-hides-
Chapter 19: End of the Stream
00:00:00:16:45:59Eri felt bad in a really woozy way. There was nothing wrong with her health in particular, but there was
something wrong. She couldn’t figure out why she felt like something bad was going to happen, but it just…
felt like it.
She nervously ate the takeout, frequently ‘missing’ her food and instead, hitting her cheeks or chin. The water maiden’s eyes glanced left and right, watching everyone cautiously. The paranoia she thought she left behind had returned when she heard Hitomi’s frightening revelation, and now she could not stop fidgeting. The sudden twitches were small though, so no one noticed her anxious behavior.
No one but Miki.
Every time she glanced around, she would always find that tanned woman looking at her in a weird way. Her face was very tightly strained and even looked like it was glaring but her eyes…
Her eyes…
Eri wasn’t sure whether she had something to do with Miki’s frightening expression, but Miki’s eyes looked very forlorn and maybe even…
sad…
Nervousness crawled into Eri’s veins again. This time, it really affected her eating habits, for she started to drop food with her chopsticks. She let out a squeal when the slice of eel slipped from her grip and onto her lap. With a speed of a cheetah, Eri quickly reached for the eel with her bare hand and plopped it into her mouth—never waste food she was taught. The maple-haired woman glanced about nervously again, wondering if anyone saw her.
A small jackal-like smile appeared on Miki’s lips.
Oh no! Eri blushed profusely, realizing that Miki of all people had caught her doing something so embarrassing and un-feminine. What if the demon went and teased her in front of the others!? Eri’s blush just went a tone darker! What if the others notice and ask her about her conspicuous red face?! She felt her face heat up even more at the thought of it!
“Kamei-san, is something the matter?” came the question of Miyabi, the younger sister to Miki Fujimoto. She didn’t really look all that much like Miki, but the water maiden believed that their eyes were similar… Very… lonely… But the orbs of Miyabi were not as intense as her elder sister’s. On the contrary, Miki’s eyes felt very… Unreachable…
“N-nothing!” Eri stuttered in a high pitched voice. Oh great, now everyone’s looking at her…
“Rika. Any dreams while you were waiting for us?” Miki skillfully diverted the attention of everyone from her. Eri internally sighed of relief at Fujimoto-san’s save, promising to thank the demon later. She looked down into her food, picking idly at the rice with her chopsticks. She meekly looked at her unorthodox savior from underneath her bangs, watching the others carry a conversation. All of a sudden, Miki’s eyes came in contact with Eri’s for a brief second, smiling slightly before reverting to her previous bored expression.
Is she doing this for me on purpose…? Eri blinked a few times, putting another slice of eel in her mouth.
This is another side of Fujimoto-san… I guess there’s more than meets the eye, huh?“Kamei-chan?”
“Nn?” Eri looked up at Miki.
“Can you please start chewing? Watching that slice of eel hanging out of your mouth isn’t hot.”
“H-HAI!”
00:00:00:16:38:43“Abe-san… Why are you doing this here…?” Ayumi breathed out as she was pinned against the door of her bathroom.
“I’m getting restless~” Natsumi drawled out, licking her lips hungrily as she was eyeing her prey.
“B-but…”
“No ‘buts’ my dear Shiba-chan~!” There it was again, that predatory look.
“I never knew you were so…” Ayumi managed to rasp out, but was cut off by…
“Physical?” Natsumi let out a drawl.
The younger nodded with a light pink blush tainting her cheeks.
“You look so adorable when you’re cornered~ It makes me want to do all sorts of questionable things to you~”
“W-what sort of things?” the progenitor stammered, watching her predator move closer…
“This sort of thing,” was all the scientist could say before claiming Ayumi…
…
… by pulling the trigger on her laser tag gun.
“Damn it, why do you always win at games!?” Ayumi groaned as the chest piece let out an alarm, letting her know all too conspicuously that she had been hit by a laser.
“I just rule at laser tag~!” Natsumi let out a bright smile.
