𝕯𝖎𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘: 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖊

Chapter 21

Yui's eyes flew open. She was back in her room, her covers up to her chin, her forehead soaked in sweat. Her breathing was laboured, as though her lungs weren't cooperating. Her spine radiated with a pain unlike any other. The inside of her thighs resonated with agonising fury. Everything was on fire. Her skin, her muscles, her bones. For the first time in many days, she felt whole. She didn't feel hollowed out. Her hands snatched at the duvet and threw it away. Somebody had tucked her in and she didn't remember who it was anymore. She'd lost a lot of time. She did remember the strange kiss she shared with Ayato at the lake, but everything after that was hazy, unclear.

She jumped away from her bed. Something had leaked into her bed. At first she thought she had wet herself, then seeing the white covers stain a scarlet red. Was this a strange surprise period she was encountering? The blood did concentrate around the area her thighs were resting. But when the blood started overflowing from her bed, she became confused. What was this sorcery? Her hands went up to her cheeks, and she felt a slimy liquid on her skin. She brought her hand away from her cheek, inspecting it with a closer look in the dim hallway light. It was stained with congealed blood.

Breathing hard, she turned towards the mirror.

Someone strange stared back in her reflection. It was Yui, or at least her face. Her blond hair had turned into a dull copper brown, probably due to malnutrition. Her cheeks were hollow, her eyes sunken deep into her socket. Her face was bathed in a mixture of water and blood. She was still wearing her uniform. What was this? Who was this? Her eyes darted back towards her bed, as her sheets were soaking wet with blood, that now dripped slowly along the sides of the bedframe, a pool of blood forming by the side of the headboard.

She looked at the ceiling, confused. something landed on her cheek, and slipped down her shirt.

Above was a sight that horrified her out of her wits.

Ruki, Kou, Yuma and Azuza, all were hanging on the ceiling, their mouths open, tongues out. Their necks were in nooses, probably snapped as they hung themselves. They were too far for Yui to touch or help them out of the ropes, but she knew they weren't moving. They were dead.

Not bearing the sight, she threw open the doors, running away from her room.

Why was all of this so familiar? She wondered while fleeing away. Her heart couldn't bear to accept the Mukami brothers' deaths. This wasn't real. This wasn't real.

Then, as she turned by the staircase, her eyes landed on Reiji. His expression was appearing stern and stoic, before his mouth settled in a sardonic smile. She was about to halt when he disappeared from her vision. Where did he go? Why was this feeling like a deja vu? She knew this had happened to her before. She just couldn't recount what had happened to her. The sun was raising as the day dawned, her eyes blinded by the sharp light that hit her from the skylight.

She felt hands grasp her neck from behind, as her knees buckled down, her hands fighting against the death grip of her attacker. A single word awakened her from her daze.

"Pancake."

***

Ayato sat beside Yui, his hands clasping her tender fingers in his grip as she flailed in her sleep, her torso bound by the leather straps Reiji had been kind enough to lend to him. She experienced night terrors too often nowadays. Her eyes were swollen, her legs were spotted with red spots Ayato knew were from internal bleeding. He had little choice in the matter. He'd begged Reiji for potions and spells and whatnot, but he refused to help the girl in distress. He knew the punishment was important, but he didn't understand why Reiji didn't bother to keep her safe. The priest had given specific instructions on not to kill her. Once the old man got to know what they had done to her, he would give hell to them.