Kingdoms (kaimaki fantasy AU)

Chapter 25: Awoken

TRIGGER WARNING: GORE! I've kept it to a minimum as best I could, but please proceed with caution whilst reading this chapter.

'Kaito...'

Kaito's eyes snapped wide open. He didn't know why he woke up suddenly. It was like an automatic reflex in a way. There was just a jolt, like lightening had struck him, that ran through his body. He didn't have much time to process much. He only felt that he was in a bed. That's all he knew until he suddenly felt a violent churning in his stomach. His body automatically turned, leaving him to unceremoniously fall out of the bed. He crashed to the ground. Again, he could process anything as he got on his hands and knees. There was another violent churn in his stomach as he pushed his body up. He opened his mouth, violently expelling his stomach contents mixed with black sludge, the remains of the venom that was in his body. Kaito felt terribly drained once he stopped vomiting, his body shook just to keep him from collapsing. His throat had a lingering burning sensation trapped inside it, making it almost hard to breathe.

As Kaito tried to regain his strength, he started to wonder what had happened to cause him to be so ill all of a sudden. In an instant, it hits him. He was in Web Valley with Maki until they got separated. He was chased in the underground tunnel he had found himself trapped in. And then he was stung after trying to get out of that awful place. Remembering feeling of becoming numb combined with the feeling of being unable to breathe, made Kaito shudder. He didn't realise how close he was to death at that moment. He wasn't sure but he thought that he heard Maki's voice before he fully passed out.

Maki...

"Maki Roll?" Kaito moaned, his voice rough and dry. He finally looked around the small bedroom that he was in. It was extremely dark, even with the curtains drawn, sowing that it might have just crept into nighttime. How long was Kaito unconscious for? In his groggy mind, he finally remembered what he had seen and heard while he was asleep. He was reliving the nightmare of his grandparents dying right before his eyes. And then he heard Maki's voice. He wasn't certain, but he thought that he felt her close to him. So where was she?

Feeling his strength coming back, Kaito slowly got to his shaking feet. His body felt heavy and unstable as he moved. He knows that it was from him being unconscious, and that it might be unsafe for him to move around this early. However, he wanted to know where Maki was. He had a feeling that she was unharmed back in Web Valley. However, there was another feeling that told him that something was wrong. Kaito noticed that his jacket was laying at the end of the bed. He happily slipped in on, checking that the dagger Maki had given him was still concealed inside it. He felt a little more like his old self. Now he needed to find Maki. Using the wall as a support, he started to limp his way out of the room. His body screamed at him to go back to bed, especially the abdominal area where he had been stung, but he couldn't bring himself to do that. He needed to know what was going on.

After what felt like an eternity, Kaito finally reached the door. His body almost gave out, but he didn't let the feeling of tiredness take over. He slowly pushed the door open, a quiet creak emitting from it. He looked around him, seeing that he was on the top floor of a small cottage. Below him was a kitchen and eating area. There were also shelves full of many books and trinkets. Aside from hearing the fire crackling in he kitchen, there were no other apparent sounds. Nothing to indicate anyone else being inside the place. However, something immediately caught Kaito's attention. He steadily made his way down the stairs, being careful not to slip. He found himself going towards the corner where he saw all the things he and Maki carried. The rucksack Maki had and his sword rested against the wall with his satchel perched against them. Kaito checked them, making sure that nothing was missing. Everything seemed to be there. However, this only made Kaito worry a little more. Maki still wasn't here. Maybe she had gone out to find something to eat or something like that. No, something still didn't seem right.

Kaito felt dizzy and and started to take deep breathes. He really didn't want to throw up again. However, as he breathed, he suddenly caught the faint scent of something. It was faint, but Kaito could tell that it was there. He couldn't make out what it was. He sniffed the air, following the scent cautiously. He slowly came towards a door. It had a bolt on it, but it was left unlocked. The smell seemed like meat but something felt off about that. Throwing caution to the wind, Kaito opened the door. He didn't have a chance to look inside as a putrid stench suddenly hit his nostrils harder than a horse's kick. The smell was so bad that it literally caused Kaito's eyes to water. Kaito turned away, trying to breathe fresh air again. It took a minute but he finally turned back into the room.

Kaito was frozen, like he had been turned to ice. He had never thought that such a sight would ever have existed. Right in front of him were the dead, decaying bodies of girls. All of the girls were strung up, as if they were mere puppets on strings. They varied in age, shape and size. Some had one stab wound to the chest. Others had far worse and more painful injuries that they died from. Most of the bodies were fresh. However, some were not. There were even a couple skeletal remains of the earlier victims. The reason why it smelled so bad was because there was no ventilation, no window, to replace the smell of rotting corpses. Kaito felt like he was still trapped in a nightmare. Only he was still wide awake. If he is awake, this was to be a horrific hallucination brought on by the venom that still lingered in his system. There is no way that anyone could be this sick. Right?

Kaito felt his stomach churn violently again. He stepped away from the room. The urge to vomit took over again, causing him to fall to his hands and knees again. As he had already thrown up, he only hurled up a puddle of bile. Kaito stayed still like that for a minute, afraid to throw up again if he tried to stand up. As much as he didn't want to, when he found himself steady enough, Kaito looked into the death room again. He wanted to make sure that Maki wasn't in there. She couldn't be in there. There was no way that she would die that easily. Kaito scanned the dark room as best he could, a hand covering his mouth and nose as to not breathe in the smell of death again.

"S-she's not in there. She's still alive." He moaned after a minute or so, feeling more nauseous. Kaito slowly closed the door, not wanting to throw up again. Maki was still alive. He knows it. She's probably somewhere else in the house. He has to find her. "Where are you, Maki?"

Just as Kaito said that, his ears suddenly picked up something. He didn't know what it was for sure, but it sounded like a whimper or something. Kaito stayed still, even going as far as to hold his breath. He heard it again. Kaito crept to the source of the sound. He was met with grey, stone steps. A doe was at the bottom of them. It was open slightly, showing the candlelight that emitted form it. Kaito stayed where he was until he heard a voice and the whimpering sound rang out again, this time sounding louder. Kaito slowly and silently stalked down the stairs. He held his breath again as he peeked through the gap in the door. He once again felt like he had been hit by something hard and fast at what he saw. He found Maki. She was laying on her back, tied up. She was trying to say something, but she had been gagged, the source of the whimpering noises. She looked exhausted, like she had been struggling since she was brought down to this place. She laid on a stone table that was bloodstained. This was where the other girls were killed mercilessly. Kaito was ready to go into the room, but stopped himself immediately as he heard footsteps. He stayed still as someone walked over to Maki. At first he thought it was a woman, but he then realised that it was a man that he was looking at.

"Don't be afraid. It'll hurt at first, but it'll be over quickly. I promise." The man said, brushing away Maki's hair from her face. That's when Kaito saw it. The knife that the man held almost casually in his hand. That's when Kaito suddenly felt angry. More than he ever had before. The girls he saw died down here. This maniac is responsible for it. There's no way that Kaito will let Maki end up like that!