00:00:00:01:16:44Eri felt something nagging at her again. Actually, her head wasn’t too clear… It was almost… It was almost as if she was drifting in a stream of air… She recalled falling asleep at the bed after eating that delicious take-out… Then she woke up in the morning to have breakfast… Afterwards, she went out shopping with Rika and came back in the late afternoon to take a nap…And here she was, waking up. But waking up to what? She was curled up into a ball, almost like a turtle nestling in its shell. She felt a hand softly shaking her shoulder a few times—it was the primary reason why she woke up.
She slowly stirred, the lethargy of sleep was heavy on her.
“Nee…” a soft voice.
It sounded familiar…
Who’s voice is that…?“Wake up…” came that voice again.
Risa…?Eri slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was immediately consumed by a bright light. Everything was a blur. Her eyes looked towards the origin of the voice, seeing a silhouette which looked vaguely familiar.
“Nee…” the owner of the voice continued shaking Eri lightly out of her sleep.
The water maiden turned over softly, still trying to process the awakening command. However, her eyes remained on the figure sitting on top of the bed.
It’s her… But…“I thought you were gone…” Eri’s voice was no louder than an airy whisper.
“I’ve been here the entire time…” the soft voice of Risa cooed, brushing Eri’s bangs softly aside. “I have never left your side…”
Tears began to gather under Eri’s eyes, lending a hazy unreality to her vision.
She really is here…The water maiden’s hands shakily found themselves covering her face.
This is too good to be true… Why is she here…? I thought I had…I thought I killed her…
Risa isn’t dead?
I’m… so glad…Eri could only hear the echoes of her sniffling within the room.
“Nee… Why are you crying?”
She felt a hand on her shoulder, sliding down her arm and up again in comfort. Eri could only weep in silence at the presence she longed for.
“Everything will be alright…” Risa’s voice soothed. The tears of the maiden flowed down her cheeks little by little. Her sniffles became lighter—more controllable.
“It must be silly of me to cry like this…” the maple-haired woman smiled sheepishly as her hand wiped her tears away.
“Silly turtle,” Risa smiled serenely, her kind brown eyes glistening with a tranquil light.
If only they could stay like this forever…
“Risa…” the maiden’s lips broke into a more confident smile.
“I’m not Risa, though…” the older softly chided.
…Huh? Eri blinked once. Twice. She sluggishly rubbed her eyes, clearing up the foggy sight.
The remaining visage of her best friend evanescently disappeared, leaving behind the image of one Fujimoto Miki in front of her. Eri’s eyes widened before covering her face in embarrassment.
I can’t believe I mistook Fujimoto-san of all people for Risa! “I’m sorry…” Eri managed to say amidst her shock. “I thought…”
“It’s alright…” Miki said quietly as she continued sliding her hand up and down Eri’s arm, “It’s alright…”
The two of them remained silent. The water maiden even heard the last of her tears fall onto the wet pillow beneath her. She garnered what energy she could and sat up in bed. Miki’s hand retreated from its ministrations as the other got up.
“How long was I napping? Where is everyone else?”
“About 3 or 4 hours?” Miki shrugged, “Rika left me in your care to talk to Hitomi about something. Miyabi’s here though, she’s just looking for drinks now.”
So… I’m alone with the kissing demon? Eri wanted to slide away from the aforementioned demon.
But…“Everything will be alright…” those words echoed within her head. The younger glanced shyly at the tanned woman.
Fujimoto-san…Miki had a sort of a scowling face, brows knit together closely as if she was angry. On the contrary, the demon’s dark eyes were expressing concern for her…
She seems like a really mean person but…Eri giggled quietly to herself, earning a bemused expression from the other.
“What’re you smiling about?” came an annoyed voice. Miki raised a brow ambiguously, albeit still wearing a bored, frowning mask.
“It’s nothing,” Eri smiled widely at the other.
She really is a nice person deep down…00:00:00:01:09:54“What did you want to talk about?” Hitomi asked in a solemn voice, confused as to why the maiden of flesh had pulled her up to the roof of the hotel they were staying in.
