For Takahashi Minami's birthday! Happy birthday, Takamina!
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Atsuko woke up the next morning to the familiar sound of sizzling grease on the frying pan sounding from down the hall, in the kitchen. The smell of freshly cooked eggs and a wonderful aroma of morning air swirled in her room and tingled in her nose. She rubbed her eyes, trying to stay awake, but she was so tired that morning. She stayed up late, remembering the incredible scene that had taken place in her home that earlier night. The night when the ANGEL girl she rescued from the evil B.L.U.E. organization suddenly kissed her. She pushed the girl off and locked herself in the room, and she’s been in there ever since.
“What was that?” She held her head, remembering the strange visions she suddenly saw while they were kissing.
“That was so weird…” At first, she thought she had gone crazy, but when her sanity finally came back as she was falling asleep, she began to think the girl perhaps inserted those thoughts into her head.
“Just what IS she?”Flashback After letting Atsuko calm down for a few minutes, the ANGEL decided to go into her room and check on her. When she saw the door was locked, she took a small paper clip and picked the lock to get inside.
“Atsuko?” she softly called her name. She saw a large lump hiding under the thick, marshmallow fluff covers of Atsuko’s bed. She slowly approached her, shutting the door silently behind her. “Are you okay, Atsuko?”
Atsuko’s head was turned away from the ANGEL, her bangs covering her face slightly. She thought perhaps she was asleep, so she tried to wake her up, shaking her shoulder slightly.
“Wake up, Atsuko… I just wanna talk…”
But no answer came from the girl, as she adjusted herself in the bed and blocked her face more with the short, brown hair. The small ANGEL just sighed in regret and left Atsuko alone in her room once more. However, the truth was, Atsuko was wide awake, only pretending to be asleep. There was something strange about the short girl, and she didn’t trust her. She just laid there, thinking of what had happened to her previously in the day until she fell asleep.
End of Flashback She tried to ignore those thoughts in her head, rolling around in her bed while she banged her pillow and covered her ears with it. Finally, her clumsy movements caused her to roll off and fall to the floor. Throwing her pillow back onto her bed, she knelt against the thick blanketed mattress and rested her head on top of her arms, groaning. Her head was throbbing, trying to comprehend all those weird visions she saw.
“This is giving me a headache…”
She then felt a strange buzzing in her ears and held her temple with her two fingers.
“Atsuko…” She could hear the ANGEL call her name once more, which only made her head throb more. Then…
“******!” She suddenly heard her own voice. She was confused for a second. She could’ve sworn she said her name, just now. But, she couldn’t quite hear. Soon enough, before she could even guess the name she had heard, her head began to stop throbbing and she sat down on the ground, hugging her knees.
“What is happening to me?”
Then, she heard a knock on her bedroom door.
“Atsuko? Honey?” It was her dad. “I’ve got breakfast. Would you like me to bring it in?”
“...Sure.”
Her father came in carrying a tray with freshly cooked bacon, scrambled eggs, and Atsuko’s favorite cherry tomatoes with a piece of cabbage. He set in down in front of her and poured out some orange juice in her glass.
“Are you okay? You were already asleep when I got home, and you didn’t touch your dinner last night.”
Atsuko furrowed her eyebrows a bit as she opened her milk bottle. She never ate dinner last night. Maybe that's why she has a headache.
“I… ate the pudding.”
“I saw. Thanks for saving me the ONE, by the way,” he chuckled. “Were you not hungry?”
“Not really…”
Her father patted her head, smiling warmly. He thought maybe she was tired and had a rough day yesterday, so all he could do was comfort her.
Atsuko looked at her food again. “Did you make this?”
“Oh, no. Actually, you’re friend in there did.”
“Eh?”
“That girl in there. She said she came to visit you and spent the night here, so she made us breakfast. She’s really good, too.”
Atsuko just stared at her plate, still shocked at what she was hearing. She couldn’t believe that ANGEL stayed and did this.
“She… What is she thinking?” “You two are friends, right, Atsuko?” he said once more. “She was telling me that you both knew each other well in middle school and were very close. Apparently, she moved away before you started high school, and you probably wouldn’t remember her after so long.”
“What?” Atsuko couldn’t believe what he was saying. She thought that ANGEL might have tricked him or planted thoughts in his head, too.
Then, she felt another buzzing in her head. She saw a vision flash in her head. She was at her middle school, staring out the window, when a sudden crash caught her attention, followed by a roar of laughter. When she looked over to the front of the classroom, she saw the ponytailed girl on the ground. Looks like she tripped and fell over. She just sat there awkwardly rubbing her knee as everyone laughed at her. Suddenly, Atsuko’s body moved on her own and she walked over to the shorter girl. Her hand reached out to her.
“Are you okay?” she said to the fallen ANGEL girl.
“Y-yea…” She kindly took Atsuko’s hand and stood back up.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yea! It was just one lil’ slip. It’s happened before.” The two girls laughed, and Atsuko’s heart grew warm as she saw the ANGEL smile. That brightness in her eyes that wasn’t there before, making her more beautiful. Something was different, and the Atsuko in this scene didn’t seem to have a problem.
She really
was her friend.
“Atsuko?” The sound of her father’s voice brought her back to reality. But, she still felt a throbbing in her head remaining after the vision.
“I… I don’t feel very well today, Dad.”
“You don’t?” He took his hand up and felt her forehead. “You’re not running a fever…”
“My head kinda hurts…”
He smiled softly and nodded. “I’ll go get some medicine before I leave for work. If you still don’t feel better, then you can stay here.”
“Okay.”
He left Atsuko alone so she could eat the rest of her breakfast, them came back with a Motrin pill to treat her headaches. Atsuko took it and climbed back into bed so she could rest, opening a manga she normally reads.
About an hour later, she still felt light headed, so she decided to stay home for today and rest. Once again, she heard the door open and the small ANGEL walked in.
“Atsuko…” she spoke softly, in a concerned voice. “Aren’t you going to school?”
Atsuko tried to hide her feelings and smiled weakly. “I don’t feel all that well.”
The ANGEL gave her a sad smile and sat beside her bed. “Do you like manga?”
“Mm… I don’t read it all the time. This one, in particular, I like. But, I mostly read shoujo manga. Ufufu, I’m also a big Twilight fan.”
She giggled hearing Atsuko answer. “Makes sense. I read shounen manga. My favorite right now is ‘One Piece’.”
“Eh~?” Atsuko giggled a bit as she read her manga and listened to the ANGEL rambling on about her favorite manga like a fangirl.
However, a few seconds into it, she felt light headed and her vision blurred for a few seconds. She blinked a few times and saw the girl in front of her, wearing the same middle school uniform she had, and was acting out scenes from “Naruto” and “One Piece.” She even did impressions of characters from “Dragon Ball” and did a kame-hame-ha! All the while, Atsuko sat there, laughing and applauding the ponytailed otaku.
“Jeez, you’re so cute, ******.” She sheepishly smiled and rubbed her head.
“Ah~! You’re turning red! Like a cherry tomato! I didn’t expect you to be THIS girly. Or girly period!”
“Hey!”
“Hahahahaha!” Outside the vision, the real Atsuko shook her head, trying to stop the vision from going any further. She then watched as the ANGEL sat up and looked at the small shelves lust behind her bed. She picked up the two bracelets Atsuko always wears and smiled.
“You still have them…” she mumbled in a low voice so she wouldn’t hear. “Thank goodness…”
“Huh?”
“..Oh. Nothing. Um, I like these bracelets. Did you make them?”
“Actually, one of the caretakers from my old daycare center gave it to me about three years ago. It was to congratulate me. I had surgery to cure my cancer and this was the gift she made for me.”
The ANGEL smiled sadly and put down the bracelets. “That’s... so nice…”
Atsuko’s eyebrows furrowed watching the girl’s sudden sad expression. Her beautiful eyes filled with such pain and sadness made her chest hurt, remembering all the pain she might have gone through when she was held captive. She could only imagine, all that unbearable pain, every single day, to the point where it kills you.
“What on Earth happened to her?” “Hey, I’m gonna go out for groceries. You want anything specific?”
“No. I think we have enough for dinner, so I’ll leave it up to you.”
“Okay.”
The short girl left Atsuko’s room, hiding the sad expression on her face. As she shut the door behind her, she held her chest and tried to hold back the burning sensation of her tears forming in her eyes and blinding her. She shut them tight, her hands clenched together tightly.
“Atsuko…”
She ran off and exited the apartment, covering her face and tears fell freely down her face.
Tomochin’s POV “...chin..! ..omochin..! Tomochin!”
“Mm… huh?”
“Wake up, Tomochin!”
This voice sound familiar to me. But I can’t open my eyes to see who it is. My mind started to fade out again. This darkness is pulling me in… it feels like I’m hanging by a thread...
“Tomochin!” Suddenly someone shook me vigorously and I was able to regain my senses. My eyes opened slowly and I blinked a few times to see Kasai-kun’s sister above me.
