Blood Of Platinum
Chapter 7. The World of Day and Night bag. 4
Kino looked at the silent Ryou. His face was slightly bowed and looked sad. Kino did not understand why her sister had suddenly been silent like that.
“Ryou, what's up? Are you sick?”
“……”
“Ryou?”
Ryou did not respond. Kino became anxious because that attitude was like never before. He held her hand and smiled, hoping she would talk.
“What's up? If Ryou doesn't talk I won't know what you're thinking. Is it because of the food or something else?”
“……”
“Are you so surprised by my question to Kaito-san about the possibility that we should have weapons? I beg you to answer me, Ryou”
Ryou started to respond. He looked at the sister's face with a strange look. As if showing a look of regret.
“I realized something when you told Kaito that we couldn't possibly continue to depend on him. We have to find a way to get back. Did you forget that we're stuck here because of my mistake?. I put our situation in danger like this”
“Ryou. Anyone wouldn't have thought such a coincidence”
“It wasn't a coincidence!!” Ryou started to scream. His eyes began to red as if holding back tears
“When I realized the book was weird, I knew I had to hold myself back and ignore it but I couldn't. I became curious as if something was interesting to me and I showed you everything I found to you. If I hadn't been careless and hadn't injured your finger back then, we definitely wouldn't have been like this”
Neither Kino nor Ryou had ever expected to be caught up with this situation. But, didn't they previously choose to believe in the reality that Kaito said? Why are all those regrets coming now? They have faced their difficulties and most importantly they are still alive.
But it turns out Ryou did not fully accept that. She remembers waking up this morning to wake up late and throwing an alarm clock in her room.
He remembers the father taking them both to school and getting a late return permit. He still remembers the faces of his parents and friends at school. He remembered that the two of them had just had dinner together while waiting for their parents to return. He remembered all of that clearly.
But now he was facing an unreal situation that quite shook the mentality of the two. And all of that was his fault.
Ryou blamed himself. Looking at her brother's face, she couldn't do anything to the tears that suddenly came out. She cried.
“I don't want to be like this. I never meant to get you in trouble. I tried my best to be normal with you and Kaito because I was already in trouble. But, there is no guarantee for us to return after this. Hiks...”.
“Ryou..
Not wanting to see her sister cry, Kino wiped the tears from her face and hugged her. A gentle hug that held Ryou tightly and made him feel warm. Rubbing the back of the sister's head in an embrace, Kino said softly.
“Ryou. I'm glad we're still together even under these circumstances. Everything will be fine..”.
“……”
“Again, Ryou has done a great thing. You managed to save Kaito-san, you also managed to defeat the dark wolf while at the altar. Thanks to you, Kaito-san managed to find her sword back. It was amazing and all that only Ryou could do. Don't say that all this is your fault”
“……”
“See me. We're gonna be fine. I will also fight, so Ryou will also have to fight. I would love Ryou to be the Ryou I used to know”
Taking off her tight hug, Kino started to wipe back her sister's tears and smiled. Seeing Kino's smile, Ryou couldn't help but feel calm. He smiled and they laughed. A warm view in the morning.
Kaito listened to all the warm conversations between the brothers from behind the outside of the door and smiled. After that, he turned his body around and went down the stairs.
******
In the city, it looks like a lot of stalls have been opened. Kaito is walking along a narrow road that is not much passed by residents. After exiting the alley, he finally reached the big street in the center of the city. The situation there is more crowded than ever.
It is not just the merchants at the stalls and shops, there are singers and street dancers, attraction players and more. A bright atmosphere enveloped the city. A completely different view from last night. His heart murmured to see all these things.
‘Truly a terrible world. Only when the sun rises can I see all these sights. After the sun goes down, I have to bet my life just to walk out. Can't spend much longer. Moreover...’
In his mind, he remembered the two brothers who were now with him. Kaito had decided not to involve them in the matter even though it had already been done. He still has to find his memory pieces in one of these ‘world’. It is not easy to get a clue if the repetition continues to occur.
‘The brothers should get out of here soon. If only my memory pieces were in this place maybe everything would be easy. Obviously, I have to prepare everything I need. I also need a spare weapon and also think about the worst possible’
Kaito has set his goal. While walking, he reached a weapon shop, [Magasin d'armes].
