☽ Troublemaker ☾《Nightkiller》𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝗱

☽ Chapter 12: Doting Deception ☾

AHAHA school started :( I'm starting this on the 15th, a day before school. (Near midnight which is concerning because I should be sleeping) If you are reading this in like late September, then that sucks. :')

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Killer strolled through the garden of the castle, silently trying to recollect his thoughts. What happened yesterday wasn't supposed to ever happen. Now that he thought about it, his soul had been acting up recently. First with the humiliating situation with Horror, and now this... foreboding error on his target. It was just all too much.

He picked up a flower, then immediately dropped it when he realized what it was. An aconite (heh. search its meaning if ya want.). What was a highly poisonous flower doing here? In fact, what was a whole wall of highly poisonous flowers doing here? If anyone accidentally touched it- hence Killer- then they would face horrible symptoms. Since he was a skeleton, it wasn't effective at the touch- it would take a much longer duration for the poison to take effect, which would only be achievable if you were purposely holding the flower hostage.

Rubbing his skull, he turned around quickly at the sound of the gate screeching open. No one was supposed to be here at 4 AM. In fact, it was forbidden. Killer had climbed over the gate, hanging precariously from the iron gridded top of the sanctuary.

"Who's there?" A voice called out. It seemed like the visitor had also realized another presence. "I'll have you know, you're not allowed to be here." Killer crouched down, hiding in some foliage. That didn't sound like anyone he knew. Pulling a knife out of his shoe- he hadn't brought his jacket, so another one of his three body knives would have to suffice- he slipped the sneaker back on before readying his blade.

Suddenly, a tentacle shot into the bush, shaking violently until it found Killer, wrapping itself protectively around him. "Ah, Killer, why didn't you tell me it was you? I got worried that some vermin broke in." He knew it was the crying skeleton because of his actions. If it was anyone else on the team, they would either activate their magic or call out. Killer hardly had any magic points, so a silent garden would be him.

"Ah," he mumbled, pulling out a grin. "I was just taking precautionary measures." The tentacle tightened a little protectively before letting go, slithering back to its owner. "So... what are you doing here? Heh."

Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "This is my garden. I'd be better off asking what you are doing here." He was slightly annoyed that Killer broke the rules, but that annoyance ebbed off into concern. It wasn't really a danger for him to walk around in the garden, but the reason why. If he'd been contacting any secret friends... he let out a shaky breath.

"I was just trying to clear my mind," Killer explained, adding, "Dust has a clogged nose and it interrupted my sleeping." Hopefully, that would suffice for now. The truth was, he was drawn to this place. When he woke up at 3 AM panting with sweat beading down his skull, he felt like going somewhere, anywhere. The cold crisp air of the night guided him to the garden.

"Well, I'd better keep you here then," Nightmare whispered, clutching the other's hands. Lightly swinging back, he hummed an eerily long melody. "The birds are out early today."

There was a long pause until he spoke up. "Y'know..." Killer trailed off. "I feel like I'm forgetting something."

The taller stopped abruptly. "What do you mean?"

"Uh- y'know?" It was absurdly hard to explain memory loss. "I just feel incomplete." Nightmare seemed to stay still until he tightened his grip, continuing the swinging pattern.

"You're overthinking it." That was an abrupt response like he was trying to end that train of thought as quickly as possible. He smiled warmly, but there was something... off. Leaning forward, he whispered.