Hoshimi couldn't sleep.
Kira was still a lump of gentle snores on the bed beside his, a small, oblivious presence in the large silent room.
[Something like this would never keep me awake, but t-there's been something picking at me the whole night, a gut feeling in the back of soul]
Hoshimi did not stir immediately, his gaze drifting to the ornate ceiling, tracing the intricate patterns of gold leaf.
[It's like an itch that I can't seem to scratch]
Hoshimi blankly stared at his hands, the veins that ran across stared back.
[I dislike this feeling]
Silence. Not the quiet of a sleeping house, but deep, heavy quiet pressing against his eardrums, almost a physical weight. A hushed silence that called for observance, a stillness that felt full with unspoken things.
He pushed himself upright, the cool sheets sliding away. His chest, where the blade had pierced him, felt faintly sore.
The fresh scar, a thin white line, was a new addition to his collection. He touched his cheek, tracing the line where he was bit.
A faint phantom ache still lingered, a ghost. It was unsettling, the memory of that bite.
He walked to the large bathroom where the marble was cold beneath his bare feet. The air in the bathroom was sterile, faintly scented with expensive soaps.
Turning on the faucet, the rush of water was almost too loud in the pervasive quiet. He splashed some cold water on his face, clearing the vestiges of sleep.
Looking into the mirror, his violet eyes, so composed as a rule, seemed to hold a flicker of something else.
[Fatigue must be getting to me]
He blinked and it was gone. Just his reflection, cold and detached as usual.
[Must be the lack of sleep]
He thought.
[Or am I really just going crazy?]
He went back to the main room, Kira still sleeping. He pulled out his phone, the screen glowing faintly, illuminating the photos he had taken in the basement.
The still images of the stitched children, curled in their glass pods, were disquieting in the quiet morning. He scrolled through them.
[I wonder, Elias must be planning something. To stop me from telling the authorities. What do I have to lose? But then Adrian would be set free, I wonder, what should I do?]
It was like a subtle pull, a whisper beneath his thoughts.
The silence of the room was loud all of a sudden; the lack of ambient noise was almost deafening. He attempted to concentrate, but his skin prickled with a strange sensation-a ghost of adrenaline, a fleeting rush of fear that wasn't his.
"Shit".
Kira was startled awake, her dirty brown hair disheveled, and her eyes wide open, blinking owlishly in the dim light. The cold air rushed down her spine, causing her body to shake violently. She scrambled out of bed, her movements frantic and almost childlike, as if she had forgotten how to move gracefully.
Then the sound broke Hoshimi's concentration, she jumped out, rushing towards the toilet, quickly brushing her teeth and rushing to fix herself, muttering apologies under her breath even though no one had chastised her.
"Is there something important today"? Hoshimi asked, his voice cracking slightly, still trying to shake off the peculiar unease.
"Um". She looked around quickly, her breathing unsteady, a faint flush rising on her cheeks. "Today is Mister Elias's birthday, w-we have to get up to service him today. I mean, we're supposed to… help. You know. Make sure everything runs smoothly." She wrung her hands, a nervous habit.
[This must've been the thing picking at me. I must've forgotten about his birthday]
Hoshimi waddled up to Kira, standing beside her as he grabbed his toothbrush, slowly brushing away his teeth.
What's the rush? It's not like we're servants, we're supposed to be bodyguards. This 'service' implies a level of subservience that doesn't align with our actual role here, even if it's Hex Academy we're talking about."
She twiddled her fingers and stared down at the sink, avoiding his gaze. "Yeah, maybe you're right. It's my fault for this. I just… I don't want to cause any more trouble. And by the way I'm sorry for what happened at the zoo, it was all my fault. I shouldn't have been so excited, so careless."
"Don't worry too much, it's not your fault. It never was in the first place, what could any of us have done to possibly stop it"? Hoshimi patted her head, stroking her brown hair.
"I should have never brought you two to the zoo, I was being selfish".
"What's the problem with being a little selfish once in a while? It's in human nature".