Kaito walked into the store because the outside appearance of the store looked convincing. The scenery he saw was right, a lot of weapons with high quality and of course expensive, but that was not his main focus. Without further ado, Kaito came to the cashier's desk and placed the cloak-wrapped sword without opening it to the shopkeeper.
“I need a powerful weapon. Give me all the best you've got.”.
The store owner panicked and immediately asked his employees to find his order. Kaito was really impressed like robbing rather than buying. The shop employee showed him some weapons. After seeing the details of the weapon, Kaito's gaze was fixed on something that caught his attention.
“This object..”.
“This shield is named [Bouclier d'amethyste] sir. This shield has a purple-colored stone the size of an adult fist in the middle as its core”
“Is this thing strong enough to withstand an attack?”
“This object is just finished I made and this is still a sample model, never tested. However, the material I used to make it is quite step”
“Material step you said?”
“Have you ever heard of a metal named [Graphene]? It's the best material for making weapons. In addition, weapons made with graphene have a lighter weight than weapons in general so it is easy to carry, even by beginners though”
“What a beginner who has never hunted or fought with wild animals can also use this shield to survive?”
“Absolutely. I think this shield is strong enough to be used as a defense in hunting”
“How sure are you of the power of this thing?”
“I am very sure this object is able to withstand collisions as hard as anything but for the limitation of use I think it depends on the user. If you want, I can give it for free as a gift because I have bought many weapons in this store”
“I picked up this thing”
It was not really the shield that caught his attention, but the purple-colored stone that was there that caught his attention. He thought it might be one of his memories. But when touched, the stone did not enter his body.
Although not as expected, but he managed to find an interesting object for the two brothers.
‘With this shield, at least they can maintain their own life’
Kaito finally finished selecting all the weapons he needed then suddenly said to the store owner “I bought everything I've chosen this”
The waiter seemed happy to hear it. But not for long, Kaito pointed at the sword wrapped in a robe on the cashier's table.
“All these items I'll pick up later in the afternoon. My sword is his guarantee”
The shopkeeper was initially very doubtful. However, as Kaito opened the cloak that wrapped him, the shopkeeper looked at his sword and smiled very widely. He was surprised by the beauty of his double-edged sword and realized the carvings on the sword hilt were very detailed, beautiful and unique. It made the shop owner without hesitation accept it.
“Oh, this sword is really beautiful. Are you sure a sword as beautiful and expensive as this is used for guarantee?”
“ Very sure. I have a little other business after this and it is impossible to take all this stuff with me, so I will pay for it once I am done with my other business. When I come please prepare everything I ordered on the table”
“Good, I understand sir. I will keep this sword. For his robe, even though it was made of a very expensive and beautiful material but it seemed like my shop did not need it. I return it to sir. Please”
“Thank you. Please do as I said just”
After that Kaito went out of the shop and went somewhere else.
Along with Kaito who goes to the city to go buy supplies and weapons, the situation at the Yuki brothers' place gets better.
“Kino... do you think father and mother will realize that we disappeared?”
“I'm not sure. Maybe they'll be worried if they find out their two kids are missing”
“I remember this morning mom woke me up because you didn't want to do it”
“I told you I gave up because Ryou won't wake up even though I woke up three times today”
“In hindsight, we just had dinner before coming here. What does it mean in Japan is also morning?”
“I don't know. It's possible”
In the room, they started talking a lot and the second face seemed to enjoy the conversation.
“In the anime-anime that I often watch while at home, usually people who are trapped in another world have a different flow of time with their world. It is possible that our time flow is so”
“But, isn't the anime Ryou saw about people going to another world after they die in their original world? Unlike them, Ryou and I are still alive. So, it is difficult to imagine that it is true as in anime”
“Oi. I don't want to cry in your arms anymore, understand”
Kino laughed at his sister's words. With a smile, he just said “forgive me” and Ryou replied with a cheerful big smile.
“I believe everything you say, Kino. Everything's gonna be fine. Mom and Dad will be fine too
After a long talk, Kino looked at his pocket watch. The time at that hour is 09:00. They don't want to say anything about pocket watches. All they know is that the pocket watch is the source of the chaos that is spilling over them but is also the only clue to return to where they came from.
