Chapter 41 – Plunge Into Akukai
Mika stood numbly and stared at the letter for a long time repeating the last word over and over again in her head. Farewell...Farewell... It didn’t seem real, that he could just simply disappear right in front of them like this. She sat down at the table, and stared at the polished wood. We sat here together not too long ago... We ate and talked just a couple of days ago.
“So what do we do now?” Ayako asked kneeling down at the opposite end of the small table.
“There is nothing we can do,” Kana answered sitting down as well. “Kaito is gone and for a while it seems.”
“No,” Mika whispered shaking her head. “He can’t just be... gone.” Silence followed her words for many long minutes. “We didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
“Well, there’s only one way to remedy that isn’t there?” Ayako remarked standing up. “We go to him.”
“That’s impossible Ayako,” Kana stated matter-of-factly. “There is no way to get into Akukai ourselves, and even if we did, we don’t even know where Kaito is right now.”
“But we do have a way to get there!” Ayako exclaimed. “Have you forgotten who’s standing right in front of you?” She thrust out her arm to point at Okita. “There’s got to be a way for him to get us there and back.”
The group slowly turned to consider Okita, who avoided their gazes.
“He’s our portal,” Ayako restated. “We might as well take advantage of it, don’t you think?”
“Could you do it Okita?” Mika asked quietly. “Could you get us to Kaito if only to officially say goodbye?”
Okita seemed to shrink under the intense gazes of the three girls. “Man, Kaito is so going to kill me for this,” he groaned mostly to himself.
The effect of his words was immediate on the trio. Their faces brightened, and they stood up ready to embark to the other world.
“Wait just a moment,” Kana spoke up breaking the concentration of the two that were already headed in Okita’s direction. “We should at least go pack a few changes of clothes and snacks in case we need them. I don’t know much about Akukai, but my assumption is that the food there isn’t eatable for humans.”
“Well, some of it is,” Okita said slowly, “but if you’re taking food, you might want to bring something you’re more accustomed to.”
With a general agreement amongst the three girls, they broke toward their different houses to pack what they thought they would need.
After just ten minutes of packing, Mika had her backpack bulging with various things ranging from clothes, to food, to bandages. Whether Kaito would accept the bandages or not was a completely separate matter that Mika chose not to dwell on. Mika was the first to arrive back at the apartment followed by Kana, and then Ayako who had more things than Mika and Kana combined. Even so, she managed to cram it all into a backpack that was only slightly larger than Mika’s.
“So how exactly does this work?” Ayako asked Okita.
“You’ll see,” he said with a smile. Then he reached into his pocket and produced a golden ring with a black jewel which he put on the middle finger of his right hand.
“What’s that?” Ayako asked craning her head around attempting to see it better.
“It’s a concentration jewel. It channels demonic energy and directs it to a point. Onii-chan’s a lot better at this than I am,” he added with a short laugh.
“Should we be concerned?” Ayako questioned.
“Of course not!” Okita responded in a wounded tone. “I can do it, but it’s hard.”
Ayako stared at him for another moment before she stepped behind him to watch.
Okita held out his right hand with his palm down, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. For a seemingly endless time, nothing happened. Then, his whole body started to emit a soft sea-green light. Okita felt around with his mind for a weaker point in the barrier, and once he found it, focused all of his demonic energy into that point.
After a moment, he lowered his hand and opened his eyes to examine the rift. “Okay,” he announced. “You see it?”
“The place where the air is all ripple-y?” Ayako asked. It almost looked like an extremely hot spot in the middle of the air. It was hard to see if she just focused on it directly, but using her peripheral vision, she could sort of see it.
“Yep! Now just jump right through it.”
The three girls exchanged a glance. “Just jump through it...?” Mika asked slowly.
“Mhm. Hurry though before it closes.”
“Okay, well here goes nothing!” Ayako said hefting up her backpack on her shoulders and charging forward.
