Ｈｏｕｓｅ Ｏｆ Ａｌｔｅｒａ || 【ᴀᴏʙᴀ ᴥ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀ】

IX. Plague

I wobbled backwards, almost loosing balance all together trying to steady myself. The man who stood before me, gave a gruff smile.

"Would you mind finishing that name for me?" He laughed cruelly, and snapped his fingers. My eyes widened, and I had realized just what I had done. I didn't even hear them come in..Standing behind him, were the two men from before. Clenching my fists, I gave a strained expression. Only pressing his amusement further. The roots that had been encasing the wall, slithered farther, sending barbed roots between us. He was not moved by the House's actions whatsoever, and he gave a motion of his hand.
"Huoh?" He mused, placing his hand against the branch and pushing down. It would not budge. Had the House meant to separate us? "I'd like to introduce myself." He spoke up with a sly smile. He attempted to extend his hand through a gap in the branch wall, his eyes held nothing but mischief. I did not return his offer. Carelessly, he withdrew his hand and stared back at me. "I am Toue Tatsuo, perhaps you've heard of me, Aoba-kun." I tensed as he stated my name, and I shot him an immediate glance of suspicion.

"How do you know my name..?" He chuckled menacingly again, and the two men looked at each other blankly."I was the one who hosted this program of course. It's quite a shame it will end so soon." His words hooked my attention, the project had been scheduled to last two weeks at maximum. But it had only been at least four days since I had arrived.