“Nee, Ryou–” Kino tightly grasps a pocket watch in his hand
After that, Kino continued his sentence
“If the pocket watch on Kaito-san is a clue to find her memory, isn't there a chance that this pocket watch could also return us to Japan?. That's possible, right?”
“Possibly so. But how–” Ryou suddenly remembered the incident before the pocket watch was shining.
As they know, the pocket watch was hit by drops of Kino's blood when he was injured by an accidental incision. Even though only a speck but can change their condition to what it is now.
A strange idea emerged from Ryou's mind and can already be guessed, what the brother's reaction to hearing it.
“Kino, remember why we were here? This clock accidentally exposed your blood back then. It's possible that if we drip blood into this pocket watch, we can go home to Japan!” Ryou spoke with such confidence
“What?! No, Ryou. You didn't mean to hurt yourself for that, did you? I don't want Ryou to do anything weird.” sure enough, Kino panics over the idea of the brother's smart idea
“But worth a try. You don't have to do it, let me try. Give me the watch”
“Wait–”
Ryou took the pocket watch and began to injure the thumb of his right hand by biting it hard to the point of being injured. After that, he shed his blood. But, nothing happened. Nothing really shines and nothing changes. Ryou's plan failed.
“Huh? Why didn't anything happen?”
“Ryou, your hand is injured. I told you not to do anything weird” Kino tore off a little bit of her clothes to cover Ryou's wounds
“Kino, why did you tear it? Don't do that”
“Ryou also won't listen to me, right? So, I don't have to listen to you. In addition, according to Kaito-san's explanation that when ‘world night’ comes, everything that happened this afternoon will return, including my clothes and your wounds. But still his blood must be stopped”
“Ukh…. Ii'm sorry. I thought this way would work” Ryou's face regrets like a child
“It's okay. Next time ‘don't do anything weird’...was like to say that but I'm very familiar with your nature so I guess I'll just ask Ryou to be a little more calm, understand?”
“……”
Another important piece of information was finally known to them. They can't go back the same way they came.
“It looks like we can't go back to Japan for some reason. Do you think Kaito-san should know this?’ while cleaning the blood on the pocket watch, Kino looked towards Ryou
“I think for now not. Although we have already decided to believe in what he said, but Kaito also has a serious problem. Unlike us who accidentally came to this strange place without any purpose, Kaito has a purpose and for that purpose he was willing to face danger all along. He also said that he had no idea how long he had been stuck here”
“You were right, but–” Kino was silent for a moment and the atmosphere became silent again
From the conditions in sight, Kaito's experience was far from those two. His fighting ability and information were also very useful. Maybe the luck they have now is because they met a great person like Kaito.
Kino is aware that he cannot continue to rely on Kaito's information and they must be able to find their own way. Since they will face problems in ‘world malam’ together, in addition to weapons, information is also another important thing that is needed.
“Naa, Ryou... What do you think? I think for now we have to understand how ‘both worlds’ this Kaito-san means. Had we known, I'm sure we could have found a way to get back to Japan. Hurry also will not give a good impact because we have a lot of gap”
“We already know in outline. What else do you want to learn?” Ryou looked at Kino who had a serious expression on his face
“I'm not sure. But I feel like Kaito-san still hasn't given all the information she has to us”
“You're suspicious of Kaito?”
“I don't suspect him. She's a good person, and somehow being by her side makes me believe we'll both be safe. It's just..”
This time it was Ryou who was trying to be mature. Hugging her anxious-looking brother, Ryou says what he often tells her.
“I think now you should calm down, Kino”
“.....” Kino was quite surprised as Ryou hugged her. But, the sister's next words made her heart become touched
“Pull your breath and exhale. After that, don't think about such a complicated thing. We are already in a complicated situation, do not burden yourself with complicated thoughts also”
“Mmm. Thank ye. I'm better now”
Seeing the older brother smile, Ryou could only sigh in relief. The two brothers decided to sit quietly in the room and follow Kaito's words to wait for him to return.
******
In the middle of a crowded city, Kaito who had just come out of the gun shop with his robe entered another place. There were only three shops from the previous place. It was a drugstore called [Magasin de drogue]. Kaito immediately spoke to the woman who was suspected of being a shopkeeper.
