THIS IS ONE LONGASS CHAPTER.
Chapter 40 : Cruelty of a Vow
They had a particularly long stare down. In fact, this stare down was even longer than their usual five or ten minutes. One looked like she was about to strangle the other’s existence. The other looked like she was about to bite the face off the other’s existence. While the stare down was transpiring, there was a third woman staring at the first woman, almost shifty-eyed, and pressuring the first woman.
“Ah… The tension…” Megumi said nonchalantly, feeling as if she was being blown away by such supernatural force.
“Aww… They get along better now… So glad Ai and Reina are best friends…” Risa smiled widely, raising her hand so that it was level with her face, clarifying what she had just said.
“Who’s the best friend?!” Ai continued staring at Reina.
“What the hell?!” Reina continued staring at Ai.
“Aww… Ai’s embarrassed, how cute, how typical of her to get angry like that…”
“Ah…Risa-san, if you keep staring at Takahashi-san like that, you will give her a lot of pressure…” Megumi looked up at the ceiling again, sighing.
“What a beautiful friendship…” Risa looked into the ceiling in the same manner as Megumi, much to the chagrin of the two others who objected immediately. After some biting and sarcastic words, Ai and Reina managed to get into a trivial conversation (Not before Risa panicked when Ai nearly strangled Reina) until finally, the day grew long and tiresome, that is, around 15:00.
What a day to spend their day off, really. Though, there were many people of the apartment who chose to spend their day offs with their families. However, there were very few who chose to stay this time. A person for example, was Ai.
Ai walked with Risa, hand in hand, to the entrance of the apartment, for Risa had decided to go see her family like the others who had left before her in the morning. Just before the entrance, Ai slowed down, almost tugging Risa’s hand back.
“Is something wrong?” Risa turned to look back at her beloved.
“Wait…Do you know, Shibata-san…?Do you know how to break the curse?”
“I’ll be back tomorrow then,” Risa immediately concluded.
“Wah? Don’t be saying weird things! You should go spend time with your family! You haven’t seen them in forever!” Ai insisted, snapping out of her thoughts.
“Yeah, but I would much rather spend time with you,” Risa tilted her head and smiled warmheartedly.
“Like I said…” Ai turned around and crossed her arms, “Don’t be saying weird things,” she had hoped to hide her blush. But then, she felt arms securely fasten around her waist, and Risa’s head resting against Ai’s neck. The more intimate contact caused her to raise her heart beats even more than usual. It was that feeling she had not felt for so long… It was a feeling of both embarrassment and attraction.
“As for you…” Risa breathed warmly onto Ai’s neck, “Don’t ever act on your own again… No matter what the reason, okay? I won’t forgive myself if you get hurt again. You understand?”
“Haha, yeah, don’t worry…” Ai leaned her head towards Risa’s so that they connected again. “I guess I can’t stop you from coming back tomorrow, eh?”
“Of course not,” Risa tugged the collar of Ai’s shirt lower, and then kissed her at the base of the neck. “I’ll be back before the hickey is gone,” and with that, she walked off, rather fast… As if avoiding something…
“Hickey?!” Ai covered the spot and turned around, finding Risa nearly running away, “I’ll get you for that!” she raised a fist in the air. Since Risa was already out of sight, Ai sighed and fixed her collar, hoping that the hickey was not visible in any view. In fact, she even considered popping the collar like a certain sub-leader of Morning Musume, but she decided that it would be too uncharacteristic of her and left the collar as it was.
Remembering that it was her cleaning duty today, she headed for the janitor’s closet and got out a simple outdoor ladle and bucket of water to wash the dirt off the outside entrance. Then she stepped out of the apartment.
“Haha, you’re still here?” mused a voice as soon as she stepped out.
Ai glared at the person who had just arrived to the apartments, clad in knee-length boots, jeans, a black blouse with a red tie. “And what are you doing back here, Hitomi?” Ai accentuated the other’s first name in an almost mocking drawl.
