In a classroom, a girl had her head down on the table. A voice from the front of the room was heard.
“Miss Asano!” the voice of a man called out, “Miyuki Asano!”
The girl gave no response. The man walked towards his desk and grabbed a textbook. The few students in the room stared with wide eyes. Suddenly, a loud bang was heard. The girl at the back of the room shot up from her chair and looked around the room.
“H-huh?!” she cried nervously.
“Miss Asano! You come to this class to catch up on your studies,” the man scolded with his arms crossed, “Yet you sleep through all of the lessons. Really, I wonder why you ever even bother attending.”
“S-sorry…” Miyuki replied, lowering her head.
“'Sorry' doesn't cut it. You sleep in my class, the next time, you won't be invited.”
The teacher turned around and continued to write on the board. Miyuki sighed and sat back down.
In a large field of cherry blossoms, a girl in gym clothing stood under one of the trees and stared off at a distance. Her long pony tail blew elegantly in the cool wind. She had her eyes closed and hummed a slow melody, smiling.
“Ciel!” a voice suddenly call out, “We're up!”
The girl swung her body around surprised.
“Coming!”
A sakura petal slowly drifted down from the tree that stood above her. She reached her hand out and let the petal fall onto her palm. Withdrawing her hand, she smiled at the petal as if with relief and let it complete its fall to the ground as she ran off the field.
The bell rang and the school campus filled with students. Miyuki and Ciel met up at the front gates and started to walk together.
“So how were your classes, Miyuki?” asked Ciel.
“I drifted off to sleep again! I got scolded by the teacher this time during my study class.”
“Haha,” Ciel laughed, “Just like the Miyuki I've known since elementary school.”
Miyuki laughed at herself, “What about you? How was volleyball practice?”
“Same as usual. Nothing really great. We're still trying to toughen ourselves for the game coming up.”
“Were you…” Miyuki stopped as she hesitated to ask, “…still thinking about him near those sakura trees?”
Ciel put her head down and smiled, her bangs covering her eyes, “I've given up… on waiting. He's not coming back… probably.”
“But how do you know for sure?! It's not like he disliked you the last time you two were still together.”
“Then please tell me…” Ciel looked up at Miyuki with saddened eyes, “Why hasn't he come back for me?”
“I…” Miyuki turned her head away.
“He's probably… dead.”
Ciel continued to walk as Miyuki watched her back, feeling helpless.
The next morning, Miyuki and Ciel were at the café drinking in the most popular district amongst teenagers, known as Akasako.
“Wow! I'm so surprised you woke up at ten today!” Ciel exclaimed, “Normally, it's like one by the time you get out of bed.”
“Yeah…” Miyuki laughed embarrassingly.
Suddenly, Miyuki's cell phone went off. She went into her pocket and looked at the screen.
“It's a message from Concordia,” Miyuki said as she read the words she saw.
“Really? What does it say?”
“Missing cat…”
The two stared at each other and laughed.
“Oh man…” Ciel tried to regain her breath, “Even though we're still young, it doesn't mean they should be assigning low level tasks for us to do… I mean, come on.”
“Yeah… Well, we get paid for it anyway, so it's not too much to complain about. Tag along?”
“Sure.”
Miyuki and Ciel entered a large modern building with large letters making the word 'Concordia' along the center of the building. As the two girls approached the front counter, a lady in a uniform greeted them.
“Hello. Welcome to Concordia; committed to the world's well-being. How may I help you?” the lady said with a big smile.
“I have received a task.”
“Please scan your ID card.”
Miyuki held her ID card up to a screen and let it scan, making a beep sound.
“Ms. Asano?” the lady called.
“Yes.”
“Are you still attending Tokimekore High School?”
“Yes, I am.”
The lady was silent for a moment, analyzing the computer monitor.
“You have one new task. Information on the task is now available for you to view. We have computers on the second floor for you to sign in and find out more on the task. There, you can also decide whether to accept or decline.”
“Thank you.”
“Have a wonderful day. Thank you for working with Concordia.”
The two girls took the elevator to the second floor and sat down in front of unoccupied computers. The page showed the official Concordia website. Miyuki signed into her account to find out more information on the new task that was assigned to her.
“Hmm…” Miyuki stared at the information seen on the monitor, “Seems like the issue takes place in Reveria.”
“Isn't that that really old and ancient-like place?”
