I climbed onto the toilet to observe what was going on. A huge panic had broken out as the other two Mokke jumped up the toilet too.
Shrill shrieks continued as purple smoke lingered over the floor
"Awww, why are they all running away? I just arrived-"
A childish voice could be heard when finally I spotted the source, Tsukassa was floating in front of the door with a dark-coloured nervous Mokke in his hand.
My eyes widened as I recognized the poor Mokke, it was none other than Ink but then where was Bubble?
"Does this mean- Bubble is the snitch?"
Cotton assumed and I replied
"I- perhaps? But I don't know. Why would Bubble do this?"
"Ink are you alright?"
I questioned and Mint beside me yelled annoyed
"What do you want Tsukassa?"
"I was just roaming by and got curious~"
He said suddenly floating towards me and in a matter of seconds he was just a few inches away from my nose.
He stared with wide eyes and a smile while I pressed myself back slightly uncomfortable but needless I glared back.
"Ohhhh~ I like you. You'll be more fun than this one it broke so easily!"
He chirped as a smirk formed making his wicked eyes darker. He held up Ink by its ears, it squirmed in pain.
"Are you mocking me?"
My glare travelled up to find his, my voice had an edge to it as I clutched onto my last remnants of calmness. What did this prick think he was doing here, bullying a Mokke just after I took over?
"Am I?"
He replied putting one finger to his cheek while giving me a toothy smile as he let go of the Mokke.
Goosebumps formed on my arm as I jolted forwards in a pathetic attempt to save it.
"Ehk!"
It yelped as it fell, and my hand grazed over its ear before clenching tightly.
I sucked in a breath with wide eyes as a disgusting splat noise echoed through the room.
SQUERKKK!
I was still stumbling forward when the realization hit, my hand was empty. Terrified my eyes flew shut as I lost my balance.
With tears at the brim of my lashes and my hair fluttering through the air the impact with the floor was seconds away.
"Hmpff"
I yelped as my fall was stopped and my head pushed into soft up and down heaving fabric, it was a chest.
My legs were dangling freely in the air as I was slowly slipping down.
Hands trailed up my back before gripping me softly to support me further and lean me more into my saviour.
I didn't want to open my eyes as I already knew into whose embrace I fell. Perhaps the floor wasn't that bad compared to this.
"INK!"
Mint's voice pierced through the air as it hurried towards the Mokke
"I'm sor-"
Ink's voice faded
"Shit- Ink is unconscious."
I could hear Cotton slightly losing its cool as its voice melted into the back.
"You're already in my arm? My, my you are a cute puppy. Way cuter than Mitsuba, the one you stole from me."
Tsukassas amused voice brought me back into the moment.
I could feel my rapid breath on my cheek as I exhaled into the fabric before lifting my head.
I looked down for a split second, we were floating quite high.
"Is that what this is about~ Jealous I stole your pet."
I taunted as a terrifying thought rose in my mind.
"Oh you don't gotta be~ I'll share him if you don't mind joining me."
I proposed knowing that the best I could do right now was stall or come to an agreement otherwise we were done for. We never thought Tsukassa would interfere anytime soon.
"Hmm~"
He hummed as I took in a staggered breath, he actually was considering it?
"Perhaps if you are my dog, phaha you already are anyway. You're fun to be around!"
He taunted making me choke on my breath as I looked at him baffled with a hint of pink.
"Dog?"
I repeated as my hands snaked around him and up into his hair. Fury ate at me as I couldn't keep my composure and my vision blurred with small drops of pain.
My hand clenched in his hair tugging him closer to my face
"I rather would be exorcized by Teru than be anyone's dog."
"Oh? I didn't know you would be that thrilled to be my pet. I think I did hear somewhere before that some people were into that, I didn't think it was true."
"Eh?"
I exhaled in confusion before continuing with a rant
"Why does everyone think I'm into Teru? Are you not up to date with the information?! I HaTE HiM!"
"Natsuhiko called such a thing enemies to lovers. He's going for that with Sakura, he doesn't realize it but Sakura is annoyed by him!"
He answered innocently as my grip on his hair loosened. Maybe it was his cold hands brushing against my spine, or my hot body pushing against his. But my face was feeling undeniably warm.
"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere."
A male voice cut in as suddenly his arms around me loosened as his head turned and he replied
"Eh?"
"Gah, don't let go!"
