Long chapter, I believe xD
Chapter 16: Maiden of Water
Water…
Rika’s eyes widened as her breaths became shaky. Her bloody hands were frozen in mid-air, immobilized by her fear. On the other side of the mirror, the maiden who resided within her had glared with an inexplicable animosity. Immediately, the host felt the air around her collapse with the heavy trepidation, almost constricting her.
And the glare of the reflection became softer. It was almost as if the maiden was trying to give voice to something, but something had prevented her from doing so. Even without the verbal communication, Rika understood the gist of the other’s body language.
Her eyes looked almost helpless.
Almost like she was watching something, and could do nothing about it…
Kamei…?!
With that thought, the vision broke. As if enlightened, her view cleared with a bright flash. The sink was still running, but it did not have the crimson liquid that gave everyone life. Her hands were no longer stained with blood. The air was uplifting. All which bound her during her wordless conversation with Maki had been broken.
Rika heard the door open behind her, and saw on the mirror reflection a familiar elfish head emerge from the crack.
“You okay? I heard a noise so I came to investigate,” chirped the youngest Fujimoto sister.
Did Rika make a noise? She probably did when she snapped into reality, perhaps a shivering exhale—a rather loud one at that.
“Nah, that’s okay. The water was too hot,” Rika lied, giving her best poker face hoping that it would not be too suspicious.
“Alright!” Miyabi smiled, successfully falling under the lie.
After the door closed, Rika placed her palms at the edge of the sink and leaned heavily against them, shoulders lurched forward. She watched the sink continuously flowing, recreating the image she had just seen not too long before.
What was the meaning of that…?
Rika stared at the mirrored eyes, wondering if she could search for an answer within them.
Please tell me something isn’t going to happen to Kamei-chan… Rika unknowingly lapsed into haggard breathing again, becoming frightened at the pessimistic events that could happen any moment now.
Possible interpretations of her vision came flooding into her head. Was Eri to die by drowning? Was she to die with the other people she had seen? Did she have a connection to the maiden of flesh residing in her? What was going on? Was the vision a premonition? Why did Maki suddenly give Rika this cursed gift of clairvoyance?
What was her purpose in doing so?
“Come on… talk to me… answer my questions…” Rika uttered desperately under her breath, hoping that Maki would replace her reflection like she did before. To no avail, not a single thing changed inside of the mirror. Recalling her first horrifying encounters with the maiden, Rika stood up straight and tried to calm her frantic thoughts down. After clearing her head, she began to think again. But she didn’t think of Eri. She didn’t think about wanting to speak with Maki.
Hitomi…
Her bronze red hair…
That enigmatic air about her…
Her scent…
Feeling her lips on mine…
And thus, she felt that obligatory pulsation.
She witnessed her transformation on the mirror. The pulse seemed more abnormal than usual, but she paid no attention to that. She saw the tattoo of lotuses and butterflies consume her frame. After its completion, the black ink spread, turning everything on her into a pure darkness. Almost as if the new look was another entity altogether, it had opened it’s black eyes, and the shadow suddenly dispersed into butterflies which flew away from the new body. After reaching a certain distance away, the butterflies turned into dust.
She had transformed.
But she wasn’t cast into the Twilit Sea like she had been in the past…
…Why did she retain her eye color of dark brown?
…Why were the tattoos now missing?
…And why was she actually in control of the body?!
Water can take the form of its container.
“Alright…” Rika said cautiously.
She even had Maki’s voice instead of her own!
“What just happened to me?!” Rika raised her un-Rikaish hands and placed them on her un-Rikaish head in a panic.
“You are in sephiroth mode,” came the answer of a familiar voice that she did not happen to speak.
Maki—the real one—was in the reflection. She had a simply stoic gaze, locking her golden eyes on the person in her form. She seemed awfully calm to see that Rika had somehow morphed into her body without losing her mind to the passageway of death she governed.
“You!” Rika pointed at the calm reflection which sported the golden eyes.
“I just said what had happened. You are in sephiroth mode.”
