He was not supposed to be next on my hitlist. But something came up.
===
I told you that Mike-san can talk to me in my dreams, right? That's how they were able to reach me. 'They' because it was his host that appeared in my dream.
***
"Maiha-chan? Maiha-chan?"
"I-I didn't copy her homework, Ma'am. In fact, I had no intention of doing the homework anyway..."
"Silly. You're not in school. You're still asleep."
"If I'm still asleep, how are you able to talk to me?"
"Err...the same way that angel talks to you?"
"Fuck! You're one of those demons aren't you? Who are yo....Kumaichan?!"
"So you really are the rejec...I mean, I mean..."
"Damn. Even my dreams betray me."
"Sorry. What I was trying to say was..."
"Yes I'm the reject. And I'm also the one assigned to get rid of those demons inside your bodies."
"..."
"Wait. I didn't say anything about demons inside your bodies right?"
"It's okay. I know."
"You know?!"
"Yes. I know that I'm a host. I know what you did to Momo."
"I see. That is what this is all about, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"So, are you gonna kill me now or what?"
"That's not my intention. I came here to ask you if we could meet tomorrow. He wants to talk to you."
"He? He?! Oh my! Don't tell me...You have a boyfriend?!!"
"No! Of course not!"
"You're blushing."
"He's...not...he's not..."
"It's the demon who wants to talk to me, right?"
"Y-yes."
"It's not a trap, isn't it?"
"Even if it were a trap, you'd still go to save me, right?"
"I'll think about it."
"Maiha-chan?!!!"
"Just kidding. You know I can't resist you Kumaichan. You're yummy...I mean...nice. Hey, how come I'm taller than you now?"
"Of course. You're dreaming."
"Oh yeah. I fail in life..."
"Tomorrow, we'll see how much you've shrunk."
"I'm taller than Momo."
"Really? Haha. Alright. I'll let you get back to your sleep now Maiha-chan."
"Thanks. Wanna sleep with me?" *wink*
"Eeewww! Since when did you become a perv?"
"Errr...since Momo slept with me?"
"..."
"What? I wasn't implying anything perv. Momo asked me to sleep over her place. That's all."
"I see. Maybe you can sleep over my house too. When all of this is through."
"Can the two of us fit in one bed? Coz you know, you're tall and..."
"That's what we need to find out."
"Haha. Okay, I'm gonna sleep now. See you tomorrow then..."
Funny. Because I woke up and was never able to get back to sleep after that.
***
The next day, I consulted Mike-san about that dream. I needed his advice before I do anything.
"Even if it were a trap, you'd still go to save her, right?"
"Well yeah. Wait. Were you snooping in my dream?"
"No. Why?"
"That's exactly what Kumaichan told me. Anyway, have you already identified the demon she is linked to?"
"Yes. Envy. He's not really dangerous but still, you have to be careful. I do not know how he has changed."
"Envy? Kumaichan's doesn't seem to be envious or the jealous type. I wonder why she was chosen to be the host."
"That's what we need to find out."
"Admit it. You were snooping in my dream. Don't worry, I won't get mad."
"..."
"You're so gullible. I'm just playing around. Mike-san. I know you don't do that. I'm sorry."
*sigh* "To tell you the truth, I vowed never to interrupt your dreams again after seeing you mercilessly tie up that poor classmate of yours in one. I dared not witness what was going to happen next..."
"..."
"It was an accident, okay? I was supposed to ask you something but...yeah. I'm not going to disturb your sleep again."
"Don't be too defensive. I don't mind. You could have joined if you wanted to."
"..."
"Hahaha. I don't remember having that one, but thanks for reminding me. Yuki-kun's so hot...Was it Yuki-kun? Or someone else?"
"You scare me. Not just sometimes now, but most of the time."
"I'm not a bad person."
"I know. Do you think I would have chosen you if you were bad? I trust you, Maiha-chan."
"T-thanks Mike-san. I promise. I won't let you down. I'm going to save my friends."
