Chapter 28: Oni Tomodachi

So that's why I never knew about him. Mom always kept him away from us so he could be safe. He never really had a proper family. He just had Vanitas to take care of him, and I doubt he had time for Skai to know what a real one feels like. But I still don't understand why she never told me about my form. I listened carefully as I heard my brother and Vanitas's soft snores before slipping out of my seat.

I passed by everyone and made my way to the cockpit, where Nico was rewarding himself to a coke. He glanced at me and smirked. "'Was wondering when you were gonna show up here."

I sat beside him and looked outside. It was still dark out. "What do you mean?" He shook his head and told me to ignore it.

"So, how do you feel, you know, after getting shot?" My eyes darted towards him, then at the window once more. I feel brand new, I sarcastically thought. "Did you even get any rest after that?"

I shook my head in denial. "Too many thoughts." I hesitantly touched the bandages on my right side. "How long has it been?"

Nico looked at me, confused. "What do you mean? How long has what been?"

"Since we were taken." I looked at the city lights below. "How long has it been since we saw our parents, our other friends?" I don't know why, but I started feeling scared. My mind started racing further into my memories, back when I was around ten.

"How long has it been since we were in our own homes, rebelling against our parents to see the world around us? How long has it been since our problems were small and easy to deal with? How long has it been when the world seemed so much better than this? How long has it been since we believed everything could be solved with a little bit of happiness and joy? How long has it been since we felt like kids again?" I had no idea where these thoughts were coming from. Even Nico seemed uneasy with this.

He fiddled with his fingers, and watched the sun slowly rise from the horizon. "To be honest, it's been too long." He didn't hesitate to cover his eyes from the blinding light. "And, I guess it's too late for us to go back and relive them." He chuckled. "But, I've been told that the memories we make build up who we are." He turned to look at me with a faraway gaze. "In time, when you're much older, you'll look back at these memories and think just how amazing your childhood was."

My body froze by that sentence. It sounded so familiar, like I've heard it before from someone. "Someday, when we're older, we'll look back at these memories and think just how amazing our childhoods were." Keiko! That's who told me that, or whoever I was in that dream. But how did Nico know about that?

