The next morning, massaging his groggy eyes, Ryuga woke up in his bed. It took a few moments before he could get over the hazy vision and see clearly.
The sunrays shone brightly through the window, filling the room in their illuminating glow.
"Haaahh, it's this late? The sun's so bright. Why didn't Iuno wake me up?"
Yawning, he walked forward and twisted the doorknob. The entire apartment was wrapped in a haunting silence, something that instantly disturbed him.
He turned to his right to check Kai's room. The door was open, but when he peeked inside, Kai was nowhere to be seen.
"He's extremely secretive and protective of his room. He wouldn't leave his door open unless he was in an extreme hurry."
But what could make the ever-so-calm, sluggish, and nonchalant Kai hurry?
Ryuga didn't spend more time in Kai's room. Kai valued his privacy, and Ryuga respected that.
He went further ahead and checked the kitchen, Iuno's room, and lastly the living room. No one was inside the apartment.
"They didn't go to school, their bags are still here. Nor did they go out to the grocery store. Their normal shoes and slippers are still in the shoe rack. And even their phones are still here."
Yet, there was no sign of them. The haunting silence now seemed to carry a voice. Whispering something, something inaudible, indescribable, yet still buzzing around his ears like a persistent bee.
Annoyed by the phantom noise, Ryuga decided to venture out and look for his siblings.
Thud—!
A sound dropped behind him, yanking his attention. He slowly turned around, only to witness a horror he wished he could forget.
A man stood there, wearing a black hooded robe. Though his face wasn't hidden… if he even had a face.
The man's 'face' was featureless. His eyes, nose, and mouth were all sealed shut with thread, tightly sewn closed. And the stitching didn't stop there. It extended outward, forming a 'D' shape with red thread. Peculiarly, the 'D' was mirrored and normal at once, joined together into a single eerie symbol.
How did this person live, breathe, eat? Ryuga couldn't tell. And that uncertainty alone disturbed him deeply.
"You seem calm. I haven't forgotten the terror on your face, so there's no point acting tough. I know you're scared."
A hoarse voice escaped the man's throat, as if he were scraping his windpipe raw just to speak.
"Don't you see these bodies?" the man continued, gesturing toward the two limp forms at his feet. Kai and Iuno.
"They're dead. Killed by me. You like digging your fingers into someone else's problems, right? Now see the consequence yourself. You lost your family!"
The man started to laugh crazily. The grated sound was ear-piercing, yet Ryuga remained calm. Seeing that calmness, the man's laughter slowly died. Tilting his head with curiosity, he asked, "Why are you so calm? Do you not care about your siblings? Weren't you supposed to protect them? Is this your promise… is this what your words amount to?"
"Hahahahahahahaha."
This time it was Ryuga who laughed like a crazed maniac. Brushing a hand through his hair, he smirked. "This is a dream, right?"
Splash—!
"Haaahhh… haaaaaah…"
Gasping for air, Ryuga jolted upright in his bed. His entire body was shivering with cold, as if someone had dumped a bucket of icy water on him.
Which was the truth.
Standing beside him with a small bucket was Sakuya. "Rise and shine, Mr. Sleeper. Time for school… I mean lectures. Or do you want to bunk your class? Well, even if you do, unfortunately for you, you don't have a choice. You need to accompany me to uni today."
Ryuga took several deep breaths, his chest rising and falling until he finally settled down. Just to be sure he wasn't still dreaming, he pinched himself.
Feeling the pain, he nodded earnestly and got up from his bed. "Yeah, it's been days since I last accompanied you. By any chance, is some lover boy annoying you?"
Sakuya shook her head, "No one at the moment. Life's been going fairly well… because of you."
"Well, shoving a bucket of cold water isn't the best way to thank someone in my good books," Ryuga joked.
"Hmmm… is that so? Maybe it's because our good books are different. I, for one, would definitely thank someone if they woke me, regardless of the method they used."
"This just goes to show how different we are… our compatibility is seriously the lowest."
Sakuya paused at his door, her right arm holding it firmly. She glanced back at Ryuga, a series of complicated emotions flickering through her eyes.
In the end, she smiled to herself. Whether it was genuine or self-deprecating… only she knew.
"Come faster, we don't have much time."
"Kk, boss."
After Sakuya left, Ryuga's expression turned solemn. 'That fucker came into my dream… killed my siblings. Is this some kind of sign? Perhaps it's my consciousness warning me about the plausible danger.'
'I did mess up his plans along with others. If they could target Hina, what are the chances they wouldn't target all of us? To truly be carefree, I need to dig deeper into this case. Know about this hooded gang of people. And eradicate them from the very roots.'
'So, let's summarise what I know for now. First, these hooded people are a superstitious cult group. With the way he talked about spirits, vengeful spirits and all, this much is extremely clear. Secondly, the man had a deformed face, which barely registered as a face. The most notable part was the mirrored and normal 'D' symbol carved into it. Maybe it was some kind of symbol… sign, perhaps.'
Suddenly, a memory struck him like a bolt of electricity. 'Wait a minute, didn't that body in the mansion also have a similar mark? The 'S' symbol. Perhaps these signs or symbols mean something deep in their cult. To reach the source of this shenanigans, I need to search for the meaning behind the symbol.'