Deeper Into the Iceberg: Chapter 1

Umi sat at the bar and watched Mizore, Infinie, and Kino laughing and doing silly things. She sighed with a smile and rolled her eyes slightly as she saw Kino make a goofy face and the duo laughing with tears in their eyes. She turned around and looked at the cup of water that sat in front of her almost finished. She lifted the cup to take a sip but looked at her hand and began to get distracted by a small and simple ring on her left ring finger. "Where is he?" Umi sighed as she placed down the cup and began to play with the ring with a smile. Being caught up with the ring she filched when arms were wrapped around her waist and a head laid on top of hers. She smiled, "You're late," she turned and faced Takeo, her fiancée. He chuckled as he still held onto her, "Sorry there was a very indecisive reader I had to help." Umi laughed as she stood up and gave him a quick hug, "Well come on the trio have been entertaining themselves by making silly faces," she pointed at them and they both watched Infinie make a ridiculous face causing the other couple to laugh. Takeo laughed as he and Umi walked up to the trio, "Okay since everyone is here let's go," Umi said as she grabbed her bag that sat next to Mizore and Infinie. They all grabbed their gear and they began to walk out of the guild together. "Yay! Road trip!" Infinie claimed and everyone laughed at Infinie's excitement except for Umi, who looked straight ahead and seemed zoned-out. Takeo noticed this when he didn't hear her laugh, "Hey are you okay?" Umi snapped back to reality and looked at the worried Takeo. "Yeah I'm fine it's just been awhile since I, or Mizore and Infinie, have been there," Umi claimed with a slight smile to reassure him. Takeo sighed an okay as they walked.

''Flashback After dating for a while Umi opened up to Takeo about her "childhood". He was shocked at the story she spoke through the tears that spilled at the side of her face. He comforted her repeating a few phrases, "it's okay," and "I promise this will never happen to you ever again," as he held onto her as if his life depended on it.''

They continued to walk and have conversations about jokes, wedding planning, food, and etc. but little did they knew they were followed. They watched their every move as they followed them to their destination.

After the Walk "We're here," Umi, Mizore, and Infinie claimed as they walked into a town, Umi's home town. Takeo and Kino looked at the small, peaceful town with a smile. "Umi is that you? You cut your hair?" a women walked up to them in shock but in a good way. "Hi Mayor Shepard," Umi chuckled until Mayor Shepard tackled her with a hug. "And Umi call me Jenny, there's no need to be formal," Jenny claimed and looked over at Mizore and Infinie. "Oh you girls have grown!" she claimed as she smothered them with a hug. Jenny chuckled as the duo took a deep breath when she let them go and noticed two men standing by them, awkwardly. "And who might you guys be," Jenny asked them. Takeo and Kino introduced themselves and Jenny formally introduced herself. "Well I'm glad to see you three and meet yo- oh my is that what I think it is?!" Jenny gasped as she pointed at Umi's hand. Everyone looked at Umi and laughed as she began to blush slightly, "Ah yeah this was one of the reasons why we're here," Umi claimed as she held onto Takeo's hand. "Awe, congratulations!" Jenny practically yelled as she hugged the engaged couple and the couple laughed and thanked her. "As much as I want to catch up with you guys but being Mayor I have things to do; I hope to see you guys before you leave," Jenny claimed as she waved and left. The gang said their goodbyes, "Well come on let's go to the cabin and drop off the bags then we'll go do other things," Umi claimed as she began to walk with Takeo still holding her hand. Everyone else began to follow them except for the two unknown and uninvited guests whom followed a different path.

After a Quick Hike "Okay we're here," Umi announced as they approached an old wooden cabin. "It's very pretty, Umi," Takeo complimented and Kino agreed. "Thank you," Umi thanked as they reached the door of the cabin and opened it with her key. They walked in and Umi saw that nothing had changed from the last time she was there, other than it collected dust. Once everyone walked in and placed their bags down Mizore and Kino quickly rushed to the couch and sat down with a relieving sigh. Takeo and Umi watched them and rolled their eyes while Infinie, who was in Mizore's arms, chuckled. "I guess we can take a bre-," Umi explained until something very familiar caught her eyes, "break, but I'm going to put my stuff away," Umi quickly finished and walked off grabbing the thing that caught her eyes. Takeo watched Umi as she grabbed a book and walked into a room, "I'm going to go help why don't you guys dust the place," Takeo explained as he walked towards the room Umi was in. The trio sighed quietly as they stood up and began to dust the place.