“Sephiroth? From Final Fantasy VII?” Rika raised her brow, still feeling odd in Maki’s body.
“No,” Maki chided flatly, closing her eyes, “It is when the user possesses the host’s body, but the host keeps her form. Right now, it’s the other way around.”
When Maki opened her eyes again, she found Rika grabbing her chest and her rear, almost …fondling with them?
“I must ask that you refrain from molesting my body,” Maki looked at the other with a discontented face.
“You have bigger breasts than me! That’s not fair!” Rika narrowed her eyes.
“It is not my fault that I am gifted with better assets,” the maiden said flatly, unhappy with where the conversation was going.
“Oh well, at least I can boast about my butt being better than your’s! Your butt is flat like CD cases!” Rika bounced, half wanting to express her triumph and half wanting to test Maki’s breasts.
Maki looked at her host with a death glare.
“My bad!” Rika squeaked, feeling all the weirder to hear herself in the spirit’s voice. She definitely had to get used to that.
“What do you wish to speak about? Seeing how you willingly gave in,” Maki’s expression returned to a sense of stoicism, forgetting all about the display of rude behavior earlier.
“What is the meaning of the images you forced into me earlier?! That was as freaky as hell!” Contrary to the concern she voiced, Rika internally giggled because she spoke in Maki’s voice—and hearing the normally growling, calm, or angry voice suddenly talk in a feminine, panicking tone was especially amusing.
There was a small silence. Maki thought of a way to explain in a simple manner. “…All maidens, particularly complete ones like us, are gifted with an extra vision that we can ‘turn’ on and off at will.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question…” Frustration edged the other’s voice. Seeing how Maki refused to reply, she continued. “Does your eye color change when it happens?” Rika crossed her arms in the same manner as her reflection, comprehending everything that Maki has to say. “Those golden eyes are unnatural as it is, are you using that vision right now?” The other nodded. “What does that extra vision do?” Rika tapped her fingers along her upper arm.
“It could be used to see where pressure gathers, so I would know which body part is going to attack. That’s one primary function.”
“You mean there is another?”
“Just one other,” Maki confirmed.
“What is it?” Rika became intrigued.
“I can see how much time a person has.”
How much… time a person has? She doesn’t mean… Rika’s breath became caught in her throat. That uneasiness came into her head again.
“That’s right. It is the time that a person has in their lifetime,” Maki’s eyes hardened into a glare, crossing her arms tightly.
“Then… What’s Kamei’s…What’s her time limit?” Rika’s lips were quivering as she asked, for she really hoped that the vision she had earlier had no correlation to the subject of the function of a Maiden’s eyes.
Maki recalled the countdown from when she met Eri through Rika’s eyes.
00:00:00:17:46:12.
“Kamei does not have a year. She does not have a month. She doesn’t even have a day left. Just seventeen hours and forty-six minutes.”
Rika felt the world crashing onto her. Not just that, her body began to tremble after the realization of the meaning in Maki’s words.
Not even a day? The cursed woman’s eyes were struck with helplessness.
“I can’t do anything to help?!” The response she received was a silent shake of the head. Rika bit her lip, trying to prevent herself from breaking into tears. “Screw fate! I’m going to find her and protect her!” She revolved about her foot, trudging towards the door as Maki simply watched in a glare, knowing that nothing would make her listen to reason. Without so much as a blink, the maiden of flesh dispersed into butterflies in the reflection, disappearing from sight.
Eri can’t die! She was perfectly healthy! With such a time limit, is she going to be murdered?! Rika thought angrily as she slammed the door behind her. I’ll do all it takes to make sure she’s safe! She’s too young to die!
It was a mistake to walk out in Maki’s body.
Miyabi had a desert eagle pointed at her.
Two of them.
“I will not permit you to leave in that state. Let Rika out,” the sniper said in a cold voice, devoid of the energetic enthusiasm she normally had. The woman opened her mouth to speak, and wanted to step forward, but stopped herself from doing so due to Miyabi’s index finger pressing lightly on the trigger, ready to fire. When Rika tried to step back, Miyabi stepped forward, asserting her advantage. Rika had to clear her name quickly or else the other would shoot her.
