"Nozomi." Hoseki greeted her calmly, as if nothing had ever happened.
"What are you doing here? It is dangerous." Nozomi asked, trembling in the cold and the dark. It almost felt blissful, like Eli was around here somewhere.
"What are you talking about?" Hoseki stepped closer to her, her features thrown into the small amount of light illuminated from the damaged LED bulb dangling from the ceiling. "I belong here."
She said it smoothly, as if there was nothing to fear. Nozomi fell silent as the taller girl walked around her, past Yuutsu who had stood up and moved to the back of the room, his face hidden in shadow.
"I have been brought up here, and I was the one tasked with bringing the three of them here. By that, I mean Umi, your beloved Eli and Maki." Hoseki paused in her steps and whirled around to face Nozomi, who had a look of pure shock scribbled all over her lineaments.
"Then, to make things easier, I had to-"
"Stop, Hoseki. You cannot tell her too much." Yuutsu spoke up, his blue eyes staring coldly at his younger sister.
"I'll tell her as much as I please." Hoseki leaned forward, her bronze eyes now harsh and stern. "Besides, there's nothing else left for her but to die."
"I'm not letting that happen." He growled and took a fighting stance. "I still need her."
"Have it your way." She huffed, and turned back to Nozomi. "Anyway, I was the one who handed out fake newspapers to your doorsteps. There is a reason why the police never investigated Umi's disappearance."
"Basically, I never called the police about what had happened that day. I was trying to, you know, keep it all quiet." She continued, biting her lower lip.
"How...could you?" Nozomi whispered, letting the taller girl's words sink in. "After all the hard work that Honoka-cchi went through to bring you up, this is how you repay her?! By doing all this?!"
Hoseki turned away slowly.
Her hands hung loosely by her side, and she did not say anything for a while.
"Leave her out of this."
"There is no way to do that!" Nozomi stood up, and came face to face with her, her entire body trembling with uncontrollable anger. "She has already been involved since the day you decided to whisk Umi-cchi away!"
The bronze-haired girl balled her hands into frustrated fists. "I told you to keep her out of this."
"No I will ne-"
"SHUT UP!" Hoseki screamed, her head inclined towards the cool floor and her body shaking with fury.
Nozomi did not know if she should feel mad or scared, staring at the once innocent playful silhouette standing in front of her.
It seemed impossible that the little girl she once knew could grow into such an unbalanced person. Especially after all the love Honoka had showered upon her.
But here she was, a shadow of her former self, the reason why Nozomi's love had been snatched away by greedy hands.
"Then let me go." Nozomi broke the tensional silence, her heart beating faster with anticipation.
"Not yet." This time, Yuutsu had spoken, his voice soft. "There is something that you must do."
Hoseki nodded and started to walk mechanically towards the doorway.
"Where are you going?"
The bronze-haired girl stopped in her tracks and shifted her head slightly so that Nozomi could see a mysterious glimpse of bronze.
"I'll check on the Reaper myself. Onii-chan, I do hope that you will handle this situation accordingly."
Yuutsu nodded and rested a hand on Nozomi's shoulder in an almost passive way.
"I will."
XXXXX
"Maki! You're awake." Nico left the table and took her girlfriend gently by the hand, leading her to the sofa.
"I think I just had the weirdest dream ever." Maki continued, seating herself on the sofa, a confused look on her features.
"Explain." Umi said, after giving the redhead more space on the sofa, careful to not wake Kotori, who was still dozing on her shoulder.
"I was in some sort of laboratory, a recognizable one though, one that Yorokobi called 'The Place'. That's where they carry out all the experiments on us." Maki elaborated, accepting a warm mug of water from Honoka. "There was a chainsaw, and blood. Lots of it. White and red. Silver...sobs."
Her lavender eyes contracted ever so slightly, trying to recall the remnants of the dream.
"It's alright if you don't remember all of it." Shuji sat on the floor with his legs crossed, looking up at her. "After all, I myself don't remember eighty percent of how my dreams go."
"No one was asking you." Nico snapped, and turned back to Maki gesturing for her to continue, ignoring the offended look on Shuji's face. "Continue."
"That's all I can recall." Maki sounded slightly disappointed, taking a sip from her mug at the same time. "I can't really remember anything after that."
Then, she put her mug down on the coffee table, suddenly remembering something. "Oh, you were in it, Eli."
"Huh?" Eli looked up, confused. She placed a gloved hand on her hip and made a face. "How was I involved?"
"You were watching everything, and I...could not touch anything in the dream. I was sort of floating and just unable to move on my own." The redhead twirled a bunch of her hair, looking directly at Eli as she spoke.
"I see." Something crossed Eli's lineaments, but Nico could not exactly point out what she was thinking I'm that moment. "I know what must be done."
"And that is?" Umi questioned while being interrupted by Rin's persistent snoring.
Eli folded her arms authoritatively across her chest and her baby blue eyes narrowed.
"We have to go back. To find the answers we have been looking for."
XXXXX
"This way."
Yuutsu led Nozomi through the winding hallways before they stopped at an unfamiliar laboratory.
"What are we going to do?" The spiritualist asked, giving him a questioning look, to which he replied with a small smile.
"You'll see." He checked carefully around the perimeters and took her by the hand. "We absolutely cannot be spotted."
She was tempted to yank her hand away, but decided against it.
