“Rikai!”

Shitto jolted upright on the bed in the med bay. Bloody rags were around him, and his right arm was tightly bandaged. Realizing his defeat, Shitto took a deep breath to collect himself and stood up from the bed. Looking into a mirror that hung on a wall, Shitto saw how badly he was beaten. While there was hardly any blunt force trauma, cuts were found all over his body from the glass window he threw himself into, yet these cuts had already began to scab over. Walking over to a cabinet labelled ‘Replenishments’, Shitto began to rummage around in the tightly packed item storage.

“Aha!”

Shitto withdrew a metal cylinder from the cabinet. Unscrewing the lid on top, Shitto tipped the cylinder into his hand, causing a brown ball that had the consistency of clay into his hand. Shitto bit a large chunk out of the ball, forcing himself to chew and swallow it.

“This stuff isn’t as bad as Jono, but it’s damn close.”

Shitto walked back to the bed he awoke from and returned to how he once was, lying on the bed with his eyes shut.

“I’ll give myself five minutes for the pill to activate, then I’ll head back out.”

Teachers burst into the room. Shitto sat up.

“What is it?”

The teachers were in awe that Shitto was able to sit up.

“Shitto! We just got let out, so we’re going to transport you to a hospital, okay?”

“Wait, it’s done? What happened?”

“We’re not really sure. Frankly, you likely know more than any of us, but we do know that the threat has been defeated.”

“Who told you this?”

“Some girl came in, bloodied. She told us that it was okay to leave, that the terrorist attack had been prevented.”

“A girl? Was it Shippai? Or was it Rikai…”

“Alright,” Shitto said, pushing himself up off of the bed. “Let’s go already.”

Rikai’s breathing caused the air in front of her mouth to condense. Her jeans were wet from the blood on the ground, and her green hoodie was cut and dirtied as well. Feeling the freezing wind blow into her face, she ran down the same sidewalk that Yami had taken.

“Yami… where are you?”

As snow began to crunch under her feet, the white blanket underneath of her had begun to turn pink, then a dark red. Taking a moment to breath, Rikai stopped at the edge of a house. The snow continued to turn to a darker red, and it was apparent that she was near the source of the river and the blood began to swirl around her shoes. Gulping, Rikai turned the corner of the house to see a shirtless, battered boy laying on the cold concrete sidewalk with snow building on top of him. Blood poured from all around his body.

“Yami! Hey! Can you hear me?!”

Rikai ran over to Yami, who was far past consciousness. Hyperventilating, Rikai grabbed Yami and propped him against the fence he had fallen next to. Rikai took off her hoodie and slipped it over top Yami’s head, allowing him to retain some body heat.

“Come on. We’re gonna get you somewhere safe, okay?”

Rikai lifted Yami’s left arm and wrapped it behind her neck, allowing her to prop Yami up and begin walking to her house. Yami’s feet left trails of blood as they dragged in the snow. Rikai’s face showed nothing but determination.

“R-Ri…”

Rikai did not stop dragging Yami as she listened.

“What is it, Yami?”

Yami’s breathing was irregular as he tried to speak.

“The kids… Take my pen ink… In my pocket… Draw a circle with a dot and a triangle… on a door…”

“What do you mean, Yami? Your pen ink on a door will open to the kids? Yami?”

Her words fell on deaf ears as Yami slipped back into unconsciousness.

Rikai walked blocks. Cops as well as ambulances sped past them with their lights and sirens blaring. Yami would occasionally slip out of Rikai’s grip, but she would quickly yet firmly pick him back up before he fell.

“Yami… You’ll live no matter what.”

The door to Rikai’s house was wide open. The cold winter breeze slightly opened and closed the door with each gust. Rummaging could be heard in the kitchen as Rikai banged different utensils around in an attempt to make food. Turning off the flame underneath of a large pot, Rikai took of the lid and spooned some of the yellow liquid into a bowl, then walked to a large living room. Passing by a thermostat, she made sure that it was still at 76 degrees Fahrenheit. As she walked through her house on the hardwood floor, her socks would stick to it due to the blood that was drying on it. As she neared a couch, she walked past a coffee table, which had bloody rags and dirty clothes piled on top of it. Kneeling in front of the couch, Rikai put some soup on the spoon and held it up to Yami, who was covered in a mountain of blankets. Sweat trickled off of his forehead as Yami seemingly tried to catch his breathing. Irregular patterns of inhales and exhales displayed Yami’s exhaustion.

“Yami, try to eat some of this.”

Rikai held the spoon up to his lips. The yellow liquid poured itself into Yami’s mouth, which was like a dry reservoir. As Yami choked down the liquid, he coughed a little from the moisture helping his dry throat.

