What should I do? I stand outside the warehouse. Well in the parking lot next to it. In my car, which is locked. So, I guess I’m not standing.
I take a deep breath and glance at the building. It wasn’t anything spectacular. It was a pretty standard warehouse.
“Don’t go there, Shiki. That’s Dashun headquarters. Dad says they do whatever they want whenever they want.”
A shiver ripples up my spine. Why am I here? I should just leave. I put my foot on the brake, and grab the stick in the middle to put it in drive when I stop.
I see his face. His light green hair falling in his face and his smile. His golden eyes shine with happiness and glee as he points at a simple butterfly.
“I can’t wait to start college next year! It’s gonna be so much fun and I get to hang out with you, Shiki!” He then embraced me, happy to be out with others.
I slide my foot off the brake.
I glance at the inconspicuous warehouse. They’re my only hope. I take a deep breath and throw open the car. The moment I step out my long hair starts to get tangled by the sea breeze and the smell of brine overtakes my nose.
“For Seimei.” I say, walking towards the building, ready to be brave.
“Where are you going?” A voice speaks up from behind me. I shriek and turn around to see a man with lavender hair. He raises his eyebrow, “Where are you going?” He repeats.
“Uh—” I start, dumbfounded. I stare at the man, trying to think of what to say, but how do you tell a person that your best friend has been kidnapped by his father’s gang. I mean, how often does that happen? And not even to mention I didn’t think I was going to encounter one of the Dashun gang members so soon.
The man sighs, “Listen cutie, I don’t have all day.” He glances at me, and sighs once more. “You are trespassing, but if you leave right now I won’t tell anyone. Go. You probably don’t even know where you are.” He says, walking by me to head towards the warehouse.
I think of Seimei again, “Wait!” I shout, very loudly I might add. The man with lavender hair pauses and turns back to look at me. There is a glint in his eyes, and he opens his mouth as if he were about to say something then thought better of it.
The man crosses his arms, “Cutie, I don’t think you understand where you are right now.” He repeats, meeting my eyes. I stare back, I’ve come this far and I can’t turn back now.
I take a deep breath, “I know where I am. And I’m here for a reason.” I state. The man raises his eyebrow once more.
He gives a small laugh, “And what might that reason be?”
I clench my fists, fighting away every instinct that is telling me to get in my car and go home, “I need help saving my friend.”
And he bursts out laughing. He starts to grip his sides before he finally motions for me to come closer.
“Alright cutie, I like your moxie so I’ll take you to the man who can help you.”
•••
I follow behind him as he leads me into the warehouse. He points up at the loft. “He’ll be up there.Good luck, cutie!” He flaunts away, heading to some weird office looking thing. He shoves open the door, “Yuri!” He calls sweetly, rushing in the door slamming behind him.
I look back at the loft and the ladder I have to climb to get there. I sigh and get moving. This is for Seimei.
I grab onto the rung which is cold to the touch. I swallow and start to climb. Everything is silent. No one makes a noise. The person up here should hear me coming. He should be making some kind of noise preparing for my arrival. I make it to the top of the loft. It is so eerily quiet. I feel the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck rise up. I look to the left and see darkness. I look to the right and see more darkness. Isn’t that just great? I walk to the left. My imagination happily supplies me with horrors.
A boogeyman waiting in the darkness.
A demon prowling somewhere in the rafters.
A ghost following behind me.
“They control everything. They even control the police.”
“Who are you?” A voice hisses from behind me. I shriek and stumble trying to get away from the creeper behind me. I slam my foot down and feel nothing but air and the sensation of falling. I close my eyes.
Something grabs my wrist and yanks me forward. I feel my feet touch the wood and then I stumble from the momentum and land into something hard.Then I feel a weight on my waist.
“You should be careful.” The same hissing voice admonishes. I look up and meet the deepest green eyes. And then I noticed that we are chest to chest and his hand is on my waist. My other arm is behind his hand with his arm at an awkward angle from where he had grabbed me. I feel all the blood rush to my cheeks. He could probably feel the heat they were putting off.
“Uh--” My brain is short circuiting because this man is incredibly hot. He has the most beautiful dark blue hair I have ever seen. He was built and he was tall. His piercing green eyes seemed to stare into my soul.
I think I’m drooling.
The blue haired man sighs, releasing me from his grip. Immediately, I feel sad and cold. He turns his head away from me, but not before I see a hint of scarlet on his cheeks.
Nope. Nope, no way. There is no way this god-like creature noticed me like that at all. He runs his hands through his hair, looking like a shampoo ad.