"End?" He twisted the narrow cane in his gloved fingers, clicking his tongue enthusiastically."The reason I hosted this program, Aoba-kun. Was solely to retrieve and dispose of Clear Altera." My breaths came out in fragments, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "But thanks to you, our task will not be that difficult." I could feel my vision begin to blur, and I stumbled backwards.Huh? Supporting myself against the wall, my breathing was uncontrollable. Staring out of the shattered window, I could make out the dull glow of the willow tree, still vibrantly screaming in color. Turning my head, I noticed they had vanished. I was relieved, but also not. They were going after Clear. Once I had collected myself, I immediately began to search my room. Throwing open doors, checking under everything I could. But he was not there. I couldn't move the cabinet by myself, and I would have noticed if he had entered the room. Closing my eyes tightly, I felt the striking pulsation sever my thoughts. Clenching my head, I fell to the floor with a thud. So that was why I couldn't control myself.. I felt the presence of him.. He whispered hoarsely from deep within my thoughts,"Use me."I pushed him out of my mind and let out an agonizing groan, no matter how much I needed to find Clear, I don't want to loose myself in the process. Developing all of the determination inside of me, I took off sprinting down the hallway, and leaped above the branches from before. Exhaling sharply, I scanned the area. Nobody was in the main hall, at least I thought.. Turning to my left, I spotted a single ghastly white child. He sluggishly tugged a blue ribbon behind him, seeming to not acknowledge a thing around him. Suddenly, he paused, and looked up to me. Then back down to my hand, I tensed. What was he looking at? I peered down, to see the blue ribbon wrapped tightly around my ring finger. Uncoiling it gently to avoid ripping it, I knelt down, and held it out to him. He scurried hastily over to me, and took it into his tiny hands. He looked like he was about to cry, and he looked into my eyes with intensity. He reached for my pinkie, and tugged me forward. Getting to my feet, I followed him hesitantly. He was adorned with plush white locks, which looked as if they were dove feathers. He looked back at me, and I noticed another stunning feature. His eyes. Even though dim from fading over time, they were a soft gentle pink. It saddened me, Altera children all share the same features. He looked like Clear. But there was one feature that really stood out for me, even though very small. Two moles dotted the pale skin directly above Clear's chin, something I noticed in the garden. The child tugged at me once more, and I looked up to see a broad wooden door. Documents scattered the floor under our feet, and the tiles were pulled up, revealing the dense lifeless dirt beneath. I ran my fingers along the door frame, and read the small plate dappling it's surface.
' Library 'He motioned for me to enter, and then to my surprise he spoke.
"Nii-san is in here." His voice was almost mechanic, tattered and beaten away by the curse of time. So he was Clear's brother. Before I could even thank him, he dissolved away. Turning back to the door, I pushed it open quickly. The room was an absolute disaster. The chandelier was shattered on the floor, books strewn in every corner, pages ripped and scribbled on. Closing the door behind me, I blinked to absorb the darkness. In the far right corner of the library, I heard the sounds of croaking metal. I made out a figure, hanging by his legs on the rafters of the ceiling."Clear?" I called out to the person, and they immediately plummeted to the floor. I was stunned, that drop was really steep. He perked his head up from behind the counter, sending a cloud of dust spraying in the air. I was relieve to see his white hair through the darkness."Aoba-san?" I smiled thankfully, almost teary eyed and ran over to him. He spread his arms out to me playfully, book in hand. Awkwardly, I wrapped my arms around him tightly, I'm so glad.. I wasn't too late. Retracting my body away from his, he gave me a questioning look and closed his book."We have to.. hide." I spoke, as if restrained by a force. He perked upwards, and gave a curious tip of his head. "Is something wrong, Aoba-san?" I took a moment to appreciate his naturally dreamy mood, and continued."Toue is here." He was visibly startled, and sat the book onto the counter. As soon as I had said this, the library doors flew open. Clear's arms wrapped around my waist, and I had to resist the urge to scream as we cascaded up several ladders, to land onto the rafters. He sat me onto his lap, and gently patted his hand over my mouth. The light from the hall gleamed against the chandelier, as I spotted the glare from Toue's monocle. He gruffly huffed, and was visibly infuriated. The two men from before stepped behind him, and scanned the room intensely. They scribbled onto their notebooks, and urged Toue to leave the room. Clear's grip tightened around my waist, and I peered back at him. His eyes were closed, and he held a soft appreciative expression. The doors shut behind Toue, and the room was silent."Clear..?" He eyes were dim, the spark of sorrow was visible in his eyes. He peered up at me, and those traits vanished completely. I breathed softly, and he looked as if he was about to cry. "I'm so glad.." he spoke, resting his head on my shoulder. Confused, I looked at him directly."But yet, I am troubled. I do not want to leave Aoba-san behind.." I was overcome with emotions by his words, and I shifted around carefully, so I was facing him. "I know I will die soon, but my biggest fear is leaving you all alone." Stroking my cheek, he mumbled softly to me. His other hand rested against my lower back, tightly holding me close. I couldn't resist the urge to touch him, running my fingers through his feather-soft hair. Breathing against my collarbone, he whispered hazily against my neck. "I love you, Aoba-san.. I truly do." My heart pulsed heavily at his words, and I planted a gentle kiss against his forehead, then one to his nose. He smiled tenderly, and slowly arched forward, to get to his feet. Holding my hands for support, he carefully raised me to my feet and we crawled down the ladders once more. Clear peeped out into the hallway, and gave me a hand signal that the hallways were vacant. We slunk against the wall, and looked out into the main hall. Koujaku, Noiz, and the other inhabitants stood in the room, visibly confused. I called out to him quietly, sure to not catch the attention of Toue or his men. Koujaku noticed me, and stumbled over with a limp in his step."Aoba?" he whispered hoarsely, I tipped my head backwards to see Clear still pacing against the hallway. It was the first time he hadn't vanished when someone else was near. Koujaku didn't notice him until I had looked back, and he grew a hostile expression. "Who's he?" Tensing, I gave him a gentle laugh and bonked his shoulder with my fist.
"That doesn't matter right now, what's going on?" He redirected his attention to me, and sighed.
"Some hot-shots are ordering an evacuation.""Evacuation?" I questioned hastily, and he took notice."Yeah, they claim there's been an incident and that the project is called off." Koujaku remained subtle, the obvious bite in his words was easy to see. Noiz seemed to notice Koujaku's absence, and stared directly in our direction. He walked over, and delved into our conversion.
"Aoba-san!" As soon as I heard a familiar uplifted voice, I felt my world turn around. A large marble pillar from the floor above sliced it's way through the ceiling and threw itself in my direction. I opened my eyes, to see Clear's worried expression burrowing into me. He quickly took my hands, and lifted me once more. "-Are you alright?" I asked him, and he looked at me with a more dense glare. The glaze over his right eye was clearly visible, almost like a cataract. "I'm fine, what about you, Aoba-san?" Patting off the dust and debris from my clothes, I exhaled warily.
"I'm fine." Turning my head slowly over to the right, Koujaku looked on with a stunned expression. Oh right.. Chuckling nervously, I scratched the back of my neck. I was going to propose an introduction when I had realized the swarm of inhabitants were circling us. Curious. Taking a step was painful, my knees buckled and I felt arms assist my balance gently. "Please do not strain yourself, I'm sorry." Clear whispered sadly into my ear, the blotches of mourning in his voice were visible.
I turned to look at the volunteers, to see them crowding around something in horror. I curiously limped over, whilst Clear supported me hesitantly. Pressing my way through the crowd, I was hit with a ghastly scent. Coughing, I opened my eyes. My heart stopped.
Laying in the floor, ridden with disease. Was Toue, his eyes sunk in and his mouth agape as if he had seen something terrible. The two men I had seen from before, knelt down with their noses covered and looked visibly confused rather than upset. The last thing I noticed, before I passed out. Was his right eye, had glazed over densely.
He had contracted the disease heavily, to the point where it killed him almost instantly. I felt the darkness constrict around me, and I lost consciousness.

The House is responsible, and it hums a guilty tone in the bellowing silence.