Ｈｏｕｓｅ Ｏｆ Ａｌｔｅｒａ || 【ᴀᴏʙᴀ ᴥ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀ】

IV. Disease

After Clear and I headed back inside of the House, he had once again slunk out of the room. I sat on the corner of the bed, journal in hand. Reviewing over the words I had just written;

' Nights at the House are less pressuring, I have befriended the House's heir and he is indescribably polite. Mink, our supervisor, has left without a trace. He vanished with no note, nor a word of farewell. He could still be in the House, the door was bolted shut before we all settled into our rooms. '

I scribbled the date absently in the corner of the page, before shutting the book and laying it aside. Clear pushed his way through the doorway. He brushed the dust from his shirt, and peered over at me curiously.

I was stirred from my trance by his footsteps, and I looked up to him. He must have disposed of our tableware, I yawned with a stretch of my arms and allowed myself to fall onto the bed. Clear took my hint, pacing a step backwards. "Are you tired, Aoba-san?"

Opening only one of my eyes to meet him, I grinned lazily.

"Yeah, what about you?" He studied his feet and tilted his head, "It would be proper for me to sleep on the floor." I was confused, but I quickly realized.

This was his room.

"A-Ah no, I should find another--." I was abruptly silenced by his voice, "No, Aoba-san, I insist. You were here first." he gave a cheerful smile, and patted his hands on my shoulders with a sheepish expression. I could only feel guilty, as I sat down onto the bed. Clear reached into his pockets and removed a large folded comforter. His pockets' capacity is ridiculous. Spreading it onto the floor, he pulled out a decently sized pillow and encased himself in one giant wrap. I snickered slightly, and sunk under the comforter of the bed. "Goodnight, Clear."

"Goodnight, Aoba-san. Have a nice rest." I closed my eyes, and my breathing slowly became shallow.

I was stirred from my sleep by knocking coming from my door, getting to my feet I rubbed my eyes with slight annoyance. Opening the door, I met Koujaku's gaze. He instantly realized what he'd done, "Ah, Aoba. Sorry for waking you." scratching the back of his head nervously. I only replied in a soft tone, I was not fully awake. "Mh..m.." He held out a letter, and he seemed slightly upset. His brow furrowed, "I found this under the mattress, I thought you might want to analyze it." With a bow of his head, he gives me an apologetic smile. "Well anyway, I'll be off."I nodded to him, taking the letter into my hands before slinking back into my room.

Quietly, I sat down in the chair beside the writing desk. I pulled open the folds of the letter, and removed the contents. I extracted the bulkiest of the papers, reading it to myself.

' This is a health report for the Altera child, I am severely peculiar of your oldest son. He has two of the inherited family disease genes, which is fatal to infants of your bloodline. In worst case scenario, he will produce offspring that carry both genes. Leading to a deadly case of the family disease, or more likely a still-born child. He will most likely die at a young age due to this, I encourage you to produce more children in order to keep the Altera family at a stable pace. Clear Altera was diagnosed with stage one of the symptoms, if there is ever a time in which he has upgraded, please alert me immediately. '

Under the paragraph, the name and number were scribbled out in ink. The letter was dated seventeen years into the past, and the signature section was left blank. I laid the document aside, and took the other folded paper out with care. It was a letter to the doctor from before, but it never had the chance to be sent.

' Doctor Hansente, I am desperate to alarm you of Clear's state. He has constantly been speaking with the House, he refuses to tell me what the House has spoken about. He only puts his fingers to his lips and lets out a small hiss, to quiet my requests. He only speaks with his Grandfather about the House, he discards me as desperate for information. I am frustrated, I am also worried he will pass on the disease to his newborn siblings. Please, send urgent support before he is encased by madness. I can already feel myself succumbing to the disease, my fingers are blackening. The skin around my eyes has followed suit, my lover speaks of my right eye's deterioration. Please, before it's too la--. '

The words trail off into black ink splotches and words scattered about, most of them calling for help absently. My throat began to sting, and I placed the contents back into their rightful place. Peering up to see Clear watching me with tired eyes, he seemed dazed. Carefully, I placed the letter onto the night stand, giving Clear an apologetic glance. He stretched his arms above his head, yawning.

"Good morning, Clear." I spoke, yawning in response. He smiled sleepily, "Good morning, Aoba-san. Did you sleep well?" he was concerned, he must have seen the worry pleading in my eyes. I nodded, "The best I've had since I arrived." His eyes showed resolve, "Thank goodness." He got to his feet groggily, placing his hand against the wall. The House hummed a small tune before it was replaced by the ventilation system crackling to life. He sighed, stretching his arms behind his back. He spoke quietly, the hesitation in his voice was visible. "I meant to ask you before, but what are you here for?" His eyes dropped to his feet, and he shook nervously. I pursed my lips, exhaling sharply through my nose. It was painful to see him so isolated, in his own little world. "I--.. I was chosen to solve lost cases that took place in this House, along with the others here. We came here to study and find as much as we can, to find the reason of falter in the Altera bloodline."

He was visibly startled, but he craned his neck forward and smiled sadly. "I see." I was confused, had I said something that offended him? "Clear?" As if he had read my mind, he bit his bottom lip before continuing. "Are you afraid of me?" A long silence shook through the room, and I finally processed his words. "Afraid?" I stepped towards him, only to cause him to take a step back. Raising his eyes nervously, he tensed. "You read the letters, you know.. About the sickness.." He clenched his gloved fists, "If I scare you, I should not be here." His expression was stricken with fear and hurt. I could barely grip his sleeve before he would have stormed from the room. "Don't--.. You don't scare me, Clear." I could only manage fragments of the sentence, but it was enough to stop him in his tracks. He slowly turned his head towards me, a look of surprise crossed his face, his eyes breathing anguish. "You don't scare me." I repeated it, and he faced me completely. I held him in my arms, tucking my head into his shoulder. His entire body jolted, "Even after--.." I stopped him from speaking, he was implying the cellar. "You're a good person, Clear. It wasn't your fault." He was on the verge of tears and he leaned into me to return my light embrace. The floorboards creaked, followed by dim quaking.

The House was jealous.