“M-Miyabi… It IS me…” Rika stuttered, also wondering if this is how everyone else felt if they had also been at gun-point.
“It’s obvious that you are that maiden.” No emotion.
“No really!” Rika cried out nervously, raising her arms at chest level to try and calm the other.
“Tell me a story.”
The older gave a bemused expression, but then tried to think of one as fast as possible. She’d do anything for the teen to lower her guns. “Oh! I have one!” Rika beamed anxiously, pointing a shaky finger in the air. “The other day, I bought a bath softener, Noboribetsu I think?” she began giggling as she continued; “it was quite the bath! I promised myself that I would buy extras for my leisure!”
Miyabi loosened the tension in her grips, spinning her guns around her index fingers before holding them so that her arms were down with the weapons facing the floor. “Yup, you’re you,” the sniper sighed of relief.
“Eh? What could you figure out from that?” the older cocked her head to the side.
“You laugh even though it’s not supposed to be funny,” Miyabi placed the desert eagles in hidden holsters under her white padded vest.
“Eh?!” Rika’s eyes widened, baffled.
“It’s true!” Miyabi snickered as she sat down on the bed, pulling one of her legs into her arms. “What is so funny about using bath softener?” the teen laughed at the absurdity of the subject.
“I can’t help it!” Rika pouted in a cute frustration.
“Anyways… Why are you in maiden form?” Miyabi stopped laughing, taking on a serious air. She did see a maiden in front of her instead of the woman she had grown accustomed to.
“Long story short, I’m in sephiroth mode.”
“Sephiroth? From Final Fantasy VII?” the teen raised a brow.
“No, no” Rika waved her hand dismissively, “don’t you know what he was named after? Sephiroth originally meant the ‘ten attributes of God.’ So I’m assuming the term derived from that because I’m possessing Maki’s form instead of Maki taking over me completely. I have her physical attributes, and I might even have the magical ones too…” Rika stroked her imaginary beard.
Am I able to do magic…?
“Really? Do a trick!” Miyabi’s eyes began to sparkle with excitement and anticipation like a little kid that was just about to dive into her favorite cake.
Rika gulped. She wanted to do something, anything to make the younger squeal in joy! But now she had to ruin her expectations! She didn’t know how to bring out the magic, let alone do a trick for Miyabi! But to refuse to do a trick in front of such an endearing teen… She absolutely did not have the heart for that! It didn’t help that Rika had a fondness for kids that rendered her a softie who didn’t like to break their dreams!
Unfortunately, as much as she hated to do it, she must.
“Um…” Rika stuttered, trying to figure out how to convey her message to the other.
“Well?” the teen seemed to be glimmering vibrantly today…
So… Cute…! Rika’s eyes began to swirl. She wanted to run over and attack her with hugs and tickles, but knew she would have freaked out, considering Rika was not in her correct body so to speak. But she still had to let her down…
“Er… I can’t…” Rika mumbled.
“What?”
“I don’t know how…” Rika mumbled louder, eyes rolling to the side, afraid to meet with Miyabi’s eyes. Apparently, the teen heard her this time, for there was a brief silence that followed afterwards. When she heard a small disappointed whimper, she knew it was over for her. She tried. She tried very hard to resist the temptation to look at her face. But if she did look at her face, Rika would probably melt to her doom! Why are children always so cute, damn it?!
“Aww…” she heard Miyabi say.
Don’t look at her! Don’t look at her! Rika’s mind tried to drill her into doing. The temptation was so stubborn that she even had to bite down on her lower lip, trembling with the urge to look at the other. What saddened Rika the most was seeing a child looking sad, and it made her feel worse if she was the one who caused the sadness. If she saw someone crying, her maternal instincts would kick in and she would pull that person into her bosom and utter sappy, yet caring, words to comfort the other.
Now that she was not in her body, pulling someone into Maki’s bosom will suffocate the poor children!
