Chapter 22: It Begins!
A/N - The chapter went through a rewrite. (23/6/2023)
--
"Diana... The Head Of the Underworld's Security. Damage Control Department. And manages collateral damages and leakages. Still holds a lot of power because of her efficiency in rooting out possible traitors and preventing the collision of the human world and the Underworld... I hate that!"
Catherine said to herself, sipping a glass of raw wine, sitting in the centre of all the men and women around her, who were passed out from the excessive sex and booze.
Racking her brain hard, Catherine calmly etched out a bigger plot in her mind, to exact her 'revenge'.
"Ronnie! Get me a birth pill and bring me the mobile... I have to make a few calls."
--
On her way back to the school again, after attending the opening day party of Catherine's new exotic hotel, Diana sat in the corner of her car and gazed out of the window, pondering her mind full of doubts and suspicions.
Like newborn puppies on their mother's lap, the case files, summary documents, and photo collections of various murders and unauthorized assassinations rested on Diana's lap. Almost all of them were related to Catherine in one way or another. The victims who were assassinated, have met Catherine two or three days prior and either declined her business proposals, received sexual favours, or purchased women from her.
But there was none that solidifies the connection between Catherine and the assassinations. Even if Catherine was arrested and investigated by Diana, she still has no way to lead, and worst she will lose her reputation.
'FUCK!' she internally screamed as her current seat and the power she holds were merely a result of her efficiency in keeping the Underworld in control
Catherine's newfound success, Lance's growing influence, and the constant demand for hunting down Ramika, everything seemed like missing pieces of a larger puzzle, which Diana had no clue about.
*RING RING RING*
Her phone vibrated and Diana saw the name of the caller. It was Catherine. Frowning seeing the name, Diana slowly swiped the icon to the left, attending the call.
"Catherine?"
"Princess... After getting beaten the shit out of me, I suddenly had this one piece of information to share with you." Catherine calmly said, though her snarky chuckles were audible to Diana.
"Instead of digging about me and the rebels and constantly protesting my attempts to keep Yohan away... I wish you had concentrated more on Yohan and the little girl on a personal level..."
Diana's eyes widened and she immediately snapped her fingers towards her secretary who got what was in Diana's mind instinctively.
"What you're talking about?" Diana continued.
"I'll be as direct as possible... If someone can't remove an obstacle by twisting the rules and regulations, how else would they remove it?"
"Huh?"
Diana heard the silent chuckling of Catherine increasing a notch higher and her cautiousness also grew higher. "What did you do?"
"I'm pretty sure that you had heard about the unauthorized assassinations, Princess Diana... Please try to save him. Because, unlike me, you don't hate Yohan completely!"
Immediately Catherine hung up the call and laid along with the other men, cherishing the feel she felt - upping against her 'Master'.
While Diana was in her car sulking. She crushed the phone into pieces, after hearing from Catherine and took a few long breaths, trying to calm herself.
'She dares to talk about Yohan directly to me, huh?' she grunted, but the sudden change of tone and confidence in Catherine's voice puzzled her.
'She deliberately shielded her mind from that information so that I can't read her... When did she grow this intelligent? And now since I am a little farther away from her, she's openly bitching to me??' Diana wondered, but her apprehensiveness regarding the information relayed by Catherine got to her soon.
After all, she promised Yohan that he'll be safe if he comes back to her, but now as how things are running, she might fail the promise.
"Anya!?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Tell the idiot driver, to drive faster... We need to relay this to Yohan soon." With an urging tone, Diana ordered her secretary as she grew visibly upset and gulped down her mini capsule of blood supplements.
Though she was miffed, frustrated and apprehensive thinking about the resultant image forming in her head, her battle instincts itched and strategised multiple combinations of tricks and treachery, evoking a sly smirk in the corners of her lips.
'Maybe... I can turn this into a beneficial one for me. Maybe Yohan can... THIS IS IT!'
--
[A FEW HOURS LATER]
[ASSASSINATION SCHOOL - EVENING]
After the other students were dispersed and got back to their dorms, Diana, Sana and Devitto, all alone, waited for their 'taskmaster' to arrive.
Sipping another cup of tea, Yohan slowly opened the door and entered the class, facing the hateful glares from all three.
"You didn't tell her that I am an assassin?"
"You forced me to work as a petty teacher here, and you didn't even think of conveying that to her?"
"Same as the other two... WHY?"
The three of them bombed Yohan with question after question, while Yohan nervously shrugged them off with a smile and an irritating reply.
"I... actually. I forgot."
An air of silence danced around as the staring contest grew intense. Knowing all three are angry at him, Yohan gulped down the tea and sat on one of the empty desks.
"So, I think I placed the events nice and well for you all... And I hope you follow the flow and not get yourself in any danger. Got it?"
The silence and staring grew intense. Though Yohan could understand Sana and Ramika being angry, he couldn't stand Devitto being angry at the same level; he didn't deserve to be miffed at all.