I watched him as he checked the time and left the room to get some sleep. "You should sleep too," He yawned loudly. "It's not gonna get easier for us when we reach America." I ignored and watched the city below me. America, huh? Well this should be interesting.

~~~

It had been a few hours since we landed in Ohio. I managed to get some sleep a little after my conversation with Nico. I didn't get any visions though, which is starting to annoy me. It's like every time I try to think of a vision, it never appears. But when it doesn't come to mind for a day, it takes me back god knows when!

My wound's been constantly checked on by Mune and Crimson every hour to make sure it was healing and it hasn't reopened again. Skai came in with some Uno cards and we decided to play a few rounds. Eventually, we grew bored and waited for Vanitas to take us to this "friend" of his.

Jay groaned loudly. "This is boring!" He slumped into his seat. "Isn't there something we can do for fun while we wait?"

"I agree for once," Mune stretched his limbs. "It's pointless sitting around here doing nothing all day."

Everyone thought about what to do in the meantime before we left the plane. Ash stood up with a proud look on her face.

"I have a solution!" Ash said excitedly. I swear, I've never seen all my friends' eyes shine brighter until now.

"Oh, thank goodness." Nico mumbled.

"It involves fire!" She beamed. Keith laughed, already expecting a counter argument.

"Absolutely not." He scolded her.

Jay sat up straight and glared at the boy. "And why the hell not?"

Nico gestured to everything in the plane. "Everything you see here is either combustible or flammable. If you plan on setting yourself on fire, by all means- do it outside."

Jay huffed, and sat back down in disappointment. "'Wish Vanitas was here. Then, we could have some fun." Did I mention Vanitas leaving us in the plane? He told us that Yuuto would have probably already made us global criminals, so we would need to change our features and our names before we head home free.

As if on cue, our blonde friend walked in, and seemed surprised to see all of us we were now. He quickly shook it off and started telling us information. "So, I found someone who can help with disguising ourselves and blending in with everyone. And, my friend also lives nearby so getting in and out won't be as hard as it might have been."

Everyone relaxed at those words. We'll finally go home. "However-" Forget what I said, we're screwed. "You won't be able to return to your lives until Yuuto is either killed or caught."

"And what do you want us to do?" Sholto asked. "Get a gun and bust into his place, screaming, 'Listen up! I got a rooty-tooty-point-n-shooty! If you don't wanna die, you better let us go home!'?" Most of us burst into laughter at the scenario. "Yeah, I don't think so."

Vanitas rolled his eyes and pointed outside. "There's a car waiting outside, so quit lollygagging and get going. The elites but Oni will deal with Yuuto, so don't worry about him. And I would rather be stuck here forever than give any of you a gun."

Soft laughter came from all of us as we headed out to the vehicle. Turns out, when Vanitas said car, he actually meant a limousine. Lina and Jay got excited and dashed inside. Skai seemed confused by the situation but followed them anyway.

"Hey driver!" Jay yelled. Eli laughed at the visible joy radiating from him. "Turn on the radio, why don't ya!" My twin brother and I also chuckled at his goofiness.

"Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars started playing. Mune groaned. "You've got to be kidding me." Vanitas pulled out a pair of ear plugs and closed his eyes.

"I'M TOO HOT." Jay yelled beside me. He gave Mune a lopsided grin and waited for an answer.

Mune sighed. I chuckled. He gave his best friend an emotionless expression. "Hot damn."

"CALL THE POLICE AND THE FIREMAN, I'M TOO HOT," He continued.

"Is he always like this when he's not mad?" Crimson asked me.

I shrugged. "Only when he's comfortable."

"DON'T BELIEVE ME JUST WATCH!" The limo drove over a road bump, causing Jay to accidentally hit his head. A few of us giggled at the sight.

Zane tapped my shoulder. "I thought you might want this back." He gave me the book I got from Sonora.

Nico noticed the cover and seemed a bit stiff afterwards. "My book! Thanks a lot. I think I can find out which timeline I get thrown into when I get a vision."

The rest of the trip was filled with laughter and joy all round. When we stopped, we were standing in front of one of the most stylish mansions I have ever seen. Eli cringed and snapped his head towards Vanitas. "You're joking."

He took out his earplugs and looked no different than Eli. "Believe me, if there was anyone better I would have gone to them instead."

"Who are they talking about?" I asked my brother. He looked frightened though. The doors opened, and revealed a tall woman with ginger hair and bright red lipstick. She wore a fancy white suit and black pencil- heel shoes. She looked at all of us with a sad look.

"Oh Vanitas," Her gaze turned towards him. "The least you could have done was make them look a bit presentable." She glanced behind me. "Oh, you've brought Skai along with you. How are you, sweetie?"Skai flinched and hid even further behind me.

"We don't have time for this, Rosaline." Vanitas glared at her. "We came to you for this very reason. We need disguises, ones that will help us blend in with our surroundings."

Rosaline smiled. "I'm flattered." She turned around and motioned us to follow. "I'll try my best not to go overboard, but I keep no promises." I started feeling uncomfortable with her too.

We followed her up a bunch of staircases and past many, many rooms. I mean, what's the purpose of having twenty rooms in almost every hallway if you're the only one living here?

She snapped her fingers and a bunch of servants appeared out of nowhere. Her eyes gleamed a mischievous look. "Huh. I never thought a successful Lyrquif like you would need servants." Vanitas remarked. "I actually thought you might be torturing an innocent human for fun."

"Oh please. I have too much work to do such a thing." Her nails grew into sharp claws, and her teeth turned into fangs as she grinned evilly. "But if I could, I would have had bodies over bodies hanging on these walls."

Vanitas's eyes glowed, and his ears changed as well. They glared at one another, before reverting back to their human forms. "So, how do we do this."

"Simple." She pointed and a few servants and had each one of us go to a room with them. "First, they must be bathed and have their wounds properly fixed. Then, they will have their hair dyed- nothing throws a person off than a different hair color. Next, we will find some fashionable clothes to style these children and make them adorable! Finally, we'll apply makeup."

That's simple? Two servants came up to me and led me to the farthest room. "Don't worry," One of them said, smiling. "By the end of this, you'll be glad to have come here." I already want to go back to the plane.