Chapter 7: Hanging on Thin Line

The Sakura trees bloomed brightly as the reddish-pink petals fell off from their place on the tons of branches and down to the ground. And right there sitting on a tree trunk that belonged to another Sakura tree, was Eriki Hanagasaku. Her eyes were covered with a bandage as well as her forearms. The brunette's hair was no longer in a bun like it used to be; instead, it was laid flat against her back and hung below her hip as her bangs framed her face. It was silent; all that could be heard were the birds that were flying with their flock and chirping away like they usually do. But if there was anything Eriki could feel, it was the cool pool of water that reached up to her ankle. The young girl was drowsy and near sleep, but a voice spoke to her and shook her out of the sleepy state she was in.

"Why are you still sitting there? Has no one come to get you?"

Eriki gasped as she raised her head. Though she didn't bother to look in the direction it came from since she wouldn't even be able to confirm it in the first place. The brunette was hesitant to answer but decided to do so anyway since what was the danger of it when she's already at a disadvantage.

"I have sat here for as long as I can remember. Mother said she would come and get me the next day, but I don't know when that 'next day' she speaks up will come."

"Then why don't I take you with me?"

"Take me… with you?"

"Yes. Your mother has obviously abandoned you all those years ago. When you first sat on that tree trunk, you were just a child whose feet couldn't even touch the ground. Have you not noticed how much you've grown? Even your hair reaches right at the stump."

"No… I guess I haven't noticed yet. I don't know how long I've had this bandage over my eyes, I suppose I have distracted myself to pass the day. Sometimes I'll try to get up, but my legs won't carry me anymore and each time I somehow end up right here. I've grown old haven't I?"

"Of course not my child. Your body is just stiff after not being used for a long time. Here, let me help you off. Don't worry, I'm right here to support you."

Eriki flinched as a hand gently took her hand into theirs. It's been the first time in many years since she has felt human contact; or anything for that matter. But she calmed herself down and let the hand guide her carefully off the tree stump and onto her two very wobbly feet. The young brunette felt like she was going to fall right back down but something was holding her up like a pillar of support.

"I'm right here. No need to be afraid child. I did say I'll support you until you can walk completely by yourself."

Though the brunette didn't trust herself in walking or doing anything by herself, Eriki nodded and slowly but surely steadied herself while also being very mindful of anything that was around her since her eyes proved pointless with the bandage over it. Eriki never knew the reason for the bandage over her eyes, she wasn't injured in any way and was perfectly fine. Then again, she has sat on the tree stump for so long, how could the brunette probably think she was perfectly fine? Eriki never questioned it until right now.

"Why is it that I have a bandage over my eyes? I'm perfectly healthy, am I not?"

"Surprisingly, and fortunately, yes. Even though you have sat there for many years, you were a very blessed child due to the Divine Gods who had protected you all throughout your life. And your eyes… are one of a kind. They hold power that has yet to be released upon the world and quite a sight to be seen. The reason you have no knowledge of the bandage being wrapped around your head, is so you didn't try to take it off."

"How could I, a motherless and fatherless girl who was born in a household with no spiritual power users, possibly possess abilities of my own?"

"Ah, you certainly are a curious child. Though your mother is not here, she told me you would ask questions whenever one popped up in your head. And every time I've answered them since you'd go restless and ponder about it if I didn't answer."

"My apologies for troubling you all the time."

"Haha, no need to apologize my child. But you must get going now."

"Get going? To where?"

"To the pace you are needed. You must wake up now. When I come to visit you, please do remember the sound of my voice."

Eriki was terribly confused. She tried to ask what the person meant by 'waking up' and 'remember my voice' but couldn't even say a word as the brunette could feel a slight shake before the brunette could hear someone calling out to what she assumed to be her.

"Eri…"

Eri..ki…"

Eriki!"

Eyes snapped back open, the brunette gasped for air as she quickly sat up from her place on what would seem to be a bed. And just like before, there was a bandage covering her eyes.

"Oh thank heavens, you're awake. Che, you told me the medication would wake her up a lot sooner!"