“Kasai…-san?”
“Tomochin, I’m so glad you’re okay!” She hugged me tight and was crying into my chest, getting my clothes wet.
“What happened? I don’t remember clearly...” I hugged her and shook my head.
She looked up and started crying harder, hugging me tighter. When I looked up, I saw I was far, far from my apartment. It looked like a skyscraper from down here. At the bottom of the alley, where everything’s damp and mold covered the wettest parts of the walls, staining it green. I almost puked at the smell, and watching rats eat the carnages of dead birds. I covered my mouth.
“Where are we? This place is so strange...” I wanted to run away from that place and go home. I even can’t remember why I was here. I hate when I can’t understand something. Especially now.
“I’m sorry, Tomochin…” I heard her call out to me again.
“Huh? Why are you apologizing?”
“Because… i-if I didn’t do something to save you, h-h-he probably would’ve killed you. B-but I only made it worse…”
Suddenly the memories hit me. I remembered all events from yesterday. John… How could he do this to me and Kasai-san? Rage started to grow and boil like fire inside me. I want to kill that bastard. For me... and for Kasai-san.
Her cry started to slow down, but she still hugged me tight. I patted her head. “None of this is your fault. I was dumb enough to actually let him into my life from the start. I was desperate.”
“But, what if he…?”
“Then… I’ll beat all the crap out of him.” She laughed because of this. I smiled.
“Sure. And I’ll help you.” She laid a small kiss on my cheek, taking me by surprise.
“Eh?”
“Thank you. Thank you for coming back...” And she laid her head on my shoulder.
Coming back? From where? Why did she say it so...? “Ano… Kasai-san. What is your name?”
“I’m Tomomi. Same as yours.” She whispered this to my ear sleeplessly. “Chiyuu wants to sleep. She didn’t sleep well last night...”
She let out a small yawn and eventually fell asleep in my embrace.
Chiyuu? Where have I heard that..? As I thought about it, I remembered what had happened when we both fell out the window. I felt the side of my head, hissing in pain when I touched the small wound. It was still bleeding a bit, but most of it was dry. I then realized that Kasai-san actually protected me, but she didn’t have a scratch on her.
What on Earth happened?
Third Person POV The ANGEL walked alone on the streets, the silence of the city increasing her feelings of sadness and loneliness. The only sounds that echoed in her ears were her own footsteps and the soft plastic bag rattling as everything in it bounced with her step. Her cheeks were still wet from her tears and her eyes slightly red. Her ponytail swayed in the wind as it blew from behind her, and her bangs just covered her face slightly so you couldn’t see her empty eyes.
Her legs were tired from walking so long, so she stopped and leaned up against the brick wall, continuing to feel the wind coldly blow on her wet cheek. She wiped her tears off and sighed, feeling her heart shatter as she remembered what had happened the previous night. Remembering how hard it was, the hurt she felt remembering everything that happened in the past, trying to get through to her. Inside her heart, she screamed for her, but she knew that no matter how hard she tried, her loudest voice could no longer reach.
“Why did everything have to change?” she asked as more tears fell down her face.
“Hey.” Suddenly, a high pitched voice broke the silence surrounding the poor girl, making her look up suddenly in surprise. But, she didn’t see anyone.
"Eh?" “Hey, you.” And she heard the voice call out to her again. She looked to her left side and saw a young girl standing beside her. She was wearing a grey school uniform with a white ribbon, most of it covered by her pink leopard jacket, and had flashy nails and jewelry to match her stylish look. She also had some of her hair pulled up her hair with a scrunchie.
“Yes..?”
“Why are you cryin’?”
She hurried and wiped off her tears and straightened her posture. “Oh… I, uhh, was just thinking of something.”
“What were you thinkin’ about?” The flashy girl walked closer to the short ANGEL and patted her shoulder. “You can tell me. I’m listenin’.”
The shorter girl just sighed and the two started walking down the street again. She hung her head low and twisted the small plastic bag of groceries in her hand. “Well, you see… I lost someone very important to me almost three years ago. And, I really miss her.”
“She important to you?”
“Yea… I-I love her. Very much, actually. But, it’s been so long now…”
“Hey, I understand ya.” She patted the ANGEL’s shoulder and smiled. “Things change.”
All she did was nod and try to hold back the rest of her tears.
“But, y’know… sometimes they happen for a reason.”
“Huh?”
She then felt someone whack her head with a metal pole and she lost consciousness. The stylish looking girl chuckled and turned to see her senior, holding the pole in her hands.
“Nice work luring her out, Chiharu.” The elder girl grabbed the ANGEL’s ponytail to lift up her face. “Now then, let’s get rid of this ANGEL for good.”
“The girls are gonna love this,” Chiharu grabbed her collar and started dragging her across the floor. “Let’s go, Sanae.”
Tomochin’s POV How could that be possible? Falling from such a height and she didn’t have any wounds, not even a little scratch or bruise. Who is she? Or, rather,
what is she?
I stare peacefully at the sleeping girl on my arms. She was still hugging me, and I could only do the same. Such a ordinary beautiful college girl at first look, but… Her body is not ordinary. She is special, I feel it. And that “Chiyuu”... I didn’t remember something about my past in that country, but this girl… She reminds me of someone, who I really cared about in my past. However, I couldn’t remember…
My legs finally started to hurt from walking all the way to… well, wherever we are, and sat down on the bench, laying Kasai-san down on my lap. Looks like I’ll have to wait for the bus to get back home. I felt her stir in my embrace and she let out another small sound as she awoke.
“...chiyuu…”
Seriously, what the heck is “Chiyuu”? She sleepily rubbed her eyes and looked at me. “...Tomo..?”
“Huh?”
“Tomochin… where are we..?” she asked as she groggily sat up and yawned loudly.
“The bus stop. We’re going home.”
“But… Chiyuu doesn’t want to… Chiyuu’s afraid you’ll get hurt again, and she doesn’t want that…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him, and this time, for good!”
“...Promise?”
I looked at her and saw her pinky held out at me. I chuckled a bit and hugged mine around it. “Yeah, promise.”
What is this feeling? It’s… so nostalgic. I wonder, where I could’ve felt this? Gah… It’s so hard to remember what you can’t anymore… Mou~ this is too tiring!
The bus finally came and stopped in front of us, hissing out a nasty cloud of gasoline and stinking up the place. Kasai-san had to cover her mouth from how bad it smelled.
“Kusai~!”
I laughed in small voice. She’s so cute...
“C’mon, let’s get home.”
“Un…”
Third Person POV The ANGEL hazily opened her eyes and woke up in a dark room. She doesn’t know where she could be, but she had the feeling that flashy girl she met before, Chiharu, had something to do with it. She tried to get up and walk around, but when she tried running for the door, she was restricted by something and shocked back to her knees. She looked back and saw there were chains bounding her to the wall at her wrists and ankles. She was about to scream, but soon found there was tape covering her mouth so no one would hear her.
Cursing silently, she grabbed the chains under her hands and started pulling with all her might. She could feel the chains being pulled and held out from the brick wall, but it was also blindingly painful to try and stretch them out and break them. She was grunting and gritting her teeth under the tape, sweat already forming and a vein bulging out of her forehead and arm muscles. She shut her eyes tight from the pain until she was finally able to break the chain at her right arm loose and fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
Without waiting any longer, she pulled out the other chain binding her left arm, while trying NOT to pull her arm out of its socket, and proceeded to pick the lock at the shackles down on her feet. Once she was free, she threw the chains to the side and ripped the tape off her mouth. She winced in pain slightly, feeling she might have just pulled out the tiny, not visible hairs under her lip.
“Well, at least I got rid of that damn moustache…” she chuckled under her breath.
She quickly slammed open the door with all her might, crashing to the ground. When she got back up, she held her shoulder, feeling it still throb in pain. Looking at her own hand, she saw some slight blood seeping from her jacket.
“My powers still haven’t fully recovered yet...” She gripped her bloody fist, remembering that there was still something she had to do.
But first, she had to find the freaks who kidnapped her and make sure they don’t hurt her or anyone else again.
“Just a little longer...”
Sado stood alone in her room, staring at herself in the mirror, wearing her strange new attire given to her by her four Unders. Seeing such a new and different change of style made her feel weird, but at the same time, she liked her new look. As she headed back to her throne, she approached the still unbloomed cherry blossom tree. On its trunk, centered by thick, thorn covered green vines, was a single blood red rose blooming in the middle of the tree.
“Soon…” she spoke up in the darkness, “The time shall come...”
Haruna’s POV Acchan didn’t come to school today. That empty desk at the front of the class instantly got everyone’s attention, and it made us worry. When she didn’t come even by lunch, I tried to call her, but her cell was turned off. I didn’t know the phone number to her apartment, so we had no choice but to visit her after school and see if she’s okay.
