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Chapter 10 - Love at First SightSae’s POVYukirin…I stood outside the hall, staring at Yukirin’s empty desk. I came here first thing in the morning so I could apologize to her, try to explain what happened, but she never came to school. I was the first to notice, since she was so quiet, it took a while before anyone else in class found out. I sighed.
“Sae-chan~” I heard Yuko’s voice as she ran out and hugged my arm. “What you poutin’ about?”
“Oh, nothing, Yuko. I’m just.. thinking about Yukirin.”
“You miss her? Yea, I feel you. I wonder if she’s alright.”
Takamina came out and leaned up against the wall. “Hey, guys...”
“Hey...”
I stared up at the ceiling as the two talked. I can still remember clearly what had happened yesterday. Whatever happened, it really upset Yukirin, but… I could’ve sworn I left for home after I talked to her that day. She says I kissed her…
No, that just can’t be. Yukirin is just a really nice girl, and I wanna be friends with her. Still, I get all doki-doki when I’m talking to her and I don’t know what else to say; it’s so weird.
I wonder…. Hrm…“Hey,” I rose my voice and caught their attention. “How do you know… when you’re in love with someone?”
“Eh?” They harmonized.
“Like, when did you first realize you were in love with Nyan-nyan and Acchan?”
“Oh, we’re talkin’ love, are we?” Yuko giggled. “Well, when I first saw Haruna… Mm, I don’t really know what it was. It just hit me, y’know?”
“Oh, same with me! I just understood in that one moment that I really like her,” Takamina responded.
“Speaking of which, you never really told us how you and Acchan first met.”
“Ah! Yea, that’s right. When did you know you liked her, Takamina?”
Takamina turned a bit pink and giggled, covering her mouth. “Well...” she chuckled out softly. “Actually, that’s a bit difficult to say...”
“Huh?”
She sighed and calmed down a bit, fanning herself off before speaking again.
“The thing is, when I first ‘met’ Acchan, she wasn’t a teenager. I actually first met her when she was still a child...”
FlashbackThird Person POV“....” A young child stood under a tree as she watched her bright red balloon swaying in the breeze. The child, who was actually Acchan, didn’t try to call for help or get it herself, for she didn’t know how to do either.
She just stood there, about to cry, when she suddenly felt a light breeze blow across her face. Before she knew it, a black figure flew in, grabbing her balloon, and landed down in front of her. It was none other than Minami, dawning an all-black outfit with these weird accessories attached to her ears.
“Here.” She handed Acchan her balloon and patted her head softly. “Don’t cry. It’s okay.”
“...Th-thank.. you...” she finally let her voice out, staring up at the ANGEL.
End of FlashbackSae’s POV“Eh~ that’s so sweet, Takamina.”
“She was still a child then, and I didn’t want to see a child like her cry. I had to, it was the right thing to do. I soon realized I was unconsciously watching over her, and eventually, I joined the same middle school as her. Before I knew it...”
“It was love, as it was meant to be, right?”
“Haha, exactly.”
“Well, maybe that’s it, Sae. Maybe you just found the right person when you saw her.” Yuko said as she nudged my shoulder. “And I can guess who it is...”
Her finger pointed to Yukirin’s empty desk.
“Yukirin..?”
“It’s SO obvious you have a thing for her.”
“W-what?! That’s not true at all!!!” I felt my face flush madly as Yuko gave me a perverted grin.
“C’mon, you know you want her. After all, I’ve heard the rumors… About you two gettin’ all… smoochy-smoochy.”
“Yuko!!!” I lowered my voice and pulled her closely. “I didn’t kiss her.”
“Everyone says you did. Plus, I saw you sleeping with her in the infirmary. You two looked so cute; you should just ask her out.”
“I can’t do that...” I broke away from her and leaned back against the wall, sinking to the ground. “She probably hates me...”
“You’re in love with her, right?”
I looked up at them, frowning.
“Well, you don’t know that you’re in love right away,” Takamina spoke. “It takes time before you truly realize it. Just think about it to yourself for a while.”
“Thanks guys.”
Yuko ruffled my hair before she and Takamina left. I hugged my knees and sighed into them, still thinking about yesterday. I still remember that face, her crying face. I remember that voice, it was filled with so much pain and shame. Whatever happened to her… really hurt her.
But… just what happened?
Third Person POV“Sado-sama.” Umechan came in and knelt down in front of her Queen.
“What do you have to report, Umeda?”
“The ANGELs killed Manamana.”
Sado’s eyes widened in shock. But only for a short moment, then her head hung low as she groaned lowly. “Damnit… those girls really are useless.”
“Not entirely.” Umechan grinned. “They just needed a little push was all. I was able to give it to them.”
“Really?” Sado’s eyebrow twitched as she looked back at her. “So?”
