Chapter 28: Vow of the Storms

  Darkness.

  That was all she knew. A cold, empty void that stretched on forever, a perfect reflection of the hollow space where her heart used to be.

  Everything is my fault, a voice, her own, whispered in the endless dark. Ever since Jinlun. All I've ever done is put him in danger. Every beating he took... all me.

  She remembered the feel of his bruised skin under her fingertips, the sight of his blood on the cold stone of the dungeon. The memory was a phantom limb, an ache she couldn't soothe.

  I thought Hanyuun was the answer, the voice continued, a bitter, broken sound. I thought the small house Bob gave us was our freedom. I was wrong. Too naive. And now... now I've lost everything. My status, my power, my love. I am nothing.

  The darkness pressed in on her, a suffocating weight.

  If only I could turn back time... I wish...

  "Yu... Yukari..."

  A voice, faint and distant, cut through the darkness.

  "...Lin... Wa... wake up..."

  No one has called me by that name in a long time, she thought. Not in a good way, at least. Who are you?

  "Idiot... wake... wake up..." the voice called out again.

  Rude, she thought, a flicker of her old self stirring in the void. I'm not the idiot. He is. A small, sad smile touched her lips in the darkness. But looking back... maybe I am.

  She stirred, the darkness around her feeling a little less absolute now.

  "Should I... set up a funeral for you... or will you... wake up... please..." the voice pleaded, a familiar, terrible joke laced with a genuine, desperate concern.

  That joke... it was not bad. It sounded... familiar. She stirred again.

  "Should I call you by 'Snow Flower'... or will you wake up..." the voice called out to her one last time.

  Snow Flower... she thought, a wave of the old, familiar hatred for the name washing over her. That name... it always seemed to bind me... everywhere I go... But should I wake up? I might just hurt him again.

  Thunk.

  A sharp, familiar pain blossomed on her forehead, a sensation so real, so unexpected, that it shattered the darkness in an instant.

  "Ow... what..." Yukari's eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry, her head pounding. She was lying on a cold, hard concrete floor. Next to her, his arms bound behind his back by a thick rope, was Raito. She looked down at herself; her own arms and legs were bound just as tightly. Whoever had done this clearly thought she was the more dangerous of the two.

  "Is this... a dream?" she whispered, her voice a raw, hoarse thing.

  "Well," Raito's voice, strained but trying for humor, came from beside her. "Judging by how tight my ropes are, the headbutt I just gave you, and the very long, very real steel bars that make up the door to this cell... I'm going to conclude, no."

  "You... you gave me a headbutt, you idiot? Why?" Yukari said, her voice a mixture of annoyance and disbelief as she finally scanned the room. It was a simple, concrete prison cell. Steel bars served as the door, and a small, high-up opening with its own set of bars was the only window. It was night outside, and a single, pale sliver of moonlight shone through, casting a lonely light on the dusty floor.

  "Because you wouldn't wake up," he said, his voice losing its joking tone, replaced by a genuine, worried concern. "No matter how many times I called your name. I was worried."

  "I'm... I'm sorry," Yukari whispered, the fight leaving her as she checked her own condition. A sharp, throbbing pain in her gut reminded her of the kick she had taken. She looked down at her left arm, at the empty space where her silver bangle used to be. It was gone. Destroyed. She was... powerless.

  "So... what now?" Raito asked, his voice a low, tired whisper that echoed the exhaustion in her own heart.

  "What do you think?" she replied, a bitter, humorless laugh escaping her lips. "Enslavement soon, probably. Or worse, execution. Although," she added, her gaze drifting to the cold, hard floor, "a quick execution might not be so bad."

  "So that's it?" he asked, his voice sharp with a sudden, unexpected anger. "You're just giving up?"

  "Well, what else do you suggest?" she snapped back, her own voice rising. "I don't see any way out of this."

  "Even when you selfishly decided to work for them... without talking to me," he said, the words a cold, hard truth that cut through the last of her defenses.

  "Is this really the time to talk about this?" she asked, her voice a pained whisper.

  "Yes," he insisted, his own voice growing stronger, sharper. "Now that you can't run away. Not from me, not from anyone. You need to tell me... why?"