"I dragged you two there, I was complaining too much. I don't wan to be selfish, I want to be better".
"Don't. I like the way you are just now". Hoshimi spoke with a warm smile on his face, yet his eyes couldn't bother to follow his act.
"I've always been selfish, I guess that's one part of me that I couldn't change. Because of me, my dad died, and my mom got carried to who knows where. Did you know? After the authorities carried me off, they experimented with me". She paused, afraid to say another word. "I'm just being a bore again, I'm sorry Hoshimi".
"No". Hoshimi stared at himself through the mirror, his violet eyes pulsing slightly. "I want to hear all of it, tell me everything".
"N-no, I'm boring".
Hoshimi grabbed her shoulders and stared into her with his blank empty gaze. "You're not boring, on the contrary, you're quite a specimen. You're interesting".
"Really"? Her feet went cold, yet a steaming warm feeling flowed through her chest, she sighed as she held onto the hem of her shirt. "I want to show you something, it's something really personal… Turn around for a while".
Hoshimi looked away from her, his focus turning to the wooden edges of the door frame, his eyelids suddenly became heavy, like an imaginary weight was weighing on him.
"You can look back now". Kira spoke softly, like a whisper.
The moment he looked back.
She had her back faced towards him, her flesh bare for his eyes. Scars scattered throughout the slightly toned muscles on her upper back, it looked like large veins almost popping out of her.
Hoshimi stared at her with a blank expression on his face, his eyes staring down.
Kira stared back, her back still facing towards him, she spoke in a shaky voice. "During the time when I was kidnapped, they forced me to awaken my magic.. by more physical means, I was whipped like a slave. And even after awakening my magic, I was pushed to my extremes, my soul felt like it was going to shatter".
[The only way for a person to awaken their ability to use basic magic is for them to undergo extreme trauma. No wonder the government is forcing her to endure such punishments, that place must've been a torture ground]
Hoshimi's eyes narrowed slightly, his vision panning across the scars that laid across her.
[I'm going to fix this corrupt world,so no witch is forced to become a weapon and go into battle just for themselves to die]
Hoshimi stopped, staring deep into her wounds.
[Should I just make a run for it? Should I become a rogue? Take the path of defiance, disappear into the shadows and fight from outside? But what would that accomplish?]
"What is it? Why're you staring so hard at the scars? Is it really that ugly? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shown you. I know they're… horrifying. I just… I wanted you to understand." Kira quickly put her shirt back on, her movements jerky and full of renewed shame, running past him as she ran out of the room, her voice trailing off.
[Shit. Now I'm rethinking myself, I don't think I would be stupid enough to have the government come after me, at least without some immediate plan that ensures my victory. Someone like Sophia ... .she could influence the whole country, dismantle this entire structure if she chose, yet she didn't do a single thing about such systemic abuses. That bitch never does anything that doesn't benefit her. I wonder if she does not see this? Or does she simply not care, because it doesn't directly impact her 'goals'?]
He walked over to the sink, staring deep into the mirror, deep in thought, to the point that everything else around him started to blur.
[Why the hell am I so weak? If only I was smarter, if only I was stronger, even with Reina teaching me, I still came out mediocre at best. This is so fucked]
"Was I really this insecure? I guess this was the first time I really thought about myself, truly, deeply. All my self-assessment has been external, analytical. But this… this is different. It's almost unsettling. I should just suck it up and deal with it".
Hoshimi sighed heavily, his hands shaking at the edge of the sink, a visible tremor that belied his calm facade.
"I should get going now. Kira needs to be monitored, to ensure she doesn't do anything drastic. And Elias… Elias is a variable I haven't fully accounted for".
[I don't understand]
He opened the closet door, picking out a nice looking suit, choosing a dark, understated fabric.
[I don't understand why Audrey would trust me so much, all I did was give her hope, yet apparently that was enough. Enough for her to fix the problem with Domino by herself]
Hoshimi walked over to Kira's messy bed, neatly folding her blanket and cleaning up the mess she left behind, a small, almost unconscious act of care.