“So… I summoned the Chaos spirits and had them possess the two. They’re out causing some real mayhem right now.”
She turned to the mirror and touched the glass with her fingertip a bit, a few ripples formed and then the image of the Twin Blades appeared. There was broken glass on the ground, and they were taking all the jewelry and draining the humans of their energy. Behind the masks, they’re eyes were glowing brightly, and they laughed maniacally. Yuka was standing in the corner of the room, smiling as she watched the humans suffer.
Sado smiled slightly. “Very well done.”
Umechan smiled and bowed her head. But when she looked up, that smile had gone.
“But remember...” she said in a low voice. “Chaos demons are quite…incompatible.”
“Yes ma’am...”
Sae’s POVAt lunch, I watched outside the window as Yuko and the others ate outside on the courtyard. I tried to call Yukirin and ask her about what happened to her yesterday and what made her mad, but she didn’t answer. After three more times, I finally gave up. She’s been ignoring me ever since that day. I couldn’t even face her now, I just had to watch from a distance as she suffered with something I didn’t know about.
Although, as I kept thinking about what was going on, I couldn’t help but remember. That pain I felt… that splitting headache accompanied by that voice calling out for someone. I had a good feeling that there was something seriously wrong with me… And I think I know what.
“Sae...” I heard a voice call for me from behind and when I turned around, I saw Mayuyu.
“Mayuyu? What are you…? I-I thought you were eating lunch.”
“I lost my appetite. I was watching you earlier in class; you kept staring at Yukirin’s desk. I know you’re really worried about her. I am, too.”
She walked closer and leaned against the wall beside me. Everyone else was outside or in another part of school, so it was just the two of us.
“Sae… what do you think about her? Yukirin?”
“Eh?”
“What do you like about her?”
Why this question all of the sudden?But, I just sighed and calmly answered her question.
“Well, she’s smart… She answered a lot of questions right in class and she helped me out when I was confused with something. She never lost her cool, and was always so calm and professional, she’s so mature. And, she’s also really cute. When she blushes, I giggle every time. And, just looking at her…. just… wow.”
“Just ‘wow’?”
“Well, I mean… She’s beautiful.”
“Sae...” she pursed her lips a bit and looked at me. “Are you.. in love with Yukirin?”
“Ah! Did you overhear my conversation with Yuko and Takamina? I-I already talked to them, and well...”
“I mean, just the way you talk about her, and the look in your eyes when you do… it lights up.” She giggled, and I did the same. “And… well, I saw you kiss her.”
My eyes widened when she said that. “I saw you kiss her.” She was there when it happened. That means… she might know something..!
I turned around to face her and grabbed her shoulders.
“Mayuyu, you saw what happened, right? Tell me. Tell me everything that happened.”
“Eh? Why?”
“Just tell me, what did I do that day, when and how did I kiss her?”
There was confusion in her eyes, and a faint blush. I calmed down and let go of her shoulders before asking again.
“Please…. tell me what you saw.”
“Well, I was outside on the courtyard, doing some plant research for science class, then I accidentally ran into you. I apologized, but then you just looked at me weird, like you didn’t know who I was. Then, you just smiled and patted my head. It was weird, but I saw that your eyes were glowing bright blue. I didn’t know if it was my imagination or something, but it was very vivid blue. Anyways, after you left, you went to the center of the courtyard and started playing the violin, and when you were finished, you went to Yukirin and… you.. k-kissed her.”
“And then?”
“Then… she pushed you. She was really mad about it; Yukirin isn't that type of girl, y’know. She doesn’t like someone kissing her suddenly, especially boys. N-not that I’m calling you one.”
“It’s okay, Mayuyu. I get called a boy often...”
“She… she doesn’t want anything to do with love. So, then, she ran off.”
“Is that all?”
“Y-yeah, pretty much...”
That’s it… That has to be…“Mayuyu...” I rose my voice once more as I held her shoulders. “I have to tell you something, but you gotta promise to keep it a secret.”
“What?”
“Please, you can’t tell anyone, not even Yukirin,” I said in a serious voice and looked straight in her eyes.
She nodded. “Okay...”
I took a deep breath, prepared to speak.
“The truth is… I--”
“NO!”I felt another sharp pain hit me as the voice yelled at me. I clutched my head as I fell on one knee, the high ringing resonated in my ear.
“Sae?! Sae, what’s wrong?!” I can hear Mayuyu, but I can’t concentrate on what she’s saying. I can’t focus. All I hear is that noise, all I feel is pain, this immense pain that makes my body feel heavy, and my head feels like it’s about to split open. My heart is pounding so fast, I think it’s gonna burst. I wanna scream, but no sound comes out, like something’s lodged in my throat. I can only hear my groans of pain as that voice echoes in my head.