Then she came to a conclusion:
Maki’s cleavage can kill children! Rika placed her palms on her cheeks a la ‘The Scream’ style, thinking about all those poor children who might have the misfortune of having their faces buried in such a deep dark space!
“HEY!”
Rika blinked.
“I can glimpse into your thoughts you know! It is impossible to murder a child with the mere pressure of breasts!” Rika heard Maki raise her voice within her head.
Rika was about to talk back, but in doing so, she accidentally turned her head to face Miyabi.
…Who had already gotten bored and was polishing one of her guns.
She nearly fell over, anime-style, but knew she would be stupid to even consider doing such a thing at her age. Then again, she had always purposely acted like a kid just to annoy Miki.
Speaking of Miki…
She was still mad at her for deep-kissing Hitomi like that!
Creak!
“Hi ho! What’s new, my rose?” Miki walked into the room, having an expression reminiscent of a happy, frivolous old man. But then she opened her eyes and realized just who was standing in front of her…
“Holy shit!” Miki jumped in surprise. “I’ll save you, Rika!” The groping demon looked like a bull ready to charge the Spaniard in the tights and the red cloth.
“No wait!” Rika held her hand up to stop the other.
…Was it her or was everything slower than usual? Miki’s speed seemed to have halved as she ran, ready to tackle the older for a kiss. With a smirk, Rika stepped out of the way of the slightly slow-mo Miki and then decreed “I order you to run into that wall!”
BAM!
“Ow… Fuck…” Miki grumbled, having ran into the wall and landing face flat on the ground.
“It’s alright, Nee-san. Rika-san is in sephiroth mode!” Miyabi called out, still cleaning her best guns: the desert eagles.
“Sephiroth? Do you see a silver-haired bishounen with a longass sword in front of you? What are you blind?!” Miki turned her head to the left, eyes looking for her idiot of a sister. It seemed that she was also familiar with the successful Final Fantasy VII antagonist that fangirls loved to adore.
“No, no!” Miyabi waved her gun dismissively, imitating what Rika did before, “It’s called that when Rika keeps her mind even though she has the maiden’s body.”
“Oh…” was all Miki managed before she moved her head so that her forehead was touching the floor. She felt stupid suddenly, for she had actually thought Maki was back and the fighter was ready to turn her back into the person she was most familiar with. But it turns out that Rika was in control of the body so that established her embarrassment. “Joy…” she mumbled before continuously bashing her head on the floor, ashamed of her stupidity.
“But now I’m conflicted. If I step out of this room, Hitomi might catch me because she’s on her job shift right now…”
“Well then you should have let me make out with you! So you wouldn’t look like the maiden!” Miki rolled over and sat up, her voice suddenly full of conviction.
“You don’t have to make out with me! Just a chaste one should suffice!” Rika retorted back, but regretted it as the demon lunged at her.
Though, thanks to Maki’s line of natural vision, Miki’s attack was, again, slow and Rika simply side stepped again. She watched amusedly as Miki fell on the floor slowly. In fact, if Rika knew how to slow time even more, she would hear Miki’s voice slowed down, and she was sure that the demon would sound exactly like a distressed cow.
Putting humor aside, she had to do this.
“Since I can’t exit the room for the time being, I want you to do something for me, Miki.”
“Depends on what the favor is, dear,” Miki stood up, stretching herself out. Preparing to do whatever she asked anyway due to the threat of the bands she wore.
“There’s a woman out there right now. She’s a little taller than me, has about shoulder-length maple hair… And she’s got quite the thighs…”
“Ah! Ah! Ah!” Miki perked up, “I know that chick!”
“You do?” Rika raised a skeptical brow.
“Yeah! What’s her face… Kamei Eri?” The demon felt proud that she actually knew the name of someone she had kissed randomly. It’s not everyday that Miki remembers the name of a person amidst the masses she had flirted with. Player indeed.
“…You didn’t do anything to her, did you?” Rika grew cynical, half-expecting the younger to disagree.