“I’ve heard many things lately,” Yossie rubbed the back of her neck, “Like your little accident a few days ago for one thing.”
Ai felt like pouring the bucket of water on Yossie, but knew nothing could be gained from that immature action, so she refrained from doing so.
“Have you felt the uselessness of being reckless now?” Yossie smiled, a half-hearted almost scheming smile, the all-too familiar face that Ai had hated to see.
Then, without saying anymore, the leader walked towards the apartment, walking past Ai with a now bored look on her face.
“I could have found a way to break the curse.”
Yossie turned her head as she gripped the door handle, “Oh?”
“Shibata-san said she would tell me. Yeah it was an agreement. She said she would tell in exchange for a favor.”
The older woman turned around, one hand on her hip, and chuckled, “That was a lie. She has absolutely no clue in this sort of thing. You had been used. You were her pawn. A pawn that was caught between a game of war between her and Ojou-sama.”
“You’re lying…” Ai gritted her teeth in anger. All the pain and suffering she had to go through was because of a stupid little war? All the hope she had was false the entire time?
“I’m not lying. Believe me. I’m quite close with her,” Yossie smiled, “very close with her.”
Ai let out a near silent scowl, but then, the first head spoke again.
“Though, I didn’t come to tease you. I pity the effort you’ve put in, but only to gain nothing…”
“What are you here for, then?”
“Come inside, I’ll do your cleaning duty because you shouldn’t over-exert yourself, you DID get out of the hospital yesterday after a three-day stay.”
So Yossie turned and opened the door, and being gentleman-like, motioned politely for Ai to go inside. The younger went inside and put away the cleaning materials back into the closet and then traversed to the lobby, sitting on the same sofa Yossie was sitting on in patience of her return.
“Retracing, Ai, I didn’t come to tease you, but I do have good news for you,” the leader said as she crossed on leg over the other and placed her hands on her lap.
Ai listened intently.
“Listen to me, I’ll tell you what I know now.”
Ai listened very intently.
“The curse… It can be broken, but no one has to actively seek the solution to it…”
“Wait… You mean… You know how it can be broken…?”
“Yes.”
“How?!” Ai came straightforward with the question.
“Time,” Yossie said was she rested her head on the sofa, looking at the ceiling.
“What… Don’t say such irrational things! You have no evidence!”
“Oh… Believe me… I do have evidence… Quite a lot of evidence, mind you…” Yossie grinned, to which Ai recognized as another way of showing a scheming side of Yossie. “There will be a day where the Orochi will have the final meeting…And definitely, I know it’s going to happen… The curse will break sooner or later…”
“How soon is sooner or later?” came a voice on the other side of the room. Ai and Hitomi looked to the source of the voice. “Is ‘soon’ going to be a few weeks? A few years? More centuries? … I won’t accept that…”
“You say you won’t, what do you mean? You think it’s a lie, Reina?” Ai stood up, “As long as the curse breaks, I’ll be satisfied with that result as well. It’s definitely better than an eternity.”
“I won’t…” Reina looked away, eyes half-closed in an emotional state, “…Maki…”
Reina still watched their hands, and imagined that they let go, and then when she might have looked up, Maki might not be there. She imagined that she might be gone forever, that no matter where she looked, she might have never found her again… What a scary imagination…
Reina looked at the back of Maki’s head, but since she was slightly at the side, she looked at the bit of Maki’s face too.
To imagine that beautiful face… Gone…
Please don’t go.
“Eh, Maki? What did she mean?” Ai asked Yossie, but was still watching Reina. The only reply from Yossie was a sigh and a smile, a smile that showed that Yossie knew completely what Reina was talking about.
“Goodbye…” and if you say “it’s okay if I’m not around…” right after that…
That would be…
That would be too painful for me…Mumbling subconsciously, because the heart is no longer here… Because Maki is destined to be bound to the curse…
So much sorrow…
So much sadness…
So much… Loneliness…
I can’t bear it…
Reina felt a few tears slither down her cheeks, despite her attempt to stop them.
