MYSTERY II: Revenge

“So beautiful~”

The clown gushed at the colour of Yukio's blood and pulled out the knife from his body, his whole torse sent signals of sharp pain to his brain as he gasped for air while clutching his wound. Yukio's phone fell to the ground and his earbuds disconnected, causing the music to play out loud. The clown giggled. “Oh gosh! To welcome me? You didn't have to~” Arlecchino circled around the injured man and crossed the distance between himself and Saqib. “Why hello again! Thank you for allowing me to finally enter this haven, lord ningyo.” Arlecchino bowed with one hand on his chest and one behind him.

Shit.. That illusion really did distract me! I didn't even notice him coming behind us!

Saqib didn't waste a second in stepping back and throwing the enchanted iron pipe into the essence of water. Arlecchino sounded a feminine laugh when the pipe bubbled before sinking inside the lake like the ship of titanic. The faceless ningyo screamed in the air, accompanying the dreadful laughter of the clown. The water boiled and by the time Arlecchino's laughter came to a calm, the screams had vanished along with the woman on Yukio's shoulders. Oxygen entered Yukio's lunch as a relief and coughed.

“What a kind yokai, you broke the curse by returning your mother's remains back in the lake!” Arlecchino clapped his hands together in pretend admiration. “My job was to make sure the curse doesn't pass onto Kaito and I did exactly that.” Arlecchino blinked with astonished eyes, the bells on his hat jingled when he took a step forward. “Does that mean you don't care what happens to the lake?” Saqib nodded cautiously, he was on a high alert. “That's right, do what you want with the lake. I'll take the kid with me and leave.” Saqib declared with dominance. His cold eyes was fierce for once. He may be a nimble and humble one but Saqib was still a superior being, full of abilities that once almost killed his foes.

Arlecchino, who had been a victim of Saqib's chilling blood lust, raised his hands up in surrender. “Of course! Take him away!” There was no remorse on his painted face, no fear but there was also no rebel or hatred in his eyes.

Nothing was going Saqib's way, the original plan was to break the curse, burn the lake down and kill Arlecchino. The bastard had arrived way faster than Saqib had anticipated, as if Arlecchino had never left them alone to begin with, as if he had been following them all this time….!

No, this is not the time to worry about that!

Saqib crossed the clown in the question, he knelt down to check on Yukio's condition. Yukio was a smart man, he prevented his body from causing any more bleeding by putting pressure on his wound. Good. Saqib slide his hand under Yukio's head to help him sit up. He could feel Arlecchino's eyes burning holes into his head, he could just come back for him later-

“Son~”

The ningyo's eyes widened when his mother's voice whispered the dead melody in his ears. Saqib had not heard anyone call him son in ages. Wet skin squeezed around his neck and his scales stood straight under his clothes at the familiar scent and cold touch. For the longest time, one single memory had been Saqib's yearning and nightmare that had haunted him at nights and rendered him sleepless for days. To think his nightmare would walk straight up to him and wrap him in it's embrace... Memories of past ached his heart when his eyes met the woman wrapping her arms around him, a gentle smile on her lips as her familiar green orbs twinkled under the moonless sky. “M-mother?” Saqib muttered in disbelief, his eyes glistening with unbeknownst longing. Yukio coughed in his arms, he punched on Saqib's chest with as much strength he could muster but it didn't reach him.

Arlecchino snickered with mockery at the display, not uttering a word. “Damn it all! Saqib don't listen to it!” Yukio yelled with his broken voice, his limbs felt cold and lifeless, he couldn't find the strength in himself to yank his so-called guardian back to reality. Fortunately, Yukio didn't have to try, The woman standing behind Saqib suddenly smiled evil, her arms squeezed tighter around Saqib's neck, quenching him for the needed air. The jester’s laugh echoed in the air, he was amused at the confusion in Saqib's eyes. “You fool!” Arlecchino mocked in-between his laughter. “You're still just a young child no matter how strong you are, a true mature yokai would never make such a mistake!” Arlecchino threw his back as if the circumstances was a freakshow on a circus and he was in the audience. The irony really.

“What the hell are you talking about!” Saqib barked, he was furious. He used his bare hands to untangle his “mother's” grip on his neck. The bells jingled when Arlecchino started to spin around by himself while singing an unfamiliar tune.

“You broke the curse that was supposed to haunt the generations of the Kanzaki family. It won't go back until it's done its job. Since it has no ties to the Kanzaki bloodline anymore, it is attacking the person who broke the curse- you.”

Saqib had already put down Yukio, getting back on his feet to break away from the curse's hands. Arlecchino was right, Saqib couldn't deny it. It was an error in his judgement, he never expected the curse put on his mother's face and come to haunt her own child, at the very least he had faith that he would be stronger than the curse.

I was wrong…!

Saqib would think about this after he had taken care of the bleeding child of his previous protector. He owed it to Layla. He looked down at Yukio who was screaming but his voice didn't reach Saqib's ears, something wet coughed out of mouth and nose and his ears started ringing. He looked down on his hand, his hands were wet with red. He looked back at Yukio again, the poor boy was crying as he tried to crawl towards him screaming his name. He could faintly hear Yukio call out to him. Saqib turned to glance back and was met with a wicked smile, it was not his mother but a painted face on damaged skin. The skin Saqib had damaged himself. Saqib gasped for air when the taller male pulled out the weapon from his back, what he just realized it to be the same dagger Arlecchino had stabbed Yukio with. Saqib stepped away stumbling.

“Oh lord ningyo, did you forget that you may be strong, invincible even but you're not immortal. You eat, sleep and breathe just like humans. You bleed just like humans. And you make mistakes just like humans. You are a monster but even monsters can die.” Arlecchino’s smile didn't reach his eyes like the painted one on his face. Many pops of colours on his face to present a delight of joy to his audience but Saqib could see through it, it was just a sorry excuse to hiding the ugly scares on his face, the scares that Saqib gave him and the scares that Arlecchino was ashamed of. “I thought I would help the curse fasten along, lord ningyo!” Saqib coughed up blood again, dropping to his knees and falling on his face. He could no longer hide his scales as they emerged on his skin. “Consider this revenge for what you did to my face.” Arlecchino mumbled and resumed his part on the stage he set, dancing his way towards Yukio that tried to crawl away from this monster called human.

His phone played a note from an old classical but it fell on deaf ears, Saqib found himself wasting away on the wet ground. As the ningyo lost his strength, the vegetation around the swamp started to die. Alas, all Saqib could see was the mother he loved but also hated, she was looking down on him with eyes full of contempt, she was waiting to take him back to the lake she once confined him in.

This truly is a nightmare.

“I knew I could never escape this damned place…”