh and blood person, but instead by the howling winds of the outdoors. Snow began to swirl rapidly and dance around as it flew into the bar, melting almost instantly upon coming in contact with the floor. Luca slammed the door shut and released a heavy sigh.
"That's not normal."
I squinted at him. "Winter is just around the corner," I reminded him. "Shouldn't you be expecting a little snow?"
The bartender shook his head solemnly. "This ain't Bluegate. We don't get blizzards here. Ever. For one this severe to start up within an instant..." He paused, as if to purposely push us all to the edge of our seats. "...something is definitely coming..."
Rachel let out a muffled whine, as her hands were still covering her mouth, and Suri did her best to comfort her. The others were speechless, seemingly frozen with fear and anticipation. Even Jeremy, who typically would have at least something to say to break the silence.
"Hanako, we should take a look outside."
I flinched, having been caught off guard by Jeremy's sudden proposition. Regardless of my doubts and newly formed questions, I gave him my nod of approval, and the two of us left the bar immediately.
At the time, I could only hope that they would forgive me for leaving without an explanation.
The blizzard was absolutely uproarious. Fierce winds swept up the snow and scattered it in every direction, urging me to use my hand as a roof for my eyes. It truly was astounding...how quickly this storm had started up. And as extreme a statement as this is, it was far worse than anything we had ever encountered in Bluegate.
"She's using Niall," Jeremy spoke quietly, but just loud enough so that I could hear him over the storm. "She's using his fear against him. This blizzard is the result of it. She's near, I can sense it."
"Same here. She must be hiding in the snow or something."
"Shall we go ahead?"
I nodded firmly, and Jeremy and I continued on ahead. We lifted our boots high with every step, the snow already having accumulated nearly a foot. Neither of us knew where we were going, that was made clear to me by now. But that wasn't my greatest concern.
The snow stopped falling from the sky, and the blizzard subsided as suddenly as it had begun. Jeremy and I looked at each other with our eyebrows arched in confusion.
"What's going on here?" I asked hesitantly.
Jeremy shook his head. "I don't know. And I don't like not knowing."
Everything became painfully silent—no howling winds, not a single breath of nature. Even the voice in my head had ceased its torture. The two of us stood as still as possible, waiting for something to happen. Anything.
And so it did.
"This is quite a sight. I'd never have thought I'd be coming face-to-face with you two again."
A devilish laugh rang out around us like a bell, flooding our ears with a painfully familiar voice. It was unmistakable. There was only one person it could have belonged to.
"Show your face, you no-good demon," Jeremy scowled. "What's the point in hiding now? We already know you're there."
From somewhere in the near distance. I could hear the faint sound of approaching footsteps, the crunching of snow beneath her feet being the only thing my ears paid attention to as I awaited the sight of her scarlet hair. Before long, it came into view, and I came to realize that not a single thing about her had changed. She was even wearing the same crimson dress as the last time I saw her.
"Hello again, Shadow Keeper."
Reiha was just several yards away from us now, fixing a sly grin on her face as she finally ceased coming closer.
"Ironmage, it's to see you, too. How's Niall?"
"You're not going anywhere near him, you hear me?" Jeremy scowled furiously at her. "A lot has happened in the seven months you've been gone, and guess what, Princess? Niall doesn't want to see you anymore."
"Why so harsh, Ironmage? I thought we left on good terms."
"Hanako killed you. I wouldn't really call that 'leaving on good terms'."
You really had to bring that up, Jeremy?
"What he means..." I began, taking a moment to gather up all my courage in order to meet Reiha's intimidating gaze. "...is that we're not going to let you-...let you..."
It happened instantaneously. One second I was breathing fine, the next I felt my lungs ready to cave in on themselves. I couldn't speak, nor could I move any part of my body save my eyes. And they scarcely managed to catch a glimpse of Reiha's sly grin before I fell to the ground.
"H-...Hanako?!"
Jeremy dropped to his knees in a heartbeat, not hesitating to begin shouting at me to stand up...brush the snow off myself and stand up already. But I couldn't. My struggling was done in vain.
Curling and twisted her fingers with delight, Reiha continued to make me suffer in the same way she had made Jeremy on the day I first met her.
It truly did seem...as though nothing at all had changed.
Malicious intent blatant in his expression, Jeremy craned his neck to glare at her, his metal arm beginning to glow once again. He lunged forward without giving his actions or "strategy" a second thought, enabling Reiha to avoid the attack with little effort. She then began to chuckle and skip around, making it seem as though this were nothing more than a game to her.
Things had always been this way.
"You can't kill me, so why try?"
Ignoring her question entirely, Jeremy swung his fist at Reiha, intending to strike her head, but once again the demon evaded it.
"Why don't you just let me see Niall, huh? If you can do that for me, I'll let Hanako go."
Just like that, Jeremy's entire world seemed to come to a standstill. His body quivered and his heart trembled at the thought of betraying a friend...and losing another. I could read his expression clear as day, even from the crippling position I was in. He felt as thought he had to choose.
Niall or me.
"Reiha!!"
That voice...no...no, why would he come out here, knowing that she's been here, waiting for him? Go back...go back inside, Niall. Run away...get far away from here...please...
Despite my inner pleas of desperation, Niall continued to run towards us, repeatedly shouting his sister's name. Jeremy swiftly spun around and shook his head rapidly, as if he, too, wished for Niall to run in the other direction. However, within the next minute, Niall had caught up to us, panting all the while as he tried to catch his breath.
"Finally...I found you guys..."
A bright smile stretched across Reiha's face, and her eyes lit up with joy as she stared at her brother for the first time in a long time. "Niall...I'm so happy to see you..."
Niall reclaimed an upright position, and he smiled back at her. "I'm happy to see you, too."