Mika and Kana watched closely as their friend vanished. It wasn’t as though she had just disappeared from view. It was more like she was running straight into a thick fog. Her figure became hazy until it just disappeared completely.
Kana nodded to Mika, and started forward at a brisk walk while Mika followed hot on her heels. Going through the void felt about the same as it looked when Ayako had gone through it. The scenery of the apartment became hazy and then faded into blackness. This blackness seemed to thicken around Mika and squeeze the air right out of her. When she tried to take a breath, she couldn’t. In the moment that panic hit, a flash of blinding light filled her eyes and she found herself in a free fall.
Mika released a short shout, and fell on her back into the soft ground immediately. For a moment, all of her senses seemed fuzzy. Her arms felt numb, and the colors and shapes were a green blur. It took her a moment to realize that she was lying flat up in tall, green grass.
Mika sat up, and tried to calm her spinning head. She first focused on Ayako standing with Okita a few meters in front of her, and then she saw the form of Kana steadying herself slightly off to the left. So this is it? Mika wondered as she also stood. This is Kaito’s and Okita’s home...
It didn’t really look like a whole separate world to her. The sky was just as blue, the grass just as green, and even the trees looked similar although all of them were a good distance away.
They had landed in a large meadow, she realized. There was a creek that wound its way through a corner of it behind her, and only one large tree in the middle of the area that could’ve easily been several hundred years old. On the outskirts of the meadow was a wall of trees. Most of them looked like cedar trees although there was the occasional oak-like tree similar to the one in the middle of the meadow.
“Where is this exactly?” Mika asked walking toward Ayako and Okita.
“This is where Kaito and I grew up,” Okita said happily. “We spent about five years living here together. The main reason I chose here though is because it’s off the radar of both the Lightning and Wind Clan.”
“Okay...” Ayako said. “So where is the Lightning Clan then? Isn’t that where Kaito is?”
Okita nodded. “It’s over to the left. I know it’s kind of hard to see, but there’s an old iron gate over there. It’s kind of like the pathway to the Lightning clan. You can’t get in or out by trying to go through the forest. The area has a strong barrier around it that will repel you, and you’ll end up back here in the meadow.”
“That is quite elaborate,” Kana said. “Why is that?”
“Our parents couldn’t really afford to have us escaping from this area when we were really young,” Okita said with a shrug. “And they couldn’t have anyone else stumbling into this area by accident either. We’re Taboo Children remember?”
A long silence followed his words. Mika couldn’t imagine how painful it must’ve been for the two of them to essentially be locked up in this place for five long years. It was pretty, sure, but to have no contact with anyone other than each other would’ve been hard.
“If you go through the gate to the Lightning Clan and keep going straight, you’ll see the castle soon,” Okita said breaking through the silence. “It’s impossible to miss, of course I can’t come with you, but I think you’ll be alright. The Lightning Clan isn’t known to kill many humans.”
“Oh, that’s a wonderful thought,” Ayako said with laugh.
“Thank you so much Okita.” Mika turned toward him and sank into a low bow. “I know we won’t be able to really do anything here, but I’m glad I get to see him again.”
“It’s no biggie,” Okita said with a large smile. “Maybe I’ll see you again sometime.”
“I hope so!” Mika said before turning to follow her friends that were already headed in the direction that Okita had indicated.
The gate wasn’t too hard to find, but it was over grown with vines and grass, so it took all three of the girls straining against it to get it to open. At last it did just wide enough for them to squeeze through sideways. As soon as Kana, the last of the three, had passed through it, it snapped closed as if an invisible string had pulled it back into place.
“Well that’s kind of eerie,” Ayako said softly glancing back at the gate. “Okita said we go straight right?”
Mika only nodded. The gate wasn’t the only thing that was a bit creepy. On the other side of the gate was a large pine forest. The trees were so tall that they blocked out all of the sun, and the needles of the pines muffled the sound. Overall, it was a dark and completely silent place.
