Megumi’s POV:

When I woke up, my throat felt sore and my temples lightly throbbed. The rest of my body, however, felt relatively comfortable.

I remembered the events of the previous night up until I left the twins. What had happened afterwards?

“How are you feeling?” Yuki whispered as I sat up. I instinctively flinched, and then remembered the headphones he’d given me.

He was floating beside my bed, looking very worried and pensive.

I tried to speak, but no words came out.

Yuki nodded, left, and came back with a cup of water. After swallowing some, I croaked, “What happened?”

“You came home, and I helped you get to bed. Your parents were sleeping, thanks to a little spell made by yours truly. They think you’re suffering from some sort of jet lag, even though we didn’t travel very far. Are you feeling better?”

“I guess.”

“So what happened with you?”

I stared at my blanket. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You’re going to have to. Do you want me to take those away?” He pointed at the things perched on my head.

“You wouldn’t!”

“I would.”

For some reason, I believed him. His eyes were cold.

“I was kidnapped.”

“By who?”

“Some girls.”

“Their names? Ages? Physical features?”

“Why does it matter? Leave me alone.”

“Gumi.”

He reached out a hand. I flinched.

Since when had I become scared of Yuki? That wasn’t right. That was very, very wrong.

His face softened. “I’m sorry. I’d just like to know.”

“You won’t hurt them, right?”

“Why would you ever think that? Just answer the question, silly.”

“You haven’t promised.”

His face hardened again.

“I won’t make a promise that I can’t keep.”

“Then I won’t say a word.”

“Why are you helping people who tried to hurt you?” he yelled.

“Because they didn’t hurt me! It was unintentional!”

“Nakajima Megumi, please answer the question.”

I nearly stopped breathing. Yuki had never, ever, called me by my full name before.

“It wasn’t them.” I stiffly lay back down. “It was Kumo.”

This time, he was the one who froze.

“He was working through Suzuki-kun, and the girls were just a part of it. It was a warning. Happy now?”

“Not particularly.”

“What will you do?”

He didn’t answer. I felt a lump form in my throat.

“I’m going back to sleep.”

“I’ll be leaving, then. I have some work to do.”

“Then I won’t fall asleep. I won’t let you leave.” I glowered at the ceiling.

“Gumi ...”

“You can’t make me change my mind.”

“I know that.” Suddenly, he stood up and leaned over me.

“Yuki?”

“I’m so sorry.”

Then everything went black.

---

Yuki’s POV:

I fondly gazed at the sleeping girl in front of me. I had no choice. I needed to protect her.

“Love you, Gumi.”

Then I headed to the school garden.

It made sense that he’d attack her. I just hadn’t realized that he was willing to use other humans.

Then again, back when we’d worked together, humans had seemed so weak and easy to manipulate. 

“Yuki,” Rin greeted me. She and Len were gripping each others’ hands tightly, as if holding onto lifelines.

“Suzuki-kun is inside,” Len whispered, looking at the ground.

“He said that you would come.”

“Is Gumi all right?”

“She’s fine,” I answered. “She’s just resting. I’m going to go in now.”

“That might not be -”

“- a good idea.”

“There’s a boy with Suzuki-kun.”

“He’s scary.”

“I’ll be fine. Believe me.”

I was lying.

Suzuki-kun was in the school gym, staring out a window. Lying in a heap on the floor were three girls. One of them had cat ears. It took me a moment to realize that the ears weren’t real. Humans these days could be so weird.

Suddenly, Kumo appeared.

He hadn’t changed much, probably because he’d been sealed away under the sea for a few decades. I hadn’t changed much, either, but that was because I’d refused to leave my world after he’d been sealed away. Was it guilt? I couldn’t say.

His golden-brown eyes were the only things that were different. They had once sparkled mischievously; now they were blank.

“It’s nice to see you again,” I said.

“I don’t agree.”

“That’s a pity.”

“Really?”

I felt a giant hand wrap itself around my waist and lift me up. This was already going badly. I hadn’t eaten anything before leaving. How stupid of me.

Suzuki-kun gravely stared at us.

“Are you trying to kill me?” I asked.

“No. I just want revenge.”

 “Wouldn’t the best revenge be death?” 

He sighed and shook his head.

“Yuki – that’s your name here, right? You know, the whole time I was down there, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wanted you to pay for betraying me like that, but I didn’t want you to die, because I still love you. So, I reasoned, what could be worse than death?”

His words stirred up some memories in the very back of my mind. Hadn’t I asked him the very same question, right before we snuck into the realm of the higher powers?