“Those tears… They are for her, aren’t they?” Ai said calmly, having silently put the pieces together in her mind.
“They are for no one!” Reina turned and trudged away quickly, disappearing from the lobby.
Ai was about to go after the teen, but she felt a hand holding her arm back. She turned her head to find that the older woman stood up and stopped her. Then she, instead of Ai, walked towards the direction Reina had walked in.
“Leave me to handle this. I am the leader after all,” Yossie turned back to look at Ai, showing a serious face, then she continued onwards.
The leader knows her fellow members the best after all. She knew that after a fight or an event of the same hopeless feeling, the wonky-eyed teen would always retreat to her room. And to her room, Yossie went. She knocked three times on the door (it was her own little leader peeve to let people know that she’s coming in regardless of what’s happening) and then entered.
Reina was lying perpendicular to the bed, face down.
The leader knows her fellow members the best after all. She knew that Reina would always end up lying face down on her bed trying to shut off everything that surrounded her in order to sulk or think. The leader still stood at the doorway, her thumbs in her pockets, and balancing on the sides of her boots. Awaiting for an obligatory phrase from the yankii that she knew…
“Get out of my room. Please,” Reina said in a low voice, with a slight pause before she enforced her request with the magic word.
“Denied!” Yossie chuckled, “Come for a walk with your leader.”
“Get out.”
“I guess I’ll have to go all alone in the Korean yakiniku restaurant…” Yossie said almost melodramatically, shrugging.
“Like hell that would work on me anymore,” Reina mumbled into her bed.
“I’ll tell you more of the curse if you walk with me.”
Reina sighed heavily into the bed. Then she reluctantly lifted herself by her arms, before standing upright. “A short walk, but I’m coming back here when I feel like it.”
“Thank you,” Yossie said as she walked out the doorway, soon to be followed by the yankii.
Soon, they were out of the building, and were simply strolling around the neighborhood.
“So it’s not only Ai, Reina wants to find out as well? I didn’t know that.”
“Yoshizawa-san, you knew, right? That one day, the curse will be broken. You knew from the start, right?”
“How could I? But somehow… I have the feeling that this will be the end of it… As you know, this is really the first time all of the Orochi have been gathered. In the past, there is usually someone who isn’t born yet. There are people out there, traditional people like priests and such, keep track of who is the next Orochi and whatnot, and naturally, they recorded us down as well… They were happy that everyone has been gathered… But I thought of something else… Because this is the final meeting… I had thought.”
“That’s why everyone is here, ne?” Reina looked at her fellow leader as they continued walking.
“Yes. The blood ties are weakening. My backup for that is Yui. She didn’t force the curse to be broken in particular, but wasn’t it easily broken for her? I have spoken to her by phone quite a while ago discussing this really. I had told her ‘the end is near. Subtle changes have gathered. And soon, it’s bound to happen…’ I had told her…” Yossie said as she recalled the time Yui had called her, the continuation of the phone call.
“And to cause this situation… You pulled Tanaka-san into our business?”
“Yoshizawa-san… I’ve been meaning to ask, but now I’m sure of it… You are the first Orochi head… Aren’t you?” Reina looked at Yossie again, this time, with a hint of a glare in her eyes.
“What of it?” The first head finally spoke.
“Is there a reason you lied to me, saying that you were human?” Reina clenched her fists.
“I never lied to you, did I?” Yossie continued smiling, testing Reina’s answers.
“Even though you are cursed…You also hate snakes… It’s like a huge paradox…”
The leader immediately stopped in her tracks, and turned around almost hauntingly… Smiling a glaring smile reminiscent of her scheming personality she seemed to have recently as the gentle breeze made her clothes and hair flow in a beautiful, yet maleficent portrait view.