"And here I am, talking to myself after making fun of Audrey being schizophrenic. Maybe my self-awareness is just another form of madness".
He walked out of his room, slowly twisting the knob then stepped out into the seemingly endless hallway, the light peered through the windows like beams of light shooting straight at Hoshimi.
He walked out of his room, slowly twisting the knob then stepped out into the seemingly endless hallway, the light peered through the windows like beams of light shooting straight at Hoshimi, momentarily blinding him with their artificial brilliance.
His footsteps echoed in the lonely halls, the ornate decorations hung up on the walls seemed to blend in with the surroundings, the different items seemed to meld together, repeating over and over again, a dizzying array of meaningless splendor.
The door in front of him creaked open, Lucy stepped out, her dark blue hair and crimson red eyes lit up by the bright sunlight, a stark contrast to her usually muted expression. She looked… expectant, a slight smirk playing on her lips.
"What are you doing so early in the morning dressed up so nicely"? Lucy asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice, her split tongue flicking subtly. "Going to impress someone"?
"It's Elias's birthday".
"Hmm". She tapped against her chin, a thoughtful look on her face. "Aren't we supposed to be bodyguards? Do we really have to attend his birthday? It seems rather domestic for our duties here. And a waste of time, to be frank, given the chaos that happened a couple days ago".
"That's what I told Kira but she ran out anyways. Given her… previous experiences with authority and expectations, the others might take advantage of her. I'm following her to make sure she's not going to cause any troubles, or get herself into any more 'service' that isn't required."
"Oh, I forgot that you two were sleeping together, I wonder why she ran out so quickly. Is there something between you two now"? Her eyes widened slightly, a playful glint in them, her lips curling into a teasing smirk.
"Well, then can you wait for me here? I'm coming with you, so at least let me change first. I can't go to a birthday celebration looking like I just rolled out of bed, even if it is for Elias, the little kid". She closed the door loudly onto him, a faint click of the lock following.
"I didn't even say that you could follow me". Hoshimi crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, a faint, exasperated sigh escaping his lips. "It seems my options are limited. I'm a magnet for troublesome witches, it seems".
After a while she came out of her room, a long white dress that came down to her ankles, she was pretty, sparkling even, her long dark blue hair was neatly braided. "How do I look"?
"What am I supposed to say to that"?
"You should at least compliment a girl".
"I barely know you".
Her eyes widened slightly. "I doubt that. You knew my name during the entrance exam".
Hoshimi's eyes didn't flicker once, calmly replying. "You're somewhat famous around where I live, the prodigious witch who was kicked out of the famous Walker family".
[I looked up some students before the entrance exam, those of whom I thought had potential. I should get closer to her, I've already had a good first impression on her already]
"My condolences for what happened to your step parents, I heard about what happened to them, the rumors do spread quickly".
"Did you see it from the internet? That wasn't really the full story, I'll tell you later when I have the time, so you'll finally get to know me better". She smiled.
"You're just trying to fish for compliments aren't you"?
"What could you have been possibly referring to"? Lucy twirled around, her white dress flowing in the wind, showing off her outfit. "I would never do such a thing~"
"...."
"What's wrong"? She questioned, getting closer to his face. "Didn't expect me to be like this"?
"I've only ever seen you arguing with Neila or fighting, as I told you, I've never really gotten to know you properly", Hoshimi paused. "I don't know how you manage to stay so cheerful when you're born as a witch".
"I've always believed in the best of people, even within the most evil people, there is always a single spark that wants to help others". She walked through the hallways, her heels clicking against the steel ground, echoing loudly. "All we need to do is pull out the best in people, at least that's what I believe".
[Just as I thought. She's unbearingly naive, but what could I care? It just makes it easier for me to get close to her]
"Of course, it's in our natures after all, we're social creatures, meant to help one another. There's always a single speck inside us that wants to be benevolent".
[Most people don't like it when their view on the world gets contended, better just entertain her ideas rather than arguing against her]
"By the way, what happened to the guy that we were fighting elder brother with"?
Hoshimi smiled. "I killed him".