Takeo walked into the room that seem to be meant for a young girl and saw Umi sitting at the edge of the small bed starring at the old, worn-out book. "This was my mother's diary, she wrote everything into it," Umi claimed as she starred at it almost mesmerized. Takeo said nothing as he sat down next tp her and gently took away the book and place next to him, away from Umi. She starred at him with mixed emotions: anger, sadness, gratefulness, and more. "Don't dwell on this I promised you that this won't happen again and I plan to keep that promise for as long as I live," Takeo explained in a gentle voice. "Promised for me, they purposely had Mizore for this for all I know I could have another sibling out there going through what we had to," Umi shouted bitterly at Takeo but then became very guilty, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that." Takeo didn't say anything until he hugged her, "It's okay I understand," he whispered into her eye as she stayed quiet as she laid her head in the crook of his neck. "Umi?" a worried voice claimed that cause Umi to break the hug and looked at her worried sister, exceed, and sister's boyfriend. She put on a smile and claimed she was fine. "That's not very convincing but you do as you choose," Mizore shrugged and Infinie and Kino agreed. Umi rolled her eyes and claimed again that she was fine as she stood up from the bed. "Well lets go and we come back we can finish settling down," Umi claimed as she grabbed Takeo's hand a gently pulled him off the bed and began to walk out and the trio followed behind. They all walked out the cabin and stood a little farther back from the door as they waited for Umi to lock up the cabin. They started to walk down the trail with the couples hand-in-hand and Infinie on Mizore's head. Once they reached town they began to walk another trail; they finally made it to their destination, the cemetery. "I still don't understand why you two wanted to visit her," Umi claimed as she walked around other graves respectfully. "Well we all know how much she means to you so we she let her know the good news right," Takeo claimed still holding tightly onto Umi's hand. Umi stopped in her place, everyone else to stop too, and saw two people standing in front of her aunt's grave and began to shake in fear. Mizore soon followed her sister and started to shake. "Why are you here?! How did you find this place?!" Umi yelled angrily trying to hide her fear. Takeo, Kino, and Infinie stared at the two people in front of them and thought the same question, "Who are they?" The people turned and faced the group and the woman gave a sickening smile, "What? Is it wrong to visit my sister?" With that they understood who they were, the parents. "You were never her sister," Umi spatted. Mitsuki shrugged off what she said then placed her sick smirk again, "So I see you two found men who can put up with your shitty selves," Izumi, the husband of Mitsuki, chuckled at his wife's remark. Everyone glared at Izumi and Mitsuki, whom continued to smirk. "Why are you here," Umi asked angrily once again. "I would say relax but you really shouldn't, we just came by to say we finished our project but don't worry we used it on ourselves because obviously children are useless. We also plan on getting revenge," Izumi explained as he threw a bomb onto the ground that caused smoke to get everywhere, blocking everyone's vision. They quickly moved out of the smoke coughing and looking for the parents at the same time; they couldn't find them. "Damnit," Umi muttered angrily. Takeo just walked up behind her and just placed his hands on her shoulders, while Kino and Infine tried to help Mizore. "Takeo they finished their project; who knows what they may do," Umi claimed distortedly. "I know, let's head back to the guild and sort this out with them okay," Takeo explained calmly hoping to calm Umi. She took a deep breath then sighed and nodded in agreement. They traveled back to the cabin and grabbed their stuff and headed back down into town to say goodbye to Jenny.

"Leaving already?" Jenny claimed disappointedly. "Yeah some stuff came up you know planning a wedding and stuff," Umi claimed trying to hide her discomfort. "Ah I see. Well good luck and safe journey and don't forget my invitation!" Jenny claimed as she hugged each of them and left. "I won't," Umi mumbled. As they began to walk back to the guild, "Was it a good idea not to tell her the real reason why we left?" Umi questioned. Everyone nodded and claimed it would be best not to have her worried or involved.

They reached the guild it was dark, very dark. "Let's go home, it's been a long day," Takeo claimed and everyone agreed with either a yawn, rubbed their eyes, or both. Thanks to Takeo's parents they managed to buy a home that fit them all. They walked home and they all got into bed, everyone had fallen asleep one after another, except for Umi; she couldn't sleep at all.