“Well…” Rika began, but fumbled for the right words to use in her awkward silence. She looked down in defeat, idly swinging the bronze-red haired woman’s hand. When she found the right words, she glanced up at the taller, but lost her words as she looked at the other’s eyes for too long. She looked down again, attempting to fight for the words she wanted to say.
“I’m waiting…” Hitomi said with a soft impatient tone to her voice.
“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”
Now it was Hitomi’s turn for having a loss of words. But she didn’t have as much trouble finding them.
“For what?”
“For getting mad at you earlier about your feelings…” Rika avoided meeting the gaze of the guard’s eyes. “It was my fault for not thinking about your feelings…” she gave the other’s hand a light squeeze.
The taller didn’t know what to think. Her mind was blank, but her body was reacting. She pulled Rika into a soft hug, wrapping her arms loosely around her waist. As if by instinct, the maiden also embraced the enigma in return.
You’re forgiven…the body language of Hitomi’s hug seemed to say.
Thank you…the return of her embrace said nonverbally.
Hitomi’s head nestled on Rika’s shoulder. “It isn’t your fault,” the taller breathed onto the other’s neck, eliciting a sharp, but quivering breath from the other. “I’m partly to blame too, for being like this…” The guard felt Rika distancing herself. With confusion, she lifted her head from the other’s shoulder to find the other’s soft eyes on her own.
Any concept of distance was immediately forgotten when their lips met.
The usual fierce attraction was missing, however. In place of the heated passion was a gentle, amiable ardor. Their tongues deftly explored each other in a calm manner—there was no need to prove dominance in a comforting kiss such as this. Just like how it started, the two women pulled apart softly, resting their foreheads against each other’s.
Rika looked into Hitomi’s eyes in search of something, anything.
When will she know?The answer did not surface within the depths of her gorgeous eyes.
When will she say those three words to me?She looked longingly into her eyes even deeper, hoping to find that conviction which made her gravitate towards the taller. Her search veered downwards onto the guard’s inviting lips, and the maiden found herself drawn to them once more.
Feeling their warmth was all that mattered.
00:00:00:00:39:07Eri felt that bad feeling again. Everything looked normal, but something just didn’t feel right to her… She timidly walked closer to Miki, almost clinging to the older’s arms in her anxiety.
“What, you want another kiss?” Miki looked at the shy girl with an amused expression. “I don’t remember you being all clingy like that.”
“I-its not that!” Eri retorted as her cheeks became flushed with deep crimson. “And don’t do that in public!”
“Kamei-chan, there’s hardly any people out here at night,” Miki said as she turned about her foot lazily, planting herself in front of Eri’s vision.
“Yes, but I’m here, so please don’t go conquering conquests while I am,” Miyabi butted in with an annoyed expression.
“Psh, it’s not like you haven’t walked in on me before,” Miki retorted as she turned around and began walking again.
Eri blushed even further.
Her little sister walked in on WHAT? When she looked at Miyabi, she found that the younger had a face just as flustered as her’s!
“Are you coming or what?” Miki called out to the younger two, having already treaded quite the distance while Eri and Miyabi were blushing.
“H-hai!” Eri called out as she ran over to the older Fujimoto, Miyabi tagging along.
The three walked in silence down the desolate street.
So quiet…“Kamei, there’s something personal I want to ask you,” Miki said aloud, not turning back to look at the other.
The water maiden perked up. “Nn?”
“If you don’t mind me asking…” Miki said with a slight hesitance, “Who is Risa? You mumbled that name in your sleep a lot so I’m just curious…”
Eri’s mouth opened, but no sound came out of it. She closed her mouth slowly as her eyes were downcast on her feet as she walked sluggishly. Eventually, the maiden glided to a stop, almost ghostly in color and cold to the touch. Miki noticed the absence in footsteps and turned about her foot in a slow, drawling motion, her other foot stopping lightly on the concrete.
The sisters’ feline-like eyes watched the other in curiosity, becoming anxious at the silence of their peer. Miki felt obligated by regret to call back her question, seeing the troubled expression Eri was wearing on her face, but as she was about to say something, the other said it first.