"You should get going. You don't want to be late."
"I...Right. I should go."
I wanted to tell him something witty again, or maybe just apologize, but I couldn't. I should always keep in mind that this is serious business. I know I should stop joking around, but I just can't. Maybe because he's the first grown up that's put up and has tolerated anything and everything I've done and told him.
Maybe...could it be...I'm infatuated with him?
Nah. He doesn't look like a lolicon person. And he's waaaaaaaay too old for me. It's almost like me falling for a dinosaur or something even older. No offense, Mike-san. You're hot but the oldest I can go for at the moment is twenty...or maybe someone Gackt's age.
I was in line to buy some train tickets when I remembered something: Kumaichan didn't tell me where we were supposed to meet! I gave Momo a call and asked for Kumaichan's number. I sent her a message but this also crossed my mind: what if she wasn't aware of our conversation in my dream and the demon was just using her to lure me in?
Damn, I should have called her first instead of just sending an SMS to make sure. She might think I'm a whacko or a nutcase! I was so relieved when she replied. She also apologized for not giving me any details last night. So it's true. She knows. She's aware that she's a host.
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?
Mike-san was right about keeping the identity of the host secret until I've purged the demon from her. Knowing that Kumaichan's the host just made things a lot more difficult for me. She was nice to me when I was still with them. I don't want to hurt her, even if Mike-san told me before that any injuries inflicted on the demon wouldn’t reflect on the host.
Kumaichan/the demon asked me to meet her in a ramen house not far from the station. I warned her that I didn't bring any money so if we're going to eat, it'll be on her. She didn't say no and she didn't say yes either. But knowing her, she'd let me eat whatever I want. She's been like that even before. She'd cover us when we didn't have enough money and she doesn't even ask to pay her back. I wish I had a girlfriend like her...
She was already waiting when I arrived. She stood up from her seat when she saw me. Damn, she was tall. Even with my boots, standing next to her makes me look like a midget. She's pretty skinny though. But still, she was more pretty than skinny.
"Hello Kumaichan! Long time no see."
"Maiha-chaaan!!!" she said as she pinched my cheeks. I slapped her hand to stop her.
"Do that again and I'll kick your ass."
"Okay!" What the? She pinched my cheeks again! "I missed you, Maiha-chan!"
"This is war!" I reached up and started to pinch her cheeks too. "First one to let go loses!"
It didn't last for a minute. I lost. I forgot that she has an elastic face.
"That hurts..."
"I beat you, Maiha-chan."
"Yeah. It happened because I'm hungry."
"Go ahead, order anything. It's on me."
"If you say so..."
We had a girly chat while we were eating, like what shampoo she's using, what size of panti...er...pants she buys, and stuff like that. I asked her if she was going out with a boy. She said that they're still not allowed to do that. She asked me if I was seeing someone.
"Not right now. But I had like three or four boyfriends already. And almost one girlfriend."
"Wow! You're such a player."
"It's not my fault that I'm cute. Know what, if you graduate from Berryz, you'd be more of a player than me with that looks."
"Nah. You know I'm a shy person, Maiha-chan."
"Pffft. I 'm sure a lot of boys would want to get your number or take you out for a date."
"Really?"
"Of course. Believe me."
"Thanks."
"So, when do I talk to him?"
"Wait."
Kumaichan closed her eyes. She opened it after a few seconds and her pupils changed, like a Sharingan user.
"Hello, Ishimura-san. It's a pleasure to meet you." her voiced changed too.
"E-Envy right?"
"Right. Umm, maybe you'd like to talk somewhere else. This place isn't safe..."
We left the shop and headed to a nearby park. We settled in one of the benches. It was starting to get dark so we were the only ones left.
"What do you want?" I asked him. "If you want to fight just tell me now so we can get over it."
"Violence is unnecessary, Ishimura-san. I didn't call you out here to battle you."
"What then?"
"I want you...to remove me from Yurina-chan's body."