“What ever do you mean~?” Miki said in a sing song voice, rolling her eyes blatantly as she shrugged.
“Don’t act innocent, you probably did do something, didn’t you?” Rika’s mood seemed to have dropped completely, now upset with the other. It was always typical of Miki to do such things, huh?
“What’s it to you?” Miki grew annoyed with Rika’s (Technically, Maki’s) tone of voice.
“I’ll just ignored that, but I have to say this: Thanks to information by Maki, Eri doesn’t have that much time to live. I want you to find her and protect her. I have a feeling that she does not die of an illness in seventeen hours.”
It was like a heavy tapestry draped itself over everyone.
Death has always found itself hidden behind the veil of silence.
It can be a stream…
Kagami sat behind his desk, staring quietly into space. He had always had that taciturn and stern image to him. Call it the air of a business man. Call it the air of an intelligent man. But most importantly, it was to be called the air of an ambitious man.
He was the mastermind behind it all, or so it seemed. He had a high office in the trading firm that his father was the CEO of. However, he was not satisfied with his position. Despite being wealthy, Kagami wanted to aim for the highest position in anything. He was not content with running the measly bio-research branch. To ensure the success of the project requires the apex of the company.
“The Celestial Project…” Kagami muttered. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his black leather chair, taking in its comfort.
He was never an avid believer of petty things such as folk tales. He was raised to utilize logic and was discouraged from the arts. As a result of being almost entirely concrete, it was inevitable that tales of fantasy would not interest him. Only the pursuit of technology and money had pinned him down. Although there were instances where his mind fluttered for a brief time, he wouldn’t be the sort of person to have his head in the clouds. Whenever he did space out, he could only think of one thing: the project.
Inspiration for the project came when he found out from his favorite worker that this Ishikawa Rika had the power to transform into her alter ego, the maiden who called herself Maki. Initially, he would have never thought of such a family legacy had Tsunku not forced him to cancel all the plans he had for that day to attend his dear cousin’s birthday. At first, he had rejected his uncle’s offer—he did not wish to attend something so trivial in place of work—but then Tsunku said something that had caught his attention.
“You know, I think her birthday is literally something to die for…”
He recalled feeling that the statement was absolutely absurd. It had only pegged him into refusing his uncle’s persistent requests. Ayumi was not going to drop dead out of supernatural causes. There is always the science behind the phenomenon. There is always a truth beyond the lens. However, the one who took that picture would have to be a liar. Calling a silly annual tradition something to die for…
But then he was told about the legend of the Angel’s Cloak. It seemed like a boring tale made up to make children gape in awe, but never did he imagine that the story was based on the truth. After the head of the family told him of the tale, he told him of the horrifying truth.
It was an odd occurrence. The ‘true’ leader of the Shibata clan was awakened every 50 years. This year happened to be that year where the progenitor was supposed to emerge. But why was it such coincidence that the maiden had also emerged this year? Supposedly, the maiden was to appear every twenty-two years… So with some simple mathematical calculation, this year might be the twenty-fifth cycle of maidens, for the first multiple that twenty-two and fifty shared was the twenty-fifth.
Defying logic for once, Kagami had thought otherwise.
It was this generation that something can be done. Ishikawa had represented the first maiden to have escaped from death. Judging from reports from the past rituals, the scythe-shaped scar on Ayumi’s cheek was relatively new—the previous ancestors did not have that scar. These new developments had suggested to Kagami that they were an omen, a harbinger of something to come.
And he was sure that he was to instigate it.
He looked over the tales of the maiden, doing very extensive research. His team of researchers had also helped with gathering data about the maiden. He was thankful to have employed Hitomi to retrieve a blood sample of Ishikawa. There was an exhilarating feeling among the other scientists when they studied the sample. With the information they had received from the sample, the goal of the project became reachable.
Strictly tied with the legend, the goal was simple. It was Maki who bore the Shibata ancestor’s children, and they had flourished into the remarkable family now. The ideology of birth and children… The goal of the celestial project… It was to finish what Adolf Hitler had started. Only it wasn’t those blonde-haired, blue-eyed Aryans he was interested in.