“Niigaki Risa… She was my best friend since I started High School a few years ago…” A flicker of acknowledgement appeared in the elder Fujimoto’s eyes, beckoning the younger to continue. “I used to be bullied a lot, and she was the first person to have ever stood up for me. But just a few months ago, my powers started to surface…”
Eri covered her cursed, wretched eye with loosely splayed fingers as she looked down. “The bullies were after Risa… I just… It just
came… The pool next to them… It became a huge tidal wave that came after them… and Risa too… She…” Her fingers curled tightly into a fist over her eye, quivering and trembling as she tried to finish what she had wanted to say.
Before she treaded over the tear-stricken words, she felt Miyabi’s arms wrap around her shoulders. “I’m so sorry to hear that…” was all the teen managed to say. Eri burst into tears again before uttering her thanks in return. Unable to say anything at the state she was in; she returned the sniper’s hug with a trembling grip.
The elder sister could only watch the scene with a blank, yet deep stare. She stood her place, running what Eri said in her head again and again, including the brief episode back at the hotel where she had mistaken her for her best friend. She scrutinized the crying girl that her sister embraced, the intensity of her gaze softened.
She…
She’s just like me…
Back then…
Back when…Miki shook her head at the thought.
No… I shouldn’t think about that again…I nearly broke down when Miyabi mentioned her…
I can’t…
I have to stop thinking about her…
Aya…“Kamei-chan. There will be times when we will let our loved ones down, maybe even be the source of their pain—or even their death. But that’s the past. Right now, our main focus is to move on. I hate to bring out the tough love, but if Risa saw you crying like this after so long, what would she think?”
Eri remained sniffling on Miyabi’s shoulders, clinging tighter, “B-but… I
killed her… I can’t go on knowing I’ve done
that…”
“I’m no psychologist, so I’m pretty bad at this. The most I can say to you is just live on for her sake. Her life is still in your hands. What are you going to do with it? Are you just going to mope around, cradling it in your arms? That’s a waste. Just take it in and live enough for the both of you.”
“Tan, you can’t die with me. You’ve already sacrificed something precious for me and I won’t allow your life to be next. Go out there and live the best life you could ever live. I won’t be able to have it with you, so have it for me… Alright?”Miki let out a sigh, unhappy with the sudden memory that her words brought. Then, out of the ordinary, she thought she saw a glimmer of something in the distance… An all too familiar glimmer… And she saw that her younger sister was already prepared for it.
Eri felt a gun cock behind her. Her heart began to throb painfully fast. She realized that Miyabi held her with one arm and had the other arm outstretched over her shoulder.
“When I fire…” she heard the teen whisper in her ear, “Run for Miki…She’ll protect you…”
Bang!Eri ducked under Miyabi’s outstretched arm and immediately bolted towards Miki, who already was reaching out for her with her right hand. The maiden practically slapped the hand and held on for dear life as the demon sped off in the opposite direction.
She took a look back amidst the run to find Miyabi running backwards, dual-wielding her desert eagles and firing away at men who appeared out of nowhere, also armed with handguns. Before Eri could register any more of the scene, she was yanked into a different direction and her attention had to be returned to Miki once more.
They had managed to slip into an alleyway for a breather while Miyabi had her back to the wall and reloaded her bullets. However, the bullets were coming in on their hiding spot, ricocheting off of the corner Miyabi was standing in. After reloading the bullets, the teen waited for the moment where gunfire ceased for reloading and stood out to fire and retreat accordingly.
“Are we going to a hiding place or something!?” Eri shouted out, the gunshots near her deafening her sense of sound.
“Anywhere without those gunmen on our asses!” Miki yelled back as she fumbled around her jacket pocket for her cellphone.
“I’m taking higher ground, any idea where you’re going to go so I can cover for you?!” Miyabi shouted as she reloaded her weapons again.
“I’m heading straight for the waterfall. The hotel’s a few kilometers from that and Maki can just fly over!!” Miki panted as she sped-dialed Rika’s number, grabbed the maiden’s hand, and broke out in a sprint and turned around, expecting something to be thrown to her.