I’m definitely drooling.
“Who are you?” He asks, turning those amazing emerald eyes back onto me. My mind goes blank. He raises his eyebrow, “Well?”
I shake my head, “Shiki.” I watch as he tenses for a second when I say my name. But then he goes back to normal.
He leans against one of the poles that is holding up the rafter. “Okay, Shiki. And what are you doing here?” My mind goes blank again. It is not fair for a man to be this hot. Like seriously? He is almost as hot as Seimei is cute. But also his voice sounds familiar…
Wait… Seimei…
My resolve tightens, and I straighten my back, “I need your help saving my best friend.”
The man tilts his head to the side, “And what makes you think I can help you?”
I point down towards the office, “That man with the lavender hair said you could.”
The man clenches his jaw, “Dammit, Lust.” He mutters, staring down at the office with rage. He sighs and turns back to me, “Listen, I can’t help you, okay? I’m a force of destruction, not of help.” He looks at me for a second, then straightens up. He starts to walk away. My hopes dash onto the ground and I feel a new kind of chill. One of loneliness. I look down off the loft to the floor. I think of walking out. I think about going home. I think ofSeimei tied up somewhere crying.
“Please!” I shout, shocking both of us. “Please, his father’s gang took him away.” I say all this in a quieter voice, but the words start to flow out of me, “He has been homeschooled his whole life. The only reason he and I met is because Xerxes took him outside when he wasn't supposed to. He dreams of going to college. He smiles at butterflies.” I feel tears tracking down my face, burning hot paths on my cheek. “He’s all alone right now. I know he is. Xerxes said this might happen when he and Alan went on vacation.” I take a deep breath, “Please help me save Seimei.” I look up and am met by the fiery emeralds staring into me. I gasp and back up a few steps. The man’s face is contorted into anger.
“Are you talking about Alan Reynolds?” He whispers, but there is contempt when he says Alan’s name. Do they know each other? He moves his hands to my shoulders, “Are you talking about Alan Reynolds?” Then he freezes.... And he crumples to the floor.
That is because I had jabbed my knee to the strange man in his king jewels. I rush towards the ladder. This was a mistake. I should’ve just done it myself. This was so stupid of me. I make it to the ladder and feel a pair of arms wrap around me. I start to scream trying to break free.
“Shiki, calm down. Calm down! It’s me, Eligor!” He shouts and I pause. Eligor…
“Why are you so amazing?” He asked, twirling my hair between his long fingers. He pressed a kiss to my forehead.
The voices match, I whirl around and think it over. “Yeah, no way. Eligor has black hair and brown eyes.” I say, resuming my struggle. The weirdo grunts, and grabs my shoulders and makes me look him in the eyes.
He stares into my soul, “I am Eligor. And I can prove it.” He says. I get absorbed by his voice, but I quickly scoff.
“Alright, fine, prove you’re my boyfriend Go on, try.”
“You call Seimei, ‘King Bean’. You love hanging out with some girl that does art all the time and likes drawing the seven deadly sins. You love doing your hair in a high ponytail and hate when it gets tangled.” He takes a deep breath, “And you also giggle when someone touches you on your lower back. Without fail.”
My jaw drops and I turn red. He’s red too.
“Eligor.” I breathe, and then my rage takes over. “You left me. You son of a bitch. YOU LEFT ME!” I shove him away from me. Eligor seems hurt, but I don’t care. He just upped and left me, no warning a few months back.
“Shiki, listen. Please.” I stomp away. And right into another man’s chest. What is it with me and chests today? I take a few steps back and see a huge man standing before me. Holy hell, he is intimidating.
“Yuri.” Eligor growls behind me. He walks forward until he is standing a little bit in front of me.
“Envy.” The man, Yuri, replies. He looks at me. “You look frail. That’s why I told Envy he should avoid you. After all, Alan is always looking for ways to mess with him.” He says all of this calmly. As if it didn't really matter to him.
I shake my head, “Alan wouldn't hurt me.” I state, knowing it's true. He is Seimei’s dad, and Seimei is an angel. Yuri laughs.
“Alan Reynolds is a harsh man. I can only think of two people he wouldn’t stab in the back. And both of them to my knowledge are safe.” He glances at Eligor, who nods his head affirming what the man said.
I scoff, “Then why is Seimei tied up against his will?” I counter. Yuri stares into my eyes. He sighs.
“Because Shi doesn't care about what Alan thinks. He only cares about what he thinks.” Yuri says this all calmly, though his eyes are still harsh. Honestly, he would make a child wet their pets with that stare. Like damn dude, relax. “Shi won’t hurt him, he probably did it to mess with Alan.”