“Yami… You have found yourself to be in a predicament, have you not?”

Yami opened his eyes to find himself at the entrance of the cave that was in the meadow. Looking down at himself, he noticed that his normal attire was on himself, and the burns on his hands were gone. Yami opened his shirt and looked at his chest, but the marking he had carved into himself when he awakened was not visible.

“What the hell happened?”

“Come pay me a visit, Jinsei no Hogo. I feel that we need to catch up.”

Yami looked down into the cave that he had been led into before. He shook his head.

“I don’t wanna see you, Akahishi.”

“Despite the fact that you willingly used my power?”

Yami gritted his teeth.

“Fine.”

Yami was careful as he clambered into the cave. Unlike his prior experience, the cave wasn’t pitch black. It was as if a dimly lit lightbulb follow him as he walked into the cave. Being cautious as he climbed over obstacles, Yami slowly descended farther into the cave.

“You are nearing my chambers once again, Jinsei no Hogo.”

Akahishi’s claim was proven by a bright light shining into the depths of the cave. The hole that Yami had to crawl through was now more open, allowing him to crouch into the open room which blue light poured into. Feeling an unwanted nostalgia, Yami quickly proceeded into the main chamber. The beautiful rock staircase that had been built to reach the pedestal had now crumbled and laid on the chamber floor.

“Please reach the pedestal once again, Jinsei no Hogo.”

Yami walked up to the large pillar which held the pedestal and attempted to jump up using a Phys Mod, yet was met with a regular jump. Sighing, Yami placed his hands on the pillar and began to climb up the side. Bits of the pillar crumbled as Yami pulled himself up. Finally reaching the summit, Yami pulled himself up and collected himself. He then proceeded to the box and picked it up off of the pedestal.

“Open it for me, Yami.”

Yami placed his hand on the lid, and prepared to lift it, but he stopped himself.

“Why? What is this doing?”

“Well,” Akahishi growled, “it shows me that you are willing to repay debts. We are bound to become one, Yami. I know that you can already feel it inside of you. Every time I lend you power, you get one step closer to me. You need to open that box, Yami.”

“And if I don’t?”

Akahishi chuckled.

“You know you will.”

Yami looked down at the box. Placing his hand on the lid once more, Yami opened the box. Inside was the same red crystal, but it appeared to have gotten smaller.

“Thank you, Yami. What was it that pathetic girl said as you killed her? ‘Yami, you truly are a merciful god’.”

Yami slapped the spoon out of Rikai’s hand, causing the viscous liquid to spill on the floor, as well as cause a loud clanging sound as the spoon hit the hardwood floor. The loud sound made Yami’s expression of anger revert to a more natural state. Realizing what he had done, Yami turned to Rikai, who was shocked.

“Sorry, Rikai. I’ll clean it u-”

As Yami attempted to get up, the pain that had fallen asleep woke up, causing Yami to tumble back onto the couch.

“Yami! You need to rest! You’re badly injured, but I figured you didn’t want to go to a hospital after last time…”

Yami began to catch his breath.

“Ya… Thank you, Rikai…”

Rikai smiled.

“No problem. Do you want some water?”

“Please.”

Rikai picked herself up and walked to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, Rikai pulled out one of the many water bottles and walked back to Yami. unscrewing the top, she handed it to Yami.

“Be careful, and don’t drink too fast.”

Yami politely accepted the water and proceeded to swallow all of its contents. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Yami saw the burn marks and blood. He handed the empty water bottle to Rikai.

“Thanks.”

Yami pushed the blankets off of himself and began to stand up. Rikai put her hand on his chest.

“What do you think you’re doing? You’ll hurt yourself again!”

Yami looked down at himself. The majority of his body was covered in bandages, gauze, and cloth. His right shoulder in particular was so heavily covered in bandages that it was as if he were wearing pads for football. The pain and fatigue made Yami want to fall to his knees.

“I have to save them. All of the victims… My friends… They’re all waiting to be let out…”

Rikai held up an empty pen.

“When I was dragging you home, you told me how to get them out, so I did. Everyone’s out.”

“But how? How could she do that with just some ink and my life essence?”

Yami gently sat himself back onto the couch. Feeling cold due to anaemia, Yami placed the blankets back over himself.

“Thank you, Rikai. I need one more thing.”

“What is it?”

Yami held out his pointer finger, then ran it down the top line of the three he had carved on his chest.

“I need a laptop that has a full battery and a charger.”

No longer questioning his absurd requests, Rikai nodded and walked away. A few moments later, she handed Yami a laptop and plugged the charger into an outlet.

“What’re you going to do?”

Yami took a deep breath.

“Remember.”