Chapter 28
" Akihiko I am only one step away from reaching you. Just wait for a few moments for me, and i will be there." Inoue was talking to herself while looking in the mirror. Her eyes were burning with confidence. And meanwhile both Sato and Takemichi knocked on the door saying "Inoue its about 3:20 now, and we have to enter the palace before 4:00 PM. So, hurry up Hina and Mr. Takahashi are both waiting for us downstairs." "Yes, I'm ready." As soon as Inoue came out, they all started running downstairs. While running, suddenly Inoue's foot slipped on the 7th step. Seeing her fall, Sato's feet also slipped. Takemichi was frightened to see Inoue slipping. So, he pulled her closer to him by grabbing her waist using the right and holding her right hand using his left hand, and he caught her. But unfortunately Sato fell yet due to the support of the wall, she did not get hurt much. She turned to check whether Inoue was okay and saw Takemichi holding her hand and her heart broke in pieces. "Sato are you okay?" Inoue asked "Mmm, I'm fine, i'm totally alright? I guess we should go on or else Mr. Takahashi will get angry with us even more." she replied, looking down so that she could hide her tears from both of them. "Yes you are right ! we should go " Inoue was feeling very uncomfortable so she let go of Takemichi's hand, thanked him and went ahead. "Ah Himari are you alright? " he asked .
" I knew you are very good at hurting my feelings but since when did you start hurting your own feelings too. Even after knowing everything don't act like you don't know anything" through her eyes Tears welled up and she moved on, leaving Takemichi behind standing hopelessly.
" Inoue, Sato, Takemichi what were you all doing it's only 20 minutes left until 4:00 o'clock we have to get out of here soon. " Mr. Haruto yelled the moment he saw them. " Now, let's go" He ordered. Hina suspected that something had happened to all of them. But she just stood there silently without asking any questions. They said goodbye to Melissa and her older sister Miss. Kara but surprisingly she didn't respond in return and went inside, giving a sharp glare to Inoue. She got sad and confused at that moment, yet she was not aware of this sudden change in her behavior. But it seemed as if Melissa knew very well that there was something wrong with her sister.
They all left for the palace in horses arranged by Melissa. Takemichi and Sato were both upset, Sato was feeling very sad because Takemichi didn't extend his hand to help her when she needed him the most. And the things which Sato said earlier was bothering Takemichi a lot. Inoue was feeling very bad too, she was even worried thinking about Miss Kara. Hina, after completely judging all of their strange behaviors on the way, asked "What happened to all of you just a while back. Why were you all behaving so weirdly and why are all your faces still looking so pale. If you all are hiding something from me, please tell me now Otherwise, I will not be responsible for any subsequent consequences " It seemed as if she wasn't simply questioning but threatening them to tell everything they were hiding from her, " Ahh...h no it's all right" Inoue replied in a trembling voice, she was really scared. Yet Hina didn't ask any more questions but she kept staring at them suspiciously.
"What could happen to Sis, why was she behaving so strangely. I'm sure these humans must have said something to her that's why she's so upset " Melissa was worried about sudden change in her sister's behavior. Then she went to see Miss Kara in her room to check whether she was fine or not. But when she reached there the door of her room was already open and she too was not in there. Melissa became very worried and went to check on their lab and saw that she was not even there. After searching for her throughout the house, she came to the conclusion that Miss Kara probably knew that something's wrong with Inoue and her friends . Without wasting any more time she decided to go straight to the palace as she was sure that her sister would be following them, burning in the rage of her vengeance.
They reach the tunnel, where there was a secret passage leading to the main entrance of the palace, after going so deep inside of it they come across a rusted gate, but before entering the mansion Mr. Haruto decided to devide everyone in groups. "I think we should group before entering the palace, that will be right and safe for all of us. So, Takemichi will come with me, Inoue you will go with..." " Me, Inoue will come with me." A voice came from behind them. Mr. Haruto got scared, he told the kids to stay behind. He took out his sword and asked "Who are you?" On hearing his question that person came out from the darker side and lit a match, the light made it easy for them to see her face and they found Melissa. "Melissa?" Mr. Haruto and everyone else were shocked to see her there. Before leaving Mr. Haruto had discussed their plans with her? And in case some big trouble arrives, she was asked to join them. After reaching the tunnel Melissa moved deep inside of it, and she found Mr. Haruto and the others standing near the rusted gate. "You probably weren't going to help us, right? Then what happened all of a sudden?" He asked. "I'm only here for my sister." "Your sister? You mean Miss Kara? What happened to her?" Inoue asked worriedly. " Who knows if someone may have said or asked her something that she should not have said " She said, looking at Inoue. She suspected her because she had noticed the way Miss Kara was treating Inoue since, the previous night. Melissa's words made Haruto apprehensive that now a big trouble was coming in front of them. " That's why without hesitation he starts to regroup everyone. He let Melissa take Inoue with herself, told Hina and Sato to move together. He then asked them to spread in the three directions north, south and west as soon as they entered the palace. and planned to meet on the top floor where Minamoto was imprisoned.