“I’m navigating by rooftop then!” Miyabi threw an earpiece to her, “You know the drill. After you tell her, be sure to call me!” the teen placed an identical earpiece around her own and connected it to her cellphone. “Be safe, Neesan!” and with that, she scaled up the ladder and jumped across the gap overhead.
Eri was blatantly swept away by the change of atmosphere. One minute she was crying her heart out and the next, she was running for her life from a bunch of men carrying guns! Miki and Miyabi seem to know what they’re doing, so she could only hope that she could make it out of this alive!
“Shit…” Miki cursed under her breath, closing her cellphone and reopening it again to dial her little sister’s number. “She didn’t answer… What the hell is she doing? Oh well, who cares, she must have at least heard the fucking gunshots! Alright, Miyabi! How’s it faring for you?”
“Avoid getting out in the open, there’s a lot of snipers tonight…” Miyabi panted on the other line.
“What, you running?”
“Obviously…” the younger gritted her teeth as she made another rooftop jump.
“Well that’s fine and dandy…”
Why is she still so laidback in a situation like this!? Eri screamed within her head, struggling to keep up with the older woman. All of a sudden, they’ve stopped and the maiden was immediately pushed against the wall with Miki leaning closest to the corner. The maiden wanted to ask what was up, but kept silent after seeing shadows walking towards their hiding spot around the building corner. The younger felt beads of sweat crawling down her face from all of the running, and even more now that the shadows were coming closer to them.
Miki looked at her and signaled a silence with a finger to her lips. Eri nodded nervously and watched anxiously as the other pulled out a pair of… chopsticks? The maiden wanted to cry. They were running from men with guns and her savior is a kissing demon with a pair of
chopsticks?
As soon as the shadows got close enough, Miki made the first move. She ran and slid into the nearest crony’s feet, knocking him over. The surprised group took a moment to register what had just happened and would have shot the woman if it weren’t for her still sliding on the floor. Bringing her slide to an end, the demon planted her hands on the ground and twisted her feet around in a spiral before shooting herself into the air, catching another man’s neck between her legs and then planting her hands on the ground again, launched the poor man into the wall as she landed perfectly on her feet.
The remaining five men’s jaws went agape, but they swallowed their astonishment and brandished their guns at the lone woman.
Miki could only smile mischievously.
She went straight for the nearest man, using her chopsticks to block the gun hole and then swerved around him, bringing his gun hand with her, twisting the weapon out of his hand and then pointing the rather pointy ends of her own tool at the man’s neck.
The others couldn’t do a thing to bring Miki down, for their own man was her shield and hostage. However, the demon did not bother keeping her advantage. She shoved the man forward into another. As they collided, she immediately ran into a different man, ramming her sharp black chopsticks into his thigh. Leaving her weapon in there, she located the next man and spread her feet out and forced the crony into doing a split. With all of her power, she brought her feet up, hitting the other in the crotch.
Afterwards, the woman retrieved her weapon and pulled it out of its resting place, eliciting a painful cry from its fleshy pedestal.
“KYAAAA!!”
Miki snapped her head to the left after hearing that piercing, yet familiar scream. Two men in suits were holding the maple-haired woman by the hands and feet, almost resembling a human jump rope. With a flick of her wrists, two very sharp projectiles shot across the air like javelins and landed at the intended targets. The cronies howled in pain, clutching at their punctured feet. Eri scrambled onto her feet and hid behind the other, clinging tightly to Miki’s left arm.
“Well that’s lovely…” Miki drawled as she walked over the henchmen screaming in pain. “Time to sleep~” she said in a singsong voice before kicking both men in the head, rendering them unconscious. She bent over lazily to retrieve her chopsticks from their feet and stood up with a scoff.
“Small fry… How’s it going for you, Miyabi-chan?”
“Oh, wounded several, but I got grazed on the leg. You?”
“Not a single bruise!” the older let out a hearty laugh. “You’re losing your touch, sis!”
What are they!? Ninjas!? Eri’s eyes widened. Before she had the chance to rest, Miki pulled her into yet another run.