“Hey, what if she’s not there?” Yuko brought up in the silence of the bus.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe she went out somewhere.”
“Alright. Then, me and Yukirin will go and check to see if she’s home. You and Mayu search downtown for her. We don’t know if she had to run errands or if…” I looked around to make sure no one was listening before continuing. “..if someone took her.”
“Okay.”
Yuko’s POV Once we left the bus stop downtown, Nyan-nyan and Yukirin headed towards Acchan’s apartment while me and Mayu started searching downtown. We tried looking through all the convenience stores and local markets, but no one saw her or her Dad. We even asked them if they saw anyone with red hair(the ANGEL we had saved before), and they did, but they don’t seem to know who she is. We decided to take a break and stopped for some ice cream.
“God, it’s so hot~!”
“We’ll be out of school soon, so don’t pout,” Mayu scolded me while eating her vanilla soft serve. I sat down beside her, pouting as I ate my chocolate ice cream.
I then thought of something that’s been bugging me ever since me and Haruna started officially dating, and I really need to get it out and tell someone.
“Hey, Mayu-chan…”
“Hm?”
“Uh… H-have you ever gone on a… date with someone?”
She about choked on her ice cream and looked at me with wide eyes. “W-what?!”
“I kinda wanna go on a date with Haruna… but I have no idea how. So~, I thought I should ask you.”
“Why are you going to ME for advice?”
“You play a bunch of dating sim games, don’t you? I thought, maybe, just maybe, you could….” She was just glaring at me with this emotionless face. Desperate, I got down on my knees and bowed down in front of her. “Teach me your ways, Mayu-chan!!!”
“Eh?!” She blushed madly, backing away from me a bit. “D-don’t do that. People are staring!”
“Please, I need your help! I wanna make my first date with Nyan-nyan perfect!” I grabbed her collar and gave her my puppy-eyed, begging face stare. “Pweaze, Mayu-tan~?”
“Uhh….”
“Pweeeeeeeeaze?”
She just looked around, trying to break my gaze, but she eventually gave in and sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
“Yaaaaay!!” I jumped up and hugged her around the neck. “Thank you~!”
“Yuko-chan? Mayu-chan?” A familiar voice rang in my ears as I looked behind and saw a certain scientist walking towards us.
“Mai-Mai!”
“What are you two doing here?”
“We’re actually looking for Acchan, and possibly that ANGEL. Acchan didn’t come to school today, so Yukirin and Nyan-nyan are at her house to see if she’s home.”
“Ah, so she and Minami finally got back together.”
Eh? Minami? “W-wait… who’s Minami?” Mayu was speaking in a soft, serious tone. And that look in her eyes… it was so different than normal.
“Oh, the ANGEL you saved yesterday. That’s her name; Takahashi Minami.”
“You mean…” Mayu spoke up, “She’s the one who went missing almost three years ago?”
“Eh?”
Meanwhile…Haruna’s POV We finally arrived at Acchan’s apartment building. We rang the doorbell, but no one came and answered. After waiting a few seconds, we tried again and again, and finally, Acchan came to the door. Only, her hair was a bit messy and she was still in her pajamas.
“Guys? What are you doing here?”
“We wanted to check on you to see if you were alright. You didn’t come to school and everyone was worried about you.”
“Oh, I’m fine. I had a little headache this morning, but I’m fine now,” she replied with a smile, but somehow, it didn’t seem to reach her eyes. The wrinkle in her nose didn’t even appear when she did.
“May we come in?”
“Sure.” She let us in and started fixing us a small snack for us. The very first thing we noticed was that the ANGEL was gone. Where could she be? I checked her room to see if she was sleeping there, but there was absolutely no sight of her in the apartment.
“Hey, Acchan, where’s that girl?”
“Hm?” She turned to look at me, carrying the plates of snacks in both her hands. “Oh, she went to run a few errands for me. I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t have a place to live anymore.”
“So, you’re going to let her live with you now?”
“I guess. I don’t think I have much of a choice. What if those people come after her again?”
“Don’t worry. Mai-san said she was going to make sure Minoru will be arrested and everything at the B.L.U.E. organization will be taken care of.”
She just nodded and sighed as she sank into her chair. I clenched my fists, knowing it was hard to think about what could’ve happened to that girl. But, Acchan seems to be thinking about something more. Her eyes weren’t as bright as normal, and she was really deep in thought, even as Yuki and I kept talking and she never listened. Even after she said, “I wonder when she’ll come back,” she just nodded and didn’t seem to pay full attention.
After a while, she finally smiled and looked at us. “Hey, you guys wanna hang out today?”
“Eh?”
“I just wanna finally hang out like a normal teenager again. No more ANGEL business and stuff like that. Y’know? Just spending time together and having fun, before we even knew Yuuchan and Mayuyu were ANGELs.”
“You’re not worried something’s gonna happen?”
“No. I don’t want to think about that stuff anymore. Just a little break from all this and just...”
I patted her shoulder and smiled. “Okay. I get it. Sure, let’s hang out today.”
“Haruna, are you sure? Yuko and Mayu--”
“I’ll call them and tell them what we’re doing. It can be just the three of us,” I answered Yuki as I got out my phone and dialed Mayu’s cell phone number. I heard the tone go off and waited until she picked up. “Hey, Mayu, did you find that girl yet?”
“The ANGEL? No, but me and Yuko are with Mai, and we got a lead on her.” “You did?!”
“What?”
“They’re at Mai-san’s place. She said she told them about the ANGEL.” I put the phone on speaker and Mayu’s image came up. “Tell us what you know so far.”
“Her name is Takahashi Minami. She was created by an ANGEL facility called ‘Accel Inc.’ over 80 years ago. She was captured by the B.L.U.E. organization three years ago because of her strong powers. I was still able to make contact with the scientists who created me even after my training was finished, and when I contacted them, they knew about it and was already doing an investigation on her anyways. All facilities contain and collect info on every ANGEL existing, so if something happens, it informs them immediately.” “Well, no wonder they wanted to keep her locked up for so long.”
“Look, uhh, we’re headed downtown to search for her, so do you think you guys can meet us up later? We’ll be in Akihabara.”
“Okay. We’ll call you if we find out anything.” I was about to hang up, but then…
“Oh, and Acchan.” “Eh? What’s wrong?”
“Um… how did Minami act towards you?” “How did she act? Mm, normal, I guess. She’s really nice, and super sweet. She even made us breakfast this morning.”
“Is that all?” “Yup. She’s just a normal, friendly ANGEL.”
Mayu looked confused, but she just smiled again, slightly, and nodded.
“Okay. I’ll call you later, I guess.” “Okay. Bye, guys.” I hung up and put my phone back in my pocket. “I wonder what that was about...”
“Acchan, do you know that ANGEL?”
“No, not really. She’s just really nice,” Acchan giggled as she got up. “I’m gonna get dressed and then we’ll be off.”
“Okay.”
Tomochin’s POV When we sat in the bus, Kasai-san fallen asleep in my shoulder again. Is this girl really that sleepy? Then again, we were up pretty late, and got up early. As I’m an idol, I understand how to deal with those schedules.
Hm… Her face is so cute when she’s asleep. And, her snoring is cute, too. ..But... why do I think that? I need to relax, because all this tension is driving me crazy.
We finally reached home and I tried to wake Kasai-san up, but she was still fast asleep.
Mou, this girl is really hopeless... What do I need to do, carry her on my back? ...Mou~, guess I don’t have a choice. I picked the girl up in my arms and carried her to her apartment. I could hear her stomach growling loudly, so I thought I should make her lunch. I walked towards the bedroom and put her down gently on the bed. I closed the door and make my way to the kitchen. My arms ached, because that girl was heavier than I thought. I opened the fridge and looked around for something to eat. I found four eggs and a bag of bread.
Good! Let’s have the omelet on breakfast. I hope that Kasai-san will like this. I got two pans and started heating the stove. I broke the eggs into one of the pans and put down a couple slices of bread on another. Soon the incredible smell began to spread around the kitchen and that made my stomach growled. Turns out that I want to eat too. Oops…
I snickered a bit and opened the fridge again to find a few slices of bacon. I thought maybe Kasai-kun bought them to eat, so I decided to cook them, too. Then, I looked around and realized Kasai-kun wasn’t home. I wonder where he could be. Maybe he had to go to work and left already. Oh, well.
After a while, I heard Kasai-san wake up and come in.
“Tomochin, what are you doing..?” she said as she rubbed her eyes cutely like a little kid would.
“Ah, ohayou, Kasai-san. I’m making lunch, or really late breakfast.”
“Oh, really?” she came to me and inhaled. Her stomach growled. “Mmm… I think that I’m a little bit hungry...”
“A little bit?” I laughed. “Your stomach was growling like an engine in a Formula-1 car”.
“Oh...” She blushed. I giggled at her embarrassed reaction.
“By the way, where’s your brother? I want to thank him.”