“I don't think it's ancient-like… I think it is ancient.”
“Okay, fine…”
“Hmm… Should I accept?”
“Why not? It's an easy job. Besides, it's Saturday, and you can get to Reveria within two hours with the trips Concordia provides you.”
“Yeah… I guess.”
Miyuki clicked 'Accept' on the screen and logged off.
“It's fine if I come along, right?” Ciel asked, “I don't have anything else to do today… And Concordia doesn't have any rules against that.”
“Yeah, of course,” Miyuki said gladly, “But you do know that you won't get paid because Concordia won't know about it, right?”
“Yeah, no problem!”
The two high school students returned home and changed, then called for a ride from the organization they worked for. After a long ride, the two girls finally arrived at Reveria. They realized that everyone was dressed in white robes. They felt awkward and did not know where to go first. As the two girls stood for a couple more seconds, a woman ran towards them.
“Are you two from Concordia?” the woman asked the girls, analyzing their uniforms.
“Yes, we are,” replied Miyuki, “I heard there was a missing cat?”
“Oh, had you not been notified?” Miyuki and Ciel exchanged looks. “We sent a message to Concordia saying that the problem was solved.”
“What?! Really?!” Miyuki shouted in disappointment.
Miyuki's cell phone rang; she picked it up, reading the message from Concordia.
“Task cancelled. Check online for details…” Miyuki read from the screen.
“We had sent the messenger about two hours ago, he should be returning now.”
“Oh man…” Ciel murmured.
“We're sorry. We didn't think you would be on the case so quickly.”
“Oh… It's fine…” Miyuki sighed, “I guess we'll have a look around the place since we're already here.”
Without warning, the woman closed up on Miyuki, “Here is fine… Behind the gates resides the chief Sumana and vice chief Isha, and… the beast… You mustn't cross there… There is much security.”
With that, the woman walked away, replacing the white hood atop her head.
“Uh… okay…” Miyuki said with a bit of uneasiness. “Let's look around… See if there's a stand for tourists or something.”
“Umm…” Ciel called to Miyuki, “I don't think people usually visit places like this… Besides, doesn't it kind of feel like we're unwelcome here?”
“Yeah… I guess,” Miyuki said as she studied the village. “Guess we should just head home then, huh? What a waste of time this was…”
As the two girls started to head out of the village, a swift wind blew behind Ciel.
“What the—?!”
As Ciel turned around, she saw someone in a soiled white robe run quickly away from her. Ciel felt in her pockets and noticed something missing.
“…My wallet!”
Ciel started to chase after the thief, angered.
“W-wait!” Miyuki shouted as she saw Ciel start to run.
After awhile of running, Miyuki had noticed that they passed the large gates the woman had mentioned, and were now in an alley near the outside of the village. No one was around, and the place seemed very quiet and eerie. Finally, the person in the soiled robe found a cracked wall and crawled through it.
“Ugh!” Ciel shouted in disgust, “You get back here this instant!”
Without realizing where she was going, Ciel followed the thief into the hole. Miyuki, a few yards behind, tried to call to her.
“Wait! Ciel! We were told not to go there!”
With no choice, Miyuki followed her friend into the gap which neither of them knew what they were getting themselves into.
As Ciel continued to chase after the thief and Miyuki, Ciel, Miyuki noticed a male wearing the same uniform as they did—the uniform distributed by Concordia. An old man was bowing to him as he held his hand up and smiled. With no time to waste, Miyuki continued to run.
“Hold on, Ciel! Stop!”
“Not until this thief stops!” Ciel yelled out without pausing.
“Hn?” the male student noticed the minor ruckus on the other side of the gates. He had black hair and purple eyes.
Finally, the thief ran into a dead end. Turning around, Ciel realized the thief was a female. But even so, she gave no mercy.
“Now what do you think you're doing? Fork over my wallet—now!”
The girl gave no response.
“I heard that the white robes in this village represent purity and innocence. And that they take very well care of them as so not to dirty them. But I see yours is soiled. Perhaps you should return my wallet and leave this village?”
Again, the girl gave no response.
“Look—I don't have any patience for this—“
“I'm not from this village,” the girl finally said.
“Then why the heck are you here?!” Ciel shouted impatiently, “This place gives me the creeps!...”
Gradually, several footsteps were heard.
“Intruders are here! Search the village!” a rough voice commanded.
“W-what?! Us?!” Miyuki cried out nervously. “What should we do?!”