They reached the main gate of the palace with the help of his friends and proceeded according to their plan. They reached the marked spots and everyone entered through the actual entrance but unfortunately one of the guards caught Mr. Takahashi and Takemichi. He was about to damage Mr. Takahashi when, at just the right moment, Takemichi pushed that guard and knocked him unconscious. "Wow! Not so bad kiddo," said Mr. Haruto, clapping. "We don't have much time to waste. That Kabuto won't be that far from the palace now, so we have to get to Minamoto before that jerk arrives," Takemichi replied. " whoa , I like that look," said Mr. Haruto, staring at Takemichi's serious face.
What did you tell my sister?" Melissa asked Inoue while on their way. "what do you mean?" Inoue asked, looking at her confusedly. " Since, last night my sister was behaving very strangely, last night she came to my room just to ask if I had ever told you all about her or Mr. Kai or anything related to him that you guys should not know. She seemed really serious but at that point I had somehow settled the matter by lying to her. But I don't know why, since morning she was behaving even more weirdly. She was not like her usual self and most importantly, she was looking at you suspiciously. So, tell me what did you say to her because of which she was not even talking to you well. look, It's only for your good" After hearing Melissa's words, Inoue stopped on the way and said with a slight pause, "Miss Kara treated us really well the day we first came here. To me she is the kindest woman in the world and she always will be . That night when I was having trouble finding the washroom, she showed me the right way. She even offered me a cup of green tea to sip with her which can help me to sleep well. We chatted all night. And the only thing I asked her that could have hurt her was..." She paused while speaking and said "Miss Kara, I have to apologize to her. I didn't know that one of my questions would really hurt her that much..." and she started running all of a sudden "Hey, stop tell me what you asked her again... Hey! " Melissa tried hard to stop her.
"Sis gave her a green tea to drink but how could it be possible, she knows very well we can't have green tea because it contains too much caffeine " Thinking about what Inoue had said earlier, Melissa was skeptical. "No! Don't tell me, she already knew that we were living with humans. That means she's plotting something really big to hurt them all...." Melissa's face turned pale, she looked really scared. Her eyes widened and she had no idea what to do next.
Here Hina and Sato were only a short distance away from reaching Minamoto. They were the only ones who were moving really fast compared to the others. And suddenly Hina stopped in the middle of the way, it seemed as if she saw someone coming towards them. "Hina, what's the matter? Are you crazy ? Don't just stop mid-way " Sato screamed. " Shhh ! Don't make any noise, I felt something strange and it felt as if some evil spirit is coming towards us." Said Hina with fear in her face Hina said with a look of fear on her face (Hina is the granddaughter of a retired exorcist, so she can sense any kind of evil aura. I know that I've never mentioned this before. So, sorry for that) . Tap ! tap ! tap ! The noise of someone's footsteps was echoing violently all around. And suddenly a familiar face came out of the shadows saying "Long time no see brat..." It was Yaki, the twin sister of the dead Saki whom Mr. Haruto killed brutally. Her appearance looked quite different from before and this time she was looking quite scary. On seeing her face, the ground shook under the feet of Sato. She remembered the day she met her for the first time. She was about to fall after swallowing some spit, but Hina caught her. "Sato, what happened why are you sweating so much. You have trained yourself better than anyone else, let's face her together" Hina tried her best to allay her fear but she was so shocked that her legs did not even move. It was the first time that Hina saw Sato in such a frightened condition. She guessed that it would not be easy for her to fight all alone with such a monstrous woman, yet she decided to fight. She made Sato sit near a wall and let her rest for a while.
She stood in front of her and took out her two swords that Mr. Haruto had given her. "Oh my! Who is this new face? I have no business with you two so move out of my way. You see I have an important meeting with the jerk who killed my brother. So, if you know where he is, 'that Haruto' tell me, in return I will spare your life " she said sarcastically. " I don't know who you are. why you are looking for Mr. Takahashi ? But you have misunderstood my power, witch" Hina replied with a one-sided smile. "Yeah, I think I really misunderstood you. I feel that your aura is dark too, so I take back my words. I'll kill you first and then deal with that Haruto" It seemed as if Hina's words infuriated her even more. "Hina...no!" Sato was trying to stop Hina from fighting that evil creature. But Hina did not listen to her....and the fight started.
A few moments later, when Mr. Takahashi and Takemichi arrived at the same spot, they found Sato and Hina lying unconscious on the ground covered with scars and bruises. There was a flood of blood and Hina was hurt the most. Sato's left arm was not moving and her head was also bleeding. Mr.Takahashi saw Yaki sitting against the wall and smiling like a Cheshire cat, " Welcome Haruto! It's been a long time since we last met. Isn't it ? " She said.
" Yaki...! " Mr. Takahashi took her name with a serious look....
To be continue....