The trio didn’t talk much as they moved along. They stuck very close to each other and shuffled quickly forward. Due to the height of the trees and the lack of light, there was very little underbrush so at least it was easy to move around.
After about twenty minutes of walking through the forest, the scenery began to shift slightly and the pines faded out to large deciduous trees. Here the walk became a little less stifling. It was significantly brighter, and the sounds of birds resonated through the forest.
“Look,” Ayako said quietly pointing up slightly. “That has to be it.”
Mika stepped around her and followed her gaze. Sure enough, on a hill off in the distance was a very large, stone structure. She couldn’t see much of it through the trees, but it did look remarkably like a medieval European castle from just the portion she could see.
“How should we go about getting in?” Ayako wondered mostly to herself.
“We can’t just knock on the door?” Mika responded.
“Of course not! This is a castle surely they have guards and stuff especially because they’re going to war. We have to get in without them noticing.”
“Even if we were to get in, the building is huge,” Kana reasoned. “We wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for Kaito. Our best bet would be to find someone and tell them why we are here and hope that they will escort us to where we need to be.”
“You really think they would take us to Kaito if we just walked up and said, ‘hey, we humans are here to see your prince, don’t mind us’?”
Silence followed Ayako’s words as the other two thought about it.
“Well, before we do anything, we’ll have to get closer and actually see the place clearly.” Ayako started forward, and after a moment hesitation, the other two followed behind her.
They started the uphill climb long before the forest even begun to thin. In Mika’s opinion, it must’ve been at least a twenty minute walk before the trio reached the clearing.
As they came to the edge of the forest, they all stopped to admire the structure. Huge couldn’t even begin to cover it. The outer walls were thirty meters high, and had an open watch post in all four corners. It also seemed as though there was a track were warriors could walk on top of the walls. The wall was so long that it extended into the distance making it impossible for the girls to even begin to guess the actual length.
“Dang...” Ayako breathed in amazement. “You can’t even actually see the castle over this huge wall.”
The group was on the left side of the castle with the entrance being to the right around the wall. They could see a bit of the stone walkway to the gate, but most of it was hidden by the corner of the castle wall.
Ayako pointed to the left. “We should go that way, around the back.” Without waiting for the group to confirm to deny her idea, she started forward, keeping to the edge of the forest.
They had only walked for about five minutes before a sound caught the attention of the girls. It sounded a bit like a low-pitched whistle, but had an undertone to it that seemed foreign.
“What was –” before Ayako could finish her statement, she was grabbed roughly from behind. In a split second, her hands were pinned in the grasp of her attacker, and a short dagger was pressed against her throat. Her eyes wildly searched for her friends, and the short glimpse she had of them told her that they had both met a similar fate.
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Kaito strolled along the dimly lit hallway. He couldn’t help but marvel at how much these walls now seemed foreign to him after spending only two years in the human world. Each of the stone hallways were lighted with a torches on either side spaced about two meters from each other.
The walls on this side of the castle were bleak compared to the majority of the rest. The only people that travelled this hallway were himself and the maids and attendants made to serve him. Kaito, being one that particularly disliked ornate decorations, had personally requested that this wing remained bare.
He traveled on down the hallway until it dead ended in a spiral staircase. On the left, the staircase went up, and to the right it travelled downward into the first wing. Kaito went downward and made several complete circles around the center pillar until the staircase spit him out at the end of the first floor on the left wing.
Kaito moved onward letting his feet carry him in the direction he needed to go while his mind wandered back to the girls and the world he had suddenly left behind. He could only imagine the indignity on Ayako’s face when she discovered that he had just up and vanished. Mika he knew would be horribly upset which was the only reason he had bothered to actually leave the note. Kana would most likely be sad, but she would keep it to herself and probably shrug it off before either of the other two.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts before he pushed open a heavy set of polished wooden doors. These only opened into another hallway, wider and shorter than the others in the castle, and vastly different because it was decorated more than any of the others combined. It had a deep blue carpet which was highlighted with spiraling and waving patterns of lighter blue. On the walls were a multitude of paintings which depicted the most glorious moments of the Lightning Clan, and at the end were paintings of the past Kings. Only two were shown, Kaito’s grandfather and his father.