“Shut up…” Miyabi grunted, “It also seems that the Shibata agents have manipulated all the telephone lines, so no police will be coming for us…Oh and the routes to the waterfall are clear. You don’t have to worry about snipers. I’ll help pick out the small fry if they’re out in the open.”
“Thank you for making our lives easier~!”
How can she be so energetic!? It’s scary! The maiden clung to the other’s hand even tighter than before.
Up ahead, two henchmen were standing guard in the dead center of the intersection, blocking their path. Eri was thinking of Miki being crazy for continuing to run at them! The two men noticed their presence and were about to pull out their guns, but someone else saw to that and shot them both in the arm.
That must have been Miyabi! Eri thought in her head as she and Miki jumped over the wounded.
Back on the rooftops, Miyabi was looking through the scope of a rather expensive wall-mounted sniper. Hearing a groan behind her, she unconsciously kicked backwards, hitting the previous sniper in the face, silencing him for ten more minutes. “Hurry up, Neesan…” the young prodigy uttered under her breath as she followed her sister’s movements through the scope.
She scanned the area again, disregarding her sister’s movements for the time being just to check up on any missed snipers. As she watched over the rooftops like a hawk, blurred silhouettes caught her attention. She focused her scope on the zooming objects, attempting to get a clearer picture of who the two were.
“Oh my gahh, I think I found Rika-san and Hitomi-san!” Miyabi’s eyes widened as she followed the aforementioned people.
“Seriously!?” Miki panted, “how’re they doing?!”
“They’re being chased like us! But Hitomi-san’s got a gun and there’s no doubt she will be able to protect Rika too, so they’re fine for now… Where are you? I’ll follow your movements for now.”
After hearing the location, Miyabi’s sniping eye immediately turned towards the area her sister and Eri were likely to be in. However, as she focused in, she saw two more people on the rooftops, dressed in all black. One had a black mask while the other had a white mask. They both had pistols and were pointing them straight at Miyabi!
They can’t possibly shoot me at that distance…the sniper smirked, before pulling the trigger on the masked one on the left. What happened next astounded her….
She heard the person on the left firing at her, and there was a brief flash in the air, and she knew what that flash meant…
Our bullets hit!? What kind of person is that gunner!? Miyabi zoomed in closer on the two, finding that their pistols had fairly long barrels, which meant that even though they were handguns, they still had the power and range of rifles and shotguns. Before she could study them further, the one on the right shot at her location, bouncing off the edge of the wall.
The sniper duck in her cover, breathing heavily.
Those two had black and white masks made of metal… Holy shit… They sent prodigies to kill a prodigy…Those two were the Double Shinigami…
I better get out quick before—Miyabi’s thoughts were interrupted when a bullet grazed the side of her leg, bouncing off of the floor in front of her.
I gotta run! The sniper thought frantically as she crawled around the perimeter of the roof with haste.
They can freaking curve their bullets like I can! Shit!As Miyabi got up, she turned around and aimed carefully with her Desert Eagle. She felt her body tighten and her eyesight strain. Allowing the adrenaline to rush through her body, she used its momentum of transition to pinpoint the exact location of the two assassins with her enhanced eyesight.
There.The prodigy swung her arm in an arc as she shot—causing the bullet coming out of it to curve at a slight angle. The person on the right donning a white mask saw the bullet, but dismissed it as a miss that was going to hit the nothing to the area next to them, but was caught off guard when it went through the partner’s right arm.
Miyabi saw as the other came to their partner’s aid, staring contemptuously at the general direction the sniper was at.
“You’re special. But I’m
far more special…” Miyabi mouthed to them in a taunt before running off into the distance with an all-knowing grin indicating that she had bested other prodigies.
00:00:00:00:11:59Miki and Eri were silent.
They were quietly traversing in the forest, hand in hand. Each step was as cautious as its last, no mistakes could be afforded. Not now.
Especially not now.
“Fujimoto-san…” the younger whispered. Miki let out a grunt, signifying to Eri that she was listening.
“Um… I’m sorry… for everything…Throwing you all into this mess and putting your lives in danger just because of me…” the maiden pressed closer to the older, though still clinging tightly to her left arm.
