The next day...
Minato woke up with a long yawn, stretching his arms over his head. The dull ache he expected from the fight with the manticore... wasn’t there. No burning in his legs, no throbbing from the bite on his neck. Just the little mory of pain.
But sothing else made his heart sink.
Alia...curled up in the chair beside him, her head resting against the edge of the mattress, fast asleep. Her hair was ssy, her breathing soft, and her fingers were still lightly gripping the side of his blanket... as if she’d been holding onto him all night.
Minato froze.
"...Alia..." he whispered.
Carefully...more carefully than he’d handled any weapon...he slid out from the bed and stood beside her. He hesitated for a mont, then slowly slipped his arms under her. She stirred slightly, letting out a small sigh, but didn’t wake.
He lifted her gently, carrying her like sothing fragile.
Putting her on his bed, he pulled the sheets over her shoulders, tucking them in to keep her warm. Her face relaxed instantly, tension lting away.
Minato stood there for a long mont, staring down at her.
His chest tightened...not from pain but sothing he didn’t want to na yet.
"...You stayed the whole night," he whispered with a faint, embarrassed smile. "Idiot."
He brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face...
Then he turned to leave, easing the door open as quietly as possible, careful not to wake her. Slowly, he stepped into the hallway, the tile floorboards creaking lightly under his weight.
The morning air was very cool, but the sun had not yet risen to brighten the environnt. Shadows stretched long across the empty halls, the silence broken only by his quiet footsteps.
Peering over the railing, Minato’s eyes caught movent below him. Three figures, dressed entirely in black hoodies, darted into the forest area behind the Palace. Sothing about their speed and precision set off alarms in his mind...
Curiosity...and a nagging sense that sothing wasn’t right...pulled at him. He weighed his options, then decided to follow.
He jumped down from the railing, landing softly on the ground...using the wind abilities he had gained from enslaving Radelia, but a frown crossed his face...
He adjusted his footing and began moving after the hooded figures; his every step was calculated, blending into the shadows as he followed their trail into the forest...
He kept a good amount of distance, moving silently across the forest trees. Even the birds weren’t awake yet. Only the distant rustle of leaves responded to his footsteps...
As he approached a treeline, one of the hooded figures glanced over their shoulder. Minato instantly ducked behind a large grass, holding his breath.
Then the mont passed...
The three hooded people paused at the entrance of a massive cave before glancing over their shoulders, and then they all entered inside.
Minato narrowed his eyes in suspicion...only for a soft voice beside him to nearly make his heart explode...
"Co on, what are you waiting for? Let’s go check it out."
Minato quickly turned his head to the side.
Deborah stood there in her pink pajamas, clutching a plushie tightly to her chest, crouched beside him as if she’d been hiding with him the entire ti.
"DEBOR—!"
His voice cracked in shock, loud enough to almost blow their cover.
He imdiately slapped a hand over his own mouth, eyes wide.
Deborah blinked up at him, completely unfazed, hugging her plushie tighter.
Her pajamas were wrinkled, her hair ssy from sleep, and she looked like she had simply wandered out of bed and into a secret operation in the forest.
She tilted her head. "What? Why are you screaming? You scared ."
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Minato whispered harshly, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Why...how...why are you even awake by this hour?!"
"I saw you jump from the hallway railing," she whispered back casually, as if this were not the worst possible mont. "So I followed you. Besides..." She hugged her plushie and peeked toward the cave entrance. "It looked interesting."
"Interesting...Deborah? That’s a cave. A suspicious-looking cave. With hooded people. Who might be very hostile!" he added.
She raised a finger to his lips. "Shhh. They’ll hear you."
Minato froze. She was right.
He glanced back toward the cave. The last hooded person had fully disappeared inside, and the forest returned to its heavy silence.
He gulped down his saliva, whispering urgently, "Deborah, you need to go back. Right now. This is not..."
Her eyes glead with excitent.
"No. We’re already here. So let’s go check it out."
Minato almost passed out from stress.
"No, no, no...Deborah, this is literally the worst possible...STOP CRAWLING FORWARD!"
But she was already moving through the bushes toward the cave, plushie tucked under her arm like she was heading to a sleepover adventure instead of a deadly mystery.
Minato dragged his hands down his face in agony.
This was not how he imagined his morning. Not at all.
And yet...he had no choice.
If he didn’t follow her, she would walk straight into an unknown area, alone, which might be dangerous to go alone.
"...I swear," Minato muttered under his breath, creeping after her, "Alia is going to be so pissed."
They both reached the cave entrance within seconds, pushing aside the last line of bushes.
A wave of hot air blasted out, thick and humid, like sothing inside was alive and breathing.
Minato froze instantly. His throat went dry, and he swallowed hard as sweat prickled down his spine.
Deborah casually tapped his shoulder with one finger.
"Why do you look so nervous?" she asked, her voice was flat...as if they weren’t standing in front of a possibly dangerous cave at dawn. "Are you forgetting who’s with you right now?"
Minato blinked twice...Then it hit him all at once.
Right...the girl beside him...the one wearing bright pink pajamas and holding a plushie...was not just so sleepy airhead.
She was Alia’s senior sister...
A grand vampire with power that probably made any species, dragons, elves, succubus, etc, nervous.
Deborah noticed his realization and smiled very lightly.
"Good. Now you understand."
She stepped a little closer to the cave, the hot air pushing her hair back.
"No matter what is in there," she said calmly, "it won’t be a match for ."
Minato stared at her, a mix of relief and fear twisting in his chest...
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