“The woman earlier said this place is strict on security and stuff like that, so they'll probably arrest us before letting us explain. And I don't want that sort of record. We should run for it,” Ciel answered as calm as she could. “But of course, after I get my wallet back.”
There was a pause. Suddenly, the girl threw her hand at Ciel.
“Catch!”
As a natural reflex, Ciel jumped back and expected to catch her wallet. However, it was a trick. In that time Ciel was fooled, the girl shoved her into Miyuki and ran out of the dead end and out where the guards were searching for them. Immediately, Ciel persisted after her.
“Stop!”
Before Ciel's head stuck out from the alley, Miyuki stopped her.
“Wait! They'll see us!”
With no choice, the girls stood there as they watched the thief's act. She purposely fell to the ground and one of the guards helped her up. She observed her already soiled white robe and placed her hands on her face, shaking her head. She then ran off, without getting caught.
“Ugh! That slick witch!” Ciel shouted angrily.
Ciel gave out a heavy and irritated sigh, letting her head fall back on the wall.
“So what are we going to do now?” Miyuki wondered aloud.
“Have the intruders been found?” a young yet demanding female voice questioned.
Hearing this, Miyuki and Ciel stuck their heads out to see what was going on. But they made sure they were safe from being seen.
“Not yet, vice chief,” a guard answered.
“No!!” a screech came from a house nearby.
The young lady in her early twenties in braided hair and two bodyguards charged into the house in which the shrill cry came. Miyuki and Ciel watched from behind the walls intently.
“What's wrong?” the young lady asked the woman with her hands covering her mouth.
“Isha!” she cried, “Our family's savings have been stolen!”
“It must be those intruders!” one of the guards remarked.
Ciel then turned to Miyuki with bright eyes.
“This could be our chance!”
“Huh?” Miyuki wrinkled her eyebrows, “There are still many guards around!”
“And they're not going to go away for a long time! So we have to do something! Just watch, I have a plan!”
With that, Ciel charged out from behind the walls and into the chaos going on before Miyuki could stop her.
“Wait! Don't be rash!” Miyuki whispered loudly and nervously.
“The intruders!” one of the guards pointed out from afar.
Isha and all other eyes locked on Ciel and the hiding Miyuki.
“Capture them at once!” another guard shouted.
Ciel put up her hands and stood her ground. With no choice, Miyuki stepped out nervously, following her lead.
“Hold on!” Ciel declared, “We're not really intruders… I mean, we didn't mean to come through here…”
“You're not making the situation any better, Ciel!” Miyuki cried.
Ciel sucked her teeth at Miyuki, “Just listen, guys!”
Ciel's comments were futile. The guards did not stop in their track to listen.
“L-look! Do we even look like we have enough pockets to steal your stuff?!” Ciel began to quiver, “My stuff got robbed, too! We know who took your money!”
The guards were just about to grasp onto their arms until a voice stopped their movements.
“One moment!” Isha stepped away from the doorsteps. “These girls… Let's see what they have to say.”
Just then, the two girls let out a sigh of relief.
“Next time we come… We should rent some robes,” Miyuki commented.
“Next time?” Ciel responded, “There isn't going to be a next time!”
“So,” the young lady stepped closer to the girls, “How much do you know about this… outsider?”
“She's a girl!” Ciel cried out loud, “Umm… I would say probably around our age or so. Seventeen, eighteen-ish.”
“You guys just let her go!” Miyuki added, looking at the guards which all looked the same. “The girl that tripped!”
“Do you men recall this incident?” the vice chief looked at her guards.
No one answered for awhile, until one guard finally called out.
“Ah! Yes! There was one of such happening! Her robe was dirtied.”
“Dirtied?!” Isha echoed in shock.
“But it happened when she fell,” the guard defended.
“No!” Miyuki interrupted.
“Her robe had already been soiled from the beginning,” Ciel immediately supported, “But she's the thief! She's the outsider! So it doesn't matter!”
Even with the girls' information, the young vice chief was at lost.
“However,” she broke the silence, eyes to the ground, “How are we to look for this intruder…?”
“Please!” the woman from the house, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly cried. “Isha, I must get those savings back! For my son… my son!”
“Calm down,” Isha gestured with her hand. “Do not worry, we will capture this culprit.”
“Perhaps… We should get him for this task…?”