I look at Eligor, then I stare into the man’s eyes, “And what do you mean you told Eligor to avoid me?” Yuri looks to Eligor, who hangs his head in shame.
Eligor mumbles, “Shiki, I was afraid. I hang around dangerous people. I didn’t want you to get hurt.” He glances at me, “I left because Alan called me saying he had you in his house. That you were eating there with his son. That he could kill you if he wanted. I talked to Yuri about raiding the house, but he said it would be better for me to disappear. He said that Alan wanted me alone and that if I left you, he would in turn leave you alone.” He has tears in his eyes when he looks at me, “I left because I wanted you to live.” I stare at him. I think of my heart breaking in two. Sending him texts. Calling him. Going to his apartment he had vacated. I think of feeling abandoned. I think of Seimei holding me while I cried over Eligor.
I look away from him. I then hear movement. I look up to see Eligor going to the ladder. Yuri watches him.
“What are you doing?” He asks, his voice booming everywhere around us. Eligor looks back and meets my eyes.
“Shi probably won’t hurt Seimei, but King Bean is probably scared. So, I’m going to get him.”
•••
We sit around waiting for Eligor to come back. Yuri had ordered me off the loft, saying he couldn’t deal with me.I look up from my mug of coffee to glance at Lust. I don’t know him. At all. He is pretty though. His hair is such a pretty lavender and it’s long. Though mine is still longer. He has gorgeous eyes. Which have flicked up to meet mine.
He smiles at me, “Hey.” He purrs. I shudder a bit. He is kind of unsettling.
“Hello.” I mutter, glancing down at my mug again. It’s silent for a few seconds.
“Ya know, Envy didn’t want to hurt you.” I glance at him, meeting his violet eyes. “He hid his hair color and eye color so he could live a simple life outside of here. We don’t do much anymore, and when we do it typically ends with a fight. He met you, and I remember how excited he was. He fell head over heels in love with you.” Lust stops, studying me. I look back at him.
“It was mutual.” I admit, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks. Lust smirks.
“He is irresistible, though he is also incredibly stupid.” Lust sighs, “He could’ve done it better. Leaving. He thought if he disappeared everything would be okay. You would move on. But it’s not possible to leave without hurting someone.”
“He left me.” I say, feeling all the pain coming back.
He had shattered my heart.
Lust groans, “He is stupid. He probably is pissed as hell at me right now for bringing you here. Especially because it reminds him of his pain.” Lust pauses for a beat, “He is still very hurt.” Lust sighs, “Listen, what he did was shitty. He knows what he did was shitty. But, he genuinely was afraid you were gonna die. He couldn't lose you. You saved him from thinking he could only be a bad person.” Lust gets up. “Shiki, I know we didn't meet until today, but I feel like I know you because of how much he talks about you. Even now.” He smiles at me, but there isn't any malice, “I know you still love him, but make sure you respect you first.”
I open my mouth to respond when there is a loud thud. We both jumped up. Another loud thud and we run out to see Eligor in the front, lying on the floor. A bundle laid next to him. Green hair was poking out of the top. Seimei.
I run and fall to my knees in between the two of them. I look at Seimei. I see his hair falling in his face. I brush it back. I study him, but don't see any injuries. I looked over to Eligor, who just looked bruised. Nothing too serious. At least I don't see any blood. I sigh.
Then I smile. I look over at Lust.
“Help me carry them to a more comfortable place.”
••• A Few Months Later•••
“Shiki!” I turn around and then I’m tackled to the ground. I laugh when I see the green hair.
“King Bean!” I shout hugging him back.
“Are you envious, Envy?” I hear a teasing voice ask, I look up to see Lust and Eligor standing before us. Seimei gets up and then helps me up. He looks between the two of us.
“Lust, can you go with me to get a soda?” He asks. Lust smirks and nods his head. They walk away.
“Get me some water!” I call after them. Seimei gives a thumbs up. I look to Eligor, who seems nervous.
I take a deep breath, “You need to stop being nervous.” I walk forward and place my lips on his. I pull back and smile at him, “We’re gonna be fine.” Eligor smiles and presses a kiss on my lips.
Yeah, we’re gonna be fine.
.....
Hello! This is from the short story raffle I had on my Instagram (@alexandria.kayce)!
Go follow @kiaishi on Instagram and go read her webtoon 'Angelic Flight' on Webtoon and Tapas!
Thank you for creating these characters Kiaishi! Writing this has reawoken my love of writing short stories!
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