Next Morning Umi didn't get a wink of sleep but when she noticed Takeo moving next to her so she quickly pretended to be asleep. Takeo woke up moments later and looked at Umi and felt terrible for what happened yesterday. He placed a kiss on her forehead then left the cozy bed and checked on the trio, whom were peacefully asleep. He walked into the kitchen looking around to see what he can make for breakfast. Umi decided that it would be best moment to "wake up" so she got up out of bed and slightly made it by fixing the blanket. She walked into the kitchen and saw Takeo preparing breakfast. "Good morning, how are you feeling?" Takeo asked as he poured some water for Umi. She knew Takeo would feel guilty if she told him that she didn't sleep at all so she lied, "I've had better nights, and good morning," she gladly accepted the water and drank it. Eventually, the trio woke up and walked into the kitchen, mumbled a good morning then wondered over to the couch and sat down. There was only one thing running through their minds, "what are we going to do?". There was this scary and awkward silence, the only noise heard was from Takeo's cooking. After what felt like hours of silence Takeo broke it by claiming breakfast was ready. They all gathered around and said thank you to Takeo and began to eat, in silence. Once they finished they just sat there, Umi was fighting to stay awake. "Let's go to the guild and see what we can do," Takeo claimed as he stood up and grabbed his and Umi's dishes and placed them in the kitchen. They nodded in agreement and followed his footsteps as Umi just stood up and walked into her room she shared with Takeo and closed the door. The whole place was silent as they got ready to go. Once they were all set they left the house and headed towards the guild. As they walk down getting closer to town and the guild everyone started to have small talk among one another; except for Umi, she remained silent. Takeo watched Umi feeling worried so in hope of making her a bit better he intertwined his fingers with Umi's and gave a little squeeze to show that she's not alone. Umi was zoned out, she didn't notice Takeo holding her hand or the fact that everyone around her were worried. As they walked Umi began to slow down and eventually stop in place, "Umi?" Takeo questioned but soon became a shout as she began to fall, it happened so suddenly Takeo had barely caught her in time. Everyone's eye grew wide as Mizore and Infinie cried out Umi's name and began to panic. Takeo looked around and realized they were in a familiar place, "Follow me," Takeo claimed as he picked up Umi bridal style and started jogging the opposite way of the guild. "Where are you going?! They guild is the other way where Annalina is!" Kino shouted as he followed Takeo, Mizore, and Infine. "My parents are not too far from here, closer than the guild," Takeo explained as he tried to quicken his pace. Kino nodded in understandment and remembered that his mother was a doctor. Once they finally approached the Barnes house Mizore opened the unlocked door and they all barraged into the family room scaring Takeo's family half to death. "What's going on?" Lucas, Takeo's father, shouted in confusement but was silenced by his wife, Sophia, who ran up to Takeo, who was holding onto Umi for dear life. "Take her to the couch, now," Sophia demanded as she moved out of his way to place her down gently. Sophia placed her hand on Umi's forehead few just a moment before removing it quickly, "Kino, go get a bowl of water and Mizore make it cold and Infinie go grab a rag from the cabinet; she's running a very high fever," Sophia barked out as she quickly grabbed her doctor bag from the kitchen. The trio quickly left and went to go do as they were told as Takeo stood there starring at Umi with anxiety. Sophia returned and began to exam Umi to look for causes for her unconsciousness and the trio came back with the items they were told to bring, she took the bowl of water and rag and dipped the rag in the water and wringed it and gently placed it on Umi's forehead. Everyone watched Sophia tend to Umi as patiently as they could. "I'm going to a walk with Infinie," Mizore claimed as she felt like breaking out into tears. "I'll go wit-," Kino managed to say until Mizore cut him off, "No, stay here I just want to be alone with Infinie for a bit," and with that Mizore and Infinie walked out of the house leaving Kino to sigh understanding and stood by the door watching leave down a hiking trail.

With Takeo, Umi, Sophia, Lucas Takeo stood over his mother watching her treat Umi as Lucas sat on a different couch. Sophia sighed as she looked over to her worried son, "By what I see she seemed to have fainted from lack of sleep and overly stressed; has something happened that I need to know about?" she explained. Takeo was silent for a few moments and sat down next to his father and began to explain what had happened yesterday and both of his parents were shocked and near to tears hearing this. "This sadly would be the cause of this and also the lack of sleep, it looks as if she didn't sleep at all," Sophia explained with guilt in her voice. Takeo felt hurt hearing that she didn't get any sleep though Umi had told him she did, "She lied about sleeping to me.." he mumbled under his breath with guilt in his voice. Sophia walked over to her son and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Sweetie we've both known Umi for a long time now and we both know, including your father, that she doesn't like to worry others,". Takeo made a very tiny smile knowing that is a Umi move, "well I'm going to go tell the others that she will be alright," he claimed as he began to stand up but was stopped by both his parents. "Stay here with Umi we'll go tell them," they claimed as the left the room leaving Takeo alone with Umi. Takeo mumbled a thank you and walked next to her and sat on the floor facing her peaceful, sleeping face. He looked at her with guilt as he gently moved some of her short hair from her face and held her hand.