At this moment Reiha returned her hand to her side, graciously allowing me to breathe again. Jeremy took note of this immediately, and he rushed once again to my side.
"Hanako, thank goodness, are you okay?" He asked, eye wide with concern. "Do you need CPR?"
"Oh, gosh, no," I choked out. Jeremy stifled a laugh.
"I was only kidding," he insisted. "So will you be able to stand? Do you need help? Does it hurt to speak? Should I shut up now?"
"All...all of the above..."
Heaving a sigh of relief, Jeremy carefully lifted my arm and draped it over his shoulder, proceeding to help me off the ground.
I was alive. Jeremy was unharmed. Things were okay now, I told myself. But that was before the two of us had turned around.
Niall and Reiha were no longer standing there.
"They're...gone?"
A mere two words had the overwhelming power to send me hurling into a pit of despair. But I knew I wasn't alone.
"Niall!!"
Complete silence. Not even the wind was whistling at this point. Where had they gone to so quickly? I wondered. More importantly, why had they gone?
Jeremy called Niall's name again, yet he received no reply. We had become enveloped by fear at this point, and words needed not to be spoken for me to realize we were both thinking the same thing. Jeremy decided to express it verbally anyway, thus creating an even stronger pain in my chest.
"She's going to kill Niall..."
"No!!"
In a fit of rage, I shoved Jeremy away, my legs shaking uncontrollably as I stubbornly refused to rely on his support any longer.
"Don't say that's, we can't...we can still save him!"
"Hanako, wait-!"
I didn't listen. Being the stubborn brat that I was, I blocked out Jeremy's voice entirely by turning on my selective hearing. And I stormed away. Although the blizzard had ceased, the snow on the ground hindered me from getting anywhere fast. Still, I pressed forward. Trudging on through the pure white barriers at my feet, I pretended as though the sensation of the ice cold substance soaking into my boots was merely my imagination. I ignored the voice that had begun shouting at me again, urging me to turn back.
You're too weak.
You won't make it.
He's probably already dead, don't bother wasting your time.
"It's not a waste of time," I muttered to myself. "I'll find him, and I'll save him...for sure..."
+++
I hadn't been keeping track of the time, but my mind insisted that I'd been walking for hours on end. Regardless of these uncertainties, though, one thing was for certain—I had at last found Niall. In the distance he stood alone, Reiha nowhere in sight. I should have been happy that she was gone. But for some reason, having her missing from his side only made my heart sink deeper.
Little stamina remained in me at this point, so I used my last ounce of strength to sprint towards Niall. I waved my hand in the air in an attempt to gain his attention. But he didn't seem to notice.
"Niall, I'm so relieved..." I took deep breaths to relax myself and return my breathing to its normal pace. "Where is...where's Reiha?"
To my surprise, he responded right away, but not with something I was particularly thrilled to hear.
"She's waiting at Hell's gates."
"W-...what?"
"She got what she came for, so she left."
Niall's words puzzled me, but I pushed my troubled thoughts aside and tried to focus on something positive. "At least you're alive, right? Let's just be thankful for that. You've nearly made it through another day, meaning she hasn't won just yet."
"I'm afraid she has, Hanako."
Niall's crooked smile faded like a hologram, and his face soon expressed pain like I had never seen before.
"N-...Niall?"
He collapsed into my arms, and I had to get to my knees to be able to support him. I noticed immediately that he was covering his chest with his hand, so I carefully lifted one of his fingers, only to reveal a bloody wound underneath. I bit my quivering lip and gazed into his eyes, which were nearly shut now.
His body felt weak beneath my hands.
"Niall, I'm so sorry, I couldn't find you..." I spoke softly, my voice shaking as I struggled to hold back tears.
"Please don't blame yourself, master..."
I inhaled sharply and pushed aside the locks of hair partially covering his face. "Don't call me 'master'," I told him. "I'm not someone you should be looking up to. I dragged you into this mess to begin with."
Niall shook his head slowly from side to side, somehow managing to utter a quiet laugh. "Can I ask you a question, Hanako?" He whispered.
I nodded firmly. "Of course."
"Could I...sing a song for you?"
I tilted my head and raised my eyebrow slightly, my lips bent into a frown. "Yes...yes, of course you can. But why?"
Niall let out a sudden cough, and a thin line of blood trickled down the side of his mouth. "I just want you to listen to it," he said, "and if you know the lyrics, I'd like you to sing along. Okay?"
I swallowed my breath and tried to look at Niall without visually showing my desire to cry. "Okay," I replied. Soon after, he began to sing with a soft, melodic voice, and I listened intently.
"I've figured out I'm wearing thin...
Will you hate me if I give in...?
This armor's heavy, and I can't win...
I'm ready to fall~...
I've tried my hardest to hold on...
To what I thought had kept me strong...
But that hope I had is gone...
I'm ready to fall~...
I've lost a loved one...
I need your shoulder...
The pain is too much...it's too strong...it's pulling at my heart strings...
The tears come...the tears fall...they drag down the smile I once had...
But ain't that okay...? 'Cuz after all..."
"No one can hold on forever..."
Niall made a hum of approval when I had chimed in, and he nodded his head ever so slightly. Then, he continued with the next line of the song.
"I did my best...I did my best..."
"Tell me you're proud of me....."
He didn't answer this time. But I waited for him anyway. Even after blood began to fall in teardrops from his eyes, I waited. But he never finished the line. He just lay there, motionless, and I could still feel the soft touch of his hand...which I had grabbed without knowing. But something was different now. His hand had lost all warmth. It was cold, so very, very cold. I allowed the tears that had built up in my eyes to stream down my face as I finally decided to finish the song.
"Tell me you're proud of me...
Brave Soldier..."