“Are we sure we want to do this?” I asked, cautiously sweeping my gaze over the horizon.

“Don’t be a scaredy-cat! Besides, even if we got caught, the worst they could do is ...”

“They could kill us.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think we can die. But, you know, that wouldn’t be the worst thing.”

“What could be worse than death?”

“Well, we could be separated. After all, we’ve only got each other. Or they could kill one of us and leave the other alive. I think I’d rather die than be the one left alive.”

My eyes widened as I comprehended his words.

 “You wouldn’t!”

“I couldn’t, at the time. I was stuck. But then the father of those two Listeners - the ones standing outside - was kind enough to dig me out of the sea. His hobby, you know, is scuba diving. My container had somehow made its way to shallower seas, and I was found.”

I weakly chuckled, imagining the headmaster scuba diving.

“And then Suzuki released me. I really got lucky, coming out so close to you. And to think that you’d found a new master, too!”

My smile disappeared.

“Don’t you dare hurt her.”

“Do you think your threats can affect me? Face it, Yuki. You’ve lost.”

Suzuki-kun tugged at the end of Kumo’s long robe. I hadn’t noticed him walking over.

“Kumo, please don’t hurt onee-chan.”

A faint glimmer of hope sprang up in my heart. Maybe Suzuki-kun could convince him.

“Suzuki, we’ve discussed this already. Go stand over there and tell me when you see her. She should be arriving soon.”

The little boy frowned but obeyed his orders. The hope disappeared.

“How do you know that she’ll be coming? You can’t affect humans in a way that will harm them.”

“I woke her up. She’s coming of her own accord. That wasn’t very nice of you, putting a sleeping spell on her like that.”

“Her body was already exhausted. She required sleep. That’s the only reason it worked.”

“She’s here!” Suzuki-kun squealed.

My heart jumped into my throat and lodged itself there. This could not be happening.

‘Please don’t come in,’ I prayed. If the door opened, I might as well die.

The door opened.

---

Megumi’s POV:

The first thing I saw was Suzuki-kun, standing next to the limp bodies of Luka, Lily, and Iroha. “Poor girls,” I whispered. They didn’t deserve to have been pulled into this mess.

Suzuki-kun’s brow was puckered with worry. He was worried for me. That was sweet.

Then I saw Yuki, floating in the air, and the boy standing beneath him. This was Kumo, I supposed, in his human form. He had black hair, like Yuki, and light brown eyes. He was actually pretty similar to Yuki, only way cuter.  

I felt my jaw fall open.

“Yuki, you didn’t tell me he was this cute!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he sarcastically replied. “I was a little busy thinking about other things. Are you okay?”  

“I’m kind of tired,” I admitted. As if to prove my point, my mouth opened in a gigantic yawn. “Thanks to someone who put me to sleep and decided to come here on his own.”

“I’m protecting you!” he snapped.

“You’re not doing a very good job.”

“Are you sure she’s your master?” Kumo asked, looking confused.

“Yes,” I answered. “Do normal genies act this way towards their masters?”

Kumo considered me for a moment, and then smirked.

“Like grandfather, like granddaughter, I suppose,” he said.

“Well, I liked my grandfather, so I’m glad that I’m like him. Now answer the question.”

“Normally,” Kumo replied, surprising me with his compliance, “the masters don’t get to know their genies very well. In the rare cases in which they do, they usually turn out as equals, more or less.”

“How about you and Suzuki-kun?” I curiously asked.

“That’s none of your business,” he suddenly snapped.

“A bit touchy, are we?” Yuki called out. A moment later, he gasped in pain.

“Leave him alone,” I growled.

“No, I’m fine,” Yuki said, barely audible. “Gumi, you should run.”

“Onee-chan, you should leave,” Suzuki-kun agreed.

“No way.” I determinedly shook my head. “I’m staying right here.”

“Then you’ll die,” Kumo calmly declared.

“Yeah, right. Not if I can get Yuki to protect me, right?”

“He’s helpless. Unless you know how to give him energy without giving him food, you’re gone.”

“Kumo,” Suzuki-kun whispered, sorrowfully looking at the ground.

“Be quiet,” Kumo said, coming towards me. 

Then Suzuki-kun started running, faster than I thought possible, and tackled Kumo to the ground. His squirrel-like movements were almost comical.

I took the opportunity and yelled, “I call on the genie, Yuki! Ame!” 

Yay, the password has been revealed. -_-

. . . 3 chapters left. >.<