"Well technically speaking, it did wake her up sooner. The young lady's opened wounds would have kept her asleep till the next day even if tended to. Be glad that it has only been a few hours since she first went unconscious."

Eriki scrunched up her face in discomfort as she clasped her hands over her surprisingly super sensitive ears in an attempt to stop all the loud noises that surrounded her. Everything was ringing and much louder than it should normally be. And Yoru didn't miss how the younger brunette was clearly in discomfort.

"Eriki, are you feeling okay? What happened to your ears?"

"They are… sensitive. Too sensitive. What is happening Nami-San?"

"Let's just say, this imbecile over there gave you the wrong medication and it ended up affecting your eyes and ears. We'll have to wait an hour or two before you can take the bandage off and then by that time your ears should go back to normal."

"That's a very bad way of speaking about the person who basically saved your disciple."

"Oh please, save those words when you actually save someone correctly. Who knows what could've happened if this was a permanent effect!"

"I never favored people who talk a lot with little to no bite. I see no reason for my Sensei to like someone like you."

All Yoru could do was scoff and turn back to Eriki who was still covering her ears. But since the older brunette couldn't tell if the younger was doing it out of discomfort, or because she didn't want to listen to whatever that was previously going on, he couldn't help but feel like he already failed his little assistant. Yoru had a purpose to be here in Palace Dragonsphire, but it felt like he progressed nowhere since he got her. The maiden mask felt like it was falling out of place, his abilities felt stiff which wouldn't happen if the brunette had trained each night, and now he realized that he has connections with people who could catch him in the act if the cards are not played correctly. The assassin made a rather pissed off face that couldn't be seen before calming again and getting up from his spot on the cool wooden floor. Though the movement didn't go unnoticed by Eriki who looked to be surprisingly calm.

"Where is it that Nami-San is heading off to? Is it possible I can tag along?"

"I'm sorry Eriki, but where I'm going, wouldn't suit you."

"W-What do you m-mean by that? Is it because I can't see at the moment?"

"That is only..a part of the reason. I want- no- I need you to stay right there. Can you do that for me?"

The young maiden had a worried expression on her face. Her mouth quivered as she held her hand in the other tightly. Eriki felt like she was being a burden for Nami and couldn't think of any other way to help other than to do as she says.

"Alright… B-But wherever it is you're going, p-please be safe."

Yoru smiled as he patted the younger brunette's head which made her flinch at first but soon came around to appreciate the small head pat.

"Then I expect you to stay safe right here as well. If you do, then I'll teach you something I once learned as a kid."

With that, Eriki perked up and showed a wide smile as she nodded in excitement and eagerness. The young maiden has always been willing to learn things that could be proven useful later on in her life. Yoru chuckled at how happy and innocent the little girl was as he retracted his hand and walked out and into the courtyard with a rather serious expression. The sun was starting to set below the horizon, nearly marking the end of the third day spent in Palace Dragonsphire. Even a skilled assassin needs time to prepare, but to take three days just to only now set up everything seems a bit too much. Then again, Yoru was no longer part of a clan to call family, so the title can't really be used like it first was.

'I've slouthed around for too long, about time I got to work.'

And with the mindset of determination, Yoru instantly started to walk towards the Palace. His long brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail danced with the warm breeze made the brunette look like an actual dancer even without actually dancing. Skin as soft as a wolf's fur, eyes as sharp like an eagle spying on their prey, and senses as strong as the Divines themselves. Strong enough to find the exact location of the person 'secretly' watching Yoru. But instead of acknowledging them, the brunette ignores the unknown's existence so as to not drop any suspicion onto himself.

By the time Yoru got to the Palace, the sun had already set below the horizon to recharge for another day and let the moon take over their job of lighting the place. Holding a clipboard and a personally designed pen, the brunette walked the empty halls of the Palace while searching room by room for anything. Some maidens on night duty that saw Yoru would stop by and sometimes ask for directions, some others would ask what the brunette was doing, and others would stop to complain about their night duty which Yoru would listen to just in case any information would come out of it. His boots click and clank against the polished marble floor as he passes each chamber with zero interest. But at last, the title of one chamber caught the brunette's attention a lot more than the others could possibly ever have.