“You cannot tell her! You cannot tell anyone!”
M-Mayu…
“I won’t let you do this, Sae!”“Sae, what’s going on?” I looked and saw Mayu’s blurred figure. She was looking at me with worry in her eyes.
I can’t let him do this… If she sees this…“D-don’t… c-come any.. c-c-closer…!” I breathed out as I rolled on the ground.
“Sae..!” I saw Mayu’s hand try to reach for me, then I felt myself be pulled back, but I could still hear what was going on.
“No!
Go away!” I heard his voice mixing with mine as my body went numb from all the pain. I was losing control; he was starting to take over. Darkness surrounded me, but my mind still allowed me to hear what was going on.
“Sae, stop!”
“
No! I said LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Yuki...rin.… No……
……*Fw-WOOSH*
*CRASH*“Kyaa!!!”
I woke up on the ground and saw Mayu, sitting against the wall. Her hands covered her mouth as she looked at me with wide eyes. I looked around. Everything was blown away, the door of the classroom near us crashed open and on the ground. That classroom was unused, but it was supposed to be locked. There was frost and ice on the floor and wall where I was, and ice cracked the window slightly.
“Mayuyu...” I said as I got up. I didn’t try to get close; she looked like she was afraid of me, now. “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to do this.”
“Sae… what’s going on? Is something wrong?”
“..I-I...”
“Don’t tell her.” I heard his voice in my head, but this time, no pain came to me.
“...I’m sorry, Mayuyu. Just forget it.” I said as I got up and started to leave.
“What? But--”
“It’s okay. I’ll be fine...” I lied. I know what’s going on now, and I have to stay away. “I think I’ll just go home and get some rest… Bye….” I ran off before she could say anything, and covered my mouth as tears flowed down my face.
Meanwhile, out on the courtyard…Yuko’s POVI looked up at the window just over my head as everyone ate their lunches and talked. I thought I heard someone screaming up there, then this weird crash or explosion or something. Did the chemistry club mix the wrong chemicals together or something?
“Yuu-chan~” Haruna pulled my sleeve and got up to see what was going on. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah, nothing. I just thought I heard something...”
“Do you think Sae-chan’s alright? She’s been thinking about Yukirin for a long time.”
“Yea, and Yukirin isn’t here either.”
“I wonder what’s wrong with them lately.” I said as I leaned against the tree. “Sae and I talked to; she was asking me and Takamina about love.”
Haruna looked at me with wide eyes. “Love?”
“Yeah, she wanted to know how it felt when you were in love with someone for the first time. And, I think she’s got it bad for Yukirin.”
“Oh yeah, I heard about what happened. Is it true?”
“Yea, Mayu said she even saw it happen. I don’t know, but just the look on her face when she told me. I think Mayu knows something. And, I’m also worried about Yukirin. I think if she doesn’t make up with Sae and forgive her soon, things are just gonna get worse. Sae really cares about her.”
“And that’s why you think she’s in love with her?”
“It’s easy when you identify the tells. Everyone has them. Like Takamina, whenever we start talking about Acchan and she’s not around, she’ll get super girly. She’ll just go on and on, giggling and acting like a fangirl. There was even one time when Acchan walked straight in and she didn’t noticed, and when she did, her face will turn tomato red.”
Haruna laughed a bit. “That’s so cute.”
“I love it when Minami acts so embarrassed. She’s such a girl.”
“She’s also a hopeless romantic.”
“Haha, Yuko~! She’s not hopeless!”
Haruna turned and looked at me. “How did you know you were in love with me?”
Ah, this question again…I looked up and thought about it a bit; I didn’t want to make it sound silly. Well, maybe a little.
“I guess it was like Sae: ‘Love at first sight’. You are down right gorgeous, and anyone would be lucky to have you. But...” I looked at her and hugged her waist. “I’m not givin’ you up so easily.”
“Oh, you...” she wrapped her arm around my neck as I giggled madly. She just knows how to make me love her more, huh? She makes me happy…
Yuki’s POVAlready 2 o’ clock, huh? Damnit…I never left my bed since I got home yesterday. I couldn’t eat or sleep, because I didn’t want to go to school. I wanted to clear my mind, but it was impossible. Everything that happened to me the past few days played over and over like a broken record. I want to move on, but I can’t. Just so you know, this isn’t love. This is insanity. This is hatred. I’ll never, ever forgive that Miyazawa… If she is worried about me, though… then how can she explain what she did?
*Ring ring*I heard my phone ringing at the side of my bed and broke away from my thoughts. Slowly picking it up and looking at the screen, I saw that it was Mayu.
*Beep*“Moshi-moshi?”
