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For one hideous moment, Maki saw the glint of the blade in the candlelight before the knife swiftly went down on her. She closed her eyes, waiting to feel the heat of the blade as it cut into her body.

Nothing came. In its place, she heard a shriek, a loud thud and a grunt of pain. When Maki opened her eyes, she saw Aoi sprawled at the end of the cave, unmoving. Gentle hands lifted her from the ground and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Maki,” a voice whispered into her ear. “Oh god, Maki.”

Her entire body trembled. “You came,” she said as tears appeared from her eyes. “You came.”

“Hush, now. Hush.” Yamapi soothed. “I’m here.”

They stood in silence, their arms locked around each other and Maki felt her pain and exhaustion ebbing away. Even without looking, Maki knew all her wounds were healed.
Yamapi forced them to part. “We need to go.”

“Not so fast, Your Highness.” Aoi’s voice, cold and calm, drifted toward them from the end of the cave. “We’re not finished yet.”

When they turned around, they both saw Aoi pick her knife up from the floor. Then as fast as lightning, she went for them.

Yamapi pushed Maki away as Aoi flung herself at him. The shock of the assault carried them both a yard or two along the ground. Maki gasped as she heard the blade tear Yamapi’s shirt. It tore the fabric not an inch below his heart but he caught the lunging wrist and forcefully threw Aoi off him. In a heartbeat, Aoi was on him again but, with a motion that was too quick for Maki’s eyes to follow, Yamapi did something that sent Aoi crashing into the opposite wall.

That was when Maki saw them.

Hooded figures poured into the cave and surrounded them in silent circle. Maki opened to call out a warning which turned into a scream when cold hands reached out and seized her.

“Maki!” Yamapi sprang forward but five Hollow People threw themselves at him and pulled him to the ground. He lunged, throwing three of them into the nearest wall. Yamapi kicked the nearest man and was about to strike the other when Aoi’s voice stopped him.

“I bid you to stop, Your Highness,” Aoi said. She was now standing next to Maki, the blade of her knife pressing almost gently into the soft skin of Maki’s throat. “Unless you'd like to see her blood on the ground.”

It was what the Hollow People were waiting for, the moment that Yamapi stopped moving, they took the chance to grab him. Yamapi did not struggle nor did he do anything to protect himself. His eyes never left Maki’s face the whole time they were tying him. That was until the Hollow People threw two bodies in front of him and he was forced to look down.

“No,” Yamapi said in a hoarse whisper- and then, like a man driven beyond all endurance: “Oh, good god! NO!”

One of the bodies on the floor stirred and lifted his head. It was Massu, bound and gagged. His breathing was ragged and there’s a red stain growing on his shirt around the dagger that was stuck in his back. His eyes met Yamapi’s then, as though that movement alone was sapping all his strength, he closed them again.

At his side lay Ryo. Like Massu, he was bound too but he was not moving. His eyes were closed, his face deathly white and blood-smeared and his clothes were deeply soaked with blood. Maki couldn't tell if he was still alive or not.
“Ryo!” Yamapi shouted. He struggled against the ropes around his body and tried to reach the motionless figure but a man grabbed him by the hair and pulled him back.

“Oh no, you don't. We had so much trouble putting him in that state and we don’t want you to undo it. Yes, I think he's alive. Barely.” The man smiled evilly, revealing a perfect set of white teeth. “Now touch either of them and that pretty human lady over there will suffer the consequences, right Aoi?”

Yamapi stopped but Maki could see him trembling. His eyes darted from Ryo and Massu, to Maki and lastly to Aoi. His expression clearly said that if only he could, he would love to tear Aoi’s lovely head from her body. Breathing heavily and eyes still burning on Aoi, he asked, “What do you want?”

Aoi smiled and lowered her knife. Maki took the chance to kick backward at the man holding her and writhe free but her efforts were useless. It felt like she was fighting a cold stone wall. At a loss for what else to do, she hung limp from her captor’s hand. Her mind sinking deeper in horror and anguish as their fate became clear to her, made known by the thoughts of these people that only she can hear. No, they wouldn’t let them escape and yes, they’re going to die here in this hellish place in the most unthinkable manner.

Meanwhile, Aoi walked toward the fallen prince and settled herself down before him.
“What do I want?” Her voice still retained its sweetness as she traced Yamapi’s face with the tip of her knife. “I want your heart.” The words, however sweet her voice was, did not sound romantic. She meant it literally, like a cannibal would say to its victim.

“Take it but you have to set the others free before you can get it.”

A soft laughter rose from Aoi’s lips. “Oh, really?” she asked. A trickle of blood slid down the blade of her knife but they didn’t see any wound on Yamapi’s face.

Then all of a sudden, with monstrous speed, her knife slashed across Yamapi’s chest, tearing the shirt and the flesh beneath. Yamapi didn’t even flinch; the cut instantly healed, leaving the dangling cloth and a small smear of blood.

“You can’t kill me.” Yamapi said to Aoi, his eyes mocking her. “Not unless I let you.”

Aoi’s response was a blow across his face.

“My dear sweet Aoi, if you have trouble we would gladly help you,” said the man that grabbed Yamapi’s hair. “We would happily hold him down while you hack at his chest.”

“Thank you Yanagi-san for the offer but I can manage it on my own,” Aoi said, her eyes almost seething with malice. “And there’s no need to hold him down. As long as that human girl is in our hands, he’ll follow our orders, right Yamaa-kun?”

Yamapi’s look was murderous. “If I knew this would happen - that you were going turn out like this - I would have never saved your life before. I should have let Ryo kill you.”