“Eh?” she seemed to be surprised. “My brother?”
“Yes. He’s working at a local cafe, you remember him?”
I turned off the stove, pulled out the two plates of the closet and put omelet on them. Taking another plate, I put the ready toast on her. I went to the table and put three plates on it.
“Breakfast is ready. Let’s eat.”
She smiled and sat down, grabbing her plate and pulling it closer to her.
“Itadakimasu~” In the next 15 minutes, I heard only the sound of munching and chomping as the very hungry Kasai-san eats artless food that I made. But, I was concerned that she didn’t answer my question. After everything had been eaten and the plates were washed and put in their place, I asked the same question again.
“So, how about your brother?”
She looked at me as if she doubted if she should say something or not. After a minute of silence, she finally spoke.
“Ano… Tomochin… I need to tell you something very important. Just wait for me here, okay?”
I slightly nodded and sat on the chair as she went into the bedroom and shut the door. When it opened again, Kasai-kun came out, wearing his uniform.
….Wait, how did that happen?! “Kasai-kun? Where’s…?”
“I’m not Kasai-kun… Well, I am. We’re the same person.”
“What?!”
“The café I work at is a danso café. It’s my job to dress as a male there. And, when you first saw me, too, and when I met your boyfriend. It was always me, since the beginning.”
“Kasai...” I was shocked. I can’t believe it was him… her… And, I actually considered that I…
No! That… right now, that was a lie. I didn’t say that. Forget what I said.
“But, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I...”
I slowly got up and grabbed my bag from the couch. “I’ll be going now...”
“Wha-? Wait! Tomo!”
I stopped as I reached the door, my hand almost touching the knob.
Tomo? Where have I..? "Tomo... chin... please, don't go..."
“...You… should probably get ready for work. I’ll see you later, Kasai.”
I slowly opened the door and left her. As I closed the door, I leaned up against the wall and held my head.
How could I… think such a thing?
Yuko’s POV At Mai’s apartment, me and Mayu-chan sat down on her large, white couch as she poured us some tea.
“You two want cookies?”
“Hai~” we harmonized.
She walked over and set down the tray carrying the plate of cookies and tea set. She poured us out the tea and the sweet, herbal aroma filled up the entire room. The scent, combined with the almost all white décor, was so beautiful and it calmed and relaxed us.
“Here you are…”
“Thank you~” I instantly took a sip of the tea and the warm, bittersweet flavor of the fresh Black Tea tingled on my tongue and trickled down my throat, heating it up.
“Mm~ Oh my God, this is amazing.” Mayu was enjoying it, too, but unlike her, I was scarfing down the cookies as she was relaxed on the couch only eating one or two while drinking the tea.
“So, tell us more about Minami. Like, what were those headphones she was wearing?”
“Those were created by Minoru. He built them to transmit high frequencies only ANGELs can hear.”
“Like that defective ANGEL.”
“Yes, only, she was never defective. She was a perfect ANGEL when she was first created.”
“Then, what happened?”
“Well, when she was first made, she was smart and very high advanced in her training. However, she wasn’t very strong and would often have trouble during physical training. Minoru didn’t like this at all, and would scold her or even push her past her limit to make her fight. Then, he finally broke her and she had a meltdown. After she calmed down, Minoru made the headphones while she was unconscious.”
“And it made her stronger.”
“Yes. But, it did much more than that.”
“What did they do to her?”
“The sound waves that entered her brain increased her physical strength and she was able to succeed in her training. However, they also reset her mind completely. She lost all her emotion and obeyed Minoru’s commands completely, no matter what it was. She was a mindless robot, a slave controlled right in the palm of his hands.”
“That’s terrible.”
“And he tried to do that to Minami?”
“Yes, but luckily, she was able to resist the brainwashing and endured all that torture so she wouldn’t give into him. Eventually, it resulted in a power overload and she almost died if we didn’t save her and put her in that capsule. Her powers shut down because of the explosion and she had to remain in that capsule to fully charge them. It took two years until she finally woke up, yesterday.”
“So, she’s okay now, right?”
She frowned slightly. “Well, I don’t think all of her powers have been restored yet. Her energy levels were still a bit lower than normal.”
“Even after two years?”
“Minami had a strong power level, the strongest I’ve seen compared to the others. She was truly something else. Hard-headed, brave, and rebellious, with a pure heart of gold. But, she was also very sensitive and caring. I think she’ll be okay, as long as she doesn’t take any major damage."
I slowly set down my cup on the table and looked at her with serious eyes, staring straight into hers. "Mai-Mai... Does Minami... know Acchan?"
A sad smile appeared on her face. "Ah, yes. Maeda Atsuko. She and Minami were very close; she always thought about her and talked about her. It was her
love for her that helped her resist the brainwashing effects of the headphones."
Love? Me and Mayu leaned in closer. "What do you mean by that?"
“Wait, you mean she never told you?”
“Eh?”
Minami’s POV As I sat on the ground, leaning up against the wall, I held my fists together as I tried to gather up as much energy as I could to gain enough strength and fight. I heard some footsteps coming this way, so I quickly hid behind the wall. I saw two shadows pass me and when I looked back over my shoulder, I saw that girl who captured me, along with some other girl, walking down the stairs.
After I heard their footsteps disappear, I hurried down the stairs to try and find the exit. When I reached the bottom of the staircase, I found the door wide open, letting in all the beautiful, warm sunlight and cool fresh air. I was ready to run out, scream in pure joy, then go right to the police to arrest these girls. However, I heard some movement coming from a room downstairs.
They must be in there… I started walking down the stairs and the first thing that came into my mind was the horrid smell. It was hot and damp, making my throat feel dry and tight, clenching and unclenching like a fist.
I swallowed my own saliva as my nose continued to be enveloped by the moist, rotten air combined with a strong scent of burning wood. As I walked down the metal stairs, hearing the echo of my footsteps bouncing off the walls, I found the room just to be an open space, graffiti painted on some of the walls, wood burning in a small fire inside a metal bucket, and what looked like a forklift near the bottom of the stairs.
As I reached the bottom and continued looking around, I heard what sounded like a wooden sword hitting the ground. I turned around and saw a few girls walking up from behind me. More and more appeared, including the two girls I saw earlier. Everyone had the same grey school uniform, with white ribbons, and each one looked different to separate them. Some with lots of jewelry and accessories, some with yarn tied in their hair, some just flashy in all.
“Are~” I turned and saw a woman carrying a can of beer in her hand, a much larger woman with short black hair and wearing a blue jersey following behind her. “What do we have here? What a surprise, meeting up in a place like this.”
“Who are you?”
I heard a giggle coming from my right and I saw three girls wearing lolita dresses and playing with some of their accessories. I got more irritated and looked at the woman again.
“Do you want something from me?”
“God, you’re annoying!” the strawberry voiced girl said. “Look, it’s pretty simple. We’re gonna get rid of you, for good.”
My eyebrow twitched as I saw all of them smile evily at me. “I won’t let you hurt anyone… especially not Atsuko.”
“Huh?! Who the hell’s that?”
“Listen here, missy, this isn’t a one-on-one. Got it?”
I only gripped my fists tighter as I knew what was about to happen. I could only think about her. I could only imagine what she could be doing, and where she is. And, if anything, I can only hope, deep, deep down inside of her, she would surely, truly remember.
Atsuko…
Atsuko’s POV Today was finally a day for us to relax after a long while. Just me, Nyan-nyan, and Yukirin, being regular high school girls. We didn’t do much; we just went shopping a bit, and right now, we’re here at a karaoke box. We ate and celebrated as we each took turns singing songs. I didn’t sing much, I was shy about my voice, but the guys would often force me. They’d both normally sing songs by idols, like AKB, Morning Musume, or Matsuura Aya, and they made me even sing Otsuka Ai’s “Sakuranbo” with them.
But, really, I just wanna forget all about that ANGEL. I seriously don’t understand her. Why did she suddenly kiss me? Ever since, she’s acted strange around me and all these weird migraines keep coming up, irritating and confusing me more. I don’t want the guys to worry and get involved. I just want to leave all of this behind and just have fun. Completely forget about that girl.
“C’mon, Acchan!” Nyan-nyan kept shaking my shoulder while pouting.
“Guys, I’m telling you, my voice is terrible,” I shyly say in between my giggles as they danced and cheered.
“Please~?”
“Come on, Acchan, it’s just one song. You have a great voice.”
“Yeah, but you guys sing better.”
Yukirin looked at the screen and smiled. “Okay, how about this? We’ll all three sing the song together, and whoever has the best score will be named the Queen of Karaoke!”
“Yeah~! Let’s do it!”
I giggled at their excited behavior and got up, taking one of the mics in my hand. “Okay, one song.”
“Yay~”
“So, what are we singing?”
“Hebi-rote! Hebi-rote!”
“OK! AKB48’s ‘Heavy Rotation’!”