“Yukirin, are you okay?”“Mayu… Yea, I’m fine. Just tired… Why did you call on your cell? Why didn’t you use the school phone?”
“Because I thought, since Sae’s already tried to call you on the school phone three times, you’d ignore it if I did.”“O-oh...” I blushed, thinking of how devastated Sae must’ve been when I wouldn’t answer her. I probably made her worry about me more. “Nee, Mayu… why is Sae so worried about me?”
“Eh? Yukirin, don’t say it like that. Sae really cares about you.”“But, Mayu, she...” I pursed my lips. I wanna stop remembering, I wanna forget, but I just can’t. It’s impossible. “She...”
“I don’t think Sae meant to hurt your feelings like that.”“Eh?” All the sudden, her voice got serious. The voice in it was so different from normal, even more than after she told us she was an ANGEL. Was she taking Miyazawa’s side? What does she mean by that, Sae didn’t mean to hurt my feelings? She didn’t mean to kiss me? Nothing she’s saying is making sense, and that never happens when it’s Mayu. If Miyazawa didn’t mean to kiss me, why doesn’t she just apologize? She shouldn’t act stupid and pretend nothing happened when it obviously did.
“Yuki… Sae’s really sorry.”“..!” I blinked my eyes a few times.
“She knows what she did was wrong, and I think she wants to apologize to you as much as you do, but… she just doesn’t know how.”“...Is that all?” I said coldly in response.
“She even tried to tell me something, but then she started freaking out and left. She went back home, and since I don’t have her number--”“Wait… what do you mean she was ‘freaking out’?”
“Well, it was like...” she went silent a few seconds before speaking again.
“She… she was probably just frustrated. I-it wasn’t even that bad.”“You sure?”
“Yeah, she just got a bit stressed and stopped talking about it. In fact, she didn’t even freak out the least. I guess I was just exaggerating.”Something’s not right. Mayu doesn’t lie, she’s not the type who would keep a secret. Well, yeah, I know she had to keep her identity a secret, but other than that, she never kept secrets from me. She’s bad at that. Whenever she tried to hide something, she’d either be clumsy and trip up or just feel guilty and come clean. I could tell in her voice, there was something else going on, and she didn’t want me to know about it. She was keeping something, and I think Miyazawa has something to do with it. There’s definitely something up, and I need to know what it is now.
“Whatever… I’ll be back tomorrow, so tell her not to worry, okay?”
“Thanks, Yukirin. I think she’ll be happy.”“Yea, sure...” I sighed out. I told her bye and then hung up, pulling the covers back over my head. The thought of that ANGEL… just won’t leave me.
I would do anything… If it was just to erase that one moment… I’d do it… to forget.
Mayu’s POVWhen after-school classes were done, I packed up my things and started heading home. I was going to call Yuki, but she didn’t pick up her cell. She was probably still thinking about the last time I called her, and Heaven only knows if she’s forgiven Sae or not.
I shuddered a bit. I still remember clearly that event with her today. She was really hurting, fighting something inside her that dared to come out, and in her mass hysteria, she had a meltdown. She went completely berserk and was screaming in pain, then this huge burst of psychic energy was released from her. The air in the room went cold, ice and frost surrounding her, and when she was done, she had only just realized what was going on and left.
There was truly something wrong with Sae; there’s something about her that’s different from the other ANGELs. I have a theory on what it could be, but… I still don’t know. But, with that much strength in her powers, it could possibly be true.
I walked outside to the entrance gate and saw Sae standing out there.
“Mayuyu...”
“Sae, I thought you went home.”
“Well, I, uhh, wanted to see if the basketball team was practicing. But, they wouldn’t let me back in, so...”
“It’s okay. They have practices everyday after school except Fridays, and they’ll be starting games soon, so those will be on Saturdays.”
“Alright. Thanks, Mayuyu!”
I decided to take a walk together with Sae a bit to clear my head about today. Being with Sae definitely helped. She always said things that you couldn’t help but smile and laugh with her. Even if she made a stupid remark and tried to cover it up, it’d be too cute to resist. Contrasting that was her outfit. Sae had a different fashion sense that us, I remember she showed us pictures she took of herself and the outfits she wore were all so… well, it suited her.
She and Takamina seemed to have bad sense in fashion, as Acchan showed us pictures of some of the outfits she wore in the past, but none compared to Sae’s colorful combinations. Right now, though, wasn’t too bad. She just wore a T-shirt with some grey pattern on it, a black jacket and matching pants. The belt around her wasn’t too flashy, it was normal, and it suited Sae’s black spiky hair and her rebel ikemen look.
But, somehow, the memory of this afternoon couldn’t leave my head. That pain in her eyes, her voice, everything. Like she was resisting something from taking over her… Maybe that’s it….. I still don’t know…
“Hey, Mayuyu,” I heard her voice and looked at her. “Is… Yukirin okay?”