Aoi didn’t say anything, her face became hard and unreadable.

“He saved your life before?” Yanagi narrowed his eyes at Aoi. “What does he mean by that Aoi?”

“She didn’t tell you?” Yamapi said. “I bet she also didn't tell you that only a year ago she confessed her love for me. I wonder why she wants to kill me now.”

A hush fell over the room as all faces turned to Aoi.

“It’s against our laws Aoi.” A man said quietly from the back; his cowl concealing his face. Though his voice was calm, his raging thoughts came to Maki like he was screaming them, full of terrifying fears and painful memories. “It’s a crime that is punishable only by death.”

“Aoi how could you?” Yanagi whispered, scandalized. “You? Falling for a moon child? Have you forgotten what they did to us? To your family? To have that kind of feeling for an enemy is repulsive, unthinkable, impo-“

“Oh no, it’s not impossible.” Yamapi’s voice cut through him like a whip. “This is not the first time one of your lot fell in love with-“

The man from the back ran forward with unnatural speed and slammed Yamapi’s face down to the ground.

“Kill him!” the man growled, the cowl falling from his head to reveal a handsome face. “Kill him and we will forgive you for that crime.”

“Actually, that is my intention,” Aoi said. “I’m going to redeem myself from that shame by killing him.”

A long moment passed, the man staring intently at her face. When he seemed satisfied that Aoi’s telling the truth, he let go of Yamapi and moved back to the shadows.

Aoi’s attention fell back to Yamapi who raised his head and stared defiantly back.

It was then that Maki felt it, the feeling of being watched. She looked around, searching for the source, but all the Hollow People were staring at Yamapi and Aoi. Then her gaze fell on Yamapi and she instantly felt that something was odd. His face, which full of anger and fear earlier, was now devoid of any emotion except for silent anticipation. His eyes met hers for the briefest moment and he passed a silent message. ‘Be ready,’ it said.

Aoi wet her lip with her tongue and raised her knife slowly until it was pointing straight at Yamapi’s heart.

“Do it quick Aoi,” Yanagi said. “We still have some errands to do. You know Yosuke doesn’t like to wait.”

“Yosuke?” Yamapi said harshly; a new wave of fury grazing his features. “What’s Yosuke got to do with this?”

Maki saw a familiar figure slip through the shadows. She stole a quick glance at the Hollow People if they noticed anything but she only met their unusual blank expression.

“Yes him - the one and only,” Yanagi said. “Yosuke sent us here to help Aoi kill you and then after that we will find the Priestess’ children.”

“Children?”

Any reply that Yanagi might have made was lost in a burst of cries from the Hollow People. It seemed like half of them had gone mad and were now attacking their companions with their own weapons.

“What the-“ Yanagi’s words were cut off when Massu suddenly rose from the ground, his ropes falling from his body, and brought him down.

Maki didn’t know what happened next because her captor’s hand was suddenly on , squeezing the life out of her. Her captor knew that they had failed somehow and this chaos was a moonchild’s doing and he meant to kill her before any of her friends could come and rescue her. She tried to push him away but he wouldn’t budge.

Then something struck him in the back, so strong that Maki felt the force of it. His grip on loosened as he slowly sunk to the ground. Maki caught a glimpse of his back, saw his blood gushing from his wound when someone grabbed her and pulled her away. Her rescuer took her into a secluded corner, away from danger. When she looked up, she saw Tegoshi’s blood-stained face looming above hers.

“What’s happening?” Maki had to shout to make herself heard over the din.

“They’re under my control.” Tegoshi put a dagger in her hands. “Use that for your protection,” he said before he went back to the middle of the fray, screaming.

Clutching the dagger in her hand, she looked at the fighting and screaming mass, her eyes searching for Yamapi until she spotted him not so far away. He was kneeling over Ryo; his one hand at Ryo’s face the other ripping Ryo’s bonds.

It didn’t take long for Ryo to come around. Ryo only needed to take one look. He abruptly stood up and screamed to Tegoshi and Massu to get away. Fire erupted in the middle of the cave, catching the Hollow People’s robes and the flame began to spread over them with incredible speed.

The screams were deafening. There was a terrible reek of charred hair and flesh filling the air.

As Maki moved out of her hiding place to escape the thick smoke that threatened to choke her, she saw Massu still in hand-to-hand combat with Yanagi. Flames were already at their feet. With a growl, Tegoshi pushed Yanagi into the flames.

Then amidst the wild confusion of sound and movement, Maki heard Yamapi scream her name. That’s the only warning she got before she saw a red figure emerge from the smoke and fly towards her. It crashed into her and Maki felt something hit her chest hard. She keeled over backward, saw Aoi’s face inches above hers-

They both slammed to the ground and her body seemed to scream with the impact.

Someone tore Aoi off her and she felt her dagger being pulled from her hand. When she looked up, it was just in time to see Yamapi plunging the dagger into Aoi’s unprotected back.

Maki pushed up from the ground and became aware of the unpleasant burden in her chest. She looked down and saw Aoi’s knife sticking between her ribs.

She wanted to get rid of it, to pluck it from her chest, but she can’t move her hands. Her limbs won't cooperate. Her body felt like lead, her vision getting blurry.

Through the haze, Maki thought Tegoshi was next to her. She could hear him screaming to Yamapi but Maki wasn’t so sure. The sound seemed to be coming from a long way off...

Maki didn’t notice it when she stumbled and Tegoshi caught her. She only saw Yamapi rushing forward to meet her before the blissful unconsciousness finally overcome her.
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