The Storm And The Secret

He took off his shirt. His muscular body was exposed — scarred, beautiful, terrifying.

"Please," Yuki begged, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry I said that, okay? Please. I take it back. Don't hurt me."

He stopped. He sat on the bed.

"Leave," he said quietly.

She immediately sat up and headed toward the door. She hesitated. She turned around.

She heard the sound of crying.

"Rai," she whispered. "Are you okay?"

He whispered: "Just go."

She left the door handle and walked toward the bed. She pushed her hand forward. He flinched.

"Just go!" He stood up from the bed, his voice cracking. "What are you waiting for? You're scared of me, right?" He kept moving toward her. She kept backing away until they reached the door. "Aren't you worried that the monster in front of you could kill you?"

She finally understood him.

He was wounded. Badly. Deep down, he had a scar — a deep one. He pressed his hands against the door, trapping her.

"Why are you torturing me this way?" he whispered.

She resumed the tears. She hugged him.

He felt a warmth in his chest. He hugged her back.

They both cried hard.

She played with his messy hair, trying to form a smile.

"You can talk to me," she said softly. "I'm good at keeping secrets."

He looked at her — the second time in his life he had cried because of a woman.

"My mum," he said, his voice cracking. "She died while I was still little. I don't even remember how she looked like."

Tears poured down his cheeks. But he was still trying to smile. Who knew that the Prince of Destruction had a soft spot?

"Well," Yuki said, "my mum and dad got divorced while I was little. My mum got custody of me. The only thing I remember about him is my necklace. I never take it off."

She looked at the necklace briefly.

"I don't really know what it signifies," she continued. "But he said that it will always protect me when the time comes."

She laughed briefly.

"Sometimes I feel like my dad is crazy."

She laughed, hiding the smile.

He looked at her. "How did your mother die?"

He put his hands together like he was pleading. His cheeks were bright red from all the crying.

"Well," he began, "I was only seven when she passed away. But it's been ten years. I still curse my existence." He took a shaky breath. "My mum and I were playing in the field when the battle bell was ringing. My mum looked at me with pity. Suddenly, a man approached us. My mother covered me. She shouldn't have. She got stabbed numerous times." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I can never forget the scar by his neck. It was a bite scar. Arc-shaped — like teeth of a wild animal. I swear, any day, anywhere I find him, I will kill him."

Yuki sighed.

"So what did you mean by 'I don't want to lose you too'?"

He looked at her briefly.

"My mother's last words were: 'You're not a monster, Rai. You're my son. Never forget that.'" He looked down and then raised his head slightly. "That's why, when you came in newly, you weren't scared of me. You looked at me like my mother always did."

Yuki laughed silently.

"Too bad we were assigned to different teams."

Rai smirked. She stood up, took a bow, and left the room.

Rai sat there.

"Again," he whispered to himself. "I promised myself that I would never, but I just did."

He stood up, wore his shirt, and as he was about to leave, his phone rang. He was halfway to the door. He held the door handle, put on a cold face, and walked out.

Yuki got to Tsubasa.

"Basa!" she said, waving at him.

He turned around. "Where have you been? You've been gone for hours."

She brought out her phone. "Sorry, the person was an unknown number, so I wanted to block the person, but there was no reception, so I headed back."

He itched his hair a little. "Well, the teachers brought equipment for us to make a tent."

She took a brief look at it. "We are the other team members?"

He looked around, then pointed behind him. "Here they come."

She turned back, then looked at him. "Can I have the list?"

He gave her a piece of paper. "Here."

She took the paper and looked at it carefully. "There is another Yami?"

Tsubasa smirked. "Yep. But I don't know if he's Rai's sibling or cousin."

They all gathered and started introducing themselves. A girl stepped forward.

"Kumi Akamine," she said. "Younger sister to Kira Akamine."

She had golden eyes like her sister and golden hair.

"Tanaka Yuki," Yuki said with a warm smile.

Next was a boy with white hair and ice-blue eyes.

"Iori Yami," he said, looking bored.

"Raijin Tsubasa."

"Kobayashi Akihiko."

"Enma Kiyoshi."

Not too long after, they set up two tents.

"What's the order of sleeping?" Akihiko asked.

"We cannot let the ladies sleep on one side," Tsubasa said, "so this is what we're gonna do: me, Akihiko, and Kumi will occupy tent one, then the rest in tent two."

"Fine with me," Kumi said.

"Yuki?" Tsubasa asked.

"It's fine," she said.

Akihiko's face became brighter. Yuki thought to herself: Sharing a tent with a pervert and a total stranger — could my day get any worse?

At nightfall, everyone was settled in their tents. Yuki couldn't sleep. She opened her eyes and sat up. She saw Iori still awake.

"Why are you up?" she asked, looking backward.

He looked at her, then ignored her. It turned out that he had noticed her face when they were assigned to the same tent. She rolled her eyes, then cuddled herself. Iori thought if she had caught a cold or something. He put down his phone.

