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* Long Chapter Alert!!
[KIYOMI]
"Stay back, someone's at the door," Kiyomi suddenly said after hours of effort for the both of them to go to the Lycan kingdom.
It was a death wish for the both of them, but Elif had been so adamant about it that Kiyomi figured that they would get this done and dusted. It didn't matter what they would face on the other side, because Sakura was bound to protect life.
That was all that mattered to Kiyomi anyways, not that Elif even knew about that at the moment.
"You're scaring me. Are you sure this isn't just another attempt at you making me not go with you? You realize it won't work this time, yeah?" Elif asked and Kiyomi just stared at her best friend sadly.
"Someone really is at the door. I can't smell them and that is what pisses me off. Get back, I'll check and let you know how it goes," Kiyomi said earnestly and Elif stared in worry like that was going to make Kiyomi change her mind about it.
"Do you think it's the people from the club?" Elif asked as she stepped back like Kiyomi had told her. She had been living with her best friend for the longest time, and Kiyomi never once worried about her door or even slept with the door locked.
It was like her best friend had grown into a new person that didn't seem so ready to work the specifics out for her. It was wild and insane but more than anything, it was what Kiyomi hadn't imagined.
Perhaps the truth was a reason for both of them to be worried about the things that were happening. Perhaps it was all a scare but what if there was nothing on the other end?
"No. Lycans are proud. They like showing off what they do and when they come for their prey. They wouldn't come in hiding like that. I really hope it's not the damn Russians again," Kiyomi sighed as she finally made her way to the door.
'What if the Bogdan Lycans came for me?' Kiyomi asked herself as she made her way.
She wanted to make a run for it, to assume that this wasn't happening. She wanted to disappear really because if they had found her, then no one would save her regardless.
The erasthai she had been cursed with was nowhere to be seen and she only had her best friend to lose. This wasn't what she had thought would happen after months of suffering because of Sakura.
Kiyomi contemplated whether she had let down her guard somewhere along the way. She wondered if that was the reason they had gotten to her.
Hell, she had always masked her scent because she couldn't afford to be the person whose life got suspended because of the Bogdan Lycans again. It wasn't going to be fair to her and she wanted no part of it.
'Is this the end for me?' Kiyomi wondered, as her hands lingered on the door knob. She could have looked through the pinhole, but she was too scared of seeing so many warriors come to take her back to the hellhole because of her last name.
There were days she considered changing her name, but then even if that happened, what else was she ever going to make of it? No one would want anything to do with the Kimura name because of what her family had done.
Oh, she was screwed and this time she knew there was no one coming to save her.
"We know you're in there, Kimura. Open up," a gruff voice said as Kiyomi's hands held the handle. She didn't even have to think too much to realize that there was only one bunch of people who taunted her with her last name.
Kiyomi froze for a moment while her best friend who was standing a few meters away, bat in her hand, stared at her in earnest. Elif could sense that something was wrong, so she went over to Kiyomi, mouthing the question that they both had.
"What is happening?" Elif asked and Kiyomi just shook her head. She didn't want this to be true. She didn't want her best friend to be caught up in all of this, so she created a portal, channeling the little magic she had learned to gain from her bond with Sakura.
It had been a weak bond, one that had gotten weaker over the months, and Kiyomi knew so damn well that if she channeled it this one time, she wouldn't ever be able to use it again, she would have to rely on herself and her magic, which would never be enough to fight the Bogdan Lycans.
"I love you, sister," Kiyomi said, her voice soft as she pulled Elif into a hug, one that got Elif curious and even worse, alert. Elif had seen Kiyomi do shit enough times to knot that this time, she was binding her to the portal. But where?
"I love you so much. If you never see me again, just know everything had on this side of the ram is yours. Sakura will protect you because she swore it and she will keep her word no matter what happens to me.
"Don't miss me too much… I wish I could erase your memories of me, but I am too selfish, Elif. Even when I know it might cause you pain to think of me, I still want to hope that someone remembers me.
"So please forgive me for that too," Kiyomi said before she pulled back from the hug and kissed Elif's forehead. She knew what she would see in Elif's eyes, so Kiyomi didn't look there. She couldn't take it if she saw her teary or scared.
She couldn't handle the pain of saying goodbye, so without another word, Kiyomi sent Elif through a portal to Odanera Hospital where she was certain Elif would be safer.
Her friend had to survive and live her life, even if she didn't have Kiyomi Kimura in her life anymore.
"Kimura… Open it or we break it down," the man on the other end said and Kiyomi just sighed. Even if she were to run, there was no way she would make it out of here alive. These people would never let her live for the past that was lingering over her.
And so, with one last sigh, Kiyomi held the handle and agonizingly opened the door, her eyes closed like she was scared of what she would see on that other side. She didn't want to imagine what the fuck would happen to her but damn was she scared.
"Please don't kill me here… you can do it anywhere, but not here. Just grant me that one wish," Kiyomi said, as she placed her hands in front of her, like she was giving them a chance to cuff her and drag her away.
Even then, her eyes were still closed, and when she felt the silver shackles be bound to her neck, ankles, and hands, she knew she was done for. There was never going to be another life for her, but at least she had lived for a while, right?
"Fine. But don't you get any ideas, because no one is coming to save you. You fuck up and we will kill everyone in this apartment block and leave no one to tell the horrific tale of their endings, understood?" the gruff man said and Kiyomi just nodded.
She didn't know what the fuck she was supposed to do, and while she wanted to think, her brain was filled with thoughts of what the Bogdan Lycans would do to her. Maybe she should have tried to fight them.
Maybe she would win like she won with the Russians, but then Kiyomi had lived long enough to know that the Bogdan Lycans were animals.
They were beasts who didn't give a shit about anyone and if they set their eyes on a target, it didn't matter how long it took, because they would eventually get the target. Perhaps this was Kiyomi's day, no?
Funny how she had dressed up to go back home for Sakura. Maybe she would, in another life, no?
"I wish you find someone who loves you like I did, Saki… or even more, you deserve it," Kiyomi whispered to no one in particular, her tears free falling, when she felt the chains get tugged. They hurt like hell, but she didn't mind this time. It was her fate, after all.
"Dramatic much, Petal? Is this how I learn I can be loved?" a familiar voice came through and Kiyomi was certain that she was just in her head again like earlier in the day. She wanted to hate that she was hearing Sakura's voice, but then it was the only hope for her.
The crazy woman could keep her sane when she got to the other side of the realm, so she wouldn't be as lonely with her though, right? Oh, but Kiyomi was sure she was just hallucinating, until she heard the squelching sounds of organs being squeezed.
As if that wasn't enough, she felt the chains rattle as they dropped off of her and her whaling was instantaneous, unlike what she had imagined or even seen before. Hell, she heard bodies falling so fast on the ground like there was a drumming competition there.
"You didn't answer my question, my precious petal," Kiyomi heard so close to her face, and this time, she opened her eyes only to be met with the figment of her dreams for the past two months.
"Saki?"
"I'm so sorry for this, my beautiful."
"For… but—" Kiyomi rambled only for warm and bloodied lips to mate hers.