"Devitto... Are you angry?" With a piercing glare, Yohan asked, to which Devitto shook his head and left the room altogether.
The flashes of what Yohan had told and threatened him with, hit him like a brick. And with that thought in mind, he simply walked away to the dorm he was allocated by the School Management.
"You said that you'll let me know the real reason behind my brother's death, didn't you?"
"If you serve under me and protect Ramika 24/7—"
"Hope you keep the promise!"
"I will."
Both Sana and Yohan exchanged understanding nods, which baffled Ramika, who had no clue at all. Before she got her doubts and confusions cleared, Yohan's mobile phone rang at full volume, interrupting their little talk.
It was Diana who was calling him from outside the gates of the School. Yohan swiped down, declining to attend the call. He gestured at Sana through his eyes, and nodded towards Ramika, intimating to her to follow him.
And together the three walked down from the classroom to the ground and strolled towards the car with its headlights brightly lit. While the rightful owner of the car, Diana was standing next to the car, puffing out her cigar.
Though she stood like she didn't care, Diana felt something uncomfortable on seeing Yohan nearing her, while she was having a cigar.
She hurriedly stomped the cigar under her heel and clear the air of smoke, with her hand waving against it. Being used to seeing Diana all high and mighty, Yohan felt something wrong seeing Diana being apprehensive and nervous, which was tightly concealed under her majestic looks but was naked to Yohan's eyes.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, being cautious and defensive in his tone; to which Diana sighed, rolling her eyes; she came rushing for his well-being after all.
"We have a situation, Yon..."
"Of what kind?"
"A little bad... I guess—"
"To whom? Ramika, You, Me... Who?"
"Us."
An air of silence gripped the space between the two and Yohan let a sigh, taking the magnitude of the little words spoken by Diana, in.
"What do you suggest?" he asked, tightly shutting his eyelids behind those sunglasses, disappointed.
"It will be fine... If we are on our own. Let's face this together, shall we? I'll order my men to ready the guesthouse. Ramika can stay with me. I mean, my men... She'll be watched, protected 24/7, and she can attend the school too... I've arranged normal human studies to be taught for her, so she can get an equivalent of a degree for finding jobs in the outer world—"
"Add Sana too. Let them stay together. And..." Yohan paused while anxiously hesitating to continue.
"What?" Diana asked, seeing that. To which Yohan with a heavy sigh, replied,
"Just... Just don't touch the girls. Okay?"
A raw nerve snapped and Diana's eyes flared up quickly on hearing it and gritted her teeth, looking furiously at Yohan.
"I'm not a fucking rapist! All the girls I slept with consensually agreed!"
"Yeah, yeah... then don't seduce them—"
"I left your childhood crush even though she practically threw herself on me not so long ago... I declined to indulge in it just for your sake!"
"Catherine?"
"YEAH, CATHERINE!"
"Eww!"
"Exactly!"
"Seems like her taste has been dipped a lot..."
"YEAH!... Wait what?"
The ever-lasting awkward silence between them grew intense, as they kept staring at each other.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Mi_22
Mi_22 By the way, thanks for the power stones everyone
Chapter 23: The Ghost Whisperer - Part 1
[An YEAR AGO]
[IN A DISTANT NAMELESS ABANDONED CITY]
A masked stranger, carrying a thin, tethered paper, stepped into the isolated, dead town located near the sea, which was left abandoned by its people after a catastrophic hurricane. Since there was no intention of reviving the town and no one considered it habitable, it was taken as one of the 'Event' destinations that come under the jurisdictions of the Underworld and was used to carry out important assassinations and to dispose of corpses.
"The Undertaker. Whisper Of Death. Ghost Whisperer The New-Age Grim Reaper... Another warrior with thousand names. But all those are man-made instead of being given. An antithesis to the Underworld and its system. The weapon who could also bring us closer to the World Domination..." mumbled the Masked Man as he walked through the continuously whirling wind of sand, blowing against his face and watering his eyes.
He reminisced the words of his QUEEN, Catherine, which were fed to his ears and the grandeur of the plan she schemed, which were drilled into his eyes. But what terrified him was her intention to use the 'Ghost Whisperer' - The one-man army functioning against the entire System Of the underworld and their assassination clans system.
'Don't Try To See Him. If He Is Behind You, Don't Turn Back. If He Is Above You, Don't Lift Your Head... Relay Him The Orders. And Leave.'
The words from Catherine whirled around his mind and echoed into his ears. Keeping all the force-fed information in his mind, the lone stranger strolled, and crossed multiple deranged, demolished buildings, searching for a presence. He even called out for the Ghost Whisperer out of desperation. But he couldn't find the cursed legend even after spending months in the distant city with no source of water or food.
And just as he was about to lose hope, his super-trained senses picked up a strange and shuddering presence. In the pitch-dark night, the masked stranger's lamp lent no help to him. With a flinch, the lamp dimmed down and died, leaving the masked stranger to rely on his senses and his assassin instincts.