I gulped before I answered her. “Why do you ask?”
“I just wanted to know… you seem to be her best friend, I thought you might have known something.”
“Are you still thinking about today?” I watched as her eyes flinched a bit and she gripped her fists, biting her lip. “If you wanna talk about it--”
“No, it’s fine.” I watched as she faked a smile before telling me goodbye and heading home. I saw the darkness in her eyes where the light used to be; and there was sadness...
It was already dark, so I decided to go home, but then I saw something come out of an old building. It was a woman, but she looked like a zombie, all the life was drained out of her. I ran up and tried to help her walk, but she looked at me with these empty, glass eyes. Her mouth was slightly opened, trying to say something, then curved into a terrifying smile.
I watched her hands rise up and she tried to strangle me. I was able to break free before her nails could seep into my skin. She growled and ran up to me, but then I released a sonic wave and knocked her down. She collapsed, unconscious, and I could see the purplish blue veins from her unnaturally pale skin. She was still alive, but her heart was not beating… She had no soul.
I looked inside the building and saw others that were like her, but were already tired out and were unconscious. In the far end of the room, I saw a bottle. A bottle with light in it. I slowly walked in through the window, careful not to step on the broken glass and wake the zombified people.
When I got close enough, I took a good look at the bottle. Pressing my temple, I activated my computer database chip and started scanning the bottle. In the small orbs of light, I saw the people, moaning and groaning softly in pain and agony. It reminded me of Sae today, all that pain in their voice as they tried to fight it.
I suddenly heard a horrid screech as a soulless man ran up with a knife, but I quickly dodged only to see his scream woke up the other people. They blankly stared at me as they inched closer, so I gathered up all my energy and stopped the ground, creating a sonic boom and knocking them down. They were unconscious, for now, but I don’t know when they’ll wake up. For now, I just need to turn them back to normal.
I took the bottle and opened it, then took each of the golden light orbs and placed it into each person. The color in their skin turned back to normal as the life in them returned, and I sighed with relief.
Who could’ve done this?“That wasn’t very nice...” a voice echoed as I started to walk off. I turned around and saw a woman I’ve never seen before. I first took note of her thick Osaka accent, then I noticed that she was hovering over the unconscious woman I had saved. “Oh, well… she wasn’t of much use, anyways.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Yuka, loyal servant to her Majesty.”
She’s like the Sanshou Sisters… "Her Majesty"…Just who is the Queen, I wonder? I started to ask her, but then she turned and started leaving.
“Well then, I guess I’d better report this to her.”
“Wha-? Wait!”
“Catch ya later, alligator!” I watched as she walked off and teleported out of my sight before I could stop her.
“Come back here and fight!”
Then, two familiar voices entered my ears.
“She called us just in case...”
“Something like this would happen.”
“You...” It was the two Sanshou, Myao and Rabutan, but… something was wrong.
I watched as the two girls walked out, but something was different about them. There were these weird markings on them, each on a different side of them, right from their ankles to their face, at least, from what I’ve seen. They untied the straps on their masks and slowly removed them, revealing these demonic looking green and pink eyes. Their dresses were different, too. They were now a gothic-lolita style, and there were small gold and silver crown medallions on their ribbons. In their hair, there was yarn tied in, and Myao’s hat and Rabutan’s ribbon became a mix of black and pink.
“It’s been quite a while, ANGEL...” Myao said with a smirk. On the side of her cape was a strange red mark knitted in the cloth.
“Did you miss us?” Rabutan giggled as she hugged her now black bunny, which also had the same red mark knitted into its back.
“What happened to you two?”
“Now, now, don’t be rude. We just had a little growth spurt.”
“Seems like more than that...” I looked at them as they separated to both sides of me. There was this aura surrounding them, and it was strong, more evil than before. “More like a power-up.”
“Ano~ we did want to play with you some more, but you broke our toys.” Rabutan said with a sadistic smile.
“Which means...” Myao slowly let go of her small handbag, and Rabutan strapped her bunny friend onto her pack. Then, their eyes turned dark and evil, their pupils shrunk like thin slits of a snake’s eyes. “We’re going to… break you.”
Yuki’s POV“Thanks for dinner.”
At early evening, I had finished my supper and walked back up to my room to rest a bit. I sighed, the thought of the past few days never left my mind. You think I would, even if I wanted to… I soon noticed I had received a message on my cell phone. I turned it on and checked to see who had left it. It was Mayu.
Mayu…I still remember her last call from today. Those words… something in her voice wasn’t right when she said them.
“Sae’s really sorry.”
“She knows what she did was wrong.”