"Wait, WHAT?!"
"You heard me. Remove me from Yurina-chan's body. That is all I ask of you."
"I heard you alright. But why are you calling her Yurina-chan? Are you close or something?"
"It's a long story."
"As long as it's not a never-ending one, I'm all ears."
"Alright."
"It was during the time you girls were chosen to become Berryz Koubou. All the others were done and I was the only one remaining without a host. I was left with you, Ishimura-san, you and Yurina-chan. It would have been an easy decision. I would have chosen you. Aside from being cute, you were the cream of crap, the rotten apple. In terms of talent, you had very little. Up to now, I still don't understand how you made the cut."
"Fuck you."
"You're welcome. Now back to my story."
"You were the perfect host for me. That attitude alone was enough. It would have been very easy to feed from your essence and I could have easily reached the threshold to attaining my ultimate form...but I chose Yurina-chan instead. Why? Because she had the potential. She looked like she was hiding something inside her, masked by the cheerful personality she exhibited to you. And she was the only pure-hearted girl in your group. There's nothing that sets a demon off more than corrupting a pure heart."
"That can't be denied. She even told me that she's never even seen a guy's thing before."
"Have you?"
"Only in pictures. Miya showed me from a magazine before. And in some manga..."
"Yaoi manga I presume."
"Yeah. I have no shame."
"Hahaha. True, she didn't look as cute as you girls before, her height was normal and in terms of talent, you two were almost equal, except she was a wee bit better."
"Fuck you."
"All my assumptions were proven correct once I linked with Yurina-chan. Deep inside she knew she belonged to the bottom tier of Berryz Koubou. She couldn't sing as good as Natsuyaki or Tsugunaga, or dance as well as Shimizu and Tokunaga. She was insecure. She knew she lacked something. And she wanted to belong. I let her know about my presence in one of her dreams. Maybe she didn't believe that I could actually do it, but she told me what she wanted. I improved her vocals, making her get a spot as one of the front girls. I also improved her dancing and..."
"Whoa there buddy! Are you gonna tell me that you're also responsible for Kumaichan's growth spurt?!"
"Partially, yes. But I just tampered with her hormones a bit. She was going to grow tall anyway. Have you seen her parents? They're like a family of Ultramen! Or like a Sequoia garden when they're walking together!"
"Haven't seen her parents yet... But...do you think you could give me a height boost too?"
"No can do shortie. I can only use my powers on my host. Good luck with your vitamins."
"Weak!"
"Yurina-chan's height aided greatly in my life force consumption. A lot of girls and women not just in Hello! Project wanted to have the same height as her. Also, there were times when Yurina-chan gets jealous whenever she saw the other girls go out boys their height. I pitied her once because the boy she fancied stood only up to her shoulder. He was a penpal and they only talked in letters but when the time came for them to meet, they discovered that horrible truth and both of their hearts were crushed. Yurina-chan still wrote to him but the boy didn't respond anymore."
"Damn. That's pretty sad."
"Yeah. And what's sadder is that he was still taller than you."
"You never stop, don't you?"
"I do, actually."
"Know what, if I became your host, we'd get along pretty well."
"Of course. You're like me trapped in a small girl's body."
"Whatever."
"Anyway, Yurina-chan became what she wanted: famous. She got more lines, her popularity grew, she made a lot of fans, but still, she wasn't as popular as the other members. However, instead of wanting more, the thing that I was scheming the entire time, Yurina-chan was content with her current state. I wanted others to become jealous of her and I wanted her to be jealous of others. Too bad my plan failed. Not only failed, but backfired."
"What do you mean?"
"You see...Yurina-chan...She was happy. She knew when to stop. And that kind of attitude...kind of rubbed into me. I had a change of heart, even if I think I don't have one. She showed me how it is to become content. And being content...wasn't that bad actually, once I've gotten used to it. From all the hosts I ever had before, Yurina-chan was the only one who taught me that I could actually live without trying to be something I can't be."