Archive Chamber (FORBIDDEN ENTRY)

"Archive Chamber? Though it's entry is forbidden. Archive means important historical documents and information, important historical documents and information means useful leads towards the bastards I'm here to find, useful leads towards my clan killers means I can finish my job faster and get the hell out of here," Yoru mumbled to himself as he stood in front of the large golden framed doors with clipboard and pin in hand.

Looking around to make sure no one was coming towards him, the brunette pushed the doors open slowly but surely and quickly shut them back once he was inside. And never before in Yoru's life, has he been so shocked by the sight before him. Shelf, after shelf stacked to the brim by dusty old documents and other files, label after label that tells the person searching for what they need that it might be somewhere in that section, row after row with old history books that had ancient maps of ruins and other temples. It was a sight to behold and the brunette who stood there frozen at the doors just stared in astonishment.

"Standing here won't help me in any way… but it's so… amazing?"

Yoru forced his feet to move as he started to check each section carefully to find what he came into the chamber for. But if he spends too much time in here, there's a chance that someone who has access to the forbidden chamber could catch him in the act. But the amount of knowledge that is being held here is beyond anything one who has never experienced the high-life would possibly be able to comprehend.

Scanning through the archive, Yoru was able to find the section that was dedicated to clans that were being hunted down for evil deeds they've done. But the brunette couldn't tell who it was he was looking for. He was just a kid when his clan was assassinated in that bloody massacre, and his mind wasn't able to take in the faces of those who made him watch in horror. They were wearing face masks that hide their identities from eyes to see. But even so, this file filled with the information on all these clans was more than enough data Yoru needed to make his move.

Moving away from the shelf and looking around, the brunette's heart all of a sudden started to race fast. He clutched his chest tightly before realizing why he was starting to feel this way.

Grunting and clutching his teeth, Yoru quickly but quietly ran to the nearest corver around a shelf and took cover there. There were enough records and documents on the shelves to block his body from the incoming person's line of sight. The large doors of the forbidden chamber swung open with enough force to make some of the files shake lightly in their place. Yoru peeked his head around the corner just enough to see the person who basically barged in.

"I hope you weren't joking when you came to tell me someone entered the Archive Chamber! All the blame will fall onto you if what you said was wrong!"

"Please Prince Osore! I am more than positive that I saw someone come in here!"

Yoru's eyes widened in shock as he placed a hand over his mouth to stop the unexpected gasp. 'Prince Osore…' the brunette thought as he didn't move a single muscle or even his feet that were starting to gradually hurt as he shifted most of his weight onto it. Somehow, the air began to grow thicker and thicker by the second as Yoru continued to try and control his heavy breathing before his presence was noticed. Prince Osore was born on the battlefield during a war that casted devastation and despair onto everyone who came to know of it. His mother, Lady Kaiyō, who was pregnant during the war, had to be escorted to a safer place by her maidens to give birth to her son. The timing was completely off, her giving day should've been a week later, but if that was so, both Lady Kaiyō and Prince Osore would've been killed. A soldier on the opposing team secretly assassinated her Highness just an hour after giving birth and it ended up leaving an unbearable, stone cold feeling in all of the village's hearts. Even the king couldn't believe the words coming out of the sender's mouth when they came to deliver the unsettling news. No one was told exactly how Lady Kaiyō died so the most natural way of thinking was that she died whi;e giving birth to the young Prince who was far from even understanding why he was the least favored Prince even though his mother was loved across the nation by basically everybody who has known her name. It wasn't very long before Osore got sick of all the disrespect and hateful glares he was receiving whenever he would simply just walk by to get something no matter how small it would be.

Instead of trying to earn respect or clear his name, the young boy would torment and scare the living souls out of everyone who once disrespected him. Prince Osore's cruel red eyes that would stand out everywhere was the only thing that needed to be seen in order for all to instantly bow before him. And from that day on, he ran his red carpet with fear and power following behind him. But one's tail of lies can only be so long before it falls off and the truth is revealed, and everyone awaits that day to fall upon the Prince. But to think that he would be taking residence in Palace Dragonsphire at the very moment.