  His breathing had started to become shallow, a slight tremor running through his body that she didn't quite register.

  "Because I was scared," she admitted, the words a raw, choked sob. "That day, when Min Eun's goons attacked you... I was so scared. You were just... knocked out on the street. I thought I'd lost you. I thought I was too late. I didn't want to see you in a state like... like when we broke out of Jinlun's prison. I'm scared, Raito."

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  "So you decided killing people was a better option?" he raised his voice, his own breath catching in his throat, a violent shiver racking his frame.

  Yukari, lost in her own storm of grief and guilt, didn't notice. "What other options did I have?" she cried. "They promised to protect you. I had to take it. I can't afford to lose you. I..."

  "So instead of talking to me, instead of running away together again, you thought it was better to work for some deranged madman? To take his orders? To be used like a puppet?" he said, his voice full of a pain that was almost too much to bear. "Why wouldn't you just stop, think, and just... tell me?"

  "I don't know!" she sobbed. "I was desperate. I thought we were finally free here, that no one could find us in that small village. You were so happy when we made that first harvest. I didn’t want to ruin what we finally had. But my previous status... it just kept bringing us trouble. I'm sorry. And you..." She stopped mid-sentence, the words catching in her throat.

  "What? A dead weight?" Raito's voice was a low, bitter whisper. "Like how that Sacred lady told you? You really think I'm a constant thorn in your side? So helpless that I'm useless without you?"

  "No... that's not..."

  "Then... what..." Raito's breath was short now, coming in ragged, shallow gasps. His body was shaking, a violent, uncontrollable tremor that had nothing to do with the cold. "Hah... ha..."

  Yukari finally noticed. Her own storm of emotions receded as a new, more immediate fear took its place. "Raito? Kun? Are you okay?" she asked, her voice a panicked whisper as she tried her best to crawl closer to him. "What's going on?"

  "I'm... alright..." he said, his voice a strained, wheezing thing. "Just... you think you're the only one who's scared?"

  She scanned the room, the cold concrete, the steel bars, the oppressive silence, and it finally clicked. "You... don't tell me... this prison..."

  "Yes," he whispered, his body now shaking violently. "Not just the prison... hah... ha... but the fighting... the violence... all of it... it scares me. I'm so scared that I can barely breathe. This room... it reminds me of the torture I had to go through. But I always try my best to not be bothered by it. Even if I can still feel the pain all over my body most nights... I keep myself going."

  "Why?" she asked, her own voice a broken whisper.

  "Because of you," he said, his voice a raw, honest thing. "Because I found you."

  "Why?" she cried, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. "I kept bringing you trouble. I made your life miserable."

  "Do you think so?" he asked, his voice a little stronger now, a little clearer. "Look back on it again. Yes, we've had our downs. This prison, you lying to me, killing people... even if it was because you wanted to keep me safe... I still won't forgive you for that." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "We fight, we bicker. But most of the time... we're happy. We find joy in each other. Did we not?"

  The memories came flooding back to Yukari then. The laughter, their shared meals, the quiet moments in his small apartment, the quiet farmhouse, the harvest hijinks. Despite everything, despite all the terrible, scary moments, their time together had been truly magical. She cried even louder.

  "Then what should I do?" she whispered, her voice a raw, pleading thing. "My hands... they're dirty. I don't think I can ever go back... not with these hands."

  Raito took a deep, steadying breath, his own shaking beginning to subside as a new, quiet resolve settled in his eyes. "I... I don't know," he admitted, his voice a low, honest murmur. "I never considered myself a saint, so I can't redeem you. But Miss Yinzi once told me... 'keep on living, do good gestures so that it outweighs your bad decisions.' So live. Come back to me. Help more people than the lives you've taken. Don't give up."

  "I lied to you," she whispered, her voice a raw, broken thing. "Why... why don't you hate me?"

  "Because..." he began, his voice cracking with an emotion he could no longer hold back. "Because I love you. I enjoyed our time together. I enjoyed your company. I want you. I don't know what I would do without you now. Those days, when you came home covered in wounds... it hurts my very being. So please... don't do that ever again. Just please... stay with me."