He wanted to create the perfect race of celestial beings.
But a journey of a thousand miles was to begin with a single step. Kagami had already planted that step. He had sent a few select people to Tochigi prefecture, gathering seven random people whose blood was close to that of a maiden—or rather, those that had enough genes inside of them to be able to transform—out of the long list of possibilities. With their presence and with the new item invented from studying both Ishikawa and Maki’s blood, he hoped with all of his heart that this test was going to succeed.
It can be a waterfall…
Searching in the crowds for someone isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Miki grew frustrated with each passing minute. Given her height, she had to stand on higher ground to look for that shy woman. And even Kamei wasn’t tall enough to be able to be spotted so easily either. Scanning faces (and thighs) was becoming a tiring process for her, and she really wanted to quit.
“Please… you have to find her and protect her… She can’t die so soon…”
She could not forget the look on her face. Even though she had Maki’s face, it was clearly Rika’s emotions being conveyed. Such an expression was something Miki was not accustomed to. She would rather make it so she would never have to face that sort of thing. Causing someone to cry had always been a habit of Miki because of her biting personality, but when impending deaths are involved…That face lined with desperation and worry… She just could not stand that sort of face.
That was her motivation.
Kamei Eri… Eri was someone unique to her, she thought. Weaknesses aside, she was one of the few people who made Miki realize something—someone who was able to preach to her. Because of that, the demon had a certain respect for the other. And she was going to find this woman out of that respect for her.
It’s the Fujimoto way: when someone helps you, you help them back, but with more effort.
It’s Yuko’s way actually… Miki thought to herself. She loved to drill that in Miya and I…
She continued to roam the area, searching for any signs of that maple-haired woman. She tried looking for the hair color and hair styles. There were too many damn brunettes in the area! Deciding out of time limit, she thought “To hell with it!” and became upfront. She walked through the crowds, looking at everyone’s faces. She didn’t care how conspicuous she was about her mission as of late, she just wanted to find that woman!
There.
Sitting in front of a café drinking a cup of coffee… The scene seemed reminiscent of a French restaurant where there were myriad small circular tables and around two chairs with it.
“About damn time!” Miki exhaled sharply, releasing her accumulating frustration into that one breath. The demon started to shove her way past the crowds, ignoring people asking for apologies or yelling at her. After plowing through dense crowd, she called out “Kamei!”
Sure enough, the woman with the thighs of thunder looked over at the call of her name, scanning the area for the source of the noise.
When Eri’s eyes laid on Miki coming towards her, they widened in realization.
“Ack! You’re that lesbian!” the taller pointed an accusing finger at the other.
“Yeah yeah, you were hard to find, you know that?” Miki said gruffly as she sat down on the chair in front of Eri, taking an exhausted stance on it.
Eri watched the older woman in front of her, baffled as to why she was looking all over for her. She didn’t want more action, did she? If that was the case, all she would have to do is scream and that would have been enough to drive the other away. However, there seemed to be something else that was bothering her… Asides from Miki watching her, why did she feel like someone else is also staring? She began to grow uncomfortable.
“Um… What is it?”
“I need you to come with me,” Miki rested her arm on the table, sitting at an angle.
“F-for what reason?” Eri grew red, wondering if her prediction came true.
“There’s something I have to protect you from,” Miki hunched her back over the table, making sure that no one could hear what she was saying to the other. “There’s someone after you, so it’s my duty to help you out.” With that, Miki sat down on the white chair again, keeping a keen eye to her surroundings.
“S-something… after me…” Eri repeated, lowering her head in a deep thought. “D-do you… have any idea who?”
“No, but I was given orders to protect you.”
There is something about this person that reminds me of someone… Eri thought to herself. Finishing up the rest of her drink, she threw the cup away and walked over to the now standing Miki.
“Where are you going to take me?”
“Just back to my hotel room.”