"So the pure heart corrupted the evil heart huh?"
"You can say that."
"Can't you guys remove yourselves from the host without any help?"
"We can, actually. But if we do that, the host dies. I don't want Yurina-chan to die."
"What happens if I cut you off? Will she shrink? Will she lose her voice?"
"Hahaha. Of course not. What has been done cannot be undone. She will live normally. Well, normal idol life that is. Still no boyfriends."
There was a flash of light and when I looked at him, he was in his demon form.
"What the? You look like Mike-san! Only you have horns...and a tail…which makes you ten times hotter...nevermind...what am I saying..."
"Sorry. Even I don't even know what my real form looks like now. I've always wanted to become one of them, an angel. Too bad the thing I wanted the most is the only thing my powers cannot grant me. Now please, remove me from Yurina-chan and turn me over to Michael. I don't want to cause her trouble anymore."
"What if I don't?"
"It's fine. I'll just wait until I'm the next one on your list. At least you know my story."
"Hmmm. Your story was nice. You almost got me there."
"What do you mean?"
"I almost believed everything that you said...Thanks for setting up this trap!"
"Trap?"
I wasn't sure if he was just playing dumb. But we were surrounded. The demons that surrounded us weren't like the ones I encountered before. They had a pig-like appearance, like that Ganon boss from the Zelda games, except they had wings and an average height of two feet. They were too many for me to count.
"I...I don't have anything to do with this."
"Tsss. I shouldn't have believed you. You're a demon afterall..."
One of the demons leapt towards us and I gave it a right straight. Instead of exploding and splattering it's intestines all over me, it just crumbled and turned into a 500 yen coin. It hurt though. It was almost like punching a hollow block. I was about to pick it up when I heard another crumbling sound behind my back. I turned around and saw Envy pointing his fingers at me.
"Trying to kill me when I'm not looking huh? Nice try."
"I wasn't...one of those demons was coming for you."
I wasn't sure if I should believe him, but there was another 500 yen coin on the ground. The coin was already in my hand when something whizzed in front of me and took it away. Bastard was pretty fast, I say.
"Sorry. But that's mine." it said.
"So. It's you. Greed."
"One of your buddies?"
"Not anymore."
The demon he was talking about made himself visible to us. He looked like the others that surrounded us but he was a bit taller than them. Also, one of his knees was heavily wrapped with bandages. Mike-san said that any injuries inflicted on the demon wouldn’t reflect on the host. However, any injuries on the host will also be seen on the demon. Guess I have a hint who Greed's host is already. Pigs, 500 yen, sprinter and bandaged knee. If you don't know who she is, then you must be a C-ute fan.
"Well, well. If it isn't Envy...and the reject. Good thing I decided to go for a stroll tonight or I haven't learned about your plans."
"I don't want to do anything with you guys anymore! Leave me alone!"
"Having that tall girl as your host made you weak I see. But looks like she provided you with all the energy you need. I can't let it just go to waste when you turn yourself to them. Why don't you just give it to me?"
"No."
"I guess I'll have to take it from you then...."
That was all Greed said before he vanished. The next thing I saw was Envy picking up his head from the ground. The life force he collected was flowing from his neck.
"Why don't you give him a hand, Reject." Greed said he appeared from where he stood earlier and started to drain the life force. "Before I get all the goodies. Good thing you didn't forget to put that holy oil, puffy cheeks, or your head would have fallen off too."
I checked the sides of my neck and there was minor bleeding.
"WHOA! What the fuck?! When did he? Hey, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. It'll take more than that to kill me." he said as he re-attached his head back to his body. "Now do you believe me? I don't have anything to do with this."
"Okay. I believe you. But is Kumaichan alright?"
"As long as I'm in this form, nothing bad will happen to her. She's safe, but I don't know for how long. That's why I'm asking you to extract me from her."
"You knew that Greed would come for you, right?"