Again the hallway ended in front of two polished wooden doors that stretched almost to the ceiling ten meters above. Both doors were engraved with a lightning strike, but Kaito didn’t take notice. He paused at the door to run his hand briefly over the silks he was wearing hoping to iron out any wrinkles that may have appeared between the walk from his chambers and the throne room which now loomed in front of him.
The last time he had worn them was during the play of the cultural festival, and he hadn’t had time to get them cleaned between then and now. Although he was pleased to find that they were still quite clean. Last, he ran a hand through his hair, and pulled a night-blue ribbon out his pocket to tie it up with. Even in the half a day that he had been here, his hair had grown out nearly five centimeters.
Once Kaito was sure that he was presentable to his father, he lightly touched the wooden doors which swung open at his request. The light of the throne room was blinding compared to the dimly lit hallways. The ceiling was composed solely of glass which let in an enormous amount of sunlight during the day. It also made the room much warmer than the rest of the castle.
The room was easily five hundred square meters, and the walls extended upward far, far above his head. The walls were decorated much like the previous hallway with paintings and long tapestries hung down between them. The floor was marble and the color resembled that of dark storm clouds which matched the gray stone walls very well.
Kaito walked straight forward until he was halfway across the large room, then he bent his right arm across his chest, his left arm behind his back, and knelt down in a formal bow on the hard floor. He didn’t have to look up to know his father sat before him on the silver-colored throne. He could feel his father’s resounding presence long before he had ever entered this room.
“Kaito.” The King addressed him.
“I have returned, my Lord,” Kaito replied now lifting his head to gaze upon his father. The King looked the exact same as he had when Kaito had left, although Kaito wouldn’t have expected any less.
“When did you return?”
“Mid-morning, sir.”
“You had an enjoyable time in the world of Human’s I take it.”
“I did,” Kaito said with a slight nod of his head. “I –” He was interrupted as a shouting came from outside of the closed doors.
“My Lord,” a male voice called. “I request an immediate audience.”
The King frowned slightly, but waved one hand and the doors flung themselves open.
The familiar scent hit Kaito’s nose first, and then the protests that had become all too recognizable. Kaito turned his head around slowly to gaze at the three girls being pushed along by three guards. What the hell are they doing?!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Hey! You don’t have to be so rough about it,” Ayako protested as she was shoved through the doors that had just mysteriously opened on their own. She was released upon entering as the man stepped forward to address the King.
“Kaito,” Mika breathed.
Ayako turned her attention away from the man and the King to follow Mika’s gaze. “Hey Kaito! Order them to let us go already!” she shouted as soon their eyes met.
“Kaito,” the King’s voice sounded sternly. “What’s your affiliation with these humans?”
Kaito closed his eyes briefly to collect himself before turning back around and addressing his father with his head bowed. “We’ve been acquainted for some time. They were in the same school classroom. Although I did not realize they were quite so stupid.” He turned his head slightly to cast a glare in their direction as he spoke.
Ayako huffed and turned away with a pout. As the King spoke again, she finally turned to focus on him. He looked to be about thirty years old, although she knew well he was much older than that, and his voice seemed much too deep for his appearance. He had long, straight, black hair that fell down to his hips even though he had a silver shawl and pin sitting on top of his head to hold it up. He had a piercing blue gaze which was now directed at Kaito. His eyes were lighter though, she noticed, being more of an icy blue than the royal of Kaito’s.
“You are aware of the consequences of breaking the laws, are you not?” the King was saying. “Or perhaps you have forgotten them in a mere two years?”
“I am aware,” Kaito responded, his voice emotionless.
The King considered him for a moment more. “Store them away. I do not care where, but I do not wish to see these humans again. Tomorrow morning I expect them to be back in their own world and taken care of properly.”