“Yes. I hate snakes. They are such repulsive creatures… I hate them very much…”
“Yet you smile as you speak of your hatred…” Reina lowered her head slightly, but still had Yossie in her glaring sights.
“I smile because I know the time will come… The time where I no longer have to transform into a vile serpent… I’ve worked very hard, even harder than you and Ai combined perhaps… So hard that I’ve hurt people again and again for the sake of my goal…” Yossie still stood where she was, the wind caressing the rather demonic aura Reina can’t help but think of when she looked at the haunting first head.
“You always have this scheming air to you… And your words always sound as if you’re testing someone…”
“Haha, I get that sort of reaction all the time,” Yossie continued smiling maliciously.
“Tell me. Since you’ve finally found out the way for the curse to break… What lengths did you go to in order to make what you want come true?”
“Ask me questions and I shall answer. However, you are only allowed to ask me Yes or No questions.”
“What?!”
“ ‘What’ is not a question, Reina.”
“Fine…” Reina saw that there was no other way to do this, “Was anyone killed in your schemes?”
“No.”
“Alright…” Reina tried to think of more questions that related to harsh pain, seeing that Yossie has said she had hurt people over her plans, “Did you do anything that caused anyone a huge amount of emotional torment?”
“Yes.”
Reina kept thinking… Unfortunately, she really couldn’t think of how to bring about any more answers from simplying asking yes or no questions… Then a sudden question hit her. “Was my last question important?”
“Yes.”
“Did you... Were you involved with Iida-san’s situation with her wing?”
“I wonder who told you what had happened to her, but yes.”
“…Were you the one who told Rika about Iida-san and Honda-san’s relationship?”
“Yes.”
Reina felt anger building inside of her. Kaori and Ruru had built up a fine relationship… And Yossie had stolen that away from them?! She was the one who originally caused Ruru to have a broken heart?! She was the one whose rash decision to tell Rika forced Kaori to erase the memories of the woman she loved?!
“You…” Reina glared contemptuously at Yossie.
“Why do you cry for a pain you have never seen?”
The first head was very perceptive. Reina could not help but let tears escape as she thought about this cruel person in front of her.
“You’re not very skilled in the fields of interrogation I see, I might as well tell you everything…” Yossie began, “Yes, I had purposely told Rika about their relationship. I had wanted to test my hypothesis of whether or not the breaking of the curse involves the descendant of Susanoo. But even after tearing Kaori’s wing off, there hasn’t been a significant change done to the Orochi. So I did some slight research, and wondered if there should be foreign involvement. So I, pretending to joke around, told Ai to kiss Risa, because I knew that they were in love, and wondered if love has a key role in this experiment…”
Reina continued glaring.
“Unfortunately, nothing was gained from them. Eventually, Makoto and Asami found out, and they foolishly tried to solve the curse at their own hands. Unfortunately for them, it became very hopeless—so hopeless that they drowned in their inefficiency to save their beloved Risa that they came to the management to resign from Morning Musume. They felt like they didn’t deserve to be with her if they couldn’t help her. They even begged Kaori to erase their memories of the curse, hoping that it won’t eat their lives inside out once they have resigned…”
Reina couldn’t stand Yossie talking about her two friends like that, but she continued listening.
“Then, while I was focused elsewhere. However, Yui’s curse became undone, and that threw me off completely. However, there was another interesting thing I’ve come to learn of. But first, I must ask you… Do you know of my and Ojo—”
“That you and Rika were in a relationship? I thought it was obvious lately…”
“Haha, just a little more perceptive than I thought. Nonetheless, Rika threw herself in a maelstrom of confusion when, for some reason I don’t want to know, she slept with Yui. So in spite of that act, why not have her lover sleep with her very own best friend for revenge? Although, I was very uncomfortable doing something like that, but it was for the cause of finding out my hypothesis of whether emotion is tied to the breaking of the curse. Unfortunately, nothing happened.”