But little did he know that none was going to help him that night.
"SO, WHAT DOES THE BITCH WANT NOW?" a roaring, grisly voice, heard right next to the masked man's ears. He could feel his bones shuddering and his instincts screamed at him to run for his life.
And that was the night Catherine and her partner Lance, through their men, finally found the legendary traitor of the 'Underworld', 'The Ghost Whisperer'.
--
[PRESENT -]
Soon after their chit-chats, Yohan requested a ride and Diana immediately accepted it. Both of them jetted off, while Sana and Ramika were left under the care of Anya.
Though she obediently accepted it, her hands and feet still trembled, thinking about what was unfolding in front of her.
'Miss Diana and the King Of Assassins, Yohan in the same space... ALONE?? GOSH!' she freaked out internally while the car vroomed away at full speed.
--
Minutes passed, but no word was spoken.
The atmosphere was silent as a vacuum and both Diana and Yohan remained tight-lipped, pretending to be chill and casual. Despite Diana's usual air of superiority, being alone in the car with Yohan did flutter some unwanted feathers inside Diana. She found herself breathing heavily and taking numerous deep breaths, all the while grappling to maintain an upright posture.
Yohan caught this with his side eye and awkwardly sighed, feeling bothered.
"Am I getting on your nerves?" he asked, with a concerned tone. Diana looked puzzled. She felt mildly angered and mildly saddened.
"What? Why—Why would you ask that? Why would I—"
"My presence always irked you, right? Like I'm... I'm an inferior being to you... A royal like you, probably wouldn't want to share space with me... If I disgust you or something, I can drop off and take a taxi—"
"YES! YOU DISGUST ME!" Diana coldly said, interrupting Yohan's self-pitying rant. She kept her face turned away and snapped her fingers at the driver to drive fast.
"Reach the location quick, Abraham... I don't want to share the space with this filth any longer... I just want to use him and dispose of him. ISN'T THAT RIGHT, YOHAN?"
Hearing from Diana and her weirdly upset tone, Yohan understood nothing, so he nodded for the sake of it and returned to gazing out of the window; while Diana sulked for reasons best known to her.
Another round of minutes passed and Diana couldn't hold it any longer. Her lips twitched to speak and her eyes fluttered towards Yohan; which made Yohan even more uncomfortable.
"Just say it..."
"I have to show you certain things, which... I don't mind sharing it with you."
Yohan looked up and down, confused. And seeing Diana, in a conflicting mood as well, he reached out his hand.
"Give it to me..."
Seeing Yohan volunteering, a smile appeared on Diana's face and with her pouted face, she placed the cherry-picked files she gathered, on his hands.
"All of these were reports of unauthorized assassinations... which means, they were green-lit and had nothing to do with the Underworld."
"That's a good thing, right? It doesn't have anything to do with the Underworld—"
"Go through the documents, first!" Diana with a strong tone, said, looking deep into Yohan's eyes, unnerving him.
Receiving the file, Yohan stumbled upon the number of photographs pinned in the folders and it immediately intrigued him. He ran his hands through the murdered victims' photos and buried every detail in his eyes, instinctively.
Seeing Yohan silently going through the photos, Diana tried to summarize them with words.
"No signs of struggle. The victims were... smiling. Which means—"
"Whoever killed them, they killed them while they were smiling. Cause, a smile is a 'lively' emotion. Only living humans are capable of that. So whoever carrying these assassinations, murders are capable of making the victim smile... Or let's say the victim was simply smiling while her throat was getting slit."
Said Yohan, as he pressed his finger hard on one photograph of a naked woman smiling ear to ear with her throat slit and lying in a pool of blood.
"Is the human world looking into it, too?" asked Yohan as he shuffled the photos and started forming a pattern in his mind, reading into similar details.
"Yes. The issue is too big for the human world to turn a blind eye. The major reason, why the 'Elders' are choking my throat to resolve this."
"See... There are totally two sets of patterns here. One has the victims smiling... The other has severe heads with the back of the skull crushed open and the brains were replaced with dirt."
"Okay... So? I know both are the same—"
"No! The ones with the victims merely smiling has a separate connection and the ones with missing or damaged brains have a separate one."
Though Yohan doesn't feel the same way, Diana cherished every second of the discussion, treasuring the moment of her sharing some 'raw' conversations with him. She held back the blossoming smiles and kept a straight face as hard as possible. Even after repeatedly affirming her dislike for him throughout the five years, her infatuation remained unchanged; an unhealthy obsession she couldn't shake off.
"Can I say something, Yohan?" her lips moved on their own and asked in a low, auto-piloted voice.
Yohan nodded and Diana continued, "Why do you always look hot when you are talking about murders?"
A grave silence hit the roof, and Yohan turned towards her, horrified and panting.
"Huh?"
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received Weekly Power Status
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