“Him?” Miyuki and Ciel repeated in unison.
“That is out of the question!” Isha scolded, “You know the rules of the chief!”
“Now, now… There's no need to cause such an uproar,” a sudden voice from behind spoke. “Perhaps this one time… I will make an exception.”
“Oh! Chief Sumana!” the woman shouted gratefully.
“Chief Sumana!” Isha echoed surprised. “You were back?”
All eyes were on the chief, who was in her mid forties and smiling, as if something wonderful had just happened.
In a dark vault, a guard walked down the steps where it was very difficult to see with little presence of light. The place reeked of blood and rottenness. As he stopped to an end in the room, he spoke to something sitting inside.
“The chief has summoned you.”
It was hard to see, but you could make out the lower bottom of the face. It was a boy, smiling almost devilishly. It took awhile, but he finally responded with a dry voice.
“And?” he answered simply and curiously.
“Search for an outsider,” the man replied to the boy, “She is a female… of around seventeen.”
“You mean an outsider like me?” he retorted.
The boy sensed the guard was sweating nervously, obviously from simply being near him, and even more after his rhetorical question. He grinned at this discovery.
“And in return?” the boy asked, licking the blood off his fingers and grinning even wider.
“The chief will decide…” the man stepped back as he felt the presence of danger surrounding the child.
“You are the village's only chance now. And you must act now… before… the intruder gets away.”
The man hesitated as he stepped forward to unlock the bars. As the lock clicked, the door slowly creaked open. You could hear the movements of the boy as he crawled his way out of the small opening. Immediately, the boy's hand grabbed onto the man's arm abruptly. This frightened the guard and made his heart skip a beat.
“Unchain me…” the boy merely whispered in his face, his eyes and grin wider than ever, exposing his utmost excitement.
“While he is being taken out, we should look around ourselves for any luck,” the vice chief suggested.
“Why do you keep saying he?” Ciel questioned in curiosity, “Doesn't he have a name?”
“Perhaps if you would like to give up some of your time, I shall tell you the case,” the middle-aged woman said optimistically.
“Chief Sumana likes to tell stories,” Isha informed.
“I see,” Ciel replied, “Well, I am interested, but I want to get my wallet back—really badly.”
“Why don't you go with her Ciel. I'll go help look for your wallet,” Miyuki offered, “And I'm kind of worried what you might do when you find that girl. You're kind of rash sometimes…”
“Wha—?!” Ciel almost jumped at Miyuki.
“Good!” the chief shouted happily. “So, now, come with me…”
Ciel gave Miyuki one last stare and sighed before following the chief into what was known as her “office.”
“Now then—split up and search!” Isha ordered.
The guards scattered and Miyuki immediately went off on her own, running as so to make sure she could catch up with the thief. Just then, Isha had remembered something and turned to where Miyuki used to stand to see that she had already gone.
“Ah! I forgot to mention to her not to go near the tower… But that's fine. It is sealed off anyway. There's no way she can go in.”
With that, Isha went to search for the intruder at her own pace.
In the room where chief Sumana and Ciel stayed, two guards each stood at the entrance and in back of the chief. Ciel sat across from the woman and listened intently.
“The poor young child… We found him when I was taking my usual walks to the tower…”
“Wait, the tower?” Ciel asked confused, “What tower?”
“There is a tower behind our village. It is very old and important to us, so it is off-limits. But many suggested for it to be a tourist attraction, so every now and then people come to see it. I go to the tower every day just to have it refreshed in my mind.”
“Why is the tower so important?”
“It has been said that the people who built this village lived there, hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”
“Oh… I see… So, what about the untitled guy?”
“Like I had said, we encountered him on our way to the tower one day…”
“A tourist?” Chief Sumana wondered as she saw a boy with nothing on, completely bare.
The boy seemed to be only in his teens, of about seventeen or so. He looked like he was looking for something, almost frantically. Sensing something, he immediately turned his head to see the chief and the three guards behind her.
“His eyes were… very demonic,” chief Sumana recalled, “I think this sight frightened one of my men. He shot back and tripped… His head hit the ground… And he did not wake up after that.”
“Kind of… pathetic,” Ciel had to comment.”
Suddenly, the boy charged at the group and two guards jumped in front of chief Sumana.
“Stay back!” they warned.
The boy did not listen. He charged his way through the guards and the chief. She did not seem to be his target. Being jumped at so quickly and strongly, the guards were pushed aside. By accident, one of the guard's armor cut her arm slightly. Immediately feeling the pain, she winced.