"Yeah. That's what always happens. That bastard keeps going after me ever since the beginning. He's a whole lot stronger and faster this time around. Now let's get out of here."
"Ummm, did you forget that we're surrounded?"
"I'll take care of that."
Envy snapped his fingers but there seems to be no effect like when Mike-san snaps his'. I saw the other demons cover their ears but that didn't save them. After a few seconds, their heads exploded and they turned into coins. Only Greed was spared. He didn't know if he should go after us or collect his coins. But Envy seems to know him best because Greed chose to do the latter. We used that opportunity to escape.
***
"Okay, that should do it." I told Envy as I extracted him from Kumaichan's body. "No more tricks from you or I'll be cutting your head off too. And don't try to run off, because I'm going to hunt you down!"
"Thank you for your help, Ishimura-san. Now go, call on Michael to get me."
"Don't you want to say goodbye to Kumaichan properly?"
"I don't think it's necessary. I've done enough damage already. I'm not sure if I can face her."
"What a wuss! Come on, at least give her a chance to tell you that she hates your guts or something."
"You're just doing this so you can sleep over her place."
"Not really...but since you reminded me of it..."
"E-En-chan? Are you still there?" Kumaichan said as she regained her consciousness. "En-chan?"
"I'm still here. But I'll be leaving soon, Yurina-chan."
"Will I ever see you again?"
"I don't know."
"Not even in my dreams?"
"I'm not sure."
Mike-san appeared and asked Envy to go with him. Envy didn't ask questions anymore.
"Goodbye Yurina-chan. Always do your best..."
"T-thanks for everything, En-chan..."
"Thank you too, Yurina-chan. I've learned a lot from you."
Then they vanished. That's probably the last time I'm going to see Envy too. I even forgot to thank him for saving my hide back there.
"You liked the guy didn't you?" I asked Kumaichan as I caught her wiping something from her eyes. "Don't worry, he'll be around."
"Are they...going to kill him?"
"Nah. They'll just make him watch Super Book and Flying House reruns."
"..."
"He'll be fine." I told her as I patted her back. "Let's go home, Kumaichan. It's been a long day."
***
Kumaichan asked me if I still wanted to sleep over when we reached their house. I almost declined because I felt that she needed some time alone, but what the heck. I can't leave her now! She looks like she really needed someone to talk to. It's the least I can do, for all the things she's done for me before.
Her room was very neat and organized, completely opposite from mine.
She let me borrow some of her PJ's...her PJ's when she was still nine years old. But they fit me so it's fine. Kinda tight though.
We still had a chat before we went to sleep. Kumaichan asked me if there's a chance for me to come back to Berryz. I told her that if there's one thing I learned today, it's how to be content. I like being a normal schoolgirl. I'm done with being an idol. Going back to that kind of life would surely make things a lot more difficult for me. And I don't want to be a burden to them anymore.
And what do you know, the two of us fit in her bed.
Her legs kinda liked wrapping around me too.
===
I was worried so I asked Mike-san if the demons would go after the Momo and Kumaichan to get back at me. He said that the demons are naturally selfish. When we captured Gluttony, he could have alerted the others, yet he didn't. It's because he'd rather have the others share the same fate as him than be warned that someone is gonna kick their asses. The seven never cooperate. It has always been survival of the fittest for them, and they would take every chance they can to take each other down. They leave the hosts alone especially when they find out that the demon residing inside them was already apprehended.
But to give me peace of mind, he sent some Sentries to watch over them in case the remaining five wanted to try something funny.
===
My Mom gave me something one day. It was a package coming from a certain "En-chan".
I opened it and it contained a bottle of vitamins. And a note.
"Thanks for all the help, Ishimura-san. If you ever talk to Yurina-chan, please tell her that I'm doing fine. Michael is helping me 'reform'. Take this as a small token of appreciation."
Damn. I still haven't thanked him for saving me...
"P.S. - Those are regular vitamins, not the kind that helped Yurina-chan grow taller. <_<"
On second thought...