“I don’t think Sae meant to hurt your feelings like that.”I wondered what she had meant by all that; I’ve never heard her talking about things like that. But, then again, I already knew Mayu had a distinct knowledge for love and romance. I thought to myself why she hadn’t come home yet… I pulled back my window curtains to see her lights weren’t on. I was starting to get worried, so I decided to go out for a walk to clear my mind. Maybe she was doing the same and I would run into her.
All of a sudden, I got call, and it was from Mayu.
*Beep*“Hello?” Then, it got weird… no one was talking, but… I heard fighting in the background, then I heard a familiar voice… It was Mayu! I used my phone tracker app that Mayu had installed and saw she was just down the street. I hurried and ran towards her direction. “Mayu!”
Third Person POVRabutan was the first to attack Mayu, trying to throw a punch at her, but to which she quickly dodged. Then, Myao came up, trying to land her signature kick onto Mayu’s head, but she blocked it with her shoulder. She quickly threw her arm up to punch her, but she had ducked down before it could reach her.
As she raised up again, she pulled her arm back and lunged forward to punch her, but ended up it meeting her arm. Myao’s free arm started to hit her again, but Mayu quickly leaned herself back so she wouldn’t face the impact.
Rabutan’s kick came next, aimed at her stomach, then a punch came towards her. She quickly grabbed her fist, pulling her arm, and thrusted her knee into Rabutan’s stomach, causing the wind to be knocked out of her and she coughed up some blood. Mayu quickly turned and sent another kick towards Myao, but she moved to the side just in time to dodge and send another kick aimed to her head, which was blocked once more. The two girls stood side-by-side of each other in front of the ANGEL.
“With that cute face...” Mayu chuckled.
“Which one?”
“Eh? Me, right?”
“No way. She means me!”
“Stop screwing around!” As they were arguing, Mayu ran up and jumped in the air, about to punch them, but they both noticed and moved away, letting her land on the ground. She got right back up and instantly faced Rabutan.
Before Rabutan’s kick reached her, she quickly grabbed the incoming leg and punched her face successfully. As she freed herself, Myao came up from the other side, sending her punches one after another. Mayu dodged them quickly, but they were all very close to hitting her. She quickly pushed her away, only to have the second girl to run up to her again and try to attack.
Rabutan grabbed Mayu’s arm while she tried to pin her, then Myao came and grabbed one of Mayu’s legs that tried to kick her. The two were shaking her, teasing her as they held her still, unable to attack, and yelling echoed through the empty streets. Mayu struggled to break free, then Rabutan’s arms pinned her down as Myao let go of her leg and started punching her face.
They then threw her against the brick wall, landing into some trash cans, and were about to proceed once more with their torture, but Mayu rolled away before anything could happen. She slowly stood back up to her feet, touching her lips as she felt blood at the side of them.
“You’ve grown up a bit, haven’t you...”
“Why thank you.” Rabutan giggled to Mayu’s comment.
Myao’s eyebrow twitched. “Huh? Don’t listen to her; she was just being polite.”
“What? But it’s true.”
“You gotta be kidding me. You’re fugly.” she said before clicking her tongue.
Rabutan glared back at the ANGEL.
“Well, then, I guess I’ll grow a little bit more~”
She rushed forward, but ended up her attack failing and was flown back a bit. Myao proceeded to do the same, but Mayu quickly stopped her fist and turned it with the back of her hand and knocked the elder sister away. The younger came up from behind and and grabbed her neck, but Mayu elbowed her in the stomach and freed herself from her grasp. She sent a series of punches to her, until she felt the elder push her shoulder and spun her around to face her. She saw the incoming punch, and quickly blocked it with her arm.
As she held her arm tightly from moving, she looked up and saw a figure coming down the street. It was Yuki. She quickly pushed Myao away, kicking her to knock her down before proceeding to Rabutan. She blocked her arm and quickly punched her face, once. Then twice. And three times. She was ready to deliver the final blow into her, until…
“YAAA!!!” she heard Myao scream from behind.
“Mayu!!!” Then, Yuki’s voice.
She quickly turned and saw a figure step in front of her, taking the blow. Then, Rabutan pushed her back down and threw dirt into her eyes. Everything around her became blurry and her sight system temporarily shut down.
Yuki’s POVI watched there as Mayu was beating the Sanshou girls. I noticed they were different, they were wild and more demonic than before. Did they get a power-up or something? I saw Myao pick up a wooden pole and she screamed before rushing to Mayu.
“Mayu!!!”
I hurried and without thinking, I hugged her, taking the blow from the pole into my back. I bit my teeth into Mayu’s shirt from the splintering pain. I felt the younger sister push Mayu to the ground, then she kicked my stomach and knocked me down before throwing dirt at Mayu. It got into her eyes and she screamed.
“Mayu!” I quickly helped her sit up as she rubbed her closed eyes.