“Excuse”
“Welcome sir, you need something?”
“I need some medicines, poison to kill wild animals with the most rapid effect and the antidote”
“Shortly. How much do you need?”
“Fifty small size bottles for the poison and fifteen medium size bottles for the antidote also give me twelve bottles of medicine for luka”
It was such a huge order especially for the poison order that the shopkeeper was a little surprised.
“Sorry sir, for the poison of animals we only limit the purchase of twenty bottles only, because to reduce the level of risk to users and our own stores, even if it is for hunting. So...”
The waiter was actually afraid to hear Kaito's order, so he gave a limit to his order and Kaito realized it. He did not want to arouse suspicion so as to change his entire order earlier.
“Alright, please twenty each for medicine, animal poison and the antidote. No problem, right?”
“Good. We will prepare the order”
Before the shopkeeper left to prepare the order, Kaito showed me the robe he had and said “I'll take my order later in the afternoon. As a guarantee, I leave my cloak this”
The waiter turned back and was surprised by the thing he saw. At first glance the robe that Kaito had torn to treat his wound did look ordinary. But the unusual details there are so unique. If described, there is a kind of golden color on the outer pocket and in the robe. When touched by the servant, he was sure that the robe was made of expensive material.
“Gosh... could this be [Shahtoosh], the most expensive cloth only obtained from the rare mountainous regions of the East?!. Sir, where do you have this cloth from?” it was unexpected that the servant was so shocked and looked sparkling in his eyes when he touched the robe. Even he himself guessed the type of expensive cloth used as a cloak material.
“That cloak I got when I traded my game for a traveling merchant. I intend to make this a guarantee because I can't pay for my order until later in the afternoon. Hows it?. Is this acceptable?”
Of course the waiter looks sparkling.
“What are you sure about? The price of this piece of cloth alone was already very expensive. If sold in a clothing store in this city, you can get a lot of money, even can to live quietly in this city for two or three years because it is very rare in this city”
Who would have thought the robe Kaito wore could be as expensive as that in this place. If the Yuki brothers were there and heard about it, they would probably pale to death, given that the robe had been torn several times as a result of the fight. But, the seemingly calm Kaito had no doubts about all that.
“No problem. This afternoon I'll take my order and pay for it so, let's just say I put the cloak here. No problem, right?”
“So. Alright. I will prepare an order tuan”
“Later in the afternoon I will take his order. Please directly wrapped with separate cloth bags for each order I make. Can it?”
“Can. With pleasure. Thank you very much sir. We are waiting for his arrival this afternoon”
Kaito left the store.
“Now only last and most important. This time I have to find a clue to his whereabouts”
Kaito walks around the city. Along the way, many stalls along the big streets of the city. Kaito just stopped by while looking around from a distance, but not for the antique stone and gem stalls.
He would always enter both types of shops. Of course he just went in to look at the rocks up close. Every time he saw the purple colored gemstone he always touched it, but the expected reaction never happened. Almost all the antique gem and stone shops he went to but all ended up the same as the previous shops.
No memory pieces of hers in ‘world noon’ at the moment.
‘Not here. Means it is likely in ‘world malam’ or in the next ‘world day’ loop. I should try it again after this’
Kaito spoke inwardly without showing any expression. He looked at his pocket watch and the time had already shown 10:10. He left long enough and thought of returning because he was not alone now, there was someone else waiting for him.
Arriving at the diner, Kaito talks to the waiter before climbing the stairs to return to the room. Then, after that he went upstairs. When he knocked on the door, no one opened the door and he tried to get in.
“Did they not lock the door even though I left it on the table?”
The first sight Kaito saw when he opened the door were two people sleeping on the bed. They slept in their own places very soundly. Kaito walked as quietly as possible, took the keys on the table and locked the room.
After that, he looked at the situation of the two brothers and made sure they were okay.
“I don't think anything happened. I'm glad you guys complied and didn't do anything to trouble me. Good work, well children” with a smile, Kaito whispered praising them
After that, he took off his shoes and laid his body on his mattress. The time at his pocket clock shows at 10:30, there is still time left until sunset at six in the afternoon. Kaito tries to close his eyes slowly and he ends up falling asleep. For now, there were only three people who were soundly and peacefully asleep in the room.
******