“Of course,” Kaito bowed his head before standing up and walking back toward the doors. “Come,” he snarled at the group, and without bothering to look at any of them, he strode past and out of the door.
The girls all exchanged a quick glance with each other, and ran past the guards and after Kaito.
“Kaito...” Mika said quietly walking as swiftly as she could to catch up to Kaito’s long strides. “I –”
“Be silent,” he growled without turning to her.
Mika immediately stopped dead in her tracks and tried to hold back the tears that forced themselves into her eyes. She had never seen him so furious, and it scared her.
“Hey!” Ayako shouted turning on Kaito. “You don’t have to be so rude ‘Prince’,” she mocked angrily.
Kaito paused and turned around to meet the fire in her eyes with the ice in his. Ayako instinctively flinched and took a step backward. Before she could gather back enough of her courage to make a smart remark, Kaito had already turned back around and was heading though the maze of halls.
“Let’s just leave him alone,” Kana whispered before giving her friends a gentle push from behind to get them moving forward again.
Mika wasn’t aware of the walk through the castle at all. She just let her feet carry her after her friends while her mind remained numb and void of thought. The next thing she was aware of was Kaito holding open another smaller wooden door and ordering them inside.
The girls did as they were bid, and entered the large room. The door slammed shut behind them locking them in the area. Ayako gave another shout of protest, but it accomplished nothing. Finally, she turned away from the door to observe the area.
It was clearly a bedroom, and she was reasonably sure it was Kaito’s. The floor was a polished gray stone as were the walls. There was a four-poster bed against the right wall, and a couple of dressers to the right of the bed. Shoved in the back corner was a large wooden desk that was bare except for a couple of pieces of blank parchment scrolls and a candle. On the front wall was the door that led back to the hallway and a large fireplace which was bare.
In the middle of the back wall were glass doors that led to a small balcony. Ayako tried the doors, but they were locked fast. On the left side was an old leather couch with several bed sheets folded on top of it. There were two other doors on this wall: one in the corner of the back wall, and another, older looking one, near the front wall.
The one on the left Ayako couldn’t open, but the right one led to an old-fashioned bathroom. What Ayako could only assume was a bathtub was built into the floor, it like everything else, was made of stone. Three stairs led down to the oval structure. It was nearly half the size of the whole bathroom being about three square meters in area and about half a meter high.
Three small, arched windows were in the back wall providing just enough light to keep the room somewhat lit. Other than the bathtub, no other distinct features marked the bathroom. There was no toilet or even a sink.
“Hey guys, have you seen this?” Ayako called out. When neither of the two answered, she backed out of the room to look for the other two. Kana was sitting on the bed deep in thought while Mika was curled up on the couch with her head buried in her arms. “Are you dead?” she asked. “Come on, this could be a lot worse.”
“It could also be much better,” Kana responded turning to watch her friend. “We should not have ever come here.”
Ayako frowned at the defeated lot of her friends. Then she sat down on the couch as well and let the room elapse into a heavy unbroken silence.
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Kaito walked slowly back in the direction of his chambers. Today had been forever long, and all he wanted to do now was crash in his bed and go to sleep, but he couldn’t do that. He had three pains to deal with first.
“I take it they’ve been quiet?” Kaito addressed the maid he’d stationed outside of his room in the native tongue. He wouldn’t put it past Ayako to try something stupid in an attempt to get free so he had put her here to make sure nothing went amiss.
“Yes my Lord,” she replied with a deep bow.
Kaito only nodded. “You are dismissed.” The maid nodded once more and scampered away leaving Kaito staring at the door collecting himself before he went in. He touched the door lightly and it swung open at his request.
The room had long since grown dark with the setting of the sun. Kaito crossed over to his desk, and with a snap of his fingers and a spark of electricity, the candle there burst into flame. The candle itself was rather large and provided a great amount of light although it still left the left side of the room in the shadows. My how I already miss light bulbs.