"Won't there be security cameras?" She asked, as they stepped into the room.
"Yes, but I've taken care of that. The Guy and the Man don't check security footage until midnight." He closed the door shut quietly, and switched on the lights. "Which is in a few hours."
Once Nozomi opened her eyes again from closing them due to the sudden flash of bright light, she gasped.
Eli was on the table, with a big hole in her light blue shirt where the icicle had impaled her. However, her skin was as smooth as Nozomi had always known it to be.
"El-Elichi?!" She exclaimed and raced to her girlfriend's side, her green eyes laden with confusion and joy. "Wha-How?"
"I brought her back." Yuutsu replied, heading to Nozomi's side. "She is in limbo, however."
"How do I bring her back?" The spiritualist muttered urgently, her lush green eyes boring holes into Yuutsu's blue ones.
"Well, you can't." He replied, sitting down on a small swivel stool. "She has to wake up on her own."
Nozomi's expression changed to one of despair. "O-Oh..."
"It's okay, but that's what I need you for," Yuutsu soothed, letting his hands support his weight as he let them rest on his thighs. "To be here for her."
XXXXX
Eli stared, confused.
Why had the scene blacked out?
"Because I died." Came the faraway voice, as if reading her mind.
"Who are you?" The blonde inquired, looking around for its owner.
"What everyone calls me," A shining white light descended in front of Eli, soon taking the form of a white werewolf, its ice blue eyes cold and sad. "I'm known as Kori, the Wolf of Ice and Snow."
Eli felt the wolf brush against her gently with its smooth and graceful body, sending small shivers running down her spine.
"I am a part of you. Your memories are mine, and my memories are yours." The wolf whispered, its tail wrapping snake-like around her waist. "I share your body."
Eli gulped nervously. "I...noticed."
The wolf closed its eyes. "I showed you that memory for a reason."
"And that is?"
"The only way to get rid of me and get your normal life back," The wolf muttered, releasing its hold on Eli. "Is to die and live."
The part Russian felt a quizzical look creep onto her face and the wolf flicked its ear casually.
"That means that right now, you're dead. Yuutsun, in killing you, has made you live again."
"Oh..." Eli's voice trailed off. "How about Nozomi?!"
"She's fine. She's been waiting for you, you know." The wolf continued, looking directly at the blonde. “She has been with you this entire time.”
Eli smiled softly when she heard this, instantly imagining the warm hands of her girlfriend around hers, holding them firmly together.
She balled her right fist and said determinedly, “How do I get back?”
“As long as I remain within you, you won’t awaken.” The white wolf replied, a stern look crossing its canine features. “That is why I need you to listen. This is what you need to do.”
“Fire away.” Eli nodded, her baby blue eyes meeting the wolf’s ice blue ones, relentless.
XXXXX
“Wha-What do you mean? We can’t possibly go back, Eli.” Umi stuttered slightly, awakening Kotori, who yawned and stretched.
It took them a while to fill Kotori in the details, but soon enough, she had a basic idea.
“I see...” She turned away from them to face Maki, concern evident in her gaze. “Are you okay, Maki-chan?”
The redhead nodded and clutched her hands together tightly. Nico, seeing this, rested a supporting hand on her back.
“Anyway,” Shuji spoke, his brown eyes shining slightly. “We have to leave now.”
“Yes, the answers are there, at that place.” Eli finished, standing up and heading for the door. “We have to hurry before it’s too late.”
“I would have expected you to show more reluctance, actually, Eli.” Maki interrupted, getting up from the comfort of the sofa and narrowing her lavender eyes slightly.
“What do you mean?” Eli turned back, her hands tense by her sides.
“Who are you?” Umi injected, standing beside Maki. “Why haven’t you taken off your gloves?”
The blonde did not say anything for a period of time, her blue eyes flickering from Shuji to the rest of the girls.
Then, sighing, she pulled her gloves off.
“There, happy?” Eli placed them firmly down onto the coffee table.
Umi looked at them. “I don’t recall you ever having a pair like those.”
“I told you, I took them from a draw-”
“You didn’t.” Maki cut in, folding her arms over her chest.
“I was away from all of you for a much longer time!” The blonde defended, her hands curled into fists.
“Give me your hands, Eli.” Umi muttered again, holding her own out for the part Russian.
“Whatever.” She rested them in the bluenette’s, a relieved expression present on her face.
“Now, put them on Honoka.”
“Wh-Why?!” Eli choked out, snatching her hands away from the archer. “You’ve already tes-”
Then, moonlight came streaming in from the window, from where Maki had moved to part the curtains.
As the glow hit Eli’s silhouette, her figure began to change, morphing into a taller, sturdier form.
“Kanashimi.” Umi snarled quietly. “I should have known better.”
The boy lifted his head to glare at her. “Just a little bit more and I would have been able to get you all killed and offered as sacrifices.”
“That is never happening.” Maki stated, frowning.
“Oh, even if you do not want it to, it will happen anyway.” He chuckled, setting his golden eyes on Honoka. “After all, the only way for you to live, is for you to die.”
XXXXX
“Is everything ready?” The man whispered, straightening his tie. “We will be leaving soon.”
“Yes, sir.” One of his underlings replied, tucking his cap under his arm. “The car is waiting.”
“All right.” Yokina Shiro readied his assault rifle and slung it over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
XXXX
•18.10.2017•