I’m going to be alone with that lesbian again!? I don’t want my third kiss to be taken by her, thank you! Eri began to grow anxious. What was she being protected from? She did nothing wrong to gain recognition by murderers…
Unless…
They… They found out what I had done…?
And hired assassins?! Eri became frightened at the thought. Without ever thinking about it, the younger’s fingers had interlaced with those of the demon’s. Miki, noticing the clinging, gave Eri’s hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Nothing will happen to you. That I promise,” a confident grin appeared on the lips of the devil.
“T-thank you…”
My hunches are right…
Fujimoto-san is a little like her… My best friend…
They both have the kind of personalities where it seems like they are unreliable…
But they will do what is asked of them…
I wonder if Fujimoto-san has a nice side underneath that roughness?
Even though they are opposite in personality… They follow the same concepts…
Eri lost herself within her depression, thinking about her best friend again.
…Why?
…Why do you both strive to protect me?
Then she felt it.
A pulsation.
Water could sustain a human’s life…
Eri placed her right hand over her right eye in pain, stopping in her tracks as she did so. Miki turned around, confused at the sudden stop the taller had made. “We haven’t got all day.”
“No…” Eri gripped pressed her palm into her eye with more force, “It’s happening again…”
“What is?!” Miki paid full attention to the other, grabbing both of her shoulders. “What’s happening?!”
“Leave me be…” Eri’s voice was filled with desperation, her eyes were clenched shut, as if she was afraid to open them…
“Kamei!” Miki grabbed the taller’s wrist and yanked it away from her face.
The demon’s eyes widened.
There was now a dark blue tattoo across Eri’s right eye. It had started out as a small blotch of ink over her right eye. Miki watched in horror as it spread at an alarming rate. Following a set trail of veins, the ink separated into branches and continued along Eri’s face.
It resembled a coral.
Then Eri opened her eyes suddenly, golden pupils looked at Miki in fear, almost bewildered in fact.
And time seemed to have stopped.
No one was talking.
No one was walking.
No one was looking.
Instead, everyone had their gazes fixed on the famous waterfall. They were frozen on the spot, watching what was happening. The sight they were used to had been replaced. No longer did the falls look like what it used to moments before. There was something startling about the change of scenery. It was almost a sinister sight to witness…
The water was rising. It wasn’t rising in the sense of unity however. Droplets rose in the air one by one. Eventually, the entire waterfall seemed to have stopped. Like the people gazing upon it, the falls too, became frozen. But then it moved again. However, the manner of which it moved was not normal.
The Kegon falls was falling backwards.
The water was climbing up the rocks in a surge of power. It was as if the world was turned upside down and the water had to follow!
Shocked at the events happening before her, Miki turned to look at Eri again. “Snap out of it!” To no avail, Eri was paralyzed in her mid-transformation. Gathering all of her experiences with maidens, the demon could only do the one thing that has saved her life situations before. Pulling the taller closer to her, Miki raised her head and kissed the other with full force.
The maiden’s golden eyes widened. She felt her eyes flicker back to brown, and the tattoo on her face receding back into her right eye. As she transformed back slowly, the waterfall froze temporarily in the air yet again, astounding the viewers. Then, the falls came down with a loud splash, resuming it’s natural order of being unable to defy gravity.
A maelstrom of feelings rushed into taller’s head.
I’m so scared…
Eri slipped into darkness.
Save me…
The last thing she recalled from the world was falling into Miki’s shoulder.
Risa…
And at the same time… Water could destroy it.
I'm itchy for more comments. Hmm. xD
You know, maybe I should do those things where instead of waiting for a quota, I'll just choose random readers and their reviews will be worth more points, huh? xD Half assed comment is a one pointer, a good comment is two points. The point range you all need in order for me to write the next chapter is ten points xD. Um. Just because this is a bit new, my beloved JFC and his commentary will still be worth four points <3
I'm such a comment whore xD. It just bothers me when I see stories with A LOT of views, but hardly any comments.
Topic: Our Cursed Gift II [NON SEQUEL] Chapter 22: Another side: Another Story (10/6) (Read 84626 times)