Meanwhile…Third Person POV The Boss of the Yabakune girls cracked open her can of beer and widened her eyes in excitement.
“Yabakune!
Merry-go-Round!!!”
Minami stood and watched as the girls started forming a circle around her, all of them gripping their wooden swords and metal poles in their hands.
“FORMATION!!!”
The next thing she knew, they all started circling her, going at a single pace as they stared at her intensely. Minami took in her surroundings and focused her energy as she saw the woman gulp down all the beer and the girls seeming to pick up their pace. She closed her eyes, focusing her power and building it up inside of her. It was weak, but she could feel it; it was strong enough for her to fight these girls, but all of them at once, she’ll just have to see. Time seemed to stop as her mind was taken back to those moments, those memories of her and the time they spent together.
Back at Atsuko’s location...Atsuko’s POV “Heavy Rotation~”
As the song was finishing, I suddenly felt a pulse surge through me. When I turned and looked, I saw a vision of me and that ANGEL, singing together. She looked at me and smiled as she finished.
“Your voice is beautiful, Acchan...”
“Ehehe, yours is better.” “Acchan?”
“What's wrong?”
“Hey, ******, from now on, can you just call me ‘Atsuko’?”
“E-eh? But, why?”
“I don’t know. I guess… because you’re my best friend.” “Hey, Acchan, are you okay?”
“Can you hear us?”
“...Okay. So, Atsuko, then.” “Acchan!” I heard the two call for me and I saw them in front of me once more.
“Wha-?”
“What happened? You were spacing out a bit there.”
“I...”
At Minami’s location...Third Person POV Minami was surrounded by calm silence, all other noises and scents disappeared in her mind as she was in her dreamland, until she finally heard the can drop to the ground, as if it were thrown up in the air, and everyone charged at her. She opened her eyes and started dodging their attacks and successfully hit a few of them while they kept trying to hit her.
She was able to hit a girl once and knock her to the ground, but the second after, she obtained a blow to the back. And again. And again. She turned and was ready to hit them, but was thrown back by another pole that hit her. She was thrown over to another girl, who punched her in the face and almost knocked her down, but was able to regain her balance.
“Damnit...”
At Atsuko’s location...Atsuko’s POV “******!” I suddenly felt my heart pound extremely hard, as if it were about to come out of my chest. A sharp pain shocked me in the head, a high tone ringing in my ears as I clutched my forehead and dropped the mic in my hand.
“Acchan?!”
“What’s wrong?”
I sat down as I felt my head pulse, but… there was pain somewhere else. There was a strong pain in my back that almost caused me to fall down, but I was able to sit down before something could happen. Another pulse rushed through me as the pain was also somewhere near my cheek. I gritted my teeth as I winced in pain silently.
“Acchan?”
At Minami’s location...Third Person POV “No, Minami! Don’t think about her!” She tried to concentrate as someone pulled her by her collar and whacked her with a pole again.
“No… Don’t think about her. Don’t think about how beautiful she is when she smiles, how cute her laugh is, how sweet she is to you.” She punched the girl square in the nose, but she couldn’t get the thought of her out of her mind. That sweet voice that was music to her ears, the glowing beauty in her eyes, that perfect smile formed in her soft, luscious pink lips.
“Minami… promise you won’t get into fights anymore. Please, for me?” She heard her voice echo in her ears again.
“Argh! No, don’t!” “Eat it!” She felt someone push her against the stair rail, hitting her with the pole before throwing her to the ground.
At Atsuko’s location...Atsuko’s POV “******!!!!” I can hear her, I can see her, but why? Why are these thoughts still in my head? They aren’t real; she just put them in my head. They just can’t be real. Me and this girl, we’ve never met, and we never--
“A promise...”
Eh? The vision I saw; it was me and her at the side of a hill. And in her hand… were the bracelets. The exact same bracelets on my wrists. The ones I got from…
“Our promise. Don’t you forget it, kay?”
“Un.” During that vision, all that pain faded away. I could only feel this weird, tingling feeling inside my chest that made my whole body numb. Finally, I was able to calm down as it ended, but my head was still throbbing from the intensity of the vision. I looked at my wrist, at the bracelets, remembering what had happened in that vision. She gave them to me, but I know that’s not true. Why would she even do that? Is she messing with my head, or…?
“Acchan, what happened?”
In my confusion, I ran off out of the room, and out of the building. Even after I heard them call for me, I ignored them and continued running. I don’t care where I was going. One thing I knew for sure: I had to find that girl. I need to find out just what she knows about me and why, why she put those thoughts in my head, why she acted so strange around me. I need to find out who she is. Because if I don’t, who knows what will happen next.
I suddenly felt another pulse shock through me and somewhere, a voice told me where to go. I let my feet take me wherever they wanted and I arrived at some abandoned building. I could hear the sound of fighting going on, and screams of pain.
That voice…Back at the karaoke bar...Haruna’s POV “Acchan!!” We ran out to try and find her outside, but she was already long gone when she arrived. “Where did she go?”
“I don’t know. What could’ve gotten into her?”
I suddenly heard Yuki’s phone ring, and when she looked, she saw it was Mayu.
“Moshi-moshi? Mayu? ...No, Acchan just left… I don’t know! She just freaked out and ran off!”
“Is Yuko there?”
“Yeah, here.” She handed the phone to me and I leaned down so we could both hear it.
“Guys, what happened?”
“Are you guys in Akihabara?” “Yeah, we’re at the building with the karaoke bar.”
“Meet us at the Don Quixote. We’ll explain on the way, but we need to find Acchan, now!” “What? Why?”
“We just learned something BIG about Acchan and Minami.”
Tomochin’s POV I can’t believe this… Kasai Tomomi. I don’t know who or what her true identity is anymore. I can’t believe she kept this secret from me. But, really, it’s my fault, too. I was stupid enough to think such damn things, and it made me so… crazy! But… bit by bit, I grew closer to him… well, her. And, the more I got to know who she was, I felt…
I felt this connection. I was afraid of what it could’ve been, I thought I was just drunk or stupid, but even when I was sober, I felt it. And, when she saved me, I saw something in her that made me feel so… amazing…. It was probably… my first love.
….Damnit!!! Why the HELL am I thinking this?! I can’t… I can’t do that. I can’t fall in love with someone, not now, and especially not with a girl. There’s no one I can trust, not that I know I can. All that John ever did was use my dirty little secrets and twist them to his liking to make them so… realistically fake(wow...) and blackmails me and tortures me with them. He hurts me, harasses me, that’s all men ever do. He lied and said he loved me, then he changed.
Then, I met Kasai and finally felt I could trust this person. I felt love that was pure and nowhere near fake. Even though… Kasai Chiyuu, the ikemen college student, wasn’t even real to begin with. He was just a character created by bartender of danso café Queen Dolce III, Kasai Tomomi. How could I have not known? How could I have been so clueless to not see that? I’m such an idiot…
I was a fool… who fell for everything.
Before I knew it, I felt someone grab me from behind, his arm wrapped around my neck, and a handkerchief covering my mouth. I tried to scream and break free, but it was useless. I felt tears blur my eyes as my mind went blank and everything around me disappeared into dark silence.
Minami’s POV Atsuko… I felt one of the girls picked my up by my collar and punch me in the face. I got up and threw her off, but only to feel myself be pushed down and kicked in the stomach. They just laughed and cheered as they watched me suffer. I felt like crying, but I wouldn’t. I won’t cry in front of these monsters and show them I’m weak. Because I’m not. I’m strong. I’ll be strong for her, I promised her. Gritting my teeth, I slowly stood up and felt a burning anger flare up inside me as I looked at them. Right now, my power is still weak. I might not be able to hold on for long.
“I won’t let you touch Atsuko.”
“Hey!” I heard a familiar voice echo inside the room, one that made my heart skip, pound, and ache all at the same time. I turned and saw her at the end of the staircase, watching everything that happened.
No, Atsuko…Atsuko’s POV What is she doing? Doesn’t she know going up against all these people alone… She.. she could get killed! All of these girls, and they’re hurting her so much. And… the Sanshou! Why are THEY here? Did they make them do this to her? Now, that… that’s unforgivable. I stood here, and I watched them, watch them torture her, even after she’s knocked down.
“Hey!” I hurried down and they all stopped to look at me. She just stood there with this sadness in her eyes, this worry… it filled in the emptiness, but it didn’t suit her. It didn’t look like her natural look. Not like… that smile she had in those visions.
Wait… what am I thinking?! “You!” I walked up to her and held out my wrists to show her the bracelets. “What do you know about these?”
“....” She remained silent, still looking at me with a shock expression.
“Look, I’m sorry, but this has gone too far. You keep putting these thoughts in my head, and I can’t take it! Tell me, how much do you know about these? About ME?! Who ARE you?!”
“Atsuko… I…”
“Don’t call me ‘Atsuko’!!!”