“When did this happen…?”
“During the time period where the musical hasn’t even premiered yet. When she found out, she simply got enraged and then cut my hair. But I gave the excuse to the press that it was for the musical anyway.”
“…” Reina couldn’t really find the words to say at this moment, so all she could reply was “You are very cruel to do that to Rika.”
“Even though I cause pain for the people I love, it was all for the sake of finding out how to break the curse. I am not sure if any of those two told you this, but there was the time where I also told Ojou-sama of Risa and Ai’s relationship. And after finding out, she threw Ai off the balcony, throwing them into a huge predicament. Which you only know by them ‘breaking up’ as Ai puts it, supposedly. Eventually, the days pass and I continue to ponder deeper and deeper of the curse. Until finally. Just yesterday I came up with the conclusion that time was the object breaking the curse.”
“…That means… All the pain you put the others through…”
“Are wasted. Yes.” Yossie was still smiling her malicious smile throughout her talk.
Reina wanted to slap her. She wanted to punch her. She wanted to scream. The first head threw everyone into disorder and used their feelings as experiments?! That was absolutely unforgiveable! Even though her intention was good, she stooped so low to get what she had desired…
Why was Reina crying again? Was she crying for all the suffering that could have been avoided? Was she crying for those who had suffered? Was she crying at Yossie’s cruelty?
What was she crying for?
“I’m leaving,” Reina turned around, trying to wipe her tears away, but failing to hold them back.
“I’d imagine you would.”
I can’t bear those words…
Reina was running. She was running past the crowded streets. She was running past the empty streets. She was running past the long streets. She was running past the short streets. But her feet grew tired, and her sight was losing focus.
Why was she running?
She did not care. Wasting all of her energy seemed like a good idea after what she had just heard. All was well until you run into someone. And into someone, did Reina run.
“Sorry…” Reina apologized, backing away and bowing her head.
“Reina?”
The yankii knew that voice. She knew that voice anywhere. A voice she wanted to find comfort in. A voice she wanted to find solace in. A voice she wanted to be soothed with.
A voice that was going to disappear from her.
“Why are you crying?” Maki used her fingers to lift Reina’s face, inspecting her tears.
“Sorry about this… Showing this weakness in front of you…” Reina looked away in a mumble, crossing her arms.
“What happened?”
Reina knew she had to lie, as much as she wanted to speak of the truth. “I had a small fight with Yossie, but now I’m realizing that it’s stupid reason to cry to begin with,” she lied, hoping Maki would not notice. But when she looked at Maki again, desperate feelings began to surface again.
Don’t go… Don’t leave me…Don’t disappear from my sight…
Reina started to cry again.
“Crying for an argument won’t make it up,” Maki said, looking at Reina under half-closed eyes.
“No… It’s not that… It’s just…But why I… It’s not fine… I don’t know what to do…” Reina struggled for words, “At this point of time… It’s better not to do anything…”
“If you feel like you have to do something, then do it… Or something like that… That and… Ugh…” Maki tried to console, but struggled for words as well. Finally, she took Reina into an embrace, surprising the younger with the intimate gesture. “Just cry all you want into my arms…” The older said, caressing Reina’s hair gently with her fingers. “I’ll hold you until you’re done, kay?”
I can’t bare it if you leave me forever… Your “goodbye” would be too sad…
Too painful…
Too much to bear…
Please don’t say that word…
Yuko felt something disappear. She clutched her heart and looked up into the sky. No one in the busy streets noticed her stop. No one noticed what feelings she had in her storming heart. It was too fast. Time had gone by too fast. It was so uncalled for… She didn’t have time to notice it slip by… She felt tears dropping from her cheeks at the suddenness of it all…
It was missing…
It was no longer there…
It was gone forever more…
Don’t say Goodbye.
Topic: Our Cursed Gift [Chapter 47: Our Final Promise][COMPLETE] (Read 170998 times)