“Chief Sumana!”
The boy stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the chief. But a second later, he disregarded their existence. At that point, the chief and the other two guards realized the boy had been beating at the guard who had fainted, trying to destroy his armor. He then stopped, took his head and threw him, forcing him to lie on his stomach.
“What are you doing!” one guard shouted and tried to pull the boy away from him.
Finding the guard in his way, the two went into battle. The boy effortlessly overpowered him and was locking the man down to the ground, sitting on him. He gnarled fiercely, exposing his abnormally sharp teeth. Trying to keep from giving in to the strange being, he warned his superior.
“Chief Sumana! Please return to the village!”
Hearing this, the remaining guard did not hesitate to take the chief away. The two were forced to run away from the scene. Chief Sumana took one last glance at the horror and was taken aback as she saw that both her men had already lost the battle and the beast was already enjoying the blood that had been shed.
“Yikes!” Ciel cried in terror, “This guy sounds like more trouble than I thought!”
“Yes, with what happened, I assume that he is attracted to blood, starting from who has more spilled… But there's more…”
Chief Sumana and her remaining guard ran into the village, trying to catch their breath. A braided-haired girl turned around to see her and quickly walked over to her.
“Chief Sumana! You've returned. A man committed a severe crime. We have served his punishment of one thousand beatings and is now sitting in prison, beginning his life imprisonment.”
“Not right now, Isha,” the chief managed to cough out.
Isha looked at the chief with strange eyes, wondering what had been the panic, “What's wrong, chief?”
“Chief Sumana!” the guard suddenly shouted, “He—he followed us!”
“How?!... Perhaps… he can smell my blood!?” she thought to herself.
Hearing this, Isha examined the chief's body and realized a cut flowing with blood.
“Chief Sumana! You're bleeding!” she cried out, “What is going on?!”
“Come!” she ordered without answering her.
Chief Sumana quickly ran to hide in a vacant house and the other two followed after. She then ran to the windows and peeked outside.
The boy finally made it into the village. He stopped near the entrance and seemed to be looking for something again. Finally, he charged into an entrance which emitted no light whatsoever.
“The prison?!” Chief Sumana questioned aloud.
“That boy's mouth is smothered in blood!” Isha shouted, “Who is he?!”
Still not responding to Isha's questions and comments, she demandingly ordered: “Follow in! We must knock him out!”
“Did you guys get him?!” Ciel asked eagerly.
“I didn't go in, but yes, they seemed to get the job done. We locked him in the same prison until today. He is too dangerous to be let out.”
“But you just let him out!”
“It has been a long time… a few months now. I am seeing if that has any effect on him.”
“Wait, so, this is your little experiment?!”
The chief gave no more than a smile.
“What if my friend gets hurt?! You'll be responsible!”
“Then let's hope she'll be fine.”
“Let's hope, you say!”
Ciel was going to charge out of the room, but something stopped her.
“By the way… What did you guys do to that guy who committed the severe crime? He was in the same prison as the bloodthirsty beast, right?”
“Nothing. It is life imprisonment. After they are locked up, we melt the keys. It is unfortunate, but that man also ended up being another one of that boy's victims.”
With that, Ciel ran out of the room, grunting, “Gross.”
As Miyuki was running, she eventually lost sight of where she was going. She stopped and looked around her.
“Ah… crap. I got a little side-tracked,” she said to herself nervously, “Um… What to do now…”
As Miyuki walked on a little further, she noticed a tall tower.
“What is… this place?”
As she examined the tower from the bottom to the top, she became more and more curious.
“Wait! Maybe the thief is hiding here?!”
Thinking that, she quickly but quietly tip-toed her way to the tower, making sure she wouldn't be discovered. As she closed in on it, an invisible barrier around the tower seemed to have flashed, and something hidden inside her uniform glowed during that same moment, without her noticing.
A guard returned to Isha's side and spoke with her.
“I have released him.”
Isha sighed, “But still… what is chief Sumana thinking… By the way, you did inform him of the details, right?”
“Of course, vice chief.”
Searching around hungrily, the boy searched a deserted area without roads or paths outside the village.
Running with all her might, Ciel frantically tried to find Miyuki, who might be in danger.
“Come on, Miyuki… Where are you!”