“It’s fine…” Miki said quickly as she glanced about her surroundings. “You…” she turned to look at Eri, “remind me a lot about something that happened in the past. I really should have taken my own advice… Living on instead of dwelling on the past…” the demon trailed off.
Utter silence.
“Erm… It’s my turn to ask… what is it that happened to you?”
All that answered her was the rustling of the leaves they were stepping through. Finding the silence eerily frightening, the maiden spoke again.
“I’m sorry…”
Miki did not reply.
Eri stopped.
So did Miki.
The maple-haired woman reached out a hand, grabbing one side of the other’s face and turning it towards her.
It was that look again, Eri thought.
Miki looked like she was about to cry. Looking deep into those lifeless black orbs, everything that lay beyond it yielded inexplicable pain.
Did she always look like that?
Had she always been like that?
Had she been like Eri too?
Unmoving…
Frozen…
Suffering…
“Have you always been in pain?” Eri finally asked, having looked at the other’s eyes for too long without saying anything.
Even if she didn’t hear Miki say it, she felt her eyes telling her “
yes.”
Eri bit back on her lower lip, as if struggling to figure out what to do. Then she did what she thought she would never do to Miki.
She pulled onto Miki’s hand, softly bringing herself into Miki’s body and then she embraced her tightly. The demon was at a loss of words at Eri’s hug, but her body had words of its own. Her hands slowly wrapped around the other’s shoulders, almost trembling with sadness.
“I’m sorry…” Eri repeated again into Miki’s ear. “I’m so sorry…”
“…Don’t be.” Was all the older managed to say.
They held each other for what seemed like an eternity. At least, they would have held their embrace for such lengths if it weren’t for interruptions.
“Aww… Look at them lesbians…”
Miki whirled around, holding her famed weapon with one hand and shielding Eri with the other.
Only to be met by the end of a gun barrel.
“You’ve kept Kamei away from us for
too long Miss Fujimoto. It’s about time you hand her over,” a menacing voice smiled. Miki could only glare at her aggressor, a male standing about a few decimeters taller than her. Her eyes wandered over to the finger resting on the trigger… She couldn’t do anything… Not now… Or else risk blowing her brains out of her head.
“What are you going to do with her?” the demon gritted her teeth in anger, her narrow eyes still focused on the gun in front of her.
“Of course, take her back to the corps. We need more examples of celestial beings like your dear Ishikawa,” the pale man grimaced, “now if you just hand her over, we can let you go easy and we’ll forget you ever existed…”
A low growl ensued from the demon’s throat. She felt her left hand being squeezed reassuringly by Eri.
Does she have a plan…?“I’ll go then.”
Miki twitched.
“Kamei-chan… Don’t do this…” the older growled.
“I’m sorry…” Eri whimpered, navigating around her before finding herself next to the man’s side.
“Good…” the man lowered his gun slightly.
Now!
Miki kicked the gun out the man’s hands and scratched his face severely with the sharp ends of her chopsticks. As the man doubled over in pain, holding his face, Miki grabbed Eri’s hand and bolted for it once more, ignoring all the gunshots she heard around her.
Fuck! Are we surrounded!?Before the tanned woman could think any further, her foot caught on a branch and she toppled over, landing just before the mighty waterfall itself…
But Eri wasn’t so fortunate.
With the momentum of the fall, Eri was thrown further than Miki, slipping past the cliff and would have fallen with the water below if it weren’t for Miki’s tight grip on her hand.
But no miracle would happen twice.
With Eri launched over the side, Miki followed. They both slid down the cliff roughly until Miki’s other hand managed to take a hold of another edge just below the rocky cliff they fell over. With Eri on the one hand, clinging for dear life, Miki almost screamed in agony at the pain her other hand was emitting. The edge was sharp and she could feel the blood ooze from her badly cut fingers.
“Hey! I hear the waterfall and screaming! What’s happening over there!?” Miki’s earpiece was screaming into her ear.
