We Will Meet Again

At first, all she could see was darkness.

The color of the night sky, and yet there is nothing beautiful about this situation. All she could see was darkness, not a single trace of light like one would see in the night sky. It almost felt like somebody had robbed her of her vision.

But then she slowly started to regain consciousness. She could hear something nearby, the sound of a clock ticking so closely to her. The smell of dust, the smell of something decaying. What is that smell? It sent goosebumps all over her body. She wanted to open her eyes, but it was still too soon for her to regain her vision.

Was she lying down on the ground in the dining room? But there wasn't a clock there, at least not one nearby. Did somebody move her? Realization and fear struck her body as she thought that. Is there somebody else in this mansion? Is it one of the victims? No, if it were, they wouldn't knock her out and move her. Before she fell unconscious, she felt that somebody had hit her on the back of her head.

Tick. Tock, tick-tock.

The sound of the clock seemed to increase by the minute, and it was making her feel anxious. What is it? What is it with this strange feeling?

The sound of creaking floorboards.

Laughter.

Setsura remembers it now, the reason why she came by this way. It was because she heard it, in the distance she heard laughter, the sound of a song - and creaking floorboards? How is it possible for her to hear something like that when it was so far away.

After a few more minutes, Setsura regained hold of her senses. She extended her hand out and reached out for whatever. Her hand came in contact with a murky liquid.

She knew this feeling; it was the same back then too. Back then she woke up and...saw that brutal sight. Open her eyes; she has to open her eyes and see the truth with her own eyes.

Setsura slowly opened her eyes, and the sight she saw terrified her. A badly disfigured female body lay a few inches before her. Setsura managed to stand up despite the weakness in her legs. But the moment she did, something fell on the ground. She glanced down and saw a short blade by her feet.

She looked at the item puzzled, and then she got a better look at her hands. It was covered with blood.

Ah... This..this isn't her blood, that much she knew. Setsura's face color turned pale, and she glanced over at her reflection in the mirror and screamed.

__

Chauncey followed the source of the sound and saw the woman he was looking for. The sight was horrific, but even then, he rushed over to the screaming girl.

"Setsura, calm down! Calm down!"

"No...no...no...I..."

The girl's face was losing color as every single moment went by.

"I didn't do it. I didn't kill anybody... I..I was..."

Chauncey immediately pulled her into a hug, but the girl was still trembling all over. He bent down and pressed his lips against hers to silence the girl no sooner had he done so did she fall unconscious. He looked around at the sight and frowned. Indeed, if anybody else saw this situation, they would think that Setsura killed the victim. But, Chauncey was different. He would search for the evidence, the facts before

Since earlier, he felt like there was somebody else around, that's why he tried to draw her attention to the garden. Who would have thought something like this would happen inside?

As Chauncey thought that, he hears the sound of clattering. Right there, he whipped out his gun and fired a shot in the direction of the sound. However, the person had gotten away quickly - not before knocking a few vases along the way. The smashing sound of the vases, however, didn't just come from one direction, but the sound seemed to fill the entire air.

'There is more than one person..'

His gaze fell on Setsura in his arms, and he paused. Does he put her down? But something told him that if he placed her down, the enemy would move her again. When Chauncey first received the report, he felt that there was more than one victim too. That SOS message, it was written by several people on the verge of death. People with heavy wounds, they each took turns to write a bit of the message. How wounded were they? At least ten or so people.

....

Chauncey did his best treating the girl's wounds. Thankfully he brought his bag along with him and had the basic medical equipment inside.

The girl woke up sweat all over, and her eyes still had that dead expression. She immediately grabbed hold of his arm, "Sir...sir Long?"

Chauncey nodded, "How are you feeling? Why don't you drink some water?" Earlier, in the kitchen area, he examined everything. Despite the old style kitchen, all the food seemed to be brand new. He even tasted some. There was even a half-finished meal on the table. Somebody, no people had been living here recently. But why eat in the kitchen? The dining room is large, and it's undoubtedly not the only dining room in this place.

The people living here must have been the captives. They resorted to eating in the kitchen, meaning they weren't allowed to eat. They must have snuck in to eat food; they foolishly left the trail behind. Punished when they got caught? He saw the traces of old blood on the way here.

"I want to leave…"

"...Somebody bolted the exit; we can't get out."

At that comment, the girl's face color turned even paler. "Miss Setsura, rest assured. I won't leave your side." He doesn't plan to take his eyes from her for a single moment. "Why don't you get some more sleep?"

"I...I don't want to close my eyes."

Chauncey nodded, "Alright. Then shall we talk? What were you doing here?"

"I...Victor told me if I wanted to know more about the men in white organization, I ought to go to Akito...and then," Setsura relayed the events, and Chauncey paused. What stood out to him in that story was that the girl got Akito's approval. "I, I didn't think this would happen."

A deep sigh escaped Chauncey's lips, "Why did you rush off?" Bringing her here aside.

"I heard a sound," Setsura mumbled. "..and then…"

"You followed it?"

"I don't know what got into me. I should have waited for Akito. But instead.."

'I heard a sound..'

Her words resemble that woman's. She said the same thing when she first found this place. It was a good thing that he found her right away.

"This gun is one of the new model guns Victor brought from abroad. He gave it to you?"

"He told me to prepare myself."

That's exactly like Victor; he has more caution than Akito. "Last topic, thank you for treating my wounds."

At that comment, the girls clouded expression seemed to fade. "Ah, uh…"

"Is it that surprising?"

"Uh, yes, uh, sorry… I'm a bit…"

Chauncey smiled and reached over to pat her hair. "Thank you. I'll make sure to pay you back another time."

"Sir Long, I think your an unfair person."

Unfair?

"Never mind," Setsura shook her head. The girl seemed calmer now since she looked at her surroundings. "I keep feeling I've come here before."

"Huh?"

"Well, honestly, since I came to this place, I've been thinking about this. But everything seems so familiar... I feel like this has happened before too."

'This girl is..' A theory since the last time when they were in the restaurant crossed his mind. But Chauncey couldn't be too sure about it. The theory that this girl is that woman did cross his mind. Her similarities were far too much. Two people with similar personalities can exist in this world.