“Hey, stay outta this, girly!” One of the girls was about to hit me with a wooden sword, but the ANGEL got in front of me and took the blow. I suddenly felt a surge of pain through me that very second and held my chest, feeling it pumping inside of me intensely. And, there was pain at my shoulder. The right shoulder, the same one that she got hit with from the sword.
What? “Oh, I see~” I saw an older-looking woman giggle as she twirled her braided hair. “You two are connected, huh?”
“Huh? What are you--”
“That means, if we kill the ANGEL...” Myao came up and grabbed my wrist. Before I knew it, Rabutan hooked a pair of pink handcuffs on me. “We’ll get rid of her too!”
“No!” She tried to stop them, but was whacked in the head with a metal pole and fell to her knees. I could feel the pain rage through me, along with the same high-pitched tone I heard ever since she had kissed me that night. The Sanshou girls dragged me over to a large pole standing in the ground on the right side of the room and cuffed my hands behind it so I couldn’t move. I could only watch as I saw them pick the ANGEL up, who was still dizzy from that blow to her head.
“PREZ!!!”
They were lined up on both sides to create a path for their boss, who was standing at the end with a smirk on her face. The ANGEL didn’t even try to break free from the two girls holding her. The boss spit out the gum she was shooting and rolled her neck. She looked at her with a smirk before going wild.
“Yabakune!!!
Murofushi!!!”
The large woman behind her grabbed her arm and started spinning her around as the girls cheered and screamed out in excitement. As I was watching this, it gave me a headache as her spinning was blurry and making me dizzy, and I could see it was affecting her too. The woman finally let her go, letting out a loud scream. She bulleted towards the ANGEL at almost light speed before she jumped up and kicked her, sending her flying until she crashed into the forklift and rolled on the floor in pain, holding her head.
That moment, everything just seemed to stop and I felt my heart pounding endlessly. My head felt like it was being slammed into a wall over and over and I couldn’t think at all. Everything else in my world went dark as I heard her voice calling out for me over and over. Inside my mind, I felt the need to scream out her name, to cry my eyes out as this immense pain took over my heart.
No…
Tomomi’s POV At work, I sat against the counter with my head hung low. Right now, I felt so horrible because I hurt Tomochin’s feelings. I rarely spoke to the customers, my flairs weren’t as good as always, and people thought that I was sick.
“Kasai, maybe you should just go home for today.”
“N-no, I’m fine...” I put on a fake smile and tried to keep going.
I feel awful having to think about what Tomo might think of me now. I thought, if I told her, that I was her childhood friend, and an ANGEL, who I was, she’d remember and accept me. I thought I could explain to her everything, what I can do now to protect her… like that night….
When we fell from her apartment, I was badly injured, it took a while before my healing powers kicked in and slowly healed my wounds. My dislocated shoulder, though, was another story...bluntly, it HURT. Luckily, though, Tomo was only barely injured since I protected her, but she had blood at the side of her head. I took out my handkerchief and started cleaning up the small wound, then I picked her up and started carrying her.
I was running far, far away from here, because I didn’t want to see John and he hurt Tomo again. I found this dirty and smelly lane and decided to wait here, because I think that in that place, maybe, we’d be safe. All night, I guarded Tomochin and watched her while my body recovering from injuries. And now she was mad at me… I wonder, why? Because I’m not ikemen Kasai-kun? My heart aching because of this…
“Oi, Kasai-kun! What are you doing?” I heard my chief’s voice and wake up from my thoughts. When I did this, I realized that I spilled one of the client’s cocktails on the bar, and now a green puddle forming on the floor.
“Gomenasai!” I bowed to chief.
“Nee, Kasai-kun, go home for today. You need this.” He patted my shoulder. “Sato-kun will replace you.”
“Ah… Roger...”
I went to the dressing room and changed into my regular clothes. Suddenly, my cell phone start ringing. I looked at it and saw the caller ID said “Unknown.”
Who is this? I pressed the green button and answer to the call. “Moshi-moshi? Kasai desu.”
“Hey you, bastard!” I recognized that voice. John!
“What are you want from me?”
“How rude...” He giggled.
“Your bitch Itano is in my hands.” “What do you do with Tomochin?!” I was really pissed off. What could have he done to her?
“I did nothing to her. But if you don’t come, she will die horribly.” “Where are you?”
“Come to the thirteenth warehouse. I will wait for you.” And he laughed.
I shut off my phone. That bastard… I’ll kill him. Then, my legs bolted and I ran through the backdoor.
Tomochin, wait for me!
Minami’s POV “Minami… Minami..!”
Atsuko...
“Minami, promise you won’t leave me.”
Atsuko, please…
“Thank you, Minami. You’re my best friend.” Atsuko, don’t talk to me like that, that sweet voice that just makes my heart melt. Don’t look at me with those eyes, those gorgeous eyes I can get lost in forever. I can’t forget you. I can’t forget that moment, that day that broke my heart. I don’t want to see you cry anymore. I just want you back. Please, remember those moments we had, where you would just fall into my embrace in a dream that could never be broken. God, why do you do that to me, Atsuko? I love you…
“So this is how it is, huh, ANGEL?”
I just laid there and watched as they charged at me, ready to give me another beating. All this pain, all this suffering, I’ll endure it, so you won’t get hurt.
I’m sorry, Atsuko… I failed…
Tomomi’s POV I rushed to the warehouse building that was on the city’s end. It truly was, as I thought it would be, the most awful place that I’ve ever seen. The light was coming from the second floor, so I opened the rusty creaking door and ran to the staircase. One set of stairs led down and the other was in the mud of some unknown content. The air smelled of something unpleasant and I thought I was gonna puke because of it. It seemed that everything rotten could be found here, all gathered together.
I found another door which had been beaten down and metal chains on the ground next to it. I ran inside and saw a flight of stairs leading to a lit room. I also noticed there was a closet nearby with the lock had scratches from a knife on it. I heard someone banging, and when I pressed my ear against it, I recognized the voice.
Tomochin! “So, you decided to show up after all, huh?” I saw John walking towards me, a sadistic smile on his face.
“Let Tomochin go!”
“What, that simple? And where’s my last goodbye kiss to her?” He smirked. “Or should I said ‘goodbye’ to both of you?”
He then took a gun out and aimed at my heart.
“Uh-huh… Already running away and falling.” I said in a sarcastic tone. “Leave us in peace! We don’t need your devilish deals here!”
“You don’t wanna fight me and prove yourself to your lil’ bitch friend? What are you, chicken?”
“Gah…” I got really irritated. “I’ll ask you, one last time, to leave us and go away! I don’t want to use violence.”
“Haha… Are you really trying to scare me?”
In one second, he cocked the trigger and shot me. Previously, I wouldn’t have noticed it, but now, it seems my vision became sharper and my speed has increased. As if in slow motion, I saw the bullet fly towards me. I quickly dodged it, and then he broke a board in front of where I was standing.
“How… how did you do that?” John surprisely stared at me. I just glare at my hands. How did I do that? It’s impossible for a human...! But, wait… that’s right, I’m not human. I’m an ANGEL!
Tomochin… Now I know how to protect you! We will live together. Soon... I tensed and, after I felt how my power boiling inside me, I ran up to John faster than anyone and hit his face with my right fist. He fell on dirty floor.
“Wow… You ANGELs are unpredictable.” He wiped the blood that flowed from his splitting lip.
What? I went to his side and picked him up by his collar.
“How you learn about ANGELs, bastard?” I was really pissed off, because that human being knows who we are.
“We all have our sources of information. And secrets too. Isn’t that right, ANGEL Kasai Tomomi-san?” He wheezed and grinned. “But very soon, both of you and your damn allies will be dead. I’ll kill you. Every single one.”
“You can’t do that because I’ll kill your fucking body and burn it up. For Tomochin, for Korisu, for anyone of my friends and important people.” I could feel the rage rise from my heart.
I felt like I started to circle around a light breeze, that soon turned into a tornado. I saw his eyes widened when he saw what was happening. I could feel my power consume my consciousness. I can’t control my body. The rage was in control of me now. I’m scared…
Somebody, help me! Tomochin... Suddenly I saw a ray of light in a darkness and heard a soft voice. This light was so gentle and beautiful and this voice was so calmly… I close my eyes, when…
“...yuu! ...iyuu! Chiyuu! CHIYUU!” I recognized that voice, but I couldn’t remember who this voice belonged to.
I… don’t remember you… I… want to die…
“Chiyuu, stop this! Come back, please!” This voice was overstraining herself in screaming.
“Come back, Chiyuu, please! I need you!”
My name is… Chiyuu?
“Chiyuu, come back! I love you!!!” I felt like someone hit me on the head. I remembered.
This voice… Tomochin! I need to come back and rescue her! “AAAHHHH!!!” I screamed and open my eyes. The wind ceased and I saw that John was now lying on the ground. His eyes was closed, and his breath seemed to have stopped. I fell to my knees and started breathed heavily.