“We… fell over the cliff next to the waterfall… We’re hanging by a thread here…!” Miki huffed, struggling to keep a tight grip on the ledge. “Kamei… Try to get up to my back and hold on tightly… Better two hands to hold us up… than one….” The demon clenched her teeth tightly, attempting to ignore the agonizing feeling of rock cutting across the base of her fingers like a sword.
“Oh my god… Sis… Hang in there! Rika and Hitomi-san are up there right now! You hear the gunshots, right?”
“Of course I … fucking do…” Miki rasped as she attempted to pull Eri up to her back. When the maiden clung around her shoulders and clung onto her back tightly with her legs, Miki’s free hand shot up to accompany her bleeding one on the ledge.
“Miki! Where are you!?” a desperate voice called.
“DOWN HERE!” Eri screamed.
“OVER HEEEERE!” Miki also yelled out.
Not long before, Rika’s head popped up over the higher cliff face. “Oh my… Miki! Grab onto my hand!” the flesh maiden stuck her hand out as far as she could, dangling it below. Miki attempted to reach out for it, but to no avail, she did not have the strength to pull herself up far enough to grab her hand. The strain was becoming too much on her bloody hand, whose skin sunk even deeper into the rock’s sharp cliff…
“I see…” Eri’s voice whispered into Miki’s ear. “You can’t pull the both of us up…”
“I damn well can!” Miki retorted. “Why don’t you reach out for Rika’s hand first?!”
“But you won’t last much longer! If I try, then you will give out and you’d die!” Eri cried back.
“She’s right! I have to get the both of you or else it’s over for the both of you!” Rika cried in desperation.
“Fujimoto-san… I’m glad to have met you…” Eri snuggled her face deeper into the back of the older’s neck.
“Kamei, what the hell are you saying?!” Miki’s brow knit together in confusion, her voice underlined with fear. “What are you doing!?”
“Just grab onto my hand!” came a new voice.
When Miki looked up, she found that Maki had taken the place of Rika, making use of her longer arm to reach out.
“There’s hope for us both, Kamei! There’s hope for us both, damn it!” Miki screamed out, trying once more to reach for Maki’s hand, but again, she was too weak to thrust herself upward.
“No… Only one of us can make it out alive…”
00:00:00:00:00:11“Miki! Use oversoul!” Maki called out, struggling in futile in attempts to reach out her hand for the other.
The demon breathed quicker, trying all of her might to focus her strength onto her good hand—and she thrusted herself forward.
Maki managed to grab hold of her bloody hand, but it proved too bloody… and her hand slipped out of the bloody one’s grasp.
“Shit…” Miki cursed under her breath, biting back on her lip as her bloody hand returned to the ledge.
“Fujimoto-san… I’m sorry…”
“KAMEI!”
“Thank you for listening to me… and now I can go on peacefully…”
“NO! DON’T!”
And with that, Eri kicked herself away from Miki, falling backwards into the waterfall.
Maki plunged after Eri, her golden eyes gleaming fiercely and the tattoos all over her body looking blacker than usual. “You fool…” the flesh maiden frowned as she flew after the falling girl.
00:00:00:00:00:09I’m so happy to have met them…00:00:00:00:00:08Miyabi watched through her scope in horror at the falling girl and the maiden flying down in attempts to rescue her, her breath quickening with every second.
00:00:00:00:00:07Ishikawa-san…Miyabi-chan…Hitomi-san...00:00:00:00:00:06Eri felt the wind flow through her body as she dived down. She looked up past the maiden flailing to reach her and into the starry night sky behind her. Now etched within her mind as her final vision, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, basking herself in the cool air.
00:00:00:00:00:05And Fujimoto-san…00:00:00:00:00:04Rika watched in horror behind Maki’s eyes. “Go faster! Faster! You can save her!”
“I’m trying…!” Maki attempted to mutter an incantation instead, hoping that she could finish it in time.
00:00:00:00:00:03Will I find you afterwards?00:00:00:00:00:02Risa…00:00:00:00:00:01I’m coming…00:00:00:00:00:00Comments would be lovely. Especially for a chapter like this
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Topic: Our Cursed Gift II [NON SEQUEL] Chapter 22: Another side: Another Story (10/6) (Read 84436 times)