  The honest, simple words pierced Yukari's heart. "I... I love you, too," she sobbed, her own voice a raw, honest thing for the first time in what felt like forever. "I was so scared someone would hurt you that I ended up pushing you away. Please... forgive me. Take me back. I want to be with you, too."

  Despite everything, despite never having said it properly before, the two of them shared the same feeling. They moved closer to each other, their bound bodies awkward and clumsy, until their foreheads were touching. No words were needed. Just a simple, quiet understanding as they shared their first, real kiss.

  It was a strange, desperate thing, a kiss of tears and apologies and a hope that had been lost and found again in the darkness of a prison cell.

  "Is this really the time to do that?" Raito asked, separating his lips, a small, breathless laugh escaping him.

  "You idiot," Yukari whispered back. "You were the one who started it."

  "So... still giving up?" he asked, his voice a soft, teasing murmur.

  "I give up... on giving up," she replied, her voice quiet but firm. She rested her head on his shoulder, and for the first time since he had woken up in this cold, dark place, Raito's shaking started to slow, his breathing returning to normal. Even in the worst situation possible, they had found a quiet moment of peace.

  Sniff.

  Raito sniffed the air. "You smell something?" he asked, turning to sniff Yukari's hair.

  This time, she headbutted him, but gently. "You idiot," she whispered, her voice full of an embarrassed warmth. "I know I haven't taken a shower yet, but I'm not that stinky."

  "Ow, ow... no," he said. "I meant... it smells like something is burning."

  Snap.

  The rope around Raito's wrist, the one closest to Yukari, suddenly snapped, a thin wisp of smoke curling from its severed ends.

  "How did that happen?" Yukari asked, confused.

  "I don't know," Raito replied, just as bewildered. "Maybe they made a mistake?"

  "I guess you are pretty lucky," she said, a small, hopeful smile on her face. "Quick, untie me."

  "Okay, okay," he said, and quickly began working on the ropes that bound her. He freed her legs first, then her wrists. And as he did, something small and hard dropped from his pocket with a soft thud. A small, red velvet box.

  "Hmm? What is that?" Yukari asked, picking it up as she was freed.

  "Ahh... stop! Don't open it!" Raito tried to grab it, but she was too quick.

  She moved out of the way and opened the box. Inside, nestled in the soft, red velvet, was a simple silver ring with a sakura-shaped diamond on it.

  "This is beautiful," she whispered, her eyes shining. "It looks like the sakura petal we found that one time." She looked at him, a flicker of her old, teasing anger returning. "Who is this for? Don't tell me... it's for one of those girls who approached you during the Harvest Festival?"

  "It's for you," he said, his voice a raw, honest whisper.

  "Huh? Me?" she asked, her face turning a deep, beautiful shade of red.

  "I've been holding on to it," he explained, his own voice a little shaky. "I was planning to propose to you, the day I got attacked. The walk, all my plans to take you out... it was all for that. But we never had the chance."

  "Yes!" Yukari lunged at him, kissing him again, her whole body a testament to a hope she thought she had lost forever.

  "I didn't even ask yet," he said, surprised.

  She pulled back, giving him the velvet box. "Then ask me," she whispered.

  Raito took the box, a new, confident smile on his face. He knelt on one knee.

  "Yukari Mei," he began, his voice clear and strong. "Your time spent with me has made me the happiest man in the world. I love you. All of you. Even if you are a Lady Huanli-obsessed nerd. Will you... will you spend the rest of your days with me?"

  "That was a terrible proposal, you idiot," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "But yes. I also love you. I want to spend my days with you."

  He slid the ring onto her finger, and as it settled into place, a small, white light flickered inside the sakura-shaped diamond.

  Raito stood up, and the two of them hugged, sharing another, longer kiss. It was a vow, a promise for a new beginning, made in a lone prison cell with only the moonlight as their witness.

  "So," Raito asked, a familiar, mischievous glint in his eye. "Breakout?"

  "Just like in Jinlun," Yukari replied, a wide, honest smile finally returning to her face, ready for anything.