nothing but memories | dialovers

thirteen

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『 your p.o.v 』

As the wolf's pace slowed, so did my own, the howls of a whole different set of wolves sounding off in the distance now. Though the longer I listen to them, the further they grow. Kino's wolves have only just finished up here it seems and are now nearing the Sakamaki's mansion.

With my blood running cold, I walked a little further through the forest until it opened up to reveal a large building. The path led me to the Mukami's mansion just as Yui said it would.

The windows on the first floor have all been shattered, no glass littering the ground outside. There are scratch marks on the bricks, everything eerily still and quiet. I cringed at the strong smell of blood filling the air. I don't want to go inside, scared at the mere idea of what I'll find when I do.

"You could always wait for the Sakamaki's. They'll be here soon." Yui spoke up softly. "You don't have to do this alone if you don't want to."

I shook my head. "No, the Mukami's need me in there and I don't know how long the Sakamaki's will be if Kino has already moved on to them. These four had no warning that this was going to happen to them, but at least Shu and Ayato were already on high alert when we returned to their mansion and can put up a fighting chance. I- I need to make sure my friends are alive and see that for myself."

The wolf that had led me here stayed put at the foot of the forest, not daring to take any steps forward as I walked towards the front doors to the Mukami's mansion. My stomach churned as the stench of blood only seemed to grow thicker with every step I took. Though surprisingly, the front doors were unlocked, almost as if someone wanted me to come here.

Walking inside, I stopped for a moment and looked around. "Kou?! Yuma?" I called out to the second and third oldests of the Mukami's. "Azusa?" I paused, not a single sound of a response coming back from anywhere within this mansion. "Ruki..?" I called out even softer.

"Please wait for the Sakamaki's, ___. You don't know what you'll find if you go exploring on your own." Yui pleaded.

Scrunching my hands up into fists resting at my sides, I walked further into the mansion, following the stench of blood as my guide to the Mukami's.

All across the floor, the bloody paw prints of wolves could be seen tracked around. I grimaced at the sight. It's going to take days to clean all this up and much longer for the smell to dissipate even the smallest bit. Yui continued to beg me to stop, to not keep walking. She probably already went ahead of myself to look for the Mukami's without showing herself to me. She already knows what I'll find.

"___ please, please don't go in there." Yui pleaded, her voice cracking some.

The doors to the main lounge room of the Mukami's mansion was opened just the smallest bit already as I stopped outside the large room. "Why shouldn't I go in? Are they not alive..?" I asked hesitantly.

Yui took a minute to respond, only making my nerves worse. "They're alive, but, they're gravely wounded ___. I don't think you could handle the sight of them." She said honestly. "I-I wish I hadn't had seen what's on the other side of that door already. There's just so much blood- ___, don't!"

I opened the double doors to the lounge and was hit with a wave of a thick iron smell permeating about in the air. My eyes closed as I took a deep breath in and exhaled it shakily, trying to grow accustomed to the horrible stench while also mentally preparing myself for what I'm about to see. But I can't continue to just stand around. I need to help them, somehow.