“I’m okay, Yuki. I just need to clean out the lenses in my system...”
I felt the two girls grab my shirt and pull me away, then they started kicking me with joyful, sadistic smiles on their faces. I noticed they had fangs growing now in their mouths. They were small, but they were still fangs.
That’s when I knew, they transformed into demons.
“Come on, Yuki, get up~” they said sarcastically as they dragged me on the ground.
“Yeah, we’re not done yet.”
I heard Mayu growl angrily and she got up, swinging her arms blindly to try and hit them. She screamed at them, telling them to fight, but they had moved out of their reach. Rabutan grabbed her shoulder and punched her face, knocking her to the ground. They kept doing so, along with dragging me and kicking my stomach repeatedly. As I was coughing, trying to catch my breath, I leaned up against a wall and sat down, watching Mayu knock both girls away, but they just giggled as if it was all just a game.
“Haha, this is awesome!”
“Are you okay?!”
Then, as my head leaned back, I turned and saw something not too far away from the scene… as the clouds moved and the moons light shined on it, I instantly knew. That thought came to me…
“A handsome prince with glistening silver hair and electric blue eyes…”
That aura… That powerful energy…No, it wasn’t a prince. It was…
“Miyazawa..?”
Sae’s POVAs I walked back to my apartment, every word that I heard from the first few days I’ve been here echoed in my head. Meeting Yuki, hurting her in such a way, and I can’t tell her. And Mayu, she knows. She knows that I’m… different. She doesn’t know why yet, but I’m certain she does. Furthermore, she knows Yuki’s been suffering and it’s my fault…
No! I have to make things right!Gripping my bag, I quickly turned around and walked back in the direction Mayu was going in. I kept going until I heard her voice, followed by some other screams.
What’s going on?I finally stopped when I saw that Mayu was in a fight with these two girls wearing there gothic-lolita outfits. They kinda looked like girls from a horror flick, and it sent chills through my spine. And boy, were they strong. But so was Mayu. She was doing a number on them, trying to fight back. I wonder who they are, why are they fighting.
I watched as one girl grabbed a wooden pole and was about to hit Mayu.
“Mayu!” I was about to help, but then I saw Yuki was already there. She met my gaze, probably, but just for a second, then she yelled out and got in front of Mayu, taking the blow.
Something inside me, watching that… snapped.
"***********"Oh no… Not again..!I dropped my bag, feeling my heart grow heavy. Everything inside me was shutting down; I was starting to lose touch with myself. I wanted to scream, to fight, to help. But all I could do was stand there, frozen like a statue, and watch. Watch as they tortured Yuki, beating her, even when she was at their mercy.
“Yuki~, stand up. Come on, stand up already~”
My heart was pounding, my breath labored to sharp intakes of air. I was feeling
him take over me.
“Don’t...”
No, please. Don’t!
“Don’t you..!”
Yukirin… I’m sorry.
“...dare TOUCH HER!!!”*Ba-bump*I felt everything inside me go numb and my mind went completely blank. My eyes slowly closed as my head dropped and I felt all self-control left slip away from my body.
Third Person POVMyao and Rabutan suddenly stopped their roar of laughter as they felt something was wrong. There was a pain in their noses, and they felt like something was inside it. They quickly covered their noses, raised their heads up, then, when they looked at their hands, they saw blood from their noses on the palms of their hands.
“KYAAAAA!!!”
“T-Tomato sauce..!”
“S-st-strawberry sauce..!”
All the sudden, that toughness was gone and they started whining and crying like babies in front of the two girls. Of course, they weren’t paying attention, as this was to be expected.
“Itai~”
“Mou~ it’s that ANGEL’s fault.”
“Yeah, we’ll need to call an ambulance!”
As they were carrying on, Yuki was watching as a familiar figure was standing right behind the two demon girls. It was Sae, her head hung low and her hands balled into loose fists. Her head slowly raised up, her bangs covering her eyes slightly, but you could see that they were actually closed. Overhead, the clouds moved away and the moon’s light shined on her, revealing her entire figure to them. What Yuki saw, however, wasn’t a normal Sae. Sae’s body was covered by an electric blue aura, which seemed to make her hair also shine silver. Like the prince’s hair. The Twin Blades had stopped their fussing and turned around, giving Sae a dark look.
“We’ll pay you back...”
“For our nosebleeds...”
Even though Sae’s eyes were shut, she could hear everything perfectly clear. She could hear the two girls circling her, the broken glass from the window crackling at their feet as their heels stepped on the ground. Slowly, they circled around each side of her, meeting in the middle right behind her, and high fiving each other as they switched sides and ended up on opposite sides of her.
The next moment, everything in Sae’s ears was silent. Only a light breeze blowing remained until it finally faded away. She remained perfectly still, her eyes shut tight, and her hands still loosely wrapped into fists.