What did I do? Did I kill him?! I looked behind me as heard a banging coming from down the hall.
“Tomochin!” I gotta hurry and save her. I got up and started running in the direction the banging was coming from. “Tomochin, I’m coming!”
Atsuko’s POV
“******, no!!!” I felt a shock run through me and a sudden vision flashed in my head. This time, it was so intense and painful, that I screamed out loud. I didn’t know if I was even conscious or not anymore. I just screamed and screamed in agony, I can feel as if my heart is breaking, just aching in so much pain. In my ears, I heard this horrible sound that drowned out every other thought in my head. It was just a single tone, but in my head, it sounded like a crescendo of these awful noises that grinded my eardrums and made my whole body feel as though it was being ripped apart.
“No!!! No, PLEASE!!!” I could hear my own voice yelling, screaming, pleading for someone. Something. It only made my heart ache more and I felt like I was going to cry.
“Please, let her go!!!” I shook my head as I felt the sound only become louder.
“Please, don’t take her away from me! I don’t want this!!!”
“Don’t worry.” I heard the familiar chuckle that only came from Minoru himself.
“You won’t even remember you knew her, let alone loved her.”
“NO!!! I don’t want to leave her!!!”
“You’re a nuisance. Everything will be better this way.”
“Don’t do this… Don’t make me forget her! I won’t forget you, ******, never! I’ll come back for you, I PROMISE!!!” I felt as if my heart stopped that moment. Everything around me froze in time again. I stopped screaming, my head hung low. I could hear only the sound of me crying, wailing in pain, until it faded away and silence came to me. The next thing I felt were the tears streaming down my face. I looked up and saw Manamana staring at me. But, there was something different in her eyes. No evil, no darkness… it looked like she pitied me.
“Manamana?” Myao called for her again and she turned away her gaze. I looked over and saw the ANGEL on the ground, blood streaming down from her mouth. Two girls picked her up again, facing the boss.
“Prez!!!”
“Shall we give her the finishing blow?”
I could only sit there and watch as she grinded her foot against the ground, ready to take her down.
“Take this!!!” She screamed out and ran up to her, however, before she could attack, everyone was blown back from a large earthquake that shook the ground. It only lasted a few seconds, and everyone got back on their feet.
“What do you think you’re doing to her?” It was Yuko.
Minami’s POV That girl. Where have I seen her before? She looks like one of the girls that saved me yesterday. There’s a bandage wrapped around her hand. Yup, that’s her, the one that broke the glass containment capsule to free me. She’s incredibly strong. I got up as she started walking over to me, looking at me with serious eyes. She smiled a bit.
“Takahashi Minami… right?”
“Y-yea...”
She turned over back to the stairs, where I saw the other three girls that were with her. Then, she turned back to me and smiled. There was this look in her eyes that made me feel a bit suspicious as to if I can trust her or not. She then glanced over at Atsuko and smirked.
“Tell me…” She said as she leaned closer to my ear. “You’re contracted to Acchan, aren’t you?”
“…!”
How did she…?Atsuko’s POV That ANGEL… Why is it when I look at her, something sparks in me? When I see those eyes, those beautiful dark eyes, it’s like another world. And that voice, the sound of it makes me feel safe. Sometimes it’s strong and confident, but then it could instantly become soft and gentle, and it warmed my heart so much.
….Wait, what? Why am I saying this? I don’t know who she is, I don’t remember meeting her, I…
“Don’t leave me, Atsuko...”
*Ba-BUMP*
Eh?
“Please… you promised… Don’t leave me...” My heart kept pounding, but it didn’t hurt. Instead, I felt this pleasant warmth surge through me, coursing through my veins, right from the core of my heart. I didn’t try to stop the visions, I let them continue.
I was in the hospital, the one I was sent to when I was due for my surgery. Her face was glistening with tears, crying by the side of my bed, holding my hand tight. I was sleeping… No, that can’t be. The machine beside of me is flat lining... Am I dead? She looked up and caressed my cheek, tears falling down her face. She wiped them off and her eyes glowed a bright, passionate red.
“I won’t let you go...” she whispered as she leaned closer and pressed her forehead against mine.
“I absolutely won’t allow it.” Before I knew it, she kissed me deeply, holding my neck as she transferred the medicine into me. It brought back the life inside me and my heart grew so warm.
Then,
boom… boom… boom… I could feel my heart pounding. When I opened my eyes, I saw her hovering over me, a sad smile curved slightly on her tear streaked face.
“Atsuko...”
*Ba-BUMP*
Wait… that happened… That happened, didn’t it? I suddenly felt another spark inside me. I felt something change that made me realize the truth about this… it was real. And everything I saw was real. And all those feelings inside of me, the happiness, the sadness, the pain… all of that was love. True love. That feeling inside of me made all of that pain disappear. I remember. I remember that moment, where she saved me in the hospital, when we made that promise, when we were separated… Oh my god…
How could I forget her? She… She’s my savior… my protector… my… My lover.
“I… I love you, Atsuko.” “Mi...na...mi...”
Minami. Takahashi Minami. She’s the ANGEL who saved me from dying of cancer, the one I’m bound to by the contract… and the girl I fell in love with.
Tomomi’s POV I hurried to the closet where Tomochin had been hiding and saw her cradled against the corner, her mouth taped shut and her arms and legs tied by rope. She looked up at me and screaming, crying. I hurried to her side and untied the ropes. Once I ripped the tape off, she smiled and hugged me, still crying.
“Oh my God, Kasai-san… I was so worried.” She broke the hug and turned to look at me. “Thank you.”
“C’mon, let’s go.” I took her hand and started leading her out of the apartment. It was over. Now, we can go home and not worry.
But, then…
*BANG* “Argh!” I heard a gunshot. Tomochin was in front of me, protecting me. She took the shot for me and blood started seeping out of her back
“Kyaa!!!”
I saw John on the ground, the gun in his hands and blood running down from his forehead. He smiled evily. “Serves you right...”
“No!!!” I watched as Tomochin fell to the ground, holding her shoulder. “Tomochin!”
“D-don’t worry… I’ll be oka--”
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* Three more shots into her back, all to protect me, all so I could live. She smiled weakly as she fell to the ground.
“No! Why? Why did you--?!”
“You’re next, ANGEL!!!”
I ran up, blocking all the bullets by slicing my arm and pushing them away from me in the slashes of wind. I grabbed the gun from him, trying to make him let go. He had a strong grip and readied the trigger one last time.
“You’re finished...”
“NO!!!!” Everything in my mind went blank as I ripped the gun from his grip and shot him… right into his head. He was dead instantly. I dropped the gun and slowly turned to see Tomochin in a pool of her own blood, her breathing deep and heavy as she tried to stay awake. I slowly walked to her side and fell to my knees. “Tomochin… hic…. I’m sorry… Th-this is..hic..all my fault… hic….”
“N-no, Kasai-san… th-this is all… m-m-my fault… I was s-stupid enough to fall in love with John… a-and now, because of me...”
“Tomochin, please don’t say that! If I never met you, none of this would’ve happened! We wouldn’t have gotten dragged into this!!!”
But… meeting each other… was what I wanted the most… How did it end like this? “K-Kasai… -san...”
My eyes widened as she smiled and looked up at me with those gorgeous eyes, her hand cupping my cheek.
“Y-y-you’ll… b-be okay… You’re… a really great girl… I-I’m glad… I g-got to meet you… You’re a…. g-good… friend….” Slowly her voice faded away as her eyes slowly closed and her hand dropped to the ground. Her head tilted to its side as she breathed out her last breath and lost all warmth in her. I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I held my head with both hands, crying over her.
“TOMOOOOO!!!!!”
Minami’s POV The ANGEL smiled at me and patted my head as she knew she had found out the truth about me and Atsuko.
“I thought so...”
“But, how did you know?”
“Uh… Let’s just say, a little birdy told me.”
“Even though one more came, the situation doesn’t change,” the Yabakune boss said, trying to hide her fear. The ANGEL faced the back of me as we were circled by the Yabakune girls. I couldn’t help but look over to Atsuko, who had obviously been crying. Her head turned towards me and she cried more.
“Minami….”
I felt this feeling of joy rush inside me and I felt all my power come back. I could feel everything burning like a powerful fire inside of me, that fire that can burst out of me and I turn into fire myself. I closed my eyes, feeling this immense power rush back into me. A smile crossed my face.
“Can you feel it?” I asked the girl behind me. “The fire burning inside of you...”
“You bet. It’s called excitement.”
When I opened my eyes, I could feel the atmosphere around me change, and it felt good. The sweat at the back of my neck was long gone, and I had no fear or pain left. Only fire.
“Cover my back, will ya?” I said to her as I felt my wounds heal and I gripped my fists.
“Same here,” she chuckled back as she knelt down and held her knees.