A groan came from the bed where Ayako had fallen asleep. With a sigh, Kaito moved over to it and ripped the blue comforter out from under her.
Ayako jumped up with a sharp shout, and in her confusion, she tumbled off the bed onto the hard floor. “What the hell?” she shouted angrily still dreary from her sleep.
The other two, who were both asleep on the couch, awoke immediately and tried to make sense of the situation.
“That’s my bed,” Kaito emphasized. “You are not allowed in it.”
“Well it’s not like you were here to stop me,” Ayako retorted. “It’s super comfy by the way. Why don’t you just find a spot on the floor like a good little puppy.” She fell back onto the bed face down grumbling something else Kaito couldn’t make out.
Kaito cocked his jaw, and grabbed Ayako up by the back side of her collar and drug her, struggling and protesting, to the middle of the floor where he dumped her. “I’m already tired enough. I don’t have the patience to deal with your antics tonight.”
“Does this mean you are not angry anymore?” Kana asked walking toward the two.
“No it does not,” Kaito replied with a sigh. “To think that you foolishly came here still infuriates me, but I’m not worrying about the matter anymore until tomorrow morning. Enjoy the time you’ve known me while you can.”
“What do you mean?” Ayako asked.
“After I return you back to where you should be, I have to take care of you ‘properly’.”
Kana was the first one who managed to get a grasp on what his words meant. “You don’t mean...” she trailed off as her eyes widened on Kaito.
Kaito turned so that the shadows hid his face. “I have to erase your memories as I should have when you first discovered that I was a demon.”
Although his tone was carefully emotionless, Mika could almost imagine the pain in his eyes that the shadows were hiding. She dropped her head and fell back onto the couch. So everything I know about him, all of the moments we spent together will be gone...? Just like that?
“I’m sorry,” Kaito said quietly, his voice breaking through the silence. “This is the best possible fate that could befall you after coming here.” He left the three staring silently at each other in the dim light while he changed in the bathroom.
He had kept some of his clothes from the Human World, and it was the night shirt that he had worn for nearly a year that he changed into. He pulled the ribbon from his hair and it fell to the middle of his shoulder blades, then he carefully folded up his clothes and left them in the corner of the bathroom where the maids would collect them later.
By the time he came out, Ayako was already fast asleep again on his bed while Kana and Mika managed to fit themselves on the couch. Kaito blew out the candle and opened the glass doors to the balcony. It wasn’t a large space. He could cross to the railing in two strides, but he loved it nonetheless.
He moved to the stone railing and stared off in the distance were lights of the village at the base of the hill were flickering. He gazed up at the nearly full moon and closed his eyes as the slight wind rustled his hair. Kaito glanced behind him as he caught Mika’s scent.
She was standing at the threshold clutching the collar of her nightgown to keep it from blowing around in the cool wind. As soon as Kaito’s gaze shifted to her, she dropped her head and took a step back. The order to ‘be silent’ was still echoing painfully in her mind.
Kaito turned back around again and continued to stare out at the scenery. “It’s strange,” he said softly after a moment. “I didn’t realize that just two years away from this place would make me forget so much about it. Now everything feels so nostalgic.”
Mika crossed the balcony and stood a meter away from Kaito to admire the view. “I don’t want to forget,” she said so softly that her words were almost lost in the gentle breeze.
“I know,” Kaito responded. “Don’t cry about it though.” He turned toward her with a soft smile and ran his fingertips over Mika’s cheek where the tears that she had been holding back since this morning were now flowing freely. “You have a long life ahead of you. Enjoy every second of it with those that are part of your world. I was never meant to be with humans, and I should have never let anyone near me. This situation is largely my fault, and for that, I am truly sorry.”
A/N~ I really love the way I ended this, and it's another cliffhanger for you to enjoy.
I struggled for a while on how I wanted to do the language barrier for the girls, and simply bolding the text is what I came up with. So from now on, all bolded text means speech in the native language of Akukai.<==Chapter 40