Then…
“...Argh!” She heard the scuff of Rabutan’s feet and her grunt as she ran up to punch her.
Sae’s mouth curved a slight smirk, and in an instant, she spun around and circled the smaller girl, dodging her attack and pushing her away to her elder sister. Sae’s feet screeched to a stop a bit, and when she opened her eyes, the two saw they were glowing an intense blue light.
Yuki’s heart skipped a beat as she felt those eyes were looking at her, too.
“A handsome prince with glistening silver hair and electric blue eyes…”Those same blue eyes that stared into her soul, calmed her when she was stressed, and warmed her heart. But now, those kind, gentle eyes were now sharper and fierce, like a different person from the prince she saw smile at her. The prince who kissed her. Now, those eyes were more like the ones of a knight who wanted to protect her.
“Sae...” she suddenly heard her voice call out to her… by her first name.
In one swift movement, Sae spun around once more and sent a flying kick to both of the girls, knocking them down instantly. The straps on Rabutan’s bunny snapped off and it fell on the ground, landing a foot away from them.
The Twin Blades looked up to see Sae standing with her back turned, but they were terrified at something. Sae’s aura was intense and powerful, like nothing they’ve seen or felt before. They huddled against each other on the ground, holding each other as she turned around to face them. They started shivering in fear as Sae raised her hand up to them.
Meanwhile, Mayu blinked her eyes as her system cleared out and the first thing she saw was a blurry figure of the two demonic lolitas on the ground, facing them was a figure covered in blue light. As she recalibrated her eyesight, she soon realized it was Sae, covered in a beautiful sky blue aura. She saw her hand aimed at the two girls, and at her open palm, an orb of intense blue light. Mayu and the two frightened ex-Sanshou watched as Sae’s lips mouthed something before a bright flash surrounded them.
“
I won’t forgive you...”
Then, the two girls’ screams filled the air.
When the flash was gone and Mayu looked, she saw that there was ice covering the ground, mixed with black dust where the Twin Blades used to be. She soon realized Sae used an ice elemental attack to freeze and destroyed the girls. Her hand slowly lowered as she stood there, staring at the remains, letting out a sigh.
“Sae...” Mayu slowly got up, about to walk up to the girl.
Sae’s head turned and looked at the girl with a shocked expression. She didn’t say anything and just turned her gaze to the girl sitting on the ground behind her before looking down at the ground. Her fists slightly tightened.
“Sae… how did you...?” She didn’t get to finish her question as she passed Mayu and knelt down in front of Yuki.
Mayu suddenly had a realization.
“Could it be… Is Sae..?”
Yuki stared at the ANGEL in front of her. Her powerful aura and overwhelming energy surrounding her was gone, only leaving her mesmerizing blue eyes. Sae had a sad expression on her face, biting her lips as she looked away from Yuki a short second.
Yuki spoke in the silence, “M-Miyazawa...”
Sae gritted her teeth a bit, her eyes not looking up at the raven girl.
“Miyazawa… why are you--?” Suddenly, Sae placed her finger in front of Yuki’s pink lips and looked at her once more, her eyes locking on hers. Yuki felt frozen in her spot. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t think. Her body wasn’t responding to her own thoughts and everything seemed to slowly melt away into nothingness. Sae spoke softly, gently into her ear.
“
Go to sleep for a bit.”
On that command, Yuki’s eyes lost all light and slowly closed, the energy in her body slowly faded and made her limp and heavy. She fell into the girl’s embrace, placed in a deep sleep and drifting into a dream. Sae carried the sleeping girl in her arms securely before she started to walk off. Mayu was watching everything unfold and was silent, but then finally decided to speak up.
“Sae..!” her voice made the elder ANGEL stop in her tracks, turning to look at her. “Where are you taking her?”
But all she got as a reply was a smile, no words. But that look… it was something to Mayu. She watched as Sae did a running start before she jumped and started flying in the air. Watching this, Mayu finally fitted the last piece in and came to a conclusion.
Powerful aura, intense psychic power, and incredible abilities no other ANGEL had(that being ice powers and flight). There was only one conclusion Mayu could process in her mind; the only explanation for Sae and her circumstances. Sae was an ANGEL made with the original blue blood formula made centuries ago. The only thing was, how and why does she? Was Sae older than she had said, or was there another secret to this? She didn’t have time to think anymore as she now had to follow Sae to find wherever it was she was taking Yuki.
In the air, Sae was light as a feather, floating in the sky as if there was no gravity around her. Her blue eyes looked down at the girl in her arms, peacefully asleep in her dream world. A memory flashed in her mind, making her smile. She looked back up as she saw her destination. Her home.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To Be Continued