"Well then, gather the rest of the maidens you can find this instant! This trespasser who thinks they can get away with sneaking into the forbidden Archive Chamber and possibly take anything from inside of here sure is excited to be executed!"

'Execution? I understand that trespassing leads to fairly big consequences, but to be executed… just how austere is this damn Palace?!' Yoru nervously thought as such a thing seems quite drastic. It made little to no sense to the brunette. But then again, what did ever make sense throughout his days being here?

Reducing the papers into misty dust, Yoru lowered the Mistis dust into a little pouch he carried around with him before sealing it with a bit of spiritual energy right back up and placing it into his open sleeve. It's not the first time the brunette has used his spiritual power, but it did come with consequences. Being from a family of trained and eligible assassins, any adult, any child, even newborn babies, was forbidden from using any spiritual power that was born inside of them. But Yoru, being the backlashing and independent child he was, didn't listen to the elders and continued to use his spiritual power for small or even big mistakes - sometimes just for fun. One young student saw the brunette use his Celistix and told the elders all about what happened. Never before had Yoru felt like he was stripped of his freedom. When practicing and honing the skills of mastering his Celistix, it felt like when the brunette would sit next to his best companion who would follow in his footsteps and practice with him most of the time. But ever since Yoru was cursed to never use his Celistix again, slowly, his spiritual powers began to weaken and even began to slowly eat at his heart the more he desperately tried to activate it once again.

Clutching at his heart, Yoru quietly but swiftly moved around the Archive Chamber to avoid the incoming maidens who were ordered to look all over the place. Leaning against a shelf, the brunette covered his mouth in a hurry as he could feel blood shoot up and spill into his pale white hand. The blood slipped through the cracks of fingers and dropped to the floor.

Drip. Sploosh. Splash.

The blood continued to drop and make a sound like a clock would tick when on the wall. But the sounds of shoes hitting the floor every second was enough to silence the spilling blood. Yoru's vision started to betray him and began to unfocus every 30 seconds or so. His Celistix was still activated to cancel out the pulsing pain of the curse while also slowly healing his internal body. The dark golden spiritual energy swirled and came out in calming waves to sooth the brunette's mind that was racing with thoughts.

Yoru took a deep but quiet deep breath as he watched with cautious eyes as he eyes Prince Osore who stood guarding the Chamber's doors as if he knew the 'thief' would immediately escape if no one was watching. And there it was, the long, wavy, imaginary shining silver thin line was connected from the brunette's deep, glowing royal purple eyes to the Prince who was looking around the whole place. And the young assassin was hanging from it and clutching it tightly in his pale white hands so as to not let go and fall down. Because if he did let go, it was his death that would fall upon him.

But it was Yoru's own fault for staring for so long. And right then, the imaginary silver line snapped away from Prince Osore but didn't fall all the way to the floor. There was a chance of surviving this, and Yoru wasn't going to let it go so easily.

The Prince yelled as he made his hands into fists, "What are you looking at?!"

Running up to the feared Prince with fake tears in his eyes, "Please Prince Osore, if I continue any longer, I will truly drop unconscious! Forgive me your Highness, but please allow me to go to the Resting Chamber," the brunette pleaded as he blocked his blood stained mouth from the Prince.

The young assassin was more and certain such an excuse would work, it had the highest percentage of succeeding. But instead, it had the opposite effect.

"Not only is the Resting Chamber far from the Archive Chamber due to it being in the east wing, such a weak, pale maiden like you would easily faint in the golden halls of this Palace. And not to mention, I looked carefully at each face of each maiden who walked in here, and you do not match any of those faces. Though I must congratulate you, thief, for daring to try lying to my face, but also breaking into the forbidden Chamber that is even off limits to the cursed Prince Seojin himself."

Slowly, Yoru watched with fearful eyes as the feared Prince's mouth started to upturn into a wicked smirk that held no good intentions at all. The silver line that was still visible to the brunette…

Snapped in two.

It was like a tightrope. If you don't balance yourself, you'll fall off and strike dead. Yoru was on that tightrope, but his lack of balance is what killed him.