"Are you cold or something?" His voice was deep — but not as deep as Rai's.

"No, I'm just..." Words left her mouth. "I'm going to take a walk around."

She reached out for the zipper that led to the door.

"Do you want to get yourself killed or something?" he asked. "This is midnight. Creatures are wandering about. If they catch you, they could kill you — or worse, eat you."

She closed her eyes briefly. "Why do you suddenly care? Not too long ago, you were ignoring me."

His impression looked cold, then it softened up a little.

"Fine, I'm sorry," he said. "But why are women this difficult?"

She kept her eyes forward. "We're not difficult. We're just..."

He let out a mischievous smirk. "The jealous type who won't like to see a man with another girl."

She was about to open the zipper when he grabbed her wrist and turned her to face him.

"Why are you suddenly angry?" he asked. "Is it because I said the truth?"

She didn't say anything. She was panting heavily.

"What if I kiss you right here and now?" He shifted his gaze to her soft pink lips. "What do you think my brother would do?"

"You're Rai's brother?" she asked.

He looked back at her. "You haven't answered my question yet."

She hesitated. "I... I don't know."

The reply he had always expected.

"Well, in that case," he said.

He pushed his lips forward. She pushed him away. Opened the zipper and ran out. She ran as far away as she could. Then she stopped.

"I knew it," she said, her hands on her knees, panting heavily. "He's a pervert like Kiyoshi."

Something held her wrist tightly. She struggled to break free.

"Let go of me!"

Iori turned her around. He held her wrist again.

"Running won't save you," he said. "I can track your scent anywhere."

She smiled. "What do you want from me? Aren't there pretty heiresses? Don't you want them?"

Iori shifted her closer. "They are pretty. But there's a spark that belongs to just you."

She broke free once again. "What the hell is your problem? Instead of you to be nice, you're busy acting like a..."

He wanted to say the word. "Like a what? Pervert?"

She stepped backward.

"You know," he continued, "unlike my brother, I don't fake my attitude. I don't have emotional breakdowns. And most importantly, I do not fake my attitude. So sorry — I cannot play nice."

She understood the whole concept. He grabbed her again — this time, he pulled her to the back of the building where the teachers rested. He held her hands high.

"What are you gonna do now?" she asked.

She pushed her face to the side. He used his other hand and made her face him.

"Don't worry," he said. "It won't take long."

She closed her eyes in fear. She was trembling.

He stopped. He let her go.

"I know what you're thinking," he said. "Why'd he stop?" He continued: "I'm not a pervert. I won't just take advantage of a woman like that. But never try this with Kiyoshi. A piece of advice. I'm sorry."

Yuki smiled and let out a breath.

"You'd make a good actor, you know," she said.

He itched his hair playfully. "Yeah, heard it before."

Then he had a flashback of his mother.

"You'd make a good actor, Iori," she had said.

He smiled — but somehow, he had the ambition to cry. Yuki saw past his calm face and saw his wounded self.

"We'd better get back," he said.

He put both hands in his pocket and walked slowly. They chatted a little.

"So how did you get enrolled here?" she asked. "For all I know, Rai is the only child of your parents."

Iori giggled softly. "Well, I always liked to keep a low profile — that's why I hardly talk or even leave my dorm. I saw you the night that Yuri and Natsumi beat you up. I wanted to help, but... I decided not to. Yuri and Natsumi weren't worth that much trouble."

She didn't really understand.

"You know," she said, "if we had people like you as heirs, this world would be a better place — rather than all the discrimination that hurts people deeply."

He turned slightly. Then he heard growling. He grabbed her and took her to the nearest bush.

"What the hell?" she whispered.

He covered her mouth. "Keep quiet."

A massive four-legged creature passed by them.

"What is that?" she asked.

He replied shortly after: "Why I followed you in the first place. I had felt its presence — that's why I was up."

As he noticed that the area had become safe, he pulled her out of the bush.

"Next time you go scavenging," he said, "make sure to take at least a half-breed with you — if not, you're dead."

She rolled her eyes. Then they walked a little and got to the tent. Soon after, he fell asleep — and so did she.

In her dream, she saw herself in a white environment. It was filled with stars. There was a throne with a moon symbol on it.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Your home."

Her voice was ancient, but calm. She was graceful, and the night breeze was cold. She wore a white dress that poured behind her. It was cut open on her right leg, exposing from her thigh to her hip. She had white hair, flowing from her head to her waist. She had a beautiful face.

"Child of the Moon," she said. "Daughter of Destiny."

Yuki's face filled with curiosity. "Who are you?"

She stepped closer. "I am Tsukuyomi, Goddess of the Moon. That necklace binds us together."

She pointed at it. Yuki looked at it.

"No, that's a lie!" Yuki said. "It was a gift from my father for protection!"

The Goddess smiled.

"Mortals will remain mortals and will never understand," she said. She continued: "Go to the library. Look for the book that contains a moon crescent. Your answer awaits you. Explore."

Yuki woke up shaking, looking around.

"Who the hell was that?" she whispered.