Miyuki pushed her back against the outer wall of the tower and slowly side-stepped towards the entrance. With a swift turn, she poked her head into the tower.
“Don't move!”
After saying that, she realized no one was there. She only saw that bricks and stones had fallen to the ground and everything there had been covered in dust. She steadily walked in and took a closer look at everything.
“Wow… This place must be really old.”
As she looked further in, she noticed stairs that went up the tower in a spiral. She headed towards them, but then saw more bricks and stones.
“It's blocked… I can't go past here… Then that must mean the thief isn't here either.”
As Miyuki turned back to exit the tower, she tripped over a brick and fell hard to the ground.
“Owww…!!”
She lie there for awhile, then sat up.
She held her chin painfully and let go when something seemed to fall into her palm.
“…I'm bleeding!”
Not far from the tower was the boy. Suddenly noticing something inside, he ran towards it. Again, the invisible barrier flashed around the tower and he charged through the entrance. Hearing something coming towards her, Miyuki looked up to see a boy running at her.
“…Huh?!”
Ciel stopped in her tracks to regain her breath. Then, not far away, she heard a rumble.
“…Miyuki?!”
She started to run again, but faster, and eventually saw the tower. Without stopping to examine, she ran straight towards it and saw the chaos inside.
“Miyuki!!”
Hearing a familiar voice, Miyuki turned to see her friend.
“Ciel!!” she cried gladly.
Trying to run to save her friend, Ciel charged, but only to be thrown back by the barrier.
“What the—?!”
Seeing the boy getting back up from running into the wall, she cried nervously.
“No! Miyuki! Look out!”
Once again, Miyuki turned her head. But this time to see that the boy had jumped on her violently. She landed on her back, and her arms became immobilized as the boy held them tightly against the ground.
Ciel started to bang on the barrier, which flashed every time it was hit.
“Miyuki!!”
The boy leaned in towards Miyuki and licked her chin, stinging her injury.
For awhile now, the insides of the tower were rumbling. Eventually, parts of the stairs crumbled and fell to the ground. Seeing this, Miyuki shut her eyes tightly, her heart beating faster and faster. The next thing she knew, the boy was lying on top of her, knocked out.
Ciel leaned more onto the barrier, her hands pushing on it.
“Miyuki!... Miyuki, hurry! Get out of there!”
Hearing this, Miyuki frantically tried to crawl out from under the boy. She struggled but managed to get away, pushing him to the side with all her strength. As she got up, something slipped out from her pocket and fell near the boy. Nervous and scared, Miyuki ran out of the tower and back to Ciel's side.
“Ciel…!”
“It's okay now, it's okay! Let's hurry back to Reveria!”
At the center of the village, Isha, chief Sumana, many of the guards, and even the woman whose savings had been stolen stood as if waiting for something to happen. As Ciel and Miyuki came running, everyone noticed Miyuki's injury.
“What happened?!” Isha immediately asked.
“We ran into that beast!” Ciel responded.
Everyone was shocked as Miyuki and Ciel caught their breath.
“For now, let's just take care of that blood,” Isha suggested as she quickly ran to a house nearby.
“Let me just tell you, we're not staying here for long. Once she's got her first aid, we're out of here.”
“Ciel?” Miyuki looked up at her friend confused.
“Yes… That would actually be the best idea,” the chief replied as Isha grabbed a box on a shelf.
“By the way… Have you got anything on the thief?” Isha brought up.
“No, I never found her,” Miyuki answered.
“Neither did I. I went straight to look for her,” Ciel gestured at Miyuki, “I never encountered her, although I wish I did.”
“That's too bad,” chief Sumana said plainly.
“The guards don't have anything, either,” Isha reported sadly, “The thief is probably long gone by now. There's nothing we can do.”
“But… my savings! I have to get them back!” the woman continued to cry.
“Um… How much was it?” Miyuki asked the woman.
“…Fifty-seven mieras…”
“…Fifty-seven mieras…” Miyuki echoed in her head, “I'll pay it back. I got my paycheck earlier this week, so I have enough. We've caused so much trouble here. I'll send the money when we get back.”
“What are you, crazy?!” Ciel shouted at her friend, “We'll ask Concordia to help get this problem solved. Don't bring this all on yourself!”
“Oh, thank you so much!” the woman shouted gladly.
“Are you sure that's okay?” the vice chief wondered.
“Yeah, we'll take care of it,” Ciel answered.
