Chapter 19: Let's Go

April chuckled in a reserved manner as she felt Saka's gaze weighing down on her.

His eyes were hiding a dark emotion behind while his pale face was indifferent as usual. He heavily asked:

"You enjoyed getting cut up, didn't you?"

April remembered all those times he received painful wounds all over because of her or when he tried to protect her and swallowed. This was not good.

"Well, I know I'm not a masochist… so I felt agonized as much as you did."

Saka tilted his head and blinked at her. His eyes dimmed and his whole face darkened. She started seeing inside his head. There was a black pit on the ground. White flames were furiously burning inside it. Taking a mental peek inside the hole, April shuddered and had to shut her eyes when she saw what was being burnt inside it.

"I said I was sorry, lobo!"

[If this Soul Tie breaks, I'll break your bones, skin you, burn you and then do it all over again if you regenerate.]

The telepathic threat was inaudible to the rest of the elves; thus, it sent a visible tremor throughout April's body before a deep primal fear choked her heart.

The pale boy clenched his jaws and indifferently sat on a rock; eyes still dull.

April shuddered. When a hand touched her back, she squealed and jumped in a startled face. She met with Safatore's eyes.

"Are you okay?" Safatore cautiously asked.

April furtively glanced at Saka before she chuckled sheepishly.

"Who, me?"

Who else? She was just given a threat telepathically by the most handsome boy in all dimensions. How the hell would she be okay?

"I'm perfect!"

She turned away from the blonde and mimed a silent scream.

"Not good… not good!"

"Well!" Kuri chirped. "As I promised. Time for you to enter."

April turned to the samurai as she finished cleaning her armor and scoped the area.

"Enter? Enter where? This is just a mountain. I didn't see any building or settlements when I dove from the sky."

Correction, when she fell from the sky.

There was a sudden laughter in unison from the elves – all except from Saka, of course – and Kuri turned to April with a sheepish grin.

"That's the idea of a cloak. No one's supposed to see it. No matter where they are."

April frowned in confusion. A cloak? What, the whole mountain was Xander? That would be preposterous. As if reading April's thoughts, the samurai lightly laughed and sheathed her sword.

"You really don't know. Are you sure you're not a monster?"

But when April gave her a retorting scowl, she smirked.

"Relax, Precious Thing. You'll find out soon enough. Kakuro, now."

The other samurai marched up to the older girl and clenched her jaws.

"You know, it would have been better if a single person was needed to activate this, preferably you."

And after receiving a warning glance from Kuri, Kakuro sighed and pulled out a certain length of her katana out of its sheath. Following Kuri's lead, she gripped the blade and winced when blood seeped out. Quickly, the samurai sisters squeezed out as much blood onto the ground following an opposite shape on both directions that resembled a rectangle.

Right after the shape was drawn out of red blood, it vanished… and then shone a bright white light, almost forcing April to hide her eyes.

"Cloak, hey? Won't that shine attract enemies from far away?"

The samurais smiled wryly while golden lights shone in their palms. Kakuro shook her head.

"You think it would, but the cloak ensures nothing else sees it."

Kuri shrugged.

"Either that or it's visible to elves and us only." She gave April a mischievous look. "And that's how I know you're not entirely a monster."

April's face inflated.

"Not entirely?!"

But when the others laughed and relaxed, she realized it was just a joke.

Some joke.

"Rhubarb…"

The light finally dissipated and left a black outline resembling a door on the rock. This door suddenly cracked, sunk into the mountain and voila! It turned into inclining steps.

While April's mouth hung open, the samurai bowed courteously for everyone else to enter. Safatore entered first, followed by Akka, Eon, and before Semacoar stepped in, April zoomed past and overtook the two girls. She swiftly came to clasp onto Safatore's hand.

The blonde gave her a confused look.

She grinned sheepishly up at him.

"I'm claustrophobic. I need a big strong man to protect me."

That was a lie. She didn't want to walk in front of Saka after that morbid outburst.

Safatore was however not privy to that internal conversation, so he just gave April a dazzling smile and held her hand snugger.

He was a big strong man, after all.

The rest of the elves finally entered the steps and the entrance sealed all by itself, grinding rock audible for a second. Everything went dark and April felt petrified for a moment, before a blue bioluminescent glow filled the whole space. They were in a tunnel heading down. To the center of the mountain? Was Xander underground? How come no one thought to inform her?

She turned and glanced back at Kuri from the front of the line.

"Ms. Older Samurai senpai… I hope you're not mad about me stabbing you. I don't know how I did it but it was a mistake."

Both twin samurais smiled. Kuri replied:

"Fret not, Precious Thing. What's done is done. I will hold no grudges against you protecting your hide."

"Oh, phew!" April heaved a relieved sigh.

"I will only enact my revenge on you for figuring out my Dream Pocket's structure."

April went wide-eyed.

"Wait. What?!"

"And it'll be as swift as lightning and reeking of death." The woman clenched her hand around her katana hilt, her blue eyes glowing brighter than the bioluminescent plants in the tunnel.

April's jaw dropped. "Wait, wait! You can't…"

April didn't know what to say. She looked up at Safatore who fluttered his lashes and looked away, clearing his throat. A biting silence followed. April clenched her jaws.

Everyone was silent, until:

"...Kuri." Saka softly called from the back of the line. "The Shinonome name didn't suffer because of this."

The samurai lowered her head with reddening cheeks.

"I apologize, benefactor. My pride is wounded. I can't let it go!" She whined and buried her face in Kakuro's neck.

April blinked in surprise. This woman was such a character.