Just this once, I'll turn away. Just like before.
As time continued to move in Makai, the tension among us seemed to grow as well. The days seemed much more quieter than usual and the enthusiasm seemed to have disappeared. Now, we only had one aim. At least, they did. I had other plans.
"You plan on opening a gateway tonight ?" Ciel, who was steadily looking down at her hands, nodded her head slowly. "That's right", she replied softly, "We've been here for too long." I turned to Shuichi, who was also quiet. I moved over to him and linked arms with him. "Nee", I said, slightly titling my head, "What're you thinking about ? That look on your face looks scary." He slowly glanced down at me. "Nani ?", he asked as I drew him away from his thoughts. I let go of his arm and sighed in dismay. I looked at the both of them and frowned. "How do you successfully plan to return to the Human World if you're both brooding ?", I asked them in a scolding manner, "When we get back, what do you plan to do ? Do you plan to brood some more or what ?" "What other choice do we have ?", Ciel replied quietly, "There's too many things going on. Especially with Seiji and Kaori. Ever since we caught them, they haven't spoken about anything." I looked down at the floor. That's because the only person who knows is me. The day they told me was the day when it was just the three of us. No one else. "Is that so", I mumbled, turning towards Ciel, who was already staring at me. She nodded. "In any case, the only thing we can do is bring them back to the Human World and question them there. It's much more safer to ask there than here." I chuckled and began walking towards the door. "Where are you going ?", I heard Shuichi asked from behind me. "Air", I replied bluntly with a faint grin. I reached for the doorknob and opened it. "After all", I called out as I began to close it behind me, "We are going back tonight. Might as well get ready, don't you agree ?"
"......."
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"Daaaaaaaaarrrrrrlllllliiiiiinnnnnggggggggg !!!!!!"
I was taken by surprise when someone suddenly pulled me into a hug. "Juuji", I muttered as I tried to take a breath, "Wh..what is it ?" I could feel his arms tighten around me. "You're not hurt are you !? He didn't do anything !?" "Hurt...?", I asked, "..Do what ?" Behind us, chuckling. We both looked up to see Sara standing there with a grin. "Jeez Juuji", she said, "Why're you still questioning it ?" Juuji pulled away and frowned at Sara. "Shut up", he snapped. Sara's grin didn't disappear as she approached us. "You should get used to it", she said to him bluntly, "They're married after all. Married people sleep in the same room." There was an emphasis on the way she said "married". I was surprised when Juuji didn't catch on to it. "Shut up", he hissed, "Shiori can only belong to one person, and that one person is me !" Sara shook her head in dismay and sighed. Good grief, I thought. Just because I was sharing rooms with Shuichi... I began to recall of what happened in the morning and grinned at the thought. When I was beginning to wake up, I could feel a heavy stare on me. It hadn't dawned on me that it was Shuichi, who was stoically staring at me from beside me. I fell off of the bed trying to move back, all because I had forgotten that we were sharing the same room. Seeing that amused grin on his face as he looked over at me was slightly agitating. He even laughed.
"Anyways...", I said with a fake cough, "Do you guys know that we'll be leaving Makai tonight ?" Juuji and Sara looked at each other before nodding their heads. "Ciel told us earlier", she replied, her voice suddenly sounding regrettable. "Around 3:50, no ?" I nodded my head. Juuji sighed and put his arms behind his head. "I wonder what the rest of us do when we get there", he said in a low voice, "We're demons after all. Should we grow accustom to living there ?" Sara broke out into a grin and jokingly shoved him. He moved forward, almost falling. "What the hell are you trying to do ?", he asked, scowling. She walked past him and grabbed my arm, slowly beginning to drag me off. "Hearing something so meaningful", she began to say as she looked over her shoulder at him, "..is frightening. Especially when it's coming from you." "What the hell is that even supposed to mean ?", he asked bitterly. The both of them stared at each other before she turned away, faintly smiling. "I don't know", was her soft reply. Afterwords, she began to walk off with me. I mean, she still was holding onto my arm. I was surprised when Juuji didn't do anything to stop us. Instead, we all separated in a drowning silence.
About 20 minutes later, Sara and I arrived at a desolate place. The only thing that surrounded us were trees, almost like a forest. Other than that, it was just I. We were both turned away from each other when a gust of wind blew by. Dust followed after it.
"After tonight", she said in a strong, firm tone, "I'll trust you with the rest." I, who was looking down at ground, broke out into a faint grin. "Will do", I replied softly. "When I return, I'll promise you a second chance. Just make sure to look out for yourself." There was chuckling behind me as I glanced over to her. On her face, a weakened smile. "Of course", I heard her say as she looked up to the cloud covered skies of Makai. "I expect quite a lot from you after this." "Leave it to you to make things more complicated for me." She turned to me and grinned, her eyes no longer reflecting the look of distress. "You're welcome", she replied.
"But I should ask you, how do you plan to stay back when you have Ciel and Minamino-san nearby you ? Won't it be difficult ?" Difficult ? I broke out into a laugh, bringing my left hand up to cover half of my face. "Not necessarily", I muttered as I stared at her in amusement, "I have plenty of cards up my sleeve. Things that not even they know about. If push comes to shove, I will use them." "So you'd be willing to go against their wishes ?" I brought my hand down to my side and shrugged. "Depends", I said. "I made a promise to you and two others. I won't abandon them just because of Ciel and Shuichi. They'll come to understand my choice... eventually." "And what if they don't ?", she asked sternly. I reluctantly thought about it before discarding the thought. "Then I'd be willing to face the consequences of that 'what if'", I said slowly.
"After all, I am the one who decides my choices. I don't listen to anyone else but me."