“Thank you…” the woman said relieved.
“Okay, I'm done,” Isha said, moving away from Miyuki.
“Thanks.”
“Alright then, we're off!” Ciel said quickly.
Ciel and Miyuki got up from their seats and walked out of the house.
“Wait!” Isha suddenly called.
“What is it?” Ciel turned around.
“What happened to the boy? You saw him, right?”
“Yeah… He's unconscious in that tower. The last time we saw him anyway.”
“I see… Thank you. We will take care of this matter. Be safe.”
“Thanks.”
With that, Miyuki and Ciel quickly left the village.
Isha turned around and saw the chief.
“Oh, chief Sumana. I'll send men and retrieve him.”
“That's unnecessary.”
“What?”
“As long as that girl leaves this village, we are safe. He will not come back.”
“Are you certain, chief Sumana?”
“Do you think he will return for continued imprisonment? I do not.”
The chief started to head off, back to her residence.
“Besides, he is a burden. Do not send any men at all costs.”
“…Understood.”
As Isha returned to what she was doing before the turmoil, she thought to herself.
“But in the tower…? That tower is off-limits. How could he…?” she shook her head, “No… This is over… It's finally over…”
Miyuki and Ciel finally exited the village and headed towards a car with 'Concordia Express' painted across it.
“Thanks for waiting,” Ciel told the driver.
Back in the tower, the boy gradually regained consciousness. His eyes slowly opened as he wondered where he was. He shot up and looked around.
“Uhn… No… Not again…” he said to himself as he tightly grasped his head in pain.
He then noticed something on the ground near him glimmer. It seemed to be a pendant. He bent down and picked it up. He observed the small yet beautiful object of an amber color. Something seemed to be trapped and moving inside it. It looked like some sort of liquid. He noticed a tiny button at its side and pressed it. The pendant flicked open and he noticed a small piece of paper on one side and some carved numbers on the other. However, the numbers were damaged and he was only able to make out a '3'. He fumbled with the item as he tried to take out the folded piece of paper from under the small claws holding it in place. When he finally got it out, he unfolded it and saw something of what seemed like contact information in tiny print.
Owner: Miyuki Asano
E 14, Amiran
x07-1396
Tokimekore HS
He stared at this for awhile, then returned it to its original place. Since he had no pockets, he hung it around his neck and left the tower.
The next day, outside of Miyuki's house stood Ciel. After a couple of seconds, Miyuki came out the door of her house and walked off with Ciel. A few yards away, a figure with red hair watched the girls.
Miyuki and Ciel sat in the café in Akasako, the usual place they hang out. In the café, it was crowded with several high school and college students from various different institutions. Weekends and holidays made the place much livelier. Miyuki and Ciel took a seat outside the café.
“So how is your injury doing?” Ciel asked, looking at the bandage on her chin.
“Well, it doesn't hurt as much as when I first got it… of course.”
“Hmm…”
“By the way, that was that beast from Reveria, right? Did you get the history of him while I was gone?”
“Yeah… To make it short, he's blood-crazy and has uber strength,” then Ciel thrust her fist into her palm, “And if I see him again… Oh, don't let me see him again.”
“Haha… Do you even know how he looks like? I don't think you got close enough…”
“Well, no… But… y'know…”
“By the way, why were you just standing there…?”
“I was not just standing there! I think there's a friggin' barrier around the tower… Thing is, I don't get why you could get through, but I couldn't.”
“Hmm… That is strange… I didn't even realize the barrier.”
“Maybe it's just as old as the village, so, like, it's dying…”
“Uh… maybe?”
Suddenly, someone walked up to their table and the girls looked up at him. He held out his hand, and there sat the amber-colored pendant.
“I think… this belongs to you,” he said with a dry voice.
Speechless and with terrified eyes, Miyuki could not take her eyes off the boy, his red hair blowing in the wind and almost expressionless face.
“Miyuki? Do you know him?” Ciel asked as she saw the situation.
Inside the café, a male student with a piercing on his left ear stood leaning on the railing as he observed the scene. The piercing was an orb, of yellow-orange color. Inside seemed to sit a tiny stone, in the shape of a diamond, practically invisible to the naked eye. His eyes were especially focused on the item sitting in the red-haired boy's palm. He then turned his focus on the girl of which the item seemed to belong. After observing for a moment, he turned around and walked off elsewhere.