I yelped as we were still mid-air when he suddenly shifted position so I couldn't lean on him anymore.
I clutched onto him for dear life, slowly dragging down his Yukata with me. I furrowed my eyebrows in fear as I saw the fabric slowly slipping from my grasp.
"Hey! Don't- I'll fall!"
I yell as suddenly his hands were removed from me.
"Oopsy Daisy!"
He exclaimed as my grip slipped off. I screamed in terror as my clothes flickered in the speeding air while my body was pulled down faster and faster.
With a loud thud, the back of my head crashed against the ground and the rest of my body followed. My back arched as I gasped in pain. A ringing sound spread around me, vision fading in and out. It pocked in my head slightly before transforming into a hammering stinging that travelled down my spine.
I Wheezed in pain, aching for air to pump into my system as my throat swelled shut more with each attempt.
"Sakura wants you to leave the Mokke alone!"
I saw a blurred silhouette who I assumed must be Natsuhiko nagging making the other ghost turn to him with a confused expression.
"But I don't want to-"
The guy didn't let him finish as he grabbed the back of his clothes and dragged him away like a cat.
"It was fun finally meeting you~ I look forward to the next time."
Tsukassa said with big round eyes and a psychopathic smile that moved nothing in his face except his cheeks.
"Don't break puppy~"
Where his last chilling words reminding me of poor Ink and with that they had left.
I grunted as I got onto my knees and stood up with shaking steps, exhaustion blurred the lifeless body laying on the ground with two panicked Mokke surrounding it.
"INK?!"
My own yell echoed in my mind as I stumbled forward when suddenly my feet were struck with numbness that carefully crept up my spine and down my arms.
My legs folded under me any sense of them hitting the ground suddenly lost. My vision was being littered with black dots, slowly they took over till the world was void.
Everything after that felt like a dream. After a few minutes I had regained consciousness.
Mint and Bubble were getting ready to leave this place and the dark sleeping Mokke was pressed into my hands for me to carry.
It was uncertain what happened to Bubble but one thing was sure whatever Ink lived through was probably horrible.
We decided to move to different locations due to Tsukassa now knowing that we had won against Hanako. There was no doubt that the rumours about our victory would spread soon and reach Teru's ear anytime now.
We needed to delay our final battle with the Exorcist till we sorted out the Mole in our team and found Bubble.
We stayed on the move to avoid encountering him, any previous locations such as the Candy-bar were now off limits due to there being a high chance of Teru looking for us at those.
Currently, we were in an old dark boundary. The wooden floor creaked with each step we took through the creepy hallway. Each speck of flaring and flickering from old orange paper lanterns that left huge gaps between each other was appreciated.
We were caged in by walls that were littered with shelves, signs and doors leading to hundreds of different supernatural places.
A few yellow or green eyes glistened around us as I and my crew together with our hostages stuck as close as possible to each other while navigating through the seemingly never-ending hallway.
"Alright, here we are, my hideout!"
Cotton said pointing at two faintly glowing magenta clothes messily hammered to the wall in between a nightstand and a huge bookshelf.
I pushed the fabric aside and wasn't surprised by the mess in front of me. Cushions, blankets a stash of candies, posters and various items, including crystal balls, magic supplies and cards. Yep, Cotton was definitely into some sketchy business...
I laid down Ink on the first free cushion I could find, its body glistened with sweat.
Trying to numb my concern I took a better look at my surroundings.
It was a decently large but stacked hideout, dipped in a honey atmosphere with lots of different colours.
On the red sofa on the left side of the cramped space, the hostages rested, still way too loudly discussing their escape plans.
But one thing was surprising, bottles of tipped-over paint were laying together with used brushes and other colours on a big table attached to the wall with a long stool in front of it.
Now taking a better look at the posters stuck to almost every free space on the wall, they all had a similar theme. A theme we had seen around boundaries for some time now.
"Cotton, did you make all these propaganda- ahum I mean Mokke recruitment posters?"
I questioned while analyzing one of the many flyers on the wall, showcasing a Mokke standing with glory and encouraging text to fight for us.
"That was what I was wondering- don't you know-"
Mint's tone was mildly pissed as it was about to scold Cotton for helping spread rumours when the fluffy Mokke suddenly dashed passed us.
How did it plan to talk its way out of this one? I almost felt bad since I knew Mint wouldn't let this slide.