As they started to charge at us, I felt everything happen in a flash. It was just one punch and kick after another, and every time we knocked them down, they got back up, just wanting more. I didn’t mind this at all; I wasn’t afraid anymore. I can take down these girls now, and nothing was gonna stop me. I saw as all of them suddenly became scared of our strength, still circling us, but backed away and refrained from attacking. I turned and saw the other ANGEL took down a few girls herself, but she was watching me, a smile on her face.
“You’re better than I thought...”
I saw the boss growl and stomp her foot.
“Yabakune~ Merry-go-Round~~~!!!!”
I stomped my foot, too, and fire circled the entire area. It caught onto their bodies and burned them instantly. They turned into clumps of burnt vines and plants and fell to the ground, dissolving into black dust. Only the three lolitas were left, and now it’s time to punish them for doing this to me and Atsuko.
We both ran towards them, letting out our battle cries. I coated my arm in fire as she clenched hers hard and a veil bulged out. Raising our fists together, we were ready to punch the two girls in front of us, until the girl in the white dress came in front, opening her parasol. Our punches combined instantly crushed it, then burned it, and we hit her chest, engulfing her body in flames and sending her flying into the wall. The fire disappeared around her and her body and dress were covered in black dust.
“Manamana!” the two others screamed as they rushed to her side. The girl Manamana was slowly fading away into black dust and her parasol fell out of her hands. There were tears forming and slowly running down her eyes as she laid there, her sisters crying on top of her. She held their arms and gave them the burnt parasol.
“Good...bye….” Her eyes slowly closed and she completely disappeared, a pile of black dust leaving her place, along with a small pink key that matched the handcuffs on Atsuko. The two girls looked at us, seriously pissed at killing her sister, but all that anger faded away and they ran off crying.
Biting my lip, I looked at the ANGEL behind me to see if I did something wrong. She just shrugged and scratched her head. She told me that they were fighting against us, anyways, so I think I should be happy I defeated one of them. I stood up and took the key over to unlock Atsuko’s handcuffs. As I did, the other three came down and were shocked to see the scene.
"What... happened?" the tallest girl with big ears asked.
"The midget over there burnt them. And, Manamana's gone, too. Blame her."
My eyebrow twitched at that. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!”
“Ehehehe...” She shouldn’t be laughing. She's just a few inches taller than me; I'm not THAT short. And who gave her the write to pass the buck onto me? She’s as much a part of this as I am.
Ah, forget it… I just met the girl, anyways.
"One down, two to go," one girl with raven black hair spoke as she rubbed the black material in her hands.
"Where did all this soot come from?" a girl with twin pigtails that I instantly recognized as a younger ANGEL. She’s… Watanabe, I think.
"Again, blame her."
"Mou~ quit that, Yuuchan!"
"Ufufu, okay, Nyan-nyan. I'll stop..." She hugged the tall girl and sent me a devilish smile. "For now~"
I ignored her teasing and unlocked the cuffs holding Atsuko’s wrists behind her back. She turned around and looked at me with teary eyes.
“Are you okay, Atsuko?”
She remained silent and stared at me, tears began streaming down her eyes again.
I guess… it’s hopeless now. I was about to leave, but then I felt someone grab my wrist. I turned and saw Atsuko, who suddenly pulled me close and hugged me. She softly cried into my shoulder as she hugged me tighter.
“Minami…! I missed you so much!”
“Atsuko...”
She remembers me. Finally, after so long, she remembers me. I closed my eyes in pure bliss and hugged her back.
“I missed you, too.”
“I’m so sorry… hic... I said all those things to you… I-I.. hic… I couldn’t remember… anything… hic... I-I didn’t mean any of it, I… hic… I’m sorry...”
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault,” I reassured her as our knees buckled and we fell to the ground. I caressed her hair, letting her sob silently into my chest. “They made you forget...”
I felt her clutch onto me tighter as I slowly broke the hug to face her.
“But, it’s over now… We can be together again, and this time, forever.”
“Minam--” I shut her up with a kiss, sweet and tender. I don’t want her to cry. I just want her to smile, to let me hold her and love her. I could hear the others squeal a bit as they watched, but ignored it and continued kissing her. When we parted, I could finally see those beautiful eyes sparkle, that warm smile I loved so much. “Minami...”
“I love you, Atsuko.”
“I love you, too, Minami.”
Tomomi’s POV “Tomo! Tomo, no please!” I shook her body, trying to wake her up, but she wouldn’t respond. I kept calling to her over and over, but it was no use. She was gone, dead, and I couldn’t save her now. It was too late.
No… Tomo..! “Tomo! This is all my fault! Because of me… I..! I wish this never happened! I wish I could go back and redo my meeting with you! I could’ve meet you sooner, I could’ve saved you before you were hurt! I could be with you and nothing bad would happen...”
I beat her chest, trying to make her heartbeat again.
“Please! COME BACK TO ME, TOMO!!!”
I slowly lifted her body up, caressing her beautiful face. I slowly let our lips meet as I transferred the oxygen into her.
Breathe, Tomo… But, that same moment, I felt something much more. I felt this warmth that couldn’t be explained. Even though her body was ice cold, it was warm, and it was sweet. I felt myself let out something and it entered Tomo’s mouth, slowly dripping down the side of her lips and down her chin.
I broke the kiss and saw a purple liquid trailed down the side on her mouth. I covered my mouth, realizing it came out of me. Yuko told me that ANGELs can create a special elixir that can bound two souls by a contract when the human is near death. And, it could only be transferred by a kiss…
“Tomo...” I smiled and hugged her body, crying into her shoulder more. “Thank God… I-I… I...”
I can save you… We can be together… “Tomo, please hold on for me...”
Yuko’s POV We were finally able to destroy one of the Sanshou, along with the Yabakune minions, and got home safely. Acchan was still in Minami’s embrace, fast asleep after she calmed down from crying. I walked over and saw her smiling as she continued petting her head.
“So, you two are lovers, eh?”
“Ah! Y-yes, she and I… we’ve been together for so long. It broke my heart when we were separated for almost three whole years.”
“But, Acchan didn’t seem to remember you at first.”
“The scientists at the B.L.U.E. organization erased her memory. They tried to do the same with me, but I wasn’t going to give up Atsuko so easily. Now, maybe I can start school normally again and keep my promise with her.”
“Promise?”
“She and I made a deal that, if I quit fighting people, which I did a lot back then, we’d start studying to become nurses.”
“Nurses?” I said, a bit surprised.
“Oh yeah...” Mayu said, “A lot of nurses and doctors I know became doctors after finishing medical school.”
Yuki smiled and said, “And Acchan did say once she wanted to study nursing.”
I giggled and patted the short ANGEL’s head. “Now, that’s love.”
“What?” I saw Haruna come down the stairs and saw me.
And, speaking of which…
“Nee, Nyan-nyan...” I stood up and approached her, catching everyone’s attention.
“Eh? What?”
“Nyan-nyan… this Friday, you wanna…..go on a date with me?” I bowed down really far, holding out my hand.
“EH?!”
Tomochin's POV “....Mm...” I slowly opened my eyes and saw myself back in Kasai-san’s apartment. I shot up and felt my back. No wounds. And, these clothes, they aren’t my clothes. These were Kasai-san’s. And, speaking of which, I saw her asleep on my side, her eyes glistening with tears. “K-Kasai-san?!”
My voice instantly woke her up, and when she saw me, she instantly hugged me. “Tomo! This isn’t a dream, right? You’re alive?! You’re REALLY alive!!!”
I was shocked at her sudden behavior. She kept crying as she hugged me tight.
“Kasai-san...” She broke the hug and when I saw her crying face, something inside me sparked. It’s as if a bell went off in my head. Her crying face… her smile… something about it was familiar.
Kasai… Tomomi… "Chiyuu wants to sleep. She didn't sleep well last night..." Wait! My eyes widened as I suddenly remembered something I haven’t thought about in such a long time. A memory I hadn’t remembered for so long because of the stress of my career. I picked up her hand, and when I saw her pinky, my heart skipped a beat.
The ring! “Chiyuu?” I could see that brightness in her eyes that matched with Chiyuu’s so well…
No. Kasai-san was Chiyuu. She IS Chiyuu. “Chiyuu!!!” I hugged her tight, unconsciously crying from the memories in my head, playing over and over like a broken record. “Oh God… it’s really you.”
“Tomo, I’m so glad you remembered me.”
“Wait… you knew?”
“I never stopped thinking about you. Ever since you moved away, I wanted to see you so bad. And, then I became an ANGEL; long story, by the way. I was so sure I’d see you again. I wanted nothing more but to see you.”
“Chiyuu...” I broke the hug and wiped away my tears. “You saved me… Thank you. You really are an angel.”
“Oh, Tomo~!!!” she started wailing again and sunk into my arms.
You’re my angel. My savior. My very best.. best friend.
Topic: REBORN 2016 Reboot - Chapter 5 (042517) (Read 67676 times)