Meanwhile with Mizore and Infinie... As they walked down the trail they found an open field with tall grass and the sun was shining brightly, "Wow it's pretty he-," Infinie managed to say until her and Mizore were shot with something and passed out onto the field and two shadows loomed over them and the sunny sky became dark and gloomy.

Half an hour later... Mizore groaned as she slowly began to open her eyes. She blinked a couple of times to see what laid in front of her. Once she gained her sight she wished she hadn't; she screamed out in pain. What laid in front of her made her feel sick to the point where turned away and threw up. Once she finished barfing up her stomach she turned back to what had made her barf, Infinie with her eyes missing and the word, "REVENGE," carved into Infinie and blood puddled around her and multiple deep cut all over her body. Mizore cried and cried and screamed as she looked at Infinie's dead body and shaking and incoherently said, "Why me, why us,".

Not Too Far Away.. Kino starred at the trail Mizore and Infinie as he talked with Sophia and Lucas. Their conversation stopped when they heard an ear piercing scream. "Mizore!" Kino shouted as he started to sprint down the trail with Sophia and Lucas not far behind. "Please be okay Mizore and Infinie," Kino thought as he got closer to the open field. Once he got to the field he held in the barf that threatened to come up as he ran up to Mizore and held her, facing her away from Infinie. "Oh dear," Sophia gasped in pain starring at the scene in front of her and Lucas just removed his jacket and placed it over Infinie. Kino didn't say anything to comfort Mizore he didn't know what to say. After sitting there for what felt like forever Mizore had fallen asleep from crying and saying incoherent words into Kino's shoulder. Kino lifted up Mizore bridal style and started up the trail, "I'll handle Infinie once I get her to the house," Lucas stopped Kino in his tracks, "No Kino I will go handle Infinie because Mizore needs you more than ever and when she wakes up and realizes this is not a dream she's going to need you," Lucas explained as he turned to face his wife, who was still in shock at the horror she saw, "You go with him too, Umi may need you,". The two nodded as they headed back up the trail together and Lucas started walking to a hidden stack on the open field to grab a shovel.

Meanwhile with Takeo and Umi... Takeo was slowly drifting to sleep as he watched Umi laid peacefully on the couch. He quickly shook his head and went to the rag the laid on Umi's forehead to still if it needed to be cold again and it did. He removed the rag and dunked it in the bowl and wringed it and placed it back on her forehead. He looked at her hoping she would wake up soon but realized that no one had come back yet. He stood up and gently place Umi's hand down when he did he saw his mother walk in with Kino behind her carrying Mizore. "What happened?" Takeo asked worriedly, "and where's Infinie?". Kino didn't say anything until he laid Mizore down on the other couch and laid a blanket over her, "They got revenge on Mizore," Kino claimed angrily as tears threaten to fall. It didn't take long for Takeo to realize what had happened, "Is-is sshe dead?" Takeo asked hesitantly. Sophia's head bent down towards the floor and Kino couldn't even open his eyes without tears falling down. Takeo was barely able to comprehend what was going on anymore, "Where is she?," Sophia looked over to him, "Your father is burying her right now.". Takeo nodded understanding, "Are you sure it was them," Takeo asked knowing that the answer would stay the same. "The word, "REVENGE," was," Kino stopped for a moment to wipe tears anyway and to calm himself down, "carved into her," Kino explained as he looked over to Mizore. "If I had been with them, if I had followed them, Infinie could have been alive still," Kino claimed feeling very guilty. Takeo walked up to him and placed his hands on Kino's shoulder, "This is not your fault, you know EXACTLY whose fault it is," Takeo explained as he put emphases on "exactly". Kino still could get the guilt away. "Well this girls are going to need something to eat when they awake, will you two help. Maybe it'll help keep things off your guys mind?" Sophia said as she approached the kitchen and started to wash some veggies. The boys soon followed her and followed her instructions on what to do, trying to forget all that's happened.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3